Session 4 7

Somehow, the Speakers are pointing straight at the coordinates of another jump point, without the same type of survey gear normally required to find one.
Zinda Tegram closes her eyes and sighs.
Zinda Tegram: "Now how did they find that…"
Ingenue accesses the local starmaps, confirming the presence of a jump point in that direction, then checking for other nearby jump points.
The coordinates of all six known jump points in the Armstrong system are readily available.
Abraham: "Which jump point is that?"
They happen to be pointing to the jump point to Collins.
The Speaker not with the dirt drops her arm, concentrating, then points in two more directions. "Jump. Jump." David and Sommers. "No jump." Holding one hand pointing that way, her other balls up in a fist, moves toward the hand, then curves down. "Planet hit sun, die, no jump."
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Fuck if I know what it means.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Ask them to explain in Kilrah?
[OOC] Alexander Morello: it could be Mahvier or Aldrin
[OOC] Alexander Morello: Lapis's Lapistop just died, she'll be back after these messages
Ingenue: "They accurately locate jump points, within acceptable margins of error. Is the data acquired or referenced?"
Alexander Morello: "And avoid falling into the sun, at least for a few orbits."
[OOC] Ingenue: When you say 'point in two more directions' then 'holding one hand pointing that way', are you referring to the direction of Sommers?
[OOC] WC GM: The two more directions were toward David's and Sommers' jump points.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Lapis-Laplap.
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: They've pointed at every jump node in the system but the one they came through, though they pointed out if they try to go….somewhere, they'll plow into the sun.
[OOC] WC GM: Then Speaker held one of them - David - and used the other hand to mimic something else.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: So, why not get them into orbit?
[OOC] Abraham: BRB
[OOC] WC GM: Technically, they haven't pointed to the Grissom jump point yet.
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: It'll disrupt the local orbit.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Why not send them back through the jump they used to get to armstrong?
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: Cuz reversing course on a planet is difficult
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: …I have an idea.
[OOC] Alexander Morello: Uh oh
[OOC] Ingenue: Inertia and momentum are… tricky.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: What if we send them into a neph wormhole?
[OOC] Alexander Morello: I think we determined that they weren't big enough
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: Wormholes aren't stretchy the way jump points are
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: I see. :\
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: I asked WC about that the other day =p
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: But someone could come up with something. He said us; I figured there's lots of smart people around here who'd be happy to figure it out.
[OOC] Alexander Morello: We could make the planet smaller!
[OOC] Ingenue: Not recommended while we're still on it.
[OOC] Alexander Morello: Pah. We could do it.
[OOC] Abraham: Back. And I'm sure Lagos would help us make the planet smaller.
[OOC] Ingenue: When they were mimicing something else (pointing towards David) was that definitely David, or could it have been TCSC1575? Given the distance and the fact that the planet is moving, it might be hard to differentiate.
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: They're pointing to the jump points, I believe. Not David, but the jump point to David, and there's no shortcut to TCSC1575 from here. Except David.
[OOC] WC GM: ^
Spyboy Pearson looks at the Speakers thoughtfully.
Spyboy Pearson: "What is it that you want?"
SpeakersInUnison: "Not die."
Alexander Morello: "That's a pretty non-specific goal."
Heggy: "Is there anything else that you want? A close orbit of a sun, maybe?"
Ingenue: "Though one shared by most life forms."
Zinda Tegram: "Orbit, not die?"
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Remains to be seen what sort of timeline they think not-death is.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: They die eventually anyways.
The Speakers blink.
Speakers: "Not die?" "Or…bit?" They look at each other. "Want?"
Spyboy Pearson grimaces and kneels down by the dirt spot that represents the sun.
Then they look at the party, and dash over to Ingenue's side, each taking an arm again. "Friiiends~!"
Spyboy Pearson blinks, tilting his head.
Spyboy Pearson: "…..Interesting."
Spyboy Pearson: "Well, that's one possibility down the drain. Sending them out exploring beyond the bounds of space - but apparently they want to stay here."
Ingenue: "Want friends not die?"
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: OK. We're doing this guys.
Alexander Morello: "Maybe they want to join the greater community of space faring civilizations, so to speak?"
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: We're going to have a socratic dialogue with plant men about why one ought to be moral.
Spyboy Pearson: "[I wonder if Elles could….]"
Speakers: "Want not die. Want friends."
Alexander Morello: "You know, Roddenberry and all that."
Heggy: "[Wait a second. You're not suggesting…]"
Spyboy Pearson: "[I think it's an intriguing possibility.]"
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Integrating them…!?
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Wouldn't that be really f*cking risky?
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: I don't see that working….necessarily…but it would jumpstart them for morals. And yes, that was Heggy's point…
[OOC] Alexander Morello: VERY
Spyboy Pearson: "Sir….We could steer them towards Elles."
Zinda Tegram: "That would make Elles too powerful."
Zinda Tegram: "And all Elles wants to do is…dig."
Spyboy Pearson: "No, it would form a dissenting voice in Elles. Another dissenting voice, rather. Which would give Elles more capability, but more room to be negotiated with."
Alexander Morello: "Yeah, but who knows HOW they'll dissent."
Spyboy Pearson: "Moreover, that's assuming it's possible to Integrate them in the first place."
Zinda Tegram: "It's Elles. She can integrate damn near anything if she gives a damn."
Spyboy Pearson: "At the very least, it'll let us match Elles up against another…equally powerful force. Which we don't have."
Spyboy Pearson: "And if it works out well, then the Integrated can hop over to Tuskegee and move out of Mu Cephei Prime on it, rather than having to evacuate a shuttle-load at a time."
Zinda Tegram: "I can't endorse this plan."
Spyboy Pearson: "If it works out badly - the worst case I can imagine gives Elles another planet to dig into, which'll take even her a while to accomplish."
Alexander Morello: "But won't the same radiation that's made Mu Cephei uninhabitable do the same to Tuskeegee?"
Zinda Tegram: "That's a good point as well."
Spyboy Pearson: "It's not radiation, it's close proximity. Tuskegee can just stay further out."
Spyboy Pearson: "Plus it can move when Mu Cephei hits the next stage and expands again, if necessary."
Zinda Tegram: "Well, can we just talk them into using…ships…?"
Alexander Morello: "I think the first stage is explaining what a ship is."
Zinda Tegram: "Ships are a better way to get, uh, friends, rather than driving a planet around."
Abraham: "They are smaller planets, turned inside-out."
Zinda Tegram: "I just hope we're not letting the $Orz$ out of the box…"
Alexander Morello: "And maybe having them take a look at helping us re-assemble ours might help with that?"
Spyboy Pearson: "And my last question - do they recognize organics as possible friends?"
Spyboy Pearson looks at the Speakers.
[OOC] Abraham: If we are, there will be $Dancing$
Spyboy Pearson gestures to himself. "Maybe-friend?"
[OOC] WC GM: And $happy campers$.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Yeah no kidding. If I may be blunt, I'd rather not $dance$ with the $orz$.
The Speakers look at Spyboy.
Spyboy Pearson: "Maybe?"
The Speakers look at each other, then Ingenue, then Spyboy. "Unit?"
Spyboy Pearson tilts his head to the side. "Unit?"
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Would he be our $Orz$ representative?
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Erm, coins I mean
Zinda Tegram: "No."
Zinda Tegram puts a hand on Metis.
[OOC] Alexander Morello: We could throw a $party$ with the $happy campers$!
[OOC] WC GM: Just so long as you remain $many bubbles$ and are not $dissolving$.
[OOC] Alexander Morello: No $dancing$!
Speakers: "Friend. Unit?"
Spyboy Pearson: "What is unit?"
Zinda Tegram: "A single individual."
Zinda Tegram: "We think."
Spyboy Pearson: "That's what I'd like to know."
Zinda Tegram: "I'm guessing they can tell you're integrated and are suspecting it's like the drones they use."
Spyboy Pearson: "It could mean faction, it could mean team, or squad."
Alexander Morello: "For a hive mind organism, understanding individuality could be very difficult."
Zinda Tegram: "Why should it be? They understand other minds."
Spyboy Pearson: "Maybe?"
Alexander Morello: "Because the notion of having individuals with individual minds is completely alien."
Zinda Tegram: "They understand other minds, they just need to get that the containers we use are small."
Abraham: "I'm certain that they can get used to…hiveminds of one…"
Spyboy Pearson: "Sounds legit to me."
Spyboy Pearson looks at the Speaker and shakes his head.
Zinda Tegram gives Abraham a serious look.
Zinda Tegram: "Are we really doing this?"
Spyboy Pearson: "Not unit. Two selves."
Alexander Morello: "It is basically just a matter of scale. We are basically hive mind of cells, if you want to look at it that way."
Spyboy Pearson: "What, talking to plants? Right now we don't have any agreement yet."
Speaker: "Selves?"
One of the Speakers points to Spyboy, then to Heggy. "Unit unit? Not unit?"
Spyboy Pearson: "That's a 'no' on that one, by the way."
Spyboy Pearson: "Not unit."
Zinda Tegram: "Unit unit."
Alexander Morello: "Two units."
Speaker steps up to Spyboy, sniffing, then Heggy, likewise, then points to both. "…NOT unit?!?"
Ingenue: "Yes, it is confusing."
Heggy blushes and takes a step back.
Alexander Morello points to Heggy
Alexander Morello: "Unit."
Alexander Morello points to Spyboy
The other Speaker points to the two of them. "Friends! Unit unit friiiends!"
Alexander Morello: "Unit."
Spyboy Pearson: "…Friends."
Alexander Morello chuckles.
Zinda Tegram stifles a laugh.
The first Speaker look at the two, peers, then nods. "Friends."
Zinda Tegram: "SPECIAL friends."
Alexander Morello facepalms.
Zinda Tegram smirks as she says it.
Alexander Morello: "That's just going to confuse them."
Heggy blushes some more.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Does her fur turn red? : P
[OOC] Alexander Morello: Maybe she puffs up slightly?
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: Nah, but you can make it out if you look past the fur.
[OOC] Ingenue: Or notice the increased infrared radiation in the face…
The Speaker who investigated, steps up to Alexander and sniffs his arm, then points to it. "Unit…" Then to Alexander. "…unit. Friends?"
Alexander Morello: "Uh…yes. Friends."
Spyboy Pearson shakes head.
Spyboy Pearson: "Unit."
Spyboy Pearson: "Unless you ever disagree with your arm?"
Alexander Morello shrugs
Alexander Morello: "It's not really the same thing."
Ingenue: "A possibility, given organic anatomy."
Alexander Morello points to himself
Alexander Morello: "Unit."
Abraham murmurs, "Am I going for a walk, or is my mitochondria taking me for a walk?"
Alexander Morello: "Similar, but in this case 'am I performing microsurgery, or is my arm interpreting my intent to perform microsurgery and operating at a precision level beyond what I would be capable of otherwise?'"
Abraham: "Mine was more succinct. And more generally applicable."
Speaker: "Microsurgery!"
[OOC] Ingenue: …good one, doc.
Alexander Morello: "…Yeah?"
Spyboy Pearson: "So, what's OUR goal, sir?"
Speaker: "Microsurgery?"
Abraham: "… tempting but no thank you."
Alexander Morello: "Uh…small surgery?"
Alexander Morello makes a small thing gesture
Alexander Morello: "Good pruning?"
Zinda Tegram: "No tha…Tch!"
Zinda Tegram winces as she shifts her weight.
Zinda Tegram: "I'm…fine."
Ingenue: "Please state your definition of 'fine'. It does not correlate to those stored in memory."
Abraham: "Our goal is to make certain that these people can coexist in the galaxy peacefully. Failing that, we will need to isolate them somehow. Once we have accomplished either of the above options, we need to either get The Roland spaceworthy again or find some alternative means of leaving the planet. Possibly by calling in a rescue."
Alexander Morello: "Well said."
Zinda Tegram: "Sorry, I just…don't want anyone to worry."
Speaker: "Worry!"
Abraham: "But Zinda, we always worry about you."
Spyboy Pearson: "[Her definition of fine here is 'I am suppressing the fact that I am in pain and I would like you to pretend you don't know I'm hurt.' Though it's up to you to disagree.]"
Ingenue: "[….that would be inaccurate data. Conflicting data. Data should not conflict. How can I not know something that I know?]"
One Speaker peers at Ingenue for a moment, then points to Spyboy and Heggy. "Friends." Then to Zinda and Ingenue. "Friends?"
Alexander Morello sighs.
Heggy: "[You will know, but you can pretend that you don't know. If you want. Of course, she is hurt, and you are perceptive….]"
Ingenue: "Yes. Friends." Nue shifts just enough so that it carries some of Zinda's weight.
[OOC] Ingenue: Zinda still has the neutrino-receiver, right?
[OOC] WC GM: Up to her if she does.
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: Yeah, I'm done with it so no argument here.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Yeah.
Zinda Tegram: "Family."
Alexander Morello: "Great…now we have to explain that."
Zinda Tegram places a hand on Metis's shoulder.
Ingenue: "Family: Collection of individual units to comprise a greater, stronger unit."
Ingenue: "And ice cream."
Spyboy Pearson: "Yeah, and explain it in a way that includes how a….that works. Or not."
Spyboy Pearson raises an eyebrow at Abraham.
Zinda Tegram makes an inaudible sound and tightens her grip on Metis' shoulder.
Spyboy Pearson: "What do you think, sir? Get them to take this to Mu Cephei and get Elles involved, or try to teach them to build spaceships and dump this rock somewhere?"
Spyboy Pearson: "Gotta admit, the latter means walking down the same road those Kilrathi scientists walked. Just…less vivisection."
Alexander Morello: "Vivisection is highly unethical."
Spyboy Pearson: "The extent to which vivisection is different from autopsy is the extent to which it is unethical."
Abraham: "I am very leery of committing genocide on every faction not represented by Speaker 1 and Speaker 2 by just stranding this rock outside a habitable zone. I think Mu Cephei is our better option. Also I think Elles might like some company."
Zinda Tegram: "What if we get the planet back into an orbit somewhere not-catastrophic, and then…take one of them with us. To, y'know, uh…"
Ingenue: "Yes. An organism should be properly deactivated prior to disassembly. Otherwise you risk damage to the components."
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: Hee. Intro for Coins? =p
Zinda Tegram: "Well, to get them up to speed on what we're trying to tell them and what ships are?"
Alexander Morello: "From what I read, I'm not sure introducing LaGOS to another planet to mine is a good idea."
The Speakers seem to be thinking, then, "Family…units…"
Spyboy Pearson: "Au contraire - that's the least of our problems. After all, it'll give LaGOS something to do, which will make it easier for the Integrated to do things because they won't have to focus so hard on…contravening her."
One Speaker points at each of the party in rapid succession. "Family?"
Spyboy Pearson: "Basically."
Zinda Tegram laughs.
Alexander Morello: "Sure."
Zinda Tegram: "No. But Yes."
Then at itself and its guards. "Family?" Then at the other Speaker and its attendants. "Family?"
Zinda Tegram: "Mmm…."
Spyboy Pearson: "Family or unit?"
Zinda Tegram makes a dirt pile.
Zinda Tegram: "Unit."
Zinda Tegram makes another pile.
Zinda Tegram: "Unit."
Zinda Tegram pulls pieces of dirt from both piles to make a third pile.
Zinda Tegram indicates the group of three piles.
Zinda Tegram: "Family."
Speakrs: "…"
Alexander Morello: "But not always."
Alexander Morello: "Sometimes it's just a group of units."
Zinda Tegram: "Sometimes."
Alexander Morello: "Usually."
Zinda Tegram: "Yeah."
Ingenue: "If the interaction of the units is not complimentary, it cannot be considered family."
Alexander Morello: "Or if it's just casual."
Alexander Morello: "Families aren't always happy."
One Speaker makes a pile. "Unit." Then starts pulling smaller pieces off the pile, making smaller pieces. "Unit, unit, unit, unit…" Then indicates the collection. "Family?"
Alexander Morello: "Maybe."
Ingenue: "Perhaps. There is a non-representational element as well."
Zinda Tegram shakes her head.
Zinda Tegram: "That's still just one person."
Zinda Tegram makes a pile, pulls small pieces off of it.
Zinda Tegram: "Not family."
Zinda Tegram then pulls a large piece off.
Zinda Tegram: "Family."
Speaker: "…" Points to two slitherers. "Unit unit, not family?" Then to itself and those two. "Unit unit unit, family?"
Alexander Morello: "Uh…Depends?"
Zinda Tegram: "Closer."
Zinda Tegram points to a slither.
Zinda Tegram: "Not unit."
Zinda Tegram points to the speaker.
Zinda Tegram: "Unit."
[OOC] Alexander Morello: So, next week can we move on from explaining the meaning of family and start explaining the meaning of Christmas?
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Sure why not.
[OOC] Ingenue: The meaning of Christmas is debt and loot.
Zinda Tegram points to Spyboy and Heggy.
Zinda Tegram: "Family."
[OOC] Alexander Morello: Yeah, but what about the meaning of Chanukah?
Zinda Tegram points to herself and Ingenue.
Zinda Tegram: "Family."
Zinda Tegram points to herself and Spyboy.
Zinda Tegram: "Not family."
The other Speaker steps up, kneels, and forms three piles. "Unit…" Points to Spyboy. "Unit…" Heggy. "Unit." Zinda. Then it pulls small pieces off all three to make a fourth pile, then points to Ingenue. "Unit." Then to all four. "Family?"
Spyboy Pearson: "Psh. Have you SEEN the way we argue?"
Zinda Tegram grins.
Alexander Morello looks around at the crew.
Abraham: "Ain't that the definition of family?"
The first Speaker's eyes widen.
Zinda Tegram: "It is, isn't it?"
[OOC] Alexander Morello: Hands in, family!
Zinda Tegram closes her eyes and looks up.
[OOC] Alexander Morello: Let's hug it out!
Zinda Tegram: "That's not the case for Metis, but…I suppose in a way it is."
Zinda Tegram: "What do you think?"
[OOC] Ingenue: Wait wait wait, we don't have Coins in yet, so we can't really be a family.
Zinda Tegram: "Metis?"
[OOC] Alexander Morello: Coins shall be the step-child that we all think is kinda strange
Ingenue: "Yes!"
Zinda Tegram looks at the Speakers.
Zinda Tegram: "Family."
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Awww, that was kind of touching.
Spyboy Pearson frowns at the dirt-map. "Hmm."
Zinda Tegram points to herself.
Zinda Tegram: "Zinda."
Zinda Tegram proceeds to name each person like this.
The Speakers follow along, then point to each person. "Zinda? Metis? Michael? Heggy? Abraham? Alexander?"
Ingenue: "Yes."
Alexander Morello: "Yeah."
The Speaker whose eyes widened then points to Ingenue. "Metis. Zinda Michael Heggy?"
[OOC] Ingenue: Yes. As I am the four-in-one, the perfected being foretold by legend….
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Hahahaha.
Zinda Tegram: "Metis. Not Zinda. Not Michael. Not Heggy. Metis."
Speaker nods. "Not Zinda. Not Michael. Not Heggy. Not…unit, unit unit unit." It sits down, again forming three piles, then pinching off part of each and combining to make a fourth.
Zinda Tegram looks directly at Metis.
Zinda Tegram: "Not LaGOS."
Alexander Morello mumbles into his hands
Alexander Morello: "now we have to explain what that is…"
Speaker: "LaGOS?"
Zinda Tegram waves her hand. "Unimportant."
Spyboy Pearson: "Yet."
Speaker sits, seeming quite relieved for some reason.
[OOC] Alexander Morello: LaGOS is not a *happy camper*
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: That is Zinda's perspective.
Spyboy Pearson frowns at the Speaker for a moment, then closes his eyes.
Zinda Tegram sits facing the speaker.
Spyboy Pearson pings for neutrino-comm signals, using both Lagos and Nephilim handshake protocols.
[OOC] WC GM: Where are you pinging?
[OOC] Alexander Morello: One ping, and one ping only.
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: Focusing on Tuskegee.
[OOC] Ingenue: If there aren't at least three then something is wrong.
Spyboy finds no pings on the planet.
[OOC] Abraham: Check your batteries.
Zinda Tegram: "Not-sun-die. Important."
Zinda Tegram: "Want friends not die."
[OOC] Ingenue: ……..not even those in the party? Nue is just a figment of spyboy's imagination!
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: I think WC and I both discounted Heggy and Ingenue. And my computer. And Abraham's scanner. And the hand radio.
[OOC] WC GM: Presumably Spyboy was ignoring the pings he knew about.
[OOC] Alexander Morello: We're all just illusions, maaaaaaaaa
[OOC] Alexander Morello: ….aaaaaaaaaaan
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: My metagaming is telling me to ping orbit. But no.
[OOC] Abraham: Alternatively Ozymandeas will set off his nuke soon and destroy Manhattan, thus saving the world by murdering millions.
[OOC] WC GM: There are no unknown ping sources in low orbit, too. :P
[OOC] WC GM: And to answer the obvious follow-ups: "…how high?", and "None at that particular altitude."
[OOC] Abraham: Or something on the planet is acting as a neutrino sponge.
[OOC] Ingenue: Which is possible, but it'd have to be local, cause a directed beam to the various receivers, at this range, should return pings.
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: "I attack the Gazebo!"
[OOC] Abraham: The Speakers are the rather obvious culprits.
[OOC] Alexander Morello: One of these days someone should make a gazebo monster.
[OOC] Abraham: Oh I'm sure it's been done.
Speakers: "Friends not die." They nod, then pause mid-nod. "Friends…not die…" They look around, as if a bit scared.
[OOC] WC GM: Many times. I've seen one.
Spyboy Pearson nods.
Spyboy Pearson: "LaGOS."
Spyboy Pearson points to the Sommers jump point.
Spyboy Pearson: "Friends, that way."
Zinda Tegram: "No!"
Zinda Tegram looks at Spyboy
Zinda Tegram: "Are you daft?"
Spyboy Pearson nods at Abraham.
Spyboy Pearson: "I'm following orders."
Zinda Tegram: "Are you interested in giving Elles the actual means to crack that planet!?"
Ingenue: "Observational evidence and previous experiences imply that the answer is 'yes'."
Spyboy Pearson: "Actually it's more of a disincentive."
Zinda Tegram grabs Abraham by the collar.
Spyboy Pearson: "Because she's more likely to just move the planet, rather than crack it."
Zinda Tegram: "And you gave me so much shit over the cannon."
Abraham looks down at Zinda and arches an eyebrow.
Zinda Tegram: "You're going to unleash a monster, Abraham."
Abraham: "No. I am /containing/ a monster."
Zinda Tegram: "How the hell do you figure?"
Alexander Morello: "I'm inclined to agree with Zinda on this. Sorry, Admiral."
Alexander Morello: "I may have only read about LaGOS, but what I read I didn't like."
Spyboy Pearson: "When we left, we'd barely scratched the surface of what LaGOS is."
Zinda Tegram: "You remember the only thing keeping that hole digger locked down there?"
Spyboy Pearson: "The fact that it's completely shackled by a post-rabbit hivemind? Yes, I do."
Zinda Tegram: "Abraham!? Do you!?"
Zinda Tegram shakes him slightly.
Abraham: "LaGOS can not leave Mu Cephei. It is physically impossible. She is literally the core of the planet now."
Alexander Morello: "Unless we give her the technology required to move a planet…"
Zinda Tegram: "Hah. As if that'd stop her."
Alexander Morello: "And a group of naive friend-seeking plant people."
Zinda Tegram: "No, the one thing keeping her, and more importantly her ARMADA down there is that sociopathic Lagosian cycle shit!"
Ingenue absently processes through the possible ways for a distributed machine intellect to leave its current planet.
[OOC] Alexander Morello: No. Bad Ingenue! No thinking of ways to move your robo-mother!
Zinda Tegram: "And YOU are going to send her a ready made superweapon!"
[OOC] Ingenue: But… but… its just data! Data never hurt anyone!
[OOC] Ingenue: And Zinda is not a robo- anything.
Abraham: "No no no. Think about it. She is the /core/ of the planet. That means that Mu Cephei is now techtonically innert, or near enough. There's no way to use… volcanoes to move the planet."
Spyboy Pearson: "A ready-made superweapon in the hands of something else."
Zinda Tegram: "At least let them know who the " friend " is!"
Zinda Tegram looks at the speakers.
Zinda Tegram looks back at Abraham.
[OOC] Abraham: Okay, I think I've lost the thread of this conversation. What exactly is that Zinda wants me to say?
Alexander Morello: "Calm down. You're going to confuse them."
Spyboy Pearson: "I think she's under the impression that she's scared of Elles?"
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: The reasoning for sending them to LaGOS
Zinda Tegram: "Scared? You…!"
Alexander Morello put his hand on Zinda's shoulder.
Alexander Morello: "I think she's saying it would be a poor decision for our long term survival."
Zinda Tegram: "Isn't that much obvious!?"
Spyboy Pearson: "And I don't see why."
Alexander Morello: "Because LaGOS is contained right now, she can't move."
Alexander Morello: "Because she can't move the planet."
Alexander Morello: "But she could move this planet."
Abraham: "I understand her, and your concerns. But I really do belive with a little bit of effort, these two galactic calamities will negate each other. Or at least hold each other in check."
Spyboy Pearson: "Ahhh, I see."
Alexander Morello: "I'm not sure it's worth the risk."
Spyboy Pearson: "Zinda is under the impression that if this planet enters Mu Cephei, then Elles will be able to magically take control."
Zinda Tegram: "You're…$fuck$ Abraham…"
Zinda Tegram: "Here I thought you were the smart one."
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: How does the party feel about, uh, potentially combat between PC's?
[OOC] Alexander Morello: Could be fun times!
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Zinda'd rather not.
[OOC] Abraham: I have /never/ had that not end the campaign
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Yeah, I won't then.
[OOC] WC GM: I have. Only when it didn't happen, though.
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: Social combat, maybe, personal combat - Spyboy's a lover, not a fighter.
[OOC] Ingenue: If combat between PCs becomes necessary. then it is necessary. However, unless it was intentionally planned, it tends to represent a failing somewhere previously in the story.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Yeah…
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Just, spout some shit Zinda can take as an excuse not to do anything please.
[OOC] WC GM: Note that the Speakers have already suggested it's not an option anyway.
Spyboy Pearson: "When I was a kid, my parents told me something."
Zinda Tegram looks sideways at Spyboy.
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: What isn't, going to Elles in the first place, or Integration? And you said LaGOS squicked them, not terrified them….
Spyboy Pearson: "When you have a problem, you have a problem."
Spyboy Pearson: "When you have two problems, you may have a solution."
Ingenue: "It is not possible for LaGOS to leave the planet until it has completed its mission, and it cannot complete its mission while the Lagos suppress LaGOS' mission. Though it is possible for another force to suppress LaGOS' mission, or rewrite its mission entirely."
Alexander Morello: "When you have two problems and put them together, then you have two problems complicating each other."
Alexander Morello: "The best solution to any problem is to isolate the variables."
Abraham: "Zinda, as I've said before the volcano technology will /not/ work for Mu Cephei. LaGOS is the planet's core now. There's not enough tectonic activity for it to work."
Spyboy Pearson: "Right now we have a completely alien being, lurking, waiting to burst out. We have another completely alien being that already has burst out. Right now our best bet is to put them together and try and come up with something that makes them not threats."
Zinda Tegram: "You've all gone mad."
Alexander Morello: "And if she decides to move…"
Zinda Tegram walks into the conference room and sits.
[OOC] WC GM: Going to Elles. And it wasn't LaGOS that squicked them.
[OOC] Abraham: They said I was mad at the academy…
Alexander Morello: "Or maybe that MAKES THINGS WORSE!"
Zinda Tegram: "Screw it. Do what you want."
Zinda Tegram: "It's Armstrong or the Lagos on Mu Cephei isn't it?"
Alexander Morello: "Admiral, you're in charge, but I honestly have to side with Zinda. This is a bad plan."
Zinda Tegram: "We could've just put them back in orbit and shown them how to make ships and introduced them to…everything."
Abraham: "Yes, it is. But that doesn't mean that it's not the best plan we have."
Zinda Tegram: "But fuck it. S'not my system."
Alexander Morello: "Any plan is better than that."
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: For OOC, I think it's an interesting idea, if not poorly thought through and am OK with it.
Zinda Tegram leans backwards.
Zinda Tegram: "I can't die until I get oneup over Kali anyways…heh."
Abraham: "There is another consideration. The Lagos, not LaGOS, of Mu Cephei have the manpower to help this planet far more than we can."
Ingenue: "There is little to be concerned about, it would take LaGOS at least a week to entirely dominate another planet within the same syst…. that isn't very long."
Alexander Morello: "Hmm…They could use a new planet, after all."
Spyboy Pearson snorts.
Spyboy Pearson: "You know what the hardest part this plan is?"
Zinda Tegram: "What?"
Spyboy Pearson grimaces.
Abraham: "Ideally the Lagos and the plants will come to some kind of symbiosis. It's obvious the death of the animal life has not helped the ecosystem."
Spyboy Pearson: "All of the jump points in Sommers are in the orbit of a gas giant."
Spyboy Pearson: "Which would make maneuvering a planet….awkward."
Zinda Tegram looks at the Speakers.
Zinda Tegram: "Good luck."
Ingenue: "Zinda. Do you wish to make LaGOS less inimical to organic life?"
Zinda Tegram: "I did what I could."
Abraham: "We could all use that luck."
Zinda Tegram starts to walk out before stopping.
Zinda Tegram: "LaGOS is already inimical to it, isn't it? It'd rather dig a hole in me than working with me, wouldn't it?"
Ingenue: "I did not propose giving LaGOS the option to decline."
Abraham looks at Ingenue, then at Zinda and shoots her a 'She's your kid' look.
Zinda Tegram sighs and hugs Metis.
Zinda Tegram: "I'm sorry."
Ingenue pauses, then returns the hug. "I do not know how to interpret that answer…."
Zinda Tegram: "Sorry. Just…I forget she's your mom sometimes."
Ingenue: "….LaGOS is my creator. You are my mother."
Zinda Tegram holds back her tears and tightens the hug.
Ingenue: "Please do not bruise yourself on my frame."
Zinda Tegram: "I'm…I won't. Come on, I have something to show you. Have I told you about chocolate yet?"
[OOC] Alexander Morello: My my how off topic we have gone… hahaha
[OOC] Alexander Morello: The Speakers are just milling around awkwardly
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Log end?
[OOC] Ingenue: Topic?
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: Sweet, now that the party is all in line with the plan, it's time for WC to say why the Speakers can't do it.
[OOC] Abraham: Me thinks, yeah.
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: THEN logend.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: I mean, the plants aren't unreasonable.
Spyboy Pearson looks questioningly at the Speakers. "Can you go there/"
[OOC] Alexander Morello: We can't do it because we have AMNESIA!)
Speakers: "Go?"
Spyboy Pearson frows.
Spyboy Pearson: "Move? Adjust trajectory?"
Alexander Morello: "Voy, vayan, vamos, va."
Speakers: "There?"
Spyboy Pearson nods.
Spyboy Pearson points towards the Sommers jump node.
One of the Speakers nods. "Planet jump?"
Spyboy Pearson nods.
Speaker: "Planet not jump." Kneeling, Speaker makes a pile of dirt. "Planet." Then pokes a hole in the ground a short distance away. "Jump." Pushes the planet-pile toward the hole, pausing every so often to remove part of the center and leave it behind, until a ring is being pushed toward the hole - which curves off to the side. "Planet not jump."
Speaker then points off to the side the pile curved toward. "Planet…hitting sun. Planet die."
Alexander Morello: "I think they're saying they don't have enough planetary fuel."
Spyboy Pearson nods.
Abraham: "Mass, fuel. Yeah. Looks that way. But at least they're aware of it so we don't have to explain how nonreplenishable planetary mass is."
Speaker: "Planetary mass!" And again with the pointing to Armstrong.
Speaker: "Planet hitting planet, planet not die."
Spyboy Pearson: "Friends die."
Alexander Morello: "That's bad."
Speaker moves one arm to indicate the party. "Family. Family not die."
Ingenue: "Family could die."
Zinda Tegram: "So…they need maneuvering mass."
Speaker: "Family NOT die! NOT die!"
Ingenue: "They need a superior power source. Or mobilization of a smaller mass."
Zinda Tegram: "Our family die."
Zinda Tegram: "Your family not die."
Alexander Morello: "Ships, perhaps."
Abraham points at Armstrong, "Other families die."
The other Speaker lays a hand on the first Speaker's arm, quieting it, then kneels, forming another pile. "Planet." Then points to Armstrong, then the pile. "Planet." Then puts tiny bits of dirt around its edges. "Friends?" Then points to Armstrong again. "Friends?"
Zinda Tegram: "Yes."
Both Speakers' eyes go WIDE.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: They get it.