Quoted By:
[PERSON OF INTEREST] Nicole, look. I don't trust where Kiara is going with wanting us to expose ourselves even more to a PARADIGM already corroding us.
[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] Not corroding. But you are correct that your similar mindsets might be seeping together a bit too much.
[UNSTABLE] WE ARE YOU. YOU ARE US. NOTHING WILL EVER CHANGE US ON A FUNDAMENTAL LEVEL. FOR BETTER AND WORSE.
[SCHOLAR OF THE CITY] ...
You unzip the bomber jacket.
>-1 TALENT! DOWNGRADE TO SEEKER OF THE CITY!
[SEEKER OF THE CITY] Your head feels lighter. As if someone else's knowledge was forcefully drained from you.
"I'll be honest. I do like you, Kiara, and this PARADIGM is very useful. But I didn't come out here to melt my brain with this thing. This thing is simply a means of an end to me. What matters more to me right now is just hanging out with you two." You drape NEW YOU over one of the empty seats in the private theater room. "Maybe another time. Maybe not."
"Sometimes just being ME for a while wouldn't hurt. Let's watch a movie together. That's all that matters to me right now." You turn your gaze up at the projection screen.
There's obvious disappointment in Kiara's gaze but she can't help but smile anyways. "Can't blame me for trying, you know? It felt nice having human thoughts, impulses, for a while. To know something that I know isn't just a preprogrammed response."
"Hey, some humans think that they're preprogrammed meat machines. Guess we're not different." You snidely remark. "I think those people are pretentious faggots but still."
Maruyama finally starts paying attention to the conversation going on. "Yeah, only twelve year olds worry about 'do robots dream of electric sheep' or 'are my thoughts my own?'."
"We actually do!" Kiara is trying her damn best to hide back her ever growing smirk. "I think electric sheep are better than your lame, boring sheep." <<span class="mu-b">"Thinking about it, I do remember hearing about E-Corp trying to actually MAKE electric sheep for some reason?</span>>
"Oh hell, not this again." Maruyama chuckles under his breath.
"Actually shut up holy fuck." You shake your head, absolutely failing to hide your own smile. "You know that nonsense is just a metaphor, right?"
"Metawho?" Kiara chirps out.
"Now you see what I dealt with the last week." Every word Maruyama says is laced with sentimentality. "Absolute inane nonsense like this."
Your conversation is interrupted by the projector turning in and the oh-so-familiar beeping countdown of a movie ready to start. 6, 5, 4...
"About the ledger, I'll keep it for now. I want to stew on it a little, you know?" You don't necessary distrust Maruyama but a fresh look at it couldn't hurt.
Maruyama simply shrugs. "You found it. If anything else, you probably know how to hide that paperwork. Do what you will."
The movie then starts and the three of you are immediately hit with disappointment when you see the actual movie itself.
Holy fucking shit this is beyond pretentious.
