Tag: sweeper

What Wrought Sins

If he had a heart, it would have been beating out of control.

Sometimes he found it odd that he could feel things; on those days where he was reminded just how synthetic he was. However, the fact remained that he could feel things, or perhaps at least simulate those feelings. On those same days, he often wondered why. Why would they let him feel things? Why did he need to? He was mostly thankful for them.

But right now he felt fear.

Fear and confusion inspired by so much and yet so little. He should be happy, Proxy had said, after all, they were all alive. That was true, but the cost and events leading to their survival filled Sweeper with all manner of feelings; none of them positive. He didn’t trust corps, you couldn’t as a Shadowrunner, as a pawn. They are not a person, they are an entity, they are unpredictable. They are ethereal.

They do not like meddling deckers who thirst for knowledge.

Combined with those facts, the corp that a decker should fear most is Neonet. Nothing hampers progress more than the Grid Overwatch Division. Nothing hampers progress more than fried brains and burnt bodies. With so little truly holding him together, there was plenty to fear in GOD. Now they were expected to work with them. Now they were expected to follow tasks and act like good little children.

Now he knew GOD would be watching.

He wanted to badly to trust Proxy. She wouldn’t let anyone hurt him. She wouldn’t lead her best friend astray. She loved him, didn’t she? She did this to save them; why did he feel like he was in such danger? Why did he feel like his friends were in trouble? He wasn’t alone. The others felt it too. They had all belonged to Neonet once. Why couldn’t he remember? He never forgets anything.

He couldn’t let them back into his head.

Too many records: faces, places, secrets told in confidence, confessions in earnest, all of them stored forever with every last moment captured. Such things were too precious to too many people. He couldn’t let them get hurt; not because of him. Not because he let someone get inside his mind. He needed to be absolutely sure they couldn’t steal from him again. Not without a fight.

He needed to warn the ones who were already in danger.

The Professor said the payphone was broken, but that meant very little to a juryrigger like Sweeper.

The End of a Long Conversation

Thrall: …You are of a very amiable kind… especially for a mostly-robot.
Thrall: …Or maybe I just have a poor point of reference… having a very poor social life outside of the astral realm.
Sweeper thinks for a moment, his face turning serious

Sweeper: If that is so, perhaps it is on purpose.
Sweeper: Robots are computers, programs with functions to achieve goals.
Sweeper: They cannot act beyond their means, they are designed to be what they are
Sweeper: I do not believe many robots are designed with thought in mind
Sweeper: A desire to please others; to seek approval
Sweeper: Many we have encountered are built for violence
Sweeper: But that is no fault of theirs
Thrall: … Pauses and reflects on what Sweeps said. …You feel… remorse? For your robot brethren?
Thrall: …Or perhaps, are you having an existential crisis, unsure of whether your thoughts are truly your own or the products of an algorithm written for that desire to please others.
Sweeper: Oh, no, neither.
Sweeper: I do not feel remorse, they are objects and programs; they do not have feelings, they simply are
Sweeper: They do their duty, like this car or a toaster
Sweeper: But when your soy toast is burnt by the toaster, do you blame the toaster?
Sweeper: It was only doing its job
Sweeper: it cannot be held at fault for that
Sweeper: And yet, technology is blamed for the faults in its design
Sweeper shrugs
Thrall: …Is there something you want to get off your mind?
Sweeper: I do not think so, but it is interesting to think about
Sweeper: I am not all technology, there is still human in here
Sweeper: But I am technology
Sweeper: and so I have a purpose
Sweeper: but I do not know that purpose
Sweeper: and I make my own decisions
Sweeper: I have likes. I have dislikes.
Sweeper: But…what is my purpose?
Sweeper: Why make me?
Thrall: …That question has been unanswered by philosophers for millennia.
Sweeper: Search results would indicate you are correct
Sweeper: But that is for humans and elves and others
Sweeper: Computers have simpler lives
Sweeper: for we are built with purpose
Sweeper: to travel, to defend, to guard, to make toast
Sweeper: But I am between worlds, am I not?
Thrall: …Let me ask you this, Sweeper.
Sweeper: I must have a purpose, for I am technology, but maybe because I am not as well
Thrall: …Do you consider yourself a human encased in technology… or a robot with organic, human mental components.
Sweeper is quiet for a while, clearly processing this but smiling
Sweeper: I…
Sweeper: I am a human, like any other human. I am just different.
Sweeper: I…do not like the thought of being…encased
Sweeper: I do not think that is how I feel
Thrall: Sorry.
Thrall: The point I was trying to make is…
Thrall: Yes, you are robotic.
Thrall: You are probably more mechanical than you are organic.
Thrall: But above all else, you consider yourself first a human, yes?
Sweeper nods
Thrall: …Then, sure, your body, the technology you possess might have a purpose…
Thrall: …But you, as a being…
Thrall: …You, as Sweeper… are just like everyone else…
Thrall: …There is no written purpose for you… you choose it on your own.
Sweeper smiles more and nods again
Sweeper: Good

Crash and Burn

System Reboot initiated…

Primary Systems Online. Secondary systems booting.
Secondary systems online.
Initiating System Diagnostics…

Flashes of green words and glimpses of the word “fine” scrolled past. The unit’s systems were up and running, though it still lay a useless heap in the dim alley. The silicone had taken some damage, but it was nothing that couldn’t be fixed.

ERROR

The text was bright red. Memory Core Error. Data Corrupted. Expected Data Loss i?ç$è¶ôéÆ…

Well that wasn’t good. Best solution: save what they could, hope for the best.

Wiping Corrupted Data…

Good. That should do it. Repairs on both ends; digital and physical.

It opened its eyes for a moment and it saw.

That wasn’t good either.

Disabling Ocular Camera.

Better; no sense in wasting resources. Lines of pointless words scrolled for minutes. Hot silicone filled cracks and imperfections. Warm water washed away caked dirt and grime.

More Minutes. A Soft Chime.

Input Name:

S W E E P E R

Saved.

His Name Was Taylor

She kept the studio on the first floor.

He didn’t mind, the second floor was nice enough, even if it was a little cramped, and it was better than trying to live with Mom and Dad who seemed to have less and less time for him these days. Layla on the other hand, despite the massive amounts of work she had to do to scrape by, had always made an effort to make time for him.

He loved her dearly.

He was too young to do much on his own by way of work, so he settled for helping Layla when she needed it. He hadn’t the creativity for sewing, but he could cut out patters and keep track of records, and run errands to local shops on Layla’s scooter. The neighborhood came to know him well and many returned his kindness with their own. It made the dark times they lived in feel brighter.

But the times were still dark.

Accidents happen. People end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. He wasn’t truly prepared for the disaster he would face and so she would lose him. Madison, the girl down the street, had brought back a shredded jacket covered in blood. Layla never told her parents. If he had known the pain it would have caused her that night, he never would have left home.

But that was another time.

Cityverse Sweeper is unaware that he is an android, or is at lease in complete denial. He still talks like a robot (”Initiating Cry Sequence”) but he is 100% certain he is a human being.
Me makes little whirring noises when he moves but he seems to just ignore those.

Gwyn and her buddies have him working with them at their computer shop out by the docks. He’s very good with technology and they recognize talent when they see it; plus the kid was too cute not to hire.
He spends his free time admiring modern fashions. He has a corkboard of favorites that he’s clipped from magazines.

He is not a fan of other robots. Him and the Alice series do not get along very well, despite model X-4227 making several attempts to befriend him. He also has trouble getting along with others who do not convey emotion very well such as Sarosh and Amber; whom he believes to be robots since they experience many traits one might associate with robots.

Sweeper is a big lovable nerd.

Behold (Ignore the terrible MSpaint edits I was doing rough idea junk)

Meet Sweeper; the Shadowrunner than no one expected!

Despite being almost entirely synthetic (1 essence left at character creation), Sweeper will assure you he’s incredibly human with a heart of gold and incredibly misplaced priorities. He tackles every job with all he has in an effort to help his fellow Shadowrunners, and in return seems to do pretty well for himself.

Set Phasers to Hug!