week 1 - raven - tuesday evening

[completelycrazy]

[It's a bit later in the day and Newt has decided to track Raven down for more science talks. Now that they've both had a few days to explore and collect data, he wants to touch base with her to share findings. Also, it wouldn't hurt to chat about this whole murder game thing.

When he finds her, he treks right over, but makes sure to keep his voice down. He's trying to remember that running around yelling about blowing stuff up may not be the safest move.]

Hey, got a minute? You been able to make any headway on the bomb front?

Comments

[hydrazine]

To be fair, it wouldn't have come up without Hiro, but I definitely think we can use it.

[A small shrug.]

We might want to do a few tests first. I can't say I've worked with that specific substance before, but if we find a secluded area, we can see how big of a blast each amount makes.

[completelycrazy]

[oh girl he is SO here for bomb experiments.]

Out by the volcano would be a good spot for that. It's a bit of a hike to get around to that part of the island, so I doubt anyone would be over there. Me and Hiro checked it out earlier. He's a smart kid.

[science trifecta is a go.]

Let's burn down the seashells out there, too. This sounds like something we should keep under wraps. [He mostly means from the Chief and his weird pal, but in light of recent events, can't be too careful...]

[hydrazine]

He's almost as smart as I was at that age.

[High praise. She hesitates for a moment, though, because she hates asking this. All the same...]

Can't say I've been there yet. How far of a hike are we talking?

[The idea about burning the seashells there gets a nod, though.]

[completelycrazy]

[That gets a laugh.] I'll believe it. Same here. [If you get to brag, so does he.

As for the question, he shrugs.] Couple hours. It took us most of the day to get up to the summit and back, but we don't need to climb. Sticking to the beach should do just fine.

[hydrazine]

[Another short pause.]

As long as we don't have to climb.

[She looks down to the brace on her leg with a frown. She thinks she can make the trip with enough time, but her progress will be slower than his, and it's almost certain she'll have to take numerous breaks even if there's no climbing involved.]

[completelycrazy]

[He glances down too. Oh, he hadn't noticed. Whoops.]

That sucks. What'd you do to it? [A beat. Oh, right.] We won't have to climb anything, don't worry.

[hydrazine]

I didn't do anything to it.

[That might come out more defensive than she means it, but she exhales after a moment.]

Hiking it is. I'm sure it'll be fine.

[completelycrazy]

It will be. [He sounds confident.

And then, more lightly:] Sorry. What grievous wrong was done to you, then?

[hydrazine]

[She turns her gaze from the ground to him, a frown on her face.]

Is this really what we should be talking about right now?

[completelycrazy]

[He holds up his hands defensively.] Fine, fine. Excuse me for caring about your wellbeing. [Because he definitely wasn't prying out of curiosity.]

I think there might be a wormhole hidden somewhere on the island. Or near it. That's what Hiro and I went up to the volcano to check out. It's likely hidden somewhere that'll be near impossible for us to get to.

[hydrazine]

There's no reason to be any more concerned about my wellbeing than you were five minutes ago.

[This is fine, everything is fine, clearly.]

Wormhole... Interesting idea. Did you find anything? I've been wondering if the Chief's code is hosted somewhere else on the island, too. Some kind of hidden database or mainframe. It'd be risky to only keep one copy in his physical form.

[completelycrazy]

[Ugh. She's getting an eyeroll, but he'll drop it. This theory is more interesting.]

We didn't, no. We only had a chance to give the thing a cursory once-over, but also, it's a volcano. Not sure how we'd explore further since it's active. Wormholes are a thing where I'm from, and it's the best guess as to how the Chief got us all here in the first place.

[And, right. The AI thing. Newt isn't as well-versed in robotics, so he's glad he's got some other brains to share the load there.] True. That's gotta be in the hut, right? It wouldn't be locked down so tightly if there wasn't a reason to keep us out. And what do you make of the two robot situation? What's the point of a second?

[hydrazine]

Can't say that's my area of expertise. How would a wormhole function? Could we get back through it?

[She frowns.]

Unless the hut is a red herring. That'll be the most obvious place to look. As for a second robot... There might not be enough space on one database. That'd have to be an incredibly advanced code, though.

[completelycrazy]

Maybe. Depends on the wormhole. In my experience, yeah, but there are conditions.

[He's considered the red herring thing too, but...] There has to be something worth finding in that hut, even if it's not exactly what we're looking for. So... you think the two robots are, like, two parts of the same whole?

[hydrazine]

You want to tell me what those conditions are?

[She thinks it over.]

Yeah. We should try to get inside either way. As for the AI, one of them said he put the parts of himself that he didn't want into the other. So, extraneous code, anything that impaired his functionality...

[completelycrazy]

The wormhole I'm familiar with was created by aliens that somehow set up a stipulation that only creatures with a particular genetic code could pass through it. Anything else just bounces right off. If a wormhole is what got us here, though, there's no way to know if it's got any quirks like that until we find it.

[It also straight up might not be a thing, but it's all he's got to go on right now.]

Hm. Interesting... You think that might have something to do with one of them lying all the time? [Which is some bullcrap if you ask him.] That might just be another fun twist, though. Ugh.

[hydrazine]

If we did find one with the same kind of set up, I'm guessing there wouldn't be a way to change that requirement from this side of the wormhole?

[Too easy otherwise, probably.]

Maybe. He mentioned that this isn't the first time this kind of situation has been run, if he wasn't lying. Maybe whoever's in charge is just adding a new layer to it. Either way, I don't buy that one of them always lies and one always tells the truth.

[completelycrazy]

If there's a way to chance the requirement, no one back home's figured it out yet. We only just learned about the genetics involved the day before we ended up here. Doesn't mean it's impossible, but figuring out how to do it would be tricky.

[Tricky isn't necessarily bad, though. He likes a challenge.]

I don't buy it either. Maybe something like that's in their programming, but that'd be a tough act to keep up for two months, even for robots. But what do you mean this isn't the first time? What'd he tell you?

[hydrazine]

I've had damn near impossible before, so tricky I can work with. If you find one, let me know.

[A quirk of her lips.]

He mentioned it to Hiro during the meeting. I think he said it's been over three hundred times that they've done this.

[completelycrazy]

[He smirks. Raven continues to be a good science ally.] My thoughts exactly. I'll keep you in the loop.

[As for the other thing... Oof. He takes a moment to think that over.]

That's... troubling, to say the least. Did he say anything about the, er, success of the other games? Has any other group ever been able to figure this out?

[He doubts it, but it's worth asking.]