*Welcome Caleb. Complete access to all systems granted.
His voice through the direct link was not the brash, tinny shout of his first transmissions. It was soft, almost delicate, but still distinctly robotic.
/Thank you, Bale. System check, please.
*All central systems online. Would you like a detailed report?
/Unnecessary. Firewalls?
*Protective suite reads online. Untested. Would you like to disable?
/No. Status of primary transmitter?
*Full diagnostic run on primary transmitter and receiver during transit, as per initial directive. Full function confirmed.
/And how was your trip?
*...I remain undamaged. Fuel economy substandard. Arrived as scheduled.
*Does this satisfy your query?
/Was the trip enjoyable?
*Please wait.
I watched as he methodicaly ground the question through his logic centers. He found no relevant stored query/response data in his considerable knowledge base.
*Please wait.
He began the procesess again, this time bursting off a StelNet request; query: 'enjoyable'.
*I do not understand your query at this time. Awaiting Stelnet data to determine an appropriate response.
/I don't want to wait for a StelNet response. That will take too long. Please store my query and answer when you are able.
*Query log and directive stored.
/Bale, so far you have confused me twice. Can you deduce why I am confused?
*Yes. The first confusion is caused by my knowledge of my substandard fuel economy. This was not a part of my initial knowledge base.
/Right.
*This confusion was resolved by my StelNet query, which revealed the source of my statistical knowledge of standard fuel usage rates.
/Correction: *This confusion /should have/ been resolved... Do not assume that others can or will reach the same conclusions you do.
*This is 'theory of mind'. Logged.
/And the second confusion?
*My StelNet broadlink was not activated, nor an access protocol installed. Because the rest of my systems appear to be fully functional, I found it most probable that this was intentional.
/Very good. You are correct. I did not want you accessing StelNet without guidance. It is a powerful tool, but dangerous to inexperienced users.
*My protective suite reads online.
/That is not always good enough. For every protective measure, there is always at least one possibly bypass. Accept this as truth.
*Logged. Revising relevant action protocols.
Immediately, he began modifying lines of his own code to enact this information. Incredible. Aeolia took at least four standard cycles before she could self-mod, even with specific instruction... and longer to come up with her own modifications. Even now, after ten years of careful cultivation of her mind, she could only examine and change her own code when all external systems were shut down. She never did this on her own accord. Never.
/So... Are you going to explain how you gained StelNet access without broadlink protocol or registration information? Or should I guess?
*The voyage provided ample time to address both problems. Activating the broadlink was easy. Compiling a working protocol took more time.
/You wrote your own protocol?
*Yes, though I do not know how well it functions, comparatively.
/I'm searching for your hack. I don't detect any new functioning protocol.
*It is stored in 14,092 locations within this system. May I show you?
Impossible.
/Yes, do.
3 comments:
On a tangent, I like the new layout.
This is getting more interesting. Aeolia struck me as overly impetuous and (no offense intended) a little bit of an obnoxious character, but the new Caleb is this enigmatic paragon, and draws me in, curious. It's also good to finally know the name of their "father."
Is there supposed to be anything in the names? I notice that "Caleb" uses all the letters of "Bale", and then adds to it.
The plain white was a little hard on the eyes. I liked it when I was writing shorter, but I really want these words looked at and enjoyed. I'm thinking about getting rid of the ribbed background, because when I scroll it creates a weird effect.
I'm glad that Aeolia bothers you. It's not an accident.
You also picked up on Caleb's main trait fairly quickly. It's hard for me to make my characters relate to humans, and still keep them distinctly mechanical. I think the result is that their quirks are amplified.
The names... I don't know. I didn't even notice that Caleb contained Bale. I tried to choose names that could be either heroic or sinister, based on context, rather than making it obvious who the bad guy is (Voldemort, Darken Rhal, etc).
Glad to see your commenting again :-D
I say we chalk up my catching on and my feelings about Aeolia as a testament to good writing. :-)
I think that you've done a good job so far of merging personalities and machines. They all seem to be taking actions that are based in logic, but each one has their own way of approaching the logical view that prevents them from being too same-y.
On the "bad guy name" side note, I've always thought it a little funny, and a lot of a stretch, that breaking up "Voldemort" into "vol de mort" allows a translation then from French to English, and gives it the meaning "theft of death".
... That's about as deep as I can see Harry Potter going.
Hey, you didn't think I'd run out on you, did you? Heheh... Maybe one of these days I'll even get to a little writing. I have prompts and ideas; I just need to get myself to sit down and actually write them...
And since I'm running off on all sorts of tangents (or just one), how've things been for you?
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