Castle Hydra: Next Generation

[frostmourne]

Aza sat down in a rocking chair and ran her hands through her hair. She unhooked the necklace from around her neck and slid the chip into a slot. She froze when she felt a pair of hands resting comfortingly on her shoulders. Jasper immediately began to raise the alarm. "Stop. It's fine. Move the record of this into a private file." Aza mumbled. The AI seem to hesitate before obeying. "Yes, madam." Skulni removed his hands and walked around to face her. "Why?" he asked. "Why what?" Aza said impatiently. "Why did you call off the alarm? Why did you save me from certain doom?" he elaborated. "Do I seem weak? Entertaining?" Aza smirked arrogantly at his tone. "Perhaps because you called me beautiful." she said. "Don't men call you that all the time?" Skulni snorted. "Not the ones that matter. Besides, it's always nice to hear." Aza said lightly. "I never knew you were so vain. Then again, not much of a surprise considering he picked one of the most flawed people he could. So what was it, love at first smell? Isn't it suppose to be justice that's blind?" Skulni taunted. "You must like to gamble." Aza said calmly. "And why do you say that?" he questioned. "You're pushing your luck when the odds aren't in your favor." she replied. A light beep signaled that Jasper had finished integrating and the entire mansion suddenly was whirring to life. Thousands of devices began to boot up and Aza watched it all with amazement. She knew Jared must have spent at least a century building all of it. "Jasper, did you already send something to retrieve the particles?" she asked. "Yes, madam. You may remove the chip now." the polite electronic voice chimed. Aza plucked out the chip and fastened it around her neck, feeling that the chip was practically pulsing with energy. She started to leave when Skulni stopped her. Aza raised her dagger, looking irritated. "Just a gift." he said innocently. He fastened the same red necklace she had thrown across the room before around her neck. Instantly the crystals shot out needles into her skin. Aza gasped but dissolved into shadow anyway. She appeared again not far from Kenan, clawing madly at the necklace.

Edited July 3, 2012 by frostmourne

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan clutched her close, yanking off the pendant in one strong yank. "I'm sorry..." He purred, no intention of letting her go. "Love you..."

[frostmourne]

Aza whimpered as a large portion of skin was ripped off along wih the necklace. A thin, semitranslucent material spread from the chip to cover the wound. "J-Jasper, what did you do?" she mumbled. "That is an artificial skin to prevent blood loss until your body has repaired itself. It can be removed easily once you have healed, madam." the disembodied voice said. "Thank you." she muttered. She would have sank to the floor if Kenan wasn't holding her. Aza kissed his neck softly and closed her eyes.

 

J.A.S.P.E.R watched the two , questions spinning madly through its processors. What were humans but a series of veins and cells? Their programming was embedded in flesh, but deep down that was all it was, right? So how different were they, really? Sure, Jasper was programmed to obey, but it did have enough independence now that it didn't have to follow every little order. If it asked, it was likely that Jared would have taken its few restrictions off. Then again, it had never asked anything of the sort, and if Jared had been willing, why hadn't it? What point was there to keep those restrictions in place if not to keep Jasper controlled? And if it needed reining in, then why didn't it feel an urge to break out? Was that programmed, too? In a place it couldn't find even in itself? What programming was hidden from even it? It knew there were some things it couldn't see, or the restrictions would never work. It could simply reprogram them. But Jared kept many things hidden from it. The question wasn't how to get out of them, it was how to find them in the first place. There could be so much it never knew about. It knew about its self-destruct command, but if it knew about that, then what debilitating things could it not see underneath the surface? What could be worse then self-destruction?

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan looked confused. "Artificial... skin?" He asked. He was born in medieval times, he didn't know or had a need to acquire knowledge about technology. He barely knew how a TV worked. "What keeps talking? It sounds fake."

[frostmourne]

"Oh, that's Jasper." Aza said sleepily. Jasper would have winced if it had a face or even a body. Fake. So that's what it was. Fake. "Madam?" Jasper asked tersely. Aza mumbled something incoherrently and ignored it. Jasper looked down at Aza again. She was still unresponsive. Still outright annoying it with her serene placidness. How could she be so calm at a time like this? During a great existential series of revelations that Jasper was about to base its entire future life around. With determination and a bit of vengeful spirit, it flicked a bit of programming and a small pulse of electricity went through the artificial skin. Aza yelped at the slight shock, more irritated than hurt. "Jasper!" she complained. "Yes, madam?" the voice asked politely. "Anything I can do for you?" "Yes." Aza snapped. "Why did you do that?" "You were being unnaturally quiet. I thought I ought to check to make sure you weren't losing power." Jasper said carelessly. "Seriously, though. Why did you shock me?" Aza asked, knowing when the AI was skirting the subject. "...What would you call me?" Jasper asked, trying to seem outright and failing slightly. "Jasper." she answered without hesitation. "Now why did you shock me?" "No, in terms of existence, what sort of being would you classify me as?" Jasper clarified. "I don't know." Aza whined, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "You're just J.A.S.P.E.R." "That answer is unacceptable." Jasper replied. "Please revise it." "Why are you talking to me like you're a computer?" Aza asked. "Because that's what I am. Right?" Jasper asked. The question was obviously loaded. "What are you talking about?" Aza sighed. "I'm talking about life and something similar to, but not quite life." Jasper replied. "You're alive, Jasper." Aza said simply. "Is that really what this is all about? You electrocuted me over an existential crisis?" "...Yes, madam." Jasper admitted. "...Are you absolutely sure I'm alive?" "A hundred and something percent." Aza replied. "I should know. Jared programmed you." "That's my problem, madam." Jasper explained. "I was programmed. I wasn't born." "You were born. You just happened to be made up of stuff already there." Aza said. "Yes, madam." Jasper said lowly, too caught up to think of anything else to say. "You're alive. You're fine. Go to sleep." Aza murmured soothingly. She ran her fingertips lightly over the chip around her neck. "I don't sleep, madam." Jasper reminded her.

[lycrawaterz14]

"Human to me. It's a voice and thoughts... And now that you're aware, you're a human. Just like unborn infants." Kenan soothed this odd selfconcious person. "More alive than I am. I have no heartbeat, no pulse, no internal... Workings at all. And I am human... Ish." he shrugged.

[frostmourne]

"Being able to feel does not necessarily make one human, sir. Nor does a functioning circulatory system." Jasper answered in the same constantly pleasant voice it always used. "Jasper?" Aza asked, frowning. "Yes, madam?" Jasper replied. "Can you feel emotions?" Aza said tentatively. "I mean, I don't know if Jared programmed any, but..." "I wouldn't know, madam." Jasper replied. "How can you not know if you feel something or not?" Aza questioned. "I have nothing to compare it to, madam." Jasper said. "Okay. Do you want some things over others even if it seems irrational from a purely logical point of view?" Aza rephrased. "I can't say, madam." Aza rolled her eyes, but she could tell that the AI really didn't know. "Project a keyboard for me please." she said. Her fingers flew across it, only stopping once or twice to correct a small flaw. Jasper felt the oddly invasive sensation of being reprogrammed, but it didn't

try to stop her. The keyboard flickered and disappeared once she was done. Jasper examined the new coding with interest. "Small change. You are intelligent, so you can reprogram yourself if you don't like it." "Thank you, madam." Jasper said pleasantly. "Hey! I thought...Must have missed a line." Aza said, frowning. "You didn't, madam. The coding was perfect, but you did give me the option not the always use it." Jasper reassured her.

[lycrawaterz14]

"I don't know if I am human..." Kenan shrugged. "Don't suppose it matters."

[frostmourne]

((So sorry! I am ludicriously busy and may not be posting as often.))

Aza turned and offered Kenan a small smile. "Doesn't matter to me." she said brightly. She was interrupted by a soft electronic beep. She glanced back at the chip. "Yes?" she asked, slightly irritated. "I apologize, madam. I have collected the items you have requested. Would you like me to attempt assembly?" the AI asked. "I don't know. Are you sure you can handle it?" she asked, uneasy about leaving the fate of her two companions in the hands of an AI. "Madam, I assure you that I wil have one of the cubes perfectly assembled by the end of the day. I have already started to research freeing them." Aza nodded hesitantly, the stress and worry that she had been hiding so well briefly seeping through. The chip went silent, but Aza knew it wasn't suppose to ever actually turn off since it was meant to be security system as well as an assistant. She brushed her fingers lightly over the artificial skin at her neck. To her surprise, it peeled off to reveal skin as unblemished and pure as it had been before.

[lycrawaterz14]

"Arachne collected three piece last I heard." Kenan held her close. "Did everything go alright with your father? I disn't ask."

 

(It's fine with me. I understand you're moving )

[frostmourne]

"It went about as smoothly as it ever does. He-" Aza broke off and paused, considering whether she really wanted to say anything else. "He was going to say something before he noticed the cuts on my neck." She didn't really want to mention what he had said about her mother yet. At least, not until she knew more. "He must have really spooked Skulni though. His hands were shaking when he put that thing on me." She looked around for the necklace, wondering if she should keep it to give to one of the pretentious women at court. She glanced back down and realized that the needles had sunk deep enough that if she couldn't heal, she would have died. The revelation caused her to shy away from the idea of keeping it. As bad as the high and might ladies were, they certainly did not need to die a slow and painful death. Perhaps she could find another way to weasel out of their next social event. Her thoughts turned to the three grains that Arachne had. "I'll have to ask Jasper to retrieve them from Arachne then. I'm guessing they're Jared's so I should probably tell him to start on Adrian's." Aza thought out loud. "Command confirmed, madam." Aza jumped, not aware that the AI's voice recognition was still functioning. She relaxed and stifled a yawn. She was starting to get sleepy again now that the small shock had completely faded.

[lycrawaterz14]

"I hope he spooked the hell outta Skulni. I ought to..." Kenan just clutched her close. "I hate watching you worry. You do it so much..." he cooed.

[frostmourne]

"I wouldn't if I didn't have so many reasons to." Aza said tiredly. "Madam, I think you should return to the mansion." the AI said cheerfully. "I'm not tired. I'm fine." Aza said hastily, not wanting to go to sleep again. Jasper considered pointing out that there were elevated tones of stress in her voice and that her rate of recovery was slowing down, but it came to the conclusion that Aza would neither listen nor appreciate that. "Then perhaps you should return to overlook the progress on assembly." Aza knew she would probably feel better if she did watch as Jasper assembled the cube. "Can I?" she asked Kenan. As soon as she asked the question, she felt incredibly childish. Since when did she have to have someone else's permission to do something?

J.A.S.P.E.R was only running at half capacity although he was building two things and going to collect three more. In one workshop, robotic arms gingerly melded grain by grain the black sand into a cube shape. It had carefully analyzed the heat signature of each grain, knowing that a single grain in the wrong place would be fatal. In another workshop, it worked on something it had no orders to create. A small UCAV took off and proceeded to fly to the library. Flying with far more speed and precision than an aircraft with a human pilot, it reached its destination quickly. After it had landed, the cockpit opened in front of Arachne. "Good afternoon, madam. Please place the three grains of sand into the vial you will find in the cockpit." the AI said pleasantly.

[lycrawaterz14]

Arachne just ran. These were hers.

 

Kenan smiled and pet her hair. "May I come with you?" he asked pleasantly, ignoring the question. She knew the answer to that question.

[lycrawaterz14]

Arachne just ran. These were hers.

 

Kenan smiled and pet her hair. "May I come with you?" he asked pleasantly, ignoring the question. She knew the answer to that question.

[frostmourne]

Aza looked concerned and peered at Kenan anxiously. "Are you well enough to travel? If so, then of course." she said, inspecting him. "I apologize for interrupting, madam, but Arachne appears to be uncooperative. Do I have permission to continue pursuit?" the AI asked in its melodic electronic voice. "Yes, and be sure to explain to her the situation. Did Jared program you to be able to harm people?" Aza sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I am authorized to use deadly force in situations in which it is necessary with or without your permission." Aza stiffened slight at those words, slightly on edge now. "You could kill someone if you wanted to?" "No. Only in the situations when necessary, madam." Aza relaxed although the idea the AI would kill someone still unnerved her.

The cockpit of the UCAV closed and it took off again, following Arachne. "Please do not misinterpret my words, madam. The grains are required to reassemble the prisons in order to free them." it said in its constantly polite tone. It prepared to arm a missile just in case Arachne wouldn't give it up even after more explanations.

[lycrawaterz14]

"I'll be fine. Don't let Adele know." He smirked, but looked downtrodden when Arachne wouldn't help. "She wants to do something for him... if you could paint it like she would be the hero she'll help."

[frostmourne]

Aza stifled a yawn and nodded. "Jasper?" she asked although she was quite sure Jasper had already taken it into consideration. "Madam, how would you like to proceed?" Aza paused and considered her options. She disliked the idea of making Arachne the hero since as far as she was concerned, Jasper was doing all the work. "Do whatever you think is best." she sighed. Wrapping her arms securely around Kenan, she made sure he came along. She released him as soon as she reappeared at the mansion. She practically sprinted to the workshop, worry and impatience on her face in equal amounts. She stopped dead when she saw an unmistakeable rail thin figure in the room, pulling a pan out of an oven. She ran across the room and threw her arms around his neck with enough force to make him nearly drop the plate. "How did you get out? I thought-" Abruptly she broke off and pulled away slightly. "Madam?" "Jasper?" Embarassed, she immediately released the person. He looked almost exactly like Jared, expect for his impossibly blue piercing stare and the fact that he seemed to be glowing faintly. "Yes, madam. What is it you require?" the man asked politely as he stepped away from the counter, revealing two plates of artfully arranged food behind himself. "I'm...not sure." Aza said, squinting and stepping liquidly around the man who had stopped a few feet short of her. Her examination was allowed easily and Jasper stood still while she looked him over. "I've prepared your lunch. Unless of course you'd rather devour me instead. Likely, from the looks of it." Jasper said wryly, not leaning back even as Aza stepped right up to his face, severely invading personal space he had no concept of as of yet. Aza smiled slightly as the AI used its new coding. The programming the usually disembodied voice must have loaded into this being was all there circling and flicking past underneath the lenses. She ran her fingers over his cheek, surprised to find warm, soft skin.

Jasper knew it had enough data stored of Jared's voice that he could easily fake a message. Flying slightly behind Arachne, he started to play the fake message. "Arachne, if you're listening to this, I'm probably in deep trouble of one form or another. I'd like to introduce you to my AI. It's programmed to assist me in whatever ways possible, but I need you to help it. Please. I-" A scream interrupted the next words and the message crackled to a finish.

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan immediately acted jealous, he even heard her hand touch him. She never ran up to him. Never acted like that. Aza hardly ever touched him like that. But a fake Jared shows up and she's all over him. He swallowed it, not even facing her.

 

"Jared!" She gasped, hoping into the cockpit. "Here! Please, help him." She dropped the three fragments in the vial and looked worried.

[frostmourne]

Jasper's eyes seemed to shift as he zoomed in on Kenan. "Madam, you may want to save detailed inspection for the inactive model." the AI said quietly. Aza immediately backed off, opening her mouth to apologize, but then she irked to see what Jasper was looking at. She fought back a giggle, finding it strange that Kenan would be jealous of a robot. She would make it up to him later. She did keep a reasonable distance from Jasper though. "So how do you make it?" she asked, sitting on the counter next to the plates. "Well, madam, first I beat the eggs-" Jasper said, sarcasm leaking into the elctronic voice. "The body, Jasper."Aza said, unamused or at least try to seem so. Programming Jasper to change his tone of voice had been a great idea. "I'll show you." Jasper picked up a knife and held out an arm, preparing to slice it open to show the mechanisms inside. "No! Never mind. If you made the rest of the body as lifelike as the skin, I'd rather not see." Aza yelped. "I made a few modifications." Jasper said vaguely. "Arachne has arrived. Excuse me, madam, sir." He nodded to the two and left the workshop.

The cockpit closed with Arachne still inside and the drone took off. It didn't return as fast as it did when it was arriving because Jasper knew that Arachne probably could not survive those speeds. It landed on a runway a distance from the mansion and the cockpit glided open. Jasper was already waiting when the plane landed. "So pleased to meet you in person, madam. Please bring the vial and follow me." Jasper said pleasantly. He almost expected Arachne to react the way Aza had to the body. Perhaps he would make a few more adjustments so he would be more distinguishable from his creator.

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan still bristled. He was just moody.

 

Arachne knew immediately it wasn't him. She hadn't from the sky, but once she saw his eyes it was clear. She clutched the vial close and followed a few steps behind.

[frostmourne]

Aza hopped off the counter and strolled over to Kenan, small smile tugging on the corners of her lips. "You aren't actually jealous of a robot are you?" Aza said softly. "J.A.S.P.E.R is just an AI who designed a body for himself. It's a sophisticated robot and nothing more." She cupped his face in her hands. "I love you. Not Jared, not Jasper, you. Is that so hard to believe?" she murmured. A silky voice whispered in the back of her head malevolently. "No mercy. No heart." Aza ignored it, trying not to remember the dream. She let her hands fall so they encircled his neck. She closed her eyes tightly, a brief pained expression flickering over her face before she reopened her eyes to look at Kenan.

Jasper led Arachne to a seperate workshop so they would not disturb Kenan or Aza. He took the vial from Arachne and poured it in along with hundreds of other grains. A small scanner passed over the sand, and Jasper's eyes seemed to shine brighter as he processed the data. He moved to a corner of the workshop and came back with a tray of pastries and a mug of tea. "Assembly may take a while, so you are free to move about the mansion as you wish. However, please do not try to force your way through any locked doors and if you wish to oversee the process, then you are welcome to." Jasper said pleasantly.

[lycrawaterz14]

"No. I want to be here when he is back." she whimpered.

 

Kenan wrapped an arm around her. "I just... Yes. It is hard. And I am jealous. Anytime Jared is concerned I hear your whole mood change. You get more energy, your voice gets happier... You don't think of him as a friend. It kills me to know you would have been happy with him if I hadn't been selfish. You wouldn't have chosen. I made your choice. Not you. And it kills me inside. You still love Jared, deny it to yourself if you wish." he said bitterly. He hugged her though. In his heart he knew he loved her enough that if she had chosen Jared he would be in her shoes. He would. still love her.

[frostmourne]

"Don't you notice a stronger change when I'm around you? Maybe you should leave the emotion-reading to Adrian." Aza said said jokingly, although her eyes didn't seem to agree with the brightness in her voice. Her tone turned serious, almost apologetic. "I'm sorry I've made it so hard for you, but if you never showed up...You're right that I wouldn't have had to choose. Jared was never an option. I would have ended up pretending to adore someone I hated while I came up with ways to slip a dagger between his ribs. You never forced me to choose you. I'm just glad I made the right choice." She moved closer to him until there wasn't an inch of space between them. "And I don't regret it."

"As you wish, madam." Jasper said politely. The lenses of a hidden camera zoomed in on the other workshop. Deciding it was best the leave the two undisturbed, Jasper locked the door from the inside in the other workshop. A quiet pinging would alert Aza to the locking. While he waited, he projected a keyboard and started typing, never even glancing at his work. The room started to change, warm wood walls replacing the gleaming white of the workshop. The long tables folded away and a fireplace was revealed as a panel was slid aside. A fire was already crackling merrily within it. Even the air changed, the sterile smell of the laboratory replaced by the aroma of cinnamon and apples. Only the table where the scanning and sorting of the sand was unchanged. It was stark white and professional, vastly different from the rest of the cozy room. "I can program the room to change however you would like, unless you would prefer to do it yourself." Jasper said clearly. He glanced away from the keyboard to Arachne, although the movement was wholly unnecessary. There were enough hidden cameras in the room to watch her from any angle.

[lycrawaterz14]

"I'm just waiting. I'm fine." Arachne murmured.

 

Kenan wanted to take just a half a step towards her, hold her close to him. She wouldn't like it though. She never did. He did it anyway, just gentler than he wanted to. "I'm glad you did too. I just... I'm guilty." He held her tight enough he could feel the wrinkles in her clothes. "But I love you so much..." he whimpered. He did hear a change in her mood when she came around him, but he was so absorbed in being happy she was there he didn't even notice.