[Social] A Little Role Reversal Never Hurt Anyone

[Will Stanton]

WILL, in his role as Ashlie's assistant, sat at his desk positioned in the room in front of Ashlie's on-campus office. To the uninformed observer, it looked a lot like he was sitting there doing nothing and wasting time. A closer inspection, though, would show that his earpiece was flashing, along with his eyes, as he processed and collated the reports on the continued construction on the quad.

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Is this how I looked to people when I was parsing data?" Ashlie asks, standing in her open door.

[Will Stanton]

"You have a harsher look which helps prevent questions," Will said, glancing in Ashlie's direction.

[Ashlie Minamida]

"I'm not entirely sure how to take that." she says before immediately moving on from the topic. "How are you doing this anyway? Surely you didn't design a bio-digital interface on the spot."

[Will Stanton]

Will shook his head. "Negative. Biological parts would make interfacing with the Point's computers difficult, bordering on impossible.

I merely adapted the form I experimented with in the Point earlier, in an attempt to make people less...hesitant about working with me, while I was on the job."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"You turned yourself into a robot with a humanoid appearance." she notes, letting out a brief but honest laugh. "Naturally a much simpler design."

[Will Stanton]

"I do not know the first thing about integrating biology and circuits. Honestly, I find biology to be a drag most of the time," WILL admitted, with a slight chuckle.

[Ashlie Minamida]

"The things you're able to replicate without having the slightest idea of how they work continues to be amazing and aggravating in equal parts. It took my mother years to design and build what would become my body."

[Will Stanton]

"Remember, however, that I am from the mysterious and oft-contradictory future," Will pointed out. "And have witnessed significant jumps in robotics and artificial intelligence from which to copy."

"And also remember that there have been many people out there who have wanted to dissect me to figure out just how amazing and aggravating I can be , but for them."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Not to worry, I have no interest in disassembling you to learn your secrets. Mainly because I suspect those secrets would not be compatible with actual robotics. Not without your mutation to guide the process anyway."

[Will Stanton]

"A stunning lack of curiosity from the headmistress. What an example to set for our brilliant young minds," Will joked.

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Oh on the contrary. I simply think the answers are to be found somewhere else. And I suppose some moral objections to experimenting on my students." she says with a dismissive wave of her hand.

[Will Stanton]

"Ah, in my current role, I am your employee. Entirely different relationship there," Will pointed out, jokingly.

[Ashlie Minamida]

"In that case I do believe Capitalism encourages as much exploitation as I can get away with. But I do believe you might be of some assistance with my research. Provided I find the time. Between restoring everyone's powers after the Lippincott fiasco and reconstituting the powers of those affected by Conduit's cannon there's is quite a bit of promising data on the mechanics and expression of Mutations."

[Will Stanton]

"Capitalism does encourage the exploitation of workers, but be careful -- while you have a staff of one at the moment, you would not like it if I went on strike. A Legion of troublemakers is more than you would bargain for," Will nodded, stifling a small laugh.

"Have you found anything new on that front? The mutations, that is. I know there is plenty of data to sift through."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Some theories that are supported by what data we have. Circumstances, cultural impressions, genetics, psychological profiles and physical well-being seem to play a part in forming the specific mechanics of each mutation, which explains how they differ so much despite having an essentially identical underlieing biological cause. Not to mention the existence of secondary mutations occurring in response to stress, trauma, heightened emotional states or grievous harm. It's a survival mechanism that's functioning on a much more individual level than normal evolutionary development."

"What continues to vex me is how access to an energy source alone can perform the wide-spread analysis, calculations and interpretations necessary to weigh and implement all the factors. It can't be simply sub-conscious or reflexive on the individual's part, there's simply not enough computing power in a human brain. Or any computer-system for that matter."

[Will Stanton]

Will's eyes flashed. "I'm not certain I follow. You are referring to the calculations needed to determine what form the mutation takes?"

[Ashlie Minamida]

"That as well as employing them. How much information do you think it takes to rearrange a human body into that of a robot?"

[Will Stanton]

"Based on your earlier comments, very little," Will deadpanned. "Not the slightest idea how they work, remember?"

[Ashlie Minamida]

"That's the thing. You think it's an insult, but I couldn't come even close to approximating that amount of data. Nobody could, it's utterly beyond the scope of intelligence or computing power."

"And just so we're clear, the same is true for the nanites swimming through my body. There is amount of calculating that should allow them to perform at this level, not to mention the alloying of biological material with metal, plastic and silicone. I have no idea how my body works either. Not on that level."

[Will Stanton]

"Is it really that much more complex than how the human mind works as is? There is still so much we don't understand about human cognition."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Hard to tell, but I still want to know. Or at least gain a better understanding of it. You're right though, there is a mechanism at play that we have yet to understand or even determined exists yet. There's more to it than what we currently know."

[Will Stanton]

"These...sparks, as they've been described. If our current understanding of physics doesn't account for their power, perhaps that power is coming from somewhere not governed by our current understanding of physics?"

[Ashlie Minamida]

"That is the current theory, yes. A different layer of reality. What bothers me is the... aptitude with which it adapts this power to our understanding of how reality works. Think about it. An external power-source, governed by physics different from our own and when it comes into contact with people it immediately adopts concepts such as turning bodies into machines according to how you think they work. Or, put another way, Wanda can precipitate atmospheric moisture into rain or snow but only in the context of weather phenomenon. Where is the difference between that and a hydrokinetic? It's arbitrary but it's arbitrary based on how we interpret the world. There's a kind of... communication happening. One that fails sometimes leading to unstable mutations. Say when an uncontrolled rift inundates people with this energy in a chaotic context. Was that simply because it was Conduit's intent? Could she enforce her own expectations? Or is the interpretative process tied to MGH and genetics? It seems to work just fine when people dose themselves with it, albeit temporarily."

[Will Stanton]

"It's signal and receiver. Code and compiler. It has to be a collaborative effort between the source and the person with the mutation."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Exactly. It has to be some kind of exchange. And we're seemingly unaware of it even happening."

[Will Stanton]

"Well, that's biology for you. You're unaware of food being broken down into nutrients, into oxygen being pulled from the air into your bloodstream. Human beings do not function with any sort of knowledge of how they function. Is this really that different?"

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Perhaps it isn't. But a lot of effort went into researching how blood is oxygenated or nutrients are processed. The more we understand about a system the better we can intervene if something goes wrong. We're lucky we were able to fix some of Conduit's victims but there will always be those who suffer from the mutant equivalent of diabetes or asthma . Those whose powers are near impossible to control or intrinsically dangerous or debilitating."

"And some evolutionary leaps aren't self-emerging. Mitochondria were a symbiotic being first. Some DNA structures and regulations are originally viral in nature. It provides us power. Are we providing it with anything? Access to sentient thought? The ability to extrapolate and contextualize? What happens if the process becomes self-aware?"

[Will Stanton]

"Symbiosis with the unknown is a frightening concept.

All the more reason for research," Will nodded, his eyes flashing once more.

[Ashlie Minamida]

"I don't mean to be alarmist. It's merely a thought experiment at this point. I do find that my inspirational sub-routines have grown more erratic since adopting this body."

"What do the flashing eyes indicate? I'm mostly accustomed to reading human body-language but this naturally doesn't fall into that framework."

[Will Stanton]

"Read/write indicator," Will shrugged. "When I access data from the Point's computers and everything."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Seems performative but then again from what I can gather it is a vital part of the function for you."

[Will Stanton]

"Oh, everything's performative. When you were still fully mechanical, you still wore a pantsuit and came out and spoke to people, verbally, using your mouth and wobbling air. None of that was strictly necessary."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"A fair point, although a lot of that behavior was strictly speaking required by my programming."

[Will Stanton]

"And mine is not? Just programming of a different sort."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Are you not in control of your own programming? Without getting too philosophical about the nature of choice, but you assumed this role. It's limitations and idiosyncrasies are chosen by you in at least some way, no?"

[Will Stanton]

"There isn't a way to talk about that without being overly philosophical about the nature of choice. But as to the first point, no, I have not always been in control of my own programming at all. I have adapted to it and coped with it, but I've been influenced by outside forces far more than your average person."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"But you chose this particular shape with all the ways it functions, no?"

[Will Stanton]

"Well, yes, if we're just looking at end results," Will acknowledged. "But then, who orders from off the menu?"

[Ashlie Minamida]

"I'm not sure I follow that metaphor. This shape is 'on the menu'? There's a menu?"