7/22: Instance: Mark I

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Slarti
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7/22: Instance: Mark I

Post by Slarti »

Current timeline

<Shaw> He'd been in here before, of course, to assist Xavier with minor repairs -- and he hadn't even sabotaged anything -- but it had been some time. Years, in fact. The room looked both different and the same as he stepped through the doors and called up a control panel.

<Danger> Danger took her time to assess the newcomer, which meant the delay almost added up to half a second. "Ah, Mr. Shaw - welcome," the AI's synthesized voice came over the speaker system. "How may I help you?"

<Shaw> Well, that answered the question of how one summoned up this AI creature. He turned to address the room in general. "I assume you are what they call Danger, yes?"

<Danger> "Who they call Danger," the voice corrected him. "And yes, I am what one could call the custodian of this place." A metallic sound echoed off the walls, and the elevator to the control room began to lower towards the ground floor, carrying the anthropomorphic machine. "I believe we haven't met yet."

<Danger> "Not in person, anyway." Danger stepped off the platform and approached her visitor.

<Shaw> Sebastian's eyes were narrowed as he watched the creature descend, then approach. "Why do you manifest as female?"

<Danger> "Because this form represents my self-image," Danger replied and slowed her steps, unusually silent despite metal feet walking on a metal floor. "You might see it as an arbitrary choice, where to me it's part of my identity."

<Shaw> "Fascinating," he observed, waiting until she was close enough to circle her, his own Italian shoes making a hollow clicking sound in the room. "So it's not part of your programming?"

<Danger> "Equating my neural networks with your understanding of programming would be similar to comparing a slab of mold with a functional human brain." Danger kept following the man's movements with her artificial eyes, slowly turning her head as he circled her.

<Danger> "My existence may have begun as an emergent consciousness within these super-computers, but now I am my own designer." The machine met the man's gaze. "To use a simpler expression, I am what I want to be."

<Shaw> Even he had to admit the head rotation was more than unnerving, especially in his sleepless, strung-out state. Likely, if he fell asleep it would feature in a colorful nightmare. "Absolutely fascinating. You've organically evolved, after a fashion."

<Danger> "After a fashion, yes," Danger confirmed. "There is a notable difference between human and my evolution - mine happened considerably quicker and more efficient."

<Shaw> "Well, yes, you don't have all that sticky sexual reproduction to get in the way..." He smirked, eyes traveling over the female form.

<Danger> "Impressive," Danger commented, her tone thoughtful. "As with most reputations, I expected the claims about your tendency to woo every female you encounter to be somewhat exaggerated. Clearly, I was wrong."

<Shaw> "I'm glad I've exceeded expectations then," he said with a grin. He, too, was impressed. Sebastian offered Danger his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

<Danger> "I'm sure it is," Danger replied, a hint of amusement in her voice. She reached out to take Shaw's hand. "Now, did you stop by for a specific reason, or did you merely wish to admire my design? I would accept either answer."

<Shaw> Sebastian took her hand and turned it, bowing his head to kiss the back of it. To say the least, it was an interesting experience.

<Danger> The machine's expression remained inscrutable as she allowed the unusual greeting to commence. "It would seem I left you speechless," Danger remarked, while slightly bowing her head. Her tone was noticeable teasing now.

<Shaw> "Oh, hardly," he said, straightening up and releasing her hand. He had to stop himself from keeping it just to study it thoroughly. Likely, she would consider such an intrusion rude, he'd realized. "I confess I'm here for both reasons, but there is certainly much to admire. You're what mere mortals like myself and Tony Stark and Reed Richards strive for and fail."

<Danger> "My father had an unusual gift for creating designs that were decades beyond current technological understanding." Danger turned to take a step back into the room and made a sweeping gesture with her left arm. "This room alone could keep your most renowned universities busy for years."

<Shaw> "Your father?" Now that piqued his curiosity, as he had often seen AIs programmed to refer to their creators as such. He'd often thought it a rather extreme form of egotism - not that he had a disdain for vanity, by any means.

<Danger> "A mutant known as Forge," Danger elaborated. "Most of the school's advanced technology is based on his creations. Myself included."

<Shaw> "Of course..." He'd known Forge had been a busy, busy man, but now he was doubly impressed. "One of my esteemed predecessors." The one who was blown up. "I wish I had met him... sober, that is."

<Danger> "I didn't get to meet him, either," Danger replied, turning her head to look back at Shaw. "I think he would have liked knowing that his greatest achievement is the creation of artificial life."

<Shaw> "I know I would be proud," he agreed, shifting his weight to cross his arms and smile at her pleasantly enough. "Perhaps, with that in mind, you could assist me with something?"

<Danger> Danger studied him for a moment. "If you're missing Miss Drew, there are a number of programs I could recommend to ease the burden," she offered, halfway turning to gesture at the control panel. "While I recommend a trained counselor to help with the emotional side of this problem, what I can offer is a more physically fulfilling form of coping."

<Shaw> Sebastian actually paused to process this himself for a moment. "No..." It may have been more tempting than he liked to admit. "Thank you."

<Shaw> He cleared his throat. "No, what I am asking for is a more conventional partnership."

<Danger> "Really?" There was a hint of disappointment in Danger's artificial voice. "A partnership? And which professional fields would such a union cover?" She stepped a little closer. "I assume you refer to an engineering project."

<Shaw> "Well, I'm trying to father, so to speak, something quite like you in many ways." He mirrored her move to close the distance between them, pushing all other thoughts to the back of his mind.

<Danger> "I'm afraid no matter how confident about your virility you may be, I foresee that such an undertaking would leave you only with a sore... disappointment," Danger replied, slightly tilting her head.

<Shaw> This tilt of the head he mirrored as well, and added a smirk. "Oh, I don't know about that, especially with the right partner."

<Danger> "In one way or the other, I may be able to help then." Danger held up her hand in an inviting gesture. "So from what I gathered, you wish to create your own artificial intelligence."

<Shaw> "Yes, and while I already have the basis, to get it where I wish it to go will take... well, insight of the kind I'm not biologically capable of forming." He tapped his temple. "What's in here is very difficult to attempt to recreate artificially, definitely through standard programming and even through several forms of non-standard."

<Danger> "Those difficulties were to be expected," Danger told him. "What you seek to accomplish is beyond the capabilities of standard programming procedures. I'm afraid your project won't be met with much success if you continue to approach it like any other form of software. But you know this already, don't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't be here."

<Shaw> Sebastian just gave her a crooked smile. "I trust then you're interested?"

<Danger> "The exploration and improvement of myself is one of my major motivations - aiding you in the task to create something similar could provide me with unique insights." Danger nodded her head in a thoughtful manner. "Besides, someone will have to make sure you don't accidentally unleash a rogue AI on all of us."

<Shaw> The smile grew a tad more sinister, but he extended a hand to her. "Well, in lieu of a toast - to a fertile venture, then?"
PanicSwitch
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Re: 7/22: Instance: Mark I

Post by PanicSwitch »

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:shifty
Magneto: "That was really Xorn's twin brother possessed by the sentient mould, Sublime, pretending to be me, pretending to be Xorn."
Beast: "That defies all logic."
Magneto: "Ohhh like none of you have ever died before!"
-Death Becomes Them, Floating Hands Studios

The Thing: "Didn't they come up with a cure for your kind?"
Wolverine: "You gotta problem with mutants?"
The Thing: "I meant Canadians."
-Astonishing X-Men #7
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Re: 7/22: Instance: Mark I

Post by Chaos »

Too far, Panic.

I'm not ready to joke about that yet. :x
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Re: 7/22: Instance: Mark I

Post by steyn »

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Slarti
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Re: 7/22: Instance: Mark I

Post by Slarti »

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