BeanieBaggie

You are alone

"...I-I'm fine." Dorothy spoke sharply after being smacked, blinking her eyes tightly several times as she pulled herself from the memories that flooded her mind. "I.. Sorry. More of Prime's memories came to me. But, hey, um, at least I know how to work this thing now?" She let out a small nervous chuckle as she brought up the interface, allowing the memories to guide her as she began to heal Chris.

"God.. She was nuts. If I start to go like she did, stop me, ok?" She flicked her eyes up to the man's face nervously, the unnerving effects of the memory flood apparent on hers. "Um... So I think that I'm pretty not likely to go on the Jason path, though. Crazy McGee was improving her cloning skills, from what I can tell? I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure. I'm gonna test something after I'm done..." She made idle chitchat as she worked, grimacing at the data showing up on screen. "...But that aside, thanks for filling me in." She let out a small sigh, pushing her hair back once more. "But, I.. I have to disagree. I'm as real as you; I mean, I'm messing with things physically, I'm pretty sure I bleed... I'm not..." She paused, looking up as if to grasp at a word. "I'm not my maker. If I could think of a good name for myself, I'd change my name. " She shuttered, making a face. "Oogh, it sounds so weird to say it like that. I hope you know what I mean?"

"Removing your own chip..." She looked to the X-rays as the machinery around her finished the job. "That sounds awful. At least you ended up ok, though. I feel bad enough about what she did." Her eyes turned to the holes around the room, furrowing her brows. "...I assume, these came from something involving the jasons?" She pointed to several, glancing back to the man. "...God. I'm slightly regretting warning them about the outer rings... They're really scary. How do you think we can deal with them?" She sighed and moved away from the terminal as the machines finished and went back to their places, looking around for something sharp.

"...Ok, I have to satisfy my curiosity here for a moment," She muttered, finding a sharp tool and looking at it closely for a moment. With a deep breath, she slit the palm of her hand, just enough to bleed, and watched it heal. "...Well then. This isn't unnerving at all." She put the tool back as she spoke sarcastically, biting her lip thoughtfully.

The Search is Real (Still real, still searching)

boop

You are alone

"Mental... Degradation..? n-No, but... It doesn't feel right sharing a name with her." Dorothy shook her head slightly as she explained, following the man's lead as quietly as she could. "I'd rename myself, but... I'm bad at naming. Hence why the terrible person gets the terrible name, I guess?" She forced herself to breathe deeply and calm down, managing to keep herself from being a stuttering mess for longer.

"...Jeez. Poor guys..." She sighed and furrowed her brows as she learned of the Jasons' fates. "I wish I could help them. But, h-hey, I guess that explains why I really don't like looking at the first Dorothy? I... should probably avoid her more, now, though." She shuttered as she moved along, grimacing slightly. "The Jasons'... They won't listen to reason, would they? I thought I made it clear over the PA that I'm not... her. I guess it could be that she's worse than I know of? i-If so, please don't fill me in."

"Don't worry, I don't intend on making any more clones," She explained quietly as she moved through the halls, occasionally glancing back at the man, and his weapon. "I'd maybe consider if if everyone else was dead- I, um... Being alone isn't something I like at all- but even then, I have no idea how to do that, and it really... It's starting to feel more and more wrong." With a glance away, she tensed her jaw; she felt bad about admitting her lack of knowledge; as if she was letting someone down.

"...You mean, the first-first one? The not-clone? Or, the body I found by command?" Dorothy blinked, trying to decide which one he meant. "...Sorry for asking about so much. I have some memories from the first Dorothy- do you mind if I call her prime? Just, um, for my sanity- but not all. Just enough to not get lost too easy, to remember some names and roughly what everyone was supposed to do... And to remember how crazy she was about her work." She tried not to lead on about how she remembered bits of the beginning of the mission, or how those memories only served to make her feel bad about everything. "I, um, I guess she did have her own goals, though. I mean, I'd assume so."

Nervously, she took a deep breath as she entered the medical bay once more. She approached the medical terminal. "Ok, so, um, while I try to get this thing going, can you explain what happened? There's laser holes and blood everywhere and your chip is in command and-" She caught herself speeding through her words again, and paused. "Um, Everything's really confusing. I just woke up... It feels like forever, but it's probably closer to an hour or less ago. The blood everywhere and the two bodies I found really... set me on edge, and I'd like to know what happened?" She glanced to him, before mustering all her focus into recalling how to work the machine, to help Chris.

You are alone

"o-Oh... Oh my god..." Dorothy began to tremble again as her eyes stuck to the unconscious man in front of her, pulling her arms close as she backed up. "Why w-would he want to...?" she leta hand go to float to her face, staring at it before putting it over her mouth to keep herself quiet. "...Oh. I-I guess it makes sense... I mean, after what she did..." She shuttered for a moment, moving away from the body as her eyes turned to the man who'd saved her.

"..Chris...?" She looked around before moving closer to him, keeping a radius away from the Jason. "p-Please, please please tell me that he i-isn't... Dead," She asked, eyes going between the two. "r-Really.... I,, um, I don't think I can handle any more death right now." She moved behind him a she spoke, to distance herself from the Jason. She swallowed hard as she tried to make herself calm again, taking a few deep breaths. "The AI said that you, um, were in the core, and suffering from radiation poisoning," she started, reaching a hand to hold part of his jumpsuit, like a scared child. "i-I don't know how you g-got here but, um... P-Prime; er, the first dorothy, I mean- i've been calling her prime t-to not confuse myself- She set a message to lock out the AI if, um, the medical override was undone a-and I don't know how to fix it a-and I'm really, really, really scared!" She sped up as she spoke, to the point where there was almost no pauses between words. "I d-don't know what to do- o-other than get you to medical bay." She looked around again, swallowing as she felt more fear and a sense of doom pool in her stomach.

"a-Are all of the Jasons.... like that?" She asked, trying not to look at the unconscious Jason, tugging the man's jumpsuit to lead him to the medical bay. "Is it... because I look like her?" Her eyes turned down, an she took several shaky breaths. "w-whatever. We need to get you fixed; o-or at least out of here." She looked back at him, visibly distressed, looking like she was a few minutes from a panic attack. "a-And to answer your question, from what I can tell, I... I really, really don't like this. I don't like any of this. t-There's a me floating in a Cryo-incubator-thingy and it freaks me out, a-and I've already seen two decomposing bodies and it freaks me out... I got t-to see her logs and she even freaks me out... a-and this is just the icing on the 'Scare the crap o-out of the new clone' cake."

You are alone

Frustrated, Dorothy let out a small growl, bringing her hands to her face to muffle it. "Friggin' prime..." She muttered, sliding her hands into her hair as her mind raced and tried to solve the two or three problems presented. She took a few seconds before locking her eyes on the AI, noticing an "intercom" button below it. Feeling stupid, she moved to it and pressed it.

"ah, u-um.. Attention!" She started, her volume growing as she spoke. "Everyone, and I mean everyone needs to evacuate the outer rings right now. Prime... Um, I-I mean, the first Dorothy, did something to the AI and n-now it's shutting down in... um, five minutes?" She paused, unsure of how much time had passed. "Maybe more, but, just.. assume the worst and g-get to command!" she was trembling, pausing as another thought came to mine. "a-And for the record, I'm not... I'm not that Dorothy. I can explain more when we all meet, I promise. But just, run, please! i-I've seen more than enough death for my first day awake!" She let go of the button, before pushing it once more.

"Also, um...Chris? I'm assuming that's your name; anyways, I'm coming to take you to the medical bay. The, um, the AI is opening it up and I undid the medical override thingy so it can help you. Please, d-don't try to hurt me when you see me. I need all the help I can get, and according to the AI, you do too." She swallowed as she let go of the button, starting off quickly down the halls.

"Ah, um, AI? Please direct me as I go." She asked, looking at the nearest AI sensor as she passed it. "I need to get to Chris as fast as I can."

You are alone

Dorothy fell silent as the AI's words fell, resting a hand on the metal wall by the vent. "...Ok. Can you please sound an emergency alarm, or something, in the outer rings?" Her voice trembled as she spoke, shutting her eyes tightly as she tried to think. "Or.. Or something, anything, to call the people there to safety?" She rested her forehead on the cool metal as she thought and collected herself, a voice in the back of her mind telling her that panicking would be the worst thing she could do.

"I.. Can you lead me to Williams' bio signature?" She asked, racking her mind for any memories of how to get to the room the AI had mentioned, but not finding any. "w..We need to.. We need to make them- er, the doorways and the like that lead away from the outer rings- highly visible. Is there anything we can do?" She forced herself to take deep breaths, doing her best to find a way to save as many people as she could. "And.. And Dr.Williams. How long can he hold out? Would there be time to retrieve him, bring him to the medical bay, and for me to try to help with guiding or otherwise helping the others get to safety?" She removed her hand from the wall and ran it through her hair; her other was preoccupied holding her clipboard and pen.

"I.. I'm going to climb through the air vent to get out of here. I'll talk to you on the other side- I, um, I recall seeing you around out there." She warned, starting through. "Time isn't something I have; Please focus on clearing the way to Dr.Williams, and on helping the three in the outer rings get to safety." She peeked her head back out of thevent, looking at the AI, before climbing back in, climbing back into the main hall, shakily breathing deep to keep calm as she moved to the next AI station for her answer.

Dimensional Binding

"Oh, of course. I still have time before I have to return to work. I moved to a robot augmentation store- er, as store where I can buy new pieces for Nan. I assumed that it would be a while before I got an answer, heheh." She drew a crude worried smiley face in the margins, before moving on. "I can head back home, though, if you expect me within the hour. But if it's after, I'll need to wait until about five o'clock to do anything; I'll be working, unless something goes wrong with the robots or wiring, or there's a thunderstorm near the system." She explained, clicking her pen and shutting the book, resuming her browsing of robot parts.

Jo remembered that Nan would need a replacement voicebox soon as she passed by an isle with different voices for sale and on display, as hers was starting to crackle and die when certain phrases were played. She went through them, finding one that was the closest to her robot's voice, picking up a box from under the display and demo and taking it to the counter. There was an actual person there, a tired looking man Jo vaguely recalled from high school, and she quietly avoided interacting with him more than she needed to. Avoiding even eye contact, she set the box on the counter, submissively pushing it within his reach as she set her hand on a scanner. As it analyzed her hand, the man slid the box over a raised platform on the counter in front of him, causing the box to let out a chirp and the outside to unravel, revealing a more-easily opened box. Jo nodded as her purchase was slid back to her, leaving and ignoring the automatic comments the man made.

With a held breath, she returned to her car, sitting in it to read the message Cyrus had written.

"Really? that fast? I can be over there soon. I'll need to stop by my house first and gather my items. I'll bring my hoverboots and pistol for now, if that's fine." She furrowed her brows, sighing as she sent the car back to her house, looking at the new robot part she'd bought. The last time she'd had to replace a part of Nan was years ago, when nan's hand rusted from the freak snow she had to clean up.

Quickly, Jo arrived at her house, and knowing that time was of the essence she ran inside her house, arms full of her book and the new part for nan. "Nan, I bought a new part for you!" she called, setting it on the coffee table in the living room, as well as the book. "It's on the table, in the box. Please install it when you have the chance, if you can." She called as she ran to her room, grabbing the small white ray-gun from the drawer in her nightstand, and her hoverboots from the back of her closet.

"Sure thing, JO." The robot sounded quiet from her room as jo put on the rectangular boots, twisting a small dial on her ankle so she could walk better and have more ankle movement in them. When she was done, she grabbed a small holster from a shelf- the one that her father had gotten her, for whenever she'd saved up enough to travel- and put it around her waist, sliding the gun in it before going out of her room, across the hall to her office. In there, she grabbed a small, thin timer, and set it for forty five minutes, sliding it in her skirts pocket as she moved to the living room downstairs once again.

"...Alright, I'm coming over now. Please, back away from the book. I'm going to count to five after I finish writing, and come through on five." She set her pen down when she was done, backing up and collecting herself, not sure what she'd see on the other side as she counted. With one final breath, she placed her hands on the book, pushing them in, trying not to panic at how easily they'd gone in. She failed at keeping herself calm as her head went through, shutting her eyes tight as, for a single moment in passing, her eyes met with a void she'd never seen the likes of before. She emerged on the other side slowly, struggling to pull herself through . After a few moments, she clicked her heels, using her boots to propel her through the book.

AS she was free, she opened her eyed; her head was upsetting the top of the shelter they were in, and she carefully lowered herself, clicking her heels again as she landed to not scorch... whatever the floor was made of.

"...s..Sorry if I upset the... War-tent?" She looked around, taking in the alien appearance of the world around her. "...The air feels heavy here," She noted, taking a deep breath as she adjusted her hair and clothes. She felt out of place in her crisp white shirt, blue skirt, and sneakers; she had so much intensity in her colourations, and yet everything seemed slightly dingy around her. She fell silent as she listened to the sounds outside, eyes wide and moving as she tried to locate the origins, brows furrowed as she concentrated.

"Is... It safe to go out? I hear things." Her voice got quieter, and she moved closer to the book.

You are alone

"w-what?" Dorothy looked around, eyes growing wide as she watched the new actions of the AI. "n-No! Stop that! Put it back like it was, please!" She pleased with the AI, trying futilely to get into the system to put in the medical override code. "No,no no no no no no no... this is bad. " She got up, pushing her hands through her hair as she approached the scanner. "Please, can you tell everyone to come here? o-Or at least warn them of what you're doing...?" She looked all over as she tried to figure out what exactly was going on, and what was going to happen.

Her mind raced as she tried to figure out her next course of action. The lights went dark, which left her feeling worse than before. There were only two valid options that came to her mind, and both seemed either impossible or detrimental. Option one was to go find Chris in the core, bring him up, get him treated, and see if he could help, and option two... Dorothy shuttered as she considered freeing Dorothy Prime, and locking her in a room, or finding another means of keeping her in one place. But, she didn't know if she'd be strong enough for either option, or if she would be able to make it in time. She paced around, feeling like she was both about to cry and vomit, before moving back to the air vents.

"....Can I make it to where Chris's bio signature is before the seals close?"

Dimensional Binding

"...There's got to be hope, though." Jo blinked, watching the man quietly as he explained his home. "...I mean, even we have hope that the earth will recover from the war, and it's a nuclear and chemical wasteland; even the oceans are acidic." She managed a reassuring half smile, shrugging slightly. "I bet you, in a few years, things won't be as bad. So, I hope you don't put yourself in a pessimistic rut."

She fell silent for a moment as she contemplated the idea presented to her, before shaking her head. "..Not really. More like, hell, purgatory, and heaven. Nobody is godlike here, I feel like I need to stress that to you," She blinked, smirking slightly. "Though, the people on the bottom aren't paying for crimes. They just can't afford to move up. It's the main reason why I can't go any higher, too; money makes everything work, and I spend too much of it on books. The people on the top are either rich, or powerful, or come from either- like, the president, or governors, or multi-millionaires, or their kids." She bit her bottom lip sheepishly, watching the man as he started to go through the book.

"Ah- I can defend myself!" She spoke quickly, to catch him before he left. "My dad made sure to give me what I'd need to protect myself if anything were to happen-- I, um, I'll write to you about it later. I'll have work for a while longer, so I'll let you know when I'm free. Stay safe; if I can find you anything of mine that'll help you, I don't mind loaning it to you." She finished before he went completely through, picking up the book carefully once he was out.

Carefully shutting it, she moved to the kitchen, grabbing herself a glass of water and sipping at it, before deciding to head back to the platform her work was on. She set it in the sink, taking her book with her as she moved to her car, allowing herself to digest all that had happened as it took off and brought her where she had been previously. Not wanting to awkwardly return to the cafe yet, she decided to hang around the nearby robot repair place, browsing modifications that could be made to her old robot. After some time doing that, she took out her pen and book, and started writing.

"Ok, I assume you're safe now- at least, safe enough for me to write to you. I have two guns; a pistol, and a rifle I inherited from my grandfather, and a pair of hoverboots that let me escape situations faster than I can run. Your world sounds very, very dangerous; should I bring my pistol, just in case? What it does, if it helps, is turn anything that isn't metal to ash. It can be kind of slow when it goes through a person, but it's usually enough to stop someone. Unless they're, like... huge. Or covered in metal from head to toe with no openings." She drew a rough diagram of her gun; mostly a crude, bubble weapon with a pointy end, with "pew pew" and "shoots beams of light" written around it.

"Also, I forgot to address this, but the president here only has regulations on food, not laws. Like, no crickets in bread, no rats in the factories that make our food, and people can't sell anything rotten. I meant article, like news article, or a report. "

Dimensional Binding

"Oh, it's no inconvenience. I just get up, tap a spot by the door, and mess with a few settings. It's as easy as reading a book. And, Sorry about the drink, again. I promise, they're not all bad." Jo explained, about to stand up when he moved his face close to hers, his eyes meeting her icy ones directly. She froze, swallowing before she leaned her head back. "w..Well, um... Some guy with strange white hair comes through a book, can burn my house down any time he wants.. a-and, um, calls me and everyone around me a god... How'm I not supposed to be...?" Her eyes darted around as she tried to find something that wasn't his eyes to look at, before catching on his ears.

"...Your...Ears...?" She brought a hand to his ears, almost touching them before he stood up. "...What happened to them? I've.. I've never seen ears like that. Do they hurt?" She asked, eyes caught on them as he moved about. She fell silent as he explained the different kinds of magic, tilting her head as she watched his strange interactions with her TV's base.

"I.. I see. That sounds... " She paused, thinking of the right words to say. "That sounds devastating, and quite frankly, the most awful thing for a people to have to go through. I hope everything's recovered quickly; I know that catastrophic events can really... Really linger." She gestured to the window as a cloud rolled by. She fell silent as she tried to think of a response for the last bit, standing up thoughtfully. "...Well, that explains why you think we're gods up here," She murmured, examining him carefully. "But, honestly, a platform system is more similar to a tree than it is to anything that floats, I can promise you that. Though, it still blows me away that you live on the ground... Here, it's all wasteland- lined with either ashes, bones, ruins, toxic waste, deserts, or any combination of those. The air is bad enough up here; the people who are lower than me have to wear masks constantly just to not be ill all the time. And the people on the lowest platform have to wear protective rubber suits when the rainy season comes along... I can only imagine how much worse it is on the ground." She explained, moving closer to the man as he opened the book.

"...Oh, I get it. Stay safe- erm, if you'd like, I can stop by the diner again and send you some fries later. You'd just need to tell me when you're ready for it." she offered, peering in at the again wordless book. "...Could I?" Her eyes went to his face at the thought of going to see his world, excitement bringing them wide. "I've.. I've never seen the ground in person... Or grass... Or real trees.. or-um, anything you've written to me about. I can bring a flashlight- er, an electronic torch- if it's dark."