. . . [he isn't sure he likes where this is going]
You are.
[but the rules are fictional, he thinks. so why would you bring them up? these thoughts he doesn't yet say aloud, but depending on what she says next. . . he might]
[. . . his gaze narrows when she discusses the second law, because!! don't like that!! she can read it on his features, his distaste at the idea of someone else having so much control over her agency]
. . . are you saying that you have to follow those rules, Luna? Or that someone told you that you do?
[she doesn't even need to say the word "I am a robot." he has already figured it out. and it still doesn't change his opinion on her]
[Mm, yeah, she figures he's realized it by now. It's so casual in how he addresses it, that... he reminds her of a very young Sigma, in a way. It's nostalgic in a way that makes her ache deep down.
...]
Both, I suppose. The former is the more thorough answer, though. It's an inherent part of modern AI programming, just like any other type of code of the past.
...Well, um... "modern" in my case, anyway. You said on our first day here that it was only within the first decade of the 21st century in your last memory, correct?
You asked why it was that I could allow so many people to die, right? I was under orders not to intervene. On top of that, I was not the only AI in the facility. There were only a few of us active during the game, and we shared the same computer, but... how should I put this...
I had less authority over what I could do and see. Part of this was to make me seem, um, believable. But part of it was to make sure the most prominent AI could facilitate the entire project properly, without other prograns interfering. So... if he wanted to turn my body off, or shut down a part of my memory... well, I didn't really have a choice.
[he gives her hand a squeeze in return. is it okay, Luna!! is it!!]
. . . you make it sound like you were practically blackmailed. Forced into it, without any option to refuse.
[how else was he supposed to interpret her being an AI programmed to follow certain rules, with the threat of being shut down hanging over her head if she didn't cooperate?]
It wasn't what I enjoyed or thought was wise. But... it wasn't blackmail.
[She's gettin there!!!]
Originally, my job called for me to be dead. Not, um... not actually dead, of course. But another player had attacked me in a way that any normal human could not survive. The main AI turned my body off completely at that point. All I was supposed to do was... watch whatever else might happen.
[There's an odd turn to her voice, breathy and hard to make out the emotion.]
I disobeyed my orders. I found the mainframe where the main AI, Zero Junior, was kept... and I hacked it.
I turned my body back on by myself and disabled Zero Junior's processes temporarily, just so I could try to save the only ones who were left. I... I knew I wasn't supposed to... and that disobedience would mean I... would be deactivated.
But... I was faulty.
...
The worst part is, that... if I had wanted to... I could have done that at any time. I could have said no from the very beginning... [She hasn't realized that she's started crying again, the tears flowing against her will.] I... I could have saved all of them. But I-I was so scared...
[there's a slight crack in his voice when he says her name this time. and maybe it's the tears, or the entire story itself, and the way it kills him to know that she went through so much only to be brought to this god-forsaken mansion, but he does feel something break inside]
[but he hugs her again, this embrace just as tight as the last. he doesn't know what to say about all of that. he told her before his thoughts on those who act to protect themselves-- that it was understandable and something that could not be punished. those thoughts remain true right now, even though he can already tell the guilt of her not acting sooner is something that weighs on her shoulders]
[. . .]
[what a shitty world this is, when good people like her are forced to make horrible, painful choices]
[There's a broken sob as Akira wraps his arms back around her. No, no, it's so familiar, so much like her final memory of Sigma in the garden as her entire body fell apart...]
I... I broke the First Law... Six innocent people died, and I did nothing...
I... I deserve this.
[To be stuck somewhere where all she can do is watch while more innocents die...
[. . . despite everything, he believes that. he, who also believes in doing everything possible to help other people, regardless of the cost or consequences, finds that he's unable and unwilling to judge her for the actions she took. he can only imagine how complicated Luna's feelings had been at the time. how painful it had been to watch, to want to help, while all the while fearing death. maybe. . . maybe it would've been better overall for her to act earlier, but--]
[she still acted. right? in some capacity. . . she still acted]
[and here, she acts. she doesn't just sit around and watch. she rushes to the aid of others as soon as they call her. those aren't the actions of someone who deserves to live through this hell]
I still believe that. I really do. You don't deserve this-- no matter what happened back then, you just. . . you don't.
[She doesn't try to argue any further. The fact that she's said all she can, and that he still is determined to tell her that she doesn't deserve to be punished... despite now knowing what she is, what she's done... It's her last memory all over again, fresh and raw and sorrowful, a name choking out onto her fingers.]
Sigma...
[Except this time, she isn't fading into nothing. She's still here, still aware, still weeping into the arms of a young man she barely has started to know... and still completely, utterly powerless to stop her circumstances.
She'll lean into Akira's hold, silent outside her shuddering sobs. She doesn't know what else to do.]
[he doesn't know who Sigma is, but that isn't a question for now. he can tell that she still has so many pent up emotions, so much she needs to let out, especially in the wake of her sorrow over Asch. he can ask that later, once she's managed to pull herself together again]
[. . .]
[he wishes there was something he could do]
[he wishes he could take all of her pain and make it go away]
[he wishes he could stop Asch from dying tomorrow]
[he wishes he could stop people from turning into monsters and killing each othe]r
[he wishes. . .]
[he wishes he weren't so helpless]
Hey. . . it's okay.
[as he holds onto her, he makes sure to run his hand up and down her back, a gesture meant to be soothing]
It's okay. I'm still here. And I always will be.
[Akira may not be one to make friends so easily, to open up to others when his boundaries are usually so closed off, but he can't deny that how he feels for Luna is similar to how quickly he had bonded with his Phantom Thieves]
YOU BETTER NOT JINX THIS BC IF HE DIES NOW WOW BOY BAD BAD BAD BAD
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no subject
You are.
[but the rules are fictional, he thinks. so why would you bring them up? these thoughts he doesn't yet say aloud, but depending on what she says next. . . he might]
no subject
Second, a robot must listen to and obey the orders given to it by a human being, unless those orders conflict with the First Law.
Third, a robot must not allow any harm to come to itself, unless that action would conflict with either the First or Second Law.
no subject
. . . are you saying that you have to follow those rules, Luna? Or that someone told you that you do?
[she doesn't even need to say the word "I am a robot." he has already figured it out. and it still doesn't change his opinion on her]
no subject
...]
Both, I suppose. The former is the more thorough answer, though. It's an inherent part of modern AI programming, just like any other type of code of the past.
...Well, um... "modern" in my case, anyway. You said on our first day here that it was only within the first decade of the 21st century in your last memory, correct?
no subject
2017. Yeah. That's right.
[presses his lips tightly together before he mutters]
. . . it isn't. . . fair.
[?? what isn't fair??]
no subject
[Did... she say something upsetting?]
What isn't fair?
no subject
[he clarifies. she'll notice his thumb is brushing against her knuckles now]
It shouldn't matter that you're not human. You should be able to make your own choices. Follow our own path, regardless of where it takes you.
[he sets his jaw tightly, expression firm]
You're not a tool, or a piece of equipment, or. . . someone to whom someone else can bark out orders like they own you.
You're yourself. And it's not. . . fair.
[she deserves freedom, too]
no subject
[She's touched. She really, really is. But there's a sadness to the smile that she gives him, squeezing the grip of his hands.]
...Can I continue with my explaination?
no subject
. . . yes. Sorry, I-- yes.
no subject
You asked why it was that I could allow so many people to die, right? I was under orders not to intervene. On top of that, I was not the only AI in the facility. There were only a few of us active during the game, and we shared the same computer, but... how should I put this...
I had less authority over what I could do and see. Part of this was to make me seem, um, believable. But part of it was to make sure the most prominent AI could facilitate the entire project properly, without other prograns interfering. So... if he wanted to turn my body off, or shut down a part of my memory... well, I didn't really have a choice.
no subject
. . . you make it sound like you were practically blackmailed. Forced into it, without any option to refuse.
[how else was he supposed to interpret her being an AI programmed to follow certain rules, with the threat of being shut down hanging over her head if she didn't cooperate?]
Is that true?
no subject
[She's gettin there!!!]
Originally, my job called for me to be dead. Not, um... not actually dead, of course. But another player had attacked me in a way that any normal human could not survive. The main AI turned my body off completely at that point. All I was supposed to do was... watch whatever else might happen.
[There's an odd turn to her voice, breathy and hard to make out the emotion.]
...But I didn't do what I was supposed to.
no subject
What did you do instead, then?
no subject
I turned my body back on by myself and disabled Zero Junior's processes temporarily, just so I could try to save the only ones who were left. I... I knew I wasn't supposed to... and that disobedience would mean I... would be deactivated.
But... I was faulty.
...
The worst part is, that... if I had wanted to... I could have done that at any time. I could have said no from the very beginning... [She hasn't realized that she's started crying again, the tears flowing against her will.] I... I could have saved all of them. But I-I was so scared...
I-I didn-t want to die...!
no subject
[there's a slight crack in his voice when he says her name this time. and maybe it's the tears, or the entire story itself, and the way it kills him to know that she went through so much only to be brought to this god-forsaken mansion, but he does feel something break inside]
[but he hugs her again, this embrace just as tight as the last. he doesn't know what to say about all of that. he told her before his thoughts on those who act to protect themselves-- that it was understandable and something that could not be punished. those thoughts remain true right now, even though he can already tell the guilt of her not acting sooner is something that weighs on her shoulders]
[. . .]
[what a shitty world this is, when good people like her are forced to make horrible, painful choices]
no subject
I... I broke the First Law... Six innocent people died, and I did nothing...
I... I deserve this.
[To be stuck somewhere where all she can do is watch while more innocents die...
This truly is hell, isn't it?]
no subject
[. . . despite everything, he believes that. he, who also believes in doing everything possible to help other people, regardless of the cost or consequences, finds that he's unable and unwilling to judge her for the actions she took. he can only imagine how complicated Luna's feelings had been at the time. how painful it had been to watch, to want to help, while all the while fearing death. maybe. . . maybe it would've been better overall for her to act earlier, but--]
[she still acted. right? in some capacity. . . she still acted]
[and here, she acts. she doesn't just sit around and watch. she rushes to the aid of others as soon as they call her. those aren't the actions of someone who deserves to live through this hell]
I still believe that. I really do. You don't deserve this-- no matter what happened back then, you just. . . you don't.
no subject
Sigma...
[Except this time, she isn't fading into nothing. She's still here, still aware, still weeping into the arms of a young man she barely has started to know... and still completely, utterly powerless to stop her circumstances.
She'll lean into Akira's hold, silent outside her shuddering sobs. She doesn't know what else to do.]
no subject
[. . .]
[he wishes there was something he could do]
[he wishes he could take all of her pain and make it go away]
[he wishes he could stop Asch from dying tomorrow]
[he wishes he could stop people from turning into monsters and killing each othe]r
[he wishes. . .]
[he wishes he weren't so helpless]
Hey. . . it's okay.
[as he holds onto her, he makes sure to run his hand up and down her back, a gesture meant to be soothing]
It's okay. I'm still here. And I always will be.
[Akira may not be one to make friends so easily, to open up to others when his boundaries are usually so closed off, but he can't deny that how he feels for Luna is similar to how quickly he had bonded with his Phantom Thieves]
YOU BETTER NOT JINX THIS BC IF HE DIES NOW WOW BOY BAD BAD BAD BAD
For right now, it feels... nice. It's a feeling she wishes wouldn't go away, to be held by someone that cared.]
Thank you... T-thank you... [She wipes frantically at her eyes.]
I... hope there's a future that I can meet you again. I-I hope you still remember me, even... even if I don't remember you.
B)
I can't imagine a future where I wouldn't remember you, Luna.
[who is gonna steal his memories he will FIGHT THEM]
Regardless of what happens in this stupid mansion. And I want-- [he squeezes her hand again, expression determined]
And I want us both to have a bright future waiting for us. I'll fight for that, no matter what it takes.