[Imladir]

[Cynthia Rawson - Sunday June 10th, 2075 - Dante's Inferno] #87

Cynthia laughs "Sure, as soon as I find out." She sighs "Honestly though, I don't know. Nothing was able to grab my attention and keep it up to now." She shrugs "I don't want to work for a corp. It would probably come with a lot of advantages but it would be boring as hell. Among other things. But I'm not too sure I want to continue doing what I am doing now. That is small jobs, grabbing data I'm asked to find. I mean, sometimes it's fun, like this morning, and it can pay well if I need it. But there's no..." She frowns, silent.

After a couple of seconds, she looks at Tanya and says, with an wry smile "I suppose that a very good incentive would be to give me a goal. A meaning to my life." She shrugs "I don't know how you could do it without boring me to death but since you wanted to know..."

[Mercy Merchant]

Tanya looks at you very closely for a few moments then seems to make up her mind about something.  "I like you, Cynthia.  Not sure why, but I do.  Your personality is almost directly opposite of mine.  It seems to me that you are a true introvert while I am so much the extrovert.  I have been trying all night to get  you out of your shell but you are stubbornly refusing, whether intentionally or not I do not know.  So let me ask you a different sort of question, with a different sort of challenge behind it.  If it is not money that can light a fire under you, might it be the lives of millions of people that face a horrible, painful death if a grand conspiracy cannot be stopped?  Would you be willing to be excited about helping me save those people?"

[Imladir]

[Cynthia Rawson - Sunday June 10th, 2075 - Dante's Inferno] #88

Cynthia nods when she is described as an introvert. That's like saying water is wet, she knows it, and she doesn't mind at all. She seems surprised at what comes next though. She takes a a couple of seconds to think back about the events of the evening. Sure, she can find a few occasions where someone tried to get her out of her comfort zone. But not that many. Could she have just missed them altogether? Possible. No, let's be honest. Probable. She's much too comfortable in her shell to even want to notice any attempt to get her out except the most obvious ones.

Playing back the last words of Tanya, she seems surprised, then amused, disbelief clear in her tone and posture "It might, sure! Is it a new game I never heard about? Or an old one I never paid attention to?"
She stares at Tanya for a moment. She doesn't really believe in conspiracies. Well, except those about Technomancers. But she got enough evidences to believe those, and even them are about studying, replicating or negating Technomancers' gifts. Not to kill millions of people: there's no bottom line there... Tanya however seems...serious? Is that even possible? "But wait... are you serious? Is that the thing abroad you mentioned?" she frowns "Supposing you are... Maybe it could. I can't give you a better answer than that though, not if I don't know more... Before that it's just too...abstract, I suppose."

Looking in space, she whispers "A vigilante, eh?"

[Mercy Merchant]

Tanya nods.  "Very serious indeed.  There is a cabal of people determined to unleash a horrible series of several strains of weaponized bio agents on another segment of the population.  They couch their desires in comforting words that all end up meaning greater profits for the cabal members.  There is another cabal, one I am part of, that found out about this some years ago and have been working to stop it.  We have been successful on several fronts, but not in stopping them entirely.  And now it is becoming clear from hints and trails of bread crumbs that something big is happening soon.  And we are not ready yet.  Hell, we don't even know for sure what the bloody target is.  What we do have is leads.  And we have people dedicated to stopping this, but not enough.  I am trying to gather people that are willing to work outside the law to help us.  Millions will die if we are not successful.  So, does that interest you?"

[Imladir]

[Cynthia Rawson - Sunday June 10th, 2075 - Dante's Inferno] #89

Cynthia seems at a loss for word for some time "I can't say I ever paid too much attention to the law to begin with... But this..." Wide eyed, she considers all this for a minute. She would be a fool to believe all this with just a few words. She would need proofs for this. Or at least, enough solid hints.

Finally, she nods "Ok." Scratching her chin, she adds "I understand if you don't want to say too much. I'd really much prefer knowing everything but I understand it's probably not possible. Even if given my speciality... I just might be able to learn more than you wanted. And the more I know, the easier I can find more. And the better I can avoid traps. But it's your call." Her face and tone hardens a bit "However, don't ever lie to me. Odds are I'll find out and... Well... Maybe sometime I'll tell you what happened to the last person who tried to backstab me. He doesn't like the consequences. At all. Or I don't think he does at least. If he's still sane and able to even think of course."

[Mercy Merchant]

Tanya nods without smiling.  "I understand what you are saying and you will be give as much information as I can give if you say yes to helping me, but you have stated that you are supposed to be talking to Marisa first and I do not wish to say more until after that talk.  But there is something you ought to know about me; threats have little real effect on me as I thrive on danger and risk, so threats just make things all the more interesting, don't you know?  I do not care what you have done to people who have lied to you in the past, mostly because I do not intend to lie to you or stab you in the back.   I might lie to my victims, but never to my partners.  And that is the last we should ever have to talk on that subject, I hope."

A couple of minutes later the two of you arrive back at the VIP suite on the first circle.  Tanya moves to the bar and lifts a carafe of an orange liquid from the refrigerator.  "Juice?"

[Imladir]

[Cynthia Rawson - Sunday June 10th, 2075 - Dante's Inferno, VIP suite] #90

Cynthia smiles "It was more a statement than a threat. It's not something I do well anyway." She shrugs "I wouldn't mind at all not having to even think about it again to be honest." with a chuckle, she adds "And I don't think Marissa could offer something remotely as interesting. I'll listen to her, since I already decided to do so. But that doesn't mean I'll agree to anything. And even if she does offer something interesting, there are a lot of hours in a day." With a happy smile, she adds "And I love to learn more. Especially about stuff I'm not supposed to know."

At the offer, she nods, taking the juice. "So, should I continue that hack?"

[Mercy Merchant]

Tanya pours you a glass of the tasty nectar and than another for herself.  "I understand about prior commitments.  And I suppose for someone with the skills to do things across the globe, you are probably capable of doing two things at once."  She eyes you from across the lip of her glass.  "Certainly.  If you think you will not be bored out of your skull.  I am still interested in learning the weak points of my system."

[Imladir]

[Cynthia Rawson - Sunday June 10th, 2075 - Dante's Inferno, VIP suite] #91

Cynthia shrugs "Thanks. It's better than waiting for Marissa doing nothing. And being in VR is... Well, nice. So I won't be bored too soon. Unless you have fifteen layers on your stuff, then, I will probably be bored..." She sips in her juice, and sets it on a nearby table. Making herself comfortable in a chair, she says "Just send me a message if I'm not back by the time Marissa is here. Oh and uh... Don't feel like you have to stay here, I won't mind being alone if you have people to talk to."

After that, she happily goes into VR. There, she reacquaints herself with the situation regarding the blips and the local condition of the Matrix, already noticing the advantages of VR over what she was doing - and seeing - earlier in AR.

[VegasRigged]

ooc: god dammit. I responded yesterday to this and for some reason it didn't register my post. AGAIN. Ok, frustration aside, here we go.

I go for something stronger, my nerves are like needles and I feel as though i will doe at any moment. The fact that I'm even feeling that is almost a good sign, as opposed to the absolute disassociation I experienced on the dance floor. I need to move this evening along. I can't leave until I've persuaded Cynthia to help me and made good on my connection with Tanya, but every moment I stay here my instincts are screaming to run or hide.

"Lets go find the others." I say almost to quickly "I'm sure they are feeling rather neglected at this point."

I'm careful to keep my steps at a normal pace, not to hurry or even appear that I want to. Any sign of hesitation or anxiety is a weakness that could be exploited.

[Mercy Merchant]

@Cynthia   Things are different in VR, to be sure.  Clearer and more...................defined.  This is the real world and all else is just something less.  At least it has been that way most of your life.  Now?  There is something different.  People are taking notice of you, some even claiming to like you.  Some offering you friendship, or at least some form of companionship.  Can there really be something in the meat world worth paying attention to.  Perhaps there is...........................

Your jump back to Tanya's 'links is routine, but something has changed.  Now all the files on the second one seem to be experiencing the same little blip you noticed earlier and a quick search reveals that there is no longer a file named MISC JUNK.


@Eva   A quick search of the rest of the first circle tells you that none of your companions of the evening are here.  Sylvia points to the ramp descending to the next level and shrugs.

[Imladir]

[Cynthia Rawson - Sunday June 10th, 2075 - Dante's Inferno, In VR] #92

Cynthia takes a few seconds to reflect on what is happening, what has happened in the meat world. She quickly decides however that she will reflect on all this later, in her bed. For now however, she has a "job" to do, and she intends to do it well.

She's surprised to notice the disappearance of the file. She looks around, to see if anything else has changed. Maybe it merged with another file? Then recalling something, she looks at Saint Exp, asking him what happened and if he noticed anything. Otherwise, she'd have to hack a file and try to understand the blips. Maybe something she should do anyway, but it would take sometime. On the other hand... She's now much, much, faster than she was previously. And she intends to make the most of it.

[VegasRigged]

I take my drink and walk towards the ramp, then bring up my VIP ARO and ask it to find the rest of my party. At least I'm still operating technology, with the amount of panicky that's trying to override my brain it hard to function let alone make use of resources.

[Mercy Merchant]

@Cynthia   Saint Exp can tell you that the file just disappeared.  He also reports that seventeen new files have appeared in the time since you last asked and that there has been some other activity in a large number of the files.  All of the files are experiencing the random blips.  And "blips" is simply a way to describe that something odd is happening to each file, all at the same time, at random time measures that have never been less that five seconds or longer than twenty.


@Eva   The ARO tells you that Marie and Tom are on the third circle and that Tanya and Cynthia are actually back in the VIP suite.

[VegasRigged]

I adjust my course and make my way back to the VIP, showing the result to Sylvia.

"My initial talk with Cynthia should only take a few minutes, I just want to give her a few lines about the usefulness of a well balanced team to back her up and that sort of thing. I'd also like to get back to her before Tanya completely wins her over, perhaps get to know our host a little better while I do this?"

The notion that Tanya might steal my latest desired asset strikes me like a bolt of lightening. I was foolish to let them go off alone, I may have been foolish to bring them out at all. How foolish have i been  these last few hours? Did i whip a man for his pleasure earlier this evening? No, can't think about that right now, have to focus and those images make me recoil further into my mind.