[It's the garden! Even with how late it's getting, Luna still seems to shed away a layer of her normal, distant melancholy the moment she steps outside into fresh air. She looks... oddly content.]
It's always so nice and quiet out here. I keep meaning to thank Pumpkin for all her hard work... I don't think this place would be bearable at all without a part of the great outdoors.
. . . yeah. That first week we were here was torture.
[his cabin fever was SO BAD that week. . . he needed the fresh air like a fish needed water]
[and even with one leg, Akira manages to crouch down to the flower's level, bracing himself upright with one hand clutching the crutch as he reaches out with the other]
The flowers are here are really beautiful. [. . .] Just looking at them brightens my mood.
It was, wasn't it... I kept hoping that they might open the windows of the conservatory. But... just being out on the balcony was okay for me, at least to start. Even just the trees outside the manor were enough.
[She'll stay on her feet, perfectly fine with looking out over all of the colors in the light of oncoming twilight. There's something charming in looking down to see the soft expression on his face, simply enjoying the plant life in front of him...]
Is this something you're used to, Akira? I always imagined Tokyo as a more urban type of landscape.
O-oh, oh, that's right... I knew you moved there, but... I-I'm so sorry. [Aaaaaaaaaaa.......]
I always thought it would be nice to work somewhere like a greenhouse. Helping people choose things to make their homes look nice, or to cheer up someone they care about... and you'd get to spend time taking care of a whole world of living things.
It depends on your definition of far, I suppose. Considering your age and the year you remember... with a good life, I'm sure you might be around to see it.
... I suppose it would depend on when you would consider a robot to be themselves, by definition. Is it when their body is made, or when their mind is programmed?
I have logs going back all the way to the time of my initial construction. But the AI, particularly the, um.... part of my brain that controls how I think and act and process... that's much newer.
So... I suppose I wouldn't be able to give a firm answer.
[wow, this is getting complicated. Akira lifts a hand to rub the back of his neck, slightly sheepish. . . and here he is, asking her these personal questions. one isn't supposed to ask a lady her age!1]
Sorry, sorry. . . I guess that is kind of a personal question, right?
I don't mind giving it to you, regardless. I just... I'm not really sure which one to pick.
Hephaestus GAULEM GTF-DM-L-016 as a unit has existed since the year 2032 - that's when I was initially shipped to the person who would inevitably put me into service. But my AI wasn't complete in its full capacity of operations as "Luna" until 2057.
So... I guess you could say that my body, for all purposes of the word, is technically forty-two, but my mind is, um... seventeen, I think? Something like that.
I-I really don't have a preference... I've... never had anyone really ask.
But...
I guess I would say the latter, if I had to. I can remember bits and pieces from further back then that, and I have plenty of logs of things like tests and troubleshooting, but... I... I feel like I wasn't really recognized as me until around then. That's when I think I was finally aware that I was no longer a work in progress, but a completed intelligence.
[Congrats, I guess???? She has no idea what's going on anymore but it's fine.]
Um... anyway... we got a little sidetracked. Can I continue?
Mmm. I wouldn't call it a story so much as a history lesson.
[So, uh. Strap in.]
In 2028, there was a pandemic. A virus called Radical-6. Many believed it to be biological warfare, but no one could prove it - only that it originated in Nevada in the United States and spread like wildfire. Over two million people died. Containing it became close to impossible, and society quickly started to collapse. People started to starve to death, or grow ill from the bodies that piled the streets.
In a desperate attempt to eradicate the pathogen and save what they could of humanity, in April of 2029, the remaining world leaders set off eighteen antimatter reactors across the world. I... can't really explain it right now, or we might be here forever, but... that's an equivalent explosive force over 180,000 times what was contained in the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan during World War 2.
The resulting radiation wiped out the virus... and many, many people. Between the initial pandemic, the collapse of society, and the explosions... 6 billion people were killed.
[Akira's interested expression quickly morphs into horror as Luna continues. as though a pandemic itself wasn't enough, learning that her world's leaders were okay with killing billions of people in an attempt to eradicate the virus is absolutely and utterly horrifying]
Do... you know what nuclear winter is, Akira? It's the ecological result of air pollution, either from manmade waste, fire, or extremely large explosions, like that of an atom bomb or a large volcano. Debris is knocked into the atmosphere, and can block out the effects of the sun.
In Earth's case... there was no direct sunlight for over seven years. I've heard there's been some regrowth, now that a few decades have passed, but... most plant and animal life went extinct.
While some survived, and there is some form of civilization still operating, the world has become a... a wasteland. There's so much ash that... the sky is no longer blue. Light can't reach that far anymore. So... it's red.
[his expression twists. all of this is. . . very difficult to imagine. it's something that only happens in fictional books, right? not. . . in real life, right?]
[except it happened on Luna's world, and that's just. . . difficult to comprehend]
...It is. The stories I hear are... are always so horrible. I wasn't constructed until after all of the fallout, though, and I... um... I never got to visit Earth. So all I know is from stories and history logs.
[To imagine an Earth with green continents, blue ocean, white clouds... it sounds ridiculous.]
Many people have established colonies on the moon for purposes of research. That was the case for the project that purchased me. That's all I've known.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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It's always so nice and quiet out here. I keep meaning to thank Pumpkin for all her hard work... I don't think this place would be bearable at all without a part of the great outdoors.
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[his cabin fever was SO BAD that week. . . he needed the fresh air like a fish needed water]
[and even with one leg, Akira manages to crouch down to the flower's level, bracing himself upright with one hand clutching the crutch as he reaches out with the other]
The flowers are here are really beautiful. [. . .] Just looking at them brightens my mood.
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[She'll stay on her feet, perfectly fine with looking out over all of the colors in the light of oncoming twilight. There's something charming in looking down to see the soft expression on his face, simply enjoying the plant life in front of him...]
Is this something you're used to, Akira? I always imagined Tokyo as a more urban type of landscape.
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I'm not from Tokyo originally. I used to live in a smaller town surrounded by nature, so you could say I'm used to it.
[and, in addition to that?]
I also worked in a flower shop while I was living in Tokyo. I guess I got kind of used to being surrounded by them all day.
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I always thought it would be nice to work somewhere like a greenhouse. Helping people choose things to make their homes look nice, or to cheer up someone they care about... and you'd get to spend time taking care of a whole world of living things.
I think it would be so... so nice.
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[he doesn't seem offended, just! lightly amused as he stands up and gestures to a nearby bench. time to sit!!]
I think you're a really good doctor, Luna. [but] But if you want to do something like that instead?
Then I think you should try, once we leave this place.
[didn't Luna say she was dead. EH. DETAILS]
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[Hm. She falls quiet as she crosses over to take a seat.]
Akira, did I ever tell you what year it was on Earth, the last I remember?
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You didn't, though I could tell it was some time far in the future compared to my world.
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It was January of 2074.
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[closes it again]
[and then, his expression VERY SERIOUS]
I'm old enough to be your grandpa.
[AKIRA???]
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I-I... I don't think that's how it works...
How old do you think I am?
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Early twenties?
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But you have to remember that I'm not a human.
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How old do you think you are, then?
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I have logs going back all the way to the time of my initial construction. But the AI, particularly the, um.... part of my brain that controls how I think and act and process... that's much newer.
So... I suppose I wouldn't be able to give a firm answer.
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Sorry, sorry. . . I guess that is kind of a personal question, right?
You just made me curious about the answer.
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Hephaestus GAULEM GTF-DM-L-016 as a unit has existed since the year 2032 - that's when I was initially shipped to the person who would inevitably put me into service. But my AI wasn't complete in its full capacity of operations as "Luna" until 2057.
So... I guess you could say that my body, for all purposes of the word, is technically forty-two, but my mind is, um... seventeen, I think? Something like that.
[............]
I... don't know it that helps at all.
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[but he also lets out a breathless laugh despite himself]
Let's go with-- whatever you're most comfortable with.
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But...
I guess I would say the latter, if I had to. I can remember bits and pieces from further back then that, and I have plenty of logs of things like tests and troubleshooting, but... I... I feel like I wasn't really recognized as me until around then. That's when I think I was finally aware that I was no longer a work in progress, but a completed intelligence.
[Congrats, I guess???? She has no idea what's going on anymore but it's fine.]
Um... anyway... we got a little sidetracked. Can I continue?
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[oh, yeah. this is a big digression isn't it? Akira nods, amusement flickering onto his features briefly]
Yeah, of course. I'm interested in hearing the entire story.
DONT LOOK ANDIE
[So, uh. Strap in.]
In 2028, there was a pandemic. A virus called Radical-6. Many believed it to be biological warfare, but no one could prove it - only that it originated in Nevada in the United States and spread like wildfire. Over two million people died. Containing it became close to impossible, and society quickly started to collapse. People started to starve to death, or grow ill from the bodies that piled the streets.
In a desperate attempt to eradicate the pathogen and save what they could of humanity, in April of 2029, the remaining world leaders set off eighteen antimatter reactors across the world. I... can't really explain it right now, or we might be here forever, but... that's an equivalent explosive force over 180,000 times what was contained in the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan during World War 2.
The resulting radiation wiped out the virus... and many, many people. Between the initial pandemic, the collapse of society, and the explosions... 6 billion people were killed.
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[oh]
[Akira's interested expression quickly morphs into horror as Luna continues. as though a pandemic itself wasn't enough, learning that her world's leaders were okay with killing billions of people in an attempt to eradicate the virus is absolutely and utterly horrifying]
[his response is breathless, eyes wide]
Six. . . billion people. . .
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Do... you know what nuclear winter is, Akira? It's the ecological result of air pollution, either from manmade waste, fire, or extremely large explosions, like that of an atom bomb or a large volcano. Debris is knocked into the atmosphere, and can block out the effects of the sun.
In Earth's case... there was no direct sunlight for over seven years. I've heard there's been some regrowth, now that a few decades have passed, but... most plant and animal life went extinct.
While some survived, and there is some form of civilization still operating, the world has become a... a wasteland. There's so much ash that... the sky is no longer blue. Light can't reach that far anymore. So... it's red.
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[his expression twists. all of this is. . . very difficult to imagine. it's something that only happens in fictional books, right? not. . . in real life, right?]
[except it happened on Luna's world, and that's just. . . difficult to comprehend]
That's. . . horrible to think about.
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[To imagine an Earth with green continents, blue ocean, white clouds... it sounds ridiculous.]
Many people have established colonies on the moon for purposes of research. That was the case for the project that purchased me. That's all I've known.
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ANDIE DON'T LOOK FOR A WHILE
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