text;

[afterlifer]

It seems that a growing threat has presented itself here. The programmer wrote the code of an NPC in order to override particular aspects of the Angel Player program. However, the NPC's capabilities go beyond what he had planned. It has a high learning curve and special abilities that could allow it to rewrite bugs or any other programming.

This poses a potential problem that I need your assistance with.

I need your help to find this self-learning program NPC. Simply locate and detain it, then let me know so we can retrieve it. It should not be too difficult, I believe. It may be helpful to know that the NPC would likely be pretending to be human as well.

Of course, such a task would not go without its rewards. Whoever can find this NPC will be given the opportunity to request something. I will code whatever that person would like to be programmed into this world. This is a grand reward, so I am sure you realize just how important this task is.

Thank you, and good luck.

[OOC: This is a world-building opportunity! Characters could request to program virtually anything (pun absolutely intended) from a roller coaster to even a petting zoo. Whatever floats their boat. Also, while there will be responses from the Mysterious Boy, feel free to have characters discuss amongst themselves.]

Comments

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[masturbatestoyou]

An NPC posing as a formerly living human? That's actually even possible?

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[afterlifer]

All it takes is a slight alteration in the programming to allow it.

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[masturbatestoyou]

But no matter how much a program imitates a living thing, there's no way it could flawlessly pull it off!

[... Even though we're technically not "living" at this point.]

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[afterlifer]

That's what this investigation is dependent upon, of course.

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[masturbatestoyou]

Right. Do you have any other info on this "rogue element" then?

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[afterlifer]

Its programming was released into the system at the beginning of October. It was designed to blend in with humans while having an adaptive learning capability.

Oh, and if pushed to extreme circumstances, it may use something referred to commonly as a "Guard Skill" to protect itself or others.

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[masturbatestoyou]

"Guard skill"?

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[afterlifer]

Guard Skills are special abilities installed upon an individual by use of the Angel Player single-player editing program. You should ask some members of that club you're in for more details, they've faced them before.

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[masturbatestoyou]

The SSS? Are you saying that Yuri would be the best person to ask?

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[afterlifer]

There are multiple members of the SSS who have encountered it. One of the members had a copy before it was re-appropriated.

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[masturbatestoyou]

Reappropriated? How?

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[afterlifer]

I can't tell you our exact methods for re-appropriation.

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[masturbatestoyou]

What CAN you tell me about this whole thing?

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[afterlifer]

Just what I already have.

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[masturbatestoyou]

You're pretty stingy with info, huh?

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[afterlifer]

I can only give what I've been programmed to.

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[masturbatestoyou]

You're limited by your programming, huh? I suppose that makes sense. This other NPCs has gone beyond that limit though, right? They're able to act on their own desires.

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[afterlifer]

The other NPC is a self-learning, self-contained program. It is capable of its own development based on what it sees and learns, but it does not have desires beyond its core programming.

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[masturbatestoyou]

What if it was able to develop them though? After all, you just said that it's self developing. What kind of limits are there to its evolution?

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[afterlifer]

As hard as it tries, it can never be human and it cannot feel emotion. If it has a limit, I would say that it is incapable of working outside of the capabilities of the program and incapable of serving any of our purposes.

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[masturbatestoyou]

What's driving it to be human then if it can't feel emotion?

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[afterlifer]

It was designed to blend in with human beings for security purposes, same as the other NPCs. That is all.

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[masturbatestoyou]

Despite the lack of depth of a real person, most NPCs think they're ordinary people at an ordinary school, right? Yet this NPC has grown self aware of that. Although, I suppose the same could be said of you too...

But if they really wanted to stay discreet, wouldn't they just take on the appearance of a regular generic NPC instead of attempting to act as a real human?

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[afterlifer]

It hasn't grown, it was built to be self-aware. The same as me, as you said.

If you have to act abnormally, the best place to hide would be among those who do not act similar to each other, don't you think?

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[masturbatestoyou]

Wouldn't it be easier for an NPC to emulate normal NPC behavior though? I mean, among people, they're a needle in a haystack, but if they were among other NPCs, wouldn't that make it a needle in a stack of needles? Besides, the NPC population is a lot larger than we are.