nexus_crossings | Closed Paths

"It looks like a small moon: this huge silver sphere a few miles across. But that's just what we can see. The Traveler is a being of pure Light, and its power alters the world in ways that defy conventional physics. It can change the gravity of a planet, give life to the dead. Imbue weapons and armor with new properties. When the enemy came, the Traveler fought to defend us, and suffered terrible wounds in the battle. Now it's dead, or dormant, but it still floats above our city and protects us. Sometimes we call it a god, though I don't think it ever asked for that."

"Not even we know much about it."

She hmms over the numbers a bit, glancing at Ghost to correct her when she answers, "We have one last city, and I think a few million people there. Our enemies never stop pressing us, not for the last few centuries, but the Wall holds strong. The Darkness isn't snuffing us out any time soon."

She can't help but peer a bit closer when Adia looks away. "...You think maybe the first he knew about it was when they activated him- his mission programming, I mean? That'd be a damned dirty thing to pull on someone. I don't know if suicide was his only way out, but you have to respect that kind of courage."

"Maybe the Traveler had its own history with your enemies," Adia muses. "I can see why people would call it a God, I've never heard of a being so powerful that wasn't one." She pauses thoughtfully before adding, "Even the gods of our religion aren't as powerful. Not that... well, if they exist in my universe, they've never shown themselves."

"A few million... that's good. There are less than 40,000 of us." She smiles sadly. "We don't have anyone like you to help protect us."

She doesn't say anything for a little while, just stares at her hands in her lap. "We were on our ship -- a research vessel -- when the Cylons attacked the colonies," she says finally. "They were broadcasting news of the attack on a vidscreen in the entertainment room, and they showed a picture of Caspar. I mean, the same model as him. He ran, but... but there really isn't anywhere to run on a ship. And then he --"

She takes in a shaky breath, trying her hardest to keep her composure. "I tried to help. I told him that I could... I don't know, vouch for him, or something." She wipes at the corner of her eyes and laughs bitterly. "Like that would have done any good... an organic Cylon in military custody? They would have taken him apart like a science experiment."

More quietly she adds, "Then, much later, I found out that Cylons could download into a new body, their memories intact. So... I don't know. Maybe on some level he knew that. He might even have been programmed to take his own life if he was caught."

"Wait, that's all? You said there were multiple colonies - just how hard did those wars hit you?" Her dismay is evident - as bad as these Cylons can apparently be, she sort of assumed a foe bent on occupation wouldn't need to inflict massive casualties.

Blaze is starting to wonder if she's said something tactless when Adia speaks again. She keeps quiet and listens, though when the woman struggles not to cry she reaches an instinctive hand to her shoulder. It occurs to her a second late that maybe a friendly robotic touch isn't the kind of comfort Adia wants, but she's a tactile kind of person. It's more polite than a hug.

The matter of tactical suicide, on the other hand, is something she can offer a real opinion on. "There's logic to that. I'd do it, if I didn't want to fight for some reason. But that's not so much about programming, I don't think. Not sure how a normal survival instinct would factor into it either. Do other Cylons do that if they're captured?"

"There were fifty billion of us, before the war. They dropped thermonuclear bombs on all of the colonies, targeting the major cities. Everyone who escaped did so by ship." She looks almost apologetic, as if she's disappointing Blaze somehow with their staggeringly low numbers. "They hit our military fleet, too. Only two battlestars survived, one because it was being decommissioned and turned into a museum."

The hand on the shoulder surprises her, but she doesn't move away. It's the first time in a while that someone has tried to comfort her with touch (in the Nexus, anyway). "There was another copy of his model who blew himself up Galactica. But he wasn't a sleeper agent." She thinks some more, and adds quietly, "There was another Cylon who killed herself by blowing up one of our ships. But she had been a prisoner beforehand and tortured pretty horribly... I don't know how many of us, human or otherwise, would want to live after that."

The Exo's optics dim as she considers the scale of that destruction, and the hovering Ghost looks down sadly. There's no shock in it, for them - they and the world they know were born to such things. But it's never pleasant to learn yet another civilization had to endure that devastation - self-inflicted, no less.

"I understand," she says, a kind of grim sorrow in her voice. There's only one way to answer that kind of horror, and it starts with soldiering on no matter what. "Good thing you got as many people out as you did. The Cylons, though - they've got some strange ideas if this is how they make peace. That and some arrogant damned nerve. What's the status of your military under the occupation?"

That said- she's no better pleased by how the human side has apparently behaved under pressure. "Better to die well, when it comes to that. Reincarnation wouldn't have been much of a kindness to her, unless she underwent a full reboot and wiped her memory. Still doesn't answer your question, of course." She considers, shrugs. "Suppose you could just corner a Cylon and ask them about their sleepers' escape protocols."

It's funny how Adia can tell that Blaze and Ghost feel sad for her, despite them being androids (or... whatever Ghost is). It's more emotion than some of the human Cylons show, when interacting with humans, and she appreciates it. "At the time the Cylons wanted complete genocide. I think a few of them spent enough time with humans to decide otherwise." She shakes her head. "But you're right, this isn't any way to make peace."

"Our military jumped into hyperspace when the Cylons arrived. They were orbiting New Caprica, and it was either stay and get annihilated, or leave and try to come back for a rescue mission... it felt like abandonment at the time, but I understand why they made that decision."

"I hope she found some peace," Adia says sincerely. She holds back a sigh at Blaze's suggestion. "They are very good at keeping their secrets. And anyway..." She trails off, not wanting to sound selfish, but Blaze has kindly listened to her, the least she can do is be honest, "...I only really care about what Caspar was thinking."

"Glad to hear they got away intact, but I've got to admit it makes me wonder about the Cylon strategy. They don't seem like people with qualms about using civilians as hostages." She sounds aggravated by that.

She frowns at Adia's explanation of Cylon secrecy - though the 'huh' she lets out is more puzzled and concerned than angry. At the young woman's admission, though, Blaze considers her words and nods slowly.

"Think I understand. Who cares what the programming said, right? He's your friend. His decision is all that matters."

She winces at Blaze's assessment, as if reliving a painful memory. "I was... I was Caspar's hostage. Briefly. So he could buy himself a little time to think. He didn't hurt me, though. He looked horrified that he had frightened me at all..."

"But you're right, without our military, we're sitting ducks. Even with the military, it would need to be a surprise attack to save us. We're outnumbered."

She gives Blaze a small smile, grateful that she understands. "Most people see them as a monolithic unit, like cogs in a machine. But I believe that they're still individuals. No matter how much coding they share with one another."

The Exo actually goes quiet for a minute. She may never have had to go through the same things, but there are parallels here and there, places where she can sympathize with Caspar's story more than she'd like to admit.

Her Ghost interjects, covering for her. "I don't know how anyone could react well in that situation. He must have been terribly lost... and afraid."

"See, that I can understand," Blaze says, breaking her silence in a low voice. "It's a hell of a lot easier to forgive a scared kid for doing something dumb. But now the Cylons are holding all the cards, and they've got no excuse to act like cowards."

She tilts her head and teases Adia outright at that last though, trying to lighten the mood in her own awkward way. "Hey, you organic types are the experts on 'sharing code'. The rest of us keep it to ourselves. But since we're talking individuality, I kinda skipped over asking your name. I'm Blaze-37; most people just call me Blaze outside of formalities. And Ghost already introduced himself."

Adia doesn't miss Blaze's thoughtful silence, even as she listens to Ghost talk. She nods slowly at his assessment. "I've spent whole days picking apart every moment from when he found out he was a Cylon to... to the end. I do think he was scared, and desperate." She looks over at Blaze, her expression sincere. "I forgive him that much, easily."

The joke has its intended effect on Adia -- she lets out a surprised laugh, loud enough that she covers her mouth until she's quieted down. "You have a point there... It's nice to meet you, Blaze. And you, too, Ghost. My name's Adia."

The look Blaze gives her is focused, a moment's keen study before the Exo nods to her. "Too bad your people don't have more like you. On both sides."

Adia's laughter seems to make the Guardian relax even more. Blaze is honestly quite delighted that her joke worked, and it shows in her voice. "Pleasure to meet you too, Adia. You said you worked on a research vessel? What's your normal post?"

Adia smiles wearily. "It's hard to see in shades of gray when everyone around you insists that there's only black and white. But thank you. I don't know how open-minded I'd be if I hadn't been so close to Caspar." Maybe things would be easier if she'd never bothered to get to know him in the first place, but she doesn't voice that thought.

"I'm a microbiologist," Adia says, perking up a bit at the subject change. "We studied infectious diseases. It was research-only on the Chiron, but since we settled on New Caprica, my work became more practical -- trying to prevent outbreaks of communicable diseases, mostly. It was a crash course in public health."

"Not everyone who has the chance to learn is willing to," Ghost says quietly. Blaze half turns her head toward him, then nods and claps Adia on the shoulder. Gently, for her, so as not to bruise their new friend.

"Guess it isn't easy to put a war to rest. But you've got the capability, all of you. The people of our Earth treated one another viciously for thousands of years. Go back a thousand years and I'll bet they wouldn't believe they could ever make peace, either. And yet they did." There's a fierce earnestness in her voice, a deep faith in what humanity can achieve.

"With everyone crammed into ships or trying to build a settlement from scratch, right. Must be a worthy challenge trying to keep them all healthy. I don't know too much about the fine points of epidemiology, but public health seems like a major concern down in the City."

Wise words from Ghost. She wonder again at his technology, how something created by an alien hand can seems so warm and personable, before nodding slowly. "Must be the scientist in me," she says with a small smile. The shoulder clap surprises her a little, but she doesn't mind.

She's also surprised by Blaze's earnestness. "Did they make peace with one another because of the alien invasion, or because of something else?" She'll be more impressed if they were able to sustain peace without an outside threat.

"It's tough," she agrees. "Not everyone is on the same page on proper disease prevention and treatment, either. But at least the Cylons haven't interfered with that. What sorts of diseases do people in the City have to deal with? You said there were a few million living there?"

Blaze shakes her head. "No, that all happened at the start of the Golden Age. After the Traveler arrived. I wish we still knew enough of the specifics to tell you how. I know politics are never so simple, but I like to think it gave them perspective. That maybe when it swooped in out of the black they realized just how vast a place the universe is, and they had to make a choice about how they wanted to meet it. What kind of people they were going to be."

She's hopeful, at any rate.

"If these Cylons are organic, I guess they'd be almost as vulnerable to infection as the rest of you," Blaze muses. She's a little bit amused by the idea of (other) construct people getting the sniffles. She doesn't even know why, it just tickles her. "The City's mostly worried about preventing crowd epidemics, from what I know. 'Course, we Guardians only hear about screening and quarantine procedures for that kinda stuff: we don't have much to do with internal matters. Luckily for us the Golden Agers wiped out nearly all the old diseases and parasites, but animals are still a major vector."

"So the Traveler united them... or at least, was the motivation to unite." She idly plays with the fringe of her scarf, thinking over Blaze's words. "I don't know what would happen if we met any aliens in our universe. Or if the Cylons met them first."

Adia frowns a little, but it's not directed at Blaze. "Well... yes, and no. They can get sick, but they aren't as diverse genetically as humans are. I mean, because there are so many copies of each model, and only seven models. They could be more resistant to illness, too. They're stronger than us, physically." It reminds her of some research that she had been working on at some point, but the moment is forgotten.

"Is it close quarters, in the City? That increases the risk of epidemics. What sorts of animals are spreading disease? That isn't a problem so much for us anymore."

"I think that'd put your differences into perspective pretty quick, either way. A truly alien mind is a whole different league to one that's just neohuman," Blaze muses out loud. "That isn't necessarily a bad thing, though. We were lucky back then that the Traveler didn't think anything like we were used to." Paranoid, xenophobic humans with godlike power? It doesn't bear thinking about.

"With diversity that low they'd be pretty vulnerable if they did meet a serious plague. But I guess they could just correct their immune systems and run off some new bodies." Blaze shakes her head. "Hnnh. Even if it's just physical, it must be lousy not to get your own face. Can't be healthy."

There's no saving some people, though. The City is much easier to help. "I, uh. I'm not sure. Seems like they've got plenty of open space inside the walls, but the residential areas are pretty built-up." Blaze rubs sheepishly at one of her antennae as she admits, "Never been down to take a look personally. I know they've got cattle, sheep, donkeys. A lot of birds. Oh, and dogs." She remembers one in a picture!

"I'd never considered that... The Cylons seem so foreign to me, but you're right, we have more in common than an alien mind." It's an oddly optimistic thought. Too bad no godlike alien sphere is about to swoop in and save the day, in her universe.

"You all don't look the same?" She asks Blaze curiously. She frowns to herself at what Caspar or any of the Cylons must think when they see their own face on somebody else. "I've never heard any of them complain about it."

"Oh, I see." Adia nods knowingly. "Domesticated animals are huge vectors for disease. A flu strain can mutate within an animal population and then jump to humans fairly easily."

Blaze shakes her head, in answer to the question. "I've never met another Exo who looked like me. Or like any of the others. Suppose it might have been easier back when there were more of us running around, but I'm confident we never had simple copies. Would've been a nightmare trying to tell everyone apart. Guess you could make people wear badges..."

"It's probably normal to a Cylon. Perhaps they don't see it as a problem."

"They will when the humans keep mixing them up." Silly, silly Cylons. Visual identification is important!

"Right. I guess that's one reason some of the old bugs managed to stick around so long. The Consensus, who run the City, they seem very tough on public health. Kinda have to be."

"They're able to tell one another apart," Adia says quietly. "I don't think they care if we can." SHe worries her lower lip briefly before adding, "Caspar's models like to wear suits. That's what I see most of them in, anyway. Caspar never wore a suit. The fanciest thing he owned was a sportcoat."

She smiles briefly at Ghost. It must be nice to have a constant companion who can offer his own perspective. "What about you?" She asks him. "Do Ghosts look different? Do you.. um, socialize with other Ghosts?"

"They mutate so quickly," Adia says, referring to viruses, "The immune system can't keep up." She sighs. "Honestly, I wish we could be tougher when it comes to disease. The Saggitarions distrust modern medicine, and other people don't take vaccinations seriously. Or hand-washing. Which -- we still have clean water, we might as well take advantage of that."

"Hmmm. I still think that'd get old fast." Aside from the hassle of getting mistaken for a few hundred other people... Blaze has had a taste already of being unable to recognize her friends. She finds herself no happier at the thought of them being unable to recognize her. Her attitude lightens at Adia's last remark, though. "Hey, that's good. Maybe you'll be able to pick him out more easily. Get that talk you want."

Ghost hesitates a little bit before answering, as if being asked such a question takes him off-guard. "

Well... we all start off looking like this. Over time many of us acquire more distinctive shells, just as our Guardians earn their personal gear.

" His shell spins for a moment. "I... do speak with other Ghosts from time to time, especially if we're friends with their Guardian too."

"Some of the others have nicknames too," Blaze volunteers. "Ghost here just never settled on one he liked."

As for the issue of contagion... both bots blink at Adia in shock. Blaze sounds completely dumbfounded as she echoes, "Don't take them seriously?" Squint, squint. "The Hive-ridden hell? Why wouldn't you- they don't want anyone else to die, do they?"

Yup, looks like the highly advanced war machine is broken. Without humanity even trying.

"I don't think he'll still be wearing his Virgon University sweatshirt," Adia says with a small, sad smile. More brightly, she adds, "That's good to know that you're one of a kind. I won't mistake you for anyone else... well, unless an alternate of yours shows up in the Nexus."

She hopes she didn't commit some sort of social gaffe by asking Ghost her questions, but she didn't want to leave him out of the conversation. "I never liked having a nickname, either," Adia says. "But you're able to tell one another apart, right?"

She cringes visibly at their reaction, even though she knows that they aren't blaming her. Still, it's hard not to take responsibility for all of humanity when there are so few of them left. "It's more complicated than that," she says, a touch defensive. "Many people lost their vaccination records when the colonies were destroyed. Their biggest concerns now are getting enough food to eat and keeping their shelter from collapsing in a heavy rain. We try to run as many clinics as we can, but it's difficult to get to everyone."

"Ah. Heh. No. I don't think that'll be a problem. Seems like the problem around here is more often the same people showing up with different faces." She's been hit with a few too many LOLs; Blaze doesn't even want to think about an actual alternate showing up. "Why, have you ever met an alternate version of yourself?"

Ghost doesn't seem to mind answering, for what that's worth; even his surprise is wearing off as they talk and he relaxes a little. Blaze is trying her best not to interrupt her shy partner. Adia seems quite safe to talk to, after all.

"Oh, yes. And once we've bonded with a Guardian, they can recognize us too. Other people don't, um, need to as much." He flexes his shell in what looks like uncertainty before he ventures, "Do people often try to nickname you? It doesn't seem necessary."

Blaze seems taken aback when Adia flinches like that. "Hey, relax. I'm not mad at you. And I guess you've got a point about your priorities. I just don't understand why people wouldn't be on board with precautions like handwashing when the situation's so critical."

Edited 2016-10-13 21:30 (UTC)

Adia shakes her head. "No, but one of the first people I met in the Nexus warned me of the possibility. Although I was never concerned with running into an alternate of myself as much an alternate of someone else."

Being incredibly shy herself, Adia is happy to hold a conversation with Ghost at his comfort level. "Are you always with Blaze, then?" she asks curiously. She shrugs a little at his question. "Some people use it as a way to show closeness, but my name doesn't shorten easily, so it sounds strange to me."

"Sorry." Adia murmurs, relaxing her posture. She smooths out the wrinkles in her scarf and adds softly, "People are trying to take care of themselves as best they can. When you're constantly under attack, certain things can fall by the wayside."

"Ah. Yeah. I see how that'd be disturbing." She wasn't lying when she said she hasn't met an alternate of any friends, but she knows something about that kind of experience nonetheless. "Especially with where you're coming from. Better if it's just one face, one person."

"Always. Or depending on how you look at it, she's always with me." That gets a chuckle from the Titan. "Shortening your name wouldn't make a lot of sense, I agree. Besides, it's a nice name."

Blaze nods slowly at Adia's words. "That old survival instinct, I guess. It just isn't easy, thinking of people suffering when it could be prevented. There's no room for error in situations like ours."

(no subject)

chiron_survivor - 2016-10-17 00:46 (UTC) - Expand