Hello and greetings once again my fabulous viewers. Plummeting from the depths of space a new chapter has emerged and the longest one I have written. Although length in the end means very little when in relations to quality, I still do take some pride in writing a nearly 9,000-word chapter. (Technically its over that 9k threshold but I'm not gonna count this introduction)
No reviews this weeks so as such I shall make the weekly claim that, despite English being my first and only langue, I am no expert on grammar but have done my best reading through the work to make sure it flows well.
As always enjoy!
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Chapter 7
Penny's original schedule that she had organized for herself and Gareth was...well it was in the process of going exactly as she predicted while also containing elements she couldn't have possibly predicted. It had been a full week since she and the young man had their unintended bout of communication, and as planned, Penny utilized all her free time, or rather all the room's human inhabitant occupied time, to conduct research on how her travel between Earth and Remnant could be achieved and who could actually achieve it.
She was making progress but given the limitation of the archive she could safely access through the internet there wasn't going to be a monumental breakthrough. Just small baby steps that would hopefully lead to small achievements that could cumulate into measurable success.
Her current accomplishments were featured around getting rid of certain ideas and theories, although that wasn't all too correct, more so she was removing certain thought processes through basic information so she would not waste any resources, at the moment the most important one being time, investigating nigh impossible hypotheses.
Such things resulted in her spending nights, and her own version of a school day, collecting broad information on the simplest variables to the equation she had yet to fully form. Doing research into the town she was in was her first, and really, only clue she could delve into.
Being the area she arrived in Penny had to determine if there was anything here that connected it to the unintentional or planned anomaly of her traversal through space. Logically speaking, if there had been perhaps a military base close by, or a high operating governmental facility, it would be an excellent place for her to form plausible theories.
The only problem was that, based on her understanding of this country, and human civilization across this planet as a whole, no political or enforcing entity would ever make research into such a technical advance travel public. Given the current state of innovation it would stand to reason it be their most classified project and research…. Meaning Penny's search pool was incredibly limited, with some of the most reliable sources of evidence coming from conspiracy websites.
Unfortunately, not even those areas of the internet, that could seemingly connect any place to any number of theories, paid any heed to this town. There were no governmental facilities of importance besides the local institutions, and the most advanced place of technology came from the high school's engineering lab. And all the surrounding towns in the entire county shared a similar story, and the other counties may as well have been identical twins in terms of normalcy.
While Penny was still astonished by the number of humans inhabiting the planet, she couldn't help but feel the state she was currently in only served as a residential area for the people between the two closest metropolitan areas.
Of course, that statement was a bit broad. As she hoped there were a scattering of military bases across this region of the nation. None garnered her attention though, and from what she gathered, no military intuitions here had any reports of strange anomalies nearby or crazy internet conspiracy tied to them...of course for this nation's government that would only mean the facilities were accomplishing the task all too well.
Regardless, at the moment, the digital red head had felt as if she spent seven days traversing cyber space only to conclude that this town, county, and entire state had experienced nothing out of the ordinary within its last decade of existence let alone last month.
If it wasn't for her naturally enthusiastic attitude, even when approaching the most mundane task, Penny would have no doubt experienced some level of frustration at having to pull one piece of hay at a time from a stack to find a needle. Luckily for her work effort, this slight annoyance, or the positive displeasure that was the closest thing for the binary android could associate with annoyance, was directed elsewhere.
Somewhat entwined, Penny's slight discomfort lately was emerging out of not being able to make progress with a piece of evidence that could easily explain if anything out of the ordinary had occurred lately. After all, if he brought her into his room, even if he didn't know that, he'd be the most obvious person to have noticed something off. Directly asking Gareth such a thing was not possible, and regular interaction was proving...too predictable.
While things were technically going smoothly, she was a bit disappointed that herself and the emerald eyed high schooler had yet to hold a conversation like the one experienced when they had conducted their improvised trust exercises. That moment, and the way they spoke in it, was something Penny wished to achieve again. Perhaps it was because she was so terrified and Gareth was so confused, but the way they talked to each other before she went into the timeless void and the following interaction when she came out felt real. As if she was actually speaking to him, and more importantly he was actually speaking to her and not "P".
Since then though, she only ever conversed with him three times a day. This, much to the disapproval of her constructed military conscious General Ironwood, was one more time than originally planned, but even the added third one felt just as scripted as the other two daily moments of communication.
Every morning and night would be composed of Penny giving Gareth an overview of his most recent assignments for school. Homework and projects that she essentially rewrote or did herself in her goal to seek his approval. If nothing else this proved to be beneficial, with the brunette clearly being impressed by her working and even whispering under his breath the first time he saw her edits that,
"The paper looks like mine...after the teachers handed it back with all the red ink"
Given him apparently taking embarrassment in that statement, the robotic girl at first thought she had potentially executed her plan too well, but his quick thank you and print out of the worksheet no more than two seconds later quickly debunked such an idea. The only problem is those interactions barely contained more than a handful of sentences, with most of them just being her explanation of how she corrected errors, that she generously called small, in his work and him simply expressing gratitude before going off to sleep or school.
To be fair those conversations, given the time of day they were conducted, were never meant to be special. But it was how Gareth viewed the third that contributed to her slight disappointment. Inspired by her interaction during her first conscious day in his computer, and always to the glare of an overbearing military leader, Penny would greet the emerald eyed teenager every day at three o'clock. At first this was just meant to be done on academic days, but the electronic soul soon found herself caving into the urge to do it on the leisure hours of the weekend as well.
These conversations were meant to be the organic ones, for her to actually talk to somebody while she had to take a break from work essentially. Through no fault on her end, although she may be viewing it in that way, she tried to construct the talks to take on these natural forms. While her usual hellos always possessed the word 'salutation', and the obvious use of the word friend, she attempted to mixes up the questions that follow such acknowledgments to get a positive reaction from Gareth.
Results were proving...less than ideal. Even though he was polite enough to greet her back, and did his best to answer any questions given, they lacked a sort of general interest or willingness to engage. His words always came out quiet and defensive in a sense that they were conversation enders. Not in an aggressive way mind you, but currently constructed as such to put Penny in an uneasy position to answer back naturally.
Not only did this put the coded redhead in a position where she couldn't progress her relationship, if the universe could technically call it that despite her beliefs, to the point she could ask him mission related questions, but more importantly, it made her feel more and more isolated. Something that a mere week ago she was presently surprised with thinking she could avoid.
But with what was supposed to be their true conversation only lasting a mere three to four minutes maximum, Penny found herself having to watch silently as Gareth went about his business of the computer. It was during these moments where she felt the most urge to delve into her curiosity. Whether that being asking about the virtual games he participated in, the videos he'd view, or the many times she'd wish to speak to him while he spent an hour or two on a homework she'd fixed within two minutes. No matter the case she just wanted to be involved, involved in anything that wasn't the dull or horrifying research that was her part of her search to return to Remnant...or perhaps her need to destroy any pathways that lead to the planet,
In a newly devolved habit for her digitized self Penny shook her nonexistent head at the thought. As if somehow her false locks would create a gust of wind to blow the terror and depression fueled lines of code. Although the action was physically useless, it did provide a good mental stress relief. And as she settled down, her eyes, or well electronic understanding of the world, focused towards the computer clock,
Two-fifty-eight, with a lightless camera the silent user watched as Gareth lazily sat back in his chair. At the moment he was watching some sort of internet celebrity rate different avatars from a game he indulged in from time to time. In a sense this was good for Penny, or at the very least good for her greeting. Since he wasn't doing any work or playing a match in a video game, she knew that a message wouldn't rudely interrupt him from his...relaxation time. Although, with all she had been watching him accomplish during his downtime she couldn't help but, politely, think he could make better use of his conscious hours.
Regardless her attempt to spark an actual interaction with him today wouldn't revolve around an accusation, or what for her would just be a friendly reminder that a sedentary lifestyle wasn't the healthiest way to spend his free moments,
Two-fifty-nine, for how fast she could think, the Atlesian defense weapon felt as if time accelerated all too quickly when she had to attempt a one-sided social interaction. Watching the seconds go by now seemed like they were occupying more space than her actual attempt to formulate a question.
I could ask about how his assignments for the school day went, after all I feel as if m- his work on his most recent chemistry report was very insightful...that perhaps would be too mundane and expected. After all my previous attempts to utilize academics or his academic life in general to peak his interest lead to the shortest conversations, with the click going by, Penny was too caught up in her own simulated conversation to realize the ones that were 'shortest' by Gareth essentially meant they were a sentence or two off from the longest ones, The video seems...interesting, at least enough so for him to open it. I could see what sparked his curiosity in the subject and see if he wouldn't mind companionship in viewing it...although he already is is technically speaking, and videos are not particularly a verbal pass time
She had ten seconds left to come up with a hopeful icebreaker question or risk a loss of consistency. Being nothing if not punctual, the youngest Polendina worried that she'd have to conjure up a generic question at the last second. And with the penultimate tick passing at this very moment she had no choice but to follow through with that pan without even giving what she wrote the proper processing time she thought deserved,
"Salutation Friend Gareth, I hope you had a pleasant and progressive filled day at school! Given you reach the end of the work week what are your plans for this weekend?"-P
Personally I will be using my leisure time to try and construct better questions, Penny thought with a sad digital smile, but with an air of forced jubilance around it to make sure she didn't lose hope in her own quest to remain upbeat.
As always, despite receiving the greeting at the exact same every day, when the message popped up Gareth squirmed in his seat surprised. And while this reaction was tame to the ones that had happened in the past, he still hadn't grown quite accustomed to another being occupying his computer,
"Oh, hey P", the nickname he had...well that he adopted from her had seemingly stuck. Although she had yet to realize that it was because he forgot the clever acronym she had given him, she thought it was nice to address in such a casual way, "and I suppose you're looking at it...wait are you looking at it?"
The pastel green android perked up at the inclusion of a question mark, a grammatical point that meant she was being invited to continue the textual and verbal exchange,
"I have been analyzing the video as well, such a topic has piqued my curiosity-. However, I must ask for clarification on how this twenty-minute commentary will fill up your entire weekend schedule?"-P
The binary red head found herself momentarily glad to be freed from any pain receptors. If any had still remained, she would have felt great discomfort at having just bit through her lower lip when viewing the dash. It was an unexpected one, but she supposed it made sense. She was genuinely curious into why Gareth was curious in the video, but the content itself held little interest for her. After all video games were a social activity, something she would very much enjoy, but silently watching another's recording of playing a game seemed a bit uneventful. Regardless, Gareth's eyes never lingered on the dashes, or even reacted to them, meaning he had yet to make the connection between her coded flaw and a lie detector
"I mean I'll probably watch a few more of his videos over the next two days, but I'm not gonna keep watching this one on repeat. Overall, I'll probably just be online and in this chair Saturday and Sunday"
"I see, is there no other activity you would wish to accomplish with your free time. I believe the weather will be quite nice tomorrow afternoon. This could be one of the few last chances to enjoy a warm autumn day before winter sets in"-P
Perhaps it was a bit forward, but Penny simply wanted the talk to continue. More so she didn't want to experience another, even if it would just be the second time, weekend of Gareth partaking in isolated pastimes that didn't even seem to give him any real enjoyment,
"To be fair it's always spring in my house", the boy cracked a smile, something noteworthy to Penny even if his voice had died down and the upward corner of his lips were accompanied by defeated eyes, "...I suppose I could go on another walk, haven't done that in a bit, but given that my phone was stolen on the last one I'm unsure if I'm ready to break the new one it quite yet"
"Your previous device absence was a result of theft! I am sorry to hear that Friend Gareth, you look physically okay so that is a relief, but having to encounter and then become victimized by a criminal must have been a truly unpleasant experience"-P
The brunette's eyes darted back and forth, clearly not expecting that type of response. However, this reaction only sucked Penny deeper and deeper into the topic. While this ability to forget that she was trying to have a conversation was her goal, she quickly realized the realness of this one was produced by her concern.
Not even allowing him to process her previous wall of text, the copper tinted Atlesian fired away another. Wanting to get to the bottom of a mystery she had created,
"I am unsure how you went about informing the local authorities, but if you would like I can pull up specific branches and departments of the nearest Police station. Having gone through a traumatic event there is no shame in not being able to recount all the details of the robbery when it happened, but if you still have any memories of the perpetrators physical appearance we can inform and update the law enforcers investigating this case"-P
Doing his best goldfish impression, Gareth took a couple of seconds for his brain to make sense of what he just read. In that time Penny had already collected the numbers and contact information for the local police force and even licensed private investigators. Ready to unleash the data and websites at the high schooler upon his command,
"It's fine P!", the boy's hands came up, at first to provide the visual cue of everything being under control only to then cover his own mouth when his own ears picked up the loud volume at which he stated that fact. Looking panicked towards the door, he waited a few seconds before lowering his digit and adopting his near whisper level voice again, "It's fine, and I'm fine. I didn't contact the police and I wasn't even mugged...last Thursday night I just went into the trails after the sun went down, got a bit spooked and dropped my phone by accident. When I went back the next day, I noticed the phone had made an imprint in the ground but somebody else picked it up"
Penny's digital crime scene investigation came to a grueling stop, and although there were words in Gareth's explanation that gave her leads to a different mystery, she felt it far more important to address another problem,
"Walking in the wilderness, even if a public park, can prove dangerous after sundown Friend Gareth. I am glad you were able to escape unharmed, but I must then ask if your phone was even stolen, and not just picked up by a concerned citizen wanting to ultimately return it to you"-P
At this the emerald eyed teenage boy blushed and rubbed the back of his neck in an awkward motion,
"I...don't think that was the case", he said in a tone that clearly indicated that such a situation could very well be the case, "I tried calling my cell on my landline last week a couple of time, and each time the phone rang and then was cut off...who ever picked it up probably doesn't want me to get it back"
His hand return to his lap about defeated, as if Penny, who was hypocritically just simply concerned about him reaching unnecessarily conclusion, scolded him like a parent, "Besides I've got my new one and it's fine"
"I disagree", Penny was not even able to finish typing before she realized how risky those words were, especially when logically speaking her top priority was to appease Gareth at the moment, not voice moral disagreements. That being said, besides the imagined Ironwood part, the red head was far too generous and friendly not to voice this opinion, "From the looks of it you have been affected by the incident. So much so that you have given up one of your weekly routines in order to avoid the park, and as such that experience, all together. If I may, would you be willingly to read my opinions on the subject"
With eyebrows struggling to find a place on his head, Gareth somehow manage to look at his computer as if she was a being that had no idea how humans worked while at the same time being the world's top expert on psychology, "uh...go ahead I guess"
"Facings one's phobia-
The red head once again experienced interruption, but impressively the impedance originated from Gareth. Who had apparently managed to read at a speed that matched her typing,
"I wouldn't call it a phobia", he muttered before slouching back his in-chair eyes downcast,
"My apologies, coming to terms with an event should be handled rather quickly. I believe going to the park tomorrow afternoon could prove most beneficial. However, such a therapeutic activity should not be accomplished alone. As mentioned in the past, I have the ability to wirelessly communicate to you through your phone. If I am given permission to access it- I can accompany on your walk tomorrow and make sure everything goes smoothly"
"P given how much time has passed, I've slowly been coming to accept the idea you may not be a joke...still think you're probably a human", he essentially worded last part, but like one of this planets most famous fictional artificial intelligent system Penny had no issue reading lips...something she had to learn if she wanted to pick up more than half of what Gareth said, "just maybe one without malicious intent. That being said, hacking into my phone to join me in a park were a lot of this craziness began feels like the place where a prank would come full circle"
It somewhat hurt that the emerald eyed teenager still viewed Penny as a possible mischievous act to some degree but given his nature this was something he'd be slow to give up. Truthfully, he'd probably be reacting this way if Penny had been real human wanting to be his friend as well...although, cheering her up, he was technically thinking that as well,
"I believe this exercise far outweighs any probability of me being an act of juvenile trickery. Once I fully access your cellular device, I would be able to communicate with any local authority if anything harmful was to actually be present within the park"
"...Really, I don't know if calling the police two minute after something dangerous-", unleashing all her research and results of contacting logical officials, Penny found use for her detective work, filling Gareth screen with over fifteen different web pages on way to access the police, including informing them of a map of their quickest way to the park. Every millisecond the most efficient route would update taking into account traffic, and even the conditions of the road, "...happens...okay touché"
The digital red head took pride in the shock face Gareth signed with when showing him a fraction of her ability. While she no longer possessed a physical body, aura, or her sword array, it was nice to be able to show somebody she was still capable of offering protection...even if she had to go about it a bit more of a creative way now.
"I am glad I was able to prove my abilities Friend Gareth, if you simply say the words, I promise this level of foresight and response readiness will be with you at all times. In addition, I must say I was not aware you spoke French"
"I don't, I'm just using touché as an expressi-...you know what it's not important", The teenager looked around his room and then towards his computer. As if weighing his option of staying here with the amount of detail his hopeful digital companion provided on how much safety she assured, "...and if it can get my mom off my back for a few days about the need to exercise, then sure we'll head to the park tomorrow around noon"
True joy flowed through the Atlesian circuits as she once again took hold of the text bar. But as it began to blink its way across the screen, she found herself having paused,
"And I give you verbal permission to access my phone", although said with an attempted nonchalant tone, Gareth's sudden upward gaze, and reddening face spoke volumes of how uncomfortable the phrase left his lips.
Regardless, Penny's electric jubilance soon began forming a binary smile,
"Thank you, friend Gareth, I look forward to tomorrow's outing together. I promise that the experience should put your mind at ease as well as be entertaining"-P
Normally such a phase would mark the end of their conversation, as Gareth was even less likely than the robotic human to find a way to continue them at a natural stopping point. But even as he went to click and resume his video, he whispered one last bit of information under his breath,
"So long as no more screaming meteors fall from the sky, I'm sure it will be a blast"
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The sentient pairs of ones and zeroes found themselves shrouded in darkness once again. Although this one was far from silent, or even truly devoid of light, as the faint echoes of footsteps on fallen leaves, were lit to the dampen streaks of filtered yellow light that penetrated into her current sanctuary...well more accurately her false sanctuary.
With the rush of winds against the microphone picking up every few minutes or so, Penny would be able to construct a digital view of her disconnected self. Getting a brief blurry display of nature, the ground, and a soft breathing teenagers face, the human-like artificial intelligence was still technically back in her central processing unit and viewing everything that now transpired on Gareth's laptop.
However, with her connection to his phone's auditory and visual receptors she felt as if a ghost of her current self now traveled within his pocket. And while the view from behind the cloth wasn't great, the copper tinged hair Atlesian couldn't help but be filled to the brim with emotions. Being outside was one thing, or experiencing the outside through the virtual lens of a virtual lens was one thing, but the environment she now traversed through held the possible catalyst to multiple different mysteries...of course with a vast disarray of different questions meant an equally numerous amount of unique feelings accompanied them.
As of yesterday afternoon, Penny had thought the park would hold nothing but positive results. It would be a place for her to view the world outside Gareth's bedroom as well as help increase their level of verbal communication. Having delved into his phone milliseconds after he gave her the clearance, she now also had a way to walk around Earth sort of speak, even if all her movement was controlled by what most would call a socially awkward teenage boy. Now technically the redhead had already connected to the brunette's cellular device, but it was never to the degree she now had. Before she had simply created a wireless bride in order to track the mobiles device movements, and therefore have a better understanding of where Gareth was and how much time she had to continue her research. While she could have easily gained her current level of control over the phone from the beginning, something she had planned to do, after her unplanned trust exercise with Gareth such an action felt wrong to take without his approval. Which is why when she received it, she had felt as if she jumped over Earth's full moon,
Unfortunately, it was what the young man had indirectly informed her immediately after this that caused Penny to succumb to the plant's gravity and forcefully pulled back into reality. Without even realizing it until his mention of strange falling screams, Gareth had been explaining an incredibly out of the ordinary event that struck this town the same night she had just so happen gained access to his computer. Going back into the conversation, Penny nervously pieced together that the park they now inhabited was a potential ground zero for where the traversal between worlds took place.
This knowledge should have been treated as great news, and in a sense it was. After all, narrowing down a possible location through a positive means was far less time consuming by doing so through the negative process. However, the location was not the only theory Gareth's muttered account conveyed
Screaming meteors, the sound of music coming from the phone she now hitched a ride to echoed in the background of her thoughts, and while the genre of the song was surprisingly upbeat for a person like Gareth, Penny certainly did not feel such emotions when recounting that statement,
Although I have no knowledge on how an organization on Remnant would even gain access to theoretical theories involving solar system level transversal, the inclusion of vocal meteors indicates these screams were coming down towards the Earth...meaning the intended travelers would be from Remnant.
Looking back Penny had assumed that Earth having an agenda for Remnant, something which in all honesty could still be very much true, was the worst fate that could happen. But, as she had already thought, Remnant, or more accurately people from there, having an agenda for Earth was far more terrifying. In the sense that their agenda for Earth meant they had one in store for their own planet as well.
On top of that large-scale worry, there was the more individualistic ones. Primary concerning the fact that Gareth was now walking semi alone in a wood that could possibly house Hunters, or perhaps even Grimm whether intentionally or as a stowaway like herself. As already simulated, not even one of this planet's most trained military members could handle such a small-scale engagement, and Gareth was far from the level of those elite warriors.
Unfortunately, the red headed passenger found herself caught in a trap she hadn't known she laid. It wasn't as if she could give Gareth a reason to not go to the park, after all any fabricated story she could construct about it not being usable today would have to be so eye catching that even Gareth could easily debunk it.
That meant the Atlesian computer had to change her midnight research sessions priority from, "why did this park hold the anomaly?", to, "have any unusual activity been reported in that areas since the beginning of its history?", and if so "what danger level does it pose to Gareth's life?"
Now this type of information gathering, especially for a seemingly normal suburb park, could have been thoroughly accomplished in a matter of minutes. But since the level of knowledge needed went beyond the logic of the mission, Penny was somewhat obsessed over what her definition of "danger" and "ominous reporting" could mean. Hence why Gareth's laptop history was now filled with websites focused on folklore of indigenous tribes...in a two-hundred-kilometer radius.
What Penny had discovered was that...there was no logical danger associated with this area. In fact, the only ominous atmosphere about the false wildlife park was the lack of anomaly or reporting within it. Meaning that the brunette now currently holding her within his hand was the only lead on this area and the abnormal events that had transpired
Not that I have the luxury of being able to see any evidence of other travelers, Penny thought in a tone that made it hard to keep up her usually joyous attitude. As if cinematically cued however, Gareth did allow another slight glimpse into the park as he pulled out the phone to switch to another music video. If Penny was giving energy consumption any thought she would inform the emerald eye teenager that simply downloading the songs would increase his battery life tremendously. But given how her sight would diminish even forward if he had organized his music into a playlist, the invented Polendina decided such a tradeoff was acceptable. After all it's not as if the mobile device's user would be here if his phone ran out of energy,
Seeing the world through this speed streaked blur, Penny attempted to make sense of all the disorganized pixels, but right now the task was limited by the technology of the camera and not her processing. Having a satellite imagine of the park pulled up her headquarters that was Gareth's desktop, she ironically had a better view of the present of the park in an image taken six months ago from a satellite in orbit then a phone current in its territory,
Trying her best regardless, the red head hitchhiker saw much of the same. A sub arctic ecosystem experiencing autumn, with little to no animal life of note bigger than a fist sized rodent. What Penny would wish to see was if there was evidence any larger animal, or far worse, animal like creature the size of a human or bigger would leave behind.
But as the bodiless robot was being ushered back into the protection for a pocket, she found the need to initiate conversation with Gareth outside the three declared times. Given the technological limitation of the phones digital receptors she was unsure if she'd find anything of note if she was in constant view of the environment, but that was hardly relevant when she knew, for mathematic certainty, the current arrangement would bear no informational fruit...besides the agreement was that they'd conduct the walk together, and for Penny that had meant communication in the first place
"Salutations friend Gareth, I hope your outdoor activity has proven to be enjoyable thus far! At the moment I just wished to report that no anormal activity has been reported in or outside the park, and to see what your thoughts on the stroll through nature is"-P
Hacking into the phone's original text purposes was even simpler then when she originally took hold of his computer's notes function. Even better she could, and had, set herself in his phone's personalized contact list. Proudly displaying herself as "P" to achieving the status of the third named individual on his cellular device.
As with any notification the music volume briefly died down to let the user know a message was received. Although given Gareth's abrupt stop, and then confused face as he looked at his own phone perplexed, he certainly wasn't accustomed to this. However, upon reading the message and who it was from his anxiety died down somewhat,
"It's going well I guess", he began, voice quiet as he only chose to speak once he gave a look around to make sure the park was truly empty….something only the universe could find as humorous considering if there were people here they' hardly think him talking into a phone would be out of the ordinary, "Definitely more peaceful then the last time I came"
"The forest certainly does portray a much more natural setting, and it is most joyous to know you are having a positive experience during this venture. The colorful display this time of year certainly gives it a unique charm"-P
"Forest?", the teenager questions in a jokingly sarcastic way as the rush of cars can be heard from far to close a distance, "That's a generous term for it...wait do you know the leaves are changing because you can keep track of the time, or is this another 'you have access to my camera' situation?"
"Scientifically speaking both, I am currently able to create a view of the world through your device's camera. Does this cause concern?"-P
"Uh…", the senior takes a quick second to respond, looking concerned about what Penny just informed him, "I guess not, although it makes me question who else would be able to do that as well"
"Anybody possessing a moderately advanced computing system and the proper computer science knowledge most likely. The coding behind the camera system is not intricate or designed for defense against code alteration"-P
Given his sudden eye twitch, Penny quickly realized that, for a reason unbeknownst to her, Gareth wasn't to overjoyed to read her honest remarks on the subject,
"Although I can offer you much assurance friend Gareth, I have yet to detect another device attempt any intrusion into either your phone or personal computer"-P
"You mean besides you", the remark wasn't necessarily said in a negative way, but it was hard to tell how she was meant to interpret it since he clearly didn't mean for it to be picked up at all, Not much time was allowed to dwell on this fact however, as Gareth's voice soon returned to a normal, for him, level of volume,
"Well that's good to know P...and you don't have to type out 'friend' every time, just Gareth is fine if you want"
Penny felt the urge to type back that, if her preference was truly considered as he was indicating it should be, she would want to continue addressing him in the current manner. Ironically enough the literal relationship terms she put before people name represent different social implications to her then their dictionary definitions. She called Gareth an acquaintance before because he was a stranger, the upgrade to friend was now in use because he was at the moment an acquaintance, the use of no title...well for her that's what represented true friendship. Reserved for the people who met her as a stranger, and then bonded enough to be a friend. It was meant for people like Ruby, not Gareth.
Having been the first time Penny had truly thought of the red head, or anybody from Remnant outside of her own father's military, her response to Gareth's was noticeably paused….It wasn't that he hadn't earn his current standing with her, in fact the mere fact they were out here talking in such a way was because he had. But if given the actual choice she would not feel comfortable removing the title before his name quite yet.
Not that such a preference mattered. The situation she was in now prevented such luxuries like choice. Meaning she had to somewhat surrounded some of her own personal values, as all she could do was think about how different he was from the petal born reaper as she now addressed them the same,
"No issue- Gareth! I hope my action of accessing the camera hasn't increased any level of concern of discomfort"-P
"It's fine, once again it's not like I could stop you without getting rid of the phone, and its truthfully not even an issue that needs solving...although your view probably sucks, just being a close up of my pocket fabric an all"
"Although my personal preference is not a necessity, that is a most correct assumption. If given the choice, I would much prefer to take this walk at your side"-P
Given how close he had the phone to his face to read the text, Penny was concerned she had overstepped a boundary when his cheeks began to tint ever so slightly the shade of her old manufactured hair. Although his eyes quickly darted upward proving the increase blood flow was not a product of anger,
"I mean I can just hold my phone outside, I change the volume all the time anyway so it's not like I need both my hands to walk", the sentence was a bit rushed, but the outcome of it was all Penny cared for at the moment as her mood suddenly increased. Which for somebody whose always happy was quite a sight, or lack thereof, to behold.
"That is most kind of you Gareth! I promise no changes will come to music selection or interference to your normal walk experience will be produced from this decision"-P
His face calming down a bit, the boy clicked out of the text screen, and accessed his videos once again before swinging his phone in motion with his legs,
"I wouldn't think so", he muttered in confused hope, as if now realizing that was a possibility, before continuing with his walk.
Although Penny stilled viewed the world as a motion of blur, with brief moments of clarity as she reach the arch of Gareth's arm motion, she now was overcome with joy at the ability to interact or rather analyze the environment.
The bark on that fallen tree has splintered naturally, and there seems to be no indication of an impact crater on the trail so far, for somebody simply stating to herself what she could see the robotic girl sure addressed the possible terrifying situation in an upbeat way.
Such a viewpoint of the world continues for the next few minutes, with Penny observing Earth through the closest thing she had to a human eye with glee. Despite having gone into the park for Gareth therapeutic exercise, the digital Atlesian found herself also calming down through this experience. She had so much concern of what finding the answer she so desperately needed could lead to, and who could be harmed because of it, but at the moment such things were being put to the wayside.
More importantly, the scenery she observed only supported such a decision. Although not the wildlife preservation capital of the world by any means, the park displayed animal life that was obedient if one looked, or scanned the blurs of looking, hard enough. Through this Penny made out small rodents scurrying trees, and even a few chirps of a bird's song. In a sense, despite this place being the product of nature's demise, it was more natural then life on Remnant. Or it was more natural in the sense that this eco systems demise was being brought by another organic species.
The Grimm were many things to the ecosystem on remnant, but native was not one of them, or rather biological wasn't one of them. Despite having had thousands of years to research them, the beings of Remnant had little data on what they actually were. Sure, they could observe their behavior and drive, but they were constructed of material that...shouldn't exist. In the sense that besides the skulls being more akin to inorganic minerals like granite, the black ichor that composed was incredibly difficult to preserve and could never be studied for very long.
Because of this the only safe assumption to make was that they weren't living things. After all they never had need to eat to be provided energy. Which made their behavior so frustrating from a scientific stand point. A cat or bird of prey doesn't evolve claws or talents to kill because it wants to, more so out of a need. They survive through killing, but it's killing with a purpose, in order to maintain one's own survival. The Grim though, they simply want to cause destruction, and seek out other creatures with enough emotional understanding to fear that devastation.
Watching a squirrel freeze at the sight of Gareth, who remained oblivious to the animal, it quickly scurried away not wanting to risk an engagement. This type of mammal life, even on remnant...well it wasn't rare, but it wasn't common either. The nightmarish creature's disruption to the ecosystem came not from being a predator but a sadist. They sought animals that could feel fear, which meant that all mammals were on that list to some degree.
Despite the sharpness of a wolf's fang, or the speed of a feline's stride, they were nothing compared to the ferocity of a Beowulf or an Ursa. Small mammals had a somewhat easier time, but even they still faced this genocide, and at the end of the day this animal subgroup had to seek shelter with each other. With the most common areas for this type of life being around human settlements.
This wasn't to say that the wilds only possessed Grimm, after all the emotionless lizards, fishes, and insects essentially had nothing to fear if they could not conceive that emotion at all. In truth non mammalian life thrived in Grimm infested areas, which essentially meant it thrived on the planet.
More astonishing is that the animal life seems identical to current species inhabiting Remnant despite this being an alien ecosystem an-, clarity was the reason for the sudden halt in mental thought. As Gareth hand, for a moment hanged slightly parallel to his body,
"Not to intrude, but is everything alright Gareth"-P
Penny began scanning the ground she could now view, but besides an increase in the dirt trails...well dirt, nothing was overwhelming out of the ordinary.
Taking a second to bring up his phone, Gareth paused his music before reading the message. To her relief he didn't look completely panic, but the slight twitch in his had definitely concluded he was far from comfortable,
"It's nothing, just some of that exposure therapy you were talking about", accessing the rear camera, it didn't take long for the binary human to make sense of what the brunette had meant,
"By that I believe you are indicating this is the spot in which you had your unpleasant encounter. I admit I'm not the best at detecting human sarcasm, but I was unaware you were stating the involvement of space debris in a literal sense"-P
The sudden increase in soil deposit suddenly made sense, as Penny could very well see the by-product of the meteor on the ground embedded on the trail. More importantly, even with the camera at her disposal, the electric red head could see the shape centered at the lowest point of the crater...which meant she could see the earthen silhouette of herself,
"I guess I was using it sarcastically and literally at the same time...Afterall with how close it came, the odds of me being impaled by a rogue asteroid the size of a brick...I mean I don't know the exact statistic, but at that point I'd have to say some type of deity has it out for me", he gives off a sigh before moving his hand to rub his hair back, "That or some pilot decided to throw away some trash out of his plane window"
Luckily for Penny, Gareth had yet to make the logical jump in conclusion that if the crater was created by an object the object should still be there, or at the very least evidence of its remains should be scattered about. However, more importantly Penny used the new angle she briefly gained access to, to see if there was any other evidence of sentient meteors crashing into the park,
While meteor is the incorrect terminology given the depth of my crater and the mere fact I am still operating without so much as a scratch it is far more likely I began the free fall from the lower levels of the stratosphere...this would also mean I now have a search range based on physics for were other travelers may have emerged...and it seems I do not have to search too far for one
Having gained a view of the canopy, Penny quickly deduced she had been trying to gather information on the wrong axis. Even without the filler of fresh green leaves, a human sized hole, only visible to somebody like herself, darted the upper levels of the tree line. Snap branches and splintered wood making somebody's descent down to Earth far too obvious.
Following the motion of Gareth's hand back down, the coded sentience was able to follow the organic satellite's entry downward, until a scattered portion of dead leaves gave way to impact. This was a horrible sight for Penny to behold, not because there was any obvious evidence of the crater through a dead corpse but rather that the scattered branches gave away more information than the impact sight itself.
Penny's crater was more obvious than the one a being multiple times her mass made. More so than that it looked like it was covered up as well. The scattered leaves showed Penny the evidence, not because they created the physically produced crater, but rather the way they had been crumpled and or shredded. The person who had fallen, had at the very least prepared themselves for the impact and lessened its effect, and even made an attempt to hide the evidence, a rather good attempt at that...more so than that, the mere fact there was nobody meant the person walked away, and walked away fine.
As the dots of her early theories reconnected themselves, Penny barely paid attention to Gareth as he moved along the path. Pausing over another, albeit far less notable, impact sight the planet hopping stowaway was only made aware of it when the emerald eyed boy began speaking again,
"The only truth I know about the situation lies here, in the fact somebody stole my freakin phone after I was almost orbitally bombarded...or it was", the sentence read as if angry, but the pity in the voice made it a far cry from such an emotion, especially as it trailed off too monotone curiosity at the end
Although Penny could only pick up fear as she saw the obvious, or rather, the brilliant cover up of tracks. Returning a part of a trail to a state that experienced no human traffic whatsoever, which in truth is what made it now stand out,
"Well my walks usually don't last this long", the boy said under his breath, before Penny was, albeit not to her delight brought back to his pocket, "I'm gonna head back home now"
The slight tone of fear in his voice was slowly working its way into Penny. She should stay in the park, now that evidence of an actual traveler was present, but just as the obviousness of their arrival was made apparent so were the clues of them being a huntsman. Because of this, Penny wanted nothing more than Gareth to pull a repeat of what he had done over a week prior and run home in a dead sprint. Not that it would matter, even without knowing the Remnant natives' hostility level, at the moment, if they were still here and wanted Gareth disposed of, he'd be disposed of by now.
Regardless Penny made no effort to stop the boy from returning home. Not even wanting to distract him with her own approval of the idea her messages remained silent, as she instead turned to her thoughts, although only one rang out in her head,
Where are they? And why do they have Gareth's phone?...They have his phone!,
Back home the robotic Atlesian lit up her host computer screen. Her panicked filled eureka moment somehow bypassed her own encoded system to not allow such a display to happen,
I'm going to have to gain access to his cellular plan as well as the corporation's tracking service. Doing so will require me to break my own self-imposed rule, but this is an emergency.
Making contact with the phone manufacturer, Penny held her nonexistent breath as she dived into the virtual sea of ones and zeroes. Her consciousness feeling the urge to become one with the current, she had to will her sentience to stay intact as she hacked into the company's global positioning satellite.
Dragging the data with her, Penny heaved herself and the connection onto the shores of Gareth's desktop. A window field with green numerals against a black background sailing downward into the void.
Without delay the virtual being began pulling apart the strings of the code, and restructuring them to make sure nobody saw them bend to her mind,
This...this isn't like altering the script of a single program or device. They don't want me here, the system doesn't want me here and has the measure in place to remove any foreign code from their vicinity, as if on cue Penny met one such preventive measure and had to grasp onto her virtual advisory's mouth to prevent them from altering the rest of security about the intruder. She was the more advanced entity here, but she had gone into this situation in too much of a rush.
Need to limit the amount of information streaming in, only a singular user, creating a coded loop, Penny shoved the now wiped guard back outside and practically slammed the door of the digital house she was now essentially robbing shut. Hoping to remain hidden from any more curious residence, Cadarn family plan, previous devices...there
Binary hands grabbed onto Gareth's previous cellular device production number Penny tried a virtual line around the code before casting it into the digital data seen. Reeling it back in hoping to catch any piece of useful knowledge.
Purchase date not needed. Search history not needed. Contact information not needed, nothing of importance biting, Penny began to panic as she cast the line in more rapidly, Battery life...empty, but not necessary to track device
Relief filled the android as she now understood where the fish were biting, and with one last attempt she found herself reeling in the satellite tracking data.
I know where they are, waiting for the screen to load with the phone's location, Penny experienced the strongest sense of duality of both relief and panic. Knowing all too well that seeing the monster coming did little to take away from its horror. Still she had to know, had to figure something out in order to find a solution to a problem that was still evolving. And with the information finally having been dragged onto the numeric sand the electric being could figure out where the danger was...only she was beaten to the answer.
"Well that's a... bold fashion statement", the pure confusion in Gareth's voice being confirmed as Penny saw the whereabouts of the youngest Cadarn's old phone be pinned well within one-hundred feet of his current location.