Crystals and Chaos

The chims are out. The trumpets are sounded. The time is set. The table is set. The Seti is @Home.

Haru has picked a garden table that is out of the way in Eas. One where you would have to intentionally walk there instead of standard throughfare passage. Thanks to the invention of Enchanted Glass, the table itself is transluscent. A little animation of light swirls on the pane as an idle animation to help bring an artistic flair to the sit setting where a parasol keeps the summer/fall sun off of the Artificer. It is a moment where he gets to collect his thoughts, a blue eye looking out towards a flower in the distance and wandering the passages of his memory. Outwardly he could be considered a pretty fixture in the garden, but such is how nobility is groomed to look. A hard habit to break.

Home is where your heart is, and Uta's got two of them. One heart, in the immortal words of the great bard Captain Hammer, is in your chest. So, Uta happens to be at home wherever she happens to be at the moment, especially if she has her travelling wagon with her. The other heart she owns is atop Heartsong, her magical staff. Which technically makes her main magical item a treehouse.

Forever wandering. Two hearts. Doctor profession confirmed.

"I will never undedrstand how you manage to simultaneously look like you're going to dine with the ambassador -and meet someone for a shady deal in a slezy dive bar, all at the same time." One moment Uta wasn't there, the next, there she is. Staff and all. She's wearing an elegant nurse's unform/gi hybrid with colorful arabesques embroidered on, each different colored strand curling at the end to draw a slime. "Wait, no, I think I get it," she says, as she moves to sit down at the table. "You've set everything up as if you were going to engage in shady deals with the ambassador over Lobster Thermidor and grand cru Chablis."

Quantum Nurse Protocols. Haru's reaction to the phasing Spriggan is muted as a blue eye rolls towards her as if it has to pass the distance of a country to pull itself to the conversation. "It is a gift," is what the rich college kid gone-get-ikesai'd says with all the prim and pomp of declaring 'The Sky is, in fact, blue'. He is, in fact, always looking like an ambassador to shady deals. Hair is white. Obviously a villain in a future chapter of this story or a reformed one from another story!

"How have you been, Uta," he asks, going with the Elly approach of warmth and connection to others above the stoic and factual declarations of what is going on. Subjectivity. "It feels like far too long since we had a moment to just," a tap on the table, "chat for a bit." The last time he had to come storming in like a rain cloud over a gnome's behavior.

A cloud raining fire and primstone. Prim and proper stone. From the heavens.

"Far too long," Uta smiles, relaxing her posture at the same time as she exhales. "I missed our chats." There is no tapping on her side, just looking around for the best place where to set down her staff. She finally settles on flicking her inventory open and shimmering it away. "I've been..." She scratches her head. "Well, I suppose." There's been some confusing events she needs to talk to Tae about, but this is likely going into too much detail at the moment. "I've been taught how to spin elegantly. And how to either spin or not to spin depending on what I feel like, still elegantly but not as formally." Spin Doctor profession confirmed. "I suppose I'm moving up in the world."

She underlines the previous concept by lowering her glance. "Oh, wow," she says, mesmerized by the idle animation. Is it a spinner? Is it elegant?

"Did you do that?", she asks as she points to the animation, after admiring it for, well, some time, admittedly.

Uta seems to know exactly how to get Haru talking. Find a subject and ask for how he is involved in it. "I was," Haru says as he puts a finger on the table. After a moment there are little sparks in the animation that follow it. It looks like a slow swirl of mist is trapped in the pane of glass. Cloud-like vapor. It gravitates towards the young man's finger and follows gently as he moves it across as if playing with the wind. "I was inspired by the way those tesla orbs worked back in the old world. You put gas in a vaccum to create plasma that allows electroncs to follow the natural current in our bodies, making electricity arc to the finger. The enchanting circuit is similar in that it reacts to latent mana in our system and moves the latent Air element enchanted in the glass to move the animation." He plays with the table a while longer in longer strokes, like he was leading a kitten with a string of yarn. "It is a small joy that has been brought to this world without the need to introduce those trace gasses or vaccum them into trapped glass. It merely requires Enchanted Glass. The glass table market is still rather niche, though."

"It has been far too long," Haru agrees, thinking on the last time they had a chance to just talk. "Spin elegantly? I'll have to figure that one out. Did you know I've been doing dance classes in Shibuya? The Shuffle. A sort of passionate tango or salsa style dance with simple moves based on the flash step." He runs a hand through his fair hair, moving it away from his monocle for a moment before it settles back over it. "Been doing my part in finding and fostering happiness in light of the accounting of sources that withdraw from the account. Losing myself in my work, most days."

Uta watches Haru's finger describe shapes. She listens. And decides to give it a go.

Her hand is hesitant, at first; it descends like a lander on an alien moon, phalanxes adjusting to cushion the touchdown of the fingertips; clouds of dust raised not upwards, but around the points of impact, trapped inside the flat crystalline surface. More Encedalus than Phobos.

Uta, just like the artificier, swirls her fingers around. She hums a soft tune as she does so, trying to modulate the Mana. To see if the glass reacts. What if you were on Earth, and you could will more or less electricity through your body? Possibly direct its direction? With Song?

Her imagination wanders with the twirling and rolling of the clouds; a Spriggan flies through them, free, ecstatic, with the wind in her wings and her hair in the breeze. The people down there. They look like ants. Look up, towards the endless sky, asking the Big Questions. Like, is there life out there? Further up? Who can answer this? Someone whose gaze reaches Beyond what most people can. Souji, for instance. Look, you can see his house from here! Maybe it's time to pay him a visit.

The fantasizing Spriggan veers in her imagination, and wonders if her friend will be there, to discuss life beyond Alba over a steaming cup of tea. Seta@Home.

The table is set. The time has passed. The tune stops humming. The Songbird has landed.

Nurse Uta Furore is back on Earth.

"I have heard rumors about the dance," Uta finally says, who knows how long after Haru is done speaking. "It's taking Shibuya by storm." A storm of fire and primstone. "It sounds fun. I should look into it at some point, after I'm done with my current program." The Shibuya Shuffle's reliance on Fire Artes is not mentioned at all. Unclear whether or not Uta is aware of it. "And I'll be glad to teach you the fineries of Formal Dance once I graduate." At which point she chuckles, with a shake of her head. "Of course, you can learn it straight from the Gift Horse's Mouth." Silence. "No, not Kauchemar."

She inhales, leans back, looks into the distance. It's her turn to drum her fingers on the table now. The little clouds describe interference patterns. Quantum Spin Doctor profession confirmed.

"We'll need to deposit some cash," Uta states. It's not an order. It's the statement of an undeniable fact. The sky is blue. Shady deals are going to be arranged with the ambassador. "You pick the currency."

    The sound of familiar voices got Elly's attention. But she had to step away to get something. And so it is, that when she finally returns, she is looking quite unusual.

    The scene plays thus: a noble woman, elegant in her stride and bearing, wearing a beautiful, snow white sleeveless shirt with a popped collar and a pair of black slacks somes into view. With a yurt pressed above her head. It isn't a burden, precisely, but it is awkward. More amusingly, in her wake, she is trailed by no less than four nervous Spriggans, all dressed in beautiful maid outfits.

    "Baroness Wake, we must protest."
        "Truly, let us help you!"
            "You should leave this to servants!"
                "My Lady, do not strain yourself!"

    To all of this, Elly seems quite unaffected. She directs a smile back at the nervous followers and then neatly sets down the yurt. Not right by the table. One has to give space between the yurt and the table.

    "I thought I heard two wonderful voices here! Now my day is truly blessed."

    Letting out a collective sigh as the yurt is set down, the maids look ready to collapse from the stress of letting Elly actually do something for herself. They wait a moment, then walk away. Sharp ears might hear a bit of grumbling about the whole affair as they depart.

"I believe a Kau dance will have much unz unz unz and some wub wub wub," Haru replies on the fine arts of dancing. It is said with such a straight and even tone it could be an academic analysis of the dances of Yamato. See Example A: The Ballroom Blitz. Example B: The Shibuya Shuffle. Now C: The Eas Electric Slide. Boogie woogie woogie.

On the topic of accounting there is a flick of his blue eye. Yes. As usual, Uta is right about these things. Like a sixth sense. Something he is numb to, deaf to, or simply blind. Maybe the monocle just a fancy eyepatch. MAYBE HE IS A PIRATE! He is not a pirate. "I will have to give the currency a degree of thought. Maybe we trek out to Dragon's Eye and look at this Chaos Gate I keep hearing about in the guild channels," he says. Leading a logistics wing has its benefits.

It is about this time that Haru notices the grand and spectacular arrival of Elly. "I see that you are leaving maidens in your Wake, Elly," wordplay muses Haru. He makes a motion with his finger on the table, "Spare some for me," and to de-creepy that one, "Yumi needs a hand tending to the shop." Clearly.

There is a look over his shoulder when Haru is noted to be a 'blessing' is it behind him? In the garden somewhere? He finds his dark sprite summon, a two tailed cat named Eve, looking back at him. She shrugs her cat-like shoulders like 'Dont look at me'.

"Can I borrow a maid on my way back too?", Uta asks, almost apologetic. "Eating cold, shelf stable rations or menu food while traveling gets a bit old after a while... And don't worry! I promise to return her as soon as I'm back in Uruk!" She turns briefly to offer a quick nod of acknowledgement to Haru, before returning to face the Baroness. "See, we've found a new Chaos Gate to research-" Silence. Blink. "Elly? You are..." The widest smile. "...you are getting your own yurt as well? Oh, wow! I've started a trend!"

And of course, Uta had done the exact same gesture of looking behind her at the mention of 'blessing', in sync with haru.

    Well, that has a variety of remarkable connotations. But, this is Elly who has been asked by Uta for a maid to borrow. So none of that stuff applies. It sends a little jolt of joy up her spine. She could know that Uta has someone getting her food and getting her to sleep properly every day. Plus she can make sure that it's someone mature enough to address unwanted male advances. Hmm.. all the better if they were good at shooting people...

    "I will ask Tae for a short list. I would be delighted to get some of my maids field experience." Cause training is good! And it covers her eagerness to just know that Uta is a bit safer. No takebacks, Uta!

    Then mention of the yurt. Elly looks at Uta and smiles. "This is your yurt, actually. I was getting it enchanted for you by your brother, and wanted to get it back to you. I was interrupted last night." That's how she puts it. "But thankfully, that means you get to see its use demonstrated by your brother, who knows it best."

Haru's blue eye flicks at the briefest hint of the Chaos Gate at Dragon's Eye. He had seen this in a report written by a Silver Sword, but the details were not as intense as he wanted it to be. No doubt the source couldn't be bothered to inform the rest of the guild instead of something else that caught their whims. Such is the life of working with Adventurers. It is enough information that he will need to head there himself. However the information he sought was overtaken by Elly's entrance. Lore blocked, which gives him a 'yo dawg, dont block a thirsty Adventurers lore' deadpan look on his blue eye. Which lasts all. Of. Three seconds.

We are on yurts now. It is a yurty topic. "It will be easy to assemble," Haru offers for his part of the construction, "due to the Wind circuit. The circuit disables after use and moves to the Earth circuit, which anchors the yurt to the ground with spikes. There is a Fire circuit, but that wont be usable, and establishes tempurature regulation along with the Water circuit. So you'll only be able to 'cool' the interior for now. There is a control panel at the front with color codes for each circuit. Those that are not magically assisted will need to be done manually, such as a central hearth for warmth, and they are quality of life enchantments that still require manual intervention, such as aligning the spikes to the right place or moving the Yurt around." He considers, "I contemplated a Dark circuit, but 4, with a max of 1 active at any time, is still quite a lot. The extra complexity would only make the previous functions more fragile." Enchantment.

Uta, excited at Elly's mention of her Yurt finally being ready, listens with all the attention she can manage at Haru's explanation. Which... is a remarkable amount of attention, for a Uta. Frowning. Narrowing eyes. "Gotcha. Pump air magic in, it inflates. Pump Earth magic in, pickets go into the ground. Pump Water magic in to cool. Pump Fire magic in to warm up. Invite a trusted friend over if Fire magic is not available to you directly."

"Yes, thank you the short list is perfect!", Uta beams. "Space is at a premium, and a maid that doesn't take up a lot of vertical room will certainly fit better."

After a moment of silence, she blinks, and asks. "So, uh, if someone is hypothesizing that we might be wondering why we've all been gathered here, they'd be spot on. I am, in fact, curious to learn about the reason."

Haru explains with far less words, "The panel has an instruction with pictures. Push gem. Supply mana. Enchantment does its function. One of four. And they are optional to make the processes faster or quality of life higher. Last thing I want is us to become beholden to our items over the value they bring us."

    The thing about Elly is, she misses nothing in a social context. Still, there are a couple matters to see to before she goes to address the stack of requests for her presence sitting on a desk in her bedroom. Since it's Ayame arranging those requests, it will not take long for Elly to be off on the road again. Going, well, somewhere. For all that importance, though, a few moments with those she cares for matters more to her.

    "I am here because I live here and I was told you were still in the area. And I promised to give you a yurt. Which is now completed. I will not be here long, though, so you can resume having fun soon!"

    She quirks her lips for a moment, looking thoughtful. She feels she is missing something, but when she realizes what that was, she says nothing. It will naturally flow into the conversation. Or it will not. Either way, she shall let it be. Pointedly, she is not sitting down.

Ikea Yurt! Yørt? Yërt.

Uta seems to understand the second explanation better. "Thank you, Haru. I... I am no Enchanter, it's all a bit above my head. But that part I get. Push button. Get function. Simple. Non-enchanter friendly."

"And thanks to you for everything you've done, Elly. The Yurt, and... the doll and... everything, really. If... if there is anything I can do, or..."

A brief pause. "...Hm. I was about to say something, but then I got sidetracked, and- what was it about? Was it about the Chaos Gate at the Dragon's eye having different symbols? Was it about the strange one-way barrier? Was it about all the Chaos gates in root cities we've visited having been shown by the menu as having been disabled for National Security reasons?" She looks up and scratches her chin. "Or was it about the Big Pants?"

She snaps her fingers. "Oh, right!" She stands up, and bows to Elly. "Thank you for the maid as well. It's really appreciated! And the dance lessons too!"

Once she straightens up, she beams, "I'll make sure to invite you all to my housewarming party! As... soon as... I find someone with Fire magic."

"About what I would understand on the topics of medicine beyond what I learned in college. Which is enough to know that our bodies as it interacts with this world is so different that its moot. Like we are not going to find the same antibiotics around," Haru says in a drifty-dreamy voice as he looks off towards the garden and the maids. No, he does not miss the old world. He does think about all the things that have limited function. A lot of Adventurers spent their entire young lives learning things in school only to make them moot. It can be liberating, but Haru considers part of that to be a waste if people can't adapt that knowledge to current conditions. Enchantment. "You should join us, Elly, quality time is a sign of affection after all," the young man muses, the drifty eye settling on the matron of the group. "Though I seem to be getting less and less of that from my family. You'll forgive me a spot of jealousy and envy. My home conditions were not the most nurturing growing up and when I don't see the people important to me, I start to," he makes a hand as if it was a leaf flutting in the wind, "disconnect." The young man is aware of his short comings, but they dont stop from affecting his emotions.

"National Security reasons," Haru asks as his eye turns to Uta. He is at the point where his head and neck are stuck in that lax position that do not wish to move about. It makes his body language stiffer than intended. Also, natively, appears more in control of the situation. A trick his upbringing taught him to conserve social energy, like a lion laying in wait. "I saw that in a report, but also did not understand what nation and who has the authority to issue such a situation. If it is the Morrigan, then that is contained within the Ezzo situation. And reducing travel to contain the split fragments only makes sense if we are deemed the force that can cause a reasonable threat to another party." The is a light hum, "I should visit. See if I can't pry answers open. Or call in one of my Kunie favors, though without knowing what the nation is, it may be not in their best interest and thus a wasted effort."

    Haru's invitation pauses Elly mid-motion. There is a measurement going on in her mind. As in all things of great importance, it takes some focus and time. Her own desires align to accepting the invitation, but that is far from the only measure. Seeing that Haru and Uta seem likely to be able to dive into their desired topics without distraction tilts the scales.

    "I appreciate your invitation and happily accept."

    It can be hard to do what she wants, sometimes. Hidden behind several meters of solid poise and confidence is a remarkable swirl of emotion that is anything but those things.

    Invitation accepted, though, she initiates hostess mode. Which involves a subtle wave of her right hand to one of the retreating maids. The message is received, and in a minute or two, refreshments shall appear.

    Focusing on Uta's gratitude, Elly answers with a smile. "I am happy to help you, of course. I hope you enjoy both things for what they are. As with many things, their value and purpose can be far more than meets the eye. As for the rest? If I think of something that you might enjoy doing, I will let you know." Like, for instance, making a slime garden.

    Then, returning her focus to Haru. "There is nothing to forgive. Time with your sister is of great value to you, of course, and there are some things that I believe should be carefully guarded."

"You can say that again," says Haru more freely on the topic of theings to be guarded. "I am to make time with many, but the time I value is here." he motions around. The gesture misses most of the maids, focusing on Uta and Elly. "It begs to argue that a degree of the effort is wasted within the guild or Alliance by comparison. I can't say that for Shibuya or Eas, however, as investments in either of the establishments feels and returns with genuine value," Haru goes on with the airs of nobility, even if he aims to speak candidly. "Take my store for example. Yumi is a darling, but she is there to find a rich suitor. Then I'll have to rehire a clerk. Compare that to a Silver Sword recruit who yells 'Leroooooyyyy' as they drown themselves in Sahuagin and literal water. To drown in." A hand balances a scale, "Both of these people will enter and leave my life, but I find one vastly more fulfilling."

A pause and looking to Uta, "You are not allowed to date." There is a pause, "You are, to be more specific, but as your choice and I will likely hack the malintent out of their brains." His purple monocle gains an inky hue for a moment with a red light dot in the center. Hacker Haru may be serious about that one. Crown of Angry Brother.

"Yes... and no," Uta comments on the subject of themedical differences between the two worlds. "We have mechanics like Light Magic healing or Crystal-based medicine that are... something that did not really exist in the old world, no. But at the same time, Doctor Prophylaxis published a book on techniques of Old World medicine that are still quite relevant to us." Uta seems to follow a second train of thought as she points this out, even going to the length of scratching her chin and reflecting, afterwards.

"The teleportation menu turns out to be available in the vicinity of this new Chaos Gate. It lists the Root Towns one has visited. Marked <BLOCKED>, in nice red letters," Uta resumes. "If you hover your finger over it:

> WARNING: Unable to Dial. The Administrator of this Kingdom has blocked travel to this location'
> REASON: 'National Security'."

"I find fascinating that the CCTV Headquarters were there. You know, the building nicknamed the Big Pants. Amazing architecture. Looks like it was designed by a semi-sober M.C. Escher."

She touches her fingertips together, and letting her lips rest on them, she once again looks up, gaze lost in the distance. "When Schneider tried appraising it, the flavor text said 'An Ancient Building made millenia ago, its strange architecture has not seen use since. It was created by <!!@?#DATALOSS!#?>.'"

Uta shakes her head, "Sorry, I got sidetracked. What were you saying about- wait." She frowns.

Focus. Think.

Focus. Think.

Focus. Think.

Lighbulb goes off. Not with a smile, but with a raise of eyebrows. "...Oh. If you mean Borywick, our relationship is strictly professional. Teacher-disciple at most. I have no romantic interest in-"

And then, as if she felt her words were being too harsh, too unkind, she continues, "-anyone." Which is true. But probably a kinder way to put it.

Perhaps this does not address Haru's concerns -directly-, but Uta is like that. Circuitous.

"Yes, please do stay," Uta invites Elly. "And do not worry too much about my interests. I'm prone to random acts of sudden interest. Sometimes I just have to wait a bit and it passes.", she chuckles. "But yes, I appreciate both gifts on multiple layers."

    Well, that was an interesting bit of information. Elly does not generally get as deep into these kind of things as others do. Let the bird fly and the fish swim. For all that, she is ready to support this kind of effort.

    Honestly, she is quiet for most of the conversation, present with expression. Nodding at all the right times, making eye contact at just the right levels. She is as involved as one can be without saying a word. But there is a time when she has something to say.

    "I will stay." She pauses to consider the matter of dating with restraint. "I think it is wise to just be patient and not rush in any direction." In essence, Elly is still learning a great deal about Uta and is relieved that there is no urgent romantic interest, as it would require her to make a rather hasty clinical determination.

    "Well, I will try not to distract you just this moment, but perhaps in time we can talk about something I'd like to work on."

    There was another matter that gained her interest though. And so her attention shifts to Haru. "So she wishes to get married? How wonderful! I hope she finds what she seeks and that the union is a blessing to her. However, this also reveals an opportunity. My little ones throughout Yamato," by which she means the orphans, "will need jobs. Perhaps you might consider interviewing some of them when the time comes?"

There is a thoughtful pause as Haru considers this information. The level of detail he had received did not go into this depth on the Chaos Gate. The level of detail he has about medicine remains the same: college level academia as not a major course of study. "I have a theory I want to test out," Haru begins as he walks through it. "Assume a Chaos Gate is similar to Old World Networking. A gateway to addresses contained within that domain. It is coupled with an access control list that states what is allowed to and from. If this is true, then the destination gates are set to block any inbound gate requests from any location." Haru continues on, "Therefor we have to open one up. I'll visit the Mac Anu Kunie to see what Gates are open to and from Mac Anu. Then see how granular we can establish the control list. Is it all or nothing? Can we lock it down to only the Dragon's Eye? If so, have it turned on briefly and have yourself jump through the gate. Can we turn the Dragon's Eye Gate on?"

He muses, "Perhaps I can modify the gate in some way to establish that change or authority."

Thats enough to let that topic drift for a moment. Uta's romantic life requires concern, "Of suitors, Bory is ill to be paired up with anyone." Harsh! "He needs to find a way to love himself before considering letting another in, less it becomes toxic." A gaze drifts to settle on Uta. It stays there a long time. "Please trust in Elly on those matters. One goes to a medical professional when their body is in need of consultation. One goes to a priestess of love and fertility on matters of heart and coupling." He presents it in a clinical view. "You deserve happiness, dear sister, in any form it comes within your life. The dating thing is a selfish, protective comment from me. I don't believe I would handle it well. I never had a sister growing up, but I would have likely been protective. Good, bad, or indifferent, I have not had the opportunity to grow that disposition into healthier exchange." A spark on his right hand, flicked off like campfire embers skittering across garden cobblestones. "If someone hurt you or Elly, I would not think rationally. I would burn them to ash and then move mountains to make you feel better."

Perhaps a better topic now is Yumi. Haru takes the opportunity to turn to Elly. "She does. The girl is young and dreaming more every day. Her time working in Yamato has given her a certain sparkle in her eye of hope and ambition. I wish she pursue additional ambitions, but Landers grew up under different expectations in this period of time. I forget that. Often." It is hard to determine how he feels about this. There have been centuries of social change between this world and his own. It is all so alien. It feels like he is speaking to his grandfather when talking to men and women coming of age. "I'd be happy to employ more," Haru tells Elly, "with strict conditions across the supply chain. I have the benefit of running a business that has high profit margins. Wealth isn't my goal. I'd rather reinvest it, meaningfully." He has come from wealth. Plenty of it. He knows how to manage it. Not be seduced by it. And understand how it can corrupt perspective if left without humility.

"I am glad you get to stay!", Uta beams at Elly. The joy is genuine. "And you might actually be interested in this-" She frowns at Haru. "Weren't we going to tell her something about fishmen?"

"I'm not exactly an expert on networking," Uta admits, "But if we think in term s of a more pedestrian phone network, it... it feels like the Tower and the Root Cities (plus the Dragon's Eye) are on two different, distinct networks, yes. The teleportation menu did not even show the locations in the Tower."

She raises her eyebrows, and tilts her head down and slightly forward, in that 'oooh boy do I have news for you' fashion. "Oooh boy, do I have news for you," she begins. "You want access lists? We had to Oracle our way to the Barista, the Kunie under Carmina Gadelica, to be teleported back. He said what he was doing was a one-time exception, asked for all names of everyone passing through, Landers had to be touching an Adventurers, and after a period of 'unconsciousness', when we re-emerged on the other side, there were -Guardians- waiting for us. In case someone was trying to pull a fast one, I suppose."

The mention of dating gets a burst of laughter from Uta, "Thank you, thank you," she says, then shakes her head. "But as said -- I have never felt the need to date in the past, and by extrapolation, I deduce that I will not feel the need to date any time soon." She grins and waves one hand, dismissively. "I'm one of those people who live for ART. Or SCIENCE, I suppose."

She nods towards Elly again. "But I will make sure to ask if I ever need that kind of relationship advice," followed by a faster, end-of-a-pharmaceutical-ad disclaimer rush, "WhichAsSaidIDoNotThinkIWillNeedAnytimeSoonOrEverAtAll."

Uta looks up and away. "We have done some follow up work. I think I've mentioned that a while back, once we've figured out all the words etched on the Chaos Gates, we've tried to sing a couple of Chaos Gates in the tower into booting up, but something was blocking their connection. Now we've got a new Chaos Gate, with different markings; With the people from Scale, we've tried singing a Tower Gate into activity and connecting it to the Dragon's Eye's Gate, but no luck. I'm now thinking of trying one outside the Tower, and... trying to determine which."

There is a pause. "...I mean... as you remember, we've decyphered most of the words on the Chaos Gates by singing Lander Songs at them, and seeing what lights up. I'm still -singing- to them to boot them up, just in case, but I'm not sure if it's strictly necessary..."

    Elly is happy to focus on the part of the world she tends to care for more. People. In this case, a Lander woman she has met only a couple times. "If family is her dream, well, that is an amibition all its own," she says gently. "And if that is her wish, I hope she is blessed with many children. And when the time is right and you want to hire more people, I will certainly appreciate it if you could keep my little ones in mind. They will have some measure of Adventurer training, and of course more of that as time goes on."

    The gate conversation is something she will pay attention to. She has nothing to add, really, but it has sparked at least some concerns in her mind. She so innocently asks, "Is anyone from Plant Hwyaden working on that for Olympus?" It's put a little buzz in her ear.

    Thinking about the Kunie and the gates, and, frankly, Scale Emblem, she allows her concern to show. "I have concerns," is all she can offer up at first. It takes her a moment to fully process them, though. In time, it comes to her. "If gates work, who is to say something that doesn't require a gate would be impossible? Unchecked teleportation."

"I hope someone from Plant Hwyaden are working on it," Haru adds in on the Gate topic, "and willing to collaborate with myself and LOONS. I have learned things and am running a foul of tit-for-tat information exchange which LOONS was built on." He shakes his head a touch, "It is a similar tactic my father and grandfather would use in the market. If we could do it ourselves, we edged out other technology firms by having the technology ourselves and reaping the benefits. If we could not and it was a community effort, we would let that crowd source and then build one to our design." A hand gestures about, "CC changed the whole paradigm on us, I was told, as I lived in the era of my lineage when our market was threatened. The irony? Same tactics we in the family business." A deep breath and an exhale, "We never did get past the veil of CC's technological advancements. And, it isn't much the point here. The point is that I've been reduced to independant research or," a hand gestures to the other two here, "only to those close that I trust. Else the information will be snatched like a greedy child grabbing and eatting your desert before you can." It happens all the time, from his point of view.

"Ah, thank you, Uta. The fish people," Haru is reminded as he informs Elly, "There are Sauhagin in Lake Eas that have been affected by Enigma Pieces. I went there on a lead from Helba. I uncovered both a twisted, possibly corrupted Sahuagin that roams around the lake called Jayson and stronghold with the number '13' on it that is led by a crafty merlady named Zora."

    The mention of Hwyaden catches Elly's attention, but only for a moment. Long enough to say, "I should give the Ducks a visit. I have not been to their guild house in quite some time." Not a pressing matter to her, it seems. She has many others things to direct her attention to. And Plant Hwyaden is so reclusive at times. They are probably all locked in a tornado of strange moods.

    She does listen to Haru and Uta's discourse, obviously, but she has little to add. She is, after all, retired. Of course, on top of that, both Uta and Haru have the copies of her memoirs. A brief life of adventure, wrapped up in a bow for their use. It is admittedly not a lot, but what lore she had is their's.

    The news of monsters in the lake worries her, though. "We normally don't have trouble with the Sahuagin. With all the adventurers who come and go, there is a lot of hunting. That they are changing is a concern. Do you feel they pose a threat to my people here? Is it sufficient to set a stronger guard, or do we need to get more aggressive?"

    There is no move from her to rush off and enter battle, though. Retired, indeed.

    

Uta tenses, and exhales through her nose. She drums her fingers on the table. Iiiinhale. Exhale. "While have the utmost respect for what Plant Hwyaden can achieve," she manages to extrude through her teeth despite the antarctic temperature of her words, "it has been stated in public, in front of multiple witnessess, that we have a fundamental disagreement over their methods and culture of hoarding and locking others from knowlege." Warmth returns to her voice, "And on the subject of Scale? They get a bad rep, but if I have to be honest and look back at what I've achieved, and what they have actually -done-, despite hearsay? Well, half of the Lore I've been involved into has been offered by them. The other half by NWA." She gestures vaguely in the distance. "Outside the LOONS circuit. Even before it."

"Let that sink in," she almost whispers, as she leans over, eyes open. "My own Alliance actively keeps me from Lore, and all I achieve is due to others. Heck, even one of the most remarkable achievement of the LOONS was thanks to Scale just giving us access to Cool Tower Items. They could have kept and run with it."

Uta catches herself. "But I digress. In any case, I'm pretty much a rabid supporter of the LOONS exactly as a reaction to the obscurantism enforced by a group that is supposed to be our powerhouse of enlightenment. I don't have the Mercantile concept, and I'm not into Alliance politics, but I sure hope they finance themselves and don't syphon Alliance funds into their little private power trip." Having made it clear that she is not a fan of Plant Hwyaden's methods, she forces herself away from this line of discussion by trailing off, "I don't really think of the LOONS engaging in tit-for-tat. It's more like... 'everything for everyone.'" She rubs her forehead with a wince. "Oh, right. Those notes. I'm sure it'll lead to a lot of good stuff, but It'll be quite the amount of work to organize and make sense of them..."

On the subject of the fish people, she simply remains silent, and listens.

"I think the hunting is the cause," Haru offers to Elly on the topic of the Lake Sahuagin. "Consider a tribal group built on power and survival. Now hunt them. That is the structure for monsters and intelligent monster culture and the response. Is it not in thier survival instincts to look for ways to survive? Finding a means to do so gives power to an angry group of people that is willing to use violence as a solution," he offers in a quiet explaination of the situation in Elly's back yard. "I think that patrols would need to be increased and efforts with the Hunter's Guild to provide incentive to cull the rising power is important until all of the pieces of the Morrigan there are extracted, exhausting their access to advanced power."

"I've never had much luck with Hwyaden's information," Haru explains to both Elly and Uta as he considers what Uta said for a moment. "I belive it is their policy to be secretive, as publically stated, yes." As for the statement on Scale, there is a slow turn of the head to Uta.

"There is a fatal flaw in that which may be colored by personal ambition," the man with the monocle says. He closes his one blue eye and goes on, "How to put this? There is a degree of information that should be shared openly and freely. How to make food that tastes good, for example. Then there is information that is shared under an trade pact, which is what I see LOONS under, which does include tit-for-tat when I look at it. It was even explained that way in the first meeting of LOONS I attended." He opens his blue eye again as a hand raises with it, "And I had little to provide, so I see little harm in kick starting and sharing project goals. But information has implications. Mishandling information has implications. I want to demystify that for one moment as something as uplifting as information can be condemning if taken without care."

Both of his hands rest on a coin purse. He takes it off, which is ceremonial at best, and puts it on the table. "My name is Haru Himekawa," he tells them, a fact that is not new, "second son of Shinji Himekawa. Grandson of Genji Himekawa." There is a pregnant pause. "Himekawa Technologies Corporation, or HTC, was once so popular it was considered 'High Tech Company' in Western markets. Your microwaves, refrigerators, and any technology with a microprocessor had HTC involved." A pause. "Some of that information causes no harm. Together it causes personal consideration to my person. Add in 'HTC made decisions permitting software execution to be run on our hardware through the lack of hardware execution' and suddenly my life is at risk."

The eye floats off to the side, saying in his normal, stoic voice, "And it was. We received many death threats. Became as common as getting marketing mail. People were angry." He turns back to Uta for a moment, "But this is not a tale about sins, but of information. It matters what the information is. It matters how that information can harm others. It matters who has the information. As if you provide the information I laid out to a vengenceful person with access to something as simple as a pocket knife, then the blood it sheds is, in part, on your hands. That is my first point."

Now to the coins. He stacks five coins in three stacks neatly. "My second is one that relates to my time as a son of a businessman. As a caged bird, maintaining the empire was paramount. Alliances, too, must maintain their authority or crumble. So lets take NWA as this pile. Olympus as this pile. Scale as this third one." He takes a coin and places it on the first pile, "New World is full of explorers, like Shiruba, and people of empathy for others as the general vision of coexistance. They find something, such as coffea." He takes a coin and places it on the other two stacks, "They teach others how to cultivate coffea. This feels good. Knowledge is shared. Something wonderful is added to the world."

"Olympus invents steam boats," Haru says as he puts a coin on the middle stack, "and works with Scale to do so." And the third stack. He says nothing about the NWA stack. "Scale finds the Lithograph, informing us of how relics were created by the Alv," he puts a coin on the scale pile. A coin is taken and it taps on the table, "and it is discussed if and how to share that information. Olympus helped them with ships." The coin goes on Olympus' pile. A coin is held over the NWA pile. It is taken away. "Trains." Olympus and Scale. "Land Mines." Olympus and Scale. "Wootz Steel." NWA, Olympus, and Scale. A smile as he says, "The Phonograph." NWA, Olympus, and Scale. He does not exclude himself, saying, "Enchanted Glass." NWA, Olympus and Scale. He then stops. One of the piles is lower than the other. He then moves his hand over to the Scale pile. "Imagine, now, that the first pile shares /everything/ without exception. The second is selective. The last, is inclusive. So they have a few things they keep to themselves. Lets not say what they are for a moment." He adds three coins to the Scale pile.

"CC did this to HTC. And HTC did this to numerous companies before it. And what happens," Haru says as he takes the small pile from NWA and puts it atop Olympus, now stacking higher than Scale, "is always this. Merger and Acquisition. And history has shown us if a military superpower has the upperhand, the Libraries will burn and much is lost."

The coins are taken away. "So the solution has always been what is writ in Research Agreements, which I have always seen LOONS as, to encourage sharing of information for the betterment of the research, as we will not agree if that is for Adventurers or Adventurers and Landers. We research better, together. However, the fruits of that research if researched together in this fashion should be shared equally so we do not cause a cultural genocide of our Alliances. It is not something an individual research is considering. However, this mindset runs through my head like dissonence that will not resolve when we give people the knives to stab us with, a vulnerability to target, and motive to do so. It bears meaningful, thoughtful consideration and to aside the naivety that everyone is acting in good faith."

    Mentioning Plant Hwyaden does spark a bit of a problem with Elly. As an Alliance leader, she is all about arranging for the flow of resources, both in people power, raw materials, and yes, information.

    "Let us not forget that people have the right to share what they wish, and that confidence is a matter I am obligated to protect. Plant Hwyaden's adventurers may prefer to keep their achievements known only to a few of us, but they do have the right to do so. I do not always agree with that approach, but I also do not think everything should be shared."

    That is practically believable! Err, that is the line and Elly is sticking to it.

    Haru's demonstration is a much more effective demonstration. At least of his point. Elly has others. One of which is...

    "Naturally if we were pouring Alliance resources into Hwyaden work, we would have the rights to it. Also there are certain breakthroughs that we would want to protect our rights to. We are a small Alliance and recent events have made it clear that an effective means to deter attack would be welcome. At least, that is what I want for Eas. I have a rather confusing tangle of responsibilities in this. I have Eas property and Alliance property to be mindful of. These are separate matters. Within the Alliance, each guild has their own rights and privileges. All of it must be balanced. We do not have endless resources, after all."

    A pause and she focuses her attention on a previous matter. "Speaking of which. I'll see about dealing with the Sahuagin, primarily through the Hunter's Guild. Adventurers will likely be interested in the rewards and if I grant them access to what they clear, we both win. Open source adventure, you might say. Not precisely what I hope visitors to my realm come for, but I do pray they will stay for a good meal and a show."