08-12-2016, 10:00 AM
Cain blinked, nonplussed, as the image on the screen changed from the wacky photo to a more obscure one. It seemed like a picture of a young man, except it was made up of 0s and 1s. Vaguely the redhead recognized it as some form of binary; computer education was mandatory in Dominance VII after all. Still, he had no idea if the code was meant to do anything other than form an image. Perhaps the new picture was closer to Phaser's actual appearance?
The redhead was a bit creeped out when Phaser talked about tracking him, but more reassured when the man(?) continued to say that he would be hard to track without a wallet. Cain shrugged. "Yeah I can't really afford one right now."
Every penny he had went to getting to Moscow. Now that he was here, he'd probably save up for a new one. It was tough living without it. Again, Cain was a bit weirded out by the implication that Nox and his sister were one of the many people that Phaser was stalking. He mentally put another tally in the likelihood that the guy was an AI of some sort.
His musings were cut short by a knock on the hotel door. Cain furrowed his brow when, just as Phaser had implied, a pizza delivery man was at the door. "Uh, sorry mate but I don't have any cash on me."
The man shrugged. "Already paid for," he muttered, before thrusting the box into Cain's hands and taking off down the hall. Apparently he had better things to do than stick around chatting with a homeless guy. Cain closed the door and peered down at the plain pepperoni pizza. Of course, there were all sorts of people who got their kicks out of giving tainted food to homeless people, the sadistic jerks. Phaser didn't seem like the kind, and besides, it'd been a long time since he'd had a real pizza, rather than the cheap slices you could get in a gas station. His mouth watered at the smell, stomach gurgling in a reminder that he hadn't eaten much that day.
Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, Cain grinned at the TV screen before chomping down on a slice. "Thanks mate!"
he said cheerfully. The magician flopped onto the bed, sitting with the box in his lap while peering thoughtfully at Phaser. The guy seemed pretty messed up, but no more so than Cain's other new acquaintances. "So why do you track people then? Is it just boredom or do you have to follow Asimov's three rules?"
he asked, referencing a somewhat obscure sci-fi writer he'd had to read in school. If Phaser was a somewhat benevolent robot it might explain why he was feeding random strangers.
The redhead was a bit creeped out when Phaser talked about tracking him, but more reassured when the man(?) continued to say that he would be hard to track without a wallet. Cain shrugged. "Yeah I can't really afford one right now."
Every penny he had went to getting to Moscow. Now that he was here, he'd probably save up for a new one. It was tough living without it. Again, Cain was a bit weirded out by the implication that Nox and his sister were one of the many people that Phaser was stalking. He mentally put another tally in the likelihood that the guy was an AI of some sort.
His musings were cut short by a knock on the hotel door. Cain furrowed his brow when, just as Phaser had implied, a pizza delivery man was at the door. "Uh, sorry mate but I don't have any cash on me."
The man shrugged. "Already paid for," he muttered, before thrusting the box into Cain's hands and taking off down the hall. Apparently he had better things to do than stick around chatting with a homeless guy. Cain closed the door and peered down at the plain pepperoni pizza. Of course, there were all sorts of people who got their kicks out of giving tainted food to homeless people, the sadistic jerks. Phaser didn't seem like the kind, and besides, it'd been a long time since he'd had a real pizza, rather than the cheap slices you could get in a gas station. His mouth watered at the smell, stomach gurgling in a reminder that he hadn't eaten much that day.
Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, Cain grinned at the TV screen before chomping down on a slice. "Thanks mate!"
he said cheerfully. The magician flopped onto the bed, sitting with the box in his lap while peering thoughtfully at Phaser. The guy seemed pretty messed up, but no more so than Cain's other new acquaintances. "So why do you track people then? Is it just boredom or do you have to follow Asimov's three rules?"
he asked, referencing a somewhat obscure sci-fi writer he'd had to read in school. If Phaser was a somewhat benevolent robot it might explain why he was feeding random strangers.