seventh glitch

[perfectisnteasy]

[Cair Paradisa/Private]

It'll be sixteen cycles, this ... Monday. [he says the word strangely, as though he's still getting used to it - which he is. User time measurements, what are they] Maybe that's not a lot of time for you, since from what I hear you've been around for thousands of 'em. But it's a heck of a long time for a program to go without a clear definition.

Is that why you keep turning me into a User? To take my mind off it? To try and make me ... like them? Joke's on you, I kinda made my peace with the Users already. In that .... mirror place.

[he walks up to the mirror in his room - a wide, oblong thing that's nearly as tall as he is, and sets his hands on the shelf, leaning in to stare at himself.]

Y'know, I ... I used to look just like him. Used to be just like him. But then he changed. He changed so much, and then he left. Like I wasn't even his program anymore. Everyone talks about people leaving this place ... call me crazy, I almost wanna tell 'em I know how they feel. Every single time. But it's different. That was his choice, and around here, it's yours. But I'm going off script here. Point is ... turns out he gave me an impossible directive, and now I don't have one. Even when I tried to fix it to fit you, to fit all of this ... it didn't work. And a program without a directive's pretty much useless.

So why would you want me? Why would you even drag me here? WHAT'S THE POINT?!

[his voice drops as suddenly as he raised it, though, and his shoulders sag. he rests his forehead against the mirror, feels its coolness seeping into him, until he finally opens his eyes and stares into them. ... it's funny, he realizes, how much that part of him still looks like Flynn.]

First time you made me a User, I ... I flipped. I couldn't handle it, it was too much, man. Too messy, too much chaos, too much ... everything. But this last time, it --- I don't know if it was because you replaced my memory, or what, but -- I didn't even think about it. I just was, and it -- it was --

[he can't even bring himself to admit it aloud. saying it in his mind is hard enough: it was fun. and for a few fleeting moments here and there, it was Perfect. that goal he keeps looking for over and over, even if it never stays]

... Why is it easier to find, there, like that, than it is here?!

[/Filter]

[he sighs, and finally pads over to his chair, slumping into it to pull the journal into his lap]

Hey, got another question for you folks. ... What makes people human?

Comments

Dictated

[crownless_king]

And the loaded question of the year award goes to...

[Hm. But really.]

For starters, mistakes. Tons of mistakes.

[perfectisnteasy]

[well, he won't argue that logic. programs aren't supposed to make mistakes. even if he -- well -- okay he's not going to think about that, it doesn't compute, and he wants sense right now. or at least something he can quantify. answers to questions, that's a nice one-for-one exchange. that's neat enough. a little easier than the thorny mess that is What The Hell He Is Right Now]

... Only for starters? Arright ... What else?

[crownless_king]

Only for starters man. Like a good foundation.

But what else? Well, lots of things. More than I could probably answer. I'm not gonna lie, humanity is a mess. Half the time it's awesome, the other half of the time it's something to extinguish. [Finger snap]

Chaos. Chaotic nature, all that. That right there, big human thing. Covers a lot too. Good and bad, redeeming and fucked up.

[wilder]

[Zelos won't say anything, but he's certainly stalking this one for his own reasons :| ]

CLU, to end

[sawadeertoday]

I would assume that feelings would have a lot to do with it. As well as making terrible decisions.

[ She was overly cautious, so she had written in a filter. ]

GLaDOS, to end!

[perfectisnteasy]

That's what I've heard, so far. But I can't help but wonder if there's more to it than that.

They're so much more complicated. I wanna know how they even handle that much chaotic input.

[sawadeertoday]

Hm, there definitely could be. I'm in a human body and I hardly understand any of this idiocy myself.

[ She breathes out a sigh before continuing. ]

And I'm surprised they can even handle it, to be honest. It explains why there are so many mental cases out there.

[inafadingcrown]

I gather you seek an answer beyond simply biology and heritage.

[perfectisnteasy]

I do, yeah ...

[smartass and curious don't usually mesh well as one tone. somehow, CLU pulls it off.]

[inafadingcrown]

[She draws a little line up to this response]

It is certainly not how I would have phrased the sentiment, but I find myself mostly in agreement. I will say, however, that such things are not limited to humanity.

[cheerupemoborg]

If you want to get technical, they must be homo sapien sapiens to be human.

However, that's the wrong answer. The real one is a little trickier.

[perfectisnteasy]

If it's the wrong answer, why'd you bother givin' it to me, man?

[cheerupemoborg]

Because I felt like it.

As for the right answer... well, to get to that you must ask yourself: what's makes humanity unique, if at all?

Dictated

[whos_there]

A SENSE OF HUMOR
[ Gary has sibling who was VERY interested in this stuff, and he knows the answer he and Wyoming were told, but it's not like he'll up and say "Metastability" or something. He just doesn't do that kind of thing. ]

[perfectisnteasy]

See, I dunno. I like to think I've got one of those... [a pause. you sound familiar]

Identify, program?

dictated

[psych0p0mps]

their dna

[perfectisnteasy]

Besides that. I mean ... DNA is just programming for Users, right? So ... what's the big difference? I don't understand.

Dictated forever

[mal_addict]

You mean besides the habit of spreading their diseases about the place and getting very over emotional about pretty much anything?

[perfectisnteasy]

... Well, yeah, something like that. [he sounds amused, because, well ... yep. best friend is best friend for a reason]

Dictated - The brat returns >:D

[wizard_redfive]

[Oh, would you look at that. CLU's still here. :l

Still asking difficult questions too. Programs seem to have very active curiosities. He has that in common with her mobiles, if nothing else.]

Our genes and biological makeup, technically.

Woot!

[perfectisnteasy]

[still here and actually learning things, gasp!]

Beyond that. That's all physical stuff, but - there's something else, too, something that won't quantify.

dictated;

[siebter]

Some people said that you're a human if you seem like one and feel like one.

[perfectisnteasy]

They did, huh? ... What counts as "feeling" like one?

[alaspooryork]

[For a moment Delta's confused as to why Flynn would be asking this, but then realizes that Clu usually isn't a little kid. Well, if he'as asking from the perspective of a program, that's an easy one.]

Typically, confidence that an illogical choice is the correct one - often with positive results.

YESSSS finally.

[perfectisnteasy]

That much sounds about right. ... But ... isn't there more to it than that? I mean ... it ...

It feels different. If that makes any sense.