Scene #3339: EoB: Spyglass

Owner	Pose
Nathan Hall	The Channeller taken in as a prisoner was one of the "new" ones; his mask hadn't been burned onto his face quite yet. The big cheap plastic raven mask is something he's insisted on keeping with him, though, and it seems like it doesn't affect the conditions of his containment much. They're not having a hard time keeping him in, though the growth at his chest, where the eye is forming, is going to continue without stopping. THe man has eaten, only erratically, and seemingly at random. He also is beginning to increasingly show the properties of the other Channellers. While he can't seal the mask on like the others did, he can at least wear it, constantly, and it's getting worn down and dirty as you would expect from that. He has not spoken at all, nor behaved in any way that is human, except in an aesthetic sense. Few biological needs, not sleeping, occasionally seeming to interact with appliances and mechanisms that don't exist, read things that nobody can see, all those just wonderful sorts of things. And a lot of scratching up the walls... Whatever place Eleanor got lined up for this sort of thing is going to have that information on-hand from monitoring. For right now... Well, head on in and you can see what the state of things are.
Eleanor Lamb	It is very amazing the sorts of off the book places one gets access to when one works with spooks and wizards and intelligence people. Compartmentalized knowledge and operational need to know and all that. It's always nice getting to get the Top Men working on things, after all. Though really at this point, the how or where really isn't important. It's the /who/ and /what/, as in: Who Are You? That's question one on Eleanor's lips as she looks over the reports from the observation team, scribbling some other things on her chart and shaking her head. Well. It shoudln't be a surprise they couldn't lock The Eye out from interacting with this man. As innocent as he may have ben at one time, the continued growth of that Telltale Eye means there's really only one outcome when all this is done. A pity. One last look from the outside, before Eleanor steps into the room, closing it quickly behind herself and anyone else coming in with her.
Setsuko Kaminagi	Setsuko is here as well, but there is little for her to say at the moment. She typically can't contribute much to this sort of thing; her mind is finely-honed for battlefield matters, but situations such as this, she's seldom the most insightful person in the group. No, her purpose in joining Eleanor is to watch, to learn and observe... and to provide security should things turn sour, or a willing blade should the worst be needed.
Guest Psyber	Union Artifact Requisition Form (342A-C) Object: 1x Recovered Starmetal Spear Relevant Incident: Loros' Magical Research Plot c. AU 20 Request: Denied, object never recovered. Requestee Sent All Relevant Research Files Instead. Requester: [REDACTED] Psyber is here. He is, however, not here to take point on interrogation or question asking. He just has a tablet with him with several diodes and sensors that seem to be configured. He looks up from the tablet, giving Eleanor a faint smile, "I'll allow you to take point on this. I'm just gathering some initial readings based on the actions and reactions of those present. Please continue as if I were not here." And true to his word, Psyber sticks to the corner of the room and keeps tapping at the tablet, watching numerous readouts of what is happening in the room for whatever his future project is. This is information gathering so he can start to write up a blueprint.
Mizuki	Mizuki has likely been watching the channeler for some time, assuming that it would have been sensible for her to have arrived her somewhat in advance of the rest of the group. With her arms folded behind her back and her expression muted in contemplation, her posture makes her look quite a lot like a scientist observing a test subject or a prison overseer looking out upon their campus. It may be an unsettling thing to appraise externally, but really this is only Mizuki's equivalent of, say, the silly face a guitarist might take on whilst playing their instrument; that's to say, she's simply too lost in thought to provide any maintenance to her atmosphere. Really, though, she can't claim that her focus has had much payoff as of yet, though she has managed to confirm a distinct correlation between whatever has occurred with this individual and what she witnessed in Mister Sinclaire before. There is one key difference here, though, that may bar her from conducting the experiment she had intended to engage in with said individual: they still exist, or at the least are close enough to conventional reality to -feel- as though they do. The channeler, while 'touched', has not had his existence entirely subsumed by the entity, which comes with some benefits and some drawbacks. On the one hand, it gives their number a physical sample to work with. On the other, their distance from the Eye's collective may yet make the technique she had intended to implement utterly useless. It's due to this uncertainty, and a distinct hesitation at the idea of wasting a good test sample and-or accidentally alerting the demon to their presence, that Mizuki has been extremely reluctant to interact with them thus far. She does, however, seem to notice Eleanor as they enter. She greets her with no words, but a small, detached nod whose effect lingers only so long as it takes for her eyes to meander back to their point of interest. She may eventually cup a hand around her mouth in further thought. It is... likely best that she saves her 'plan' for later, once Eleanor and any others have done what they might wish to do. Better that they be given the chance to act before she attempts to do something that may bar any further, meaningful interaction with the channeler. So for now she only watches, looking for any more similarities - and contrasts - to Mister Sinclaire's condition. Hopefully that will help to illuminate what exactly happens along the course of 'assimilation'. It may do to identify critical areas, or a 'point of no return'; any such things that may help to elucidate the effect it may be having upon the general.
Nathan Hall	The interior of the room has been scrawled on. If they won't give him some kind of marking material, he uses his blood. Thankfully, any rational Top Men facility is going to provide at least a pen to prevent things like that. Which is why the walls of the cell interior are laden with more scrawling. It's exactly like the scrawling seen on the boat, but those more unfamiliar with it may find such things interesting! There may be additional details... For specific observers, who have specific new information to use, anyway. The man himself immediately swings his head around at Eleanor. Like before, no talk. Don't say a word. Instead, Eleanor's phone, or at least radio phone-function, rings. Like before, they speak only via telephone, only via recording, not with a real human voice. But the man, even if it's not the greater being behind him, seems willing to speak. Mizuki won't see a point of no return yet; the detectable energy seems like it's not in a "terminal" stage, but Mizuki currently lacks certain tools necessary to bring it out of that slide.
Eleanor Lamb	It's a burner phone, a cheap Droid device with a beefy speaker on it. Eleanor picks it up, sets it on speakerphone, and drops it on the table in front of the man. Those blue eyes, usually soft with care or bright with excitement are rather dull, hazy with weariness. This has not been a good week for the Sister. That said, she's here to do a job. She brushes at her prim and proper dress, sits on the table next to the phone, and looks down at their subject. "Who am I speaking with today?" A simple enough question.
Nathan Hall	The phone clicks as it is picked up, and there's, once more, the sound of a tape rewinding... Rewinding... Rewinding... <X-Union-Chatter> [3-RF] Psyber says, "Nevermind on that question." RWND <X-Union-Chatter> [3-RF] Psyber says, "I can't figure out what that means."
Nathan Hall	Psyber's examining something deeper. Getting his data through Mizuki's magical senses, he can get a nice cross-section of how this being intersects. The phone and the man are seperate. The apt visualization is two tendrils that poke up from below the surface of the water. They resemble each other a great deal, and likely come from the same source, but each are seperate extremities of something larger, which may not even be aware of what its limbs are doing, flailing above the surface. This is in contrast to what it would be if it were an extension of the man himself, where one tendril might loop back.
Eleanor Lamb	Eleanor's lip curls a bit into a smile as she tips the phone again, spinning the candybar on its face. "Well I can't 'nevermind' because I really would rather like an answer to the question. I'm sure even you can understand the sort of situation that faces this poor person you've got a hold of." A glance over at Mizuki and Psyber, before she tries again. This time she's looking right into the eyeholes of that mask. "Will I be speaking with you, or with this puppet you're wearing? Because I have questions for either of them."
Guest Psyber	"Mizuki, can you push a little harder?" Psyber asks curiously, if quietly. He doesn't want the channeler to focus on him or what he's doing, if just because it would mean that it became crazy obsessed with Psyber. The half-angel adjusts the readings and is using her magical interference to create what looks like a rough diagram that he's slowly refining, "Whatever curtain it's behind, I need you to push a little bit so I can..." He searches for a good term, "See it's silhouette behind the curtain." In essence, he is looking for the point of intersection. The origin point of the two tentacles in relation to reality itself, in an abstract sense. BUt Mizuki is providing him the readings.
Nathan Hall	Eleanor Lamb says, "Who am I speaking with today?" RWND <X-Union-Chatter> [3-RF] Psyber says, "I can't figure out what that means." FFWD Eleanor Lamb says, "Who--" RWND <X-Union-Chatter> [3-RF] Psyber says, "I can't figure out what that means." The man is still not moving. Just staring straight at Eleanor.
Mizuki	Mizuki finally breaks her silence when Eleanor repeats the question of the Entity's identity. Still, she is careful never to address the eye directly, and she even restricts herself to a whisper on the off-chance that the audible field of the conduit-body may have some bearing on what the entity itself is able to perceive. "It cannot comprehend identity," She says, "though I believe that is by now self-evident. In the way of further explanation I might posit that it's quite like the difference between us and, say, unicellular organisms. There is simply not much need nor reason for a being like this to construct cognitive barriers that might set it apart from the world in its vicinity. Identity is not necessary nor conducive to its longevity, and indeed it might even be so that it is -best- for it to lack one given that is is a parasitic thing that presumably cannot live without a host, or a collective of hosts as it were." "More germane," She continues, folding her arms at her chest, "I would assume that whatever identity this person has is presently being suppressed in favor of the demon's consciousness. Ideally there are still some degrees of separation between the two, but whether or not complete control over the host is a staple of this stage of possession I cannot say. So really, the question of 'identity' is irrelevant. Imagine, for instance, that this thing is both blind and deaf. It knows itself, it knows its needs and 'motivations' even if those things lack semantic labels that it might recognize, but it only perceives the most muddy impression of the external world. Therefore we will need to establish some alternative method of communication that does not hinge on the nuance of human language, I should think." "Theory aside, though," She looks to Psyber, "I will do what I can. Truthfully I had hardly been applying any force; whatever it might have been reacting to was in all likelihood only that which my presence implicitly emits. So when I apply something more direct, conscious, and effortful," A ripple begins to form around her, then in a thing, snaking line that eventually envelops the channeler, "what you wish to accomplish should be trivial." She's going to start off by trying something similar to what she did before. She's going to try to coax whatever remains of the channeler's independent consciousness to one 'side' of the equation, as it were, so that the aggregate essence using the body as a mouthpiece will be more distinct. Should this fail to bear fruit after several moments, she will attempt to create a temporal field and synchronize with them as before.
Eleanor Lamb	"Thank you Mizuki, I think I was coming to that one." The Sister keeps staring right back. She's sure she'll lose this contest in the end. The thing /is/ made of eyes. "Alright, another question." She spreads her arms wide to the room and to the scratchings and scribblings and sketches that adorn the walls now. "I can see you've been expressing yourself. Is this because you've got ideas that need to be heard? Thoughts that need to be let out?" She tilts her head in a similar manner to the others they'd seen. "Bits of you leaking out of that puppet?" She's very keen on the word 'puppet'. It's got a rather odd tone to it tonight. Like one might say 'roach'.
Nathan Hall	The eyes are empty, but it's a trick of the light. Most of the other Channellers gouge their own eyes out, unless they're the stealthy kind, or whatever Psyber is, but this one didn't get the chance. Is it looking back at her? Well, the shadow of the mask makes it hard to tell. It sure isn't blinking. RWND <X-Union-Chatter> [3-RF] Psyber says, "--That's me. How are you today?" RWND <X-Union-Chatter> Whoosh! The Salty Gale says, "That's me." FFWD <J-IC-Moderated> Psyber says, "Yeah, that's me." CLICK It seems to not react to Mizuki, but the lack of response seems less of ignorance and more of an acknowledgement of her correctness. It simply doesn't understand the question, and what little it understands of what Mizuki said, it seems to wordlessly agree with. Yeah, it doesn't seem like it comprehends the idea of having an identity. Maybe it might be best to give it a name sometime? As for the answer to Eleanor, the drawings... Are it? Maybe 'leaking' is the best metaphor there.
Nathan Hall	Mizuki is trying to "clear the waters", as it were. Swirling the detritus of a broken man's body out of the way, to see what's under the surface. It's working well, though it's not clear how much it'll reach the top. By synchronizing with the "respiration" of the creature, that strange process that she managed to identify before, she can get some rough idea of where it originates from. She has to determine what to focus on though. Try to determine its shape? Its point of origin? Where it's going? Where it is in physical space? Temporal 'space'? She'll need to devise her search terms; while her synchronization lays a good foundation, she'll have to probe in a more specialized way to find specific bits of information. And it might be best to limit the sheer number of probings, given how this creature reacts in alien ways...
Mizuki	The thought of giving it /some/ title for the sake of clarity had certainly crossed Mizuki's mind, but at the same time, that seems the first step of a decidedly volatile road. In the hands of a creature like this, the last thing Mizuki feels that it needs is a new ability to segregate itself from the rest of the world. An enhanced self-awareness, or heaven forbid, awareness of its environment might only serve to reinforce its obsession with consumption. If it's so attached to certain, human-instigated events in the timeline of causality, she does not suppose it needs more excuse to become fixated on people in particular. To put it another way, its 'hunger' already constitutes the physical component of an addiction. Adding a psychological-semantic component with which it may express that may make it more adept at luring in its prey. Though that's all just conjecture and a very obvious indulgence of the slippery slope fallacy, Mizuki can't shake the feeling that taking the whole 'humanization' thing too far would be incredibly dangerous. True, it might give them the opportunity to reason with it on their terms, but -surely- there must be a way to reason with it on its terms instead. Her dream abilities are capable of converting human speech, distilling words to their basal concepts as defined by more abstract things like tone, physical things like 'vibration' to hint at mood and meaning. This is, after all, how she communicated before she adopted human language as her primary medium. She will have to suggest this to the group at some point, with the strong caveat that even the transmission of 'quiet' impulses in so direct a fashion would be a phenomenal risk. Certainly less of one than giving the thing something so stigmatized as a 'goal', though, she supposes. Or hopes. That said, it seems she's been able to create a radio link of sorts with them. "I have established myself in their context, I believe," She says. "I can impress upon it certain stimulus. I believe it will be function in much the same way as sonar or echolocation; that's to say, I will send a raw impulse that will then feed back to the dream bubble occupied by the conduit, allowing me to garner a sense of its form, location, and otherwise via my sensitivity to these sorts of abstractions." It goes unsaid that she has structured the dream bubble connection in much the same way as a large neuron. There's a bit of a delay before the feedback from the eye will 'fire', as it were, so that she may have several seconds to abruptly cut the link if it attempts to feed her malicious stimulus in return. Even if it doesn't seem to have any sense of self-preservation, she is becoming more fearful by the second that this sort of communication may teach it... if its countless victims' minds haven't done so already in a more subtle method. For the time being, she is electing not to send any particular message. She'll wait to be prompted by Eleanor and-or Psyber to test that facet of her mechanism.
Eleanor Lamb	Eleanor bite her lips as Mizuki keeps explaining things, as the creture... answers only one of the questions in front of it. Alright. A foot kicks at the cair to spin it around to face the room, letting the creature's empty eyed mask pass over the forms of Setsuko and Mizuki, but mostly take in the walls and its drawings. "Tell me about the drawings." A glance up at the pictographs. Before, they'd prominently featured the inconography of herself and Psyber an the others in glorious positions, but now, with this protusion still cut off from the others, at least for a bit... maybe there's a better answer.
Nathan Hall	<X-Union-Chatter> George says, "--fingerprints--" FFWD <X-Union-Chatter> [3-RF] Psyber says, "Yeah, I echo Nate there." RWND <X-Union-Chatter> Elliana Fairchild says, "--Impression--" FFWD <X-Confed-Chatter> [2] No. 9, sounding a bit... out of it. "--ripples--" CLICK Some kind of ripple, or footprint, or natural result? It's possible that whatever's influencing this man is something that is not motivated to stop the imagery, which may be some form of side effect...? CLICK <X-Union-Chatter> George \| Ashen Mirror pings, [It isn't fun. Everything is a pale echo to what it could have been. There is no consolation in this prison.] CLICK
Eleanor Lamb	Eleanor... actually understands that one. "Mmmmh. There's something inside of you that's desperate to get out then... but because it can't... this is what we get instead?" She sighs and taps her lips... And then it finds a very precise wording out of George's past. Or course it would have been George. "There never are consolations in prison." She turns again, smiling at the Puppet, this Spyglass for the Eye. "What would we see if there wasn't a barrier here, dear puppet?"
Guest Psyber	>New File >Project Ahab Psyber seems to look up from tablet briefly, taking in the results that Mizuki is letting him absorb and gather from her experiments. She's arguably invaluable towards his research at the moment, but the same could probably be said of Eleanor. He rubs the bridge of his nose briefly and begins writing up the outline to a plan. What he has alone is enough to start formulating and assigning people to roles. Duet given a role, Mizuki given a role. Setsuko and Riva assigned to their positions. He still needs more information, more to search for. More to figure out. His hand and fingers swipe across the screen. Luckily, because of his work with Hastur and the Therion situation, he at least has tools that can handle what he wants to determine next: He's trying to ascertain the conceptual location of this being in causal and concept-plane relation to himself right now, and then chart that for future predictions.
Mizuki	While still preoccupied with maintaining her communicative mechanism for the time being, Mizuki has more than enough mind and energy to spare to follow along with Eleanor's queries and the entity's replies -- now that she has this process sufficiently streamlined it actually consumes a negligible amount of her power to maintain. That said, she still struggles for several moments to interpret exactly what the being had meant. Still, she'll make an effort, allowing the thing to reply with a 'positive' or 'negative' in much the same way as before. In fact, perhaps Yes/No queries would be a good place to begin to establish a connection with them, if that should prove to be in their collective best interest? ... well, in the event that it does, this experience will help her in the endeavor. "So it is as I thought before, I believe: it lacks a voice of its own so it communicates its intent through fragments of Nathan's mind. They seem to be the voices of people who have betrayed him or have otherwise been involved in events that have impacted the general very deeply, or at the least this is the only consistent pattern I have managed to recognize. In that same vein, people more closely related to that idea in Nathan's mind - Elliana, for instance - are nearer to the surface of the general's thoughts, and therefore more accessible to the entity. Ergo, they occur more frequently." "Likewise," She goes on, "I believe the entity is only able to 'feel' insofar as their own existence is a shadow of their host. Everything we are hearing from them is not necessarily unique to the entity so much as it is the intersession between Nathan's prevalent thoughts and the priorities of the entity. So in order to communicate with them, perhaps we should phrase things this way: ask what -Nathan- feels, perhaps, rather than asking what it feels. This, I think, could be handled much more tactfully by those," She gives swift glances to both Eleanor and Psyber, "who know him more closely than I." Just more conjecture on her part, for now. Still working off of the whole 'this is a parasite that borrows the thoughts and memories of its host' theory.
Nathan Hall	The next part seems to take a long while. There's a rewind, and a fast-forward, and a rewind again. It seems to be having trouble finding the correct words among its vocabulary. RWND <X-Confed-Chatter> Sounding normal, No. 9 says, "...New voice." RWND <X-Union-Chatter> Elliana Fairchild says, "Picture Sir Nathan Hall as he is now." FFWD <X-Union-Chatter> George \| Ashen Mirror pings, [--There is no consolation in this prison.] FFWD <J-IC-Moderated> No. 9 says, "...I'll take that." FFWD <X-Union-Chatter> George says, "Because it's mine?" CLICK The man moves for the first time, pounding a fist against the wall in a motion that seems inhuman, copypasted from some other movement elsewhere. CLICK <J-IC-Moderated> No. 9 says, "See Nathan--" RWND <X-Confed-Chatter> [A] Elliana Fairchild says, "--see me in person." FFWD <J-IC-Moderated> Utsuho Reiuji says, "--that is." FFWD <X-Union-Chatter> George says, "--what will happen." This one's a little more confusing. Something to do with a new voice, seeing Nathan, taking something from him, or about him? It's hard to tell. Some of the others had a clear message, this one's a little more difficult to parse out.
Setsuko Kaminagi	The instant the man's fist pounds into the wall, Setsuko's hand subtly shifts over to the grip of Zanjintou. Other than that, she is silent and still, but watching like a hawk.
Eleanor Lamb	Eleanor gently steps away from the Spyglass as it punches the wall, before stepping back into its personal space again, if it had any concept of it to begin with. There's a look of understanding in the girl's eyes now, as she smiles. "Oh I quite agree, puppet. It is very frustrating not being able to express yourself properly, but this is... Nathan's mind, you say?" She licks her lips. "This is the General's mind we're looking at?" She turns the puppet to face his chicken scratchings again. "What is he trying to tell us. What does he want us to know?"
Nathan Hall	CLICK Eleanor Lamb says, "--the General's mind--" RWND <X-Union-Chatter> [3-RF] Psyber says, "I can't figure out what that means." RWND <X-Union-Chatter> [3-RF] Psyber says, "I can't figure out what that means." RWND <X-Union-Chatter> [3-RF] Psyber says, "I can't figure out what that means." RWND <X-Union-Chatter> [3-RF] Psyber says, "I can't figure out what that means." FFWD Eleanor Lamb says, "--the General--" RWND <J-IC-Moderated> No. 9 says, "...I'll take that." FFWD <X-Union-Chatter> George says, "Because it's mine?" FFWD <X-Union-Chatter> [5-SA] Psyber says, "I made that throne by hand." RWND <X-Union-Chatter> [5-SA] Psyber says, "I made that throne by hand." RWND <J-IC-Moderated> No. 9 says, "...I'll take that." CLICK That was more clear. Mizuki, as a note, will find that this doesn't actually seem to be information transmitted from the creature itself, which doesn't seem to be processing this conversation at all. It seems to be sort of like how reading a description of something doesn't involve its physical presence; their conversation with the man is a mechanism by which they sense the being, rather than an expression of the being itself, or at least that's the assumption if no information is travelling into the tendrils.
Eleanor Lamb	Eleanor... clicks her teeth at that.... ugly message. Her jaw works a little bit as she controls her face from betraying her too much but it's in her motions now, her expression as she steps back and plants her butt on the table. Why does she want to ask for a cigarette?
Nathan Hall	It takes a while for Psyber to get this data worked together. He knows what he can figure out. The conceptual location of this being is unfortunately intersecting directly with him. A past action he has taken, it seems, forms one "organ", one "limb" one general "piece" of the creature. As does actions taken by several others. It seems that its influence, if it has any at all, has been to build itself, retroactively. The 'lower regions' are somewhere distant: George, Utsuho, Salty Gale, these are people that are distant, disassociated from Psyber. The upper regions, the vital organs, are actions close to Psyber. The betrayals of Elliana Fairchild, and his own betrayal. The sequence of events that composes its 'brain' exists somewhere in the future. It is centered very directly on Nathan Hall's place in the relation with Psyber; one assumes it is one more betrayal. The last piece of it -- and the most critical vital organ, of sorts -- can be accessed through one more betrayal-like action. Its 'brain', existing in the inaccessible future, will briefly exist in the accessible present. Vulnerable and intersecting directly with Psyber.
Nathan Hall	The creature, whatever it is -- alien, animal, or otherwise -- doesn't seem averse to the connection. In fact, Mizuki may actually need to construct a way for it to connect in the first place; even its expressed awareness of other people seems limited to a vague emulation, a sort of blind groping until it gets something right. The idea of something contacting it instead of it contacting someone else is utterly unaccounted for. It has a mouth, but no ears. Honestly, though, by now that shouldn't be surprising. Fortunately, that's little object to Mizuki, who can relay information back to it through more indirect means. The "radio connection" goes strong. At any point now, she may relay a chosen message, though it's likely that the creature will be made consciously aware of them, inasmuch as an entity made out of time is able to do things like "be conscious" or "have awareness".
Mizuki	After a deep, deep breath, Mizuki closes her eyes and focuses intently on her 'neuron' connection to the entity. Where normally this sort of connection would have given her a severe migraine if maintained for this length of time, this is only true when this connection is established between two fully sentient creatures. The way the entity organizes its thoughts seems much more instinctual, implicit, without weight; it makes the telepathy an easy enough thing for Mizuki to cope with, at least, regardless of the impact it has been having on the entity for the duration of this encounter. Now is the time to break that link, though -- to expend her one token and opportunity to interface with this thing directly. So at once three more tendrils fan out to form four more 'nodes' on the surface of the dream bubble that contains the channeler. The quartet positions itself such that all components are equidistant from one another, ensuring that the conduit is as close to the dead center as possible. And then they begin to emit what the rest of the group would only perceive as a dull, grating, technological screech. The conceptual equivalent of a deafeningly high frequency tone is being shot through the conduit, into the aggregate consciousness of the demon, coursing along the abstract threads that link all the once-individual constituents together. In this way, Mizuki's plan is even more ambitious than it had first been allotted: she seeks to have information feed back to her through each of the four tones, giving her the opportunity to not only learn where it presently is, but also where it has been. This likely won't reveal where it intends to go, if anywhere, though she trusts that the patterns revealed by the past and present will elucidate that well enough. Mizuki isn't anticipating a physical location so much as she is expecting to 'hear' of some position on this creature's present position in causality. In all likelihood, that is more relevant to them; in all likelihood that will better aid them in knowing where it will strike next. Even if it exists in an abstract space, it follows a certain pattern. Even if Mizuki has not fully unraveled this pattern, she can conclude that, certainly, whatever this shows her will provide them with clues as to where it will next appear. If they're -exceptionally- lucky, perhaps even a roadmap of all the places it will progress to in sequence. That's likely a bit too much to hope for, but again: she is being ambitious. After several seconds have elapsed, however, she becomes pensive. She has no idea how it will react once it begins to 'feel' the vibrations. Even if she sent them all at once so as to minimize the chance that they would reach the origin point at different times, she cannot be sure whether one will take longer than the others. If one does, then it will not give her all the information she had sought from it. In essence, it's a gamble: a bit of luck will likely decide how much she is able to glean from this.
Nathan Hall	Mizuki "asks" where it is. The creature does not have enough consciousness to be suspicious. All it knows is that it has to kill Nathan if it's discovered /at/ Nathan. But this? As far as it "knows", it still holds the upper hand. And the noise annoys it, almost like a stubbed toe; it exists on a massively higher scale than Mizuki, and so doesn't seem to react with pain, but with irritation. Echolocation, communication, these concepts start to sort of lose meaning as they traverse their way out of reality and causality as Mizuki understands it and off towards a being that is literally made of the narrative she usually tries to perceive in a meta way. The image she can get from trying to find out where it is, right now, in terms of concept, is, by comparison, kind of easily comprehensible. The blip of sonar pulls back some relevant information. At first, it seems almost like it has to be false. It says that where it "is" and where it "was" are both exactly the same. The vibrations that run along it seem to lead to the same location: Far, far in the relative past. In fact, a specific date! April 28th, AU 19. It exists in another universe. Or no, that's not right... It looks like something completely destroyed the Multiverse on April 28th, AU 19. And while it was briefly annihilated, the being inserted itself into existence, in the past relative to Mizuki. But it's an eternal present to this thing, as are all times. Right now, where it is seems to be a tremendous control room, built around a massive sphere. Nathan Hall is right there, frozen in time, desperately trying to stabilize it. The room has been breached by a gargantuan spear, thrown like a javelin, tearing through the Orb... And breaking a hole in the universe as it does. Not just in the universe; a hole is broken in the paradigm of existence itself, the membrane upon which concepts like "reality" or "narrative" are founded in the first place. It's this hole through which the being emerged and continues to emerge, infesting not just Nathan Hall but, by extension, the timeline and mode of existence of the Multiverse and of "timelines" themselves. In as much as it can be said to be useful, Mizuki has now determined the origin point of the being, at such a point where things like "origin" actually functions as a useful concept: It is an entity that finds its origins Outside, in the brief but eternal moment where the Multiverse did not and does not exist, and surges its way through each act of betrayal visited on Nathan, seeming to become more and more "present" in the present of that time with each action. Where it is now relative to her, of course, is a monster wrapped around Nathan Hall's timeline, teeth ready to sink into him as soon as he knows of it, and as soon as he makes any attempt to fight it off. One assumes that the very next betrayal will pull it harshly enough into this multiverse that it becomes free of the timeless difficulty of its entrance -- right now, it seems to still be trying, desperately, to squeeze its way through into reality, four and a half years ago -- and, if it is left unimpeded, it will make full use of its nature as an organism of events.