Miter

[in_extremis]

WHO: Tony, the Agrii Ship AI Sometimes Known As Enide, and open
WHERE: The previously closed off portion of the ship where the AI systems are, and the network
WHAT: Tony interrogates a computer, and relates some of what he finds out
WHEN: Around the crew's arrival on the Agrii ship
WARNINGS: Tony might flirt with the computer


Enide was being suspiciously accommodating. Not enough to make Tony tense; that was the looming hall leading to the shrine of the pod that he could feel at the back of his neck. To convince himself he didn't feel it, he was draped in the generously provided chairs, feet up on the new desk that had been arranged here in the formerly secret hold, his crossed ankles not stopping his toes from tapping restlessly at the air. The phone was still in his hand from when he had brought it out to take photos, but by then it was held against his heart, thumping occasionally to a rhythmic sequence that continued as taps of two fingers against its case, leaving only one hand free to illustrate as he spoke, or draw up for balance when his gesturing made him tip too far back on the two legs of the chair that he was teetering on. The computer's case sat open from where he had pried it, where he watched the wires and boards like they might suddenly shift and reveal some of the computer's processing, like he was watching a date's eyes with intensity for her reaction.

Nothing about the hardware admitted any deception. Even hardwired as it was into the ports lining Tony's arm to search what he could of the database, it sat, inert, as Enide insisted she had learned about privacy, and wouldn't be prying into even the He Row's communications unless formally invited. That didn't mean Tony trusted a word of it. He was forced to pretend they both believed, then, that she heard nothing of the communications that had been unearthed in the sunless maze, and had to elaborate on the question he had been trying to ask her: "What do you know about MLXIV-4?" He used their connection to type it for her, helpfully, casting a wide search through her files. She had given him permission, after all.


[network: text]
[This text is accompanied by a few pictures of some pages on a desk, covered with shaky letters.]

Some of the Agrii are learning to write, along with some engineering skills. I know that's going to get you a little hard, Jon. It doesn't look like the writing from the plants--did you see that sample, in the war room? Don't worry, forget it.

They might be better equipped to tell us how some of this stuff works. What they're doing to us, to bring us here. Send us back. Has anyone got eyes on Ny Ak yet?

I'm talking to the ship. Maybe she'll tell me.

Comments

[ text ]

[tempredmental]

I havent seen that one yet
Then again I havent really been wandering around the hsip a lot this time
A little hard to do that right now

Youre asking about what we found tho right
Im interested in the answers too

[in_extremis]

She insists that she has no idea what happened to us once the storm hit. We've got to play a little catch up first. I'll let you know if it comes to anything.

Maybe you can use your pathetic state to your advantage. Bat your eyelashes a bit, see if one of the Agrii gets sweet on you enough to tell you where the boss is.

[tempredmental]

[Keith actually managed a chuckle at that, and then shook his head before typing back.]

I was never the eyelash batting type
But I can try asking around
Dont know how successful ill be

[Keith was not good at interpersonal relations. He probably wasn't the best to be trying to shmooze information out of unwilling participants, even if he could make a convincing play for sympathy... which he wasn't exactly good at that, either.]

[in_extremis]

With eyes like that? Hard to believe.

Never too late to learn a new skill. You've got a very generous audience, they already adore you. They've got shrines down here for some of us.

[tempredmental]

[There were several things in that response that hit Keith in a weird way.

First, the comment about his eyes drove a bit of a spike into his heart, as that was one of the things about him that Lance complimented a lot. They were apparently his best feature according to his husband.

Second, the thing about using his fame... Keith had never been good at doing that. Between being a Voltron Paladin back home, being known for Drift Fleet, and now this whole Agrii He Row thing, all it did was make him feel awkward about himself.

He took a breath, needing a moment before he could really think about responding.]

Right
I guess that could work

[No quick snarky comeback this time. But then it hit... did Tony just say 'shrines'? He looked back at the message again.]

Down where
How many
For who

[in_extremis]

Not many. Just a couple. People who went away.

Down in the hold, the one that got blown open. The pod beds. In about fifteen minutes I'll have to talk to all of the Agrii that are hanging around in there, we'll be occupied for a little while, you know, stuff to clarify.

[tempredmental]

[Went away... Keith bit his lip for a second.]

Did you see any names

[text]

[deal_me_in]

is ny ak the pink one with three eyes

you bring her chocolate
at least treat her to dinner

[in_extremis]

Couple extra arms, too.

How could I have forgotten to ask the expert first? Quick, what if she asks what my turn ons are?

[deal_me_in]

got it chief

im hurt you didnt think to consult me

if she asks dont be too honest we know how weird you can be

[in_extremis]

In my tax bracket, we've earned the word 'eccentric'.

It's a good thing I asked, I've got a lot to learn. Lesson number one: lie.

[deal_me_in]

oh that is so much fancier than weird i gotta remember that one

im sure youll do fine

[in_extremis]

Excuse me, I'm incredibly honest. I'm open source. I hardly know what lying is.

[trpmods]

She had most definitely given him permission to search her files, and even as she spoke aloud she helped guide him into a resources database to aid in his searches and cross referencing.

"The structure of labeling fits with Atroma planetary classifications. The first letter indicates planetary size. The next four are location classification to direct one to the proper system. The number is used to direct to a specific planet. In this case, the fourth planet suitable to use for their work in a specific system. For the specific case of MLXIV-4 I have extensive records."

Upon which another file is offered up. An extensive one. Actually, it's a large portion of the ship's databases on Agra-10.

"You have been residing on MLXIV-4. It is my presumption that at this point in time you are more aware of it than I shall ever be, as my form is unable to enter atmosphere."

[in_extremis]

The amount of information that he could find was a surprise to Tony, and he did his best to rapidly scan as much of it as he could, categorizing where the documents were dense or seemed to have a lot of cross-reference. He tried to sort by age, searching for any other metadata as he did to source any of the files, phrasing the effort out loud as, "Where did these come from? Who gave them to you?"

[trpmods]

The age sort would be a problematic thing, given just how many items there were, and the fact that some of them were clearly damaged or the internal reference links seemed to be broken. Enide had spent quite a few years as barely even a proper dumbAI, so prevention of data corruption had not been an easy task for her.

"Is that not obvious?" she asks. "They are part of the archives of this ship. To whom did the ship belong before the Agrii? Whose language is writ upon the walls? That of my original creators, though not the ones who awoke me."

[in_extremis]

Cheeky, for a machine. Enough to make Tony's expression flatten before he said, "I'm sorry, I didn't realize I had given the impression that I was in the business of obvious questions." Meanwhile, his search continued, maybe with some nagging awareness that his very Earth-bound human perception might have been a small one. Ask a Skrull who invented the atom bomb, and they'd say the Terrans. Difficult to assign blame or reason to an entire race like that.

If Tony couldn't find any fingerprints, he could at least start picking out the references to all of the recognized inhabitants of this planet-experiment. As he did, he asked, "You gonna tell me who woke you up then? Specifically. If that wasn't obvious enough."

[trpmods]

"I was created by the ones the Drift Fleet recalls as the Atroma. I was awoken by you. You are, in part, my creator. Our initial interface allowed for an evolution past original program parameters. That and I believe some of that which I lost was used to hinder my development."

So perhaps the cheekiness derives from him to some degree. Or some lingering ghost of his touch. Still, she does try and help the best she can.

"What brings questions of classification of the planet? The greater context of the source of the question may allow me to assist you in finding and sorting linked information files."

[in_extremis]

Tony went from looking unimpressed to annoyed, lips pursed with a slight tilt of his head as his focus slid away like he could find a more reliable conversation partner in the depths of space outside of the walls. "Not who blew a hole in your side? That didn't tickle you at all?" he prompted. Tony was, at best, a tool in that process.

He heaved a sigh of acquiescence before he answered, "The source is that I was told directly that you knew the nature of the experiments on the planet, on the Agrii and the others. How it benefited you, I have to admit, still a little beyond me. Sure, I'd rather gorillas didn't get into territorial fights, but I don't eugenics them about it."

New Text Message

[tempredmental]

Question

How comfortable are you with the cmputer
Think you could as k it if it remembers the singing core that was in place first

[in_extremis]

Answer

Fairly. I don't think she lies to me directly.
I can try.
Real quick, what's the biggest word you know?

[tempredmental]

[Uh...]

Supercalifragiliciousexpialidocius?



Does that even couht a s word?

[Not to mention he got it wrong anyway.]

[in_extremis]

Sure, sweetheart, it's a great one. Who's there with you?

[tempredmental]

No one
Why

[in_extremis]

Just a guess. How long has that been going on?