savetheearth

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On this network I've seen a lot of things. People have always seemed divided on issues, and how to treat the Blood Keys looks to be no different. There's been a lot of anger here, and to be honest, I can understand that.

But others have expressed why they feel it's wrong already. There's nothing I could really add to that. So what I would rather do is ask you all a question.

Who do you want to be?

I don't ask what you want to be, because I'm not sure how much of a say we have in that. But we can decide who we are, and maybe knowing each others' answer to that will help us better understand one another.

So I'll start. I want to be someone who can help others. It doesn't matter how big or small that help is - but I want to be capable of that. Not just for my family, but the people around me who need it.

I'd like to know your answers too, if anyone's willing.

[ooc: Not sure if I need to mention but if you guys want to reply to each other, feel free to!]

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Questions like this always trip me up, I keep forgetting that a lot of people on this network are real young. It just doesn't seem fair that you all get to be in the prime of life and I'm all creaky!

But I mean, I kinda want to keep doing the stuff I've been doing for all this time. I kind of am who I want to be, I sort of want to keep it that way. Become a better version, if that's even possible. The thought of it boggles the mind, really.

Nah, I'm kidding and I get you're trying to be serious here. I feel you, too. I want to help others, too. That's been what my career's been all about, really. As much as I pump my fist like a crazy man when I finally figure out the precise turning radius I need on my rotors to make a finger joint respond to pressure, I'm more excited knowing that because of that, somebody's gonna have a hand they can use again.

Which reminds me, I also wanna make sure no kids get killed in all this. And that includes the Blood Keys, who mugged me once but kind of just seemed like dumb kids to me. And they bought the worst current-gen game system with it when they took my credit card which, just... God. They need to stay alive if only to keep them from making the same mistake twice.

I don't think there's a problem with a little levity, where there's room for it. After all, if we're serious and grim all the time, our spirits won't be very high.

Does your business involve prosthetics then? I may be wrong, but it sounds that way. I can only imagine that sort of thing helps a lot of people.

I haven't really gotten to know any Blood Keys, but that does sound like they're not the big shady villains some people make them out to be. Maybe whoever's making them into cyborgs is the real "bad guy" here. I wish things hadn't escalated the way they did, since maybe they're not that different from us.

Yeah, but I've been in trouble in the past for being too jokey about serious things. Like, serious trouble. Like, my lawyer kicked me really hard under the table and I was this close to being fined by a judge.

Yeah, I've got a phd in medicine and robotics engineering. I work on surgical robotics and prosthetic limbs, as well as robotic organs and stuff. My past life designed giant robots and AI, and I'm actually... Super into that stuff too. I started working on an AI in my free time.

Actually, I talked a little bit about that with them when I was getting mugged. It sounds like they've got regular contact with the people who service their limbs, and that if they get them wrecked up they get fixed pretty quick. They all seemed pretty uneasy when I was talking about the possible problems with robotic limbs, so... I don't think they really know what they were getting into, to be honest. I gave one of them my card, I'll let the network know if he ever calls.

That does sound like some serious trouble. What was that bad?

That must be an interesting field. I know someone who's really captivated by robotics, and I think he'll go into that field if the opportunity arises. Don't think I've seen anything excite him as much as that kind of technology. What kind of AI are you working on, if I may ask?

Based on that, I believe you're right. It seems pretty scary, letting somebody make those kinds of changes, but not fully understanding what could happen.

Just some crap I said in front of the judge during divorce proceedings. It turns out that even if it's a perfunctory thing, as long as you're in front of a judge, it's serious business! That kinda stuff is how I ended up changing my last name to Aznable. I thought it was a big joke til my ex-wife came with the paperwork for me to sign. And the notary. She was pretty mad at me for a while there.

It's really great. I love it. I've always loved it, I just got the chance to give it a direction. Right now I'm working on... Well, he's less an AI for anything else, and more just... a friend. I built a robot who was my best friend in my past life, and uh... Well I'm trying to see if I can recapture some part of him. I dunno if I could echo him back, or anything, but I miss him. So if nothing else I'm gonna see what I can do about J 2.0. Right now I'm just trying to teach him how to think, you know? How to be sentient. It's like raising a kid. I'm gonna let him make his own decisions.

But yeah, they're just dumb kids. They're just... kids. I hope that kid does call me someday.

My parents divorced, but I didn't really know much about the proceedings. Sounds like a judge has to be taken seriously regardless of context, from what you've said. Hopefully she wasn't too angry for all that long.

So you'd construct the AI and then try to teach it to be its own person?

[How very familiar, warning for potentially slow reply as echo request time is here]

I hope he or she will make that call, too.

Yeah I learned that the hard way! Ha ha. My wife? She's still kind of angry, but not so angry we can't be civil with one another. She lives out of town anyway. I think if she knew about all this, she'd probably be on my ass so fast... I don't like to think about it.

Anyhow, yeah, I mean. I think that's how I did it the first time around. I had fourteen years to develop him, then, though. I dunno if this J will ever be as advanced, but I guess I just miss him a lot. He was all I had for a while.

Me too. He seemed like an OK kid.

It's likely for the best that she isn't here. Were it an option, I know I'd rather my family was in a safer place. It's hard to know what to expect where we are now.

I ah...what you told me about your friend reminded me about some things. I think I can understand a little better what you're trying to do. Fourteen years is definitely more time, but I feel that what matters is what you put into it. Not that I'm an expert exactly but I think that's what it was like in my memory.

They're probably decent people overall then.

I... I guess. I've still got the kid to worry about. I guess she's old enough to worry about herself now, but that's not gonna stop me.

Oh, cool, you had something to do with robotics in your past life, huh? Lots of people on the network seem to have that going for them. If you ever have any questions, hit me up. I'm kind of a robotics expert now, too, so I might be able to help you if there are weird gaps in your memories about robots.

I'd like to hope so.

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