Comic 1171 - Ask Pierce more questions
Posted on 31st Jan 2019, 8:47 PM
in Like a Bullet from Behind
Average Rating: 5 (5 votes) /
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Author Notes:
He takes it, turning it over in his hands as he eyes it.
"...Interesting. The design looks... familiar, in a way, but I don't know these symbols."
You had a similar impression. It looks like things you've seen before, but you've never seen that design in particular.
Pierce nods, and hands the disc back to you. "Though magic is stigmatized, you'd be amazed how much modern design and architecture takes from arcane writings of old. I've heard that even some scientific knowledge now a part of our everyday lives was gained by magical means--though, that could just be mages trying to talk up the craft."
"That a good idea?," Michelle asks. "Y'know... puttin' magic stuff all over the place?"
"Well..." Pierce motions as though he's going to shrug, but never quite goes through with it. "I don't think anyone's gone so far as to put functioning sigils up at the mall or the like. Once you familiarize yourself with the patterns and aesthetics of the otherworldly, though, you'll begin to see hints of it everywhere. I doubt it's anything nefarious--someone just liked the look, at some point, and trends are what they are. The designs on that CD and its case may be the older foundations for things we see all the time."
"What d'ya think about the effect, though?," Michelle asks.
"It does sound like a ritual," Pierce replies simply. "A sort of... protected travel. The body and soul stay firmly where they are, safe in the caster's chambers, while the mind drifts to another place. It's not an uncommon way for humans to see outside our bubble."
What place, though...?
"Yeah," Michelle adds, "any idea where Blondie went?"
He's quiet for a second--you can't tell if he's hesitating, or just thinking about it. He finally forces a smile. "I'm honestly not certain. It doesn't sound like any place I've read about before... but I haven't read as much as I'd like, either. There is a lot to see in the universe."
You also ask Pierce how the sword handed guy was able to track you--he seemed to know where you were, even over a huge distance.
"That was one of the spells we had placed... well, in him," Pierce says. "Not too complex--if I recall, it called upon some minor demon or another. It sharpened his senses, to make him an impeccable hunter."
You also ask if Pierce has any thoughts on trying to track... uh, time. Possibly between two zones of varying times.
"Time, I doubt I can help with," he says frankly. "Any writing I've seen on the subject of time has simply said not to. There are... things, that it may draw the attention of."
Yeah. That seems to be the general consensus.
You send a message to Caius, asking how things are going on their end.
"We traded in some tinfoil hats," he says, and then gives a very long pause. "They uh... they didn't give us a helmet." He pauses, again, and inhales deeply. "We got a leech? Lookin' thing?"
...What?
"Yeah," he says. "That was kinda our reaction. It's a big ol' leech lookin' fella. He's in a glass case thing, so, y'know. That's nice. Ain't runnin' around tha bunker or nothin', but uh... we're not real sure what to do with 'em. We was holdin' off on tradin' anymore hats 'til we figured this one out."
You ask Caius if he could possibly contact the tradesmen--maybe by phone? Or by ritual, if necessary.
"I ain't got their number," he says, "but yeah, I can do tha ritual. Gimme a minute."
While Caius sets up the tradesmen ritual, a thought occurs to you--trying to pull from the people you've blooded. You were unable to do it before, as you could only portal or tap into the red from what you consider yourself, but you've overcome a number of limitations since then. Your powers might be more... flexible, at this point.
"Hell, I'm game," Michelle says. "Hit me with it."
You attempt to make more of your blood, using the blood currently in Michelle.
...To no avail.
It seems that, even though it's your blood, you still mostly see it as your blood in Michelle's body and therefor her blood. Somehow. Maybe because it's a gift, of sorts...?
"Pfft." Michelle grins. "You're still a nurse."
...Although.
She's also currently within the range of your aura.
You... think about it differently?
You take a second to refocus, paying more attention to the auras in the area. You notice that Pierce's aura is... very calm, almost a coherent shape. It also has a similar... you don't know, something to Liz's. Texture? Color? They share a quality.
You focus past that, and onto the idea of Michelle being inside your... aura container.
You focus on the blood running through her veins. You can't... pull from it, though. Still. It seems your aura doesn't really... cross through her. She's in your aura, but the aura's not in her; you can turn the aura into things, and possibly pull from the aura, but you can't pull from her inside it.
Imagine having a bottle inside a larger bottle, and the larger bottle is full of blood. You can move the large bottle, and you can use the blood to move the small bottle, but you can't mess with anything inside the small bottle.
Or something.
You focus on it more, trying to come up with a way to circumvent this--
You then almost jump out of your seat as your phone rings.
On Mars.
It's just Caius, though.
"Hey, I'm here," he says quietly. "I know you know, but this is weird as hell. They already told me tha rules, though."
Two questions: one, who made the Combat #11 ritual? And secondly, is it safe to use on non-humans?
"Alright." Caius speaks louder, presumably out to the tradesmen. "That ritual we got--tha CD that said Combat 11 on it. Who made that?"
You can faintly hear the tradesmen in the background.
"We can answer this question, if in exchange you provide us with information. When you, Mine Ametsuchi, and Leopold Finch traveled to Southden, you entered one of the domes. Where did you go after that? There is a time between your entering the dome and exiting it that cannot be accounted for, not even with our resources."
"I, uh..." Caius hesitates. "I'll have to get back to ya on that."
It's very close to an exchange you've had before--you asked if anyone was asking about you, and the tradesmen asked where you acquired the ritual to call them. It seems like they're trying to narrow it down more specifically--your answer was... a bit vague, last time, but you didn't want to throw the Library under the bus (or reveal your error room shenanigans).
"Second question," Caius begins. "That ritual--s'it safe to use on mutants, lab meat an' stuff, or just full blooded humans?"
"We can answer this question," the tradesmen state, "but in exchange, you will never have the revenge you seek. You, Caius, will be rendered personally incapable of killing Macland Row or Gesenai Shirai. Any attempts you bring to bear will inevitably fail."
...Wait, was he still planning that?
Caius actually hesitates.
Not very long, but he does hesitate.
You hear him take a long, deep breath, and exhale slowly. "...Alright. Deal. Got it."
"The ritual recorded on that disc will be less effective when utilized by one it is not written for," the tradesmen reply. "There are not, however, any significant repercussions. As long as the one performing the ritual has anatomy similar enough, in broader terms, to a human body, the smaller details of genetics or brain structure only alter the degree and nature of the transformation. No long term damage will be inflicted, nor will the level of trauma be elevated if the ritual is used by a mutated human or a genetically engineered being with human-like physiology. The duration will also remain the same."
We should test it with them, then, out in the mountains of Bunker A. See if their bone armor will expand with them, or if they need to resummon their bone armor once embiggened, or if the embiggening INCLUDES bone armor. See if Michelle's embiggened hands can still properly grip, aim, and fire her weapons.
...And maybe also see how large Caius is in that form, so we can build another warhammer for his new size and store it in the red until needed.
Granted, giving *that* information might clue the Tradesmen in or help them narrow down things about where we went, but it's better than just outright stating it's the Library and might also be preferable to remaining in the dark about potential allies.
Random note related to what Pierce said, btw: irl, there is actually a sigil called the Ellis Sigil that people put up as graffiti in various places, including malls, that is in fact intended to function as a spell. It's part of a network of chaos magick intended to make shit more weird and break down consensus reality at the sites where it's drawn. Soooo, I bet there *are* people putting spells up at malls in Future Not-America too XD
If the Tradesmen couldn't see, there was a reason, and it's too soon to reveal it. That much we can tell them.
That way, we don't mention any specific entity. Still, I maintain that the Tradesmen likely already suspect the involvement of some entity or other-- we'd literally not be telling them anything they didn't already strongly suspect. We got a book from somewhere and they don't know where, and they don't know from whom; and we disappeared into a certain place. I'm operating under the assumption that, as effective merchants, they know how to add 2 and 2.
We're not *required* to give a reason, no. The point of giving a reason for declining the trade is to prompt them to reconsider their asking price.
In any case, my updated comment doesn't mention that part at all, just mentions the concept of potential harm coming out of us learning things vs. the potential harm of us divulging things. I think that's neutral enough that it doesn't risk revealing our source.
I honestly believe that the price is not just more than we're willing to pay, but more than the product is *worth.* That is different from other times we've been unwilling to pay. This is likely because they don't know the details of what they're asking about. We don't have to *give* them those details, but just say enough to support an argument of "this is why you should reconsider."
If we need to, say it would breach a confidentiality agreement or something.
Anyways, I do think it would be productive to let them know that the price they're asking for is actually too steep for the product they're offering, in our opinion-- not just more than we want to pay, but actually more than the product is worth. That at least gives us the chance to ask them to name a new price.
We didn't ask after an idle curiosity just to possibly expose The Library to the Time Cops-- especially when we're declining to get anything out of it.
It may be that the information really is that game changing that it would require such a cost, but that cost is just too high to pay.
I vote no to answering their question. Before Caius hangs up on the Tradesmen, tell him to say "We would like your phone number, if you would be so kind." The important part is it's not a question. After that, Michelle and Caius can begin testing the new ritual outside bunker A.
Dr. Finch and Fuse should start working on electronic warfare devices in Bunker B, and see if the Juries would be willing to help.
Also +1 to asking for their number, or possibly asking for any other way to contact them without a ritual.
Thale's deal is mind control, and body control, and really, just degrading everything about an individual's individuality. He is actively trying to force his sense of self onto the masses of the City, with certain targets taking priority. He can pull mass from regular, queened people because he views them as an extension of himself; he overrides their sense of self.
If we work around somebody's aura, or try to claim ownership of the Blood inside of them, we are doing exactly what Thale is doing. Overruling their sense of self with our own. Mine is definitely allowed to have a sense of self that transcends the meat shell she's in, but on the whole, most everyone else's sense of who they are is strongly tied to the skin their in. If anything, we WANT them to be able to resist that kind of control; it means they have a strong soul.
Alright, that felt rather negative, so let's try spinning this on a positive note to finish off. I think that Mine's thoughts on having given Blood and it being their Blood from then on is a very interesting prospect. It reinforces an idea I mentioned last page where our allies could use Blood powers. The Blood is still The Blood, even if it belongs to somebody else. I think it would be a more than fair trade off if Mine can't pull Blood into Michelle, but Michelle could pull Blood into herself. Mine of course has the most The Blood, and can decide what can and can't be done by others, but the sharing and co-operation opportunity presented is much more in line with the philosophy that Mine and the crew operate with.
Agree that our friends have made progress, but I feel that they're in need of a real boost (and we all need to learn better control) before we face off with Nil/Carpenter.
One thing we may have accidentally learned about spirit strength and people's bodies recently is that the ghost trio, with power levels around that of a normal (not overloaded) Odin run, appear to be able to enter someone's body without frying it.
Perhaps talk to Finch on the possibilities of if Project Odin could be used to strengthen our allies' auras/sense of self, and see if anyone would want to try it out if it sounds reasonable?
Edit If the question about Bunker C is answerable, maybe also find out if the creature(s) within can mimic things other than voices.
Gotta check sentience and find a name for it (also mini-hug if appropriate) !
I'd argue that even interacting with the Tradesmen (i.e. we have performed the ritual and made deals with them) is enough information for someone to fill in the blanks.
Further, the library entity may not be something they can reach even if they know what happened. They can't tell us about anything Nill hides, after all.
Let's think about it.
Personal curiosity aside, however, I'm not really convinced that we need this information.
+1 to Caius fishing for their number - except, does he think in numbers, or simply "Call Blondie's cell?"
Leeches will forever be colored by ST2: Wrath of Khan for me. Seems like an anti-mind-static symbiotic brain-leech. Do NOT take my word for this.
"You, Caius, will be rendered personally incapable of killing Macland Row or Gesenai Shirai."
So if in the future, eliminating Macland Row and/or Gesenai Shirai is something we wish to do, it can be done.
Caius might have his revenge yet, even if others are required to fulfill it in his place.
As for the first question, perhaps countering with "We would like to know that too." or something similar?
It is technically an answer, though the Tradesmen may in turn see fit to technically answer who made the Combat 11 CD.
I imagine if it is incredibly dangerous to the point of it being sheer stupidity to even consider it, the price for the answer will be pretty low - telling us not to shoot ourself in the head is not exactly 'tipping the balance', and they have a vested interest in us not accidentally destroying their other business partners.
It would be interesting if Mine could tune the sparks she accidentally made previously into a useful, ranged, electrical attack.
A clause, counter-offer, addendum or what-have-you.
And as an aside-from-an-aside, I've wondered how intent factors into trades. Assuming it does, of course, could a written message meaningfully alter the result?
Or an object repurposed; say a helmet used as a bowl?
Perhaps ties to personal history and/or emotions?..
...Whether now is a good time to actually test these things I'll leave to others, but speculation should be feasible enough.
I also strongly suspect that if we were to come to them and say "we have one Willard to trade; what information can you give us?" they'll come back with "We cannot effectively price a question you have not asked." or something along those lines.
Now, as far as a note or intention affecting things, we do have an answer on Page 1119; basically, no. That said, the Tradesmen have done a rather decent job and inferring our intent with our trades so far, and more often than not given us exactly what we "ask" for or wildly better.
First, don't forget to ask (at least to know the price of) what the Z50 cactus and slime are. Oh, and also about our new leech. I wonder if it can be blooded...
Second, I'm concerned that Caius still wanted revenge, but also relived that he was willing to give up on it to help us.
Third, We are now learning how to sense with auras, so could we try and sense with the blood at the same time? Like looking at Finch's aura from Fuse's Blood or even looking at the Tradesmen's auras from Caius.
Starting with forced syncs, I think the logical choice is to start with Michelle, as Mine has some experience with what she might be walking into. I know some people in the discord were concerned that killing spider Vasquez might alter Michelle's personality, so if we didn't want to risk that, Mine could (assuming that entity still exists there) work on simply restraining it, which would still allow her to train her skills in sync-land. Then as she walks out the door, she can release it again.
More interactions with Red and getting her sense of self built up sounds like a good plan in general. Perhaps do the imprint strengthening ritual on her and take her around and introduce her to the whole team to start. Which can lead nicely into the next part...
For the last one, more altering of her (and Red's ... or maybe even the full offensive team's) imprints in astral form would be good. Maybe start with the ghost girls and doing more harmless things like clothes and shape changes (Like change into a cat form or something... Assuming that would turn out better than the meat "cats" she'd make... or maybe just start with the ears or tail... She added ears to her armor already, so she's had practice there. XD ). Once that gets easier, split off from the girls and work on testing ways of using the ability for more active offense and defense. Red would be a good person to help test this aspect of the abilities. Probably rest back in the body for a bit every now and then just to ensure Mine doesn't get too worn out.
If some free time comes up, we can ask Liz or Pierce if they'd be alright with letting Mine practice on them.
Since Mine can discharge sparks from anywhere in her aura, she can also probably charge back up using the incoming induction power.
She could sustain some heavy-duty mental effort that way.
The Library told us that the Tradesmen 'send cryptic messages on the cheap'. So, instead of asking the Tradesmen to reveal the ritual maker's identity, let's ask if they'll send a message to them for us. This could be much cheaper, and start up a dialogue.
Of course, now we've gotta figure out how to make a message suitably cryptic that it'll be cheap to send. XD Maybe just a phone number or email address with no identifying information?
KittensAndEldritchHugs at gmail (the "g" stands for "goddess"!)