FJ 2.4.1 Talking with Tzerka

  Arkalest    (How do you approach her?)
    Sabina  (AR Message, letting her know that Sabina is still interested in the cross-training she offered and that recent events have given her further reason to seek Tzerka's knowledge.)
    Arkalest    [Is there any spot you feel comfortable meditating in?]
    Sabina  [There's a pond in the woods I am fond off, if you prefer somewhere more private I have a shrine set up in my apartment as well.]
    Arkalest    [Pond is good. Meet me ther ein a hour.]
    Sabina  [I will, thank you.]
    Arkalest    You spot a distortion nearby thje pond- Tzerka sitting cross-legged.
    Sabina  approaches and takes a seat across from Tzerka, legs crossed as well
    Arkalest    You can tell she has her tail wrapped around her legs. "So, you finally decided to pick up on my offer, eh?"
    Sabina  "I have, yes."
    Arkalest    SHe leans forward. "And why is that?"
    Sabina  "You can teach me the more subtle uses of my power, and in doing so I will learn finer control over my powers and a greater awareness of them and myself, in turn I hope that will give me a better understanding of the Instrument. I wield it as a hammer, but I must learn how to use it as a scalpel as well."
    Arkalest    "Commendable answer, but...Again."
    Arkalest    She tilts her head forward. "Why is that?"
    Sabina  "The Instrument is acting. . . in a way that my people have no record off, this worries me. And while I do not know if your instruction will make things more clear, I cannot afford to not try."
    Arkalest    "Interesting." You see her tail uncoil. "And do tell me- Are you squeamish?"
    Sabina  ". . . I would not think so, though that would depend on what you consider squeamish to mean."
    Arkalest    "Say your targert is a politician, and the job is to make her look bad. " Tzerka straightens her back. "You need to get onfirmation she's hanging at a local high society club, and so.."
    Arkalest    "Vorak dicks. "
    Arkalest    "Lots of 'em."
    Sabina  blinks. "You mean Vorak penises to make her look bad or?"
    Arkalest    "And your job is upon being provided a reference picture to identify the one belonging to the right clade-leader so we can blackmail them."
    Arkalest    "Thing is." She joins her hands. "You're gonna see worse. You're gonna get real intimate with all the little ugly things people do."
    Sabina  nods and takes a breath.
    Sabina  "If that is what is needed of me, then I will."
    Arkalest    "And thing is, you're going to see them up real close- Bask in them. View, feel those memories, those emotions over and over and over and over again."
    Sabina  nods, carefully weighing Tzerka's words
    Arkalest    "If you're lucky, you're gonna learn something about yourself. If you're not, you're gonna end up a paranoid washed-up wreck."
    Sabina  "Are you warning me, or attempting to dissuade me?"
    Arkalest    "Both. You're young, and..Yeah."
    Sabina  "I am young, but that isn't going to have any bearing on the things I will face, at what I will be called upon to do. I would rather do so as best prepared and capable as I can be."
    Arkalest    "You say so, but you still lived a life sheltered awy from the real complexities of life."
    Sabina  "I will not deny that."
    Arkalest    "Have you ever truly fought for something?" She leans forward. "For your rights. Were you ever doubted?"
    Sabina  "For my rights? No. But that doesn't mean I do not have something to fight for, even if I have yet to meet my foe."
    Arkalest    "I am not asking you if you have something to fight for. I am asking you if you ever yearned, if you ever felt there was something out of reaqch that you felt the need to claw to."
    Sabina  "No then."
    Arkalest    "Desires are powerful, powerful things. "a rustling of grass. "Let me ask you a question- Do you think memories are reliable?"
    Sabina  "No, they are, barring some exceptions, too easily changed after the fact, or even created whole-sale. For this reason single witnesses are not considered very reliable in my home."
    Arkalest    "Indeed. See, this is the crux of mind-jacking. We are working with a very volatile element, and the thing is, what interests us isn't memories per se- It's the framework around them. The mind. "
    Sabina  nods
    Arkalest    "Andd desires can play a particularly strong part in understanding."
    Sabina  "It may seem a silly question, but I am curious as to how that works exactly? Do they let see the framework when it interacts with said desires?"
    Arkalest    "They help us understand the tagrte's mindset, their view on the world. In an age of easy chemical alteration, sometimes we need to look at the ensemble to understand."
    Sabina  nods
    Arkalest    "Desires can let us understand pasrt of it,and so can needs- But they do not exist in a vacuum."
    Arkalest    "They feed into each other, reinforce and hangee andd shape memories.2
    Sabina  nods again
    Arkalest    "Basically, saying it in less philosophica terms." She raiss a hand. "It helps us understand the subject's mindstate. How they view the world- And that's one hell of a boon when investigating."
    Sabina  "I can imagine."
    Arkalest    "And desires are the equivalent of  a lockpick- Or a crowbar. They can be used to further influence the ubject.."
    Sabina  "Hmm."
    Arkalest    "Which is why I asqked f you're squeamish still. You're goiing to need all the advantages you can get."
    Sabina  "I am not going to discount your warnings, but I ask for this all the same."
    Arkalest    A slow nod. "Then I think we ought be to a good start."
    Sabina  "I'm relieved to hear that."
    Arkalest    Another nod. "Now....What do you think mind--jacking entails in terms of effort?"
    Sabina  "I assume that you need to be somewhat close to the target, and hat it takes time and a great deal of focus, at the bare minimum."
    Arkalest    "Yes to the frst, nay to the latter. It depends on how deep you want to go."

        Sabina  "Ah,"

	Arkalest	"Now, you won't find many treaties on this craft. " A small patch of grass flattens as Tzerka extends her legs. "Or at least, you're not going to find it in New Meridian's networks."
	Sabina	"I am hardly surprised at that."
	Arkalest	A third nod. "But we have stashed away some of them, disturbing as they may be. I will send them to your AR, and then we're going to hear out about them."
	Sabina	"I see."
	Arkalest	"And we can start practicing afterwards."
	Sabina	"I am curious as to how we will practice,"
	Arkalest	"First by trying to find a way for you to "peek" into someone's mind, and then ways to do so incospicously."
	Arkalest	"Then we're going to scar you against mental intrusions. We'll start with full-borgs, move into aliens, and to top it off we'll bombbard you with the Illize and the Phedrians."
	Arkalest	She folds her arms. "If you can survive that without passing out, then you'll make a fine jacker."
	Sabina	"I won't disapoint you."