Scene #7858: TPT: The Self-Keeping Secret

Owner	Pose
Flamel Parsons	Welcome to the MOTHERLOBE! https://i.imgur.com/vYWtTAr.jpeg This quarry is the largest Psitanium mine in the entire world, and it shows. The nearby dam is the only thing that keeps it from turning into the second-largest psitanium-infused lake in the world, and gives a huge amount of space to the central structure: A 60s-era behemoth of glass and concrete, wrought by the world's foremost geokinetics, ferrokinetics, and virtukinetics and into the shape of two massive hands supporting a huge brain above its stem, allowing its vast third eye to display clearly. The landing pad is where most arrive, though if some prefer to ride by boat rather than aircraft, that's always fine too. Heading inside through massive metal doors leads first to a wide, spacious reception lobby lit in cool colors and draped in Psychonauts banners where you can get your Thinkerprint scanned and stored for access, and then through a strange psychic lifting tube up to... THE MOTHERLOBE ATRIUM! https://i.imgur.com/w9xFlRv.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/XzYAkAW.jpeg This massive space, adorned with greenery, floating meetingspace, and googie architecture, offers several neon-signed spaces. A MAIL ROOM, the CLASSROOMS, offices for AGENTS, FORD'S BARBER SHOP, ASTRAL LANES, the NOODLE BOWL cafeteria area, and the NERVE CENTER! A woman is here to meet you, a tall, thin lady in what can only be described as "the most powerful powersuit and the most pants pantsuit" (https://i.imgur.com/EGnbiT1.png).Flamel himself is also here, speaking with her! They're sitting at one of the meeting spaces, arguing with some confusion over what appears to be a map of southeast asia. "...Said you wanted their insights, and you got them, right?" "Parsons, I wanted them to be checking you, not me." "Well they saw what they all saw. There was a city there." "It's not on any maps, Parsons." "It's on this map." "This map also has the nation of Lemuria on it." "And that city, which was physically there. We touched the concrete." "Look... I can recognize a psychic issue when I can see one. I'm not going to get mad at you, or even annoyed. Keep reporting in for wellness checks, and keep pursuing this case like this ghost-city is real. One of us gets proven right." "I'm bringing the outsiders in again, just for that!" "You know what, Parsons? Good plan." There it is again: That low tension, two people with impeccable mental health doing their best to maintain respect and optimism under disagreements, confusion, and significant stress.
Seras Victoria	Seras Victoria's not exactly sure about this whole matter, but if Lilian's in on it then she's pretty sure it's a cause worth throwing some effort into. And so, she comes in via the provided airlift, stepping out in an outfit comprised of black boots, white kneesocks that come up to her thighs, tough leather gloves, and a many-pocketed yellow button down blouse that looks vaguely military or police in design, and very short yellow shorts. The Hellsing coat of arms is stitched proudly over her heart, while on her right sleeve there's been the addition of a symbol from the Paladins. She's carrying a sizable heavy-duty case in one hand - bigger than she is - and a smaller bag in the others, along with a big backback slung over her back. She's come ready for just about anything, it seems. Of course, she hears the tail end of the argument upon walking in, and it leaves her with an incredulous and dumbfounded look all over her face. Maybe questioning the legitimacy of this guy.... But, others have clearly trusted him. So she swallows down her uncertainty and steps forward. "Chevalier Victoria of the Paladins, here as requested. Um... what exactly is the plan, anyways?"
Shotaro Hidari	There is an invite to come help with a strange thing. Which, cool, it's a mission from an ambiguous governmental agency, which means it should at least keep food on the table. What is odd is nearing the place on bike he is indicated that it's either fly or boat only. The Hardboiler is just a bike, right? That is before the Revolgarry comes out of the portal on his heels. The large truck opens up and Shotaro and the Hardboiler, slide in. On a giant weel in the back of the Revolgarry, three 'attachments' seem to be ready to hook up, including a flight pack. Moments later, the Revolgarry is closing up and turning around to head back, while Shotaro and the Hardboiler with its new gear are heading through the air. The bike-plane lands at the location, Shotaro sliding off the side of the bike part, and taking his helmet off. A brain scan, which is weird, and afloat up to the Atrium keeps the detective on his feet, walking a bit slow to take everything in until he hears two people arguing. That was the tensest, but somehow both respectful and healthy disagreement he's ever heard. "Did I hear that right? Ghost city?" he asks, making his way at a casual pace. That's right, Shotaro Hidari, the most hardboiled detective.
Persephone Kore	Persephone is already here. It's impossible not to notice her presence, and equally impossible to be alarmed by it. A warm, tension-easing, heavy presence tinges the surroundings. It's a little like incense, a little like a color-filter, and a lot like an embrace. In museums they have smooth funnels you can drop quarters into, supposedly to teach you about gravity wells. The quarter spirals and spirals, tighter and tighter, always falling but never quite falling in. It is doomed, but the moment of its doom seems to stretch on forever, and anyway, is the thing it's doomed to really all that bad? You're the quarter. A smiling, laughing woman in a comfy dark keyhole sweater/skirt/leggings/boots outfit exits the Noodle Bowl cafeteria, arm-in-arm with Lilian Rook. She's the epicenter; it can't be anyone else. The playful shapes and fun colors of the Motherlobe already made it look like a toybox, but next to her density and gravitas, everything else really does seem plastic and hollow. Her free hand, half-hidden in a Concord-orange arm-warmer, waves at the others from afar. When she gets closer, she says: "Hollis! Flamel! Sorry to keep you waiting. But the food was so good, I really didn't want to rush it, you know?" Both of them get a smile- as do Seras and Shotaro, who also get a "Hi! I'm Persephone, but you can call me Phony, haha! It's great to meet you!"- but her eyes slide back to Flamel at the end. "So what can we do to help? I really want to know!"
Lilian Rook	There has probably never been a single point in Lilian Rook's entire life that her mental health could be described as 'impeccable', or maybe even 'good', but it most certainly be the most acceptable it's ever been right now, for a number of reasons. Hopefully lasting ones. But she is, as she had said over the radio, someone consummately equipped to deal with terrorist cells, secret agencies and conspiracies, mental warfare, and psychohazards in particular. She puts most of that down to training, except the last one. Lilian could never be caught dead in a suit, pants or otherwise, but she has the next most Psychonauts thing, 'dressing down' to an expensive, slim black sweater, dark skirt and black tights, with only that choker and irreplaceable hairclip particularly remaining, beyond the hint of a thin black chain around her neck. Not one to normally project her presence, it's actually rather unusual the way that it can actually be felt mingling with Persephone's. Nowhere near as grandiose by far, nowhere near as large, but enough to shift its median point, like a dark moon, tranquil and mysterious, next to that sun. "Oh? Now would you mind telling me what this phantom city has to do with your sniper?" Lilian asks. A little sigh follows, just a tiny bit exasperated. "The one with the admittedly slightly cool name. And why would people of your type distrust a map with Lemuria on it anyways?" Aside, with remarkable casualness to Persephone, she adds "I expected this place to be more along the lines of an underground bunker. All white floors and steel columns and that sort of thing. Detector gates and top secret stickers. I'm surprised they dedicated this much space to something out of an overly optimistic 'workplace of the future' catalogue from the sixties. It's . . . sort of cute."
Persephone Kore	A soft giggle follows Lilian's exasperated little sigh, accompanied by Phony's hand politely obscuring her own mouth. "It's like a toybox, isn't it? All playful shapes and juicy colors," Phony answers brightly. "But I'm not as surprised as I ought to be. Even if they call themselves a 'menacing yet vague government agency', it's really an idealistic honesty, isn't it? Wanting people to treat you with exactly as much suspicion as they should." "I don't think there's any way to be mentally healthy if you aren't sincere. And sincerity will always be at least a little bit cute." That part, and that part alone, is delivered while looking straight at Lilian.
Lilian Rook	"Vague yet menacing." Lilian corrects, on what might as well be spinal reflex for how swift and automatic it is. "Come to think of it, I suppose this would be appropriate as a workplace for someone who can't stop talking about mental health. I think I might have just assumed it was only Parsons' fixation, though, not broadly shared by his organization." "The utility of it has to be fairly obvious though, right? 'He who fights monsters' and all. This kind of thing has a reputation for driving people mad. Or at least chewing them up and spitting them out." There's a tiny laugh that isn't as dry as it ought to be. "Wanting to be treated with caution . . . Yes, I think I understand that." There's a strange little flicker in that mental blacklight around her. A flutter of tidal force. Her lower lip pouts a tiny bit, and she looks away again. "You really need to be more selective with that adjective." she micro-huffs.
Shotaro Hidari	Shotaro takes his hat off, and politely bows to others he hasn't really met before. Though he has met Lilian once, it was sort of a situation where they didn't get a chance to properly greet each other. Sometimes about infiltrating a room, and then Rita...and her 'disguise'. It wasn't the worst disguise he's ever been in though. Probably one of the more embarrassing. He gives a smile, "Shotaro Hidari," he says and places the hat back on his head. He is in a suit, something you might see a salaryman in, but cut differently to make sure he would fit in during the twenties. "I have to admit, it's definitely interesting. It's like one of those specialty restaurants you'll see pop up in Futo from time to time," he says taking another look at his surroundings. Obviously looking for something he missed. "Though...toybox..?"
Seras Victoria	She may be already here, but it does take Seras a few moments to really figure out the source of why she feels at ease here compared to typical nervousness. She very briefly glances over at Persephone, eyes a bit wide... perhaps sizing her up or puzzling at something. She then looks Shotaro over.. and gives both him and Lilian acknowledging nods. "Oh, I'm very glad it's not some bleak, sterile bunker. This place is AMAZING compared to that. It's like a super hero base, straight out of comics." And, for once, she sounds like an excited kid declaring that.
Lilian Rook	"It's close." Lilian says to Shotaro, implicitly agreeing with Persephone. It's nearly primary colours, largely geometric shapes, it's bright and spacious. It's just a little more muted and shifted towards feeling like a workplace for adults, don't you think? And the outer design . . ." "Ah, Dame Commander Lilian Isabelle Rook~ Thank you for your assistance with 'that matter'." We will not mention unwholesomely moist biological maid dresses here, even if she does shudder a tiny bit to remember it. Looking to Seras, Lilian thinks on her comment for a little longer. "I never read comics, but I have the feeling that you're right. Rather, I'm confident that you're confident." Her eyes wander to the carrying case. "Did you really have to bring that here, though?"
Flamel Parsons	Parsons turns to Seras, looking at the prodigous luggage. "Nice instruments!" He compliments. "Welcome to the Motherlobe. Are you, uh, okay there? You appear to have some pretty bad psychic energies happening around your hypothalamus. Well, anyway, at the moment, we don't seem to have a plan... We've got the materials we need to figure out the problem, I hope, but it'll take some investigation. We need to figure out where to go first!" Speaking of investigation, here comes Shotaro Hidari! "Sure did hear right! The Trephinator was in some kind of invisible city. As far as we can tell, it was heavily bombed some time in the 70s, but we don't have any kind of record of it, and we could barely see more than a few buildings at a time. When a conspiracy wants to hide a city, usually they put it in a face-like rock formation on another planet, or a secret orbit, or... well, not just out there, sitting around, with lots of roads leading to and from it! Someone would have found it while it was being built. And it didn't even seem like it was supposed to be hidden, either." Persephone gets something of a critical stink-eye from Hollis Forsythe, but she can't help but warm it up after a moment. "We've got sensitive equipment in the labs. Keep it tuned low, Kore. I'm up to my shoulderpads in kids with too much brainpower as it is." Lilian gets an odd look from Forsythe. An unspoken thought drifts through the air: 'Is it a good idea for Parsons to be around her after that? Well, can't help it if she's connected with Persephone...' Or something along those lines. What she says instead: "You're right. Here, our first and last priority is mental health. That's for the world, and it's for us too. Parsons has his own way of presenting it, but that's our business, at the end of the day. So it's what we do for everything we have. I'll pass the compliments on to our designers, usually people don't bother noticing." Flamel pulls out a variety of other papers, spreading them around a table where several chairs and a long booth-like seat are circling around it. "So, what we have is... The city, which nobody knows, and where we can barely find any information. That's over here, southeast Asia. The Trephinator and the other infectees, whose minds are, well, we can't really get much out in the infected state. They're in the isolation chambers. We have the cassette tape and the letter bombs. The cassette got the Trephinator infected, and he was infecting others with the letters, so they have a lot of info, but it's dangerous to extract. And then there's the Psychonauts, that's me and my friends here! Somewhere, buried, there's knowledge of the first outbreak and the first cure, but we'd need to figure out where to start and what to do to extract that." "That's the state of things at the moment. Some good leads, but you know, I always wish I had more!"
Seras Victoria	A mildly sheepish look comes over Seras as she meets Parsons's gaze and sets the big case down with a THUNK. "Energies around the hypo-what...? Um. You'd know more than I do about brain-things. Should I be worried?" And she answers both him and Lilian's observations about that at once. Well... if you don't know what you're dealing with, be ready for anything, right?" Her voice drops both in tone and volume as she admits, "Lugging this thing around isn't fun though. Doesn't carrying it make me look like some sort of freak...?" Because, yes, she does care a little bit about not drawing ogles, stares, weird looks, and otherwise. Whether she can discern admiration from more negative things though, is hard to tell. She does look like a teenager after all! "Wait, an invisible city? A... whole CITY that's invisible? How would that even... wouldn't someone eventually drive into it? Or walk into a wall...? I imagine a lot of dead birds, from running into the buildings... ewwwww. That place would reek so badly you would smell it even if you can't see it." Once again her imagination's getting the best of her but she leans in a bit, interest piqued and waiting to hear more about the situation.
Shotaro Hidari	Shotaro steps back with those insights from Lilian and takes a better look. He taps his chin for a moment, "I can see what you're saying now. It feels like it's both trying to invoke things you'd associate with happy memories, but also a workplace...so calm and productive? It's easy to glance over if you're not specifically looking for it." He does nod to her and is happy to keep the cursed memory where it belongs. Forgotten. "Not being able to be noticed isn't the same as invisible," Shotaro points out to Seras. "I imagine the people who live there aren't invisible to it, I imagine that going a bit from it the people would know of its existence...I imagine knowledge drops off the farther you are from it. It's like saying, 'oh the next town over, what's its name...' and everyone knows what you're talking about." Shotaro is already looking over things, but he has a few ideas. "I have a few insights I want to give. We have a city that was bombed in the middle of the cold war but seems not to show up. We have a self-containing secret, but specifically a piece of information associated with a cure that stems back to the cold war, a time where people were in a heightened sense of both fear and looking over their shoulders. We have to deal with the cards we're dealt here...so Conspiracy, paranoia...and distrust of governmental agencies?" "Mr. Parsons, I think this thing may be more difficult for your organization to find on its own. I mean...'Vague Yet Menacing Government Agency', right? What if the 'antimemetic' part of this isn't just keeping knowledge of itself hidden, but specifically trying to keep knowledge of itself hidden from things that would fit the description of a cold war secret governmental agency." "I'm not an expert on these things, but putting together the pieces you've provided so far, I think the cure is likely going to be affected by what you and your organization are too. Or perhaps the distrust that came out of what happened during the cold war affects it too like there are conspiracy theorists now."
Persephone Kore	"Ah, sorry!" Persephone says to Forsythe, bringing up a hand to cup her cheek with eyes shut in oh-so-light embarrassment. "I'll dial it down. Haha, sometimes I forget." And she tries, but its strength barely really diminishes, even if it takes on a sneakier 'tone'. Like a stage whisper, really. "I can't be nearly that selfless," she says to Lilian. "In a place like this, it's probably not smart for me to ask everyone to trust me forever, but I'm greedy, so I'll ask for it anyway!" In response to the pout, she puts on that insufferably warm eyes-shut smile again. "You need to be less selective with what compliments you take!! 'Cool' and 'smart' are not a complete diet for a growing ego!" After acknowledging Shotaro's greeting with a politely graceful inclination of her head, Phony happily nods along with Lilian's explanation to the detective. "It is close. And the view from outside... don't you just want to flick the brain, like the world's biggest bobblehead? Haha, I think it's really precious." Her sunniness is utterly charming and, to Seras, utterly inscrutable. It's not that she's good at hiding things; it's just that I really don't have anything to hide!! Her question to Flamel is innocently terrifying. "Why can't we just talk to them? The patients, I mean. I talked to one a little, before he shot me in the..." A short pause. To Lilian: "Actually, why doesn't yours have a keyhole too?"
Staren	Staren has an outfit for Psychonauts visits, which she thinks matches the vibe of the 70's... thing they have going on. There's the round-framed glasses with a black beret, a Concord-orange neckerchief, a black turtleneck, and slate-green, loosefitting cargo pants bloused into her hiking boots. Sometimes she has the labcoat tied around her waist but not today. She picked up a bit of the distant argument with those ears of hers, and thinks this all fits perfectly with her theory that the timeline was retconned and the city is from the previous timeline. She is positively ready to launch into this explanation as she strides into the room, a little rushed on account of being late-- And she stops in her tracks when she sees Persephone and Lilian right next to eachother, arm-in-arm. She knows they're friends, but tHeY CaN bOTH rEAd hEr MiND and being around Phony pushes her thoughts in one direction and being around Lilian pushes her thoughts in another direction and so outwardly she just stops, frozen for a second or two, and then steps back out of the room. She's not actually running away, she's pressed against the wall next to the door. Oh no. Wait shit they can still read my mind. Simultaneous Hi to Persephony and Fuck you to Lilian. Oh no what do I do.
Lilian Rook	"Oh, do offer them my praises~" Lilian replies to Forsythe, a little glibly without really being insincere. Between the psychics, it's actually not impossible to tell, for a change. It's not that her head or her heart are any more accessible, but she's done something close to everting her thoughts on purpose, externalizing them as close to 1:1 as someone can be accurate about their own thoughts, like thinking out loud. Apparently while in the food court with Persephone, and she hasn't really bothered (or thought to) turn it off yet. "I technically think I owe Parsons, despite his meddling. Don't worry about it." she says, unprompted, to that silent question. Lilian looks to Persephone again as the details come in. "Doesn't that remind you of Cimilco? The Eater-Thought." Of course, that time they'd been enemies, but a shared experience is a shared experience. She says to Seras (without looking away), "It's very likely that the city isn't invisible so much as it is psionically censored. It erases its presence from the onlooker's mind. That's an adjacent thing to an 'antimemetic' as well. That way, you'd naturally avoid driving into it, and probably not remember going through it, if you were an ordinary person. Of course, it's difficult to tell from just that information if it was cloaked that way on purpose, or the ground zero for some considerable psychic event that could cause that fallout." "I think it's definitely worth going back. Both Phony and I can read important information about it without needing to work around that sort of thing". Yes, 'Phony'. Not 'Kore'. Not even 'Persephone'. "I'd also like to examine the letters and the tapes. At least to hear what they have to say, and recording it with a degree of separation. If the language itself is psychohazardous, I can paraphrase a little to render it safe for study. If it's just a bunch of brainwashing noise and colours, well, I should still be fine." Producing her card for Forsythe, Lilian turns it over to the back around her House of Seven Worthies certification, thumb pointing towards: MENTAL VECTOR RESILIENCE: Jewel » Mirror » Chalice » Sword » Crown » Throne » Tower « Her unusually amicable, if still rather practiced, expression slowly slides off her face for a few moments, as she turns her head gradually sideways towards the door. A much less positive smile spreads over her face. Staren is mentally double tapped hitman style by the mental impression of a voice and presence that is just as innocently cheerful as it is cruelly imperious and fey. §Eat shit and die, Staren~ I'm with Phony right now, so if you ruin my day, I'll really kill you this time~ Be a good little girl and learn your fucking place, okay~?§ Back to the matter at hand, Lilian's train of thought is completely derailed by Persephone's question. "Wh- Beg pardon?" Her hand rises self-consciously to her chest. "Matching outfits are just embarrassing aren't they? Excuse me for being a conservative dresser!" Unspoken, but thought out loud for her benefit: §And excuse me for not being as massive as yours are! Is that what you're trying to say?§
Staren	Yeah, it's like a psychic double-tap. I don't want to ruin anyone's day! Why are you so mean?! Just out of view, she holds her hand to the sides of her head, distressed and constantly getting in the way of her own thoughts with not wanting to be heard while she thinks through how the hell to handle this.
Flamel Parsons	"It's invisible to humans by wiping itself from human senses. Like my invisibility!" Parsons shows Seras Victoria how it works. He snaps his fingers, briefly flickering out of sight and then back again. "It erases human perception, but usually not animals or things like that. Maybe could even just drive a car straight through and not realize! But people had to build it, and even live there... We don't really know how it got made. Or how anyone aimed any bombs at it, for that matter!" He nods to Lilian, gesturing at her and saying, "Censor is right. Honestly, it lines up with censors pretty well... Maybe that's a lead? I kind of wonder..." "But, that's the thing. Nobody's living there." He gestures to Shotaro. "It seems totally abandoned. People were there, then bombs dropped and now there's nobody there, at least... well, I found some corpses later, but nothing identifiable." His main statement, though, gets a few nods. "Yeah. My vague yet menacing government agency is... well, I think when the antimemetic properties were established, they probably accounted for the Psychonauts. But not for outsiders! So I'm trying to bring in outside help. So, we'll need to consistently make sure any operation has outsider eyes looking for this data, not insider eyes -- I think that's a good plan!" He nods to Shotaro a few times. Flamel grimaces awkwardly and adjusts his sunglasses at Persephone. "If you talk to them, uh. Well, I don't know how your brains would react, but I get the feeling your natural mental resistance would make it hard to talk to them. The psychohazard is practically all they talk about, trying to infect anyone who listens. Or kill anyone who gets in the way, which, I mean, I guess you found that out!" Flamel watches Staren's response. He just sort of waves at her in a very friendly way! The thumbs-up he gives is totally ambiguous in its meaning. Is he supporting her? Enticing her into a danger zone? Telling her it's safe? Approving of her avoidance? There's absolutely no clue. He adds a positive smile to it and this provides no clarity whatsoever. Forsythe makes a short wince when Lilian mentions owing Flamel. "I see." She says, looking at him. He does the same grin and thumbs up to her too, which she seems to not like one bit. He does now circle back around to what she said. "So, heading back to the city? Huh. Well, I couldn't do much with my own clairvoyance, but maybe we could pool up! Three clairvoyants pouring on the pressure might get a breakthrough. I'll get a psychoseismometer set up somewhere in the middle of the city, and we can give it a try!"
Lilian Rook	§You don't point a gun at me and expect to walk away unscathed, right? So you don't skip a simple hello and run your mouth instead without getting clapped. Simple, right? Now be good and behave, or go away and drop dead~§
Seras Victoria	Corrected by two people in the same few breaths. Seras makes a sheepish face and takes half a step back, perhaps embarassed at taking the word 'invisible' so literally. "Oh... right, that would make more sense. ... so to speak." Because, either way, that sounds no less ridiculous than a literally invisible city. Staren arriving and walking in, well, she looks over her shoulder and takes notice of that, but with her diving back out again.... one can almost see the question mark popping up over the Draculina's head. Flamel gains her attention the next moment, and she turns back to look at him -as is only polite - while being spoken to. Yet... "What--" He... he just VANISHED. Absolutely vanished. She blinks HARD, and actually stops breathing - which she's been doing by habit. For those few brief moments after regaining her composure Seras actually begins to stare at the empty space left behind. Glare daggers, even. But then he reappears and she snaps out of whatever funk was beginning to form. "I'm not keen on speaking to raving lunatics. This 'invisible city' though... that I'd like to check out."
Staren	That breaks her out of the loop, at least. Staren steps back into view and glares. No, you've earned some 'fuck you's from me! But yes, hello. We'll both play nice. After a brief moment, her expression changes to a forced smile and she holds up a hand for a little wave, looking at the assembled group. "Hi!" She looks around for Flamel, and then he's there: "Is it possible? My hypothesis about a previous timeline?" She holds her hand to her chin. "I forget if we actually talked about that last time..."
Shotaro Hidari	Persephone is probably the most dangerous person on the planet for Shotaro to be next to. Shotaro, is a softhearted person who puts off a hardboiled persona because he's trying to chase the memory of his mentor and fill in the shoes of someone he's not. Worse, he's the kind of person who would stop to do anything for a person who is crying. He lifts his head up to Seras, "Hey, by the way. It's okay to ask questions, or get things wrong. You learn faster that way," he says, trying to encourage her. "Doesn't feel like a timeline thing," Shotaro says towards Staren, "But that's a hunch rather than knowledge. I think the knowledge is just being made harder to make clear because of its nature.." he says, staring down at the map. He's not clairvoyant, he's not psychic, he doesn't have huge immunity to invasion. By most metrics, he's a normal human, but he /does/ have a good keen insight and reasoning, combined with sharp senses. "Hello!" he finally returns Staren's greeting, taking his hat off and giving her a respectful bow. The hat goes back on, as he looks up at Lilian, Persephone, and Flamel. "So...if it's hard for them to interact with it, is it possible for someone who isn't these things and could be infected work? The current cure doesn't work, but could it resist infection enough to get clues out of?"
Persephone Kore	"Remind me of who? Oh! Back then, with the pyramid and everything. Haha, I remember now." Phony's sunny smile is utterly undimmed. "But between all of us, we reached a good ending there, didn't we? So even if it's really hard, I believe in us to reach a good ending here too." She stands up just a little taller when she's called 'Phony', even giving Lilian's hand a little squeeze, but lets her friend do the talking. "And excuse me for not being as massive as yours are! Is that what you're trying to say?" Haha, I wasn't thinking it! But that is sort of a trend, isn't it? The only thing capable of dimming her smile right now is exactly the thing that happens when Staren enters. Her good cheer is at full when she's first mentally greeted, turning her head to look back over her shoulder and smile sunnily. It drops precipitously when she overhears that mental 'fuck you', and then plummets even further into the abyss when Lilian responds in kind. "A moment," she says to everyone else. Lilian is dragged by the arm into the doorway which Staren just entered through. Likewise, a telekinetic grasp on Staren's hand pulls her around the corner too. ---- Phony disentangles her arm from around Lilian's and lets go of her hand. Her eyes are shut, but not in their usual merry way- they're scrunched with frustration. Her jaw is clenched. When they're out of immediate earshot, a soft, tension-releasing sigh escapes her, and it becomes clear that she's probably been holding her breath for a good couple moments. To Staren, sharply: "Don't start this." To Lilian, barely less so: "Don't encourage this." To both: "I am trying very very hard to love and forgive everyone. Both of you know exactly how hard that is. So, as a personal favor to me: do not make it any harder, if you want me to have a good day." Most of the rest of the tension escapes her in a second exhalation. This one's less like a hiss, and more just tired. "Please. We had a whole fight about this. I thought we'd earned a happy ending, you know? So don't go and make it unhappy again. I really will be upset." ---- That conversation, hopefully, won't take long. She returns quickly enough to have not missed much, and to fill in the gaps with what she can glean from various people's minds. She is smiling again, though it's a bit more fatigued than before, a bit less effortless. "I'm usually good at talking to people," she says to Flamel cheerily. "Haha, but maybe not that good. Couldn't only some of us see the city, back then? Do you think that'll affect measurements we take, too? What if we just see the instruments as not registering anything?"
Lilian Rook	"It's a bit of a pain. That thing isn't a sort of psychological attack, and it only acts on a 'middleman' sort of information, so I still can't see it." Lilian says to Flamel and Seras, continuing multiple tracks of conversation. Her gaze moves over to Forsythe for a little bit. Black butterlies of curiosity flutter their wings, but ultimately her focus isn't that closely honed at the moment to sweat the poor woman. She may or may not remember to ask about it later. §Oh my god! Don't even start Phony!§ "Well, Phony's 'clairvoyance' isn't quite of the usual persuasion; it reads things that nobody else is able to, even off of me. And mine . . . Well, I have my theories now, about how the Type Black is involved in it. We haven't had time to run tests, but . . ." It's utterly unintelligible to most of the room, but Flamel should get the idea. §You've earned a bullet to the brainstem for everything you've done to me, Staren. You know, I was able to forgive everyone else, but not you. Do you know why? So politely stop getting too big for your britches, keep your petty grumbling to yourself, and don't throw hands you can't catch, or I'll delete you myself.§ "Ah." And now she's being dragged off. ---- Seeing Persephone scrunch her eyes shut and hear her gasp in frustration is the hardest Lilian's facade has cracked since that day, and back then she wasn't even in her right mind. A psychosomatic flinch runs through her, like a fault like snapping loudly through a glass sculpture. The arm that was so warm a second ago wraps around the front of her own waist to hold her opposite hip. Her eyes wander from Persephone's to a stretch of wall next to her head. "If even I, of all the people in the world, could try like that to be better to you and the children and Carpathia, there's no way I can stand someone like that not even making the barest effort. No, making an effort to be worse." Lilian replies, a little bit petulantly, but more teeth-clenchingly aggrieved by far. "It's not funny. It's not cool. It's not brave. I can't love and forgive people as well as you do. I'm trying my best. But there's a limit when people make it so difficult on purpose, just to see if they can. I used up so much energy on everyone else, and not all of it is back yet." A deeply tense and frustrated noise escapes from between her teeth. "I don't want to fight about it right now. Staren won't win and I won't feel any happier. It's not fun and I'm not into it. Can we please, if nothing else, just do what we came here for?" ---- "Oh, and please don't forget the tapes and the letter like I asked. It's fine --no, it's probably best-- if you'd rather they not leave this facility. I can stay a while."
Staren	Lilian is Lilian. SEE?! SEE?! Why is she like this?! ...Wait what do you mean do I know why, what did I ever do to justify your ire-- there's a tinge of hope, there, that maybe if she could somehow make amends for whatever it is she wouldn't have to... deal with all this, with Lilian anymore. And then she's pulled aside. -- There's the start of a line of thought in the direction of 'but Lilian could only have heard it if she read my mind--' but the sight of DISTRESSED PHONY overwhelms all else. She can't bear to be the reason Persephone is feeling down -- a part of her starts to object 'but it's Lilian's fault too' and an old reflex goes 'other people get along fine I'm doing something wrong' and another thought process picks up on why that reflex exists and reflexively tries to spin it for pity and a detached part of Staren observes YOU CAN'T MANIPULATE A MIND READER while Staren, horrified that any part of her even considered manipulating Phony and not getting the normal chance to just not act on a thought because it's already read goes all I'M SORRY WHY AM I LIKE THIS PLEASE FORGIVE ME before self-observing processes NOTICE that wait a minute, people think bad thoughts all the time and don't normally get judged on them it's actions that matter, and also Phony must see them all the time so chill. That all happens at the speed of thought. Right, yes, what was the previous thought-context? Oh right. Barely above a whisper, she replies, "I want the happy ending. I don't want to start..." she mentally strangles the 'but Lilian started this it's her fault' thoughts, "to start anything." I'll be good. The hope that maybe she can make up for whatever it was and be square with Lilian and they can all be happy resurges, and she winces at Lilian's words. "I'm sorry." She feels Lilian isn't blameless here, but is open to the possibility that she's acted unreasonably herself even if she doesn't know specifically how yet. But that's a discussion for another time. She nods at 'can we please do what we came here for'. -- Back in the room. "A... hunch?" But what is it based on though "I... yeah, we weren't in the best circumstances to examine it before, huh? Getting more eyes on it... brains on it... there's probably someone who can figure it out... or find some clues we missed, and then we can put it together.
Flamel Parsons	Hollis shakes her head at Staren, before she's taken out of things. "There's no good evidence to support psychic time travel, or any psychic 'retcon'." She keeps a hand on one hip as she shifts contemplatively. "But you're not wrong, you'd need to do something about as big as moving a timeline to make this happen. Nobody we know could censor out a whole city, though, especially in the early seventies." Flamel adjusts his sunglasses oddly. Shotaro's idea provokes him stroking his chin a bit. "Anything that a volunteer infectee would say runs the risk of trying to get the info out and infect more. That's part of the risk, the fact that they try to make you see things from their perspective. Your own innate censor response keeps you from seeing those things, it's only a post-infection decensored state... well, I mean, I bet someone could resist, but it would be a really big risk." Persephone gets a wide, distant sort of shrug from Flamel. "You can give it a try sometime if you want. Or today! But, really, I doubt it'll do much good. As for the psychoseismometers... well, all that does is collect the data in a wide area for instant assessment. Might as well try! Besides, we won't be using our sight to examine the readings." Hollis gets a look of concern for what Lilian asked for. "Oh, right, you want to take a look at the hazards. Well, don't look directly at them, full comprehension is what you don't want. But you can study them. I've called Otto over for--" A tall man with an excess of graying hair, glasses a little too thick, and an engineer's jacket finally arrives (https://i.imgur.com/PfvB0zM.jpeg) and presents Lilian with a thick, heavy helmet that has three-inch-wide cylinders protruding from various angles. "We'll get you to the laboratory whenever you're ready to study. You'll need to wear this while to look at the materials. If it detects an urge to do something that'll eventually end at least a billion lives, it'll instantly strike your skull with tungsten rods. Just a precaution."
Shotaro Hidari	"You're the expert here, and I'm a layperson who's a detective. The idea would be to try and create a weakened state of the idea. Similar to how you innoculate people from something, right? In this case, though, it'd be something weaker, and something that both of our immune people could interact with," Shotaro seems to float the idea of someone infected, but the idea weakened by a partial cure, and then interacted with by both of their immune people. Shotaro does tap his fingers across the table, information is coming in, but right now he's trying to take in what he can, and then focus on the details of the case. He does notice the three walk out, and when Persephone walks back in, he offers her a warm smile and a sympathetic gaze. When the tall man walks in, he stares at the helmet. "Uh...that's certainly...dramatic..." he says, not sure what to say about a helmet that is made to shove tungsten through your skull. "I'll take something less...fatal?"
Seras Victoria	And now, being assured. Seras looks over at Shotaro and... gives a thankful smile and a bit of a nod, though her attention stays mostly focused on the talk about the complex matter at end. She can certainly sense the hostility of a personal spat going on here but doesn't say a word about that, instead keeping her attention on Flamel's explanations. And the subject has turned to time travel of all things. Here's where Seras's expression turns to almost comically mocking disbelief. "Right. Because cities that hide themselves from everyone makes more sense than time traveling cities." She cracks out in a dry but sweet tone. Just thinking about that situation is a serious headache-inducer. "What kind of thing COULD put that sort of... bewitchment over a whole city though? It sounds like the... magical or psychic equivalent of a nuclear bomb going off."
Persephone Kore	Phony taps her cheek with a fingernail, then nods along with Flamel. "Yeah. We really might as well try. The worst it can do is give us nothing, right?" "What if it's true, though?" She pauses for a moment, pursing her lips. The look in her eyes is distant. "The Victory Day idea. Obviously wanting to hurt people is bad. But what if the reason it's so virulent... is that it really is a true idea? And people like the sniper know something we don't. Something we had to block out to stay normal." "Could there be a solution to it that isn't just blocking it out again? Could we look at fixing not what the information is, but the actions it makes them jump to?" A little pause. She lowers her hand and laughs, a little awkwardly. "Sorry. That's probably a bad way to think! Maybe I just shouldn't consider that."
Lilian Rook	---- With Lilian still (she definitely hasn't really noticed) Everting her thoughts to some degree, Staren doesn't have to have Phony's powers anymore to feel the acidic, boiling, contemptuous disgust from Lilian, and the way it gradually cools to something merely cold and clammy and gross. But, at the same time, a sense of relief. Tension and strain escaping the creaking springs and rattling gears, steam gently sizzling from the engine. Like she isn't struggling so hard to . . . not do something? "Whatever." she says, and little more. ---- Lilian looks at the helmet with something slowly approaching horror. "I really have to wear something that ugly?" A moment later, "If I get hit in the skull with a tungsten rod, I won't be responsible for what happens next." Another beat. "And a billion seems like a rather high benchmark." Sitting there and talking, her hand keeps lazily drifting back towards Persephone, but then recoiling away without touching each time. "I'd like to be in the room for that chat. And not for their words." And then, after Persephone says her weird thing, Lilian's eyes actually light up and her posture straightens a little. "Ah, no! That's . . . that's something I've always wondered, truth be told. Especially as there's simply no way for me to know. But they do sometimes sound like they're . . . very convinced of something. Something real. Sometimes."
Shotaro Hidari	"The fact that your first concern is how ugly the helmet looks, and not the rod.." he says, with a bit of a look. That look that someone who's closer to normal than elite might have at the thought of someone being put off by an 'ugly looking murder hat' than 'the murder hat part'. "Also...won't be responsible for what happens next?"
Lilian Rook	Lilian huffs at Shotaro. "I'm not scared of that thing. And I take my appearance very seriously. Maybe you could stand to do the same." It is not an Elite thing. It is definitely a weird and irrational hangup thing. "It's a figure of speech. But also literal."
Shotaro Hidari	Shotaro, in a suit, with a fedora and well-kept hair gives Lilian a /look/. "With all due respect, my look is cultivated for a very specific reason," he says, even-toned. "It's a look that not everyone likes, but it's mine."
Persephone Kore	"I'll be responsible for it instead. If you get hit, I mean," Phony says. There's no laugh, but a funny little smile. "I'm sure it's nothing we couldn't make better together. Even if I can't imagine you thinking up something that awful in the first place. Wordlessly, she takes Lilian's hand in her own again and gives it a comforting squeeze. There is no further acknowledgement of that tentative reaching. There doesn't need to be. "If it really is just something true that gives people bad ideas, and not something that makes people do things they wouldn't ordinarily- will we be protected at all? Maybe it should be me. Even if it seems like the best solution to a really real problem, I'm not sure I could want to hurt anyone. I'm not strong enough to."
Lilian Rook	A tiny little sound of relief escapes Lilian when her hand is finally allowed to stop wandering. The air around her isn't as cold. "Ah, that's true I suppose. But then I'd be very afraid of something that might make you want to anyways. Even if it doesn't work. How hard that would be." There's a moment of thoughtful, companionable silence. "I don't think it matters if I'm protected either way. I've spent most of my life filled with bad ideas. Wanting bad things. I have more practice than anyone in not bringing them into reality. What's one more drop in the ocean?" The laugh that follows probably wasn't meant to sound that sad.
Staren	Well. There's a whole CONVERSATION between Staren and Phony that Lilian can just read. Staren slumps tiredly, and at least presently intends to accept whatever humiliation Lilian is going to dish out -- but, we're getting to actually proceed with what we're here for! Staren kind of... needs a moment to remember what they were doing. She stands up straight and turns to Hollis. "Wait. If it's not an alternate timeline, then... how does the city have signs of being part of like, a whole different world? You said Lemuria was on there?" Beat. Staren blinks. "Wait. What if it just... unified? And it's a piece of an entirely different world with psychic powers unlike what you've seen?" She assumes that Lilian means that her powers will do some terrible thing if she's about to die, that makes sense, she doesn't question it. Eventually she remembers there are other people here too, and looks over at Seras and her aura of new-to-this-shit. "So, how are you finding the Multiverse so far," Police Girl There's a brief hesitation as she tries to remember what she asked to be called. "Sssserasss? Miss Victoria?"
Shotaro Hidari	Shotaro flashes Lilian a concerned look, despite the hit on his outfit, he's not so petty as to hold it against her. That laugh was...well soul-wrenching. He looks over at Staren, "You're overthinking things, a bit," he says. "You're looking at a way to make your assumption fact, but not letting the facts lead you to the conclusion," he comments. "The city is unable to be perceived, but it's still there."
Flamel Parsons	"Interesting... What sort of weakened form do you think we can aim for creating? Technically, all the infections are of people who are pre-cured." Flamel says, tapping the side of his sunglasses with his fingers in progressing rows. "But if you can figure some way of adding extra resistance at the start, and maybe some way of reverting the brain-state, I can maybe arrange an experiment." He finishes those taps with a light clasp, adjusting them and nodding. "We can figure something out. Probably... In a while." "We know invisible things. Psionic invisibility is a known truth. But time travel isn't. An issue of scale's another matter entirely." When Seras says something about a psychic bomb, though, she puts a hand to her chin and strokes it. "A psychic bomb? Maybe..." Flamel's the one who takes Phony's question, nodding to Persephone and Lilian in turn. "Lots of things are true. Psychodialectics means that two ideas that contradict each other can actually both be factual! The Victory Day MAD strain being a truthful fact... I mean, maybe? But that doesn't make it more valuable, or worth being spread around. In the end, there's a reason why a lot of conspiracies just hide a lot of truth! Because sometimes something can be factual and false, or true and fake. But we know it's dangerous to know, because it makes you want to do something that ends up killing plenty of people. So... well, maybe ignorance is bliss!"