Sample collection [open]

[fractaljesus]

Who: Yaha-kui zaShunina (fractaljesus) & You!
What: Event log and catchall
When: Varies by prompt
Where: The Market and residential district
Warning(s): None



Holed up in the sea of books that made up zaShunina's house, the anisotropic being was nowhere near the market during the attack. He could, however, hear it from the there, and so had come to investigate only to find the place in a state of absolute chaos. But even as people rushed past him in their escape, the man in white stood perfectly still, watching the scene unfold with impassivity unbefitting the situation. At the time, the Royal Guard had compelled him to leave, but that didn't stop him from returning once the cleanup effort was underway to begin an investigation of his own.

The Marketplace

A. Even now, a few days after the attack, there are wisps of gas still lingering in corners and containers where the wind couldn't carry it away. Wisps that the Institute is keen to collect and study. Yaha-kui zaShunina is also curious to know more about it, and cooperating with them to gain access to the site is the obvious solution.

If anyone happens to be there (whether helping with the cleanup effort or also collecting the residual mist), they might find the man in white standing near a collapsed stall, disembodied arms floating on either side of him. A barrel is the target of his attention--still sealed, but not for long. In the blink of an eye, the top is sliced clean off without any apparent action from zaShunina, spilling water out onto the street. It's not the water he's after, but the small wisp of purple mist that escapes. One of the floating hands "taps" the air, enveloping the gas in a floating, iridescent bubble before it can dissipate. More gas is collected in the same way, and while most of it is given to the workers from the Institute, he keeps some for himself.

B. Without a better means to analyze the gas, zaShunina is limited to the classic method of experimentation. In a corner of the market left untouched by the attack, zaShunina carries with him his bubble of purple gas floating harmlessly above the palm of a disembodied arm. For the most part, he doesn't do much apart from stare intently at the bubble without blinking, so still he could be mistaken for a statue if not for the way his hair and cloak billow softly in the breeze. When someone draws close, however, he'll turn to look at them with what he hopes looks like a reassuring smile painted on his lips--but it's the smile of a mannequin who feels nothing behind it.

"Do you know what this is?" He'll ask, holding the bubbled gas out to them, but continues before they can respond. "It is the material responsible for the outbreak of the disease designated VIOLET2710."

Residential District

C. Apart from collecting and studying samples of the gas, Yaha-kui zaShunina can later be found on the streets of the residential district, talking to a small group of natives who appear fascinated by his floating arms.

"It is not magic," He assures them, smiling. "Your perception of the world is incomplete. Where you perceive the world around you in three dimensions, there are, in truth, many more. I am merely reaching through these additional dimensions." Some respond with 'oohs' and 'ahhs,' while others just seem confused by the explanation, dismissing it as magic and wandering off.

When he sees someone who looks like a refugee, however, he dismisses the small crowd with a wave of his disembodied hand and approaches them.

"Magic is much a much easier answer for the peoples of this city to accept." He muses, the smile on his face never faltering.


Wildcard: Other places zaShunina could potentially be found include Thesa station, where he spends a good portion of his time reading books in the Stasis Unit beside a specific pod. He can also be found in Simwe Institute's library, perusing the books available there.

Comments

[poolhall_killer]

Well that's unexpected. Venom's been surprised time and again by the many different kinds of magic and abilities his fellow refugees have. A disembodied hand almost seems like something that could occur in his homeworld, like a type of selective teleportation.

Fascinating!

It's tentative at first, but he reaches for the book. "I can't turn away a good fantasy novel, even if it is aimed at children." Plus Venom has an unspoken soft spot for them since he never had much of a childhood.

"M-may I ask about the ability you just used? To reach for the book?"

[fractaljesus]

zaShunina is in no position to judge anyone's taste in literature--he'll read literally anything, from essays on quantum mechanics to children's books about fluffy bunnies to restaurant menus. He appears quizzical for a moment, as if not understanding the question, but it only lasts a brief second before he smiles, arm once again appearing from thin air between them, palm upright.

"You perceive the universe in three dimensions, but there are more dimensions than you can detect. In a manner of speaking, you could say I am simply moving my arm in a different direction." There is a lot more to it than that, but without knowing whether Venom is a native or refugee, he can't go in-depth about Novo and the anisotropic, so he gets the watered-down explanation.

[poolhall_killer]

Watered down as it may be, Venom still finds it curious. He's read about moving between dimensions briefly but has never seen it in practice. But to move beyond the known three...

"Is it a natural ability or is it learned?" At this point, his attention has shifted from friendly dragons to floating arms.

[fractaljesus]

zaShunina shakes his head, but his smile remains in place. "'Ability' is a misapprehension. Moving my hands in this manner is no more an ability than for you to reach out with your own." As he explains, the arm vanishes from the air between them and reappears attached to his shoulder where it belongs. Once there, the alien once again extends it as if to offer a handshake.

"For me, this is the same." In actuality, it actually takes more concentration to move like a normal person than to fold space. "It could be the same for you if you were to gain a sense of these higher dimensions." Something he could have helped Venom with had he been able to bring his anisotropic devices with him to El Nysa. "Humans are not capable of perceiving higher dimensions under normal circumstances, but it isn't impossible for you to learn."

[poolhall_killer]

He accepts the hand in a tentative, but curious, shake. Honestly, had he not retired from his old line of work, Venom would have been all over learning more about higher dimensions.

"I can't say I'm not interested, but I believe I'll pass for the time being. Still, it's quite impressive." He lets go, his eyes practically glued to the re-attached arm.

[fractaljesus]

While the young man had remained relatively impassive up until now, with his doll-like smile, the disappointment that creases his brow and tugs his lips downward is quite the contrast.

"I see, that is a shame." his arm retreats back under his cloak after Venom releases it. He had hoped to share this gift with Venom when he expressed interest, but alas, it's not to be. zaShunina doesn't allow it to bother him long, however, and soon his face is once again doll-like and placid.

"The book you were reading is part of a trilogy. I can retrieve the other volumes for you."

[poolhall_killer]

"It's nothing personal, I assure you." Venom truly wants to learn for the sake of honing his fighting skills, but he's also trying to maintain a peaceful existence here. It's not completely out of the question as he'll keep the offer quietly filed away.

But yes, back to the books at hand. "Is it? If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to read those, as well." Because he can never say no to these kinds of stories, especially if they're interlocked.

[fractaljesus]

With the topic changed, some of the tension dissipates, and zaShunina is only too happy to step away from the bookcase, opting to physically walk to the children's section rather than use his arms to retrieve them more quickly. Fortunately, said section isn't too far away despite the vastness of the library, as all of the fiction seems relegated to a small corner, leaving the rest of the collection to scholarly journals, history, and other manner of nonfiction.

"Here," zaShunina points to a small gap in a shelf where the book Venom held belonged, bordered on either side by books of similar design. All three have covers emblazoned with illustrations of the same dragon, all doing different things on each.

[poolhall_killer]

There's something childlike in how Venom reacts to the found books. Widening eyes behind that hair, the light sucking in on his breath. But it's clear he's trying to stay calm and mature as he carefully pulls the two books off the shelf. "I appreciate your assistance, sir." Eventually, he will explore the more scholarly side of the library, but currently, he's quite content with his chosen novels.

"I'll be certain to return them as soon as I'm finished." Meaning he'll be back within a day or two because he's going to happily blaze right through them.

[fractaljesus]

Venom's almost childish behavior compels the corners of zaShunina's mouth to tug up into a small smile that his eyes do not reflect. The man retrieving the books is unmistakably an adult, but he appears to maintain a level of youth of mind that zaShunina finds intriguing. It's a shame he'd already rejected his offer, because Yaha-kui zaShunina thinks that if his mind is truly as a child's, he might actually be able to accept the principles of anisotropy and achieve a sense of it.

But suddenly Venom is speaking, and it draws the young man out of his thoughts--out of the hypothetical and into the present.

"I know." His words aren't meant to be rude (as he lacks the capacity to be intentionally so), merely that he doesn't doubt Venom's words. He also knows that whenever Venom does come back to return them, he'll likely find zaShunina not far from where he'd found him before.

"You need not reassure me of their return." They aren't his, and even if they were, he doesn't have much of a concept of ownership to begin with.

[poolhall_killer]

Part of Venom is about ready to take off for the sake of starting this trilogy, but he has one more matter to attend. He's yet to properly introduce himself.

"I'm Venom, by the way. You'll be seeing more of me in the near future, I believe." Not that he was a complete stranger to the library before, but now he has more reason to visit. "What's your name, sir?" He speaks as though the unusual man works in the library.

[fractaljesus]

"I am Yaha-kui zaShunina." He returns the introduction, crossing a hand over his chest and giving a slight bow at the waist. The movement is stilted and artificial, as if mimicking the motion after having seen it once, but most of his actions are similarly mechanical.

zaShunina may not work in the library but he may as well live there. Without a need for food or sleep, he can devote much of his time to absorbing information, and the library has plenty of that.

[poolhall_killer]

It's a bow Venom's given to his superiors many times before. Respectful, but indeed stiff. Is that how others perceive him when he thinks he's acting polite? He returns the bow lightly, as his arms are full of dragon books.

The name sounds almost ethereal, like the man comes from another plane of higher existence. That plus moving through dimensions... or maybe Venom's overthinking it as always. "A pleasure. Thank you again for helping me find these."

End thread?

[fractaljesus]

Wouldn't he be surprised to know the full truth of zaShunina's existence? But Yaha-kui zaShunina cannot read minds, and Venom is not pushing the issue, thus the question goes unanswered.

zaShunina nods his head in acknowledgement of Venom's thanks, and turns with a slight billow of his cloak to return to the stack he'd been working on, secure in the knowledge that he would be seeing Venom again.