Thank you, friend. ♥ (That doesn't count as an emote, shush) Okay, so. We talked about how closely artificial intelligences can resemble living people, right? So much so that I masqueraded as one for a while? Sometimes, in a bid for immortality or just a fit of ego, people attempt to have AI copies of themselves made. It takes a lot of money and obsessive attention to detail to make a perfect one. It's not really surprising that my dad had one made, is it? I'm sure you knew where that was heading!! But that isn't the problem, exactly. The problem is where the AI is right now. That being "inside Rhys' cybernetics." It's kind of not as bad as it sounds! But it's also kind of worse?? Ugh So, um, first point: never say anything to Rhys that you wouldn't want Handsome Jack to hear. Even if the AI version is... different. Ish.
[There is a pause. Because of course there is a pause. It is a long pause. It is the most justified pause ever.
Beckett does not pretend to understand too much about AIs. He does, however, understand a great deal about disasters waiting to happen.]
I'm sure that you know exactly how many questions I have, so I may as well start from the end. How likely is it that this AI will dislodge Rhys from his own brain, such as it is, and leave Norfinbury with two Handsome Jacks? One being already more than some people can handle.
[ When the message comes through - GEEZ BECKETT TAKE YOUR TIME - it takes all of Angel's considerable resolve not to react. The relief at being able to talk to someone about this is incredible (gosh, it must have been even worse for Rhys!), and there's a weird kind of excited fear running through everything.
Outwardly, she's cool as heckie. You never know when AI dad is nearby and might get interested enough to peek at your tablet if you look like you're doing something intriguing, right? ]
Nnnnnot actually as likely as I first feared. Rhys and the AI seem to get on pretty well? Since I found out about him, anyway. I may have been meddling just a little. Turning the Jacks against each other as subtly as possible. Not that I needed to do much poking after the basement thing!! But I'm pretty sure they *were* working in tandem at one point, and relations have now been thoroughly soured~ Rhys' safety is still a concern, though. Jack can exercise a level of control over him - his cyber arm, mostly, but he can speak through him too sometimes. And I'm pretty sure he took full control at several points? Asking to know for sure is. Awkward. But it would explain the username, right? Most of the danger is less *intentional,* though. When I told Rhys about how I died, the AI was listening and got so worked up that Rhys started bleeding from his port and blacked out With the cold, it makes his hardware more vulnerable. Which means doing things against the AI's wishes are still pretty impossible. Ugh we met up with some people the other day and a guy touched my arm and that was enough to make Rhys fear for his own safety and Wow I'm babbling again. You get the idea.
[Outwardly, sticking to text makes it easier to hide that, inwardly, Beckett is flailing somewhat. Perhaps more than somewhat. Not even in worry, as much as in a sort of confused mental staring into space and wondering how he'd ended up involved with this. A girl and her abusive father and her best friend who is apparently also her abusive father but is at the same time being abused by said father and - ugh. But he made his promise about Jack, and he can't very well tear out Rhys's -
- oh.]
So that was what he meant. About trying to tear something out, while you were imprisoned.
[Perhaps he shouldn't say that. But Angel probably already knows. Angel is very perceptive.
(Sooner or later she is also bound to notice that his wise advice, which he is normally quite capable of dispensing, is based in this case on bullshit and Kindred mind games.)]
I did wonder about the username. And come to think of it - now I recall, he did behave very oddly when we first talked. I should have realized before.
You've done well to begin with, making sure that the two of them are not on good terms. I wonder if Jack realizes how much - ah, probably better not to. Either way, setting the two Jacks in competition with each other for your approval is a powerful weapon for keeping them both in line.
But regarding Rhys...
[Here is another thing he knows he shouldn't say. He may not be in the best of mental spaces to be having this talk right now.]
Angel. I ask because I must. If it were possible for you to deactivate the AI Jack - would you?
Well. She can't say that wasn't her immediate goal as soon as she found out. But since then... Bluh, why do things have to be so darn complicated. ]
No. I wouldn't. Firstly because it wouldn't be my choice! I know he's *my* dad, but it's Rhys who's the one hosting him. He should get to make all the decisions regarding what happens.
[ Especially since it's so hard to retain control over anything here, for Rhys in particular. She couldn't take his autonomy from him, even if it wasn't such a complex issue.
Then again, this probably isn't exactly what Beckett was asking, is it. ]
But even aside from that If it *was* my choice, I still don't think I would? Not how things are right now, anyway. He's been largely well-behaved, minus a few incidents. Granted, the last one was pretty darn terrible. He broke Steph's nose. But even that was like Ugh She said some things to me that dad would normally straight-up kill someone for? So even that's an improvement. Kinda.
So, um, no. If Rhys wanted him gone, I'd support him! But I wouldn't be happy. Annnnd might offer to host the AI myself.
[Beckett is about to make some comment about Rhys's capacity for independent choice - he can't help himself, forgive him - and naturally ask about the nose-breaking incident, when he reads that last sentence. And stops.
He is involved. He admits to it, does what he can with it. He'd made promises to her. She knows, she should know her choices are hers, when she deals with him. Unconditionally. Never to be intervened with. This is how Beckett deals with his friends because it is the only way he wishes to be dealt with.
But he has his limits. Call him a hypocrite - he'd been called it plenty - but he has his limits.]
You mean, to carry him around the way Rhys does now?
I know how you feel about him. I understand the complexities. I respect both, as you know well.
But you've told me yourself that this man has spent most of your life, perhaps your entire life, getting inside your head, attempting to possess and control you, denying you your freedom, being your burden to carry, until even his death became your own.
Are you truly sure that you are willing to let him literally become a part of you?
[ She hadn't even considered the idea until she'd typed it, honestly. It might be the worst idea she's ever had. But... ]
I don't expect that situation to come up! Like I say, he and Rhys seem to be getting along lately. Working together and such? It's nice to witness it. But if it *did* go sour I'm not sure, it'd depend on the circumstances. I wouldn't be happy about letting him in, but the alternative would be oblivion! I'd have to give it a lot of thought, I suppose. Theoretically!
[This is the wrong answer, is his immediate thought. It is not a good answer. But how can he say that, and still hold back from ever claiming to know what is good for her better than she does?
Well, there is one thing he can say.]
The situation would only come up if Rhys were to put you in this position. Having the AI in there can't be pleasant, but surely he understands the problems with this other option.
[Solution: make it Rhys's problem. Yes, that'll definitely work. Good job, Beckett.]
Mmmhmm. Which is why I don't think he'd ever suggest it in a million years! Even if things DID change for the worse. And if the AI did something bad enough for Rhys to want him out, I suppose I might be too mad to host him anyway? There are too many factors at play to accurately say what I'd do, I guess. And of course there'd be plenty of people around ready to curtail my self-sacrificing urges!! Since I am just *all about* those. XP
Yes. Plenty. One more than I was expecting, apparently.
[He isn't sure if the emoting means she's taking this less seriously than he is. Less seriously than she ought - no, stop that. She doesn't ought to anything. That is the whole point.]
Which means we might consider less extreme measures. Can he be transferred onto a tablet? I even know where we might find one without voice function. For extra convenience.
Hmm. I'm not sure! It would depend how much local storage was on there. I mean, imagine if we had to store him on the network servers, holy heck! The amount of havoc he could cause if he actually managed to stick around on them... It doesn't even bear thinking about. Eesh. Imagine a Jack as our new administrator!! Um, but this is all academic, of course. There are no plans to oust him until he does something terrible.
Right. I do believe that little Freudian slip speaks for itself. Since we both know that this is a disaster waiting to happen, shall we perhaps consider how we will not end up scrambling for a solution when things have already gone wrong and Rhys's life is quite probably at stake? Because, Jack's own tendencies aside, knowing Rhys's luck...
[NEED HE EVEN SAY MORE.]
Or - am I mistaken in understanding why you told me this?
Well. Telling you was Rhys' choice! And I think it's a show of trust as much as anything else? But I agree that a contingency plan would be beyond sensible. I'll do some poking around to see if I can find out how much storage is on these things compared with a typical Hyperion ID drive. In the meantime we should probably figure out a way for you to speak with Rhys about his "friend" directly! Just subbing in a different name should do it, I think. Did you know any big jerks back home whose name you'd like to volunteer, or should I come up with something?? ♥
[Wait, did she just - trust? Rhys? The Rhys whose fingers he'd nearly bitten off?]
In that case [AWKWARD PAUSE]
Tell him thank you. And that he can be sure his secret is safe. I hope I can do more for him than sympathise. Although he might feel that getting met to feel sympathy is achievement enough? [Was that his cunning plan all along?]
I know very little about computers, but if one tablet is not enough, I understand that it's possible to create networks that have no connection to the greater net - intranets, is that the term? But that is really your forte.
There is always Sascha, if you're looking for the name of an exceptional jerk. Though would the AI be fooled, if it's privy to what's going on inside Rhys's own head?
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bookofnope) wrote2015-10-04 01:39 pm
no subject
Okay, so. We talked about how closely artificial intelligences can resemble living people, right? So much so that I masqueraded as one for a while?
Sometimes, in a bid for immortality or just a fit of ego, people attempt to have AI copies of themselves made. It takes a lot of money and obsessive attention to detail to make a perfect one.
It's not really surprising that my dad had one made, is it? I'm sure you knew where that was heading!!
But that isn't the problem, exactly. The problem is where the AI is right now. That being "inside Rhys' cybernetics."
It's kind of not as bad as it sounds! But it's also kind of worse??
Ugh
So, um, first point: never say anything to Rhys that you wouldn't want Handsome Jack to hear. Even if the AI version is... different. Ish.
no subject
Beckett does not pretend to understand too much about AIs. He does, however, understand a great deal about disasters waiting to happen.]
I'm sure that you know exactly how many questions I have, so I may as well start from the end. How likely is it that this AI will dislodge Rhys from his own brain, such as it is, and leave Norfinbury with two Handsome Jacks? One being already more than some people can handle.
no subject
Outwardly, she's cool as heckie. You never know when AI dad is nearby and might get interested enough to peek at your tablet if you look like you're doing something intriguing, right? ]
Nnnnnot actually as likely as I first feared. Rhys and the AI seem to get on pretty well? Since I found out about him, anyway.
I may have been meddling just a little. Turning the Jacks against each other as subtly as possible. Not that I needed to do much poking after the basement thing!! But I'm pretty sure they *were* working in tandem at one point, and relations have now been thoroughly soured~
Rhys' safety is still a concern, though. Jack can exercise a level of control over him - his cyber arm, mostly, but he can speak through him too sometimes. And I'm pretty sure he took full control at several points? Asking to know for sure is. Awkward. But it would explain the username, right?
Most of the danger is less *intentional,* though. When I told Rhys about how I died, the AI was listening and got so worked up that Rhys started bleeding from his port and blacked out
With the cold, it makes his hardware more vulnerable. Which means doing things against the AI's wishes are still pretty impossible.
Ugh we met up with some people the other day and a guy touched my arm and that was enough to make Rhys fear for his own safety and
Wow I'm babbling again. You get the idea.
no subject
- oh.]
So that was what he meant. About trying to tear something out, while you were imprisoned.
[Perhaps he shouldn't say that. But Angel probably already knows. Angel is very perceptive.
(Sooner or later she is also bound to notice that his wise advice, which he is normally quite capable of dispensing, is based in this case on bullshit and Kindred mind games.)]
I did wonder about the username. And come to think of it - now I recall, he did behave very oddly when we first talked. I should have realized before.
You've done well to begin with, making sure that the two of them are not on good terms. I wonder if Jack realizes how much - ah, probably better not to. Either way, setting the two Jacks in competition with each other for your approval is a powerful weapon for keeping them both in line.
But regarding Rhys...
[Here is another thing he knows he shouldn't say. He may not be in the best of mental spaces to be having this talk right now.]
Angel. I ask because I must. If it were possible for you to deactivate the AI Jack - would you?
no subject
Well. She can't say that wasn't her immediate goal as soon as she found out. But since then... Bluh, why do things have to be so darn complicated. ]
No. I wouldn't.
Firstly because it wouldn't be my choice! I know he's *my* dad, but it's Rhys who's the one hosting him. He should get to make all the decisions regarding what happens.
[ Especially since it's so hard to retain control over anything here, for Rhys in particular. She couldn't take his autonomy from him, even if it wasn't such a complex issue.
Then again, this probably isn't exactly what Beckett was asking, is it. ]
But even aside from that
If it *was* my choice, I still don't think I would? Not how things are right now, anyway. He's been largely well-behaved, minus a few incidents.
Granted, the last one was pretty darn terrible. He broke Steph's nose. But even that was like
Ugh
She said some things to me that dad would normally straight-up kill someone for? So even that's an improvement. Kinda.
So, um, no. If Rhys wanted him gone, I'd support him! But I wouldn't be happy. Annnnd might offer to host the AI myself.
no subject
He is involved. He admits to it, does what he can with it. He'd made promises to her. She knows, she should know her choices are hers, when she deals with him. Unconditionally. Never to be intervened with. This is how Beckett deals with his friends because it is the only way he wishes to be dealt with.
But he has his limits. Call him a hypocrite - he'd been called it plenty - but he has his limits.]
You mean, to carry him around the way Rhys does now?
I know how you feel about him. I understand the complexities. I respect both, as you know well.
But you've told me yourself that this man has spent most of your life, perhaps your entire life, getting inside your head, attempting to possess and control you, denying you your freedom, being your burden to carry, until even his death became your own.
Are you truly sure that you are willing to let him literally become a part of you?
no subject
[ She hadn't even considered the idea until she'd typed it, honestly. It might be the worst idea she's ever had. But... ]
I don't expect that situation to come up! Like I say, he and Rhys seem to be getting along lately. Working together and such? It's nice to witness it.
But if it *did* go sour
I'm not sure, it'd depend on the circumstances. I wouldn't be happy about letting him in, but the alternative would be oblivion!
I'd have to give it a lot of thought, I suppose. Theoretically!
no subject
Well, there is one thing he can say.]
The situation would only come up if Rhys were to put you in this position. Having the AI in there can't be pleasant, but surely he understands the problems with this other option.
[Solution: make it Rhys's problem. Yes, that'll definitely work. Good job, Beckett.]
no subject
And if the AI did something bad enough for Rhys to want him out, I suppose I might be too mad to host him anyway? There are too many factors at play to accurately say what I'd do, I guess.
And of course there'd be plenty of people around ready to curtail my self-sacrificing urges!! Since I am just *all about* those. XP
(oops, emoted, darn)
no subject
[He isn't sure if the emoting means she's taking this less seriously than he is. Less seriously than she ought - no, stop that. She doesn't ought to anything. That is the whole point.]
Which means we might consider less extreme measures. Can he be transferred onto a tablet? I even know where we might find one without voice function. For extra convenience.
no subject
The amount of havoc he could cause if he actually managed to stick around on them... It doesn't even bear thinking about. Eesh. Imagine a Jack as our new administrator!!
Um, but this is all academic, of course. There are no plans to oust him until he does something terrible.
*UNLESS he does something terrible.
Wow.
no subject
[NEED HE EVEN SAY MORE.]
Or - am I mistaken in understanding why you told me this?
no subject
But I agree that a contingency plan would be beyond sensible. I'll do some poking around to see if I can find out how much storage is on these things compared with a typical Hyperion ID drive.
In the meantime we should probably figure out a way for you to speak with Rhys about his "friend" directly! Just subbing in a different name should do it, I think.
Did you know any big jerks back home whose name you'd like to volunteer, or should I come up with something?? ♥
no subject
In that case [AWKWARD PAUSE]
Tell him thank you. And that he can be sure his secret is safe. I hope I can do more for him than sympathise. Although he might feel that getting met to feel sympathy is achievement enough? [Was that his cunning plan all along?]
I know very little about computers, but if one tablet is not enough, I understand that it's possible to create networks that have no connection to the greater net - intranets, is that the term? But that is really your forte.
There is always Sascha, if you're looking for the name of an exceptional jerk. Though would the AI be fooled, if it's privy to what's going on inside Rhys's own head?