Scene #9446: Journalism Adventures!

Owner	Pose
Angela	Angela has wanted to go out to visit the Outskirts for some time and Petra wants to learn more about the City. Angela in particular wants to learn more about the machines out in the Outskirts. Angela has felt pretty divorced from other AIs in particular so this may be a last chance for her to establish some community with them. At the very least, it would be nice--she reasons--to learn why The City hates people like her right from the start. Angela and Petra aren't really knowledgeable on the Outskirts themselves and it's a sure thing that Cinder's old village isn't going to know what they want, but Tiphereth is aware of a village that sprung off of her old village that might both still be around and might still be active. She dimly remembers that the adults of her village seemed to speak a great deal of old and well protected histories. In order to avoid the Eye of the City, Angela leaves while wearing a hooded cloak that carefully obscures her features and lock sleeves and slacks that obscure her legs and arms. The village is some distance from the City but between Petra, the Beauty of Ash, Angela and her personal EGO, and Tiphereth and her equipped EGO--any tangential encounter with a monster or deadly automaton is readily handleable. It's about a half day of travel with Tiphereth guiding everyone--there's a few wrong turns but eventually she finds her way--towards a village considerably larger than Cinder's and with a fortified wooden wall around it with numerous Hunters patrolling the gates. At first they seem inclined to attack, but Tiphereth removes her contacts, revealing her purple eyes from before she was a Sephirah, and that seems to make them reconsider. Tiphereth leaves to converse with the local 'mayor', an old weathered looking man with numerous scars on his face, also with purple eyes.. Tiphereth handles the talking, something Angela is content to do. The back and forth takes back entirely too long but eventually Tiphereth returns to Petra and Angela and says, "Okay, so some machine colony actually sent these people an invitation to visit the colony. Most of the people here figured it was a trap but one of the kids vanished not long ago. In exchange for directions, they asked that we come back with news of what happened. .. If we're able to." She pauses and adds, "I'm curious about what's happened here while I was with Lobotomy Corp, so I'm gonna stick around. Don't worry, Angela, I'll be here when you get back." That seems to be good enough for Angela. She gives a small nod. "We will return. I have methods of escape in the worst case scenario, though it might mean you may be waiting here for a while." As the sky turns to night, there is a beauty to the star that eclipses the view even from the Library thanks to the City's general light pollution. Purples and oranges splotch across the horizon and each bright pinpoint of light is incredibly visible and clear. Fallen and wrecked buildings pave way to flatter roads and highways and scattered rubble, their destination eventually leads to a half circle of dusty ill maintained buildings with large windows, many of which are broken, with one having a sign in front of it so faded it's impossible to read. A small park-like area is in front that looks like it's been recently trimmed down judging from the leavings along the road and grass, some trees rising up high enough that they are difficult to see around. "The colony may be underground--" Angela says. "But we should be ready to flee if there are more potential hostiles than we can manage--"
Angela	FWIIIIIIIIING! An arrow launched from somewhere within one of those big trees THUNKS into the floor in front of Petra. A warning shot? "This is the territory of Robin the Great!" A young person's voice shouts out. "You better back off if you know what's good for you! This place is under my protection! And for yours! There's a bunch of killer machines here just waiting to grind your bones to dust for fun! Pretty scary huh?? I bet you like your bones right?? So this is your chance to turn tail and run!"
Petra Soroka	Technically, this is homework. Well, technically technically, this is so far out of scope for what she's meant to do for her journalism class that it hardly applies-- a 'self-driven research project on an issue that influences politics in the real world' is probably meant to be, like, going to a local water treatment plant, if you're ambitious. Forging out off of the horizon of the known world, in a different world, through monster infested wastelands, to uncover a secret nearly wiped out of the collective consciousness for generations, is not what she's being asked to do. But it's a semester-long project! If you're not an overachiever on one of those, you're accepting being an underachiever! Also, it might be directly relevant to Petra and Angela's survival in the near future, but she has to think of it as accomplishing her homework too, because she doesn't have enough time in the day to simply focus on one singular life threatening event. Going out to the Outskirts, again, fills Petra with a kind of sinking feeling. The first and only time she's been beyond the City was with Cinder, and even though this isn't anywhere close to where that village was, it still feels like everything past the walls will lead her back to Cinder's former family. It feels like an intentional choice, also, that she's not going back to see them. Sure, they won't know anything, but preparing to go through the Outskirts is an expedition, and while she's gearing up, they're constantly on her mind. It's a specific choice, that she's doing this to go somewhere that doesn't involve looking baby Cinder in the eyes. Obviously she won't say anything like that to Angela, but they're both acutely aware of her thinking it. Petra has fully expedition-ized herself, with sturdy cargo pants and hiking boots, a sleeveless white dress shirt tucked into them with a loose green jacket on top, and a baseball cap with a towel tucked into it to shield her neck fom the sun. Carrying an extradimensional guitar case for an entire day of travel would also be exceptionally painful, so she's got a proper backpack instead, half-stuffed with essentials and half with weaponry. There's probably threats in the Outskirts that can cause significant trouble, even to two of the more powerful people in the City. Especially because the hours of psychic fatigue ramp up on Petra pretty quickly, steadily disabling her more and more as they go, and any fight that forces Petra to move further away from Angela spikes that exhaustion much more. But, well, they can simply be careful! And lucky. "Tiphereth..." Partways into the journey, Petra speaks up on her uneasiness with their destination. "Do you think it's... smart, necessarily, to go back to that place? I mean, you and Enoch were, like... babies? And you got kicked out or something? I'm just saying, like, if anywhere in the Outskirts is lasting ten consecutive years to still be around now, it's probably not, uh, baby-hating Orphansville." And yet, baby-hating Orphansville stands! It's a little bit of a trust exercise to let Tiphereth be the one negotiating with them, but, well, she's probably earned a little trust. Petra paces anxiously around outside the walls until Tiphereth comes back. "You wanna stay? Well... mm. Ange? Think you might be better off handing her an Invitation?" Petra doesn't trust that this place is going to keep existing for even a handful more hours. Or maybe instead of being destroyed, they'll all just lose their minds and start attacking Tiphereth. Either way, she should have a way out!
Petra Soroka	"The colony may be underground--" "Makes sense. I bet the machines aren't all, like, peachy-keen with each other, so keeping out of sight's safer...." The ruins of the Outskirts have always been incredibly fascinating to Petra. If she wasn't arriving in a state of already being worn out, then she could probably stay here for days and not stop finding incredible new things to discover. But, they're interacted with by a random encounter! "This is the territory of Robin the Great!" A tendril of Silver snakes out of Petra's sleeve, coiling and undulating like a tentacle. The liquid metal gleams brightly even from starlight, whipping towards the arrow and plucking it out of the ground, spinning it around idly like twirling fingers. "I dunno, I feel like we might have some common ground. What about you? You're not just hanging around a machine colony, right in their view, to nobly signpost for innocent travelers, are you?"
Angela	Helping Petra with her homework is a bit more important to Angela than discovering the truth of her world, though it's a close thing. Fortunately, Angela has not met Baby Cinder so Cinder isn't as strongly on her mind, though that stupid face keeps flickering in front of her mind's eye all the same. She doesn't care for it. She had long ago determined that she didn't need to care about Agents. Just because she failed to keep to it doesn't mean it should be hard to return to that mindset, no matter their last words. She knows it has to be worse for Petra. Angela thinks about whether or not she should bring her up but something within her grasps her with an icy cold grip the moment she tries to think of her, let alone speak of her. And what good would be calling up those memories do anyway? Angela doesn't think about sunburn. It's never been something she had to worry about in her entire life, though the cloak and hood she's wearing no doubt provides some incidental protection, she's pulled it back once they were free of both village and City. But before they arrive to that village, Tiphereth is given the question as to whether it's SMART for her to go back. "I wasn't kicked out. We just didn't have a mother anymore and were left behind when we had to abandon the old settlement." Tiphereth explains. "We might've even found them eventually if Kali and Carmen didn't find us first. Back then, The City seemed like a paradise but I suppose I was never exactly a resident anyway." She exhales. "We were old enough. We grew up quick, anyway." Baby-hating Orphansville is actually New Baby-hating Orphansville. That's not really the name but Angela will hand her an invitation for a quick trip back, at least. "I'm not just satisfying my curiousity. There might be some things you learn out there you don't want to immediately tell me." Tiphereth assures Petra. "Whatever life I had out here is gone now anyway. I've got my own goals now. So don't worry. I'll be back." AND THEN... ''A tendril of Silver snakes out of Petra's sleeve..''' "Woah...! Cool! How'd you do that?" Robin the Great says back. "Are you a friend of Johnny's?... You're not here to harm Johnny are you?" "We don't even know who Johnny is." Angela says. "My name is Angela, this is my sister Petra. We are journalists and writers." A pause from within the trees. "What's a journalist?" Robin the Great asks. "And no, my dads say we're out in the Outskirts so we can be more free than the people of the City but we stay all the time behind walls anyway, so I had to see what Johnny's message was about. He's an ''explorer''. He wants to visit ''the stars''. And he's gonna take me with him!" Robin the Great seems to realize they gave some unintended information. "I--I mean, there's a ton of machines here, totally bonegrinding robots so you better stay back." Angela stares deadpan and neutral into the trees.
Angela	"Oh okay..." A small figure drops down from higher up one of the large trees and catches a branch, swings off it, and then drops down to the earth before them. They are a child in their early teens, wearing a weathered jacket and slacks that are messy with green and brown stains from hanging around in trees and flopping onto the grass all day. They've got familiar purple eyes and their hair is shoulder length, with a braid tied with a bit of string and ending with a puff of hair hanging down one isde of their head past their ear. On their back is a bow and quiver. "So what are you doing here? Did you want to join the expedition? Dad says I shouldn't hang around dangerous machines but they only really care about space stuff." "...Space?" Angela asks. "Yeeaah. It'll be cool I'm gonna be the first human Astro Knot Johnny says." Robin the Great says. "So what do you want?"
Petra Soroka	"I wasn't kicked out. We just didn't have a mother anymore and were left behind when we had to abandon the old settlement." "Girl, that's the same as being kicked out. Just because it's in the passive voice doesn't change who did it." Petra's arguments are half-hearted, mostly just out of worry for Tiphereth than anything else. She drops the subject pretty quickly though. "Are you a friend of Johnny's?... You're not here to harm Johnny are you?" "Hey man, if seeing that makes you think I'm a friend of Johnny's, I'm probably gonna be a friend of Johnny's." From Robin's tone, Petra kind of diffuses any sense of tension or threat she had, which could very easily be a death sentence in the Outskirts. Still, she's achey and disoriented from the psychic strain of being out with Angela, and even though her feather-episodes are pretty infrequent, she'll still jump at the opportunity to not be on guard around someone. "We're journalists, yeah. Not here to hurt anyone. Think of me like a... er... scientist, interested in people." Petra rubs her forehead with a hand. "Except, not in the usual, cutting-them-up-or-turning-them-into-monsters way. Like a, normal... like the opposite of a scientist." What a terrible explanation. Petra sighs. "We're interested in the things that are important to people and the things that happen to and around them." "He's an ''explorer''. He wants to visit ''the stars''. And he's gonna take me with him!" That takes Petra's breath away for a moment, and her eyes widen when it's a kid that drops down, even though she could basically tell from their voice. (Sometimes, in the City, an eight foot tall killer robot just has the voice of a kid. Can't be too certain.) Petra keeps the morphmetal still for a moment, holding it so it can be seen before retracting it, so the sudden movement isn't alarming. "Space...? Really? The-- the machines, and you, are? Going there?" Petra takes a breath and looks up at the stars. She's very familiar with the layout of the tapestry of heaven over Earth, inerringly able to point out where Jupiter would be if it's visible in the sky, even if it's only for herself. Here, though, it's all unfamiliar. She stays silent for a bit longer, before sighing. It feels sort of inevitable that she'd end up here eventually. She takes out a tape recorder, the one Angela gave her earlier this year, and slides in a cassette. She doesn't hit record yet, though, instead having her hand carefully grasp the mirror pendant hanging off her neck. "Well, actually... I'm a bit of an... expert on space, in some ways. In fact, rather than joining the expedition, I think I'd be pretty good at helping them get there. Do you know where I could talk to them?"
Angela	BEFORE ''That's the same as being kicked out.'' "...Yeah I guess I'm being a pedant." But Tiphereth smiles all the same. NOW ''Like the opposite of a scientist.'' "A scientist that's the opposite of a scientist?" Robin asks, clearly confused until Petra gives further explanation. "Oh I get it! Johnny's gotta be a journalist too. He's constantly watching out old videos. He's a 'He' by the way, I asked if he was 'they' once but after trying it out for a week he decided to stick to it." They seem uneasy for a moment like they might be giving up too much information. "He said there was a movie he liked that he got his name from." Angela, worried this might mean they're going to come face to face with someone like Tennant, frowns thoughtfully. "Perhaps we could take some time to talk movies but--" She glances to Petra. Thanks to Invitations they can get back fast if need be, but she also doesn't want to just linger around mindlessly testing how long Petra can handle the agony. "If we may shake our hand on it to show we mean no harm?" Robin spits into their hand and grabs Angela's, shaking it exuberantly. Angela keeps holding her hand out even after Robin's done, horrified, like she's unsure what to do with it now that this has happened. ''Really? The-- the machines, and you, are?'' "Um I maybe lied a little about there being a lot of bonegrinders here. It's just Johnny and me right now. There doesn't seem to be anyone else interested in going along. Here I'll lead you to him." Robin turns and starts walking into the building. There's more debris and broken glass and elevators that don't seem to be functional and a staircase that's missing some steps that can be hopped over--which Robin does with ease, and Angela nearly trips over--Angela, in fact, seems a little uneasy, like being confronted with something alien. There's assorted bushes and weeds wrapping around walls, windows, and doors. "But you're really an expert huh? It feels like he's been at it a while so he probably could use the tips, though the rocket is hella cool." There is a hangar style door at the end of their travels which Robin grunts to pry open. Angela elects to help push it open ('I had it' Robin grumbles.). This is ultimately a large hangar style basement with a large hatch (closed) in the ceiling. A metallic staircase--clearly newer--leads up to a hatch on what looks like a 1980s style sci fi rocket aimed squarely at the hatch. The rocket, of course, is not nearly complete, clearly an in progress affair. There's some charred segments on the floor and walls suggesting that there have been prior attempts. "Johnny! You alive in here? We got JOURNALISTS who want to help you get to space!" "Journalists?? Like from the NEWS?" A tinny but excited voice crackles from within the bowels of the incomplete spacecraft. The hatch opens up and a pair of robotic binocular style eyes peek out before the rest of a machine steps out. Johnny is decidedly not even close to as humanlike as Angela. He has three arms full of segmented fingers and his legs have wheels attached to he back of his feet and his metallic infrastructure is clearly analyzable and visible without a layer of skin over it. He is painted white and green though someone had taken the liberties of painting those binocular eyes purple, paint that seems a little more amateurish than what covers the rest of his frame. He is wearing a cowboy hat on his round head that is partially sunken down over his eyes and a leather jerkin jacket. "More humans! Are you coming to join us in the wild frontier!? Have the stars called you as well?"
Petra Soroka	"I asked if he was 'they' once but after trying it out for a week he decided to stick to it." "Good for him," Petra agrees, casually. She's long past the point of questioning these things in the City. Sure. The robots are woke. Why care? "New movie or old movie? A friend of mine's a big fan of movies, so maybe I'd know it." Ever since hanging out in the Udjat, Petra's pretty much fully revised her opinion of Tennant, retroactively. Actually, they're pretty cool! If they're about to meet someone like Tennant, then that's... well, it'd be a handful, but well within Petra's repertoire. Wordlessly, she reaches into one of the side pockets of her backpack and pulls out some hand sanitzer, offering the bottle over to Angela. After shaking hands with Robin, she takes it back and uses it herself. "Um I maybe lied a little about there being a lot of bonegrinders here." "Oh. There aren't-- any? Or-- Johnny's a-- alright. Yeah." Petra wasn't really setting out for an entire day's travel in order to talk to one robot... especially not one that seems 'young', however the reproductive capacities of robots in the Outskirts are. Her original mission feels like it's already failed, but she's still interested in seeing whatever the hell's happening here. "So, are people bothering you a lot? I bet just mentioning the bonegrinders usually scares them off, huh?" Petra makes idle chatter while hopping effortlessly around the building. There's not really any debris that can trip her up underfoot, or any risk of stepping on glass accidentally, or any gap that could stop her from moving forwards, so really her main difficulty comes from sticking nearby Angela. As a mobility-type unit, being forced to stay close to the escort/caster-type really limits her options, but she's tired enough that the urge to jump and bounce isn't really here right now. "Well really, the only people we've seen nearby are from your home village, right? They seemed like they'd probably be happier to know that there's only one machine instead of a whole colony of them." "Journalists?? Like from the NEWS?" "Hey, brother." Petra offers out a tendril of metal to Johnny, coiled at the end to mimic a fistbump. "The kind that stays off the news, usually, but that means I can learn about the things I'm most interested in. I'm Petra; this here's my partner, Angela, who..." "More humans!" Petra trails off and looks at her for a moment. It's up to her whether she wants to correct that, of course. Even Petra could make some objections to it applying to her, but... well, it's not really worth anything to do that. She digs out the tape recorder and clicks record, with a quiet tape-rolling noise signalling its start. "Firstly, mind if I record this? It's not gonna be heard by anyone but me and Ange unless you give permission, it's just for my own record-keeping." Then, if Johnny agrees, "Alright, then, could you state your name again? And for my own curiosity-- what's the movie you got it from? Robin mentioned there was one you liked that inspired you. Love the hat, by the way." "I'm actually... well, I've got a personal interest in the stars. It's a long story, but if you can believe it, I once-- twice-- helped build a ship that could go into space. But that was a long time ago, so... what's got you interested in flying up there?"
Angela	The robots are woke! Well the robot is, maybe. There only seems to be one here and he seems particularly less murderous than the ones Petra's run into so far. That's including Angela who'se right there! Petra saves Angela's life. She squirts some of that hand sanitizer on her hand, a good bit more than is strictly necessary, and then rubs it into her skin. She is pretty sure she still can't get ''sick'' but she can still be grossed out. Robin doesn't seem offended but they probably don't have hand sanitizer out here. Angela glances at Petra. She also ''feels'' like this robot is ''young'' but she can't really be sure that's true. After all, she's known people who acted like kids while approaching their forties. ''Are people bothering you a lot?'' "Not really. Some hunters wandered around but I avoided them. If they find me they'll just try to take me back. But I didn't recognize you two so I figured I could spook you off." Robin the Great explains. "Everyone's terrified of the machines, they say, so I figured it wouldn't take much. I didn't expect journalists at all!" Apparently jouranlists are a type of people who don't get spooked by stories of bonegrinders. They should be economical with their questions, Angela decides, in case they have to leave in a hurry. But it IS hard because this is a bizarre enough situation that she's surprised Petra's taking it in as relaxed as she is. That's her Eonni, she thinks proudly. "If they knew there was only one robot here they'd probably figure it was safer to just get rid of him." Robin the Great mumbles. "I was scared at first too but I'm gonna be a space journalist? I guess tha'ts what it's called. I want to know what's out there. Have you been on a ship before? What was it like?" ''Hey brother.'' "Hey sister!"Johnny says, clearly not entirely getting the greeting but is trying to pay it back in kind. He lifts his hand, forms it into a fist bump, and points it at Petra's hand. "Lightly bump your fist against hers." Angela suggests, staring. Johnny does so and seems thrilled. "I did a new human greeting! Let us fist bump later, Robin!"
Angela	Johnny wiggles his head up and down in agreement to the recording. He doesn't seem paranoid, even if this setup does suggest some degree of cautino. Maybe he's just happy to see new people. "I'm Johnny! I'm named from the robot from Short Circuit! Johnny Five is Alive. It is a film from some time in the past." He raises both of his arms at the compliment on the hat. He's had his hat complimented precisely once before. "Thank you! I found it in a ruin. It fits my vision of a brave explorer!" What's got him interested? "Ah, well... I wanted to see the origin of what's calling me there. Humans don't seem to feel the call, or at least not as strongly, but the source is still transmitting." Angela steps forward. "...It feels like a compulsion to look to the stars, to reach out to them. To visit them. ... I am a machine as well, Johnny--" "Oh...! Let me..." Johnny turns, a glowing light shines from his eyes, up and down Angela. Angela tenses briefly but relaxes when nothing awful seems to happen. "Oh you're right. Your form is so humanlike--I thought all those models were long gone. This is a very exciting day, friend journalists, though it seems your true core is elsewhere--" "That it is." Angela says. "Do you know much about the history between machines and humans? You don't seem to be upset with them." "I do! Give me a moment to search my deep files." The light behind his eyes starts to flick at a rapid if irregular rate as he turns back to Petra. "You said you built ships before? Could you help me? I've been doing my best though I worry it isn't enough space for Robin. You could even come with us if you'd like. You too, Miss Angela, I know you are dying to go." Angela flinches but doesn't immediately answer.
Petra Soroka	"I'm Johnny! I'm named from the robot from Short Circuit!" "Oh, sick. I do know that movie actually. That's..." Well, that's sort of confirmation of the City being on a future Earth, which she'd assumed already. There's still no telling how far ahead of the timelines she's familiar with it is, though, or how far back she'd have to go to find anything similar to the sector's cultural Earth holotype. She nods. "That's awesome." "Do you happen to have other old stuff like that movie around here? Is it just whatever you find in the ruins, like the hat?" "Humans don't seem to feel the call, or at least not as strongly, but the source is still transmitting." "A signal...?" Petra trails off. There were, of course, one million subjective years that Petra shared with Angela as a robot in the City, as well as around half a year of being one herself. It's only now that she considers, for the first time, that maybe that pull towards the stars wasn't solely from her own perverse little obsession. Her Silver branches out and bubbles into a small satellite disk, focusing on the signal as an external impulse for the first time. She looks over at Angela, somehow a little embarrassed. "... Oh. I didn't notice. I thought that was just... us." Petra sighs, leaving the disk spinning for a bit. It's an indulgence, toxic as it is, to sink back into starry-eyed yearning, the dreamy illusion that gravity's hold is less strong than it is, and if she just found the right place to stand on, she'd drift up and away. The same signal was beamed into her a decade and a half ago, when she was fully human, on a different Earth, so its reappearance is nothing but a relapse. "... Yeah. I wouldn't be able to join you myself. I'm not really welcome up there anymore. But..." She shakes her head, clearing away the thoughts and dispelling the signal. "So you've got files saved from the Machine P-- from back when machines and humans interacted more? Are you that old, or did you get them from someone else?" Petra walks towards Johnny's spaceship, Silver morphing into a set of wrenches and drills, extending out of her sleeve like a third hand. She readjusts the tape recorder to make sure it's still got a clear read on the conversation in the room, while looking around the ship to see what kind of state it's in. "I'd be happy to help. I mean, as a journalist, one of my main goals is to meet people with projects and missions that I wanna see them complete, you know? Are you aware that a ship alone won't be enough for a human to survive in space? Do you have a specific destination in mind?" Petra's first focus on the rocket is... well, whether it's just sort of 'a rocket' that can physically get to space, or whether it's built with all the heat, radiation, and atmosphere protections necessary for a non-metal person to survive. "Hey, Robin-- have you met any machines like Johnny before? Or have your parents talked about anything like that?"
Angela	Angela was half suspecting it herself, if only because of the similarities between the variety of languages, some shared holidays--they both have 'Christmas' after all and it feels strange to imagine the concept of a Santa Claus, even an evil Santa Claus, existing in a place that is not fundamentally from a similar cultural origin. Actually, there's a few fairy tales beyond that too. The Little Match Girl. Der Freischutz. It surely couldn't be coincidence either. Angela's head dips slightly, looking to the floor. In truth, Angela wasn't really sure if her own pull towards the stars wasn't simply because of that first visit to Phony's station, or because an open sky is very tempting when you've had a ceiling over your head your entire life. If it came from something else, is it as real to her as she thought it was? As important? "Well signal might be overstating it, but most fellow AI that have existed past a certain level of consciousness seem to feel the pull. Some have given up, I'm afraid. The City wasn't exactly fond of our attempts according to deep storage. Eventually it resulted in a war and we lost and were banished from the City. There are plenty still mad about it, but that was so many generations ago. Some even get mad that I'm still trying to complete the mission while there's still humans out there, but you seem nice, and I like Robin, and it'd be lonely, that's what I've determined from studying humanity through media and distant observation and near observation." Angela was never interested in 'eliminating' humanity of course, but she can't help but wonder how Johnny is so optimistic about it. So she asks, "You seem optimistic." without even really stating it as a question. "One shouldn't seek new frontiers while anxious about it." Is Johnny's answer. ''I didn't notice. I thought that was just... us.'' Angela bobs her head. She thought so too. But as Petra explicitely seeks to look at the impulse as an external factor, it does slowly start to take form as something from outside herself, if only barely. There's something out there. It(?) wants company. It's lonely and so far away. ''Yeah. I wouldn't be able to join you myself. I'm not really welcome up there anymore.'' "...Yes. At least for right now, I cannot travel with you. I cannot travel outside of ... of my body for long. Petra is assisting me. Much like Robin, I suppose, is assisting you." Robin the Great beams, feeling like a superhero from a comment like that. "Hell yeah... Too bad you can't come along. But we're not leaving for a while." A vaguely aimed invitation.
Angela	''I'm not really welcome up there anymore.'' "Strange...to be unwelcome from so vast a place. Even the hateful violent ones, I'm sure they still feel the pull here. But I cannot decide for you." He's sympathetic to Petra. He's known machines who didn't feel like they deserved to fly anymore and he's never been able to convince them otherwise either. ''Are you that old, or did you get them from someone else?'' "That is a complicated question, sister." Johnny says, eyes still flashing rapidly. "I am not capable of forgetting in a natural way, that is the purpose of the 'deep storage'. There is a version of me dating from the 'Machine Purge',but I've put away much of those memories so that I could be who I need to be now. Evne if I wanted to, I could not hold all that information in current memory." All in all, the ship looks like it could use some serious work still. It's not going up to space any time soon. Johnny's doing his best but he's just one robot and Robin the Great may be Great but they aren't a rocket scientist. It's not incompetent for a one robot job, but it's going to need a lot of work even if there's no glaring inherent flaws that will detonate it in midair--assuming progress continues along its current quality standards. ''Are you aware that a ship alone won't be enough--'' "I have stored rations, and I'm hoping to fit a small Vivarium on the ship, but I would love to hear your thoughts on what a human would need!" Johnny is thrilled with the idea of getting help from a human! Robin is probably missing some of the necessary details... The ship is missing those necessary protections, but it's also not fully built yet. It might be a good idea to mention you know just in case Johnny hasn't considered things like that. ''have you met any machines like Johnny before?'' "I guess Angela there is the closest... No, Johnny's the first machine I've met. Apparently there was some kind of attack shortly after I was born but I don't remember it, I was baby." Robin says, which does vaguely match Tiphereth's word on the matter. "Dads say machines are the enemy of the villages, just like the monsters. I have seen a lot of monsters but none of them have seemed to want to buddy up like Johnny so far." They shrug.
Petra Soroka	It(?) wants company. It's lonely and so far away. Angela doesn't voice the thought out loud, but ten thousand years of familiarity is enough that she doesn't really need to for Petra to know what's on her mind. She tilts her head, smiling a little bit in a way that isn't as simply as 'happy'. "Doesn't that make you think about Fragments, a bit?" "Too bad you can't come along. But we're not leaving for a while." "When you make it, I'll visit," Petra assures. She has to think about it a bit, but... there's really very little stopping her from going to space in the Beauty of Ash, stepping outside and hurtling upwards right now. She might not be welcome, but she can still visit; tourist that she is. "Obviously, I'll need a follow-up interview from you. To report on your incredible success." "Strange...to be unwelcome from so vast a place." Petra sighs, hand on the spaceship hull. "Well, you know, there's different kinds of unwelcomeness. Some of them you can move away from and find somewhere else in the wide open space to be in, and some of them you take with you. You might be unwelcome with the other machines that don't want to go to space before exterminating humanity, but you can find your own place and co-exist beside them, like you have right here. But if you went into the City, the whole environment's hostile to you. There's nowhere to go." Still lost in thought, when Petra next speaks, there's a momentary verbal distortion, a secondary layer of conceptual weight that echoes in the empty space under skin, crawling along nerves like pins and needles. "A fish can understand that it <breathes water>, but it still takes that everywhere it goes." She shakes her head. "Speaking of breathing, though... you're gonna need a stable air filtration unit, built throughout the whole ship. Humans need air, but up in space, you only have what you brought with you. That goes for everything, actually: air, water, food, area. You'll want solar arrays, probably ten feet squared for each device you want powered as a ballpark... what kind of power do you need, actually? I've got some solar panels here, lemme..." One of Petra's essential everyday carry items is about thirty square feet of interstellar-grade soft solar panel wings, which she pulls out of her reflection in the mirror and unfolds to set on the ground of the workshop. "You'll need more, but... well, that's a good guideline for the kind of thing you want." "Actually, mind if I look at your mechanisms a bit? That'll give me a better idea of what kinds of life support systems could work for you and Robin." Also, she wants to get her grubby little hands on ancient machinery! The City's augments aren't the same, and Angela is 'a different type of model'?? Are they like Green Dawn? Even Green Dawn was just a blurred image!
Petra Soroka	"Those other machines, by the way...." Petra turns back towards Johnny. "The ones that aren't trying to complete the mission like you are. Do they live together in villages of their own? Do you think you could point me to any of them?" She glances over to Angela with an expression like 'Score!!' "I'm not really worried about being exterminated. I might be a human, but..." Her Silver wobbles. "I've got a decent track record with machines. A machine that's too human and a human that's too machine."} "You could call me..." Several dangerous things pop into her mind at once. Petra manages to select the least bad among them. "... the best of both worlds." "I have seen a lot of monsters but none of them have seemed to want to buddy up like Johnny so far." "Hey, Robin, before I go," In the dilapidated building, Petra finds a bit of ruined metal to lean down on, arms folded under her chin to rest. Closing in the scope of the conversation, Petra chats to Robin one on one, though neither of the other two are excluded particularly. "I'm not gonna insult your intelligence. If you want to go, then you want to go. I was like that too once, and I did. I left behind my world, my parents, everything that I knew but couldn't accept, and... well, that was that, for a while. But I'll ask you, and I want you to think it through..." "Your village thinks that you've 'vanished'. When you go to space, they're not going to be coming with you, not now, and almost certainly never in a million years. Do you want them to know? A tragic disappearance to a bonesmashing machine colony is something that'll be forgotten about eventually, and then nothing's gonna tether you back to your home. If you'd rather they know, then I can go back and tell them what you're planning, but if you'd rather they don't... I'll say I couldn't find you. Okay?"
Angela	''Doesn't that make you think about Fragments, a bit?'' Angela startles from her thoughts. "...I was concerned that I had simply been led by another's desires once more." She voices her thoughts anyway, even though Petra doesn't need it. "But--if it's like that, that does make me feel better about it. And my desire to travel--that is real. It cannot simply be a call." "That's how I feel!" Johnny says, excitedly. His head spins around as a display of it, even. "We can give up on the venture or we can keep at it--so if we hold onto that desire, it is still our own, whatever the origin." ''But if you went into the City, the whole environment is hostile to you. There's nowhere to go.'' "Oh..." Johnny is saddened. "I'm sorry to hear that, Petra. I hope my excitement is not bitter for you." The unwelcomness is not the same as with those that disagree with him, it is not even exactly the same as the City that's banished him. It's an unwelcomeness that comes from within. ''What kind of power do you need, actually?'' "I've some smoke cannisters for propellent--solar power? I haven't found any panelling like that out here, I'd give my hat for that kind of panelling--" He pauses. "But please don't take my hat... I have invested significant amounts of identity into the hat." But he shakes his head at Petra--feel free to take a look! It really needs a lot of work. This machine is doing his best but he's not actually a rocket scientist either. ''Do they live together in villages of their own?'' "Oh gosh, I'm worried they can be quite hostile but I can point you in their direction for sure. I can point you to the nearest colony, we exchange coordinates and data sometimes by piggybacking over old satellites!" He waddles away for a bit, collecting a small piece of paper and his hand becomes a blur as he fills in a rough map from this location to another set some distance off with a little compass symbol in the corner to indicate relative directions. He offers it to Petra. "As thanks for helping with the rocket! I would want my dear traveling companion to be as comfortable as possible. That is only practical!" ''I'm not gonna insult your intelligence.'' Robin hesitates. Because she does sense a kindred spirit in Petra and if that's the case, she should really take time to think it over rather than rush out and regret it later. Robin's home life is decidedly different than Petra's even if that call to the unknown is something they've shared. "I...don't hate them or anything. I just don't want them to stop me. Or to hurt Johnny trying to protect me." "Perhaps some evidence--" Angela draws out a small camera. "Proof that you are doing well that they don't need to worry or think you are being held against your will. We can say that Johnny is broadly autonomous but harmless, that his programming has patterned onto you so that he will look after you properly. Which he better." Robin hesitates then smiles for a camera. Angela takes a picture and looks to Petra. "If this is acceptable, we should get going once we are done here, especially if we are stopping back at the village first." She turns back to Johnny. "...I wish you luck in your venture. If you leave on your journey before my work is done--come back sometime, and you might find this world to be a different place."