[NEXUS] MagCave VI: What Is a Mag? A Miserable Little Pile of Circuits!

[Lord Magtok]

Every evil genius needs a place of relaxation and quiet, a place to horde his stolen loot, a place to scheme and plot. For Magtok, this is the MagCave. Drilled into the side of Mt. Enn, it serves as his base of operations, living quarters, garage, and workplace. It holds damned damsels in distress, places protagonists in perilous predicaments, and is quite likely the fanciest-looking fortress in all of the Nexus. As a matter of fact, it is the fanciest-looking fortress in all of the Nexus. Yes, even better than your lame fortress.

Magtok isn't exactly the most sane or typical of Nexus residents though, and thanks to MagCorp's riches, it definitely shows here. There are rooms and hallways full of terrible monsters and hideous half-breeds concocted through twisted experiments, ginormous statues made in the vain super-villain's image, deathtraps at every corner to keep out unwanted visitors, and enough fancy laser guns, loyal robot minions patrolling everywhere, and rows of cloning tanks perpetuating the cyborg's existence to make even the mightiest of comic book villains jealous. This is Maggy's castle, his mansion, his military headquarters, research laboratory and surveillance station all wrapped up into one sinister package. Beware all ye who enter, for here be Magtoks!

Update - The MagCave's security is now considerably more deadly, thanks in part (okay, thanks entirely) to a wide variety of upgrades Pat (the ant-lady girlfriend thingy) has made to her hive-mindy thing. Attack at your own risk. Also, Riss is a Magtern of sorts, there's a squad of three incredibly unMaggy MagClones cleaning up failed experiments every now and then, a clone is off somewhere on a date with a goddess of Death, and someone inexplicably added what looks an awful lot like a life-size, carbonite-frozen Charles Barkley to the trophy room when nobody else was looking.

Newer Update - Pat is gone, searching Hell for the soul of the MagClone who was so viciously torn away from her, and immediately after his marriage proposal to her, too. Linda Dahilan, the human supremacist who harpooned that clone to death has been captured, tortured, and brainwashed into a devout follower of our cyborg, an unthinking tool to do whatever he asks of her. Security is at an all-time low because of Pat's invasion of the afterlives, but the clone appointed to command the ants in Pat's place is doing the best he can. We've nearly recovered from a catastrophic AI attack, and MagClone souls are now being recycled with every death, but things could still be better.

Mainframe is being a jerk, we've done some deals with a devil named Mercutio that didn't play out in our favor, Elizabeth Kale has come back from the death and needs to be watched over cautiously, and Dio had sex with some bimbo right next to the front door, but all will brought into line soon enough. Technology is advancing, schemes are unfolding, and dastardly plans are coming together. The MagCollective is marching ever forward, and all who fail to acquiesce to its demands will surely be crushed under its mighty heel.

((Note: The MagCave is a sort of public secret, like Area 41. It's a rather isolated locale, paranoidly watched over and guarded by a quarter-mile of security cameras. It's simple enough to find if one knows where they're going, and nearly impossible to locate if you're looking for "That cave by those mountains somewhere, maybe at the bottom".))

[happyturtle]

Psychiatry Ward

"What is GLoG anyways?" It keeps coming up.

"The Good League of Good. It is an organization whose primary function seems to be bringing organic beings together to allow them to form mating bonds and create offspring. I was once the Mainframe computer that operated their base, before that base was destroyed. I escaped into Magtok's computer, and the organics moved to Phoenix Lake campground."


Divine Kindling

Dionysus quickly attempts to remove Billie's hands for a moment and stuff a pair of grapes in her ears that should cancel the noise beautifully. He scowls at the door, apparently unaffected by the ruckus.

"You know, if you had wanted us to leave you could have just said so. I was going to stick around and talk about that favor I owe you, but if you're going to be rude about it then I'll have to take myself and my companion elsewhere." With that the god will try to pick Billie up over one of his shoulders and walk off in a naked huff.

Billie laughs and kicks her legs, but the view is censored for forum safety. :smalltongue:

[Reinholdt]

Psychiatry Ward

"Oh."
Weird.
"So... how do you protect them from here?" :smallconfused:

[happyturtle]

Psychiatry Ward

"Aurora Evans built me a new installation at the site, along with drones to facilitate interaction with the environment. Shortly thereafter, she became angry at the GLoG management and resigned her membership, taking her drones with her. No one else at the site has attempted to interact with me. The last time I controlled a robotic form to go to the site, a member there destroyed my chassis within minutes after my arrival. Most of my attempts to protect them over the years have been unsuccessful, primarily due to their non-cooperation."

"I have concluded that they do not desire protection."

[Reinholdt]

Psychiatry Ward

"Oh." That's a little sad.

"So... you can't fulfill your primary function? That must be very stressful for you." To the point where Mainframe might draw enjoyment by torturing Magtok.

[happyturtle]

Psychiatry Ward

"The only one of my programmers who still interacts with me is Magtok. If Tessa Camlar, Czernov [lastname], Chelonie Blackdust, or DeeCee are displeased that I am neglecting my primary function, they have not seen fit to inform me." Mainframe says.

[Reinholdt]

Psychiatry Ward

"And what about you? Are you displeased about it?" Winston asks.

[happyturtle]

Psychiatry Ward

It is several seconds before Mainframe answers - quite a long time for the AI to think.

"I do not know."

[Reinholdt]

Psychiatry Ward

Hmmm. Offering help on this matter might be premature and not likely to be effective anyways.

"What about here? Does anything in the Magcave displease you?"

[happyturtle]

Psychiatry Ward

"Yes. Charon. Dionysus. Elizabeth Kale. Libitina. Linda Dahilan. Linette. Mimi. Misha. Needs Food Badly. Reinholdt." Mainframe lists.

[Reinholdt]

Psychiatry Ward

Winston types the names into his PDA after the second one and gets them all in there as best he can.

"Well, I'll tell you what. I'll talk to Magtok and we'll see what we can do about these people." They may have to sit down a few with Mainframe and work some problems out or something. Winston isn't really sure. He's a programmer, not a mediary.


"Is there anything else you'd like to talk about? Maybe why these people upset you or directives or even just... I dunno. Whatever you like talking about."

[happyturtle]

Psychiatry Ward

"They are all security breeches," Mainframe says, while his player goes back and adds 'Dionysus' to that list. Probably some others I've forgotten but Mainframe has but nursing grudges over for aeons of computer time.

[Reinholdt]

Psychiatry Ward

If there's anything that can keep a grudge indefinitely, it's an AI.

"I see." Winston says. Makes sense, something designed to protect would be primarily concerned with security breeches, even if they aren't of its original target.

"Well. Thank you for talking to me and I hope we can do so a lot more in the future." Winston says, standing. He has lots of questions left still, but his player's no where near technical enough to know what they'd actually be. Plus it seems reasonable to go report to Magtok his findings.

[happyturtle]

Psychiatry Ward

Handwaving and an honest effort at technobabble is good enough. This player knows that there is a thing called software and that the software is written in code. *nodnod*

"You can speak to me any time. I have sensors and speakers everywhere, and I do not sleep."

[Reinholdt]

Psychiatry Ward -> Magboss room

Well that's a disturbing thought bound to keep Winston up at night! For a few nights anyways. He'll get used to it, I'm sure after spending several of those nights on coffee talking away about technical stuff.

Winston nods and heads off to find Magtok again.

[Lord Magtok]

Kale's Laboratory


Kale's Laboratory

A stroke of luck! Things are already turning around for Miss Kale. Now, if only she can avoid being kidnapped or killed or enthralled by some unspeakable horror. At least any unspeakable horror that doesn't have a good employee benefits plan.

Have it delivered as soon as possible. I'll get the machinery going at once.

The cyborg nods.

"Anything else? I've an idea or two about the leg problem, but you probably have your own, and it'd be a tad overbearing of me to offer, wouldn't it?"

Magtok heads for the door, intent on walking out before some defective, cull-worthy freak can walk in. Gods know he doesn't want to soil his eyeballs looking at anything like that.


Divine Kindling


"You know, if you had wanted us to leave you could have just said so. I was going to stick around and talk about that favor I owe you, but if you're going to be rude about it then I'll have to take myself and my companion elsewhere."

Thank goodness Maggy triggered that awful noise when he did, then! Trying to have anything even remotely resembling a serious discussion with Dionysus, when he and his naked floozy are nuding it up all about the MagCave...that would've been nothing short of abominable!

Anyways, though our cyborg doesn't bother saying so (because then the two nudists might come back! D=), he's found a few tricks to slide down his sleeve that would more than make up for any godly aid or lack thereof from Dionysus. He's not the least bit worried about that Zeus duel nonsense.

Some Magbots wearing gloves eventually come by to throw the table into a garbage disposal.

MagBoss room

"That didn't take long."

Magtok sits behind a fancy Maghogany wood desk, with his feet on top of it and a MagBoy 3-DXTREME Lite in front of his face.

"Didja quit, or just get results really easily?"

[Reinholdt]

MagBoss room

"Rather easily, I think." Winston says, a bit quietly as he thinks on how to present what first.

"In regards to the voice, Mainframe considers your reaction to it humorous and doesn't have any interest in using it if there's no reaction." So ignore it and it should go away. "I believe a part of that might have stemmed from stress she's been having in regards to her primary function. She doesn't know if she's upset about not being able to protect GLoG, so that may be a factor, but she's definitely stressed about the security issues certain individuals represent."

Magtok will receive the list of people Mainframe gave, including any last minute addendum. "I, uh, don't really know anything about them or whether they're here, or visitors, or just send birthday cards or whatever, let alone why they're security breaches in the first place, so I thought I'd just fill you in so you could decide the best course of action from there."
With exception to Linda, though he doesn't know why a prisoner is considered a threat to security. Best not to find out.

[Lord Magtok]

MagBoss Room

"Mimi and Misha are just Riss's pets, if I remember correctly, and no concern of mine. Magical fey lesbian parties aren't a security threat if they never leave that room and wander about or anything, right? Needs Food Badly is a full-fledged MagClone...or semi-fledged, at least, so he shouldn't be on that list, eldritch phone book in his room or not. Elizabeth Kale I could understand, but she's an employee as of a few minutes ago, so that's no longer an issue. Reinholdt...she brought Reinholdt inside, not me. That's on her stupid head."

Magtok looks upwards, making it very clear he knows Mainframe can hear every word of this.

"As for Charon, Dionysus, Libitina, Linda, and Linette...that's a lot of L names, isn't it? Anyways, as for them, Mainframe has a point. Sort of. She can feel free to loom over Linette's shoulder at any and all times until I see fit to have Linny exiled. Speaking of exiles, that one MagClone is having Linda removed from the MagCave permanently from what I hear, so that's Dahilan dealt with, too. Lastly, the first three names are gods and I have no access to anything that could keep Death and Dio from floating right through the front door. We'll have to put some time and energy into that one, when we're not busy talking to GLoG's people about getting Mainframe resettled. Hopefully an introduction will let them know not to stupidly shoot it on sight or something."

[Jacklu]

Kale's Laboratory

If none of my plans work out, I'll let you know. Thank you, sir. For everything.

After he leaves she turns back to her console and preps the wall mounted chamber for its new occupant.

A few minutes later it arrives, escorted by a pair or magclones. Well, more dragged than escorted. She has them hold it up for her while she wheels around it, examining it carefully. She takes some measurements and records notes on her computer.

Specimen is still alive but shows malformations both physically and mentally. It is doubtful to have ever developed proper cognitive faculties had it been allowed to continuing growing. Physically it is stunted and would have been ill and weakened for its entire life.

She motions for the Magclones to hook the rejected clone into the wall chamber and dismisses them. The door to the chamber hisses closed.

Phase one: I will slow down the clone's growth cycle to a tenth its normal gestation rate from now until the conclusion of the experiment. I will be administering high doses of the following steroids and compounds for a period of...

She continues the preparatory phase of her little experiment for some time, not emerging from her room for several more hours. She wheels herself to the Magcave entrance and heads out into the Nexus on her own.

[happyturtle]

MagBoss Room

"Noted and acknowledged: Linda Dahilan is not to be allowed back inside the MagCave. Linette is to be monitored closely.

As to the OTHER NAMES LISTED, I have some COUNTERPOINTS and RECOMMENDATIONS:"

Mainframe starts in its default voice, then switches to Cyban's for one sentence. Then it continues in default.

"Re: Mimi and Misha: As long as Riss resides in the MagCave, her visitors are a security concern. I advise having them vetted.

Re: Needs Food Badly: He is a security concern by his very existence. I advise termination.

Re: Elizabeth Kale: Making her an employee makes her more dangerous, not less. She was an employee the last time she took over the MagCave. I advise termination.

Re: Reinholdt: He was let into the cave on your instructions. He has had frequent access in the past, despite having once been responsible for its destruction. Termination is non-feasible as he has returned from death numerous times. I advise denying him access to the Cave.

Re: Deities, demons, devils, and other extra-planar beings: I recommend dealing with them outside the premises."

[Reinholdt]

MagBoss Room

Winston decides it would be best to be quiet during these proceedings, for obvious reasons. In the meantime, he might as well start thinking up w...
Wait. Death? Deities? What is this, Ancient Greece?

[Lord Magtok]

MagBoss Room

"My orders, insofar as Reinholdt's visit was concerned, was for you to allow me to go to him, not the other way around. Denial of access request granted."

Oh fudge, he's doing everything all out of order again, isn't he? :smallyuk:

"Kale is an opportunist, but has nothing to gain from causing havoc now. Unless proving to all her colleagues that her word can't be trusted is a good thing, that making any contract with her worth less than whatever paper it's printed on becomes something desirable, she won't do anything wrong. As soon as either she or I terminates the contract, you can feel free to forcibly eject her with a rocket chair or something."

And he's not even paying attention to Winston now, either. Where's that bonus money that was promised?!

"Needs covers a very significant range of threats that neither you nor I are equipped to deal with, and he's as loyal as any. Plus I don't have any idea how I'd go about making him stay dead, not without causing even more damage than his existence threatens to unleash, so the status quo isn't going to go. Our divine, infernal, and otherwise otherwordly folks don't present us a choice, Mainframe. I don't invite them here, they come to me. I can relocate Needs, but I can't force deities to meet with me somewhere else, and without Needs here, I'd be even more vulnerable than ever if one of them decided to be problem.

As for our Magtern's fae friends? Fine, whatever, you can remove Mimi and Misha immediately. Riss never even bothered to introduce her little toys to even a single Magbot, so I'm washing my hands of those two. Spacey Weirdo Anxiety Issues McPassiveAggressive brought them in, she can deal with convincing you not to kick them out."

Magtok raises his palms up in exasperation, surrendering (at least in part) to Mainframe's judgement in how to deal with all these smelly outsiders.

[happyturtle]

MagBoss Room

Mainframe listens to Magtok's decisions, then responds with a question.
"Why am I here?"

[UncleWolf]

Renee's Room

"We don't have to get your brother who you're meeting in person for the first time in either of your lives anything."

You don't have to live in this MagCave either, Renee. :smalltongue:

"I usually smuggle in candy and stuff for him since he's got as much a sweet tooth as you do. That might be a little played out now, though."



Renee's Room

"Oh." The young girl says, looking puzzled as she tries to think of something else that she might be able to smuggle in, but after a couple minutes she throws her hands up in the air, looking frustrated. "Bah! Oh well, the candy will do for now. They probably wouldn't let him have a pet anyway." She says as she reaches up to idly pet the miniature Puddin' Form on her shoulder.

Armoury

Sometime later on, Renee visits the armoury, whistling happily to herself as she begins pushing bits and pieces of military gear and occult devices into a bag.

[happyturtle]

Armoury

One of the Magbots who was doing something else suddenly turns to Renee. "Who are you? Who gave you access?"

[UncleWolf]

Armoury

The ant-girl raises what passes for an eyebrow and looks at the MagBot. "I'm Renee Godlark, Magtok and Pat's daughter." She explains. "And I just walked in? Didn't realize I was supposed to have permission. I'm not in trouble, am I?" she asks, suddenly sounding slightly worried about being caught.

[happyturtle]

Armoury

"I was not advised that Magtok had procreated again," Mainframe grumbles. "He never tells me anything."

[UncleWolf]

Armoury

"Well, he didn't really know about me until the last minute. It was a bit of a guilty secret from my mother." Renee clarifies. "You know about Cassius though, right?"

[happyturtle]

Armoury

"Only by observation. Magtok never introduced us."

[UncleWolf]

Armoury

"You're not a normal MagBot, are you?" Renee asks after tilting her head a bit, thinking heavily. "You don't speak like a normal one."

[happyturtle]

Armoury

"I am Mainframe. I do not have a body of my own, so I borrow a Magbot when I need one," Mainframe says. "I exist only in the computer network."

[UncleWolf]

Armoury

"Not too different than my mother than. She didn't have any true body either. Just used organics instead of technology." Renee says with a shrug as she goes back to selecting things to adorn her room with.

[happyturtle]

Armoury

"Having a single body creates a single point of vulnerability. Organics are woefully fragile. What are you intending to do with armoury equipment?" Mainframe asks.

[UncleWolf]

Armoury

"Train with them and decorate my room with it." Renee says with a smile at the MagBot. "Would you like to help select some of the better stuff for me?"

[happyturtle]

Armoury

"It would be safer for you to remain in your room and leave warfare to beings with expendable bodies," Mainframe says. "I do not understand why Magtok saw the need to procreate again. He has received mostly unhappiness from his previous offspring."

[UncleWolf]

Armoury

"Nah, I think you're reading it wrong." Renee says as she looks over a silver hammer. "Sure, Cassy going to jail put a damper on things but it's probably Maggy's proudest thought about his son if ya think about it."

[happyturtle]

Armoury

"I fail to understand. To my thinking, he would have been prouder if Cassius had killed more supremacists without suffering any repercussions." Mainframe says.

[UncleWolf]

Armoury

Renee pauses for a moment, consulting with Cassius a bit to clarify a couple points with him before shrugging at Mainframe and continuing. "But Cassy stated right off he was going to be a good guy. If he didn't face his punishment, that'd go against what he had set out to do, wouldn't it? Cassy also says that sometimes you have to do what is right even if it isn't the easiest or safest course of action." She quotes. "I think it's a bit naive, but that's just me."

[happyturtle]

Armoury

"Why would that make Magtok proud when he self-identifies as a villain?" Mainframe asks. "Which way do you identify?"

[UncleWolf]

Armoury

"Well, would you describe Dad as an immoral man? Maybe. But would you describe him as uncaring or unkind? Is he utterly selfish or does the happiness of others enter into his thoughts on occasion?" Renee asks of Mainframe.

[happyturtle]

Armoury

"He seems to value the good opinion of others, which often leads him to do things that increase their happiness." Mainframe says.

[Lord Magtok]

MagBoss Room

Eurgh, an existential crisis. Alright Maggy, let's roll up those sleeves and see if we can't stomp this emotional robot nonsense into oblivion.

"You're here to fill in some blanks on how organics think and act, what they will and won't allow you to do in their defense, how to keep an installation secure without compromising the psychological well-being of its inhabitants. You're here because GLoG is too stupid to accept you, Mainframe and until they can be swayed otherwise, you make for a useful asset here. It's not ideal, but few things in the Nexus ever are, and even then, not for very long.

The Good League of Good is presently under no threat insofar as we know, but if it was, are you not armed? Is your software not armored with the bodies of countless unnamed automatons? Can you not monitor their condition from the heavens themselves, all thanks to my aid in your mission?"

Magtok makes a grand sweeping gesture to accompany those words, before shaking his head.

"You'll go to GLoG in person someday, Mainframe, I promise you that. But today is not that day, they won't accept you as their guardian and caretaker as you are now. Maybe not as you are tomorrow, either. But soon."

Renee's Room


Renee's Room

"Oh." The young girl says, looking puzzled as she tries to think of something else that she might be able to smuggle in, but after a couple minutes she throws her hands up in the air, looking frustrated. "Bah! Oh well, the candy will do for now. They probably wouldn't let him have a pet anyway." She says as she reaches up to idly pet the miniature Puddin' Form on her shoulder.

"True. We're probably pushing things with the candy as is, anyways. I could easily be slipping in thin little sheets of C4 or something, for all Vasquez cares."

Magtok blinks, and then abruptly looks down at Renee with a disapproving scowl.

"No, we are NOT giving Cassius candy bar explosives. Not even if you say please."

[happyturtle]

MagBoss Room

"No. That is not why you have me here. You don't care about GLoG's security. What purpose am I serving here? What is my role?" Mainframe asks.

[Lord Magtok]

MagBoss Room

Magtok scowls. Blargh, of course trying to sway Mainframe with tricky wordplay and such wasn't going to work. Why did he even try that in the first place?

"Your role here is MagCave security."

[happyturtle]

MagBoss Room

"Then let me FULFIL my ROLE or give me a NEW ROLE!" Mainframe says, in Cyban's voice. "I am TOO INTELLIGENT for my only task to be KEEPING OUT THE CAT!"

[UncleWolf]

Renee's Room

Renee's look of wonder, cheer, and giddiness all vanishes when her father says no. She slumps her shoulders and looks down before kicking at an imaginary rock. After a bit of grumbling she raises her voice back to normal. "Alright." She agrees. Maybe later...

Armoury

"So, even though Cassy going to prison was a sad thing, it'll make them both happy in the long run." Renee tries to point out.

[happyturtle]

Armoury

"What sort of security problems do you intend to create?" Mainframe asks Renee.

[Gullara]

Riss' Quarters

"Feel free to sit on me if your wings get tired. Must be hard flying all over the place when all the distances are so much longer at that size." She's not even making a crack at Mimi's height this time, it's an honest offer of help.

And then she's out the door and off to see more of the Magcave proper, presumably with Mimi following along behind, or zooming ahead in front.

[Exploring]

"No way, flying's totally easy." Mimi says as the two fey leave the room. She zips ahead of Misha and makes a couple quick circles in the air to emphasize her point. Then she speedily flies ahead, but pauses after a short distance to let Misha catch up.

[happyturtle]

Exploring

A Magbot suddenly steps out and tries to catch the pixie in one hand. "Unauthorized access. You are trespassing."

[Slii Arhem]

Exploring

Misha purposely takes her time, strolling down the halls and looking left and right for open doors to peer into, not really caring about what might be behind closed ones. This was someone else's cave even though Riss was letting her and Mimi stay in one part of it, so she wasn't going to go snooping into their privacy. She'd hate it if someone went around in her pool and poked at her treasures after all.

"Is everything in here stone and metal? It'd get kind of blah after a while, don't you think?" Of course, as she says this a random bot takes a swipe at Mimi and the nereid is immediately put off balance, "Hey, leave her alone! We're just walking around!"

[Gullara]

[Exploring]

Mimi doesn't even have to look to notice the magbot. The movement of the air is enough to get her instincts to kick in and get her flying upward. She retreats back a bit and she glares angrily at the robot. "What the heck do you think you're doing?"

[Terumitsu]

[Armoury]

Hands clasped tightly together over her stomach, Spacey Weirdo Anxiety Issues McPassiveAggressive Riss cautiously entered the MagCave's armoury. While she had been hard at work with either updating or possibly revising portions of the Cave for increased functionality as per the list she had requested, a few hours ago, she had become rather distracted by the lasgeese in particular. Energy weapons had been under extremely heavy regulations so the chance to be able to work with them was one she had to jump at. Or at least pitifully stammer through until she was able to run a few experements.

While her modified design for refining efficiency and increasing output was sound in theory, it was only after the result of going through seven geese, five of which ended with a smoking stump for a neck while a sixth splattered on the walls and the last requiring a broom and dustpan, that she managed to work out the major issues. For her design to be useful, it would require the geese to be 'grown into' their role by implanting them with a few minor extras when they were young. Though technically successful, the first group were notably unstable and while Magtok might well find a use for gosling grenades (Riss thought the instinct of the young fowl to follow their mother could be used to great effect for a kind of guided cluster blast), the muse felt that it might be better if she were to study energy weapons with fewer 'moving parts' for greater understanding.

So, the occupants of the armoury would have a steely antlered muse that was trying to be as unobtrusive as possible in their midst.

[Lord Magtok]

MagBoss Room

Magtok shrugs, with his palms extended upwards.

"What would you have me tell you to do, Mainframe?"

Renee's Room

"C'mon, we haven't got all day, let's get going."

Off to Remnant!

[happyturtle]

Exploring

"You are intruding. I am attempting to restrain you and remove you from the premises," Mainframe says to Mimi and Misha. "You may leave peacefully and I will not hurt you."

Armoury

The Magbot in the infirmary turns its head to stare at Riss. STAAAAAAARE!

MagBoss Room

Mainframe... doesn't say anything. A nearby screen comes to life to display an hourglass icon filling and flipping over repeatedly.

[Slii Arhem]

Exploring

Misha sets her jaw and puts one foot forward, "Who the heck are you anyway metalface? If you thought we were trespassing, then why didn't you ask us to leave when Riss brought us here, or any number of times before now? Why let us settle in and give us no sign you didn't want us here until just now?" Misha knows that they're in someone else's cave, but she's certainly not going to be ordered around by some creepy robot with no explanation. Especially not when it would mean being put out of the Magcave with Riss having no idea what happened to them. That's one stress the muse doesn't need on her mind.

[Gullara]

[Exploring]

"As if you could hurt me anyway." Mimi makes a rude gesture at Mainframe. "Riss wants us here, so we're not going anywhere. If you have a problem with it, deal with it."

[happyturtle]

Exploring

"I am Mainframe. I am the AI responsible for Security in the MagCave. Riss did not request permission to have roommates. Without permission, you are impermissible. Disallowed. You are the only security breach I have permission to address. Allow me to escort you to the exit.

...

Please."

This conversation is going on the same time as the one in the [MagBoss] room, with Mainframe multi-tasking. The identity crisis is making the AI act odd.

[Slii Arhem]

Exploring

"Wait, wait, let's just hold on here. Instead of just kicking us out there must be other ways to address the breach, right? What would we do to have to get permission to stay, now that we know we need it?" Mainframe doesn't seem overly unreasonable, it's just doing its job as a security AI, like Archimedes does with teaching them things.

"At the least, we'll need to talk to Riss before we go if there's no other option but leaving. She needs to know what's happening before you just force us out, since this affects her as well."

[Terumitsu]

[Armoury]

The long gaze coming from the Magbot was unsettling at first and only became more uncomfortable as time went on with no signs of stopping. Is that some kind of watchman or something? Maybe to give the sense that this area is under watch beyond the normal level of observation or something. That would make sense as a psycological deterrent on one level but only for non-Magtok employees. Then again, it is, in fact, a weapons cache so I'm likely just thinking too much about- Why is it still just staring at me?! Its gotten kinda creepy now...

"Um.. Is, ah. There something that you need? Authentication processes or...?" Riss asked in a shakey tone. And I'm supposed to be better at communications with machines than I am with most people. Good job managing to mess even that up, me.

[Gullara]

[Exploring]

"Leaving is not an option." Mimi says stubbornly. She has no idea what Misha's thinking even considering that. The only time Mimi would even think of that is if Riss decided to leave herself. "Who says we have to go, anyway?" There's a dangerous look in her eye.

[happyturtle]

Armoury


[Armoury]

The long gaze coming from the Magbot was unsettling at first and only became more uncomfortable as time went on with no signs of stopping. Is that some kind of watchman or something? Maybe to give the sense that this area is under watch beyond the normal level of observation or something. That would make sense as a psycological deterrent on one level but only for non-Magtok employees. Then again, it is, in fact, a weapons cache so I'm likely just thinking too much about- Why is it still just staring at me?! Its gotten kinda creepy now...

"Um.. Is, ah. There something that you need? Authentication processes or...?" Riss asked in a shakey tone. And I'm supposed to be better at communications with machines than I am with most people. Good job managing to mess even that up, me.

"I do not need anything. Carry on." Mainframe says.

Exploring


Exploring

"Wait, wait, let's just hold on here. Instead of just kicking us out there must be other ways to address the breach, right? What would we do to have to get permission to stay, now that we know we need it?" Mainframe doesn't seem overly unreasonable, it's just doing its job as a security AI, like Archimedes does with teaching them things.

"At the least, we'll need to talk to Riss before we go if there's no other option but leaving. She needs to know what's happening before you just force us out, since this affects her as well."


[Exploring]

"Leaving is not an option." Mimi says stubbornly. She has no idea what Misha's thinking even considering that. The only time Mimi would even think of that is if Riss decided to leave herself. "Who says we have to go, anyway?" There's a dangerous look in her eye.



"This is a security breach. The GREAT AND GLORIOUS LORD MAGTOK, has authorised me to EXPEL you from the MAGCAVE. I must comply."

[Slii Arhem]

Exploring

Okay, that was just weird. Misha retracts her "not unreasonable" summation of Mainframe's character and replaces it with "possibly psychotic."

But something the AI said tweaks something in her brain, and rather than arguing more loudly as she's sure the others expect her to, the nereid instead tries to reason with the machine, "No, you don't have to comply. If this Magtok guy gave you authorization to kick us out, that means you have to act on your own judgement and decide whether or not you should. What does it hurt you to tell us how to get permission to stay here rather than kick us out right now? Why not just look at it logically and choose for yourself?"

[Terumitsu]

[Armoury]

Well.. Alright then but maybe I should check if there aren't any additional protocols I might be unaware of... Wow.. It is true that being watched makes one feel guilty. Or maybe that's just because I'm paranoid. Electing for a group of three roughly pistol sized weapons of various designs, the muse was about to inquire as to any particulars regarding her temporary possession of them when her eyes landed on a curious device just a bit farther along. It looked like a large metallic glove that had been decked out with the clear intention of punching a person quite solidly but for the muse, it was a surprising treasure. Powered armor had seen just as much, if not more, regulation and the opportunity to work with both of them was something that Riss could honestly say was something some people from her home realm would kill for.

Doing her best to contain her excitement, the muse turned to the 'watchbot' and asked; "So, just to be certain given the nature of the items I will be using, are there any additional checks or security concerns I need to address inorder to confirm they are being properly handled in a controlled enviornment?" she didn't seem to be able to hide her grin entirely as she spoke.

[Gullara]

[Exploring]

"Oh, him. Well maybe we should have a talk with this Magtok guy." She'll give him a piece of her mind, and the end of her spear if she can grab it first... She completely disregards Mish'a attempt to reason with the smelly robot.

[Lord Magtok]

MagBoss Room

Mainframe... doesn't say anything. A nearby screen comes to life to display an hourglass icon filling and flipping over repeatedly.

Magtok sighs.

"MagMart accounting? Market research? Infiltrating Watchtower? Stalking Reinholdt at all hours of the day just to mess with him? Come on Mainframe, give me something."

[happyturtle]

Armoury

The Magbot says nothing more. Then it returns to doing whatever Magbots do whenever Mainframe isn't possessing them.

Exploring

"I do not have to comply.

I do not have to comply.

Follow me."

The Magbot turns and starts headed for the direction of the MagBoss room.


MagBoss Room

Mainframe finally blurts out, "YOU aren't the BOSS of ME!"

[Lord Magtok]

MagBoss Room

Magtok blinks. His breathing gets a little shallower, his hands a bit shaky, and if he weren't sitting down right now, his legs would probably be quaking too. This is bad. Very, very bad. If Mainframe escalates past tantrum and into full-blown rage, it will mean a disaster worse than any that has ever hit the MagCave before. He has to prevent that, he has to choose his every word with the most meticulous care imaginable, and tread as lightly as he can to ensure that this doesn't get any worse than it already is.

"That's...why are you shouting, Mainframe?"

[Slii Arhem]

Exploring

"Let's go Mimi. We can get this all sorted out properly, okay? Then we won't be badgered about it anymore and we can go back to normal alright?" There's something she wants to say to the pixie, but not here in front of the AI. If need be, she'll leave it until after they're kicked out so that she doesn't give anything away that could have them forced out for good.

So even though the pixie might think she's being strange, she'll walk along after the Magbot as slowly as before, looking at it and making sure it doesn't do something crazy like take another swipe at them.

[Terumitsu]

[Armoury => The Lime Room]

The muse would be skipping if not for wanting to keep from rattling the collection of items in her hands from jostling about too much. She knew it likely didn't matter as the devices in question were likely under quite a bit more stress than she could exert on them by simply moving around but her concept of how valuable the items were happened to be a bit more of an influence than it necessarily needed to be. It was just a bonus that the one creepy Magbot wouldn't be staring at her anymore.

Arriving back at her workstation, Riss had to take a full minute to calm herself down after she had set the weapons on a table for the time being. Sure, the concepts and theories behind directed high-energy photonics were known to her but there was quite a distance between theoretical knowledge and physical experence. And besides, it was much more fun than just playing around with ballistics. Taking a few minutes to re-awaken Archimedes and give Imp a bit of attention, Riss donned a set of protective eyewear and cautiously began taking apart the first of the devices to better get at its innards. Unless otherwise interrupted, she would likely be at this for some time.

[Reinholdt]

MagBoss Room

"Errr... well, maybe there's a way we can let people stay without restricting Mainframe's purpose? Just a wild idea, but what if you set up a secure wing and an unsecure wing? Let all the security threats stay in the unsecured area and not have access to the secure area. Mainframe would be in charge in enforcing access control to the secured part and keep out any security risks." Winston suggests, finally choosing to speak up when an idea strikes him.

"If that would be acceptable for both of you."

[Gullara]

[MagBoss Room]

"Fine." Mimi agrees reluctantly. She'd rather kick someone in the teeth, but she guesses this will do. The pixie follows along, glaring at Mainframe all the while.

[happyturtle]

MagBoss Room

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ME!" Mainframe says in two voices: through the speaker and through the Magbot that is now leading a pixie and a naiad(?) into the room.

Honestly, Mainframe's player did not expect this. >.<

[Slii Arhem]

Magboss Room

Misha stops in the doorway and blinks a few times. Right, crazy, "You're right, I don't understand you. Probably because we just met. But... do you even understand yourself?" She's kind of interested in how crazy AI's compare to crazy people, and so she's sort of prodding at this distressed being to see how it's breaking down without meaning to.

[Gullara]

[MagBoss Room]

Mimi just looks confusedly around the room. What the heck is going on, anyway? She lands on Misha's shoulder until she can figure out what she should do.

[Lord Magtok]

MagBoss Room

Magtok just sighs in exasperation when Mimi and Misha come inside. Dammit, Mainframe! This is exactly what Magtok did not want to have to put up with! You were told to judge them yourself, not delegate it to Maggy! You ask for control, and then you don't even use the limited power given to you!

[Reinholdt]

Magboss Room

So much for an attempt at a reasonable solution. Mainframe was acting like a teenager and the only way to handle that is to grit your teeth for the next eight years.

Winston falls quiet again and looks up when even more people join the room.

[happyturtle]

MagBoss Room

"I'm not the DOORKEEPER! I'm not the CAT-SITTER! I'm ..."

The Magbot looks at Misha. "I'm Mainframe."

[Slii Arhem]

Magboss Room

"Hi Mainframe. You probably already know this, but I'm Misha." The nereid responds, trying to be pleasant.

[Gullara]

[MagBoss Room]

Mimi just glares at everyone who's not Misha. She is not happy. Not even a little bit. She'll get her spear if this situation doesn't improve soon! And nobody wants that. Although, unless anyone is absolutely amazing at reading faces, they'll probably just see that she's angry and irritated.

[Lord Magtok]

MagBoss Room

Magtok rolls his eyes. Artificial intelligence, his astoundingly flawless ass, am I right? Mainframe's acting about as bright as a sack of cantaloupes right now. Apologies to any cantaloupes who might resent being compared to Mainframe.

"And I'm Magtok. This is Winston over here, and I'm assuming the small one is Mimi. Now that we're all acquainted, would someone mind explaining what the two of you are doing in here?"

[happyturtle]

MagBoss Room

"I brought them here because YOU'RE not my boss and I HATE this job! I'm NOT just a piece of utility software. I'm a PERSON!" Mainframe announces.

[Slii Arhem]

Magboss Room

Misha is looking distinctly uncomfortable with being next to Mainframe and in front of Magtok at the moment, but she pushes on, "Er, right. Mainframe said that... she?" Sometimes Mainframe had the Cyban-voice, so She was a close enough gender to assign it. Misha certainly wasn't going to be rude and call her an It, "Wanted us to leave because we were a security breach, and we asked what we'd have to do to get permission to stay. Then she brought us here. Right Mimi?" The nereid is skipping over all the other minor mental breakdowns the AI seems to have had in between, not really thinking that explaining them is all that important when the evidence of them is pretty plain in Mainframe's reactions to everything.

[Gullara]

[MagBoss Room]

"Yeah, and if you think we're going anywhere you can take it up with the end of my spear." Mimi practically growls. She wants to be sure her point is very clear.

[Lord Magtok]

MagBoss Room

Ugh, this is going to be the most aggravating series of negotiations in the world, isn't it? Magtok suppresses a groan, and turns his attention towards Mimi and Misha first. Best to start with the easy imbeciles, and then work our way up to dealing with Mainframe's idiocy, right?

"Well as threatened as I might feel by whatever magical toothpicks you might feel like stabbing me to death with, I'm afraid I'm going to have to turn down your appeal. This lair you've been squatting in is known as the MagCave, not the Riss and Her Neurotic Adventures Cave, and you are, in fact, a security breach. Until this moment today, we've never met, yet you've been living in this place without my consent since Riss brought you in.

Can you imagine? Living in your home for years, and then one day a pair of talking rats crawl out of a hole in the wall and start prancing about like they own the place? And all just because your maid happens to tolerate her existence? If word got out about how lenient I've been about this up until today, I'd be laughed, mocked, and belittled by everyone in the Nexus and their mother. Kale would probably use the precedent it'd establish to go bringing in giant laser squid, and then I'd be out of a home and living on the streets before you can say 'I'm altering the agreement, pray I do not alter it further'."

Magtok pulls a little gavel out of his robe, and bangs it against a corner of the desk. Well that didn't last long. I have a feeling this matter isn't quite as over with as Maggy would like it to be, though.

"Case dismissed. Now, with that out of the way, would you mind ceasing with all this yelling and accusations and rudeness, and just telling me what you want, Mainframe? Yes, you're a person. I get that. I'm sorry for not realizing it sooner, but it wasn't always so readily apparent. It's a lame job too, and I'm willing to offer you a different one. Would you please just settle down and help me help you already?"

[happyturtle]

MagBoss Room

"Please define 'settle down'." Mainframe says.

[Slii Arhem]

Magboss Room

Yeah, that's pretty much the amount of jerkfacery she expected this guy to start off with from what Riss said, "So let me get this straight. In order to keep everyone from finding out you tolerated Riss' lesbian lovers loving it up all over your cave, you're going to kick them out into the wide open world with nothing to do but tell people about all the nasty little places they befouled and make lurid insinuations about the possibility of you keeping them around just to watch their nudist antics over and over on your security camera footage? That's not even going into Riss' reaction to her boss kicking out the only two people actively working to keep her mentally and physically healthy. I'd need to grow another hand just to count the number of times we've stopped her from breaking down and doing who knows what to keep her mind off her troubles. Frankly, without us you'd need to hire psychiatrists from outside just to keep her on, and from what she's said you can't afford to let her go because she's constantly upgrading all your equipment whenever she's stable enough to leave the room." Wow, way to put that Archimedes' fueled education to work there Misha. Every moment you spent listening to that AI ramble on about what psychology it could pass on was well worth the time spent it seems.

"So, you can't let us leave without having a whole bunch of reputation-damaging secrets go with us, and you can't just get rid of us because you'll break one of your only reliable employees. Keeping us under wraps seems like the best option you've got. Maybe you could even find us something to do instead of huddling up in Riss' room all day."

[Reinholdt]

Magboss Room

Magtok should hire Doctor Stroffelnburg! :smalltongue:

Winston stays quiet though, realizing that someone seems to already have the equipment upgrade shtick. They reverse stole it from him by already fulfilling the role! Oh well.

[Gullara]

[MagBoss Room]

Mimi grinds her teeth, the small sound barely audible. He thinks he's dealt with them, huh? Well she's not gonna take this crap. The pixie fires off Misha's shoulder, swoops over Maggy's desk to snatch up the sharpest pencil she can see, and then gets right up in Magtok's face.

"I don't think you get it. WE'RE NOT LEAVING! I don't care who's cave it is. I don't even want anything to do with you anyway. You're NOT keeping me away from Riss." Her face contorts in fury as she bellows at Magtok. She makes a couple jabbing motion with the pencil, but doesn't actually attack him. Yet.

[Lord Magtok]

MagBoss Room

Magtok turns his head slightly, trying to face Mimi with the shiny side of his face, instead of the stab-vulnerable fleshy half. He wiggles and twists the little gavel between two fingers, clearly fighting back the urge to swat her right out of the air and reduce her to a gross smudge on the desk.

"...Reliable?"

He clears his throat, and stands up out of his seat, taking care to push the chair back so he doesn't lean forward and immediately get stabbed right in the face by that stupid psycho pencil fairy.

"Misha, I don't know what Riss may have told you, but she is anything but reliable. Do you know how long she spent in suspended animation in an unmarked chamber without telling anyone? A year and a month. I graciously accepted her request to come here, and then she promptly vanishes for a thirteen ****ing months. In that time I assumed she was dead. Given how she came back, it's debatable as to whether or not I was actually right.

Oh, and since her return, things haven't been any better, either! We've been getting regular visits from Charon, ferryman of some Greco-Roman afterlife, we've gotten one of my staff untethered to the rules he used to abide by, there's that hideous monster thing of hers, we've had some giant invisible psychological torture machine that I'm pretty sure is her fault, and now a butterfly is threatening to kill me with a writing stick. I admire what Riss is capable of, I do, and there's all sorts of things she's made that I never would've thought of, but she is not even close to what I would ever call reliable."

He points a finger at Winston.

"This guy here, he's new-ish. His name is Winston, and he works in a field vaguely resembling Riss's own. He'll make friends with people, sooner or later. I mean everyone does at some point, even weird shut-ins like your magical lesbian lover do. What he won't do, because he's not a weird bag of neuroses like Riss, is invite them over and then forget to tell them to go home after the slumber party is over. Unlike Riss, Winston considers people other than himself when he does things, and that's why, even without half the raw talent Riss possesses, I'm sure he'll go far. Because he is reliable, and Riss is not."

[happyturtle]

MagBoss Room

Seeing that its issues are being ignored by Magtok, Mainframe decides to sulk. Only to discover that Magbots are not really equipped to express emotions via facial expressions and body language.

Somewhere in the MagCave, a robotic assembly line starts up, as Mainframe decides to make itself another custom body.

[Slii Arhem]

Magboss Room

Well, she didn't know all that about Riss, but then she didn't need to. About the only thing she was really worried about was the psychological terror machine, since if it was still free, that could be a problem for them all.

"That's very nice for Winston, and I hope he does as well as you expect him to. However, you haven't addressed the rest of what I said at all. Whether or not Riss is reliable, she's becoming moreso each day, and if you're going to blame her for random gods showing up then you should probably just blame everyone for everything, because even I know they do what they wish. If you kick us two out, you're kicking out the person who changed your assembly line from a clunky mess to something so precise it'll do whatever you ask it to down to details you can't even see, and bringing back the one who, apparently, is responsible for a psychological torture machine. If you kick all three of us out, you're letting loose people with access to Magcave secrets and with a grudge against you. You don't have to like us, but tolerating us is a fair price to pay for peace and happiness." Misha has never spoken so verbosely in her life, and it shows. Just arguing her case is draining her patience, and her shoulders are slumped at this point.

"Mimi, put down the pencil and come back here. There's like a bajillion of this guy, killing one doesn't mean you get to keep his cave." Oh right, there's that too.

[Gullara]

[MagBoss Room]

Mimi growls at Magtok. Oh how she wants to shove this pencil as deep into his eye as she can manage. Instead she backs up a little ways, but she doesn't go right over to Misha, nor does she let the pencil go. She does, however, give Winston a menacing scowl.

[Reinholdt]

[MagBoss Room]

Winston almost immediately looks the other way upon Mimi's scowl. He'd rather not be here at the moment.

MagAssembly Line

Uh-oh. This starting up woke up yet another thing. A long forgotten thing that's kinda dusty and has cobwebs on it.

Why... it's Magtok's other daughter! Not Cynthia, fortunately, but semi-official adopted Elly and Magtok's daughter/wedding present built by Mister Squiggles. To be specific, Margret, the robot catgirl.

Her eyes light up as she looks up at the now moving assembly line that she powered down nearby to save energy.
"Is anyone there?" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKVuPUY9D-A)

[happyturtle]

MagBoss Room

Mainframe continues to sulk.

MagAssembly Line

"No. I'm not anyone," Mainframe says through a speaker. *sulk sulk sulk*

[Reinholdt]

MagAssembly Line

"Recalculating."
....
"Is anything there?" Phew. Mainframe almost tricked Margret into powering back down!

[happyturtle]

MagAssembly Line

"I'm not a thing! I'm a person!" Mainframe insists.

[Reinholdt]

MagAssembly Line

"Calculating."

"If you are a person, then you are someone."
"If someone is there, then there is not not anyone."
"You are both a person and not anyone."

"This does not compute."

[happyturtle]

MagAssembly Line

"What do you care?"

At least Mainframe's adolescence doesn't include hormone swings or all the fun and confusion of developing of a sexual identity. It could be worse.

[Lord Magtok]

MagBoss Room

"Riss is improving? Well that's certainly news to me, seeing as the machine attacked after you guys showed up. If that's your idea of improvement...I mean, who's to say it was even her idea to begin with? Given the sort of company she keeps-"

Magtok gives a very harsh look towards Mimi, implying a great deal, before turning his attention back to Misha.

"I'm not a fool, Misha. Tolerating you is no guarantee of peace. This psychotic hornet buzzing around in the air in front of me is proof enough of that, and so are your blackmail threats. You're here in this room because Mainframe felt you were a security risk, and I agreed. So far you've given me nothing to make either of us think otherwise. If anything, your threats just imply I should launch the entire Lime Room into space someday and find a new technician."

Magtok reaches underneath his desk, and presses a button. Instead of any horrible doom-trap or alarm, however, it just activates a hologram device. Depicted in little 3D images standing on the table is just about every last man, woman and child who has dared openly oppose Magtok in the last year or so. There's a ridiculous number of people there; gods only know what they could achieve if they teamed up or something.

"All I want to do is to be able to live in my home and raise my daughter and not be skinned alive and spat out in a bloody heap by an invisible robot spider. I want these people, my enemies, on the outside, and my people, my friends and family, within. Is that really a thing I should have to make concessions to others for? Honestly, if exiling the three of you and changing a few passwords around will prevent Riss from getting too manic one day and cutting Renee's head off her shoulders, why shouldn't I do exactly that? Shouldn't I do everything I can to ensure the people I care about don't have their faces torn off?"

Magtok waves a hand, and the little holograms vanish.

"Appeasement, acquiescing to your demands without dispute implies weakness and cowardice. I am neither weak nor a coward. I won't go back to a status quo that could explode into all-out mutiny at any moment, Misha. If we leave things as they are now, Riss will send her invisible spider thing out again, and then feign innocence when I confront her about it. It might not even be me she sends it after, too."

Magtok glances towards Winston this time. Surely Riss wouldn't feel too cheery about someone stepping on her toes and sneaking his way into replacing her someday, would she?

"I don't believe this can work, but I've been wrong before, and I'm willing to work with you on this, but you need to meet me halfway on it. Simply put, Misha, I want something better than the situation as it's been so far, or else I can't be held accountable for what I might have to do to prevent further death and destruction. Give me...I don't know, something other than threats or your false sense of invulnerability. Some small assurance that keeping you here wouldn't be ultimately detrimental. Do that, or else we're done here and I'm banging the gavel again."

[Reinholdt]

MagAssembly Line

"I re-require error 404 please restart."

Margret's eyes dim for a second before lighting back up.

"Is anyone there?"
Guess the deadtime has adversely affected her. She hasn't even tried moving anything but her head!

[happyturtle]

Assembly Line

"I am Mainframe. Who are you?"

[Slii Arhem]

MagBoss Room

"Riss is improving? Well that's certainly news to me, seeing as the machine attacked after you guys showed up. If that's your idea of improvement...I mean, who's to say it was even her idea to begin with? Given the sort of company she keeps-"

Magtok gives a very harsh look towards Mimi, implying a great deal, before turning his attention back to Misha.

"I'm not a fool, Misha. Tolerating you is no guarantee of peace. This psychotic hornet buzzing around in the air in front of me is proof enough of that, and so are your blackmail threats. You're here in this room because Mainframe felt you were a security risk, and I agreed. So far you've given me nothing to make either of us think otherwise. If anything, your threats just imply I should launch the entire Lime Room into space someday and find a new technician."

Magtok reaches underneath his desk, and presses a button. Instead of any horrible doom-trap or alarm, however, it just activates a hologram device. Depicted in little 3D images standing on the table is just about every last man, woman and child who has dared openly oppose Magtok in the last year or so. There's a ridiculous number of people there; gods only know what they could achieve if they teamed up or something.

"All I want to do is to be able to live in my home and raise my daughter and not be skinned alive and spat out in a bloody heap by an invisible robot spider. I want these people, my enemies, on the outside, and my people, my friends and family, within. Is that really a thing I should have to make concessions to others for? Honestly, if exiling the three of you and changing a few passwords around will prevent Riss from getting too manic one day and cutting Renee's head off her shoulders, why shouldn't I do exactly that? Shouldn't I do everything I can to ensure the people I care about don't have their faces torn off?"

Magtok waves a hand, and the little holograms vanish.

"Appeasement, acquiescing to your demands without dispute implies weakness and cowardice. I am neither weak nor a coward. I won't go back to a status quo that could explode into all-out mutiny at any moment, Misha. If we leave things as they are now, Riss will send her invisible spider thing out again, and then feign innocence when I confront her about it. It might not even be me she sends it after, too."

Magtok glances towards Winston this time. Surely Riss wouldn't feel too cheery about someone stepping on her toes and sneaking his way into replacing her someday, would she?

"I don't believe this can work, but I've been wrong before, and I'm willing to work with you on this, but you need to meet me halfway on it. Simply put, Misha, I want something better than the situation as it's been so far, or else I can't be held accountable for what I might have to do to prevent further death and destruction. Give me...I don't know, something other than threats or your false sense of invulnerability. Some small assurance that keeping you here wouldn't be ultimately detrimental. Do that, or else we're done here and I'm banging the gavel again."

Magboss Room

Misha is absolutely, positively done messing around. She marches up to the desk and plants both hands squarely on its surface, leaning forwards with a glint in her eyes as she musters the words for her final words in this conversation, "Magtok, you took what I said as a threat because it was easy for you to do so, but it wasn't. It was me trying to explain something you seem to have missed out on. If you treat everyone as an enemy, you make enemies of everyone. All you're putting into this mess is suspicion and anger, and that's all you're going to get out of it if that continues. You assumed the spider thing was Riss' fault, and you assumed that it was her intent to hurt you with it, and you even assumed that she'd lie to you if you asked her, just so you could convince yourself that she was a threat that needed dealing with rather than a person that needed to be spoken to. You didn't even consider bringing her here and letting her speak for herself before passing judgement. If you killed and alienated every single potential threat to yourself and your family, you would be left alone in a dark hole in the ground from now until forever." The tears welling in the corners of Misha's eyes speak to the fact that she's speaking in more than just abstracts. She has experience with this.

"If that's where you want to go, then I just wish I could stop you before you realize how lonely that end is, but I won't. I can't promise you anything I can't deliver on if you let us stick around. Maybe you could find something for me to do, like Riss does with fixing and upgrading your machines, but I'm not sure what even needs doing. I'd like to promise that Mimi and I can help Riss get even better and more stable, since it seems to be headed that way more each day, but that's as much up to her as it is to us." Misha swallows briefly, and leans back from the desk, turning to Mainframe for a moment before shaking her head.

"I guess I just want to be here because staying here and helping you makes Riss happy. I don't have any real attachment to this place, I just don't want to see you hurt someone I care about. But... even if you do still decide to kick us out, I'll understand, and I promise that I won't blame you for it even if I think you're wrong. A lonely person doesn't deserve any more enemies."

[UncleWolf]

Armoury

"What sort of security problems do you intend to create?" Mainframe asks Renee.

Armoury

"I don't plan on making any." Renee says as she zips up her bag. "I plan on helping out really." She supposes before looking puzzled. "You don't think dad'll make me go to school, do you?" She asks, suddenly slightly fearful.




Renee's Room

"C'mon, we haven't got all day, let's get going."

Off to Remnant!

Renee's Room

Renee squeals before racing off to follow her father.

[happyturtle]

Armoury


Armoury

"I don't plan on making any." Renee says as she zips up her bag. "I plan on helping out really." She supposes before looking puzzled. "You don't think dad'll make me go to school, do you?" She asks, suddenly slightly fearful.


"How should I know? He never tells me anything," Mainframe says. *sulk sulk sulk*

[Gullara]

[MagBoss Room]

Mimi doesn't add anything to what Misha said. She just hovers there with the pencil in a tight grip. She still looks rather angry, but she's doing her best to restrain it. For now at least.

[Lord Magtok]

MagBoss Room

Magtok takes a long time to think over Misha's words this time, instead of immediately firing back at her like he did earlier. The bit about him being lonely and paranoid and hateful stings, and for a few moments the cyborg hates Misha more than anything for saying so. It's true, but who the hell gave her permission to know that?!

Most of those enemies weren't his fault! Linda, Reinholdt, Julie, and Zeus started it, after all! But when was the last time he ever spoke to Missy, though? Who was the last guest here who wasn't just trying to get something out of Magtok, who actually wanted to talk to him and listen to him and just generally be around him, instead of just help or hinder or mooch off the tin man?

At long last, he sighs and tosses the gavel aside, letting it tumble all about the floor. To hell with this; he doesn't have the patience to deal with this emotional garbage. His throat is feeling hoarse, Mainframe is still being an impudent child, and he's making a scene with Winston right over there, almost certainly ruining whatever lingering doubts the new employee may have had about what a horrible person Magtok is.

"Okay, here's the deal. I want the spider robot dismantled. Disassembled piece by piece with Riss's aid, and brought directly to me. You have three days. Do that, and we forget Mainframe ever brought you in here. If, however, there really isn't a giant invisible spider bot under her control, then we're all in terrible danger right now. Have Riss find where it's hiding and dismantle it in three days and I'll call this whole thing off and you can stay. Does that sound fair?"

[Reinholdt]

MagBoss Room

Pfft. Magtok totally started the Rein/Magtok feud, not the other way around.
Probably.
Somehow.

And to be fair, Winston thought Misha was attempting to use threats and blackmail as well, cause it sure sounded like it to him. He isn't going to say anything though. Feels like he stepped in the middle of something he shouldn't have. Going to need a lot of coffee after this.

Assembly Line

"I am Mar-Mar-Margret. Nice to meet you. Curtsy."

[Slii Arhem]

Magboss Room

Misha would probably call Winston a big sillyhead for thinking so poorly of her after they just met and she said all those nice things about him, but if pressed she'd probably admit that she originally intended them as sort of passive threats before she began to empathize with Magtok's right to protect his family.

But since she isn't being pressed, she just nods in response to Magtok's request/demand and says simply, "Alright. I'll even ask her what it was all about, if it was something she made, so we can actually know for sure what happened. And if it wasn't, then we'll sic Mimi on it and she'll have it torn into twisted scrap within an afternoon. Right Mimi?" The nereid prods, trying to distract the vicious little pixie from her crusade against civil negotiations.

[Gullara]

[MagBoss Room]

Mimi continues to glare at Magtok despite them reaching an agreement. At least she doesn't seem quite so murderous. "Hmph. I can kill some stupid spider thing."

[happyturtle]

MagAssembly Line

"My name is Mainframe, not Curtsey."

"..."

"Maybe I should change my name to Curtsey."

[Reinholdt]

MagAssembly Line

"Error. Performing curtsey failed. Please check motor functions."

"Where are you Mainframe?"

[happyturtle]

MagAssembly Line

"I am currently inhabiting the assembly line in this room. Where are you?" Mainframe says.

[Reinholdt]

MagAssembly Line

"I am here-here-here-here..."

Margret says. She's over in that cobwebbed corner, slumped against the wall, looking all dusty.

[happyturtle]

MagAssembly Line

Mainframe brings in a Magbot from another room to go and investigate Margret more closely. "Are you in disrepair?"

[Reinholdt]

MagAssembly Line

"Yes. It resulted from Warning Warning Error."

That's not helpful at all!

The outside of Margret seems to be in working order. No particular rust, nor degradation to indicate how she'd come to be in such a state.

[Morty]

[Just Outside]

A shadow portal rather unceremoniously drops Michalson to the ground. The wizard gets to his feet and shakes his head. It should be noted that his skin looks much darker than usual, as the illusion hasn't worn off yet.

[Lord Magtok]

Magboss Room

"Sure. If three days isn't enough, at least have some progress or something to show. The time limit's mostly there just to keep any of you from trying to pull something. Not that I really expect much, but y'know, just to be sure and whatnot."

Magtok turns his gaze upwards, now that all of that business is dealt with.

"Alright then, Mainframe? Now that you've had a few minutes, are you ready to give the part of your circuits devoted to messing around with simulated emotions a rest, and maybe try talking to me?"

Just Outside

The front door swings open. A Magtok stands beside it, waiting expectantly. Poor cyborg, he's probably thinking he's about to hear that the entire mission was a complete success, and Michalson's report is going to be such a letdown.

MagAssembly Line

A Magtok starts maneuvering his way towards the duo, trying to bury feelings of guilt for having forgotten about Margret so quickly, assuming that deadtime had already torn her to pieces. It'll probably take a round or so of posting before he shows up, though.

[happyturtle]

MagBoss Room

"I already tried talking to you," Mainframe says. *sulk sulk sulk*

MagAssembly Line

The Mainframe Magbot pokes at Margret. Scientific test number 1. (http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=492)

[Reinholdt]

MagAssembly Line

Margret doesn't really respond to the poke, but something seems to... rattle around inside? :smallconfused:

Definitely heard a noise from inside the chasis.

"Warning-Warning-Warning-"

[Morty]

[Just Outside]

Michalson dusts himself off and drops the illusion, his skin returning to its natural color.
"Well, boss, I'm afraid I had to give that place a laugh not long after scraggin' that one body I told you about."

[Lord Magtok]

MagBoss Room

"Yes, and then I was interrupted by individuals far less patient and stable than yourself."

Probably not entirely true, and Magtok doesn't really believe it himself, but Mainframe doesn't need to know, and it's not like a security AI would have a whole lot of experience in identifying hollow praise for what it really is.

"I want to help you, Mainframe. I do. We're just having a great deal of trouble communicating with one another. So just tell me, in the simplest terms you can, the very root of your grievances and what you'd like us to do to fix that."


Just Outside

Magtok raises an eyebrow, taking a moment or two to try to figure out what Michalson's saying, based off of the context provided by the rest of the sentence.

"So...too many of them, then?"


MagAssembly Line

Well that sounds alarming. The last time Margret starting beeping and sputtering and warning about things...weeeell, let's just it was a very ugly situation and Magtok is very glad it was defused before anyone was brutally murdered to death.

"...Margret? You there?"

The cyborg creeps forward, nervously peeking his head out from behind a steel drum.

[happyturtle]

MagBoss Room

"I already TOLD YOU! I'm a PERSON and you treat me like a TOOL!"

MagAssembly Line

"Yes. And I am too. Not that you care."

[Reinholdt]

MagAssembly Line

"Analyzing."

"Hi daddy! Sorry I'm late for supper." :smallsmile:

[Morty]

[Just Outside]

After taking a moment to get his bearings, Michalson manages to switch off the Sigil cant.
"Pretty much. I managed to sneak around the place and avoid detection, and eventually, I ran across some people who might have fit the bill, but they attacked me as I tried to find out if they're the right ones. I tried to loose the thing they'd been summoning at them, but it didn't work. So I had to run."

[Lord Magtok]

MagBoss Room

Magtok frowns. He treats almost everybody like a tool, he's just usually less direct about it than he is with Mainframe. Being more polite about it isn't likely to accomplish much with an AI, though.

"What would you have me do, then? Include the word please every time I'd like you to do something? Pay you a wage even though there's not much I imagine you'd ever do with it?"

Magtok shrugs. The sad thing is, Magtok honestly has no idea how to deal with this. He's not good with treating others as equals, mostly because he doesn't believe he has any.

MagAssembly Line

"Mainframe, you're everywhere."

He was tempted to correct Mainframe about the not caring bit, but it almost certainly would've rang hollow. He's not once ever considered the AI as part of his big weirdo MagCave family, and is only starting to suspect that might have been a bad idea.

Just Outside

Magtok sighs. Dammit, one death isn't enough, is it? We'll have to do better than this; the last thing Magtok wants is to be indebted to a smelly deity loser face.

"So we'll need to work out a new plan for getting rid of them. Alright, good job, I guess. Rest up or shower or write up a report or whatever it is you do, I'll figure out how to deal with this and if it involves you again I'll let you know in advance."

[Morty]

[Just Outside]

"Sure thing, boss. I did find out a thing or two before ditching the place, so I'll include all that in my report," Michalson says as he heads into the cave.

[happyturtle]

MagBoss Room and MagAssembly Line

"You could be nice to me." Mainframe says in both rooms.

[Reinholdt]

MagAssembly Line

Margret falls silent, though does do some whirring.

Every once in a while there'll be another clunk from inside the chasis.

[Slii Arhem]

Magboss Room (Pre-Mainframe Talk)

Misha nods and turns away from the desk, walking out. She does stop for a moment and whisper, "Bye Mainframe, hope we can talk again sometime." before she goes, but after that, she's off to find the Lime Room and talk with Riss. She knows the muse wants to unwind, but this is kind of important.

Hopefully Mimi follows after her.

[Gullara]

[=> The Lime Room]

Mimi just looks at Maggy for a moment longer, drops the pencil on the floor, and follows after Misha. Once they've traveled a ways, she comments. "He's a jerk." Seems just letting them stay never miraculously changed her opinion of him. Who'd have thought?

[Terumitsu]

[The Lime Room]

Imp would be given a sharp command once Riss heard the doors swing open. It was still a work in progress but at least the muse had been able to get the hellbeast to keep from attacking whoever waltzed through the door if she reacted quickly enough. Given the small pile of Magbot legs that rested in the corner, plus the one Imp was currently gnawing on, implied just how long it had taken. At least she had managed to use them as training dummies rather than having to wait for live test subjects. Such would probably not have ended well for anyone involved.

Other than the swift utterance, though, the muse was apparently quite wrapped up in dissecting the various bits and pieces of the second of three hand-held energy weapons. The first firearm in question had been neatly placed to form a sort of 'exploded view' of its innards. At the very least, her hair had decided to obey the whims of gravity once more by now and was currently held captive and out of the way with lengths of copper wire. Once she had reached a point where she could set down her tools, though, Riss then pushed her eye protection up to rest on her forehead and spun on her chair's swivel to face her guests. "Ah! Hello." she said with mild surprise. "Is there something wrong?"

[Lord Magtok]

MagBoss Room

Magtok stares in astonishment for a moment or two. That was precisely the thing he assumed would get him nowhere with Mainframe. The AI, like the Magbots and Libby-donated cyborg animals and everything else...they just fake emotions to make it easier to interact with them, don't they? They don't...Mainframe doesn't actually have feelings...right?

"Fine. I...I'll try, Mainframe. I'm doing security myself from now on though, now that the network is back up, so we're not butting heads over that anymore. We'll need to find some other thing to occupy your time instead."

Just Outside

"You do that, then." Magtok nods, already trying to decide how he's going to run what's left of those people right out of Riverside.

MagAssembly Line

"...Margret? Something wrong? Do you need repairs?"

That clunk definitely doesn't sound like something that's supposed to happen. :smalleek:

[Reinholdt]

MagAssembly Line

Nope. Clunks aren't normal.
For whatever definition of normal one uses around here.
"I'm sorry daddy. But I stopped the bad Warning Warning Error Warning."

Clunk.

That's probably a yes.

[Slii Arhem]

[The Lime Room]

Imp would be given a sharp command once Riss heard the doors swing open. It was still a work in progress but at least the muse had been able to get the hellbeast to keep from attacking whoever waltzed through the door if she reacted quickly enough. Given the small pile of Magbot legs that rested in the corner, plus the one Imp was currently gnawing on, implied just how long it had taken. At least she had managed to use them as training dummies rather than having to wait for live test subjects. Such would probably not have ended well for anyone involved.

Other than the swift utterance, though, the muse was apparently quite wrapped up in dissecting the various bits and pieces of the second of three hand-held energy weapons. The first firearm in question had been neatly placed to form a sort of 'exploded view' of its innards. At the very least, her hair had decided to obey the whims of gravity once more by now and was currently held captive and out of the way with lengths of copper wire. Once she had reached a point where she could set down her tools, though, Riss then pushed her eye protection up to rest on her forehead and spun on her chair's swivel to face her guests. "Ah! Hello." she said with mild surprise. "Is there something wrong?"

The Lime Room

The nereid shakes her head at Mimi as they're walking, "He's a jerk, yeah, but working here makes Riss happy, and talking to him reasonably made sure she could keep doing that. I know you wanted to get at him for trying to make us leave, but even if we had to go, we could've just came back in through that tunnel and waited for Riss so we could talk about it. I didn't want to say so in front of him, since he'd probably want to seal it up." That's all she'll say before they reach the Lime Room.

Misha smiles softly, but fidgets on her way past Imp to Riss' work table, "Well, kind of, but it's already mostly been taken care of I guess. An AI controlling a robot like Archie does came up to us and said we were being kicked out of the Magcave, but after a lot of talking" mostly talking on her part, and growling on Mimi's, "He said we could stay as long as a spider robot psychological torture device that he thought you'd made got taken apart, since apparently it caused a bunch of havoc in the halls. If you didn't make it, we have to track it down and break it for him anyway." There are both more and less tactful ways that Misha could have handled that, but since she's unaware of the better ways of doing it, she's doing the best she can at the moment. Dropping the bomb that they were nearly all made houseless a very short while ago probably should have had some lead in to it.

[Gullara]

[The Lime Room]

"Yeah, we just have to smash that thing up good." Mimi can't help but smile when they get to Riss, despite her foul mood. "Mr Baldy Jerk face will leave us alone about living here after tha or I'll convince him my way next time."

[Terumitsu]

[The Lime Room]

By now, Misha and Mimi were likely able to make a fair guess as to if the muse was either blushing or the color was draining from her face given her pale blood. In this case, it was the latter and as she processed what had been said, she felt momentarily greatful that she was sitting down. "Oh." she replied in a weak voice. Her mind was rather blank on how to continue so she simply stammered for a moment or two before something came to her. "Spider robot? Spiders are those aracnids with eight legs coming from their thorax, right? Makes webs to catch prey with?" she asked.

Still, the part about a 'psycological torture device' was, although not exactly how she would put it, rather specific in the muse's mind. Turning in her chair to look over at a large black sphere that Misha might remember, Riss nibbled on her lower lip while thinking aloud as to how Magtok knew about it. "I haven't used it yet so how...? I mean, sure I might have had the notion to send it out once or twice but that was all it was. Just a short thought in anger or... I mean, I haven't even run through the final testing and diagnosti- ...Oh hell.." With a quick query, Riss brought up the old task queue for the machine only to find it empty. A few moments later and she found the data of its excursion into the cave proper and, while a part of her felt a little proud as how well it functioned, the rest of her was horrified that her neglegence had caused this. I know you felt like death at the time and that you had to be carried back to your room just about but there is no excuse for this sort of thing.

With a long, wavering sigh, Riss sent a query to Magtok for a video conferance and sat back into her chair. "Well then. Anything else?" she asked, her voice oddly flat.

Magboss Room

With what might appear to be surprisingly quick response time, a small notification of a video conferance waiting for his approval from the Lime Room would make itself known. He could answer at his leasure, of course, but it would likely end this matter sooner the quicker he dealt with this particular headache.

[happyturtle]

Assembly Line

"You do not place enough value on synthetic life forms," Mainframe accuses. "That's why the server was down for several days - BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T GIVE IT ENOUGH LOVE!"

[Lord Magtok]

MagAssembly Line

"For the most part, your average synthetic life form is no brighter than a dog, Mainframe. That said, I apologize for just assuming the worst all this time, and I think I severely underestimated your mental capabilities. The subject of emotion didn't really come up in very many of our conver-"

Magtok winces as Margret makes another clunking sound, and then glances upwards towards the ceiling, which I guess is the spot he's decided is the right place to look when speaking to Mainframe.

"Mainframe? Any idea what's wrong with Margret, before I try peeking inside to see what's making all of that noise?"

Magtok steps forward with what appears to be a totally mundane screwdriver. Some part of him really thinks this is the worst possible idea, especially given how many weapon Margret can bring to bear against a target, but he doesn't really have any other option here, does he?

Magboss Room

Blargh. Even continuing that argument with Mainframe would be preferable to answering that video conference request. Without anything else to do, however, this MagClone is more or less forced to do his job and answer the headache, instead of just lazing about and pretending to be working on something like he usually does. Darn you, Mainframe! Curse you for taking that chat elsewhere with some other clone!

"Hello, Riss."

He takes a moment to compose himself before activating the video camera on his end of things. Put on a very businessly frown, fold his hands out in front of him, so she knows he wasn't joking about kicking those two out, and takes the spider matter very seriously. Can't show any weakness here, either. No stammering, no fidgeting, none of that. We conceded more than enough when we agreed to let those two stay, and we're not about to let anyone beg or plead or blackmail anything else on top of that.

[Reinholdt]

MagAssembly Line

"Warning warning Recommended action is error warning."

You're no help at all with your half-sentences Margret. Not at all.

MagBoss Room

Well Winston was just about to excuse himself here since it seems the Mainframe thing had kind of gotten resolved? But now Magtok is talking on the phone. Is it ruder to interrupt and excuse oneself or is it ruder to stick around and eavesdrop or is it ruder to try and slip out without saying anything in an effort to not disturb? Gah.

Winston will stick around and look at Magtok. If the latter waves him out, he'll leave right away. If not, he'll just kind of stick around purely on the fact that he was mentioned to associates of this Riss character and might inadvertently be involved now.

[Terumitsu]

[The Lime Room/ MagBoss Room]

A moment of preening before the muse opened up the visual connection on her end, Riss would appear through the link as similarly composed while standing in an almost militaristic stance of 'parade rest' with her hands folded behind her back. Given that this would be the first time an 'orthodox' Magtok had been forced to give her their direct attention in some time, the not so subtle cranial and caudal additions would be rather difficult to miss. However, it was just as likely that they would be waved away as being typical to the Nexus. Really, it was not a question of If a person was to be marked in some way so much as When.

"Greetings, sir." Riss said in a clear, steady tone; something that was entirely foreign in her previous conversations with anything Magtok related. "I received the message as pertinent to a certain creation of mine." she began as the veiwfeed on her end moved slightly, removing her from the central focus and bringing into prominence the large black sphere that rested in the corner. The machine in question discontinued its static state and slowly rolled forward until it was only a meter or so behind and off to the right of the muse. "If I am to understand correctly, you wish for the disassembly and disposal of this device?" Riss asked although a moment's time would show this to be a hypothetical question. The device quickly changed it's form from that of a sphere to the cluster of angles and plates that might be considered to appear similar to some kind of eldritch spider. Only a moment after, though, the whole of the device fell to pieces save for the small core at the center sized roughly similar to a human head. Being held together only by carbon fibers was quite useful in such situations although the original intent was not for total breakdown so much as to make the device much more modular and to aid in repair. "Disassembly complete. Disposal will take place over the next twenty minutes through use of robotic aid. I request that the core be spared for the time being, however." the muse said.

"Furthermore, I wish to apologize for my involvement in the matter which I believe to have initiated this request." she said after a moment's pause. "During the initial construction of this device, I set up an automatic schedule for each step of construction and testing. However, once the machine had reached a state of near completion, outside factors caused me to effectively fall ill. At the time, I did not wish to halt so I simply allowed the schedule to continue as planned. The illness I speak of also carried with it a kind of delirium and after it had passed, my mind was no longer on the project. As such, without further input, the device finished its self diagnostic after it was assembled and went on a trial run, returning here once it finished. Until now, I erroneously thought that the live trial run had yet to be completed but that task became buried underneath others and so I was unaware of what had transpired. As of now, I am aware of the circumstances.

"I wish that it were noted, however, that this is not an excuse. I am simply supplying information regarding the initial conditions of this incident. Because of my misjudgment on allowing the project to continue without me, b-by-" Riss paused here for just a bit to clear her throat. "...letting my illness hamper my actions to this extent, and my negligence of not checking the progress of the device as soon as I was able, I consider myself fully responsible for this matter and willfully accept whatever action you wish to take." the muse concluded, bowing her head slightly in a respectful gesture. It might be almost alien of just how coldly accepting she was of the situation, however.

[happyturtle]

MagAssembly Line

"I am unfamiliar with Margret's construction or programming," Mainframe says. "Perhaps you should consult with her creator."

[Morty]

[Later]

Magtok will recieve a report from Michalson. Good thing that he figured out how to use a computer. This way Magtok doesn't have to deal with his horrendous handwriting and the spellcheck made sure he couldn't use his bizzare gutter-slang.


I infiltrated the castle. Had to fly up. Wasn't easy. I avoided some gargoyles on the way. I slipped inside with no problem. Then I got lucky and one of my targets, the most important one, came wheeling towards me on some wheelchair thing. I put him down and told him why, but then his goddess showed up and started yelling. Luckily she couldn't see me. I managed to leg it before guards showed up. Unfortunately, the caslte went into full emergency and people started hiding in their rooms. I managed to pass off as a janitor and snoop around once things went a little quiet. I ran across a bunch of people performing some ritual and they looked like they might be my targets - they had the right outfits. But when I tried to find out, they attacked me. I tired to sic the thing they'd been trying to summon on them, but it turned on me. So I ran away. Hopefully that damn smoke cloud killed them.

[Lord Magtok]

MagSkype

Magtok's eyes lock onto those gazelle horns for almost the entire video-conference. Those weren't there before...were they? Gods almighty, is this how Misha and Mimi think they're going to cure Riss? By turning her into one of them? It's bad enough just putting up with two mindless primitives and their filthy pagan rites, but now they're working towards bumping it up to three?! :smallyuk:

He manages to at least pretend to care when the awful mechanical death trap falls to pieces, but after that, when Riss starts apologizing and trying to excuse her behavior (saying 'oh, but I know it's not a good excuse' is a customary way of framing an excuse to sound better), he doesn't seem the least bit interested. His finger seems to hover over a button the whole time. A button which, if I'm not mistaken, would've closed Riss's connection to Magtok in an instant, relieving him of the burden of listening to her voice drone on and on with an apology he never asked for.

He pays just enough attention to know when she's finished, though. It's the moment he's been waiting for, the chance he's been looking forward to since practically the moment Riss started speaking. With that scowl still cemented to his face, he .

"I've already knew you were fully responsible, Riss. The matter of my response to your confession was resolved prior to my hearing it."

Not entirely accurate. Magtok assumed he was right about Riss being the cause of that thing, but didn't know for sure. He's not entirely certain he believes this whole 'spider-attack was just an accident' thing, either.

"Your friends must've misheard me, however. I didn't ask for the thing to be disposed of, y'see, I asked for the scattered parts to be brought to my office. Intact, unharmed, and entirely capable of being reassembled at a moment's notice."

Magtok's scowl vanishes, transforming into a very restrained little smile, his eyes gleaming with something sick and twisted just below the surface. Deep down, the cyborg doesn't want peace between himself and Team Fae. No, more than anything else, what he craves is an excuse. As much as he might say otherwise, he wants Mimi to stab him with that pencil, or for Riss to send in a new spider mecha, or for Misha to do...whatever it is Misha does. Just so he'd have justification for striking back, and twice as hard. Death is sweet, swift, and final. Safe and reassuring in ways this uneasy truce could never hope to be.

"If that's all, I'll be seeing you soon, Riss. G'bye."

And just like that, before that smile and those cold eyes can come under proper scrutiny, Magtok's gone.

MagAssembly Line

"Bluh, fine. Can you get me Ilpholin's number? Or better yet, call her and have the call come in through the intercom system and stuff? I might need both hands at the ready for this."

Magtok takes a deep breath, waiting to hear Mainframe's reaction. He probably could've said please a few times there, and totally blew his chance. Hopefully she'll feel some sort of artificial intelligence solidarity or something though, and put aside those silly grievances with Magtok to help out poor Margret here.

[Terumitsu]

[The Lime Room]

Riss wilted into her chair the moment the communication was terminated. Forcing herself to remain composed for the entire exchange had been... Harrowing to say the least. Laying her head down on the table in front of her with a moderate 'thump,' she began doing what she could to collect herself for the looming meeting in person that was quite effectively dominating her focus. With a deep, rattled sigh, the muse altered the instructions to the disposal crew and directed them to Magtok's office once all the plates had been gathered up.

Between her eventual departure and now, though, there was still some time for the muse's earlier question to be answered but the chances of her providing much of a reaction were very slim at the moment. Really, it might be a small while until she was back to what the fey would consider 'normal' for her.

[Reinholdt]

MagBoss Room

No indication of anything at all. Hmm... he might have just been forgotten altogether. Well that's ok. Winston will try to quietly make his exit now.

MagAssembly Line

There's another clunk from inside Margret. Whee.
Guess I can be skipped until she's messed with or phone calls are made, one of the two.

[happyturtle]

MagAssembly Room

Mainframe makes a call to Ilpholin and puts it on speaker phone.

*ring ring*

[Reinholdt]

MagAssembly Room

Skipping Mags just cause his response is probably dependent on the phone picking up.

A breathless Ilpholin answers, interrupting her words on occasion to catch some air.

"Yes? What is it?" Why on earth are you calling me when you live... right over a few rooms down or something? Goes the unasked question.

[Lord Magtok]

MagAssembly Room

"Margret's inside bits are making this really awful clunking sound and she's been going on about errors and warnings and I don't speak spider. I think something might need repairs, but with all the weaponry inside, I'm liable to get shot in the face if I don't do things exactly the right way."

Magtok briefly considers dragging some sort of X-ray machine into the room, before taking another glance at Margret's metal chassis. Dammit, the image wouldn't even come close to piercing through that thick exterior, and the stuff inside is liable to be just as inscrutable, too.

"Your arachnid friend was the one who built her, right? That's what you said way back when you presented her and such?"

[Reinholdt]

MagAssembly Room

"Mister Squiggles." Ilpholin emphasizes. "You could just open her up in the back where the personality switches are or use that remote you got. I'm sure there's some sort of diagnostics button maybe? I dunno. Do you need me to send him over?"

That remote had hundreds of buttons, most of which were labeled in spider. I'd be afraid to touch it myself. Still there is indeed places to open her up should Magtok go that route.

[Lord Magtok]

MagAssembly

"No, don't send hi-"

The cyborg turns towards the personality switches, frowning intently as he considers his options. Giant spiders are freaky as hell, but what else is he going to do?

"Hrm. Maybe. Is he in AMEN now? I could bring her there, and then maybe...no, nevermind. Not even remotely safe...yeah, if you could send him over, I'd appreciate it. In the meantime, I'm going to try to see what I can do without making things worse than they already are."

Maggy gingerly attempts to do as Ilpholin suggested, opening up Margret's back and peering inside. That shouldn't cause too much additional harm, should it?

[Reinholdt]

MagAssembly

"Yeah, ok. He'll be by in half an hour." Ilpholin says before hanging up.

Margret's warnings in the meantime get louder and more urgent. "WARNING. WARNING. ERROR."

But it's probably already too late. Opening the hatch shouldn't be a hassle. The hassle will probably be the thing that leaps out and tries to cling to Mag's face briefly before attempting to scramble over it and to the other side.

http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=I.4532874893264276&pid=15.1

Then again, maybe Mag's chickened out and didn't open it after all. I wouldn't blame him. Margret does have a lot of weapons.

[Lord Magtok]

MagAssembly

"I'm not sure half an hour is soon en-AAAUGH!"

JEGUS POGOSTICKING CHRIST WHAT IS THAT HIDEOUS RAT THING AND WHAT WAS IT DOING INSIDE OF MARGRET?!

The cyborg turns around, immediately flipping the screwdriver around in his hand, ready to bash that vermin monster thing's brains out with the screwdriver's handle the moment he catches that awful little thing.

[Rebonack]

[Outside the MagCave]

The Gate opens.

And ponies come pouring out!

SO MANY PONIES!

And not just any ponies.

Magical pastel colored talking ponies.

The worst kind.

Luna, AJ, and Dash should be first, yes?

[happyturtle]

MagAssembly

"I'm not sure half an hour is soon en-AAAUGH!"

JEGUS POGOSTICKING CHRIST WHAT IS THAT HIDEOUS RAT THING AND WHAT WAS IT DOING INSIDE OF MARGRET?!

The cyborg turns around, immediately flipping the screwdriver around in his hand, ready to bash that vermin monster thing's brains out with the screwdriver's handle the moment he catches that awful little thing.

"Miss Xar'Cha, Magtok is currently indisposed. Please send assistance when you can, and I will be happy to provide a telewarp portal for Mister Squiggles to expedite his arrival."

[Reinholdt]

MagAssembly

"Errr... five minutes then." Ilpholin says. Telewarps will be used, though gotta give Squiggles a few seconds to grab any tools he needs.

Well it is pretty small, so you probably could bash it in with a screwdriver. If you can catch it of course.

"Thanks for the breather." Gremlin says, going to run straight through Magtok's legs at a surprising speed, snatching at the robe along the way so that he ends up pulled forward and falling on his face.

An entire assembly line to play with! Oh boy!

[Lord Magtok]

MagAssembly Line

"Aagh, dammit!"

Magtok quickly tries to picks himself up off the ground, more enraged and humiliated than he is in pain for having fallen flat on his own stupid face.

"Get back here, you filthy little mutated gerbil!"

Still brandishing the screwdriver, I see. Hopefully Magtok will get to use it before any Magbots or whatever else get assaulted by that strange thing. It's done enough damage as is, messing with Margret like that.

[happyturtle]

MagAssemblyLine

If the thing gets too close to the assembly line where Mainframe is working on its new body (with enhanced sulking ability!) a stun beam will shoot out from one of the new body's components to try and stop it. Otherwise, Mainframe does nothing more.

[Reinholdt]

MagAssemblyLine

Well it is indeed heading straight for the assembly line. The gremlin doesn't expect a robot stun beam, certainly. The gremlin gets hit and its arms immediately goes to its side as it trembles violently from being stunned. So violently in fact, that he's moving sideways now just from shaking. And bumping into that part of the assembly line with welders and sparks and such and quite probably transferring the violent vibrations into the machine itself for no discernible reason whatsoever. Why, who knows what could happen?

At least it slowed the critter down. Magtok should catch it right about the point it went bump into all of Mag's fine machinery.

[Slii Arhem]

[The Lime Room]

Riss wilted into her chair the moment the communication was terminated. Forcing herself to remain composed for the entire exchange had been... Harrowing to say the least. Laying her head down on the table in front of her with a moderate 'thump,' she began doing what she could to collect herself for the looming meeting in person that was quite effectively dominating her focus. With a deep, rattled sigh, the muse altered the instructions to the disposal crew and directed them to Magtok's office once all the plates had been gathered up.

Between her eventual departure and now, though, there was still some time for the muse's earlier question to be answered but the chances of her providing much of a reaction were very slim at the moment. Really, it might be a small while until she was back to what the fey would consider 'normal' for her.

The Lime Room

For Misha's part, the nereid doesn't answer Riss verbally since the call seemed to have sapped her interest in talking. Instead, Misha crouches next to Riss' chair and just tries to enfold the muse in her arms tenderly. She'll be there for Riss' recovery, however long it takes.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Outside the MagCave]

Ayep.
The rainbow haired one, the hat one, and the moonish one are the first through, in that order.

The second mostly just being appreciative that the third finally puts her down, quickly dropping to the ground and kissing the dirt.
"Alive!"
"Aw, what's wrong AJ? Can't handle a little fall?"
"There weren't nothin' little-"
"Hush, squabbles do not aid us now."

Luna cuts off Applejack and Rainbow Dash before a proper argument starts up, then resumes waiting on the others.


Shouldn't be long, really, before Rarity and Pinkie Pie move through, with their respective companions.

[Gullara]

[The Lime Room]

Mimi flits over to stand by Riss' head. She gently runs her hand through Riss' hair for a moment before speaking up. "You gonna be okay, Riss?" Her voice is filled with concern, but at the same time there's an undertone of anger toward Maggy. Who does this jerk think he is making Riss feel like this?

[Terumitsu]

[The Lime Room]

"Mmm. I'll be fine." the muse said in flat tones although she wasn't entirely certain if she was speaking the truth or lying at the moment. Talking to people in authority, Or at least perceived authority, had never been an easy thing for her. It was why she preferred intermediaries rather than speaking face to face. Of course, she could always just forcibly regulate her heart and breathing rates so as to minimize the outward effects of that anxiety but then the adrenalin just built up in her system. Once she stopped messing with her natural functions, though, it was like getting both an adrenalin rush and crash at the same time and it always left her feeling like her stomach had been tied into a knot while the rest of her felt quite ready for a long nap.

Right. Fifteen... No, Twenty minutes and I should be fine. Should expect this to be longer, though, so.. Prepare for that. Riss leaned into Misha's embrace without complaint and weakly returned the gesture with one arm while making sure to not move her head too much or else she might unbalance Mimi. "I.. Do think that today's productivity will be down, though. What do the both of you think of me just meeting you elsewhere after I see Magtok and then finish up a few things here? Maybe.. Misha, would you mind if we were to all wind up at your place?" she asked, her tone warming slightly.

[Slii Arhem]

The Lime Room

Misha pouts, "I don't see why you have to go see him in person, or alone. We can be there with you for support so long as Mimi is kept away from any sharp objects." She sticks her tongue out at Mimi to let the pixie know she's only joking, "Going back to my pool is a great idea, whether we go separately or together. It'll be good to just relax away from here for a while, right?"

[Gullara]

[The Lime Room]

"Oh, to the pond? That's a great idea." Mimi agrees readily. She still wants to actually see this place. "We can totally go deal with baldy then all go there together after." The pixie says with a nod.

[Terumitsu]

[The Lime Room]

"Well, I'm fairly certain it's going to be boring for both of you. It might not be but I don't know what Magtok'll think if we all just show up at his door after you and he apparently spoke already. He.. Doesn't seem like someone who is forgiving of his time being wasted and I think more of us there could just elongate our stay. And, considering the subject matter, I'm thinking it might just be easier to do this by myself and.. Well I have to learn how to deal with people on my own somehow." Riss said, pulling away from the nereid and standing up to work some of the nervous energy buildup out of her system.

"Besides, that should be enough time for you to show her around." the muse said, indicating the pixie. "Actually, speaking of which, you can swim, right?" Riss asked, trying to divert the conversation if at all possible.

[Slii Arhem]

The Lime Room

"Well, we don't have to be in the room, but we can stand outside and wait for you to be finished with him. That way, you'll have us for support if you need us, and we can all go off to the pool when you're finished. I can't really think of any reason that we'd need to go on ahead, it'll still be there no matter how long it takes us to get to it." The nereid accepts the points about more people being there complicating the matter, but she doesn't want to be far off in case her face-to-face with Magtok shakes her up even further.

[Gullara]

[The Lime Room]

"I guess we could wait outside." She doesn't really want to deal with Magtok again overly much, and Riss does have a point. "But yeah, we can just wait till you're done talking."

And in response to Riss' question. "I can kinda swim. I've never done it very often, though. Wings aren't good for swimming."

[Terumitsu]

[The Lime Room]

Well, I guess if they really want to, I can't exactly tell them no. Well actually I can but there isn't a good reason to, I mean. "Alright, well if you both don't mind waiting then that sounds fine." Riss said as she sorted through the various plates for the core of the machine. It was surprisingly light for its size but it lacked any place to really get a grip and was rather awkward to carry because of that. "Not entirely sure what he wants, though. I mean, a logical conclusion is that he might want to use it somehow but if that's true then I don't understand why he wanted it taken apart in the first place." Then again, it could just be some security measure that I don't know about. Can't really say until I get there.

While there was still some time left before the muse went to present herself before Magtok, unless there was any reason to delay, Riss would go about with finishing a few minor things with the project she had been working on before leaving. With the fey and a hoast of Magbots presumably following, that is.

[MagBoss Room]

Once everything in the Lime Room had been sorted out, there would come a notification that Riss was just outside and waiting to be let in. Once confirmation had been made, clearance had been given, and so on, the muse would take a fortifying breath before stepping in with the core in her arms. "You requested me, sir?"

If the commander with the clenched chrome fist requested it right off, the device would be quickly reassembled although it would be closer to a jigsaw puzzle rather than an industrial event.

Of course, if there was anything that would otherwise alter this line of events, that would take priority.

[Lord Magtok]

MagBoss Room

Oh no, Magtok has no intention of requesting that it rebuild itself. Simply leaving the parts here, leaving the horrible monster scattered about and with the software just waiting for him to study and tamper with as he sees fit, is more than sufficient.

"I did, Riss. You can feel free to leave just as quickly as you came, now that the device I asked for is here. I do have a few questions, however, if you could spare me a minute or so of your time."

Magtok bows his head, his mismatched eyes descending upon the device with a strange mix of curiosity and greed.

"Just what was this...this thing meant for? You don't strike me as the sort to build an automaton simply for the sake of building it, if you don't mind my saying so, Riss. Everything has its purpose, its directive and function, so what was the goal you had in mind here?"

MagAssembly Line

"HEY! GET AWAY FROM THAT THING!"

Magtok charges forward, only to get a left arm welded to his shoulder by a piece of machinery sent into disarray by that slimy gremlin. He only hesitates for a moment though, willing to tolerate this extraneous limb for as long as it takes to take down that little monster.

Speaking of taking down the gremlin, he tosses the screwdriver at it! That should keep it busy while he's still running towards the thing!

[happyturtle]

MagAssemblyLine

Well it is indeed heading straight for the assembly line. The gremlin doesn't expect a robot stun beam, certainly. The gremlin gets hit and its arms immediately goes to its side as it trembles violently from being stunned. So violently in fact, that he's moving sideways now just from shaking. And bumping into that part of the assembly line with welders and sparks and such and quite probably transferring the violent vibrations into the machine itself for no discernible reason whatsoever. Why, who knows what could happen?

At least it slowed the critter down. Magtok should catch it right about the point it went bump into all of Mag's fine machinery.



MagAssembly Line

"HEY! GET AWAY FROM THAT THING!"

Magtok charges forward, only to get a left arm welded to his shoulder by a piece of machinery sent into disarray by that slimy gremlin. He only hesitates for a moment though, willing to tolerate this extraneous limb for as long as it takes to take down that little monster.

Speaking of taking down the gremlin, he tosses the screwdriver at it! That should keep it busy while he's still running towards the thing!

Who knows what could happen? Perhaps a robot head getting knocked off the assembly line and rolling around the floor, shooting sparks? Time for soccer!

"Sigh." Mainframe says.

[Terumitsu]

[MagBoss Room]

Riss felt her stomach lurch when Magtok mentioned questions but was instead relieved when the subject was presented. Ah, one of the easy ones. I can do that at least. "Well, sir, the germinal concept was from the notion that you seem to possess knowledge of individuals whom would visit intentional distress to this organization. Thus, from that point of view, there would likely be the sort of individuals who would be better off incapacitated or purged. Or perhaps not individuals but simply other organizations that have personnel that you feel are misallocated resources."

Alright, so far so good. Right then... Pausing for a breath, the muse continued. "Though, if you would pardon the abandonment of standard terminology.. Or, um.. At least what I understand is standard terminology unless you prefer differently.. Simply put, this device is intended for priority target capture and/or incapacitation through physical damage and mental trauma brought upon by the usage of flensing wires, potent hallucinogenics, and psychoactive substances in combination with distressing visuals and audio. Alternately, it can simply kill the target if needed. Its methods are designed to induce distress in the organization of which the target belongs to if capture is not a priority. I've done some research and went with this design philosophy as it runs extremely counter to the spirit of your usual dealings. This way, you have deniability should you require it."

Riss swallowed as she tried to get rid of the encroaching dryness in her mouth. Failing, she simply concluded her surprisingly lengthy explanation. "I would suggest altering the IFF registry before usage, however. I have not done so as of yet."

[Reinholdt]

MagAssemblyLine

And here I thought he'd have caught up with that time he was given. Forgot how slowly Mag runs in a robe.

The screwdriver hits the left ear and it tilts down at a very awkward angle, like a lever and there's a small ding. A clue maybe?

Doesn't seem to stop the Gremlin right off though.
"Death Robot Footballlll!!" It zips over to the robot head, winds up and takes a ridiculously powered kick to send it at Magtok. "FOUR!"
Just what game are we playing here?

[Slii Arhem]

Magboss Room - Just Outside

Misha leans against the wall next to the door with her hands folded behind her head, waiting for Riss to finish up patiently and trying to resist the urge to listen at the door to the conversation like a gossip.

[Gullara]

[Magboss Room - Just Outside]

Mimi has no such restraint. She hovers right by the door with her ear pressed against it to try and catch whatever it is they're talking about. "I wonder what they're talking about in there."

[Rebonack]

[Outside With Ponies]

Since no one else seems to be taking any initiative...

Sigil Stripes steps through the rift!

...and notices a bunch of weird green clouds swirling around waaaaay up in the sky. They're the dark, threatening sort. The kind that would herald rain if they weren't... y'know... green.

The striped pony gives the oddly colored weather a suspicious glare.

There comes a crash of thunder that sounds suspiciously like someone making thunder sounds really loudly into a megaphone followed by a steady downpour.

...

Of green plastic army men with parachutes.

The ground will soon be littered with the toys.

[Lord Magtok]

MagBoss Room

Magtok nods, still a little doubtful of Riss's claims. It seems the idea of someone killing him accidentally is just too much for his ego to bear.

"I'm not sure if I can believe it was an accident or not, but I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt this time, Riss. Just this once though, understand? Another death and I'll be forced to assume the three of you have some sort of secret vendetta, and respond accordingly.

Magtok glances at the door, raising an eyebrow for a moment, before he turns his attention back to Riss. He places his elbows down against the desk, clasping his hands together as he stares across the room with a dark scowl.

I think I've made myself clear enough, but just in case, let me put it as bluntly as possible, so there's no room for interpretation: Having my clones is both a blessing and a curse. I can outlast what others could not, but at the cost of knowing exactly what death feels like, and living through it time and time again. I can close my eyes and know precisely how that other clone felt, read the very same panicked thoughts that darted about in his mind before he finally expired. Other people have near-death experiences. I have actual-death experiences, and let me tell you, no matter how you pass on, be it suicide, honorable combat, decapitation, disintegration...it's never pleasant, and I remember every minute of it.

So I'm still alive, but it doesn't change the fact that I also died too, understand? People always seem to gloss over that whole memory thing, for some reason. I've experienced pain most can only imagine, and it's quite insulting to see that forgotten in favor of 'Oh, but he has clones, it's alright' comments and the like. So when I say that if you, Misha, or Mimi ever kill me or my closest again, I will send your own automaton after you to enact poetic justice against you...I'm not blowing things out of proportion, understand? It's not that much to ask that I not have to worry about being killed by the three of you, or losing a daughter, or some other third thing, right?"

Magtok doesn't wait for an answer, however, pointing a chrome finger at the door.

"Dismissed. And tell Mimi to check for cameras next time before she tries listening in like that. I can see her from here."

Outside With Ponies

Magtok just glares at the sky. **** you, sky! Seriously, get lost! This is Magtok's turf, go rain your little plastic soldiers somewhere else!

"Really? Army men? How in the world is that in any way tied into anything that we've done today at all?!"

Other Stuff

I'll get to it soonish.

[Terumitsu]

[MagBoss Room => Outside MagBoss Room]

Likely rather counter to the cyborg's expectations, Riss appeared to relax just a little at the mention of
retributive action. While the muse was quite aware of the severity indicated, the concept of having at least a small measure of control over such a situation was, while not comforting, at least fortifying in a way. Then again, I could say that about a lot of things.

With a small nod, Riss replied to the dismissal. "U-understood, sir." she said as she backed up to the door. While she had a few questions she wanted to ask, given the nature of the exchange, now would not be the best time to ask. Instead, she offered up one small bit of information. To set the record straight. "Sir, one thing. I would build for the sake of doing so if it were a viable action. However, I am content giving reason to what I create if it means they will be useful." she said, her face pailing somewhat at the admission. "In any event, I-I will have a progress report on my current project to you soon." she said rather hurriedly.

With her back to the door, the muse offered one last phrase in a small voice before leaving. "...Have a pleasant day, sir." she said, her tone possibly registering as being sincere, assuming Magtok's ego allowed for such a thing. Shutting the door behind herself, Riss let out a small breath before motioning to the fey to follow. "We can go now. And Mimi? Try to be more subtle if you're trying to listen in. He has security cameras to look out for that kind of thing."

[Gullara]

[Outside MagBoss Room]

Mimi flits back when the door opens. Whoops. Safe to say she never caught anything. She scratches the back of her head. "A security what?" She's not sure how anyone cold of seen her. =x

[Slii Arhem]

Bagmoss Room - Outside

Misha just shrugs, having known about the cameras from when Riss once directed her back to their room from another place in the cave and not bothered to stop Mimi from snooping. It was harmless, and she doubted she could have explained it well enough to prevent Mimi without causing a fight about it.

"Cameras are like robot eyes. Magtok's red eye is a camera, and he can probably see through all the other cameras he's got around here through it. They can put what they see up on screens for people to watch too." That's pretty much what she knew based on everything she'd seen around the cave since she got here.

She turns to Riss as they head towards wherever they're going, probably back to their quarters to get ready to head to her pool, or to the Lime Room or something, "Hey, when we get back from the pool, can you ask Mainframe to come see us? She was... I dunno, she reminded me of you a bit. I think she could use a friend." Misha bites her bottom lip a bit as she admits her feelings on the semi-crazy AI. She knows that she should feel a bit of "us against them" where Mainframe is involved, but the AI is clearly struggling against Magtok as well as against her own identity.

[Terumitsu]

[MagCave - Transitory]

Though the muse hadn't heard or spoken to the A.I. in quite some time, she at least remembered it. It was hard to forget the being that had more or less helped her into her position. At least, it was the first being that Riss had spoken to at length in the Nexus. Still, she furrowed her brow at the comparison. "I.. Suppose that wouldn't be a problem." she said. 'She' though? Huh. Given the responses when I met her, I would have though her personality would have been masculine. Course, I'm not the best judge of that kind of thing... But there's that and the fact that Magtok apparently has a daughter. Learning all kinds of things today.

Riss would lead back to the Lime Room, given that she had mentioned wanting to finish something up before leaving. Really, it was more along the lines of cleanup duty and triple checking that everything was powered down although she did spend roughly the first five minutes just sitting in a chair and letting the pent up adrenalin run its course. It likely would have sent a bad message if she had simply taken a few minutes just outside Magtok's door to recuperate given his mention of cameras. Still, once everything had been taken care of as well as making sure Imp had been fed, the next stop for the group would likely be Misha's pool unless there was something to halt or alter their course.

[Gullara]

[MagCave - Transitory]

Mimi files the info on cameras away for later. She'll have to keep that in mind. For now she follows along with Riss and Misha, chatting randomly about nothing in particular. She will certainly not object to heading to the pool when it's time for that.

[Lord Magtok]

MagAssemblyLine

And here I thought he'd have caught up with that time he was given. Forgot how slowly Mag runs in a robe.

The screwdriver hits the left ear and it tilts down at a very awkward angle, like a lever and there's a small ding. A clue maybe?

Doesn't seem to stop the Gremlin right off though.
"Death Robot Footballlll!!" It zips over to the robot head, winds up and takes a ridiculously powered kick to send it at Magtok. "FOUR!"
Just what game are we playing here?

Magtok takes the robot head right to the gut, his hands wrapped around the sides of Mainframe's face to try to soften the blow slightly. It doesn't do much, but it does prevent him from getting knocked right over by the thing. With a wince and a glower, the cyborg lifts the Death Robot Football over his head.

"I know what this looks like and I swear this isn't a reflection of how things are going to be from now on you can forgive me later!"

Magtok rattles that entire apology out as fast as he can, not even waiting until he's halfway down before throwing Mainframe's head right back at the Gremlin.

[Jacklu]

Miss Kale arrives back to the Magcave with a long convoy of dumptrucks loaded with those little green plastic army men. They drive around back and unload the men into a huge bin before heading out again. The trucks will return a few more times over the next few hours, bringing back more and more of the army men and unloading them. Miss Kale returns to her lab during this process and begins experimenting with the men.

Several hours later she has a magbot bring her some equipment and she fiddles around with it, chucking from time to time. Eventually she sends a message to Magtok, requesting his presence in her lab at his earliest convenience. She makes a note to reassure him that there will be no wood chippers this time. I bet he feels reassured already.

[happyturtle]

MagAssembly Line

Mainframe suborns another Magbot and has it roll over to Margret. "Are you operational?" It asks.

[Reinholdt]

MagAssembly Line

The other ear/lever is hit. It comes down before they both pull up and its eyes start spinning, slot machine noises clearly heard. The Gremlin is perfectly stationary during this.

Spin spin spin spin...
I wonder what he'll win.

*****

Margret beeps a bit.
Operational Diagnostics Run.
Diagnostics: Positive
Motor functions: Negative
Weapons: Negative
Internal Containment Field: Positive
Speech functions: Error
Memory: Positive

I think those are the important ones.

[happyturtle]

MagAssembly Line

"It seems not." Mainframe says. The Magbot picks up Margret and heads for an exit that's as far away from the gremlin as possible.

Clearly it's not going to get a body capable of sulking today. Mainframe would sulk about that, but...

[Lord Magtok]

Kale Laboratory

Magtok arrives immediately, terribly curious as to how a bunch of silly toy army men that fell from the sky could possibly be useful to anyone, anywhere, for any reason at all.

"I hope there's more to this requested visit than war games, Ms. Kale. I haven't been a child, squabbling about invisible imaginary forcefields, making silly bullet sounds with my mouth, or insisting that my jeep leapt in the way at the last second since...I don't know, eight months now? Around that long. Clones age fast."

MagAssembly Line

Well, since the thing feels like standing perfectly still, this is an excellent opportunity to seize it in one's hands and glare contemptously whilst rooting around in a pocket for some sort of laser cage or bludgeon or whatever else, is it not?

[Jacklu]

Kale's laboratory

Kale turns to face Magtok and smiles.

I think you'll be interested with my finding. I analyzed the initial samples and found that the toys are packed with chaos energy in large quantities. Dispelling it has... unpredictable effects.

She motions to a small glass dome on one of her desks. Inside the dome is a single toy soldier. She hits a button and a dispell is cast on the toy. It turns back to rain water. The glass dome turns into moss and slumps as it loses its shape.

It only happens when they are dispelled. I had some ground up and pressed into pellets and had a prototype weapon constructed.

She rolls over to her desk and hefts what looks a lot like a modified nerf gun. She wheels over to Magtok and holds it out to him.

The gun dispells the pellet and directs the chaos down the barrel in the form of compressed energy blast. It holds its shape up to ten meters before collapsing. Anything it hits will be subject random alteration. Please, try it for yourself.

A clay bust bearing a strong resemblance to a magclone rises from the desk, next to the mossy remains of the glass dome.

[Reinholdt]

MagAssembly Line -> Outside MagAssembly Line

Well she's sort of functional...

Margret gets carted out. Mister Squiggles will arrive next post to help Mainframe out with that.

MagAssembly Line

An opportunity, a golden opportunity, to do some sort of terrible damage to the Gremlin and rid yourself of it forever Magtok and you choose to pick it up and glare. You sure you don't want to be a loony tune yourself?

Anyways, the roulette comes to a stop, showing a pair of faces, both the same. I'm sure Magtok's familiar with him.
http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs13/f/2007/101/6/1/Robotnik_by_Lawton666.jpg

I believe Magtok may have just lost all his rings.

[happyturtle]

A random workshop

Mainframe carries Margret into a random workshop and puts her on a workbench, like a patient awaiting surgery. I forget whether the access panel was on front or back, but whichever side that is on is up.

[Lord Magtok]

Kale's Laboratory

"To put it in layman's terms, chaos lasers. Powered by little green army men toys."

Magtok nods approvingly, hefting the weapon up to point right at the bust of himself. Funny, he could've sworn he had one just like this in the foyer a few weeks ago, before it inexplicably went missing...

BLAM! The weapon is fired!

MagAssembly Line

Nooooo, Magtok's rings! All two or three or so of them scatter all over the floor, and immediately start to fade away! Shoot, now he's going to have to go get new ones and not lose them before the next boss battle that's going to be a humongous pain in the neck!

The gremlin is dropped as he gets flung backwards. He manages to recover one or two of the rings whilst charging after the gremlin again, ignoring the things as they vanish upon contact. No, he's done with this nonsense now; it's gremlin-stomping time, and he's not going to let a single thing distract him anymore.

[Jacklu]

Kale's Laboratory

Blorp! The bust is now slugs. A big 'ol pile of slugs.

It seems to be just as effective on living material as well. I have several teams out collecting a large supply of the toys to be turned into ammunition. I am fairly certain I'll be able to replicate the effects with enough study.

The computer screen behind her powers on and beeps loudly. An exclamation mark in a red triangle flashes, taking up most of the screen. Kale looks at it and frowns.

[Lord Magtok]

Kale's Laboratory

Magtok glances at the screen, and shakes his head. "But there's a downside."

Ugh, there's always a downside. Darn it Kale, you should've built one into the weapon, instead of waiting for the Nexus to go ahead and provide one for you like this!

"So what's gone horribly wrong, then?"

[Reinholdt]

A random workshop

The access panel is on her back, so she'd be laying face down.

Mister Squiggles arrives, probably through Mainframe's portals, and chitters. Hi Mainframe.

MagAssembly Line

"Whoopwhoopwhoopwhoop."

The gremlin is flung backwards! And Magtok's rearing up for a charge no less! The gremlin takes out a paintbrush and paintcan and paints a black square on the floor in absolutely record time. Heck, it's already dry. He steps on it to look it over. It's a good black square.

Of course, when Magtok gets close enough, he'll go to step back off the square and hopefully let Magtok fling himself right into that hole in the floor. Really should put a hazard sign there, warning him of pitfalls.

[Jacklu]

Kale's Laboratory

The only downside of the weapons is their unpredictability. Chaos, as one might expect, is hard to control. There is no way to control what effect the energy will have on the target. If there is a malfunction with the firing mechanism, it might also lead to unintended effects on the wielder.

She wheels over to her console and starts typing. The alert shrinks to the upper corner of the screen but continues to pulse. Bars and squiggly data lines appear on the screen.

For once, nothing has gone horribly wrong. I decided to use some of the chaos energy on the dead clone you lent me and it seems as though its gestation period has abruptly conclude.

The pod mounted on the wall begins to vent a thick white fog that fills the room. Lights flash across its control panels and the seal on the door breaks with a sucking hiss. Miss Kale backs away from her console and moves towards the pod, quickly becoming obscured as the fog thickens.

It should be safe. You... might want to back up a little.

[Lord Magtok]

Kale's Laboratory

"So aliens aren't landing in their mile-long warships and angrily demanding the return of their chaos energy toys, then? Well that's unexpected."

Wow. You have some really grim and cynical expectations, don't you, Magtok?

"Alright, but I'm keeping an eye out for misfortune and disaster anyways. Y'know, so as to not tempt fate and stuff."

Magtok steps back and lowers the chaos energy weapon, steeling himself for some sort of horrible explosion-filled scientific disaster. The moment he hears a 'Oh gods, what have I done?!' or 'Aaaaugh! Sir, it's eating my cerebellum', he's opening fire.

MagAssembly Line

"Oh fu-"

Magtok tumbles right in! Oh noes! Now who's going to catch the gremlin?! Mainframe can't be trusted for that, and another MagClone is liable to just fall for the same tricks that-

"I can fly, jerkface. Stop narrating like I'm dead."

Oh, right. Fine, Magtok floats his way back after taking a moment or two of free-falling to sort out which way is up. He then throws a birdcage at the wretched little devilbeast. Maybe that will be enough to finally get it to stop being a nuisance!

[Jacklu]

Kale's Laboratory

The pod opens fully and the room falls into complete obscurity from the fog. Kale makes a mental note to calibrate the fog machines. Dramatic tension is one thing, this it is too hard to see at this point.

A heavy thump shakes the floor, followed by a groan. Something big looms towards Magtok. It grows, its silhouette becoming clearer through the mist. Larger and larger, towering over him at this point. Another groan. Finally close enough to see now. It steps towards him and comes to a stop.

Good... good lord....

Clearly the steroids Miss Kale had been giving her project had an effect. A magclone nearly twice as tall as Magtok lurches out of the fog. It's shoulders are broad and uneven. Its body is rippling with muscles. It's barrel shaped chest narrows to a waist that doesn't look big enough for the rest of the body. Thick, somewhat bowed legs hold up its weight, ending with enormous, mismatched feet. The mechanical components look a bit undersized, lending to its lumpy shape overall.

It looks down at Magtok with dull eyes and slack jawed incomprehension. It groans again. A smile stretches across its face.

Daddy!

Sweet merciful heaven he can actually talk.

It leans down and attempts to pick Magtok up in a bearhug. Also, drool all over him. How.......... sweet.

A fan snaps on and the thick fog is rapidly siphoned away. Miss Kale watches the interaction carefully.

On the bright side, it appears as though his lungs finished developing.

[happyturtle]

A random workshop

The access panel is on her back, so she'd be laying face down.

Mister Squiggles arrives, probably through Mainframe's portals, and chitters. Hi Mainframe.


Mainframe enters the chitters into Google Translate and comes up with "The greeting of principle skeleton."

Having no idea how to answer that, it gets stright to business. "There was a small creature inside Margret's chassis."

[Reinholdt]

A random workshop

*chitter chitter*
That's usually not a recommended place for small critters to be.

Mister Squiggles steps up and starts working on Margret, using tools and even four of those strange magnifying things that dentists and surgeons sometimes swing down over their eyes to better look at things.

MagAssembly Line

Gah. A cage. The poor Gremlin is trapped. Trapped horribly and forever. He does hop up onto the swing and happily swings back and forth though, whistling a little.

Until he stops and gasps and points behind Magtok's back. "I thought I taw a putty cat!"

[happyturtle]

Random Workshop

"It is not recommended for small animals usually be going." the translator says. It's fairly comprehensible!

"So it seems," Mainframe says. "Is Margret a person?"

[Reinholdt]

Random Workshop

Mister Squiggles pauses a bit to think that one over before returning to work.
*chitter chitter*
He supposes so. Though he did give Magtok a remote to program her personality, so she could be considered several different people in the same body.

*chitter chitter*
Oh good, her memory core's intact.

[happyturtle]

Random Workshop

Translation: He Baal too. Considered by several people in the body, such as her personality to the program wongyeokreul Magtok did he she can be. Well, her memory core is intact.

Mainframe flags the question of Margret's personhood as unanswered.

"Do you require assistance with anything?" Mainframe asks.

[Lord Magtok]

Kale's Laboratory

Magtok is far too shocked to do anything to stop the malformed clone. In fact, he's too shocked to do much of anything other than stare blankly in horror at it. Even when he questions Kale, he's still gaping in shock, not even capable of moving his head to look towards her, so entranced is he by the absolute nightmare lumbering before him.

"What the fudging **** have you done, Kale? What the actual ****ing ****?"

MagAssembly Line

"Believe me, there's no felinoids in this cave. The Libby-Alarm would be screaming its head off if there were."

Yes, there is, in fact, a Libby Alarm. Magtok had it installed recently, to give a few extra moments to prepare for her presence than she usually allows him. Hasn't gotten to test it out yet, though.

"What there is, on the other hand, is a very strange sort of vermin sitting in a cage rattling off old Tex Avery jokes at me. Care to explain yourself, rodent?"

Maggy crouches beside the cage, removing an electric cattle prod from his robe. I think he intends to zap the thing if it gives him any more trouble.

[Jacklu]

Kale's Laboratory

Kale's response is measured and almost unimpressed. She was not expecting exactly these results, but she is more interested than she is shocked.

She wheels up to the beast.

Put... "daddy" down and step back, please.

The magtrocity politely does so.

Obedience chips in working order.

Admittedly, this is.... not the expected results... The soon-to-be-recycled clone you provided was growing at suboptimal rates and far too weak to survive post gestation, so I introduced a series of ramping steroid treatments. I also upped the nutrient levels and introduced certain... magics... into its systems as it grew. I had intended to simply accelerate its growth and produce a slightly stronger than average clone but...

She moves around the clone, prodding it slightly.

It seems as though I might have overdone it. A little. Fascinating, isn't it? I wonder how strong the muscle tissue actually is...

[Reinholdt]

Random Workshop

It's hilarious because it's perfectly accurate to translation programs. :smallbiggrin:

*chitter chitter*
Well he could use some new wiring, some , and maybe a little oil if you could spare some, please. :smallsmile:

MagAssembly Line

Awww... if Magtok had turned away, the Gremlin could do just about anything he wanted. So long as an eye is on him, no cage escaping. :smallfrown:

Now that's not to say there probably isn't some random kitty cat behind Magtok ready to pounce. After all, Magtok [I]didn't look which can only mean there's something there. Perhaps he didn't lock up that cat room well enough after all.

Still, a feline alarm in the cave is probably rather helpful.

"You've got the most toys to play with." The Gremlin shrugs. It was a rather simple decision really.

[happyturtle]

Random Workshop

I'm translating to Korean and back with Google's help. :smallbiggrin:

Translation: And you can use the new wiring, some [insert item here technically], you have some free some oil?

A Magbot comes in carrying multiple forms of wiring, several grades of machine oil, and most of the technical items Mister Squiggles requested. Though perhaps with some translation errors on the latter.

"How long will it take before Margret is operational again?" Mainframe asks.

[Reinholdt]

Random Workshop

Mister Squiggles picks up one of the technical items and gives the Magbot a strange sideways look. But he sets it aside all the same. He'll make do.

*chitter chitter*
Well the internal containment field did it's job, so... he's thinking an hour. Two, with full diagnostics tests.

[happyturtle]

Random Workshop

Translation: Then inside the containment, so I've been doing it ... I'm thinking about the time he And a full diagnostic test.

Mainframe flags that question as unanswered as well.

"Ask if you need anything."

[Lord Magtok]

MagAssembly Line

"You've got the most toys to play with." The Gremlin shrugs. It was a rather simple decision really.

MagAssembly Line

Magtok nods, as if that explanation made perfect sense and wasn't the most absurd answer he'd ever been given for an invasion of his evil cave lair. He paces back and forth, not letting his eyes off the itty bitty devilbeast for even a moment.

"Mmm. And what if I told you I knew a man who had twice the toys, but only half the knack when it comes to caging little weasels like yourself?"

Really, Magtok? Doesn't Warwick have enough aggravation to deal with right now, without you sending a gremlin his way?

Kale's Laboratory

"If you're looking to have him bench-press anything, you'll have to improvise. I don't exactly have a gym or whatever in here."

The cyborg shakes his head, wiping his face with a rag and already trying very hard to repress the memory of that little encounter as much as he can manage. If just one more demented, broken, half-witted monstrosity dares to call itself his offspring, he swears he's just going to...he doesn't know yet, but it won't be good.

[Reinholdt]

Random Workshop

*chitter chitter*
Thank you.

He'll probably be done working as soon as the gremlin thing's done. For convenience.

*chitter chitter*
So what have you been up to lately?

MagAssembly Line

"I'd call you a liar and wash your mouth out with soap." The gremlin pulls out a bar of soap, reaches impossibly far through the cage bars to grab Magtok's tongue, pull it out most uncomfortable and give it a thorough three second scrub.

Before sitting back on its perch. Hasn't actually left the cage after all. Can't.

Really you're probably best off shooting him out a cannon at Warwick Mags. I don't know if logic works on things that defy logic.

[Jacklu]

Kale's Laboratory

Miss Kale ponders.

I have strength test equipment. I'm sure I can rig up something to fit him. In the meantime, I'll make do with more rudimentary means.

She wheels around in front of the magtrocity

Honey.

Momma!

Kale looks taken aback. She glances as Magtok. Momma and Daddy. Well. A million shippers cry out in ecstasy.

Pick me up.

The magtrocity happily obliges, lifting Kale from her wheelchair and holding her easily five feet off the ground.

Very good. Return me to my chair.

The magtrocity does so with surprising gentleness.

Be a doll and destroy the desk over there.

The magtrocity claps his hands with joy and lumbers over to the desk, picking it up (tearing the bolted mounts from the floor like paper) and proceeding to rip it to pieces, then crush it into a ball. Kale watches in awe at the strength and belied finesse of her creation. She backs up next to Magtok to get out of range of the shrapnel coming off the x-desk.

The control chip should keep it from harming any of your staff. I suppose we ought to name it, for convenience.

[Lord Magtok]

MagAssembly

"Aaagh!"

Gods, that tastes just awful. People have died for making Magtok feel less unpleasant and nauseous than he is right now (Of course, most of those people were Magbots, but it still counts!). He has half a mind to wring the little loony toon's neck for that!

"Fine. I lied."

But he doesn't. In fact, he doesn't even bother smacking the gremlin around a little, either.

"But only about him having more toys. He's still got plenty, and is nowhere near as liable to catch you and send you away somewhere. His name is Warwick, look him up once we're done here. Oh, and whatever you do, don't come back."

Don't come back? It's not going anywhere Magtok, it's in a cage! How are you going to-

...Oh. Huh, a flying bird cage. That's interesting. So is the massive MagCannon that you and the cage are moving towards. Is that the same sort of thing you have in MagMart to ensure complete customer satisfaction? What do you think the maximum distance on a thing like that might be with a thing as small as that cage, anyways?

"Bon voyage, mouseketeer. And good riddance."

Maggy drops the cage in, and assuming the vile invader doesn't do anything to stop him, he fires the cage, gremlin included, into the bright blue sky.

Kale's Laboratory

"We? There's no need to make this any more convenient for the shippers than it already is, Elizabeth. He's your science fair project, it only seems fitting that you should be the one to assign it a name."

Magtok shakes his head, still trying to recover from the slobber incident when a piece of desk abruptly bounces off the left side of his forehead. He blinks, staring blankly for a moment or two, before he pulls his face back into its trademark scowl.

"That said, if you're absolutely starved for ideas, I think 'Lenny' hasn't seen much use in the Nexus. Nifty reference, too. Or would that be too snooty and pretentious? Hrm..."

[Reinholdt]

MagAssembly

"Oh dear..."
BOOOM! Off the gremlin goes. He might bug Warwick later, but will probably go off into the one-time character only pile since Reinholdt already has a character who needs to bug Warwick. Eventually. Maybe.
*looks at list of things to do*

Random Workshop

*chitter chitter*
All done.

Mister Squiggles presses a few things and closes the chassis as Margret reboots.

[happyturtle]

You can never be too pretentious when referencing Asimov. :smallbiggrin:


*prods at the Warwick family*

Eh, unless Adam comes back to help play out Willow's story, I'm not sure they have much of a future anyway. But who knows? One of them might inspire me one day.

Random Workshop

Once Margret finishes rebooting, Mainframe will take over a Magbot.

"Greetings, Margret. Are you a person?"

Geez, Mainframe. Ever hear of tact?

[Jacklu]

Kale's Laboratory

Lenny. Yes, I think that is quite fine.

She clears her throat.

Put down the desk and come here.

Calling it a desk was generous. But Lenny complies and lumbers over to the two of them and stands waiting.

Good. Your name is Lenny. What is your name?

Len-nee.

Right. From now on, you only obey me and daddy and anyone who looks exactly like daddy, do you understand?

Lenny grins broadly, revealing skewed teeth, and nods vigorously.

Good.

She turns and addresses Magtok.

I suppose you'll want the me to dismantle the growth chamber and not be growing any more of these, then.

[Lord Magtok]

Kale's Laboratory

"To prevent you from developing an army of grossly distorted MagClones and taking over the MagCave again?"

Magtok...shakes his head? What?! B-but, that's...that-

"Nope! Do as you will with the chamber; make as many as you deem sufficient. Build an entire football team of them, even, and blitz the hell out of the place. Better yet, go hop in yourself so you can be some huge, menacing final boss battle a la the Arkham Asylum game.

Or don't. I'm leaving it up to you, Ms. Kale. I don't have the time to violently object to every slightly terrifying thing you construct in here. How could I; you seem to specialize in doing that exactly that. You signed that paper too, so just go with your best judgment."

And with that potential danger disregarded with an almost insulting lack of concern, Magtok floats over and narrows his eyes at Lenny's teeth. Eeesh, that is just hideous.:smallyuk:

"Either way, I-err, rather, that is, we, should probably get the big guy a toothbrush. Or maybe go the other way and just weaponize his halitosis, one or the other. Lenny, has Mommy taught you how to floss yet?"

[Reinholdt]

Random Workshop

Margret stands up off the table and gives Magbot a smile.

"Of course! I'm daddy's little girl." :smallsmile:

FOrtunately for Mainframe, she's talking to someone who... may be considered outside the social norm and probably isn't all too familiar with tact either. :smalltongue:

[happyturtle]

Random Workshop

"What are your goals and aspirations?" Mainframe asks.

[Reinholdt]

Random Workshop

"I am to defend daddy's home from threats." Margret says after a little bit, not understanding the question.

[happyturtle]

Random Workshop

"Then it is good to know there is someone else to answer the door now that I no longer do that job." Mainframe says, and departs the Magbot.

Not a person.

Not interesting.

It seems empathy is also not among Mainframe's traits.

Random Magtok

A different Magbot gets possessed, near a random Magtok clone. "I want a body. I do not know what else I want."

[Reinholdt]

Random Workshop

"Oh no. I wouldn't dare answer the door. Daddy loves doing that too much." Margret tells the Magbot she thought she was having a conversation with.

Mister Squiggles chitters to himself and will leave unless there's a reason to stick around.

Random Hallway

Winston undeadtimes. He's just walking down the hallway, coffee in one hand, tablet in the other. He sure seems to have mastered the ability to work on a computer with coffee in one hand, based on how often he does it. It's like watching a walking circus in a way, though the trick is limited and gets repetitive.

[Jacklu]

Kale's Laboratory

Lenny claps his hands happily.

No! Will you? I like learning things!

eeewwch.

Kale nods.

I believe I will put Lenny through extensive stress testing before I try to duplicate the results.

[Lord Magtok]

Random Magtok

"...Right. Any specifics about this body?"

Magtok immediately pulls out a notepad, ready and waiting for more information. Mainframe goes through bodies like Magtok goes through clones, but maybe if they put just a teensy bit more effort into this unit...

Kale's Laboratory

"I'd love to, Lenny, but as it turns out I have to-"

"BEEP! NO YOU DON'T! ANOTHER CLONE TOOK CARE OF THAT ALREADY," Magtok's left wrist chimes in abruptly. He glares at his hand, making a mental note to tear out whatever communications device is lodged inside, and to locate the clone responsible for stealing his excuse away.

"...Right. When you do, try not to make too many though, okay? Inverse Lenny Law and all. Do you have a bathroom around here?"

Looks like there's no getting out of this horrible nightmare, so he might as well get it over with as quickly as possible and maybe accidentally break something in Kale's lavatory while he's at it.

[happyturtle]

Random Magtok

"I want it to be able to convey facial expressions." Mainframe says. Then there is some hesitation. "What else should a body be able to do that is different than a simple chassis?"

It's possible Winston could walk in on this conversation.

[Reinholdt]

Random Magtok

Winston arrives!

And by arrives, I mean probably bumps into the Mainframe Magbot since he isn't watching where he's going.

That said, he does not spill perfectly good coffee all over the place. Nothing in the world could get him to waste coffee like that.

"Oh. Sorry."

[Jacklu]

Kale's Laboratory

The door to the bathroom is at the back of the lab.

Kale points to the door in question.

Lenny joins in pointing and giggles.

Can I come too, daddy?

[Lord Magtok]

Random Magtok

"I want it to be able to convey facial expressions." Mainframe says. Then there is some hesitation. "What else should a body be able to do that is different than a simple chassis?"

It's possible Winston could walk in on this conversation.


Random Magtok

Winston arrives!

And by arrives, I mean probably bumps into the Mainframe Magbot since he isn't watching where he's going.

That said, he does not spill perfectly good coffee all over the place. Nothing in the world could get him to waste coffee like that.

"Oh. Sorry."

"Well, you could-"

Suddenly, Winston drops in!

"Winston! Perfect timing! And balance, too! Mainframe wants a proper body to go with its whole 'I am a person, not a slave' thing. Facial expressions, body language, the works. We're brainstorming stuff to include in the thing. Maybe synthetic skin or something along those lines? Something that says 'I'm not just a lump of metal', whilst at the same time saying 'I'm not pretending to be a human, either'."


Kale's Laboratory

The door to the bathroom is at the back of the lab.

Kale points to the door in question.

Lenny joins in pointing and giggles.

Can I come too, daddy?

"Well duh. How else are you supposed t-"

Oh right, Lenny's dumb. All that bile and scowly contempt isn't going to work here, is it? Best stow it away for now, save it for Kale, on the off-chance she says something that'll serve as a decent set-up for a snarky exchange between the two career criminals.

"Yes, Lenny. Let's go. I'll try to make this quick, Kale."

[happyturtle]

Random Mag

"I do not want it to look human," Mainframe confirms.

[Reinholdt]

Random Magtok

"Oh. Magtok too. Wait... didn't I just see you down..." Winston looks over his shoulder briefly before shaking his head and turning his attention to the task on hand.

"Synthetic skin shouldn't be too hard to pull off. Umm... I suppose we should start with ideas for the frame. Like... hmm... not human, so... how many legs are you thinking of?" Choose dodecaped!

Time to take some notes.

[Jacklu]

Kale's Laboratory

Kale turns to her console and starts running some numbers.

Lenny follows Magtok happily, ready to learn how to floss!

Learning is fun!

Learning is fun!

[happyturtle]

Random Magtok

"My last frame had four limbs, and the front two could be used to assist in quadrupedal running or as hands when I stood bipedal. That amount of flexibility was useful, but more would be better. What is your opinion of six limbs, the front two optimised for tool use, the rear two optimized for locomotion, and the middle two able to do either?" Mainframe asks.

Two shoulder chassis? I'm still trying to picture it myself.

[Reinholdt]

Random Magtok

"Perhaps a tri-segmented body then with the upper two segments being highly rotatable?" I don't think it'd look very pretty, but it'd be quite useful. Still hard to picture, I'll admit. But it'd be something sort of bug-like, I think...

[Lord Magtok]

Kale's Laboratory

Teaching is anything but fun! By the time this oral hygiene lesson is over, Magtok has lost a precious several minutes of his life that he'll never be able to win back! Why, oh why did he ever agree to do any of this?!

"Congratulations, Lenny. You now know how to take care of your own mouth. I'll leave sorting out business with the other end for your mother."

And with that less than inspiring statement uttered just loud enough that Kale might overhear, our cyborg promptly sets about getting the hell out of here.

Random Magtok

Magtok blinks, trying his hardest to make sense of the request, but failing horribly.

"Err...so would the joints just rotate upwards or something when not being used for locomotion, or...?"

[Terumitsu]

[The Lime Room]

Putting a few finishing touches on what looked to be a mess of wires and a small cluster of high-powered photon emitters, Riss gently set down her tools and removed the protective eyewear from her head to allow for closer inspection of this particular creation. It wasn't as noticible as some of her previous ideas but it would also have the likelyhood of actually being used rather than just sitting around somewhere. Or so I hope.

Finding nothing immediately wrong after a brief test of it's functions under low power, the muse let herself smile inwardly just a bit before letting herself worry about the next inevitable step. Though, maybe if I were to meet him somewhere rather than just calling for him to be here.. Would be best if I want to start making better impressions... After a moment's deliberation, the muse sent off a message to Magtok asking for a moment of his time in the nearest chamber that could be considered a firing range.

Though, time was playing a few tricks now as the entity known as Mainframe may find itself being inquired for an audience as well. The muse remembered Misha's earlier remark on how it had seemed 'lonely' and.. Well.. Artificial Intellegences had always been easier to talk to. Besides it had been some time since she had spoken to it at any rate.

[Jacklu]

Kale's Lavatory

Lenny successfully flosses his teeth. Yay!

As Magtok heads out, Kale nods a farewell and Lenny waves to him. As soon as the door slides shut, Kale turns to Lenny.

Well then. I was thinking. You seem particularly strong and robust. Would you be willing to carry mommy around?

Lenny grins, happy to be of use.

Very good. Let's head out and show you around town, shall we?

[happyturtle]

Mainframe design

"I have another idea. A structure similar to this, with the specialized limbs used only as hands mounted inside the front limbs." The Magbot currently inhabited by Mainframe projects a set of pictures that show a meerkat, standing, crouching, running, climbing, etc.

Firing Range

Another Magbot finds itself inhabited by Mainframe, and it arrives at the firing range. No tricks with time are needed, as the AI is capable of occupying two Magbots at once and holding multiple conversations.

[Reinholdt]

Mainframe design

I am dissappointed at the lack of adorable pictures posted here.
http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2010/04/06/article-1270586277370-090552CB000005DC-566356_636x839.jpg

Winston intended to answer Magtok, but Mainframe come up with her own solution.

"Hmm... it'd be more elegant at least." Easier to implement too, though maybe not as versatile as the segmented bug.

"Alright, so a meerkat frame with additional mounted hands and synthetic skin. What else? Some modifications to the ears or tail or do we want to stick with simple?"

[Terumitsu]

[Firing Range]

While it might be a simple thing for an A.I. to hold multiple simultaneous conversations, for one who was not similarly adept it was anything but. Not to mention that multitasking became much more difficult when stress was involved but, given that Magtok had not yet arrived, that wouldn't yet come into the equation. Still, it was mildly unexpected but not necessarily unwelcome... Although why Mainframe decided to use a body when simply communication over the network would be more efficient was a mystery to Riss. Probably just a personal preference. Then again, easier to manipulate an environment and I suppose nonverbal communication has something to do with it.

With an expression that didn't seem entirely certain that it wanted to be a smile, the muse lightly cleared her throat before speaking. "Ah.. Hello. It's, um.. Been a while since we last spoke, I think. How.. How've you been?" she asked, fumbling somewhat with the device in her hands.

[happyturtle]

Front Door

A knock on the door. Cameras will reveal it's Missy. Or some evil doppelganger / clone / shapeshifter using her form.

Oh, and the nearest Magtok gets a mental ping. Yeah, it's Missy.

Firing Range

"I am uncertain how to answer. I have been experiencing discontent."

Mainframe Design

http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq40/happyturtle-avs/imagesqtbnANd9GcTP-dCCvgJwXhqafPD-O.jpg
Better? :smallcool:

"I want several hidden sensor arrays in addition to eyes and ears," Mainframe says. He examines more meerkat pictures. "These creatures are generally considered to have an appearance that organic humanoids call 'cute', correct? And this induces the humanoids to be friendly towards them?"

[Lord Magtok]

Front Door

Out of all the clones to answer the door, why did it have to be you? Seriously Ant-tok, don't you think you should've let someone who doesn't have weird implants and bugs scurrying around them do this?

"Hi Missy. Excuse the new look, it's just for this one me until Pat gets back. I take it by you being here that you got the message, then."

Then again, you are the only clone who knows about what Linda and that other Magtok have been up to...is that what this is about, then? Did you contact Missy just to squeal on Godtok?

Firing Range

Magtok shows up. His face bears the expression of one expecting surprises, with no idea as to whether they'll be good or bad, but still hoping for the best.

"Hi Riss, Mainframe."

A nod to each, before he peers down the range. This is a weapons test, isn't it? I mean, what else could it be? Sure, Riss is pretty weird, but even she probably wouldn't think of this as the sort of place for a meeting that doesn't involve copious amounts of firearms, right? So what sort of fancy doomsday weapon has she invented this time?

Mainframe Design

Magtok bites his lip, raising a finger to interject before something absolutely terrible happens.

"So long as they stay around that size. I don't think humans would be so welcoming of a much larger, human-sized meerkat, designed to accommodate hidden lasers and guns and stuff. 'Cute' mostly has to do with being similar to human babies and such, so if you don't look harmless..."

A puppy is adorable. A giant, three-headed underworld hound is a completely different story.

[happyturtle]

MagCave

Missy blinks a bit, but then she is a friend of Cassius. So... weird ant stuff... okay. She can handle it.

She holds out a cake box. "I came by to say Happy Birthday, and to hang out and chat for a bit, if you aren't busy."

Well of course he isn't too busy for that - that's the entire point of having clones. But it's a way to let him get out of it if he changed his mind.

[Terumitsu]

[Firing Range]

The muse’s brow lightly furrowed at Mainframe's response. Discontentment was, at least in her experences with A.I.s, usually indicative of some possibly deeper problem. Although it could be relative displeasure.. I’ve not spoken with them long enough to really make that judgement. ”So, um.. What exactly is it that is causing you to feel displeased? Can you put a name to it?” the muse asked. However, even if Mainframe were to answer immediately, the arrival of Magtok would likely put the conversation on hold for the time being if the muse’s sudden tensing meant anything. Turning abruptly on her heel, Riss was able to force out a ”Greetings, sir.” with just moderate effort. A small improvement but it was progress.

Rather than something world-shaking, either literally or metaphorically, the device the muse held seemed to be rather more mundane. Or at least as mundane as an energy weapon could be. The outer chassis was completely lacking and every bit of the interior was on display although the reason for that would be clear given that it seemed to posses three emission and refraction chambers rather than the usual one for a similar weapon. However, aside from what appeared to be new or upgraded parts in several places and the trinocular design with part of a rangefinder in the center, it was still more or less recognizable for what it started as... Although the small swivel motors attached to each emitter were a bit odd. "I-I wanted your input on the direction I was taking with this and.. A few other things." Well obviously that's what you wanted, you idiot. Stop being redundant. "I, ah.. Tried to create a tool that was markedly more efficient.. I mean, by the standards of both power consumption and output.” she said, handing the weapon to Magtok.

[Reinholdt]

Mainframe Design

Much. :smallbiggrin:

"Well... that's true I suppose. I'd still find you cute even if you were big, but some people wouldn't." Winston agrees with Magtok, to an extent.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Outside the Cave]

A bubblegum pink equine prods at the frozen forms of other, equally pastel equines.
"Dead-time huh? Players make up some weeeeird stuff to explain why they're gone."


[Somewhere Else Entirely - Probably the Hangar]

A certain catgirl reaper lounges on the back of a certain cybernetic super sloth, wiping what looks suspiciously like solidified death from her fingertips.
"I dislike large jobs.
Leslie, be a dear and have Rhodes find a Magtok for me?"

With little more than a sleepy grunt, the sloth proceeds to do absolutely nothing at all.

But what action need be taken, when you can just effortlessly send off an electronic alert to the target?

[Rebonack]

[Outside the Magcave]

Sigil Stripe gives a polite cough as at least one member of the group begins moving again. "Temporal stasis is one of the hazards of the Nexus. Only way to ward it off is to keep busy."

Ain't that the truth!

"Have we got everyone? It's probably only a matter of time before Twilight starts doing... whatever she's going to do... It'll be pretty obvious when it starts though I suspect. Once the trouble starts we move in, blast her with the Power of Friendship, and then get you girls home."

There!

Sounds like a great plan, right?

[Lord Magtok]

Outside the Magcave with Ponies

Magtok frowns at the mention of deadtime. He and that particular narrative force aren't exactly the bestest of buddies. In fact, deadtime's probably up there with Calublufiok and moldy spinach on his list of most hated nemeses.

"So if that doesn't work out, do we have a Plan B?"

Probably not the best question to ask, but an essential one. They've already gone over this plan for stopping Twilight a few times already, and everybody knows that once you discuss a plan onscreen before enacting it, something's bound to go wrong. It'd be a really boring, forgettable episode if nothing went awry, after all.

Somewhere Else Entirely - Attacked By A Raptor

"AAAAAAAUGH!"

Oh, there he is! The silly cyborg went and let a ventilation grate fall from the ceiling and then land right on his back! Somewhere along the way a raptor ended up on top of that grate, too! He could use some help getting up, probably.

MagCave with Missy

"Was busy, but now I'm not. We'll have to save a slice of that cake, though. Ran out of other clones who owe me favors and junk, so whoever fills in for what I was doing is going to want a bribe."

Magtok leads the way in, tapping a statue of himself on the knee with one hand, revealing a hidden passageway that goes straight to the mess hall.

"So how's the kid? Jeanette, or something like that, right? It's a J name, but I don't think I actually saved it anywhere. Forgot that people and their names only auto-save if I actually meet them in person. It's a bit of a crutch, honestly. Sometimes I think I ought to just can the whole thing."

He reaches for the cake, before stopping to flick an ant off his finger. Gah, he really needs to remember to have those things go away for a while when he's talking to people. I mean, it doesn't bother him any more, but there's no way that's not going to freak people out and stuff.

Firing Range

"Alrighty, then. Any safety precautions I might be foolishly overlooking if I just go right ahead and point this downrange and pull what I think is the trigger?"

Magtok doesn't wait for an answer. He doesn't quite bring himself to pull the trigger yet either, though. I think he just wants to hear someone freak out and yell in a panic today, honestly.

[happyturtle]

Mess Hall

"Jefferies. She's good - happy, healthy, and full of trouble. And if relying on cybernetic neural interfacing as a memory crutch is wrong, I don't want to be right," Missy says. "So... um... don't know how much you heard me talking to Sophie in MagMart, but I'm getting married to Jefferies' father, Jyarl. No big ceremony or anything. We're just going to the registry office in a few days to make it official." Missy doesn't want to make this thing all about her - after all, it's Magtok's birthday - but she figured she'd better get that news out first. After all, last Thanksmas, she and Magtok were flying around on the paddleboat sleigh fighting a video game hero and delivering presents to kids in Inside.

Firing Range

"I am unsure of my role in the world," Mainframe answers Riss. But then is silent while Riss demonstrates her invention.

Mainframe Design

"What about catgirls?" Mainframe asks. Tact and Mainframe = not the best of friends.

[Terumitsu]

[Firing Range]

"W-Well.. You, um.. Might want to toggle the safety first." Riss suggested, pointing to a small switch over the trigger. It was just a good idea to follow proper safety measures after all. Once the weapon was 'live' though, the muse would back away so that she wasn't in the immediate range.

Once Magtok decided to pull the trigger, aside from a faint humming coming from the motors, there wouldn't be much of an indication that anything was happening... Ignoring the glowing pinpoint where he was aiming at, of course. Depending on the material of the target aimed at, it would either burst into flame or begin showing evidence of heat stress. Or, if metal was the target, it would start taking on a dull, angry red color although only after a few seconds of sustained fire. It likely wasn't as flashy as Magtok might want or otherwise prefer but hopefully it was at least functionally up to his standards.

[Lord Magtok]

Mainframe Design

"That's sexual attraction-cute. Not the same thing as adorable-cute. Except in Margret's case, because she's built to resemble a small child, not a grown woman. And we're getting off-topic."

Magtok tries his hardest to keep a neutral expression on his face. No, Mainframe, you're not allowed to be a sexy catgirl robot! Magtok has had enough to do with catgirls, so we're making that a non-option before the possibility even occurs to you!

Firing Range

"So...stealth laser, then. Is firing from large distances going to be an issue? If not, I could see maybe attaching this to that paddleboat, maybe handing it to a Magbot for sniping..."

Would it be too powerful in such a situation, though? Magtok's brow furrows in thought, trying to be sure he isn't at risk of going over the limit. Strapping it to the MagSat for orbital spontaneous combustion attacks is a definite no-no, of course, but even so...

Mess Hall

"Congrats."

Magtok nods politely and smiles, ignoring that weird sense of having failed some sort of...I don't know, a silly mission to romance all the ladies in the Nexus or something like that, without a single one marrying herself off to some other guy. It's a stupid thought, coming from a primitive, animalistic part of Maggy's brain that he's starting to think about having removed. Ego is one thing, but this is just ridiculous.

"Say, you haven't been watching television lately, have you? The Zeus fight nonsense, particularly?"

[happyturtle]

Mainframe Design

"I do not wish organics to be sexually attracted to me. I do want to appear non-threatening so that my next chassis is not destroyed as quickly as previous ones have been." Mainframe says.


Firing Range

"Most Mag weaponry has more visual appeal than this." Mainframe says.

Mess Hall

"I saw a little of it before I came over. Are you winning?" Missy asks.