Test Drive Meme #1

[proximods]

The sun is shining and the weather is nice and toasty. Overly toasty one might argue, even. It's a great day to be laying around at the beach, so it's a good thing that that's where you've found yourself today, whether you'd made plans to be there or not. Bathing suit and sunscreen ready, you're going to get your tanning time on.

But with heat comes the expected side effects for a place like Proxima Gamma. While the cool water can sometimes slow the effects, the heated beaches and freshly popped flowers seem to have made getting close to someone else just seem like a really great idea. You can try to fight off the side effects much as you want, but the scientists like to believe everyone has a breaking point.

Comments

[true_noir]

It didn't help even a speck that Chloe had been on that damned island enough to become very slightly addicted to the whole experience of sex. Defying their current masters was not high on her list of things to do right now. She might come to the conclusion that she needed to soon enough, but there was no hurry. One of the biggest issues she'd had with Atia just didn't seem to exist here.

Her lips curled upwards in a smile while she closed her eyes again and motioned languidly to a space near her if Lightning wanted to set out a towel and relax. "Two snips for me. I didn't want to lose the symbol of Thanatos. Sentimental value, of course," she said almost idly. "I wouldn't be quite so quick to judge this chip of theirs, though. I'm quite sure they'll manage to anger us soon enough with it."

[brandedrose]

As bad of an idea as it probably is, Light will take Chloe up on her offer. She unwraps the towel from her waist and unfolds it next to her. She does, wisely, set it up a couple feet away from Chloe. And given how potent the sand is, Light consciously sits up as much as she can, to limit her contact to the sand as much as possible.

"Oh, I'm sure the chip will be as problematic as the collars were. But they're a lot less... imposing. And like you said, not choking is pretty damn nice. Call me vain, but I prefer to choose what accessories I have to wear." Her tone is as dry as the sand underneath them. "But what will you do with yourself here, with no Thanatos to serve?"

[true_noir]

"I was actually thinking of getting a job with the police," she said, settling onto her side and looking over at Lightning with a bemused grin plastered all over her face. "I will always be who I was. But, I am beginning to think that maybe this is enough of a clean start that I could use it as a chance to escape some of my old habits. Maybe trying to be the law of the land would help."

She laughed even as she said it, her hand patting some of that problematic, all-too-hot sand and eyes closing. "More likely, though, I will find some seedy little place to sling booze from. I have no idea what these robots even want, after all. It's almost like we're going through the motions of a society."

[brandedrose]

Now that? That legitimately surprises Lightning. And for a moment it shows in the way her brow shoots up, eyes slightly widened before she composes herself. Still, there's a hint of an approving smile in her lips.

"You know, I was hoping you'd say that. About starting over with a clean slate, I mean. Law enforcement might help with that. Little harder to break the law when you're supposed to be upholding it. If you're serious about it upholding it, anyway. Corrupt cops do exist." What Chloe does is up to her, but that isn't to say Light won't try and nudge her in the right direction. "But hey, we could use a seedy bar, too."

She nodded in agreement about the robots. "That... unsettles me. Makes me miss the natives from Atia. At least you knew you were talking to a real person. This just feels like a set up."

[true_noir]

Honestly, she was a little surprised at the suggestion, but the limited amount of jobs definitely made it a much more viable option than she'd originally thought it would be. The very idea of performing criminal activities or 'hits' for an AI just seemed...weird to her.

"There's a few ways I could start clean. Who I was, it is who I was. Here there isn't anything which makes me that person, and I think I have just enough... perspective to know that I shouldn't be her again, much less who I became on that island." She sighed, glancing away. "Not that I plan to completely behave, mind you. Old habits do die hard."

The topic of the robots caused her to frown more, though. "It does. They're sort of aware, but I don't know that I can feel the same kind of sympathy for them I did the natives."

[brandedrose]

"Chloe if you ever decided to completely behave, I would probably die of a heart attack." For better or for worse, her friend was not the most law-abiding of people. Light has long since accepted that about Chloe. But the fact that she wants to start clean and not go down the same path as she did on Atia is enough. To Light, you can't ask for more than that from a person.

"They're programs. I wouldn't wish harm on them and I wouldn't deliberately harm them without cause, but it's not like they have free will. I don't think, anyway. I'm sure whoever runs this city programmed them a particular way." Atia was home for the natives there. The robots here... did they even have a concept of home? "Not to mention they're less helpful than the natives were."

[true_noir]

"Be careful, Lightning. There's a part of me that would love to make your heart skip a beat, you know," Chloe said in the sort of tone of voice that said no, she was never going to change deep down. She was, at the least, grinning away and giggling as she said it. "And, no. I don't think that I'd want to harm them either, but you're right. They are... considerably less useful than the natives were."

[brandedrose]

Not to mention that can be taken in a variety of ways, none of which are lost on her. "Be still my heart, while it seizes up and kills me." But she'll pass it off as a joke, anyway, since it is rather humorous. She shakes her head, leaning back on her towel and glancing over at Chloe again. "It also complicates things in another way. For all that Atia was a bitch, you could tell she cared about her people to some degree. I think there was only so far she'd go before her games put them at too much risk. But here, that doesn't exist. I doubt these scientists are going to care a lot about what happens to these robots."

[true_noir]

Thankfully, she'd mostly meant it as a joke, though she knew damned well the different ways what she said could be taken. Smirking at her, she listened and nodded attentively. Everything Lightning was saying was true, and it was written all over her features.

"You know, it's nice to have you around again. So few sensible people about all this. Rail and argue, but they don't pay attention to little details. You're right. We're something in a petri dish to these people. Nothing more. It's ... something to be aware of."

[brandedrose]

"Well, we all railed and argued to an extent when we first got dropped in Atia. Gut reaction to being kidnapped, slapped with a collar and told to live there while having rampant sex. Some of the people here are brand new to this... scheme. I can't blame them." She nodded to Chloe. "You're right, though. They miss the little things until it's too late. It's probably a good thing we have a few veterans like you and I here."

Would the newbies listen? That remained to be seen. But it still couldn't hurt, regardless. "Good to have you here, too. A familiar face helps."