capeandcowllogs | there's only one thing that they all like a bunch

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there's only one thing that they all like a bunch

WHO: Danger and Yako
WHERE: NOHoPE, Danger's "office" then the staff breakroom.
WHEN: Sometime last week, probably?
WARNINGS: Food porn, maybe.
SUMMARY: Yako tries to teach Danger about the pleasures of eating, possibly with mixed results.
FORMAT: Quick.

[ seeing danger as a human was never going to be a sight yako was quite used to, and not because danger was strange-looking by human standards, though that was part of it. she made a striking, eerie sight, but something always felt a little bit off about it.

like in being human, instead of a robot, she lost something of the quality that made her herself. or perhaps it's some other reason that she thinks she seems like some of the vitality has bled away from the robot while she is human and vulnerable. the same reason she'd lost that form to begin with -- while she hadn't exactly inquired about the details, she has some idea of why danger's in the form she is now.

today, though, her concerns have nothing to do with what danger is or isn't, and she knocks gently on the door to her office before stepping inside, hefting her considerably-sized lunchbox after her. normally, she steps out for her lunch, but this time her plans are a little different. ]

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[ even in this body, it seems like danger never sleeps. isolated in her office, surrounded by computer screens and control panels, she sits multitasking, managing a hundred tasks at once over the rapidfire click of her fingers on keyboards and buttons. eating seems almost secondary-- any moment she takes to rest damages her productivity. and besides that, she has little interest in what humans would consider to be the pleasurable pasttime of cuisine.

when yako enters, danger doesn't look up to acknowledge her, mostly because by now, she assumes yako knows that she knows that very little happens in the hospital without danger being aware of it, especially in her own office. still, at length, she speaks: ]

May I assist you, Yako?

I wanted to invite you to join me for lunch.

[ she makes the offer straightforward and candid, not because she thinks human niceties are wasted on danger, but because she'd rather not leave it ambiguous and require her to clarify further. she hefts up her lunchbox -- for anyone else, it might feed eight people, but for her, it's barely an appetizer. ]

I brought my own today, and I thought you might like to try some. [ she gives danger a warm grin, regardless of whether or not danger is looking at her. ]

[ the invitation warrants danger's attention-- or at least a little more of it-- because she finally pauses her work, turning to look at yako. her expression is vaguely skeptical as she openly eyes that lunchbox. ]

I do not require a meal at the moment. Your invitation is appreciated, however.

[ it isn't that she even means to be difficult. she just dislikes it-- eating. ]

Regardless, I have little reference data for food varieties and would likely be unable to fully appreciate whatever you have prepared.

[ that makes yako's smile turn a little wry, and she steps further into the room, closer to danger. ]

That's the reason I was asking you, actually. [ she's noticed danger doesn't eat much, nor does she seem to take much pleasure in it. ]

I thought you might be interested in getting a reference.

[ her frown deepens just faintly. but maybe that pause means she's considering it. her work is already interrupted as it is, and lunch tends be a more or less uneventful time of day at the hospital regardless.

at length: ]

Very well. If you insist.

I do. [ yako's smile widens, like the assent is good enough for her, and she waits until danger's done sorting out whatever she needs to before turning away and heading out the door, obviously meaning her to follow.

she's certain danger knows where the breakroom is; the real question is whether she's ever actually used it. regardless, yako's timed their arrival so it's relatively unoccupied, and she searches for and finds the table that gives them the best view of the rest of the room while leaving them relatively unnoticeable. she waves danger into the seat across from her, but she doesn't take a seat herself-- instead, she stays standing, unstacking the containers she's brought so they're spread out on the table; the last thing she sets decisively on the end is a thermos.

it looks like a lot, but she'll handily eat whatever danger can't finish. ]

Are you familiar with using chopsticks?

[ danger follows her into the breakroom-- a place she's seen, of course, and knows every inch of quite thoroughly, despite having never actually lingered there. until the past few weeks, she never really had any cause to. robots, after all, had very little use for a breakroom.

she sits at yako's invitation, watching her attentively as she unstacks the various food containers. it's an academic interest more than a gastronomical one, but interest nonetheless.

at yako's question: ]

Theoretically, yes. [ she is, after all, a capable engineer and mechanic. two wooden sticks shouldn't be much of an issue-- right? ] Will I be required to utilize them?

Not necessarily, if you don't find them comfortable to use. If you have trouble with them, I've brought other things you can use. [ she passes danger a pair of simple plastic chopsticks, finally settling into the seat across from her. picking up her own chopsticks, she continues. ]

There's a type of cuisine in Japan called kaiseki ryori -- it's usually served in traditional inns. This isn't really a meal like you'd get in a restaurant but it should be enough to give you an idea. [ she was counting on danger's interest in the ritual of it, and she'll count the attentiveness as a good sign. ]

Edited 2013-05-20 16:47 (UTC)

[ danger eyes the chopsticks a moment before her attention returns to yako. she takes a beat or two to observe, watching yako pick up her own chopsticks before mimicking with surprising ease. ]

Acknowledged. [ kaiseki ryori. her brain stores the words. ] Please continue to elaborate.

[ at least she's gotten danger's attention, and she nods approvingly at the confidence with which danger handles the chopsticks. ]

It's a set meal with nine courses, though strictly speaking, restaurants try to match the dishes to the season. Normally, we'd start with warm sake, but-- [ she grins wryly, sure she can anticipate what danger would think of drinking on the job. ] --not today.

[ she keeps speaking as she opens the first of the boxes, using her chopsticks to point out the contents and name them. aubergine and sesame oil for the sakizuke or amuse-bouche; a selection of seafood for zensai, or the appetizer. the servings are small -- barely a mouthful for each of them, and she looks up at danger to grin briefly, breaking her educational spiel. ]

I thought you might like it because the idea is to keep the flavors simple. You can go ahead and try it, if you'd like.

[ danger's blank eyes follow the point of yako's chopsticks as she gestures at each of the food items, her attention steady and her curiosity mild. food is still just that to her really-- a curiosity. maybe she still fails to grasp the concept of eating for pleasure.

at yako's invitation, she glances up, searching the young woman's face a moment before looking back down at the offering. her mouth curves down at the corners a little before she finally reaches out with her chopsticks, carefully picking up a a piece of eggplant and slowly lifting it to her mouth.

she chews. and swallows. then at length, she responds: ]

It is not unpleasant. [ a compliment enough, from danger. ]

[ and that's a promising start, or at least a more positive response than she was expecting. she doesn't think danger's a likely candidate for being a gourmand, but as someone who isn't human, the senses that are so familiar to yako are probably something danger experiences quite differently. ]

I spoke with someone who said he never knew what eating was like until he came to the City. I assume the same is true for you.

I think food is interesting. It's something essential to our bodies, yet we don't necessarily consume it the same way. If you travel to different places, they have different ways of preparing the same ingredients -- or dishes you'll find there, and nowhere else. You can learn a lot about people from food.

[ truthfully, danger's disinterest in food-- bordering, really, on a dislike of the stuff-- centers around the fact that every time she's been forced to eat in maintaining her body, growing accustomed to it has seemed almost beside the point. after all, the organic state is temporary. eventually, the porter will return her powers to her, won't it? then she'll be flawless and mechanical again.

besides that, food is a reminder of how fragile this human-like body is. how quickly it weakens. how dependent it is. so, if she seems unenthusiastic now (or any less so than she normally is), it isn't yako's fault at all. her distaste, so to speak, is directed elsewhere. ]

As a biological process, I find consuming food to be unpleasant. [ she says this somewhat matter-of-factly, nevertheless reaching with her chopsticks for another small morsel. ] Digestion in general can be somewhat inconvenient. I fail to see eating as a pleasurable activity.

[ as someone who really practically lives for eating, those words are particularly wince-inducing to hear, but she can understand danger's reluctance. as a human, the cues yako's used to picking up on instinctively are easier to read.

she wonders if danger's aware of how expressive she really is, and decides she probably isn't. otherwise, she might be making more of an effort to conceal it. she reaches for another bite for herself, with a small smile. ]

Eating a meal can also be considered a social activity. A way of relating with others. [ she gestures between herself, and danger. ] Do you find that part unpleasant as well?

[ she won't take offense if danger does, that much is obvious. she's simply genuinely curious. ]

[ there's a pause on her end, either because she's chewing or because she's considering how she wants to answer yako. she watches the girl across the table with something vaguely pensive in her face for a moment or two before she swallows that bite of food and responds: ]

No.

[ a brief pause, before she elaborates: ]

My experience with casual socializing is somewhat limited, but I don't find it necessarily unpleasant as a process.

[ yako fusses with more of the boxes, opening them up to reveal more of their contents, nudging them gently over for danger to pick over. the servings are mouthfuls, really, and the food chosen carefully to pare it down to as simple and pure a flavor as possible. ]

It's just another way of forming connections. It's not as efficient as a machine might do it, but efficiency isn't really something humans are necessarily known for.

[ She takes a contemplative bite of her food. ]

Perhaps being human would frustrate you less if you focused less on the limitations it imposes and more on the possibilities it offers.

I don't find being human inferior to being mechanical.

[ she makes a point of clarifying this as her attention moves over the various open boxes, scrutinizing their contents before she selects another piece of food with her chopsticks. ]

It is frustrating because I am adjusting slowly. It is foreign. And my routine methods of coping and self-maintenance are not applicable while I am in this body. Nevertheless, there are things I appreciate about this form, as frustrating as I may sometimes consider it to be.

[ she accepts the correction, tapping the tips of her chopsticks on her lips thoughtfully. ]

I would feel just as out of place if my mind were placed in an artificial body, I think. Humans have a lifetime to adjust to being human -- it's something you'll only adjust to over time.

Is there anything I could do to help?

Humans are highly adaptive survivors. I have little doubt that you or any human would adjust to an artificial body adequately, given time. One could hypothesize that it is inevitable for humans and sentient machines to become more like each other, the line between us less clearly defined.

[ she picks up another bite of food, turning it this way and that a little, observing it as she goes on: ]

Many of us are made to be like you, after all. We are given faces and voices to interface with our human creators. When I show a member of your species that I am capable of feeling, they refer to it as my "humanity," although such qualities are not exclusive to humans.

[ a slight pause, before she concludes: ]

Regardless, you are already helping.

[ that last bit seems to surprise her, or at least it gives her pause before she replies. instead of responding immediately, she picks up more food, chews, and swallows (and somehow, in all the time danger's been talking, she's managed to diminish the boxes' contents in a slow but noticeable progression).

when she speaks, her voice is thoughtful. ]

Back home, I knew someone -- you'd call him a program, I suppose -- who was attempting to use technology to recreate a human woman who had already died. He also created an electronic drug that activated latent criminal desires in humans who viewed it, and encouraged them to act on it.

[ it's not something she's spoken of much. in her world, the public events were common knowledge, and she's not entirely sure what compels her to bring it up now. a demonstration, perhaps, of danger's point: the line between human and machine is a thin one. she blinks, shaking herself out of her own thoughts, and looks at danger. ]

"Humanity" isn't the best word for it, I think. "Personhood" might be better. [ she pauses. ] Does it bother you when people treat you differently, when you appear human?

[ there's a pause between yako's question and danger's answer to it, as if she requires that brief fraction of time to process the best way to respond-- or to decide, maybe, if she wants to respond at all. it's a question that's more personal than it might superficially seem. it touches on her relationship with many humans, some she cares more about than others.

finally, with a deceptively impassive face, she speaks: ]

To a degree, yes, I suppose it does. I am bothered, although rationally I am aware that humans are, in general, more comfortable with beings that more closely resemble them. They prefer flesh and bone because it is familiar. They are able to impose their aesthetics and rules on me in this body-- which, in turn, is reassuring to them.

[ a slight pause. ]

I have experienced humans favoring my organic body, while the man I loved most was specifically repulsed by it. But I fail to see how aesthetic value in particular trumps the fact that I am who I am regardless of what container holds me. I don't wish to be held to a shallow standard of beauty when it is more important to be recognized as being myself no matter what form I possess.

[ somehow, of all that she's said, there's one bit that sticks to her the most. danger delivers it no more or less matter-of-fact than the rest of what she says, but it catches yako's attention because love isn't an emotion she's often heard expressed by someone who identifies as a robot. ]

I see. I'm sorry to hear it [ she pauses, then clarifies. ]

It is more difficult to be rejected by someone you care for than any stranger. [ she would have thought he would recognize her for who she was most of all, but if he didn't...

part of her knows she shouldn't pry, but curiosity wins over common sense, as it always does. ]

Was he... [ she stops, unsure how to word it more tactfully. ] Was his disappearance the reason you're in this form now? [ that's probably better. ]

[ danger pauses again, watching yako from across the table for a long, unreadable moment before she finally responds in that plain way of hers: ]

Yes.

[ another beat. like she might not elaborate more than that. but, then, a bit vaguely: ]

For various reasons, I did not take it particularly well.

You missed him. And you still do.

[ it's a plain, unvarnished statement of fact, and spoken with the kind of candidness that suggests that perhaps she didn't quite think it through before those words make it out of her mouth. for all her pleasant and inoffensive demeanor, there are times when yako's attention sharpens and narrows down into a laser-like focus.

then she blinks, and it's gone, and then her expression's gentle and open. ]

I'm sorry for your loss.

I don't require your sympathy.

[ the words don't come defensively so much as merely plain, as if she were simply stating a matter of fact. despite what she said-- about missing the first and only man she'd ever loved-- her face fails to express it, passive and unreadable as it often is. maybe she isn't even sure how she should express it. maybe she's never missed anyone so terribly before. ]

It will not affect our routine here, regardless. I am primarily functional and will continue to be.

[ yet the loss of him shook her enough to take herself offline rather than cope with it. yako studies danger a moment later, like she's considering whether or not to call her on it, before she smiles and shakes her head.

she'll let it go, for now, with a gentle incline to acknowledge danger's claim. at the moment, a change of subject seems more appropriate. ]

Did you enjoy the food?

[ for somehow, with all the conversation interspersed with eating, the majority of it is now gone -- or maybe that was just yako's deftness with the chopsticks. ]

I'd like to do this more regularly, if you'll permit me.

[ danger tilts her head just slightly at the question, considering it-- as if enjoyment is far enough from the forefront of her mind when she does most things that she has to remember to factor it in.

finally: ]

It was an educational experience. Thank you.

[ she carefully sets her chopsticks down before rising from the table. ]

I am appreciative of your efforts. In the future, if you wish to converse with me over a similar lunch, I will attempt to make the time for it.

I'd like that very much. [ she gives danger a small smile as she rises from the table, starting to clear it, repacking the boxes into their neat arrangements.

perhaps, eventually, she'll get around to trying to persuade danger to learn how to cook, but there will be time enough for that, eventually. ]

Have a good day, Danger.

[ regardless of whether or not she's capable of enjoying her work that way, her smile remains sincere. ]

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there's only one thing that they all like a bunch

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