(Untitled)

[complex_design]

Here's a Gate, by the Sign, and in armor just in case the lack of it had contributed to certain events leading up to his questions. While he does hope the little droid hasn't been LOLed or damaged since it ran - or rolled - off, he can't help finding it all just a bit amusing

Comments

[wiltedivy]

"... I can honestly say I've never done anything like that. I've got a very good record with patients."

"And I haven't seen anything like that before."

[complex_design]

"So did I, before this. And, in my defense, it was entirely the monkey's fault." Gate can't help it, he cracks up for a moment at that. Once he gets the snickers under control, he shakes his head. "I'm sorry, but except for the missing person situation it really is quite funny. And, at least, wherever he's run off to, he's no longer damaged."

"Shame. He could have wandered off through one of the portals."

[wiltedivy]

"Monkey? Do I even want to know what you're talking about?" Plant still doesn't exactly see the humor in the situation, and it shows.

"And some of the portals can be dangerous..."

[complex_design]

"Yammark brought a monkey by to show to me and, unfortunately, it was distracted by blinking lights at an inconvenient time. By the time we'd caught it, the droid had fled the scene. I believe he may have mistaken us for humans on reactivation. Neither of us were in armor at the time."

"True, but if it decided to go through them, I don't see where that's my concern. My responsibility ended with having it repaired, and I have no evidence to show that it wasn't an adult of its kind, however that might be determined. In fact, that it had the presence of mind to run away from 'humans', given what I'd heard of its world while researching the design, is a good indication that it's old enough to take care of itself. Well, most of the time, considering where I found it."

"Perhaps I'd best start at the beginning?"

[wiltedivy]

Plant winces. "It had reason to be afraid of humans, I take it?"

He nods, smiling. "The beginning would be best. It usually is."

[complex_design]

"Very good ones," says Gate, frowning a moment. Then he smiles and nods. "Well, Alia and some of the other females went to the Nexus Mall, and she told me later about a new junk store there that had some technological items from various universes that might interest me. So, I went to have a look."

"This," he taps the image of the T3 on the datapad screen, "is what I found. Shut down due to some kind of ionization damage. I'm embarrassed to say I initially expected it to be no more than an interesting drone design. I still can't quite understand placing a higher level AI in such an awkward form. Really, what's it to do if it encounters a staircase, for example?"

[wiltedivy]

Plant nods. "Odd, but not too surprising. I think a few of the others from my universe would like that kind of store though."

He nods. "Interesting. Definitely a shame that the humans put something intelligent in such a strange form. Then again, Wily was little better at times. But it was fortunate that someone who actually cared enough to fix it and not pull it to pieces for spare parts."

[complex_design]

"Apparently that sort of design theme isn't uncommon in its universe of origin. None of the ones I've found any information on could pass for human in the least. And I found out some other, much more disturbing, things about that reality in the course of finding out enough about the droid to repair it. Did you know they actually consider frequent memory wipes to be a matter of routine maintenance?"

"When it reactivated and found itself in a strange lab with what looked like two humans, I can only guess it must have expected that was what was about to happen. I can't blame it for running when it had the chance. I only wish we'd had time to explain."

[wiltedivy]

Plant frowns at that piece of information. "Wow. I think you may have found an example of a universe worse for our kind than ours is. That's disturbing."

He nods. "It probably anticipated that routine maintenance and not actual help. Poor thing."

[bweepingtrouble]

"Given that they've kept 'droids', as they call them, as a slave race for at least several hundred years without any major incidents? I must admit I'm relieved the humans in our own universes have not developed some of the same methods," says Gate.

Somewhere behind Gate, where he can't see it - but where Plant likely can is an endtable next to a Nexus Couch, covered in a checkered tablecloth and with a jar and a sign sitting on top. The sign says 'donations for the homeless'. And a little pincher is grabbing the corner of the cloth from underneath it now and lifting it up so that the droid hiding under the tablecloth can get a peek at them with its single blue photoreceptor.

[wiltedivy]

Plant shakes his head. "Not for lack of trying. Remember some of the ones we found in my universe? Poor things."

He's eying the "endtable" carefully, but Plant isn't going to do anything quite yet. Poor thing wants to hide, and it's better to let it for now, at least.

[complex_design]

"True," says Gate. "But judging from this, it seems memory wipes and restraining bolts are more effective than outright torture. The thought is simply horrifying."

And T3 lowers the tablecloth again for now.

[wiltedivy]

Plant frowns. "Disgusting. Just as bad as the abuse those idiots were heaping onto the poor things we rescued. Though with more success. I'm glad no one in my universe came up with those ideas. We'd have never gotten away if Wily had something like that."

[complex_design]

Gate nods. "I've heard from Zero that he didn't even understand that there was anything wrong with Wily's orders or behavior at first. A new activation wouldn't. And he never really had the 'Laws' that earlier Robot Masters had."

"If memory wipes or tampering were used to keep someone in such a child-like and dependent condition..." Gate shakes his head. "I can see how it would work, even though it disgusts me. Essentially, they're killing them every time they start to develop past their original programming, and starting over with a new activation - only to repeat the cycle."

[wiltedivy]

"We never understand when we're young. We just aren't programmed that fully before activation. It's easier to have us learn to fill in the gaps later." Plant shakes his head sadly. "It's sickeningly logical. I'm surprised people in my universe haven managed to figure it out."

[complex_design]

"I wouldn't put it past Weil to try such a thing," says Gate, with obvious distaste as he thinks of some of the scientist's methods when he'd worked in the same building. And from what he's seen and heard since, those methods have only gotten worse. "The primary incentive for them not to do so would be in having to deal with a new activation's inexperience over and over again. But if one were designed for a simple enough task, that might not even be a deterrent."

The suspicious endtable has risked rolling a little closer to them, peeking out from beneath the tablecloth again.