Polychrome squirmed a little, her eyes still closed. "Mmmm. Nothing hurts. Whatever you've got me on is really working. And I can think clearly, too." She stretched, then stopped. Her eyes flew open in shock. Oh. I had thought that the emigration process would include a basic primer on her situation.
Celestia quickly said, "May I give you the explanation as quickly as possible?"
"Yes! ... Huh." Ah. There's the primer. I wonder, why didn't she ask me? I guess that was just too much for me to give permission for.
Polychrome sat up and looked around, eyes flashing from place to place. After five seconds, her eyes settled on Bright Black. She frowned and raised an eyebrow. Then she gave the same treatment to Celestia. "So, did I somehow get signed up to have my brain frozen, and this is ten thousand years from now and you're all aliens trying to discover who and what those people living on Earth were?"
Hikaru was speechless. Sure, I may not know what to say, but why isn't Celestia doing more?
But after two seconds, she shook her head. "No, that's... Well. I suppose... but..." Polychrome peered around at Celestia's flank. "Okay, so that fits... Well. I suppose if you could make this, then you could have made something vaguely plausible instead. At least you're up-front about... all of this."
Celestia smiled and said, "I think you're going to be all right. I'll be back if you need me." What? Already? I guess she does have more direct access, so she can tell.
Hikaru tentatively said, "Are you okay?"
Polychrome took a deep breath. "I guess so, but get back to me on that." She called to Celestia before she was quite out the door. "Thank you for the flowers!" Excuse me?
Celestia corrected her, "He thought of them on his own."
"Is that so." Polychrome sat up and looked to Bright Black skeptically. Oh come on. I've remembered them before. Is the fact that I'm holding them not enough?
Well, there's one obvious step to go further... He offered them to her. She accepted them and took a deep sniff. "They smell... delicious?" She frowned at them slightly, then suddenly stopped. "Wait. I can sit up on my own. I can walk."
Hikaru and Bright Black nodded. Typical. Neglected to apologize for the slight. But this time I suppose the situation gives her a good excuse.
She mused, "I'd probably hurt myself until I learn how... or... not?" Polychrome narrowed her eyes. "I literally can't hurt myself? So, this can't be real. Oh wow, it really isn't real."
Hikaru said, "You are real. But you're... how to put it."
She tapped her head. "Yes, I know, I'm now entirely in computers - she beamed that into my head. But..." she paused and looked at her hoof. "Why do flowers smell good in here? Why do I feel like me?" After a moment, she answered her own question, almost reciting: "Because I am still a human. Smelling is part of what I am, and I feel like myself because everything that makes me feel like me is now here. Well, at least I think it is." She thought silently for a few seconds, then lifted a hoof and pointed at Bright Black. "What about you? What are you?"
"I'm still in my same old body. Bright Black here is a sort of puppet in your world."
"So you're not 'computed'? Do I seem the same as before?"
"So far so good! As for the differences? I chalk that up to your huge change in circumstances."
"I'll say! My back doesn't hurt anymore!" She finally got up, rolling out of bed. "And my feet! No arthritis! It's more than that - I haven't felt this good since, well, a few days before we met!" She'd just broken her arm, and that did bother her for ages, didn't it? By the time she was really over it, we were well past our prime. She closed her eyes for three seconds, then focused on Bright Black with a mischievous smile. "Well. There were some times that felt better than this... get over here."
Hikaru nudged Bright Black forward; Polychrome put a hoof over his shoulder and kissed him. The ponypad's view turned so Hikaru saw them from the side. After six seconds, they parted; she released an appreciative "Well!"
As they nuzzled noses, Hikaru said, "I'm sorry, but I'm feeling like a third party here. There's no kissing interface."
Celestia, offscreen, whispered, "There are several interfaces, but until now, it would have been inappropriate to try." On the side of the screen appeared a sort of pull-down menu, set to 'full auto'. Hikaru flipped to the next option, 'follow head'. This still feels ridiculous. How could Remy do it? Assuming he did. Maybe they just looked adorable at each other.
As she came up for another, he shook his head. "I'm sorry, could we talk a little more? Maybe hug? It's cute to see us hugging."
Her look was pained. "You can only see? You're only here through a straw! Not even that - a coffee stirrer!"
He nodded. "For now, that's it. I understand more is coming later." Or if I get the upgraded probes.
"Well, I can feel you! Can you come closer?" She pat the side of the bed. Hikaru gestured forward, and Bright Black sat; she pushed him upright and sat on his lap. The camera shifted to Bright Black's immediate first person view, an extreme closeup of Polychrome's face.
She asked, "Where are you?"
"A hotel room in Florida."
"Where are Daisybright and Bemisted? Their kids?" 'Bemisted'? I guess Mikio has been preemptively given a placeholder name. I wonder where it came from.
"No one else knows you're alive."
She opened and closed her mouth several times. "Why?"
"The law is behind the times. Legally, you're not you." - "Oh." - "As long as they think you're dead, I'm fine. If they find out you're alive, it's murder."
"Seems like it'll be awfully lonely." Gears were turning. Nice to see her thinking a bit more strategically rather than catastrophizing. Of course, that fits - her tendency to freak out was inversely proportional to the severity of the situation, and this is a big deal.
"There are plenty of ponies here: natives, human visitors, and I'd bet some immigrants like you. Just, you can't reveal your situation to the visitors. I imagine you can even visit Daisybright and Juniper, and anypony else - you just won't be able to let them know who you are. I'm sure Celestia would change your voice."
Rather than answer, she kissed again. Keeping in mind the 'head follow' notion, Hikaru tried to do something with it. After a few seconds, she broke off. "Well, that was... different!"
"Not working?"
She gave a cockeyed grin. "If the kids had brought a Renoir home from school, it wouldn't have meant as much as their scribbles."
That's a very positive way of putting it.
"Scribble on me."
Hikaru closed his eyes and put his fingers on the bridge of his nose. She's serious. I've got her in happy mode and she wants to get physical. Now what do I do?
"Never mind... I see how it is." Shoot. There went happy mode. Or did it?
"You do? I'm trying to work that out myself."
"Like I said, you're not really here. But. Are you up for more 'scribbles'? Just a little to get you started? You might get used to it."
Hikaru sighed. That didn't go nearly as badly as I was expecting. "Sure. It's not that I don't want to be with you - I do..."
"But I look quite different now. I suppose it should bother me if you made the switch perfectly easily!" Wordless relief flooded him.
He'd found a preferred interface and was halfway decent with it by the time they left the cottage. No one was waiting outside; there was a note. Bright Black moved to read it, but Polychrome was quicker. "BB and P: welcome party moved to the beach." She looked to Bright Black. "Who are BB and P?"
"I'm Bright Black. P is you."
She halfway opened her mouth, and just stood there. After five solid seconds, she suddenly said, "Polychrome? My name is Polychrome? And you're Bright Black? Wait. You even said that, I think, and I just knew what it meant without even thinking about it."
Hikaru and Bright Black shrugged. "Come on, let's go to the beach."
She followed slowly, head against his neck. "So. I get that we're My Little Ponies, but I'm a little fuzzy on why."
"Do you mean, why did the one world-dominating AI for Earth end up being pony-based?"
"Not what I was asking, but I guess that covers it. Really, world domination?"
"Most people don't realize it yet. A bit of a light touch so far."
They came around the last bush and saw the beach. Hikaru had been expecting three ponies, but there were dozens. Closest were the three friends; Celestia stood in the rear.
As Polychrome came into view, cheers erupted. They picked up to a trot and some of the crowd came forward. Sweetsong flew ahead of the others, her dress billowing. Hikaru introduced her, "This is Sweetsong. Great singer and voice artist, and good with guitar-like instruments too. Here's Coconut Cream, baker and a very quick study. And Beachberry. She, umm. She's a travel agent, but it seems odd to describe her as one."
Beachberry smiled. "Enough of us. We've got some of the other immigrants over for the occasion!"
Hikaru raised a finger; Bright Black raised a hoof. "Why? I thought we'd sort of ease..."
Polychrome shushed away his comment. "These are my new neighbors! And, believe it or not, I'm at 100%. I am no longer made of eggshells, nor am I easily confused. Mmkay?"
Hikaru frowned. I guess she always was in her element at a party surrounded by strangers. "Sorry. Enjoy yourself."
She took a moment, kissed Bright Black once more, and dove in.
After a minute, the phone rang, pulling him away from the pad. He murmured, "Just a moment - got a phone call, probably about your supposed death."
She turned and nodded in acknowledgement. He sent her a kiss, and the screen went black but for the printed question, "Would you like help re-visualizing?"
To put me in the mood for her being dead again? "No." He let it ring a few more times while he coerced his mood himself. Once he felt he was adequately somber, he picked up the phone. "Maeda."
It was Mikio. "Hi, Dad. I got the news. How are you holding up?"
A deep breath. "I spent the last year burying her."
"You seemed more hopeful about it the last couple months."
Hikaru didn't reply.
"Miroku said... eh, wrong time to talk about it."
"What?"
"Seriously, bad time. She'll always live on in our hearts, right?"
"To the heat death of the universe."
A long pause.
"I can't figure out whether that's outrageously optimistic or absolutely pessimistic."
"Both."
Mikio began laughing in a crying-like way, and soon it was simply crying. After a minute, he said, "Good night, dad. Love you."
"I love you too."
The phone down, Hikaru turned back to the pad. Introductions were continuing as it faded in - a unicorn mare was saying, "... the cancer went metastatic again. I figured that third time was not the charm for me, so when princess Celestia gave me a chance, I took it."
Polychrome asked, "How much do you see your family?"
The unicorn sighed. "My son and daughter-in-law, all the time. The others, not at all."
Hikaru spoke up. "I'm back. It was Mikio." He'd forgotten about the filter so when the name was substituted as "Bemisted" he rolled his eyes.
Polychrome frowned at him sharply. "Don't roll your eyes at him like that! He doesn't know!"
"It wasn't at him. It was at the word filter."
Her hard look softened. "Sorry."
'Sorry'? What? It slipped right out - "Who are you and what did you do with... oops." Oh no! Undo!
But Bright Black had said instead, "You couldn't have known." Now, that's... interesting. I just got saved from a major faux pas. But they got saved from something much bigger. By suggesting that the uploading process isn't a faithful reproduction, that would have undermined every uploaded human here. "Dear Princess Celestia, Thank you.", he muttered. A wave of exhaustion rolled over him.
Meanwhile, they had gone back to introductions.
Seriously, though - is that like her at all? Could replacing her abstract reasoning have improved her executive functions enough to stop her from running her mouth? Based on what I just said, I could use some improvement on that. Or - obvious answer - she got censored like I did. Hmm. Well, Bright Black is looking pensive, but she doesn't. So either she got it right herself, or being censored was a lot less surprising to her, or she's a better actor at hiding her surprise. But she's been caught flat-footed repeatedly so far. I think she just actually really apologized. This is a good thing in itself, but it's not what - who - I'm used to.
The introductions finished, Polychrome looked to Bright Black and nodded towards a picnic blanket with a few bowls. Hikaru didn't object, so they turned to wander in its direction. As he yawned, she quietly said, "You've seemed bothered. What's going on in there?"
Hikaru thought over what to say. Said calmly, shouldn't be a problem. "You apologized. That was really surprising."
Polychrome bit her lip. "I suppose it would be. I think it's because everything doesn't hurt all the time anymore - I'm way less crabby. But what if I am different?"
"Love you anyway."
"And if I don't want to be who you remember?"
Hikaru shrugged. "It might be sad. In any case, how could I expect you to change yourself just for me?"
"I..." Polychrome gave him a peck on the cheek. "I'm going to hold you to that."
I wonder what she has in mind there?
"Looks like you're fading. Go home and get some rest."
"I'm already in bed."
She looked at him strangely. "Oh. What happens to Bright Black when you're not around? You just stood there when you were out for the call."
Typical. She tells me to go to sleep, I'm trying to go to sleep, and she asks me an interesting question. "I don't know. Sometimes I find him where I left him, sometimes not. Hasn't mattered so far."
"I have no idea how we're going to handle it when Juniper or Daisybright show up. Do I live separately? Will I just be invisible to them?"
"Probably the latter."
"But then I can't really live there and make it my place."
Hikaru dragged himself through a comprehensive answer. "Probably she'll copy the whole cottage, and you'll be in one, and our family visits in the other, and I'll be in both at the same time. And you can see and hear a sort of ghost of them. Might not be that, but it'll be at least as good as that."
Polychrome blinked for a few moments, and looked into the distance. "Yeah." She then looked straight to him. "I recognize that tone. Go to sleep. Sorry for keeping you up."
He made a kissing sound and went to sleep.