Cyberpunk

[automatmods]

CYBERPUNK

The world may have crumbled into chaos, but at least you have some pretty sweet tech. Hack your way to liberation. Make a robot friend. Lose yourself in a VR world. And do it all with that 80's neon view of a distant future. ⇨ Post a top level with your character and canon. Include any preferences you may have. If you're feeling bold, write a starter! ⇨ Tag around, make your own world. ⇨ Please mark any potentially triggering content

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[dandeliongirl]

The interruption likewise sent an immediate response to stop introductory and social processes Kotomi had programmed herself for her own mind and body.

Her eyes widened in curiosity, and rose her finger. Her biological mind pondered how to respond to this, and in fact delayed in finding the appropriate social routine to use to become friends. For such a long time, she had entertained her still living mind with books, she forgot how to talk to most people.

Servos whirred when Kotomi turned to her left, then to her right, as her legal boundary application warned her that Freedom of Assembly had numerous caveats, and 'peaceful assembly' was something that had turned blurrier in time.

She then straightened, pushing her chest up and smiling.

"My name is Kotomi Ichinose," she spoke outside of her routines, "I have loved reading ever since I was born, and it was my parents who made me love learning. Especially regarding the nature of the universe."

She then glanced down, smiling. Her eyes, brow, face, and all artificial limbs of her body moved in unison as they followed what remained of her instinctive body language.

"It made it easier when I was forced to migrate into this body," she revealed a copy she had of The Spirit of the Laws by by Charles de Secondat and the Baron de Montesquieu, "it is a little lonely, since not a lot of people read..."

[memetic_princess]

For a moment, Shuri was concerned that the other woman was caught in some kind of feedback loop, but she pulled herself out of it -if that was even what it had been- with what seemed to be minimal effort and Shuri relaxed again.

She inclined her head slightly, listening -and watching- as Kotomi introduced herself and she gave a small smile, "People have found other ways to proclaim their intellectual superiority these days." She shook her head, lifting a hand briefly, an indication that she didn't think that's what the other woman had been doing, "I think most people have forgotten that it is something we as a species used to do for fun. Something to pass the time. The same way that learning a new language or writing a new poem or musical composition was for."

[dandeliongirl]

Kotomi clutched her physical book defensively with her artificial arms, almost in a maternal way. She remembered loving the smell of old books.

"Senators have proposed closing down all libraries," Kotomi's artificial voice sounded with worry, "and place all public domain works under private distribution."

The news reports she had processed were all selling the idea that libraries were no longer in necessary with the network, and thus needed to have their doors closed, and all their works destroyed. And selling the rights to all public domain works to private enterprises, allowing them to sell, distribute, and edit them at their leisure, under the public idea that 'private enterprises will ensure the long life of important works of literature through profit that will benefit all that read them'.

Behind hose acts, it was clear why Kotomi had contacted Shuri. The fear it might come to pass.

Kotomi's servos whirred as she glanced up, "I just like the feel, and images a book describes. There is something much clearer, much personal about seeing inside the mind of another person."

[memetic_princess]

"I agree." She said, nodding once, "There's a... sort of weight to books that's more than just the physical." It was something she'd never really been able to quantify or explain herself, but definitely something she liked. She'd certainly seen some of those proposals herself, and while she wanted to think it wasn't the kind of thing that would come to pass, she had the same fear.

It was part of why The Outreach's next public works project was a library, many of the members had already been stockpiling physical books, Shuri among them, or had family libraries that they were slowly siphoning books away from to add to the collection. It wasn't many yet, a couple hundred or so, enough to fill a couple of bookcases, but they were gathering more, magazines, too, because popular culture and cultural shift could be tracked easily through weekly or monthly publications.

Her smile broke through a moment later, "Can you imagine, this future where there's a black market for literature?"