thisavrou | audio;

( cw: body horror and discussions of such )

Good afternoon, ladies, gentlemen, and others of the Moira.

[ The voice over the network is pleasant, an attempt to keep things light despite what she's here to discuss. After the happenings so far this month, keeping things as light as possible seems like the best idea. ]

For those of you who haven't met me, and I know there are a lot of you, I'm Cortana. I'm one of the two AIs within the Moira's systems at the moment.

[ She'd do a video feed rather than audio, but audio or text is easier when you don't have a physical form. Video isn't impossible for her, but again, a base audio post is easiest. Should anyone reply with video, she'll happily respond in kind. ]

Now, with that introduction out of the way, I can focus on what I'm actually looking to discuss today. I've been focusing on the ship for the last few days--all of the changes that have occurred and the structural integrity of it now that it's been merged with the Caducan ship and has thus become glass in some areas--but now I want to focus on you, the crew.

It's difficult to not take notice of the way the merge has affected some of you. Like the ship, parts of some of you have turned to glass, and I'm looking to take inventory on what. I'm not certain that knowing what body parts of who became glass will be terribly beneficial, but you never know. It'll at least be useful to keep track of so we can observe any changes that might occur.

[ Maybe there's a connection somewhere. Maybe there are body parts more likely affected than others. Maybe they can find a way to fix it. She hates that it's all so uncertain, but anything that can possibly be helpful somewhere, somehow, she wants to make sure they have it. It's better than sitting in the systems doing nothing, at the very least. ]

So! Assuming you don't mind, if you've experienced the effect of the ships merging and now find part of yourself glass, tell me about it here? What part or parts of the body are affected, how strong the glass is, if you know, and how you're handling it are all answers that could prove useful. Of course, you're welcome to share more than that, should you wish to.

Thank you all for your time. I do hope that the rest of this month is less eventful than it has been so far.

Cortana, over and out.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

One of the guys in medbay is my roommate, so I can talk to him if anything. [Not that he will because this isn't important right now.]

From what I can tell, yeah, only his hairs. I think it irritates him a little when he walks or scratches himself.

That sounds far more complex. Do you mind if I ask exactly how it's woven throughout your body?

That's a good attitude to have about this.

[ If this were video, Cortana would be nodding in approval. It's nice to find someone else who shares her opinion of the situation they're all in, considering the majority of the crew is so focused on the negativity. Not that they don't have any reason to dislike the Moira, but it's not as though there aren't some good aspects to it, too. ]

You're smart. Keep looking at it like that -- that's far better than the way most people here view it. While some people may disagree, I think a positive attitude in even the worst times is important. So long as it isn't naively optimistic, that is.

[ While not startled herself, Cortana is somewhat surprised when Bruce turns to face her and she sees the damage of the glass. It's certainly not what she'd anticipated, but she's pretty much thrown out any of her list of expectations after the first few responses she received. Once again, the Moira succeeds in exceeding her expectations by far. ]

Oh. Well, you've certainly looked better.

[ The teasing is lighthearted, rolling with the effort to keep the situation light. It's easy for her to tell that he can't see anything, that's something she needn't even ask, yet she keeps her hologram up out of habit. ]

I'm hoping that you of all people were smart enough to go to medical once this all happened. [ She's spoken to enough who haven't despite the extent of the damage and the danger it poses to them. Please don't disappoint her too, Bruce. ] Interesting though, that it's made your eyes non-functional. It's odd, I've spoken with people who lost the use of parts of their bodies, and others who still have use of them despite the glass they find there now.

[ Cortana shakes her head, even if he isn't actually able to see her do it. ]

I want to say I'm surprised, but once again the Moira is showing me that I need to keep my mind open to far more possibilities than usual while I'm here.

If you do get ahold of those journals, I'd love a chance to go over them. Any data on the Ingress is data I'm interested in getting my hands on.

I'd say you're right, though. We figure that out, we should have a shot at getting things back to normal around here. Or, closer to normal than things are now, at the very least. Good luck with the journals. Keep me updated, if you don't mind.

And I'd appreciate that with the holoform, too. You know, I'm wishing we'd met sooner.

Fair enough. I can't say you don't make a good point.

[ And if there's anyone qualified to be watching all the incoming pieces of the puzzle, it's her. Her and, perhaps, a small handful of others, though it seems to her as though they have yet to step up to help out. ]

I'll be sure to keep a close watch on everything that I can. If there's anything to gain from any of the data streams, I'll get it. I suspect that what we really need to solve any of this is more information on the Ingress, however.

Still, whatever we can get our hands on, we will. If there's a possibility of any of us being able to right this mess, we'll find it.

I wouldn't say it's vain, or that your situation is any less valid than anyone else's.

[ Anyone who's had any part of their body, significant or not, turned into glass has a right to be upset about it and want it back to normal, as far as Cortana is concerned. ]

Yours may not be as dire a situation as others, but you still have a right to want it fixed. Besides, it's not as though we can't be sure parts of your scalp haven't been turned to glass along with your hair. It's safer to leave it as is than getting rid of it.

You're probably right. I suppose now is a time to be thinking optimistically. If there's a way to turn things to glass, there is likely a way to turn things back to their rightful state. It's just a matter of finding it.

[She sighs again. Dutch knows computers, knows coding, but that's where her scientific knowledge ends.]

I just wish I knew where to begin. Then perhaps I could make myself useful.

Having a pair of hands sure as hell helps with the actual dirty work of doing problem solving, I'll tell you that.

I'll look into it and let you know.

[ He's been getting enough of these reactions to interpret the pause for what it is, the shock and surprise hardly news to him. He remains unaffected, save for the slight twitch of his lips at the welcome attempt at humor on Cortana's part. ]

Thanks for the compliment.

[ It's in there, somewhere. Better than hearing her say he looks horrible. Even if he knows he kind of looks like a mess right now. ]

I was in medical when it happened, actually. Just outside. So yes, I had it checked out, right after it happened. [ Not a particularly fun visit considering his eyes turned to glass just as he was halfway through scanning his own chest to find his heart had turned to glass. Luckily for him there had been plenty of people around to help him, even if he wasn't the only one in need of help. ]

Well, personally speaking, I'm pretty glad that the heart's still working. The eyes I can live without, but the rest... [ Though admittedly he's more scared that a glass heart would trigger a transformation if it started to fail, than he is that it would kill him. At least he wouldn't hurt anyone if the latter were to happen. ]

I'm pretty surprised myself. This ship always manages to exceed my expectations, whether for better or worse.

[ He could probably just show her his face, but Nihlus... doesn't particularly want to show his own face, much less let anyone see it. ]

They're fissures, I guess. Cracks filled with glass. I can see my own organs through some of them. It's pretty weird.

Mhm, thank you for your words! Having a positive attitude is better in my opinion, I agree! You never know what might happen.

[ Sakura likes Cortana already. It's easier for her to confide in someone who can see the benefits of thinking positively. ]

What other opinions have you heard before? Are they more negative?

[ And this was the point where he needed to get his nose out of it and let the experts in the field do that voodoo that they did so well.

Adrien nodded, paused and eventually realized that she couldn't actually see the action. He cleared his throat a little self consciously and used his words. ]

Good. I'll, ah ... shut up and let you get to it then.

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