singillatim | ( if i don't get some shelter, gonna fade away )

Programs and data and things? Programs are...the things computers do? Like the mail box and whatever the terminals in Prehevil did. Data was just information, right? Maybe data was the word for the information computers had. He's not really sure what any of this terminology is.

"So, um, robots have computers in them?"

Honestly, Maccready barely gets it, he knows what computers can do — like sending mail! — but how it all actually functions? Well, as a wise man once said, it just works.

"Yeah, that's right." See, it's fine, they're doing great. "People would design robots to do specific tasks, usually…" He points to his drawing of the Mr. Handy, smoothing out the sheet, "This one was for things like household chores, and the computer — its brain — would be programmed to enable it to do those tasks. They come in all sort of shapes and sizes depending on what they're used for, though."

Hmm... "So they're like...computers that can move around and do things?"

He doesn't get how this weird orb with legs helps with anything but okay.

"Exactly like that." Maybe… But he kind of has the sense Levi maybe isn't getting it, and that it's probably his fault for doing a poor job at explaining it.

"There are probably some that don't move around much… like maybe they just have an arm that's designed to lift an item and put it somewhere else, y'know?"

There's a small frown forming on his features, more at his own lack of ability, and he figures explaining the one he drew is probably easier. "This one here, the Mr. Handy, it has these three arms that can be fitted with different tools depending on the thing that needs to be done. Some of 'em are pretty singular-use, I dunno what you'd use a flamethrower for, but the little pincer could hold things like dusters and clean up maybe."

Well, he knows what a flamethrower is used for outside of house chores. He can't imagine it having much use in the home before the war…

More the lack of a real frame of reference for this sort of thing. He wonders if maybe he should pay more attention to the computers when they work. If this is where technology went past his time it might come up. But its all so overwhelming and over his head he'd rather not spend much energy on it.

Still, it'd be rude to wave off Maccready's offer of help, so he tries to grasp what he can. The arm idea makes much more sense to him than the Mr Handy. "So you can...or someone can tell them to do things? I guess they can do things people can't or don't want to."

The flamethrower and the saw for 'household chores' is more than a bit confusing. "Maybe the flamethrower was for cooking?"

Maccready's point of reference for technology isn't exactly the most helpful, either, in fairness. What he views as technologically advanced is… well, if some people here saw it they'd think it was rather primitive.

"Pretty much," he nods. "They're supposed to make life more convenient, I guess." Codsworth apparently babysat. Maccready certainly could have used that.

"Oh, oh, no, I don't think the flamethrower was for cooking." Or, he hopes not. He's seen it in action, gotten too close for comfort. "They'd probably cook the same way a person would, but using the little pincer attachment for holding pots or utensils instead of hands."

"I guess that makes sense...like how cars and trains make it easier to travel long distances faster." The flamethrower is still pretty confusing, though.

"Something like that, I suppose," though in truth, he's never actually experienced either — the rusted out shells don't really count seeing as how they're not going anywhere anytime soon; he's sure someone somewhere must have fixed a car up, at least.

"That's just this one type of robot, there are lots of others… other 'mister' type robots that look similar but are made for different tasks; like farming or for use by the military. Some are totally different, one kind of have shapes like people and can fire lasers," Assaultrons, admittedly, are high on his list of robots not to piss off. "I think they could probably do a lot more before, but now they just seem to be used for fighting or entertainment."

Or fighting for entertainment.

"Fire lasers?" Hm, he guessed that made sense. If you fought with robots no one had to die. "They'd make much more sense for the military." Says the boy who's life had been engulfed by war. "I wonder if the flamethrower is left over from that."

He's not going to get over that flamethrower. Why would you do this Robco.

"Yeah, from her face," he points at his own, as if that somehow makes it make more sense that a robot has a laser-firing face. "Honestly, a lot of the technology was probably for the military or eventually got used by it…" Timeline discrepancies aside, some things never change.

Maccready tilts his head to one side, then nods, "I guess it would be. Though, I don't think it was probably standard on the household models, but because they're made by the same company and have more or less the same design, they're probably interchangeable."

He doesn't know Curie yet, but if he did, he'd be wondering if she could use a flamethrower.

He is not sure why robots have faces or genders but he's not going to question it. That was beyond the basic understanding he needed of these things and he hopes he can ignore it. "Oh, them all made the same makes sense. Its easier to make things that way."

He'd never worked an assembly line, but he knew enough about them. The army had definitely cut costs when making things by using stuff like that.

Maccready's never really thought about it either, but if the laser-firing robot tells you she's a woman, are you really going to argue?

"Yeah… a lot of things used to be made like that before the war, I think. Some of the old factories still have all the equipment, but it looks like a lot to get working again." And even if someone managed — and he's sure they probably have — he's not entirely sure that it'd be as effective as it might have been; distribution and everything isn't what it used to be. "Now I think about it, I'm not even sure new robots could be made, at least not ones that aren't made of scrap or something…"

Another one of those cases where he's sure someone, somewhere, could or already has. Ah, the Institute notwithstanding, that is.

"Anyway, that's basically all I know about robots where I'm from," he crosses his arms, relaxing into his chair. "Maybe there're other people who have 'em too, they might be different."

"It probably takes a lot to get those things running after they're abandoned or whatever." He shrugs, "Thanks for telling me. I don't know if it matters here but if I come across the word in a book or something now I'll know what it means."

"Sure thing," he laughs, pointing back to his silly drawing, "Even if you did come across something here, I don't know that it'd be anything like that." The assumption, here, is that he's thinking anything that might be found here would be more primitive, simpler. Anachronistic technology and all that, it's left him feeling like he's the one 'out of time' — maybe once they're able to go home, he'll be a little more sympathetic.

"So, robots really just aren't a thing where you're from, huh? It's weird to think about…"

"No, at least I don't think so. I never really learned much about life outside of Prehevil or the front. Maybe people were making things like that somewhere else." Or possibly below where he'd lived? Most of the stuff to come out of the bunkers seemed to be animal or human based though.

( if i don't get some shelter, gonna fade away )

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject