09 // text // private to Sofia
[The message is pretty elementary to hack. There's nothing worth hiding in it; Alex just doesn't feel like spamming the entire network. Not that he really expects any of this to get through.]
is the comm working yet
is the comm working yet
is the comm working yet
Is the comm working yet
is the comm working yet
is the comm working yet
? is the comm working yet ?
i s t h e c o m m w o r k i n g y e t
is the comm working yettttttt
is the comm working yet
[ACTION]
Why do you believe your current Plasmid will not do?
[ Distraction? Sure. But also legitimate question here. You were ecstatic before, so what changed? ]
[ACTION]
[...no, actually, okay, that's a legitimate question.]
Okay. It only lasts for a few seconds, and it can't have frozen more than... than four feet. [Overly conservative estimate is go.] And the EVE runs out like that. ["That" is accompanied by a finger-click, and nothing says brevity like a click of the fingers.]
Four feet's not enough. He can... grow.
[ACTION]
Too bad!
~STARES~]
[ACTION]
...it gradually occurs to Alex that he might be coming across as a little overstrung. He lowers his hand, and tries to relax a little, at least outwardly; success could generously be described as mediocre.]
[ACTION]
Most Plasmids have one or two advanced versions. Their exact properties depend on the original Plasmid, but they generally increase its strength, radius and duration.
You think you are running out of EVE quickly now? That is nothing compared to the amount required to use advanced Plasmid models.
Re: [ACTION]
...How much more risky are they to have?
[ACTION]
[ Here she moves over to the closet. Sales pitch is go! She opens it and pulls out a bottle. You may remember its shape and red colour from 'Getting Alex Spliced Up - The Movie'. ]
This is Winter Blast - Version 3.
[ The bottle is set down on Alex's desk. Lamb returns to the closet and fetches not one, not two, but three more bottles, same design, lovely blue colour this time. She puts them down on the desk one after one. ]
And this is the minimum amount of additional tonics you will require to make proper use of it.
[ACTION]
He can't help staring at them. They're kind of beautiful. (They're kind of appetising, but he pushes that thought down as soon as it appears. That's something he expected, something he can deal with, and he is gonna do this logically.) ]
...Okay, what do they do, and is it safe to have that many?
[ACTION]
EVE Upgrade, EVE Saver 1, EVE Saver 2. The first increases the amount of EVE your body can hold at the time, the other two decrease the amount of EVE required to use your Plasmid.
The Tonics themselves don't require a constant supply of EVE and the strain they put on the body is minimal compared to Plasmids; three would [here her voice becomes hesitant] in fact be a small number, but...
You spliced up less than a month ago and if your craving for ADAM is this intense already... how much will you ask me to give you next week? Next month? Next year?
[ACTION]
This is about getting rid of the-- of him. Not--
[ --wait. He stops, taken aback. That's the same word. Almost exactly the same word as the one that Naoto used for the murderer. He'd been going to ask, clear things up before he injected anything else; he'd not expected her to use the word. ]
Spliced up.
So I'm a Splicer.
[ No, that's not a question. He wants to hear her answer. ]
[ACTION]
No, I-
I was worried you might be taking it too fast, but I did not mean to imply-
I would never compare you to-
[ Lowers her head. Sighs. ]
I'm sorry, Alex.
[ACTION]
Compare me to - who?
[ To the murderer? Does she know about him? So is 'Splicer' not a word for everyone who uses plasmids? Is it - no, he's not gonna guess, he's just gonna ask, and be kind of annoyed that she didn't tell him this already. ]
Tell me exactly what 'Splicer' means.
[ACTION]
I... apologise, I thought you knew.
[ Ah, nostalgia. ]
It used to be a neutral term. To splice meant to use ADAM and to use ADAM meant to be a splicer, the same way smoking made you a smoker.
[ Sigh. ]
Over the years the definition changed. You still spliced up, but after that you merely used ADAM. If you spliced you... didn't quite have it under control, you were the person who had just a few more drinks than they ought to and eventually-
Eventually a Splicer was not somebody you talked about, it was somebody you ran from. They had stopped being people who use ADAM, simply because they had stopped being people.
[ACTION]
You never said that before.
That - you'd have to use it a hell of a lot to get like that, though. Right?
[ACTION]
[ She lowers her head. And her voice. ]
Despite the warnings they did not even attempt to control their intake. I did not mention it, because I never thought you would let yourself-
[ She looks up at Alex. ]
No, I should not have kept this from you. There is no excuse.
[ACTION]
[ He can feel himself tensing up angrily, struggles to keep his own voice from rising. ]
There's a guy here - a Splicer - who killed a guy and turned his body into a statue. [ He says that with a mixture of disbelief and disgust, then demands: ] Is that because he used ADAM?
[ACTION]
No, ADAM did not cause his mental condition. I do not doubt that the addiction has made it worse, but he was difficult to get along with long before that. There were always certain... rumours.
A phone call here, a kind word and a generous donation there and critics of his would be silenced, artistic rivals would suddenly disappear.
[ More sigh. ]
He is a lot less subtle these days.
[ACTION]
[ Well, if he was famous back in Rapture, that makes sense. And that's about the only thing he doesn't suddenly feel like he should be corraborating. ]
He's wanted.
[ ...And now he has something useful to tell Naoto, though that's not what's at the forefront of his mind. God, he didn't even know exactly what this did before he... spliced up. Why didn't he wait and find some way of double-checking this? ]
[ACTION]
He briefly attended therapy with me as well.
[ That last sentence has undertones of defeat, of having to acknowledge personal failure. ]
Wanted? By whom?
[ACTION]
[ He looks at the jars on the desk again, warily. No. No way is he... he needs to at least think about this. He wants to get rid of the Operator, but he doesn't want to lose himself doing it.
Those bottles are a calculated risk, and his calculations have apparently been off. It's made worse by the edge of attractiveness they still have.
Abruptly, he goes to the desk and scoops up all four bottles into his arms. ]
I'm putting these back in the closet.
[ACTION]
[ It's hard to say which part of his statement that applies to.
Lamb is now moving towards the door. ]
After you use up all your EVE you mustn't drink coffee or smoke in the first two weeks. The effects of withdrawal will not be pleasant, but after that time the Plasmid should have receded to a point where regular stimulants will no longer be converted into EVE.
[ She's at the door now. ]
You will probably experience headaches and nausea, most likely also a fever. I suggest you contact Doctor Tam if that is the case, perhaps stay at his clinic until the symptoms have disappeared.
Goodbye, Alex.
[ACTION]
I'm not giving them up completely. Not until I've gotten rid of him. I just don't want to get - like that. I mean, like a splicer.
[ACTION]
Yes, you will. I kept things from you, because I refused to see that it might be difficult... too difficult for you to resist the temptation that befell some of Rapture's people. In my caring for your safety here I became careless and now this is all I can do to apologise.
[ACTION]
What the-- listen, I'm saying no to these! [ He angrily jostles the bottles in his arms; they clink invitingly, but he keeps his head up high and refuses to look at them. ] I wouldn't be doing that if I couldn't resist this stuff!
[ACTION]
I don't understand.
If you can resist, if you know how important it is to be careful, what reason do you have to worry about becoming a Splicer?
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