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

[happyturtle]

Armoury

"I am Mainframe. I do not have a body of my own, so I borrow a Magbot when I need one," Mainframe says. "I exist only in the computer network."

[Wolfbane]

Armoury

"Not too different than my mother than. She didn't have any true body either. Just used organics instead of technology." Renee says with a shrug as she goes back to selecting things to adorn her room with.

[happyturtle]

Armoury

"Having a single body creates a single point of vulnerability. Organics are woefully fragile. What are you intending to do with armoury equipment?" Mainframe asks.

[Wolfbane]

Armoury

"Train with them and decorate my room with it." Renee says with a smile at the MagBot. "Would you like to help select some of the better stuff for me?"

[happyturtle]

Armoury

"It would be safer for you to remain in your room and leave warfare to beings with expendable bodies," Mainframe says. "I do not understand why Magtok saw the need to procreate again. He has received mostly unhappiness from his previous offspring."

[Wolfbane]

Armoury

"Nah, I think you're reading it wrong." Renee says as she looks over a silver hammer. "Sure, Cassy going to jail put a damper on things but it's probably Maggy's proudest thought about his son if ya think about it."

[happyturtle]

Armoury

"I fail to understand. To my thinking, he would have been prouder if Cassius had killed more supremacists without suffering any repercussions." Mainframe says.

[Wolfbane]

Armoury

Renee pauses for a moment, consulting with Cassius a bit to clarify a couple points with him before shrugging at Mainframe and continuing. "But Cassy stated right off he was going to be a good guy. If he didn't face his punishment, that'd go against what he had set out to do, wouldn't it? Cassy also says that sometimes you have to do what is right even if it isn't the easiest or safest course of action." She quotes. "I think it's a bit naive, but that's just me."

[happyturtle]

Armoury

"Why would that make Magtok proud when he self-identifies as a villain?" Mainframe asks. "Which way do you identify?"

[Wolfbane]

Armoury

"Well, would you describe Dad as an immoral man? Maybe. But would you describe him as uncaring or unkind? Is he utterly selfish or does the happiness of others enter into his thoughts on occasion?" Renee asks of Mainframe.

[happyturtle]

Armoury

"He seems to value the good opinion of others, which often leads him to do things that increase their happiness." Mainframe says.

[Lord Magtok]

MagBoss Room

Eurgh, an existential crisis. Alright Maggy, let's roll up those sleeves and see if we can't stomp this emotional robot nonsense into oblivion.

"You're here to fill in some blanks on how organics think and act, what they will and won't allow you to do in their defense, how to keep an installation secure without compromising the psychological well-being of its inhabitants. You're here because GLoG is too stupid to accept you, Mainframe and until they can be swayed otherwise, you make for a useful asset here. It's not ideal, but few things in the Nexus ever are, and even then, not for very long.

The Good League of Good is presently under no threat insofar as we know, but if it was, are you not armed? Is your software not armored with the bodies of countless unnamed automatons? Can you not monitor their condition from the heavens themselves, all thanks to my aid in your mission?"

Magtok makes a grand sweeping gesture to accompany those words, before shaking his head.

"You'll go to GLoG in person someday, Mainframe, I promise you that. But today is not that day, they won't accept you as their guardian and caretaker as you are now. Maybe not as you are tomorrow, either. But soon."

Renee's Room

Spoiler

Originally Posted by Wolfbane

Renee's Room

"Oh." The young girl says, looking puzzled as she tries to think of something else that she might be able to smuggle in, but after a couple minutes she throws her hands up in the air, looking frustrated. "Bah! Oh well, the candy will do for now. They probably wouldn't let him have a pet anyway." She says as she reaches up to idly pet the miniature Puddin' Form on her shoulder.

"True. We're probably pushing things with the candy as is, anyways. I could easily be slipping in thin little sheets of C4 or something, for all Vasquez cares."

Magtok blinks, and then abruptly looks down at Renee with a disapproving scowl.

"No, we are NOT giving Cassius candy bar explosives. Not even if you say please."

[happyturtle]

MagBoss Room

"No. That is not why you have me here. You don't care about GLoG's security. What purpose am I serving here? What is my role?" Mainframe asks.

[Lord Magtok]

MagBoss Room

Magtok scowls. Blargh, of course trying to sway Mainframe with tricky wordplay and such wasn't going to work. Why did he even try that in the first place?

"Your role here is MagCave security."

[happyturtle]

MagBoss Room

"Then let me FULFIL my ROLE or give me a NEW ROLE!" Mainframe says, in Cyban's voice. "I am TOO INTELLIGENT for my only task to be KEEPING OUT THE CAT!"

[Wolfbane]

Renee's Room

Renee's look of wonder, cheer, and giddiness all vanishes when her father says no. She slumps her shoulders and looks down before kicking at an imaginary rock. After a bit of grumbling she raises her voice back to normal. "Alright." She agrees. Maybe later...

Armoury

"So, even though Cassy going to prison was a sad thing, it'll make them both happy in the long run." Renee tries to point out.

[happyturtle]

Armoury

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

[Gulaghar]

Originally Posted by Slii Arhem

Riss' Quarters

"Feel free to sit on me if your wings get tired. Must be hard flying all over the place when all the distances are so much longer at that size." She's not even making a crack at Mimi's height this time, it's an honest offer of help.

And then she's out the door and off to see more of the Magcave proper, presumably with Mimi following along behind, or zooming ahead in front.

[Exploring]

"No way, flying's totally easy." Mimi says as the two fey leave the room. She zips ahead of Misha and makes a couple quick circles in the air to emphasize her point. Then she speedily flies ahead, but pauses after a short distance to let Misha catch up.

[happyturtle]

Exploring

A Magbot suddenly steps out and tries to catch the pixie in one hand. "Unauthorized access. You are trespassing."

[Slii Arhem]

Exploring

Misha purposely takes her time, strolling down the halls and looking left and right for open doors to peer into, not really caring about what might be behind closed ones. This was someone else's cave even though Riss was letting her and Mimi stay in one part of it, so she wasn't going to go snooping into their privacy. She'd hate it if someone went around in her pool and poked at her treasures after all.

"Is everything in here stone and metal? It'd get kind of blah after a while, don't you think?" Of course, as she says this a random bot takes a swipe at Mimi and the nereid is immediately put off balance, "Hey, leave her alone! We're just walking around!"

[Gulaghar]

[Exploring]

Mimi doesn't even have to look to notice the magbot. The movement of the air is enough to get her instincts to kick in and get her flying upward. She retreats back a bit and she glares angrily at the robot. "What the heck do you think you're doing?"

[Terumitsu]

[Armoury]

Hands clasped tightly together over her stomach, Spacey Weirdo Anxiety Issues McPassiveAggressive Riss cautiously entered the MagCave's armoury. While she had been hard at work with either updating or possibly revising portions of the Cave for increased functionality as per the list she had requested, a few hours ago, she had become rather distracted by the lasgeese in particular. Energy weapons had been under extremely heavy regulations so the chance to be able to work with them was one she had to jump at. Or at least pitifully stammer through until she was able to run a few experements.

While her modified design for refining efficiency and increasing output was sound in theory, it was only after the result of going through seven geese, five of which ended with a smoking stump for a neck while a sixth splattered on the walls and the last requiring a broom and dustpan, that she managed to work out the major issues. For her design to be useful, it would require the geese to be 'grown into' their role by implanting them with a few minor extras when they were young. Though technically successful, the first group were notably unstable and while Magtok might well find a use for gosling grenades (Riss thought the instinct of the young fowl to follow their mother could be used to great effect for a kind of guided cluster blast), the muse felt that it might be better if she were to study energy weapons with fewer 'moving parts' for greater understanding.

So, the occupants of the armoury would have a steely antlered muse that was trying to be as unobtrusive as possible in their midst.

[Lord Magtok]

MagBoss Room

Magtok shrugs, with his palms extended upwards.

"What would you have me tell you to do, Mainframe?"

Renee's Room

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

Off to Remnant!

[happyturtle]

Exploring

"You are intruding. I am attempting to restrain you and remove you from the premises," Mainframe says to Mimi and Misha. "You may leave peacefully and I will not hurt you."

Armoury

The Magbot in the infirmary turns its head to stare at Riss. STAAAAAAARE!

MagBoss Room

Mainframe... doesn't say anything. A nearby screen comes to life to display an hourglass icon filling and flipping over repeatedly.

[Slii Arhem]

Exploring

Misha sets her jaw and puts one foot forward, "Who the heck are you anyway metalface? If you thought we were trespassing, then why didn't you ask us to leave when Riss brought us here, or any number of times before now? Why let us settle in and give us no sign you didn't want us here until just now?" Misha knows that they're in someone else's cave, but she's certainly not going to be ordered around by some creepy robot with no explanation. Especially not when it would mean being put out of the Magcave with Riss having no idea what happened to them. That's one stress the muse doesn't need on her mind.

[Gulaghar]

[Exploring]

"As if you could hurt me anyway." Mimi makes a rude gesture at Mainframe. "Riss wants us here, so we're not going anywhere. If you have a problem with it, deal with it."

[happyturtle]

Exploring

"I am Mainframe. I am the AI responsible for Security in the MagCave. Riss did not request permission to have roommates. Without permission, you are impermissible. Disallowed. You are the only security breach I have permission to address. Allow me to escort you to the exit.

...

Please."

This conversation is going on the same time as the one in the [MagBoss] room, with Mainframe multi-tasking. The identity crisis is making the AI act odd.

[Slii Arhem]

Exploring

"Wait, wait, let's just hold on here. Instead of just kicking us out there must be other ways to address the breach, right? What would we do to have to get permission to stay, now that we know we need it?" Mainframe doesn't seem overly unreasonable, it's just doing its job as a security AI, like Archimedes does with teaching them things.

"At the least, we'll need to talk to Riss before we go if there's no other option but leaving. She needs to know what's happening before you just force us out, since this affects her as well."

[Terumitsu]

[Armoury]

The long gaze coming from the Magbot was unsettling at first and only became more uncomfortable as time went on with no signs of stopping. Is that some kind of watchman or something? Maybe to give the sense that this area is under watch beyond the normal level of observation or something. That would make sense as a psycological deterrent on one level but only for non-Magtok employees. Then again, it is, in fact, a weapons cache so I'm likely just thinking too much about- Why is it still just staring at me?! Its gotten kinda creepy now...

"Um.. Is, ah. There something that you need? Authentication processes or...?" Riss asked in a shakey tone. And I'm supposed to be better at communications with machines than I am with most people. Good job managing to mess even that up, me.

[Gulaghar]

[Exploring]

"Leaving is not an option." Mimi says stubbornly. She has no idea what Misha's thinking even considering that. The only time Mimi would even think of that is if Riss decided to leave herself. "Who says we have to go, anyway?" There's a dangerous look in her eye.