acatalepsy_logs | ( world #2

( world #2 - the storm. )

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a storm approaches.This log is for everyone who signed up for The Storm investigation. Feel free to use the here to plot further on how you plan on approaching The Storm, and the issue. The mod questions thread is also open, if you have anything you would like to run by us.

the investigation.

It takes a day of preparation, and a day of discussion, before you are led further down into the tunnels. It's pitch black, but one of the BGs who you have become familiar enough with turns on a low light and continues further. You walk for ten, fifteen, twenty minutes, and then turn a corner into a large, open cavern. The BG explains that at one time, this had been an underground transportation system - old and unused for centuries, now, but still in working order.

They file each of you onto a single car - it seems to be large enough to fit nearly a hundred, possibly more, bodies - so everyone has a space. The BG explains that they have already input the coordinates into the system, and that once they close the door, you will be transported to the last known location. The car will be programmed to wait for 72 hours, and then will return to this location. There is food and water supplied, and already packed, in the car. If you are not back in the car by that time, it will leave you behind. They then give their farewells, thank you for your help and readiness, and step away from the door - letting it close behind them. The car travels down a pitch black tunnel, and while the inside is dimly lit enough for the Circle Members to see each other and move around without hinderance, you can see nothing through the windows. It continues for a few hours at this rate - nothing to see, no idea where you are going. That is, until it seems to break through the surface, the track running through buildings and another, unknown area of the city.

The streets and buildings are abandoned, the tech old and outdated, windows broken out and dust filling the street. The sky, like back in the city you knew before, is cloudy and grey. But these clouds are different - these clouds are dark in a way you haven't seen before. You travel for another half hour above ground before the cart comes to a stop, and during this time it happens twice. A low rumble, seeming to come from everywhere at once, and then a few heartbeats after, a disasterous flash of lighting - miles away, yes, but threatening and gigantic, brighter and more violent than you've ever seen lightning before. The crash shakes the ground under you, and the damage is immense.

But the buildings are abandoned, the streets empty save for crates, old mechanical bits, dusty remnants of a society long forgotten by the Struxta you came from just a couple of days prior.

This is The Storm you've been warned about.

the storm.

You have been asked to find out information that will help the BG's, and Struxta, to stop The Storm.

From what you can gather, it does seem to be a naturally occurring weather phenomenon, as far as weather systems seem to work on this planet. However, rather than scattered thunder and lightning strikes, it seems to almost recharge and strike with epic proportions. It can damage, or destroy, buildings. It shorts out any and all items (and people) who depend on electricity in any form to function (Sorry Daylight and Conner, sorry to anyone who brought along technology) within a three mile radius.

The 'darkness' the BGs were talking about does follow this storm, but they seem to have been referring to this electrical shortage that comes from the storm and it's strikes. If this storm does reach any of the still-occupied areas of the city, it will shut down the entire grid, as well as any of the robots, androids, or electrically based figures that exist there - essentially ending the life of every Struxta citizen that is effected.

Plot, plan, theorize, and see if you can find a way to stop The Storm. If not, be back on the train car in 72 hours time, to return to the BGs and report what you have found.
PROMPT IDEAS
1.) Discussions on the train - do you have any ideas for what to prepare? Any discussions you may want to have? You and your fellow Circle Members are caught here together for a few hours, driving into a situation you know very little about. What do you want to make sure you're prepared to handle?

2.) Scouting missions - the heart of The Storm is very much in the distance, and it is not moving quickly, giving Circle Members plenty of time to set out and check out the surrounding city. What you will find won't be much - this is a robotic ghost town in every turn of the phrase. Buildings have been abandoned for hundreds of years, covered in dust and left entirely undisturbed, except for the breeze that now seems to flit through this entire area. There are stores, warehouses, apartments, and buildings you can't even tell what they were used for, cleared out. Whenever, or whoever, lived in this part of Struxta had evacuated, quickly but efficiently.

3.) The Storm - The Storm is still a distance away from where the cart has dropped you off, enough that when your 72 hours are up, the heart of the storm and the lightning strikes shouldn't reach the car, or the track. This does mean that to do any closer investigation, you will need to go to The Storm itself. But be careful - the electrical output from these lightning strikes are dangerous, and can have all sorts of effects on both natural and mechanical beings. The wind, the closer you get to The Storm, will also pick up - making any kind of flying or air travel impossible.

4.) Planning - the car leaves everyone off at an old train station, which a large room attached. This room can be used as a kind of home base, as well as a meeting location. What do you plan on doing? Simply taking down information, or trying to take the storm head on? How do you plan on doing that? Will your abilities help? This room attached onto the train station is a safe location - no effects of The Storm will make it inside. Use as you would like!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He walks as elegantly as a toddler in this state, but walk he can. There's sometimes the small stumble, the pause in which he has to lean in more to regain his balance, but they appear to be making due progress. Enough to where his LED eventually transitions from red to yellow. Vision clearing just enough to quell the initial spike of (panic) disorientation.]

I don't drink. I'm a machine. An android.

[This perhaps needs clarification, as it's a rather important reason why he fell over like a useless bundle of parts.]

The Storm's affecting me from even this far out.

[After living with Ennis for so long, it's hard for Firo to get used to the idea that an artificial human might not function exactly like any other human. But apparently this guy's different. Firo holds back a sigh of frustration--he doesn't like not knowing what to do, and he definitely doesn't know what to do when it comes to machine-people.

His eyes flick back to the fringes of the storm--imposing, but it seems so far away.]

Seriously? Damn.

And that train's not gonna leave for a while, huh? ...You really should get outta here.

[He doesn't mean it to be unkind, though he's not exactly thinking of being tactful at the moment. They can't have people just collapsing left and right.]

[It's going to be hard to formulate an argument against that, as stubborn as Connor is. He turns his head to look partway behind him, glancing at the Storm so far in the distance. Retreating like this already feels like a pre-emptive defeat.

But the proof is clear, as Firo had seen when Connor crumpled to the ground; getting closer was not an option.]

I want to see what I can still... do. There has to be something. A clue, hidden in the ruins beyond where the Storm can reach.

[Wishful thinking, or just logically wanting to be thorough? Who knows.]

[Firo can sympathize with wanting to be useful, even if he's wary after seeing how hard Connor went down. Not to mention, he's pretty sure they can't count on the storm to stay in one place--but they can worry about that once it actually becomes a problem.

He tries to shrug but can't really manage it with a guy leaning on him, so he settles for a sort of half-shoulder raise. Connor's plan makes sense enough to him.]

Let's see how far we've gotta get before you can stand on your own. Then we can go from there. I guess somebody's gotta check back here anyway.

[Though what kind of clue would there even be?]

If I can’t rush headfirst into it, then that’s going to have to act as the figurative "Plan B".

[Voice still warbling thanks to the Storm, there’s still a thread of something oddly sarcastically self-aware in those words. As if he knows others are going to label him as reckless for almost being rendered offline once again in such a short period of time.

But what is he supposed to do? Sit back and hope for the best? It’s against all he is; his ingrained need to see a mission brought to its success is quite literally hardwired into him. Cyberlife created an android that’s allergic to sitting on his hands and doing nothing, for good or ill.]

I’m not giv- [Garbled warnings flash in his vision again, but he stubbornly keeps walking.] -giving... I’m not giving up.

[Hey, rushing headfirst into things sounds reasonable enough to Firo, enough so that it takes him a moment to catch any sarcasm. He smiles a little when he does; at least this guy seems to have a sense of humor.]

I didn't say you should give up, but why's it so important, anyway?

[It would suck if the storm got close enough to the city to start hurting people, but they're not friends or family, and Firo assumes that's the case for everybody here.]

Because it's the task delegated to us. I don't want to fail our mission.

[Said as if it should be so obvious.]

Don't you feel the same way?

If it was an assignment from my Family, sure. But I don't work for Astoria or these people.

[And yet, here he is.]

[And yet here he is, indeed. A paradox that Connor would be quick to point out, but his mind sticks against another question instead.]

Your family?

[Not enough context to assume the capital "F", not yet; but gut feelings are a hell of a thing.]

[Firo nods. Being one of the least subtle criminals ever, he easily offers an explanation.]

My camorra Family. I'm a capo in the Martillo Family.

[He says the last two words with a bit of purpose, as if that's supposed to mean something to Connor. Never mind the whole 'different worlds' thing--old habits die hard, and even worlds away Firo still feels happy to say his Family's name.]

[The Martillo family indeed means nothing to him. Even if it did, his database wouldn't be able to churn it out and put in on display, thanks to how so many of his functions have been frustratingly disabled.

But camorra is a term that Connor definitely knows. He stills his walk, partly in surprise and partly to clarify:]

You're a criminal?

[hi my name is connor, i'm a police android, how are you today]

[Hey, somebody who actually recognizes the camorra! Firo's used to their name recognition being far overshadowed by the Mafia.

...Not that this really seems like the good recognition, from Connor's reaction. Firo stops with him and watches his face carefully.]

Yeah. [Just in case this winds up going south, he feels the need to point out:] And the guy who's helping your ass right now.

[Police android has got to be like the worst kind of android.]

[Connor's eyes take in Firo's expression the best he can, despite his own still being strained from the effort of walking. The addendum, of course, is noted and not something to be taken into account lightly. Logically, they've all come from varied backgrounds, and a past revolving around illegal activities would've been part and parcel of some of the individuals in the Circle.]

I am aware of that, yes.

[He's pretty sure this falls under the category of irony, in some way. Still, nothing dramatic from Connor -- no turning away his help, no scoffing and arguing the point. Brow pinched together, yes, but he turns his head to look forward and continues to keep trekking ahead.]

Just something to take into consideration on my part.

[Firo untenses when it seems that Connor's not going to make a big deal about it. He moves along with him, continuing to offer the support as it's needed.]

Whatever suits you. [Maybe he's just too used to hanging around criminals, but he still has to wonder why it matters.]

But if I was gonna stab you in the back, don't you think I would've tried it by now?

[Not that he has any stabby urges toward Connor. And even then, Firo's really more of a front-stabber.]

I’ve not given you a proper reason to. Therefore, it’s impossible for me to say whether or not you might; I also hardly know your personality.

[Spoken logically, plainly, though with a strange twist of dryness in his words. Barely noticeable, but there.]

Would you, if given ample motivation? [Stab him in the back, he means.]

[Firo responds with his best attempt at parroting Connor's tone, just as much to be a brat as to indicate that he's trying to mirror the question.]

Would you give me motivation? I don't know much about you either.

No, I wouldn’t.

[That’s answered easily, with confidence that he wouldn’t be the one to initiate the backstabbing.]

To instigate that kind of conflict isn’t in my programming.

Then we're probably good.

[He's a criminal, not a maniac. Honestly, as far as his circle goes, he's one of the most reasonable stabbers.

He's not wholly satisfied with Connor's answer though, mostly because he doesn't really get the why of it.]

Programming?

["Probably" good will have to suffice for now. And to be fair, it's as the other said: Firo is aiding him. Connor cannot discount that, not even for a moment.]

I'm an android. A machine.

And I'm an idiot who doesn't know about stuff like that.

[Grudgingly, though, he will attempt to use context clues.]

Programming's basically a fancy way of talking about your personality?

[If it's the deciding factor in not stabbing someone for both of them, that must be the case.]

[He has the right of it in a... roundabout way, but Connor likes to be literal about things when he's feeling stubborn, and so an explanation comes quickly during hastened steps.]

My programming dictates personality, demeanor, skills, judgment, how I apply all of these to external forces around me. My programming is how I was made to be.

[But someone who declares he's an "idiot" who doesn't understand what an android calming to be a machine is perhaps needs an even simpler explanation.]

I'm not human. I'm not even organic. My body operates on a different set of rules, even though I was created to resemble something that could function well within human society.

[Simpler is better for Firo; indeed, he's already tuning out midway through the first explanation, instead reflecting on if the pep in Connor's step may mean they're getting outside the storm's range.

The simpler words and the mention of humanity, though--those bring him right back, shoulders tensing. Since meeting Ennis, Firo can't take remarks about humanity lightly.

He doesn't know enough about androids to tell if a homunculus is similar, but it doesn't natter. The insinuation that how somebody's made determines their humanity... That doesn't sit right.]

You look and talk an awful lot like a human for a guy who says he's not one.

[It's easy to sense the tension, since Connor is practically leaning against Firo. Not completely surprising, though he thinks it's due to the fact that this is information that might be difficult to parse for someone who didn't know what an android was just moments before.]

That's the point.

[Spoken with pointed syllables, that.]

An android is designed to look and sound as close to a human as possible. All to facilitate ease of working with them.

What kinda work?

[His tone is slightly sour as he asks, but after a brief pause he finds himself sharing a little more.]

I knew a lady who was... sort of like you, near as I can tell, and her job was a load of bs.

[Back when that old bastard Szilard was alive and kicking, at least. Ennis was essentially little more than a slave back then, the way he treated her. Firo doesn't have enough faith in humanity to think that the creators would be any different in another world. ]

Police work.

[He says that full knowing it might bring into light the whole reason why Connor had... reacted when Firo said he was a criminal.]

What do you mean, 'sort of like me'?

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