citylogs | [closed for now] february problems

[well. they've got a couple things to discuss, don't they?

at around the same time, netzach finds a book and yesod finds a file, and after quickly conferring with each other... these are both things chesed absolutely needs to know about. netzach texts him to ask chesed to start coffee for all three of them before they meet him in one of the common areas of the apartment, and when they arrive it's with slices of toasted bread, a little jam and honey on the side. might as well eat and talk.]

Morning...

[netzach stifles a yawn as he slides a familiar book across the table. any of them would recognize an abnormality's book on sight; this one is labeled as hosting the child of the galaxy.]

Found this in our room. I thought for sure it'd just be a regular version of the book, but... I don't think it feels like it is.

[ Tiphereth, Carmen, both decommissioned in that iteration. Netzach, whose status is listed as decommissioned as well (Netzach, who sacrificed himself). The documents have been on Yesod's mind since he discovered them and brought them home, and they are laid out on a section of the table now.

Yesod doesn't touch their breakfast yet — once he has greeted Chesed, his attention is on the book that Netzach found. The fact that it appeared here, in their room, reminds him of Daan receiving books from his world that shouldn't fall into anyone's hands.

He looks up, at Netzach. ]

What do you mean, Netzach?

[if only this were another double date, right... no, unfortunately this time they need to talk. again.

when netzach invites them over and tells them the door's been left unlocked, he hasn't bothered to set out any food (kaveh would do it better anyway), though he has at least provided drinks (both alcoholic and not); he's currently sitting on a green beanbag near the sofa, turned to face it and sipping a beer.

the file, he's left in yesod's hands. he just raises his free hand to them as they arrive.]

Hey. Make yourselves comfortable, alright?

[Netzach never needed to provide food as is. In comes Alhaitham with the containers Kaveh has decided to make him carry. These are not the only containers, just the ones he's been designated caravan of.

He offers Netzch and Yesod a nod before making straight for the table to unload. The file in Yesod's hands, then, gets a curious look. The folders are all generic, and it proves nothing until he sees it, but he can guess.] Found something interesting?

[ It's somewhat uncomfortable to offer nothing, though Yesod also realizes that for all his efforts, he is still too new to cooking for others. The appeal lies in caring for specific individuals, but perhaps his own habits and preferences are a hindrance — the process of eating has often clashed with other priorities, and it's only recently that there was enjoyment to be found in it. If he were Chesed, he would have customized coffee to serve; he has made some tea to provide alongside Netzach's beverage selection, at least.

At any rate, even while he had no appetite, Kaveh's thoughtful deliveries were appreciated, and today's containers are no less so.

Yesod hovers near the table to greet Alhaitham and Kaveh when they arrive, and to assist with arranging the items set down there. Once their hands are free, he holds out the file, labeled with Netzach's name. ]

Another set of resident documents from a past iteration. This file is Netzach's... It appeared in the office at the Science Discovery Center.

[ kaveh sweeps in with another three containers, because sleep is something that has long since been designated for other people. netzach and yesod are sights for sore eyes. it's the threshold that kaveh stops at, because the last time he had been over, it had been before netzach had been poisoned by the liver, and stabbed by kromer. it had been before kaveh had failed him twice. just the act of being welcomed in feels like a transgression somehow, but to kaveh's credit, his steps only skip for but a leaden heartbeat before he slips into the apartment with a wan greeting and a plucked up smile.

the files prominently displayed on the table immediately catches his attention. it's something for the weight of his consideration attention to fall upon as he begins to help Yesod set up, pleasantries making way for: ] Netzach's file?

[ ... ] So the data leaks really are becoming more frequent. Who else has seen these?

-hey, Midnight?

[one of the many benefits of the time midnight has spent staying over: they don't need to message him to come over to talk, nor does netzach have to try very hard to find him. wherever midnight is currently, netzach arrives to lean against him, one arm linked casually through yesod's to drag him along.]

Yesod found something. I think we'd better show you.

[ Midnight immediately turns, closing his book and rolling from the couch. He greets both with a nod, stretching a little. He hasn't spent this much time in loungewear doing basically nothing since the first murder attempt, and while it still feels strange to be up to basically nothing... It is, at least, nice to read at length, with no expectations on his time. This is certainly something he hasn't done since he was a child. ]

Yes, my love. Lead the way. What is it?

[ Midnight receives a nod in return before Netzach is more or less sandwiched between him and Yesod while he leans against Midnight. The discovered items in question are in Netzach's possession now — the physical records and the USB drive alike. The focus of all of it is Netzach himself, after all, and he is free to do as he pleases with them. ]

...Yes. You may have heard that such documents have been appearing from time to time. These particular ones were suddenly there in the Science Discovery Center's office.

[ Which raises some questions, considering the timing. Yesod glances at Netzach to allow him to choose where to begin. ]

Mm. It's kind of a lot to read...

[he gestures for midnight to settle back into place, and then takes his preferred position between the two of them before passing the physical records to midnight for him to peruse.]

I mean, the part about using our real bodies is definitely something, but... my status says I'm supposed to be decommissioned. I don't know if that means this hasn't been updated, or if me being here is a mistake, or... what.

[ Midnight takes the files, skimming them once quickly, then slowly, then quickly again. A love for books at a very young age means that no amount of paperwork is daunting so long as reading is the only thing meant to be done.

His eyes caught the decommissioned status nigh immediately, but seeing as how Netzach is currently squished against his body, it's not something that merited concern in his eyes. Midnight looks over for a moment, but goes back to reading carefully, picking the form over for details. ]

I confess I haven't been keeping track of whatever files we have available to us. Is this the only evidence we have of such a concept?

[ It is reassuring, admittedly, to sit here as they are, not only because it's tangible proof that Netzach is perfectly real, solid and warm and there, home. It's impossible to keep watch at all times — it's inadvisable to go that far — but that has been easier to accept, like this.

Yesod shakes his head in answer to Midnight's question. ]

A few sections of another resident record were recently shared. However, her iteration was CE-41, and her status was given as "alive"... It also mentioned someone who was decommissioned and brought back some time later, all during the same iteration.

Seems like there's been a lot going on... especially if they were keeping tabs on us this closely. I didn't really expect this much detail.

[there might have been a similar evaluation of him made, back in the city, but not for this kind of purpose. certainly with a different outlook, meant for completely different results.]

[ Midnight hums, reading through the whole thing a third time. (It's the vampirism, too, but outside a bit of slowness, his reading speed and comprehension have mostly stayed intact. It's nice to know, honestly, that was something his heritage didn't give him wholesale.) ]

Forgive me if I'm not understanding this correctly, but it seems to me that if a "blank" has been decommissioned, this only holds significance if we, in fact, are not within our mortal bodies, that we are due for an eventual decommissioning.

[ Midnight hums again. Yes, he is very late to the party. He just has better things to do. (Having a good time is a better thing to do, in his eyes.) ]

Netzach, you had some concerns about functioning in a human body again. Would it be accurate to say that this place would have had to provide you some sort of shell to bring you down to the physical plane, per se? That is, you had no proper body to speak of before you came here?

[ That would explain a bit of the discrepancy, so long as no one else with a more or less "human" body pops up as decommissioned as well. ]

Either way... It seems to me that the only true flaw to this little scheme of theirs, other than a lack of agency in this entire process on our parts, is the lack of memories inherent to a soul in a fresh blank. Once we are decommissioned, that version of us is effectively dead.

[ Blunt, but as someone who lived in a medical facility where memory loss was a common symptom among the residents, it's a reality that Midnight has meditated on more than once. ]

[ If they had access to other files for comparison, that might answer their questions... Chesed's or Yesod's own, perhaps, from one of the iterations prior to CE-40, to ascertain whether their status would match Netzach's, in addition to others across iterations. That could suggest that it is linked to retiring versions of them attached to the blank bodies altogether. Maybe Roland, Angela, and Carmen would shed more light on possible differences as well. ]

Yes, decommissioning appears to apply to every instance of removing residents from an iteration, whether or not they are reused. The process includes a step to erase all memories, which may have been more successful prior to CE-40, due to the use of the blanks.

[ Yesod frowns, eyes lowered to the report in Midnight's hands. ]

...It has occurred to us that our circumstances are unusual.

[ Pausing, he waits for Netzach to elaborate upon Midnight's prompting. While their bodies within the Library are essentially human, flesh and blood, it is indeed surprising to think that they are apparently able to exist outside of the Library for these researchers to conduct their various physical assessments. ]

[closed for now] february problems

yesod & chesed-

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netsod & haikaveh

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yesod & midnight-

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