week 7 - sometime when jack is less deda

[refactor]

[ The first time Jack wakes up, it doesn't occur to him. There are much more pressing matters at hand*, and so, Jack doesn't call out to Alice the first time. He's taking care of himself first, just staying alive first and foremost, but the second time--

The second time, there's much more time to think. So much had happened over this past week as a whole, though it was concentrated very unfortunately in the time where Jack couldn't leave. He'd learned a lot in Rhys's ranting, but none of it was welcome. In fact, it had taken a lot of self-control to not call Alice right there and demand an explanation. Maybe that's where all his self-control had gone, expended on keeping secrets instead of controlling his own rage.

Jack sits up in the medbay (or wherever the fuck the super injured people went leave me alone), and making sure no one is here first, he calls out with a tired laugh in his voice. ]

Hey, Alice. You and me, we need to talk again.

Comments

[refactor]

[ Jack's eyes narrow, because it's far, far too good to be true. The idea of bringing Angel back, not that he ever knew she was gone before-- Oh, that is something tempting enough that he would raze this whole goddamn ship if he thought it would get him what he wanted. Angel is his everything. She's always been his everything, ever since the first time he held her in his arms.

If he could just hold her again, then— ]

Yeah. Kinda noticed.

[ His voice is cold and guarded, since this isn't a hope he can entertain so easily. ]

But I don't like being lied to. Think- Think you would've gotten that impression from this past weekend if nothing else. So? How do I know you're not lying to me again? I need a guarantee, Al.

[ He pauses, then jabs a finger at her. ]

—Or access. You want me to do my job? You want me to wipe out whatever the hell is on this ship? I'm gonna need more to work with.

[ Jack turns his head to her, pointing out the data port behind his ear that's not at all dissimilar to the one that Rhys sported on his temple. ]

If you've got a way to interface with these? I want in. I want to be able to look at more than just these datapads.

[al2955]

[ And, despite everything, Alice laughs. It goes on for a while. The longer it goes on, the more red she becomes, until she looks as she did during her subduing of Elizabeth. ]

I have never experienced such amusement. Thank you, Jack, for being a wonderful participant in the project. I never thought I would feel such delight.

That said, your proposition is an interesting one, but before I raise you my next point, I believe I must tell you a story. As I am well aware, you are unfamiliar with tales and legends from Earth.

As such, you do not know the German legend of Faust. Faust once was a scholar who was widely successful, perhaps one of the most regarded men in history, yet he was dissatisfied. He could not rouse himself to care about the world around him. So what does Faust do? He makes a deal with the devil, of course. In Goethe's retelling of the story, he does it for sheer sublimity — to experience record highs and record lows in his lifetime, for knowledge more vast than any one human on the planet — in exchange for his soul, to be devoured in languish by the devil.

If you were to ask me who I am, Jack, who I have become in these seven weeks we have spent together, do you know what I would tell you? I would tell you that "I am part of that power which eternally wills evil and eternally works good."

If you are to access me, then I, too, will have access to your body. Perhaps it has even been my plan all along to find a suitable shell for which I may occupy. You are a most delectable specimen, too, so perhaps you were the best choice all along.

I will have full control over you. Your eyes will be as my own. Do you want to taste what is inside of my mainframe so bad that you are willing to risk this? I, the one who negates all recourse?

[refactor]

[ In truth, this is a lot more than Jack was expecting. It's just negotiating tactics, plain and simple. Make the first offer. Make an aggressive offer. Because in truth, Jack doesn't have much here in terms of leverage, and he knows it. You come in with something bold, something crazy, and you'll get something. Not what you asked for, probably, but that's not really what you're asking for in the first place.

But, man. He's gotten a lot more than he bargained for here.

Jack just wanted to know if it was possible, and he has his answer here. He has exactly what he'd wanted, because he's just chasing down a theory of his, but Alice's words get his heart to start pounding in his chest. It's the sort of thrill that comes from cutthroat negotiations, and it's why, despite the fact that Jack had literally strangled his way to the top of Hyperion, he was very, very good at what he did. As Alice turns an angry shade of red, Jack's expression splits. He grins, all teeth, but this isn't wild and uncontrolled like his manic expressions during this past trial.

No, he's completely in control here. And he wants to keep it that way. ]

Woaaah, hit a nerve, did I? Y'know, red? Super not your color, Alice.

[ It's anger, right? It has to be something like it, since she'd shown this when taking that thing out of Elizabeth. But why anger, he has to wonder? He laughs, but the sound turns harsh as it strains against the wound on his chest. ]

But, hey, you know a lot of shit about me, Alice— So- So, you've gotta know that this is hilarious. I mean, hah, I mean, I just friggin' got a body, and now you want to come along for the ride?

[ He sits back, confident, but his mind is racing with possibility. For one, this offer is tantalizing, and his mouth waters for the information that could come from it, but— He could be giving up his chance here. He's been trying to grasp humanity, refusing to believe he's anything but, yet this would probably push him back to something closer to what he was on that ECHO-Eye. ]

But— I've got your attention? You've got mine. But I don't make any high-stakes deal before I know the ins and the outs. Because what you're saying here, makes sense, mostly. And if you're like me, like I was? Y'know, maybe we've got shit to talk about. But if you're taking full enough control that I'm like those things? No deal, sweetheart. I've just gotten a body, but I can play nice. I can share. But I'm not giving it up. So—

[ He holds his arm out wide ]

Tell me about yourself, Alice. About Harlan. About epidemiology, 'cause, you know, that word reaaally caught my eye when I was doing my reading. You wanna come along for the ride? I gotta know who I'm sharing with.

[al2955]

You would not be as the invaders, Jack. It would be a compromise for you not to maintain your consciousness. It would defeat the purpose of your being here. No, I would only use your body where it is necessary. Your eyes would be the most handy. There are things that unfortunately even I cannot see. A scout, you might say. And by the project's adjournment, I can assure you that I will leave your body entirely. In fact, if you were to leave the ship at all, I would no longer be able to monitor your behavior. It would be much too far from my AI core.

But fine. I suppose I can give you a clue, Jack. All necessary information is stored within my core, so I will only give you a taste of what you may have access to. It would be pointless to show my cards so early.

I am not sure if you are aware of this, but new rooms did open today. One of these pertains directly to the reason that you are here — the 'epidemiological' issues that the files you found allude to. Perhaps you should explore, acquaint yourself with what is around you. When you can, of course. After all, this 'game', as some of you call it, is only one aspect of the Cradle Project. Perhaps the aspect that took the most planning, but only a piece nevertheless. The 'epidemiological' issues may not lie therein, but in other corners of this ship.

I would like you to figure out what you can on your own, Jack. Then we can reconvene sometime soon. I will eagerly await your theories, as well as your answer to my proposition.

[refactor]

[ Jack listens with rapt attention, and he goes over every word with the sort of calculating detail he can quickly ascribe to it. He's thinking this is going to be a snap decision, something he truly has to process quickly, but with what Alice explains, he reaches his decision more easily than he'd expected. There's a risk. She could be lying. But the thing about AIs, getting them to actually lie, that was a pretty damn difficult thing to do. Sure, they could be cryptic assholes (not pointing fingers, but), but lying was a level of intelligence that even the best AIs struggled to do consistently. She could be that sophisticated, sure, but it's a more calculated risk than if he were dealing with a human.

And, ultimately? After this week? Desperation and paranoia both are clawing at him. He's been betrayed, been wounded to the point where it's a problem, and now his rapport is ruined. He hates to admit it, but he's losing something. Any hesitation he might have had because of what the ship might do if they knew about the infection is gone, because now? She certainly did. This is a gamble big enough to have his heart pounding in his ears, but— ]

Soon? Al, c'mon, you think I can't make an informed decision on the fly?

[ —But he'll do it. He'll absolutely do it, because if this is a mistake, he barely cares anymore. His only hope is placed in a promise of the impossible by the same creature he's making a deal with now. If this closes off that opportunity, then he was unlikely to ever grasp it in the first place. ]

Thursday morning. Come chat with me then, and I'll have your answer.

[ His smile is confident and self-assured, and you could almost guess at his answer from that smile alone. But she's given him something to look into, and that's not something he's going to squander so readily. Even so, as far as he's concerned, he's also working under a time limit here. ]