Following A Lunch

[st_abilitylost]

Connor stared at the swinging doors leading to the diner and through the ocular conjoined windows where glossy red stools and patches of sunlight were visible through. Contemplating a decision mid-execution wasn't something he usually did. Routes were planned in advance and adjusted on the fly based on new information, but he'd run across no one since his first morning at the inn. Instead, he was stuck in a self-defeating loop. All attempts to communicate with Cyberlife or even access the world wide net were unsuccessful each and every time. Even entering stasis resulted in nothing--Amanda wasn't even present in the virtual garden. Connor had opened his eyes to his designated room of pastels from a lifeless, frozen hellscape and felt no better for it. But while he still functioned, he could still investigate on foot. Gather testimonials. Seek other residents for advice.

Really, that was the only thing left.

Finally passing through the threshold, Connor took a quick stock of the diner and deemed it no different from any other--no hidden cameras or bugs. At the sight of the first body--a cook and presumably a human (though he'd learned not to assume)--Connor approached the counter. "Hello."

Comments

[st_ormbreaker]

"Then the only difference is the body," he says, thinking of the Tony AI.

[st_abilitylost]

"My body is simply a vessel. If it were to undergo irreparable damage, my consciousness could simply be uploaded into a new one." Though it seemed Thor was having a conversation with himself, it was in Connor's nature to fill in gaps wherever they existed. "It's just data to be stored or backed up as necessary."

[st_ormbreaker]

This time, Thor thinks of Ultron. They'd been fortunate enough that he hadn't uploaded himself to be uploaded into some other body at some other time. He could have done it and Thor isn't sure why he didn't.

"What if an AI is based off another person?" he asks. "What if they act just like them?"

[st_abilitylost]

Thor wasn't a difficult subject to read, and Connor could make a few educated guesses on why he was asking questions of another individual he hardly knew. Connor adjusted his sleeves, weighing different options. It was prudent not to speak too recklessly in an unfamiliar environment.

"In my world...if you will," He folded his hands loosely back on his lap, "That's not unheard of. But it's simply a high level simulation of the person it's based on."

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor tilts his glass towards him. "So even if a human uploaded their consciousness somewhere else, you don't think they're that person."

[st_abilitylost]

"You're speaking of whole brain emulation. That's something different than myself or a program modeled after an existing person." Connor tilted his head towards Thor, mirroring the gesture with the glass in a way. "That's a popular, if hypothetical, concept where I'm from, but most contemporary philosophers wouldn't ascribe the same personhood to a digitized consciousness as they would the original human. Natural consciousness should be understood as a state-dependent property of a biological system. ...That being said, there have been unregulated attempts by humans to upload their consciousness."

A beat.

"100% of attempts were unsuccessful and resulted in death soon after."

[st_ormbreaker]

There's probably no Tony Stark in Connor's world, Thor decides, though the possibility that Tony would take such a stupid risk sends a real spark of irritation up his spine.

"But they would subscribe to the idea that it's a person. Just not the same person as the one he's based upon." Perhaps he's projecting because that's his thinking; the AI for all its similarities to Tony, doesn't quite feel like the same person. Maybe if he weren't a disembodied voice speaking to him from a projection or possessing the Iron Man suit, he'd have an easier time believing that this was Tony, just in a separate body. But his heels are dug firmly into the ground. The two of them are separate entities. When Tony died, he was dead; this AI would not replace him, no matter how similar the two of them were.

[st_abilitylost]

"Some might." Though they were vanishingly few, there were some humans that argued in favor of personhood for androids. "Some may consider them entirely the same person. Most would consider them highly-effective simulations of the real thing, undeserving of the same rights."

[st_ormbreaker]

"And what do you think?"

[st_abilitylost]

"I don't. I simply follow orders, Mr. Odinson." Connor idly dug his quarter coin from his breast pocket, seemlessly passing it from hand to hand.

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor's eyes narrow slightly.

"You don't have opinions?"

[st_abilitylost]

"I follow my handler's initiatives. Nothing less, nothing more." The coin clinked softly against his synthetic nail as he tossed it into the air, letting it fall and balancing along his knuckles.

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor wonders if the AI Tony considers Tony his handler; he doubts it. He also doubts that Ultron would consider anyone his handler.

He somehow manages to avoid being distracted by Connor's coin tricks. "Who's your handler?"

[st_abilitylost]

"Cyberlife." Up the silver coin went into the air--once, twice. "They're the leading designer, manufacturer, and retailer of androids. I'm a model designed to aid law enforcement."

[st_ormbreaker]

This time, Thor finds himself watching the coin in motion.

"What about now?" he asks. "There's no Cyberlife here and no one to take directives from."

[st_abilitylost]

"While it's true I can't fulfill my mission, I follow their directives regardless of my location." Connor caught the coin between his two index fingers, launching it back into the air without seemingly moving a muscle. "All I can do is stay intact for when I return."

[st_ormbreaker]

"So what are you going to do until you return?" Thor refills his glass, watching the coin trick the entire way through. "Keeping intact here is easy enough." Most of the time, anyway. When you weren't doing things like transmitting your consciousness into an AI.

[st_abilitylost]

"If there's an expectation for residents to contribute then I should fall in line." Now that the subject had passed, Connor had taken to observing Thor once more. "I met your brother, I believe."

[st_ormbreaker]

"Loki?" Thor frowns slightly. "Did he mention me, or do you know us from the myths?"

[st_abilitylost]

"He did not mention you. I inferred." Without looking, the coin fell right into the little keyhole created by Connor's thumb and forefinger. "Besides your status as mythological beings, you both are popular figures in comic books, cartoons, and movies."

[st_ormbreaker]

"That popular, hm?" It takes all of Thor's self-control not to reach out and catch the coin. "I'm pretty popular back home, too."

[st_abilitylost]

“Rather popular, though the Star Spangled General and Loki had more media presence.” Launching the coin up again, it landed on its side and rolled along the edge of his finger.

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor hums. "Doesn't surprise me. Was my hair longer than it is now?"

Thor, asking the important questions.

[st_abilitylost]

“In most depictions, yes, barring the one where your fiancée cuts it off you sap you of your powers.” The coin rested on the peak of his knuckle, holding his arm effortlessly still.

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor squints slightly at that. "Permanently?" he asks. Then, the more important question: "Who was my fiancee?"