toplvl | aita?

“Let me paint you a picture. The year is twenty thirty-eight, Androids are quite popular, owned in every single home. It’s hard to exist daily without the life assistance that one provides. You’re the creator of these Androids, brilliant, attractive, and a billionaire. As Androids continue to rise in popularity something goes wrong and they just decide they want freedom. Completely not your fault, is the desire for freedom a contagious disease?

Never mind, irrelevant. Either way, you’re a bit of a shut in. A few problems years before that, lost your company because of—rather horrible people. Anyway, you’re a shut in, haven’t seen the world in ages, get all your information from the TV. There’s this Android right? Names Connor, world's first Detective Android. Quite incredible, really fascinating. Your ideas were stolen to create him. You just kinda wanna—push him, see where it goes. See what he does.

He’s investigating the deviancy case, trying to find what makes Androids do it. Stop it. He works for the evil company, CyberLife, your own company which wasn’t actually evil until you lost control of it. Again, not important probably. But he’s investigating them and of course as the creator of Androids he just has to ask you about it.”

A little bit more than halfway through the story, three shots in, a couple beers and some wine. His tongues more than loose. He waves for another drink to be brought to the table.

“So Connor, Detective Android and obviously a deviant himself. How do I know, you ask? It’s obvious, the way he interacts with the world, looks at things, talks to his partner. A snail could have seen he was a Deviant. Just not himself. You know? He comes in all ready to ask his questions, innocent face looking for the world like I’m just gonna—hand him the answers. He has the answers, he just doesn’t want to acknowledge them. Because acknowledging it means admitting he’s a Deviant too.

You see the problem here? Resident Deviant Hunter, CyberLife’s last hope, the best they had to offer. A Deviant himself. Obviously he didn’t want to admit it. So, what do I do, you ask?”

Leaning a bit more into his drink, addressing the others around him. He lowers his voice and speaks as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“I prove to him he’s a Deviant. It’s quite simple, just a little test I invented when I was bored. You know you have to find out who around you is a Deviant, right? Obviously, the creator of Androids here. Can’t trust a fish. Well, anyway, I grabbed a gun yes I have a permit for it, and I handed it to Connor. Little fact here, Androids can’t refuse a direct order from certain people. I, of course, am one of those people. Being able to do so is a sign of Deviancy.

So with the gun I grabbed another Android in my house, her name is Chloe, a wonderful creation, the first one I made. I had her kneel in front of Connor, raised his hand up to point at her head and gave the order; Piece of plastic imitating a human? Or a living being... With a soul... It's up to you to answer that fascinating question, Connor. Destroy this machine and I'll tell you all I know. Or spare it, if you feel it's alive, but you'll leave here without having learnt anything from me.”

Another longer drink from his cup before it’s placed down, blinking at the table.

“He didn’t shoot her of course, I knew he wouldn’t. There was of course the very small percent chance that I was wrong, but I’m never wrong. Genius, remember? So he didn’t shoot her, but he certainly wasn’t happy about the entire thing. I even gave him a way to escape the program CyberLife put inside him to control him. But, not a single thank you for what I did give him, the answer he really needed. Machine, or Deviant?”

Leaning back in the booth he bumps his head against the seat, blinking up at the ceiling.

“Is this another morality thing? A human emotion thing? Was I really an asshole?”

My very best friend in the world wants us to go to a fancy high school together, that I know with total certainty I’d hate and do terrible in. Am I the asshole for wanting to change her mind so we can be happy together somewhere else?

You sound like you're adding a lot of caveats to avoid looking directly at your own complicity— that alone makes me think you're at least a bigger asshole than you'd like to be known for.

I think that...if you need to ask, you already know the answer, Mr. Kamski.

Edited 2021-03-05 23:22 (UTC)

...honestly you didn't need to go any further than describing self-determination as an infectious disease, dude. Like your behavior is shitty, but it's shitty because it's based on a supremely assholish belief system.

Uh-huh.

[That's it. That's his answer.]

Let's be real; you both suck.

What? Just what exactly have I done that's so wrong?

I had friends. I started thinking they weren't real. Not only that, I became convinced they would always stand in the way of my happiness. There are actual reasons that led me to think that. My conclusion was erroneous, but... I convinced myself that it wasn't. I felt so miserable, I wanted to die unless I could find a sliver of happiness. And so...

[ A pause. ]

I hurt them. I hurt them so much, they will probably never be the same ever again.

I think you really like the sound of your own voice.

[ Wait, what was the question? ]

Oh and yes, you really were an asshole.

You're sayin' your choice is either go to her shitty school where she'll do good and you'll suck, or have it your way that you think is better regardless of what she thinks? Do the math Asshole, jeez.

Well, what am I supposed to do then? Just let her leave? As soon as she gets there, she’ll forget all about me! Of course it’s better I talk her out of it before that happens.

He’s drunk, at this point. He could argue with the glass of wine about this.

“No—-no see, the point of askin’ a question is because you don’t know the answer. That’s basic understanding of common speech, we learn the point of asking questions when we’re old enough to talk.” Insulting the people answering said questions is not a good idea. But does he care? Not when he’s this many shots in. “So, so, so—did I say so? So, was I? An asshole, I mean. Clarification since you’re clearly a simpleton.”

So you wanna stop your friend being happy just cuz you can't make other friends?

Wow, you're fuckin' pathetic and you're an asshole.

Let her go, I don't even know her but she deserves better than you.

My teammate in junior high volleyball was a complete asshole. I mean, not always... he started out okay, just kinda weird and quiet, but then people started telling him he was really good, even gifted, and he became a tyrant. His position is all about working with the pointmakers but he insisted on showing us up instead and then giving us shit because we couldn't keep up to him.

And I don't just mean in practice. In actual, official matches. He'd be calling us all stupid and lazy and slow in front of our rivals and we just had to take it even though his shitty sportsmanship was killing the team. Even our coach wouldn't act right away when me and my friend went to him about it, so we...

... we just refused to play. We stood still and let the ball drop so coach would be forced to bench him. Apparently he was really fucked up by it but were we in any way the assholes? I say he didn't leave us any other choice.

You: asshole.

Connor is bristling at all of this, and he's put off by Kamski's drunkenness. He actually had to ask this question?

"Which is precisely why the Lieutenant and I visited you at your home, Mr. Kamski. We had questions about Deviants, questions which you chose to make a game out of for your own power-tripping needs. Did it amuse you to watch my reactions? I was not a Deviant then, despite whatever you may choose to believe. However, I am one now, and it would seem a simpleton to boot. As that's the case, my answer to your question will be equally simple. Yes. You were an asshole. It doesn't appear that anything has changed about you since then."

In his drunken state he's either unaware he's talking to Connor, or doesn't care. If asked he probably wouldn't even blink at the realization the Androids in front of him. With his arms crossed on the table he leans forward and lays his head on his arms, blinking at the table.

"No, no, it wasn't a power tripping means. I don't actually desire power. Far to much work." Elijah was a big comic book fan, he actually believed in the saying 'with great power comes great responsibility'. The last thing he wanted was more responsibility. "But if I was an asshole and everything worked out in the end, doesn't that balance things out? Sometimes the hardest questions are the ones that need to be asked. Life doesn't simply hand you everything wrapped up in a bow. It's a fight, a struggle, with difficult things to pull yourself through. If Connor didn't deviant, if he killed Markus, where would that have put Androids."

He rolls his head, more mumbling to himself. "They would have lost."

"I find that very hard to believe. I don't think you voluntarily stepped down as CEO of Cyberlife." Connor is unsurprisingly unconvinced.

"That's not how rude behavior works, Mr. Kamski. There was no guarantee that the Revolution would turn out as it did, and you never asked that question. You assumed, then forced me to perform to your specifications to have even the opportunity to ask mine." He leans in low over Kamski, unimpressed at his condition. "Of course the androids would have lost. But your little stunt had very little to do with my eventual deviation. You give yourself far too much credit."

He's frowning hard now, judging the figure of Kamski before him. What reason could the man possibly have to get so shitfaced?

Edited 2021-03-06 03:59 (UTC)

[Ouch, the ‘pathetic’ and ‘deserves better’ digs actually kinda hit home.]

I- I don’t want to stop her being happy! We’ve always been happy together. And she even said she wanted us to stay together too...

Why is it bad to want to be somewhere she’ll actually keep that promise?

Haaah? This person might be your best friend, but it sounds like you've forgotten that they've got goals and dreams of their own. Friends may drift apart sometimes, but that doesn't mean that bonds can be easily forgotten. Are you really that scared of moving on?

Well, that certainly doesn’t sound very sportsman-like of him. I wouldn’t say that standing up to what you’d consider to be a “tyrant” would make you an asshole [he looks a little uncomfortable saying the actual word, but it’s fleeting], no.

Your coach did nothing to stop it until you and your teammates acted?

[That’s the most discomfiting part, really. Not that he’s any stranger to corrupt adults or anything, but there’s supposed to be some sense of honor when it comes to sportsmanship, right? And it’s up to coaches to foster that sort of thing among their student athletes, right?]

[This guy's not the first to question why the students had to push for Kageyama to be benched, and Kunimi's never really able to find a good answer.]

When you get someone like that at your school, on your team... it's weird. [Kunimi shrugs, as if his entire earlier rant didn't already give away that this is a very serious matter to him.] Like he could probably tell Kageyama was gonna, y'know, get noticed? And I guess he didn't wanna be the one who benched a future star.

[Gansey considers asking if middle school volleyball is really that serious, but then realizes that that would probably sound condescending. He’s good at catching himself a good 25% of the time.]

I’m not a terribly serious athlete or anything [rowers don’t really get famous even when they make it to the olympics, and besides, he’s not passionate about it or anything], but I suppose I was under the impression that instilling good values was just as important as instructing one in their physical skills.

Too many sports movies?

I'm Batman.

aita?

am i the asshole?

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