dualislogs | The life and times of ascent and fall

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The life and times of ascent and fall

WHO: Murmur, Tim, and OTA!
WHAT: People are still showing up for some reason I guess
WHERE: Dorms, city library
WHEN: whatever time now is
WARNINGS: Dunno yet

At the dorms, Closed to Tim;

To wake up in a strange place should be cause for alarm for anyone. To "wake up" at all is additional cause for alarm for Murmur. That wasn't to say he didn't know what sleep was, of course he did, nor that he never did it. It just wasn't a typical behavior of his. Much less having it happen without his willful knowledge. So, to awake feeling sluggish and groggy, in a surrounding wholly unfamiliar in a position wholly unfamiliar were all compounding reasons to awake with a start. The sudden motion sending... something he wasn't yet able to yet identify tumbling to the floor. For the moment he left it, unconcerned about the strange device that had lit up brightly in response to its tumble. No, he had far too much to be concerned about to add anything so unfamiliar to the mix.

Instinctively his awareness reached out, seeking what information and answers may come through uncomfortably dulled senses. Nothing particularly enlightening was forthcoming. While his senses were working they were significantly dulled compared to what he was accustomed to, though the answer as to why that was was at least not too elusive. A mortal vessel. Then again, he didn't think it should be this bad... or this full of static. Something was amiss.

Of course those questions would have to wait. For it would appear his strange predicament also involved the presence of a mortal. Something highly out of the ordinary in Murmur's experience. He expected demons, maybe other angels, not... a mortal. How unusual.

Don't mind the weirdo in strange robes just kinda staring at you, Tim, he doesn't really know what to say in a situation like this after waking up in a brief panic of where the fuck am I.

In search of knowledge, OTA;

Not one to wait for answers to find him Murmur soon set off from the dormitories in search of what he hoped might shed some more light on the strange situation he found himself in. Sure, he could have gone looking for less conspicuous clothing first but that was hardly the most pressing issue right now. No, he needed some clues as to how he'd come to be captured here and completely unable to leave. Jeans weren't going to give him an edge against an enemy powerful enough to keep him locked down like this, there had to be answers.

Off to hunt down the library. Even though he doubted there would be anything remaining that could clue him into the nature of his captor much less a method of escape, it was worth searching for any clues that might have been overlooked by a less careful eye. And since the city was ominously empty he'd find it much easier to simply help himself to pouring over anything and everything he found within for the faintest hint of answers.

At this juncture even the slightest information would be more useful than what he had now.

Now the question is who was going to put all the books back after he was done going through them all?

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Tim comes awake to the feeling of being watched--something that he doesn't particularly enjoy. It's unsettling because a) he doesn't like it, and b) he should be alone in his room. Cissie has been gone since they woke up to an empty city--he's trying not to think too much about that. He hopes she's gone home or... somewhere safe, anyway. Not disappeared to wherever the Head sent the rest of the population.

He rolls over to see who else in in the room, and it's someone on what used to be Cissie's bed. He raises an eyebrow, sitting up.

"Can I help you?"

The staring is probably pretty rude, isn't it? Of course waking up in a strange room, in strange company when neither of those things should be the case would be deeply unsettling on both of their parts. Add to that the whole... inconveniently mortal body, and all of this was adding up to something equal parts alarming and strange.

Regardless, the man regarded Tim a few moments longer before speaking. As though weighing exactly how to phrase his question.

"How is it I have come to be here?"

There. That's not too accusatory, right? This person didn't seem threatening, so it was unlikely he had anything to do with the current predicament. Perhaps he had some answers all the same.

"Interdimensional kidnapping by a probably sadistic artificial intelligence, likely for experimentation purposes. Possibly other, more sinister motives."

He pauses.

"Not me. I'm human, and also kidnapped."

Of all the infinite possible answers Tim could have given, that was certainly up among the ones Murmur least expected. That earned a huffed mixture of amusement and surprise, or rather amusement at his own surprise. It wasn't every day Murmur managed to be surprised, after all. Granted the news was dire indeed, yet Tim had a talent for presenting it in a way that surely made it easier to swallow.

So, prisoners it was. Not the most unusual thing. Prisoners of a malevolent AI on the other hand...

Detecting no lie, he felt no need to question the validity of Tim's claim. "Are there others?" He asked as he began to move to get up, pausing briefly to adjust to the unfamiliar weight of himself. Well, that will take some getting used to. In his pause he leaned down to gingerly pick up the device he'd knocked off the bedside table in his waking, holding it between his thumb and finger as though he expected it to explode or bite him.

"...And what is this?" It's... it's the phone.

"You better be planning on picking all those up."

Jason has been in a decidedly sour mood since waking up and finding people gone - Cissie among them. Even though he doesn't really have a job at the library anymore, it's a big, quiet, usually empty space where he can safely brood without much chance of being tracked down.

But not today. Today, there's some asshole rifling through the stacks and making a huge mess. And Jason's had to deal with that enough when he worked here, so it's almost a reflex that he says anything from the stuffed chair where he's decided to perch and read through whatever's caught his attention for the moment, some novel about a doomed romance between a warrior and a magician.

"Each shall be returned to its appropriate location once I am finished."

He replied in the flattest, most neutral tone one might think he was being sarcastic about that. The man didn't look up, nor miss a beat in whatever it was he was doing which appeared to be reading multiple books at once, and looking mildly frustrated with the contents within.

Or perhaps the lack thereof.

"Does this building fall under your care?" Obviously it probably did, given Jason's irritation with him making a mess of it, but it was still polite to ask. He assumed.

Tim nodded and motioned to the space around them, indicating their room, but also the building at large. "Yes. This space is meant to house everyone taken from their own universe by the artificial intelligence. We have freedom of movement in here and in the surrounding city, but there's no way to get out. And there aren't any more people in the city either. It's deserted."

Mysteriously, which was both a challenge and a source of deep frustration. What the hell had happened?

He frowned a little at the next question. "It's... a phone?"

Deserted. So that's why it felt so eerily quiet. That was certainly more than a little unnerving. "I suspect our captor has not been so kind as to divulge its purpose behind our detainment?" He finally rose to make his way toward the window, to go take a peek at the deserted city.

Which, yeah, looking at it only made it more unnerving. He did not like that one bit. "Has it been deserted long?" Typically nature was quick to move back into places that were deserted, and from this vantage Murmur didn't see much evidence of that. Maybe closer to the ground he'll find more.

Oh, yes, the device. He turned back to shoot Tim a quizzical look. "Are they no longer attached to walls?" Well at least he has an idea of what a phone is?

"Why be forthright when you can be opaque and mysterious?" he asked dryly. "The excuse given when I first arrived was that the AI needed help in curing a deadly virus that had wiped out the initial population. At this point, most of us are pretty sure that's not the case. As for how long it's been deserted..." He shook his head. "Not really sure. I know that a bunch of us went to sleep for two months, and when we woke up, everyone was gone. There's not a whole lot to go on to as to what happened or when it happened during that time."

And he hated not knowing. He grimaced a little.

And oh, boy, it's tech support time? "Um. Yes. They can be attached to walls. But most people find mobile phones much more convenient. This type also has the capability of creating text and video communication. I can show you, if you'd like."

"And miss out on the fun of sewing chaos? Perish the thought," He offered in a similarly dry tone. A thoughtful expression crossed his features briefly at the mention of a virus, though he nodded in agreement with Tim's assessment. Unlikely it was as simple as that, and if so there would be little reason to entrap them thus. "At most two months. A peculiar event indeed. I wonder what the purpose of reducing the population so drastically would be, or why bother keeping any for that matter..." Something to ponder, at the very least. "Regardless, I think that alone is enough to confirm the initial explanation inaccurate. I cannot fathom a reasonable purpose in removing the majority of those brought along to help."

He'd have to look more into this virus thing later. Yes, not knowing really was the worst, Tim has Murmur's sympathies. He's already feeling the strain of it, never before has he found himself this uncertain. It's troubling.

Yep, tech support time. Fortunately Murmur's a fast study. "Much more than a phone, then. Please." He offered out the strange device that he still looked like he wasn't sure how to hold. Yup, hopeless in the face of technology.

"Those are both excellent questions, and I wish I had an answer for you, but here we are, answer-less." He shakes his head. "Sorry. But I'd love to hear if you come up with something. I'd love to hear your theories."

Or anyone's, really. The whole situation is frustrating.

"More than a phone," he agrees. "Here--this is the text function. Here are audio and video." And he goes ahead and points out the various features of the phone--the ability to find others' entries, alter a username, post, comment, alter privacy settings... "Of course, this is still the Head's network. The AI can see what we post."

Unless the deal with Jack goes through.

"Unfortunately." For now. A glaring problem Murmur already had a mind to set about fixing. He didn't like not having answers, then again, the challenge posed was also exciting in its own right. Not every day he found himself so wholly out of his element, after all. Novelty was something to be cherished for an immortal being. "I will require more information before I could begin to formulate any hypothesis." Evidently Murmur didn't realize Tim might be kidding about that.

Or perhaps he wasn't kidding, which would be ideal. Already Murmur found himself at an impasse, typically in situations like this he would have chosen to stay out of things and observe. Yet finding the situation so dire, and the questions so plentiful he found himself more and more drawn to get involve. What could it hurt? It wasn't like he wasn't already involved, after all, now being among the kidnapped. He will make an exception.

Fascinating! It was hard not to be impressed by the sheer functionality of the tiny device. "Technology never ceases to astound," He muttered, stopping himself from saying 'human' to start off with. That would be weird. "Tell me more of this AI, what are its capabilities? I am unfamiliar with the concept beyond the hypothetical." In his time AI was extremely rudimentary and not really considered truly possible. And yet here they are.

Hopefully it does. Some degree of security would benefit them all.

He's not actually kidding, and he really does look forward to hearing what his new roommate comes up with. The more people working on the problem the better, as far as he's concerned. He nods a little at the words. "Let me know if you want someone to bounce ideas off."

He blows out a breath at the question of the AI's capabilities. "We know it's capable of huge amounts of surveillance, probably including this very moment. When there were other people around, there were arrests and punishments for dissent--punishments that included mental tampering."

That's good, because Murmur probably will take him up on his offer. Once he has more information to go on of course. "Certainly," After all, why not? It has been an exceptionally long time since he's spent any significant length of time around mortals. This will be quite the change. "Do you know if there has been any progress on a solution thus far?" Or were they still starting from scratch, more or less?

Of course with everyone having recently disappeared any progress there might have been wholly nullified. Unfortunate, that. He frowned deeply at the mention of mental tampering. Well, that just wouldn't do. "By what means does it achieve this mental tampering?"

If it were magical it might be reversible.

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The life and times of ascent and fall

(sorry for the delay)

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