{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

[equivalence]

Logic has nothing to do with it. Emotions are emotions, and you're a person. People can't just be expected to pretend them away or turn them off. Even if emotions might make people do stupid, irrational things sometimes. They're still important.

[And boy does Edward know about emotions leading to bad decisions and terrible mistakes.

He will calm down slightly when his attention turns to alchemy.]

The different techniques and theories. How certain categories of transmutations should be performed -- the various necessary components and elements. Different ideas of transmutation circles. Alchemy has all sorts of practical applications. Combat, construction... some people can even use it for healing.

[deem]

...Thanks, Ed.

[It's all he can say to that. Although the argument that his emotions are part of him and can't simply be tuned out, it's a difficult thing to simply accept. When guilt over certain aspects of his personality is programmed in with the rest, it's a struggle.

Still, he's grateful that Edward believes something like that, and that much carries in his brief response to the sentiment]

I don't think I've seen a transmutation circle before. What's it for?

So sorry for the delay :(

[equivalence]

[Guilt is a funny thing, isn't it? Beyond funny really. But Edward is no stranger to guilt himself. Far from it.

Then his attention is caught anyway.]

In order to transmute something, a transmutation circle is necessary. The alchemist uses it in order to focus and conduct the energy of the transmutation. Different circles accomplish different purposes.

[He'll just breeze over the fact that he and his brother don't use them anymore and add,] I could show you what they look like, if you wanted.

[deem]

I don't think I've seen Alphonse use something like that...

[Unless perhaps he doesn't understand what it looks like, or it's difficult to detect? But if Edward can show him, that would make it clear whether it's something that 9S needs to filter his visual inputs to perceive — just as he had to with Mikleo at first]

If you don't mind, I'd like to see.

[After all, he's curious]