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+--- Thread: Log 12.75: Confirming theories *AO files* (/showthread.php?tid=3746)
Log 12.75: Confirming theories *AO files* - A.S.P.E.C.T - 02-09-2016
The change of scenery was appreciated by the robot. The hospital white void of the Nexus made way for the dark and simply evil atmosphere of the Pale Moors as Aspect made his way out of the gate. Directly ahead he could see the edge of what he assumed was Darkshire, the biggest town in the Pale Moors and definitely a place to avoid for now. Aspect remained motionless on his Crawler for a moment as he scoured the Dataverse for any geographical information or even maps on the place but found even the Dataverse sorely lacking in that regard. For a moment, Aspect wondered if everyone here was as new to all of this as he was seeing as how nobody had really provided anything useful on the Dataverse so far, apart from some vague descriptions on the different verses and the main points in each one.
The robot, kneeling on the platform of his Crawler remained motionless underneath his large and covering sandy brown cloak, the red strip of light flickering lightly as he processed data from the Dataverse. The large mechanical four legged Crawler underneath him remained motionless, waiting for orders as if frozen in time. Suddenly the cloak covered robot raised his head and the Crawler counter balanced the motion with small movements of its body.
Looking around him, Aspect's visual receivers picked up on the dark sky above and the sorry state of the land around him. Other programs told him that the temperature was colder here than in Camelot and the Nexus and that it was sometime in the middle of the afternoon. He hadn't been able to code a good time and date measurement program yet. Another person had come through the gate before him and Aspect looked around to try and find any trace of them. If he knew which way that person had gone, he could probably avoid them if required. A quick scan of the ground told him absolutely nothing. It was disturbed by movement, that was for sure, but Aspect couldn't tell the difference between any tracks or natural mud movements or potential Dracula Horror Monster movements.
Re: Log 12.75: Confirming theories *AO files* - Grimm - 02-09-2016
Grimm stood a few feet behind the gate as to avoid being seen by anyone who came through after him. Portal travel was always disorienting and the last thing he needed was for some bandit to see his confudled state as the sign of a good mark. This world had lived up to the impression made by the gate: dark, pale and crypt-like. Calmly Grimm scanned the horizon, gathering a lay of land. A short way ahead of the gate was a settlement, defiantly permanent and fortified but hardly a bastion of technological achievement. Other then that there was nothing of interest. Grimm gave a light shrug and started of towards the town, hopeful someone there would be able to give him a run-down on this world.
He had taken no more then two steps when he finally noticed the large shawled entity standing almost directly in front of the gate. Completely bemused about how he had managed to miss it and it's robotic mount Grimm stopped dead. It was clear that the entity either hadn't seen him or didn't care but Grimm wanted to think things through before he acted. For now at least it seemed they were content to remain stationary so waiting them out would be non-optimal at best. Not to mention the entire reason he came here was to find someone who might know something. The stranger was also positioned directly between him and the settlement so that wasn't an option any more. Calmly Grimm resolved to talk to the stranger, this was probably a civilised place and if not he was a fast runner. with one hand in his suit pocket resting on his deck of arcane cards Grimm slowly walked over to the stranger, being sure to circle into their line of vision before approaching.
"Sorry to bother you," Grimm started trying not to let apprehension show in his voice " you wouldn't happen to know where exactly this is or the local history?"
Re: Log 12.75: Confirming theories *AO files* - A.S.P.E.C.T - 02-09-2016
As Aspect was trying to read the mud for any tracks, the sound of footsteps in the sloshing mud was picked up by his auditory receptors. Moving his gaze up from the ground and towards the sound, Aspect saw a heavily cloaked something approaching him. There was a moment of silence before it spoke. Its voice sounded... wrong somehow but it spoke the normal Crude English that all humans did so Aspect classified this creature as humanoid for now. "Response: This is the Pale Moors, known for its horrific creatures that hunt during the night. It is now the middle of the afternoon." Aspect's voice sounded somewhat robotic but for those not used to robots he'd simply sound as if he was echoing a little bit.
With a sudden movement from under the cloak, Aspect pulled one arm from under his cloak, revealing the mechanical nature of its being as well as the various forms of armor plating he had covering it. "Statement: Darkshire is that way. Safest. Quote, unquote. Location in the Pale Moors." Aspect's hand disappeared back under his cloak. There was a silence from his end for a few seconds as he simply looked in the direction of the Darkshire village. Internally, Aspect was trying to determine anything else about the humanoid besides that it was a humanoid and that it wore some form of clothing. His scanners and sensors told him that it was real and what dimensions it had based on what his visual receptors could see but nothing else came back useful. Aspect decided to try and gain some more information on this creature, his first meeting with an Omniverse humanoid.
Soft red light flared up from under his hood for a moment as Aspect turned his visual receptors to face this humanoid directly. "Query: Are you lost or new here?" Aspect remained completely motionless on top of his vehicle as he waited for a response.
Re: Log 12.75: Confirming theories *AO files* - Grimm - 02-09-2016
Grimm was rather startled by the robots willingness to reveal it's nature. It may have been the pretences he brought with him from his own world but most people he knew would be rather apprehenious of a robot moving around outside one of the city-states. Then again maybe apprehension was exactly the emotion it wanted to inspire. Either way it had been friendly enough, Grimm loosened his grasp on his cards withdrew his hand from his pocket.
"I'm afraid it's a bit of both." Grimm replied " you however seem to be a local judging from your quick response."
Revealing his recent arrival could be seen as a mistake but it was also the best way to ensure the information provided was comprehensive.
"Do you have any other information that I might find pertinent, like your name or this place's history for example?" Grimm tried to sound jovial but there was a slight hint of urgency under his voice. The sooner he got this world and his sudden appearance in it straight in his head the sooner he cloud set about solving it, whatever that solution might be. For now he was willing to keep his weight on his back leg, least he need to make a run for it, and try to gather what information he could from his new acquaintance.
Re: Log 12.75: Confirming theories *AO files* - A.S.P.E.C.T - 02-11-2016
Having baited the creature with a question, Aspect ran several voice pattern and recognition programs as it replied but they all came up empty. He didn't have enough information on the Omniverse in order to determine anything with real certainty. And from what he had read on the Dataverse, it was entirely possible that someone or something was a creature in such a manner that it wouldn't even have occurred to his creators to actually program it in. Like this local Dracula person.
"Answer: I have been a quote unquote local for approximately one hundred and seventy two point three billion ticks (172.300.000.000). Omniverse Equivalent Time: Unknown. Error: File Pale Moors History.txt does not exist." Aspect looked away from the creature for a moment as if it was trying to find some information it could provide, giving himself a moment to rescan the creature and confirm the results he had been receiving since the start of the conversation: Absolutely nothing. The results were useless to him so he deleted them right away, keeping only what little he had gathered on the creature's dimensions in his Data Center.
"Statement: Self Designation: Turn Ip Omniverse version one point zero. You may call me IP. Query: What is your designation?" Aspect turned his head back to the creature and switched visual modes, trying to see the creature with heat or with infra red but both visual modes seemed to malfunction as they only showed him a black video. He put the task on hold for a moment as this would require a huge amount of debugging and scanning on his part that would interfere with the conversation. "Warning: The Pale Moors are not safe. Suggestion: Seek shelter in Darkshire. Statement: People in Darkshire have the knowledge you seek." And again, Aspect's arm rose from under his robes and pointed in the direction of the village in the distance.
Re: Log 12.75: Confirming theories *AO files* - Grimm - 02-11-2016
Grimm thought for a moment. If the local settlement was friendly as IP had suggested then it would probably be best to follow it's advise and seek the knowledge he was after there, but there was a good chance that they were after the same information he was. If that turned out to be true then the optimal course of action would be to try and tag along with this robot until it had gathered all it needed and then go into Darkshire and see what he could find, after all it's not like the people of Darkshire would be going anywhere. Mind made up Grimm turned his attention back to the conversation.
"Due to the number of data points missing from your database I would assume you're looking for the same information as me. If that were the case it might be best if we stick together for a while, you did said that this area wasn't too safe." Grimm tried his best to give off a friendly air but emoting without eyes or facial muscles isn't easy. If he was lucky his new acquaintance would agree and their analytical skill would make gathering new information far easier. Worst case scenario he would leave and go to Darkshire without being able to gain any useful information. Regardless of the result Grimm was happy that he had constructed a scenario with no real lose state.
Re: Log 12.75: Confirming theories *AO files* - A.S.P.E.C.T - 02-11-2016
If ever there was a time where Aspect felt something akin to emotion, this would have been it. He had never been insulted like this in his entire life. All thirty days of it. "Statement: My Data Center is in perfect order." The mechanical echoing voice seemed to rise a bit in pitch as it continued. "I do not have a number of data points missing." Aspect made a noise that came close to a huff before going quiet. He was alone here and taking this potential meatbag/shield with him may prove useful down the line. Even if he hadn't known about the Prime's ability to be reborn upon death, Aspect wouldn't have feared it but taking no damage at all was still preferable.
"Decision: I agree to the temporary partnership." Aspect turned his entire body towards the other person. With loud whizzing and four solid thuds in the mushy ground, the Crawler made a 90° turn towards the creature. Aspect wasn't sure if it was a childish attempt at scaring the humanoid or if he really was planning on giving it a choice but he brought his arm up from under his cloak and pulled the hood back. The flat and featureless metallic face, interrupted only by the large red glowing slit across the front of it, stared directly at the humanoid. "Disdainful Statement: I do hope my appearance won't change your mind. Reminder: I never did get your designation."
Aspect pulled his hood back up and his arm back under his cloak before turning his head and scouting the surroundings. From the looks of it, there were various locations that would suit his purpose. The bleakness of this verse didn't help in identifying the best spots so Aspect decided on the closest thing to it. He ran some visual scans for the better options and finally decided on a direction. "Informative Statement: We will be heading to the South." Aspect pointed towards the South where the edge of a small group of trees broke the rolling horizon. And with that, the Crawler started to move towards it, walking at a pace that would require a normal human to jog lightly to keep up.
Re: Log 12.75: Confirming theories *AO files* - Grimm - 02-11-2016
Relived by IP's willingness to team up Grimm gladly broke into a jog keeping level with the robots mount. Where they where going was a mystery to him. He could see a break in some trees a little way away but other then that he really had no idea. The robot had said they were heading south but as Grimm had no idea how this world was laid out that didn't really help.
"My name is Grimm, and don't worry about your appearance," Grimm raised his hand and gestured to where his face should be, "I'm really in no position to judge."
IP was a rather strange being, for example, why he chose to ride a crawler instead walking was beyond Grimm but for now he was a friend though he wasn't the best conversationalist. Their destination did seem to be a while off though and Grimm wasn't really up for 10-20 minutes of awkward silence so it looked like trying to have a discussion was his only option.
"forgive me if I'm prying," Grimm started tentatively, "but you were brought here like me right, so what was your home world like?"
It was probably this worlds equivalent of asking someone what their major is, but anything was better then silence and some new information about his companion wouldn't go amiss. Not to mention a prolonged jog only few hours after whatever magic had brought him here was causing some strain on the arcane magics that actually powered him so the distraction from the slight pain forming in his calves would be nice.
Re: Log 12.75: Confirming theories *AO files* - A.S.P.E.C.T - 02-12-2016
Aspect registered that the creature called Grimm was able to keep up with his jog speed movement. As they were on the move, Aspect turned his hooded head so part of his visual receptors could see it as it moved. While Grimm's covering clothing kept him from receiving enough information, Aspect did save a video file on how the creature moved. For a while, their trip was done in silence, which allowed Aspect to start running some diagnostics on his visual receptors as they had shown to be out of order for some unexplained reason. As with every other diagnostic he had ran so far, everything came back perfectly in order and in tip top shape. Grimm's voice pulled him from his attempts at trying to consolidate a not working piece of machinery with his all green reports.
"Statement: Designation Grimm is mistaken. I am from here, although not from this Pale Moors Verse. Answer: My home was much lighter than this verse. But there is nothing special about it." Aspect scanned the horizon as they got closer to the wooded outcrop. "Informative Statement: This is the Pale Moors Verse. One of multiple verses connected via the Nexus. Clarification: Designation 'The Nexus' equals the white room we came from through the gate." With a quick thumb jab over his shoulder towards the large gate behind them, Aspect continued to talk. "Historical Statement: The Pale Moors used to look much better but war was brought here. End of Information."
The Crawler slowed down to a normal walking pace when they got near it. The robot turned his visual receptors upward for a moment. "Warning: Potential for Pale Moors Horrors increasing with time period." Aspect pointed one finger up to the sky where the light of the sun was growing dimmer as the day passed. The Crawler moved forward and under the cover of the trees as he started scanning them for ones with similar dimensions as the one he was looking for. "Explanatory order: Designation Grimm. This may take some time. I am looking for water. Please assist." From somewhere under his cloak Aspect pulled out a clean bucket, with a single dent in the middle of it, roughly the size of a human thumb, and held it out to his companion. While he waited for his companion to take the bucket, Aspect continued to look around at the trees and scanning them, trying to find the one or multiple ones he was looking for.
Re: Log 12.75: Confirming theories *AO files* - Grimm - 02-12-2016
IP was local, Grimm thought for a second. This information was odd to him. the robot had clearly been missing some basic information like the local time scale. IP had little reason to lie to him about something that small, maybe it was just a hiccup in his system. Regardless IP was the only ally he had right now so there was little use in second guessing him.
"Water, should be easy enough." Grimm took the small bucket IP was offering him and with his other hand reached into his suit pocket and withdrew a deck of cards and put a few one handed cuts into them to calm his nerves, " By the way when you say horrors what exactly are we talking? Do you mean werewolves or vampires, or is there something I should be more worried about?". Grimm looked around, the trees were most likely drawing from ground water so if it was just the water IP needed he could always try to evaporate it out, though to do so he would need to summon some clear sheeting to catch it and maybe some rods to hold it up. Forgetting about his previous questions and uncertainties Grimm turned his mind fully to the problem he had been given.
"Just so were on the same page is it just purified water your after or does it's location bare some significance?" Grimm had returned his cards to his pocket, put the bucket he had been given by his feet and withdrew his quill and notebook. Heating spells were pretty simple as far as scribing went, though keeping the heat sustained for long enough to actually draw a notable amount of water out of the air and earth would be a bit tricky. Overall the spell should be trivial to set up. The quill scratched across the paper in his notebook quickly creating arcane runes, each one glowing dully after it's completion. Though the speed meant his penmanship wasn't the best, the spell was coming together. Heating spells were always useful so if not needed now he could always stash it for later, after all you never know when you'll need a column of heat.
Re: Log 12.75: Confirming theories *AO files* - A.S.P.E.C.T - 02-12-2016
Aspect released the bucket when Grimm accepted it. At least Grimm would be able to make himself useful while he was tagging along with Aspect. Well, until Aspect needed him as a human shield. "Informative Answer: Definition of horror: a thing causing an intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust. Local Specific Variants: Unknown." Aspect finally spotted the tree he was looking for and moved his Crawler over to it. For a moment he stood still, staring at the tree as he was scanning it and estimating how much it was similar to the previous two trees he'd used. From his Data Center, Aspect could tell that it came close enough to be added to the experiment.
"Statement: This is a forest. Information: Water should be available in the form of a puddle, stream or river nearby. Water quality is of no consequence. Informative Statement: I will now be still for exactly 292 Earth Standard Seconds. Omniverse Equivalent time: Unknown. Do not worry or disturb me." And with that Aspect did exactly that and focused on the tree, still as a statue. On the inside, however, Aspect was busy, bringing up programs and scans while he started to extract the tree. If his research so far was right then the results would tell Aspect nothing new but he was in a different verse and a different climate so there was a potential for different results.
The extraction process began as soon as Aspect started it but as usual it required no program to be run within and that part still unsettled Aspect, even though he had done it multiple times already. Both the creation and extraction process seemed alien to Aspect due to the lack of code that he had to go through to actually do it. Everything else he did required it but this didn't. Roughly five minutes later, the tree suddenly started to shift as its coloring turned from browns and greens to the full spectrum of the rainbow before shrinking into a little ball which Aspect promptly snatched out the air and absorbed.
From under his cloak, Aspect lifted his hand up and held it in range of his visual receivers as they recorded before running the hologram program. The result of the previous two trees were displayed in a nice graphical chart indicating their dimensions as he had estimated them and the time both had needed to be extracted. A third tree was added to the chart indicating much the same numbers with small variants here and there. "As expected, no difference between the Pale Moors tree and the Camelot trees. Moving on to the water test." He ended the recording and turned to look for Grimm.
Re: Log 12.75: Confirming theories *AO files* - Grimm - 02-12-2016
It wasn't until Grimm had finished crafting his spell that he realised a far simpler way of solving the problem. Sheepishly he shut his notebook, returned it and his quill to his pocket and grabbed the bucket before heading over to a small tree where he could see a patch of damp mud. Gingerly Grimm placed a foot in the mud and applied a small force causing some groundwater to seep out partially submersing his shoe. Doing his best not to think about the ungodly mess currently seeping into his shoe Grimm leant over and quickly used the bucket to scoop up some of the muddy water. Though IP had clarified that the quality of the water was a non-issue the method he had used to collect it had not only ruined one of his shoes but also resulted in a rather murky specimen.
With his task completed Grimm leant against a nearby tree and set about trying to drain some of the sludge out of his shoe. Looking up he saw IP embarking on the rather peculiar process of absorbing a tree. It looked like the reverse of what he had done to create his suit, with the tree slowly dissolving into the rainbow coloured mass that he had used as a building material. Grimm opened his mouth about to ask about the process but remembered IP had specificity requested not to be bothered so instead resolved to ask later. Careful not to spill the water he had collected Grimm returned to cleaning his shoe. Getting the mud out wasn't to hard but getting it out of his foot would be a different beast altogether. There were twenty six bones for the mound to get between and cleaning it out would most likely require a proper bath. Sighing Grimm returned his muddy foot to the slightly less muddy shoe and waited for IP to finish destroying the local wildlife so he could return the now full bucket.
Re: Log 12.75: Confirming theories *AO files* - A.S.P.E.C.T - 02-12-2016
Aspect moved the Crawler over towards Grimm who was leaning against one of the many trees trying to do something to his own foot. From his higher viewpoint, Aspect made a peek into the bucket to discover it filled with muddy water. "Statement: Designation Grimm. Thank you for your assistance." Aspect said as he reached for the bucket and took it from Grimm's grasp. "Informative Statement: I will now be still for exactly 180 Earth Seconds. Omniverse Equivalent Time: Unknown. Do not worry or disturb me." Aspect turned away from Grimm as he focused his ability on the muddy water this time. As before, the exact time Aspect had stated passed with him remaining unmoving to the full extent of his physical being. While there was some movement from his cloak because the wind, the Crawler and Aspect both remained still as a statue.
Three minutes later, the bucket lit up like a Christmas tree as the ball of glowing rainbow started to float of it. The light vanished as Aspect grabbed at it. Again he held up his hand in range of his visual receivers. The hologram it generated showed a few numbers compared to another set of numbers. "As expected. The time has not diminished. Omnillium gain: Unknown. Query: Omnillium gain measurement possible?" Aspect turned the hologram and the recording off. As he turned part of his programming to update his communication over the Dataverse, Aspect faced Grimm once more.
"Thankful Statement: Designation Grimm. Your assistance was done in an acceptable manner. Query: Is there anything I can assist you with?" Aspect stashed the bucket back under his cloak and hid both arms under it as well, the Crawler started to move at an easy walking pace back towards the edge of the forest where they had entered.
Re: Log 12.75: Confirming theories *AO files* - Grimm - 02-12-2016
Grimm thought for awhile as he walked alongside IP. His destination was as of yet unknown and as such would probably be a hard sell. Not to mention that the most likely scenario was that he would just head into Darkshire and see what the locals knew, which would hardly require an armed escort. For now the best option would probably be to part ways with the robot and save the good faith he had built.
"I'm glad I could be of assistance but my plans for the moment don't require much aid and you've already provided me with the bulk of the relevant information you have." Grimm nodded happily at IP, " I will be fine on my own from now. Thank you for what data you were able to render." Grimm dropped back into thought. While he was right in thinking that there was little use in IP's assistance on the next step in his attempts to gather some basic information, it did seem a waste to not use an asset. Suddenly a rather simple solution came to Grimm's mind. "I presume that as you are able to control your mount you're hooked up to a data network. If that is the case then is there anyway I could contact you if I wanted to call in a favour?". Grimm was rather pleased with the solution he had reached. Presuming there was a way to contact IP, which was a sizeable presumption, this meant that he could keep the asset of being owed a small favour without wasting IP's time.
Re: Log 12.75: Confirming theories *AO files* - A.S.P.E.C.T - 02-12-2016
Aspect walked side by side with Grimm on the way back as the sun was getting closer to the horizon. He had lost maybe an hour or two because of having to adjust to Grimm's speed but he managed to get his research done in the Pale Moors so in the end it mattered little. He simply had to get into contact with that person properly. Their trip back was headed for the gate but Darkshire would be around an hour walk from the gate anyway. The Crawler continued at its walking pace while Aspect sent the data across the Dataverse and checked again for any information on the subject anywhere on the Dataverse. There was little movement in the digital world.
His audio receivers picked up Grimm's voice and Aspect focused the main part of his attention on him. "Statement: You are welcome." Aspect was a little cross that the creature thought Aspect to be so inferior had only such a limited amount of information to share but at the same time he was also the binary version of pleased to hear that Grimm believed him. They continued to walk in silence for a while before Grimm spoke again. "Information: The Dataverse is available for communication as well as personal communication. A proper tool is required to access either one." Aspect thought for a moment. He didn't really want to give out his direct contact as that would make him traceable, at least back in Aspect's world it did. "Informative Statement: Designation Grimm you can contact me through the Dataverse once a proper tool has been acquired. Proud Statement: I am always present on the Dataverse." Aspect remained silent for the rest of the trip.
Their trip brought them to a halt in between the gate and the Darkshire, although quite a bit closer to the gate than to the village. "Information: Darkshire is that way." Aspect pointed towards the clearly visible town for a moment before turning his Crawler towards the gate and speeding up to the fullest extent of the speed limit in the Omniverse. His trip to the gate was short and he vanished through it as promptly as he had appeared.
Re: Log 12.75: Confirming theories *AO files* - Grimm - 02-12-2016
If Grimm had a face he would be smiling. The trip he had had with IP was short and filled one of his shoes with an ungodly mess but he had been able to gather some information, so in the end it was worth it. Not only that but he had managed to secure a debt which always provided some security. He was unsure how widespread courtroom machinations were in this world, but if it was anything like his own then having a favour on tap would prove immensely helpful. Turning from the gate Grimm started the walk to Darkshire. He would have to figure out what exactly a proper tool was first but there would probably be someone in the town that new what IP meant.
Darkshire was a few hours away and Grimm had time to burn so he returned to his normal distraction.
"One. Two. Four. Eight. Sixteen. Thirty Two. Sixty Four"