A city of white and silver, doctors from all over the world come to converge here and find work. Hospitals of all kinds decorate the white walkways of the city. There are many notable ones you can visit if your pet is in need of some attention. (+3 Precision)

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Re: Unbreak My Heart New [P; crow and I]

Postby crow » 06/15/2015 10:34 PM

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INITIALIZING SELF ACTIVATION

CORE SYSTEMS... CLEAR
MOTOR SYSTEMS... CLEAR
TACTILE MONITORING SYSTEMS... CLEAR
AUDITORY SYSTEMS... CLEAR
VISUAL SYSTEMS... CLEAR

BEGIN ACTIVATION IN 3... 2... 1

Whirr... click.


The robot's eyes flickered open. For a moment, he was still, attempting to gain his bearings. His sensors informed him that he was prone, lying on surface that its internal database identified as carpet. Light levels were low; his visual system could detect very little. The room was quiet, but he could hear the faint sound of someone breathing.

A quick check of his own body revealed that he was wearing an unidentifiable device on his head. After a moment's deliberation, he ran his fingers along it, then gently removed it from himself. He rose smoothly to his feet and activated his night-vision module, which revealed the wires connecting the headpiece to a second one attached to the head of a man--- no, a corpse, upon closer examination. Emaciated, but recently dead. The body was still faintly warm.

The robot dwelt upon the body for a moment, searching its database and memory for something. Both were disappointingly empty, not only of relevant information but of any content whatsoever. His procedures ran mostly unimpeded by the lack, but there was little to inform him or issue directives. The body--- the body was significant but he could not determine why. No, he had to move on. Perhaps he would be able to find information from another source elsewhere.

He turned his attention to the source of the breathing. Another man lay collapsed near the bed, unconscious. Again the robot attempted to consult his programming, but it held no answers for him this time either. He glanced up at the bed. The medical equipment was unusual, but from the layout of the room, it appeared to be a residence. There was a high likelihood that there were other beds here. Coming to a decision, he bent down to pick up the unconscious man, carrying him out the door. He wandered from room to room, searching for a suitable place to deposit the man, and quietly developing a map of the layout of the area. Eventually he arrived at a smaller room, sparsely furnished, which contained a second bed. Gently, he laid the man down, then stood to the side and waited. He had no way of knowing when the man would wake, but he had questions and needed answers, and this man seemed like his best chance at finding them.
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Re: Unbreak My Heart New [P; crow and I]

Postby zapdragon555 » 06/18/2015 11:32 PM

The passage of time to Rudy, in his unconscious state, had gone by very quickly. Within seconds of having passed out he was aware of waking up, a soft but firm surface beneath him and a headache worming through the back of his skull and around his temples. In actuality, he'd been out for about an hour--it's a wonder he didn't sleep longer, seeing as how he'd barely slept at all in the past few days of working on making sure everything was in... order...

Rudy jerked in instinctive realization--the transfer, had it gone through? He needed to check--Rudy opened his eyes, finally, realizing he'd forgotten to do that manually, and found himself staring up at a familiar and yet frighteningly unfamiliar face. Yes, it was a face he had sculpted with Terrence with his own two hands, but seeing it there, with a new light in its eyes and an erect, very much living posture, it seemed almost alien to Rudy. And right then, in his hazy state, it frightened him. "Christ--wh-what..." Rudy sat up all at once, and he cursed sharply, holding his aching head in his hands as he bent over, hiding his face in his scarred hands. "What the hell is... where..."



But there will come a time
You'll see, with no more tears
And love will not break your heart
But dismiss your fears
Get over your hill and see
What you find there
With grace in your heart
And flowers in your hair



"Tomorrow will be a good day."


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Re: Unbreak My Heart New [P; crow and I]

Postby crow » 06/19/2015 7:02 PM

The robot had been staring unblinkingly at Rudy as he waited, his pale blue eyes impassive. Registering a change in the man's breathing patterns and eye movements, he approached the side of the bed. "You are awake." As soon as Rudy sat up, the robot moved to restrain him. "Please remain still. My sensors indicate that you are suffering from severe exhaustion; it would be unwise to attempt any strenuous activity until you have recovered." To that end, he considered the man's poorly-phrased question. If they began conversing, it would likely keep the man occupied and stationary for a time, and perhaps there would be opportunity for the robot to pose some questions of his own.

Unfortunately, he was unable to make sense of what the man was saying. "I am afraid you will have to clarify. What are you looking for?" he asked, inclining his head.
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Re: Unbreak My Heart New [P; crow and I]

Postby zapdragon555 » 06/23/2015 10:33 PM

"Sensors..." Rudy half mouthed, half whispered, squinting with a pained expression at the robot. What...? Rudy stared at it for a long moment, and slowly, the wrinkles in his forehead and crease in his brow softened to realization, his expression slackening to shock. "You... it... it worked," he breathed, dark brown eyes going wide. It didn't seem to register how utterly, well, robotic the voice sounded, how unlike Terrence's warm voice. He couldn't have cared less, in that moment--the robot was working, was speaking and moving, which meant something had worked. "Oh, just... just let me see you," he said softly, reaching out with his hands to barely brush his fingertips against the robot's face, angling the chin up just slightly and turning it from side to side. Yes, the neck was working properly... the eyes, oh, everything... Perhaps it was his lack of sleep, but Rudy felt a dampness in his eyes as he practically beamed at the robot. "H-how does it feel, sir?"



But there will come a time
You'll see, with no more tears
And love will not break your heart
But dismiss your fears
Get over your hill and see
What you find there
With grace in your heart
And flowers in your hair



"Tomorrow will be a good day."


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Re: Unbreak My Heart New [P; crow and I]

Postby crow » 06/24/2015 1:40 AM

"Are you visually impaired?" the robot said. "Do you require assistance?" The average man of Rudy's apparent age should have been able to make him out perfectly well from this distance, but he had no information on specific individuals. He stayed perfectly still as Rudy examined his face, but a look of confusion crossed his features at the way Rudy addressed him.

"Sir...? You are... referring to me?" he said slowly. That didn't seem right. He had nothing to confirm or deny it, but part of the reason he had been waiting for the man to wake up was to request directives. He certainly had none to give himself, much less to someone else. Still, it did seem that Rudy recognized him, which was a promising sign. "Are you acquainted with me?"
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Re: Unbreak My Heart New [P; crow and I]

Postby zapdragon555 » 06/28/2015 4:49 PM

Something in Rudy's heart didn't quite seem to get it. His heart kept hammering away in his chest, wild and joyful and full of excitement and hope. And all the while, his smile was sinking, his mind slowly wrapping around the robot's slow words. Slowly, Rudy's hands came away from the robot's face to lie in his lap, his body seeming to wilt where he sat in the bed. "Y--yes, I... I am," he began, slowly, licking his lips and taking a steadying breath. Articulate. Be calm--it was possible there were just a few bugs to work out. Maybe the memory still had to settle? The synapses needed to connect properly, something like that. He offered the robot a smile, his expression a hopeful one masking a deeper fear behind it. "I'm... I'm Rudy, you know?" he began, leaning a little closer to the robot, meeting his eyes, a pause flickering in his words before he took a breath and continued. "...Terrence?"



But there will come a time
You'll see, with no more tears
And love will not break your heart
But dismiss your fears
Get over your hill and see
What you find there
With grace in your heart
And flowers in your hair



"Tomorrow will be a good day."


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Re: Unbreak My Heart New [P; crow and I]

Postby crow » 06/28/2015 10:08 PM

The robot's sensors could detect Rudy's heart rate through the hand resting on his face, and he knew enough to recognize that Rudy's pulse was abnormally elevated, though he couldn't determine why. "You are unwell," he said. "My sensors indicate an unusual amount of activity. Please take care not to risk further damage to your health." His programming indicated that he ought to dispense some recommendations, but his databases had no such information, and eventually he aborted the search. At the mention of Rudy's name, he paused for a moment, mechanical eyes focusing and unfocusing on the man's face. The moment passed, however, and whatever he had recognized in it went with it. "Duly noted. I shall address you as such from now on, Rudy." Another pause, and he went on, in the same detached toneless voice: "I do not sense any other presence. You would like to assign my name as 'Terrence'?"
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Re: Unbreak My Heart New [P; crow and I]

Postby zapdragon555 » 07/01/2015 5:27 PM

"No, no I'm fine--really," Rudy began, hands wringing together in his lap as he shook his head--ah, yes, that was just like Terrence. Always concerned about Rudy's health... Honestly, it was wishful thinking at this point. Rudy knew something had gone awry, or at least, not as he'd planned. But he could deal with that. He could ignore that for the time being--and eventually work around that. The more the robot spoke, however... the more Rudy's heart seemed to sink into a colder, darker place.

"Address me as... y...y-yes," he stammered slowly, staring at the robot, his hands shaking in his lap. Rudy slowly looked around the dark room, as if to see this 'other presence,' this actual living Terrence who would walk in and congratulate him on getting the robot to work so smoothly, who would laugh and pat his shoulder and say how proud he was, not... "No--" Rudy blurted, then seized, trembling as he glanced away from the robot, staring at a fold in the sheets. "I mean... that... Terrence is your name. Yes... that's your name. You... You remember, right?" Oh, that might be a bad thing to ask, but--



But there will come a time
You'll see, with no more tears
And love will not break your heart
But dismiss your fears
Get over your hill and see
What you find there
With grace in your heart
And flowers in your hair



"Tomorrow will be a good day."


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Re: Unbreak My Heart New [P; crow and I]

Postby crow » 07/11/2015 8:19 AM

The robot said crisply, "Very well. I am Terrence. From now on I will introduce myself as such when prompted." There wasn't the slightest hint of recognition in him at the mention of the name, only a calm acceptance of new instructions. Rudy's question struck him as highly unusual given the absence of his memory banks, and he saw the opportunity to ask for an explanation at last. "I am afraid my database has been entirely removed. I had no directives when I was activated, and everything I have done thus far has been a result of my AI. If I have acted in an undesirable manner, I apologize." He had wondered whether that was the case; he was still picking up some signs of distress from Rudy, though he had no way of knowing what was causing it. "I have some basic programming, but nothing else beyond that. Was there an accident prior to my activation? Do you have any additional directives you wish to give me?" His tone was still too bland and polite to sound hopeful, but it came close.
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Re: Unbreak My Heart New [P; crow and I]

Postby zapdragon555 » 07/22/2015 6:34 PM

Entirely removed... no directives... Rudy's eyes were locked on the robot's--Terrence's...?--face, his heartbeat slow and loud in his ears. No, no no no no no--no, something must have gone wrong. "This... is my fault," the words tumbled out of him weakly, his hands falling into his lap to grip at the sheets, scars along his fingers stretching painfully as he gripped hard. Additional directives... how on earth could he even begin to rebuild what he'd broken? No, it was too late now--everything was botched, gone, ruined, and all because Rudy couldn't wait.

What if the doctors had discovered they could've saved Terrence, after all? What if Rudy had just taken one more day to see if he could stabilize the process properly? Rudy felt as though he was going to be sick. "At the moment," he began slowly, eyes falling to stare at the foot of his bed, hollow in their exhausted sockets, "I think... I'd like to be left alone."



But there will come a time
You'll see, with no more tears
And love will not break your heart
But dismiss your fears
Get over your hill and see
What you find there
With grace in your heart
And flowers in your hair



"Tomorrow will be a good day."


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Re: Unbreak My Heart New [P; crow and I]

Postby crow » 08/01/2015 5:42 AM

((sorry, it ran a bit long))

The robot--- Terrence--- listened with quiet attentiveness to Rudy as he spoke, waiting for some further explanation of what exactly had happened. However, it soon became clear that nothing of the sort would be forthcoming. Something about the exchange had apparently deeply upset him, though Terrence couldn't identify the reason for it. There was too much he didn't know, and trying to deduce anything based on his limited information simply overworked his processors. He wanted to ask more questions, but Rudy had given him a directive, so he left the room and closed the door behind him with a soft, near-inaudible click.

He had predicted that Rudy would make an appearance sometime in the near future to give him further instructions, but days passed without Terrence ever seeing the man. Eventually, his activity drive prompted him to seek out something to occupy himself of his own accord. He wandered the house, taking stock of his surroundings, memorizing the objects in each room and investigating some of their uses. There was access to an internet connection, which he managed to coax out of one of the many computers; with that, he was better able to compensate for his lack of internal memory programming.

The body in the room he had woken up in was gone by the time he began his catalogue of the house. He wondered briefly what had become of it, but it made logical sense that it was gone. The state of a corpse deteriorated in an unpleasant manner as time wore on unless special measures were taken to prevent it, and humans found their presence deeply unsettling regardless of their condition. That, too, was a matter he wished to ask Rudy about, but Rudy had not rescinded his original directive, and appeared to be taking some pains to enforce it on his end, so Terrence continued to avoid him as best he could.

In an effort to prove himself to be of some use, he began to clean the house. At first, there was a great deal to be done. The previous owner had not been messy, but neither had they been completely neat, and there were signs that the house had suffered in a state of neglect for some time prior to Terrence's activation. However, after his first thorough organization of the interior, there was not much to be done. The house was barely lived-in. Soon, he found himself in want of a purpose once more.

One thing had drawn his attention from the time he had first made his way through the house. There was a door in the kitchen that led out to the garden. He did not venture outside, but it remained in his thoughts, and when he was idle it would resurface as if of its own accord. Without meaning to, one day he found himself standing in front of it, one hand on the latch. He hesitated.

Rudy had never forbid him from it. Rudy had never said anything on the matter. His searches for further information turned up nothing about any laws, unspoken or otherwise, which forbid a member of the household from entering its garden. The matter of whether he constituted a member of the household was a debatable one, but certainly, even if he was an object under the law, he should not be trespassing if he was allowed in the home itself.

He pushed the door open and walked through.

The garden showed signs of having at one point been a neat, well-groomed affair. He knew none of the plants by name, but even in its state of neglect, he had the sense that they had some harmonious aspect. Unfortunately, the wireless connection did not extend outside the house, and he had no way to research the proper methods of identification and care. Still, his slow meandering steps took him to the small toolshed, where he ran his hands idly over the items inside. A trowel here, mulch there. He paused a moment, considering them, before picking up a few items and heading back out to the rosebushes. Kneeling before them, he inspected the plants carefully, before donning a pair of gloves and setting to work.
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Re: Unbreak My Heart New [P; crow and I]

Postby zapdragon555 » 08/01/2015 4:42 PM

Rudy tried not to recall the words the doctor had said upon receiving the call that Terrence had passed. 'So soon?' he'd murmured, a phrase laced with sympathy and surprise that made Rudy's gut wrench. It confirmed to him that Terrence could have had more time--more time for that, though? More time to suffer? More time to accept his own death and give up? Rudy distracted his thoughts of doom and sadness with angry ones instead. And what right had the doctor to just give up on Terrence, too?! But the doctor had called a mortician, and a funeral was scheduled sometime the following week. Rudy wasn't sure if he should attend or not.

Every time Rudy tried to push the blame off his shoulders to someone else, it came back tenfold, and kept Rudy in bed most days. When he wasn't in bed, he was trying to force something into his stomach, and at all costs, avoid that thing that now held Terrence's name. It felt wrong. Disgusting, a bastardization of life, of the person Rudy knew. Loved, too. That was another painful, crushing realization that settled in on Rudy's chest, that he truly did have feelings for the man, and he hated himself for it. Perhaps it was that selfishness that inspired him to go against Terrence's wishes. And look where that had gotten him!

Today, however... was a little bit nicer, for once. Rudy had woken up to bright sunlight coming through the sliver in his window, almost hurting his eyes as he sat up in bed. His stomach felt hollow, long past the point of hunger, but... food actually sounded alright, right about then. He was sure they still had something edible in the house, though the perishables were questionable. He wandered out of his room, clothes rumpled from sleep, and moved towards the kitchen area of the house to make some coffee. He wondered, offhandedly, where the robot had run off to; he had noticed that the house was much cleaner than before, and while he knew he should be happy, the other part of him was angry that the robot was touching everything, altering everything, leaving a mark on the place that would cover up Terrence's comfortable clutter.

He hit the button on the coffee machine a little harder than he meant to as he searched for some bagels in the cupboard. If he had closed the cupboard a second later, he would have missed it--Rudy's ears were one of his stronger suits--the sound of the tiny garden shed's door closing shut on its rickety hinges. Rudy, for a moment, stood still as a statue, his heart hammering in his chest and making him dizzy from lack of food and proper sleep--Terrence...? No, of course not. Unless he was dreaming... but then who...?

Terrence tensed slightly, then left the kitchen and darted through the house towards the door to the garden, and he pushed it open to stare at the robot kneeling in front of a rose bush. Rudy's brown eyes flared with alarm, then anger. "What are you doing out here?" he asked, voice rough and dry from disuse.



But there will come a time
You'll see, with no more tears
And love will not break your heart
But dismiss your fears
Get over your hill and see
What you find there
With grace in your heart
And flowers in your hair



"Tomorrow will be a good day."


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Re: Unbreak My Heart New [P; crow and I]

Postby crow » 09/15/2015 3:31 AM

The sound of the door opening was all the warning Terrence had before he found himself addressed by Rudy. He looked up calmly, almost impassively. The man sounded angry, so he turned his gaze back down to the roses, but he found nothing amiss as far as he could tell. "I am not harming them," he said, hoping that would be enough to mollify Rudy. He shifted slightly, leaning back to allow Rudy a clear view of what he was doing. "I have been attempting to occupy myself, but there is nothing else to be done within the house. Perhaps you have a new directive for me?" Judging by Rudy's hostile countenance, Terrence doubted this was the case, but there could be no harm in asking.

In truth, he should have stopped what he was doing in the face of Rudy's displeasure, but he continued to spread mulch along the flowerbed. He hadn't received an explicit order to stop, and in the meantime there was too much to be done. Compared with the house, the garden was still in a sad state of neglect, made all the worse by the fact that it had been left to its own devices for longer. It would take him some time to restore it to a healthy state.
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Re: Unbreak My Heart New [P; crow and I]

Postby zapdragon555 » 09/19/2015 11:08 AM

Rudy's jaw was set in a flat line, clearly trying to reign himself in before he did something rash. This robot was ruining things--this was Terrence's garden, and it would die with him. Any other option felt disrespectful, somehow, in Rudy's tumultuous heart. Nothing really made sense, anyway, and the idea to just let the garden die was no exception, but it was one Rudy clung to.

Even so... minus the slight stiffness of the robot's hardware, the way it tended to the roses was... very human. His eyes threatened to soften, anger threatened to subside, and days of lack of sleep made it all the more easy. But no--his mouth was opening, a burn of irritation already swelling in his throat. "Your new directive is to get the hell away from Terrence's garden," he snapped, but his words held less venom in them than he wanted them to. He stood in the doorway, as if there was a border between him and the garden, and he was jealous that the robot had so easily crossed it. "It's no use, anyway... it'll never grow back properly." Empty words for his empty heart--cliche, and so very, very true. It felt good to wallow in this, somehow. He wanted the robot to feel it, too, though he knew such a thing was impossible. But there was nothing more hollow-feeling than mourning alone.

It didn't even really occur to him that the robot was, essentially, teaching itself. How else would it know how to garden? Yes, the AI was strong, but surely without any prior instruction it would be near impossible... it was a bothersome thought in the back of Rudy's mind that was fully repressed by the current situation.



But there will come a time
You'll see, with no more tears
And love will not break your heart
But dismiss your fears
Get over your hill and see
What you find there
With grace in your heart
And flowers in your hair



"Tomorrow will be a good day."


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Re: Unbreak My Heart New [P; crow and I]

Postby crow » 12/16/2015 9:15 AM

Confusion clouded Terrence's features at Rudy's words. “Terrence... Terrence's garden?” he repeated. He ran a search through his few and limited memories to make sure he recalled it correctly--- he had not been referred to by the name he was given since his activation. However, the information stored away in his drives all indicated that this was the name he had been given. There were no other names in his database that could have been confused with it. The only other name he had was Rudy's, which was very clearly not his own.

“I am misunderstanding something,” he said, after a long pause, choosing his words carefully. He did his best to keep his tone neutral, lest he upset Rudy further. The man had gained some measure of control after his earlier outburst, but it was clear that he was still upset. Terrence's hands were still, folded up on his legs as he knelt by the roses. “You are ordering me to get away from... my garden?”
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