Scene #2513: Ceremony and Celebration

Owner	Pose
Taro	The prayer service held the the Cathedral is not unlike many others found in other religions - there are in fact prayers offered to the CyberGoddess SHODAN, thanking her for her guidance and asking for mercy for their errors.. In honor of Taro, many of those prayers offered to her are thanks for his liberation of Neo Arcadia and bringing her enlightenment to them, for his continued victories over her enemies, and for his continued health and well-being...perhaps quite a few of the latter, given the Bishop Engineers penchant for coming home from most battles battered if not worse. There is nothing that would be recognized as a sermon given, it not being that kind of service. Offerings are given in the form of incense sticks, which turn out to be pencil-thin reeds made of some kind of porous ceramic infused with fragrance, which the faithful place upright in warming stands in front of the altar, not unlike some in other religions would do with candles. After the service has concluded, the recessed lights in the vaulted ceiling brighten to hall, though the walls remain displaying images of Saint Diego , Saint Rebecca, and another of other saints in the style of stained glass windows. The incense placed during the service proper mixes with the fresher air from outside as both armored doors are opened. Outside on the portico tables of light refreshments have been set out, and theyve been more or less clearly marked which are suitable for organic and which are for mechanical consumption. A pair of burly acolytes at some point carried out a smaller copy of Taros carved jade cathedra, though its unlikely hell have a chance to sit down anytime soon. There are too many well-wishers (congregants and visitors alike) that want his attention, beginning with the people greeting him as soon as he steps outside...
Ferham	Ferham makes her appearance at the reception, in her armor, however she makes a point to disarm even if she is a somewhat (she hopes) trusted ally of the man of the hour. She did however get a special wax job done on said armor, so that apparently helps in her mind a little with the whole 'special occasion' aspect of this. To be honest she likely wasn't very sure what other sort of outfit she should have worn. Every time she asked Trance for advise the holographic emitting fox would present her with a nun habit, and Taro... probably wouldn't have been too terribly amused with such. And so the winged femmebot is there, with bells on, so to speak. She smiles at the two acolytes at the door and makes some small talk with them as she moves past, before finally settling in to try and see out the manbot himself.
Kari Wolf	Zarenna and her two shinki, Kari and Harriet, are present as well, Zarenna wears a suit-like outfit (because frankly she disdains what typically passes for women's fashion), while Kari is in her normal Howling style armor and Harriet is wearing her fully-enclosed armor. Kari is tucked into Zarenna's breast pocket while the larger Harriet is sitting quietly on their Master's shoulder. Kari shows unusual patience while the prayer service is held, managing to not talk the whole time, though she does fidget once in awhile. Harriet and Zarenna are much more well-mannered, listening quietly. Afterwards, the trio mingle with the guests and Zarenna introduces Harriet as something Taro and she collaborated on. Harriet doesn't seem to mind the attention and Kari is cheerfully praising her sister to boot. Eventually they do gravitate to talk with Taro himself.
Taro	The dress code is fairly liberal for those not in the clergy - it's the attitude that's important, not as much the clothing or armor. Though admittedly the habit would have been a bit much...especially since by all appearaces all of the clergy wear cassocks regardless of gender. There are some who would recognize Taro's visitors, of course. Some of the medical staff at the hospital would know Ferham, and those who work in his lab recognize Kari, Zarenna, and Harriet. The acolytes would have been happy to chat with Ferham, and ask her what she thinks of the city. Harriet does get some fussing over once it's known that she's partly Taro's collaberation, assuming she doesn't mind it too mcuh. Zarenna gets a few curious looks, but they all seem to be in friendly company. The man of the hour does finally manage to extract himself from the latest throng of congregants who want to personally wish him a happy anniversary, and walks as briskly as politeness and his heavier vestments will allow over to the others. "Thank you for coming."
Ferham	Ferham of course would have made time to say hello to Zarenna and her two shinki, because of course Fer did know the little howler Kari that she had riding about in her breast pocket there. "Hope you two are doing fine so far today, thank you for coming also, I'm sure it means a lot to Taro that you're here," she nods, smiling a little as some seem to make a big fuss over Harriet. "I see even those he's worked on get honored... hrm, wonder if it's good to mention he's helped repair me before," Ferham rubs her chin a little, perhaps weighing the pros and con of such attention. "Hello there Mr. Daisho, we're glad you invited us," Ferham made a point to bow when greeted by Taro.
Kari Wolf	Harriet doesn't mind. It makes her feel like less of a weirdo, especially since Kari is not getting the bulk of the attention here. Eventually... Zarenna extends a hand to shake, while Kari waves to Taro and Harriet does a strange salute thing. "It's been a few months, Taro. I'm sorry but I've been busy as usual." Zarenna says sheepishly.
Taro	A bow to Ferham. "It's uncommon for me to create another sentient AI," Taro notes as he rises, having caught Ferham's comment about Harriet, "even in a collaberation." He takes Zarenna's hand into a handshake, and gives a greeting sort of nod to the shinki. He'll then offer that hand to the diminutive androids, if either of them would like to cross over to one of his shoulders. "Though if you find the attention unwanted or to be too much, Harriet, you can say so."
Ferham	"Well I can see why," Ferham gestures to her leotard and chassis in general. "He does excellent work," Ferham smiled, apparently quite happy and proud with the work Taro had done in repairing her that last time she took a spill at the hatchery. "I can see how too much attention and press would be unwanted, I get the same thing from people who recognize me from time to time," Ferham clears her throat a little, then laughed a little mock hesitantly. "Fanboys and all that, you know," she nodded with a wink.
Kari Wolf	Harriet shrugs a bit. "It's alright. They think I'm interesting and people think I'm just another shinki at home. Just one that's bigger." She says quietly. Kari interjects. "She can get things off the shelves that I can't!" Zarenna ums. "Well, she seems to be working out great, and it took some adjusting to but Kari and Harriet seem to get along fine."
Taro	Taro gives a hint of a smirk at Ferham's remark about fanboys. "You should have seen the hordes of fangirls that Sephiroth could call up simply by crossing the street. I've no idea how he or Ms. Devanos ever tolerated that. While I hope your second career has been productive, I hope that it hasn't reached such heights...?" The smirk shifts into his closest approximation of a smile at Kari and Harriet acting like sisters. "So I see," he replies, some amusement in his voice that his face does not reflect. "You must be pleased, I'm sure."
Ferham	"Oh? who's that?" Ferham appears to not know who this 'Sefiroth' or whoever this was. "Hey, it's not easy being a robot that's bigger than a shinki, believe me," Fer winks a little to the shinkis and gestures to herself again. "Sometimes I wish I was that small, it would certainly make repairs and upgrades cost a lot less, at least," she shrugged with a smile. "Oh, was this a friend of yours, then? Devanos? That wouldn't be that 'Raven' person would it?" Fer raised a brow, peering at Taro. "It is nice to see a familial relationship between robots more, hoewver," she nods.
Kari Wolf	Harriet ums... and Zarenna speaks up. "Well, I did design you to be easier to fix, Harriet. A lot of your parts can just be swapped out when they're damaged. Especially your muscles and servos. That way you can keep doing things while the part's being repaired." Harriet looks weirded out by this information. "... How many sets of spare parts do you have for me?" "Oh, just three, not including the parts you're using. Just in case you decide to get into a lot of combat like your sister here." There's a small protest from Kari at that.
Taro	"He was a genetically augmented human, extremely handsome by human standards," Taro answers Ferham's question with a small shrug. "Raven DeVanos is a soldier turned mercenary, though I believe she's finally retired from the business. We know each other more by reputation." The android hints a smile at Harriet's reaction to being told about the spare parts. "Did you think you'd be kept wanting for spares?"
Ferham	"Ah I see," Fer nodded to Taro, seeming to be fine with that answer. "Same, more or less, I only heard of them back from months ago, radio global band mainly," the femmebot shrugged. "Well, I have to thank you for inviting us to this ceremony of yours, I'm very happy for you," she bowed to the newly coronated reploid. "Is there to be any sort of followup party after this?" she raised a brow, with a little grin on her face.
Kari Wolf	Harriet still looks slightly horrified. "Are there spare CMOSes that you use?" Zarenna looks at Harriet with a raised eyebrow. "No, but your CMOS is backed up every night you use your recharge cradle, just like Kari. I fully intend both of you to outlast me." Kari huhs? "I have a backup? COOL! That means the Union can like blow me to little pieces and then I can come back and be all like 'SURPRISE!' and punch them in the nose!" Kari gets distracted by Taro and Ferham's conversation. "After party? Does it involve games?"
Taro	"Ordination, not coronation," Taro corrects, humor creeping into his voice. "A small difference. I lead SHODAN's faithful. While I do offer guidance to Neo Arcadia's rulers, I do not rule." That said leaders almost always take his advice is only because his advice is good. Really. The hint of a smile slips away at the mention of nightly backups, though he makes no direct comment on it. Instead, he glances to Zarenna, before looking back to Ferham. "I imagine by comparison this is rather dull..." No apology, simply acknowldgement,' and in a way a distraction from the other thread of conversation.
Ferham	"Hey, it's like some human technician's say, always be cloning, or was it backing up? Either way, good advice to have," Ferham smiled at the exchange between Harriet and Zarenna. "Oh, no, I'm sorry--but it's alright, I'm happy for you, I'm here because you invited me, I don't mean to say this is dull," she shook her head with a little smile. "I enjoy being around you two, well, three," she corrected herself.
Kari Wolf	Harriet frowns and seems to think on things, probably contemplating what mortality is like. Zarenna and Kari smile and thank Ferham for the complement. Zarenna hmms. "So what's your plan for the next year, Taro?"
Taro	Taro takes note of Harriet's pensiveness. Quite a difference from Kari, or even Fuki. Interesting. That thought is tucked away away for now, and he looks back to the others. "It is not exactly exciting, but it is good to commemorate such things, hm? Particularly in company one enjoys." He pauses for a moment at Zarenna's question, seemingly giving it some thought before answering. "I have a few projects already started that I intend to finish within the year. Others, well, I will begin but are more long term, and some I've already begun but will not finish." He sweeps a hand in the direction of the city's barrier wall, obscured by the towers surrounding them. "Making the wastelands habitable again will likely take decades, if not centuries. But, one step at a time."
Ferham	"What, do you not think you'll be around to see the ecosystem here restored? You're going to live a long time," Ferham reached over to give Taro a friendly pat on the shoulder. She used a tone that was friendly and all that, not really wanting to make it seem like there would be anything more to it. "I can understand though, I just hope I can be of some assistance to your community," she replies with a nod.
Kari Wolf	Kari hops down and looks out at the panoramic view. "You mean even robots can't live there?" She says, sounding confused. Zarenna walks over to where her 'daughter' is looking out and gazes out as well. "Yeah, that is kind of strange. Is there a lot of radiation out there or do reploids have parts that are kind of biological?"
Taro	Taro looks up at Ferham as she rests her hand on his shoulder, and his voice takes on a hint of self-depreciation. "I could live for decades or centuries, but while the CyberGoddess has shown me great mercy, life will always be uncertain." Then, he follows Kari's and Zarenna's gaze back toward the horizon. "Machine life can tolerate it, generally speaking, though I would not call it comfortable," he explains with a small shake of his head. "The grit works its way into anything and everything, and some of the lakes and ponds can be caustic to the touch. Then there are the feral drones left over from the war, who see anyone in their territory as an intruder, and irradiated zones too dangerous even for AIs and so must be avoided. But we are not all reploids..." He turns his head to look down a little ways at one of the plazas below. "Humans have lived here since Master X founded this city."
Ferham	"Radiation can be a problem, without proper equipment," Ferham nods, and notes the sudden downturn in tone that Taro takes, seeming to understand it. "Yeah, lots of those old robots left over from one of the wars in this area, surprised to think that conflicts like that kept happening even after my time," she sighs a little and shrugs. "Brings back some bad memories," she replies a little sullenly. "Well, not to sound like a big wet blanket, but I have some business I need to take care of, Taro, you too--" she nods to Kari and her friend. "I will see you later as well, please stay safe," she nods with a bow, before stepping away for a bit.
Kari Wolf	Kari woahs. "So there's lots of robots with no direction out there? We should try and help them!" She says, sounding very concerned. Zarenna ers... "They're not like you, your sister, or Taro, Kari. At least, I hope they're not AIs that have gone insane. Losing your mind would be pretty awful." the roboticist glances at Taro for confirmation on the sophistication of the wasteland 'bots.
Taro	"I will try." Taro returns Ferham's bow with a respectful one of his own. "Until later." He watches Ferham until she passes by the refreshment tables, then turns back toward his other esteemed associates. "No, generally they aren't sentient AIs. Most are low-level AUs, programmed to act as watchdogs or as hunter-seekers. They're still following the orders they were given, but their command codes have been lost. Normally, it's more efficient to simply destroy them than to collect and attempt to reprogram them."
Kari Wolf	Kari ohs... "But Master, you said that robots can be affected by Ee-Em-Pees. What if you used those to shut them down?" Zarenna just looks at Taro helplessly, even though she knows that most military robots are protected against EMPs. "Kari, why are you concerned about them?" She asks the shinki quietly, kneeling down to be somewhat on her level. "Because if you destroy them, they're dead! And you said death is forever, Master. You don't want Harriet and me to die, so you have backups of us so that we can't really die. So if we can fix them, shouldn't we try?" Kari explains to Zarenna and Taro.
Taro	Taro's brow furrows ever so slightly at Kari's outburst of explanation, closer to a pensive than an unhappy expression. "Kari...does it upset you when a toaster or a vacuum cleaner ceases to work?"
Kari Wolf	Zarenna facepalms because she knows what Kari is going to say. Kari says "The toaster doesn't move unless somebody presses a button! But the roomba does all the vacuuming all by itself and lets me ride around on it when it isn't doing anything else!"
Taro	That...was not quite the answer Taro was expecting, if the raised eyebrows are any indication. "Mm." He glances at Zarenna, to look for her reaction, only to find the woman facepalming. His gaze returns to the shinki, and he extends his left hand, palm up, to her. "But the toaster and the roomba are not living machines like you and Harriet, or like myself. They can only do exactly as they are told, and cannot think forthemselves, yes?"
Kari Wolf	Zarenna says quietly, "Kari, we've had this discussion so many times already..." in a 'I can't believe she's doing this in front of my boss' kind of way. "The roomba doesn't have a CMOS, it's not like a shinki. It's not even like Ms. Rosen's synthetic owl. I put the random movement mode in there so you could ride around on it. Please stop saying you're friends with the vacuum cleaner." Kari seems hurt. "But..." And then she's interrupted by Harriet, who seems to have resolved her funk. "It doesn't matter what she thinks because we're all going to be dust and vacuumed up by somebody's roomba at some point!" and the Mach Hare stomps off in a snit. Zarenna sighs and rubs her face with both hands and mutters something about how this must be what it's like to have children.
Taro	Taro does not seem to be put out much by their behavior. Really, to him it's rather refreshing to be in the company of AIs that have such a simpler view of the world....or perhaps not, in Harriet's case, he mentally amends as she stomps away. "It's all right, Zarenna," the android says quietly. "They are their own selves, after all." Then, he offers another faint, lopsided smile. "While I wouldn't mind talking further," he continues, in a more conversational tone, "I really should make the rounds and greet the rest of my well-wishers...if you'll excuse me?"