also been thinking abt when and how ART told its crew about the rogue SecUnit it helped. theres the option where it’s suddenly preoccupied w SecUnits; downloading articles, pointing them out in media, talking abt them. eventually someone asks where the sudden interest came from.
theres the option where its just so excited and infactuated that it keeps dropping hints that it met someone until someone finally asks. MB mentions that ART isnt very good at talking to bots, so MB is probably its first bot-ish friend outside of the other university ais.
i think the most likely option is it needed to talk to someone about it. ART doesnt rly understand what emotions media is meant to evoke on its own. its unclear what that means for its interactions with humans. it can somehow get a sense of MB’s emotions through the feed. when it scares MB, MB sends it memories of its governance module punishing it.
ART goes quiet for several minutes in response. ART had a nice “childhood” and has never been hurt by its crew. it obviously has some experience with the abuse corporations enact, but not like this. it would’ve felt what MB felt emotionally as well as physically. that would’ve been very upsetting. its trauma module (and any other therapy modules) would’ve said it should talk to someone it trusts.