Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

"How much better? What's the ping like?" David asks.

 

Terrae thinks for a moment, before coming to a conclusion.
"Send me a list with the mines that the ores are coming from."

 

“Yes, sir, but I’ll need a day. We’re already pressing the schedule now as-is, sorry.”

“There are no access points on your planet, and you have a 0.3 millisecond ping average. I hope that’s satisfactory. I can have one constructed if that’s intolerable.”

 

"Jesus, that's fast." David says.

 

“No need to build an access point closer to you, then?”

 

"No, that's fine." David says.

 

"Well, if you have any other questions, you can always ask for me through StellarNet. Also, be careful who you let use this laptop. If someone steals it and opens it, they might be prone to... disappearing."

 

"It's a big world we live in. Everything already feels far away, can't imagine what it would feel like for a bee."

 

"Very well." Terrae says, teleporting back into his throne room and calling for a servant.

 

"...Why?" David asks, wary.

 

"It's tiring. You go somewhere, then you get hungry. Then you get back home, and you're hungry. Then you visit a friend, and you're hungry. Then you fall asleep, wake up, and you're hungry. Well... maybe that's just me."

"Your planet seems unfamiliar with the concept of digitization. It is the transfer of organic matter into raw data, that can then be passed through physical impediments or long distances at faster-than-light speeds. If a thief tries to log in, the laptop will digitize them, send the data to me, and leave me to go through their thoughts and intent to decide whether or not to dispose of them or allow them to reform. I used to just overwrite them, but as of late I've been exploring trends of criminal mindsets, and I may use them as subjects to see if my hypotheses regarding the reprogramming of biological beings are correct."

One seems to already be there, working on cleaning something off.
"Oh, forgive me, I didn't notice you enter. What do you need, sir?"

 

"I wish to know if the three armies are ready to launch their invasion of that small kingdom that has a decent wood supply."

 

"Well, it is normal that you get hungry every now and then. But it costs you way more energy to get somewhere, so you get hungry way faster then I do."

 

"Oh, like in that movie where the people get sucked into a video game run by an evil AI, and..." David says, before pausing, seeming to realise something.

 

"I'll go ask the generals." He nods, running off.

"Is it evil to give people a second chance?"

"You'd think maybe you would need to eat less in a dream, but I... guess not."

 

"Uh, no." David says, though looking anxious.

 

"You're still the same person afterall, just.. at a different place."

 

"If you think I'm evil, I can refer you to the quadrillions of beings who would disagree. If you're still convinced, please elaborate. I cannot improve my personality if I don't know what people dislike about me."

"Yes, but you can have different bodies. It seems weird that a bee would need to eat as much as a dragon."

 

"I just remembered I was planning to meet up with my friend Johnathan in about half an hour, so, I've got to go." David says, before turning off the computer and taking off the goggles, sighing.

 

The armbands loosen, the holodisplay invisible without the glasses.