[week four - monday]

[ceded]

[ Well. She might as well try to find him.

Xion has been curious about Ash from the very first time she heard he wasn't human. But given his ... abrasive disposition, and what with everyone pinning him as one of the likeliest to kill everyone here, she just kind of kept her distance.

But .... he helped her during that trial. Twice, no less. He wasn't nice about it, but the fact remains that he still did so. And it's that curiosity, plus a desire to get to know one of the other non-humans in this place, that sends her searching.

At least he's easy to find, which makes her life easier (and the pain in her foot at little less). Seeing him in the hotel lounge gets her to slow, which ... you know, she wasn't going very fast in the first place given her need to hobble everywhere. But ... well, she's not too sure about this, but she'll try a smile when she sees him. ]

Ash?

Comments

[uraniumnumnum]

[ she can learn he needs to lose weight

he can't decide if she's brave or just naive. Maybe somewhere in between. His arrogant smirk fades at her question; it was unexpected. ]

I'd say that's obvious by now. I'm an artificial intelligence.

[ceded]

[ Her eyes search his face, curious and cautious at once. ]

An artificial intelligence...

[ Xion glances away, thinking for a moment. Then she looks up at him, as curious and guileless as ever. ]

When I first got here, I thought everyone was human. It was ... [ a beat. ] ... sort of a relief to learn I wasn't alone.

[uraniumnumnum]

[ the first time he heard those words, he was shocked; the second time, he was interested. Now, this third time, he just wonders how he's going to be disappointed again. (Maybe the problem wasn't with humans, but all physical beings - he can't help but consider it.) ]

You're not. [ there are several of them!! or... there were. ] And what are you supposed to be, if not human? You certainly act like one.

[ceded]

[ Xion shifts her free hand, as if she'll hold it behind her back, and then, with a small realization, abandons the gesture halfway through. Can't clasp your hands behind your back if one of your hands is needed to hold a walking stick. ]

... a puppet, [ she says, softly. Her expression doesn't much change, though now there's an element of thoughtfulness to it. ] I'm a Replica. I was made to copy someone else.

[ A beat, and, with the faintest note of laughing disbelief: ] You're the second person to tell me that. That I act human. It's ... weird.

[uraniumnumnum]

[ Human enough that the idea that she might be something else never even crossed his mind. She fits in with them perfectly - every week, at every trial, he sees her surrounded by friends, people trying to comfort her, the whole lot. Is she unaware of that? Then again, if she is what she says she is-- ]

A clone, then. [ like his "family" - if he could even call them that when they'd never known he existed at all. ] A fifteen-year-old one, at that. If you've lived that long, you certainly weren't made for harvesting organs from.

[ceded]

[ Xion will nod at the word "clone" --

and then look increasingly startled at the rest of what he says, blinking a few times. ]

Harvesting organs...

[ Maybe three weeks ago that might have disturbed her. Now, all that happens is she lapses into a thoughtful silence and glances away. ]

We really ... all do come from different worlds, don't we? Even being something like a clone ... isn't the same at all.

[ Xion glances up at him again, the same thoughtful, mostly neutral look on her face as before. ]

I'm not really fifteen. The person I was meant to replace is. [ ... right? Well, maybe. He'd probably turn 15 soon, if ... he could wake up. ] I was supposed to be a weapon, though in the end ... I was pretty disposable to them.

[ For the first time bitterness creeps into her voice, but she glances down at the floor and hoods her expression and tries to swallow it down. ]

[uraniumnumnum]

[ he tilts his head, cocking one eyebrow slowly as he listens. Now it's obvious why she wanted to talk to him, specifically. Absently, he wonders if all of her 'friends' know about this part of her - or if she's been hiding it so that they don't reject her. These things don't tend to go over well. ]

Hm... That's a story I've heard before. Not from you, but from my mother. [ a weird thing for a robot to say, but he continues before it can be questioned. ] There were once people much like you on my planet. They wanted to take the Earth from humanity, turn it into a place where they could live together happily as a family of their own... They didn't get far before they were all killed.

[ a cynical smile curls on his face; he shakes his head faintly. ]

But like you, they were considered disposable weapons by their creator, so that was the end of that. To create life, only to throw it away as if it were worthless... Hypocritical, really.

[ceded]

[ This is why she isn't capable of finding Ash scary. Maybe he's done horrible things, and maybe she'll find them out.

But she gets this pain. She gets this feeling, more than any real person would. To be manufactured, to be considered so easily disposable. To never have a family of your own... she was lucky enough to even have friends. ]

... does it ever bother you? How people treat the Sheriff.

[ "Worthless." That's how people see Sheriff Hal, isn't it? ]

[uraniumnumnum]

[ it's easy enough to see where she's coming from, but he shakes his head, looking scornful. ]

He's made it clear that he's chosen his side. You can see how the people here treat him... Yet he continues to serve those who I assume created him. He wants to side with humanity. He chooses to obey. Or, perhaps, he has no choice but to obey. Not all data entities have my... willpower.

[ even so, he's not very sympathetic towards him. If he chooses to obey, he's an enemy; if he can only obey, he's little more than a tool. ]

But perhaps it bothers you. Does it?

[ceded]

... sometimes, [ she says, honestly. Maybe he'll mock her for it - especially given his tone - but he's also one of the few uniquely positioned to understand. ] They treat him like he's garbage they can just throw away. I guess it just ... reminds me of home.

[ Faint and humorless. ]

But... you're not the first person to tell me something like that. That he's made his choices. I guess I just keep going back and forth on whether or not it's his fault, since it's in his programming to run this game.

[uraniumnumnum]

[ he leans his back against the wall, apparently thinking. Thinking of how to word his response, really. Much of the prickliness present in his voice and demeanor at the start of their conversation has faded, leaving him sounding simply bitter - and not towards her, it seems. She reminds him of his brothers and sisters, provided what she's saying is true, and it mutes his ever-present anger. ]

They treat him that way because they have nowhere else to direct their anger. Humans are like that. [ a pause. ] Do you blame the smoking gun for killing a man, or do you blame the one who pulled the trigger? If he's truly a slave to his programming, he can't do anything, and doesn't deserve sympathy or blame. But if he's not, and he's capable of higher thinking like you and I... Then he's simply too cowardly to change himself.

[ Ash has tried planting the seeds, but it can take years to rewrite one's own programming. He would know. ]

The ones who created him are our enemies. As long as he chooses to side with them, then he's our enemy, too. It's that simple.

[ceded]

[ Humans are like that, huh...

Xion watches him talk, and finds herself feeling almost absurdly grateful. She can see in him the same understanding she feels in herself. The same ... bitterness. She has trouble admitting it to herself, but sometimes she feels incredibly bitter over what happened to her. What was done to her.

Listening to Ash, she feels like, for the first time ... she finally understands the difference between herself and the Sheriff. ]

... this whole time I wanted to defend him, because I thought he was so much like me. But ... you're right. I rebelled against the people who made me. I fought them, because I realized their goals were all lies, and they just wanted to use me, or get rid of me if they couldn't. The Sheriff... if he can think like you and I do, he's choosing to do all of this. He hasn't tried to stop it, or run away...

[ Xion hugs herself, walking stick clutched tight in one hand as she more or less balances on her good foot. ]

... thank you, Ash. I really didn't know ... how to think, or feel. But you're right about him.

[uraniumnumnum]

[ as always, he's taken aback by someone thanking him for anything - it's happened more here in this town than... well, ever. Not that he had much interaction with outsiders back home. After a brief pause, he just snorts, shaking his head slowly. ]

I don't want your thanks. All I'm doing is stating the obvious - it's wonder enough that any of this is even sinking in. [ less mad, but still rude, apparently. ]

What were you created for?

[ceded]

Um...

[ ... ]

I was made to copy someone else's powers. My superiors wanted me to take his place. We both had the same abilities, but they didn't need two of us.

[uraniumnumnum]

A copy of someone's abilities?

[ he tilts his head at her, seeming slightly more interested. ]

Hm. You really are similar to Rion - even choosing to side with the humans. But I doubt that they could ever accept a clone like you into their society.

[ this is a familiar story... ]

[ceded]

... you know, until I got here, the only human I ever knew was Riku.

[ And he's dead so it's not like telling Ash is some big secret. ]

Being in this town was the first time I was ever around so many humans. It was really jarring. But ... in the end, nothing about it was like what I expected. I thought they'd be ... really different.

[uraniumnumnum]

[ not around humans? huh. he wonders if she was created by a machine, like himself... or perhaps by other clones. He'll ask later. ]

But they don't know who you really are. Do they? [ a slight shake of his head. ] They think that you're like them... But you're not.

[ceded]

[ Her shoulders twitch, and she tucks a lock of hair back behind her ear in a nervous motion. ]

Everyone's been so accepting of me. Even the people who've found out what I am. But it still ... scares me. I feel like no one really ... gets it.