IC INBOX

[mechanicalmortality]

V1

model_v1

---

COURT

DAY

DORM

204

Message @model_v1

©

"Hello! You have reached [ADOPTED NAME]'s inbox. Please leave a message!" [ V1 has not bothered to configure it at all. ]

Comments

[mechanicalmortality]

[ If there are machines capable of making music, V1 has never encountered them itself. But that doesn't mean anything; logically there were surely all sorts of machines on the Earth, in those days before mankind was made extinct. It had never really had time to explore - a burned out machine had no fuel within it and V1's mix of organic and mechanical parts had limited the need for replacements - so this really is a place full of wholly new experiences.

The praise is new, too. V1 doesn't experience a flood of dopamine as it usually does when a direct reward condition is triggered - it's a smaller burst of positive chemicals, generated by lingering instincts in the limbic system - but it feels...nice? It feels nice.

Normally it prefers more direct rewards, but to be told it's doing a good job...that's a new feeling. It wonders if it's some residual programming causing it to feel positive towards human praise, or it's simply developed it on its own despite the absence of connection provided.

More things to ponder. It pushes it away for now, it's learning something new, which is much more fun than Thinking Really Hard.

Daniel reaches out to shift its hands on the drum and it carefully lets him, in the manner of something that's extremely not used to having its hands touched at all, following his instructions precisely.

Oh, a new sound? It tok-tok-toks away for a moment, just to be certain it's understood, and then continues to listen.

It's only used finger-snapping as an incidental platform to coin tricks, a way of demonstrating its dexterity and as a weapon. This is a new use, even more so when applied to the drum.

It fumbles a little bit, clearly struggling to differentiate the flipping motion from what it's supposed to be doing, but it quickly improves.

Oh, it likes this one. It's sharp. Its wings flick, and it continues its repetition of kah! kah! kah! kah! for longer than it has any of the others, before it runs through all the sounds it's learned in this short interval with Daniel from first to last, and then back again like a numerical sequence, and then scrambling them all about.

(Sorry to anyone else in the common room, V1 is focused on Making Noise and is not focused on Toning It Down At All.)

Eventually, its hands still, and it cradles the drum carefully, as if it's not entirely sure what to do with it, but there's a sense that it also wants to treat it carefully because it's important. ]

[long_lost]

[ Oh, V1 must really like this sound. It snaps away happily at the drum, filling the common room with a cacophony of kah! kah! kah! kah!, before this spirals into a random amalgam of the sounds it had learned before. Daniel laughs, half-delighted and half-mortified as he glances around at the scant others in the room. He shoots them all abashed smiles as if silently apologizing for his friend.

Finally, the noise quiets, and V1 shifts his hold on the drum to cradle it carefully in its arms. Daniel chuckles. ]

Well, I'm quite certain now that a drum was the right choice of instrument for you, V1. You'll keep practicing, yes? You already have everything you need to start creating your own compositions. [ He leans forward slightly, lowering his voice. ] Though, I'd avoid playing in the common area or dormitories after sundown—humans are often sensitive sleepers.

[ He leans back, voice returning to its normal volume. ] If you'd like, you're welcome to join me on the docks; I play fife there in the mornings fairly often. Perhaps we might even collaborate at some point.