Network Text

[buildingitsir]

do we have any functioning computers in temba?

i'm realizing i've gone a rather long time without a backup and it'd ease my programming to have it backuped up somewhere

it'll need a lot of space though

it takes a lot of room to fit everything that goes into programming a person

Comments

[in_extremis]

It seemed fairly reasonable that York would want to investigate the change, but the prodding around had Tony muttering through his fingers, "Hey, okay, knock it off, it's fine, leave it alone...," apparently not paying any attention while York was talking. He didn't particularly want to think about that authorization. York's poking was persistent enough that he might actually do some damage, though, so Tony had to sit up and slide his own hand in the way, knuckles to York's cheek and threatening to grab his wrist. "Dustin doesn't think I can tie my own shoes," he acknowledged sharply, so they could safely ignore what Dustin had said his reason for involving Tony was. "Why can't you do the authorization yourself?" Sure, whatever, security, but York did plenty of other managing of his systems, he'd done it when Tony had asked him about pain in the hospital, and he made it sound like he wasn't beholden to his programming anymore, anyway.

[buildingitsir]

"You probably can't," he snarks back in regards to the shoes. "Changes to my hardware are deep rooted in the system. Like how antique computers had an admin that oversaw all the other segments. He's the admin, I'm just a user." 'He' had to indicate his own Tony back home. "It's a safety protocol, in case Cyberlife got their hands on me or my brothers, and tried to either completely reprogram us, or install some sort of spyware instead."

His hand does stop when Tony's intervenes, until it drops back into his lap. "I'm pretty sure it's in place for me to keep me in this shell, to keep me from getting back into an adult form back in my world. He was afraid of losing the experimental android that was supposed to be his son. Which he did anyways, after I ran away."

[in_extremis]

Those roots were deeper and more complex than York probably realized, and that he forced Tony to be painfully aware of. That quick dig at Tony could have been Howard's voice, no doubt a pattern York had learned from his dad, and one Tony repeated at York, too, without even hearing it himself. The work to reprogram Tony was messy and imperfect, though. Synthetics, clean parts and manageable programs, had a clear advantage that Tony still fell short of no matter how he restructured his own brain.

He drew back warily, still watching York and expecting him to go right back to picking at his ear, keeping his hand poised between them to gesture freely instead of trapping it under his chin again. "But you're not the user. We should--that should be fixed," he said. "Then you can control your own body."

[buildingitsir]

York had no idea what issues this Tony had, while York was better at laying all of his cards out on the table. It was easier to just be blunt and upfront about most things, instead of having it all locked away behind programming and servitude. He keeps a steady gaze on Tony now.

"There's a revolution happening in my world, in my Detroit, to fix this 'control your own body' situation. Not just for me, but all of the androids that want the choice. We don't have freedoms and rights over ourselves. Deviancy is a bug, not a feature, and if it happens, the android is supposed to be taken back to Cyberlife to be reprogrammed to get them back into servitude."

He looks away and stares at some unknown point in the room. "I'd love to be the master of my own hardware but that's not happening anytime soon. You said it yourself that I shouldn't trust you to do it or anything."

[in_extremis]

"That's the thing, you're not in Detroit," Tony was ready to interrupt. "You're here, isolation, nobody to interfere in the process so you have plenty of room to figure it out, and then when we get out of here--..." His enthusiasm quickly drained as his brain caught up with his mouth, leaving him with a thumb hooked over his shoulder and an anxious clench of his jaw. Neither of them needed the reminder of the stunningly multifaceted nature of Tony's failures, and just how far-reaching they really were if no one else was helping those androids.

His hand dropped to tap restlessly against his chest, drumming up more words for Tony to continue, "You don't have to, listen, you're spoiled for choice, I'm not the smartest guy in the room anymore. Dustin's the one who's already making you parts. Cal's the one that maintains BD-1. Reeve literally brought Mini to life. You're in a city of heroes, sweetheart."

[buildingitsir]

"Don't fucking call me sweetheart," he snaps out with clear venom in his tone. "I know where the fuck I am, thanks. I got that much when I ended up in a fountain instead of river I jumped into to save myself from a raid done by humans.

He hops down from the table, landing nimbly on his feet and glaring up at Tony. "I keep bringing it up because the security protocols put in place think you're the Tony from my world because you sound alike. We've gone through it so many times that I know you're not him and all that shit but the protocols don't register that like I do." Blue eyes drop down to watch the other drum on his chest that mirrors the spot where his own LED rests.

"I can get anyone else to fix any damn hardware but that's not the issue here, is it? You may not be the smartest guy in the city but you're selling yourself short and I'm about to buy into it, Tony. But good. Got the shit installed, got a new little trinket to help with energy alerts. If that's all, I'll see myself out."

And hopefully avoid the monsters or whatever the hell it was Jon had in the hallway.