trans_9 | Getting out of the 'house'. [Open]

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Getting out of the 'house'. [Open]

Now that the crisis concerning the clock and the children were over, she couldn't be more thankful. The gurgling roar that filled her mind had died down to a more manageable but similarly annoying simmer that continued to give her plenty of reason to be eternally displeased. Still, if she planned to be anything more than a lethargic shut-in, it would require her to brave the 'babbleroar'.

Mulling over her choices for some time, she eventually decided on Hydroponics and made her way there. With the minimal amount of time she'd actually spent on Earth after joining with the Superhomeys, most of her encounters with the natural world were only conjured up from the depths of her memories.

She began walking through the wide expanse of shrubs, trees and other vegetation, intent on both relaxing and rebuilding her mental imaging of how forests and jungles were actually supposed to appear.

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Zouichi's mind was, in general, a quiet and orderly one, without much background noise. Today, however, he was thinking of several things.

For instance, if Ildraniath was being candid about enjoying their talks, perhaps he owed her a visit. Also, hadn't Howard been sticking around a little more closely than usual? Maybe it was because of the Percival Phoenix mission.

There was also the small matter of Alastirra-- no, probably not.

He turned as he heard someone approach. "Hello; enjoying Hydroponics?"

She looked up suddenly, furrowing an eyebrow in surprise. So involved in rebuilding her mental image of rainforests and the like, she'd not even truly been paying attention to where it was she was walking.

"Oh, afternoon," she replied, the thought floating into his mind. "I'd certainly say so. Far more flora and fauna than I could ever recall visiting on earth (view from space notwithstanding, of course)."

He blinked in surprise at the sudden sound of thoughts not his own. "Ah. I... didn't realize you were an esper. Yes, it's certainly something else, isn't it?"

Hmm. Espers actually made him a little uncomfortable, considering his history with them.

"I'll conclude that 'esper' is another word for 'telepath'? Though you're hardly alone with that thought. A lot (as in a lot) of people find them fairly disconcerting. Unfortunately I have no choice (but) to speak using telepathy."

She raised her hands in silent apology.

"Basically. Although it's also applied to people with a wide variety of psychic abilities." He hesitated for a moment. "...I understand. It's just that most of the psychics I know try to kill me on a fairly regular basis."

"I'm Zouichi, by the way. Nice to meet you."

"I'm far more restrictive with the use of my abilities so there won't be any killing this time around (really!)."

She extended her hand to him. "I'm Mindfuck," she replied. "(I know, very silly supranym)."

"Ah, well, that's a relief. Dying wasn't really in my planner for today."

He returned the handshake, smiling. "Maybe a little silly. Is it alright if I call you Mind?"

"Be my guest. It only stuck after many a year in the cape business and then, well. I had no reason to change it."

She turned her visored gaze up to him. "So is this your preferred place of respite?

"It was, at least until I found a place to move into in the City. But I still like coming here every once in a while. It's quiet, and I like watching the wildlife."

He blinked. "Uh, 'cape business'?"

"Ah, yes. Despite resigned acceptance that this is all, in fact, reality, I forget that not all of us come from the same planet (or universe, as it were). The 'cape' business is slang for the superhero career. Amazing powersets, vows to protect the innocent, colorful (egregiously tacky) spandex suits, fighting off crime, supervillains and common sense. That sort of thing."

Zouichi brightened. "Ah, I've never really read the comics, but I've met a few superheroes while I've been here. They've all been very kind so far. Does that mean you're part of a, uh... legion of some kind? They always seem to come in groups."

He paused for a moment. "...But none of you really seem to wear capes."

"Technically yes, I was part of a group of heroes called the Superhomeys (again with the terrible names). Due to my ah, 'predicament', I very rarely joined them for 'field work' (face-punching). Reconnaissance and intelligence, usually."

She only shrugged at his observation. "A cape isn't a convenient piece of equipment unless it's bulletproof, made of some alien alloy, (etcetra, etcetra). Really, it just hails back to the golden age superheroes of yore."

"Well... at least you had a sort of consistent naming theme. It's a shame that you didn't get a chance for much field work, though. I find punching adversaries in the face to be one of the most fulfilling aspects of my profession." He was joking, sort of.

"Ah, so it's more of a stereotype than anything else. So you were in reconnaissance? That might explain why I've never seen you around. Come to think of it, Splicer has a tendency to travel below the radar as well. I thought that was more of a personal peculiarity of his, though."

"Oh, he did far more 'field work' than I ever did. As exciting as face-punching is, my (poor, over-worked) mind has enough to handle as it is. My skill-set rarely had me leave the low-orbiting (lonely) comforts of 'home' as my primary job required me to hop between (depraved) mind after mind for information."

She paused and slid a hand back, pushing the hair against her face behind an ear. "As far as 'not seeing me around' that's really my own fault. Being out and near so many other is to help begin 'correcting' that (or grinning and bearing it, as it were)."

"Your 'poor, overworked mind'? So your job was very difficult for you? Er, is it because reading minds takes effort, or because it's difficult to read the depraved minds in particular?"

"Is there something wrong with being around other people?"

"You uncover plenty of disgusting and filthy things in the minds of the depraved but that's not really the pain-inducing part. Sure I can delve further into the mind; unlock memories, pinpoint personality traits, tweak emotional responses (blah, blah, etcetera), but I'm not able to fully filter or control my psychic perceptions when in crowds."

"What this means for me is being constantly bombarded by what I like to call the 'babbleroar'. A discordant cacophony of thought streams that give me quite (understatement) the headache at times."

She tapped a slender finger against her temple. "It's only a small whisper of noises right now since there are few people around here and I can filter out a singular person with ease. In other places aboard the ship, the jumble of thoughts and sounds are impossible to distinguish and mean nothing more to me than a Brobdingnagian-sized problem crammed inside my skull."

"I see. That sounds extremely troublesome. I believe there are several other psychics on board -- perhaps they'd be able to help you screen out some of that roar?"

He'd never heard of an esper being unable to control their powers like that, but he supposed it had to happen, at times. "I'm curious -- you can delve into the mind of any person? Would there be anything someone without any psychic powers could do to counter that ability?"

"Perhaps. I don't really know why it is that the strength of psionic abilities differs from person to person, but I can only assume that there had to be some downside to the abilities I possess. Speaking from a (strictly) suprahuman perspective, anyways."

At his question the corner of her mouth twitched to form a barely-there smile. "Ah, yes. The easiest way would be through technology- some sort of psi-shield would block the abilities of psionic users. Of course anyone with some sort of powerful delusions or psychosis can also fool a telepath (though the latter only 'protects' against mind reading).

"Hmm. Is that how psychic powers work? I suppose most special abilities have some kind of weakness, after all."

"A... psi-shield? Hmm. I was hoping some image-training or something would help. Not that I doubt the abilities of the Engineering department." It was just that technology could be interfered with or malfunction. Okay, so maybe he did have slightly more faith in the Weapons Division of Toha Heavy Industries.

"I couldn't tell you (precisely). It's possibly easier on others depending on how their abilities manifest. Not all psychics have the same power-set. As far as image-training; unfortunately (unlike in Hollywood productions) the ah, 'power of will' is not as effective as they make it appear." Though it was sometimes amusing when others attempted to shunt a telepath from their mind using that method.

"If you could figure out a way to delude yourself (essentially 'tricking' your mind) on command, that would be an effective manner to circumvent both the mind reading and memory-shuffling abilities, though you might lose sight of what reality was and what the lie was (just thinking here...). Power-dampening abilities also work well, though it's not very inconspicuous."

"Another thing the movies get wrong?" He smiled a little. "And they have such a great track record on everything else. I've been watching some movies from the turn of the 21st century lately -- it's where a lot of the crew seems to come from -- and sometimes I wonder if the script writers ever made it through their basic science classes. Or turned on a computer."

Willpower always did great things for Zouichi! For example, when he decided multiple stab wounds and a bullet hole shouldn't stop him from engaging in melee combat, who was there to pick up the slack? Willpower, that's who.

Zouichi sighed. "I guess I'll just have to rely on my usual methods of guarding against psychic attack, then. I'm afraid I don't have any such power-dampening abilities."

"Oh yes, well I suppose they want the viewer to exercise their suspension of belief to a certain (nonsensical) level. As someone from the much-vaunted 21st century, I'll say that script writers became even more ridiculous with their pseudo-technobabble when suprahumans emerged on the scene."

She shrugged her shoulders in apology. "Splicer might be able to help you with that more than I can. From what he's mentioned, where he came from the technological (slash) biological advancements they've made is far beyond some of what I've seen (even counting the occasional alien tech negotiations)."

He frowned. "Personally, I find it a little grating how many films depict artificial life forms as enemies or potential threats. If they're that threatening, there's no reason to create them in the first place."

"Ah. Yes, he does seem to have quite a few unusual abilities. Where does he hide all those cigarettes, for instance? It remains an eternal mystery."

"Ah, well most people do fear the things they don't understand, even in an age with increased technological advances. Artificial life forms are (generally) modeled after the thinking processes, behavioral patterns and mannerisms of their creators. The only difference? Their mental speed, strength, ability to process and retain information (etcetera, etcetera) are superior to that of any normal human. It (as much as Hollywood would want you to believe) doesn't make them infallible, though.

After all, they were created by beings who tend to be flawed creatures (understatement), themselves. Why, then, would you hold an artificial life form to higher standards than those of the life form it was built to imitate?"

She paused, tilting her head up in thought. "I was under the impression that he used telekenesis to jam them into unorthodox locations."

"Hmm. Honestly, I can understand why someone would want to create a lifeform that could be held to higher ethical standards than a human could. Human history is rife with conflict over resources, religion, territorial boundaries. Robots, say, could provide a fresh slate with which to start over, without recreating the selfishness or irrationality of the template on which they are based."

"Jam them... in..." TERRIBLE MENTAL IMAGE.

Getting out of the 'house'. [Open]

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