| Douglock Arrives |
| Summary: |
Douglock arrives in Lincoln, Nebraska. Finding himself alone he feels out the firewall at Xavier's School via a satellite uplink. Sage is alerted to the attempt and after they talk agree that "Doug" should come to the school. Douglock takes a bus from Lincoln to North Salem which is longer than twenty-four hours, then an Uber cab from the bus station to the school. At Xavier's Sage meets Douglock as he arrives and, after confirming his identity she invites him to stay and guides him to 'his' room - the room assigned to the native Doug Ramsey. |
| Date: | 2016-07-24 to 26 |
| Related: | None |
| NPCs: | Bobby (Xavier's student emitted by Sage); DouGlas. D0UG74$, and urRamsey (Douglock's forks emitted by Doug) |
| Scene Runner: | n/a |
| Social/Plot: | Social |
| Players: |
 .. .. |
Sunday evening finds Sage in Xavier's mansion. Wearing comfortably-loose lounge clothes, she's catching up on a few things while fixing herself a late snack in the kitchen. She's scanning seventeen international news sites, looking for good local Chinese carry-out, and playing a game of virtual chess just to keep her mental wheels spinning. So it's a pretty light evening. Opening the fridge, she starts setting out sandwich ingredients on the counter.
Sunday evening, 24 July 2016 at 9:11pm Central Time as dusk is settling towards night over Lincoln, Nebraska. The factory dominated neighborhood is part of the recently dubbed "Silicon Prairie". Some of the factories still serving their original function while others have been repurposed as office buildings and "grunge chic" apartment or condo buildings.
Without a noise, a lone figure appears on the roof of one of the buildings. For an immeasurably short moment Douglock is confused to find himself alone.
("Looks like Magik miscalculated the stepping disks again, sir,") urRamsey's mental voice says to his primary. Answering similarly Doug says, ("Check our location and time,") while he begins cycling though X-Men radio signals on a local band to see if he gets any responses.
The satellites are reported as indicating the correct time and location. He gets no reply on the radio. A quick scan for Sentinel-tech comes up negative so Doug focuses on the satellite uplink himself. As urRamsey falls to the background, monitoring their surroundings, the dish formed on Douglock's left shoulder shifts as he searches for the right satellite ("Funny, its orbit isn't the same.") and then reaches out a substantial part of his consciousness though it to the satellite.
Once in orbit, Doug takes a full minute to create a Gamma Fork to monitor the uplink and upcoming downlink. Once this bridge-fork is in place he locates Westchester county New York, then a specific estate and a satellite dish on those grounds.
Douglock glides his consciousness though the downlink and begins gently probing the defenses of this system which is both intimately familiar and oddly… different.
Sage is just opening a jar of spicy mustard when she feels it; that gentle probing. She pauses, jar in one hand and lid in the other. Half of the internet links drop as she re-focuses her attention to check the integrity of the firewalls. Next come the security protocols, while she searches for the intruder.
One of the kids is out of bed. "Hi, Sage!" She smiles to him, eyes hidden behind those red glasses. "Hello, Bobby. Shouldn't you be in bed?" Then she continues with the sandwich.
Out in cyberspace, Sage integrates herself into the system firewall. *What do you want here?*
In cyberspace, just outside the firewall, Sage finds what appears to be the X-Man Doug Ramsey dressed like a blue program from the original Tron film. As she speaks he retracts his fingers from the edge of the firewall. *Someone reconfigured the firewalls. The code's wrong. Not /bad/ mind you, just not how I left it,* he says almost to himself before replying, *I'm trying to find out what happened to the rest of the team that should be in Nebraska with me right now.*
In orbit the bridge-fork DouGlas dutifully monitors the links, sending burst reports to both his Prime and to urRamsey as he is meant to do by his limited nature.
In Nebraska, urRamsey continues to monitor Douglock's surroundings, bristling his body with sensors as necessary, and prepared to send an urgent burst report if necessary.
At the Xavier firewalls, Doug says, *Who are you?*
Sage does a quick roster-check before she replies in that disembodied voice. *Not how you left it?* Then she recognizes the image and projects her own. Dressed in black on black, she is wearing those red glasses as well. *I am Sage. And thank you for your assessment of my code.*
The image of the dark-haired woman extends out from the firewall and approaches him a bit closer. *Doug? I don't show any teams currenly deployed in Nebraska. While the implications of this are troubling at first, I have come across a possible explanation.*
Douglock is momentarily started.
In Nebraska, this shows in his head turning to face the direction of New York state. Because of this, urRamsey sends a priority query requesting a status update.
In orbit, DouGlas notes the increased traffic and sends an immediate burst report with a high priority query to both his Primary and urRamsey.
At the firewall in Westchester county New York, Doug doesn't reply to Sage for a moment. ("All is fine,") he sends to both of his active forks before receiving the query from the Gamma or is fully conscious of his assistant's inquiry. Then he replies to Sage, *Tessa, right? Sebastian Shaw's assistant.* Some concern shows on his features as the differences are piling up too quickly for his ease of mind and he is wishing he had another Gamma fork or two prepared. *What is your possible explination?* he asks somewhat guardedly.
Sage waits for his assessment, already having formed a hypothesis as to what is going on. *Yes, my name is Tessa. However Sage will also suffice. And I am no longer Sebastian Shaw's.* While she speaks without emotion there is a certain finality in that last declaration.
*I am presently one of the X-Men. Having spent some time in alternate realities and returned, I would hypothesize that you are not from -this- version of Earth.* She pauses for a moment to let that sink in before continuing. *You would not be the first one I have encountered from another reality, Doug.*
*Would you give me the non-private files about the Doug you know?* Doug asks unhesitatingly.
In Orbit, DouGlas' concern is totally dispelled by his Prime's response and he resumes performing his duties without a pause.
In Nebraska, urRamsey privately muses over his remaining concerns while focusing on the task at hand. Since there is little to observe as the sunlight fades in the deepening dusk he causes a radio antenna to sprout from the top of Douglock's head as he begins scanning the local police frequencies, listening to reports about various misdemeanors and minor felonies being addressed.
Sage nods her head once, already beginning the mental file search. *Of course.* she replies. Extending her virtual hand a moment later, she is holding an accordian folder and offers it to him. *These are the non-private and unclassified files on the Doug that I know. For the moment at least, you should assume that you are taking his place.*
She pauses for a moment to regard him. *Before granting you additional access to Doug's records, I would like to see you face-to-face. Come to the Mansion.* Of course she would. Sage is a psychic as well, after all. But the security makes sense.
Sage finishes making her sandwich and begins putting everything away. She is careful to slice the bread on a neat diagonal and place an olive on each half. Bobby is sent to bed with a glass of milk, and the woman finds a comfortable seat on a sofa.
Doug takes the accordian folder which, in his hands, digitizes into a swarm of pixies which he then absorbs. After a brief scan of a few of the files he says, *You are likely right. Nothing seems to be right following Warlock's and my deaths.*
In Nebraska, the sliver of Doug's consciousness says, ("Stop monitoring. Find the nearest bus terminal and get us a ticket to Westchester county unless I tell you otherwise,") to urRamsey who immediately retracts all the probes, antennas and other sensory apparatuses into Douglock's body. ("Yes, sir,") he replies as he steps down off the two story factory building and, as the body resumes a normal human-ish form, heads off to comply.
In Orbit, DouGlas is oblivious to the exchange as anything more than a minor increase in traffic flagged as benign.
Back at the firewall, Doug says, *I will come by bus as that seems safest even if it is not the fastest means of travel. Less of a concern than it would be to fly public air or… well, yes, that is best for now I think.* He starts to move to the uplink then stops and asks, *Will my credit cards work or should I 'acquire' some cash from an account tied to the school? And if the latter will you give me the tracking codes I need to do that?*
Sage considers for a microsecond before she replies. *If I understand the process correctly, all credit cards and possessions will be linked to the Doug of -this- reality. There should be no issue with your access to funds. You should also have Doug's apartment key, car keys, and anything else that he would have here.*
The Sage-avatar smiles, then. *I will remain here at the school until you return. While taking the bus from Nebraska won't be very scenic, I do agree that it is the safest route. Is there anything else that you require?*
*Alright, unless things are very different here it'll be more than a day before I am there,* he says. Then, as he reaches the uplink and glides up it as if the satellite was 'down' from Earth, he says, *I'll spend the time reading I guess.*
In Orbit, Doug discharges DouGlas from his duties and reintegrates him while keeping a backup copy as this Gamma seems both stable and useful. After disconnecting the link to Xavier's he glides back down to Nebraska and disconnects the link to the satellite as well. ("So, I'm literally not myself in this world, urRamsey,") he says and then asks as he performs a data dump of his conversation with Sage for the Beta Fork, ("Is it wrong that I'm not worried?")
After a moment's consideration, urRamsey replies, ("Not really, seems almost a typical day at Xavier's to me.")
FADE OUT
MONTAGE SEQUENCE
Douglock buys a bus ticket and smiles warmly at the attendant when she gives him a funny look after noticing the shifting lines on his face.
On the bus between Lincoln and Chicago, Douglock reads the Doug files a few dozen times, skimming though the portions that he lived though on the first read and skipping them entirely on the re-reads.
In Chicago, Douglock recharges by eating a deep dish pizza. ("Its a casserole!") urRamsey gripes during the meal.
On the bus between Chicago and New York, Douglock takes advantage of the bus' WiFi to peruse Wikipedia and other parts of the internet.
In New York, at the Port Authority Bus Station, Douglock, between arriving and the departure of the bus to Westchester County, goes to the observation deck of the Empire State Building to look at the skyline from within and notes the familiar absence of the twin towers.
urRamsey spends the whole bus ride from the city to the town of Doug's birth discussing the familiar sights outside the bus.
END OF MONTAGE SEQUENCE
FADE IN
Early afternoon, 26 July 2016 at 1:30pm Eastern Time. Westchester county, New York.
A bright red Honda Accord pulls up to the gates of the Xavier estate and a somewhat unusual looking man - Doug Ramsey, aka Douglock - steps out of it after paying the Uber driver with his credit card. As he steps away from the car it peels out, fishtailing slightly as it does.
In his mind, Doug says, ("Give him a negative comment for that departure and his bigoted comments about the school,") to his assistant and is answered by a prompt ("Yes sir,") from urRamsey as he walks down the driveway towards the mansion.
Sage is outside, leaning against the fountain. And it's no coincidence, either. Having calculated multiple routes and travel possibilities, she ran a simple linear regression to predict the most likely arrival time. From there, she simply moved outside a good ten minutes prior to his arrival.
Well within the expected variance, based upon the data.
Sage is wearing jeans and a tanktop, sipping a cup of coffee. The woman is wearing her special shades, keeping tabs on the school's systems as well as a dozen other functions in background. Just relaxing.
"Doug Ramsey" looks much like natives of this world would expect for some potentially disturbing differences - as he is relaxed and allowing his eyes to glow as they do naturally. He is wearing jeans and a white t-shirt with long, raglan style sleeves.
When he notices Sage, Doug approaches her and the fountain stopping about a yard away. When he speaks his voice sounds like a synthesized version of Doug-616's.
":Hello Sage,:" Doug says, extending his hand to her in greeting.
Sage eases away from the fountain when she sees him approach, the woman sizing him up behind the shades. She's a telepath and is quite capable of reading his mind at this distance, but that's not what she had in mind. Extending a hand as well, she takes his own before she speaks.
"Hello, Doug. Your genetic code is very unique, so I do not need to perform anything more than a quick scan to verify your origins." And no sooner do their hands touch than she's done it.
Tilting her head a little, Sage smiles and declares simply. "Welcome home."
Doug doesn't allow the physical contact to last long. ":This does feel very much like home,:" he muses. He asks, ":Anything specific I need to know right up front?:" due to his experience with cross-dimensional adventures and at least one time-lost aquantance.
Sage is certainly satisfied after the quick genetic scan, her hand slipping away after the brief contact. "First, let me take you to your room so that you can settle in." Pause "Again."
Reaching out through her broadband connection, Sage updates the firewall and ensures that this -edition- of Doug has the same level of network access as his predecessor.
"You will find all of the necessary history and mission files at your dispoal now, including Doug's… your… private files."
":Thank you,:" Doug replies before following Sage into the mansion. He allows her to lead him as their are subtle differences in the layout and, especially, he has no idea which room would be 'his' here. Along the way he reaches out though the mansion's WiFi network with his mind and finds the information on Doug and 'his' private files. He is reading them as they reach the room. ":Transmode virus also,:" he comments on one of the files, adding, ":The parallels are amazing.:"
Sage chuckles softly at his remark, navigating through the maze of rooms that are at once both familiar as well as strangely new. "I lack a similar perspective, I'm afraid." she admits. "When I left this reality to go to an alternate one, it was -this- version who departed and returned. This is my home dimension."
":Has this sort of thing been happening a lot?,:" Doug asks immediately before also asking, ":Did you know him very well? The native version of me, that is." As he asks he looks around the room and finds it has the right feel to be his room, but at the same time it feels very strange and 'off' in some immeasurable way.
Sage considers for a moment, then she shakes her head. "Only briefly, I'm afraid. Enough for me to have a good comparision for the mutation in your DNA." Drawing off the glasses, she perches them carefully atop her black hair and regards him with bright, blue eyes. "I can refer you to a few others who might be more useful, however. I first heard of the alternate reality hypothesis from Pete Wisdom. I'll e-mail you his number. Also, Kurt Wagner would be another useful person to talk with."
":That would be nice,:" Doug replies as he boots up the computer in 'his' room. ":What is my… was his I guess is better, role here at the school?:" he asks while beginning the process of creating a Gamma fork to install on the machine.
Sage smiles at the question and then shrugs. "That is also a better question for Kurt. You must remember that I've only been back a short while myself from an alternate reality." She pauses for a moment, then adds. "You should also feel free to discuss your… origins… with Kurt. It will not only help him to understand your perspective, but your potential needs as well."
As Doug nods in response to the advice he extends a tendril that forms an electrical plug at the end and slots it into the wall outlet to see to one of those aforementioned needs. ":Is he serving as Headmaster currently?:" he asks about Kurt.
Once the computer is on he lays a hand on the case, slotting into the USB port to upload the now completed D0UG74$ Gamma fork into the system: its purpose, to insinuate itself into the OS of this one computer and, more immediately, provide his primary with the information he can find for any email accounts Doug had used on the device.
Sage keeps her glasses up, mostly out of politeness. No, she doesn't want to 'look over his shoulder' while Doug is plugging in. She smiles at the question about Kurt, shaking her head. "No, actually, he isn't. But he is well-grounded and open minded. There are others who may question the alternate reality theory."
Doug disengages from the USB port and smiles. ":I can imagine that things are a bit chaotic if I'm not the only displaced member of Xavier's staff and student body,:" he says. ":Ok, so this is my room now,:" he says with a slight finality in his tone.
Sage tilts her head at that, nodding. She pulls the glasses back down, settling them into place before she replies. "Not everyone is aware of the multiple realities, Doug. This isn't an intentional omission, however. The information is not pertinent to everyone."
":Oh that's brilliant then,:" Doug says with a laugh. ":So, in this world where mutants can be public…:" He transforms into a Sage-copy, black with faintly glowing circuitry lines for clothes and hair while 'her' skin is faintly glowing yellow with dark circuitry lines on it - and a red pair of glasses perched on 'her' head. ":… but I still have a secret to keep, because I am not this world's Douglas Aaron Ramsey!:" To punctuate this 'she' plants 'her' hands on 'her' hips and tilts her head slightly.
Sage's brows lift at his transformation, red lips twitching into an amused smile. "No. You are certainly not if you look like -that-…" she agrees. "And yes, you can be as free with your powers as you wish. Xavier's school is public, as is its purpose."
Douglock's form and clothing return to normal and nods. ":Alright, good to know. I guess I need to contact Kurt and Wisdom and have a sit down with one or both of them,:" he says.
Sage gives a nod of approval as his form shifts away from her own, back to normal. "I would strongly encourage that, yes. And sometime I would very much like to talk about myself; at least the version of Sage you know from your exposure to the Hellfire Club." She pauses for a moment, then adds. "I am no longer welcome at that institution in this reality."
Turning towards the door, Sage gestures out into the hallway. "Make yourself at home, Doug. Just remember that we have students living here, and many of them are quite young. I will check back with you to see how you're adjusting."
And with that, having said what she needed to say, Sage abruptly turns and makes her exit.
FADE OUT