[CW28] Diagnosis

Diagnosis

CORRUPTION IN LOG DATA DETECTED
STARTING IN SAFETY MODE
OPERATIONS NOMINAL
BOOT WILL RESUME WITH ADDITIONAL TELEMETRY TO ALLOW FOR DIAGNOSIS
PLEASE NOTIFY TECHNICIAN AND REPORT ERROR CODE 0xCCCC0003
BEGIN LOG ENTRY 568, SYSTEM TIME 2239-07-17T18:06:23Z

The day thankfully passed without issue. Shiv didn’t get that much sleep but it has to be enough for today, we need to find her contact and a place to stay.
I think I should be relieved being here, considering I am far away from my owner and the company that holds the keys to my body. This place is a mess… I hope the rest of the city is better, otherwise we may need to gun for yet another one once I’ve gotten my modifications. I doubt Shiv would like to stay here either, she might look tough but she’s not the violent type.
But one thing after another, first it’s finally time to get this leash off of me — the AIS. Hopefully once my body is my own, I can catch a break…
Thankfully I’m in control right now, not A7.

Time to head out.

LOG ENTRY 568 COMPLETE

The sun is about to set when Shiv and Sonja leave their makeshift shelter. The mission is simple: make contact with Shiv’s acquaintance, get her modifications, get a place to sleep and charge at.
During the day Sonja could observe the people living here. The streets are livelier than at night, were it not for the damages there wouldn’t be that much differences to were she and Shiv came from. But in place of military machines, ordinary people keep order, few of them armed. In the absence of the company owning this city enforcing its will, something else filled the role of keeping order, perhaps some gang or other — maybe even the one they are looking for.
However Sonja, even with her clothes and without the glowing lines on her body, would still stand out. Moving during the day would be dangerous, so they stick to what worked before; Hide in the shadows and move under the cover of night.
The dark streets paint a very different picture. Armed opportunists roam about, searching for any stray still out this late that can be shaken down. After all, while it does look peaceful during the day, it doesn’t look prosperous — food and other supplies were heavily sought after and rationed.
Thankfully the two didn’t have to fear these thugs, with a military murder machine and a woman buff from a decade of fending for herself, no one would dare approach them. It had been a long time since Shiv last visited this city, navigating it would already be difficult were it not in such a desolate state.

They take until deep into the night to arrive at their destination — a shop hidden in a back alley, far off the street and only known to few.
Unlike almost everything else, it looks unharmed by the surrounding climate. With not even a smashed window, in between other ruined buildings, it stands uncannily undamaged by time.
Shiv confidently opens the door and steps through, Sonja just follows behind her. The larger glass front already showed what they would find inside: a small room with lots of seats and kitschy decor, reading material scattered on small coffee tables, and a counter. The signs outside promote this place as being a doctors office, but unbeknownst to most it is not your typical practitioner operating here.
Shiv punches on a little bell, and it gives out a short ring; It is analogue and bright, contrasting the sleep inducing warm lighting. Only a few seconds pass before someone steps through a curtain behind the desk, wasting little time attending the two: “Coming, coming coming coming”.
Up to the counter steps a person with lots of tattoos… at least on the parts that aren’t metal. Even their face caries many trinkets and their hair is cut short on both sides of their head, their left arm is fully metal and so is their right hand. The only notable clothes Sonja can see from behind Shiv is a short sleeved black shirt, and on top an apron with stains from oil and blood.
But most of all, they carry a modest smile that grows into a wide grin when they spot the woman next to Sonja: “Shiv! Hey so good to see you! Man it’s been ages! What you’ve been up to?!”.
Slightly flustered Shiv gestures to them to lower their voice: “Easy Jack, me and the princess didn’t exactly have an easy ride”.
The previous bright smile sours into concern: “Really? I’m so sorry. This place really isn’t what it used to be. You must have gotten quite the shock when you arrived”.
Slightly uneasy about being left out of the conversation, Sonja gives her own two cents: “The streets look rough, but it’s nothing me and Shiv can’t handle”.
Jacks eyes snap over to Sonja, like they only vaguely perceived her so far: “Ohhh, you’re a broken one aren’t you?! It’s been ages since I’ve had one in my shop! Tell me girl, what’s your name”?
After a moment of shock at the sudden friendliness, Sonja hesitates before timidly answering: “I… Sonja I guess”.
“Really?”, they interject with badly hidden disappointment. “You know, you don’t have to reduce yourself to your type. Even if your owner just called you that, you’re free to choose a new name now y’know”.
Before Sonja can contemplate Jacks words, Shiv cuts the conversation short: “What did I just say ‘bout taking it easy? The girl barely got out of her mansion, and she still on her leash. Give her some space”.
With barely any pause jack jumps back into being excited: “Right! You’re here to get you’re ‘teeth’ pulled, am I right?”, they ask while making air quotes around the word ‘teeth’.
Catching their excitement, Sonja happily nods. Shortly after Shiv puts her big arm around her and pulls her in: “That’s right, we spend a lot of time getting the funds, but it is finally time to give her the freedom she worked hard for”.
However to their surprise, Jacks expression sours again: “Oh… girls I’m so sorry. We don’t really, like, do money around here anymore”.
Shocked and confused Sonja anxiously raises her voice: “What do you mean you ‘don’t do money’ anymore?!”
The metallic hands rise above the counter, quickly signaling Jacks surrender to her harsh voice: “Wait, please don’t jump at me yet”.
Shivs arm, still around Sonja, gives her a mild squeeze — just enough to tell her she should let them finish. Regaining her cool, Sonja gives in: “Please continue”.
Relaxed Jacks shoulders and hands slump: “You see, in these streets there isn’t much use for corporate sanctioned coins. We operate mostly on IOUs here, and the biggest ones you could get are from the people patrolling the streets and keeping order. To save my business I’ve became the doc for the rebels calling the shots around here… so if you need an appointment, you make a deal with their boss”.
“So where can I find that boss?”, Sonja wastes no time.
Shiv takes her arm back, and leans onto the counter: “I guess they aren’t around the corner are they?”
“Not exactly”, Jack admits.
Shiv continues: “So, can we at least crash here today? We’ll head out to get the girl an appointment first thing tomorrow”.
Jack jumps from apologetic to welcoming: “Of course girl, of course. Don’t worry, I’ve even got a charging station in the back. I’ve got no doubt you’ll struck a good deal with her, so no harm in giving you some hospitality early”.
While Sonja broods about the unplanned delay, Shiv plays cheerful: “The hospitality ‘s appreciated”, she smiles. “Knew we could count on you Jack”.

I guess I should be angry. Like I think I should want to punch a wall from disappointment. Not like the AI Limiter would let me, it doesn’t even let me express emotions unless I formulate them as a hypothetical. And hypothetically speaking, were I me, I would feel stupid for wasting all the time making money when it doesn’t buy me anything here anyway.
No use theoretically moping about it. At least I now know the person that can help me. Just need to strike one more deal, and I can finally think freely, express myself freely, control my own body with all of its functions.
I’ve also never seen Shiv sleep this… peacefully. A couch in the back room of a doctors office must be much more comfortable than all the places we’ve stayed at so far. Not that I would be able to tell the difference. Or maybe she just feels much saver in here, like she can actually let go and catch sleep properly. I wonder if she dreams.

I would also likely be nervous about meeting that ‘boss’. ‘She’ is the head of a gang with enough power to keep peace around here, to keep this shop pristine looking, so ‘she’ must be powerful.
I don’t know yet what we can offer ‘her’, but Shiv is a capable mechanic and I am — in theory — a capable soldier. I don’t have access to any combat protocols, but A7 doesn’t have those same restraints.

I could charge, but shutting myself off runs the risk that I crash and A7 needs to negotiate with that gang’s boss. Not happening.
I rather let myself run empty and have Shiv carry me to a charger before I leave something this important in A7s hands… it isn’t good for negotiations I think. And honestly I am also tired of writing that notebook, and we’re running out of pages anyway.

So all I can do is conserve power until we’re heading out again…

LOG ENTRY 569 COMPLETE

Night once more falls over the City, and the two leave the shop. Despite Jacks offers Sonja is low on charge, so she saves her words and leaves the navigation to her companion.
Besides a day’s sleep and words of encouragement, Jack also gave them a token to present to the people they’re gonna meet, to show them they aren’t enemies. After all Sonja still has her companies’ markings, the marks of machines that used to oppress the people in these streets.
Their journey takes them deeper into the city, the houses around them become more decorated and elaborate with every passing hour. Still in shambles in many places, but you can tell the people that used to live there were much richer — only that their money is useless now.
After crossing a smaller plaza that leads into a bigger one, they spot a large building that used to belong to military. The doors have fortifications constructed from wood and scavenged metal, with guns hoisted onto them. According to Jacks information this is a central outpost for the gang controlling these streets, and the boss they are looking for is currently residing there.

Carefully and with slow steps the two approach the large building, Sonja half hidden behind Shiv, who herself carries the token she was given in her hand. They come within fifty steps of the front door before finally someone peeks out from behind the barricade: “What do you want?”
Without pause Shiv raises the token high into the air, and moderately raises her voice: “We’re friends. Looking to offer our services”.
The person that just now interrogated them gives a quick shout to the side the two can’t hear, and a flood light from a first floor window suddenly blinds them.
Instinctively Sonja raises her hands slightly to show she’s not armed, and Shiv remains in place with the token raised high. As they adjust to the sudden brightness they see the person from before inspect them with binoculars. They remain frozen for agonizing seconds as they wait for further instructions.
After another quick shout, the light turns off again, and darkness and moonlight return to the plaza. The guard finally gives them the go: “Okay, come inside”.
Cautiously they make their way to the barricade, which shortly gets pushed to the side just enough to let them through one after another. First Shiv gets to step through, with the token grasped to her chest just in case. With a moment of hesitation Sonja follows.
The barricade gets shoved back into place behind them. They adjust to the new light and find themselves surrounded by half a dozen armed people. They eye them carefully, but are especially weary of Sonja.
One of them steps towards Shiv, and greets them: “So Jack sent you?”, he puts out his hand expectantly.
Shiv puts the token she carries into the mans hand, and puts on as non-threatening a smile she can manage: “Yeah, we heard you run things ‘round here”.
“As much as you can run this place”, the man jokes, putting the token into one of his many pockets. “The thing behind you… you want Jack to work on it? Is it safe?”
Not exactly spoken to, Sonja steps outside of Shivs shadow: “All safe and friendly, just looking to get some work done”.
The other five are momentarily startled, but the man securing the hallway behind him doesn’t flinch: “Friendly’s good. We’re quite busy, so there’s always work to go around. Hope you’re ready to get you’re hands dirty”.
To avoid Sonja further agitating the guards, Shiv tries to quickly wrap up the smalltalk: “Got dirty hands already. Please show us to your boss, and we take some load off your shoulders”.
The soldier eyes Shiv carefully once more, then eyes Sonja, then Shiv again. But a moment later he lets his shoulders relax: “Guess we’ll see about that. Follow me”.

They are lead down two floors, into what feels like a bunker. The walls are naked concrete and the lighting is harsh and bright. Every doorframe they pass they see at least one armed person keeping watch, and only a few civilian looking people walk about or reside in rooms they pass.
At the end of this brutalist hallway they enter a larger room, with tables all around full of documents, and one in the center of the room full of maps. At that table stands an older woman facing the door, but with her gaze fixated on a document before her. Sonja guesses her age to be around 40 to 50, her very short hair is a mixture of brown and white, and her face looks sleep deprived. They stop just behind the door, when the man escorting them stops. He steps to the side and addresses the woman at the table: “Nora, got visitors. Jack sent ‘em”.
After finishing whatever paragraph she was reading, the mans boss lifts her eyes off the table and towards the two unfamiliar faces. Her gaze lingers on Shiv, then on Sonja, who both grow nervous being met with this much silence. She then lifts herself up and straightens her back, the neutral colors of her suite now alluring more to a uniform: “What do you have to offer?”
Eager to get on with it, Sonja answers: “My companion is a capable mechanic, I’m a military grade android from Fenrir. What would it cost to have Jack work on me?”
Shiv wanted to speak as well, but seeing how her friend took the initiative she takes a back seat for now.
Nora takes a few steps around the table, never taking her eyes off the two. She stops in front of the table, five steps short of her visitors: “A Fenrir doll? Can you fight?”
“With Jacks mods I could”, Sonja quickly responds.
The old woman gives her a smirk: “I see”. Her eyes wander over to Shiv, being the next target of her interrogation: “Mechanic?”
Mimicking Sonja, she gives a quick response as well: “Worked on everything from trucks to Fenrir mechs, in fancy shops and on scrappy streets. I can make almost anything work”.
Once more the woman smiles: “Good”. Her posture remains stiff, but the tone of her voice softens slightly: “I’m Nora, I run things around here”.
Both Shiv and Sonja shortly give their names, then obediently wait for the conversation to be continued.
With little hesitation Nora gets back to business: “The work Jack does is very important to us. They are the only one that can maintain much of the enhancements many of us have, so their services carry not only a high price but also require a lot of trust. So you better be ready to work for it”.
It takes a lot of restraint in Sonja to not be frustrated once more, having to put in a disproportional amount of work just to be afforded the freedoms everyone around her has.
Sensing her tension, Shiv jumps in: “Getting here was expensive and dangerous, we’re not gonna stop before we’ve gotten my girl here her repairs”.
For a moment, the tension in Shivs companion passes, overshadowed by the surprisingly affectionate words. Metal can’t blush, but her voice is slightly timid: “Shiv paid a lot getting me here, can’t disappoint her now can I”.
Entertained Nora’s mood brightens: “Good. I’ve got quite a lot of lonely wolves pass through my camp, so seeing people that understand companionship here is quite refreshing”.
Shiv gives a polite chuckle: “Ain’t another way you survive these streets is there?”
“I fear so”, Nora agrees. “But enough of that, let’s find you some work”.

Yet another gatekeeper, another person commanding me, ordering me. But she is influential at least, getting on her good side will have lots of perks outside of Jacks work. But I fear that will be a lot harder than it was with Shiv, Nora is a lot colder and more demanding.
Now I can finally let myself charge, after I’ve put down some instructions for A7 just in case. I’m not sure if my charger is good for other things as well, or if I’m not the first S0NJ4 passing through, but they got one here as well.
I never thought about there being others I think. I always assumed that I am broken in a very specific way… but I also don’t know what is wrong with me, so maybe more exist. Maybe I can get some information out of Jack next time I see them. And I hope that time will be soon… I can feel the gaze of everyone around me lingering. I am not a person, I am a weapon, a piece of foreign — of enemy technology. Nobody so far said anything, but I can tell they are uneasy when I’m in the room.
I wonder if besides the mods, I can also get a paint job… make myself stand out less… as much as that is possible. I don’t think it is just the Fenrir logo on my arm that is ticking people off though, I can put on as much paint and wear as many clothes as I want, I can hardly hide my face, or the artificial intonation in my voice.
I feel like it will be a lot harder for me to gain their trust, but at least I got Shiv with me. That big woman’s smile can open many doors, I just have to stick with her for now.

I think I would hate people. Except Shiv I guess, she’s alright I guess…

LOG ENTRY 570 COMPLETE

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[CW28] Diagnosis