Deep bowls, dark souls. (Open)

[Rafflesia]

"So in a sense the seeds for Qi were sown when the worlds collided in a sense?", Raff pulled her glasses from her face a moment, letting the sunlight streak over her pale blue eyes. Folding the spectacles and resting them on the table she would blink a bit. "Was there ever an attempt to contain or suppress it in any of the other worlds?" She was sure it would be a stupid question if this energy was quite so destructive. "Particularly in areas where it has proven less prevalent?" She was methodical as she ate, choosing her words between bites and shifting her gaze accordingly.

"I know how dangerous the world can be without superhumans running amok, or monsters pulling themselves from oblivion. I perish the thought of what would come of this city, let alone the world.", Keeping her hands as far from the metal utensils as she could, she continued to ask, prodding for the information she felt might be most useful. If there was going to be a greater conflict to come, there had to be precautions to take.

[Avice Locke]

“If there were I have not heard about it. I’m sure there have but maybe not any successful results.” Avice took back her chopsticks and picked at some gyoza. “What have your studies yielded on the matter of Qi?”

[Rafflesia]

Raff's brow eased up some, her mind racing on possibilities on the matter. "Curious, something perhaps looking into.", she replied with a light smile. The next question that followed, however, was not one she wanted to hear, but was ultimately inevitable. Taking a moment to compose herself, the craving settling in some as the discussion of the energy continued on. "Not much truthfully, I spent the better part of six years in a lab isolated from the world working with 'mutant' genetics likely from rabid born Qi users or those displaying the potential before the so implied incursion.", she spoke with some reverence to her field, nodding at her own mention of the point. "I experimented mostly on animals to little success, some happened to die from exposure, perhaps from rejection or overabundance, who can tell truthfully. But I am sure field experience will prove far more fruitful in time.", she continued, her smile widening some, clearly some excitement across her expression

[Avice Locke]

“Qi is not something you should inject. Most get them under stressful circumstances if they are not born. If they die then they don’t have enough in them to begin with. You can’t speed up evolution. More exposure to natural Qi sources might yield better.” Avice pointed out . “Of course I am no expert, artificial Qi is a thing and we had whole territories dedicated to them. Prota being the big one... they have fluid of some kind... for all I know it was melted down failures. We also have the Experiments who were pale white and red eyed and eventually they turned mutated and savage unable to keep the power from consuming their sanity.”

She knew nothing about what they used or how they made it but it’s made her question herself

[Rafflesia]

"It's what we humans do though, isn't it? We find something misunderstood and play around with it to learn the consequences.", Rafflesia still held a half-hearted smile at this, but perhaps not best to pry to far into this particular topic. "From what I'm understanding, however, this other world got to bear witness to the downsides to that philosophy." The mention of artificial Qi did make her curious though. "That's interesting, that's not too dissimilar to a case we had, except the being we assisted in the creation of turned hostile due to a unrelenting hunger to feed off the life energy, or Qi, of others. It showed no signs of capability beyond that however."

[Avice Locke]

She pointed a long slender finger. “Now see that! That’s the consequence we’ve already learned. Take it from me and end that shit safely. Man named Barker was the one who took it past his limits and lost everything; freedom, royalty, and cost us many thousands of lives and gave us many of the Qi scars we know of. Being an experiment is not being alive, most don’t usually let you live long, inevitably you become a monster.” Her voice was firm and harsh.

[Rafflesia]

"In that case why not destroy it?", Rafflesia's eyes turned from the table with a blazing intention. "All I've seen and heard is consequences and little of valuable worth." Shaking her head some she pulled herself out of the chair, keeping stead with practiced articulation in her left arm. "This world was fine without it before this incursion and we surely could live without it still."

Taking a slow breath she turned to fully face the curious other and narrowed her eyes. "A purge this early surely could be so much simpler than it would have been elsewhere. And as you said, it would disempower 'him'." Her eyes turned towards the exit some, her face shaded some in her blustering, perhaps she needed to rest.

[Avice Locke]

“Can ya destroy energy?” Avice asked simply. “Qi is effectively the same.”

[Rafflesia]

A soft smile settling across her face at the one and only reply she received, Raff couldn't hold back the chuckle that pulled itself from her core. "It can't create itself either. And yet it seems like that is what it does not? Growing, manifesting, and spreading?" With a flourish unbecoming the locale, Rafflesia pulled a small folder from her pack hanging loosely on the edge of her seat. Inside sat a blank sheet of paper and a pen clipped along. "It's almost illogical really, Qi as a whole-" She spun the pen between her fingers, careful to balance the folder on her leg as a makeshift table. "A so called energy that seemingly has no origin and yet grows. Manifesting in ways that defy the logic and physics that supposedly can be applied to it."

Swift in her motions to scribble her thoughts across the paper, taking notes on every instance building to this. "It's almost like a shadow, or a darkness of sorts in comparison. An intangible force that in a sense grows on its own... or so we would have thought in a pre-scientific world.", Lifting her pen to her lip a moment to choose her next few words carefully, before following this with a nod. "Everything has a source, even something as spontaneous and almost enigmatic as this Qi."

"It's like a flame, but what is it feeding on?"

[Avice Locke]

“Wrong again...” Avice waved a finger in disagreement. “Qi is as present as anything else. we are just adapting to tap into it from within and throughout. The more we conduct and channel it, the stronger we are. Aye it’s like a flame, it’s also like a flow of water, a gust of wind, alive as earth, rays of light, and enchanting like shadow. A greedy beast or a selfless mother even, it just depends on who you ask.”

[Rafflesia]

Taking a slow moment to articulate her thoughts across her paper, Rafflesia mused over this peculiar answer in particular. "That still doesn't quite answer my point, sadly-", her brow furrowed at this, glancing up and then back down unto the page. "It either is or it is not, even things in a flux exist in a degree of absolution and Qi surely is no different." Shaking her head at this and pushing the folder to the table proper as to take a set herself. "You describe it as such that it exists beyond reason, and yet if that were the case the horrendous acts you describe from your other realm would be far from the actions of science bordering magic and more on the delusions of a madman.", taking a moment to glance up once more, she motioned with her pen some, 'drawing' two circles intersecting, akin to an uroboros.

"You understand the concept of infinity yes? The Ouroboros, Jormungandr, or even the notion of the turtles?", Raff raised her eyebrow some, waiting for some twitch of suggestion one way or another. "Perpetuity as it is both in the paranormal and scientific is always a flawed concept." Taking a moment to sigh at this, motioning to nothing truly. "Let's assume Qi is as you say, omnipresent. And yet so few 'adapt' to it and even fewer to a degree of true control." Her eyes reflected a hint of irritation at her own words, "Were this true then I-", she stopped herself before continuing with her point, "But that would tie it to life, once again something that could be solved." There was a clear sign of sarcasm to her tone with this, however.

"You've explained things in a breadth, of course, I'd never have seen at the lab. However, there feel to be holes in this analysis. I could disseminate this point, but perhaps it would be of lessening import to detract with words where I could with tested facts?", her eyes turned up once more and she smiled. "I do hate to be a hurry, but you've given me much to think on, and I should get going soon."

[-Attempted Thread leave after this rotation-]

[Avice Locke]

“I hope your research yields yar answers.” She could go on about if there was a way magic can be described as science that hasn’t been explained but even she could not really prove nor fully understand the proof to back that up. The amount of power the conqueror has got her thinking there was much more to Qi than what was within her body. Honestly she was trying her best to think about using it beyond the bounds of her skin. Hence the way she thought it as she spoke it. It was just something that made the most sense. Theories on different philosophy in this world match what she was saying even if none where wholly proven.

“Hold up, if you may... tell me of the black markets you spoke of earlier?” There was a monotone to her voice and a coldness in her eyes.

[Rafflesia]

Rafflesia grinned at the final request. "How about I do you one better?" Tearing off a scrap of the paper she was prior taking notes on and quickly jotting down some lines across it. "I'll give you names and locations I was made aware of. They trade mostly in decade old genetics that would predate this incursion by at least two years." , She smiled warmly, handing the paper over. "If anything this may give you a lead as to who is doing more modern trades.", With this she would lift her bag up and offer a short wave, turning to the exit.

[Formally exiting thread]