Hm. Fascinating, I am going to have to perhaps poke into this a bit more I really dislike being in the dark, don't you? It makes it awfully hard to see.
[Kim opens the door and lets her in- Kimiko's room is a frightful mess, but at least the random piles of crap allow for a corridor to walk through them. Nothing will ever save the carpet; it's gone to melted bald patches all over, and what's left is thinning rapidly.
The walls, such as they are, excepting a certain amount of living space, are crowded with makeshift and stolen tables, which are themselves littered with mechanical detritus, reams of notes, and delicate scientific apparatus.]
So. What...do you take?
[Yes, she stole those two espresso machines from the coffee shop.]
[Kim notices Alice's regard and, it's... Appreciative. Well. Wasn't that something? Every inventor hates most in the world to have their creations, complete or otherwise, be openly disparaged.]
I drink it black.
[She pours, adds Alice's fixin's and offers her the mug. It's an elegant cream-colored thing, with red and gold chasing, obviously taken from one of the fancier deck eight restaurants.]
[And here she takes a fast gulp, downing half the steaming mug at a go, reaching for her notes at the same time.]
I've been periodically measuring and questioning the passengers for a few months now, and I've observed no noticeable growth- not even from the juveniles, who should be experiencing osteogenesis at an accelerated rate. Lily, for example, she's been here for years, and she hasn't grown so much as an inch, and that's just not normal, especially for girls, as the average rate of increase is accelerated in early years, especially considering that she shows signs of semi-remote starvation periods, the compensation period is just way off. I'm not sure how he's doing it, though, since all the vital cellular processes are still operating normally- hair and nails keep growing, for example, and menstrual cycles continue, so it's safe to assume that internal things such as stomach linings are still replacing themselves at the normal rate, which is a good thing because otherwise the ulcerations would probably have killed us all, by now.
[Alice is listening very carefully - some of the bigger, more scientific terms escape her, but the way Kim is speaking - with her sentences a bit strung together, fast, perhaps a bit excitedly - it's something Alice can easily comprehend. Her brow furrows a little bit, and her head tilts.]
What is it that perturbs you moreso than the fact hat we don't seem to be physically growing older, bit by bit?
I mean, sometimes he makes it rain ducks for fun, but those kinds of things are announced. The crew barely warn people where to find food, let alone that they won't die— and no one's been told they aren't aging. I'm halfway sure that if this got out on the network, that he'd turn it off for a bit, or worse.
[She's sure the Captain's not at all above aging everyone aboard to the point of incontinence and senility, just to prove a point about snooping around.]
I think it might be related to the 'System' that revives us when we die, though I'm not sure how. Apparently the System is run by a girl, at the far end of Carnival- but it's too dangerous for me to head in there, alone. I'm postponing an excursion until I've finished all my data collection.
Raining ducks? Now that isn't something I've yet seen, it sounds terribly odd and not exactly desirable. Can you imagine, a duck falling from the sky and hitting you squarely on the noggin? I rather think it would hurt quite a bit, don't you?
[She swirls a her coffee, thinking.]
He has turned it off before, has he not? I seem to recall several days not terribly long ago where young were old and old were young and no one was the right size at all. Not a very nice thing to do, when you're used to being you.
[Hm. Another excursion into Carnival. Alice isn't terribly sure how she feels about that. Last time that happened, she had Malkus had both kicked the bucket. She isn't fond of the idea of venturing in again, at least not anytime soon, and especially without the Vorpal Sword.]
But that happens every year, around this time. What I'm getting at is that, he's keeping us at whatever age we're at, because the trip to the Golden Shore is meant to last longer than our ordinary lifespans.
Nothing else fits, unless he's just psychotic. But I don't think plain old madness is the only explanation here.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2010-09-21 05:21 pm (UTC)Besides, he's....kind of...crazy. And not the usual kind.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-21 06:51 pm (UTC)What do you know about the man?
no subject
Date: 2010-09-21 06:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-25 04:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-25 04:45 pm (UTC)[Alice. You're...Kim might have underestimated you.]
Actually. I've been doing some investigating, myself.
I could share my research notes, if you like. Coffee?
no subject
Date: 2010-09-25 05:08 pm (UTC)That would be lovely, actually - one can only sustain themselves on tea for so long. Where would you like to meet?
no subject
Date: 2010-09-25 06:05 pm (UTC)How about my suite?
['Least likely to be bugged' is still bad, but better than the horrors of In Public]
8302, deck 5?
no subject
Date: 2010-09-26 12:50 am (UTC)[Minutes more like, but show up she does!]
no subject
Date: 2010-09-26 03:06 am (UTC)The walls, such as they are, excepting a certain amount of living space, are crowded with makeshift and stolen tables, which are themselves littered with mechanical detritus, reams of notes, and delicate scientific apparatus.]
So. What...do you take?
[Yes, she stole those two espresso machines from the coffee shop.]
no subject
Date: 2010-09-26 03:37 pm (UTC)Oh - with just a touch of sugar and cream, if you use to much of either, it blocks out the rest of the flavor, don't you think?
no subject
Date: 2010-09-26 05:24 pm (UTC)I drink it black.
[She pours, adds Alice's fixin's and offers her the mug. It's an elegant cream-colored thing, with red and gold chasing, obviously taken from one of the fancier deck eight restaurants.]
So.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-27 02:59 am (UTC)[She takes the offered mug, wrapping her fingers around it and regarding her new-found acquaintance with a curious eye.]
So! You said you had a bit of insight, I recall?
no subject
Date: 2010-09-27 03:14 am (UTC)[And here she takes a fast gulp, downing half the steaming mug at a go, reaching for her notes at the same time.]
I've been periodically measuring and questioning the passengers for a few months now, and I've observed no noticeable growth- not even from the juveniles, who should be experiencing osteogenesis at an accelerated rate. Lily, for example, she's been here for years, and she hasn't grown so much as an inch, and that's just not normal, especially for girls, as the average rate of increase is accelerated in early years, especially considering that she shows signs of semi-remote starvation periods, the compensation period is just way off. I'm not sure how he's doing it, though, since all the vital cellular processes are still operating normally- hair and nails keep growing, for example, and menstrual cycles continue, so it's safe to assume that internal things such as stomach linings are still replacing themselves at the normal rate, which is a good thing because otherwise the ulcerations would probably have killed us all, by now.
[She paused for breath and took another drink]
But that's not the thing that worries me.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-27 03:18 am (UTC)What is it that perturbs you moreso than the fact hat we don't seem to be physically growing older, bit by bit?
no subject
Date: 2010-09-27 03:42 am (UTC)I mean, sometimes he makes it rain ducks for fun, but those kinds of things are announced. The crew barely warn people where to find food, let alone that they won't die— and no one's been told they aren't aging. I'm halfway sure that if this got out on the network, that he'd turn it off for a bit, or worse.
[She's sure the Captain's not at all above aging everyone aboard to the point of incontinence and senility, just to prove a point about snooping around.]
I think it might be related to the 'System' that revives us when we die, though I'm not sure how. Apparently the System is run by a girl, at the far end of Carnival- but it's too dangerous for me to head in there, alone. I'm postponing an excursion until I've finished all my data collection.
no subject
Date: 2010-10-05 11:40 pm (UTC)[She swirls a her coffee, thinking.]
He has turned it off before, has he not? I seem to recall several days not terribly long ago where young were old and old were young and no one was the right size at all. Not a very nice thing to do, when you're used to being you.
[Hm. Another excursion into Carnival. Alice isn't terribly sure how she feels about that. Last time that happened, she had Malkus had both kicked the bucket. She isn't fond of the idea of venturing in again, at least not anytime soon, and especially without the Vorpal Sword.]
no subject
Date: 2010-10-12 08:23 am (UTC)Nothing else fits, unless he's just psychotic. But I don't think plain old madness is the only explanation here.