Chapter 130 - Beep Boop Bye

With the last of their formalities finished, Lucas, Miss Calculated, and Lorelei head out of the office together, with Lorelei intending on escorting them to the dining area.

Once they're collectively out in the hallway, Lucas can't help noticing 23 standing outside the room Miss Calculated was in earlier, staring at the door while slowly pulling it shut.

Two of 23's arms are jointly cradling a silvery metal disc, roughly similar in dimensions to a large round serving tray. On its underside is a long thick coil of cord neatly hooked in place, ending in a high-voltage electrical plug.

Noticing the approaching humans, 23 finishes closing the door at a more normal speed while turning its head to face them.

"Greetings master, as per request I am now fully charged and in possession of a standard charging unit. Madam Calculated, I have completed all of your requested scans and diagnostics, everything is in order with no errors detected. Are there any additional instructions at this time?" While 23 formally addresses them, Lucas pauses momentarily after being caught off-guard by the change in title. It's short-lived, however, as he stifles a laugh after Miss Calculated's titular promotion.

"We're probably headin' out soonish, so just double check that yer all ready to go. Oh, and no need to be so formal, it feels weird. Heh, but keep callin' Willy 'Sir William', that's fantastic." Lucas makes sure to put an end to the excessive formality ASAP, dreading the addresses of 'Madam Masher' and 'Madam Chievous' while also knowing Jonathan would be just as awkward no matter what 23 calls him.

Miss Calculated had a slightly amused expression from her name upgrade, but her amusement grows further when Lucas's first formal order is effectively 'stop being so overly polite'. Except when regarding Willy, of course. She even nodded along when Lucas said 'fantastic'.

Lorelei, however, seems stunned.

"As you wish, si- ...Lucas. I shall follow you until further instructions are received." When 23 drops the formalities, Lucas smiles and nods once. Miss Calculated raises an eyebrow curiously when 23 begins the lesser title of 'sir' and cuts itself off while gauging Lucas's reaction.

She knows full well there's no way it was an error, but that degree of nuanced social interaction is by no means standard. After all, most of the people that would be writing the communication protocols probably wouldn't have that level of finesse themselves, let alone think to program it in.

'...Do service bots socialize with each other? I mean, they're sentient after all, yeah? it's worked here for 5 years, just leavin' all abruptly like that doesn't seem right…'

[Considering they were able to directly communicate at will thanks to the network, without even needing to be in the same room at that, we don't necessarily have any external way of knowing. But… Perhaps?]

"Hey uh, 23. I know I said we're leavin' soon, but it's not like, TOO soon. You still got some time to spare, in case ya wanna go say goodbye to the other bots, or somethin'?" When Lucas makes this offer in a tentative voice, Miss Calculated is visibly taken aback.

23 stares at Lucas for a silent moment, presumably trying to analyze Lucas's possible incentive behind such an offer.

'Hahah it's practically doing the math lady meme!'

[...]

After that pregnant pause, 23 finally speaks up.

"I will go do so. Thank you, Lucas." While 23's head remains oriented so as to be facing Lucas as it speaks, the rest of its body turns toward the most direct route to the kitchens.

"Sure thing, take yer time. Even once we get goin', we're probably gonna be goofin' out front for a while before we really leave anyway." Once Lucas finishes saying this, he makes a shooing gesture with his left hand in 23's direction.

'I can only assume that whatever Chi has, she's showing us right away once we're outside, yeah?'

[I assume so, I doubt she's patient enough to wait until a better opportunity. I imagine her arms are getting tired by now, as well.]

'...Oh man, I can't wait.'

"Understood. ...Thank you." After saying this, 23 begins walking away at a decent speed, but not quite as fast as wheeling around. Before it has completely left line of sight, Lucas does notice it turning its head a bit, looking around the area, including the walls and their decor.

Lucas starts taking a few steps to continue towards the dining area, but notices that both of his companions are still standing in place.

"You… It… And it…? Seriously?" Lorelei has barely thawed enough to make some sound, not that it's entirely cohesive.

On the other hand, Miss Calculated is deep in thought while gazing in the direction 23 left in.

Lucas is particularly amused by Miss Calculated's vacant stare, waving a hand in front of her face.

"Hellooo Calc, do you copy?" As Lucas asks this in a highly entertained voice, Miss Calculated shifts her focus over to him. Reaching up with her right hand, she places it on his wrist, indicating he can stop waving it around.

"Of course, they were always in communication with each other, but that ended abruptly when I disconnected it from their network. They're only programmed to BEHAVE in certain ways, but that doesn't necessarily impact their internal communications or thought processes. They even have limited learning AI to better facilitate their work, but as they're set to put humans first, why would they ever complain to us if we do anything they're dissatisfied with?" When Miss Calculated gets to this point, she pauses a moment to take a deep breath before continuing.

"...No, saying limited intelligence isn't fair, its behavior has already proven otherwise, and it must have some degree of actual awareness in order to draw the conclusions that led to its behavioral adjustments. Were you already aware, or..?" While Miss Calculated is busy geeking out, she tightens her grip on Lucas's wrist, tugging on him slightly while staring directly into his eyes.

"What? Nah, I just figured it seemed too sudden to just make it pack up and leave like that, and it coulda' just said no thanks if it felt no need to. I mean, we already noticed it seemed kinda special, yeah? It didn't feel right treatin' it like it's just some object." While Lucas is answering, Miss Calculated finally lets go of his wrist.

"...There is truth in simplicity, from the innocence of children may new insights be found..." Miss Calculated mutters under her breath, making clear her thoughts in regards to considering Lucas as an oversized child.

'Eh? Isn't that sorta like 'from the mouth of babes…' Waitaminute... Hey!'

427's hearty laughter makes clear his agreement with this mindset.

'HEY!'

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Lucas total kills: 7

Lucas total deaths: 11

Lucas total assists: 1

Lucas current GDV: 12.44... [RECALCULATING]

Lucas's fame level: 4.50* (Beyond just local, viral meme tier. Local levels are extremely high.)

Lucas's hero suspicion level: 2.5* (More than just passing suspicion for some paranoid individuals, people are realizing he's an impulsive idiot)

Jonathan total kills: 6

Jonathan total deaths: 2

Jonathan current GDV: 4.02

Jonathan's fame level: 2.75* (Mostly just local)

Jonathan's hero suspicion level: 2.75* (A few paranoid individuals are suspicious)

Willy's fame level: 1.5* (Anonymous meme fame, local fame primarily as 'Xenoclast's dog', but some strangers know him as William/Willy now)

Supervillain social circle size: 11

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Little character theater:

Jonathan's poor shake is no more. While Miss Masher muses on which story to regale him with next, his attention wanders over the wall behind her: 'Wait, wasn't there a..?'

Willy, noticing the dangerously idle lull in the conversation, gently picks up Miss Chievous's pink rubber ball and nudges it in Jonathan's direction. As expected, it is intercepted partway there by an invisible force.

Lucas, in a thoughtful tone: ...Wait, should we be sayin' 'they' instead of 'it'?

427, pausing for a few thoughtful seconds before answering: [...It's hard to say where to draw the line. I would say yes, in 23's case at least.]

Author, eavesdropping on 23's farewells with its co-workers: There's something sorta… Sweet about this?

Mr.. Quacks, on the author's shoulder, eavesdropping as well: Quack.