The Merge: Agents and Powers Chapter 2: Agents Abroad

[kirinke]

Amy

The girl nodded. "Way, way back in pre-history, we're talking billions of years here, the earth was a dry rock. It got it's water from water-rich asteriods and comets striking the earth." she said. "At least, that's the prevailing theory."

[Tony Jones]

"Seventy percent?!" gasps Lilly. "That is so much! Even if new lands have appeared. Is that why some places seem to crowded? There is no room for people to spread out because of all the water? Which came from space?! How many things hit your world to give it so much water?!"

[kirinke]

Amy

"Lots." she said as she showed Lilly The Grand Tack Theory from her smart-phone.

[Tony Jones]

Lilly just boggles largely uncomprehendingly at the content of the article; all of it is clearly so far beyond her knowledge and experience up to this point that she can't get her head around it at all...

But several large swings of beer help her a little bit...

"That is really how this world formed?!" she asks. "It was not made, as grim Darkseid made dread Apokalips?!"

OOC: That is of course not how Apokalips was formed in the DC universe, but I'm pretty confident that's not what Darkseid allows the Lowlies there to think!

[kirinke]

Amy

"Yup. Random bits of dust forming into gravel, which formed into rocks, then boulders, then mountains of rock, until its own mass started pulling in enough stuff to form a core and from there, to what we're sitting on now." she said. "Pretty neat, huh?" she said as she showed Lilly another article on the formation of the Solar System. Then she showed her another article on the Earth's formation.

[jmucchiello]

"There are large expanses of the planet that are unsettled. Population could probably 100-fold and there'd still be enough land," Adeleth says. "Of course politics would interfere with that but that's a different discussion."

[kirinke]

Amy

"Lots of people just like to crowd in certain areas for jobs, familiarity and security. I personally like my elbow room and traveling like I do is a good way to learn new and practical things." she made a face. "I'm glad I tested out so I don't have to bother with school, at least not until I get to college age." she looked at their surprised faces. "US school system, plus force sensitive. If anything would make me go 'dark' it'd be that." she explained.

[Tony Jones]

Lilly looks at the articles Amy shows her, then puts the phone down and pushes it across the table back to her. She just looks like she has had her mind blown by all of this new information that is so completely at odds to what she thought she knew before, and takes another large swig of her beer...

"I think my brain will melt if I read any more of this," she tells them.

[kirinke]

Amy

The girl chuckled. "Then we won't go into the beginner's guide to String theory. That stuff will really make your head spin."

[Tony Jones]

"I think you have turned my view of the world upside down enough for one day," confirms Lilly, drinking some more beer. "I am not sure my brain could take it also being turned inside out, back to front and spun violently as I fear anything else might do..."

[kirinke]

Amy

"Well, there's always the library, maybe we can get you a card there, so you can read what you like at your own pace." she told the other girl cheerfully.

[Tony Jones]

Lilly looks geniunely confused at this concept.

"But what use is it to know such things?" she asks. "How will that help make your world a better place? Or help me survive?"

[pathfinderq1]

Viv DeLaCourte (Harbinger)
HP: 1; LP: 0; Condition: Normal

Viv seemed to ignore the conversation that her teammates were wrapped up in- in fact, it made admirable audio cover. Even before they entered the restaurant, Viv was on her phone, going down the informational rabbit hole in search of information. She had a few crumbs to start with, but this sort of thing was, after all, her specialty.

Over the course of several calls, she touched base with a few contacts, who led her to a few more. From people back at the Ministry, to local contacts from Spengler's organization, to local school officials and various Merge-tracking agencies (formal and not so), she began to put the pieces together- hopefully the picture would make sense when she was done...

>OOC: Viv is using her Contacts advantage to do the Gather Information function of the Investigate skill, which takes a few minutes (or likely longer in this case, as she is knitting togther information from multiple sources). Using her Skill Mastery- Investigate, that nets a 26, enough for 4 degrees of success on the base DC 10, which in turn should be enough for Protected information, the highest category (some of the time involves finding people with the right information access). In this case, she is cross-referencing local Merge data and both police and school info (the thought is that our 'young cyber-genius would have 'tested out' of his schooling and maybe been the subject of non-criminal nuisance calls- he would likely have arranged to hack his criminal records but maybe not the non-criminal ones.

Hopefully, this makes sense- it is, after all, Viv "in her element". If the GM feels that this is too much of a short circuit of the intended investigative elements of the plot, maybe she could find where he USED TO be, but he has now moved to a secret lair (as mad scientist types are known to do)- that is, she gets something to move us along a bit, but not enough to short circuit the whole process.

[jmucchiello]

"Learning expands your mind, in addition to the bending, folding, and spindling you were worried about. It allows you to see things from perspectives beyond your own," Adeleth says. "And, just surviving is not much of an existence. The world is indeed a dangerous place. But the safe places are much, , much larger than on your Apokalypse."

[Tony Jones]

"Your world is certainly infinitely superior to dread Apokalips, even in the worst parts of the cities I have seen," agrees Lilly. "But I am happy to be in a situation of 'just surviving' here! Where it is possible to relax a little without putting your life or freedom at risk, such as here. She gestures around at the eatery.

"The novelty value of how relatively easy that is here has not yet worn off for me. Perhaps at some point that novelty value will wear off, and I will wish to expand my mind through learning things over and above those necessary for survival. But for now I am ... content. And can sing as I please."