Inception or Double Rainbow, pick your meme

[triggerhappytraitor]

I'm talking with Matthew Cuthbert, one of the Travelers from the first time we were here. Azure is very insistent that he's Stone, and has been this whole jaunt, only Matthew himself had an overlay, one who died in the storm last week.

Has there ever been this sort of... layered infiltration before?

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[thornsofmalkav]

Thorne.... is not entirely surprised that Sento's hide-out is the basement lab from his dungeon. She's just glad it's nothing like Dr B's, despite them both being secret basement labs.

"Hokay. So," she says. "I've told Other Matthew where we are and I will still be walking you through actually doing this... but what you're basically going to do is to make just enough contact with his mind to distinguish between the two, find the one that's actually Stone... and pull it forward, into consciousness."

[thornsofmalkav]

[And sure enough, in a couple of hours, he'll get a psychic call from Thorne.]

We're ready. Just look for the door that's a fridge... unless they don't have them when and where you come from, in case look for something that looks like this. [And she'll livestream him the image of Sento's fridge door.]

[scarsolderthanyou]

I don't, but I've been Traveling long enough that I know what they are now. Why there's one that's a door, though, that's new. Anyhow, I'm on my way.

[scarsolderthanyou]

"And that'll bump the real me out of consciousness, then?" Guess who's right on your tail, there, Thorne. Matthew comes up behind them, amiable-looking but also a bit on the tense side. This is still a bit uncomfortable.

And thread end!

[thornsofmalkav]

Cool! And, uh, he used to live in a cellar with a door disguised as a fridge. So I guess that's why.

See you there!

[carbonatedscientist]

"That sounds simple enough," Sento reasons. There's a grimace. "We're only doing this so long as you're willing, you know."

[thornsofmalkav]

"Yeah," Thorne says. "You can call it off if you need to and we can wait until I can get Kanji over here to do the full physical separation--and man, we need to get more people to learn that. It's nice to have the bragging rights of being the first Traveler to figure this out, but it would be even better if there more of us who could."

[scarsolderthanyou]

Matthew just ignores most of that. It's not something he's ever going to figure out, given how he's apparently finally gone on somewhere else by the time these people all show up, since he hasn't run into a double. He shakes his head. "No, it's something you should find out, what all I'll remember afterwards from when the other one, this Stone fellow, was out using my body. In case this happens again."

[carbonatedscientist]

Sento gives him a nod. "Well...I suppose I'm ready to begin the experiment, then, if you both are."

[thornsofmalkav]

"Sure," Thorne says. "Matthew, uh, you should probably sit down for this, just in case it shocks Stone."

[scarsolderthanyou]

Obligingly, albeit looking a bit nervous still, Matthew settles himself down on either the nearest available chair, or the floor if there's nothing nearby. "Is there anythin' I should be doing?"

[carbonatedscientist]

"Just relax," Sento says as he reaches out and gently places his fingertips on Matthew's forehead. "I'll try to be gentle." Even if he's never done that before. He cautiously reaches out with his mind, and he tugs at what he thinks is Stone.

[thornsofmalkav]

Thorne reaches out with her own as well... mostly just to observe who's there. Keep going, she thinks directly at Sento.

[scarsolderthanyou]

That's not encouraging. He'll "try to be gentle". Will this hurt...?

The worry doesn't last long, though, because then there's Stone, blinking a few times and then scowling. The expression makes Matthew's face look more like Stone's. "What? What the shit happened?" he asks, looking around in confusion.

Yeah, that's Stone. Matthew didn't really swear.

[carbonatedscientist]

"And so the experiment was a success! I knew I could do it; I'm a genius, after all." Sento's beaming now. "Welcome back."

[thornsofmalkav]

"And so humble," Thorne observes dryly. "Congratulations, Stone, my student here de-infiltrated you."

[scarsolderthanyou]

Stone thinks back, and yes, there are some odd memories there. It feels weirdly removed, especially the "Sam" memories-- which is good, because remembering dying would... suck. He continues to scowl. "That was very, very weird," he says with feeling. "Thank you? I think."

[carbonatedscientist]

"You're quite welcome." Sento seems oblivious to the crack about his humble nature. "It's good to have you back."