[GP] Check-in Day

[st_oneswidow]

The wheel of the year turned and turned and Curnen found herself at an anniversary of sorts that she flatly didn't want to be remembering but got stuck on a loop of anyway.

This time there was no taking the hell off into the wilderness, though. Nor were there endless, circular recitations of "The Queen of Argyll." Rather than be poisoned by the memory of someone she still hated like everloving fuck, she focused on remembering the friend she'd lost. And besides this being Kash's song, she figured it was never a bad time around here for "John Barleycorn." Perched on the roof with her guitar, she sang of John Barleycorn's dying and rising again, subtle magic weaving into her voice to lead anyone lost in their little bubble world this way.

There was three men come out of the west their fortunes for to try,
And these three men made a solemn vow, John Barleycorn must die,
They ploughed, they sowed, they harrowed him in, threw clods upon his head,
And these three men made a solemn oath John Barleycorn was dead.

It was Kash's song, in her mind, but you talked to half the people around here and it wasn't a bad fit for them, either. From her vantage point, she watched the road.

Comments

Re: Connor - Assigned Threads

[st_abilitylost]

"Fully mechanical, Mr. Odinson." Connor answered in a straightforward manner, pointedly not remarking on his...commitment to the bit.

Re: Connor - Assigned Threads

[st_ratagem]

“Excellent. It’s difficult to tell.” Physical contact or a more complete mental probewould no doubt make it obvious, but Loki didn’t need the proof. “And just Loki, if you please. I don’t claim any patronymic, they just get claimed for me.”

Re: Connor - Assigned Threads

[st_abilitylost]

'Individual unfamiliar with androids?' Connor stayed silent, looking down at the room key in his hand. 'Expected arrival. No escape. Physical law.' The flow of data that so seamlessly connected into a narrative within his finely honed processor seemed to hit a wall with each and every angle he observed it from. There was no point A to point B--the points themselves were utterly nonsensical.

'No escape. Physical law. Elijah Kamski. Lieutenant Anderson. Civil war. Last chance.' The concepts were racing as Connor struggled to process them. Was this his punishment for his failure, getting denied his last chance in the process? His LED churned a frantic yellow to red.

He touched a finger to his temple, ceasing the loop. The feedback was as useless as it was energy-consuming. His conclusion was as nonsensical as his predicament--he would have been decommissioned and there would be nothing. Wherever he was, he was still functioning. "How did I get here?"

Re: Connor - Assigned Threads

[st_ratagem]

Blue to yellow again, possibly indicating some kind of... processing or analyzing, more than likely. But then yellow turned to red, and there was virtually no way that could be good. Passive to processing to... error? Almost certainly.

It was probably best if the new android didn't explode or burn out his neural core, so Loki answered without playing games. "No one really knows, beyond some form of teleportation. We all come from different universes and different times, and those of us from the same universe but different times have no memory of others being gone. Best guess you'll be returned to your universe at some unknown future point, and no time will have passed there."

Re: Connor - Assigned Threads

[st_abilitylost]

'No time will have passed.' His LED sustained a steady yellow as he listened to Loki speak. His life--his mission, rather-- depended on every scrap of data he could glean from the man.

"...Then, taking your claims to their natural conclusion, that would make you literal mythological being known as Loki." He paused. "In some universe."

Re: Connor - Assigned Threads

[st_ratagem]

"Correct! Possibly your universe, but I think I doubt it." If nothing else, the Earth Loki was familiar with didn't have androids at this one's level of similarity to humans, which indicated he'd have to be from the future. And any future of that Midgard's histories would no doubt include mentions of the Avengers... and, probably, their enemies.

Therefore, if Loki was a mythological being to this android rather than an historical one, they were probably not from the same universe. "There are several non-Earth-based residents, and though the bulk are from Earth I think they're likely to be from the past, by your estimation."

Re: Connor - Assigned Threads

[st_abilitylost]

At no point in history did a deity make contact with humanity. Secularism had been on the rise for the past few generations of Americans, though the advent of android-kind had inspired a few fringe cults. A sudden, reckless urge to ask this self-proclaimed god if he knew anything about rA9 appeared, though Connor suppressed it.

"I'm from Detroit. November 9th, 2038." Connor instead explained, eyes trained on Loki's face. There was still the possibility that this all a ruse of some kind, but it was just a game of detecting untruths and contradictions--should they appear.

Re: Connor - Assigned Threads

[st_ratagem]

"The future to most residents here." Loki nodded, pleased his reasoning had been confirmed. "About twenty years to my universe's Earth, give or take one or two."

Re: Connor - Assigned Threads

[st_abilitylost]

“Isn’t it true you preside in Asgard?” Connor inquired the way he’d question anyone else in search of information.

Re: Connor - Assigned Threads

[st_ratagem]

Loki raised a hand and tilted it back and forth in 'sort of' gesture. "I used to. No longer."

Re: Connor - Assigned Threads

[st_abilitylost]

"And you can't escape this hotel of your own volition." Was it disrespectful to talk to a god this way? This didn't occur to Connor regardless--there was no protocol in his social relations program for addressing higher-order beings.

Re: Connor - Assigned Threads

[st_ratagem]

“No one can.” That might have been an aggravating question/statement, though still a good one, in any tone less straightforward than the android’s. As it was, Loki answered in the same straightforward vein instead of stabbing him. “I hear that from time to time we’re allowed out in some way on a temporary basis, but I’ve not seen it yet.”

Re: Connor - Assigned Threads

[st_abilitylost]

“And there’s no culprit to point to?” Connor anticipated an answer in the negative, yet he asked anyway. “No investigative work done?”

Re: Connor - Assigned Threads

[st_ratagem]

"Plenty of work, I believe, but no answers." Loki waved a hand. "Sentient nature being what it is, there's a hard limit to how long anyone continues to investigate with zero result to show for it. In my view it's best to wait quietly for a crack in the door than scratch at it endlessly."

Re: Connor - Assigned Threads

[st_abilitylost]

“I see...” Though, he scarcely did. However, it was expected for someone like this being. Connor had enough self awareness to reflect on the fact he was attempting to apply a psychological profile to a literal deity. “How does one spend one’s days?”

Re: Connor - Assigned Threads

[st_ratagem]

"Quietly, for the most part. Most of the residents find some sort of job to keep themselves occupied," Loki was no exception, with his consistent attachment to the clinic, however unnecessary it was about 99% of the time, "but it's not really required as the Inn tends to take care of things itself. It's worth bearing in mind that those who claim to be in charge are no more or less in charge than even you are."

Re: Connor - Assigned Threads

[st_abilitylost]

“I’m programmed to follow human directives. I don’t anticipate sparking any...power struggles.” Connor stated, though it was only true to a point. He could refuse any orders that didn’t contribute to the fulfillment of his mission or ones that he deemed wastes of time.

Re: Connor - Assigned Threads

[st_ratagem]

"Expect to hear a lot of argument over what constitutes human as well, then. Many of the people here, despite being basically human, will deny that they are with every breath that may or may not be in their bodies." Which seemed ridiculous. It wasn't like it was impossible to be more than one thing!

Re: Connor - Assigned Threads

[st_abilitylost]

“I assure you, I’m human only in appearance.” Connor straightened his tie, his LED now in a blue-hued homeostasis.

Re: Connor - Assigned Threads

[st_ratagem]

"I wasn't talking about you." Loki chuckled. "If you want 'human authority', it's going to be hard to come by. Many here will tell you they can't be human authority because they're not human. Which is utter nonsense in most cases, but that's humans for you."

Re: Connor - Assigned Threads

[st_abilitylost]

Connor straightened his cuffs at that, almost sheepishly at making a snap assumption about his meaning. He was far too used to Hank and his unfortunate tendency for posing probing questions. “If there’s no defined leadership, I’m sure I can make do on my own. Barring the appearance of home-world authority, I technically answer to no one.”

Re: Connor - Assigned Threads

[st_ratagem]

"That's the best way to go. Answer to yourself first, and anyone else on the rare occasion it suits you." Not that it made much difference either way at the Inn, but the android was a little too put-together. A little spark or rebellion would do him good.

Re: Connor - Assigned Threads

[st_abilitylost]

“I thank you for your time. ...I just have one final question.” Connor inclined his head. “Am I the only android here?”

Re: Connor - Assigned Threads

[st_ratagem]

"No. To my knowledge, there's one other. Anita, I believe she's called." Loki hadn't interacted with her directly, though Stark had. He knew her from the osmosis that happened whenever a group of beings were all stuck in a terrarium together. "There are also one or two cyborgs - part machine, part biological. For whatever that's worth."

Re: Connor - Assigned Threads

[st_abilitylost]

Anita. Some small voice in Connor was insisting that it was wasteful to cling to his mission in a place like this, but it was overrided by every ounce of his programming. His stoic featured hardened before he regained his wits. “I see. Is there a means to reach out to other residents directly?”