He's had it up to *holds hand up to hairline* here.

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

((closed to Fett and Skaffen.))

If he were completely honest, he wasn't actually expecting it to work.

Well, not for long in any case. The drone was equipped with very advanced technology, and it had more intelligence than he'd ever like to give it credit for. But that wasn't the point. It was more of a test run; he had to see if he could manage it at all. If he could, there was a chance that he could update it, make it run longer, and then....

He didn't want to disturb anyone in his section of the park, so he shadowed the drone once or twice at a distance to pick up on its patterns of movement. He then decided to set up his equipment in Frontierland, right after the Shooting Gallery.

The concept was simple, really. He had no need for personal shielding himself, it was a hindrance, but having temporary holding shields was useful. He could bring them into play with particular rowdy cargo, the kind that would attempt escape before Slave I reached them. It typically took the form of a box of green light with a nasty bite when you pressed too hard against the energized walls.

The only thing left was to reprogram it so that it acted like a womprat trap - once the drone entered the area it should trigger it to snap into place. He had to be reasonably careful with the software; he didn't want it to trap anything sentient, so he had to be sure that living tissue wouldn't set it off. It had taken more nights up than he wanted to admit, but if it worked in any capacity, it would be worth it. So Fett made the final adjustments early that morning, and then settled down out of sight to wait.

Comments

[skaffenamtiskaw]

"Culture AIs, including drones such as myself --" a small, slightly mocking bow, "-- are designed to want to live, to want to experience, to desire to understand, and to find existence and our own thought-processes in some way rewarding, even enjoyable.* In other words, to approach life much as humans do." A beat, then, "As most humans do," it corrected itself. The way it tilted at Boba Fett implied an insult without spelling it out.

*((Ganked straight from A Few Notes On the Culture. Because IMB put it best. In that essay, he also notes that "A few such apparently anti-social people are even used by Contact itself, especially by the Special Circumstances section. The way the Culture creates AIs means that a small number of them suffer from similar personality problems; such machines are given the choice of cooperative re-design, a more limited role in the Culture than they might have had otherwise, or a similarly constrained exile."))

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

That was so backwards, Fett didn't even know where to begin.

Of course, the insult didn't really register; his view on life was admittedly quite different from most humans and enjoyment wasn't very high on his list of priorities. "And the Culture finds that useful?" It seemed like a very productive waste of time to him.

((That was so cool, btw. ^_^))

[skaffenamtiskaw]

Skaffen-Amtiskaw was silent for a moment, and then its aura strobed pink. "You might as well ask if having children is useful," it said. "How can I put this in very small words ... Drones. Are. People. People. Are Not. Always. Made. Of. Meat. At least that's how the Culture sees it, and has done for several millennia."

((I ♥ IMB. And he's got a new Culture novel coming out next year! I am so happy!))

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

So why didn't they just have children? That was where it was not working out in Fett's mind. Why would a human find a desire to substitute or indeed add the creation of artificial life as some sort of procreation?

"And I suppose like any reasonable society, they have asked you to seek medical help regarding your destructive tendencies?" One thing was certain; he pitied the person responsible for this drone's creation.

((squee! I really have to pick them up now that I've got more readingtime available))

[skaffenamtiskaw]

Several varied colours rippled through the drone's aura before it finally responded. "My human colleagues and I understand each other quite well," it said frostily. "They say that the Special Circumstances branch isn't composed of the warmest and fuzziest people in the galaxy, and I suppose it's true. I'd have thought you'd understand that sort of thing. Although there is that prejudice you seem to have against AIs and non-organics..."

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

Prejudice? Maybe. It was hard not to when an mad assassin droid had it out for you, and constantly tried to get in your way during jobs. In fact, the drone and IG-88 would have probably gotten along alarmingly well.

"I am not warm and fuzzy," Fett agreed, "but I am also not reckless and temperamental. You lack the control that is essential in your line of work." And that was the problem, right there. He had no patience for people who used their job as an excuse to flex their muscles and use big guns. It was your profession, and that mean you performed it with diligence and precision.

[skaffenamtiskaw]

"I beg your pardon. I have more than ample control when necessary. Ms Diziet Sma, for instance, would be more than happy to vouch for me in that regard."

Well. Sort of.

"You really have no sense of play, do you?"

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

"I'll believe that when I hear it from her lips," Fett told him seriously. He had not survived this long by taking anything's word at face value.

"Perhaps I don't," he said in regard to play. When you had thousands of brothers all designed for combat, constantly being trained, it made the playground a very different exercise. Granted, he hadn't been genetically manipulated into docility, so it gave him an edge. But generally he had stayed away from the troops. "Putting others in danger never actually coincided with my definition of play."

[skaffenamtiskaw]

"I suppose what one defines as 'danger' depends on one's level of vulnerability," the drone said. "And I do believe both you and I know quite well that people can't get killed here, so that opens the playing field up quite a bit, don't you think?"

It had to be admitted that the drone's position on the matter was more relaxed than any non-Culture sentient's would ever be. The Culture, after all, was somewhere where lava-flow rafting was considered an entertaining extreme sport.

The drone considered the ground below it, and wondered if Fett's clever little electromagnetic shield extended down as well.

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

"You didn't know that the first time you made the attempt," Fett pointed out needlessly. He didn't expect any of this was actually getting through to the drone; it was exactly as he thought, defective. Some people were that way too, just wired wrong. You couldn't fix them or teach them, or even reason with them.

Interestingly, the shield did not extend down. This might have been due to the fact that most of the species Fett had trapped in the course of his career had not been blessed with burrowing capabilities.

[skaffenamtiskaw]

"Touché, sir," the drone replied, sinking low to the ground in a posture of embarrassment. "I suppose this is my cue to apologise or something, isn't it?"

A small curve of its effector field swept discreetly downward, and -- yes! Not a hint of the aluminium-chewing sensation. A plan formed in the drone's mind.

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

"I would rather you didn't," Fett said stiffly. "I have no use for words. I would, however, accept some form of peace on your part." It was a shot in the dark, but he had to take advantage of the situation while they were speaking normally.