Video; pretend it wasn't posted in the dead of night

[terminalemulation]

[This file registers as a regular video, but upon activation it displays significantly differently than a normal video - instead of showing a person in a specific place, it projects a translucent, 2D image of a girl on the COMP glasses' display. In the corner of the HUD, you might notice a new little button has appeared:

Even if you were to stop watching this video right now, the button would persist. It's a new, permanent feature of the COMP: it appears on the screen of the watch, as well.]

 

Let's see... good, I have all the settings done correctly this time. My word, this system works differently than anything else I've ever seen.

[Instead of an actual voice, her words appear inside of a text box beside her.]

Greetings, Guests of Hinoto-Ri! My name is *Hyun-ae - don't pronounce the star, it's simply to show my status as an AI. I was recently installed as a new, 25/7 administrator of the network: simply put, I'm here to monitor things and make sure it all keeps running smoothly.
 

You might notice a new addition to the COMP - [At this point, she gestures to the new button.] I've created that as a means to facilitate communication. If you have any questions for me, or really need any help at all... well, here's an example. Let's say you're lost and need a specific map? I can find it for you in an instant! Just ask! Additionally, if I need to speak to you, I'll do it through that button. It'll flash blue when I'm trying to get your attention, so please don't ignore it for too long.

...Well. I believe that's everything I can think of to say.

Comments

[meaningdies]

[Well there's one person who isn't so surprised. Or at least he's keeping the surprise off his face.]

An AI, hm? And an administrator, as well. Interesting. Artificial intelligence isn't one of the areas of computing I've delved into, myself.

Well, welcome to the network, I suppose.

[terminalemulation]

There's a surprising variation in how familiar people are with AIs here... You know what an AI actually is already, so I'll take that as a good start. From how you said that, though... computing isn't an entirely unknown subject to you?

_{[*Hyun-ae gets a hopeful look - every since her encounter with the corrupted data from the Mictlan video, she's been worried about her potential vulnerabilities.]}

[meaningdies]

Indeed. I studied computer information systems and coding while I was at university. I'm something of an expert in my world.

[terminalemulation]

Great! There's not that many people with that skillset available to me, so I was a bit concerned... Let me explain.

You saw the recent video from within the Mictlan, right? When I attempted accessing it, it didn't exactly... well, I was completely unprepared for what happened, let's say that. I'd like to understand more of what was going on there.

The video simply showed as having quite a bit of corruption on the outside, but my internal attempts at opening it result in a kind of backlash effect.

[meaningdies]

Backlash? Of what sort? Against which part of your coding?

[terminalemulation]

The data core that I accessed the file from was turned effectively catatonic. I terminated the file before it could pass the harmful data along anywhere else, but the core remained unresponsive until a few hours ago.

...The frustrating part is that there's nothing different about the actual hard code at all. But I definitely could tell something was happening. Something awful.

[meaningdies]

... There might be magic involved. I can take a closer look at it. My own supplies are limited, given I don't have a proper computer, but my COMP from home should be able to serve as enough of a coding platform...

To start to reconstruct it fully I'll have to wait until I can get a desktop, though.

[terminalemulation]

You haven't been able to get a hold of a proper computer yet...?

_{[Huge frown! The COMPs are useful, but there's nothing like the real thing... and someone who can use a computer properly shouldn't just be left to have their skills atrophy. It's practically criminal!]}

...Maybe I'll requisition a few supplies. Anyway, I have no experience with magic at all, so if you know more about how it and computers mix, that will be massively helpful.

[meaningdies]

That would be helpful.

... Working on such a system was the last project I completed before I arrived here. At least in my world, there's no one who knows more about how those two can interact. To my knowledge, anyway.

[terminalemulation]

You worked on this independently?

_{[Because if so, woah, color her impressed.]}

[meaningdies]

Aside from a few small but key parts, yes. I was commissioned to do so by a group in my world. I designed programs for COMPs - not the style we have here, but a portable gaming system from my world. While demons can be summoned by magic alone, it's far more exhausting and not as accessible to do so without the aid of technology. That was the aim of the program I was hired to create - a way to more efficiently meld together technology and magic to make a demon summoning platform that was easy enough for anyone to use.