➢ 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

[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.

[looksfine]

Thank you.

However, I must admit...what you see now is not my original form. It is a physical construct I designed and built for myself once the prior limits of my mobility were made apparent.

[originalflameon]

So you choose this form? [He wonders how that must have been like, being able to choose your own face. He'd probably would have based his looks to be like those of own father's, maybe... or Toro's.]

May I ask what you really look like, or would that be considered rude? It is mere curiosity, I assure you.

[looksfine]

Yes.

[She shook her head lightly at the request, her smile never once faltering.]

I do not find it rude at all. Allow me to show you...

[A palm lifted upwards, and the glow emitting from the direct center will show the image of a small "eyeball"-like creature a moment later. One that moves and shifts around on its axis, but otherwise never moves.]

This is, perhaps, the closest I may present to you of what I have previously appeared as to my fellow Green Lanterns.

In actuality, I do not have one set physical form. I am more of an...Entity, if you will.

[originalflameon]

[He frowns, taking a step forward to get a better view of what she's showing him. She'd admitted she was a robot, rather than a synthezoid like Jim himself was- but seeing her like- like that, like a little ball of energy, like a simple part of a ship when she's so full of life, energy, of something that should be cherished.

He always does take A.I. rights a bit too personally.]

I would have talked to you all the same had you had that appearance, but I am glad you were able to pick your own form. Did Hal Jordan give you the idea?

[looksfine]

Actually, it was Sargent Kilowog who explained to me the exact parameters necessary for me to operate as a true Green Lantern. In his words, I required a physical body to move around and interact with those I seek to aid.

He was not wrong.

[originalflameon]

He told you you needed a body, so you made your own. [Oh, he likes that. He likes that very much.]

I don't think I would have been able to have that level of imagination when I was born. When I was re-learning everything in the 2010s, maybe I could have- there's a lot of TV to go on, after all, and I learn by mimicry.

[looksfine]

[More or less, that's exactly what happened.]

As did I.

This form, as you see it now, was taken from a memory. I recreated it in the image that I witnessed upon entering the mind of another.

[originalflameon]

...You can do that? Entering the minds of other people, I mean. I'm guessing that's more of a Green Lantern thing than an AI thing?

[looksfine]

Actually, from what I have since been able to understand, I believe it was an ability relatively unique to myself.

[Something about her being the living daughter of the Entity, perhaps?]

[originalflameon]

How do you do that? [He asked, frowning to himself. He had seen plenty of impressive abilities but the fact that Aya was an AI... their abilities usually made sense, to him. They were like an extension of himself, like parts of him that had learned to live on their own.

But that was back at home, where he was the first one. The one others used for their inspiration. Aya was unique, and not an adaptation of Horton's work.]

Maybe tuning into people's brain waves, using their electrical impulses?

[looksfine]

It is...difficult to explain.

[At the time, Aya had not really thought about it. She had never really thought much about what she had been proven able to do, even above and beyond her expected capabilities.]

He was being controlled. A mechanical device that was connected to his mind. I simply inserted myself into the machine, and subsequently, gained access to his most surface memories of the time.