(no subject)

[littlesynthgirl]

[OOM: Pino's Mother continues to be awful. Warning for racism (or perhaps classism), blatant attempts to be rid of a child, and needles akin to a spinal tap.]

After the third try at the closet, Pino finds Milliways and makes her way to the piano she remembers seeing. She climbs up on the bench, lifts the keyboard cover and begins to play, what is for her, an ancient piano piece. Her playing is flawless, technically, but somehow flat or dead. There is no emotion beyond the way the song is composed.

The white noise of the patrons of Milliways is so much better than the banging of Mother's tantrum.

[ting tag: Pino.]
[[OOC: Work refuses to play nice, so I am rebelling. I will tag as I can, but likely to be slow.]]

Comments

[yinyangwizard]

At some point Pino acquires an audience, consisting of one grey fox. He sits doglike beside the piano bench, watching her intently.

She looks like a child, but smells of steel and plastic and electricity, and she has no aura. Seimei is not sure what to make of this.

[littlesynthgirl]

She notices the creature as soon as it's in her field of vision and her eyes go big. Her focus is completely on the fox, though her playing continues. Assuming nothing of this tableau changes, she will finish the piece, which is only a few minutes long, before turn fully to face the fox and stare. Animals, even artificial ones, are unknown in her world.

[yinyangwizard]

"Hello, little one," the fox says, flicking his tail. "Where did you come from, then?"

Really. Where do things like her come from?

[littlesynthgirl]

Her eye brows climb up to match her large eyes.

"Oh, you speak! I am sorry for staring and being rude. I have never seen anyone like you before. I am Pino and I come from Romdo."

[yinyangwizard]

The fox tilts his head. "Is Romdo a city? A country? A planet? Well, it is obviously a place with no foxes, which is a shame."

[littlesynthgirl]

"It is one of the doomed cities of Earth. I'm afraid I don't know much of what happened, but all humans live in them ever since the environmental disaster. Perhaps that is why there are no foxes, or any other creatures like you."

[yinyangwizard]

"My, that sounds grim," the fox says. "There are no animals on your Earth - but there are artificial children?"

[littlesynthgirl]

"Humans still want families, but resources are very limited, so the populations is strictly regulated. Companion AutoReivs like myself fill a very important need."

Not only that, but humans seemingly have lost the ability to reproduce themselves. Or perhaps those in power merely control that aspect of human nature as well.

[yinyangwizard]

Under those circumstances, having synthetic children would make sense. Although the idea makes him uneasy.

"So people who cannot have children of their own would have a child such as yourself." Seimei thinks. "Are you made to grow, then, from infancy or at least young childhood to adulthood?"

And if she is, what happens then?

[littlesynthgirl]

"I was built as I am now and will continue to be as I am. I suppose my programming could be updated and placed in an older body if my parents wish it, but that is up to them."

"Do all foxes talk? I ask because I think I remember a book that had cows and pigs but they didn't talk."

[OOC: Sorry, realized some awareness of animals has to be left over since Pino has a jumper that is supposedly a bunny. So hand wave that domestic animals are still in the collective awareness, though there are no more animals about.]

[yinyangwizard]

Well, he's been asking her a lot of questions, so it's only fair that she takes her turn. "Magical foxes can talk," he says, "but most foxes are ordinary, and cannot talk."

[runningred]

Jay comes up from the garage, six green egg shapes float in the air around him. Two of them drift over to land on the piano, seeming to soak up the vibrations of the music.