#elroy-el

This scene has stuck with me for days now and I gotta talk it out.

Firstly, I only watched Doug's bits of this show so tbqh I've no idea the plot or context. Military space stuff bores me (exception: Mass Effect series), but Doug genuinely had me captivated in his performance.

Well, performances, plural, as each time he appeared it was a different Elroy-El (I've dubbed them 'The Torturer', 'The Torturee', and 'The Lovestruck Teenager').

Babe are you crawling in my vents and invading my dreams? Firstly, I'd love the company tbh, and secondly, thinking of Elroy-El has been my go-to lately right before sleep. (And you're totally not alone, I'd absoutely love to pick Doug's brain for Elroy-El things. How did he come up with all the mannerisms???)

No joke, I have been fixated on pairing Elroy-El with Justin Hammer. Wharton/Percy 2.0, except we all know Justin couldn't top his way out of a wet paper bag.

... Well. He might at first tho. Elroy-El arrives via black hole (or whatever, idk, i don't do science), acts all cocky and superior... Until he runs out of power and is reduced to a glitching, stammering, mess on his knees and---

"What, is he broken? What happened?" Justin demanded of the eggheads crowded around. They only shrugged. Useless bunch.

"N-n-n-eed...toooo....r-r-r-echarge," Elroy-El stammered out through gritted teeth. Chirps and bleeps accompanied the words, sounding desperate.

"Oh. So now you need me, is that it? Big bad AI needs my power?" Justin asked.

When Elroy-El didn't - or couldn't - answer, Justin crouched down in front of him. The bot's movements were stalled, glitching. Justin gripped the android's chin, and forced those weird crosshair eyes to meet his own.

"I fix you up, I own you. Say it." More electronic noises. Elroy-El's tongue flickered out quickly, like a snake tasting the air.

"S-s-s-ilicatessss... ar...are...free," Elroy-El finally managed. "We...f-f-f-ought-"

"Yea, not in this world," Justin interrupted impatiently. He'd been stroking the AI's cheek while he glitched through his words, admiring the texture. Purely from a technical standpoint, of course. It felt so lifelike, so human, yet the temperature... "You need my power, and I need--well, nevermind. Say what I want to hear, or--" Justin shrugged. "You're scrap metal."

Did AI have a survival instinct? Could they even feel fear? There was a long pause and Justin thought he felt the android shudder, a twitch at the corner of his mouth. It could've been another glitch. Those odd eyes, who made that design choice, and h-

"I'm yours." Spoken so quietly, Justin at first thought he'd imagined it. He leaned in and for sure heard the Silicate hiss. Oh, that was cute. "Say again?"

Thinking about him/them. Again. I want all the Silicate lore.

How and why is a "humor model" so good at interrogation/torture? Why is his voice so sensual? Who decided on the Silicate "tics" (that clicking noise, tongue flickering, etc)? Is that exclusive to the Elroy-El model?