[ Bear's leash is more for other people to have peace of mind than for any real use as a restraint, so out here in the unpopulated scenery, Harold doesn't bother to reattach it. It does feel oddly soothing, just a little, to be walking like they usually might be, except it's in the woods in an alien bubble-city instead of the streets of New York. He'll take anything that feels familiar. ]
The obvious solution to our communications issue is to develop a secondary, more secure network connection, [ Harold starts off. ] However, I'm unconvinced Aurora wouldn't still have access to it, and that being the case, we may be better served with a gesture of goodwill and cooperation.
I could offer to enhance the features of what's available on our standard communicators. And I may learn more about Aurora in the process.
[ Harold sounds markedly neutral about the prospect, though in truth he's been dragging his heels about contacting the resident A.I. overseer for weeks now, until faced with a reason he can't dismiss. It feels absurd to talk to another A.I. if he's not currently talking to the Machine-- But of course he's not currently talking to the Machine. It's not here, and even if it were, Harold had told it not to contact him. Ensured it couldn't, in a way that it respected even after it was let loose. That was what he wanted. It was just simpler that way.
Contacting Aurora feels like poking a bear in his own issues in a way talking to Connor hadn't. Connor seems fully-formed, defined in his sense of self; it's that intermediate stage of empathy development that... well, that Harold finds acutely familiar. ]
no subject
The obvious solution to our communications issue is to develop a secondary, more secure network connection, [ Harold starts off. ] However, I'm unconvinced Aurora wouldn't still have access to it, and that being the case, we may be better served with a gesture of goodwill and cooperation.
I could offer to enhance the features of what's available on our standard communicators. And I may learn more about Aurora in the process.
[ Harold sounds markedly neutral about the prospect, though in truth he's been dragging his heels about contacting the resident A.I. overseer for weeks now, until faced with a reason he can't dismiss. It feels absurd to talk to another A.I. if he's not currently talking to the Machine-- But of course he's not currently talking to the Machine. It's not here, and even if it were, Harold had told it not to contact him. Ensured it couldn't, in a way that it respected even after it was let loose. That was what he wanted. It was just simpler that way.
Contacting Aurora feels like poking a bear in his own issues in a way talking to Connor hadn't. Connor seems fully-formed, defined in his sense of self; it's that intermediate stage of empathy development that... well, that Harold finds acutely familiar. ]