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[alan_1]

You've reached Alan Bradley. Leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

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audio;

[alan_1]

You’ll have to be more specific. [It’s not all frigid evasion. Did he forcibly repair Rinzler’s code? Yes. Did he alter anything about the way Rinzler thinks? No. He could say as much, but he’d rather have Prometheus ask his own questions -- that at least might shed light on why he’s asking, which Alan needs to know before he gives him any amount of detail.]

[text;]

[trap_factory]

Do I now?

[shrewd]

can't say i blame you with all those accusations being thrown around. but i was raised to not believe everything that the internet tells you.

[he's aware of CLU's existence, knows that Rinzler is basically a giant error message in physical form. The question is, what has Alan done to warrant the ire of the masses? (it's not fair--)]

so how baseless are those accusations against you? obviously, you caught rinzler. then what?

text;

[alan_1]

[Alan reads over Prometheus’s messages one by one, wariness easing only marginally. Prometheus didn’t seem at all hostile towards Rinzler during their first conversation on the network. And his repeated use of the word “accusations” means Alan is inclined to believe that he wouldn’t approve if Alan actually went through with the recode. But it’s difficult to discern tone or intent through text. Alan decides to respond in kind.]

I repaired the damage to his code. Nothing more than that. [It’s intentionally vague. Waiting for a clearer reaction -- outrage or approval -- before giving more away.]

[text;]

[trap_factory]

now now that's not very clear is it? he's been running error processes for as long as i've known him. 'damage to his code' can mean a lot of things.

i'm not a child, alan. i'm not going to screech oppression and abuse when a parent decides that the best thing to do is to give their delinquent child a little tough love. especially based on the word of people who are clearly too emotionally involved to make sound decisions.

so what did you repair?

text;

[alan_1]

[It wasn’t vitriol Alan was afraid of; given everyone who’s seen and added their voice to Tex’s post, he’s become more or less numb to the outrage. It’s approval he’s worried about, because someone who actively wanted Rinzler recoded might not take well to the news that he wasn’t. And those same people might feel that doing away with Rinzler entirely would be an acceptable alternative in light of Alan’s failure.

So, sorry Prometheus. Alan isn’t done with the evasiveness just yet.]

What would you have done in my position?

[text;]

[trap_factory]

insufficient data, unable to solve.




so you didn't touch his code.

or i guess i should clarify, since it seems you want me to do a little legwork of my own; you didn't touch his core code, the area that's audibly damaged. let me guess, you helped his little maintenance issue?

[Prometheus is none of the things that Alan expects and that just makes this revelation that much worse]

text;

[alan_1]

[There’s a brief period of tension as Prometheus comes to his (correct) conclusion, though at least the following message doesn’t seem openly hostile at the realization. Not that Alan has a way of knowing for sure over text.]

His physical damage, yes. [There’s a pause before the second part of the message comes through.] There wasn’t anything else I could do.

[text;]

[trap_factory]

[...]

of course. you're hardly the sort of person who has it in him to 'lobotomize' his creations. it must be the inexperience of the crew. so excitable.

thank you, alan, this has been enlightening.

sdlksh amazing use of hovertext ;_;

[alan_1]

[Prometheus remains as inscrutable as ever, calling “lobotomy” what he had earlier termed “tough love.” Alan’s not sure what to make of it, but at least his answers seem to have satisfied the other’s curiosity.

He sends no further reply.]