2023-01-10: Unannounced SEEKING TRUTH

• Cast: Alouette Pommier, Sayla Mass, Callsign 'AL'
• Where: The Shuffle Alliance garage, Tsutsujidai
• Date: U.C. 0097 01 10
• Summary: Following the troubling experience of Arbalest's AI awakening to what appeared to be true thought, Sayla Mass calls in a ringer to help her understand what a nascent Super AI might be experiencing.

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<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        Sayla Mass is a woman prone to secrets and subterfuge. Mithril is an organization of the same. So was GGG once upon a time. They are all familiar with the dance- but it's Sayla who is most prone to checking that her allies stay honest. Paranoia and betrayal leave their marks. This is why Mithril aren't... strictly involved with this visit.

        Sayla wanted an expert- the people with the experts were 3G. A discussion was had- and it helped her guest was already a little aware of some of the sitation. "I'm relying on your discretion for tonight. Please don't share what and who you see here." Sayla's voice is tired, exhasted even. She's worried. She's stressed. There are people she's desperately missing. It's all starting to weigh on her, even with the nights that have lifted her spirits.

        The elevator opens without sound- they haven't had the resources to fix it. And in this underground parking garage, a few mobile weapons are here. Renais' M9 that splits it's time between here and the 3G ships. Sayla's Dijeh, in her colours of snow white and ice blue, loaded for long range. The God Gundam, stashed here while the drop pod is not arranged. And the one they came to see. The Arbalest, a pure white ARM Slave. Mithril's secret.

        "AL, are you awake?" She asks the Arbalest's AI, her voice soft and calm. "I've brought someone with me to talk to you. I'll vouch for her." She turns to her guest. "Alouette, this is AL. I think he only... woke up recently." Woke up is an interesting choice of words.

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

Alouette hardly considers herself an expert in the field of Super AI research. But she has made friends with plenty, even experienced one saving her life, and she's learned well that bonds are the most important part of reaching out to a Super AI more than anything. So she graciously accepts Sayla's request to visit the curious machine, the Arbalest, and its even more curious companion, AL.

Sayla's voice here... it's a far cry from how it was when they were welcoming Renais to the Mass Villa. It's with heavy consideration that Alouette takes in her words, then. "Like with before, you have my word, Doctor Mass. I won't let you down." She promises. And indeed, there are many fascinating secrets to be found in the makeshift hangar, including the legendary God Gundam itself. Alouette does not comment on them.

It's the pure white Arm Slave they arrive upon, a unit she saw amidst fighting the Dynamo Queen's scheme. It's only now that she finds out what secret it really holds (aside from having a solid chance of being piloted by that guy Sousuke from Jindai who's definitely not a military pilot).

And then Sayla greets AL, introduces Alouette, and explains that he's only recently woken up. Alouette nods and tries her own hand at making conversation. "Bonjour, AL. I'm Alouette Pommier, from the Gutsy Global Guard - 3G. Although.. you can just call me Alouette if you'd like, I don't mind."" Introductions out of the way... "It's very nice to meet you. I hope we can get along." She smiles, politely, with a bit of the excitement of meeting a new potential friend.

From what Alouette can understand, Doctor Mass put this meeting together because AL hasn't had very many chances to talk about himself or his situation. It must be awfully hard waking up during a time like this... Still, she manages not to frown. "If you'd like to ask me anything, please feel free. I won't claim to be an expert, but I'll do my very best to help."

<Pose Tracker> Namiko has posed.

Arbalest is about average sized for an ARM Slave - about 8 meters tall. It is a stark white - not the gray of an M9 - with just a little trimming of navy blue at the shoulders and joints, and green lens guards over its eye cameras. There's a clamp for a single anti-tank dagger where the mouth would be, though it's at the moment not loaded. In its current inactive mode, Arbalest is not standing to its full height, but rather down on all fours for storage convenience. The cockpit entry would be directly under the head, though it's not in position for it now. A servile posture. Someone took the 'slave' part a bit literally, somewhere along the line.

Sayla calls to him. A few moments pass, and then the eyes flash on. Faint rumblings begin inside, a machine stirring to life.

The voice that emerges is heavily processed; electronic, generated. <<Check. Voice print confirmed. Doctor Mass, Sayla, MD. Good evening, Doctor. Is the Sergeant not present?>>

A moment passes, as the rest of Sayla's introduction occurs. <<Understood.>> Accepted without question. <<As acting commander in this situation, I acknowledge your authorization.>>

The machine itself doesn't move at all, not even rotating its head; but, high-end cameras have quite the field of view. AL speaks again: <<Pommier, Alouette. Voice print recorded. Face print recorded. Preferred mode of address recorded. Good Evening, Alouette. Gutsy Global Guard. My data shows this as a cutting edge-science investigation and enforcement agency.>>

Stiff as a board. And the first question is not of the world, nor her life, but: <<Learning message: What is the meaning of 'get along'?>>

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        "Thank you," Sayla replies, trying to give an impression of ease. She does so poorly. "The sergeant is off duty for the evening." Truthful enough. "It's just myself and Alouette." Not Madameoiselle Pommiere, this time.

        She raises an eyebrow... AL was much more talkative the first time this happened. "Would you rather the sergeant be here?" An interesting development, if it's the case. She looks to Alouette. "...The sergeant was under the impression AL was an assistance AI. However... that does not appear to be case." Even if fitting a Super AI in a unit the size of AL seems impossible.

        Now though, she's silent, waiting for Alouette to answer. How will she treat that question?

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

Alouette takes a few moments to listen to AL's words, and she quickly comes to realize why Sayla decided this needed 3G's - her touch. He's undoubtedly... the overly serious type!

Alouette realizes the "politely casual" approach won't quite work in this situation, but she musters a short giggle when AL asks her what the meaning of "get along" is.

"Hmm, when you put it like that, it's hard to actually explain it.." She thinks for a few moments. "I hope being around each other is pleasant for the both of us?" She tentatively decides on. 'Mutually beneficial' might also get the point across to someone like AL, but getting along doesn't always have its benefits, and nor do people who benefit always get along, and she would prefer not to give that impression.

"...I see." She responds hesitantly to Sayla in regards to the sergeant assuming AL was a simple assistant AI. "Still, do you think that the sergeant was responsible for his awakening somehow?" As far as she understood it, it's exposure to a "brave heart" that causes a Super AI to be born. And if AL is attached enough to immediately ask their whereabouts..? "I can't say for certain how 'brave' they are, but we can't rule it out as an explanation, right?"

So, Alouette decides to immediately follow up on AL's question with a question of her own. "I was wondering AL.. what is that sergeant of yours like? Do you, well, 'get along' with each other?"

<Pose Tracker> Namiko has posed.

<<Sergeant Sagara is the pilot of the Arbalest.>> AL says. <<Under normal circumstances, I would not have reason to interact with anyone but him or the Arbalest's maintenance team. Supposition: This interaction is not part of an unplanned maintenance.>>

As for Alouette's answer to his question: <<Roger. Thank you for your assistance.>>

Again, silence. No motion at all, unnecessary or otherwise. But he doesn't turn off, or anything. The question seems to give him pause, he doesn't respond right away. <<Supposition: You wish to hear more about Sergeant Sagara,>> is his ultimate reply.

Before, Sousuke clarified that the assistance AI he believed AL to be was, largely, combat management software attached to what amounted to a nautral-language communications package. For all the urgency AL showed before, his normal communication methods appear to still sit in that mode. Case in point: <<Sousuke Sagara. Male. Affiliation: Mithril operations division, West Pacific Fleet. Subsidiary affiliation: Shuffle Alliance, Hafl subdivision. ID number: B-3128. Rank: Sergeant. Special Response Team member. Pilot of ARX-7 Arbalest. Estimated age: 17. Estimated height: 174 centimeters. Additional information: Affiliated with numerous mercenary outfits. Highly experienced in guerilla-versus-armored warfare. Experience fighting with extremist forces in Helmajistan. Experience fighting against extremist forces in REA Cambodia. Experience fighting with Federation forces during event codenamed 'Axis Shock.' Hobbies: None on file.>>

He pauses for a long few moments.

Then, finally, he says, <<I do not believe we do 'get along'. He expresses frustration at any mission-unrelated query. I believe he is troubled. But he does not wish to discuss it.>>

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        "...Correct. This is more an executive decision." That is not something a combat AI really needs to surmise. Or even assess. Just accept. She looks to Alouette. "...Sort of. The sergeant was the bearer of news that AL seemed distressed by." She looks at the ARM Slave. "That's when it all kind of happened."

        And then AL gives them more of Sagara's past than she ever expected, and Sayla blanches. Helmajistan, Cambodia and...

        She closes her eyes and leans against one of the support pillars. "Mierda... He was at the Axis Shock? He'd have been... 13, 14?" Sayla's hand goes for her flask without thinking, and swigs. It keeps coming back up.

        How could it not, even here? It was a reason Akane fled- it was a reason the world was like this. Sayla grimaces. "...I think that it would be good if this remained between the three of us." ...As if she didn't intend to find a way to bring it up. To talk to Sousuke about this.

        No wonder her attempts to give him and Shelby a night out didn't work. She was dragging him into a situation that didn't make sense to him. She tried to act without understanding.

        "...He is. He very much is." Sayla says to AL, looking at him. "...I think he might afraid of what might happen if he does." It's a guess, but it's an informed one- after all, it's one she's extremely familiar with.

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

"You're right about that," Alouette smiles ruefully, that this isn't an unplanned maintenance session. This definitely won't be a "one-and-done" type thing, she imagines. "I'm not here for maintenance. Apologies if I'm taking up too much of your time, but..." She considers how to word this point. "I think this is only the start. As your world continues to get bigger, you'll only keep meeting new people." Because as your world gets bigger, your circumstances become less and less "normal"...

"Hmm. So it was less Sousuke himself and more a certain piece of information that made AL this way. That's.. definitely new." Alouette looks a little puzzled. She doesn't think she can recall anything like this.

AL proceeds to drop a name. Alouette glances over at Sayla. "Sousuke Sagara.. we're supposed to be classmates at Jindai." Alouette explains. "But we've only started running into each other here. When he mentioned you, Dr. Mass, I had something of an inkling he's more than just a military geek." She smiles, if only a little bit, before her expression turns dead-serious again.

It's way more information than she ever needed to know about Sousuke Sagara. Axis Shock... a lot of it, she can infer, is associated with painful memories. There's a deeply uncomfortable expression on her face as AL continues to explain his past and personal details, before she interjects at the end. "Please, AL, that's enough. I think I understand what I need to know about Sagara-san."

"I... can't promise you I'll be able to forget all that." A much more nervous sideways turn back to Sayla, when she states that this should be kept between the three of them. "But I highly value a person's right to privacy. So I'll gladly keep this to myself too."

AL finally decides that he does not, in fact, get along with Sousuke. And perhaps this was the answer she should have expected.

Between what Sayla says and what AL himself confirms, it seems like Sousuke still hasn't found the courage to reach out. Well, she had to find it too once upon a time. "Even still," she begins her follow-up question. "Do you want to get along with Sagara-san?"

<Pose Tracker> Namiko has posed.

<<Roger,>> AL replies to Sayla's clarification. As she surmises: He accepts it without further question.

He does not comment on the bad news Sousuke brought up. Perhaps he can detect the comment was not directed at him. But when Alouette makes her own questioning statement, he does begin: <<Clarification: Confirmation of the death of Bani Morauta triggered a system flag he prepared ahead of time.>> A pause. It's not quite how a human would hesitate. But it might be how a machine does. <<It forced the free-dialogue training mode into a permanent 'on' state. It also forced a system restart. I do not know what other operations it performed.>>

AL has not been told anyone here is not privileged to the full scope of his information, so he doesn't stop until told - or, rather, in this case, until he just runs out of notes. But, when Sayla says to keep it between them, he says: <<Clarification: Data about this conversation will be accessible to Maintenance Supervisor Edward Sachs and the West Pacific Fleet's command staff.>>

He is troubled, Sayla says. He might be afraid of what would happen if he opened up, she says.

<<Emotional responses correlative to 'fear' were not detected during our previous conversation,>> AL says. <<Fear responses are typically detected beginning in the Amygdallic Sphere and proceeding toward K-layer plus 12, with variances up to plus 37.>>

What...did that--

As if that answer should be self-evident, he responds to Alouette's followup: <<I do. He and I are both components of the ARX System.>>

<<It is my function to compliment him.>>

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        Sayla lets out a deep sigh. "I'm a little worried that someone being associated with me is becoming a sign of something happening beneath the surface." Alouette's response to the information, though... "I'm not asking you to forget it. I'm not even going to ask you to pretend you don't know but... I will ask you to use this information kindly."

        "....Understood. In that case... Please flag it to the attention of the Captain of the TDD-1 as well. I feel I should discuss it with them." There's a stunned silence. "Al, you're running a constant brainscan of Sergerant Sagara? For what purpose?" It bothers her.

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

"Mm.. I'm not so certain about that." Alouette shakes her head at being associated with Sayla becoming a sign of something happening underground. "I bet your charity work draws a lot of people your way. Let's just consider this one a lucky hunch, okay?"

But she's also asked to use that information with kindness. "Of course. There's a lot of redacted information about me out there too, you know. And... I know what it's like to have someone else suddenly spring that on you." She admits. "I don't have a reason to use that information for anything but kindness, and I wouldn't dream of doing otherwise anyways."

She turns her focus back to AL, who clarifies that the data of this conversation will be forward to a person she doesn't know, named Edward Sachs. She looks to Sayla, as if to confirm if that's okay, for them to know Alouette was here, listening. Sayla just requests a forward to the TDD-1 captain as well, so she assumes it's fine.

"Some people..." Alouette starts. "Are very good at keeping their fear inside. And not showing an inch of it. What he's feeling must also be very complicated..."

Further confirmed by AL's statement that they are both components of the ARX system. "Something about that bothers me, too," Alouette asides. "The constant brainscans, being a part of the ARX system... it doesn't seem like he knew any of that. And it sounds like he's owed an explanation." She's sure AL tried his best to explain.. but she's not so sure he'll accept that.

<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.

<<Understood. Conversation logs flagged as requested,>> AL states.

Again, what AL is thinking about is very difficult to discern from this position. He has no eyes to watch, no tics to track. Arbalest remains silent other than the low hum of electricity through its frame. He says, <<I see. Inquiry: Is this related to the concept of 'poker face'?>>

Sayla's question gets him to stop. After a long moment, his reply is: <<I don't know.>>

The voice comes again, some seconds later: <<The Arbalest's cockpit contains a Transfer and Response OmniSphere which provides continuous pilot neurofeedback information. I do not have documentation stating the purpose of this device. It is simply a part of how I perceive him. I infer from your state of alarm that the existence of such a pilot monitoring equipment is not standard issue.>>

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        "Fine. A lucky hunch." Sayla doesn't sound fully convinced but... but she'll take it for now. She falls silent as Alouette talks about her own redacted information being used against her. A fear Sayla has as well, but even mentioning that feels dangerous. "Thank you, Alouette."

        "...Alouette is right, but I don't know even he could hide it so well... Then again..." She takes a moment to pace the garage, thinking it out. "He told me this Tsutsujidai was like the world he came from- a world where one has to survive. But he was ill at ease the whole time.."

        She nods. "Yes, somewhat. The ability to hide one's emotions from others. It doesn't mean just your face, but your body language, even the sensation of your emotions to newtypes." Sayla takes a moment. "Sagara is very good at the latter. If he can fool a newtype, maybe he can fool a brain scan."

        Al doesn't know. "...It is not. I've typically seen it used with..." She takes a breath. "With Cyber-Newtype labs, especially when psycommu weaponry is involved. Given Mithril's approach to secrecy..." She sighs. "But Sagara isn't a newtype. It's not possible."

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

"...You're welcome, Doctor Mass." She doesn't say any more on this subject, wishing to avoid making Sayla feel further paranoid.

Seeing Tsutusjidai in this state like the world he came from, and being able to fool even a newtype... "I get the impression he's so used to it, he doesn't even realize who or what he's fooling. He's probably fooling himself to some extent, really." Alouette intuits, agreeing with Sayla's statement.

There's a small laugh at AL's dead serious question about whether it's related to a poker face. "Right. I'm not certain if it's so much trying to deceive others for a gain like in poker, rather than simply struggling to express what he wants to."

Constant neurofeedback equipment - that's definitely not typical. And she turns to face Sayla when she brings up the horrific cyber-newtype labs, psychocommu weapons - but Sousuke is not a newtype. "It's not possible - I wonder about that." Alouette crosses her arms.

"Omnisphere is a term that comes up every so often in deep cognitive studies. Purely on a theoretical basis. But hearing it like this makes me wonder if it is some type of new technology." She frowns. "I'd like to know more first but... it makes me worry for Sagara-san and AL." The worst thing they could be is just some tools for an experiment... and AL's wording set that off a little.

<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.

<<Understood. Thank you for your assistance,>> AL says, now much more understanding of 'poker face.' His power grows. As little as it can, in this place.

<<Yes. I have overheard the other SRT stating that Sergeant Sagara has an excellent poker face. He hides much from others. And...yes. My 'gut' tells me that he does not understand himself. Yet, he has been very expressive to me. Perhaps this too is the purpose of the TAROS.>>

A long pause. <<It is essential that I understand him, so that I can compliment him best.>>

And, on the subject of armament: <<Understood. It is also connected to the lambda driver. Most likely this is related. I will make note of it.>>

He doesn't elaborate. He goes quiet for several seconds.

And then, he changes topics his own self.

<<I have a request.>>

<<In the absence of network connectivity I do not have the ability to obtain information on the situation outside for myself. Lt. Santos has brought in several fliers from the community boards, which were informative and 'interesting'. I would like to hear any information you have to relay on the current situation.>>

<<Lt. Santos referred to this activity as 'catching up.'>>

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        Sayla takes a deep breath. "I think some of that is who he is, but some of it might be involuntary. Hard to say, but I can't imagine Mithril didn't do a psych eval." Eventually, she shrugs. "I think outside of Heart-4, you might be best positioned to find out more about him. For better or worse."

        Sayla pauses at Alouette's doubt. "...Sagara is one of the few people I've met that I couldn't read at all. That's changed a little since then, but-" She pauses. Alouette might have knowledge of more than just the technicals with her reading. "...A lot of what Zeon zum Deikun proposed the newtype might be hasn't come to pass, one thing that is common is being able to reach out to others, consciously or not. When I say I couldn't read Sagara, I mean on any level."

        Alouette has concerns, too. Concerns she can feel. "It's a reasonable concern- but I trust the TDD-1's captain." For now. "It will take you time to understand, Al. Especially if it's not just him you have to understand."

        The request for catching up, though... "...Sure. I don't mind." She looks to Alouette. "Do you feel like taking part?" Either way, she starts- "Well, we have an arcade set up now. With Karaoke too, even if the song list is a little short." She's happy to continue on this pattern, answering questions as she goes.

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

Alouette listens to Sayla's assessment. "Do you think so? I can try... I'm sure we'll run into each other again." Alouette nods. Maybe she does see something of a similarity, to the way she closed herself off so much when she was younger.

"...I see." She answers, in regards to Sayla being unable to read Sousuke at all. Yet, Al notes him as being very expressive - with the constant brainwave scans, Alouette does think it's possible that maybe AL was designed to bring those emotions out of Sousuke? Especially since AL states his goal is to understand him to compliment him as part of the Lambda Driver.

"Okay.. if you trust them, then I'll trust them too." Alouette nods, in regards to the mysterious captain of the TDD-1. "And that's right, AL. It's what we're here for - you don't have to work to understand him by yourself.

"Oh.. right! It must be difficult, being even more in the dark than we are," Alouette replies, at the mention of "catching up". "At 3G, I've been helping to develop a way to bring us out of Tsutsujidai. Other than that, I've been working with a friend to help people out on the ground, who lost their livelihood or are struggling to find food. It's rather ugly out there but..."

Sayla brings up the arcade machines. "It hasn't been entirely bad. The arcade machines have been fun... especially the Tarabaman game. And people have been working together and helping each other in a way you don't always see." She tries to make it clear to AL that even if there's many scary aspects to the outside world, there's plenty of positives as well.

<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.

AL does not comment on Sousuke's sensitivity, other than, <<It will be difficult. But I must.>>

There's no real intonation there. But perhpas there's some small sense that he means it as dedication, rather than a command.

In the explanation, he says, <<Please explain the meaning of 'arcade.'>>

But once he has that, he listens well. The karaoke woes interest him. Timed subtitle track files? <<I am capable of that type of sound processing,>> he notes.

And on, and on. His vocabulary is clearly limited; although Bani Morauta taught him some non-militaristic words, things that you'd never find on a battlefield regularly need to be explained. But he'll go as long as they'll indulge him.

There is so much to learn in this world, after all.