(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

[computation]

[ She knows she's prone to being defensive about the Machine, but 1. it's a relatively recent development in her life, 2. she has essentially nothing else she cares about that cares about her back, and 3. the Machine is in fact being credibly threatened and needs her protection, back when she came from.

Root physically lets out a breath. ]

I get it. Things that are too good to be true... are. She's not actually, literally perfect. I know that. She's still a computer; she's running off of probabilities, algorithms, precepts. She can make mistakes.

But she won't ever betray me. I know that for certain.

[ Finding that, having that, is worth her whole life. ]

[querulus]

[Look. It's not that Quentin likes having these kinds of conversations. He doesn't. Gallows humor? Harsh truths? Brash proclamations? Any day of the week. Actually talking through complex shit like "fuck I ignored one billion red flags for the sake of an ideal that didn't even work out in the end" is what's rough. And what happened on Krakoa... it's still raw. Not nearly something he's ready to unpack with a human, much less one he just met and from a different world.

On the other hand, hearing her repeat so many of the same talking points and logical justifications he had on loop in his head while Idie was in the Pit? Shit stings, is all.]

Yeah... in my experience it's not so much what betrays you. It's what you betray to keep it safe.

Whatever, doesn't matter. Like you said, she's not here.

[computation]

Awww, are you worried about me?

[ It's hard to stay offended when it seems obvious that Quentin is speaking from personal experience and personal concern. That's cute. Root rarely has anyone express concern about her in any form, and she's genuinely a little touched.

It's also easy to take it that way when Root truly feels it's misguided. ]

That's sweet, Quentin. But unnecessary. She's more than you think she is. The Machine is always the one telling me not to do something. She's such a softie, really.

[ Root intentionally offers a flash of memory: a hard-faced government operative prone on the floor, Root standing over him with a gun about to put a bullet in his head, a jumbled computer voice in her ear piece telling her to spare him. Root's answer: Really? Even this guy? Well, you're the boss, and shrugging and walking away, leaving him alive. The Machine pushes her toward mercy at every opportunity. ]