[network] @hotstud_xxx; video, Day 116 [audio]

[rubikscomplex]

[House is at the school and there's time to actually play the piano. There is also a conspicuous lack of depressed vampire in the area. Well, that's fine. Probably. He doesn't want to deal with Beckett again. Anyway, there's news to report and music to harass people with.]

Hello, Snowhellions! Dr. House here with tunes to fill the soul with gladness. Stay tuned for an important announcement after about blood. Blood. It's what's inside. Maybe. This one goes out to all the nosiest members of Norfinbury.

[The first song for madame's and monsieur's pleasure tonight is a piano cover of Billy Joel classic with House singing. It makes a point, he thinks.]

I'll take requests now. And great news about the blood thing: We've got specks inside of us. Who said the kids didn't need to get that program? Kesara found a microscope, Quark found some binoculars we could use for the objective lenses, voila! Extra magnification. Not electron-microscope level, but MacGuyver couldn't do better. So. Blood. My guess is still nanobots, maybe something to do with the MN? But four different people, four different worlds, three humans, one... troll, no powers except some sort of smell-o-vision. Took a few different samples, cleaned the lenses, cleaned the sample slides, same results. It's definitely something in the blood, not just an artifact. Kids confirmed they saw the specks independently in all samples without me telling them what to look for.

Next step is to get this piano to bleed again and have a look at that. Anybody near the house with the other piano?

Comments

@gravedigger; voice

[harlequinofhate]

Specks?

That's all you got?

voice

[rubikscomplex]

I'm working with a compound microscope with one free socket and an objective lens from a pair of toy binoculars, Chuckles. You want me to tell you I saw nanomachines or particles of MN poison straight up, get me something that can actual focus to that scale.

[harlequinofhate]

Okay.

But first, Uncle Jokey would like to see slides of some blood samples.

[rubikscomplex]

[Enjoy the best pictures that House could take last night, Joker.

The first pic is the slides themselves, nine neatly lined up shards of glass. They're labeled with K, Q, and H and 1, 2, and 3 in red, three for each letter. A red sharpie is laid next to them for scale. The next series of pictures a titled 'basicmagnification' and have a letter and number 1-3 associated with the different slides. These pictures have clearly been taken through the microscope and show blood that is, in fact, looking pretty much like blood. The next set of pictures are titled '10xenhance' and follow the same labeling scheme as the other pictures. These are again taken through the microscope and the blood is, in fact, filled with with little specks. There's something there, but it's impossible to tell what they are at this magnification.]

Good enough, Uncle Jokey?

[harlequinofhate]

Tiny bots beating in our veins...

[A groan of frustration. He wishes the magnification was better.]

I have an idea but you're gonna have to play nice with the Joker, savvy?

Audio | @Rdua

[blessedmaiden]

How lovely, so you do have some nice qualities too...

Also, I said we weren't supposed to understimate the kids. Quark? Kesara? Good work.
Still, it's not so lovely knowing that we have small things inside of us. I mean, while we already are big houses for lots of things... you know what I mean, mh?

And- where is the oher piano? I'm in the residential area, between the school and the chapel, is it close?

audio

[rubikscomplex]

[House sends Rydia a copy of his map.]

It's number 35 on that map. [This coincides with 84 on the official game map.] If you're more than a day, save it, I'm not sticking around that long and someone else can do it. I'll tell the kid to leave the microscope in the Clinic.

audio

[blessedmaiden]

[Takes her some good time to open it but then she just hums happily]
A Day or a day and half, not more if the weather causes no problems. I don't think I'd be able to play the piano properly, thought, even if I can push buttons if I'm given a proper order...

[rubikscomplex]

[He needs to get down to the hospital, but he wants to do this, as well.]

Doubt it needs to be anything elaborate. Know the song "Ba, Ba, Black Sheep?"

[audio; private] @ASolomons

[devoutish]

Nanobot. Related to robot?

[audio; private]

[rubikscomplex]

You got it, guv. Robots so small they can't be seen with the naked eye.

[audio; private]

[devoutish]

Still not clear on what robots are, mate. Little machines, yeah?

[audio; private]

[rubikscomplex]

Oh, God... you really are from the 20s. [Can you hear him rolling his eyes, Alfie?] Yeah. Little machines that can move and work on their own after being programmed for a task. Most likely theory running for NIMA is that it's an interface or some sort of network hub that controls nanomachines that we've been injected with. MN is probably some sort of waste product or overdose effect for the machines swimming around in our blood. Hence MN poisoning. Too much of a good thing, right?

[He's being more helpful than last time, at least? Mainly because he's not actually invested in dicking Alfie around right at the moment.]

@j; text

[advanced]

[This is one of the doctors, isn't it?

Bucky's even warier of him than of most others, but the discovery is one that catches his interest and demands he know more. If he has these things inside him then he needs to get them out. Now.]

Probably tracers. Possibly explosives.

text

[rubikscomplex]

You think they put explosives inside of us. [His tone is deadpan.] Also, what is this, "Men In Black"? Or did you miss adding more to your sn, Agent J?

[advanced]

[He doesn't know that reference, there's a lot he has to catch up on and movies are bottom of the pile.]

It's a sound strategy. A way to kill us all if we prove useless to them or a threat.

...pretend that last message was voice.

[rubikscomplex]

[Okay, he's about to be a smartass, but he actually considers it. The other sessions have been terminated suddenly. But still, the temptation to be a smartass anyway is too strong.]

Dude. We DDoS'd the Admin a few weeks ago and weren't all exploded. They know we're a threat already.

@Ecks | text

[ecks]

Nanobots like robots?

[Hey, it's not like she could see Alfie's reply. It's a pretty big leap, even given the relatively clear roots to the word.]

There is also a house with walls that bleed in the ice tunnels.]

permavoice (you can't stop the music, Ecks)

[rubikscomplex]

Yep. Guess you're full of little golems. Or spiders. Let's go with golems shaped like spiders for max effect.

Wait, is that the house where you licked the blood?

permatext (can't stop won't stop)

[ecks]

I don't think golems can be that small. I did not think robots could be that small.

Yes, it is the house where I tasted the blood. It is all red inside.

[rubikscomplex]

You don't think, but you don't know, either. Ever tried to build a golem, yourself? Anyway, robots can definitely be that small.

Which house is it on this map?

[He'll send over a copy of his map.]

audio; @determination

[despiteeverything]

[Hearing Quark and Kesara's names... and they were doing stuff. They were doing things that were helping figure things out, it looked like. It highlights some of their own feelings, wants to leave them feeling like they're drowning in them. But they shove them aside, as best they're able.

Their voice is quieter, more tired than normal, and certainly not quite as upbeat. Though not despondent.]

Is... there anything I can do to help?

audio

[rubikscomplex]

[Well, he hasn't really heard from this one since... yeah, the OD. It takes a moment or two longer than some of the others for him to respond to Frisk, but his tone is as sarcastic as ever when he does.]

Dunno. Where are you? Seems like all the cool kids are finding things at the school. Go act like a little kid in the Retirement Home, see if a kindly old data ghost granny gives you an SD card.

Actually... that's not a half-bad idea. Go do that. Tell me what you find.

[despiteeverything]

Me 'n mom are headed for the tunnels. We were gonna go downtown. There's um... there's a library there. We were there for a bit before everybody moved all over. We were gonna go back there a bit longer.

[They're going there to try to give the both of them - but especially Frisk - a chance to recover, to rest after everything terrible that's happened. Though maybe they really should keep looking for important things.]

But um... where is the Retirement Home?

[rubikscomplex]

[House sends over a copy of his map.]

It's Building 110. [Which corresponds to Building 129 on the official game map.] Were there any actual books in the library?