[Because Alan had ordered them to. Because Alan had dragged years of trauma out into the open and hadn’t even been able to save him -- save anyone -- for his efforts.
There’s no acceptable answer he can give. And so he doesn’t. Nihlus won’t receive a response to his message.]
[Alan doesn’t want to have this conversation. Not when he’s still reeling from what he saw. What he almost did. But on a ship this size, he can’t hide from it forever. After a moment, he sends his response.]
[With everything that’s happened in the last day, he hasn’t considered that he might be in danger. He finds he can only muster up mild concern for the fact, if that much. Numbly, he gets up and walks to the door.
Nihlus will hear a knock outside of Moro 013 a few minutes later.]
[The door slides opens revealing Nihlus, disheveled and hungover and generally not too pleased with the state of things. Still the turian steps courteously aside for Alan and his voice is neutral and level.]
You can take my bed. You'll be sharing the room with Mr. Dufosset and Preman. Neither have been notified yet, but considering the state of things, I don't think they'll mind the sudden change too much.
[He’s still feeling rather adrift as he walks into the room, noting the number of beds.] Where will you be staying? [Not back on Moro Deck, hopefully. If Nihlus’s concerns about his safety are legitimate, Alan would hate for him to have to face any anger meant for him in his stead.]
I'm not usually in the room. [Nihlus shrugs and gives Alan a tired smile.] It's been pretty busy.
[He watches Alan for a long moment before sighing and squaring his shoulders.]
I brought you food and water, they're on top of the drawers. Try to keep your head down until things cool off a bit and the Captains decide if you need a trial or not.
[He should be bringing Alan to the Hold. That hadn't turned out really well with Rinzler, though.]
[Alan listens, feeling both grateful and unsure. It seems Nihlus has gone through a lot of effort to shelter someone of whose actions he clearly didn’t approve.]
A trial? [It wasn’t a possibility Alan was expecting, but it makes sense in retrospect. He had incited violence against another person – that it wasn’t his intent is beside the point. He had known Rinzler would resist, had known the danger both to his program and to the crewmembers whose help he had enlisted. And he still had failed his promises to all of them.
Yes, a trial would be fitting.]
Will you be speaking with them about that? [The question carries no trace of reproach. If that’s the true reason that Nihlus is concerning himself with Alan’s safety – to ensure that he sees it to trial – then Alan doesn’t fault him for it.]
[The fact of the matter was that what Alan did had been done where the cameras couldn't record and the Moira's justice system was made of wet paper and dusty tape. The trials were borderline farcical and the hold barely met minimum standards of decency.
So, this is Nihlus trying something else until the Captains make their call. This conflict didn't need any further escalation than what was already going on and Alan getting beat or worse needed to be avoided.
Until then, don't open the door for someone unless you know exactly who is on the other side. If you're going to go out anywhere, ping me or someone you trust if you can't reach me. Same procedure for any trouble that might crop up.
[Alan takes the news without further comment. He has little regard for the justice system onboard, but he understands the necessity of a trial. He’d staged an attack, just as Peter and Alice had. It’s only rational that people should think he deserves the same kind of treatment.
Nihlus’s fears about vigilante justice aren’t surprising either. Alan’s seen plenty of the vitriol aimed at him on the network. Certainly there are those who would find it fitting for someone who had himself acted outside ship authorization. Still, the idea of being confined for his own safety is a strange one. Not one he can object to, to be sure, but foreign all the same.]
I will. [He's not ready to face the rest of the crew anyways, not yet. He sighs and shakes his head.]
The things they're saying... I did try to edit Rinzler's code, but it was never about making him obedient. I was only trying to protect him. [A pause, and he looks away.]
Though given how things went, I suppose that doesn't matter.
Unintentional or not, you've violated someone's autonomy and that's not something you can ever, ever take back.
[The hard glint in Nihlus' eyes soften after a moment though.]
Speaking as someone who has made a lot of awful decisions though, it's... not always the end of the world. Fortunate or unfortunate, that's up to you. You have to pick up the pieces and move on either way, keep them close and use them to try and fix what you can.
Rinzler might never forgive you and you'll have to live with that. But it's your job now to do your best and make sure this doesn't happen again.
[Alan stares hard back at Nihlus.] I thought I would be removing an error that made him violent. If I had done nothing and it happened again -- if Rinzler murdered someone else or their trap worked the next time -- how many people do you think would demand to know why I had done nothing to stop it? I was wrong about Rinzler’s code and I made the wrong decision. But I don’t know if there was ever a right decision to make.
[He lapses into silence and his gaze falls away once again, frustration slowly giving way to something more brittle. He knows the true source of Rinzler's violence now. He knows and it's too late. The damage is done, and he has nothing else to promise the people who would rather see the program dead than have him remain a threat. When he speaks again, he doesn't seem to be speaking to Nihlus at all, the words barely above a whisper.] God, they’re going to kill him...
[Oh, goddess of the deeps, Nihlus is trying for patience but he's hungover and it was like talking to a spirits-damned wall.]
This isn't about you. This was never your decision to make, never your responsibility. Rinzler is an autonomous being who committed murders out of his own fucking poor decision making skills. His history of brainfuckery is really unfortunate, but he still killed J. and Spearfall and that's on HIM.
Sure, people would have tried blaming you, but you literally had no real involvement in his life until you landed on this goddamn ship, what, about two months ago? Then out of pure blissful, flipping ignorance and those two months, you suddenly know him and program medicine well enough to try to coerce him into getting involuntary brain surgery after making an, undoubtedly very well supported, diagnosis of, ah, 'error'.
[Cue a deeply unimpressed mandible flick.]
There are less convoluted and ethically questionable ways to make sure your alienated, digital relation doesn't get killed because of poorly planned vigilantism, you know, that, right?
[Nihlus bites his words back after that. He was slipping back to his merc accent again and this was getting too damn emotional. To him, the decision could never have been right in the first place, but there was something he was missing from Alan's perspective.]
What in the world ever made you think any of this was an error that could just be edited like that, anyways?
[The people who'd never interacted with Rinzler he could understand. The people who only saw Rinzler's violent side, he understands perfectly. But why did Alan think this?]
[Alan glares, and then looks away, letting Nihlus pick apart his actions without interrupting. He’s wrong about Rinzler not being his responsibility. About things being any better if he accepted that. He’s been down that path before and he knows how much damage inaction can do, whether by ignorance or choice.
But Nihlus is right that he went about it the wrong way. He’d have to be truly blind not to realize that by now. What he doesn’t see so clearly are the alternatives. The justice system on the ship had proven itself less than ineffective at protecting anyone. Rinzler had proven himself capable of taking the lives of the people around him. And the people around him had shown themselves capable of retaliating in kind.
The question at least has a clearer answer.] I tried to find another reason. After I found out he’d been attacking crewmembers. I asked if he targeted them because they were threats to the system. Or if they were threats to him. I asked him to give me any reason at all and he wouldn’t. It was as if… as if he didn’t even know. [Alan’s brow furrows as he remembers the frustration of that conversation. Of wanting so desperately to find another solution and only being met with a wall of silence.] I told him if he attacked someone again, I’d find the fault in his code. He was so afraid of being reprogrammed, I thought that would be enough to end it. And then a few weeks later, he killed Spearfall. [Alan looks at Nihlus again, though the temper has left his expression. He just looks tired and perplexed.] If he was so terrified of the consequences and he still attacked… what else was I supposed to think other than that he didn’t have a choice?
[He’s puzzled over that question for a while now. If Rinzler was so afraid of what Alan would do, why hadn’t he done anything to stop it before it was too late?] He knew I believed there was an error in his code and he said nothing to change my mind. He knew I’d try to correct his code if he attacked someone again and he killed two people in the next month.
It didn’t make sense. It still doesn’t make sense. [And when a person’s actions are so intensely not what they should be, it’s natural to assume something’s wrong with them. With humans, one could blame it on mental instability. A chemical imbalance. With programs, the only source could be the code.
Or at least, that’s what Alan had assumed. Having actually seen Rinzler’s code now, he has even less of an answer.]
[Nihlus closes his eyes against the worsening headache. After a moment he moves to go fetch the water canteen he'd left next to the foot of his bed.]
I think he was more scared of you than he was of the recode threat, [he says softly after a sip. There's a bit of quiet after that, Nihlus sorting his actual thoughts out from the kneejerk, hangover fueled ones.]
Scared of you, scared of displeasing you. Or both. If you think of the situation that way, his behavior makes more sense.
[Or at least, it did to him. He got the impression that Alan wasn't a particularly happy man, but he didn't have the air of someone who'd had to grow up in violently unsafe environments.]
When you programmed him, what was Rinzler intended to be?
[Alan considers Nihlus’s words, expression troubled. It’s still muddled, but he can see some sense to Nihlus’s explanation; Rinzler could have refused to answer because he believed his answer wouldn’t be good enough. He could have feared Alan’s reaction. Still, when Alan remembers how hard Rinzler had fought when Alice had dragged him in, his desperate, broken plea of ”User” when Alan had taken his disk, it’s difficult to imagine that Alan’s disapproval could terrify the program more than the threat of recoding.]
He was a security program for the ENCOM servers. He was supposed to monitor incoming connections, remove malware, watchdog other programs… but I don’t think it was his functions that caused this. [He hesitates, unsure of how much he should say.] Tron… He was written for the same purpose as Rinzler. The same functions. But he hasn’t had any of the same problems. [Alan trusts Nihlus, but he still doesn't reveal that Tron and Rinzler have more in common than just their code. Given Bel's account, to say that it's a sensitive issue would be putting it very lightly.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ninetydegrees
(no subject)
[Nihlus can guess, but he's not liking the answers he's coming up with.]
(no subject)
There’s no acceptable answer he can give. And so he doesn’t. Nihlus won’t receive a response to his message.]
(no subject)
Nihlus sighs quietly.]
... Where are you?
(no subject)
Moro Deck, room four.
(no subject)
(no subject)
Nihlus will hear a knock outside of Moro 013 a few minutes later.]
audio -> action
You can take my bed. You'll be sharing the room with Mr. Dufosset and Preman. Neither have been notified yet, but considering the state of things, I don't think they'll mind the sudden change too much.
(no subject)
[He’s still feeling rather adrift as he walks into the room, noting the number of beds.] Where will you be staying? [Not back on Moro Deck, hopefully. If Nihlus’s concerns about his safety are legitimate, Alan would hate for him to have to face any anger meant for him in his stead.]
(no subject)
[He watches Alan for a long moment before sighing and squaring his shoulders.]
I brought you food and water, they're on top of the drawers. Try to keep your head down until things cool off a bit and the Captains decide if you need a trial or not.
[He should be bringing Alan to the Hold. That hadn't turned out really well with Rinzler, though.]
(no subject)
A trial? [It wasn’t a possibility Alan was expecting, but it makes sense in retrospect. He had incited violence against another person – that it wasn’t his intent is beside the point. He had known Rinzler would resist, had known the danger both to his program and to the crewmembers whose help he had enlisted. And he still had failed his promises to all of them.
Yes, a trial would be fitting.]
Will you be speaking with them about that? [The question carries no trace of reproach. If that’s the true reason that Nihlus is concerning himself with Alan’s safety – to ensure that he sees it to trial – then Alan doesn’t fault him for it.]
(no subject)
[The fact of the matter was that what Alan did had been done where the cameras couldn't record and the Moira's justice system was made of wet paper and dusty tape. The trials were borderline farcical and the hold barely met minimum standards of decency.
So, this is Nihlus trying something else until the Captains make their call. This conflict didn't need any further escalation than what was already going on and Alan getting beat or worse needed to be avoided.
Until then, don't open the door for someone unless you know exactly who is on the other side. If you're going to go out anywhere, ping me or someone you trust if you can't reach me. Same procedure for any trouble that might crop up.
[A pause, and then a quiet sigh.]
Just... be careful, Alan.
(no subject)
Nihlus’s fears about vigilante justice aren’t surprising either. Alan’s seen plenty of the vitriol aimed at him on the network. Certainly there are those who would find it fitting for someone who had himself acted outside ship authorization. Still, the idea of being confined for his own safety is a strange one. Not one he can object to, to be sure, but foreign all the same.]
I will. [He's not ready to face the rest of the crew anyways, not yet. He sighs and shakes his head.]
The things they're saying... I did try to edit Rinzler's code, but it was never about making him obedient. I was only trying to protect him. [A pause, and he looks away.]
Though given how things went, I suppose that doesn't matter.
(no subject)
[The hard glint in Nihlus' eyes soften after a moment though.]
Speaking as someone who has made a lot of awful decisions though, it's... not always the end of the world. Fortunate or unfortunate, that's up to you. You have to pick up the pieces and move on either way, keep them close and use them to try and fix what you can.
Rinzler might never forgive you and you'll have to live with that. But it's your job now to do your best and make sure this doesn't happen again.
(no subject)
[He lapses into silence and his gaze falls away once again, frustration slowly giving way to something more brittle. He knows the true source of Rinzler's violence now. He knows and it's too late. The damage is done, and he has nothing else to promise the people who would rather see the program dead than have him remain a threat. When he speaks again, he doesn't seem to be speaking to Nihlus at all, the words barely above a whisper.] God, they’re going to kill him...
(no subject)
This isn't about you. This was never your decision to make, never your responsibility. Rinzler is an autonomous being who committed murders out of his own fucking poor decision making skills. His history of brainfuckery is really unfortunate, but he still killed J. and Spearfall and that's on HIM.
Sure, people would have tried blaming you, but you literally had no real involvement in his life until you landed on this goddamn ship, what, about two months ago? Then out of pure blissful, flipping ignorance and those two months, you suddenly know him and program medicine well enough to try to coerce him into getting involuntary brain surgery after making an, undoubtedly very well supported, diagnosis of, ah, 'error'.
[Cue a deeply unimpressed mandible flick.]
There are less convoluted and ethically questionable ways to make sure your alienated, digital relation doesn't get killed because of poorly planned vigilantism, you know, that, right?
[Nihlus bites his words back after that. He was slipping back to his merc accent again and this was getting too damn emotional. To him, the decision could never have been right in the first place, but there was something he was missing from Alan's perspective.]
What in the world ever made you think any of this was an error that could just be edited like that, anyways?
[The people who'd never interacted with Rinzler he could understand. The people who only saw Rinzler's violent side, he understands perfectly. But why did Alan think this?]
(no subject)
But Nihlus is right that he went about it the wrong way. He’d have to be truly blind not to realize that by now. What he doesn’t see so clearly are the alternatives. The justice system on the ship had proven itself less than ineffective at protecting anyone. Rinzler had proven himself capable of taking the lives of the people around him. And the people around him had shown themselves capable of retaliating in kind.
The question at least has a clearer answer.] I tried to find another reason. After I found out he’d been attacking crewmembers. I asked if he targeted them because they were threats to the system. Or if they were threats to him. I asked him to give me any reason at all and he wouldn’t. It was as if… as if he didn’t even know. [Alan’s brow furrows as he remembers the frustration of that conversation. Of wanting so desperately to find another solution and only being met with a wall of silence.] I told him if he attacked someone again, I’d find the fault in his code. He was so afraid of being reprogrammed, I thought that would be enough to end it. And then a few weeks later, he killed Spearfall. [Alan looks at Nihlus again, though the temper has left his expression. He just looks tired and perplexed.] If he was so terrified of the consequences and he still attacked… what else was I supposed to think other than that he didn’t have a choice?
[He’s puzzled over that question for a while now. If Rinzler was so afraid of what Alan would do, why hadn’t he done anything to stop it before it was too late?] He knew I believed there was an error in his code and he said nothing to change my mind. He knew I’d try to correct his code if he attacked someone again and he killed two people in the next month.
It didn’t make sense. It still doesn’t make sense. [And when a person’s actions are so intensely not what they should be, it’s natural to assume something’s wrong with them. With humans, one could blame it on mental instability. A chemical imbalance. With programs, the only source could be the code.
Or at least, that’s what Alan had assumed. Having actually seen Rinzler’s code now, he has even less of an answer.]
(no subject)
I think he was more scared of you than he was of the recode threat, [he says softly after a sip. There's a bit of quiet after that, Nihlus sorting his actual thoughts out from the kneejerk, hangover fueled ones.]
Scared of you, scared of displeasing you. Or both. If you think of the situation that way, his behavior makes more sense.
[Or at least, it did to him. He got the impression that Alan wasn't a particularly happy man, but he didn't have the air of someone who'd had to grow up in violently unsafe environments.]
When you programmed him, what was Rinzler intended to be?
(no subject)
He was a security program for the ENCOM servers. He was supposed to monitor incoming connections, remove malware, watchdog other programs… but I don’t think it was his functions that caused this. [He hesitates, unsure of how much he should say.] Tron… He was written for the same purpose as Rinzler. The same functions. But he hasn’t had any of the same problems. [Alan trusts Nihlus, but he still doesn't reveal that Tron and Rinzler have more in common than just their code. Given Bel's account, to say that it's a sensitive issue would be putting it very lightly.]
(no subject)
Nihlus screws the lid of his canteen back on, the look on his face distant.]
Spearfall initiated the fight. Peter and Alice laid out the traps and J was killed because Rinzler thought she was part of the setup.
[He tucks the canteen under an arm.]
There's a lot of pieces still missing from this puzzle, but the pieces I do have seem to point to Rinzler being reactive in regards to violence.
[With that, the Turian turns, heading towards the door. He has a lot of work to catch up with still and he's already late.]
Something to think about.