TSW 28: The Eva (Part 2)

[13:39]	Arina	cocks her head. "Hm? I'd have thought long-term effects were mostly extrapolations and guesswork at this point...?"
[13:43]	IcePickLobotomy	She rubs her face "They are, but I do know of a way to get a rather concrete answer. That does not involve human testing either, or putting anyone at risk."
[13:44]	Arina	frowns. "... How would...?"
[13:47]	IcePickLobotomy	"I doubt you'd believe me if I told you."
[13:49]	IcePickLobotomy	She says this in a weary fashion, but not a bitter one.
[13:53]	IcePickLobotomy	She glances up at the Eva "Or maybe you would. .  Hard to say."
[13:54]	Arina	looks deadpan. "Doctor Kirmani, I fight giant alien monsters inside the flesh of a skyscraper-sized clone. I've learned some time ago that sense has no hold here."
[13:55]	IcePickLobotomy	"We found a alien artifact that predates the formation of the earth that inserts information directly into the minds of the people around." She says dead pan
[13:56]	Arina	blinks.
[13:56]	Arina	blinks again.
[13:56]	Arina	shrugs. "So the Intruders are after that? Not a false flag beacon at all?"
[13:58]	IcePickLobotomy	She nods. "I don't know the full story, you'd probably have to ask Vernbeck for it, and fat chance of getting him to tell you." She lights up a cigarette. "The American's found it just after the Red Death started up, in Brazil. Over the next several years it shifted hands from them, t the USSR, Iran, and Germany before it was sunk somewhere in the Pacific."
[13:59]	IcePickLobotomy	"We picked it up just after Chernobog was killed and started making limited use of it. It told us that the INTRUDERs would be drawn here."
[13:59]	Arina	taps her cheek. "Mm... I... see."
[14:00]	Arina	pauses. "Did it happen to sink somewhere around where Walker's carrier battle group was destroyed?"
[14:00]	IcePickLobotomy	"It did."
[14:00]	IcePickLobotomy	"They were actually working on the recovery operation when they got attacked."
[14:02]	Arina	purses her lips. "Hm... I see..."
[14:02]	IcePickLobotomy	"Look, if you want to tell the other pilots feel free, just for gods sake don't let it get out that we have it. Wars have been started over less."
[14:05]	Arina	raises an eyebrow. "... Do the great powers not know you have it?"
[14:06]	IcePickLobotomy	"They don't, though they probably suspect it. The cover story is that the recovery vessel was sunk, which it was. What they don't know is that they airlifted the artifact out during the attack. The US and USSR probably suspect we may have it, but as long as we have deniability. . ." She shivers "We do not want to get caught between them."
[14:09]	Arina	hums. "So... what is this thing...?"
[14:09]	Arina	"Why does everyone want it so much?"
[14:11]	IcePickLobotomy	"It's. . . " There's something strange about her tone as she speaks "It tells you things. I mean, do you really think all of these break through developments during the Red Plague were real? Super-Materials, room temperate super-conductors, self-learning algorithms, advanced genetic engineering. Cold-fusion. Cybernetics. These didn't come about naturally, it /gave/ them to us." She gestures...
[14:11]	IcePickLobotomy	...to the Unit "It gave everything you see here to us."
[14:12]	IcePickLobotomy	"Whoever controls it will have the power to enforce their hegemony across the world. That's how powerful the knowledge it holds is."
[14:13]	Arina	's eyes widen. "... oh dear..."
[14:13]	IcePickLobotomy	"Yes "oh dear" is right."
[14:17]	Arina	"That's..." She shakes her head. "..."
[14:18]	IcePickLobotomy	"And. . . look, this? METI would kill to keep this secret." She grinds out the cigarette "Has killed. So. . tread carefully. Please."
[14:18]	IcePickLobotomy	"Whatever you end up doing with this."
[14:19]	Arina	"I... wouldn't be surprised. But... /METI/ having hegemony over the world is..."
[14:20]	IcePickLobotomy	". . . . . . . . . . ." You hear a string of what you assume to be cursing, at least by the tone, in Arabic.
[14:23]	Arina	coughs into a hand. "... yeah, basically."
[14:24]	IcePickLobotomy	"NO you don't understand? Remember the initial proposal? Self-directed units, independent operations,unlimited strategic range?" She swears again "How didn't I see it?"
[14:24]	Arina	's hand flexes into a fist for a moment. "No pilots to say no."
[14:25]	IcePickLobotomy	"Exactly, and I doubt even a nuke would work if you spread them out. ICBMs wouldn't be able to target them, and anything else could be engaged with Positron weapons. And anything short of a nuke would be suicide."
[14:26]	Arina	"... at the least, it's... concerning, and if the beacon provides /more/ information than we already have..."
[14:28]	IcePickLobotomy	". . . . Please tell me you're not going to ask me what I'm afraid you're going to ask me."
[14:31]	Arina	"... if the resources aren't already plumbed, METI will continue to develop an... incomprehensible technological lead, as they learn more and more from it. Self-directed, independent Outriders may not just be the proposal, they may be /feasible/. They may be the /beginning/."
[14:32]	IcePickLobotomy	"We're already building them. I. . . helped draw up some revises plans a week ago. Our biggest issue was a power supply, but with the EF on board. . ."
[14:33]	Arina	tsks. "... And that puts an unstoppable superweapon in the hands of an organization utterly convinced it knows what's best for humanity, and is entirely happy making moral compromises."
[14:35]	IcePickLobotomy	"I suppose just letting the New World Order come into play isn;t a option is it?" She says drily
[14:35]	Arina	"Well it's certainly not Plan A..."
[14:42]	IcePickLobotomy	"Walker. . . she needs to know."
[14:43]	Arina	runs a hand through her hair. "... There's... a limited amount we can do, given the whole... 'has killed' thing."
[14:45]	IcePickLobotomy	"Do you intend to do something then?"
[14:47]	IcePickLobotomy	". . bad question. I guess for now, do you want to tell anyone about this?"
[14:48]	Arina	snorts. "'Intend' implies a fair bit more organization than I can claim to have at this point. I'm not exactly experienced in how to bring down conspiratorial organizations out for world domination, and the last people who /were/ are the ones who are /doing/ it now."
[14:50]	IcePickLobotomy	"My life was much easier 10 minutes ago." She complains
[14:51]	Arina	drums her fingers against her cheek. "... honestly I suspected the general /intent/ a month ago but I'd have much preferred if they didn't actually have a way to achieve it."
[14:53]	IcePickLobotomy	"You could just walk away, never mention this. Go on with your life once this is finished."
[14:55]	Arina	"If I were the type to do that, I would hardly be the type to be fighting giant alien monsters in a cybernetic clone god with completely unknown side effects," she points out.
[14:57]	Arina	"And if it were safe to do that, I probably wouldn't have been put up to fight giant alien monsters in a cybernetic clone god with completely unknown side effects without my knowledge. METI are hardly the stewards I'd choose for the world."
[14:57]	IcePickLobotomy	". . . You're a good kid, don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
[15:06]	Arina	flushes. "Well, thank you."
[15:06]	IcePickLobotomy	"Is there anything else I can do for you?"
[15:11]	Arina	"Er. I'll get back to you on that, I just learned that an organization like METI was in possession of a key to rule the world because ancient alien terraformers left their junk lying around."
[15:11]	IcePickLobotomy	"Terraformers? What made you say that?"
[15:12]	Arina	pales. "... Ah. W-well, uh, if it's older than the formation of the Earth...?"
[15:14]	IcePickLobotomy	"BUt we don't know what it's purpose is, how it got here, who made it." Her eyes narrow in thought "That's simply a rather. . . interesting word choice and assumption. Terraforming. . . "
[15:14]	Arina	"Well... some aliens were clearly hanging around at the timeframe, because, I mean, it certainly wasn't human-made if it predates the planet..."
[15:15]	Arina	"And, uh, no one asked what its purpose is?"
[15:15]	IcePickLobotomy	"Oh they did. We just never got anything worthwhile out of the people who asked when it answered."
[15:16]	IcePickLobotomy	"There's a reason we have the best mental healthcare in the world here you know."
[15:16]	IcePickLobotomy	She shrugs
[15:17]	IcePickLobotomy	"While I personally am curious, I won't hold it against you if you're rather not share."
[15:17]	Arina	"... ah. Well, it's an... a guess."
[15:19]	IcePickLobotomy	"Mmm, any other "Guesses" or flashes of insight that you might wish to share then?" She says coyly
[15:20]	Arina	frowns. "... just that we should probably be a bit more concerned about why the Intruders want it."
[15:21]	IcePickLobotomy	"We've never seen them use technology really, but I wonder. . . Well best not to think about what they could get out of it."
[15:21]	Arina	"I don't have any idea but METI isn't the worst-case scenario..."
[15:22]	Arina	"... Someone knows. Someone knows that they're coming for it, to... set all this up."
[15:23]	IcePickLobotomy	She nods
[15:24]	Arina	twists a lock of hair around her finger. "... damn it."
[15:26]	IcePickLobotomy	". . . . I think I can help, The Siberia base is requesting additional staff for the new construction orders. I think. . . sending the more, questionable personal I know, those closest to Vernbeck, might buy us some more room if they try something."
[15:28]	Arina	"I... mm. That's... an option, though getting those things built according to order is still... ugh. We're not exactly full of good options."
[15:28]	IcePickLobotomy	"They're getting built, whether we like it or not. Unless you happen to have a nuke hidden in your younger sister."
[15:30]	Arina	"I was more hoping for creative sabotage from the construction staff, but if that's not an option..."
[15:32]	IcePickLobotomy	"Unless you want to go open with this conspiracy, and have the US and USSR break METI over their kness and then fight over the remains, we'll have a rather hard time convincing people to go agaisnt the project. And if our transfers are found to be sabotage the new units? And it gets traced back to us, which it will, then we all die."
[15:33]	IcePickLobotomy	"Look, let's bring Walker in on this, this is more her fortay than mine anyways."
[15:33]	Arina	"... fair enough, then."
[15:33]	Arina	"Ughhhh..."
[15:33]	IcePickLobotomy	"Or do you not trust Walker?"
[15:33]	Arina	swallows, rubbing her throat. "I do, it's just... this situation."
[15:35]	IcePickLobotomy	"I know, and it's worse for you I bet." She shakes her head "Least I'm old enough to be dealing with this and I feel overwhelmed."
[15:36]	Arina	"'Take-over-the-world conspiracies' aren't a particularly common skillset for any age."
[15:39]	IcePickLobotomy	". . Yeah. Not like we're gonna find someone who knows how to do this."
[15:40]	Arina	"Well, we are! We can just ask METI's founding members," she points out with false cheer.
[15:40]	IcePickLobotomy	". . . You ever thought about breaking into film?" Kirimani says between chuckles.
[15:42]	Arina	"Hasn't really come up, but I suppose it's worth a thought if I find the time."
[15:45]	IcePickLobotomy	"I'd watch it."
[15:46]	Arina	chuckles. "We don't even have a movie yet."
[15:47]	IcePickLobotomy	"Heh, maybe that'd be a better use of all this money then?"
[15:49]	IcePickLobotomy	"Anyways, I need to finish up the data crunching here."
[15:49]	Arina	nods. "... good luck."
[15:49]	Arina	walks to the changing room, rubbing her temples.