nexus_crossings | Ghosts in the Machine

Ghosts in the Machine

There’s a young woman reading through one of the pamphlets in the plaza. She’s dressed head to toe in a rather odd black garment like a padded wetsuit - it looks like it’s all one piece, soft, elastic and form-fitting. Her hair’s a little disheveled and she has a frown of concentration as she reads, but her location doesn’t seem to worry her.

As far as she’s concerned, it’s obvious where she is. The last few weeks have been nothing but tests and interviews and assessment exercises of one form or another. More than a few have taken place using increasingly sophisticated simulation tech. This is just another program, and presumably somewhere above is the AI overseeing her progress.

Still, this is definitely a new one.

“Who comes up with these scenarios?” she wonders aloud in amusement. Then shoots a look at the tiny silver robot floating at a cautious distance. “No offense meant- and that wasn’t my question, sorry.” The Ghost bobs noncommittally, and she looks around, taking in the strange mix of people and aliens, the unrealistic architecture. “So does it matter what I ask?” The answer is murmured quietly, but presumably boils down to ‘no’. She rolls her shoulders and shifts on her feet, making thoughtful sounds for a minute. She really wants to ask something good. Insightful. Practical. Soldierly.

“Is there something around here you really need weapons for?” She had two when she started here - not to mention the ridiculous armor. The assisting ‘Ghost’ AI removed them for her, but that still leaves the question of why this simulation included them...

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It's a safe bet Steve is the single frailest person she's ever seen at this point, though she isn't taking that in quite yet. It likely helps that in this place a child is exactly the last kind of person she expects to see, too.

She's just trying to figure out if she should come over, if this is relevant to the test... and since the exam-bot isn't beckoning her attention, she reluctantly looks away to chat to another Nexus-goer for a minute. Maybe that's some random AI behavior over there?

"

Two hours. We were scheduled to return to the Nexus this morning for a follow-up patrol but the transmat- when we transported in, something... something wasn't right. Her armor was locked down and when we got her out... my readings suggest she simply materialized this way.

"

Ghost spins in thought; his gaze drops for a moment, flicks back up to Steve. "

If she truly is my Guardian... the last time we encountered an alteration like this was at the hands of Dr. Hill. Blaze did speak with him yesterday. But I don't understand why he would induce this transformation. It doesn't appear to fit his... method.

"Well, if she doesn't remember you, she sure as hell doesn't remember me." Steve rubs at the back of his neck. "But I can sure as hell keep her occupied until we figure something out. It's still Blaze at her core, right? So she probably likes the same things."

Steve gives Ghost one more encouraging pat before he runs his hand through his hair and heads over to where Blaze is. Don't tell her she's supposed ot be a robot lady. That's simple enough for Steve to manage considering he wouldn't know how to even begin explaining what Blaze is supposed to be.

"By and large weapons aren't really necessary in this place." Steve finally pipes up in answer to Blaze's original question. "There's a field in place to prohibit physical harm that keeps people safe almost all of the time."

"I... hope so." Ghost doesn't seem quite so certain - Steve didn't see how unimpressed she was with her rifles - but the man's optimism and determination are reassuring. And it's a relief to have some human help. They're not exactly a foreign species but everything about Blaze just seems so off right now.

Case in point: she looks downright relieved at Steve's answer. He gets a warm smile despite her obvious curiosity as she looks him over. "That's good to hear. Considering the equipment I was given I thought there might be a real threat, but... I'm not really prepared for a battle just yet."

Since she's already wondering who in the Traveler's name he is, she just offers a hand and introduces herself in the same odd, soft accent. "Bryn Marshall. And you would be, um..."

She glances at the Ghost, a little torn on whether she's asking his name or whether he's real.

"Well, security patrols aren't uncommon here..." Steve tries to be just vague enough that he doesn't say anything bad to Blaze. She's hardly the only one who makes them he's sure.

"Steve Rogers." He says easily, shaking her hand. He does his best to give her a warm smile, despite how alien the name feels coming from her. He supposes it makes sense, since this is...before? She became a robot? Steve doesn't understand technology on her world. not in the least.

"It's a pleasure."

Ghost scoots around to hover where he can watch both of them, not quite in the conversation but ready to try and assist. He doesn't seem to know what to do with his Guardian- no longer guarding him but still his charge and unwitting partner.

"The pleasure's all mine." Admittedly it's hard to be so sincere to someone you aren't sure exists, but she's trying to err on the side of caution. "I'm going to guess you're not from around here either. With that accent... Earth, right? North America?"

Steve gives Ghost a small glance, knowing the little bot has most of his general data stored. He smiles all the same for Blaze--Bryn, now.

"I am yeah. From New York, 1941." He says it conversationally, as though he's reminding her of something she should already know. He wants to treat her as though she's Blaze. And part of that means trying not to feel bad when she doesn't remember things she should.

Something painful twists in his chest at that. Remembering The Asset. The soldier who had Buck's face. God. He hopes Ghost doesn't have to go through that. That Blaze can be fixed.

"...19- wow. Okay." She has to stop, take another look at him - one that still holds no recognition. There's a glance aside, not at Ghost but at the pamphlet she was reading earlier. She shouldn't be surprised by this. She gets that. It's still hard not to be a little thrown. "...Talk about worlds apart."

She does shoot a look at Ghost then, only to ask Steve, "So... you seem pretty comfortable with all... this."

"Steve has been in the Nexus for some time now," Ghost points out, answering the question hinted at. "He's quite experienced with its unusual residents." As much as any of them can be, right?

"I'm very real, by the way." He reaches out and offers her a hand to shake. "Not sure if touching is proof with your future tech or whatever, but." Steve shrugs all the same, hanging back a bit so that he can be side by side with Ghost.

He'll do whatever he can to help her remember Ghost, at the very least.

"I have been for about a year now. I live here." He gestures around the place. "So I'm pretty familiar with the regulars at least." Though he gives Ghsot a grin. As much as anyone can be, indeed. "Ghost at least is a good friend of mine."

She doesn't understand his meaning, for a minute - even shaking his hand. He feels solid enough, if about as light as his build suggests. But she doesn't expect a high-grade simulation to be less than perfect...

"...Wait, you're real... too?" For this at least, her gaze flicks to Ghost, who bobs in confirmation and speaks up, encouraged by Steve's support.

"That's right." It's probably safe to tell her this much. She won't have a breakdown or anything. He hopes. "This really isn't a simulation."

"...Shit." Bryn looks between them, and it's visibly sinking in that everything she's been told - about how people end up here at random, about the difficulties of returning, and- oh, yes...

"Um- sorry, then," she says to Steve, looking embarrassed. "I kind of assumed you were, well-" no no, they didn't have sims back then did they? "...some kind of technological illusion. ...Were you serious about the twentieth-century thing? I'm not going to screw up the timeline if I let the wrong things slip, am I?"

"Considering I can't go back to my time? I think you're pretty safe." Steve tries to keep his voice light and friendly despite the subject matter. If he's being honest, by her logic he should probably not even try to go home with everything he knows about the possible futures now.

"But yeah. I'm from 1941." Pearl harbor, Nazi Germany, the whole shebang. "Do you want to get a coffee or something? I'd be happy to fill you in on anything you have questions about. Besides, any friend of Ghost's is a friend of mine."

For that matter, there's no reason to assume she won't learn 'too much' here. It's just, as Ghost reflects, that there is only too much future waiting for her back in their universe, and this time he's not certain she'll handle it as well.

She has a lot of growing up to do before she's ready, after all.

"Oh." Bryn looks a little stunned, and then frowns with honest distress at Steve's situation. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize." He seems... accepting of it, though? Maybe she shouldn't keep talking about it, but it's not going to stop troubling her.

She's trying to work out how to ask further without sticking her foot in her mouth when he suggests going for coffee. Ghost is quick to add, "We're certainly not short on- erm, valid currency."

Bryn blinks at both of them, but she has to smile. "Coffee sounds great. Provided you can put up with all the silly questions I'm going to ask." She shrugs at Steve. "I promise I won't mind if you laugh."

Steve doesn't have any specific place in mind when it comes to coffee. Nana's Diner is great for many things but coffee isn't one of them. Unless you like burnt diner coffee. Which Steve doesn't mind because he comes from that time. But he's learned...through lots of complaining by others...that not everyone shares his opinions.

Which is how he ends up leading them to a random cafe on the edge of the Plaza heading toward downtown.

"That reminds me. Ghost, can you even consume anything? Like I get that you don't need to. But like, how do you power yourself? I've never asked if we could do something you liked." He doesn't think the little bot can process coffee.

Bryn has to slow herself down to keep pace with Steve - he may be used to it, but it's hard for her not to get distracted by the sights and sounds of the Nexus. She gives him and Ghost a curious look as they talk, though. As normal as AIs are to her, this sort of interaction with them isn't. So... casual. She has to admit the irony that the man from World War Two is apparently more relaxed about the advanced tech than she is.

"

I appreciate the thought, Steve. I don't consume fuel or recharge in the sense you might be used to. Ghosts depend on the Light of the Traveler to sustain us. That, and feeding our curiosity.

" It's a small joke, but at least he's up to joking now?

Bryn, meanwhile, has spun on her heel to give the little bot an awestruck look. "Wait, you're connected to the Traveler?" She shakes her head. "No wonder I've never seen an AI like you. It's an honor. I mean obviously it's an honor to meet both of you anyway, but..." She cuts herself off with a shrug before she can confuse her meaning any further.

Or maybe he's so old fashioned he doesn't know any better but to treat the little bot like he's a person. Which explains the hugs from earlier, too. Steve just wants everyone flesh or not to be happy. Which is easier said than done, in the Nexus.

Things like this happen far, FAR too often in the Nexus.

"Oh, okay. Is the traveler the God-thing that jumped your tech?" He remembers sitting in a bar while they showed him pictures in a book, explained a bit about their world to him. But it was quite some time ago. Some of the images are easily remembered, but the history is a bit harder.

"Right." Bryn gives Steve a relieved smile just for asking a question she can handle with some measure of grace. "And it made Venus and Mars into habitable worlds instead of barren hellholes. That's where I'm from, actually," she adds as they reach the cafe. "Venus, 2183. It's... a little different to Earth. Even in our time."

Steve hasn't really adapted to this time of fancy coffee drinks so he orders a plain black coffee once they get inside. The lady still asks him which blend which Steve has no idea how to reply to. After an awkward moment of fretting he points to one and then waits patiently for his drink. Once he and Bryn have their beverages Steve leads them to a table by a window and takes his seat.

"Doesn't Venus have a uhm...bigger? Thicker? atmosphere than Earth?" He's not quite sure how to describe it, but he remembers reading something about Venus being hot. Because of gases, somehow.

"What was it like after the Traveller helped make it habitable?"

It seems like this is one thing their cultures might have in common: Bryn leans across the counter and peers with bemused interest at the exotic names while Steve orders. She's more willing to briefly quiz the lady behind it about what the differences are and then what kind of milk she's talking about ("Oh, right. Cows.") but settles on a black coffee for simplicity's sake.

She smiles warmly at Steve as she slings herself into the seat opposite. "It did, yes. Ninety times the pressure on Earth, clouds of acid, so hot it would melt lead on the surface. The clouds trapped the sun's rays and heated the planet until all the water boiled away. And that's how it stayed for billions of years. But... then came the Traveler." There's a special grin for that. Fond. Reverent.

"Now it's a jungle world home to the greatest academy in the solar system. Still pretty hot, but the rain is real water and you can actually go swimming in the sea if your skin's not delicate. The forests are beautiful, the volcanoes are mostly dormant. And our cities are famous for arts and learning. Although we don't have all the fancy foods you get back on Earth. The colonies can't really do livestock farming."

"A jungle?" Steve's blue eyes go wide at that, mouth dropping open slightly. He nods along with her description, completely taken in by her re-describing of her home world. Especially the word 'art'. He perks up in his seat.

"What kind of art? Are there museums?" He looks to Ghost. "Have you been?"

"What's your favorite?" she asks. Steve's reaction feeds her enthusiasm - the only thing better than talking about something you love is sharing it with someone else. She hums for a moment, deciding where to start.

"Let's see - we have small galleries in almost all the residential buildings. Those are for local artists, though. We have bigger museums like the Bray Institute, or the Archive museum - that one specializes in Earth art, even if it's mostly holograms and reproductions. Otherwise it's mostly Venusian from the last century. Or if performance arts are more your style there's always something on in the gardens..."

"I'm sorry I've never been," Ghost says. By the subdued way he looks down Steve might guess there's a big and unfortunate reason for that. Bryn tilts her head as she considers the bot, interpreting it as the strange AI never having had the opportunity.

"You should go visit," she tells him encouragingly. "We wouldn't have any of it if not for your, uh, creator."

Oh. Ohh. Oh.

That's why he hasn't heard of this before. Those things don't exist by the time she becomes Blaze. Steve didn't think Blaze would forget to mention something as amazing as that. Steve chokes on his coffee slightly, before his gaze drops.

"Ghost and I can look into it later." Steve offers quietly, trying to keep this on happier notes. "So what do you do now?"

Well, everyone definitely seems a little down suddenly. Bryn tilts her head a little over her mug, sharp eyes looking between Steve and Ghost even while she pulls a rueful look at the question.

"I forgot you mightn't know." She sips the coffee, frowning at the slightly odd flavor before she explains. "Right now I'm supposed to be joining up with the Defense Corps - we spent all of this week going through evaluations. That's why I thought all this was just another, uh, test." She glances up at Ghost, just a trace of anxiety behind her expression. "And since it's not... well, I guess it's lucky I've got one hell of an excuse for being absent. Right?"

"It won't be a problem. Your commander will understand," Ghost assures her. Bryn blinks at that because she wasn't aware she had an actual commander yet, but under the circumstances there's no way she's going to question it.

"So you're new to the brigade?" Steve frowns thoughtfully from his own side of the table, reaching up to give Ghost another absent little pat to let him know he will try not to bring up very painful things in the future. Try being the imperative word, as he is still at a loss for much of their world's history.

"What uh...what got you to join up?"

Ghost would be the first to tell Steve that it's not his fault. That by Bryn's very nature she raises the specters of ancient losses. Things Ghost doesn't remember himself, but it's hard not to feel sad listening to her speak with such happy pride of things long taken from them.

For now she's nodding, blissfully unaware. "Seemed like a good idea at the time," she answers (only half kidding). "So... now- in our time - all the really important challenges we face are out on the frontier. We're expanding farther and farther, into places where no human's ever set foot before. And then we have to keep the colonies running safely." She sips her coffee, shrugs. "I want to help - to be part of all that. I'm not some brilliant scientist, but if someone's got to go out and take a few risks, I can do that."

She might have been about to add something, from her quick smile, but then she pauses thoughtfully. "Although I guess being a soldier is very different for us than in your time period. 1941 is... sometime during the war, right?"

"The uh...how did they say it?" Steve nods, glancing down at his coffee. "The second world war. Japan had just attacked Pearl harbor when I..."

Slim fingers tap against the table they're sitting at while Steve recounts the day he ended up in the Nexus. The fight in the theater. Bucky showing up with two swell gals, neither of whom had any interest in Steve. Watching Howard Stark's science demonstration and then...the recruiting office.

How he'd decided to try one more time. Said goodbye to Bucky, and opened a door that didn't lead anywhere on his world at all.

"Next thing I knew, here I was. I hope it's going alright, back home."

Bryn listens with evident curiosity as she sips the coffee. Blaze never has been much for hiding her feelings: made younger and given a human face to express herself with, she's an open book. Her mingled surprise and concern (and then the fascination she tries to hide) when he talks about getting into a fight, like that just happens sometimes. The flash of a smile that quirks ruefully at the double date gone awry, piqued interest when he mentions the science demo.

It's a glimpse into a bygone world, after all. And yet one that's not so strange on a human level. People are people.

"I'm sure it is." She has to hold her tongue, fretting visibly over how much to say. Honestly she can add, "I don't know Earth history very well, but... from what they taught us people in your time were- are resilient."

She considers some of what he said, and the man across from her. "You were really determined to enlist, huh? Sounds like you weren't going to let anyone stop you."

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