Cyroa Posted June 30, 2011 Posted June 30, 2011 "Hmm, I haven't met any of them yet actually. Perhaps I'll run into them at school soon," he shrugged. "This Dragonfly works here too? Sounds pretty cool to me." He nodded. "Yeah, I admit it isn't easy coming from nowhere and fitting in. Kinda sucks really," he said with a frown. He nodded and continued. "Pretty much the same boat I guess. School is kinda empty at the moment but there's a few people staying over the summer it seems. You know, you have your portable emitter you said. You could come to school any time you wanted, even if the main system isn't fully installed yet," he suggested. "It would give a reason to take a break from here if you needed it. The whole 'seeing the school' bit."
Avenger Assembled Posted June 30, 2011 Posted June 30, 2011 "You're right, I could," said Sharl thoughtfully. "I mean, I'm really busy with Miss A, and with our big project going on right now, but I could go over to Claremont and at least meet some people. They may even know me," he said with a little smile. "I'm not just Miss A's assistant, I'm also her sidekick. My superhero name is Citizen," he confided. "There's not really a point in maintaining a secret identity here," he confessed, "since there's not really any hiding I'm not like the other boys. I helped Miss A and the Lab crew beat an alien mind invasion earlier this spring. It was really scary, but we saved the whole city."
Cyroa Posted June 30, 2011 Posted June 30, 2011 Cole tilted his head at him, impressed. "Wow. That's pretty cool. Super job, super assistant and super hero. Plus saved the world once before even starting school. Pretty impressive any way you look at it. Awesome too," he said with a grin. "Aliens huh? Really? What did they look like? Do you know what kind of science their technology was based on," he asked, his curiosity getting the better of him before he could reign it in. "Yeah, obviously I don't have much of one myself. But the school does; probably why they were so explicit in their warnings to me," he muttered half to himself.
Avenger Assembled Posted June 30, 2011 Posted June 30, 2011 "It was actually just one big alien," said Sharl, making gestures with his hands like he'd just caught a fish. "It called itself the Conquering Mind, and it put this weird telepathic whammy on almost everyone in the city. Some people it took control of with these weird starfish probes, even superheroes. Miss A, Dragonfly, and our friend Protectron the s...robot were the only people not affected. We just barely managed to put the Mind down and save the whole city. There was a parade and everything." It hadn't gotten a lot of attention afterwards, since for their own reasons all the heroes involved weren't much for the big-time limelight, but it had been a lot of fun. "It just used biological technology. I think Miss A has a sample around here somewhere..."
Cyroa Posted June 30, 2011 Posted June 30, 2011 "One super big psychic alien? Kinda arrogant name huh? Especially since ya beat it," he said with a grin. "Good thing too. I would have hated to get here only to have a starfish thing slapped on my face." He nodded to Sharl. "Parade or no, still sounds like you did a great job." He briefly perked up at the 'sample' notion but controlled himself. "I'd like to see that some time. Bio-tech is a fascinating subject. Not something I've put any real thought or research into, but still fascinating." He nodded to Sharl. "Seems like you've had a pretty active and cool time working here," he nodded with a smile.
Avenger Assembled Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 "It's not what I ever saw myself doing," said Sharl with a teenage boy's shrug, "but you know, it's pretty fun. Well, not the danger part, or people getting hurt, that's awful, but saving people, really helping, that's what matters. I heard something about us going into space later this summer, and that'd be pretty cool." He looked up at the sky. "I always wanted to see new places and meet new people, maybe even aliens. I've done some of that now, and it turns out people are alike all over. Whatever they're made of," he added with a little grin.
Cyroa Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 Cole nodded. "I don't particularly like real fighting but...being a hero does seem pretty cool. I haven't done anything like that yet," he said. "Hopefully I'll get a chance to do some good too." He tilted his head in agreement. "It does seem like a good percentage of people have preconceived notions about such things. I've got none of those really. People, whatever they are or look like, should be judge by who they are not where they come from or look like," he agreed. "Is that something you're concerned about? With your emitters I doubt anyone would even be able to tell."
Avenger Assembled Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 "They're not going to build emitters for me all over the world," said Sharl, his smile twisting a little. "And even if they could cover the world as well as they do the Lab..." He reached over and put his hand flat on the wall, making a small sound doing it so Cole could know he was solid. "I can do this. I can make myself solid, and feel this surface, or I can pass through it..." He put his hand through the wall, "But it doesn't really feel _real_ to me, you know?" He pulled his hand back effortlessly. "I have never had an organic body. I never will...and besides, I've got the 'Net waiting for me when I graduate! There's a whole world out there online, and it needs a superhero too."
Cyroa Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 Cole nodded. "Yeah, even the emitter is just a substitute for you, isn't it? Even the portable one is just a kind of interface for you I guess. I can't imaging your perspectives on the material world as compared to the digital one. How you do both is quite interesting really. I envy that perspective and knowledge. It's pretty unique," he said honestly. Cole always looked for the positive, his curiosity not seeing ( or perhaps trying to minimize) the downside of Sharl's state though he certainly acknowledged the difficulty therein.
Avenger Assembled Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 Truthfully, Sharl didn't look that bothered by his own state. "It's not easy doing both, but not so bad. When my system's in a program I'm compatible with, it all looks real. So I can float down wi-fi connections, read files on computers, all kinds of things. The wi-fi thing is actually where I get..." He concentrated a moment, and across his chest there appeared a glowing series of light blue lines that Cole recognized as the wi-fi symbol. "That's actually where I get my chest symbol. It seemed appropriate, since that's basically my thing."
Cyroa Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 Cole nodded emphatically. "I can understand that, sort of. Well, not the perspective thing. My suit," he gestured to his armor, "can actually...I guess 'digitize' might be the best phrasing...it can digitize itself and travel down networks and such. It's wild. Crazy fast but a little disorientating honestly. I can get almost anywhere with it really. Not sure if how you travel is like that but, yeah," he gave a little shrug. "I still don't get to experience it like you do though."
Avenger Assembled Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 "Oh man, you can email yourself places?" Caught up in the excitement, Sharl almost forgot about the consequences of organic downloading he lived with every day. "That's really awesome. And you can do it non-destructively?" he asked curiously. "So it's actually digitizing your bits and reconstituting them, it's not just dissolving you and building a perfect copy that thinks it's you somewhere else?" He was of several minds about the ethics of teleporting, probably because he wasn't sure what implications it had for him personally.
Cyroa Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 He nodded, just as interested. "Well...its mostly non-destructive. If come out of a lamp or something, the bulb blows. But I've tested it on electric plugs and those tend to work ok. I'm still trying things out honestly. I was fairly circumspect while in the Facility but have begun trying new things as quickly as I can." He paused for a second. "No, I'm fairly certain I am digitizing myself and gear. Otherwise, why would I be able to think while in transit? Though I suppose I could make an argument for both possibilities honestly," he mused. "How does it work for you?"
Avenger Assembled Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 "I'm all digital all the time," said Sharl with a little shrug. "I go in, I send myself places, I pop out the other side, or just onto a screen if there are no projectors around. I really wish I could email my portable projector along with the rest of me," he added with a little smile. "But I can't take anything with me that isn't a digitized program like I am. Miss A makes things specially for me to carry around, and I can do some things like that on my own. Anyway, yeah, it's sort of like I'm flying through the system. It looks like instantaneous on the outside, but I have full perceptions of traveling through the system itself."
Cyroa Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 Cole shook his head a little. "No no, I'm sorry. You misunderstood me I think. I get transformed and sent down the network and then transform back. But there's still only one of me. What I meant was, are you sending the 'original' you down the network or are you making a coping and deleting the original?" He paused in thought and then quickly continued. "Actually, as a digital entity, can you make copies of yourself? Send multiple 'you' to various systems? Do you have a base 'code' stored somewhere? A digital 'backup' I guess? If so, you're effectively immortal as long as there's power to a system you can reside in," he said contemplating the possibilities. "Sorry if I am prying; I've never discussed the electronic world with a digital person before," he said with a sheepish smile.
Avenger Assembled Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 "It's just me," Sharl reassured him quickly. "I mean, if I was doing that, I'd have died the first time I came on the 'Net and..." Well, that didn't bear thinking about. "I have subjective continuity the whole time," he added, borrowing a description he'd heard from Miss A, "so that's the best evidence I have that it's still me, and not just a really smart copy on the other end." He shrugged. "As for copies...well, I don't know, I'm sure Miss A has copies of my memories around here somewhere. But no one's ever talked about replacing me before." It was a disquieting thought!
Cyroa Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 "Sorry man. Didn't mean to imply anything or mean you could be replaced. I was just curious if there was like a dozen of you all connected and linked together or if you could replicate or something. My bad," he apologized quickly. Yet another conversation in which he'd managed to give the wrong ideas on. He was getting good at that unfortunately. He wracked his brain for seconds (long in his own head) and tried to move away from his unintentional insult. "So, uh...what do you do for fun anyway?" It was a somewhat lame attempt to change the topic but still a valid question and curiosity at least.
Avenger Assembled Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 Looking a little more comfortable when they weren't contemplating the ethical complications of his existence, Sharl replied, "Oh, lots of stuff! I fly around and explore, or just hang around surfing the 'Net. You'd be surprised how much you can see when you fly through walls or look through cameras. I can't eat," he admitted, "at least, not unless I'm really careful. The food here just goes right through me if I eat then try and phase through everything. Can you fly?" he asked Cole curiously. "I know most people with powersuits can, at least ones they probably made themselves."
Cyroa Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 Cole gave a little smile, happy the change of topic went well. "Do you actually taste it," he asked curious, "when you 'eat'? I'm curious how that works for you or if you have senses I don't and what the analogs could be." He gave a rueful grin. "Ok, I admit to being curious about most things. So...curiouser maybe? So, please, if get too curious, tell me to stop." He shook his head once. "Nope. No flight capabilities...though I suppose I could design something to do that. I was actually thinking of building a vehicle, like a bike or something, now that whatever I make won't get taken away," he said thoughtfully.
Avenger Assembled Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 "Normally I wouldn't be able to interact with the solid world at all, but Miss A programmed me an emulator so I can taste food the same way I see things. They don't make a lot of taste sensors for computers," he admitted. "At least, not here. It's really novel, there are so many different kinds of food here! It's amazing. I guess it's because there are so many kinds of animals and plants, you're not limited to just a few different kinds of, uh, food." He'd almost mentioned protein packs, but that would have given away too much about where he came from. "Did you know they can get four different kinds of meat out of just a pig? And they're all delicious!"
Cyroa Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 Quirking an eyebrow, he looked at the digital youth a moment. "I admit that food hasn't been a big area of research for me. I tend to forgot to eat a meal now and again when I get focused on working," he said with a nod. "And no, I didn't know that. I'm guessing you've put in a bit of time and research into the whole 'food' thing," he said with a grin. "Have you tried cooking? You might like being a chef if this is that interesting to you."
Avenger Assembled Posted July 2, 2011 Posted July 2, 2011 "That wouldn't be a bad hobby to take up," said Sharl thoughtfully, "but I don't think I could make a career out of it. Not where I live, anyway." He hmmed, turning the conversation back to Cole, "What about you, what do you think you're going to do when you get out of school? People as smart as you and Dragonfly probably don't have to spend much time in the classrooms, so I bet you'll get out faster. What are you going to do then, be a scientist?" He didn't compare Cole to Miss A; while he was sure the other teen was smart, certainly smarter than he was, no one he'd ever met was as smart as Miss A!
Cyroa Posted July 2, 2011 Posted July 2, 2011 He gave a shrug. "Hobbies are still worth pursuing if you enjoying them. Do you have an idea for a 'career'?" He frowned a bit and then shrugged his shoulders. "Honestly, not really. I mean, yeah, as we said before, I'm pretty much past high school level and some college level classes. But I have no clue what I want to do. Sure, being a scientist would be great. Building things would be awesome too. Research, development all sounds great. But not sure want I really want, you know? Its kind of hard to decide on a future when I don't have a past," he said with a little shrug. "I'm still going to do the research and building of course; just not sure if that's going to be the be-all-and-end-all if you know what I mean."
Avenger Assembled Posted July 3, 2011 Posted July 3, 2011 "I'm going to have some kind of civilian job and be a professional superhero," said Sharl. "Where I'm from really needs heroes, and there aren't a lot of other alternatives if we don't let a lot of hackers in. The 'Net has to have some standards," he lied, getting used to telling this kind of story about himself. "I'll probably find work as a writer," he said, "blogging or being a journalist, maybe. I dunno. Before I started working for Miss A, I used to spend a lot of time hunting through message boards, usually looking for aliens and things. Who knew there was all this to see?" he asked, making a nervous little gesture to take in the whole lab.
Cyroa Posted July 3, 2011 Posted July 3, 2011 "Being a writer? Sounds interesting. You'd probably do really well as a journalist considering you can get to practically anywhere before anyone else. Be where the news is 'hot' in a couple seconds flat. Or you'd probably do rather well on tech and research pieces considering the access you have," he said with a nod. Being a writer held no real appeal to him but if it worked for Sharl, cool. "I'll stick with science and inventions for now I think." Cole looked at the other young man a long moment and shrugged, deciding on the polite, approach. The story needed some work. "Hey Sharl, do you mind if I scan you?" He was being polite in asking first since he could have just done it without asking. "For a little research I'd like to do," he said with a nod. He was already pretty certain about some things; this would help lead to some more 'blatant' confirmations.
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