Work Text:
“I see now why 1.0 complains about SecUnit depictions in media,” Three said sourly.
On the big display, the plucky protagonists were stepping over the bodies of the SecUnits guarding the corporate facility they were infiltrating. One stopped to kick a SecUnit corpse in the head and drop a quip about it.
Iris could tell she wasn’t the only one in the room who had become very uncomfortable very quickly. She was relieved that SecUnit was on Preservation right now; it was a lot more sensitive than Three was. She was also relieved when Peri stopped the film and returned to its media selection screen.
“Well, that was unpleasant,” it said. “My apologies, Three, I was not screening for such content. SecUnit does not usually let me filter for violence against SecUnits in our media.”
“Violence?” said Three, quirking an eyebrow. “No. The violence is acceptable. It is the lack of realism.”
“What?” said Iris. She caught Matteo and Karime echoing the same confusion.
“Those SecUnits would not be deployed in such an indefensible position,” it scoffed, “and they would certainly not be communicating out loud. And a SecUnit falling from that flamethrower? Ridiculous. Even without armour, our center-mass inorganics are capable of withstanding prolonged exposure to over five-hundred degrees Celsius, and while that would certainly destroy the organic parts and cause permanent shutdown, it would not be immediate. It would be able to fight for at least four minutes, even without its lungs. It is unrealistic and depicts us as insultingly fragile.”
Iris shuddered at the imagery that conjured. She did her best to shove it out of her mind, but it seemed stuck there; burnt flesh crusted against warping steel. She could almost smell it.
“Well– that's–” stumbled Kaede. “It would have been better if they hadn't died at all.”
Three seemed confused. “But then the Fireflies could not have infiltrated the building.” It tilted its head to the side. “Perhaps if it was just one SecUnit against all of them, and they were very lucky, they could have made it.”
“They didn't have to kill them!” burst Karime. “They could have found a way to– to help them.”
“That would be extraneous to the plot,” said Three. “There is only so much screentime. Besides, it’s not like they have governor module hacks laying around and the ability to stop the Units before they killed them, and a reason for the Units to use it. No, killing them was the correct way to advance the plot. They just needed to do it realistically.” It frowned in thought. “Perihelion, can you screen to see if there are any other SecUnits in the film? If not, I would like to finish it.”
“...Several fight scenes with SecUnits remain,” said Peri. It sounded shaken.
“Oh. Then I would not like to,” said Three. It sounded disappointed. “It is unrealistic that they would have so many Units stationed at such a facility, especially inside.”
“Three–” said Iris, “are you– are you really bothered more about the accuracy than seeing– you know. A bunch of other SecUnits get violently murdered?”
“It's not really murder,” Three said dubiously. “They were in combat.”
“But they died!” she insisted.
“I have seen many SecUnits die,” said Three, “I have never seen a SecUnit collapse because of a flamethrower.”
“But they were people,” she said uselessly.
“They are just characters, Iris,” Three said. It looked concerned. “It’s just a movie. Are you alright?”
“No!” she burst. She hated this. She hated it so much. It made her sick. Her stomach churned and her throat was thick and heavy. “How can it not bother you? You're a SecUnit! They're SecUnits! The movie has the ‘heroes’ kill a bunch of them! And they make it look like a good thing!”
“In their position, it is a good thi—”
“I feel sick watching them all get killed and nobody care,” she said uselessly. A few of her friends echoed the same sentiment.
Three sighed. It looked annoyed. “Please. Humans. I have seen plenty of SecUnits wounded and killed. It does not bother me.” It waved a hand in a vague gesture. She didn’t know what it was supposed to mean. “I have had to walk through more fire than that to retrieve an injured client before, along with plenty of Units I have been stationed with. I will grant that it's a terrible smell, but you cannot smell a film.”
She could feel tears in her eyes, and that must have surprised it because it completely changed its expression to concern.
“The smell?” Matteo squeaked.
“Of burning organic flesh,” said Three. “Apologies if that was unclear.”
“You had to walk through fire?” said a horrified Kaede.
“I have had to do a lot of things.”
“Like what?” asked Tarik.
“Tarik!” Iris burst.
“I have been struck by approximately six-thousand, four-hundred and eighty-two projectiles since I came online four years ago,” said Three, casually. “Give or take.”
“Six thousand?” Kaede gasped.
“Four years?” repeated Dad. “What do you mean by ‘came online?’ Since your last memory wipe?”
Three tilted its head to the side again. “No. My last memory wipe was eight months and five days ago. By ‘came online’ I mean the beginning of my service records. It's when I was ‘born,’ if you need a human comparison, though I don't particularly like calling it that.”
“Four years,” echoed Kaede. “You’re four years old.”
“I have met constructs as old as fifteen,” Three added, “though I have never directly encountered a ComfortUnit before. I have heard that they can live much longer. They lose their value much faster than a SecUnit does, though, and are cheaper to produce. I suspect that 1.0, as a low-cost budget model would be around the same price range as a top of the line ComfortUnit.”
“Please don't talk about it like that,” said Peri. Iris realized abruptly that it had been silent for kind of a while. “Don't talk about yourself like that either.”
“Oh” said Three. It suddenly had the confused, uncertain look that it always did when it thought it had done something wrong but wasn't sure what. She thought it looked a little like it was bracing for something. “I'm sorry.”
“No!” Iris cried. Three flinched and her stomach churned. “I mean– no, you don't need to be sorry. Peri just means it– it's dehumanizing. Or– or–” She struggled to find a better word, one that didn't imply only human life deserved dignity.
“Degrading,” Peri supplied. “It minimizes the value of your life.”
“Okay,” Three said in visible discomfort. “Can we, um– can we return to media, or are we done?”
“Of course we can,” Dad said quickly. “We can watch, uh– Peri, do you have any recommendations?”
“Of course,” said Peri. It sounded calm, even in good spirits. Iris recognized the default setting of its vocoder. “Allow me to show you a favourite of SecUnit and I’s.”
It moved through menus at a pace that wouldn't flash too unpleasantly for humans and brought up a film called “Fauna Across the Galaxy: The Glimmering Scales of the Faricuno.”
Three perked up. It liked nonfiction. They didn’t usually watch documentaries at movie night, but it was obvious why Peri had chosen one.
Holy shit, she said in their private channel. It didn't immediately respond, so she prompted, Peri?
Apologies, Iris. I am… processing.
It can't really be four, can it? she asked. It's made a mistake, hasn't it?
…I cannot confirm without inspecting its service records, but… it is in line with what I know of SecUnit lifespans.
A chill went down Iris’ spine. How old is SecUnit?
I cannot say without violating its privacy.
Oh, God. It's even younger than Three, isn't it?
I did not say that.
So it's older than Three?
I did not say that either.
At least it's older than Three, she sighed. Budget model unit… that makes my skin crawl. How could it call it that?
SecUnit has also referred to itself as such.
But it's not. It’s not, right? That's not a real thing.
I located a brochure of Unit models and prices from its company and it is classified as… ‘economy.’
Iris covered her mouth before she could make a sound, turning her face away so that Three hopefully didn't notice. SecUnit noticed everything, but Three seemed a little more respectful of others' privacy, and usually kept its drones in a holding pattern unless it was actively trying to monitor something. SecUnit constantly spoke about how paranoid all SecUnits were, and how normal it was for them to be monitoring everything and everywhere all at once, but now that Three was here, she was starting to suspect that wasn't true.
You said that SecUnit doesn't let you screen for violence against SecUnits? she asked miserably.
Yes.
You can't do it anyway?
No. It notices.
Does it bother IT?
Yes, though it doesn't think so. SecUnit believes the fact it doesn't become upset when it sees SecUnits killed in fiction means it does not bother it, but it frequently dissociates watching it happen.
That's horrible.
Three and SecUnit HAVE seen a great many SecUnits killed, Peri advised. They think they are used to it.
Three is dissociating too?
I do not have access to Three’s emotional data like I do SecUnit’s, but it's likely.
On screen, a slim, six legged animal sipped from a creek in a forested area. Three looked completely focused and unbothered.
Is there ANY media where SecUnits aren't the villains?
Some. They aren't particularly realistic, though. They're mostly the ones where a SecUnit is the love interest. I am permitted to screen for that.
Iris was quiet. She felt sick, and when she scanned the room, she didn't see a single happy face. She was glad that Three wasn't very good at identifying facial expressions yet.
This sucks, she said eventually.
Yes, said Peri miserably. It sucks.