sweethymns | ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ ᴀғᴛᴇʀ ᴀʟʟ

[He hardly even blinks as the towel is draped over his head. He decides to take his glasses off, folding them and placing them on his lap. He scoots so he's at an angle facing her, then bends down slightly in her direction. This should be easier, even if it's a little comical.

Connor continues the line of conversation as if it's nothing out of the ordinary.]

So you mean does the rain bother me?

Something like that?

[She begins to rub the towel into his hair with some vigor at first, but fades into a more gentle motion (this was a nice moment, says the voice in the back of her head).]

I don't think I really understand the extent of the "touch" sensory of androids like you yet. Like, how I'm drying your hair right now. You'd at least have words to describe what it's like for you right?

[It’s a reasonable question, he thinks. Where the line is drawn between sensations for androids of his world. He waits for her motions to slow and become more rhythmic before he replies.]

I can feel sensations — but none cross into the threshold of pain. For instance, I can feel the pressure of your touch, the fabric of the towel against my hair. The vibrations from the drying motions.

But say you were to punch me. [You know, as an example.] I would feel the force behind it. The way it might fracture my parts, if it were strong enough. But none of it hurts.

[And, well, they’ve had the conversation about temperature before. Can sense it, but not feel it enough to be an inconvenience.]

That can be changed, however.

[She pauses looking at the crown of his head covered by the towel.]

... Wouldn't it be logical to not change it? Although... I suppose pain is necessary. To let you know when you need to retreat.

[The drying resumes before she pushes the towel down to his shoulders.]

And it's also necessary to have so you can tell someone to see if they can help.

Yes. There is an advantage to pain. But given the various tasks of androids — and how they were thought to be... disposable — there was no point in making them more ineffective by being able to feel pain.

[That was simply the truth of it.]

For now, I see no reason to change it yet.

[Ai's comb hovers over his head although she seems to struggle with how to start. Partly because of their conversation, partly because, like with men's clothes, hell if she knows how to brush a man's hair (man android in this case — she feels a little tense for some reason, seeing him with messy hair, but dismisses the notion).]

I'd imagine having all five — sometimes six — senses that a human has would be a sensory overload for an android.

[Going by memory, the comb starts on his right.]

So if you think about it, humans don't give themselves enough credit for feeling those things. We experience it every day... Ah, I'm being vague.

[She pauses to glance at Connor in the eyes.]

What I'm trying to say is, that those senses are important!

[He’s still as she begins to comb his hair. Connor finds it a strange sensation, having someone else do this for him. It’s easier to be more acutely aware of the feeling of the comb’s teeth against his scalp, the sensation of it running through damp hair, when he isn’t the one doing it.

It isn’t bad, per se.

He glances up at her, through wayward strands.]

Of course. There’s an irony in there somewhere. That an android’s mind possesses exponentially more processing power than a human’s, and yet experiencing the full extent of five — or six — senses at once would be debilitating at first.

[A little smile.]

Just another difference between us.

[Perhaps she's too close, but his smile makes her avert her gaze and concentrate on combing the rest of his hair.]

It's not a bad one.

[Ah, she needs to concentrate on something else; he mentioned a friend and...]

Oh, I don't think I ever asked about your friend. What's his name?

[Ah, did he say something wrong? But even though she’s averted her eyes, Connor notes that her tone hasn’t changed; maybe it was nothing.

He answers with a warm sort of fondness, born of friendship.]

Hank. Lieutenant Hank Anderson. I was assigned to be his partner when cases involving deviant androids began cropping up in Detroit. That was how we initially met.

He's the one that you mentioned liked heavy metal music, correct? I remember that.

[She can hear his tone of voice change when he talks about Hank Anderson. The living empathetic side of him can catch her off guard too and it's the combination of both man and machine that makes her days interacting with him something to look forward too.]

Was he easy to get along with?

[oh boy]

[How’s this for a show of something very human? At that question, Connor lets out a noise that sounds like a half-scoff, half laugh. It’s dry.]

No. No, not at all. I’m fairly sure he hated me.

[He taps a finger lightly against his forehead.]

He threatened to shoot me once, too.

[You know, NORMAL FRIENDSHIP THINGS]

[wHAT]

... That sounds like a scary man!!

[He drops his hand back to his lap.]

He wasn’t particularly personable at first. He hated androids. To have been partnered with one was an insult to him at first.

[The wryness of his smile hasn’t quite left yet.]

But I’m glad I eventually changed his mind on the matter.

[Lt. Anderson listens to heavy metal and threatens to shoot a nice android man, Ai has the face of an Unsure Person.]

If you say so... He sounds like he'd be hard to deal with if you didn't choose your words carefully. Then again, police figures tend to be hard for me to deal with in general...

Almost done combing by the way. You can tell me if it looks okay or not.

Edited 2018-06-13 03:55 (UTC)

[He notices that look, and Connor thinks that maybe he should try to make Hank sound a little more flattering. He really isn't a bad man at all.]

I realize my descriptors don't shine him in the best light. But Hank really is a good friend. He's helped me a lot and currently... well, I had no place to go after- [He pauses. After CyberLife.] -after many androids were freed. He let me stay with him.

[He's indebted to Hank in a lot of ways.]

And please take your time with combing. I appreciate the effort.

Hm. You're mostly honest, so I'll take your word for it about him. I'm glad you have someone in your world to be your friend.

[She's done with his hair and takes a step back. Taking out her phone, Ai unlocks it so she can open up the camera function and use it as a makeshift mirror for Connor to look at.]

There! Is that okay?

[He straightens when she's done, looking at his reflection in the phone screen. His hair is still a little damp, but the wetness aids in keeping it neat. She's done a good job, all things considered.]

It looks perfect. You really took note of the style of my hair.

[Somehow that's amusing to him.]

Thank you. Do you need me to do anything for you in return?

I was almost overthinking it, but I think it was easier to style than I thought in the end.

Anything in return... [She's twisting her damp hair over her shoulder and squeezing it both hands, thinking.]

... Could we watch one movie before you have to leave? I mean... You keeping me company is more than enough.

[Oh, that's easy enough to agree to.]

A movie? Of course. I have plenty of time to stay as long as you want or need me to; time's not moving normally in my world right now, remember?

[He shifts in his seat a little, looking curious.]

What sort of movie were you wanting to watch?

Let's see...

[Ai retrieves the remote TV and plops herself next to Connor, looking through some rentable movies on her streaming service.]

Maybe something with some action at the very least. Thriller maybe? I tend to watch some more relaxing media on my own, but it might be easier to watch those other genres with you.

[After some scrolling, her eyes land on a classic title and it's...]

Alien... 1979. Oh, this one is pretty old! Lien said this one was scary, but good.

"Alien"?

[He doesn't recall anything like that in his database, and a cursory mental search brings up nothing specific pertaining to 1979. And so, the conclusion is easy enough to make:]

I assume it's a sci-fi film that must be exclusive to your world? I'm interested to see how the future was envisioned to be in the late 70's.

I hope we can both enjoy it then! This is definitely outside of my tastes, but it's good to expand the type of things I watch.

[Godspeed.

She presses play and the movie begins. The atmosphere already feels mysterious and dark, but that's what's intriguing and keeping her hooked. Eyes, attentive to the screen, Ai makes sure to pull her mostly dried giant bear over to stay cozy.]

[Connor watches silently, seated on the couch with his back straight, his body language attentive. He's never taken the time to watch a movie before (another first), and with the images flashing before him on the tv screen, he finds himself becoming relatively quickly lost in the narrative.

The aesthetic of the 70's is glaringly obvious, but even so, it depicts an interesting universe in possession of technology that was still far beyond the scope of his own world. Deep space, and the dangers that lurked within; what atrocities could be housed within the flesh casings of a human body, and how vulnerable the lives of the crew truly were.

It's not without its creeping tension, of course. During particularly stressful moments, Connor leans forward, hands grasping at his knees. His eyes never leave the screen, not yet.]

[The movie takes its time and it takes Ai time to start feeling the tension and thinking that she might have been in over her head with this movie. And yet she couldn't look away. She finds herself being invested in the fate of the crew of the Nostromo.

Connor may hear her mutter "I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay..."; arms slowly wrap around her legs and her body stiffens as the sense of dread begins to pile on...]

[It’s a fairly well-known scene at this point. The tension is running high and in the narrative, shit has definitely already hit the fan. Connor still remains enthralled rather than put off by any of the more gruesome moments — he seems quite interested in the story and the fate of those still alive.

The stress and build-up for this scene is not insignificant. Anyone who has seen it knows what comes next. And though Connor remains silent and his body language only a little stiff, all it takes—]

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