open mingle - bust the moves, old timer!

[traumaticus]

Who: Adults [citation needed] of Aldrip!
Where: The Tavern
What: A night out for the senior grown up folks of the chosen
Warnings: I'd say pretty much what you'd expect from a set-up like this! Please be sure to mark any potential warnings on the comment subjects!



**Ok, it says adults of the Aldrip. But icly there is really no one to keep an eye on this. So, if a rebellious or unassuming teen wishes to sneak in to smuggle out a beer and/or listen to old ppl talk about how things were good back in their days then they're welcomed :D




Sometime around the first week of the November there are fliers and posters posted around the Aldrip, welcoming the population of The Chosen to enjoy a night out at the tavern attached to the inn. There's some mention about the place changing the ownership from native citizen to one of the chosen, but that's not important! Not when there is also mention of the food, drink and the games! So yes. Come all!

The atmosphere at the tavern itself is warm and welcoming. The electric lights have turned dim so that they don't overthrow the candles that are burning on each table, creating a cozy and warm ambient lighting around the guest area. Those who've visited the establishment before, perhaps during their own stay, might notice that the decor of the place has barely been changed -- aside from the white roses that are the centerpiece of each decoration placed on the wall.

The staff at the tavern has been instructed to serve the chosen all night. While they might not like it, they still follow through the orders without much of a protest (that is unless someone were to provoke them), bringing them food and drinks as promised. If someone were to ask what's on the menu they'll simply answer something along the words "the big bird", whatever that means. As for drinks? Unfortunately, the selection is not the most vast or spread out, containing mostly just beer, wine, whiskey, simple cocktails. Though, if someone wants the real good stuff they can always ask the barkeeper what's under the counter.

As for the activities? There's a dart board placed on one of the walls, and there are cards & dice available if one wishes to partake to some lighthearted gambling. There's even a jenga with a little dares and questions written on the blocks. While there's no karaoke-set in the place this time, there is a live band who will take requests and leave the mic open for those who have the urge to bust out to a song!


Now everyone! Remember to be in your best behavior.

Comments

[cactusy]

[Root gets a look of complete bafflement from Shaw, but when Miller joins in, she's able to deduce what's up.]

Wait.

[In Farsi - or, that is, in Farsi from her perspective and no one else's - she says:]

Does this mean I can't speak Farsi anymore?

[It's not like she makes a habit of it in her day to day life, but still; it's the principle of the thing.]

[computation]

You can, we'll just all be hearing it as our native language, [ Root says cheerfully. ] It looks like a bad dub.

[ Pretty funny in this context, honestly. Root steps away with a light slap on Shaw's shoulder. ]

I'll get us the drinks, you guys pick a table.

[melnik]

[ Leave it to Root to make him think too hard about the mechanics of how this place works. It's total whiplash from the nostalgia to speak with someone in his own mother tongue to the very lamentable reality that they aren't even granted a luxury as small as that.

Miller puts an exasperated hand to his face, and as Root walks off to buy the drinks, he extends Shaw's gun back towards her. ]

Sooner or later, I think there's going to be nothing of us left. We just become part of this simulation.

[ He's simultaneously looking idly around the room and gestures to a table in one of the far corners. ]

Alright... How about there?

[cactusy]

Thousand fathers.

[Shaw mutters to Root's departing back - and considering the fact that she doesn't normally accidentally slip into Farsi to curse, this is definitely a deliberate attempt that's being translated a little too literally. She heads off towards the table that Miller has picked out, continuing over her shoulder:]

Don't let her hear that theory; she'd love it.

[Grumble, grumble, grumble. A smidge reluctantly, she adds:]

She doesn't think of it as us losing ourselves, though.

[computation]

[ Root is over the other side of the tavern, sweet-talking the bartender...

Yes, she wants a whole bottle of vodka. No, not flavored, she actually does love Shaw. ]

[melnik]

[ Yep, sounds like a language specific curse if he ever heard one. But the sentiment, at least, is shared. It also isn't really any point of pride that this woman who seems to know Root quite well has confirmed his read of the situation. He sighs as they make their way over to the table, turning back once to glance at her making eyes at the bartender. ]

I gathered that. I can't say I'm any expert on the subject, but she has quite an idealistic approach to artificial intelligence. I started calling the AI "her" just to make it easier to communicate.

[ He stops to pull out his chair. ]

Are you also acquainted with this "overlord" of hers?

I'M SORRY i missed this notif

[cactusy]

[Shaw pauses before answering - not because she's hesitant to talk about it, but because she doesn't even know where to begin. Her relationship with the Machine isn't anywhere near as deep or complex as Root's is, but it's gone on for longer, and it's taken on a wider variety of forms.]

I guess you could say that.

[Is what she finally lands on: even when she's uncertain, she's always succinct.]

She was, uh-- heavily involved in a couple of my past jobs. And after Root died--

[Her brow knits into a faint frown.]

I dealt with her more directly after that. Just for a couple weeks, though.

ALL GOOD

[melnik]

[ Wait a second. She's supposed to be dead as well? It's really starting to become a running theme to discover this about people here, to the point that his internal deliberation on whether any of them are actually alive is starting to get hard to ignore. ]

And then what? You arrived here? She said that she thought her boss was the one responsible for bringing her here, like she was put here to fulfill some directive. I admit, I almost believed it at first — it seemed almost too convenient that we'd need to help an artificial intelligence and then some expert on them showed up out of the blue.

...But is that actually possible if she'd already died in service of this boss?

[ He's not just trying to dismantle her claims or anything; he'd really like to know what Shaw thinks. ]

[cactusy]

It might be.

If the Machine saved some sort of electronic backup of her brainwaves; if the Machine put her into a simulation at or just before the moment of her death. It does all seem too convenient, and Shaw is skeptical herself - but she doesn't think it's impossible.]

How much has she told you about this boss of ours?

[melnik]

[ Well, damn. Good to know, but not very informative just yet. ]

Not much. Just that she's an AI that wants to help people and she follows her bidding. I'd be interested to hear more.

[cactusy]

[It's a perfectly normal question, Shaw reminds herself. There are a lot of computer and sci-fi nerds out there in the world, and any one of them would be interested in the Machine if they heard about it.

Unfortunately, it's also the sort of thing that their enemies are very interested in, and a corner of her hindbrain is busy insisting It's a trick, you're in a simulation, this is Samaritan and Decima trying to get intel from you.]

Why?

[She asks, hunching in on herself defensively.]

[melnik]

[ It's easy to see that she's hesitant to discuss it further, but that doesn't particularly dissuade Miller any given that he has nothing to hide. ]

I don't know, it seems pretty relevant to our situation, doesn't it?

[ And he says "I don't know," but clearly he does know. It's just a bit of stating the obvious. ]

[cactusy]

You should ask Root.

[Shaw crosses her arms more firmly over her chest, still trying to tamp down on her suspicions. You asked him how much he already knows, she reminds herself. This is a logical follow-up. Clearing her throat, she forces her arms back down to her sides, though they're still a little stiff.]

I, uh-- I just don't know much about it. AI stuff isn't really my thing.

[computation]

Ask me what?

[ Root plonks down an entire bottle of vodka and a stack of shot glasses, then takes a seat, leisurely slinging one leg over the other in her cocktail dress.

In a teasing tone, ] Were you talking about my favorite topic without me?

[melnik]

[ Although it clearly seems to be a deflection, it's fine by him. The interest is not so gripping that he can't set it aside. And then Root comes to grace them with some good timing, and he turns to her, gaze settling on what she chose to bring back.

Right, that should be a good social lubricant. ]

Kind of, but it didn't get very far without you. You left out the part about how you died when you said you thought your boss had sent you here.

[ Just add her to the list of like half the people he knows. Very concerning. ]

[cactusy]

Oops.

[Shaw mumbles, and she's actually mildly chagrined - not that it particularly shows on her face beyond a faint frown. The truth of it is that she'd been so focused on hiding the mission-related secrets that she's forgotten to consider the potential for social secrets: things that Root might not want other people to know, or that she might want to tell them herself, on her own terms.]

[computation]

[ Considering Root announced it publicly on her last OKCinder post, she absolutely doesn't care that Shaw spilled the beans. Making a big emotional to-do about her death is just not something she's interested in. She leans in and starts pouring vodka shots for them. ]

I hadn't yet, the first time I was here. I had a little trip home and died while I was there.

Not that it makes a difference from the perspective of whether the Machine could have sent me here. She can do anything she wants with my digital consciousness.

[ Just normal things Root says. She slides shot glasses over to Shaw and Miller. ]

[melnik]

[ It's convenient for him, then, considering he's far too disinterested in scrolling through everyone's pseudo-dating posts to have seen that. Once is enough, thank you.

There's a split second where he's not sure what the response will be, given the "oops," but Root is quite quickly able to offer up a logical explanation without any fanfare, so he takes the emphatic tone down a notch and accepts the glass. ]

Okay... glad to know you had a say in this.

[ If that sounds a bit sarcastic, that's because it is. This circles nicely back around to what he was trying to ask about though. ]

So, remind me again why the Machine would care about this simulation. What is it that you were helping her accomplish back home?