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(Setting) The Sidewinder Motel
| >The blonde leads the way inside, removing the sign from the receptionist desk.
"Oh look at the time... Ah'm "off" work."
| "Ain't it convenient? Guess there's no hurry in openin' soon I guess, at least not this place.."
>He chuckled, looking back at the closing door then back at her with a daring smile
| >She pulls you along playfully, passing along the reception desk to snag the 313 key. As you follow her toward the stairs, a small girl with... fox ears runs by, laughing as she's chased by... a girl with raccoon ears and a large fluffy tail.
| "Ignore 'em hun. C'mon." >You make your way up the three floors with little trouble so far...
| "Easy to, easy do"
>He followed along all three floors, caring not to step on too hard
"Gotta admit It's been a while for me but ah' should still have moves"
| "No shit? Ya got a jackhammer unner em trousers or somethin'?"
| "Ah'm about 40% iron or steel but hun' my whole length ain't needed no implant to have Its size, though ya' might wanna check by yerself"
| "As long as ye know how ta work yer screw-driver, hun, ye can be 100% unobtanium for all ah care..." >She unlocks the door to room 313.
| >He chuckled and opened the door for her
"The "robo-man" deal tends to be a deal breaker, if ah'm sure of somethin' is ah' will make this one worth"
>He waits after her to come inside
| "Get in here, honey." >She grabs him and pulls him inside, locking her lips onto his with barely contained ferocity, her hands reaching for his belt.
| >He quickly let off his jacket and held her close to him, pulling with his left hand by her waist. His lips opened to hers and his eyes closed
| >The blonde pushes you down onto the bed, having successfully pulled out your belt. She continues snogging your face, slowly working your pants off..
| >He slid down his hand from your waist and Trough your hip, helping himself with both hands now to open up your pants/skirt. Hurried to get there already
| >And that's when the door of the room slams open to reveal the tiny raccoon girl from earlier, a heaving pile of plushies and action figures in her hands as her fluffy tail swooshes behind her.
"MERCねえさんあそびたいー！！！"
>She squeaks gleefully.
| >The woman catapults herself over the bed- with your hands still lodged half way down her pants (with nothing underneath!) at the raccoon girl's squeaking, pulling you with her! The both of you tumble over the other side of the bed in the process, with the blonde hurriedly pulling her pants back up.
| "C-cumming- Ah mean, coming sweetie!" >She says, very red faced as she tries to straighten herself out.
"Sweet pea, can you wait outside while Ah, er, finish talking with this... >She looks to you.
"Guest?"
| "What doing?"
>She asks in halting English, a sweet oblivious smile on her plump face.
"プロレス？ Wrassle? Akira like wrassle! Call her join?"
| "Ohhh! Guest! Ok, Mamiko wait!"
>The 'coon kid yays and scampers out of the room, though you can see her huge fluffy tail bapping lightly on the floor with impatience around the corner.
| >The young man shook his head before getting up by holding on the side of the bed, pulling up his pants on the process just in case
"I'm guessin' door locks ain't popular around here?"
| >The blonde sheepishly buttoms her pants back up as she stands.
"Morw like we missed it, honey. Ah'll be back in mebbe half an hour or so... inna meantime, make yerself at home. Got food rollin' downstairs in the cafeteria- look for the purple lilim in a maif outfit."
| >She winks at you and pats your crotch knowingly.
"Ah'll be back. Mamiko, honey! Let's go downstairs while Mister, uh..." >She turns back to you.
| >Mamiko, the raccoon kid pokes her head around the door again and pads her way up to Mercury, grasping her hand immediately.
"Oooh, Mister has many...many..."
>She struggles to find a word, and lets go of Mercury's hand to gesture at Xii's mechanical parts.
| "Name's Xii"
>He said politely,and still with a small smile on his face.
>He looked down at his arm implant and the bit of mechanical leg that was noticeable above his feet
"These are just like yer arms and legs lil' one, just a bit rougher and shinier"
| "Pointin's rude honey... ah think..." >She takes the little girl's hand and gently pulls it outside.
"Mister guest just has a lot of... toys, attached to him. He's part race car."
| "Xii? Oh! Yer that feller from the radio station. No wonder."
| "Race car! So he go fast!!"
>Mamiko looks absolutely in awe, open-mouthed and staring at Xii. She has little buckteeth peeping out.
"Does Mister go really fast?! Nyoom nyoom?"
| "That me, ah' guess yer the one with a drink name then? If not yer pretty voice is pretty alike"
>He laughed a little at the race car comment
"Ain't ya' a cute one? I'm probs just slightly faster than a motor scooteer"
| "That ah am." >Mercury Nine says, picking up the smol girl and the toys.
"Come on honey, let's give Mr. X sometime to relax, eh?"
| >Having heard the children's excited squeals, a purple-haired lilim walks down the stairs and towards the source of the noise. Upon arriving, they briefly glance at the man before turning their attention to the blonde.
"Ah, M9. There you are. I was wondering where you were."
| >Just as M9 said, they are wearing a maid outfit.
| >Xii just looks at both Mercury and the maid lilim
"Ah' take it this place is a fancy one, ya' got maids and floors and cafeteria. Do they do that thing of takin' drinks to the room if I call?"
| "..."
>The lilim stays quiet for a bit before addressing Mercury.
"Do we do that here?"
| >Mercury shrugs.
"Eh, why not?"
| "Well, I guess we offer room service now."
| "I'd say that costs extra."
>A tall, young man in a semi-casual suit walks up to the group.
"Oh hello sir, welcome, did you just get a room?"
>He bows slightly with the introduction.
| "Okay, Mamiko and Merc nee-san go play! Mamiko wanna play Story! Nee-san...nee-san be..."
>She wags her tail as she holds up an old Chinese knockoff figurine of Sasuke Uchiha to Mercury.
"Sasugay!"
| >Xii nods in response to the nod of the tall man
"Ya' could say ah' just got a room, yeah, sweet place by the way! Ah'd give it 5 stars if it was up to me, are ya' like the boss of here?"
| I(n response to the Now*)
| (Bow**)
| "Ah yes I am, something to that effect, we just opened our doors in fact just the other day, so please excuse any inconveniences."
>You can swear he glances over to M9 for a moment
"If I may ask, how long are you planning on staying Mister...?"
>He pauses, not knowing your name.
| "Xii, míster Xii"
"And ah'm plannin' on stayin' the night if my plans go south.."
>Xii looks at M9 then back at the man
"Ah' mean, if they don't go south, ya' understand how business are do ya'?
| (Mister*)
| "W-Wait... Xii from Radio Wire!?"
>He looks surprised as he professional persona seems to disappear
"Talk about a small world, it's me, CN, how the heck did you find this place?"
>His previous time seems to disappear at the revelation.
| (*tone)
| >Xii is taken aback for a moment, then bursts out a laugh
"Holy crap it's you! Ah' swear this is the last place where I'd expect to see ya'! I was out buyin' Ramen and y'know how it is when one gets lost in the local attractions right?"
| "Yea it's a long story... it kind of was thrust upon me, at least for the time being. And 'local attractions'..."
>He looks over to M9 and facepalms
"*Sigh* Merc please this was supposed to only be your lunch break... well whatever. Either way, I'm just glad I don't got to act like a proper manager or something."
| >He kept smiling ratherly amused "Can't blame her, if ya' knew how easily I fall for blonde hair an' accents, it was only a matter of time 'fore I ended here"
"It's a pleasure to see ya' face, the face behind the conspiracies despite not havin' a good first impression"
| (Fucked up the '>' there, my bad)
| >As the two men talk, Nym walks over and literally picks Mercury up and throws her over their shoulder.
"Well, while the two of you catch up, I'm going to make sure our receptionist gets back to work."
| "W-wait!" >Mercury says, struggling in Nym's literal iron grip.
"Ah'm gonna play Narutard with Mamiko! 'Rawr, you kirred my famiry, Reef Virrage!"
| >Mercury continues to struggle as the smol lilim carries her off.
| "Yes but you think she would at least get through a shift first..."
>He turns behind him
"If you actually make it a week being a model receptionist I might just cut your 'sentence' Merc."
>He turns back
"Anyways I don't blame you for the conspiracies, its hard to prove stuff with just your voice."
| "Man talkin' about plans goin' south, are ya' here all week?"
>Said to Mercury as she's been taking away
"Is she here all week? Yer 'kinda' motel is too Damn comfortable, like an ol' Home in the middle of the not so old city"
| (Scratch that one, didn't saw last message )
| (Actually, don't)
"It ain't gonna be just voice soon anyway, our IT guy was all about some " motherload" of information of such when I last left, somethin' about all the ol' Info on this city or such""
| "Yes she will be here, this is kind of our hideout for the time being, so I'd appreciate if you don't share it on air. Also we're trying to run this like a normal motel... *sigh* Merc is just Merc."
>He shakes his head
"Good for R though, it's good to know I'm not the only one with stashed info on corps, although mines is mostly VT."
| "Although if you're going to come for Merc wait until she's done with her shift, plus you're going to have to learn how to avoid Mombot over there"
>He chuckles
| "Trust me, if he pulls that out ah'll go straight for VT Info"
>He picks up his winter jacket, not being used to have his mecha implants on sight
"And ya' got nothin' to worry, ya' know I ain't no snitch, 'sides keepin' my mouth shut has keep so many places open"
| >He chuckled too, nodding to his last statement
"Ah' mean, I like a Good challenge.. Have avoided many fathers before, but a mombot, no that's some next level stuff!"
| "Sweet, more ammo against VT is always appreciated"
>He nods with a smile
"And trust me you haven't faced this challenge before, if it ain't Mombot, it's the kids or the... well I'll leave you some surprises for you to discover."
| "Challenge taken, listened and accepted! Ah' mean I already lack half a leg an' an arm, I can't be left worse y'know?"
>Xii smiled gleefully
"That aside, I'm tellin' ya Neil ain't gonna believe I met ya' before him"
| "Guess he should had gotten that ramen for you after all, he's missing out in the radio station. Although the way he's always calling me a 'legend' and stuff, first he'll do when you tell him is probably run over here to meet me."
| "Like hell I'm telling him the address, imma use the 'ramen card' on him, if he ain't buyin' it he ain't gettin' in this place!"
"Know what? that just makes this day better!"
| "Great idea, but I bet we can make it better."
>He pulls out his phone
"I'll call the station and then pass it over to you, that would really get to him I bet."
| "Holy shit yes! put it on speaker ah' can't miss this one chance!"
| >He dials the radio's phone number and sets it to speaker
| >After the whole convo in radio wire trhead Xii almost falls back laughing
"Ain't desperation beautiful?" -X
| (The -X slipped)
| >He joins in the laughter as he puts his phone away.
"God that was great, it was so worth it. I wish I could had seen Neil's face."
| "Dude's gonna be fuckin' pissed when ah' come back, but it'll be worth it! Greatest fuckin' day off I ever taken"
| "It's fine, *it's fine*."
>He wipes a tear from his eye
"Once you 'trade' for him the address of this place, I'm sure he'll cheer right up."
| "Oh and It gonna cost him! Lemme tell ya' best thing you can ever have in a conflictive friendship is blackmail an' somethin' they desire, and now ah' have both!"
"If y'all ever need free advertisement count on us anyway. Of course when all the 'keep the place hidden' thing is no more"
| "Oh I know what that's like, why do you think I have Merc working the front desk"
>He grins mischievously
"Thanks though, I'll make sure to remember that, I have a couple places in mind that might help with that in the future."
| "Man you're malicious, I like that!"
>He smiled a bit nerveous
"Don't hesitate to call us whenever ya' need it! I should get goin' now but ah' won't forget this place next time I need a day off"
>He stands up and starts to button up his jacket
| "Of course, don't worry I promised R earlier that I'd call the radio again when I found some info, so I'm sure you'll hear from me soon. See ya later Xii, I'm sure I'll see the rest of the crew soon."
| "I'm lookin' forwards to that! if ya' knew how little R trusts in people, the fact that he talked to ya' amazes me but well.."
>Xii holds up a hand making a peace sign before leaving to the stairs
"See ya' later hackerman!"
| "Bye"
>He sees you off with a grin and a wave.
| >A blonde, short haired man walks trough the motel doors, he's holding an astronaut helmet with both hands and carrying a backpack on his back
>He appears to be looking around for someone
| >A tall, young man in a suit walks down the central stairs in the lobby as he looks to the empty reception desk.
"*Sigh* Merc..."
>He mumbles as he shakes his head and walks up to the man.
"Hello sir, I apologize for the delay, are you looking to book a room today?"
| "Don't worry dude, there's places in town that make you wait longer, you see, I'm a legends' hunter and I'm looking for the one they call CN, heard he's popular around here"
>The young man moves the helmet to a side, holding it around with one hand revelaing a t-shirt that reads "I survived the shortage and all I got was this stupid shirt"
| "Oh, hey Neil. I take it Cali is in the helmet then? Did you have to sneak her out or something?"
>His speech suddenly becomes more casual as he realizes who you are.
"I'm CN, in the flesh. Hope you're not disappointed by your legend's appearance."
>He chuckles
| "Holy fuck man you don't look like a hacker at all, that should mean you're a great one to go undercover! All business in the front, all decking in the back. And this?"
>He turns the helmet, showing it's actually empty
"This is a lure, shortie was so occupied checking the helmet that he forgot to check my backpack!"
| >Muffled talking comes from the backpack
| "I-It's just the suit, it makes me look slimmer, I don't really like wearing it to be honest. I'm more of a t-shirt and shorts guy."
>He laughs somewhat nervously at the compliment
"That was pretty clever though, it fooled me at least. You can probably take her out already if you want, the only actual guests right now is this old couple on their honeymoon."
| "Well, you know what they say about first impressions! now I will just assume you have the suit everytime you call the station"
>He places the backpack on the floor and switches California's head with the helmet
>"Is this day light?? why are we still indoors??"
| "Hey Cali, I'm CN."
>He gives her a small wave
"I mean we can go outside real fast so you knows what it looks like, the Downtown District here isn't as impressive looking as the Glitz but I'm sure you won't mind. The tech can always wait."
| >The long, blue haired lilim head smiled cheerfully
>"Hello CN! I would love to see the outside for the first time, Neil's backpack was dark and lacked of air by lots!"
"Would be a problem if you actually breathed baby"
| "Let's go check it out then, the door is right there, might as well not waste time!"
>He walks towards the entrance and opens it up for the two of them, the sunlight flooding through the now open door.
| >Neil stands right before the light, holding her up where the light gets on her face
"I saw this once in a movie about lions"
>"It's hard to look at! Is this how being blind feels like??"
>California shutted her eyes close
| "Want me to put you down?"
>"No!"
| "I'm glad you like it Cali. Hope it was worth the wait!"
>He shifts back inside slightly so he's not directly in the sunlight
"I on the other hand like my air conditioning..."
| "That's a luxury I will make sure to enjoy here"
>He puts down California after a few minutes
>"Can I go outside of the backpack on the way back?"
"Maybe, don't forget that you're quite heavy for a head"
| "So, you got cool hidden passages or something like that? like a james bond dealing room?"
| "Nah, I mean if it does, we haven't found it yet. The place was abandoned when we found it and it's walls are reinforced so we thought after some work it would be a safe place, plus the whole motel business brings some nice pocket change."
>He walks back a little further back into the lobby
"So it's pretty much just a normal motel for the most part, we are just shacking in it, we have a lot of people to take care of so the space is helpful. The kids especially like the pool."
| "Hey that's basically how we started the station! we found an abandoned place and made it ours, but.. are you really keeping kids in a motel? I mean, there's an old couple banging somewhere upstairs so"
>"Father told me you were once arrested for exhibitionism! why do you care?"
"I-I was setup and you aren't supposed to be this rude!"
| "Trust me we had a couple of other places we found, but they were smaller or less defend-able than this one so we went with the motel. Plus trust me, with this team, running into people doing it is going to be a concern regardless, well not as much as before thanks to Mombot, but still. Also I'll pretend I didn't hear that... we all have our embarrassing moments."
| "I'll deeply appreciate that and consider ducktaping her mouth in the future. And at least you found a cool place dude, it is big, chill and makes profit, quite the jackpot! and what does this mombot does now that you mention her?"
| >California is about to speak as Neil places a hand on her mouth to keep her shut
"Not until I'm sure of what I'm saying baby"
| "Well aside from all the mom stuff she does, she basically one of our frontline fighters. She knows how to fight with a vibro-blade and is our street samurai, she also has some hacking expertise as well, and she handled a lot of that stuff back before I joined since she was one of the original members of the DynamoFucks. She really showed her skills back in the GC airport before it uh... collapsed. Why do you ask?"
| "Just curiosity!"
>Neil chuckles nerveously
"I was expecting like a robot caretaker but that's a full hell killing machine, have you seen that old movie Terminator? I bet she could kick his ass!"
| >California's muffled talking becomes louder until Neil removes his hand
"What?"
>"I like terminator!"
| "Well she's good at what she does but she's actually pretty nice and understanding, although she is a little dense at times... you might see her around here though, she's the purple haired lilim in the maid outfit."
| "Anyways instead of talking in the middle of the lobby we don't we head to my room, Cali wanted to see my tech right?"
| (*why don't we)
| >"Yes! I want to see CN's tech deck!"
"I guess I could give a rest to my arms, I didn't knew before this morning a head could be so heavy, I still don't know where they took this head from but this cannot be a lilim head"
| "They say the head is the heaviest part of a human so I can only imagine the same is true for lilims"
>The group climbs up to a room on the third floor, inside is a normal hotel room with a duffel bag, filled with clothes laying next to the bed. On the table are various tech like a laptop, an external harddrive, and a cyberdeck. In one of the corner of the rooms is a second mattress on the floor, with a turned over box and crudely made doll on top of it.
| >He walks over and picks up the deck. It's a slick black deck, with keys on both sides of it and a screen in the middle. It features shining white streaks and blue neon lights.
"Here it is, the Protodeck, uh... name subject to change."
| >California's eyes widen at the sight of the desk, full of excitement
>"I like when projects get special names!"
>"This is like I imagined it! With lights and high tech, is the screen in the middle a touchpad? Is this the deck you use to hack evil corporations? Is it more comfortable than normal deck Or it requires practice to master it??"
"Feel free to ignore a Question or two, we all adopted that stupid habit from shortie"
| "She's just curious, why ignore them?"
>He looks down towards California
"Well yes it's a touchpad, uh hopefully when it's done I can use it for all aspects of my job, for now it's when I go on the field since its more convenient than working on a laptop, and given how I modified it software wise you need to be good at multi-tasking, which, thanks to this..."
| >He points at his left eye, which now that you notice is actually a realistic looking aug
"I can do, since it let's me look at two places at once. Now as for the 'secret' modification I couldn't share on the air, first let me ask you, how much do you know about the 3 fields of matrix manipulation: hacking, decking, and diving?"
| "Uh.. I know how to use photoshop 2050 but that's it"
>"Father never put any information about the matrix in me since I was part of the same software on the station! He said I was "better off this way". So please, tell me about them!"
| "Alright so crash course time then. Each practice has their own pros and cons. I'll start with hacking since I'm most familiar with that one. Hacking is the most 'retro' of the three, and is generally considered the easiest to get into since all you really need is a computer and some programs. It's also considered the cheapest equipment-wise and the safest since the user isn't 'directly' interacting with the Matrix."
| "Decking on the other hand, is kind of the middle ground between the other two, and generally needs two components: a cyberdeck, and a user with a datajack. The user connects directly through the matrix through the deck and uses it's programs with the user's avatar to hack. Generally decking is considered faster than hacking, as decks utilize special programs normally unavailable or compatible with computers like ESP AIs or certain ICE programs."
| "However decks are military grade supercomputers, which means they're costly if you don't build them yourselves, and since you now have a direct connection to the Matrix, you're susceptible to get hurt physically if you run into dangerous programs, although the deck thankfully takes the frontload of the damage."
| "Finally, diving is on the other extreme, it involves sending, or 'diving' your whole conscious into the Matrix and hack that way. That's generally considered the fastest method, since you are literally hacking at the speed of thought. Naturally though, this comes with major drawbacks."
| "While you are a much efficient codebreaker, diving is only really available for individuals who heavily augged themselves to do it, like we're talking cybernetic brain augs or something... or you can also just be an AI like lilims. This also means your physical body is completely vulnerable outside the matrix since your consciousness is inside it."
| "Another con is since your connection to the matrix isn't mediated through a secondary tech like a deck, any damage sustained on your conscious can seriously hurt, you are even at risk of death if you run into something like Black ICE, which is designed to kill intruders."
| "Uh... that should cover the basics I think. Any questions?"
| >California is looking in awe, almost speechless, almost.
"That's some witchcraft shit right there, like I once read of people that meditated their way into the spirit world, and while they did, their bodies were exposed"
>"How is the matrix like??? I could get in there since I'm an AI?? Can people meet each other in the matrix?? If I go in the matrix I will be a whole body or I'd just float in the void like when I was just software??"
| >"Father can only hack, but maybe I can let him use me to see how is the matrix!"
| "I don't know how it's like, I don't have a datajack, I can just hack like R, beside any component that would be compatible with one in the deck I ripped out since having it defeats the purpose of my project."
| "Since you are an AI though you could theoretically do it, the matrix is a dangerous place though, especially now with those malicious programs like Legion out there right now. Otherwise your avatar in the matrix is of your own making, so you can make it what you want it to be, and you could meet with other people's avatars that way as well."
| >"Sounds like a lot of fun! I wish there weren't evils like legion and ICE ruining the matrix for everyone. Is legion still around though? Father didn't liked me taking calls yesterday because of What you said about legion taking over people's mind"
"Theorically speaking none of us would be safe in the radio, AI or not because of legion so.."
| "Well from what I've seen, Legion can only invade networks and people's consciousness through the matrix. So I think you picking up the phoneline should be safe considering that. Even R and I and safe from Legion since we don't directly connect to the matrix while hacking, it's deckers and divers who need to be careful. ICE programs aren't necessarily evil though, they're just protection programs used by people, kind of like a firewall, and they have varying levels."
| "White ICE for example may only signal an alert, while Orange ICE just traps intruders. The more dangerous kinds like Red or Black ICE are expensive so you'll only see bigwigs like corps or the White Knights use them, you won't just bump into them normally."
| "The white knights man.."
>"So once people like you and your team get rid of legion will the matrix be a little more safe for everyone? I want to try it out now! Perhaps I could help to get rid of legion!"
"Yeah you're not fighting evil things Or going into the robotic spirit world while on my watch"
| "Hopefully, it's why I've been working so hard on solving this and getting my Protodeck to properly function. I will say this legion thing is too dangerous for you Cali. Maybe R can make an enclosed space for you or something so you can at least try out the matrix. The matrix is just a fancy term for the internet, so even us hackers can do that at least."
| >"I will ask father to do that next time I see him! Will it be like those underwater cages humans use to swim with sharks without any danger? And is your protodeck basically going to be a way to connect with the matrix? "
"Like a ouija board with the spirit world.."
| "Well it's up to how he programs it, he can make it look like whatever he wants, it can anywhere from a boring office building to an amusement park, up to him. Now as for the Protodeck..."
>He gently places it back on the table
| "There's a reason why I explained the 3 fields. Each have their own pros and cons... but what if it didn't? What if someone was able to combine the best of all three worlds while minimizing the cons? That's what I'm trying to do with the Protodeck. The ultimate hacking tool."
| >Calicornia's amaze is more noticeable now, her eyes almost bright while still looking at him
"That is.. That is so freaking cool!! You will make the perfect matrix explorer! You will be unstoppable in there when you managed to build it! Do you think one will also be able to be in all trhee levels at the same time using your invention??"
| "Hmm... I mean that's the idea, I still have a lot of hurdles to get through, one huge one being keeping up with a divers hacking speed without a direct connection to the matrix. Right now the Protodeck only has combined routines from decking and normal computer software, which I feel is the bare minimum."
| "I'm not even sure if *that* programming is fine, since again, I've only ran the data through simulations. No one has ever tried this before, as far as I know, so I'm kind of making things up as I go along."
| >"Why don't you conmect a lilim to it? Don't they have a more advanced software that can be used? And you won't be risking direct connectiom as Its all trough the lilim!"
"I think that would be like connecting a toaster to the computer, total different systems, right?"
| "But Hey, if you manage This thing you can say you're the hacker #1. As for accomplishing something no one else has ever done"
| "I mean Lilims can connect to computers just fine, but then they would be doing the hacking technically, not me. Plus I guess if I configured decking software to my normal hacking tools, I can do the same with a lilim, but I feel that would be unethical to the AI."
| "I know AIs like Lilims technically aren't seen as 'people', especially from the older situation, but I think AIs still deserve just as much of a chance as us, and I don't justify to all that 'ends justifies the means' bs the corps love to throw around to complete the project, so I'll have to find another means of jumping over this hurdle."
| (*older generation)
| >"I-I meant one that would volunteer, not like a test subject but more like a willing AI! I think lilims are as good as people, specially now that I'll soon be like one!"
"They're easier than humans too"
>"How long do you think it would take you to finish the deck? To unlock such powerful access to the matrix? "
| "A volunteer wouldn't work though, it still wouldn't be me doing it, plus I want to design the software so anyone can use it. I'm not sure how long it will take though, I just started making it last month, so it will probably take awhile."
| >"Do you plan on selling or sharing the software once its done? or will it be used exclusively by your team? I would like to see it once its finished, I might have a body already when that happens!"
| "Hmm... I haven't really thought that far actually. This kind of thing, if I pull it off, would probably be worth a pretty zenny, but then only corps would benefit from that. If I ever make it public I'd probably make it cheap or even open source, although I probably won't come to that decision until after this whole VT business is done."
| "I don't mind sharing it with my team though, the thing is most of them are divers, so they won't have much use for this. I'll make sure to show it to you too if I do finish it!"
| >"I'll love to see it when it's done CN! I know the matrix will be safer when you finish your project, but will it also help you to take care of companies like VeriaTech from inside the matrix?"
| "Well I sure hope so, I mean having more tools of the trade available to me means I can do my job better. Granted, they're still a corp, I can't exactly just hack straight into their HQ and expose all their secrets, but it will still help me hack into other stuff and help me support my team more efficiently. I mean, without my hacking skills, I'm just a glorified GPS system during jobs."
>He chuckles
| >"GPS' can be helpful tho! Maybe after the decker is done you can be a GPS that also hacks, decks, and dives into the matrix!"
"I don't think it is nice to call him a gps California"
>California pays no attention to Neil at This point
>"But still you're good at gathering information! Everytime you call you bring something new that father ends up writing down!"
| "Well the GPS part is just me hacking into traffic cams and stuff like that, so thats part of the package. I'm glad your dad finds my info useful. Why does he write it down though? Is it for the station?"
| >"He writes down all the Info he gets from any source! I don't think It's for the radio since less than half of the Information has been actually used on Live, he's very quiet about it so I don't know What's all the Info for! "
| "R sure is a secretive guy... and overprotective too. Where is he anyways? I doubt he just stayed in the station after realizing that Cali was gone."
|
| "Problably still looking for her, if one thing can make that guy get out I'm sure is This, but since he was all about saying no and claiming it's too dangerous I kinda had no other choice than This"
| "Hmm... I hope he's okay then. I mean it's good if he went out but when you're a hermit like that forcing it like in this situation isn't good. You got to slowly tease him with the prospect of it, let him come to the conclusion on his own. Forcing him will just make him want to stay inside even more."
| "Fuck man I don't know, last time I saw him going out he was pretty chill about it, But again, last time I saw him going out was the only time I saw him going out"
>"Father went out with Xii the day they got my head! Though he seemed exhausted when they came back, and Xii was the one holding the head"
| "I guess he's not as much of a shut in as I was then... maybe it's anxiety or something... no then..."
>He voice trails off as he mumbles, before suddenly snapping out of it.
| "Oh sorry, I got lost in thought. There's my habit of meddling in others people's business again. S-S-Sorry, ignore that."
>He waves his hand side to side in a feeble attempt to physically brush the moment aside from the conversation
| "You better don't do that out loud if you ever meet R, if he's all secretive about his job I can't imagine about someone trying to figure out What's his deal in front of him"
>"You looked like him when he's deciphering!"
| "Yea my mumbling is a bad habit of mine I've been trying to break for awhile now. If he's so secretive and never goes out though, how did all you end up meeting anyways?"
| "Well, he knows Xii, problably met him in some nerd convention, and I studied with Xii, I found them here in Glitchy city from a poster on the street saying a Co-host was needed for an amateur radio and he interviewed me to see if I was " fit" for the radio, the amount of bullshit I said that day to be accepted will be remembered trough generations"
| "Hey that's how all job interviews are in the end, unless you're a shadowrunner pretending to be a motel manager anyways. A pirate radio station seems pretty random all things considered though,there must be a story for those two if they came up with it."
| "Given how secretive is shortie and how much Xii hates my guts at times, I'd say you'd have to ask them as I won't be told shit. Specially after kidnapping the head of his daughter-invention into a motel"
>"Y-You can just say it was a library! A secret library!"
| "Well I mean when you come back with her safe and sound I'm sure he won't be *that* mad. Maybe Cali can distract him by talking about how much fun she had and all the things she has learned. Almost like a field trip in a way. What dad would get mad at seeing their own daughter spread her wings?"
| "I never though of manipulation until now, that will definetly work!"
>"Is not manipulación if it's true! I will tell father of all the amazing things I saw today and how painfully beautiful the sun is!"
| "Yea, Cali is right, it's the truth so there's no manipulation involved. Plus if he doesn't believe you, I can always corroborate the story next time I call too. Plus if Cali talks about how she enjoyed the outside, maybe it will help R will going out a little bit more too."
| >"I will tell dad how much fun I had today! I too want to see him going out and having fun like everyone else does!"
"Perhaps it would be nice to have him away from the station for some time, dude's always putting me on my nerves"
| "Well regardless of motivation just try to be supportive, trust me, I know firsthand that someone doesn't become a shutin unless they had a *pretty* good reason."
| "What was your reason? Did you almost get killed by an evil corporation? Did you had a huge amount of money and became a lonely millionare who after a twisted turn of events fights evil now?"
| >He awkwardly rubs the back of his neck.
"Uh... not exactly, it's kind of depressing actually. I'm kind of not comfortable sharing specifics but let's just say that it was because of something I did a few years back I'm not proud of."
| "Don't sweat it buddy, We all have had our bad times and shameful memories"
>"Neil once--"
>He covers her mouth before she can say anything
"The important part is to not let your past control your present dude, like damn it made You go hermit but you managed to go back outside, you grabbed your past by the horns and decided to Live your life, you made it your bitch!"
| "Well in a way it's still controlling me, the whole reason I've stuck through this whole crazy stuff with the DynamoFucks is my way of redemption I guess. It may be making things harder for my team though, I'm too much of an idealist for this occupation."
| "Well goddamn when I though I was right on something, guess time will heal this time my dude, like I know redemption can feel like it's doing something, but if you keep looking back it will never stop controlling you, Fuck the most and only useful words my dad ever told me were "never look back". And lemme tell you my conscience has never felt cleaner since I started to practice these words!"
| "Huh, I guess I'll give it a shot then. I'm still going to keep doing what I do though, not just to make GC a better place by exposing VeriaTech, but also because the cute girl I like is part of this team."
>He smiles softly, almost as if he is remembering something fondly.
| "Heeey you mentioned her the other day on radio! Or at least you mentioned there was a 'her'. Say, are you ever gonna make a move? I mean there's no much competence since this city is full of freaks and criminals, But still you gotta go for that bus before it's too late"
| "I mean, I kind of already have... things are just kind of complicated. We share each other's feelings, I know that, but she's had a hard life so she is hesitant given the circumstances. Truth be told, most of us here are a dysfunctional mess, one way or another. Doesn't change how much I care for her though."
| "At least you know she's not gonna go for another dude, you got your bus reserved, maybe the future for you both is afar from this hell-hole of city after all the evil corps and abusive heroes are gone"
>Neil Makes a short pause
"Alright that may be way never, but my point stands"
| (May be never*)
| "Funnily enough, in some ways she actually likes this city. She is able to do her research on AIs here as much as she wants and she like that. Back where she originally lived, all forms of AI or their research was banned, so it's like paradise here for her in that regard."
| "How I am not surprised with all the shady shit that's allowed around here, at least she's onto the Good site of the city"
>"She can use me for her research!"
"Yeah that's a line I'm not crossing, shortie may forgive me for taking you out But having a stranger tinkering with your head is something totally different"
| "Y-Yea I'd feel pretty bad for R. Besides her research usually involves her making her own AI actually from scratch. The one that she is always with is called Atmos and it's pretty helpful."
| >"How is Atmos like? Is it friendly? Is she planning on putting it on a body too??"
"I think you're the only A.I on the city someone's taking the time and trouble of moving to a robot body dear"
| "Yea he is friendly, and it's already in a body. It's in this huge, almost gorilla-like body, it's pretty cool. It doesn't have speech quite yet done, but asides from that, it's pretty intelligent."
| "So.. Like a gorilla? Huge, intelligent and with limited speech?"
>"I want to see Atmos one day!"
"Lines California, we aren't crossing any more lines while you're still a head"
| "Basically yea, again AI research was banned where's she from, and she coded him from scratch, so it's pretty impressive given the circumstances. Although you both have already seen him, you just haven't noticed it. He is quite good at hiding in plain sight, despite his size."
| "Alright if you're trying to freak me out you have done it, is he here right now?? Is he the whole motel?? I'm not comfortable with a huge robot hidden somewhere near of me"
| "No, he was hiding in the lobby. He was the coatrack. He did the same trick the time we stayed in a hotel in the Glitz too. Don't bother trying to call him out on it though, unless you're Engy, he is basically a statue like that."
| "Well at least I know he won't go full gorilla on me, is it like a man statue deal where he is also fully aware of his surroundings? Or is like in a sleep state while down there?"
| "Pretty sure he's aware of everything around him. He won't do anything unless we're in danger or something though. Just cause he looks like a gorilla doesn't mean he acts like one. Heck, he woofs or something when you talk to him."
| "Now that's too Damn cute, all bark and only defensive bite, though when you say woofs I remember the stupid agreement I did to get to this place"
>"Is atmos more like a big dog then?"
| "Yea he kind of is like big dog kind of, he's Engy best friend."
>He turns to Neil
"Oh yea that awoononymous guy... not really sure what his deal is asides from the hybrids. He's been quite for a while now."
| "I really just wanna get done with that, though the Background russian tone in the call kept me hooked, like I imagined a tight group of people in a nuclear bunker sharing an old telephone you know?"
| "That's quite the image, they could just be roommates or something like that. Although try to find a silver lining in the call, they've exposed some stuff in the past about VT. Maybe you can get some juicy info out of them between the flirting."
| "That.. That's a Damn good idea dude. Like, I know every super spy has had to go trough fucking a gay hybrid dog for information at least once, luckily I'd just have to use my flirting skills for it, hell it was you who said that seducing is basically hacking people, or something like that, I could bring the hacking skills that shortie and Xii lack off to the team!"
| "Yea that could work, who knows if you get some nice info for R, he might be more lenient about you taking Cali out in the future or something."
>He checks his watch
"Uh... that being said, you two have been here for awhile now. Is it okay for you to be gone from the station for this long? Not kicking you out or anything, just saying R might be pretty streamed by now."
| "I.. Alright Yes I realize I've been.. We've been here for long but honestly I'm afraid that shortie might convince Xii to kick me out, so I'm prolonging the confrontation thiugh I know I'm problably making it worse
>"You are definetly making it worse, but I won't let father kick you out!"
| "You can't avoid it forever though."
>He laughs
"I'm not much for confrontation either, but it's something that's got to be done. It's like that time when you stormed out the first time I called about VT. You just got to get back in there and do it. Plus you can always say that since I always call your line at the station, I might not call anymore if you get kicked out."
>He grins mischievously
| "Well to be fair I was pretty fucking pissed"
>Neil chuckled, picking up California's head
"Though I could use that to keep my ass safe, 90% of our last calls have been you dude, and when isn't donations, calls are what keep us alive"
| "Glad I'm so important, although I hope you get more callers though. I don't want your station turning into the VeriaTech conspiracy channel or something. It's got to have all kinds of interesting stuff from all kinds of people like Jaquelin Jin or whoever else."
| "I mean whatever keeps the people hooked in, if a shonen protagonist with a bunch of conspiracy theories is what the peope want then I guess that's what we give to the people"
"We should get going anyway, if everything goes right next time you see us she'll be on top of a beautiful rocking body"
>"Of my own??"
"No, I'll carry you over my head"
| >He shrugs
"If you say so, well safe travels on your back you two."
>He walks you back to the lobby, everything appears the same as before, although you do notice an abnormally large coatrack covered in a large amount of clothing.
| >"Now I see atmos! He's the huge coatrack!"
>California's head vibrates in emotion
"Don't bother him dear, huge ass robots still make me nerveous"
>He waves goodbye to CN, holding tighter the lilim's head against him
| "See ya!"
>He waves the pair off before heading back inside.
This thread is permanently archived
| >The motel is recently renovated, its "Vacancy" sign sputtering occasionally as you approach. The outside of the place has been painted recently, and there are further signs of clean up, including new fencing, a mowed lawn, and sparkling furniture. The lobby has a few couches surrounding a fireplace, with reception off in the corner, a "out to supper" sign sitting on top.