Unfortunately for Alan, Rinzler is very much aware of his user's presence on the asteroid. In large part, it was the reason for his own. And where his current worry might normally just end in lurking and stalking and programs dropping from his skylight... Rinzler isn't asking only for himself this time.]
Additional data: required.
[No really, user. You won't like the alternative.]
[That response gets a raised eyebrow from Alan. He’s seen Rinzler be insistent before, but the situation then had been more urgent than a simple status query. Does Rinzler have some additional reason to be concerned that Alan doesn’t know about?]
Current condition. Aftereffects of transport (Asteroid_276). Presence/absence of broadcasted symptoms.
[....with a nice, helpful reference ping, in case Alan-one decides to play dumb on that, too. If Rinzler has to spell this out he will spell it out. Subtlety can glitch itself.]
My current condition is normal. The night I returned to Thisavrou from the asteroid, I had a strange dream and then woke up sick. The feeling faded after an hour or so and I haven’t had any symptoms since.
[The response is as accurate as he can get it while avoiding any alarming details, like what exactly he’d seen in that dream. Even if it weren’t for his desire to prevent any undue stress on Rinzler’s part, that isn't something he wants to talk about. In fact, he wishes he could forget it altogether. The memory still feels all too real for a dream.]
[It's a reasonable enough summary. Momentary illness. Recovery. No lasting effect, no reason for concern. Even the reference to the dream (rage and fury, blood enough to choke in) could be dismissed. Accident. Coincidence. Certainly not relevant to the more serious concerns at hand.
[There’s a pause on Alan’s side as well as he takes in that single, ominous word. He can practically hear the unhappy rumble of Rinzler’s sound.]
Was affected. Nothing has happened since.
[Another pause as he remembers Yori’s own report. He doesn’t know if Rinzler visited the asteroid as well, but if he had… there’s already precedent for this phenomenon not being limited to organics.]
[Rinzler stares at that was. He doesn't contradict it. But Alan-one wrote him, and he's sure the user knows: 'affected' was already the nice word. If this proves as bad as the system admins seem to think?
[Not eating hadn’t stopped Yori from exhibiting similar symptoms. Still, Alan elects not to bring up that example; if Yori hadn’t told Rinzler, he assumes she had her own reasons not to.]
[Dreams. Rinzler stares at the line. The fragments had saved to file upon waking, as vivid and unsettling now as when he first woke up. Blood. Fury. Satisfaction. Drowning, in a frame he shouldn't have.
Dreams are memories. Sorting and recombining, defragmentation while conscious processing shut down. But even in Inugami, Rinzler has never experienced anything like that.]
Significant?
[Reluctant. Challenging. If his user says it is for him... of course that goes the other way.]
Yes. [And then, quickly:] I don't think there's anything still wrong with me, but the broadcast called for everyone who went through the Ingress during the last two cycles.
[Alan is surprised by the bluntness of the program’s words. He knows Rinzler isn’t the type to trust most people—but the way he’d so readily volunteered the information makes Alan wonder if there’s more to it than baseline wariness.]
You don’t trust them to check your code? [That would hardly be shocking—or objectionable at all, really.] Or you don’t trust them in general?
Well, if you have a bad feeling about them, I’d like to know why. Do you think they have any ill-intent with these decontamination centers? [He could chalk it up to Rinzler’s typical wariness, but given the stakes, he’d rather have more information than less. Blindly trusting a seemingly benevolent authority is what got him into this mess in the first place.
And then, a few seconds later:] Would you rather someone else check your code?
[He doesn't trust them. He doesn't trust them, and he doesn't know what they're after, and they use words like parasite and contamination as if that on its own might not be lethal. As if talking and cleaning would make any difference to a virus.
Either they're incompetent, or they're lying. Rinzler's inclined to assume both.
[Alan doesn’t know so much about the administration’s security, but he understands Rinzler’s reservations about their intentions. Even after months of living on Thisavrou, Alan still doesn’t know much about their government, or their contingencies in situations such as this. He’s putting a lot on faith believing that these “decontamination centers” are what they say they are. And yet, ignoring the mandate to report in isn’t exactly a “safe” option either.]
Not going has its own risks. [Someone could report on him, for one. And if what was done to them on the asteroid is contagious, Alan risks the well-being of those around him by not reporting for decontamination.
As preoccupying as those worries are, Rinzler’s next line of text throws up an entirely different kind of red flag. Rinzler already made it clear he wouldn’t report to the Thisavrou authorities and this is Alan’s first time hearing of the “error.” There’s only one other person he could be talking about.]
[Not going does. And Rinzler knows, and knows moreover that Alan-one understands user illness and its risks far better than he does. Still. He doesn't trust the admins.]
Do you know if he’s going to? [Alan remembers that Clu promised not to reset Rinzler. But it’s a struggle not to doubt his sincerity, and even if Clu does keep his promise, there are countless, subtler changes he could make without anyone to oversee his work.]
[If he's going to. Rinzler stares at the message for a long moment, wondering how (or if) he can make his user understand.
Rinzler is Clu's. It was possible (and miraculous enough) his admin would leave Rinzler his mind as promised. But expecting Clu never to view his code—for error-check or memory review, update or correction...]
[It’s at least better than Alan expected. Clu isn’t taking the first opportunity to peer into Rinzler’s code, even when there’s a suggestion of fault. It adds some credibility to Clu’s promise—though Alan’s stomach twists all the same imagining Clu “correcting” any perceived error if Rinzler does report in a second time.]
I hope there won’t be any reason for that. [It’s possible that these dreams were an inexplicable, one-off event. They wouldn’t be the first Alan has experienced since he arrived through the Ingress. Still, he’s well aware that such a hope is mostly wishful thinking. And he doubts Clu will hold off on examining Rinzler’s code forever...]
I know what Clu promised . And I want to believe he’s telling the truth. But I'd rather hear it from you: if you go to Clu for this, are you sure that the only thing he’ll “correct” is damage from the asteroid?
[If Rinzler is certain, Alan… won’t be certain himself, but knowing Rinzler has some confidence in Clu’s promise is at least some level of reassurance. And if Rinzler does have his own doubts about his admin's sincerity... Alan would rather hear it now, whatever conflict it may bring with it.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ninetydegrees
(no subject)
Unfortunately for Alan, Rinzler is very much aware of his user's presence on the asteroid. In large part, it was the reason for his own. And where his current worry might normally just end in lurking and stalking and programs dropping from his skylight... Rinzler isn't asking only for himself this time.]
Additional data: required.
[No really, user. You won't like the alternative.]
(no subject)
What do you want to know?
(no subject)
Aftereffects of transport (Asteroid_276).
Presence/absence of broadcasted symptoms.
[....with a nice, helpful reference ping, in case Alan-one decides to play dumb on that, too. If Rinzler has to spell this out he will spell it out. Subtlety can glitch itself.]
(no subject)
The night I returned to Thisavrou from the asteroid, I had a strange dream and then woke up sick. The feeling faded after an hour or so and I haven’t had any symptoms since.
[The response is as accurate as he can get it while avoiding any alarming details, like what exactly he’d seen in that dream. Even if it weren’t for his desire to prevent any undue stress on Rinzler’s part, that isn't something he wants to talk about. In fact, he wishes he could forget it altogether. The memory still feels all too real for a dream.]
Like I said, I’m fine.
(no subject)
Except, that is, for one simple fact.
Rinzler presented a near identical report to Clu already.
There is. A pause.]
Affected.
[Glitch everything.]
(no subject)
Was affected.
Nothing has happened since.
[Another pause as he remembers Yori’s own report. He doesn’t know if Rinzler visited the asteroid as well, but if he had… there’s already precedent for this phenomenon not being limited to organics.]
What about yourself? Were you “affected” as well?
(no subject)
The proper term would be infected.
Virus.]
Can't eat.
[That's not a no.]
(no subject)
No dreams either?
(no subject)
Dreams are memories. Sorting and recombining, defragmentation while conscious processing shut down. But even in Inugami, Rinzler has never experienced anything like that.]
Significant?
[Reluctant. Challenging. If his user says it is for him... of course that goes the other way.]
(no subject)
You don’t have to give me a full report of what they were about.
(no subject)
Yes.
(no subject)
If you’re affected, it might be safer to assume that the same is true of everyone who set foot on the asteroid.
(no subject)
Reporting to system quarantine?
(no subject)
What about you?
1/2
Not my admins.
(no subject)
I don't trust them.
(no subject)
You don’t trust them to check your code? [That would hardly be shocking—or objectionable at all, really.] Or you don’t trust them in general?
(no subject)
[He doesn't trust them with his code. He definitely doesn't trust them with his user.]
(no subject)
And then, a few seconds later:] Would you rather someone else check your code?
(no subject)
Security: poor.
[He doesn't trust them. He doesn't trust them, and he doesn't know what they're after, and they use words like parasite and contamination as if that on its own might not be lethal. As if talking and cleaning would make any difference to a virus.
Either they're incompetent, or they're lying. Rinzler's inclined to assume both.
As for someone else...]
Reported error.
[Guess who to?]
(no subject)
Not going has its own risks. [Someone could report on him, for one. And if what was done to them on the asteroid is contagious, Alan risks the well-being of those around him by not reporting for decontamination.
As preoccupying as those worries are, Rinzler’s next line of text throws up an entirely different kind of red flag. Rinzler already made it clear he wouldn’t report to the Thisavrou authorities and this is Alan’s first time hearing of the “error.” There’s only one other person he could be talking about.]
Has he already checked your code?
(no subject)
Contact if assistance required.
[And as for Clu...]
No.
[Not in reference to the current threat.]
(no subject)
(no subject)
Rinzler is Clu's. It was possible (and miraculous enough) his admin would leave Rinzler his mind as promised. But expecting Clu never to view his code—for error-check or memory review, update or correction...]
Orders: report on recurrence or deviation.
[If anything changes.]
(no subject)
I hope there won’t be any reason for that. [It’s possible that these dreams were an inexplicable, one-off event. They wouldn’t be the first Alan has experienced since he arrived through the Ingress. Still, he’s well aware that such a hope is mostly wishful thinking. And he doubts Clu will hold off on examining Rinzler’s code forever...]
I know what Clu promised . And I want to believe he’s telling the truth. But I'd rather hear it from you: if you go to Clu for this, are you sure that the only thing he’ll “correct” is damage from the asteroid?
[If Rinzler is certain, Alan… won’t be certain himself, but knowing Rinzler has some confidence in Clu’s promise is at least some level of reassurance. And if Rinzler does have his own doubts about his admin's sincerity... Alan would rather hear it now, whatever conflict it may bring with it.]
(no subject)
Posted by:i'm one comment away from being able to use this for AC o9
Posted by:the ones in this month wouldn't count, sadly! But heck yeah, long thread~
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