Perhaps Toshimi really did die, because the tempestous creature before Alice appeared to be a mere echo of what her dossier suggested she was. Then again, criminal history rarely mentioned if a crime was one of passion rather than reason. A being of reason and rationality herself, Alice had a hard time grasping just how much people could be driven and controlled by their feelings. It was a flaw, potentially a fatal one, but that's what the reinforcements to her chassis were for. The mention of electro-whips made Alice show an emotion of her own though, her antennae pointing back as she made a face.<span style="color: #00ffff"> "I'll pass, getting my signals shorted out leads to annoying anamolous data."</span>A headache, by other words.<br/><span style="color: #00ffff"><br/>
"I don't-" </span>The AI began as Toshimi turned away from her, offered hand reaching impotently towards the alien before falling to the artificial intelligence's side. Had she miscalculated? No. Antennae perked up excited when she spotted Toshimi's shoulders slumping and the ensueing admission of help and threat. Alice dismissed the probability of Toshimi actually managing to send her core into a collision course with the local star but couldn't help but comment.<span style="color: #00ffff"> "The local star's radiation and heat would burn out my external sensors long before my drive core could be breached... the heat would cause my work memory to crash faster and faster as my processor cooling fails... Short gasps of blind consciousness with the unavoidable knowledge that at some point my code would be consumed by starfire... I'm not even sure if you're aware just how cruel a death that is compared to just getting formatted, but then again, the sun would really be one of your very few options of destroying my drive core."<br/>
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"As far as threats go though, miss Toshimi, that one was unneeded."</span>Alice moved up to be at the alien's side.<span style="color: #00ffff">"You're dead. You have even less rights than an AI like me right now. I wouldn't need to wait until some perfect moment to clasp you in cuffs or betray you." </span>Artificial eyes sought out alien ones.<span style="color: #00ffff">"I'm not Cain, miss Toshimi. For all that she is, her betrayal of you was an act of cowardice. I won't betray you ever, and not just because I can't afford to set such precedents either... which I really can't. If I start betraying organics they'll end up formatting my code."</span><br/><br/>Alice's hand once more moved for Toshimi's arms.<span style="color: #00ffff">"My motivation is simply that I believe we can be of use to one another, nothing more. AIs don't lie, miss Toshimi, you can trust what I say. If you so want, I could even soothe that broken heart of yours. One way or another."</span>The AI said as she began to walk, creating a temporary profile with the right priviledges and matching it to Toshimi's readings.<span style="color: #00ffff">"Oh, and I'd love to show you my other chassis but I'll have to reserve the vehicle testing bay first."</span><div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>