Post by Maxine on Mar 12, 2020 2:10:08 GMT -8
Name: UN-11 Maxine
Starting Land: Western Lands
New Land: Central Lands
Steps Required: 1 step
Thread Type: Personal Saga
Thread Link: N/A
Mode of Travel: Normal
Starting Land: Western Lands
New Land: Central Lands
Steps Required: 1 step
Thread Type: Personal Saga
Thread Link: N/A
Mode of Travel: Normal
”Everybody’s running, but half of them ain’t lookin’;
It’s going on in the kitchen, but I don’t know what’s cookin’…”
<Don’t quit your day job, Eleven.>
Well, at least she could still appreciate the benefits of dealing with just an AI – she was the only one who had to hear Two’s nonsense. What kind of assistant was this supposed to be, anyway? It was meant to be handling decryption and offering Maxine some additional processing power and predictive data; but it spent most of its time giving her colour commentary. Maybe this explained why it was only made for operating system use originally. What a pain… people said Demons were the ones with odd tastes, but it seemed like the Doctor was no better.
Not that she knew if he’d been a Demon, though.
She – didn’t really know anything about him.
Thankfully, she had a good distraction this time. Being on the road was always pleasant for her… something about the focus needed while driving, as well as the feeling of doing something routine yet with so much room to improve. She wasn’t built for it, after all, so she had to learn everything past the basics herself. It’d been – fun, genuinely. Learning, practicing; getting to know all the professional touches. That was a nice perk of the yakuza; there were some fantastic teachers, and most were eager to take on anyone who showed genuine potential. After all, it boosted their reputation as well as their student’s, so it was surely a win-win. Well, or perhaps she was just lucky.
Ah, and it all paid off here. The satisfaction of making it to the destination good time, or navigating traffic just right… and, well. Her job usually meant she got to drive very fancy cars, too, which was always especially appealing. Smooth edges, low to the ground, aerodynamic to a fault; she was in love with luxury supercars. Limosines were good too, but there was nothing like a car built to please; from the leather seats, to the silky smooth gearbox, to the purr of the engine. Even an android could appreciate the muffled roar of that machine, and those good vibrations…
“Watch that lead foot, Maxine. There’s no hurry today, so I’d rather if you left a good impression on my company and take things slow on the way there.”
But, this job always came with drawbacks, too.
Maxine’s expression didn’t change, but she bit her lip in frustration.
Damn. She’d thought she was still buried in that book of hers.
Sitting behind her in the luxury sedan was her usual boss – the archetypical yakuza princess, just stacked with a bunch of extra quirks that made her even more of a mess. Tall, glamourous, with a taste for the high life, and a ruthless streak. Long black hair, immaculately groomed; an impeccable black dress rather than a Western-styled kimono, with ridiculous heels hidden beneath it; and those designer glasses that made her look like a supermodel… at a glance, anyone would think she had to be the star of her clan; a celebrity from just her aura alone. The heir who had nowhere to go but straight up the ranks.
Shame about the rest of her. Rather than being stuffed with charisma and star power to match her looks, she was stuffed with weird hobbies and a tendency to follow her whims first and her common sense second. She was an infamous layabout who spent more time decorating her lavish offices or hunting for rare books rather than leading her clan; but with her family’s investments and reputation she could get away with it. Worst of all, she’d developed a keen interest in Maxine… it certainly kept her employed, but she really wished she got more dignified jobs than taking care of this spoiled kid.
Thankfully, the work was safe and easy, in spite of her complaints. She liked Maxine, and she liked luxury, so having a svelte and professional android butler ticked all kinds of boxes for her. Good for appearances, but she never got involved in anything that required too much in the way of skills or reputation – lazy work for Maxine, typical ‘work’ for a spoiled yakuza heiress. But she couldn’t complain too much. She did get to have her hands on all kinds of luxury equipment, such as this particular sedan… but, she couldn’t exactly push their limits.
Or even take a sidelong glance at their limits from the next office cubicle over.
Not even a distant longing look at the limits the other side of the street.
Tch.
“Don’t give that dour expression, Maxine; I can see right through it. You’re like a kid who’s been told to wait before opening her toys. When you afford your own car, then you can play as much as you like.” chided the lady, watching her driver’s face through the rear-view mirror. Maxine tried not to let it get to her, but her brow still furrowed further from her displeasure. “You should know by now that your professional presentation won’t work on me. If that were the case, you’d be a much simpler android. No need to make a machine look like a pretty young lady, hm?”
”Spare me the talk again. I didn’t get a choice in how I was made, so please bear with it.” In spite of herself, Maxine couldn’t help but snap back. She knew she should have kept her mouth shut, but the oyabun always got under her skin with utmost ease. ”We will be arriving in two more hours, so please feel free to return to reading your book. Or, are there any calls I could help you handle? Maybe some mus–“
“No music, Maxine. Please. We’re in-between radio coverage, and I don’t bring music on my tablet, so that only leaves your tastes… and once was enough. I’m a lady – I won’t tolerate such brusque music.”
”Understood. I will try and diversify my collection in the future.”
…What a philistine.
Their conversation fell away at last. Maxine was relieved – she’d rather focus on the road. Though she was intent on her job above all else, she had to admit a considerable proportion of her RAM had been focussed on her studies of the Doctor’s servers. Two insisted she hadn’t found anything of worth so far, but for Maxine every document was a tiny peek into her past. Of course, her past shouldn’t affect her now, but… a part of her still wanted to know where she came from; as meaningless as the exercise was.
“So tell me, Maxine. Where exactly does an android butler develop a taste for rap music? Or, music at all?”
A common question. In fact, she’d asked this before. Or at least, something along the same lines.
”I was developed to imitate Earthling emotion and thought patterns; as per the tastes of the duchess who commissioned me. It was a long and thorough process, and it has led to many quirks in my personality compared to a more logical machine. So, I suppose you could say I am mirroring your own irrationality?”
“I see. I can imagine that, coming from Duchess Rhyme. But, why?”
”Why…?”
“But why bother? To build an android as an Earthling… it’s a waste, don’t you think? Just listen to yourself – you second guess yourself, you stutter when you’re nervous, you mutter apologies, you have questions and regrets. You always say you’re ‘just a machine’, just like we all tell ourselves lies. You are perfectly flawed.
But, for what purpose, do you think? Did your creator just want to prove that they could do it too, when many others have already succeeded or gone above and beyond? Or was it for some other purpose? Earthlings are born, live, and die to carry on legacies and the race… but a machine made to fail? Were you made to carry on your creator’s legacy?”
”I never met Doctor Unid. Well… according to his AI assistant that I managed to restore, I did; but not within my own memory. Long before, while my personality was still being worked on. So… I don’t know what his legacy would be.”
“Perhaps he just wanted his work to live on. You seem quite keen on that now. Must have been some excellent programming.”
Maxine bit her lip again – she disliked that thought. She came to that decision through a lot of hardship and support. To believe that she was programmed that way bothered her. It shouldn’t, as it was entirely possible, but it made a deep part of her quite angry. She wasn’t sure what that part was, but she was quite sure it was important.
”I think – I would like to think – the Duchess just wanted a friend.”
A thought from long ago.
Maxine’s earliest memories: organising the funeral of the one who had desired her the most. Going through guest lists, seeing people’s tears, hearing the kind words, hearing the spiteful words; seeing that spectrum of love and hate all laid out in front of her.
Perhaps her client was right – she was just programmed to believe it, but, at the time, she felt… like the Duchess was a good person.
A kind person.
A gentle person.
A firm hand, but only when it was necessary.
Someone who would listen, no matter what…
Someone she’d like to meet someday, but never could.
It had truly been a crash course in being ‘alive’. She been through many hardships since then, accomplished many things, and stayed true to her programming no matter what – but she was quite sure that the Maxine ‘then’ and the Maxine ‘now’ were very different before that occasion. After it, they were awfully similar. For someone she’d never met… the Duchess had an incomparable impact on her.
Perhaps she ought to be called her co-creator.
A part of her wanted to instead say – the Duchess was the only creator she’d ever had.
But, that was merely a comfortable lie.
She was just a machine.
“What an unsatisfying answer. But, I suppose the truth is often like that.”
A cold comment, but Maxine saw through it – her client had given it some gentle agreement, in spite of everything. It made her a little happy. She didn’t like to talk about herself, but lately she’d been craving it. Alas, she only really had Two around to listen to her, and Two… well, it tended to stay very quiet whenever Maxine got introspective or retrospective. Understandable. It wasn’t in an assistant AI’s purview. Or in an AI’s purview at all.
“I shouldn’t humour you so much, though. I loath to think of what you’d be like if you developed an ego.” remarked the lady behind her, making sure to try and promptly sink any goodwill Maxine might have felt from her earlier words; though it was a bit of a weak attempt. “Better than that rap music, at least. If you’re such a fancy android, I can take pride in knowing that I’m insulting your taste rather than your programming!”
”…Understood. I will try and diversify my tastes in the future.”
…What a philistine.
Noticing the lady raising her book again, Maxine took her chance to put her foot down and relish the road – the traffic had eased now that they were on the outskirts of the Western Lands’ borders. All the lanes were hers… alas, she couldn’t get away with putting her headphones on, and Two loathed it when she played any music internally, so she’d have to settle for the sound of the car instead. Oh well, she could refocus herself with some marksmanship later; she had some time free in the city and knew a good contact there and who always enjoyed some competition.
Expensive cars, sleek guns, and organised crime… for some, this would be paradise.
For Maxine, though; it ain’t nothing but a G thang.
[2005]