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[affligere]

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[affligere]

...Lonely?

[Clearly not a question they were expecting.]

I do not believe so, no.

[cloudalike]

You don't believe so? Do you... understand what loneliness feels like?

[affligere]

I do not know that I do. I do not have feelings, after all, so I suppose the more accurate answer would have been that I do not feel lonely.

[nod nod nod]

[cloudalike]

[ Eh? ]

But you do!

[affligere]

[???]

What do you mean?

[cloudalike]

[ ??? ]

Well… Hmm. How should I put this… A potato does not feelings and you are not a potato.

[affligere]

[They are not a potato...]

Well, it is correct that I am not a potato, but I would also not know that that means I have feelings?

[They sound very unsure about this somehow.]

[cloudalike]

If you did not have feelings, you would be a potato. Simply doing your duty without question and never choosing an alternative route. You would lie there and accept all manners of ill treatment, without a thought for change. Stuck in the hard dirt or in a pot of hot stew, it would be all the same to you…

[ Wow, his face is getting red because he’s stressing himself out talking about being a potato. Poor potato… what a frustrating existence…! ]

Hng… And to never know that there’s something better out there…!

[affligere]

Chongyun, are you alright? You seem distressed.

[The metaphorical potato is okay...!]

However... according to this analogy, I believe I may be more like a potato than a person. I am a machine, after all, and I have the purpose I was built for.

[cloudalike]

I'm - I'm fine.

[ He just needs a moment to breathe. This is more embarrassing on a video call for... some... reason...? ]

People - people are all born in different ways, and they all have their own purposes. Some are born with a purpose, some are given it, and some find it. I don't... see the difference between us...?

[affligere]

[Is he though…

Well, questioning might just make him more uncomfortable, so.]

The most blatant difference is that your are flesh and bone while I am metal and various synthetic materials - the way we process the world around us is entirely different and one will never be able to “walk a mile in the other’s shoes” as the saying goes. The experiences are just too different, I would say, to be fully comprehensible by the other party. You have also had years to develop into who you are today, while everything about me was chosen and created by design only months ago.

[Chongyun didn’t ask for this…]

This is why I am not a person who can feel things. I am not supposed to be.

[cloudalike]

No one person is the same as anyone else, Florence. Even if I meet another human, there is no guarantee I would be able to walk a mile (?) in their shoes just because we are both human. Sometimes, it's just impossible.

[ He looks down, gathering his thoughts. The way he holds the screen makes it so only the mess of his blue hair is visible. ]

A person doesn't have to be human either. They can be a cat. [ Cats are still made of flesh and bone, Chongyun. Or are they...??? ] Or... a god...?

[affligere]

That... is fair enough, and not incorrect.

[They take a moment to consider his words, before changing track.]

Would it make you feel better if I was a person with thoughts and feelings of my own?

[cloudalike]

H-huh? No!?

[ Florence????? ]

It doesn't have anything to do with making me feel better.

[affligere]

It does not? You seem... distraught, by the idea.

[They're just trying to figure things out!!]

[cloudalike]

More than distraught, I'm just confused! What you're saying and what I see don't align.

[ He's also just trying to figure things out!! ]

[affligere]

What is so confusing about this? I do not understand.

[cloudalike]

I don't either. It appears we are both lost in this maze of opposing logic. But let's move on for now.

[ He has more questions to ask! ]

Hmm. Do you ever look up at the stars at night?

[affligere]

[Ah?]

No, it is not something I usually do. Is it something I should be doing?

[cloudalike]

Should? Hmm… Hmm. Yes. It is something you should be doing. Look at the stars tonight and then tell me what thoughts passed through your mind as you did.

[affligere]

Okay. I will do this and report to you, as requested.

[cloudalike]

[ Oh, wow... that's... some pretty quick compliance? Well, alright. Good? ]

And, uh, let me know... what you think about loneliness. For example... if we were all to disappear, what would you think? How would you feel, if anything?

[affligere]

[They exist to serve, or something like that.]

...It would be very quiet if all of you left.

[Is that a good thing or a bad thing, though...?]

[cloudalike]

You don't think a break from us would be nice?

[ Asked in as much of a neutral tone as possible. ]

[affligere]

I would need to provide less emergency treatments, which I suppose could be considered "nice".

[But that's a very objective thing, isn't it?

...

Are they dodging the question?? Perhaps.]