museboxedin | (no subject)

evowhisperer posting in

museboxedin

(Let's just start with this post and have new threads for each scene, shall we?)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

pineapplesalmon

Aw. Well, he had tried, at least. Maybe Rex was better at getting a reaction out of him. Or, if he had really thought about it, it might have been the way all the information was given out, but he didn't think to go down that train of thought.

"Majority, yes. This place also had no chance to have the Nanite Event, as Nanite research hasn't been done here, other than a few things I've done myself. On top of that, our nanites aren't infecting the rest of Nautilus in any way. They're staying internal to our bodies; we've theorized it's either Nautilus' willpower or our own willpower keeping it that way."

Plural; he wasn't just talking about himself.

"But there are still ways to infect others, mainly through the sharing of bodily fluids--blood, saliva, mucus, semen," Caesar continued after a moment. "And if someone who doesn't have nanites is bitten by one of the EVOs in the Nothern Plains, they'll go EVO immediately."

From:

evowhisperer

"Then there are Evos here?"

A pause. Something is not computing, and when he talks, his pace is slow, almost cautious.

"If there was no nanite event and our nanites aren't naturally spreading, then how is it that there are Evos in the northern planes?"

Hello, Caesar. This is you giving yourself a very scrutinizing look that neither of you probably knew you had. "Does this mean that accidental infection automatically results in EVOs, and that all the EVOs there are a result of accidental infection?"

From:

pineapplesalmon

"No," Caesar shook his head, then smiled a bit against the scrutinizing look. "As we're pulled in from our world, things from our world can also arrive. The EVOs are here because we're here. Small things, like parts of the lab, or bigger things like entire buildings can show up. People could also bring them into existence here by Bending."

He grew more serious. "For the EVOs in the Northern Plains... There was a Reality Storm where EVOs poured in through the Northern Gates. A lot of people were infected when they were bitten and went EVO, but Nautilus seemed to have 'cleaned up' afterwards, so to speak. The remaining EVOs now live in the Northern Plains, and for the most part, seem to stick to it. I don't know more detail than that, as I arrived some time afterwards."

From:

evowhisperer

"Ah, I see." And he does. Well--not so much about bending, but yes about everything else. The look vanishes, replaced by one so bland it might as well be saying 'clearly I never gave you that look in the first place.'

"Then it would seem that someone or something has control enough over Nautilus to regulate the ongoing presence of unwanted invaders over time. Does this mean the EVOs are no serious threat to whatever population is closest to the plains?"

From:

pineapplesalmon

The change in his expression was a bit of whiplash, really. In fact, all of Cesar's emotions were.. interesting. He wasn't excited about this at all. While he was asking questions, they weren't fulled by boundless curiosity. It was the clarification of information.

Caesar gave his other self a bit of an odd look. What was up with him? Something was Off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. What was wrong with him?

Still, information first, since he was asking.

"Nautilus himself has control," Caesar answered. "He used to be a person, but evolved to such a level that he became this. ... And the EVOs are only a serious threat to those that go out there. One or two do go in city every now and then, but I've never run into one myself. Many of the residents here are quite capable of defending themselves if attacked by an EVO."

He had definitely wanted to go and study them closer, but Rex had sort of heavily hinted he shouldn't go out there. Something about dying.

Edited Date: 2012-02-25 11:32 pm (UTC)

From:

evowhisperer

The odd look is met impassively, before Cesar takes a sip of his beer, breaking eye-contact.

The man's brow has furrowed by the time Caesar is done. "This is very strange," the former says, putting his hands together in thought.

"Does anyone know what measures Nautilus is taking to control their movements?"

From:

pineapplesalmon

Yes. Definitely odd. Overly concerned. Unable to relax. Maybe it would've been better if Rex had talked to him first? Or maybe this guy really wasn't him, or maybe things happened differently on his Earth to make him that way. Just because they had the same body didn't mean they had the same experiences. Nature versus nurture.

Or maybe he was just having a particularly bad day?

As for the question, Caesar shrugged slowly. "I don't know. No one's been concerned about it, and they mostly stick to the plains."

Edited Date: 2012-02-26 02:43 am (UTC)

From:

evowhisperer

More like a particularly bad few months. Cesar still gives no reaction to the attention, though he is certainly aware of it by now. He has a few theories about his copy's behavior himself, but whatever they are, he's keeping them close to the vest for now.

"Oh," is all Cesar says out loud, before moving on. "And bending? How does that work?"

The corners of his mouth turn up apologetically. "You've dropped bits and pieces about it here and there, but I'm afraid I still don't fully understand."

From:

pineapplesalmon

There was a smile. So his double was indeed capable of smiling. That was a good thing to know.

"Bending is basically extending your will onto the world around you. You can do nearly anything with it, but those that have just Awoken obviously aren't capable of doing nearly as much as those who have been here longer, or those that are higher on the Ascension ladder."

You can do things like create objects, modify objects, offense and defense, change your form. For Angelii, they can teleport and fly as well. I'm still a very early beginner, but I'm pretty good at making small mechanical parts." His grin turned wry. "That really shouldn't come as a surprise. I'm getting better at food, too."

He paused for a moment, blinking; Caesar had just remembered something. "... I forgot. I came here to eat, didn't I?"

That shouldn't come as a surprise, either.

From:

evowhisperer

Nope. In fact, it only serves to remind Cesar yet again that Caesar is, in fact, him: when Cesar thinks about it, he's pretty hungry too, and extremely sharp ears might catch the faint rumble of a stomach that's not Caesar's.

There's a short pause, and Cesar sheepishly takes his elbows off the table, motioning to the now clear work surface.

"If you're getting better at food, then would you be so kind as to show me how it works?"

The smile is more genuine, now, though it's still small.

From:

pineapplesalmon

As if their stomachs were talking to each other, Caesar's rumbled back. It made him grin, and then he had to immediately press his lips together to keep himself from laughing. There was no doubt in his mind now: they might be different, but they were still one and the same.

"How about we start with something you can try? It's easier to explain Bending if you're trying it." Caesar held up his palm and, very suddenly, there was a tiny tortilla on it, which he then half-tossed over to Cesar like a Frisbee. "It's all willpower. You have to feel as if it's the thing you most want at that moment. Remember the impression of it, not all the nitty gritty details--overthinking it will definitely cause you to fail, and that was my difficulty. Closing your eyes helps if you're new."

He paused again for a moment, then laughed, continuing to talk enthusiastically. "... Oh, and the likelihood of you getting it right off the bat is minimal. If you're lucky, you'll be able to Bend up something the first time like I did. And you definitely shouldn't try eating it--I know that from personal experience! Taste is one of the harder things to replicate, or at least it is for me...."

Edited Date: 2012-02-26 05:20 am (UTC)

From:

evowhisperer

Cesar catches the tortilla, with both hands, looking at it in surprise.

"Remember the impression, and don't focus on the details," He repeats out loud dutifully.

After Caesar is done elaborating on the mistakes that could happen--all this gets from Cesar is a raised eyebrows and a stack of mental notes to himself--and Cesar finally nods, putting the tiny tortilla down.

From:

evowhisperer

"Alright. I'm starting the first attempt." His first attempt at creating a tortilla. Well--everyone has to start somewhere. Face set in a serious and almost comically focused expression, Cesar holds a hand out in front of himself and focuses all of his formidable concentration on the plain idea of holding a tortilla in his hand. He can just imagine glimpses of impressions of the taste, the smell, the look, the texture, the feel, the weight, the density, the stiffness of the surface, the way there might be an edge with a tiny crease in it from poor packaging, the... Ah--this isn't overthinking it, is it?

From:

evowhisperer

A tortilla the approximate size of his palm appears in his hand. Cesar has about one second to give it an astonished look, before its surface begins to bubble and swell. Being the smart man he is, he drops the tortilla onto the table immediately, and is just in time to see the tortilla begin to shrivel and writhe, hissing as it boils in a chemical reaction that starts to evaporate it on the spot.

Cesar can't do anything for a few seconds but gape at it in amazement. When he finally moves again, it's to say, "I can see what you mean about the first tries not being edible."

From:

evowhisperer

"... Are they supposed to do that?"

From:

pineapplesalmon

Caesar begins to grin wider as the tortilla appears, only for confusion to quickly replace the smile as it begins to bubble and swell. He makes a gesture as if to knock it from his double's hand, but Cesar drops it first. Caesar's hand freezes in mid-air as he watches it disappear, gaping as well.

From:

pineapplesalmon

And then suddenly and spontaneously, he bursts out into loud laughter. He tries to say something, even raising up his finger to do so, but he can't, and aborts the attempt after a few false starts. It's funny. He can't help it!

Edited Date: 2012-02-26 06:04 am (UTC)

From:

evowhisperer

Cesar jumps in surprise when his alternate bursts out laughing, looking from him, to the miserable little remains of the tortilla, and back to him.

From:

evowhisperer

The infectious laughter just keeps coming, and after a while, Cesar finds himself laughing too. Not as hard as him, more of a chuckle, but it's real, and it's admittedly more than he's done in a while.

"Heh, that bad, huh?"

From:

pineapplesalmon

It takes Caesar several more false starts before he manages to speak, and he's grinning as wide as he can through his laughter. "That is the absolute worst tortilla I've seen in my life. And I thought my first one was bad!"

Just to demonstrate, Caesar focuses for a moment and bends up his first tortilla, which is one bigger than his hand. That's important, as it immediately begins to sog over either side of his hand. He's managing to keep his laughter contained by shutting his mouth once more. He grabs one of the edges with his other hand and lets it stretch like weak taffy over on top of the remains of Cesar's tortilla.

From:

pineapplesalmon

Except when it touches Cesar's tortilla, it promptly catches on fire; Caesar jumps visibly away from it, eyes going wide as he almost shrieks, "¡Dios mío! It's on fire!"

Quick! They gotta put the fire out!

Edited Date: 2012-02-26 06:39 am (UTC)

From:

evowhisperer

Cesar's quiet laughing gets louder when the other man's tortilla sample appears. All laughter of any kind, however, is put on hold as it catches fire. Cesar sits bolt upright in his chair, throwing a look around--

From:

evowhisperer

--Hey, they can bend!

"We need water!" he announces, squeezing his eyes shut and adopting a complete 'pretend you can move things with your mind' post, pressing a couple of fingers hard at either side of his head. A small globule of murky 'water' appears over the mess, hanging suspended like an oblong, wobbly bubble.

Edited Date: 2012-02-26 07:55 am (UTC)

From:

evowhisperer

It drops onto the small, fiery mess, and the flames surge up with an enthusiastic 'fwoosh', spreading to reach the sides of the table.

"AH, NO!"

From:

pineapplesalmon

Caesar let out a very loud yelp as the flames leapt at his face, and he jerked back as far as he could in his seat, eyes as wide as dinner plates.

Okay, the thing he wanted more than anything at that very moment was a lot of water over the table. And sure enough, a lot of water hovers over the table and comes crashing down, dowsing the flame.

Unfortunately, he'd never tried to bend so much water before, and it ended up soaking the seats and the booths on either side of theirs. Caesar barely has time to try to cover his head before the water soaks him through almost immediately.