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[robussy]

This is 2B.

Comments

[robussy]

Yes.

I always wondered if I had a soul.

[strongroots]

whats a soul to you

[robussy]

A living thing's essence that remains after the death of the body. There is an afterlife involving its existence.

I remember telling my partner that we'd find out when we die. And even after that, it was ambiguous.

[strongroots]

we have those stories too. some ppl say there is no afterlife and thats it once you die. or you die and you come back again but you dont remember your old life

do you think you and your partner had a soul?

[robussy]

[ even humans suffer that fate? she wouldn't wish it upon anyone. ]

I know I do, now. If I do, then so does he.
I didn't think I'd have one.

[strongroots]

because ur not human?

[robussy]

Of course. How could something inorganic gain a soul?
It's pointless questioning that doesn't have an answer.
But I still think about it. In the same way machines could gain consciousness, perhaps we're not so different, after all.

[strongroots]

a lot of people back home say things are this way or that way
things happen for a reason
if u do this thing or that u will go to a good place after life
you dont repent for ur sins then ur gonna get punished for it, burn in hell

truth is we dont know shit. no one can say who has a soul. but it matters to some people
you could have a soul and i dont
i never thought about it
but i never had books telling me that souls are just for humans and animals

idk if ur humans ever proved souls were real

[robussy]

[ well since humans went extinct partially because they discovered souls, yes— but that would lead to conflict of interest for YoRHa. 2B does not know. ]

It was just a concept that survived. You’re all resilient.

I saw a dark side to humanity, but I can still see its beauty within you.

[strongroots]

[ The beauty, huh. ]

i dont know a lot of stories about robots. but youre cool
im sure ur partner was cool too. and your other friends

they could be assholes too but thats part of being alive

[robussy]

[ robots. 2B can't help a quiet snort on her end that no one needs to see, silently endeared. robots were archiac beyond belief, she was on a completely different level. but what does he know?

she'll let it slide. ]

That's important.
What is it that you think of?

[strongroots]

[ What does he think? -- oh.

He'd rather like to talk out of his ass about philosophy or whatever, actually. A lot more. That would be nice.

He could just tell her nothing; say his mind has been cleared up by this chat, which isn't completely untrue. But it'd be shitty after she's been (apparently) honest, though finding the words for his thoughts are difficult, too. A mess of emotions that don't have a linear path.

What has he been thinking of? ]

about what happened. how i couldnt have stopped it.
i was thinking about you. how youve been feeling

[robussy]

[ she does not know what to say, or even think, and as she catches sight of the written words it causes her thought process to freeze. 2B had no qualms speaking about, well— anything that didn't have to do with interpersonal emotion. what else would she think or speak of if not for that? well— everything that robby says.

it makes her feel uncomfortable, but not because it was unwelcomed— but because she did not know what to do with it, how to react. because of this, it takes a few moments for her to form anything coherent, ]

You shouldn't use your time for that, Robby. [ even if it's not exactly soft. agh, damn it. that might've been too insensitive. she attempts a mild correction with: ] I need you to be well. That way we could both advance from this.

[strongroots]

i know. [ But does his brain know that? Is whatever the hell going on with him understand that? No, no, and no. ] we dont have to talk about it. i just wanted to talk to you. you went thru it too and i know you werent happy when we left

did you see those people again?

[robussy]

No.

[ she didn't. sometimes she desperately wanted to, and at other times she was so angry that it kept her from trying. thinking about woe brought mixed feelings. gratitude, confusion, frustration, softness and sharpness all at once. and then there was robby— she remembers, in perfect detail, every face he made that day, and when she'd put her head on a pillow, he's among the images that wouldn't stop playing before her. ]

I failed you when you needed me. No amount of apology will change that.

[ she seems to have failed . . . so many people. she was gone when anna was there, asking for help. she couldn't react when robby did. ]

[strongroots]

no

[ It comes as soon as her own message is sent, separate, as well as what follows: ]

you didnt fail me

you didnt fail ANY of us

if u didnt come i would be dead to. i told alec we needed to get out. u tried 2b nd ill never forget that

[ That she came, that she was there, the metallic skeleton of her body under her skin exposed; watching that creature sucking her in, trying to break her apart.

It hurts to recall. The memories tear at his own heart, making his fingers tremble, his sight blur. ]

you nearly died. why are you apologizign



you said goodbye

[ She did everything right.

She did everything he couldn't do. ]

[robussy]

[ she writes— stops. writes— stops. ]

I've died many times, Robby. Back home, when my body is destroyed, my code is uploaded into a new chassis. Termination is an occupational risk.

[ he risked himself, he risked everything that is precious, he risked his life, a life that couldn't simply be replaced— for her to remain. it scrapes at her heart until her eyes sting. ]

I don't want to say goodbye again. And I swear— I will never give up after what you did.

[strongroots]

[ so what if u come back, he texts, fumbling to complete: i dont want to see you die. it doesnt mean shit, it doesnt make a difference.

'You would still have been dead.'

Robby stops, deletes until he's back to the beginning, and tries to find a less emotional explanation that doesn't make him sound angry. Even if he's angry at the idea -- that it should mean less, that he needs to understand and accept a potentially immortal existence. What if you didn't get uploaded?

I saw you watch that man die. Dying doesn't mean nothing to you. ]

your life doesnt mean less to me just bc you can come back

[robussy]

[ her heart is bleeding. that’s the only way she could describe this feeling that comes from her chest and spreads to her face. ]

I know, now.
That’s why I want to live.

[strongroots]

[ It would be strange, if Robby ever thought about it: how strongly he feels about 2B, how much he cares. Someone he's only met twice, but that second time -- there's nothing to question in that. That experience shared, the emotions between them; and maybe there is something to unpack in how single-minded he cared more about her than himself when they left that place, nothing about it sits in him strangely without reflection.

True, he would be more agreeable to a hospital now. But he would still help her get back if there were a way, despite the dangers. He gave his word. ]

ill do better and get stronger. i want to save people too
if you ever need warmblood i have it. i dont know what people do with it but the beast stuff but ill find out

[robussy]

[ you already have, 2B thinks, but perhaps he already knows. she hopes he does. ]

Thank you. [ he deserves this one: ] I'm glad we met. And perhaps we should see each other soon.

[strongroots]

[ He's glad too. ]

sure. show me what ur interested in
i skateboard and im learning how to use a staff. and how to make magic stones

[robussy]

[ it takes her some time to recover from all of this, so it may take her longer to respond. the emotional baggage gets heavy to the point that she needs to rest and heed daniel's advice in meditation. she does, however, always respond eventually. like so, about fifteen to twenty minutes later: ]

What is a skateboard?

[strongroots]

[ Robby doesn't respond until early morning.

Because he figured that 2B went to sleep, and that's alright; and somewhere along his emotions numbing after their rise, he manages to get some rest himself. Switch off his omni, let the exhaustion give him some escape from the itchiness quietly growing in the back of his legs. Finally, exhaustion wins out, at least for about five or six hours.

It takes another hour for him to check his omni, and oh--

A picture of a worn board comes through, the black surface more brown from use, but the side of the wheels at least still read. ]

this is a skateboard. you can ride them and do tricks on them
mostly use it to get around trench

[robussy]

[ it starts the day anew. 2B had a strict inner schedule to abide by, and, at least sleep was sleep. she’s rested and starting the day an hour before with maintenance. her omen is perched on furniture while she cleans her joints, and both she and pod exchange the texts for her, as long as she spoke out loud.

this skate board item was . . . weird. wheels for locomotion, but she imagines something much larger, such as a car or aircraft. it looks unprotected! and also— ]

Why would you trick someone on it?