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 Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2016 7:24 pm
"Calls herself?" Mistral raised an eyebrow. "You mean is. It's a documented phenomenon. Babylon talked about it at the meeting... ah. You got there late, didn't you?" That certainly explained a lot. Mistral sighed, trying not to sound terribly put-out. "She's been standing a thousand-year vigil," she said. "You'd be cranky, too, if you'd been sidelined from reincarnating so you could wait around for some page to show up and take your job." She was personally grateful she'd never had to deal with that. Menachem, Babylon's ancestor, had been perfectly charming to her, but then he'd recognized her for her past self. Asimov would have been a dreadful ancestor to have, she thought, childish and spiteful. Razielle wouldn't have been much better. "She'll come around," Mistral added hopefully. "Most do, the more experienced you get. It makes them think they might get to leave soon." She had to wonder - had Cordoba's ancestor known the knights at Mistral? If they encountered her, would she see her for her true self, for the ancient squire she shared a starseed with, that she was one and the same with? Mistral searched her memories for some mention of the crystal city, but... things were always clearer at her own wonder. No new information was forthcoming here.
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Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2016 8:44 am
"I presumed it was alleged. Though when I saw her last time she was closer to one of the taller buildings. A vigil might explain a preference for those." Cordoba noted, then looked to Mistral, nodding. "We can go look if you'd like. See if she's less annoyed at me this time?" Because she was fairly sure Xifeng didn't approve of her descendant. Regardless, she also doubted the other page would allow her to simply foul up the work that she needed to do, even if she didn't like her, and Cordoba wondered if Xifeng was stuck to her duty much as others might be in modern times - intent on perfection, and at the thought, Cordoba mentally made a face, grinning to Mistral instead. "Luckily it isn't too hard to move around safely."
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Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2016 9:54 am
"Might be," said Mistral, arms thoughtfully akimbo. She suspected that Cordoba's ancestor would warm to her if it became clear that the page had plans for completing her training and ending the ancient knight's vigil - but that would still take a long time. Babylon hadn't even been presented with the option until long after he'd become a knight, and even reaching that point was... interminable. She shifted her weight, feeling as though her boots were wearing out - she'd been a squire for what seemed like forever. "Only one way to find out," said Mistral, pulling her dog close to her side. "Lead the way. Let's see if we can find her."
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Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2016 8:35 am
Cordoba nodded, looking around before picking a path that seemed most friendly to Mistral and her companion, and the page began walking carefully, footsteps echoing in the large expanse, echo bouncing from pillar-building to pillar-building, and the road flat and even. Rarely, a vehicle lay on it's side, inactive, and silent. One appeared passenger friendly, and Cordoba tried it, to find no start and no flicker of life, the page shrugging before pressing on. Closer to a larger point, the etheric figure of an asian woman swept from seemingly nowhere, the anciant page almost seeming to know Cordoba was approaching and she nodded to Cordoba briskly. "You have come to restore the City as I asked?" She said calmly. Cordoba blinked, motioning. "Well, I - we had questions." The newer page said, and one Hua Xifeng looked to Mistral after giving her descendant a frustrated look, trying to determine the squire's face, and struggling. "Hello. Please, tell me you're convincing my descendant to restore the City at all."
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Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2016 12:24 pm
Mistral followed Cordoba, trying to pick out what details she could through the darkness. She'd have to invite herself back once the wonder was further restored and take some formal notes. The level of technology looked to be on par with her own wonder, even if the aesthetics were distinctly different... but they were one the opposite side of the planet. You didn't expect cities to look the same in China as they did in Brazil. Cordoba ancestor appeared and addressed them, and, well, she didn't seem quite as testy as Mistral had expected her to be, for all of the page's lead-up. "Doing my best," she replied, dipping in a small curtsy. Cordoba's ancestor had a confused look on her face - like she was trying to recognize her and failing. Or something. "I am Asimov, squire of Mistral, daughter of Raziele... though if I've been here before, I don't remember," she said, trying to help her out. "How would someone turn the lights back on?" she asked. "It's hard to restore something you can't see."
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Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2016 8:58 am
Xifeng lit up with the assistance, a distant smile on her face as she approached the squire, and bowerd. "I see! It does some good to see you, Asimov." She beamed. "Your mother would be pleased to see you doing well, I'm certain." The spirit looked to Cordoba, and made a face. "You're doing better than this one, however." Cordoba rolled her eyes. "I'm working on patrolling still." The page muttered. "I do have a job, ancestor." The manners did not get noticed, Xifeng sighing. "Ah, she doesn't have the drive - I'm afraid to say, so far." And Xifeng sighed, before blinking, and the phantasm motioned. "To begin, power and restoration is tied in this city." The ancestor explained, grateful to hear some interest. "In the center is a large building, the control center if you will. In that location is the city power core. It would need to be reactivated to restore light and power, though I'm sure there is mending even still after. Still too is the checking of books and scrolls, and ensuring the transit grid is operating appropriately." Xifeng sighed, and she sighed. "The computers though... If the systems were damaged too severely by my descendant's tardiness, then I'm afraid there is much lost, and places that cannot reopen without a physical force manipulating the controls - I unfortuanately, can no longer use those overrides. But I also cannot leave. This place is my duty. Cordoba blinked, brow rtaising. It sounded almost too simple, too easy, and the page looked to Mistral with a look indicating a sense of caution. It couldn't be easy - not that easy. "Any ideas what kind of core it might be, Mistral?" The resounding huff from Xifeng was loud, almost indicating her frustration with Cordoba directly."
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Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2016 11:20 am
Mistral squirmed uncomfortably under Xifeng's praise, glancing towards Cordoba - please don't hate me. It wasn't the first time someone's ancestor had been happier to see her than their own descendent, and that just wasn't fair. She didn't deserve any sort of special treatment just for having been born with an ancient starseed. "Please don't be impatient with her," she entreated. "Restoration of this scale takes time. Careful planning. Would you rather she rushed through it and cased even more destruction?" If Xifeng's reports were accurate - and she expected they were - then a lot of damage had already been done. "I doubt that a computer drive capable of storing information by a thousand years would be done much harm by a few months longer sitting idle," she added, "Whatever was lost was lost long ago." There was no reason, in her opinion, for ancestors to heap abuse on their descendants for things that simply weren't their fault. "I understand that you've been waiting a long time," Mistral said, "and I'm sympathetic to that. We'll do everything we can to stabilize the archives. But please try not to let your frustrations get the better of you." She turned back to present-day Cordoba, ready to get to work. "Might be a piece of Code," she said, although that would make things difficult considering the rough foot Cordoba had gotten onto with their friendly neighborhood talking light source. "Or some other energy source. You're the knight of Cordoba - if it doesn't respond to you, then we're ********." Eloquent. "Large building, center of town?" she asked. "That's what your ancestor said? Let's head there."
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 9:49 am
Cordoba shrugged to Mistral, wondering why she looked so worried until she tried imploring Xifeng ease up. Much obliged, The page noted. Xifeng, however, was quiet, listening and sighing once more, as if the spirit were so full of air as to blow a long time, and appeared distraught. "Perhaps, but so much relied on the core to remain. To preserve. And I've no knowledge how anything fares far from the center. The core is the heart of Cordoba. No power, and the place is functionally lost to memory." Cordoba sighed, noting the overdramatics - she awakened hadn't she? - and nodded to Mistral. "I can hope it responds, though I'm not sure how we'd activate it. We can at least go find the building so we can work out a plan."
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Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 8:28 am
"Oh," said Mistral, "You know. We'll find it. Stick our hands where they don't belong. Hope the security system doesn't kick in and kill me dead." She looked pointedly towards Xifeng, and thought that if anyone knew how to get the core reactivated, it would be the woman who'd spent literally the last thousand years haunting the Wonder and had been there for its evacuation. "Lead the way," she said, to both versions of Cordoba. "I'm sure we'll figure something out, but that's not going to happen here."
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 10:38 am
Silverah Sorry my brain went running down the runway after a passenger jet to Mars for a couple days. XD; "You need not fear security." Xifeng assured Mistral soothingly. "'Tis but a small trifle. As long as my descendant is present it should not activate." But without? Without was another story. Cordoba looked to Xifeng, the page nodding to her descendant before she began to walk, and Cordoba followed carefully, gait smooth and even. Moving along, the page looked about at sights, from the crystalline buildings with Bismuth lining within, to fewer and fewer vehicles, Cordoba mentally taking notes as they walked, the young page looking about. The crystal seemed somewhat more opaque, taller towards the center, reaching into the sky above with almost infinite reach, and at some points there were signs the region was once habited, far more than the outer rims were, and Xifeng paused briefly every once and a while to watch, Cordoba herself slowing to look around. Xifeng seemed quiet, before looking forward. "There had been children when it happened." She murmured. "I failed them all however."
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 8:54 pm
Mistral cast her eyes downward at Xifeng's admission. Some calamity had befallen Cordoba, she guessed. Some Negaverse attack, or- she bit her lip. At Mistral, they'd seen the end coming. Not with any divination or oracular vision but with uncharacteristic caution. An ear to the ground that heard rumbles of rebellion. "You did what you could," she said, looking back towards the ancient page. She knew her words couldn't absolve her of guilt, but... She could try. "You had your duties." She bit her lip. "Your line survived," she said, turning her head away to consider the buildings that had sprung up around them, dark crystal that hid untold secrets. "We must be getting close, right?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 9:01 am
"If but thin, and not as loyal as it once was. But I appreciate your kindness, Asimov." Xifeng said softly. Cordoba looked around as the ancient page looked back towards her, sighing. "And that vigil will fall to my descendant one day. A timeless vigil over the city." The ancient page murmured, and Cordoba looked up, blinking, but only half surprised. It seemed better than the Code's plans, anyhow, and the page looked to Xifeng as she nodded. "Yes." And she motioned to the largest building, tall and high and eaching seemingly into infinity. Cordoba moved, picking her pace up to a jog to circle the area they approacked, searching up and down as the page hummed, fingers finding crevasses and gaps before trying to get a grip. Finding no fortune there, she frownned at the sealed building, putting her hand on a smooth portion before the wall next to it seemed to move. It was an old door to be sure, and moved slowly, grinding away dust as it slowly yawned into the depths of the guilding, and Cordoba blinked, looking to Mistral in surprise as Xifeng nodded, looking oddly pleased. "So... Some limited store of power works... The key system for the knight, anyhow."
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Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 5:59 pm
Mistral's dog let out a soft woof as the door finally came to a stop, the noise echoing into oblivion. "Maybe it's waking up," she suggested, feeling a little superstitious. Maybe the Wonder had just been put to sleep, not shut down, and what they were doing now was like shaking the mouse. It would take a little time to start up. There was still a log-in screen waiting for them in the core. But... things were working. "I'd say that's a good sign," she said, looking towards Xifeng. "We're getting close, right?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2016 7:55 pm
"We are." Xifeng noted. Cordoba seemed thoughtful, looking around. "It would need a significant amount of time to boot up if it's waking slowly." The page noted. "We don't know how it works. Is the city a crystal computer? Or a network? I mean, it's old." And Cordoba didn't know computing history as well, the page peering in before creeping in, squinting into the yawning void as Xifeng sighed. "It is... Complicated." The spectre noted. Cordoba sniffed. "Is that bullshit for you don't know?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2016 10:54 pm
Mistral pulled her dog close as she followed the Cordobas through the door. It was dark, and while Xifeng had promised that no harm would befall them, she didn't want to tempt fate by letting Mendel wander all over the place. Sure, they were on a path now, but who knew what waited in that darkness? There could be a fifteen meter drop straight down into a pit of spikes and you'd never know until you were already over the edge. "It might not be something we'd recognize in Earth terms," she said, trying to soothe the tension she felt between Cordoba and her ancestor. "Ancient Mercury was tremendously advanced. We might not have the vocabulary to fully describe how this place functioned." Just because it was old, she thought, did not mean it couldn't be advanced. The end of the Silver Millennium had plunged Earth into the literal dark ages. Everything here was still easily hundreds of years ahead of anything on Earth - and maybe down an entirely different tech tree, a direction earthbound technology would never develop in. She shrugged. "Right?" she asked Xifeng.
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