Andromeda looked puzzled. "Well, first of all, your temporal signature appears to be entirely normal. Like you actually belong in this universe. So that's a bit of strangeness. And second, why is age a non-discussed topic? Is this a human thing? Because of the crazy short lifespan?"
Mister Tryko'Sam wrote:
Tryko'Sam looks up from the scarf considering Andromeda after her comment. "If the issue has to do with whatever this scarf is -- blocking, as best I can tell, maybe it's the impulses? Maya, you didn't drop in a dose of crazy in my head when helping patch up my memories this last time after that thing got into me, literally? For however long it did?"
While taking the time to listen to Tryko'Sam after Andromeda speaks, Maya then shakes her head briefly negative at his question before replying to Andromeda, "It is customary among the most gentile of my culture, to never inquire as to a female's age-- just bad form, Miss Sunwake, especially if just meeting for the first time between a boy and girl. Besides, age is such an irrelevant matter sometimes. I've known mature men that can't get themselves organized to save their lives while essentially babes out of the woods are more put together and organized. I wager to say that the whole inquiry into one's age, is falling into the judging a book by it's cover-- unless of course, someone wished to avoid going to jail due to the other's apparent youth." She appears to ramble a bit towards the end there, lost in thought on the topic.
Then turning her attention back she adds, "If, our patient, suffered some manner of mental issues, I can safely state that nothing was present when I assisted with his restoration of self after being kidnapped. If his physique is healthy, and his mind relatively intact without any psychosis we can determine -- that is to say, I sense none based on memory and understanding of his, what else could be affecting him in such a manner? Is there another school of ... " she takes a moment to smile faintly at the notion, "magic, our lack of full understanding selves, might be missing?" indicating herself, and likely, Tryko'Sam.
Tryko'Sam looks at the scarf again. "It would have to be opposite to what this is." He holds it up slightly to help indicate his point.
Maya Rhys clearly doesn't have the same 'temporal' issue that Tryko'Sam has, she's clearly of this Universe, or has done something to mimic whatever the temporal eyesight would see to make it seem so.
She looks sideways towards Andromeda, bemused at the attention while asking, "On the off chance, my dear, Ms. Sunwake, you happen to see something particular-- and a kind reminder about one's age being a non-discussed topic, you'll find a polite way to speak of it, I trust?"
"Well, wherever and whenever you're from, it sounds like you came the long way round. But no, it's not just the fact that time passed. You have the wrong temporal signature. Not sure how else to explain that. At some point you fell through a crack in space and time. You're not leaking artron energy, but it probably had plenty of time to bleed off if the trip took that long."
"If this thing, whatever it was, did something to you, it would be totally separate from your temporal issues. And really, that's what we're trying to isolate now anyways....
This gives Andromeda an odd introspective and thoughtful look from Tryko'Sam, while Maya seems to be studying Miss Jones who's considering something she'd just witnessed.
Then glancing back, Maya says, "While I don't quite grasp the change of appearance and then altered pupils-- which are no doubt a means to an end, this observation of temporal signatures, may I -- that's to say, are all the students here equally unique? This is quite the fascinating school. Much more elaborate and chaotic in nature than the university I once taught at and helped found with Tryko'Sam's assistance on my home world. Could you peek at me and see if I have that same temporal difference you see? We travelled here together, thus, if we're both off-- it stands to reason that our last ditch effort to stop those horrible Replicators may have utterly shunted us from our existence into another. Fascinating what happens when toying with black holes." She doesn't seem too thrilled by the thought, but curious, regardless.
Tryko'Sam remains thoughtful, glancing mostly at Andromeda as it's obvious on his features he's lost in some deep thought by all this.
After Tryko'Sam responds to Andromeda, Maya says, "I did have to stitch his memories together somewhat-- hopefully not heavy handledly-- maybe my mental repair is this Enhancement you're seeing?"
Maya appears to be seeking to assist and curious now.
"It's Miss Jones actually. While Professor is the customary title, it is not my preferred one," Miss Jones said crisply, neatly avoiding the implied question about her first name. She returns Maya's polite nod. "A pleasure to meet you Professor Rhys. And yes, I wish to speak with you about Tryko'Sam," she said, pronouncing his name as if it pained her, as it always did when dealing with students who only had one name. She preferred to keep names at a polite distance, knowing how much power they had. "I'm sure you are aware that he has been having difficulties with destructive impulses of late. Rather severe impulses. The scarf I gave him was made for me. As a means of controlling ordinary destructive urges, it is a bit like swatting a fly with a bomb. The fact that he feels normal, rather than extremely meek and happy tells me that this imbalance was quite severe. And therefore is something that requires long term treatment once the source of it, whether psychological or otherwise, is discovered. But that is not the only anomaly that requires examination in the case of this student. He is, it appears, producing a rather powerful enchantment effect, on a cellular level. Which is most singular as such effects usually generate in the mind. I need to know if you are aware of this effect, and if it is something that was done to him, or is simply a part of him that he needs to control. He indicated that you would have insight into his history that might shed some light on that subject. And as he has expressed discomfort with mental contact, I felt that speaking with you was the best way to gain the necessary information."
Nodding in understanding or acceptance of the established name, Maya listens to her update and then request for information-- peering over only once at the 'scarf' on Tryko'Sam with a hint of curiosity.
Maya Rhys:
"The person I know as Tryko'Sam, is someone I'd met ...I'd say, some, that is to say, my understanding of time and awareness of it's passing, 5 or 6 years back, maybe 2009?" She implies some calendar year, which clearly does not match with the local planet's, or perhaps even dimensional reference. "He is a snarky, intelligent, charismatic-- perhaps natural leader, though, I would not say magical, which though in hindsight, might explain his inability to perish or cease to exist."
Tryko'Sam is fiddling with the ends of the scarf while hiding some of his face to avoid bursting out in laughter at Andromeda's facial fun while the Professors talk about him in the room. He doesn't appear bothered to be spoken of while present in this manner, plus there is a hint of curiosity in his own features while listening.
"As for the benefit of the scarf-- I can sense it, which is rather remarkable even on just his surface emotions. He and I have bonded previously on a mental level when we were members of our team, protectors of sorts, against the insane versions of what I grew into once the Event occurred on our planet. He predated that event, though, so it's unlikely he's associated to that, or this destructive ... imbalance is due to that. I'd wager to say that his kidnapping and subsequent torture/body ridding by some entity is creating the destructive aspects. When whoever recovered him -- Kevin, was it? he had lost nearly all his memory due to intentional destruction of his brain cells by that thing. He'd put a copy of his mind into the SIM data banks, just prior to the assault on that cult city as a back up plan. New tactics, never thought to do that. A good portion of his thinking was rebuilt by me, after that, to help bring him back up to speed and past the psychological ... post traumatic stressors, issues. He's got a willpower that challenged a lot of our few mentalists, which again, didn't quite understand-- but accepted. if not for our bond, it'd be hard to help him occasionally restore his memory." She gives a near sister like smile of warm at that. Clearly she cares on some level for him.
Tryko'Sam shrugs and says, somewhat contentedly, "Hey, stuff happens-- I die, I get back up. Rinse and repeat. Spilled milk sometimes. Intentional other, but never a long term problem in any fashion really. Gotta move on, get past that."
"You see," Maya continues, "as far as we could ever determine, the existence of Tryko'Sam cannot be altered radically, or permanently, by any known force in our Universe, and I assure you-- he's run into and agitated some extremely hot headed or murderous individuals that had powers beyond mere mortals. I mean, he would occasionally lose an arm, or get a huge gaping wound in his chest or the like, fall over dead, but instantly return to life whole and healed. Perhaps that's the cellular enchantment you are referring too?"
She returns her gaze after considering and studying Tryko'Sam while speaking the latter half of that, then adds quickly, "Though, if I may interject, my apologies, it is possible that since landing here-- or perhaps even before we even met him for the first time back on my home world, this ability and his nature really is magical in nature. No one where I was born, the planet Earth, claimed really to be magical. It might be only now that we are learning this." She gives a slight shrug.
"Just tell us where to go. I...don't really understand the magic stuff. I don't understand much," she added dejectedly. "But I'm willing to help," she added squeezing Rena's hand.
So I don't think either of the girls are capable of teleporting themselves, so that's got to be figured out, but the SIM matrix can assist if necessary. We're just going to be wrapping up this quest line, so we can play it out more or you can go ahead and summarize yourself, Dami.
Big Summary:
With the assistance of the SIM matrix, and primarily Maya's interfacing with the systems of the SIM Room and school, with each passing moment it appears she grows more confident and resolved, the three ladies proceed with their plan.
The short version is: Lure Tryko'Sam, where upon, Maya will slip his mind, and thus body, into a mental illusion so he doesn't decide to leave. She mentions that he does have innate barriers against this happening, but since his personality and thus defenses are 'offline' they won't apply. Her tone is an odd combination of concern and glee, as if she were cycling through jaded girl friend and protective mother in the conversation.
If Asha and Rena are open to it, the initial build up to get to the teleporting and then retrieving takes some time, where Maya has to ensure that the SIM matrix has SIM Room 3 on maintain status, pending her return, for inserting Tryko'Sam's personality back into his meaty self. This would allow some discussions, to which Maya is extremely polite and professor minded after a just a few moments of discussion. No further 'gene' speak happens, but it's clear that Maya's a empowered female that doesn't hesitate to point this out as a strength and encouraging same of others.
The actual retrieval goes without issue.
SIM matrix arranges teleporting, Rena brings along a 'return to school' casting device, likely a scroll, and they are away. Once there, Maya encourages the girls to go forth and get Tryko'Sam's attention-- which is easily done, regardless of how, unless they spook or attack him. Clearly, they don't do that.
After a moment, though, he's crouching in place, breathing and staring off at something not seen by either of the girls, when Maya walks up and gently puts a hand on his head saying, "Forgive me again, Trkyo'Sam, once more into the breech, old friend."
At this point, Rena is requested to return them, and they re-appear at the appropriate teleporting location, to simply /shift/ to the SIM Room 3, where the procedure will be completed.
Maya let's the girls know if they wanted to stay, it's going to be a lot of waiting, which would give them time to talk further if desired, or she will definitely let them know when he's restored to his original state of mind.
Regardless of their choices, she is very cordial, strong willed, and to a certain extent-- a juxtaposition of fellow young lady and professor. Perhaps lonely is another way to describe it, while hampered by the barriers of duty as a facility member.
If they do stay with Maya and Trkyo'Sam while he's being 'uploaded' again, Maya provides snacks and conversation.
I presume if you have any specific questions, FCD or Lynora, you're welcome to PM them-- to save on posting here.
Glancing at the Hologram Visual, Maya seems focused on it as it speaks.
narrator wrote:
The message to Aananda triggers another appearance by the hologram interface from earlier.
"I am sorry, Professor Rhys, but Professor Aananda Sunwake has set her privacy settings to only be interrupted by an emergency level 5. My calculations place this at an emergency level 1.5. However, I am capable of answering simple queries and providing any assistance that my programming allows. While full manufacturing capabilities are not readily available, these SIM environments are capable of replicating the nanite tanks that exist in the advanced mechanics lab for purposes of manufacturing prototypes. I can remain here to assist the students Arhtur Barren and Vickory West in their efforts if this will help you maintain the focus you require to address this situation."
The hologram would realize that Maya 'thanks' it personally, as if it were a real being too.
"Looks as though permission is provided."
Maya then turns to Vickory and adds, "Easy with labels, Miss. Loose lips and what not. It might offend-- especially the 'boy' terminology. Manners above all else. Now then, if you two would accompany this fine hologram here, another SIM Room can assist with your project, while the Ladies and I attend to our "lost his mind, brain trust", that is Tryko'Sam after seeking to assist a city captured by devil worshipers. He always did get into the oddest of situations, I wonder if it's just Fate or something else."
It's fairly apparent the state of that student doesn't weight too heavily on Maya's less than expressive features, but causes her to dwell slightly.
Vickory turns to the staff lady, "Anything in the school that can speed up manatronic and normal construction? Fabrication units and the like?"
Maya looks back towards Vickory after a moment of studying her features saying, "I believe there are some ... factories and such, in the nearby town-- which is dealing with some destruction of late, so perhaps not there, but... nothing, immediate that comes to attention. Perhaps another student might possess talents to ... make things faster."
Glancing about, then back again she adds, "I'll profess I ... only did a quick cursory scan. If the schematics were presented to me, there's a likely chance I could have it built rather quickly-- certainly faster than a few hours. Permission would be sought to employ such techniques."
Aananda, aka Prof Sunwake, aka Aanandareavekki:
A quick 'message' is bursted over the usual communication channels, ala mail or pure transmission, essentially inquiring if there are any automated factories at the ready for student use, or if such should be left to their discovery and educational speeds. A mild comment about not wishing to feed 'instant gratification' unless lives were, likely one at this point, stake. Request to reply when able, Arthur and Vickory listed on request..
"We could certainly make use of another SIM Room to ... test and build, given known conditions. There are quite a few outside this one. I'm ... not sure what you wish to do first, however. Capture or lure?" looking at Asha and Rena, then back to the other pair, "or device building first? The best I can give is a sense of where Tryko'Sam is. Finding him ought to not be that difficult. Especially if you display yourselves -- mind yourself in the wilderness, however."
Maya seemed to smile briefly and then frown at Vickory's comment about helping another.
"Oh dear, is someone else missing? Trkyo'Sam certainly would be able to assist covering distances if necessary- once's he's restored, again. But, if we had to choose between the two, certain the health of the other before his current status, I'd say. I will profess a personal interest here, naturally, but as a Professor, all students come first equally."
She winced at some inner thought, and it would be apparent at this point she was dealing with something silently with the occasional break in composure to her face while doing so. Almost as if an discussion was underway in her mind.
The items are your stock dimension door, teleport, and similar 'travel' abilities-- but nothing as potent as a Gate spell though.
"How did you get in there? You were not there when we left. Has he not returned to close the portal?" Vickory looks on in confusion and follows inside, suddenly forgetting about Arthur for the moment.
Vickory walks on in ...
Arthur Barren wrote:
Arthur grumbles "well now the door decides to open" he gives a suspicious glance at a wall as though he expects it to be conspiring against him
... as Arthur follows, glancing at the wall while following up quickly behind ...
Asha Soleil wrote:
Asha dragged Rena behind her, quickly moving through the door. She ignored the other people standing around and the questions from the snake girl. Which were probably for the professor anyways, and therefore not her problem.
"We're here because Tryko'Sam teleported away and we don't know how to find him. We can bring him back for you if you tell us how, but I don't know anything really. Rena was with him before he went poof! and she says there's something really wrong with him. You know, the memory stuff again. So I brought her to you because you know how to help him. Anyways, even if he doesn't know who we are, I'm pretty sure if he's like he was at the beginning and not all angry like he was lately that he'd be willing to go anywhere if a couple of pretty girls asked him to, and we are definitely willing to help. Even if it does mean that he's going to be all angry again," she said quickly in one big burst of nervous energy.
... are two rather attractive young ladies in various states of energetic display.
SIM Room 3 Interior Description:
Inside the SIM Room 3, as Vickory remembers, are many of the pre-existing screens, command center like set up, but, gone are the massive portal that Tryko'Sam generated and Trkyo'Sam himself. The chair he was seated atop is still there, much of the 'detail' to the place appears to be diminishing more and more, in 'sections', to the default SIM Room interior, but, it is clear there's a massive generator and computer system existing within the room, close to that main seat.
Maya turns to glance at the entrance of the four, and furrows for a moment with her thoughtful features, then back to smiling saying politely to the four students, "I'm a member of the staff here, Professor Maya Rhys, a pleasure to those I do not know-- do forgive me if I appear partially distracted, I'm attempting to maintain and build, Trkyo'Sam's personality in a matrix that could shut down in a moment's notice if not for our august computer and power sources in employ at this very moment. Now then..."
Her hair is starting to unravel slightly, with the tendrils of her otherwise proper do, clinging to her brow. She doesn't appear to be too stressed, but it's evident in slight furrow of brow and clenched teeth.
Looking at Asha, she nods and says, "Your instincts are correct, quite so and a testament to your superior genes, young lady. You will do femininity proud as you go forth into the world. The key here is, distraction without any reason to cause fear for a homo sapien-- male."
Then under her breath she adds, "Least, that's what we always thought he was. No matter."
Then back to the others again, "Finding him -- will be a touch of a challenge, though, more importantly, getting across the planet in a timely fashion. If nothing else, we can 'tag' him with some makeshift wrist band, or perhaps energy wash, to locate him should he chose to jaunt away as he is wont to do again. Er... I believe, there are some devices accessible to do this, but -- that requires some magical know how? I'm only getting up to speed on the like."
She motions to the table top near her where upon a few 'devices' appear to be laid out, scrolls and other 'teleportation' magical items that would have been in storage are.
"Do any of you know how these operate? they are not technical, or scientific, so I cannot speak to their proper use-- yet."
A simple Knowledge of such implements would easily indicate their use, but they require Arcane caster ability, or Use Magical Device skill to 'trick'.
"He's ... best I can sense, on the other side of the world, in some mountain range. He's not fearful, but exploring? best way to put it. Learning fast. No speech."
She glances between the students, smiling briefly.
Asha grabbed the distraught Rena's hand and pulled her into the hallway, where Asha touched the wall and waited for a moment for the arrows to come up before pulling Rena along after them until the two girls reached the SIM rooms.
"There. It says that the professor is in there," she said, pointing at the locked SIM room 3.
Upon arriving at the sealed door of SIM Room 3, there is a 'hum' sound of sorts, as if dimming power, and it creaks open with the disheveled (tendrils of her otherwise well kept hair style, hanging down) face of Maya peeking out.
"Hello? Ah, I thought I'd heard some voices... Hello. Uhm. This room is on lock down for numerous reasons, students-- however, would any of you darlings be capable of ... Err, luring my wayward charge here? I'm in quite a pickle attempting to maintain the room without any qualified ... Handbooks, and desperate for assistance. He's left me quite a mess to sort, again..." She flashes a smile to whomever was still in the hall when doing this announcement, though her expression is a mix of fear and delight.
"I do believe, if you promise to touch none of the systems within, I could explain best inside."
With that, she smiled again and stepped back in. The door panel would indicate and unlocked state due to the door being open, but it was unclear if it would stay unlocked upon shutting again shortly.
Just a reminder (given the time in real life that's passed since):
Nearly everything pre-Tryko'Sam going off and being possessed was started out of SIM Room 3, which no one's really returned too.
Once I get a proper queue from someone in-game, as to finding Maya here, or return to the sealed off SIM Room 3 (unless teacher on a security by-pass access it), I'll keep an eye out.
Now, on the off hand you folks involved in Tryko'Sam's re-re-rescue just want to fast forward so we can proceed with Time Skip (+1 week), lemme know and I'll draft up something to post once we get to that.
Life is choice. Embrace it.
As for the Murderer 'bit', still keeping an eye on further steps there too. ;) Not ignoring you folks, honest, just ... waiting for key words to trigger reactions.
Tyrrin waves a hand dismissively at the notion of hurrying along her return to classes."Honestly, teaching is a new experience for me, and I think valuable in it's own right as well."
"Glad to make your acquaintance Professor, I hope to see you around the school."she continues politely, before moving on, continuing in the direction the arrows were guiding her, towards Professor Reading.
"Likewise, most certainly." Maya concludes as she bids farewell to the departing Tyrrin. She gives her datapad a few moments of attention with her finger tip after a wave farewell.
She then heads off with a bemused smile on her face.
"Pleasure to meet you, Professor Rhys."Tyrrin replies primly to the introduction, offering a handshake, as she knew was the human custom. Her Common speech has a slight accent to it, but it would be difficult to place. The almost lilting quality of the Gaelic tongues is present."Tyrrin Denulia, Student Council President."she has quite good manners, all things considered, though perhaps a bit brusque. It is still early in the morning though, maybe she hasn't had her coffee yet.
"Erm... my hair? It's really nothing more than a quick twist and a pin to hold it in place. Functional, really."she replies, slightly uncomfortable with a subject as unfamiliar to her as hairstyling and fashion.
"I'm not in a terrible rush, but perhaps you can tell what you will be teaching, Professor? I am substituting for the Basic Arcana teacher at the moment, but once she's feeling ready to teach again, I will be once again attending classes."
At that there's a momentary glance at the datapad held by Maya, but just a casual, cursory glance, nothing terribly curious about it. The datapads were becoming fairly...
Hand shake completed, Maya seems to smile in consideration of something or another after Tyrrin speaks.
"Well, the specifics aren't completely ironed out, just yet. Ms. Denulia. Though, most likely the category of Illusion weaving will fall into my portfolio, so to speak, along with what else. Perhaps I could speak to someone about substituting your Basic Arcana, so's to free you to return to your studies. We certainly would not want you to lose out on the opportunity to properly finish up your eduction."
Smiling again, she pulls out the datapad, glancing at it, the screen flashes some illumination in her features, though not visible as to what, then Maya smiles further, looking back towards Tyrrin, with datapad against her chest once more.
"I thank you for your time, just meeting and greeting, as it were. Cheerio."
Tyrrin's expression is thoughtful at the greeting, of which she returns the wave only half-heartedly, merely raising a hand as if to acknowledge it. Her tone is business-like, as is her demeanor in general."Good morning. Are you a guest here at Avalon, or a new arrival? I don't believe we've met."
Meanwhile, Tyrrin herself is dressed mostly in prim, professional looking black clothing. She might've passed for a teacher herself, but something about her face says 'teenager'. Her pointed ears are quite plain due to her hair being pulled back into a practical bun. She's not wearing any jewelry.
Maya smiles again, her eyes flicker to the pointy ends of Tyrrin's ears, then back to her features in a proper social act of looking directly at the person speaking with.
"Professor Maya Rhys, recently arrived. I merely wished to compliment you on your lovely hair styling. Is that something you accomplished on your own, or is there a hair dresser in the school?"
Maya seems casual, mostly, having that slight English aristocrat accent.
"I hope you don't mind-- I only meant to bid you hello and the question on hair dresser. If I am interrupting you on your course, by all means, don't let me. I'm certain we may meet again. The school cannot possibl-- well, hopefully, I should say, not be that big."
She stands there with arms crossed in front of her, datapad held against chest, smiling faintly.
Tyrrin departs from Ghalen's room, having dressed and said her goodbyes. Her hand trails along the wall as she walks, conjuring forth the arrows to guide her to Professor Reading.
Her black (extremely deep blue?) hair was given a short brushing before it was put up, and so is decently presentable. She looks just a little tired, but not overly so. Maybe still fighting the morning drowses.
Humming a ditty while walking along, on route to Vare's location, Maya smiles as Tyrrin comes walking along. In fact, she smiles a bit more brightly, and waves a greeting.
"Good morning, student. How are you this fine day?" Her expression appears to be one of bemusement mixed in with happiness.
Maya is dressed in a lovely skirt, frilly blouse of sort, nothing sexualized about her choice, and has her hair up in a dual French Bun, on both sides. All in all, it looks quite school teacher, but the adorable Hello Kitty hairpins, in pink, merely throw some of that off.
She does, however, have some datapad in her hand, which she presses against her chest and folds arms over as part of the greeting to Tyrrin.
"A bit much, what with the cat exploding and all, but if you can work that the same way with magic so the students can learn, I've no problem with it." He hands over a map and a blank schedule, going through the usual pexpkanation about the map and walk arrows before exposing the schedule was hers to fill out when she felt ready to teach.
Beaming with delight, Maya says with a slightly thicker English accent due to excitement, "I most certainly can and will learn to do that-- this reminds me of a few scenarios back home, I was always the go to person for substituting anyone who was out. It-- er... Splendid."
She collected herself, and then asks, "If there's nothing else, I'll leave you to your undoubtedly busy day. A pleasure to have met you."
Maya will head out, not clicking her heels, but certainly happy about it.
"Splendid. The materials to the room would be best. I suppose this implies that an offer is made?"
She smiles warmly at the thought.
"I do have the fundamental study, just nothing professionally taught in classes, just yet. If a basic schedule were provided, I could adapt and adjust as needed."
"Take the day to familiarize yourself with the magic here, and I'll send notices to the students who had asked about an Illusions class letting them know they will be able to transfer out of the Arcana classes soon. If you want the job, you have it, though I would like an example of what you can do."
Maya seemed to contain her excitement somewhat well, though a faint smile did slip out onto her lips and a twinkle in her eyes.
"There are always casting couches or hoops to leap through, aren't there? Let me see... I suppose, if I were to just whip something up..."
And For My First Act...:
She rises up, formal grace where it was not before. Her appearance subtly changing to fill out, as she grows taller, and fuller, becoming a six foot figure of divine appearance, the epitimy of the perfect human, female, figure. In the course of a few moments, she shifts into an Adonis, dressed Greek, with toga and laurels, glowing lightly in a halo of power and sunlight behind her.
Raising a hand as he does, the room itself blends, as shadows seems to wash over the walls and the like, replacing their contents with a completely different theme and style of interior. Where there was wood, a dull metal, where colors were warm, they are cool. The effect has all the qualitities familiar to anyone who's experienced the SIM room, and no indication of how, save the visual change-- a transformation, most likely, on the atomic level. Even the air has changed its smell, and cooled noticeably.
Bending forward to pick up a cat that was obscured by the desk's edge, he lifts the kitty up, a Blue Russian mix, pets it until it purrs, then whispers in its ear.
After the whisper the cat leaps up, into the air, turning into an Alien looking creature with wings, hissing and spewing violence, dripping acid and mucus, which melts through the new metal in spots, before imploding and peeling the entire room's tapestry of difference, including her own godly looks, into the pinpoint of black, before violently, audibly, vanishing.
She smiles, now back to her normal appearance, then frowns, walking over to the floor where a slight sizzle still occurs from the cat turned bat Alien creature's, spit.
"Terrible sorry. In certain in a few days this will stop." Giving it another glance, she smiles seeing the floor repairing. "Well, that certainly helps with the whole potential blowing up home base by accident."
No indication of magic, reality seemingly altered, unless other super senses were in effect.
One thing is for certain, however, she seemed to enjoy the use of her abilities. Her respiration is elevated and her eyes alight with pleasure, lips moistened, body alert.
She turns back to the Headmaster and smiles. "How was that?"
"I see. Well, we can give you time to acclimate to our world as quickly as you can before you start teaching Illusion. You can find literature on both understanding what is known about magic and the history of our world in the library, or I can have the material sent to your room here at the school if you wish."
"Splendid. The materials to the room would be best. I suppose this implies that an offer is made?"
She smiles warmly at the thought.
"I do have the fundamental study, just nothing professionally taught in classes, just yet. If a basic schedule were provided, I could adapt and adjust as needed."
"I see. Well, more magic teachers -well, any teachers really- are welcome. Would you care to tell me more about your experience in the illusory arts and your research into the unusual and unexplained? There's plenty if both here in the school."
Still standing there, Maya raises an eyebrow, smiles and slips into the seat.
"It is a long story, which I presume you have the time for? The ten years of my teaching arem't exactly -- well, it can be, but, let's see where to begin..."
Maya Recap:
Maya proceeds to describe and explain, verbally, the history of an Earth which was radically changed by 'cosmic energies' in the latter part of their twentieth century, and the results going into their twenty first, before the planet was destroyed. She is the daughter of two Originals, beings that were changed due to the Event, manifesting super natural powers. She effectively describes something akin to what is a 'super powers' setting. People flying, blasting energies, super strength, etc. etc.
In the course of her teen years, and adult hood, until the death of her planet, she was one of the founders of a corporation, built by these super powered beings, to study and protect the planet from ill will. The study of themselves, and others like themselves, to further develop the new beings and co-exist with the non-super humans that remained, and lived primarily in fear, of the Originals and their off spring. She had participated in the study of the phenomena, as a Doctor of Psychology and Physiology, as well as a student of Sociology, and various other titles in the new scientific fields that were being invented from scratch. Most having colorful names due to the 'powers' involved. Hyper-Intelligence, Teleportation, Space/Time Manipulation, Quantum Variable Manipulation, etc. etc. Her own unique abilities, were in the field of what passes for 'Illusions', most likely in a 'magic' setting-- but, she doesn't manipulate magic. She manipulates reality, as do all of the other people touched by the Event from her world.
In the course of her adult life, while working with a core group of planet protectors and fellow scientists, made up of Originals and herself, numerous other 'students' and applicants for study joined their university, in the effort to help an individual gain control over their powers, or abilities, to meld into society smoothly. For those that were off and breaking the laws, often, they were the first response team stopping major threats, and new found threats, affecting the planet. They were primarily a team, organized under the banner of their leader, for philanthropic ends.
Thus, after some descriptions of experiences and such, she's clearly an expert in the 'odd and unusual', from a science point of view, and sometimes quite creative origins, and a teacher of her fellow super natural persons. Some ten years, easily, of professional effort, besides her lifetime otherwise.
"... so, in a nutshell, that's the short version. Now I am here, and seeking some stability before I determine what more there is to do in this ...universe. Perhaps, a teaching and research opportunity in one. As far as what I could teach, it was discussed that Illusions was a possibility, though, I'm not quite certain of the magical aspect of this, yet fairly certain I could learn it quickly and adapt."
She finishes the story with legs politely crossed at the knee, hands atop her thigh, looking back at the Headmaster, faintly smiling.
"If nothing else, I'm looking for a place to stay and help with, while remaining around Tryko'Sam, a companion from my world. It is due to his being here, I believe, that I am ...returned."
She is let in, and the Headmaster gestures to a chair if she'd like to sit.
"she may have. I am Headmaster Antairus. Welcome to Avalon Academy, Miss Rhys. What position would you like? Any staff member is a welcome addition here."
Looking around as she walks into the office, Maya heads over to the chair and stands to the back left, resting a one hand atop the other, on it's back.
"Hello Headmaster Antairus, thank you for the welcome. I'm specifically skilled in general education, so if there's any particular study that can be read up swiftly and then a course defined, I'd be happy to do that, yet, if the position is strictly for one sphere of study, then Illusion studies -- and all that it would entail, is specifically my interest. I have, you could say, a lot of experience with it, from my past and present."
She smiled faintly at that.
"If it helps, I've had nearly a decade or so of formal training with special beings, as a teacher, as well as a researcher of the unusual and unexplained, again, from elsewhere. I'm not a native, as I'm certain you've surmised."
Her voice is lightly accented, English aristocrat, and seems good natured. The slightest bemusement as she speaks, perhaps finding humor in her current state of affairs.
Walking along, she headed for the Headmaster's office. Perhaps he was receiving guests this time
The doorway is closed at the moment, but then it always is.
Giving the door a knock, then announcing herself while opening it, Maya attempts to step on in-- office hours should be in effect, she assumed.
If she does manage to get in, she'll look about, not quite sure what to expect, and then step inside fully letting the door shut behind her with a "Hello. I'm Maya Rhys, a recent arrival. I'm looking for the Headmaster to discuss possible employment? Perhaps the Head of Security mentioned me?"
Miss Jones's room was tidy to the extreme, efficiently organized with no extraneous decorations. She motioned for Maya to sit down in one of the slightly uncomfortable chairs positioned by a small table.
"What you have described does not sound like it will be all that complicated to untangle. With your permission, it should only take a few minutes."
Once she had ascertained that Maya was ready for her to begin she began sorting through Maya's thoughts, extracting the nanite programming and isolating it within a small corner of her mind.
"I have not removed the programming entirely, but it is isolated and contained...removing it would prove challenging given that your body appears to be formed from nanites...it's easier to just limit it to an isolated area that does not interact with your basic cognitive functions. You should be feeling much more yourself now. If that is all, please excuse me. I need to get ready for the day. It would not do to be late to my first class."
Details...:
Miss Jones would notice, upon connecting with Maya's 'mind', that Maya is no simple mere mentalist, but rather, someone with extraordinary mental facilities. In fact, while the coding does appear within the nanites that were forming the physical form of Maya present in the room, Maya herself was in an established gestalt with that coding, and even that, was a duplication of her core self, superimposed upon the matter of her body. She did, however, believe the coding, due to the gestalt, was affecting her, but most likely, if she removed herself from the gestalt, would be free of it. Mind over coding, clearly an epic feat unto itself.
There was a blink of her eyes, and a nod, and Maya said, "Splendid. I can see how that worked. Many thanks, Miss Jones. I shall leave you to it. A pleasure meeting you, once again, perhaps we'll speak again in the future. Ta ta."
With that, Maya walked off, having bid her farewells, leaving Miss Jones to her prep work.
She stepped outside, paused in thought, and with a shimmer, changed from her jumpsuit outfit to something long skirt, buttoned down blouse, ankle high boots, low heels. Her hair changing as well to a twin French braid.
Much more distinguished this way.
Walking along, she headed for the Headmaster's office. Perhaps he was receiving guests this time.
Miss Jones looks at her sharply. Her clothes are very wet and in some state of disarray...notably there are no small amount of rips and tears on them.
"Yes, of course," she said crisply. "If you wouldn't mind following me to my quarters? I need to get cleaned up before class and my room at least provides some privacy. I would rather minimize the number of students who see me like this."
Nodding and motioning for Ms. Jones to proceed, Maya will tag along.
"By all means. Lead on."
She tags along and explains the situation, when able, as best as she can. For the most part, she is quite articulate about the situation in terms of psionic topics, and science 'facts'.
The alarm cloak which she'd set, once she'd been introduced to her quarters and the like, went off smartly early in the AM. She was rather impressed by the quarters taking shape so neatly, to what was familiar to her as well.
Dressed as before, and having cleaned up in a bath, Maya stepped out and headed forth to find Ms. Jones.
Step one, as it were, to a proper profession with compensation, and, unlike poor Tryko'Sam, the start of a new life. Perhaps one day they'd sit and debrief regarding the fate of Earth, but, some study was required first, verification of facts, one of her favorite past times.
After a short jaunt she came upon the location where the arrows directed her, intersecting with Ms. Jones as she was returning from her morning swim.
Maya walks up to where Ms. Jones is returning from her outdoor activities and waves a greeting, the arrows indicating their meeting as ordained.
"Hello. I'm Maya Rhys, I'm a potential applicant here for a professor slot, but there may be a matter which I'm told you could assist me with? In my resurrection, I happened to linger a touch too long with some of the computer coding Aananda has with her machinery, and well ... it gives me some urges that are not uniquely my own. I was told you might be able to assist me in removing them? If you happen to have the time. I can assist too, not unfamiliar with such."
Maya's dressed as before, jumpsuit thing of black and grey, average in all other ways, clean.
Aananda switched off the bank of monitors on the wall.
"Not that I'm not interested in Professor Vare's problem, but why don't we have this conversation on the way to see Ryo. That way Maya here can be officially hired and I can go and get some much needed dinner."
Maya stands up straight and smiles, putting her hands behind her back, one holding the wrist of the other, saying with a smile, "Well, that most certainly sounds grand to me. By all means, let's."
Glancing between Aananda and Vare, Maya looks a touch concerned and says, "Oh dear, I certainly hope this wasn't due to my interfacing with your software earlier-- I do apologize, I have been know to affect sensors and such, but ... I just hope it wasn't me."
"I'm honestly not sure. I'll have to run some fairly time-consuming diagnostics before I know what the current state of the nanite cloud is for sure, let alone what caused it."
Vare blinks, finally breaking his distracted state and looking back at the pair of women - though of course, he still never seems to get where to /look/ right, glancing here and there in their general vicinity."I'm afraid much of this is over my head."he says somewhat sheepishly."It may be worth noting, however, that even Golems and other similar constructs project themselves onto the Dreamscape as well, despite their apparent non-sentience. I'm not entirely sure if it is a side-effect of the elemental spirits which are generally bound to such creatures... or perhaps we don't understand Golems as well as is thought."he says, his right hand (the one with the golden ring) going to his chin in what might be considered a thoughtful manner if his eyes ever settled down.
"Forgive me for any prior effort on your part, but if this vision of the Dreamscape is so predominant in your life-- and apparently, disruptive, can't you cast some spell to block it, even if temporarily? I mean, that's the best thought I can think of, stop the input. It's what I would do. Unless that's /all/ you can see. Being functionally blind is clearly not an option."
Maya stands there, leaning against the counter/table's edge, right hand holding her upper left arm, across her chest. Her stance and such would indicate concern and curiosity.
Glancing between Aananda and Vare, Maya looks a touch concerned and says, "Oh dear, I certainly hope this wasn't due to my interfacing with your software earlier-- I do apologize, I have been know to affect sensors and such, but ... I just hope it wasn't me."
"Shadow Illusions."Vare interjects into the middle of the discussion regarding Maya's abilities."What you described definitely sounds like illusions. There are some illusions which pull substance directly from the Plane of Shadow to partially actualize themselves."He intones, though his intellectual response seems distant, almost automatic, as his gaze continues to be distracted to that point in the air.
"I'm not sure if it's a Projection or a Fragment. There isn't a being there on the Material plane is there?"He says, motioning to the blank space.
Looking to where he indicates, then to Vare with a shake of her head, she says to both of them, "With my own sight, I cannot see anything here... but, if I tried to extend into your perceptions, I might."
She does seem to glance to Aananda for reference as to what to do here, but ready to act still.
"Yes, the advanced students are working on making partially real illusions I believe."
"English? What's that? A language? As far as I know we're speaking common at the moment."
"So...you have healing magic? Or do you mean you're trained in non-magical healing techniques? I don't suppose you're familiar with nanite medical applications? We do keep emergency kits in the classroom just in case. Though really they don't get used much outside of martial arts and alchemy classes."
"Yes, English was the name of one of our predominate languages. Common-- I see. Common it is. For all I know, and remember, this is English. I wouldn't call what I might be able to bring to the table, healing, or magic-- though, this is all quite a new experience. Perhaps? I could stabilize someone, and provide basic medical emergency assistance, with my abilities and non-magical emergency techniques. Restarting someone's stopped heart, or maintaining breathing, for human beings without altered biological functions. As for nanite... er... yes, certainly. Did I mention our world, and solar system was threatened by a species of creatures that were robotic, most likely non-sentient, creatures that resembled nanites, only bigger? Spider shaped, somewhat, capable of incredible replication abilities by consuming any metal or technology faster than our ability to prevent it? We pulled a black hole to our location as a last ditch effort to stop their spread. I shudder to think if something of them survived and they continued."
It'd be obvious that the nanite part doesn't throw her, as much as the recollection of this species that does.
"If any hint of those things exist, and they aren't dealt with post haste, there's very little we knew of that would stop them-- though, they did build themselves with a metal of our creation, making them rather impervious. I digress again, another topic, another time-- perhaps at the faculty meeting, if I understand correctly and happily present myself for the post, M-- Ma'am."
With a grin, she claps once, looking at Vare, then back.
Aananda looked confused for a moment and then she caught on. "Oh, you're an illusionist! With some telpathic skills...okay. Well, I think we've got a spot for you then. We always gets a few resignations after a major crisis and the illusion teacher was among this round."
"Yes, I'm familiar with the concept of rock music. My daughter-in-law has a fairly successful band. Sounds like something our worlds have in common."
Maya smiles and shrugs, "If such is the proper term, here and now-- perhaps? But, they... well, I guess they were illusions in some cases, but reality in another. We never quite understood, fully."
Reacting to the vacant spot, Maya says, "Splendid-- I'd be happy to try fill that role. And you actually have 'rock' music, how ... fascinating. Is this even English, or are we translating on some fundamental universal language?"
She merely grins at that part. "I suppose a visit to this Headmaster to eventually finalize things, is the proper step? If it were to be of any help- I do know some basic first aid and other assortment of skills, in addition to some tricks I've pulled off in the past. Versatility, that's what I was always bringing to the table."
"Yeah, actually. You mentioned that you had powers, but you never mentioned what your powers actually were. So what was it you could do? And can you still do it?"
"Well, there's two ways to describe this-- the technical terms and what our culture whipped up to explain it, which might seem silly, but that is how things were with the fairly new science and what not."
She considers Vare for a few moments, then says, "In short, I created simulations, or duplications of reality; energy, force, light and a few other fundamental bits of creation as we know it. Now, they existed for a duration, my concentration was required often, initially-- the key though, was once someone actually realized their existence, they tended to fade for the individual. So, they were hallucinations, yet, recordable, intractable, real-- as much as that dead cat was, when observed in one manner. State of mind, we deduced, that field of science was so young and unproven in many ways, it was akin to just going with your best guess, or opening a comic book up and saying, 'It's like this.'. In our casual terms, I basically created simulacrums, quite vivid and realistic, that were often impossible to dismiss as fake without being abnormal. I did great with birthday parties, and such-- but, again, other stories. These abilities, apparently, were passed down from my father, my birth father. Coupled with this, was an untrained, initially, form of mentalism-- a telepathy, of sorts? Or quasi-mind control, that was more of a sympathetic connectivity, or ties, with any other living mind nearby. Being a second generation super powered being, born of two first wave super powered beings, it appeared the capacity was carried and enhanced from the parents. When I actually fought and helped capture my Father a few times, he was clearly not as powerful, but definitely more experienced and skilled. I'd argue that towards the end of my efforts, I did reach a state of very potent and experienced, but we all speculated there were vast potentials none of us were tapping into. Basically-- I was a veteran and often times people would not want to fight simply due my reputation." She beams with a bit of pride at that. "Plus our ... odd code of conduct, between members of our super community."
With a brief smile, she then says, "I rather did enjoy the superhero scene-- we were the rock stars, a type of musicians of a genre type, of our time. Fan clubs, and adored by the public when we weren't terrifying them with the occasionally new eruption or psychological break down by one of our fellow abnormal. Highs and lows."
Then looking back to Vare, she too seems concerned. "Is it a fragment, Wizard Vare, or something else?"
"Yeah, you probably should speak with him. Ryo is the Headmaster. I should probably be more formal in addressing him, but," she shrugged. "No matter how many impressive titles he gets, he'll always be my little brother. He's also a High Seer. There's a council of them. They're the closest thing Agartha, umm...that's the name of the planet you're on, anyways, they're the closest thing Agartha has to a ruling authority. Which is to say, we're a pretty divided world. Even the council of High Seers can only really give suggestions at most. But a lot of people are willing to listen to their suggestions, so that's something."
Nodding at that information, Maya says, "Well, I've been to lands where there were no civilized societies, I doubt what you've described could be worse than that."
She did smile fondly at the mention of 'little brother'.
"I don't believe I have any more questions, I've always enjoyed learning as I go along, being quite adaptive. What about yourself, did you have anything you wanted to ask me?"
Again, she does glance over to the thinking, or appearing to think, Vare, seeking to not exclude him too much from the conversation.
Clearly light hearted about the situation she's in, Maya playfully scoffs and waves off the 'issue' of lacking a choice in the matter. "Quite alright, I assure you, these things will resolve themselves with effort-- they usually do."
She finds a counter to lean against, devoid of knocking anything over or such, folding her arms on her chest again as before, in thought.
After a moment, she replies with, "Well, I'll give the brief history first, then ask a few questions to verify. If that's acceptable." It would be clear she presumes such is the case as she continues into the history part right after.
** spoiler omitted **...
"Interesting. I've never heard of a group of people referring to those with powers as super. Well, it's a linguistic oddity anyway."
** spoiler omitted **...
Listening with interest, Maya does a decent job of not bursting out laughing at the 'screaming part' towards the end.
All in all though, she seems understanding of the situation.
"I believe your motivations are in line with my own, programming or not. Especially if there are tyrannical sorts out there bent on domination and destruction of innocents. While I'm hardly a Resistance fighter, I can be especially helpful, perhaps even more so now. So this school is a side project, on a world, which you are ancestrally associated with, that is dealing with the universal threat of ...chromatic dragons, apparently. How utterly intriguing. You've certainly have a solid reason for me to sign up. Ryo, you said? Perhaps I should speak with him?"
By way of looking over at Vare, while the ladies talk, Maya looks to try and keep Vare engaged, if only with a look, in the conversation, or to gauge his reactions.
"Well, in your current state I don't think you could betray the school if you wanted to. Sorry about that. But I definitely want to know more about you and where you came from. Enough to hopefully get some idea of what you're like apart from the security software protocols."
"As far as money goes, we do pay our staff well. We have to. No one would want to teach here if we didn't. Hazard pay, so to speak. These kids are often treated like they're monsters in the places they came from. Lot of psychological trauma. Abandonment issues. And I think I just described at least half the staff as well. With great power comes great emotional instability. That sort of thing."
"To start out, do you have any questions for me? I've got a whole list for you, so it might be quicker to have you ask first."
Clearly light hearted about the situation she's in, Maya playfully scoffs and waves off the 'issue' of lacking a choice in the matter. "Quite alright, I assure you, these things will resolve themselves with effort-- they usually do."
She finds a counter to lean against, devoid of knocking anything over or such, folding her arms on her chest again as before, in thought.
After a moment, she replies with, "Well, I'll give the brief history first, then ask a few questions to verify. If that's acceptable." It would be clear she presumes such is the case as she continues into the history part right after.
Maya's History:
"I was abandoned at birth, and raised primarily through a foster care system which revolved around one of our planet's predominant religious following. Eventually, as I grew into my formative young adult years, I demonstrated my abilities, which were, for me, quite natural at this point as it turned out I was one of few second generation Aberrant persons, as we were called by the majority of the population, born of two parents that were of the initial wave of Abberant erupted persons. An event, cosmic, apparently triggered this sequence, and through the years, our ... we hypothesized and had some supporting research, connectivity with the fabric of reality, in many aspects, became innate. To date, no one individual had the exact truth behind what happened, but we did make great strides into the study of this phenomena. Physics as we knew it, had changed-- we were capable of changing the very rules we'd long felt were immutable."
She takes a pause there, as if considering something, drawing a breath, and continuing. "Obviously, since our people had either deep psychological issues, or people's personalities radically changed due to the event, we had two sides to the possible results of ... humanity with super powers. Villains, per our literature and creative past, seemed to become reality, and people seeking to stop such, our heroes, rose up to hold them back. Initially, it was ugly-- but slowly a sort of social order came into being. That's quite a different tale-- sorry, I digress. Though, in one of those altercations, I assisted on the side of the heroes of the day, and in doing so, met the team, my new family, who spent many years, a few decades, dedicating themselves to protecting the planet and researching our Aberrant persons. I became a super hero, defending the innocent and weak, supporting a code of honor amongst us, while protecting our own Aberrant people in an effort to comingle with the non-Aberrant people of the planet, mostly terrified of our abilities and wanting very little to do with us due to the fear often inspired by our rogue, or accidental power use. In the course of developing our team further, we incorporated for legal reasons, went public, mostly, and sought to co-exist further with the general population, eventually being recognized by our deeds, and occasionally saving the world a few times over while thwarting major crimes and master criminals." She clearly smiles at the memories. "Quite a thrilling existence, truth be told. I'd happily repeat it again, if given the choice, though ... applying hindsight where and when possible. So that's a very short version, leaving out much detail."
Then, looking between Aananda and Vare she asks, "As far as questions go, I'm going to presume that on one level, there is a planet here with planetary issues-- but, what is the situation off world, or is there a need to focus on planetary concerns? Is there an organized society of worlds without? Or is there a reason not to worry about such? The reason I ask is ... what scope of attention does this school serve? I've heard of alternate planes, from Wizard Vare here, and alternate planets-- is this school more than just a local establishment? Our own efforts gained global recognition, and we were just making first contact with alien races, before our catastrophe occurred, which we had no way to stop once at the stage it had reached. I ask only so I can consider the macro or micro view of being here."
Grinning after that, she adds, "Then I can speculate and enjoy the thought, of destiny or fate having done this-- and whether or not it's time to finally get religious." She gives Vare a wink after saying that, perhaps eluding to prior conversations.
"Yeah, my oldest kids will be 27 next month....so you're definitely too old to call me Mum," she said, laughing a little.
Maya might find it slightly strange that a woman who appears to be no older than perhaps nineteen has children so old, but that's just one more strange thing among a host of others.
"You were a staff member at a school like this one?" she asked, surprised. "Because if that's the case, I'm pretty sure we'd be happy to offer you a job here. Well, I'll have to clear it with Ryo, and we'll have to figure out what you're qualified to teach, but trust me, there's always openings. A lot of people just can't handle the demands of teaching kids like these, you know?"
"So this is my lab," she said as they arrived at the door.Assuming they've been walking and talking.
"You're welcome to come in as well if you want, Vare. To be frank, I don't think you could compromise the security of this place if you wanted to. Since you don't really see it clearly."
Smiling and nodding at the Mum bit, Maya does not appear bothered by the visible age of Aanandareavekki.
"Yes, due to my experience and abilities, I was given a teaching position. Rather proud of that accomplishment, having been a member of the initial founding team. I might be young, but I've been been around the world a few times and saved it, among other things." She beams with pride.
Then adds quickly, "Though, never strictly due to myself alone-- I'm quite the team player as it were. I'd be happy to contribute again. From what Wizard Vare tells me, there's some decent gold to be had too, a good chunk." She grins at that.
Walking along with, and going into the lab, she peers around and smiles at the technological things. "This reminds me one of our techie's labs-- engineering person." She doesn't seem sad by the memory, but goes a touch quiet.
She doesn't touch anything, but stands around looking at the place.
"So... what shall we proceed with? Naturally, I'd like to make sure I'm cleared for any 'public' interactions." She makes quotes with her fingers to indicate the term.
Laughing at the situation, Maya says, "Well, biologically speaking-- I was around 32 when I, thought I died. So I was an adult. I .. not to worry, Professor Sunwake, I can resist the Mum comment, but there is an urge. I'm quite alright resisting urges-- have done so in the past, when I was a staff member of a program for exceptional beings. But, I digress. Given enough time, I'm fairly certain I could clear these things up, or with the assistance of a proper telepath, sort them out. I am rather excited by all this, hence the good naturedness and completely unprofessionalism I am sporting at this moment, my apologies."
Casually speaking, as if this were all the simple sort of talk similar to speaking of weather or clothing, Maya continues, "I so agree with that statement about sentient being and servitude, it would be quite against the innate freedom that any self and externally respecting individual ought to possess. We had similar mindsets where we came from, it's good to know such thinking is a universal standard."
She beams with pride at Aananda's thinking.
After a mere moment she adds, "Right then-- No Mum, no hugs. Resisting said urges. I was usually quite prim and proper-- I suppose being reborn does have it's .. adjustments. Nothing that can't be over come, however!" She sounds chipper about it, slight English accent.
"Ryo is never going to let me live this down," she muttered.
"Well, uh, Maya...perhaps we should head over to my lab....those security protocols were never intended to be applied to a sentient being...they seem to come with some er....unintended side effects."
Laughing good naturedly, at the potential seriousness, Maya says, "Oh, I'm certain there are some mental limits in place right now-- but, I'm not quite sure, unless you're a high powered telepath, how those can be undone, straight away. Are you a telepath? I'm happy to assist."
Maya for the most part is focused on Aaananda at this point, ready to go along with, or perhaps hop through a hoop.
"I have the oddest urge to call you Mum. I think your computer system is nearly sentient, if not already, just to share. This is quite an enjoyable state of mind to be in, I must remark-- being witness too, and yet, not minding, the thought process."
She stands and smiles, then looks over at Vare without really acknowledging him briefly before saying, "I apologize if I lost focus on you, Wizard Vare. I fear my decisions are slightly ...inclined to respond to Professor Sunwake. My apologies if I leave you out of this conversation. I'm /quite/ certain that this can be resolved by Aananda Sunwake."
She certainly sounds certain. The idolization is still present, and it's clear that she's rambling a touch more than necessary-- the flesh meets the programming, or something.
"Just to reiterate, I'm quite thrilled I'm alive and talking."
"Ah, there you are...apparently you can leave the SIM rooms...I apologize for the delay. It's been one crisis after another all day. Well, I guess that's not so unusual. There's always something around here. Now...I've totally forgotten your name. If you ever told me what it was in the first place. Sorry. It's been a long weekend. In the bad sense. Ah, I'm Aananda Sunwake, by the way," she said, holding out her hand. "And you've already met Professor Vare I see."
Looking at the hand and then up to Aananda's face, Maya extends her hand and greets with a shake.
"Hello. Yes-- I apparently am able to leave the room, self propelled, thank goodness. I am named Maya Catherine Rhys. I ... have the strangest urge to hug you, and give you an accurate accounting of my status. I believe my melding with your computer systems has had a slight bonding, experience."
Maya studies Aananda's face much like a daughter might their mother's, seeking a connection with eagerness born of familiar ties-- or in her case, software security protocols.
"Professor Vare was willing enough to escort me, so that I was always in company of a staff member, thus, not freely roaming. A pleasure to meet you, officially and in ...well, as I am now."
She smiles warmly at Aananda, then stands in place, her full attention on the Head of Security. If someone were to quickly speculate at the manner and expression, 'hero worship' or idolization, might be an appropriate read of Maya's manner.
Once Zix left she started reviewing her own personal logs for the day to try and figure out what exactly she had forgotten.
"Oh! Oh, for crying out loud!" she said, exasperated with herself as she jumped up and headed towards the SIM rooms. I'll leave it to Vare and Maya if they run into her in the hallway or not.
Other distractions and issues complete, Aanandareavekki headed out into the hallway and fairly quickly, ran into the couple that is Maya and Vare walking aimlessly, in her general direction. Perhaps the school adjusted the course for interception, one might never know.
As they were walking along, Vare would notice that Maya's humor and such, seemed to diminish as Aanandareavekki came into view for the woman at his side. She seemed almost altered at the sight of the Head of Security.
Just in case he didn't notice right off, she even stated she was approaching, "Oh, it's the Head of Security, she's coming towards us. We were going to speak before our jaunt out of the SIM Room. I had best inquire as to her status."
An attentiveness blossoms there, or eagerness, it would seem, that wasn't immediately noticeable before-- not that Vare is the Professor of Perception or Sense Motive.
To further emphasize this, Maya actually gives Aanandareavekki a wave to get her attention while stopping any forward movement.
Laughing slightly at something Vare says, Maya nods and shrugs, waving off the comment good naturedly.
"Well, leave the administration to those that can-- and those that cannot do, teach. Something along those lines, if I recall properly. I'm looking forward to learning more of this school and it's mission. Do you have pamphlets? Those are often quite handy."
The small smile on her face is a clear indication that she might be joking, though it's hard to tell.
"I've no idea the cost of running a kingdom, though, I presume it is quite a bit. Then again, with spacefaring, that changes the resources considerably, doesn't it?"
She falls back as they walk along, getting the occasional look from any student still up in the halls, as they walk along. She's certainly not looking for any destination, nor would avail itself, given her complete lack of thoughts on the topic. Walking and talking appears to be just the thing.
... Snip, stupid mobile editor failure, or fingers ain't that good!
Chuckling and giving Vare a playful swat as they walk along, Maya say, "Oh stop, Vare. Yes, she was the daughter of the prior reign, as it goes, but initially, they are all self appointed with support, no? Good to know about the sleepers and such. I suppose I have a leg up than, if we did need to play court. Plus I'm rather adaptive."
Walking along she muses quietly on this or that.
"Just to be clear, this this teaching institute is not a den of scum and villainy in some twisted pretense of philanthropy, correct? You can personally vouch for such?"
While it might sound silly, she does appear serious in asking.
Hehe, no not anything like that. ;P I've been spending a lot of time with Brits on TeamSpeak as of late, and I've come to realize just how central accents are to british life.
Vare shrugs, though Maya's good natured laugh seems to keep him also light-hearted regarding the discussion of nobility. He makes a guess, and decides to follow up on it, hoping he was right. "Well, purchased nobility seems to be at least as arbitrary as hereditary nobility." and if she was looking at him, she might realize due to his grin, that he was teasing her slightly. "Gold is valued by weight, yes. Plenty of countries mint their own currency, and the coins are generally exchangeable by weight. Generally, a full gold piece is about 10 days of worth for a typical labourer. Of course, it varies place to place."
"If I knew who exactly spawned that fragment, I might go and wake them, but I have no way to distinguish which dreamer spawns which fragment." he adds with a shrug, returning to his feet after the ducking incident. "Shall we carry on?" he adds good-naturedly.
With a smirk, Maya retorts, "Hardly hereditary when it was a duty and reward bestowed by the accepted monarch, sir. More an appointment, as it were and taught to me."
Nodding and wrapping her arms together mid-chest, she asks, "Well, if you don't feel the need to assist the dreamer, so be it. As for carrying on, I'm not quite sure that is not what you are already doing, Vare..." She chuckles at that then says, "So, tell me, is room and fare provided if someone were to be a professor here? I'd rather prefer to stay near Tryko'Sam, though, all the potential here thus far is quite attractive."
Question: is Maya's accent a bit more of the 'posh' british accent? Not that Vare would make the distinct, but will help my imagination.
Vare also chuckles at her outright dismissal of manual labour, smiling as they walk casually down the halls.
"I'm sure you could find a place where you could buy a title such at that if you had the funds. Gold has always been a problem for me though, but that may be because I tend to spend it rather quickly on scrolls and tomes when--" Vare suddenly stops in his talking, ducking a fair amount and stopping in his walking.
He glances at Maya, realizing that if she didn't react... "Well... somebody nearby must be having one hell of a Nightmare for 'that' kind of fragment to appear." he says, watching behind them as if watching something go the other way down the hall.
Yes, aristocratic United Kingdom accent, English-- if that's what you mean by 'posh'. For some reason, I had this nasty sense you were talking about one of the Spice Girls and shuddered.
With a laugh and looking back, she exclaims with some indignity, "Buy a title? Truly? That makes it less valid, don't you think? Aren't titles a badge of representation and association to something prestigious? I mean... I'm certain you wouldn't want just anyone called Wizard, or Warlord, King or Queen if one could just /buy/ the title, right? Still ... if that is the path for nobility here, interesting. So, gold is the means to the end here, is it? Is it measured by mass, or weight? Our currencies back home were supported by that as well, the metal. Just how common is it?"
When he does the ducking, she is quickly alert and prepared, though it isn't immediately against whatever he witnessed, asking, "Does this mean you will help them? or ... just ignore it?" Her stance suggests she has some manner of combat training, perhaps defensive at the least.
"I see, I see."Vare replies to the explanation of Maya's in regards to his questions. He's walking along somewhat absently, not really 'giving a tour' as may have been promised, but they certainly are walking through the school. A few students pass here and there, but given the general subdued atmosphere in the school following yesterday's attack and the fact that it is Sunday evening, the hallways are fairly empty.
"Well... I believe the High Seer - the Headmaster's influence, the school itself likely falls outside any particular governmental jurisdiction... though to be frank, my...
They both walk along, any premise of sight seeing or tour fallen to the wayside, and Maya nods while listening.
"Sounds a bit chaotic. Still, there's a place of peace and quiet, so to speak, here."
She did give a bit of a laugh at the farm talk, "No no, sir. I may have been raised with horses and the like, but I assure you, there will be no physical labour on my part, hence forth." Her smug smile says it all.
"My family was considered nobility in one of our lands. If I happen upon some riches, perhaps I could continue the name here, in this ... well, place."
"Not as such, no. I... I admit that the Headmaster interrupted us in what was to be an act of passion, which would've been a breach."Vare is coloured slightly by that remark, a bit embarrassed obviously, though not entirely sure if it's the fact that he was rebuked by the Headmaster, or just the subject in general.
When he helped Maya up, he did appear - for all his stuffy robes - to be a fit, athletic young man."But I'm sure you'd like to discuss something other than me and my affections. I'm actually quite interested in this planet you hail from. Tell me, how do you handle plagues and the like without the intervention of clerics and their ilk? It seems that without their intervention, plagues would spread much more widely."Alright, maybe he is uncomfortable with the subject matter, with such an abrupt subject change like that.
Once they've exited the Sim room, Vare seems to be more on edge, and Maya does note that he seems to flinch occasionally, or move in strange ways seemingly without reason. With the influence of the fragments, as he spoke of earlier, she might begin to see why he has been considered a madman before.
Another thing she might note - depending on her senses and the like - is that he seems to be regarding her somewhat strangely, when his attention span allows it. Not lecherous or anything like that, just giving her a bit of a odd look here and there.
Stifling a chuckle after the mention of 'act of passion', Maya's expression is one of bemusement, but, she doesn't press.
In response to the topic of plagues and the like, Maya says, "Oh, we cured people via chemical or biological solutions, medicine, which anyone with the proper training -- which wasn't very many, would be capable of producing, in the appropriate laboratories. I suspect, practically anything you might accomplish with magic, we did with science and understanding of the world we lived in. Trust me, though, sometimes there were quite a few scares about new epidemics cropping up. Thankfully as well, we had some extremely intelligent people dedicated to helping humanity. Worked out nicely-- save the historical periods of mass deaths, before science became more prevalent. It's an interesting history, not my favorite subject, though. I much prefer architecture and graphic art work. Along with ...well, the usual things someone did back home. Do people need a profession here to acquire money, or is this a socialized society where contributions are rewarded by a stipend or something? I'm curious how this society works. Form of government, etcetera, positively exciting, truth be told."
She glances around following his gaze occasionally, but doesn't seem to react poorly, or otherwise, to his strange ways. She does, however, appear thoughtful while walking along.
Vare waved his hands slightly at what Maya had said regarding coercion. "No no, it's not her that's concerned. It's others at the school, the Headmaster included, who generally discourage student-teacher relationships, citing an imbalance of authority that exists between the two. That is the concern, if I've understood all correctly." He corrects as swiftly as he may, not wanting the issue to become even more muddied.
"As far as those types of outsiders are concerned... that could be one solution... but... my earlier categorizations were very general - there are both demons and devils who seek to repent and redeem themselves, just as there are angels and azata who Fall and become corrupt. Given that, I'm not sure the school would have a blanket policy against them. Nor should we go around the school dousing everyone in holy water." He says with a shrug and a sly smile, and as she motions to the door he nods, standing and offering a hand to help her up as well.
"I would be quite happy to walk with you about the school, though given I've been here a short time... and the way the school tends to shift often leaves me lost. The school walls conjure forth arrows which will guide you to your destination quickly, but unfortunately, the Dream twists those apparitions in such a way to be unusuable by me without outside aid. It has resulted, more than once, in my becoming lost in the halls of the school." he adds on at the end, a little sheepish smile crossing his face.
Rising up, gracefully, Maya stands to her full height, with Vare's assistance. Her hand in his feels perfectly normal and warm, no massive strength, smooth skin.
"Thank you, Vare." She gives her skin tight jumpsuit a 'dusting' off, even though spotless, and walks for the door as it starts to open on their approach. "Oh... prepare for fragments." Her expression one of curiosity and concern as she walks past the door frame.
Insert PM details
Once he does pass the door into the hallway, the room behind them becomes the standard blank, not in use, SIM setting. Maya herself looks around, as if examining the hallway, while waiting on Vare.
"I could see why there might be a concern, but, who's to gauge maturity? I've known several -- people we'd call children, due to a legal determination of biological age, people who are far more mature then adults, labeled as such due to the same process. Some rules are just silly, though, in a professional setting, I could see adhering to them as required. Did you break any of the rules here? Did she? I assume ignorance isn't a suitable defense?"
It would appear her interest in the demon and devil discussion waned, as she politely waits for Vare to lead on.
There's a sheepish grin on Vare's face at that, and a nod as he leans back slightly in the sim-room provided chair."Perhaps I am at that. It has... been about a week since I met her. The primary concern, if I've understood correctly, is a case of perceived authority. Anahita was a student in my class, and there was a concern about coercion."Vare frowns slightly at that, though more thoughtful than anything, recalling exact details."To be frank, I'm not convinced that Anahita could be coerced to do anything. She's extremely strong - both in head and body."Again, there's a sheepish grin there. Smitten indeed.
"Anyway,"the Wizard sits up slightly, having reclined perhaps more than intended while thinking of the other woman."Demons. Demons are... a category of fiend whom generally hail from the Abyss. The more simple Demons are beings of hunger and wonton destruction. More intelligent or powerful demons seek instead to corrupt mortals, twist them towards generally self-destructive ends. The main thing that distinguishes them from Devils are their views on order. A devil would have you sign a damning contract, whereas a demon... a subtle demon, will attempt to exploit the choices of mortals, to amplify already existing emotions and feelings in a destructive manner..."Vare seems to trail off near the end of the last sentence, his hand returning to his chin in that same thoughtful gesture.
"Emotions can run high in a place like this, and...
Ack, only active PC and totally let this slip. Sorry, Fireclaw.
"Well, your demons and devils sound a bit more categorized than the ones we ran into, but ...similar, again, not an expert. I fear the experts of such things in our world were mostly sidelined, or dealt with such things away from general population. Interesting. None the less, coercion, you say? One of our biggest concerns were telepaths, and tampering with the mind. Needless to say, a bit of paranoia at the potential loss of self is always a fear of any being aware of such things. Worse, if such a being is capable of destructive abilities. Have you spoken with her on this? Perhaps there's some confusion? I've always found frank discussion resolves these issues-- and brings people together. It's always a pity when someone's too impatient to discuss properly, though." She smiles at that.
"So, how do you go about detecting demons? Holy water to the face? Or devil's? Is this school consecrated or blessed? Not quite sure what the stance is on those beings here. I can only presume there's some tricky rule in place."
She glances over towards the 'door' out and smiles. "She does appear to be a rather busy individual, perhaps I should stretch my legs and ...well, walk around for a tour. Would you mind escorting me? Unless you're quite happy sitting here, lack of fragments and all that."
