Re: Inexorable Altercation [Round IV - Hezekiah]
05-22-2012, 12:27 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Lord Paradise.
Parset was in fair shape but couldn’t hope to keep up with a human (or a giant like Chester) at running speed, so within a minute of waiting up for him the simian-looking self-described “datapath” had swept the gnome up onto his shoulders and offered him a ride. Straddling the man’s neck was comfortable enough and made Parset feel oddly powerful, but carried its disadvantages. One, it would probably be impolite to bring his drumsticks to bear upon Chester’s closely shaven head, tempting though the prospect was. Two, it gave him little opportunity to search for keyholes.
Soon the gnome became convinced that there was not a keyhole to be found. Everything aboard Hezekiah seemed to function on far more insidious and ineffable systems than mere guards or keys. Those blaring alarms that seemed to come out of everywhere, the iron bars that rose up out of the ground unbidden, and of course the wolves. Parset, being a creature of good sense, was afraid of wolves more than most things. All in all, this place operated on a level beyond reason, beyond magic; it beat to a rhythm all its own. The gnome steeled himself to try very hard not to be surprised by anything that came next.
Chester and Will were talking. ”—Only two who I know to be alive. The first is a woman named Annaliese. She’s friendly and harmless.”
”You say friendly and harmless, I hear weak and useless,” corrected Chester. ”If we find her, we leave her. Who else?”
”No, we—she’s part of my team,” assured Will. ”I can’t have her dying, so I’d rather keep her close.”
”We’ve all got women we want to ‘keep close,’” laughed Chester. “Putting her in a group like this will draw her the wrong kind of attention. She’s safer in her cell.” Anticipating a complaint, Chester raised a finger to Will’s lips in censure. “Never forget this is where we’ve been sent for punishment. The only way to enjoy it here is to become someone like Meddet. Someone beyond saving. Now who’s the other?”
Content to defer the argument for a later date, Will proceeded. ”The second is an assassin. Loran.”
”Better,” smiled Chester. “I’m detecting three new arrivals—not two—that’s not counting you or the little guy up here—and no video feed into their cells as of yet. They’re all on parts of the ship that resist me. But I’d suggest we set about finding your assassin friend. We’re short on muscle.”
Will shook his head. ”If he sees me, he might kill me. If not, I’ll almost certainly try to kill him.”
”So much for your ‘team.’” Parset was starting to follow a bit of this. The woman and the assassin were two more players in the ‘contest’ and might have numbered among the people Parset had seen in the previous... place. The assassin was playing to win, whereas the woman, like Will, was merely trying her best not to lose, which made her a friend. Remembering an earlier conversation, Annaliese was a magician—another gnome, maybe?—but one even less powerful than Parset. He hoped she wasn’t another gnome; he was rather enjoying the sensation of being unique, besides which he knew the effect he had on females and didn’t want to overcomplicate things. “If you want to play this safe, we can stop a couple minutes, and I’ll be able to tell you which of them you’re heading towards, or if they’re even still in their cell. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee you more than a trail of breadcrumbs, or less than a knife in the back.”
”I can handle either of those things better than I can handle wasting any more time,” said Will. ”So, if you don’t mind me asking, were you born being able to do... what you do... with computers?”
”Wasn’t ‘born’ at all,” answered Chester ruefully. “Couldn’t you tell? No parents who had created a child out of an act of love would name it ‘Chester.’ That was a joke. No, I was just... compiled. I was a code somebody ran. Joke’s on them: all the effort they put into me and now I’m nothing but a drain on Hezekiah’s resources.”
”Are you sure about that? Hezekiah’s resources don’t seem to have limits.”
”Don’t be fooled.” Chester patted the door to a nearby cell. “Old girl’s practically out of her mind with overpopulation. And when I say ‘mind,’ by the way, I’m being literal. She’s partly organic. Which, with my thing, makes her easy to talk to but tough to negotiate with.”
”Organic, huh? Like Pinnochio in the belly of the whale.”
”Or Jonah,” added Chester. “Hezekiah makes all her own choices, even the name. ‘Thus saith the Lord: Set thy house in order, for thou shalt die, and not live.’ Sort of offbeat humor that sentient torture ships are known for.”
”I don’t get it.”
”Yeah, well, clearly you haven’t been here long enough. Hey, we’re here.”
The cell was empty. Like the others, the door had just been hanging open, with no lock (and, Parsley noted grimly, no keyhole). The gnome hopped off of Chester’s back and examined the space. “Looks like your target’s lost,” said the giant simply.
”Whoever it is,” mused Will, ”There has to be some way to track them. Maybe if we—“
Parset whacked Will on the shin with a drumstick to shut him up. The poor fellow really didn’t know the first thing about magic, did he? The gnome sat down on the floor of the cell and began banging out a rhythm. Rat tatatat ratatat ratatat tat There was definitely something there. A beat. He synched up with it.
Onetwo three one two threeone twothree
He had a direction. Bending over to continue his musical assault on the floor, Parset walked as fast as he could manage in the direction of the beat. He’d made it some distance before Will decided he was better off following.
Parset was in fair shape but couldn’t hope to keep up with a human (or a giant like Chester) at running speed, so within a minute of waiting up for him the simian-looking self-described “datapath” had swept the gnome up onto his shoulders and offered him a ride. Straddling the man’s neck was comfortable enough and made Parset feel oddly powerful, but carried its disadvantages. One, it would probably be impolite to bring his drumsticks to bear upon Chester’s closely shaven head, tempting though the prospect was. Two, it gave him little opportunity to search for keyholes.
Soon the gnome became convinced that there was not a keyhole to be found. Everything aboard Hezekiah seemed to function on far more insidious and ineffable systems than mere guards or keys. Those blaring alarms that seemed to come out of everywhere, the iron bars that rose up out of the ground unbidden, and of course the wolves. Parset, being a creature of good sense, was afraid of wolves more than most things. All in all, this place operated on a level beyond reason, beyond magic; it beat to a rhythm all its own. The gnome steeled himself to try very hard not to be surprised by anything that came next.
Chester and Will were talking. ”—Only two who I know to be alive. The first is a woman named Annaliese. She’s friendly and harmless.”
”You say friendly and harmless, I hear weak and useless,” corrected Chester. ”If we find her, we leave her. Who else?”
”No, we—she’s part of my team,” assured Will. ”I can’t have her dying, so I’d rather keep her close.”
”We’ve all got women we want to ‘keep close,’” laughed Chester. “Putting her in a group like this will draw her the wrong kind of attention. She’s safer in her cell.” Anticipating a complaint, Chester raised a finger to Will’s lips in censure. “Never forget this is where we’ve been sent for punishment. The only way to enjoy it here is to become someone like Meddet. Someone beyond saving. Now who’s the other?”
Content to defer the argument for a later date, Will proceeded. ”The second is an assassin. Loran.”
”Better,” smiled Chester. “I’m detecting three new arrivals—not two—that’s not counting you or the little guy up here—and no video feed into their cells as of yet. They’re all on parts of the ship that resist me. But I’d suggest we set about finding your assassin friend. We’re short on muscle.”
Will shook his head. ”If he sees me, he might kill me. If not, I’ll almost certainly try to kill him.”
”So much for your ‘team.’” Parset was starting to follow a bit of this. The woman and the assassin were two more players in the ‘contest’ and might have numbered among the people Parset had seen in the previous... place. The assassin was playing to win, whereas the woman, like Will, was merely trying her best not to lose, which made her a friend. Remembering an earlier conversation, Annaliese was a magician—another gnome, maybe?—but one even less powerful than Parset. He hoped she wasn’t another gnome; he was rather enjoying the sensation of being unique, besides which he knew the effect he had on females and didn’t want to overcomplicate things. “If you want to play this safe, we can stop a couple minutes, and I’ll be able to tell you which of them you’re heading towards, or if they’re even still in their cell. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee you more than a trail of breadcrumbs, or less than a knife in the back.”
”I can handle either of those things better than I can handle wasting any more time,” said Will. ”So, if you don’t mind me asking, were you born being able to do... what you do... with computers?”
”Wasn’t ‘born’ at all,” answered Chester ruefully. “Couldn’t you tell? No parents who had created a child out of an act of love would name it ‘Chester.’ That was a joke. No, I was just... compiled. I was a code somebody ran. Joke’s on them: all the effort they put into me and now I’m nothing but a drain on Hezekiah’s resources.”
”Are you sure about that? Hezekiah’s resources don’t seem to have limits.”
”Don’t be fooled.” Chester patted the door to a nearby cell. “Old girl’s practically out of her mind with overpopulation. And when I say ‘mind,’ by the way, I’m being literal. She’s partly organic. Which, with my thing, makes her easy to talk to but tough to negotiate with.”
”Organic, huh? Like Pinnochio in the belly of the whale.”
”Or Jonah,” added Chester. “Hezekiah makes all her own choices, even the name. ‘Thus saith the Lord: Set thy house in order, for thou shalt die, and not live.’ Sort of offbeat humor that sentient torture ships are known for.”
”I don’t get it.”
”Yeah, well, clearly you haven’t been here long enough. Hey, we’re here.”
The cell was empty. Like the others, the door had just been hanging open, with no lock (and, Parsley noted grimly, no keyhole). The gnome hopped off of Chester’s back and examined the space. “Looks like your target’s lost,” said the giant simply.
”Whoever it is,” mused Will, ”There has to be some way to track them. Maybe if we—“
Parset whacked Will on the shin with a drumstick to shut him up. The poor fellow really didn’t know the first thing about magic, did he? The gnome sat down on the floor of the cell and began banging out a rhythm. Rat tatatat ratatat ratatat tat There was definitely something there. A beat. He synched up with it.
Onetwo three one two threeone twothree
He had a direction. Bending over to continue his musical assault on the floor, Parset walked as fast as he could manage in the direction of the beat. He’d made it some distance before Will decided he was better off following.