❄ transmission 001; video (possible action)

[pinnaculum]

[The video feed opens on a young boy with green eyes that glow faintly.]

Hello. My name is Sephiroth.

I am interested in learning more about other planets, for research purposes. The planet I am from is named Gaia. I have met people from Earth and Alternia. If you are from a different planet, or if you could tell me more about these planets, please contact me. I do not know very much about Earth or Alternia. We may speak on the network or in person in the library.

I heard that someone has made a list of all the floors, but I do not know what their name is. [Shinji had described them as a "blowhard", but Sephiroth does not think it would be a good idea to use that description.] Could you contact me also? It would be a good idea to make copies of the list or put it on the network for everyone to access.

Another good idea would be a manual for operating the network, if there is not one already.

Thank you.

[Sephiroth believes the network should be useful!

For anyone interested in action, Sephiroth is in the library at one of the terminals, not very difficult to find.]

Comments

video

[chevalier_mal_fet]

[Well, it can't be "stalk here", "stalk there", "kill this", "kill that" all the time. Lancelot also reads, talks to his Master, fraternizes with other Servants, Elves, and various folk-- and occasionally takes a turn on the Network, just to see what might be seen.

The sight of Sephiroth pleases him, and it shows on his face.]

Sephiroth. Your enterprise is commendable.

I was born on Earth, as you know. But that was very long ago indeed. Perhaps someone more recently living might be of better help. What sort of information do you desire?

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[pinnaculum]

Thank you, Lancelot.

Yes, I think all the people from the War of Masters and Servants are from Earth. I have met a few of them.

I would like to know about the climate, the inhabitants, and the level of technology. Also, the magic.

It does not matter what time you are from. We are all from different worlds and times.

[chevalier_mal_fet]

Quite true.

[A serious question deserves a serious answer. Especially from Lancelot, who is a very Serious guy. He pauses to reflect.]

Very well, then.
The Earth of my time, what I travelled of it, was far less populated and more forested than is the Earth of my Master's time, when cities have grown so large that they cover much of the land, and farmers and landholders are no longer so numerous as they once were.

I was born in a land known by various names, but finally by "England"-- which was quite green and pleasant, with four seasons of approximately equal duration. I was not raised among the people however, but by magical beings called faeries who spirited me away when I was but a babe. Their Queen raised me as her champion, and I was let into the world once I attained manhood. I journeyed as a Knights, slaying many beasts, evil men, and false knights, until I found a King worthy of my Service.

There was much magic in the World then. It seems there is still, but that it is less a part of daily life than it once was. I cannot say if this is for good or for ill.
In my time, if one did not have magic, then cleverness, great strength at arms, or the both combined were necessary to make one's way in the world successfully. If one did not wish to be a farmer.

[Lancelot is joking. Incredibly enough. He offers Sephiroth a hint of a smile.]

[pinnaculum]

[Sephiroth takes it in, all this new information about the planet Earth.]

In my world, there are not many large cities. Only a few. Most people live in villages or small towns. There was one very large city named Midgar, but it was destroyed. Now the largest cities are Edge and Junon.

England. Diarmuid said that his nation is Ireland. Do you know it? Is it like England?

Are there many faeries on Earth? Why did they take you away? What are they like? I have heard of knights in stories. Were there many knights? How did you find a king, and what were they like? [Sephiroth has a lot of questions.]

Would you say there is less magic on Earth than there was when you were alive?

[Sephiroth nods solemnly at the joke.] Yes, it is much the same on Gaia.

This Kid.

[chevalier_mal_fet]

[Lancelot cannot help but allow a slight smile. Both at the reception of his joke and the number and variety of questions he's just been posed. He might be annoyed with anyone else, but with Sephiroth, he is glad to take the time to answer.]

I would say there seems to be less Magic abroad in the World. It seems to be shared out like power among dynasties, where once it was more commonly in evidence.

Ireland was a magical place in my time, and still retains that aura, from what I can gather. It is a fantastic land, green and wild, where the gods and heroes of the people used to walk among them. Indeed, Diarmuid is known to me from Legends I heard as a child. He was, and is, a powerful warrior.

It is difficult to say why the Fae do the things that they do. They are a proud, beautiful, and capricious people, driven by their own concerns and ruled by their own laws. My Lady Queen has told me that she took me as a babe because she wised to raise me herself, to be her Champion. I came of age in her Kingdom, and learned the arts of war from Fae warriors. I had my Sword from her hand.

I would like to know what the Knights you have heard tell of in stories were like, Sephiroth.

My own fellow Knights were much like myself, men of noble birth, trained in the Sword and seeking to Serve a Worthy King so that they might find Honor in Noble Deeds. My own King collected so many Knights that she sat us at a large Round Table, so that we could always face each other.
She was-- Fair, and Noble. Brave-- and Pure. She inspired the people of the land to live not for themselves alone, but for England as well.

[He will not say she was Just. For it rankles. It rankles even that he cannot say it in truth, even thought he wishes to. He lets the moment pass.]

Did you have such a King in your World?

[pinnaculum]

[Sephiroth listens to all this information, soaking it up and filing it away.]

I have not read many stories about knights, but they were brave and honorable fighters who fought for royalty. We have not had knights or royalty in a long time. They sound like the knights you speak of.

There was recently an organization named SOLDIER, which was for all the greatest fighters. They worked for Shinra Electric Company. They protected the people and were great heroes. I wanted to fight with them, but now they have been disbanded.

We don't have any kings. There is the president of Shinra, but he is not royalty. I don't work for him.

Video

[oathshackledbird]

[Diarmuid looks a little bewildered at the mention of the list of floors. He has been making one, revising it as he learns more, and giving it to a few new arrivals, but could the one Sephiroth is talking about really be his?]

Who did you get the list from, Sephiroth, if I might ask. I have been working on one with the help of a few others that lists the floors and their dangers. I have passed it out to some people, but I don't know if it is the one you are referring to or not.

If it is, I wouldn't mind having it posted to the network. The only reason I haven't so far is because I've been constantly revising it and adding new dangers as I come to know them. It seems like there is no end to the dangers this place can produce.

Video

[pinnaculum]

I do not have the list. Shinji has it. [A pause.] He says it was given to him by a "blowhard". He did not say what their name was, and I do not know who he meant.

I would like to have a copy of the list, if you are making one. I can help to add to it.

If there is a list on the network, new dangers can be added to that version. If there are always new dangers, then the list will never be complete.

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[oathshackledbird]

[An annoyed look crosses Diarmuid's face.]

If the list is one that Shinji has, then it was mine. I gave him a copy of it not long after he arrived. I'm so glad he appreciated my efforts.

[Though, if he is sharing the list with others, it's better than nothing. It means the boy at least realizes the floors are dangerous enough that others need to know about it.]

I have no problem giving you a copy of the list. I've added a lot to it since I gave the copy to Shinji. Has anyone told you about the mailboxes in the tower? Otherwise, I can just leave it in your room.

And you are right. A copy on the network could be updated. I guess I just worry about the times when we can't access the network. It was offline most of last month for example. Ideally, I would like to give a copy of it to everyone in the tower, but that would be difficult to do. It would require a lot of time and effort to copy the list over so many times. Help would make it go faster, but it would still be a large undertaking.

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[pinnaculum]

The list seemed very useful.

[Sephiroth is appreciative of your efforts, Diarmuid, even if Shinji is not. Shinji had only shared knowledge of the list with Sephiroth because they were going to the workshop together.]

I would like a copy, please. I do have a mailbox. It is number 7993. Or you could leave it in my room.

Even if we cannot access the network at all times, it will be useful when we can. Giving a copy to everyone would also be useful. When people arrive, they do not know where to go and where they should avoid. I would be willing to help in adding to the list and distributing copies.

Video

[oathshackledbird]

Then as soon as we are done here, I will drop something off at your mailbox.

[Tomorrow a copy of the list will be delivered to Sephiroth.

Diarmuid pauses, hand to his chin in thought.]

Do me a favor, once you get the list can you look over it for a good way to organize it? Obviously, we could just list them in floor order, which is what I have done so far, but there are a lot of floors now and it would take a long time to read it. Most people upon arrival are not going to have the patience to do that. It might be best to break them into sections listing the most dangerous and then less dangerous and stuff like that. However, danger varies from person to person. What is dangerous for you or me is very different from what would be dangerous for my friend Tohko, for example.

video

[puppy_lancer]

Hey, kid.

[Lancer's voice is flatter than it would be usually. Even though death and such had reset him physically, he was still pretty emotionally drained following the excitement in the Dark World.]

Glad to see you're alright. Those are some great ideas. And man, why didn't Diarmuid tell me that he was making a list of all the floors?

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[pinnaculum]

Hello, Lancer.

[Sephiroth is still tired from their battles as well, but he does his best not to show his fatigue.]

I am well. Thank you. I don't know why Diarmuid did not tell you. He did not tell me either. But it is a good idea. We could put the lists in the cafeteria and the library and give them to new arrivals.

[puppy_lancer]

How about sticking one on all the dorm doors? That way, everyone can see it the second they come out of their rooms.

[pinnaculum]

That is a good idea, too. Then no one will miss it.

Is there a way to make copies in the workshop?

[puppy_lancer]

We should be able to find pens and papers, so yeah.

[Now there's just the problem of Lancer having atrocious handwriting.]

action hahahaha

[looselips]

[Shinji only makes one stop before heading to the library, grabbing something from the cafeteria first. He doesn't even make an attempt to be quiet when he stomps up to Sephiroth from behind, and he has no illusions that the fork he tosses at the back of his head will actually hit him. He just needs to express his displeasure somehow.]

You squealed on me!

[Sounding so indignant.]

I laughed out loud

[pinnaculum]

[His lack of attempt to be quiet only makes things easier for Sephiroth when he turns and grabs the thrown fork out of the air. He glances at the fork, then at Shinji.

His expression is as blankly innocent as it can be.]

What did I do?

oh good, I'm glad

[looselips]

[That's about what he expected, but Shinji harrumphes all the same before skulking over to a chair and flopping down on it.]

You told that jerkwad what I called him.

[That was confidential information, Sephiroth. You betrayed him.]

[pinnaculum]

[Sephiroth isn't quite sure what to do with the fork now, so he puts it in his pocket. He can return it to the cafeteria later.

Oh no, has he violated some rule of behavior in relating to his peer? He hadn't intended to. He'd always been bad at this in the monitored sessions where he was made to socialize with other children.]

Diarmuid? I did not know I was not supposed to tell him or that he was who you meant. He wished to know if it was the same list, and that was the only identifier I had.

[looselips]

Look, when someone tells you something about someone else behind their back, you're not supposed to go around repeating it to people who might be them, got it? Even if you don't have anything else to identify them by. It's not like a blowhard realizes they're a blowhard, you know?

[His tone is fairly condescending as he explains, but it's also a relatively patient explanation for Shinji.]

That's his name, though? Diarmuid?

video;

[cullscuttlefish]

Alternia is my home planet. We can talk about it in the library, if you want. I'd be happy to meet you there.

video;

[pinnaculum]

I would like that very much. The person I met from Alternia did not have much to tell me about it. I am in the library now.

video -> action;

[cullscuttlefish]

I'll meet you in a few minutes, then.

[True to her word, Feferi's in the library within a few minutes of her last message. She smiles when she sees Sephiroth, waving her hand as she approaches.]

Hi! I'm Feferi Peixes. We were talking on the network a minute ago?

action

[pinnaculum]

Hello, Feferi. Yes, I'm pleased to meet you.

[He smiles back, faintly.]

Thank you for agreeing to answer my questions. The person from Alternia I spoke to didn't care much about it and said I should ask someone else.