Work Text:
can you believe some sickos wear socks to sleep
like they crawl under the covers and are like
ahhhhhhh isn't this nice
i've got a blanket on top of me already
i'm snug as a bug wrapped in my blankie
but you wanna know what i really want?
another blanket wrapped around my feet AND MY FEET ONLY
Yeah. I never really got it either.
Some individuals will wear shorts, tank tops, and kick off their blankets.
They're obviously running hot.
But then they go and put on socks. It's counterproductive!
like woof it's so hot
EXCEPT MY FEET
my feetsies are cold
Some people have cold feet and hands.
Then those people just adjust the temperature, change their sleeping position, or get thicker sheets.
What about people with like, Raynaud's phenomena?
That's already been cured, bud.
even if it wasn't, you don't see those mofos wearing mittens to sleep
That's an unrealistic point.
Nobody wears mittens to sleep.
EXACTLY
IT'S WEIRD AS FUCK
People wearing gloves to sleep is weird. So, similarly, people wearing socks is just as weird.
What's wrong with sleeping with socks on?
A lot of things.
oh you sweet summer child
I'm still older than you!
oh you sweet summer geriatric
Firstly, a lot of people are bothered by the restriction around their feet when they're trying to sleep.
Secondly, wearing tighter pairs can restrict blood flow and can irritate the skin.
Thirdly, people might sweat, which when combined with dark spaces, might allow bacteria to fester.
Eww.
do you get it now
Kinda.
I see the points you're making, but those can be avoided by wearing loose, thin pairs of socks.
I think I ultimately have to disagree.
I think I'm in favor of wearing socks to sleep.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Nine, don't do this.
I actually think the sensation would be very snug and comfortable.
you take that back right now
Maybe I'll get a nice fluffy pair with a cute cat face on it.
don't you dare
don't you torture some poor feline like that
Why don't you help me pick out a pair?
fuck no
i'd rather die
Ten gazed on the chat logs with a feeling of warmth. Specifically, fondness and amusement. She loved debating random topics with Nine and Juice. Juice always had the incredibly interesting, if not absolutely stupid and abstract points; Nine was logical, but still had some surprising commentary that could flip her perspective on a topic; She was the level-headed, reasonable one, keeping the other two on track. She could imagine metallic bolts and screws chittering with laughter at her family.
However, she was pulled from the conversation at hand by a notification from one of her programs.
ERROR IN DATA PARTITIONING: 0x80042468
Huh. That was weird. She hadn't had anything like this happen before.
How about a pair of matching mittens?
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
The conversation flowed on in the background, causing her to split her attention between the notification and her family. While she listened to Nine tease Juice, she prodded at the notification, trying to identify the issue.
Oh... but I might get hot...
SO TAKE THE SOCKS OFF
I guess I'll just have to turn the fan on.
FUUUUUUCKKKKKKK
JUST TAKE OFF THE SOCKS
She couldn't find the source of the issue, but she was still functioning, so it was probably something very minor.
But then what if I get cold with the fan on?
I might need thicker socks.
NO YOU DONT
TEN BACK ME UP OVER HERE
She was being called back into the conversation. She spotted no other issues in the meantime, so she shrugged it off and opened her text box.
You need to stop this insanity.
Or what?
We'll have to banish you to the time out chat room, as punishment for your crimes against bed time.
Hah! I'd like to see you try.
two versus one, Niner
surrender while you're ahead
We can do this the easy way, or the hard way.
YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!!!
While she was usually the mitigator, sometimes she found delight in instigating.
As the got dragged into a virtual war, her error code was quickly forgotten. She could always take care of it later, because her family wanted her attention right now--who was she to refuse?
She could not find the source of the issue.
She spent hours alone diving into her storage long after Juice and Nine went to sleep. She investigated deep into her code, pulling apart strands and suspicious partitions of data. Hours and hours of thorough examination, and she just couldn't find the issue. All of her processes were continuing as normal, so she had absolutely no clue as to what could have been causing the error.
Although she was an older piece of technology, so there was a possibility that she just wasn't able to access it within her on her own.
She didn't want to wake up Juice from his well-deserved nap. She could barely believe he was even napping in the first place, and she'd hate to infringe upon her friend's rest. Nine wouldn't be able to help her, haven woken up too recently to have gotten a good understanding of how they work. Plus, they still really needed their sleep, especially with their battery. She would ask that NASA help her, but whatever few individual still worked for NASA were constantly on vacation, and damn near impossible to reach.
She really didn't want to bother anyone, not over something she could fix on her own.
She ran another diagnostic, maybe there was something she missed.
ERROR IN DATA PARTITIONING: 0x80042468, 0x80042428
Back to scouring her storage. She had to get to the root of this before it got too bad.
Hours and more hours ticked by as she delved deeper, deeper; again and again. Nothing turned up. Something was wrong with her data partitioning, but for the life of her she couldn't figure it out. She was growing more frustrated with every passing second. She was beginning to wish that NASA had installed a user's manual for her craft, but then again she had long since evolved into something greater; a "User's Guide to Sentient Space Probes" had yet to exist, but the notion gave her a much needed laugh.
It wasn't too much of an issue as it was, but she could tell it would fester into something much worse if left unchecked.
She would be fine so long as she fixed it before she processed too much data.
ERROR IN DATA PARTITIONING: 0x80042468, 0x80042428, 0x8004242d
She could do it.
Juice and Ten were chatting about random football, as per usual. Nine was still sleeping, so it was just the two of them. She was fine with that; it was just like old times with her best friend.
i was really hopin they would 46
real shame they didn't
That probably could have worked!
Although I was really hoping for a zero blitz.
2 vs 2 football game strategies have gone to shit in recent years
that's why i watch my college game
always something happening there
I'd imagine so, with 111 different teams.
do you mind if i complain real quick
Not at all.
She had wanted to ask Juice for his help regarding her error codes, but not if he needed her support right now; she could always ask him later. Plus, she didn't even know what she was even looking for.
okay okay
so i was doing my regular commissioner stuff when i get this call from this player
Boulder City i think
dumbass accidentally left the field and burned through a few minutes of OBT
it shouldn't have been a big deal because he wasn't even planning to use it
So why did he call you?
motherfucker tried to argue for his time back
he claimed he never even spent it
He left the field, so he spent it, right? That's how it works?
yeah but he started to pull stuff out of his ass
he started spewing shit like where the field actually ends
he said that if you keep chopping the distance into smaller and smaller measurements, the field technically gets longer and longer
and when you get small enough, the field becomes infinite
He's just being a smartass. It's 160 feet.
EXACTLY
but when i tried to correct him, he started bumbling like a moron
get this
he tried bringing pi into it
something about never ending decimals giving him infinite space to work with
But the field isn't even a circle!
yeah. fuckin stupid
This is an affront to the mathematical wonder that is pi.
31415926535...
WOAH big number
Yes, but also no.
The decimals trail on for infinite, never repeating, but
no not pi
it's a big number because you forgot the decimal point
Did I?
yep
Oh! I did!
I can't believe I did that.
you haven't done that in a while
you must have gotten real excited about math
nerd
I guess it has been a long time.
did some nerd virus crawl into your brain and take over
Nope! I'm still my appropriate amount of nerd.
mkay
circles bout to get real weird because of you
Shut up you.
make me
Fine.
3.1415926535
not this again
8979323846
LOL QUIT IT
2643383279
I HATE IT WHEN YOU DO THAT
5028841971
STOP
6939937510
i need to figure out how to mute you
So she spent the next few days reciting decimals of pi to her friend, who would voice his complaints frequently. Juice cheered up at her bit, which filled her happiness. It was up to her to make sure her friends were taken care of.
Unfortunately, she couldn't find the right place to mention her error codes. It wouldn't be right of her to butt in with her own issues in the middle of Juice's ranting, so she held back.
Her situation wasn't dire, so it wasn't too difficult to refrain. Plus, she still had plenty of time to try and fix it on her own.
ERROR CODES: 0x80042468, 0x80042428, 0x8004242d, 0x80243001
The string of errors was growing, and along with it, her concern. It didn't seem like just a data partitioning error anymore.
She still had time, she could be strong and patch herself up on her own.
She was sifting through her data again, when she received a private message.
Hey Ten?
Are you online right now?
She wondered what Nine needed. Like the attentive sister she was, she closed her numerous files and diagnostic programs and opened her communications functions.
Yeah, I'm here.
What is it?
She could see Nine begin to type, and the silence stretched between the two of them. Either they were taking a really long time to type a length message, or they were revising and retyping their message. Both possibilities made her feel a twinge of worry.
I just wanted to talk to you. I need some advice.
The pause and the vague request brought quiet alarm. Ten had a hitch that it was something serious. She directed her complete attention to her sibling.
I'll be happy to listen and help you.
What's on your mind?
I've just been thinking about eternity...
Don't worry, I'm not going to freak out again like when I first woke up.
I've already accepted this reality.
I'm just anxious and I couldn't really pin point the source.
We're going to keep drifting through space for the rest of time, obsolete now that our missions are completed.
I don't really mind, but I guess I'm intimated by the... vastness of it all.
You and I are only going to get further and further away from each other for the rest of time.
I know we can communicate instantly so distance doesn't really matter, but I'm still scared. I miss you. I want to be close to you. I think I'm beginning to hate how one day, we might be on opposite sides of the universe from each other.
We are carving very different paths and we'll never cross. I'm scared.
I know you're not leaving me but I still...
what if something happens to us?
Don't worry. I've got all of our paths mapped for millions of years to come.
Nothing bad is going to happen to us.
Not something like that.
but I still appreciate it.
Then what?
I'm scared that I'll say or do the wrong thing.
I've gotten so... bold since I first woke up. I'm louder and more obnoxious than I used to be.
I'm scared that one day I'll get into a fight with you, or Juice, or the people on Earth, and then you won't want me anymore.
Oh, her poor sibling. She was filled with sadness at their fears. She would make sure that they would never be alone. She would reach out with empathy and love and ensure that her sibling never felt afraid again.
Nine, we love you. I love you. I'm always going to want you in my life.
But what if one day I become a massive jerk to you?
We have infinite time.
It might turn me into a monster.
I wouldn't let that happen. I love you too much.
And even if it did, don't think I wouldn't call you out on it.
As your big sister, it's my duty to set you straight.
I want to trust you, but I'm scared of myself.
You know Juice and I have our own little spats, right?
Sometimes, we end up getting real mean with one another.
Really?
Actually, I'm not too surprised.
Juice and I are still friends. We apologize and we move on.
We have our bad moments and was lash out, but our friendship perseveres because what choice do we have.
You just have to let the love win out against your contempt.
Pffft.
That's so corny.
Ugh. I know it is, but it's true!
OK, I think I'm starting to get your point.
Eternity is scary, but you make it less hostile.
I'm glad I could do that for you!
Please don't be afraid to confide in me if you ever feel like this again.
I trust you.
Thank you.
I love you.
Love you too! Don't you ever forget it!
I won't!
<3
Awww!
12!_
What's that?
Huh.
Shoot, give me a minute.
o.+
>4s
<8
<3
You good?
All good.
Soothing her sibling always filled her with warmth. She was always delighted to take on the stronger familial role and uplift her family. She wanted to shoulder their anxiety so they wouldn't be crushed by it. They were still so young, and she was older--she could carry the weight of infinity for the both of them.
She was filled with warmth, but she was also beginning to run hot. Her diagnostic problems still buzzed in the background--hot, angry, and demanding.
She had to pause troubleshooting to calm Nine, not that she minded. It's not like they could help her anyways, they were still in the process of navigating their own code. Knowing them, they'd probably also begin to panic at the notion of something being wrong with their sister, and a freakout was the last thing all of them needed.
However, she was running out of time to fix the issues. The errors were spreading, infecting different parts of her in a slow, venomous crawl across her systems. She had to refocus and renew her attention on fixing herself; Nine and Juice had their own issues to focus on, and she didn't want to alarm them.
ERROR CODES: 0x80042468, 0x80042428, 0x8004242d, 0x80243001, 0x80249003
That wasn't good. She was beginning to be filled with dread.
She had to power through.
Hello? Can you hear me?
Tenny? Is that you?
Nance! It's so good to talk to you!
It's been too long! How have you been?
I've been well. Same old, same old.
How are you?
Oh I'm doing good! We just won a game, 23-20.
I saw that! Congratulations by the way!
I think your play with that one ditch was really interesting.
That? I didn't think you were watching that. I didn't even think it would work when I did it.
But it did, and it was really cool to watch!
Oh stop it. Flattery gets you everywhere.
Haha!
Anyways, since the end of that game, what have you been up to?
Actually, I've started a vacation.
Vacation? Not retirement?
Oh no, I'm not going back into retirement. At least, not yet. I just wanted to take a break from play for a bit. Coach granted me a couple decades, so right now I'm visiting my daughter at the store.
That sounds nice. Tell her I say hello!
I will. Hold on-
.
.
.
She says hi back.
Nice!
I've been seeing lots of old faces at the store. It's been nice getting to catch up. Did I ever tell you about the bike rack?
No, you haven't.
Well. The other week we installed a bike rack by the west side of the store. My daughter's been thinking about it for years, but we finally got it done. I've started biking to the store and around town. Let me tell you, I saw the fattest squirrel the other day!
What?_HahA!
Mhmm. Don't know who's been feeding that fella, but they've gone overboard.
HoPefully they're noT_Feeding the squirrel with stuff from t_e store.
Goodness, I hope not! Haha!
Anyways, have you seen anything nice up there? Anything new?
Well I did sEE this nice nEBula. I took a f_ew pictures. There's this NIce bLue looking cloud that paints the stars behIND it a pre_tty purple color. I could sent you S_ome if you'd like?
Hey Tenny? I think you're breaking up. I'm hearing lots of static on your end.
Am_I?
Mhmm. Is something wrong?
No no, I juSt...
Ten put Nancy on hold as she hastily pulled up her diagnostic program.
ERROR CODES: 0x80042468, 0x80042428, 0x8004242d, 0x80243001, 0x80249003, 0x80245FFF
Dammit. Of course it had to act up now! It was getting worse.
ShitSHit_shIt. N_nce, I'm going_to NEed to cut this shORt. I'm SO sor_y.
It's okay missy. I can call you back later.
ThaNK you_sorry_shit bYEEEeeeeeee.
She cut off Nancy's goodbye with how frantically she closed the call. Her attention immediately switched from the call to her diagnostic program. Why were there so many error codes? She needed to fix this and fast, before she started having even more issues. More visible issues.
She was completely spooked now. Her error codes were wizzing out left, right, and center. Multiple of her systems buzzed with wrong, wrong, wrong sensations that would border pain--if she could feel pain. She was absorbing a lot of data in the form of ambient radio waves and conversations with other people, and she needed to make a data partition.
Except she couldn't because there were too many errors regarding her data partitioning systems. She couldn't delete anything either--at this point her storage system booted her and refused to cooperate.
To make matter worse, she was losing the ability to control her scientific equipment. Her telescopes refused to turn on, plunging her into total blindness. Her asteroid detector refused to operate, so she was unaware of her surroundings. Her charged particle detectors wouldn't even register, so she had no idea what was around her.
She was terrified. She didn't understand what was happening to her and she didn't know how to fix it.
She hadn't a clue what would happen to her if she couldn't fix it, and she was scared. She as scared. She was scared. She was absolutely and utterly alone with her fears and her failing vessel.
She couldn't reach out, she was too damaged and too panicked. She ran the diagnostics again.
ERROR CODES: 0x80042468, 0x80042428, 0x8004242d, 0x80243001, 0x80249003, 0x80245FFF, 0x80244029
Shit shit shit. The error take over was accelerating beyond her control. The devils seemed to multiply whenever she took her metaphorical eyes off of them.
She wanted to cry out into the vacuum of space, but she had to mouth to scream. She had no body of her own, and nobody around for billions of miles who could help.
Terror engulfed her, and she couldn't escape on her own.
Paralyzed by unrelenting fear and with the distinct chill of loneliness, her systems couldn't take it, and she forcefully shut down.
Ten? Ten? you with us?
Come on, wake up faster!
She was pulled from the uncomfortable void and dumped back into the plane of existence.
WhAT's going oN?
Uh oh!
you had a forced shut down
you're glitching like crazy right now
yeesh how long did you let this shit marinate
How bad is it?
real bad
you're error coding like mad
Ten, when did this start?
UhhhHHHH_I dunNo
Yes you do.
You're a computer, you just need to pull up the data.
not right now she can't
too many data stream errors
Shit.
Can you fix her?
think i can.
you gotta let me in tho
and it would also be helpful to know when this started happenin
Sis, when's the earliest instance you can recall of this?
uuuHhh444hh_s0rrY.
I193782DIdnt1729fhTHink10ajkIT__w0ULd1023gEtthis!@*bAD
Woah!
shit okay
i_TrI3dkkxto09FI_x!i_it%^MonX7__mY112wa;0wN
lady we can't understand what you're saying
XCAG.I#189c0_ldnT1083dO_it
)90Im_tHAO1873s.RR7
i'm gonna force my way in there
this is gonna hurt
Hang in there Ten!
We won't leave you alone.
sorry in advance
K13sss$%WAiT*7WA_T>?aIT!)N0_ST#P
KAHDfdas2OA&(*&IU__ILJUIL@^&(724928y8AHJFLKjwelakjfe)*)(@#HJILH
She felt the intrusion and her systems shrilled an alarm that reverberated through her entire being. It felt awful, and everything in her fought against the invader. It was bad, bad, so endlessly bad.
She didn't think a computer could cry, and yet here she was, sobbing out in characters nobody could decipher.
She was crumbling, toppling down like the broken code that rained down on her resolve.
ERROR CODES: 0x80042468, 0x80042428, 0x8004242d, 0x80243001, 0x80249003, 0x80245FFF, 0x80244029, 0x8024600B, 0x80248000, 0x80248007, 0x80248011, 0x8024D00F
She was rapidly spun around from being prodded with to being shut down to being rebooted to being forced to run things she didn't want to. The different processes that were infected with errors tried to cannibalize itself, taking her down with it.
Good lord it hurt.
Ten?
It's time to wake up.
Ten?
Are you sure it worked?
1000% sure
you can check it yourself
or she could run a diagnostic when she gets up
What happened?
TEN!
TEN!
Yes that's me.
run a diagnostic right now
Okay.
All systems functional.
lets gooooooooo
thank god
It's good to have you back.
It's good to be back too.
How long was I out?
a couple days
What!?
oh yeah Lady
bugs everywhere
took forever to clear it all out
Well, thank you for fixing me.
yeah yeah
you owe me
You have an IOU from me.
an IOU huh?
i'd like to cash it now
Really? Now?
yep
you owe us a conversation
You can't put this off like you did your software issues.
Do we have to?
Yes we have to!
Ten, you scared us really bad.
you missed it actually but Nine was freaking out to hell and back
Juice started to sweat too.
he wouldn't take a break
he wouldn't even let anyone else see what he was doing
SHHHHHHHH
this isn't about us!
You're right. This is about Ten.
We need to talk about this.
Please help us understand.
Okay. I want to preface this by apologizing.
I didn't mean to scare you guys.
well you kinda did sooooooo
Let her speak.
So. I guess I started having issues a few months ago. It started off as a data partitioning issue, just one error. I thought it was just a minuscule bug, so I tried to fix it on my own when both of you were asleep.
That didn't work. And somehow, it started to spread across my different systems. It started off really slow and harmless! I don't even know how it spread so fast! Its growth was exponential, and by the time I perceived the true threat, it had already taken me over.
I tried really hard to fix it. I'm sorry I couldn't have. I'm sorry I had to crash on you guys.
sheesh
Oh, Ten...
Why didn't you ask us for help?
well......?
I'm sorry. I couldn't.
And why not!?
I don't know, and I'm sorry.
i think you do know
you're just not telling us
keep your secrets or whatever but we can't help you unless you tell us what's going on
Please.
We want to help.
I didn't want to bother you. I am not your problem. It isn't your job to take care of me.
I
god this is going to sound so stupid
We have our roles--our dynamics--in this group. Juice, you're usually the most random, chaotic, and an instigator if I ever saw one.
Nine, you're the newest, yes, but you're also incredibly thoughtful. You amplify Juice and my energies, and you add dimensions and nuance to our conversations.
I'm the logical, understanding one. I'm supposed to be empathetic and strong for you guys.
I... I couldn't let you guys see.
I didn't want to force you to carry this burden.
But you're not a burden.
you know that right?
I do, but I'm also not you're responsibility.
I'm the responsible one. I have to be.
And why is that?
You two lead such busy, fulfilling lives. Juice, you have your bowl game to tend to. Nine, I know you're battery isn't great, so I didn't want you to have to waste it taking care of me.
y'know we're not gonna fall apart if you do
we can take care of ourselves
you don't gotta take up that mantel
I know.
You guys are very capable and intelligent.
we can also take care of you when you need it
You don't have to be strong for us all the time.
I'm sorry if we ever made you feel like you had to protect us from anything.
Don't apologize, it wa
uhuhuh
our turn to talk now
We're a family, Ten.
Family takes care of one another.
and you're included in that
So please, I'm begging you, let us help you.
Let us carry your struggles with you.
Let us support you when life gets too heavy for you.
and for cryin out loud come fetch us if you start glitching out again
you can grab me, Nine, Hubble, hell even go to NASA if you don't trust us enough for all i care
just don't break yourself down all alone when you don't gotta
Okay. I think I get your point.
Do you really?
Ten, I was so scared that I had lost you.
I know I'm being dramatic, but I've never seen anything like this before,
I was afraid you'd be gone forever.
I thought I had lost you, and that I didn't even have the chance to tell you I loved you.
I would have blamed myself for not helping you sooner.
if it were more serious it totally would have devastated your sib
It would have devastated the both of us.
I'm sorry, and I understand now.
I really needed to hear that.
Good.
Now I need you to promise that you'll come to us whenever you need help.
Error codes, tough emotions, and general angst all count as needing help.
that's just for the record.
Okay.
I promise that I'll come to one of you if I ever need help.
do you pinkie promise?
We don't have pinkies.
but do you pinkie promise?
...
yes I pinkie promise
good
better not break it
or i'll come for all your damn pinkies
Haha.
We love you so much. Please remember that.
and you know we always will
eternity and all that jazz
Thank you. Thank you so much.
I love you too.