[Activity] Puzzling ((open))

[Ashlie Minamida]

Cleaning up Lippincott's administrative mess had taken an unreasonable amount of time, but at least her new body hadn't slowed the process down much. Having to deal with other people had done more than enough in that regard. Getting tired and losing focus still got in the way but she was slowly getting used to it. It did mean that dealing with the mess in the Point that Lippincott's research left behind had to wait until now. Sure, the actual debris of the fighting had been mostly cleaned up, but more importantly, it had left burning questions about a lot of things and of course all the data on it was torched. Bastard.

Still, the events alone provided some information and the incident at West Pharmaceuticals can't be completely unrelated, scientifically speaking. And the breakout at Muir. At the very least the inhibitor collar design must have some kind of flaw, which means their holding cells are potentially unreliable as well. She pulls up a holographic screen on one of the workbenches and starts writing out her notes. Strange to not be doing it automatically as she's thinking. Thoughts and connections might get lost simply by the time and attention the writing takes; but then again, the physical act of it does seem to reinforce the mental connections.

By the end of her scribbling she ends up with bit of a conspiracy theory board and she's not even really done.

[Wanda Johansson]

There's the sound of footsteps out in the hallway and Wanda steps into the room, stopping to look at the board. "That's quite the web you've built, Headmistress."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Miss Johansson. Indeed, I've missed quite a bit during my absence and laying it out turned into bit of a scrawl." Ashlie says, turning around to face her mid-sentence.

[Wanda Johansson]

She glances over the section of the diagram that has Sam in it, "I see some things are proving to provide additional difficulty to their explanation."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Hearsay and interpretations of new phenomenon are always harder to analyze than data. Especially when they have an esoteric bend to them."

[Wanda Johansson]

"There's nothing inherently wrong with esoteric, though the rules of those things are regrettably largely unwritten. So are you trying to determine the connections between these things or just see if there might be connections?"

[Ashlie Minamida]

"As I was putting things down it just seemed there were too many related questions and occurrences to be coincidence. I'm not sure these are the right connections but this can't all be completely unrelated."

[Wanda Johansson]

"This one," she says, gesturing at the Cailleach-Sam connection, "This one I've personally encountered, even though I didn't quite know what I was seeing at the time."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Encountered? Explain, please."

[Wanda Johansson]

"At first, I assumed Sam was... well... off her game to put it politely. She started grand standing when I tried to get her to go back to the med center. It quickly became obvious it wasn't Sam or not her precisely. She briefly tried to strangle me and then. It was around the time Tereza bit Vivienne."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Right, the circumstances that led to Cailleach being apprehended. You say she was exerting control over Samantha previous to that incident?"

[Wanda Johansson]

"Based on clues and hearsay, that's what I'm inclined to think, but I can't offer you a 'how' or 'why'."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"She did go to the infirmary around that time, complaining about some mild control issues with her shapeshifting..." Ashlie says, typing away at the console. "And we're fairly certain their DNA is very similar, if not identical from the investigation following the Hollydale incident." she goes on, adding another bubble and linking a DNA analysis file to it.

"Their powers exhibit very similarly. It stands to reason their underlieing principles and functions would as well. Damn, having blood samples from both of them would be invaluable now with the strange MGH effects we've seen."

[Wanda Johansson]

"Would Muir have samples from Cailleach? You might be able to convince Sam to part with some of hers. Though, speaking from my own esoteric perspective, I would be exceptionally careful with either sample. Careful to the point of destroying them once you're finished."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"That seems excessive." she says, but there's some doubt in her voice as she glances at her thought-board. "And yet. Would you mind elaborating on your perspective on this? As... innately unprovable religion tends to be, I can't deny that something defeated Muir's power suppression technology and Samantha correctly identified the vials Lippincott extracted from the students. Both of which defy my current scientific understanding."

[Wanda Johansson]

"My perspective on Sam or the 'sparks' concept?" Wanda asks, folding her hands behind her as she thinks.

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Either, really. I might disagree with the interpretations, but I can't deny that there is something here I don't yet understand."

[Wanda Johansson]

"Whether or not Sam is the entity that her codename and actions would indicate, in my estimation, there are enough correspondences that she may as well be that entity. Precisely what that means..." She shrugs, "That's for Sam to determine."

She contemplates the 'sparks' bubble on the board. "As for the 'sparks', Sam was present when my 'spark' was restored, but she didn't do more than hand me the vial. But even she observed something I already knew, that my connection to the Earth was not completely gone, even though I'd been stripped of my ability to manipulate the weather. But having my 'spark' back made that connection more powerful, more resonant. From a 'religious' perspective, there's a reason we refer to it as a 'working'. Things have to be done, process giving shape to the energy of the will and the world. Without the shape, it's just directionless energy and the results are even more beyond the control of the worker."

[Ashlie Minamida]

She taps her chin with a stylus, then adds a bubble reading 'Shaping' but doesn't connect it to anything yet.

"Thoughts do have a shape. An energetic state or pattern if you will. And it's a process that can persist past it's original hardware." she grabs Natalie's bubble and drags it over, adding 'Thought Pattern' next to it.

"And any power that includes a sensory aspect such as yours or Samantha's must have some kind of interaction between your thoughts and the target system."

'Sensory Feedback' as well as 'Affected System' go up on the board.

"If what normally powers that feedback disappears it leaves behind structures meant to use it. Absence or a reduced amount of light hitting an eyeball doesn't destroy or completely inactivate visual centers. Biological idle states and after-images remain. Circuitry that's turned off retains a residual charge. I think we're on to something, although I'm not sure what exactly yet..."

[Wanda Johansson]

"Ghosts, to use an esoteric term," Wanda says with a smirk, "It's also possible that the practitioner leaves their own imprint on the working, shading it with elements of themselves even once the energy has left them."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Hmm. Perhaps." she says, tapping the 'Prion-like Interaction' bubble and adding an 'Epigenetics?' one nearby. "Not the ghosts, but the imprint."

'First Manifestation of Mutation' 'Circumstances' 'Stressors' 'Environmental' 'Physical' 'Emotional' go on the board with a whole slew of question marks marking the connections. Running a hand through her hair she stares at the now much messier board.

[Wanda Johansson]

"Tug one strand and all the others respond, sometimes unexpectedly," Wanda comments, "It's a feeling I'm very familiar with."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"You innately understand a system that even the most advanced computers struggle with. And you call it a 'familiar feeling'." Ashlie chuckles quietly.

[Wanda Johansson]

"I understand what happens around me and I understand that my actions will have effects that are beyond my immediate control or prediction. If I force sunny weather here, it may rain more in London or it may just be extra foggy, but the complexity gets even beyond my brain and power's ability to process. All I know is 'something will happen'."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"See, I think that's where you're wrong. Theoretically at least. I think you could potentially grasp those things, simply because what you do right now is already impossible for a human mind to compute. A lot of mutations are that way, perhaps even all. Whatever makes it work in the small-scale has no reason not to apply in a wider sense, although it's possible there might be some other factors in play..." she says, kind of getting distracted by a new thought towards the end of her sentence and she quickly writes down 'Mutant Classifications - Alpha through Omega?'

[Wanda Johansson]

"I suppose it could be a problem with limited frame of reference. I've never tried from a significant altitude."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"I can't quite justify the use of the Blackbird just for that, but if you'd care to ride along the next time it takes off you're more than welcome to." she says as she finishes rearranging her notes.

[Wanda Johansson]

She ponders that for a moment, "Yes, I think that would be an interesting experiment. Just let me know the next time it's going up. To add to the confusion of your web, I can confirm that Isolde's abilities were not affected by Lippincott's gas or, at least, not affected in any appreciable way."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Naturally. She suffers from an extremely strange communicable disease. Good to know that holds up and it confirms Lippincott's methods leveraged mutant powers specifically."

[Wanda Johansson]

Wanda just smiles, "Well, at least it shores up some of the things on the board. We're planning to spend the summer at a family cabin in Sweden with a possible backpacking trip or two through Italy and Spain if we have time. Should you need to find us over the summer, of course."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"And vice versa. Especially after what happened I want to make sure people know the school is always here to help, not use or exploit. Enjoy your trip."

[Wanda Johansson]

"I don't foresee any issues, but I'm not a clairvoyant, so we'll certainly keep that in mind. Thank you."