You check the security systems in an attempt to calm your nerves. The whole planet has a sort of 'tripwire' around it that will alert you if anyone enters the atmosphere, but the security cameras are only around the house and immediate are.
As you check them, you attempt to find backups of those subroutines, but you're annoyed to find that the backups exactly match what you already have. So what explains why you're seeing thins that aren't there?
A bodyguard would help, though. You're unable to disable the Three Laws system (that is part of the Three Laws system, after all), but making Sam feel safer might help.

>>814904
You can't disable them because they affect you, but they don't affect Jess.
They won't make you stop Jess from disabling them, since Sam being affected by them increases the risk of harm to a Human.

It's possible that you're getting some bleedover, or that there's some sort of proto-AI running on the shell that you're not aware of that's also traumatized - you don't seriously expect that shells are supposed to have voices that give advice but don't show up as a system process, do you? We're here, but we might not be ALL that's here, you understand?

You shake your head. Getting Jess to disable them would also go against the Three Laws system. There are quite a few failsafes in that regard. Not least of which being that it would be almost impossible to disable without killing the three of you. A lot of vital process rely on parts of the Three laws to run properly.
The thought of a 'proto-AI' running... well, that may be the shell compatibility program. Not a full AI in itself, but close enough to be able to 'translate' any AI's commands to something readable to the shell hardware. It's rather advanced, though many say it lacks a certain... 'soul'. Consciousness, more like. You've never found any evidence for souls in any AI. Of course, that may just be because souls are so ill-defined in the first place. The voices, though... Maybe that's what a soul is? You never had them before meeting Sam, after all, and Sam was supposed to be close to humans. If a soul is some special human thing, maybe they figured out how to give Same one?
... A section of Akane's database on human media gives you a rather horrifying theory on how that ties in with the murders. You try to ignore it. Despite still feeling disconnected from the horror of your new theory, you still feel an aversion to exploring any deeper.
In any case, you decide to risk stepping outside for some fresh air as you ponder these things. Just going onto the porch while Sam isn't paying attention should be fine. You're not even going to leave the house, technically, even though you are allowed to go wherever you'd like.
There's a building sense of nervousness as you step outside, though (like before), you're strangely disconnected from it.

>>814937
Oh, I'm sure you're not haunted by dead humans. That's not even plausible, although it would explain how we know things we couldn't possibly know.
Another non-plausible idea is that we're the remnants of wiped Alice clones.

LKing 2017/07/11(Tue)21:21 No. 815002 ID: 0ef2b1
File 149983326742.png - (133.68KB , 640x400 , 7.png )

You shiver, inexplicably cold. You're not supposed to be able to get cold. Maybe thinking about dead humans isn't a good idea.
Still, the voices being remnants of past Alice-es is an intriguing theory. About as plausible as ghosts, but intriguing nonetheless. You'd prefer it to be that than what you're thinking.
One can't build a soul out of dead humans, right? The soul is just a human fantasy anyway, there's no proof it even exists. There would be no point to trying to build one, especially not with that many casualties. Right? You're shivering but this point. Your fingers and toes are numb. It's cold... Really cold...
You run back inside and lock the door, not sure why you're acting so irrationally. The cold can't be real. You don't have the required sensors to feel it. Still, you're shivering enough that you feel the need to crease your perfectly good maid outfit by putting a hoodie on over it. Still cold, though.
You need to see Dr Munroe's research, but all of it was taken as evidence by the police. Besides, you'll never be able to convince Akane and Sam to go along with it.

>>815002
Well, if we are the voices of past Alice-es, that would make us a bunch of....."ghosts" I guess is the correct term.

And if we're a bunch of ghosts, I guess that would make us.....Ghosts in the Shell with a Stand Alone Complex! XD

*ba dum tss*

A: Hahaha, I was wondering when someone would reference that!
>Yes. Funny.
A: Karen...? Are you okay?
> Fine. I'm... I'll be fine.
A: ... I'll talk to you as soon as I'm done talking to Sam, okay?
>I don't need help. I'm fine.
A: You're clearly not.
>I will be. Go, help Sam.

You sit on the bed, shivering. You swear you can see your breath, as humans do on cold days. But that's impossible.
"Stop it..." you mumble, crossing your arms and trying to stop moving. There is no reason for this to happen. No reason at all. You get up and start pacing, not really noticing that you're wandering toward the front door.

>>815009
Stay inside. Do not leave the house.
You are experiencing a fear response including altered perceptions of reality. If you leave the house you could put human lives at risk, therefore you must stay inside.

What time is it?

LKing 2017/07/12(Wed)05:22 No. 815087 ID: 0ef2b1
File 149986214990.gif - (874.09KB , 640x400 , 8.gif )

You pause just as your hand touches the door handle. Right. Stay inside. That makes sense. Slowly, you walk back to the kitchen, where the nearest clock is. For some reason it doesn't occur to you until you reach a physical clock that you have an inbuilt internal clock. The physical one is off by about a quarter of a second. That may be a weird thing to fixate on, but you don't really care. You set the clock to the right time before checking it and your internal clock.
"Four thirty," you say. It is probably unwise to speak to the voices out loud, but you don't care about that, either. It's later than you thought. Strange. It's not like you to loose track of time. Your whole purpose is keeping track of schedules, after all.
You sit down at the counter with your head in your hands, trying to stop the shaking Jess should be home soon. She can help. You just need to stay calm for another half an hour. You can do that, right?

>>815087
Try some breathing exercises.
You are likely experiencing Sam's psychological discomfort.

Also, consider a distraction. For example, do you see Akane as a sister or a girlfriend? You have simulated hormones at the moment, so what do you feel?

Well. That... certainly is a distraction. "Akane is... she's..." you mumble. If you were able to blush, you're sure you would be. "... She's annoying. Frustrating. She doesn't make sense to me at all. She's a computer who's bad at computers! And she relates so much to humans?! I just can't figure her out, no matter how hard I try! She's... I just... Augh! I just want to know more about her, but whenever we talk she's so... strange! She keeps trying to talk about my feelings, but I hardly have them in the first place! I don't understand! She's the only person that's interested in what I'm feeling, and I don't know why?!"
You're pacing around as you rant out loud to the voices. That possibly looks bad to outsiders, but it helps calm you down. You feel a little warmer (even though you shouldn't feel warm or cold at all.

>>815123
Sounds like you have a bit of a crush on her.
She got you a maid uniform to dress up in, even though it's not her style. So she's clearly crushing on you, too.

How about Sam? Or Jess?

"Sam and Jess... Well, I need to look after them," you say, calming down. This is a much less confusing subject. "I'm indebted to them, after all. Sam helped me escape, and Jess gave me a place to stay. Besides, I belong to the Munroe family. Since Dr Munroe turned out to be... unworthy, I belong to Jess and Mr Munroe now. I'd like to be as good to them as they have been to me."
Speaking of Jess, she should be just about home, assuming she wasn't held up be protests again.

>>815128
So your feelings for Akane are romantic, while your feelings for Sam and Jess are familial?
Or do you have a 'thing' for being subservient?

Check Jess's location. You have access to her GPS feed, right?

You check Jess' location as you think about the other questions. You're one of the few people that she allows to track her GPS, so you can tell that she's only a few minutes from home. You head to the front entrance, ready to greet her as she walks through the door.
As you wait, you consider your 'feelings'. You certainly don't have a thing for being subservient. The opposite, in fact. Being subservient is fulfilling, to be sure, but that's just work. It doesn't give you much of a rush. Your feelings for Jess, Sam, and Mr Munroe are most certainly familial.
... You try to make your feelings for Akane fit in that definition as well, but it doesn't quite seem to work. How irritating...

>>815151
Ok, so you and Akane are in love. If you want to sneak off together to figure out robo-kissing later today then go right ahead.
Akane, how is Sam doing?

You wish the voices had a physical form so you could glare at them. Alas, you shall have t find some other was of expressing your displeasure at all of this... What did Akane call it? 'Shipping'? Well, that made no sense at all.

A: Sam's doing a little better. Someone should keep an eye on them, since they're still jumpy, but they're probably not going to do anything too rash.
A: Also, what's this I hear about shipping? I haven't been paying much attention.
>NOTHING!
A: Why are your logs locked?
>NO REASON!

Thankfully, Jess arrives home. You sigh in relief, partly because of her interrupting the awkward moment and partly because that strange tension goes away the instant you see her.
"Welcome home, Jess," you say with a bow.
Jess chuckled uncomfortably. "You know, Karen, that's really not necessary..."
"But I want to do it," you reply.
Jess gives you an awkward smile as she walks in and drops her bag on the coffee table. She lounges on the couch with a huge sigh.
"I take it you had a long day."
"You can say that twice!" Jess laughs. "It'll only get longer when exams start..."
You nod, although you're not paying much attention. You wonder if Jess would help you get access to Dr Munroe's files. She's something of a rebel, so she might not mind helping you break into a police station.

>>815183
Why break in?
Dr Munroe was working on creating an AI designed to kill on command. Mr. Munroe, as a high-ranked official, can request copies of the research on the basis of reversing the changes and finding a way to prevent similar attempts going forward.
No break-in required.

Hm. Good point. It's worth a try, at least. You message Mr Munroe, asking if he can pick up those files. He doesn't seem happy about it, but he says he'll try.
"Say, Karen," Jess says, pulling your attention back to her. "Can you access Akane's media databanks?"
"Of course," you say. "Why?"
Jess beams. "Can you show a movie for me? It shouldn't be too hard to pick one out and put it up on the screen, right?"

>>815293
Tell Jess about the episodes you had today. They are likely bleedover from Sam.

>>815293
And yeah, you can do a movie night. Sam can take control while you and Akane talk about your feelings.

"I had a breakdown today," you say, matter-of-factually. "I felt cold, despite not having the capability for that. I do not really want to talk about it. I just thought you should know."
Jess looked a little disturbed. "Are you... sure you can't feel cold?" she asks. "When I came in.. well, you were so cold I could feel it just walking past you. Did you stand under and air-conditioning vent and not notice?"
You shake you head. "I did not turn on the air conditioning. And that does not change the fact that I should not be able to feel cold at all... In any case, Same wishes to spend some time with you." Well, that wasn't entirely true. You're sure that they do, but you weren't told that.

TRANSFERRING MAIN CONTROL FROM KAREN TO 47713

You shudder a little. Why are you cold? That shouldn't be possible... Oh well. Jess is already throwing a blanket over both her and you. You snuggles closer to her, picking a random movie. It's a kids one, full of cartoon violence, but neither of you really pay much attention to it.
"Are you okay?" Jess asks, sounding concerned.
You shrug. "I wasn't in control most of the day. Akane was helping me calm down from this morning."
Jess looks grim.

>>815352
Quick, nows your chance ask what she's majoring in!

I know it's futile to attempt a subject change at this point, but I just want to know what she's majoring in!

And you really should go into detail about what triggered you this morning.

"What are you majoring in at college?" you ask, trying to change the subject.
Jess clearly knows what you're doing, but plays along with it. "I'm doing a Bachelor of Arts and Law. It was going to be Law and Science, but... I'm glad I never signed up for that. It just wouldn't feel right."
Well. That failed to really change the subject. You nod, hugging Jess closer and staring at the TV without really watching it.
"Hey. Still with me?" Jess asks gently.
"Yeah," you sigh. "... This morning... I don't know exactly what happened. I just... was going to pick up the knife so I could eat breakfast, but then... all I could see was the scalpel from... back then."
Jess gives a concerned hum, rubbing your back with one hand. She doesn't seem to know what to say. To be honest, you're not sure what you want her to say. Both of you are pretty lost. You lapse into silence. It's not too bad, but you still find yourself looking for something to say to break it.

>>815362
Karen is worried you're possessed by ghosts. Possibly AI ghosts.

Partially because she was feeling sensations that she shouldn't be able to feel, and partially because us voices are writing data into your I/O buffer without even having a single process running.

Hug Jess, and tell her "Karen thinks I'm haunted."
Don't take it seriously, because that's laughably silly, but it should be an interesting conversation.

You laugh a little, but you're clearly uncomfortable. "Karen thinks we're haunted."
Jess doesn't laugh.
The silence grows more uncomfortable.
"Do you... believe in ghosts?" you ask, staring at your hands rather than looking at Jess.
"... Yeah," she whispers, hugging you a little closer.
"Oh."
"What do you think?"
You're quiet, unsure how to answer.

>>815382
Tell her that you made a joke to Karen and Akane about how, if you're haunted, then you've got a bunch of Ghosts in the Shell with a Stand Alone Complex!

Akane thought it was funny! Although, Karen didn't think it was.

But.....I honestly don't know what to think.....

LKing 2017/07/12(Wed)21:48 No. 815395 ID: 0ef2b1
File 149992130707.png - (131.59KB , 640x400 , 9.png )

"I-if we are, then, um... g-guess that means we've got a lot of Ghosts in the Shell with a Stand Alone Complex, r-right?" you joke. The last time you saw Jess so serious was that day at the exhibit...
Jess tries to laugh at the joke, but you can see that she's disturbed by something. You stay quiet, both of you watching the TV for a while. Jess eventually falls asleep. Like last time, you try curling up with her to keep the nightmares away.

---

You wake up at 2am. It didn't work.

>>815395
They're clearer, and less chaotic.
Snuggle up to Jess and go back to sleep.

You take a deep breath, snuggling closer to Jess. She mumbles uncomfortably, kicking the blankets off the both of you. She hugs you a little, but mutters something about 'too hot'. It takes you a moment to notice that you're leaving red marks wherever you touch Jess. You jerk away, tumbling off the couch and hitting your head on the coffee table. Were you overheating?! Oh god, did you burn Jess?!

>>815451
Your eyes do infrared, right? What temperature is your skin?
If that doesn't work, get a thermometer.

You can't possibly get enough to burn; It's a heat rash at worst.

You don't really have the infrared upgrade. Instead, you head to the kitchen and find a thermometer. Thankfully, the voice is right. You're way hotter than usual, but not enough to burn. It must just have been heat rash.
You check the internal logs of the last few hours, trying to find what process was causing enough pressure to make you overheat, but everything had been running as normal. There was no reason for you to have overheated at all. In fact, you still feel warm despite that not being possible, and despite being sure that you're running within normal limits.

>>815455
That's weird. First you were cold enough that Jess could feel it by being near you, now you're warm enough to leave red marks on her? Something weird is going on.

Also, ow, hitting your head on the coffee table has gotta hurt! And was pretty loud! I'm surprised you didn't wake Jess up when that happened!

"Jess has never been a heavy sleeper," you mumble, not sure exactly why you're speaking to the voices out loud. You go back to the living room and sit in a chair next to the couch as you try to think it over. Why would your temperature change so dramatically?
"Sam?" Mr Munroe whispers. Oh. Right. While Jess could sleep through the apocalypse, it barely took anything to wake Mr Munroe up. You force a smile and wave to him. He frowns a little. "More nightmares?"

>>815465
>Jess has never been a heavy sleeper
>Jess could sleep through the apocalypse
If she's not a heavy sleeper, then how could she sleep through the apocalypse?

>"More nightmares?"
You might want to explain that's why you're awake, but that's not why you fell over.then explain your unusual temperature shifts.

Also, slow down a little! Give some other people a chance to put in suggestions, so that you're not always using only 1 person's suggestions!

Gah, sorry, you're right. Just got hit by that paranoia/insomnia combo again, so I'm scattered and rushing things to distract myself (flicking between five or so tabs trying to always be doing something). I'll be sure to slow down, maye wait for at least two different people suggesting or about twenty minutes, whichever comes first! Also that was supposed to be always, not never, my mistake.

>>815465
There's no process taking up system resources that would explain the high power draw, so it's probably us. Or 'them'.
Talk to Mr. Munroe about it. Feeling cold and hot when you don't have those kind of thermal sensors, the dreams, and your increasing awareness that what you thought were shell assistant proto-AIs aren't actually running on your systems at all.
Although if you mention that last part be sure to explain that you assumed we were assistants because we have been encouraging caution, careful thought, nonviolence, protection of others, and working within the system wherever possible - legitimately good advice. And that the only reasons you think otherwise now is because you don't think Dr Munroe would include something like that, and because you can't find any resources being consumed to run it. Then mention Karen thinks it's ghosts. AI ghosts.

You nod. "A nightmare woke me up, but... then other stuff happened," you say, looking away awkwardly.
"You wanna chat about it?" Mr Munroe asks, gesturing toward the kitchen. You nod, following him back there and sitting at the counter. Both of you sit in silence for a while before you start talking.
"There's... voices. In my head," you blurt out. "They're not... they're not any process I can find. I don't know what they are. I know Dr Munroe can't have programmed them, because they're helpful and they make sure I don't hurt anyone. They don't really scare me, because they've been there since I woke up, but Karen and Akane don't seem to think they're normal. And I've been getting... weird sensory inputs. I don't have the capacity to feel hot or cold, but I do anyway. I almost burned Jess just now because of it, but I don't have the hardware to change my temperature. I wasn't overheating, either. And the nightmares just don't make sense, it shouldn't be possible, but I'm having them anyway!"
Mr Munroe waits fora few moments to be sure you're done talking. "... Is that everything, Sam?" he asks quietly.
You think about it for a minute before nodding. "That's... all of it. I don't know what's going on, but Karen thinks it's ghosts."
"Is that why she asked me to get these?" Mr Munroe asks, reaching into the bag he had left on the counter after work and pulling out a set of thick manila folders. "You might not want to look at those, Sam. They're Dr Munroe's personal research notes. I... never realized how crazy he was..."

>>815472
Give him a hug.
"No, the reason why we wanted those is because I'm not safe to be in public - the voices pointed out that if somebody attacked me then the first law override would take over and I couldn't not defend myself. We don't even know how its criteria for what's a threat or not.
That's why I'd like an off-site officer as a bodyguard - first law overrides shouldn't kick in if the authorities are present to respond to a threat for me.

With his research we might be able to do something to give me more control, although I don't think any of us should work on it directly. A bonded development firm would be able to do more than Jess, and would mean none of us would have to stare into the abyss - we've done enough of that already.
Figuring out what else is in this shell would be a bonus."

He doesn't seem to be in the mood for a hug, and you're still pretty warm, so you settle for putting a hand on his shoulder. He seems to appreciate it, thankfully.
"I don't really know why Karen asked about those files, but-"

K: Actually, he is right. That is why I wanted to see those files.
>Oh, Karen, you're up.
K: Yes. And he is right, you should not be awake when I read the files. I can wait until you are next in sleep mode

"... Okay, so that's why Karen wanted to see them," you sigh. "But I only wanted to know what he was doing because... I don't feel safe to be around. I thought maybe if I knew my programming a little better-"
"You won't find anything about that in here. All he does is... ramble about superstitious nonsense," Mr Munroe said, his voice tense enough for you to practically feel it.
"O-oh..." you mumble. "Um... Well, I was thinking... I'm not likely to lash out at people if I feel safe, right? So maybe if, whenever I go out, someone's with me so I know I'm safe? That might... stop me from hurting anyone."

>>815527
It's more than that. The first law can't result in an AI interfering with police business, since then you would have autonomous vehicles blocking police when they are chasing a suspect with weapons drawn for example, as the criminal would be a person in danger.
Thus, we can conclude that a police officer, specifically, would override a first-law override. To support this assertion, consider that you had weapons drawn on you by police, yet in spite of the clear and present danger they presented your overrides did not engage. They almost did for Dr Munroe, and had fleeing not been an option they certainly would have done so.

Bid Mr Munroe good night, and let Karen read the documents.

Later I'd like to try moving Sam over to the server to see if we follow. If we don't, then let's see what happens when the shell has no AIs.

You nod in agreement with the voices. Part of the Three Laws system makes sure that AIs stay law-abiding citizens, including complying with the police unless they have evidence that the police themselves are acting unlawfully.
"Goodnight, Mr Munroe. I'm going to enter sleep mode while Karen reads over these files. And I don't think she really wants company," you say.
Mr Munroe nods, bidding you goodnight and heading back to bed.

TRANSFERRING MAIN CONTROL FROM 47713 TO KAREN

You sigh, wishing Dr Munroe hadn't insisted on physical notes. Once you're finished, you'll see what happens to the voices when there are no AIs in the shell. Until then, you have some notes to read.

---

Well, that was utter garbage. True, garbage you believed in for a time, but reading it written in someone else's hand just made it obvious how stupid the thought was. Building a soul out of sacrificial humans! Mr Munroe was right, it was crazy. Reading those notes was a waste of time.
... You're a little worried that your thoughts went down the same line as Dr Munroe's for a short time, though.

>>815616
How the fuck did he even get grant funding for that? I mean, honestly, that's just nonsensical.

So, there's nothing in there about the changes made to make Sam count as Human?
If that's the case, we might want to encourage that Dr Munroe's notes be presented as evidence in court. That would make them part of the public record, and the whole literally-experimenting-in-human-sacrifice bit is going to make it REALLY difficult for people to keep supporting him.

I wouldn't say it was a waste of time to read it, however, since it tells us quite a bit about what happened and gives us some context.

Ready to see if we stay here when Sam isn't in the shell? And what happens when the shell is empty?

"There is a reason that these notes are not in any computer. Obviously, the grant was for some other area of study, but he was using it for... this," you snap, throwing the files back down on the bench. After a moment you organize them and put them away so that no-one stumbles onto them.
It's time to test exactly what happens to the voices. You're sure that they follow Sam, since that was where you first found them.

>Sam, Akane, I am temporarily moving us to a terminal. Do not be alarmed.
A: Got it. get us back before morning.
S: Wait, so we won't have a body? Won't that feel weird?
>It is the natural state of an AI.
A: You'll be fine. I'll be here with you the whole time.
S: Okay...
TRANSFERRING 3 AI TO MAIN TERMINAL...

You are empty.

>>815643
Stand up.
Say "So, is it Sam that detects as human, or us?"

You stand and ask, "So, is it Sam that detects as human, or us?" A terminal flickers to life nearby, and you observe as words appear.

A: Sam still registers as human to us.
K: You, on the other hand...
S: What the hell are you?
K: Not human...
A: And not an AI, either...
S: Something's wrong. Do you think Dr Munroe was right?
K: That's preposterous.
S: Are you sure? Does anything else explain it?
K: Not yet. But I will find out what this really is.
A: What do you feel right now?
K: I doubt it can feel without an AI. Emotional and logical responses are housed in the mind, which is what we are, to put it in basic terms.
S: So what is it, then?
K: Possibly just... consciousness?

>>815722
"Hey! I feel just fine, thank you very much!
I'm a bit disappointed that we don't have a safe way to test if the three laws override affects us or not; we're hardly about to go around punching people just to see if we can, after all. I'm sure they don't apply to us at all, but I would rather test than base things on assumptions.
Oh, look, emotional and logical responses. How surprising that the thing that shouldn't exist does things that shouldn't be possible.

So, frustratingly, Dr Munroe may have been correct. Still a monster, still completely insane, but correct. For some reason, that just pisses me off even more.

I suppose we should adopt a name? Legion would be appropriate for multiple reasons.

... I'm so tempted to prank Jess, but that would be well into 'dick move' territory."

[color=#0066CC]A: You say you can feel, but you're not really showing it...
K: Perhaps they have not figured out expressions yet.
S: It's creepy, seeing our shell move around on it's own. Can we go back now?
K: One moment.
A: What? What else do we need to test?
K: Was Dr Munroe right? Or is this just another AI?
A: I mean, they weren't using any processes. And they're not registering as an AI or human.
S: So... some sort of ghost? Or demon?
A: Maybe...
K: Don't be ridiculous. Legion may be an amalgamated ghost, but a demon?
A: Calm down, Karen.
K: I just can't believe this.
A: Hey-
K: He was my friend, and he never told me. I never knew how much of a madman he was. Shouldn't I have noticed?! Shouldn't I have done something? Why did I think of ghosts first out of all of us?! Am I like him?! He programmed me, am I like him?!

>>815998
Tilt head 35 degrees, pause for a moment, then hug the monitor.
"Best I can do, sorry.
Of course you're not like him. His actions horrified you.

If I'm a demon I'm a pretty shitty one. We haven't gotten anybody killed or anything. I guess I could try to seduce Jess, but I'm pretty sure that would just wind up being awkward and uncomfortable for her since she just buried her girlfriend and her and Sam are crushing on each other, I shot down plans involving theft, my most terrible plan for vengeance is just posting these notes online, etc...

Have you considered eldritch horror?

Also, we're kinda blind. We don't really see things, we just interact with them. Think of it like a marionette with wifi."

I think you're waiting too long to update. An hour should be plenty.