21 / Human After All
How does Shepard feel about Artificial Intelligence?
Shepard steps into the Port observation, finding her lover surrounded by data-pads. "Hey Kaidan, what's up?"
He glances at her, expression serious. "I'm doing my job, Commander." He answers bluntly.
Ouch! He's still angry with me… She thinks, disappointed. But she's not going to give up that easily.
She moves to sit at his side, throwing anything she finds in her way to the floor and grabs his handsome face, forcing him to look at her. "Talk to me, Kaidan!"
"What the hell, Sharilin?" He almost yells, pointing at the data pads on the floor. "You know, this stuff might not be as exciting as hanging out with your buddy Legion, but it's important, too."
"There we are." She sighs. "Ok, tell me what's on your mind now, please…"
"What just happened?" He finally asks, releasing himself from her grip "Actually, don't tell me. I've got this work to do and I… I can't be distracted."
"I was plugged into the virtual world of the Geth consensus. Saw their history, purged a Reaper infection…"
"Damn it, Sharilin! I KNOW that, I was there for God's sake." He stands up and start to stroll nervously around the room.
"And so? What's the problem?"
"What's the problem?" He startles, shocked. "Are you kidding me? That mission was… Shit."
Shepard puffs. "That's why I didn't want you to join us. You don't know Legion, and…"
"That's bullshit." He interrupts her. "How am I supposed to understand the geth if you don't allow me to interact with them?"
"Well, you shouldn't be reacting like this, then. It is all part of our job, Kaidan."
"Yeah, but… God…" His voice crackles as he turns to look towards the huge window. "I stayed the whole fucking time staring helpless at your unconscious body inside that capsule, at the mercy of the geth. You have no idea how I felt…"
"My love…" She approaches him. "I'm sorry…"
She gently pats on his shoulder, and Alenko seizes her hand in his. "No, I am the one who has to apologize. I'm being selfish…" His brows are still furrowed as their eyes meet, "We have to do anything to win this war. I just… I don't know how you do it."
"Do what?"
"How do you trust the geth, and how did you make them to trust you?"
The woman gives him a sweet smile. "It has not been an easy goal to accomplish. We both withstood all the atrocities they did during our mission against Saren. And thinking about Tali and her people, forced to abandon their homeland and to live aboard of starships for centuries…"
"Yeah…"
"But during my Cerberus trip… A lot of unexpected things happened, and I got in contact with new personalities, new realities…"
Kaidan holds back a moan, caused by his sense of guilt for that period Shepard spent without him, fighting to save the galaxy once again while he rejected her because of those damned terrorists.
"You know, my viewpoint about the AIs always has been neutral – they were useful until they kept pursuing the objectives they were created for. Then I met EDI, and something changed. She was designed to monitor the functionality of the Normandy SR-2, but she always does more than that. She saved our lives so many times, and she CARES about us. I never thought it was possible."
He nods at her words, "I feel still uncomfortable in front of her new body, though…"
"That was not a smart idea… I got pissed at her when she installed herself in Doctor Eva's robot, but then I understood it was part of her growth as unshackled AI, to discover what her role could be in our world, and I couldn't blame her for that."
"So is it thanks to EDI that you became more sympathetic towards the geth?"
"Well… I don't know. She certainly contributed to making me more open-minded… But it is not only because of that." She inhales deeply, her sight lost in the multitude of stars in front of them. "The fact is that… Legion is my friend, ok? That's it."
"I get it…" As much as Alenko gets that he lost so many things by staying away from her.
"We fought side by side, we had each other's back, and as much as his behavior was never the 'straight-narrow' when it comes to his own kind, he never betrayed me…" Her gorgeous blue eyes are now focused on his face again. "I always thought that the purpose of technology was to enhance its creators' lives, and to fulfill their task. But AIs are made in our own image, and just like us they're led to seek their own safety and survival. Is it that wrong?"
"No it's not… not until they don't try to damage us because of that…"
"Did you… did you ever notice that Legion has a piece of my old N7 armor?"
"Wait… is it REALLY your amour?" Kaidan can't hide his surprise.
"Indeed. He found it while looking for me in the middle of the Normandy SR-1 debris. When I questioned him about the reason why he used it to fix the hole into his chest, he didn't know what to tell me." Shepard sneers fondly. "He usually speaks as 'the geth' using the plural when he relates to himself. And yet, he couldn't explain me that. I think it's because he did it as Legion, not as geth."
"So do you think he's acting as an individual, and not as a platform of the geth anymore?"
"Exactly. That's why I can say 'he' and not 'it'. HE is Legion, and he is my friend. That's why I trusted him and agreed to enter their consensus. I knew that even if my conscience would be separated from my body, I would be safe thanks to him."
"Your conscience…" The man repeats, remembering one more time how dangerous their last mission was. "Crap! Now I'll be obsessing about how that works instead of doing my Spectre division expanse report."
"You're welcome." She winks to him.
He hugs her, trying to not think about his fears anymore. "You know, entering the Geth consensus is gonna be the best chapter in your autobiography." He sniggers.
"No sir… entering in your pants will be." She states, as she leans to kiss his lips heatedly.
NOTE: the last line is not mine. I recall it written somewhere on Tumblr but I don't remember who did it! But since the day I read it, I couldn't play that scene in the game without thinking about my Sharilin saying those words to Kaidan, they're so *HERS*!