tushanshu | 004; video; notably completely unencrypted;

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004; video; notably completely unencrypted;

[Raine hesitates, for a very short moment, at the start of the video feed before firming the line of her mouth and plunging ahead. She looks tired, but determined.]

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Raine Sage. Please pay attention; I’ll try to keep this brief.

[She sounds more like she’s lecturing a classroom than delivering potentially shattering news.]

If you have previously thought none of this affects you, or if you simply missed the information, at the end of last month our enemy asked us to guess where it really is. Some of you will have already formed your own conclusions about this; I know I’ve certainly talked to some who have.

[Deep breath.]

There’s sufficient data with independent verification that I’m now sure, and everyone needs to be aware of this, sooner rather than later.

Our enemy has possessed Asti himself.

[A pause, considering. Well, the words are out now, no taking them back.]

That’s all. If you wish me to justify myself, either my conclusions or my lack of caution, I’ll do so, but more pressing right now is coming together to find a way forward, now that everyone is apprised of how severe the situation is.

[She lifts her chin a little then, and adds, not to any Foreigner but to the being she is pretty sure is watching,] Well? Do you care to confirm or deny?

---

[ooc; this actually is directly related to Nilin’s post a few days ago! I have talked this out with a few people, Xhan (Nilin-mun) included, and I’m keeping track of what’s happening there for continuity’s sake, but Raine is unfortunately not the most subtle person in the world and is past the point of waiting and watching. For questions comments plotting or concerns, I can be reached at

makaricrow, ceryu (AIM), or makari.crow@gmail.com.]

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is that different from possessing him??

[Tony still looks lost.] ...I think I'm going to leave the magical theory to the experts. But if there's anything I can do— point me at it and I'll get it done.

Assuming that those of us who were affected by the taint -- from the cultists' blades -- are not also possessed.

[Ordinarily her impulse would be to explain and simplify until he was less lost, but she is really at a loss for what more to say on blood magic.] A more secure way to communicate both broadly and narrowly would be useful, but I'd presume you already knew that. I'll let you know if there's anything else.

Thank you.

[...Oh, right. Magic is confusing, okay?]

do we know if it succeeded?

I'm already working on it. Me and a couple other people are trying to get a secondary radio network running. Private and public broadcast. It won't be as fancy as the consoles, but it should be secure.

[Magic is confusing even for mages when you're trying to bridge a number of different systems.]

It left the site of the ritual open. [In other words, whatever it wanted to do? It's already done.]

Fancy is unnecessary if it functions. How close do you think you are?

can the taint be cured? what did ppl do to help the tainted foreigners? can we do that for asti?

It's hard to guess. Our supplies are really limited, and people just come in to help whenever they have time. But I think it should be done in the next two weeks. I hope.

[Raine gives 'ppl' a mildly suspicious look; her world hasn't quite hit chatspeak yet. Fortunately that one's fairly self-explanatory given where it is.]

The very few who have shaken its effects are unique cases whose solutions won't work for the rest. Most of those initially afflicted are still tainted.

That's a good start.

[It's not chatspeak, Raine, it's shorthand! Handwriting is slow.]

great. do we have a next step, or are we totally clueless?

I'll let you know as soon as it's done. I'll need help distributing the handsets to make sure every foreigner gets one.

[A few extra letters written out probably won't kill him.]

Not totally clueless, but no definitive next step yet, either.

All right, thank you. I can help with that when you reach that stage.

[Tony nods, looking thoughtful. After a few seconds, he speaks again, detouring into a new subject.]

Most of this magic stuff doesn't mean anything to me, but I am good at seeing patterns in data. Anton's been showing me his sigils, and there's a lot of rules and precision involved, so maybe... if there's any kind of magical analysis you need to do that's number-crunching instead of theory, I might be able to help. Or Aya. [He smiles a little.] Unless someone's hiding a supercomputer somewhere, me and Aya are the best computers on the turtle.

[That's an interesting offer, and one she's going to have to keep in mind.]

I don't have anything that would require that sort of analysis right now, but I may yet. Thank you.

[She tips her head a little, looking at Tony thoughtfully. She doesn't actually know much about his abilities, but it's safe to assume now he's a bit more than pure mundane human.] I don't know Aya. Is that figurative, or literal, to say the two of you are computers?

Depends on how you define a computer. I mean, technically, you can make a computer out of dominoes. [Don't let him get started talking about alternative computing.] But, based on the definition you're probably thinking of... pretty literally. More literally in Aya's case. She's an AI. I've always been naturally good at mental computation, but Extremis increased that by at least an order of magnitude.

Edited 2014-11-08 05:20 (UTC)

[...That's fascinating, actually, and she wants to know more, but one thing she should probably clarify first.] High levels of magitechnology aren't particularly common in my world, especially computers, though I've had the opportunity to deal with them more than most. An AI?

[In other words, what he's most familiar with she probably won't have a very solid basis for comparison on.]

How else does 'Extremis' augment your capabilities?

Oh, right: Artificial Intelligence. An intelligence that somebody else programmed, not one that evolved naturally. If you're curious, you should probably ask her; she can give you all the details. I've made AIs before, but she's miles ahead of anything I've ever worked on.

Extremis? Well, it... pretty much broke down all my organs and rebuilt them into much better ones. Rewired some of my brain. And it actively enhances a lot of my metabolic processes, so I have a lot more endurance and heal a lot faster. It's kinda awesome.

[Raine practically lights up. Artificial intelligence is a thing that's actually possible, Corinne aside, and she needs to know everything about it. Right now.] Where would I find her?

[...but there's still a few more serious concerns and that's not relevant right now, so as much as she wants to dash off she reins in that urge. Also, the way he describes Extremis is a little concerning, and that enthusiasm fades a little in thoughtfulness.] And what are its drawbacks?

She works at SI. I can introduce you, if you want.

[Having your entire genetic code rewritten and being rebuilt from a puddle of goo like a caterpillar? Concerning? Naaaaaah.] None that I've found so far. [He gives Raine a cocky grin - exactly the kind of expression you'd expect from someone who's young and reckless and still thinks they're invincible.]

I'd like that. Thank you. [She can't disguise exactly how much that's enthusing her.]

[But Tony, you are definitely nowhere near as invincible as you think you are. No one is.] So far. How long ago was this?

Almost a year. The only downside I've found is that the higher metabolic rate means I have to eat more. Which isn't a big deal. [Or even really a downside. More pizza!

Tony doesn't sound especially concerned about potential future side-effects.]

Hmm. That much makes sense, and a year is enough for most side-effects to show themselves, but... I'm almost surprised there aren't more noticeable drawbacks.

[Nothing's that simple, and it makes her a bit suspicious, but Tony's in the best position to know.]

[Tony shrugs. He still doesn't look concerned.] Even if it does have side-effects, a year's longer than I would've had without it. It was that or a couple months in a hospital bed with my name on the transplant list, hoping to get really, really lucky.

[And even being fabulously wealthy doesn't guarantee you a winning ticket in that lottery.]

[That's fair, but... there's still a flaw in his reasoning, she's pretty sure.]

And you're well enough, evidently. I suspect I don't have to tell you not to take it for granted. [It wouldn't be the first time a complication's arisen from a cure.] Just... be careful, Tony.

[And that's all she's got on the topic. Until she catches him being stupidly foolhardy.] Unless there's anything else you think would be important to discuss now, I should be moving on. There's still more I need to do today.

Yeah. I know. [And he sounds sincere - about not taking it for granted, anyway, if not the part about being careful.]

I guess that's all. If there's any way I can help, just... let me know. It's not like I'm doing anything better with my time, right? [He smiles wryly, but he's entirely serious about that. The radios are all well and good, but he's used to being able to fight something, something tangible, and with their enemy so hard to pin down, he's feeling kind of directionless. Having some more clear-cut tasks would help him feel a lot better about this whole thing.]

[Good. And, of course, if anything does go wrong, she'll do everything she can to compensate, but she's pretty sure that's obvious by now.]

Of course. To be honest, I'm not fully sure how to proceed yet myself, but as soon as I have something you can help with, I'll let you know. Thank you.

[And a little smile in return.]

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004; video; notably completely unencrypted;

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lol looks like I forgot to set an icon for that last tag?? OH WELL

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