[OPEN]

[subtract]

Who: Add, Data-Roxas, & OPEN!
Where: Various locations, including TechCleric computer repair shop, Calico cat café
When: April 22nd to 25th
What: Prayer #15. Isn't it kind of shady to "bring business" to a repair shop...?
Warnings: Nyan Cat, Add. Will update if needed.

When Roxas stated the name of the business that had prayed to them for help, there was an immediate pang of guilt from Add. Not that he really wants to admit why he so eagerly volunteered to help with this one, but considering it was the same computer repair shop he'd been pilfering for materials over the past month...

And now it was almost ready to go out of business thanks to numerous tools and parts going missing. The constant need to order new parts created such huge delays that customers ended up going elsewhere... even if they improved the turnaround, would it be enough of a change to bring those customers back?

Of course, there would only be customers if they had electronics that needed repairing again...

Hmmm.

If it's for a good cause, it's perfectly fine to muck up some machines, right?? ... He'll be gentle to keep his god from complaining, though.

The end result is a (relatively) harmless piece of malware embedded into several local websites. Just visiting one of the infected pages is enough to pass the infection on to a computer, phone or tablet, which causes it to loudly play an obnoxious song nonstop, on any and all connected audio devices, and block all attempts by the user to deactivate or adjust the volume of said devices. Even if every part capable of outputting audio is physically removed, the virus will manipulate any moving internal components to try and simulate the song's tune. The virus will also spread to any connected devices and resist removal attempts—it's certainly possible to remove it with enough technological and programming know-how, but without knowing exactly where to look or how it's going to respond, it could still take hours to clear the damn thing out and prevent reinfection.

Unless you have the deactivation code for it. Which, of course, Add does have. And what do you know! Now his favourite repair shop also has it. Who would've thought they'd be so quick to figure it out, huh?

Not that this will be immediately obvious to everyone who picks the virus up, but even if other repair places are picking up business from Add's mischief, there's only one place in town that can remove the infection in a matter of minutes. News like that can spread quickly. It's a foolproof strategy!

And if it hits a few Far Shore devices, well, business is business.

[ A - TechCleric Computer Repairs ]

After setting his trap and planting the deactivation key at the struggling shop, all that's left for Add to do is wait and watch as they flourish thanks to his efforts...

Or, at least that's how it went in his mind. What actually happens is they get an unexpected flood of customers and a cryptic note that no one can figure out. He... may have been a bit too vague with his instructions.

Okay, so maybe he has to hold their hands a little. Just to get them started.

Somehow "explain to them how to use the deactivation code" turns into "volunteer to help handle all the customers", and suddenly Add is manning the front of the store and trying yell over the blaring sounds of Nyan Cat coming from several devices at once. He does not look amused.

... but he isn't complaining, and he's still helping. He'll see this plan through to the end, even at the cost of his own sanity...

[ B - Calico Cat Café ]

When he finally gets his lunch break, Add is completely exhausted. It takes all of his energy to drag himself out of the store, trying to find someplace quiet to soothe his raging migraine. Why did he have to make his virus something so loud...

That new cat café ends up being close by. He wanders shakily inside, finds an empty chair, and sprawls out onto it unceremoniously. He has no money, so he can't even order a drink... but at least he can drape an arm down for passing cats to rub up against. And if a few of them hop up to sit on his lap or shoulders, he's happy to let them stay there. He's too worn out to push them off even if he wanted to.

If anyone wants to kick him out for loitering, they'll have to drag him out by force.

[ C - TechCleric, Post-Nyancataclysm ]

After the first day of handling the front counter Add is asked to come back tomorrow, and then again the next day... and when the chaos finally subsides after the virus is "mysteriously" removed and deactivated remotely (he's so sick of Nyan Cat he doesn't even care anymore, that's more than enough business to revive one shop), he figures he'll no longer be needed.

But when he's told to come in again tomorrow anyway, he realizes he somehow ended up on the payroll.

He feels a little guilty for accepting payment for something that was meant to fix a problem he'd caused, but... maybe this can be his way to repay them. The only thing better than a one-time miracle cure for a short lived virus is a long-term miracle employee with amazing technical skills, right?

Business is quieter now, but if anyone has a need for computer repairs or happens to be passing by, they might spot Add sitting at the front desk. It's almost like he's a contributing member of society now. Kinda freaky. The shop is only supposed to service your every day electronics, but considering its Add manning the store right now, he isn't the type to turn away less mundane requests. Like advanced technological weaponry, or cyborg parts... just don't expect him to do any work for free.

Comments

[subtract]

"Very funny." That reluctance is going unnoticed, so instead he's going to take it as a sarcastic remark. Blame Roxas' usual monotone for making it difficult to tell.

"Hmph. If you're more used to dealing with them, you can take care of the quality testing," he suggests, drawing out a holographic screen and keyboard from Apocalypse. "If the virus is too easy to remove then it'll be less effective. We need to make sure it's intelligent enough to evade even experienced detection and removal attempts. That's the most important part after making sure it's intrusive enough to demand attention."

Which would still leave Add doing the bulk of the work. A compromise? It's good to have a second set of eyes to test out his code, anyway. He can't really test it on himself since he knows exactly what to look for, and he's not sure how good Apocalypse would be at sniffing out viruses.

[cloak]

Although Roxas could clarify what he means, he chooses not to. Right now the object of focus is completing this prayer, and anything else can be set on the back-burner. One day he should probably at least tell Add that he never forgets anything, because that might become a useful trait, but for now he simply nods at the concession.

"I should be a reasonable gauge of whether it's that difficult, at least." Something he can most certainly do, because coding is not only what he is but what he knows. He'd wrought a battlefield out of code in an instant to challenge Sora, because as an AI he had an intuitive understanding of how a data environment worked that others wouldn't have from the same perspective. He can't create at will in this world, but he still understands code.

And considering how determined Add seemed in handling this himself, for reasons he can only speculate, Roxas will consider this much of a compromise success in and of itself. During their first week, he's sure Add would have declined to allow him any involvement at all.

[subtract]

He nods in agreement, starting to pull up a few more screens to work with and feeding Apocalypse some instructions on coding a simpler part of the program—that could be interesting to observe as well. Apocalypse has proven itself to be fairly intelligent and adaptive, but how much of this task could it complete on its own?

... but that's not what this is about. He scolds himself a little in his mind. Something like this should take at least a day of solid work. He needs to get this virus completed quickly, so he can't be getting too distracted by side-projects within the main project. He sighs and starts working on an outline for the program.

"This might take awhile, so you don't have to stay here," he offers, not really convinced that his god is going to leave anyway. It's a bit awkward to just sit here in silence with him, though.