nexus_crossings | (no subject)

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It is starting to dawn on Adia that this might not be the Nexus she remembers.

It is the first time in months that she has been able to leave New Caprica without risking awareness from either the Cylons or her fellow humans. She has never told anyone about the strange, wonderful place she stumbled upon, nor does she plan to. It won't be much help to the colonists, and it'd be a dangerous weapon in the hands of the Cylons.

But in the short time she has been sitting on a stone bench, reading an old paperback, she hasn't seen a single familiar face. And come to think of it, none of the landmarks look the same to her, either. True, the Nexus is always changing, but shouldn't she recognize at least some of it?

Curious, and a little nervous, she gets up and brushes off her dusty but serviceable coat, then walks over to a convenient Nexus computer terminal. That hasn't changed, at least.

How do you go about finding someone that you used to know? When is it not worth the risk to try and find them?

There is no giant blinking neon sign in her line of sight instructing her to ask a question, but she hopes someone answers anyway.

((ooc: Hey everybody, Adia is an OC from Battlestar Galactica, her timeline currently in the beginning of Season Three. I used to RP her at dear_multiverse on Livejournal, hence all the "not the same Nexus" references. She's a human with no special powers. Have fun!))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

If they're robots or clones or whatever, who made them?

An important detail in his opinion.

We did. I mean, not me personally, but the colonists did, several decades ago. They were programmed to be intelligent, not sentient. The sentience emerged on its own.

She almost doesn't hit send. She knows how damning it sounds, that from the Cylons' point of view, they were probably well within their rights to exterminate their cruel masters. That maybe instead of her being afraid to find her friend, he should be disgusted that he even was friends with an awful human.

She tries to hold back her tears, her face heating up in shame and frustration. Why does she feel like she has to defend herself to this alien lawyer who types like a teenager?

He probably hates me on principle.

Said alien lawyer reads the reply back, smoothing his thumb along one eyebrow in consideration. Another moment is taken to hook a finger at the nearby ash tray and pull it closer, soon lighting up a cigarette before getting to his reply.

We got something like that. Protostar made a bunch of bots to be our heavy-lifters and shit, right. But something on Nexus got into one of them. A virus or something?? Made him sentient and aware. Killed the employee who made him and ran off and now he's spreading his awareness virus to any other bots he can get to.

Call themselves Free-Bots. Dumb.

Of course, your clones were flesh and blood to begin with? I assume?? At least bots started as just tech with arms.

Anywayyyy

Your friend. You wanna even find him at all now? Or just cut losses

There's no condemnation, no rebuke. Adia sighs and wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. She wishes she could stop taking things so personally.

I'm sorry to hear you have something similar on your world. What is the Nexus doing about the Free-Bots? They weren't organic to begin with, when they left the colonies they were made of metal. There still are ones like that, actually, they're called Centurions. Nobody knows how they were able to develop bodies that were just like humans. I've heard the theory that they received help from an alien race but there's no evidence for that.

Back to the matter at hand. Adia swallows hard and takes a moment to compose herself before typing again.

When he found out that he was a robot, he ended his life. He ended up downloading into a new body, but at the time, he thought -- we all thought -- that what he did was final. I know it sounds silly, but I want to know if he's okay.

Accepting them for the most part which is FUCKED UP. NOT A FAN!!!

Shark is in the middle of mashing his thumbs in anger as he types that out when someone approaches his booth. An outrageously tall blue man with metal cables for hair flops into the seat across from the lawyer, tossing a black duffle bag next to him before doing so. He watches with curiosity, then amusement, at the much smaller man's ANGRY TEXTING. "What's got you so mad. Lemme see." The datachron is snatched before he can object and a quick visual skim of the subject makes the blue man laugh loudly.

"You're so mad for no reason."

"I HAVE A REASON."

Neirin supplies the rest of the text before hitting send.

haha my boss is so mad about freebots

She's surprised by the vitriol, but before she can reply, more text appears. It doesn't sound like the same, even if this new person also types just as casually.

Hello? Is this someone else?

freebots are cool dudes but clones are made 2 hate them.... SAD. also HELLO

The datachron is ill-temperedly snatched back by its owner, Neirin now smug and occupying himself with ordering his own drink.

Ignore that. That was my idiot assistant. If you ever see a giant blue space zombie, tell him to go fuck himself.

Anyway, your friend probably doesn't hate you. I probably wouldn't?? Probably just thinking about how it sucks your war or whatever keeps you apart. And lemme guess, if you guys even try to meet, you'll both be shot for treason? Dominion vs. Exile shit.

Made to hate...? She thinks, briefly, of the times that Cylons on her world had acted out programming against their will. She thought it was just as symptom of being a sleeper agent, but now it makes her wonder...

She doesn't bother to reply to the mysterious typer, however, because soon enough the lawyer is back in control. She smiles briefly at the moment of levity that it brings. How did he get to be your assistant? Are you also blue? Thanks. He's in a position of power relative to me, but you're probably right, there is not an easy way for him to contact me. I don't think he'd be shot for treason. The Cylons do not commit acts of violence against one another. As for me... I don't know. My friends were very understanding of my relationship with Caspar when we all thought he was human. Nobody blamed me for being fooled. But I don't know how they'd tolerate me seeking him out. My boyfriend certainly wouldn't like it.

No. I'm green. I hired him cuz of select skills he has. He's a legal assistant.

"Hey, she wants to know why you're my assistant."

"Hahah, BOSS. Don't tell her that! Wait, who is this." Neirin is ignored as Shark keeps typing.

Hahah ohhhh shit you got a boyfriend!! Ask him if he's up for 3somes then if you wanna find your old clone buddy. ;)

Shark, don't be gross.

So he's not another clone? You don't seem to like him much. Well, maybe she shouldn't assume. Some people fight quite a bit with one another and can still work together. She's never had that kind of relationship, professional or otherwise.

It's a little embarrassing how close to home his words hit. Not the egregiously-typed threesome part, but Caspar was more than just a close friend. It's what keeps her from walking away from the terminal in disgust. As it is, she types back with more force than necessary, He wouldn't like it because he supports the resistance against Cylon occupation.

And then, because she's braver in text than in person, she adds, Are you sure you're a lawyer? You don't type like one.

Hey he's good when he's doing what he's told. Like I said, select skills. I wouldn't keep him around if he wasn't useful!!

I'm not typing like one because I'm texting and also not on the clock. Easier to type u than you right. Why u gotta play me like this?? You type all professional with every email you send???

Also boyfriend sounds like a dimbulb. Should hook up with clone guy instead.

So he's not a clone, then? You said he was undead?

Adia rolls her eyes -- not that Shark's there to see it. Sorry, I didn't know you were texting. Although it's difficult to not take another potshot at his typing skills with the way he's acting. Why does he keep suggesting that Adia hook up with Caspar? He doesn't even know that they were together, so why would he --

Ohhhh, wait a minute. You're just typing that because he's a clone, aren't you? She pauses a moment, and adds, Well, Caspar always had impeccable grammar and spelling in his emails, so that's a point in his favor.

Nah he's mordesh. Their whole deal is they tried for immortality and got brain-eaters or whatever instead. Best known now for having fish tanks all over their bodies and being hella gloomy. Not joking about the fish tanks I can see Neirins guts when he takes his shirt off. BALLS NASTY

Shark takes a moment to flick ash from his cig, some of it missing the ash tray. Neirin dutifully swipes it off the table with the side of one hand, tutting about making messes.

Also yes. People got weird ideas about clones being people or not right. But you dated one for awhile so you know thats bullshit right.

Not rising to the further jabs about his typing being sub-par, thank you very much!

The description is a little repulsive, but fascinating, too. As a microbiologist, Adia can't help but wonder about Neirin's physiology. He didn't seem very gloomy in that brief text. I'm assuming he doesn't try to eat brains?

Whatever tiny bit of satisfaction Adia got at calling out Shark's typing skills disappears when she reads the second text. Soberly, she replies, Yeah. Yeah, I know. He was his own person. He was really good to me.

Yeah Neirin is pretty okay with the gloom stuff. Only gets like that if he's smoked a ton. Gets all poetic and sad about idk trees or something. Also he totally eats brains. Not people ones (I ASSUME???) but still eats them. Mordesh are fucked.

More and more I'm thinkin you should find this guy. He sounds cool. Tell him you're cool with another clone (me) and you've seen the error of your ways in thinking his race are assholes. Cross faction romance novels sell like mad for a reason you know.

She kind of wishes she could meet Neirin for herself. Not that she thinks that Shark is lying or anything, but he clearly has his own perspective of things. I see. How many different sentient species live on Nexus?

If Adia rolls her eyes any harder, they're going to fall out of her head. This guy is relentless! And a little endearing, if she's being honest with herself. First I'd have to figure out which copy is him. There are a lot of them, and they all look through me like I'm not even there. So either I haven't run into him yet, or he's pretending he doesn't recognize me.

And then she'd have to work up the nerve to say something.

We have a famous story of star-crossed lovers. One of them gets eaten by a lion, and the other one stabs herself. How do things work out on your world for people who dare to date across factions?

Aaa fuck. I dunno? Mordesh Protostar Human Chua Draken Granok Mechari TREE SLANKS Lopp Ekose ...uhhhh those birds? those ugly things with the teeth? LUMINAI kinda like seven of them. Grumpels? Basically anyone Exile, anyone Dominion, anyone who fucks around in the Fringe. And us.

Ahh fuck I didn't realize there was more of his template!! I guess that fucks things up. No directory for clones there? Can't figure out where his specific model got shipped out to? I guess not if you're at war lol.

Shark looks up at Neirin, who's busy taking a deep drink from his glass of beer. "Hah, she's asking how dating works across factions."

"Uhh, proooobably illegal and dangerous," he answers once the glass is back down on its coaster.

"Right?"

Probably get you shot. Dominion freaks the fuck out if you're on their side and do anything decent by an Exile. Protostar's neutral at least cuz why bother cutting out half the market? Bad business.

Just don't talk about the commercials that are tailor-made for either side to present the company as unsympathetic to the other, of course.

That's quite a cast of characters. For all of its troubles, Nexus sounds like a vibrant planet, full of life, not at all like New Caprica. What are the humans like on Nexus? How do they get along with other species? It's okay, I'm sorry I didn't mention it sooner. They know who each other is, but they leave humans in the dark about it. For almost two years, I thought he was dead. I knew he was a Cylon but I didn't know that they could download into a new body. He might not even be on New Caprica...

She shuts her eyes and rubs the bridge of her nose. Why is she even entertaining this scenario? Meeting Caspar again -- and more importantly, having it go well -- is a complete fantasy.

Well, I'd prefer not to get shot, so I don't think I'll be on the cover of the next greatest romance novel. But thank you for the encouragement. My name's Adia, by the way.

Depends on which chunk of humans you're talking about. Regular humans are Exiles and they're just a buncha cornpones. Probably inbred lol. Cassians are mad snooty. Probably also inbred?? Just the aristocrat style. Exiles are more chill about other races tho unless they're Dominion. Cassians think they're hot shit and too good for pretty much everybody.

Sup Adia. I'm Litigation and Prosecution Specialist Lawyer but you can call me Shark. Just don't tell the company I have a nickname haha

but seriously don't

So there are both Dominion humans and Exile humans? Is that true for all the species you mentioned? Are the humans really inbred or are you just saying that? Her own colony, Leonis, was ruled by a royal family for over a thousand years, and by the end had become quite inbred, so it's not unheard of, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

She just stares at that a moment. A lawyer named Shark. I'm assuming you chose it for the connotation?

Hurriedly, she adds, I won't tell them, I promise. Are you not supposed to have a nickname?

Little of column A little of column B. Cassian highborn DEF got some inbreeding going on. All obsessed with keeping the luminai blood in 'em as much as they can. Typical aristocrats lmao.

Connotation and cuz I got my teeth modded. Got the company to sign off on it cuz I said it was good for courtroom intimidation haha. I like it for intimidation PERIOD.

There's a long pause between those texts and the following. Shark reads the question regarding his nickname, reads it again, looks up frowning. Watches Neirin screw around on his own datachron. Takes a hearty swig from the latest drink that was dropped off for him, draining most of the highball glass in one go. THEN he types some more.

Protostar just really

uh

values

consistency among the workforce

and not

showing a lot of uhhh "deviation" from our templates

or

individuality? Just because it means we're not putting the company first. And not keeping a solid presentation of the company to our consumers.

The Leonese royal family had a similar philosophy. The last emperor was related to his great-great-grandmother at least fourteen different ways. It was shortly after that we became a democracy.

Adia winces and unconsciously rubs her jaw. Was it painful to get them modded?

She notices the pause in the texting, and even when Shark finally replies, all those line breaks are impossible to ignore. She stares at his words for a while, suddenly feeling quite a bit of empathy for him. It must be hard for others to see you as your own person if you're not even supposed to have your own name.

That's their loss. You're more than the sum of your genes. The Cylons don't typically have names, either. They usually refer to themselves by their model number.

If you think I didn't go into the modding coked out of my goddamn skull your nuts haha. Feels great now tho. All false so no cavities ever again!!!

There's another pause as he considers the oddly earnest and friendly condolences. The sincerity of reassuring someone they're greater than the sum of their genes, which is hugely against Protostar company policy. Seriously, it's in the training manual. He glances up at Neirin again, who he's surprised to find is already watching him.

"You look a little wigged out, boss." The waitress is just leaving their table, the mordesh likely having put in for another round.

"She's saying shit about, like. People being more than the sum of their genes. Stuff like that." He scratches one long ear, feeling immediately self-conscious. Neirin smiles kindly.

"Aw, boss, I'm saying the exact same thing all the time. You're great." Rather than answer, Shark just starts typing again.

We got serials too but that's just for like IDing bodies or if someone gets mixed up cuz a guy got his brains scrambled and forgot his station?? Otherwise we're just our job titles. Which are a big deal!! I'm basically a huge deal cuz I'm in legal. Super important. Lots of money sunk into templating me.

There any cylons in the Nexus? They might know your guy??

Adia rolls her eyes again -- affectionately, if that is indeed a way one can roll one's eyes. What were your real teeth like? Like a human's teeth? Are you still able to eat okay?

The pause worries her. Did she say something wrong? But his reply seems normal enough -- for him, anyway. I'm sure you are. You must be kept busy at such a huge company. I've never seen a Cylon in the Nexus, and I hope to Zeus that there aren't any. You know how I said that there are different models? Some are far less charitable to humans than others. I'd be okay if I ran into a Six or an Eight, but a One would probably try to steal my PINpoint. They're really mean.

Flat normal teeth, yeah. Like the new ones way better. People freak when they see a guy in a nice suit and MONSTER TEETH!!

He starts to add something re: the eating being fine, especially when it comes to "eating pussy haha". But then he pauses...and for once in his short life decides to be decent and deletes it.

Can you even tell a cylon on sight or do they just look like humans. Maybe my guy can keep an eye out for any. Shake some info outta him. Or her? Are there women cylons?? That must be weird af.

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that description made me do a seal bark laugh

:)

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oops my html fell off on that last one

no problem! happens to the best of us :)

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Did you draw that?! That's awesome! :)

I did! A rush job but a picture felt better than a desc. THANK YOU

Very cool. :)