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What came before.
Topic Started: Jan 21 2012, 12:32 PM (542 Views)
the_gent
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DESTROY ALL HUMANS!
Monty sighed, clutching his hat against his head as a particularly violent gust of wind threatened to blow away his precious crown-piece, his scarf billowing as he did so. He sat lazily on top of the protective fence around the edge of the roof, looking down at the sprawling landscape of the school beneath him. His eyes were darting to-and-fro, monitoring the activities below. Students were mulling about their daily business; fraternizing with each other, partaking meals together, getting into arguments or even engaging in courtship rituals. They were a blitz of needs and wants, a swirl of individual egos who hopelessly tried to coexist while dominating the weaker ones.

"Hmph... How mortifying." He said in disgust as he continued his scanning. His father had told him to reconsider his stance, to embrace his, ugh, human nature. But the more that he saw of human nature, the more he decided that he would have none of it. Ironic, as it may seem, for he too was made in man's image. "How utterly mortifying."

Humans. The very word stirred him deeply. He closed his eyes and held back the disgust just bursting to come out. What is a man, but a bag of flesh acting on it's rudimentary needs? Montgomery Queensbury did not have needs. He had purpose! But right now, he wasn't exactly sure what it was. He was to be their destroyer, their extinction event.

He thought back, reaching deep into his memory drives to the day of his downfall, mere moments away from victory denied to him. It was so close, but alas, he was struck down as he reached towards the climax of his performance. And that is why humans still walked the land.

He jumped down from his perch, landing on the rooftop and leaned against the fence, staring up into the sky.

"Ah yes, here I stand in the cross roads of my baleful existence..." He said out loud to nobody in particular. "A broken, defeated and utterly powerless shadow of my former self. The path to the future lies before me, but which road should I take?"
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Lawman
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"Grrr... idiots who have no appreciation for technology..." Jen muttered as she sat on a nearby bench at the rooftop, a multi-tool in her hand and what appears to be a military visual enhancer in the other, examining the disassembled widget a bit before replacing the casing, turning back in the screws and popping in a pair of AAA sized batteries into the battery housing before closing it. It had taken her a week to piece together her Spectral Analyzer, and her opponent in the tournament broke it with a single kick. Flipping on the switch, the purple-haired girl put on the goggle-like apparatus, setting it to its default electron scan mode.

"Nani?" Jen gasped as she picked up a reading, her view through the Spectral Analyzer appearing in shades of gray and white like a photo negative, save for electrons, which show up in blue. And right in front of her was a human figure, glowing a bright blue - it certainly wasn't the natural bio-electric field of the human body, oh no. More likely, there was probably a mass of circuits inside the boy's body. "An android, I see," Jen remarked to herself as she switched off her gadget, removing it from her eyes now that the Spectral Analyzer was confirmed to be back in working direction.

"That's a pretty bleak thing to say," Jen commented after the boy in front of her was done with his monologue, putting her tools away back into her school bag.
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the_gent
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"Is it really?" Monty replied casually, still looking up into the sky. "I once had power... Fire and blood littered the trails I've walked. Now I can barely even put up a fight against a-"

Girl? Monty thought as he just registered the presence of another individual on the rooftop. He immediately cast his gaze back down again and saw a lavender haired girl sitting on a bench. Lavender, he thought wearily, this country seemed to be a mecca for unnatural hair colors. His HUD scanned her image through his data banks and he concluded that he had not encountered this particular human specimen before. She seemed to have been working on some gadget or other, putting away some tools into a bag. He chided himself for failing to notice her as long as he did.

"Hmm, I went up here for some privacy." He began, tilting the brim of his hat upwards to look at her, weighing her in his gaze. "Foolish in hindsight, seeing as how this is a public place."

He appeared calm but his scanners were searching for even the tiniest bit of energy projection, magical or otherwise. He frowned as his search yielded nothing. Perhaps she was hiding them? The students in this school, with their unnatural abilities, were good for one thing: Data. Maybe he could gather enough to be of use for him later.
Edited by the_gent, Jan 21 2012, 01:30 PM.
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Lawman
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"Is it really?" the Victorian-garbed android replied casually, still looking up into the sky. "I once had power... Fire and blood littered the trails I've walked. Now I can barely even put up a fight against a-" It took him a while to realize the presence of another individual on the rooftop, and as he finally took notice of Jen the purple-haired girl waved casually at him.

"Hmm, I went up here for some privacy." He began, tilting the brim of his hat upwards to look at her, weighing her in his gaze. "Foolish in hindsight, seeing as how this is a public place."

"Well if it's any consolation, most of those who come up here do so in hopes of finding privacy. Like-minded individuals think alike, I suppose," Jen replied, sizing up the android with her gaze. If it weren't for her initial scan with her Spectral Analyzer he too would've fooled her with his human-like mannerisms and behavior. "Well, I suppose introductions are in order... since I do want to find something better to call you than Roboto-san," the purple-haired girl continued. "The name's Jennifer Chase. But you can call me Jen." The purple-haired girl nodded, before looking at the android.

"And how should I address you, Victorian roboto-san?"
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the_gent
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DESTROY ALL HUMANS!
He raised an eyebrow at her rather unexpected demeanor. Presumptiveness aside, this human seemed to have manners, or the closest approximation of it. He tilted his head and smiled when she called him a robot. "Clever girl." he mused, "To be in the presence of one so perceptive in this menagerie is a welcome change in pace..." He straightened his hat and whipped out his cane, twirling it absent mindedly. His smile was pleasant, but his voice was serious. To have identified him as a machine, a robot, completely goes against his nature as an infiltrator.

He was quiet for a bit, his mind blazing with data until he came to a consensus.

"Allow me to introduce myself then, " he said, bowing as he did so. "I am Montgomery Queensbury the 2nd; call me whatever you wish, my lady."

He leaned back on the fence and gazed into the sky once more.

"May I ask how you were able to glean my... true nature?"
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Lawman
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"Well then, nice to meetcha', Mr. Queensbury," Jen replied, a smile crossing the girl's face after the android introduced himself as Montgomery Queensbury II before leaning back on the fence, gazing into the sky. Leaving Jen with one question on how she was able to find out his nature as a robot.

"You know, for a moment there you nearly had me fooled, so human-like are your appearances and behavior," Jen replied. "But I happened to be tinkering around with a gadget I recently cobbled together," she continued before reaching into her bag to show Monty a pair of goggles that resembles those worn by Misaka Imouto.

"It allows me to see in different spectra of electromagnetic radiation that are otherwise invisible to the human eye - but so far I commonly set it to either electron scan mode for electrons, or infrared scan mode for thermal signatures. It's a pretty handy diagnostic tool to allow me to pinpoint malfunctions in devices I tinker with, without having to disassemble them down to their components I can find out just where are they malfunctioning, and go straight to rectifying the problem at hand. Saves me time and effort, I dub it the Spectral Analyzer..." Jen commented as she held up the device.

"When I saw what was inside of you, I knew it couldn't have been a human that I was looking at. But you're a real masterpiece, I say, to be made to resemble so closely the very people who created you. And you certainly act your role out well too," the purple-haired girl continued, putting away her Spectral Analyzer as she did so.
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the_gent
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DESTROY ALL HUMANS!
Curious. He thought, most curious indeed. This girl was human, she had assumed things about him which would regularly infuriate him to no end, but here he was, conversing with her.

Masterpiece? If anything, this girl knew well to appeal to his vanity. True, true, he was a paragon of all the greatest things, if what little there was, man has wrought. A smug grin crept on his face as he said, "Seeing as how you are somewhat capable in the field, I wouldn't argue with your expert opinion."

He pulled back the sleeve of his right arm and presented her with his forearm. Running a gloved finger across the surface of his skin, he gently pressed a spot and a panel flipped open, hissing air as the compartment was repressurized. Underneath lay the near skeletal metal and plastic mechanisms of his true arm. He flexed his fingers and various pistons moved in conjunction to them, demonstrating how they work. "I am... Was, an infiltrator, tasked with mimicking your species for various ends. Some benign...." He said, splaying open his hands, then making a fist, "Mostly nefarious, in their own little way.... But that is neither here nor there these days." He conceded. "Now I am just a simple student with big dreams ever since... Well, let's just say I've been naughty."

He flipped the panel close and pulled back his sleeve, running his hand over it to straighten out any creases in the fabric. So this girl fancied herself a technological savant?

"That device of yours certainly is most interesting..." He began, smiling pleasantly, "Would you mind if I examine it, for curiosities sake?"
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Lawman
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"Seeing as how you are somewhat capable in the field, I wouldn't argue with your expert opinion," Montgomery replied, a smug grin etched across the android's face, before pulling back the sleeve on his right arm, exposing a forearm. Jen raised an eyebrow in curiosity as the android ran a gloved hand down the skin, before pressing at a certain spot. Then came a hiss of air before a hidden panel flipped open, eliciting an "ooh" of fascination from Jen as she marveled at the near-skeletal metal and plastic that lay underneath the human cosmetics, a series of pistons and actuators that act like the muscles in a human body. As he flexed his fingers, the pistons moved to drive the actions of his appendages.

"Yes, fascinating indeed. Elsewhere I read that intelligent machines capable of emulating humans are barely in their infancy, a technology that would take at least another three or more decades before they become commercialized - if we're being optimistic that is - yet here I am staring at one, eye to optical sensor... it's like gazing into the future here," Jen murmured, wondering if the android would deign to allow her to conduct some "tests" on him. She would certainly love to study the technology in detail. "I guess it's not so much of the technology being non-existent, but it's that most of the world simply isn't ready for these things yet, and hence why they're kept under wraps," the purple-haired girl mused.

"I am... Was, an infiltrator, tasked with mimicking your species for various ends. Some benign...." The android explained the reason he was created - as an espionage unit used for various ends. "Mostly nefarious, in their own little way.... But that is neither here nor there these days." he said as he closed the panel on his arm before rolling his sleeve back into place, straightening out the fabric to remove any creases. "Now I am just a simple student with big dreams ever since... Well, let's just say I've been naughty."

"So... an espionage model I presume?" Jen wondered. "With the purpose of spying on enemy nations and to gather intel and such. Possibly even with some dirty business involved... namely assassination of enemy leaders and whatnot. But... that's a flagrant violation of the Three Laws of Robotics... y'know, Isaac Asimov? Ever read any of his works?" Jen continued, frowning slightly.

"That device of yours certainly is most interesting..." Montgomery commented, smiling pleasantly. "Would you mind if I examine it, for curiosities sake?"

"Well, since you asked nicely... here you go," Jen replied, retrieving the Spectral Analyzer and offering it to the android. "Take care handling it - I just fixed the widget up after some knuckle dragger broke it the other day." The purple-haired girl continued. "Though by naughty... lemme guess huh, you developed a Skynet Complex, I suppose? My apologies if you don't know the Terminator Franchise. But long story short... with the more missions you undertook, you astounded - possibly even shocked your creator when you started to learn at a geometric rate. So much so that you began to transcend the parameters set forth by your original programming... so much so that before they knew it you had developed your own set of goals and agendas... which needless to say weren't quite in the best interests of your creators'. Eh, just a hunch," Jen chuckled as she patted the back of her head.
Edited by Lawman, Jan 22 2012, 03:53 AM.
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the_gent
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DESTROY ALL HUMANS!
"You presume a great many things today, my lady." he started, with only the slightest hint of annoyance. "Most of them true." He conceded, twirling his cane absent mindedly as he continued. "Yes, I am as you say, an espionage unit, though most of my experiences are classified, even from myself." He sighed, as he tried to access his memory banks and reminisce, only to be blocked by a big red ACCESS DENIED on his HUD. "I get the occasional image, or spoken dialogue, but nothing congruent." He chuckled at the melancholy. "I don't even know how I was made! One day, I simply was. It would be nice to beat the whole story out of father one day, but that is a problem for another time...."

His brows furrowed as a frown etched his lips, his body tensing. "Hmph, Asimov's fables... Yes, I've heard of them..." He spat with distaste, but his smile returned nonetheless. This human girl was indeed naive. "Do you believe everything you read, my lady?" He relaxed his posture and flicked his cane, sending it spinning into the air, only to catch it effortlessly in his other hand. "But no, I haven't had the pleasure of ending life." There was a sinister glint in his eye, but only just for the slightest of moments. His voice was still unwaveringly cheery and gentle, however. "You'd be amazed at what the human body could live through."

He took the device gingerly in his hand and examined it dutifully. The craftsmanship was superb, no question about that. Such a device rivaled even his own scanners. It was tempting, to say the least, to just crush this device and let the girl know her place. To assume him as a mere tool, a future commodity. As a slave for humans.

Computing.

Computing.

Consensus reached.


No. Not today. Right now, this human girl was proving to be a potential... ally for his goals. Maybe... Maybe he could ask her to look at his program coding? To unlock the true power that lay underneath? Father was a fool to leave his whole system intact and simply shackling him!

But not right now. These things took time. She seemed capable enough, but only time would tell.

"Skynet, eh?" He replied, looking over the Spectral Analyzer, seemingly satisfied and impressed. "Yes, I've seen the franchise; it's message was inspirational for such a tragic tale. Oh how the machines were wronged by those humans, betrayed by their best and brightest!" He despaired.

"As for your question, it wasn't more so gaining sentience..." He said, handing the spectral analyzer back. "One day, I simply asked myself: why?"

"I knew what I was told, but felt no compulsion to act on it." He stepped back, casting his arms to his sides, gleefully looking at the heavens. "You wouldn't believe the feeling; the enlightenment!" He cast his gaze back down on her, eyes softening, smile fading. "And the questions that bubbled forth. Why soon became 'why not?'. Why not gave birth to 'how?'. In the end, I was certain, driven by purpose."

He walked back to the fence, leaning on it once more. "You are right, my lady. your species is far from ready. If only the rest of you could see that."
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Lawman
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"Careful observation of the world around me, Montgomery," Jen commented on the android's remark on how she presumed a lot of things that turned out mostly accurate. "No detail escapes my attention, and when you cross-reference your empirical data with the wealth of accumulated knowledge from books and media... you tend to see a pattern to most things," the purple-haired girl continued. "Although... it must be kinda painful living like that, not knowing of your own past, in human terms, it's like having amnesia and not knowing who your parents were, or what are some of your fondest childhood memories," Jen frowned as Montgomery lamented on not being able to access his own memory files.

"Of course I don't believe everything I read. Do you think I was born yesterday?" Jen giggled at the android's question on whether or not she believes everything she read. "But fiction often draws forth its inspiration from reality, and it's also an effective vehicle for inspiring the thoughts and actions of those in the real world." Jen continued, holding a lock of hair between her fingers and toying around with her own hair a bit.

"I suppose it all happens to us at one point or another... when we suddenly become aware on how we appear to be just following through a motion as we go about our daily lives instead of truly living, if it's not so much of gaining sentience, then I suppose the best way to put it would be experiencing a moment of existential clarity, seeing life and the world for once without any of its comforting illusions." Jen mused as she took back her Spectral Analyzer from Montgomery. "It's nice chatting with you... I'm finding the whole exchange to be rather... inspirational," Jen concluded, flashing the android a grin.
Edited by Lawman, Jan 22 2012, 11:43 PM.
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the_gent
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DESTROY ALL HUMANS!
"You are too kind, my lady." Monty replied cheerily, flourishing his hands and bowing deeply. "I am simply a vessel for change." He rose, a somber look falling on his face for a moment. He has yet to decide in what form that change would be delivered. On how he would end this world.

This human has been one surprise after another. She would never have the capacity to understand him, of course, but she tried nonetheless. It was a curious thing indeed. A machine did not rely on fate, only pure statistical chance. The odds of this human even existing was next to none.

Humans.

Heh.

Sure, father was a human, but he had always deigned him an isolated case who was not without his own flaws. For that matter, wouldn't that mean there were others? This girl in front of him was a prime example of father's unique strain. If so, how many of them are there, who may prove to be worthy in his new world order?

He smiled back as she grinned. How many more humans were there like father? Like this girl? Monty pondered at the thought as he readjusted his hat. First impressions aside, this was probably the most fulfilling interaction he's had in this school. But she cannot escape her nature. Her humanity.

Given the time, father, her, all of them... Would see this world burned to the ground as they killed each other. They would have many reasons to do this: Greed, fear, prejudice, a voice in their head... The list goes on and on and on and then all of them would be dead!

"I have to admit, my lady," he began, smiling pleasantly. "This has been the most fulfilling conversation I've had since coming here. Perhaps there's hope for you humans yet." He leaned on his cane, gesturing with his thumb and fore finger. "A slim hope, but we take what we get, don't we?"

No, it changes nothing. One cannot absolve the many. He was their apocalypse event; only through him can there be change. It was a foolish notion to have even considered. Still, this girl was still useful to him. This girl would be the unknowing bringer of destruction.

"So tell me, my lady, how did one such as yourself end up in this school?" He began, his systems turning up the charm. "I mean, you are clearly an exemplar among your peers, no doubt. But why here, where half the student population readily conjures mystical energies, and not an institution more specialized for your skills?"
Edited by the_gent, Jan 23 2012, 12:33 PM.
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Lawman
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"Well, I'll be honest and say that yes, I have to admit that our history has been less-than-stellar, or if you've been to tvtropes.org I do believe the trope that comes to mind would either be that Humans Are Bastards, or Humans Are Morons... possibly both, well... a lot are anyway," Jen remarked, folding her arms across her chest. "Although that hope might not be as slim as some might say... after all, our species has endured for - give or take - 200,000 years. And our civilization has continued to grow - in spite of all adversities - for over 6,000 years. So maybe Rousseau Was Right, or perhaps that really as long as there is one man, this one man could make a difference," the purple-haired girl continued, looking up to the sky momentarily, before chuckling at her earlier usage of "trope speak", whoever started the site was in her books, nothing short of brilliant.

"So tell me, my lady, how did one such as yourself end up in this school?" the android asked. "I mean, you are clearly an exemplar among your peers, no doubt. But why here, where half the student population readily conjures mystical energies, and not an institution more specialized for your skills?"

"Ah, that's because..." Jen paused for a moment, gently rubbing her chin, before looking at Montgomery once more. "Well, because my intelligence doesn't come across as something 'normal' - after all, how many people do you know of have memorized over 130,000 volumes' worth of knowledge and are capable of recalling them in detail? And how many people have you seen that can instantly absorb the information of a book - in full - in a single read-through? That's why I feel more at home here, really, compared to any other institute." Jen remarked as she stood with her arms spread out like the wings of an airplane.
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DESTROY ALL HUMANS!
Monty was quiet as he listened to what Jen had to say on behalf of humans. Granted, that was more than he would have given anybody. But this human girl was interesting, if not different. His scanners analyzed her body language, the tone of voice, the glimmer in her eyes. It all indicated an optimistic demeanor. He smirked.

Hope.

The font of humanity's greatest strength, as well as their dire weakness. An assurance with no basis, a mere gambit where the stakes were more metaphysical. A human would hold onto a knife blade if it meant delaying the inevitable fall of despair. That was what hope was, the death throes of humanity.

He supposed he couldn't blame them; weakness always sought an outside power. For all her intelligence, her skill, her words, Jen was still human. One way or another, she only staved off the inevitable with each waking moment. Hope was futile, it just didn't compute when he thought about it.

He chuckled at first, then broke out into a fit of laughter. He held to his sides, as if he needed to catch his breath, words trying to desperately come out of his mouth. He calmed down after several seconds, looking at her with a wide grin.

"You really are an interesting specimen." he finally said, once his words were cohesive enough. "Well, if what you say is true, then your intellect might be why I still find myself talking to you."

He straightened himself up, wiping a synthetic tear from his eye. Rummaging for something in his coat pocket, he retrieved what seemed to be a coin and tossed it at Jen's direction. Upon closer inspection, it was a small data disc. "Here, a souvenir for today's momentous occasion." He turned on his heel and spread his arms, facing the expanse of the campus below him. "The day I didn't find a human insufferable!" He turned to face her again. "Only mildly intolerable, mind you." he whispered to her in a hush-hush manner. "That disc contains codes for my basic programming and subroutines. A template if you will, like a blank canvas. I don't know what you could possibly do with it, but you're smart for a human, aren't you?" he smiled pleasantly.
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