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[deem]

Hey guys, 9S here.

Recent events got me thinking we should have some provisions in place, in case of future attempts to abduct or imprison anybody. Units like 2B, A2, and me have black box signals we could detect, but as for you guys... I've come up with some tracking modules that you can activate in case you get in a tough spot. They just look like little round pins with stars on them, figure nobody'll give them a second look.

They're easy to activate and deactivate. All you do is press on the raised star shape for five seconds. Simple, right? They'll derive energy from your body heat, and don't need direct contact, so I think it'll work. I'd like to enable at least a few people to detect those signals, but you'll need equipment like my goggles or Dirk's uh, shades. So let me know if you're interested.

Also while we've got access to materials, if anybody has equipment or repair needs, just give me the details.

Private: Dirk
Hey, can I ask your help with something? It's...not really a small favor, but I think you're the most capable.

Private: Julius
There's something I'd like to ask you about, when you've got the time.

Private: 2B + A2
After recent events, I think we should make plans in case we sustain heavy or lethal damage. Can we talk about that?

Comments

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[zinit]

Black box signals - like spacecraft? [Or aircraft, which his people didn't need because stupid portals, but you know.] You are not human, then? How about that!

[He'd love to take you apart and see what ticks, but ah, that's probably creepy, isn't it? Best not to say that.]

I'd volunteer to be able to detect those signals, but admittedly, I don't know much about other worlds' technology yet - I've been reading, but there's some background knowledge I'm missing. It seems similar enough to the way things worked on my home world, at least, so I'll figure it out.

My only concern is who else could intercept these signals.

[deem]

It should be pretty impossible to detect the signal and know what it is, without the right systems in place. So far nothing's come close to what I'm used to dealing with...

But security is important, since the last thing we want is hostiles accessing our location.

[Back where they came from, units like him could pick up on machines, but the reverse wasn't generally true unless they made themselves visible. He thinks he can achieve the same here, but...]

Maybe while I'm showing you how it works, you could give me some input on where I could improve security? You might think of something I haven't yet.

[zinit]

['Pretty impossible' - a cocky, dangerous statement, he thinks. If there's one thing he thinks he's learned, it's to never assume you won't get caught, no matter how safe a bet it might seem.]

[Otherwise, you might end up down an arm! Ha.]

[And maybe he doesn't want this robot finding out what he's doing with his spare time, either... But far be it from him to turn away something new to inspect.]

That sounds excellent. 9S, you said? My name is Qilby; do tell me more.

[deem]

[When everything seems like an ancient relic to him, it's hard to see it as much of a threat. Even so, he doesn't discount the possibility of surprises]

Nice to meet you, Sir.

So I used the black boxes units like me have as a basis, except the signal isn't constant for these trackers. When active their signal is more like encrypted data that'll read like gibberish unless it's paired with the corresponding map data. That's why there have to be people using equipment that can interpret that information.

The two sort of combine to give you something meaningful, which is a point on a map signifying that person's current location. If the device is turned off, there's no signal. It's effectively offline.