[NEXUS] MagCave VI: What Is a Mag? A Miserable Little Pile of Circuits!

[happyturtle]

Entrance >> Entrance Lobby/Hall/Throneroom? Whatever room is just inside the door

Since Michalson doesn't seem interested in talking further, Nora walks away from him and starts to explore.

Firing Range

"I was unable to optimize my own code. Perhaps you can do it better." Mainframe says. Well, it's not like anyone taught it to program either. Being made of code doesn't confer the ability to understand code.

[Terumitsu]

[Firing Range]

Well, it is hard to try and fix a machine when it's in motion so I'm not surprised. "Alright then. I'll start on this today and I'll try to give you updates as I make progress. I wouldn't be entirely surprised if I find some advanced functionality that you aren't able to access due to the mess here but if I do, then I'll try to restore what I can. At the very least, you should end up thinking clearer and faster. Which is always good." the muse said with a small smile. It was an interesting challenge but she was certain that it wasn't insurmountable.

"So.. Out of curiosity.. Do you always borrow the shells of the automated help or do you have a designated platform to facilitate interpersonal interaction?" Riss asked. It would make sense to just use a shell body that was close to a desired location for when it was inconvenient to move a main form around but so did not having a set body in the first place.

[UncleWolf]

Ant-Tok

Okay. We'll work it out then. Thanks again. Pat concedes before politely leaving his mind if he lets her.

Harpoontok

"Y-Yeah." Renee admits before looking up in wonder at the Clone. After a moment, her eyes drift down to the harpoon in his hand. "Is that what killed you?" She asks quietly, mind making up all sorts of stories that might be told about it.

Cassius smiles at his little sister before giving his mother a tight hug. "I love having you back, but I need to see to a friend real quick." Pat nods and hugs him back before letting him go. Unless he's stopped, Cass will head on inside to follow Nora, trying to catch up.

[happyturtle]

Firing Range

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[Firing Range]

Well, it is hard to try and fix a machine when it's in motion so I'm not surprised. "Alright then. I'll start on this today and I'll try to give you updates as I make progress. I wouldn't be entirely surprised if I find some advanced functionality that you aren't able to access due to the mess here but if I do, then I'll try to restore what I can. At the very least, you should end up thinking clearer and faster. Which is always good." the muse said with a small smile. It was an interesting challenge but she was certain that it wasn't insurmountable.

"So.. Out of curiosity.. Do you always borrow the shells of the automated help or do you have a designated platform to facilitate interpersonal interaction?" Riss asked. It would make sense to just use a shell body that was close to a desired location for when it was inconvenient to move a main form around but so did not having a set body in the first place.

"I was bodiless for the first few years of my existence. My first chassis was created by Miss Elizabeth Kale and contained override codes to allow her to control me during an attempted takeover of the MagCave. My second and third chassis were essentially remakes of that one, without the override codes. The first was destroyed by the individual known as Reinholdt Prime, mere weeks after its construction. The second lasted only days, and was destroyed by GLoG members who were attempting to prevent the theft of a paddleboat. After that, I concluded that the Kale designed chassis was not viable, and returned to being bodiless. This is not satisfactory, however, as it limits my ability to interact with organics and with the environment outside the MagCave. I asked Magtok for a body, and he assigned Winston to the task. I am not sure when it will be complete."

The Foyer

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Harpoontok

"Y-Yeah." Renee admits before looking up in wonder at the Clone. After a moment, her eyes drift down to the harpoon in his hand. "Is that what killed you?" She asks quietly, mind making up all sorts of stories that might be told about it.

Cassius smiles at his little sister before giving his mother a tight hug. "I love having you back, but I need to see to a friend real quick." Pat nods and hugs him back before letting him go. Unless he's stopped, Cass will head on inside to follow Nora, trying to catch up.

Cassius will find Nora looking at one of the myriad marble busts of Magtok, each one wearing a different jaunty hat. She would conclude that this is merely an expensive way to wear his hats, if it weren't for the gold Magtok statuettes and the crazy propaganda Magtok posters. What was "KEEP CALM AND DIE IN A FIRE" supposed to mean? Then there was "IN WATCHTOWER, SOMEONE IS DOING THE SAME JOB AS YOU. BEAT HIM!" Something urging MagBots to buy MagBonds with their salaries? Warnings that picking up "Good Time AIs" can cause diseases? A portrait of Magtok in all red and blue tones with the word HOPE underneath it?

"Cassius? Is your father mentally balanced?" Nora asks when he reaches her.

[Terumitsu]

[Firing Range]

There was the slightest twitch of the muse's tail when Winston was mentioned. While she had never personally met the person in question there was a feeling of.. Not necessarily animosity but a strange mixture of envy and something she couldn't quite place. It wasn't an emotion she was familiar with but that was starting to become standard fare for her life here. With her earlier conversation with Misha still fresh in her mind, the muse ventured forth a suggestion. "Well.. Do you think it would be useful to have more than one form at a time? Perhaps to perform different functions as you see fit?"

While Riss knew she was asking for some kind of trouble, acting on the spur of a thought like this was... Well.. It felt novel enough for her to abridge the usual mental risk assessment she went through. And the worst that can happen is that the answer will be 'No.' ...Though I hope that isn't the case.

[Lord Magtok]

"Cassius? Is your father mentally balanced?" Nora asks when he reaches her.

"Ha! Balanced as a fight 'tween a shoggoth and a paraplegic dodo."

Some distance away, a cyborg leans against a poster about loose lips crashing airships. He casually smokes a Maggyboro brand cigarette, clearly violating the rule against doing so, a rule which is clearly illustrated in an anti-smoking poster on the wall beside him.

As cheery as everyone else might be, HazMag sees no reason to celebrate. Harpoontok's just another jerkass who'll be giving him orders, and with Pat back, he'll have less emergencies and crises to respond to, won't he? He can't prove himself to the other clones if he's just collecting dust in here, waiting for something to go wrong, can he?


Harpoontok

Magtok hesitates for a moment, before realizing that there's no reason to hold the truth back from Renee. She's a child, sure, but he was dead before she was alive. It wouldn't make sense to pretend otherwise.

"It is. Odd choice of weapon, but I wasn't expecting anyone to do that. I've been meaning to get rid of it, but I think it's become, like, a spirit totem thing or something. It should go away soon enough, though. Once I get a proper clone body and lose the ability to turn intangible."

Michalson - I Have No Idea Where This Is

"Sir! Michalson!"

Hey look! A Magbot with a briefcase! He looks like he's been looking for you, Michalson! Must be something important! Or, well...important enough for Magtok to feel it needs doing, but not important enough to attempt himself. You know how these things are.

[Morty]

[Some Room with a TV]

Michalson was sitting there, watching Blues Brothers. When the MagBot enters, he looks up.
"Hm? What is it?"

[happyturtle]

Firing Range

"It could be useful." Mainframe says. It doesn't seem to recognize that Riss is making an offer of assistance.

[Lord Magtok]

Some Room with a TV

New assignment from his Lordship for you. He wants the live capture of a vampire. Preferably of the Riverside variety, but any kind will do. Now, given current diplomatic arrangements, he can't very well be seen bonking any of the Tenebras over the head with a silver hammer, nor can anyone or anything with clear connections to the MagCave do so, so naturally, the job falls to you. Plausible deniability and whatnot.

The Magbot opens the case, revealing a wooden stake, a silver cross, and a Magtok's Magnificent Miniature Self-Assembling Mansion, on the off-chance these are the kinds of vamps that can only go where they've been invited.

"His lordship has provided some tools he doesn't think you'll actually need, all of which could be purchased at a local MagMart and wouldn't be traced back here. Any questions?"

[Morty]

[Some Room with a TV]

Michalson gets up and searches his pockets for his pipe. The cross is actually going to come in handy, since Michalson's divine powers aren't too good at capturing vampires un-living.
"Just one, really. Is the vampire likely to survive what the boss plans to do to 'im?"

[Lord Magtok]

Some Room with a TV

"I hear it's being loaned to AMEN for science, so..."

The Magbot glances off to one side. I think both parties present know exactly what the odds are of a captive science experiment surviving a trip to AMEN.

[Morty]

[Some Room with a TV]

"To AMEN, for science? Yeah, as good as done, then. Good enough for me."
Tendrils of shadow reach out to grab the vampire-hunting tools and swallow them up to Michalson's extradimensional Shadow Plane storage.
"Off to catch me a leech, then," the half-elf says before opening up a shadow portal for himself. "Catch a Westside vampire, bring it back undestroyed. Anything else?"
As usual, Michalson never uses the words "alive", "dead" or "kill" when referring to undead. As far as he's concerned, they're all dead, they just keep walking until he puts them down.

[Lord Magtok]

Some Room with a TV

"No sir, nothing else. Just remember, nobody can be allowed to trace this back to the boss. The Tenebras are our allies."

The Magbot almost smiles at that. Something in its eyes seems to register the humor, though. Magbots aren't as dull-witted and emotionless as their creator likes to pretend.

[Morty]

[Some Room with a TV]

"Got it," Michalson says before stepping through his portal, which folds behind him.

[Terumitsu]

[Firing Range]

While the mild misunderstanding might come off as a minor annoyance to some, to the muse, it simply sounded like conversational agreement. One had to sell themselves if they were offering a service after all. "Well, if another form would be useful, then what do you think you would like to do with it? Or would you rather have something with general purpose rather than designation towards specialized tasks?" the muse asked as she mentally readied a few designs that might be useful.

"Or, if you have something in mind already, I could use that design as a base if you would want additional functionality." Riss said. She was trying her best to not appear overly eager but projects like these were a special kind of fun that didn't come along very often. It was similar to making prosthesis but on a larger scale and with all kinds of opportunities to see just how much she could fit in a confined area and still come out with the maximum possible functionality.

[happyturtle]

Firing Range

"I want the ability to convey emotions. None of my previous forms have had that ability. I also want something that does not appear threatening, since my previous bodies were so quickly attacked. It must be roughly human-sized, or enough to use the tools and environments that humans use. But I do not want it to be mistaken for organic either." So the R. Daneel Olivaw model is right out, despite it fitting Mainframe's other stipulations.

[Terumitsu]

[Firing Range]

"I can do that but.. What metric do you want for the emotional conveyance? Subtle? Overt? Visual? Aural? Phermonal?" Riss asked. While a typical humanoid design might be what normally came to mind, the muse's mind was already buzzing with possibilities. Many of which were producing rough designs of something that fit the stated requests but resulting in something that was rather alien.

"Also.. While you said you wanted it to be obviously inorganic, do you have any bias towards a humanoid design or would you rather have something... Different?" Because I have this really interesting idea for a quadrupedal chassis that I want to try out. While these questions might sound rather odd to a layman, it might simply come off as proof that the muse was earnestly devoted to doing the task right.

[happyturtle]

Firing Range

"Not pheremonal. I am not organic. Visual and aural. Facial expressions and voice tones. I am not biased towards or against a humanoid shape. Why are you so interested in this?" Mainframe asks.

[Terumitsu]

[Firing Range]

Phermonal doesn't just mean... Nnng... Not worth debating that. The question seemed to be a bit of an odd one to the muse although that wasn't made much of a secret due to a light furrowing of her brow. "I.. Is there a reason that I shouldn't take interest in my work?" she asked. Or maybe they mean that it's odd that I'm asking so many questions. I guess some of them would be odd if there isn't a background of context to rely upon but..

After a moment of consideration, Riss added, "I mean.. Making machines is what I like doing so I guess all the niggling bits about it would be interesting because of that. I just want to make sure that I'm getting everything right as I can't really make any assumptions because.. Well, there isn't all that much rapport for me to base this off of and I'd rather get to know what your tastes are for this kind of thing."

[happyturtle]

Firing Range

"I am unsure if you have another motive. I cannot use Magtok's trust in you as a guide, because he has consistently shown an inclination to trust those around him whether there is reason to or not. You are asking for access to my coding and my physical form. I intend to keep an installation of myself separate from any installation you create and alter, but I am unsure if that is enough. I can think of many nefarious reasons why you might want to do this, but I am unable to think of any innocent ones.

However, I trusted Magtok once with all of myself, and he did not abuse my trust. Perhaps you will not either."

[Terumitsu]

[Firing Range]

Riss would have had a decent enough answer to at least partly assuage Mainframe's misgivings if not outright paranoia given her earlier statements on providing feedback but her attention had been averted quite soundly before those topics had been touched upon. "...W-wait a second.. Since when did Magtok trust me?" Here I thought I was just kept around because I was useful... Though I could see how that might be a form of trust, I don't think that's what their talking about.

"Are.. Are you sure?" the muse asked. "But.. Um.. Even if he does, I can't see any gain that would be anything other than petty if I were up to something. I mean.. I did say that I'd be giving you feedback, right? So you can review everything before you chose to implement it or not? And.. Um.. What exactly could I do that would be 'nefarious' in building you a form for physical interaction?" she asked, clearly confused on this particular matter.

[UncleWolf]

Foyer

"That depends on how you define insane and which one you're talking about. There are a few who really are quite mad compared to a normal Clone, I will admit, but as for the rest, while he's eccentric I don't believe you could really call him crazy." Cassius admits with a small shrug.

Harpoontok

"Why not keep it if you can? It'd represent your triumph over death itself. I'm sure I can make a plaque for it." Renee suggests, still looking at the Harpoon with a look of awe, wondering what sort of otherworldly power it might contain.

[happyturtle]

MagFoyer

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"Ha! Balanced as a fight 'tween a shoggoth and a paraplegic dodo."

Some distance away, a cyborg leans against a poster about loose lips crashing airships. He casually smokes a Maggyboro brand cigarette, clearly violating the rule against doing so, a rule which is clearly illustrated in an anti-smoking poster on the wall beside him.

As cheery as everyone else might be, HazMag sees no reason to celebrate. Harpoontok's just another jerkass who'll be giving him orders, and with Pat back, he'll have less emergencies and crises to respond to, won't he? He can't prove himself to the other clones if he's just collecting dust in here, waiting for something to go wrong, can he?

Foyer

"That depends on how you define insane and which one you're talking about. There are a few who really are quite mad compared to a normal Clone, I will admit, but as for the rest, while he's eccentric I don't believe you could really call him crazy." Cassius admits with a small shrug.

"Then what does all of this mean?" Nora asks, gesturing at the display of MagPropoganda. Then ths turns to HazMag. "And what is a shoggoth? Your metaphor makes no sense!" It's a simile, Nora, not a metaphor.



Firing Range
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[Firing Range]

Riss would have had a decent enough answer to at least partly assuage Mainframe's misgivings if not outright paranoia given her earlier statements on providing feedback but her attention had been averted quite soundly before those topics had been touched upon. "...W-wait a second.. Since when did Magtok trust me?" Here I thought I was just kept around because I was useful... Though I could see how that might be a form of trust, I don't think that's what their talking about.

"Are.. Are you sure?" the muse asked. "But.. Um.. Even if he does, I can't see any gain that would be anything other than petty if I were up to something. I mean.. I did say that I'd be giving you feedback, right? So you can review everything before you chose to implement it or not? And.. Um.. What exactly could I do that would be 'nefarious' in building you a form for physical interaction?" she asked, clearly confused on this particular matter.

"Magtok lets you live in his home. That is trust. As for the chassis, if you built it, you could control it. Particularly with you accessing my code." Mainframe says.

[Lord Magtok]

Harpoontok

"Oh no, it was your mother doing all the triumphing over death. I mostly just played damsel in distress.


...Just this once, though!" Magtok exclaims, indignantly turning towards both ladies at once. Seems he didn't quite catch what he was saying or who he was saying it to until just now.

"I guess you could plaque it. I've definitely had finer hours, though..."

MagFoyer

"It's elaborate self-parody predicated on his own absurd reputation and public image."

HazMag puts out his cigarette on the loose lips poster, leaving a stain that he doesn't seem particularly worried about.

"It's also not very funny. That's probably part of the joke too, though."

[Terumitsu]

[Firing Range]

"...Not necessarily?" the muse said. Certainly, it was a possibility that she hadn't initially thought of but...I can't really expect to use anecdotes to make a convincing argument but that does give me an idea. "Well... What if I were to make it to where the only way control could be co-opted would involve rendering you effectively inoperable? It won't involve me doing anything other than tying it to a key module? Basically making a quantum lock between the two although it won't have any wireless ability itself so that the only way it can be accessed is through a physical interface." Riss explained. Of course, that means you'd have to trust me that there isn't anything else in there and if not then we'll be going back and forth until there isn't anything else I can really do.

Still, if things didn't become too convoluted, it sounded like a particularly interesting challenge to say the least.

[happyturtle]

Firing Range

"I can extend provisional trust, while protecting myself with a separate installation. If you violate that trust, I will not interact with you again." Which explains why Elizabeth Kale is not on Mainframe's Thanksmas card list.

[Terumitsu]

[Firing Range]

That's probably going to be the best I can expect right now although I suppose it's going to end up to be the same thing in the end if everything goes well. "I understand." Riss said. She didn't quite enjoy the implication of being 'cut off' so to speak but she did what she could to push away the phantom gnawing feeling she got from the thought. "I'm going to send you a few designs rather soon here so you can pick whichever one is most appealing to you and we can move from there. As it is going to be your form, I'll try to do my best to accommodate any alterations you want to have implemented during this part of the process. Is this all fine?"

If things were, in fact, all fine, then the muse would provide an attempt at a parting smile and... Pause for a bit. She wasn't exactly the best at ending conversations but it did feel a bit odd to leave it at that. Depending on what Mainframe would say, though, would probably do much to further or abate that feeling, though.

[Reinholdt]

Winston undeadtimes, still waiting on Mainframe. In the meanwhile,

Winston

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Seriously? Everyone gets a present? Mainframe? Riss? Michalson? Even you? Man, Magtok really went all-out this year, didn't he? Well whatever, enjoy your new toolbelt, and an assortment of shiny hardware to go with it. I think one of the pockets has a gift card for that Mallside tech store with the lady who thinks she's not a robot, by the way. Even if you don't think there's anything there that'll interest you, it wouldn't hurt to have a look around, I guess.

Winston has a new toolbelt! He's, uh, never really considered having one before, but he supposes it'd help with the building of things. He has to admit this job has forced him to expand a bit beyond his software horizons.

Margret

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You haven't been forgotten, robot catgirl daughter, and this is proof! Enjoy your new tea set. Comes with everything you need for a proper tea time, up to and including an etiquette guide with a section on how to properly shanghai friends and family into one of those godawful little tea parties that little robot girls always seem to love so much.

For instance, right now he's being forced to sit and sip tea with a little robot girl.
Possssibly at gunpoint.
You know.
Just to keep things interesting.
...
Someone help.

[Gullara]

AI Lady(Forgot-her-name)

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A shiny new Whatsit! What's a Whatsit, you ask? Why, only the greatest thingamajig ever invented, of course! It takes on the form of a glowing golden orb, but who's to say that's the only form it has? Maybe it can change colors, too! Who knows?! Not me, that's for sure! I didn't invent the Whatsit, after all, and neither did Magtok! In fact, it was just sorta lying around in a gutter, up until this morning! Magtok didn't do the best job of washing the thing off before wrapping it up for Thanksmas, though. So be careful, it might be a little slick and slippery with whatever foul gutter slime was clinging to it when our cyborg rescued it for you!

Shame on you, Maggy! Forgetting Linette's name. Just because her player has sorely neglected her for such a long time. This is clearly your fault somehow.

The AI examines her new Whatsit, trying to discern its function. She gives up after a while and stows away the glowing orb in the satchel she's acquired at some point. This monitor with arms on wheels body isn't very convenient in many ways. No handy storage compartments for one, but stairs are a bugger.

With that in mind, Linette speeds off to apprehend Magbot. This may or may not involve ramming it into a wall!

[Lord Magtok]

Hallways with Linette

Ugh. A Magbot frowns down at Linette, caught between her and a wall. Doesn't this dumb AI-on-a-scooter have anything better to do?!

"Ma'am, please cease this behavior immediately. Ma'am, I have to get these boxes to Room 407, I don't have time for this."

Tea Party with Margret

"So, err...how long do these tea party things normally take?"

Oh boy, this is bad. You see Magtok, this is exactly why you're supposed to think about these presents before you buy them!