Jade both was and was not Jade. To be precise, he was a copy of what 'Jade' had once been.
Danika watched him arguing with Penname, who had grown far more womanly in the last two years, in more ways than one. This Jade on the other hand still seemed very much like a curious child as he demanded, "How do you know?"
The 'current' Jade seemed distinctly older than this one, as he designed the 'game' he planned to run himself through. He seemed to spend more time considering his own effect on others. He no longer asked people what could be considered 'kind'.
On the screen that hovered beside Danika as she worked, Penname replied to the only Jade she had ever known.
"I suppose that it always depends on circumstances," Penname said thoughtfully. "Usually giving someone what they ask for would seem kind, but if it was something that you knew would hurt them, it wouldn't be kind."
"Then if you don't know it will hurt them, it will be kind even if it does?" Jade asked doubtfully.
Danika winced, and felt glad that he wasn't asking her the same thing. It put his original question into perspective, but it wasn't a simple problem even for humans.
"It won't," the same words overlapped as two voices spoke them.
Danika looked away from Penname and met the eyes of the copy of the Jade Emperor who stood beside her. In some ways he was an even older copy of Jade, so she couldn't help raising an eyebrow at him.
The Emperor didn't pretend that he couldn't understand her unspoken question and said calmly, "It is a term dependent on reactions."
On the display, Penname replied slowly and rather uneasily to Jade, who had just asked the same question more directly, "I guess that kindness is only successful when the intent is received. If you feed a starving person, that's kind, but if you try to feed a starving person and the food goes bad before they receive it, that's cruel."
The Emperor beside Danika nodded in sync with Jade's character on the display. Jade asked with puzzlement, "If kindness is dependent on the reaction of the receiver, why is it used as a judgement of someone's character?"
The Emperor's expression told Danika that he knew the answer, and she asked with puzzlement, "Is this something you learned since Jade was originally copied off of you?"
The Emperor raised an eyebrow and glanced at the job window in front of her that she was ignoring, before replying thoughtfully, "No, I don't think so. But perhaps it is one of the things he removed from himself. It isn't necessary for anything that I do."
Danika stared blankly at one of the kindest Gods that humanity had ever created for itself. He taught people new skills, healthier habits, and introduced them to others who could benefit from their interactions. He would welcome the worst person as warmly as the best, even though he would punish actions that his programmers had disapproved of.
She opened her mouth to argue, but then stopped. The conversation was making her wonder if she actually understood what kindness was. Jade's original plaint, 'How do you know?' echoed in her own mind.
The Jade Emperor waited patiently, as though used to her confusion. She thought about the double edged legendary sword that the Emperor had once bestowed upon the man she now called husband. ShinZing, who had once been Aishin, had learned what he had needed to and the blade had disintegrated.
At the time, she had felt that the loss of the legendary item had been a little cruel, but Shinichi's reaction proved that the Emperor's gift had truly been a kindness to him. She rubbed her forehead, as on the display behind her, Jade did the same thing.
The Emperor tilted his head and ventured, "Jade's attempt to become more 'human' may be more successful than I expected. Perhaps the newest one is correct in guessing that he needs to empty his libraries and refill them through his own experiences."
Danika turned and watched, as Jade argued, "This must be a word with multiple meanings, otherwise kind could never describe someone's character!"
Penname frowned, but someone else logged in before she spoke again. A familiar short figure appeared between Penname and Jade. The boy who played MatchlessMinion was now a young man outside of the game, but within it he had stuck with the adorably cute Chinchillamin that he had begun with.
Penname's face flushed as though the girl could see the attractive young man instead of the plushy rodent, or had developed some of Terri's exuberant affection for small cute things. She and Jade quickly explained the argument to Matchless Minion.
The Emperor glanced at the unfinished job on Danika's screen again, and suggested with amusement, "You could log out of your work account and go play for a while? You might find yourself able to focus better after a break."
Danika felt embarrassment warm her own cheeks. The game screen that followed ZipZing's automated skill practice time was definitely not supposed to be distracting her this thoroughly.
MatchlessMinion sent a sly glance in her direction, as though he knew that she was watching as he tossed his cloak back and announced, "You're both wrong this time!"
Jade and Penname protested with overlapping words and waves of their arms.
Danika muttered, "Just deduct half an hour from my time card."
Her assistant popped into view and objected, "You are not allowed to deduct time, nor paid by the hour any longer."
Danika hardly paid attention to its words as MatchlessMinion declared, "Of course kindness is dependent on the results of the action. So is running, or swimming. You don't have any objection to a person being called a runner, despite the fact that someone who fails to run usually falls flat on their face! Every runner in existence has failed to run successfully once in a while."
"If kindness is an action equivalent to running, then why does it use different suffixes? It is structured like a flavor, or a temperature, not an action. And people are called kind, instead of kinders?" Jade questioned curiously.
MatchlessMinion's expression flashed sharp amusement before settling into a kinder one, as he explained almost gently, "Because kindness is felt, sensed by people and animals, the way sweetness, wetness, and warmth are."
"Warmth is structured oddly too," Jade grumbled. "And it is definitely a word with multiple meanings."
Danika propped her chin on her arm and gazed at the Chinchillamin for a moment. SaltySiamese's younger brother had always understood people very well, but she wondered if he had always been quite so eloquent. He hadn't had to say very much to convey the meaning of the word well enough to settle her own mind.
She was startled when all three of them turned toward the display, and the tiny fairy dragon that it was centered on.
"She still isn't really here," MatchlessMinion pointed out dryly.
"But she is one of the kindest people I know," Penname replied, as though objecting.
Jade nodded slowly. "If kindness is an action like running, she is one of the best."
Danika's fingers flashed through the menus as she finally followed the Jade Emperor's suggestion and logged out of her work account.
A minute later, ZipZing straightened up and protested, "I am not!"
Amusement flashed across MatchlessMinion's furry face as he asked blandly, "You're not joining this guild quest?"
"I think she meant to protest that she was only logged into that mode because she was waiting for ShinZing again," Jade suggested as Danika spluttered.
Penname laughed, as though she knew exactly what Danika had been protesting, despite the delay. A lazy cat who had been laying behind ZipZing's viewpoint stretched and yawned.
The God of Luck grumbled, "Do not bother. They will not believe you no matter how much you protest. Do not waste time."
"What is the mission?" she asked after a moment. "Will it take longer than my lunch break?"