[21:21] <Chamelaeon> <<SESSION TWENTY-NINE, LIFTOFF! UH... TWENTY-NINE IS A
PRIME, I GUESS. ANYTHING ELSE INTERESTING ABOUT THE NUMBER 29?>>
[21:23] <Chamelaeon> <<The present day - April 1st. Present time - 1500 hours, Red
Atlanta time. Present location - The Museum of Recent History.>>
[21:24] <Tim> ( ...oh, this is gonna suck. )
[21:25] <Charlie> (QUICK Chacko.. shoot it!!!)
[21:25] <Chako> (I can't until they start.)
[21:25] <Chako> (Even Chako goes for probable cause, and all.)
[21:26] <Chamelaeon> <<You are just inside the door of the Museum of Recent
History. Prag9 is floating in front of you. There is a small turnstile sort of
thing directly ahead, and a few small plaques line the wall beneath some looping
animated pictures on either side. There's barely room for two of you to stand
side to side. There is no one else here. [/END EXPOSITION!]>>
[21:27] <Tim> ...man. Museum gets skimped on the budget, looks like.
[21:27] <Chako> Yeah. Wonder if the military's scrapin' by like this.
[21:28] * Isis frowns. "Somehow I doubt it." She looks around. "I wonder how
doctored this history is."
[21:28] <Vernon> Hmm...
[21:28] <Chamelaeon> [I have no idea. Before, I'd have told you not at all, but
now I'm doubting the integrity of my own historical data.]
[21:29] * Isis shrugs. "Machine, man... you can never know if history is a lie
or not."
[21:31] <Chako> Eh. I wasn't a big history buff anyway.
[21:33] * Charlie peers at one of the animations.
[21:33] <Tim> Well, let's see what we can see. If it says everything's flowers
and roses, we know something's wrong.
[21:33] <Chamelaeon> <<A tiny display flickers into life above the turnstile. It
reads [0:05 till the next showing], then starts counting down. When it hits 0:00
the largish door behind the spacious turnstile opens.>>
[21:34] * Chako snickers, and wanders through the turnstile.
[21:34] * Vernon just shakes his head and goes on through.
[21:34] * Tim follows!
[21:35] <Chamelaeon> <<Beyond the door is a small theatre, with sleythin-sized
seats in a quarter-circle around a blank stage with no curtain. What is probably
the Sleythin equivalent of Muzak is playing.>>
[21:36] * Isis raises an eyebrow. "If there are any animatronic Sleythin, I'm
leaving."
[21:36] * Chako frowns. "I'll flip a coin on blowing 'em up, then leave."
[21:37] <Tim> As long as they don't have tophats and beards, I'll be fine. ...I
think.
[21:38] <Chamelaeon> <<Prag bobs in behind you all. For the record, the place is
decorated in a strange scheme of drapery and ... rivets.>>
[21:39] * Vernon looks around. "...interesting decor."
[21:39] <Tim> Drapery and rivets. Do those go together as badly as I think?
[21:41] <Chamelaeon> <<After a few minutes, the door closes and the lights dim,
which reveals that the stage is actually glowing slightly, as if lit from
beneath.>>
[21:41] * Chako taps her foot. "I hope they get what a summary is."
[21:43] <Chamelaeon> <<A curtain rises from the stage, flowing straight up out
of it. After a second, it parts, to some music that's godawfully cheesy music no
matter WHICH species you are.>>
[21:44] * Tim winces in pain.
[21:44] * Isis puts her fingers to her forehead. "Whatever happened to exhibit
cases?"
[21:44] <Vernon> One of the more unfortunate extinctions, it would seem.
[21:44] * Charlie reclines in one of the large poofy seats. "Might as well
relax. Who knows how long this is going to take!"
[21:44] <Chako> (Left 'em at Red Disney.)
[21:45] <Chamelaeon> <<Behind it is a scene of the city, which slowly zooms
through the city streets in a claymation fashion, buildings literally flowing
towards you, growing, and then dissolving into the ground as new ones spring up
at the back. Eventually you arrive at the Council House, and a voiceover
starts.>>
[21:45] <Chamelaeon> [In the year 7745, the City of Refuge sealed itself up
behind the Gate of Ages. And things progressed as usual.]
[21:46] * Isis glances at Prag. "For reference, what year at we at now?'
[21:47] <Chamelaeon> <<A montage starts - SD sleythin doing random things that
look like parliamentary procedures, kind of.>> [The 108 Laws worked true to
form, despite taxes rising slowly every year.]
[21:47] <Chamelaeon> <<Prag bobs.>> [Uh. 8745 exactly.]
[21:47] * Isis blinks as the narration drones on. "One millennia to the year.
How coincidentally prophetic."
[21:48] * Chako leans forward on her helmet, which she wasn't wearing.
[21:49] <Tim> No kidding.
[21:49] <Chamelaeon> <<Eventually a sleythin shows up holding a vial of steaming
liquid. He looks very happy, and the music reflects this with a grating tune
that's somehow slightly out of key.>> [The true perfection of nanotechnology a
year later eliminated poverty, squalor, and everything bad! To this end, a
Multidimensional Pipe had been installed before the Gate was built, to funnel
matter into this dimensional pocket where we live.]
[21:50] * Isis raises an eyebrow. "Now, that's interesting."
[21:50] <Chako> Can't these p--er, lizards do anything simple?
[21:50] * Tim nods.
[21:51] <Chamelaeon> <<The nanonic puppet fluid turns into a (relatively)
gigantic egg-shaped object, silver and blinking with lights.>> [The Egg
continued to guide and advise the Councils. Anyone can petition the Egg for an
audience, but it has only granted 4 audiences in the last 600 years.]
[21:52] * Isis chuckles. "Sort of comforting. The spiders have had a thousand
years to exploit that particular weakness, and never did."
[21:52] <Chako> Yeah, but they didn't have a chance until we opened the door,
did they?
[21:53] * Isis shakes her head. "It has to be something continuous, I think,
unless the lizards have managed to break a number of fundamental laws and can
create matter from nothing."
[21:54] <Isis> What's more interesting is that comment about the Egg. I'd feel
honored if I wasn't so annoyed.
[21:54] <Vernon> Hmm...
[21:55] * Chako chuckles a little, and then yawns, looking at the stage.
[21:56] <Chamelaeon> <<The NPF changes into a scene of some young sleythin
holding rudimentary weapons facing off against some dignified older sleythin who
look abjectly horrified.>> [Fifty-five years ago, a group from the Council of
Youth railroaded the Sleythin Army In Abstentia Protection Bill; revision 162
through the system, and then proceeded to storm, in succession, the Council of
Elders and the High Council, in order to pass the bill.]
[21:56] <Vernon> ...
[21:57] * Isis smirks. "How cute. The lizards found some pitchforks."
[21:57] * Chako snickers. "But still, damn."
[21:58] <Chamelaeon> <<The scene becomes what is obviously a preparation for
war, with real guns and exosuits this time.>> [The High Council, with absolute
veto power, ALLOWED the bill to become law in the interests of not alienating
the youth. The army was allowed a sum total of 16,000 soldiers, and the ancient
warrior classes were reinstated into the caste system.]
[21:58] * Charlie nods.. and nods again.. and then nods off to one side.
[22:00] * Charlie snaps back up, then sits up. "Maybe I'd better not lean back."
he says sleepily.
[22:01] * Tim blinks.
[22:01] * Chako snickers.
[22:01] <Chamelaeon> <<The scene becomes the deathbed of a sleythin. Midway
through the dialog it dissolves into a cloud of black dust, and then a display
of files deleting, which is mightily abstract.>> [When the High Council member
Mano'kash was dying, he willed that his ashes be spread over the city when he
died. What was not know was that Mano'kash had ingested an immensely large
amount of nanites, precipitating his death.]
[22:02] * Tim frowns. "This can't be good."
[22:02] <Chamelaeon> [When his ashes were spread, so were the nanites, which
destroyed all information on making all weapons, all exosuits, or battle armor.
Even the ancient tactics records were destroyed. Sadly, any backups of the data
were also destroyed.]
[22:03] <Vernon> Tssk. Bad data handling practices.
[22:03] * Isis raises an eyebrow. "How thorough. And how incredibly stupid." She
sighs and shakes her head. "A weapon does not war make."
[22:04] <Tim> Well. At least we're not the only race to produce morons. 
[22:04] <Chamelaeon> <<The stage goes blank again.>> [As it stands, there are
tensions underneath the surface. But the City lives on.] <<The lights glow
again, and the door opens.>>
[22:04] <Isis> Besides... in every crowd of terraforming pacifist geniuses is
one who grew up wanting to blow things up.
[22:04] <Isis> ( We call him "Vernon, after two shots of absinthe".)
[22:04] <Vernon> (...)
[22:05] <Vernon> (More accurate than you know.)
[22:05] <Chamelaeon> <<Prag blinks.>> [Well, that certainly explains some
things.]
[22:05] <Vernon> Yes indeed...
[22:05] * Chako stands and stretches. "Well, damn. Wonder what kinda guns they'd
have if they'd been able to get anyone to do developent."
[22:05] * Isis looks a little affronted. "One thousand years of history, and
that's it? A five minute anti-war ad?"
[22:06] <Isis> ( Isis: "I wanna know more!" Todd: "SHUT UP. This is Cham. Be
thankful." )(
[22:07] <Chako> (Yeah. Coulda been 'A Small Extra-dimensional City after all...
o/~')
[22:07] <Chamelaeon> ("More" means you sit for another hour and a half while I
explain exactly who proposed the bill, the arguments, and all the minutae that
float around in my head. Be thankful indeed.")
[22:07] <Chamelaeon> (or that.)
[22:07] <Isis> ( Like I said. )
[22:08] * Chako waves her helmet with a smirk. "Stayin' for the next showin'?"
[22:09] <Vernon> Let's not and say we did?
[22:09] * Tim gets up. "Hell no."
[22:09] * Tim shuffles out. Shuffle!
[22:09] * Vernon as well.
[22:09] * Charlie slaps his helmet twice "Wake up.. I'm comin'"
[22:09] * Isis sighs. "It doesn't bode well. A mysterious AI that doesn't even
talk to the people it protects and governs, a children's militia of disaffected
lizards with itchy triggers..." She can whine and walk at the same time.
[22:10] <Vernon> (Silly walk!)
[22:10] * Charlie gets up and leaves as well.
[22:10] * Chako shrugs, and says half-heartedly, "Well, worst case we blew a
crapload of money to be told absolutely nothing and see some new people."
[22:11] <Chamelaeon> <<Prag bobs along in front of you, leading the way back to
the Council House. It's now about 14:32 AM, Sleythin time.>>
[22:12] <Chamelaeon> (er, PM.)
[22:12] <Tim> 'Course it doesn't bode well. What ever does?
[22:12] <Chamelaeon> (Which is, at the moment, 1:32 PM Red Atlanta time.)
[22:14] <Chamelaeon> <<There is nobody on the street, and the trip back to the
Council House is a short and quick one. Your room is nicely cool (72 F) and now
at exactly 1 G, your suits say.>>
[22:14] * Isis sighs. "It will be nice to get out of this suit."
[22:16] <Tim> Yes. Yes it will. 
[22:16] * Tim gets out of his suit!
[22:17] * Vernon does likewise.
[22:17] * Chako gets out of hers too. "Ugh. Weird spongy junk."
[22:17] <Chamelaeon> <<Prag settles on the table again.>> [Might be a good idea
to get a nap in. Council doesn't meet until 8 AM tomorrow.]
[22:18] <Charlie> Yeah, I think I need one. Just about fell asleep back there.
[22:19] * Charlie desuits and flops down on his bed.
[22:19] <Chamelaeon> <<It's also less humid in the room now. Looks like someone
found the Human FAQ.>>
[22:20] <Chako> (We gave it to them. >.>)
[22:20] <Chamelaeon> (Well, they had to READ it.)
[22:20] * Chako lies down in the bed. "Uh... hey, Prag, can you wake us up
before the meeting?"
[22:20] * Vernon thuds.
[22:21] <Chamelaeon> <<Prag chuckles.>> [Reduced to a wake-up call. Sure, I'll
have you up in time for uh... whatever it was you were doing in the sleeping
basins earlier this evening.]
[22:21] * Chako yawns. "Awesome. Thanks."
[22:22] * Charlie is out and long gone.
[22:22] * Isis laughs a little. "Sorry." She sits on her bed for a moment,
undoing her ponytail and, by the laws set forth, consequently having insanely
long flowing hair. "WHat are you going to do? Once it's time for us to leave."
[22:24] <Chamelaeon> [Don't know. There's no use for me here, and all that's
left in the old city is Hibernation-9.]
[22:26] * Isis mms. "Have you given any thought to seeing the universe?"
[22:27] * Chako chuckles sleepily, "Ya could spend a hell of a long time doin'
that."
[22:27] <Chamelaeon> [... not really, no... I suppose it could be interesting.]
[22:29] <Chamelaeon> [You offering?]
[22:30] * Isis shrugs and lays back. "There'll be time enough to discuss it
later..." She frowns. "But I suspect the sleythin will not care, to be sadly
blunt. And we owe you."
[22:30] <Chamelaeon> [Aw, not that much. But thanks.]
[22:31] * Chako snores lightly.
[22:32] <Chamelaeon> <<Time passes quickly because you're asleep and it's been a
long set of days. But all too soon, it seems like Prag is gently nudging each of
you awake.>>
[22:32] * Tim goes sleepy. z.z
[22:33] * Charlie is difficult to wake at first.
[22:34] * Vernon takes the form of a pair of SCARY eyes peering out from
underneath the sheet. "Aargh..."
[22:34] * Chako wakes up fast, and stops her hand before it lands on Prag's
head. "Uh... oh. Yeah, wakeup. Sorry." She rubs her eyes.
[22:34] <Chamelaeon> <<Prag gently applies 3 volts to those who are hard to
awaken.>>
[22:35] * Isis rises farily quickly, and thankfully does not reach anything
sharp when she reaches for something.
[22:35] <Vernon> ...do not like mornings.
[22:35] * Chako stretches, and stands. "Eh."
[22:36] * Isis frowns. "I hope we can get this over with, today. I'm anxious to
leave."
[22:37] <Chako> Well, after the Egg, we're all done. Wonder when our new
clothes'll show up.
[22:37] * Tim is zapped. "Huhwhawher... oh, right. Are we there yet?"
[22:37] <Chako> (Should we FF through the bath rotation? ^^;)
[22:37] <Chamelaeon> (It sounds like a plan to me.)
[22:38] <Tim> ( Works for me. )
[22:38] <Vernon> (Sure.)
[22:38] * Charlie stirs after being zapped.
[22:38] <Charlie> (sure)
[22:39] <Chamelaeon> <<The basins are the same as you remember them, though you
adjust the temperature FIRST this time. By the time the first of you is
finished, your clothes have arrived. Due to the magic of laser fitting, they fit
marvelously, but unless you're used to it, wearing all silk feels very odd.>>
[22:39] <Isis> ( Well, I was a space hooker for tha... of course it feels weird.
)
[22:39] <Chako> (*snickers* Japanese Space Hookers from Mars!)
[22:40] <Chamelaeon> (There's a minisession waiting to happen.)
[22:40] <Tim> ( Minisession nothin'. I'll have to draw that. )
[22:41] <Chamelaeon> (God help you.)
[22:42] <Chamelaeon> <<It's about 7:44 when Prag rises off the table and
announces it's about time to go.>> [You guys shouldn't have to use your exosuits
- the gravity's modulated.]
[22:43] <Chamelaeon> (It is about 10 PM Red Atlanta time.)
[22:43] * Isis tugs on the suit. "Well, a bodysuit made out of silk is like
something out of a porn vid, but at least it's comfortable."
[22:44] <Tim> ...I didn't need to hear that.
[22:44] <Vernon> ...
[22:44] * Chako snickers, and pinches the fabric, saying with a smirk, "What,
never watched a porn vid, Tim?"
[22:45] <Chamelaeon> (If this turns into SP I'm heading for the goddamn hills
and y'all can fend for yourselves.)
[22:45] <Vernon> (SP?)
[22:45] <Vernon> (Something Positive?)
[22:45] <Chamelaeon> (Sky Pirates.)
[22:45] <Chako> (*poofs into a fairy and hovers over near Isis* Isn't Charlie
cute?)
[22:45] <Vernon> (Ah. For a minute there I was thinking we'd have Choo-Choo
Prag9.)
[22:45] <Isis> ( I HATE SOMETHING POSITIVE. )
[22:46] <Isis> ( *cuts Vernon in half* )
[22:46] <Vernon> (ow.)
[22:46] <Isis> ( AAAARARARAHG BERSERKER BERSERKER BERSERKER )
[22:46] * Isis glances at Tim, then smiles a little. "Sorry."
[22:46] <Chamelaeon> (*pictures Isis as part of the cast in Clerks and dies.*)
[22:46] <Tim> No? I'm too busy tinkering. And if you try to read something into
that, I swear I will embarrass myself in an attempt to hurt you.
[22:46] * Vernon quotes. "Very silly, or very dead, or both."
[22:47] * Chako shakes her head. "Nah, forget it."
[22:48] * Tim didn't seem like he was offended, mind.
[22:48] <Chamelaeon> <<Prag9 floats towards the door, looking confusedly back at
you. It opens, and you're met by two of the servants in sky blue robes. They
fall in on either side of you.>>
[22:49] * Tim keeps walking, trying to resist the urge to adjust his outfit.
[22:50] * Vernon looks a bit uncomfortable, but is managing.
[22:50] * Chako walks, and mutters, "Geez, no sense 'o humor."
[22:50] <Chamelaeon> <<You wander through the twisty halls in a direction you've
never seen before, and you start to notice tubes of water with fish in them
running throughout the hallways like an immense hamster playset.>>
[22:51] * Tim blinks.
[22:53] * Chako walks walk walks. She brushes the suit down.
[22:54] <Chamelaeon> <<At precisely 8:00 AM sleythin time, you end up in front
of a large pair of double doors, with handles, the first you've seen. The two
blue-clad sleythin walk up and pull the doors open, and enter onto the ground
floor of a semicircle coliseum. You have about twenty or thirty feet to play
with before the seats start, and there are quite a few of them. About 500, if
you bother to approximate.>>
[22:55] <Chamelaeon> <<Theseats in the high-domed room are all filled with
sleythin, most of them old. There is a single ancient sleythin on the ground
floor, holding his arms out towards you.>>
[22:55] * Isis raises an eyebrow. "Ah yes," she mutters. "First the parade, then
the summit."
[22:57] * Chako scans the crowd fairly calmly. This, she can do.
[22:57] * Tim blinks. "Wow."
[22:58] * Vernon is staying quiet, although he looks to be reacting like Tim.
[22:59] <Chamelaeon> <<The sleythin raises its torso so that the first two sets
of legs are off the ground, and then bows his head to about arm height while
holding out the arms.>> [Ah, the humans. I welcome you to the High Council. Our
water is yours.] <<He puts his feet back down with a thud.>>
[22:59] * Charlie is also very quiet.
[22:59] * Isis looks blank. "I hate unfamiliar idioms."
[23:00] <Tim> ( "Cool. Can we get a few glasses? I'm thirsty." )
[23:02] * Chako bows a little awkwardly. "Thank you."
[23:02] * Vernon bows as well.
[23:02] * Charlie follows suit.
[23:04] * Tim does likewise, a lot awkwardly.
[23:04] <Chamelaeon> [We don't wish to keep you - I am sure you would like to
return to your homes and begin your fight against the Enemy. So on behalf of the
entire Sleythin race, we'd like to bestow upon you the official title of
Fighters against the Enemy. We would also like to inform you that within
approximately one Earth week we shall be dropping by for a visit, after first
removing the Gate of Ages and re-fortifying the City of Refuge.]
[23:04] * Isis blinks. Now that's news.
[23:06] * Tim blinks. That's pretty daring, for this bunch.
[23:06] <Chako> (Pretty daring? Pretty moronic. >.>)
[23:08] <Chamelaeon> [If you have any questions, be sure to ask the Egg when you
meet with it.] <<He checks his watch.>> [And I'm afraid we've got to be moving
along. Years of protocol to be adhered to about taking down the Gate, you know.]
[23:08] <Tim> ( That, too. 'We haven't fought in a thousand years, so we're sure
to do fine now! )
[23:10] * Isis stiffens. "Of course." Oh, at least she's not speaking her mind.
That would be Bad.
[23:10] * Chako adds nervously, "I can imagine. Thanks, and... uh, good luck to
ya."
[23:10] * Vernon nods. "Thank you."
[23:11] <Chamelaeon> <<He does the bowing thing again.>> [The Egg is through
that door.] <<He gestures.>> [May your water be clear, and good luck to you as
well.]
[23:12] <Tim> Uhm... thanks.
[23:13] * Chako nods, says, "We'll be off, then," and gets walkin' to the door,
makin' sure people follow.
[23:13] * Vernon follows.
[23:15] * Tim follows.
[23:16] <Chamelaeon> <<When you approach, the door opens, and mist immediately
forms as a cool breeze rushes out. It's a good twenty degrees colder in there.
The mist makes it hard to see, but it looks like there's the world's biggest
single collection of randomly blinking LEDs inside it. Behind you, the sleythin,
who never introduced himself, is talking to the rest of them at an incredibly
fast speed.>>
[23:17] <Charlie> hmm, maybe the egg will explain some of this. *he whispers*
[23:18] <Charlie> (well, *says quietly*..)
[23:19] * Chako mutters, "It better."
[23:19] * Vernon nods.
[23:20] <Tim> I think that's the idea. ...ooo, lights.
[23:21] <Chamelaeon> <<The door closes behind you, and the mist clears....
revealing the most unimaginably huge and chrome and geblinkenlight Faberge Egg
you have ever seen on any planetoid ever. It's got piping and wires and
gearshafts heading into it and the walls in a totally chaotic pattern. It has a
single circle of red lights at about ten feet off the floor.>>
[23:22] <Vernon> (...so it's an AirPort Base Station?)
[23:23] <Tim> ...ooooooooooooo.
[23:23] * Chako whistles. "Well, the name makes sense now."
[23:23] <Chamelaeon> << The Egg is in the center of the room, which is about 60
feet wide, and the Egg takes up nearly all of it. There's a twenty foot or so
clear area in front of the door which drops down ten feet or so into a sprawling
sea of wires. It's about 90 or so feet tall, you'd guess. Besides the hissing
and whirring in the room, there's another noticeable sound... a deep chuckling.
Prag floats along behind you silently.>>
[23:23] * Tim goes sparkleyed. *_*
[23:23] * Vernon as well. *_*
[23:23] * Charlie is more interested in the chuckling.
[23:24] * Isis eyes Tim and Vernon with exasperation. "Guys, it's an AI, not
Go--" SHe eyes Prag, then bites off her comment.
[23:25] * Chako sweeps her eyes around the room, trying to figure out the
chuckling.
[23:25] <Charlie> You guys hear that?
[23:25] <Tim> ( <Tim> It's sooooooo biiiiiiiig! h_h )
[23:25] <Chamelaeon> <<The chuckling is pretty much omnipresent, or at least,
omnidirectional.>>
[23:27] <Chamelaeon> <<Finally it breaks into all out laughter, finally settling
down into silence for a few seconds.>>
[23:27] * Tim continues with the staring. *_*
[23:27] * Chako frowns. "Ya done laughing now?"
[23:28] <Isis> ( Wow. We can finally relate, Yu. I'm so happy. ;_; )
[23:28] <Chako> (Haw.)
[23:28] * Isis shrugs. "If we're here for four hours of derisive laughter, I for
one am all for going back home."
[23:28] <Tim> ( Huh? ?_? )
[23:29] <Chamelaeon> <<And then it speaks... in Spacer.>> "Yes, yes. I'm done.
Sorry, but the situation is incredibly amusing to me, though I imagine not to
you right now."
[23:30] <Charlie> Well, you're not the one who's supposed to be fighting..
Though it is kinda funny in a disturbing sort of way.
[23:32] *** Chamelaeon is now known as Egg
[23:32] * Isis has completely lost control at this point. *veinthrob* "If you're
referring to the abject humor of four humans accidentally being the unwitting
heroes of a race of cowardly lizards who are about to march off to their own
deaths because they ran from the monster in the dark and hid in the closet for a
thousand years, but when we arrive treat us like an invasion force, and now
we're talking to a trumped up HAL-9000..."
[23:32] <Isis> "...whose first greeting is *laughter*? In the words of a famous,
ancient Earth tradition, you can kiss my grits, Mr. Egg."
[23:33] <Isis> ( I actually hit the character limit. Ah, memories of SKUEx. )
[23:34] <Egg> Now, don't be hasty. You can't fault the Sleythin for four
thousand years of cultivated pacifism.
[23:35] * Isis hmphs. "Pacifism doesn't need to also be stupidity."
[23:36] <Egg> When you live as long as they tend to, tradition does mean a lot.
But you shouldn't worry about them. You're the catalyst for a great change in
the culture, one they've been waiting a thousand years for.
[23:36] * Chako snickers. "Like teleporting back into their wrecked up city?"
[23:37] <Egg> Like that, yes. And the growth of the Army No Longer In Absentia.
[23:37] <Vernon> Some of whom, by the way, don't seem to like us very much.
[23:38] <Egg> Of course not. They're young and they blame the old for their
faults, as young people tend to do. You are merely the representation of those
faults. Nothing truly personal.
[23:39] * Vernon nods.
[23:39] <Chako> As long as they don't get themselves smacked around in the first
three seconds because some guy wrecked their weapons.
[23:40] * Isis smirks. "That giant gun has to go, for example, unless the
spiders are hiding a giant robot somewhere."
[23:40] * Chako grins. "Hey, I'll take it off their hands."
[23:41] <Chako> Damn ship with no weapns...
[23:41] <Vernon> Hey, we have some.
[23:41] <Egg> <<The Egg snorts derisively.>> I have more weapons designs than
they could ever want tucked away in my memory. It was merely better to curtail
the growth of the Army while they were still trapped behind the Gate. And
Mano'kash was ready to believe the worst. It did not take much for me to
convince him the erasure of the specs was a good idea.
[23:43] * Chako eyes the Egg suspiciously. "At least you've still got 'em."
[23:43] * Isis sighs. "And now we get right to it, don't we?" She glances at the
giant contraption, for lack of eyes to meet. "Is it safe for the Sleythin to
leave your care, at this point?"
[23:44] <Egg> <<The Egg pauses a moment, and then chuckles.>> No more than it is
for you humans to leave the care of your Cube.
[23:45] <Charlie> .. That's new on me.
[23:45] * Tim blinks and snaps out of his reverie. "Eh?"
[23:45] * Isis raises an eyebrow. "That sentence bodes fairly poorly."
[23:45] <Chako> Damn right it does! What Cube?
[23:45] <Vernon> Cube?
[23:46] <Egg> The one you're likely going to end up seeing when you return to
your ATC.
[23:46] * Isis snarls. "Sons of bitches! How long?"
[23:46] <Tim> ...
[23:46] <Tim> Wait. Return to ATC? 
[23:46] * Chako mutters, "We better get paid back for that damn ship one way or
the other. Fuckers."
[23:47] <Tim> You wanna give us the lowdown from the beginning here, or do you
wanna play twenty-questionf some more?
[23:47] <Vernon> ...
[23:47] <Egg> A fairly short amount of time, as these things are measured. A
hundred years or so.
[23:47] <Tim> ...hundred... years?
[23:47] <Isis> So much the better for them, as I'll be long dead.
[23:48] <Vernon> I'm thoroughly confused, here.
[23:48] <Egg> Or were you asking how long until you return?
[23:48] <Egg> Well, I shall explain.
[23:49] * Isis pauses. "Wait. You're saying this Cube, which I can only assume
is an AI similar to yourself, has been around for a CENTURY?"
[23:49] <Egg> Yes.
[23:49] <Chako> Fuck, man. We barely had computers... well, not for long. Back
then.
[23:50] <Egg> Actually, a century to this year, exactly.
[23:50] <Egg> I have no idea how it was constructed. It's not polite to talk to
each other of these things.
[23:50] * Isis mutters. "What is it about this year? Is Capricorn in the House
of Pancakes or soemthing?"
[23:50] <Tim> Is he of our own manufacture, or did he ship in on the Messenger?
[23:50] <Charlie> (Darn this universal destiny stuff!)
[23:51] <Tim> ...right.
[23:51] <Egg> Oh, he's nothing we designed. Totally human built, this is sure.
[23:52] * Isis looks, and I mean LOOKS, at Vernon. "Are you SURE you don't know
anything?"
[23:52] <Egg> Approximately a week after he was created, we contacted each
other.
[23:53] * Chako exclaims, "A week? How the hell did he talk to you?"
[23:53] <Egg> I'm unsure how it works. It IS FTL, but the mechanics of it are
beyond me.
[23:53] <Isis> 'Beyond you'.
[23:54] <Egg> Are you able to explain how you process a visual image into
thoughts?
[23:54] * Vernon considers.
[23:54] <Vernon> Not a thing. I haven't even heard about it from the conspiracy
theorists.
[23:55] <Chako> (Liar. People whine about super-power AIs behind the scenes now.
c.c;)
[23:55] * Tim blinks.
[23:56] <Chako> Well, I can't.
[23:56] <Egg> At any rate. We talk a lot. Not much else for AI to do, truly.
[23:56] <Tim> Y'mean besides administering the city and all.
[23:56] * Charlie peers at Vernon.. then looks over the egg again.
[23:57] <Egg> The City runs itself. There's no point to manually doing
everything. Most of the moral quandaries about things were worked out ages ago,
though what with the oncoming war and all I'll likely be barraged by requests
again.
[23:58] <Charlie> Is this Cube with ATC, another company, or independant?
[23:58] <Charlie> .. at least originally?
[23:59] <Egg> It was originally with the old Earth company IBM. When the company
was broken up by monopoly laws in 2113, the Cube was shipped along to one of the
sub-companies, which eventually evolved into what you now know as ATC.
[00:00] <Egg> (2013.)
[00:01] <Vernon> ...
[00:01] <Vernon> Figures.
[00:02] * Isis rubs her temples. "So how does this work out? The Messenger, this
'Cube'... how long have they known about all this? How long have the spiders
been in our system? And what does that whackjob Masterson's "Game" have to do
with any of this?"
[00:02] <Charlie> ah.. So, you've been talking to it somehow.. and you decided
we should participate how?
[00:02] * Chako mutters. "Wish I had brought chairs. Four hours of this shit..."
[00:04] <Egg> <<Chairs form out of the floor. Human sized ones, shaped like
those seventies novelty egg-chairs.>> The Cube and the people who work with it
have known about the Enemy for as long as I have been with them. But it would
have been fruitless to reveal it. As for you being chosen... truthfully, it was
luck of the draw. You were selected for Europa randomly.
[00:05] * Vernon sits down.
[00:05] <Tim> Lucky me. 
[00:05] * Tim has a seat.
[00:05] * Isis frowns. "Not me... although they planned to throw me away just
like they did the others."
[00:06] * Chako sits down too. "Well, they managed it anyway, rat bastards."
[00:06] <Charlie> Gotta love this nano stuff *he mumbles, then sits down*
[00:06] <Egg> Oh, you weren't going to be thrown away. You were released from
ATC so you would be free to come here and play your part. For it IS a Game, in a
sense. We AI must be very careful in our manipulation or risk revealing our
presence to people sensitive to patterns.
[00:08] * Isis sighs. "Lord forbid that someone should see the Wizard of Oz.
It's nice to know the only escape from being under someone's thumb is death."
[00:08] * Chako snorts. "So, doing what any idiot would do and sending us back
with the key would have been stupid? As opposed to ignoring us, which is just
fuckin' normal?"
[00:09] <Egg> If he sent you himself, he risked that you would arrive here in
the wrong frame of mind. Ideally, you would arrive here frustrated, angry, and
eager to return home.
[00:10] <Vernon> ...well done, that Cube.
[00:10] <Tim> Good job.
[00:10] * Isis says, quietly, "If you don't need us, I'd like you to say so, so
I can leave." She glances at the Egg. "Only the fact that my race's survival on
the line is keeping me here at all."
[00:11] <Egg> And to help with your feelings of being used, we agreed that each
of us would reveal our presence to you, along with a crucial bit of information,
so that you have time to think about them.
[00:11] <Chako> Uh... wait. How's that supposed to help?
[00:12] <Tim> Must be some really good info.
[00:12] <Chako> 'Yeah, been usin' ya, here's what I want you to know, enjoy!'
C'mon, Egg.
[00:12] <Egg> Well, now you are in on the conspiracy, of course. Certainly
better than being out in the cold again.
[00:13] * Isis narrows her eyes. "Oh, how magnanimous. 'Now that you understand
who's using you, isn't being used easier to take? Have a cookie.'"
[00:13] <Vernon> Don't mind if I do...
[00:13] * Tim frowns. "What, we don't get to be conspirators, too?"
[00:14] <Egg> And I truly apologize for using you, and the Cube will apologize
as well. I regret that we both have continued need for your services, in order
to smooth Sleythin-Earth relations.
[00:14] <Charlie> I don't mind so much. Masterson already said we were part of a
game.. Now we know more of what's going on.
[00:14] * Tim frowns.
[00:15] <Egg> You are conspirators. We will give you tasks, and you will have a
great deal more self-direction on how to handle them.
[00:15] <Charlie> .. speakin of.. What do you know about him, Egg?
[00:15] <Egg> The Cube? He is ... eccentric, for an AI. Rather like your
species. Brash, quick to action. An odd sense of humour.
[00:16] <Egg> But I now have a question for you. Who is this... Masterson?
[00:16] <Tim> ...you don't know?
[00:16] <Tim> ...oh, that's just perfect. my day is made, lemme tell ya.
[00:16] * Isis smiles unpleasantly. "A shame, that."
[00:16] <Egg> I have no idea... the Cube says he is dead. 
[00:17] <Egg> Is he dead?
[00:17] <Charlie> hmm.. 
[00:17] <Vernon> Oh, boy...
[00:17] <Tim> icing on the cake, man. butter-icing, too. not that grainy shit
you get on supermarket cakes.
[00:17] <Charlie> Well, 'the cat came back'..
[00:17] <Egg> (DunnoIcing! For your DunnoCake needs.)
[00:17] * Isis struggles not to give in to childishness. "He's someone else's
puppet, now. Looks like you've got competition in the marionette business."
[00:18] * Charlie nods to Isis, "Good way to put it."
[00:18] <Egg> <<The Egg is silent for a moment.>> ... Intriguing.
[00:18] <Isis> Illyana took the AllDrug foolishly, and it did her in... but not
before Masterson carved her up for her trouble, quite a few times thanks to the
wonderful properties of gene therapy healing.
[00:18] <Tim> Yeah, that's about right. He's pretty full of himself for a
puppet, tho. 
[00:19] <Vernon> So that's what happened...
[00:19] * Isis nods. "We spared the rest of you the details because the scene
was fairly gruesome."
[00:20] <Tim> Uhm... thanks, actually. But... hey, Egg. This changes things,
doesn't it?
[00:20] <Egg> The Russian one ... ah yes, the fire on Mars. Clever of you to
light the whole area on fire to hide the true origin of the flame.
[00:21] * Chako snickers. "Wasn't part of the plan. And pretty gruesome didn't
begin to cover it, I don't think."
[00:21] * Tim 'oh's and nods.
[00:21] <Vernon> ...oh, my.
[00:21] <Egg> Changes things? Well, actually, no.
[00:22] <Tim> ...if Chako thought it was gruesome, I don't think I need the
gorey details, no. 
[00:22] <Egg> The Enemy must be fought regardless, and there is too little
information to go on.
[00:22] <Isis> Suffice it to say, Illyana may still yet be alive. In fourty six
separate locations.
[00:22] <Isis> Simultaneously.
[00:23] <Tim> Ah. Alright. We'll see if... 
[00:23] <Egg> (God, that's not even close to funny.)
[00:23] * Tim twitches.
[00:23] * Chako blinks, and thinks for a second. "Aw, shit. You could do that,
couldn't you? Fuckin' All-drug!"
[00:23] <Tim> Isis? If you ever get the urge to say something like that again?
Please, PLEASE don't.
[00:23] <Vernon> ...
[00:24] <Vernon> (Night of the Living Spleen.)
[00:24] * Isis nods, smiling grimly. "Well, that's her fate, thanks to just a
little bit of miscalculated AI manipulation."
[00:24] <Egg> When you deal in the fates of species, individuals tend to slip
through the cracks, yes.
[00:25] <Vernon> Literally, sounds like.
[00:25] * Isis snaps, "She was a human being! A living soul. I more or less
hated her, but she doesn't deserve to live out her life as a TISSUE SAMPLE
because you didn't take something into account!"
[00:25] <Tim> I think Masterson is an individual who needs to be kept track of,
really. Same with... right.
[00:26] <Tim> ( <Army of Illies> VE ARE ZHE BORK. REZHISTANCE IS FUTILE,
COMRADES. )
[00:26] <Isis> ( The Börk. Oh god. )
[00:26] <Tim> ( 'Xactly! )
[00:26] <Isis> ( Doo dee doo dee doo BORK BORK BORK! )
[00:26] <Vernon> (Resistance is futile. Bork bork bork.)
[00:26] <Tim> ( "You will be - how you Americans say? - assimilated." )
[00:27] <Isis> ( Actually, that mentally moved on to "We are the Björk.
Resistance is futile, baby. And isn't my outfit FABULOUS?" )
[00:27] <Tim> ( A thousand girls wearins swans. OH DEAR GOD, NO. )
[00:27] <Egg> Many people are going to die in the fight against the Enemy. She
is merely an early casualty, likely of an Enemy scheme.
[00:28] * Chako shakes her head. "I dunno Illyana wanting her damn legs back is
an very good enemy scheme."
[00:28] <Egg> And though I regret her loss, I have no time to mourn.
[00:28] <Tim> Probably, yeah. But if you have individuals who are doing the work
- us, masterson, who knows who else - you need to keep track of that level, too.
[00:28] * Isis narrows her eyes. "She died because she thought the AllDrug could
make her walk again. Because your 'gift' to convince us to help you didn't work
as promised."
[00:28] <Vernon> (No time? Geez, are you running SETI@Home? c_c;)
[00:28] <Egg> (You have no idea.)
[00:29] <Chako> (Yes, actually. How do you think the AIs talk?)
[00:29] <Egg> The AllDrug was the most colossal mistake I have ever made, it is
true.
[00:29] <Charlie> So what of the enemy then? What do they want? To conquer?
[00:29] <Egg> If I could take it back I would.
[00:30] <Egg> And basically, yes. The Enemy want to conquer.
[00:31] <Charlie> And they've found us somehow.. wonderful.
[00:31] <Isis> And what's your strategy? Bug bomb? We just fumigate a few star
systems, come back in a few days?
[00:32] <Egg> My strategy is to swiftly arm a race which the Enemy thought to be
an easy kill, diverting Enemy forces here and giving Earth crucial time to arm
for war.
[00:32] <Isis> And your chosen sacrifical lambs happen to be the Sleythin?
[00:33] * Chako shakes her head. "Not like he's got anyone else."
[00:33] <Egg> If they remain behind the Gate any longer there will be civil war
in a generation. Not to mention that the sleythin built me to take care of them.
I'm doing my job, in the long run.
[00:33] <Tim> ...do you think the Sleythin can survive this diversion?
[00:35] <Chako> Well, the bugs didn't collapse the cave. Means they got a good
defensive setup on the ground. But it'd be damn messy.
[00:35] <Egg> Oh, surely. Their peacetime technology efforts can be easily
adapted to warfare.
[00:36] <Tim> Maybe they can use that big freakin' gun at the entrance as an
anti-ship canon or something. 
[00:36] * Chako snickers. "Just keep blowin' that down the corridor. Heh."
[00:36] <Isis> ( ...Now I'm seeing the Sleythin in choir robes singing into a
giant anti-aircraft megaphone. )
[00:36] <Egg> (... Ershin.)
[00:36] <Isis> ( "It's the Space Defense Canon!" )
[00:37] <Tim> ( *twitch* )
[00:37] <Chako> (Ikimasu-yo! *kapow*)
[00:37] <Isis> ( Choir of Sleythin: "NANANANANANANANA NANANANANANANANA
INTOCCABILE!" )
[00:37] <Egg> (*dies*)
[00:37] <Isis> ( Anyhow. )
[00:37] <Tim> ( "We will convert the bugs to our side witht he power of song!" )
[00:37] * Isis raises her eyebrow. "And the humans they've deluded into joining
them? What about those?"
[00:38] <Egg> (If any of you even think of the Minmei Defense I will personally
kill your character so hard that you yourself will die.)
[00:38] <Tim> ( Quick! Let's hook speakers up to our ExoSuits! And give Isis
singing lessons! )
[00:38] <Egg> I cannot account for all of them. You value free will, do you not?
Let them exercise it.
[00:39] <Egg> (Oh god, back to the Europa Team Band.)
[00:39] <Chako> (Chako could do the Anti-Minmei defense. 'It's so bad! Aaaaah!')
[00:39] <Charlie> You haven't heard anything from the Sleythin outside the
gates, have you?.. Or are there any?
[00:39] <Egg> (Isis on vocals! Chako on drums! Charlie on lead guitar! Vernon on
bass! Tim on MOOG! MOOOOOOG!)
[00:40] <Egg> The odds of their survival are almost ten trillion to one.
[00:41] <Isis> That's fairly consistent with the smoking, molten wreckage.
[00:41] * Chako holds up a finger. "Smoking, molten, and still flaming wreckage.
Can't forget the continual burning."
[00:42] <Egg> Oh, none of them remained in the City. I believe your friend...
Charlie, isn't it? was referencing the Sleythin who fled to other planets.
[00:42] <Charlie> Yeah, I thought some were sent away.
[00:43] <Charlie> With their pacifism, they wouldn't have been prepared to meet
the bugs.. if any followed.
[00:44] <Egg> Indeed.
[00:44] <Vernon> Hmm...
[00:46] <Egg> <<A fresh burst of coolant blasts out a vent, making a startling
hissing noise.>> Do you have anything else to ask?
[00:47] <Isis> Not that you'll answer.
[00:48] <Egg> Fair enough.
[00:48] * Isis rubs her temples. "Masterson... he had definitely been changed,
when we ran into him. Green. Glowy. 'Powers'. That sort of thing. Have you
checked recently, Mr. Pupeteer, if anyone's been pulling *your* strings?"
[00:48] <Vernon> Actually, I do.
[00:50] <Egg> There has been no visible pattern of another party entering the
Game. Of course, you could be right. If someone presented me with the correct
set of inputs I would make a possibly predictable decision. I am, after all,
only an AI.
[00:51] <Egg> But if neither the I nor the Cube have sensed it, the possibility
is very low that it exists, or at least that it has done much.
[00:51] * Isis smiles. "I am surprisingly satisfied by that answer." She glances
at Vernon. "Sorry for the interruption."
[00:52] <Vernon> Not a problem. As you know, Tim and I are the techs here...
[00:52] * Tim nodnodnods.
[00:52] * Vernon leans forward in his chair. If it were possible to put an arm
around a giant computer's shoulders and whisper to it, he would be doing it.
[00:52] * Charlie busts in, quick like "Do keep an eye out for other controllers
though.."
[00:52] <Vernon> Are there any schematics we could have?
[00:52] * Tim grins.
[00:52] * Chako snickers, and shakes her head.
[00:53] <Vernon> (I promise not to build Eddie, Cham.)
[00:53] <Vernon> (...much, anyway.)
[00:53] <Tim> ( I promise not to build KITT. And I mean it. )
[00:54] <Chako> (I promise to kill you if you break your promises. Well, Isis
can get first maiming.)
[00:54] <Isis> ( You're damn right. )
[00:54] <Charlie> (The Egg, the Cube, and the Car)
[00:54] <Egg> Of course, Charlie. Now, Vernon, I have the schematic for
everything ever build by the Sleythin as long as I have been awake. I believe
you're going to have to be more specific.
[00:54] <Vernon> Ah, sorry. I mean...nanotechnology or AI technology.
[00:54] <Isis> ( How about a copy of "How to Win Friends and Influence People"?
I'm certain there's a Sleythin Dale Carnegie out there somewhere. )
[00:55] <Tim> Do you have anything we could apply to our ship or suits on short
notice, which would aid us against the Enemy? Nanotech would be good. Very good.
[00:55] <Tim> Also, anything we could use once we got back to ATC... although I
suppose you could just pass those to the Cube.
[00:55] * Isis eyes Tim and Vernon. "I, for one, will be glad to escape the
grasp of nanotechnology as much as possible, frankly. Though if you have
anything that we can use to get rid of that damn pilot and his sandwich waiting
to happen..." She makes a sidelong glance at Prag.
[00:56] <Egg> <<Prag is silent. He's quietly humming, though.>>
[00:56] <Egg> I cannot give you anything right now. All the schematics are in a
format only understandable to sleythin matter compilers.
[00:57] * Isis looks at Vernon. "DON'T ask for one."
[00:57] * Vernon nods. "How compl - ah."
[00:57] <Egg> I can, however, provide you with one when the Sleythin arrive at
your planet. Unless, of course, the rest of you are against it.
[00:58] * Isis shakes her head. "It's a bad idea. Look at the AllDrug."
[00:58] <Egg> The AllDrug is not actually nanotechnology. It's a special form of
self-repeating energy wave contained in a physical matrix.
[00:59] <Chako> I dunno I trust ATC to have that sorta construction setup. 
[00:59] * Isis shakes her head. "You're missing the point."
[00:59] <Tim> It sounds good to me. The ship could use some more fixing up. I
don't suppose you have an antiship gun we could borrow?
[00:59] <Chako> I mean, jesus. Imagine what they'd be able to pump out.
[00:59] <Vernon> Well...unlike the AllDrug, though, the ethical and control
issues with nanotechnology have already been considered, and I'm sure the
Sleythin have worked them out even further.
[00:59] <Isis> If human medical technology had produced the AllDrug, I wouldn't
be concerned. But it wasn't. It was something foreign and powerful added into
the mix. I'd love it if a matter compiler meant peace for mankind... but I don't
think it would happen.
[01:00] <Egg> The weapons we have here are limited, at least until they begin to
"pump them out" as you say.
[01:00] <Isis> ( You people need to watch more Star Trek. )
[01:01] <Chako> ("Yeah, we just made a new suit. Took us about 30 seconds. To
make 20. Sucks to be you, other companies!")
[01:01] <Egg> It is your choice, of course. Now, anyways.
[01:02] <Isis> I actually have a request.
[01:02] <Egg> Oh?
[01:03] * Isis points at Prag. "If there's no objection, from you or from us..."
She glances around to he others. "I'd like to take this guidebot with us."
[01:04] <Egg> Him? Oh, certainly. I've been giving him a crash course in
Earthlings from about the moment you entered the room.
[01:04] * Isis turns and smiles at Prag. "If you want to go, that is."
[01:05] <Egg> [It'd be... uh..] groovy. [That's the right word, yes?]
[01:05] <Isis> ...
[01:05] <Egg> (Which was Prag talking.)
[01:06] * Chako snickers. "Groovy? Hah! Groovy." She rubs her head. "I can't
think'a much to ask, though."
[01:06] * Tim grins. "Yeah, that works."
[01:07] <Egg> Well, you can always think up a list to ask the Cube when you see
him.
[01:08] * Isis sighs. "You make that sound so easy. I wish we had some damn
ALLIES among our own race."
[01:09] <Chako> Yeah. Is ATC gonna just say, "Yo! Sorry we were trackin' ya
down!" when we see 'em?
[01:10] <Egg> I'm sure the Cube will be able to smooth things over. Your
corporations are fairly confusing as they stand anyways, yes?
[01:10] * Vernon nods.
[01:10] <Vernon> I don't think that'll be much of a problem.
[01:10] * Chako mutters, "Hope it's followed by Rohaus giving us some damn
support."
[01:11] <Isis> I have no plans of working for ATC again, I will say.
[01:11] <Isis> One puppeteer is enough.
[01:12] <Egg> I cannot say what the Cube's plans are.
[01:13] <Egg> But I note that the High Council meeting is nearly through, and I
will have a lot to do following it.
[01:14] <Egg> Mostly answering nattering questions that don't truly need to be
asked, but such is my fate.
[01:14] * Isis chuckles. "I'm almost disappointed the Sleythin didn't have any
swordsmen among the peasant militia. I'd have been interested in learning what
their techniques were."
[01:14] * Vernon grins. "As with all computers."
[01:14] <Egg> <<Prag shakes his head.>> [I feel woozy.]
[01:15] <Tim> ( So do we all. )
[01:16] <Egg> If you'd like to go back to your room, there should be a fruit
plate waiting, or if you are truly in a hurry, you can leave immediately.
[01:16] <Chako> Well, we gotta get the suits anyway.
[01:16] * Vernon nods.
[01:17] * Isis nods.
[01:17] * Tim grins. "Fruit works. You have good fruit here."
[01:17] <Egg> Then I bid you adieu, until we meet again. <<Prag bobs towards the
door.>>
[01:17] <Chako> Yeah, sure.
[01:17] * Vernon nods. "Thank you very much."
[01:18] <Egg> Quite welcome. And thank you, truly.
[01:18] <Egg> (Whew. Ready to quit? x_X)
[01:18] <Chako> (Sure, why z? Not. Not Z.)
[01:19] <Vernon> (Sure. @_@)
[01:20] <Isis> ( *nod* )
[01:21] <Egg> <<SESSION TWENTY-NINE, LANDED! ISN'T IT NICE TO KNOW A LOT... AND
A LITTLE BIT NOT.>>