animus_network | eighth scripture. [ text ]

Even if you did not realize it before, thinking about and understanding how others would feel is a sign of empathy.

I think that is is almost impossible to understand everything about humans or people in general. However, that only means that the things you do understand seem wonderful, and the things you do manage to learn help improve your experiences and encounters with other people.

[ Despite how utterly depressing Sertoria's past is to talk about, she still finds the strength to smile after talking about what she considers the worst of it. ]

That makes me happy to hear that I have developed empathy to that degree.

Why, if I did not know any better, I would say that you are quite the expert in this, chaos. Do you speak from personal experience or experience watching others?

[Which was good, since if one found they could talk about the worst parts of their life and still smile afterwards, they would usually be alright.]

I speak from both my own experiences and my experiences watching others.

So, you are like me in that regard...

[ Sertoria pauses and sighs slightly, looking upward. ]

We... mostly got over the worst part of my past, but there are a couple of things I have yet to tell you.

[..However, chaos would just keep smiling as he spoke and tried to pat Sertoria on the head.]

That is alright. If you wish to tell me about those things now, you may do so. If you wish to tell me later, my ear will still be here..and if you do not want to ever tell me, I shall understand and not pry.

[ Her eyes move upward so that she can see chaos' hand on her head. ]

--I am operational there.

[ A beat. ]

Well... You already know so much about my past, so I ought to finish it up. But, what do you suggest?

[And..chaos couldn't help but lightly chuckle at what he thought was a joke.]

I know you are. I was trying to make you feel emotionally better..but I suggest you tell me whatever it is you want to tell me.

--Oh!

[ Then, Sertoria gets it when she can remember back to when she saw mothers comforting their children. ]

It is like what a mother would do to calm their child, right?

As far as that is concerned, though... After Joshua's departure, I spent my time traveling my world at least a few times, seeing and experiencing civilizations fall and rise and humanity always changing. However, no matter how much time passed, everyone always remembered me as CXEV5001, the robot that killed a trillion and a half people. I was run out of cities, governments tried to capture me and my creators had, for the most part, left me alone, but they were watching me from space.

It would take a few thousand years for them to strike again. And, this time? They were not as kind.

You are right. However..it is terrible that immortality did not, at the least, try to erase your story or turn it into a better one.

And..it is terrible that your free will was ignored and that you were captured yet again. Without Joshua, they probably felt quite at ease.

People have tried to kill me before because they believed it was unnatural for an android to live as long as I have. Some people just cannot forgive or forget.

No... What they did was much worse than capturing me. They designed my younger sister, CXEV5002, and it is unfortunate what her one objective was for her life. She was designed to take me out and the way my creators wanted to do it was through...

[ A pause. ]

It was through a virus designed to infiltrate my system, shut down my failsafes and eventually eliminate me. CXEV5002 was much stronger than me, too, so that only complicated matters. My promise to Joshua was also threatened because of this virus, and... well... even more complicated matters happened.

It is true that some cannot..but it is also true that there are some who can. However..if that virus was introduced to you, it would be horrible..unless you could find someone that could remove it while you were still lucid.

The virus was introduced to me and the end results were disastrous. Imagine me as nothing more than a savage machine willing to tear anything and everything apart, even humans. I would not listen to reason or threats, and I tried for several times to terminate my programming while there was some part of me still lucid.

I... also killed my sister in my frenzy. She taunted me to kill her... said that I did not have the "guts" to do it until I tore her head off of her body and smashed her own processor. I hate myself for doing so because maybe I could have saved her and we could have worked to stop my creators.

[ A sigh. ]

I eventually decided to hide myself in a cave. At least there, the only damage I could really do would be to the earth and myself. No one else would be involved in my hell.

When you remove a failsafe, terrible things can happen, on occasion. However, it is terrible that you could not save your sister..but it is not entirely your fault. I am sure that you would have acted differently if the virus had not been uploaded into you. It is not your fault that you could not save her.

[Have a pat on the back, Sertoria.]

But I imagine that people would try to find you when you isolated yourself. And I know that being alone like that is quite painful.

eighth scripture. [ text ]

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