[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_arkintern]

Peter shifts where he stands. Despite Connor's reassurances, he doesn't step back to where he was standing before that disc on the side of his head lit up yellow. "It sounds like you guys are close."

[st_abilitylost]

"Actually, you are." Connor replied with a faint questioning lilt, noting the lack of distance between them. How had that escaped his keen eye until now? Recalibration took only moments, if that.

[st_arkintern]

"Oh," Peter says, taking a step back, then another. People usually didn't bring up other people being in their personal space unless they didn't like it.

Once he's steadied himself a few feet away, he looks over at Connor for judgment. "This okay?"

[st_abilitylost]

"We can talk at whatever distance you prefer, Peter. But I get the sense you're worried. Don't be." Connor's social relations program kicked in, meaning to ease Peter's tension.

[st_arkintern]

Connor's reading is true. "I just don't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

The moment that Peter says it, he knows already that Connor will dispute it; uncomfortable is a feeling and he doesn't have feelings.

Peter sighs.

[st_abilitylost]

On the contrary, it was Connor who couldn't satisfy this human's needs, despite his efforts.

"You're very kind, Peter." Connor admitted, adjusting his sleeves. "You remind me of Lieutenant Anderson."

[st_arkintern]

Peter watches as Connor adjusts his sleeves with neat, deliberate movements. It was almost disconcerting.

"Is Lieutenant Anderson your friend?"

[st_abilitylost]

"He's the detective assigned to the deviant investigation. I was designated as his partner." 'Friend' wasn't the right word, but...it wasn't the wrong word, either. The idea of calling Hank such wasn't disagreeable. Every time Connor was sure he failed his own programming, Hank was there to reassure him. Given the lieutenant's nature, it was unlikely they were idle words, either.

Maybe with a little more time...

Well. It was unlikely they'd get it.

"He's a wildly unpredictable alcoholic with a penchant for playing Russian Roulette, unhealthy food, and arguing with his direct superior when he bothers to show up for work." It was a mystery how the man was still alive much less with a full time job.

[st_arkintern]

So his friend.

"And I remind you of him?" Peter asks, incredulous. He wasn't exactly any of those things. At least he didn't think so.

[st_abilitylost]

“You ask the same questions.” And they likely came from the same place.

[st_arkintern]

"Yeah? He probably thinks the same way I do." Peter doesn't know anything about Hank, but he can only imagine that despite the cluster of issues he's dealing with, he's probably at heart a good person. "Maybe he'll show up and I'll get to meet him."

[st_abilitylost]

“I can’t anticipate the chances of that.” And no one else could, either, from what he’d asked. But the thought of seeing the lieutenant again...it was welcome.

“I think he would admire your sense of justice.” It wasn’t like Connor to give such compliments, but it felt like the right thing to say.

[st_arkintern]

Peter smiles at the compliment. "I don't know if you can anticipate the chances, but I was here for about --" Peter does the mental calculations. "-- eight or nine months before someone from my timeline showed up and he knew me but I didn't know him. Then after Quill, a lot of people from my timeline started showing up. Thor, Loki, Tony, Captain America, Bucky, Ned."

His best friend, Ned.

"Maybe you'll get lucky."

[st_abilitylost]

One of those names was inconsistent with the rest, but Connor elected not to probe. He said he was a superhero, and Captain America was as classic as it got as far as naming conventions.

"That's good to hear, Peter. Everyone deserves to have friends." Every human, that was. Their social needs were exceptional.

[st_arkintern]

"Yeah, everyone," Peter says. Including androids. "Anyway. There's a chance your friend might show up here too. It might not be calculable, but the chance is there. And if a bunch of people I know could all show up here out of the infinite number of timelines and places out there, there's a pretty good chance the lieutenant will show up here, too."

[st_abilitylost]

“Not that we could continue with our investigation, but...” Connor let that thought go unfinished.

“In any case. I don’t meant to be rude, but you never answered my question.”

[st_arkintern]

"What question?" Peter asks. He's already forgotten.

[st_abilitylost]

Connor considered letting the matter go before electing to ask anyway. “I asked if you would prefer to think me sentient.”

[st_arkintern]

"Yeah," Peter says without a moment's hesitation. "I do."

[st_abilitylost]

“Does my input factor?” Connor inquired further.

[st_arkintern]

"What? You saying you don't think you're sentient?" Peter presses his lips together, thinking. "You know what it's like to be an android better than I do." That much is true. "But would you know what it's like to be sentient if you aren't actually sentient?"

[st_abilitylost]

“I know I’m built to give the impression of sentience.” Connor answered as honestly as he could.

[st_arkintern]

"Wouldn't giving the impression of sentience just make people feel bad for using you?" Peter asks. "I mean, you don't get paid, right? Do people treat you nice?"

Most androids were not treated nice. At least not in the popular media that Peter tended to consume.

[st_abilitylost]

“There is a high contingency of the people who resent androids for displacing workers for our unpaid labor”. Connor explained, remaining objective. “Most don’t ascribe sentience to their machines.”

[st_arkintern]

Peter pauses and thinks about how best to word this so that he doesn't get a reaction from Connor akin to I don't have feelings.

"What do you think about those people?" he asks, finally.