001 | Voice

[megabytes]

[Hey there, everyone, got another new imPort hitting the network for the first time. Another child imPort too, if the voice is anything to go by.

The commuicator ID reads "Megaman.EXE." It also reads"Hub Hikari," a fact that he is blissfully unaware of. Feel free to enlighten him.]

Finally.

[There's a relieved sigh and a quiet thunk on the other end of the line. Getting the communicator to do what he wanted took him a lot longer than he would have liked. Being on this side of a GUI is so awkward, how do humans even manage it? It's part of why he went for voice instead of video or text - not having to stare at the screen the whole time hurts his eyes less.

His voice is a bit muffled when he continues, and he sounds very, very tired.]

So, um. This is probably a silly question, but...is it normal to have headaches all the time?

I mean, I know it's not normal-normal. It's just...they said the thing that brought me here didn't know how to handle me, that there were "leftovers" from my real body. But I don't really know what that means, or what being human is supposed to feel like, so I don't know if what I've been feeling is normal or if I should be concerned or what. I don't think they'd just let me go if there was something wrong with me, but...I don't know. I'm kind of new to this.

[It's not really a lie. He was only human for about a year, and he's been a Netnavi for over a decade now. This is so far off his concept of "normal" that it's not even funny. Especially since he has a very good reason to be paranoid about his health.]

--oh, almost forgot. My name's Megaman. Nice to meet everyone.

Comments

audio;

[nostalgiabomb]

Okay, putting aside that-- entire mess of a whatever you just explained--

Like, on a scale of one to ten, how bad's the headache? One being "meh" and ten being "holy crud, my brain is gonna explode."

Audio

[megabytes]

I don't know? It keeps changing. [Varying degrees of sensory overload.] Right now...five? Maybe?

audio;

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He hums. ]

So how much of you is human, kid? You know if you're allowed to take over-the-counter drugs?

Audio

[megabytes]

I'm not sure. My file said it mostly affected my physical abilities, but I still have my frame...I don't know how to tell what's normal and what's not.

[nostalgiabomb]

... Frame?

You might wanna get checked out by an actual medical professional, then, as easy as it is to use the network as a sounding board. You know. Someone with, like, a fancy diploma and a stethoscope and bad handwriting.

Otherwise, you might wanna just take it easy and get some rest.

[megabytes]

Oh. I'm an AI - my frame is my body in the cyberworld. I still look the same here, and I'm pretty sure that's not normal for humans.

[No why is it doctors. Resting is good though, he'll gladly do that and go for medical help if things don't improve.]

...good point. Guess I'm just used to going to the Net for information first.

[nostalgiabomb]

Oh, so it's like an exoskeleton type of thing? Well, more like a cyborg thing, I guess, since you said they made you part human, yeah?

[ Which is, uh. Pretty weird-sounding. But, hey, who's Peter to judge? ]

I mean, in general you could just see if you could take some generic painkiller, but you still might wanna get yourself checked out, all the same. That's a seriously unique circumstance you're dealing with, kid.

[megabytes]

Well, maybe? I was designed to look pretty human, it's just not exact. I'm not sure how to describe it.

[He could probably switch to video and show him instead, but. Headache. Physically interacting with a UI is not something he has the patience for right now.

That last sentence strikes a bit of a cord, though.]

Heh, guess it makes sense. Unique circumstances for a unique navi.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Huh, he's never heard that term before. ]

I'm-- guessin' you're a navi, then?

[megabytes]

Yeah, it's short for Net Navigator. We're designed to be companions and assistants for our human operators. We handle a lot of stuff - email, computer maintenance, antivirus routines, that sort of thing.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ oh crap skynet is real ]

Huh, so you're like, a really advanced AI? [ A beat of silence, and he adds, ] Who... looks like a kid?

[megabytes]

[hey now, he's way nicer than that wanna-be wad of junk data]

Yup! I'm the same age as my operator.

[He means that both in terms of his appearance and their chronological ages. Because clearly this needs to be more confusing. He also has no idea why his design might be considered strange, his frame is honestly one of the more "normal" looking ones.]

[nostalgiabomb]

... Huh. Weird. I've never heard of, uh, a young robot, I guess?

[megabytes]

Actually, neither have I. We don't have advanced robotics where I'm from - scientists pretty much abandoned it to focus on net technology and AI. Netnavi's like me are just pure data.

Well, I was.

[nostalgiabomb]

That's. [ He's quiet for a beat, trying to figure out how best to describe this-- and opts for repetition. ] Seriously weird.

Even weirder that they managed to make you, like, part human when they pulled you here. Sounds like you're gonna go through some growin' pains before the month's over.