Delta

"Memory is the key."

- Delta in Reconstruction: Chapter 11

Artificial Intelligence Program Delta, sometimes referred to as D by York, was designed for the Special Operations program Freelancer, and was assigned to Agent New York. Delta is a fragment of the Alpha A.I., specifically the Alpha's logic, and is a main supporting character in the Red vs. Blue series.

Overview
When the Alpha A.I. was tortured to form fragments, it cast out its logic in order for it to 'adapt' to its suffering, creating Delta, one of the first A.I. fragments to be born. When Delta was paired with his partner, York, he showed some annoyance towards the latter, but as time passed the two began to grow more attached to each other. York often called him "D" and it's shown that Delta cared for him greatly.

Although he was Alpha's logic, Delta expressed signs of becoming sentient, such as when he willingly comforted York when he died, even though it could have destroyed him. Tex states that what he was doing was very kind, to which Delta replies,"It's just part of what makes us human, Tex." He often kept a consistent tone and believed 'good' and 'evil' were only subjective and there were no simple differences between them. He also often provided great aid and insight to other characters.

Birth
Delta is shown shortly after being split from Alpha having a conversation about himself with the Director and the Counselor, with the Director saying to him that they will do incredible things together. Delta is first seen in action when he begins a chat with an Insurrection soldier, trying to reason with him and convince him that Freelancers aren't enemies, merely working toward a different goal.

The soldier begins to agree with Delta until York flips him out of his chair. While York picks at a lock, Delta goes through the ship's systems and finds an anomaly. As he tries to investigate the anomaly, he discovers a remote alarm has been triggered. F.I.L.S.S. locks onto the ship he and York are on and while York finally realizes what she's locking onto Delta tells him that he may have known about it. York calls Delta a "green, little cockbite," before F.I.L.S.S. blows a hole into the ship, which sends York into the vacuum of space.

A.I. Interaction
Back aboard the Mother of Invention, North Dakota introduced Theta to Delta. York convinces Delta to greet his fellow A.I. and assure that everyone present was "nice". But Delta's logical personality gets in the way. The Director enters and tells Delta to refrain from conversing with other A.I.'s, and refuses to allow him to log off as he is required to manage the simulation testing Theta's skills.

Delta was then present at the class where the Director and Counselor informs the agents about the A.I. theory. South Dakota questioned the need to study the concept, which Delta considered South' comment as "rather rude" when she compared A.I.s to vacuums and coffee machines. After the class, he speaks briefly with Sigma.

When attacking the Longshore Shipyards, Delta met Four Seven Niner, who was concerned that Delta was there to take her job. When she dropped the Pelican to enter the base undetected, Four Seven Niner incorporated Delta's help in preventing the ship from crashing in the process. Later, while Maine and Carolina fought the Insurrectionists, Delta reprimands Sigma after Sigma starts talking to Wash and York. Sigma reminds Delta that there are no rules on the battlefield, eerily stating that A.I. should stick together. Delta is silent during his speech, appearing to contemplate his meaning. Later on during the mission, Delta reprimands York after he attempted to take full credit for shutting down the power to C.T. and the Leader's room.

After the mission, York is prompted by Agent Texas to assist her in her break-in of Project Freelancer. York agrees to help and disbands from Project Freelancer. During the break-in, Tex radios York for help, after she gets pinned down by a firing tank. In order to help Tex, York and Delta enter a gravity room, where York tells Delta that they could get into trouble for their upcoming actions. Delta, however, tells York that they are already in a lot of trouble. As a result, the two manage to deactivate the ship's gravity as well as cause it to fire upon itself, in order to assist Tex.

Post-War
Delta is first introduced in the third episode of Out of Mind when Tex sneaks up on York, who was breaking into a shop. York asks for Delta to deliberate on the trustworthiness of Tex, who quickly raises her weapon at the sight of the construct. Delta is alarmed by this in turn, believing her to still have the Omega A.I. with her. Delta is still extremely cautious of Tex, despite her not carrying an A.I. Delta's pure logic-based thought process is flabbergasted when he tries to understand why York agreed to help her destroy Omega. He does not understand why York would destroy Omega for damaging his eye, as killing the program would not restore his vision; but admits that "a little payback would be nice." Delta concedes the argument when he discovers that York's actions are driven by pride, not stupidity.

Later, Delta provides Tex and York with tactical information in their firefight with Wyoming and his guards, as well as providing advice and analysis of their proficiency. Despite his assistance, York receives two fatal gunshot wounds to the chest from Wyoming when trying to cover a prone Tex. Delta stays in York's system to administer medication to make York's death as painless as possible, despite the possibility that he would be deleted by the system when it powered-down. He projected an image of Tex to help her capture Wyoming, and wished them both luck before being encrypted.

Partnership with Washington
Delta learns of the encryption and the Recovery process when he is revived by Washington a few days later. This is much to Delta's protest, as deletion is the only logical way to ensure an A.I. doesn't fall into enemy hands. Delta sends an inventory of York's armor and equipment to command, as well as activating a timed charge on his expired host, before Washington is attacked by Wyoming. He gives Washington advice in battle, though it is an obvious suggestion, before Wyoming and Washington are forced to flee due to the impending destruction of York's armor.

Washington proceeds directly to a new Priority One signal upon recovering Delta, in which he makes further use of the construct. Delta conjectures that falsifying South's death would be dishonest (and seemingly beyond his programming), but complies nonetheless, much to the bewilderment of South. After sending identical reports of South and her brother to command, Delta decommissions North's armor as well. Delta and Washington then both brief South on the situation of something hunting down freelancers, and that Washington's plan to apprehend the fiend involves Delta being implanted into South. This is due to the fact that Wash refuses to allow another A.I. in his system after his experience with the Epsilon program as well as the fact that being in a Freelancer's armor is the only way to protect the AI in combat.

Upon implantation, Delta offers to run a tutorial program for South, but she refuses it. South abandons Wash's plan and betrays him to his death, much to the astonishment of Delta. South then gives her enemy the choice of trying to get her A.I. or Wash's equipment (which she claimed was set to detonate). She is able to escape in the enemy's ship with Delta and the pair's whereabouts were unknown for over a year.

Return
Delta first appears at Church's "secured facility" when Washington arrives to retrieve him, as South is tracking Washington (for reasons, as of now, unknown). Delta is extremely cautious about doing this as others, namely the Meta, may be following Washington, which quickly becomes apparent to be true. South fends off the Meta with her domed energy shield (which she apparently lied about losing). Delta objects to South's plan to abandon him and her armor to save herself for two reasons: first, it is against protocol, and second he reasons it is only a temporary solution to escape the Meta. She is about to carry out her plan regardless, overriding the Delta's objections, until Washington and Blue Team intervene. South tries to escape, but Caboose "helps" her by shooting her (which the AI correctly identifies as friendly fire). The Meta's temporal distortion unit, which he took from Wyoming, malfunctions and the Meta retreats.

South is too wounded to carry Delta further, and Washington directs Caboose or Church to take the A.I., which Caboose does. Delta objects to taking South with Washington's company due to her numerous betrayals, including planning to abandon him and betraying both Washington and her brother North. However, her inability to walk would "hamper [their] progress" and Delta suggests Washington not allow her to do so. Not wanting to let her escape either, Washington kills her with a single shot to the head. For a while, Delta remained in Caboose until he was knocked out. He was then seen being confronted by a group of A.I. that were part of the Meta. Their words would seem to indicate that they wanted Delta to join with them.

Captured
In Chapter 11, Church verifies to the viewer that Delta had left with the Meta when Church goes into Caboose’s mind as a ghost. Delta had left behind recorded memories of himself, with ‘pre-programmed’ responses to any of Church’s questions, including several responses to Church’s comical questions. He states that the next time Church and the others see Delta again, he may not want to be helped and leaves a message for Church to tell Washington that “memory is the key.” Delta appears again briefly during the season finale, alongside his fellow A.I. Church is then forced to subdue him and the others in order to incapacitate the Meta. Following the activation of the EMP, he was destroyed.

Legacy
Even though he was destroyed, Delta lived on in the memory of Epsilon, who often took his form and personality. Epsilon-Delta would eventually aid Caboose in 'resurrecting' Church, help the characters on their travels, and in Out of Mind he returned to give Carolina comfort by showing her York's last logs. Also, when Epsilon and Carolina later confronted the Director, Epsilon took Delta's form briefly during his rant.

Personality
Delta was one of the few constructs not removed from its host after the Epsilon incident. York's explanation to this was that Delta was not considered a risk. Delta, and his behavioral patterns in a stark contrast to the rampant Omega AI, analyzes everything with logic and reason, whereas Omega acts on impulse and insanity. However, Delta does share a trait with Omega in that he speaks longer than necessary, though not to the same extent as Omega. As the series progressed, he began to show more signs of compassion and humor.

Delta developed quite the rapport with his assignor, York. This is evidenced by his refusal to leave York after being injured by Wyoming. His decision to risk deletion to comfort his host indicates a level of emotion not traditionally seen in stable A.I. To the contrary, such emotion is a sign of rampancy, as is his disobeying an order from Tex to enter her system, as well as the directive that demanded said order.

He also showcases a significant degree of self-awareness and later lies to Recovery Command, another sign of rampancy. Though it would be noted that even if it is a sign of rampancy, it would not be a normal manifestation of rampancy. Delta rarely appears emotionally distraught or angry at anyone. He still keeps his logic and ability to perform his task as a "strategist" in combat, so it would seem Delta may not be developing the same kind of rampancy seen in 343 Guilty Spark or Omega, more like slowly gaining a sentient consciousness, similar to Cortana. Overall, Delta is one of the most unique A.I. in the series.

Relationships
Delta has developed a few strong relationships with those in Project Freelancer and the Blue team. Because of the guidance he gives and kindness he shows, several other characters seemed to like him.

York
After being paired with York as his partner, Delta was first annoyed by his user ignoring him. As time passed, however, the two began to grow more attached to one another and became a great team in battle. It's shown in Party Crasher that Delta was willing to aid York and the others in the break-in to save Alpha, despite logical reasoning. After Carolina seemingly died, Delta comforted York on his loss.

In Out of Mind, Delta had been greatly affected by York, as York taught him about humor, compassion, and humanity, causing him to develop in personality. Delta would also seemingly develop sentience and live up to York's words, as he was willing to "die" with his partner to comfort him. He even quotes York on why he would stay with him.

Tex
When Tex came to ask for York's aid in Out of Mind: Part III, Delta was, at first, concerned about her psyche. However, Tex sees Delta as very kind and trusts him, while Delta seems to see her the same way. As York dies, Tex suggests that she carry Delta to protect him, but Delta declines and stays to comfort York. Tex states that what he was doing was very kind and Delta helps her one last time using a holographic projection to distract Wyoming.

Washington
Delta seems to be the one of the only A.I. Wash appears to trust, as Delta has given him insight after meeting him in Recovery One. Delta understands why he doesn't trust A.I. and has shown both respect and concern for Wash. Washington seemed to be worried about Delta after he was taken by the Meta. Delta also seems aware of, and even endorses, Wash's vengeful nature, advising Wash to eliminate South Dakota, much to Wash's agreement. As a side note, Delta once pranked Washington when both were still in Project Freelancer.

South Dakota
Out of all the characters Delta has interacted with, he has the worst relationship with South. In What's the "I" Stand For?, South insults him and the other A.I. by comparing them to household appliances. In Recovery One, he implanted himself in South so that they and Wash would have a higher chance of battling the Meta, but she instead shoots Wash in the back to distract the Meta so they could escape, shocking Delta.

When the Meta found them in Reconstruction, South was about to sacrifice Delta to save herself despite his protests, but Wash's group arrived and rescued him. After the group forces the Meta to retreat, Delta tells Washington that the "best action" is to kill her, as she will hamper their progress and most likely betray them, as she did to her brother North. After Wash kills South, Delta seemed pleased.

Church
Delta is quite possibly the only A.I. Church does not hate, as when the two talk to one another, they speak very calmly. This could possibly be due to the fact that Delta is one of the few intelligent characters Church has ever conversed with or because they agree on logical decisions, since they share the same logic patterns.

Caboose
Caboose seems to like Delta and apparently trusts him as Epsilon-Delta states that he "was a trusted source of information" for Caboose. Delta seems not only able to tolerate his stupidity, but also enjoys his company. Caboose was also the only member of the group to willingly implant Delta into his armor during Reconstruction: Chapter 6.

Sigma
In Season 10, Delta is seen to be concerned about his "brother", Sigma. In What's the "I" Stand For?, he sees Sigma making the Metastability symbol as the Freelancers are leaving the room before asking if he's coming. In Fighting Fire, Sigma goes to interact with Delta, which Delta mentions is against protocol, but Sigma states that "we A.I. should really stick together," causing Delta to become silent and nervous, as he contemplates what Sigma means. After Maine became the Meta due to Sigma, Delta was unwillingly taken by the Meta and Sigma and the other A.I. state that they missed him.

"Memory is the key."
In Reconstruction: Chapter 11, Delta passes a message from Caboose's mind to Church to tell Washington that "Memory is the key," referring to Epsilon. Since then the statement has been mentioned by several other characters, such as: Washington, Caboose, and Epsilon. The quote itself also relates to the story of the Recollections.

Over Analyzing
Because he is based on the Alpha's logic, Delta is shown to overanalyze nearly everything, causing him difficulties to interact with others and straining his relationships with certain characters. As time passes, York began teaching Delta about humor and compassion, which not only strengthened their bond, but allowed Delta to not analyze things as often as he used to.

Resourcefulness
Like other A.I., Delta increases the skills of the host he possess and acts like an extra "eye", identifying surroundings. For instance, in Recovery One: Part One he was able to notice that Wyoming was playing dead. He's also the only known A.I. to have the ability to use holographic projection and leave recordings of himself in the subconscious of hosts to pass on information, as shown in Out of Mind: Part V and Reconstruction: Chapter 11.

Logic
Being the Alpha's logic, Delta provides wise strategies and can provide an understanding of a situation that others can't grasp. He's shown to even predict opponents' moves through reasoning. This is best shown when he realizes that Church is the Alpha A.I. and knew he would be the one to retrieve his recording as well as predict what Church may ask and say.

Trivia

 * When the Alpha A.I. was split up into the other A.I. fragments, Washington states that Delta was "the logical one in the family" during Reconstruction: Chapter 7, whereas in The New Kid, the Counselor states that Delta's skills are "more analytical in nature". Yet all the fragment AIs that have appeared in the series so far have demonstrated some degree of logic and analysis.
 * Delta was possibly given to York because of York's laid back personality, tendency to take risks in battle and, according to Washington, is usually lucky. Delta would provide some analytical background to York's decisions in order to help measure his experience as a Freelancer.
 * Delta has the ability to change color when he is alarmed or angry; whether or not this is voluntary is unknown. Interestingly, the colors he changes from are green and red, which relate to the situation. He changes to red, which is often associated to danger, when he's alarmed or angry; he changes to green, which is often associated to safety, when he is calm or feels normal.
 * While allegedly the Alpha's logic, Delta has also been shown to exhibit other traits such as compassion (in interacting with Theta in The New Kid and to York as he died in Out of Mind: Part V), vengeance (wanting to get payback on Wyoming in Out of Mind and over South's treatment of him in Reconstruction), and subterfuge (by not being direct with York as the Director changed the break-in's plan during Revenants).
 * According to Washington, Delta was the result of one of Alpha's many attempts to keep his sanity. In this case, removing his logic in order to avoid being able to comprehend what is being done to him.
 * Delta finds calculating probabilities fun, according to York.