Scene #424: Network Dive

Owner	Pose
Staren	<The server's up.> Staren transmits. He's sitting in his chair at the lab console. As his experiment to give his clones more time to grow and to observe the prolonged effects if being in a robot body continues, he has no need of a NerveGear. Although it does suddenly occur to him that what he should do after this is, try to follow up with those 'freak' test victims he gave robot bodies to, and see how they're doing. Yeah, that would be a good idea. Link Start, he thinks to himself. Staren appears in the tram station -- as usual, his avatar is himself, clad in fantasy clothes but with modern (for him) weapons (The railgun strapped to his back has been replaced with the laser rifle he used in the tournament, though.) He puts his hands in his pockets and paces around the tram station while he waits for Ainsley to log in. She's greeted with a nod and a 'hey', and then he follows her to wherever it is she needs to use this data.
Ainsley	"Link Start," Ainsley spoke aloud, shortly before being brought into the virtual network. The process always quite a jarring experience as she was not used to the experience of virtual reality technology. She manifested with Nom de Plume on her nose. Her eyes opened shortly after her avatar resolved, there being a pair of ALO-styled white-blue fairy wings in the style of the Puca race. She turned to nod back toward Staren, but briefly she seems disoriented when she does this, as she realizes her Visual Field isn't active in VR, making her feel as if her vision has been limited, and then turns to navigate to the Study. "Depending on how much information this provides, I will provide an update on the main information database about it." "This book concept that we found, I do not feel it can degrade like projected concepts might." She rubs the virtual feathers on her head. Barely any tactile sensation, making her frown. "We will see when we get there. Right, Nom?"
Abstractum.Net	The structure of the network manifestation is as it always was. Head east through the foyer, south through the hall, down into the study... It should be easy to get into there! There, the desk, the old model Homeworld (updated, of course, to show the new structure) and the bookshelf with its missing books are where they were before! You know, once the group heads over there. Nom speaks up quickly and brightly. "The concept has not degraded, it appears to have been designed for conceptual memory storage. I am eager to see what might be in it, and what its effects may be when places in the relevant areas. Is there anywhere else you wanted to go first, or can we begin immediately?"
Staren	Staren follows Ainsley. He stops briefly to look at the model Homeworld, noting the change. "Hmm." At Nom's question, he answers, "I'm kind of curious to see if any of the media tells us anything that Dr. Burden is hiding now, but we can check that out later. Let's see what this book does." He blinks and looks around the study. "I wonder what will be in this book... Hopefully you can read it once you place it."
Ainsley	Ainsley's face shows a smile instead of a frown at Nom's input on the matter. She does seem to consider what else they could explore before they got right down to business... "No, we should handle this. Any further exploration of the network environment would be best done when we have a larger party of individuals to investigate it. For now..." She leaves the rest implied, since they reach the door of the Study soon after. Once they've stepped inside, she pauses to examine the globe of the Homeworld, carefully looking over the regions now populated across the surface. She lets out a thoughtful "Hmm" and turns to walk up to the bookcase. Once there, she looks over the entire configuration, frowning lightly at it. "Well, Staren... I wager it is more a key than an actual book. Let's see." "Conceptual Memory." Her hand is held out in such a way as to manifest the book in her hand. Once she has, she scans over the shelves to see where it might fit, and then properly places it. She's looking at bindings to find a pattern of organization or the size of the book compared to where any gaps in the shelves may be. It may require more than one book, she realizes, making her brow knit in mild frustration at the idea while making her feel excited at the opportunity for more exploration, making her tail wiggle behind her.
Abstractum.Net	Ainsley summong the book proper. The projected thing seems to flicker for some time, softly unstable the same way various Conceptual Memory projections often do... But the effect fades, quickly causing the book to establish a more permanent appearance. It's clear that more than one book is required, certainly. A lengthy puzzle, to be sure. The soft blue book seems to fit, aesthetically and in its dimensions, right into one particular slot on the wall-covering shelf. Once inserted... There's a low humming sound, a soft, ominous building noise, like a hard-drive spinning up. It seems to level out. Nothing appears to have happened. That is, until one of the pair turns around and sees the frail, aged form of Mr. Answers sitting at the desk now, watching them politely. He has a business-like look about him, like he's here to handle something they've made an appointment for.
Staren	Staren's eyes widen slightly, his tailtip twitches, and his ears perk with interest. Something's happening! What's it going to be? ...Staren's ears splay and tail droop. Nothing happened. :\| He sighs. "Well... I guess we need to find more books." He turns to walk out, and jumps slightly at the sudden appearance of Mr. Answers. Then he calms down, scrutenizing the Operator. "...So." He puts his hands on his waist. "What are you here to tell us?"
Ainsley	Ainsley looks at the wall after she puts the book in its proper place, and then finds herself mildly disappointed by the lack of any information given by the shelves, or lack of a secret door opening. That is, until she hears Staren, and turns her head to look over at the desk. She is a great deal less startled, calmly turning about to face him. Her brows raise with a patient interest, though she doesn't say anything as Staren has her only question covered already.
Abstractum.Net	"I'm not here to speak much about anything. I'm here to answer the parts of your query that I can." Mr. Answers says, in a polite sort of tone. "The book's contents would be rather indecipherable to you, and I have the feeling they'd be irrelevant. What was in that was a study of ancient armor crafted in the Roussean Kingdom, whatever that may be." "The information that seems more relevant to you was a piece of data that the original creator of the concept of this book seemed to wish to convey. It is a passage from a story of sorts, the first passage. It was packaged around part of an authentication code for the Network that seems to be necessary to open up a partitioned section of data." "Would you like me to read it for you?"
Staren	Staren listens. A book on armor from Burden's homeworld, or perhaps his Node. Staren's a bit unclear on which one that memory was of. As Answers says... interesting, but probably not useful. Staren takes this in. So... these books will unlock some kind of secret. Sure, let's have storytime. Staren opens his mouth to say as much, then closes it and looks at Ainsley. Seems like it should be she who replies. Once she does, he'll take a seat. Or stand around, if there aren't any more chairs.
Ainsley	Ainsley smiles briefly as Answers speaks, intrigued by what he said about the contents of the book. She loves books and knowledge. But what he says afterwards gets her to blink a couple of times. "The Architects, then?" she wonders, and then she nods at him once, "I would like to come away from this a little more enlightened than before, please, read it for us." She smiles more brightly at him.
Abstractum.Net	"I warn you, though. The story seems particularly metaphorical and ill-suited to conveying much helpful information immediately. With the other passages, however, you might find information of worth." Mr. Answers says, shifting rather uneasily and sheepishly. "I feel more than a little silly relaying it to you, but regardless, I hope it will one day be useful." He takes deep breath and speaks, with slow, contemplative tones. THE TALE OF DEATH AND THE KING'S BLACKSMITH (1/4) There was once a noble blacksmith in service to a fair king. One day, the smith was asked to craft the finest armor for the king, as the king was to go to war and would require protection. The requirements he had of the smith were harsh. He desired armor that would not allow him to be killed. The smith knew he had the skill to craft such armor. He could craft armor that could stop any arrows. He could craft armor that could halt any blade. He could craft armor that could withstand harsh winds and snow, boiling siege weapons, even the noxious fumes of miasma. Death itself was much more difficult to guard against. There was, he decided, only one way to truly guard against that influence. He sent word to his noble king that he would craft the armor soon. And then he set out to find Death himself, and the smith would ask him the means to halt his influence. The smith set out from his home and out of his town, on to the road, seeking Death wherever he might find him. The smith walked until he found a pitiful, dying wolf, alone and deeply sick. Seeing Death standing above it, the smith stopped to ask, "Death. Your approach comes to all of us, and yet so many seem to spend so long avoiding you with such skill. What could this poor animal have done to stop your approach?" Knowing the smith's quest, as he knows the quests of any who flee him, Death turned and replied. "I will show you. All that it needed to do to halt my steps was to know: I will come for this creature's pack in a fortnight, as without its help, they will suffer my touch at the hands of a bear that roams their territory. It did not know this, but now it does, and so I cannot come for it tonight, or any night until it has brought them salvation from the bear or finds my touch trying to do so." Just as he spoke, the wolf overcame its sickness and rose to its feet, ignoring the smith as it rushed off into the wilderness. And so Death taught his first lesson to the King's blacksmith. "The information terminates there. I conjecture that there is some manner of hidden meaning to this, but what it is, I cannot tell. Thus far, though, it seems like a standard, somewhat silly sort of fairytale to me." Mr. Answers says, ending the storytime of sorts.
Staren	Staren listens. Now and then his tail lazily flicks one way or the other. "Hmm. But why did Death spare the wolf? It doesn't make sense." He takes a deep breath and stands. "Well. Thank you for storytime -- I suppose we'll be able to glean more meaning from it when we have the other pieces." He looks to Ainsley. "Although, perhaps it is a metaphor for what motivated Dr. Burden to seek out Them in the first place."
Ainsley	A story that holds Ainsley's attention particularly well because it is told in the fashion of a fairytale, the kind that could have any number of people interposed where the characters are. She crossed her arms, with her hands resting on her elbows. Her eyes remain affixed to the Operator's face the entire time, barely bothering to even blink. The words of Death himself get her brows to furrow as if she immediately understood what it meant. She also looks at Answers with some manner of uncertainty, his remarks on the story mildly telling of whatever his personality happens to be. Staren's reaction gets a look from her, too. "The wolf experienced what you might call a sense of duty, a need to protect what was important to it. Without this knowledge, nothing would motivate it to stand again. It would allow itself to succumb to its illness and its pack would die." She lids her eyes. Then she closes them. "It did not stop Death permanently. It delayed him. But it is the same thing that drives the Shift Abstraction. A need to accomplish a task, for a little more strength when all logic says that all is lost." She opens her eyes. "The wolf found the strength inside itself to keep fighting, if only for a little longer, because it needed it." She shrugs her shoulders, "But if there are three more parts to this, there may be much more to the story. We have not yet heard a contrast to the metaphor, for instance..." She nods at Answers. "Thank you." She reaches out beside her to navigate the menu, preparing to log out. She looks at Answers briefly, as if giving him a chance for any last input before he has to go.
Abstractum.Net	"Dr. Burden may be the one referenced here. But for all I know, he could be Death too, or the king." Mr. Answers seems to shrug a bit helplessly. "I really wish I could obfuscate my ignorance on this matter with crypticism, but I am just really bad at that. In any case, it seems like you are picking up on whatever message the creator intended to convey to you. It would seem a large portion of the authentication code required to access the partition has been entered, and it seems it will stay as such for some time. If you wish to unlock it, please bring back more of these data packets that you located." He gives a pleasant nod. "If you have any questions, please, never hesitate to ask. I will always answer to the best of my ability."
Staren	Staren hmmms as Ainsley theorizes. "Perhaps." He just doesn't think that way, he supposes. "Anything else you want to do, Ainsley? Come to think of it... we never did get to check out that secret files room." He walks back out into the hall, and tries to check if that door is still locked. In the meantime: Dawn logs in. Her avatar a bright violet-haired woman in a matching dress and boots. She heads directly to the media room and starts watching dataspheres, recording and transcribing the observed video for dissemination to the Users. Really, Staren should have thought of that /ages/ ago.
Ainsley	Ainsley dismisses the menu shortly after Staren suggests something else for them to do. She shrugs her shoulders and follows him along to the 'Secret Files' door, quirking a corner of her mouth. She really doesn't have anything better to do right at that moment and it couldn't hurt to go along with his curiosity for this.
Abstractum.Net	The Secret Files room is currently still locked! What a DISAPPOINTMENT. Still needs proper codes and such. Where would one FIND such codes? Presumably they've been lost to the PAST. You know, where there's DEFINITELY no available means of investigating the events that were happening at the time. Very definitely. As for what Dawn finds, it looks like various instructional videos were decoded by Mr. Answers when he made the announcements. The corrupt one was restored, and the rest are a variety of videos about proper Abstractum care, the use of various facilities, and other similar suchlike. It looks like the Network kept instructions stored just in case of a veritable army of Users, not just dozens and dozens.