[He listens, understanding the concepts in generalized terms, not hoping to ask for details because Markus knows the limits of his own knowledge and understanding. Just because he's an android doesn't mean he could hope to comprehend the ins and outs of quantum physics and theory, which were apparently applied in heavy doses to grant Ophelia her human body.
The nitty gritty of the details hardly matter that much, anyway. It's only the process itself that Markus is interested in, wondering if the same was applied to him in this place. If a body was... catered to be like himself, what he already had looked like, for the sake of easy integration. Easy integration. He almost laughs at himself for the thought.]
After what's happened to me here, I'll believe it. And that's impressive, but what I'm also hearing is that none of it was easy.
[It took time and exceptional resources. Frankensteining DNA together to create a new, unmanned body for an AI that wanted to inhabit it.]
If that's similar to what happened to me, they managed to recreate my original body down to every detail. Every imperfection, every little nuance. Is it possible to DNA match someone that was never organic in the first place?
[ easy prompts a huff of air, not a laugh, no, but it might have become one in a lighter conversation. ]
Who's to say you can't scan and print a body here, with all the other advances in technology? [ people aren't that much more than designs. Internal programming from life events instead of code, external wear-and-tear that requires repairs. It's far from easy, but he imagines it's as possible as time travel, dimension hopping, and the forced integration of powers on individuals without the inhuman gene. ]
People have been forging art for centuries. [ with enough detail to trick the experts. ] Our likenesses can't be considered an insurmountable obstacle.
[ Fitz could be a copy, too — another life-model decoy or an upload to a VR simulation. It only matters in that it impacts his route back to his home universe. ]
[Even for an android like Markus, someone who was quite literally made of advanced tech — for his time, at least — has difficulties wrapping his mind around it. He thinks of bodies being sculpted or grown or organically printed like in those dystopian novels, or the movies, the ones thematically centered around the question of identity, reality, and the consequences of playing god. But as applied to reality, it's so far beyond his experiences; so much that even as Fitz speaks, and Markus understanding, it all sounds so very fantastical.
And yet something to consider, nonetheless.
The mention of forging art has him shaking his head a little, the tug at the corner of his mouth betraying empty, dry amusement.]
Given that my original likeness was designed by outside hands, then I have a hard time arguing against your point. So should I consider it generous that they were kind enough to "match" me to how I was?
[It's obvious from Markus' intonation that he's not ever going to ever equate kindness to their interdimensional kidnappers.]
[ Another not-quite-laugh. Unking is the multiversal MO. ]
I imagine it suited their aims. [ splaying his hands, as if that's a normal logic jump for a person to make. Maybe it is, given the nefarious circumstances of their capture and release. ] You might not be of use, if you were struggling with further changes to your person.
[ of use as a weapon, as the prevailing theory goes. ]
[Words echoed with something that coils around his insides, squeezing tightly. Of use, to be used -- for a purpose unknown, admittedly, but everything Markus is and stands for absolutely writhes at the idea.]
Of use for what? [He's heard that prevailing theory. And if he's to be honest, he would've been a far more effective weapon if they had just left him in his android body.]
[ Fitz sorts through various scenarios, with some more grounded in the evidence thus far than others. He pulls theories from his own experiences, too, working for and against HYDRA. ]
As a weapon, [ that's the big one, thanks to El's contributions on the network. ] or a test-run of man-made bodies. Perhaps an experiment on integrating unnatural abilities with different hosts, purpose-built bodies [ He gestures at Markus and then back to himself. ] versus pre-existing hardware.
[ It's possible that they won't be able to withstand the alterations to their persons in the long-term. Foreign DNA and wetware, inhuman abilities — they take a toll on the body. ]
But that's all conjecture.
[ And he's a pessimist with too much time for considering all the ways this ends terribly. ]
[A moment for all of that to settle. Theories beyond 'we're all weapons' have flitted through his mind on occasion, but hearing them from Fitz? That seems to solidify them, give them more credibility, though he's only just met the man.
And finally, his reply is just a huff of air. Humor strained, and he pushes himself off the wooden railing, gesturing for Fitz to continue walking with him.]
Isn't it all? I suppose, one way or another, we'll find out eventually. If there's a purpose behind us, it won't be long before that purpose becomes clear.
[If they're made to be tools, well. Tools are meant to be used, not observed.
The path leads into sunlight again. A long stretch uninterrupted by the usual branches hanging overhead.]
...I appreciate you sharing all of this with me, by the way. When I arrived here, I had initially thought I'd have trouble- [A pause searching for the right word.] -connecting with humans. Fostering trust.
[ Fitz finds himself grateful for the movement onward, slipping his hands back into his pockets and following after Markus.
The last thing he expects is a thank you, which prompts a sudden jerk of his head to look at Markus, features open and unguarded. They've compared notes and traded enough experiences for Fitz to surmise that Markus won't end up like Ophelia — that he's probably a good person, as much as Fitz believes in that anymore. And Fitz has only told half his story, omitting the parts that make his stomach twist with unease. It's too complicated to untangle for the uninitiated (and it remains convoluted, in his head), but it still feels like cheating. Maybe another time. ]
Yeah, of course. [ That's an automatic reassurance. He elaborates, voice softening. ] I haven't been able to talk about this with anyone, so you're the one doing me a favour. [ His gaze turns upward, squinting in the sunlight. ] You're very trusty — trustable. [ a helpless gesture. ] You know what I mean.
[ you will make all the connections, and fitz will throw himself in the fake river. ]
[That actually does make him laugh. The most sincere one that Fitz might have heard so far -- still not a very loud thing, but nothing really seems to be with Markus. The amusement this time, at least, appears to reach his eyes.]
'Trustable'. [Don't throw yourself in the river, Fitz, that's funny.] Trustworthy, maybe?
[ His measured demeanor seems to be an ideal counterpoint to Fitz's more high-strung approach. Reminds him of his teammates. He finds himself privately pleased at winning a laugh, even on accident. It caps off a surprisingly illuminating conversation. ]
[ snapping his fingers. ] That, yes. I'm a bit highly strung, [ "a bit" ] but you made it easier.
[ Oh, what a thing to reiterate to someone who doesn't even trust himself anymore. The words make his stomach twist, not altogether unpleasantly. It's not the sort of reassurance he expects from a new connection, least of all after a heavy conservation.
He ducks his head, just for a moment, before mustering a response. ]
You can't just look at me with those big, heterochromatic eyes of yours and say that, Markus. [ some light teasing makes for an easy route away from #sincerity. ] I'll be too flustered for our chats.
[ still nice to allow the seriousness of their meeting to fall away and enjoy a walk across the park. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
The nitty gritty of the details hardly matter that much, anyway. It's only the process itself that Markus is interested in, wondering if the same was applied to him in this place. If a body was... catered to be like himself, what he already had looked like, for the sake of easy integration. Easy integration. He almost laughs at himself for the thought.]
After what's happened to me here, I'll believe it. And that's impressive, but what I'm also hearing is that none of it was easy.
[It took time and exceptional resources. Frankensteining DNA together to create a new, unmanned body for an AI that wanted to inhabit it.]
If that's similar to what happened to me, they managed to recreate my original body down to every detail. Every imperfection, every little nuance. Is it possible to DNA match someone that was never organic in the first place?
no subject
Who's to say you can't scan and print a body here, with all the other advances in technology? [ people aren't that much more than designs. Internal programming from life events instead of code, external wear-and-tear that requires repairs. It's far from easy, but he imagines it's as possible as time travel, dimension hopping, and the forced integration of powers on individuals without the inhuman gene. ]
People have been forging art for centuries. [ with enough detail to trick the experts. ] Our likenesses can't be considered an insurmountable obstacle.
[ Fitz could be a copy, too — another life-model decoy or an upload to a VR simulation. It only matters in that it impacts his route back to his home universe. ]
no subject
And yet something to consider, nonetheless.
The mention of forging art has him shaking his head a little, the tug at the corner of his mouth betraying empty, dry amusement.]
Given that my original likeness was designed by outside hands, then I have a hard time arguing against your point. So should I consider it generous that they were kind enough to "match" me to how I was?
[It's obvious from Markus' intonation that he's not ever going to ever equate kindness to their interdimensional kidnappers.]
no subject
I imagine it suited their aims. [ splaying his hands, as if that's a normal logic jump for a person to make. Maybe it is, given the nefarious circumstances of their capture and release. ] You might not be of use, if you were struggling with further changes to your person.
[ of use as a weapon, as the prevailing theory goes. ]
no subject
[Words echoed with something that coils around his insides, squeezing tightly. Of use, to be used -- for a purpose unknown, admittedly, but everything Markus is and stands for absolutely writhes at the idea.]
Of use for what? [He's heard that prevailing theory. And if he's to be honest, he would've been a far more effective weapon if they had just left him in his android body.]
no subject
As a weapon, [ that's the big one, thanks to El's contributions on the network. ] or a test-run of man-made bodies. Perhaps an experiment on integrating unnatural abilities with different hosts, purpose-built bodies [ He gestures at Markus and then back to himself. ] versus pre-existing hardware.
[ It's possible that they won't be able to withstand the alterations to their persons in the long-term. Foreign DNA and wetware, inhuman abilities — they take a toll on the body. ]
But that's all conjecture.
[ And he's a pessimist with too much time for considering all the ways this ends terribly. ]
no subject
And finally, his reply is just a huff of air. Humor strained, and he pushes himself off the wooden railing, gesturing for Fitz to continue walking with him.]
Isn't it all? I suppose, one way or another, we'll find out eventually. If there's a purpose behind us, it won't be long before that purpose becomes clear.
[If they're made to be tools, well. Tools are meant to be used, not observed.
The path leads into sunlight again. A long stretch uninterrupted by the usual branches hanging overhead.]
...I appreciate you sharing all of this with me, by the way. When I arrived here, I had initially thought I'd have trouble- [A pause searching for the right word.] -connecting with humans. Fostering trust.
[He's been proven wrong more than once.]
no subject
The last thing he expects is a thank you, which prompts a sudden jerk of his head to look at Markus, features open and unguarded. They've compared notes and traded enough experiences for Fitz to surmise that Markus won't end up like Ophelia — that he's probably a good person, as much as Fitz believes in that anymore. And Fitz has only told half his story, omitting the parts that make his stomach twist with unease. It's too complicated to untangle for the uninitiated (and it remains convoluted, in his head), but it still feels like cheating. Maybe another time. ]
Yeah, of course. [ That's an automatic reassurance. He elaborates, voice softening. ] I haven't been able to talk about this with anyone, so you're the one doing me a favour. [ His gaze turns upward, squinting in the sunlight. ] You're very trusty — trustable. [ a helpless gesture. ] You know what I mean.
[ you will make all the connections, and fitz will throw himself in the fake river. ]
no subject
'Trustable'. [Don't throw yourself in the river, Fitz, that's funny.] Trustworthy, maybe?
no subject
[ snapping his fingers. ] That, yes. I'm a bit highly strung, [ "a bit" ] but you made it easier.
wrap this up to focus on our other thread? c:
[Maybe he is a little high-strung, but what did it matter when he had been so helpful? Is obviously so intelligent?]
I’d call you just as equally trustworthy in return.
PERFECT
He ducks his head, just for a moment, before mustering a response. ]
You can't just look at me with those big, heterochromatic eyes of yours and say that, Markus. [ some light teasing makes for an easy route away from #sincerity. ] I'll be too flustered for our chats.
[ still nice to allow the seriousness of their meeting to fall away and enjoy a walk across the park. ]