The Next Big Plan [Open Commentlog]
[Musashi has set itself up in an empty space and is lecturing to whoever comes along. Yes, it has visual aids. No, we don't know why. It's a tachikoma, just go with it.NOW THEN! I'd like to talk about the amphibious mer-Tachikoma that played such an integral role in the offense against the Individual Eleven
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All right, Razer actually stopped because he recognized the thing's voice from his argument with Batou about his mistreatment of Erol Jak, but he's still standing there, arms folded, one eyebrow raised.]
Is there an actual reason you are detailing all this?
[Good AI, bad choice of voice modulation, strange choice of subject matter. Razer is at a loss as to what he thinks about the thing.]
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[Musashi taps one claw with the stylus held in the other. It's eye swivels to look at him curiously for a moment- the Tachikoma recognizes Razer's voice as well.]
Well, receiving constructive criticism of potential modifications is a key component to the engineering and design processes!
Ordinarily, I'd go through this sort of thing between myself and my fellow Tachikoma exclusively, but the others aren't available right now due to the lack of a cohesive wireless network with which to sync. I have to get the proper feedback, somehow, don't I? Two heads are smarter than one!
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[He sighs.]
I do believe you look a little too heavy to swim very well, even with propellers on your feet. Not to mention your little lecture did not seem to cover any method you would use to steer.
[He puts his hands on his hips.]
Is there a particular reason you are programmed to sound like a little girl? It hardly seems to match you well with your cohorts.
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[The Tachikoma tilts its body to the side a little, like a curious dog]
What do you mean? This is the default setting. We Tachikoma have always sounded like this! Of course, our voices are entirely synthesized, so it's technically possible for us to sound like anyone.
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You would still have to redo the entire design to allow any buoyancy to something such as you--by the time you were finished, you would likely be unrecognizable.
And you sound like a little girl. It seems a strange modulation for a deathbot.
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Nobody's ever called me that before...
[Hmm...Let's take a moment to awkwardly pause mid-conversation for a brief period of thought about being called a 'deathbot.']
Hey, what's the big idea, being so pessimistic? You'll never get anything engineered if all you do is talk about how impossible the goal is. After all, it isn't as if I'm contemplating a purely submersible design. This sort of thing would be by necessity amphibious, and it's underwater sojourns extremely temporary in duration.
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[He fishes a cigarette and lighter from his belt and lights up, inhaling deeply and then exhaling a stream of white smoke. It's strange how something so closely connected to Batou and the Major would be so...social. That alone makes it worth talking to, if only to see how far the thing can be pushed before it snaps or goes running back to mommy and daddy.]
I never said designing such a thing as an amphibious blastbot was entirely impossible, simply that with this design you are more or less destined for failure. I happen to be native to a city floating on the ocean roughly five hundred miles out from the mainland, I think I know what I am talking about when it comes to aquatic technology.
[He actually doesn't, boats aren't his thing--not like anyone's used them in a great long while anyway, hello A-Grav engine--but his credentials sound decent enough. And it doesn't take a genius to notice that ( ... )
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[Hmphf.]
I'm a Tachikoma, not either of those things! Similar design elements indicate similar uses, not similarities in brand or method! In addition, appearances can be very deceiving: my purpose goes far beyond what I was originally built for.
[It listens with bland intent to his dubious credentials. coming to a decision, it turns away, and then back, holding out a red marker. It's of the dry-erase variety, and quite smelly when uncapped. Musashi gestures towards the poster with its free manipulator.]
Well, if you're such an expert, then you can help me along. What would your design look like?
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[And he probably could, albeit none of the technical stuff--he could still manage a decent sketch of something more suitable for water than what Musashi has come up with. But he brushes off the manipulator and the marker with the back of one hand.]
However, I see no reason to assist in the technological advances of one who cavorts with people so ready and willing to hurt those very few souls who are important to me.
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[Musashi draws back the pen and affects an attitude of superiority, lecturing him like a child]
Well, if that's the way you feel about it, then you'll just have to take it up with Mister Batou and the Major. I'm a military AI, you know, I've gotta follow orders!
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