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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well, [She pauses like she's thinking something over.] They're separate, but they're packed pretty close together. I mean, with the exception of a couple that were in my face when they turned to glass.

[ A sigh. ]

It's all very bizarre, isn't it? People and parts of people turning to glass? Do you think there'll be a way to change it back?

It's incredibly bizarre. I've never seen anything like it before. Although that can be said for a surprising number of things I've come across since coming through the Ingress...

[ And she loves it! Really, she does. New things are fascinating and she loves to learn all about them, it's just that unfortunately, a lot of these fascinating new things are also dangerous or affect the crew poorly. That makes it all considerably less enjoyable. ]

I'm not sure. I hope that there is, but there's no way to be certain just yet. It's a bit too early to tell. I've yet to properly check in with Medical or the Science Department, but I'm hoping to hear that they're looking for possible ways to reverse the effects.

Yes, this place does tend to throw one curveball after the other.

[Dutch sighs slightly. She's tired, you can hear it in her voice.]

Well, it would be nice to get my hair back. I imagine there's someone out there who needs their parts turned back more than I do, but I'd rather not rest my head on a work of modern art at night.

[She tilts her head to the side slightly, lowering her voice slightly.]

And I know it's vain, but I'd rather not go bald, either.

Edited 2016-07-11 04:48 (UTC)

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.