reverienet | [V I D E O] [UN: CONNOR]

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[V I D E O] [UN: CONNOR]

Hello.

[The standard jumpsuit immediately gave him away as a new arrival, his expression was neutral, but pleasant.]

I've been informed that introducing oneself in this manner is advisable to those who have recently found themselves on board.

My name is Connor. I am a CyberLife RK800 model android. [It was important to introduce himself this way. CyberLife androids, though very realistic, weren't ever supposed to be deceptive about their true natures. His carefully measured words and tone and even the way he moved, his expressions, all reinforced his claim. And, if there were any other doubts that he might not be an android, he had a small, circular LED on the side of his temple that flickered blue from time to time as he spoke.]

I've been granted access to all messages transmitted publicly over the inter-station network. There have been some very odd occurrences, not to mention our sudden arrival here, the locked areas of the station, and it's absent crew. I was hoping to discuss the theories that you all have regarding our presence here, especially if you have any evidence to support it.

I also wish to offer my assistance to anyone who is endeavoring to find out more about the station or a way for us to return to where we were brought here from.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

As you say, then.

[Eventually, Alucard does make his way to the mess hall. He had every intention of trying to study the replicators as much as he could, in any case.

If this works... if it turns out that the blood is safe, it would do more for him than he can possibly express.

As Alucard arrives, he does not wear his jumpsuit. Rather, he has on a regal black coat with a gold trim, with gloves and boots to match. Certainly more vampiric looking than, say, a jumpsuit.

As he approaches, he smiles faintly and nods to Connor.]

I suppose we should get started.

[Alucard activates one of the replicators. It pours out a thick, crimson liquid with a coppery scent.

It's cold as Alucard touches the glass, but if it works, it doesn't matter how it tastes or what the temperature is.

He holds it out to Connor.]

You must tell me if it hurts you. Understand?

[Connor noticed him as he approached, offering him a polite, welcoming smile. Of course, he noticed the coat, but didn't immediately think too much of it.]

I've been thinking about this. Obviously, I would recommend each -[He paused, recognizing that this was food for Alucard]- meal is tested. At least, until you are no longer at such a high risk.

Also, I should warn you that there is a 0.03% risk of a false negative.

[He felt... worried, strangely concerned for Alucard. He shouldn't be feeling doubts like this.

Without further delay, he dipped two fingers into the thick liquid nearly submerging them up to the knuckle before pulling them back out and bringing them to his mouth to lick his fingertips, the blood trickling down the back of his hand.]

It's human. O-Positive. Temperature 71 degrees Fahrenheit. No pathogens, infections, or abnormalities detected. [He looked Alucard in the eyes.] I believe this particular sam- glass- is safe to consume.

[He turned, about to go look for a napkin or towel, but then hesitated and looked at Alucard again, holding out his blood coated fingers toward the dhampir slightly in a questioning gesture. Would it be a waste to simply wash or wipe off the blood?]

I would not be opposed to your suggestion. And I trust your capabilities.

[Patiently, he waits, watching Connor work. He isn't certain how he imagined this, but not exactly like this. His throat tightens a bit, watching the blood roll over Connor's knuckles in two stray droplets; the fingers go to his mouth, if only to taste, or the equivalent of such for Connor's sensors.

Who, precisely, designed him to test like this? A strange thing.

At the affirmation that the glass' contents are safe, Alucard's golden eyes seem to brighten. This... this changes everything. For the better.

He wishes he could truly emphasize how much this means for him.]

Connor. Thank you.

[Relief eases into him. To know that he can limit his reliance on everyone else's donations that could never be enough. Instead, Connor just needs to test for him for now.

His eyes glance to the offering. There's barely any hesitation, his hand taking Connor's wrist. First, he tilts his head, tongue running over the back of Connor's hand to steal away the stray trail that dripped. Then, he takes in Connor's fingers, closing his eyes as he cleans away the blood, tongue rolling between fingers as he sucks it away clean.

It doesn't taste quite right, as he expected, but it's still adequate. It'll do. And he can't resist what's been offered to him.

Alucard finally lets him go with one last lap to ensure he hasn't missed anything, then glances away. That was.

Well.]

I hope to not take away too much of your time when I wish to drink, then. Know that you have done me a great service.

[Connor gave him a soft smile and a small nod, easily reading the genuine gratitude and relief in Alucard's voice.] Of course. I'm happy to help.

[He watched with intense curiosity as Alucard took his hand, eyes following the dhampir's tongue as he chased down the escaping trails of blood first before moving to his fingers to suck and lick them clean. The sight was undeniably sexual, though that hadn't been Connor's intention. He couldn't seem to make himself look away.]

You have no need to be concerned. [He glanced over to the glass as he lowered his hand and then back at the replicator.] Is that all you want right now?

[For a moment, Alucard admittedly really can't quite look at Connor in the eyes right away. He doubts that Connor had any intention of making that more than being a logical and practical offering, but that doesn't really change the entire affair.

Still, he tries not to think too deeply on it.]

As you say.

For now, yes. I'll keep you informed when I plan to have another.

[Alucard finally glances up to bear eye contact.] I can show you the bridge, if you would like. There are other things I wanted to ask you, if you wish to answer them.

[At the offer of being shown the bridge, Connor glanced at the container of blood before looking back to Alucard.]

I would, but I'd like to let you finish your meal first. If you have questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Maybe afterward we can go to the bridge. [He had no qualms with answering questions about himself, which he figured Alucard could do while drinking his meal. Two birds with one stone. Plus, the bridge wasn't going anywhere.]

[Terribly considerate of him. But it's a fair request.

Alucard leans against a table and has a drink of the replicated blood.]

As you say, then.

I was interested in learning more about you and where you come from. Mostly in that you seemed uncomfortable with a few of my suggestions in our last conversation.

[Connor shifted his weight, leaning against the table as well in a surprisingly natural-looking pose, a stark contrast to his default rigidness.

His eyebrows raise slightly when Alucard mentions noticing his discomfort regarding something, LED very briefly flickering yellow.] Did I?

I'm not sure where to start. [He thinks for a moment, trying to think of all the reactions he'd received so far to various things he'd told people.]

My last recorded timestamp before my internal clock was damaged was November 9th, 2038, 11:57 AM. My location was Detroit, Michigan in the United States.

Androids... The first android to successfully pass the Turing test was created in 2022 in Detroit, by a company called CyberLife. CyberLife is still the sole manufacturer of all androids, which are available for purchase for both personal and commercial use. Most commonly they are used for menial labor.

[Wryly:] You appeared to be slightly uncomfortable with the concept of having your own room. Am I wrong?

[Otherwise, Alucard listens carefully to Connor, having another drink from his glass. The year is slightly more ahead than most people he's encountered, but still quite in the distant future for Alucard.

He isn't certain what the Turing Test is, but he does frown at the mention of an android's use.]

I suppose it was too much to hope that humanity would create you out of benevolence.

[He does sound disappointed. Not in Connor, but in the truth of the matter.]

It does not bother you? Why you were made, and being forced to do it?

[His LED immediately flickered yellow at the thought.]

I am a machine. [Maybe if he kept saying it, it would become true again.] Having possessions is... a very strange concept. [He didn't even belong to himself, how could other things belong to him?]

Benevolence? [He frowns slightly for a moment as he thinks about that.] I am unsure what benevolence has to do with invention. [According to the definition of invention that Connor had been given, invention was simply somebody seeing a need and working to satisfy it. Kamski would likely disagree with why he'd invented AI and androids, but that was another story.]

It cannot bother me. I am a machine, made for a purpose. I have no opinion one way or another.

[Somehow, the idea that Connor is just a machine just. Greatly saddens him. Alucard frowns a little to himself.]

Do you say that you are a machine because that is fact, or is it because that's what the humans have instructed you to say?

[Maybe it was pointless to ask that, but he wonders.]

You have no opinion on anything?

[He's brought back to Kamski's accusations about his responses, reminded of how he'd dismissed them, wanting real opinions and not programmed garbage. His LED continues flickering yellow as his brow furrowed slightly.]

I am a machine. I am biocomponents and plastic and metal. I am not... alive. [But he didn't want to be deactivated. So what did that say?]

I... I have interests. I can like things. [Those were opinions, weren't they?]

There are creatures of metal and stone where I am from. Titans, golems, and so on. I would not call them any less alive than myself. [Perhaps less sentient, but no less alive.] Do you define being alive by what you have been created with, or is it something else?

Why is that different than an opinion? [Alucard frowns, tilting his head. He's trying to understand, and perhaps holds a futile hope that Connor is just wrong.]

Do they have free will? [The question is an innocent one, but there it was, the fundamental difference, and Connor was asking it out of pure curiosity.

He actually thinks about Alucard's question, not really realizing he's already accidentally answered it.] I was designed and manufactured to accomplish a task. I was not created to be... me. I was created for a purpose. [And once he was no longer useful, or no longer had a purpose, he would be deactivated. Simple as that.]

It isn't... except that I don't really have the capacity to dislike things.

[At least that was how it was supposed to be. He shouldn't feel anything, but he was starting to. He didn't want to be deactivated. He didn't want to be used and thrown away. And he shouldn't dislike or disagree with things. But... reality had started to make that difficult.]

No more than perhaps a horse or a dog would, from my experience. But they are alive.

[Alucard's brows knit. It's difficult to really argue any of those things. Perhaps it was reading too much into it, to think Connor as a person -- but he can't not.]

That sounds like a very difficult existence to me. Alive or not.

[Not that he is quite conceding to the idea that Connor isn't alive.]

What is it that you do like?

Then I would agree with you that they are not machines.

[Like so many other comments, Alucard received a subdued look of surprise and confusion. Pity was something Connor had never experienced.]

It's neither difficult nor easy. It just is.

[He wished he believed what he was saying. Things would be much simpler if he could stop questioning things.

A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he thought about all the things he liked, Hank and everything he came with immediately coming to mind.]

Well. If I do not dislike things, then it stands to reason that I like everything. [He gave Alucard a little wink at that.]

I suppose I have a very limited experience with that, granted. Machines where I am from are far from as advanced as you are.

Still. You are... very lifelike.

[He still can't help but feel sympathy for Connor. What is that even like? To exist with such a limitation?

The more dour thoughts are cut off as he listens to Connor -- and witnesses that wink.

Alucard snorts a little, as if he's trying not to smile.] Now you're being coy. You are a very convincing being, Connor.

[The observation is taken as a compliment and he tilts his head back a little, obviously pleased with himself, and offers Alucard a small, fond smile.]

Thank you. As I've said, that was CyberLife's goal when designing me.

[He tilted his head thoughtfully.] Will you tell me more about where you are from? It sounds... [He tried to think of the right way to describe it from the small bits of information Alucard had given him.] It sounds like a fantasy world. Magic, golems, vampires. It's, admittedly, difficult for me to imagine.

[If nothing else, the smile shows Alucard that Connor is pleased. Though internally he doesn't think he can quite stop thinking of him as alive, at least not for awhile yet.

Humanity has the capacity for incredible feats, creating something so real, yet essentially enslaving it. That, too, is very human to Alucard. It pains his heart to think of it that way, but he himself still has very mixed thoughts and feelings on humans.]

Understandable. It took me sometime to understand that the concept of where I am from is an oddity to others when it has been my entire life.

1475 is the year, well into the past for many. I am from the country of Wallachia. Make no mistake, while magic is a familiar concept to me, I also find science fascinating. I was raised by a doctor and a scientist alike, my mother and father respectively. The very concept of proper plumbing is one that most humans haven't quite understood, and electricity is like magic to them. I thought myself as quite advanced individual, up until I woke up here.

There are demons, vampires of course, goblins, golems, werewolves -- all manners of creatures. The most powerful of them all is my father, Vlad Dracula Ţepeş. I would be more surprised if you hadn't at least heard his name, either as a story or fact in some way. He is a legendary man, a myth to some, but a reality to my homeland.

I grew up with both humans and the supernatural. Both are capable of incredible feats -- and incredible cruelty. Though I suppose that could be said of any society.

Vlad III Dracula the Impaler. Also known as Vlad Țepeș. Țepeș meaning impaler in Romanian, a name given to him on account of his favored method of torture and execution. He is a historical figure of note where I am from. He was not, however, a vampire. This was made popular nearly four hundred years later by Bram Stoker, an author who used the name 'Dracula' in his novel about a vampire by the same name.

[He brow furrowed a little as he sorted through the information, LED flickering blue.] Someone else I've spoken to brought up the multiverse theory. Obviously, you and I are from different times and places, but it would also fit that we are from different universes. I believe what you're telling me, but it doesn't line up with the recorded history in my own universe. It is strange that there are still subtle similarities.

The odds of your father being a vampire in your universe and being a human who centuries later was used as inspiration for the name of a vampire in my universe are incredibly low.

[He met Alucard's eyes again.] You are half vampire, right? Your mother was a human?

[He opens his mouth to ask him why they simply named him 'dracula', his father's family name, spelled backwards... didn't that make his name Alucard Dracula, but stopped himself, thinking it might be considered rude.]

Considering what my father used to do, it's not an inappropriate name to have.

[Alucard nods in understanding.] No, I understand what you mean, and I agree. The concept of alternate realities is not an unusual theory, at least based on my father's studies. Realms that could be breached by magic or science was supposedly possible, but never truly experimented with. I suppose now is a fair chance it's true on top of traveling through time.

[He hesitates, then closes his eyes and nods.] Yes. My mother wanted to be a doctor, one who truly understood science and medicine. That is how she met my father, to learn from him. I learned from her, in turn.

You seem to have another question? You may ask it, Connor.

Really? But he was never able to find a way to travel between them? [He frowned a little. It seemed like everyone who had experience with different universes or realms or whatever they wanted to call them didn't have any way to travel between them, which left them stranded here.

He watched Alucard keenly. His mother seemed to be a difficult subject. Bittersweet, maybe?

His eyebrows raised when Alucard called him out.] Well... It's just... your name. I've never met someone whose name was their familial name spelled backwards...

I don't know, truthfully. He always told me it was dangerous. The only means of transport he had was his castle, and it could appear wherever he wanted on Earth. I suppose if he had a way to breach time... he would have already.

[Alucard looks distracted for a moment, but is immediately relieved upon the next subject.

Even if it does make him snort a little behind a hand.]

Ah-- forgive me. I suppose it's just... no one else has noticed yet or felt it necessary to point out, oddly enough. In any case, it's not my real name. Just one the humans in Wallachia used to call me. More of a nickname, or a title.

It must be very difficult, or one would think it would be more common.

[Back to square one, as Terezi had said. It was frustrating.

He felt himself relax a little when Alucard seemed to find amusement in his question and wasn't offended.

However, Connor didn't quite understand his explanation.] A nickname? Spelled backward?

You would think.

[The somber topic is thankfully left behind. At Connor's confusion, Alucard shrugs a little.]

I didn't claim that they were particularly creative with it. Perhaps they see me in opposition to my father, or did not know what else to call me once they knew what I was. There are worse things I could be called.

[V I D E O] [UN: CONNOR]

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