[audio]

[thxforthememories]

[Behold! A new voice on the network. And... it sounds decidedly uncertain. Maybe a little shaky.]

[Hey, when you get electrocuted by thousands of volts out of nowhere before waking up somewhere you've never seen, you're bound to sound a little off. Not to mention completely overwhelmed.]

[And quite honestly, he doesn't know what to say right now. Asking the empty air for help? In a place he's never even heard of? Surrounded by sights and sounds and robots utterly foreign? That seems... odd. But what choice does he have?]

Someone... please. [He hesitates.] I don't understand what's happened.

I --

[And here is where the first bit of real panic seems to show through. Sure, he got the explanation, but--] I don't remember coming here. Or ever hearing of such a place.

Please answer me.

Comments

[video]

[sword_redemption]

[That gets a surprised 'wait, what?' blink.] 'Why would they?' It's about you? You should have an opinion? [How does this not make sense to someone?]

Sentience doesn't mean we get along. But it means we can listen, cooperate.

[Drift tilts his head.] Special. So he listened to you?

I'll do my best. And I give you my word. They won't hurt you.

[video]

[thxforthememories]

They designed me. Created me. They are human... I'm AI.

[And human lives are more important.]

[He nods.] He did. We -- we knew each other. For as long as he existed.

I...

[He has no idea what to say to that. No one has ever offered something like that before. Certainly not someone he's just met.]

Why are you doing this? You don't know me. I don't... I don't understand.

[video]

[sword_redemption]

That doesn't mean they own you. No one owns another, your thoughts, your feelings, you. That's...slavery, or something worse.

...did he die? ['as long as he existed'? That would explain the mech's soft sorrow. ]

Because when I needed help, someone helped me. Twice. [Gasket. Wing. They'd helped him, even when he wasn't ready for it.] That's how life works. That's how I want it to.

((OOC: True to his word here

[video]

[thxforthememories]

Slavery? [He looks confused. Again.] No, I... don't think it was like that. We are only AI -- I'm only AI.

[He jerks a little, and suddenly sharpens his tone:] No! No-- he's not dead. [The thought of it makes his AI want to twist up in knots.] I just... we're no longer able to see one another again. That's all.

Twice... [He's quiet, turning that over.] ... I appreciate it. It isn't something I'm accustomed to.

[His entire life has revolved around one other 'bot. This is new. This is a bit overwhelming.]