I've been immune to sickness thus far. It's the same as it is back home; androids don't get sick.
[Machines didn't contract illnesses like organic life, after all.
Still, possible isn't good enough. Connor wants to confirm for himself, and he reaches out a hand, stopping just short of actually touching Bedivere's forehead.]
[Green eyes blink rapidly at Connor's motion and Bedivere wonders for a second if his senses have also dulled because he certainly wasn't expecting that.]
[It’s all the permission he needs to bridge that gap of a few inches and feel Bedivere’s forehead with the back of his hand. Judges temperature based on that alone; he feels needlessly warm.]
Your body’s changed?
[He frowns. Maybe this would be more surprising if he hadn’t already been a member of the Circle for some months now.]
[Good thing they're about the same height so it's not completely awkward as Saber might have feared at first. Connor's palm feels cool against his forehead, giving the knight a modicum of focus.]
I'm mildly surprised that I've kept my right arm. Or it's more of a prosthetic in this case.
No, it wouldn’t. I find that age can be very misleading here — I’m an example of that, as well.
[“It’s complicated” isn’t a thorough answer, but Connor can always ask for details later. They’ve only just met, and his prying can be subtle if need be.]
I would say I have existed for over 1000 years give or take. And I'm just going by how old I would be according to the 21st century of the Earth calendar.
[More than what he expected to hear, to be honest.]
Would you explain to me how that's possible? Not that I don't believe you, of course, but I'm still learning much about many of the people here and their circumstances.
[The Bedivere of the main Arthurian legend, died like a normal man. He was mortal and like all mortal things, his end was also normal in comparison to his companions.
But this Bedivere, the one who made a different choice, has had a different outcome.]
It's another long story. Being a knight, it seems I'm made of many of those.
[Serving a king, fighting alongside friends, keeping a kingdom in check, facing magical creatures...]
In my case, I think I would say I cursed myself to wander for a long time. Magic kept my body going even though I am... Or at least, was, human at my core.
[Androids are not alive, so Connor would not call them long-lived. But they can function much longer than humans could hope to -- never tiring, a potentially constantly regenerating power source, parts that can be newly replaced, memories that can be uploaded to a vast network, again and again.
Even so, he does wonder if androids can live for millennia in such a way. If even they can avoid the slow entropic nature of time; would he even be "himself" 3000 years from now? He wonders.
Then he pushes such thoughts from his mind, labelling them irrelevant. Only errors would dictate that he philosophize in that way.]
[Immortal wouldn't be the right word, but Bedivere refrains from answering. His existence is an anomaly and his literal soul suffered for it before becoming registered in the Throne of Heroes.
It's those kinds of details, however, that keeps the knight from trying to explain, especially to an artificial being like Connor. Bedivere has always done his best to be considerate and careful with his words and it's no different now.]
"Akin" is probably accurate enough. As I said... I wandered for so long and my body mostly remained the same.
Well... except for his.
[He holds up his right arm, the Airgetlám. The smooth and intricately decorated surface gives a soft shine in the dull light around them.]
[The arm. Of course. The anomaly that had drawn Connor's eye since the moment they met, and it's taken a fair effort to not let his gaze flicker down to it as they speak. But if Bedivere holds it up, he is free to look it over with unbridled curiosity.
Free to ask questions about its origin.]
A prosthetic. How did you lose your original arm?
[Sometimes, maybe, the questions are a little too forward.]
[Bedivere does let out a small chuckle at the forwardness of the question.]
That also happened, long ago even before my long journey. I lost it in a battle, but I adjusted without the use of my original arm eventually. I fought well without it too, if I do say so myself.
[Meaning, he is a one-handed fighter. He still fights that way even with Airgetlám acting as his replacement.]
[He considers the implications of that. Of being forced to fight with only one hand, the ways a body would have to compensate, the skill required to make up for it. Bedivere must be very talented on the battlefield, indeed.]
That’s very impressive, Bedivere. You must be a very capable swordsman.
[But that does bring up the obvious question—]
But if you don’t mind me asking, how did you gain the arm that you have now? You said it was given to you?
[Bedivere coughs lightly; he's still affected by this plague after all. But he's patient and willing to engage with this very curious android. He wonders, even though Connor was artificial, his intelligence and need for information and feedback felt very natural.]
Mm. [He nods in confirmation.]
... It was Merlin. He's the fellow with the white robes and hair if you haven't encountered hi yet.
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Needless to say, I'm finding this inconvenient. Normally, I am not receptive to such a poor state of health. And what of you... Oh, wait.
[He's a robot Bedivere, duh!]
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[Machines didn't contract illnesses like organic life, after all.
Still, possible isn't good enough. Connor wants to confirm for himself, and he reaches out a hand, stopping just short of actually touching Bedivere's forehead.]
...May I?
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Um...? Oh! You don't need to!
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[Hi, it's a stubborn android.]
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Can... Can you sense temperature?
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Of course I can. Though not as accurately as before, I can at least tell you if you're running warm.
So, may I?
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If it eases you, you may.
I must confess... It's been a while since I experienced a wholly human body.
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Your body’s changed?
[He frowns. Maybe this would be more surprising if he hadn’t already been a member of the Circle for some months now.]
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[Good thing they're about the same height so it's not completely awkward as Saber might have feared at first. Connor's palm feels cool against his forehead, giving the knight a modicum of focus.]
I'm mildly surprised that I've kept my right arm. Or it's more of a prosthetic in this case.
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[A glance at the arm, then back to the man’s face.]
…Still. You shouldn’t be wandering around outside like this. Not with the fever you have.
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[Heroic Spirits are a unique existence after all.]
But I am from an antiquated era as you surmised before. It probably doesn't come as a shock to you that I am much older than I appear.
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[“It’s complicated” isn’t a thorough answer, but Connor can always ask for details later. They’ve only just met, and his prying can be subtle if need be.]
If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?
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I would say I have existed for over 1000 years give or take. And I'm just going by how old I would be according to the 21st century of the Earth calendar.
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[More than what he expected to hear, to be honest.]
Would you explain to me how that's possible? Not that I don't believe you, of course, but I'm still learning much about many of the people here and their circumstances.
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But this Bedivere, the one who made a different choice, has had a different outcome.]
It's another long story. Being a knight, it seems I'm made of many of those.
[Serving a king, fighting alongside friends, keeping a kingdom in check, facing magical creatures...]
In my case, I think I would say I cursed myself to wander for a long time. Magic kept my body going even though I am... Or at least, was, human at my core.
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Even so, he does wonder if androids can live for millennia in such a way. If even they can avoid the slow entropic nature of time; would he even be "himself" 3000 years from now? He wonders.
Then he pushes such thoughts from his mind, labelling them irrelevant. Only errors would dictate that he philosophize in that way.]
So magic kept you akin to... immortal?
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It's those kinds of details, however, that keeps the knight from trying to explain, especially to an artificial being like Connor. Bedivere has always done his best to be considerate and careful with his words and it's no different now.]
"Akin" is probably accurate enough. As I said... I wandered for so long and my body mostly remained the same.
Well... except for his.
[He holds up his right arm, the Airgetlám. The smooth and intricately decorated surface gives a soft shine in the dull light around them.]
This was given to me.
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Free to ask questions about its origin.]
A prosthetic. How did you lose your original arm?
[Sometimes, maybe, the questions are a little too forward.]
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That also happened, long ago even before my long journey. I lost it in a battle, but I adjusted without the use of my original arm eventually. I fought well without it too, if I do say so myself.
[Meaning, he is a one-handed fighter. He still fights that way even with Airgetlám acting as his replacement.]
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That’s very impressive, Bedivere. You must be a very capable swordsman.
[But that does bring up the obvious question—]
But if you don’t mind me asking, how did you gain the arm that you have now? You said it was given to you?
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Mm. [He nods in confirmation.]
... It was Merlin. He's the fellow with the white robes and hair if you haven't encountered hi yet.
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I think I might have. Very long, impossibly voluminous hair?
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That would be him. He's rather hard to miss when you put it like that.
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Is he always like that?
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