916/ABS: Bugging Operators for Info and Profit

ABS: Bugging Operators for Info and Profit
Date of Scene:	05 November 2014
Location:	The Homeworld
Synopsis:	Psyber and Homura bug Welcomes and Answers.
Cast of Characters:	2, 253, 347
Tinyplot:	When They Return

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Psyber (253) has posed:
    The visiting chamber of the Blue Wing! That is where you go when you want to visit with Operators for non-quest purposes and general information gathering. And that is where Psyber and Homura are going to be now!

    Psyber had a few questions, but they were mostly Speaks related. But some for the others. He figured Homura might have some questions for them too, so he invited her along as he usually does for these visits.

    Plus it's a pretty low-key mission. Psyber could use one of those to unwind after the hectic weekend he had.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    The Visiting Room is a fairly straightforward location just off the side door of the Blue Wing's main laboratory floor. A few simple chairs sit next to what looks like a large, thick glass window dividing the entire room in half, leaving it empty on the opposite side.

    There's also a terminal here. Any of the three Operators can be called. There seems to be the option for slots for more, but none seem to be present there! Oh well. Psyber can call the attention of any of the three Operators here, but when it comes to Speaks, there's never any guarantee that he'll answer...

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    Homura also wants to bug Operators, it's true.

    This is why she came after class and other assorted activities, so she's still wearing the half-cassual black pants white shirt look, though she's not carrying books or a jacket this time. It only now crosses her mind her Abstractum probably has to sit through class too if it doesn't sleep all the time. That must be pretty awful.

    And yes, low-key stuff for once is nice.

    "I wonder if there's anything we can offer Speaks for another round of straight answers. We could also just call all three and. I'd like to see how they fight as a Tandem unit, eventually."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber looks at the Terminal and rubs his chin, "I dunno if there's much we can offer Speaks. I have a couple questions for him and a few for the other Operators. So let's just try to call all three, like you said, and see who shows up."

    At the Terminal, Psyber tries to run up Answers and Speaks and Welcomes all at once, "What do you need to ask em, anyway? I mostly had some questions about their past."

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    There's a few soft beeps as each Operator's attention is called. Mr. Answers is the first one to respond, materializing in his traditional way. He's a more aged fellow, with white hair and a sunken sort of face, and a rather thin body, but a very intellectual posture. "Hello again, and welcome." He says. "How can I help? Mr. Welcomes will be here shortly, but in the meantime, I can answer any queries to the best of my ability."

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "Oh, just... things about the Pures and Burden in general, nothing of excessive importance, more idle curiosity," Homura answers, and it's pretty much true. They'd kind of low-key questions that the answers to might be obvious or of no consequence whatsoever. Well, one of them might be important, but not the others.

    "Hello, Answers. So Welcomes is coming? What about Speaks?"

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    "He may be, or he may not be. One can never particularly tell." Mr. Answer says, frankly, frowning a little and crossing his arms. "He calls it schedule. I call it whim. Do not count on him responding without incentive or foreshadowing either way."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber rubs his hands together, "Hey Answers. I'm fine if Speaks doesn't show up today, since he already half-gave me an answer to this." The half-angel rocks back and forth on his feet and rubs his chin, "Or HE didn't answer it, but it got answered."

    "I want you to tell me about the first time you met Samael."

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "Figures. Oh well. You and Welcomes are nothing to scoff at, anyway. Speaks would have been convenient but we'll make do if we have to," Homura says, and then falls quiet as Psyber asks his question. They can take turns, it should prevent noise and allow both of them to soak the answers in easier.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    "The first time I met Samael? Well, I would have to assume, based on the fact that we have built-in protocols concerning her, that she existed at least as far back as the First Cycle." Mr. Answers says, eyebrows raised and hands spread somewhat plaintively. "But I cannot tell you anything about that. Not because I don't want to, I assure you, but because our memories of past cycles are wiped. Besides Mr. Speaks, who seems to retain his."

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "I see. That actually makes you unable to answer most of my questions, then... well, I'll try anyway, we'll see," Homura says, looking at Answers. "Speaks said you, he and Welcomes were a three-man team. Standard Abstractum Tandem. I was curious if you remembered whether or not Burden had a team, and which role he played in it. His Abstractum is colored white, so I'd be inclined to guess it's a deal like Ariel's where he could fill any role he wanted, but... I figured you three might know, or remember, for sure."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber nods to Answers in a pensive fashion, "I see. Well, darn," Psyber says before hushing up and giving Homura a chance to ask a pretty good question of her own.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    "Dr. Burden has spoken to us at length, and I have asked him myself about it. He says that, whatever his Abstractum's system interactions may have been, he was a Blue Chromarchetype, and filled that particular role in his own work." Mr. Answer says, nodding.

    Mr. Welcomes appears as well, the middle-aged fellow grinning widely, planting his hands on his hips and assuming a friendly posture. "I think it's probably the way he'd go, with how I've seen him. The way his work tends to be, he's the supplying craftsman sort of Blue Type. Not really much of a leader, more of a supplier."

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "Makes sense," Homura says, before giving a greeting nod towards Welcomes. She considers a few follow-up questions, but will wait her turn. Here's hoping Speaks feels whimsical today, having all three would be pretty convenient all-around.

    "Knowing Burden he'd answer most of this stuff by saying the past is fine in the past and to move on."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber hmms as Homura gets an answer to her question. The half-angel is clearly trying to think of a good question to ask, but he's having some trouble coming up with one, "How come the network reacts to Samael's presence sometimes, and others she seems invisible to it?"

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    "Something like that, yes. 'Just a regular Blue' is the extent of the answer that I was capable of extracting from him." Mr. Answers makes a soft sort of sigh of mild frustration.

    Mr. Welcomes is the one who answers Psyber. "We're not really sure. My guess? Either she's got some kinda stealth side to her, or the Network has some purpose in letting her do certain stuff, like she's got something she's /supposed/ to do, part of how we're sort of working together with Them to kill Them permanently. But, who knows." He gives a friendly, easygoing sort of shrug.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "It's not impossible. What we gleamed from the First Cycle is that Speaks is responsible for Samael. Or perhaps, the whole of Burden's research division; it's not very clear yet. But Speaks dragged her into all this, and when seen in Unshift, her Pure has their factional symbol on it," Homura says, frowning.

    "Tandems. Shifting. This is the important question I have. Pures have colors and roles; can they Tandem as well? And what about their ability to Shift? We experienced one first-hand, but it had no visual cues. Can you explain to us just how many Abstractum functions Pures have, and what to expect?"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber nods his head to answers and then falls silent when Homura asks her question. She has a good one to ask, and Psyber is admittedly pretty curious. Staren mentioned encountering Pure Shift as well on the radio the other day, but he hadn't had the time or inclination to ask him about it, "Yes, I am curious about the capabilities of Pures as well."

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    "The Pures can do anything an Abstractum can do, besides accessing the Abstractum Network itself, or other specific things of that nature. Abstractum are simply... Handicapped Pures, in a sense. Their handicaps are necessary to make them function as the Great Weapon, but in direct interaction, you will find that Pures seem more directly capable. As such, their Shift processes are unstructured, and their Tandem is more visceral and less clear-cut. They are their namesake; pure, unconstrained. Your own abilities would become similar to theirs, in the event of Shift at unsafely high levels." Mr. Answers provides his response in soft and straightforward "educator" tones of voice.

    Mr. Welcomes doesn't really seem to have anything worth saying here! So he's just kinda standing around.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Now it's Psyber's turn to ask a question. The half-angel takes a few moments to think and absorb the information from Answers. The half-angel rubs his hands together, "I guess I should have a question right now, but I'm kind of at a loss." He scratches his head some more.

    "Why can some Abstractum users Shift easier than others?"

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "I see," is all Homura manages to immediatly word.

    Makes sense. So anything they can do, expect it from Pures too.
    Easy enough.

    Earlier Shifting... she'd guess it might just be a matter of who puts himself in mortal danger solved by more power the most often, if anything. Certainly seems to have worked for them so far.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Mr. Answers shakes his head. "For some, it is just a matter of circumstance and inclination; many don't /need/ to. But... Well, that is actually less an issue of individual difficulty and more the fact that Shifting wears down your reality's barriers against such things, on a Multiversal scale. The higher Categories of Shift that you achieve, the easier it will become for others to catch up to lesser levels. The barrier for you is different from the barrier for Pures, since you approach reality from different sides." He makes a gesture, pointing in two opposite directions.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "So someone who achieves Shift is actively helping his partners achieve it too by proximity alone?" More of a side-question. They can feel free to ignore it. Homura moves on to her next actual question.

    "Your memories. If Speaks was able to conserve his', do you think it's possible yours still exist somewhere? Is there anything we could do to find and restore them? We have two separate investigations hooking into the past right now, I'm sure we wouldn't mind a little side-trip. Or perhaps there's a User you've noticed might be suitable for something like this?"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber crosses his arms and huhs, "I see. So some people will never shift no matter how powerful they get. I guess I already knew that. It's come up before," Vaguely. Never with a direct answer like that. He hushes up shortly after for Homura's question.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    "Possible, but I doubt it. The reason for the protocol is to prevent any rogue information elements from being retained by the Network and potentially damage future cycles. Mr. Speaks is completely out of line, as I understand it. Dr. Burden doesn't seem to mind, for whatever reason, or he at least hasn't expressed distress on the subject." Mr. Answers moves directly to responding to Homura's main question.

    "Makes sure none of us get brainwashed evil!" Mr. Welcomes says, putting it in more blunt terms with a friendly little wave-like gesture. "'Cause, man, that'd be /awful/."

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "Possible is good enough. Let's get a team on it. I want to know what makes Speaks different from you two. If the difference isn't in him, then it's in the Network. We managed to find an image of his Abstractum and reunited him with it, maybe getting both of you yours back might help. This sort of thing is what we do for a living, so..."

    Homura shrugs. She looks at Psyber, to make sure he's okay with this too. With their combined pool of contacts getting something together shouldn't be too hard.

Psyber (253) has posed:
     Psyber nods to Homura in agreement, "It's worth a shot. But since this is your idea, I'll let you take point and I'll just do backup for you, Homura. You can be in charge of the op and investigation. It'll be good for you."

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    "Well," Mr. Welcomes shrugs and seems to shift to a casual sort of posture. "If neither of us were subverted in the various cycles, it would be harmless. If there's any memory to be found. The Network probably tried to purge it, so if you're looking for memories, you'll probably need to find ways that aren't centered on the Network. Feel free to give it a shot!"

    "But be careful." Mr. Answers says, urgently. "We don't know what sort of divergence we sustained during the past cycles."

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "That's fine. We'll see what we can find," Homura answers. Might take a while to get the right team together, and it might be a dead end, but it's something else to look into.

    "I had one last question, but I don't know if you can answer it. Burden's Tandem partners. Did he have any? Who were they? If he was a blue, who were his green and red?"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber looks over to Welcomes and Answers at Homura's next question. That's a curious one.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    "Oh, he says he doesn't like talking about the old tandem crew." Mr. Welcome says, still in the easygoing tone. "Past best left in the past and all that."

    Mr. Answers says, a bit more frustratedly and unpleasantly, "I do not believe he had any Tandem cell. My examination of the corpse of his Abstractum indicates that the history of its mind includes no instances of Tandem. This data is uncertain, but it is what I have to work with."

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "Of course he doesn't. I guess it wouldn't surprise me if you said in earnest he spent his entire life in his laboratory and never took to the battlefield, either. I guess it'll do. Thank you for the information. Is there anything you would like in return? ... and come to think of it, what's with the extra slots in this kiosk?"

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    "Happy to help." Mr. Answers says, his tone warm and positive for the first time. He very genuinely does enjoy helping out on this sort of thing. Then he tilts his head. "Oh, the other slots?" He gestures in a mild, educational way with one hand, the other propping his elbow up. "For any Operators that the Users of this cycle choose to create, of course. As for things in return? I can't think of anything. We have no material desires and fewer information desires. Simply do what you are doing now, that is enough for us."

    "I have whatever he's having." Mr. Welcomes says, giving a brief wink. "Don't worry about me either."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber immediately looks up, "We can create Operators? Did I just hear that correctly?"

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "That's... what he said, yes. How does that work? You were living beings before you were Operators, weren't you? So wouldn't we need to recruit them, actually? Or would we need to find former living beings we want to turn into Operators, like you?"

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    "The same way you would create any other artificial beings, yes." Mr Answers say, shrugging somewhat. "I would not say for sure that I was any more alive before or after becoming what you see that I am now. Like I said: I don't remember."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber nods gravely, "I see. So I couldn't just template an Operator based on myself. It would consume me in the process." He rubs his chin, "Well, I don't have any spare corpses sitting around to feed into making more AIs."

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "I see. If we find a good candidate we'll be sure to bring them over, get you some company. If you don't mind, that is," Homura says, before getting ready to go. "Take care in the meantime. Make sure to call us if you ever figure out something you'd like or if something needs our attention."