incursions | cinan even 📡 open post

[He is from a small place. A few hundred people, outnumbered by sheep and cows and clods of earth. War sent him everywhere else, it seems. Great cities, sprawling urban centers. It sent him to trenches at the edge of the world. He does not think of it as hell, for he met better friends there than he did in the twenty-three years before the war, but now-- ah.

Now there is Quarantine. The people here talk of destruction, the sort with which he is intimately familiar - albeit on a larger scale - and it is not enough to be a farmer here.

He has skills, to protect. The idea of standing idle against enemy incursion sits ill with him. Yet every time he thinks of wielding a gun, taking a life - even an animal, even a monster - he has to pull himself back from a ledge that war cleaved into him.

He opts for a network post - not anonymous (he isn't one for hiding) but quiet. He speaks plain.]

For those of your accustomed to conflict in your homes - can you reconcile a desire for peace here with the need to defend Quarantine? Thank you.

[At first, he almost scrolls right by the post, because he's barely a year off the homeworld, he doesn't really consider himself 'accustomed to conflict.' But his brain keeps coming back to it, flicking in reverse chronology until he's dwelling on it again, a wrinkle in his thought patterns.

Something about the question keeps picking at him, even if the thought process is diametrically opposed to his own particular worldview (this man wants peace, quiet, safety; Cinan wants the universe and his home behind him).]

Wouldn't say accustomed but I've seen a conflict or two. Anyway, you can defend without holding a gun, can't you?

[There's a bit of a tired little smile that quirks up one corner of his mouth.]

Yes.

[But fighting is what he's good at.]

What alternatives do you know?

[That's cute. Sad and cute. Confusing cute.]

Well, like, support. Build a shield, reinforce the walls, sabotage the enemy. That kind of thing.

[His mouth curls up at the corners into a little smile.]

Guessing you're a fighter?

[He'd have no objection to doing any of those things, but he's only just literate enough to read. Doing the job of an engineer or a saboteur-- not quite in his wheelhouse. He isn't averse to learning, of course, but he can't help the feeling he'd be useless in the interim of an education.]

I was.

[No hiding it. He's a big man, fills up most of the camera's capturing image and he has plenty of visible scars beside.]

[The way the man fills the screen is obvious enough, so are the scars, which is why it wasn't hard to figure out he's a fighter. Was a fighter, maybe.]

I mean, if you can't do those sorts of things, wrong wheelhouse or whatever...

[Trailing off, Cinan tilts his head and bites at his lower lip in thought, dark brows furrowing as he considers.]

Do you really have to defend the city? That's what the guard's for, right? They want us to get comfy here, they can't expect you to do something you don't want.

It's-- ah.

[He's not sure he has the words for it in the proper language (he prefers to speak in the language of Sal Amast, though he knows full well he could lapse into the one he learned as a child) so he pauses a bit, obviously taking care with his phrasing.]

I am not-- comfortable, in hiding bodily behind others.

[For a moment, Cinan considers that, chewing at his lower lip, one corner of his mouth pulling up and inward a little as he thinks about that, chews it over.]

More or less than you're comfortable fighting?

[He's silent equally as long. Then,]

Less.

[Fighting, he supposes, is the lesser of two evils.]

Man, that's the worst.

[Lifting a hand, he tucks his hair behind his ear and shakes his head.]

I dunno, I think I might make it my new mission to figure out some kinda compromise. I don't like thinking of someone who doesn't want to fight having to do it. It's not right. If in doubt, change the parameters, you know?

[Alke shakes his head.]

That's a very kind offer, but one I would prefer to decline.

[A beat. He opts to change the subject, on account of lacking a desire to linger on this matter. He will find his own way. He always does.]

My name is Alke Deverisi.

You sure? I could probably think up some tech so you can be more hands-off, you know? There's probably an engineer around here who could whip it up.

[It's natural to offer that sort of thing, and he says it without blinking.]

I'm Cinan Even. That's a cool name, where do you come from?

[His hands have only ever been good for two things - working the earth, and putting bodies in it. He smiles a bit, brief.]

If my opinion changes, I will let you know.

[It's not a dismissal, it's an honest and genuine statement. Alke couldn't lie if his life depended on it - and it has, on several ill-fated occasions.]

My village is called Vaiqa. Province of Vahlo, country of Sal Amast, planet of Danye.

[It's an oddly formal string of quantifiers, it smacks of something cultural.]

[If your hands aren't good for what you want them to be good for, in Cinan's opinion, there is always a device that can be used to do it instead. But you can only give someone the tech, you can't make them use it.]

Alright. The offer stays open.

[Cinan offers him a bright smile that's just as honest and genuine as Alke's reassurances that he'll let Cinan know if he needs to change it. At that long list of place names, Cinan cocks his head a bit.]

Huh. I haven't heard of it. This whole alternate universe thing must be the real deal.

[ It might not be the most efficient way to gather information, but Cisco had posted an open invitation on the network - anyone with interesting abilities or skills (of the metahuman of just human varieties) who didn't mind talking about them a little could drop him and note, and he would follow up in a few days and get some details, to help in his research.

One of the first names on his list is Cinan. Cisco waits until he's got some experiments in the lab that need monitoring - a boring job, but one that requires he just be present for an hour or two. Once he's got it set up he kicks back with a laptop and sends off a quick message: ]

this is cinan, right? now a good time to talk?

[There was no way Cinan could've passed up that particular invitation, and while he might not think his abilities and skills are particularly interesting, he's been told they are from people who aren't from Djamon. So he'd volunteered his info and kept an eye on the device for a reply.]

yep, cinan is me.

hey. you're cisco from the network right? anytime is a good time to talk. what's up?

yep, that's me.

[ Any time? Damn, this guy's accommodating. ]

back when i posted that thing asking for volunteers to talk about special talents or skills you said you had one. so this is me following up. what is it you can do?

[Honestly, accommodating is part of who he is, part of his culture.]

oh right that post! yeah I remember. I'm a technopath, and I've got nanites.

how much detail do you want, man?

all the details. even stuff that only seems tangentially relevant.

we can start with: were you born a technopath? what is a technopath? and what are nanites?

[ Cisco's got some pretty good guesses on those latter two questions but in science one never ever ever assumes. ]

oh man here we go.

I was born a technopath. more than half the people on djamon (my planet) are born with it, and most of us have nanites and spinal ports put in at birth. technopaths are people who can interface directly with computers and don't need to jack in physically. it's like you can talk to the computer, make it do what you want without having to use an interface. I've still got the ports, but I don't use them much except when it comes to really old tech where it's easier to jack in manually.

[ CIsco is ready for the 'here we go'. Cisco was born for the 'here we go'. ]

so you can just think 'hey computer play that one song by daft punk' and the computer will do it?

is there a particular range? how are the signals sent - is there a certain frequency? do you know if you're only compatible with computers on your world or has it worked on any here?

if half of everyone is born with it, is it genetic? and how can a thing like that possibly be genetic, anyway?

yeah exactly. I mean, besides the daft punk thing. what's daft punk?

some people have this crazy high-powered kind where they can do it from across a room, but I don't have that. I'm kinda moderate. for me it works best if I'm touching the device, but if I really concentrate I can do it from about a foot away. it's all computers though, but it's like learning a new coding language, though easier. takes me a bit to adapt but eventually I can work it like a pro.

it's more like 70% I think at this point. I hear it goes up a point or two every half-decade or so. it's genetic and we select for it. and idk man, it's probably in the genes somewhere? I'm not a biotech so I can't tell you for sure.

they're a band from my world. and, uh, a band is a group of people who make music together. in case that one's world-specific too

is it intuitive or are there schools to learn how to use the power? ARE there pros or is that just an expression?

select for it... deliberately? like some kinda eugenics thing?

[ Privately: yikes. ]

how did the technopath thing get started? obviously if it just lets you interface with computers, it can't predate computers being invented....

oh cool, I get bands. you should play them for me sometime.

it's pretty intuitive, but you can get training to improve it. most people only bother if they have a special interest or it helps a lot with their job.

and no, no no, not eugenics! ew, no no way, not on my planet. I mean in the general evolutionary sense, it first showed up long enough ago that you can kinda track when it started being something people got laid for, you know?

no one knows how it happened, my man, but technopaths aren't the only culgenics. there's other types on djamon too and throughout the galaxy. some genetic quirk, I guess.

sure thing, dude. i'd really like that.

[ So friendly! Kind of a nice change, since a lot of the people around this place are a little more reserved, or suspicious, or, well, both. ]

i guess that makes sense, if it's that many people out of the population, it's not like all the technopaths have to necessarily do stuff only involving their powers.

ahhh okay. whew, that's good. and it makes sense, too. the ability to dim the lights and cue up the sex playlist with your mind are irresistible. makes sense.

what kind of other types?

same. music is good. real good.

yeah totally. it's mostly like, it comes in handy and some tech caters to it a little. not too much though because it wouldn't be equal to have stuff that only the paths can use. you have to compensate for advantages.

hahahaha oh man. insert lame porn music here. I tell you, I can dim some LIGHTS. not that it matters, I won't be reproducing.

almost anything you can think of? there's a badass lady who can do wonders with electricity on my ship. there's telekinetics and mind readers and someone who can erase people from reality. it can get pretty intense.

huh? you mean the people who build the tech want it to be accessible to a wider market?

[ Yeah, Cisco's gonna need some explaining on that whole 'wouldn't be equal' philosophy. ]

??? how come?

[ That's... kind of crossing a line in terms of asking questions that are just personal and not at all about his powers, but Cisco's curious enough that he goes for it. It's probably just because they've been discussing Djamon, but Cisco assumes it is some kind of cultural reason not to reproduce, like population control or needing a permit or something. ]

erase people from reality? yikes.

sounds kind of like metahumans, then. except that's not inherited, and there aren't really a high concentration of metas with the same powers, like what you're talking about.

it's just not how things are done, you know? everyone needs to be able to use everything if they need it. we don't really have a market on djamon. everything belongs to everyone.

oh because I'm SUPER gay. I could probably do artificial but I also don't really want kids you know?

yeah. dangerous stuff.

metahumans? so you have the same kinda thing where you come from?

so it's like a commune type situation?

OH! 😂 duh, probably should've guessed that.

i don't know if i'd call it the same. up until recently, nobody had powers like you're talking about. there was an accident... a particle accelerator exploded and released all kinds of dark matter and exotic energies into the city and about 1% of the population's dna was permanently altered, and now there's people who can control the weather and people who can run faster than the speed of sound, etc.

that's one of the reasons i'm going around asking these questions, i want to get an idea about how other worlds treat people who have powers, and accommodate them and shit like that. cuz it's all really new in my world and there aren't really any systems in place yet so...

Edited 2017-05-23 16:41 (UTC)

New phone, who this?

No, I'm kidding. Actually, I wanted to ask if you'd be willing to help me with a gadget I'm working on. You do electricity, right?

[ Of course he does. Cain wouldn't get that part wrong once he hears about it. ]

man that is CENTURIES old.

depends on the gadget. if it's got a computer chip I can work with it. whatcha working on?

Oldies can still be goodies. Trust me.

Smart charger. Probably not the first but it'd be most convenient for me.

so you say....

seriously though, vintage is still good.

smart charger? piece of cake. just need to get my hands on it.

Vintage will—probably go out of style eventually but not yet, anyway.

I'm hoping to check compatibility and see if you can push it through some stress testing. My laptop here isn't as great as I'd like for that.

the great thing about vintage is that the bar is always being reset, you know? the new stuff now is gonna be vintage in 5 years just like the stuff from 5 years ago is now.

[Cinan. That's not vintage to anyone who's not really into computers.]

oh totally. I have some really great pieces. the guys around here aren't quite up to djamon's standards but they're not weak either. you wanna meet up?

Well, I mean, on some timeframes, sure.

Please. I'll bring what I've got. Probably better your place than mine.

point. there's always that fine line where vintage becomes uncool.

yeah. I'm free anytime. bring a sweater, I hear my place is cold.

I can handle the cold.

[ That doesn't mean he won't follow the advice, though. ]

I bet you can. I bet you can handle anything.

[Is he flirting? Yes, he's flirting.]

[ It's cute, at least. He's flattered. ]

Oh, I've had a lot of practice handling a lot of things. I'll be there soon.

I literally can't think of another cute way to say 'I bet you can handle a lot' so I'll see you in a few.

Hey, it'll give you some time while I get there.

[ And get there he does! ]

[The Ephemera is a small, sleek ship. Designed more for speed and elegance than anything more strenuous than that. The Bellgrands built most of the Greyjane fleet ships, but the rest followed blueprints. This gal is one-of-a-kind.

The wireglass panels are pulsing with a low light, and Shai's sitting cross-legged in her commander's chair. There's a low table between she and Cinan, and she's got her palm in her chin, hunched over as she considers the game board between them.

(It's like a bastard lovechild of checkers and go, but that's neither here nor there. The wireglass marbles sit in their small depressions, colour-coded depending on which of their neighbours they're touching. She thinks she might be losing, though the game's too close to tell with any accuracy yet.)]

You're better at this than anyone from Djamon has a right to be.

[It's lightly said, any grumbling she does is playful at worst. But it's a Jane thing, this game, and she's perhaps a bit possessive.]]

cinan even 📡 open post

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just gonna assume some previous CR here doot-de-doo

sounds good to me

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onboard the ephemera;