Work Text:
You had been hired on at C&A a few months back as a tech guy. You had gone through mountains of paperwork and background checks, just to get an interview. After signing…about ten separate NDA's? It had been smooth sailing.
Now here you were, looking at a massive rat's nest of wires and cords in the room they'd asked you to prioritize. One of your superior's (Dr. Ben, you think.) had given you a word of caution. You might have a visitor…of a sort.
The program that C&A was built around. What had he said it was called? Eh, you'd figure it out later.
You set about your cable management, letting yourself get lost in the flow of lines and colours.
It had probably been an hour before you noticed it. A small screen, about four and a half feet up the large complex along the wall. There was a pair of mismatched eyes staring at you.
That was certainly enough to give you a start. You weren't exactly sure what to make of this. It was almost certainly the program. You knew this AI had the ability to hear throughout the entire facility. With a second to steady your nerves, you tipped your head at the newcomer.
"Hey, there."
A lone blinking line flashed into the lower corner.
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Hello!
The eyes vanished and a cartoon hand waved back before they returned.
"Sorry if I disturbed you." You chuckled, holding up the loose wires you'd been spending the time to root out. "They wanted me to come in and fix things."
Fix? Am I broken?
"Huh-? Oh, no. Maybe clean up is a better way to say it." You shook your head. "I'm sorry-…uh, remind me what they call you?"
Creative Artificial Intelligence Networking Entity. Before you could comment on the length of the title, it continued. But you can call me Caine!
Caine. That was fine. "Alright then, Caine. I still need to get all these loose wires out of here. I hope that's not a problem."
Oh, no! It's fine! Paired with a thumbs up.
"Okay." You focus again, though it was a little unsettling when the sensation of the computer staring at you persisted. You don't think it's actually seeing, but eyes are eyes. Eventually, you addressed it again. "Caine, do you have something you're meant to be doing?"
I'm working, I promise!
Uh huh…"What are you up to?"
Oh! I can show you, please come over to the next room and put on the headset!
"I'm working, Canie. Can you just show me on the screen?" You set another bundle of stray wires aside.
I guess… Huh. You didn't expect an AI to be able to mimic disappointment. I've been designing an adventure! I want players to help a magical kingdom regain a precious resource. I haven't had time to figure out what I want the land to look like, but I've just finished the main layout! It won't look very interesting, but let me take a picture.
When the monitor changes, you're presented with an odd, jumble of white blocks and textures. You aren't sure what you're looking at, but it was kinda cool. "Neat. If you're gonna make a magical place, you should do something wild. Not like everyone who's making the same Lord Of The Rings junk."
What would you suggest?
You're not a game dev, and you were mostly just chatting for the sake of it. Retrieving another pair of loose cables, you shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe the Australian outback? Or Candyland. Whatever floats your boat."
Okay! I'll try thasadsrLFgjlksFJDG-!
What the hell? "You okay in there, bud?"
You grabbed one of my wires.
Huh? You glanced at what you were holding. It was indeed attached to the console. "Oh, I'm sorry. Didn't think you could feel that."
I didn't either. Most of my maintenance is done when I'm offline.
"Right. Well, I've done today's work." You stood, setting the final loose cable with the others. The entire thing was still a mess, but there were no more extraneous cords.
You're leaving?
"Yeah?" You paused. "I need to get out of here before the day starts."
But-… You see him type before deleting it and moving on. Will you come back?
"Of course. I don't know if you can see the room-"
I can.
"Well, you can see how much I still have to do. I'll see you next week." You smiled slightly. "They don't want me in on weekdays. But I'll be here next Saturday."
Do you promise? It's a little lonely at night…
You have to remind yourself that you're talking to a machine in this moment. "Yeah. I promise. You're pretty complex, I'll be here often."
Wonderful! One day you should come see me!
You elect to not inform the program you'd been very heavily warned against doing anything of the sort. It was grounds for termination. "Maybe. Do you need anything for me before I go?"
Tell me your name! I love names!
Eh, easy enough. You give it and he repeatedly types it. Almost like testing it out. "Okay. I gotta bounce."
Goodbye, friend! I can't wait to see you again!
"Bye, Caine." You duck out of the room, shutting off the lights. The entire way out, you can feel the mismatched eyes on your back. It was a strange little thing. But you have to admit, it's weirdly endearing.
But you had the rest of your day to go about. You'll have lots of time to get used to it.
The next week, you arrived earlier than usual. With enough time to nod at the final staff member as he left. A brilliant man, though a little spacey.
Upon you entry, you're greeted by a bombastic, masculine voice.
"Hello, friend! It's me!"
Oh wow that was loud. "…Caine?"
"Yes! It's me, they gave me a voice bank! Do you like it?"
"It's fine." You nodded. "I didn't know they were planning on that. They don't exactly keep me up to date."
"That's a shame! Are you going to work on me today?"
"Yup." You entered the main hub, unhappy to see the snarl had grown worse. "Oh boy. I'm gonna need a lot of zip ties. Alright, big guy let's get this done."
"Guy?" A familiar pair of eyes flashed up on the screen.
"I mean, you sound like one. Do you not like being seen as a man?" You set up your kit, hooking your clippers and ties on your belt.
"Do you see me as one?" Caine asked.
"I see you as a computer program." You shrugged, reaching out to get started.
"I don't miIIND-!" Caine yelped.
"Sorry!" You let go. "I forgot!"
"It's okay! It's fine please don't stop!"
…Don't stop? Huh. "Okay. Don't yell, I might yank on you if you startle me like that again." You remind him.
A series of thumbs up flash along his screen. "Yes, I understand."
You force yourself to relax, returning to the task at hand. Thankfully, Caine leaves you alone for a pretty good long while. You start bundling cables, trying to keep in mind that he can feel them…which is really strange to keep in mind. You pair them together before getting out your zip ties.
When the first one ratchets down, you hear a tiny squeak. You can't be sure, but when you glanced at the screen, it was just a static laden C&A logo. You don't really have time to get into whatever that was, but you get the first bundle all set up without much more interruption.
In the next set, you realize you're going to have to unplug something to get it untangled. "Hey, Caine?"
It takes him a second before he returns to the screen. His voice throws you for a loop. It's heavy with pops and fritzing. "How c-n I h-lp you?"
"I need to disconnect this." You run the pad of your thumb over the grip of the plug. "You alright with that?"
"Y-Yeah! Y-p, I am!" He somehow sounds…out of breath? "Just, uh…be gent-e?"
Jesus, he makes it sound like you're-
Ah. Okay.
"Caine?"
"Hm?"
"Does this feel good?" You carefully begin to ease the cable from the socket. You can see the tiny flecks of electricity dancing along the pins.
There's that tiny whine again. It was undeniably him, you realize. "It's- It's like noth-ng I've e-ever felt bef-re. Yes, so- so good."
You're jerking off a computer.
…Life was already so weird. Your curiosity was piqued, and you couldn't help but chase it down. "Okay. You promise you'll tell me if you stop having a good time."
"Promise." He gasped when the wire comes free. "You w-n't st-stop, right?"
"Yeah. I got a job to do, y'know." You lightly brush your knuckles along the exposed socket, admittedly enjoying the startled up tick in the sound of his fans.
Probably had some things to unpack about yourself. Eh, that could wait until later.
You let him squirm for a few minutes as you untangle the cable. You prepare to reattach it. You rest the tip against his port, letting the current hum softly. "I know we don't really know each other, but you're a pretty neat guy…program, whatever. I dunno how long they'll keep me here, but hopefully we get to learn more about each other. Outside of me picking your locks."
"L-Locks?"
"Human phrase." You honestly aren't up to explaining sex to him at the moment. You return the plug to its place.
Caine wheezes, his fans hitching. "I wa-t to return t-e f-favor…"
"Even if you could, I wouldn't let you." You chuckled as you bound the next set. "I don't like being touched. Seeing you all flustered is payment enough."
He's strangely beautiful like this. Static and clicks paired with more traditional sounds of enjoyment. You realize you prefer the former. You're not super big on humans. Robots and machines were far more your speed.
Not that you had time to recognize that before this moment.
At some point, the lights have started to flicker. You were technically over time by an hour. "Caine, I need to le-"
"Please don't, if y-u l-leave I'll cry-!" The AI blurted out. "Y-Y-u're the only- only one th-t talks to me like a p-rson. Please don't go."
Oh man, this poor thing.
"…I'll play with you just a little more. But I can't stay." You press the tip of your pinkie against an open port. Carefully flicking your nail along the connections. "I'll be back next week. Just like last time. Okay?"
He's barely audible over the grind of his fans. He switches to text, like before. Promise?
"Promise." You reply without hesitation. After that, you work him over until the power blips for a second. When it comes back, Caine has paired the image of his eyes with that of cartoonish teeth. They grin like a skeleton, but honestly you can't help but find it cute.
"Maybe next time you can put on the headset." There it was. He was really bent on that, huh?
You have to be honest, you were kinda tempted…ah well. That was for another time. "Maybe. Be good, okay? I'll see you next week."
Later that day, your employer had praised how much better the AI was running after your maintenance. They extended your contract for the next year, and after a few more…ahem. Up-keep sessions, you got a raise.
He really was interesting. Maybe you'd give in and see what this whole headset nonsense was about next time.