003 ☾ video | 100% encrypted to Catty, Annabeth, Percy, and Leo

[fatedchaos]

[Vanessa has literally been sitting on this information for months, letting it turn over and over in her head, as if she could make sense of it. It's not like it doesn't make sense. Being told that you're straight up a clone makes it a little hard to dispute, all things considered.

That makes it even worse, she supposes. And she's not told anyone about it, so any crisis she's had have been dealt with alone.

But she has friends now, people she absolutely trusts, and she's not really ready to tell the entire population that their bodies aren't technically their own.

So here she sits, biting her lip as she stares at the camera.]

Um, okay. So, after Percy made his post about the discovery of the cloning facility, I needed to know... more. [A beat.] I mean, hey. Sorry to dump this on you suddenly and out of nowhere, guys.

[A nod.] I went to the Emperor. She was surprised that I was asking about it, like a good sort of surprised. Anyway, that's not the point. The point is, I asked her what that facility was all about. Like, why do we even have clones? [She has no idea how to get straight to the point, which is why she fidgets a bit, her upper arms going translucent.] She told me that organic matter can't be brought through to this place. That our bodies are clones. It's our souls in here. [She presses a hand to her chest.] But these aren't our original bodies, and there are more. There have to be more bodies, because I think that means she can just bring us back when we're going up against, you know. And there have to be more facilities, right? Because more people show up all the time!

[Vanessa pauses, takes a breath, and tucks a curl behind her ear.] What do we do?

Comments

[traitorously]

[Catty's surprised at the inclusion of other people, to be honest, but she can roll with this. She guesses. She leans in towards her console, absently twirling a lock of hair around her finger and pretends like Vanessa didn't already tell her this] I guess that makes sense. I mean, I didn't exactly have a body to grab any more. [\8D/]

What can we do, exactly?

[fatedchaos]

[Hey, why are you so far away, Catty? Nnnnnn. Also that's not even funny. Sigh.] What did happen- Wait, no. I don't want to know. [Because it makes her sad.

And then a shrug.] I mean, about the information. There's nothing we can do about what we are.

[traitorously]

[Because she needs some space jeez you're so needy] I don't know, I was - um, otherwise occupied? [Dead. She was dead.]

No, that's what I meant. Like...do we write it on pamphlets and air drop it? Post and let everyone know it's us? Start a whisper campaign? Tell no one? I can keep going.

[fatedchaos]

[:c

8c

not that needy...] I said I didn't want to know. [pls stahp]

Well, not everyone reads English, so I don't think pamphlets would work. [Yeah, she's totally taking that suggestion seriously.]

[traitorously]

I didn't say anything!

[a beat] I was mostly joking. How would we even do that? I don't think I can fly like that. Not unless it's - no, I don't think I can. [A beat] Do other people need to know this?

[fatedchaos]

[Vanessa gives a defeated shrug. Shit sucks, man.] Let's forget the flying part. It's the pamphlets that really wouldn't work. Also, I don't think littering on an ill turtle would be useful either. [She looks down for a moment.] People have a right to know, but... I don't know.

[traitorously]

[She's quiet for a long moment. When she speaks, her voice is slow, measured, and almost un-Cattylike.]

Sometimes you have to keep things from people for the sake of the greater good. because things might go horribly wrong if you don't. [A beat] So how likely are people to freak out in this place, anyway?

[fatedchaos]

[Vanessa knows why Catty is saying what she is, and honestly, isn't that why she never told her mom or Michael about her powers or being a goddess? It makes sense. But at the same time, she doesn't feel like everyone should go half-cocked in this place.]

I don't know. There's over a hundred of us, more arriving every week. I can't gauge the kind of reactions people would have.

[traitorously]

[Catty shrugs] Then maybe they don't need to know. I mean, what's it going to change? There are kind of bigger things people need to concentrate on right now than whether or not their body is the same one they went to bed in back home.

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[sophos]

[Annabeth, as always, is a pretty attentive audience. Her expression when she replies is thoughtful, but she doesn't look super surprised or shocked, all things considered. It was one of the theories she'd talked about with Leo.]

She confirmed to you that all the bodies were clones? [She's saying it out loud mostly for her own confirmation, and she pauses with thinkbrain.] It does make sense, though - if we're here to be an army, having a way to create more would make it easier. And she's only ever really mentioned our souls as being summoned, thinking on it.

I've thought about that, though. Since all the people were fished out of the ocean prior to the facility exploding, and now they arrive at the palace. There must be something there.

[A pause. Because then it occurs to her that Vanessa asking them what to do is a sign of trust. And she doesn't want to turn it into a poor decision.] Have you had any thoughts of your own, in terms of what to do? [It's a lot to carry something that big for a while on your own. She gets that. She doesn't really even have an answer for Vanessa yet herself.]

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[kelpful]

[The word 'clones' catches Percy attention even though he's in the kitchen right now, and he makes his way over to the console. You can tell it's important, because he has a slice of pizza hanging from his mouth and forgot a plate for the other piece.]

She just told you? Seriously? I've been trying to figure it out for months, and I could've just-- [He gestures with his pizza. Apparently this means 'could've asked']

I think we should probably let people know. [He says it just after Annabeth asks and then pauses.] Uh. Unless you had other ideas, that is.

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[fatedchaos]

[Vanessa twists her fingers around each other.] She said that organic material couldn't be brought over, so yeah. Bodies, clones. Don't ask me how she's done it with some of the people around here, because let's be honest. Nothing on Tu Vishan or this world make any lick of sense.

[She glances at Percy when he walks into the room, looks back at Annabeth, and then doubletakes back at Percy again. Seriously, dude? She doesn't know whether to be jealous or confused.] Well, she didn't just tell me. I had to ask the right sort of questions, I guess. I don't think it was as easy as it sounds.

[She sighs.] I thought about telling everyone but... I mean, how do you feel knowing you're a clone? Maybe you're taking it okay right now, but then you catch yourself in the mirror and suddenly it's like, I'm not me. Who am I? [Not speaking from personal experience or anything at all, nope.] That's like identity crisis overload.

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[sophos]

[She's aware of Percy coming into the room the moment it happens, but she doesn't bother looking over. She's too wrapped up in what Vanessa's explained.]

Like nonhumans. But no matter what kind of magic or technology was made to use our bodies - it's got to be extremely advanced, if it can mimic people's abilities without issue. Though it does explain why they lessen the further people get from the turtle; she could have used the turtle's magic in the creation process, tying these bodies to it rather than their original sources. [How do u liek ur rambly Annabeth, Vanessa.]

[She absently reaches and waves her hand around in an attempt to steal the second slice of pizza.] It's not as easy as it sounds. Between both her and Evandau, you need to know the right direction to steer the conversation.

[She frowns, a little suspicion that there is indeed some personal experience up in there.] Knowledge of the cloning facility itself has already been spread around - I've no doubt some people would panic with the actual truth, but that idea is probably already in place. I've been considering it myself. [Brief pause.] Sometimes, you just need to tell people things they might not want to hear. You said Eshai herself was pleased that you asked?

vdeo; SORRY THIS IS LATE

[kelpful]

What about Mrs O'Leary? She's definitely organic material, but she didn't come from the turtle.

[Percy mistakes the reason for the double take and just lifts his hand with a smile in greeting at Vanessa. His other hand just as absently moves the pizza away from Annabeth without seeming like he's thinking about it] Right, and we all know how great I am at that. [Conversation steering, that is.

Percy sucks in a breath and then lets it out again, chewing on another bite of pizza] Yeah, I've done the whole identity crisis thing. Who am I, where am I, why are there gorgons chasing me. It's not fun, but finding out there's information about you that's been kept from you is way worse. And it always gets out, no matter what people do to try and keep it under wraps. [His free hand rubs his shoulder a little awkwardly] Sure, maybe it's hard to deal with, but people have a right to know this stuff.

video; unforgiven

[fatedchaos]

[Percy raises another point, and Vanessa nods slowly, pressing her lips together into a thin line. She doesn't know how to explain that either.] All I can figure is that things like that couldn't have been pulled in by the Emperor. Maybe there are portals! Things fall through boundaries all the time. [Her fingers search out the amulet that's always around her neck, holding it tightly. Things fall through, they have to.]

Advanced, or it's magic. [She glances at Annabeth, to Percy, and back again.] Nothing here makes sense.

[A pause, and she flashes a smile at Percy.] Not a charmer, I take it? [Maybe it's not really about conversation steering. Maybe it's the topic itself that the Emperor likes, and the way someone approaches it.]

Yeah, I get that. Both the whole people have been suspecting that maybe they are, and that it totally sucks to have who you are stripped from you. [Both things she has gone through, here and back home.] But there are a lot of people here who don't know about the explosion, and probably more that either didn't see Percy's revelation. [A beat.] Maybe sometimes keeping information from people is the only way to save them.

[Vanessa lifts her hand, moving it in a so-so fashion at Annabeth's last question.] Okay, maybe not pleased exactly, but I get the feeling that a lot of people were asking about rations and the turtle being sick rather than anything about the cloning facility. That might be why she told me about the clones, because I asked something she hadn't even been asked yet.

video; sits in own corner of totally not even later cries

[sophos]

[Annabeth hesitates for a second, because she remembers Eva telling her there was a possibility that she could send everyone home; and that was before the existence of the cloning facility was available. Unless Eva had known about it? She either did or it meant she was considering the possibilities of transporting organic lifeforms - which meant it could be possible.] Some kind of portal is a possibility. All we know is what the Emperor can do, but there's no telling what else is doable off turtle.

I think Percy's right. [He better marvel in that sentence while he can. Except rude, she punches his arm for tugging the pizza away.] And with how much is already being held back from the general population here - it might suck to have that ripped from you, and maybe some of us are more equipped for that kind of bomb drop - but finding out there were more secrets being kept hidden might just make people angrier in the end, too. [Trying not to think about what she's keeping to herself right now, under her own duress of keeping people safe.] No one's life is on the line here, right? It doesn't necessarily feel a danger to reveal, especially if Eshai herself told you. Especially if the cloned bodies are her army - if she can just make more of us, that's something everyone deserves to know.

[She makes a noise of consideration.] Right place, right time? Either way, it's still good you got something out of her.

video; sidles on in again

[kelpful]

Ow! What was that f - oh. [He dutifully hands over the other slice of pizza to his girlfriend, before returning his attention to the console.

He shakes his head] I don't think that this kind of information is the kind that'll hurt people if they know about it. They probably won't like it, but it's not going to hurt anyone if they know. Like, it's something that's already happened to all of us, you know? Knowing about it or not doesn't change the fact that it's happened to everyone, and so it's affecting everyone. I mean, I get why you'd be unsure about telling people, but I don't think it's really our place to...keep it from everyone. That's why I told everyone about the facility in the first place.

[fotia]

[ so. leo wants to know why he's even here; it's not like anyone's asked him for his opinion directly before, and there are a lot of people better at this than he is. like annabeth, or hey, even percy.

maybe she's just being nice in not excluding him. he really can't see why else she's asking.]

Party hard, YOLO! Or maybe it's You Only Live As Long As The Emperor Has The Technology To Clone You, in this case.

[ he's really bad at this. ]

[fatedchaos]

[She trusts you, shut up, Leo. There's a first time for everything.

She sort of stares at him for a moment, an awkward smile tugging at her lips. Is that supposed to be funny? Maybe a little bit.]

What's 'yolo'?

[fotia]

[BUT HOW DO ADVICE]

"You Only Live Once." The battle-cry of the generation.

[fatedchaos]

[WHAT DOES YOUR HEART TELL YOU? also it's just nice to tell someone about this. keeping shit to yourself eats at you.]

Well, unless you're reincarnated. Or if you die and then are brought back to life.

[fotia]

Well yeah, but I wouldn't really know about that. [That kind of reminds him of Hazel, though...

Wait no, Leo, why are you thinking of Hazel when you're talking to a cute girl who kind of kissed you??]

Uhh... [awkwarrrrd pauuuse] You doing alright?

[fatedchaos]

Technically, since we're clones... We're kind of living twice, too. [These are both sad and interesting thoughts to her, and she doesn't know which one she wants to really win.

Oh, right. They haven't really. Talked about. That kiss thing.] Um, well. Catty's here! So I've been doing great. [uguu Catty.] Are you okay? Doing alright, I mean. After like... [Vanessa pls.] Everything.

[fotia]

[Exaggeratedly cheerful response NOPE NOT NERVOUS OR AWKWARD AT ALL.] Y-Yeah, I'm doing alright, too. Great. Just great!

[QUICK SUBJECT CHANGE.] And I wouldn't know; the concept of the metaphysical isn't something I'm an expert on, much less whether it's technically correct that we're "dead" if our bodies die but our soul continues to be in existence. Or how we could even define a "soul", because a "soul" could very well be just the multiple neurons in our brain that—

[Aaand he's rambling.] Sorry; got a little carried away there.

[fatedchaos]

[Vanessa makes a face. She's always believed in the soul, and she's seen what happens when someone dies. She's felt souls.] If our bodies die, we're definitely experiencing a physical death. Energy can't be destroyed, and that's what we are. Energy. Also, you're a demigod. You should know more about the afterlife than me, and I definitely know that there's an afterlife. Our souls move on. [She bites her lip.] Besides, we're dealing with magic here. If the Emperor says it's a soul, then what else are we going to call it?

[She flashes a smile.] It's okay. [A beat.] Since we're both doing okay, would you want to go out and do something?