The Weatherlight

[kj1225]

Aquila
Aquila shrugs and wanders off, probably to find some place to have a lie down.

 

Arminius

Arminius walks through the halls of the ship, looking for Calvera. He'd suddenly realized he had kept the star cannon from the last world he was on, and figured she might be able to get more use out of it. Being a star and all.

[Yours Truly]

On 2/26/2019 at 2:10 PM, Hal Henderics said:

"Worst comes to worst, I can simply have Tim restore it."

 

Law says, shrugging.

Alan's Extraordinary Affair: Endergoop Battlers

Alan will try to jack into the Alloy Metal Printer to enter it's Matrix, essentially dicking about in the printer's cyberspace to try and identify the cause behind the teleporter glitch from it's 5th gear level.


StormLord(Frigus | Tim)Last Tuesday at 3:13 PM
[43]

Alan jacks in and immediately finds himself in some kind of vaguely city like scene he's all too familiar with.  There are a few tough-if-under-armed guard programs around.

At first he doesn't notice anything, but eventually he spots something down the street.  A program trying desperately to sweep away a pile of strange black goop that had a single glowing purple eye in the center.

Nearby he also notices another program with similar goop on his arm and growing through his veins up towards his face, several of the guard programs seem to be taking him into custody.

 

Nine Fingered JousterLast Tuesday at 3:17 PM
Alan will attempt to summon up a sniffer programs running on a completely separate quarantined section of his OS and send it out to query the program sweeping away the goop of the goop's source and what it is attempting to do, and querying the guards


StormLord(Frigus | Tim)Last Tuesday at 3:23 PM
Int Check: 17 vs 21,
Quality: 2,
Random Blitz: 97,

Alan whips up some quick and dirty sniffer programs to go check out the goop.  They immediately walk right into it, get infected, and are systematically terminated by the guard programs.

During this time however, a program approaches Alan and explains that they exist to help confused or new users.  They have a teeth-grindingly annoying cheerful tone and attitude, and Alan almost gets the feeling of being treated like a child.

Nine Fingered JousterLast Tuesday at 3:24 PM
Alright then, Alan will ask for a crash course on this printer's matrix, how it is laid out, and what is happening with the system and what the goop actually represents
Since let's face it, might as well take the free opportunity to get his bearings and find out just what the hell is going on

StormLord(Frigus | Tim)Last Tuesday at 3:53 PM
The program immediately begins going through details of system aspects, relative locations, and way to traverse between them.  It isn't until the first five minutes of explaining each and every aspect and access point to the auxiliary hard drive No. 2 that Alan realizes this program has no prioritization of information.
Some time later, with several brief pauses to confirm higher security clearance Alan has a pretty good idea of the layout and what the goop is.

Currently he's in Central Computing, the Teleportation Processing Core is to the north, Storage to the west, Main Power to the south, and Peripherals Access to the east.  Data Highways lead from each to Central Computing and back.

The exact source of the goop is unknown, but the general origin and effects are.  Only Programs passing through the Teleportation Processing Core or that touch previously infected areas become infected.  Occasionally infected Programs leave behind "sprouts" that grow into masses of infectious goop.

Infected Programs have their directives changed to prioritize the movement of nearby lifeforms starting with their outermost layers.
 

Nine Fingered JousterLast Tuesday at 3:54 PM
@Corpse what have you gotten me into maaaan
Is the infection instantaneous? Like, the moment it is touched it gets corrupted into serving the new directives? Or is there some way to ward against it?

StormLord(Frigus | Tim)Last Tuesday at 4:07 PM
For Programs, pretty much yes.  Though severity increases over time as more code is corrupted.  A user like Alan has some additional resistance to it.

Nine Fingered JousterLast Tuesday at 4:09 PM
You know what, I think I'll risk it this time, Alan will head towards the source of the infection and attempt to find the cause behind it, and try to take it from there


StormLord(Frigus | Tim)Last Tuesday at 4:51 PM
After a short ride Alan finds that the TPC is currently not terribly active.  A few cleaning or security programs roam around, but nothing really noteworthy.  The two main features of the TPC are several "High Energy" lines the run through to the center of the spherical region and a large number of access terminals where information can be input, calculated, and output.

[39]

Alan notices several programs scrubbing goop off a couple of the access terminals, a few side corridors none of the security programs seem to be patrolling, and some odd buildup on a few of the High Energy lines.

Nine Fingered JousterLast Tuesday at 4:57 PM
Alright then, Alan himself will head to the closest non gooped up access terminals and attempt to figure out if there's a pattern forming from the odd buildup, any specific direction where they seem to be heading to.

While he does that he'll send some sniffer programs down the unpatrolled corridors, and note which tunnels cause his programs to get corrupted and attempt to find out if there's any correlation between that and the odd energy build up
Basically trying to track down the most probable location for the source of the goop

 

StormLord(Frigus | Tim)Last Tuesday at 5:08 PM
Int check: 21 vs 11,

The access terminals seem to request an absurd amount of detailed information about aspects of the outside world, defining relative positions, exact feed stock density, etc. and then it does some truly mind bogglingly complex math before spitting out an answer some other part of the computer presumably can use.

Int check: 27 vs 6,
Quality: 1,

None of the sniffers come back corrupted, each of the corridors ends in a ladder leading upward.
@Nine Fingered Jouster


Nine Fingered JousterLast Tuesday at 5:10 PM
Hum, are there any high energy lines building up near one of the corridors?
Because if so, then Alan is going to try and make a quick and dirty program to shield him from the goop and at least try to take the hit before him, and heads down that particular corridor with some sniffers to help him detect any nearby progroms

StormLord(Frigus | Tim)Yesterday at 6:15 AM
Hum, are there any high energy lines building up near one of the corridors?
Because if so, then Alan is going to try and make a quick and dirty program to shield him from the goop and at least try to take the hit before him, and heads down that particular corridor with some sniffers to help him detect any nearby programs


[30]
Alan whips up something to act as a body-blocker for him and heads down the corridor, he reaches the ladder without issue.  Upon climbing to the top of the ladder Alan reaches a sort of maintenance platform and catwalk along the High Energy lines.

Int check: 17 vs 15,

He notices some buildup nearby and heads to inspect it.  It looks like the energy has managed to eat through the lines and is condensing on the outside as a thick black sludge.
@Nine Fingered Jouster

 

StormLord(Frigus | Tim)Yesterday at 8:42 AM
Energy lines are breaking down and contaminating the programs.

Nine Fingered JousterYesterday at 8:43 AM
What if
What if Alan shuts the energy lines down?
And tasking more security programs to dump the goop and repairing the energy lines himself?
Like, does Alan know of a way to shut off the energy lines? 

StormLord(Frigus | Tim)Yesterday at 9:42 AM
[56]

The lines are already inactive, he just has to tell Law not to turn anything on.  A few extra cleaning programs come along where directed and eventually manage to clear off most of the build up.

Looking a little closer reveals that the energy passing through the lines has been eating away at them and caused some structural damage.

Improving the quality of the line's construction medium would probably solve this issue.

Nine Fingered JousterYesterday at 9:43 AM
Alright then, Alan will do one final scan of the entire section to make sure that he's not missing anything before he jacks out.
@Corpse I'll post later btw, batteries are sorta drained right no
*now
StormLord(Frigus | Tim)Yesterday at 9:45 AM
Aside from the build up of highly toxic hazardous materials?  Not much else around.

 

Neo Alloy Printer Creation

Crafting: 25 vs 24,
Quality: 83,
Random Blitz: 91,

As Law and Alan get to work everything goes great, a slight ominous humming here or there sure, but great over all.  They assemble the case, Thran-metal reinforced with Light Eco and an additional water barrier.
As the modified Ender Pearl is placed inside and they begin making the final additions the humming gets louder and louder until finally with a loud "vvvvwoop" and a pulse of purple-ish energy is vanishes from existence.

Several seconds, another pulse of energy, and "vvvvwoop" later and three things drop out of the nothing right in from of Law and Alan.

The first is a small stone pedestal made from smooth black stone with various glowing blue/green etchings all over it, including a grid on the top.

The other two items are small discs with horizontal lines etched along their outside edge and spherical crystals floating just above them.  The crystals are odd, looking almost like eyes with blue/green iris and pure black pupils.  The eyes shift to focus on the pedestal regardless of where they are and seem to ignore any obstruction.

The discs have a small port allowing the connection of power lines or batteries.
Q.E.D. : A strange device made of Ender-infused obsidian and a diamond etched computational matrix.
Level 1: 3D Prints items by pulling material from a cleverly hidden feed stock drawer at the bottom, 20% chance to print an extra item.
Level 2: For each Ender-flux Crystal used in conjunction with this device it gains +1 to rolls.
Level 3: Can now print magical items from magical feedstock.
Level 4: Can chemically alter the stat of printed materials, such as printing fully cooked food from raw food.
Level 5: Now prints with molecular precision.

 

Ender-flux Crystal: a strange crystal that looks like an eye with the accompanying baseplate, consumes electrical power to generate Ender-flux.
Grants bonuses to relevant nearby machines when connected to a base power supply or portable power supply.  Line of sight not required.

 


CorpseYesterday at 11:26 AM
Law asks if Tim has any idea about this.
As he is indeed the current and only authority on the matter.
Should I do that in thread
?
StormLord(Frigus | Tim)Yesterday at 11:26 AM
If you want, or I can give a summary of what he'd say here.
CorpseYesterday at 11:27 AM
Yeah, unless you want to have a full discussion between rat and transmuter
I'll just ask for the "What just happened" summery
StormLord(Frigus | Tim)Yesterday at 11:38 AM
Tim is shocked and surprised to see Law with the Q.E.D.  Apparently he's seen one before, but not in a long time.  He explains that Ender Pearls come from plants in "The End", a dimension of empty void and floating islands.
Ender Pearls not only teleport, but also link between dimensions.  Thus a common use is creating multiple chests that share the same interior or using them as focuses for portals.

His best guess is that someone linked up with his previous project and snagged it, then sent the Q.E.D. as payment.

As for how the Q.E.D. actually work, he says it uses Ender-flux, what Ender Pearls use to tear through dimensions, to 3D print various materials with unmatched precision and speed.

[Powder Miner]

Finally, Satomi fell totally silent, the samurai-ko's crying seeming to have subsided totally, but... she didn't let go anyhow. She just sat there with her arms wrapped around Kusuke, her head buried in his chest, her torso pressing against his stomach and legs. It was probably all kinds of improper, Satomi knew -- and even with her intellect she found herself unable to calculate just how dishonorable this all would have been were she home. Breaking down into tears after facing a threat, resorting to embracing someone who, similar to Rokugani as they may be, was not from the Emerald Empire... this all simply didn't happen. She would never live it down probably.

 

But she didn't care, really. It was nice, it was really nice, it was really really nice. Was this how the peasants got to live, just freely crying to each other and holding each other? Satomi found herself, for a moment, slightly jealous of the heimin. Maybe her parents had been like this, alone, when her mother was still alive. But normally... samurai didn't get to lose face, they didn't get to show their true emotions. They didn't get to do anything but remain stoic pictures of honor.

 

But she was still holding on to Kusuke as if for dear life anyhow. ...maybe she didn't have to care, for now. So she just kept holding on to him, with no sign of stopping.

[Chevaleresse]

Kusuke was rather concerned. This was continuing to be a situation he wasn't sure how to respond to. Should he say something? Should he just, keep waiting? She seemed fairly content to keep clinging to him, which wasn't unpleasant. Possibly too pleasant, even. . . He mentally slapped himself. Just, don't think about how close she's pressed to you. He remained where he was for a moment, his hand nearly rising up to pat her on the head, at which point it froze. Would that offend her? He let it drop to her back once more, choosing to let the silence drag out for just a bit longer. 

 

A deep sigh. It wasn't really shocking that someone had broken down like this. All of the fighting, the abject insanity the group had been subjected to, it was nice to just. . . hold someone for a bit. Eventually, though, he spoke up. "So, uh, Satomi. . ." he started, rather lamely. "Do you think you can talk now?"

 

---

 

Lucine held the shotgun in her arms as if it were a small child as her and Tim proceeded to the docking area of the Weatherlight. She questioned the presence of what appeared to have once been a schoolbus, but quickly decided that it wasn't even close to the oddest thing she'd seen thus far, and had something to distract her besides. The girl was positively bursting with excitement as Tim prepared some targets for her to shoot, excitement that turned to indecision as he failed to also produce a set of earmuffs for her to wear. "Dad always said to make sure to wear earmuffs. . ." Fortunately or unfortunately, her deliberation was interrupted by the appearance of a certain furry orange creature as he left the bus, an appearance that immediately caused her to take a few steps backward, suddenly overcome with fear. "I-it's him, he was the one talking about turning me into a cup!"

[Hal Henderics]

Law, who had been walking to the shooting range to check his guns, encounters the towering augmented human and Tim

 

"Oh god don't attack!" Law shouts at the same time, backed up and ready to scramble.

 

"Tim you gotta protect me here, she chased me into the d-damn woods!"

[StormLord]

Tim glanced between Lucine and Law several times as a look flashed across his face, something akin to a grin of excitement for something about to go horribly, gloriously, hilariously wrong.  He banished the thought and expression as he took a step in between them, apparently he had to be the adult here, a truly scary thought.

 

"Hold on right there.  I believe there may be a misunderstanding here, you two need to talk about this.  Law I won't let her hurt you, and I wont let him turn you into a cup."

[Chevaleresse]

Lucine continued her retreat, taking a few steps to place herself behind Tim (which might not have been the most comforting thing, given she was still clutching a military-grade breaching weapon.) "I didn't chase him into the woods! He w-waved that staff at me and kept talking about all the functions he could activate using it, like 'terminate' and activating the Grail!" Her voice was quickly becoming one of severe distress, though she wasn't quite as upset as she'd been on the medieval world where the incident  had occurred. "And then he pulled out this weird stuff while talking about all the changes he wanted to make to me. I don't wanna be a Grail for weasel people. . ."

[Hal Henderics]

"I-I was trying to REMOVE those functions y-you dolt, then I hear scrambling and someone running at full-tilt when I turn my back and w-what am I s-supposed to think?!"

 

"A-as f-far as I knew, I was about to be Manchurian Canididate'd by the person who I just found out was maliciously altered!"

 

"Whhat exactly would running away from the WIRELESS scanstave have a-achieved?!"

 

"More importantly, who the heck WOULDN'T want a damn KILLSWITCH taken out?"   Law says, rapidly shifting from Afraid to Offended, no longer backing up.

 

"It's insane how unethical it would be for me to have left those unwanted alterations in place!"  No small amount of raw emotion makes it's way into his voice as he explains this subject he's clearly emotionally invested in.

[Chevaleresse]

"How was I supposed to know that? You were just saying all of this stuff about functions that aren't even supposed to be there and then waving your weird crap around at me!" Lucine took on a rather petulant tone. "I don't know how your stupid staff works, I just wanted to get away from it so some weasel guy I didn't know wouldn't decide to turn me into a cup! I don't want to be a cup," she repeated. The girl breathed heavily for a moment, trying to avoid breaking down into tears again; catching her breath afforded the opportunity to think about what Law was actually saying. "I didn't know you actually wanted to help, you were just talking about stuff like the mages Dad always warned me about."

[Hal Henderics]

Law pauses.

 

"Would you really have preferred I just didn't explain anything?"  Law says, something cold entering his tone.

 

"Do you think I would have gotten away with hurting you, even if I DID have the intention to do so?"

 

"Look.  Either your father knows what he's talking about, or he doesn't, and to be honest, I don't really like either of those options." Law says, taking in the implications.

"That's really what this is all about."  He says inquisitively, with a hint of steel.

 

"You reacted like someone who didn't know something they should have known.  Something so important, they could have died from it without knowing why."

 

"Things like kill commands don't make their way into a person's body without someone else knowing about it.  So who was it?"

 

"Which idiot, which absolutely incompetent, malicious, and downright evil person decided that a little girl might need to die one day without a say in the matter?"

 

"Which one didn't tell you?"

 

 

[Chevaleresse]

"I mean, um, I, I don't. . ." Lucine went quiet as Law spoke, unable to find words to respond to the precursor before he continued. She shook her head. She didn't want to think about what he was saying, what it meant for her and her family. Or, well, the people that were supposed to be her family. She sat on the floor, bringing her knees to her chest (and her eyes much closer to Law's level.) "I. . . Dad never said anything about it, but he wouldn't do something like that." It wasn't clear who Lucine was trying to convince. "He always talked about how proud he was of me and how much better I was than the stupid Einzberns and how special I was supposed to be, that's why I have to be careful about other mages. He wouldn't. . . I don't wanna be a cup. . ." 

[Hal Henderics]

Law feels a chill settle somewhere on his back, prompting him to roll his shoulders.

 

"That isn't what I asked."  He retorts, expanding on that statement.  "I asked three questions."

 

"Do you wish you didn't know the facts?"

 

"Do you think any of our allies could hurt you, and get away with it?"

 

"Who do you believe is responsible for altering your body to include a kill command?"

 

Law sees that they plan on using the shooting range, and that she's been reduced to sitting on the ground near-inconsolable, and decides it's time to exercise parts of valor.

 

"I'm going to return to my workstation for now.  I've weapons to construct.  Find me when you've decided how you choose to answer those questions."

[Chevaleresse]

"I. . . don't know," Lucine said weakly. She didn't really think that anyone in the party would let anyone else do anything . . . at least until more of them found out what she was. A doll. An expensive project, possibly even a good proof of concept, but just a fancy doll, according to some people. She let Law walk away, not having any answers for the ottsel that she wanted to admit to herself. 

 

Did she wish she didn't know? A little. The girl told herself that it was good for her to know, but it didn't make her feel any better. They weren't supposed to be there at all, and what was she supposed to do about it? If Law could access it, an actual mage could probably figure out how, if they knew anything about alchemy, not to mention whatever other skillsets might exist around the multiverse. Knowing mostly just made her feel scared and alone. And who was responsible. . . ? Her father had overseen every single step of the process. Unless an Einzbern spy sabotaged something, there was nobody else it could be. 

 

Lucine wiped at her face with a sleeve, clearing away tears and snot that she hadn't been aware she was accumulating. 

[StormLord]

Tim's gaze whipped back and forth between the two as their argument got more and more heated, at least until something snapped.  He watched the final statement getting thrown around, and then Law proceed to walk out of the room.  Once Law was mostly gone from the situation he squatted down to be more on Lucine's level before he spoke quietly and politely, if not entirely consoling.

"Look most mages- Especially mages with enemies, take measures to protect...to dissuade other mages from tampering with their creations.  Now Law is trying to help you, he doesn't know anything about you other than that he thinks someone altered a normal child to have a kill command and the ability to turn into a cup.  He doesn't know why they're there, but obviously he wants to try and take them out.  I have to approve of his initiative, but it's your choice to tell him, I certainly wont."

He stood up again and gestured for her to do the same, he produced a small piece of clean white cloth and then pointed over to the shotgun that had been haphazardly thrown to the side.

"And if you're ever worried about having a kill switch, remember that that thing is a kill switch for most anyone on this ship if push comes to shove."

[Chevaleresse]

Lucine stood up without speaking yet. She took the proffered cloth and wiped at her face again before rather noisily blowing her nose into it. A couple more moments to breathe and she moved over to pick the object in question back up, patting it as if it were some sort of pet she'd mistreated accidentally. Lucine stared down at it instead of looking back up at Tim. "I know." She took a deep breath. It was only common sense. Mages weren't the friendliest sorts, and were just as likely to try and steal your secrets as turn their noses up at them and call them crude. You didn't want anyone using your magical tools without permission, so you put safeguards in them. User ID checks, stops to ensure it was never used on someone with a particular crest. . . and self-destructs. "I know." Quieter. "I already heard what he thinks of artificial life. I don't know if he'd even want to help after he learned I'm. . . just some doll." She sniffled again. 

[StormLord]

Tim nodded slightly, she was right.  The rat had made himself abundantly clear about his views on artificial intelligence.

"And I'm just some bones wrapped up in a sack of flesh and spite.  Who's to say someone didn't make me?  Or Law for that matter?  Plenty of people dislike things similar to themselves.  Mages for instance."

Tim paused, he really didn't have much more to say.  Certainly nothing he thought she'd like to here about how mages usually treat their less than perfect projects.

"If you choose to, I can follow along while you talk to him.  If he tries anything I can always scare him away with a little water, that usually works on cats."

Or shoot him, that usually worked on cats too.

[Chevaleresse]

Lucine nodded, appearing at least somewhat comforted by Tim's efforts. "That would be nice." She glanced up at Tim as she spoke, then back down at the shotgun. She didn't really want to keep talking about this subject. It hurt, the implications of it even more so than the reminders of what she'd already heard. "Can I shoot some targets first, though?" She knew it was bad for her ears, but she didn't really care at the moment. Any form of distraction would be welcome.

[StormLord]

"Sure."
Tim poked through his bag only to remember the closest thing to wax he had was Petroleum Jelly.  He pulled out some wool and the tin of jelly.

"If you're that worried about the sound this is all I've got, but I wouldn't bother with it."

[Chevaleresse]

Lucine just shrugged and, after making sure her firing range was clear, took a few shots. It was a bit therapeutic, blasting apart sandbags with the shotgun (even if the recoil was going to leave her arms sore later) even if it didn't take her mind completely off of things. (+1 DEX)

 

She stopped a few times to ask for more ammo, but eventually the appeal of shooting targets that didn't move wore off, and she didn't quite feel up to dismantling it and making her own modifications at the moment. She sighed, flicking the safety on the weapon back on before turning back to Tim. "I, um, think I'm ready to go talk to him." She went back to holding the shotgun like it was a child's doll and started in the direction Law had went, her steps slow and reluctant but still making forward progress. She slowly slid into the room, peeking around a corner as if the ottsel would eat her if she made any sudden movements.

 

With a last glance back at Tim, she let out a hesitant "Um, hi" in Law's general direction.

[Hal Henderics]

Law turns to face her, while typing on two holographic keyboards.  His outfit has changed to some kind of silvery fabric robe, while his normal clothing is sitting on a table.  Low purple flashes appear near it periodically, like glitter.  At the same time, a bowl next to where he's sitting is flashing purple more frequently, as some kind of cube crackers occasionally just pop into being inside the bowl.

 

"Hello, Lucine."  He says, his attention on her without any real slowing down of his work.

 

 

[Chevaleresse]

She shuffled awkwardly into full view, whatever threat posed by the weapon she held being neutered by her nervous approach.  "I, um, I wanted to say sorry for running away and trying to accuse you of wanting to turn me into a cup and stuff." Lucine mostly just stared at the ground beneath Law's feet as she spoke, looking to be some combination of sad and embarrassed.  "I was just scared. I didn't want to be mean to you." She took a deep breath, glancing back at Tim for what little reassurance that provided, then looked towards Law again. Her voice faltered, growing quieter as she spoke. "I, um, the reason you found that weird stuff in my blood was because, um, I was made that way. . ."

[Hal Henderics]

Law scoffs.

 

"This is exactly why I think creating artificial intelligence is just downright dumb."

 

He says, continuing on to interrupt Lucine's obviously negative reaction.

 

"You can't just make people to do things."  He says firmly, with no shortage of emphasis on the word "People"

 

He stops typing, staring down with a small look.

 

The pause stretches on uncomfortably, as he thinks hard.

 

"You want to see something?"  He says, already bringing up screens, and merging holograms.

 

Before long, he's got a 3D image of an ordinary looking planet floating in front of his scanstave, which he spends long enough staring at to forget for a moment that he was talking to Lucine.

Shaking his head, he swipes at some arcane looking runes, and the planet rapidly transforms into a mostly dry, desert covered world.

 

"This is what it looks like when The Prec- My peopl-."

"When The Precursors made people to do things.  It didn't really work."

 

"Precursors are extremely good at doing things themselves.  They can multitask to a degree that anyone else would find impossible.  They're GOOD at that.  They didn't really need any sort of Sophontry, mechanical or biological.  They should have stuck to it."

 

"They got lazy.  Precursors aren't able to harness Eco with their own bodies.  It makes them act strange.  So they figured out a way to solve that problem, without really needing to put in a lot of work."

 

"Abandon an old world of theirs, make some sapient creatures, leave them on that world, and see what evolves out of exposure to their eco and technology.  Mostly hands-off."

 

He pulls up a picture of a human.  Or at least, what looks almost entirely like a human, aside from the absurdly long elf ears.

"This was that species."

 

Law again stares at the picture long enough for the pause to be unusual, thinking about something hard.

[Chevaleresse]

Lucine opened her mouth to reply, but Law's continuing speech and her own lack of energy to get offended with prevented her from doing much more than closing it again after a moment. She watched him move holograms about, merging and changing them, showing her various worlds. It seemed that his people were a lot more advanced than her world was; travel to other planets wasn't exactly a feasible thing, yet, though depending on who you asked it was happening anywhere from within the decade to in a century. She wasn't sure what to make of his emphasis on "people," either. He clearly thought artificial life was a bad idea, but it also seemed like he thought artificial people were still, well, people? Still. . . "I'm, um, sorry, I guess, I don't know what I'm supposed to do." It made sense, if he didn't want to help her. After all, she was just someone else's mistake. She was quiet for a moment, trying to work up the courage to say. . . well, anything. The homunculus wasn't sure if she should ask for help or just slink away before he decided that something like her should just be disposed of. 

 

Finally, after some deliberation, she decided to prompt him to finish the story, at least. Law was clearly thinking about the elf people (or whatever they were.) "What happened with them?"

[Hal Henderics]

"That's the point.  We're not supposed to do anything."

 

He rubs his temples with both hands, groaning.

 

"I'm not supposed to do this."  He says misleadingly, before clarifying.

 

"Oh man... I'm really not supposed to do this."

 

He pulls up a picture, jerking his hand at it.

 

"You see that?"

 

A picture of another one of those pretty-much-humans. A specific one this time, standing blankfaced with arms out.

"That's me."  He groans again.

 

"It's SUPPOSED to be me, or, it WAS me? It's what I would have looked like now? I don't know."

 

"What happened to them..."

 

"They just lived.  That's it, pretty much.  Then, one day, the planet got attacked by everyone who ever lost a tooth via Precursor fist."

 

"We got put on the planet by a bunch of long eared, short nosed rats just in time to land in their garbage."

 

"And I fell in the nastiest pool in the junkyard, and got to be one of them."

 

"Dark Eco is one of six types of Eco.  It's purpose is extremely simple, and broad.  The purpose of the substance is to record all examples of Precursor Augmentation and Ascension Science.  It can be highly explosive or caustic, and, when applied to organic material blindly, typically mutates it beyond recognition.  Survival is a matter of luck, when it is not pre-programmed to perform a specific task.  Large amounts of it were sealed away before the planet was properly abandoned, but not all of it."

 

He turns around and looks Lucine in the eye.

 

"I don't like the idea of people getting made to do some kind of job.  It doesn't really work, even if it wasn't a shitty thing to do."

 

"You don't want to be a cup, I don't want to be the legendary super-rat, whose entire species got made to do this-" He pours some green eco on his hand, where it is simply absorbed.

 

"-safely."

 

"I don't know if I wanted to know the truth..."

 

"I don't know if anyone here is going to hurt me..."

"I don't even really know who's responsible for all of this."

 

"But I know too much to go back to the way things were, and that's bad enough for me."

[Chevaleresse]

Lucine remained quiet once more, this time not even attempting any sort of comment as Law spoke. She hadn't imagined the little weasel person had experienced something like that. Lucine shuddered at the thought. Having your entire body twisted and transformed into something else. . . gee, that sounded familiar. "I didn't know." That much was obvious, of course, but she was reevaluating her thoughts on Law once more. It seemed like they shared a lot more than she had initially thought. "And, um. . . I don't think I wanted to know." She opened her mouth, closed it, sniffled, wiped at her face. "I thought I could be just like the other girls. I wanna be like them. My dad, he. . . I thought. . ." Another sniffle. Lucine attempted to start again, and this time failed to get past opening her mouth. The girl took another breath, ragged this time. "I just don't want to have to think about this any more."