2023-12-14: Deep Dive
- Cutscene: Deep Dive
- Cast: Naoko Suzuki and friends
- Where: Ra Mari II
- Date: 0097-12-14
- Summary: Desperate for a solution to the concerns plaguing her mind, Naoko questions her friends to confirm her suspicions about where she got her answers from in the past. Then, she decides to reach out to whomever it may be who has been supplying her with these answers...
NOVA STELLAR'S ROOM - 10:00 AM
Naoko Suzuki is seated on a chair in front of her bed. In front of her on the bed's edge are the black and white butterfly hairclips that house her AI friends. Before anything else, it'll be necessary to have this conversation. The one she said they would have when she was ready.
Is she ready? If she were perfectly honest, probably not. But time and time again, 'waiting until she's ready' has been little more than an excuse to put things off indefinitely. She's lost one too many opportunities this way. She can't let it happen again. She has to confront it. Move past it. And then, make use of it.
"Alright. So. Tell me if I'm wrong, but... when you told me you just 'woke up' in these hairclips. That was the same deal as when you said the Sukeban's special interface just 'appeared', wasn't it?"
That's what it all comes down to. Her friends' lies, committed for her benefit, at her own request. Even if she remembers none of that, she doesn't doubt it. It explains so much about the past, and about her Arm Slave's special properties. Is the same true about Uriel and Ariel? They don't seem about to argue the question, even though they aren't directly answering it. Which is an answer in itself.
"Right. Which probably means... the same thing, huh?"
She gives them one more opportunity to interject. Silence, once again. So it's definitely true then. The question is... how? She rubs her fingers across her forehead.
"...I don't understand. I don't even know how it's possible for AIs of your level of self-awareness to exist in a shell that small. They weren't made for that sort of thing to begin with. And yet you're saying that... I made it happen? The one who created the two of you... was me?"
Upon stating it plainly, the boyish 'voice' of Uriel echoes through her mind.
>"It's true. Of course I've got to assume, for myself. But I was there, when you worked on Ariel. I watched you do it. But... you weren't yourself, at the time."<
A fugue state, then. She only remembers the more recent instances when those happened, but thinking back... that pattern of waking up exhausted, not remembering when she went to sleep. That must have been when she was working on technology that she wouldn't know how to replicate now.
"...And I talked to you, during that time?"
>"A little. Weren't much for talking when you were busy. But that's when you asked me never to talk to you about what you were working on. I didn't get it at first, but later I figured you knew that you wouldn't remember, and thought it would be bad if you did."<
That tracks with their earlier conversation. But to think that she herself would be responsible for the creation of her AI companions... it's as incredible as it is sad. She couldn't make friends... so she made friends. While raising her head to look in the direction of the other butterfly for confirmation, the white one with the feminine voice is already speaking up.
>"You were having a really rough time on your own. But with our help, you managed to make human friends too, right? Don't worry about how it happened, what's important is that it did."<
"Mm... so I guess what happened was, Uriel told you everything, and you agreed it was best not to tell me?"
Ariel's little bob is easily interpreted as a nod. Naoko frowns, though, bothered by an unspoken possibility.
"Is that... how I programmed you?"
This prompts immediate objection, from both voices in quick succession.
>"Hey, don't even imply that how we feel is just something you decided. It's not like that. You only programmed our personalities, to be best suited for giving yourself the help you believed you needed. That's what I think."<
>"That's right, we weren't forced to do anything. You only asked for one thing. 'Please help me.' That's what you said. It wasn't a command, it was a request. You wanted it to be our choice."<
Naoko chuckles, still not convinced. "Heh... I'm not sure if it counts as giving you much of a choice, asking you to do the exact thing I made you to do. Your storage capacity is too limited for you to evolve much, it's basically the same as forcing you to do the only things you'd know how to do."
In response, the black butterfly flies straight up, then directly ahead, striking Naoko square in the center of the forehead.
"Ow! Hey!"
>"You idiot. Stop making excuses that make yourself sound bad. We want to do this, okay? It isn't anything more complicated than that."<
>"I know what you're worried about, but really, we're happy to help you. You don't have to feel like you're taking advantage or hurting our feelings by keeping your focus on what you want to accomplish."<
Naoko rubs her forehead with an annoyed expression, but... there's little point in arguing about it. Right now, she simply can't do without her friends' support, they keep her stable in more ways than one. "Fine, fine... I'll drop it, for now."
With that confirmed, however... this means there's another place to look for answers. As scary as it is to think about, she can't dismiss any options, if she is to accomplish all she's vowed to do.
NOVA STELLAR'S PRIVATE HANGAR - 11:00 AM
The locked hangar space that Eight arranged for Naoko's exclusive use is... huge. Or so it feels. It's actually one of the smaller private hangars, only meant to house a single machine. It just feels spacious because it's sized for a machine larger than an Arm Slave, and a crew greater than one. Also, because Sukeban isn't actually in here yet. That won't be necessary for the first phase of the project.
She only began moving stuff in yesterday, just a few bare essentials. The laptop, monitors and related equipment from her room, ready for hooking up to something with more processing power. Packed with all the data she has on the Void and its various manifestations and interactions, recorded from sources such as the machines piloted and flowers planted by the Kafims. As well as a comparatively lacking amount of data on what she theorizes could be the solution to what she seeks to accomplish.
And, of course, a huge stack of paper of the biggest size she could find, along with a pile of black sharpies. Writing stuff down is still the best way to organize her thoughts. A few that already have writing on them are draped across the nearby workbench.
Also of prime importance is what she's brought in with her just now: a brand new backpack, bigger than her old, beaten-up one from middle school. Still the same color though, somehow pink just feels like the only correct color for a backpack. Setting it down next to the workbench, she immediately reaches in to withdraw - what else - a box of PaPPy. After taking out three sticks, she leaves the box on the bench, then moves to sit down cross-legged in front of the stack of paper and sharpies on the floor. She takes a moment to chew down her candy one at a time, mentally preparing for what she's about to do.
Then, the moment comes. Upon her nod, Uriel and Ariel take the hint, departing from their usual resting place on her braids, and landing some distance removed on the back of an office chair. She's heard their reservations. But they've come to an understanding. They won't interfere, except in case of what they judge to be a serious emergency.
Prepared as best she can be, Naoko closes her eyes... and begins.
...Hey. I don't know what to call you. But I know you're out there. 'The one who whispers'. If you can hear me, then... I suppose I should thank you, for your gift. Even if, in the end, I needed it to fashion my own crutches just to function like a normal person. ...Actually, when I think about it, that was really just solving a problem that wouldn't have existed if I didn't have the gift in the first place. Pretty lame, honestly.
Naoko grimaces. Come on, don't let your mind wander. Focus.
...I'm still thankful, because you gave me a way to make a difference in the world. But I need more. An otherworldly power is encroaching upon this reality, anathema to Possibility itself. My means of resistance to it is not sufficient. I know there's more, a greater power we can harness to stand against it. I've seen it. And I need it. The final pieces of the puzzle. ...Help me. Please. Tell me what I need to know, and I will--
NOVA STELLAR'S PRIVATE HANGAR - ??:?? ??
Naoko opens her eyes to a sideways view of two metal butterflies, standing close to her face.
>"--Oh! Are you there? Are you back? Please say something!"<
"Mmm... ow. My head is all... ugh."
>"You sure kept us waiting. Ariel was worried sick. But I think you got what you wanted. Take a look around."<
Dimly, Naoko starts to recall what happened. She reached out to the whispers, invited them... but there are no memories past her request for help. It's difficult to think straight at all. Her body feels like lead, and her head... she has no apt comparison for the way it feels, but if pressed she might say it feels like her brain was stung by an entire colony of wasps. Even so... the ache is already starting to dull, now that her friends are present. Soon, enough so for it to register that she's lying on the floor.
Slowly, eyes closed and groaning, she pushes herself up to her knees. Then, when her eyelids part...
It's almost as if the room got a new set of wallpaper. Many, many sheets of paper, completely covered in what is without a doubt her own messy handwriting, have been taped haphazardly all over the hangar. Blueprints. Equations. Formulas. Charts. Graphs. ...a few drops of blood here and there, which should be concerning, but she's too overwhelmed to think about that right now. There's just so much of it. And even with a quick glance at some of her writings... she can tell. It's exactly what she asked for. The missing pieces. All she needs to do now is put the puzzle together.
Though unsteady, and with effort, Naoko eventually manages to get all the way back to her feet. Upon which she immediately stumbles and is forced to grab hold of the workbench for stability. She can sense the concern of her friends, which she dismisses with a quick headshake. This is no time to lie around. She has work to do. And for that, she'll need...
Her gaze drifts to the backpack full of PaPPy. One box is on the floor nearby - the one she accidentally knocked off the bench just now. She leaves it, and instead reaches for the backpack.
Rather than curling around a box of candy, her hand goes deeper, until the sound of jostling cardboard is replaced with a sound akin to clinking glass. Naoko smiles as she grabs hold of what she was really after, withdrawing an entirely different object. A small chunk of crystal, one of many that she'd obtained and kept hidden during the salvage operation following a certain Miracle. A faint lingering green glow is visible within as the Whispered girl holds it up to the light. Her smile grows wider.
"...I knew this would come in handy one day. Thank you for your contribution to my project... Unicorn Boy."