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Jun 13, 2016 20:27:18 GMT
Post by The Informant on Jun 13, 2016 20:27:18 GMT
{  } The park was quiet and almost peaceful at this time of day--just late enough that the early-morning joggers had headed home to get ready for work, but early enough that the kids hadn't started showing up yet. Madeleine herself was sprawled across a park bench, out of sight of the road and on one of the lesser-traveled paths not too far from a little boutique that sold the sweater-dresses she loved so dearly. On the ground beside her, mere inches from her dangling fingers, she had a steaming cup of coffee. For the moment her eyes were open, gazing up at the sky above, though there was a distinct glaze over her eyes which meant they probably wouldn't be open for long. Mornings were the hardest on Maddie. Actually falling asleep had become difficult around the time she hit puberty; whenever she laid down to rest, she simply slid onto the Network and found herself bouncing from one site to the next without really being able to control herself. She usually managed to make it back into herself by morning, though more than ever she was glad that her job mostly involved telecommuting--and took very little effort on her part. She'd been focusing mostly on world news, last night; but there had also been a new cat video that was circulating like wildfire, so she found herself looking at it a lot too. When she had finally found enough presence to pull her body out of bed, Maddie had left in search of something to keep her out of the Network for a while. She'd managed to walk from her apartment to the park without too much incident--she'd only run into light poles or tripped into the street four times, that had to be some kind of record--but the moment she'd settled down with her coffee in the park, it had all come rushing back. Probably she shouldn't have sat so close to the internet cafe on the corner--or maybe she should have left her phone at home. Ah well, live and learn. Maddie resigned herself to spending a few more hours poking around the Net, looking for anything even vaguely interesting and letting her eyes finally slip closed. If someone tried to wake her up, she would probably manage to find her way back before there was another coma-scare. Tags: Electromancer | WC: 390 | Notes: Hope this works okay as a starter? If not lemme know! ^^ |
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Jun 13, 2016 23:34:44 GMT
Post by Electromancer on Jun 13, 2016 23:34:44 GMT
 In a place that was not quite a place, the coalescence of various networks forming the world wide web, Alice drifted.
When she was here, morning and night were times that eluded her, unless she specifically kept track--- and with the way the Earth was turning, there would always be a place where it was morning and a place where it was evening and places where it would be somewhere in between. Depending on her mood, sometimes it was a comfort, and sometimes it was a sorrow; it meant that some things have not changed, even though so many had changed for her.
Lazily she checked a certain video that had been circulating, and with a groan that only she could hear she quickly deduced in the first few seconds that it was yet another cat video. She had nothing against cats, and in fact thought they were pretty cute, even when they were being standoffish and finicky, and the fact that they could fit in all sorts of things was always a source of amusement; and in the real world, sometimes, she could swear that cats noticed her when she passed by, maybe because animals had better senses than humans did, or maybe because they could feel her through the static. Maybe a little of both. Still, there were just so many videos of them, and in her boredom, in her not needing to sleep or eat, she'd gotten to see them all already, maybe multiple times, even. The Internet could use more hamsters and alpacas, Alice opined.
Surprisingly enough, on the news end, there were no emergencies that seemed like it would require her expertise; of course, there could be crimes happening that the news agencies haven't quite picked up yet, but she wasn't exactly omnipresent, even if she could get into places fast. She considered, idly, though, a little patrol run around the county--- hey, maybe even around the country or the world--- although that might be more time consuming, even if she had a ton of time.
At the corner of her eyes--- well, metaphorically--- she noticed another person connecting in, near the locale of the Internet she was currently in. That wasn't quite an uncommon occurence--- with a quick check of the time in Kingsport, she identified it was just a handful of hours after sunrise. She prepared to do something else...
...but then another person came out of the connection. What?
The Informant
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Post by The Informant on Jun 14, 2016 0:29:07 GMT
{ } Entering the Network felt like plunging into cold water. One moment she was looking at the sky, feeling the bench against her body; the next, she was surrounded by darkness, all her senses cut off entirely. She felt her exhaustion fall away the second she disconnected from her body, the need for coffee or breakfast fading with it. Those were needs she didn't have to consider, so long as she was here; all the slight aches and pains she dealt with every day were gone, and she felt focused and energized. Navigating immediately away from the internet cafe and the cat video playing at least a dozen times there, Maddie turned her attention to the more fun parts of the Network. Her first thought was to check up on a hostage situation she'd come across the previous day, even knowing that there would be no new information. The metaphorical 'flags' she'd set to that set of information hadn't popped for her, though there were a few others that warranted more looking into. Before she could continue to check on the other things she was monitoring, she felt...something. It was as close to sight as she could get, whatever it was appearing on the edges of her awareness. Madeleine had come across an AI or two before. They usually 'felt' like beehives, little bundles of dozens of processes wrapped tightly around themselves and tentatively reaching into the Network from their home base. This new presence was definitely not that; it felt distinctly girl-shaped, not unlike herself. She'd never come across anything like it before, her attention wrenched from everything else and focused entirely on that other force. Tentatively, she drifted closer, trying to figure out what it was even as she sent it a message. "Hello?" |
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Post by Electromancer on Jun 14, 2016 0:56:22 GMT
The Internet had a certain aesthetic. Well, at least, in how it organized itself visually towards Alice's disembodied mind; she'd considered, sometimes, when she was in a philosophical mood, that maybe she wasn't quite seeing it at all and just processing the information through the lens of various sci-fi knowledge.
Still, the point was that it was pretty consistent. Packages of data streaming around, firewalls being not that fiery, trojans being sneaky, bots sniffing about like dogs. She'd never encountered anyone that looked like her around here, before.
She approached the other... girl-shaped person. She looked around her, from different directions. "Um, hi?" she tentatively replied. "Can you hear me?" she asked. "Can you see me--- I mean, I guess you can, since you said something, although maybe that was just some sort of signal and maybe this is some incredibly detailed AI or something..." she rambled on. She'd been rather used to being alone that just the possibility that she could actually talk to someone in this strange space was making all the words fall out like rain.
She poked the other girl's forehead. Unlike her, who had taken in parts of the internet's aesthetic, getting neon blue hair and scales and her legs' lower parts dissolving into a sort of data trail, the other person was... herself. Well, she looked distinctly human, if a bit mussy around the edges. Her finger connected. HER FINGER CONNECTED.
"AAAAAAH! I CAN TOUCH YOU!" she may or may not have screamed. She may or may not be overreacting.
The Informant |
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Post by The Informant on Jun 14, 2016 1:32:46 GMT
{ } She sort of got the feeling that the other girl-shaped...thing was circling her. Maddie couldn't really blame them, she was trying to do the same; it was odd to find anything resembling human on the Network. So they were sort of twisting around each other, Maddie as intrigued by the electric-blue coloring and the--were those scales?--that the other girl was covered in. She looked like a part of the Network, far more so than Maddie did. She didn't reach out to touch, uncertain whether that would be rude or painful, but she was happy when the stranger responded. Even if the words seemed a little strange. Madeleine blinked, her brow furrowed. "Um, yes? Why...wouldn't I be able to hear you?" She asked, now even more fascinated. "I'm no AI--though I don't suppose you are, you'd be really complex for one. What would the purpose be?" The last was more a philosophical question than anything; you didn't usually want your AI getting too complex, they might start to disagree with you. The finger touching her forehead made her jump. Maddie had never been touched inside the Network before; it was possibly the strangest thing she had ever experienced. She immediately reached a hand up to rub at the spot, her eyes very wide as the other girl seemed to be panicking over the prospect. Or, panic? Maybe it was excitement. Maddie had a hard time telling--but that wasn't unusual. She reached out to return the favor, attempting to prod the other girl's cheek with one finger while her mouth curled up in the beginnings of an awkward smile. "I can touch you too," She pointed out, letting her gaze drop down to where the other person's legs seemed to disappear into a data trail. Interesting. "I take it that's not normal, for you? Who are you?"Normally she would say 'what,' but this girl definitely qualified as a 'who.' |
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Post by Electromancer on Jun 14, 2016 2:06:44 GMT
In another place, in another time, Alice would have derived amusement from the way they had surveyed each other, drawing comparisons to sumo matches or whirling fishes, or some other revolving pair of things. In fact, perhaps, in the future, she might even laugh about this whole situation, this whole first impression. Right now, though, she was... busy. Being overwhelmed, that is.
"AAAAAAH! YOU TOUCHED ME!" Yep, she was definitely far off from the picture of elegance. She had launched herself to create some distance between the two of them, touching her hand and then her cheek, where the other girl had poked her, simultaneously. This was so, so weird. She looked warily at the other Internet drifter, then almost as abruptly as she had darted away, she darted in, this time grabbing the person's cheeks and squishing them.
She pulled off both of her hands, eventually, and looked at them. "Wow, that really feels real. It's been a while since I touched something." Well, of course, she sorta touched the data blocks and streams when she fiddled with them, but... well, it was different from the feeling of... flesh. It was so surreal. She paused to catch her breath, holding her chest, although if they were to get into semantics she didn't really need to do it since she didn't have any breath to begin with.
...ah, right, she was also talking about things, before she'd gone and played with her face. Hahaha. "Ah, haha. Sorry about that. I'm Alice!" she said brightly, introducing herself. "And yes, touching things is not normal for me, unless it's moving these thingies that float around here!" she chattered, gesturing to the various data passing by over and under them and by their sides.
"What about you?" she continued, eyes gleaming with happiness and curiosity. "Who are you? How did you get here? Can you touch things? Let's compare notes! Are you dead?"
The Informant |
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Jun 15, 2016 21:46:31 GMT
Post by The Informant on Jun 15, 2016 21:46:31 GMT
{ } Maddie couldn't help but laugh at the shriek the other girl gave, curling into herself and holding her belly as she giggled. She had no idea what was going on, but it was nice to have someone else on the Net--it was usually silent, except for whatever she was focused on. She hadn't realized how oppressive that was until she ran into this noisy data-girl. Madeleine grinned at her as Alice dashed away, scratching at her cheek. She'd barely lowered her own hand when there were hands clutching at her face, earning several blinks and a confused expression as her face was squished. "What're you doing?" She managed to get out, the words somewhat garbled by her involuntary face movements. She was still smiling a little when Alice released her, though her expression quickly fell into confusion and concern at the off-hand remark. "Wait, really? How long have you been here?" Her first thought was that this was a girl with powers like hers, one who'd actually managed to lose the way back to her body--how else could she possibly be here? Her thoughts were running a mile a minute, and the only thing keeping her from manipulating the data around them for an answer was the fact that she didn't want to accidentally start messing with her new friend's form. She wasn't sure if she could--was Alice made up of data, or something else?--but she really didn't want to find out the hard way. Luckily she was quickly distracted, brightening considerably. "Oh, I'm Madeleine! My friends call me Maddie." She immediately had a barrage of questions, but Maddie wasn't used to sorting her thoughts into words that quickly, so Alice got there first. Which, of course, only provoked more questions. Maddie shook her head, confused. "Okay, uh--" She had already answered the first question, so she jumped right into the second, "Basically my brain interfaces with the Network and I can come through that way. I can touch things--I don't know if you mean like here or out there, but I can do both. Just, for out there I have to actually...be in my body, aha." It was the final question that she hesitated over though, looking at the other girl with concern. "Er, no? I'm...I'm not dead. Why, are you? Is that why you don't usually touch things?" There were several other questions on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed them down. 'Are you trapped here?' would probably be rude, and she didn't want to insult or depress Alice when they'd only just met. |
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Post by Electromancer on Jun 16, 2016 4:37:21 GMT
"Murp. That's what you get for laughing at me." she said, after she had pushed and pulled the other girl's cheeks, even though she would have done it too even if she had not giggled at her screaming.
"Oh, so you're Madeleine!" she repeated. "Nice to meet you! I'm Madeline, I'm Madeline, I may be really short~... wait, I think that's wrong, haha~" she blathered, not really bothering to explain what the sing-song part of her statement was. "I guess I'll call you Maddie then!" she announced energetically, smoothly implying the stranger to be, now, her friend. She hoped she didn't mind; she didn't have many friends given her situation, and someone who could cruise around in the internet with her was a godsend. She was really, really, ridiculously happy.
"Mrmm... I've been here for a while. Around a few months... half a year, maybe?" she estimated. Ever since Dad died. She hoped that stray melancholic thought didn't show too much on her face. "I do come out once in a while, through people's phones and computers, but it's boring when no one can see or hear or touch me, so I mostly stay here."
She listened as Maddie explained how she had come to be here, herself; apparently her brain does something to connect with the Internet. So she probably wasn't exactly like her, even if they both can exert their presence here, in the web. "Mmmm. So you still have your body... and you basically have free Wi-fi, and you don't need laptops or tablets. That's cool!" she declared.
"...ahaha. I did say that." she muttered, having realized that she might have revealed too much about her circumstances in her enthusiasm. Well, it was out in the open, and there was nothing she could do to disprove it. "I am kind of dead. Like, a ghost. An internet ghost?" She made flopping motions with the oversized sleeves of her outfit. "Boooo~"
The Informant |
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