riverview | [ video | un: drn0167 ]

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[ video | un: drn0167 ]

[ The video pans across one of the communal rooms before centering on Dorian. He looks overwhelmed and thrilled at the same time. ]

Okay, so this is amazing. I have a room with a bed — and I'm not entirely sure what they expect me to do with that. Also my own chair! It's a sweet deal.

[ Seriously. A chair. His own space. Let the android have his moment okay. ]

Unfortunately, I don't think my charging station came with me on the trip here. Does anyone know anyone technically minded or with a large amount of appliances and scrap? I kind of need it so I don't run out of power. Low charges are hellish.

I can pay you? I think I get wages now. Amazing.

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Of course.

I'm a police officer. That was my job back at home. Though I never got paid for it then.

You are? That's amazing! [ Wait backtrack. ]

I mean, not the part where they didn't pay you. Why didn't they?

[ Dorian blinks. ]

Because I'm city property. I belong to the police department. Or, well, the one back home. Machines usually belong to someone.

Ah. Silly human reasons, then.

[ Just because Jim thinks owning a sentient being shouldn't even be legal, no matter how he came to be or what he's made of. ]

Well, I'm glad you get paid now, at least. I wasn't very used to handling currency before coming here myself, but it'd suck to be here and not have money to spend on stuff.

[ He's not sure if that's silly, but Dorian keeps that to himself. ]

Is there no currency? Digital or physical?

There are Federation credits, but Earth's economy suffered a major reform over a hundred years ago. We do have currency, but the buy-and-sell mentality is no longer the driving force of humanity. We work to better ourselves as people, to help those who need it, to grow together. Things like poverty or famine don't really exist anymore.

I've rarely ever touched a piece of physical currency during my lifetime, and even then I only ever did so when I went to specific planets where some form of physical currency was still in place. Here, it seems that the consumerist mentality is still alive and well, though it's not as bad as during 21st-century Earth.

[ That sounds amazing. Especially to Dorian, where the new wave of technology has helped and damaged lives. You can't have one without the other. For the law, it is a constant struggle just to keep ahead. ]

I'm from the year 2048. We've gone digital for currency.

[ Jim nods, thinking back a little. ]

That around the same time in my world, I think. A few years earlier, maybe. [ They didn't have androids though, so he knows for sure that they're not from the same reality. ]

I don't think we're quite there yet.

[ At least not that he's seen. Perhaps it's pessimistic to say so, but Dorian doesn't feel like a keen judge on the subject. ]

Change takes time. No matter who or what you are, or where you come from.

[ Jim feels lucky to have been born in a time when things were different already, better. But he knows that change didn't just happen overnight— and that there is still a lot that can change for the better too. ]

It could not come fast enough. I just hope I'm there to see it.

[ Chances are, he wouldn't be. ]

I hope so too. It's a pretty great world to live in, though I guess I could be considered a little biased.

[ Funnily enough, he grew to love Earth a whole lot more after he was no longer trapped in it. ]

[ Dorian chuckles. ]

I think a little bias on your home is allowed.

Guess so, yeah. [ His smile widens a hint. ]

What about your home? What things do you like about it?

I like my job. My precinct.

[ He's oddly proud and fond of them. Good people who usually do the right thing. Make the right calls. ]

I just like being out there. Making a difference. To know I matter.

[ Jim smiles and nods. There's nothing odd about it, really. As a matter of fact Jim can relate all too well, and he finds himself a little in each word Dorian says. ]

Took the words right out of my mouth. I mean, I'd say 'my crew' rather than 'my precinct', but other than that, you and I both feel the same way.

Do you miss them?

[ Dorian isn't sure that he does, yet. He's never missed anyone before. Never had the opportunity to connect and feel that way. Not having Kennex around felt off, like a certain aspect of reality has been taken away. ]

Very much so, yes.

[ Almost achingly. He doesn't say it, but there's still a tinge of sadness in his expression. At least when Bones was here he didn't feel as alone, and didn't realize just how much he missed everyone else, but now it's hitting him hard. ]

I mean, I also have friends here. Other people I trust. It's not all that bad.

No. But I imagine it feels strange all the same.

[ The way Dorian feels now, completely unfettered. ]

It does, yeah.

[ This isn't his home, not really. Part of him feels like he's just adrift right now. ]

I belong somewhere, and it's not here.

[ Dorian weighs that with his somber but calm gaze. ]

Maybe you don't belong here. But what you do here matters.

[ Jim stares at his phone for a while, then chuckles, expression opening into a grin. He's not used to being on the receiving end of the uplifting speech, but he has to admit he likes the feeling. ]

I like you. You and I are gonna get along great, I can tell.