Etraya Inbox

[hexcope]

𝐓𝐄𝐗𝐓 | 𝐕𝐎𝐈𝐂𝐄 | 𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎 | 𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

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[hexcope]

[He doesn't explain further, just launches into more questions:]

What do you mean there's a spell to bring someone back? What right materials? What cost? Have you seen it happen?

[tinflower]

[ Uh, okay, let his brain try to catch up with that-- ]

I, yeah, I guess I've seen it happen, one of my teammate's a cleric so she, she can cast a revivify on us when we need it? You can do it that way. I don't know a lot about them, they're not really in my wheelhouse, you know...

[ But he feels like he should be saying more for the way Jayce slammed into this call so his mouth is trying to keep on making words?? ]

[hexcope]

Oh.

[He says after processing. Deflated.]

It didn't happen here, did it?

[tinflower]

No? I haven't seen anyone do it. Usually people come back through, uh, Echo, I guess. I think Aurora said Echo brings you back if you die here?

[ It's been a while, what was the details about that again... ]

[hexcope]

[Aaaand back on the rollercoaster.]

Not only if you die in your own world, but if you die here? How? ...Does it matter what they die of?

[Once again, questions Gorgug probably doesn't have the answer to, but he had the misfortune to be the messenger of very important information.]

[tinflower]

Uh... [ Well, he's trying to think... ] I know a guy got killed by a robot, and he came back. But... I don't know if there's limits. You could ask Aurora? I never talked to her about dying. I didn't think about it.

[ When he was doing a Q&A with her. ]

[hexcope]

I could ask her. Should ask her.

[Which is something he's been avoiding. He sighs, exaggerated.]

You trust her?

[tinflower]

[ It's never a question he likes to be asked. But... ]

...I think she tells us what she can. If she doesn't tell the truth, it's not on purpose. She's AI. She can't say some things because of her program.

[ ... ] She's always answered my questions. Even if she couldn't say something, she told me.

[ Maybe he's...a little affectionate towards her, ok... ]

[hexcope]

"Couldn't" say something? You mean she found ways around her restrictions?

[tinflower]

I haven't asked a lot of big questions, but she says if she can't answer something, and-- she told me a way to find out something, one time, when she couldn't tell me directly.

[hexcope]

[That aligns with what Accelerator said, to a degree. She cares for the people here and wants to help them. It could run in opposition to Echo's desires, and she can't outright defy them, but working in underhanded ways does indicate a certain level of intelligence...]

Do you think she's sentient?

[tinflower]

[ He has to think about that... ]

I... don't know how to gauge someone's sentience. She's nice enough to me? She says she grows over time, but-- she knows how to hold a conversation. She knows the right words to say.

[ Which can sound deceitful, but he doesn't know how else to explain it. ]

There's a lot of people dumber than her. [ There, does that work? ] And she likes some people better than others. She said she knew she shouldn't think that.

[ Is liking certain people a form of sentience? ]

[hexcope]

We don't have this kind of technology in Runeterra. Sentience hasn't really been questioned, you either have it or you don't.

[bro is woefully unaware of the Hexcore.

But Gorgug's arguments aren't ringing contrary to his concept of sentience either.]

Like if a toddler had full speech capacity from birth.

[tinflower]

She's smarter than that. That's what some of my bots sound like. [ What's a better example--? ]

She's like... if you took a boss's idea of what a customer service employee should be 24/7, and made her soft-spoken and never upset. She's always ready to answer and ready to go.

[ The Perfect Employee. ]

[hexcope]

Personality wise, sure. I can see that.

But intelligence wise, everyone I've spoken to about her insists she can formulate ideas on her own and communicate them in a limited way. A kid would know they "shouldn't" like some people more than others to be fair, but they will, because developing attachments is an inherently sentient response. The question I have is if that response is from rote learning— an understanding that she should feel a way in order to better blend in with us— verses meaningful learning, something she figured out on her own guided by her own emotions and sentience.

[tinflower]

I see. I understand.

...Do you think you could figure it out without studying her programming?

[ He did say that her technology doesn't exist where he's from. But maybe he's interested anyway? ]

[hexcope]

I-I mean. I'm not an expert or anything. But if I was going to believe it, I'd need to speak to her myself.

[tinflower]

You wanna cut the call so you can talk to her? We can talk later.

[hexcope]

[He's been avoiding talking to her, but now Gorgug seems to want him to. Ugh!! He doesn't want to disappoint Gorgug!!]

Uh, sure.

[tinflower]

[ Can Gorgug detect a hint of hesitation? Did he for once get a really good roll when it comes to perception--! ]

Okay. She might be connected to the top guy judging all of us, but it's okay. It's really good you're trying to understand her.

[ He's helping...! He's trying to be comforting and encouraging! ]

[hexcope]

[He didn't even think about that part.]

Wait, what if I say something offensive and she reports me back to Echo? Do I lose points? What if she gets so offended, Echo decides Runeterra isn't worth saving?

[tinflower]

...

My friend pointed a gun at her on his first day here, and he's been here longer than me?

[hexcope]

That's not as bad as questioning someone's metaphysical purpose in your first conversation with them!

[He also had a gun pointed at him on his first day.]

[tinflower]

People ask me what I am all the time, they give me weird looks. I'd still pick that over someone pointing a gun at me.

[ Isn't that the same!! Isn't it! ]

[hexcope]

As an AI, she doesn't have a fear response. Wouldn't questions that makes her doubt her reality be more hurtful?

[Who's out here giving Gorgug weird looks? He'll fight them. He's a very normal looking... different-than-human species. Jayce never actually asked what it was.]