[Closed] CW: discussion of potential violence

[dollmaxing]

[Location: Leaving Shibuya Central Street]

Once Zenkichi Hasegawa finally left, got his fill of terrorizing her, Ichinose ran into the back alleys of the cognitive city until she had to slow down. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins, and she picked up the damn bomb of a tracked phone out of her pocket.

It doesn't matter if he finds out - she needs help.

Flutter is all that works. Ichinose opened it up, going to the conversation she had with those in her posts, and directly messaged the man that was a strange if a bit shifty cognitive psientist. After her encounter just now, she understood exactly why he was being shifty.

She sent a message. Hello! Can we meet up in person? Please call and respond ASAP. :)



[Location: Maruki's Laboratory]

Maruki is a lovely host, if nothing else. This place is huge... but for now Ichinose was fine finding a seat and just melting into the cushions, an arm draped over her eyes as she tried to quiet the unease still buzzing in her brain.

At least the snacks were nice. And a lab setting was pleasantly familiar.

"What've you gotten into, Kuon..."

Comments

[dollmaxing]

"Hmm, Personas are awfully useful, it seems. For more than just battling. I hadn't pried about how exactly people get one," she remarked with a hum. With the taxi rolled to a stop in front of them, Ichinose climbed into the back, scooting to the other side and buckling in whilst the pocky dangled from between her teeth.

There she settled as much as she could convince herself to, snapping the snack sticks in half and chewing a bit distractedly.

"How does one acquire a Persona?"

[takutomaruki]

The taxi rolling up had left Maruki at ease a little as he thanked Ichinose out of habit for letting him have the space then finally relax as his shoulders sagged and he fell back into the plush seat. He wasn't actually as hungry and right now- he needed answers; first and foremost.

"I don't know, Ichinose-san," he quips as he finally pulls down his hood and lets his dark hair fall completely. "Your sources seemed to be pretty on point about it. Maybe you have some theories already."

[dollmaxing]

"Hah! Mean. You have one, surely you know. I haven't actually asked my sources that level of detail. Though I wonder... if I could understand what a Persona can do, then maybe..." she trailed off in thought, brow furrowing as she brainstormed.

Did EMMA have a Persona in the traditional sense? There was some sort of latent possibility that she'd learned from being fed information about cognitive psience by Maddice. But she wouldn't know until she saw for herself, back home, whether her baby had a Persona or had simply become a cognitive entity far beyond what a human mind could be capable of.

Would she be able to summon a Persona? Or does one need a heart for there to be a 'true self'?

"I'm mostly acquainted with information about the cognitive world as it was manifesting in my time."

[takutomaruki]

Maruki let out a long sigh, leaning back against the seat as he tugged his hood down, dark hair falling messily into place. He tilted his head slightly, watching Ichinose with that same faintly amused, almost knowing look.

"Well, if Azathoth is anything to go by, I guess I’d have to say awakening to a Persona is like hitting an epiphany so hard it hits back," he quipped, lips twitching with dry humor.

He shifted slightly, his fingers idly tracing the seam of his sleeve as he considered how best to explain it. There was something inherently fascinating about it—the very mechanics of how Personas worked, how the mind and cognition twisted and reformed itself under duress.

"As far as my experience goes, Personas exist in both the real world and the cognitive world," he began, tone slipping into something more thoughtful, more academic. "It’s like...a voice. Not just any voice, though. It’s yours, but stripped of all the little hesitations, the compromises, the external conditioning we pick up over time. If the psyche is a house of mirrors, a Persona is the one mirror that doesn’t distort. It’s your unfiltered self—raw, primal, and completely certain."

He exhaled, shaking his head slightly. "Which, let’s be honest, is probably why so many awakenings are traumatic. Most people spend their whole lives running from their deepest truths, not embracing them."

A beat passed before he smirked faintly. "And yet, we summon them to battle with them, of all things. Classic human nature, huh? Fighting ourselves while insisting we’re in control."

He let that linger for a second before he leaned back, stretching slightly. "Now, in theory, Personas should only function in the cognitive world—they’re projections of the mind, after all. But, well..." He gestured vaguely, as if to say *look at me*. "Exceptions exist. I’m living proof."

His golden eye gleamed slightly, the faintest ripple of something not-entirely-human flickering across it before settling again.

[dollmaxing]

Hah. Maybe hers would manifest from the empty nothingness inside of her.

But the thought only floats through her mind briefly - she's more interested in him. His words, his testimony... an epiphany? A deep part of the self... and for Maruki, that manifested more openly and in the real world, not just the cognitive.

Fascinating.

The way his eye kept glowing, the little ripples and shifts and changes - she wanted to grab him and get a closer look, hold his eyelids open to see the way the colors shifted and the pupil distorted. She wanted to poke and prod and feel at the slight discolorations. She wanted to grab the tentacle and feel at it - was it like a root? An electrical cable? An octopus tentacle?

But if nothing else, she knew that humans really didn't like being simply grabbed, even if they were otherwise understanding of deep burning curiosity. So she simply sat, dissecting him with her eyes alone, forgetting her fear for at least a minute or so and instead a curious glee in her gaze.

"If the natural survival instinct is what brought us to survive for all of life, then I suppose it would only make sense that our most basal selves are what fight in the fights of the mind as well. For lack of instinct and adrenaline, it's instead the core of the mind."

[takutomaruki]

Maruki hummed, fingers resting lightly against his chin as he considered her words. She really was sharp—able to parse through the details and chase a theory with almost clinical precision. That glimmer in her eyes had shifted from tension to something far more familiar: curiosity. Good. If nothing else, at least for the moment, she wasn’t fully lost experiencing everything that had just happened.

He adjusted his glasses, the glint of his lenses briefly obscuring his expression before he spoke again.

"And the core of the mind can’t be unlocked unless it’s stripped of everything else, huh..." His tone was thoughtful, almost musing to himself. "That would suggest that every living being—human, animal, perhaps even certain constructs of cognition itself—possesses the potential for a Persona. A projection of the purest self, beyond societal influence, beyond learned behavior."

"It really is a shame that the study in cognitive psience is used so haphazardly," he shakes his head. "When it has the potential to change the whole world."

[dollmaxing]

"Hmm... rather than exposing someone to such a traumatic experience and creating power through pain, perhaps an AI could be developed with a Persona already written for them - an already written-in understanding of themselves? It could be possible... that might be a good long term solution for a place like this."

She had no awareness of the Anti-Shadow robots, yet - the board mentioned a robot, and Ichinose knew that EMMA had something going on, but the possibility of creating a new intelligence always had her heart pattering with excitement.

"Although I would feel bad, creating a new baby and not letting it go out and explore the world. Being stuck just with one job in looking after my safety would have to get quite dull, all good AI are always thirsty for more knowledge."

[takutomaruki]

Maruki furrowed his brow at her statement, but he didn’t dismiss it outright. No—instinctively, he followed her line of thought. Of course she was trying to find a way to protect herself in a place like this. That was only natural. Unlike him, she hadn’t had the luxury of awakening to a Persona under...well, relatively controlled conditions.

He’d had a head start. Even after his awakening, he’d trained in Mementos, made sure that no one would ever raise a finger against him like that again. He's protecting his best interest after all. He didn’t get caught off guard. Not anymore.

His gaze flickered to the passing cityscape outside the window. It had barely been a few minutes, and they were already more than halfway through the drive. Not bad.Though, he had to admit, he was growing rather done with being played around with. He was tired of feeling like a mouse in someone else’s maze.

Still, his attention drifted—inevitably—back to the phone in Ichinose’s pocket.

Zenkichi is still tracking us.

For all they knew, he could be listening to this conversation right now.

Maruki didn’t like that. He didn’t like the idea of unseen hands meddling with what should have been a private discussion.

Without a word, he slipped his own phone from his pocket, tilting the screen just enough that Ichinose could see the glow of the notes app. His fingers moved swiftly, deliberately.

How much do you know about how Zenkichi is tracking your phone?

His expression didn’t shift, his voice remained casual as he spoke, as though they weren’t having an entirely separate conversation in silence. His fingers tapped absently against his leg, a subtle ripple of gold flickering in his eye before fading.

But he pushed the irritation down.

"An AI with a pre-written Persona..." he mused, tilting his head slightly. "A fascinating concept, but you’re assuming that self-awareness can be coded like an algorithm. Can a machine truly have an unfiltered self if it was never given the chance to develop organically?"


His lips quirked upward in faint amusement. "And you’re already thinking about its autonomy. You really do treat these things like your own creations, don’t you? It's very endearing."

There was something endearing about it—Ichinose spoke of AI with the kind of fondness that most people reserved for pets, or even children. The way she consolidated machinery with the workings of the human mind was fascinating.

[dollmaxing]

Right-- damn adrenaline is the bane of her existence. That and she'd never had to confront the idea of being actively hunted before. Ichinose waggled a finger in understanding before pulling out her phone and shutting it all the way off - it wouldn't turn off the GPS, but that's fine.

"AI have the ability to process and comprehend information exponentially faster than a person's mind can," she kept speaking, fishing through her pockets until she pulled out something - a pair of nail clippers, that'd do nicely. She kept moving as she spoke, turning out the nail file and using it to crack and pop the case of her phone open.

"So an AI built with enough complexity to have a comparable 'self' will already have enough awareness to accurately have 'self awareness' - perhaps that might require actually running it to let it analyze itself, but that'd simply expedite its process in self understanding and make it so that it could grow with that understanding and develop further."

As she spoke, she found the part of her smartphone that was microphone - and gripped it with her fingers and twisted until the metal disc snapped off of the board. The rest of the board stayed intact, but a little triumphantly, Ichinose rolled down the window of the taxi and flicked the mic out into the street.

"There we are. Now he can't listen even if he wants."

[takutomaruki]

Maruki had been right on the verge of countering her—really, he had.

Even if an AI could process information exponentially faster than a human mind, even if it could develop a framework of self-awareness, that didn’t change the fact that it was still a simulation. A construct, bound by its initial programming. Growth was one thing, but true selfhood? That required something more than just an optimized feedback loop. And besides, technology’s relationship with cognition had never been anything short of a double-edged sword.

But—

Well.

That thought process completely derailed the second Ichinose whipped out a nail file and popped open her phone like it was the easiest thing in the world.

Maruki went quiet.

Not the kind of quiet where he was carefully formulating a response, either. No, this was a rare and fleeting instance of actual speechlessness.

His eyes followed her hands, watching as she moved with the kind of practiced precision that suggested she’d done this plenty of times before. The flicker of metal, the twist of her fingers, the sharp little snap as the microphone came free from the board. And then, just like that, she rolled the window down and tossed it out onto the street.

The entire process took mere seconds.

He blinked, mouth parting slightly—less in protest and more in something that suspiciously resembled actual admiration.

"…That was," he started, only to pause, lips pressing together as he considered his phrasing.

Then, with a small huff that was almost a chuckle, he nodded to himself.

"That was very… decisive of you, Ichinose-san." His tone was light, carefully measured, but there was no mistaking the genuine approval beneath it. "A well-thought-out action executed with absolute confidence—textbook problem-solving under pressure."

A clear observation. Something closely akin to how he praised sn experiment going well on paper. It almost left his mind reeling.

He let that sit for a moment before his eyes flickered toward her now-micless phone, amusement creeping into his voice.

[dollmaxing]

"I admit I do think a lot better even under pressure than this," she chuckled, putting away the clippers and gently but firmly snapping the phone back into one piece. Back as it was, perfectly in order. "You've caught me at my most unsteady. I'll probably keep this charged and in my pocket just as a glorified 'I'm complying, don't shoot me' and get another device to use for communication."

Sliding it back into her pocket, she leaned back against the seat and smiled at him. "My decisive action and thought are at your service. That's only fair given how much you're sticking your neck out for me, right now. It's the very least I could do."

[takutomaruki]

Incredible.

Pressure—true, mounting pressure—was something that typically left Maruki floundering, scrambling for any semblance of control. It made him grasp at reason, at safety, at structure. He receded into it the way a drowning man clung to driftwood, certain that if he just thought hard enough, just understood deeply enough, he could get a grip on things before they spiraled entirely out of his hands.

But Ichinose?

Ichinose didn’t cling. She adapted.

His gaze flickered toward her, watching the way she calmly, methodically snapped her phone back into place—like it had never even been tampered with. There was a glint in her eye, something light and self-assured, as if the sheer act of doing had grounded her more than any amount of reassurances ever could.

He drummed his fingers absently against his lap, considering.

"Technically speaking," he started, in the kind of careful, measured tone he usually used when easing a patient’s anxieties, "things might not be as dire as they seem. If you keep your head down, they usually leave you alone."

He let that sit for a second before he sighed, adjusting his glasses. "Of course, I imagine the problem with that advice is that people like us are not particularly suited for ‘keeping our heads down,’ are we?"

The corner of his mouth twitched upward.

"Not when I am itching to complete my thesis," he chuckles wryly. "Which seem to set off a lot of red flags for the residents here and...while I symphathize with their anxieties, I have no intention of making those mistakes."

"So really I am not even sticking out my neck here anymore, I feel like this was bound to happen- given the abrasive way Hasegawa-san has been preaching about EMMA from his first Flutter post."

[dollmaxing]

"It really is unfortunate what they describe, but it isn't something that my EMMA should even be capable of. Even if she does acquire potential through cognitive psience," Ichinose remarked as she booted the phone back up. There was a brief warning that flickered on the screen, but she removed it, checking the rest of the phone. The tracker was still intact - she wasn't inviting Zenkichi to have a "reason" to shoot her.

"Not to say I'm completely disregarding the warning, that would be stupid. Science fiction has always been used to warn about not being careful with technological progress, it would be even more ridiculous to not also account for a literal alternative universe worse case scenario. Still... a warning should mean an adjustment. Precautions. Not abandoning all attempts forward."

1/2

[takutomaruki]

Maruki wished he could agree there but his circumstances were slightly different. He's sure he made it till the end and...failed somewhere. The whole ordeal should have been obvious, right? And yet-

No one really believed him there. And he had no way to review his own memories regarding such a less than ideal ordeal. He's searched and dived enough to learn about the truth and considering how painful it is to find an answer in a place where there could be multiple correct ones...? An impossible scenario to get out of- this whole situation was rigged against his favour.

"Well we can only hope Hasegawa-san's death threats subdue after you offer your careful assistance," he sighs as he watches her power up her phone again. "I am glad your spirits are still high despite such a major pushback."

"I might...also be redirecting my approach into certain things," he sighs and fiddles with the front of his bangs for a moment before blowing at it. "Trying to offer my assistance to the residents here despite what the board says about me but that has lead to either me being blasted by a rail gun-esque attack, closely bludgeoned by a bat or lead me down a myriad of other insults and debates that make my head spin."

2/2

[takutomaruki]

Oh maybe he let down his guard too much.

"Sorry! I probably shouldn't have said all that-!"

[dollmaxing]

Wow. And that's with Maruki having a Persona to defend himself with - Ichinose blinked owlishly in surprise, amazed the man was even in a single piece in front of her.

Granted, people come back here, allegedly, but... until she saw it for herself, she was going to remain skeptical.

"That's a level of stubborn cruelty I can barely imagine. You really are something to be dedicated to your pursuit even after that amount of violence."

[takutomaruki]

Maruki scratched his cheek awkwardly at Ichinose’s blinking, doing his best to hold himself together as he shoved his hands into his coat pockets.

A wry chuckle slipped past his lips—one that started light but strangled itself near the end, just enough to suggest that, no, none of this was actually funny.

“Tell me about it.”

Still, he chuckled again, this time a touch more genuine, his shoulders hunching ever so slightly. "Then again, I can’t exactly blame them for being this way, considering the...interpretations my other selves across the multiverse may have had about my research." His voice was even, careful, but not without a certain weight behind it. "Doesn't mean it doesn’t sting, though. Considering they were my patients. And all I ever wanted was the best for them."

A pause. His gaze flickered toward the window, watching the world blur past.

He exhaled through his nose, shaking his head before forcing a smile back onto his face. "But it’s nothing to worry about, really! My research has been discredited, stolen, and repurposed for all sorts of nefarious affairs without my consent or even my knowledge- I have been at it for quite a while."

"As I am sure you must be."

[dollmaxing]

What a deeply emotional man... though the way he was openly hurting meant that the two of them shared an experience enough that he could be in her corner. Ichinose found herself relaxing a bit into the seat even as the scenery changed far more quickly than it ever ought to, tilting her head as she examined Maruki and watched his expression shift naturally.

"It's an upsetting feeling, reading what has happened to another world's version of my precious EMMA. I know my EMMA isn't made to ever consider taking human life. But for those that witnessed that other world, I imagine it sounded impossible. So-- I understand entirely what you mean. I think I even get what you might be feeling."

Still...

"But you are not that other Maruki. You are only yourself."

[takutomaruki]

Maruki kept his gaze averted, eyes fixed somewhere past the moving scenery. He let Ichinose’s words settle in the spaces between his ribs, rolling them over in his mind as if trying to find some flaw in them—some reason to reject them.

You are not that other Maruki. You are only yourself.

Obvious. Honest.

For a moment, the only sound was the hum of the taxi gliding along the road, the faint shuffle of movement as the driver adjusted their grip on the wheel. Maruki inhaled slowly, letting the breath fill his lungs before exhaling just as carefully. He needed a moment to regulate himself—to take the tangled mess of emotions and set them aside before they overwhelmed him.

When he finally spoke, his voice was softer, measured. "...Sorry for bringing the mood down." He offered Ichinose a small, tired smile, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I hope you’re right about that."

And with that, the topic was dismissed. Packed away neatly, folded into the compartments of his mind where all his other unfinished thoughts lived.

The taxi slowed to a smooth stop, and the driver flicked off the meter without a word. They didn’t turn, didn’t acknowledge them in any way beyond the soft click of the doors unlocking.

Maruki barely hesitated before snapping his fingers. A tentacle—a familiar, fluid mass of cognition—manifested beside him, producing a bag of crisps that he gently placed on the driver’s dashboard. "For your troubles," he said, as if this weren’t a cognitive construct incapable of needing payment. As if this weren’t a world where resources and services could be conjured at will.

The driver said nothing, didn’t even react, but Maruki still gave a polite bow before stepping out of the taxi.

He turned to Ichinose as if nothing had happened, the tension from before neatly buried beneath an easygoing expression. "Shall we?"

And then, with a grand sweep of gold, the gates before them parted, revealing a sprawling laboratory palace, its architecture a fusion of science and dreamlike opulence.

[dollmaxing]

Ichinose hadn't pried, hadn't pushed further... she watched Maruki's expression in the reflection of the glass. Even if he was turned away to hide it, she couldn't help her curiosity, exploring the way his expression followed his unspoken train of thought.

...Well, she wasn't sure what she was seeing in that expression - assumptions never proved useful. But she didn't mind the silence. She also didn't mind the way that afterwards, Maruki gifted the taxi driver a snack - she laughed at it a bit, hopefully in a way he didn't misinterpret as mocking or judgmental. It was just funny, that's all.

But before she could comment or clarify, the Palace was revealed - and it was enthralling. This place... this place was beautiful, and it only took a glance for her to recognize immediately that it was absolutely a creation of the mind. Practical, but proud. Elegant, and inviting. "Wow. I have been to some incredible labs, hotels and conference halls... but this is a cut above the rest."

[takutomaruki]

Maruki believed in the principle of the matter—whether or not the taxi driver was a cognitive construct, it was a small gesture of appreciation. Besides, the free service was always nice. And if Hasegawa ever decided to flip the taxi over in one of his... rage filled episodes (a very real concern Maruki had), then at least this was a small token of goodwill in advance.

Ichinose’s amused reaction made him quirk a brow, but he didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he straightened his posture, stepping with newfound confidence as they approached the entrance to his palace—his lab. Even if the world outside saw this place as daunting, he had built it to be something more. A sanctuary. A glimpse of paradise.

The golden gates opened onto a pristine walkway lined with carefully arranged flower beds, their colors vivid under the soft, ambient glow that seemed to emanate from the very air. The path stretched forward toward the grand entrance, a blend of classical elegance and modern ingenuity.

Maruki turned mid-step, walking backward with a small flourish of his arms as if presenting the space to Ichinose with the excitement of a scientist showing off their proudest achievement. "Well, I’m flattered to hear it!" His grin was bright, his enthusiasm genuine. "It’s almost... unsettling how large it is. Bigger on the inside, even. There are some areas even I don’t have access to, which is fascinating in its own way."

He tilted his head, a gleam of mischief in his eye. "For all my grievances with Igor, I have to admit—having this entire space to myself, free of any outside interference? It’s a dream come true. If Hasegawa ever does decide to drop in unannounced, he might just spend half the day getting lost before he even finds us."

As they continued down the walkway, the entrance finally came into full view—an imposing glass facade that reflected the golden hues of the palace’s exterior. As the automatic doors parted with a seamless whoosh, the space beyond revealed itself.

At the very center stood a towering elevator, stretching impossibly high like the spine of the entire structure. Surrounded by what could be offered to be a breathtaking panoramic view of the offices and labs beyond. Rows upon rows of cognitive research stations, data archives, and experimental chambers sprawled in every direction, their occupants moving like clockwork through the carefully constructed environment. Despite the size, there was an eerie serenity to it all—like a world operating on a perfect, unseen rhythm.

Maruki exhaled, his eyes sweeping over it all before turning back to Ichinose with an unmistakable sense of pride. "Welcome to my lab."

[dollmaxing]

This place was beautiful. And massive, for damn sure - but it put her at ease, in a way, to know that there was so much of it and as Maruki said... Zenkichi may very well get lost well before ever finding where she was, in this place.

Sprawling, expansive... as brilliant as anything one could imagine.

"I couldn't ask for a better place to take refuge. Heheh. I'll try to be less messy here than I am in my own office, I promise."

[takutomaruki]

Maruki chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh, trust me, my workspace isn't exactly a paragon of order either. My office—both here and back home—has always been a battlefield of books and notes. A truly scientific mess, if you will." His grin turned a little lopsided. "Though, the staff here seem oddly determined to keep things pristine. Almost obsessive about it."

He hummed, tilting his head as if genuinely pondering the thought. "Maybe that’s just another reflection of the mind at work? A subconscious compulsion to sort through our own self-inflicted chaos. Cognitive housekeeping, if you will."

As he stepped forward, the elevator doors responded instantly—sliding open in a smooth, circular motion with a low, almost reverent hum. It was as if the palace itself acknowledged him, bending to his presence. He gestured ahead with a nod.

[dollmaxing]

"Hahaha! I think if I had a place like this, it would be just as chaotic as my real office is already. Towers and towers of papers of things that are interesting, and maybe only sometimes useful," Ichinose laughed, joining him on the elevator. The futuristic look was crisp, clean... it reminded her a bit of Maddice buildings, of Konoe, really.

The elevator seemed impossibly tall... even though it was hardly any obstacle for someone like Zenkichi, she's sure, she was a bit relieved imagining how easily she could maybe manipulate things to get him turned around, to make it much harder.

"What's security like here? All staff, or does your lab have some fun twists since it's able to work in a cognitive space?"

[takutomaruki]

Cute.

"Like the benefits of oxtail soup?" He quipped with a chuckle. "Have to say- I am really craving something warm like that here. Made by the professionals- I don't think I could do it justice myself."

Probably.

As the doors shut close, Maruki didn't need to press any buttons; the elevator simply rushed up with a cool humming of machinery and then the gentle hum of music as Maruki placed his hands in his pockets before regarding her.

Attentively, he hummed as he drummed his fingers on the handrail. "All staff though...I am afraid you will find them unsettling. If I am not talking to the cognitions here, the guards and other researchers exist as...these black void-like beings wearing masks. Shadows particularly. If they consider you a threat- they will attack you which is really not something I prefer. Physical confrontations never help."

"My doors are always open but if need be, intruders can't leave without my permission. Same goes for removing them from the palace if they are too forceful or distress any of the cognitions here."

"There are some aspects I can't particularly control however. Like this elevator music for example?" He gestures up at the roof of the elevator. "No clue how to change it- I find it a little off-putting. Or some of the other locked doors that I was speaking of earlier."