Ryuuji and Hiromu

[interpolate]

The bright side, if one could even hope to find such a quaint and ridiculous notion in this day and age, is that Messiah is so perpetually caught up in it's own suffering (bit pointless, really, as it truly brought that on itself) that it can't spare the motherboard to worry about why I'm acting oddly. Coupled with the fact that Messiah is completely ignorant of the passage of time without me, and not entirely capable of knowing when it's being lied to, I'm managing to keep myself from being deleted, re-written, re-wired, or any other of the vast number of ways Messiah could potentially make me not me anymore.

Which brings to mind its own train of thought, and as I wait in the construction site that I launched that first MetaVirus from, I wonder idly about the Gobusters and their delusion about my past.

I wonder if they're actually going to show up, just the two of them. I wonder if this was in fact a trap. I wonder why I trusted them, wonder whether I should load a MetaVirus into another one of these rusted pieces of machinery to be on the safe side.

No, not yet. But I do sit down in a suitably hidden area and tap away.

I'm still trying to figure out their names.

Comments

[blue_pleather]

...

I've given too much away. I just wanted to reassure him that Gorisaki was the most likely reason for Hiromu being late, but now I don't know how to get myself out of it, "I couldn't sleep, so I stayed with him. If I have nightmares I usually sleep with my Buddyroid, but he wasn't there."

It's a lie, but it's the same story I've told Gorisaki.

[interpolate]

Annoyance is almost immediately replaced by pity again. I don't like pity so much. I think because I figure mon rouge feels pity for me, probably every time he looks at me. As if I'm deserving of that kind of gross emotion.

"Nightmares?"

Why am I even asking? Even I know it's rude.

"Excusez-moi." Apologizing too. They are certainly doing a number on me.

[blue_pleather]

"It's fine," I murmur. I'm a little distracted with thoughts of Hiromu, which is probably why I find myself unconsciously petting Enter's forearm, "I don't remember what they were about, but I have them. So does Gorisaki."

[interpolate]

I look down at his hand where it's touching me. As if he's not at all afraid of me. I know that's not actually true, he has at least as much fear of me as I do of him. Not a lot, but it's there all the same.

I have a feeling he would probably not be touching me there if he'd seen my arms beneath the sleeves like mon rouge.

"How does a machine have nightmares?"

[blue_pleather]

I've thought about this often. The Buddyroids' programming allows them to have something closer to human emotion. The Commander's team is capable of creating a robot that can feel, but I don't believe that Messiah is. It simply can't comprehend the concept of something like sorrow or pity or love.

"I don't know. He says he does, but I'm not sure. I think he says it when he wants to be close to me."

[interpolate]

"So you don't believe he actually has dreams, but that he's capable of wanting to relate to you?"

Strange. "Do they sleep?"

I don't, not really. I could, I suppose, but I must admit, I'd never tried.

[blue_pleather]

"The Buddyroids are more efficient than humans, but they have reactions very close to human emotion. They have some level of self-awareness. Gorisaki isn't programmed to obey mindlessly. He wants to be close because he cares for me," I explain. "They do sleep. I'm not sure how. They're programmed to shut down at night and if they use a lot of energy. But, if they detect excessive noise or activity, they'll wake up." Gorisaki snores, too. I'm sure whoever coded that into his wiring thought it was hilarious.

[interpolate]

"Hmm." I'm not sure how I feel about this. It is making a lot of things clearer, however. Mainly, mon rouge's insistence that a machine with a program can be as sentient and free willed as a human being.

"How do you know he actually cares for you, and isn't just following programming to protect and defend you?"

[blue_pleather]

"Because he sometimes does things that he thinks are right, but aren't in my best interest. He makes unwise decisions that wouldn't be included into the programming of an efficient machine. And he was created for general use, long before I became Blue Buster. He chose to be my friend."

This is just making me feel worse about lying to Gorisaki. I'll hang out with him later and try to do something nice for him.

[interpolate]

Interesting. I still pity them, strangely, but I am also pleased that at least they have someone looking out for them that isn't entirely dedicated to using them in a hopeless battle. Even if they are machines.

"Your world and mine are very different, you know that?"

[blue_pleather]

"Yeah. They definitely are." I haven't forgotten his definition of the subspace.

I manage a weak smile, since any physical gesture of friendship still feels way out of place where Enter is concerned.