pain_train | SANCTUM INBOX

Ah. Now it makes more sense as to why North wanted the specifications he did. Delta steps more fully into the room, revealing that he's carrying a large but apparently lightweight package.

"If you are Agent North's friend, I am not lost. I have a delivery from him."

Edited 2014-11-09 17:47 (UTC)

If she was grinning before, now she's positively glowing. All of North's friends have been so nice! (Malcolm's the biggest poop out of the bunch so far, and even he was very sweet.) "You're one of North's friends? What's your name? Oh wow, what is that?"

Oh good. People are typically much easier to deal with when they're in a good mood. Delta wonders if she's on morphine.

"I am called Delta; North and I live in the same house along with my partner York and my brother Theta." Which isn't exactly sensitive information so he doesn't mind sharing. "He reqested my assistance with a certain software program to help you pass the time."

Delta pulls a large frame and a small rubbery stylus out of the package. "It is a digital painting system designed to be used with a stylus that can be held in the mouth. Colors are controlled by a retinal response system similar to that used with the standard issue network glasses."

She's always like this, Delta. Always.

"Oh, Delta! Yeah, North's told me about you guys, I'm so glad to get to meet you! How's York doing? He's just about better, right? I hope so. Being stuck in bed sucks balls."

A certain--oh! Oh! If she could move she'd be dancing (badly) around the room. "Oh wow! Thank you! That's really--thank you! You didn't have to do that!"

Yeah, he'll have a hard time believing that until she's been out of the hospital for at least a week. He knows people get weird on painkillers.

"He is," Delta says, smiling at heer obvious enthusiasm. How the hell did North meet her, anyway? Because she's right across from where Carolina was? "Though he has not been sticking to bed rest as assiduously as Callsign Whiskey would like, I think. Even so, he is recovering well."

And the smile brightens even more at her thanks. "Programming is a special skill of mine, though the construction was completed by another friend. It is my pleasure to help."

"Oooh. Well, don't tell Whiskey that. He's such a poop sometimes. He's allergic to fun, I swear." She wrinkles her nose. "I'm glad he's almost better, though! Tell him I said hi, okay?" Wrath, he's never even met you in a non-eviscerating context, for gods sake.

"So you're really good at computers? That's so cool. I'm really glad--it must just be amazing to be able to make stuff. So thank you for making something for me! That's so sweet of you." She'll have to make something for him in return. If this lets her paint at all, she'll do something nice for him. Special thank you gift, on the list! "I'm... kind of shitty with computer stuff, honestly. I just never had time for it. I can't even figure out this fucking net nanny Whiskey put on my glasses. But I'll do my best to not mess up your hard work, I promise."

"I will be certain to do so." That Whiskey, threatening York's balls! Well, it was an effective threat, Delta will admit, and they had to keep him in bed somehow.

Delta settles himself into a chair, at least for now. People in recovery typically appreciate visitors, even if they're mostly strangers. "Prior to my arrival here through Project Immunis, I was a computer program - an artificial intelligence program. Holographic art, programming, and systems analysis are therefore very simple to me."

"North said he wants to introduce us. And that I should meet Theta. I'm so lucky, you're all so nice. I can't wait!"

"It must be really weird, being stuck in a body, huh. Like... as weird as it would be having a body and then not, I guess. Weirder, probably." North had told her a bit about this, when he told her about Theta. And that's right, Delta was like Theta. That makes her sober a bit, though she has the feeling that she shouldn't just bring up all that in a casual conversation. Protective feelings toward people who have been hurt are all well and good, but she's stuck in bed, it's not like she can actually do anything.

So she latches on to something else: "Holographic art? Oh, have you seen... shit, where is it. D3, I think. There's this artist named Halam who does these fantastic interpretive flowers that link to biometrics, but not like that kitschy 'mood' shit, you know? There's this really subtle inter-surrealist twist she adds that I think most people miss. You might like it."

Edited 2014-11-09 19:26 (UTC)

"Theta is very nice. I am certain you would enjoy his company." But then, anyone who doesn't like Theta isn't likely to be the kind of person who gets along with Delta to begin with. Also, Delta's totally biased.

"It is difficult to describe. Nearly every aspect of my existence is different than it previously was, excepting only audio perception. Even so, as I had interacted closely with humans for my entire life, I did not find the transition as difficult as an AI who had not might feel." That and he'd been a spinoff of an AI who had been based on human brain patterning to begin with, but that's a little too technical to be discussing with an apparent native. AI technology here is nowhere near where it was back home.

"I have not," he says, sounding surprised. "I will certainly look that up and would be most interested to know more. Perhaps I can comission some for my home." And he's always curious to see what people do with holograms. He used to be one, after all.

"He's really special to North. So I'm sure I will." ...somehow that worked in her head. Right. Well, North's a nice guy, so obviously people he really likes must be pretty awesome too, right?

She listens very intently to that, then offers, "Stuff that's difficult to describe with words is normally the stuff best described through art. Voice for the voiceless." She smiles softly. "I get the impression you have a lot of people that care about you, so I hope that helps. But it must be kind of lonely sometimes, huh."

Not having common experiences with other people is an intensely lonely place to be.

"Oh, I bet Halam would love to meet you. She's getting up there in years, but if you tell her she's getting to talk to a real AI, I think she'd be really happy." She grins, thinking. "And if you like sort of cross media stuff... hum. I wish I had my data reader. I've got some really nice high-res scans of Edgar Clay's Through the Looking Glass series, and I wonder if you would like those too. He worked primarily in oils, but he tried to bring living light into his work by coupling it with subtle holographics. His focus is really the transient nature of perception and reality though, as opposed to Halam's sort of... study on the permeable border between biological and electronic life. It's... not a thing everyone likes."

Makes them uncomfortable. To her, it feels like home.

Delta raises his eyebrows at that. "Do you mind if I ask the nature of your relationship with North? Until he approached me with his request, I was unaware he had made friends with any natives." Not that North exactly confides in him or anything.

"That may be so. Unfortunately, I am not very creative; my holograms tend to reflect reality or reality as perceived through a certain filter. My brother Sigma would undoubtedly have better luck, though he is not currently present." He can enjoy art, as long as he has some basis for understanding it, but tends to be more confused the more toward abstract it goes without any sort of logical explanation. Art created along mathematical lines is of course his absolute favorite.

"I would be very glad to meet Halam, if you could arrange for an introduction and she would not mind speaking to an Immune. Our popularity seems somewhat subjective at times." Which is to say, yes of course he's trying his damndest to be seen as popular or at least not a dissenter by the populace, but Bifrons likes to shit all over their parade sometimes.

He does take a moment to bring up the default home display on the digital canvas and taps the tiny "about" feature so she can see it. "I have placed my contact information here. Originally it was with the intention of contact should you require any assistance with the program, but if you would like to share artistic works with me I would be more than happy to receive them at the same address."

"What? No, of course not. We're friends." Friends that spend a lot of time holding hands, apparently, but hey, for all she knows that's pretty normal. She hasn't had that many friends before now... that she can remember. "And actually, once I'm discharged and back on active duty, we'll be working together. I'm really looking forward to that. Huh, I wonder why he didn't say."

...does that mean maybe she shouldn't have said? No, that doesn't make any sense. Delta's super nice.

"Mmm. I guess... it really depends on how you define creativity. Art is about perception, right? So even if you made things that were extremely realistic, they still reflect your viewpoint and your experiences... you imbue them with that by the act of creation. So if you ever did make some pictures or holograms, I'd really like to see them, because they're part of how you experience life, right? Which is important and interesting, because you're an interesting person."

She's still got Halam's contact information in her files, right? "Once I can get to my things, I'll definitely do that. I'll hopefully be out of traction in a week and then I can get back on base."

Wrath smiles brightly. "Really? Oh, thank you! Wow. I'll try not to disappoint you."

"Ah, I understand. Thank you." Delta's...not really sure he approves of North suddenly wanting to work for the militia, but then again, perhaps he only missed being in an active combat role. It does explain how he met someone who's now seriously injured, though. Things happen.

Any disapproval Delta has stems from a distrust of authority in general. So far the city's government hasn't done anything at all to help that distrust.

"Hmm. In that case I shall bring you a copy of some of my work." She'd probably like to see his holographic flower arrangement for Carolina or his little projection of his previous appearance for York. Not the trophies for Team Green, though. Those are private. "I keep copies of each piece at home on a hard drive so they are easily accessible."

He smiles at her. "Thank you. It would be greatly appreciated."

"That's not weird, right?" Just... wanting to check. Not too good at the friends thing.

"I would really like to see them," she says. And she means it. The fact that it means she'll have another visitor is just gravy, really. She loves art, nearly as much as she likes fighting. Well, maybe if her life had gone differently, but she's a soldier and she's good at her job. "That's a good idea. Helps keep them safe, right? Most of my stuff is oils or acrylics so... I think it's in a storage unit, maybe."

Or just gone.

"But this will be something really different to try," she says, meaning the digital painting. "A whole new medium."

"It is not. It is merely that he usually does not make requests of me so I was curious." After all, there's little he can do that Theta can't - but he is more skilled at programming.

He makes a quick note on his glasses so he'll remember to pick up a small holoprojector and the codes for each. "Indeed. As holographic art can easily be stored in data form, it is far easier to create backups than with traditional media. The same will apply for digital art created with this framework. You will be able to create local backups in the event of network failure or data corruption." Ha. Data corruption. Also known to Delta as memory alterations.

"I hope you will find it easy to use. I have included a tutorial program if you would like to begin with that."

"Okay, good. Oh... then I really appreciate you doing this. I hope he didn't trouble you." Since she also is aware that apparently things aren't on the best terms between them. She's curious but she also has no idea how to bring it up without making things worse.

"So I'll be able to save my stuff too? Huh. That sounds like a good idea." She smiles crookedly. "I... don't know what some of what you said means, though, I'm sorry." This is kind of embarrassing. "I've never used computers outside the context of combat systems. Well, and my reader, but that's just for books. I'm... really bad at that."

"Sure, that would probably be a good idea. I don't want to accidentally mess something up."

"Not at all," he says firmly. "It has been thankfully quiet lately so I have had some downtime." Rather a lot of which downtime was spent right across the hall, actually.

Delta tilts his head to one side curiously. "There are three ways to save your work from this frame. First, you can save to the framework itself - there is sufficient memory to hold several thousand works. Second, you can connect it to your glasses using the app described in the tutorial, which allows you to send individual works to people in your contact list. Third, there is a port on the bottom for transferring stored data to any of several types of storage. For example, should you fill the memory, you can copy all paintings to a home computer, erase the stored data on the frame, and begin anew." He hopes that much is clear from his explanation, but if not, she can always get North to help since he does know quite a lot about computers. Not as much as Delta, since he didn't use to be one, but nobody's perfect.

He points to the power button, which she can access either with her one free hand or with the stylus held in her mouth. "Once you turn it on, the tutorial will begin automatically. Simple choose to continue rather than skip it."

"And... quiet's good. So... I'm glad." Quiet sounds boring. Quiet sounds like her current life.

Again, she listens intently. "...I should probably get a home computer, huh." She's starting to wonder what else she's really missing out on. "But I understand at least the first two, and that should be good." But she stays quiet, considering. "If I store the data using my glasses, could people... find it? And... erase it? Or do something to it?"

She's not quite sure where she's going with this, but it's one of those formless doubts in the back of her mind, something that bothers her greatly. She knows there's a reason she's got paintings in a storage unit somewhere, and it's not lack of room.

"All right. That seems simple enough."

"A quiet period gives us time to pursue our own interests and prepare for future activity," he agrees. He's had little enough of it in his own life, except when laying low - and that's not quite the same, since there's always a level of stress involved. Then again, in a sense he has been doing exactly that since arriving here, keeping his most important activities under the radar. The less Bifrons knows about the extent of his abilities, the less impetus they have for forcibly changing them.

Which brings up an important point. Delta nods. "That is why it is a good idea to store ot both locally on the frame and as a backup on an external drive," he says. "Data uploaded to the network, even over an encrypted feed, may be available to others. That is why you would need to use the glasses to upload or transmit a piece; the frame itself is not directly connected to the network to prevent being manipulated remotely."

And Delta always acts in public as if his actions are being recorded, so he doesn't go into any more detail, such as who would be modifying that data or from where.

She's silent for a long time, considering this, trying to shake things loose in her mind. It's all random details, very disorganized, but she's not stupid. She can put things together.

"I'm glad you made it that way," she finally says, measuring out her words. "Because I know... I know someone steals my paintings. There was a red one. A sunset. I know I painted it. It was... Important." Though hell if she can remember why, now. "Whenever I'm in the hospital, they take all my stuff. And I never remember at first, when I get sent home, but I can remember now, kind of. I'm tired of... I'm tired of my shit just getting taken, you know? It's like they think I'll never realize it's gone. And maybe I shouldn't, I don't know. But it's like... It's like having a fucking stone in your boot, just rubbing the sharp edge into your ankle every time you take a step."

She frowns. "If they come for me, is there any way to make it so they can't take this? Or... shit I guess I shouldn't ask you and I shouldn't even be... fuck this is so confusing."

Delta watches and listens carefully, putting the somewhat disjointed speech together and nodding at appropriate points. It's disturbing to think of - even in the UNSC military, private property was respected, almost to a superstitious extent. And as a former AI, he hates with a passion the very idea of someone toying with his memory, erasing selective parts of it at their leisure. Rewriting it with patently false, honey-flavored offerings.

"I do not know that there is a way to prevent someone from taking what is yours if you are under their power," he says slowly, aware that he's being watched and recorded even now. "But I do know two things. First, that their methods are not perfect. You would not be able to remember the sunset painting at all if they were. You must continue to think, to exercise your mind, and rebuild bridges that were burned. An imperfect recollection is a recollection nonetheless. And secondly, all data leaves a trace. When data is moved, there is a trail. When data is changed, there is a trail. In some cases, the absence of data itself is the strongest trail of all. What is recorded cannot be lost permanently, not if one is truly determined to regain it."

Which is somewhat abstract and may not make sense to her, not entirely, but if the seed is not planted it will never grow.

Wrath is silent for a long moment, considering this. There are things she doesn't understand, but maybe that will come. Delta's obviously trying to be helpful.

"When I try to talk about these things, people think I'm crazy," she says quietly. "Whiskey used to, I think. I'm guessing. But it's in my chart as repeated head trauma. I think he believes me now, even if I don't know why. And North just believed me even though I know I sound crazier because I might as well be a fucking drug store right now." And Delta believes her too, maybe. She's so lucky to have not one but three people who don't think she's insane around.

All data leaves a trace. That's certainly something. And it is very abstract, but she can latch onto the idea that nothing is gone forever. She licks her lips. "Does that mean maybe if I had a different name once, it might still exist somewhere?"

Edited (swyyyyyype whyyyyyyy) 2014-11-10 20:39 (UTC)

Delta smiles, though there's a trace of bitterness in it. "Those who have a different thought or belief system than the majority are often dismissed, especially in a society such as this with no outside influence. Because we Immune come from a broad variety of backgrounds and cultures, we may question what natives take for granted. If it is not ridiculous to you for me to have been an intelligence program from the year 2554, why should it seem strange to me that your memories are unreliable?" Or that magic is real in one reality, or that peaceful contact with alien races had shaped another, or even that there were apparently other organizations that pulled in diverse individuals in the same manner as Project Immunis?

"In other words, yes, I would lay strong odds that if such a name existed once, it could be found again." After all, a very long time ago, he had once been called Alpha....

"I try to see people for who they really are." She offers him a little, somewhat shaky smile. These things are never easy to talk about, and she's always been a very emotional person to begin with. "I think you do too."

Even when it's unpleasant or scary, she bets. Since those are the most important times.

She breathes out a little sigh. "Okay. I mean... I don't know if it does. But North seemed to think so. He was... upset." Normally, it just didn't occur to her to be bothered. Wrath was her name, and has always been. That particular doubt wasn't hers.

"Thank you for listening."

Delta shrugs, though the smile seems to lose its bitterness at least in part. "It is dangerous to take everything at face value. One need not be a warrior to understand that."

He nods and reaches over to give her free hand a light pat. "You are welcome. I wish you a swift recovery."

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