riverviewlogs | [open] i can't forget it

[ Cisco arrives right on time, a big pink box full of donuts in one hand and a carrier with two coffees in the other. Tony had only asked for the donuts, but donuts without coffee just seems kind of wrong. It's Cisco's first time actually visiting Tony's workspace. He's excited to see it, and especially excited to meet the new inhabitant. What can he say? He is a nerd and likes robots - even the incompetent ones. He'd made some pretty terrible little robots in his day, and he had loved every single one of them.

He's a little more cautious about the AI - though he digs the name - simply because it's more like meeting another actual person, just one without a body.

When Tony answers his knock, Cisco is beaming from ear to ear. ]

Take me to your robots.

[Tony stares at him for a moment, and then down at the offerings Cisco has brought. And then gives an amused little snort and steps out of the doorway so that the other man can come inside.

The workshop clearly isn't completely set up yet, but it's getting there. There's a large tool chest pressed up against one wall, and a couple of surfaces that are clearly going to become worktables if the pieces of scrap metal piled haphazardly are any indication. Tucked into one corner is a desk and a bank of monitors. One wall is still open to the wiring.

And then there's Dum-E, happily wheeling along, main strut twisting back and forth like the bot is trying to inspect everything. He stops when he registers someone new coming in, camera lifting high to get a good look at him.]

[ Cisco gives a quick glance around the workshop in progress, curious about it and the setup Tony will end up with, but the space itself isn't the main attraction. He spots Dum-E quickly and his smile only gets brighter, somehow. When he sees that camera raising up to look at him, Cisco doesn't hesitate; he waves excitedly, saying: ]

Hi, Dum-E! I don't know how much you can understand me, but I'm Cisco.

[ He uses the tone of voice that would be appropriate when talking to either a very precocious baby or a toddler. He comes over to one of those worktables and sets the coffee and donuts on a piece of sheet metal that's a little rusted at the edges, then immediately walks over to Dum-E, crouching down so he can look at its joints and wheels and all the rest of it. Cisco glances over his shoulder at Tony, says: ]

He's gorgeous.

[ Not a hint of irony, there. ]

He's a pain in the ass, is what he is.

[But there's an open fondness in Tony's voice as he watches, leaning one hip against the nearest worktable. Dum-E's arm tips low to study Cisco as much as he's being studied in return, but Tony's not particularly worried about either of them. For all his easy insults, he knows Dum-E isn't careless enough to actually hurt anybody, and he knows Cisco well enough to trust him around the bot.

In fact, Tony just leans over to snag one of the coffees as the two get acquainted with each other.]

A lot of the base work was pretty kludged together and I never got around to redoing most of it. He manages okay, when he's not getting himself stuck in corners.

Kinda reminds me of this housecleaning bot I built in high school. Never really got the hang of corners, either. Except Dum-E's clearly lasted way longer.

[ Cisco had been so proud of that damn robot, that he'd scraped together from stuff he'd scrounged and saved and borrowed and found lying around in recycling centers and scrap yards. It had only lasted about a month before the thing died entirely. At the time, he'd been pretty sure Dante sabotaged it, and that's definitely a possibility, but looking back, he's surprised it hung in as long as it did, considering he'd basically built it out of trash, in his bedroom. ]

How old is he, anyway?

I dunno, thirty? Somewhere around there.

[It's a depressing reminder of exactly how old he is, but can't be helped.]

I built him in college. He's had his fair share of repairs, but not much has changed.

[For the most part, it just never occurs to him too. He could probably rewrite Dum-E's code to make him more useful, but the bot has more personality than most of his fellow businessmen. Tony's not about to change that just because he got himself turned around in the workshop again. It may be why he's never really bothered with getting a pet. He never needed one.

Plus there was that whole saving his life thing. Tony can't exact discount that, either.]

There are a couple others modeled off his design, but it looks like they got to stay home.

[ Probably, if Cisco had just a dash more of the social graces, it would occur to him not to say what he says next. But even though he doesn't fit the nerd stereotype in a lot of ways, he can occasionally be a little unthinking when it comes to politeness. So when Tony says Dum-E is around thirty, Cisco's eyebrows lift high and he leans back from the robot a few inches, says: ]

Wow! So, like, six years older than me, ish. And still lookin' great.

[ Even if Tony had done repairs, keeping the robot working for that long is a testament to how well he'd built it, to start with. Sure, there are obviously some quirks, but for it to still be running, the fundamentals must have been really solid, especially for something he built in college. ]

Maybe they'll turn up one of these days. Lots of people get stuff from home now and then. I haven't, yet, which is sort of weird.

[ Cisco stands back up, patting Dum-E on the arm very gently, then coming over to where Tony is and taking one of the coffees, himself. ]

And what about... Jarvis, right? When'd you... make him or code him or whatever?

[A faintly wry look flickers across Tony's face at the reminder of the age difference, but he lets it go. Not like he doesn't stick his foot in his mouth at every opportunity.

Besides, the question is a much more interesting thing to focus on. The smile Tony throws Cisco is borderline mischievous.]

Hey, J?

Sir?

[The second voice that comes is smooth, polite, British, and very much not Tony's. It seems to come from everywhere and nowhere in the room. Or from the various, almost invisible speakers Tony's been installing in the walls. One of the two.]

How long have you been running?

My programming initially launched January 10th, 1994. Which you are well aware. Is your memory failing you, sir?

[The smile Tony was wearing stretched into something that looked almost painful, but so, so genuine. And even more pleased at the AI giving him shit.]

Just making a point. JARVIS, meet Cisco.

A pleasure.

[ When Jarvis's voice suddenly fills the room, it startles Cisco, even if he should have been expecting it. He jumps, turning instinctively and searching all around for the source of the voice. Which is probably exactly what Tony was going for. After that initial moment of shock, however, he smiles thinly, nervous but thrilled, too. The way the voice is coming from everyone at once reminds him of Gideon in the time vault, which is not so great. But the voice itself is very different, and the room much larger and less ominous, so Cisco swallows and forces himself to relax. ]

Yeah, uh. Nice to meet ya, JARVIS.

[ And he lifts a hand to wave, but then pauses after a moment, turning to ask Tony: ] Are there, um.... cameras? Can he see if I...? [ He gives another little wave. He doesn't know the extent of the AI's capabilities and senses. Clearly, sophisticated enough to process spoken commands and to have a conversation (one with humor, even), but he might not have visual sensors, or even if he has them, they might not be up and running, yet. ]

You're not the first AI I met, but you're definitely already the funniest.

Sir has a rather particular sense of humor. But the thought is appreciated.

[It's dusty dry, the way the AI says it, and Tony just snorts in response. He hasn't missed the sudden tension thrumming through Cisco, though, so he lets off the verbal sparring, much as he's tempted to just keep going. He's missed JARVIS in a way that he hadn't even been able to quantify until the AI was back with him in all his glory.

But he smiles a little and sips at his coffee and tries to give Cisco a minute to get himself back together.]

There are cameras and he's got sensors. They're not all set up yet, but J knows he's got full run of the place. He used to run the entire house, back home.

[ When Tony says there are cameras, Cisco can't help it: his eyes flick up to the light fixtures, the bit of open wall, the corners of the ceiling, all the other places where cameras could be hidden. It's just a reflex, and he makes himself look down. Deliberately, he goes over to Dum-E and just sits himself cross-legged on the floor, so he can get a better look at his wheel situation. And a little bit for company, which is stupid, but also, whatever. ]

JARVIS, did Tony program you to only call him 'sir', or is that you being sassy about him giving you a snooty name and accent?

[ It's a valid question! ]

Sounds very fancy. How's an AI run a house?

[One of Tony's eyebrows lifts as Cisco retreats to go hang out with Dum-E, but he just lingers where he is, sipping at the coffee. Dum-E seems gratified by the attention anyway, claw dipping down in Cisco's direction.]

I simply take after my namesake.

[Tony clears his throat at that, eyes flicking briefly towards the ceiling.]

I modeled him after someone I knew. So a lot of the quirks are. Yeah. J's grown into his own though.

I am delighted to hear you say so.

Oh. Uh, sorry. Awkward.

[ It's one thing to poke fun at a name and an accent when he thought they were merely programming choices Tony had made, for this or that reason. But if those aspects of JARVIS are based on an actual person, it's suddenly much ruder. (Even if he is kinda right about the snootiness). ]

Are AI... common, in your world? We haven't got them, yet, where I'm from. The theory exists, but it's still only that.

[ Which, yes, does contradict what Cisco had said only like a minute ago about JARVIS not being the first AI he's met. ]

[Tony waves off the apology with his free hand, looking faintly amused. It's not something either of them are likely to be too offended by, though JARVIS can be oddly touchy sometimes. He seems to be behaving himself at the moment, though. Maybe he registers that Cisco is someone Tony likes.]

Common, no. I mean there's Siri and all that. But if you mean real AI's, pretty much just mine.

[Which does sort of imply more than one. But Tony's not real eager to bring up Friday while JARVIS is around. Or the reason he'd needed her instead.]

Hey, that's funny, we got Siri, too. Definitely would not say that qualifies even as half AI. I mean, not the version we got where I come from, anyway, which is basically just a furby in a phone.

[ But Cisco doesn't have too much time to make fun of Siri because he's picking up on the implications of what Tony is saying, even if he is not making them entirely explicit. And so he asks slowly: ]

So... you're basically saying... not only is JARVIS the first real, proper AI, but also you... invented that tech?

[ The tech, the programming - he's sure Tony was partly working based off a foundation of work by others, but if he was still the first one to get it to work, that's a pretty fucking huge deal. ]

Pretty much.

[It's not really bragging, the way he says it. Ot at least not trying to bed. Just kind of matter-of-fact. That's exactly what he did.]

If there are any others, I haven't heard about them. But I haven't made JARVIS all that public either.

[Maybe it's selfish, but it's not something that ever occurred to him. Not before, anyway. Now, with the knowledge of just how badly wrong an AI can go, Tony's even less likely to want to share.]

[ Tony can downplay the significance of what he's just said, but it's still not lost on Cisco. Any of his uneasiness, about the cameras or JARVIS, are forgotten. Cisco just grins up at Tony from where he is sitting on the floor; something about the way this particular kind of delight sits on his face makes him seem younger for it. For him, intellectual excitement has always come across as something more like childish glee. ]

Of course not. I mean, that's just gotta be twenty different kinds of complicated. And probably dangerous, too. 'Cause you know there'd be hackers and thieves and zealots and shit.

[ It is perfectly logical to Cisco, that Tony would want to keep knowledge about JARVIS relatively contained, for the same reasons (okay, analogous reasons) they kept S.T.A.R. Labs's affiliation with the Flash a secret. It just made things easier, and it wasn't harming anybody. ]

Has Tony explained to you where we are, yet?

[ He addresses that to JARVIS, trying to be careful not to just speak to Tony about JARVIS, but to loop the AI into the conversation, too. ]

[The smile that flickers over Tony's face his both dry and more than a little humorless. Dangerous. He's not kidding.

JARVIS gets there before anything Tony would have said, which is probably a good thing.]

Our current location being somewhere other than earth, you mean? Indeed. The lack of satellites is both telling and rather unsettling.

[Which, okay, maybe not a great thing to make it clear that JARVIS has access to satellites. But Tony's not about to contradict the AI, not when he's apparently making friends. Or whatever it is that's going on here. Not like it makes a difference here, anyway.

Between Cisco sitting with Dum-E and staring up in JARVIS' vague direction with that bright smile, Tony feels oddly like he's supervising some sort of playdate. He smothers the amused grin that threatens to bubble up before it can get too far.]

J probably has a better handle on exactly where we are than I do.

Edited 2017-09-14 22:02 (UTC)

[ Cisco, for his part, seems to think absolutely nothing of JARVIS's access to satellites (or lack thereof, now). He'd been so excited, the first time he was allowed to work on anything involving retasking the S.T.A.R. Labs satellite, before the particle accelerator exploded, before Team Flash. By now, it is thoroughly banal. Just a part of everyday work, like googling something.

He is unaware of Tony's amusement, and of the vague ridiculousness of the way he is sitting on the ground with a semi-functional robot, making friends. Even if he were aware, he probably wouldn't mind. He's given up trying to pretend not to be interested in the things he's interested in. He never really fooled anyone. He is just a guy who loves machines, and Dum-E and JARVIS are very interesting machines. ]

Yeah, but it's not just not Earth. You're in a whole other part of the multiverse. See, I come from a parallel Earth to the one you and Tony know. One where nobody's heard of a dude named Tony Stark, or Iron Man. Which is a total shame if you ask me.

[ There's not a hint of irony in the way Cisco says that; and why would there be? He knows that Tony used to design weapons, sure. But that was before he'd become a superhero, before he'd changed his path and started trying to help the world. Cisco isn't going to hold past sins against him, and as for any more current ones, he doesn't know of them. ]

Does JARVIS have, uh, any kind of holographic body, or anything like that? Or is he just a voice?

[ The only other AI Cisco had met had projected a vaguely human face, had formed herself a hologram out of light to stand in the room as a physical presence with Cisco and Barry and Caitlin. Cisco is wondering if JARVIS can do the same. ]

[The statement startles a huff of a laugh out of Tony, not least because it's not a sentiment he's been hearing much of lately. Or ever. But he just shakes his head, still smiling a little even as Cisco's question sends a pang through him.

He's had a holographic manifestation of JARVIS' code, of course. But considering how that went the last time, it's not something Tony particularly wants to bring up. That had just been a diagram, anyway. Not JARVIS. Not really.

So when he answers, it's with a small shrug.]

Nah. He's never wanted or needed anything like that. Unless I've been doing you wrong, J?

I can do without, sir, thank you. And I am not simply a voice, I am a program.

[As if to prove it, the lights suddenly dim, then flicker back to life. Tony snorts and rolls his eyes.]

Point proven, thank you HAL.

[ It doesn't take much to guess that there is probably a story there, behind Tony's laugh. To Cisco it had seemed a fairly standard and straightforward question, but apparently not. Maybe it's an old joke, between him and JARVIS. Maybe there is some history involving holograms he is unaware of. ]

Of course. I didn't mean just a voice like it was a bad thing.

[ Cisco gets to his feet again, says: ]

I like you, JARVIS. I like your style. You ever need anything and Tony's busy or in trouble, you call me, okay?

[ Maybe it's a bit presumptuous, true. Tony has other friends here, friends from his own world who he has known longer and doubtless trusts more. But Cisco still thinks it is worth saying. Just in case there's some huge crisis, and the heroic types around this place all get themselves in a bad situation. He wants JARVIS to know that he's an ally. ]

And I like you, too, Dum-E. But you don't seem like the calling type.

The thought is appreciated, Mr Ramon. If you have need of my assistance, you may also contact me.

[It makes Tony raise an eyebrow, though he doesn't argue the point. Either JARVIS has taken a serious liking to Cisco or he's just picked up on Tony's fondness for the other engineer, but either way that's a friendship he should probably be worried about. He isn't, really, but when does he ever make good decisions?

Dum-E gives a little electronic whistle like an agreement, but who ever knows what's going on exactly in the bot's metaphorical mind. Tony leans over to pat his chassis lightly anyway.]

They make themselves known when they need to. But feel fry to swing by whenever you want, I'm probably just going to be getting things set up for a while yet.

[open] i can't forget it

for tony

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