[Plot] Ontological Shielding

[Natalie Denisov]

"I've stripped the internals out of my old armor suit. It's available if you need a shell for a suit."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"As much as it pains me to admit this, astral manipulation and telepathy have had tangible effects. This energy clearly responds to it and it would be foolish to ignore these avenues. If that means blessing a shielded suit of power-armor or having a telepath steer the vehicle of our Exonauts then I won't like that but I won't deny it's efficacy either."

"That's why I didn't just ask Tosh and Natalie for help. This energy is ontologically responsive. It manipulates reality to... not strong will, but to circumstance and thematic linkage. We've seen songs influence the mutations it granted. Thoughts, feelings, mythology, logic, it follows all those things in some capacity and perhaps we can manipulate it into something hospitable rather than mutating bursts of energy. If we sing songs about riding into Valhalla the energy may just crystalize into an actual rainbow bridge the same way Miss Bell here can manifest her thoughts into solid matter. The same way this Li Ban manifested the concept of time manipulation as a construct made of pure, stable Neutronium. We're not just thinking outside the box here, we're trying to actively step out of it."

[Samantha McManus]

"I think it's worth pointing out that Will's resilience here might also be sort of due to the fact that he's... well, highly suggestible to put it mildly."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Indeed. If it helps, my current theory is that this energy exists in such a high quantum state that all of these effects are a very complex result of the quantum observation effect. By observing this energy it collapses into a more stable configuration."

[Natalie Denisov]

"We'll want to shield the entry point as well. We've no guarantee that whatever portal we manage will be matter-only. In fact, I'd say we should count on energy passing in both directions."

[Will Stanton]

"I think it's worth pointing out that Will's resilience here might also be sort of due to the fact that he's... well, highly suggestible to put it mildly."

Will frowned at this, too, and picked up his graph paper to work in a different part of the lab.

[Miriam Bell]

"This is beginning to sound more and more like you're going to tear open some kind of Event Horizon portal to hell." Miriam mutters. "And you just called our test-pilot an idiot. This is definitely going to be a disaster."

[Natalie Denisov]

"We very well might and it very well could. If you want my honest opinion, it's a terrible idea to try to open passage to the space between spaces. But the Headmistress asked for my help, so I'm trying to be helpful while making sure we're aware of potential consequences and are as protected as we can be. I have a duty to both this dimension and the Citadel, much as I dislike the Citadel. And trust me, if this goes wildly sideways and the Citadel notices, they likely won't think twice about annihilating our dimension to protect the others. They've been prepared to do it at least once already."

[Samantha McManus]

"I didn't call him an idiot, I just said he has a natural inclination to try to fit whatever context he finds himself in. He doesn't break, he conforms to fill the space he's in."

[Miriam Bell]

"That's not what it sounded like." Miriam scoffs. "So what, you think he's as adaptive and 'ontological' as this energy?" she asks, actually doing the airquotes with her fingers.

[Samantha McManus]

"I think putting Prince Albert over there in a can might be denying him his biggest strengths."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"You're talking about exposing him directly. We'd have to make sure it wouldn't simply transpose his power again but rather skew towards survival, containment. We need to change the context and overcome the intrinsic behavior of this energy when it comes into contact with Mutants. We need some ideas on how to skew the quantum observer effect."

[Samantha McManus]

"I'm saying the more we constrain him, the less advantage he has over an average person. Whatever shielding we develop should be incorporated into him."

[Will Stanton]

"You're thinking Lippencott's idea," Will said, from his corner. "You don't think we should build a ship."

[Victor Freud]

Victor slowly raised his hand.

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Please, go ahead, Victor."

[Victor Freud]

"Sorry, I don't mean to make this all about me, since I can't really contribute to this conversation and all but like... am I the only one here who doesn't have some kind of power that lets their brain do crazy stuff? If I go into this thing, is my head gonna explode? Am I just going to weigh you guys down?"

[Ashlie Minamida]

"On the contrary, I think your opinion is quite valuable to keep us from getting caught up in theorizing. You all tap into this energy in one way or another. It's the proverbial fuel for your abilities, after all. Circumstances, mental state, genetics, even collective knowledge or assumptions likely played a part in it's specific manifestation. For it to be a physical space we can enter we need to figure out how to make that same process, that parsing of circumstance, work in our favor. Miriam is quite right that this could potentially lead to a hell of our own making, say we carry armfuls of brimstone and burning pitch with us it will respond along those lines. Or so goes the theory."

"If we build a space capsule, be it from Will or more mundane, it may well respond by becoming an empty vaccuum. Or something from the cover of a pulp science-fiction magazine. Or a rival Soviet capsule. The path it takes is hard to predict but it does follow sensical lines, if not always the obvious ones. And that has nothing to do with anybody's mind powers, it's simply how this energy reacts when it is being observed."

[Toshiro Narumi]

Tosh tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"So if we treat it as survivable, it very well might be? You think it's that responsive a place?"

[Samantha McManus]

"I think we need to remember we won't be the only things out there."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Tosh, think of how light acts as both a particle and a wave and how observation makes it act like one or the other. Now imagine this applied not to photons but quantum particles, perhaps even down to the string level and that the observed behavior is not binary between particle and wave but all matter, all energy, all waves, all fields. With light, the double-slit experiments generates a pattern based on the exact layout of the slits. Mutant Growth Hormone serves as the double-slits but in a much, much more complicated but consistent manner. Stable mutations."

"This is not conventional matter or energy but a quantum super-position of all possible states that cannot exist under observation without collapsing into something stable."

[Samantha McManus]

"I mean, this is not nothing, and it's not just the sparks out there. There's predators swimming out there."

"Regardless of what you see them as, they'll still be predators."

[Will Stanton]

Will frowned again. "That may be a problem, especially as this space works more on concepts than reality. I don't get along particularly well with predators."

[Toshiro Narumi]

"So what about a vehicle, just not one designed for inherently inhospitable environment? Like a boat. But with some kind of defensive measures against these unknown predatory entities."

[Will Stanton]

Will shook his head. "I'm not sure a boat's a great idea. From what little I could comprehend, this is a three-dimensional space. Boats don't go up very well at all, and when they go down, that tends to indicate a major problem.

I think a plane, or a ship, or a submarine is closer to what we have to think here -- something where we can control movement in multiple directions."

[Samantha McManus]

"...then let's do something that has symbolic significance to its pilot, as shielding against reinterpretation."

"A yellow submarine."

[Toshiro Narumi]

"Which brings us back to the potential 'more protection equals more danger' problem," he said with a groan, "Maybe we should table that until we have a better idea if and how we can actually send someone there."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"We have plenty of hands on deck, we can work on multiple angles. The Titan Shard holds a residual connection to it's Spark, it seems, so we might be able to figure out a small scale discharge of energy for experimental purposes too, before we throw wide the gates."

[Natalie Denisov]

"Well, I have to figure out exactly what I'm going to say to the Citadel, so I'll leave you to that. I'll let you know what I find out," Natalie says before the monitor shuts off briefly before coming back on with whatever it was displaying before she commandeered it.

[Will Stanton]

"As for getting there, maybe we can use the Titan Shard in some sort of way? I've been, erm...experimenting with it, some, and it allowed me to make a sort of...digital connection with the Sparks, in a way.

I'm sorry, I'm being very vague about all this, bit I think it's kind of a vague thing."


He paced back across the room to his graph paper.


"And as for the 'more protection means more danger' problem? I'm not so sure about that. I like the submarine idea, that's a good idea. But as for defenses and weapons and other modifications? Maybe that shouldn't be me, or not directly. Because if I'm prey for these predators, right? Then any sort of gun or shield I make is going to be weak to them, yeah? But if we make something exterior, and install it, then it's coming from a different paradigm, maybe?"

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Not a connection I would have made but it makes a certain amount of sense. In as far as any of this makes sense. Erwin Schrödinger would quite hate this." she jokes.

[Toshiro Narumi]

"This is definitely annoying to my worldview," he agreed.

"So do we need data to build the right deterrent or is believing they'll work what we're going for?"

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Both. Having solid data is just as important. Try to rig up the shard to discharge a controlled amount of energy; and if you could try to modify your mutation scanner we'll have a starting point to gather some data. Plus we are going to need some kind of navigational array and the different 'Spark' frequencies might be our best bet."

"Meanwhile, Will, you seem to already be working on some ideas for a vessel. I have no idea how long it would take you to form a basic framework or if you need more of yourself, but keep at it. It'll be the basis for most of our work. Miriam, you understand him well and have some kind of understanding of how to incorporate imagin--Astral constructs into him so if you could be so kind as to assist with that?"

"Natalie is already off contacting the Citadel. Samantha, you seem to have some understanding of what we can expect. Perhaps see if there is anything else you can find out or otherwise work with Miriam to see if you two can work some kind of Astral magic into our vessel."

"Victor, if you wouldn't mind stepping outside with me for a moment?"

[Victor Freud]

Victor looked like he'd just been tossed a lifeline.

"Yes absolutely please and thank you."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"I know this is a lot of... very specialized talk happening in there and I don't necessarily expect you to contribute to the science of it all." she says after they step out of the workshop and the doors close behind them. "I just thought it important that you're kept in the loop on this seeing how you're apparently a target for these things. Which brings me to want I wanted to talk to you about. As much as I suspect that your inherent affinity to Quantum particles played some part in what that Titan was doing to you, there are other students who would be better suited to breaching dimensional barriers or manipulating reality."

She pauses for a moment before going on. "What does the name Li Ban mean to you?"

[Victor Freud]

Victor nodded his head. "Yeah, there's a reason I've been sticking to arts and business in my studies... and basic sciences."

The boy seemed... hesitant to answer the headmistress' question, for reasons she may or may not understand.

"... we've met once before. In a dream, early in my first year here. At least, she claimed her creator had named her that. A naked woman, incredibly tall, hair that went from red to black to blonde..." He gestured to his scalp and then down his body as he named off the colours.

"Actually, that's not entirely true. I met her once, but from how she spoke she'd met me several times already. It didn't make sense at the time, but upon reflection, maybe she meant other me's...."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Her... creator. Curious." she says, staring off into the distance.

"You know, there's something that has been bothering me ever since we've started encountering these Titans. I couldn't help but feel like something about their spontaneous creation as fully formed beings seemed... familiar. And then they came after you and I remembered who else suddenly appeared out of nowhere in our reality, claiming to be anchored to your presence and hesitant to divulge too much information. I thought, sure, she doesn't know me, she's old and forthcoming about having been burned before. Dimensional refugees exist and there's no reason to treat them any different than any mutant who comes to us asking for a place to stay."

"But that's not the whole story, is it? Of Emilie 'Thursday'?"

[Victor Freud]

Victor swallowed softly.

"I... don't think I'm comfortable talking about her behind her back." A roundabout way of keeping his promise.

[Ashlie Minamida]

"That's understandable. But if I'm right, and I hope I'm not, there's a chance she is like one of those Titans."

[Victor Freud]

"And what would that mean if, and I'm not saying that you're right, but if you were... what would that mean for her? We wouldn't have to...."