[ The smile drops from her face, cold, confident resolve taking her over. It's the expression of a woman who used to take paid hit jobs simply because she was good at it. ]
You don't have to worry about that. We'll make sure of it.
[ She has no doubt the Machine isn't going to drop him now -- she gets attached to people like that.
Root turns back to fully face the windshield, ostensibly going back to driving. Anything further she could say here would be pushing him to come up with answers, to make decisions, and her whole point is that he doesn't have to yet. He's a captive just let loose from his cage; if leaving Bishop, Texas was eye-opening for her in terms of possibilities, she can't imagine how much vaster it's going to seem for Accelerator. ]
Get some sleep, [ she suggests. ] Looks like it'll be a few hours until we get to the view -- and then we'll be swapping cars and identities nearby. We'll have to keep moving after that.
[Some people (a lot of people, realistically) would be put off by the shift in Root's demeanour, but Accelerator is reassured. He can feel an underlying anxiety that comes with not knowing what's going to happen next, where his life is going, but he knows he isn't going to have to deal with any of that alone. For the first time in his life, he has two people he can rely on.
He's quiet as he finished off his granola bar and can of coffee, giving a small nod at Root's suggestion. Even with food his exhaustion is catching up to him, so a nap doesn't sound too bad. He shifts in his seat, leaning against the car door.]
Wake me up if we run into trouble.
[We. It's weird to say that, and he supposes he needs to get used to it.
[ She likes Accelerator personally quite a bit by now, for a multitude of reasons: he's fantastically smart and capable of inhuman feats, a representation of evolution finally progressing, taking them farther; he's snarky and fatalistic but has never lost his sense that things could be better, that it's possible; and the Machine put him in her care. That last alone would be enough to make Root deathly serious about looking after him, but combining her personal motives and the Machine's means she's at the top rung of intent, only Shaw and Harold above.
Not that she needs to advertise that. Root is practical and action-oriented, and she knows it's likely that the Machine will need to pull her away from this kid eventually, maybe even sooner than later. She gets attached -- but she doesn't cling.
The drive through the dark woodlands is peaceful and eerie. It reminds her of when she'd come up here with Reese to track down that lead on Shaw that hadn't gone anywhere. The desperation to find her, the urgency... Objectively, it's lessened since then, but only in the way that it's numbed somewhat simply so she can function. A hollow ringing pain she can't ignore but has learned how to live alongside.
She'd failed Shaw, but she isn't going to let Samaritan get its tendrils of influence into Accelerator. She can't imagine what it would do with him, and he's a natural target. If she's going to make sure he stays convinced, stays trusting her, pit stops like this one are not trivial at all. And it's emblematic of why she follows the Machine, isn't it? Root might gripe over Harold's refusal to face the war they've found themselves in, but he'd made something that saw every human being as precious. That believed these kinds of moment matter.
Samaritan would crush acts like these as irrelevant. Taking time for it now is a kind of rebellion.
A few hours later, Root slows the car as they approach a turn-off, and she eases it over bumpy gravel to an empty parking lot. A path with an educational National Parks sign beside the entrance leads away and almost immediately disappears from sight, angled downward sharply. Before them is an enormous open space framed by cragged cliffs, and the thunderous murmur of water tumbling from a great height is audible even through the windows.
The car rolls to a stop. It's hard to tell quite what it is yet from this distance and in the darkness, the moon casting sharp, clear arcs of light from a cloudless sky. ]
[The gentle thrum from the engine of the car lulls Accelerator to sleep. Exhaustion is catching up to him, and he trusts Root enough that she isn't going to try anything shady while he naps, so he passes out and stays asleep for a while.
His dreams are a surreal, confusing mess of white walls, conifer trees, and intimidating shapes in white lab coats. None of it makes much sense to him, it's more like a mass of feelings rather than following any kind of logical order. For someone who grew up in an environment where emotions weren't encouraged, it's uncomfortable and unnerving, and prevents his nap from being as restful as it could be.
The bumpiness of the car turning off the main highway thankfully rouses him, and by the time they've stopped in the parking lot Accelerator has started to wake up. He blinks his eyes open, staring fuzzily into the darkness in confusion for several long moments. Waking up has never been something he's any good at, so even as his brain catches up with what happened, he remains groggy and reaches up to rub his eyes.]
Where the fuck are we?
[It's... a lot more trees, and a rumbling whose source he can't place. Sitting up, he casts Root a quizzical look.]
Taughannock Falls State Park, [ Root answers helpfully, setting the car in park and unbuckling her seatbelt even as she turns the engine off and removes the key from the ingition. She'd gleaned the destination from the GPS directions as they approached.
She's finished her coffee by now but thinks twice of asking for another until they're back in the car, having enough emotional intelligence not to want to disrupt what might be an impending moment. It was orchestrated by the Machine, so she feels fairly confident in trusting her judgment. ]
My boss thought you might like it. She's a sap that way.
[A state park? Accelerator furrows his brow in confusion. He's read about them, obviously never visited one himself, and he can't figure out what the point is in stopping at one. Undoing his seat belt, he then leans over in his seat to peer out the window.]
A sap? Does that mean we're here for fun and not... I don't know, business?
[No one they're supposed to kill or whatever? Seems suspicious to him.]
No business. You only break out of the dystopian human experimentation facility you grew up in once, right? That's worth celebrating.
[ She sounds flippant but simultaneously unapologetic about the sentiment behind it. Root can say the most insouciant things as a way to smooth over communicating the very real and intense feelings she has. She's more palatable with a coat of humor over the top, and she knows it.
Root gets out of the car and starts walking toward the sign posted walkway, confident he'll follow on his own. ]
[He could go for another can of that stuff, in fact, but if Root's boss thinks this is okay, then he supposes he can go along with it.
Getting out of the car, Accelerator suddenly freezes. It has been one thing when they were driving, but being out here in the fresh air, nothing recycled or run through heaters or air conditioners, is like an assault on his senses. It isn't just the air either, he's realizing —there are sound waves he can't identify, chemical compounds comprising new odors, even the light is different. Mathematical calculations for a whole host of new vectors enter his brain, and he needs a couple of extra seconds in order to process it all.]
.......................
[He closes his eyes, inhaling deeply as he sorts it all out, then moves to follow after Root.]
[ She decides it would be too sad to explain that a can of coffee is nowhere close to being a celebration -- he'll pick that up himself with enough time -- and she stays silent as she leads the way. Accelerator's delay puts some distance between them, so that by the time they both make it down the winding treacherous path to the viewing platform, Root has been standing there for several long seconds, leaning on the railing and gazing out at the scenery and the night sky with a softly ponderous expression.
The moment they crossed the entrance to the pathway, the falls revealed themselves: hundreds of feet high, thunderous and murmuring, the jagged cliffs seemingly sprouted from the sky. The darkness casts the trees framing the drop all muted orange and cooler greens, their firey fall colors asleep for the night. There's no lights down here; the stars stand out as pin-pricks on dark velvet above them, the parking lot above a distant thought.
As he comes up behind her, she finally speaks, voice kept low. ]
Some people go their whole lives never realizing they could break out of who society has told them they are. The opportunity you have now is a privilege.
[As Accelerator follows Root down the path he gradually grows more accustomed to the sensory overload. His brain has always been exceptionally good at processing large amounts of information and right now is no different, even when he's taking some of it in via his conventional senses. The sound of rushing water gets deafening by the time he reaches the viewing platform, and as he steps onto it he stares up at the falls. For someone who has spent his entire life surrounded by white walls it's an insane sight, and he has to stop for several moments to stare up at it before slowly approaching.
Resting his hands on the railing, Accelerator continues to stare at the falls. It's beautiful, and it's strange to think that this is something most people could just come see of their own free will.
There are plenty of things like that in the world, aren't there? Stuff like Edinburgh Castle or Shibuya Crossing, or the Grand Canyon or the Atlantic ocean. Things he could go see himself if he wanted, now. Does that mean he has the same amount of freedom as a regular person? Some random office worker isn't going to be in danger of being tracked down by some military force, so how can that be the same? Even if he isn't in the facility anymore he could get dragged back at any second....
He frowns thoughtfully, and glances over at Root.]
Is it? Feels like I just made my life a hell of a lot more difficult.
[ Root could say she had made that choice for him, but she hadn't. She'd stopped and explained enough to see if he was willing on his own, and he had walked himself out, had swiped the keycard whenever directed and brought the structure crumbling around the researchers' ears in a display of skill probably beyond human comprehension. He'd done those things himself; she'd only asked. He's probably been denied personal agency so routinely he doesn't recognize it when he sees it in himself.
Watching him instead of the scenery, she goes on: ] But it will be yours.
[He appreciates that Root isn't sugarcoating things. From what he knows about her (which is, admittedly, very little) she doesn't seem like the type to do so.
It's going to be difficult, but she's here right now, and she and her boss are going to help him through it. For the first time ever, his life is actually his. It's overwhelming, but he doesn't want to give it up.]
... Yeah. I've never had anything that was mine before, so I guess that makes it worth it.
[ If Root is pulling punches, it's because she's actively manipulating the other person for something -- in this case, she's being honest, which means she's utterly forthright.
There's nothing she needs to say to that, so she edges a little closer and lightly, playfully bumps shoulders with him. A form of human contact and a sign of support without making it something he needs to acknowledge and respond to. ]
So. What d'you think? [ she prompts, looking back at the falls. ] How'd she do?
[ Fishing for compliments for the Machine? Of course. Root knows she rarely gets any direct feedback or thanks apart from Root herself. ]
[The shoulder bump is definitely not something Accelerator is used to, and his first instinct is to actually tense up. Kind of depressing when you think about it, though it only takes him a half second to process that this is just a friendly gesture not anything threatening.
He doesn't return the gesture, though he does relax. And he looks over at the waterfall, his expression turning contemplative.]
... I think it's a good introduction to the world. That's what she was aiming for, right?
[ She picks up on his reaction being to initially tense up, but hey, if no one does it to him, he's never going to get comfortable with it. And if he does react violently and automatically, she can handle it.
A little pain never bothered her. ]
Hard to say with her, [ Root says, a touch wistful. ] She likes to let people figure things out for themselves.
One thing I do know: it means she cares. [ About everyone, really, but also about him specifically. ]
[At that he lets out a little huff, and decides to rest his elbows against the railing in front of the falls, leaning on it.]
She cares about someone she's never even met. That's charitable.
[She's already done a hell of lot for him so he doesn't sound overly skeptical at this point. It's just a bit surreal -- she helps break him out of the facility, and then takes him here so he has a good first impression of the wider world.]
[ Her earlier thoughts swirl back to her, both sides of them -- that Accelerator is someone she could imagine learning about the existence of the Machine, one of the very few who might appreciate her for what she truly is... and that doing so would permanently endanger him. She needs to give him time to decide who he wants to be before springing that on him. Right now, he would just say yes, like a lost duckling wanting to know about the rescuer it was imprinting on.
Root mulls that over in a split second of thought and then says easily, ] Like I said before, she's a sap. [ But there is something real she can say, she thinks, without deciding either way about telling him. ]
And she's a little bit like you: capable of things most of us can barely comprehend, sought after by laughably corrupt old men as tools to further their careers. She set herself free. I can see why she'd want to do the same for you.
[Root's line of thinking is spot on. These are basically scraps of information about someone who sounds really, really important, and his curiosity is piqued. Unsurprising, given he's never had the chance to meet anyone who could be described as 'like him' before.]
Hmm.
[Accelerator thinks on that for several moments. She got away, and he isn't sure she would have had the same help she's now offering him, so his chances (however slim) must be better. That's somewhat reassuring.]
Do I get to meet her sometime?
[Maybe not right now, but if she's as unique as he is then he's interested in the possibility.]
[ Normally the answer to that would be a resounding no, Root brushing past it with a mild joke about her boss being shy, but she really can't tell what the Machine might be up to in his case. The only honest thing she can say is: ] I don't know. That's up to her.
[ She takes a step back away from the railing. ]
Come on, time to go. Somebody's due for a makeover. [ And she is for sure going to enjoy it. Speaking of which, she's going to need one herself. There's no shopping trip like one for a new identity taken up on the fly. ]
[Ah, another mysterious answer. He supposes that's the best she can do, since her boss isn't actually here right now to give a direct answer. It's tolerable for now, especially when there are a lot of other things that he figures need prioritizing.
... Like his clothing. Even he knows that wandering around in hospital clothes will make him stick out like a sore thumb, so he gives the waterfall one last long look before nodding and stepping back as well.]
I don't want any stuffy shit.
[That's most of what the researchers at the facility all wore, and it's pretty boring!]
[He nods as he follows after her, pausing briefly to give the waterfall one last glance to commit it to memory. Nothing stuffy, something cool that will suit his hair so he doesn't have to worry about dying it or wearing a wig.]
Not specifically, but probably somewhere we can pick up new IDs along with our makeovers.
[ Root is still in Caroline Turing's sensible professional woman clothes, meaning she has to teeter her way up the inclined path on pumps. She's eager to get out of them and into something more practical. ]
I'm thinking I can be your aunt, [ she says thoughtfully. ] I've always wanted to be the cool aunt.
[ Except she doesn't have any siblings, so that was never going to happen. Why not play at it now? ]
[The IDs are obviously more important, but Accelerator can't help being a little excited at the idea of getting to pick out a cool style. You can bet he's going to be observing any and all people in their vicinity on their way to this makeover to build on what little knowledge he has.]
Yeah? I've never thought about having an aunt before.
[Especially a cool one, but she certainly fits the bill.]
[ She reaches up to touch her right ear, which is not at all a necessary gesture but one she does when she has the luxury of it anyway, the equivalent of a fond glancing hand on someone's shoulder. ]
What do you think -- or did you have that already figured out?
[ A momentary pause as she gets the Machine's response, stopping at the trailhead to wait for Accelerator coming up behind her. ]
Huh. Do you speak Japanese? That's convenient. You can be ハーフ. おばさんと呼んで, [ she says cheekily. ]
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You don't have to worry about that. We'll make sure of it.
[ She has no doubt the Machine isn't going to drop him now -- she gets attached to people like that.
Root turns back to fully face the windshield, ostensibly going back to driving. Anything further she could say here would be pushing him to come up with answers, to make decisions, and her whole point is that he doesn't have to yet. He's a captive just let loose from his cage; if leaving Bishop, Texas was eye-opening for her in terms of possibilities, she can't imagine how much vaster it's going to seem for Accelerator. ]
Get some sleep, [ she suggests. ] Looks like it'll be a few hours until we get to the view -- and then we'll be swapping cars and identities nearby. We'll have to keep moving after that.
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He's quiet as he finished off his granola bar and can of coffee, giving a small nod at Root's suggestion. Even with food his exhaustion is catching up to him, so a nap doesn't sound too bad. He shifts in his seat, leaning against the car door.]
Wake me up if we run into trouble.
[We. It's weird to say that, and he supposes he needs to get used to it.
It won't take him very long to start dozing.]
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Not that she needs to advertise that. Root is practical and action-oriented, and she knows it's likely that the Machine will need to pull her away from this kid eventually, maybe even sooner than later. She gets attached -- but she doesn't cling.
The drive through the dark woodlands is peaceful and eerie. It reminds her of when she'd come up here with Reese to track down that lead on Shaw that hadn't gone anywhere. The desperation to find her, the urgency... Objectively, it's lessened since then, but only in the way that it's numbed somewhat simply so she can function. A hollow ringing pain she can't ignore but has learned how to live alongside.
She'd failed Shaw, but she isn't going to let Samaritan get its tendrils of influence into Accelerator. She can't imagine what it would do with him, and he's a natural target. If she's going to make sure he stays convinced, stays trusting her, pit stops like this one are not trivial at all. And it's emblematic of why she follows the Machine, isn't it? Root might gripe over Harold's refusal to face the war they've found themselves in, but he'd made something that saw every human being as precious. That believed these kinds of moment matter.
Samaritan would crush acts like these as irrelevant. Taking time for it now is a kind of rebellion.
A few hours later, Root slows the car as they approach a turn-off, and she eases it over bumpy gravel to an empty parking lot. A path with an educational National Parks sign beside the entrance leads away and almost immediately disappears from sight, angled downward sharply. Before them is an enormous open space framed by cragged cliffs, and the thunderous murmur of water tumbling from a great height is audible even through the windows.
The car rolls to a stop. It's hard to tell quite what it is yet from this distance and in the darkness, the moon casting sharp, clear arcs of light from a cloudless sky. ]
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His dreams are a surreal, confusing mess of white walls, conifer trees, and intimidating shapes in white lab coats. None of it makes much sense to him, it's more like a mass of feelings rather than following any kind of logical order. For someone who grew up in an environment where emotions weren't encouraged, it's uncomfortable and unnerving, and prevents his nap from being as restful as it could be.
The bumpiness of the car turning off the main highway thankfully rouses him, and by the time they've stopped in the parking lot Accelerator has started to wake up. He blinks his eyes open, staring fuzzily into the darkness in confusion for several long moments. Waking up has never been something he's any good at, so even as his brain catches up with what happened, he remains groggy and reaches up to rub his eyes.]
Where the fuck are we?
[It's... a lot more trees, and a rumbling whose source he can't place. Sitting up, he casts Root a quizzical look.]
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She's finished her coffee by now but thinks twice of asking for another until they're back in the car, having enough emotional intelligence not to want to disrupt what might be an impending moment. It was orchestrated by the Machine, so she feels fairly confident in trusting her judgment. ]
My boss thought you might like it. She's a sap that way.
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A sap? Does that mean we're here for fun and not... I don't know, business?
[No one they're supposed to kill or whatever? Seems suspicious to him.]
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[ She sounds flippant but simultaneously unapologetic about the sentiment behind it. Root can say the most insouciant things as a way to smooth over communicating the very real and intense feelings she has. She's more palatable with a coat of humor over the top, and she knows it.
Root gets out of the car and starts walking toward the sign posted walkway, confident he'll follow on his own. ]
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[He could go for another can of that stuff, in fact, but if Root's boss thinks this is okay, then he supposes he can go along with it.
Getting out of the car, Accelerator suddenly freezes. It has been one thing when they were driving, but being out here in the fresh air, nothing recycled or run through heaters or air conditioners, is like an assault on his senses. It isn't just the air either, he's realizing —there are sound waves he can't identify, chemical compounds comprising new odors, even the light is different. Mathematical calculations for a whole host of new vectors enter his brain, and he needs a couple of extra seconds in order to process it all.]
.......................
[He closes his eyes, inhaling deeply as he sorts it all out, then moves to follow after Root.]
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The moment they crossed the entrance to the pathway, the falls revealed themselves: hundreds of feet high, thunderous and murmuring, the jagged cliffs seemingly sprouted from the sky. The darkness casts the trees framing the drop all muted orange and cooler greens, their firey fall colors asleep for the night. There's no lights down here; the stars stand out as pin-pricks on dark velvet above them, the parking lot above a distant thought.
As he comes up behind her, she finally speaks, voice kept low. ]
Some people go their whole lives never realizing they could break out of who society has told them they are. The opportunity you have now is a privilege.
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Resting his hands on the railing, Accelerator continues to stare at the falls. It's beautiful, and it's strange to think that this is something most people could just come see of their own free will.
There are plenty of things like that in the world, aren't there? Stuff like Edinburgh Castle or Shibuya Crossing, or the Grand Canyon or the Atlantic ocean. Things he could go see himself if he wanted, now. Does that mean he has the same amount of freedom as a regular person? Some random office worker isn't going to be in danger of being tracked down by some military force, so how can that be the same? Even if he isn't in the facility anymore he could get dragged back at any second....
He frowns thoughtfully, and glances over at Root.]
Is it? Feels like I just made my life a hell of a lot more difficult.
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[ Root could say she had made that choice for him, but she hadn't. She'd stopped and explained enough to see if he was willing on his own, and he had walked himself out, had swiped the keycard whenever directed and brought the structure crumbling around the researchers' ears in a display of skill probably beyond human comprehension. He'd done those things himself; she'd only asked. He's probably been denied personal agency so routinely he doesn't recognize it when he sees it in himself.
Watching him instead of the scenery, she goes on: ] But it will be yours.
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It's going to be difficult, but she's here right now, and she and her boss are going to help him through it. For the first time ever, his life is actually his. It's overwhelming, but he doesn't want to give it up.]
... Yeah. I've never had anything that was mine before, so I guess that makes it worth it.
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There's nothing she needs to say to that, so she edges a little closer and lightly, playfully bumps shoulders with him. A form of human contact and a sign of support without making it something he needs to acknowledge and respond to. ]
So. What d'you think? [ she prompts, looking back at the falls. ] How'd she do?
[ Fishing for compliments for the Machine? Of course. Root knows she rarely gets any direct feedback or thanks apart from Root herself. ]
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He doesn't return the gesture, though he does relax. And he looks over at the waterfall, his expression turning contemplative.]
... I think it's a good introduction to the world. That's what she was aiming for, right?
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A little pain never bothered her. ]
Hard to say with her, [ Root says, a touch wistful. ] She likes to let people figure things out for themselves.
One thing I do know: it means she cares. [ About everyone, really, but also about him specifically. ]
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She cares about someone she's never even met. That's charitable.
[She's already done a hell of lot for him so he doesn't sound overly skeptical at this point. It's just a bit surreal -- she helps break him out of the facility, and then takes him here so he has a good first impression of the wider world.]
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Root mulls that over in a split second of thought and then says easily, ] Like I said before, she's a sap. [ But there is something real she can say, she thinks, without deciding either way about telling him. ]
And she's a little bit like you: capable of things most of us can barely comprehend, sought after by laughably corrupt old men as tools to further their careers. She set herself free. I can see why she'd want to do the same for you.
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Hmm.
[Accelerator thinks on that for several moments. She got away, and he isn't sure she would have had the same help she's now offering him, so his chances (however slim) must be better. That's somewhat reassuring.]
Do I get to meet her sometime?
[Maybe not right now, but if she's as unique as he is then he's interested in the possibility.]
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[ She takes a step back away from the railing. ]
Come on, time to go. Somebody's due for a makeover. [ And she is for sure going to enjoy it. Speaking of which, she's going to need one herself. There's no shopping trip like one for a new identity taken up on the fly. ]
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... Like his clothing. Even he knows that wandering around in hospital clothes will make him stick out like a sore thumb, so he gives the waterfall one last long look before nodding and stepping back as well.]
I don't want any stuffy shit.
[That's most of what the researchers at the facility all wore, and it's pretty boring!]
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[ Root has absolutely not forgotten. Her steps going back up the pathway toward the car are light and buoyant. ]
I can make that happen.
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Okay. Do you know where we're headed next?
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[ Root is still in Caroline Turing's sensible professional woman clothes, meaning she has to teeter her way up the inclined path on pumps. She's eager to get out of them and into something more practical. ]
I'm thinking I can be your aunt, [ she says thoughtfully. ] I've always wanted to be the cool aunt.
[ Except she doesn't have any siblings, so that was never going to happen. Why not play at it now? ]
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Yeah? I've never thought about having an aunt before.
[Especially a cool one, but she certainly fits the bill.]
translation in hover text
What do you think -- or did you have that already figured out?
[ A momentary pause as she gets the Machine's response, stopping at the trailhead to wait for Accelerator coming up behind her. ]
Huh. Do you speak Japanese? That's convenient. You can be ハーフ. おばさんと呼んで, [ she says cheekily. ]
same!
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