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 Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 9:04 pm
Dacian had been very lax, lately. He hadn't actually met with any of the new guardians yet, and they had been here a little while!
Or, well, it had been a while since he initially contacted them. And it seemed like people were living in those apartments...so, finally spurring himself into action, he went off to meet at least one.
This was what led to him standing in front of Carver's apartment, whistling cheerily to himself as he knocked on the door.
New guardians! This would interesting.
And hopefully Hadrian or Ahneta hadn't already done the meet and greet thing - those two never presented the best front for the compound.
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 9:17 pm
Thankfully, neither had; when the door was opened to Dacian, the man there was obviously surprised to see him, drying a plate with a dish-cloth and sticking his hand out. "Oh, I thought you might be one of the girls. - Good afternoon. Can I help you with anything? Oh, uh." (Hastily, as he reached to shake hands, Carver hurriedly wiped the suds off on his jeans.) "Sorry. I'm not usually so informal when I answer the door."
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 9:22 pm
Shaking hands with a chuckle, Dacian eyed the dish cloth.
"Is this a bad time? I can come back later if I need to."
His amusement was clear, though he didn't wait too long before continuing. "I'm Dacian...you're Carver, right? I was wanting to see if you had any questions, or if you'd like to see the Soul just yet."
Pleasant, friendly, and too the point - but there was no doubt that he'd get distracted and roll off track sooner or later.
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 9:29 pm
The other man nearly dropped the plate. Then he disappeared back into his neat apartment - Dacian could see him put the plate on a sideboard, then walk back to him, wiping his hands.
"I can see... it?" Carver was obviously fascinated at the prospect. "You wouldn't mind? Only, well, you know - I'm obviously interested. More than interested. I'd love to see him... or her... sometime. Dacian." (Another name committed to memory.) "God, I must sound like an absolute fool. - I mean, yes, I'd love to see the Soul."
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 9:39 pm
Winking at Carver with mischief present in his eyes, Dacian sought to assure the new guardian.
"Believe me, there's been worse. Well, not in the meet and greet part - but at least you're better then the one who completely ignored me. Though Hadrian took care of his meeting of his Soul."
Marc, feh...he'd only met the man once - when he'd stopped by that office to give him the note that explained everything - and hadn't really liked the impression he'd gotten. He wasn't the sort of person who liked being that completely ignored.
"We can head over to the labs now, if you're ready?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 9:47 pm
"As I'll ever be." Carver shut his front door behind them both. "Armed, legged, and dangerous, as they say. Oh, dear. I think I pulled that joke out of a tar pit, it's so old. It belongs in a museum. - Lead the way. I'll be your faithful follower."
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 9:54 pm
Dacian didn't quite understand the first part of that joke, but did find the man's follow up entertaining. And he wasn't sure if it was because he was just missing something, or if it was some reference he wasn't able to catch for lack of cultural...well, connections. So he just grinned, and began to lead the other man to the labs.
"Do you have any questions in general, before we get there?"
After getting there, the man would probably be ooh-ing over the Soul too much for that; that's the way it usually went, anyway.
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 10:02 pm
"How much will it be able to interact with me? Can it hear what I'm saying?"
Carver looked a little anxious as they went down the stairs. "I mean - I know it's not quite a child yet. It probably won't make much of a difference if I say hello or not to it. - I've been reading too many baby books, you see. Music in the womb and all that."
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 10:05 pm
"Hm...well, I don't think it will able to understand what you're saying, since it technically doesn't have ears. Right now, it's just a mass of energy."
Though from what he had read of Hadrian's notes, the Souls had other ways of simulating that sort of womb effect. He had noted that they responded to the energy of other living beings - they didn't know if it really meant anything just yet, but it was still something.
"As far as we can tell, they react to living things - but we haven't learned what sort of effect it has yet, if any."
The two entered the building.
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 10:12 pm
Understandable. Carver was even a little relieved - he could spectate without the worry of having to interact in a certain way, as too many parenting books had made him more than slightly neurotic. He brushed his hair back out of his face as he followed Dacian inside, looking around at the interior as they went in.
"I suppose that takes more testing than you'd be willing to do while they're still impressionable," he said. "Considering."
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 10:19 pm
"Well...that, and we haven't had too much experience yet. Only five Souls, actually..."
That was sheepishly admitted, the last few words uttered more quietly. After all - after only five, it would be easy for the to-be parents to get nervous. It was similar to a pregnant woman finding out her doctor had only birthed a few babies before her.
"Ah, here we are!"
Finally reaching the door (after they had gone downstairs), he entered the room.
It was a room set up in a circular pattern; a ring of monitors surrounded what appeared to be a ball of energy, which was hovering in the very center of the room. On the ground, surrounding the energy, were a few indented circles - their purpose would be unknown to any random spectator, but they were, of course, important.
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 10:24 pm
As Dacian had predicted, any questions Carver had had - and he'd certainly had about three dozen - vanished once he saw the Soul. He was totally fascinated by how inhuman it was, how odd, how beautiful; a glowing energy-ball, like nothing he'd ever seen before. He drifted towards the Soul and stopped, just admiring, a glow on his face like a new father.
"That one's mine?" he asked, a little seriously and a little conspiratorially.
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 10:38 pm
Smiling in the manner that a proud father would upon showing off their new baby, Dacian gave a cheerful assent to Carver.
"Yes, that's the one. So long as I got the right room number, anyway."
Though really - this Soul wasn't the most cheerful looking of Souls. Kind of like how Ismet had looked, all grumpy.
"We don't know when it will be 'born' just yet, aside from vague estimates - but when it begins to get ready, the energy will begin fluctuating. That usually occurs 5-10 minutes beforehand."
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 10:42 pm
'Grumpy' was an understatement. The Soul looked like it obviously needed some therapy and a whole heap of Evening Primrose oil. Carver was utterly fascinated and didn't even notice. "Are there any estimates for how long it takes? Do I get called when it fluxes? God, I nearly want to set up camp in here like a teenager for concert tickets." (Of course, he couldn't. Baby books said no.) "Look at it. It's marvellous."
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 10:48 pm
Well.
Dacian had hoped he wouldn't be called on that.
"It's different from Soul to Soul, of course..." There we go - vague, and easily wheedled out of so long as Carver didn't request a more exact measurement. After all - their estimate truly was vague: anywhere from an hour to a couple of months.
"And yes, we'll contact you when it fluxes - though most guardians don't get down here in time to see it. We've had a few lucky ones that have actually been down here when it started fluxing, though..."
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