trash bin PART TWO

[al2955]

the pygmalion. . . ??? OPENING PROGRAM . . . . . . . . . _PROGRAM CRASHED _PROGRAM REBOOT? >N >SCAN PROGRAM . . . _PROGRAM CRASHED . . . >EMERGENCY LEVEL . . . >EMERGENCY LEVEL . . . _EMERGENCY LEVEL LOADING LOADING. . . LOADING. . . LOADING TEXTURE-NIGHT-SKY, TEXTURE-FULL-MOON, TEXTURE-DIRT-PATH, TEXTURE-CAMPFIRE LOADING SOUND-CRICKETS, SOUND-GRAVEL, SOUND-WIND, SOUND-FIRE-CRACKLING UPLOADING USER UPLOADING USER UPLOADING USER UPLOAD SUCCESSFUL TRASH BIN It feels more like an electrical zap than dying. Dying might feel a little bit more like falling asleep, but this is harder, more painful. If you've ever been electrocuted, the feeling might seem familiar; the discovery you make when you open your eyes, too, is likely very familiar. It's the night sky. Stars twinkle, a fire cracks warmly. You sit up and observe the surrounding area, and it's like you've woken up in some sort of canyon. The fire burns brightly, the moon shines beautifully, the crickets sing, and it is ... peaceful. Mostly. You know you're dead. This must be, then, the after life? Or something like it, at least. The horizon stretches on forever, the dirt and gravel seemingly endless. The moon is so big and bright, it's like you could reach out and touch her. There's a shed not too far from the fire, only but a stone's throw away, as if someone else might have made it, and then went inside it. Approaching it, you can see the light glowing inside it through the dusty windows that are littered with fingerprints. A computer screen, so large and wide that it's baffling, sits, waiting. Turning knob reveals that the shed is unlocked, and stepping inside... it doesn't feel any different from the outside. A chair sits in the center of the room, a strange contraption strapped to the head of it. It looks like it would lower itself upon the head of whoever dares to sit on it, and wires from it's bottom curl up towards the machines attached to the screen. Several smaller desktop screens sit beneath the giant monitor. They, too, are hooked up to the machines scattered around the room, to the ominous one perched on top of the medical chair, and they blink, as if fighting to stay alive without use. Pressing the giant monitor on, it lights up, and displays, strangely enough... a security camera feed. You push the button. It switches to another room. Again, another room. Again, another room. So on and forth. You peeping tom! But no one can blame you, in the end. You might as well digitally haunt the rest of the ship until the game ends, and AL-2955 can clean out the trash bin. ...Right? rule book taken characters information cards

Comments

[al2955]

[Krem doesn't even glance around at Allen's whisper or Bull's shout - in fact, he walks right through Bull without any hesitation whatsoever. He heads into the lounge; as the door opens, they might be able to see there's a lot more people in there.

Follow?]

[breakshot]

... Honestly, what was that again, something involving scoping out the perimeter before announcing our presence? Are we just tossing that right out the window now?

[ Bull, are you there? Are you listening? In either case, Machias shakes his head and approaches carefully, stopping before the parlor. ]

It doesn't sound like anyone knows we're here, but let's be careful. We don't know what will happen.

[isodope]

[Haha....ouch. Yeah, he'll just pat Bull's arm after that happened. Poor guy.]

Ah, lay off him Mariachi. [He smirks and shrugs.] At least we know who the mystery guy is now - and that he can't see or hear us. Let's see where he's going off to.

[And Hancock will walk toward the lounge.]

[qundercover]

[Thank you Hancock for being a FRIEND. He can't help the brief look of disappointment, it's a pretty harsh reminder of your mortality that your alive friends can't see you. He doesn't say anything to Machias quite yet - at least he had a good reason to yell!!!]

Right. Best to keep an eye on him anyway.

[ Still obviously bummed, doing the george michael sad walk into the lounge.]

[al2955]

[Even with the lounge door shut, they won't have any trouble whatsoever just walking straight through it.

Inside, they can see around ten to twelve people chilling in there. Hancock will recognize the woman who offers Kream a drink as he takes a seat next to her. On another chair, a blonde boy Machias will find familiar reads something on his tablet.

While the people in here are clearly conversing with each other, their actual words are indistinct and distorted;, it almost sounds like they're listening to them underwater. That said, they'll still be able to see everyone as clear as day, and if they're observant enough they'll start to notice something seems different about behavior the group here as opposed to the group on the Pygmalion. While some of the people here do look worried, furious, or upset, there's no suspicion or wariness in their expressions or body language as they regard each other. They accept drinks from each other with zero hesitation, and there's a distinct lack of tension despite the close quarters.

For some reason, the paranoia that's almost constantly present on the Pygmalion seems to be missing here.]

[isodope]

Shit...Fahrenheit?

[He says, looking straight at the woman with the side-cut and burn marks on her face. Then he watches how everyone else interacts. It's...bizarre.]

Damn. For a bunch of people who went through a murder game, they sure seem damn chummy. [He points to Fahrenheit, completely perplexed.] Hell, I don't think I've ever seen Fahrenheit be this social with so many people at once.

[breakshot]

Jusis?

[ The moment he notices that familiar uniform, that familiar blonde hair, that familiar bastard keeping to himself as always and probably arrogantly sipping a cup of tea right next to him, Machias stops. He wants to say something, he wants to shout at him like old times, and yet all that's there is pure shock. Shock on top of utter confusion for the display before them.

Of course. Of course he knew Jusis was here, and yet there's a certain heaviness he can't quite describe. Anger? Maybe a little. His typical frustration towards the boy wasn't there for once, however. And it certainly wasn't joy, anything but!! Relief was certainly one, given the last time he actually saw his fellow classmates was in a stand off that may have literally meant their lives on the line then. ]

I'm... not even surprised he's handling this so calmly, but this is still odd. Their AI told them, didn't they? [ crosses arms ] Don't they know about what's going on? I'd at least expect even that damned Albarea to have the slightest bit of concern considering his life's on the line too!

[qundercover]

[Honestly it puts Bull's skin on edge to see them this way - there's something wrong, or something right here that makes the situation on the Pygmalion that much more wrong.]

There's something off here. Doesn't look like anyone's been killing each other at all - shit, at the very least I taught Krem not to take drinks from strangers without trusting them with your life.

[Did . . . Alice lie about the motive.]

[al2955]

[They can stay a bit longer to look longingly at the faces of their hostages, but it doesn't look like they'll find out anything more hanging around here.

Onwards?]

[isodope]

Hey, I take offense to that! Fahrenheit isn't the type to poison a perfectly good drink. If she wanted to kill you, she'd burn you alive with her bigass minigun.

[Don't talk about his bestie like that Bull, that rude.]

Something seems fucking weird about this happy party. Maybe we should try to find out some more info on how their shitty game has been?

[breakshot]

Then she lied to us. That's the only explanation. Really, are we even surprised at this point?!

[ That wasn't the only explanation, but it was the only one Machias himself was willing to accept right then and there. Resisting the urge to run up and yell many, many things at the blonde boy - that is, a string of curses and absolutely nothing having to do with relief and pure shock to see a classmate after so long - Machias steps back, carefully regarding the others: ]

All right, so it's confirmed: we're on the Nuwa. For now, we should have a look around. [ There's one last look to the group, frowning. ] I don't think we're going to find anything else in here.

[qundercover]

No offense meant, seems like a straight up badass. Like the look of her. Could still poison ya if you were on a murder ship.

[Moving onwards!! There's really nothing else to learn here, but he does want to stare longingly at Krem's face just a little longer. Stay safe precious son.]

You can learn a lot by observing a room, you know. But fine, we'll keep moving.

[al2955]

[As they make their way back to the hallway and move onwards, they'll stumble onto what looks like a murder plan in progress!!

[ A woman in a sherriff's hat stands off against the wall huddled over a half empty beer bottle. She's fiddling with something - tearing a piece of an old shirt (probably from an old resident, let's be real) to stuff into the end. Among doing so she's chatting, a distant wave of her hand reassuringly to a girl in elaborate Chinese garb, and then an awkward shrug and eyeroll.

Among soaking the fabric with liquor, the woman stands up and points towards an area of the hallway devoid of obstacles. The girl seems a bit unsure, seemingly asking a few questions before the woman just shrugs and lights the end of the fabric. It staggers and it's obvious what's happening as she hurls the bottle towards the girl - it's a molotov cocktail that ignites upon impact at her feet.

The girl shrieks and jumps in surprise as the flames engulf her. Despite her initial reaction however, she quickly calms down and it becomes clear why as the flames flicker around a futuristic shield that immediately surrounds her; it looks identical to the shield around Luke when he'd tried blowing himself up. She puts out the fire quickly enough using what looks like some kind of giant sword that can summon water, her expression relieved - and then it turns anxious and worried as she looks up at the ceiling, towards where the main terminal would be on the upper floor.]

[isodope]

[Hancock may not know either of those two women, but he can spot the making of a molotov cocktail without a doubt. As soon as the fabric is stuffed into the bottle he outstretches his arms in attempt to make sure Machias and Bull don't go past him.]

Shit. Stand back men, she's making a molotov!

[Because they may not be seen or heard, but they might still be able to get hurt. And that's all the warning he can give before the bottle is hurled and explodes at the girl's feet. But when the girl is unharmed, he only looks confused.]

If that was a murder attempt, it sure was a shit one.

[breakshot]

I don't know but that sure as hell wouldn't be my reaction if someone tried to chuck a bomb at my face...!

[ Likewise, Machias eyes widen and he's about to scream, even if he'd known the only people onboard within earshot and capable of hearing are the two men right next to him. He knows what a molotov looks like (thanks Fie), but that's not what he's expecting when they seemingly carry on as normal. ... Well, Machias is certainly breathing again, but there's certainly an anxious strain in it as he notes the girl. ]

You two saw that, right? That barrier. That's the same one that went up for Luke back then, wasn't it?

[qundercover]

[He's seen an immolate spell AND he's seen a bottle of liquor on fire before and normally you aren't so cool about it when it's being hurled your way. He's noticed the way the girl seems to look up - might be time to go have a chat with whoever is running this joint.]

Yeah. "Valued player." Looks like they were testing it somehow. Maybe. Doesn't seem like a victim would stand there and wait while she got her weapon ready to throw.

[There anything else to see here? Because otherwise he's going to head on - towards the main terminal. Seems like there might be some answers there.]

[al2955]

[There's a few more people milling about, but nothing that interesting. As soon as they get into the elevator, it automatically moves up to the upper level despite none of them having the ability to physically push the button.

When the doors open, they'll hear a female voice.]

It's about time. Don't you gentlemen know never to keep a lady waiting, especially when you show up to her home uninvited?

I'm behind the door at the end of the hallway to the right, lads. Normally it's locked down tight, but you can just walk right through, can't you?

[isodope]

[Well shit. Is that the A.I. of Nuwa?

He doesn't comment aloud, only silently moving toward the door down the hall and going straight through it.]

[al2955]

[Through the thick metal door lies an enormous supercomputer, one the size of the entire room. Hovering in the middle of the room is what appears to be a glowing white cloud.

The cloud shifts and a part of it flows to where the five of them are standing, forming into the silohuette of a woman similar to Alice's. She raises a hand to her lips, pantomining a cigarette, and blows out a large cloud of scentless smoke; as she does so, the clouds making up her body gradually vanishes to reveal a bright sunny sky. While she appears to be the same type of AI as Alice, when she speaks, her voice sounds much more human - albeit bitingly sarcastic.]

Let's cut the bullshit, gentlemen. By my calculations, you have approximately ten minutes before the servers desync and you're back on the Pygmalion, so we don't have time for idle chit-chat.

Getting the first question out of the way right now: "What? You know who we are?" Sure do. The Iron Bull. Hancock. Machias Regnitz. Allen Walker. Lavi. You can call me Dr. Lin. Next?

[qundercover]

Honestly was going to skip that one this time. Pretty sure you all know more about us than we do at this point. Thanks for remember the The though - appreciated.

So - guess I'll start with the obvious. You running the same kind of murder operation as Alice over there or has she got something seriously wrong in her . . . systems or whatever you call. [He's catching onto this computer stuff okay!!] Doesn't look like these people have been murdering the shit out of each other like they do back on the Pyg.

[al2955]

River's programming has always been insultingly simplistic. That's what happens when you send a meathead to do a scientist's job. [A pause.] No offense.

But yes, we ran the same operation here. [She exhales another plume of smoke.] Tense shift very much intentional.

[breakshot]

Dr. Lin, then.

[ If this fog weren't clearly digital fog, he'd be gagging right about now. He's never been fond of smoke, and much less fond of sassy AIs to go with it. ]

How about an explanation for what's going on with this blasted ship, for one? Didn't Alice-- River - whatever her damned name is -tell you what was happening? Because we saw everyone downstairs, and let me tell you, for being presented with a motive the threat of both them and everyone else they know dying? They sure didn't even look all that concerned to match, I'll tell you that much.

[al2955]

Of course they weren't. The game ended for them weeks ago, after all. What you're looking at now are the survivors - and every single one of them has been granted immunity.

[Another exhale of smoke.]

I'll give you a moment to let the ramifications of that sink in.

[isodope]

Yeah, hi, can I take some of your alcohol back with me? I'm too sober for this bullshit.

[He's joking...but also not joking.]

Can you do anything about Pygmalion? Like Nuwa seems pretty damn chummy - any hopes of a rescue operation?

[deformity]

[ Five minutes. Thirty seconds. Now ten minutes. It's strange how they never seem to have enough time. ]

Hello, Dr. Lin. Ten minutes isn't much, is it? But thank you for giving us that time anyway and for seeing us. [ Allen gives her a weary, but lopsided smile and nods his head. ]

Actually, there is something I've been meaning to ask. Your side has been trying to contact ours, I believe. There was a warning about a third souvlaki on the Pygmalion and it turned out to be true. How did you know? If there's a way of recognizing them -- if there's any way we can help those still on board, please... please tell us.