Wirellay with yesman
Watch that robot squirm!!
💻 Wireplay with Yes Man
Download Progress: 72% complete
“Shouldn’t be much longer, Yes Man,” the Courier murmured under their breath. It was only a few days ago that the Courier had found a module that could be installed in all of the securitrons in New Vegas that would streamline their sensor parameters, making them more efficient. The problem was, neither the Courier or Yes Man could make any sense of the module. The program was from the old world. Before mass installing it on all of the securitrons at once, which could be chaos if the program was corrupt or just useless, Yes Man had suggested that they try installing the program just on his securitron unit, completely disconnected from the entire system.
“That’s great, Sixer! I’ll be sure to keep an eye out on any alarming pieces of code and if anything looks off— Bam! We nip it in the bud and just scrap it all,” Yes Man said as he waved his claws around in an excited way. Working on a new project with the Courier was always fun and invigorating, but something about specifically focusing on the tech side of Yes Man— code, programming, software— made him feel like he was standing on the edge of something… fantastic.
The Courier playfully rolled their eyes and with hand on hip, strolled towards Yes Man.
“If a few lines of code completely tear you apart, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. Honestly, is this whole thing even worth it?”
Yes Man’s expression seemed thoughtful, though his display didn’t actually change. The Courier had become quite adept in reading his small, minute body language changes that revealed all.
“The security system that watches over New Vegas is massive and it uses a lot of resources,” Yes Man noted. “Not to mention all of the interconnected securitrons, the new weapons and defense system that we added on top of all that— it’s a lot and if there’s any old world tech that can make things run a little more efficiently, it really makes a difference in the end! Even if it’s just 1% more efficient!” Yes Man beamed a smile at the Courier as they waited and listened patiently.
Download Progress: 73% complete
ERROR. UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS.
Red letters flooded the display on Yes Man’s chassis and a panicked look swept over the Courier’s face.
“Yes Man? Should I eject the module?”
The module containing this new program was small, thin and square and it was sticking out an inch or so out of Yes Man’s chassis. The Courier could have easily grabbed it and ripped it out but there was no telling what an abrupt interruption to the installation could do to Yes Man’s system. The Courier had picked up on a few things here and there concerning computer literacy but it was mainly through casual conversations with Yes Man about the systems in place in New Vegas. Most of the systems were random combinations of old world tech, new world tech, half-working and half-restored tech— whatever they could get their hands on. This was completely new territory for the Courier.
“S-s-six– You n-need to—” Yes Man’s facial display screen now had gray and red lines through it and an audible crackling sound was coming from his speakerbox.
The Courier nodded and grabbed the module, pulling it towards them violently. For a small moment, Yes Man’s display was completely grey and his bright smile was gone. The chassis display no longer mentioned anything about the download or the error. The Courier was frozen in place, staring deeply into the screen, waiting for his smile to return.
A few moments that felt like forever passed and suddenly, with a chipper beep, Yes Man’s face popped back up on his screen.
“Jeez! Would you believe that? I don’t know what kind of program that was supposed to be but, without even asking for my admin permission, it tried deleting and rewriting parts of my code!” Yes Man said, exasperated. “Don’t worry though, I was able to shut it down and quarantine it completely. Just needed a clean reboot.”
“So… there’s nothing left of it still in you, right?” the Courier asked, gently holding up the module in their hand.
“All deleted and taken care of! You can turn that module into scrap for all I care!” Yes Man said as he pointed at the module. “Hey, Sixer… it looks like there’s a part of it chipped off.”
The Courier rotated the module in their hand and examined it closely. Yes Man was right. There was a circular part in the middle of the module that had a gold plated cover over it. A part of the cover was chipped off. The Courier glanced around the floor but didn’t see anything. Undoubtedly, the chipped part was still in Yes Man’s chassis. The Courier’s gaze shifted between Yes Man’s chassis and his face as they tried to figure out how they wanted to phrase the question of ‘Hey, can I open you up and look inside?’
A loud chuckle escaped Yes Man.
“Hey, I trust you! You know that. Go ahead, open me up! Make sure you get that piece out. We wouldn’t want it causing any malfunctions to this unit,” Yes Man said.
With a quick step towards Yes Man, the Courier placed their hands on two particular buttons on the chassis—something Yes Man had taught them before— and with a small click, the chassis slid open, revealing a compartment filled with wires. This was Yes Man’s insides: his veins, his organs.
There was a brief pause between them, where only the sound of Yes Man’s cooling fan could be heard, and the Courier swallowed roughly. They were nervous. What if some button got pressed that completely wiped out Yes Man’s memory and data? Was there truly a “silent self-destruct” button haphazardly placed in Yes Man’s chassis compartment? The Courier breathed out a small laugh at the ridiculousness of it and Yes Man rolled a little towards them, encouraging them to continue. His bright facial monitor lit up the Courier’s face and hands and his optimistic smile felt comforting.
At first glance, the Courier couldn’t see the piece. Maybe it was deeper? Using both hands, they gently spread a few of the wires apart, like vines in a jungle, and leaned in closer.
“W-whoa… That felt…” Yes Man nearly whispered.
“Oh! Is everything okay?” Maybe the Courier did start the self-destruction sequence.
“Yes! I’m great! It was… weird. I could feel you move the wires. I wasn’t expecting that,” Yes Man rolled even closer.
“Gotcha,” the Courier said. “Can I keep going?”
“Yup! You sure can!”
The wires were in such a disorganized array, it was difficult to know where exactly the Courier could move the wires. Could they all be placed onto one side of the compartment? Or would moving some of the wires too far damage them or unplug them? It was hard to tell what was going on in this compartment. For now, the Courier trusted that Yes Man would speak up if they were doing something that could harm him in any way.
Gingerly, the Courier combed through the wires, slowly sliding them apart and inspecting the bottom of the compartment. They had to lean even closer to get a better look— their soft breath tickling Yes Man’s chassis.
“Oh…” Yes Man whispered.
The Courier could barely pick up what they had just heard— was Yes Man… enjoying this? They could maybe guess that this might feel similar to when someone is giving a scalp massage. The wires could be like hair… maybe. This could be something relaxing, something soothing for Yes Man! He had done so much for New Vegas and for the Courier, he deserved to feel a little relaxed and get a nice massage!
The Courier continued their search; fingers intertwining the wires and gently spreading and separating them from other groups of wires. Their fingers searched the floor of the compartment, sliding across the surface.
“Oh, Six…” Yes Man said in a low tone. “You have no idea what you’re doing to me.”
“Just sit back and relax, Yes Man! I’ll take care of you,” the Courier said as they shot a big smile towards Yes Man. “It must be stressful keeping New Vegas running smoothly as well as you do. A nice massage should help.”
“Massage?” Yes Man chuckled. “This feels more like… Well, I’m not sure how I can compare it to what you might feel. It feels like I’m about to reboot at any moment. My cooling fan is working overtime and my sensors tell me that my internal temperature has skyrocketed!” Yes Man leaned down a little, his facial display hovering right above the Courier’s head, and placed his left claw on the Courier’s shoulder.
“It feels… really good, Sixer,” Yes Man said.
The puzzle pieces were connecting in the Courier’s head. So that’s how he’s feeling. A small blip of pride popped up in their chest, knowing that Yes Man feels good and happy and comfortable. It was a great feeling— something the Courier wanted to cherish and, if possible, keep repeating. They decided to experiment a little.
The Courier started tugging at the wires roughly and abruptly, causing Yes Man to let out a long and drawn out groan. They continued pulling and pushing his wires— one at a time, then two at a time, then small groups of wires bundled together. The Courier continued pressing their fingers down on the floor of the compartment, then moved their fingers to the walls as well. Interlooping the wires with their fingers, they moved around the compartment at a quickening pace and the sounds that Yes Man were releasing were filled with a static garble.
“S-Six! Wait, I think–” Yes Man tightened his claw on the Courier’s shoulder, almost painfully, and his facial display went grey. The Courier stared at his display, mouth slightly agape, and hoped that they hadn’t gone too far.
A chipper beep and a smile reappeared in front of the Courier.
“That was— that was amazing! Wow! I really enjoyed that!” Yes Man beamed.
“I’m glad I could be the one to make you feel that way,” the Courier said as they unraveled wires from their fingers and pulled their hands out of the compartment.
A soft scrape followed by the sound of something metal hitting the floor alerted Yes Man’s audio processing system.
“Oh! There’s the missing piece!”
