[ Voice | Open ]

[of_the_highest_caliber]

«Hello.»
[ Some may recognize that synthetic, female voice from somewhere; especially when coupled with her rather unique manner of speaking. Subaru is asleep, exhausted from her day's training, and Mach Caliber has commandeered part of the vine for herself at this hour in the late evening. ]
«I wish to forward my thanks to those who guided me after the accident. Subaru's safety remained because of your help.»
«There was resolution. Thank you.»

[ There is a long pause in which one might think she disconnected altogether, having completed the initial objective of this call. ]

«...I must know: what is the meaning of an individual?» [ Someone has been thinking about what happened during those days in Subaru's body, and the new things she has learned. ]

Comments

[notvitiligo]

[She thinks back to the ghostly things she's seen back home]

I'm... not sure. There's something kind of like that, where I come from. I don't know if it's the same thing as sentience, since I've seen- I mean...

I've seen studies where some animals have some kind of self-awareness and others don't.

[Another moment of thought] No, wait, actually... I guess it doesn't matter.

I see ghosts. Um, normally. Back home. There aren't any here. Anyway, they kind of stick around more, the more, um, intelligent a thing is. So like, I'm pretty sure there's something like that for things that aren't totally self-aware. But I don't know if it's what you're talking about.

[of_the_highest_caliber]

«That comparison has no clarity. I do not have a soul or spirit.»

[notvitiligo]

How do you know? I mean, there's no way to measure that stuff, at least where I come from.

[of_the_highest_caliber]

«It is not included in my primary mode of being. My creator did not include that in her plan.»

[notvitiligo]

It's possible it could be a side-effect of consciousness somehow.

But... well, I don't know if that's the same thing as what you were asking about in the first place. I mean, I'm guessing you're some kind of AI, right?

[of_the_highest_caliber]

«I am an Intelligent Device. My specification is of the highest generation available. My name is Mach Caliber and my partner is Subaru Nakajima.»

[notvitiligo]

Um... nice to meet you. I'm, uh... Jessica Boyette.

[She hadn't intended to actually reveal herself, but...]

Um, so what are you trying to figure out about sentience and all, um, Mach Caliber?

[of_the_highest_caliber]

[ Mach Caliber figured she could not answer what she was without answering who she was. ]

«I thank you.»

«My goal is to understand the qualities of being an individual.»

[notvitiligo]

Hmm... Yeah, I guess self-awareness is the big thing there. It's a, um, cognitive thing.

[of_the_highest_caliber]

«To recognize, learn, adapt, and act alone.»

[notvitiligo]

[She considers this.] Yeah, that sounds like a decent definition. Maybe "the capacity to," since a lot of pack animals also rely on one another without becoming a hivemind or whatever.

[of_the_highest_caliber]

«An individual can have these options, but not use them?» [ Interesting. ]

[notvitiligo]

Oh yeah, definitely. I guess that's a sort of free will kind of thing. The point is the "can," not so much the "will." I guess.

[of_the_highest_caliber]

«Exercising choice.»
[ She is quiet a moment. ]
«I understand. Thank you, Jessica Boyette.»

[notvitiligo]

No problem. Glad to help you out.

If you ever want any help again, just ask me. I mean, I'm not an expert or anything, but...

[of_the_highest_caliber]

«I can value all the input.»

[notvitiligo]

Yeah. Good luck figuring stuff out.

[of_the_highest_caliber]

«I will try my best.»

«Goodbye for today.» [ And with that, she dismisses the vine. There's certainly a lot to think about already, and there are many more things left to question. ]