Qubit (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
superposition) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
redshiftlogs2020-07-01 01:14 am
superposition) wrote in redshiftlogs2020-07-01 01:14 am
[open, backdated to May] like i'm losing my mind
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
[ OR: PM or hit me up on Discord (Kae#6067) for plotting or another prompt! ]
What:
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. ]
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?
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. ]
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! ]
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It's... this this this buzzing, or humming, almost. But it isn't auditory, it's more... tactile? No. [ He gestures as if trying to conjure the words he needs out of the ether. The sensation doesn't quite belong in any of the standard five categories. ]
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Have you considered it might be your technomancy reacting to other technology? In the past, you've told me they're not the same thing, but frankly, there are a lot of similarities to be drawn between your skill and my magic. Of course, now that you don't know about your technomancy, I suppose posing such a question is pointless, but...
[It's a start. Back into his notes he goes, trying to find out what all he wrote about the process. The page he pulls out has a drawing of a teakettle on it — not exactly high-tech, but it must have been significant at the time.]
no subject
Well, it almost has to be, don't you think? I don't know what else it would be. [ "Technomancy," that is. He gestures to the other devices on the desk - tablet, wristwatch, force field generator. ] All my electronics set it off one way or another. So do the doors, the - the computer terminals, the robots...
[ Damn near everything in Anchor, basically. He pauses to see what Carlisle's dug up, though. ]
What have you got?
no subject
[He hands over the page, as well as the one following it. In addition to the drawing is what is clearly a journal entry about the aforementioned conversation and Qubit's explanation of electricity, complete with some diagrams drawn to relate it to various principles of magic and glyphcrafting. While he seems to have the basic premise down, it's clear he's completely foreign to the concept, writing about it as an outsider looking in.
One the back of the page is what may be of more interest: notes about psionics in particular.
Conscious minds interact with matter, energy, and force. Universally consistent, empirically verifiable. He says it is unlike magic in that way, but I disagree.
The entry continues, where Carlisle then recorded the main beats of their conversation comparing glyphcrafting to circuitry. One note is written off to the side - technokinetics, not technomancy. As diligent a note-taker as he may be, he's clearly still learning the terminology.]
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[ Of course you did, he shouldn't be surprised. He accepts the papers with only a brief lift of his eyebrows, and paces idly while he looks them over. It doesn't take long; he's a fast reader, and it's interesting stuff, to say the least.
Obviously it's only half the conversation, and some of Carlisle's terminology sounds arcane, old-fashioned, or obtuse to him, since he lacks even a novice level of context for the magic jargon. But it gets the point across, at any rate. A frank discussion of science, technology, and magic. The similarities and differences. A diagram of an electric teakettle, labeled to explain how it works. The physics of electricity, a brief note comparing "glyphs" to digital circuits (and in reading that, Qubit realizes he doesn't know how digital circuits work, either, but that's not exactly an earth-shattering surprise at this point)...
The note about psionics grabs his attention most of all, as Carlisle no doubt knew it would. He stops pacing and rereads that line half a dozen times, as if hoping it'll take the hint and explain itself. (It does no such thing.) Finally, he looks up at Carlisle again, motioning to it. ]
This bit about "psionics" - I said that? Those are my exact words?
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[He seems slightly annoyed by that, but that's at past Qubit, not present Qubit, he swears.]
You did seem to be coming around, though. I... appreciated our conversations, however frustrated I might have been at our differences.
[After all, said differences are small compared to how similar the two of them are.]
no subject
Psionics: Conscious minds interact with matter, energy, and force. Psychic powers, basically. That part's straightforward. Universally consistent, empirically verifiable. But how? He can't even adequately describe what he's experiencing, much less quantify it. He says it is unlike magic in that way...
At the comment about appreciating their conversations, Qubit glances up again, mildly apologetic. Well... hopefully, once they get this amnesia crap sorted, they can get back to the good stuff. There was something earlier in this entry... He flips the page back over.
... he is likely the smartest man I have ever met, yet so resistant to the very notion of not knowing everything that it's often infuriating.
It's not quite as simple as putting two and two together, but he can make some inferences. ]
... It sounds like I was taking the existence of magic as a given. That's what's puzzling me.
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You forget your own abilities and us ever meeting, but manage to remember your incredible scrutiny of magic. It must be ingrained into your very personality.
[He means well with that comment, despite his momentary annoyance a moment before.]
This was not the first time we discussed magic, mine or otherwise. You knew it existed, however vexing it may have been that you could not always explain it. You've seen me use it dozens of times — even once just now when I was inspecting you. It's as intrinsic to me as technology is to you. Perhaps even more so.
[Definitely more so, given magic is what's keeping him animated, allowing him to have this conversation.]
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I understand what you're saying. And I - I'm not fool enough to ignore the evidence of my senses out of hand. It's obvious you have abilities that defy the laws of nature. We both do, apparently.
[ Even if he hasn't got a clue how to use his. ]
I don't know. Maybe I just can't accept that sort of thing on faith. "Magic" is just - it feels like a cop-out, to me. It's a convenient label to tack on to things you don't want to bother figuring out. [ quickly ] I mean, obviously that's not how you think of it. But to say "it's magic" - for me, that's not good enough. There's no way to prove or disprove a hypothesis like that.
[ He pauses a second. Talking this out is helping him solidify his thought process, but ... ]
Am I making any sense? [ Serious question, he's honestly not sure. ]
no subject
[It's the term in particular Qubit seems to be stuck on, as though—]
Is that how your world sees magic? As nothing more than an excuse for any phenomenon you cannot explain? Nevermind, you don't know, but- but it must be. Some individuals here have been brought from worlds that had no magic at all, and though you were already familiar with it when we met, that may be the case.
[He can't recall if Qubit said anything to that affect, but given how reluctant he often was to talk about his home, it's no surprise.]
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Maybe so. Actually - [ he rests a hand on his chin ] - I think you may be right. Otherwise the term "magical thinking" wouldn't be interchangeable with "blind superstition."
no subject
[He rubs the back of his neck.]
I know no way to prove to you its existence any more than I have, and as you no longer know me, you have no reason to believe me. I have seen your technomancy, so therefore it exists. Why cannot it be the same for magic?
no subject
[ ... It's just what? Why can't he just accept what he sees at face value? Why isn't that good enough? Why does it matter? After a moment, he sighs and scratches his head. ]
I don't know. Maybe it is a personality defect.
no subject
[Still, the fact Qubit believes a now-near-stranger is heartening. He flips to earlier in his journal.]
As for your technoman— technokinetics, pardon. [Seems like he finally thought to correct himself.] I said, it's akin to transfigurative magic. When I've seen you do it, you just kind of... take little bits and pieces of machinery in your hands, or draw them from nearby, and they cobble themselves together to create something new. You made that teakettle, and before that, this... [He reads off the page he's turned to.] Cordless dremel.
no subject
Whoa Carlisle finally got the name almost right?! That's approximately a first!Hm. The new description is still a little vague, but he can sort of picture it, at least. His comm is the nearest bit or piece, so he picks that up again, absently inspecting it. ]
That's a power tool, isn't it? [ He's not sure what it does, but it sounds like a power tool. ] What did I make it out of?
[ There's probably some kind of parameters, right? For what he can use, what he can make? What could he make out of this? ]
no subject
[And upon saying that, he seems to realize Qubit may wonder what he, a man so obviously inept with technology that he doesn't even know the correct term for what it was they were inspecting, was doing out there. What help could he have possibly been?]
It's- it's not advised to go out alone, so I went with you. [That'll do.] And we couldn't get into the back of the lorry, so you went up front into the cabin and pulled the innards from the machinery there. Not literally pulled, but your eyes glowed, and your hands a bit, as I recall, and they just... kind of came out and reshaped themselves, if that makes any sense.
no subject
My eyes? [ He sort of points to them, as if to say "These ones?" But yeah, he definitely didn't mishear that. He lingers on Carlisle's eyes (also glowing) for a second - another point in common between their powers? ]
... Huh. [ He'll have to keep an eye out for that. (So to speak.) ]
[ For now, his attention returns to the comm in his hands, or more precisely to the strange, inaudible hum it gives off. So far, that feeling is the only interface to his power that he's cognizant of. But ... what if he can use it? Does the interface go both ways? ]
I wonder...
[ Closing his eyes, he brings his complete focus to bear on the odd sensation
or at least, as much focus as he can muster on two hours of sleep. There's a definite directionality to it, he thinks, and a magnitude, but... that's not the only thing that characterizes it, he realizes. It's not just a generalized sensation of "tech." There's more to it. Signal buried in the noise. It's faint at first, like trying to pick out a tune from across a busy highway, but the longer and more intently he concentrates, the stronger and more distinct it becomes.His eyes snap open, and he lets out an incredulous chuckle. ]
No. It can't really be that easy?
[ Apparently so, if the vibrant glow in his eyes tells you anything. ]
no subject
It often is when you find your true calling. Magic is the same way — when one discovers a latent talent, it comes to us as naturally as breath. One of the proudest moments of my life.
[He doesn't know if it's the same for Qubit, but the chuckle tells him that it's at least a welcomed development.]
How does it feel?
1/2
Hah-! I'll have to get back to you on that. Hang on a tick, I think I've just about...
[ And then he sort of forgets to finish his sentence. Sorry, Carlisle, but this requires his absolute concentration.
His hunch was right. This "sixth sense" he has isn't just a passive receiver - it's an active instrument, which he can direct and tighten and focus at will. And as he does, the machine's unique tune resolves into a melody - no, a harmony, a purposeful arrangement of components, interconnected and working together in concert, even if he can't identify any of them. But it goes even further, doesn't it? Each of those subsystems is built out of subsystems, after all. It's like studying an orchestra and realizing every instrument contains another orchestra. And he can dive into those, too, just as readily.
Deeper and deeper he recurses, hardwired logic unfolding around him like a fractal. He barely even notices when the comm leaves his hands, his power suspending it in midair over his palms. Millions and millions and millions of pathways open up before him, and his mind pours through and around them, expanding to fill all available space, annexing the system into himself.
It really is that easy. The whole process only takes a few seconds, and then the comm might as well be part of him. Qubit glances to Carlisle for half a second, grinning eagerly. ]
Carlisle, I've got it!
[ It's a bit strange, like gaining an unfamiliar limb, but not altogether unpleasant. And there's still more he can do. Bolstered by his success, he makes an experimental attempt to move it. Not with any creative goal in mind - it's more like flexing a muscle just to see if he can. ]
2/2
Now, even normally, the reshaping process looks pretty uncanny. The materials Qubit works with are supposed to be rigid, usually, but he can manipulate them as if they're no more solid than wet clay. That, combined with the fact he doesn't have to be touching them, gives the process an incongruously organic quality, almost as if he's granting the machine a life of its own, allowing it to shape itself into whatever he wants it to be.
But that's when he knows what he's doing.
The comm does respond to his will. But since his will is ambiguous, the only way it can respond is with undefined behavior. An almost liquid ripple travels down its whole length - but from there it just deforms at random. The keys scatter across the surface, the screen crumples and turns inside-out. Along one edge, jagged corners of bare circuitboard protrude from the case, fusing seamlessly with the plastic. And so on.
Meanwhile, and just as suddenly, Qubit's grin transforms into a puzzled frown. ]
Oops.
no subject
He stifles that feeling, wanting to enjoy the moment for what it is, but then something goes wrong, and rather than reshaping into a usable, elegant tool, the communicator puts itself back together as an unrecognizable mess.]
Well, that... hm. [Yes, that certainly is something.] If nothing else, at least you are now aware of how to manifest your abilities. It's a start.
no subject
Well, hang on, I was getting somewhere.
[ His power's still active. The ex-comm is still there in his awareness, even if the "sound" of it has gone sour. He doesn't feel any pain or discomfort from breaking it, at least, but he can tell things are severely scrambled in there, and he doesn't want to leave it that way. ]
If I can just... put it back the way it was...
[ The device starts to flex and deform again, with a little more purpose this time. He knows roughly what he wants. But even so, "putting it back" is much easier said than done. How did it work? How were the components arranged, how were they connected? What did each of them do? He doesn't have the faintest idea. He tries to work it out from what's left, his power digging clumsily into the circuitry and pulling it apart in the uncertain hope that it'll help him put it back together.
It's quickly apparent that's not going to work. The unrecognizable mess isn't just cobbled together, it's actually fused in some places, and trying to pull it apart is like... well, like trying to separate two colors of play-doh. It's basically impossible, and also sort of gooey-looking. ]
no subject
magictechnomancy technokinesis' grasp.]I suppose I don't need to tell you that that's, ah. Not how it was.
[Yes, that much is obvious.]
no subject
[ I don't need to tell you he's being sarcastic. He's quickly realizing that, even with psychic powers, fixing electronics is going to be a lot more involved than breaking them. It would appear he does, in fact, need to know what he's doing. Right now, the only thing he's getting out of this exercise is a headache. He keeps at it a moment longer, but finally straightens up and sighs. ]
I'll... come back to it.
[ He's not giving up! Just... reluctantly postponing. It takes some effort to tear his focus away, but squeezing his eyes shut helps, and when he opens them, they've faded back to their normal hazel. Of course, drawing his power back also makes the device stop levitating - Qubit tries to catch it, but he isn't quick enough, and the mangled pieces clatter onto the floor. ]
Damn-! [ Just gonna start quickly gathering those up, don't mind him. ]
no subject
I suppose the levitation is a part of the technokinesis. The exact boundaries of your abilities still elude me, so I suppose we may discover them together for the time being.
[He stoops to gather up a few of the bits himself, collecting them in his gloved hands. Now that Qubit isn't as distracted, he tries again with his earlier question.]
How did it feel?
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