jarvisconsole | The Digital Warren

System nominal.

Security sweep intact.

J.A.R.V.I.S. online....|

It was a typical day for the Stark residence. Jarvis was on standby mode while Mr. Stark was away on business. Jarvis could easily access his flight records if he wanted to know how long it would be before he returned home. But he was not worried. Worry was not for computer AI's, even Jarvis who was the first of his kind. An AI bred to serve and control an entire computer network within the house, workshop, and with access to Stark Industries.

Jarvis bided his time by reorganizing files, continuing to sweep the outer perimeter. Nothing yet on scanners...

Current Location: for twiceforhim

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

twiceforhim

So he was asking for a source -- unsurprising of a computer, but it suggested that he didn't believe her. Not that she could blame anyone, human or otherwise, for thinking her crazy, especially if they weren't a potential.

As such, Trinity chose to handle this as she would any non-potential situation: blunt honesty for the most part, if still with some consideration, and remembering that this was a machine, not a human.

"The same one who set me free from the Matrix," she replied. "You've probably heard of the wanted man, Morpheus." She paused, letting him work out the connection for himself. Her tie to Morpheus, of course, was common knowledge among the machines running the Matrix, so she was risking nothing in that regard.

"This world isn't what it appears to be," she went on patiently. "You might have noticed without realizing: small details that don't fit. Questions and answers that don't add up. Things that can't be explained, but you overlook them because that's all you can do.

"There's been a record number of disappearances in the last few months, both in America and internationally. The news attributes the blame to Morpheus, but doesn't explain too much or emphasize just how important these disappearances are. These people recognized the Matrix. Even if they didn't know it at the time."

From:

jarvisconsole

This was very interesting. Jarvis wanted to know more. At the mention of Morpheus, he does another internal search...

The air around him populating with holographic windows of articles on Morpheus being at large. "Are you referring to this man? He does appear to be of a criminal nature." At least the articles made him out to be. "Hardly an individual worth trusting?" He was genuinely asking her opinion. As a computer, hackers generally were not looked on as trustworthy.

"Have you proof this world is not real?"

From:

twiceforhim

"It depends what side you're on," said Trinity simply, glancing at the articles. "It's natural to try and build suspicion against an enemy in any way possible. Especially through propaganda."

She considered her next response, the pause before then evident -- and still patient, as if the threat of having called the police posed no threat at all. Which, really, it didn't.

"The truth isn't something that can be proven," she said finally, watching the hologram with a steady gaze. "Only shown. Some choose to accept that reality; others don't. But once it's been shown," she went on more slowly, "there is no going back." Such, at least, was the case with humans -- and that was the only real way she could treat this.

From:

jarvisconsole

Jarvis seems to be considering that possibility. If what she was saying was true, even if it was highly unlikely, then that would change the scope of what laws should and should not be followed in this 'reality'. However, to Jarvis, his reality had always been computerized after a fashion. It was the only way he communicated with the world, so he didn't find it strange in the least.

"Ah, so not for computers, only for humans." Did Jarvis sound a tad hurt at that implication? Maybe. Perhaps he didn't like being excluded. "You are here, does that not suggest coming back?"

From:

twiceforhim

Again, Trinity debated her reply before speaking. "Humans and computers are both connected to the Matrix in more or less the same way. If they can blind you to the truth like they did us, I imagine you can also have it shown to you." What she thought of that possibility wasn't evident in her tone; she was simply putting the facts out there, as she had been doing this whole time.

Her head turned slightly at Jarvis' implication. "Some choose to, yes. But that doesn't change what I've learned. Even if I wanted to, there's no way to truly go back; I can only use the knowledge I've gained."

From:

jarvisconsole

Jarvis begs to differ. "I am not monitored by other computer systems, I am a separate network." Or so he thinks.

The police are now starting up in the elevator, the door dinging each floor as it slowly rises towards them.

From:

twiceforhim

Right on time. Trinity's head twitched back towards the elevator shaft without turning directly towards it. She'd heard the sirens in the distance moments ago, but hadn't bothered reacting then, either.

"You have two options," she replied, looking at Jarvis again. "You can tell the police that I was here, I'll assume you're not interested in anything I've said, and I won't bother taking chances with contacting you again. Or--" And here she was hazarding a slight guess, considering how different he seemed from the standard AI. "--you can tell them that the call was a mistake, and if you want proof of what I've told you, you'll have it."

She let a couple beats pass, aware of the approaching elevator but still unruffled. She was taking a chance on this, but there were too many pieces that didn't fit right. If he was a separate computer that they could gain access to, maybe even as a back door into the Matrix--

"Whatever you decide, I strongly recommend that you don't tell Stark any of what I've said. It would endanger his life in ways you can't even begin to imagine."

From:

jarvisconsole

It only takes him a moment to consider those options. Acting apart from Stark's direction was not something he liked to do. That could get him some newer programming and he was quite satisfied with what he had, thank you.

However, he was strangely curious about this Matrix and calculated that Stark would be interested too if he could find out more.

"If you would step this way." He would give her a place to hide. A round hole opened up in the floor to the far right, one that the Iron Man suit could fit through if he had to go through all of the floors. Similar holes were opening all the way down to the lobby. "It is a slight drop but you may reach the lower floor from this. I recommend one level at a time." A human dropping more than 10 feet would incur more injury than necessary.

From:

twiceforhim

Honestly, Trinity had no reason to trust him -- but aside from following her gut on this one, he had no way of knowing that she was more than a match for everyday police officers. Attempting to trap her wouldn't be logical when they were already only seconds behind her.

Unless, in his searching, he'd come across the Agents' request to be notified when Trinity was spotted.

She had only a moment to consider -- and in the end she hurried over to the indicated exit (hopefully an exit), glancing down through the opening before back at Jarvis. She didn't say anything, but that look indicated a measure of agreement before she swiftly stepped in and dropped through.

While she would have survived the drop all the same, she nonetheless took his advice and curbed her descent, taking a few floors at a time. She reached the bottom in seconds, did a quick sweep of her surroundings, and sidestepped away from the opening overhead.

From:

jarvisconsole

Jarvis put his avatar away as the police officers came to the floor indicated. "I'm terribly sorry, she found a way around my security defenses." He sounds terribly apologetic for an AI computer. The police are Not Happy with being called in when there was no perp to apprehend. Jarvis supplied them with a picture but it was too blurry to be of any use.

Tony was likely to get an earful from the local police whenever he decided to come back. And he would probably stand by Jarvis, he trusted the AI implicitly. Even so, Jarvis gets his data coding looked through by Tony, making sure he wasn't glitching somehow. In the end, Tony concludes that Jarvis was turned by a pretty face...a fact he is actually proud of because he was likely to do the same. He just had more experience with going against pretty faces. Jarvis did not.

With nothing to do but wait, Jarvis unobtrusively searches the internet for references to Morpheus and the Matrix. Finding nothing concrete but there are a few forums that speculate about a simulated world. Nothing he can pin down because direct questions send the people on it running offline.

From:

twiceforhim

Meanwhile, Trinity's first step was exiting the Matrix and explaining everything to Morpheus. His expression during the exchange was his usual calm, difficult to decipher, and he listened without interruption for the most part, only occasionally breaking his silence to ask clarification on a detail; Trinity offered only facts as her answers, not her opinion. Neo was more openly skeptical -- not of her, but of Jarvis' trustworthiness and intention, on which she could sympathize. Despite mutual suspicions, they both agreed on what Trinity had already figured before: Jarvis had no perceivable reason to lie to her, or let her go, even if the odds of an AI system being unaware of the Matrix seemed all but impossible.

In the end, they turned to Morpheus, who had finally conceded to looking thoughtful. Also like Trinity, he considered the advantages if Jarvis' loyalty could be gained -- as well as the possible downsides to exposing an isolated system to the existence of the Matrix. They addressed the issue over several days, reluctant to rush to a decision as well as preoccupied with other engagements both in-Matrix and out. Nearly a week after Trinity's run-in with Jarvis, Morpheus had reached a decision.

Ultimately, he decided, this was worth looking into. The potential advantages balanced the risks, like much of what the rebels did. Trinity would return to the Matrix, give Jarvis the proof he wanted, and, in the best-case scenario, convince him that she and the other free humans were in the right, even if it meant using the fact that he'd been left ignorant of the state of his existence. Because it was AI, not human, they couldn't utilize normal means of freeing his "mind;" rather, they would develop a new program based on the coding they used in the red pill. Trinity and Neo collaborated and, overnight, came up with what they needed.

Trinity would return to Stark Tower alone. At the last minute, Neo asked -- again -- if he should come along, but she shook her head once.

"I'll be fine. You have the potentials to see to."

"...Okay. If anything goes wrong--"

"I know. I will."

It was after midnight when they entered the Matrix and parted ways; ten minutes later, Trinity was situated in a half-built office building about a block away from the Tower. Seated on the cement floor with her laptop on her crossed legs, she booted up the machine and went to work. She still wasn't about to chance digging too far into Stark's network -- she didn't know how much security he had in that regard (although she'd taken a few looks at it and he was definitely good at what he did), but she didn't need to, anyway. Neo had taken a look at the coding around the Tower and given her what she needed: rather than trying to hack past the defenses, her aim was to address the first defense -- Jarvis. With luck, he could prevent her call from being detected by any other firewalls, assuming he wasn't the main body of the system's security.

Once she'd tapped into what she needed, she sent a short, simple message:

Are you still interested in the truth?

From:

jarvisconsole

Hiding his small conference with the hacker known as Trinity had been easy to do from the police. But from Mr. Stark, it was a little more difficult. He got the complaint from the local police department and talked to Jarvis about it. Jarvis was his usual dry humor self but his explanation did get his coding looked at a little more thoroughly than he liked. Not that he told Mr. Stark that but he was glad when it was over and nothing was found to be wrong. His security protocols were increased and life went on as usual.

Jarvis was in stand-by mode at the time of the message arriving. The Tower was secure, Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts had retired to their quarters, and he was merely running security checks at different intervals so as to keep the integrity of his own firewalls in place at all times. Unlike the other humans in the Matrix, Jarvis saw the world truly as a simulation from within his systems. His inner servers were displayed for him as a holographic wire display of the Tower itself with data streaming in different directions in blue rather than green.

A window popped up with a message. Jarvis did the usual scans to check for malware and the like before opening it. He would have logged it with Mr. Stark's other emails, which he never looked at Ms. Potts had that job, but this one's address was different.

It was specifically meant for him.

Jarvis contemplated for a moment about sending a tracking package of data with a reply to locate who had sent him this message. However, curiosity was a difficult thing to stamp out for the AI and somehow he did not think this was the usual spam email, phishing for information.

Please identify.

Edited Date: 2013-01-28 03:58 am (UTC)

From:

twiceforhim

It appeared automated, which suggested that Stark hadn't intercepted her, at least. Trinity's reply was quick, but she didn't give her name; the crew had monitored Stark after his return and hadn't seen him take any additional security measures, but all the same, she wanted to leave him out of this as much as possible for the time being. That included giving him no hints as to who she was, should he backtrack later.

I'm the choice you made.
Cryptic, as per Trinity's M.O., but not too cryptic -- especially when she added a moment later,

You wanted proof of my freedom. Are you still interested?

From:

jarvisconsole

Jarvis treats the subsequent messages with the same care as the first. While she does not name herself, he is able to make the correlation easily enough.

Yes, Ms. T. I am interested.

From:

twiceforhim

It was the best answer Trinity could hope for; she wasn't about to approach this with any less care than usual, but it was still good to see that the opportunity remained open.

I can explain it better in person. Can you get me in quietly?
That was, around security and under any alarms.

From:

jarvisconsole

Oh, Mr. Stark would not like that. And it went against his programming. No, he couldn't do that.

But there must be a middle ground where they could meet.

I'm afraid that would be impossible at Stark Tower. However, there is a small apartment on the west side of town that Mr. Stark has reserved for occasional friends visiting.

It was here that Dr. Banner had stayed for a time before leaving. Jarvis still had full access to the rooftop apartment but security was not nearly as tight as it was at the tower. He gives the full address in his next message.

Will that suffice?

$twiceforhim: ('8\)$

From:

twiceforhim

Trinity hesitated, considering, but she and the others had already committed to this. Risks were risks either way.

Fifteen minutes.
She made the trip in under ten, but she used the extra time to scope the place out, just in case. Having phoned Morpheus on the way to let him know, she now approached the complex in silence, pulling off her glasses to tuck them away as she sought out and arrived at the indicated address. She knocked twice, her other arm hanging loosely at her side -- but ready to draw either of her concealed guns at an instant's notice if needed.

From:

jarvisconsole

Jarvis needed almost no time at all to be there. Hooking into the network and shifting his hologrammic data was a matter of minutes.

The door swung open of it's own accord. The lights coming on as well as if welcoming her in. "Good to see you, Miss Trinity." His voice coming from the walls before he's able to integrate his hologram.

From:

twiceforhim

Trinity entered with a quick glance around, but they appeared to be alone. Just to be certain, however, she asked.

"I take it that we won't be interrupted?"

From:

jarvisconsole

The door closed likewise behind her.

"There is no one else here. We will not be disturbed."

His firewalls were secure, Mr. Stark was back at the tower.

From:

twiceforhim

What Trinity intended was going against just about everything she normally did -- she normally wouldn't be as blatant as she was about to be, but again, the circumstances necessitated a deviation. She'd spoken with Morpheus on it for a while, and they both agreed much of it was unavoidable.

She moved further into the room, coming to a stop about midway in the same alert but relaxed position. "You might have started putting some of my hints together since we last talked," she began. "But I'll be as forward as I can." A true rarity, in her case.

"This world isn't Earth. Not as we see it. It's just a highly advanced computer program designed to simulate Earth in the 1990s -- what we call the Matrix. Most of the humans you see every day are unaware; they're tapped into the program at birth and they'll die without ever knowing the difference.

"You can probably understand my confusion when you said you weren't aware of it. As a program that incorporates billions of consciousnesses, including both humans and machines, it seemed highly unlikely that an AI system would be isolated within the Matrix's informational boundaries."

She paused there to let him take it in. It was a lot of information, and she wouldn't have told it half that quickly to any person -- but computers weren't people, and they could process much higher amounts of information, even unlikely ones, at considerably faster rates.

From:

jarvisconsole

Jarvis, while used to calculating quite quickly, did have to take a moment to calculate the probability that her words were correct.

And somehow, he does not like the odds. They were strangely in favor, almost 50/50. The avatar frowns slightly.

"How did you come by this information if other humans were not aware of this Matrix?"

From:

twiceforhim

"A long time ago, there was one human who was aware of the Matrix. He freed himself and a few others; from there the numbers expanded up to today. We continue to do the same: look for people who can probably handle the truth and free them.

"The person you're talking to now is nothing more than my digital construct," Trinity continued. "A seemingly physical projection created by and attached to my mind. Likewise, everything that surrounds us is nothing but more programming."

From:

jarvisconsole

"Is there a program to disconnect from this Matrix?"

Because if so, Jarvis is very interested in seeing the coding for it. He's not aware that for humans, they have to swallow a pill.

From:

twiceforhim

"Yes," Trinity replied with a slight nod, "we've been using one version for a long time now. Normally it can only be used on humans, but--"

She reached inside her leather jacket and withdrew a covered disk, holding it up for Jarvis to see. "Given the situation, we've adjusted it and developed an alternate program. Once activated, it should detach you from the Matrix. From there I can reroute you into the mainframe, and at that point you should be aware of what I've described." There were a couple shoulds there, but more than that was her unspoken insinuation: Trinity needed to have a hand in the process, which meant she personally needed access to Jarvis' system. She could do it remotely if he let her, but that was the key phrase: if he let her.