<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> * Amadeus has his suit on, deadly virus or not. And he has a funny look on his face as he watches the mupploths. But everyone probably does, really. * Hestia has an incredulous face instead! "These are the... scary, unpredictable whatcha-callits?" They're scarier when a small slash of the claws means you contract a virus that turns you inside out. Pretty much. Although the virus doesn't seem to be here... no sense risking your life, though. * Kyle gets his suit on. "Yup. They can also shatter glass with their shrieking." (Wow, nobody even comments on the intro. Clearly I need to try harder.) * Zeke is always suited up! Ha ha! "If these were transplanted between planets, then that indicates that the symbols and other constructed trappings are Guuub related. This would include the amulet." (Sorry. I read the first couple lines and passed out from an aneurysm.) Or the other way around. (What do we see around us building-wise?) * Tomas suits and surveys the area around the landing pad. * Zeke looks over at Hestia. "It does not seem likely that these creatures are the sentient worldbuilders." < indows or vents. There are dozens of exits to the area, of all shapes and sizes - some of them far out of your simian reach.>> * Hestia puts her hand on her hip, ignoring Zeke for the moment and looking around. "An awful lot of Guub could have lived here." (I lol'd at the intro. Anyway...) * Amadeus nods and says, "Mmm hmm," absently. He's obviously taking some pictures. <> * Lexi suits and floats on out of the lander. "Man... they sure are obsessed with the number 8." I still say it's related to the notion of infinity, no matter what Suit Boy says about probabilities of parallel linguistic evolution. * Kyle mmms and looks at the Mupploths, then shrugs. "They're not exactly the same as the ones we encountered before, either. I don't think they've got that weird adrenaline surge thing that makes them go all crazy-like." * Amadeus rolls his eyes. Since when was he 'suit boy'? Really. (I've been calling him that the entire game!) <> (Oh, he must not have noticed!) (...you do know I meant Zeke. I hope.) (Amadeus agrees with me! :|) (Ah. See, Amadeus made a similar comment.) * Amadeus whistles and gets a better look. From where he is. Because he can DO THAT. Wonder how they got that to work. * Kyle looks from where he is, because he can do that too. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay. :V It reads very heavy on the ultraviolet spectrum, and they're generating that light, somehow. It's not reflected or stored. (Is there one nearby that I can take?) <> * Zeke replies, "We can take samples to find out. But our focus here was on time and the anti-interdiction devices, so it would benefit us greatly if we continued searching." And with that, Zeke's birdsect takes off of his shoulder. * Tomas looks around at the buildings, "Where do we even start, Z?" Yeah, it's not like they have a convenience store that says in twenty languages 'Anti-subpsace-interdiction devices sold here! 50% off!' That means any one place is as good to start as another, so let's pick one and go. * Zeke nods slowly. "This was not my plan, but that is basically our only option until a better structure presents itself." * Amadeus walks over and gets himself a few flower samples. * Tomas shrugs and heads toward a random building, "Maybe we'll get lucky and find directory." <> <> * Hestia glances around at the architecture, then starts looking at the ceiling, to play a hunch. "Ha. Flying squirrels, I bet." * Zeke sends two drones with Tomas as he picks another direction to go. * Kyle thinks and snickers. "That'd be pretty funny." * Tomas thinks then shakes his head, "I don't think so. Flying squirrels actually glide." <> * Amadeus glances back at the mupploths. He can't quite stop being nervous about them. Maybe they made anti-gravity suits? * Tomas looks up through one of the ceiling doors. (We split up a bit, are they doing the same?) <> <> * Zeke comms, ~There are numerous responsive plants.~ * Tomas messes with the spigots and levers. <> <> * Tomas examines the strawberry closely before giving it a lick. <> (Arsenic!) (Natural food.) (It's ok. It's organic, all natural.) (Trace amounts of arsenic in every apple you eat.) ~The beasts also seem be active mainly in response to our presence. Given the highly constructed nature of the environment, the similarity to the flowers indicates a possible similar purpose.~ * Hestia can't help but laugh at that. ~ Harbingers of the apocalypse. ~ ~Maybe the Mupploths are like, servants or something? Or pets? Or maybe just pests... Hmm.~ ~I believe the first two to be more likely, yes, much like the flowers are.~ * Tomas stows the strawberry, ~This console is some sort of replicator.~ Sweet. What kind of stuff do they have in there? * Kyle goes to try and make some cool stuff! <> * Hestia starts looking for that 8-shaped pattern anywhere, since everyone seems to think the Mupploths are pets. (They aren't pets! They're the MASTER RACE.) (You know "Master Race" is a friggin' amazing comic. I'm just saying.) <> <> * Lexi shrugs. "Man... what the hell..." * Kyle pockets it! Is there a way to change what it makes? * Tomas scratches his head, "Maybe it's a strawberry replicator." Maybe. Maybe it just makes all sorts of food? or maybe all of their food just looks like strawberries. What you have there could taste like steak. <> (Kyle and I are in a building playing with the strawberry vending machine.) * Zeke is still exploring with 5 drones, 2 of them with Tomas, and then the birdsect doing its flyover. Maybe you should eat one, Mas. <> (I'm apparently wandering the halls looking for the Mark of the Triforce.) (I'll go with Tia for giggles!) (At least you can see it!) I sure as hell ain't eating one. Could be toxic for all we know. My first one tasted of wheatgrass. <> * Hestia glances at a metal '8' on a wall somewhere. "Everything else is plant fiber in some way. Except this." * Tomas tries to dial up a different flavor of strawberry. <> ...what. * Amadeus blinks at that. "What did you do?" <> (LIQUID MEAT) (METAL GEAR) (EAGLER RAPTOR) (EAGLE RAPTOR, even) * Tomas touches the new strawberry to his tongue, "hmm. I think we're getting somewhere here." Oh really? 'cuz I have no fuckin' clue what I'm doing. * Kyle pushes more buttons and makes another 'berry This one tastes less like wheatgrass than the last--a little more like pig sweat. <> <> (Dude, this machine's awesome. Unless it looks like there are more like it. Then I'll go and check those out too.) <> <> <> (sadface) So, I got no idea how it works, other than it's awesome. <> * Zeke helpfully communicates, ~I have found an organics-based power plant, which is most likely providing the necessary power for this place. Natural environmental resistance. Well constructed.~ * Tomas frowns and slings the bag full of strawberries over his shoulder, "We're not making any more progress here. Let's check out what Zeke's found." ~So, odds it's like the MegaMatrix?~ * Kyle smirks. "'kay." <> ~I do not understand the mechanism, but that does not seem likely.~ <> (Argh sorry, juggling windows) (The tree, not the power plant.) * Hestia just... stares at it. <> <> * Hestia glances at the tree, then at the mupploths, and then back to the moebius tree. Is there some way to get to it? * Zeke has his drones all over the power plant area, at this point, as he examines as best he can. ~And you have arrived.~ <> * Kyle peers at the organic powerplant. "That is some wackyness goin' on there." <> * Amadeus walks up to the tree. "This is... amazing. Maybe *this* is the point behind that symbol." <> "hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhwwwwwwwwwwwwwhat-t-t-t-t-t-t...." * Kyle nods. "I can't make heads or tails of what's going on in there. It's just one jarbled mess." * Amadeus turns back to the mupploth. ~It is not my area of expertise either. Amadeus might have more of an opportunity to understand. It is unfortunate that this does not help us find the device, unless we could somehow track the power network.~ * Hestia is on the walkway behind Amadeus, and turns back herself. "...did you hear what I think *I* heard?" Yes. It *said* something. * Zeke tilts his holohead, and he communicates, ~Amadeus, Hestia, it was like an elongated 'what'.~ <> "wwwwwwhatttt-t-t-t .... aaare. You look-ing... for." <> (I read that as ET.) (MARSHAL MARSHAL MARSHAL!) (That actually isn't far off from what I hear in my head, but it's like a basso profundo ET instead of a soprano.) * Amadeus hesitates for a moment, then says, "Information, mostly. On anything and everything. We're explorers. And..." He looks to Tia, then back to the mupploth. "More specifically, we're looking for help in dealing with the Duekti." * Hestia stays quiet. Amadeus has spoken! <> "Duek-ti. Regret-table." (Do the ones in both locations talk too with that one?) (Or just all gnashing.) <> That's a good word for it. * Hestia adds, for the hell of it, "We don't even think it's the Duekti anymore. If the troylae are to be believed, they probably died out long ago... this is their xenophobic security technology run amok." <> "If you seek... help from the Gu-uub. Then we help as we ... can." ...well that explains a lot. (Haha. I KNEW IT.) (Yeah, totally. XD) <> (I'm prly going to end here. Need to get lots of sleep, still sick. *shakesfist*) * Kyle follows! * Kyle assumes he heard the stuff Hestia and Amadeus were saying over coms, so... yeah. * Zeke nods slightly with the holohead and follows with his drones except for one. * Tomas does as the fuzzy little guy demands. <>