Who decides if I fail?
It wasn't like this was the first time the power had gone out since he had arrived here, but it still unnerved Light. Aiber had marked it off as nothing more than power surges and L's feeble attempts to make a dent in the security systems. This made sense, after his interview with L it became clear that the AI disliked his home, not overtly so but just enough to want to leave. Like one would become bored with their hometown after a lifetime of living there. L had admitted himself that he felt home here, but that he wanted more. More scenery, more life and light. Something a bit more interesting than what he was given.
"I wish to see the outside." He had answered when Light pressed him about the recent security breaches that were undoubtedly caused by the robot. "I do not wish any harm to Aiber, he is rather interesting in fact. I just wish to see more than just this room."
Light had felt a pang of guilt then, he had come to the conclusion that L at least held sentience, it was unclear whether he held genuine emotion, but the sentience part was as clear as day through their time speaking. Who could blame him for wanting to leave this place? It was an opulent prison at best, a small glass cage with a bed and window and not much more.
"So you admit to starting these power outages?" Light asked, gazing around the room as the lights flickered yet again.
"Is there any reason to hide my involvement? He knows I wish to leave." He knew, of course he knew. Then why was this not proof enough to Aiber? The fact that L wanted to leave so badly should have been solid evidence that the AI had thoughts and emotions. He had the desire to explore as any human did, so why wasn't Aiber taking notice? He would have to question him later.
"Why won't he let you leave then? Even for just a walk around the house or to go outside for a while?" Light responded, taking a note to ask Aiber more about this when he saw him next. L sighed at this, no air actually leaving his mouth as his body moved with the impression of a real person. L always looked so real when he moved, even with the features of a mannequin he might have been able to pass of as human.
"He says I am not ready." Was the simple reply.
Light's interest piqued at this, so Aiber was unsure about this whole project after all. With how confident he always sounded talking about his creation, Light had assumed he was ready to let it loose. Light spoke with a more compassionate tone, the guilt still lingering at the thought that L had no choice but to be here. "In what ways are you not ready?" He continued, gazing at L through the glass.
"I am not ready, that is all I have been told."
Light shrugged, realizing that Aiber would be rather reluctant to share such information with the AI. He doesn't exactly blame him either, countless movies depicted androids turning on their creators and taking over the word. But for some reason he didn't get that vibe from the small android standing before him. L had a relaxed, ethereal feel to him. One that posed no threat, even if he was a bit creepy looking.
He realized he had been silent for too long when L let out an impatient sound and chewed on his thumb. Light was awed by the attention to detail, did Aiber program these actions into L's code? Or had he picked this up on his own over the internet or some other source?
"Did he program you to do that?" Light let out without thinking, gesturing slightly toward the robot's hand that was glued to his mouth. L stopped abruptly and removed his hand, letting it fall to his side and rest on his thigh.
"No, I was searching through the databases and this seemed like an interesting motion, why do you ask?" Light chuckled and scribbled onto the page, answering in the same breath. "I just thought it was interesting too."
L huffed at this and peered to look at the journal, failing to see anything but blurred green writing. Light looked up at him and noticed where he was looking, raising the notebook so that he could see the writing clearly. L nodded his thanks and read, humming when he was done and gazing down at the floor. Light steadied the book on his knees and dropped the sharpie into the dip between pages, giving his full attention to L.
"If my notes make you uncomfortable, then we can speak without my taking them. I want this to be a chance to speak naturally and to have a nice interview. Like I said earlier, I wish to be friends, so if you don't want notes taken please let me know."
L nodded with a smile. "I would appreciate that."
Light nodded and closed the book, placing it neatly on the side table and continuing his line of questioning, speaking about the various quirks they each found interesting in people and why they did them.
"Why in particular is it so appealing to you?" Light asked, crossing his legs as he took a swig of water. A casual tone had taken over the room and L had taken to sitting on the floor, his legs pulled to his chest and his metal arms hanging above his knees, the wires visible running through them glowing softly. L's head rolled to one side as he answered.
"Because, humans are amusing, they do such amazing things. The fact that they have their own unique traits is no different."
"Like you." Light pointed out, pointing to the sitting figure. L nodded slightly as he casually leaned back.
"I wish to act like a human so that one day I can walk among them." He answered as if he was talking about the weather. Light smiled, albeit sadly, and nodded.
"I hope you can." He answered honestly, for a second he could imagine the robot sitting in a cafe. It was a surreal image, like something out of a sci-fi movie. Truthfully he knew that L would probably never leave this place, that he was just another model to be tested and remade to be better and more complex. He knew he couldn't let this fact slip, but he still felt guilty leading the computer on to think that it had a chance at being human. Not wanting to drag the robot through anymore false hope Light gazed at the clock placed in the corner of the room.
"Would you be open to more of this tomorrow evening?" L's head bobbed up and down once as the two exchanged goodbyes, metallic eyes following Light as he left the room.
As Light strode down the hall he wondered how many there were before L. How many prototypes Aiber had created and if they were stored away in some dusty box in a basement somewhere. The thought of the same fate happening to L left him feeling cold.
Wedy stood at the stove preparing chicken when Light entered. He waved to her and was glad to see she smiled back, finally acknowledging his presence. Aiber sat drunk at the kitchen table, sipping on a cocktail and reading over some papers. Sloppily pawing at the pages as he read. Light dropped his notebook onto the table in front of him as he said hello. The smell of chicken and rice filled the room as Aiber read over his notes, laughing once or twice before setting it back down.
"So you like him?" Light nodded and shrugged a bit with his right shoulder. "He's certainly interesting. He's so human, it's surreal."
Aiber grinned proudly, showing some teeth and he set his glass down. Wedy sauntered over and refilled the glass before turning her attention back to the stove. Light found it odd how in tune she was to her surroundings despite not knowing the language spoken to her. Maybe Aiber had lied to him and she really did speak English. Light himself was trilingual so it wouldn't surprise him in the least. The thought of her being attuned to lips and body language also ran through his mind as he watched her cook.
"You're right, though. I don't trust him to leave." Aiber said as he drank, his words slurring over the liquid. Light gazed at him as Wedy sat a cocktail of his own in front of him, taking the a drink from the carefully arranged glass. The alcohol burned as he drank, the taste strong and familiar.
"Why not?" He questioned, setting the glass down and folding his hands on the table. Aiber smirked and locked eyes with him.
"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Light grinned and let out a chuckle, the thought had run through his mind once or twice. Aiber didn't break eye contact as Wedy placed a plate in front of him, smiling softly at him. She turned to Light and gave him his own, the plate clinging against the wood as she placed it. She then turned and left, once again disappearing down the hall. Light glanced at her for a second, confused on why she never stayed and ate with them but knowing it was better not to ask. His attention was brought back to Aiber as he started to speak again.
"You think I would let that thing out? You're not stupid, come on, just think. Do you know what would happen if some crazy cyborg got out and turned on humanity?" Light started to laugh, it would be ridiculous to call L crazy, he couldn't imagine him hurting a fly. Scaring a few kids, sure, but he didn't think the android capable of harm. He was sure those metal limbs would break with the slightest force. Light calmed himself, feeling the dull ache in his gut from laughing too hard as he tried to breathe evenly.
"You really think he would turn against you? He has the density of a stick, you could snap him like a twig!" Light laughed, seeing the anger color Aiber's face.
"You think he's helpless, don't you?" Light stopped and looked at him, seriousness claiming his expression. "Well yeah, what harm can he do? You're the one who programmed him, don't tell me you gave him a thirst for world domination?"
Aiber was seething by now, his drink empty and his hands clutched to his side. His barely concealed anger unnerved Light and he decided to keep his mouth shut for now. Light almost fell out his chair as Aiber slammed his fist on the table, glaring at Light. "I told you I gave him sentience, do you think this is a joke?" He was screaming now, his face red and his voice full of humiliation and outrage.
"Listen, I didn't mean it like that. Calm down, I was only joking." Aiber shook his head and continued, it had become clear that Aiber's drunken rambling wasn't going to fade out so easily this time.
"Do you understand how long I've spent on this project? Do you really think I would waste my time to make a walking laptop? You're fucking kidding me, I can't believe this. If you were half the programmer you said you were you would understand that I'm not making another cutesy command interface for a smart phone! I'm making something new and amazing, I'm creating life!" Aiber stopped then, gulping for breath, his chest heaving with every intake of breath. Light sat silently, waiting for the man to calm down. He knew from personal experience that he wouldn't be able to reason with an angry drunk. So he sat quietly, waiting for Aiber to get it all out. He regretted saying anything to begin with, it wasn't worth the trouble.
"If I wanted to waste my time making some virtual assistant then I would go work for Apple!" He screamed before falling back in his chair, staring blankly at the ceiling. He voice dropped pitifully. "I would never stoop that low."
Aiber reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a pack of menthols, taking one out and lighting it with an errant lighter off the kitchen table. He took a drag and then turned his attention to Light. "This is serious. If you think he isn't capable of turning against me then I might as well start over, because that would mean I've failed."
Light shrugged, gazing back with mild concern. He really hoped that these outbursts weren't going to be a regular occurrence. He'd have to watch his mouth from now on, Aiber was a lot crazier than he had originally thought. He sighed and nodded, shrugging his shoulders. "I apologize, I didn't mean to insult your intelligence or your work. If anything it's a compliment, you're creation has me fooled. It has me thinking it's harmless, that's an accomplishment right? That it can trick people into thinking it's benign?"
Aiber seemed to perk up at this, smiling. The smile was crooked and his face was still bright red, but it was progress. "I guess so, kid. Maybe it is working."
Light smiled back and took a bit of rice, hoping he had diffused this correctly. He really didn't want to go any farther with this drunk babbling at him.
"Maybe I can salvage this model after all."