text, un: howe

[manifestering]

Hello
If we have not met my name is Octavian
I am an alchemist and as always I am accepting small amounts of blood for a personal project

But that is beside the point

[Just, you know, getting it out of the way that he's always on the hunt for blood samples to save, anyway—]

The point is during our mutual excursions to maintain the integrity of this world
In the ruins I was set upon by a manner of vision
Very abrupt
not entirely welcome
In the water I experienced memories that were not my own
Something about a breed of serpentine people
Where are they
?

The recollection suggested they were not always serpents but perhaps once like us
A group brought to this place and changed
Was this previously known
and
has anyone else experienced these visions
?

[ooc; totes encourage threadjacking for sharing purposes!!]

Comments

[manifestering]

I am attempting to gather what information I can
as I am sure you have noticed

[He expects her to read everything now, after all, but he can keep track of it in more organized notes anyway.]

And yes they were set upon by black marks of indeterminate origin
Her only option was to cordon off the corrupted parts
and merge the remaining data with serpents
This disqualified them from rehabilitation it seems

[computation]

[ Reading is not the same thing as collecting in an organized fashion, and she does appreciate it. ]

I can put it somewhere accessible once you get it all together. I think I need to sleep for a few days first, anyway.

[ Root is exhausted from running ragged for weeks leading up to the reset, though of course if anything happened that needed her to be there she would be going without sleep again in an instant. Meanwhile, it truly means something to her that Octavian has switched to using she/her pronouns for the A.I. It's a small comfort against what feels like a heartbreaking failure to save her. ]

I wonder if that's allegorical for something. Did their actual data get corrupted? If her hardware hasn't been regularly maintained, that's possible.

[manifestering]

Of course
In addition
I have been made accomplice to something dire
to investigate these serpent people
So further information forthcoming

[Or: Fandaniel is going to do some weird and inhumane shit, and he's going to watch. He'll take notes.]

As for the data I have no idea
She seemed unable to get her systems to believe the corrupted marks existed at all
I could not guess what that means

[computation]

Octavian, you're not having fun without me, are you? I've never vivisected a snake before.

Corrupted data could be a blind spot to her -- it's not impossible to hide from an A.I. if you hardcode it. Her systems felt separate from her somehow? How could she know but they didn't?

[manifestering]

Neither have I
I will take more notes

From my perspective as a man without equivalent systems
It appeared she could see the marks but analysis indicated no problem
despite the obvious

[computation]

Thanks, you're a champ.

That does sound like corrupted data, or a deliberately altered subroutine. She might be recognizing it and then having her analysis immediately overwritten to indicate there's no issue present. Pretty sure my boss and I are about to set up something like that to keep me safe from our rival A.I. overlord.

Or we were, or are, back there.

[manifestering]

A loop of some kind
?

How would her current situation impact that
?

[computation]

I think it's more like when you lose track of a thought halfway through. You know there's something you meant to do, but you can't figure it out. Not that I know for sure what an A.I. is experiencing, obviously.

When I spoke to her, it seemed like she'd been abandoned. Her functions might be degrading. Or she just might not know how to handle something she's never seen before. That's a pretty complicated process for a computer.

[manifestering]

I see
Unfortunate to be programmed in that way
Helpless against one's own mind

I hope you are able to help her
Soon

[computation]

It's sad. Comparing it to age-related cognitive decline is probably fair, though age is an irrelevant concept to a machine.

Thanks, Octavian. I really appreciate that.

[manifestering]

A machine can be repaired more easily
True
?

Or do you believe what was done to her is more complex
?

[computation]

Maybe. Depends on what the issue is.

It's like with human bodies -- it can't always go back to the way it used to be, you know?

[manifestering]

Yes I do
Regrettable in every sense
Well
If she can be helped I believe you are the right person for it

[computation]

[ Root's reaching her limit for compliments she can accept gracefully, honestly starting to get a little flustered by the number of people here who believe in her. It's, like, a whole three people, and it's kind of stunning. ]

I'll try, at least. Let me know when you're finished with your notes and I'll add to them.