[closed]

[adamance]

CHARACTERS: Lexa and Carata
WHERE: The Bearings
WHEN: Day :011
SUMMARY: Speaking to an old host about stuff, also bombing and where she can act next.
WARNINGS: To be updated if necessary.

[It's not that speaking to Nirad hadn't proved helpful. Lexa had gained a wealth of information from him, as well as an idea of the varied sentiments toward the Nest as a whole. No, she wishes to seek out Carata simply because she hasn't much since she's arrived here. Lexa had been uncertain about the woman's cheerful demeanor as a whole since she arrived, but she believed (or hoped) that her current problem could be met with more of a direct answer. While Lexa is well aware that she and Bellamy are hardly the only Hosts who come from the same world, she doesn't want to give any indication about her situation to other people without having a measured understanding of where to begin.

Besides, that isn't the only thing she wishes to discuss, and while the other Hosts might have goals in line and plans in place, one of the senior-most individuals likely has an idea of things are being organized. They've been here longer, and they may be able to assist them.

The recent bombing did set Lexa on edge, and the graffiti that's appeared in the day following makes her uneasy. Now armed with a greater familiarity with what lies inside of her, she finds herself needing to know where to act with that information. Dying is not an option for this cause, and she doesn't want to martyr herself to try to attempt to change the direction of things in this world.

Besides, with all the rumors flung around, she's beginning to grasp that the matter of their mission may not be as simple as it seems. In fact, what if there's a chance that their objective is somehow wrong? Lexa doesn't think so from what Nirad said, but someone (or something) is determined to make it seem that way.

When she approaches Carata, it's after returning to the Bearings after having lunch outside of their humble abode. It's clear that her mind is troubled, but she's trying to put it at ease for this conversation.]

Can we speak somewhere private? If you're available. [Lexa's abrupt, demanding nature is beginning to ease up a bit, except for moments where she thinks it will serve her.

She assumes that it won't here.]

Comments

[serenae]

[The words- or perhaps simply the willingness- to bend her neck some little amount, is met with a clear, obvious, honest swelling of joy. A certain amount of anticipation. She may not love the game, but she would very much enjoy that.]

That would be nice. It has been a difficult few days, and it does not seem like it will get easier.

[She is not dwelling on possibles or maybes. She simply has a wealth of experience and the knowledge of how the mission has gone to this point. She is calm, she is not naive.]

What is it you need to know?

[adamance]

[The fact that she delivers both joy and anticipation does, at least, make Lexa happy. Finding a way to make things better for others is part of her goal as a commander, but she realizes she has to shift her thinking here a bit. This is just step one ... and she imagines that she might have to repeat it countless times before she makes it a habit.]

The difficult days are why I wanted to speak with you. Thanks to a combination of that individual showing up from my world and some help from Angel, I've learned more about a device that's inside of my neck. I believe I can access it to better help us with our goals here, but I'm having a difficult time fathoming where we should begin. [Calling the Flame a "device" feels strange, and there's a spike of uncertainty with the word, like she's trying to distance herself but it feels wrong all at the same time.]

What this can do is ... offer a technology that might heighten the technology here, offering it an evolutionary advantage. [Again, these words feel strange on her tongue.]

But as you can imagine, I don't want to paint a target on myself, nor do I want this information to fall into the wrong hands. But I think we do need to move quickly. There's a reason why this is all escalating.

[serenae]

[Carata feels the shape of her words, compares them with her thoughts, like distinguishing between tastes that linger on her tongue. She's not entirely certain, but from what she does know Carata understands a little, both her discomfort and what it is, exactly, she thinks she could do.

She hums, a thoughtful noise, but she's uncertain herself. Cautious. Reluctant.]

I understand why you would think it a good solution, but I cannot say I would agree. Our goal here is to undo the damage that has been done, not to counterbalance it. We should attempt to interfere with these people as little as possible.

[Her thoughts collect slowly, grains of sand filling a jar. She worries what would happen if the AI were given more power, all at once, hot on the heels of these attacks. Escalation would be only natural. Or perhaps not. Perhaps nothing bad would happen. Perhaps an asteroid would destroy all life- even artificial- on this planet in a week. Still, she doesn't think she would like to make a choice like that herself.]

It is, however, only my opinion. Whatever you chose to do, I suggest you keep the information and the study between yourself and your fellow hosts until you know how you want to use it.

[Revealing it to any of the citizens of Concordia was a surefire way to lose control of it.]

[adamance]

I agree with keeping it to ourselves. I don't want anyone to react to the possibility of it right now. [She has slowly revealed it to the Hosts one by one, seeing their reactions and weighing them. Her trip with Steve also offered helpful insight, and she knows that she still needs to speak to Anders about the similarities they share beyond what they've already noticed.]

But I had hoped that it would mitigate some of the concern. My people are hardly eager to embrace technology, but we've eagerly passed it from leader to leader. Its origins were lost to us until I came here, but it's still ... saved us and offered us hope. I had hoped it would help those who think this place is losing life would see that it can still remain.

[But that might be idealistic. What would her people do if they knew the truth of the Flame? Up until mere days ago, she had believed it to be an actual spirit, and not an evolving piece of technology.]

[serenae]

It might, for some. But there are many others who wouldn't see truth even if you laid if bare before them. For them, how they feel, their real and imagined slights, their fear is far more tangible. And there are others who would find your truth to be a confirmation of what they already fear. That steel and circuit can be life.

[She picks at her nails as she speaks, listening to the rain across the leaves, hitting the roof above them, patterning across the plasticrete under their feet. She sighs again, shaking her head, a loose shrug.]

It is a very complicated situation, I'm afraid. But I think you are right to learn what you can about it.

[Even if it didn't end up helping them here, it could help her in the future. It could help the rest of them, as well.]

I'm sorry if that isnt as straight forward of an answer as you were hoping for.

[It's genuine, but she doesn't feel too badly. She wasn't here to lead them, simply to lend a more experienced hand.]

[adamance]

[The experience is precisely what she had been seeking. Lexa is hardly an unintelligent person, but there is still a great deal here that she is beginning to grasp. Understanding the underlying cause of the conflict here does not come easily to her, so she has hoped that she could provide something that could appease things. People fearing what must be inevitable will be difficult, but Carata's words at least offer her the depth and understanding that she has been seeking.

It will also offer her direction. Even the matter of questioning people would be difficult given her current position (one that she's building upon).]

Very little is straight forward in my experience. [She doesn't seem too bothered by it. Yes, it's disappointing, but she knows better than to act rashly. Besides, the other Hosts might have information on how to apply what she has within her just the same.] And you have been here longer, gathering information. We're all indebted to your knowledge.

[If it seems like gratitude, it's because it is. She sees Nirad and Carata as scouts sent ahead before a full operation could commence. She's fairly certain she's not wrong.]

[serenae]

That is kind of you to say, but we are just as grateful for your help- [Indebted wouldn't be the word that Carata chose, ever. She did not entirely believe in such things. But she thought she understood that sentiments such as that were important to Lexa.] It's not something we were counting on, but it is a definite boon.

[There were many aspects to this mission that Carata and Nirad were uniquely well suited for, but it wasn't always enough. The interference was shockingly well disguised, and it may, in the end, come to some kind of a fight. In that situation they wouldn't fare as well.]

Come on. I think I would like a warm drink before I return to my work.

[She glances out again across the rooftop gardens, many of the flowers closed to protect their fragile petals from the rain, the water beginning to pool enough to slip into the subtle grating. Better to be inside and warm, on a day like this.]

[adamance]

[It wasn't something they were counting on? Curious, though not wholly surprising. Lexa hadn't thought there were any Hosts before she had come here—that is, aside from Cathaway, The Prince, and all the new individuals who had woke up at the same time or after her. Finding out about Carata and Nirad had been a surprise (and, admittedly, a relief: it meant that they weren't all fodder to be thrown away).]

That sounds like a good idea, [she says agreeably, and just as she had led before, she leads now, heading back toward the exit from the roof.]