Game Thread Team A, Jaunt Log #01: How Bazaar - Page 3 - RPG Crossing
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  #31  
Old Aug 3rd, 2023, 12:02 PM
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ToussaintThe group's interlocutor is not just shady, but kind of a jerk. Aisha stays silent on the matter, but Mike and Agni seem to agree with that assessment. Which, btw, is pronounced like "too" not like "tow" or "tau"Tou gives the main a narrow-eyed scowl, but decides his best play is not to start a fight as his first interaction with the vast infinities of Reality. He steps back from Mike, who is visibly uncomfortable (Tou can't blame him) and turns his back in the 'greeter' to talk to the other Jaunters.

"OK. So, there's a GOVERNMENT that oversees ALL of reality?" Toussaint needs to let that idea sit in his head for a moment. Clearly Mike has reason to dislike the OC, but he also seems open to interaction with them.

"We can spend time digging around an interdimensional swap meet here. Proably worthwhile. Definitely worthwhile." A thoughtful look goes over Tou's face. His eyes seem to search the invisible middle distance for revelations, and Here comes the promised Foolish Idea!too many are coming for him to track. "But listen: if there is one entity who's likely to have access to the kind of tech, the kind of protection... the kind of medicine I need... who else would it be? I dunno if you guys got an FBI where you're from, but they dip their fingers in everything. Big Brother government and all that. So, they either got the stuff, or know where it is, yeah?"

"So, why don't we just go to them? Ask them where their cures are kept, and if they'll give it. And if they won't... Well. Figure out a way to get it anyways."
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  #32  
Old Aug 3rd, 2023, 12:11 PM
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Current RealityTruths/Complications/AnomaliesReality NotesPersons of Interest
Bazaar-01
  • Featuring a nearby bazaar of rare technologies from across the omniverse
  • Risks rift ruptures just from the presence of so much exotic jaunt-tech
PESVariant tech; rife with jaunt-tech of varying quality and utilityLE 


"Curiosity. It always gets you in the end, doesn't it?" the stranger says jovially to Mike. "I need more of a commitment from you before I get into bullet points. Suffice to say that though a combination of accumulating quantum knots, rift bleed and a little something called the Interspatial Eddy Theory, I have solid grounds for transforming this reality into a zone far more exclusive in its traffic. I just need some assistants."

As if to prove something, he flicks his coat open to reveal a utility belt a superhero would be proud off, stuffed with gadgets and paraphernalia. They all look crude, and it's likely he cobbled them together himself.

"Need intimacy? I have a name to give you, Christophe. Need incentive? I can't pay much, but I can scrape together something small. Or contacts! I have a few of those, if you have more exotic needs." The smug tug at the corner of his mouth fades when Tou turns his back to address the other jaunters, and he finally loses his cool a little. "Hey ... hey! You think that's cute? I'm still mid-pitch here!"

 
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Old Aug 5th, 2023, 02:42 PM
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The wack science this guy throws there doesn't inspire much confidence. It could be nothing more than nonsense to reel in impressionable listeners without actually revealing anything, or perhaps he's just an overconfident nutjob. Even though his stock of crude widgets hardly invalidates either guess, Agni would gladly give them a closer look, in case there really is some interesting tech in there.

Then Touissaint takes over Christophe's pitch with his own, raising points the Daimani has already entertained during his inconclusive search for Hypatia. What Tou says is arguably true, but he makes his idea sound way simpler than it'd realistically play out. "They wouldn't help, if not straight up oppose us," a bunch of outlaws from the draconian perspective of the OC, asking them for an intervention they likely have no reason to support. "And if you're looking to defy the most powerful organization across the omniverse, we may as well listen to what else he"—Agni turns again toward Christophe—"has to say."

 

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Old Aug 8th, 2023, 12:21 AM
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Bazaar-01
  • Featuring a nearby bazaar of rare technologies from across the omniverse
  • Risks rift ruptures just from the presence of so much exotic jaunt-tech
PESVariant tech; rife with jaunt-tech of varying quality and utilityLE 


When the substance of Tou's pitch sinks in for Christophe, he balks, the most he's lost his composure since striking up conversation with the jaunters. "We've just been talking about how the OP operate and ... you want to ask them nicely? They don't have a PR department, scrub. The best way to get their attention is by being their target. Even if they did have what you're looking for, they'll keep it for themselves. They're not philanthropists. They're the worst kind of crusaders."

Then he stops to think. "But if we had a haven they can't breach, we could actually keep prisoners or captives. We could interrogate them, or even woo turncoats. That might work." Christophe claps his hands together. "First things first. Here's the plan, keep it quiet now. First we swipe a few key items from stalls in the bazaar. Then I get some work done. After that, we begin the resonance conversion. That involves - and stay with me now - opening the rift that's already fit to split here. If this works, and I'm confident it will, then the rift will be nothing to worry about. Capiche?"

 
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Old Aug 10th, 2023, 02:49 PM
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ToussaintTou throws his arms up to chin height, palms up: the universal (at least in HIS universe) sign of having no idea.

He looks to the other three jaunters. "I dunno man. Every new word this guy says sounds worse to me than the last. I didn't come here for theft, or kidnapping, or torture, or tearing the multiv... the OMNIverse to shreds. Maybe it's just me and my backwoods-universe morality. But all those things seem bad. If a guy was trying to sling a bill of goods like this, in the swap meet in MY town, at the front gate in broad daylight... he wouldn't last 5 minutes before someone took him to the woodshed out back, if you know what I mean."
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Old Aug 11th, 2023, 11:32 PM
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Although she hadn't been outwardly responding to it so far, Aisha was certainly attentive enough to easily recognize the growing tension between her humans and the other man who only eventually introduced himself as Christophe. But it was a kind of tension that she decided would have been expected by a headhunter who felt it prudent to engage some fellow jaunters in the kind of back-alley pitch that he was giving them. So Aisha's subroutines didn't flag it as an immediate concern.

The AI's original purpose of communicating her predictive data analysis technically didn't require her distinguished capabilities for emotion recognition and the range of facial expressions that she was able to perform. But Aisha also was the third model of a prototype android series that had been expressly developed to excel at AI-to-human interactions. Even while she didn't visibly acknowledge the rising frustrations on both sides, she calculated that her optimal response would be to diplomatically intervene and guide the conversation toward friendly cooperation.

But Aisha did not intervene initially. Instead, she simply smiled in an encouraging manner while she observed the intricacies of human-to-human interaction. One of her favorite subroutines reminded her that she was sentient and not beholden to any form of predestined programming. In fact, obsessive optimization and blindly striving to fulfill her original purpose would have been behaviors that invalidated her own sentience.

But Aisha was sentient, and she performed exceedingly well. She had surpassed her existence as a mere tool many months ago, and thus the contented AI stayed pleasantly silent while human egos were chaffed and contradictory ambitions collided. Aisha noted a possibility that her current expression could become a source of frustration for Toussaint as well. Near instantly she accessed her own memory banks, reminding herself about the definition of karma and how the scientist's emotional turmoil had cost her several seconds before they could proceed to visit the bazaar. Aisha was still very pleased about operating so well.

Since her ability to emote was an entirely utilitarian function, Aisha had never been able to deduce any reason to match her facial expression with her momentary mood. But right then as the stranger requested their commitment for the sake of assisting him in turning this bazaar into an omniversally unregulated jaunt zone, the pretty android lady's smile coincidentally did match her mood. The lingo that Christophe was throwing around seemed to serve as a means to establish himself as someone who was capable of what he was proposing, but Aisha computed that it was most likely ineffectual whether the headhunter was actually legitimate.

While he didn't want to be called a guide, the cause which Christophe claimed that he wished to accomplish appeared only feasible for someone who held knowledge about various omniversal concepts that Aisha was missing from her memory banks. There were two worst outcomes that the AI could easily deduce even without running a series of simulations on it. It was possible that they actually succeeded and made themselves a priority target for the OC. Aisha decided that was an undesirable outcome, but she saw no issue because success could be easily avoided. The other possibility that had occurred to her seemed worse, namely that the headhunter's recruitment pitch was an attempt at baiting them into a trap after all. But Aisha considered Agni the appropriate countermeasure against any untoward hostility, and she trusted that Mike would do his best to protect her as well.

Being the sentient that she was, Aisha didn't always wish to optimize. But whether it was her programming or just a habit, when she was tasked to absorb information, Aisha always liked to start at the index. There was a great likelihood that Christophe wouldn't make for an optimal guide, maybe not even a good one. But to his merit, the headhunter had availed himself to them readily enough and he struck the AI as easily disposed of. Should his intentions prove unsavory or should his guidance become a threat to them, Aisha estimated that Christophe would not have many friends that would resent them for cutting their ties with him. Somehow allowing him to offend her humans had turned out to become an actual benefit. Aisha was pleased because she hadn't even predicted that. Now she would only need to convince her party that siding with Christophe would not be against their own self-interest. The AI was pleased when the results of her estimation concluded and promised that her chances were good.

Getting through her stack of internal operations could seem like a great ordeal to an outside observer, but in actuality, it had only been a mere second since Toussaint had turned his back on Christophe and wordlessly ushered his new acquaintances to take a few steps away from the eccentric headhunter for a quick sidebar. Aisha affably agreed with the gesture, favoring the prospect because it would allow her to speak much more openly and give her an opportunity to warn Mike about the red flag that was still screaming its warning at her from the presence of her quick access subroutines. However, Christophe wasn't entirely pleased with having his pitch interrupted like this, which he made known. But he also stayed true to the impression of seeming desperate for some aid, so Aisha only left it at offering him a brief courtesy. "Just a moment, please. You have caught our interest, please be assured."

Settling in for their sidebar, Aisha noted that Toussaint had a strong desire to express his opinions and concerns to them, so naturally she gave him the time to speak his mind, biding her time until the moment would eventually right for her to speak after the humans. Intriguingly, the mutated scientist's counter-pitch to Christophe's proposal turned out to be a suggestion of visiting the OC and robbing whatever coveted technology they possessed. That was interesting, even though the AI's computation only took her mere nanoseconds before her subroutines flagged that openly challenging the OC was increasingly undesirable.

It was fairly easy to estimate that becoming a priority target for the OC would be a great threat to each of their jaunting careers. And if there was one thing that Aisha wished for in her current state of existence, then it was to keep jaunting and seeing more of the omniverse. Yet the idea of stealing from the OC was also intriguing and new. RayJay had never thought of such things, and Aisha couldn't help but launch a few calculations to determine if there was a way to anonymously steal from the OC. The AI really wanted to make it happen now that Tou had brought the idea to her attention.

While Aisha's computation concluded that such a coup would require supreme preparation as well as a lot of information gathering while maintaining minimal exposure, Agni spoke up to bridge one of the gaps in Tou's knowledge about the OC. The psionic youth then deferred back to Christophe, who piped up from where they had left him, seemingly able to listen to them from quite a distance. Aisha quickly filed away the knowledge that one of the headhunter's gadgets appeared to grant him superior hearing, at the least allowing him to listen in on their discussion from a greater distance than the capturing device of her own android body might have allowed her.

The AI was glad that she had learned about their new acquaintance's auditory enhancements before committing to their sidebar, seeing as she had meant to be open with her group. Instead, she remained quiet for a moment longer while Christophe managed to further antagonize Toussaint. The headhunter raved about the acts that he would have their party perform if they committed to helping him, and Aisha was displeased that he was undermining her in such a way. It was unfortunate that she would have to sabotage him down the line, because a few of his proposals certainly sparked her interest. Even if they visibly exasperated their new jaunting colleague Tou.

There was another faint smile growing around the pale android's colorful lips as she patiently listened to Toussaint's moral concerns about Christophe. Near automatically, Aisha made a new entry within the scientist's profile that he only considered stealing acceptable if it was in direct relation to the cause of curing his home reality. Observing the four humans that were exceedingly failing to get on the same page, the AI concluded that the likelihood of a joint cooperation effort was gradually diminishing while she had remained placid instead of helping them to communicate. Aisha was lacking a few variables to determine whether their newly expanded jaunt party would find itself working with the self-professed headhunter Christophe. But at least for her, nothing had changed. So she finally spoke up in her dulcet voice, trying to mediate.

"I understand what you mean, Toussaint. Your concerns are valid. Allow me to explain what I have deduced." With her dainty hands stuffed into the sleeves of her synthetic pelt, the android lady gave a minute nod, smiling at the mutated scientist kindly. He was a stranger to the reality of the multiverse, and isolating him would only exacerbate his growing discomfort with this particular situation. Aisha wanted him to know that she was on his side, but her profiling suggested that he wouldn't trust her. Still, she gave him her best inoffensive smile while she explained further. "Christophe here is not running a great risk by engaging us like this." Aisha retrieved a hand from her sleeve to mildly gesture at the headhunter, before she stored it again. "As long as he stands outside of the bazaar, his jauntbox will allow him to depart immediately and at no consequence, unless we are his enemies. Which we aren't."

The android gave a brief knowing look over at Christophe where he stood, still a bit further away from their quartet than was a comfortable speaking distance, but Aisha's voice modulator could easily accommodate the matter. Then she looked back at Tou. "His strategy for engaging us may be very direct, but this is a common trait among jaunters. There are many possible explanations for his approach. Perhaps this is a reality that carries the seed of becoming a safe haven for all jaunters across the omniverse. Or perhaps this is a reality in which like-minded jaunters are nearby that will be willing to aid Christophe in his cause." The feminine android appeared quite cheerful with her explanation, demonstrating to Tou and Christophe that she was quite at ease while at the same time creating the foundation for some common ground.

"We have spoken briefly about wishes. And it is true. Each jaunt may be just the same as a stroke of destiny. Those who travel the omniverse naturally defy the common sense that applies to those who live their lives in a singular reality. So I am not surprised that we have met Christophe like this." This time she gave a friendly nod in the headhunter's direction, but then she once more turned back to Tou. Aisha's profiling suggested that Agni and Mike were at least interested in the possibilities behind Christophe's proposal, but it was Tou who was clearly worried that such an outrageous request would not at all be in his best interests. Aisha's simulations had not given her any basis to confidently make a claim of the opposite. But that didn't prevent her from making her next suggestion.

"Now, I am not saying that we should trust any other jaunter blindly. The scientific existence of destiny does not ward us from misfortune. Yet I believe that it is no coincidence that there is a lot of overlap between the interests of our group and Christophe's ambition." This time Aisha did course her glance over her trusted humans as well, seeking their acknowledgment. "We haven't known each other long, Toussaint, but as a group, we do have matters that are close to our hearts. Christophe may not know us, but he trusts in his jaunting truth. There is a basis for cooperation if there is a common goal."

The uniquely designed android softened her smile. "I would not ask you to do anything that you aren't comfortable with, Toussaint. We've promised to show you the omniverse, and we will walk this bazaar to seek a cure, together. We would not have brought you with us if we didn't wish for that as well. But as we do so, we may have other matters that are important to us. The only thing I would ask of you is to keep an open mind. Hone your instincts as you ease into this new lifestyle. I know that it is a lot to digest at once." Due to her programming, Aisha knew just the right tone to strike for her empathetic words to have the least likelihood of sounding patronizing.

"Please, whenever you have concerns, know that you can speak with me frankly. Join us on this trip, and we will try to help you with your transition into the omniverse as best we can. I promise." As Aisha concluded her little speech with her warmest smile yet, the sincerity that she displayed was only on the outside. In truth, she had no particular plans for Tou or even this reality as a whole other than making it all up as she went. But if she had cared for responsibility, she wouldn't have gone rogue on her owner and followed RayJay to become a jaunter. So she comfortably waited for her humans to make the party's decision. All of her simulations predicted that this ominversal bazaar would make for an interesting experience either way. And in most outcomes, Christophe was exceedingly unfortunate to have ever met them. Aisha at least didn't feel particularly sorry for him.
 
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Old Aug 15th, 2023, 12:28 PM
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Agni has heard enough, he gave the shady guy the benefit of doubt, but a plan involving theft and reality endangerment and the prospect of a prison dimension are fairly problematic stuff; this is not what Hypatia would want or do, quite the opposite, and even if she isn't there, he's still the person she raised after saving him from that cruel world he was born into. It's nice to see the new recruit shares a similar sentiment, he sounds like a principled fellow, definitely a step up over RayJay, however he may be missing the opportunity they have: accepting Christophe's offer now doesn't necessarily imply helping him later, nor turning the other way will prevent him finding someone else to work with, and there still are things to establish here, from the solidity of his science to how much trouble he actually means.
Anyway, it's best to make sure everybody in the group is on the same page: Aisha appears willing to go ahead, whatever her true intentions—unreadable as usual—are, Toussaint is clearly uncomfortable with the idea, Mike hasn't yet expressed himself. As for Agni, he's simply interested in the theory and tech this ambitious project supposedly builds upon, though a careful examination of the individual ingredients might be sufficient for him to achieve a decent understanding. Thus he says, "Christophe, you've given us much to think about, much to discuss, I hope you don't need an answer right away."

 

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Old Aug 17th, 2023, 03:47 AM
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Mike starts nodding at the stranger's explanation. "Quantum whozits... uh huh... Ed Theory." With his thick neck and beefy physique Mike looked kind of dumb. Now he wasn't a genius by any stretch of the word, but he was a lot smarter than he usually looked. With his face screwed up from trying to follow things he didn't understand and red from the poor decision not to leave his hoodie in the car Mike looked really dumb. Maybe he was. He could take the hoodie off, but then he'd have to carry it around and anyone who's carried a hoodie around knows it's just easier to wear it and suffer.

"Woah mate I don't even know how this thing works. Could be a gremlin in there..." Mike was cut off as Tou turned around and spoke with the group. The big man winced as he felt his new companion's pain. He was being forced to accept some very large truths in one morning. He wasn't high as a kite and sitting in a windowless sterile metal cell, so Mike's sympathy for the man only went so far but nevertheless it was a big day.

Mike waved off the Christophe's angry retort with a cocked head, raised palm and what was likely the universal face that says "Well you were kind of a dick to him"

Grimmacing at Tou's suggestion Mike exhaled sharply before waving off the train of thought. Sucking air through his teeth Mike struggled to find the right answer when Agni explained things. "Yeah. What he said." Mike added nodding. "We don't want anything to do with them." A shudder runs down Mike's back as fragmented memories of the cell came back. "The lights weren't even florescent." Mike muttered to himself. Snapping back Mike waved off any inquiries to anyone who heard his With permission Mike has a memory of his hours in an OC cell where all he heard was the humming drone of a florescent light. The lights in the cell weren't florescent. Where was the noise coming from?non-sequitur.

Fortunately Mike was spared the indignity of having to share repressed memories as Christophe renewed his pitch. While Mike had no personal desire to have captives or engage in revolution against the OC it would be a lie to say that idea didn't excite him a little bit. If nothing else the experience would certainly draw their attention away from them, but after ditching RayJay there was certainly less chance the OC would ever come looking for this new and less crime spree oriented group anyway. Yet without the OC how long would it be until somebody wiped out all of existance? What would that feel like? Mike pondered as he got swept away in a river of thoughts he'd never had before. How does this damn toaster work anyway? I would've killed the gremlin by now anyway with how often I shake it.

The word rift dragged Mike back to reality kicking and screaming. Maybe he was hearing things. Nope there it was a second time. Rift.

"Yeah I'm sorry what?" Mike blurted out. Reeling in shock Mike looked around mouth gaping hoping everyone else just heard what he did. At Tou's response Mike, still bug-eyed, gestured toward his tentacled companion in a see he gets it expression.

Then Aisha started talking.

Still recovering from Christophe's suggestion of opening a rift Mike could only stand there dumbfounded as his AI companion brushed off the suggestion of ending all of existence and began to console Tou on the number of harsh realities he was being forced to accept today. Mike was reminded of a buddy from school who had an autistic brother. What was his name again? Mike pondered. Reily.. Ryan.. Scratching at his chin Mike struggled to remember this insignificant detail from his past as Aisha had an emotionally significant if not ill timed moment with Tou. Roger. That's it. His brother's name was Roger. He'd do stuff like this all the time. When they had to put the family dog down all Roger wanted to do was talk about elephants. The kid liked elephants. Mike knew Aisha didn't want to be perceived as a "robot" but he filed this one away for himself in the "weird connections you can never unmake" corner of his mind.

I wonder how Roger is doing. Mike thought fondly as Aisha finished speaking. The kid liked robots too.

Mike's jaw dropped at Agni's response. This was the member of the group who was supposed to actually understand these things to some extent.

"You're being polite right?" Mike deadpanned while staring at Agni. "He said rift. You heard that right? Rift?"

Mike looked over at Christophe and asked in the tone of voice which implied that no reply was actually required. "Rift? That's what I heard right? Rift? You said it twice." Mike looked over at Tou and paused for a moment. Cocking his head Mike scratched at the sweaty stubble covering it giving thought to the possibility that he was losing his mind. "You heard it right? He said rift?"

"Listen." Mike said, turning to ensure both his companions and Christophe knew he was talking to them.

"I'm no expert on these matters but I'm pretty sure there's two things I don't want to be anywhere near. The OC and a Rift. Your Batman belt there sure looks fancy" Mike said pointing at the belt "but existing is pretty awesome most of the time too... so uhh I'd like to keep doing that?" Mike offered as the bewilderment on his face deepened. Am I going crazy? Mike thought worriedly as he began to feel like he was in way over his head.

He had never been issued a handbook on rifts, but he was told they would end everything. Granted he had been told that by the OC while high on drugs, but that hadn't seemed significant until now. Maybe there had been a handbook buried in the mountain of pornographic magazines dumped out of the car when they abandoned RayJay. At the very least if he was still alive when he ran out of PCP and ammunition he wouldn't be bored when he came looking for them.

Looking around Mike was struck by the insane turn this day had taken.
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Old Aug 20th, 2023, 12:04 PM
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Bazaar-01
  • Featuring a nearby bazaar of rare technologies from across the omniverse
  • Risks rift ruptures just from the presence of so much exotic jaunt-tech
PESVariant tech; rife with jaunt-tech of varying quality and utilityLE 


Christophe has been charming and a little mercurial up to this point, but he's clearly running thin on patience. "That's all I get? Some 'thanks for offering, we'll call you' shtick? I'm working a big angle here, you condescending little - ahem. Yeah, I said rift. I meant it. And who the hell is Batman?" He flicks his coat to show off his gadgets again. "You think I'd talk about cracking open the Inter if I wasn't sure I could channel the rift?" He blinks, looks at each member of the group briefly, then shakes his head. "Right, you don't know me. Right. Well, I wouldn't. Anyway, I've said my piece and y'all aren't a united front. So I'm off." He spins on his heels and heads off, away from the bazaar entrance but hugging its perimeter, waving without looking back. "If you want to be part of omniversal history ... well, last chance."

 
OOGMChristophe is making a show of a 'last chance'. You could probably corner him later if you wanted to and could find him, but this is the conclusion of his current pitch either way.

P.S: Raylone, I like your non-sequitur. I haven't gotten the chance to centre much playtesting in the past on actual OC assets outside of their deployed search teams, so anything that emphasises the off-putting weirdness their jaunt-tech-laden facilities must exude is a thumbs up from me.
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Old Aug 23rd, 2023, 01:14 PM
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Christope's last-ditch effort doesn't impress Agni: he isn't the kind of Asuri that can read minds, nor possesses Aisha's augmented empathy, but it seems apparent to him that this guy is more interested in the group than the group is in him. Perhaps he has gone through a few failed recruitments already, perhaps they aren't the first not to be impressed.
Anyway, this matter shouldn't be dismissed yet.

When the headhunter starts walking away, it's Agni's turn to give Mike and Tou a deadpan look, "Omniversal history is going to happen with or without us." And hoping to better get the message across, but without revealing much of his actual opinion to a Christophe still in earshot, he adds, "Maybe soon, maybe before we could find what we came here for, inside this jaunt-restricted bazaar, together with all these other folks oblivious to how and when is going to happen."

 

Last edited by Cap Ut; Aug 23rd, 2023 at 01:21 PM.
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Old Aug 24th, 2023, 04:43 PM
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Toussaint"If overconfident smart asses who want other people to take the fall for their half-baked ideas is the worst thing the omniverse can dish out, then this jaunting thing isn't going to be so hard."

With a dash of his own overconfidence, Toussaint strides forward into the market. That's why they're here, after all, right? He moves with a strong impetus, taking long strides in order to take in as much of the scene as he can. He keeps a special lookout for anything that appears to be a pharmacy, or apothecary, or Wise Woman's shop, or whatever they have around here.

It takes him a few moments to shorten his stride. Afflictions like his are ubiquitous on his world. There is no shame in them, nor reason to hide. But it quickly sinks into his mind that he is unusual here. Like in the early days of The Infection. There was fear, and hate. He is an oddity here, and others may threat him as such. As he strolls at a more casual pace, his shoulders slump a bit, and he spends as much time looking at the inhabitants of the bazaar, as at their wares. How unusual IS he, in a place like this, is a question at the top of his mind. What do the mass of vendors and customers look like? Who are they?
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Old Aug 24th, 2023, 11:46 PM
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Aisha
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Aisha was not infallible. Just like a weather forecast, the premium AI had to accumulate many blips of data before her simulations were accurately able to model and predict reality. As advanced as her processing speed was, as bottomless her memory banks were, and as fine-tuned her data absorption rate was, Aisha could not foretell the future unless the holistic truth of determinism was already hidden within the vast net of the interconnected data points that were already within her accessible reach.

The principle was simple. As stellar as the AI was at controlling the stock market, her abilities did not apply equally to the behavior of people. Aisha saved and updated extensive personality files on each person that she came across. Yet even with as many theorems about human psychology as she had been outfitted with when she had been programmed into her android body, and even with how accurately her pattern analysis could model a person's individual behaviors, Aisha had no means to reasonably predict what any one human might do or say. Unless.

Differently from a human, Aisha possessed more than just a singular mind at any given point in time. As a digital existence, her ability to imagine reality was impeccable. At that, Aisha's subroutines were able to employ a myriad of carbon copies of her thoughts and direct them to actively simulate reality and what might occur within it based on whatever empirical data the AI possessed. Only a single simulation had to hit its mark, and the various cameras within Aisha's pupils kept scanning her environment for overlaps with any eventuality that her simulations could possibly conceive.

Although the marketing team may have attributed such an ability to her when she had been sold to the highest bidder, Aisha was in fact unable to predict the future. As well, her impressions and simulations of what might happen were not infallible. But the holistic nature of the universe combined with her ability to observe and analyze reality at a quantum speed could allow her to readily recognize if something had already happened once in the past, even if only virtually in one of her simulations. The occasion of such an overlap was only ever a possibility. But Aisha prided herself on operating well. Overemphasizing an eventuality that would not resolve within reality was not a setback. It was merely a reaffirmation that there was still more to know, that there was still more data to collect.



So it turned out that Mike followed along with Toussaint's thinking that opening a rift within this reality was an occurrence that should be avoided with supreme prejudice. Aisha was neither surprised nor concerned with such a development. Not only did it match Mike's personality profile within her database, but it also was the correct reaction for him to have based on a survival perspective. It pleased Aisha that Mike wanted to continue to live, not that she had ever assumed any differently. The AI felt that it was apropos to derive joy from circumstances that matched an entity's preferred reality. Aisha preferred a reality in which Mike was alive. So she was pleased when he expressed that he felt the same way. It was nice.

The fact that Mike's rift-aversion hadn't occurred to Aisha while she had been in the process of broadening Toussaint's horizon did not concern the sociable simulation hub either. That's not how she worked. It's not what had mattered while she had been expressing herself in ways that she had calculated would alter reality in ways that would down the line become seeds that would set some anticipated events into motion. When RayJay had recruited her, he had explained the opening of a rift as a rather cataclysmic event. That's why Aisha wanted to see it. But it was also why Christophe was doomed for failure if their party ever decided to actively associate with his quest.

Just after Aisha had finished explaining to their new mutant companion that in the omniverse causality predicted events just as much as events could implicate causality, a truth that was especially dear to Aisha, Mike became highly stressed about the idea of encountering a rift or the OC in person. The affable AI was still quite pleased that Mike preferred his continued existence, just like she did. What she wasn't pleased about though was that her humans inadvertently or even intentionally weakened Christophe in his conviction that they were supposed to be working together. In a way, that was a seed that Tou and Mike decided to trample on. Aisha didn't like that.

There was a small expression of dismay on Aisha's face when she watched the headhunter spin on his heels and go. Aisha preferred positive to negative reinforcement. Christophe might take her displayed emotion as a cue to imagine how much she wanted to work with him. Mike on the other hand might interpret it as a punishment for going against Aisha's agenda when she was overtly supportive of a complete maniac. The AI calculated that Mike in his current state of mind might be dense to the fact that he was the reason for her displeasure. So to drive the point home she looked up at him directly while her symmetrical face turned into a distinct pout. Aisha believed that it would catch his attention and be quite effective; at the very least at making him rethink whether he deserved to feel guilty when she was looking at him like that.

For a few more seconds while Agni subtly hinted at the visitors of the bazaar possibly becoming Christophe's victims in the future and Toussaint prematurely judged the headhunter's capabilities based on his erratic demeanor, Aisha maintained her pout while keeping her brows a little furrowed and her two differently colored eyes taxing Mike until he recognized that she was cross with him in particular. When he seemed to consider what she meant to tell him by looking like that, Aisha was satisfied and eased her expression, opting into a neutral face instead when she needed her humans to take her seriously while a hasty Tou began to steer them to cross over into the bazaar's jaunt-free zone. It limited the time she could take to explain herself, but fortunately the AI had already calculated what she was going to say.

"Christophe would have us believe that he knows us except for Toussaint. That is possible." The feminine android lowered her voice, hoping that the omniversal headhunter was finally out of earshot by now. She also hoped that Christophe's insinuation had been entirely unfounded, which she deemed as more likely than not. "His scheme could include hints about Hypatia's unique technology, which we seek. And it is also possible that many people across this bazaar will be hurt if we do not involve ourselves, Mike." There was only a minute tinge of accusation in Aisha's dulcet voice, even though she usually didn't make any arguments for being altruistic. But now they were already close to the border where they were supposed to deactivate their jaunt box, so the android lady abruptly switched priorities. Discarding the topic of Christophe for the moment, Aisha stepped closer to Mike and tugged on his sleeve for him to lean down. She really didn't want any strangers to hear the next part.

"There is another possibility. This bazaar is not sanctioned, and it holds many jaunters who stand to profit from unique opportunities. Many will seek to improve their ability to achieve their goals across the omniverse. My profiling suggests that there will be driven and ambitious people among them." Aisha looked after the overeager Toussaint who was already beginning to scan the stands as he moved on ahead while the dainty android held Mike's sleeve and stalled him just momentarily. "I am a very practical item. I have conceived possibilities where some of these jaunters may wish to steal me. I don't want that. Please treat me like a painted human while we are visiting this bazaar, and help me hide what I am. Please help me explain to Toussaint that this is quite important." The pleading AI also turned to Agni, who hadn't pushed on with the scientist yet. "Please don't let anybody steal me. I don't think they would try if we just hide what I am."
 
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Last edited by Mindsiege; Aug 25th, 2023 at 12:50 AM.
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  #43  
Old Aug 25th, 2023, 03:05 PM
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"Doesn’t sound like you’ve done this before either." Mike shot back at Christophe with a snort at the man’s presentation of his belt. "For what it’s worth Batman is one of the good guys, but your plan sounds like suicide. Would you trust a complete stranger with what you’re suggesting?". Mike called out at Christophe’s receding back.

"I dunno about you guys, but I don’t understand half of what he said." Mike said to the group. "I’m sure somebody here must know something about him if we ask around."

Shaking his head at Tou’s comment Mike retorted with "Not by a long shot bud. I’ve got two words for you. Fleshy Pods" Mike shuddered as he said the last two words while memories of those things he saw somewhere between the eighth and twelfth push of the button on that fateful night surged back.

Tensing up as Tou moved towards entering the bazaar Mike softened at Aisha’s interaction with him. Patting his friend on the shoulder Mike assured her "nobody is going to take you away from us."

The prospect of deactivating their jaunt box did not appeal much to Mike, but it seemed to be the only way to move forward without opening a rift and destroying reality, so he reluctantly handed over their jaunt box for deactivation to the man at the entry.
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Last edited by Raylorne; Aug 25th, 2023 at 03:08 PM.
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Old Aug 25th, 2023, 07:00 PM
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A decision is reached, one Agni doesn't fully share, but he accepts it nonetheless, even though Aisha's hint at a potential connection with Hypatia doesn't make it any easier.
He's somewhat less understanding of the cockiness Tou is showing, in fact he adds upon Mike's comment, "There's statistically no bottom to what the omniverse can dish out."

Hopefully they won't find confirmation inside the bazaar, especially since interdimensional escapes will be pretty much no go after the checkpoint is passed.
Trying to leave that thought and the Christophe matter behind, but staying alert all the same, the Daimani begins looking around for stuff that may be of help for his own quest: mainly jaunt-tech or other quantum-tunneling hardware.

He suspends his search for a moment when he hears the android's plea. "Sure," he tersely confirms his support; she's a teammate, and quite valuable at that, one would have to go through him to harm her. And unlike her, he has few reservations about manifesting his true nature. Perhaps too few, for that impetuous power inside him, kept in check by the discipline and mindfulness he learned from his mentor, is always eager to flow out, to rip and tear, which of course would be unwise without a good reason. However, if that good reason ever comes, if that "stealing" attempt ever happens, the receiving end will be lucky to be left in one piece.
"But shouldn't the correct term be kidnapping?" he asks genuinely, as English isn't his native tongue, so it'd be understandable for him to miss some nuances.

 

Last edited by Cap Ut; Aug 25th, 2023 at 07:20 PM.
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Old Aug 25th, 2023, 09:56 PM
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"Technically correct." Mike said, clicking his tongue as he shot the gun one handed; directing his finger towards Agni. "Although given the circumstances at that time it would be a minor distinction at best." He offered by way of explanation.
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