20191207 - MacKinnon is Questioned

5:08 PM Daniel:
Elaith has clearly wearied in the past couple of days. Whether it is from a lack of proper sleep and diet, or just from a lack of purpose. ..

Elaith kneels, his knees shoulder-width apart, but his feet together. A hand on each knee, he closes his eyes, and prays. Feeling around him, and reaching as far out as he can, he seeks any information about, well, anything.

But he does not pray for longer than a couple minutes before fatigue sets in and he falls over, asleep. (edited)

5:20 PM Lkeas:
Lkeas stirs on the half-solid chair she had passed out in, stretching her sore limbs from sleeping in a cramped position. "Mmf," she manages as she blinks open her eyes and gropes around for her glasses. She looks disappointed that the hazy world is still there.

She sits up and raise her arms to stretch some more, looking around the room for anyone else who might be active. She notes a foggy sort of meal has been placed on the main table and walks over to it. She takes a plate and a slice of chicken pie, and waits for them to solidify in her hands. Then she begins wandering about the building as she begins eating, looking for the others.

5:28 PM Serian:
[Stuff] "Today" the walls seem less solid, and appear to have oozed downward and outward a little while no one was paying attention.

5:30 PM Lkeas:
Lkeas takes note of the sagging structure mid-bite and stops chewing for a moment, brow furrowed. "Tha' don' look good..." she mumbles through her chicken pie.

5:30 PM [DELPHI]:
"I'm afraid it feels about as good as it looks, Arkhivist." Case's voice echoes oddly.(edited)

5:32 PM Lkeas:
She heads outside to get a better look at the state of the house and swallows her food to reply to Case. "Anything we can do? Other than following Garet's lead on looking for an expert in multidimensional physics?"(edited)

5:33 PM Serian:
[Stuff] Objects and structures outside look to be in a state of worse "ooze-decay" than inside.

5:35 PM [DELPHI]:
"I am delaying the degradation to the best of my systems' ability to self-assert while deprived of the ability to perceive superficial systems that have degraded too far. I do not dare to manifest for fear that critical systems may collapse without my observation."

5:38 PM Lkeas:
Lkeas plods her way around the oozing perimeter, slowly losing her appetite. "Ok, you keep at that, Case. We'll get going as soon as we can... We may not get much time to investigate the why until we can find a more stable place..."

5:41 PM [DELPHI]:
Rhea walks down the stairs while clearly trying not to slip. "Case, can you estimate when this phenomenon will compromise your power containment?" "As long as my consciousness remains entirely within my present form, my connections to the singularity and the more outdated sources inherited from the prior ambit should remain far more solid than anything you can see. However, as the phenomenon propagates at the subatomic level, it takes an exceptional amount of processing to analyze every compromised surface. I cannot yet estimate how long my physical structure will hold unless a stopgap measure is identified."

5:42 PM Lkeas:
"I wonder if this means whatever substitute Creator was holding this place together is letting it go too," she ponders... Then falls silent as she hears soft snoring sounds nearby. "Fulcan?" She calls out, moving towards the source.

5:44 PMRebecca Cailmel:
"Then we need to get off of this world fast," Rebecca concluded, having listened in on the conversation and observed the scenery for herself. "We're clearly on the clock, and if we can't find MacKinnon soon, chances are the place will collapse in on itself."

5:45 PM Lkeas:
Lkeas spots Elaith's sleeping form, half sunk into the ooze. She quickly drops her plate and rushes over to him. "Elaith! Hey, wake up!"

5:48 PM [DELPHI]:
"Quiescence may well spell our doom in that case. But that we have not simply ceased to exist suggests otherwise. But being so unused to the records for any reality being in such a state, I cannot verify the telltale signs of forceful alterations from Alpha." While Rhea says this, Gabriel trudges over to Elaith and Lkeas from nearby. It would appear he had left in the direction of the tower again, but avoided using his powers to transport himself. "...Shit, it's that bad already?" He rushes over to help pull Elaith out by the armpits.

5:51 PM Daniel:
Elaith stirs, first a bit, then all at once. As he awakens with a start he leaps, or would have if not for the ooze. Instead, with the two tugging on him, he at best makes an awkward tumble.

"I'm up. I'm up!" Elaith shakes himself off as he returns to his feet. The catnap did him well, even if it was against his will, but he remains tired. "Lkeas. Gabriel. It's good to see you."(edited)

5:55 PM Lkeas:
Lkeas offers a small smile in response, but it quickly fades as she gestures around them. "This place is not great for resting on our laurels; we need to pack whatever we need and find a way out. Elaith... " She starts heading back inside the house, motioning the others to follow. "Did you learn anything while you were out here?"

6:00 PM [DELPHI]:
Gabriel nods grimly while patting what seems like grey sludge off of Elaith. Oddly, what reaches the ground is clattering fragments of tiles instead. "Mostly that I shouldn't wander anymore. The tower is strange. There's still a strange air about it, but I can't feel the inside anymore. And I'm struggling to find the words for it, but time isn't properly advancing. It's like we're in a single moment. I thought my senses were constrained somehow, but it's starting to feel like past a certain distance - Well, it feels like all there is to sense is what's within that radius. If I go farther than that, I can still feel the house, but nothing else outside that bubble."

6:01 PM Lkeas:
Lkeas processes this, nodding slowly. "What about you, Elaith? If this realm was really William's manifestation, you may have a special connection to it as an Avatar of one of his creations.  Anything from you?"

6:03 PM Daniel:
Shaking his head, Elaith thinks before answering, not wanting to misconstrue his meaning. "I didn't learn anything of merit. As an Avatar I have a connection to Falerin and the other Avatar, but getting an answer was never a guarantee. Especially when unnecessary."

6:04 PM Serian:
[Stuff] Montgomery MacKinnon enters the tavern-ish structure where everyone has gathered. As he walks through the doorway, it instantly solidifies into a solid oaken structure. He looks around at the rest of the oozing, sagging interior for a moment. "I really love what you have done with the place. It fits in so well with the rest of the neighborhood."

6:05 PM Rebecca Cailmel:
Rebecca looked over to MacKinnon. "Ah, just the man we were looking for," she said, relieved that the person they needed to speak to just arrived.

6:05 PM Lkeas:
Lkeas re-enters the house, gathers up her shoulder bag and Sword. Looking to Rebecca, she responds to her earlier observation with, "So how do you think we go about finding the Profes-" She stops short as MacKinnon enters the building. "Nevermind."

She turns to MacKinnon with a respectful nod of her head. "Greetings, Dr. MacKinnon. How did your lecture go?"

6:07 PM Serian:
[MacKinnon] Clearly, this Creator insists that I put up with your nonsense some more before I can be rid of such interruptions, so ... I will give you three questions and only three. Choose wisely what you ask.

6:08 PM [DELPHI]:
"...Professor. I'm so relieved to see you. As much as we'd like to understand the situation further, it's looking too dangerous to remain. Thank you for your help." Gabriel looks about to ask, but he turns to the others first.

6:08 PM Rebecca Cailmel:
"Alright then. Question one: We want to get out of here using my doorknob.  Is it safe to head to Caelestia, or is that suffering the same problems as here?"

6:08 PM Lkeas:
Lkeas looks at the others pointedly. "Let's deliberate before asking..." She sighs as Rebecca forges ahead.

6:08 PM Daniel:
Elaith enters, but instead of asking a question, he just has a seat, and listens to what people have to say. He doesn't want anything like the same question being asked twice to occur.

6:10 PM [DELPHI]:
Rhea looks over the assembled, then stares at Gabriel with a mild hint of frustration. "Had you not explained your inability to find the route back?"

6:11 PM Lkeas:
Lkeas eyes Dr. MacKinnon with a measure of caution. "I hope you'll grant us the ability to ask each other questions before posing the other two to you." She's careful not to phrase this as a question in itself.

6:12 PM Serian:
[MacKinnon] Answer one: I do not know the condition of the world of Caelestia.

6:13 PM Lkeas:
Lkeas takes Rebecca by the arm and pulls her over to the others to huddle up. "Let's not waste any more on the chance we get another "I don't know.""

6:14 PM Rebecca Cailmel:
"Agreed. I was asking that question in the chance that he did know.  I'd rather we not take a gamble and jump to Caelestia with that answer.  If anybody has any suggestions on where we could go, now's the time to suggest."

6:14 PM[DELPHI]:
Case speaks with a significantly closer to normal voice: "You can tell not a lot of you attended an Arden lecture..."

6:14 PM Lkeas:
"Let's also refrain from asking any questions he might be able to answer with a simple yes or no."

6:14 PM Daniel:
"Or we could take a step back and understand, first."

6:15 PM Rebecca Cailmel:
"Aye. We definitely need to know how to use my doorknob to get where we need to go.  I have the basics in my head, but that won't be enough.  MacKinnon is our expert on multidimensional physics, so he could probably help us out with figuring out how to use it."

6:16 PM Lkeas:
Lkeas rubs her temples, trying to think of how to phrase things without asking anybody any questions, on the off-chance MacKinnon is being cheeky. "But he may not personally know how to use the doorknob. That's Serrel's thing.  We may get another I don't know out of that.  What we might be able to do is ask him how he could help us travel to a safe realm."

6:16 PM Daniel:
Elaith ponders a different question, and decides to ask it before time runs out. "Why are things around you so solid?"

6:17 PM [DELPHI]:
Gabriel shakes his head. "It's a lot simpler than that. Firstly, we need to avoid both vagary and self-defeating questions. Asking about the viability of a method is pointless, especially when we hadn't actually settled on it. Identify the information we need, and ask for it - Or... that."

6:17 PM Rebecca Cailmel:
Rebecca grimaced at Elaith's question, hoping it could help.

6:18 PM Serian:
[MacKinnon] Is that your second inquiry?

6:19 PM Daniel:
Elaith sighs. "Apparently not. That response has never boded well."

6:20 PM Lkeas:
Lkeas blinks at MacKinnon. "If you're allowing us the chance to confirm that question as a group, then perhaps you'd forgive us a revocation so we can rephrase."

Lkeas turns back to the others. "Ok, let's focus. If he can help us get out of here, let's use the two questions to try to accomplish that goal. After that, we can ask whatever we want about why things are solid or why the sky is blue, or we can try to find Garet again since he's been taking notes."

6:22 PM Rebecca Cailmel:
"Agreed." Rebecca was relieved that they hadn't wasted that question.

6:22 PM Serian:
MacKinnon sits, exactly where he is. A recliner materializes and solidifies out of the greyness and ooze for him to sit in.

6:23 PM [DELPHI]:
Gabriel nods. "Needs first, curiosities second-" He stares at the materialization, almost immediately lost in thought.

6:23 PM Daniel:
Elaith decides he must be the only one thinking about solidifying this world.

6:25 PM Lkeas:
Lkeas bites her lip. "So... my suggestion was to ask him how to help us..." She looks at the others expectantly to see if they'd agree with the idea without actually asking them if they do.

6:25 PM Rebecca Cailmel:
Rebecca nodded. "That's what I thought. If we needed an expert on multidimensional physics to work my doorknob, naturally that means he has information that could help us on that subject."

"Question is: What does he know, and how does it help us?"

6:26 PM Daniel:
Elaith nods. "Go for it, Lkeas. We won't know, until we ask anyway, on what to ask next."

6:27 PM Lkeas:
Lkeas winces and quickly looks over at MacKinnon to see if he's registering Rebecca's last query as being directed at him.

6:27 PM [DELPHI]:
Rhea tilts her head. "Might I suggest you consider asking how we can make it back to our original reality? Or whatever variant pleases you, so long as you're not ambiguous. We'll most likely have to do it ourselves, but any other question we might ask depends on the method we need to pursue."

6:27 PM Rebecca Cailmel:
Rebecca looked over to Rhea. "Not a bad suggestion, I suppose."

6:28 PM Lkeas:
Lkeas turns to Rhea. "But it's possible our original reality no longer exists... in the worst case scenario that Rebecca and Mael were predicting. In which case, we could not get a good answer from anyone about that..."

6:29 PM [DELPHI]:
Gabriel snaps out of his haze. "We already know of a method... Or two, but I can guarantee the other one I knew of doesn't work. Well, he doesn't know about the state of Caelestia, which is rather different from knowing that reality to be gone. We could ask about making it out of here and to safety.... I'l leave it up to you."

6:29 PM Serian:
MacKinnon pulls a steaming cup of coffee out of the "floor" and begins drinking it, sip by sip as he waits

6:30 PM Rebecca Cailmel:
"Mm. One method we have is my doorknob, so that's probably our best option to get out of here.  But we need more information on how to work it before we can use it to escape."

6:31 PM Lkeas:
Lkeas nods as there seems to be a consensus forming. She turns to MacKinnon and clears her throat. "We get the sense that we need to leave this realm as it is decaying, and travel to a safe place. How can you help us achieve this?" She looks back at the others to see if this wording is ok with them.(edited)

6:33 PM [DELPHI]:
"Far be it from me to mind being tasted, but I am not entirely used to having the preliminary cup of coffee taken out of me rather than with me, let alone with an indecisive audience." Case comments through occasional distortions.(edited)

6:33 PM Serian:
[MacKinnon] Answer two: I can help you by answering your three questions, of which you have used two. There are no other ways I can help you because I have chosen this one and this one only.

6:34 PM Daniel:
Elaith's clearly consternated, but he doesn't interfere.

6:34 PM Rebecca Cailmel:
"Well then, last question has to be about my doorknob, since that's clearly the only option we have available to us," Rebecca concluded.

6:35 PM [DELPHI]:
"If the doorknob is the only option we have available to us, then asking how to get out of here will inevitably involve it. If it isn't, then asking about the knob will preclude finding out about any other methods." Gabriel pinches the bridge of his nose.

6:37 PM Lkeas:
Lkeas sighs, frustration clearly apparent in her flushed cheeks. She turns back to the others. "It's possible he won't be the one to get us out of here at all. His only method of helping is answering questions.  Unless our last question leads to a solution, this resource will be used up."

6:39 PM Rebecca Cailmel:
Rebecca decided to be bold and pulled out her doorknob for MacKinnon to see. "I have this doorknob that we could use to get out of here. I had the instruction manual put in my head twice, but I was advised to find an expert on multidimensional physics before I used it to get out of here, with you being named as one such expert.  What might you know as said expert that we could use to arrive at a destination of our choosing?"

6:40 PM Daniel:
"My question is of no use without a follow-up. But I still think it's worth asking how to make this world work, since it is clearly possible for him. He also got here somehow, and plans to leave somehow."

6:40 PM Serian:
[MacKinnon] That is two questions, and you only have one remaining

6:41 PM [DELPHI]:
"I might as well have talked to the wall, Case and I have been getting along better lately..." "You had best get your coffee from the kitchen, Desmond."

6:42 PM Daniel:
Elaith decides to not try and probe MacKinnon, thinking it may use up a question.

6:42 PM Lkeas:
"Perhaps the problem was asking him personally to help us rather than asking him straight up how to get out of here."

6:44 PM Serian:
[MacKinnon] Very well, however. Since you seem to very much need more than you are allowed ... Answer three: I know many things about planar travel, however, since I do not know your destination, I know nothing that will help you. Answer four: The manipulation of substance here is an expression of Law.

MacKinnon gestures briefly and sinks through the recliner and then into the floor

6:45 PM [DELPHI]:
Rhea remarks drily: "Whenever we get out of here, I'm enrolling all of you in Arden's classes."

6:45 PM Serian:
[Stuff] Once MacKinnon is gone, the previously solidified material goes back to beeing ooze and fog

6:46 PM Lkeas:
Lkeas sighs. "Well of course that was the answer to question four..." She unsheathes her Sword and sets it on a table to demonstrate to Elaith how it causes it to solidify.

6:46 PM Rebecca Cailmel:
Rebecca sighed. "Okay, so all that's left is for us to figure out where we're going to go. We at least had confirmation that he can give us the information we need.  So, let's all start going over our options on where to go for the next time he shows up."

6:47 PM Lkeas:
Lkeas flops down on a chair. She seems at a loss, and simply turns on her laptop to begin searching through the Archives. "I know we are short on time, but I need to think..."

6:48 PM Rebecca Cailmel:
"Given how Caelestia's status is questionable, it's perhaps best that we avoid going there for the time being."

6:49 PM [DELPHI]:
"Assuming he simply allows us to ask him questions again. In which case, please avoid both ambiguous and overly specific questions." Gabriel grumbles out while staring at the spot MacKinnon sank through. "And what destination isn't questionable, by whatever logic I missed?"

6:50 PM Rebecca Cailmel:
"Presumably whatever might not have been used by William," Rebecca mentioned. "We know that William isn't tending to his creations anymore, and Caelestia's status is unknown. We need to presume that William isn't tending to any of his creations anymore."

6:50 PM Daniel:
"It's also worth noting we may be in a fairly lawless area, if substance is manipulated by law."

6:54 PM [DELPHI]:
"I'd have to ask again, then. What destination isn't of questionable safety? Remember when we became agents of the Technocracy. The deal we made wasn't constrained to the world of his closest creation. His changes to Bugendai's protocols weren't specific to any one world. He could move us between entirely different omniverses ."

6:55 PM Rebecca Cailmel:
"That is...a fair point," Rebecca decided. So now they basically had to pick a destination and make a gamble. "Well then, by that logic, I guess we could take a gamble and make a jump to Caelestia."

7:01 PM [DELPHI]:
"It looks like someone's finally learned not to cling so tightly to the etymology." Rhea remarks before addressing Rebecca: "While I don't necessarily agree with Gabriel, his logic holds. I would stress that you should recall your own experiences with the logistics of adventuring. Aimlessness is a frequent tradition for a Seeker, but consider how much sense it makes to mobilize resources towards a goal before actually deciding on it."

7:02 PM Rebecca Cailmel:
"Mm. Honestly, I was hoping that somebody could've made a suggestion on where to go by now.  Thus far, the only suggestions we've had is Maelstrom's world, and last I checked Maelstrom was banned from going there, and Terra Ancora, which is way too dangerous.  I've asked several times now for suggestions on where to go, but nobody's actually offered anything up."

7:08 PM Daniel:
Elaith stands, not wanting to get stuck in one place. "If we are set against staying here, then my next preference is my home, Caelestia. I have other curiosities too, though. Does that guy answer to Serian, because if that's done by exerting Law, he did it expertly."

Elaith doesn't say anything aloud, but silently strains to will the place solid, himself.

7:13 PM [DELPHI]:
"I wasn't around whenever those suggestions were made, but just now I stressed asking about getting to safety precisely so that the answer of what destination is safe would be implicit." Gabriel's tone gradually slips into an all too familiar dry monotone. Elaith's lack of experience with relevant forms of will working results in a lack of desired results, but his time as an avatar does help him ascertain that the alteration of properties requires an understanding of said properties.

7:14 PM Rebecca Cailmel:
"Well, we didn't get a helpful answer in that regard. We probably should've just asked what locations that he knew of would be safe to go to instead of asking him to help us in that regard."

7:33 PM [DELPHI]:
"If only for the loving memory of my wallpaper, though, I would recommend not waiting for a full consultation from Laplace's Demon before acting." Case recommends.

7:36 PM Daniel:
Elaith stops straining, deciding Lkeas as a cleric of Serian is better-suited for the task.

He then leaves the room, so nobody sees him try the ridiculous. He attempts to, with his hands, put some of the oozing area back into place.

7:51 PM [DELPHI]:
The experience is much like pushing a thick vertical layer of clay or putty back up a wall while gravity remains, as ever, a heartless meddler.