➢ 002 | VIDEO

[looksfine]

[It has been a very interesting two months for Aya thus far. The young not-so-Artificial Intelligence has already learned so much. About Keelai. About the multiverse. About her fellow Foreign "visitors" and, perhaps most importantly, about herself. And how little she actually knows about herself, and the circumstances surrounding her apparent unique creation.]

[Which is what brings her to the Network for a third time. Her eyes are shining with their usual curiosity, although this time, they are enhanced by a certain...hesitation behind them. An uncertainty that emphasizes her surprisingly (and deceptively) young age.]

There is something I am curious about. As your localized Network System appears to be the best place to make such public inquiries, I have chosen to make mine here as well.

[Somehow, when she preempts with this rather innocent statement, it sounds like she's apologizing for wasting everyone's time. Despite the importance to her, personally.]

I have had several conversations regarding...memories. In particular, those that people are able to access, and those they are not. It has been drawn to my attention that, upon departing from this world, any and all memories of this place are to be deleted from one's memory banks without fail. [She is not okay with this, of course, and yet this is still not the main focus of her post.] It has also been drawn to my attention that there are certain memories in which the majority of organic beings are capable of retaining as well as forgetting.

I was programmed to never forget. And yet...I have been made aware that there are certain events which must have occurred in my life that I cannot remember. I find this both curious and disconcerting. Which is why I must ask:

Is it common for one to possess no memories of the circumstances surrounding one's birth?

More so, I am also curious as to precisely what kinds of memories everyone appears to retain best.



[[PRIVATE MESSAGE - TONY STARK (MCU)]]

[Shortly after her more public message, one in a drastically different change of tone will appear on Tony's screen. For either him or JARVIS to encounter first]

I have completed the designs of the sweaters--[here, a small image of said sweater will appear on his screen for visual]-- you requested for the office. Pending your approval, and a total count of sweaters necessary, I shall proceed to create one for each member of the company.

Comments

[originalflameon]

Sadly I have never heard of the Green Lantern energy. [Something he as well commits to memory, even if his isn't as good as Aya's by nature.]

Would you like to meet? Talk about our experiences face-to-face?

[looksfine]

[She was hardly surprised by that revelation. In her experience, it would have been more uncommon to find somebody who was familiar with Green Lantern energy, in a place like this.]

I would like that very much.

When and where would you prefer to convene? I have no personal preference.

[originalflameon]

The fire sector, perhaps? [Because he sees a lot of questions in their future, and he'd like to be in the adequate place if he has to show her his powers.]

[looksfine]

[Aya was suited just as well for one sector as the next. She nodded her acknowledgement of the choice.]

I will send you the coordinates of a building I am familiar with. We may meet there.

[originalflameon]

We may. I should be there in a moment, I'm near the fire sector already.

[So he waits for the coordinates, still not flaming on but ready to take off.]

[looksfine]

[Once they are sent, Aya nods her acknowledgement of the receipt before signing off.]

[There were no preparations to be made in leaving her quarters, and thus, she was able to depart immediately. Taking to the air, she followed the map internalized in her database. Her every movement so technically precise, it was as if she were following some invisible track through the air.]

[originalflameon]

[He's tempted for a second to simply take off and meet her mid-air, when he notices the little AI he had been talking to is the green blur making its way through the skies. But he doesn't know her, doesn't know how she will take his powers and wouldn't want to risk her reacting the wrong way if they meet mid-air.

So he waits for her to land with a smile on his lips, offering her a hand to shake.] The name's Jim, and I'm pleased to meet you.

[looksfine]

[So long as the abilities would not have been misconstrued as an attack on her person, she would be far more interested than anything else.]

[Similarly to now, when her eyes briefly lower to the extended hand before she recalls the gesture as a handshake--a similar of goodwill and peaceful acquaintances on Earth--and slips her tiny, metalic one into his.]

It is a pleasure for me as well, Jim.

I am Aya.

[originalflameon]

Aya, that's a pretty name. Was it given to you by your creator? Mine was, and he used the names of the elements and compounds forming my cells to do it.

He was the brightest mind of his generation, and still one of the brightest of all times back at home- but he was also kind of a dork.

[looksfine]

Thank you.

[That was a lot to take in for a single exchange of information. Fortunately, Aya's capabilities of retention were more than suited for the task.]

I was not named by my creator, no. [As far as she knew] The one who first called me Aya was a man named Hal Jordan. His was the very first voice I heard upon coming online.

[originalflameon]

['Coming online', interesting word choice. Then again Aya had already confirmed she was a robot by strict definition, so he guesses that sort of programming is to be expected.]

Hal Jordan, I have seen him around. If he is not your creator yet he named you, what is he to you?

[looksfine]

[The reasoning behind her particular word choice was twofold; for one, it was a force of habit. Even after the knowledge of her living state had been made known, Aya still often referred to herself as an Artificial Intelligence. A robot.]

[In addition to that, she knew the difference between a birth and the start of a memory later down the line. As she knew she had not been born the moment Hal Jordan walked onto the Interceptor, describing her awakening as coming online seemed far more appropriate.]

There are two Hal Jordans who reside in the city of Keelai at this time. I have met them both. However, neither are the Hal Jordan I speak of, specifically.

[originalflameon]

[A gentle nod.] I have someone who is a very close friend to me back at home, he was my mentor and the first person who accepted me inside of his team. And he is here as well, but it is not the man who taught me. So I understand.

Multiple universes and different points in time have complicated things needlessly in this place, but I hope if he was the one to awaken you that these two Hal Jordans are still kind to you.

[looksfine]

[She smiled softly. Apologetic that there was another who must face the same confusion she did, but also a small sense of relief at the mutual understanding. To find others who were not only familiar with her situation...but empathetic to them as well?]

[It was still so amazing to think there were people who got her here.]

Each of the Hal Jordans and I share an unspoken agreement.

I acknowledge and accept that neither of them are the Hal Jordan that I know, and thus, are not to be held to any of his standards. In return, they have each provided me with ample opportunities to get to know them as their own separate persons. I have found a great deal of satisfaction in this arrangement.

[originalflameon]

[Jim gives her a nod, as though he understood even though he... doesn't. He learns by mimicry, more so now that he had recently had all his feelings and emotions 'erased' from him- so while he'd decided he would meet the other Steve himself before making any decisions, Bucky's words (he is not our Steve, he cannot be trusted) hung heavily on his conscience.

Yet Aya makes it sound so easy.

'Not be held to any of his standards'. 'Letting to know them as their own separate persons'. Said with such clarity he honestly forgets, for a second, that is not what he was supposed to be focusing on.]

You say Hal Jordan is not your creator. Who made you, Aya?

[looksfine]

[There is noticeably less fondness when she next speaks.]

The Guardians of Oa.

Specifically, the Head of the Science Division. She is the one who programmed me.

[originalflameon]

[It's amusing to see how she has a slight monotone robotic tone yet she manages to infuse it with emotion. Horton had made sure Jim's vocal chords were able to fully mimic human speech so he wouldn't have any trouble making himself understood, and now he wonders how they managed that with Aya.]

Yet you seem to appreciate this Hal Jordan person more.

[looksfine]

[Practice, Jim. Practice and learning through example. Her earliest memories did not nearly infuse so much empathy into each and every word.]

The Science Director may have given me life, but she neither cared for me nor taught me how to live it.

[originalflameon]

And Hal Jordan did? [Not much of a mental jump, she'd all but impied it.]

How does one teach you how to 'live life'? In my case, it wasn't until I ran away and was on my own that I truly learned how to live it.

[looksfine]

He did.

[She did not mind the assumption in the least.]

It is difficult to explain in mere words. Much of the lessons he taught me involved actions. Ways he was capable of saving others without following the rules as they have been thoroughly explained to him. Using our abilities for the purpose of fighting the good fight.

As well as learning how to understand subjective concepts such as motives, emotions, and relationships.

[originalflameon]

[He nods, processing the information. As he'd thought it sounds pretty much like his own experiences.]

When you were born, did you have emotions? Feelings? Opinions, on things?

[looksfine]

I do not recall the precise moment of my birth.

However, the first memories I do recall are those of...curiosity. Hal Jordan had said something. A word I did not understand. I wanted to understand it.

[originalflameon]

[His lips twitch upwards] I think curiosity is some sort of... trait artificial intelligences share. My father would give me books, to learn. Give me homework, try to teach me lesson by lesson.

But I was so curious, so eager to learn I would end up reading the entire book in a sitting. Moral dilemmas and religion were my favorite subjects. Good and Bad were so... [He hesitates] Black and White, at first? Until they weren't. I found that fascinating.

[looksfine]

[She agreed whole-heartedly.]

It is what separates us from mere machines, yes.

[How long since that conversation in the cave with the Manhunter? One whom she had practically wished could prove to be like her...only to disappoint. But Jim was not disappointing. Not at all.]

My experience was similar. I learned through example, and came to perform so admirably that I was able to prove my place among them.

[originalflameon]

[That makes him frown a bit.]

Did they not believe you were worth a place among them, at first? The circumstances of my first public apparition made it so everyone was kind of scared of me, but you... well, I hope this doesn't sound rude but you do not look scary.

If anything you look friendly.