Meetings and Mystery - Part 1
Feb. 17th, 2009 01:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
evillurks((Reposted/archived from Dear Multiverse on LiveJournal.))
A brown haired, brown eyed woman that looked to be in her late 20s walks into the main room with a perplexed look on her face and a small electronic device in the other that looks completely out of place with her era of outfit. She’s dressed from the 1930s in a light green dress with a purse slung over her shoulder. Her head is doffed with a small hat and she appears rather...touristy would be the best description. She’s trying to hide the fact that she’s no clue how she’s appeared here but as she looks up at the sign in the room the wheels behind her nearly-black eyes start to turn. The air of a lost tourist suddenly seems to fade as she regains her confidence. Myra is used to new and unexpected situations, she’s decided to treat this one just like the others, though, she has no clue where she is or how she got here. Not to mention she’s completely embarrassed for looking like a tourist. Had she known that this mission would drop her in the middle of, wherever this was, she would have picked something less garish. Holding up the small device she gives a quick glance at the strange conglomeration of characters. Anyone who looks up and cares to notice, recognizes the device and the sequence of numerals that are displayed on the front. They are coordinates for the Nexus.
“Why would anyone leave something like this sitting on a counter in an antique shop?”
Evillurks: In the vast array of strange beings that inhabit the Nexus, one man in a black cloak and hat hardly stands out, but the familiarity of his costume may draw her attention. There are few shadows here, but neither does he make much attempt to hide. From across the crowded space her voice catches his attention, naggingly familiar, enough to make him look.
What he sees strikes him with a sense of unexpected nostalgia. The man himself is out of easy speaking distance, but his voice sounds quietly from close beside her all the same.
"...Myra?"
From a good thirty feet away, intense blue eyes are focused on her.
Myra_Reldon: Myra hides her surprise as she looks around the room, her eyes finally coming to rest on a mass of black that one might jokingly say absorbs all light within a certain radius around it. She stares at the eyes as a voice calls to her and she blinks, doing a mildly obvious double-take.
With a quick glance around the room, and seeing few seats open except one nearby the dark figure, she nonchalantly strolls over and sits down with a grace that seems to mock the gaudy clothes she wears. She keeps her voice low as she talks, occasionally scanning the crowd in case she recognizes anyone that might be friend or foe.
"I'm glad to have friends here, though I feel it redundant to admit, I'm surprised to see you." She toys with the device and then holds it out to the Shadow. "I came across this in an antique shop while I was following someone. He'd left it on the shelf when the the shop owner came over, thinking he was trying to steal something. I thought it was some sort of radio so I grabbed it when he wasn't looking, but when I turned it on, I found myself here." Myra fixed her hat as it nearly fell off her head. She was so unused to these kinds of clothes, she almost wished she'd come in her usual costume. "He tried to tackle me when it made a beeping noise but I guess he missed. What is it?"
Evillurks: Had she not come his way, he might have come hers, but as she approaches he tilts his head slightly, the hat brim falling low to conceal the span of face his scarf does not. Only the distinctive nose shows clearly. He moves gracefully to take the seat opposite her, and accepts the device with a gloved hand.
"It's known as a PINpoint, and it's... well, it's so far technologically advanced it borders on magic. It's specifically for transporting a person from one location to another." His voice may or may not ring quite as familiar as expected. "They're freely available here, so whoever you were following is probably someone who passes through here regularly." The Shadow reaches into a pocket and withdraws another similar device, although the screen is currently blank.
Myra_Reldon: "Transport?" Myra studies the similar devices and then looks around, noticing a few other members have theirs sitting out rather obviously. "Would it be imprudent for me to ask why you're here? Usually I'd have run into you on this sort of case by now...myself." The double meaning in her reference to the disguise of Ming Dwan is not lost on the Shadow. "Even some of the dens are trying to figure out this mystery."
Evillurks: The Shadow shakes his head slowly, made wary by the confirmation that she knows him, or some version thereof. "I think... you need to understand just what this place is. Look around, some of the people here aren't human, even some of the ones that look like they are. This is a crossing place of realities. I'm not... I may not be precisely who you think I am."
With an unusual measure of reluctance, The Shadow removes his hat and tugs the scarf down slightly. Silver hair meets her gaze, and his angular features are heavily lined, wrinkles massed around his eyes. He meets her eyes with a steady gaze, but there is something slightly apologetic in it. "Different versions of different worlds and times meet here."
Myra_Reldon: Myra blinks, startled and for a moment, terrified. Quickly, she recollects herself, hopefully before he realizes. He looks old, but not weary. The fire in his eyes that she knew to quell even the most sinister of evils still burned, but the silver hair and aged face threw her.
"Different worlds." She nods slowly before taking a breath to steady herself. "You're still a welcome sight." An ally at all was welcome, but was he retired? Feeble? Beneath the folds of the cloak, one could never tell. Maybe he'd even retired long ago, but he still had his mind if he kept residence in a place like this. She was in way over her head here, where reality was gone and, she watched a strange being she couldn't even name walk by, he seemed to have a grip on what was going on in this place at least. "Ying Ko is still Ying Ko, young or old. I imagine I'm a bit of a surprise myself now that I realize we have a time difference."
Evillurks: He is, at times, a little weary. His gaze is still intense, however, and he is studying her face in turn. Time has not made him any less restless in his battle, and his brief retirement has sharpened his resolve.
His weathered face breaks into a faint smile, and he gives a nod, privately relieved she's accepted the Nexus, and him. "You are, but I've been here just long enough I should know better. Getting you home from here is easy enough, but if I were you I'd take advantage of what the nexus has to offer. Here you can have access to technology far beyond what's in your own world. I don't know about you, but I like having an unfair advantage in my work." His eyes glitter with amusement.
Myra_Reldon: Myra briefly allows a grin to break across her face, and for a moment, it almost seems reminiscent of the cunning smile Ming Dwan was famous for.
"I would be glad to make use of such tools, but I don't know how I would. The only thing I can really think to do at the moment is dust this thing for prints. I don't have any records to compare them against though, so I wouldn't be able to do anything until I went home."
While Myra spoke, she couldn't help but wonder, how far in the future this Shadow was compared to her time. He knew who she was, so he had met his own Myra at some point, and from there her human curiosity only runs rampant with ideas that threaten to sidetrack her from her duties. Quickly, she puts the device in her purse and stands up.
"Since I don't know what this place can do to help, would you show me?"
Evillurks: "Actually, you can scroll through the different coordinates programmed into it. If there's anything marked 'home'... well, I wouldn't push the red button and drop in unannounced, but it's a more definite lead than fingerprinting." He stands as well, his movements as easy and graceful as ever. If she was worried about the frailty of his old age, he shows no sign of it. He is tall and lacks the hunched, stiff posture of an older man. His Eastern training and martial arts have served him well.
"Let's get you a PINpoint of your own, and find your home coordinates. There's manuals for them, and you'll catch on quickly." He speaks with calm assurance and replaces his hat, leading the way to a row of strange vending machines, of a design she has yet to encounter.
"You may want to learn about computers, too. They're... primitive, in my time, and all but nonexistant in yours, but the modern ones are the greatest research tool I've ever seen." The Shadow is warming quickly to the teaching, as he's been excited over all there is to learn here.
Myra_Reldon: "It sounds like Turing and Zuse aren't as crazy as the papers like to make them sound. The Bureau is currently considering a computer, but they're so large, it's hardly worth the space and money." Myra follows the Shadow to the vending machine, pleased to see he appears healthy. He's just as tall as the Shadow she knows, and it's almost a comforting feeling to have him standing beside her. All evil in China fears Ying Ko, but she had fought beside him, and trusted few others with her life in the line of duty, like she did him. "I'm certain the person this belonged to will be wishing he hadn't set his down. He'll have time to haggle with Soy Lon about the statue. If he leaves the store before I get back though, it's going to be hard to pick up his trail."
Evillurks: "A single PINpoint is more complex and powerful than any computer you've seen. In a few decades, the technology will begin to pick up. What you call a computer is nothing more than a calculator." The cloak ripples behind him as he strides along, and swirls about when he stops before a machine, eyeing the selections available. "You might want one of the wristwatch versions later on, it's more subtle, but the larger ones like mine have better screens." The machine evidently requires no money, and when he presses the button there's a moment of interior gears shifting, and a boxy device clunks into a tray at the bottom. Another button gets her a slim paper manual.
"He's probably trapped in your world, right now. You can always use the PINpoint as bait. It could be disabled..." He hands her the manual, and leads her to another, smaller machine with a screen. "Why were you following the gentleman in question?"
Myra_Reldon: "Interesting." Myra muses as she holds the box and manual in hand and then puts them in her slightly bulging purse. It was definitely not designed for such devices to be put in them, but for the time being, it would suffice.
"We were getting reports of two or three gentlemen seeming to appear out of thin air and then harass certain antique stores for items that were later revealed to be authentic Chinese artifacts. Store owners were refusing to sell them until they were presented with large checks that later proved to be false and the names on them were nonexistent. In every case, the man spoke fluent Chinese, although the accent, according to witnesses, seemed a bit odd and they used some unfamiliar vernacular. One was spotted with a 'small metal box' and seemed to be putting values into it right before he disappeared from the store, along with one of the artifacts after the owner refused to sell. I can only now assume it was a PINpoint."
Evillurks: He reaches a hand to stop her before she drops the new PINpoint into her purse, and taps the screen of the machine they're standing in front of now. There is a moment of reluctance that does not show on his face, as he reaches for an inner pocket, and withdraws a pair of wire-rimmed reading glasses. Ordinarily it does not bother him in the least, but to need them in front of someone who only knows him as a younger man is mildly embarrassing. There is a small keypad on the machine, and at a single tap the screen jumps into life with a full color display.
"That sounds like a plausible explanation, and whatever they've collected probably goes for a hefty price somewhere in the future. Reselling is... a simple motivation, but that may be all that's going on." He's certainly not ready to consider the case closed, however, without further investigation. His fingers move quickly, tapping away at the keypad as the machine beeps a few times, then displays a string of numbers. "You'll want to enter that in your PINpoint, and label it 'Home'."
Myra_Reldon: Myra smiles inwardly, catching the reluctance.
Ah, how age will catch up with us.
"So far, the only pattern we've been able to discern is that the antiques are already priceless, most of them family heirlooms. Unfortunately, Ming isn't an appropriate person to send to investigate so I've had to resort to other devices." Myra readjusted her hat that had gone lopsided. "I've been working on a second disguise, but when a new face shows up, well, you know how no one will talk to them until they've become an established member of the community. And I don't have that kind of time on this case."
Myra's eyes squint at the bright and colorful display, unused to such light. As the values come on screen Myra nods and enters the numbers into the PINpoint. It takes her a few seconds to locate the numbers, but deft fingers will soon have the input committed to muscle memory out soon enough.
"Where have you made my 'Home' point, exactly?"
Evillurks: The Shadow's gaze is sharp, intense, and burns with the focus of his intentions, but alas, it now struggles with fine print and computer screens.
"It should take you back to the last point you were in your own world, so I'd try to calculate the time and wait until it's night there before you use it. Unless you don't mind popping up in a shop in broad daylight. You can fine tune it later. The manual will teach you how to find coordinates for where you are, so you can reset home to somewhere better, later." He removes the reading glasses and tucks them away.
"And do I have anything to do with this investigation? The other me, I mean. They might be inclined to talk to some of my contacts and agents, assuming I have the same ones..." He sighs rubs at his temples briefly. "I haven't been here so long that I'm used to talking about alternate versions of myself."
Myra_Reldon: "I can wiggle my way out of a locked shop, but probably not out of explaining an impossible appearance." Myra smiled. "As for the investigation, I know you...pardon, he is looking into it in. My superiors would probably have a heart attack if they found out, but I put in a call to Burbank a couple nights ago when I witnessed one of the thieves appearing in an alley. They don't seem to vary their PINpoints, because after they managed to lose me in a crowd, I just waited back at the spot until they showed up again. I know Vincent has been poking his nose around Chinatown recently too, we nearly ran into each other but he's only known me as Ming, so he didn't recognize me. I wouldn't be surprised if The Shadow was biding his time, keeping a close eye on the same spots I've been watching where these guys tend to appear."
Evillurks: "That's clumsy, but useful for you. I know of a way to keep anyone from PINpointing into a certain area, but I'm not sure about disabling them from a distance. There must be a way, though." He frowns in thought, mind ticking away at what he knows from taking the devices apart and analyzing them. Certain aspects escape his comprehension, simply because the technology is too foreign to him.
"If you had a way to disable their PINpoints, you could set a cordon and trap them easily enough. If you give me physical descriptions I'll certainly keep an eye out here..." The Shadow pauses, frustrated. Of course this is not his case, and isn't happening on his world, and his assistance should probably be limited to what he can do from the Nexus. The self-imposed restriction chafes at him.
Myra_Reldon: "My concern is they know my face now, so I'm no longer some random person in the crowd. In fact, I imagine our stranded 'friend' will be actively looking for me, and his PINpoint. He probably expects me to return right where he appears at, since my best guess is he thinks I was some dumb girl that will be sent back using whatever coordinates are linked to his Home point so that the device can be returned to its proper owner." Myra took off her hat and ran her hands through her hair, pulling back the front locks to reveal black hair at her scalp. It was so closely colored to her already dark brown hair though, that it looks merely like a shadow.
"My question is how am I going to solicit the Shadow for help? This is quickly getting beyond my specialty, and logic starts to break down if these thieves aren't even from my world." Myra gave a sheepish smile. "Well, I already have your help, that's one Shadow out of two." She looked back down at the PINpoint and then pulled the stolen device out of her purse. "What about limiting this to only two points of transport? You could set the Nexus location and let them keep the home location. Could you, I don't know, disguise the Nexus point so it looks like one they use?" Tenuously, a plan was forming in Myra's mind on how to capture the criminals. It would require tact, careful planning, and quite a performance to pull off, but it was possible she could find a way to capture the thieves with their own game.
Evillurks: "One of your faces, anyway." The Shadow watches her thoughtfully, noting the darkened roots from her other guise. He continues to frown, gesturing to another set of sofas and chairs. There seem to be a number of seating areas scattered about, couches predominating. The Shadow sinks into one of these with a sigh, removing his own hat again. "I could probably do that, but I'd have to open it up if you want one set of coordinates disguised as another. Reset the numbers to a reverse code or something. I'll have to fetch a few tools, or take it to the Sanctum to work on it. Let me see it again? The one that brought you here."
Myra_Reldon: "I'm just worried about them tracking me to my apartment after I return. If they watch me, or come after me, they might find out my other identities." Myra sits down across from him. It's so odd to see him with silver hair because the tightly clamped hat usually keeps the Shadow's hair and face hidden. Setting the stolen PINpoint on a coffee table in front of the Shadow Myra looked at her own, the light device feeling completely foreign in her hands. She direly wished she had access to her costume kit, it would make sneaking away from the PINpoint easier instead of her green dress that offered nothing short of a beacon for trouble. Suddenly an idea clicked into her mind.
"I, hope I'm not being rude asking, but is your Myra still...alive?" If she knew herself, she'd have kept certain things as mementos. Her qipaos would never leave her and quite possibly, she'd still have her make-up kit. It might be breaking a dozen and a half 'rules' she didn't know about, but if she could borrow the kit and clothes, maybe she could get back to her apartment safely as Ming, and then figure out where to go from there.
Evillurks: He leans forward to pick the PINpoint up immediately, and the reading glasses come out again. Pulling off the gloves he begins to scroll through the settings expertly, studying the listings to see what coordinates have been stored in the thing. His hands show age, but they're as quick and skilled as ever, and the girasol ring flashes on his left hand.
Her question makes him pause, his expression wary. "I... heard rumours, a while back, that a mission went wrong..." This time he does not meet her eyes. "I'm sorry."
Her belongings may be out of reach, but that doesn't mean he can't still obtain what she needs from his world. If anyone can gather the appropriate equipment for disguise, it is him.
Myra_Reldon: Myra watches him as her mind soaks up the information. After a few moments of watching him absorb himself in the device, she nods.
"Every mission can go wrong. That's chance we all take." Myra mumbles to no one in particular, but she quickly changes tune. "I was hoping to get one of my dresses and my old make-up kit. That stuff is probably gone by now, but if I gave you a list of items I need, would you mind getting them? In the meantime, I could figure out how to use the PINpoint." Myra peeked over the edge of the device, watching numbers scroll by quickly. Glasses or not, to be able to take in the numbers as they flashed by so quickly was still impressive. "Do you recognize any of the locations in there?"
Evillurks: •
"Only the standards." He tilts the device obligingly to give her a better view, and pulls up several strings of numbers with less rapidity. "They come preprogrammed, you'll find these in yours too. There's the question area here, the clinics, a library, someplace called the Sanctuary... I've only been to the library myself. The Nexus is a sprawling place, there's more here than I've had time to explore. I'm only semi-retired, there's still work to do in my world."
The Shadow pauses to give her a nod. "Make me a list. It's daylight now, back there. I should be able to get what you need quickly enough." Money, of course, is no object.
Myra_Reldon: He has noted, only values from Myra's world and the Nexus are programmed into the device. This still leaves a number of possibilities open for how and why the thieves are stealing ancient objects.
"There's always work to do. I never did see you as the retired, Snow Bird type." Myra flashes a quick smile as she pulls a notepad from her purse and quickly jots down a list of items and tears off the page, setting it on the table.
"Some of these I'm hoping are still available. Different kinds of make-up are always coming around, I can only imagine with technology like it must be, how quickly the turn around is on the latest styles." A quick review of the list (written in Chinese) shows items like mending tape, a yellowish-brown dye common in the 1930s, dress and shoe size, hairpins, and a short list of standard make-up colors. "In the meantime, I'll keep an eye on the common room in case one of my targets shows up. Someone might come looking for their friend."
Evillurks: "I tried it, actually." He smirks faintly, scanning the list as quickly as he does PINpoint coordinates. "It didn't suit me. Semi-retired is something to tell myself when I run into something the police can handle without my help, though." The list is neatly folded and tucked away.
"Would you like me to take the PINpoint and lock it to the two sets of coordinates? It may take me an hour or two, between that and your supplies."
Myra_Reldon: "Semi-retired." Myra smiled at the thought. "If you want to take it, I know you said it would be easier elsewhere for you, where your tools are. I have some reading material to keep me busy while I hang around. I'll be in one of the common rooms, keeping an eye out."
Evillurks: Watching her expression he raises one still-dark eyebrow, but does not look the least offended. "If I didn't call myself that, I'd have agents here in the Nexus by now. Don't smirk." He puts the PINpoint away and tugs up the scarf over his mouth, retrieving his hat.
"Tools and better lighting. You're relatively safe here, violence is not allowed, but don't eat or drink anything, and don't pick up any stray objects lying around. The Nexus carries its own set of... unique dangers." With a nod he stands to go, restless to get to work.
Myra_Reldon: "Understood." Myra gives a quick nod and watches the Shadow leave. She takes a quick look around, noting the small circles of chatting characters, for lack of a better word, and then flips open the little PINpoint manual and starts to read, keeping the device in her lap as she often refers back to it.
*******************
After about forty-five minutes, Myra is pretty certain she's mastered the device the best that she can, without actually using it to transport. She imagined having it set for a couple of her favorite spots in New York, not to mention other locations that are often important. As she folds the manual closed, she takes another look around the room. People have come and gone, and groups have switched members. She takes a look at a wall clock, doing the math in her head and realizing it will soon be dark back in her world. Settling into as relaxed a pose as she can muster, she settles in for the rest of the time.
Not five minutes later, there is a new member in the main common room to which Myra has a skewed view, and as the man turns, she quickly fans herself with the manual to help obscure her face. While it's not the one she stole the original PINpoint from, it is one of the group and he holds in his hands a small brown, paper bag that is heavily weighted. With an air of purpose, he turns, and strolls from the room, presumably in the direction of 'outside'. Calmly, Myra stands from her seat and subtly follows him out of the room.
Metody_Green: She'd be able to hear him before she saw him. Metody's approach sounds like a hundred castenets all clicking at once, or the entire typing pool of a large newspaper clattering away at once. He looks strange but relatively inoccuous from a distance - short, pale as death, surrounded by a knee-high horde of things that pounce and dance like cats, and dressed in a truly obnoxious Hawaiian shirt.
Closer, and it becomes clear that the creatures aren't cats. Not even close. They are made of bone, and scamper about on centipede-like legs of curved ribs that branch off from a body made of a knot of woven bone. They are headless, but make up for it by having a tail on either end, long and waving and spinal. A pair of jumping legs is folded at the base of either tail, arranged so that the creature could jump forwards or backwards with equal ease. And they do jump, continually, pouncing on each other only to slide off from some invisiible shield.
Many of them are decorated with silk hibiscus and leis coiled around their bodies. It doesn't help.
Metody pauses and peers at the little metal device. "That's a PINpoint," he helpfully explains. "You use it to move from universe to universe. Maybe your guy thought he could sell it as an exotic trinket to someone who didn't know what it was?"
Myra_Reldon: Myra gives the bone-creatures and Hawaiian shirt a double take, but maintains her composure. Thankfully, she's not squeamish of rats, though, these odd things obviously aren't creatures she'd recognize. The garish decoration on them though, almost makes them laughable.
"Maybe." Myra adjusts her hat. Why in the world had she picked this thing for her costume anyways? They were supposedly in style, but apparently she much have chosen the wrong type of hat. "I thought it was a sort of radio, but apparently, as I have just found out, it's not."
Metody_Green: Then the decoration is serving its purpose. He'd tried little clown outfits when he first decided that decorations might make them less frightening. Silk flowers seemed to work better - floppy shoes were impractical, and there was no place to attach the red noses.
"You actually can get some that look like and can function as radios. It's useful for camouflaging them." He smiles cheerfully, lifting one hand to show his fancy digital watch. "Mine's a watch," he explains unnecessarily. He's also wearing smooth ivory rings, one on each joint of his fingers. They blend in with the sick paleness of his skin.
Myra_Reldon: Here was someone who might actually see less sunlight than the Shadow, Myra gave a smile as she looked at the watch.
"Well, radios don't usually come this small where I come from. I thought it was a spy tool. Either way, it's quite interesting. And yours, I wouldn't recognize it if you hadn't shown me." Myra blinked. That shirt was awfully distracting. Why would anyone wear something that came in such loud colors? It really only served to make him more pale. "Oh, where are my manners." Myra suddenly forced a flush as she played her part, chastising herself for her lapse. "My name is Myra." She held out a palm for a dainty handshake.
Metody_Green: "Oh - going by your clothing, we're from different times. There's a pretty strong trend of miniturization in technology, particularly electronics; once you know how to make something, then you can put your energy into making it smaller and more efficient."
Sure, the shirt made him look pale, but it also counteracted some of the spookiness of his person, acting much like the flowers wired to his creatures. Who could be afraid of a man in a shirt depicting green palm trees against a luridly setting sun?
He politely shook hands with her. His hand was fever-hot, and trembling ever so slightly. Close up, there was a strange, chemical smell to him, like a distant steel mill.
Myra_Reldon: "Ah." Myra gave a smile and then took a glance around. "So, these things can get small enough to put in a small watch? That's impressive. Right now, our computers take up entire rooms, some even have their own building. They're so terribly ineffective and prone to suffering from human error, they're not worth much of the effort, but apparently...things will get better." Myra takes a quick sniff of the air, the ozone a familiar scent to her, but the chemical overtones worry her. "What, uh, do you do?"
Metody_Green: He blinks, then laughs. "They get small enough that I've got one in my bookbag." He shrugs one of the straps of said bookbag. It's electric blue, which only serves to make it blend in with that awful shirt.
"Right now, I'm a mail clerk. Before that, I was pursuing my PhD in Geology and TAing some classes. I had to stop for financial reasons. I also do healing of bones, and some crafting. What do you do?"
Myra_Reldon: "Professional Tourist." Myra smiles and spins around in the green dress. She should talk about style, the thing may be flattering on her figure, but the color just wasn't her, she felt. "Of sorts." She never did understand European fashion...
Metody_Green: He grins, admiring the dress. "That's a lovely color. And this is a good place to be a tourist - though, did anyone warn you about the Lols?"
Myra_Reldon: "The gentleman over there..." She points to a dark figure robed in black, "gave me an article about this place but I'm not sure I quite understand how lols happen." Myra blushes a bit. "I keep wanting to say 'lull' though, because it's such a strange word. How did someone name those happenings 'lols'? Is it a code for something?"
Metody_Green: He glances at the man, and his face lights up for a moment, then tightens with a bit of worry. Oh, lovely, he's up and about! He recovered so fast....how is gallivanting around the Nexus anyone's idea of 'taking it easy a few days'?
Metody shakes his head a bit and looks back to Myra. "Um. Without going into major cultural changes, 'lol' stands for 'laugh out loud.' Normally, it's a word used onli- er, in informal text-based conversations to indicate that something made you laugh, so when you actually say it out loud, it's ironic and usually sarcastic."
He twists his fingers together, smooth ivory rings clicking. "I'm not sure of the exact mechanics of a lol, but I can tell you that you can't trust the food or drink here, and that they can be attached to random objects, or an area effect around something. So don't eat or drink anything that's not labelled as safe. I've got friends who aren't allowed food until they see someone else eat it and count to fifty. They'll change you in some way - turn you strange colors, make you angry, turn you into a cat, or a man, make you float - and some of that might sound whimsical until your job wants to know why you're ill for the third time this month and you have to lie because it's hard to call in feline."
Myra_Reldon: "I'll have to be doubly mindful of myself then. My job doesn't let me call in sick." Myra nibbles at the tip of her thumbnail nervously. It was like walking down one of the hidden passageways in the depths of Chinatown, really. There were traps at every corner, but it was a matter of know how to avoid them, or disarm them before you found yourself skewered or crushed. At least in Chinatown she was used to the capabilities of the clever inhabitants. Here, the technology was so advanced, who knew what she could accidentally trigger. "Any other kind of things to watch out for? Lols seem hazardous enough."
Metody_Green: "Neither did mine, after a point." He looks wistful a moment. "There are some antidotes, though - pink candies in the bar turn you female, blue turn you male. And the pretzels in the bar turn you into a human, but there's debate over whether that'd mean human with special bits intact, or truly, completely human. No one I know has been willing to dare it."
He considers a moment.
"There's an anti-violence field here. The edges of it are fluid - that's why I've got my little guys with me. They keep an eye on it for me. I've wandered outside of it a few times. Mostly, I've been fine. Once, a mass of - of things tried to kidnap a friend and I. Another time, these guys tried to eat me. Humans and human-shaped creatures are food for some people here, even some otherwise very nice people. And there was a bit of a war. So it's best to stay in the safe areas."
A brown haired, brown eyed woman that looked to be in her late 20s walks into the main room with a perplexed look on her face and a small electronic device in the other that looks completely out of place with her era of outfit. She’s dressed from the 1930s in a light green dress with a purse slung over her shoulder. Her head is doffed with a small hat and she appears rather...touristy would be the best description. She’s trying to hide the fact that she’s no clue how she’s appeared here but as she looks up at the sign in the room the wheels behind her nearly-black eyes start to turn. The air of a lost tourist suddenly seems to fade as she regains her confidence. Myra is used to new and unexpected situations, she’s decided to treat this one just like the others, though, she has no clue where she is or how she got here. Not to mention she’s completely embarrassed for looking like a tourist. Had she known that this mission would drop her in the middle of, wherever this was, she would have picked something less garish. Holding up the small device she gives a quick glance at the strange conglomeration of characters. Anyone who looks up and cares to notice, recognizes the device and the sequence of numerals that are displayed on the front. They are coordinates for the Nexus.
“Why would anyone leave something like this sitting on a counter in an antique shop?”
Evillurks: In the vast array of strange beings that inhabit the Nexus, one man in a black cloak and hat hardly stands out, but the familiarity of his costume may draw her attention. There are few shadows here, but neither does he make much attempt to hide. From across the crowded space her voice catches his attention, naggingly familiar, enough to make him look.
What he sees strikes him with a sense of unexpected nostalgia. The man himself is out of easy speaking distance, but his voice sounds quietly from close beside her all the same.
"...Myra?"
From a good thirty feet away, intense blue eyes are focused on her.
Myra_Reldon: Myra hides her surprise as she looks around the room, her eyes finally coming to rest on a mass of black that one might jokingly say absorbs all light within a certain radius around it. She stares at the eyes as a voice calls to her and she blinks, doing a mildly obvious double-take.
With a quick glance around the room, and seeing few seats open except one nearby the dark figure, she nonchalantly strolls over and sits down with a grace that seems to mock the gaudy clothes she wears. She keeps her voice low as she talks, occasionally scanning the crowd in case she recognizes anyone that might be friend or foe.
"I'm glad to have friends here, though I feel it redundant to admit, I'm surprised to see you." She toys with the device and then holds it out to the Shadow. "I came across this in an antique shop while I was following someone. He'd left it on the shelf when the the shop owner came over, thinking he was trying to steal something. I thought it was some sort of radio so I grabbed it when he wasn't looking, but when I turned it on, I found myself here." Myra fixed her hat as it nearly fell off her head. She was so unused to these kinds of clothes, she almost wished she'd come in her usual costume. "He tried to tackle me when it made a beeping noise but I guess he missed. What is it?"
Evillurks: Had she not come his way, he might have come hers, but as she approaches he tilts his head slightly, the hat brim falling low to conceal the span of face his scarf does not. Only the distinctive nose shows clearly. He moves gracefully to take the seat opposite her, and accepts the device with a gloved hand.
"It's known as a PINpoint, and it's... well, it's so far technologically advanced it borders on magic. It's specifically for transporting a person from one location to another." His voice may or may not ring quite as familiar as expected. "They're freely available here, so whoever you were following is probably someone who passes through here regularly." The Shadow reaches into a pocket and withdraws another similar device, although the screen is currently blank.
Myra_Reldon: "Transport?" Myra studies the similar devices and then looks around, noticing a few other members have theirs sitting out rather obviously. "Would it be imprudent for me to ask why you're here? Usually I'd have run into you on this sort of case by now...myself." The double meaning in her reference to the disguise of Ming Dwan is not lost on the Shadow. "Even some of the dens are trying to figure out this mystery."
Evillurks: The Shadow shakes his head slowly, made wary by the confirmation that she knows him, or some version thereof. "I think... you need to understand just what this place is. Look around, some of the people here aren't human, even some of the ones that look like they are. This is a crossing place of realities. I'm not... I may not be precisely who you think I am."
With an unusual measure of reluctance, The Shadow removes his hat and tugs the scarf down slightly. Silver hair meets her gaze, and his angular features are heavily lined, wrinkles massed around his eyes. He meets her eyes with a steady gaze, but there is something slightly apologetic in it. "Different versions of different worlds and times meet here."
Myra_Reldon: Myra blinks, startled and for a moment, terrified. Quickly, she recollects herself, hopefully before he realizes. He looks old, but not weary. The fire in his eyes that she knew to quell even the most sinister of evils still burned, but the silver hair and aged face threw her.
"Different worlds." She nods slowly before taking a breath to steady herself. "You're still a welcome sight." An ally at all was welcome, but was he retired? Feeble? Beneath the folds of the cloak, one could never tell. Maybe he'd even retired long ago, but he still had his mind if he kept residence in a place like this. She was in way over her head here, where reality was gone and, she watched a strange being she couldn't even name walk by, he seemed to have a grip on what was going on in this place at least. "Ying Ko is still Ying Ko, young or old. I imagine I'm a bit of a surprise myself now that I realize we have a time difference."
Evillurks: He is, at times, a little weary. His gaze is still intense, however, and he is studying her face in turn. Time has not made him any less restless in his battle, and his brief retirement has sharpened his resolve.
His weathered face breaks into a faint smile, and he gives a nod, privately relieved she's accepted the Nexus, and him. "You are, but I've been here just long enough I should know better. Getting you home from here is easy enough, but if I were you I'd take advantage of what the nexus has to offer. Here you can have access to technology far beyond what's in your own world. I don't know about you, but I like having an unfair advantage in my work." His eyes glitter with amusement.
Myra_Reldon: Myra briefly allows a grin to break across her face, and for a moment, it almost seems reminiscent of the cunning smile Ming Dwan was famous for.
"I would be glad to make use of such tools, but I don't know how I would. The only thing I can really think to do at the moment is dust this thing for prints. I don't have any records to compare them against though, so I wouldn't be able to do anything until I went home."
While Myra spoke, she couldn't help but wonder, how far in the future this Shadow was compared to her time. He knew who she was, so he had met his own Myra at some point, and from there her human curiosity only runs rampant with ideas that threaten to sidetrack her from her duties. Quickly, she puts the device in her purse and stands up.
"Since I don't know what this place can do to help, would you show me?"
Evillurks: "Actually, you can scroll through the different coordinates programmed into it. If there's anything marked 'home'... well, I wouldn't push the red button and drop in unannounced, but it's a more definite lead than fingerprinting." He stands as well, his movements as easy and graceful as ever. If she was worried about the frailty of his old age, he shows no sign of it. He is tall and lacks the hunched, stiff posture of an older man. His Eastern training and martial arts have served him well.
"Let's get you a PINpoint of your own, and find your home coordinates. There's manuals for them, and you'll catch on quickly." He speaks with calm assurance and replaces his hat, leading the way to a row of strange vending machines, of a design she has yet to encounter.
"You may want to learn about computers, too. They're... primitive, in my time, and all but nonexistant in yours, but the modern ones are the greatest research tool I've ever seen." The Shadow is warming quickly to the teaching, as he's been excited over all there is to learn here.
Myra_Reldon: "It sounds like Turing and Zuse aren't as crazy as the papers like to make them sound. The Bureau is currently considering a computer, but they're so large, it's hardly worth the space and money." Myra follows the Shadow to the vending machine, pleased to see he appears healthy. He's just as tall as the Shadow she knows, and it's almost a comforting feeling to have him standing beside her. All evil in China fears Ying Ko, but she had fought beside him, and trusted few others with her life in the line of duty, like she did him. "I'm certain the person this belonged to will be wishing he hadn't set his down. He'll have time to haggle with Soy Lon about the statue. If he leaves the store before I get back though, it's going to be hard to pick up his trail."
Evillurks: "A single PINpoint is more complex and powerful than any computer you've seen. In a few decades, the technology will begin to pick up. What you call a computer is nothing more than a calculator." The cloak ripples behind him as he strides along, and swirls about when he stops before a machine, eyeing the selections available. "You might want one of the wristwatch versions later on, it's more subtle, but the larger ones like mine have better screens." The machine evidently requires no money, and when he presses the button there's a moment of interior gears shifting, and a boxy device clunks into a tray at the bottom. Another button gets her a slim paper manual.
"He's probably trapped in your world, right now. You can always use the PINpoint as bait. It could be disabled..." He hands her the manual, and leads her to another, smaller machine with a screen. "Why were you following the gentleman in question?"
Myra_Reldon: "Interesting." Myra muses as she holds the box and manual in hand and then puts them in her slightly bulging purse. It was definitely not designed for such devices to be put in them, but for the time being, it would suffice.
"We were getting reports of two or three gentlemen seeming to appear out of thin air and then harass certain antique stores for items that were later revealed to be authentic Chinese artifacts. Store owners were refusing to sell them until they were presented with large checks that later proved to be false and the names on them were nonexistent. In every case, the man spoke fluent Chinese, although the accent, according to witnesses, seemed a bit odd and they used some unfamiliar vernacular. One was spotted with a 'small metal box' and seemed to be putting values into it right before he disappeared from the store, along with one of the artifacts after the owner refused to sell. I can only now assume it was a PINpoint."
Evillurks: He reaches a hand to stop her before she drops the new PINpoint into her purse, and taps the screen of the machine they're standing in front of now. There is a moment of reluctance that does not show on his face, as he reaches for an inner pocket, and withdraws a pair of wire-rimmed reading glasses. Ordinarily it does not bother him in the least, but to need them in front of someone who only knows him as a younger man is mildly embarrassing. There is a small keypad on the machine, and at a single tap the screen jumps into life with a full color display.
"That sounds like a plausible explanation, and whatever they've collected probably goes for a hefty price somewhere in the future. Reselling is... a simple motivation, but that may be all that's going on." He's certainly not ready to consider the case closed, however, without further investigation. His fingers move quickly, tapping away at the keypad as the machine beeps a few times, then displays a string of numbers. "You'll want to enter that in your PINpoint, and label it 'Home'."
Myra_Reldon: Myra smiles inwardly, catching the reluctance.
Ah, how age will catch up with us.
"So far, the only pattern we've been able to discern is that the antiques are already priceless, most of them family heirlooms. Unfortunately, Ming isn't an appropriate person to send to investigate so I've had to resort to other devices." Myra readjusted her hat that had gone lopsided. "I've been working on a second disguise, but when a new face shows up, well, you know how no one will talk to them until they've become an established member of the community. And I don't have that kind of time on this case."
Myra's eyes squint at the bright and colorful display, unused to such light. As the values come on screen Myra nods and enters the numbers into the PINpoint. It takes her a few seconds to locate the numbers, but deft fingers will soon have the input committed to muscle memory out soon enough.
"Where have you made my 'Home' point, exactly?"
Evillurks: The Shadow's gaze is sharp, intense, and burns with the focus of his intentions, but alas, it now struggles with fine print and computer screens.
"It should take you back to the last point you were in your own world, so I'd try to calculate the time and wait until it's night there before you use it. Unless you don't mind popping up in a shop in broad daylight. You can fine tune it later. The manual will teach you how to find coordinates for where you are, so you can reset home to somewhere better, later." He removes the reading glasses and tucks them away.
"And do I have anything to do with this investigation? The other me, I mean. They might be inclined to talk to some of my contacts and agents, assuming I have the same ones..." He sighs rubs at his temples briefly. "I haven't been here so long that I'm used to talking about alternate versions of myself."
Myra_Reldon: "I can wiggle my way out of a locked shop, but probably not out of explaining an impossible appearance." Myra smiled. "As for the investigation, I know you...pardon, he is looking into it in. My superiors would probably have a heart attack if they found out, but I put in a call to Burbank a couple nights ago when I witnessed one of the thieves appearing in an alley. They don't seem to vary their PINpoints, because after they managed to lose me in a crowd, I just waited back at the spot until they showed up again. I know Vincent has been poking his nose around Chinatown recently too, we nearly ran into each other but he's only known me as Ming, so he didn't recognize me. I wouldn't be surprised if The Shadow was biding his time, keeping a close eye on the same spots I've been watching where these guys tend to appear."
Evillurks: "That's clumsy, but useful for you. I know of a way to keep anyone from PINpointing into a certain area, but I'm not sure about disabling them from a distance. There must be a way, though." He frowns in thought, mind ticking away at what he knows from taking the devices apart and analyzing them. Certain aspects escape his comprehension, simply because the technology is too foreign to him.
"If you had a way to disable their PINpoints, you could set a cordon and trap them easily enough. If you give me physical descriptions I'll certainly keep an eye out here..." The Shadow pauses, frustrated. Of course this is not his case, and isn't happening on his world, and his assistance should probably be limited to what he can do from the Nexus. The self-imposed restriction chafes at him.
Myra_Reldon: "My concern is they know my face now, so I'm no longer some random person in the crowd. In fact, I imagine our stranded 'friend' will be actively looking for me, and his PINpoint. He probably expects me to return right where he appears at, since my best guess is he thinks I was some dumb girl that will be sent back using whatever coordinates are linked to his Home point so that the device can be returned to its proper owner." Myra took off her hat and ran her hands through her hair, pulling back the front locks to reveal black hair at her scalp. It was so closely colored to her already dark brown hair though, that it looks merely like a shadow.
"My question is how am I going to solicit the Shadow for help? This is quickly getting beyond my specialty, and logic starts to break down if these thieves aren't even from my world." Myra gave a sheepish smile. "Well, I already have your help, that's one Shadow out of two." She looked back down at the PINpoint and then pulled the stolen device out of her purse. "What about limiting this to only two points of transport? You could set the Nexus location and let them keep the home location. Could you, I don't know, disguise the Nexus point so it looks like one they use?" Tenuously, a plan was forming in Myra's mind on how to capture the criminals. It would require tact, careful planning, and quite a performance to pull off, but it was possible she could find a way to capture the thieves with their own game.
Evillurks: "One of your faces, anyway." The Shadow watches her thoughtfully, noting the darkened roots from her other guise. He continues to frown, gesturing to another set of sofas and chairs. There seem to be a number of seating areas scattered about, couches predominating. The Shadow sinks into one of these with a sigh, removing his own hat again. "I could probably do that, but I'd have to open it up if you want one set of coordinates disguised as another. Reset the numbers to a reverse code or something. I'll have to fetch a few tools, or take it to the Sanctum to work on it. Let me see it again? The one that brought you here."
Myra_Reldon: "I'm just worried about them tracking me to my apartment after I return. If they watch me, or come after me, they might find out my other identities." Myra sits down across from him. It's so odd to see him with silver hair because the tightly clamped hat usually keeps the Shadow's hair and face hidden. Setting the stolen PINpoint on a coffee table in front of the Shadow Myra looked at her own, the light device feeling completely foreign in her hands. She direly wished she had access to her costume kit, it would make sneaking away from the PINpoint easier instead of her green dress that offered nothing short of a beacon for trouble. Suddenly an idea clicked into her mind.
"I, hope I'm not being rude asking, but is your Myra still...alive?" If she knew herself, she'd have kept certain things as mementos. Her qipaos would never leave her and quite possibly, she'd still have her make-up kit. It might be breaking a dozen and a half 'rules' she didn't know about, but if she could borrow the kit and clothes, maybe she could get back to her apartment safely as Ming, and then figure out where to go from there.
Evillurks: He leans forward to pick the PINpoint up immediately, and the reading glasses come out again. Pulling off the gloves he begins to scroll through the settings expertly, studying the listings to see what coordinates have been stored in the thing. His hands show age, but they're as quick and skilled as ever, and the girasol ring flashes on his left hand.
Her question makes him pause, his expression wary. "I... heard rumours, a while back, that a mission went wrong..." This time he does not meet her eyes. "I'm sorry."
Her belongings may be out of reach, but that doesn't mean he can't still obtain what she needs from his world. If anyone can gather the appropriate equipment for disguise, it is him.
Myra_Reldon: Myra watches him as her mind soaks up the information. After a few moments of watching him absorb himself in the device, she nods.
"Every mission can go wrong. That's chance we all take." Myra mumbles to no one in particular, but she quickly changes tune. "I was hoping to get one of my dresses and my old make-up kit. That stuff is probably gone by now, but if I gave you a list of items I need, would you mind getting them? In the meantime, I could figure out how to use the PINpoint." Myra peeked over the edge of the device, watching numbers scroll by quickly. Glasses or not, to be able to take in the numbers as they flashed by so quickly was still impressive. "Do you recognize any of the locations in there?"
Evillurks: •
"Only the standards." He tilts the device obligingly to give her a better view, and pulls up several strings of numbers with less rapidity. "They come preprogrammed, you'll find these in yours too. There's the question area here, the clinics, a library, someplace called the Sanctuary... I've only been to the library myself. The Nexus is a sprawling place, there's more here than I've had time to explore. I'm only semi-retired, there's still work to do in my world."
The Shadow pauses to give her a nod. "Make me a list. It's daylight now, back there. I should be able to get what you need quickly enough." Money, of course, is no object.
Myra_Reldon: He has noted, only values from Myra's world and the Nexus are programmed into the device. This still leaves a number of possibilities open for how and why the thieves are stealing ancient objects.
"There's always work to do. I never did see you as the retired, Snow Bird type." Myra flashes a quick smile as she pulls a notepad from her purse and quickly jots down a list of items and tears off the page, setting it on the table.
"Some of these I'm hoping are still available. Different kinds of make-up are always coming around, I can only imagine with technology like it must be, how quickly the turn around is on the latest styles." A quick review of the list (written in Chinese) shows items like mending tape, a yellowish-brown dye common in the 1930s, dress and shoe size, hairpins, and a short list of standard make-up colors. "In the meantime, I'll keep an eye on the common room in case one of my targets shows up. Someone might come looking for their friend."
Evillurks: "I tried it, actually." He smirks faintly, scanning the list as quickly as he does PINpoint coordinates. "It didn't suit me. Semi-retired is something to tell myself when I run into something the police can handle without my help, though." The list is neatly folded and tucked away.
"Would you like me to take the PINpoint and lock it to the two sets of coordinates? It may take me an hour or two, between that and your supplies."
Myra_Reldon: "Semi-retired." Myra smiled at the thought. "If you want to take it, I know you said it would be easier elsewhere for you, where your tools are. I have some reading material to keep me busy while I hang around. I'll be in one of the common rooms, keeping an eye out."
Evillurks: Watching her expression he raises one still-dark eyebrow, but does not look the least offended. "If I didn't call myself that, I'd have agents here in the Nexus by now. Don't smirk." He puts the PINpoint away and tugs up the scarf over his mouth, retrieving his hat.
"Tools and better lighting. You're relatively safe here, violence is not allowed, but don't eat or drink anything, and don't pick up any stray objects lying around. The Nexus carries its own set of... unique dangers." With a nod he stands to go, restless to get to work.
Myra_Reldon: "Understood." Myra gives a quick nod and watches the Shadow leave. She takes a quick look around, noting the small circles of chatting characters, for lack of a better word, and then flips open the little PINpoint manual and starts to read, keeping the device in her lap as she often refers back to it.
*******************
After about forty-five minutes, Myra is pretty certain she's mastered the device the best that she can, without actually using it to transport. She imagined having it set for a couple of her favorite spots in New York, not to mention other locations that are often important. As she folds the manual closed, she takes another look around the room. People have come and gone, and groups have switched members. She takes a look at a wall clock, doing the math in her head and realizing it will soon be dark back in her world. Settling into as relaxed a pose as she can muster, she settles in for the rest of the time.
Not five minutes later, there is a new member in the main common room to which Myra has a skewed view, and as the man turns, she quickly fans herself with the manual to help obscure her face. While it's not the one she stole the original PINpoint from, it is one of the group and he holds in his hands a small brown, paper bag that is heavily weighted. With an air of purpose, he turns, and strolls from the room, presumably in the direction of 'outside'. Calmly, Myra stands from her seat and subtly follows him out of the room.
Metody_Green: She'd be able to hear him before she saw him. Metody's approach sounds like a hundred castenets all clicking at once, or the entire typing pool of a large newspaper clattering away at once. He looks strange but relatively inoccuous from a distance - short, pale as death, surrounded by a knee-high horde of things that pounce and dance like cats, and dressed in a truly obnoxious Hawaiian shirt.
Closer, and it becomes clear that the creatures aren't cats. Not even close. They are made of bone, and scamper about on centipede-like legs of curved ribs that branch off from a body made of a knot of woven bone. They are headless, but make up for it by having a tail on either end, long and waving and spinal. A pair of jumping legs is folded at the base of either tail, arranged so that the creature could jump forwards or backwards with equal ease. And they do jump, continually, pouncing on each other only to slide off from some invisiible shield.
Many of them are decorated with silk hibiscus and leis coiled around their bodies. It doesn't help.
Metody pauses and peers at the little metal device. "That's a PINpoint," he helpfully explains. "You use it to move from universe to universe. Maybe your guy thought he could sell it as an exotic trinket to someone who didn't know what it was?"
Myra_Reldon: Myra gives the bone-creatures and Hawaiian shirt a double take, but maintains her composure. Thankfully, she's not squeamish of rats, though, these odd things obviously aren't creatures she'd recognize. The garish decoration on them though, almost makes them laughable.
"Maybe." Myra adjusts her hat. Why in the world had she picked this thing for her costume anyways? They were supposedly in style, but apparently she much have chosen the wrong type of hat. "I thought it was a sort of radio, but apparently, as I have just found out, it's not."
Metody_Green: Then the decoration is serving its purpose. He'd tried little clown outfits when he first decided that decorations might make them less frightening. Silk flowers seemed to work better - floppy shoes were impractical, and there was no place to attach the red noses.
"You actually can get some that look like and can function as radios. It's useful for camouflaging them." He smiles cheerfully, lifting one hand to show his fancy digital watch. "Mine's a watch," he explains unnecessarily. He's also wearing smooth ivory rings, one on each joint of his fingers. They blend in with the sick paleness of his skin.
Myra_Reldon: Here was someone who might actually see less sunlight than the Shadow, Myra gave a smile as she looked at the watch.
"Well, radios don't usually come this small where I come from. I thought it was a spy tool. Either way, it's quite interesting. And yours, I wouldn't recognize it if you hadn't shown me." Myra blinked. That shirt was awfully distracting. Why would anyone wear something that came in such loud colors? It really only served to make him more pale. "Oh, where are my manners." Myra suddenly forced a flush as she played her part, chastising herself for her lapse. "My name is Myra." She held out a palm for a dainty handshake.
Metody_Green: "Oh - going by your clothing, we're from different times. There's a pretty strong trend of miniturization in technology, particularly electronics; once you know how to make something, then you can put your energy into making it smaller and more efficient."
Sure, the shirt made him look pale, but it also counteracted some of the spookiness of his person, acting much like the flowers wired to his creatures. Who could be afraid of a man in a shirt depicting green palm trees against a luridly setting sun?
He politely shook hands with her. His hand was fever-hot, and trembling ever so slightly. Close up, there was a strange, chemical smell to him, like a distant steel mill.
Myra_Reldon: "Ah." Myra gave a smile and then took a glance around. "So, these things can get small enough to put in a small watch? That's impressive. Right now, our computers take up entire rooms, some even have their own building. They're so terribly ineffective and prone to suffering from human error, they're not worth much of the effort, but apparently...things will get better." Myra takes a quick sniff of the air, the ozone a familiar scent to her, but the chemical overtones worry her. "What, uh, do you do?"
Metody_Green: He blinks, then laughs. "They get small enough that I've got one in my bookbag." He shrugs one of the straps of said bookbag. It's electric blue, which only serves to make it blend in with that awful shirt.
"Right now, I'm a mail clerk. Before that, I was pursuing my PhD in Geology and TAing some classes. I had to stop for financial reasons. I also do healing of bones, and some crafting. What do you do?"
Myra_Reldon: "Professional Tourist." Myra smiles and spins around in the green dress. She should talk about style, the thing may be flattering on her figure, but the color just wasn't her, she felt. "Of sorts." She never did understand European fashion...
Metody_Green: He grins, admiring the dress. "That's a lovely color. And this is a good place to be a tourist - though, did anyone warn you about the Lols?"
Myra_Reldon: "The gentleman over there..." She points to a dark figure robed in black, "gave me an article about this place but I'm not sure I quite understand how lols happen." Myra blushes a bit. "I keep wanting to say 'lull' though, because it's such a strange word. How did someone name those happenings 'lols'? Is it a code for something?"
Metody_Green: He glances at the man, and his face lights up for a moment, then tightens with a bit of worry. Oh, lovely, he's up and about! He recovered so fast....how is gallivanting around the Nexus anyone's idea of 'taking it easy a few days'?
Metody shakes his head a bit and looks back to Myra. "Um. Without going into major cultural changes, 'lol' stands for 'laugh out loud.' Normally, it's a word used onli- er, in informal text-based conversations to indicate that something made you laugh, so when you actually say it out loud, it's ironic and usually sarcastic."
He twists his fingers together, smooth ivory rings clicking. "I'm not sure of the exact mechanics of a lol, but I can tell you that you can't trust the food or drink here, and that they can be attached to random objects, or an area effect around something. So don't eat or drink anything that's not labelled as safe. I've got friends who aren't allowed food until they see someone else eat it and count to fifty. They'll change you in some way - turn you strange colors, make you angry, turn you into a cat, or a man, make you float - and some of that might sound whimsical until your job wants to know why you're ill for the third time this month and you have to lie because it's hard to call in feline."
Myra_Reldon: "I'll have to be doubly mindful of myself then. My job doesn't let me call in sick." Myra nibbles at the tip of her thumbnail nervously. It was like walking down one of the hidden passageways in the depths of Chinatown, really. There were traps at every corner, but it was a matter of know how to avoid them, or disarm them before you found yourself skewered or crushed. At least in Chinatown she was used to the capabilities of the clever inhabitants. Here, the technology was so advanced, who knew what she could accidentally trigger. "Any other kind of things to watch out for? Lols seem hazardous enough."
Metody_Green: "Neither did mine, after a point." He looks wistful a moment. "There are some antidotes, though - pink candies in the bar turn you female, blue turn you male. And the pretzels in the bar turn you into a human, but there's debate over whether that'd mean human with special bits intact, or truly, completely human. No one I know has been willing to dare it."
He considers a moment.
"There's an anti-violence field here. The edges of it are fluid - that's why I've got my little guys with me. They keep an eye on it for me. I've wandered outside of it a few times. Mostly, I've been fine. Once, a mass of - of things tried to kidnap a friend and I. Another time, these guys tried to eat me. Humans and human-shaped creatures are food for some people here, even some otherwise very nice people. And there was a bit of a war. So it's best to stay in the safe areas."