exsilium | voice;

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[You know what, Exsilium? Trying to figure out his own shit is giving Sam a headache. So he's going to try to figure out yours.]

Got a couple things on the agenda today so bear with me. Who knows, this just may end up saving your life down the line. So first thing first - if you see a ghost? RUN. Safest place to be, if ghosts here act like they should, is inside a salt circle, or in a room whose entrances are all guarded by undisturbed salt lines. Fill you in on it when it's tested, but it's better than nothing for now. If you can't run? Grab anything iron to defend yourself. Ghosts are weak to it.

Item number two - raise your arm if you have no idea how the judicial system works here. If you do, explain it to the best of your understanding. The point of this is to eventually make a comprehensive accessible document. Laws and rights are kinda basic knowledge in a civilized society.

Item number three - looking for someone? Want people from home to know you're here the moment they arrive, wanna let people know someone disappeared? Give me names, and I'll make an organized list we can pass around. There're a lot of posts on this network and it's way too easy to miss things. If you're looking for volunteers for anything, I can make a list for that too.

Item number four - been on missions, willing to talk about your experiences on them, or just in Exsilium in general? I wanna hear all about it. Anonymously is just fine too.

[Oh right]

Name's Sam Winchester, and if you're new, welcome aboard. Feel free to ask every question, if I can give you an answer I will.

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I'd like to hear about all of them.

[Weak to iron, he'll make note of that.]

[freaking racists. Also, just to note, she speaks with what Sam would think of as a Spanish accent.]

The first one sent us to destroy a horde of barbarians, and then leave a chemical which tainted the ground in the area to minimize its historical usefulness. Apparently under that area was a deposit of a particular compound that the UE uses to make its drugs, and due to our changes, the amount of drugs was limited due to them not knowing the deposit was there.

There was the trip to a town in a desert, the nature of which was to rig a vote to insure a particular politician's ascendency in ...the united states of america, I think was the name of the nation. They said the year was eighteen hundred and eighty... something. My time there was basically setting up camps for people, arranging for them to be secure from the local wildlife, as there wasn't enough spare room in the town for all of us - and they did send all of us.

There was a sort-of mission where we all went to a palace - Versailles, I believe it was called - and had an excellent ball. A great deal of interesting food, fascinating dancing, interesting grounds, and a generally pleasant time. I don't know if anything was changed, or if it was just a rest.

The next one was a trip to a place called "University of Mary-Land" in nineteen ninety something. Apparently there was a piece of art there that, now, was important for the technology that they use here. We spent time looking at whatever art was there and, well, stealing most of it. That was was also notable because a lot of people left here and arrived there in someone else's body. It was, from all reports, extremely disconcerting to most concerned. I returned with a greater appreciation for the pain of the groin-shot, for example.

The most recent was the escort mission. I spent most of my time pretending to be a crew member of the ship - wearing a uniform, for example - and getting access to as much of it as possible to find out if anything we were asked to find was there, but was only able to find the requested alcohol. I returned with ten gallons of 'rubbing alcohol', four bottles of vodka, a bottle of something called 'everclear', two bottles of bourbon, and one bottle of champagne.

There's been other volunteer missions, but I was not chosen for them.

[Now all of this is invaluable to him.]

So you know the reasons behind the missions? What ended up being the importance of the art? What else were you looking for in the last mission? Do you know of any other changes, aside for those that occurred after the first mission?

The missions are either to obtain items that cannot be gotten here as part of the war against the UE, or changing the past to cause them trouble. They sometimes make it clear, and something people press until they get the information.

One of the pieces of artwork turned out to be a strange multi-faceted piece of glass, which was needed as a focusing device for one of the transportation devices, and they believe that is one of the things which allows the recent option to send back those who do not wish to be here, instead of it being a random process.

[A quick download to Sam's tablet of the list of chemicals they were looking for.] None of them were on the sailing ship we were sent to, other than the alcohol.

The first two were to make changes - we know that the UE's control drug has been harder for them to manufacture, for example. I do not personally know of any change from the one to rig the election, but then, this isn't the world I come from and I don't know the history. It could have made a tremendous change, but not one I'd actually recognize.

[He's been remiss, missing so much information. Too wrapped up in his own troubles. No more.]

What other information has been squeezed outta them?

They don't have as much control over the machines as they want to, or even seem to. It's getting better, but from observations and listening, it's almost as if they're still learning how it all works. Almost as if some of the more difficult options for the device are done by pushing something to see what it does.

They also need to be careful, because the UE can sometimes tell what's going on. We've been bombed and invaded by them. I'm fairly sure we're looking at some kind of retribution for the recent crash, too - that was stolen from the UE and I can't see them taking it well.

There are labs here - you may want to stop by and talk to some of the technicians. They're very naive and don't seem to have much idea of what not to tell people. I'm still learning the technology here, so if you understand computers and electronics, you may get more out of them than I can.

I'll definitely do that.

What's the origin of these machines?

I have no idea. I haven't managed to get that information... or I did and just didn't understand what I was told.

Yes, I can admit that.

That's great. [No really, he even sounds sincere, not condescending. He's seen too many people break apart because they couldn't admit that.]

Can you maybe remember some of the things you were told? Maybe we could make sense of them together.

Fifteen years as a mercenary gives you the clarity of recognizing when you don't know when you're doing and pretending isn't an option.

They seemed to indicate that parts of it were actually stolen - that's what I get from 'midnight requisitions', at least - and a number of them complained about having to 'kit-bash' things that didn't work right into place. they also complained about 'potential paradox' for 'getting things from the lab right after it was invented' - I think once they had some of this working, they used it to go get other parts to improve it, stealing them, and there was worry about problems it might cause.

That outta do it - that's quite the job, how'd you fall into it if you don't mind my asking?

Stolen definitely makes sense - I guess the question now is where and when from, and why someone who knows how to run it was stolen with, they're definitely not above kidnapping -

Raised by the martial branch of a church, not particularly gifted in the more spiritual sides of the church, but good at the 'martial' part. Recommended for a quiet and covert missions, did well, more missions for various groups dedicated to opposing tyranny and slavery and various unsavory churches came along. After a while, despite my... difficulties, I was recognized as being both skilled and discreet. The term they use here for the skills I honed is 'commando'.

And I've wondered about that. Is it possible that they could steal the equipment, but the people who know more about how it works might be... protected somehow from the effect of the devices? Magic I understand enough about to be able to deal with, and where I am from what we call 'technology' still is applications of what we know as magic and alchemy, so I'm learning from behind. But there may be things that keep them from kidnapping the inventors, or skilled operators, built into the machinery. Or they may just not be able to target that well.

So uh, mind if I ask the obvious?

[Can't deal with iron, difficulties, the way she looks - what are you kind of asks itself.]

It could be, I'd imagine they're considered the UE's greatest assets. It'd make sense for them to be under more careful guard. But still considering the people we did manage to get our hands on, and all this equipment, that no manual and no one with the know how was caught is a little weird.

[She gives a short, amused-but-tired laugh.]

My father was half-demon, and I got most of his physical abilities, and thankfully none of his moral qualities - or lack of same, might be a better way of looking at it. Whether or not that's being raised by an upstanding church is a question I think is best left to theologians. I met the bastard a few years ago and slammed his head in, so I think I can honestly say we're not on speaking terms and I am quite fine with that.

It is weird, but I don't know enough about it to give a good answer. Give me a few years to get from swords-and-magic to current technology and I might be able to work something out, but right now, I'm still getting used to the idea of guns that don't have chance of exploding in your hand. Step by step.

[And he thought he had daddy issues.]

That's definitely the combo to go for.

[Awkward. But that she won't hide what she is knowing what he is makes him think she just might be telling the truth.]

Most people don't seem to get that kinda seniority under their belt in this place.

A lot of people assume i'm just as foul as him, just because I didn't get the pretty face. It's not always the best situation.

Well, I practice as much as I can. I no longer flinch at the sound of it or the kick in my hand, so that's good. Where I'm from, guns will explode in your hand half the time.

Well I'm not like that.

[He got the pretty face yet he turns into quite the monster himself, after all. But even before that.]

You can be a terrible human being, or a great - other thing. Far as I'm concerned it's your actions that count.

[Oh wow yeah that sounds difficult to adjust to.]

What level of technology did you have there?

Most people here aren't. I think it's why I like it here as much as I do - I'm strange looking, but not in the way that makes people go for the torches and the farm implements. I try my best - I'm part of a secret society that uses covert means to undermine tyrants and slaver rings and unpleasant people like that - but there's people who just judge by looks. I can understand, but I don't need to like it.

As far as my world, Faerun...swords and bows and that kind of thing for weapons, horses and carts for travel. There's magic, so there's other things - flying carpets and winged horses and gryphons for travel, a lot of enchanted weapons around. My weapon, in fact, came with me and was enhance by the Initiative, and is magical before that.

There's actually a god of technology, but most of the things they make are also half magic to make them work, and there's religious secrets as to how they work. The Gondsmen- Gond is the god of technology - are also famous for their expertise in healing spells, because their artificer-priests often set off explosions with their experiments. A couple of towns have force them to build their temple-laboratories outside the limits after one of the temples exploded completely. I visited the place - you can find recognizable bits of the temple three or four miles away if you look... and Arabel's redirected part of the river to fill in the crater and make a lake. I trust a wizard using a fireball because I know it works. A Gondish gun with smoke powder is less trustworthy to me, especially after witnessing someone blow a chunk out of their head with one when it misfired. [She mines the standard 'sniper' hold for a gun, trigger hand by the cheek, as she says that last bit, then jerks her head back at the last word.]

No, nobody can ask you to like it.

[Being judged is one of the worst feelings in the world, as far as he's concerned.]

Makes sense - necessity is the father of invention. If you have magic, you don't need as much technology.

I admit, I find some things from technology really very wonderful - until you have one, you don't realize how amazing a shower is. And toasters. These little things that make things so much easier.

....although I did stab the toaster the first time. The little bell startled me. They replaced it, though, so I can't say they didn't take care of it. But really, right now? I like it here better than back there, despite the war.

I intend to never drink to excess again, though. I had my first hangover here and I'm not eager for the second.

[Oh God, he can't help but chuckle at that]

Yeah - progress has a lot of not-so-great byproducts. If you've got any technological questions, I can try to help you out.

[No offense is taken, those are kind of silly things.]

Oh, we have drunkenness where I come from too. So far though, I haven't had someone ask if they could feel if I was a woman or a man, so I consider that good enough.

What about you - any more questions about my world?

Think to watch for with modern alcohol is not to mix different kinds - that can get you in trouble.

Got a world of 'em. Is there anyone else here from it?

Well, I have some vodka, some rum, and some 'Jack Daniels' left, so I'll remember that. Thank you.

I haven't found anyone else here from it, but there's a lot of worlds here I haven't heard of at all before, so I suppose that makes a certain amount of sense.

Hold on-

[A picture appears for Sam.]

Map of my part of the world. About a third of the way from the left, and north of Amn, is the city of Berdusk. That's where I'm from.

[Maps! He likes her a lot already.]

You can already tell a lot about your world just from the names... [Trolls, giants, it doesn't bode well at all.]

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demonbloodblade - 2013-06-06 20:39 (UTC) - Expand

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