[jaunt] [mid-to late week 1] A deepening mystery

[seestheworld]

So about Dara...

I wanted to see if I could find out what she was doing before her disappearance on the off chance that could point towards her current whereabouts, so I did a Sift on all the relevant data I could find. Which probably means I'm on a list somewhere now, but... anyway.

We already know she was working on the Phileon project - specifically, she was working on advanced biology and S. Tech research and development, in particular S. Tech containment and countermeasures. It looks like she left voluntarily and very suddenly, and went to great lengths to hide from AEGISCorp when she did so, even calling in a bunch of favors from friends working for AEGISCORP's biggest rival, Munghungwa Dynamics - who, incidentally, still have offices on Mars.

AEGISCorp is unsurprisingly looking for her, as are the ESDF, who were also pretty surprised to see her go. There's a phrase the ESDF using in reference to that operation: "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously."

This is a field Dara has loved since high school. In theory, this should have been her dream job. And she didn't just walk away: she ran.

Comments

[tookashirototheknee]

That feels like an anagram of some sort.

It's a hell of a lot of letters, though, so it might take me a bit to figure out exactly what it is.

[seestheworld]

It's definitely code for something. If you can figure it out, that would be great.

[tookashirototheknee]

I wouldn't be a Holt if I couldn't figure it out. Like I said, it might take me a bit, but I know I can get it.

[seestheworld]

...I was going to say "good luck," but I feel like that might be insulting in that case.

[brokers]

Advanced biology...? But the Phileon is a piloted mech, is it not? Are there neural links with the pilot?

[seestheworld]

That's a good question. S. Tech does stem from a virus, so the natural assumption would be that they need an X-Pressure-infected pilot. But if the mech itself has biological components...

[She's pretty sure she remembers some mecha anime or other with that kind of premise, and this is the world of Anime High School...]

[brokers]

Then they're going down a very dangerous path. Not least because if the mech does have biological components, there is a possibility of it being infected as well.

[seestheworld]

Yeah... that thought's occurred to me, too.

[thornsofmalkav]

These mechs usually don't. That's the thing. I've never heard of an Emodriver with biological components.

Holy shit, is that why Takumi won't show me his source code?!?!

[seestheworld]

I really, really hope not.

[claudiometer]

On the one hand, I'm glad you can fill this gap, because 'surprise, the AI was one of the Arcana' isn't really standard issue and that's the main computery interaction we had going last time.

On the other, thanks, I hate it.

[claudiometer]

That stacks with everything I'm turning up. At least for now, I think we can work on the assumption she's still alive, but if anyone else gets to her first that may not be the case for very long.

We're almost certainly on watchlists. Worst case, we hide in Liminal after making our contributions here.

[seestheworld]

Which is fine for us, but maybe not so great for Dara, depending. Assuming she's still alive.

[claudiometer]

Oh, don't get me wrong, by 'contributions' I definitely meant finding her and figuring out what to do from there.

[seestheworld]

Yeah...

[There's the mental equivalent of a sigh.]

And here I was hoping this revisit wouldn't be as miserable as a lot of return visits seem to be.

[awitchdidit]

"Colorless green ideas sleep furiously" is a gimmick phrase in English. An example of a sentence that's syntactically valid, but nonsense. That one is from Chomsky, I believe, but most of Lewis Carroll's poetry is also that with a large side helping of made-up words.

What it could have to do with Dara, I have no idea.

[seestheworld]

They might be using it as a form of code in this case - maybe it's something in the specific nature of the phrase.

[awitchdidit]

Dara probably knows something that the Earth government, or possibly her former employers, don't want anyone else knowing. This level of scrutiny and security around the manhunt would indicate that, I think.

[seestheworld]

Probably, yeah. So the trick is going to be finding her without also bringing AEGISCorps and the ESDF down on her head, while also finding out what exactly made her run.

[truerevelation]

...Well, shit.

Okay. That's a ... code thing? How're they using it? I ... guess I can try 'n listen in on ESDF stuff for it?

[seestheworld]

That'd be really helpful.

...Also, welcome back.

[haveabiscuit]

Does green have a cultural significance that might be relevant in this world?

I can't help technologically, but I'll watch for anything unusual in the flow of supplies.

[seestheworld]

I'm not sure. I don't remember colors being all that significant last time, but that was a school environment and we didn't really get to leave the place.

[haveabiscuit]

So if it is a reference, it's to something schoolchildren find utterly uninteresting.

[Which doesn't rule it out entirely, but it does block that avenue of investigation]

[seestheworld]

Or at least not as important as romantic disasters and the potential sabotage of a school festival.