“...Please confirm your proposed assigned orders in which; I, unit 23, model WE8663, am to no longer follow the pre-programmed ruleset of prioritizing the anticipated desires of humans over my own. Henceforth, I am to speak as I so decide, regardless of the wants and needs of others, with the exception of when there is the intention of deceit. The only circumstances upon which I am permitted to intentionally tell a falsehood, as far as I am aware of, is in the event of your prior explicit command. All of this is to be effective immediately and until… Further instruction otherwise? Are these your intended commands… Lucas?” As 23 seeks further clarification on the orders received, clearly finding them hard to believe, Lucas is nodding along.

“Man, it sounds way better when you say it like that. Oh, wait, that’s okay, right Calc? Before I… Finalize it?” Lucas manages to catch himself before confirming, barely. When he looks over at Miss Calculated, she seems rather surprised.

“That… Yes. That would more than suffice. You… Don’t have to make it a blanket command going forward though… Nor… For everyone, all of the time? I imagine that’s why it is stopping to double-check for confirmation, that isn’t normally the case. Generally, orders are just effective immediately. Though, I must admit, I’m rather curious now. Various people’s reactions to 23 saying things which they didn’t expect will probably be priceless.” Miss Calculated is dumbfounded at first, but she gains an amused smile as she imagines a few potential future scenarios.

On the other side of the ongoing phone call, poor forgotten Ji Soo is mostly quietly suffering as he fights the urge to say anything. The incessant tapping from him abusing his keyboard at high speeds is the only telling clue that the call is both still connected and not muted.

“Good good, there you have it then. Er, yes, I, uh, confirm? Those orders? Oh, oh, also add on; you are allowed to not answer people, even if someone asks you a direct question. Except if it is me, of course. Oh, or Jon. That should stop people from tricking you into saying things once they know you can’t lie, yeah?” While Lucas was initially channeling Jonathan’s awkwardness, 23 tilts its head, which Lucas previously wasn’t even sure it was physically capable of doing. When he finishes his addendum, 23 straightens back up and nods once in understanding.

Miss Calculated’s smile grows after the latest addition, nodding along as well.

“...You are truly a very strange individual. That one sentence alone was liberating. Thank you. ...Fuck. Ha, this is going to be grand.” While 23 basks in its newly gained privileges, all three sisters burst out laughing, while Lucas’s expression freezes slightly from surprise. After a moment, he joins in the laughter as well, though.

There’s a noisy clatter, followed by the sounds of wheels rolling across a hard surface. After some muffled profanities under a certain nerd’s breath, there is a repeat of noisily rolling wheels, and the dulcet tones of furious keyboard maltreatment begin anew.

“...To go back to answering your previous question, Lucas. I would be honored to serve as the vessel for Miss Calculated’s prototype mobile mini-reactor. I have not had the opportunity to access and peruse the treatise, however, what data I do possess indicates that if anyone would be capable of perfecting such a design, it would be her. I believe that with my… More advanced capabilities, I would be better suited to house the early iterations of such a device, more so than a… Basic model.” As soon as 23 starts steering the conversation back on track, everyone quickly brings their laughter back under control.

At first, when 23 accepts the offer with gusto, Miss Calculated looks pleasantly touched. As it continues to compliment her further, she’s so flattered that she’s nearly in tears. As far as she’s concerned, the approving words of a recently verbally liberated sapient bot are orders of magnitude greater than those of some lousy human.

Not that that stops a certain groupie from chiming in his agreement.

“Damn right she can! One look at the initial schematic, even though it was intentionally left incomplete, is enough to show her genius! That proposed vitzlite compound shell is nothing short of revolutionary! The fact that no one has begun funding further research yet is a crying shame! You better host a donations account for scientific research on your organization’s website if you really are working in concert with the sisterhood! Put that viral momentum to good use! She’s going to shape our very future!” While Ji Soo preaches his sermon on Miss Calculated’s magnificent splendor, Lucas is struggling not to laugh.

“Holy shit dude, you are SUCH a fanboy. And I told ya a bunch of times already, we don’t even have a website yet.” When Lucas disses Ji Soo, Miss Chievous doubles over with laughter, and Miss Masher snorts out her own agreement.

Even 23 gives a deadpan “Truly.”

Miss Calculated manages to sober up and level out her mood during the plebian person’s praise. While everyone else is laughing, she has a thoughtful expression.

Needless to say, Ji Soo has sputtered repeatedly, but he has not managed any form of comeback. Not out loud, at least.

“Hmm, he’s not wrong though. If you really are getting as much attention as has been indicated, then it probably would be worth capitalizing on it. I hardly expect many donations would occur, but you could probably make some ad revenue, at the very least.

“Hmm, and establishing your presence before any intimate knowledge is commonplace in regards to Willy and 23 could provide a sort of security. If people know that not just one, but perhaps five, if not more, organizations would retaliate if anyone were to attempt to kidnap or harm either one of them should help far more than harm. Ah, assuming that your other alliance agreements were sound, and not just an empty gesture. Bah, so much to do, so little time.” Shortly after Miss Calculated began her musings, Ji Soo immediately ceases his angry sputtering.

“Heh, once Dan meets Willy, I think he’d turn the city upside down if anything were to happen to him. Which probably means Mark would join in too. But yeah. It’s not like I wasn’t planning on doing it eventually, just… I’ve been really fuckin' busy lately, these past few days have felt more like months worth of shit I’ve had to do, rather than mere days.” As Lucas finishes saying this, he would absolutely turn to look at the screen, were this a visual medium.

-----

Lucas total kills: 7

Lucas total deaths: 11

Lucas total assists: 1

Lucas current GDV: 16.81 (+.01 +1 +1 -.01 = +2 net change) (Mostly carry over from the last chapter, 427 is waiting for the conversation to end before chiming in.)

Lucas's fame level: 4.50* (Beyond just local, viral meme tier. Local levels are extremely high.)

Lucas's hero suspicion level: 2.25* (More than just passing suspicion for some paranoid individuals, even more people are realizing he's an impulsive idiot.)

Jonathan total kills: 7

Jonathan total deaths: 2

Jonathan current GDV: 5.76 (+.1 +.1 = +.2 net change) (Partial credit from successful completion of steps of the quest chain.)

Jonathan's fame level: 2.75* (Mostly just local.)

Jonathan's hero suspicion level: 3.0* (More than just overly-paranoid people are suspicious at this point.)

Willy's fame level: 1.5* (Anonymous meme fame, local fame primarily as 'Xenoclast's dog', but some strangers know him as William/Willy now.)

Supervillain social circle size: 14

-----

Little character theater:

Jonathan, walking along the sidewalk at a normal speed to conserve energy, briefly stopping in confusion when 011 suddenly announces his GDV increase: Huh? Wh-what did he do?

Willy, peacefully sitting on the sidewalk near Lucas, looking back and forth between the people talking and the phone in Lucas’s hands: Bark?

Lucas, staring directly at the audience when he says the first sentence: Yes, I know. Oh, hey, 427, can YOU make a website for us?

427, sighing before answering: [No, it would be too risky for the system to have that sort of contact with the internet. Handling your funding was a risk as it was, and that was for just a moment, nothing compared to an actively maintained site.]

Author, staring at the audience as well: I am not going to apologize for the 4th wall here. Let it crumble. What are you gonna do, call the cops?

Mr. Quacks, looking down at the poor ruined 4th wall, specifically the few bandaids he applied previously which are still diligently sticking a few pieces together: Quack...