Re: The Grand Battle II! [Round 3: Escheresque!]
10-19-2009, 04:53 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Schazer.
---
"Very good, Vyrm'n."
A black, star-studded arm reached for some sort of panel on the nearest wall. The panel looked organic in composition; if the hand had nerves it would've felt squashy and pulpy to the touch. A harsh, robotic voice replied to the cultured, clipped one which had preceded it.
"MAY I KILL HIM NOW?"
"Hmm... Yes. But if you can-" -the speaker's voice was cut off by crunching, squelching, and agonized screams filling the Faceless' chamber- "-I would have appreciated you letting me watch your thoughts while you did it."The disembodied voice sighed. "Never mind. The door's unlocked, Vyrm'n."
The Faceless studied its latest victim expressionlessly. If it had asked, Vyrm'n could've been informed by the researcher that this man had been especially chosen for this study, his reward for being on the wrong side of galactic law for over twenty years.
But Vyrm'n already knew all that, and frankly didn't care. The Faceless turned, knowing and not caring that next time it entered the test chamber, this body would be gone, the chamber cleared of its song, like the rest of them.
Reaching out to touch a now-green airlock button, the Faceless slithered through the doorway to be greeted by the Researcher. He certainly looked the part, with the labcoat and the square-rimmed glasses and the scribble-infested notebook.
Slightly deviating from the theme, however, was the armoured, airlocked, full-body suit he wore beneath the coat; the quick-action full-face helmet (though that was currently down); and the cold, slightly manic glint to his grey eyes.
Of course, Vyrm'n found none of these out of the ordinary. It almost automatically reached out to make contact with a shadowed arm, but the Researcher offered no contact.
He then acquised, and removed a glove with a snap of buckles, reaching out to the Faceless.
Have you discovered anything useful? That was the twelth man in as half as many days.
The researcher chose not to reply telepathically, instead talking to a region of the hulking shadow that could possibly approximate its face.
"As a matter of fact, I think I have." He smiled as he said it, genuinely excited about this discovery that had cost twelve lives. "Come with me, Vyrm'n."
The pair walked down the deserted corridor which went round the back of the testing chamber, to the state-of-the-art data room which was loaded with the latest number-crunching technology. Vyrm'n was bidden to wait outside while the man went and gathered his materials.
He then led the Faceless into another testing chamber, this one much smaller and equipped with a wider array of sensors and detectors. Various scanners and probes emerged and latched upon the starry bulk; Vyrm'n shrugged off the first couple before giving up and let them crawl all over the dark surface, measuring, timing, watching, analysing.
The Researcher appeared behind a thick glass window, checking all the recording apparatus was in order. He tapped a microphone experimentally, before beginning:
"Ok then. Now, remember when we discovered you can work your way through even the slimmest of spaces, given enough time?"
Vyrm'n made no response, not wanting to think about the time they found that out purely by accident. It had not been pleasant.
"Well, we managed to find some traces of you, so we ran some tests on the matter when it's not a constituent part of you. The results were... fascinating. And, you may be interested to know, utterly inconsistent with various other sample of Faceless we've procured.
It seems once you abandon it, it quickly... degenerates, if you will, into simple universal matter. If it's like you describe it, like song, it's like it starts singing along.
Of course, what I'd kill for now is a wildform sample of Faceless, but there's no way we can get that, now really, is there?" The Researcher chuckled."Anyway, one of the most interesting things was... your matter resembles nothing else in the universe. It's almost a complete inversion of classical atomic models." He couldn't have been more excited. Vyrm'n couldn't have looked less interested, though there was nothing saying it had to. Despite that, the Faceless was listening intently.
"My conclusion is, Vyrm'n, that while the matter in our universe is structured to 'sing', yours is structured to 'listen'. I just love how it's so paradoxical yet logical, don't you?
Anyway, that's all I wanted to tell you today."The man pressed some buttons, and the various probes and sensors retreated, leaving the Faceless alone in the scan chamber. The door opened again.
"Your rest-pod's open when you need it."
Vyrm'n stood alone for a moment, listening to the Researcher's receding footsteps and the swish of an airlock closing behind him. The Faceless departed the chamber, walking past the already sealed door to the Researcher's Observation Room and curling up in the cosy pod. Several moments later, the door sealed, and gravity suddenly disengaged in the Faceless' nest as the air rushed out of it and Vrm'n dozed, content as a Faceless could be, in its matterless bed.
---
"Very good, Vyrm'n."
A black, star-studded arm reached for some sort of panel on the nearest wall. The panel looked organic in composition; if the hand had nerves it would've felt squashy and pulpy to the touch. A harsh, robotic voice replied to the cultured, clipped one which had preceded it.
"MAY I KILL HIM NOW?"
"Hmm... Yes. But if you can-" -the speaker's voice was cut off by crunching, squelching, and agonized screams filling the Faceless' chamber- "-I would have appreciated you letting me watch your thoughts while you did it."The disembodied voice sighed. "Never mind. The door's unlocked, Vyrm'n."
The Faceless studied its latest victim expressionlessly. If it had asked, Vyrm'n could've been informed by the researcher that this man had been especially chosen for this study, his reward for being on the wrong side of galactic law for over twenty years.
But Vyrm'n already knew all that, and frankly didn't care. The Faceless turned, knowing and not caring that next time it entered the test chamber, this body would be gone, the chamber cleared of its song, like the rest of them.
Reaching out to touch a now-green airlock button, the Faceless slithered through the doorway to be greeted by the Researcher. He certainly looked the part, with the labcoat and the square-rimmed glasses and the scribble-infested notebook.
Slightly deviating from the theme, however, was the armoured, airlocked, full-body suit he wore beneath the coat; the quick-action full-face helmet (though that was currently down); and the cold, slightly manic glint to his grey eyes.
Of course, Vyrm'n found none of these out of the ordinary. It almost automatically reached out to make contact with a shadowed arm, but the Researcher offered no contact.
He then acquised, and removed a glove with a snap of buckles, reaching out to the Faceless.
Have you discovered anything useful? That was the twelth man in as half as many days.
The researcher chose not to reply telepathically, instead talking to a region of the hulking shadow that could possibly approximate its face.
"As a matter of fact, I think I have." He smiled as he said it, genuinely excited about this discovery that had cost twelve lives. "Come with me, Vyrm'n."
The pair walked down the deserted corridor which went round the back of the testing chamber, to the state-of-the-art data room which was loaded with the latest number-crunching technology. Vyrm'n was bidden to wait outside while the man went and gathered his materials.
He then led the Faceless into another testing chamber, this one much smaller and equipped with a wider array of sensors and detectors. Various scanners and probes emerged and latched upon the starry bulk; Vyrm'n shrugged off the first couple before giving up and let them crawl all over the dark surface, measuring, timing, watching, analysing.
The Researcher appeared behind a thick glass window, checking all the recording apparatus was in order. He tapped a microphone experimentally, before beginning:
"Ok then. Now, remember when we discovered you can work your way through even the slimmest of spaces, given enough time?"
Vyrm'n made no response, not wanting to think about the time they found that out purely by accident. It had not been pleasant.
"Well, we managed to find some traces of you, so we ran some tests on the matter when it's not a constituent part of you. The results were... fascinating. And, you may be interested to know, utterly inconsistent with various other sample of Faceless we've procured.
It seems once you abandon it, it quickly... degenerates, if you will, into simple universal matter. If it's like you describe it, like song, it's like it starts singing along.
Of course, what I'd kill for now is a wildform sample of Faceless, but there's no way we can get that, now really, is there?" The Researcher chuckled."Anyway, one of the most interesting things was... your matter resembles nothing else in the universe. It's almost a complete inversion of classical atomic models." He couldn't have been more excited. Vyrm'n couldn't have looked less interested, though there was nothing saying it had to. Despite that, the Faceless was listening intently.
"My conclusion is, Vyrm'n, that while the matter in our universe is structured to 'sing', yours is structured to 'listen'. I just love how it's so paradoxical yet logical, don't you?
Anyway, that's all I wanted to tell you today."The man pressed some buttons, and the various probes and sensors retreated, leaving the Faceless alone in the scan chamber. The door opened again.
"Your rest-pod's open when you need it."
Vyrm'n stood alone for a moment, listening to the Researcher's receding footsteps and the swish of an airlock closing behind him. The Faceless departed the chamber, walking past the already sealed door to the Researcher's Observation Room and curling up in the cosy pod. Several moments later, the door sealed, and gravity suddenly disengaged in the Faceless' nest as the air rushed out of it and Vrm'n dozed, content as a Faceless could be, in its matterless bed.
peace to the unsung peace to the martyrs | i'm johnny rotten appleseed
clouds is shaky love | broke as hell but i got a bunch of ringtones
eyes blood red bruise aubergine | Sue took something now Sue doesn't sleep | saint average, day in the life of
woke up in the noon smelling doom and death | out the house, great outdoors
staying warm in arctic blizzard | that's my battle 'til I get inanimate | still up in the same clothes living like a gameshow
clouds is shaky love | broke as hell but i got a bunch of ringtones
eyes blood red bruise aubergine | Sue took something now Sue doesn't sleep | saint average, day in the life of
woke up in the noon smelling doom and death | out the house, great outdoors
staying warm in arctic blizzard | that's my battle 'til I get inanimate | still up in the same clothes living like a gameshow