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Cantio As promised, Cantio's testing zone can easily be found in one of the many shitty desert wastelands! Why the shitty desert wasteland? She's picked out a fairly barren stretch of desert for this with only a few landmarks visible in the distance, so she's probably expecting this test to need a lot of room. It's not clear why, but the weird giant rings she's strapping to various people might be a clue as to why.

Also, she's strapping giant weird rings to people. They're being fitted across the midsection and upper chest, with extra sets of rings being placed on those with wider bodies or an inordinate amount of arms and legs. They seem to be from multiple different areas, too, with some looking like they belong in the wasteland in their spiked junk armor and/or little more than shoddy rags, and others looking like they might have brought in from a more rural or cultier zone.

The test hasn't begun yet, though, so there's time to ask questions, lend aid, stop it before it begins, or... Other!
Staren     It's just more convenient for Staren to fly here in a hovercar. They have air conditioning, you know!

    "Cantio! Good to see you!" Staren smiles and waves. Then she looks over the ringed people. "So... what's THIS experiment about? Or is it a surprise you want to show before you tell?"
Cantio Spotting a familiar face, Cantio turns and returns Staren's greeting with a quick wave and smile of her own. "Staren! Hey, just in time. It's a bit of a... Well. It's not that much of a secret at this point."

Indeed, the people gathered for this event all look fairly excited themselves, some holding their arms out as if preparing to pose for something. Others are still wary of the other ring-thing models, as though they might be recognizing others around here (mostly the spiked-armor ruffians and the people in rags).

"But in short? They're going to fly. No need for complicated directions, extensive training or conditioning..." Cantio trails off briefly. "...Maybe a bit of motion sickness..." And then she speaks normally again. "And no need to worry about terrible accidents from a brief lapse in attention! But..."

She picks one of the spares up and flips it over in her hand a few times. "I need to make sure it's actually usable by people that don't even bother reading the instructions. That means there's... A little bit of risk while working out the kinks here."
Staren     Staren's ears perk up at the explanation. "Oooh, a new method for how to fly??? Is it something you were working on anyway, or does it require something you found in Secundus?" She looks for a designated safe place to stand.

    Knight opens the car door in a hurry. "Did you say they're going to FLY?! I..." She runs a few steps towards the group, then stops and looks at the assembled people and hesitates. "...would love to read the instructions and maybe participate in the next trial?" Still, flying is PRETTY COOL and she looks excited at the prospect. Her shirt, pants, and sneakers actually fit now, and she's got a black duster to help keep the dust off.

    Staren glances at Knight, then back at the test subjects, then at Cantio. And then sighs. "Ugh... and already I've started thinking about how this could help with the war here... this conflict is poisoning my mind..."
Cantio "It came to me a few days ago, actually. I...Some stuff happened." Cantio doesn't elaborate too much on what that stuff is, seeming content with just leaving it there as she fits another person with one of those waist-ring things. "The closest I've come to needing anything specific from here was... People, mostly.  People, and publicity."

She nods as Knight arrives, chuckling lightly before shrugging. "Sure, if you'd like. But.. Yeah, I couldn't just use my own people again. And with how quickly word spreads at home..." She glances towards the test subjects, then lowers her voice a bit. "... Better it's done out here. We don't know how much will remain by the end of the period, anyway."

As she starts doing one more check of everyone's rings, she listens to Staren's concerns over the general Secundus efforts, and she seems... Disinterested? No, she's definitely listening, and her expression is more like someone that's just not worried. "It could, if I adjusted it. But... Would it help if you stopped thinking of it like a war? We don't have our own people at stake, just our egos and our bodies."
Staren     Staren steps back, as if out of a hypothetical splash zone, when Cantio says 'we don't know how much will remain.'

    She tilts her head. "If I treated it like a game? But... there are real people living in these zones..." She hmms. "...Is everyone else but Kale viewing it as a game? Are you?"
Cantio "They are! Probably. Everything feels real enough, and... I mean, it's not much different from me, right?" Cantio holds up a hand, bringing one of her drones over. She taps a few commands into it, and it holds up its own hand which has since turned into a knife. It nicks Cantio's hand, just deep enough to draw blood.

"See? I'm bleeding, but-oh. Ow, oh that was a... That was a really dumb idea." She sucks in air through her teeth over that while clenching her hand, casting a quick healing spell to mend that finger wound up before continuing. "Even my world is part of some kind of computer. I'm standing here, but I could be just as real or fake as you are to them once we're out of here."

She gestures at the test subjects, glancing at her previously cut finger briefly while leaving the question of whether she's treating it as a game or not in the air. "Alright.. Places, everybody! I'm going to be activating the devices now, so just... Do what feels natural!"

All at once, the rings light up, and all those people wearing them start to float. Some float a little faster than others, some start drifting sideways, and others are already starting to draw small circles in the air with their movements. The rings appear to be keeping them all upright no matter how much they're trying to flip. Nobody is moving all that quickly yet, though, as they're still being cautious for the time being.
Staren     Staren quirks an eyebrow as Cantio prepares to prove she bleeds, and winces as she hurts herself. "That's... that's not how it works, people don't become less real just because we're not observing them..."

    As the experiment starts up, Staren oohs. "None of them were trained? They're totally guessing how to operate these things? Interesting..."

    She hmms, noticing some going for flips but unable to. "That seems potentially limiting, but I guess you tried it without that and... too easy for them to go into a spin accidentally? Or rather, too hard to detect if they were doing it on purpose or not?"

    Staren rubs her chin. "Hmmmm... I suppose you could also ad a function that, say, arrests any spin and turns you upright again if you go spreadeagled... or just flail too much..."
Cantio "They don't stop, no. It's just easier to work with them when there's no obligation past today." Cantio explains as she monitors the movements of the test subjects, splitting off a few more clones of herself to make that whole process a bit easier with their own drones to condense whatever data is coming in.

"No training, no instructions. This isn't meant for combat, after all. It's meant to improve lives as a whole, so humans aren't limited to where they can move by their legs and traffic."  Cantio continues to explain, stroking her chin lightly as one of them actually gets close to managing a flip before swinging back way too hard in the other direction and actually succeeding. "There's counterbalancers in these, so flipping should be impossible, but... I'll have to tweak a little more later."

Things seem to be going well so far, with some of the wilder-looking and younger testers even managing to take off and do some relatively impressive (horizontal-only) spins with only a single jerking motion. "I have to wonder, though... If you could only make and distribute a limited number of these to people in a single region, how would you decide who to give them to? Or who not to give them to?" Cantio asks as she keeps her gaze focused on the higher fliers for now, tapping away at her drone's screen all the while. "I already my own plans figured out, but I'm curious how you would decide with such a vague limit."
Staren     Staren ahs and nods. "I suppose that does put a certain... limit on obligation, yes. Still, I hope that they'll do well after we're gone, with any resources we give them. ...All of Secundus, really, not just our territory... gah." She holds her hands to her head. "That's a lot of responsibility..."

    Staren hmmms at the question, happy to think about that instead, a hand to her chin again. "Obviously, first would be to those most inclined to reverse-engineer them and give more to others, but otherwise... ugh. Everyone should have a chance to try flying... I suppose you could prioritize people who do public services that could benefit from it? Like, you'd probably want some for rescue crews. And yet... I don't know. Some way to let anybody have a chance? Although I guess it's impossible to ensure what happens after, so some people might not give them up..."
Cantio "That's the ideal. All this infrastructure being set up is... I mean, it's not unexpected, but it's really a drain mentally." Cantio admits with a light sigh, then chuckles afterwards. "But it's been an interesting experience, being able to really... Use these resources without worrying as much about the effects at home."

With Staren's logic in her head now, Cantio strokes her chin lightly. "I think I understand... You'd prioritize people that can understand it, with enough brainpower to replicate it and redistribute the technology. Public safety, too, because that's a given for people that need to keep others safe. And then people with disabilities, so they're not limited by their more fragile bodies... Yeah... That does sound pretty in line with what I've seen of you."

Cantio lets out a relaxed noise, then narrows her eyes slightly as she watches one of the people that's still going higher and further away. "It's pretty common for people to not want to let go of power once they've had it. They start getting... What's the word.. Comfortable? Comfortable, and they can even forget where it came from. They can start taking it for granted. Like they can just... Get away with abusing it."

She taps on her drone's screen, transmitting her voice to the high flier. "Alright, come back now. It's going to be dangerous if you go too far out." And then she turns to Staren again. "So. If you had enough, what would you think about just giving it to everybody and anybody? People that need it, people that don't, just... Completely eliminating the need for anyone to recreate it? Everyone knows where it came from, and they'll know who to go to if it needs repairs, updates, everything."

"Would you do it?"
Staren     Staren ohs, as physical disabilities are brought up, and nods. When Cantio says it's in line with what she's seen of Staren, Staren adds, "I'm so used to cybernetics being around, I hadn't thought of that. And if someone is stuck in a body they don't like... I've always been all for helping them move to a better one, you know? Othwerwise I'd have mentioned that too."

    Staren looks Cantio in the eyes as Cantio asks Staren a question.

    The only reason she doesn't answer immediately is she's honestly surprised the question needs to be *asked*.

    "Of course."

    And then she turns away, thinking again. "...Although, I don't like the idea of them having to remain dependent on me to make more as the population grows. What if something happens to me? I'd rather they learn how to make more on their own."
Cantio "That does sound rather convenient... Hm. I might have to look into something like that if I can get more funding to develop it." Cantio murmurs, then raises an eyebrow at Staren's second answer. It takes a while for her to respond, but when she does, she laughs lightly.

"That's the best part, I think. If people know they need you to maintain these things, to enable such a great way of life, to give people chances they wouldn't otherwise have, then your life becomes way more important in the broader sense. More people willing to protect you, fewer willing to assassinate you. Or treat you as a speed-bump."

She pauses, then turns to Staren. That high-flier keeps moving away. "That's the difference, I guess. Frankly, I don't believe for a moment you would ever be in that much danger before already finding some way out. You're too much of a coward for that." She says rather bluntly, then quickly dials it back into her more anxious, almost apologetic tone. "I-I mean, so am I! But I guess I'm..."

She glances at her tablet, then up at the high-flier that can barely be heard cackling and drifting further away. "... I'm tired of pretending, you know? I have this power, I know that I've become stronger, so I know what risks risks I can afford to take. Speaking of risks..." She turns her attention to the drone again, speaking into the receiver. "This is your last warning. Are you sure you want to keep doing that?"

The flier replies with a cackling expletive shouted back, and Cantio sighs while tapping on the screen again. "Some people can't assess risks that well." She taps on the screen once more, and there's an explosion in the sky. From this distance, it's more like a single small firework going off, mostly hidden by the slowly-setting sun.

The high-flier is nowhere to be seen.
Staren     Staren blinks. She *honestly* had never considered the idea of trying to hold that sort of leverage over people.

    Not once, in all this time, even with all her complexes and concerns around being useful to people.

    As Cantio brings it up, she does try to think about it a little, at least. It sounds a bit wrong at first blush, but as sociopolitical power games go it seems like a pretty benign one.

> I don't believe for a moment you would ever be in that much danger before already finding some way out. You're too much of a coward for that.
    Staren is about to reply to the first part when the second makes her narrow an eye ever-so-slightly. In-between Cantio's talking, she replies, "...Not intentionally. But there could be another Multiversal reorganization or something. Or, I got stuck in the past for a year, remember? People could suddenly have to go without me. It would be irresponsible to--"

    Staren's eyes go wide as she stares at the firework. "DID YOU JUST KILL THAT GUY?!" She frantically flies after, is if there could be enough of a body left to DO MEDICINE TO, but after seconds she's already realizing that's unlikely and frantically trying to think of additional backup plans and revivification methods.
Cantio "Oh, the...! Um. I heard some people calling it a crunch or something...? Anyway. I remember hearing about it, but that kind of risk is why I'm going to have it produced from home." Cantio beams a bit at that. "My name and Cadenza's. Even if I disappear for a while, they'll have the knowledge and resources to produce it until I return."

Staren seems upset, and Cantio's expression remains fairly neutral as she purses her lips. "I did warn him it wasn't safe. Multiple times, even." She replies bluntly at Staren's last question, clearing her throat somewhat uncomfortably several seconds later. It does have her pausing for a few moments, at least, as though she's still processing something about what just happened.

"It felt... A lot easier than last time." She doesn't sound pleased about that, but she doesn't sound upset. "I guess it really... Doesn't feel the same when it's not my own people." It's certainly not stopping her from monitoring the rest of the test, which seems to be going on without a hitch and without any of the other test subjects even really noticing what happened. They're too busy enjoying their newfound flight to notice that bit of fireworks and Satren's outburst from before.

"I think... We're just about done with this initial test, though. Did you want to add anything while we're here, Staren?" Cantio just carries on as though she didn't just blow up a guy, who might still be visible in the far distance as a burning thing coming back down to the earth rapidly in the distance.
Staren     Staren chases after the body. Catching it, landing, and warping in enough medical gear to get to work. She doesn't understand Cantio, but all other concerns are pushed aside as she begins working. If Cantio comes over to talk to her, she asks, while mechanically going through each step, "WHY? Why would you just kill a guy?! ...Whaddoyou mean LAST TIME? What is WRONG with you?!"
Cantio Wisely, Cantio first keeps her attention on getting the rest of the test subjects gathered. She thanks them all for a job well done, rewards their efforts with the test flight devices after making a few more tweaks for stability, and then sends them back home with some of her clones to escort them.

Only then does she go to rejoin Staren while she's at work on bringing the spiked armor ruffian (sadly without his trademark spiked pauldron anymore) back to life. "I warned him not to leave, and he kept going while blatantly ignoring me. Do you think someone willing to do that right in my face would do it without expecting to get away with it? To use this sort of machine for their own selfish gain?"

Cantio closes her eyes, then takes a few steps away. "Staren... Have you already forgotten? We're Elites. People die a lot easier than we do when we shoot them. When we slash them. When we fire indiscriminately into a crowd of them spouting cool one-liners. It's not right, but it's always easier than the first time."

She rubs her forehead lightly, then starts walking again to start the long trek to the nearest warpgate. "And it's a lot easier when they're not from home. Anyway.. Um."

"Thanks for coming. I needed that."
Staren     It's somewhat unclear if this will even work. Sure, in THEORY someone's brain isn't dead for a couple of minutes, but... Staren's never actually been in this exact borderline situation before. But 'taking steps in case it will work' has to come before 'working out whether it will work.'

    Cantio giving some *reasoning* (and Staren having reached a point where all the equipment is hooked up and she can be a bit less frantic and actually start to think) sets her thinking.

    "...He was trying to steal from you, huh? And I suppose you could just as well point out that... that in this dangerous experiment, people who don't heed warnings might die in a way you couldn't save them from. You could even argue that... that doing so, that seeing that will keep the others in line. Possibly save lives by preventing them from doing things that would get them killed without your intervention."

    Staren stops for a moment, and takes a breath. She looks at Cantio. Her gloved hands (and the tools on spidery armatures sticking out of her wristbands) are covered in blood, and some's gotten on her labcoat and shirt and pants too. "And he's... some random thief. If I bring him back... he'll probably do this again."

    Staren sighs, and slumps. "I just... I guess I feel like... everyone around me is under my protection, and... a-and..." She turns and looks at the patient again. "What if this was the one irresponsible thing in his life? Does one mistake really deserve death?" She hangs her head. "...I know that, deserved or not, it can decide it for most people... but is that how it *should* be?"

    She looks at Cantio. "Is that how I *want* the world to be?"

    Another breath. She looks at her hands as the equipment quietly, rhythmically beeps behind her. "...We gain strength... we grow up and accomplish things, we become more real, by deciding how reality should be and making it so. So do I want a world where he would live, or he would die?"

    Staren looks at the patient again. "Conversely... do I want a world where... where I just save anyone, no matter how careless or bad, as long as I have the chance to? Will people in that world... live better lives?"
Cantio Luckily, the guy's probably only been brainded for a short time between the explosion and the commencement of the work, although he's sure to have years of therapy ahead of him once he recovers.

Sadly, 199X is a terrible time to need any kind of therapy, mental or otherwise. It's kind of terrible out here all around.

"I could have. There's a lot of things I could have done differently, and there's a lot of things he could have done differently. These risks are what people take every day to survive, and for us to decide when we interfere with those lives."

She nods once at Staren when she mentions the probability of trying to steal things again. "The risk is there, but I can't make that choice for you. That's what being an Elite is, Staren. We make huge, life-changing decisions for other people, but they're only life-changing for them. It's just another one during the day for us before we leave, maybe... Come back later? And then we do it again until we leave and don't come back anymore. You could stay and protect them all, manage them all, but..."

Cantio glances back finally. "That's something else you need to figure out for yourself, too. I don't know what you mean about that.. Um." She gestures vaguely with her free hand while tucking a drone under her arm, walking again as it starts mimicking those same motions with its clamp hand. "Deciding reality thing? But if I'm going to make things better for as many lives as I can, then I can't fret over every single person that'll have to be sacrificed for it."
Staren     Staren looks at Cantio, considering. "One last question, then: When you saw me freaking out and rushing to save this guy... why did you think I was doing it? How did you feel about it?"
Cantio "You're an idealist. You want to believe that it'd be worth it. I wasn't surprised, though, since that's just... The kind of person you are, like some other people I know." Cantio rubs her face. "But that's where the similarities end."
Staren     Staren isn't sure what she expected, but she looks pleasantly surprised. She smiles, "Thank you. You understand me better than many others. I wonder what they would think."

    She turns back to the patient. "...I should finish what I started, at least. Maybe it's not the right thing... or maybe it is... but it doesn't seem SO wrong as to be worth abandoning. See you later, Cantio. ...We should talk more sometime." She lowers her hands and begins jabbing things from the machines at her side into the patient.
Staren     Meanwhile, Knight is just kind of left standing by the hovercar. "Um... Hello? Anyone? ...I don't know how to fly one of these things..."
Cantio "Really? That's... I see." Cantio really doesn't know how to respond to hearing that. She just nods slowly after a while, raising her hand in a quick wave to Staren before finally for real leaving.

Given time, the patient will make a physical recovery! Definitely going to be fucked up for a while, though. At least he'll be traumatized enough not to try being a bandit again. Whether or not he survives on his own like that, though, is another story for a never day.