2020-10-15: Spirit of the Rules

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  • Log: 2020-10-15: Spirit of the Rules
  • Cast: Azoth, Seraph Ragnell
  • Where: Via Purifico
  • Date: October 15, 2020
  • Summary: In which Ragnell visits Azoth in prison and, despite learning some significant truths about him, remains a potential ally (?).

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

First, they moved Cecilia. Then, they came for Ida. There was nothing yet Azoth could do for either one of them, but the worry rose the more each hour went by. Where had they gone, were they all right? Neither was doing well, by his calculation.

He can't do anything about it now. Alone, there's no need for Azoth to pretend. No smiles -- or even worried frowns and kicked puppy looks -- no fidgeting, no unnecessary movements meant to give the illusion of life to him. He sits with his back to the line of sight of his captors, because Azoth's front is devoid entirely of emotional display.

Only the eyes glow, as always. It looks very much like the lights are on and no one's home situation -- if one didn't know better, Azoth could be mistaken for an inert manikin, slumped and empty.

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

    'Neither is doing well' is a pretty solid estimation considering this is Yevon jail and Yevon is *all about* death. But Cecilia and Ida are both tough; for her part, Ragnell is fairly confident they'll make it out of whatever mess they're currently in alive and more or less in one piece.
    
    'Fairly.' You never know.
    
    Regardless of all that, it's fine if Azoth isn't pretending to be alive; Ragnell already knows what he is and... it's not exactly true to say she doesn't care, because her interest in him revolves entirely around it. It's not like he's the first robot she's ever met. But she's always wanted to learn more about robots and electronics, and Azoth--unlike Kamui--doesn't annoy the hell out of her.
    
    So, after learning from Gwen that he'd been captured by Yevon, Ragnell decided to pay him a visit. There's a few people she'd like to visit, but probably saying 'hi' while they're in jail and she is decidedly not wouldn't get much conversation. But Azoth doesn't know the truth about her insofar as most Drifters know it, so hey.
    
    And so it is that Ragnell slips into the hanging birdcage area, looking around and then up with a gloved hand over her eyes. This area is mostly empty, but there is a certain blue light.. When she climbs up, sure enough, the light is coming from Azoth's eyes.
    
    "You really should get your buddies in Solaris to do somethin' about that," she says by way of greeting, gesturing at his face. "It's even more obvious in a place like this."

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

Hearing Ragnell's voice is like flipping a switch.

Azoth's up and alert with a soft, yet cheery beep sequence of activation, greeting Ragnell with a broad smile of excitement, as if he weren't trapped in any sort of prison at all. "Ragnell! Hello!" His volume is brought down a touch from its usual: this is still prison.

Then she mentions Solaris, and all that joy and excitement quiets into emptiness again. She figured it out, and Azoth doesn't know what that means for him now.

But all he says is: "This system does not qualify them as 'buddies'."

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

    For a robot, he really *is* good at socialization.
    
    Ragnell grins and waggles her fingers in greeting. "Hey there, Az," she replies. "Sorry t' say I'm not here t' break you out. Yevon has some surprisingly strict anti-Seraphim regulations in place, did you know that?" She sticks an arm between the bars of his birdcage and wiggles it around. "Normally I'd just be able t' phase through, but--as you can see--" She withdraws her arm and shrugs. "So, it is what it is. But I figured I could at least see what's what?"
    
    Azoth quiets, naturally, when she brings up Solaris. Naturally, because as he states, they are not really his 'buddies.' Ragnell breaks into snickers all the same--would burst out into full laughter were this not really the right place for that. (Ragnell might be an ally, more or less, but that doesn't mean she's supposed to be *here*.) "I don't think anyone qualifies them as 'buddies.' 'Specially since your minder is Loren Voss, of all people. Mm, mm, mm. I don't envy you one bit, Az." She winks one eye shut. "But I might be able to help you--assumin' you make it outta here, o' course. But I got high hopes for you there."

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

Azoth permits emotions back onto his features (it's a roller coaster today, isn't it), but it's confusion Ragnell gets. He slow blinks at her, twice, with a small tilt of his head in open uncertainty.

"I understand?" he says, except he actually doesn't, and his tone betrays that much. Then he shakes his head and corrects himself. "I do not. I'm... sorry? I understand that you cannot free me, but why would you offer any help otherwise?"

She just said she knows what his ties are.

"And did you say Loren Voss is minding me? I did not receive that update."

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

    Ragnell blinks twice when Azoth voices the cause for his confusion. The side of her mouth tugs up briefly in a wry, faint half-smile. "Because I feel like it," she replies simply. "'course, if you don't want the help, we can just chat instead. Doesn't bother me none either way."
    
    Huh. So Loren Voss *isn't* holding his leash? Ragnell rubs her chin. It seems she got her conclusions half-right, half-wrong--based on Azoth's reaction, he does seem to be under Solaris's control, but not specifically under Loren's. Still, he does know him, so...
    
    "It's a turn o' phrase. Doesn't mean quite what it normally would. Jus' like how Solaris isn't *really* your buddies," she thus bullshits. "Mmm, I'm gonna have t' be more careful how I talk around you, huh? In any case, Loren's lookin' for you an' Lan. You know Lan?" She shrugs, and regardless of how Azoth answers, she continues, "He knows you're in here, but I can't imagine he'd try to infiltrate an enemy stronghold, so you might end up seein' him on your way out."
    
    Assuming of course that Azoth gets out, but as she said earlier, she has high hopes for him.

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

Azoth would ask for all the help Ragnell could reasonably give if not for the programming Solaris added to him. But for all the calculated output the overrides delete, there are some viable responses that do not go against their intended operation for him.

"I would hear what you have to say on the matter. Please."

Because Ragnell wants to. Ragnell said that Drifters would be soft. She didn't say she fell into that category herself.

"Loren Voss gave me the directive to bring Lan back. Safely." That was not made any sort of classified information, so Azoth assumes that it isn't. Especially not if Ragnell already knows Loren is out looking for Lan himself. "But yes, I apologize. Informal language contains a multitude of idioms and expressions. I'm still not familiar with all of them."

Not to say he doesn't get the concept. Language would be almost impossible to understand otherwise.

He doesn't offer much comment on Ragnell's assumptions he'll get out. He's currently of the same opinion, it's just a matter of needing more data and opportunity. (Or getting tossed into some kind of death trial, whichever.)

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

    "Hmmm... Is that your way of askin' for help?" Ragnell wonders, tilting her head when Azoth responds in a slightly strange way. If she knew he's concluded that she's soft too, she might get annoyed; as it stands, she's merely curious. "Well, since you asked *nicely*. Don't know how much use it'll be t'you, though.
    
    "In any case, from what I've heard around, it sounds like the sentence is 'death by water tunnel.' You might wanna watch your plugs if that's where you end up. Since lots o' people are gettin' thrown down there, my advice would be to find some dry patch, if there is one, an' wait 'til you run into someone else, then team up an' escape. If you get waterlogged, you'll have someone who might drag you along in their wake, and if you run into trouble, you can throw them at it and run on yourself instead."
    
    So Loren told Azoth to bring Lan back. So Lan *needs* bringing back. Interesting. Loren couldn't have given Azoth that order *before* he ended up captured, after all... And while Loren might not be holding his leash, he has enough authority to boss Azoth around. Also interesting.
    
    She waves a dismissive hand when Azoth apologizes for misunderstanding. "I got friends who whine at me for my sloppy speakin' all the time. Don't you worry none 'bout if you can understand me right the first time or not," she says dryly. "I say I ought to watch how I speak 'round you, but Imma be real--I'm probably not gonna do that." She grins broadly. "We'll jus' call it a learning experience for you."
    
    She hunkers down on the edge of the cage, expression turning pensive. "So. Solaris has you in chains, proverbially speakin'. Since I know about that already, what can you tell me about your situation now?" She crooks a half-smile and adds by way of explanation, "I consider them enemies, an' I'm pretty sure the feelin's mutual, so I'd be happy to help you out just out o' sheer spite."
    
    This might be why Ragnell would be annoyed if Azoth called her soft.

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

Azoth has, in their short time together, at least picked up on the idea Ragnell does not consider herself soft, and would not find this a compliment.

"That is useful, thank you." Azoth perks up a little. "And it is hopeful news. Water is not a significant danger to me. Perhaps this can be used to the advantage of others."

Probably not going to throw people at problems and run, then.

"I like the way you speak!" Azoth offers, almost immediately, in counterpoint. "Yes, it would probably be for the best not to change it, then. I do need to learn more."

Azoth leans back against the bars, head turned toward Ragnell as she settles herself. He closes his eyes briefly, quiet. Overrides. Response deleted. Output erased. It causes a delay before he manages to speak again.

"I am an asset of Solaris," he says, clarifying what she already knows. That's always legal. "I still cannot provide you with classified data." Intentionally. Ragnell is clever. Curious. Persistent. She's already found out this much. She might be able to grab pieces between the lines even Azoth isn't aware he's revealing, to say nothing of what anyone else might accidentally say.

"...But... someone as informed as you must know how skilled they are in operating technology."

In operating someone like him.

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

    "No? Good for you, then," Ragnell says of Azoth not being particularly weak to water. Waterproof skin, maybe? Human skin is waterproof, after all; gotta look the part. She smiles wryly when he indicates he's not going to use anyone as a stepping stone to get out. So that kindness is his own nature, then. If he were cruel or at least uncaring, he wouldn't need to pretend to be otherwise now that she knows he's with Solaris.
    
    Then he declares he likes the way she speaks. "Oh?" She blinks again, then grins. "Good for both of us, then. I don't need to change--" not that she would, "--an' you get to learn."
    
    She doesn't need to change. Ragnell muses on that for a moment as Azoth goes through potential responses, then focuses back on him when he speaks again. "But you *can* confirm what I already know," she says. Or, to be clearer, what he believes she already knows. After all, she'd gotten the bit about Loren being his handler wrong. As such, when he assumes she knows how Solaris is skilled with technology, she smiles and nods, despite honestly having only a very broad grasp of Solaris's technological prowess. "That's what loopholes are for, Az! You've already proven that those work jus' fine. An' as long as I'm not a threat to *you*, there's no reason to report about me, is there? Especially since I'm not from Filgaia, an' therefore not under the purview of those they 'rule' over." She taps her temple knowingly. "If you wanna get out from under their programmin', Az, you'll have to train yourself to start thinkin' in corkscrews. Obeyin' the letter o' th' law, but not the spirit. D'you know that turn o' phrase?"
    
    Whether he does or not, she takes another look around the prison area. "Man, though, it's pretty empty in here. Did they already throw everyone else into that waterway thing? The... Via Purifico, think they called it." She frowns, then looks back at him. "Who else have you seen in here, anyway?"

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

Azoth winces. "I do know that turn of phrase. But..."

But he stops short, closing his eyes and letting himself process those words. Loopholes. Letter of the law. Spirit of the law. Azoth furrows his brow. "My understanding of the 'spirit' of the law is fairly robust. There is much information between the lines. Such interpretations are... useful, especially with organics often having their own difficulties in honest communication." No shade intended. "If I understand what an instruction means, I do not know that I can defy it because of a human's poor choice of words."

He's chewing on his lip now. Azoth's learned lots of little tells! Fun!

"...Or would it be presumptuous to assume I have that level of understanding...?"

Maybe he's getting it...!

"The wrong report could contribute to a significant waste of time and resources... It is important that I be efficient..."

Yeah, yeah...?!

Azoth drops all his Deep Thinking to smile at Ragnell faintly. "If that is the case, I hope I can catch up with Miss Ida and Miss Cecilia soon... They are the only ones I've seen, aside from a visit from the Trial Knight."

He drops it casually because he's been acting unconcerned about it this long, why stop now!

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

    Ragnell waits and listens as Azoth works through what she's just told him aloud. No offense is taken on the honest communication line; for one, Ragnell is not organic, and for another, yeah, communication is hard even when you *are* trying to be honest! Deception is just a thing you need to do sometimes. It'll be good for Azoth to learn it--or at least, learn a way to that works for him.
    
    When he's done--at least for the time being--Ragnell chuckles. "But sometimes that choice o' words makes the whole difference in their meaning. Is it your fault if there's multiple ways to interpret a turn o' phrase? You're just a poor robot doing his best in a strange and confusing human world. Of course, it's not good to be too tricky too often, or else they'll start cuttin' off all your avenues of convenient misinterpretation... But you seem t' be gettin' there."
    
    Ida and Cecilia--and... "The Trial Knight, huh?" Ragnell says, expression not flickering. "What'd they show up for?" A beat. "Good to know that Cece's still hangin' in there, though. Presumably. Just those two, though, huh... Guess they haven't swapped the prisoners around much 'round where you are."

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

They would absolutely ravage Azoth's code if they found out he was working in such a consistently ineffective way. But that is for Azoth to navigate, not Ragnell.

Azoth brings a hand to his chest, melodramatic and shocked. He cannot gasp, and doesn't know how to fake the sound, so instead Ragnell gets a sharp, startled beeping. "Ragnell! I would never, ever, intentionally misinterpret them!"

Oh no. Maybe he's really getting it.

At least... it's something to try. If Solaris wants Azoth to do something, they know how to make it happen. But maybe that's all the more reason never to assume he knows better than he thinks.

"Only the two," Azoth confirms. He sobers, frowning as he gets to the Trial Knight. "Are you familiar? I had never heard of them before now. I believe they came for Miss Ida. She did not take it well. I hope she is all right." Maybe if Ida was taken from the cell, she at least had a chance for her medication...?

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

    Indeed. Ragnell can only advise; she can't and has no desire to make Azoth's choices for him. Though she might pop into his chassis and hitch a ride sometime... But that's not something she can do right now thanks to whatever anti-immaterialization field Yevon has going on here, and wouldn't do either of them any good right now besides even if she could.
    
    When Azoth imitates outrage complete with high-pitched beeping, Ragnell grins, wide and toothy. "Oh, *beggin'* your pardon, Azoth," she drawls, winking. "But I never said *intentionally*, did I? After all, what's a misunderstandin' but somethin' that's inherently a mistake?"
    
    Hmm, so they came for Ida. Yeah, that tracks. "I guess she's under a lot of stress right now," she muses. A faint smile follows. "Yeah, I'm familiar." She tilts her head at him. "So did you just sit back an' watch while they talked, or...?"

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

Unless Ragnell could recharge him. That might be useful. Alas, Yevon's horrible force fields.

Azoth frowns. "...I do make a lot of mistakes." He's a little too good at the social cues, some of the time, with how much regret he lets seep into his drooping features.

But just before anyone starts to question the authenticity behind it, he's all smiles. "Thank you, Ragnell. I enjoy speaking with you very much." Ragnell has a very valuable kind of intelligence. It will be extremely beneficial to his operation to maintain connections with her. It, quite possibly, already has been.

None of the Trial Knight business has anything to do with Solaris, nor is he yet aware of Ragnell's connections, so Azoth determines no reason to hold back. He puffs his cheek in frustration with himself. "I should have stepped in sooner than I did. But it appears I caught their interest, and they speak like they mean to reprogram me. I'm not sure they understand what is truly needed for that."

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

    "Lots o' folks do. 'To err is human' an' all that, an' who programmed you if not humans?" Ragnell replies, all totally-sincere sympathy. (Ragnell is well aware that Azoth may not have been programmed by humans. It is, once again, a turn of phrase that could be a clue to new information depending on how he takes it.) She grins back at him when he thanks her. "Right back atcha." This is the beginning of a fruitful relationship.
    
    His response as regards the Trial Knight get a couple of raised eyebrows from Ragnell. "Reprogram, huh." She rubs her chin and mutters, "Yeah, I doubt that myself." Louder, she says, "Well, reprogrammin' is what you want, right? That might well be a good thing." She smirks. "But knowin' them, they'd be none too gentle about it."
    
    A distant noise and approaching voices make Ragnell pause and look over towards the prison area entrance. "I ought t' get goin'," she murmurs, rising to her feet. "But I'll see ya 'round, Az. Make sure you get out in one piece, yeah?" And unless he has anything else to say or ask, Ragnell will quickly climb back down and beat a hasty exit.

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

"Good question," Azoth says. One of the hard locks of Azoth's overrides is not giving away his true origins, but he hasn't done that, has he? If he had, he couldn't have said it. There's another loophole he's beginning to understand from Ragnell's cavalier manner, too. How people expect you to behave may make responses read differently. He'll have to keep that in mind.

What he wants...

"It could be," he says. A good thing, that is. And it isn't as if anyone else has been gentle about it. Why would anyone start now?

The noise makes Azoth's eyes brighten as he looks toward the source with a little beep of alarm. He gives Ragnell a sharp nod. "I will. Please, be careful...!"