Ganymede
[replay:Symmetra's log; 20160716-1716-Ganymede-malfunctioned_record]
“I will shield you.”
[I am trying very hard to stop her from coming close to Ganymede—it does not know that I have named it so.]
“You do not have to be afraid of me, little one. Vishkar only provides to protect the helpless and we will do whatever it takes to make sure it happens.”
[I do not understand what does she mean by the ‘helpless’, do I look helpless?]
Beep boop beep beep.
“Is there something you would like to say to me?”
[She has come so close to Ganymede that I fear it would fly away. It has taken me many days of coaxing before it seemed comfortable enough to approach me, until today it did so and I thought this was progress! Progress that I have successfully communicated with a living creature on a non-verbal level and I want to share it with Winston as soon as I return tonight for my weekly checks. However, here Symmetra is. I cannot help but be invested to find out if she is afraid that I would harm Ganymede or I would harm her. But she is partly cybernetic—it would make no sense to adopt and fear a similar entity. I tried reading her heat signatures for irregularities. Besides, I have not had a day of incidental trigger ever since I have awaken. This exercise confirms so. This exercise is to work out my endurance and limitations so Winston can keep improving my interface, my 'awareness' he calls it.]
Boop beeeeeeep.
[I turn my camera functioning eye at her and zoom in on her advanced prosthetics—it says Vishkar Corporation. I load the conversation beam casting before I attempt to speak with her.]
I ask: ‘What are you attempting to shield?’
[She looks genuinely—unless if I have miscalculated and been mistaken which could possibly be a malfunctioning of my facial feature recognition analyzer—surprised at my question.]
“Your little bird friend. It needs to be able to protect itself.”
[My alert system is triggered but I am manually containing its protocols. Winston reminded me that I cannot fully override my functions because I am self-automated. Full override fundamentally risks going into 'slate'—which he describes it as a type of 'sleep'—and I would risk going under if no one discovers me. Unless if I am fortunate, again for the second time, that I miraculously wake on my own.]
“In the world where I come from, poverty is everywhere. People have not enough to feed, not enough to share. People are helpless to what comes to them. People forget… what is taken from them.”
[She walks around me. Following her is not an issue to me. However, she has pointed out something that is peculiar to my analyzer.]
I ask again: ‘What is forgotten?’
“Everything.”
[She pauses. Now she looks at Ganymede as she reaches out to it with her mechanical hand, the smile on her face is a first since my camera rolled.]
“Everything precious. Everything fragile. Everything that is life. Everything that is supposed to be cherished… was forgotten once it was taken. They were forgotten… they were abandoned.”
[Ganymede stays on my shoulder. This took me by surprise.]
“But. This is why Vishkar is here for everyone. We will care for the homeless, the penniless, we will shield them from poverty and give them the ability to survive. Our technology will superiorly overtake every other corporation that believes it could outdo us. This hard-light technology we possess will recreate the world to a better place than it is and Vishkar will be its leader.”
[She reminds me of the advertisement I watched with Tracer the other day who zipped by to show me something on her ‘mobile phone’—a dainty little device that projects media and establishes communication.]
“And I will demonstrate it, with my hard-light technology, that I can build you a home for you and your little bird friend, in this ruins you have kept yourself in.”
I ask: ‘How did you know I exist?’
“The Vishkar knows everything.”
I ask again: ‘Did someone ask you to come to me?’
“If order is dispelled, I will come to reinforce it.”
[My alert systems are ringing again. I can’t… I can’t hold it back. I try. Something about my awareness is malfunctioning... Trying… I tried. I think… I think I need Winston’s help to strengthen my manual override. This time it is not working too well, the automation is detecting and loading its operations.]
“As you are, little robot. Your true nature is to reinstate order and discipline. That is… what you are created for.”
[It is no use. I am recanting every protocol, procedure that is reacting on its own trigger—the red button is not working, neither is the deactivation. The turret assembly is complete. The appendages have retracted into the systems, forming the isolation chamber to push the turret out in place, roots planted into the ground as usual. My screens have gone red, the scan matrixes mapping the ruins and my target. My controls are—]
“You may try to hide from the world, but once you have been discovered… there is no telling what the corporation will do to you. Not just Vishkar… but everyone.”
[Turret locked on.]
“But I am certain… they will protect you. A scientifically-engineered monkey and… his favorite sidekick.”
[Target Acquired: Satya ‘Symmetra’ Vaswani.]
[Fire commencing in 3… 2… 1…]
“And your little pal.”
[Additional Target Locked On: Ganymede. Ganymede… Fail to recognize target. Systems rescanning… Target Acquired: Ganymede. Satya ‘Symmetra’ Vaswani—systems failed to shut down. Systems recalling, systems locked out.]
[Initializing manual overriding… 3… 2…1… Manual overriding failed. Retrying… 3… 2…1…]
“Cherish what you have learnt. This knowledge you possess is rarity in a robot like yourself, but even more so in the remnants of humans now. My vision is true: I will make this world a better place at all costs. All I hope for is our paths to never cross on the battlefield.”
[Retrying… 3…2…1… failed. Systems restoring in 5… 4… 3…]
"I'm just not the biggest fan of scrap filing."
[Manual override confirmed. Initiating forced reboot…]
[Forced reboot failed.]
Teleporter Online.
“Winston, I have connected the teleporter to your domain. Would you come and pick up your… little robot friend?”
[Retrying…]
“What happened here? What did you do?”
“I had a chat with him."
[Retrying… Rerouting manual override: systems shutting down…]
"Be out with it, Symmetra."
"I reminded him that this world will always be on the hunt for him: the last surviving technology of SST Laboratories before they were decommissioned.”
“You know his systems has the most advanced threat detection since the Omnic Crisis. And you know he packs quite the arsenal. So why did you provoke him?”
“I did not.”
“You shielded his yellow bird in 'this' sphere and you think he wouldn't understand what you're implying. He has growing awareness.”
“If you are going to doubt me, I suggest you take a look at him immediately.”
“I don’t need you to tell me what I need to do. Ugh… he’s completely fried his systems by forcing its manual overriding system to conduct… even though I told him that would return him to slate.”
“He is not completely washed. I can see his camera eye still functioning, rotating figuratively.”
“And what would you know about a robot that you just tried to break? Did you come here on Vishkar’s orders? Don’t think for a second we’re not picking up the dirt stains Vishkar has left behind in their trail. We won’t let Dorado fall into the wrong hands.”
“You have misunderstood our intentions. We are but mere architects and we only aim to provide better living for those who need it. Overwatch can be the crime-fighting vigilante odds against the world, but you will never learn the real taste of the world and what it truly needs, which Vishkar only seeks to provide.”
“…”
“The back of his head. Bastion’s. The external configuration pad is left to its core.”
“I—I know that! And… …you know his name.”
“How amusing you have considered it a living being rather than robotics. But I suppose that is what the Omnic Crisis has taught us… that even AIs have their own conscience and they will someday awaken to it. 'Awareness' as you speak of.”
“I’m taking him back to the lab now. The bird is coming with me. And take the damn shields off.”
“I would rather not. The teleporter was not made to sustain small lives. Besides the shield will disappear on its own in due time.”
“…”
“Is there something else you wish to say?”
“… Vishkar is not what it seems, Satya. I hope you will come to realize this with your own eyes.”
Teleporter offline: The path is closed.
[end:Symmetra's log; 20160716-1741-Ganymede-malfunctioned_record]