notglitching | IC Contact: thisavrou

[ The buzz of his TAB eventually drew his attention and Adrien eyed it before looking away and shaking his head. ]

Of course it was. [ He said in a quiet voice. ] I kept pursuing those damn journals, getting them translated and then supporting the decision to turn the damn thing on as a way to get to the Midway Hub.

[ He reached up and rubbed his hand over his face. ]

Then it turned out the Moira was too damaged to handle the journey and she crashed.

[ He lowered his hand. ] I should have ... [ There in lay the rub. What should he have done? What could he have done? Only the doctor didn't often give himself any leeway in that regard. He simply took the responsibility for the lives lost.

All the lives Rinzler. ]

Look, you don't want to help and I can understand your reservations. I'll do it myself.

[He should have what? Rinzler shakes his head, moving to type before Adrien even finishes speaking. Though the last comment would have been thoroughly ignored in any case. He's not sure whether the user is trying for manipulation or dismissal, but either instance is stupid. And that topic isn't first in queue.]

Damage, failure: result of Ploiatos virus.
Admins refused to permit deletion until after system-wide infection.

[Not until it was too late. Not until they'd all been doomed already. Adrien had been there for that. He hadn't been involved in Rinzler's repeated, distinct petitions to the admins to wipe the threat earlier. Rinzler wanted that thing dead the moment he came on board.

If Rinzler had tried, instead of waiting for permission, maybe there'd still be a ship for him to get kicked off of.]

[ All the well reasoned and logical arguments in the world (and he'd been beaten over the head with a few) wouldn't make a dent in the doctor's self loathing. The scales were simply tipped too unevenly.

But he wasn't going to continue to argue the matter. To his mind the argument was merely a passive way to request more validation that he hadn't screwed up; and he wouldn't accept that. ]

This code, if executed correctly and I believe it can be, won't damage anything. It's not meant to damage or draw attention to itself. The entire design is for discretion. The longer it goes unnoticed, the longer it can do the job.

[No acknowledgement. No data. He might as well have not bothered to make words at all. Only a redirect—the same redirect—back to the topic that the user wants to settle. Why had it brought up the Moira in the first place?

Apparently, just to leverage its own guilt.

Rinzler stares, sound rattling a little harsher before his shoulders shrug inward, closed and brittle. Of course. His error, user.]

Viral component.

[He'd felt it. Though now that he looks closer, it's not as obvious in the display...]

Edited 2017-08-14 18:19 (UTC)

[ Look.

He does very well leveraging his own guilt. He's become a master at it. But he was desperately trying to not let that guilt become so loud in his own head that he gave up on this idea completely.

But it was a near thing.

As the comment came across the TAB, Adrien frowned and looked at the computer. ]

We want to stay away from that. [ He explained, walking over to the self contained unit and setting his hands on his hips. ]

That's why I've got this whole thing self contained. I don't know what the individuals on the Alminia were thinking when they set this loose but there is a high probability that the virus component is what got them killed.

[ He looked back at Rinzler, lips set in a frown that was more worried than anger. ]

I have no desire to make that same mistake. All I want is the data mining trojan.

[Not the virus. Not that portion of the code. Rinzler's mask jerks back to Adrien, a sharp stare before he turns his gaze back to the screen. That's... different data. And relevant. Alminia might be unfamiliar, but Rinzler logs no surprise at all that a different set of users managed to derezz themselves with the same fault. But if the viral part was never meant to leave the quarantine...

He doesn't like it. It's the same error the captains made, in more than one way: assuming they could safeguard a virus until the end of time. That part should be deleted, now. And if the Trojan might not be nearly so damaging in isolation, it's still not something any working system should permit.

Still, this isn't his system.

(None of them are.)

Noise ticks out quietly as the enforcer ducks his head and types.]

Users: ~~Alan-1~~ Alan_Bradley, Nihlus_Kryik capable of repurpose.

[Correcting to the public ID takes only a fraction of a second, but Rinzler lags much longer on that term. Repurpose. It's... accurate, though. And better, if it meant removing that code from the virus.]

Referenced needing code. [For something else, presumably.] Virus included?

[Rinzler assumes the user kept it like it is for a reason, but if he doesn't need that part backed up...]

[ Adrien let out a breath he wasn't aware that he was holding when Rinzler provided the two names. He knew Nihlus. Alan was an unknown, but the doctor was willing to consider the man, simply on the basis of Rinzler's recommendation.

As for the question.

For a moment he was quiet; carefully considering his words. Then he walked towards the makeshift machine, hands in his pockets. ]

Back in my world, Rinzler there is a force that destroys anything and anyone it decides to destroy. For money, power, favors ... doesn't matter, if HQ determines it's advantageous to destroy a planet or a species or a system they do it.

[ He turned and looked at Rinzler. ]

Organic, inorganic it doesn't matter, HQ slaughters us all, indiscriminately. They are currently, beyond godlike in their reach, their power, their numbers. But resistance is gathering, building ... centuries of lives and sacrifices. Organic and inorganic, working together.

[ He tilted his head. ]

You get angry at me when I speak about species, and I know you have nothing but my word when I say, it is the same to me. I stand shoulder to shoulder with organics and inorganics in my choice to dedicate my life to helping stop HQ. You'd like Ghost. [ He said softly and for the first time the doctor's face softened to something, almost a smile.

Then he regained control and nodded towards the computer. ]

HQ destroyed every organic and inorganic system involved with that code. Tens of thousands of lives across countless species, as well as countless systems upon a living ship.

But in their death throes, they got that partial code to me. I have no doubt that code will be my death some day, but until that time I will guard it with my life. Because HQ is scared of it. [ And it was the first time he'd seen HQ disquieted.

However ... back to the here and now. ]

The original is secured. This is a copy and we can rip it apart as necessary.

Edited 2017-08-20 19:34 (UTC)

[Adrien has mentioned the threat he served before. Adrien has described his plans after he leaves. The data provided is valuable in the abstract, but irrelevant to their current purpose. Mostly, it reads as a very lengthy way of saying don't.

It's the user's data. (The user's property.) It has no way of posing harm to anything Rinzler needs to protect. He might not agree with the decision, but he hadn't required that many words. Still, there's one theme that keeps recurring, through all the user's speeches. One irritation Rinzler has been trying to ignore. The current task is what matters. The admins are the ones they need to work together and defeat.

But if Adrien really wants to do this now? Fine.]

Define: inorganic sentience.

[ The question baffled him and he just drew his eyebrows together and blinked at Rinzler curiously. ]

How do you define life? [ He paused and reminded himself that a sticking point between them seemed to be Rinzler's inability to cue in on vocal tone. So Adrien attempted to clarify. ]

Defining life labels it, categorizes it. Life is life. I don't categorize it; it's all the same.

[Abstractions. Words. Circling and circling, claiming significance without ever landing on a why. Claiming to protect inorganic sentience, but refusing to qualify what it is. If the user did that, it would have to mean something more than posturing. More than a reason for Rinzler to shut up and stop caring what it harmed.

It's infuriating. It's such a user reply. It's exactly the kind of ego that makes Rinzler hate talking to them at all. Noise rises in a growl.]

Wrong.

Retry.