abraxasnet | @ everyone

Entry tags:

@ everyone

𝘏𝘪 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘸𝘦 — 𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘢ï𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 — 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴!

[A combination of deep exasperation and resignation doesn't show in Altaïr's 'handwriting', but if it could, it absolutely would.]

We discovered a pair of mated lizards in the woods of Solvunn some time ago. One appears entirely normal, the other is half-mechanical, with gears in its midsection. It should clearly be dead regardless of where those gears came from, and yet it both lives and has fathered eggs.

[Unspoken: 'That's fucked up, right?'

Hilda's handwriting interjects, clearly addressing Altaïr. ]

𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 “𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥” - 𝘝𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘪 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘭𝘦!

[He feels as though he should be too dignified and composed for internal bickering in front of others but he absolutely is not.]

Miracle implies the presence of divinity. This is clearly something else. I would like to know what, and to know whether any other Summoned have encountered anything similar.

[ Somewhere Hilda is rolling her eyes and mimicking him but thankfully everyone else is spared the theatrics. ]

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘪 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘝𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘪 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮. 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘈𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘹𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 – 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘶𝘴.

𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘸𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘰𝘤𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩, 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦!

( ooc: visit the lizards here! and you may get replies from either one of the new parents or both! don't worry about posting order, thread jacking is encouraged )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He will not agree with the assessment of lizard cuteness but he also will not argue. Enjoy your pseudo-victory, friends.

Anyway.

It grows sluggish if kept away from sunlight for too long. No one has tested the extremities of its tolerance.

Well. Lizards tend to do that even when they aren't made of metal.

[Generally speaking. They are cold-blooded, after all, but of course with the unique condition of this creature, there's no way to tell what's natural and what isn't. Viktor doesn't see an obvious battery or power source.]

I wonder, then, if it's, eh. Solar-powered. [Not out of the question, he supposes. The Free Cities would probably like to hear about such technology.] Dissection would give us definitive answers, I think, but I don't consider that a viable option at this time.

[He's sure Hilda, at least, will agree.]

Absolutely not.

[ One of Dr. Rutherford's assistants had almost suggested such a thing during one of their follow-up visits. Needless to say, it had been promptly shut down with a ferocious glare from Hilda. There's less heat and more firmness in Hilda's tone now, but that also has more to do with the fact that Viktor isn't actually suggesting it and thinking aloud instead. ]

You know how if someone tries to tickle your knee or elbow? Veliki doesn't seem to react to it when people handle the mechanical parts of his body.

[Altaïr nods in agreement. It's not that he's become sentimental about Veliki all of a sudden, but he the uncertain chance of more knowledge is not worth killing the creature and removing all future opportunities.]

Likely it has no sensation there. Like an extremely advanced prosthetic.

Likely.

[He can do some tests for that—-not so much subjecting the creature to any pain, but some minor discomfort, just to see what happens. In the meantime, he doesn’t want to continue stressing out the creatures, so he places Veliki back in his basked.]

Where is the clutch?

[Presumably, being incubated properly. Maybe under the watchful eyes of Academy officials. Viktor has only done a cursory inspection, but he can tell that the creature has no means by which to breed, given its mechanical lower half—another mystery to solve.]

[ Once Veliki's feet touch down in the basket he skuttles directly for Mali giving the other lizard a little nuzzle. ]

They're at the Academy in Dr. Rutherford's office. Honestly it's a good thing they are - I don't think I could have done anywhere near as good of a job at setting things up for them. It'll probably be another month or so for them to hatch.

[ She reaches out to give both lizards a little pet on the head before looking back at Altair. ]

We haven't really thought about what to do with all of them once they hatch either. Or what they'll look like.

Okay. Keep me posted.

[He would like to see the babies.]

Mechanical enhancements are not genetic. In case you were looking forward to that.

[They're just going to be normal lizards. Right. Right?!]

[What's a genetic?]

I'd still be interested to see whether the hatchlings are healthy or malformed, given what's been substituted in their sire's body.

[He still can't wrap his head around how the conception even worked.]

[ The brief puff of Hilda's cheeks definitely gives off the impression that a part of her was hoping. A girl can dream - and they still had two months to go, so who knew what could happen between now and then? ]

Time will tell I guess. But did you see anything that looks familiar from your world, Viktor? Or even from here? The engineer was pretty insistent but maybe it was from way before their time.

Ah. Well, the sexual organs of reptiles are internal. It does appear that the creature's circulatory and respiratory systems are at least partially mechanical. Perhaps it has a suitable replacement that we can't see.

[Congratulations, you got Viktor to say "sexual organs". That said, he does not anticipate half-robot lizard babies. To Hilda's question, he shakes his head.]

No, this is unfamiliar to me. What do you mean, before his time?

[ Viktor saying "sexual organs" doesn't escape her and before you ask, yes, Hilda is immature enough to stifle a little snort. Not because the word itself is funny but it's just that it's Viktor saying it. ]

You know like an ancient civilization or something! That has to be a thing, right? The Abraxians didn't just pop out of the ground like daises or something.

[It probably sounds exactly as funny in his accent as you might think, but Viktor moves past it breezily, mostly because ancient civilizations are more exciting.]

Possibly. Strange that they would be so much more advanced, if that's the case.

[Altaïr ignores the snort and shows no sign of amusement. He is clearly the straight man in this duo.]

Some catastrophe could have led to their downfall. It's all speculation, though — we're missing too much information for any of this to sound anything but stramge.

[ Hilda's expression falls flat as a realization dawns on her. ]

We're going to have to do reading, right?

[ Because if her voice didn't give it away, that's the last thing that she wants to do. Her eyes light up and flit towards Viktor. ]

Unless - Vikky, do you know any historians or archeologists at the Academy?

[Viktor fixes Hilda with a look. Yes, this will require reading, which he might be happy to do himself if not for the fact that he is also involved in many other projects--so it would be helpful to have some assistance, in that regard.]

I study at the Grand Academy of General Science. I can likely find an archaeologist, but we may have to go elsewhere for a historian.

[Hilda, what.]

There is nothing wrong with reading. I'm not against speaking with a historian, but we're capable of looking for ourselves.

[He knows his way around the library.]

[ She'll be giving Viktor a look right back. Listen, Hilda likes reading as much as the next person but this also sounds a little bit like work. And if there's one thing Hilda will always try to avoid, it's doing that work herself. ]

But wouldn't it make more sense to have someone point us in the general direction first? That way we don't have to rummage through piles of dusty books. What if my dust allergies flare up? What if Altaïr turns out to have one that he never knew about? I'm just looking out for us here.

[ All of that is to say - ]

An archeologist connection would be super helpful. And if they know a historian, that would be super helpful too!

[HILDA READ A BOOK]

The Free Cities is unnecessarily bureaucratic. Often it's more expedient to take the initiative.

[That said he will absolutely rummage through piles of dusty books. Viktor is less read up on the history of this place as he should be, given his focus on the sciences.]

I can ask around. In the meantime, however, we should look for the answers ourselves.

I agree.

[Altaïr hasn't dealt with bureaucracy enough to gauge how it functions in the Free Cities, but he trusts Viktor's assessment, and in any case he has always preferred direct action.]

I'll make time to search for more information. Inside or outside of the library.

[ SHE READS! Just not history. Or boring things.

There's a brief moment of sheer reluctance before she lets out a relenting sigh. ]

I guess I wouldn't be a very good mother if I didn't help too. Actually, that reminds me!

[ She pulls up the bag that Geralt had been carrying earlier to transport the boney-mech arm. Since they aren't in public, she proceeds ahead with pulling it out onto the workshop bench alongside Veliki and Mali's basket. ]

Geralt brought this to us. I'm guessing he'll want it back at some point, but he said that you and Jayce could take a look at it. Maybe the parts on this are similar to Veliki's?

[Viktor is, of course, incredibly curious about the bag, but nods in recognition when he sees what's inside. He'd examined it briefly when it was in Tony's possession, but if he's being honest, hasn't thought much about it since then.]

I've seen this before.

[It puzzled him at the time, and it puzzles him now.]

I remember thinking it was strange, how the metal parts were almost...grafted.

Did you?

[Rhetorical questions. It makes sense, of course. Geralt would have as much sense as they do about who could share some useful insights. Maybe more, since they hadn't brought the creature to Viktor right away.]

These pieces might not replace vital parts of the body like on the lizard, but it would be no less difficult to do. And then there's the question of whether or not it was a willing enhancement.

[Something that matters more when it comes to humans.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

@ everyone

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject