[the first thing scien does is kick dahut into the surgery theater, where there is now a very familiar machine built and standing politely in the center of the floor. it's not a full reliver machine, but it is instead only the portion that is capable of taking in uploads of peoples' memories. though there's something slightly different, given that this version of the machine also has a full color monitor attached to it.
scien's instruction is simple:]
Get it prepped. We're creating my backup.
[and after that, he will wander out until he grabs luke and also drags him with a simple 'experiment assistance needed'. no further explanation! now all 3 of them are in the surgery theater. for luke's sake, he will explain:]
Two tests today. The first is creating a backup of my memories until this point in the ship. That's a standard procedure to make sure the machine is working, since it's one that we run regularly in the Institute.
The second test is using the monitor to specifically view memories. I plan on using it on myself first, and then we will attempt it on the First Callisto to see if we can decipher what led to him dying.
Dahut is here to make sure the general machinery is working according to our protocol. Busybody, you're on standby in case something goes awry with the machine and I'm incapacitated and it needs to be adjusted.
HELLO LUKE Dahut will wave cheerily in greeting whenever they both reappear, looking very much in his element here. Imagine Scien noted self-surgeon just dragging you off to the operating theater like QUIT YOUR JOB JOIN MY BAND wow. At least there isn't any blood or corpse flowers hanging around this time.]
Hello, hello! Thank you for volunteering to help, monsieur!
[(Yaywon voice) This is how Scien memshares a bang
Anyway of course he comes at that because the last time y'all did this shit Scien fucking DIED ABOUT IT, but he's truly just here like ben_smoking.jpg. Relivers. But this sounds...? Less insane than some of the other experiments they've been running? So he keeps his commentary to himself for now.]
Tell me how it works, so I know what to watch for. [Just in case Dahut keels over too for some reason and he's the only one around to fix things.]
anyway relivers!! scien will just move to take a seat on the medical exam table, reaching out for the piece of machinery that'll rest on his head. i'm running this from memory and don't want to get my switch so if this is wrong the virche can come and kill me itself.]
The device will read the hippocampus and temporal lobe for memory, taking in the synapses and electronic transmissions in the brainwaves to create a data file that has all my memories.
[please don't make me go into psycho-bio nonsense in detail but if luke has follow up questions assume that scien answers him. he'll go to be horizontal on the table now.]
Dahut, count it down once all parameters are checked.
[BUSTLES AROUND don't get underfoot Luke or a 5ft nothin lil green bean will bowl you over. i also don't want to explain this weirdass science in detail so just assume he's doing science-looking stuff with their scuffed scrapyard Reliver machine. have i mentioned i hate relivers and every virche science. my god.]
O-kay! Parameters set and checked; all systems sound, all vitals stable. Counting down from three... two... one!
[LMFKSJGDKJH Y'ALL ARE SO VALID Luke just listens to these amazing descriptions. Genius to genius to genius communication. I fucking hate it here why did we do this.
But with that explained, he will stay close enough to intervene but mostly out of the way. 3 2 1 ACTION]
I should've tried to remake my thermal binoculars...
[GOD
WHAT CAN HE EVEN DO HERE. I guess he'll come over to look at the screens with Dahut?? Though he scans the rest of the room to see if anything else is out of place too.]
[at a glance, nothing in the room is out of place!
for what dahut is able to see on the typical input screen (not the newly added monitor), the process was a success! scien's memory data has been backed up and is available for perusal... though the file size seems to still be increasing?]
[BRO WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU STOP EXPERIENCING NEW MEMORIES TO UPLOAD. He's just rapidly browsing the backend data of these files to see if there's any information to be had here.]
[BACKEND DATA WE'RE REALLY JUST GOING TO MAKE UP WHATEVER VIRCHE SCIENCE WE WANT HERE NOW I SEE
anyway in the backend, he will see that more data is being created with each passing second. there are new memories being added, although the actual content is limited compared to the fuller range of prior memories. like the difference of uploading a megabyte and a kilobyte. the new memories, starting the second that the procedure began, are kilobytes.
[STOP I CAN'T BROWSE THE FRONTEND DATA THAT'S PROBABLY SUPER ILLEGAL OR THE WHOLE PLOT OF VIRCHE WOULD FALL APART he might break the law if he can't find anything else though.
He has no idea what to make of any of this. SCIEN!!!! (room of angel voice) ARE YOU HIDING AWAY LOST UNDER THE SEWERS]
I'm not going to shut it down in the middle of a data transfer!
[WHAT IF IT'S LIKE PULLING THE PLUG MID WINDOWS UPDATE... BUT ALSO, WHERE IS HIS HAMSTER. IS ANYTHING HAPPENING ON THE NEWER SCREEN.]
[the newer screen monitor is off since that's not part of the memory backup process. we love trying new things. science, the next frontier. or whatever.
We have emergency systems in place, but none of them cover the scenario "the patient has vanished into thin air"—!
[Actually did he vanish along with the headgear i hate it here. I GUESS HE WILL TURN THIS STUPID SCREEN ON though it's just a cursory check since he's still more focused on diving into the data that's APPEARING WHEN IT SHOULDN'T BE.]
Will that be enough for him to understand? I wonder if my consciousness can override the system. Though there's not much I can do from inside it. It was only meant to be a container...
[WHY IS DATA STILL APPEARING. Oh-- There's Scien's familiar voice! AND BINARY. Which Dahut can probably understand but i aki wish he didn't because it'd truly be so funny having to wheel this machine out to town hall instead and just not explain what happened.]
[Tragically Luke also understands binary so he just gives Dahut a look like WHAT DID I SAY. I guess it's affection week though so he'll just drop a fist lightly on Dahut's head like everyone else.]
Maybe you should leave him in there until he gives you a vacation. [He only says this now that they know Scien's fine]
[luke is so bold for a man who said to turn it off because if they turned off the machine scien would've still been trapped. that's now how reliver backups work.
anyway the memory gets ejected and then there's scien, sitting on the examination table again.... and he experiments with his hand, curling and uncurling his fingers. he runs his hand over his face and just starts... laughing? oh yes. and here's this super hinged expression again.]
I see... So that's it.
[he'll keep the headset on this time, and move toward where dahut is currently standing. he grabs him by the head - and pats him once - and then nudges him off to the side.]
Dahut. Move.
[EXPLAIN SOMETHING? NO? okay he's going to just type in furiously into the machine, and the monitor will fastrewind through his memories at 20x speed! the audio comes through, garbled, impossible to understand. he seems to be looking for a very specific moment in time.]
[SCIEN JUST LOST FOREVER TO THE MACHINE. I guess he will accept both this fist bonk (though he whappypaws Luke in return) AND THEN BEING GRABBED BY THE HEAD MOMENTS AFTER SCIEN COMES BACK??? This is what he gets for nervously darting in the second Scien remanifests. He has to check to make sure all of his parts are alive (undead???) and well, listen...
BUT HE'S NUDGED and he'll step out of the way, though he does move to hover behind him as he works.]
Please use your words...
[WHAT IS HAPPENING. He reaches out to tap Scien's back while he works like he's testing how solid he is.]
[I so desperately wish Luke was a petty enough bitch to have a whole conversation like "Oh hi Scien welcome back" "Oh thank you, yes I'm fine, thanks for asking" AND MAYBE HE IS THAT PETTY SOMETIMES...... but tragically, right now, nerd brain takes over, so he just crowds in to look over Scien's shoulder. And over Dahut I guess but that was never an issue]
[they're all crowding!! here's what they see on the monitor:
welcome to an average day at the institute. they're going that far back in scien's memories, long before the eudora. he's moving to head toward the main room where they welcome relivers, thoughts occupied with different experiments that he intends to run, but then dahut comes crashing into the view! he hands scien a number of papers, all of which are in crisp vision. memorized, clear, all a list of the results for their latest batch of reliver bodies.
however at the point that scien's focused shifts, dahut becomes tuned out. a muffled little voice, but nothing comes through.
he fastforwards to a different memory and lets it play at 8x speed. this time it's the helly belly canteen, where scien is working on building one of the monitors. it passes quickly and uneventfully, a single-minded focus, but then suddenly a plate of food and water appear. a green shape leaves the canteen. then more parts for the monitor. a brief flash of luke's face before their conversation from this past saturday's trial flickers through.
scien pauses the memory replay and removes the headset. the monitor turns black. then he laughs, eyes bright and amused.]
We are made of memory, and only memory.
[even though he's solid to the touch for dahut and luke.]
We do not have bodies or physical corporeal entities in this space. I disappeared because memory is the only component of my existence, rather than the physical. My memories according to this machine are only an exact replica of what I expect, nothing else. They do not take into consideration subconscious input or more distant recall.
[he laughs again, terribly amused]
That is why the Helly Belly locations adjust based on our understanding and wishes—it is us and our expectations and lingering will made manifest.
[Dahut just sitting here like SO THAT'S WHY MY NANITES LOOKED THE WAY THEY DID.
He does not say this out loud, though. Instead he just takes in what some of them have probably been edging closer to guessing anyway, given the weekly effects and the strange oddities they've been running into.]
...I see! [HE SEES...] Mademoiselle Rodeo was more correct than she knows!
["IS THERE CANDY IN THE WEIRD MEDPOD CONSCIOUS LIMBO" WHY YES YES THERE IS, BECAUSE IT WAS WILLED INTO EXISTENCE.]
[Imagine if I just posted man_standing again because Luke is too normie for this
--Except, in a way, that works in his favor. A man who didn't believe in ghosts and spirits until he had to meet them face to face, a man who doesn't come from a world with backups or phoenixes or miracles--to him, their continued consciousness here is the anomaly. The fact that their wills are strong enough to manifest like this is almost less surprising than the idea that they aren't truly dead.]
So that's why we're still tangible--because we've always known ourselves to be?
It might be. I have a few more tests planned, now that we know this much. Though it will take me time to build since this device in its current state cannot accommodate what I have in mind.
[ah but he's in such a good mood. he will go to start packing up the machine and guiding it toward a closet that he made in the surgery lab.... it has a biometric lock so he's just going to shut it once all the wiring is packed away.]
It's a pretty fascinating concept! [And it also makes more sense to him than being a ghost.] There are a few things that I want to test, too...
[FUCKING RELIVERS AT IT IMMEDIATELY. He'll just watch Scien go pack the machine away into his stupid biometric locked closet in this cursedass surgery lab.
[He sighs... and leans on Dahut's head like it's an armrest.]
Alright. I'll be here. [For support... even if that just means being judgmental.] I'm looking into building something that'll let us call each other a little more easily, since this place is getting big. I'll get you some prototypes once I have something.
[We are denied pagers but maybe I can swing like. Beepers or something idk. Modifies the roomba]
I'll go get everyone together. We have a lot to talk about.
[puts everything in one comment hello. but before execution starts, scien will drag dahut and luke over for one last freaky experiment for the week wow. welcome to faux memshare. we don't need to thread the whole thing but for your ic knowledge of what happens -
instead of explaining anything to them verbally, they get a paper. the expectations are simple: 1 ) while scien is in the memory machine, edit his memories so he forgets the moment he lost his arm and 2 ) eject him from the memory machine so he's not just gone forever. he gives a brief explanation of the program he developed as well as an explanation of what to look for in the viewer to find thee moment he lost his arm, but otherwise just sets himself up to get in the machine.
when dahut and luke go through scien's memories, they will get to experience this dramatic battle of "good" versus "evil".... which is probably also the only moment scien has ever sounded truly enraged.
i just transcribed the wholeass scene from the game and called it good for the most part but hell yea welcome to this insane show of trust]
[THEY'RE REALLY HAVING A PRE-EXECUTION ARM REGROWTH MOMENT HERE. This is fine. Everyone is snoozing soon and i will be up later than everyone else i'm sure but he'll dutifully help set everything up alongside Luke and then move over to the viewfinder to start combing through things in search of the Missing Arm Moment. This is truly such an insane show of trust... He's touched...
And after seeing the whole fiasco leading up to his lost arm, before actually getting to work, he just looks up toward Luke.]
[HERE THEY ARE IN HELL'S SMALLER, FREAKIER HELL, a.k.a. Reliver HQ. Luke will come along as promised, assuming he is once again here to make sure nobody explodes or perma-dies or whatever, even though all he really did last time was judge Dahut from afar. It's fine.
Once more, he'll stand close by but out of the way. TRULY IT'S A BOLD CHOICE to allow a nosy-ass detective in here, but Luke thinks Dahut would get mad at him if he suggested taking advantage of this to snoop, so he will not... instead, he keeps his arms loosely crossed as he watches Dahut work.]
So it was that guy...
[Y'know, like Yves from Memshare
He glances at Dahut and snorts.]
I think he was born that way. It's the only explanation. [PLEASE.] ...But at least somebody told him what's been obvious from the start.
[Luke, who has also repeatedly told Scien that he doesn't view him as a god, thinks Yves from Memshare is valid in this, even though he has mixed thoughts on the rest.]
[INSTEAD OF JUDGING DAHUT FROM AFAR THIS TIME HE'S JUDGING SCIEN FROM UP CLOSE.
Damn though imagine the secrets they could unveil if Luke wasn't being babysat. Dahut glances at the screen and at the Yves, sighing.]
Oh, I'm sure you're right. No one becomes like Monsieur Scien! That just happens as an act of God.
[The other sky one that he doesn't believe in! Congrats on your terrible dramatic natural born personality, Scien. He does drop into something quiet after that, though.]
...Even though he really didn't like it, he understands why this was important. It's a little hard to see him come to these conclusions through something like this, though, even if he deserves to be dragged back down to the ground every now and then.
[Yeah!!! He does that all the time anyway it's fine.
But Luke reaches out, putting a hand on Dahut's shoulder and squeezing gently.]
He's okay. [A reminder, first--even if it's obvious, he thinks that sometimes it helps to hear things out loud.] Do you think he would have listened if it happened any other way?
[He knows Dahut's Scien fell in love but he doesn't know the details, so it's like... 20% a real question. Maybe 30%.]
He does seem to appreciate the reassurance, at least, reaching up to pat the hand at his shoulder while considering his answer.]
It's hard to say. In this case, in these circumstances, most likely not... He was already too far down the path he'd picked. It takes some really violent shaking to dislodge a stubborn guy at that point! But in different circumstances, I don't think it would have to be like this at all.
Well, I'll take your word for it. [Privately, he thinks a Scien "in different circumstances" would essentially be a completely different person, but he keeps that to himself. It doesn't matter much anyway, in the end; unless something TRULY bizarre happens, those branching possibilities won't intersect.
In the meantime, thinking back over what they saw--]
I didn't even know he could get that angry. [LIKE, PHYSICALLY.]
[This is very funny because [redacted], but Dahut will just leave the first part as-is for now so he can fucking roast Scien for his terrible burst of anger in the meantime.]
I've never seen him that angry before, either! Even when he had a functional set of emotions, "mad" wasn't something he was feeling at the time, clearly... At most, I've only ever seen him get very, very irritated? Which is also bad!
[OH TO EARN THE IRE OF GOD... Spooky.]
Of course it would be over something this stupid. Really, Monsieur Scien, you're something else... I'm guessing it didn't send him into a crash because it was pretty short-lived?
I think the most human thing a person can do is to get mad over being told they aren't an infallible god. [This is literally the plot of ff16 actually] Do you need to... check for damages, or anything? It's probably fine, right?
[Since he assumes it would've been an issue before now if it was going to be one at all]
You're right, you're right... No matter how god-like a person is, they're really only just a person in the end! Which is why it's so important that Monsieur Scien keeps this lesson.
[If only he could have fallen in love with his maid so it didn't have to be learned by having his ass kicked by a twink...]
But! It's fine, mm. I'll do a last check before I start the process. Let's finish this up and get him back out of there...
[I HATE DESCRIBING RELIVER PSEUDOSCIENCE SO HE JUST DOES THINGS BINGO BANGO IT'S MAGIC. Though he does pause for a few seconds seemingly after he's edited out the arm chop like he's considering something.]
—Mmm, o-kay! That should take care of things. Let's hope this goes well or we'll have to start over.
[JUST KILL SCIEN AND START FRESH. Anyway he'll eject, come back nerd.]
and this time the bitch does in fact have two arms. he yawns upon being ejected, like waking up from a pretty good nap.... using his new left arm to come up and obscure his mouth]
[Fussing... Cute. After setting the glass down, he crosses his arms over his chest.]
O-kay! [To Scien, and then:] That's the big one, but we really don't know anything about the long-term effects or even short-term ones on something like this, so we'll have to keep an eye out and make sure Monsieur Scien doesn't suddenly go-
[SOUND EFFECTS of a particularly gooey explosion.]
[sure he doesn't mind, he'll vaguely lean into luke's touch like a cat that wants pets
but then he'll drink his water]
If I do, just expect me back in four hours. [CARE MORE]
But I doubt my technology will be that faulty. There is nothing glaring in my memory, but I suppose that's half the point. I shouldn't be able to notice it that easily.
More or less! [MORE OR LESS WHAT.] But our environment and even our very selves are all technically suuuper unstable, so who knows what could happen if even the tiniest unexpected thing goes awry! [Explosions...] It'll likely be fine, though.
Editing people's memories are dangerous in general. We only create backups since messing with someone's mind can be too easily abused. I wouldn't develop this technology for use on anyone but myself.
[he'll actually probably dismantle the machine by monday]
[FINE... Scien can have his pets like the spoiled brat he is.]
I'm obligated to remind you both that you're ridiculous. [This is the real reason he's here during these experiments, someone needs to remind the Relivers that they're insane] But alright. We've got a little time before anything happens, and we can keep an eye on you throughout the day.
[
He kind of wishes he could also keep and use this technology for himself, but he does not say that because he isn't Viktor]
[Thanks for being one peanut's worth of intelligence smarter than Viktor.]
I don't think this is particularly ridiculous... [It's so ridiculous. Relivers are ridiculous. He glances at the machine for just a brief moment before turning his attention back to Scien.]
Any further instruction for now, then, or are we all ready to go watch someone die horribly?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
week 4, monday
scien's instruction is simple:]
Get it prepped. We're creating my backup.
[and after that, he will wander out until he grabs luke and also drags him with a simple 'experiment assistance needed'. no further explanation! now all 3 of them are in the surgery theater. for luke's sake, he will explain:]
Two tests today. The first is creating a backup of my memories until this point in the ship. That's a standard procedure to make sure the machine is working, since it's one that we run regularly in the Institute.
The second test is using the monitor to specifically view memories. I plan on using it on myself first, and then we will attempt it on the First Callisto to see if we can decipher what led to him dying.
Dahut is here to make sure the general machinery is working according to our protocol. Busybody, you're on standby in case something goes awry with the machine and I'm incapacitated and it needs to be adjusted.
no subject
HELLO LUKE Dahut will wave cheerily in greeting whenever they both reappear, looking very much in his element here. Imagine Scien noted self-surgeon just dragging you off to the operating theater like QUIT YOUR JOB JOIN MY BAND wow. At least there isn't any blood or corpse flowers hanging around this time.]
Hello, hello! Thank you for volunteering to help, monsieur!
[HE WAS VOLUNTOLD.]
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Anyway of course he comes at that because the last time y'all did this shit Scien fucking DIED ABOUT IT, but he's truly just here like ben_smoking.jpg. Relivers. But this sounds...? Less insane than some of the other experiments they've been running? So he keeps his commentary to himself for now.]
Tell me how it works, so I know what to watch for. [Just in case Dahut keels over too for some reason and he's the only one around to fix things.]
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anyway relivers!! scien will just move to take a seat on the medical exam table, reaching out for the piece of machinery that'll rest on his head. i'm running this from memory and don't want to get my switch so if this is wrong the virche can come and kill me itself.]
The device will read the hippocampus and temporal lobe for memory, taking in the synapses and electronic transmissions in the brainwaves to create a data file that has all my memories.
[please don't make me go into psycho-bio nonsense in detail but if luke has follow up questions assume that scien answers him. he'll go to be horizontal on the table now.]
Dahut, count it down once all parameters are checked.
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O-kay! Parameters set and checked; all systems sound, all vitals stable. Counting down from three... two... one!
[Does the Reliver thing.]
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But with that explained, he will stay close enough to intervene but mostly out of the way. 3 2 1 ACTION]
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scien disappears]
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...Um!
[Waves his hand through where Scien once was. THEY JUST FUCKING DEPARTICLED HIS HAMSTER.]
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"Um" is not a reassuring sound.
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there's nothing there, just air.
machine's still running though]
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[If the machine is running I GUESS HE'S GOING TO CHECK TO SEE WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON WITH THE SCREENS AND INFORMATION INPUT THOUGH.]
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[GOD
WHAT CAN HE EVEN DO HERE. I guess he'll come over to look at the screens with Dahut?? Though he scans the rest of the room to see if anything else is out of place too.]
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for what dahut is able to see on the typical input screen (not the newly added monitor), the process was a success! scien's memory data has been backed up and is available for perusal... though the file size seems to still be increasing?]
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Huh—?!
[BRO WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU STOP EXPERIENCING NEW MEMORIES TO UPLOAD. He's just rapidly browsing the backend data of these files to see if there's any information to be had here.]
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Shouldn't you turn it off?! [WHAT IF HE'S GETTING SUCKED INTO THE MACHINE DAHUT SAVE YOUR DAMN HAMSTER]
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anyway in the backend, he will see that more data is being created with each passing second. there are new memories being added, although the actual content is limited compared to the fuller range of prior memories. like the difference of uploading a megabyte and a kilobyte. the new memories, starting the second that the procedure began, are kilobytes.
but they are increasing.]
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He has no idea what to make of any of this. SCIEN!!!! (room of angel voice) ARE YOU HIDING AWAY LOST UNDER THE SEWERS]
I'm not going to shut it down in the middle of a data transfer!
[WHAT IF IT'S LIKE PULLING THE PLUG MID WINDOWS UPDATE... BUT ALSO, WHERE IS HIS HAMSTER. IS ANYTHING HAPPENING ON THE NEWER SCREEN.]
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You didn't install a pause button--?! [Y'ALL]
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you could turn it... on?]
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[Actually did he vanish along with the headgear i hate it here. I GUESS HE WILL TURN THIS STUPID SCREEN ON though it's just a cursory check since he's still more focused on diving into the data that's APPEARING WHEN IT SHOULDN'T BE.]
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the headgear is still there! it clattered onto the empty examination table after scien disappeared.
however when the screen turns on, it'll be black! damn. maybe not.]
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01000101 01001010 01000101 01000011 01010100 00100000 01010100 01001000 01000101 00100000 01001101 01000101 01001101 01001111 01010010 01011001.
01000101 01001010 01000101 01000011 01010100 00100000 01010100 01001000 01000101 00100000 01001101 01000101 01001101 01001111 01010010 01011001.
[a pause. a sigh.]
Will that be enough for him to understand? I wonder if my consciousness can override the system. Though there's not much I can do from inside it. It was only meant to be a container...
[and then it begins reciting again, on repeat.]
01000101 01001010 01000101 01000011 01010100 00100000 01010100 01001000 01000101 00100000 01001101 01000101 01001101 01001111 01010010 01011001.
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This shouldn't even be happening...
[WHY IS DATA STILL APPEARING. Oh-- There's Scien's familiar voice! AND BINARY. Which Dahut can probably understand but i aki wish he didn't because it'd truly be so funny having to wheel this machine out to town hall instead and just not explain what happened.]
...Why?! Don't just get yourself stuck!!
[i guess he ejects the memory tch]
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Maybe you should leave him in there until he gives you a vacation. [He only says this now that they know Scien's fine]
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anyway the memory gets ejected and then there's scien, sitting on the examination table again.... and he experiments with his hand, curling and uncurling his fingers. he runs his hand over his face and just starts... laughing? oh yes. and here's this super hinged expression again.]
I see... So that's it.
[he'll keep the headset on this time, and move toward where dahut is currently standing. he grabs him by the head - and pats him once - and then nudges him off to the side.]
Dahut. Move.
[EXPLAIN SOMETHING? NO? okay he's going to just type in furiously into the machine, and the monitor will fastrewind through his memories at 20x speed! the audio comes through, garbled, impossible to understand. he seems to be looking for a very specific moment in time.]
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BUT HE'S NUDGED and he'll step out of the way, though he does move to hover behind him as he works.]
Please use your words...
[WHAT IS HAPPENING. He reaches out to tap Scien's back while he works like he's testing how solid he is.]
no subject
You saw something?
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welcome to an average day at the institute. they're going that far back in scien's memories, long before the eudora. he's moving to head toward the main room where they welcome relivers, thoughts occupied with different experiments that he intends to run, but then dahut comes crashing into the view! he hands scien a number of papers, all of which are in crisp vision. memorized, clear, all a list of the results for their latest batch of reliver bodies.
however at the point that scien's focused shifts, dahut becomes tuned out. a muffled little voice, but nothing comes through.
he fastforwards to a different memory and lets it play at 8x speed. this time it's the helly belly canteen, where scien is working on building one of the monitors. it passes quickly and uneventfully, a single-minded focus, but then suddenly a plate of food and water appear. a green shape leaves the canteen. then more parts for the monitor. a brief flash of luke's face before their conversation from this past saturday's trial flickers through.
scien pauses the memory replay and removes the headset. the monitor turns black. then he laughs, eyes bright and amused.]
We are made of memory, and only memory.
[even though he's solid to the touch for dahut and luke.]
We do not have bodies or physical corporeal entities in this space. I disappeared because memory is the only component of my existence, rather than the physical. My memories according to this machine are only an exact replica of what I expect, nothing else. They do not take into consideration subconscious input or more distant recall.
[he laughs again, terribly amused]
That is why the Helly Belly locations adjust based on our understanding and wishes—it is us and our expectations and lingering will made manifest.
no subject
He does not say this out loud, though. Instead he just takes in what some of them have probably been edging closer to guessing anyway, given the weekly effects and the strange oddities they've been running into.]
...I see! [HE SEES...] Mademoiselle Rodeo was more correct than she knows!
["IS THERE CANDY IN THE WEIRD MEDPOD CONSCIOUS LIMBO" WHY YES YES THERE IS, BECAUSE IT WAS WILLED INTO EXISTENCE.]
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--Except, in a way, that works in his favor. A man who didn't believe in ghosts and spirits until he had to meet them face to face, a man who doesn't come from a world with backups or phoenixes or miracles--to him, their continued consciousness here is the anomaly. The fact that their wills are strong enough to manifest like this is almost less surprising than the idea that they aren't truly dead.]
So that's why we're still tangible--because we've always known ourselves to be?
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[ah but he's in such a good mood. he will go to start packing up the machine and guiding it toward a closet that he made in the surgery lab.... it has a biometric lock so he's just going to shut it once all the wiring is packed away.]
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[FUCKING RELIVERS AT IT IMMEDIATELY. He'll just watch Scien go pack the machine away into his stupid biometric locked closet in this cursedass surgery lab.
He reaches out to pat Luke in the meantime.]
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Alright. I'll be here. [For support... even if that just means being judgmental.] I'm looking into building something that'll let us call each other a little more easily, since this place is getting big. I'll get you some prototypes once I have something.
[We are denied pagers but maybe I can swing like. Beepers or something idk. Modifies the roomba]
I'll go get everyone together. We have a lot to talk about.
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[scien is just going to give him access to the biometric lock for their crazy lil reliver tech]
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Thank you, Monsieur Luke! [i hope it is a truly stupid system of communication. DELIVERY ROOMBAS LIKE MESSENGER PIGEONS.
But whenever Luke moseys off, he'll trot over to Scien so they can do their stupid biometric lock bullshit.]
week 4, pre-execution
instead of explaining anything to them verbally, they get a paper. the expectations are simple: 1 ) while scien is in the memory machine, edit his memories so he forgets the moment he lost his arm and 2 ) eject him from the memory machine so he's not just gone forever. he gives a brief explanation of the program he developed as well as an explanation of what to look for in the viewer to find thee moment he lost his arm, but otherwise just sets himself up to get in the machine.
when dahut and luke go through scien's memories, they will get to experience this dramatic battle of "good" versus "evil".... which is probably also the only moment scien has ever sounded truly enraged.
i just transcribed the wholeass scene from the game and called it good for the most part but hell yea welcome to this insane show of trust]
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And after seeing the whole fiasco leading up to his lost arm, before actually getting to work, he just looks up toward Luke.]
Why is he so dramatic...
[WHY ARE YOU ASKING LUKE.]
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Once more, he'll stand close by but out of the way. TRULY IT'S A BOLD CHOICE to allow a nosy-ass detective in here, but Luke thinks Dahut would get mad at him if he suggested taking advantage of this to snoop, so he will not... instead, he keeps his arms loosely crossed as he watches Dahut work.]
So it was that guy...
[Y'know, like Yves from Memshare
He glances at Dahut and snorts.]
I think he was born that way. It's the only explanation. [PLEASE.] ...But at least somebody told him what's been obvious from the start.
[Luke, who has also repeatedly told Scien that he doesn't view him as a god, thinks Yves from Memshare is valid in this, even though he has mixed thoughts on the rest.]
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Damn though imagine the secrets they could unveil if Luke wasn't being babysat. Dahut glances at the screen and at the Yves, sighing.]
Oh, I'm sure you're right. No one becomes like Monsieur Scien! That just happens as an act of God.
[The other sky one that he doesn't believe in! Congrats on your terrible dramatic natural born personality, Scien. He does drop into something quiet after that, though.]
...Even though he really didn't like it, he understands why this was important. It's a little hard to see him come to these conclusions through something like this, though, even if he deserves to be dragged back down to the ground every now and then.
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But Luke reaches out, putting a hand on Dahut's shoulder and squeezing gently.]
He's okay. [A reminder, first--even if it's obvious, he thinks that sometimes it helps to hear things out loud.] Do you think he would have listened if it happened any other way?
[He knows Dahut's Scien fell in love but he doesn't know the details, so it's like... 20% a real question. Maybe 30%.]
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He does seem to appreciate the reassurance, at least, reaching up to pat the hand at his shoulder while considering his answer.]
It's hard to say. In this case, in these circumstances, most likely not... He was already too far down the path he'd picked. It takes some really violent shaking to dislodge a stubborn guy at that point! But in different circumstances, I don't think it would have to be like this at all.
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Well, I'll take your word for it. [Privately, he thinks a Scien "in different circumstances" would essentially be a completely different person, but he keeps that to himself. It doesn't matter much anyway, in the end; unless something TRULY bizarre happens, those branching possibilities won't intersect.
In the meantime, thinking back over what they saw--]
I didn't even know he could get that angry. [LIKE, PHYSICALLY.]
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I've never seen him that angry before, either! Even when he had a functional set of emotions, "mad" wasn't something he was feeling at the time, clearly... At most, I've only ever seen him get very, very irritated? Which is also bad!
[OH TO EARN THE IRE OF GOD... Spooky.]
Of course it would be over something this stupid. Really, Monsieur Scien, you're something else... I'm guessing it didn't send him into a crash because it was pretty short-lived?
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Luke can't help smiling a little, though.]
I think the most human thing a person can do is to get mad over being told they aren't an infallible god. [This is literally the plot of ff16 actually] Do you need to... check for damages, or anything? It's probably fine, right?
[Since he assumes it would've been an issue before now if it was going to be one at all]
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You're right, you're right... No matter how god-like a person is, they're really only just a person in the end! Which is why it's so important that Monsieur Scien keeps this lesson.
[If only he could have fallen in love with his maid so it didn't have to be learned by having his ass kicked by a twink...]
But! It's fine, mm. I'll do a last check before I start the process. Let's finish this up and get him back out of there...
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But he nods, and scoots back a little to let Dahut do his work. He does not joke about leaving Scien in the machine this time.]
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—Mmm, o-kay! That should take care of things. Let's hope this goes well or we'll have to start over.
[JUST KILL SCIEN AND START FRESH. Anyway he'll eject, come back nerd.]
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and this time the bitch does in fact have two arms. he yawns upon being ejected, like waking up from a pretty good nap.... using his new left arm to come up and obscure his mouth]
Dahut? Busybody?
[memory jumble after awakey....]
Ah, an experiment?
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It worked.
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Success! Yaaay, good work, good work!
[Before he scurries off to get Scien a glass of water in case he needs it.]
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but he glances over to the reliver machine and then nods]
Ah, memory editing... Fine, I won't ask too many questions for now to see how it stabilizes.
Report to me if anything is amiss.
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The main risk is just undoing the work, right? [Presumably, since it looked like Dahut left almost everything else intact.]
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O-kay! [To Scien, and then:] That's the big one, but we really don't know anything about the long-term effects or even short-term ones on something like this, so we'll have to keep an eye out and make sure Monsieur Scien doesn't suddenly go-
[SOUND EFFECTS of a particularly gooey explosion.]
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but then he'll drink his water]
If I do, just expect me back in four hours. [CARE MORE]
But I doubt my technology will be that faulty. There is nothing glaring in my memory, but I suppose that's half the point. I shouldn't be able to notice it that easily.
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This wasn't based on technology you had before...?
[Or does he just mean because they're currently Oops All Memory, which is fair and acceptable]
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More or less! [MORE OR LESS WHAT.] But our environment and even our very selves are all technically suuuper unstable, so who knows what could happen if even the tiniest unexpected thing goes awry! [Explosions...] It'll likely be fine, though.
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[he'll actually probably dismantle the machine by monday]
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I'm obligated to remind you both that you're ridiculous. [This is the real reason he's here during these experiments, someone needs to remind the Relivers that they're insane] But alright. We've got a little time before anything happens, and we can keep an eye on you throughout the day.
[
He kind of wishes he could also keep and use this technology for himself, but he does not say that because he isn't Viktor]
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I don't think this is particularly ridiculous... [It's so ridiculous. Relivers are ridiculous. He glances at the machine for just a brief moment before turning his attention back to Scien.]
Any further instruction for now, then, or are we all ready to go watch someone die horribly?
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Go ahead. I'll be there shortly, I'll just put all of this away.
[away in the lil closet... he can't just leave his reliver tech out when viktor is around]
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[And he will give one last hair ruffle before he heads out so that everyone can get jumpscared later, hilarious]
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We'll go with you just in case you have to field questions, so don't take too long!
[AWAAAY.]