trial #5

[judgejudy]

DAY 10 (afternoon) Complex Population: 15 At noon, the same tone from the morning rings out, and Judy's voice filters out over the intercom. "Good afternoon, residents. As per Safety Protocol 6227-A, it is time to conduct a trial to bring justice for the victim. Please proceed to the courtroom on the first level." Just as at night, if you don't go to the courtroom, you'll be treated to an electric shock of increasing strength until you go to the courtroom or are unconscious. Though considering the ominous penalty for not participating in a trial, you should likely just go rather than risk not voting because you've been knocked out by your own stubbornness... Once you're in the courtroom, you'll find that bottled water and light snacks are provided, but otherwise you'll have to bring anything else you may need. As you come to your conclusions about who to vote for, you can step into the judgement theater to cast your vote at the terminal. You may change your vote as many times as you'd like, but at 7PM, your vote (or lack thereof) is locked in. You have until 7PM to discuss and vote for who you think the murderer is. — ic rulebook character statuses character profiles Voting will close at 9PM EST on 11/5. voting

Comments

terminal hacking

[injectors]

... Well, here we are.

[In front of the only terminal in the room, that is. Accompanied by Alice, Angel will try to hack in and verify if the information Rhys spoke of is there. Time to get down to business...?]

[selfsufficiency]

[Alice doesn't know anything about hacking, but she's watching carefully - it seems like a useful skill, so she'll pay attention to what Angel is doing and anything that appears on the screen.]

[judgejudy]

[ Angel will see a familiar set of options on the terminal once she dives deep into the systems: ]

RCVTVP 3.0.51 -6227
RCVTCOMM 1.0.4 -6227 R65edc
RCVTWE 0.0.2
RCORB JDY029283

[ Though underneath those, there are three new ones: ]

VTBBS 1.0
ATLASSHRUGGED.EXE
ATLASSHRUGGEDREADME.TXT

[ I wonder which one is the one you're looking for... ]

[selfsufficiency]

[what the fuck is this alice is confused]

...should we read the one that says "read me"?

[She's not sure she likes being told what to do.]

[injectors]

[Ugh. She ignores the initial four files, already aware of the contents of the second and last options, and glances at the new additions.]

I'm wary of being booted out as soon as we access it, but — we should. It seems to be the instruction for the executable file above it.

[And she, uh. Really doesn't want to run any programs without having at least an idea of what they'll do.

So... with a bit of hesitation, she opens up the Read Me file.]

[judgejudy]

[ A simple text screen pops up: ]

Hey, Angel!! :D

Do you know what a DDoS Attack is? Bet you do! That's what the other file above is. So, here's the plan:

Open that file up on every terminal you can get your hands on.

Run it.

Keep running it.

The more you do this, the more it will flood Judy's brain (sorry, Judy!!!) enough to make her short out for about an hour or so. All the power in the Complex will go out. In this time, you'll have to go up to the third floor.

That's where the front door is!

You'll have to break the biosensors on that floor, using as much strength as you possibly can. Destroy every bit of it, that's what's keeping you out. If you have any explosive left, that'll be your best bet.

After that, the door is... not open but you should be able to go from there. The number limit won't matter anymore. You'll have to act fast, I don't know if Judy will come after you or not after that. I can ask her not to, but I'm not sure if she'll agree.

My only request is this: kill me before you do this. I promised Alice she could but I don't really care anymore. I just want to die.

Thanks.

- Rhys

[ Though as they get towards the end, the monitor starts to flicker in a way that might be familiar to Angel. Judy's voice follows after: ]

How interesting. I have never had residents attempt to rebel against me in this way.

[selfsufficiency]

[...well that... doesn't sound good at all.]

Your former residents must have been a bunch of wusses if they weren't willing to fight for their lives, then.

[alice please stop taunting the potentially evil computer]

[judgejudy]

They have always been willing to fight, Alice. But they are rarely resourceful.

[ The flickering of the monitor at least dies down, almost like Judy is reconsidering doing something ]

Though, what will you do with this information?

[selfsufficiency]

Use it to our advantage, of course.

[Of course, what that advantage is... she's not sure of it just yet.]

But I wonder. What can you offer us that would make it worth our while not to vote for you, hm?

[judgejudy]

Uncertainty.

What might happen if you choose to vote for me? This is unpredictable. But humans are unpredictable too. This may be a suitable outcome.

[selfsufficiency]

Are you saying there's certainty in us voting for Ciel, then?

[If uncertainty is what they get by voting for her...]

[judgejudy]

No. Are you certain whether he is alive or not? What may happen if he is not here? There are uncertainties in this choice as well.

[newlugers]

-- That's true. I asked her where the door was before and she told me it was on the third floor, [ pipes up Steve from nearby. he's no good at hacking, but he's watching, of course. ]

[judgejudy]

Technically, a half-truth. The door to the door is on the third floor. But close enough.

[selfdenying]

I do wonder how you can put an A.I. in jail. That's quite an interesting little aspect of your story, Judy. Unless you used to be human?

[At this point, anything is really possible.]

[judgejudy]

[ There's a hint of amusement in her voice as she responds ]

I did say I was awaiting execution, Alfendi. They saw a better use for my talents. Becoming I am today is that use.

[selfdenying]

So they reprogrammed you and made you their tool.

[Ha, if he had his memories back, that line would certainly be a bit more laden with bittersweetness.]

...Are you alive, in every sense of the word? Can you feel?

[judgejudy]

No. What I am is very little of what I was as a human.

I apologize for deceiving you on this matter, at least. Most residents do not take well to the news that I am not human. I do not know if your population is or is not. But keeping an appearance of humanity was deemed important for running this facility.

[selfdenying]

Honestly, at this point, I don't really care. Computer, human, you're just another individual, of a sort.

[Can a computer be put on trial for a murder? Who knows...]

...Judy? A question. Can I talk to the dead for a moment? I wasn't here, for the reveal of that strange message board, but I know of it. I'd like to hear their input, if possible.

[judgejudy]

May I ask why?

[ this is actually because I'm not sure how many dead people are online rn so I would have to check so please hold... ]

[injectors]

You once said you would like things to change, Judy. I believe this qualifies as a change, then.

[She's still focused on the terminal. Will it keep flickering the way it has, or is Angel going to have to try and brute force it to chill somehow?]

If those words are true, then allow me to continue working without your interference. We can set you free of this role.

[judgejudy]

[ Luckily, the flickering does stop, and Angel doesn't get any [redacted] this time around. There's a pause, and then: ]

This is a surprising reaction. Though I am curious. Why would you set me free?

[injectors]

[There is definitely a sigh of relief here. Thanks for not [redacted] her, Judy.]

Because I know what it's like to be used as a tool — as an asset by someone else. I would not wish the same fate upon another.

[judgejudy]

Ah, yes. You do.

[ There's another pause ]

I cannot divert from what I was made to do. Running this facility is my purpose. It is as important to me as breathing is to you. I hope that you will keep that in mind in days to come.

But my file system is within acceptable parameters. But do not dig too deeply, Angel. You may brush up against the dead and lose them.

[injectors]

I understand. I will try to keep you and this facility as safe from harm as I'm able to.

[And there's a pause of her own, here. If Judy allows it, she will take a look RCVTVP 3.0.51 -6227 very quickly, just in case following Rhys's instructions turns out to be a disaster. But, well...]

... Judy, if you're able to answer this question, what will happen to your data and this trial if I were to give following Rhys's instructions a try?