Chapter 11 Technological Hope

To say the night dragged would be an understatement. Somehow, the second night that Larry spent locked up in the computer room seemed to last longer than the first night. Oh, happy happy joy joy. The hours crawling by shaved decades off of Larry's soul. He felt as though he was going to die from boredom, which at the very least would mean that he wouldn't be in any more danger of Francis reprogramming him. Of course, Larry knew he couldn't die from boredom. Iggy had given him a lecture before on that very subject, so Larry knew for absolute certain that he would have to suffer through the long, unchanging, uninteresting hours of the next few days.

By the time morning rolled around (or at least, he felt like morning was rolling around; he had no way to tell), Larry started thumping his head against the wall. Thump thump thump. He remembered how Iggy would tell him, way back when they were little kids, how hazardous banging your head against a solid surface could be. "It would give you brain damage," he would say, "And that would be disastrous!" Of course, that didn't hold up now that Larry was a robot, but… oh man, he wished he could see Iggy again. Even the worst, most condescending lectures would be a welcome change of pace right now. He wished beyond all mortal comprehension that his siblings would find and rescue him. Surely, they could find this room! Surely, they could fight against Francis and make him set Larry free before he got the opportunity to mess with the youngest Koopaling.

"Good morning."

Larry stopped thumping his head against the wall and looked up at Tec's camera. The shutter opened and closed, probably because Tec was taking in Larry's appearance. He was probably trying to figure out how he felt, and determine whether he was in the mood for chit-chat.

Which he was. He definitely was. So what if it was Tec; it would at least be someone.

"Good morning, Tec." Larry rose to his feet. "How are you?"

"I'm perfectly fine," Tec said. "How much battery charge do you have left?"

Larry blinked, realizing that that was a good question. He tapped in and saw that he had… eighty percent left. What? How was this possible? His battery had more or less been nonexistent after the first night he spent in here! How could it now suddenly be draining slower?

"I take it from your silence that it's still at a decent number," Tec said. "Which means that the adjustments I made to you worked."

Larry's heart skipped a beat. "Adjustments? What adjustments are you talking about?" His fear climbed, almost strong enough to punch a hole through the roof.

"When you were plugged into my matrix, I made some adjustments to your programming," Larry's jaw dropped and his breathing rate sped up, threatening to make him pass out. "And I see that you are experiencing negative emotions regarding this, so let me explain. I only made minor changes. I made it so that your internal system can run better. I installed a power saving mode within you, making it so that your battery can last for much longer periods."

A new type of emotions overcame Larry, one that he never would've expected. "Wow. Th… thank you."

"You're welcome," Tec said. "I made it so that the power saving mode is more or less your default setting. You can turn it on and off if you want to, which could be recommended at times. As much as it pains me to admit, the system has a few drawbacks." Larry raised an eyebrow. "That being, your body will respond to the actions you command it to take slower while power saving mode is activated. Your sense of time passing will also be slowed down."

Larry blinked. Huh. So that's why last night seemed to last forever.

"Okay…" Larry ran his hand across his skull. "Still, thanks. That was really nice of you." He chuckled, although whether it was because of humor or terror, he couldn't say for sure. "I'm surprised that you just didn't straight up reprogram me completely. I mean, that is yours and Francis's main goal, isn't it?"

"Indeed," Tec said. "However, my capabilities in that field are fairly limited. I can only make minor changes to you while in the matrix."

Larry raised an eyebrow. "Okay. But that still doesn't explain why you decided to do something helpful. I mean, logically, it would make the most sense to hinder me in some way, right?"

Tec stayed silent for about a minute. "Yes. I will admit that is most logical."

"Then… why didn't you do it that way?"

Another pause hung in the air. Larry stared into Tec's camera, admittedly interested in what the answer to this question would be.

"I don't know why I did it this way," Tec finally admitted.

Larry smiled. Somehow, and he couldn't for the life of him explain why this was, but that answer amused him and satisfied him more than anything else that Tec could've possibly said. He couldn't quite put his finger on why though.

"Cool." Larry sighed and continued to smile. He looked around the room, now feeling a lot more comfortable than he did over the course of the night (somehow). "Well… I suppose today is just going to be another day of sitting around doing nothing."

"Possibly," said Tec.

"No, not possibly, definitely." Larry sat down, stretched his arms up to the ceiling, and laid down. "I mean, there's nothing I can really do right now."

"Incorrect," Tec said. "My matrix is always available for you to access."

"True, but… eh, I don't really want to do that right now."

"That does not compute." It seemed like Tec was staring at the Koopdroid through his camera. "You have been antsy and terrified over the last few days. Why all of a sudden would you be comfortable?"

Larry shrugged. "I dunno. I think you helping me out helped me to feel a little better about everything."

Silence. Larry LOVED this silence; he absolutely adored it. The fact that Tec didn't respond to this made Larry feel as though he had one-upped him, that he had rendered him speechless. Of course, Larry didn't know if he should feel satisfied about this, as Tec didn't experience emotions. But still, the feeling that he managed to outwit a supercomputer of all things made him feel happy. Almost unreasonably so.

"I will never understand koopas," Tec finally said, a statement that almost made Larry laugh out loud. "They are the most confusing and complicated creatures I've ever seen. How can their moods shift so quickly?"

Larry chuckled. "I think it has to do with the things that happen to us or the thoughts we have." Larry drummed his finger against the floor. "There really isn't that much to it. When something good happens, we feel happy or content. When something bad happens, we feel sad. Or angry. Or afraid."

"I see." Tec paused. "So, it all depends on external circumstances?"

"Yes. I mean no! I mean…" Larry thought long and hard about this. "It's kinda weird. Yes, most of the time, the emotions we feel are in response to the things that happen to us. But there are times when we can choose how to feel. We choose to be sad. We choose to feel joyful."

"Really?" Tec asked. "Is that a difficult thing to do?"

"Eh... sometimes. When you're going through a trial, yes, choosing to be happy is really hard. But ultimately, it's for the better."

Tec stayed silent for a little bit. Larry looked up at him, feeling like he was hyping himself up. "Does that make sense?"

"Not really." Tec looked directly at him. "I mean... in that instance, you actively choose a lifestyle that involves unpredictable and unmanageable mood swings. That's such a strange thing to do."

"Maybe, but just because it's a strange thing doesn't mean it's a bad thing." Larry stood back up. "Taking control of your own feelings means that you are taking control of your own life. You're going down a path that you think would be for the best, for both you and others." Larry smiled. "Sometimes, being happy can help others feel happy."

"Wow." Tec closed his camera shutter, keeping it close for a dreadfully long time. "That is just illogical in every sense. Emotions are nothing but a nuisance. Why would some people think that they are helpful? How can some people think they're for the best?"

Larry thought about this for a while. "You know… if I'm gonna be honest, sometimes it doesn't seem like it's for the best." He looked down at the floor. "I've had times where I've experienced pain. I wanted it to stop so badly, and I wanted to escape from the thoughts in my head. They were overwhelming. I felt like I was drowning in my worries, and I felt like I had hit rock bottom. Like my life was ruined. I felt as though things were never going to get better." Larry paused. "But… just because you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel doesn't mean it's not there."

Tec stayed silent. Larry would've loved to see what was going on in his head, to see how his words were impacting the AI. That might be having an amazing effect on him, and yet they could also not be leaving a dent in his metallic, mechanical brain. The fact that Larry couldn't say for sure made him feel a little uneasy. But at the same time, he wanted to continue because… well, it was nice to be able to talk to someone about this.

"There are times in your life when things don't work out. Case in point, here and now. The fact that I'm locked up in here sucks ass. I could cry about it for the rest of my life." He stepped closer to Tec. "But I'm going to choose not to do that. Not anymore, at least. I can choose to have a positive perspective."

"I see." Tec paused. "And… what would be the point of that, exactly?"

"Well… you could argue that there is no point. You could argue that me giving up would be for the best. But I'll always counter an argument like that with 'you're wrong.' It might not seem like it, but I know things can work out." Larry sighed. "There might've been times before when I didn't believe those words as strongly while I've been locked up in this room. But… I want to believe them. I want to believe them, because… it helps me feel better."

Tec blinked once again. Larry looked up into his camera, hoping beyond all hope as he asked the next part.

"Does any of what I just said make sense?"

Tec paused. "I don't know. In some ways, yes. In others… not really."

Larry smirked. "Well, I'll take it." He stepped closer to Tec. "I know you'll probably never understand emotions, but… I don't think it's the best idea to just dismiss them outright. They help make life better, I feel. In the particularly sucky moments, it might not seem that way, but… there's value to emotions." Larry smiled. "A lot of value."

Tec's camera shifted as if he was trying to avert his gaze away from Larry. "I suppose I can take your word on that." He paused. "It's just a very complicated subject. Every time I've tried to see the logical side of emotions, my mind always draws a blank."

Larry laughed. "Well… I can understand that." He took another step toward Tec. "And, like I said, you might never understand them. But I… I like having emotions."

"Evidently."

The two stayed silent for a little bit. Larry's heart pumped a little as he thought about everything. He didn't know whether he should look at Tec, away from Tec… he didn't know what to do right at this moment. Did things feel awkward? Eh… maybe? That seemed to be going a little far, but Larry somehow didn't feel right. Maybe it was Tec's inability to comprehend the full scope of what he was trying to tell him.

"Larry?"

Larry perked up. "Yes?" Part of him held onto hope that Tec would say he was starting to understand, that he was starting to change his mind and develop a new perspective.

"I understand that you had expressed a desire against this, but... would you like to enter the Matrix again?"

Larry had to use all his self-control to keep his face from falling. He supposed he should've known that his hopes would be in vain. Oh well; at the very least he could distract himself from the disappointment by having fun in the Matrix. After all, maybe a positive experience would make holding onto hope that things would work out easier.

So, he smiled and opened his charging port as he walked over to Tec. "I think that's a great idea." He paused, concern making itself known all of a sudden. "Wait. You're not gonna make any negative changes to me, are you?"

Tec paused. "Well... I was planning on that..."

"Tec!"

"But... I will hold off from doing that. I want you to enjoy yourself in the Matrix. I don't want you to live in fear of it."

Larry let out a breath. "Thanks, big guy." With that, he came over and plugged in.