(closed to stem club) the nerds are talking

[spidermenaces]

< peter.parker added you to a group chat >

So, the suit option so no one's burning their brains is the best choice right
Just say right, guys
Right

Comments

un: user010102

[computation]

[ No one actually invited her, she is just here now. ]

What's the suit option?

[spidermenaces]

Dude you know you can just ask to be an official member right
Just ask
You dont't need to hack us, man

[computation]

It was fun, but sure. Hi Petey, can I be an official member?

@everyone

[computation]

[ Root is one of those annoying people using the @ everyone ping. Congrats you are all getting a notif. ]

Hi tech friends 💖
I'm wondering if we can make a device that will help the scouting teams find the terminals faster.
Anyone have an idea already what kind of signals it might be giving off that we could detect?
You've done some work on this already, right?

Also I'm inviting Octavian to the group, he's a sweetheart and an alchemist. Conveniently, also an engineer! He volunteered to help make the devices.

xoxo
Root

un: 21.34.55.89.144

[ashaya]

[ Thanks, he hates it. ]

Our prior attempts to find the port led us to develop telemeters for such usage. While most are still distributed, more can be produced in short order.

He is welcome to access what materials remain in the warehouse.

[computation]

Really? Did those work? Were they tested?

Not that I don't trust your assessment but we are in a simulation controlled by the AI we are attempting to reset.

un: howe

[manifestering]

[guy who has no idea Root is annoying people with pings:]

Hello
I am Octavian

Thank you for the materials

un: copernicusaintshit

[finalfrontiersman]

If you’re going to bust in through the wall, the least you could do is patch it up on your way in.

[ Jim is tired of rewriting the code, Root, for every security flaw you exploit!! She is finding them where he hadn’t seen them before, though. STILL. Help a guy out, would you? ]

We have a few telemeters we built, as Spock indicated. I’m currently working to miniaturize the tech enough to install them on the dark web communicators, but there are only so many hands with enough know-how to handle that kind of delicate work. Do you have any electrical engineering experience?

[computation]

You can just ask if you need help, Captain. 😘

[ She will in fact help if asked but she has to needle him first. ]

It's not my strong suit, but I can follow directions. I'm probably going to be working on this virus until the last minute, though. Breaking into an AI is a little harder than your private network.

[querulus]

okay now this is more like it. what up nerds!!

hi, new guy here. quentin quire. in the interest of time, let's skip straight to the exposition dump. sorry, kids, the ice breakers will have to wait.

i'm a telepath. classification: omega level. by definition, undefinable upper limit. most of us back home aren't the scientific type, and there isn't exactly an abundance of non-sketchy scientists hanging around, but my best guess is that i can control neurons. mine and most everybody else's. if non-organic ones behave enough like organics, that counts. so. unlimited ability to manipulate neurons. big tangled mess of artificial neurons with its own beefy mind-manipulation abilities. you do the math. see if you came to the same conclusion i did.

that said, if someone has a better plan that doesn't involve me giving myself the mother of all migraines, i'm all ears.

[computation]

Hi Quentin! Thanks for the exposition!

Apparently spider boy has a superhero suit that used to have an AI in it, so theoretically it could house the backup. Think you could transfer a computer into another computer real fast? We can do it the old fashioned way but I'm expecting it to be a LOT of data, so it'll be slow. And we might need to hit reset in a hurry.

[querulus]

right, the aforementioned "suit option". didn't know it was spidey offering. [Guess who doesn't know Peter Parker is Spider-man yet whoops]

let's see:

1. do we know if our friendly robot overlord has an actual consciousness? i haven't tried to connect with it because i don't want to go to a terminal and get my shit wrecked by the first moron who runs in the door, and the only other telepath here i've met doesn't use his powers.


2. is the suit compatible? you can't just cram an entire sentient mind into a macbook. that's at best a lobotomy, at worst plain old murder. brain-to-brain i can do the exciting way. programming-to-programming, i'm just your average supergenius pushing buttons.

listen. if this is all as it seems (big if, i know) then this thing... it's gonna be scared. confused. guilty too, for accidentally hurting us. considering it literally told us to kill it, it may not even want to be saved at first. [Is this a teeny tiny bit of projection? Yes. Don't worry about it.] might take some time to convince it to cooperate.

[ashaya]

Direct contact with the AI is inadvisable. An organic interface rarely cooperates with the inorganic.

A more suitable alternative would be to utilize command line tools. Failing that, our options fall to parceling the entity and/or running an accelerator. All are theoretically accomplishable and are certain not to risk quote "using [Quentin] as a meat suit."

Moreover, while the suit is currently our best option, we should not rely upon it without the requisite fail-safes in place.

[spidermenaces]

If you are here you know you also fit the category

... So you're like Wanda? Kinda? Do you know Wanda?

I really don't want you to download anything into your brain if we can just put it in the suit
It's safer and I really don't think you gotta get a migraine dude though I totally appreciate the sentiment and offer

[querulus]

are you seriously out here comparing me to wanda maximoff? bruh.

well i appreciate your appreciation. it's like i always say, "with great power comes great responsibility" you know?

un: peterparkour

[spideyguy]

hey guys
this might be a dumb question
but wouldn’t this create a degradative feedback loop?

[ Peter’s area is more chemistry, but sometimes the obvious questions are the ones worth posing. ]

i just mean i dont know how much a copy of this ai will be useful for
if we copy it onto anything that exists in this world, which is hypothetically a simulation
then if we try to reboot using that copy…
system output is now an input?
see what i mean?

un: user010102

[computation]

That's such a great question, peterparkour!!

That's why I'm writing a virus so I can alter the base code before we reset. Need to make sure we don't all lose our memories and our backup in the process. We need those data packets to be segregated from the reset.

[spideyguy]

you really think that will work?
not doubting you, i just don’t really have a frame of reference
i’m used to dumpster-diving for tech so this is all a little bit above my paygrade

if anyone needs help with a chemical equation or nano-theory though, i’m your man

[spidermenaces]

I'll get to that in a bit
Basically the idea is to kinda fix it before we reboot

But before I go into it I want you to come with me and Gwen if you're cool with work

[spideyguy]

all data experiences degradation when it’s transferred / copied. has this happened before? do we even know? this probably isn’t the first iteration of an AI, if i had to guess

yeah of course. point me at something to punch 👍

un: omega

[querulus]

hey spoilers the other spidey already ruined your secret identity jsyk. fight to the death over who gets to use the name y/n?

anyway. this is why i wanted to put it into my brain

you know

something that's not part of the simulation because it's literally my conscious mind

but noooooooo that's too dangerous and uwu quentin what if your brain explodes and now everybody wants to put it in the souped-up wd my passport built by Guy Who Made The Fire Bird Worse That One Time. and no, i will not explain that reference. iykyk.

i've just been going along with it because i'm such a fuckin team player

[spidermenaces]

Quentin

un: gwenstacy

[arachnerina]

[Gwen's thing is biochem, so she's also out of her element. She's following what's being planned, but the practical application side of it is where she's lost.]

you're not wrong?
clearly the data is corrupted so they'll have to fix it
thank god we have nerds on our side that know what they're doing

@ everyone

[computation]

[ Root is here being annoying AF and pinging everyone again. ]

Important poll time! I'm told this is a democracy so let's give it a shot. Should I do a background check before new members join the club?

1. Yes, for everyone, because this is literally a matter of life or death


2. Just for people the baby Peter invites, because he should not be on the internet unattended


3. No

Remember, voting is a civic duty.

text | un: gwenstacy

[arachnerina]

🤣🤣🤣

as much as i want to vote 2
1 is fine
but i'm dying over this
he's going to be so mad