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 Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 10:45 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 10:52 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 10:55 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 10:57 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 10:59 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 11:06 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2011 1:36 am
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"tch... it's the principle of it. stressed "
*Ryzan giggles again and nuzzles his shoulder*
"I do not mind~ Just continue with what you were saying earlier."
*Tes thinks a moment, trying to figure out exactly how to start.*
"You remember how we met, right?"
"Of course~ I caught you stealing from ilhar's store and 'ratted you out', as you say. I was only five at the time, jhal I remember."
"Five? You mean six, right? I'm pretty sure I was eight..."
*shakes his head* "Nau, you were seven, I am sure of it."
"Well, whatever ages we were... that's not the point. You remember what happened afterward too?"
"You had gotten away the first time, jhal when ilhar caught you when you came back, she tried to get reimbursement for the things you had already sold from Sivlaii.... an effort that proved quite futile given she did not acknowledge you as her son to begin with. sweatdrop Ilhar then proposed that you work for her to pay off your debt and you came to live with us a short while. heart "
"Right.... but you're forgetting the most important part there. I didn't -want- to work for Lis. I completely refused her offer."
"Jhal then she spoke with you privately and gave you time to think it over, and then you came to live with us."
"Did she ever tell you about that little 'conversation'?"
"... nau..."
He sits up and faces Tes, finding the way he said "conversation" rather curious.
"I had assumed you realized that accepting was the best choice. You would have your basic needs provided for...."
"Can't say that was really my frame of mind when I accepted."
"I do not understand. What does all this have to do with bringing me here?"
"... how about I show you?"
"Show me?" confused
"It's a lot to explain. It'll be easier if I just show it to you..."
He takes Ryzan's hands and looks him in the eye.
"I want you to read my mind. I'll bring the memories to the forefront to make it easier and you can just see it for yourself."
"... Quortek... that is.... rather invasive. I do not..."
"It's not invasive if I want you to do it. It's not like you're going to be reading every single thought I have at all times. Just a few things that I want you to see."
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Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2011 2:52 am
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Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2011 3:36 am
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Intellectual Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2011 7:45 am
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(( Continued from Aqua Springs, and if you thought that was a lot, then behold Summon Greater Wall of Text! ))
As the scene in Daniel’s vision became focused again, he realized immediately he was no longer where he had been. In front of him, a wide and featureless hall extended for some dozen feet or so before terminating in a solid metallic wall. The hall was lit, but he couldn’t tell how or where from. Turning, he found that the room where had been was well and truly gone, and instead, found himself staring at some sort of closed portal wade up of a number of interweaving metal plates. Tapping at the door produced no sound, and pushing on it had no effect. Giving a brief glance around the door, Daniel spied a small black square to one side, a gentle shine in the source-less light. Figuring it to be the door control, Daniel reached out and tapped it with a finger. Nothing happened, so he tapped it again, and again nothing. Finally, he decided to lay his hand on the square, which in turn was completely covered by his palm. Suddenly there was a warm sensation in his hand, followed by the mechanized sounds of the door opening. As the portal irised open, Daniel lost all thought.
The room beyond was quite large, circular and easily a hundred feet across. The room’s ceiling bubbled up to almost twenty feet before topping off. All of the surfaces of the room were various shades of gray and metallic looking. But it was the center of the room that held Daniel’s attention. Extended from six equidistant points in the ceiling, six massive metal beams extended down into the room, all of which joined together to form a point which stopped just a foot above the floor. But inside those beams, and floating in place by no means that he could discern, Daniel saw a perfect sphere the color of chrome. He at least assumed it was perfect, as the low contrast between the colors of the sphere and the room made it difficult for his eyes to focus on it. And the low directionless light that permeated this room as well cast no shadows. Daniel walked slowly into the room, inching closer to the sphere.
“You should not be here child.”
Daniel spun around in place, Batakos held before him and fully extended. He didn’t see anyone, or even feel anything nearby, but like the lighting, the voice had seemed to come from nowhere and yet everywhere at the same time.
“Who’s there? Show yourself!”
“You should not be here.”
“Oh yeah? And where is here?”
“I cannot say. You should not be here.”
Daniel was about to continue his questioning of the voice when something clicked in his head.
“Wait a minute, did you just call me child before?”
There was a pause.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I cannot say. You must go.”
“Okay, then why must I go?”
“Because you should not be here.”
“See that’s not helping. Besides, I don’t see anyone here but me. If somebody is saying I can’t be here, then they can come out here and tell me. Who else is here?”
There was a pause.
“There is no one else here.”
“Ha. So if there is no one here, then no one could say I couldn’t be here.”
There was another pause, and for a moment, Daniel felt that he may have won his little argument with the disembodied voice. The feeling didn’t last long.
“I have standing instructions to deny you access, given at a previous timeframe. You must go.”
“Says who dammit?! On whose instructions am I not allowed to be here?”
Once again the pause. Daniel couldn’t tell if there was someone somewhere trying to figure out what to say, or if perhaps this was some sort of automated system trying to fit his questions into its programming. Finally the voice returned.
“Yours.”
Daniel sighed dramatically.
“Of course.”
Daniel figured that any other person encountering such an argument might find it at least slightly bizarre and perhaps even a little unbelievable. Daniel on the other hand, having learned and seen all he had, the idea that had given instructions barring himself from something just fit. Man, I am really starting to hate this nonlinear time stuff. Just then something dawned on him.
“Alright, hang on. I gave the order right? Then I hereby by rescind it. Now, where am I?”
“I cannot say. You must go.”
“What? I told you, the order’s cancelled. Now tell me where I am.”
“You exhibit incorrect temporal phase.”
Daniel buried his face in a hand, groaning loudly into it. Just when he thought he would actually learn something, anything, only to be shut down by himself. He was so tired of always coming close. Tired of always feeling so alone, so unique, but never knowing why.
“Why not? What’s here?”
“All memory data is currently stored to this location.”
Daniel looked up at the silver orb hovering still and silent above the floor and beams. Only now did he realize that all of his questions since arrival had been answered. At no time had anything tried to force him leave. It simply wouldn’t tell him where he was. So maybe…
“Okay. I promise to leave immediately, if, you answer my questions.”
“I have standing orders to deny…”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay. Then only if you answer the questions that do not contradict or run afoul of your orders.”
Nothing. There hadn’t been an immediate denial or reminder that he should leave. Was that an acceptance? Only one way to find out.
“Okay. Okay. So. You store memory data, correct?”
“Correct.”
“And what are you?”
“I cannot say. You must go.”
“Yeah, got that. So what memory data do you store?”
“Yours.”
It was Daniel’s turn to pause. It was if he had suddenly been handed his greatest desire, on a golden platter, that was just out of reach. It took a few moments before Daniel finally realized that he had fallen to his knees, and was staring up at the sphere, mouth agape. He closed his mouth and cleared his throat, but remained on the floor.
“So, uh, the mem.., the, huh. These memories that you have, they’re all mine.”
“Yes.”
“All of them.”
“Yes.”
Daniel could barely think straight. And yet he had to. He fought to clear his head, but it was as easy as dispersing a fog with a paper fan.
“So. You hold every memory I possess, every experience I’ve ever had, Yet you won’t let at them?”
“No.”
“Figures.”
“I hold all memories that you will ever have.”
(( To be continued....))
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Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2011 9:36 am
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(( BOOM! Word Bomb! ))
Daniel’s eyes went wide in astonishment as he knelt there, still gazing at the silvered orb floating above.
“What? Bu-but..what?!”
“I hold all memories that you will ever have.”
“But, how?”
“I cannot say.”
Daniel finally dropped his gaze to the floor, lifting his hands to rub at the sides of his temples as he did. This was getting crazy. It made sense, in a weird way. He could go back and forth in time, so who could say what timeframe he had managed to land. In any event he needed to get a grip on the situation. He needed to focus. He needed something less personal. He reviewed everything it had told him so far, and found something.
“You said earlier that all memories were currently being stored here, correct?”
“Correct.”
“Which means that all memories aren’t always stored here, correct?”
“Correct.”
“Why are all memories currently being stored here?”
“Memories stored at current location due to potential of compromise at core facility.”
“And where is this core facility?”
“I cannot say.”
Daniel was disappointed at the new dead end, but he had no doubt as to what the compromise risk had been. Mahvatshi. So much had happened to him, so much had been lost to him, and all because of Mahvatshi.
“Is there any record of an entity known as Mahvatshi?”
“Yes.”
“What was his association to me?”
“Mahvatshi was instructed by you to harness natural abilities that he possessed.”
“Which abilities?”
The pause came again. Daniel could almost imagine that perhaps what he assumed to be a simple computer program had much more intelligence than he had given it credit for. It answered easily for questions that fell clearly on either side of the line for which it could answer. But anything with a shade of gray in it seemed to give it pause. The thought was actually somewhat comforting.
“I cannot say.”
Daniel shook his head and got to his feet, holstering Batakos. He couldn’t think of much else to ask, and he really wanted to get back before he was missed. Though he supposed he could pop back in right after he left, but he still hadn’t figured how he was doing any of it in the first place.
“Fine. Then one last thing. How do I get back?”
“Travel.”
Daniel sighed and couldn’t stop his eyes from rolling.
“Anyway you could elaborate?”
“Travel the paths between the points of civilization.”
Daniel turned and stared at the single hatch in the room, and had a thought. Doors? All the crazy things that had happened, with him appearing at random places and times, had happened or been resolved near doors. Points of civilization? Yes. As civilizations developed, an almost universal need was to construct shelter first. As such, any significantly developed creatures would have at least one building, and every building would need a door. Daniel walked over to the now closed door and placed a hand on it. There was the feeling again. It was soft now, not the vibrations he had felt before.
“How do I do it? Travel, I mean.”
“I do not know.”
Daniel spun around. That was new. Up to that point it had either been an answer to his question, or a denial of access, but never a sign of ignorance.
“So even if you were authorized to answer all my questions, you couldn’t help me with this?”
“No.”
“Great.”
Daniel turned back to the door, thought for a moment, then leaned over and hit panel to open the door. As it opened he closed his eyes and cleared his mind. With the last few trips that he was able to remember, there had always been a period of thought that preceded the event. The trip to Adalanuis had been after a long time of thought on finding something to help him along. The return had been specifically about wanting to see Dame again. Momentarily Daniel’s thoughts flashed to her and the memories that he had of her. It distracted him from what he was doing, but he almost didn’t want to stop thinking on her.
Giving his head a shake, Daniel refocused. The trip here had been after his thinking of home, of being alone. So obviously he needed to focus on what he wanted. But maybe just what he wanted wasn’t enough, leading to some of the unusual trips he had made. So he needed to be as exact as possible. Before he had any knowledge of what he was doing, or any memory to go off of, it was no wonder he had bounced all over the place. Reaching out, Daniel felt the soft pulse in the doorway. Envisioning it like a fire, Daniel willed the pulse to flare up. As he did, he felt the pulse strengthen and begin to give off the familiar vibration he had felt before. He felt the urge to flick at it and start the process, but managed to hold himself back.
Instead, he first fixed a picture of the locker room at Aqua Springs in his head. Every line of every structure, every fine detail, as if he were standing there. Then he envisioned the time he left the room, the exact moment he departed for wherever he was now. He held the thought, saw himself there already, and then stepped forward. As he did he reached out to the strong vibration all around him and flicked and twisted as he had before. His eyes still closed, he didn’t see any blurring or twisting, but he could still feel it. And then it was over.
(( Continued and wrapped up back at AS))
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Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2011 5:54 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2011 6:03 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2011 6:07 pm
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