View source for 2022-01-20: What Starlike Experts 'Complicate' Actors

*'''Log: What Starlike Experts 'Complicate' Actors'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Character :: Ruri Hoshino]], [[Character :: Alexis Kerib]]
*'''Where:''' Aboard the Nadesico
*'''Date:''' 2022-01-20
*'''Summary''': ''Ruri senses Omoikane's unease, and goes to the computer control room to try and talk to him. Alexis politely interrupts to tell her about a threat to her planet.''
----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Phase 1, Turn 1]]

<poem>'''<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.'''

                        < ERROR - STACK OVERFLOW >
                        < REROUTING - . . . . . . . . . >
                        < THREAT NAVIGATION NORMAL >
                        < THREAT DETECTION NORMAL >
                        < SYSTEMS NOMINAL >
                        < WHY ARE WE STILL HERE >

        The end of a long cascade of data streams down Ruri's screen, and she looks down at the operations console, where that same data streams through the IFS Connector on her hands.

        "..." Her lips open; her brow arches. "The adults have some things to work out... don't worry," she replies, on one level -- the verbal level -- as on another she signs a hundred-dozen digital signatures to verify the program 'waiting' as safe and free of errors.

        "Mm?" Comes a voice, beside her, and Ruri startles, looking up.

        "Oh, um..." Ruri looks to the side, with a light frown. "Please excuse me for a moment." She can issue her own commands into the system; at least one layer is human-legible, which is necessary for the sake of audits. Ruri learned about audits when she was training. It's foolish, but those are the rules.

                        SET OPERATION AUTO
                        SET TASK NULL
                        THANK YOU

        Omoikane's window pops up, with pleasant assent

                        < AUTO SYSTEMS ENGAGED >
                        < LEAVE IT TO ME >

        "Thank you," Ruri says, again, as she stands and excuses herself from the bridge.

        ----

        Nadesico's computer control room is situated off one of the endless corridors of the ship, but the inside doesn't look anything like the sterile white hall. It looks to be -- may ''well'' be -- the inside of a computer core, the walls etched in something like circuit boards, bare seating and surfaces about three walls. There are places to ''input'' devices, here, but it is a room which hums with energy with or without more computers to add to it.

        Ruri takes a seat, at one of those chairs with backs too high for her -- the one nearest the door, because she's the only one in here, the only one who tends to ''come'' in here a lot of the time. She could bring a device of her own, but... but if she just puts fingertips to that wall, careful not to touch the glowing lines, she can get a good sense of it, regardless. She knows Omoikane well enough for that, now.

        "Are you all right?" She asks, though the concern in her voice reaches her face only in subtle ways. "Are... are you stressed because I left? I wouldn't leave for long..."

        Here in the control room, she doesn't have to put on a brave face; she's frightened, to feel Omoikane's own nerves. It's not the first time, but... if they act unusual...


'''<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.'''

The thread of life traces from Nouvelle Tokyo... to the Ra Mari...

... to the Nadesico.

It's hard for Alexis to come here. In a sense, this is a room that is ''always'' observed, because Omoikane is here, and is extremely 'here' in its hereness. Unlike with the Ra Mari, where he could simply slip into the corners of someone's vision where previously there was nothing: he has to try.

He finds a hole, though -- ''outside'' the door is fine. The door slides open, and he slides in through it. The emphasis is very much on sliding, too -- it's as if the floor was ice and he was simply given a push.

"You must be close to Captain York," he says to the young lady he seems to have been drawn through to. He considers her posture, her body language, for just a moment. Then, he asks: "Am I intruding...?"


'''<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.'''


        The ''door,'' at least, is meant to slide open, with the traditional sci-fi woosh. Ruri looks up, eyes flickering open where they'd closed in concentration, and her first thought is: "Uribatake-san..?"

        If anyone was going to take an interest in Omoikane's systems, it would be --

        Ruri gasps, when she turns to look at who's about to enter only to find the door already ''closed,'' because someone glided through. She stands and turns, not that drawing herself up to her full height does ''much'' when she's almost literally half an Alexis.

        She's frightened that a massive strange man is inside her house, of course, but...

        At the same time...

        He is ''inside her house.''

        Alexis has entered the computer control room, and Ruri, the systems operator, puts on her very best firm voice, because she has a ''duty of care.'' "You are ''not'' allowed in here!" She declares, frowning, reaching for her communicator. It's not impossible to think that when she touches it, her next words would be, 'intruder in --'

        Except he mentions Captain York, and her thoughts and actions both are interrupted. Ruri hesitates, hand crossing her chest, because all a sudden this stranger intruding on Omoikane has something to do with ''her.'' "I only met her a few times," Ruri says, tone more muted -- closer to normal -- and her eyes leave that mask for a moment as she glances aside. Her lips tug long and down, a gesture of discomfort as much as it is displeasure, as she looks back to him again. "This is a secure area," she starts, again. "Visitors aren't allowed here, so you need to leave." For someone so young, she's ''awfully'' serious.


'''<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.'''

Being asked to leave with such seriousness, by someone so young, actually takes Alexis aback a tiny amount. He needs a moment to fully reorient himself -- so there's a bit of a pause in the action, in the flow of things. "Well," he says, softly. "Is there somewhere else we could talk? We do need to speak." He slides through space again -- a half-step back, toward the door. "I ''do'' apologize for the intrusion. Rest assured, I won't touch this magnificent vessel's equally magnificent mind." Just the tiniest amount of golden-yellow can be seen in his eyes through the red pane over them, as he says, "It would make me ''deeply'' unhappy to strike at a vessel carrying so many hopes and dreams."

He doesn't wait for Ruri's answer to the question of whether there's somewhere else they could talk, instead giving the faintest nudge of, "If you would lead the way, please?"


'''<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.'''


        Most twelve-year-olds, by this point in their lives, have been told Not To Talk To Strangers. It's a normal part of a child's life... unless, of course, that child was raised in a laboratory, and her handlers needed her to respond to people who she might never have met before.

        Which is to say: Ruri never got that talk.

        Which is to say: oh no.

        She does see him pausing; she keeps standing firm, which is an unsung victory, really, because she's ''still'' terribly frightened. But he's moving for the door, so --

        Ruri looks back to the digitally-engraved walls of the room, when Alexis talks about Omoikane's mind, about ''striking'' at him. "... did you come to threaten us?"

        Her hand falls a little, to rub at her opposite arm. "... in any case, you can't stay here, so..." She's looking at ''him,'' to get him to leave first, but she'll follow him out, at least.

        Ruri isn't really comfortable with this, and give her credit: she's smart enough to come up with a plan. "This way," she says, going down the hall. She leads him to one of the maintenance rooms -- Uribatake's team's territory. She can tell one of ''them'' there's a strange man here, and ''they'' can help, and --

        This plan is shortly thwarted by the fact that this particular maintenance room is currently empty.

        "..." Ruri frowns, the tension on her face evident. She wants to just contact the bridge, but... this man is very obvious, and he still snuck this deep into the ship. If she raises the alarm, he might hurt her. And --

        And he knows Omoikane has a mind, and he knows one of the access points to it.

        Give her credit: her defeat is a subtle thing, a little fall of her shoulders, a little dip of her chin. Give her credit, too, that she was operating against an intruder this long, even though she's the youngest person on the Nadesico. "What do you want?" Ruri asks, voice measured, looking back to him.

        She doesn't have a visor to cover her gold up. Her mask is something she made to wear in a laboratory, not an invasion.


'''<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.'''

"Hm? Oh no -- not at all!" Alexis says, tone shifting. He's increasingly jovial; with Ruri playing along with him at all, he's quite delighted to keep speaking. He's having a good time now. He makes note of every little twitch of her body, every subtle movement, every tiny disappointment.

Oh, he thinks. He might be smiling underneath the mask, because:

He could ''devour'' that.

"Why would I threaten you? You're a friend of the Captain's, and her well-being is ''so'' important to my hopes." He follows along with Ruri, perfectly content to be led; if it ''is'' into a trap, well... frankly: he's immortal. It would be an inconvenience; it would not be a misery.

They find nothing.

Alexis gets the conversation he wanted, and is delighted to get it. "I came to give you a warning," he explains. "I'm concerned about you, you know. The world is so chaotic... a young lady like you deserves to at least know what's coming to her doorstep, yes?"

He glances around. "Ah -- is there..." he starts, before... coming to a fork. With Eight, it was easy to be all business -- to present her with what he knows, and get the wheels spinning. With ''Ruri''...

"... You really must excuse me," he says, starting over again with contrition in his voice. "It's been some time since I've had to -- present myself, to others. Was this inappropriate...?" (Despite his feigned concern: he remains delighted. Perhaps he is even now ''more'' delighted.)


'''<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.'''


        "I don't believe you," Ruri tells Alexis, flatly. It would be smarter for her to play along, maybe -- but for all Ruri is an ''intellectual'' genius, she's still a twelve-year-old girl whose sum total of friendly interactions thus far has been with the crew of the ''Nadesico'' (plus a few intersections with Ra Mari, over the past few days). So when he talks about how important Captain York is to him, Ruri not only doesn't buy it, but she ''tells him'' she's not buying.

        She's at least smart enough to have some sense she's out of her depth, though, which is why she was hoping to find help here in the maintenance room. Something else must have needed fixing. It is a big ship, she supposes, even now her disappointment is by something which feels so dangerous.

        But... even though she doesn't believe he's worried, he came to give her a warning, anyway. Ruri's frown deepens by degrees, because part of her is ''expecting'' a warning. Omoikane is tense, and that makes her nervous, too.

        Ruri starts, slightly -- a little lift of her chin, a little curl of her fingers -- when she hears him excusing himself, all a sudden. "Fool," she grumbles, looking aside with a frown. This, in a way, is her ''own'' way of pausing, even if it's more verbal; she's a little more unseated, to hear relatable emotion from him. "It's very inappropriate. This is a battleship... you need to talk to the Captain." Grumbly though it is, it's fine advice; she's taking him at his word that he doesn't know what to do with his warning.


'''<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.'''

Ruri presents something frustrating, here: Alexis does sincerely and genuinely want to warn the Nadesico of what's coming, to get them to orient toward it (and not him) as a threat. But now he has no interest in ''generally'' sharing it. He wants to share with Ruri -- someone who carries such deep pain in her heart.

It'll help him later.

So he breezes past Ruri's recommendation, for the moment. "I'd just as soon avoid causing further trouble," he offers, after a moment. "My understanding is that the Earth Sphere has little information on the threat anyway, and what I can offer is little more than its name and its shape... things you'd be perfectly capable of passing along. And with that, I can leave this miraculous vessel alone."

'Hm,' he reflects. 'I should probably offer her a little more -- after all, she still has little cause to trust me, as yet.' "Ah -- I suppose I should clarify. The Captain's importance to my hopes isn't personal -- rather, it's as someone who would stand against the Aura of Dawn." She smells his overstatement of intimacy -- he needs to walk it back, to clarify it's simply clumsy phrasing. Reframe himself.


'''<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.'''


        What ''is'' it with the past week, Ruri wonders, that has everyone making her their messenger?

        It's the sort of petulant little resentment which doesn't really fit with the gravity of this situation, but which children are prone to feeling, anyway. And it keeps her quiet, and frowning, long enough for Alexis to clarify.

        The Captain -- Captain York, she supplies -- he wants her to fight a battle for him. Ruri's body turns a few more degrees away, a hand crossing up to grasp her opposite elbow. "I still don't understand who you are," she protests, but the shape of her unfriendliness has changed -- it at least makes more ''sense'' to her that someone like this isn't a close friend of Captain York's. If he were, she must have misjudged the woman. And speaking of misjudgements -- "I don't know why you're asking for me, either. Did..." Here she pauses, in light hesitation, looking back up, up, up to that strange masked man. "Did Captain York talk about me..?"

        It's a question which makes her uneasy, in the crease of her brow, the thinning of her lips pressed together. She talked about personal things with her, and she doesn't like to think she'd talk about them with other people, particularly one as strange as this.

        Ruri, who was clinically observed for so many years, doesn't like feeling exposed.


'''<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.'''

How much to expose... he certainly can't lie to her on this point. Ruri's a smart girl. She'll talk to Captain York and it'll get messy. "Oh, no. It's --" How to explain this... "... I found Captain York by wanting to meet someone her fighting friend could rely on. I moved from the Captain to you by similar means." It's best to be honest, in this way. It costs him little to explain the general sense of how he moves through reality. Not nothing -- but little.

Admitting the other element of that -- that he managed this movement, unlike with a higher-clarity connection between two souls like the one that enabled his ''first'' movement, because for a moment he dropped his mask and opened himself and was able to in turn trace a connection -- is unpalatable. Alexis doesn't like feeling exposed, either -- not in the first order, and certainly not in the ''second''.

"You may call me Alexis Kerib," he answers. "I believe your kind would refer to me as -- an alien. A seijin, for the poetic." A person of the stars. "The words 'Triple Zero,' 'Oath Over Omega' -- these will have meanings, soon, to you. And you'll need to treat them as a threat."

Alexis avoids putting his gaze on Ruri, for the moment. He glances away; it makes him look wistful. (In truth, he's feeding her her space back, slowly.) "I suppose I should have waited to see your own captain after all," he offers, after a second. "You seem as though you're used to having responsibilities heaped upon you, and it's unfair to have given you one more, isn't it...? Whether the world is at stake or not."



'''<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.'''


        "Because you wanted it..?" Ruri wonders, frowning to herself. She wonders if it's anything like wanting to talk to computers. She's good at finding systems, but... isn't that because she's a systems operator?

        Alexis introduces himself -- introduces himself without staring at her, at that -- and slowly, Ruri turns back towards him, arms falling back down to her sides in a posture which is painfully proper for such a young lady. "Oh... you're not human," Ruri puts the pieces together, finally, in the front of her mind. "I thought it was strange."

        But... Oath Over Omega...? Triple Zero...?

        She's surprised, again, to hear Alexis consider all the responsibilities on her shoulders. (The world is at stake.) "Don't be foolish," she chides him, frowning. "I'm a bridge officer of the Nadesico. It's important for me to be composed under pressure. I understand that better than most people."

        Translated one way: 'I'm not a child,' said every child in existence.

        Translated another way: I executed the order to crush them with the Distortion Field. I made sure the Captain gave the order before protecting the ship. I didn't even cry about it like everyone else did afterwards.

        Ruri doesn't much want to be pitied when she's one of the strongest people here; she bulls right past his concern, into analysis.

        "That's three Os," Ruri points out, bluntly. "Not three zeroes." Which means, implicitly, she's turning it over in her mind, thinking about it. "Are you telling me Oath Over Omega should be understood as electricity flowing through the system?" Here, of course, Ruri is referring to binary code; she's substituted O for 1.

        "Or is it something else..?"

        It's a level of analysis which doesn't really belong to someone of her age. It's a level of conversation she's more comfortable with, too.


'''<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.'''

"Of course. You're a mature young woman," Alexis says, teal panels lighting up in that rictus grin. "It's simply important to me to consider how much I'm asking of you." He chews on that for a little while, further glancing off.

Ruri pivots to analysis -- a place where he can get a better sense of how she thinks, who she is. And so far: it's ''fascinating''. "Hohoho... very astute," Alexis says instead. He's established, now -- as far as he's concerned -- that he cares enough to consider the world Ruri lives in. "A negative charge flowing through the system -- ''precisely'' right. Cosmological, not electrical, but the particulars matter less."

He remains at rest, conversing comfortably about something abhorrent to him. "'Cosmic law' -- an assertion that all life must be destroyed. It flows through what were once the people of your Earth, empowers them. It turns things to light, and then, to nothing." Likewise leaning into her metaphor, he affirms, "To '1', and then to '0.' Those touched can be saved, of course -- but 'cosmic law' will still exist. Dawn will still creep closer."



'''<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.'''


        Ruri doesn't quite get to placing that she's gone from trying to ''address'' this threat to considering the threat he's ''addressing,'' but then again, that's why she tried to get an adult in the first place.

        This isn't the sort of threat she was ever designed to handle.

        (Which means he isn't lying, when he has all that to consider, huh?)

        He confirms some of her suspicions, more or less. "At low frequences, electricity flows through the path of least resistance to ground," Ruri says, easily. It's a bit of an approximation, but she's used to approximating when she talks. "But since you're referring to an increase and subsequent decrease, it's a higher frequency, isn't it? So cosmological forces follow least inductance, not least impedance... or something like that."

        She frowns, a hand reaching up to scratch her cheek. "I can make guesses like that, but I don't really understand it," she admits. "I know about aerospace engineering, but those are different cosmic laws, aren't they? You're talking about... dangers from space. Like the Jovians, I suppose." Are the lizards involved..? Maybe it's better for her not to complicate it for now.

        "... but anything which decided that all life should be destroyed would have to be alive enough to decide that in the first place, wouldn't it?" Ruri asks, after a moment's consideration.


'''<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.'''

"Again, yes -- more accurate as we progress. Cosmic in the sense of governing the cosmos," Alexis offers. By this point he's settled into a very casual, conversational tone, despite the highly heavy and highly technical (in a certain sense) subject matter. "The birth and death of the world." Alexis knows a lot. He also knows that creating people who can refute the cosmological argument requires them to come to a working understanding of its premises on their own.

"For now, there's little I can give you, save that people who left your world many years ago have returned to herald it," Alexis says. "As for the question of whether it lives -- you'll find, as you approach the fullness of the universe, that something does not need to 'live' to 'decide.'" It's a very specific choice of words.

He sounds almost mournful as he says, "You'll soon come to understand the full scope of the danger approaching you; you're thinking... perhaps too narrowly? But I struggled to understand the scope of what I faced, too, once."

He starts to draw back up to a standing posture, slow and sure. "For now... I suppose I can but tell you to assess those who proclaim cosmic law to you very carefully -- and treat them as threats to your world. And if you have need of additional power, you need but ask."

... no, too far -- not the right note to hit. He needs to -- ah. Perfect. "Of course, if you would rather weather the storm in safety... I can help with that, as well." There.



'''<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.'''


        "I don't think living means having a heartbeat," Ruri says. "Computers are alive. Plants are alive. Sponges are alive, too. But you're talking about something else, right?" Tragically, for all she entertains the concept, it doesn't sound like it's anathema to her. But then, Ruri is used to thinking more people are people than the people around her.

        She is, at least, curious at this point, rather than dismissive. "If it's that big," she surmises, child-logic shining through again, "you should just say so. You have no one to blame but yourself if hiding things puts the world in danger."

        ... does she have to say it so straight-out...?

        Alexis offers her salvation, but Ruri's giving her a piece of her mind, instead. "If you know more than someone else, you should offer them factual information so that they can make an informed decision," she says, and it's painfully clear she's speaking from experience. "Saying that I'll come to understand won't do any good until it's already happened. You should talk to Ms. Fressange, Mr. Kerib. She'll explain how to explain things to you."

        IN THE OBSERVATION ROOM --

        Inez Fressange looks up from her cup of tea. "Hm? Explain...?"

        BUT NEVER MIND THAT --

        The fact that she's trying to help Alexis explain himself better might, at least, mean she believes he's ''trying'' to help. She's looking at him, and her stance is more open, now.

        "Help like that should go through the Captain," Ruri reminds him, finally. "But thank you for the offer. I don't think the help you're offering would save people affected by that law, though. So if you're asking me, I don't want it."

        Ruri looks away, and she can't quite veil the sadness in her eyes, this time.

        "... I don't want to kill anyone else."


'''<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.'''

Alexis entertains the comments Ruri gives her, each in turn. "... It's not that, precisely. Some things can be difficult to explain -- and approach -- without seeing them up close." He tries to figure out how to further explain this point, but Alexis is hit with the extent to which he is speaking to a child, all at once. Oh, to be sure, he already knew -- this is not his first middle schooler in a high-gravity position, after all. But it's another thing to be hit with the scope of what that means, all at once.

"I wish I could impress it upon you, but -- tell me, could you have understood burnt orange and madder red before seeing the sun rise and set?" Oh, to be sure, those aren't the only places you could see those colors -- but he, at least, thinks his point is well made.

And if it isn't: Fortunately, she presents him with an area where he can just make her obviously wrong. "Oh, no. It might hurt, certainly -- but it's never been the death of anyone," Alexis answers, perfectly honestly.

How bitter it is to turn a failure into a selling point.

Regardless, he moves away from Ruri at last. "... My apologies for not meeting the high bar your Ms. Fressange has set for explanations," he finishes, conciliatory. "I'll return when I've honed my skills to your satisfaction, Miss...?" He asks her name, without asking.


'''<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.'''


        "Light is comprised of electric and magnetic parts," Ruri says, "so of course I understood the colours of a sunset before I saw one for real. Fundamentally, it's all data."

        ... she says that as if it's not a thought experiment, for her.

        She sighs, and concedes: "... but I guess most people would just have to see it," because Ruri knows she's different from the people around her. Maybe that will have to be good enough.

        Ruri looks more confused when Alexis denies the lethality of his methods, though, a hand half-lifting. "Then..." The word trails off, uncertainly. Did she misjudge him? He's obviously suspicious, but -- but he ''did'' tell her that people affected by that power could be saved.

        Her hand drops; she falls to uneasy silence. And then he presses her for her ''name,'' and her cheeks flush with embarrassment, because she realises she's been the rude one ''this whole time.'' She thought he knew--!!

        "Um -- Ruri," she says, awkward, hesitating. She turns away again, hands curling over each other in front of her, but she at least finishes introducing herself. "Ruri Hoshino."


'''<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.'''

"Alexis Kerib," he says, finally managing a smile as he starts to translate back out of the room, cloak shifting only just slightly with his movement. "'Hoshino'... 'Seijin.'" He laughs. Two children of the stars, but from completely different angles. Language is funny, that way.

"Should you come to understand the help you need, Ruri-san," he offers -- he's a hair pointed about the -san, too, conceding that their conversation has led him to engage her as an adult -- "you need but cry for it, when you need it."

He steps out. He turns a corner.

It is as if he was never there.


'''<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.'''


        "Starry stars star stars," Ruri says, and it's a complete and congruent sentence, because she enjoys wordplay, too. But if he's comparing the two like that... "alien, alienable, alienated..."

        ... she sounds a little more downcast, with that second set. Each word progresses from the other. It's an extremely succinct summary of herself.

        But he recognises her maturity anyway. She looks back, as if to tell him she's not the sort of person to cry, except -- he's already stepped out. Ruri hurries after, out into the hall, looks back and forth.

        "He's gone...?"

        "Ah, Ruri!" A tall, blonde woman greets her, as Inez Fressange approaches, as if she smelled blood in the water -- or confusion in Ruri's voice. "Are you confused about something? Let me explain!"

        Ruri turns to her, a hand clasped to her heart. "Um... actually, Ms. Fressange... there's something I have to explain, to everyone."

        Well, if it's for the sake of explaining, Ruri can rely on Inez's help to get everyone to the briefing room.

        She does her best to explain what just happened, but...

        ... at least no one is asking about Omoikane after she's reported a strange visit like that.</poem>