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video; un: kovacs ( ft. the 11th doctor )
[ he's not really in the habit to go public on here, and he's much less likely to show his face usually, but considering his intent in this, he figures it helps to show a visual. the face he wears now, a few days into their return from giva, is probably more familiar to the people here than the one he was wearing around taeum, back to its usual display of bruises and cuts, having already returned to this body by the time he'd gotten into his fight with v'rizz, wasting little time in getting damage done to it again.
his old smoking habit is back to, fingers snatching the cigarette from between his lips so he can start speaking. ]
So, some of you might've seen me with a different face this past mission. I pretty much explained it to those few what the whole deal about it is, but — since it's not really a normal thing for people, I figured I can save everybody's time from having to provide the entire backstory every time.
[ because there's only so many times he could give a combined history-science lesson. ]
Where I come from, advancements in technology have allowed the extraction of human consciousness from the physical body. It can be stored and moved like data, and mostly we keep it in these discs called stacks, implanted in the back of the neck. [ his hand reaches back, tapping at his nape. ] It stores everything that makes a person who they are — personality, thoughts, instincts, memories. Which means a person can be moved around — downloaded and uploaded — from body to body. The physical is just ... sacks of flesh we call sleeves. You can even shoot down a body, destroy the heart and all the other organs, but as long as the stack is untouched, a person can survive. Just put the data from the stack into a different sleeve and life goes on.
[ it's a lot more complicated than that, if you involve the politics and economics and morality issues, but he figures the basics is enough for now. a sigh leaves him, bringing the cigarette back in and breathing in the smoke. ]
The sleeve I'm wearing now wasn't originally mine. How I got it and why is a whole other story that's not important — [ not for a public speech, anyway. ] The sleeve some of you saw me in while at Taeum ... is the one I was born with. But just like everything else in that place, it was mostly just bullshit tricks, so you're all stuck with this face again.
Oh! [ A completely different, yet additional familiar face pops up over Kovacs’ shoulder in his usual attire, dark coat and vest and bowtie. He waves. ] Hello! Sorry to interrupt, couldn’t quite help but overhear you talking a little bit about that ol’ ‘same person, different bodies’ bit. You see, I know a little something about that. Bit different, of course, but the concept’s really quite similar —
[ Yes, he’s just going to join Kovacs now. Sup. ]
Right. What you’ve said might be a little bit confusing if you haven’t got any experience with same-person-different-bodies, and — and what? Where are your drawings? The presentation?
[ There’s a shuffling as the Doctor turns to glance in Kovacs’ direction, and then his left, his right, and up towards the ceiling for good measure. ]
Discs and sleeves and stacks and all that, basically: bodily-wodily stuff. You, and the good-looking one are one and the same. Same person, different bodies. [ There’s a brief pause, and then: ] You know what, I think we’ll need a Powerpoint.
[ having a horrid flashback of the presentation the doctors attempted with trying to explain their own mutual existence, kovacs is quick to try shooing the other man away with a cigarette-holding hand. ]
We're not doing the shitty diagram strategy. [ a pause. ] Wait — what do you mean good-looking one?
( the blue text above is a guest appearance by the eleventh doctor. feel free to address either one of them! )
his old smoking habit is back to, fingers snatching the cigarette from between his lips so he can start speaking. ]
So, some of you might've seen me with a different face this past mission. I pretty much explained it to those few what the whole deal about it is, but — since it's not really a normal thing for people, I figured I can save everybody's time from having to provide the entire backstory every time.
[ because there's only so many times he could give a combined history-science lesson. ]
Where I come from, advancements in technology have allowed the extraction of human consciousness from the physical body. It can be stored and moved like data, and mostly we keep it in these discs called stacks, implanted in the back of the neck. [ his hand reaches back, tapping at his nape. ] It stores everything that makes a person who they are — personality, thoughts, instincts, memories. Which means a person can be moved around — downloaded and uploaded — from body to body. The physical is just ... sacks of flesh we call sleeves. You can even shoot down a body, destroy the heart and all the other organs, but as long as the stack is untouched, a person can survive. Just put the data from the stack into a different sleeve and life goes on.
[ it's a lot more complicated than that, if you involve the politics and economics and morality issues, but he figures the basics is enough for now. a sigh leaves him, bringing the cigarette back in and breathing in the smoke. ]
The sleeve I'm wearing now wasn't originally mine. How I got it and why is a whole other story that's not important — [ not for a public speech, anyway. ] The sleeve some of you saw me in while at Taeum ... is the one I was born with. But just like everything else in that place, it was mostly just bullshit tricks, so you're all stuck with this face again.
Oh! [ A completely different, yet additional familiar face pops up over Kovacs’ shoulder in his usual attire, dark coat and vest and bowtie. He waves. ] Hello! Sorry to interrupt, couldn’t quite help but overhear you talking a little bit about that ol’ ‘same person, different bodies’ bit. You see, I know a little something about that. Bit different, of course, but the concept’s really quite similar —
[ Yes, he’s just going to join Kovacs now. Sup. ]
Right. What you’ve said might be a little bit confusing if you haven’t got any experience with same-person-different-bodies, and — and what? Where are your drawings? The presentation?
[ There’s a shuffling as the Doctor turns to glance in Kovacs’ direction, and then his left, his right, and up towards the ceiling for good measure. ]
Discs and sleeves and stacks and all that, basically: bodily-wodily stuff. You, and the good-looking one are one and the same. Same person, different bodies. [ There’s a brief pause, and then: ] You know what, I think we’ll need a Powerpoint.
[ having a horrid flashback of the presentation the doctors attempted with trying to explain their own mutual existence, kovacs is quick to try shooing the other man away with a cigarette-holding hand. ]
We're not doing the shitty diagram strategy. [ a pause. ] Wait — what do you mean good-looking one?
( the blue text above is a guest appearance by the eleventh doctor. feel free to address either one of them! )
no subject
[ since clara's a hands-on witness to the nonsense that both present doctors have attempted to explain. and maybe she's one of the very few who has both a tolerance and fair understanding of it.
he sighs, giving a rub to his forehead. ]
Apparently everybody liked the other face more.
no subject
Yeah? Well, I'm partial to this face.
[And everyone knows Clara's opinion is the only one that matters.]
no subject
Good thing someone is. Too bad it's got me stuck with this shit again.
[ he raises up his cigarette, pursing his lips at it. he'd only gotten to kick the habit for a few weeks before getting himself back into it. fucking elias. ]
no subject
[she figures it's probably not as easy as it sounds. but she also doesn't want him to be miserable smoking just because he's stuck with a sleeve that has an addiction.]
no subject
[ but the purse of his lips and the light squint is an indication that it sounds like more trouble than it's worth. ]
But it's Ryker's bad habit, not mine. That's not a mess for me to clean up.
no subject
[that's easy enough to agree with.]
But you're stuck in his body for the foreseeable future. Don't think of it as cleaning up his mess. Think of it as making yourself comfortable.
no subject
Trust me, if I couldn't handle a few cigarettes, there'd be no hope for me.
[ he's dealt with much worse on the regular. ]
I can manage. I promise.
no subject
[Her smile is fond, but definitely exasperated. He's too stubborn for his own good.]
Do you know if the Ximilia has the technology to work with your stack if something ever happens? Surely you must have asked Viveca about that.
[You know, before he made that deal that she won't be speaking of.]
no subject
Honestly? Figured I've been playing by the old rules here. One body, just like all the other kids — no special privileges. But didn't really think about it much.
[ takeshi kovacs? concerned at all for his own safety and security? ]
no subject
[she tells herself it isn't her place to get involved and figure out the answer to this for him. but given all that he's doing for her, a little meddling and asking around won't hurt.]