[Bar]
Vizirik said, "the purpose is the restoration of a single, exquisitely preserved fossil of an extinct species to the realm of the living. The shell is essentially as it was during life, and the internal organs are preserved in impression. It is necessary that the individual not be a mere clone, but preserve the knowledge it possessed before its demise." He glanced back at his wife. Then, seeing some subtle signal from her, turned back to Ila. "While I am not, strictly speaking, officially empowered to negotiate deals for the People's Republic of Zavi, I swear upon my honored ancestors that I shall endeavor to assure the Party remunerates you appropriately, as they assuredly shall when they recognize the potential."
Ketlak shook her head and began to take footage, after tampering with the camera to make sure her husband's conversation was not recorded.
[Bar]
Isaac shook his head and said, "I hear ya; I know how hard explaining shit can be to folks who don't have a solid footing in whatever it is. Ain't a talent I got either." He sighed, briefly reflecting on this (and what it had done for his academic career) before continuing. He sighed. "Tell me, though — logic, in general, is still in one piece, right? I mean, with one of them girls being its goddess or personification or whatever, I'd presume so, but the defining trait of a god is hypocrisy."
"I know I'm seeming real nosy, but my friends' been jotting down a lotta strange questions 'bout other universes, and I feel like I might be able to get her some answers."
edited 2nd May '15 8:23:41 PM by KillerClowns
Hot Springs
Xia glanced up again at the question. She wouldn't say, but she actually wasn't reading the book much at all. She was using it to look busy while actually looking out for cute guys to flirt with who may come upon the Hot Springs. "Oh, it's a pretty good book. And I don't worry too much about reading it here. I'm sure it will be fine." she replied in a friendly tone. Despite Xia loving mischief and causing trouble, making enemies immediately wasn't something she liked. It was better to pretend to be nice.
She saw the girl who was talking to her playing with a piece of the water that had turned into an orb and was waving it around her hand without touching it. "That's an interesting power you have." she commented. She was a bit curious about it and just to show she had a power as well, snapped her fingers and made a large rose appear behind her which shaded her from the sun.
edited 3rd May '15 11:00:21 AM by Sphinxyness
"Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie?"
[Pathway]
Well, that was sobering. He decided not to clarify what he'd meant by 'spaceplane'; it seemed pretty obvious they didn't have that kind of technology.
"Sorry to hear that," he said. "Big catastrophes like that can have a massive impact on technological development. Back in '95 on my world, a country nuked themselves to stave off advancing enemy forces, and later that same year, a terrorist organization tried to set off nukes all over the planet. We managed to destroy the weapons, and nobody else has ever developed the technology. It's not worth the cost."
[Bar]
"Wait. You need a trans-temporal quantum metadynamic reconstructor," Ila said, looking a bit miffed, "and you want to pay me later?"
"I'm sorry, but not only is that kind of technology most likely way out of your price range - but I only provide goods with payment up front," Ila said, "if you don't have the authority to negotiate deals, then find someone who can, and we'll talk. No offense, of course."
[Bar]
"It depends," Maroko said, "they have the ability to rewrite or modify logic - usually at a local scale, so I'm going to go with 'mostly yes, but sometimes no.'"
"For example, they created a small bubble of reality around Ayano where 1+1=3," Maroko said, "and she promptly disappeared from existence. Of course, they brought her back a moment later. Don't ask me how it works, I don't even want to know."
"But feel free to ask any questions you want - I just can't guarantee I'll be able to answer them all," Maroko said.
Danger: Intense gravimetric distortions nearby. Please reverse the polarity on your deflectors now.
[PATHWAY]
Kyle gave a low whistle, listening to Virgil explaining the plights of his own world.
"Nukes?" He placed a finger on his chin, thinking. "I don't really know a lot about the nukes we have. The only time I know about them being used was way back in the '40's... But I could be mistaken."
Over the hill, he could see another building, much smaller than the resort they came from.
[Bar]
Vizirik looked a little insulted as he said, "by the dead gods, no! I would not make such an audacious request of a cousin, let alone a stranger!"
Then he cleared his throat. "It would appear I was insufficiently clear." Foreigners occasionally complained of that. The Kykzavi language's cadence seemed to carry on even when they learned a new language or, it seemed, it was magically translated. "We can negotiate the price presently. As my mission is under the blessing of both the Unmaker and the First Advocate, I should have no difficulty rapidly obtaining the requested payment or, if there is a significant point of disagreement between myself and the honored representatives, their counter-offer. Of course, I shall not expect you to deliver until you have been properly remunerated."
[Hot Springs]
"It has its uses," Qal replied. She reckoned that the girl was showing off. Qal would have been annoyed if she hadn't been doing basically the same thing. She'd never had any knack for drawing water out of plants like some of her kind, and at this moment, was really wishing she did. Petty? Yes. Entertaining? Probably.
Instead, a little show, favoring her dexterity over her (relatively pitiful) raw power. Turning to Izeri, she said, "y'know, I could do with a drink. But... I really don't want to get out. I mean, it's so cold, and you're so warm." Izeri blushed at this — she did that a lot, Qal had found. "So maybe we could just get the staff's attention."
Izeri looked over at Qal suspiciously and said, "what are you planning?"
With a cocky grin, Qal took her other arm off Izeri's back; this would take a bit more focus. Then she began to reshape the orb of water, making most of it into a solid cup. She let the rest of the water flow smoothly down its outer edges, before freezing the flow into a stem, and finally a base. A simple but elegant wineglass of ice. She placed it behind her and Izeri, far enough away from the springs it wasn't at any risk of melting, and formed another one for Izeri through the same general method. Izeri herself seemed relieved; she'd clearly been imagining something far worse. "That should get us something to drink," Qal said. Then, to Xia, she added, "a shame you'll have to ask one of the servers to bring you a glass." She figured Xia would get the implicit challenge: unless you could make your own glass.
[Bar]
Isaac shook his head again and muttered, "starting to sound like the kinda shit involving creatures called 'the Something'." Aloud, he said, "uh... lemme think." Then he frowned. "I ain't got anything, actually. Drawin' a blank." Then he sighed. Thinking aloud more than anything, he said, "might be for the best. I know I'd feel weird if someone treated me as a source of information or a representative of a world, a culture, or a race... instead of, y'know a person. Feels like that happens sometimes in these Nexuses..."
edited 4th May '15 6:42:01 PM by KillerClowns
Crazy Kiwi
Lounge/Bar - Gwion
Gwion nodded appreciatively at what Rick had said. "From what you say, I gather that you didn't join the Army yourself. From what I've seen, the Army has a no-frills, no-nonsense approach to hand-to-hand combat, which is good. I think it's possible to get too fancy: wind up with so many ways to deal with, say, a straight punch to the face that you're still deciding which to of them use when the fucking thing hits you. Better to devote your time to learning one response really well until it's automatic."
[BAR]
Rick imagined someone suffering indecision when threatened with a punch to the face. The whole concept made him laugh. Afterwards, he got up from his seat.
"Well, see you around, Gwion. Hopefully, we can spar sometime. I think there's something like a gym downstairs. Right now, I'm ready to check out the hot-springs."
Rick stood up and sauntered towards the warp-door, headed to find his room and get into some trunks.
[UPPER FLOOR HALLWAY]
The door of room 272 opened up, and Zak stepped out. He had done the best job he could at unpacking.
He was considering calling Kyle and ask if he and Virgil had ended up embedded in a snow-bank, when he saw another person down the hall. Zak's face gave a look of concentration, as he tried to remember where he had seen this man. Hold on... Isn't that the guy that almost ran us over, back in the lobby?
Zak continued to stare, debating with himself whether or not his recollection was correct.
Crazy Kiwi
Lounge/Bar - Gwion
"Well, see you around, Gwion. Hopefully, we can spar sometime. I think there's something like a gym downstairs. Right now, I'm ready to check out the hot-springs."Gwion nodded. "See ya, Rick. Nice meeting you." He watched as Rick sauntered off towards the portal. "Small multiverse," he muttered and had another sip of his drink, savouring the flavour of his favourite "non-alcoholic" pub drink.
The short time he had been here had been quite eventful, but at least it was "eventful" in a way that he was prepared to accept. Capital City had been eventful in a completely different way.
[Pathway]
Virgil shivered. The conversation had taken a dark turn. His fault, really.
"Spaceplanes, though," he said lamely. "Not so much space shuttles as actual planes capable of reaching low orbit, and maneuvering in a near vaccuum at close to zero gravity. They're pretty badass."
Attitude is prohibited
[[Interdimensional door >>> Bar]]
She walked into the lounge with the utmost confidence, imagining that she was the centre of attention and deeply pleased with that scenario. It wasn't too much of a stretch of the imagination to think that she actually was the centre of attention, or at the very least, that she'd generate a lot of looks.
A black, one-piece, tight-fitting bodyglove, textured like rough leather and with only the faintest shine to it, covered her young, athletic body from her neck to her feet. An opaque, black visor covered her eyes and a terribly plain and practical rapier was sheathed and hanging from her hip, from belt that blended so well with the rest of her outfit that it was almost indistinguishable. Rectangular metal plates attached to her back and the backs of her upper arms and lower legs broke up the otherwise organic shapes of her body. The dark suit and cold, metal plates made for a interesting contrast with her tanned skin and long, sunny, yellow-blonde hair - currently tied back in a long ponytail - and equally sunny disposition.
With great enthusiasm, she sat herself down at the bar. The visor turned into a faint, blue, holographic outline and then vanished, revealing her stark red eyes. "Hey, you're the bartender, right?" She said to the tall, hairy fellow behind the bar. When told told her that he was, she grinned. "Great!" She said. "Give me... One glass of the strongest thing you've got, please!"
Once she received her drink, she thanked the yeti who gave it to her and brought it to her lips. She was about to take a sip when she spotted something out of the corner of her eye. "Say," She said to a near-by fellow patron. "Red eye, mechanical arm, a grizzled old man... You wouldn't happen to be Gwion, would you?"
Not entirely dead.
[PATHWAY]
"Wow." Kyle's eyes brightened at the concept. Low orbit? How does that even work?
"Wow." He repeated, this time shaking his head. "That blows the stuff I've seen out of the water... Even Karton."
Crazy Kiwi
Lounge/Bar - Gwion
Gwion had noticed the new arrival as she confidently made her way to the bar. The black one-piece suit with its metal plates was certainly familiar. The armour and the sword at her side, though different from Miyuki's, was a clear indication of what she was: a genetically-engineered and cybernetically-enhanced super-soldier.To his surprise, she wound up right next to him at the bar and he watched her order the local Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster.
He was wondering whether or not to ask her if she knew anyone called "Miyuki Satoi" - after all, it'd be like asking some random guy in a uniform if he happened to know a particular soldier you happen to know - when she turned and addressed him.
And the same habit of vocalising whatever's on her mind, he noted. Has my description been circulated half-way across the multiverse?
He smiled. "I would indeed. You must know Miyuki."
edited 6th May '15 9:38:39 PM by Wolf1066
[Pathway]
Virgil grinned. "They were designed by smarter people than me, obviously," he said. "Most of them are carried up to a few tens of thousands of feet by larger aircraft before they actually start flying—getting a step up, as it were. Most of them are not great at takeoffs, although they can land well enough."
Edit because I realized the "low orbit" bit was not out loud, and I originally had Virgil responding to it. >.<
edited 7th May '15 11:37:45 AM by SolipSchism
[PATHWAY]
By now, they had reached the general area of the building. Kyle took a moment to look down the path of the hill and grinned as he turned to Virgil.
"You said you've never been boarding before, right? When we're set to slide, you go first. I wanna see just how hopeless you are."
[HOT SPRINGS]
Entering the room was Rick, now devoid of his leather jacket and seater, and now clad in a pair of dark tan swimming trunks.
Slipping into the water, he sighed contentedly. "Start the getaway right, I say."
Skipped the whole process of getting his stuff together and everything.
[Pathway—>Ski Rental Place]
Virgil snorted and didn't stop walking.
"Yeah, okay. Remind me which one of us is familiar with traveling at Mach 2-plus, upside down, several miles above the ground! Although if I get going that fast, they'll be scrubbing me off several miles of mountainside."
He reached out to open the door of the building and held it open. Glancing inside, he saw an impressive selection of equipment. Considering that nearly everything was free, God only knew how these people made enough money to keep this place in business, but they definitely had a lot of it.
Granted, as awesome as the selection was, that didn't really tell him what kind of equipment he should be looking for. He shrugged out of the coat and slung it over his arm, surreptitiously checking the shoulders to see if he'd pulled out any of the stitching. It seemed to be all right.
Attitude is prohibited
[Bar]
"I would indeed!" She said, grinning. She raised her glass to him, then set it down to offer to shake his hand, which she would do with vigour. "Hoshi Tanaka!" She said, introducing herself. "Miyuki's a really good friend of mine. She'll be pleased to know that you still remember her after all this time!" She chuckled and took a sip of her drink. Immediately after doing so, she cringed and her eyes watered as she set the glass down. "Oh, man." She coughed. "That certainly is... Refreshing..."
Not entirely dead.
[SKI RENTAL]
Kyle's eyes wandered over every inch of the place as he walked inside.
Suddenly, once he reached the middle of the floor, the boy turned on his heel and put his hands on his hips in a confident manner. "Now this is why you go to snow resorts!" He declared assertively. "The coat did okay on the walk here, but would it survive boarding?"
Crazy Kiwi
Lounge/Bar - Gwion
When Hoshi got through with shaking his hand, Gwion felt glad of the youthful resilience the nanomachines provided. A natural person of his age would probably be in need of medical attention."Well, by my time-scale, it's been less than a week since I last saw Miyuki," he wondered if the Doctor felt like this all the time, "but I suspect I will remember Miyuki if I live to be a thousand years old." Which is theoretically possible. "It was a real pleasure to meet her and I'm glad to hear she remembers me. Pleased to meet you, Hoshi, any friend of Miyuki's is a friend of mine."
The way the coincidences kept piling up reminded him irresistably of the scene in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy after introductions had been made: "Trillian, is this sort of thing going to happpen every time we use the Infinite Improbability Drive?" "Very probably, I'm afraid." "Zaphod Beeblebrox, this is a very large drink. 'Hi.'"
He turned to Mark and pointed at Hoshi's drink. "I'll have one of those, please."
[Ski Rental Place]
Virgil shook his head. "I wouldn't risk it. Where's the—Whoa!"
Quite suddenly, an aluminum framework of some kind had dropped out of the ceiling around him; a blue light shone out of several places on the thing, and the frame rotated around him once. Then the frame retracted back into the ceiling.
Another one dropped around Kyle. At the same time, what looked like a little tablet computer appeared out of nowhere, hovering in front of Virgil. He blinked at it.
Based on our measurements and assessment of the items you are carrying and/or wearing, the screen read, we recommend that you borrow the following items to maximize your enjoyment of your snowboarding/skiing experience today. Items marked (A) are recommended specifically for our snowboarding customers; items marked (B) are recommended specifically for those who wish to ski. If you have any questions, please scroll to the bottom of the screen and tap "Speak with a representative". Otherwise, you can select or deselect any of the items available on this page, and finalize your checkout by tapping "Checkout" at the bottom of the screen. See you on the slopes!
The rest of the page was full of pictures of various snowboarding and skiing equipment, some of which was highlighted to show that it was selected and "recommended". Once the surprise wore off, he realized it was pretty neat. Apparently the shop had analyzed his body type and everything—all the sizes looked right.
He leaned over, looking at Kyle around the screen. A similar tablet had appeared in midair in front of the kid.
Shrugging, Virgil hit "Checkout". Briefly, the tablet screen displayed a message reading, "Please wait a few minutes while we assemble your gear," and then the tablet vanished into thin air.
edited 8th May '15 2:11:10 PM by SolipSchism
[SKI RENTAL]
Kyle jumped as framework dropped from the ceiling, seeming to scan him.
The expertise that must've been put into into this equipment, along with the tablet that materialized in front of him, left him too stunned for words as his eyes widened in wonder and fascination.
Un. real...
Attitude is prohibited
[Bar]
"Oh? Less than a week?" Hoshi said, apparently having recovered from the drink's impact. "That's quite the gap. It's been nearly two years for us!" She chuckled. "Not much has changed, though, and she's still as chatty as ever."
She was determined not to be beaten by any beverage, and when Gwion ordered the same drink, she took it as a challenge and her resolve was heightened. "Speaking of which, I heard her version of the story, but you know how she's like, right?" She grinned. "Always so serious! Straight to the point; concise, direct." She shook her head. "I'm sure she skipped the best details! So, tell me, how would you describe your little adventure? And what did - or, I should say 'do', since it's been such a short time for you - you think of her?"
She took another sip of her drink and cringed again as she swallowed, though the reaction was less intense this time.
Not entirely dead.
[Bar]
"I apologize for any misunderstanding," Ila said, bowing slightly, "it appears there was an error in translation." Although I still seriously doubt they'll be able to afford anything like that... she thought.
"Okay. So the first order of business is to determine exactly which version you will need," Ila said, pulling a small disk out of thin air in front of her. It was about the size of a coffee cup coaster, and had etching designs on it in broken concentric circles. "This can tell me what the physical nature of your universe is. You can either take it home with you and bring it back, or hold it in your pocket for a few hours until it gets a reading."
"There's no cost for the test," Ila said, "although I will need the disk back to continue the transaction."
[Bar]
"Yes. But feel free to ask if you want to," Maroko said, "I really don't mind." It's certainly easier than small talk... she thought.
However, before this line of thought could continue to the next station, Nanami walked out of the PartnerPort portal, and up to Maroko and Isaac.
"Hey there!" Nanami said, "having fun?"
"We were just discussing magic and logic across different universes," Maroko said.
"So, yes?" Nanami said, "anyways. I'm Nanami, a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She bowed slightly at Isaac.
Danger: Intense gravimetric distortions nearby. Please reverse the polarity on your deflectors now.
Crazy Kiwi
Lounge/Bar - Gwion
Gwion picked up the drink Mark had placed beside him on the bar. "Two years! Wow. Well, in that case, I'm glad to hear that she's still alive - I gather there was a war on Ailyss."He took a sip of the drink. It went down like a mix of battery acid and hot glass shards and when it hit his stomach, it felt like there was a fire spreading outwards through his belly. He made a noise in the back of his throat and his eyes watered. There was an after-burn on his palate and throat that took some time to fade.
"Not bad," he managed. "Bit of 'n aftering linger-burn, but not bad. I might buy a bottle to take with me when I leave here - in case I ever need to degrease the bike's drive chain."
He took another sip. This wasn't quite as bad as the first. Probably because it's killed my taste buds, he thought. Hopefully the nanomachines can rebuild them in a day or two.
"I liked - like - Miyuki and I've got a lot of respect for her. She's a great fighter and I was glad to have her on my side that night. She's refreshingly direct and honest, doesn't mince words or try to sugar-coat anything. You always know where you stand with her and I respect and appreciate that."
He threw caution to the wind and lit another cigarette. When, after a few seconds, he failed to explode, he took another sip of his drink and embarked on a lengthy tale of the events of his first night in Capital City, starting with meeting Ulf in the diner and the extra crispy pizza and continuing with what he had managed to witness at the mall.
...
"I was fairly focused on those who were attacking me," he said, finishing the last sip of his drink, "but what I did see of the rest of the fight was impressive. There were really only three of us actively engaging individual targets up close, most of the time - Miyuki, Ulf and myself. Flamist incinerated one hood and Foster got in a few blows before being taken down but Energy's role was chiefly defensive and Rani's stuff seemed more area-effect - I didn't see exactly what it was doing but it was everywhere and highly chaotic. The earthquake took the fight out of a lot of people all at once - I suspect that only them and their laundryman will ever know how scared they were."
edited 9th May '15 2:55:31 PM by Wolf1066
Upper Floor Hallway
Camille curtsied when Mariana introduced herself. "Charmed," she said while at the same time looking the woman over briefly. She didn't have any immediate strong thoughts about her, which was probably just as well.
She remained silent as the other two chatted and examined their room, spending just as much time looking over the room numbers as she was listening to their conversation. Eventually, Mariana gave her the extra pair of shoes David told her she would probably have.
"My thanks," Camille said with a nod and a smile. Admittedly these boots weren't quite her style, but beggars couldn't be choosers.
Afterwards, she plopped down before trying one of the boots on. She left it on for a moment or two, wriggling her toes around inside to get a feel for it. After getting up and taking a few steps around, she turned back towards David and Mariana.
"They feel a little tight, but I think they'll do." She nodded appreciatively again. "My thanks again." She then turned her attention to the room numbers, making note of the order. "Anyway, I think I should be okay as far as finding my room goes; the numbering scheme seems pretty self explanatory."
She glanced back at the other two. "I think I'll be going to check out my room now. If you'd like though, I'd be happy to try and meet up again later. It's not like I have any real plans; I'm just exploring for the time being."
edited 3rd May '15 3:02:19 PM by Yomegami
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!