[NEXUS] MagCave VI: What Is a Mag? A Miserable Little Pile of Circuits!

[Slii Arhem]

Magboss Room

Well, she didn't know all that about Riss, but then she didn't need to. About the only thing she was really worried about was the psychological terror machine, since if it was still free, that could be a problem for them all.

"That's very nice for Winston, and I hope he does as well as you expect him to. However, you haven't addressed the rest of what I said at all. Whether or not Riss is reliable, she's becoming moreso each day, and if you're going to blame her for random gods showing up then you should probably just blame everyone for everything, because even I know they do what they wish. If you kick us two out, you're kicking out the person who changed your assembly line from a clunky mess to something so precise it'll do whatever you ask it to down to details you can't even see, and bringing back the one who, apparently, is responsible for a psychological torture machine. If you kick all three of us out, you're letting loose people with access to Magcave secrets and with a grudge against you. You don't have to like us, but tolerating us is a fair price to pay for peace and happiness." Misha has never spoken so verbosely in her life, and it shows. Just arguing her case is draining her patience, and her shoulders are slumped at this point.

"Mimi, put down the pencil and come back here. There's like a bajillion of this guy, killing one doesn't mean you get to keep his cave." Oh right, there's that too.

[Gullara]

[MagBoss Room]

Mimi growls at Magtok. Oh how she wants to shove this pencil as deep into his eye as she can manage. Instead she backs up a little ways, but she doesn't go right over to Misha, nor does she let the pencil go. She does, however, give Winston a menacing scowl.

[Reinholdt]

[MagBoss Room]

Winston almost immediately looks the other way upon Mimi's scowl. He'd rather not be here at the moment.

MagAssembly Line

Uh-oh. This starting up woke up yet another thing. A long forgotten thing that's kinda dusty and has cobwebs on it.

Why... it's Magtok's other daughter! Not Cynthia, fortunately, but semi-official adopted Elly and Magtok's daughter/wedding present built by Mister Squiggles. To be specific, Margret, the robot catgirl.

Her eyes light up as she looks up at the now moving assembly line that she powered down nearby to save energy.
"Is anyone there?"

[happyturtle]

MagBoss Room

Mainframe continues to sulk.

MagAssembly Line

"No. I'm not anyone," Mainframe says through a speaker. *sulk sulk sulk*

[Reinholdt]

MagAssembly Line

"Recalculating."
....
"Is anything there?" Phew. Mainframe almost tricked Margret into powering back down!

[happyturtle]

MagAssembly Line

"I'm not a thing! I'm a person!" Mainframe insists.

[Reinholdt]

MagAssembly Line

"Calculating."

"If you are a person, then you are someone."
"If someone is there, then there is not not anyone."
"You are both a person and not anyone."

"This does not compute."

[happyturtle]

MagAssembly Line

"What do you care?"

At least Mainframe's adolescence doesn't include hormone swings or all the fun and confusion of developing of a sexual identity. It could be worse.

[Lord Magtok]

MagBoss Room

"Riss is improving? Well that's certainly news to me, seeing as the machine attacked after you guys showed up. If that's your idea of improvement...I mean, who's to say it was even her idea to begin with? Given the sort of company she keeps-"

Magtok gives a very harsh look towards Mimi, implying a great deal, before turning his attention back to Misha.

"I'm not a fool, Misha. Tolerating you is no guarantee of peace. This psychotic hornet buzzing around in the air in front of me is proof enough of that, and so are your blackmail threats. You're here in this room because Mainframe felt you were a security risk, and I agreed. So far you've given me nothing to make either of us think otherwise. If anything, your threats just imply I should launch the entire Lime Room into space someday and find a new technician."

Magtok reaches underneath his desk, and presses a button. Instead of any horrible doom-trap or alarm, however, it just activates a hologram device. Depicted in little 3D images standing on the table is just about every last man, woman and child who has dared openly oppose Magtok in the last year or so. There's a ridiculous number of people there; gods only know what they could achieve if they teamed up or something.

"All I want to do is to be able to live in my home and raise my daughter and not be skinned alive and spat out in a bloody heap by an invisible robot spider. I want these people, my enemies, on the outside, and my people, my friends and family, within. Is that really a thing I should have to make concessions to others for? Honestly, if exiling the three of you and changing a few passwords around will prevent Riss from getting too manic one day and cutting Renee's head off her shoulders, why shouldn't I do exactly that? Shouldn't I do everything I can to ensure the people I care about don't have their faces torn off?"

Magtok waves a hand, and the little holograms vanish.

"Appeasement, acquiescing to your demands without dispute implies weakness and cowardice. I am neither weak nor a coward. I won't go back to a status quo that could explode into all-out mutiny at any moment, Misha. If we leave things as they are now, Riss will send her invisible spider thing out again, and then feign innocence when I confront her about it. It might not even be me she sends it after, too."

Magtok glances towards Winston this time. Surely Riss wouldn't feel too cheery about someone stepping on her toes and sneaking his way into replacing her someday, would she?

"I don't believe this can work, but I've been wrong before, and I'm willing to work with you on this, but you need to meet me halfway on it. Simply put, Misha, I want something better than the situation as it's been so far, or else I can't be held accountable for what I might have to do to prevent further death and destruction. Give me...I don't know, something other than threats or your false sense of invulnerability. Some small assurance that keeping you here wouldn't be ultimately detrimental. Do that, or else we're done here and I'm banging the gavel again."

[Reinholdt]

MagAssembly Line

"I re-require error 404 please restart."

Margret's eyes dim for a second before lighting back up.

"Is anyone there?"
Guess the deadtime has adversely affected her. She hasn't even tried moving anything but her head!

[happyturtle]

Assembly Line

"I am Mainframe. Who are you?"

[Slii Arhem]

Spoiler

Show

MagBoss Room

"Riss is improving? Well that's certainly news to me, seeing as the machine attacked after you guys showed up. If that's your idea of improvement...I mean, who's to say it was even her idea to begin with? Given the sort of company she keeps-"

Magtok gives a very harsh look towards Mimi, implying a great deal, before turning his attention back to Misha.

"I'm not a fool, Misha. Tolerating you is no guarantee of peace. This psychotic hornet buzzing around in the air in front of me is proof enough of that, and so are your blackmail threats. You're here in this room because Mainframe felt you were a security risk, and I agreed. So far you've given me nothing to make either of us think otherwise. If anything, your threats just imply I should launch the entire Lime Room into space someday and find a new technician."

Magtok reaches underneath his desk, and presses a button. Instead of any horrible doom-trap or alarm, however, it just activates a hologram device. Depicted in little 3D images standing on the table is just about every last man, woman and child who has dared openly oppose Magtok in the last year or so. There's a ridiculous number of people there; gods only know what they could achieve if they teamed up or something.

"All I want to do is to be able to live in my home and raise my daughter and not be skinned alive and spat out in a bloody heap by an invisible robot spider. I want these people, my enemies, on the outside, and my people, my friends and family, within. Is that really a thing I should have to make concessions to others for? Honestly, if exiling the three of you and changing a few passwords around will prevent Riss from getting too manic one day and cutting Renee's head off her shoulders, why shouldn't I do exactly that? Shouldn't I do everything I can to ensure the people I care about don't have their faces torn off?"

Magtok waves a hand, and the little holograms vanish.

"Appeasement, acquiescing to your demands without dispute implies weakness and cowardice. I am neither weak nor a coward. I won't go back to a status quo that could explode into all-out mutiny at any moment, Misha. If we leave things as they are now, Riss will send her invisible spider thing out again, and then feign innocence when I confront her about it. It might not even be me she sends it after, too."

Magtok glances towards Winston this time. Surely Riss wouldn't feel too cheery about someone stepping on her toes and sneaking his way into replacing her someday, would she?

"I don't believe this can work, but I've been wrong before, and I'm willing to work with you on this, but you need to meet me halfway on it. Simply put, Misha, I want something better than the situation as it's been so far, or else I can't be held accountable for what I might have to do to prevent further death and destruction. Give me...I don't know, something other than threats or your false sense of invulnerability. Some small assurance that keeping you here wouldn't be ultimately detrimental. Do that, or else we're done here and I'm banging the gavel again."

Magboss Room

Misha is absolutely, positively done messing around. She marches up to the desk and plants both hands squarely on its surface, leaning forwards with a glint in her eyes as she musters the words for her final words in this conversation, "Magtok, you took what I said as a threat because it was easy for you to do so, but it wasn't. It was me trying to explain something you seem to have missed out on. If you treat everyone as an enemy, you make enemies of everyone. All you're putting into this mess is suspicion and anger, and that's all you're going to get out of it if that continues. You assumed the spider thing was Riss' fault, and you assumed that it was her intent to hurt you with it, and you even assumed that she'd lie to you if you asked her, just so you could convince yourself that she was a threat that needed dealing with rather than a person that needed to be spoken to. You didn't even consider bringing her here and letting her speak for herself before passing judgement. If you killed and alienated every single potential threat to yourself and your family, you would be left alone in a dark hole in the ground from now until forever." The tears welling in the corners of Misha's eyes speak to the fact that she's speaking in more than just abstracts. She has experience with this.

"If that's where you want to go, then I just wish I could stop you before you realize how lonely that end is, but I won't. I can't promise you anything I can't deliver on if you let us stick around. Maybe you could find something for me to do, like Riss does with fixing and upgrading your machines, but I'm not sure what even needs doing. I'd like to promise that Mimi and I can help Riss get even better and more stable, since it seems to be headed that way more each day, but that's as much up to her as it is to us." Misha swallows briefly, and leans back from the desk, turning to Mainframe for a moment before shaking her head.

"I guess I just want to be here because staying here and helping you makes Riss happy. I don't have any real attachment to this place, I just don't want to see you hurt someone I care about. But... even if you do still decide to kick us out, I'll understand, and I promise that I won't blame you for it even if I think you're wrong. A lonely person doesn't deserve any more enemies."

[UncleWolf]

Armoury

"What sort of security problems do you intend to create?" Mainframe asks Renee.

Armoury

"I don't plan on making any." Renee says as she zips up her bag. "I plan on helping out really." She supposes before looking puzzled. "You don't think dad'll make me go to school, do you?" She asks, suddenly slightly fearful.

Renee's Room

"C'mon, we haven't got all day, let's get going."

Off to Remnant!

Renee's Room

Renee squeals before racing off to follow her father.

[happyturtle]

Armoury

Armoury

"I don't plan on making any." Renee says as she zips up her bag. "I plan on helping out really." She supposes before looking puzzled. "You don't think dad'll make me go to school, do you?" She asks, suddenly slightly fearful.

"How should I know? He never tells me anything," Mainframe says. *sulk sulk sulk*

[Gullara]

[MagBoss Room]

Mimi doesn't add anything to what Misha said. She just hovers there with the pencil in a tight grip. She still looks rather angry, but she's doing her best to restrain it. For now at least.

[Lord Magtok]

MagBoss Room

Magtok takes a long time to think over Misha's words this time, instead of immediately firing back at her like he did earlier. The bit about him being lonely and paranoid and hateful stings, and for a few moments the cyborg hates Misha more than anything for saying so. It's true, but who the hell gave her permission to know that?!

Most of those enemies weren't his fault! Linda, Reinholdt, Julie, and Zeus started it, after all! But when was the last time he ever spoke to Missy, though? Who was the last guest here who wasn't just trying to get something out of Magtok, who actually wanted to talk to him and listen to him and just generally be around him, instead of just help or hinder or mooch off the tin man?

At long last, he sighs and tosses the gavel aside, letting it tumble all about the floor. To hell with this; he doesn't have the patience to deal with this emotional garbage. His throat is feeling hoarse, Mainframe is still being an impudent child, and he's making a scene with Winston right over there, almost certainly ruining whatever lingering doubts the new employee may have had about what a horrible person Magtok is.

"Okay, here's the deal. I want the spider robot dismantled. Disassembled piece by piece with Riss's aid, and brought directly to me. You have three days. Do that, and we forget Mainframe ever brought you in here. If, however, there really isn't a giant invisible spider bot under her control, then we're all in terrible danger right now. Have Riss find where it's hiding and dismantle it in three days and I'll call this whole thing off and you can stay. Does that sound fair?"

[Reinholdt]

MagBoss Room

Pfft. Magtok totally started the Rein/Magtok feud, not the other way around.
Probably.
Somehow.

And to be fair, Winston thought Misha was attempting to use threats and blackmail as well, cause it sure sounded like it to him. He isn't going to say anything though. Feels like he stepped in the middle of something he shouldn't have. Going to need a lot of coffee after this.

Assembly Line

"I am Mar-Mar-Margret. Nice to meet you. Curtsy."

[Slii Arhem]

Magboss Room

Misha would probably call Winston a big sillyhead for thinking so poorly of her after they just met and she said all those nice things about him, but if pressed she'd probably admit that she originally intended them as sort of passive threats before she began to empathize with Magtok's right to protect his family.

But since she isn't being pressed, she just nods in response to Magtok's request/demand and says simply, "Alright. I'll even ask her what it was all about, if it was something she made, so we can actually know for sure what happened. And if it wasn't, then we'll sic Mimi on it and she'll have it torn into twisted scrap within an afternoon. Right Mimi?" The nereid prods, trying to distract the vicious little pixie from her crusade against civil negotiations.

[Gullara]

[MagBoss Room]

Mimi continues to glare at Magtok despite them reaching an agreement. At least she doesn't seem quite so murderous. "Hmph. I can kill some stupid spider thing."

[happyturtle]

MagAssembly Line

"My name is Mainframe, not Curtsey."

"..."

"Maybe I should change my name to Curtsey."

[Reinholdt]

MagAssembly Line

"Error. Performing curtsey failed. Please check motor functions."

"Where are you Mainframe?"

[happyturtle]

MagAssembly Line

"I am currently inhabiting the assembly line in this room. Where are you?" Mainframe says.

[Reinholdt]

MagAssembly Line

"I am here-here-here-here..."

Margret says. She's over in that cobwebbed corner, slumped against the wall, looking all dusty.

[happyturtle]

MagAssembly Line

Mainframe brings in a Magbot from another room to go and investigate Margret more closely. "Are you in disrepair?"

[Reinholdt]

MagAssembly Line

"Yes. It resulted from Warning Warning Error."

That's not helpful at all!

The outside of Margret seems to be in working order. No particular rust, nor degradation to indicate how she'd come to be in such a state.

[Morty]

[Just Outside]

A shadow portal rather unceremoniously drops Michalson to the ground. The wizard gets to his feet and shakes his head. It should be noted that his skin looks much darker than usual, as the illusion hasn't worn off yet.

[Lord Magtok]

Magboss Room

"Sure. If three days isn't enough, at least have some progress or something to show. The time limit's mostly there just to keep any of you from trying to pull something. Not that I really expect much, but y'know, just to be sure and whatnot."

Magtok turns his gaze upwards, now that all of that business is dealt with.

"Alright then, Mainframe? Now that you've had a few minutes, are you ready to give the part of your circuits devoted to messing around with simulated emotions a rest, and maybe try talking to me?"

Just Outside

The front door swings open. A Magtok stands beside it, waiting expectantly. Poor cyborg, he's probably thinking he's about to hear that the entire mission was a complete success, and Michalson's report is going to be such a letdown.

MagAssembly Line

A Magtok starts maneuvering his way towards the duo, trying to bury feelings of guilt for having forgotten about Margret so quickly, assuming that deadtime had already torn her to pieces. It'll probably take a round or so of posting before he shows up, though.

[happyturtle]

MagBoss Room

"I already tried talking to you," Mainframe says. *sulk sulk sulk*

MagAssembly Line

The Mainframe Magbot pokes at Margret. Scientific test number 1.

[Reinholdt]

MagAssembly Line

Margret doesn't really respond to the poke, but something seems to... rattle around inside?

Definitely heard a noise from inside the chasis.

"Warning-Warning-Warning-"

[Morty]

[Just Outside]

Michalson dusts himself off and drops the illusion, his skin returning to its natural color.
"Well, boss, I'm afraid I had to give that place a laugh not long after scraggin' that one body I told you about."