[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?

[tookashirototheknee]

Nah, there's always a bit of luck in cryptography. You can try a hundred options, but it's that hundred and first that you don't try that is the one you needed.

[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...]

[seestheworld]

Yeah, I get that.

[Granted, she doesn't have experience with cryptography, but there are other disciplines where that holds true.]

[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.

[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]

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

[seestheworld]

I really, really hope not.

[thornsofmalkav]

God, if he's doing something illegal with, like, harvested brains or something...

[brokers]

Unfortunately, that's not the most horrifying possibility.

[seestheworld]

[Liara can't see it, but Minako is grimacing.]

Yeah, I can think of a couple of possibilities that would be worse, and even they probably aren't the worst.

[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.

[seestheworld]

[There's a lovely image.]

At the very least, we need to find a way into his notes, if not what he's actually working on.

[She really, really hopes it's not actual brains, or worse.]

[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.

[brokers]

The worst has a very good chance of wiping out both humanity and the Aurigans.

[razorblade_empress]

If it is brains, or anything comparable, then depending on their state I might be able to read them.

[brokers]

How advanced is Earth's cloning technology in this reality?

[seestheworld]

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

[seestheworld]

So we're going to need to figure out just what Takumi is doing, and quickly.

[Easier said than done, probably.]

[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.

[brokers]

And what Dara was originally attempting to do. It's possible that they had to change their plans once she vanished.

[And goddess, does she hope so. A highly advanced war machine is much better than...any of the possibilities this brings to mind.]