zerotohiro | Just so you know, you'll never know, and some secrets weren't meant to be told [W1, Tuesday]

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Just so you know, you'll never know, and some secrets weren't meant to be told [W1, Tuesday]

[The island continued to be the same, and so Hiro continued to explore the beach idly. The fish were still hard to catch and the sand kept getting all over the inside of his sneakers which was annoying. The sun was overhead, and though he tried to chart the stars the night before he wasn't able to get a good answer.

It didn't hurt that he kept thinking about Sunday and what the Chief had said. It didn't hurt that he'd also taken note of some people's reactions.

It's why when he finds Raven on the beach that day he considers for a moment before carefully approaching, settling down next to her.]

...think we're gonna have to live on fish forever?

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[She looks over at him as he sits down. She's been working to get the sand out of the joints of her brace as well as she can, but the progress halts once he speaks up.]

No. We'd thin out the supply eventually and have to look for edible plants.

[But that's probably not what he meant, she assumes, or why he decided to approach her.]

What's up?

[His eyes flick toward her brace for a moment, and he's genuinely curious what that's all about. It's not polite to ask despite how much he really wants to, but instead he focuses on the conversation.]

There's a whole jungle that way. We could probably find something. [But he bites his lip.] I guess it's just. [How to say this...] You seem like you know what you're doing. So I guess I was curious what you thought of all of this. Everything the Chief said Sunday? That kind of thing.

I think they're screwing with us, and I hope their code is hosted somewhere on the island so I can get in and edit it.

[As for the murder part of it, though...]

I doubt they're bluffing about their plans, though, and I can't imagine nobody will take them up on it. I'd watch your back if I were you.

I'm not scared. [It's immediate, and moreso, it's not from a place of a child pretending to be brave for the sake of looking more mature than they are. He's genuinely not as scared as he probably should be. Is he worried about what people are going to do? Of course. But being scared won't get him answers. It never has.]

I don't think all forty of us are going to ignore it either. The Chief said that there's something in place to make sure somebody dies each week, but also that we don't have to worry about it this week. I'm not sure what that means, but it's probably not good.

[But.] You know how to write codes?

That's not a bad thing, but you're still in danger whether or not you're afraid. I doubt anything here is going to be good, for what it's worth.

[A small shrug, and then a pause as she seems to realize something.]

...Long story. I could still manage bits and pieces, but not the same level as I used to.

You're in just as much danger as I am. What're you planning to do? [But sees that bit of hesitation and decides to pursue it after a bit.] I've been writing my own for years. If we did have the chance to do something like that, maybe I could help.

[He's not entirely sold on reprogramming the robots just yet, but it's been an idle thought since Sunday. Or at least getting in to read how they were programmed at all.]

I've been through worse than this.

[She sounds dismissive. It isn't that the danger hasn't sunk in, it's just it doesn't feel as extreme as a few other experiences she could name.]

You might have a better shot at it than I do. My specialty's always been mechanics.

That has literally nothing to do with what I just said. [A gentle lift of his eyebrows? Raven come on. Apparently only he can be dismissive here.] I mean it sort of does but it doesn't answer the question.

[There's a small shrug.] Maybe I would. I've also been studying and building robots for a while now. They needed mechanics in space? For...what, the station?

It means that I'm too awesome to get killed here. That's the important part.

[Which still doesn't answer the question?? Oops.]

That'll definitely come in handy if we figure out a way to access the code. [She nods.] Yeah, for zero-g. Sometimes they'd need a repair made somewhere in the station. Meant I got to go on spacewalks, which are officially the best things ever.

[Man okay whatever, sure.]

Those sound awesome? I've never been to space before, so it all sounds really, really cool. This place is probably driving you crazy then.

[She shakes her head.]

I got to get out of the station when they needed repairs, but as incredible as it was... Who wants to spend most of their life in a tin can? Going back to Earth was always our goal.

...when you put it that way, it doesn't sound as great. Can I ask what was wrong with Earth in the first place?

[A shrug.]

You can ask, but you're not going to like the answer.

There's a lot of things in this world I don't like. I'm asking anyway.

[It seems that's all the urging she needs, because she starts the explanation with a nod. It's easier to explain to someone who knows as much about science as she does.]

An AI hacked into the nuclear launch codes because it thought overpopulation was the biggest barrier to a higher quality of life for humanity.

[Which brings her to...]

So. Weapon of mass destruction?

[Oh. Well that sucks. He's giving her a wide-eyed look because that sure isn't exciting and it's sort of horrifying actually?]

Oh. I didn't think an AI would have any kind of say in the qualify of human life. [He says nothing about its sentience because. Like. Baymax exists. He knows his robot bud could do something like that if programmed right.

But of course Raven asks a question and he sucks in a breath, shaking his head suddenly.]

That's not true. Whatever it said, I never made something like that. [Not to destroy multiple people, anyway, so a weapon of destruction would be correct. Mass destruction? Not so much.]

She was designed to eliminate pain and make life better. Guess they didn't realize she'd pick that way to do it, and by then it was too late.

[She's more curious about what he says next, though.]

So what'd you make?

[Surprisingly, he looks offended briefly.] This is why you have to know your programming inside and out, what the heck were they thinking?

[But okay. He thinks of the best way to explain this.] I just made a program to teach someone to fight. That's it.

They were probably thinking they could control it enough that it wouldn't start to think outside of the parameters they set for it.

[A lot of good that did.]

So... A way for people to excel in combat without needing training?

Then they weren't thinking about it enough. [What if he just stares at the ocean instead.]

...not exactly. It was a way for a robot to excel in combat so he could fight and react against his original programming.

I'm not about to argue with you there.

[There's a influx of bitterness in her voice as she says that, but it fades as she continues on.]

Huh. Why did you need it to know how to fight? Not that I can't see the basic value in something like that.

[He takes note of the tone anyway, though he has nothing to say to call her on it.

Instead, he thinks carefully on what to say next.]

I wanted his help. [That's definitely not the whole truth, but it's a weird balance of telling her everything and not.] ...how much can I really trust you with anything, Raven?

[She seems surprised by the question, but she decides to level with him. He seems like a smart kid.]

I mean, that's really up to you, not me.

I've always heard the whole "trust" thing relies on both people. [But okay.]

Ever hear about superheroes up on your space station? Or did those go out of fashion with the apocalypse?

Overall it does, but you didn't ask how much we can trust each other. You asked how much you can trust me. I can't really decide that for you.

[A shrug.]

Like Superman.

[So, that's a yes.]

[He lets the thread of trust drop because he's not going to tell her where he stands on it. Raven's smart and he's okay talking to her, but he still can't quite pinpoint how much he trusts her. So instead, it's easier to talk about a fact she might not even believe.]

Right. Like Superman. I am kinda like him but without the superpowers. So maybe more like Batman? But I don't have a Lucius Fox. I supply my own gear.

[...it might be funny if he didn't sound so deadly serious and if he wasn't still staring straight out into the ocean because he's preparing for her to write him off.] We were superheroes. And I needed to make some upgrades to him before I could fix everything.

I'm going to pretend I know who Lucius Fox is.

[But she follows the rest of that well enough, and she doesn't seem openly disbelieving. There's no point in dismissing him off the bat, as strange as it sounds. Besides, it's much easier to believe when he prefaces it with the fact that he doesn't have any superpowers, even if it leaves her with a few questions. First:]

So you try to protect people, or try to help them. [She's likening it to a security officer with a higher level of technology in her head, even if that's not quite it.] What kind of equipment did you use yourself?

[Oh. He finally turns to look at her, not quite sure what expression to settle on before methodically answering her questions.]

Yeah. That's...what we do. [But he's a little more okay explaining everything and his hands gesture a bit while he speaks.] Everybody had different gear that we built based on whatever they were working on at the time and what they specialized in. His armor was designed so that he could launch a rocket-fist, plus with some thrusters installed into his boots and added wings so that he could fly. My armor was designed so I could navigate from his back in the air, too, and be in communication with the rest of my team at all times. [A nervous smile?] I built everything myself.

[You can practically see the way her eyes light up as soon as he mentions the words rocket and thruster.]

What kind of materials did you use? And what kind of fuel? And what tools did you use to shape the armor?

Rocket fuel, what else? [It's hard to tell if he's joking or not.] His original suit was made of carbon fiber, so I upgraded based on that. We have a 3D printer so a lot of it was hand-designed on my computer before I printed out the pieces and put them together for everybody. The handcrafting was a lot of sanding and some welding but it was actually pretty simple once the finer mechanics were put in place. I think maybe Honey Lemon's might have been the hardest because it needed to be programmed to understand the chemical input, but Fred's fire power--

--[...ah.] Anyway. It was a fun project. I had everything I needed to upgrade everybody.

[She looks fairly impressed by most of that, but there's a teasing grin when he cuts himself off.]

Come on, you can't hold out on me when you got to the best part. What about the fire power?

[Sorry, Hiro.]

[...there's a small grin.]

Fred wanted to be a fire-breathing lizard, so I made him a flame-resistant suit and installed a flamethrower behind the mouth. There were also mechanics installed in the legs so he could superjump really, really high. We also gave him a cupholder. [For no reason.] Everything works really well.

Nice. What material did you use for a suit that stopped his face from getting burnt? Flame resistant is one thing, but temperature is harder to regulate.

[She can at least guess what a cupholder is.]

The way it was designed meant having a temperature shield between his face and the flamethrower. Fred's the school mascot, so the suit itself was made so he could open it from the top and slip in and out whenever he wanted without worrying about jostling the actual interior.

[There's a pause.] You really believe all of this without question, don't you? [Even so, the tone doesn't give any sort of indication that he's lying so there's that.]

What's a school mascot? Nice work on the temperature shield, though.

[A pause.]

I mean, I'm not sure why you would lie about it. Or how you'd make it up on the fly, come to think of it.

It's like...it's a figure that's supposed to represent your school? Like a symbol. It's kind of useless actually.

I know, but some people ask a lot of stupid questions. So far you haven't.

And yours was a... lizard?

[Sounds weird.]

Well, all of it sounds scientifically possible so far. I'm not going to start going off about how you couldn't have done any of it.

Not sure why but yes.

But yeah. Armor. That's the only weaponry I've really made. So it's another profile exaggeration.

I guess technology to teach a robot how to fight could cause mass destruction if it got into the wrong hands. Still, it sounds much worse than it is, I'll give you that.

[smh @ profiles.]

Guess it's just more proof we can't trust anything they've written out of context.

...I mean there is a ton you can do with tech. It's why I want a closer look at the chiefs, too. Maybe they're also weapons of mass destruction.

They did say they've done this hundreds of times. I'd think that counts as mass.

Yeah, about that...did anyone ask why it's been hundreds of times? What are they even trying to accomplish here?

[A shrug.]

I feel like that's one of the answers we're not going to get out of them for weeks, if ever.

Then maybe we just focus on what we can for now. I don't like it, but I'm not sure what else we can do just yet either.

...anything I get from them, I'll try to let you know. It's not going to be easy, but I'm also not interested in giving up on them just yet.

Just make sure not to trust anything you do get too much.

[She's #paranoid.]

I know what I'm doing, I promise.

[With that though, he's moving to stand.] I should get going though. I'll catch up with you later?

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Just so you know, you'll never know, and some secrets weren't meant to be told [W1, Tuesday]

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