Blogathon post #27: Surpriz girl!
Jul. 31st, 2010 09:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
letterbladeIn the Xenonovel, that is. The real life surpriz girl was when ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mllelaurel dropped by to say hi. <33333
Last part of this scene.
"Chiiieeeeef..."
"It's not a problem, Allen. Look at her combat performance. If anything, she's doing better." Shion yelps, ducks a flying piece of drone, and pops back to her feet already keying through data. "Look at that! Remember those arms packs we installed? Look at their output! She's doing so well. We're finishing the process and we're going on." And if KOS-MOS' neural net is evolving, isn't that good? Isn't she growing into something better?
"It's you I'm worried about, Chief! We don't know what could happen in there--"
"I'm fine--"
"I'm aborting--"
"No, you're not. You're putting all this data into the report for the Captain. This is the sort of thing he's looking for." She side-steps a tumbling ceiling beam, stops dazzled for a moment as KOS-MOS executes a stunning twisting leap. "That we're all looking for."
"We're also looking for you to not die--"
The drone topples, one of its legs cut out from under it, and falls with a crash. KOS-MOS steps gracefully away from it and turns to Shion in the sudden silence. "Target neutralized," she reports calmly.
"Good job."
"Okay, process 431 cleared, now we can pull you out--"
"So far, so good. Allen, keep going. That's an order." Shion looks around the room, and realizes what she really needs to see. What anyone who wants a proper assessment of KOS-MOS' abilities needs to see. "Repeat process and shift target to Real Mode. We need to test the Hilbert Effect."
"What?! Chief, you're supposed to follow the program..."
But it's as if the Encephalon is responding to her directly. The fallen bulk of the drone regenerates its missing limbs in a flash, and then rises back to its feet, shimmering and wavering like a reflection on windy water. She can see the wall through it. Intangible--the form in which Gnosis naturally appear, unless altered by the Hilbert Effect. Her team chatters in the background, but she just steps up beside KOS-MOS. This is what matters right now. Seeing what will happen. Nothing else. She feels awake and alive, sweaty right palm still wrapped around the grip inside the M.W.S. "KOS-MOS, activate Hilbert Effect."
"Acknowledged," KOS-MOS says. "Activating Hilbert Effect." Lights shine bright blue on her visor. She raises her arms slightly, palms out, like an actor about to take a bow, and eerie cobalt-blue light crackles around her. The Hilbert Effect--
--but rather than the smooth wash of the standard Hilbert she's seen in vids, it crackles like lightning and the world seems to shudder. Her eyes go wide, and she starts to key up real-time wavelength models, pushing her handheld computer to the maximum. The Hilbert waves from KOS-MOS are crumpling, overlapping, heightening further and further in power, and she's never seen interference like that before--
"Something's wrong with the Encephalon--it could collapse at any moment--"
"Chief, get out of there now! You're in danger!"
"Hold on," she murmurs, entranced. "Just a little longer." The room's gone dark, barely any light except from the Hilbert Effect and the screen of her connection gear. Blue lightning plays over her face. The drone itself has started to glow now, twitching and spasming, crackling cobalt and white. The wavelengths are effecting it, there's some sort of mass changes being catalyzed in its system...
"That's enough! Shut it down! Pull her out of there now!"
"Roger! Entering shutdown command...it's been rejected! The Chief is overriding us!"
She hadn't even pressed a button. Just thought not now.
"We can't control it from here!"
"Whaaaat?" That's Allen. He sounds dizzy. Shion feels dizzy with excitement. She can see it now, there in the data, see the fabric of the Encephalon around her pulsing in tune with KOS-MOS' Hilbert, with whatever it is that's spontaneously evolving.
"Ten seconds to Encephalon collapse!"
Allen curses, short and desperate. What's he doing now? Try to shut down the system manually, pull the plug? Throwing on emergency VR gear and diving in after her? The walls are starting to flicker, turning into raw data, and it's fascinating. The drone's glowing brighter now, yellow-white, still thrashing, until it topples to its knees with a giant thud, raises its arms, glows until it's blinding--
But there's something else there. Something in the gash of white light that's replaced the target drone. At first, she just sees a faint shadow, a few dark splotches, a blur of reddish-gold. She squints into the light, takes a few steps closer, and realizes it's a person. Small, perhaps a child. Dark blue eyes, almost violet in the golden light. Red hair. A little girl, maybe ten, in a white dress. Standing calm as you please in the brilliant inferno. She has a plain face, wide cheekbones, set in a quiet, almost mournful expression. Her arms hang by her sides. She's wearing some sort of necklace, and looking straight at Shion.
"Who...?"
She's never seen her before. Never seen her in any of KOS-MOS' visual databanks. Is she the intrusion? This spontaneous evolution? Shion hears a soft chime ringing in her ears, and she takes another step towards the light...
"Chief!"
The voices from outside have faded, sputtering to static like the Encephalon walls. But Allen's voice is still right next to her. A large, warm hand grabs her elbow. She catches a bare glimpse of Allen, half-in and half-out of the Encephalon. Emergency dive. His lanky body hangs bisected by the glowing portal to the real world, reaching for her, and then he pulls--
Everything goes white.
This post is part of Letterblade's Blogathon 2010 madness, to raise money for Heifer Project International. Please go here to pledge your support.
mllelaurel dropped by to say hi. <33333Last part of this scene.
"Chiiieeeeef..."
"It's not a problem, Allen. Look at her combat performance. If anything, she's doing better." Shion yelps, ducks a flying piece of drone, and pops back to her feet already keying through data. "Look at that! Remember those arms packs we installed? Look at their output! She's doing so well. We're finishing the process and we're going on." And if KOS-MOS' neural net is evolving, isn't that good? Isn't she growing into something better?
"It's you I'm worried about, Chief! We don't know what could happen in there--"
"I'm fine--"
"I'm aborting--"
"No, you're not. You're putting all this data into the report for the Captain. This is the sort of thing he's looking for." She side-steps a tumbling ceiling beam, stops dazzled for a moment as KOS-MOS executes a stunning twisting leap. "That we're all looking for."
"We're also looking for you to not die--"
The drone topples, one of its legs cut out from under it, and falls with a crash. KOS-MOS steps gracefully away from it and turns to Shion in the sudden silence. "Target neutralized," she reports calmly.
"Good job."
"Okay, process 431 cleared, now we can pull you out--"
"So far, so good. Allen, keep going. That's an order." Shion looks around the room, and realizes what she really needs to see. What anyone who wants a proper assessment of KOS-MOS' abilities needs to see. "Repeat process and shift target to Real Mode. We need to test the Hilbert Effect."
"What?! Chief, you're supposed to follow the program..."
But it's as if the Encephalon is responding to her directly. The fallen bulk of the drone regenerates its missing limbs in a flash, and then rises back to its feet, shimmering and wavering like a reflection on windy water. She can see the wall through it. Intangible--the form in which Gnosis naturally appear, unless altered by the Hilbert Effect. Her team chatters in the background, but she just steps up beside KOS-MOS. This is what matters right now. Seeing what will happen. Nothing else. She feels awake and alive, sweaty right palm still wrapped around the grip inside the M.W.S. "KOS-MOS, activate Hilbert Effect."
"Acknowledged," KOS-MOS says. "Activating Hilbert Effect." Lights shine bright blue on her visor. She raises her arms slightly, palms out, like an actor about to take a bow, and eerie cobalt-blue light crackles around her. The Hilbert Effect--
--but rather than the smooth wash of the standard Hilbert she's seen in vids, it crackles like lightning and the world seems to shudder. Her eyes go wide, and she starts to key up real-time wavelength models, pushing her handheld computer to the maximum. The Hilbert waves from KOS-MOS are crumpling, overlapping, heightening further and further in power, and she's never seen interference like that before--
"Something's wrong with the Encephalon--it could collapse at any moment--"
"Chief, get out of there now! You're in danger!"
"Hold on," she murmurs, entranced. "Just a little longer." The room's gone dark, barely any light except from the Hilbert Effect and the screen of her connection gear. Blue lightning plays over her face. The drone itself has started to glow now, twitching and spasming, crackling cobalt and white. The wavelengths are effecting it, there's some sort of mass changes being catalyzed in its system...
"That's enough! Shut it down! Pull her out of there now!"
"Roger! Entering shutdown command...it's been rejected! The Chief is overriding us!"
She hadn't even pressed a button. Just thought not now.
"We can't control it from here!"
"Whaaaat?" That's Allen. He sounds dizzy. Shion feels dizzy with excitement. She can see it now, there in the data, see the fabric of the Encephalon around her pulsing in tune with KOS-MOS' Hilbert, with whatever it is that's spontaneously evolving.
"Ten seconds to Encephalon collapse!"
Allen curses, short and desperate. What's he doing now? Try to shut down the system manually, pull the plug? Throwing on emergency VR gear and diving in after her? The walls are starting to flicker, turning into raw data, and it's fascinating. The drone's glowing brighter now, yellow-white, still thrashing, until it topples to its knees with a giant thud, raises its arms, glows until it's blinding--
But there's something else there. Something in the gash of white light that's replaced the target drone. At first, she just sees a faint shadow, a few dark splotches, a blur of reddish-gold. She squints into the light, takes a few steps closer, and realizes it's a person. Small, perhaps a child. Dark blue eyes, almost violet in the golden light. Red hair. A little girl, maybe ten, in a white dress. Standing calm as you please in the brilliant inferno. She has a plain face, wide cheekbones, set in a quiet, almost mournful expression. Her arms hang by her sides. She's wearing some sort of necklace, and looking straight at Shion.
"Who...?"
She's never seen her before. Never seen her in any of KOS-MOS' visual databanks. Is she the intrusion? This spontaneous evolution? Shion hears a soft chime ringing in her ears, and she takes another step towards the light...
"Chief!"
The voices from outside have faded, sputtering to static like the Encephalon walls. But Allen's voice is still right next to her. A large, warm hand grabs her elbow. She catches a bare glimpse of Allen, half-in and half-out of the Encephalon. Emergency dive. His lanky body hangs bisected by the glowing portal to the real world, reaching for her, and then he pulls--
Everything goes white.
This post is part of Letterblade's Blogathon 2010 madness, to raise money for Heifer Project International. Please go here to pledge your support.
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