Mangle observed “It” from the cracked door. Since it hadn’t noticed them yet, they seized this opportunity to see what it did when it was on its own. With something to keep it active it was considerably less lethargic. It used the ball not only to fit the shapes in, but it would kick it around occasionally too, and would listen acutely to the sound it made. It must be so bored of having nothing to do everyday, this was probably one of the biggest moments in its life. That was either hilariously funny or tragically sad. Maybe a mix of both. They couldn’t be sure. It kicked the ball towards the door and noticed it was propped open. It looked up and grinned when it saw Mangle. “‘Angul!” it exclaimed happily.743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3X4nk3WmAN
Mangle walked in and shut the door. “Hello again.”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRpPnVREl5x
“Like toy! ‘Ankoo!”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1YMaqA8M1h
Mangle forced themself to smile. “You’re welcome...It.”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnM39bMBYgy
It beamed and pointed to itself. “It! Me it!”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUcHIUb9n6k
“Of course. That’s why I called you that, after all.”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzs1Bxxwqt2
They were really glad that there were no security cameras. This meant that with any luck, the subject wouldn’t notice Mangle was faking and would warm up to them quicker. It beamed. “‘Angul nice. Nicer than Mommy.”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHkBtNWT9nA
Mangle chuckled. “Wow, I’m nicer than your Mommy, huh? I’m honored.”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcbmMPa95jO
“Mommy said I don’t have name. Said I’m...I’m bomashun.”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDLJT1524Je
Mangle frowned. And they were the one with a reputation of being cold-hearted? “An abomination?”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPXlB1MLQzM
It nodded. “Don’t sound nice…”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqUK0L7QwRM
Mangle thought quickly. The subject is alienating, Mangle, you have to find a way to fix this! Dr. James won’t ruin this chance for you! “Well you can’t tell unless you know what it means, and can you read yet?”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFCltmKKnZ6
It slowly shook its head.743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOy3onyfnc3
“Then you can’t look up 'abomination' yet and find out what it means. I wouldn’t worry too much.” No need for you to fight against us.743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI0a88kd5RD
It looked thoughtful. “‘Angul...you do permez?”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAWLkO5ijk7
Mangle was thrown off by the quick change in topic. “Uh...yes, sometimes I do experiments.”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi8Mf5yYIgE
“...Permez wi’ me?”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTej0WRk4dh
“Yes, I’m supposed to do experiments on you.” Crap, stop being so self-aware! They’re going to kill you, and I'll be without a job!743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYd2mERRnAz
“Why no do?”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkNvF0OIH8E
“Well, I don’t really know what to do.”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxlHDB3Hgb8
“Wha’bout… friend?”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAHzXR0eWEd
What? “What about friends?”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡshYQrQ8Wbp
It frowned. “Can you…be friend…to me? Permez friend?”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHRko9rwWJy
Mangle was shocked. What? Surely it wasn’t suggesting…no! Surely not! And yet it so clearly articulated that…it made the effort to be understood…743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIwOuFoIFGj
“‘Angul? No have do permez, no worry! No worry!”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWZkjBCZWKn
And an out?! It was offering them an out from something it so clearly wanted? Were they sure it was 26 months old? “...How about I think about it a while, huh?”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSczCVEApoD
“Maybe do?”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEK19Umykzy
“Yes, maybe I’ll do it. It certainly sounds interesting.”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnU3o1PW21t
It grinned. “Nice ‘Angul!”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQgEOyxyV46
Mangle decided to throw it a bone. It was the least he could do, considering how mature it acted to their reaction. “And you’re smart, It.”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi02vvli0BQ
It beamed. “Play wi’ me?” it offered.743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPLrAcmv6Rg
Mangle nodded and grabbed the ball, rolling it to the subject, which it immediately returned with a hearty kick. As they did this, Mangle considered the possible experiments they could do, while staying under the guise of doing an experiment to see if they and “It” could be friends. The dumber experiments were doing the extremes testing for future reference on menial labor opportunities, and they certainly didn’t want to damage this one’s extremely intelligent brain. The more answers Mangle seeked, it seemed, the more questions they wound up having at the end of the day.743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcvLHalFWjE
After a while the subject got bored kicking the ball and tore it in two, taking out the shapes. Mangle took that as their cue to leave. They decided that the next day, they would bring more toys (they could call them cognitive development markers all they liked, but they’d still always be toys) to keep it entertained and to learn a bit more about its mental capacity. Knowledge is power. Power corrupts, their mind helpfully supplied. “Well, then, I’ll study hard and be evil,” they muttered sarcastically under their breath once they were outside.743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP0VRbOMWh7
Mangle was in their office when someone knocked on their open door. Mangle looked up. Dr. James, stood there, smiling. “I convinced the board to allow us in-housing! It will be taken out of your paycheck if you apply, I’m afraid, but we’re off to a great start!”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvEc3rw7Vf8
They smiled. “That’s great news, doctor. Um, do you mind closing the door and allowing me to speak to you candidly?”
Dr. James closed the door. “I encourage my employees to speak their mind, Mangle. Say whatever you like.”
“The subject told me today you told it that it had no name. And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t dissuade it.”
Dr. James blinked. “Are you encouraging it to become self-aware?”
“No! That’s not what I’m trying to do at all! I just...it appeared dejected, and it started to alienate itself from me as a consequence of what you said. It sees me in a good light, to be sure, but I think that discouraging it would only encourage it to think more. I believe that if we humor it, it will stop trying so hard to become aware of its surroundings enough that we essentially have it in a glorified cage, and we can also see just how intelligent it is if we allow it controlled exploration.”
“What do you want me to say to it to explain my change of heart, pray tell? You convinced me through your good will that it is human, and entitled to a name?” Dr. James scoffed.
Mangle winced. “No...you keep on misinterpreting what I’m trying to say!”
“I’m interpreting it the way the board will when they find out, and they will find out. And when they do, there goes our funding! Our reputation! Our livelihoods! I’m trying to get you to understand, Mangle, you may be simply trying to act sympathetic to gain these abominations’ trust, but you are shooting yourself in the foot. Don’t. Be. Sympathetic.”
Mangle closed their eyes. “You know as well as I do that I can’t do that. The second I show how I really feel about this whole ordeal, the subject will refuse to interact with me, possibly with anyone. It will waste away until it dies, and we lose our most promising subject, which is just as bad. You have to understand, Dr. James, there is no right or wrong way to deal with this yet. It’s an entirely new field. You can treat it your way, and I’ll treat it mine. You won’t be seeing much more of it in close contact anyway. I respect your opinion, but I have to disagree. I can write up a report on the subject’s behavior and why I feel it is best to appear sympathetic right now, if that is what you wish, but I can’t just stop playing the sympathy card suddenly and without warning. That will do more harm than good.”
Dr. James took a deep breath. Then another. Mangle risked a look at her. She was resigned, dreading whatever she was about to say. “Fine. Be the sympathetic guardian. But know this: if you pretend long enough, those feelings will start to become real.”
Mangle widened their eyes in mock surprise and nodded. “Oh, yes. I’ll be super-duper careful, boss!”
Dr. James scoffed and left, grinning. Mangle turned to their computer. They were on Dr. James’ good side still, which meant they could do whatever they liked the rest of the afternoon. Now. What toys would be good to bring to "It" tomorrow…?743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1fkAd1jgB9
