IC contact post;

[caincarnate]

COMP phone/e-mail "If this is an IT matter, send me a detailed email and your request will be added to the queue. Otherwise, be brief. Don't waste my time unless this is important." office hours between 10:00 to 17:00

Comments

[caincarnate]

[There were so many threads that Naoya had to pick up before he could weave a complete picture of their world. Being that even X didn't know what state Neo Arcadian was, he must have been 'killed' by Zero somewhere in the midst of this political takeover.

Looking amused, Naoya nonchalantly offered:] In that case, you could always kill him.

[A beat. Then, a knowing smile.]

But that would be awfully suspicious. And, as a student, you have no authority here - it would no longer be execution, but murder.

[Jokes aside, a seriousness settled back into the programmer's eyes. Naoya folded his hands over the table.] I have no love of brainwashing, X. And I don't believe you can trust the man who holds your adversary's leash to have anyone but his own interests at heart.

This reploid will not thank you for restoring him. But just as you've lost everything, so has he. Though the two of you may have come to blows over ideology in the world you lead, it's irrelevant now that you've both come to this place on an equal standing. Whatever deeds he's done, whatever extremist factions he once followed have no weight here.

You're all he has. It may change his view somewhat - at the very least, to see you as an individual.

...It's either that or murder, if your grudge is large enough. I would much rather die than let my free will be taken away.

[derivativeofx]

[Copy X didn't really know what answer he expected, but this was a much more pragmatic response than he thought he'd get. He hadn't been holding his breath that anyone would see murder as an option, even as a joke. It was, admittedly, a tempting option. Not for the sake of mercy or the greater good, but for his own petty vindiction.

The prospect that he would be the only thing Zero had was not an especially appealing one; he hadn't seen a lot of acts of empathy or caring out of Zero during his brief lifespan, especially not for the so-called pirate copy of his former best friend. See Copy X as an individual? Not too likely. He had no real confidence that Zero was a sentimental enough person to leave him alone just because they came from the same place.

But on the other hand, Naoya was right -- Copy X didn't have the same authority over life and death here that he'd held in Neo Arcadia. He'd already ruffled some feathers with his treatment of the other machines around the school; retiring another reploid while the heat was still on didn't seem very wise. That left him back at square one, then.

He turned to Croire next. A gesture that might have looked odd to Naoya, admittedly, but she had mentioned when they'd first met that she should be able to help heal Zero. Copy X was no reploid technician, after all. If he couldn't make sure Zero could be fixed up completely, then that would settle the matter without any need for moral debates.]

Even if I decide to spare him, I can only do so much. Croire... I suppose I don't need to ask what you want me to do, but would you be able to help him?

[awakeningwill]

[Croire had been notably silent the entire time - even an advanced Cyber-elf's mind was still much simpler than that of a reploid, and they were talking about such heavy matters. None of Zero's history was known to her beyond the threat of the Einherjar, and X had yet to actually refer to this reploid he hated by name...

But Zero was the only one it could've been, right? As far as she knew, reploids were rare here, and he was the only one who had arrived recently. Why were they discussing things like murder? She didn't understand - but she did feel anxious. Perhaps... she had done the wrong thing.

Or perhaps X was still going to help her help Zero.

Hesitantly, she bobbed up and down in a nodding motion.]

Yes. I can restore him. I believe in him.

[Naoya, meanwhile, raised a brow and watched without comment.]

[derivativeofx]

I see. I can't say I share that belief. I'd rather keep you around than have you use yourself up on him, but if that's what you're set on doing...

[Seemed like a waste of a Nurse Elf to him, but it wasn't like Croire was his elf, was she? Even if he tried to keep her, she'd probably slip away to go fix Zero sooner or later. It was certainly an easy enough decision for her, he supposed -- she didn't need to worry about the threat that a restored Zero would present.]

I suppose we could go see him, at least, but don't think I'm promising anything just yet.

[Copy X turned away from Croire, focusing again on Naoya.]

If I do kill him... you won't tell anyone, will you? I don't have to worry about Croire, because I doubt anyone here can even see Cyber-Elves, but...

[Well, there wasn't much a reploid could do about a human, was there?]

[caincarnate]

[Naoya chuckled, relishing in the singularly delicious irony of a angel-armoured reploid asking for his silence if things ultimately came down to murder.]

I wouldn't dream of betraying your confidence. That you trusted me enough to seek my opinion on such a sensitive matter makes me glad, despite the unfortunate circumstances.

Was it a 'Cyber-elf' you were speaking to just then? A being invisible to human eyes... built to support reploids such as yourself, I assume?