thisavrou | video; may 6th

video; may 6th

Hey, guys. I... Maybe I should've said something sooner, but I haven't been sure if it'd make much of a difference. But it's been really bugging me, so... I talked to our host, tried to find out more about how the reverse Ingress worked, but she was too busy to really answer any questions. But I asked if she had research somewhere that I could look at, you know, to read about it instead, and she gave me permission to use this computer to access her notes. I've spent my free time the past few days on reading over it, and... I don't know. I feel like there's something weird going on here.

There wasn't any information on her research on the Ingress. And, like, she would've written that down somewhere, wouldn't she? And there are some things she's told us that she wouldn't have known if she hadn't been experimenting on this with other people. Like, how did she know we need to go in as pairs, not alone? But there's no information on her computer about past experiments, either. What information is there... is stuff about our worlds. Population, toxicity, atmospheric and geological, stuff like that.

I asked her about it, and she said she's gathering test data from anyone who stops by here, even though there haven't been all that many, since this place is out of the way. She also said she's gathering the world information so she can use it to make the Ingress better, make it work permanently.

I don't know. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Maybe she's just got her research on the Ingress hidden and locked away in the computer. It doesn't work anything like the computers from back home, so I wouldn't know how to find it. I want to give the host the benefit of the doubt? But... I dunno. I guess I've learned to distrust any time I've been handed exactly what I've been wanting.

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Yeah, it's a good amount of healthy paranoia. I mean, if she is truly helping us I am glad of it. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. But... ah... when people's freedom kind of depends on her not dicking us over.

And us not dicking her over...

Edited 2016-05-07 09:50 (UTC)

Yeah, that... That's how I'm feeling about it, too. I want to believe her. I really do. I'm just... nervous. It almost feels too good to be true, you know? Maybe it's because I'm pretty new, and then a solution just kind of... fell into our laps.

I really don't want us to try to, like... mess with her Ingress, or with her, necessarily. 'Cause, you're right, if we end up shooting first, unprovoked, uh... Giving her reason to screw us over, if she wasn't planning on it already... That -- We really shouldn't do that. I just... I feel like we're not getting the whole story. And we should totally try to get it.

That is sort of creepy. There should be more information, why would she want to keep it to herself? There's more of a chance of fixing it if she can find those who might be able to help, isn't there?

I don't distrust her, but it's definitely weird.

That was my first thought, too. There's only everything to gain by sharing it, right? Would we really like... try to steal or sabotage it? Is that what she's afraid of? Or maybe it's... She's worried we'd try to help without talking to her, and accidentally mess it up? I just... I don't know. I don't get it.

It doesn't sound like paranoia, if you ask me.

[ Because it's not paranoia when they really are trying to get you. And it's starting to sound a lot like that's the case here. ]

Maybe I can help. I'm good with computers, and besides, I'd like to take a look into whatever research she shared with you myself. A fresh pair of eyes might make a difference too. What do you say, mind if I join you?

Thanks. [Elle offers a small smile. Whenever she's feeling paranoid, she starts to feel guilty about it. She doesn't like thinking poorly about someone if there's no reason to, and it can be... hard for her to tell, sometimes.

At his suggestion, she brightens.] That would be great. I'm, uh, I'm not bad with computers? It's just, I'm better with the kind we have back where I'm from. And this isn't anything like that.

[ She's stuck on a spaceship traveling across an entirely different universe from her own, it's perfectly reasonable to be paranoid towards most everything she encounters. Well, at least Bruce thinks so, but then he doesn't really ever feel guilty for being paranoid. ]

That's alright. Maybe in the process you can tell me a little about how computers are back in your world, and we can see how close we are in terms of technology. Most everything here is pretty different from my own world too, but I just got used to it.

Is the computer at a fixed location or can you carry it around with you?

It's, um, it's in one place. [She relays the description of its location to him and how to find it.]

Computers back where I'm from are, uh... Well, actually, I can show you when you get here. I've got one on my arm. [She holds up her other arm to show the Pip-Boy as best she can.] But I guess to start with, they're text-based. They can play holotapes, but that's pre-recorded stuff. Not, like... live, like this.

[ Bruce takes note of the location, leaning in a little closer to take a quick peek at the device she shows him. ]

Definitely not like the computers in my world either. Ours have live communication too, but usually we have cellphones for that. Portable telephones, in case you're not familiar.

[Elle shakes her head.] No... We never had anything like that where I'm from. I mean... We have walkie-talkies? But, uh. That's nothing much like the MID.

This, [she taps her Pip-Boy's screen with a finger,] it's called a Pip-Boy. It keeps track of health information, and it has a geiger counter, and can play the radio, too. On top of being able to, like... keep notes and stuff. It's got maps on it, too. I know it has radar, for local maps, but back home, it'd also show something more like a road map. That hasn't really been working since I got here, though. It just says "not available."

So more on a practical level. Kind of like the MIDs but with less features.

[ The mention of a geiger counter does catch Bruce's interest, though he saves questions about that for later. ]

Can I take a look at it too, when we meet?

Kind of! I only wish my Pip-Boy played games, though. Whalaga could've made some long nights a lot shorter.

Sure, no problem.

Edited 2016-06-09 15:16 (UTC)

You say that, but those games can really suck you in. It's terrible.

Great. Are you free right now?

I think the word you're looking for is "awesome."

Yeah, I'm not really doing anything. I can meet you over by the host's computer.

That too, yes.

Alright, sounds good. I'll just wrap up a few things and make my way over there in a bit. See you then?

Okay. See you!

[Elle goes ahead and heads over, since she's got the time. She makes herself comfortable while she waits, and...

... yes, plays Whalaga.]

[ Bruce doesn't take particularly long to get there either, and once he does, a quick look around is enough for him to recognize her, and he makes his way over with a friendly, if small, smile, waiting until she either loses or stops playing. ]

Hi. [ Remembering he hadn't even introduced himself before, he offers a hand. ] Bruce, by the way. Bruce Banner.

[Elle hears his footsteps as he's approaching, and glances up in the middle of a level. She double-takes a little when she notices it's him. Unfortunately, this means she promptly messes up in the game. Or, maybe fortunately, since she needs to be stopping anyway.]

Hi. [She accepts the handshake, her grip a little loose and casual.] It's nice to meet you, Bruce. Um, thanks for -- uh, I guess I don't need to... say that... [You're nailing this, Elle. She grins sheepishly.] Er, here it is. [She pops up out of the chair so he can get better access to the host's computer.]

[ He smiles a little, eyebrow raising as she fumbles with her words. He's no stranger to awkward introductions himself, so he says nothing to it, simply nodding and taking a seat as she vacates the chair for him. ]

Thanks. [ He starts going through the computer with relative ease, whatever differences between it and the computers on the Moira easily bridged. Predictably, he goes to all the data the host's gathered on the Ingress, as well as all the other worlds she's managed to reach through it.

Elle's right, there really is a lot of information on all those worlds, but none about past experiments, which really makes no sense when the host knows so much about how it all works. Bruce frowns slightly, unable to not feel paranoid about all this. As with most everything they've encountered on their journey so far. ]

I assume she hasn't been all that straightforward about where the rest of her research is?

[Elle is quiet as he looks through the information. She reads over it again, too, hoping she'll find something else that jumps out at her. But she can't manage to glean anything else from it. It's just... data. It looks so innocuous. And that's exactly what's making her nervous.]

I... haven't really asked her. If she really is trying to hide something... I don't know if it'd be a good idea to tip her off that we're looking for it. [She bites her lower lip.] So I haven't gone back yet.

No. No, you're right. Probably best to not tip her off.

[ As he finds more information, he gets more focused on the files. Digging through it all uncovers quite a lot of information on a number of different worlds, and it's not long until a couple of them actually start to ring familiar to him.

He frowns slightly, opening up the ones he's sure he knows side by side. Information so extensive that Bruce has to wonder how she gathered it all in the short time they've been here. ]

She has information on our worlds. Some of our worlds, at least.

Yeah. [Elle's frown is deep, and she's twisting the dial on her Pip-Boy glove nervously.] Someone I talked to on the network brought up the point that... If this information fell into the wrong hands? With this technology? Our worlds could seriously be in danger. And I don't know if there'd be much we could do about it.

Even if she isn't collecting them for... bad reasons, [nicely done there, Elle, "bad reasons,"] all it'd take is one person with an agenda to find this stuff. You know? That kind of thing -- It's happened before, back where I'm from. More than once.

[ Bruce glances at her, her words not even slightly surprising or a shocking revelation. It was the first thing to come to mind when he found these files, hearing her say it only makes him surer that it's a reasonable concern and not just paranoia. ]

I think it's fair to say that holds true in just about any universe. Information's valuable, and there's always someone willing to go to any lengths to use it to their own personal advantage, with no regards for other people. [ He sighs quietly, still going through the files. ] I don't know if I can erase these, or transfer them out of her computer. But... I'll have to try. I won't want to leave these behind for other people to find. Or for her to use, for that matter.

None of that sounds normal.

Yeah, I... I dunno why this information on our worlds would... help the Ingress. Especially since she's mentioned alternate realities? Or something? So if the Ingress was using that kind of data to lock onto our worlds... What would keep it from picking a different one that has the same stats? I dunno. It's just... It's weird.

You mean worlds that aren't ours but look like them?

That makes more sense than anything else.

Yeah. Especially since, like... With the whole alternate realities thing -- I mean, there are a lot of the people on the ship from Earth. But not everyone's from the same Earth. Sometimes, there's an Earth that has magic. But another Earth doesn't have magic at all. And my Earth was nuked to hell in back, but most people aren't from my Earth.

[... it's after she says it that she realizes what he means by it not making much sense. She pauses awkwardly, biting her lower lip.] Um... Sorry. That probably didn't help with things being confusing.

I never heard of it at all before I came here. That's strange, though.

[So, really, maybe alternate realities aren't that rare at all. Which is a chilling thought when he just wants to go home. Bad enough being a galaxy away.]

I went to a place-- well, the places I went, I don't think we really could have gone there.

Yeah... This kind of thing, it's -- pretty new to me, too. But... With all the different Earths and everything, I had to learn kinda fast.

[She tilts her head curiously.]

What kind of places? If, um. If it's okay for me to ask, if you wanna talk about it.

Well, one of them, it was definitely a few years ago, at least. The other time... It was like two places in one. Walked out of a snowstorm into the middle of a city on a whole other planet, other system.

Jesus. That... I can only imagine. I probably would've thought I was going crazy.

That was through the host's Ingress, right? I heard that... things like that can happen. The host is the one who mentioned the -- alternate universe stuff. I guess you guys ended up going to a universe where those two planets were actually one and the same. Somehow.

We were glad to get out of the snow, mostly. I dunno. There's no way it makes any sense. Doesn't really make me trust it, though.

I'd think if the host was trying to lure us through her Ingress into danger and screw with us that way... It'd be more obvious. Like, something really bad would've happened already. But that doesn't mean she isn't using the information for... something. Bad, misguided, both, maybe.

She gave you permission to see her work, but showed you a different body of research? Might be carelessness on her part -- did you tell her the part about the Ingress isn't there?

Data on our worlds, though... that's disquieting. Could be scientific thoroughness, but then the past experiments should be available. She had to get the two-person requirement from somewhere.

[there's another concern too, but Bel's not sure whether to mention it on an open feed.]

Maybe... Maybe it was a mistake. I've been a little nervous asking her about it. [She bites her lower lip.] If she's trying to hide something, letting her know that I -- we -- caught on... In the past, doing that kind of thing has kind of, um, not gone over well for me. She definitely seems nice, and I hate to think this kind of thing... but... [Elle spreads her hands. While getting shot sucks, she'd gladly risk it if it meant finding out the truth -- but not if it would jeopardize the crew in the process. Putting herself in danger is one thing.]

I mean... I guess it's possible that some of the worlds I read about are ones that nobody on the Moira is from. I don't know everybody, so it's hard to tell. All of them were unfamiliar to me. But I just... I'm not entirely sure what that data would be useful for.

[thoughtfully] I wouldn't doubt it's rough for someone to live all alone on this rock, watching ships come and go. But... you're not wrong to be cautious.

[ponders for a moment, then switches the settings to private]

I suppose it's my background, but... if she does succeed in stabilizing the portal so one could choose any destination, I wouldn't like a complete briefing on my homeworld available to anyone and their invasion fleet. Not unless I had someone on this side who was on my side, so to speak.

You... You know, that's... something I didn't think about. I mean... Information falling into the wrong hands, that happens... all the time, back where I'm from. And there's really no guarantee that, even if this information is safe with the host, that it'll be safe forever.

Even if the host thinks her security is watertight -- I mean, I don't know if she does? But... That kind of thing, it never sticks. There's always gonna be a way through. Even if it takes two hundred years and a different way of thinking to crack it.

I mean... At that point, with that kind of mindset, you come down to, "then writing information down is never safe," but -- That's... an entirely different problem. It isn't what I mean? Just... In this case, you're right. There's a big risk involved here. It may seem like it's all harmless data, but it isn't necessarily.

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video; may 6th

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video; i'm so sorry this is so late

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video; this is so late... i'm sorry

no worries!

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we can just go ahead and move to action here in this thread, y/y?

sounds great! :>

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video --> action

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video; i'm sorry for taking forever to get to this

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video; i'm sorry for being late orz

Re: video; it's ok! ^^

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