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Cyborg Heero again...
Wufei's not as much of a bastard. Weird. O_o;
Part Four
Heero was going through his routine when Wufei knocked on the door and then opened it, followed by a ginger-haired man that he didn't know. He glanced at them, curious about the newcomer, but kept on moving, not having been ordered to stop.
"Why do you knock?" the man asked, arching a forked eyebrow. "It's just a machine."
Wufei ignored him. "That's enough, Heero. Sit." Heero stopped in the middle of a move and sat down on the floor. Wufei crossed over to the computer and brought up his diagnosis files, then waited rather worriedly as his brother-in-law looked at the files.
Heero used the time they both stared at the screen to memorize the visitor's face and stance, so that he would not think he was an intruder if he came back. If he was an associate or a friend of his owner's, Wufei wouldn't like to find him incapacitated.
The ginger-hared man finished reading the files, snorting a little. "You're wasting your time," he said with an expression that Heero had learned to identify as contempt. "A doll with that percentage of self-direction will always be a liability."
"Actually," his owner replied with calm dignity, "I'm very impressed by the quality of Heero's artificial intelligence capabilities."
The doll relaxed a little --not a lot though. If he had brought this man here to give advice on Heero's programming, it was that he trusted his judgment, and the man didn't look to be on his side.
"I have reason to believe," Wufei said with a brief look at Heero, "that the problem lies when one of his operating modes comes into conflict with another."
"It's his core programming then?" the man asked, still reading through. He laughed. "You're wasting your time training him. Either wipe him, or recycle him."
Out of sight, Heero's claws slid out of their sheaths.
Wufei leaned over Treize impatiently. "I told you I'm looking for alternatives. I was thinking... There might be some way of ranking different prerogatives. For example, protection mode come over battle mode, things like that."
The ginger-haired man raised one of his remarkable eyebrows again. "You're going to a lot of trouble over a failed experiment. That doll ruined Lowe, you know."
"I don't know. Is it possible?" Wufei asked, walking over to where Heero was sitting.
"I don't know. Let me get a closer look at its software..."
While the man was bringing up new files and reading them, Wufei put a hand on Heero's shoulder and looked at his expressionless face. "System status?"
"Power level at fifteen percent, sir. You may know that I am programmed to go into sleep mode at ten percent."
Wufei nodded and released the doll's shoulder. "Follow me," he said, leading him over to the recharging unit. "Engage system access mode."
"Engaged, sir," said the doll, in an emptier voice than before. Wufei attached the power cables to Heero and settled him into the seat, plugging him in. "Comfortable?" he asked with a little smile.
The doll turned his head toward him mechanically and looked at him with empty eyes. "I am not programmed to appreciate comfort levels, sir," he said in a totally neutral tone.
"So the sense of irony only applies to the free will mode?" Wufei asked, an eyebrow arched.
"I do not understand the question, sir."
Wufei sighed. Heero wasn't of any interest in that state. "End system access mode."
Heero returned under free will mode, since it was the one he'd been in last, before system access. Wufei went back to Treize and sat in the other chair. "Well?"
"Impatient, aren't you?" the man asked, enjoying teasing his wife's brother. "... I suppose it's worth a shot."
Heero was looking at them, observing their interaction carefully. He relaxed noticeably when the visitor agreed to giving him a chance.
"It's a long shot, mind you. It's hardly worth the cost involved. Wufei, it makes no sense. Why go to all this trouble over a damaged doll when you could replace your old one with a newer model? You can afford the latest parts, why waste all your time on a failed prototype?"
Heero's hands clenched on the armrests. Why indeed? He looked at is owner with trepidation, awaiting his answer.
After a long while, Wufei finally answered, thoughtfully. "I've battled with a lot of dolls and no matter how fast, how strong, there is always something missing. He might have that," he added, waving toward Heero.
Treize shook his head. "You don't really think you'll win the tournament with that, do you? It looks like a pleasure doll."
"I don't need to win the tournament," Wufei shot back. "I already did once. This is about something more important."
"Oh? and what, pray tell?" Treize asked idly. "You don't really believe that fool Odin could create actual intelligence? You know like I do that the birth of a true AI is about more than just software."
Heero didn't know why he didn't like the visitor's comment about a pleasure doll, nor his comments about Odin, but he did dislike it. He began to play with his claws reflexively.
"What I've seen of Heero so far has given me no reason to doubt Lowe's claims," Wufei countered, frowning. "Just think of it. Intelligence and reflexes, guided by obedience-- no other doll could come close."
"Yes, slight problem. Its free will mode interferes with its battle mode. Hard biscuits. I'm afraid that it's simply impossible."
"Unless I gain total obedience, even in free will mode," Wufei answered.
"And how are you going to do that?" Treize asked, turning on his chair to face his brother-in-law. "You can't alter the core programming without ruining the AI."
The trainer sighed. "I have to say that my experiments with teaching obedience in free will mode have not been as successful as I'd hoped. Maybe you are right."
Heero stared at his owner. It sounded an awful lot like he was close to giving up on training him.
Wufei sighed and slid off his seat. "I'd like you to design the program for me, if you don't mind," he asked anyway.
"It's a waste of my time, but since you're family..."
"Thank you."
"It's nothing," Treize answered as he got up. "Meiran and Mariemeya insist you come back later in the week for an evening. I can't take no for an answer."
Wufei nodded and saw Treize out of the door. "Thanks again, Treize. Tell Mei I'll phone her later in the week." Once he was gone, Wufei went and sat again, looking thoughtful.
"Power level?" he asked the doll, not looking at him.
"Fifty-seven percent, sir," he answered, totally impassive, staring right ahead.
Wufei sighed. "Finish recharging and then begin practicing routines eight through eleven," he ordered and went back to reading over Heero's schematics again.
Heero lowered his awareness level, concentrating all of his capabilities onto finding a way to convince his owner to keep him.
--------------------------------
--A Week Later.--
When Wufei knocked on Heero's door and came in, Heero was connected to the main computer, a cable running from his neck to the tower. The screen was flickering as pages after pages loaded from the net.
His owner was early, the doll realized as he disconnected and got up to face him, standing at attention, hands behind his back. He wondered with apprehension if Wufei was going to be angry. Heero had never been explicitly forbidden to use the computer, but somehow...
Wufei was surprised to see the doll at the computer. For the last week, he had not only done nothing against his orders, but had not even done anything else than what had been required of him. Not even look around the room.
The doll trainer frowned thoughtfully and went to look at the computer screen, wondering what he'd been doing. A step away, Heero was frozen in position, still staring right ahead, so unmoving that he could have been turned off.
Wufei arched an eyebrow at the list of visited sites. Apparently Heero had been researching pleasure dolls, their attributes, fabrication and especially their role. And a few porn sites starring them and other kinks --Wufei closed the window.
"... I didn't think dolls had sexual desires," he asked, not even sure if he was joking. Since it hadn't been a question, Heero didn't answer, keeping on staring right ahead.
"Well? You may speak," Wufei added.
"I don't have sexual desires, sir."
Wufei waved to the screen. "Then explain that."
Was it his imagination or had the doll winced? If he had, it was the most expression he'd seen out of him in a week.
"I was doing some research, sir."
"Researching what?" Wufei asked.
Behind his back, Heero's fingers made an aborted clenching motion. If he believed Wufei's insistence, what he'd just done was a really big mistake and he was only digging himself a deeper hole by explaining, but he really couldn't do anything else but hope that his honesty would calm his owner down. "Sexual interaction, sir. I did not understand the way you sometimes touch me. It was confusing my thought process."
"Confusing your thought process... Brilliant," Wufei muttered to himself. If he had no ability to reward Heero, he may as well quit trying to train him.
"I ...am not used to that kind of input, sir," Heero added, hoping to explain why he'd needed complementary information.
"Oh? How did you find it then?"
"I searched the web for activities of that kind, sir. Then researched the significance and goals. Then went on to pleasure dolls, following the comment your visitor made the other day."
Wufei snorted. "Ignore Treize. And I meant how did you find the experience, your opinion of it."
"...oh."
The cyborg blinked. "Confusing. It's weird to have positive input for pain sensors, sir. They're supposed to give an approximation on how much I should avoid something, not..." He shook his head and fell silent, unable to find adequate words.
"I see. Now, tell me . . . what is with your behavior these last few days?"
Heero blinked. "I don't understand the request, sir. Was my behavior unsatisfactory?" he asked, very worried that he had understood Wufei's demands wrong.
Wufei frowned. "I want to know why you're acting like some sort of ... drone."
Heero stared at his owner, confused. "Didn't you ask for total obedience, sir?"
"Yes, I did. But I want to know why you are acting the way you are."
"...I... don't understand what I've done wrong. I don't understand, sir," Heero stammered, close to panicking. Wufei had given him one last chance to behave and he had blown it and now he was going to be erased.
"I didn't say you'd done something wrong. I'm asking why you're doing what you're doing."
Heero made an effort to calm down. He wasn't understanding what his owner wanted. There wasn't a problem yet, but there may be if he did the wrong thing. "...If I may ask... what action are you referring to?" he asked cautiously.
"You know! Your complete obedience," Wufei shot back, annoyed.
"I thought it was what you desired, sir."
The trainer put his hands on his hips and sighed, irritated. "Yes, but you didn't give two hoots for what I desired last week. Why the sudden change?"
Heero lowered his head, his eyes on the floor. "... you're going to erase me if I don't change."
Wufei blinked. "Oh ... I see," he replied, beginning to pace.
" --but I understood wrong and now you're going to erase me anyway," Heero added, his claws twitching in and out. He sounded -- defeated. Wufei stared at him, taking in his stance and his body language, and relented.
"Let me explain something, Heero. The reason I saved you from being dismantled was your large amount of free will--worth, I believed, even the glitches in your programming that cause the moments of beserk behavior."
"But you don't want my free will. You don't let me use it," Heero answered back, looking up. He realized that he was speaking out of turn too late and his jaws snapped shut.
Wufei's eyes narrowed slightly but he didn't comment. "Your free will allows you to think independently--that is useful--but also go against orders--that is not. I wished to find a way to make you obedient to me even in free will, without damaging your ability to think--battle mode simply would not do. Do you begin to understand?"
Heero hesitated then nodded.
"Are you agreeing because you think I want you to or do you understand?" Wufei asked, his expression severe.
"I understand your reasoning, sir. I-- " Heero hadn't been asked to comment, though. He stopped talking.
"And what is your opinion of it then?" Wufei asked, swallowing a sigh. He hadn't realized before how utterly boring and annoying it was to have the doll obey to the letter all the time.
"If I have free will, there will always be moments where my will and yours will conflict, sir," Heero said, unsure that he was doing the right thing by showing how little he thought of his owner's strategies.
Wufei nodded. "And if that happens while you are also running battle mode--what then?"
The doll blinked. "I don't know, sir. I... cannot run calculations of what would happen. There is a glitch somewhere," he added with a frown, "but I can't find it."
"I'll tell you what will happen," Wufei answered. "Another accident--I will not be able to stop you from being dismantled twice."
Heero stared at his owner, unable to come up with an answer to that.
"You've demonstrated that you do not need battle mode to fight. If I can teach you obedience in free will, then we can do away with the need for battle mode altogether. Is that feasible?"
Heero thought about the proposition for a few seconds. "I will need a complete transfer of battle mode abilities to free will mode, sir. When I battle under free will mode, I do need the battle mode as a template, but even then it limits what I can do."
"Will that interfere with your free will processes?" Wufei asked.
Heero considered. "It shouldn't, sir. But the glitch may be transferred with it --I cannot locate it."
"I shall begin work on that then. We shall have to take that risk."
He was being given another chance. He hadn't messed up once too many yet. Heero stood at attention once again. "Yes, sir," he answered.
"But be aware that with the removal of battle mode, if obedience is not achieved--well, I will have no choice but to dismantle you," Wufei warned him, his eyes serious.
"... yes sir," Heero answered, slightly subdued.
"Begin full system scan. I will return later."
Satisfied with the way the situation had resolved, Wufei left the room.
Part Four
Heero was going through his routine when Wufei knocked on the door and then opened it, followed by a ginger-haired man that he didn't know. He glanced at them, curious about the newcomer, but kept on moving, not having been ordered to stop.
"Why do you knock?" the man asked, arching a forked eyebrow. "It's just a machine."
Wufei ignored him. "That's enough, Heero. Sit." Heero stopped in the middle of a move and sat down on the floor. Wufei crossed over to the computer and brought up his diagnosis files, then waited rather worriedly as his brother-in-law looked at the files.
Heero used the time they both stared at the screen to memorize the visitor's face and stance, so that he would not think he was an intruder if he came back. If he was an associate or a friend of his owner's, Wufei wouldn't like to find him incapacitated.
The ginger-hared man finished reading the files, snorting a little. "You're wasting your time," he said with an expression that Heero had learned to identify as contempt. "A doll with that percentage of self-direction will always be a liability."
"Actually," his owner replied with calm dignity, "I'm very impressed by the quality of Heero's artificial intelligence capabilities."
The doll relaxed a little --not a lot though. If he had brought this man here to give advice on Heero's programming, it was that he trusted his judgment, and the man didn't look to be on his side.
"I have reason to believe," Wufei said with a brief look at Heero, "that the problem lies when one of his operating modes comes into conflict with another."
"It's his core programming then?" the man asked, still reading through. He laughed. "You're wasting your time training him. Either wipe him, or recycle him."
Out of sight, Heero's claws slid out of their sheaths.
Wufei leaned over Treize impatiently. "I told you I'm looking for alternatives. I was thinking... There might be some way of ranking different prerogatives. For example, protection mode come over battle mode, things like that."
The ginger-haired man raised one of his remarkable eyebrows again. "You're going to a lot of trouble over a failed experiment. That doll ruined Lowe, you know."
"I don't know. Is it possible?" Wufei asked, walking over to where Heero was sitting.
"I don't know. Let me get a closer look at its software..."
While the man was bringing up new files and reading them, Wufei put a hand on Heero's shoulder and looked at his expressionless face. "System status?"
"Power level at fifteen percent, sir. You may know that I am programmed to go into sleep mode at ten percent."
Wufei nodded and released the doll's shoulder. "Follow me," he said, leading him over to the recharging unit. "Engage system access mode."
"Engaged, sir," said the doll, in an emptier voice than before. Wufei attached the power cables to Heero and settled him into the seat, plugging him in. "Comfortable?" he asked with a little smile.
The doll turned his head toward him mechanically and looked at him with empty eyes. "I am not programmed to appreciate comfort levels, sir," he said in a totally neutral tone.
"So the sense of irony only applies to the free will mode?" Wufei asked, an eyebrow arched.
"I do not understand the question, sir."
Wufei sighed. Heero wasn't of any interest in that state. "End system access mode."
Heero returned under free will mode, since it was the one he'd been in last, before system access. Wufei went back to Treize and sat in the other chair. "Well?"
"Impatient, aren't you?" the man asked, enjoying teasing his wife's brother. "... I suppose it's worth a shot."
Heero was looking at them, observing their interaction carefully. He relaxed noticeably when the visitor agreed to giving him a chance.
"It's a long shot, mind you. It's hardly worth the cost involved. Wufei, it makes no sense. Why go to all this trouble over a damaged doll when you could replace your old one with a newer model? You can afford the latest parts, why waste all your time on a failed prototype?"
Heero's hands clenched on the armrests. Why indeed? He looked at is owner with trepidation, awaiting his answer.
After a long while, Wufei finally answered, thoughtfully. "I've battled with a lot of dolls and no matter how fast, how strong, there is always something missing. He might have that," he added, waving toward Heero.
Treize shook his head. "You don't really think you'll win the tournament with that, do you? It looks like a pleasure doll."
"I don't need to win the tournament," Wufei shot back. "I already did once. This is about something more important."
"Oh? and what, pray tell?" Treize asked idly. "You don't really believe that fool Odin could create actual intelligence? You know like I do that the birth of a true AI is about more than just software."
Heero didn't know why he didn't like the visitor's comment about a pleasure doll, nor his comments about Odin, but he did dislike it. He began to play with his claws reflexively.
"What I've seen of Heero so far has given me no reason to doubt Lowe's claims," Wufei countered, frowning. "Just think of it. Intelligence and reflexes, guided by obedience-- no other doll could come close."
"Yes, slight problem. Its free will mode interferes with its battle mode. Hard biscuits. I'm afraid that it's simply impossible."
"Unless I gain total obedience, even in free will mode," Wufei answered.
"And how are you going to do that?" Treize asked, turning on his chair to face his brother-in-law. "You can't alter the core programming without ruining the AI."
The trainer sighed. "I have to say that my experiments with teaching obedience in free will mode have not been as successful as I'd hoped. Maybe you are right."
Heero stared at his owner. It sounded an awful lot like he was close to giving up on training him.
Wufei sighed and slid off his seat. "I'd like you to design the program for me, if you don't mind," he asked anyway.
"It's a waste of my time, but since you're family..."
"Thank you."
"It's nothing," Treize answered as he got up. "Meiran and Mariemeya insist you come back later in the week for an evening. I can't take no for an answer."
Wufei nodded and saw Treize out of the door. "Thanks again, Treize. Tell Mei I'll phone her later in the week." Once he was gone, Wufei went and sat again, looking thoughtful.
"Power level?" he asked the doll, not looking at him.
"Fifty-seven percent, sir," he answered, totally impassive, staring right ahead.
Wufei sighed. "Finish recharging and then begin practicing routines eight through eleven," he ordered and went back to reading over Heero's schematics again.
Heero lowered his awareness level, concentrating all of his capabilities onto finding a way to convince his owner to keep him.
--------------------------------
--A Week Later.--
When Wufei knocked on Heero's door and came in, Heero was connected to the main computer, a cable running from his neck to the tower. The screen was flickering as pages after pages loaded from the net.
His owner was early, the doll realized as he disconnected and got up to face him, standing at attention, hands behind his back. He wondered with apprehension if Wufei was going to be angry. Heero had never been explicitly forbidden to use the computer, but somehow...
Wufei was surprised to see the doll at the computer. For the last week, he had not only done nothing against his orders, but had not even done anything else than what had been required of him. Not even look around the room.
The doll trainer frowned thoughtfully and went to look at the computer screen, wondering what he'd been doing. A step away, Heero was frozen in position, still staring right ahead, so unmoving that he could have been turned off.
Wufei arched an eyebrow at the list of visited sites. Apparently Heero had been researching pleasure dolls, their attributes, fabrication and especially their role. And a few porn sites starring them and other kinks --Wufei closed the window.
"... I didn't think dolls had sexual desires," he asked, not even sure if he was joking. Since it hadn't been a question, Heero didn't answer, keeping on staring right ahead.
"Well? You may speak," Wufei added.
"I don't have sexual desires, sir."
Wufei waved to the screen. "Then explain that."
Was it his imagination or had the doll winced? If he had, it was the most expression he'd seen out of him in a week.
"I was doing some research, sir."
"Researching what?" Wufei asked.
Behind his back, Heero's fingers made an aborted clenching motion. If he believed Wufei's insistence, what he'd just done was a really big mistake and he was only digging himself a deeper hole by explaining, but he really couldn't do anything else but hope that his honesty would calm his owner down. "Sexual interaction, sir. I did not understand the way you sometimes touch me. It was confusing my thought process."
"Confusing your thought process... Brilliant," Wufei muttered to himself. If he had no ability to reward Heero, he may as well quit trying to train him.
"I ...am not used to that kind of input, sir," Heero added, hoping to explain why he'd needed complementary information.
"Oh? How did you find it then?"
"I searched the web for activities of that kind, sir. Then researched the significance and goals. Then went on to pleasure dolls, following the comment your visitor made the other day."
Wufei snorted. "Ignore Treize. And I meant how did you find the experience, your opinion of it."
"...oh."
The cyborg blinked. "Confusing. It's weird to have positive input for pain sensors, sir. They're supposed to give an approximation on how much I should avoid something, not..." He shook his head and fell silent, unable to find adequate words.
"I see. Now, tell me . . . what is with your behavior these last few days?"
Heero blinked. "I don't understand the request, sir. Was my behavior unsatisfactory?" he asked, very worried that he had understood Wufei's demands wrong.
Wufei frowned. "I want to know why you're acting like some sort of ... drone."
Heero stared at his owner, confused. "Didn't you ask for total obedience, sir?"
"Yes, I did. But I want to know why you are acting the way you are."
"...I... don't understand what I've done wrong. I don't understand, sir," Heero stammered, close to panicking. Wufei had given him one last chance to behave and he had blown it and now he was going to be erased.
"I didn't say you'd done something wrong. I'm asking why you're doing what you're doing."
Heero made an effort to calm down. He wasn't understanding what his owner wanted. There wasn't a problem yet, but there may be if he did the wrong thing. "...If I may ask... what action are you referring to?" he asked cautiously.
"You know! Your complete obedience," Wufei shot back, annoyed.
"I thought it was what you desired, sir."
The trainer put his hands on his hips and sighed, irritated. "Yes, but you didn't give two hoots for what I desired last week. Why the sudden change?"
Heero lowered his head, his eyes on the floor. "... you're going to erase me if I don't change."
Wufei blinked. "Oh ... I see," he replied, beginning to pace.
" --but I understood wrong and now you're going to erase me anyway," Heero added, his claws twitching in and out. He sounded -- defeated. Wufei stared at him, taking in his stance and his body language, and relented.
"Let me explain something, Heero. The reason I saved you from being dismantled was your large amount of free will--worth, I believed, even the glitches in your programming that cause the moments of beserk behavior."
"But you don't want my free will. You don't let me use it," Heero answered back, looking up. He realized that he was speaking out of turn too late and his jaws snapped shut.
Wufei's eyes narrowed slightly but he didn't comment. "Your free will allows you to think independently--that is useful--but also go against orders--that is not. I wished to find a way to make you obedient to me even in free will, without damaging your ability to think--battle mode simply would not do. Do you begin to understand?"
Heero hesitated then nodded.
"Are you agreeing because you think I want you to or do you understand?" Wufei asked, his expression severe.
"I understand your reasoning, sir. I-- " Heero hadn't been asked to comment, though. He stopped talking.
"And what is your opinion of it then?" Wufei asked, swallowing a sigh. He hadn't realized before how utterly boring and annoying it was to have the doll obey to the letter all the time.
"If I have free will, there will always be moments where my will and yours will conflict, sir," Heero said, unsure that he was doing the right thing by showing how little he thought of his owner's strategies.
Wufei nodded. "And if that happens while you are also running battle mode--what then?"
The doll blinked. "I don't know, sir. I... cannot run calculations of what would happen. There is a glitch somewhere," he added with a frown, "but I can't find it."
"I'll tell you what will happen," Wufei answered. "Another accident--I will not be able to stop you from being dismantled twice."
Heero stared at his owner, unable to come up with an answer to that.
"You've demonstrated that you do not need battle mode to fight. If I can teach you obedience in free will, then we can do away with the need for battle mode altogether. Is that feasible?"
Heero thought about the proposition for a few seconds. "I will need a complete transfer of battle mode abilities to free will mode, sir. When I battle under free will mode, I do need the battle mode as a template, but even then it limits what I can do."
"Will that interfere with your free will processes?" Wufei asked.
Heero considered. "It shouldn't, sir. But the glitch may be transferred with it --I cannot locate it."
"I shall begin work on that then. We shall have to take that risk."
He was being given another chance. He hadn't messed up once too many yet. Heero stood at attention once again. "Yes, sir," he answered.
"But be aware that with the removal of battle mode, if obedience is not achieved--well, I will have no choice but to dismantle you," Wufei warned him, his eyes serious.
"... yes sir," Heero answered, slightly subdued.
"Begin full system scan. I will return later."
Satisfied with the way the situation had resolved, Wufei left the room.
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TriezeTreize! ^_^ even if it was a cameo, i was quite hoppy to see him :Dno subject
As for Treize, I think he's gonna come by later again. Dunno yet.
Ooh, let's make sure I have the family tree straight. So Fei and Mei are siblings/twins, dunno. Treize is Mei's husband. Meya is their daughter. Mwahahahaha. BABYSITTING HEERO-BOT!!!! *insert evil laughter*
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ooh! That I can't wait to see! I'm loving the story so far! More soon please! :)