| Extra and Intra Dimensionality |
| Summary: | Eden (Manifold) finds Douglock researching in the library. They meet and talk, discussing each other and their abilities. Eden also asks Doug if he'd be willing to help a friend investigate a piece of alien technology. |
| Date: | 2016-07-27 |
| Related: | None |
| NPCs: | A@r0n (one of Douglock's forks) |
| Scene Runner: | NA |
| Social/Plot: | Social |
| Players: |
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Midmorning, 10:37am Eastern Time on 27 July 2016. The library at the Xavier Mansion is empty other than the latest dimensionally displaced resident of Xavier's Institute: Douglock.
He stands between two tables, one with computer terminals on it and another which is normally empty. A tendril of his techno-organic flesh trails out of his back into one of the computers and he is facing the other table upon which he has piled a number of books, one of which he is flipping though.
Unseen, in the computer, a Gamma fork called A@r0n is pulling up Wikipedia pages on historical events, people and places to summarize them for his Primary who is reading similar entries from the books he is flipping though.
That quiet that surrounds Douglock is intruded upon, not by a noise however. Rather from his location in the mansion, Manifold moves his hands to warp space-time and bend reality, opening a portal to a stack near Douglock. It is not quite body sized. More like a window, of which, Eden is there looking through it for a moment, at a shelf nearby. From which he then sees a book of interest and reaches to grab it. This opens up that frame. Of shelves and books, that outlines the techno-ogranic entity that is Douglock, who is flipping books while flipping through wikipedia. He doesn't see the wikipedia part, other than Douglock interfacing with the terminal right there. A slight pause to observe, then the book is set down and Manifold bends the portal to open up to his size so that he can step through. Coming in, he doesn't keep silent. Maybe he was noticed, but still once through that fold in space, the man calls out.
"Mate, you look the sort," says the native Australian, thick of accent, very aborhiginal in appearance. Thick dreads of hair, tied back into some wild nest that could be a pony tail, scargly sideburns on his cheeks. Wearing an olive green t-shirt, shorts and sandals, like he is coming out of the sun in the Outback even. Though if one looks at the portal, it goes right to the garage of the mansion. It simply stays there, that portal, opened by the man, it won't close until he unbends reality. With a grin, he moves to stand more in proper view so Douglock can see all of him.
As Doug turns his head towards Manifold he stops flipping pages and sends a mental signal to A@r0n to pause, since the fork has no external senses from within the terminal. ":Hello,:" he says in his synthetic-sounding voice, ":I hope I am not in your way. If you are unaware, I am Doug Ramsey. Also known as Douglock. I arrived here at the Institute yesterday.:" He extends his free hand towards the Australian gentleman.
There is one benefit in the situation for Manifold, prior to Battlworld, he was not associated with his kind so much. He knows noting of Doug Ramsey. Thus Eden takes the hand with a friendly shake. It is not business, it is half like he would greet a friend back home, a slight slap of palms, his hand up over the other, palm down. Two shakes then a slide off and back to himself. "Sup Doug. Not to offend mate, but you all machine, or?" He is curious, "That looks like it comes in hand, s'all I'm saying." The quick interface with the computer itself that is.
Doug chuckles slightly as it becomes apparent that neither of them know each other as it takes some of the edge off his situation. ":The short answer is that its complicated. Also, please be aware that I am not of this version of Earth,:" he says initially before clarifying further. ":So, the somewhat longer answer is that I'm a techno-organic being, not actually a machine but machine-like. I was born human and was transformed by accident by merging with my best friend, who was a techno-organic alien. We were both students at Xavier's…. when it was a 'School for Gifted Youngsters'. Members of the group called the New Mutants.:"
"Yaa," says Eden getting the basis and knowing of the New Mutants, the long a coming from his accent alone. "Good sorts, Gateway mentioned them." A turn of his lips, chewing an idea, his lips rotate in that thought for the moment. "Gotta say, I don't mix well with other universes. Gotta stay here or I just don't work." He shrugs, it was what it was, part of the universe. "Ya been in this one much, mate? Off Earth and all, or just came straight here when ya found yer self here?" As if stringing together his ponderance, but he is curious of the other circumstance before leaping off any springboards.
Doug closes the book and uploads A@r0n from the computer, backing him up and then reintegrating his memories before removing the tendril from the computer. Apparently research time is ended for now.
":I've been off-Earth and extradimensional before, sure. Not recently though, unless you count passing though Limbo on the way to a mission. I don't really anymore myself.:" He pauses and asks, ":That's not exactly what you meant though, right?:"
"Not exactly, mate," agrees Eden, finding that work station that the boy had been using for his research, and using it to hoist his hip. Or support his weight partially that is. A fold of his arms. "I figure you may know some of yer universe, work with other races there." Meaning aliens, "And their tech, but in this universe, you been up there." One hand unfolds enough in his arms to point skyward. "Here? Find you can work with the tech we have in this universe just as easily as you're doing here?" Earth may be the same, but aliens may be a little different.
":I have not physically left this Earth, no,:" Doug begins his answer. ":I have not found any technology in this world, terrestrial or in orbit, that I haven't been able to use as easily as what I found back home.:" He pauses and then says, ":I didn't catch your name. What should I call you? I assume you don't want me to just yell 'Hey you!' or 'Mate!' when I want your attention?" When he says 'Mate' it sounds like a recording of Eden saying it.
Listening and taking it in, he considers the name, and the recording or near simulation of his way of saying Mate is met with a grin. "Yaaa, ya know, it works, I'd answer to that. But Eden works, or if you're on the team and we're on a mission, I usually go by Manifold. Nothing to do with the car part." He lets that settle in a moment, though the other doesn't need much time to analyze anything, just names and data is all. "So, Doug, if a fella has a problem with some alien tech, and could use someone to interface it, you wouldn't be opposed to giving it a go, now, would ya?" The meat of his considerations, laid out that easy.
After the question is asked, Doug spends some time considering the offer. There are risks with alien technology, especially unknown alien technology. But at the same time, he is quite aware of his unique qualifications in this venue. Also, there's that rub of him being given a home here but still no discussion about how he fits into the Institute, so he has to keep that in mind as well - because Mr. Ramsey didn't raise his son to be a mooch and Mrs. Ramsey expected her son to be polite and helpful, especially to those who are helping him.
After the pass of a human heart beat, having considered as many of the angles on the situation as he could, Doug answers: ":Sure. Won't go to directly interfacing it the instant its in my presence, but I can definitely examine it and see what I can about it. Possibly interface it depending on what I can figure out first. Gotta be safe, y'know?:" He sounds very much like a typical person who was raised in the New York metro area other than the quality of his voice when he speaks.
Just a heart beat, Eden takes a breath and gets an answer. "Excellent, mate." A grin even, as if couldn't of hoped for a better answer. "Know a bloke who could use someone to look in on an artifact he found. Ancient civilization sort of stuff." Space wise, old advanced tech, the knowledge of it forgotten it sounds like. "I'll check with Alex about taking a little time to go up, have a quick peek under the hood and get us back here. Probably take 15 minutes tops, what with your ability mate. But ya know, chances are something would happen in that time here." That is said offhandedly, he doesn't have real experience on how fast things can change around the school yet.
":Yeah, quick doesn't mean safe,:" Doug agrees. He then asks, ":What can you tell me about this artifact already? Or do you want to not prejudice me ahead of time?:"
Considering it a moment, Eden rubs his chin. "Yaa, no worries there, mate. I don't know what it is, and prejudice or not, I imagine if you interaface with it, that wouldn't matter." He gets something of logic perhaps. The hand falls from his chin, to rest on the object he parked himself agains, additional support as he stands there talking to Doug. "Its a building, on a husk of a planet. Me mate is after some of the rare earth elements there, but doesn't want to do something risky. For well we know, could be a world bomb or something. Best to see what he's dealing with is all, before making that leap, Yaaa?" The elongated yeah now being used as the prompt, are you following? A slight lift of his brows to suggest the question implied as he concludes with an otherwise affirmative.
Doug replies with a simple affirmative: ":Yeah.:" At the same time he is considering people he'd want with him and when he gets to Illyana or Lila for transportation purposes he reexamines the portal that Eden obviously came though hanging in space behind the Australian in the racks.
":So, you can do some sort of manipulation of space-time, right?:" Doug asks with a tone implying he'd like some elaboration rather than a simple denial or affirmation.
For help in comparison, both are good, Eden's is still open and usable. No waver, it could stay there indefinitely. Once open, if left that way, still usable. For better or worse. "Yaa, space-time and some reality bending. S'long as I know where I am, I can get anywhere in this universe." He is pretty forward about it, "And that's it, another universe or dimension, no good, mate. I'm a dead bettery. Good with ma hands, a spear, but stuck where I am. Old fashioned, two-footing it. But start me here, give me an idea what you want, who you want, where you want … Well, I'll figure out getting us there."
Doug sounds impressed as he asks, ":So you don't have to know the place you are going to, only the place where you are?:"
A nod of his head, "Yaaa, something like that. From here, really, so many probabilities to get to there. Where ever there is, its selecting one and cutting out the middle bits, see?" A purse of his lips, "Say you want Centauras A, right?" Hopefully named galaxies are similar in their realities. "We could take a cruiser, someone could fly us, someone could port us. Another could cross dimensions, stepping through the middle. We could be captured by raiders, a meteor crisis could change our course forward so we have to go there." A shrug, those details don't matter, "So, its taking the step foward and removing the time between us stepping off here, and setting foot there, in a way. And folding space. Presto, mate, we're there."
":Wow, that's pretty amazing,:" Doug exclaims with an excited grin spreading across his features. As he gets excited the lines in his skin become more obvious and animated despite his body remaining still and stable. ":How far can you travel with this? Do you have a limit on how many of those things…:" he gestures towards the opening in space behind Eden, ":… you can have open at once? Also, how long does it take to open them?:" Yes, he bombards the Australian with questions before realizing it and stopping for what would be a breath if he breathed.
"Just ain't sure yet," returns Eden on the topic, lifting hand off its resting spot to rub his the upper parts of his other arm, hand going under that t-shirt he's wearing. "I mean, a few light years tops so far, haven't pushed it just yet. Another star over, can hope a few, guess I could try just getting straight there." Another shrug, as if giving that some contemplation, then putting it away. "Those, see, its reality." He points with his free hand, the other still itching or messing with his skin or something. "Once there, I have to close it. I know some blokes need to concentrate on it, but I'm not making a portal, I'm sort of tearing reality I guess."
":Yeah, its like the old thought experiment of thinking of space-time like a piece of paper, folded with a pencil pushed though it. Your power is the pencil but you can repair the holes later also I guess,:" Doug explains Eden's powers as he now envisions it.
"Exactly like that mate, ya nailed it Doug." Eden grins at the way he envisions it, whether he knows who folded and pushed the pencil through first or has seen someone do it, he gets the reference. "And like the 2 dimensional world, as the circle crosses through it, but its only a moving shadow to the 2d observer. Just I cut through some extra dimensions like the pencil and the paper." Lower case dimension, not the full on other dimension that exist beyond this one.
":Yes, exactly,:" Doug says, still excited. ":You should read Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott,:" he pauses for the nanoseconds it takes to call up the inventory of the library to find it and then points towards a shelf, ":A copy of it is on the shelves over there. While it was written as a satire, it actually addresses the question of dimensionality and perception really well.:"
"There ya go, mate," grins Eden, "You get it, nail on the head, that's what they say here, right?" America that is, he still has the accent, maybe similar sayingon Doug's earth just the same. Then he looks over for said book. "I will check it out, see what Edwin has to say about it." Or maybe he knows the book enough to know the reference. "I'll let ya know when we'll take a walkabout to see ma friend Doug. Good t'meet ya." He offers another shake, laxidasical as the first. He'll bend and rebend space, to grab that book, by opening a portal in front of the shelf, grabbing, then stepping back to the garage before closing both.
After shaking Eden's hand again, as the Australian mutant steps back to the garage, Doug begins to collect the books and return them to their places in the shelves.