004 - video [un:plantogetit]

[traumaticus]

Greetings, it's me. Richard Plantagenet, the duke of Gloucester.

It seems like the last the events of the last month truly shaken up our community in more ways than just one. And on top of that it appears that the council is back on the move once again, trying to subdue us 'the chosen' under their thumb. There might not be much that we can do in the face of such horrors but i do not believe we are entirely powerless either.

But first things first. If any of you find your housing situation compromised, please, come to the inn. We will allow anyone in need to stay free of charge. However, I must warn you that the standards aren't quite what they used to be with the resources running low, which leads me to my next point.

I call everyone who is willing and capable to gather and join me in the cleaning up and rebuilding our city. The roads are still filled with rubble and debris from the fight and some areas seems to be completely blocked off. Similarly, I will call everyone who is interested in defending our city to join me and the defense squad with patrolling around the borders and woods nearby in case of the monsters still lingering around. The game and other wildlife seems to have left the their usual area, so we need to make sure that it is safe for them to return here if we want to thrive as a community.

As for my last point.

I am aware that not all of you might trust me or have the most positive views on my actions here. Still, I wish you to listen to what I have to propose to you and take it in your heart without being clouded by prejudice and hear me out.

When my homeland was met with great injustice my noble father, the duke of York, took upon his shoulders to set things right. He rallied the people, raised the banners and brought upon a storm like no other to sweep across our country. All just to remove the tyrant, the false king from his pedestal. When I look at the way our state in this city I must admit that I feel compelled to do the same and urge us to take our fates to our own hands. The Council and this AI-entity might loom above us like Gods, but that does not mean we ought to outright submit to them. I am aware that we have already into our own groups and formed affiliations. But I truly do believe we are strongest when we are together and united.

Which is why I propose the following: that we, the Chosen, would form our own governing body. A council of our own, if you will. I do not suggest that we follow one true leader, as I believe that to be fruitless in our situation. However, we would greatly benefit from having chosen representatives to gather and bring out the issues that we might be facing as a community, so that we could coordinate our efforts to match our best interests and needs.

This is, of course, just a suggestion. I would love to hear what all of you think of this.

Comments

[abandonware]

[Hm.]

i can help with cleanup and defense.

[It's not her place to question humanity, she thinks. But a "Council" makes her uneasy, makes her think of secrets passed up channels that others would not see.]

a council...
i don't get it. if an ai controls all the programs here, they're not going to listen to us. they're following networked commands.

has anyone tried finding it? the ai.

[traumaticus]

[Oh hello. It's the weird girl from the training grounds.]

thank you. i believe you are also part of the defense squad, no? your help will be greatly valued.

i agree with you about our captors not listening to us. but that is not the point. we may be just ants when compared to them but even ants have their own society and way to work. all i wish is for us to come together and decide about our actions together so that we might flourish.

and that perhaps, the next time a violent disaster comes our city we are more prepared and unified. no more dangerous rogue attacks or desperate measures.

as for the ai. i am not sure. but i believe a man named fandaniel has made a recent breakthrough in the case.

[abandonware]

i am? [A pause. Eventually:] ah. pod. yeah. i guess. great to be on the team.

[It's hard to tell if she's being sincere or not.]

hm. i see. maybe. it could work. but i doubt you'll get everyone to agree.

fandaniel. understood. i'll contact him.

[traumaticus]

is there a problem?

yes. i do not think it will work out right away and i suppose that the skeptism is only to be expected. however, i will do my own part to keep our city safe.

[abandonware]

there's no problem.
just slipped my mind.
hm.
looks like you have an uphill battle.

[She's seen the other responses.]

how would you choose "representatives?"

[traumaticus]

yes. i have come to expect it when it comes to the chosen.

hmm. ideally, i would prefer a person from each group or faction to step forward. however, i do think it would be best that we would choose the representatives together as a community.

[abandonware]

there are groups and factions?

[News to her. As someone so indoctrinated into military service, it seemed a woefully disorganized place to her.]

[traumaticus]

yes. although i must admit that even those have gotten smaller as our numbers have decreased.

but for an example, there is a group called the x-men. then there are the rogue group called 'the inx'. and i suppose you could even call the defence squad as a faction. rather than acting on our own i would urge us to unite our forces.

[abandonware]

i see. x-men and... the inx. inx. must have something to do with that weird girl. ugh.
that's an idea. could go south, but it's worth a shot i guess.

[traumaticus]

if by a 'weird girl' you mean miss jinx, then you are correct. her group has been providing resources for newly arrived chosen. however their activity has... quieted down lately. they used to be far more loud and open before, rallying us up to against the Council.

[It's not as black and white as Richard's putting it but ehh. It's no secret that he and Jinx don't hold very favourable opinion of one another.]

of course. your support and belief in the cause means the world to me. i shall not let you down, miss.

[abandonware]

that's the one. quieter seems good.

[A2's opinions are similarly dim. What Richard says next is enough to surprise her, however.]

my support means the world? ah... i'm not human.

[traumaticus]

i see. despite our differences i still hope that she and her flock will join my cause. the more there are of us the stronger we are.

[but oh? now that's an interesting confession. something that would have freaked richard out previously. but now he is more or less desensitised to the idea of 'non humans.']

i see.
then what are you?

[abandonware]

[A cause, a group to belong to... it's optimistic. Perhaps it would not go the way she usually expects things to go, which is badly. She decides to leave it be.]

an android. [...] synthetic humanoid.

[traumaticus]

[Help. Richard doesn't know what that is.]

i see.



what does that entail?

[abandonware]

i was created in humanity's image. but i'm not human. i'm

[Sighs.]

mechanical. technology.

[traumaticus]

[This time there's a brief pause before Richard answers to her. He reads the explanation and tries to wrap his head around her words. Naturally, his mind first goes to blasphemy, cursed hubris of human kind and the story of Golem from the bible... But that's not necessarily it, is it? So, he thinks again, piecing back the information he has gathered from this world.]

are you one of those entities that carry name AI?

[abandonware]

it means i was made and not born.

[She's not going to get into definitions of "AI." Her programming determined her actions only to a point.]

[traumaticus]

for what purpose?

[abandonware]

for killing.
war.

[For the Glory of Mankind, in other words.]