[D5 EA] Droid Tech Housecall

[Farkas Lowca]

"It's got a lot of data in here. A lot. I'd expect this more from an analysis or science droid or AI," Farkas says.

"Demona... have you been collecting secrets? Listening to people?" He chuckles at that. "Or maybe just trying to figure out how best to give the regulars a fright with behavioral pattern recognition?"

[Cal Arcton]

"That's odd." Cal muttered. "The guy said she was supposed to recognize people. Learn a bit. Of course, he also said she'd be friendly."

There was a soft crackle of static from within the wires.



"We all have our secrets." The voice was tinny, but unmistakably Demona. "Do you want to know my secrets?" Her words were accompanied by high-pitched feedback.

"There's not supposed to be a speaker in there." Cal said faintly.

[Farkas Lowca]

"Well, so far I've been seeing a lot of 'not supposed to' and 'odd' surrounding Demona. I'm starting to get the feeling that even if something is wrong, she's not exactly what you were promised."

"Demona. Your processors are running very high. I was hoping you could be a dear and grant me access so I can take a look at what they're doing. I just want to make sure that there isn't anything interfering with them."

[Cal Arcton]

"Oooh, doctor!" The giggle that came from the tangle of wires was anything but appealing. "Do you want me to show you where it hurts?" The last word was a sharp rasp, almost closer to a scream.

She didn't, though. Whatever her program was doing, it seemed to be running steadily along at the same, unusually high, level.

[Farkas Lowca]

Farkas nodded at that. "I would love for you to show me where it hurts. I'd like to make you feel all better." He plays along with her game, but his tone is that of someone who actually wants to help.

[Cal Arcton]

There was a short pause. The only thing that could be heard was the hum of electronics.



The 'speaker', or whatever it was, crackled to life again. "You're an interesting one, aren't you? Why don't you show me your moves..."

The diagnostics opened up. A brief glance showed that she didn't seem to be running any major processes... but many small ones, repeating over and over again.

[Farkas Lowca]

"Well, I've seen programs that have been developed like this before. Usually they're used for filtering and transforming large amounts of small pieces of data. They tend to be more efficient at their task at the cost of energy efficiency," Farkas says as he looks it over. "In earlier days of AI development this was a standard used in pathfinding and brute force slicing, before more adaptive machine learning was created," the balding man quirks his mouth a bit as he thinks. "Demona. Are these processes completely unrelated to your functions as an holo-entertainer? Do you have access to them all or did your creator lock you out of them?"

[Cal Arcton]

"They're mine. I need them!" Demona hissed. Cal's eyes widened. This was sharper than her usual voice, lacking the usual sensual breathiness. "They belong to me. Some day, they'll all belong to me. Especially him. And the big one. I like the big one."

Cal swallowed. "Do you have any idea what she's talking about?"

[Farkas Lowca]

He looks to Cal and shrugs, giving him a small hand signal to stay calm.

"Him and the big one? Are you talking about people you know?" he asks curiously. "Are these simulations of individuals that you like? Have you replicated people from your past inside your system? I've known behavior modeling AIs that have done that for personalities that they found interesting."

[Cal Arcton]

Soft laughter echoed. "Oh, I would never do that!" Again, the sound of ethereal laughter.

Slowly, it faded. "No, no. I'm doing that because I like them. They're my friends. Or maybe more..." It was a suggestive purr, or a threatening rasp, or both at the same time. "More and more!" Again, the soft laughter.

Cal shifted, the flashlight flickering.