nexus_crossings | [Nexus LOL] Technomagic was Never meant to work like this

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[Nexus LOL] Technomagic was Never meant to work like this

It's a beautiful day in this ~~neighborhood~~ Nexus. A really beautiful day.

Six-winged birds singing, flowers blooming everywhere one looks. From far off in the distance on the other side of the Nexus people wandering the Plaza will hear a sudden loud noise and feel a very minor shake but there's no invading force. No colossal calamity to be bested. Now for the poor sod who used to own the internet cafe that's just been blown to smithereens in a cascade of firework trails raining down it's a very bad day. Tina's still swearing about Aimbots and cheaters while waving around a game controller that isn't plugged into anything while the fire burns. She's not going to stop when the potions shop next door catches flame either.

But alllll the way back in the plaza? There's no sign of trouble. Maybe the faintest glimpse of fireworks. The smell of gunpowder mingling with a bitter herb and a touch of...ozone? Honestly with all the pollen in the air it's difficult to tell. Precisely Because it's the Nexus the fallout from this ill conceived haze may not be easily noticed at first.

A flicker of a little symbol over someone's head while they're reading a book. People cutting off mid conversation to glance at their conversation partners. Or rather, over their heads. So many little 😮 popping up over heads as confusion starts to spread only to rapidly dissipate into a myriad of other little pictures when people seem to realize that whatever the flavor of the day weirdness is, it's not seemingly dangerous. Is there a rhyme or a reason to them? What could it mean? Are you affected?

[Please refer to THIS POST in the OOC comm for an explanation of what's going on. The TL;DR to this Nexus LOL is that a character's innermost thoughts will be visible to anyone who is observing them whether they're speaking or not, but they will exclusively be communicated via Emojis. The OOC post has some guidelines for using these emojis in tags and some rules so please check there before posting in. Threadhopping and mingling are required for this post as there is no real Question Asker so Have fun!]

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The Doctor nods. "I know in general, but haven't been out there yet." He also won't talk about his psychic paper. "But, I have my ways of getting into and out of places."

The Doctor nods at Palmer's analysis of leaving. "I know. I don't want to leave if we don't have to. I'm just saying, if it comes down to it, that's an option."

He considers the remark about neighbours. "I'm hoping to meet them some time soon. I have a history of, well I won't say creating peace, but of giving options in situations that tend to allow both sides to at least come to agreements."

And it mostly ends with, I'm a nice guy, but don't piss me off, I fought in the greatest war the universes have ever seen. "Waiting is hard. Patience is harder. I'm not known for either, so I'm going to do my best to meet them. I just can't like this."

He points up, suggesting where the emjois are. This time, the emoji didn't change at all, which suggests he does have control over what he displays. Being a telepath has its advantages.

"I'd help if I could, but I'm human, and the Fallen hate humans. More than they hate everybody else, I mean. Apparently they think we stole light from them. I dunno what that means, but what I do know is that I'm dead meat if I go anywhere near that valley."

A couple emojis appear over Palmer's head. Apparently whatever's going on has a strange sense of humor.⚰️🥩

"Good luck. Reynard and Loki are the only ones who've been able to talk to the Fallen without getting shot at. I tried to talk to them once, during a scavenging trip. They'd claimed Delia's ship, and there was a scuffle. I asked them what they wanted, so we could make a deal. One of them laughed at me, and the others ignored me completely and kept attacking."

It was foolish to expect a response, as Felix had pointed out, but Palmer doubts he would have even been allowed to approach a Fallen captain, let alone Baroness Pelsor, without being killed.

"Pelsor seems pragmatic, if nothing else, but I get the sense that convincing her and her people to abandon Eliksni tradition will not be easy. They're very proud and tradition-bound. From their point of view, I guess tradition's all they have left."

"That is very helpful to know. No one else wanted to give me even that much information."

He considers the last statement. "I have no intention of asking them to give up their traditions. That's never worked among any species I've encountered. No. Usually the best thing to do is to let both species know they just have to respect that each other are different and that means different traditions will exist. One is not wrong or better than another - it's just different."

The thing about the Light keeps coming up. He wonders if that could be restored somehow, maybe peace will descend. "Does anyone around here have any idea what this 'Light' is? I have yet to get a clear idea."

"I agree with that in principle, but some of their traditions are, uh, not very nice. They cut off people's heads to make war trophies, for example. And Blaze said they were pirates, so I think there's probably other things about their culture that ain't exactly easy to get along with. But there are some that can probably be worked with. Me, all I really want is for them to stop threatening people and maybe try and talk to us directly, without Loki or Reynard pulling the strings."

A couple of emojis appear. 🔱💀

"I know a little bit from what I heard at the meeting with Loki. The Light comes from a being called the Traveller, ad it's where Guardians like Blaze get their power. It goes around the universe and uplifts civilizations - the Eliksni were one of them before they were the Fallen, but it was attacked by the forces of a being called the Darkness. It abandoned the Fallen and found humans instead. The Darkness attacked again, but the Traveller stuck around this time. The Fallen think humans stole it and are trying to steal it back, but the Traveller makes its own choices. I'm not sure its Light can be shared, or if the Fallen would be willing to share it with humans."

Emojis explain the story as Palmer does. 💡⚔️🕳️👾⚔️🚶

"Well, I'm sure we seem 'not very nice' to the pigs we kill for our food. It's all a matter of perceptions. But you're right, having go-betweens is not a good method of communication."

Unless it's him. Last of the Time Lords, Defender of the Earth and all that. And an emoji does appear then 🛡️🌍

Oh he'd be so embarrassed to know about that one. It's one thing for him to say it to tell baddies to bugger off. It's another to have it revealed that he has started to see himself that way.

"Well, I've been called a traveller in some traditions. Even granted light to a couple of civilizations. Unfortunately, there might be too many differences between my universe and theirs to pull of explaining to them I am that Traveller."

But, it's an option. Wouldn't be the first time he's done such.

"We don't hate pigs. It's pretty clear that the Fallen's problem with humans is personal, though. If it wasn't when it started, it definitely is now. Part of the problem is that I think they don't completely understand the way we do things in the Nexus and why we don't have Houses or Barons. Their way is the only way they really know."

👾⚔️🚶♾️ Palmer's emojis express his feelings on the matter. It's hard to get a fight that old and that personal to stop.

"The Traveller that the Guardians described didn't sound like a person, exactly, though not an object. It sounded powerful, however, and definitely not human. Blaze or the other Guardians could give a better description of what it is. I think it's still there, in Blaze's universe."

Palmer likes the idea of stopping the war between Eliksni and Guardians. He's just not sure it can be done in Blaze's world.

His emojis agree. 👾☮️🚶❓🤔

"I think we've got a better chance at reasoning with the Fallen here. There's only one House and there's a known leader you can talk to. Baroness Pelsor probably will be pretty deep in the campsite, so finding her might take some work, and she'll have guards."

The Doctor facepalms. It would be nice if people would just go with his analogies once in awhile.

"Same is true for all of us at the beginning. Even me, as used to travelling and different cultures as I am, had to adjust to being in the Nexus."

He really things The Fallen just need someone to reach out to them. But the Traveller could still be related to the Doctor 🤔. Could be his TARDIS. Or a TARDIS. Either way, he might still be able to fake it.

"It's possible. Or their fear and desire to maintain their culture might be so strong they'll be worse to deal with. It's hard to say until I talk to one of them."

Palmer's emoji mirrors the Doctor 🤔.

"What we know for sure is that they're very, very territorial, and kill trespassers, even if they don't have weapons. Reckon that's why they killed people in winter. They mistook those people for trespassers and preferred to attack over talking."

That's a good point the Doctor made, and a worrying one. Pelsor seems willing to stop the war, but she offered a ceasefire, not a change of heart. Asking her to ease off the more off-putting or violent Fallen traditions would likely be a different story.

"The ceasefire terms didn't say anything about the Fallen not coming into Nexus territory. We're just not allowed on theirs. Kind of a double standard, but I think they knew we weren't really in a place to argue. So you might see them here at some point. They can turn themselves invisible, so finding one might be difficult. Depends if you'd rather approach a vandal or dreg or go right to the Baroness."

Palmer can't really imagine the Fallen buying things from shops or visiting the Crossroads Cafe. There isn't much they'd really want, they seem more likely to steal than buy, and they're hostile to everybody in the Nexus on principle but Loki and Reynard. They might just visit the Plaza to show that they could come and nobody could do anything about it.

If Reynard was the negotiator, he's not surprised by the terms of the agreement. Self-serving spirit that he is.

His emoji remains 🤔 Because Palmer has given him a lot to consider. "Turn themselves invisible. Doubt it. They probably just change the refractory index to make them 'disappear'. Or could have a perception filter. Which would make them less invisible and more unnoticeable until they want to be seen."

This is when the Doctor's intelligence works against him. There are just some things he refuses to believe for a variety of reasons.

"They use technology to do it. Some sort of personal cloaking devices. I saw those in action when I ran into them in the convoy battle. I wanted to look at one of their machines, since I'm a mechanic, and see if I could figure out how they worked. Maybe reverse-engineer it for Nexus use. But they made sure to clean up after themselves."

Palmer's thoughtful, his 🤔 mirroring the Doctor's. He's thinking, which isn't something he does that often.

"I think it's fair enough that they want their own territory, especially since they have nowhere to live back home. But they didn't promise not to change the amout of land they claimed, or stop murdering trespassers. What is your sense of the ceasefire terms?"

"They use technology to do it. Some sort of personal cloaking devices. I saw those in action when I ran into them in the convoy battle. I wanted to look at one of their machines, since I'm a mechanic, and see if I could figure out how they worked. Maybe reverse-engineer it for Nexus use. But they made sure to clean up after themselves."

Palmer's thoughtful, his 🤔 mirroring the Doctor's. He's thinking, which isn't something he does that often.

"I think it's fair enough that they want their own territory, especially since they have nowhere to live back home and they're in the middle of a war. But they didn't promise not to change the amout of land they claimed, or stop murdering trespassers. What is your sense of the ceasefire terms?"

"Cloaking devices is what I was talking about. Just because I use more scientific terms doesn't mean I'm less correct."

Or that Palmer is wrong. But 'cloaking device' just sounds too sci-fi for the Doctor, so he wouldn't use that term regularly.

"I don't know anything about it much. Other than what you've said. Mostly, I'm becoming more and more convinced that I just need to talk to them directly."

His emoji returns to that puzzled expression. He's mostly good at controlling it. Experience helps.

[Also, Twevle's thread with Loki is still in progress, so IDK IC what he might've learned from that yet. oops.]

Palmer uses sci-fi lingo mostly by habit. It's something he's used to, and it's one of the ways he understands things like this.

"If you're sure you can convince them not to attack you, talking to Pelsor directly ain't a bad idea. The others listen to her, so maybe if you get her to come around the others will follow. But that's a very big if. She's only listened to Reynard and Loki so far, and we don't know why they got a pass. You're gonna need a plan to get in there and a plan to get them to listen to you."

Palmer has no problem with Loki, even though he doesn't necessarily agree with him. He thinks Loki had a good goal - he probably wanted everybody to let the Fallen stay partly so Ghost could be rescued. Loki did leave a lot of unanswered questions, though.

"There's a lot of things Loki didn't tell us at that meeting when he brought back Blaze's head. Why Pelsor was willing to listen to him, for example, and where Reynard fits into all this. He didn't let the Fallen in, but he did help them, and I bet he talked to Pelsor. Watching us fight like it was a game or something."

The Doctor is listening carefully. He appreciates Palmer's opinions so far. And is glad for it. "Getting in undetected won't be a problem."

He doubts any other universes have anything like the TARDIS. And when you can control the whole of Time and Space, getting into and out of places is easy. And Psychic Paper. It's a thing, he can probably make it work on them.

"But I'd rather not do it that way, if I don't have to. And I have two uncanny abilities: Getting people to talk and getting people to do what I say."

Both of which means people listen to him, right?

"Everything is a game to Reynard and he doesn't seem to care who gets hurt in the meantime. Loki, from what I've met of him, got put in the middle of a situation. I don't get the impression he wants to be the representative, he just did it because there was no one else."

But now the Doctor's here, so...

"If you've got a way in, that's good. I'd give better intelligence if i could, but I've never been in the Fallen camp and I doubt I'd be allowed in alive. If you make it clear you're not human and were not involved in either side during the winter, that could also help, though we were warned they tend to lump Nexus-dwellers together as enemies no matter who they are."

Palmer scratches his chin, and ⛔👨 symbols appear.

However, he nods in respose to the Doctor's comments on Reynard. He's not a fan of the seasonal spirits or the crows, though admittedly with the crows it's a bit more petty.

"That's kind of what I've heard about the seasonal spirits in general. Their values ain't human, even the nicer ones ain't exactly trustworthy, and I'm not sure ordinary lives matter that much to them." Palmer's careful when he says unflattering things about the spirits. You never know who could be listening. "

Palmer's relieved that somebody else is going to try and talk to the Eliksni, somebody more straightforward about his intentions than Loki.

"When Blaze is back, I'll see if I can learn more about the Fallen camp through Ghost. Then, if you've got a way to stay in touch or want to arrange a meeting, I'll pass on what I learned to you."

The Doctor grins. He would point out that 'see, he can make people tell him things and do things for him', but that would kind of ruin his magic.

"I don't want you to jeopardise yourself in any way. But if you do learn something more, I would be very interested in getting more information."

Preferably before he does something stupid. Like sacrifice himself for the whole of the Nexus.

"I was going to ask Blaze and Ghost for information when they come back. Things like what the Fallen's social structure is like and what their code of honor is, little pieces of information that will help you know what they're like before you talk to them."

Palmer's not about to sneak into Fallen territory. He knows they hate humans, and doesn't have a death wish.

"I was involved in the convoy battle, so I'm not a neutral party. I'm willing to do what I can, though."

The Doctor nods in acceptance. "I think any information is better than none, so don't limit yourself to the more detailed questions. You might skip out on information they do have. Just have them tell their stories and listen."

It's how he does things, mostly. The Doctor has actually gone into situations with less information than he currently has and has turned out okay.

"It sounds like you've met other aliens before," says Palmer, impressed. "I've met one before, back on my Earth. Unfortunately, it was, as you put it, hungry. I was almost on the bad end of the cutlery."

Palmer's willing to give the Thing that it wasn't necessarily evil, but it's still very dangerous. "The aliens I've met here are more friendly. The Fallen are the first ones who were hostile, but in a different way from the Thing. The Fallen hate humans. I don't think the Thing hates anybody. Just wanted to eat me, and then everybody else."

The Doctor hums. "The Thing. So you know Kinner and McReady. Interesting."

There's a lot of that group around. Or he's just lucky. "Well, you're not on Earth now. So technically, you're the alien. Actually anyone not original to the Nexus is alien to it. I wonder what the locals have to say about everything that's been happening..."

He's going off on a tangent, best to stop him, before he decides to remove everyone. 👽👽👽

"Kinner yes, McReady no. Wait. You know Kinner?" Palmer grins. "Well, his fish shop is famous. We aren't members of the same team or anything. Kinner's world and my world have different versions of the same alien. It attacked me, but I escaped."

Palmer's thoughtful. 🧠 symbols appear above his head.

"Y'know...I don't know if the Nexus has natives. That's an interestin' point. There are people who've been here longer than others, but far as I know nobody's from the Nexus. There's the animals, but a lot of them are from other worlds, too."

The Doctor nods - time and therefore Nexus threads are - timey-whimy. "Seems he didn't escape. Still trying to work out how he's alive here, yet knows he died in his world."

Sure the Doctor can pull it off, but he's a time traveller, so...

"It used to have a lot of natives about. Might be difficult to tell them apart from those who've been here a long time now. But they used to wander around the flats and shops."

Those were the days when the Nexus was pretty much the plaza and nothing else. The Doctor sighs he misses the 'good old days' when the Nexus was smaller, but simpler. 🌱

"Kinner's not the only one. There's quite a few people who died back in their home worlds. Cricket, Blair, Rilio..."

Palmer knows he's not dead, but the specific way Kinner died was eerie to him. 👽🐺🍴😨 Except in his case, he was attacked by a dog, not a cow.

"I might've met a native to the Nexus, but I've never asked. Did something happen to them?" Palmer knows relatively little bout Nexus history, but he's curious. "All the people I've met are from other worlds."

Palmer wonders if there were hostile invaders in the Nexus before the Fallen. They're the first people he's met who refused any form of interaction with the Nexus and its inhabitants as a whole.

"Are the Fallen the first hostile species to appear here?"

The Doctor waves him off a little to slow him down. "I don't know everything. I travel the whole of time and space, things get a little confused for me. And I've been away a long time. But there were natives here, when we all first started showing up. If they're not here any longer, I can't say."

He closes his eyes in thought. "First hostile species. I suppose you could say that. I mean, we've had hostile individuals show up before. But an entire species? No, this would be the first..."

He pales slightly. 😱 "Could mean the barriers between the universes are breaking down further..."

And if those disappear completely.... it would be bad.

"I've never met one, at least not someone I knew was a Nexus native."

Palmer nods, sharing the Doctor's concern. 😱 If one group of Fallen could find their way in, so could others. Or worse things, from other universes.

"The good news is we're only dealing with one group of the Fallen, not the entire species. There's a lot more where these ones came from, probably. The way Blaze talked about them, though, they all share a similar culture and attitude at least towards humans."

Palmer doesn't necessarily want to assume things about an entire species, but when he talked and listened to Blaze during the expedition, he got the sense that what they saw was typical of the Eliksni species and their culture, not the House of Winter alone. He is curious about the other Fallen Houses, though, and what makes the House of Winter distinct from the others.

"The ones we met are from only one House, but there are certainly others. Blaze, when I talked to her, thought they followed her to the Nexus."

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