lifenet | Stones of farspeech; within a day of the intro log

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Stones of farspeech; within a day of the intro log

This is very sudden, and perhaps badly timed, for which I apologise.

[He really hopes he's not wasting the time of people trapped in rockslides or something, but--well, he would also hope someone trapped in a rock slide would be focusing on that and not. This.]

But I've just... returned to this place after a long absence and I've been informed there are other robots here now?

Is this true?

My name is Epsilon, and I am--was? Am. A robot myself.

So if anyone who can hear me has any kind of AI, or a similar form of existence... at your convenience, I'd like to speak with you! It's been a long time since I've known any others.

.... also, if you do need help, Ginko and I are able to move a great deal of earth between us, so please say something.

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It...what?

[SLOW DOWN, WHAT.]

It transformed into a tree?

Yes.

I'm currently a rainbow eucalyptus, and have been for some time.

[Dry, again.]

Before that, I contained enough power to be classified as a weapon of mass destruction.

[His tone is not one of pride, but something terse and tense.

A pause. Then, more gently--]

This is why my objection to the war was a big deal.

[He's still not clear on the...transforming into a tree thing. tbh.]

Yeah, well, most military A.I. are. I'm guessing your world doesn't have any real rights protecting those A.I. Or, if they do, they're easy to circumvent.

Robot rights have been written into law and adopted by most countries across the globe. Whether those laws are adequate, especially in light of the fact that the United States of Thracia has refused to sign the legislation... is not a conversation I think we're equipped to have.

[No offence. He's just aware that the politics of his earth aren't straightforward or small, as conversations go.]

Regardless, I was not designed intended for military purposes.

And robots that possess the power to act as weapons of mass destruction have been illegal for several years since my creation.

[This is all a lot of words that don't actually matter any more. He starts to sound tired.]

My point is... what I sound like may not resemble the Epsilon you know, but I may not be as different as you hope or assume. If your problem is with AI, then I am not the robot you want to be speaking to.

[The AI... in a tree.

Epsilon may have missed the actual point of confusion because of perceived anti-robot sentiments.]

My problem isn't with A.I.

[He's not about to clear up that confusion with any anecdotes or clarifications - that he's given just about everything he is on the behalf of A.I., in the memory of one A.I. that was tortured and sheared apart to fuel one powerful man's grief.]

[United States of Thracia. Sounds like a radically different world.]

[But he's not about to say that. It's not relevant, and those secrets aren't his to divulge to just anyone.]

I'm just not clear on how you turned into a tree.

[Truthfully, examples would not have helped. They wouldn't have hurt, either. Epsilon tentatively takes people at their word, but the truth is that even the humans who trusted him with the care of two dozen orphaned children held prejudices that reared their heads with tiresome regularity.

Like the belief that a robot could never replace a 'real' parent or family.

At the very least he can answer this man's questions... albeit not very well, because the answers are vague for him, too.]

I am not entirely clear on that either.

The short answer is 'magic' attributed to a god, but I was destroyed while still on my home earth before even that, so the facts are something I have to accept without especially understanding them.

[He was also, very briefly, rendered 'human,' but that is not an experience he knows how to process, so he's going to omit it here.]

Have you met a man named Ginko, or Edward? They experienced the same transformation, but were human to begin with. I don't believe they were previously deceased, either.

Can't say I have.

[But he keeps to himself, for the most part. He's probably seen them here and there - they're hard to miss - just hasn't spoken to them enough to know their names.]

Also can't say that sounds like any kind of standard science, but I'm not going to ask for this place, or any other place, to start making logical sense.

It is very unscientific.

[Is that a sense of humour? Yes.]

At the very least, I can assure you this was a peninsula, separate from the islands we inhabit and visit here. So your odds of becoming a magical horse or sentient tree are fairly low.

Thank god.

[About as deadpan as he can manage it.]

Sorry for any confusion. It was important enough that I had to check. And...uh, it might get confusing for almost everyone else from home. If you haven't been yelled at about the name already.

I am... experiencing that, yes.

[He didn't know it was possible for this rock to 'blow up,' proverbially speaking, but... it kind of is.]

On that note, may I have your name? For future reference.

Agent Washington.

[Usually he just goes with "Washington," but he probably owes the guy his full title, considering the grief this unfortunate association is going to start giving him.]

Just Washington is fine.

[Agent Washington... agent of who? What organisation? Likely none that Epsilon would recognise. Hmmm.

He's a bit caught between the need to be respectful and the need to protect all involved parties, but nothing is insurmountable, and smiles warmly when he finds a compromise--the kind of smile that Washington can hear.]

How about I call you Agent Washington for now, and we'll work towards just 'Washington' in the future?

Most people just call me "Wash."

[This would be a first. The Project always preferred that extra layer of formality, a barrier between relationships that might develop otherwise - presumably, anyway. It never really worked out that way.]

But - sure. If that would, uh...make you feel better. [He's better at being surly and interrogative than he is at small talk. Who knew?]

Chalk it up to my AI.

[He's half-joking, but since technically everything he thinks, says, or does originates in his AI, which was written by a human being... knowing one's consciousness and awareness are an intentional product of design is a very robot-specific experience.]

Thank you, Agent Washington.

Uh...huh.

[He thinks it's a joke. He thinks it is, but doesn't feel confident enough in that assumption to laugh at it, just in case it isn't. It's fine, though; he doesn't laugh at much of anything anyway. If he tried, it would probably come across as forced and insincere.]

Don't worry about it. Sorry about the misunderstanding.

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Stones of farspeech; within a day of the intro log

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