Neo 3 continues to travel around the Entresol level, feeling herself on edge almost every moment. She stops for a moment and hides in alleyway to gather her thoughts. ”Oh man… w-what the hell was I thinking…” She pokes her head out for a few moments, trying to see if anyone matches Epsilon’s description.
For a few moments, she laughs a little bit, then sighs. ”Oh, Veronika… look at the mess you’ve gotten yourself into.” She looks wistful for a few moments. ”I wonder what Hiro would think of this place…” Veronika decides to exit the alleyway, looking around for Epsilon. ”Really hope no one heard me use my name…”
She’s not too far from it currently.
Edited by CrobatOfTheStars on Mar 15th 2024 at 12:14:52 PM
Epsilon is still patiently waiting at the square.
Maybe Agent 3 doesn't know where she'd find Epsilon? Have they even agreed on a meeting spot? Maybe if Agent 3 and the chem baron had agreed on some more prior coordination, Epsilon wouldn't be here right now, waiting. For better or for worse.
She checks her phone for a certain online thread.
No, that seems obvious enough... maybe this isn't the right spot, after all. If the picture had any signs on it, it would be much clearer.
The place's atmosphere, and not just its chemical composition, are starting to make Epsilon feel uneasy.
...
"Hey uh, question. Do the people here... wear gas masks? How many are around you right now?"
"There's like, a dozen or so, and none of them really seem to care about lung protection", the girl quietly responds into her headset. "Either none of them care about their health and their lungs are completely fucked, or they are somehow biologically altered to survive the air. What's the composition?"
"You should have a material analyzing tool on you, try using that on the air. It'll give us here feedback too."
"...right, gimme a moment."
She fiddles around with her toolbelt for a moment before putting a tool into her hands that vaguely resembles an umbrella's skeleton, with a thick shaft and eight smaller prongs orthogonally pointing outward from its tip. On the press of a button, the tip sucks in a small air sample, and the prongs rapidly start spinning around the tip, catching the attention of quite a few pedestrians.
"I don't like the attention I'm getting here."
"You'll be fine! We can always jump in to recover you, don't worry."
Epsilon sighs. The tool bubbles for a moment, and with a beep, completes its analysis.
"That's a concerning amount of airborne benzene."
"Oh."
"Wouldn't be surprised if it halved the life expectancy of most people here. Jeez, this place needs cleanup."
"Maybe in a couple of years? I mean, how many places is EV currently serving?"
"Yeah, three... I can offer this place once a new slot comes up, and we'll vote it out."
"Sounds like a plan."
If it disagrees with experiment, it's wrong.Veronika sits down for a moment and tries to think about where Epsilon could be. ”There should be a map of this place somewhere, right? Just gotta… find it!” She starts looking around the area for some sort of directions, trying not to attract too much attention. ”Got it!”
She looks around the map for a little bit, and sees the "You are here!" sign close to the center. "Ok… I’m somewhat close to the center, so she should be there. Maybe. Hopefully." Veronika sighs as she makes her way over to the center. "Shit, I really hope she’s here…"
Epsilon looks at her phone clock, then out at the square.
That girl in the center... Maybe it's her?
The student approaches, hoping she hasn't misidentified a random pedestrian.
"Hey, uh... I'm Epsilon. Are you looking for me by any chance?"
She presents her jacket once more, along with all the engraved plates on it. Through her gas mask, it's hard to make out her facial expression, but she doesn't seem eager to attack.
If it disagrees with experiment, it's wrong.Veronika looks over at the girl behind her. She matches the appearance that was described to her before, so, it should be her… right? "Oh, hi! I-It’s nice to finally meet you!” She smiles and reaches out her hand to… well, shake hands. "And, uhh, don’t worry, you don’t have to call me Neo or anything. Just call me Veronika!”
"Nice to meet you in person, too." Epsilon takes the handshake, while briefly lifting the gas mask and revealing a smiling face underneath. "So, how's your life here been so far? Have you found a resting spot for yourself yet? And, uhh..." She nervously glances around as she adds, "Do you want to go somewhere more private? I don't exactly feel safe here."
If it disagrees with experiment, it's wrong.Veronika looks slightly nervous. "It’s been, uhh… stressful. Never really been good in crowded places. Not to mention the fact that someone tried to hit on me, but… that’s not important." She looks away from Epsilon for a few moments sheepishly. "And, umm… I haven’t found a resting spot yet. S-Sorry. We should talk in private though. I don’t exactly trust anyone here. Well, b-besides you, of course."
"Gotcha."
Epsilon looks up, examining the surrounding buildings. "How about... we go to the rooftops? Oh, and."
She fumbles around on her back for a moment, until she gets a hold of a second gas mask, which she offers to Veronika. "Here, this is for you. The air quality here is... not exactly ideal."
If it disagrees with experiment, it's wrong."Ok, that sounds good to me!" Veronika smiled as she checked her backpack to see if she had everything. "Alright, I’m all ready to go-" She looked over at the gas mask that Epsilon was handing to her. She blushed a little bit as she put it on. "Um… thanks. S-Sorry, this is just the first time someone has given me something in a long time…"
"Really? That's just wrong", Epsilon remarks as she steps closer towards a building's facade. There doesn't seem to be any direct path upwards, but Epsilon focuses.
elevator := cuboid((-0.5, 0, -2), (-0.4, 1, 0)) + f*(1, 0, 0)
Nothing happens.
"...oh wait." f=1
A platform appears before her, large enough for the Inkling and her to stand on.
"Alright, on the count of three, this platform will start rising upwards without limit. We're gonna have to jump off onto the roof before we get out of reach. Ready?"
Epsilon waits for Veronika to climb on, then...
"Three... two... one."
f=t
At a rate of one meter per second, the platform rises. Once high enough, Epsilon jumps off and onto the roof, then waits for the inkling to do the same, before dissolving the set.
elevator = cuboid(...)∩∅
If it disagrees with experiment, it's wrong.Veronika smiles at Epsilon’s words. "Yeah, that’s a whole story for another time though.." She tilts her head as she looks at the cube Epsilon is using, creating a set of steps up to a higher building. "Alright, I-I can do that!" Veronika steps onto the platform, trying to ignore how high up they are as it moves to the top. "Ok… that was both really cool and kinda scary…"
Got it! Edited my post to match that!
Edited by CrobatOfTheStars on Mar 16th 2024 at 12:29:30 PM
Epsilon hasn't made stairs, she's created one single platform that moved upwards on her command
"Yeah, that's... dunno whether to even call it math, that was only a single moving cuboid. I can do much cooler things... theoretically."
Epsilon sits down and takes a second measure of the air quality. "Still too much benzene up here?"
"There's still a bit, but if you take off the gas masks, it will only take one year off your life expectancy!"
"Hang on, I'll put you on a speaker. I've found Agent 3."
On her phone, Epsilon turns on the call app, and the voice of Microsoft Sam comes through.
"Hi, Agent 3-"
"You can call her Veronica too. Also, what the hell is that voicemod?" Epsilon laughs.
"Sorry, hang on a sec."
A moment later, the voice comes through again. This time, it's a clean, masculine voice. "Hi, my name is Squarepusher! I'm just here to take care of Epsilon and make sure she can get back home safely. I'm currently monitoring her position from another universe. I was just commenting that the air quality at the roof you're on right now is better than on the ground, but probably still not 100% safe to breathe. Anyways, don't let me distract you from your conversation!"
The girl simply nods in response and slots her phone into her toolbelt. "Anyways, how long have you been here for? What did you find out? Did anyone tell you where to find that chem baron?"
If it disagrees with experiment, it's wrong.Veronika looks intrigued by Epsilon’s cube. "Like… what kind of stuff?" Before she can further questions the properties of the mysterious object, she hears Squarepusher begin to talk. "Oh, nice to meet you! I’ll make sure to keep this mask on!"
She sits down as Epsilon begins to question her. "Well, I’ve only been here, about… two days. I haven’t really talked to anyone though. …I was too nervous." Veronika looks a bit saddened by this. "Sorry."
"I mean, that's fine, can't expect you to talk to any stranger", Epsilon remarks. "Especially when they try to molest you. Happened to me below just before we met, too, I told the guy to leave me alone with a vague threat. Oh, speaking of vague threats, let's talk about that chem baroness! Don't remember her name."
She looks at her phone again, in search of a handful of specific messages.
"...Renata Glasc, apparently."
She focuses on Veronika again.
"Anyways, you've probably noticed, back on the thread, I don't really trust her. She says she makes demands towards her employees, but she completely refuses to elaborate what those demands are or how she enforces her will. She only says that there are consequences!" Epsilon says that last part with air quotes.
"And the second thing is, she hasn't agreed on a meeting spot with you, has she? Did you DM each other or anything? Cause if not, I'm not sure whether she forgot that you were coming, she didn't care that you were coming, or didn't want you to come. By now, if she's as influential as she makes herself out to be, she should've found you, right?"
If it disagrees with experiment, it's wrong.Veronika feels her whole body shiver as Epsilon talks about the stranger she encountered. "That sounds terrible. …To be honest, that happened to me once." She shakes her head. "But that’s not important for now, w-we can talk about that later if you want."
She sighs as she hears Epsilon mention Renata Glasc. "Yeah… I should’ve been more perceptive. I mean… she just sounded so shady! I mean, what kind of person makes those kinds of vague threats?!" Veronika checked her phone real quick, looking through her messages. "And you’re right, she didn’t even bother to set up a destination or anything!" She starts looking around the area, her eyes beginning to look slightly paranoid. "W-Wait, you don’t think she’s nearby, right?!
Epsilon briefly gets up and takes a few steps around on the roof. "If she knows we're up here, then she'll have a hard time getting up here. And even if she does..."
I := {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, i∈I
a=0
spearLi(a) := a*mov({x∈R3 | -1<x2<1, (x1-0.1*a)2+(x3+0.4)2=0.001})+(1-a)(t/t){x∈R3 | -1<x2<1, (x1-0.1*a)2+(x3+0.4)2=0.001}
spearRi(a) := a*mov({x∈R3 | -1<x2<1, (x1-0.1*a)2+(x3-0.4)2=0.001})+(1-a)(t/t){x∈R3 | -1<x2<1, (x1-0.1*a)2+(x3-0.4)2=0.001}
A set of ten rods, five on each side, appears around Epsilon's head, following the orientation of her shoulders. The highest rod is too high up for her to reach, which she promptly notices after looking up.
"Uh."
[...]-0.1a [...] -> [...]-0.01a [...]
The vertical scale of the rods shrinks down. Demonstratively, Epsilon grabs one of them.
spearR1(1)
"As I was saying, I have tools to defend us both."
"And if something happens anyways", Squarepusher chips in, "I can always send in an airstrike!"
"On a city full of people? Seriously?"
"Just kidding." Squarepusher chuckles.
Epsilon sighs and sits down next to Veronica again. She offers the spear she just grabbed to the Inkling - if she tries to grab any other of the nine remaining rods, she'll notice that they're locked in position around Epsilon's shoulders. "Here, if it makes you feel any safer."
She gazes at the city's dirty skyline. "So what's the plan now, are you going home? How did you get here to begin with, is this place somehow in the same universe as Inkopolis?"
If it disagrees with experiment, it's wrong.Veronika looked amazed as she saw Epsilon create multiple rods around them, turning one of them into a spear. "Wow, that’s awesome!"
She mulls over how she got here for a few moments. "I’m… not entirely sure, if I’m being honest. I don’t think Inkopolis is in the same universe as Zaun…" Veronika looks confused. "This doesn’t make sense!"
I did not plan that out very well originally, lol-
"Oh, uh... that's bad. Squarepusher, do you have any data on Veronika's homeworld?"
"We did remove the thread scraper, but we do still gather data on user universes, so maybe one of the recent entries fits it. I'd need some time to find it though."
"Alright, I guess that's one way... Exotic Ventures is gonna get you back to your home universe, how does that sound?"
Epsilon briefly looks away and focuses.
bowl := {x∈R3 | (x1+x2)5-0.1 < x3 < (x1+x2)5+0.1, x-
wait a minute, that's not the right orientation.
bowl := {x∈R3 | (x2+x3)5-0.1 < x1 < (x2+x3)5+0.1, x1<0.6} + q*(1, 0, 0)
q=0
A bowl-like shape, just beneath two meters in diameter and with a half a meter high rim appears in the air. Epsilon points at it with her thumb. "Second elevator, we'll use it to get up to the EV ship if you wanna come with me."
If it disagrees with experiment, it's wrong.Veronika looks up at Epsilon with excitement. "W-Wait, you can get me back home?!" She stares at the bowl-like creation, thinking about how it’s reminiscent of the one from earlier.
"Alright! As long as it gets me home, it works for me!" She steps into the bowl, trying to contain her excitement of almost being home.
"Alright, let's see here..." Epsilon contemplatively puts a finger to her temple.
Let μs: C -> C, z -> z2+s, let (an, s)n∈N be a recursively defined sequence via-
"...wait, how is the Mandelbrot defined again? Don't wanna make a Julia set..."
The girl takes a metal plate out of a satchel on her belt and reads the inscriptions.
-via a0, s = 0 and an+1, s = μs(an, s), and φ: R2->C, (x1, x2) -> x1+i*x2.
Define the Mandelbrot set via M := {x∈R3 | lim n -> ∞ an, φ(x1, x3) < ∞}
Epsilon steps back and holds her breath. And in the air between her and Veronica, a figure
◊ appears, which may or may not be familiar to the Inkling, but nonetheless mesmerizes with its infinitely fine details.
Epsilon excitedly jumps around. "Yes, yes, yes, it works, it works, it wor- ah fuck-" She's so excited, she almost fell off the roof. She keeps her balance though. "Phew, don't worry, I'm fine."
She climbs back up. "Anyways, this right here is the Mandelbrot set, and you'd be surprised how easily you can define it! All you need is some knowledge of complex numbers, a very simple formula that you iterate infinitely, and boom, you get this beauty right here. Oh, and don't try to touch the edges, they're sharp."
"Did you just make the Mandelbrot? Can I see some pics? That sounds cool."
"Sure!"
Epsilon snaps a commemorative picture of the fractal with the Inkling sitting right behind it and the city's skyline in the background.
"Whoa, that's beautiful. Think you can zoom in?"
"Hm, probably..."
Epsilon puts her hand to her chin.
Edited by StepexNo2 on Mar 17th 2024 at 6:30:21 PM
If it disagrees with experiment, it's wrong.Veronika waits patiently as she watches Epsilon create a beautiful image in front of her. It doesn’t feel familiar to her, but she can’t help but focus on it. "Wow… this looks so beautiful. It’s like someone smashed together stars and electricity together…" She almost doesn’t notice Epsilon nearly fall over the building, letting out a small yelp as she scrambles to her feet. "Ohmygosh, are you ok?" Veronika sighs in relief as she watches her catch herself. She smiles as she sees Epsilon prepare to take a photo of them, flashing a peace sign. "Cheeeeese!"

bump for edit
If it disagrees with experiment, it's wrong.