Leave Your Weapon On the Table

The site of the recently restored Braddock Lighthouse. Aircraft hangars and other X-Men facilities, including a Cerebra unit and the Danger Room have been constructed around the foundations of the lighthouse.

Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Natalie Denisov » Mon Oct 22, 2018 3:46 pm

After the pieces were done fabricating, Natalie got to work immediately. There were a lot of parts to add to each piece and she had a limited amount of time to work. Small assist motors, a series of flexible circuits, the pieces of a distributed power system, an assortment of sensors, and what even looks like a couple of tasers are organized across the work table as Natalie begins pulling the pieces together into a cohesive whole. She pulls on one of the gloves, flexing the fingers and making some adjustments to one of the fingers that seems to be bugging her in some indefinable way.

((Open))
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Natalie Denisov
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High Concept: Ghost In The Machine
Aspect: More Comfortable With Things
Aspect: Quad-Core Mind
Aspect: Lighthouse Keeper
Aspect: Sufficiently Advanced Technology

Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Archaea » Mon Oct 29, 2018 3:23 pm

After a while of Natalie working the doors to the workshop hiss open, almost seeming to startle the person on the other side. She peers into the room but doesn't step through.

"Uhm... Hi. Natalie, right?"
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Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Natalie Denisov » Mon Oct 29, 2018 3:31 pm

"Yes?" Natalie says, looking over at the other young woman, "What can I do for you?" One arm is encased up to the elbow in a gauntlet-glove, the fingers continuing to flex through a series of tests, even though her attention is now on Archaea.
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Natalie Denisov
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High Concept: Ghost In The Machine
Aspect: More Comfortable With Things
Aspect: Quad-Core Mind
Aspect: Lighthouse Keeper
Aspect: Sufficiently Advanced Technology

Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Archaea » Mon Oct 29, 2018 4:10 pm

"Uhm..." she starts and hesitatingly steps into the workshop, careful not to touch any of the tech that's around, her gloved hands wrapped around her stomach in a sort of hug.

"You were looking at the arm that... thing left behind, right? I... didn't mean to eavesdrop or anything, but you said something about the tech and how it... I don't know, interacted with powers and how it could be used for good?"
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Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Natalie Denisov » Mon Oct 29, 2018 4:20 pm

"I did. It's mostly conjecture, but I think the interface in that arm let him use another mutant's abilities to find other mutants. The mutant in question though, or at least part of him, was encased in the arm. Opening the arm triggered a fail-safe device that killed him." At some hidden trigger, the underside of the gauntlet pops open and Natalie slides it off her arm, disconnecting some power cords and beginning to pull together the parts for another gauntlet. "Given time and understanding, an environment suit like that could save the life of someone who needs it. The neural interface would be worked to pass other sensory information like bypassing damaged eyes or optic nerves to restore sight. But he decided to enslave someone with it." Apparently, Natalie had been stewing a bit on this.
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Natalie Denisov
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High Concept: Ghost In The Machine
Aspect: More Comfortable With Things
Aspect: Quad-Core Mind
Aspect: Lighthouse Keeper
Aspect: Sufficiently Advanced Technology

Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Archaea » Mon Oct 29, 2018 4:26 pm

"That's... messed up." she says as she watches Natalie assemble the second glove and going quiet for a moment.

"You're pretty good at this stuff, huh?"
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Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Natalie Denisov » Mon Oct 29, 2018 4:30 pm

"It's what I do," she says, "And I've been working on this particular project in one form or another for a few months." She pauses, "I'm sorry, I don't think I got your name."
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Natalie Denisov
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High Concept: Ghost In The Machine
Aspect: More Comfortable With Things
Aspect: Quad-Core Mind
Aspect: Lighthouse Keeper
Aspect: Sufficiently Advanced Technology

Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Archaea » Mon Oct 29, 2018 5:07 pm

"Oh. Sorry. I'm Archaea. Do you... do you think that's something you could replicate? The controlling powers bit, I mean."
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Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Natalie Denisov » Mon Oct 29, 2018 5:12 pm

Natalie's work actually pauses and she tilts her head to regard Archaea. "Maybe? It was a sensory based power and the interface was, I think, filtering input based on what the other mutant was sensing. Why?"
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Natalie Denisov
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High Concept: Ghost In The Machine
Aspect: More Comfortable With Things
Aspect: Quad-Core Mind
Aspect: Lighthouse Keeper
Aspect: Sufficiently Advanced Technology

Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Archaea » Mon Oct 29, 2018 5:20 pm

"Oh." she says, sounding disappointed. "I was just thinking maybe it could be something that might help me control my power..."
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Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Natalie Denisov » Mon Oct 29, 2018 5:37 pm

"Oh..." Natalie taps her fingers on the workshop table in thought. "What does your power do?"
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Natalie Denisov
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High Concept: Ghost In The Machine
Aspect: More Comfortable With Things
Aspect: Quad-Core Mind
Aspect: Lighthouse Keeper
Aspect: Sufficiently Advanced Technology

Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Archaea » Mon Oct 29, 2018 6:00 pm

"When I touch people... or really most living things... I change their biology. Rapidly. And I can't control it."

"But now I have to. That puppet thing made me touch Stephanie and I need to fix her."
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Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Natalie Denisov » Mon Oct 29, 2018 6:23 pm

Natalie continues tapping the table as she continues to think. "I'm not positive the interface would help. At best it'd be a stop gap or a crutch." After another few moments thought, she adds, "What you really need is something you can practice on."
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Natalie Denisov
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High Concept: Ghost In The Machine
Aspect: More Comfortable With Things
Aspect: Quad-Core Mind
Aspect: Lighthouse Keeper
Aspect: Sufficiently Advanced Technology

Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Archaea » Mon Oct 29, 2018 6:29 pm

"Maybe. But what I need right now is a crutch..."
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Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Natalie Denisov » Mon Oct 29, 2018 6:33 pm

"When you use your power, does it just happen or do you sense it happening?"
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High Concept: Ghost In The Machine
Aspect: More Comfortable With Things
Aspect: Quad-Core Mind
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Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Archaea » Mon Oct 29, 2018 6:40 pm

"Both. It's like... trying to look at one of those eye-floaters times a million. I try to single something out and it a dozen other things go slipping away into god knows what..."
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Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Natalie Denisov » Mon Oct 29, 2018 6:52 pm

"So there is some sort of sensory component... maybe..." She frowns, "I'm not sure it'll work and I can't make any promises, but we could try re-purposing the sensory filter circuits in the arm to help you sort through the eye-floaters, but we'd need to know how your brain processes those signals. The system was originally wired straight into the other mutants brain, but that's not a good short-term solution, which is what we need." More drumming on the table, "Maybe we could wire some sort of sensor into my frame and then give you some sort of visual... I'll need to talk to the Headmistress. Maybe she has some ideas."
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Natalie Denisov
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High Concept: Ghost In The Machine
Aspect: More Comfortable With Things
Aspect: Quad-Core Mind
Aspect: Lighthouse Keeper
Aspect: Sufficiently Advanced Technology

Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Archaea » Mon Oct 29, 2018 6:58 pm

"Okay."

"Thanks!" she adds after an awkward pause.
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Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Natalie Denisov » Mon Oct 29, 2018 7:11 pm

Natalie smiles, "No problem. Happy to help. I'll let you know if we come up with something, okay?"

Reaching out to the network, looking for Ashlie's presence which she assumes will be there, Natalie sends a message.

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So... any ideas?
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Natalie Denisov
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High Concept: Ghost In The Machine
Aspect: More Comfortable With Things
Aspect: Quad-Core Mind
Aspect: Lighthouse Keeper
Aspect: Sufficiently Advanced Technology

Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Archaea » Tue Oct 30, 2018 3:52 pm

"Oh. Yeah... Okay. Thanks." she mumbles before slipping out of the room.
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Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Ashlie Minamida » Tue Oct 30, 2018 3:52 pm

Code: Select all
>> "You're more versed in human-circuit interfaces than I am."
>> "I see two possibilities, both with their own complications."
>> "Gloves with a sensory filter that allows the flow of her power to be regulated, which would require extensive work in mapping the means by which her power function if even possible at all."
>> "The other would be a supplementary processor assisting in power control."
>> "For a contact power such as hers that would require severing the spinal cord and implanting a neural gate or isolating the power control center of her brain and implanting a chip."
>> "I'm not sure who we could tap who would even be capable of such a procedure, even if we build a neural interface."
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Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Natalie Denisov » Tue Oct 30, 2018 4:00 pm

Natalie goes back to piecing together the second gauntlet.

Code: Select all
We could try to psuedo-vampire tap the nerve and read the signals and then adjust the interface to decode those signals into some sort of visual representation that lets her sort through the factors. That seems to be the primary issue: data overload with no means of sorting.
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High Concept: Ghost In The Machine
Aspect: More Comfortable With Things
Aspect: Quad-Core Mind
Aspect: Lighthouse Keeper
Aspect: Sufficiently Advanced Technology

Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Ashlie Minamida » Tue Oct 30, 2018 4:49 pm

Code: Select all
>> "We'd have to intercept the specific signal, somehow terminate it, analyse it, recode it and reintegrate it."
>> "Not to mention untangling it from normal sensory input. It's a lot."
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Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Natalie Denisov » Tue Oct 30, 2018 4:54 pm

Code: Select all
You're assuming reintegration. What if we reinterpreted it to a separate device like a monitor? It doesn't have to be a portable solution and could be no different from a doctor operating by camera.


She tests a couple of connections on the gauntlet, adding a few more things.

Code: Select all
Of course, it'd be better if she could just practice causing and reversing changes in a non-stressful environment and on something that isn't suffering for the changes.
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High Concept: Ghost In The Machine
Aspect: More Comfortable With Things
Aspect: Quad-Core Mind
Aspect: Lighthouse Keeper
Aspect: Sufficiently Advanced Technology

Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Ashlie Minamida » Tue Oct 30, 2018 5:05 pm

Code: Select all
>> "We've been providing her with mice and rats with mixed results."
>> "She does okay on plant matter, but that does not carry over to animals, much less mammals."
>> "A hijack of the signal rerouted to a screen or similar could work."
>> "It would likely induce sensory deprivation of some manner depending on the nature of the sense her power provides, but workable for a temporary state."
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Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Natalie Denisov » Tue Oct 30, 2018 5:13 pm

Code: Select all
Okay. So we've got the beginnings of an idea. How about this? What if we stick me into the system in some capacity? I'd wager I'm better at sorting human perceptions than a program might be and I can adjust the visualization's coding on the fly in response. Her power also can't affect this body, so I can be physically present for testing. While it adds an element of chaos to the system, it provides a more responsive testing/integration cycle than would normally be possible.


She slips the gauntlet on her arm, making some adjustments before it snaps shut and she connects the power leads, going through a test cycle.
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Natalie Denisov
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High Concept: Ghost In The Machine
Aspect: More Comfortable With Things
Aspect: Quad-Core Mind
Aspect: Lighthouse Keeper
Aspect: Sufficiently Advanced Technology

Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Ashlie Minamida » Tue Oct 30, 2018 5:41 pm

Code: Select all
>> "You can trouble-shoot and adjust the programming on the fly."
>> "I'm not sure I want you delving into the sensory data of a chaotic and uncontrolled power."
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Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Natalie Denisov » Tue Oct 30, 2018 5:47 pm

Code: Select all
Well we'd better right one hell of a parsing program then.
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High Concept: Ghost In The Machine
Aspect: More Comfortable With Things
Aspect: Quad-Core Mind
Aspect: Lighthouse Keeper
Aspect: Sufficiently Advanced Technology

Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Ashlie Minamida » Tue Oct 30, 2018 5:58 pm

Code: Select all
>> "I'm pretty good at coding."
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Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Natalie Denisov » Tue Oct 30, 2018 6:02 pm

Code: Select all
I'll let you get started on that then. I really need to get this suit finished up.
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Natalie Denisov
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High Concept: Ghost In The Machine
Aspect: More Comfortable With Things
Aspect: Quad-Core Mind
Aspect: Lighthouse Keeper
Aspect: Sufficiently Advanced Technology

Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Natalie Denisov » Fri Nov 02, 2018 7:12 pm

As the suit takes shape, it's apparent that Natalie is making some adjustments on the fly as some pieces of the suit don't initially test to her satisfaction. When her power starts to run low, she plugs in the charging cable and keeps working. At some point, she has to stop to pull together a stand for the progressively finished pieces so she can work on them as a whole unit. She plugs the suit in, running diagnostics that appear on a nearby monitor:
Code: Select all
Estimated operation time from primary power source: 1 hour
WARNING: Operation time estimate is based on normal operating conditions. Combat operations could seriously reduce operating capacity without secondary power source.
Exoskeleton Tests: Successful
Sensor Data Tests: Successful
OS Penetration Tests: Successful
Power Coupling Test: FAILED!!! (Bad return on power coupling A12, location: Left Elbow)


Natalie swears loudly, disconnecting the left arm from the suit and peering at the power connection. She growls in frustration, disconnecting the part and going to fish in the supply closet for another one.
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Natalie Denisov
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High Concept: Ghost In The Machine
Aspect: More Comfortable With Things
Aspect: Quad-Core Mind
Aspect: Lighthouse Keeper
Aspect: Sufficiently Advanced Technology

Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Natalie Denisov » Wed Nov 07, 2018 6:14 pm

With the offending part replaced, Natalie starts the suit running through diagnostics, repeating each test over and over again in a burn-in test. As she watches the repeated results scroll by on the screen, she slowly leans forward, resting her head on one hand. Her eyelids actually begin to droop and finally she actually looks like she's asleep.
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Natalie Denisov
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High Concept: Ghost In The Machine
Aspect: More Comfortable With Things
Aspect: Quad-Core Mind
Aspect: Lighthouse Keeper
Aspect: Sufficiently Advanced Technology

Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Ashlie Minamida » Wed Nov 07, 2018 6:25 pm

Ashlie occasionally checks in on Natalie as she works. When she notices that she seems to have fallen asleep she quietly brings over one of the robotic arms to gather up Natalie's tools and the suit's arm she'd been working on and makes sure everything is powered down and not about to cause any trouble if it goes unsupervised for a couple hours. She's careful not to disturb Natalie. It's probably a good sign (and somewhat fascinating) to see more human mannerisms be extended to Natalie's robotic body.
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Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Natalie Denisov » Wed Nov 07, 2018 6:51 pm

To an outside observer, it would look like there's some processes in the body that are in a sort of infinite loop or at least loops where the terminating conditions are somehow obfuscated. Natalie's system presence seems to have retracted somewhat, staying contained within the body. Occasionally some process pings the network in a sort of "still here" signal, but otherwise her network traffic has dropped to near zero.

After a few hours of inactivity, her processes spark back to life and start connecting to the network rapidly again as she blinks and looks around. "Where was I?" Seeing things powered down and her tools cleared away, confusion crosses her face.
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Natalie Denisov
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High Concept: Ghost In The Machine
Aspect: More Comfortable With Things
Aspect: Quad-Core Mind
Aspect: Lighthouse Keeper
Aspect: Sufficiently Advanced Technology

Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Ashlie Minamida » Wed Nov 07, 2018 7:14 pm

Code: Select all
>> "Good morning."


It's just plain code, but Natalie can't shake the impression that Ashlie is a little amused.

Code: Select all
>> "Funny how quickly you've grown unaccustomed to such ordinary things as the confusion of waking up."
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Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Natalie Denisov » Wed Nov 07, 2018 7:23 pm

"I was asleep?" Her power reaches out and grabs the time from the network. "That's... weird. I don't remember falling asleep. Last I knew, I was watching my suit's diagnostics run through."
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Natalie Denisov
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High Concept: Ghost In The Machine
Aspect: More Comfortable With Things
Aspect: Quad-Core Mind
Aspect: Lighthouse Keeper
Aspect: Sufficiently Advanced Technology

Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Ashlie Minamida » Wed Nov 07, 2018 7:30 pm

Code: Select all
>> "How very human of you."
>> "I figure this means you probably needed it."
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Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Natalie Denisov » Wed Nov 07, 2018 7:42 pm

"Maybe. I haven't... slept... I guess... in almost a month? Not in any human capacity at least. I wonder if this is a good sign or a bad sign." She starts parsing through the diagnostic data from her suit.
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Natalie Denisov
Student
 
High Concept: Ghost In The Machine
Aspect: More Comfortable With Things
Aspect: Quad-Core Mind
Aspect: Lighthouse Keeper
Aspect: Sufficiently Advanced Technology

Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Ashlie Minamida » Wed Nov 07, 2018 7:54 pm

Code: Select all
>> "It seemed almost natural in that I did not note any significant abnormalities on my end."
>> "The human brain is hard-wired to require regular periods of what is presumed to be essentially data-crunching."
>> "You may not have that biological limitation at the moment, but the behavioral and psychological need might still be there."
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Re: Leave Your Weapon On the Table

Postby Natalie Denisov » Wed Nov 07, 2018 8:21 pm

"It's possible, I suppose. It's both comforting and mildly disconcerting all at the same time." She glances at the suit on its stand. "Everything at least seems to be in order."
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Natalie Denisov
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High Concept: Ghost In The Machine
Aspect: More Comfortable With Things
Aspect: Quad-Core Mind
Aspect: Lighthouse Keeper
Aspect: Sufficiently Advanced Technology

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