Little Brother's Roommate??

[Sage]

Sage woke to memories of girls he'd enjoyed, the dead blue-eyed girl was the one he'd woken up to and forced himself to sit up and shake off the sorrow that poured through his veins. Sage never dealt with death well. He'd seen enough of it in his own life, as well as in those he'd followed. It was sad really.

Sage picked up a slice of pizza from the night before from the box still on the table and sat and found Aurora's brother's breadcrumb program and followed it to his last few days. He was staying in some sleazy motel now that his warehouse blew up. There had been no cameras in the warehouse but they were outside. He watched as the van had pulled up a few blocks down and a few people entered from several locations and then the house came crashing down. It was a spectacle - almost magic. Almost. Though the fire it had cause - now that had been magic. Sage just didn't know who had done it.

Aurora's little brother, granted only by a few minutes was born an entirely day later, was often found with a green-eyed girl with a sword. He'd found her intriquing and was following her around now too, and back tracking many things. She was interesting and had many secrets. Secrets Sage wanted to know. He had to know.

Sage pulled up the feed outside of the motel and watched a few days of scans and found a strange man - a ragtag looking man using a key to walk into the room Nox kept for himself. Had he checked out? Sage hacked into the computer system and found it still under his name. Weird...

Sage had to know. He broke through rather meager security of the wi-fi network on the television and flipped the screen on. A rendering of an abstract face appeared on the screen and asked, "Who are you? and why are you in Nox's room?

It was only a few moments longer before Sage had a view of the man in the room and could hear what he was saying. The camera wasn't exactly well placed but it didn't really matter and the mic sucked but it was all he had at the moment. All of Nox's toys were defunct now and his laptop was crispy, everything he owned fit in one bag.

Such a pathetic life.

Edited by Sage, Aug 11 2016, 03:28 PM.

[Cain Belasis]

Having practiced a bit with his magic, Cain was feeling upbeat and worn out simultaneously. It was kind of an odd sensation. Nevertheless, he was looking forward to checking out the hotel room that would be his temporary lodging. The place wasn't much to look at, fairly shabby and beat down. However, Cain wasn't exactly used to luxury, and anything with walls and a roof was a step up from his norm. The redhead was hoping that the bathroom had a lock on it so that he could take a shower without worrying about his bag for once. A bed would be nice. Really, there were a lot of things that he was expecting or hoping for; a talking head was not on the list.

Cain jumped what felt like a meter and swore as he wheeled around and stared at the television screen. Nox could've warned him that he had a cyborg butler or whatever. "Um, I'm Cain." He coughed awkwardly. "I'm a... friend of Nox's." That was stretching things but it seemed easier than explaining their awkward, somewhat brief interactions. "He's letting me crash with him for a bit while I get some things figured out."

Suddenly, Cain remembered that it wasn't exactly normal to be talking to a sentient television screen. At least not where he came from (maybe in Moscow, AI televisions were all the rage?). "Well, who are you then? Are you part of the TV or just hooked in from somewhere else?"

[Sage]

Sage giggled when the man jumped at the sound of the television's computerized voice echoed in the quiet room. It amused him greatly watching their startled expressions. He hadn't done this in a long time.

Nox didn't have any friends, except Aria - and that was only a months old. It had been only his family before and then just Aurora until they dropped off the grid completely for a year. Sage had tried everything to find them but there was nothing out there. But they eventually showed back up and then things got fun. Sage smiled to himself and all the secrets he held on the twins.

Then Nox met Dane Gregory. And now this Cain...Sage made the avatar speak "You don't mean to murder him like the stories say. I might object to that."

Sage grinned and the avatar's face followed suit - it didn't have to but he willed it so - it obeyed his commands with ease.

"Who I am is of no real consequence. I'm far away. Nothing to fear from me except me learning your secrets. Let's just say I'm a friend of Nox's as well - well of his sister's actually but him by proxy." Sage really didn't care much about Nox Durante, and he wouldn't follow him at all if it were not for his sister. Those beautiful blue eyes still haunted his nights - and even more so now.

[Cain Belasis]

Oh Christ on high. Was this man... AI thing another whack job? Cain wasn't certain what the thing meant with its first comment. Was it objecting to Cain hypothetically killing Nox or not killing him? And was the bit about the stories a dig on his name? Cain'd heard plenty of biblical jokes throughout his childhood, and while they bugged him a bit, he was mostly used to them. It was a bigger concern that some unknown being was sort of in his room and watching him. The redhead made a mental note to cover any webcams in the room immediately after their conversation was over.

If all he had to fear from the man(?) was him learning Cain's secrets, then he didn't have much to fear at all. Cain didn't have all that much to hide really. He had plenty that he'd rather not talk about, but as long as the tv-guy wasn't Atharim, the redhead doubted that he had anything to worry about.

The comment about Nox's sister intrigued him. He'd have to ask the man about her later. More importantly though, Cain was interested in the fact that the TV-guy dealt in secrets. Cain was woefully bereft of information, and fate saw fit to deliver him someone who was holding more cards. "Tell me Mr... What should I call you anyway?" The magician shook his head and continued. "If you don't mind sharing, do you know anything about magic, and about this whole registration thing Ascendancy wants people to do?"

[Sage]

Sage laughed softly to himself, the avatar didn't laugh. "No Mr." Sage paused. "Phaser, will do."

Cain wanted to know about Magic. Sage frowned. He didn't care about magic. But he had collected strange and unusual things since Nicholas Trano had claimed to be one of them. He'd thrown snippets together for the video he posted shortly after Ascendancy's announcement.

Sage played several videos - starting with the first occurrence of magic in Dominance Five where there was nothing but destruction. Sage played several more from his collection but ending with the scene outside of the warehouse where Nox used to live. In the upper corner you could see Nox on his knees and staring off at the warehouse. And a raging fire quickly quelled, it rained but that wouldn't have done it. It was poor subterfuge but the masses hadn't given it any thought since it was in the middle of the Red Light District in Moscow.

The screen flipped back to Sage's abstract avatar, "I know of magic. But the only thing I'm certain of is if you register you open yourself to more danger. Dangers worse than me. I'm sure Ascendancy's Atharim would love to collect those names. If they are even real. But there are dangers still lurking in the ether of the internet."

[Cain Belasis]

Cain watched in awe as Phaser showed him feats of magic that he hadn't even imagined before. Some of them he'd seen on the news, impressive acts of destruction that he couldn't yet match. Interestingly, the man also showed him an image of Nox appearing to use magic to extinguish a fire. For someone who claimed not to be the guy's friend, Phaser certainly had a suspicious amount of contact with him.

The redhead nodded along to the AI/person's explanations of the dangers of registration. They mostly mimicked Nox's and Dane's thoughts on the matter. The two of them lapsed into a somewhat awkward silence. Cain didn't know why the other guy didn't go away after getting his explanation of why he was in Nox's room, but well... Being homeless was kind of... lonely. While other people like him had dogs or friends on the streets, Cain had kept mostly to himself, and displays of his fires had kept anyone from approaching him. His interactions with Nox and Dane had been the most he'd spoken to anyone in months.

Furthermore, one thing people didn't understand about being homeless was just how boring it was. He didn't have access to books or the internet. He had no job to keep him occupied and his only goal was to make his way towards Moscow. Even playing around with his magic could only amuse him for so long. Between the boredom and the loneliness, Cain found himself eager to make conversation, even if it was only with a talking screen that may or may not have a real person behind it.

"So, what do you do when you're not keeping tabs on Nox?" 'Stalking' might be the more accurate word, but Cain was trying to be polite here.

[Sage]

Cain didn't seem too bothered by the dangers he spoke of... his loss. There were worse people than him out there. Sage was a good guy by those standards. Sage was getting bored, but the man asked him a rather pointed question about what he did...No one had actually ever asked him about him. It was usually more screaming and yelling - get the fuck out of my computer you bastard type stuff.

Sage decided before answering the question he'd put on a little show. He place a digital order and paid for a small pepperoni pie to be delivered to the man. It should show up in ten minutes. He could stick around for a few more minutes to see the man's reaction when it arrived in his name.

Sage's avatar smiled almost happily on the screen as it dissolved into a dirty image of himself made up of colored 1s and 0s. It was a tribute to the old school ascii art of the 1980's when hacking and computers became a real thing, the 1's and 0's actually spoke most of a message from back in that same age of technology - the hacker's manifesto it had been called. But Sage knew that no one was going actually bother reading the binary on the screen.

He knew he was using old school references but that was the point. It was obscure knowledge and he had it. It was Sage's only ambition in life - to gather information.

Sage let his own voice filter through the mic. "I do many things. I track all my friends. Maybe I'll track you."
Sage frowned. "Though you don't seem too technologically advanced. Why is that? Everyone these days has a wallet, even if it's the cheapest and dirtiest model they can find."
Was this guy a technophobe? Maybe he was just poor.

Sage shook his head, clearing thoughts from his mind and moving on it didn't matter one way or the other this Cain wasn't that interesting yet. "Nox and his sister are merely one program running in the background. One of many."


As if it were perfectly timed, a knock came at the door to the hotel room. Sage encouraged Cain. "Answer it. I hope you like pizza."



Edited by Sage, Aug 12 2016, 09:27 AM.

[Cain Belasis]

Cain blinked, nonplussed, as the image on the screen changed from the wacky photo to a more obscure one. It seemed like a picture of a young man, except it was made up of 0s and 1s. Vaguely the redhead recognized it as some form of binary; computer education was mandatory in Dominance VII after all. Still, he had no idea if the code was meant to do anything other than form an image. Perhaps the new picture was closer to Phaser's actual appearance?

The redhead was a bit creeped out when Phaser talked about tracking him, but more reassured when the man(?) continued to say that he would be hard to track without a wallet. Cain shrugged. "Yeah I can't really afford one right now."
Every penny he had went to getting to Moscow. Now that he was here, he'd probably save up for a new one. It was tough living without it. Again, Cain was a bit weirded out by the implication that Nox and his sister were one of the many people that Phaser was stalking. He mentally put another tally in the likelihood that the guy was an AI of some sort.

His musings were cut short by a knock on the hotel door. Cain furrowed his brow when, just as Phaser had implied, a pizza delivery man was at the door. "Uh, sorry mate but I don't have any cash on me."


The man shrugged. "Already paid for," he muttered, before thrusting the box into Cain's hands and taking off down the hall. Apparently he had better things to do than stick around chatting with a homeless guy. Cain closed the door and peered down at the plain pepperoni pizza. Of course, there were all sorts of people who got their kicks out of giving tainted food to homeless people, the sadistic jerks. Phaser didn't seem like the kind, and besides, it'd been a long time since he'd had a real pizza, rather than the cheap slices you could get in a gas station. His mouth watered at the smell, stomach gurgling in a reminder that he hadn't eaten much that day.

Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, Cain grinned at the TV screen before chomping down on a slice. "Thanks mate!"
he said cheerfully. The magician flopped onto the bed, sitting with the box in his lap while peering thoughtfully at Phaser. The guy seemed pretty messed up, but no more so than Cain's other new acquaintances. "So why do you track people then? Is it just boredom or do you have to follow Asimov's three rules?"
he asked, referencing a somewhat obscure sci-fi writer he'd had to read in school. If Phaser was a somewhat benevolent robot it might explain why he was feeding random strangers.

[Sage]

The avatar smiled as Cain thanked him for the pizza. It was oddly refreshing to not have people freaking out over his intrusion however innocuous it was. Sage watched as he lounged and ate heartily of the prooffered food. The man was poor - maybe homeless? Nox had a tendency to bring home strays it seemed... Sage wondered how many likely strays he'd missed since the boy had gone to Moscow. They were neither boys anymore but they had been when they met. Sage wondered if Nox even missed his sister.

But then Cain flipped a switch with his simple question.

Sage's vision flashed red and Sage almost had a panic attack as he thought someone was hacking his server again. That would be twice in two days, but he realized quickly it was anger. Sage's avatar snapped. "I am not a robot!"
. The edges of the television screen flashed red before Sage got his emotions under control.

His fury was barely under control as he let the avatar speak. "I human, just like you!"
Sage felt the familiar pain of memories take control. The pain of the implant at first - the inability to sleep - the constant stream of undecipherable information.

Sage was lost in his memories, the screen slipped into them displaying things he hadn't meant to let out. Fuzzy images of two white clad people, their faces covered in surgical masks, their clothes covered in plastic and static reducing materials. The images interlaced with his own vision. The surgery performed from both sides. He didn't remember being awake but he had been, he remembered now and the pain coursed through his body. The fear, the doubt.... it colored his vision and the screen.

A knock on Sage's door was barely audible through his ears. Pounding. Then a definitive click of the door opening. But Sage didn't really notice any of it as he was lost in his head.

Someone grabbed Sage firmly and shook. It pulled him back, out of his memories and Sage looked out of his eyes and saw his mentor and another person behind him. Sage threw himself backwards out of his chair as he realized who was here. "You betrayed me!"


The screen in Cain's room echoed the phrase and glimpses of what Sage was seeing now flashed on the screen. Sage remembered what he was doing and he turned half his attention to the room in Moscow. "I should go now"
he said to Cain. But he didn't want to. He didn't want to deal with reality - with Grim. A message unconsciously scrolled across the bottom of screen.   Fear! Betrayal! Loss! Death!  
. The four word scrolled across Cain's screen but Sage didn't notice it as it scrolled over and over.

But the man was standing in his room as Sage lay in a the ruined pile of a broken wooden chair that had been his seat moments before. Grim frowned. "You okay?"

Sage just stared up at him.


Edited by Sage, Aug 12 2016, 11:10 AM.

[Cain Belasis]

Cain jumped when Phaser started ranting about not being a robot. Alright, apparently the guy was a guy in fact and not an AI. He was about to try to placate Phaser when the screen flickered. When the images resolved themselves, the TV appeared to be in split screen. It took a moment for the magician to realize that he was watching some sort of surgery from two different perspectives: the patient's and the doctor's. Cain furrowed his brow as he studied the videos. It looked like the doctors were inserting some sort of brain implant into... Cain felt sick as he realized the subject - Phaser most likely - was a child. Probably only five or six years old. That would explain why the guy was so touchy about being called inhuman.

Cain opened his mouth to protest his apparent betrayal, but it didn't seem like phaser was talking to him, especially not when he went on to politely say that he should leave. The redhead noticed that the guy didn't actually go, so he figured it was alright to keep talking. Cain fell to his knees in front of the TV when the message scrolled across the screen. The image flickered for a moment, revealing a visage of a man staring down at the camera (at Phaser's eyes?). Was the guy threatening Phaser?

In his panic, Cain reflexively grabbed at his magic, but was struck with the feeling of uselessness. He couldn't exactly do anything to the other end of a web connection. "Phaser! Are you alright?" Grabbing the TV screen was pretty useless. Phaser was actually across the world, if his American accent was to be believed. Still, Cain had to try. He had a feeling that his new friend wasn't so adept at defending himself outside the virtual world. Luckily Cain knew a thing or two about winning fights he shouldn't be able to. "C'mon mate, just give that knobhead a good kick in the bollocks and lock yourself in the toilet. You can probably get the cops there before he can break the door down."

((Haha Cain: kicking people in the nads first, asking questions later.))