Nyx's eyes opened as the pod slid open, and he looked up at the person standing nearby. He blinked again. Who is this? He isn't like the ones that usually come here… He wished he could move, speak, do anything. But without instructions or permission…he couldn't do anything but lay here, passive and blinking and hanging onto his sanity by a thread. He blinked quickly against the influx of light, focusing on this new person.
Access Denied // OxO // Closed
"Holy shit," August said, looking at the person. Cyborg? There were tubes and wires attatched and coming out of them, and they looked to be in pain. Worst of all, they were staring directly at him. "Are you okay? Is this– is this legal? What is this thing?"
Nyx blinked again, unsure how to signal that he couldn't do any more than blink. Morse code? Would this person understand him if he blinked in morse code? It was highly unlikely…if…he let out a sigh. If he ordered me to respond, I would be able to speak, but…I don't know if he knows that. I don't know if he knows… At the question of whether this was legal, he rolled his eyes a little. Legal? If this is legal…
"Did you just roll your eyes?" August huffed. He opened the file that his supervisor had given him. Most of it had been redacted, but one part stood out to him. Subject is extremely dangerous, the text read, …contact with the subject is prohibited. He looked back up at the person, suddenly wary. God, he was such an idiot. This thing could hurt him, even kill him. He should just close the pod and leave. Still, something didn't seem right. "What… what is this? What's going on here?" After a moment of silence, August spoke again. "You know you can answer me, right?"
Nyx blinked again. "Thank you." he said softly, voice a little scratchy and dry, rusty from disuse. "I…don't know where to begin in answering your questions." he remained still, only his mouth, tongue, and vocal cords doing anything. "But…my name is Nyx." he blinked, thinking. "I don't really know the answers to any of your other questions." he looked up at this person. He didn't know how long it had been since he had last spoken to someone that wasn't a scientist poking and prodding at him and taking him apart then putting him back together.
"Why are you," he gestured to Nyx, "like this? This is allowed, right? My supervisor said I'm supposed to make sure everything's okay down here. Are you okay? Is there someone I should call?" August really wasn't supposed to be talking to him. But he looked horrible, like he was some sort of experiment and not something living, something with the ability to speak and breathe. Something that looked hurt. "Wait, this was an experimental surgery, right? Is this some sort of healing chamber thing?"
Nyx looked up at him hopelessly. "I don't know." he said again. "I can't remember." he tried again. Access denied. The same message as always. "I…" his eyes flicked around the pod. "This is to keep me from being…contaminated, I presume. Or maybe it's for healing, I don't know." he cleared his throat softly. Please don't close this back up. Please. He begged silently.
August wasn't sure how to help. "Dr. Blake is in charge of this project, right? Should I call him?" He stepped away from the pod and towards the phone on the table. He couldn't help but start to panic. What if this was a trick? The file said the cyborg was dangerous. "I think I should call Dr. Blake. He'll know what to do."
Nyx's eyes widened. "No, wait! Please!" he exclaimed. "Please don't. If you contact him he'll just shut this back up and I'll be trapped again, please!" his fingers twitched very slightly, the most movement he could manage without being instructed he could move. "Please." he said again.
(Sorry it's taking me so long to respond to everything. I'm kind of busy right now)
August took another step. His back was to the table. "What do you mean by "trapped"? Can't you move?" He wrapped his hand around the phone. Just in case, he thought, worriedly. Dr. Blake was a respected man, he wouldn't just do… this. There had to be a reason.
(it's totally fine, don't worry about it)
"No." Nyx replied softly. "Not… not without "permission". Because my body is owned by them. Because technically cyborgs don't have any rights once they're more than 50% cybernetic. Because I…" His voice cut off, and he closed his eyes. "It doesn't matter." He mumbled.
August stiffened. He remembered when that law had gone into effect. He hadn't thought much of it at the time, but now it seemed a lot more real. "So, if I say you can move, you can? Is that how this works?" He asked. He tightened his grip on the phone. How long was this supposed to take? Should he be back to his station by now? What if his supervisor came looking for him?
"Yeah. But no one is ever stupid enough to tell me I can." Nyx replied, eyes still closed. "So." He took a deep, slightly shaky breath. "Maybe it's best if you close this up again. Nothing is going to change, and…I don't want the doctor getting mad. At you or me."
"You can move," August said before he could stop himself. He immediately covered his mouth with his hand. Obviously, he didn't understand English, if he was disregarding the file so blatantly. What if this was some sort of test from the higher-ups? What if they were trying to see if he'd follow directions in this situation, or if his emotions would get the best of him? He'd definitely failed the test.
Nyx sat up immediately, wires popping off from him as he did so. He let out a breath, closing his eyes and tipping his head back. "Thank you." He whispered. "You have…no idea how much this means to me." He raked a hand through his messy black hair, eyes still closed. Sitting up, it was obvious that quite a lot of his body was not flesh. Was cybernetic, metal. Far more than half. Too much for him to have any legal protection for anything. Which meant that RTI and it's employees could do absolutely anything they wanted to him, and he couldn't tell them no.
August stifled a gasp in his hand. The table pressed against him, cold and metal–just like Nyx. His hand burned from holding the phone so hard. "You're–" he was going to be sick. RTI couldn't be doing this, right? He knew it was legal, but… they just couldn't be, right?
Nyx looked over at him, cocking his head a little. "I'm?" he asked, raising his eyebrows and looking over at August curiously. He opened his eyes, showing that one of his eyes was fake, cybernetic, as was evidenced by the pale blue line that bisected it.
August ran a hand through his hair. It slipped down to touch his face, to feel his skin. Had Nyx been conscious when they tore his flesh away and replaced it with machine? Could he still feel through the metal, or were all sensations gone? Why would he let RTI do this? "You don't make sense." August couldn't look away from Nyx, from the wires twisting along his body, from his inhuman eye. "RTI wouldn't just take someone off the streets to do this to. You had to agree to this, right? Why?"
Nyx frowned a little. There was a seam on his face where his real skin had been fused with a fake type of skin, a covering for the metal beneath. "I…don't remember." he said slowly. "I can rattle off the percentages of my body, if you like, but I don't remember anything." he replied with a slight shrug. "My memories are locked. I can't access them without the proper codes, which the good doctor has made sure I don't have." he spat the words "good doctor", a strange, almost hateful expression twisting his face.
(Is it okay if we have someone walk in on them, or do you want to continue the conversation?)
(hmm. I'm good either way, though I was planning on having someone come in sooner or later. Who are you thinking could come in?)
(I didn't really have a person in mind)
(alright cool. The Doctor, maybe? And do you want to narrate it, or me? I would prefer to, unless you really really want to lol)
(you can narrate it!)
(alright coolio! Want me to do it now, or would you like to post a reply first?)
(You can do it now. I know I already said it but I'm really sorry it takes me so long to respond)
(Alright. Dude it's totally fine, don't worry about it. I have partners on here that only reply like every two days, so you're totally fine)
The door opened, and a middle-aged man walked inside. Doctor Blake. He spotted them, and frowned. "What is going on here?" he demanded. He pulled something that looked like a remote control from his pocket, and aimed it at Nyx, then turned to August. "What have you done?" he demanded.
Nyx let out a soft cry at the remote, pressing his hands over his ears as a shrill, ringing noise pierced through his body and mind. "Sorry!" He exclaimed, laying back down in the pod, eyes wide. The noise stopped as soon as he was laying down again.
August flinched. "I–nothing! My supervisor sent me down here to check on the project!" He fumbled for his ID and held it up for the Doctor to see. "Is Nyx okay? What did you just do to him?" He looked over at Nyx, concerned. August hadn't heard a noise, but something had obviously affected the cyborg.
Doctor Blake frowned. "You're not supposed to have clearance." He muttered. "It is fine." He replied, meaning Nyx. "Why on Earth did you think it was a good idea to let that thing move around on its own? You realize that one of those hands could crush your skull quite easily."
Nyx was silent. Any movement or noise on his part would just result in more of that piercing, ringing pain in his ears and body.