{VOICE OTA}

[rootandbranch]

[Today you feel a few strange pulses in your signets before you hear anything over Qri's network. It's fairly pleasant, exactly as the signet communications tend to be, and fortunately doesn't at all resemble the strange fluctuations that plagued everyone back on days 103-105. It's more like someone poking at the network to be sure it's stable and not going to do any more of that before they speak. They seem to conclude it's safe after all.]

Hello? Oh, hi-- hi, everybody. It's Geir. If you don't know me, I'm the dragon.

[He's very matter of fact about it. He's the dragon. You're probably aware, his tone seems to say.]

Listen, I don't actually care if you know me, you should just help me and Nines out! He knows all kinds of technology things, so I asked him what we could find out about the Hub with them. But the question is really, what does everyone want to find out? There's been a lot of weird to chew on!

Chew...on? [9S echoes this thought quizzically, for an instant quite distracted. But right, right, the matter at hand—] Er, anyway, like Geir said we’re lacking data on our surroundings. And to know what we’re dealing with, gathering more would be best, so I was thinking I can probably scrape enough parts together to build a pod for that job, once we know what kind of information it should collect. I mean, unless we want everything...

[Geir's tone is still bright and interested. he loves hearing about this, even if part of him is still skeptical.]

Nines isn't even the only person who knows how to build... robots. I know a bunch of you build stuff. Who wants to help?

[9S clears his throat, quietly tacking a little disclaimer on:]

...Not that pods should be mistaken for machines or anything.

[When your kind’s fought machines for millennia certain lines get drawn. Thin, confusing grey lines. (Geir doesn’t know what to say to that, so he just lets it stand.)]


((both 9S and Geir may reply to your toplevels, and also feel free to jump each other! this is the start of a player plot to get a little more technology on the island. ♥ more details here!))

Comments

voice

[witchhooded]

Don't feel bad, I did not know what chew on meant for a long time, too! I used to picture people eating their words, hehe.

My name is Jade, I could help out a bit! This sounds like it would be very helpful for all of us, so I would like to try, at least. I used to work with complicated schematics, and keep up with my dreambot. The person who built it for me is here, in a way, so maybe he can help as well.

I think our first job should be finding an alternate source of energy. This is... just a hunch of mine, but I do not know if electricity will be reliable and easy to access across the island? Of course, I did just get here...

[rootandbranch]

Hi Jade! I wish how you're saying it was true. If words had more meat to them I bet they would taste really good...

[Geir is briefly lost in contemplation of this better world before being recalled to the issue by Jade's offer of help. as soon as she hit the word "schematics," he instantly stopped being able to follow her conversation at all, so as a helper she sounds extremely promising.]

I don't know what electricity is, sooo I'm guessing we don't have it. Maybe we should make some of that too? I'm just here because I think this will be a good idea, so you asking this stuff sounds really helpful already.

[points for starting a good conversation!]

We do still have a bunch of Elto bones if we need some kind of power. Those seem to work for some things.

[witchhooded]

It's nice to meet you, Mr. Geir the Dragon!

[ it... is the dragon, right? jade's pretty sure. ]

I'll have to ask around a bit but if we can harness whatever energy we're using at the moment, that would be our quickest start up. From there, we can also work on getting energy for tools, machines, so on... It sounds like a lot of work but in reality, there's a lot of alternatives! Solar power might one of the easier ones to start with, althooooooooough, I would like to find out what our sun is like...

[ personal interest there. ]

Sorry to say but I have no clue at all what the Elto bones are! Can you give me a report on them?

[rootandbranch]

It's nice to meet you too! It sounds like we all want to find things out...

[Geir doesn't contradict her identifying him as the dragon, so that's probably correct. he knows he can't comment on solar energy or whatever Jade is talking about, so he goes straight to describing the Elto bones: a topic where he does have some limited experience.]

And, sure, I can do that. We got them on the last world. They're the source of magic for some of the people we helped in Aimintas.

So far, we know they have a lot of energy packed into them -- the Palai used them to make lights, power machines, all kind of stuff. If you put them in a pattern, they interfere with other energy fields. If you put too many of them together, they blow up. They make our powers stronger, too!

[he considers this... it'd be easier to show Jade than to describe them further.]

Do you want a couple to look at? That would give you a better idea than me talking. I could fly them to you...

[definitely the dragon.]

[witchhooded]

Hmm, I wonder if we can replicate them...? Who knows! It sounds really cool to me all around!

[ jade pauses, though, before continuing, slooooowly ] Yooooooooou are not going to make them blow up, are you? The bones.

[rootandbranch]

You should try! I don't know how anyone would replicate them, but I think that it'd be good to have more power.

[he doesn't say that Qri wanted them but he and Vern kept a lot back for themselves and the coven, but he thinks it. maybe it's not prudent to say "oh yeah we went against what Qri wanted" QUITE that blatantly over a channel she might monitor, though. he'll tell Jade when he brings the bones over to her.]

Ummmm. It wasn't the plan to make them blow up... did you want me to?

[witchhooded]

Oh nooooo, please do not do that, they are very important and special so pretty please let us keep them in one piece, Mr. Geir the Dragon!!

[ could someone sound more panicked? probably not BUT THIS IS THEIR ONLY LEAD SHE KNOWS OF...? ]

[rootandbranch]

Oh? I... I wasn't going to-- it's fine! Calm down!

[how did they get onto the topic of blowing them up anyway?! Geir isn't sure, but he doesn't like that note of panic, so he'll Do His Best.]

They're going to be fine! We've got them somewhere safe! If I bring you just a couple, nothing will happen!

[the "somewhere safe" is one of the rooms of the cave where he's staying with Vern, but that's just details. no one is likely to try to steal a dragon's treasure on the island, anyway-- the dragon probably knows where they live.]

[witchhooded]

Phew... Okay, that's fine!

[ it works, though!!! jade is very, very relieved. he can't see it, but she presses a hand to chest and smiles a bit, relaxing into her seat. ]

Would you prefer I meet you wherever this safe place is? I really would like to see them!

[rootandbranch]

It's easier for me to fly to you! I'll just bring a couple. That way if anything gets set off, it'll just be the ones you have, not all of them. Plus, I'm fast.

[it's also less of a threat to Geir and Vern's living place that way... a solid choice, he feels.]

Where are you staying?

[witchhooded]

[ this sounds about fine, to jade. it checks out. ]

Okay! I will wait then. I'm with Dirk and Jake, we live in the stray hut together!!

[rootandbranch]

Really? I didn't know that! I'll come see you in a few minutes. You know them?

[Geir thinks back to his conversations with both of those individuals. he has a good memory for names. Jade, Jade, where has he heard the name "Jade"--]

Wait-- are you Jake's grandma who likes skulls?

[witchhooded]

Jake is my grandpa and my grandson!

[ jade that explains nothing ]

[deem]

I wonder if there's some kind of magic that could make words tangible like that...

[But he shouldn't let his mind wander too far, should he?]

Electricity's something we're still working on generating, but where I'm from we've long since moved past that. I can come up with a system that powers itself, with the right supplies... But we'd need self-maintenance too.

What's a dream-bot though?

[witchhooded]

I bet there is! Although maybe synesthesia would just be all you need, ehehe.

Self-maintenance as in self-repairing? I see. That is a lot trickier, mainly because you need extra programs... It's not impossible, though, and I bet it would be pretty useful.

It is a robot that I could inhabit while I was asleep! It recorded my dreams. My grandpa made it for me!

[deem]

Yeah, if we're not here to repair the unit, it'd need to be capable of some degree of maintenance on its own. Sort of like how I can fix damage in the field unless it's terminal.

[Or requires assistance from a pod, but details]

That sounds sort of like a flight unit. At least, the part about being inside it...

[witchhooded]

I don't know what a flight unit is but mine had a jetpack! [ who gives a little girl rockets, anyway. ] Hmm... I might be able to bring some of the work done on it to the table, it would be good if it could run while we are gone, as well. Viewing the material later would be pretty critical, I think, since we need to be able to study things. Mine recorded dreams, but I don't see why it can't record other things!

[deem]

Oh, I can transmit an image of one, if you like. My memory's pretty accurate.

[Understatement, as android memory is precise, but hey]

A recording system is definitely essential, since readings can only tell us so much. Do you think we could compare sometime, and see what'd be most efficient for the job?

[witchhooded]

That is a great idea! You are Nines, right?

[deem]

Yep, that's me! And you said you're Jade. Is it okay if I call you that, ma'am?

[witchhooded]

Yeah, of course, hehe. [ so polite! what a gentleman. ] You said that the pods aren't machines. Can you tell me a little about them, please?

[deem]

Sure thing. I guess the first part that I should explain is that where I'm from, machine life-forms have been our enemies for millennia, so the difference is pretty important to someone like me.

[And may not make a lick of sense to non-androids, as he's coming to understand]

Pods are Tactical Support Units constructed by androids. One is generally assigned to a unit like myself for instructions and general guidance, and also to help us with maintenance. In this case, since mine and 2B's are missing but we hope to recover them, I'd think to assign it to A2 when we're on the island.

[Which is partly just to ensure she gets said maintenance...]

They're capable of logical thought and speech, learning and adjusting, as well as having some basic protocols to adhere to. They look a bit like a small flying box with four arms and a retractable light on top. And they can fly, so that'd render terrain around here a non-issue unless there's electromagnetic interference.

[witchhooded]

[ huh. sounds like...this could be usable. with the right technology, maybe even pilotable remotely? ]

I see! That's a lot of information, but I think I got it all. There is something I am a little bit confused on, though. Can I ask you a, um. Personal question??

[deem]

Personal?

[How personal, he might ask.

But he doubts there's something she could want to know that really touches upon things that would lead him to obfuscate information for dear life]

Sure, what'd you want to know?

[witchhooded]

[ nothing personal-personal. she just feels like this is a personal question... ]

What do you mean by "someone like me"?