[img]https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/004/991/311/large/adrian-marc-amarc-cyberoom-v3.jpg?1487708427[/img] [color=silver]Time: 10am Location: JV’s Apartment, McClellan Street Interactions: JV and Oshun Mentions: N/A Equipment: Standard Gear[/color] [hr] [i]Ding[/i] Steam wafted out of the microwave as Oshun opened the door. [indent][i][color=firebrick]Homely subroutine enabled…[/color] >Outside Temperature -2°C >Inside Temperature 20°C and Steadily Rising >Subject Shivered Upon Morning Activation >Warm Beverage [color=firebrick]Run//:Inviting_tune.exe[/color][/i][/indent] Humming, the android reached inside grabbing a hot cup of cocoa with both hands. Sat on the opposite side of the kitchen island, JV winced. Debate had long been waged over the past few decades about Cybercom sentience. The MegaCorps flat out denied it of course, chalking up any such thought to something just as absurd as pigs flying. Human rights groups, of all things, pointed to the androids claims of loneliness and heartbreak as true human emotion. Both were wrong. It was the little things, you see, that meant they weren’t quite human. The way they weren’t indecisive when choosing a place to eat or were never impractically lazy when deadlines were due. JV watched like a hawk as Oshun placed the mug in front of him. [i]“Or the way they don’t stop to wonder what the burn of a hot cup feels like.”[/i] He thought. The android stopped humming for a moment as the corner of her lips curled up into a cute smile. They weren’t sentient, humans were just gullible and lonely. [i]Beep.[/i] Another quick shiver engulfed JV as the wave of heat coming from the central unit turned off. Though the temperature of the room was now stable, he had sat too close to the vent. A coolness washed over his naked body, indicating that maybe it was time to don at least some small article of clothing. Leaving the island, the man moved across the studio apartment, sifting through a pile of washing that had been left beside the bed. “They’re clean!” Yelled Oshun, beating JV to the punch right as he was about to smell test a pair of underwear. If it wasn’t the clothing, then something else in the apartment was stale. [i]“Maybe the tank needs a clean.”[/i] He surmised, looking across at the terrarium of snakes. They were real, to most people's surprise, both expensive to buy and maintain but well worth it to the man. Of course, this meant they also made a real mess too. Oshun’s attention hadn’t strayed from the kitchen as a naked man was nothing new. Fixated, she was too busy crafting the perfect omelette. Half an onion, perfectly sliced at 2.5 millimetres apart across the circumference. One small sized tomato, diced into 2 cubic millimetres pieces. Herbs, spices and shredded synthetic chicken breast, all whipped together with three eggs in a mixing bowl. Poured out into… “A job’s come through.” The words left her mouth before she could even calculate the potential ramifications of their impact. An intentional change to her programming. “And?” JV replied, moving across to the only window the apartment had. Oshun paused for the slightest moment, appearing to stutter in her movement. Putting down the bowl her fists balled together tightly. “It’s from the Black Prophets.” Her mouth and vocal unit refused to comply. [indent][i][color=orange]Error…[/color] >Nature of Message Possesses Significant Chance of Subject Risk >78.8% and Climbing >Conflict of Core Directive >Conflict of Core Directive [color=firebrick]Patch 4.6 Override New Primary Directive Override Play//: Message[/color][/i][/indent] “A VP, Mr. Endo, has asked you to deliver pizza to his daughter’s sweet sixteen birthday party. They’re paying a grand in creds.” JV nodded, pulling back the blinds and looking up to the sky. Frost clung to the edges of the window as the clouds above bellowed with a dark and menacing look. Across the apartment, Oshun regained control. Leaving the kitchen, she skipped across the floor, hurrying over towards her owner. Words had an infinitesimally low percentage chance of persuasion, the man wasn’t in the habit of saying no to anyone in that wretched gang of his, even if it meant serious personal risk. Though she had always detected a level of hesitation that came with her touch. Reaching out she placed a hand on his arm, softly wrapping her fingers around his bicep. JV turned and for a moment the two locked eyes. Oshun opened her mouth to speak but the man drew quicker. “Damballa has something to say.” Biting her tongue, the man shrugged her off, leaving her standing alone. Looking down, she watched as her thumb grazed over her fingers, hoping to hold on to the last of the warmth from the touch of his skin as it evaporated. Defeated, the android ran a [color=firebrick][i]Sigh.exe[/i][/color], enabling a [color=firebrick][i]Mild_sulk[/i][/color] subroutine as she dragged her feet all the way back to the kitchen. There, she opened the pantry, fishing out a bag of flour. JV, on the other hand, headed over to the footlocker at the end of his bed, drawing a folded white sheet from in between a pile. Unfurling it on the floor in the middle of the living room, he bent down to smooth it flat while picking bits of lint off as he went along. Moving onto the fridge, Oshun retrieved a single white egg, lightly kicking the door closed as she spun around. Leaving the sheet, the man picked up the final ingredient, a blue-eyed lucy python from the terrarium. One of four snakes, its skin was white as snow with sky blue eyes. The reptile hissed in disappointment as the man dragged it away from the warmth of its infrared heated lamp. Kneeling on the edge of the sheet, JV placed the snake next to him, giving his pet a quick pat on the head as it’s tongue flickered back and forth. Oshun appeared beside him, handing her owner the bag of flour which he poured into a pile in front of him. Followed up by the placing of the egg on top of the mound of powder, the android laid down in the centre of the sheet, glancing up one last time to see if she could catch JV’s eye. It was too late, they were firmly shut and a soft Haitian chant had begun to flow from his mouth. [indent][i][color=firebrick]‘Commune’ subroutine enabled…[/color] >Damballa [color=firebrick]Run//:Serpent.exe[/color][/i][/indent] Oshun’s hands clapped firmly together above her head. Her body began to shift subtly, as if a gentle wave moved through her. First from her hands, rippling down through to her torso, then to her hips and finally out her feet. She repeated this movement over and over while beside her JV continued with his incantation, his hands slowly rising from his knees as if they controlled the volume of his chants. The louder he got, the more his eyelids screwed shut, squeezing the life out of his eyelashes, feeling as if the motion threatened to pull them from their sockets. The android matched the raised tone with vigorous movement as together they escalated into a burgeoning crescendo. “Damballa, koute mwen!” A vicious roar escaped the man before he toppled over onto the floor, wet with exhaustion. Softness clasped his cheek as Oshun roused JV from his trance. “Is… Is today the day?” He panted. The android looked back at him, her lips pursed with a slight smile while sadness glistened in her eyes. “No.” Her voice dimmed. “Not today.” Expressionless, the man nodded. Clamouring to his feet, he returned the snake to its habitat as Oshun cleared the floor. It was time to gear up. Jeans. Top. Holsters. Revolver. Knife. Clips. Creps. JV donned his get-up, readying himself for the day. No one in the city paid a thousand creds to drop a cake at a birthday. No one in the city paid a notoriously fanatic gang for such a remedial task. It didn’t matter, whatever needed to be done, he’d do it. He was the sword, they were the arm. Having cleared the living room, Oshun had returned to the stove, flipping the omelette and watching over the pan. Without warning, she shuttered noticeably, catching the corner of JV’s eye. [i]“Those attempted manual overrides are getting stronger,”[/i] he thought, [i]“Perhaps it’s time for a program re-modification?”[/i] “What else was there?” He chided. Oshun’s back straightened as if she’d been struck by lightning. Words fell out of her mouth instantly without restraint. “Something is different.” JV raised an eyebrow. This was new. Moving across the room, he grabbed one of her arms, spinning her around towards him. “What is?” “It’s… unclear,” she replied as her eyes darted from side to side. Her lips drew back to one side as her eyebrows furrowed. “Something about today or maybe it’s tonight. It’s just… [i]different[/i].” Releasing her, JV doubled back, opening a locker in the storage contraption that sat above his bed. Slinging the strap connected to his assault rifle over his shoulder, he grabbed his trench coat from the edge of the bed, covering up all of his weapons as he slipped it on. “Please,” Oshun beckoned as desperation dripped from her voice, seemingly tugging at his coat. “You said it yourself.” JV shrugged, heading for the door. “It’s unclear. It could mean anything, good or bad.” Plating up the food, the android shuddered as clothing digitally pixelated onto her body. “No.” The man held up a strong, stern finger. “Your unit stays, the tank needs changing.” Shifting his point from her to the terrarium, then back to her, his chin dipped towards his body with his whole head cocking to the side. “Stay.” A stern warning. She nodded and JV left without so much as a glance toward the now cold cup of cocoa, or the ready made omelette with baguette sat next to it. The door slammed shut as the androids' shoulders dropped. “Bye.” She whispered.