40410: (thinkingwaiting)
Alex Kralie ([personal profile] 40410) wrote2010-07-14 11:22 pm

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]

[identity profile] 40410.livejournal.com 2010-07-20 04:35 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Holy... All right, that's a lot.

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]

[identity profile] echo-of-utopia.livejournal.com 2010-07-21 10:53 am (UTC)(link)
[ She names them, pointing at the individual bottles as she does. ]

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]

[identity profile] 40410.livejournal.com 2010-07-21 11:44 am (UTC)(link)
[ Yeah, those would help. Those would definitely help him. He nods along - but then glares, because what the hell, that's not why he's asking her this. ]

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]

[identity profile] echo-of-utopia.livejournal.com 2010-07-21 12:02 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She doesn't know that he's heard the term elsewhere and for a moment she thinks he's just deriving the word, but then she notices how his mood changes. She decides to respond by looking guilty and horrified. ]

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]

[identity profile] 40410.livejournal.com 2010-07-21 12:19 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Oh. Wait. What. That's not a response he saw coming, and it's not one that reassures him. ]

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]

[identity profile] echo-of-utopia.livejournal.com 2010-07-21 12:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She looks ~genuinely surprised~. ]

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]

[identity profile] 40410.livejournal.com 2010-07-21 01:24 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He mouths stopped being people, his eyes going quickly from Lamb to the jars on the desk to his own hands to Lamb again. What the fuck. Yeah, she told him that it would be damaging if he used it too much, but that's a pretty different picture to the one painted by 'somebody you ran from' and 'stopped being people'. ]

You never said that before.

That - you'd have to use it a hell of a lot to get like that, though. Right?

[ACTION]

[identity profile] echo-of-utopia.livejournal.com 2010-07-21 01:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes. Yes, of course!

[ 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]

[identity profile] 40410.livejournal.com 2010-07-21 02:05 pm (UTC)(link)
No, you shouldn't have! I mean, that's kind of an important detail!

[ 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]

[identity profile] echo-of-utopia.livejournal.com 2010-07-21 02:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Mister Cohen, I presume.

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]

[identity profile] 40410.livejournal.com 2010-07-21 03:40 pm (UTC)(link)
You know him?

[ 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]

[identity profile] echo-of-utopia.livejournal.com 2010-07-21 04:04 pm (UTC)(link)
He was quite famous in Rapture. I knew him personally through his exhibitions in Dionysus Park.

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]

[identity profile] 40410.livejournal.com 2010-07-21 04:40 pm (UTC)(link)
By the neighbourhood watch.

[ 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]

[identity profile] echo-of-utopia.livejournal.com 2010-07-21 06:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Good.

[ 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]

[identity profile] 40410.livejournal.com 2010-07-21 09:02 pm (UTC)(link)
[ His head snaps towards her. ]

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]

[identity profile] echo-of-utopia.livejournal.com 2010-07-21 09:17 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Well, your dealer is opening the door and stepping outside, SO TOUGH SHIT. ]

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]

[identity profile] 40410.livejournal.com 2010-07-21 10:18 pm (UTC)(link)
[ WHATWHATWHAT ]

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]

[identity profile] echo-of-utopia.livejournal.com 2010-07-21 10:32 pm (UTC)(link)
[She turns around in ~ GENUINE CONFUSION ~]

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?

[ACTION]

[identity profile] 40410.livejournal.com 2010-07-21 10:34 pm (UTC)(link)
I just don't want to risk it.

[ Or risk her understating some other important detail. ]

[ACTION]

[identity profile] echo-of-utopia.livejournal.com 2010-07-21 10:41 pm (UTC)(link)
I understand.

[ It looks like she really doesn't. Her hand is still on the open door and she is standing there, unsure of what to do. ]

[ACTION]

[identity profile] 40410.livejournal.com 2010-07-21 10:54 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He's still mad about her failing to mention that ADAM has turned people into societally feared monsters. But on the other hand, he doesn't want her walking out of here with his stash chance at ridding himself of the Operator. He forces his voice to even out, comparatively. ]

I know what I'm doing, Sof'.

[ He hopes so, anyway. He's nastily aware that this'll make the fight ahead that much harder. ]

[ACTION]

[identity profile] echo-of-utopia.livejournal.com 2010-07-21 10:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes. Yes, I know.

[ It sounds like she really does, although her voice is low still and she hasn't moved, only looked up at Alex for a brief moment. ]

[ACTION]

[identity profile] 40410.livejournal.com 2010-07-21 11:24 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He wonders if she's feeling guilty.

After a short pause: ]


I'm... putting these in the closet now.

[ He crosses the room, edges past the main cluster of cameras to reach the closet door, deposits the jars on his bed while he opens it. What he wants most at that moment can't really be expressed physically, so it's empty; he dumps the bottles on a shelf and backs out with his hand on the door.

The glow of them, sapphire and ruby, picks out the details of the enclosed space. The way the light falls on the surface beneath them, it's possible to imagine that they're sitting in thin puddles of themselves. A stronger plasmid, a better use of EVE. What's he turning his back on?

But the decision is made. After a few moments, he pulls himself back and sternly closes the door. There's no puff of smoke or anything, but when he opens it again to make sure, they're irretrievably gone.

Well, good. Good. That's done, then. ]

[ACTION]

[identity profile] echo-of-utopia.livejournal.com 2010-07-21 11:41 pm (UTC)(link)
[ ~RADIATES FEELING GUILTY~ because of this horrible, horrible, completely accidental one-time mistake. Also? Nods. ]

I will be taking my leave then.

[ She hasn't worded her goodbyes to Alex like that in a while. ]

Unless you have any other questions?

[ She sounds weary, not at all enthusiastic to answer, but giving off the feeling that she considers it her duty to do so. ]

[ACTION]

[identity profile] 40410.livejournal.com 2010-07-22 12:06 am (UTC)(link)
[ There's a horrible cold feeling in his stomach, like he's just missed out on something absolutely great. He attributes it to the unusually formal goodbye.

Despite the leaps his mind might make when he's angry, he doesn't genuinely think that she chose not to tell him. Why would she? But even as a mistake, it's pretty horrible. This is Alex's own body they're talking about. This is his own mind. ]


No, I don't.

[ ...But she is the person here he's closest to - hell, probably the only person here he's close to. He doesn't want to burn a bridge he can't rebuild. ]

Sof', I don't... think you forgot on purpose.

[ACTION]

[identity profile] echo-of-utopia.livejournal.com - 2010-07-22 00:17 (UTC) - Expand