La Fee Verte missed his arrival, or she likely wouldn't have begun a conversation; kissing up to deities and getting mortals addicted were her main interests. The answers were only vaguely suspicious, though, and it was always good to network.
"'Infrared'? That sounds like something from a cyberpunk novel. Cute, but a bit dated."
Were he actually part of humanity, with their narrow understanding of reality and terribly fragile minds, La Fee Verte's appearance would have been more alarming. As it was, his reaction was limited to a raised eyebrow as he gave her a once over. Polite curiosity.
Perhaps he needn't worry so much about the monkey act in this place, which was a comforting thought.
"The suggestion couldn't hurt," he replied amiably. "Strange idea, bartending in the dark. I won't pretend to know what the purpose of it would be."
"Interesting psych evaluation," he said dryly. "Who is 'us'?"
It seemed this might just be standard operating procedure, then. Still didn't explain why or how he came to be there -- wherever 'there' was, exactly. But one question at a time.
Animals reacting to him this way was to be expected, but that this dog -- completely biological with no enhancements or devices that he could detect -- also spoke in intelligible English was more than a little surprising.
The collar was noted. So there was presumably an owner that would miss the runt. It seemed best not to draw unwanted attention to himself for the time being, and a dead pet would be counterproductive to that end. (It didn't occur to him to suspect outside forces, namely the anti-death enchantment, were what really prevented him from wanting to snuff out this little problem.)
"It would seem neither of us are quite what we present ourselves to be," he replied in a low voice. There was no point denying it. "How did you learn to speak?"
Firekeeper glanced inside the Sorting Room, finding nothing particularly interesting with this applicant, and was ready to pass by when Blind Seer caught up to her. The huge wolf froze, hackles raising, and started a low, steady growl. Firekeeper knit her eyebrows in curiosity.
"This two-legs does not smell of a human," Blind Seer said, arching his back. "Nor of any beast. Can you not smell it?"
Firekeeper edged in a little, trying to catch a scent with her dead human nose. "I cannot," she responded in kind, unheard to human ears.
"The two-legs smells empty and cold, like a cave in winter." His lips curled back from his fangs, and he took a step back. "I would not be here."Firekeeper looked at him, and back at the applicant. Her curiosity got the better of her. "You is not human," she said out loud, keeping her hand near her Fang where it was sheathed at her belt, keeping light on her feet in case she needed to run
( ... )
((This calls for some mercury-frosted cake, I think.))
The unusual size and menacing demeanour of the wolf was noted. Animals under normal circumstances attacked in predictable ways, but this was clearly not a normal circumstance. After the green humanoid and talking dog, the T-1000 was not going to rely solely on his knowledge of regular wolves if things got physical, which it seemed they might.
He took in the human girl's appearance -- and what he assumed she considered a weapon, with the way her hand was positioned -- with the same passively curious expression he'd sized up the wolf with.
"No," he replied to the girl, "not human." Her furry friend obviously knew, so denial would be pointless. "I've been led to believe it's not unusual for non-humans to show up here," he added, wondering if this was the pair's usual greeting for newcomers, or if he was just special.
Firekeeper gave the wolf an irritated side glance. "If he proves a danger, he cannot leave the perimeter of the room. We are safe enough." To the not-human human, she said, "He not human," and flicked her head to indicate Blind Seer. "Is common enough." She searched for the right words. "Blending is lesser." No, that wasn't quite right. "Like brown rabbits in snow. Your coat is better match."
"And his scent is foul," Blind Seer said.
"You have made your point quite adequately," Firekeeper responded. "I am no forgetful yearling."
The girl's truncated form of speech wasn't overly difficult to understand, but the elaboration did help. It hadn't escaped his notice that she appeared to be communicating with the wolf as well, though he could understand none of it.
"You're the first human that I've encountered here," he pointed out, and tilted his head. "Or do you not identify as one?"
It wasn't much of a leap to make. Her appearance, her speech, her repertoire with the wolf; she was practically a wild animal herself. Almost reminded him of the humans from his time -- what remained of them.
A gold, humanoid droid trundled into the sorting room, followed closely by a squat blue and white trash can droid on wheels.
"Hello!" the tall droid said. "I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations, and this is my counterpart, R2-D2. It is a pleasure to meet you--" Threepio looked at the paper, then back up at the T-1000. He did a doubletake again, the servomotors in his neck making a high-pitched whirring noise at the back-and-forth motion.
"What a remarkable design you have. I thought for a second you are human!"
He looked the new pair over, masking his disdain out of habit. Being fully self-aware and able to act contrary to Skynet's orders if he chose to, this freedom had led to his developing a unique attitude toward what he deemed 'inferior' models. It was not limited to other Terminators.
But, it stood to reason that other androids and mechanical beings might potentially be useful to know, in this place.
"Were you two brought here unexpectedly as well?" he asked with false geniality. "It's interesting to be in a place where humans appear to be the minority."
Threepio cocked his head. "I am not sure if I would say that humans are the minority."
The astromech droid beside him whistled helpfully and spun his dome. "That's most helpful, Artoo, but we haven't even seen the entire school yet." He turned back to the T-1000. "Artoo has an estimate of the percentage of humans in the school, but I believe his observations aren't quite accurate." Artoo honked, and Threepio waved away his protest with a dismissive "Oh hush!"
"Don't mind him," he said. "There are several humans here, from this planet and others. There are also several different sentient species in the student body, some of which I have never heard of before!" The tone of his voice suggested that he was expecting a reaction of shock and awe at the last statement.
He quirked a smile at the pair's antics, not because he found them amusing in the least, but on the off chance either could read "human" expressions and mistake it for friendliness. His efforts were, thankfully, far more convincing than his predecessor's...
Other planets? That was certainly an interesting tidbit. The talking dog had mentioned "aliens", and had presumably spoken the truth as he knew it.
Shock and awe came in the form of a raised eyebrow. "Really?" he said, as though he actually cared. "That's interesting. Maybe I'll get the chance to meet these sentient species myself. Are there other mechanical beings here, too?" Something which he did care about.
"What're you, the latest and greatest toy?" Marcus had only minimal knowledge of Cyberdyne Systems and Skynet, courtesy of the info dump he'd been given when he had not-so-sneakily snuck into Skynet Central. But he didn't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that anything that called itself "Cyberdyne Systems Series 1000, advanced prototype" was bad news.
"Anyway, you're either the most anal cop ever, or you suck at being human. Might want to polish it up, buddy." He tried to act casual, but frankly the thing was creeping him out. Marcus' experience had been with the hulking T-600s and the T-800 with its skin stripped off; he'd never seen a machine that looked that human. Skynet was getting better. To bad it couldn't make a personality worth shit.
He offered no response at first, merely gave Marcus a cursory once over -- which proved rather illuminating, and explained the warm greeting. He slowly smiled as he focused on Marcus's heart, before looking back to his face. "The failed science experiment. I'd wondered what became of you."
He hadn't -- Skynet had.
"So how did you come here?" He expected more sarcasm, but figured it was worth asking. It might shed some light on how he himself had been brought to Hogwarts, an event he had no recollection of.
He rolled his eyes. "I'm sure the curiosity was keeping you up at night. But I don't know how I got here," he said, which was true. "I've just got a bad habit of not staying dead." So far he'd lasted longer than a week. Third time's the charm, probably.
"They tell me that the robot revolution never happened. I guess if there's no war, there's no use for fancy robots, is there?"
The conversation with the dog had already had the T-1000 thinking this was an alternate timeline, and what Marcus was telling him only backed up that theory -- assuming he was being told the truth.
No war presumably meant no Skynet (yet?), which meant no Resistance. And as far as he knew chronoportation was a one-way ticket, so it wasn't as though he could ever return to his original time, even if he'd wanted to. Landing in a school that appeared to house a predominantly non-human populace, including other androids... Well, aside from all the damage he'd incurred, it seemed to be his lucky day. Better than the alternatives he could think of.
No Skynet. He couldn't help but dwell on that and what it might mean for him, if it were true. He'd have to investigate.
Tilting his head, he asked, "How's the hand?" Which the mun assumes hasn't been "fixed" yet.
Comments 53
"'Infrared'? That sounds like something from a cyberpunk novel. Cute, but a bit dated."
Reply
Perhaps he needn't worry so much about the monkey act in this place, which was a comforting thought.
"The suggestion couldn't hurt," he replied amiably. "Strange idea, bartending in the dark. I won't pretend to know what the purpose of it would be."
Reply
Reply
It seemed this might just be standard operating procedure, then. Still didn't explain why or how he came to be there -- wherever 'there' was, exactly. But one question at a time.
Reply
Reply
The collar was noted. So there was presumably an owner that would miss the runt. It seemed best not to draw unwanted attention to himself for the time being, and a dead pet would be counterproductive to that end. (It didn't occur to him to suspect outside forces, namely the anti-death enchantment, were what really prevented him from wanting to snuff out this little problem.)
"It would seem neither of us are quite what we present ourselves to be," he replied in a low voice. There was no point denying it. "How did you learn to speak?"
Reply
Reply
"Where is 'here'?"
Reply
Firekeeper glanced inside the Sorting Room, finding nothing particularly interesting with this applicant, and was ready to pass by when Blind Seer caught up to her. The huge wolf froze, hackles raising, and started a low, steady growl. Firekeeper knit her eyebrows in curiosity.
"This two-legs does not smell of a human," Blind Seer said, arching his back. "Nor of any beast. Can you not smell it?"
Firekeeper edged in a little, trying to catch a scent with her dead human nose. "I cannot," she responded in kind, unheard to human ears.
"The two-legs smells empty and cold, like a cave in winter." His lips curled back from his fangs, and he took a step back. "I would not be here."Firekeeper looked at him, and back at the applicant. Her curiosity got the better of her. "You is not human," she said out loud, keeping her hand near her Fang where it was sheathed at her belt, keeping light on her feet in case she needed to run ( ... )
Reply
The unusual size and menacing demeanour of the wolf was noted. Animals under normal circumstances attacked in predictable ways, but this was clearly not a normal circumstance. After the green humanoid and talking dog, the T-1000 was not going to rely solely on his knowledge of regular wolves if things got physical, which it seemed they might.
He took in the human girl's appearance -- and what he assumed she considered a weapon, with the way her hand was positioned -- with the same passively curious expression he'd sized up the wolf with.
"No," he replied to the girl, "not human." Her furry friend obviously knew, so denial would be pointless. "I've been led to believe it's not unusual for non-humans to show up here," he added, wondering if this was the pair's usual greeting for newcomers, or if he was just special.
Reply
"We should flee," Blind Seer insisted.
Firekeeper gave the wolf an irritated side glance. "If he proves a danger, he cannot leave the perimeter of the room. We are safe enough." To the not-human human, she said, "He not human," and flicked her head to indicate Blind Seer. "Is common enough." She searched for the right words. "Blending is lesser." No, that wasn't quite right. "Like brown rabbits in snow. Your coat is better match."
"And his scent is foul," Blind Seer said.
"You have made your point quite adequately," Firekeeper responded. "I am no forgetful yearling."
"You are a stupid pup," he grumbled, but shut up.
Reply
"You're the first human that I've encountered here," he pointed out, and tilted his head. "Or do you not identify as one?"
It wasn't much of a leap to make. Her appearance, her speech, her repertoire with the wolf; she was practically a wild animal herself. Almost reminded him of the humans from his time -- what remained of them.
Reply
A gold, humanoid droid trundled into the sorting room, followed closely by a squat blue and white trash can droid on wheels.
"Hello!" the tall droid said. "I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations, and this is my counterpart, R2-D2. It is a pleasure to meet you--" Threepio looked at the paper, then back up at the T-1000. He did a doubletake again, the servomotors in his neck making a high-pitched whirring noise at the back-and-forth motion.
"What a remarkable design you have. I thought for a second you are human!"
Reply
He looked the new pair over, masking his disdain out of habit. Being fully self-aware and able to act contrary to Skynet's orders if he chose to, this freedom had led to his developing a unique attitude toward what he deemed 'inferior' models. It was not limited to other Terminators.
But, it stood to reason that other androids and mechanical beings might potentially be useful to know, in this place.
"Were you two brought here unexpectedly as well?" he asked with false geniality. "It's interesting to be in a place where humans appear to be the minority."
Very interesting indeed.
Reply
The astromech droid beside him whistled helpfully and spun his dome. "That's most helpful, Artoo, but we haven't even seen the entire school yet." He turned back to the T-1000. "Artoo has an estimate of the percentage of humans in the school, but I believe his observations aren't quite accurate." Artoo honked, and Threepio waved away his protest with a dismissive "Oh hush!"
"Don't mind him," he said. "There are several humans here, from this planet and others. There are also several different sentient species in the student body, some of which I have never heard of before!" The tone of his voice suggested that he was expecting a reaction of shock and awe at the last statement.
Reply
Other planets? That was certainly an interesting tidbit. The talking dog had mentioned "aliens", and had presumably spoken the truth as he knew it.
Shock and awe came in the form of a raised eyebrow. "Really?" he said, as though he actually cared. "That's interesting. Maybe I'll get the chance to meet these sentient species myself. Are there other mechanical beings here, too?" Something which he did care about.
Reply
"Anyway, you're either the most anal cop ever, or you suck at being human. Might want to polish it up, buddy." He tried to act casual, but frankly the thing was creeping him out. Marcus' experience had been with the hulking T-600s and the T-800 with its skin stripped off; he'd never seen a machine that looked that human. Skynet was getting better. To bad it couldn't make a personality worth shit.
Reply
He hadn't -- Skynet had.
"So how did you come here?" He expected more sarcasm, but figured it was worth asking. It might shed some light on how he himself had been brought to Hogwarts, an event he had no recollection of.
Reply
"They tell me that the robot revolution never happened. I guess if there's no war, there's no use for fancy robots, is there?"
Reply
No war presumably meant no Skynet (yet?), which meant no Resistance. And as far as he knew chronoportation was a one-way ticket, so it wasn't as though he could ever return to his original time, even if he'd wanted to. Landing in a school that appeared to house a predominantly non-human populace, including other androids... Well, aside from all the damage he'd incurred, it seemed to be his lucky day. Better than the alternatives he could think of.
No Skynet. He couldn't help but dwell on that and what it might mean for him, if it were true. He'd have to investigate.
Tilting his head, he asked, "How's the hand?" Which the mun assumes hasn't been "fixed" yet.
Reply
Leave a comment