"I was working at one of their branch buildings," Mal said, hoping that they didn't have any access to Brightstar's worker list. "It wasn't a fancy job — more of an intership, in fact. I was in the IT department, mostly making minor repairs in the programming and such."
He glanced to the side for a bit. "One night, though, I had stayed late to work on a particularly troublesome error. Once I was done, I was about to exit when I heard my manager arguing with someone in hushed voices. Something about files in the main system, stuff that wasn't meant to go public."
Mal once more turned to face Dr. Palamara. "To be honest, I wanted to know what was going on. But I knew I couldn't just hack in and take the stuff, not in one night. So I was patient. I set up discreet backdoors in the programming and disabled security measures, but only small bits each time. A large and sudden change in the programs Brightstar would notice, but not small changes made during repairs. It continued for a couple of weeks, until I knew I could get in, get the files, and get out, all in about half an hour. And that night, I did just that."
"And afterwards... Well, you know what I did with the files, right?"
Full-Conversion Cyborg
Anastya
"Yes, I've heard of scary-smart A.I.s that can pass for human, what do you think the future is, there? Should we be worried about a robot uprising?" Dr. Reeves asked with a playful smile.
Mr. Chun
Dr. Reeves frowned, seemingly offended as Bai spoke frankly, "I don't think that's entirely fair, Mr. Chun. Stygian values people - they're the foundation for the rest of our technology, after all - particularly those with skill and talent, and it sounds like you have both."
He took another note on his elaborate hologram, thinking aloud "But the suit undoubtedly does interest some parties here, and it negates the need to provide you with costly equipment. You... may be correct in assuming it had something to do with you getting fast-tracked into our employ."
The idea seemed to trouble Dr. Reeves, but he shook his head and met Bai's gaze once again. "Your family - are they going to be alright with prolonged absence from you? Or you from them? This kind of job, it can strain relationships to say the least. Stygian won't want to keep an asset like you in a facility on-base."
Malware
The psychologist typed a few more notes into her tablet as Malware elaborated. She nodded, "Yes, they're all over the net. What made you do something like that? It seems suicidal - surely you knew they'd figure out who was responsible. Or you could have just sold them all to Fujin in secret; I'm sure they would have gladly payed top dollar."
edited 21st Aug '15 5:11:57 PM by StygianEmperor
Flesh is a design flaw.
Duty First
She smiles back, tapping her chin in thought.
"...Hmm—Well, that's a possibility. But on one part, so long as no one does something foolish like not installing an off-switch, or giving said AI full control of any systems..."
And she gives him a thumbs up, with a confident smile, "We should be safe."
всегда верен
"And what? Leave them in the hands of some other company who'd just hoard that information?" Malware said, seemingly glaring at the psychiatrist. "These were cover-ups. Of robberies, assassinations, and stealing of other companies' innovations. And besides, they already knew I broke in, before I even released the first file."
Full-Conversion Cyborg
Anastya
"So you wouldn't trust an AI left to its own devices then?" Dr. Reeves' smile faded, he seemed to be genuinely asking.
Malware
"Good answer," Dr. Palamara replied, grinning. "Sorry, sorry, I shouldn't be testing you like that. But it's good to know you're not totally motivated by profit."
She sighed, "Of course, Brightstar just ended up blaming a fall guy and 'compensating' some bereaved families, but you did the right thing, nonetheless. How did you know they were on to you so quickly, though?"
Flesh is a design flaw.
"...I managed to set off some sort of alarm," he finally said, glancing down towards the floor. "I know that was stupid, getting so far only to mess up at the last minute, but something went off the second I had the files. And considering I was the last guy in the building at that time... Well, it doesn't take knowledge in rocket science for someone to figure who triggered it."
edited 21st Aug '15 6:28:58 PM by Aquatica1000
"I thought about that. I asked them before we left Vancouver, my daughter does not really understand." He sighed, and shrugged. "My wife, though, she knows that we do not have other options. As long as she is alive, and I am too, we are fine."
edited 22nd Aug '15 12:52:49 AM by wikkit
Duty First
As do hers, switching to a more neutral work expression."Its not that I don't, Doctor...I trust my AI and any AI to make their own decision. I feel them as I would a friend-I can put trust them to watch my back."
"But I trust them as I would a person too. Betrayal is always a risk. If they don't give me a reason to distrust them, I wouldn't."
всегда верен
Full-Conversion Cyborg
Anastya
"Well, I don't know about you, but I don't make sure my friends come with an off-switch," the doctor smiled again. "Do you speak with the AI? Conversationally, I mean."
Mr. Chun
"Yours is a difficult position, to be sure." Dr. Reeves concluded, scrawling something across the bottom of his notepad before closing it, causing it to vanish. "I'm clearing you for field work, Mr. Chun, at least on my end. But I want you to know you and your family can schedule additional appointments with me once you sign on officially; It can be a stressful job."
He stood up from his desk to shake Bai's hand, "It's been a pleasure. You can report to Alectus Fell's office to negotiate your contract. I'm pretty sure he's around, but there will be someone from HR too. They can be... pushy. Don't let them make you sign anything you're not sure about."
Malware
Nerine sucked in air through her teeth. "Tough break," she replied sympathetically, typing another note. "What makes you interested in becoming a field agent, though, of all things? I'm sure Stygian would be more than happy to keep you safely behind a computer where you can do some white hat work, you know, systems security. Maybe remote hacking, if that's more your speed."
edited 22nd Aug '15 11:13:40 AM by StygianEmperor
Flesh is a design flaw.
"I..." Malware lingered. He hadn't really figured out what to say here, other than a somewhat vague idea. "To be honest, I don't really know. I just... I don't want to spend my entire life hiding behind a screen."
Duty First
"Oh, I wouldn't want to give my friends an off-switch...And-well, about that-Why don't you say hello to the good Doctor, Jeeves?", while taking out her phone, showing it to him.
"Oh-Hello, hello! Greetings, Doctor! I am Jeeves, Miss Anastya's personal, artificial intelligence assistant!", the phone piped up.
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Mr. Chun's eyes widened a bit, before rising. "That was...fast. I expected it to be hours." He answered the doctor's extended hand with a quick handshake-bow combo. "I doubt we'll be needing your services, my family is a strong one, but you have done us a great service today anyway." He turned around to head out the door, but quickly spun back. "I cannot thank you enough, but one more favor. Where is Mr. Fell's office?"
Full-Conversion Cyborg
Anastya
"Hello, Jeeves." Dr. Reeves was wearing a bemused expression, "Perhaps I should be interviewing you as well. Have you been listening to our conversation? Do you have anything to add to what Miss Mirivac has said?"
Mr. Chun
"Oh, I'm sorry," the psychologist reactivated his hologram; this time it appeared as a list of names, one of which he swiped in Bai's direction. "For some reason I assumed they would have given you directions to both our offices." A contact info message for Alectus Fell appeared in whatever bluetooth device Bai currently carried, which would direct him all the way to the field supervisor's door. His office was a floor below.
"You seem like a fairly stable individual, Mr. Chun. This isn't really supposed to be an interrogation, just a check for any warning signs we want to avoid for our agents. At any rate, it was good to meet you."
Malware
"I can sympathize with that," Dr. Palamara nodded. "Well, not really. I mostly just work in this office. You won't find me stealing back stolen company assets, but I wish I was as brave as you." Her eyes returned to his, her head cocked slightly. "You're really going to want to put a lanyard on those things if they're prescription. Those are Star Specs, right?"
edited 22nd Aug '15 12:38:29 PM by StygianEmperor
Flesh is a design flaw.
"Y-yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Mal said, tilting his head towards the floor. Darn it, she's onto me...
Duty First
"Oh, I have been-but you can't help it with what proximity we have. My apologies, none the less. And no, she has voiced all her concerns already, unless you do have any questions?",the voice in the phone replied jovially.
всегда верен
"Yes, yes, there it is," he said as he pulled out a simple, slightly primitive looking phone with Chinese branding. He gave another quick, small bow in the doctor's direction, and said "It was nice to meet you, as well. Zài Jiàn." With that, he made his way out of the office and, often peeking at the directions, down to his next stop.
Full-Conversion Cyborg
Anastya
"No, thank you, Jeeves. That will be all." The doctor wrote something down before closing his notepad, hiding it. "And I'm sorry to say, I think this session has reached its conclusion as well. Miss Mirivac, I cannot find one reason Stygian shouldn't employ you."
He stood up, outstretching a hand, "It's been a pleasure, truly. If you need anything, please come see me again."
"You have Alec's office number, correct? He should be there with someone from HR. And like I said, Stygian's going to take a real interest in your inventions - don't get tricked into signing them away or anything."
Mr. Chun
The door to Alectus Fell's office swung open by itself when Bai knocked. Inside, it seemed much warmer than Dr. Reeves', both in decoration and temperature. It was considerably darker, however, as the blinds were drawn over the windows currently, letting only thin bars of sunlight to play over the room.
Two people stood within, a man and a woman. The woman was dressed quite plainly, as if not to draw attention. Alectus Fell, however, easily caught the eye where she did not; his bronze skin showed obvious signs of subdermal armor implants, its surface almost angular in some places, like an old computer graphics model. The skin of his face seemed less affected, but more obvious bionics showed on the right side; some severe damage had evidently been repaired with gray machines from the eyebrow down to the jaw. His right ear looked like it was encapsulated by a small titanium headphone. Both of his eyes were an arresting emerald green, obviously cybernetics, and new ones by the look of it; the skin around them was reddened with the signs of mild rejection. He was well muscled, or at least had bionics that made him appear that way, and while not particularly tall, was fairly imposing before Bai.
He held out a hand, "Welcome, Mr. Chun. I just got word that you've been cleared."
Malware
"It's not often you meet someone with bad eyesight these days, usually they take care of that in-utero. Stygian can fix that, easy." She grew concerned at Malware's sudden unease, "Is something wrong, Malcolm?"
edited 22nd Aug '15 1:55:27 PM by StygianEmperor
Flesh is a design flaw.
Malware: This is becoming a Turing Test
Poor eyesight? I don't think she realizes the Specs are the only reason I can see her right now.
Still, it was a good thing that she managed to not figure out yet that he wasn't human. And he wasn't going to let her figure that out now.
"It's fine," he finally responded. "Just that I'd really not lose these at the moment. My grandfather gave them to me as an early birthday gift, before I moved here."
Duty First
She smiles, standing and shaking his hand. "Spaciba, Doctor. And the pleasure is all mine.", putting the phone away and heading to the door.
"After all, I made it through Brightstar's robotic for a year. Da sivadnya, Doctor.", nodding and closing the door behind her, heading to Fell's office.
всегда верен
Though he spotted a coat hangar in the corner of the room, he felt threatened enough by the man that he abandoned all notions of shedding clothing in front of him. The height wasn't the biggest problem, as he'd spent enough time around military men to get over his inadequacy. What worried him the most was his obvious and heavy augmentation, which from Bai's perspective and the poor lighting gave him a slightly monstrous appearance. He tried to collect himself as he extended his hand to receive the greeting, but his face still had evidence of his mild fear on it. He still firmly grasped and shook, but intentionally left the bow out.
"Y-yes, everything was fine there. You know my name already, Mr. Fell and Miss...?"
Full-Conversion Cyborg
Anastya
Anastya could hear muffled conversation through the ajar door as she approached, some apparent confusion about whether someone had been transferred somewhere. It stopped abruptly as she neared the door, which opened the rest of the way before she could knock.
"Ah, Miss Mirivac, come in," a bionic man said, his scarred face contorting into a smile. "We've been expecting you - Alectus Fell, if you couldn't guess."
He shook Anastya's hand, and the woman next to him followed suit. "Jennifer Calder. Human resources," she introduced simply.
"So," Alectus began, feigning looking around, "Where are you keeping these drones?"
Mr. Chun
"Yes. It is 'Mr. Chun,' right? I've made the mistake of mixing up Chinese surnames and given names before."
The woman nodded, also shaking Bai's hand, though with an air of disinterest, "Jennifer Calder. Human resources."
"Let's get to business, I have to be somewhere in an hour," Alectus Fell crossed his huge arms over his plain black T-shirt. "I understand you have a stolen powersuit."
Malware
"Oh-oh, ok," Dr. Palamara replied with a furrowed brow. "Was your grandfather's death traumatic for you? I'm just- you really seem anxious all of the sudden."
Vespa
"You're Vespa, right?" the psychologist asked, not placing undue emphasis on the pseudonym. "Dr. Nerine Palamara. Nerine," she repeated.
"I'm really glad you could come. I mean, I guess you had to, but still." She smiled briefly at the slip, "I'm looking forward to our conversation. Oh, sorry, take a seat, or lie down if you like. This won't hurt, I promise."
edited 22nd Aug '15 4:34:25 PM by StygianEmperor
Flesh is a design flaw.
"Not really," Mal said. "Like I said, he died in his sleep. I still feel guilty, though, because I wasn't there. Couldn't even make it to the funeral. And I'd really not want to lose the last thing he gave me."
Duty First
She shook the hand a bit uneasily, looking at his scarred face for a moment before looking back into his eyes.
"Ah-I keep them inactive and diassembled at the moment somewhere. Why...do you ask, Mr. Fell?", asking polite as she could, a bit-intimidated by him.
всегда верен
"Mr. Chun Xiubai, yes," Mr. Chun Xiubai said. "I do have the suit in my possession, the pride of Fenghuang's armor division. All new technologies."
"Simple enough. I needed to get out of the base, past security, and the suit is tough like a tank. The suit is strong enough to break out, but small enough to fit on a truck. One would think they have an off switch in it, but apparently they did not...Also, I would sort of miss it if I had to give it up. I have spent a decade in it."
His eyes narrowed slightly, and he looked the doctor straight in the eyes. "I also do not think that Stygian would want to hire some Chinese soldier without many talents or enhancements. They want the experiments of their big rivals. They want the suit over me." He relaxed, leaned against the wall and said, "but since I'm the one connected to the suit, they have to gut it to make it work. I think I'm secure."