CONTACT.

[ascintilla]

Comment here with the IC date and time.

Comments

sorry for the belated reply!

[ascintilla]

[ Agent Washington, having a bad idea? Stop the presses. ] [ The teleport deck is probably a familiar sight to Puma by now. It's empty, as usual, save for Iota … and she just looks at him, waiting for him to make the first move. Which is maybe a little less familiar. ]

It's cool

[purrtylittlewires]

...

[He approaches, walking over to her. He pauses for a moment.] Is there a place to make hot chocolate on board?

[ascintilla]

There are several galleys. I do not believe we stock the beverage in question, but the quest to procure it would be less than trivial. [ She starts walking. ]

[purrtylittlewires]

[Following along.] Let's do that then.

This might be a serious talk and Aoko's got me trained to drink hot chocolate to make it easier.

[Yes, talk like you're Aoko's dog, WINNING.]

[ascintilla]

Easier for whom?

[ She's not sure what effect a hot beverage can have on such a matter anyway, but she'll take his word for it. Humans are weird. ]

Please tell me two interesting fact about yourself.

[purrtylittlewires]

Hopefully both people.

....

I used to skateboard the halls of the Mother of Invention, a military spaceship, at night when I couldn't sleep. [MATURE ADULTING.]

My memories like to work like a computer filing system now. [Probably easier to say that to her than anything else.

[ascintilla]

[ She says nothing to that, silently turning a corner. ] Is that sustainable? [ Human brains aren't made for that kind of processing, but it does depend heavily on other factors. ]

[purrtylittlewires]

Hell if I know, it was a freak accident, so there's no real precedent. And I may not have told anyone official about it...ever.

But I'm maintained sanity for at least the better part of a decade and I'm like....a really, really slow computer. I can't access everything at once, and if I try, all other processes are on hold while I focus on it. I'll zone out completely and won't recall anything that's happening around me while I do that.

[ascintilla]

[ Glances at him, giving him a long look. Curious? Appraising? Both of the aforementioned, and more? Definitely that last one. She turns another corner, and another, and another, leading him down the long metal hallways of her ship. ] [ She's thinking. And … well, Puma, you know how fast a computer thinks. This quiet is positively dragging. ]

[purrtylittlewires]

...

You're starting to worry me, this is plotting amount of time.

[ascintilla]

I am not plotting anything.

[ a door slides open ahead of them ]

Does it ever cause headaches?

[purrtylittlewires]

Sure you're not.

[He considers.] I wouldn't call them....headaches.

More like head rushes, I suppose.

[Is this the galley yet?]

[ascintilla]

[ NOT YET, THIS IS A REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY BIG SHIP. It's at least the size of the MoI, if not bigger. ] Would you describe them to me?

[purrtylittlewires]

[Well, damn, man.]

It's like...

You were shut down, completely, and you're booted up. Everything is off, but then everything is suddenly on and that's a rush, right?

[ascintilla]

[ Okay, one more hallway, and one more door … Here we are, finally! The galley is as large and as fancy as you'd expect. Iota immediately drifts over to a machine and starts tapping buttons. ]

Yes. That sounds familiar.

[purrtylittlewires]

It's kind of like that. Disorientating, but it wears off quickly.

[ascintilla]

[ Maybe a second or two later, she turns back to him, holding a steaming mug of hot chocolate. Who's awesome, IOTA IS AWESOME. ] Does it happen with any regularity?

[purrtylittlewires]

[DOES SHE HAVE HOT CHOCOLATE TOO?]

Thanks. [Taking it.]

Sort of. It's usually only after I zone out, so I have to be doing it deliberately, or not doing anything long enough for my mind to wander that much.

[ascintilla]

[ YES, SHE DOES. He had said both, after all. ] Do you require external stimuli to return to yourself? [ Takes a tiny sip of the hot chocolate. ]

[purrtylittlewires]

No.

I'll eventually snap out of it on my own, though there's no consistent amount of time it takes, but I'm not...stuck.

But I usually snap out if someone tries to get my attention.

[Does she seem to be enjoying the hot chocolate at least?]

[ascintilla]

[ It's the first time she's tried it. First time she's tried any kind of hot drink, actually, and she takes her time to process it: scent, flavour, sensation, texture, all of it. ]

You cope remarkably well.

[ Takes another, longer sip. ]

[purrtylittlewires]

You do know what pain feels like, right? You'll burn your tongue drinking too much while it's this hot.

And yes, I do. It's why I was a good soldier.

[ascintilla]

Hmm. [ Closes her eyes thoughtfully, taking a deep breath of the warm, chocolate-y steam. ] I stubbed my toe once. It was a fascinating experience.

[ ... ]

I feel that I can safely assume she was more familiar with the sensation of pain than I am.

[purrtylittlewires]

Pain is a warning system. It's to tell us 'don't do that, you're damaging yourself.' It's how we learn to stop doing a thing.

She probably was.

[ascintilla]

I am aware. [ Slits her eyes open, focusing on him again. ] [ And again, she's … she's just quiet. Something is definitely off. ]