2023-07-25: Not Yet Whole
- Log: Not Yet Whole
- Cast: Azoth, Leah Sadalbari
- Where: Klein Central Ward
- Date: July 25, 2023
- Summary: The Watcher surprises the Azoth. Turnabout is fair play.
============================<* Klein Central Ward *>============================ The central ward of Klein City is dominated by the great, imposing castle of House Klein, black stones with great spires stretching up to the sky atop a high cliff overlooking the rest of the city, with a fine view of the sea far below. ...But while the fortress could be imposing, it is largely open to the public, the government offices of the city sprawling from within the castle itself into the sprawling buildings that have sprung up somewhat less securely. The bureaucratic machine that oversees most of the trade of Meria Boule with other nations requires a great deal of upkeep, and many industries have sprung up to provide for and cater to the officials and merchants involved in the process. Klein City occupies a notable place at the east coast of Meria Boule, and it is in many ways its gateway to the rest of Filgaia, particularly outside Aquvy. Accordingly it is fairly cosmopolitan, favoring bright fashions and a sophistication that can sometimes grate on those who prefer more straightforward talk and manner. The rocky terrain means people are often closer together than not, but it is not known for its great machinery or production as a rule, even if it is one of the more bustling cities of Meria Boule. BGM: Chrono Cross - Another Termina
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
By all appearances, Azoth has been 'goofing off' more than he's been getting any of his objectives done. This is beneficial for a mask, but not so beneficial for, well, getting anything actually done. Heimdall Gazzo he can argue was for the benefit of more than the Drifters, especially because he did remember a few things. Now if only what he remembered properly led him in any real direction.
It's only when he's alone, sitting quietly on one of the highest rooftops of Klein City and distantly overlooking the hustle and bustle of its people, that Azoth views the data again. Projected screens of data flicker around him, code scrolling with flecks of barely coherent Zeboim admist errorneous nonsense.
He lets himself fall onto his back, every screen deleted. He holds up a piece of quartz crystal toward the sky, turning it in his grasp a few times. Then he sits right back up, this time projecting the light through the crystal itself.
It completely distorts every data projection into a complete blur of nonsense. This isn't a prism, or a lens, or any sort of technical device. It's just a rock.
Azoth looks down at it with a low toned beep like he still expected a different outcome.
<Pose Tracker> Leah Sadalbari has posed.
There's something to be said for goofing off. It's not always positive.
The first warning is a lack of warning: there is no stutter-step, no old mismatched gait. Instead, there is simply someone behind Azoth all of a sudden, though his advanced sensors may detect a light landing on the rooftop first.
"Making important progress, I see."
The Watcher's voice is calm as ever. But her appearance is different. She is dressed as per her usual out and about, long gloves and boots over an indigo tunic, but her hair is blonde, rather than blue. She has two eyes.
Still, she is recognizeably Leah.
"It's funny, how a crystal distorts light. How easily the right medium can turn information into barely anything at all."
Pause. "Hello, Azoth."
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
It is difficult to surprise Azoth. Or one should say, it is difficult to surprise Azoth when your name is not Leah. But Azoth being the entity that he is would have to calculate a reaction to give her the satisfaction of her success, and with her as perceptive as she is, he decides, in the span of those surprised fragments of a second, that it's already too late to put on a believable performance.
She did say once it didn't matter to her which mask he wore, only that he continued to use one. Ah, but which among the collection should he don? Perhaps even a new one would be more appropriate. So many of them circle around the same core concept with the same basic design, but the devil, as they say, is always in the details.
"If only!" he responds, shoulders slumped in a mock sigh. He tosses the quartz to himself, catches it, and pockets it safely away. "Yeah, it's hilarious. Humor isn't quite showing me new angles like I'd hoped."
He looks up at her right a bright smile. "But hello to you too, Miss Leah! And might I say, you're looking fleshier than usual. I'm sorry. I'm assuming that's a compliment for organics."
His head tilts to the side.
"So. To what do I owe the pleasure? Scouting assignment? Data request? ...Did Loren fall down a well?"
<Pose Tracker> Leah Sadalbari has posed.
Perhaps under other circumstances Leah might enjoy suprising someone. There is, many say, a certain satisfaction in catching a person off-guard. ...She's not really in the mood; it doesn't matter that Azoth doesn't show a reaction, because she is not particularly interested in whatever it would be.
"And what new angles might you want to find?" Leah wonders. But he flashes a smile, and she does not. She regards him without bothering with the artifice of pleasantry, just thoughtful. "Yes, I am," she replies. "It is what it is." She finds a certain irony in talking to Azoth about it, but not enough to actually volunteer her feelings on the matter.
"I haven't decided yet," she decides to say. "Though it would be rather like him, wouldn't it? We'll begin with a data request."
"Report on your recent activities since the fall of the Heimdall Gazzo."
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
"Angles that lead to the rest of me," Azoth offers on what he's looking for. It's what he's supposed to be looking for, according to Solaris. It also happens to be what he wants to be looking for now, despite Solaris.
She is looking fleshier than usual, but it's taking a moment for Azoth to truly grapple with the implications of that. Primarily because he does not know what they are. Data inconclusive.
But maybe he does know a thing or two about seeking being whole.
"I don't think he'd enjoy it. Although, I don't think he enjoys most things."
A report. Azoth pulls himself all the way to his feet and makes a put out expression, as if he does not enjoy the thought of giving a report at all.
"Let's see... During the fall, I received new memory data for evaluation, but processing it is going about as well as you just witnessed. No signals found in Strike Base Azure.... I assisted Loren in some travel, tried to investigate further in Spira without Sin's interference with no new signals found... And I'm starting to think Kattelox's signals are complete junk data at this point, sending me in circles." He shakes his head, shrugging his arms in a show of exasperation. "All I've gained is a better idea of what I'm missing, but not any idea on where it is."
He's leaving out weddings and other personal trysts, but what else is new?
<Pose Tracker> Leah Sadalbari has posed.
"Ah, yes. The quest to be whole." She pauses. "I wonder if you'll regret it, when you succeed." Not 'if'. 'When.' Does she know something? Or is she just confident? She doesn't elaborate at first on the matter of those implications--at least, not directly. "He doesn't, no. It's a problem he's had since he was a child. It's a useful quality in its way."
Weddings and personal trysts...
"Kattlelox may well hold a number of false positives for you, considering what else is down there. I think we'll have to expand your search area soon. Aquvy is insufficient."
"Tell me of this memory data." She pauses. "The Drifters you deal with. They care about you." It's not a question.
"Regardless, I have two tasks for you after that report. One now, one later."
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
Azoth beams, raising a finger. "An excellent question! First, we'd have to establish if I'm capable of regret. But I do appreciate your presumption that I can, among other emotions."
His face falls at the menton of Kattelox. This is a sore spot for him at this point. The place has become infuriating. "I can't refute that at this point. Given what I've learned, my range may need to be... everywhere."
But now Leah's asking more dangerous questions. Memory data. And the Drifters. It isn't a question. He still responds.
"They do. It's also a useful quality."
The answer hangs before he moves on to the more pressing matter. He's hesitating with silence, even if none of his demeanor shows it otherwise.
Slowly, he smiles again. "Oh, I suppose it's not anything we didn't already know, when you think about it. I was very good at killing, Miss Leah. Some might say I was very good at killing the wrong people. But it's no concern anymore. The control exerted over me is far superior than what I experienced in the past. Well -- okay, there was Falk, but that's hardly on me...!" He shakes his head. "Nor am I at risk for teleporting myself apart a second time, as I did back then. Unfortunately, I failed to store the coordinants of such a stunt, so now I've quite a bit of work to do. Don't humans call that karma?"
His cheer never fades, nor does it at the mention of tasks.
"Well, then, order and you shall receive."
<Pose Tracker> Leah Sadalbari has posed.
"All the more reason to wonder. But if you did--if you could--I think that might be the most proof you could find, of 'living', as a machine. Happiness, sness.. These are vague. Specific emotions--regret, jealousy, pride, even affection--these are a truer test."
"For some, it might even matter. Do you think Loren would feel better, or worse, if he thought we were using a being instead of just a machine?" She smiles unpleasantly.
"Regardless. I indeed think your range should at least contain the rest of Filgaia. And I may arrange it soon such that it does."
The answer hangs there. A useful quality... "Heh."
"Hmmmmm. You are quick to call it no concern." She finds that interesting, it would seem. "But indeed if you view yourself as a reincarnation, it could be considered 'karma'. Do let me see the data if you ever pull that trick again, though. That kind of escape is worth watching."
"If you manage it, I may even let you stay separated."
Pause. "Yes. The first task is simple. I'm going to perform an action, and I require that you use the extent of your senses to give me detailed data as regards the outcome of that action. Particularly keep an eye out for the activity of nanomachines."
Then she pulls her Ether gun, calmly, lifts her other hand, and sets the barrel against her palm.
"Begin observation."
She fires, and the flesh is blasted away, a hole scoured through bone and muscle and skin through which one can easily see the gun. Leah pauses, for a moment; one can imagine that she is controlling the pain reaction, rather than doing so without any effort.
The bone is the first to regenerate. It builds itself out of seemingly nothing at all, followed by muscle and vein, and then finally skin. It heals so cleanly that there is no mark that anything has happened at all.
It does so as the clear result of nanomachine activity.
"Report."
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
Azoth remains placidly smiling at Leah goes over her emotional assessment, regardless of whatever's going on internally. (Hint: it's less placid.)
"I think Loren would feel better with a vacation and a deck of cards," he says, which is about the most honest Azoth has been this entire conversation.
He's back to more energetic beaming soon enough. "Hey, outside of the missing memories, I know my inner workings pretty well. I wouldn't confidently say it's not a problem if I thought I was truly at risk for shutting down for your continued use of me. I wouldn't be able to!" That much is true. "But noted. Should I ever detonate myself in a moment of desperation, you will be sent a full report on it the moment before I explode. Promise."
A simple request, all things considered. And how nice of her to offer such a possible mercy.
Task given, Azoth watches Leah intently. His eyes are a touch brighter, and his system quieter, dulling smaller operations to limit the amount of distracting data as he observes. He is ordered to observe. So he does not flinch, nor move to act, as Leah proceeds to blow a hole in her own palm. His gaze does flit to her face before observing properly again.
The moment she begins to regenerate, his eyes go even brighter. Everything is restored as if Leah had never endured it.
There's no more cheer on display, false or otherwise.
"You sustained a gunshot wound to the hand that induced heavy physical damage enough to tear apart your palm, puncture muscle, and fracture bone. This stimulated nanomachine activity that began regenerative repairs beginning from the bone and working its way through layers of your flesh outward, finalizing with the skin."
He opens his palm, casting a holographic screen into the air. There's a lot of numbers and formulas. "This is a detailed record of their behavior, but there exists a small margin of error. Some of their patterns required estimated calculations -- I was only able to observe from this singular angle of view."
<Pose Tracker> Leah Sadalbari has posed.
"That's probably true." Of Loren. But that is all.
"That's true," she says of him not being able to. "It's nice to have detailed knowledge of the self. For some." Pause. "Good." It's really very nice of her.
However, Leah has a task for Azoth, and she requires him to carry it out. So she does. His eyes go brighter, but there is no cheer. She listens to his report, putting away the gun once he's made it and pulling instead a datapad in its place.
"Yes, I thought so," she says, and then looks to the numbers and formulas. Obviously she can't make sense of all of those at a simple glance; she is a terrifying enforcer, not a mathematical genius. However, "Transmit that report and that record to this datapad. I will peruse it later. The single angle is sufficient at this time."
"This, incidentally, is where my prosthetics went. My own superior decided that I had a role yet to play after all. And I intend to play it."
"Your second task will be to prepare for combat. I will be moving soon, and I will require your presence and action when I do."
"It would seem, Azoth, that I am going to be with you for a very, very long time, assuming that we require your continued functionality for the foreseeable future."
She does not bother to smile, unpleasantly or otherwise.
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
"If I'm being honest, I find it terrifying most of you are capable of having an internal experience without knowing its root cause." Azoth is, once again, actually being honest. It's easier with an audience he's less worried about offending in this regard. But more difficult in that he can't specify emotional experiences. Granted, he's already observed Leah's confident he has all of that. It's the principle of the performance, at this point.
At Leah's request, the data is sent with a small beep sequence of confirmation, and Azoth snaps his own hand shut to dismiss his projection of it.
"A role, huh?" he muses aloud, then he beams. "Aw, I'm always ready for combat! It's why I exist." More subdued: "...But understood. I won't be far."
Working together a long, long time... Azoth seems to be considering this, too, tapping his chin, then looking to Leah's once shot apart hand, then back to Leah herself.
"I see. That being the case... do you need a hug? My observations have led me to believe some find that they reduce stress, and you have number of reasons to be experiencing increased stress."
He, for one, does bother to smile. It's a smile perfectly measured to make it equally plausible this is a serious question versus a joke.
<Pose Tracker> Leah Sadalbari has posed.
"Not unreasonable," Leah reflects. "Humans are capable of many terrifying things."
Leah puts away the datapad, stowing it in her inventory and then considering Azoth's musings. It is an interesting diversion to consider what he must be thinking... But, as he reminds her often enoug, ultimately pointless.
"Yes. A 'reason to exist'," she repeats. "Good."
Then Azoth looks at her hand, and to her, and...
This, finally, gets a reaction from her. It's subtle, of course--but it's there. The sheer incredulity in her expression that suggests that for once, he's managed a point, the lifted eyebrow following a moment later. "...Probably," she reflects, and then shakes her head.
"But no, thank you. It would seem that you are capable of surprising me after all."
"It won't save you," she reflects.
"Your orders are otherwise unchanged at this time." She starts to go, with every intention of simply stepping off the roof without any preamble or fanfare.
"I'll see you again."
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
"So I've observed!" Azoth chirps.
There are those Azoth would gladly discuss what he's thinking and how with. Leah is not one of those people. Leah is, however, one of the people who could make him do it anyway, no matter how much he tries to deflect with what he claims to be incapable of.
Sometimes he's not even sure he's lying. It's a matter of perspective.
"Ooooh, right, humans don't come with a 'purpose' built in, either. That also means you can change them, or get new ones, as necessary."
And that, Azoth finds, is one of the most useful qualities they have. But he doesn't say that.
Nor does he react to being rewarded with a rare moment of Leah's genuine surprise -- and her rejection of the hug. Pity!
It won't save you.
"Nothing will."
Azoth's smile is unchanging, even as he watches her step off the roof and disappear, the promise of a violent future hanging in the air.
Only once he believes her to be entirely gone does he take that quartz stone back out and look over it, letting all the data settle.
"...Maybe I'm going to need a hug."