snowblindrpg | [network] @ADMIN; Arrival

[Well, isn't that convenient? Maybe this tablet isn't so bad after all. "A drag" is a heavy understatement.]

Thank you for replying. I hope you don't mind if I ask a few questions.

[He has a lot, but let's not be hasty. He has to make a good impression somehow.]

When you say it's all been nullified, do you mean only your abilities, or all effects of being a vampire? [It... honestly feels silly just typing that.] And have you been able to "turn" anyone since arriving here?

Of course not. But I charge per hour. Or per instance of being accused of making it all up.

[He's had to cope with some things, okay.]

I mean almost all effects. The most surface of qualities, such as appearance, remain, but nothing under the skin so to speak. My body is effectively mortal, and most of my instincts are similarly altered.

And you may be stunned to hear this, but I haven't tried. It's not exactly something you do as a way to say hello.

[Note to self: do not accuse him of making shit up.]

Right. I suppose that would be pretty dangerous.

[...He still wants to know, though. But he isn't about to volunteer.]

When you say your instincts are altered, does that mean you consider death more seriously? [Can he stand to be around garlic? He's not asking that.] And you're able to, uh, stand in sunlight, I'm guessing?

[Under any other circumstance, he'd probably doubt that Beckett is a vampire at all given this information. But considering anyone could doubt himself being an esper... He shakes the thought. Glass houses.]

The Embrace does happen to involve killing the prospective vampire. You may recall, the technical term is "undead".

[Just snarking for snark's sake now. He's had to develop any number of ways to cope with the change and with the ways others' disbelief triggers the accompanying fury and frustration. This is one of the easiest, and least harmful ones.]

Death is a perfectly serious issue even for the dead. We are immortal, not indestructible. But yes, the instinctive fear of sunlight, as well as fire, is gone. Interesting, isn't it? I'm not sure whether that implies something about the nature of those instincts, or about the alteration itself.

[It takes Ritsu a moment to respond to that; he's trying to absorb what it means. It's a little scary to even think about. A place that can completely change your instincts and who you are and what's led you to that identity...]

Which of those do you think it implies, then?

[That is a big question, and one that Beckett isn't prepared for. He's thought about it a lot on his own, of course, turned it over and over in his head, but no one has ever asked him about the change. It isn't a comfortable topic; which doesn't stop him, but does put him on edge more than he'd like to admit.]

The change itself ought to be impossible. There are legends, naturally, but I was able to track and refute practically all of them. So the answer is: I have no idea, but I would hardly put it past whatever has done this to be able to rewrite one's mind on the most basic level.]

[That's not the answer he was hoping for, though if he doesn't put it past the responsible parties to be able to perform that change themselves...]

Do you think it has something to do with these nanomachines that were mentioned in the guide, then?

That seems the general consensus, and it is supported by information we have from those ostensibly in charge. But to be blunt, if this is all purely the result of technological intervention, without magickal backing, I'll eat my hat, and my ears can freeze off as they please.

[It would be a frustrating reveal, for sure, but...]

That would mean leaving this place wouldn't negate the effects. Only the deactivation of the nanomachines would.

[Which, needless to say, isn't good news.]

Surely there must be a way to test that.

You raise an interesting point.

[He's impressed, actually - this Ritsu has just come in, and there they are raising interesting points already. There's something to be said for fresh eyes.]

My notes are none too extensive on the point, but we did experience a brief spell of nanomachine power loss. It did not result in any ability being restored. Only in near death from radiation poisoning.

[There goes that idea. Although...]

You say "we," so do you mean everyone lost power to their nanomachines? [Probably.] If that power loss could be directed at one person instead of a group, completely shutting theirs down... [Since death isn't always permanent here, there might just be a...]

[Wait, shit, hold the phone. What is he saying? He's not about to use others like that, and like hell he's going to sign himself up for something that dangerous. He quickly types out his next response before Beckett can reply.]

That would be way too dangerous, thouhg, so forget about that... Just musing, is all.

[...Did he make a typo? Shit. He swallows.]

though*

[The other's nervousness is clear even in his typed words, but Beckett is unfazed, beyond faint amusement at it. In fact...]

Dangerous, yes. Unlike mere everyday life here, which is perfectly safe? I'd volunteer for this little experiment, if I thought it was plausible to have any kind of cooperation in getting it off the ground. But I don't have a lot of hopes for it.

[His past cracks at suicidal risk-taking in the cause of answers have not been very popular with his friends.]

If only because a restoration of my nature should have made said radiation poisoning impossible. But that didn't happen. If the suppression is temporary, it still takes time to wear off, a longer time than anyone would have without the nanomachines' other effects.

[...Well, that sucks. So much for that idea.]

And I suppose the nanomachines would just be restarted if you were to revive after dying from radiation poisoning, anyway.

[What a pain in the ass. Still, it's good to know limitations.]

I guess if there was a way around it, you all might have found it already, anyway.

They do resume functioning immediately upon revival, yes. Or so it seems at least.

[Actually, he isn't sure. Actually, this is a good question. But then what will they get out of the answer, except possibly a way to guarantee a permanent death? He knows people he'd prefer off the scent of that particular trail.]

I'd say yes, but honestly, most if not all of us here quickly get caught up and worn down by the demands of everyday survival. If you can offer a fresh eye and mind, no one will refuse it. Do you do research on these matters professionally, Mr. Kageyama?

Professionally?

[That's... How old does he think he is?]

No, I don't. I've been interested in things like ESP and psychic powers ever since I can remember. That's all. I guess I'm just spit-balling right now.

[Although...]

I participated in a research study for a short period of time regarding awakening psychic potential, though it wasn't useful in any way... That's about the limit of me studying this sort of stuff "professionally." I'm still in school, after all.

And just "Ritsu" is fine. [He's the younger brother in a family, it feels odd to be spoken to so formally.]

School? I have to say, you're surprisingly on point for someone claiming to be that young.

[Take this as a compliment, Ritsu. If he knew your age he would probably not be bothering.]

I suppose you are not, essentially, in a different position to the rest of us. Prior knowledge does very little except offer endless opportunities for frustration... are psychic powers a "thing" in your world, as they say?

[A "thing". Right. Perhaps someone should not be trying to slang it like the cool kids.]

[Suddenly Ritsu is wondering if he should have just pretended to be an adult. That's what kids do on the internet, right? This guy sounds like a grandpa.]

They are. They manifest in a variety of ways, though the most common I've encountered and have experience with are telekinetic powers such as levitation, or bending spoons. I've also witnessed pyrokinetics, clairvoyance, and telepathy.

I mainly studied how they manifested in people. I suppose I was wondering if those techniques would end up working here, though based on what you say, I'm starting to doubt it.

[Starting to. Meaning he doesn't fully just yet.]

Bending spoons. I see.

[It's hard to convey a raised eyebrow in text. This does have him hesitating, though. Bending spoons is a parlour trick, and even in a world where the supernatural is an established fact, there are plenty of charlatans.

Plus, this is apparently a child. How good is his judgement really?]

I'll need to know a little more about those techniques of yours before I can speculate. We do have some evidence to suggest that the original residents of the town possessed some traits beyond the human, which were not suppressed, but I'm not sure we'd be allowed even such leeway.

[Ritsu is just going to assume that comment was one of interest because bending spoons is not lame.]

There were various methods. For example, my older brother was born with psychic powers, as were many other people. These tended to be known as "natural-born espers." Those who awakened these powers later were usually not as strong.

[Mostly.]

For myself, stress was a primary factor in my awakening, and my power tends to grow with it.

[Mostly.]

A lot of experiments were run concerning the use of stress to awaken psychic powers. They had varying amounts of success, however.

That said, this area seems to be stressful to begin with.

[Now that's starting to sound more familiar, and thus convincing. Some with powers at birth, some awakened, experiments, stress... he knows these stories, but then that's true of most stories for this old man.]

If it's stress you're after, I've got excellent news for you. But I would not recommend running any personal experiments to try to bring your powers back out. Others have tried that, too. They mostly discovered creative ways to die.

[Norbinbury is low on every resource except ways to die.]

If you were not born with your powers, then you should know how to survive without them. My best advice is to focus on that.

[network] @ADMIN; Arrival

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