for earth too dear

@Poppy

Desire... Hm... He knew desire in the sense of the definition, and he supposed by that he 'desired' to go home and be among his people once again. But it didn't burn in him; he made no desperate attempts to return. Nothing burned in him; Yesterday was absolutely hollow because that was the way he was built. No desire, but as a data bank of sorts. Artificial. Fake.

But should he desire, if he wanted to pretend to be human? He desired knowledge, to go home, to be human... But again, there was no passion. No burn. Could Julian teach him desire? The thought of it being so seemed so lofty that he had to let it settle for a moment or two.

"Is that possible?" To show him what he desired, if he had a desire at all? The kiss was familiar; he'd seen it done in movies, where a man kissed a girl's hand underneath a sunset or an arch of flowers. She always blushed. The summation of those two times made him think it was the normal reaction, and so the fluid vessels in his body sent dye to his cheeks and made them flush.

"I don't know what I desire. I am not supposed to desire anything."

@Poppy

Also in the movies, the blush faded very fast. The vessels in his cheeks held the coloured fluid for perhaps twenty seconds before they flushed back out and his skin was just as pale and translucent as it had been before. His eyes continued to trace Julian's face, however, imprinting on all the contours and skin. He needed to remember this man; he seemed important.

"I feel curiousity because..." Yesterday trailed. He felt curiousity because he was programmed to. He was an AI made to keep and protect information back on his home ship, so of course they'd make him hunger for information. But he couldn't tell this man that, could he? That would reveal exactly what he was.

"I was taught curiousity, but nothing else." Technically the truth, in different terms. "But... if you can teach me, I would be grateful."

Because it seemed that Julian knew how to feel such things, and he sounded like he'd be willing to teach him. So far Yesterday had yet to find anyone that was even able to understand the depth of human emotions, let alone teach them, and Julian seemed to have all the answers for that.

@Poppy

Yesterday followed like a puppy, keeping his hand out for Julian as he was lead out of the gallery (much to his surprise) to a theater next door. At least, it looked like a theater from what he read about and the pictures he'd seen. High ceiling, rows of seats, a stage... He scanned each detail and filed it away, from the way the lights were angled to the texture of the seats. He might need this later.

There was a smaller room off to the side that he was lead to; enclosed, surrounded by glass and strange blinking instruments. Music came on, loud and lively and resounding in his auditory centers. He was told to move to what made him feel good.

So he waited.

And waited.

Nothing.

The sounds vibrated in his head, the notes registered in his memory, the octaves fed back information on what the song was about and how he should act like he felt but he felt nothing at all.

He shook his head. "There is nothing." Just an empty vibration. Was this what happiness was supposed to feel like? Because if it was, he didn't see the big deal. He looked over at Julian, head cocked to the side. "What do you like?"

@Poppy

Yesterday blinked owlishly; he had to wonder if he was even able to learn these human emotions. Possibly? He was programmed to be able to remember everything, but memory was different than emotion. Perhaps this man, who was so beautiful, couldn't teach him after all. If he couldn't, that would be terribly disappointing.

The bombardment of questions were methodically cataloged so he could spit the answers back out in the correct order. "I can process all sensations. I don't need to eat, but I can log flavours and tastes and temperatures in my mouth. I can also feel things with my skin." Air currents, touch, electrostatic signatures... Okay, maybe not like an organic being, but he could still feel.

"My thoughts work by cataloging. I can make decisions on my own, but I much prefer to follow a pattern." It was difficult to explain, but his thoughts were more often than not based on a pre-programmed algorithm. "Most of the time, I don't feel at all."

But there was a pause when he got to his last two questions. He continued to stare into Julian's crimson eyes, but his own seemed void. He was figuring out an answer to that.

"...yes." He felt other emotions. Once. Only one. "When I was alone and my brothers and sisters went into hibernation and I didn't." He didn't know what that feeling was, and he associated it with a negative thing. "I don't know what it's called."