Summary:It's time for a beer as Jeriah shares his thoughts for fixing some of Jemma's implants problems. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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Jeriah has been working on the network traces for the bugs they planted near nonstop since they planted them the other day. He's a bit tired and Jemma can tell he's close to calling it quits for the evening. That's partly because she knows the set of his shoulders when he's getting tired and partly because she can hear him thinking. Yeah. He's tired.
'I'd quite like a beer about now.' Is actually what he's thinking. Along with letting his mind wander to… maybe sharing a beer with Jemma. Maybe going out… no. He's tired. But a beer for sure. And getting out of this cold lab.
Jemma is working on … stuff. It's hard to tell exactly what, as her thoughts are moving quickly and not in any linear fashion. However, Jeriah is probably getting used to that - the way she makes leaps of logic when analysing things.
He is getting snatches that indicate 'bio-phage' and the apartment they raided the other day, though.
"A beer would be nice, don't you think?" The biochem looks up as Spot, the holographic cat, starts to annoy her. How long has she been at this? Since lunchtime, at least. Hanks programming of the 'nag' mode is working.
Jeriah looks up. He was sure he wasn't thinking that loudly but… well. Here they are. And yes. A beer would be nice. At least he can concentrate on that and not this tangled mess of code that is this encryption.
"Yeah. I think it would be. And I need to get out of this lab. Are you done with what you're doing? I'm thinking back to some place quiet to sit down with that and some food. Pretzels. Something…"
The hound nearby perks up.
Siiiigh.
"Pub food sounds wonderful, to be honest." Jemma answers, attention split for the moment between the tests she's running and Jeriah. "I … just put another test on to run. It's going to take a while and I don't have to be here to watch it. If I need to, I can come back later tonight but the morning will be just as good."
As the hound perks up, Jemma scritches it ears - it might be metal but she treats it just like a dog "You'd like that, Shep? Some pretzels?" That's not helping, is it?
Taking some time to lock her workstations down and power off equipment that's not needed, Jemma is finally ready to leave. "Where are you taking me?"
Oh yes. Jeriah is taking Jemma out. Mmmmhmmm.
"Not a pub. I'd prefer some place quieter. Maybe a cafe? Some place with a beer selection." Jeriah is already looking up places. "There's one not too far from here. Nice window seating. I'll get us a table."
Shep will have to stay outside or… well no. He won't. He'll have to lay on the floor. He's not a pet technically. And people tend to like staring at him. Damn these drones acting so much like dogs.
"Come on. Get your coat. It's a short walk. Brisk air will do us both good."
It won't take long to get out onto the street. Not at this hour.
"Somewhere quieter then. As long they have hot, wholesome, food, I'm not complaining. And wine or maybe some cider." Jemma collects her bag and hangs her labcoat on the peg, taking her coat down to slide into it.
As they leave, she buttons it against the chill. "I don't know why you think the brisk air will do us both good. I hate the cold." she says as they make their through the Triskellian and out onto the street. The corridors of the building are mostly empty - there's only a few who work this late, after all.
"You're annnoyed your drones are acting like dogs? I think it makes them rather endearing."
"It makes them difficult to control. And it makes them impossible to leave alone. Otherwise they wander and thigs get really annoying." Jeriah says. He looks over at her as she gets a little red faced. "Oooooh I don't know. Looks like it's doing you good already."
When they arrive at the place, a little brickwork cafe of the charming sort, Jeriah goes right to the table. There's two beers waiting there already. He has a hell of a line to the staff that's for sure.
"I've got an idea, by the way, about your… implants."
"Train them, like you would any animal." Jemma answers simply, wrapping her arms about her against the cold. "There is nothing good about looking like this. And no, Jeriah, I am not Missus Clause. Take that image out of your mind already."
Talk about annoying. Jemma being able to pick some thoughts can't be very pleasant for the hacker soldier.
"Why do they behave like dogs, though?" She's not really asked that question before. "You said they aren't programmed to, so why are they doing it? Programming doesn't usually just evolve." Well, it does in her world but not in drones like Shep. Speaking of Shep, she sidles up behind Jeriah and sticks her head under his hand as they walk.
Inside, it's nicer. Definitely warmer and Jemma slides out of the coat and puts on the chair next to her. "When did you hack this place?" She asks with smile. She's teasing but yes, it is definitely a hell of a line to the staff.
""Do I want hear this idea?" He knows she's worried about them.
"Not every animal has jaws that can crush steel and back mounted heavy weapons." The hacker solider points out. "But yeah I'll give it a shot. Maybe find a good dog whisperer…"
Maybe. Probably not. Not many dog whisperers would know what do to with that.
"A software patch. I think I finally have a good enough handle on your input output protocols to design something that should lessen your network vulnerabilities and help with your emotional control. But I need your help to make it. I do code, I don't do neuochemistry. I need a working foundation with what I'm toying with if we don't want to, you know, accidently upgrade you to Windows Vista."
Jemma notes how distracted Jeriah is, frowning slightly as she takes the beer. He's been like that for most of the day as he worked on that code. Knowing the coders she knows, she expects it.
"Maybe a Dog Whisperer will help." Or maybe finding out why they behave like that will be a start. "A patch? That … makes sense. Does it mean you won't need to be in my head anymore?" It certainly means that her reliance on Kelly won't be as heavy.
"Not Vista, no. Or ME. I wouldn't mind a Windows 10 upgrade, though. What do you need from me?"
"I'd need to be in your head for at least a little bit to monitor it and I'll leave something behind so I can connect quickly in the event it doesn't work and I need to prevent you from knifing me again." The hacker sends over a small info package to Jemma. In it is some code, which might not be her thing, but a bunch of blanks that clearly need to be filled in with Biochemical data.
"Do you want me to stay connected? Because I can."
"Of course, that makes sense." Jemma nods as she starts to flick through the data that Jeriah sent over. Some of the code means something, her Academy friend had spent a lot of time working beside her before they were sent on a seperate mission.
She's quiet for the longest time as she sips the beer and looks out onto the street. The lights and decoration are so pretty, the way they sparkle and reflect off things. While she's doing that, Jemma is starting to fill in the blanks. Much of that data she already has, of course.
"You're creating a feedback look, here. Sampling my autonomic responses and adjusting neurochemicals as needed." See, she can read some of it, at least and she's avoiding answering Jeriah's question.
Finally she sighs and turn her one good to hold his gaze. "I shouldn't. I should want you out. I should want my thoughts and my privacy to myself." It's not an answer but he's getting it as she thinks on it. She likes him there, being able to reach out and to know that she's not alone.
"Yeah. Ideally it's not a runaway feedback loop because if it is that could be a big problem for you. That's part of why I need your help. I don't want to send your endocrine system into overdrive. That'd feel good I'm sure… for about a day and then you'd burn out."
Jeriah twists his beer open and smiles. "But you don't. You actually like the company. You know I could just leave you a phone line, yeah? An instant messenger? Some way for you to contact me without me being in your thoughts all the time?"
"I can work up some algorithms to test my system that you can use to ensure the loop doesn't do that." It's a risk and part of the part of the problem with the implants already. They weren't designed for a living being and had been modified in a hurry. "I'll need to think about an appropriate sample rate. Too often and it will be terrible, not often enough …" she might be dead.
"I do, as you can hear." Jemma answers, looking back out onto the street, breaking his gaze. "You can do that, leave me some way to message you." It's an imposition on him, Jemma knows that, to be constantly connected to her. It's not something the stubborn biochem would ever ask of someone else.
"We'll need a way to test it, but I think we can simulate it since I can collect data from your actual brain. It's not as good as an actual long term test but since we don't have a spare brain to test it is the best we can do."
The hacker smiles, leans back and takes another sip of beer. "I'm going to order onion rings, by the way." He thinks for a minute.
"I mean… I could stay, by the way. Just not disconnect."
"We do need to test it. A simulation will be ok, but there will be some risks, as I saw with Hank and his experiment." It's the best they can do though - it's not just the spare brain but the whole biology thing. the body is a complex system and one thing could tip the balance. "I'll have this data for you shortly, when do you want to do this?"
"Salt and Pepper calamari, please." Jemma responds with her order, still lost in her thoughts as she refuses to look at Jeriah. Shep moves a little in her position by the table, bumping the leg.
"I know you can, I heard that at least. But …. " she shakes her head. "… do you want to? I'm a grown woman, Jeriah, I shouldn't want this."
"Soon." Jeriah says. "But not tonight. I need your data and then I need to finish the code and then we need to test it." Mentally the hacker adds another order of Salt and Pepper Calamari to the list. That'll come out soon, he is sure.
"Well. You're a grown woman and you apparently do want it. And I'm offering. So…." Does she want it enough for him to actually do it?
"Soon then." Jemma answers, still gazing out the window. Jeriah can hear her thinking about this. "I want you there, Jeriah. But … " She shakes her head again. "You shouldn't be there. If your patch works and it fixes me, I should stand on my own."
And yet it makes her sad to think that she'll lose the connection. It worries her that she still has the nightmares that have her waking in a cold sweat. That she will alone, again, when he disconnects.
"Alright." Jeriah takes another sip and leans down on the table slightly, resting his elbow there and shooting his dog a look. Stop that. You are not a dog. You are a weapon system. Just sit there.
"But that still doesn't answer the question of what you want me to do. You say I should disconnect but it's pretty plain that you don't want me to, even if I weren't in your head. You're… scared, a bit, I think."
Shep looks up, lolling her head a bit at Jeriah, just a like a hound would do. She is to a dog.
"I already said I want you there." Jemma points out, sighing, and turning to look at the hacker soldier when he leans on the table. "I am scared and with good reason. Something wakes inside my implants, Jeriah, and tries to take over. The last times, you were there to help me fight it off. What happens the next time, when you aren't there?" beat "But as much as I want you there, it isn't right. More importantly, it isn't fair to you to have to do that for me."
Shep is not a she. Shep is not a he. Shep is an it. And it is a robot.
Jeriah sighs. Extensively. "If I don't do it for you and something takes control what then? Do I have to kill you? Does someone else? It might just be best if I stayed. Or at least, left an open door." Connected but not present. But no further than if he had just walked into another room in a house.
Is that possible? It might be. If he can figure out the code.
"And what if your patch fixes that?" Jemma answers. "So many what ifs that we don't have the answer for. If something does, you can always reconnect." She says quietly. How much of her will be left, is a good question but she is worried that she's asking too much of the hacker soldier.
And she really doesn't mind his presence in her mind. Why, she couldn't say. She just doesn't.
The data packet is returned to Jeriah with the information he needed. He'll get the hint of a thought that maybe Jemma should go.
"Even if it does we won't know for a little bit." Jeriah points out. "Now. The snacks are here…" And they are. Onion rings and calamari. "When we're done with them we can hit a movie if you'd like. I think that Midway one is out." There might be one or two others. Star Wars isn't out yet and he'd rather not see that one anyway so no loss there.
"I'll take a look at this and get back to you when I'm ready to test. Probably take me a little bit to work out the code I need."
Jemma just stares at Jeriah for a moment. "You're asking me to see a movie with you?" happy to put the other discussion for a bit. She doesn't know what's at the movies at the moment, though she could easily find out.
"Midway might be alright, it's a war movie? Promise me you won't be like me in science fiction movies?" He might imagine what it's like. Though can he imagine her yelling at the screen that it's *wrong*.
"I am asking you to see a movie with me. After I've had some of these breath destroying snacks." Mmmm onion breath. Well. Jemma can deal with it, yes? Not like in a movie theater she'll have to smell it. Except when he turns to talk to her.
"I didn't fight in that particular war so I probably won't be that bad. Don't go see Black Hawk Down with me though." Fortunately, that isn't on the menu in terms of movies to see.
Because Jeriah would have OPINIONS about that.
Jemma considers Jeriah, drawing her snacks closer to her so she can eat them. The aioli here is good. She'll have to put up with onion breath. He'll have to deal with garlic. Fair trade. Though she's wondering ….
"If I didn't know better, Jeriah, I'd say you were trying to make me have a life." Getting her out of the lab, watching movies … having dinner.
"If you are that bad, I'll just make a scene." beat "And noted. Black Hawk Down when I want to see you riled."
"Well someone has to. Otherwise I'm going to find you talking to your petri dishes. Oh wait…" He has. And Jemma can see Jeriah's memory of him doing so. She had been being a bit silly but he absolutely did walk in to her having what appeared to be an animated discussion with a staph colony.
That had taken some explaining and no small amount of blushing.
"Well. Shall we dig in then?"
"Sometimes it's the only intelligent conversation I get." Jemma sniffs, putting her nose in the air a little in mock disdain. "And that Staph colony was absolutely fascinating."
There's a smile though as Jemma agrees she'd like to see the movie. "Let's. And I think you could tell me a story about your misspent youth…"
"So many regrets. A tale of potential shattered by a cruel world. Maybe lost love. And a dog. I'll work in a dog somehow." The Hacker snorts as he takes a few more onion rings. His past isn't really that interesting until he joins the army. But she may want the story anyway.
Which is fine. He'll tell her about growing up in LA. It will have been a different life from growing up in Devon.