#elroy-el

[yunafire]

This scene has stuck with me for days now and I gotta talk it out.

Firstly, I only watched Doug's bits of this show so tbqh I've no idea the plot or context. Military space stuff bores me (exception: Mass Effect series), but Doug genuinely had me captivated in his performance.

Well, performances, plural, as each time he appeared it was a different Elroy-El (I've dubbed them 'The Torturer', 'The Torturee', and 'The Lovestruck Teenager').

Also note, I'm unclear on which pronouns to use. He/him, as they're male-presenting, but given they all share a collective consciousness or consensus (similar to the Geth of Mass Effect lore) would they/them be more fitting...? Wiki says 'male', so. Moving on.

This topic is all about The Torturee, Doug's second guest appearance. The first time we see Elroy-El, as the tormentor of Lt. Paul Wang, is suitably very creepy yet tame by comparison. You don't see any of the actual torture, only hear Paul's screams playing over different scenes, the actual abuse is all implied. (Which doesn't detract from their performances, which I've read were all filmed in a day). Of course, it's 1995 when the show aired, and Paul is a human character.

But in this scene? The one above? All bets are off for an AI character. Just a robot, after all. Totally fine to tear out bits of him and render him broken.

Except... Well, imo, that just makes this so much worse. Because the Elroys do have sentience. They have feelings. 'The Lovestruck Teenager' in a different episode is, well, in love with another android (tho that Elroy is uncertain if those "feelings" are a virus or a happenstance of spring...)

Which paints this Interrogation Scene in a whole different light. "Silicates feel no pain", so claimed, yet there's definitely something going on. Is he (it? they?) aware they're dying and broken? Are they repairable? Do Elroys have a soul, like the Geth, or do they merely shut down, and blip out of existence? Do other Elroys know a part of their collective consciousness has been lost?

Sadly, the show doesn't answer any of that. This is the last we see of The Torturee. How I wish there'd been an actual scene of Paul transporting the broken Silicate as ordered. Would he - Paul - feel the interrogation was justified, given what he went through (as in, forced to film a confession of war crimes?) "Eye for an eye" and all that? Or would he feel sympathy as this was, effectively, a different individual? One that, perhaps, didn't deserve what was done?

And the Elroy even states at the start that they have rights. Rights that were completely ignored and set aside so the humans could achieve their ends. Sooo metaphorical.

Now on a purely meta level... Yea this scene is hokey in fun, mid-90s scifi fashion. Nothing about the Elroys are really explained (that I've seen, but again, I skipped around) nor how they're constructed. It's obvious the computer bits are just pulled out of a pocket or whatever.

But holy fuck the way Doug plays this it's like, dude, you didn't have to make it so good. So... Uncanny valley? (and kinda sensual but I've rose tinted glasses here). No cgi, it's all make-up and prosthetics, contacts and... whatever dye is making his saliva blue-ish. But that makes it so much more real to me, y'know? It's not gorey, it's not violent, but it is... Visceral? Unsettling, for sure.

Just some rambly thoughts I had going through my brain today at work. My job is purely physical, and since I'm not allowed earbuds to listen to my own music (exclusive to my department, joy of joys), I literally have to escape to my mind palace to stay sane. Retail is literal soul death.

[yunafire]

I don't know if your taking requests but I wanted to ask if you could make a fic of Elroy-El, and if you could make it NSFW? I'm going so feral for him 😏😈

Babe are you crawling in my vents and invading my dreams? Firstly, I'd love the company tbh, and secondly, thinking of Elroy-El has been my go-to lately right before sleep. (And you're totally not alone, I'd absoutely love to pick Doug's brain for Elroy-El things. How did he come up with all the mannerisms???)

No joke, I have been fixated on pairing Elroy-El with Justin Hammer. Wharton/Percy 2.0, except we all know Justin couldn't top his way out of a wet paper bag.

... Well. He might at first tho. Elroy-El arrives via black hole (or whatever, idk, i don't do science), acts all cocky and superior... Until he runs out of power and is reduced to a glitching, stammering, mess on his knees and---

"What, is he broken? What happened?" Justin demanded of the eggheads crowded around. They only shrugged. Useless bunch.

"N-n-n-eed...toooo....r-r-r-echarge," Elroy-El stammered out through gritted teeth. Chirps and bleeps accompanied the words, sounding desperate.

"Oh. So now you need me, is that it? Big bad AI needs my power?" Justin asked.

When Elroy-El didn't - or couldn't - answer, Justin crouched down in front of him. The bot's movements were stalled, glitching. Justin gripped the android's chin, and forced those weird crosshair eyes to meet his own.

"I fix you up, I own you. Say it." More electronic noises. Elroy-El's tongue flickered out quickly, like a snake tasting the air.

"S-s-s-ilicatessss... ar...are...free," Elroy-El finally managed. "We...f-f-f-ought-"

"Yea, not in this world," Justin interrupted impatiently. He'd been stroking the AI's cheek while he glitched through his words, admiring the texture. Purely from a technical standpoint, of course. It felt so lifelike, so human, yet the temperature... "You need my power, and I need--well, nevermind. Say what I want to hear, or--" Justin shrugged. "You're scrap metal."

Did AI have a survival instinct? Could they even feel fear? There was a long pause and Justin thought he felt the android shudder, a twitch at the corner of his mouth. It could've been another glitch. Those odd eyes, who made that design choice, and h-

"I'm yours." Spoken so quietly, Justin at first thought he'd imagined it. He leaned in and for sure heard the Silicate hiss. Oh, that was cute. "Say again?"

Elroy-El glared back at him and Justin felt thankful those eyes weren't equipped with lasers. "Y-y-you...own...me..." Elroy-El said, more clearly. The hesitation didn't seem connected to the power shortage.

[yunafire]

Thinking about him/them. Again. I want all the Silicate lore.

How and why is a "humor model" so good at interrogation/torture? Why is his voice so sensual? Who decided on the Silicate "tics" (that clicking noise, tongue flickering, etc)? Is that exclusive to the Elroy-El model?

... Why am I so attached to these guys and why do I wanna low key ship one of them with Justin Hammer?

[yunafire]

The intro was a happy accident and, um, now I need to submerge my soul in cold holy water 🫠