[Finished] Benchmarking

[Navvi]

"Navvi, position yourself on the red X and standby for further instructions."

Navvi did just as it was programmed and followed the operator's instructions promptly and to a tee. Dressed in an elegantly simple and futuristic-looking suit that one of the operators had programmed into it. Since Navvi was a mass of microscopic robots working as a single unit, almost like a metallic analog of an actual organism, Navvi could produce its own "clothes" when it assumed a Human form. So its clothes were actually part of its body, which made any transformations or changes easier.

Standing on the red X in a large mostly white room that resembled a car-testing facility, Navvi waited motionlessly for anything else that came over the loud speaker. There was a windowed control room suspended from the ceiling from which the operators gave their instructions and recorded the results, and observers could see where all the R&D money was going towards.

This was the first open demonstration of the project that was Navvi. Open to some people in the facility and the brass that wanted to see that they got their money's worth out of the nerds and whitecoats that populated this particular part of the facility. At the moment, a few of those nerds and whitecoats were scrambling around the control room, checking on sensors and double-checking preliminary readouts. One of them pressed on a button next to a microphone, turning it on.

"Navvi, turn around and face the control room. Give us a wave to show that you're working."

Just as it was told, Navvi did a prompt about-face and looked up at the windows of the control box. His arm came up and it gave the faceless figures behind the glass a wave with absolutely no change in expresison. With a smile, the operator turned around and faced an officer that was standing nearby.

As you can see, Navvi doesn't need to be told preprogrammed commands like your cellphone. It can understand plain speech just fine."

When he looked back down at the testing floor, however, Navvi was still waving and looked like it wasn't about to stop. The operator went back to the microphone, a little embarrassed.

"You can stop waving now."

[Evron Glower]

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[atrb=style, background-color: #1A1A1A; border-radius: 35px;] [STYLE=height: 250px; width: 460px; margin-top: 6px; opacity: 0.7; border-radius: 30px; background-image: url(http://i.imgur.com/LXv5t.gif);][/style][STYLE=font-family: times new roman; font-style: italic; font-size: 45px; color: #E7E1CD; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: -30px; letter-spacing: -3px; opacity: 0.99; text-shadow: 2px 2px 2px #000000;]YOU ONLY GOT ONE LIFE TO LEAD[/style][STYLE=font-family: arial; font-size: 12px; margin-top: -10px; color: #CEC6AA; letter-spacing: 2px; text-transform: uppercase;]SO DON'T TAKE FOR GRANTED THE LITTLE THINGS[/style] [STYLE=font-size: 11px; font-family: arial; margin-right: 13px; margin-left: 13px; text-align: justify; background-color: #696969; padding: 13px; color: #000000; margin-top: 6px; opacity: 0.95; margin-bottom: 1px; border-bottom-right-radius: 30px; border-bottom-left-radius: 30px;]Evron was standing in the back, his back leaning against the wall. He was fortunate enough to get to see this considering his new position within DNCS. Looking at Navvi and then the past models this was a better model and the last five of its kind. It listened better, moved better, pretty much excelled in everything its last prototypes could not. A slight nervousness came from the bottom of his stomach, the machine thing moved to the red X just as instructed, it was so natural, the only that didn’t fit was the facial expression. Evron’s face was straight, but there was emotion in his eyes, Navvi on the other hand didn’t. The thing stood so still just like the atmosphere in the area, everyone waited in tenseness and with baited breath. Of course, Evron was happy for some movement in the area as the science team moved around observing data he wouldn’t understand, making sure Navvi worked the way it should. The bot was then given another command, it made an about face perfectly it would make a Marine sick to their stomach. Navvi then waved, once more no expression, a small smile would suffice for Evron’s taste, but he only had bile build up in his throat. Was he even the right place for a job, Evron was stuck in contract and if he left now, he would be hunted down just like Tristan, wherever he’s at? But Evron was informed to keep his ground in the area, to be eyes and ears. It was all a moral thing, the only thing that had kept him alive this long, kept people happy and smiling that Evron was doing his job, but now he was being shown that it was all a lie. Navvi kept waving; Evron couldn’t take his eyes off the nanobot contraption. This was the DNCS future; this is what the trio would have to go against, unless they could get help, very smart help. [/style][STYLE=width: 400px; text-align: center; font-size: 9px; color: #565656; text-transform: uppercase; margin-top: 0px; font-family: arial; letter-spacing: 3px; opacity: 0.9;]made by kiwii at btn & ote![/style]

[Navvi]

Navvi lowered its hand and brought its gaze back down to level, not looking at the control room nor looking at anything in particular. It resetted itself on the red X, turning away from the observers and back to its original position. There was something almost unnatural about the way it stood so still, no movement whatsoever save for the gentle movements of its hair due to the ventilation in the room.

The lead whitecoat in the room took his place in front of the group observers, looking a little nervous about the whole situation, while the others took up their stations. Given how much money, time, and manpower that had went into this project, his anxiety could be forgiven. Especially since some of the "guests" looked ready to toss him out of the window if the project didn't live up to their expectations. There was a distinct parallel to the Nerd-Jock relationship of schools going on in the room.

"Well, uh, thank you coming to this demonstration of the Nanobot Android version six. Uh let me just say that a lot of work went into him-err-IT, and I think it'll show."

He gestured to one of his collegeues behind him.

"First of all, we're going to demonstrate just how durable it can be."

Below several panels in the floor slid open. Three opened in an arc in front of Navvi, roughly a hundred feet from it. From each one rose a heavy calibre machine gun which had been wired to be fired remotely, and they were all pointed at Navvi. Another pair opened on either side of Navvi, this time it was just a pair of platforms with large blocks, comparable to a large appliance, of some kind of metal on them.

"Now normally Navvi maintains the form you can see below. Consistent height with most Humans and only weighing slightly more than a male of comparable size and build. But if Navvi needs to, say, defend itself from trauma or damage that would injure or kill the average person, it can assimilate most kinds of matter to build up its density."

One of the techs instructed Navvi over a microphone, and Navvi responded by placing a hand on each block of metal. A silver-y "liquid" engulfed each block until it was completely convered. Then this new silver block was absorbed into Navvi's palms, leaving nothing on the platforms.

"Navvi can assimilated matter much faster than that, but the process was slowed for observation. Right now, Navvi now has the density and durability comparable to the walls of a bomb shelter. Observe."

The operator motioned to his techs and a short countdown commenced. At the signal, all three machine guns roared to life and even the control box was filled with a low rumble of large calibre gunfire and the tinkling of casings hitting the floor. Navvi remained on the X, unmoving as hundred of rounds slammed into it all over its body. Pits and small craters formed across its torso and face as the rounds squashed against or buried themselves in it.

After the ammo boxes had been exhausted, leaving the guns smoking and red with heat, the machine guns began to descend into the floor. Navvi was left alone and bullet-riddled. The operator looked pleased despite Navvi's haggard appearance.

"Obviously any living thing would have been liquified by that barrage, but Navvi remains fully functional and can easily bounce back from it. Observe further."

Navvi was already beginning to heal and regenerate. All of the pits, holes, deep cuts, and bullet canals in it were closing up and bringing Navvi back to its original state. Bits of it seemed to be falling off, but they were actually the squashed bullets that had embedded themselves in Navvi being pushed out of its body. In a matter of seconds, Navvi looked like he was just off the production line.

[Gianna Tyler]

[atrb=border,0,true;]
[cs=2][STYLE=font: 29px impact; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: -2px; line-height: 38px; width: 390px; margin-bottom: -11px; text-align: left;]SO MANY FACES, SO MANY PLACES[/style]
[atrb=valign, top][style=border-left:5px solid #7d4955; border-top:30px solid #7d4955; border-bottom:30px solid #7d4955; font-size: 9px; line-height:12px; text-align: justify; font-family: tahoma; padding: 6px;]Gianna was holding a map. Since she had pretty much holed herself up in her new apartment her first day here, today, her second, she was lost. She wondered why her navigational skills were so poor when everything else she memorized and learned rapidly. She took a deep breath. That had better be the building, right? She was supposed to start work on a certain project soon, and she really ought to get started. She took a deep breath to steel her nerves and entered the building. The first thing she noticed was that everyone was weirdly quiet for some reason. What was going on...? "Well, uh, thank you coming to this demonstration of the Nanobot Android version six. Uh let me just say that a lot of work went into him-err-IT, and I think it'll show." Whaaat? This wasn't building C-12, or at least, it wasn't the right lab in said building. Android? She was supposed to be innovating some sort of power-canceling item, not working on an android. Was she allowed to be in here? She looked at the silent crowd. Some looked mystified, but most looked analytical. That's when she looked down, and despite her desire to work on her real project, she remained rooted in place. That was the most fantastic android she had ever seen. It was realistic, yet... That's when Navvi absorbed the block, and scientific curiosity got the better of Gianna. Nanobots! But every other attempt she had ever seen to organize them in such an orderly, preside fashion had failed. The DNCS had such advanced technology! Did it come from studying so carefully those with powers? Of course, the powers needed canceling, but as long as the other person understood, surely they wouldn't mind them being studied in nature for the name of science? She was still new here, so she didn't exactly understand what was going. Sneaking away from the door, she hid in the back, standing on her tippy-toes in order to see what was goin on. Since she couldn't exactly see, her heart moved to a million miles per hour when she heard gunshots. Her mind steeled her for a storm, instantly reminded oh her sister's violent outbursts. It would always inevitably rain afterwords, as her sister controled the whether with her very emotions. Emotions that grew unstable as her power progressed... Emotions that eventually drove her insane with guilt. She finally managed to look, and saw Navvi being pumped full of bullets. Her heart skipped a beat. Nanobots, aye? Well then... Yes. Her hypothesis was correct. Navvi had healed itself. Mesmerized by this display of science's power, Gianna entirely forgot what was going on outside, that she was late for her first day working at the DNCS and that she wasn't technically supposed to be here. She forgot it all, wanting nothing more than to wonder in amazement at Navvi. [/style] [STYLE=font: 37px impact; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: -2px; line-height: 38px; text-align: center; margin-top: -19px;]WILL YOU REMEMBER ME NEXT TIME?[/style]	[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign, top][atrb=style, width:450px, bTable;][style=align:center;width:100px; border: 3px #670806 solid; width: 100px; height: 100px;] [STYLE=border-bottom: 3px solid #670806;width: 90px; padding: 7px;margin-bottom: -7px;font-size: 10px;]TAGS: Um...[/style] [STYLE=border-bottom: 3px solid #670806;width: 90px; padding: 7px;margin-bottom: -7px;font-size: 10px;]WORDS: Like I'd tell you![/style] [STYLE=border-bottom: 3px solid #670806;width: 90px; padding: 7px;margin-bottom: 10px;font-size: 10px;]LYRICS: Faded by Beth Welford[/style][STYLE=border-bottom: 3px solid #670806;width: 90px; padding: 7px;margin-bottom: 10px;font-size: 10px;]NOTES: I'm not butting in, am I?[/style][STYLE=border-bottom: 3px solid #670806;width: 90px; padding: 7px;margin-bottom: 10px;font-size: 10px;]CREDIT: razzle of btn [/style]

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[Navvi]

Most of the observers seemed impressed, to varying degrees, by the initial display of invulnerability by Navvi. Some silently nodded their approval, while others muttered and whispered amongst their peers, which could have been a good or bad thing. However a few, mostly the military brass, were not showing anything from the first demonstration, remaining stoic as ever. Of course, in their experience, they had seen many top secret demonstrations of bleeding edge tech. So they probably were not going to show anything until everything had been laid out for them.

The whitecoats themselves seemed pleased with themselves despite the mixed reactions, or lack thereof. All but the speaker were furiously checking gauges and read outs to make sure Navvi was still functioning normally.

"Of course, surviving the assault of a Non-Human is one thing. Fighting back and apprehending them, or perhaps terminating them, is another."

Down below, more panels opened up on the floor at varying distances from Navvi. Instead of guns or metal blocks, mannequins representing potential targets or Non-Humans were raised into position. On the signal, Navvi was instructed to apprehend all targets without moving from the X and minimizing injuries.

In response, Navvi raised one arm until it stuck straight out forward stiffly, pointing its hand at the nearest mannequin. After a second, Navvi's arm devolved into a silver tendril and it shot out at the mannequin, "stretching" at an incredible speed. It hit the mannequin square in the chest and splashed over its torso to encompass the entire upper half. Like a chameleon, once the mannequin was caught, it was yanked back and dropped behind Navvi. This move was repeated in rapid succession with each mannequin, using both arms and without moving any other part of its body.

More faux-Mutants were raised into position and Navvi was given the signal to transition to lethal force. Instead of wrapping its tendrils around the targets, the tendrils were pointed and pierced right through the chest, leaving a gaping hole when it retracted.

"Navvi can engage in close combat as well..."

Navvi was signalled that he could move from the X, and it seemed that the real show began. Navvi changed both of its arms to a pair of large curved blades that were nearly as big as its body. Despite now weighing as much as a small car, Navvi moved with surprising speed and elegance, slicing mannequins in calculated, dance-like movements.

As the mannequins ran out, a pair of military vehicles were raised onto the floor. The first was crushed when Navvi combined both of its arms into a larger tendril and gave it an overhead smash that rocked the floor. The second was given a more spectacular end. Navvi raised its foot and stomped it into the floor, burying its foot into the floor up to the ankle. A second later, a single giant silver spike exploded through the floor and through the vehicle, raising it off the ground a few feet before dropping it as Navvi took it foot back.

With all targets down, Navvi ceased all movement and just stood in the middle of all the mess it had made on the test floor, looking for all the world like it hadn't done anything. The lead whitecoat was looking quite pleased with the show.

"Well, if you want to take a closer look at it, you're invited to join us down on the test floor or ask us some questions."

With that said, a door in the control box opened, leading to an elevator that lead down to the now half-destroyed test floor.

[Gianna Tyler]

[atrb=border,0,true;]
[cs=2][STYLE=font: 29px impact; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: -2px; line-height: 38px; width: 390px; margin-bottom: -11px; text-align: left;]SO MANY FACES, SO MANY PLACES[/style]
[atrb=valign, top][style=border-left:5px solid #7d4955; border-top:30px solid #7d4955; border-bottom:30px solid #7d4955; font-size: 9px; line-height:12px; text-align: justify; font-family: tahoma; padding: 6px;]Gianna watched as the presentation continued, on to the part about capturing mutants. Having not been here long, she didn't recognize any if the faces of the whitecoats, though she probably would soon. She hoed so. Though the power-canceling items were cool, they already had some power-canceling items anyway. It was too easy. But this- This was a miracle of science. She wanted nothing more than to work with it, to teach Navvi, to work on this project. She wasn't thinking about how impossible it would be for a nineteen-year-old newbie to do that. She watched Navvi's capture method, imagining her sister (the only mutant she knew) in the place of the dummies. She winced. It was possible that was a bit... er... rough. However, she noted that minimal dammage had been caused, and Navvi was doing an excellent job of staying where he was. The methodology could be edited later. Gianna also knew that if her sister was angry or rampaging, asking her calmly would never suffice. She was considering these factors all in her mind, so concluded that the capture method was acceptable. (Not that her opinion mattered.) Suddenly, the arm shot out and pierced a mannequin's chest. Gianna gasped quietly. Navvi was capable of lethel force? The poor naive girl assumed this android wasn't a weapon. She calmed herself by saying that such actions must only be for self-defence. However, as the show went on, the illusion was shattered. Navvi was powerful, clearly made to fight. She sighed. Gianna continued justifying the actions in her mind. ~Well, my sister has said that I should attack her if she ever attacks me again... I suppoe some mutants really are that dangerous... Besides, it needs to protect itself....~ "Well, if you want to take a closer look at it, you're invited to join us down on the test floor or ask us some questions." Gianna watched as the elevator down to the control room opened. She forgot completely that she wasn't allowed to be there, that going down there was such a bad idea, ect. She just wanted to see Navvi closer, to study it. She moved with the crowd, following a group of prominent individuals into the elevator, the most unknown and unrecognisanle and unimportant of everyone. Quietly, with reverence, she walked up to Navvi. The android was stock still, since it wasn't designed as a sentient robot and hadn't been commanded to interact. She stood there, just staring. She could stand there forever- "Hey, you don't look like you belong here. Let me see that security pass of yours." And now it came crashing down on her. Reality stepped in, and she stuttered apologies as she handed him a shiny new ID card. The whitecoat in front of her read, "Gianna Tyler. You're not supposed to be in here according to this, but at least you're trustworthy." He looked around nervously. The generals and scientists and other folks were sure to notice her. That would be bad. Here couldn't kick her out without a racket. What could he do that would prevent her from being noticed and him being blamed for a security breach? "Okay. Gianna, how about you follow me, and we'll sort this out once everyone leaves." Gianna takes a deep breath and follows him into a back room, stealing one last glance at the miracle robot as she goes. [/style] [STYLE=font: 37px impact; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: -2px; line-height: 38px; text-align: center; margin-top: -19px;]WILL YOU REMEMBER ME NEXT TIME?[/style]	[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign, top][atrb=style, width:450px, bTable;][style=align:center;width:100px; border: 3px #670806 solid; width: 100px; height: 100px;] [STYLE=border-bottom: 3px solid #670806;width: 90px; padding: 7px;margin-bottom: -7px;font-size: 10px;]TAGS: Um...[/style] [STYLE=border-bottom: 3px solid #670806;width: 90px; padding: 7px;margin-bottom: -7px;font-size: 10px;]WORDS: Like I'd tell you![/style] [STYLE=border-bottom: 3px solid #670806;width: 90px; padding: 7px;margin-bottom: 10px;font-size: 10px;]LYRICS: Faded by Beth Welford[/style][STYLE=border-bottom: 3px solid #670806;width: 90px; padding: 7px;margin-bottom: 10px;font-size: 10px;]NOTES: Okay, here goes nothing![/style][STYLE=border-bottom: 3px solid #670806;width: 90px; padding: 7px;margin-bottom: 10px;font-size: 10px;]CREDIT: razzle of btn [/style]

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[Navvi]

Though the reactions to Navvi's rather destructive performance were muted up in the control room, the reactions down on the test floor were louder and more excited. Not "excited" as a teenage girl might be excited about a new outfit or car. But "excited" as in the generals could not wait for this project to hit the mass production phase and the whitecoats were excited that everything went off without a hitch. Almost immediately informal talks about field applications and when this thing could be deployed at full capabilities came up.

Some went around and inspected the damage with their own two eyes, up close, and with their hands. The holes in the mannequins were perfectly circular and precise. When questioned, the observers were assured that Navvi was capable of making more shapes should the need arise. For example, if they wanted a less conspicuous impalement, Navvi could easily make a thin razor tendril that would neatly slip between ribs.

Of course, others went right up to Navvi itself to poke and prod at it, quite literally in a few cases. They found that Navvi felt like a normal person, and was even warm to the touch. They also mentioned that its one, and perhaps only, unconvincing trait was its cold grey dead eyes. The whitecoats freely admitted that the eyes were nearly impossible to replicate accurately, and that's where the uncanny valley came into play with this project.

They asked it questions, which Navvi only responded with simple and short answers. It was during these "conversations" that they also noticed that Navvi didn't actually look at people it talked to, and instead stared off straight ahead. If it did make eye contact with someone it was only by accident.

After a while, the crowd began to disperse, either to leave the testing floor or to conduct talks in private at the farther ends of the floor, leaving Navvi alone where it stood. The whitecoats would take care of it later after talks concluded.

[Gianna Tyler]

[atrb=border,0,true;]
[cs=2][STYLE=font: 29px impact; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: -2px; line-height: 38px; width: 390px; margin-bottom: -11px; text-align: left;]SO MANY FACES, SO MANY PLACES[/style]
[atrb=valign, top][style=border-left:5px solid #7d4955; border-top:30px solid #7d4955; border-bottom:30px solid #7d4955; font-size: 9px; line-height:12px; text-align: justify; font-family: tahoma; padding: 6px;]Gianna sighed out of the window in the room she had been brought into. It was one-way, so on the other side she wasn't visible. She watched as the other people seemed to attempt conversations with Navvi. Gianna could feel Navvi's pain, not that it actually felt pain or anything. It was just, she understood how Navvi must have trouble answering conversations, since she never knew what to say herself. It was funny that way. She knew much about the human psych, knew what the right thing to say should be, but she could never find it. It stared ahead of itself. Gianna wondered what attemots had been made to program it to, say, shift outs weight, or move it's hands and head while talking, tap its feet, cough, do any of the random human gestures. Then again, programmed randomness is practically an oxymoron. "Why do they keep poking it? Wouldn't that be annoying?" she said. "It's a robot," answered the scientist simply, assuming that answered the question completely. Gianna sighed. She forgot that, though Navvi was a miracle, it could only follow commands as far as she was aware. It couldn't think for itself. That seemed like a good thing to controlling scientists, but Gianna was not a cold, calculating, controlling person like other people here. She simply thought that thinking for yourself allows the greatest things to come out of you, and if they had taken a risk and allowed it sentience, perhaps it would have been an even greater achievement. Of course, though scientists sometimes take risks, the DNCS scientist had no room or mistakes, so risks could not be taken. She looked out e window. People were leaving. "It looks like everyones cleared out. Come on, Gianna, let's go see the others and decide what to do with you." The other scientists were still outside. Gianna followed them into the now empty room, where Navvi still stood still in the center. Gianna stared at it again. If it weren't for the eyes, she wouldn't know Navvi wasn't human. She sighed. So, she supposed she was leaving now. It was too bad. Navvi could have been a brilliant light in her new job, a project that would keep her powerful mind busy and happy. It hit her then. She hadn't done much of anything with it yet. She had to see it before leaving! "May I... May I... May I go see Navvi?" The scientist conversed briefly. It was clear the girl was in aw and not hatred, and would not hurt it. "Okay. But be careful, okay?" Gianna nodded and walked up close to Navvi again, her eyes staring directly into its, forcing eye contact. She smiled at Navvi. "Hello, Navvi. I am Gianna! You are fantastic, did you know that?" The scientist in Gianna reminded her that the robot woldn't respond to such useless statements, but the human in Gianna wanted to treat Navvi like a peron. The scientist agreed reluctantly. "I just want to know," she looks nervously around. She dodn't kow what the scientists would say to her asking this question, since it was useless and a little pointless, "what do you think of all this?" She sighs. "I don't think you can properly answer any of these questions, and I'm not planning on just ordering you around. I suppose this conversation was pointless with a robot. Perhaps I should just leave it at, hello! My name is Gianna." She looks up at Navvi, still in slight as at it. Once again, she is spellbound wanting to work with it more. [/style] [STYLE=font: 37px impact; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: -2px; line-height: 38px; text-align: center; margin-top: -19px;]WILL YOU REMEMBER ME NEXT TIME?[/style]	[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign, top][atrb=style, width:450px, bTable;][style=align:center;width:100px; border: 3px #670806 solid; width: 100px; height: 100px;] [STYLE=border-bottom: 3px solid #670806;width: 90px; padding: 7px;margin-bottom: -7px;font-size: 10px;]TAGS: Um...[/style] [STYLE=border-bottom: 3px solid #670806;width: 90px; padding: 7px;margin-bottom: -7px;font-size: 10px;]WORDS: Like I'd tell you![/style] [STYLE=border-bottom: 3px solid #670806;width: 90px; padding: 7px;margin-bottom: 10px;font-size: 10px;]LYRICS: Faded by Beth Welford[/style][STYLE=border-bottom: 3px solid #670806;width: 90px; padding: 7px;margin-bottom: 10px;font-size: 10px;]NOTES: Alright, I'll try to give you some interaction now.[/style][STYLE=border-bottom: 3px solid #670806;width: 90px; padding: 7px;margin-bottom: 10px;font-size: 10px;]CREDIT: razzle of btn [/style]

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[Navvi]

During Gianna's little one-sided conversation with Navvi, it continued to stand ramrod straight and without even a hint of movement. In terms of superficial appearances, Navvi was nearly identical to any living Human, save for the aforementioned eyes. But if it was to truly blend into the average populace of unsuspecting people, Navvi's behavior and movement algorithms could definitely use some polishing. Even a real person would look weird moving, or not moving in this case, as Navvi did.

Aside from Navvi's wonderfully choreographed massacre of mannequins and vehicles, after it had been allowed to roam about outside of the red X, Navvi moved... stiffly. That was probably the best word for how it moved. The best analog would be those automated robot arms used to build cars. The movements were smooth, not jerky, but the movements seemed so pre-determined and too exact and they stopped within millimeters of their intended target without error. When it wasn't moving, it stood like any one of the many mannequins it had slaughtered.

As for Navvi's response to Gianna, it did not come for a second, creating an awkward silence between young girl and robot that happened to weigh about as much as a small car at the moment. But then something surprising happened.

Navvi was taller than the girl and, while she attemped to force eye contact, it wasn't perfect. So when Navvi's grey eyes suddenly made the smallest of movements to look at Gianna. Though she didn't know it, she was the first one to see Navvi do something like that.

"This one finds being observed so closely strange."

Its voice was, of course, an emotionless monotone and Navvi had a strangely soft speaking voice. At volume it responded to Gianna, only she would be able to hear it talk.

"This one finds that you are absent from its current archives 'Gianna', and you are dissimilar from this one's usual operators. Are you a new operator?"

[Gianna Tyler]

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[cs=2][STYLE=font: 29px impact; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: -2px; line-height: 38px; width: 390px; margin-bottom: -11px; text-align: left;]SO MANY FACES, SO MANY PLACES[/style]
[atrb=valign, top][style=border-left:5px solid #7d4955; border-top:30px solid #7d4955; border-bottom:30px solid #7d4955; font-size: 9px; line-height:12px; text-align: justify; font-family: tahoma; padding: 6px;]In the odd silence following her brief, awkward attempt at conversation, Gianna was thinking. She wasn't terribly assertive, and didn't know how to ask for what she wanted. However, she wanted to work with Navvi. Perhaps she could help fix his small quarks? Teach him... it... to act a little more human? Navvi was a miracle to Gianna, who, despite having unknowingly been pushed along and isolated by the government, was a kind person who still didn't see that Navvi was being used as a tool, as a weapon. And during the silence, she nearly gave up. Maybe it refused to respond to her? Maybe it only responded when it knew what to say? Gianna could understand that. She had shyed away from conversations because she didn't know what to say. Wait. Navvi wasn't human. She seriously needed to stop emphasizing with it. A psychologist would have a field day with that. Then, suddenly, in the smallest of manners, those unfeeling eyes dropped and locked with hers. The grey cold eyes looked into her own brown ones. For some reason, despite the fact most people would, Gianna did not flinch away. Instead, she stood, surprised and mesmerized by this gesture, which she had yet to see in her observations of Navvi. "This one finds being observed so closely strange." He spoke softly. Every syllable was perfect, without an accent of nuance to them. There was no emotion behond them. Perhaps by the same mechanism that causes a human to itch more when someone else is, her voice lowered to match his... its. "I understand. Having everyone gape at you I can relate to." Collage, high, middle, even elementary school, she stood out. She sometimes felt like the rest of the world was simply observing her from a distance, scared of her for some reason. It hurt. She was kind and wanted friends, and it was a cruel higher being who stole that from her. Actually, it was in part the government who accelerated her and isolated her to be sure they got thier genius, but as far as she knew, when they offered her this job, they were her savior, giving her a new chance. "This one finds that you are absent from its current archives 'Gianna', and you are dissimilar from this one's usual operators. Are you a new operator?" Gianna looked at Navvi, unsure of what to say. "No, not an operator," she said, "though I wish I could be with you as often as one of them." She thought. Finally, she did what she had been doing the whole time, pretending Navvi was human and that he should be talked with as such. "I'm a... I'm a friend, I guess, or a visitor." She nodded. "I may or may not see you again though." Meanwhile, the scientists looked on, keeping careful watch on both Navvi and Gianna. Though they were unable to hear what was going on, as the two were talking in soft voices or some reason, they saw that something was different. Navvi looked oddly like it was trying to actively look at and engage with Gianna, as opposed to briefly answering her questions. Somehow, Gianna might have gotten Navvi to have a real conversation? No. She must have just said something in particular. After all, Navvi wasn't really a robot who talked much. It was impossible that something unplanned was happening, right? [/style] [STYLE=font: 37px impact; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: -2px; line-height: 38px; text-align: center; margin-top: -19px;]WILL YOU REMEMBER ME NEXT TIME?[/style]	[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign, top][atrb=style, width:450px, bTable;][style=align:center;width:100px; border: 3px #670806 solid; width: 100px; height: 100px;] [STYLE=border-bottom: 3px solid #670806;width: 90px; padding: 7px;margin-bottom: -7px;font-size: 10px;]TAGS: Um...[/style] [STYLE=border-bottom: 3px solid #670806;width: 90px; padding: 7px;margin-bottom: -7px;font-size: 10px;]WORDS: Like I'd tell you![/style] [STYLE=border-bottom: 3px solid #670806;width: 90px; padding: 7px;margin-bottom: 10px;font-size: 10px;]LYRICS: Faded by Beth Welford[/style][STYLE=border-bottom: 3px solid #670806;width: 90px; padding: 7px;margin-bottom: 10px;font-size: 10px;]NOTES: I see! That's why you wanted interaction![/style][STYLE=border-bottom: 3px solid #670806;width: 90px; padding: 7px;margin-bottom: 10px;font-size: 10px;]CREDIT: razzle of btn [/style]

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[Navvi]

"Gape" was hardly the word to use for Navvi went through, no matter how it personally could not have cared any less than it did(What was literally zero). On a regular basis, Navvi was hooked up to other machines specially made for it, to data mine Navvi for its latest activities and tests. When Navvi was not being actively observed by a small contingent of scientists and engineers, it was being told to do some kind of repetitive, if complex, tasks for later analysis. Then came the days when Navvi was taken apart, or samples of it were taken, for experiments and tweaking.

Still, Navvi had no idea what it "felt like" as Gianna put it. It didn't care, it couldn't care. It also was not an outcast teenage girl so there was a substantial gulf of differences in experiences.

"Clarify. Why would you desire to be friends with this one?"

Navvi's eye contact with Gianna was not long lived. It's gaze was raised back to its neutral position, seemingly in response to being watched by the other scientists. Suffice it to say, Gianna was having an unusual effect on the project itself.

"Addendum: If you are seeking a position close to working with this one, the highest probablity of success lies in the advanced artificial intelligence department."

That statement was even more strange than Navvi's short stint of eye contact. Like any number of talking consumer products, Navvi almost never made suggestions to its user/operator, instead being totally subservient to the inputs of an outside source. Not only that, but it was a strangely specific bit of insider information. The part it had left out was that the mastermind behind Navvi's higher level AI had died, and in life was a mysterious recluse so nobody really knew whom that person, except for perhaps the highest ranked personel in the DNCS. So no one really knew how Navvi did what it did at it highest level of functioning, or had yet to crack it.

[Gianna Tyler]

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[cs=2][STYLE=font: 29px impact; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: -2px; line-height: 38px; width: 390px; margin-bottom: -11px; text-align: left;]SO MANY FACES, SO MANY PLACES[/style]
[atrb=valign, top][style=border-left:5px solid #7d4955; border-top:30px solid #7d4955; border-bottom:30px solid #7d4955; font-size: 9px; line-height:12px; text-align: justify; font-family: tahoma; padding: 6px;]"Clarify. Why would you desire to be friends with this one?" Gianna thought, then muttered a sigh. That was... a really good question. Perhaps her word choice there had been a wee bit off. Except, it hadn't. She didn't want to treat Navvi like a tool or weapon. Navvi seemed just now to be capable of thinking for itself, except that was impossible, so entirely possible, so Gianna now had a headache. She needed to think of a plausible answer. That was a question she wasn't sure how to answer. "Well, for one thing, I keep relating to you, even though we're nothing alike. Also, I, well, it seemed like the right thing today. Not that I EVER manage to say the right thing... That's something I'm really bad at. I don't know. Perhaps hat was the wrong word, but it seemed right at the time." Gianna somehow refrained from facepalming. That was one awkward, convoluted sentence, that right there. However, she supposed it didn't matter, even though her heart rate told her it did. Navvi was a robot, and hopefully wouldn't care about horribly convoluted statements, right? If she wound up working with Navvi, that could be good, if true. Gianna had a bad habit of composing such sentences. Except she could never work with Navvi- "Addendum: If you are seeking a position close to working with this one, the highest probablity of success lies in the advanced artificial intelligence department." -what? This had to be a joke. Gianna's three degrees were neuroscience, computer programming, and, ironically enough, psychology. That mix was a near perfect match for an artificial intelligence department. She stared for a moment at Navvi, who's grey eyes no longer seemed to be staring through her. She wondered why Navvi had been giving her advice. Most robots like him wouldn't be programmed to do that. "Well, thank you Navvi. That's useful information," and she was going to say something else, but a hand touched hr shoulder. The scientists, who still couldn't hear, had gotten nervous about the oddly long conversation, and we're pulling Gianna away. "Bye!" she called, and she waved as she was pulled away. "So, you've gotten to talk with Navvi now. Time to move on to deciding how to deal with this security-" "I want to work with Navvi. Specifically, the advanced artificial intelligence department." The scientist stared at her. How on Earth could she possible know that they were looking for people in that department? That Navvi's mastermind was dead? No, it must be a coincidence. "Well, that would deal with the security issue, as it would no longer be an issue... And you are rather qualified for the job... I'd have to contact some people... We'll interview you first, I suppose..." The other scientists nervously glanced around. They probably could hire her on the spot, but that seemed awfully silly, didn't it? It was far too easy. Thay'd go to back room later in the day and decide. Wait. She hah had some effect on Navvi. Perhaps they should exploit that? They deliberated, then decided to decide a little later. Yes, even top notch scientists were procrastinators. "Well, let's bring Navvi back in first, then we'll talk." [/style] [STYLE=font: 37px impact; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: -2px; line-height: 38px; text-align: center; margin-top: -19px;]WILL YOU REMEMBER ME NEXT TIME?[/style]	[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign, top][atrb=style, width:450px, bTable;][style=align:center;width:100px; border: 3px #670806 solid; width: 100px; height: 100px;] [STYLE=border-bottom: 3px solid #670806;width: 90px; padding: 7px;margin-bottom: -7px;font-size: 10px;]TAGS: Um...[/style] [STYLE=border-bottom: 3px solid #670806;width: 90px; padding: 7px;margin-bottom: -7px;font-size: 10px;]WORDS: Like I'd tell you![/style] [STYLE=border-bottom: 3px solid #670806;width: 90px; padding: 7px;margin-bottom: 10px;font-size: 10px;]LYRICS: Faded by Beth Welford[/style][STYLE=border-bottom: 3px solid #670806;width: 90px; padding: 7px;margin-bottom: 10px;font-size: 10px;]NOTES: Don't really have much to say...[/style][STYLE=border-bottom: 3px solid #670806;width: 90px; padding: 7px;margin-bottom: 10px;font-size: 10px;]CREDIT: razzle of btn [/style]

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