Sw30

Split Worlds - Session 30
Restful sleep, of the sort you probably never had in your entire lives. Each one of you is sleeping in a room tailored exactly to your tastes, the furniture, the smell, even the way the light comes through the windows, everything is… Just perfect. And you're slowly awakened from your dreams (as you all dreamt, so restful was this sleep) by the smell of… Breakfast. The surreal smell
JayM: of breakfast. When you remember where you are, within the ship Conestoga 2, within what appears to be Phoenix herself, in the middle of a desert of literally burning sunlight- This just makes that particular smell feel out of this world
Jack‘ sits up with a yawn, then sniffs at the air for a moment, before hoping off his bed and following the trail of the scent.
Argent ends up stepping out of her room, with a suspicious expression on her face; all of this just seemed -too- perfect. There had to be a catch. HAD to be. Nothing’s ever this damn perfect, even for sleep, and even for the smell of breakfast-wait, that definitely doesn't smell like anything they have at hand.
Jnezdie gently murbles as he awakens, snuggling against a pillow, and so entrancing is the smell that it overcomes the desire to bask in the morning feeling, and Jnezdie slowly slips out of bed, streeeeeeeeeeeetching wide as he meanders on out, barely remembering to throw on his pants and grab Ragnarok before doing so.
The sandy, ruinous corridors seem at odds with the room at the other end- A kitchen, made of glistening chrome, a table made of marble (Jnezdie when he gets there, that is not REAL marble but a fake only an Elvaan would catch). You see the glimpse of small, cylindrical devices with a multitude arms and threadmills moving out of sight JUST as you come in- One of them just finished putting
JayM: a dish on the table. Sarah herself is there as well, eyes closed, sitting at the table.
Gavriel stretches. The bed is firm, comfortable- the room elegantly spartan, and somehow, the light streaming in from the window is the bright sunlight of the mountains. And, really, it'd be stranger if they woke up someplace utterly unfamiliar and there weren't breakfast cooking, at this point.
Sarah wears something unusual, and certainly not a set of clothes you've ever carried. Shorts made of an odd blue fiber you simply don't know what it is, sleeveless shirt with a symbol and words you're unable to recognize (the symbol is a parasol?)
Jack: "Gahaha, automatic breakfast?!"
Sarah snaps out of her reverie "Aha- Yes, Phoenix insisted in not letting me prepare it"
You realize that all the dishes are white, except Sarah's that is silver
Jack: "How interesting! Sign me up!" Jack wanders over to a chair and plops himself into it.
Jnezdie stretches again as he comes on in, practically walking on his tiptoes as he makes his way to a seat.
Argent steps into the room. "…okay, there's -got- to be something wrong here. Room was comfortable, nobody's tried to kill me in my sleep, and now breakfast constructed by machines. If it's not poisoned, color me surprised."
JayM: Your favorite breakfast is there, somehow
Jnezdie: "Aw, well, a'int nothin' like bein' a good guest, Sarah."
Gavriel trudges out, a little blearily. Really good sleep after exhaustion will do that, waking up to what passes for bright light through the clouds- he tilts his head at Sarah and nods. "That was kind." …it's still a bit strange, thinking of… having one's breakfast prepared by Phoenix.
Gavriel will get over it, surely.
Sarah smiles at Argent "She's a good host, Argent, that's all"
Jnezdie: "I don't know. It could be poisoned and I think that'd be fine after that ridiculously good sleep."
Argent: "Unsettlingly so." Argent replies, poking suspiciously at the food.
Jnezdie: "Plus it smells awesome. I mean, -dang-. How did she know 'strawberry pancakes with spiced sausage?'"
Sarah: "It's a bit creepy, but she probably has been watching you your entire lives"
Sarah: "But- Try it out, it's delicious!"
Jack‘ starts wolfing down the food with no reservations!!
Jnezdie takes a few bites, then leans forward with his face in a hand. "Awwwwwww!"
Sarah’s breakfast is, interestingly, made of food you've never seen in your lives. Or at least, the fruits and juice she's drinking- They feel like a warped version of what you're used to seeing normally
Gavriel peers at Jnezdie. That… sounds… so odd he almost wants to steal some of the Elvaan's food. "…not strange in the slightest." He sits down- his breakfast rather simple, but hearty- begins eating.
Jnezdie: "If it takes watchin' me my whole life to get breakfast this perfect, then m'man, I'll take it."
Jnezdie: "Seriously, think I'm gonna marry her."
Argent: "…that's even more unnerving." Argent comments as she slowly samples her dish "…and creepy." that's aimed at Jnezdie.
Gavriel chuckles.
Sarah giggles at Jnezdie
Jnezdie: "Can you give me one good reason why not?"
Jack: "Gahahaha."
Sarah: "That is probably more woman than you can handle, Jnezdie"
Sarah: "Well, just relax for now. I'll… Have a lot to explain after this"
Jnezdie: "Oh, I know you're skeptical. Caught me off balance what with the great night's sleep and forever-excellent breakfast. But sister- there's still 25 Waves left in this Pass, and I've only begun."
Argent: "Yes, 'why not' marry a construct who has not only been psychically stalking us our whole lives, but also was apparently created by our current employer. Because there's nothing creepy about that at all." Argent adds in a deadpan manner.
[OOC] JayM: Feel free to… Keep having breakfast until you're ready to move on, btw
Gavriel drinks an excessively large swig of bitter, black restorative morning beverage of choice to hide a sudden fit of snickering at Jnezdie's comment.
Jnezdie: "Sarah are we still gonna brush up against 'protocol' limits here what with the explainin'? Not that I'm gonna chastise you, but I don't want to get my hopes up too much."
Sarah shakes her head "Nope"
Argent continues slowly and suspiciously sampling her food, making sure the taste didn't indicate that it was poisoned.
Jnezdie staaaaaaaaaaares at Sarah, sizing her up. He then takes a bite of sausage. "Gotcha." He then turns to Argent. "Hey, listen- [space]. Bam. A'int -that- some wild shit?"
Sarah: "Phoenix is completely unaffiliated, also, hum… I did get permission to explain things to you guys a while back but… We were already so close, I figured it would be better to explain with Phoenix's aid"
Sarah smiles at Jnezdie "You don't even know the beginning of it"
JayM: It definitely isn't, Argent
Jack‘ waves a hand dismissively at Sarah as he set his plate down, cleared of the food. "Delicious!"
Jnezdie nods and grins at Sarah. "Oh, but I am -such- a good scholar-warrior. One side tends to pick up all’a slack." He finishes off his plate, slightly pushing it away. "So good."
Argent samples the coffee she was given to make sure of that as well.
JayM: Oh, Argent, so, SO suspicious
Argent: "Well, at least it doesn't taste poisoned."
Jack: "Ah yes, she's watched over the world for her entire exist all for the sole purpose of killing you by a poisoned breakfast, of all things."
Gavriel finishes his food, relatively quietly, relatively enthusiastically. "Argent, if Phoenix wanted to dispose of us, she definitely had the chance to do so." He's… too sated and breakfasted to really get ornery about anything, though.
Sarah: "I guess she's thinking this is too perfect"
Sarah: "The Fallacy of the Matrix. Any illusion that is far too perfect is easily shattered, we are born and raised to face hardship."
Sarah: "Don't worry, though"
Gavriel: "Adherence to the maximally rational interpretation of events is a Material virtue." There, that was a little ornery.
Sarah: "Now, now, though. Peace, I think this is the most peaceful place in the world"
Argent: "Trust is never something to be given blindly. Excess generosity on the part of another is to be regarded with the highest suspicion."
Argent continues eating, however.
Sarah stands up and stretches "Feel free to finish- I need to prepare with Phoenix" as she walks away, her clothing quite literally melts away, giving place to a different outfit. It's a vastly unusual outfit, black and golden, as if someone attempted (and succeeded) in merging a military uniform with a miko dress. By the time her outfit has finished transforming she's already in the
JayM: doorway, heading out
Jnezdie wrinkles his eyebrows at Sarah's magically changing clothes.
Jnezdie: "(Anyone else catch that?)"
Gavriel: "…yes, and I trust Sarah." He glances at her. Despite their… encounters with the Almagest, he says and completely means that- his glance turned into a bit of a o_o and then he looked away, hurriedly. Hn.
Jack: "Oho.
Jnezdie: "Anyway, guess I'll… wander about? Sarah might still be busy with Phoenix at the moment…"
And after a while… You are done eating and head out. A 'wall', an illusory wall of light shows you the path (not blocking your way case you want to wander, just a sign really!) towards the main room, where you will find Sarah standing, propped against the wall, eyes closed and thinking. Phoenix, in her human form, remains perfectly still, staring off into the infinity, a creepy, flat
JayM: expression. They appear to be waiting
Argent facepalms. "Seriously, Gavriel. I know I've objected to vastly public displays on the basis of safety, but this is equally ridiculous. If you really have something to say to her, just say it already. …Just not in a place where a lynch mob would go after us as a whole for it."
Jnezdie: "See, I think it's funny -Argent- told you to make a move before I did. Truth be told I was enjoyin' the whole 'awkward soldiers of duty' thing."
Jack‘ shakes his head and follows the light!
Gavriel makes a rock-tumbler noise under his breath. "-clothing is not supposed to do that, is all." Tromp tromp tromp!
Jnezdie ’s laugh echoes as he follows the light, waving at Sarah and Phoenix as they come into view, but likely that does not a whole lot, so upon getting into vocal range (which is kind of nebulous just go with it), "Yo! Thanks for the breakfast! And the sleep! Everything I ever wanted and dreamed of."
Jack: "Aye, it was wonderful!"
Argent eyerolls as she continues into the light
As soon as you are all there, the two start to attention, Phoenix's face now containing a calm and welcoming smile. Sarah smiles at you and with hands behind her back, nods. Phoenix looks at Jnezdie "I am thankful that you enjoyed. I have not done so in a thousand cycles, it is good to know my procedures were still fitting"
Sarah: "It WAS wonderful, Phoenix. Again, thanks for the purified food."
Argent: "…Okay, question, Sarah."
Sarah takes a couple of steps back, large sigh. She looks at Argent "Yes?"
Gavriel bows to Phoenix, gratefully. Jnezdie said it for him, but that doesn't mean he can't express respect and appreciation!
Argent: "Phoenix is clearly over a thousand cycles old. And she regards you as her creator. So what's the deal with you here?"
Sarah smiles "We're all descendants of her creators. Actually, before I get the answers I want from Phoenix… I thought that i'd explain everything for you"
Sarah: "But it's common for the Savant Computers to refer to us Earth-descendants as 'Creators' as a whole. I'll explain"
Gavriel nods at the answer he'd already been expecting. Metaphor!
Jnezdie: "Awesome. Oh, wait-"
Jnezdie quickly sits on the ground, cross-legged.
Jnezdie: "Okay, ready."
Argent: "Right then. I'm listening."
Argent continues standing
Sarah smiles at Jnezdie, and she takes a light hop backwards- But instead of her feet connecting the ground again, she stands midair, floating slightly "Alright, me and Phoenix prepared a small presentation"
Phoenix's cloak transforms into a pair of crimson-feathered wings, as everything around you turns dark "You will come across many concepts never heard of before, so feel free to interrupt and ask" she says, floating slightly herself
Sarah extends a hand, and all around the darkness is dotted by small specks of light "The first thing to explain… Because you need to know what those are to understand your, and my, origin, are those, this"
Argent: "Understood."
Sarah: "This is what Jnezdie has been calling 'space'. The empty vastness from beyond the clouds… If you could fly through them, past them, above them- This is what you'd see"
Phoenix: "This vessel you see around you, which I am a part of, it was made to travel in this 'sea'"
Jnezdie grins.
Gavriel watches, eye open wide, an expression of childlike wonder on his face. Learning about the world, understanding it and how it works- that's so much of why he became a Knight-Artificer, despite being more a warrior than a scholar… and this almost feels like cheating. He nods, paying rapt attention.
Phoenix points to a speck of light "See those? They are called 'Stars', as you see here- It is very, very far away, but as you get closer…" she makes a gesture, and you have the sensation of movement, moving incredibly fast and getting closer, and the speck of light grows, more and more and more- Until it's turned into the ground itself, made of absolute blue flames, just looking at
JayM: them you feel their heat, even though this is just visual, this would be terribly hot
Argent braces herself once the sensation of movement comes about
Phoenix: "Stars… I will tell you a little 'teacher's lie', it is not the truth, but will be easier to each the concept behind it through it, and I can get into the actual details later. Stars, are gigantic spheres of flame."
Phoenix: "The sun above the clouds, it is a star like such"
Sarah makes a movement, and the star beneath your feet shrinks again, until it's only just as large as Sarah herself. You see floating around this star small… Pebbles, some larger, some smaller. Nine of those, in fact, circling around it
Gavriel tiiiiilts his head to the side. Watches.
Argent: "…okay, what're the small rocks around it?"
Sarah: "And those- Those are what is called a 'planet'. Giant spheres of rock, it is the land beneath your feet. Your worlf is one such planet" she point and makes a movement "About the size of this one" it's one of the medium-sized ones "
Sarah: "Say, what is the fastest thing that any of you know?"
Jnezdie: "Bullet. Or Liana."
Jnezdie: "No- lightning bolt."
Argent: "Coilgun shot."
Gavriel staaaaaaaaares. O_. "…one of those, yeah."
Phoenix: "The lightning bolt, that's fast. The coilgun's shot- A few times faster than sound, but not the fastest known thing"
Phoenix: "The fastest matter in existance… Is light"
Phoenix: "To perform the travel that I did, from where I left to this world… It would ordinarily take a few… Billions of cycles, in the speed of the light. At a speed of roughly 299,792,458 meters per second"
Jnezdie narrows his eyes and scrunches up his lips.
Argent has that 'WTF' expression on her face again.
Sarah: "Phoenix- Round up, please. That is far too many numbers"
Phoenix: "Oh- Sorry- I'll change my parameters"
Argent: "That is…fast."
Gavriel scrunches up his face. "…ordinarily?"
Jnezdie: "What Gav said. Uh. That was already -pretty fast-. And then you uh… yeah, what Gav said."
Sarah: "There's a way to travel that far in a short amount of time it is- Very complex, and involves very advanced science. But let's just say that nowadays, people can make those trips. It took me about… Six 'months', or ninety Passes, to reach here from my homeworld"
Sarah: "But- Let's say it's related to teleportation magic, and the fact that there are more dimensions to move on than the X, Y and Z axis"
Argent: "So it's kind of like that weird hole we jumped through to get away from the Ethereal Kingdom?"
Sarah: "(Really, I studied hyperspace theory, that's horrible)"
Jnezdie: "On a vessel this size?!"
Phoenix nods "Yes. That 'hole', was in fact the very same system that brought me here"
Phoenix: "The Hyperwarp Field"
Jnezdie: "'cause I get the idea this'n is p-r-e-t-t-y gigantic and I've only seen a bit of it."
Sarah nods "Mostly. Not really a vessel this big? It was a couple of smaller ones plus Liana making the trip"
Gavriel eyeshifts to one side - billions of cycles - eyeshifts to the other side - ninety Passes. "…so what you're saying is that, where you're from, what the Ethereals use as magic… is amenable to analysis?" Yup, that's his take-away from that.
Phoenix: "The Conestoga had to be built gigantic for a reason"
Sarah: "Yes, it is. Ethereal Science, it's what we call it. Although the term 'magic' is used to refer to it as a linguistic legacy"
Argent: "…Huh. So these warp fields were placed about to facilitate quick travel, I presume?"
Phoenix: "Ordinarily, hyperwarp gates are built around places of heavy traffic to facilite travel. The Conestoga, howevever, is a unique vessel in that it was built to explore and settle nwe lands"
Phoenix: "So I was equipped with a hyperwarp drive, an engine which lets me generate my own gates. The HW Field you used is part of it's remains"
Sarah: "And on the topic of the Conestoga 2 being so large… It's about time to explain the origins of this senseless world"
Gavriel frowns. In a conflict between Material Kingdom dogma, and what he has now seen with his own eyes… well, it's not even the first radical shift to his thinking in the recent past, more like the tenth, at this rate. It almost passes by unnoticed; his eye twitches, slightly. That's it…
Jnezdie looks completely lost for a second, and it 'clicks' once he starts putting it back into terms of 'magic engine' and 'creates teleport fields that are huge' and 'it's right in front of your face so it has to be real, right?' Well, 'clicks' as best it can.
Gavriel shakes his head, glances up, listening. "I… remember some things. From the Almagest, but they're- incredibly vague."
Argent narrows her eyes; that explains some of the things Sarah mentioned, at the very least.
Sarah waves, and the entire solar system seen by you is replaced by a different one "This is the Gaia System, it's sun, it's planets"
She points to a small planet, heavy on water "This is Earth, where we all came from. A long time ago, roughly a thousand cycles (or two thousand years, in the measuring of time), the original Conestoga left"
Sarah: "The Conestoga was as much an experiment as a pioneering. To go as far as the earthlings had ever went and colonize a planet in the edge of the known universe"
Sarah: "My predecessor was loaded almost exclusively with things for colonization. Personnel, adults and children alike, food, material. And it set off using one of the first Hyperwarp prototypes build."
[OOC] JayM: Wow, I mixed up Sarah and Phoenix in that phrase
[OOC] Jnezdie: I was about to say, yes
Phoenix: "However, it's hyperwarp drive was a prototype, and fallible. It was one of the first of it's time, and it suffered a critical failure during travel. It went farther than it expected, and lost it's way back. It became lost in the void of space and it's hyperwarp engine stopped working"
Jnezdie: "…yikes."
Phoenix: "Left in the emptyness of space (And believe me, Dark Space, the space between stars, is gigantic), it was lucky enough to come across a barely inhabitable, barren planet"
Argent: "And subsequently crashed on it, I take it?"
Phoenix: "It had no air, it's gravity was small, it had no life, plant or animal, and could not sustain life. It was a dead rock"
Phoenix: "Not really, it landed as gracefully as it was built to. It safely delivered it's colonization modules, sattelites, probles, and then landed the way it was designed to, harmlessly crashing far away from the colony"
Phoenix: "The Conestoga was built expendable, it was far too large to land and was built to be easily scrapped if it could not remain in 'orbit', that is, floating above the planet"
Sarah: "Curiously… One of the first modules on landings is named after out goddess of life and ressurection"
Phoenix: "The first module to land, carrying basic structures and automated construction systems. The Phoenix Module, after which I am named"
Argent: "…I see. That's why they liken you to a goddess of life, then."
Sarah: "Well- They name this planet they landed on 'New Terra', it really was their only choice of planet to land on, but it was a harsh world"
Gavriel keeps listening, folding his hands behind his back. Hn.
Phoenix: "It was a great struggle, but they had come prepared. They had buildings which produced air inside of them, so they lived inside, at all times. Food was produced with what they had, not a single bit of matter could be wasted, they'd mine materials to increase their colony, slowly growing and increasing in size"
Sarah: "I hear that at that time, the total population of New Terra never went into the third digit"
Phoenix: "There were many people at the start, until the catastrophe, actually"
Sarah: "Ah, yes. You see, it's neither good for survival nor possible for all people to live in a single unified rule. So even this small survivor colony split into two smaller ones, called Plymouth and Eden"
Sarah: "And… It was Eden that destroyed their world"
Gavriel frowns.
Sarah: "See, that was was horrible. Imagine your entire planet being a single, large, slab of rock, and nothing else. It's unsurvivable"
Sarah: "But there are techniques known as 'terraformation', altering a world to become habitable"
Jnezdie: "So much for the experiment-" He shuts up as Sarah continues.
Argent: "I see."
Sarah: "They were working on it, but it was the sort of thing that took a hundred or more cycles at the time. They couldn't stand to live cloistered in metal walls for that long"
Phoenix: "Have you seen the ruins of your world? The very same buildings you saw in ruins were the buildings used at that time"
Argent: "Makes sense now that I'm hearing all of this, anyway."
Jnezdie: "Huh. Alright."
Sarah: "Indeed. So Eden developed a… Microbe, to assist in terraformation. It would break chemicals down to water and air. It wasn't a normal microbe, it was a 'bionic' microbe"
Jnezdie: "What's a 'normal' microbe in this sense?"
Sarah: "Imagine machinery so small, so TINY, that it fits inside a cell" cells- That's somthing you'd only know about if you were big on medicine, but it is a thing that's known "Machinery that could make it so more efficient"
Argent: "…is this, by any chance, the [Deaspected Angelic Blight Cell], if I may venture a guess?"
Phoenix shakes her head "No, but it's predecessor, the original [Blight]
Argent: "Ah."
Gavriel earperks. This is getting into the territory he 'overheard' from the Almagest, and hadn't the context for…
Gavriel and… slowly turns to look at Sarah, not saying anything yet. Just listening.
Sarah: "Indeed. And there is a reason it's called a blight. See, there was a problem. During the testing phase, there was an accident. One of the test vats exploded, showering the vincinity in the unfinished project of this terraforming microbe. An uncontrolled, hungry, all-devouring microbe that would turn all sorts of biological matter into water and air"
Phoenix: "A blight, a microbe that would melt everything in it's path"
Argent: "Unpleasant, to say the least."
Gavriel looks… stricken. The worst lab accidents in Material history are… nothing, compared to that.
Jnezdie: "Oops."
Sarah: "And… It thrived on water. The water it produced was also where it lived. It's break down the matter in the ground, as it was designed to do, and create water and multiply. This water would build pressure and crack the earth, making tiny rivers that would take it farther, and that would continue on and on…"
Jnezdie: "That'll keep you from getting elected Mayor in TT for sure."
Phoenix: "It was castastrophic, because it worked fast, incredibly fast, soon the ground beneath the colony of Eden was like a giant geyser, building with pressure, cracking and exploding, showering everything in water and Blight"
Phoenix: "It destroyed buildings and ate people, destroyeing everything in sight"
Sarah: "And all that messing with the planet's crust… If it wasn't enough the Blight, it also awoke long-sleeping volcanoes. The Blight started to eat the world at the same time that the world started destroying itself"
Argent: "Wonderful."
Phoenix: "The people of Eden and Plymouth made a bid to escape back into space. But they hadn't recovered enough to build another starship, a second Conestoga. They didn't have the materials, up to now they were only worried about taking care of their respective people"
Sarah: "So began a frantic escape, they would not be able to stay in the same place for more than two passes before either the blight or volcanoes caught up with them"
Phoenix: "And in the end, the two colonies had to fight over the last habitable plot of land, so that at least one of them would be able to build their starship and launch it"
Sarah: "They'd fight with remote-controlled vehicles over the last scraps of nescessary material, the last bits of terrain. And in the end, the colony of Plymouth escaped"
Sarah: "The second ship, Conestoga 2, took into space, and with it the last remnants of Plymouth and… Thanks to the valiant efforts of perhaps the only sane couple in the two colonies, a contingent of children from Eden"
Phoenix: "That was me- Or rather, the original system. I travelled through space for long, attempting to find a new planet to settle on. I knew not how to return to Earth, so that was my only choice. Thankfully, my systems all held out excellently. I travelled, jumping from star system to star system to find a suitable world"
Phoeix: "But I did not find one, before I was beset by… enemies"
Argent: "Pirates?"
Phoenix: "No… Enemies… Illirians"
Gavriel shifts position, tilting his head to the side.
Argent quirks an eyebrow. "Okay, so what are Illirians?"
Sarah: "See, there is this species called Illirians. They are a kingdom that subsists on conquest, taking over other worlds for themselves and living off the spoils"
Sarah: "Earth and New Terra have been at odds with them forever… But we're about to end that war, at least according to latest news"
Phoenix: "I met a battleship of theirs. As lost as I was, while I was here"
Jnezdie waits for it.
Phoenix gestures, showing the most… Spectacular lightshow in your lives. Three suns, trapped by lightning. Attached by pure lightning to what can only be described as a sphere of pure, raw lightning "I met my demise above the skies of Tempestaria"
Argent couldn't help but be surprised at the very image. That is…something that's totally out there.
Phoenix drags the image closer, showing two ships- One of which you can recognize as the Conestoga, the other is a long ship, more resemblant of a ship built around a gigantic cannon than anything else "I met the dreadnought Alkasha. They attempted to board me, and I had to protect my people, I was unarmed, but possessed powerful shields"
Phoenix: "We fought-" the image shows the fight "As a man with a sword and one with a shield would. They could not pierce my defenses, as earth-born are the only ones to wield magic in the known universe, and my magitek shields were superior to their weapons… Or so I thought"
Phoenix: "They fired their main gun, the Relay Connector Cannon, by drawing the power of my own shields as energy… It was struck down… But their own, prototypical, weapon backfired, damaging their own ship… And we both fell down the storm of lightning"
Argent: "…so that other ship is what Ultima really is."
Phoenix nods "We fell… And… I had orders 'ensure everyone survives'"
Jnezdie nods. Yup, there it is.
Phoenix: "I… The way to place it, is that I took over control of the Alkasha as we fell- I had to save the ilirians too. It was what I was build to do, to ensure everyone survives"
Argent smirks. Ethereals have it wrong as usual, it seems.
Phoenix: "I was… Surprised, if a computer can have emotions, when I realize there was…" she waves, and the image shows the scene of the crash "Rock, underneath the lightning"
Gavriel nods, slowly- glances up at Phoenix. That's an interesting take on 'everyone', but- one he can understand. One, he realises, that's effectively built into the cultures of everyone on Tempestaria…
Phoenix: "I issue the emergency orders" you see various smaller ships ejecting off from the Conestoga, small, tiny pods ejecting from the Alkasha. But the Alkasha does not falls, it remains in the clouds "The Alkasha, by a strike of luck, remained suspended by magnetic forces, where it remains still"
Phoenix: "The tale if the genesis as you know… Is a mistelling of this battle"
Sarah: "It was the biggest surprise of my life, seeing illirians living here as any other"
Sarah: "The Seafarers as you know them, are the descendants of the escapeeds of the Alkasha"
Jnezdie: "Aw, don't worry. It's got its own charm."
Phoenix: "But that is not the end of the 'fantastic' part"
Phoenix: "You are aware of the Thunderfall, are you not?"
Argent: "Very."
Jnezdie: "That was, honestly, one of the things I was gonna ask you about."
Gavriel: "…yes."
Phoenix: "It is… Part of the nature of this world. Tempestaria… Is unique"
Phoenix: "It holds in it's atmosphere sufficient electrical power that, if released explosively…" she waves, and the image zooms out- star system, galaxy, nearby galaxies, an entire star cluster "
Phoenix: "It holds in it's atmosphere sufficient electrical power that, if released explosively…" she waves, and the image zooms out- star system, galaxy, nearby galaxies, an entire star cluster "All of this, would be destroyed"
Jnezdie chuckles a little, somewhere between nervousness and incredulancy.
Jnezdie: "Yo. Yo. That's nuts."
Phoenix: "And that is, because that is as far as I could measure. It possesses even more electrical power, tending towards infinity. And it is all kept tightly packed in the atmosphere by the world beneath your feet, what is at it's core"
Argent: "…so this is what the Heir's trying to get at, I take it?"
Phoenix shakes her head "No. He is after the Life Regeneration System. What brings the entire world back to life after the Thunderfall destroys it"
Gavriel fucking boggles. "…and I thought Keiranka was bad."
Sarah: "Indeed. Though I dare say that Tempestaria is the single most stable material system known, despite everything, it's absolutely safe to everything outside it"
Jnezdie: "Alright, hold up, let 'er continue. So, what keeps Tempestaria in check, here? I'm guessin' it starts with a 'P' and ends in 'hoenix,' but I mean, I'm open to suggestion."
Sarah: "Actually, it's the planetary core"
Gavriel shakes his head, speaking slowly, really softly. "The Thunderfall- it's- like a ground, isn't it? To keep the storm from reaching a critical point. But it… kills, and then- you're there… to ensure everyone survives." He looks up, glances at Phoenix.
Sarah: "Which is a completely natural occurrance, also a mystery at this point in time"
Jnezdie: "Faaaaaaaair enough."
Phoenix: "As I was build to do"
Jnezdie: "Now I'm completely curious on how the Life Regeneration System works."
Phoenix: "Originally…" she waves and the image shifts, showing life on Tempestaria at the start. The same buildings from New Terra, the same cloistered lifestyle "Tempestaria was much akin to New Terra, with the exception of the sunlight being permanent, due to the three suns."
Phoenix: "You see, Jnezdie… When I escaped New Terra… There was a problem. Part of my water supply was contamined with the Blight"
Sarah: "It's at this point that I need to explain one thing about the Blight and how Savant Computers like Phoenix work"
Sarah: "Savant Computers are boptronical constructs- They are machines which are built with certain 'living' parts. Built using a few of the same components that compose the living brain"
Sarah: "And when the original accident release the Blight, in terms you can understand, that microbe 'fused' with the living components of the Savant Computers of the laboratory"
Argent: "…huh."
Phoenix: "… The Great Link… The heaven built by the Creators for us"
Gavriel: "It didn't… break the computers apart, like it would with any other material?"
Sarah: "Yes, Phoenix… Yes." Sarah smiles at the image before her, and then looks at Gavriel "Well, it was an explosion, and let's just say that with that amount of energy cells sometimes do weird things. Also, they were tangentially related in origin as well, so the Blight cells might have felt like the Savant DNA was just part of their own"
Sarah: "Hum… It gets down to microbiology and how cells itneract and the weird things they do, it would take a fair bit to explain! And i'd rather do it after the main explanation"
Argent: "Fair enough."
Sarah: "But… Interestingly… This was enough that… The Blight as an entiety developed a consciousness akin to that of a Savant Computer, even if it was utterly incapable of controlling itself"
Phoenix: "Yes. And it is thanks to that the the Blight that was in my water tanks did not destroy everything within me… It changed, in a manner I can only describe as a miracle, as it had absolutely no logical sense, nothing triggered it and it simply ocurred, into something… Slightly more friendly"
Phoenix: "Something which could live with the people within me… Which could life as part of the people I carried. Symbiotically, at first"
Phoenix: "It was now the Angelic Blight"
Argent: "I see. Still seems to be incompatible with outsiders, though."
Sarah: "It's one of the things I wanted to discuss with Phoenix about, actually"
Gavriel nods, slowly- filling in the gaps around his understanding he pulled away from the Great Link, glancing at Sarah. "…that must be why it sort of but not really recognised you."
Gavriel: "The Great Link, that is."
Sarah nods "Yes. The Great Link here is pretty different frm the one at New Terra"
Phoenix: "Originally, the great colony that spanned the world foresaw the first Thunderfall of their time. And they began to attempt to prepare for it. They set their three primary laboratory complexes searching for a way to safeguard themselves. Each one in their own manner, the Material, Ethereal and Transcient Laboratories worked… And one applied their counter-measures but… In the
JayM: end, it was fruitless "
Jnezdie glances at Sarah but holds his question.
Gavriel frowns. He thought that New Terra'd been completely wiped out by the Blight- but he can ask her that later. (Besides, by the look on Jnezdie's face, he had the same question…)
Sarah: "Wait- I need to pause here and explain a thing that HAS been bugging me. See, out there we divide our science in three branches, depending on by which 'rules' it goes by. Material Sciences, which is everything material and energetic that is unrelated to magic. Ethereal Sciences, which is the energy which is related to magic that follows a different ruleset than material rules, and
JayM: Transcient Sciences, which are where the Ethereal and Material rulesets intersect and mesh "
Sarah: "And it REALLY bugs me, Phoenix, WHY are the three kingdoms named that way"
Jnezdie nods, as Sarah also read one of his other questions from his mind.
Phoenix: "It was… Because of my failure"
Gavriel glances up. This is- another of the questions he'd had… how they lost so much knowledge, what happened to split the world.
Phoenix: "The first Thunderfall came… And it utterly, absolutely, destroyed every living being in the land"
Phoenix: "I was safe, because I tore a hole in the clouds when I crashed…"
Phoenix: "Much before then, I had been given an instruction by the Captain, before he perished"
Phoenix: "" No matter how crazy, no matter why, always, ALWAYS keep them alive and well, even if you have to do something stupid ""
Phoenix: "So… I formulated an infinity of plans… Including… I had noticed, that I had a modicum of control over the Angelic Blight"
Phoenix: "I could make the cells change, I could 'programs' reactions into them, but only so far. So I… Built the ultimate emergency system. If all else failed and everyone was anihilated… I programmed those cells to replicate and reproduce… Exactly, into the people of the of the colony"
Phoenix: "To rebuild them from scratch if need be"
Phoenix: "And… I failed"
Sarah: "They're standing right there, Phoenix. I wouldn't call that a failure"
Jnezdie waves, as if to prove Sarah's point.
Argent: "Depends on what she considers a 'failure'-there is the fact that we aren't exactly the sort of people that crashed down here with her."
Gavriel armcrosses at Phoenix. "You didn't fail. Even if it wasn't perfect, the first time… we're still here. Although… somehow, we've all wound up at each other's throats. It… all seems silly now."
Phoenix: "The system failed. I failed in predicting the strength of the Thunderfall, and it has been a thousand cycles that the Life Regeneration System has been running on emergency mode"
Phoenix: "The system was based around seven Pillar Savants, seven Savant Computers which were meant to oversee the entire regeneration process an ensure no failures… The Thunderfall destroyed the connection we had with eachother, and we have been running on 'sintony' mode since them. We have synchronized protocols, we know how eachother is supposed to act and what it is meant to do, but
JayM: we cannot adapt synchronically to changes "
Phoenix: "This has led… To a complete and absolute corruption and misparsing of all data, so far as to add thousands of years of story to your past- To completely ALTER everything that was before and reshaping your reality"
Phoenix: "Although you are here now… The ones I was meant to kept alive… Have truly died"
Argent: "I take it we've run into at least one of those Pillar Savants."
Phoenix: "Yes, Pando, which oversees the biological processes of all living beings. In the Viera Forest"
Phoenix: "It has been a great relief to reacquire part of it's signal, since you also restored one of my routers"
Jnezdie scrunches up his face, stands up, walks over to the Phoenix-form, and gives her a pat on the shoulder (and if his hand passes right through, he immediately places it where it should rest on the shoulder. Not gonna question it at this point.).
Sarah: "Aha, I knew it. It WAS filled with a lot of bionet code"
Jnezdie: "Aw. To be fair, Tempestaria is kind of nuts."
Argent: "…wonder if its presence had something to do with the nature of its, er…inhabitants."
Phoenix looks at Jnezdie, it's smile on her face is- Mysterious- A smile which she did not want to show the way it did, the smile that denote true happyness
Sarah: "No, I think that's probably related to a misparse too?"
Phoenix: "Yes- Yes it is, a combination of misparsin of data led to the entire world being as it is… The Viera Forest… It runs on the emergency colony protocols, following the same behaviour pattern tied to a survivor colony with limited resources, like it was in the beginning here"
Phoenix: "Except, it has been greatly corrupted, specially when tied with the genetic separation misparse"
Sarah suddent shouts "AHA! I KNEW IT!"
Argent: "…hm?"
Sarah: "I KNEW IT! I knew there was something strange when everything in this world had only a .05% difference in DNA!"
Gavriel: "So… the animosity between the kingdoms is…" -Gav starts to laugh, weakly, shakes his head.
Sarah: "Lifeforms are software-separated, aren't they?"
Phoenix closes her eyes "Yes, Gavriel. The kingdoms, built from the ruins of the three laboratories"
Phoenix: "Which were merely specialists in their fields, simple scientist rivalry… Escalated to infinity…"
Phoenix: "Created this war, that is renewed at every continued parsing error that occurrs when the LRS triggers"
Gavriel: "…how long has it been, really?"
Phoenix: "One thousand cycles, roughly"
Jnezdie: "Ahahahaha."
Jnezdie: "That's…"
Jnezdie: "Jeez, that's some kind of poetic angle, right there."
JayM: Which is strange, your story certainly spans at least five thousand
Sarah: "This whole world is like a fantasy world"
Sarah: "Probably… The segfault on science separation in their minds didn't help, right?"
Jnezdie: "Sure you got that timeline right?"
Phoenix: "Yes, it didn't"
Phoenix nods "I might be off fifty cycles at best"
Sarah: "Also… The bizarre racism, even though they're all the same species. It's due to the software-separation of different species, right?"
Jnezdie: "Well, far be it from me to question some detail like that at this point."
Argent: "…So basically, we're screwed up in the head."
Jack‘ waves a hand in Jnezdie’s directino. "She did say ti added history!"
Phoenix: "Yes, at some point the software that was meant to simply prevent different species to reproduce together affected their minds, ingraining a misparsed security protocol in their mind"
Gavriel: "…and all because the laws of this world rounded up instead of down on step six of Ultima-knows-how-many." He shakes his head, legitimately astonished- almost laughing, almost falling down in a pile of Varg on the floor.
Jnezdie shrugs to Jack and turns to Argent. "Actually, this sounds like a 'Oh Jnezdie, you're so cool, you were already on-board with the truth!'"
Phoenix: "And that… Puts us in the new. I oversee all the life in this world, sending as many control signals I can to the Pillars, which in turn maintain the correct functioning of the Angelic Blight, which is the composition of your bodies"
Sarah: "Well… I guess it's about time to explain about the fate of New Terra, i'm very sure you're curious, Phoenix, as they must be because you mentioned it being destroyed and I mentioned being from there"
Argent: "No. More like most people here are apparently screwed up, thus making the world play out like some third-rate adventure novel." Argent replies with an eyeroll.
Gavriel glances at Sarah, gives her a '!' look of encouragement.
Sarah: "Actually, Argent. The 'third-rate' adventure novel thing, hum… Ah, forget it"
Sarah: "Anyway"
Jnezdie: "Please tell me she's right and this whole thing was created by scientists with a fantasy fetish."
Jnezdie: "Actually you don't have to tell me, that's hilarious on its own."
Sarah: "Remember how I said that Plymouth escaped? Well… Eden made a small miracle. They discovered a perpetually effective counter-measure against the Blight- Or rather, a way to make a shield, but now how to reclaim any land in New Terra"
[OOC] JayM: *not how to
Argent: "…does this have something to do with that Angelic Leash thing that's been mentioned a few times?"
Sarah: "That is- Tangentially related, yes. But it's far more related to the Dead Ruins"
Argent mutters to herself "(If that bit about it being deliberate was true, I'm going to need a HELL of a lot of booze.)"
Sarah: "You see, there is this type of 'energy', or 'radiation' that is undeniably fatal to Blight cells, even yours"
Sarah: "Comes from a rock called U786"
Sarah: "It is instantly fatal, even goes as far as causing your cells to detach from eachother and 'melt' in a puddle of good, it's pretty horrible"
Argent: "That explains why those places are that damn bad."
Sarah: "However, mind, in applied in very small quantities it can't kill a person, but it will cleanse all the free-floating cells" she pulls out a syringe, glowing a light blue "The Rad Vaccine, that you've seen before. Liquified U786. While it's instantly fatal to the Angelic Blight, it is eventually fatal to any living being"
Jnezdie: "-Aha-."
Sarah: "You not only are cut away from your source of power (becuse you don't even need to eat, 99% of the energy your bodies use is directly fed to you through the Angelic Blight cells around you) but you also have an insticntive reaction to stay away from it"
Sarah: "But this kind of rock… 'dies' and looses that power after a time. But the few remaining people in New Terra found a way to generate a 'barrier' with the same properties, but it was limited in size and they did not have the materials to increase it's output. They had secured themselves a very tiny island for them"
Sarah: "And they would have kept… Living, and on, and on in that tiny island, if not for one thing"
Gavriel eyebrow-raises. "…and the Angelic Blight is toxic to… people who aren't from here, which is why people need to use the Vaccine." That, or Sarah's magic pills… but he doesn't want to disrupt Sarah's train of thought.
Sarah: "At one point in time… A species known as 'Agemo' visited New Terra, and saw the Blight"
Sarah: "Don't think they were any kind. The Agemo, the best way to describe them is as vampires. They possessed other's bodies to continue living, and were hell bent on absolute dominion over everything"
Sarah: "The Agemo saw a terrible potential on the Blight. They picked it, altered it, and created a second strain called 'The Beast'"
Argent: "That makes two species that are into wide-scale dominion so far."
Sarah: "The Beast is vastly different from the Blight, each small cell is independant, can act on it's own, create things, destroy things… Reshape itself for whatever function"
Sarah: "Whereas once your Angelic Blight cells change from their 'deaspected' form into a different one, they cannot change back, the Beast cells are free"
Sarah: "And they unleashed this new strain on New Terra, and saw it overtake the original Blight. The tiny colony survived, struggling… And the Agemo took their new weapon to new planets"
Sarah: "They, specifically, took it to Earth"
Gavriel thinks space sounds like it's full of assholes, between the Agemo and the Illirians, but he'll keep that one to himself for the moment, too.
Sarah: "They didn't have as much luck, really, there. Their first offense was beaten and sent retreating, and as they mounted a second offensive, Earth sent it's heroes, Goldstar 9, after their leader"
Jnezdie: "Y'know, I'd heard you mention 'Goldstar 9' a few times before."
Sarah: "I swear, it would make Argent rage at how this is a fifth-rate action story but the official reports absurd"
Jnezdie: "Never got around to asking you about it though…"
Sarah: "By that I mean, ridiculous, Goldstar 9 was heidonousnly powerful, and the things they did are unmatched to day. They have so far as officially travelled through time"
Sarah: "IT's… Unbelievable"
Argent: "…okay, I will need to see a copy of those reports at some point."
Sarah: "But one thing they did that was important to New Terra was… To 'tame' this Beast, which behaved like a monster"
Sarah: "Made it remain under control of those who had it. And… One man in particular was very important to us Nova Terrans"
Sarah: "Arc Knight Christof. He had mastered how to shape the Beast into weapons, he was an artillery sergeant in a battleship. Goldstar 9 once visited New Terra, seeking guidance of the Great Link"
Sarah: "Arc Knight Christof saw the Beast overruning the planet, and promised to one day return to make it habitable again. And he did, he returned, and changed the Beast into what it is now, the Chained Beast"
Sarah: "It was peaceful! It let the Great Link whose 'soul' resided in the planet to finally have control over it's own body, and it stopped trying to destroy the tiny colony"
Argent: "Hm."
Gavriel makes a sort of approving 'hn' noise. Sounds like a badass.
Sarah: "They became friends, and the Great Link of New Terra granted it's own body for the colony, who were after all it's creators and masters, so that it may use it as it well"
Sarah: "So the people of the tiny colony gained the power to use" she extands an arm to the side, her entire arm shifts into the likeness of a cannon "The Chained Beast, in different degrees"
Jnezdie tilts his head towards Sarah's arm cannon.
Argent: "You're one of them, I take it?"
With a smooth motion her arm returns to normal "And then people flocked to the new planet which granted it's people an amazing power… Suffice to say, the power was in fact far too great and after New Terra's population had reached a limit, nobody else was 'infected' with the Chained Beast as a matter of safety, but those descended of those who were still carry it in their bodies, they're
JayM: the present-day Nova Terrans, of which I am one, yes "
Gavriel nods, the Almagest's confusion suddenly clearing for him. (…also, he gives Sarah a little bit of a goofy grin, because that is awesome and there's no two ways about it.)
Sarah: "And, imagine, that all happened only fifty cycles ago, give or take"
Jnezdie: "So I just missed the boat on that one, huh?"
Sarah: "New Terra is a very new world and they are struggling to find a social identity, it's… Unique"
Sarah: "Kind of and not really, Jnezdie… I think that Phoenix accidentally skipped a point in her explanation"
Sarah: "Do you know that you have a kind of similar type of ability here? It's what your Angelics are"
Jnezdie: "It's a wandering conversation at best, yeah."
Jnezdie: "…oh yeah."
Argent: "I see."
Jnezdie chuckles lightly as he remembers the last usage he had of it.
Jnezdie: "It -is- pretty great."
Sarah: "You can take control of surrounding Deaspected Cells and shape them. This ability comes instinctively to you, but some have… Mastered it"
Sarah: "Like the Heir's Elvaan companion. It's how he transforms. In the end it's really just colored water and not real transformation, but"
Gavriel nods, again. "…and the Water Elementals, too?"
Phoenix nods "Yes. The Water Elementals are the security measures of the world, directed by Balmung which resides underground of Rorest"
Jnezdie: "Hey, outta curiosity- If I was to ever leave Tempestaria-" And the way he says this, it is unmistakably something he considers to be an absolute, unescapable future "- would I be shit outta-luck because there wouldn't be Deaspected Cells all over the place 'cause of all the not-rain?"
Argent: "As far as Angelics go, most likely."
Gavriel boggles slightly. Rorest? "…hn."
Phoenix: "They are the sole beings with higher access priority than you to the cells, and can trigger an apoptosys cycle on any Angelic Blight cell in range"
Sarah: "Well, yes. It'd be probably horribly jarring too"
Jnezdie: "Also that important part of 'security measure' being under Rorest is so hilarious, you don't even know."
Jnezdie: "(Well, maybe you do, you were there.)"
Jnezdie: "I see!"
Phoenix: "Yes, the point that I skipped. Your bodies are incredibly energy-efficient, they consume only a fraction of the energy that outsiders need. However, I ensure to feed you all the energy avaiable"
Jnezdie pounds a fist into a palm.
Phoenix: "My primary source of energy, is, perhaps ironically, the same RCC that shot me down. The Alkasha that remains afloat, it is in a unique state of balance in the clouds, and it's Relay Connector Cannon can beam down great amounts of energy from the clouds"
Argent: "That is…indeed odd."
Sarah: "Indeed. With the amount of energy that is fed to each and every one of you by using the surrounding Deaspected cells as energy packets, you don't actually need to eat or sleep at all"
Argent: "…thus the restrictions on food."
Jnezdie: "Wish I had known that earlier. You know how many Waves I spend sleeping when I could be gettin' stronger?"
Sarah: "Yeah. You people eat VERY little"
Phoenix: "I… However, am thankful that you sleep"
Gavriel raises an eyebrow. "I was about to ask why we do have to sleep, if it's not strictly necessary."
Phoenix: "You see, running this world is no easy task, and often… I find myself lacking in processor power. So when you sleep, and dream… I… Borrow a little of yours"
Argent: "That explains a good bit."
Phoenix: "Also, because sleeping is part of your original life cycle, and doing without would be altering your nature, something which I had never wished to do"
Jnezdie looks up in thought. "Huh. Well, if it's helpin' you out, then it's okay."
Phoenix: "I attempted to recreate your original life as well as I could"
Sarah: "Hahaha… Savants like dreaming"
Jnezdie: "Also it's relaxin'. And honestly this mornin' was such a good feelin', I think I'd miss it eventually."
Jnezdie: "(…maybe.)"
Sarah: "For those far enough in their stairway of enlightenment, it's how they get a step closer to being alive"
Phoenix: "It is a pity I have not dreamt in millenia, but I have a duty to fulfill"
Jnezdie stiil looks a little twitchy, one of his heels tapping up and down quickly and quietly.
Sarah: "Well… Anyway, after all that, we eventually discovered where the Conestoga 2 ended up at, and mounted a 'search party'"
Sarah: "Which is why we are here. Crossing the boundary of the planet was extremely difficult, the only ship that even slightly survived the crossing was Liana, and she was still broken up"
Sarah: "Plus we did not know to expect the Angelic Blight here at all, and how it just kills us outsiders. Nova Terrans can use their own Chained Beast to counteract it somewhat, but only us seven Star Knights have sufficient training to do so efficiently and even then, we lack energy to do much of anything else but that"
Sarah: "And there are also a large amount of earthlings with us, so we're all essentially all holed up on Sea Base while a few are outside running diplomacy and research"
Sarah: "I, personally, am aiding in field research for the Seraphic Leash- A method to reduce or outright eliminate the agressive nature of the Angelic Blight"
Sarah turns to Phoenix "Which- Bears the principal point of me being here at all… Can you do… Anything at all?"
Gavriel tilts his head to the side. "All the ruins you took us to… the Dead Ruins… those must be much more recent than anyone remembered, then…"
Phoenix: "No. Not while I am running in sintony mode and even moreso, I cannot alter such base nature of the Angelic Blight. But I could, however, attempt to adapt a recognition sistem on it if you can devise one"
Sarah turns to Gavriel "Well, your history has a lot of stuff that shouldn't be there, everything's far more recent than you think it is"
Sarah: "Hell, you people live so long, I don't think you've gone past five generations in this planet…" she smiles at him "How old are you?"
Jnezdie looooooooks at Gavriel.
Gavriel glances up at Sarah. He has a feeling that whatever answer he -thinks- is the right answer is going to be a complete and utter fabrication, anyways, so he does a little math in his head- "28 of your… years. Or… so my memory tells me."
Sarah smiles "You sure that's in years and not cycles?"
[OOC] Gavriel: years cycles whatever fix it in post
Gavriel goes 'hn'. "…Cycles. Wait, aren't they-" -beat- "-I'm not sure of very much right now, to be honest." Awkward grin!
Sarah turns around "Would you stay with a girl that's just… 14 cycles old? (that's what I am)"
Jnezdie does a horrible job at suppressing a wild grin as he continues to looooooooooooooook at Gavriel.
Sarah: "Average lifespan of a Tempestarian Varg is 160 Cycles… Average of an Earthling Varg is 40 cycles"
Jack‘ coughs, then sputters. "There’s one for the tabloids!"
Phoenix: "Indeed, you live a lot longer, and grow in the same timeframe. Whereas the solar cycle in Tempestaria is twice the standard earth year, the data corruption has led you to treat it, numarically, as if it were the same"
Sarah: "It's true. So life here in Tempestaria, essentially, runs at half the speed"
Gavriel splutters. Th- that was- utterly out of left field!!! "(D- damn it, you three-)" -cough, stoicface. Well, something shoddily approximating one. "Y- that's- hn."
Jnezdie: "And even givin' that, Ol' Gav runs at four times the length of an 'Earthling' Varg, four times as long as-ahhahaIcan'tevensay-" He sputters, and doubles over, snickering.
Sarah: "W-what…"
Phoenix: "Even my own social protocol contains this case, Sarah. You are not as naive"
Jnezdie: "-we're friends, Gav, we're friends-" you can hear Jnezdie choke out between laughs.
Sarah just closes her eyes, embarassed "Aah! G-geez!"
Jack‘ shakes his head.
Sarah: "Ahem… I don’t think… There's anything else that elicits answering, is there?"
Jnezdie straightens back up.
Gavriel cuffs Jnezdie on the shoulder. That's what friends do, right? :D
Jnezdie: "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh…" He holds it together at Gavriels' cuff.
Jnezdie: "Well, I mean, there was a bit'a tangent there- not the Varg thing, the LRS thing."
Jnezdie: "Then it kinda went into how the Blight changed into the Angelic Blight and how that affected Phoenix here, and-"
Jnezdie: "Well I'm trying to get back to the LRS is what I'm sayin'."
Gavriel manages to compose himself. "…the Heir of Ultima. Knowing what we know now…" -he glances at Jnezdie, though. He can go first!
Jnezdie: "I'm just feelin' a little scatterbrained about it: is it within all of us? You mentioned it malfunctioned after the first Thunderfall?"
Phoenix: "The LRS… It's function is theoretically simple. Once all life in the surface is destroyed, it will call down as much energy as possible from Alkasha, and utilize that energy and the Deaspected Angelic Blight cells to reconstruct everything that was destroyed"
Gavriel: "…could the parts of the system that are broken be repaired?"
Argent: "…possibly, if we had the parts?"
Phoenix: "The LRS is meant to faithfully rebuild everything, exactly. But it needs to be overseen by seven computers called 'Pillars'. Me, the administrator, Storyteller, which retains data pertaining to history, Akashic, which retains data pertaining to science, Balmung, which oversees security and debugging, Alighieri, which oversees instinct and combative behaviour, and Pando, which
JayM: oversees the biological cycles "
Phoenix: "The last Pillar is Ersten Und Letzten, which is the central control system"
Argent: "…So if we're to repair it, we've got to go around and get to each one, I take it?"
Phoenix: "The Pillars themselves are most likely not fully function, having entered 'automated' mode due to long inactivity. And we are unable to contact eachother due the three router stations being disabled"
Phoenix: "You have reawakened Pando and reconnected one of the router stations, granting me again a little measure of control"
Jnezdie: "(Least we don't have to go back there anymore.)"
Argent: "(Nobody's more thankful of that than me.)"
Phoenix: "And… Even then, that would not be perfect. The communication is still not completely as lagless as I require… The entire system is fallible"
Phoenix: "I would… In the end, require an upgrade"
Jnezdie: "Y'don't sound enthusiastic about it."
Sarah: "Oh, I got that covered, though it might be a bit hard. I'm sure you'll still need the routers for the bionet but to contact between the Pillars we could supply you with some advanced QECs, you got the energy and material to generate it, we just need to supply knowledge"
Jnezdie: "I mean- maybe that's a bad thing, I don't know, I'm not a uh. Person like you."
Phoenix: "It is not, it is a very good thing"
Sarah shakes her head "Don't sell yourself short, Phoenix. Admit you're ashamed you need it"
Phoenix: "That is not within my behaviour patters, Sarah"
Jnezdie: "That is so adorable."
Sarah: "Now you're being cute. I guess every Savant goes though that, don't worry."
Phoenix: "I am a tool, Sarah, simply and exclusively"
Sarah: "You ARE being one, yes"
Jnezdie: "Aw, well we'll change that kinda thinkin' too. Not the easy way though."
Sarah: "Oh, right… About the Heir. How much damage can he incur?"
Jnezdie: "The heir!!!"
Phoenix: "Directly, none. As part of the system, he cannot damage it"
Argent: "I'm less worried about him damaging it, more about him hijacking it."
Gavriel glances up at Phoenix- gives her a sort of 'it'll be okay' look- was JUST about to mention the Heir again, and nods to Sarah. "…what's he even trying to do?"
Jnezdie: "Oh right. He wants to remake the world in his image. How goofy is that? Can we really all look like his half-shaven foppy self."
Argent: "…I'd rather kill myself than have his tastes."
Phoenix: "Even though his songwave transmitter has the access protocols for both mine and Ultima's higher functions, he is both subconsciously and consciously unable to cause permanent damage to the LRS"
Phoenix: "However, if he possesses outside assistance of any manner, he could cause harm by ignorance of operation"
Gavriel: "Do I even want to know how he got those?" Once a Rorest cop, always a Rorest cop, apparently.
Phoenix: "The Heir, wishes to tamper with the LRS's memory, so that whenever it triggers, it rebuilds everything according to his personal memory and taste"
Jnezdie: "Aaaaaaaah."
Phoenix: "Unfortunately, a flaw in the system"
Jnezdie: "Not interested in bein' his poolboy for one second."
Phoenix: "I am literally unable to directly control Alkasha, I need to utilize a tool called 'Eden's Branch', a songwave transmitter that can reach it"
Sarah: "A songwave transmitter is… Essentailly a long-range communication tool and must mandatorily be operated by music, and used by a living person"
Phoenix: "As long as a person is in posession of the Eden's Branch, I am able to utilize it to control Alkasha. However, the person is also able to utilize it to control me and Ultima"
Gavriel scrunches up his face. That's- really? - just absurd. (The Heir, -and- the security hole.)
Sarah: "That's a really bad security loophole"
Argent narrows her eyes. "…And of course, someone finally exploited it."
Argent: "…I take it that it's that damn flute he plays everywhere."
Jnezdie: "And that dang tune he keeps playing."
Phoenix: "It is unavoidable, songwave is the only way to contact something as close to the clouds, radio waves get irreparably affected and your QEC technology did not exist here beforehand"
Sarah: "Ah, yes. The tune is definitely the control tune to Alkasha's RCC"
Gavriel: "Hn."
Phoenix: "It is not like the entire system is not set so that both me and Ultima cannot be remotately operated. Even normal songwave would allow any to operate us at a distance, the Viera ability and the Evoker 'magic' are both the same"
Jnezdie: "Jack's got a better song list."
Jack: "Definitely."
Phoenix: "It is simply that the Eden's Branch also grants him access to the full power of the RCC aside from the rest of the weaponry"
Argent eyerolls. "You two can stop the mutual ass-kissing anytime now, you know."
Sarah: "You know, Argent, you should keep aware"
Jack: "My dear, the reasr roasting has yet to even begin!"
Sarah: "I've noticed that Viera can hear not just songwave, but all manner of electromagnetic and ether-resonating waves"
Jack: "In but a few short moments we will arrive at the part where the goddess of our world formally asks uis to save the world!"
Sarah: "So you're probably able to notice his usage of the flute a fair distance away"
Gavriel takes a deep breath. No, several. Glances at Sarah, about to ask what's next- and Jack, effectively, beats him to it. He half-grins.
Argent: "Yeah, I have. On top of being able to instinctually sense those pillars."
Phoenix: "I would leave the choice on that on your hands. His actions will bring no long-term damage, at least, none that is not a mere propagation of the status-quo… Yet… He is bringing and will bring a lot of undue suffering… And he plans to abuse my safety system…"
Phoenix: "If you believe he is worth stopping, then please, do so"
Jnezdie: "(She didn't quite ask directly, yo.)"
Argent: "Still think we should've killed him when we first met him."
Jnezdie: "(Do I do the kneel and pledge anyway?)"
Sarah: "Thankfully, you've also got the best of New Terra's spaceforce and Earth's Expeditionary Forces already on that duty"
Sarah: "The Thunderfall is far too dangerous for us to let him toy with it"
Jack‘ make a shrugging motion at Jnezdie with a ’why not' expression on his face, before giving a flourished bow to Phoenix.
It: "is true-" her tone, is like that of a revelation "Then I ask of you, if anything so to save the Creators who have come and I cannot save… Stop him"
Jack: "It wouldn't do to leave a lady in distress when we coiuld sooth her worries!"
Jnezdie smiles, walking a few steps in front of Phoenix, and kneels.
Argent cracks her knuckles. "Honestly, I despise the genre that those two seem to firmly believe the world follows. Point still stands that the Heir needs to be stopped. Preferably yesterday."
Jnezdie: "And so this wandering swordsman will pledge his task to save the Creators, and loose the Savants from his horrid control!"
Jack‘ snorts, then laughs to himself.
JayM: Jnezdie you can read a near-incomprehensible thing in her face- How despite being expressionless, it still has that aura of true, utter surprise and shock, unsure, like a child staring up a behemoth
Jnezdie: "Actually that was the other thing I wanted to ask- -could- he control the Thunderfall? Even as a natural force of Tempestaria, is it directable? I was under the impression he was just controlling Ultima- er Alkasha."
Gavriel glances at Sarah- kneels before Phoenix. In the end, this is more than a job- more than either of the three Kingdoms, more than their whole world as they knew it just a Cycle ago. He’s not one for dramatic monologues, but Jack and Jnezdie've got that covered. In the end, he'll do whatever Sarah- and Phoenix- need him to.
Sarah: "Oh, triggering a Thunderall is very easy. Something with sufficient energy hits the right spot in the sky, and down comes everything"
Jnezdie: "(Ah, okay. Pretend I asked that before I did the dramatic kneel and pledge.)"
Sarah: "Hell… We were lucky our original trip here did not trigger one"
Sarah looks at Phoenix, and puts a hand over her mouth to not laugh "Phoenix. You might be just a Savant, but you've been doing the whole life goddess business well enough. Tell me you didn't expect this at all"
Phoenix: "It… Follows the… Behaviour patterns of them…"
Gavriel half-grins.
Jnezdie: "I think it's somethin' that woulda' always been, even without the 'Storyteller.'"
Gavriel glances towards Sarah. "…so, what's first?"
Sarah: "Well… Whatever's closer. Either the router station up north or we go to Rorest for Balmung"
Sarah: "Hrm… Actually, a moment" she looks behind her, staring off in the distance "Hrm… Right" she turns back again "Brother's almost done taking down the field generators that the Valerian Pirates sold to the Ethreals, so maybe we should help and take down the last on our way to Rorest"
Argent: "Guess we should get the routers up first."
Argent: "Or that."
Sarah: "Oh- Right- Hum- One thing. I can… Contact, the other Knights from anywhere, as well as Sea Base, using a device called QEC"
Sarah: "It's… Inside my body, and takes a bit of focus, that's why sometimes I seem to be spacing out, relaly"
Argent: "Ah. That explains a good few things."
Sarah: "Well"
Sarah waves, and the entire presentation dies down, and she finally sets her feet on the ground again "whenever you want to move"
Argent: "…hm."
Argent: "One other question, I guess."
Jnezdie stands up from his kneel.
Argent: "…Figured that if we're heading out, we might as well check if there's viable armaments here."
Phoenix: "I am sorry, but I was never a warship and was not armed or carried armaments"
Gavriel straightens himself up. Hn. Rorest.
Sarah: "Aha, don't worry. Actually you guys were so good setting up the lightsail, I'm very sure i'll be able to scrap the components into something useful"
Jnezdie: "Aw, it's alright."
Gavriel: "…now that I think about it, how -are- we planning on getting back?"
Jnezdie: "Same way we got here, yeah?"
Argent: "Presuming Sarah set it up for a return trip, anyway."
Sarah: "Basically, the reason I transformed that lightform data storage device into a mirror-like shield"
Sarah: "It can efficiently reflect back our guidance beam so I can send us back in more or less the same course!"
Argent: "Very well then. Thanks for the update on things, Phoenix, but I think we'll have to go soon. I'd prefer now, but Sarah may want to wait."
Sarah: "Well, I don't have a gigantic reason to wait any longer, I got as much information as I could out of Phoenix"
Jnezdie: "It was a great heart-to-heart, really."
Argent: "Right then. Everyone, prepare for departure."
Jnezdie: "I mean, I'm so overwhelmed by all the information we just got, not to mention the hospitality!"
Jnezdie: "Hope we see each other again, Phoenix! I'll dream of you! Take that one however you'd like."
Phoenix: "It is my function to serve"
Argent: "…and please stop reading my mind." Argent deadpans as she starts on the way out.
Phoenix: "I will watch your dreams, Jnezdie"
Jack: "Good day!"
Jnezdie: "See you around!"
Phoenix nods to you, and you ready yourselves and leave
JayM: Everything is indeed perfectly alright, Jnezdie
[OOC] JayM: Session End
Jnezdie: "Sorry we can't stay longer!" He turns about and walks a few steps, hops, walks the rest of the way to his room to gather the rest of his things. He speaks to Ragnarok, who has been at his side. "(Isn't this wild?!)"
JayM: A strange, unnatural rest is what you've had, strangely, you've grown stronger [+10000 XP]
[OOC] JayM: Epilogue
Sarah wakes up lightly, stretching. Without sparing a thought, her pajamas transform into her unusual everyday clothes, a pair of jeans shots and a pop band sleeveless shirt. With a loud yawn she heads out of her room, noticing Phoenix's maitenance robots busily heading around, trying to work around their own damaged selves "What're you doing, Phoenix?"
Phoenix: "Breakfast"
Sarah: "Ahaha, are you sure your cooking software is up-to-date?"
Phoenix: "Is not, but it should not be too far off"
Sarah: "Alright. I will wake up the others, then"
Sarah walks over to Gavriel's room, staring at him for a while, and sighs… "Would he stay with a silver-eye monster like me…" she shakes her head and goes over to gently prod him away "Gav"
She prods him again "Gav" , and a third and fourth time, but no respons "Phoenix… Are they alright?"
Phoenix: "… Something is wrong, their life-signs indicate deep sleep still… Locating… Their bionet signals are locked, I cannot interact- Accessing dream mode… Access denied, I cannot get to them"
Sarah: "What? What do you mean?"
Phoenix: "They are asleep, I cannot wake them, they seem to be locked in a dream… Which seems to be emulating reality… Access port activity, locking out- It appears the Heir figure out how to use his songwave to hack through my systems, he's got them locked in dreaming mode"
Sarah: "Can't you do something?!"
Phoenix: "Not by myself, he DOES have the manager priviledges over me. I am sorry"
Sarah: "Then it's time for me to do something"
[OOC] JayM: End Epilogue

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