Session Start: Wed Nov 24 18:50:49 2010 <@Ked> (mid-evening, after the monkey fight) <@Ked> (this is a Sunday, btw) <@Ked> [mini start] * John sends out an innocuous enough text to Jaimie. [Hey, do you got a moment to talk? Find someplace private and give me a call.] * Jaimie is in her room/suite/apartment trying to focus on getting her homework done, mostly futilely. When her EI pings at her, she gives up with a sigh. She frowns momentarily down at the message, then goes ahead and calls John. Hey. What's up? I want to test something at the beach. How do you feel about swarming? *after a pause* Uh...what do you want to test? How much you can split up, how little you need, and how far you can split up. Not quite in that order. How little I need what? * John pauses, then says, "How little you need to survive. I, err, don't know how to less that in a less creepy way." How many bugs. If you're not up for it, that's fine. Oh. (how to /say/ that in a less creepy way) * Jaimie rubs her forehead, though John can't see it. When she speaks again, she doesn't sound especially happy, but she is decided. "I sort of know how far I can spread myself, and I think I could come back even from just one bug, but I've never tested it. And I should." But I think we should get some of the others in on this, too. Maybe one of the older Ladies, too. That's the kind of thing I want to see. And sure. Got a preference on the senior staff? I'll see who's game. * Jaimie shakes her head. "Anyone would be fine. They've all got more experience than we do." How's an hour from now? Sure. I'll be down at the beach. See you there. I'm going to make some calls. * Jaimie mutters, "...try to get that math homework done by then..." as she disconnects. * John gets beaten to ending the call; then goes to call Lady Spoon, and explain what's going on. ...and we need to get that in writing by tomorrow morning. Yes. Now. Hi, John, what's up? Lady Spoon. Do you have a Lady free? Me and Swarm are going to be running a little magical testing and practice, and we were wondering if we could get a Lady to overlook. Uh... Technically, I mentor all of you guys. So I should be there. But this is a bad, bad night. What sort of test were you thinking of? Miss Swarm, and how much swarm she needs to come back from, and if she can split up, and how far out. It's been on my mind for a while, and it'll be good to not have this on one of the regular classes, I think. * LadySpoon blinks a couple of times on John's display. She'd greatly appreciate some experienced overwatch. *He's somehow keeping a straight face through all of this.* That's maybe something I shouldn't be overseeing anyway. We've called all the science-y Ladies in to look at the monkey-thing anyway, though, so this is a good time to do it. Why don't you guys wander up towards zone 4, and I'll arrange for one of the gurus to help you out. Thanks a lot, Lady Spoon. Talk to you tomorrow. Darrell, come i- * John flashes a charming smile, and ends the call. * LadySpoon disappears. * John taps out a text to the other Snowflakes, letting them know that there's gonna be something up at the beach in an hour, and they're welcome to stop by. With that done, he heads out himself. * John is now known as LordWind * LadyTurbulence sends her own message, intercepting them in transit, asking them to head to the train station and ride down to Zone 11. * LadySwarm blinks down at the message, debates de-transing, and decides that a student leaving campus would be more conspicuous, so she goes ahead and gets on the train. * LordWind takes the redirection, polling the EI's to see who's coming and to make sure everyone who's coming gets it. * LadyCrystal is definitely a part of this little adventure, although she has the look of someone who'd been taken from something she'd rather be doing. <@Ked> Authorizations handled by their EI's, in addition to the fact they're MG's, gets them past the gate and onto the train platform. * LadyCrystal sits down as if heavy-laden, takes a deep breath... and slumps. "Beh." <@Ked> A local train comes by every half hour, so there's not much wait. The ride down to the far end of Q-Zones is short, only about fifteen minutes, with three stops. * LadySwarm glances at Crystal. "What's wrong?" <@Ked> The higher-numbered zones, especially on the landlocked side of the tracks, are dark and deserted-looking as they roll by. Was gonna cook. * LordWind leans over, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. "Just for yourself?" * LadySwarm smiles crookedly. She looks glad of the distraction. "Croissants? Or something else?" * LordWind, in person, looks a little weirded out, like maybe he's got a stomach flu and is trying to hide it. Full mean, but yeah. Croissants. Love the ones I got some dough for. You'll hafta try 'em sometime. * LadySwarm smiles. "Sounds good." After a moment, she adds, "You didn't have to come, you know. You could've stayed and cooked." She says it kindly, not accusing Crystal at all. * LordWind nods. "This is hardly required. For you, anyways." We're a group. And I figure I should spend more time with you to... y'know, get a better feel for how you work and think and stuff. Heh, fair enough. And I am glad you're coming. * LadySwarm grins. "Having a complete stranger blast me to see how much I can take would be a little intimidating." * LordWind makes a face. "Sorry for all the lack of details and sideways glances. But I don't think it'd be a good idea to say to everyone that we're going to run gross and possibly inhumane experiments on Swarm." * LordWind nods to Swarm. "I apologize in advance. And, err, this probably grosses me out as much as it bothers you." He glances sideways. "But I still think it's necessary, considering how hurt some of us have gotten." * LadySwarm shrugs. "It's...not really inhumane. If we're getting into...something...with alien magic, I need to know my limits, and there's no other way to find out." * LadySwarm nods. <@Ked> Zone 11, when it comes into view, is very well-lit, even bustling. Certainly your zone doesn't have the large parking lots and prefabricated warehouses. You're very brave for doing this, just so you know. ... any idea what's in zone 11? * LadySwarm gives Wind a look of sudden surprise. She doesn't seem to know what to say immediately. "I...um...no, I don't know." * LadyCrystal seems to come around and finally figure out what's up. "Wait... wait... what. Blasting wait what?" * LadyTurbulence is waiting on the platform as the train rolls to the stop. I mean, I know sparring, but what. * LadyCrystal looks out as well, and isn't quite sure what to make of what she sees. Oh - no one told you? We want to find out how many of my bugs I can lose and still come back okay. And if I can split them up and still control them, and how far apart they can go. Ghnyaaaaay. I guess it makes sense, but I just felt most of my body clench there for a moment. * LordWind glances back at Lady Swarm, then heads out to greet Lady Turbulence. "M'Lady." ...maybe if they have the right equipment we can test my strength, too... * LadyCrystal moves out as well, trying to shake the icky feeling she's quickly developed. * LadySwarm follows the others out of the train and nods a little awkwardly at Lady Turbulence. "Thanks for agreeing to help us." Well, this is stuff that has to be done sooner or later. * LadySwarm nods. I trust you appreciate why the sooner, and why not with everyone. * LordWind shivers a little. * LadySwarm 's brow furrows just a little. "Honestly, it's not that big a deal. I just wanted an older Lady to watch to make sure we didn't hurt ourselves by accident." Mmm. * LadyTurbulence motions the group towards a small groundcar. We need to go the long way around. * LadyCrystal is looking around. "Can I ask what's going on around here, ma'am Lady?" * LadySwarm blinks at Lady Turbulence, but shrugs it off and climbs into the car. * LordWind gets in, ears open and magical senses up. * LadyCrystal hops on in, frowning Well, Zone 11 was one of the Q-Zones - eventually you'll see the graveyard - but we repurposed it a decade ago as a center for Hierarchy projects and research. * LadySwarm looks curious. "Like what?" Anything we'll eventually know about? We've got your monkey down here, as well as other things. When - if - a Lady needs some sort of medical attention, this is where they would go. It's got full comms, a Guard outpost, and... other stuff. Huh. * LadySwarm looks out the window in curiosity as they drive. It's even a backup spaceport since the last building project two years ago. I do a lot of work here, when I'm not teaching. * LadyTurbulence drives around the end of the zone to a secondary entrance, which dips down and into a very familiar-looking tunnel. * LordWind looks at the building, and then Up. Nice. * LadyCrystal then proceeds to make a face. "Anything on the monkey yet?" Kind-of, but there's going to be an all-Ladies meeting on that tomorrow. I hope we learn something from it. Anything to try and nip this problem in the bud. * LadySwarm nods unhappily. The silverbud? * LadyTurbulence looks over at Wind, annoyed. * LadySwarm blinks at Wind. "The what?" * LadyCrystal rolls her eyes. <@Ked> The car rolls by several others in the oncoming lane. This tunnel is fully lit, and it's just a minute before they're pulling into a parking lot labeled Laboratory 2. * LordWind makes a face. These facilities did most of the research during the plague years. I take it the monkey was from the abandoned one under your campus. * LadySwarm nods. "I think someone said that, yeah." We need the labs on level seven. There's no elevator, for various reasons. So... on a totally unrelated note, how're you doing, ma'am Lady? * LadyTurbulence calls up a holo map of the lab and shows the team as they walk up to the door. "There are- hmm?" * LordWind points his EI at the map, and it calls up a copy of it's own. * LadyTurbulence tilts her greying but unwrinkled head towards Lady Crystal. "Oh, a Lady's work is never done. Especially if you're one of the smart ones." There are twelve levels. The labs actually start on five, and we're using five levels of them right now. Well, it's still polite to ask how someone's doing, ma'am. Just, y'know. * LadyCrystal smiles. "I remember hearing some of the older Ladies miss being treated like people and all." * LadySwarm seems content to follow Lady Turbulence quietly for the moment - and check out the new area they're in. * LordWind looks at the map for a moment, then asks, "Ma'am, how come none of the Q buildings use the ground floors?" Hmm? Well, it depends on the building. But ultimately, it's for security. Ground floors are great choke-points. Or in this case, there simply is no surface entrance and we have a kilometer-long killzone set up in the tunnel. * LadySwarm O_Os a little bit at this explanation, but doesn't say anything. In case of revolt? * LadyCrystal sounds a neutral as a girl can be. * LordWind grimaces. Well... revolt is a bit strong. But it's a quarantine zone, and one of the possibilities when quarantining thousands of people at a time is that they might not be happy about it. So, revolt. And that makes it equally useful for when there are other things we want to secure. Like a lab. Or a special school. * LadyCrystal is still neutral. * LordWind nods. * LadySwarm looks uncertain, but still isn't saying anything. * LadyTurbulence leads the group into the lab, which is laid out precisely like its sister under Zone 2. Cross-shaped levels, with each having a different function and ramps between levels. Pretty uniform. Easier to build that way. And cheaper. * LadySwarm nods, looking around as they go. <@Ked> You wind back and forth, ever downwards. Levels five and six are lit, but quiet. You notice a few men and women in labcoats moving around, going quietly about their business. These are just epidemiology facilities, labs for tracking Snowflake diseases. Not that there's much of that going on right now. Nnngh. Flake flu. Fuck that and the space horse it rode in on. Level seven and eight are sort of my and Neko's playgrounds, nine is Acne's. She's younger, so she gets to walk farther. * LadySwarm grins a little. "Are we going to your level, then?" Yes. For what Spoon said you want to try, we want one of my gadgets. Gadgets. I, uh, guess. I didn't think it'd be that complicated. * LadySwarm blinks. "Gadget?" Mmm. * LadyTurbulence leads them to a set of double doors on level seven. Gadgets. Hn. <@Ked> Inside there's a very large... something. And a tech and Lady Neko (she's in kitten form, standing on his shoulder) looking at a large display. * LadyCrystal is still rubbernecking. She never imagined something as 'simple' as Becoming would lead to this. Did the scan work? Your toys always work, sensei. * LadySwarm looks up and around, eyes wide. Is that the ... FASMRI? Oh, no. It's the only guess I got. * LadySwarm blinks a little at seeing Lady Neko again and gives a little half- bow, half-nod. "Hello, Lady Neko." This is my magical detection unit. Oh, neat. Magic detection machine. Wild. Well, we do have SPIAR, and that's kind of the same principle, right? Cool. How sensitive is it? Well, uh, compared to us? <@Ked> The detector appears to consist of a roughly-circular metal platform, almost five meters across, with a similar metal plate parallel to it forming a ceiling claustrophobically low above it. There is gear underneath it, and gear above it, and while you suspect the entire apparatus must weigh a hundred tons or so, there's a decidedly jury-rigged element to its appearance. You're a bit better than average, John, and I'm not sure how it compares to you. But it's far better than most of us... for things that are on the sensing stage. I don't think I'm any better. Mine just doesn't turn off. Feeling magic is funny like that, yeah. Or maybe it stays turned on. Don't know, not my field. Right. Well, I'll transfer to the other wing, and let you guys work. * LadySwarm is starting to look a little jittery again. It's basically a MICS receiver set. Built larger. By hand, mostly. * LadyNeko puts her nose to the tech's ear to say something. He nods, and walks out of the room, Neko riding along. Sounds like you had fun doing it. * LordWind puts one hand on Swarm's shoulder. "You alright, kiddo?" Fun... not really. It took too many years to call it fun. But it was *satisfying* to complete. * LadySwarm looks at John's hand in surprise, then at John. She looks like she'd like to shake him off but can't think of how to do it without being rude. Anyway! Why do we need the biggest detector platform in 4.2 light years? To make sure that young Lady Swarm here doesn't die. * LordWind backs off, he's not meaning to be pushy. He makes an apologetic, slightly awkward face. This will sense her innate magic levels, and let us know if it's dipping dangerously low. * LadySwarm blinks, not quite able to follow this. Oh. Sounds good. * LadyCrystal gets that deeply disturbed look again. I'm trying to rationalize this. I mean, I know you can have accidents in spars and all, but... shit, do you really need to push that hard? * LadySwarm takes a deep breath. "Better to find out this way than in a real fight." Well, I think I should clarify what my questions and expectations are from doing this. My number one concern? I really wished I'd practiced putting stuff in my rod space before I had to do it for real with those peeps... Is that the things we're up against are getting deadlier, and smarter. I hope it'll level off, but I'm planning on them not. Look, we saw the monkey. I mean, god and queen DAMN, that thing blew a nice chunk out of Chary with just one shot. So, I need to know if Lady Swarm here can stash one or two bugs in a ... safe spot, and walk into a very, very bad situation. So... I guess I can understand. * LadySwarm blinks at John in surprise for a moment, then looks a little...off- put. * LadySwarm doesn't say anything though, being as she's, well, her. * LadyTurbulence waits patiently for this to settle. * LadyCrystal visibly shudders. Ready for some science? Sorry, this is hitting a weird place and I don't like it. Can I not watch? * LadySwarm huffs a short breath. "Yes. What first?" Sure. This is totally voluntary. * LordWind looks quite squarely at Swarm when he says that. If you want to wait in the corridor, that's fine. Don't look in the other labs. * LadySwarm glances aside at Crystal. "Hey. If you need to go, it's cool." She does not seem overly concerned about herself, though. There's a lounge upstairs on two. And I also want to make it clear that... I'm dealing with it better, maybe, but this is pretty damned squicky to me, too. So, first off, is splitting the swarm. * LadySwarm looks over at John. "*You* don't have to be here either." I can do this with just Lady Turbulence. ... nnnnghfuckno. Team. *Team*. I've seen myself melt, I've blown a guy's jaw off in a funny angle, and I think I've seen enough crushed miner pictures to handle this. Still. * LadyCrystal grits her teeth a little. "Nyeh, just do it. I'll be moral support and shit." * LadySwarm reaches out and gives Crystal's hand a quick squeeze. "It's okay. It won't look like me anyway. Just a bunch of bugs." Still you. * LordWind stays quiet, and looks a little scared. Okay? ...anyway. * LadySwarm grins a little. "Yeah, but not as messy when squished." See, when you do the secondary transformation into a dispersed state - no one's had quite the setup you do, but there was a very similar case in the 23rd century with Lady Ants - your magic is actually spread out across multiple points in space-time. As long as some of that magic still exists, regeneration can happen. * LadySwarm nods at Lady Turbulence and climbs up onto the detector-thing. So what we're going to do is scan, and make certain we don't extinguish that magic. So...how far apart I can get my bugs, how much I can split them up and still control them, and how many of them I can lose and still come back. Not in that order. Why not? Before you start losing them, I want you to try something else first. Well, that's why I said that one last. See if you can swarm, split the swarm, and only form back from, say, one group, and leave the other group still as bugs. Can you be Lady Swarm and a swarm at the same time? I...don't think so. But it's worth a try. The answer is probably not, but all of us are different. Okay. Time to go. * LadyTurbulence makes a series of gestures over her EI, and the scanner turns on with some alarming creaking sounds. * LordWind focuses on Lady Swarm with his own magic sense, as well. * LadySwarm takes a breath and closes her eyes. Her lips silently form words, and a moment later there's a moving pile of leopard-ants where she was standing. They start dispersing across the lower plate. That sounds... * LadyCrystal stands back. * LadySwarm is now known as TheSwarm * TheSwarm scurries across the plate. The little bugs reach the edge of the plate and start spilling onto the floor. And keep going, flowing around the others' feet and out into the hall. * LadyTurbulence watches calmly, but turns on some camera views of the hall. * TheSwarm pulls back in towards the plate and splits itself into two groups. One of them stays on the plate; the other scurries over to Lady Turbulence and starts doing a tiny parade in circles around her feet. * LordWind watches, grinning a little at the marching group. * LadyTurbulence looks down. "Is there something you need?" * TheSwarm splits again. Half of the group around Lady Turbulence goes to circle around Farah. * TheSwarm pulls back together the two parts that were making little parades. They hump up together on the floor, and then Lady Swarm is kneeling there in front of the other three. * TheSwarm is now known as LadySwarm * LadyTurbulence calls up several holo displays. Impressive science. .... agh. Urgh. You okay? * LadySwarm ...does not appear to be in the greatest of shape, though there aren't any obvious bits missing, and she makes it to her feet without too much trouble. "Uh...sort of..." She's all there. * LadySwarm looks over her shoulder at the plate where she left the rest of her swarm. "What happened - oh. Well, I can't do both at the same time I guess." * LadySwarm walks over to the edge of the plate and drops down onto it. Moving's easy. Just like moving your right and left hand at the same time. * LordWind nods. And...I could leave part of my swarm behind, as long as I didn't have to leave them too far behind. * LadySwarm looks over at Lady Turbulence. "Anything else important you got out of that?" No, you're just about on-profile here. The disorientation you felt at the end should simply stop happening with more practice. Well, that is still a neat gift to have. Kind of wish the magic had made me more than a frilly beatstick. Fucking fuku... * LadySwarm nods. "Good to know." She laughs a little weakly at Farah. "Though you said it was freaky." Use what you got. Not much use wishing you got different cards. Learn to use the deck you got as well as you can. * LadyTurbulence rearranges her displays, and calls up several more. Are you ready to try the survival experiment? * LadySwarm shakes off the chat and takes a breath. "All right. Damage time. I'll...separate off little bits of the swarm at a time and you can destroy them bit by bit?" * LordWind shudders. "That's going to be the freaky one." * LadySwarm smiles a little weakly. "Well, at least I don't come back missing bits. That would really be freaky." Yeeeessss... maybe it's better, since you can't communicate, that I just target parts of the swarm without your trying to rearrange yourself. Some ground rules, please. No quick ... attacks. Call out anything with a countdown of 3, and you, Swarm, feel free to move if you change your mind. Or decide you need a breather, or whatever. Spread yourself over a volume of two or three cubic meters. Lady Turbulence, do you have a, err, preferred method? All said, I don't think... I can do anything myself. You probably don't want to change back unless you really, really want to quit. You'll start healing, and there'll be more total to exterminate. * LadySwarm nods at Lady Turbulence. She scoots herself back from the edge of the platform, and turns back into the swarm. It immediately starts spreading to the area she requested. Nyeh. Standing back and... yeah. I'll do it. I have something... useful for this. * LadySwarm is now known as TheSwarm * TheSwarm waits, not moving. * LadyTurbulence focuses, and something... *happens* on the stage. You can't quite see it, but it's as if a cubic meter or so of space just... twists, somehow, and bugs go flying out of it at absurd speeds, splatting against the overhead detector plate and the back wall. Right. * TheSwarm momentarily jerks away from the area that got twisted - almost the way Lady Swarm would've flinched if she'd still looked like a human. * LadyTurbulence checks the numbers. That looks... hmm. * LordWind looks sick, and averts his gaze quickly. * LadyTurbulence counts down, and does it again. A second third of the swarm goes squish. * TheSwarm manages not to swarm-flinch this time. * LadyTurbulence keys something into a holo keyboard with one hand as she studies figures on a screen in a different direction. Even if I'm not looking, I can still feel the hit. That's doubly disturbing. This is looking good. I'll take smaller... groups now. Just hold still. * TheSwarm holds still. * LadyTurbulence twists multiple times, at ten second intervals. * LadyCrystal looks away, biting her bottom lip. I think... <@Ked> There's just a dozen or so left now. One at a time. Isn't that... enough? Whoah. There's not that many left. I never intended for it to go that far! * TheSwarm is holding still, and it hasn't turned back into Lady Swarm. * LadyTurbulence obviously can scale her magic very, very well, and small twists rip single bugs apart, again at calm intervals. <@Ked> And finally, finally, there's one left. Okay. * LordWind forces himself to stay focused on what's left of Swarm, and that faint sense he can get of her. * TheSwarm is now known as LadySwarm This is perfectly linear. Her magic scales precisely to the number of insects. If there's one left, she's still there. ...whoa! * LadyTurbulence reaches back to the keyboard, and the lab doors bang open immediately. * LadySwarm rematerializes crouched on the plate, and...slumps over onto her side. * LadyAcne rushes in with several paramedics and a cart full of equipment. * LadyCrystal hasn't really looked on at all, and has done a fine job of not panicking. "Is she okay?" * LordWind rushes out, to Lady Swarm's side! * LadyAcne shoves Wind back as her lackeys administer oxygen and chest compressions. * LadyCrystal hazards a peek, and pales as much as her complexion allows. "Fuck." She'll be fine. It's just safer if she gets a little help to make it through the crisis. * LordWind blinks back surprise, and waits nearby indecisively. Cold comfort, ma'am. If it ever happens in the field that she's down to just one or two, you should try to help her recover. Or better yet, get her to a hospital before she changes. But she should be able to make it. * LadyAcne pulls the CPR tech off after just a few seconds, but leaves the oxygen mask on as Swarm begins to stir. She's fine. * LadyAcne scratches at her left hip. * LadySwarm ...is not stirring all that much. "Uhhnnh. Ow." I know, I know, but... dammit. Just getting to know you goons. Don't need scares like this. * LordWind lets out a breath. I'm detecting normal regeneration rates. The other nice thing about this experiment is it allows us to accurately measure her regen factor. Which is perfectly normal. * LadySwarm groans from the floor, "That...was not fun." I don't have any numbers to put to it for my sense of it, so that's helpful. I have a theory about that I want to run by your quantum magic knowledge some afternoon, Turbulence. * LadyCrystal is starting to return to her usual hardass self, but there's a very real sense of unease about her now. Even the crystal 'veins' under her skin are gently pulsing a sickly greenish-blue. * LadyAcne pouts. "It'll be a pain to prove without dragging a dozen of us on your platform here and stabbing ourselves, though." * LadySwarm gets with it enough to realize that there's an oxygen mask on her and moves a little weakly still to pull it off. Theoretical discussion first, stabbings later. Right. Later! * LadyAcne takes her techs with her on the way out the door, though they leave the oxygen supply behind. So... I'm almost afraid to ask, Lady Swarm, but what does that feel like? * LadySwarm recovers enough to feel like sitting up is a viable option, and does so. "Uh..." Weird. It...doesn't quite hurt the way things do when I'm a person. * LordWind seems to be composing himself again, even if he's still got a little deer-in-headlights going on. It shouldn't - you don't have the same nervous system. Systems. I can feel bits of me...going...*swallow* but it's not...it's not quite painful. I bet - that would have hurt a lot more if I'd been a person. Still. You learned something very useful. * LadySwarm nods, if not with her usual energy. That's one hell of a survival power you have, young Lady. Um...thanks. * LadyTurbulence closes down her holo screens. Anything else you wanted to check? * LadySwarm rubs her hand through her short hair. "This's been a heck of a day." Oh. Um, at the beginning, I was thinking maybe we could check my strength, if you have something we could use for that. I know I'm strong, but I don't know how strong. * LadySwarm is still kind of pulling herself back together, mentally. * LordWind stands up. "Ready to stand?" He offers his own hand to help her. * LadySwarm shrugs and takes it, getting to her feet. I don't have anything very useful for that. And it's better if you get Lady Spoon to spot you. She has a good setup in place at the T3M fitness center. * LadySwarm nods. "Then I guess it's time to go back to campus. Thanks...for your help." I'll need to show you out - your security clearances aren't valid for the zone here. * LadySwarm nods again. Anything you need, Lady Swarm? After what you just did, you've earned it. * LadySwarm shakes her head and says fairly steadily, "I think I just want to sit somewhere quiet for a while. Goodness knows I don't know how I'll do my homework, but..." * LadyTurbulence smiles professionally. "Take your time, dear." <@Ked> [end mini]