johnny jaqobis (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
stabilis) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
meadowlark2018-11-10 07:39 pm
stabilis) wrote in meadowlark2018-11-10 07:39 pm
@anonymous
Kind of forward for a first date, I know, but do any of you have access to tech that can give a guy a clean brain scan? Looking for foreign organics, not the chip.
And has anyone tested the limits of the empathy bond? If not, consider this recruitment for some extreme handholding. Also forward, but I promise I'll buy you a drink as soon as I get my allowance.
And has anyone tested the limits of the empathy bond? If not, consider this recruitment for some extreme handholding. Also forward, but I promise I'll buy you a drink as soon as I get my allowance.
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We've met. Thanks for the rec.
Are you volunteering, or are you just here to steal my data?
[ Kidding, obviously, but also @clarke!! ]
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Bit of both.
What's your background? Tech? Neuroscience?
[ thanks @clarke for being a nosy parker re: foreign organics. ]
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My background's in robot dogs and spaceships. Biological sciences have been more of a reluctant necessity.
You?
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[ what a picturesque life! ]
I'm engineering, so in your neighbourhood, at least.
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Any specialties?
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[ #helpful ]
What was the last mental link you experienced?
[ eyes emoji @ every thread on this post basically ]
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[ #nothelpful!!
also what's the correct answer, here. ]
I haven't, technically. I've done some serious tourism with a few things that could jack into people's heads back home, but the connections were never fully online. I'm just trying to knock out some possibilities.
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[ VR theory is back on the table, now that thor's popping in and out of existence or w/e ]
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I've used tech that was supposed to sync two brains up across crazy distances, but when I tried it the other user was offline. I've never seen tech that shares emotions, but I don't doubt that it's out there. It'd require serious hardware, though.
[ Hardware they clearly don't have in their chests. ]
And there's an organism back home that functions as a bridge for shared thought/memory. The first time I tried that I either wasn't compatible or the link was closed, and the second time I didn't have a strong enough connection to cross the bridge.
Why?
[ It isn't a suspicious question, necessarily. It's just an interesting thing to focus on. ]
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Not the same.
But related.
I've experienced VR tech that was as real as anything in life, down to the vibrancy of memory and consequences of fatalities. You could upload the entirely of yourself and not even realsie you were inside it — required serious hardware, though.
[ fitz purposefully mimicks johnny's terminology. a beat. ]
I'm headed to the safehouse.
Grabbing beers on the way.
[ he seems like a guy worth talking to; that's decided. ]
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[ Immersive VR is old news, but that's still pushing it - if it's out there, it's definitely illegal. After a slight pause, ]
Could you bring a few extras?
[ please fund his research dates with like 987243 other people, new pal. More seriously: ]
The name's John Jaqobis, btw.
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[ either? both. ]
Fitz.
I'll see what I can do, John.
Meet you in the kitchen.
[ and he'll arrive shortly thereafter as promised, rucksack filled with a case or two of beers: His donation to science and the revolution. Fresh from work, Fitz certainly has the look of a nerd, with his short-sleeve button-up and slacks. More noticeable are the injuries, a bandage wrapped tightly around his right hand, while others wind around his neck. Minor bruising on the arms, plus a nastier hit on the jaw.
Rough week, amiright? ]
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Rough week at the office?
[ Mutilated nerd is definitely a unique point of fashion. Not that he's had a great week, either, but all he's really got to show for it is the buzzcut. Johnny reaches out to help him with one of the cases, and this is where he'd normally go for a handshake, but a) empathy and b) Fitz's obviously injured hand. ]
Thanks for the funding.
[ He should maybe question why everyone here wants payment in beer, but like. Same, so. ]
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Fitz lifts his shoulders, an awkward shrug. ]
Coworker went off her trolley. [ said as he lifts the other case with his good hand and deposits in on the counter, enjoying the light thud. ] You missed an outbreak of some sort of — [ twisting his bandaged hand. ] Rage toxin, I suppose.
[ The statement is true but, y'know, not actually the reason that he looks so shite. ]
But I'm always happy to support a science experiment. [ a beat. ] Does that me one of the first volunteers?
[ if Johnny was waiting on "funding" ]
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[ Bringing the booze vs. demanding it, easy competition. ]
And my first. Bet gentle.
[ Johnny retrieves a pair of beers as he talks, but he doesn't rush to crack them open. This is a legitimate scientific experiment, thank you. They should at least drink slowly (and contaminate the results slowly, but whatever).
He's heard a bit about the rage thing, and how they solved it. The question's hedged without certainty, though — still nailing down the details. ]
Prolonged contact cured it, right?
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Prolonged contact for five minutes, [ tipping his hand this way and that in a gesture of approximation. ] give or take a few seconds. [ Fitz timed it throughout the day, in every instance where he could flick on his implant. ] An empathetic experience of peace, followed by aching sadness. And paired with our charming, blue chest glow, naturally.
[ Fitz fishes his multi-tool out of the rucksack. Pretty retro, for guy like Johnny, but it pops the recyclable cap off his drink all the same. ]
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[ The five minutes part, mostly. The rest of it doesn't sound particularly not awkward, either. ] About the glow, has anyone tried to make pasties? You know. For stealth purposes.
[ Because a bright blue glow in the middle of your chest doesn't sound very stealthy. He has no idea it's already made the news, but if they were out touching strangers (yikes), it follows that they were getting their glow on in public. He holds out a hand for the tool, which is absolutely retro, but recognizable. Some things are timeless. ]
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Not that I’m aware. [ always the caveat when there are so many cagey operatives among them, wont to go off on their own and never report back. ]
Dressing appropriately does the trick, most days, but it’s growing hotter and a few people — [ he wedges two fingers under his collar, tugging it away from the bandages. ] — they caught media attention during the outbreak. Blurry footage. Still glowy. [ to use the scientific term. ] Additional coverage could be a good shout.
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Well, shame on them. [ Kidding. He's gathering that Fitz is one of those few people, and it isn't like it's their fault their chests are housing mysterious nightlights. ] Maybe I'll add pasties to the list.
[ He gives the currently quiet kitchen a once-over, wondering if there's any real point in moving the hand-holding elsewhere. There isn't a lot of privacy in the warehouse. Storage rooms and less busy corners, maybe, but that's not much. ] So have you done much with the empathy connection otherwise?
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A thoughtful frown, then, as he considers his prior experiences and how much to share of them. ]
Katelin and I have done a few trials. [ a vague gesture, rolling. ] Nothing exhaustive, just trying to get a feel for it.
[ and how it can be manipulated, fooled, utilised like any other tool. ]
You sure you want to go hands-on with a stranger?
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[ Speaking of biologists, Zeph would be having a field day if she were here. A field day insulting his very poorly controlled experiments, mostly, but still. Johnny takes a short drink, and the beer is... fine. Probably closer to what he's used to than what Fitz is used to. Tastes very slightly less like grass.
He grins at the last question, sliding out a chair and taking a seat. ]
You kidding me? It's one of my favorite hobbies. [ Vague?? Yes. Weirdly true in more than one sense?? Kind of. ] But really? Better way to get uncontaminated results. No chance of me guessing where your weird feelings are coming from unless the empathy link's offering hints.
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[ Fitz joins him at the table, positioning himself nearby to stay within reach. Wo-wow, though, Johnny's gonna send his brows into his hairline permanently if he goes on like this. It's like the guy says things Fitz would blurt on accident... but kind of on purpose?
He extends his uninjured hand, palm flat and open upward, elbow propped on the table. Might as well be ergonomic about it, huh. ]
Bit like emotional fortune telling, isn't it. [ some internal debate shows in the crease of his features, considering how best to test this. ] Could have a quick go, first. See how you find it.
[ EMPATHY QUICKIE YES/NO ]
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The "old friends" comment is interesting, too. He doesn't feel jealous over his team not being here, exactly; but he does miss them, and there's a trace of that fond echo when he reaches across to take Fitz' offered hand, elbow similarly propped up on the table. It looks like they've forgotten how arm wrestling works.
Otherwise, his emotions are pretty well matched to the facade: open, easy. Calm, though there's no sense of strict control there. He trusts himself too much to bother holding anything back, and the lack of conflict feels undeniably steady. ] Pretty sure you just described all human interaction.
[ Like... dialed up to the nth degree, obviously, but same concept. Read the room, don't be an asshole. ]
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Do most of your human interactions go like this?
[ Some amusement there, bolstered by a curious interest in his partner. As that peters out, his calm comes to the fore, constructed and maintained with practiced effort. Two months in, and it's almost seamless. Might not be noticeable, if not for the real thing flowing from the opposite end of the bond. ]
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[ Emotional connections are harder than physical ones. For most people, anyway; he isn't about to pretend it's a hard rule, and he's always been more about the former than the latter. ] Hence the need for fortune telling. This? [ A light squeeze of their hands. ] Kind of takes the mystery out of it.
[ Or it would, if you sucked at reading people. He hasn't known Fitz long, but the careful thread of control seems to fit. Cagey, but not exactly unfriendly; kind of like asking one-sided questions and sharing just enough information to make it feel like a conversation.
Meaning no surprises, yet. ] So we already know about the emotional bleed. This isn't overly scientific, I know, but I was thinking we could just — push it. Focus on specific memories, see if any details slip through.
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