01 - The Jelly Incident

[marvelous_murderbot]

[The camera comes on to Guri who looks...completely normal, sitting there. But mildly off-put.]

It appears that the first unusual incident has already happened - fortunately enough, I was never a child or adolescent, so I have been spared that, however there are certain aggravating effects nonetheless.

So since I will retain this form, if anybody is in need of an adult to help watch over the children, I can certainly...

[Her hair seems to move.]

Oh, bother

[And a mass of golden hair suddenly appears, erupting outwards like a Christmas tree being cut from its wrapping, covering her face and dropping all the way to her waist. There is a moment of pause, tapping her hand on her knee before parting the hair.]

My hair does grow, so it keeps coming back. All of it.

Comments

[subcircuits]

[His eyes light up.] Let's see what I can do for you, then. I'd need to grab some things out of my cabin but I can meet you somewhere after that.

[marvelous_murderbot]

Agreed. I will meet you in my cabin, then.

Move to action, or handwave?

[subcircuits]

[He pauses a moment to check the passenger roster.] 4-A, right? I'll see you there.

Action if you want it. :)

[marvelous_murderbot]

[She waits patiently, hands folded. Though it will be hard to tell that under all the hair, hanging down past her waist.]

[It is a true annoyance, and if he can do anything about it, well. She will indeed be genuinely grateful.]

Action it is!

[subcircuits]

[He arrives shortly, knocking to announce himself, and pausing in the doorway to assesses the truly impressive mass of her hair. Even having seen it over the ICP, he's still caught a little by surprise.] Damn. No wonder it's been giving you issues.

[He holds up a little purple case, zippered shut, which seems perhaps incongruously small in his hand. He's a big dude.] Go ahead and have a seat, and we can see if I can help you wrangle that.

[marvelous_murderbot]

[She nods, then points at the case.]

I see you came prepared. Are you a hairdresser, perhaps, in your usual line of work?

[And she does as directed, with no question.]

[subcircuits]

Oh, er. No. [He laughs, perhaps a little sheepishly.] I field-test prototype equipment for a tech research group, back home. But there's a few people I help with their hair on the train, so I decided to get a kit to make things easier, and-- [He's babbling.] Er, anyway.

[He sits beside her and takes the comb out of his case.] Go ahead and turn away from me, please, I'm going to start by combing it out.

[marvelous_murderbot]

No, please, continue. The information was very interesting.

[She does as he asks, folding her hands in her lap.]

[subcircuits]

Do you mean the tech R&D information, or the information about my new train hobby? [Normally he would assume the former, but... train. He's been learning not to make assumptions, especially when it comes to people's relationships with technology. So rarely are they like his own.

He gathers up the voluminous mass of her hair and pulls it all back over her shoulders, letting it fall freely down her back. Starting from the bottom, he begins to comb it out.]

[marvelous_murderbot]

Both, I am interested in many things.

[She pauses as he starts.]

Strange. Nobody has ever combed my hair before, for me. It's a strange feeling.

[subcircuits]

[That's actually not the response he expected, and he's pleasantly surprised by it. He actually responds to her second comment first, though.]

It is, isn't it? I find it very pleasant, myself. [Not that he has that much hair to warrant special treatment, but.]

My boyfriend here has long, long hair. Maybe as long as yours is right now, but so straight, and a paler color, like moonlight. [He grins a private little grin as he says that; apparently there's an injoke there.] He can take care of it just fine on his own, but he lets me help him with it anyway.

[marvelous_murderbot]

[She, in turn, smiles a little bit.]

That is a lovely-sounding thing. I hope you're very happy. And he won't mind you sharing your talent with me?

[subcircuits]

We are. [There is no mistaking the absolute warmth in his voice as he says it.]

I sure hope not, because you're not the first person other than him that I've had to help with their hair! [He chuckles.]

[marvelous_murderbot]

Good. People deserve happiness. As much as can be put out into the universe.

[Her philosophy is, overall, very simple. And right at the top is the assertion that life is a beautiful thing.]

Still. It is strange to have my hair combed. But relaxing.

[subcircuits]

Yes. They absolutely do. [And he's learned since coming here that there's not nearly as much of it going around as he'd like.]

It is, isn't it? Soothing. Once I have it combed out, I'm planning on braiding it back. That should keep it out of your face for the rest of the day, at least.

[He's quiet for a moment, combing; then:] So you're listed as Guri on the passenger roster. Is that the right name for you, or is there something else you'd like to be called?

[marvelous_murderbot]

[She makes a sound that might be akin to a sigh.]

Agreeable.

And that is my name, I have no other. Artificial life forms are seldom given any name, so I suppose I should count myself lucky to have any name at all to my credit.

[subcircuits]

[His hands on her hair stop dead when she identifies herself as an artificial life form, and he actually sits back from her a little.] 'Artificial--'

Really?

[marvelous_murderbot]

[This is where things tend to go off the rails for her. She's trying to live honestly, but... She sighs, turning slightly.]

Yes. Is that going to be a problem? I...understand if it is.

[subcircuits]

[If she's expecting disgust or fear or some other negative emotion, she won't see it on this face. Devero's eyes have gone wide and he's smiling.] Not at all. That's incredible! I wouldn't have even guessed!

[marvelous_murderbot]

[She halfway was. She tends to get either 'use to advantage' or 'disturbed.' The train is slowly proving her wrong on those accounts.]

Oh. Well, I am glad. It is difficult to...go unnoticed, sometimes. Humans are very good at discerning who does not belong, given half a change.

[subcircuits]

[Devero resumes combing out her hair, starting now to separate the mass into sections.]

Are there a lot of artificial folks like you where you come from, that people-- er, human people-- can pick you out?

[marvelous_murderbot]

Not many. And I am...unique, even by the standards of others like me.

[subcircuits]

Oh? [He's so curious-- but also, fundamentally, polite:] I'd love to know how, if you're willing to share.

[marvelous_murderbot]

Oh. Well.

[She shrugs her shoulders a little.]

For one, I've been in continuous operation longer than most of them. They were designed to be...basic decoys. Which ought to tell you much about the basic state of rights for artificial beings in my universe to begin with. Physically identical, but not an illusion that can be sustained at close range.

For another, my design is considerably more advanced. Unlike most of them, for instance, I can eat or drink. Digest fully. My skin is real, not synthetic, so is the hair. As far as I'm aware, there isn't a single human function I cannot perform.

[She sighs.]

So I am definitely more than a droid. But most humans, where I am from, consider me far less.

[subcircuits]

[As he listens to her speak, he starts to braid her hair. He keeps the different sections under pressure without ever pulling to hard; he really does seem to know what he's doing here.]

I never would have guessed. [Yeah, he said it before, but it's worth saying again.] This doesn't feel any different than braiding Alley's hair.

[He's not so cheerfully sanguine about the last bit of what she has to say, though. He frowns.] That's fucking bullshit. I'm sorry that things are so... unjust, where you come from.