Inbox: Mask or Menace

[megabytes]

"You've reached the comms device of Megaman.EXE. I'm not available at the moment, so please leave a message and I will respond as soon as I am able! Thank you!"

Comments

[microbrobotics]

[ Not well, not yet. Best to stick to simpler names and pronouns until he has a better grip on this. The good news is, he's so fascinated by it that he could easily work on this for hours before even noticing how long it's been. He grins, repeating his "name" again before starting to point at the rest of the stuff in his comm, one ping at a time... ]

[megabytes]

[Megaman happily goes along with this, teaching Hiro the "words" for different types of data, for processes and programs, for the system itself...He mostly sticks to context data and file sharing as they "talk," using verbal communication only when he needs to explain a distinction ("that's only for smaller, currently running background processes, for a smaller inactive background process...") or correct Hiro's "grammar" or if there's just no other way to say something. Data can only communicate so much, after all.

He hardly notices how much time has passed, himself. It's just too much fun talking to Hiro like this. When they've finally exhausted every possible thing in the comm to "name," Megaman just turns to Hiro, smiling and pinging a sequence of data that he's repeated quite a lot over the last god knows how many hours: query, speaker's-surrogate-operator, task-being-started-by-listener.

What do you want to do now?]

[microbrobotics]

[ Hiro, meanwhile, has been eating all of this up. He follows along excitedly, trying to stay in this new "language" as much as he can - only breaking into actual words when he's stumped or they get into the grammar-heavy sections. But he's exhilarated. He can't remember the last time he was this exhilarated about learning a language, of all things. But it's really just programming, isn't it? Programming he can do just by thinking and "speaking" what he wants to do ...

His stamina can't hold forever, though. Hours into it, he's finally starting to feel ... a headache? Is that what that is? He feels tired, his processes strained a bit too far. He needs time to let all this data settle properly into his brain. No matter how brilliant and mathematical he may be, he's still a human.

Statement-uncertainty, status, damage ... He hesitates for a moment, unsure of how to phrase "headache" in a space where he technically doesn't have a functional head. Himself, process? Now that he's thinking about it, he's really tired. Boy he might just sleep in here tonight... ]

I think I have a headache.

[megabytes]

[Even before he finishes that data sequence Megaman's mood has changed completly, smile dropped and replaced with a flat, serious look that barely manages to not be outright scared. Damage, damage, Hiro's reporting damage why is he reporting damage? A headache? How, why, is it the same as for a navi or...?]

Plug out. Now.

[Stupid. Stupid stupid stupid he should've been watching closer he knows how dangerous the cyber world is for humans--!]

[microbrobotics]

[ Only because he has no idea how to phrase ache in this context. But - he picks up on Megaman's mood immediately and pulls himself back out.

Probably a good thing - the headache falls on him like a ton of bricks as soon as he has a physical body to feel it with. That session went on a liiiittle bit too long .. He laughs, though, still kind of giddy from all of it. And then he winces, because ow his head. ]

I'm okay! I'm fine, just sore. It's been - [ He checks the time and double-takes. ] - ten hours?

[megabytes]

[He follows Hiro out immediately because like hell is he just gonna leave his surrogate operator unsupervised right now.

Also that time announcement is not helping his paranoia in the slightest jsyk.]

Ten-- okay. Okay, come on, you're gonna go lay down for a while.

[You just spend ten hours having your brain be forcibly exposed to things it was never meant to deal with. Struggle all you like, Hiro, he's still going to be steering you towards the nearest viable sleeping place whether you want him to or not. He's got excessive strength and by god he will use it.]

[microbrobotics]

Okay, okay ...

[ He goes along with Megaman peacefully enough. Fortunately, they're already in his bedroom, so it's just a few feet before he flops into his bed. He could definitely do with a nap. And some water. And maybe a snack ... ]

Sorry, I lost track of time. It was too much fun.

[megabytes]

[Oh thank god. Once Hiro's laying down he sits on the floor next to the bed, settling in. If Hiro asks for anything he'll go get it for him because he is going to fuss but otherwise he's staying right here to keep an eye on him. Just in case.]

I know, I was having fun too, it's just...you need to be careful. I don't know what could happen to you in there.

[For the record - yes, a big part of him visiting Hiro's comm as often as he could when he was stuck there last month was him being paranoid about Hiro's safety. Now he's gonna be even worse.]

[microbrobotics]

[ All he really feels like doing is lying with his head nice and cushioned while he waits for the room to stop spinning. But he should probably get water and some painkillers. ]

It's not like I can't get back out again. This is even safer than I was before.

... Why do you worry so much about it?

[megabytes]

Bad things can happen to humans in the cyber world. You might not be able to get out fast enough. You might not be able to get out at all.

[microbrobotics]

Bad things can happen to me in reality too. I'm safer having a failsafe like this.

[megabytes]

Hiro, you don't understand. I've seen what can happen. You're not made to handle the cyber world, you need to be careful.

[microbrobotics]

... What happened?

[megabytes]

These people...they used these machines that can send a human consciousness into the cyberworld so they could synch themselves up to their navis. So they'd fight better. They lost. They had to be hospitalized - some of them ended up in comas.

[He curls up a little, small and scared. He remembers fighting them all too well. They were all bad people, especially Hinoken, but...he didn't want to hurt them like that.

And then Lan had almost...]

Dad said they were all lucky.

[microbrobotics]

[ Hiro shivers a bit at the thought. ]

It's different, though. I"m not unconscious in the real world.

[megabytes]

That makes it even worse, Hiro! This isn't just about backfeed, it's actual, direct injuries. You could be deleted in there!

[And humans don't get to restore from backup. Megaman knows that pretty intimately.]

[microbrobotics]

I'll be careful, okay? And it won't happen. B-because I have you.

[megabytes]

[Megaman just puts his chin on his knees. He wishes he could be that confident. He had been when Lan had had to use Pulse Transmission, and he'd been so, so wrong. And it'd been his mistake - he'd gotten cocky, he hadn't paid attention, Lan had almost died and it would've been his fault--

He whimpers. What if he messes up again? What if, next time, he can't get his operator out?]

[microbrobotics]

[ Oh man, that was not the intended effect. He'd wanted to soothe Megaman by letting him be able to help Hior ... but wow that backfired. Tentatively, he reaches out to hug the Navi. ]

I'll be really careful. We can make backup programs to eject me if an emergency comes up.

[megabytes]

[He uncurls himself just enough to hug back.]

Promise?

[microbrobotics]

Yeah, absolutely. I promise I won't get hurt in there.

[megabytes]

Okay. Good. You better not.

[.........]

...if you do, I'm changing all your passwords.

[microbrobotics]

-- Hey!

[megabytes]

Well if you're gonna just get yourself hurt--!

[microbrobotics]

Fine, fine, I'll deserve it. But it's not gonna happen.