[open, backdated to May] like i'm losing my mind

[superposition]

Who: Qubit, open
What: Belated amnesia shenanigans! Watch Qubit steadily grow more and more frustrated-
When: month of May 2020
Where: around Anchor
Warnings: TBD

01 | try { qubit = new Identity(); }

[ So, Qubit's behavior has taken a turn for the weird.

For one thing, residents get to see a lot more of him over the month of May, because he's started living out of an actual dorm instead of his lab. The more astute may notice what he's not doing. He's not performing maintenance, or doing lab experiments... or showing up for meals reliably.

His ability to sit still already wasn't stellar, but now it's more pronounced. You might catch him coming and going at odd hours, or pacing the halls muttering to himself, or taking notes on a pad of paper with a pen.

He even looks slightly different. His hair, for one - there was already some variation in his signature quiff from day to day, but now they're not as tall, the styling is a little more experimental, and whatever kind of product he's using doesn't hold quite as well.

But perhaps the most obvious indicator something's wrong: he's occasionally wearing colors other than green. ]

02 | while (true) { read(); }

[ One place he ends up pretty regularly, though, is the library. He's found he hates the feeling of not knowing things, and this leads him to devour pretty much any book he can find that has to do with science. Physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, anything. He piles them high and reads them quickly, impatient to get to the next one.

They're somewhat advanced texts - university level, certainly - but not advanced enough that they'd be useful to him under normal circumstances. Even then, he's not finding it easy to focus. It's like his mind wants to absorb information faster than his eyes can serve it up, and because of that, it's latching on to every distraction it can find. Even if you think you're being quiet, anyone who dawdles more than a minute or two will be getting an irritated glare and a stern reprimand. ]

Would it kill you to keep it down?

03 | catch GatewayFailedException e { Gateway.lockdown(); }

[ Inevitably, though, he eventually finds his way back to R&D. He may poke around in unlocked areas to get a feel for the place, but his primary target is one lab in particular: the one that he's determined is his.

He thought it would be relatively simple. Sure, he can't remember any of his passcodes, but his biometrics haven't changed. Of course, nothing can ever be that easy - the thumbprint scanner works, but the keypad locks him out after a few random passcode attempts, prompting a sigh and some more self-directed muttering. ]

Suppose I should've expected that. Fine, Plan B it is.

[ It's an electronic lock, after all. He may not be clear on how to create anything with this power of his, but he's remarkably good at breaking shit, and for once that may actually come in handy. A moment's concentration, a wave of his hand, a brief cascade of blue light, and the mechanism comes away from the door in pieces, which clatter onto the floor as he releases them.

Did it work? He actually looks hopeful for a second... until the door emits a quick series of loud ker-thunks, and he realizes with sudden dismay that that's the sound of more locks engaging. ]

A fail-safe...?!

[ He might need some help. ]

[ OR: PM or hit me up on Discord (Kae#6067) for plotting or another prompt! ]

Comments

[superposition]

[ Ugh. Look. He's tired, he's stressed, he hasn't eaten in close to 18 hours, and (obviously unrelated to all that) he can't focus. The littlest things are all it's taking to set him off. The rustle of turning pages, the gentle thump of a book returned to the shelf - so this girl going and mouthing off is more than enough. He rolls his eyes exaggeratedly. ]

Oh, don't get smart with me. You can run along and breathe somewhere else. [ And as if that weren't condescending enough, he waves his hand in the universal gesture for "shoo." ]

[writtendestiny]

No, I don't think I will.

[Really, he'd done absolutely everything wrong in a single moment if he wanted someone as contrary and obstinate as Poison to go anywhere. She narrows her eyes at him, then looks away and pointedly pulls another book down from the shelf she's been perusing.]

What crawled into your breakfast? You're in an even worse mood than usual. [Though to be fair to Qubit, her experience of him doesn't tell her that he's usually in poor humour. She's just feeling prickly.]

[superposition]

[ Lol "breakfast" that's a good one. Predictably, her refusal does not make Qubit less annoyed. ]

Oh, sorry. Let me just [ snaps his fingers ] flip the switch that makes everything dandy. What's it to you?

[writtendestiny]

Because I'm used to you being short or dismissive with me when you're busy with something, but you're very rarely outright rude.

[And by now he ought to know better, and ought to know that Poison more often than not does the exact opposite of what she is told... so what's the deal.]

And I might actually care if there's something bothering you.

[superposition]

[ Genuine surprise cuts into Qubit's expression at that. He knows he has enemies in Anchor, Carlisle warned him of that, but it still throws him off every time he runs into a friend. Is she one? She's familiar enough with him to know he's acting strange, and she "might actually care"...

After a moment, he sighs, rubbing his forehead. He's still a bit irritated by the interruption, but as usual, his temper's fading just as suddenly as it flared. Or maybe he's just too exhausted to get properly angry. ]

... Sorry. Rough week.

[ He closes the book he was reading - "Introduction to Robotics Engineering" - marking his place with a slip of paper. It's too late to get his focus back at this point, anyway. ]

Remind me of your name?

[writtendestiny]

Er. It's Poison.

[She's pretty sure she's introduced herself to him already, and her name is unusual enough to most people that it's usually one that sticks. Her own annoyance at how he was speaking to her dies down to be replaced by actual concern over 'might be', and she slides into a chair opposite him at the table.]

Are you... all right?

[No missing the title of that book. It isn't something she'd expect to find him reading.]

I haven't seen you in the labs.

[superposition]

Poison?

[ He seems surprised, but not for the reason she might think. It is a distinctive name - and that's why he remembers it, even though Carlisle only mentioned her in passing. He glances over his shoulder as if concerned someone might be listening, then leans forward, keeping his voice down. ]

Have you spoken to Peter?

[ He's only briefly touched base with the kid in the days since they returned from the maze. If they're "courting" (as Carlisle so quaintly put it), maybe she sought him out. ]

[writtendestiny]

[Curiouser and curiouser, but perhaps Qubit has got himself in over his head with something and he needs to keep it quiet. She leans forwards instinctively when he does, a small frown alighting on her brow.]

Not since this morning. Why?

[It takes a moment for her to realise that he may mean has she spoken to Peter about him... in which case, the answer would be no, Qubit hadn't really come up. She and Peter are not terribly inclined towards gossip, though she doesn't doubt he'd tell her something if she asked.]

Qubit, what's going on with you?

[superposition]

[ Okay. All right. That's a relief, actually. He doesn't have to be the one to break the news to her. ]

The same thing, I'm afraid. He told you what happened in the maze, didn't he? He must have.

... I was with him, Poison. Whatever got him, got us both.

[writtendestiny]

Oh. [And then, again, as the realisation dawns--] Oh.

[That suddenly explains everything. Peter has been very honest about what's been going on and Poison was not at all surprised that, despite his intelligence, he had managed to get himself mixed up in something like that.

Qubit, though..?

She had been under the impression he'd be too smart for that kind of thing, but apparently he's also the kind of person who would dangle their legs over the water even after being told that the goatfish would jump up for his feet.]

Oh, honestly. You're supposed to be a responsible adult.

[superposition]

[ Wow, rude,,,

Qubit throws his hands to either side in disbelief. ] Excuse me?!

[writtendestiny]

[She blinks at him, the picture of innocence.]

Are you not a responsible adult?

[superposition]

I - that's -

[ He sputters uselessly for a second. How the hell is he supposed to answer that? I mean, he's certainly some kind of adult. And he wants "responsible" to describe him. Carlisle certainly thought it did, and for some reason Poison alleging otherwise really grinds his gears. He jabs his finger indignantly in her direction. ]

Don't you go acting like this is all my fault!

[ There's a solid 33.3 (repeating, of course) percent chance it is, but also how dare you. He just came out here to rebuild his knowledge base from scratch and he's honestly feeling so attacked right now. ]

[writtendestiny]

[Oh, so he's not really changed all that much. Poison rests her chin on her hand, her elbow braced against the table, and raises both eyebrows at him.]

I didn't say it was your fault. You just did.

[So it's splitting hairs, but...]

I don't suppose you feel like maybe you should have known better?

[superposition]

Well, it's a little late for that now!

[ Translation: Yeah, maybe he should've. Also maybe he shouldn't be raising his voice in the library? He glances over his shoulder again and adds, lower- ]

Look, I - even if it was my idea, which it may not have been, do you really think I'd have put someone else's life at risk without good reason? My own, maybe, but Peter's?

[writtendestiny]

[Poison looks at him steadily, her lips slightly pursed. She might be putting more faith in him than he deserves, but far be it from her to make him doubt his own integrity at a time like this.

So, she doesn't try to tease. She shakes her head.]

No, I don't think you would have put Peter in danger. Not on purpose.

[superposition]

[ Phew. He doesn't think he would have, either, but he didn't want to definitively say so and turn out to be wrong. He sighs and sits back in his chair. ]

At any rate, I'm doing everything I can to fix it. But as you can see - [ a general wave at the book pile ] - I'm essentially starting from scratch.

[writtendestiny]

Mm...

[Now she knows what's going on, it's really no small wonder that he was so frustrated with her simply being there. She leans forwards to look at what he's reading.]

Are you trying to rebuild your knowledge, or find out a way to reverse the effects of the... whatever they are?