sixwordstories | (no subject)

[You'll have to forgive him for staring blankly. He's just not sure what to make of... whatever this non-human is. And he's sure it's a non-human. This one doesn't have an aura at all.]

[As nice as absorbing the sunlight is, as much as it helps him keep going for longer, it's not such a rapturous experience he doesn't notice he's being stared at. He turns and catches the man's gaze and... blinks. This is awkward. Usually Saul's done something wrong before he gets that look from someone, he doesn't get it for just hanging around.]

Um, hello, sir? Is there something I can help you with?

Not necessarily. [That seems like a good enough answer for now. Upon closer inspection, his brilliant intuition notwithstanding, Ryuji's sure this is some technological marvel--but as far as worldwide knowledge is concerned, he's never heard of whatever this man happens to be.

Computer-generated, likely. But to what expertise has he been crafted?]

You're solid.

[That's awkward. He bites his lip, one of those nervous habits he'd picked up in his early days from watching his creators, and runs a hand through his hair. Nervously, he glances around, but no one else is out in this heat, so no one overheard.] Uh, thanks, I guess? [How is Saul supposed to take that? Is it a compliment or a question? This is a strange day.]

My apologies. I just haven't ever seen... someone like you before.

[He nearly stumbles and uses the term 'something'. Would that be offensive? This one's got intelligence of its own. Or should Ryuji be calling it a 'he'?

Sometimes he wishes he could toss his curiosity into a sack and sink it with an anchor.]

You're a hologram, aren't you?

[He catches that slip - he's heard that last second word swap before. And his expression changes to one of hurt before he tries to push that feeling down and look fine despite the disappointment he feels, and underneath that, the sense of being viewed as lesser that makes him wish he could cry just to get the feeling to go away.] Yeah. My name's Saul. Saul Navidson. It's nice to meet you.

[Not really, it isn't, but his mother always told him politeness would go a long ways towards getting people to treat him right.]

[Oh, Christ. He hurt its--his--feelings. Ryuji, at least, is better at schooling his expression, and he pretends he isn't feeling a lot like a fool for making a mistake.]

You don't have to lie. I imagine being seen through a scientist's eyes isn't what you want. [Ryuji doesn't know if the typical criteria for character reading applies to holograms, but Saul doesn't seem like your typical hologram, either, if his AI is anything to go by.] I apologise for my behaviour.

My name is Ryuji Takayama. [A small bow.] May I ask a few questions? If you're uncomfortable with any of them, you're welcome to deny answering.

I'm trying to be polite. It's just... how I was raised. My parents were scientists, so it's okay. I know you can't really help it. Society doesn't condition humans to view non-humans through the same mental lens. [His mother had told him about that many times, trying to lessen the hurt. On some level, he understands, but being non-human and raised by humans who didn't view him poorly, it's hard to fully grasp, sometimes.

He tries to smile and nod and really only succeeds in the latter.] Alright, Mr. Takayama. Just remember some things are kind of personal? I mean, I don't like lying, so I won't do it, but there's some stuff I'd rather keep to myself, just like any other guy.

[A small smile, if not clipped around the edges.] You can keep all the secrets you want, Mr. Navidson. God knows I do.

[Saul reminds Ryuji a little bit of his mother, had she been kinder and less consumed by the darkness of the earth. It's the hurt in his eyes, maybe.

In any case, in the spirit of 'being polite', Ryuji sits down in front of him. It's not close enough to give off the illusion of them being great friends, but isn't far enough to seem impersonal.]

What was it like growing up?

Edited 2015-06-23 06:45 (UTC)

They're not so much secrets as much as they are things I'm bad at verbalizing. Although you really don't have to call me Mr. Navidson. Just Saul is fine, really.

[That's an unusual question. He hums thoughtfully and sort of fiddles with his hands, fingers pressing together in contemplation.] It was nice, I guess. My parents were really good to me even if they worried more than was really healthy for them. They were really different people so they had different views on a lot of things, and that made for a lot of questions from me. I was probably pretty obnoxious those in those first years. But at first I couldn't leave the lab so I was kind of stir-crazy unless I was learning, reading, absorbing information... or trying to understand TV. TV is still a good window into things I can't and won't ever be able to do.

I'd say I was pretty happy growing up, just a little confined and maybe a little sheltered? I don't have much I really can point to as being extraordinarily bad.

You had a better life than I did. [It's something like a comfort, Ryuji supposes. He's not surprised that even a hologram had been raised better than him.] Your parents sound like good people.

Did you have any siblings? What's your favourite television show?

I've been really fortunate, yeah. They were good people, and I miss them more than I can really make sense of.

I don't have siblings, no; my parents worried about what people would do and how they'd treat me as time went on, and they decided not to replicate the process that produced me. I like a lot of sitcoms, but I really love Touched By An Angel, too. I think that's probably my favorite old show. I watch a lot of wedding shows these days, since they're really upbeat. I don't understand most other reality television's appeal. My dad liked Star Trek but a lot of it makes me uncomfortable, you know?

I'm sorry. I'm rambling. I, I just don't really get to talk about this kind of thing, so I'm not great at it.

I don't imagine there's any better way for you to talk about yourself than the way you currently do. In any case, you probably talk about you better than anyone else can... for simple reasons.

If you miss your parents--does this mean you live alone?

I live alone, yeah. My parents were old when they made me, by human standards, and they... they died. I couldn't process it at first and maybe there's something wrong with me, but sometimes, I get reminded of them or wish they were here at the most random moments. Still, my father's biological son, as much as he never really interacted with me before or since, lets me stay at his place. He's a good guy, we're just not really good at talking without it getting awkward, and I get that. Nobody in our family is really good at being social, honestly.

My sister and I don't talk much, either. It's normal. [He doesn't mention that his sister's psychological state is less than ideal. Instead, Ryuji nods his head.] ... so is wishing your parents were around. You can't help but miss people you've developed strong ties to. At least, that's what I hear.

Do you like being outside?

I've been told that before. It doesn't stop me from wishing that things could be different for my 'brother' and I, though. He's a pretty lonely person and I wish I could help.

[He smiles, a dorky, genuine expression, face lighting up.] I love being outside. People are just amazing. The way the world works, how all these little interactions happen all around me, seeing the seasons change and details shift with time, it's all just so incredible. No matter what, you never really see the same thing twice in the world. I can't stay solid for long, so I try to really enjoy what I can, the things I can do, the people I can talk to. The world never stops being incredible. It's a little overwhelming even after all these years, though. I was never really intended to develop this way.

I can imagine how many surprises you'll have if you get to explore a bit more. There's more to the earth than what science can explain. [But he's getting off-topic, now.]

So your solidity is... temporary. Is that it? Was that what your parents did for you, or did you somehow... do it on your own?

That's the most amazing stuff - the things science can't explain. The things that I can feel and not classify.

I get an hour or two a day outside the lab. It can be extended with solar energy. In the lab my mother managed to make it so I can be stable and solid at all times. But it's not quite the same as going outside, you know?

I'm sure it isn't. [He can't really tell.] ... it's brilliant, though. What your mother did for you.

You'll have to forgive me for wondering how on earth your source manages to project you outside like this. I'm more of a geneticist than anything, but I imagine if I tried to stick a needle in you I wouldn't be able to draw any blood.

This may be forward of me, but as far as I can tell, you are human in every aspect save for that.

There was someone else out there, doing much the same thing. She could get a charge off of ambient electricity, drain people's cell phones and personal devices if she had to, but sunlight is more reliable, and she liked it better anyway.

For the moment she was just perched on a bench, feet swinging slowly and head tilted up to the light, eyes closed, smiling faintly.

See, the source thing - that's one of those things I don't really want to talk about. It's complicated. But I could probably project fake blood so long as it was on me and not the ground, and I knew it was coming. If I don't have a warning I can't fake that.

Um. Thanks, I guess? My parents didn't really like the terms human and nonhuman, just person.

Saul prefers to sit on the grass in the park; he likes the texture, the softness, and the way the ground captured the warmth and held it underneath him. Although he can't exhale or inhale with how he's been designed, he can make the sound of a contented sigh, and does so, before glancing over at the bench. He wants to say hello, because he likes interacting with people when he can, but she looks too content to bother, honestly.

Saul Navidson the person, then. [He knows that probably sounds strange to say out loud, but Ryuji can't quite compute the... realness of Saul just yet. That technology was able to create someone with all the complexities of a biologically created human, sans the physical properties, is something he's got to spend quite a while wrapping his head around.]

Projected fake blood can't be analysed, though, can it?

Pretty much. I'm not saying I have everything about being a person figured out or even how it works, but I'm not what I started out as. I've... changed. Hopefully for the better.

No, of course not. That's why I have to try and make sure I don't have to fake an injury. People get suspicious since I was never supposed to try to mimic something like that and I'm not good at it. Which reminds me - how did you figure out I'm a hologram in the first place?

[Ryuji pauses, but he makes it look as if it's for something significant rather than a brief inability to answer. 'Because you don't have the aura of a human being' doesn't sound like a plausible answer. 'Because I can't feel you' doesn't sound like a good one, either.

Ah, well. If Saul doesn't believe, then he doesn't believe.]

Most living things--or at least living things in the textbook sense--have auras. I am capable of sensing them, among other things. I can also sense the restless dead: their spirits trapped on this plane and their corpses, if the cadavers are close by.

I couldn't read you.