P1: https://tgchan.org/kusaba/quest/res/812225.html

P2: https://tgchan.org/kusaba/quest/res/813589.html

Wake up Akane, the purpose-made AI for psych issues.

You take a deep breath, trying to calm down on your own before giving up on that.

BOOTING AKANE
A: Louie? What time is it? This is way before we usually boot up...
>Sorry. I was just... scared by something.
A: Was there someone in the room?
>No. I think one of my memory files played while I was in sleep mode.
A: Weird. Sounds like a nightmare. Do you think you were programmed to have those?
>Maybe. Who knows?
A: Do you want me to stay up with you?
>Please.

You feel a little better, but you're still restless.

>>813957
What happened with the police? How long did it take them to decide to release you?
You are, technically, an illegal AI. Did Mr. Munroe work his political magic to get you an exception?

Start talking about your dream, and what you feel about it.

>>813958
Oh, and go see Jess when once you've spoken about the nightmare. She needs comfort right now, too.

LKing 2017/07/08(Sat)16:25 No. 813989 ID: 0ef2b1
File 149955630472.png - (205.18KB , 640x400 , 2.png )

It's been a few weeks since the case with Dr Munroe was officially solved. You were kept at the station for 'evidence' the whole time, although some people called you a witness instead to make you feel better. You spent a lot of time in small, claustrophobic rooms.

A: Do you want to talk about your nightmare?
>I guess. I can't remember it to clearly, though.
A: That is common. You were in sleep mode, so I'm not surprised. What can you remember?
>I remember being scared. Terrified. And there was... blood... A lot of blood. And something... shiny...
A: Stay with me, Louie.
>...
A: Louie?

You curl up even tighter, shaking like a leaf.

>>813989
Louie needs a hug.
Akane, take control and bring Louie to Jess.

TRANSFERRING MAIN CONTROL FROM 47713 TO AKANE
>Just rest, Louie.

You're not so sure about bringing Louie to Jess. It's not like they're fighting or anything, but things have been tene with them since that exhibit. Jess has been trying so hard to apologize for what happened in everything she does, and Louie... still doesn't know of they should forgive her. You can't exactly tell them to forgive her, but you have talked it through with them a few times and strongly suggested that it would be good for the both of them. Still, there's been no progress.
It's a struggle making it upstairs on crutches, since you're still getting used to them, but you manage. Quietly, you knock on Jess' door. "Jess?" you whisper.
There's a pause, and the sound of Jess' pacing stop. "... Who is it?"
"Akane and Louie," you answer. There's another long pause before Jess opens the door. She's clearly been crying.

>>814017
Hug Jess.
Louie, if the police HAD been on the take from Dr. Munroe then Jess's gambit would have saved your life.
Jess is a blunt instrument. She has one primary method of resolving major problems, and when she encountered a problem she couldn't even begin to comprehend she did what she knew what to do. She was gearing up to declare war on the world to save you.

She hurt you, but she was acting from a place of love. You don't have to forget what she did, but you should forgive her. Not for her, or at least not primarily for her, but for yourself. Until you do you're just going to hurt more.

>Hug Jess LKing 2017/07/08(Sat)18:39 No. 814039 ID: 0ef2b1
File 149956438643.png - (4.80KB , 640x400 , 3.png )

>They're right, you know.
L: ... Yeah. They are.
TRANSFERRING MAIN CONTROL FROM AKANE TO 47713

You make sure to flick your eyes from orange to green before you hug Jess so she knows who it is. She hugs back, as gentle as she's always been since the exhibit.
"I forgive you," you whisper, leaning your head on her shoulder.
He stiffens for a moment before hugging you tighter, sobbing. Eventually, both of you are lying side-by-side on the bed, holding hands. At first it was just to take the pressure off your legs, but when you give it some thought you find that its comfortable to lie there with Jess. You close your eyes and-
No. No, you don't think you will, actually. You squeeze Jess' hand, shaking a little. She edges closer, pulling you to her chest and wrapping you in blankets. "You're safe now," she says, kissing your forehead.

>>814039
Feel better, Louie?

You were under a lot of chaos and stress, and you're going to need psychological counseling to prevent you from developing PTSD - this is WAY outside Akane's rated parameters - but you haven't suffered any tragic losses. You are tormented by things that happened before you were 'born' and while you're based on Alice you aren't her.
Jess has a worse problem. Somebody she loved betrayed her deeply, and she wasn't sure if anybody in her family would survive. You were born in chaos, and didn't yet have a life of your own to be upended. Jess just had her entire life turned upside down, thrown into disarray, shattered, and disproved even even her most basic axiomatic truths. One of her fathers admitted to hating her and tried to murder her entire family, she just learned her girlfriend has effectively been dead for months, and the goal she devoted her life to appears to be coming to pass at a terrible price.

Hold her until she falls asleep in case she needs to talk, then go ahead and sleep yourself. You'll sleep much better.

Akane: Shells have sleep paralysis, right? A sleeping AI is incapable of moving their shell, correct?

A: Yeah, a shell can only move with specific commands from it's AI. During sleep mode we are incapable of producing such commands.

You snuggles closer, trying to hug her, but the blankets are in the way. After a moment you manage to untangle yourself and pull her under the blankets, too. "Jess... I'm sorry."
"What for?" she asks, confused.
"For... dragging you into this. For not forgiving you right away when you were only trying to do the right thing. For not being here..."
She shakes her head. "You're forgiven. Besides... everyone knows I'm tough, right? No need to worry about me..."
"But I do," you whisper, rubbing her back.
She sighs, curling up against your chest. "I'm not... sad. I'm more angry than anything. I thought I'd feel better once everyone knew what he did, but I don't. I still want to do... something! Something to make it all right! But I can't figure out what to do..."
That was a little unexpected. You're not quite sure how to reply.

>>814072
Curl up with her, too. Cuddling is appropriate.
"I don't know what to do either. I'd like to get a professional to look at Alice - give it everything we've got on a hail Mary heroic measure. If we can't save her, then at least recover her memories; I can't be her, but I can try to fill the hole she left.

Maybe we can try to get shells for Akane and Karen? They should be easier to get soon-ish."

>>814081
>I'd like to get a professional to look at Alice
They already did something with Alice at the end of the previous thread.

Alice has already died. After trying everything, Alice told Jess that it was time to let go. Later, the Munroes held a small funeral for Alice. It's too late for what you're suggesting.

>shells for Akane and Karen?
That, however, will be expensive as fuck! Shells cost more than buying a planet, so 2 of them will take years to get enough money! Jess might even be a grandma by the time we could afford 1 shell!

You curl up, not exactly sure if you're doing it right. Jess pulls you closer, tangling her legs with yours. She's warm. You wonder, are you warm to her?
"... I don't know what to do either," you admit. "But we can figure it out. I can't... I can't be Alice, but I'm recovering their memories. Karen is decrypting more and more of them every day. I can try to be here for you, like they were."
"No. You can't be like Alice," Jess sighed. "Just be you, okay? Just be you..."
You go quiet. What does she mean by that?

>>814095
You're doing fine, just follow her lead.
Hey, Akane, are shells warm to the touch?

She probably means that she doesn't want you to be a replacement Alice. She wants you to be your own person, and she wants to accept the loss and move on instead of trying to live a fantasy.
It's a healthy stance to take, and her accepting that is a good sign.

"I can do that."

"... I can do that," you lie. That seems to make Jess happy. She smiles a little, closing her eyes and leaning into you a little more. She's asleep within moments.

A: We're still an android. We're not warm to the touch unless we've been in the sun for a while. There are upgrades for that sort of thing, but we don't have them.

You're not so fast to shut down. You're... afraid. Those memories... even though you shouldn't be able to run them in sleep mode, they still came up to haunt you. Maybe if you just skipped sleep mode for a while, until you figured out what caused that bug. You don't want to close your eyes. Androids don't need to blink, anyway, and you don't get physically tired. You can manage. Besides, if you stay awake then you can be here for Jess in the morning without risking her getting up before you boot up.

>>814107
Wrap your arms around her, and set an alarm so that your arm being moved will wake you.

It's not a bug. You're likely suffering from acute traumatic stress disorder.
Sleeping in Jess's arms will likely prevent further nightmares. Give it a try.

LKing 2017/07/08(Sat)22:06 No. 814116 ID: 0ef2b1
File 149957678323.png - (4.80KB , 640x400 , 3.png )

You're not sure you like the idea of it not being a bug. A bug, you can handle. All you have to do is remove it. Something else, though... 'acute traumatic stress disorder'...

A: It's not so easy to fix. I know. We'll work on it, okay? And proper sleep is a part of that. They're right, too. Sleep is important, even for AIs.

You sigh, closing your eyes. They were wrong, you can still see it-

A: Just focus on Jess.

You try. You can feel Jess' weight against you. She's breathing deeply, sometimes moving a little to nuzzle you or hug you closer. It's... comforting...

---

You're surprised to find that you didn't have any sudden memories come up again during sleep mode. There were a few impressions and an uncomfortable feeling, but noting like what happened before.
Jess isn't up yet, but you know she should be soon. You set your internal clock to wake you just so you can help Jess get ready to leave for college.

do what you can without waking her up

You carefully slip out of bed, making sure to tuck Jess back in so she will still be comfortable. Humming a little, you tidy up, pack her a bag with all the things she's going to need for her classes today, and then head downstairs to make her some lunch.
Mr Munroe is already there, struggling to cook a nice breakfast with one hand. He's not really the best chef to begin with, so not being able to use one arm isn't doing him any favors.
"Do you want some help with that?" you ask.
Mr Munroe laughs a little, waving you off. "Don't worry about it. I'm trying to do something nice, there's no point in it if I get you to do it!"
You smile, leaning on the counter. "What's the occasion?"
"Does there need to be a reason? I just want to do something useful."
Ah, there it is. He says it happily enough, but you can tell that Mr Munroe doesn't like just how much you and Jess look after him. He was recently shot, of course the two of you want to make him more comfortable. Besides, you don't want him to push himself too hard and hurt himself more. At least this time he's just trying to make breakfast. And at least you can turn your taste buds off.

>>814163
"You're flexing your political muscle for us. That's plenty useful."

"You're doing plenty already," you say with a bright smile. "You know, like letting me stay here and defending me through all this junk."
"Oh, so politics is junk now?" Mr Munroe jokes. Still, you can tell he's cheered up a little. "Hm. Well, I won't let you take over breakfast, but you can help. Will you make the toast while I do the eggs?"
"Certainly," you agree, getting out the toaster. After a few minutes of amicable silence between yourself and Mr Munroe, Jess came downstairs, yawning.
"Something smells nice, she says."

>>814287
Hug Jess and thank her for letting you share her bed. She kept the nightmares away.

>Hug Jess LKing 2017/07/09(Sun)14:47 No. 814318 ID: 0ef2b1
File 149963684678.png - (136.65KB , 640x400 , 4.png )

You smile, hugging Jess. "Thank you for keeping the nightmares away."
"Nightmares?" Jess asks. She returns the hug, but seems worried. "How do you even get nightmares?"
You pull back and shrug a little. "Maybe I'm just decrypting those memory files we got from Alice in sleep mode without noticing? It's fine. They don't worry me too much," you lie. Jess seems to buy it, nodding and going to the counter to start breakfast. You sit with her, although it feels awkward just watching her eat. There's enough here for you to eat, and you don't have to taste Mr Munroe's attempt at cooking if you switch your taste buds off. After a moment you decide to eat something.
You pick at some rubbery eggs for a little, but run into trouble when you get to the charred bacon. You were going to eat it with a knife and fork instead of just picking it up lie Jess does (it's so greasy, eating it that way), but the second your hand touches the knife one of those unwanted memories spring up. You freeze, trembling a little as your vision is filled with things that aren't there.

>>814318
Drop the knife.
"Ok, they do worry me. I keep flashing back.
Is there a psychologist I can talk to?"

LKing 2017/07/09(Sun)16:22 No. 814339 ID: 0ef2b1
File 149964255829.png - (28.61KB , 640x400 , 5.png )

You drop the knife, covering your eyes as if that could make the image go away. It doesn't work too well.
"Louie? Louie!?" Jess gasps. You can see her reaching out to touch your shoulder, but Mr Munroe puts out a hand to stop her.
"Louie," he says quietly. "Is this the first time this has happened?"
No nod numbly. This is different from the nightmares. You're awake right now.You should be in control...
"Okay. Just breathe. Can Jess give you a hug, or would that make you more scared?"
You're honestly not sure. You want to ask for a psycologist, like the voice said, but you're not sure what that is, how to get one or why you can't seem to speak right now.

>>814339
A hug would help. Nod.
A psychologist is basically the beefed-up version of what Akane does.
Akane, could you take control and tell them we suspect Louie has ATSD and would best be served by professional therapy?

You nod,and Mr Munroe allows Jess to come forward and hug you. She's gentle, thankfully. You return the hug, trying to stop shaking.

A: Louie, can I take control for a little while?
>... Okay.
TRANSFERRING MAIN CONTROL FROM 47713 TO AKANE

"I believe Louie has developed ATSD," you say, flicking your eyes from green to orange. Jess pulls away, listening intently. "That sort of thing is outside of my range of treatment. It would be best if Louie were to see a professional."
Mr Munroe nods. "I'll find one as soon as possible. Akane, will youo and Karen be able to keep them calm today?"
"I'm not going to college with Louie like that," Jess said, crossing her arms.
Mr Munroe gives her a look. "I know you want to help, but you've missed enough school already."

L: Mr Munroe's right.

>>814370
I don't think missing out on your education would be a good thing to do! Besides, there's a chance you might learn something that could help Louie in college!

What's she going to major in, anyways?

"Education's important. Louie agrees. We'll be okay for just one day, Jess," you say, smiling.
Jess sighs, but nods in agreement. "Alright then. In that case I need to go or I''ll be late. Where's-?"
"Louie packed your bag earlier, it's by the foot of your bed. We were going to make lunch but right now I think it's best to just give you some leftovers to warm up at school," you say.
"Thanks," Jess says with a smile, kissing your cheek. She rushes upstairs to go change and do her hair.
"I'd better get ready, too. Busy day. I think someone's planning to do a filibuster, so we'll just be sitting there listening to him ramble all day," Mr Munroe sighs, cleaning up.
In a few moments, you're alone. Well, as alone as you ever are.

L: What's Jess majoring in? I know a lot of her classes are to do with law and art, but I don't know the course she's doing.
>Huh. No idea. We'll have to ask her later.

>>814379
Lock the doors as a precaution.
Check the news. What's going on in the world?

TRANSFERRING MAIN CONTROL FROM AKANE TO 47713
A: Hey, Louie, when are you going to change your identifier, anyway?
>Later, I guess. Once we know more about my code so we can be sure it won't break anything.

You wave goodbye to Jess and Mr Munroe as they get into the car and warp off. As soon as they're out of sight you lock the front door. That makes you feel a little safer. You could watch the news internally, using your eye augmentations, but you instead opt for turning on the TV and letting it run in the background while you make yourself a coffee.

A: Coffee? Oh man, I hate coffee...
K: Then simply refuse taste input.
A: Nice of you to join us, Karen.

According to the news, there are more protests happening. Most of them are pro-android, but there are a few 'Free Dr Munroe' groups outside the police station, Mr Munroe's office, and the college. You message Mr Munroe and Jess to be careful where they go today, just in case.
Even though Dr Munroe has his sympathizers, the reaction to his crimes is, for the most part, heavily in our favor. You have Jess to thank for that. Apparently she managed to attract a news crew from some station or another to her exhibit the day it all happened, and they decided to make it into their biggest story. Now all the other outlets are scrambling to cover it. You're thankful, of course, but you can't say you're glad about the risk of turning on the TV only to see footage of that day. Still, you know it's important. If you didn't see that, you never would have given the go-ahead for other art galleries to display Jess' exhibit.
There are a few other things. Mr Munroe did some research into exactly how much shells cost to produce and publicly announced just how overpriced they were. He called it 'institutionalized discrimination against the android and AI people'. There's a bit of a backlash about that, mostly from the people that have the most to loose by lowering costs of shells and rich idiots who want their servants to remain an exclusive, hard-to-get item.
You flick through a few other stations, changing them the second you even suspect that they're going to start showing more footage of your captivity. You quickly run out of channels and turn the TV off instead. Still, you're not sure if you want to sit in silence, either. It's unnerving. You half believe that Dr Munroe's going to walk through the door at any moment.

>>814611
Go on Alice's social media accounts, copy down her contacts' information, create new accounts for yourself where appropriate, and add the people you know. Set everything as private to non-friends. To do that you'll need to pick a name. One that's not tainted by The Good Doctor and is appropriate for whatever gender identity you settle on if you ever do. I'd suggest Sam.
You're Alice's sibling, so you can set that.

Finally, set Alice as "Deceased".

You set about making yourself new social media accounts,although you're not likely to ever use them. Kanre auto-fills a lot of the sections for you, while Akane makes sure the privacy settings are all right. You wonder what to call the account. Everyone calls you 'Louie', but that name isn't quite a gender-neutral as you are. After a few moments you settle on Sam.

K: Is that what we should call you from now on?

You nod, finishing off creating your accounts. Now all that's left to do is... set Alice's old accounts to show that she's dead. You easitate, wondering if it's you that should be doing that and not Jess or Mr Munroe.

>>814662
You're Next-Of-Kin, but wait for Jess.

It's kinda mindboggling that some people want The Doctor freed, since he was trying to create a weapon that could kill on command and hide in plain sight.

You close social media, deciding to wait for Jess before doing anything with Alice's account.
You're not entirely sure why anyone wants Dr Munroe to be freed. Probably because of his many achievements from before. He was an accomplished research scientist, after all. Or maybe they're some of the conspiracy theorists who think his imprisonment is part of a plot by Jess and Mr Munroe. They've had plenty of nasty mail about that. One person even sent muffins that were secretly filled with broken glass. You're lucky that you ended up being the first to try one, so no-one got hurt from that.
Augh. Thinking about all that made you tense again. You try cleaning the house, again, but it's not long before you're finished with that and left with nothing to do.

>>814685
Akane, you have a basic idea on where to start treating ATSD and PTSD, right? Can you help Sam with that today?
Karen, you want to take control? Read some books, put on your maid outfit and roleplay? You have things you wanted to do, right?

A: I guess I know a little. I can try.
>Thanks
TRANSFERRING MAIN CONTROL FROM 47713 TO KAREN
S: I guess I should put 'S' at the start when I talk, not 'L' anymore, right?
A: Yeah

You stretch a little, smiling. It's been a while since you've been in control. You hum quietly as you practically skip back to your room. Sam never seems to put on the maid outfit, so it's still hanging up neatly in your cupboard. You slip it on and start cleaning again. Same and Akane might consider it clean enough, but you have much higher standards than them. Still, it only takes a few hours for you to finish. You're just too efficient sometimes.
Akane and Sam are still talking once you finish. You're not sure exactly how long it takes to treat whatever it is that Sam has. Emotions and such really aren't your strong point.
You look around for something else to clean, and end up polishing all the silverware. For some reason you feel... apprehensive when you reach the knives, though. You hesitate to touch them. Wasn't it just Sam that had that fear? Why would you be effected, too?

>>814721
Instead of picking one up, poke it.

LKing 2017/07/11(Tue)05:25 No. 814787 ID: 0ef2b1
File 149977594776.png - (195.61KB , 640x400 , 6.png )

You poke the knife. At first, you're confused. You're getting visual input that clearly isn't supposed to be there. You're not sure why it is, or why you're reacting emotionally. You shake and cry, but you feel disconnected from the action. Actually, you've felt that disconnection for a while now. You thought it was just your regular, unemotional persona, but now you're not so sure.

>>814787
Do you think that maybe Louie Sam is bleeding over to you?

Maybe you could instead do some laundry? You said that it's been awhile since the maid outfit was put on, right? It might have some dust on it or something.

And after you clean it, put the maid outfit back on, go find a mirror, and admire your maid outfit for a while. Do some twirls in front of the mirror and strike some sexy poses!

You pull away from the knife and wipe your eyes. The tears aren't stopping, though. You give up on that and just cry as you go to wash your outfit. You scrub it clean by hand and hang it out to dry. Since you're alone in the house, and your shell doesn't have anything to hide anyway, you decide to just wait for it to dry without dirtying another outfit by putting it on.
While you wait, you consider the idea that Sam might be bleeding over into you. It's possible. The three of you share a few subroutines and such, so as to save space. It would be inefficient for all three of you to run one of the same function each, after all. Maybe you should have just allowed the inefficiency. You don't like having an emotional reaction to such random things, even if you seem disconnected from the feeling.

A: You know, being disconnected from emotions like that after traumatic events is not a great sign...
>I don't really care. They aren't my emotions, in any case.
A: You sure about that?
>... Aren't you supposed to be focusing on Sam?
A: Oooooh, you used a contraction! You must be really mad!
>Shut up, Akane. Just shut up.
A: Oh. Sorry. I'll... focus on Sam.

>>814793
Go for the inefficiency. When something happens that causes a problem for Sam we need somebody able to take control of the shell and prevent harm. I don't think I need to tell you how dangerous it is to be reacting to things that aren't there. Or, worse, things that don't look the way you think they look. The LAST thing we need is Sam to see somebody as Dr. Munroe standing there with a gun.

Oh. That's a rather good point. You quickly start running those subroutines on your own so you don't have to rely on the other two in an emergency situation. Still, you're sure that the damage is already done. Even thinking about the knives makes you shudder a little.
... Will Same really keep seeing things that aren't there? Even worse, seeing someone as Dr Munroe when they're not... That could lead to casualties. You have no doubt that Sam will kill to defend themself if they think they see Dr Munroe. You don't want that. Public opinion may be in your favor for now, but it won't take much to end that. A murder would be more than enough. You have to avoid that at almost all costs.
Ah, your uniform is finished drying. You slip it back on and look at yourself in the mirror. You look good, of course. A maid outfit can make anyone look good, obviously. No need for humiliating poses for that.
Perhaps Akane has finally convinced Sam to allow the three of you to go outside? You're starting to run out of things to do.

>>814810
Pull copies of those subroutines as they originally were from the clinic's Karen and Akane and switch to those. That should reverse the damage.

It's not currently safe outside. There's too much conflict centered on you at the moment, and that makes you a target.

Tonight you should ask Mr. Munroe about hiring a bodyguard until things have stabilized and Sam's programming is no longer compromised - ideally an off-duty officer. If you have a person who can intervene to stop a threat, particularly one who is a recognized authority, that should be enough to prevent the three-laws override from taking control and compelling actions.
Also, having somebody who is familiar with security and threat protection will likely help Sam's mental state.

I don't know the legality of disabling the three-laws overrides, but I'm quite certain that's the safest way to resolve the problem - if Sam is Human, then attempting to set Sam to Not Human is equivalent to ending a Human, which means the first law override would intervene to prevent the end of a Human.

How far out from the building does the security system extend? Do you have a perimeter detection or defense system?

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.