ic. [schrodingerskanny]
mindhacking::
[Δ] > delta was all but scowling now, though he wasn’t by any means an expressive person. “ i seem to recall, albeit indirectly, ” he muttered, “ that the… rabbit you programmed fancied itself the third, so that begs the question of whom you were leaving out of the sequence. ” personally, he didn’t count her as the first one either, but she was certainly the first one who knew what she was doing. “ and as to where we could go, i’m afraid i don’t have much in the way of ideas. do you ? ”
Imagine the ear-shattering noise one of those red and annoying buzzers makes when a hypothetical participant of a hypothetical TV show committs an error– much like a blasting alarm signal, yet not so much like the nuisance of an alarm clock’s sleep disrupting buzzing. Bzzzzzzzzt! It was exactly t h a t noise that Akane attempted to imitate.
“Oh no, no– You’ve got your facts wrong this time.” Undeniably, the opportunity to correct Delta of all people was much more pleasant than any other theory explaining she could do. She found bliss in elucidating another’s confusions, her personal salvation, though, seemed to be those brief moments of superiority in Delta’s and her battle of wits.
Ah, why was she so competitive in this man’s presence?
“It wasn’t me per se who programmed the AI– Lagomorph was primarily Dr. Klim’s work, although I did pull a few strings.” Unsurprisingly, her lips formed into a pleased smile, which she accompanied by closing her eyes and throwing her head back just a tiiiiny bit in amusement.
“I also took care of the design– did you like it?”
So then why don’t you call yourself the first Zero, Akane? Ah, what did it matter when one could speak about an artificial bunny’s design? At least that was what her skipping the subject indicated.
[Δ] > he clicked his tongue quietly, more bothered by the fact that she seemed intent on engaging him in this way than the fact that he was mistaken. after all, there was a reason he tried so hard to make everybody hate him back at the shelter; having nobody want anything to do with him was far safer for his plan than any alternative. this wasn’t the type of feeling he was going for, needless to say. oh, well. nobody could be perfect. as long as she didn’t try to remain in contact, this would most likely be a harmless interaction. calm down, delta. calm yourself.
> the old man wracked his brain for a reply with no connotations of either contention or submission. it didn’t take him long to settle on one, but still, the pause he took was tangible. “you are... quite the artist, akane,” he finally sighed. best to let the subject change. “i assume you enjoy mythology? the reference to the ‘jade rabbit’ in the moon did not go unappreciated.”
