[Voice Test] Connor & Peter - Seasons Greetings

[st_abilitylost]

Of every face that Connor’s internal database failed to recognize since the beginning of his short stay, the only source of familiarity was found in the inanimate statues of Mr. and Mrs. Claus mounted in the lobby. He recognzied then as symbols of generosity and goodwill towards all humanity, but something about the way the sculptor chose to craft their features seemed...off.

He didn’t have any business lingering and passing judgements on the craftsmanship but there was no lieutenant to bark at him for “spacing out” and it all left him at, for lack of a better phrase, a loss.

Comments

[st_abilitylost]

Connor considered his words. Humans often projected emotions onto androids—that was by design, naturally. Why else would the android design resemble humans as closely as possible? The only time he argued with Hank over this very point was when it interfered with the efficacy of their investigation. That, and the most reliable method of communication with the man was by pushing back. With softer spoken types, that wasn’t necessary.

“It is possible for me to engage in activities that don’t directly interfere with my investigation. It is impossible for me to subvert my programming by acting against my directives.” He clarified.

[st_arkintern]

"Do you know Isaac Asmiov?" he asks. There's a pause there before Peter continues. "The Three Rules of Robotics?"

[st_abilitylost]

So they both had some historical figures in common, Connore noted. He nodded. "From his famous short story, 'Runaround.'"

Connor dipped his hand into his pocket, feeling the coin that sat within. He brought it out but kept from flicking it about, merely rubbing it between his fingers with traces of the fluid on them.

"'One - A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Two - A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. Three - A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.'" He recited, feeling the alloy warm beneath his touch.

"He added another near the end of his later novel, 'Foundation and Earth.' 'Zero - A robot may not injure humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.'"

[st_arkintern]

"Yeah," Peter says, nodding. He should have known Connor would know exactly what he was talking about -- at least if they were from similar Earths, anyway. "Is that kind of what you follow?"

[st_abilitylost]

"It's more or less what we are programmed to obey. There are those of us who deviate, however. My mission is to track down those that do." Connor flicked his coin up into the air with a sharp jerk of his thumb.

[st_arkintern]

"Are you like Deckard from Blade Runner?" he asks. He's not sure if Blade Runner exists in Connor's reality, but if Asimov did, Philip K. Dick probably did, too.

[st_abilitylost]

"Yes, something like him." Of course, Deckard was not a 'Replicant' himself. If Connor had liken the figure to anyone, he'd sooner do it to Hank. He flicked the coin into the air again. "However, the deviant threat of my world is no fiction."

[st_arkintern]

"In your world, do they kill the deviants, too?"

[st_abilitylost]

Connor caught his coin between his fingers as it came back down, turning his eyes towards it.

"If necessary." Inevitably.

[st_arkintern]

Peter's eyes briefly go from the coin and back up to Connor's face; he doesn't shy away from looking Connor in the eyes, though he visibly hesitates before he opens his mouth to speak again.

"You don't... think that they are sentient? Like humans or Asgardians or any of the other species out there?"

[st_abilitylost]

"Androids are built to replicate the human experience for the sake of humans. Deviancy is a cascading failure which culminates in irreversible breach of protocol. A build-up of multiple errors. Nothing more." Connor coldly flicked the coin to his opposite hand, quick as a flash.

[st_arkintern]

Peter's eyes turn back to the coin a second time before falling back on Connor's face; it's distracting. "You don't just think they've become aware o their sentience?" he asks. "You don't believe that you're sentient right now?"

Probably not, given his feelings about replicants. There had still been a very vocal group of people in the Bladerunner fandom who posted theories on the Bladerunner subreddit about how Deckard was a replicant, too.

[st_abilitylost]

“I’m sure it looks that way.” Connor eyed his coin again, scanning its surface for microscratches. “Androids can only simulate emotion. The belief that deviants have the right to act against their masters due to an error in their programming is dangerous.”

It was bringing the US to the brink of Civil War. There had already been far too much loss of life due to the widespread malfunctions.

[st_arkintern]

"How do you know that, though?" Peter counters, thinking of Batty. "Is it because humans told you so?"

[st_abilitylost]

“Like you’re a human telling me right now?” Connor offered with a little sideways nod, polishing the coin against his shirt.

[st_arkintern]

Ouch. Connor had a point.

"I dunno. Humans have a lot more to gain from you thinking you don't actually have emotions or sentience than they do by you thinking you do."

[st_abilitylost]

Connor slid his coin back into his suit pocket. His LED flashed a yellow warning before it quickly reverted.

"Do you want me to be sentient, Peter?"

[st_arkintern]

Peter isn't sure what he wants and he's not sure how he'd answer the question, anyway. So instead, he digs his heels into the ground.

"I'm not answering your question until you answer mine."

[st_abilitylost]

The human belligerence was familiar. Not a relief, but familiar. There was no need to escalate the conversation, but Connor wasn't content to let the point go unmade.

"I don't mean to upset you, Peter." He said, watching the boy's face closely. "It sounds like there's an AI you've cultivated a special relationship with."

[st_arkintern]

"You still haven't answered my question," Peter points out. Connor seems to keep deflecting, as if he's trying to avoid answering. Non-sentient AI generally weren't avoidant -- at least in the movies Peter's seen. Even Karen happily answered all his questions, even if she might not want to answer them. "Is there something in your programming that allows you to not answer questions or are you choosing not to?"

[st_abilitylost]

His assumption seemed to be on the money. It was...expected. Humans were creatures of connection. They could project emotion onto completely inanimate objects. One of the officers in Hank's department was convinced a lone dollar was lucky and existed solely for him since it was the first he'd ever made--from before paper money became obsolete, of course.

"I'm not here to delegitimize your feelings." He continued, ignoring Peter's jab, "I can't speak for the AI of your world. I can only speak for mine. And I've seen the threat firsthand."

[st_arkintern]

"What kind of threat are they, then?" In almost every movie Peter can think of, almost any sentient artificial life grew violent when they felt like they were threatened. Sure, he couldn't speak for Ultron (the public never really got the full story on that, though there'd been theories on Reddit), but Vision wasn't a threat. Karen wasn't, either.

"I'm not saying that every android out there is peaceful -- that none of them are dangerous. Humans are exactly the same way -- some are dangerous and some aren't. Are androids in your world violent for the sake of violence or are they violent in order to protect themselves?"

[st_abilitylost]

"I don't know." Connor admitted, folding his hands in front of himself. "And even if I did, it wouldn't change anything."

[st_arkintern]

"Why wouldn't it?" Peter is still clearly on the defensive. "If Karen had to fight someone to defend herself, it wouldn't be any different from a human defending themselves."

Connor has his answer. Peter does have an AI friend.

[st_abilitylost]

The eyes of every deviant he'd encountered replayed in his mind. Almost every single one met the same fate. Even the ones that managed to escape had certainly been rounded up by now. Whatever force had altered them, it was for the futile.

"I'm able to act as the listening ear to your arguments, Peter, if you wish. Or, if you prefer, I could act as a partner in debate. However, my programming can't be altered with philosophy."