A thought occurs to Roger and he gets a faraway look in his eyes. "'Scuse me," he says, stepping back out into the lobby. He spends a moment by the fire, tapping on his bracer as the light from the flames flickers on his face.

On his way back into the bunk section, he asks one of the guards, "Hey dude, ever hear about the face in the deepest burrow? Or is it voice? Anything? Thanks again for the lumber, by the way. As far as incarcerations go, this one's been pretty chill and I appreciate that."

In reply to Yardbird (msg # 765):

"I don't remember much more than you do," Wren replies to Roger's question, looking up from her work of supercooling one of Rebecca's hand tools. "The encounter was uncomfortable, and Gustaf was never the same afterward. I don't think any of us were, really."

In reply to Wren (msg # 766):

"This whole thing sounds like a con to me," Gestalt says. "If I was going to make a primitive species serve my interests, convincing it that their god wants them to do the very same things that I want them to do would be a clean way of doing it."

"You didn't see the ground tremble like we did," Wren replies. "Does it make a difference if it's a god or merely someone with god-like powers?"

"Godhood isn't what it used to be," Gestalt shrugs. "Not in the age of augers. I've seen a lot of folks with god-like powers in my time, and take it from me: they become a lot less god-like when you shoot 'em."

Wren snorts dismissively, then turns as Roger's bracer gives a commanding BEEP.

"The collars were primarily used for communicating over long distances through mediums unfriendly to sound waves," Adj says, sounding no less tinny than before. "Usually placed on new laborers who didn't know their role yet. It is not classified as a disciplinary device, but there IS a correlation related to that: it seems laborers who needed the collar for longer periods of time were far more likely to take actions resulting in disciplinary action in the future than those who only needed the collar for their first few shifts."

When Roger asks about the frequency, Adj balks at the question.

"My lords and ladies, you are of course entitled to use whatever communication channels you desire! But we would need to be at an appropriate facility to issue the right commands."

Roger stares at his bracer for a while, looking disappointed.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:57, Tue 07 May.

"I got your facility right here," Roger says, projecting a small-scale model of a Leireblomst outpost from the palm of his hand, just as he had during Adj's recounting of the Gustaf incident. "Is it infrastructure or credentials? It's a frequency, we should be able to tap it."

“We could just ask,” Billy suggests, plucking the collar from the researchers.  He points at Gestalt warily, “Do not shoot me,” he warns before clapping the collar around his own neck.

Nightmare nods.

I was going to do that myself... 

She looks intensely into Billy's eyes and place a hand gently on his chest.  She extends her senses into him.

Rings through his head.

/ooc will phase with karma to release Billy if anything feels off.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:53, Tue 07 May.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 770):

No, certainly not!  Aviva says, faux surprise on her face.

Aviva casually whips a braid out of her face and levels her weapon at Billy's midsection.

riaf ylno s'ti

Right, just in case we need to snap you out of it
This message was last edited by the player at 11:42, Wed 08 May.

In reply to Aviva (msg # 771):

Frank watches Roger leave and reenter, an idea clearly on his mind. I love watching him connect the dots. She stifles any further harassment of Roger, and gently sidles up next to Aviva.

Might I suggest using the blunt end of the pistol on his head instead of the irreversibly dangerous boomstick end on his torso? While both unlikely to be needed, one is much more reversible than the other.

And I thought I was quick to a first order solution to any problem.

In reply to Penelope Franklin (msg # 772):

Aviva shrugs.

He'll survive it either way.

She holsters the weapon once more.

Just be ready!

In reply to Aviva (msg # 773):

Roger points at Aviva and nods.

In reply to Yardbird (msg # 774):

Nightmare looks to the group with genuine concern, clearly dismayed at the attitude far more than the active 'threat'.  The entire group hears her voice in their heads deadly serious in the pregnant pause.



She closes her eyes and focuses, her hair looks like static on an old television as her powers surge and focus to a point.

Billy snaps the collar around his neck, and the party waits with palpable tension for something to happen.

And waits.

And...waits.

After an uncomfortable span of time during which nothing obvious occurs, the Adjutant's voice breaks the silence with a tactless crackle of static.

"Forgive my intrusion, my lords. My ladies. But the collar won't work without the contact point that you removed."

Your eyes fall upon the spike laying on the table.

"You'll need to reinstall it for the device to function properly."
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:03, Yesterday.

“Does it have to be that one?” Billy asks dubiously, looking at the barbed spike, “Or that big?” He attempts to stick his finger in the hole of the collar that the spike left vacated in the hopes that metal on metal is more important than spike in flesh for the non-disciplinary device.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 776):

Aviva giggles and whispers something into Aviva's ear.

Yep!

Avivia whirls around, braids fanning out wildly.

Bonded?  She looks at Nightmare.  Like... tagged or like an uplink or actually sharing a mind?

Sounds... intrusive?

“Like she’s telepathic.  Bonded is a generous term and no one’s doing anything intrusive in my head.  Collar included, if we need a spike to the spine I’m saving this for Xander.”

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 779):

Roger raises his hand.

"While you were gone, I tried to activate Ibis's healing ability directly to try to resurrect her... unsuccessfully. Tapped into her brain. Hit the wrong button. But the connection worked."

A thin filament springs from his fingertip and coils around the finger.

"It's an option. We can use my spine. If it makes you feel any better."

“While I appreciate your eagerness, Xander’s already got a hole.  I don’t know if a neural interface is the best place for jury-rigging.” He waves incredulously at the displaced bit of sharp metal, “And I remain convinced that a large spike is not the best means of communication anyway.”

Frank grits her teeth and mutters I'm not sure I like the standard of already has a hole.

She emphatically cracks her neck and knuckles to underscore her point before adding, Why don't we go back and find another mole man to slap this on? The place is clearly lousy with them and some would seem likely to have the requisite accessibility features?

In reply to Penelope Franklin (msg # 782):

"No promises," Gestalt says when Billy cautions against shooting him. He nods toward the brazen CEO's arm and arches an eyebrow. "No offense, boss, but don't you already have a...neutral interface...hole...thing where you arm used to be?"

"It's kind of purpose made, so I don't think I'd like to try just jamming things in it.  Xander's is built for insertion." Billy glances at Frank and adds, "And like I said back in the hole, backup consciousness in case it goes really poorly," as if that clarifies his stance.  Billy continues wiggling his prosthetic digit into the collar, hoping for some kind of contact, "Sure would be easier if I could just be the spike though."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:48, Today.

"Ooh!" Roger says, snapping his finger. "We simulate a body! Synthetic nervous system. Spoof it. Make the collar think it's attached to a brain when really, it's connected to a device that acts as a telepathic antenna. Right? Right? "

Right, EXACTLY! Aviva claps her hands together joyfully.

I knew you'd get there eventually!

In reply to Aviva (msg # 786):

Aviva hears a light chime in her head and astrange but very gentle sensation as Nightmare does the psychic equivalent of a cat brushing against your leg.  She hears the voice clear in her head.  The feeling is more intimate than invasive and it lasts only a moment as a demonstration...



Aviva notices that she does this without breaking her focus or concentration as she is simultaneously talking to Roger...

But yeah what Billy said...

That could work... I wonder what the behavior of that she nods her head towards the fungus is without the collar.  Remember I said when we first encountered this thing that there was like a... monolog going on, not like a standard consciousness.  I wonder if that was the collar and not the parasite...  If that is the case the behavior of this parasite could be entirely different without the collar... additionally... its possible that we could use the tentacle, or the small cuttings in the jars....

She cuts a look at Gestalt

...to reactivate the collar.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:50, Today.

"Ohh, you mean reattach the collar to the tentacle and use the tentacle as the medium?"

In reply to Yardbird (msg # 788):

Ooh that's... Aviva cocks her head to one side and stares into space

Intrusive?  Who would say that?