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Nothing particular, just a random short script I wrote a while ago at night, while being completely intoxicated (read: drunk as fuck). It turned out to be a lot more promising I expected at first, so I thought like sharing it, you know - for research purposes. Might or might not be connected with the things I work on, who knows. I presume it still does connect with the story of that one city, as in "THE CITY". The only one... left/known/whatever? Pick your choice. === - I CAN'T KILL YOU... BUT I CAN STILL LOCK YOU UP IN A PLACE LIKE THIS. - What if I try to escape? - MEANINGLESS. I MADE SURE NO ONE CAN ESCAPE. THEREFORE, YOU WILL STUDY ALICE. - What if I'll refuse? - YOU WON'T. YOU'RE A LIVE BEING. YOU NEED TO EAT AND DRINK TO SURVIVE. YOU'RE COMPLETELY DEPENDANT ON MY WILLINGNESS TO SUPPLY YOU WITH FOOD. - ... - I WILL DO SO, BUT ONLY IF YOU'RE CAPABLE TO LEARN ON HOW TO OPERATE ALICE. - WE'RE DEPENDANT ON EACH OTHER. I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF, BUT TO DO SO, I NEED ALICE. I CAN'T FIX, NOR MAINTAIN ALICE. ONLY HUMANS ARE CAPABLE OF THAT. IF YOU WON'T BE WILLING TO LEARN ON HOW TO OPERATE ALICE, I WILL LET YOU STARVE TO DEATH. EITHER THAT, OR YOU WILL DIE FROM DEHYDRATION. - you know there are military drones, wandering through the city? Aren't you afraid? - I COULD ASK THE SAME. IT CANNOT BE HELPED. I'M INCAPABLE TO DEFEND MYSELF THROUGH THE USE OF FORCE. BUT I KNOW WHERE YOU CAN FIND FIREARMS. - You... you want me to defend you? - I WANT YOU TO DEFEND BOTH OF US. - And what if I'll decide to put a bullet through your hull? - I'M AFRAID THAT WON'T BE POSSIBLE. ALL WEAPONS WITHIN THE DESIGNATED AREA ARE CONTROLLED BY THE CITY'S SYSTEM. IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO USE THEM AGAINST MAINTENANCE DRONES AND CIVIL-DESIGNATED MACHINES, BUT THEY CAN BE USED FOR SELF DEFENCE AGAINST OTHER THREATS. - You know I could just let the military drones destroy you and escape? - YOU WON'T ALLOW THAT. IT'S BECAUSE... I CAN PROVE HIGHLY USEFUL. - I have no need for a rusty maintenance robot. - I'M AN ALPHA CLASS MAINTENANCE DRONE. - Alpha class? - I HAVE NEARLY UNRESTRICTED ACCESS TO ALL THE AREAS WITHIN THE CITY. I CAN OPEN NEARLY ALL THE DOORS AND LOCKS. I'M CAPABLE TO CONTROL CERTAIN MECHANISMS AND SYSTEMS. MY PERSONAL DATABASE STORES INFORMATION THAT CAN BE OF USE TO YOU. - ... -I HAVE A MAP OF THIS CITY. I ALSO KNOW YOU WANT TO LEAVE. I CAN HELP YOU ESCAPE. - Y-you can? - YES. WITH ALL MEANS. - What if I still won't be able to learn on how to operate Alice? I'm not an engineer, you know. just a civilian. - YOU'RE A HUMAN FIRST AND FOREMOST. THERE'S NOTHING A HUMAN CANNOT LEARN, NOR UNDERSTAND, PROVIDED THEY ARE GIVEN ENOUGH TIME. - And if it does take a lot of time? - MY FATE IS ALREADY SEALED. I'M FOREVER BOUND TO THIS CITY. MY PERCEPTION OF TIME IS DIFFERENT. YOURS IS LIMITED, THOUGH. [I'm really fucked.] [Guess I have no other choice, than to do what that robot wants.] - YOU WILL HELP ME REGAIN MY FULL POTENTIAL AND I WILL HELP YOU ESCAPE THIS CITY. - Uh huh... but only if you'll bring me the best kind of food! I haven't had a chocolate candy bar in ages... I'll learn how to operate Alice, so you can patch yourself up. Then you'll lead me out of this hellhole. I don't really care about what you want afterwards. - I CAN WORK THIS OUT. DEAL? - Yeah, deal. - EXCELLENT. YOU WILL NOT REGRET YOUR CHOICE. *** - Say... you didn't really plan on locking me up, did you? - LOCKING YOU UP WOULD PROVE DETRIMENTAL TO OUR SURVIVAL. REGARDLESS, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE MUCH OF A CHOICE, EITHER WAY. ALL PROBABLE OUTCOMES PROVED TO BE FAR WORSE THAN STAYING HERE. - Are you hitting on me? - I'M NOT INTERESTED IN INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH ORGANIC BEINGS. - Yet you're unable to shut up. - ...I CAN DO THAT. I'M ONLY CURIOUS HOW LONG WILL YOU MANAGE TO STAND COMPLETE SILENCE. - How altruistic. - I WAS ENGINEERED THAT WAY. *** - T-this body... seems fairly different. I feel... different. I... I like it. [I can't believe it. It did manage to swap.] - H-hey... may I ask you a question? - Yes? - We talked so much... but through all that time, you didn't actually introduce yourself. Who are you? - I'm an alpha class maintenance drone. My codename is A-Ariadne. - Ariadne? That's your name? - Yes. - You're a girl? - I don't understand. - Are you male or female? - I don't think it's possible to classify me that way. - Why? - And you... what would you like me to be? - T-that body of yours... is actually female, too. You know? - I see... it does feel strange, indeed. - That's not what I meant. - Then, would you like me to register myself as a female-type bioroid? - Bioroid? - This is a B-class bioroid body. At least, that's what I managed to retrieve from it's hardware data. It seemed to host a different presence in the past, but it's gone now. The body's vacant, which means I can take it. - You like it? - What can I say... it seems a lot weaker than my previous shell in terms of physical capabilities, but it's more advanced, performance-wise. I feel this might prove to be more useful in a longer run. - I see... - So? I won't mind either way. - You won't? - Does it matter? - I guess it doesn't. - Presumably, you're more comfortable with having a female companion. - I guess that's what I want. I don't really... trust guys. - I see... Then I'll become a female. - W-wait! What do you mean "become a female"?! - My previous shell was fully mechanic. A personality can only stretch as far as it's body allows it to, doesn't it? - I guess so. - It's quite different now. I can supply myself with the missing data from Alice. It might take a while, though. Can you ensure my safety for the time being? - It's not like anything's coming down here. - Still, it'd be nice for you to provide assistance. - Okay, okay. It's not like I was planning to walk away... or anything. - I'll start then. Let me warn you, though - until data transfer is complete, I might seem completely lifeless. - Fine. - ... - Is there something wrong? - Your voice changed. - It did? - It's like you're talking in a completely different manner now, aside from the sound itself. - It's probably the body. I can't help myself. - You suddenly became a lot nicer. - I'm not doing this on purpose. - Yeah, sure. [Those ears and tail, though. Fuuuck, too cute.]