[But, ah... well. Thursday was... complicated... but Luke is always paying attention to the important stuff, so unsurprisingly, he nods, his expression turning grim and serious.]
Something's taken control of the ship, and it plans on heading to our worlds after the next stop, right?
[Plot talk now? Plot talk now. The workaholic geniuses truly never stop.]
I was able to get us an interferometer over there and take a closer look at the CEM waves. Is any of this new to you?
[tl;dr he will explain what he did and say that he learned:
- CEM waves are some kind of element that can be measured by wavelength and frequency - different wavelengths do different things, basically the potential to change shit is possibly limitless - upon added research and knowledge, they can see the living component in the waves - the living component is eldritch af so the biology is incomprehensible - it is capable of masking itself to be unseen]
Sidon mentioned he thought the CEM waves might be coming from the creature itself. And given that there's a heart and a brain down there, I'm willing to bet this is all pieces of the same puzzle.
Yeah, Eunhyuk said you built a lot of stuff over on that side which I kinda wish you were able to bring it over just to see the work. [ but he listens...and he frowns softly. ]
I've been working off of the assumption that there's some kind of parasite that's attached itself to this ship. And we were able to decode your guys' message about the lotus planet. So, yeah, it's likely that this thing was picked up from that planet and has been hanging on and consuming things from other planets as the Eudora's been in flight, and it's been getting stronger. There were some items available to us that allowed us to see flesh on the walls and bones around the ship, and the pink haze is all around us to hide everything. It wouldn't surprise me if Sidon was right and the CEM waves were coming from the creature itself. The storm we cleared out on Thursday came from a source that was pretty monsteresque, so...it is a possibility.
[Luke smiles, lifting a hand to scratch at the back of his neck.]
It wouldn't have been that helpful. It was mostly stuff we could use over there, like the computer. [And they have plenty of computers on this side...] But you're right--killing it without damaging the ship and putting all of our lives in danger is a tall order. And I don't know if we can summon the ghosts back here for more help, unless Shouxue...
[Hmmm. He's quiet for a little while, contemplating.]
I couldn't get very far in the engineering room myself before I started feeling sick--has it always been that way?
...with people's powers back on, she might be able to. Or at least maybe try to talk to any of the ghosts lingering around here. I get the feeling there're some in certain places.
[ but there's a nod. ]
Engineering and the bridge both have made it very difficult to look around because you eventually get driven out by nausea or a headache. Like the Eudora's specifically blocking us from looking too closely.
...you know, I actually haven't. His programming's not as intricate as Aiba's but he's still independent. It might not be a bad idea just to look around. Attach a camera to him or something.
Right. [He sighs a little.] There aren't many places to build things on this side, huh? I never thought I'd be grateful for where we were, but it was a lot easier to get stuff just by wanting it really badly.
Nope. [ which has been. a time. ] I've picked up tools and some parts from different places but nothing like what I'm used to having. And after a while I didn't want to ask the senior crew to get it for me just to give me something to do. [ ...wait. ] Are you saying you could just get stuff in the trash by wishing for it?
[Luke nods along, understanding; he probably would've been willing to annoy the senior crew every week for the both of them, but he understands where Shoma's coming from.]
No, not the trash. It was more... the areas we had access to? From what I understand, they manifested from what we wanted. Like the observatory, or the tech lab, probably. They definitely weren't perfect, though. Usually there was something wrong with them. [He pauses, then adds--] I assume the rat society was already there.
That's...really weird. Kind of cool? But mostly weird. I would assume the rat society was already there, too, but I don't know how some of you think. Maybe it was a lifelong dream to see the fruition of a rat colony? [ lmao. ] I am glad you guys weren't completely cut off down there though.
[HELP well that gets him to grin, though it fades right after.]
Yeah. I wish we could've done more for you guys, though. All we could do was reassure you guys that we'd take care of anyone who wound up down there, but I'm sure that felt cheap when people were still dying.
[Which was one of Luke's greater sources of frustration: Far beyond figuring out a way to return to life, he'd wanted to minimize the number of deaths.]
Don't discount that. Most of us come from places where you don't ever get to talk to the dead again. When a person's gone...that's it. No matter when you saw them or what you last said to them, those are the pieces you have after they die. So...knowing you were all taking care of each other and that we could still reach you even with the delay actually helped a ton while we were working on trying to solve things here.
[And it's why he didn't reach out for so long, especially when he'd had zero reason to believe a resurrection was possible--he hadn't wanted them to get distracted chasing ghosts when they should've been focusing on saving each other.
In fact--]
It's a little hard to believe we're actually back. Seeing Viktor was one thing, but to be here and talking to you guys for real... [He lifts a hand, flexing his fingers.] I'd think it was all a hoax if I wasn't living it.
The first time I brought it up to Mizuki, I don't think she believed me and thought I was crazy for suggesting the possibility. And normally I would've agreed. Ghosts don't really exist, but there were too many factors that made it hard to ignore. So then the priority shifted to figuring out how to bring you back when we knew you were still there.
[ ... ]
When you say it out loud, it sounds crazy. No matter what. There's no logical way to say "we shoved all of the ghosts of our dead friends back into their broken dead bodies to bring them back." [ ... ] It's just something we'll have to remember isn't possible other places, too. Like something to be grateful for here. Which...I am. I'm obviously glad you're all back.
Those are the things we need in order to get past all of the other terrible stuff, I think. Or so I've heard. [ he's not really an optimist. ] So when the opportunities present themselves...seems stupid not to take them.
[Truthfully, same--Luke is far more of a realist than anything, and he tips towards pessimism in specific instances. But, he likes the people he cares about to be happy, and he'll don whatever mask he needs to to make that happen. So--]
Will you tell me about them? Those happier memories.
[Even if they're small or few and far between, he wants to hear about them.]
By themselves, none of them sound that impressive. But I think the overall picture is that all of these people, and other people, too, have changed a lot of how I see things. Maybe the whole idea is a happy memory itself.
Luke does not do that, but he grins, hooking his thumbs in his pockets.]
They do sound impressive! Those are the kinds of things I like to photograph, back home--the little things. They really add up when you're not looking, until you think about it and you realize you've been happier than you thought. Right?
[ sometimes you go a very long time without friends and then you suddenly make a lot :pleading_face:
but he at least seems happy with that response. ]
Right. I don't know if I've ever really thought about what happiness feels like anymore. It just kind of happened one day even when things were getting harder here. [ ... ] Taking pictures would've been smarter now that I think about it. But the memories will have to be as good.
I doubt we'll be able to keep anything on the IRISes anyway, once we're out of here... [Which is a shame, actually? He looks down at his wrist, a complicated sort of nostalgia flickering over his face.] But if it all works out like we're hoping, maybe we can put together some cameras really quickly, before everyone goes back home.
[HE'S JUST KIND OF. Talking as though they'll definitely solve all of this and get out of here because it helps no one if he does not do that.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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I can't argue with that.
[But, ah... well. Thursday was... complicated... but Luke is always paying attention to the important stuff, so unsurprisingly, he nods, his expression turning grim and serious.]
Something's taken control of the ship, and it plans on heading to our worlds after the next stop, right?
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Right, exactly. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't say that sounds like a good thing.
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I was able to get us an interferometer over there and take a closer look at the CEM waves. Is any of this new to you?
[tl;dr he will explain what he did and say that he learned:
- CEM waves are some kind of element that can be measured by wavelength and frequency
- different wavelengths do different things, basically the potential to change shit is possibly limitless
- upon added research and knowledge, they can see the living component in the waves
- the living component is eldritch af so the biology is incomprehensible
- it is capable of masking itself to be unseen]
Sidon mentioned he thought the CEM waves might be coming from the creature itself. And given that there's a heart and a brain down there, I'm willing to bet this is all pieces of the same puzzle.
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I've been working off of the assumption that there's some kind of parasite that's attached itself to this ship. And we were able to decode your guys' message about the lotus planet. So, yeah, it's likely that this thing was picked up from that planet and has been hanging on and consuming things from other planets as the Eudora's been in flight, and it's been getting stronger. There were some items available to us that allowed us to see flesh on the walls and bones around the ship, and the pink haze is all around us to hide everything. It wouldn't surprise me if Sidon was right and the CEM waves were coming from the creature itself. The storm we cleared out on Thursday came from a source that was pretty monsteresque, so...it is a possibility.
So then the question becomes "how do we kill it."
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It wouldn't have been that helpful. It was mostly stuff we could use over there, like the computer. [And they have plenty of computers on this side...] But you're right--killing it without damaging the ship and putting all of our lives in danger is a tall order. And I don't know if we can summon the ghosts back here for more help, unless Shouxue...
[Hmmm. He's quiet for a little while, contemplating.]
I couldn't get very far in the engineering room myself before I started feeling sick--has it always been that way?
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[ but there's a nod. ]
Engineering and the bridge both have made it very difficult to look around because you eventually get driven out by nausea or a headache. Like the Eudora's specifically blocking us from looking too closely.
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Have you tried sending Roboji in there?
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...you know, I actually haven't. His programming's not as intricate as Aiba's but he's still independent. It might not be a bad idea just to look around. Attach a camera to him or something.
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It's not that different from sending in a drone, right? And if it kicks off any malfunctions, that'll tell us something too.
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No, not the trash. It was more... the areas we had access to? From what I understand, they manifested from what we wanted. Like the observatory, or the tech lab, probably. They definitely weren't perfect, though. Usually there was something wrong with them. [He pauses, then adds--] I assume the rat society was already there.
no subject
That's...really weird. Kind of cool? But mostly weird. I would assume the rat society was already there, too, but I don't know how some of you think. Maybe it was a lifelong dream to see the fruition of a rat colony? [ lmao. ] I am glad you guys weren't completely cut off down there though.
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Yeah. I wish we could've done more for you guys, though. All we could do was reassure you guys that we'd take care of anyone who wound up down there, but I'm sure that felt cheap when people were still dying.
[Which was one of Luke's greater sources of frustration: Far beyond figuring out a way to return to life, he'd wanted to minimize the number of deaths.]
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[And it's why he didn't reach out for so long, especially when he'd had zero reason to believe a resurrection was possible--he hadn't wanted them to get distracted chasing ghosts when they should've been focusing on saving each other.
In fact--]
It's a little hard to believe we're actually back. Seeing Viktor was one thing, but to be here and talking to you guys for real... [He lifts a hand, flexing his fingers.] I'd think it was all a hoax if I wasn't living it.
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The first time I brought it up to Mizuki, I don't think she believed me and thought I was crazy for suggesting the possibility. And normally I would've agreed. Ghosts don't really exist, but there were too many factors that made it hard to ignore. So then the priority shifted to figuring out how to bring you back when we knew you were still there.
[ ... ]
When you say it out loud, it sounds crazy. No matter what. There's no logical way to say "we shoved all of the ghosts of our dead friends back into their broken dead bodies to bring them back." [ ... ] It's just something we'll have to remember isn't possible other places, too. Like something to be grateful for here. Which...I am. I'm obviously glad you're all back.
[ but it is a little strange to think about. ]
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You're right. A lot of terrible things have happened here, and they still are... but that doesn't mean we can't be grateful for the bright spots, too.
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Those are the things we need in order to get past all of the other terrible stuff, I think. Or so I've heard. [ he's not really an optimist. ] So when the opportunities present themselves...seems stupid not to take them.
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Will you tell me about them? Those happier memories.
[Even if they're small or few and far between, he wants to hear about them.]
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...the ones here? [ yes, shoma. ] It's funny to think about now, but at the time it was sort of a huge deal. Dahut actually said he wanted to be friends, that first week we got here. He was the first one to do that. Throné used the simulation room to show me her favorite place, this quiet village and a stage where she met another one of her friends. I got to see Sidon's domain and learn a little more about him. Diluc and I went to the mega park when it first opened to try different ice cream flavors. Charles and I have been going to the dog park to visit the dogs, especially on Fridays. Yuri and I tried to learn a few recipes together. Sometimes Rosamund and I would pick up snacks and do a trade to see which ones we liked better. Dion came with me to Anoria to check out some of the E.L.C. mounts and take them for a test ride. Kazuki said he's going to make me a playlist later just to have for myself. Viktor told me about the things he was working on and what he wanted to accomplish back where he's from, for his city. And...weirdly, Scien gave me hope that maybe things could actually be better at home.
By themselves, none of them sound that impressive. But I think the overall picture is that all of these people, and other people, too, have changed a lot of how I see things. Maybe the whole idea is a happy memory itself.
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Luke does not do that, but he grins, hooking his thumbs in his pockets.]
They do sound impressive! Those are the kinds of things I like to photograph, back home--the little things. They really add up when you're not looking, until you think about it and you realize you've been happier than you thought. Right?
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but he at least seems happy with that response. ]
Right. I don't know if I've ever really thought about what happiness feels like anymore. It just kind of happened one day even when things were getting harder here. [ ... ] Taking pictures would've been smarter now that I think about it. But the memories will have to be as good.
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[HE'S JUST KIND OF. Talking as though they'll definitely solve all of this and get out of here because it helps no one if he does not do that.]
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