⇨ POLARIS 2.0

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Days 110 - 114
Where: Polaris
What: After a mysterious explosion shakes the station, the staff of Polaris struggle to maintain order while the test subjects fight for freedom with the aid of hidden allies. Productivity info is here.
Warnings: More graphic experimentation.

THEORY & CONCLUSION↴ At the midnight between Day 109 and Day 110, something happens. For most people, it won't be clear what - yet, they are shaken by it just the same. Violent tremors appear out of nowhere, rattling the entirety of the Polar station, violent enough to throw sleeping test subjects off their bunks. The source is unclear, but there is a sudden flurry of activity from staff as power flickers and is lost in various parts of the facility. Subjects, for the most part, will be left to their cells while they try to sort things out. The next morning, the staff are late picking people up. It's more like 6:30AM than the usual 6AM when they arrive to take people to the farm, which is a bit of tardiness that is entirely without precedent. Any questions about the incident the previous night will be waved off with the explanation of 'technical difficulties' that have been 'resolved.' ► DELTA: The three new Deltas will be left in their cells for even longer, waiting to be picked up, instructed that they would be escorted elsewhere instead of to the farm. Around 6:45AM some unfamiliar technicians will arrive and tell them that they are here to begin their processing into Delta. They are led into a previously untouched section of the station, where they are invited into a somewhat more intimate medical room to be asked some cursory questions and given a check up. Then, their suits will be removed, and they will be provided with their new uniforms, which they can apply like normal clothes. Delta life begins there. There will be a top level for the initial parts of their processing to be played out. Ultimately, however, they will end up being given a tour of the new Delta facilities, which amounts to a waterfront area that borders the new apartments they'll be staying in, as well a small supply shop where they can pick up an allotted amount of 'amenities' per day, based on their level of productivity and other achievements. This includes luxury items like food, pleasant smelling soaps, or other hygiene related tools. There are even small things like decorations or pictures of other places available, though they are fairly expensive. The first day will mostly involve the processing, a tour, and some basic training regarding the new tools they will be using, such as the mandatory visors and basic computer access. The next day, observation shifts in the farm will start, as will participation in trials. ► FARMING: The Farm will continue as normal, though it seems like there are fewer staff observing it at the moment. The ones that are there seem a little bit more tense than usual. Power is still down in some places, but the Farm is thankfully still active. Sometimes the productivity turn-in scanners might be a bit glitchy, so try not to panic if it measures fewer points than you're due. ► TRIALS: Trials are continuing as projected, though with the most broad of experiments already under way, they may be more selective. If you have an idea for a trial you can be sure to share it with the staff, and they will take it under advisement! Any information you want to provide is encouraged, they will say, especially if it involves notable traits about you or your fellow test subjects - or perhaps behavioral patterns you've noticed. You might even be rewarded!

Comments

[chronosynthesis]

That earns a wider grin from Syrlya. So he was right. "Wonderful! That means whatever happened, it has put things a little more in our favor. I've recovered some of my magic as well--" He pauses, looking down at his hand and flexes it.

"Not enough to act on my own, however. I know Strange had intentions to do something he would not specify to me," he wrinkles his nose a little. "But we need a more unified effort."

[periphrasing]

She cocks her head at the mention of strange. The wrench disappears back into the gauntlet in a flash of light. Last she talked to Strange he was a lot more interested in getting himself out than he was in working as a team, so it's oddly refreshing to hear that he maybe has (sort of) changed tact.

"Unified efforts do tend to have a much higher success rate than individual efforts do, historically," she hums. "Well. Whatever Ignatius did, it's quite possible that any member of the carnival who took his pact had at least some of their power returned by his actions. I'd have to take a broader survey of the population to really know if that's true or not, but if it is, it would lend significant support to my theory that conflicting fae ownership can potentially weaken or challenge the effects of an opposing contract."

She shakes her head, realizing she's getting a bit off track. "In any case, it gives us a lot more to work with. The question that remains is how we can tie it all together..."

[chronosynthesis]

Syrlya nods once. They had talked about it, and it's something he's glad is proving right here. Maybe deciding to work with Ignatius did some good after all.

"Let's look at what we have again. Ignatius is somewhere in here, alive, with enough connection that he was able to grant us some power." He pauses, considering the score board and the state he's seen some others. "We are trapped in some sort of technological station. Lambert is now in 'Theta', but--well, he is not missing or mentally compromised, it seems. Rita is in Delta, as are Yukio, Sans, and Tyki, so we should see how much freedom and information that gets them."

They need to think in the short term, because this needs to be a short term solution. They don't have years. "I don't believe anyone has seen the Mother of Invention, among us, so we aren't certain how involved she is in our particular case."

[periphrasing]

"We don't know how involved she is, and we don't know what she even looks like," Peridot adds. "All we know for sure is that she uses some kind of drone to speak with people from a distance."

[chronosynthesis]

"The golem, I remember." Drone, golem, same thing. "Wherever she is, neither she nor her Technicians seem inclined to act on any open desires for escape."

He glances to the corner of the cell. "But at long as we cannot be overheard, there are some things we will want to be less obvious about. Gongenzaka told me he's been receiving missives from a Fae in the Summerlands, looking to assist Ignatius and us with escape."

So, three cheers for having some powerful outside help. "Apparently they already have someone infiltrating the facility."

[periphrasing]

There's no way Syrlya could possibly know the depths of just how grateful Peridot is for that information. She stills as he speaks, ears pricked up, eyes widening with emotion. Up until now, they've been scraping and struggling for any sort of advantage they could find that would help them get out of here, but it's been hard to hold on to hope in such dismal circumstances. Knowing there's another fae on the outside who has their best interests in mind actually makes escape feel like a reality that could be easily within their reach.

"From the Summerlands?" Peridot repeats excitedly. "Maybe it's the Summer Maiden! Amethyst did mention to me that she had received similar contact from a benign outside force back during cycle one, but I couldn't let her tell me the details without risking the Technicians overhearing us--"

She pauses, and then clears her throat awkwardly, perhaps realizing she's getting a bit carried away. "Did they give any sort of instruction on how we can assist?"

[chronosynthesis]

"Amethyst as well? That makes three of us--er, Gongenzaka claimed that Yuya received a missive as well..."

He rubs his chin thoughtfully. "He also claimed to have been granted some power fro. This Fae, so I suspect that's the case for all of them. Element of fire, light, and... searching for things?"

He shakes his head. "Anyway, they have someone inside and ready to move. They wanted to coordinate a time for everyone to be ready to escape at once, but I asked him to see if they were capable of disrupting the Technicians during the day or night."

Since that will change their plan a bit, given one instance involves everyone being locked into cells. "No more of your magic has returned since Ignatius did something that night, has it?"

[periphrasing]

Peridot nods in agreement with everything regarding their mystery fae ally. She kind of wishes she'd heard more info about this before she risked tampering with facility equipment, and put her Pokemon in mortal danger trying (and failing) to gather information, but. Better late than never.

At Syrlya's question, she looks at her hand, flexing her claws thoughtfully. Each flex brings a fluctuating shimmer of heat around the tips of each talon. "That, I'm not certain of. I have been abstaining from testing some of my abilities, mostly in the interest of not alerting the Technicians to my re-powered status." Like turning into a big fucking dragon. That's probably not a great idea for her to try, even if she can do it.

"...At the very least, my natural metallokinesis and my carnival gained heat manipulating abilities seem to have returned, albeit in a somewhat weakened state. And you saw me use the gauntlet just now... The main thing I have yet to test are my transformation spells, but I don't see those being of much use at this stage of planning."

[chronosynthesis]

Syrlya nods. "Good thinking. It isn't much, but the less that they realize we are capable of is less they can prepare for... such as turning into a dragon."

His expression twists wryly. "Mine have also begun to function again. As has Childermass', and many others." Who he hopes don't take their new abilities and go do something stupid with them to get out.

"What about you? Have you heard or seen anything else?"

[periphrasing]

She grins unpleasantly at the dragon comment. She is going to bite so many Technicians, first chance she gets.

"Not really," she grumbles at that last question, looking sort of dejected. "I did make an attempt to send Stumpy out with a modified recording device to try and gather more information on the layout of this place, but the results were... Less than useful."

[chronosynthesis]

"Stumpy?" Some sort of pet she keeps stored in her gauntlet? He presumes so. "Do you mean a camera, or a device to record audio?"

Peridot might consider it less than useful, but Syrlya's still curious. And they have time to kill, because there's not going to be any cell breaks tonight.

[periphrasing]

"My wimpod," she clarifies. "A Pokemon. The device I attached to her recorded both audio and video; I extracted a hidden camera from one of the cells I was in and modified it for personal use. Unfortunately, because the camera is really only meant to record inside a space as large as these stupid boxes they keep cramming us into, the audio didn't pick up anything intelligible, let alone useful. And Stumpy was unable to bypass any of the doors, so the video aspect of it mostly just footage of her running around the hallways."

[chronosynthesis]

Syrlya glances around, trying to gauge the size of the box and thus how much the camera could probably capture. Sadly, he still has no mental reference for Stumpy so the plausibility is just as much guessing.

"Well... what about the hallway? Our own movement is restricted, but were you able to get any idea of the size of the area? Any signs that point to other areas of the building, the number of guards set to patrol?"

Whoops sorry I thought I responded to this!

[periphrasing]

"Negative," Peridot says, ears drooping out to the sides in mild embarrassment. "No guards were sighted at the time, but the data acquired that night is hardly indicative of an average night out in those halls. Without further testing, it's impossible to conclude for certain whether those halls are simply unmonitored, or if the technicians were diverted from their usual rounds that night to assist in the response to the explosion."

[chronosynthesis]

Syrlya leans back a little, looking up thoughtfully. "Zangetsu can track people, can't he? I'll see if his abilities have come back at all."

He could confirm if that's the usual. "But I think that the Mother of Invention stifling our abilities is an indication of a weakness in their security. If she and her Technicians were prepared to deal with whatever we could use against them, they wouldn't need to inhibit it."

Basically they can probably kick some ass like this. "But we will only have one chance to make it."

[periphrasing]

"Well, first off: You'll be pleased to know that Zangetsu does have some of his power back. We were roomed together the other night."

Peridot doesn't look quite so convinced about the other part. The idea that they outmatch the Technicians is a nice one, but...

"Knowing what we know about how most fae treat their changelings, my theory is that the suppression is more to keep us from escaping than it is to protect her lackeys," she says, sneering the last word. "For all our sakes though, I would much rather that your theory be the correct one."

[chronosynthesis]

"And if this place was equipped to prevent out escape at full power, they wouldn't need to suppress it. Two people were able to get out of the farm and into vents. They're not actually prepared for us having any sort of enhanced ability."

It's basically their biggest advantage right now, besides the mysterious benefactor. "We just need to make the most of it."

He pauses, considering. "Would you be able to disrupt the technical security? Hack it? They use teleporters to transfer between sections, but they do have authorization locks."

[periphrasing]

Peridot laughs.

"Yes. I have numerous methods at my disposal for dealing with such obstacles," she says confidently. "Before we were kidnapped to this place, I was actually working on a new method of interfacing with machines that would allow me to alter or disable them. And even if I can't manage to tap into that power here, it won't matter much. There isn't a machine in existence that I couldn't master."

[chronosynthesis]

"Good. We'll need that expertise." Because Syrlya's solution was otherwise 'smash it'.

He shifts a little, but even under the weight of needing to sleep he feels himself invigorated. They almost have a plan--and that means they're almost ready to act.

"I'll find you, once Gongenzaka brings me what he learns from the Fae helping from the outside."

[periphrasing]

She nods. "Be careful spreading information on the Farm, when you do," Peridot adds. "I tried to use my powers to feel for cameras in there like I did in this cell, but there's an overwhelming number of devices present."

There's a brief pause, and then she speaks up again.

"Um... There is one more thing that I'm concerned about, that we should probably consider."

[chronosynthesis]

Syrlya nods. He kind of expected they were monitored everywhere, but so long as their hopes of escape were nothing more than vague estimates, it didn't seem like the Technicians felt the need to interfere. They probably hear it a dozen times.

Then she stalls and Syrlya raises a brow. "What is it?"

[periphrasing]

The expression on her face is deadly serious, because the more she thinks about this the more she is realizing that this could be a very big problem.

"This... suppression that the Mother of Invention has on our powers," she starts off carefully. "We have no way of knowing for sure if it will go away once we're free of this place. What if it doesn't? Fighting the Technicians is one thing, but we can't take on the Wyld Hunt or the Huntsman like this. We weren't even close to a match for them at full power!"

[chronosynthesis]

Syrlya pauses. That's... something he hadn't considered, when Ignatius' contract was able to counteract it. He figured once they were free of her realm, they'd have the room to ease off the inhibition.

"Then... we do not immediately pursue the Hunt, and we find a way to regain our power and get more power to stand against them." He won't say that's assuming they even go to combat the Wyld Hunt. That's not guaranteed.

"You're right that even at our most powerful, we didn't stand a chance. And people will need time to recover--and from something that will only get worse the longer we stay. Regardless, we have to leave."

Basically, he thinks her focus is way too far in the future that's too uncertain to predict.

[periphrasing]

He's probably right about that. Her thoughts aren't entirely on the future, though. Some are still very much on the present. She calms a bit, considering his point.

"That's an entirely sensible solution, yes. There is one way we could be certain that her influence wouldn't follow us once we leave, though," Peridot growls, bitterness belying her intent.

[chronosynthesis]

"Kill her." He's been there, done that. "Which I'm not against... but I would rather not sacrifice anyone's life for a fight we may not win head on. We know the least about her, unless you have any ideas?"