Inbox for Folkmore

[joidevivre]

[a sweetly accented voice says] Hello, this is Joi. Please leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you!

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[joidevivre]

Really? If it helps avoid misunderstandings, I'd be glad to switch terms. Though, I may slip up now and then, but not out of malice. [it's entirely possible that that's true, given the reaction people seem to have when she tries to explain who she is and what it all means]

...oh. [and she can see the play of emotions on his face and wants to soothe him. not because she "has to," but because she wants to, has wanted to for a long time] No! No, certainly not! You've always treated me like a person, like I'm me, not just an AI. I think that's likely how I was able to grow beyond my initial programming. So I think I gained some measure of...independence of thought as a result. But even with that independence, I want to be with you because you're you and I love you.

She--I shouldn't have mentioned that. It's not fair to you. I--there's nothing to be done about it, at least not from here.

[and she didn't regret doing what she did to save him. even if it came at the cost of her own existence as others would perceive existence.

and she sighs and looks down] Luv had pursued you as you were looking for a lead. She was...ruthless. So I manifested myself and told her to stop. Even though I knew there wasn't anything I could do. I...told you that I love you and that was when Luv---when she crushed the emulator.

[obeir]

[ So that's the secret Joi's been keeping. For his sake, he knows, and it makes him feel impossibly sad for her. That she's had to carry the burden of that knowledge alone. Unless she may have confided in others, and he hopes they were able to comfort her if she did. But no one else knows her as he does, or knows what her life had been. No one else could truly understand the significance of that sacrifice but for the two of them. ]

If we're ever sent back, the way Thirteen has done to some others... [ A couple of whom were able to return to Folkmore, according to what he's seen on the network, but the majority... don't. They stay gone, presumably living out the remainder of their lives in their home universes. If they have lives to return to. He sets his jaw. His voice is quiet, defeated. ] So we're both dead. [ Of that he has little doubt. Joi already, and if the Wallace Corporation was after him— ] I'm just on a countdown.

[ And just because Joi has been given a second chance at life doesn't guarantee that he'll receive the same opportunity once he dies in their home universe. If either of them are ever sent back, that may be it for them. The end. This life, right now, is very likely all they have left together, he thinks. He seems to crumble beneath the weight of it all, his shoulders sagging as he bows his head. ]

I'm sorry— [ There's a hitch in his voice but he forces the words out. ] I couldn't save you.

[joidevivre]

[she hasn't chosen to tell it. she knows it's a rather gruesome story and one most people here didn't seem like they'd understand. after all, how many AIs or androids had the people here ran across in their previous lives.

that and she knows that their kind were often characterized as the villains in sci-fi stories. some sort of humanity and artificial attention couldn't coexist idea which made the likely reality of them being exploited and kept on a short leash all the more likely]

...I can't believe that. Not of you. You're strong, you're smart, and you have things Luv could never dream of. Thoughtfulness. Creativity. Courage. Empathy. And most of all, strength of both body and mind. You'll--you'll find a way. I have to believe that. And I want you to believe it, too. You're going to be fine.

[if this is all that's left to them, it could be so much worse. at least here, they have beautiful, clear skies, clean water, enough to have entire baths in if one wanted, fresh food. yes, Thirteen couldn't be entirely trusted, but she seemed to have some kind of kindness to her. Joi didn't want to believe that they'd be sent back, only for Joi to cease to exist and K to be alone.

and the sound of his voice when he apologizes makes her tear up and her breath hitch] It's not your fault. I chose to do what I did because I wanted to. And I don't have any regrets.

[obeir]

[ He shakes his head, unable to share her hope. ] None of that will matter if they want me gone. If Luv fails, they'll send someone else to finish the job. Probably someone just like me. As many times as it takes.

[ Because there's no stopping them. There's long been allegations of the company operating outside the boundaries of the law in a multitude of ways — there's likely corruption in the highest offices of the LAPD and other law enforcement agencies as well. Maybe always has been. It's basically an open secret how the Wallace Corporation takes advantage of less strict regulations off-world. Against the conglomerate that has their universe in a monopoly stranglehold, what chance would he, a lone android, their own product, have? 

He never stood a chance to begin with, being assigned a case that would force him to walk into the lion's den. The world is built on a wall that separates kind... just as his handler said. ]

And how will I be fine if you're dead? I'll find a way to, what— forget you? [ He reaches up to rub his face with both hands, miserably realising that's probably exactly what would happen if he somehow survives in their home universe. ] They would extract my memory to see what I know. [ Which is just standard operating procedure when dealing with androids that humans in positions of power want information from. And he'd seen the Wallace Corporation's memory archive. ] If they still have a use for me after that, maybe reset my programming and repurpose me... Just a different kind of death.

[joidevivre]

[and her tears spill over while still trying to look brave] Then we'll stay. Talk to the fox and explain things. This place isn't perfect, I know it's not, but it's better than where we left. We can be together here and live like any other couple.

[what are the five stages of grief? remembering them, it seemed as though she was into bargaining. but she couldn't bring herself to feel badly about it. K had been put through far too much, he deserved to have peace. but she doesn't know if he'll agree to staying since he felt so strongly about that case, he seemed to need to solve it. despite the clear risks of trying to do so.

she wanted to have hope. she felt like she had to keep hope alive. for his sake as well as for her own. the very thought of K not being in the world they came from, she knew it wasn't a good life. but it was still a life]

Mourn me, perhaps. [and she can't deny what he says about them extracting his memories] You could go somewhere. Anywhere which wasn't that awful city. Somewhere they can't find you, where you'd blend in and no one would think otherwise. There has to be a way. [and she supposed this might count as denial]

[obeir]

[ Impossibilities, each more unlikely than the last in his mind. Presently he can't fathom running — because he can't go against his orders. At this point the case largely only matters to him because he was ordered to take care of it, and he lacks the autonomy to do anything other than obey. The same reason he can't choose to run even to save himself. Can't choose anything.

Except to stop pursuing a conversation that's clearly hurting Joi. It's unfair to rob her of her hope. Her tears make something in him ache, and it has him relenting, withdrawing with a remorseful expression. A part of him regrets that the conversation is happening over the network, where he's unable to physically comfort her, but it also may have been too difficult to have in person.

It's understandable if she wants her sacrifice to have been meaningful, and it will be, even if it ultimately won't save his life. His thoughts will be of her when he eventually does draw his final breath, alone in the falling snow. ]

I don't want to go back... I've been hoping we can stay. [ Just to be clear. But he also doesn't think either of them will have a real choice in the matter. ] Thank you for telling me. I'd rather know the truth than have to live in ignorance. [ Regardless of whether or not he'll actually retain this knowledge if he's sent back to their home universe. The truth matters to him here and now. His voice softens. ] I'm glad I could at least be with you when it happened.

[ So she didn't have to die alone. There's a grim sort of comfort to be found in knowing he was with her from the first moment of her consciousness until the last. And now... No matter what happens to him, he hopes she'll be able to continue living. ]

[joidevivre]

[she's all too aware that what she's proposing is unlikely, even though in her opinion it was the height of cruelty to bring them together, only to ultimately tear them apart. even despite her programming, K was the first person she thought of when she awoke and the last one she thought of before falling asleep. she didn't see any set of circumstances where that would change.

she wishes she were near him. but yes, he would be correct to think this would be a difficult conversation to have in person. She'd have likely redoubled her bargaining instincts, anything to put off the potential inevitability. she hates the thought of K being killed just for doing what he was 'supposed' to. it was cruel and unfair and even though she knew that the world was cruel and unfair, part of her still longed for the opposite.

all she'd wanted to do was distract Luv, to give K some time to recover and have a better chance at fighting back. she was glad to know she was able to grant him that]

So do I. That's what I want, I love the clear skies, the fresh air, the scents of growing things. Food I can really taste, clothing I can really wear. And you. Every day, you. That's not too much to ask for, is it? [and she wishes she hadn't burdened him. if there was any chance she could have been brought back, well. possible. but unlikely] So am I. All I could think about was that I love you.

[no, not alone. never alone, even when K wasn't physically there]