The Life of V

[Pride]

"Pride, same."

[Cecelia Riddel]

Well now, that was certainly suspicious. Celia would copy the map and make note of the quickest way to the void, and if she can reach it through the maintenance corridors.

She'll start heading towards the area!

[Zack Asiv]

"More of you?"

The kid more states than asks, clearly annoyed by the prospect of being inspected again.

"We aren't getting orders! Leave us alone!"

"That's enough Char."

Another man would step out, obviously older and with the tell tale signs of an experiment.

"I must apologize, he is young and doesn't know what it was like during the war. Envoys of Asiv, I am Silver. What can I assist you with?"

The young man storms off.

Celia would find she can make it to the blank part of the map using the corridors, rather easily, like it were on purpose. Once there she would find more panels to connect to that would display abundant energy to cause a large enough discharge of Qi to spread and make an area unlivable for multiple lifetimes. There are also multiple exits from a larger open area... As if more people are meant to be in here ready to go out.

[Valerian Blackburn]

"I need to look around."

Val says flatly, still frowning.

"There's things here I'm supposed to see."

Specific.

[Pride]

"I'd also like to look around, but I wouldn't mind if you wanted to tell me what life's like here for ya."

[Cecelia Riddel]

Surprised by her ability to continue to the mystery spot on the map, but not dissuaded, Celia follows the corridors. Slowing as she saw more panels, she looked over the display with a small frown.

"That doesn't look good." She wasn't a technology genius, but even she understood that the levels of energy she saw weren't the norm. She borrows Mitsuki's ability to enhance her sight, wondering if anyone was in the nearby area!

If there isn't anyone in the corridors, she'll take a peek outside the nearest door to see what's waiting on the other side.

[Zack Asiv]

The man would nod at the two.

"Very well, I will wander with you, and answer questions. Our lives here are simple. We hunt and forage, and farm. We remain in the dome unless we have needs, and then Cabal compensates with work that allows us to fulfill our programming so we don't degrade. We pair up, we have families. While it is simple, it is however, not easy."

He leads them into the village proper where kids are taking some sort of education. They all seem to have partial features, some have white hair mixed with their other dark hair. One or both red eyes, but otherwise healthy kids. There are community stalls, but no obvious form of currency as people kind of wander up and take some food and either eat it or just leave after some small talk. The buildings are normal brick houses like a small british town from the industrial era. There are old broken down vehicles with a few people tinkering with parts nonchalantly, not really trying to rebuild it as much as just entertain themselves.

"Questions?"

Celia uses Mitsuki's eyes and can see the network of energy going to two huge crystals and a bunch of odd looking weapons hidden under ground. when she looks at the exit she can see a bunch of heat sources that are shaped like people. When she peeks out she is opening a large tree trunk looking at the class of children learning arithmetic. Who would look at her in return, but go back to their studies.

[Pride]

"Yeah, what do you mean degrade?"

First, he'd heard any of this.

[Cecelia Riddel]

the incoming forms were forgotten a moment as the children looked up at here, taking classes like normal children did, she assumed. Looking up and seeing her, a mix of the features she was told to look for, and continuing on about their day as if it were nothing. Were they used to people checking in on them?

"Surely there's a way to lower the power to those odd weapons," she murmured, pulling out her PT and taking a look at the setup. She didn't want to mess with anything just yet, but if there was that much power stored, she also couldn't ignore the fact that another noble family of Zukunft was here, as well.

[Valerian Blackburn]

"...and why isn't it easy?"

Val looks around. None of this seemed... particularly noteworthy. Sure, they lived simple lives, but so did a lot of other people in other territories.

[Zack Asiv]

Silver would look at Pride.

"The urges to complete our programming grow and grow, if we do not fulfill the urges they will do more and more damage to our minds until we lose all self control and only know the urge to do what we were made for. We go feral with only the most basic understanding of needs and the world around us. eat, sleep, fuck, fulfill the programming."

He would then turn to Val.

"We remain secret from the trainee's, and as deep as we are we have to protect the village from herds of roaming predator Qi Beast predators day and night. The environmental controls shift the world around us so extremely at time that our harvests die and we go hungry, or suddenly we experience a winter that lasts months and it gets colder and more extreme with every day until we are on the brink of freezing to death. There is always the possibility that one day someone will enter the minds of the first generation and we kill ourselves, each other, our loved ones, or are put down in a grand genocide. Such is the life, the choice, and the choice we force on our children."

Celia can't really make a good heads or tails of how to control the energy storage in the crystals.

[Pride]

"The fuck? Why would you agree to that?"

That's dumb.

[Valerian Blackburn]

"Who could do that to you?"

Val asks softly.

Not for his own sake, but for their own.

[Cecelia Riddel]

Celia decides not to try anything she's not trained in or know how to get around! She disconnects her PT, freezing as she heard their voices in the distance.

She takes a few steps further down into the corridor, listening for whoever was headed their way.

[Zack Asiv]

Silver would chuckle when Pride spoke.

"Yes seems rediculous doesn't it? We fought a war, we lost. This is how we can live, this is our peace. Any one of the first generation would take this over being used like we were."

He'd tilt his head at Val however.

"Uh, Cabal. Or really depending on what Qi Beasts move where the weather changes for them. Or if any of us show any signs of being controlled someone hits the big red button and this whole town turns into a crater."

Celia notes there are two people coming down the corridor.

"No where else would she be going? Open hatch, activated nodes. Come on."

"Whatever you say."