thebastion | (no subject)

Who: Colin, Ahime, Nathan, Paarthurnax, Rin, Zahi, Zuko, Zulf
Open: Closed
When: Day 237, Morning
Where: The Monument
What: Colin needs input to finish his latest project.
Format: Prose
Warnings: Colin, brainy talk

Colin's work over the last couple of days had been rather intensive, but now the hardest parts were done now. He had brought the projector out to the monument earlier, and then he gathered the people whose opinions he wants in order to put the finishing touches on the program.

Paarthurnax and Zuko already knew what it was, and if they'd talked to anyone else, the information might have spread, but Colin was willing to bet that they hadn't. So the first order of business was to make sure that once everyone was gathered, they were all briefed.

"Okay, so here's what's up," Colin explains, nodding towards Paar and Zuko. "A couple of days ago, Zuko and Paarthurnax asked to make something for them, an information dissemination platform so that everyone here can keep in the loop. Since not everyone here can read the same languages, Zuko requested that it be a speaking platform. And since programming a library to speak on command is no small task, I settled on a synthetic intelligence."

He gestures towards the projector at his feet, a boxy contraption easily the size of a footlocker.

"I finished her yesterday," he says. "Or him, if that's what you all decide on. The SI is done, now we just need to decide who, or what, you want to interact with. That's what I've asked you all here for. You've all got leadership in your heads, or people skills, or some general idea of what the Bastion needs. This will be our information hub from here on out, if you're satisfied with it. I've got some defaults ready for your inspection, but I can work with anything you want."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Is that it?" Rin asked with a raised eyebrow, trying to ignore that Colin was insisting on calling her normal.

"Then it's pretty damn obvious what you need. A mascot."

Zuko isn't sure how the others don't find this at least a little disturbing. Her stomach twists when the hologram shifts through her image. She doesn't even like looking at herself in the mirror, and this is like suddenly having her own spirit standing in front of her. It takes her a minute to get over it.

She misses half the exchange between Rin and Colin, besides the fact that he's getting on Rin's nerves, but she glances over at the other girl at her suggestion.

"...like a lion turtle? A small one." If... anyone else even knows what lion turtles are.

Getting on Rin's nerves is what Colin is good at.

"I'unno, maybe. Just somethin' cute and non-threatening. Maybe get that tall skinny kid to draw somethin' for it - he's always carryin' a sketch book around, ain't he?"

"I would say make it somethin' not-living," Zahi suggests, "Even though most people who show up are human, some haven't been, and havin' something neutral would help. Maybe somethin' like that metal-thing you showed, where it's got eyes and looks alive, but isn't anything that's actually living? Maybe it could be the shape of a shard, or the monument, or something."

"I could do a lion turtle, but I'd need your expertise to make it look right, and I think you would probably be the only one to recognize it," Colin tells Zuko. "But if you want one, I can rig the projector to make a small one when you approach, if you want. In addition to the avatar, I mean. That's not hard at all."

He respects Zuko's skills if nothing else, and he does recognize that the tech seems to be putting her ill at ease. Doing her a favor couldn't hurt.

"That's sounding like a promising idea," Colin says to Zahi next, lifting his hand to his chin in contemplation. "A giant shard or a squirt with a distinct personality would work really well. The monument might be a little confusing, given that this unit will probably be best placed right next to it."

He looks around at everyone curiously. "But then, that's just what I think," he says. "What about the rest of you? Do you like the sounds of either of the those? Or do you think we should go with something else?"

Frankly, even his repeated use of the word 'avatar' is still throwing her off, but she's doing her best to collect herself.

"It doesn't have to be a lion turtle. But I think it should look unique, so it doesn't get mistaken for anything else in the Bastion. If it's a squirt, it should look different from normal ones."

Zulf has been relatively quiet throughout the exchange, obviously taking into consideration everything that's been said. He also ignores the comment about the apron besides for what it is as a suggestion- if he was shy about the apron, he wouldn't have put it on the Squirt in front of the pretty lady, jeez, Nate.

He finally speaks up, however, tone amiable. "The shard sounds like a good idea to me- it would also give people the benefit of knowing what to look for out on the Skyway if they're not familiar."

"I guess I agree with Zulf. Or goin' with the 'draw a mascot' idea. Whichever one you think is gonna work out best."

Rin shrugged a little, not really sure where to stand on it anymore. Hell she was still questioning why Colin would drag her in to such an important discussion in the first place, but whatever. She was here, and she had said her piece on the matter.

Nathaniel nods in agreement with the others.

"A shard will at least be neutral-at-worst to any new arrivals. Squirts can potentially attack someone out on the Skyway, so new arrivals might not take too kindly to seeing one here."

"A hovering shard, then," Colin says, thinking to himself and nodding. "All right, I can do this. If nobody has any objections, I'd prefer to give it a feminine voice, but I can do masculine if you prefer. Feminine is just the norm where I'm from."

He glances to the projector then, and he grins. "Computer, end display program," he says, and he looks back to everyone. "She'll also need a name, but we can come up with the name later. Names are important, and shouldn't be decided on quickly."

The holographic projection vanishes at Colin's order, as though it were never even then.