Perceptor-3
Rookie
Curiosity killed... everyone else. After a lengthy examination, of course.
Posts: 139
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Post by Perceptor-3 on Aug 24, 2008 19:54:42 GMT -5
If he were a mech given to nonsensical utterances of purely emotive nature, Perceptor might almost be whistling tunelessly as he strides toward the abandoned zoo. Well, eventually toward the abandoned zoo. He'd had to make a detour past where the plethora of energon had been available the night before for a few cubes, and it had taken a few minutes of testing to find some safe ones between his tampering and Mixmaster's.
And if anyone wonders about the cubes he is carrying, perhaps the tired cast to that oh-so-smug smirk of his might explain the volume of fuel retrieved. He certainly has an air of someone who had exerted himself quite strenuously in the very recent past as he sips at one cube.
By the time he slips past the broken gates of the zoo, he's finished that first cube and is lifting the second as if to start in on it before he slips out of sight to all but those who might have been following him covertly. Any such who do will likely have quite a task wending their way behind on the convoluted path he takes through the broken and shattered enclosures to reach one near where the mechadragons had once been housed. Botanica should find him there, reclining amidst a tumble of debris, still with that smirk as he stares thoughtfully at the cubes stacked beside him.
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Botanica-3
Cadet
Audrey II second cousin, twice removed.
Posts: 73
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Post by Botanica-3 on Aug 24, 2008 22:03:22 GMT -5
Botanica finds Perceptor easily enough, as she has been skulking about near the enclosure, waiting. She make no effort to hide her approach from the entirely too happy looking scientist. Usually, such a mood bodes ill for someone, and so she is wary.
Her vines rustle as she moves to stand just out of arms reach. She tilts her head, a calculating look on her face as she studies Perceptor. Madness still flickers deep in her eyes, but for the moment, she is composed.
"What has pleased you so, Perceptor? Or who?"
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Perceptor-3
Rookie
Curiosity killed... everyone else. After a lengthy examination, of course.
Posts: 139
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Post by Perceptor-3 on Aug 25, 2008 8:50:19 GMT -5
Perceptor quirks a single optic as he turns that thin smirk upon her. "Disproving another's hypothesis," he replies smoothly as he reaches out to lift the top cube with one hand. Disproving in such a satisfying manner, too. Not only had he not had to intimidate Jazz into accompanying him last night, but she'd remained even to morning, and then Botanica had contacted him.
Stick that in your cyclopean yellow optic, Shockwave.
Perhaps he should ask Rodimus for the Decepticon scientist, too, when the time comes that they turn upon and crush these Decepticons. He has simple wants. Just the stupid Seeker who had dared to attack him and the Decepticon scientist he wishes to break.
Or at least have.
"So. What have you found to show me, my unfettered one?" he asks, turning that cube absently in his hands.
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Botanica-3
Cadet
Audrey II second cousin, twice removed.
Posts: 73
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Post by Botanica-3 on Aug 25, 2008 11:59:21 GMT -5
Poor choice of words, that.
"I am not yours anymore than I am his, Perceptor!" Botanica snaps. The struggle for control is written not just on her face, but her entire body as she tenses, fist clenching, vines drawing in tight. It is a struggle which lasts only a moment, and when she speaks again, her voice hold only the faintest edge, "We merely have a mutually advantageous relationship."
Despite this declaration, Botanica watches that glowing cube as Perceptor plays with it. She's exerted herself quite a bit since arriving here; she needs the fuel as badly as she needs her green. The trick is not to let him know how badly. Perceptor has made it no secret that he would dearly love to have her on an examination table. Perhaps in more ways than one.
But then he asks about her new children, and caution flies away in the face of giddy madness. "Yes, yes! So smart they are! Look, Look!" She darts over to a stack of debris and scoops something from out from deep within, then back to Perceptor. She cups her two secondary hands together, holding out a squirming mass of what looks like green fuzz. She excitedly claps her primary hands and beams, "The drunken lout woke them, tore down their resting space, but I heard them, their tiny voices and I saved them! They talk Perceptor, like nanites, and with purpose, but they are green. So smart, so smart!"
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Perceptor-3
Rookie
Curiosity killed... everyone else. After a lengthy examination, of course.
Posts: 139
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Post by Perceptor-3 on Aug 25, 2008 12:50:34 GMT -5
That brow ridge merely quirks higher for her outburst. "Merely a figure of speech, Botanica, nothing more," he lies smoothly as he watches her try not to stare so eagerly at the cube he holds. "Or perhaps you missed the 'unfettered' portion of that statement?"
He is baiting her, he knows, urged on by his good mood more than anything else. Yes, he would love the opportunity to study her, perhaps to bring her more fully under his control, but... not today. Even if she is hungry enough to more easily be caught by such a trick - though she is trying valiantly to conceal that fact. The time is not right for such a move, and, besides, he would prefer to win himself free of the Prime before engaging in such a task. He does not intend to share what is his, after all.
He pretends not to note the veiled intensity of her yearning gaze. She will undoubtably be so needful once again in the future when the time is more auspicious, and if he ignores this opportunity now, she may even be less wary still when next his chance comes. She is wild and unpredictable, as evidenced by her dramatic mood shift, and it is far easier for the moment to coax and cajole than to coerce.
He leans close, "absently" offering her the cube he holds as he peers at her prize. "Hmm... Intriguing. Fungal? Or mycorrhizal?" he inquires as he examines her find. Bits of metal amidst the squirming fluff catches his attention, and he tilts his head. "Is it facilitating the oxidation of the substrate? Or ingesting it?"
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Botanica-3
Cadet
Audrey II second cousin, twice removed.
Posts: 73
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Post by Botanica-3 on Aug 26, 2008 11:55:36 GMT -5
Botanica flinches slightly as Perceptor leans toward her, but there is that cube she needs so badly, and he seems so interested in her find...not dismissing them out of hand like the rest, not trying to hurt. She forces herself not to snatch up that cube and down it. Instead, she calmly takes the cube, dips a finger into it and tastes the energon first. It seems safe enough.... A proper drink now, and she hums with pleasure.
The refuel brings clarity as well as confidence, "They've more in common with a fungus, but I believe them to be some form of hybrid between the two. They are pulling their sustenance from what they break down, leeching from it, like moss leeches from a tree. This in turns speeds the aging process, which creates more food. They multiply, and the cycle continues."
"But look! So smart! They don't destroy, they reclaim, they clean!" She tilts her hands, shuffling a larger metal piece to the surface of the mass. This piece looks newly polished, no rust, and one can even make out etchings which may be words. "They eat the bad, and leave the good!" She takes another long drink from her cube.
"I do not think this is their first home. The voices do not match."
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Perceptor-3
Rookie
Curiosity killed... everyone else. After a lengthy examination, of course.
Posts: 139
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Post by Perceptor-3 on Aug 26, 2008 19:57:07 GMT -5
Oh, now this is truly intriguing and definitely has Perceptor's interest now. Enough that he barely even notices Botanica testing the energon, and cares even less.
"An imported organism which ingests purely that which has already been oxidized without incurring the oxidation and decay of undamaged material," he murmurs with supressed excitement as the spark of pure scientific curiosity blossoms within him. "Of course, whether the organisms were imported intentionally for a specific purpose, or if they had been introduced in an accidental manner is the the question."
The applications for purely medicinal means are enormous. Additional applications if the organisms can be weaponized, however...
He tilts his head and glances at her, quirking up a brow. "Are their voices similar at all? Or wholly dissimilar?"
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Botanica-3
Cadet
Audrey II second cousin, twice removed.
Posts: 73
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Post by Botanica-3 on Aug 26, 2008 23:27:29 GMT -5
Botanica absently drains her cube, then tosses it aside. Her head tilts to one side as she considers how much she wishes to share. The fungus truly seems to have an intelligence, a purpose, a meaning, and it only wishes to be allowed freedom to perform its function. She can easily turn the squirming mass to suit her own desires, reprogram it as it were, but for now she merely basks in its happy song.
She gets a faraway look in her eyes as she turns more inward, listening. Her tone grows a bit dreamy, "The voices...the voices sing in counterpoint, not harmony, but they are not discordant. This one learned its song over time, changed it to work with the overall measure. It grew and it changed, but even now it is not a part..." She shakes her head sharply, breaking off the contact. Foolish of her to risk such lack of awareness around this one.
Her eyes flick toward the remaining cubes for the briefest moment. She wants more, but will not ask for it.
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Perceptor-3
Rookie
Curiosity killed... everyone else. After a lengthy examination, of course.
Posts: 139
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Post by Perceptor-3 on Aug 29, 2008 13:35:13 GMT -5
Hmmm. Changed to work over time. That argues for the organism having not been recently introduced for the whims of diversity for the zoo. Something imported some time ago, then.
"Very interesting," he murmurs softly, pretending to not notice that sudden shift back to lucidity as he studies the fungal fuzz. "It would be interesting to determine if additional colonies could be located upon the remnants of Gilannan IV."
Perceptor settles back, turning a thin, pleased smile upon Botanica as he reaches for another cube and offers it to her with a nod. "Exceptional. My interest is piqued," he muses. "What do they tell you?"
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Botanica-3
Cadet
Audrey II second cousin, twice removed.
Posts: 73
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Post by Botanica-3 on Aug 29, 2008 18:32:29 GMT -5
Taking the offered cube, she tilts her head to one side, eyes half-lidded, "Lost, lost. Lost little lichens, no family, no home, no more. Uprooted, misunderstood, frightened- so they hid and slept."
Botanica sips her cube, slowly now that edge is off her hunger. She studies Perceptor, "Now they are awake. And they are afraid."
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Perceptor-3
Rookie
Curiosity killed... everyone else. After a lengthy examination, of course.
Posts: 139
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Post by Perceptor-3 on Sept 1, 2008 16:45:43 GMT -5
"Afraid?" Perceptor asks, optics narrowed as he returns that intent look with one of his own. "Of what, precisely?"
He retrieves one of the last two cubes at random and begins sipping it himself. "Is this all there is of the colony? If not, does this one have an awareness of the others?"
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Botanica-3
Cadet
Audrey II second cousin, twice removed.
Posts: 73
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Post by Botanica-3 on Sept 1, 2008 20:35:20 GMT -5
Of course, this is not the entire colony. Botanica would not risk them all, not even for her own survival. The others are safely tucked away, growing and thriving in a secret place, hidden away from Perceptor and his probing.
"This is enough," she answers, "There should be others, but they do not hear them. Either they are sleeping, or too far away."
"They fear that they are the last. And they fear us, and our ways." Well, more accurately they fear everyone but Botancia. But that's splitting hairs. "They fear the spread of metal and falseness, the choking of their kin, as happened before..."
She trails off, taking a sip of her cube. That is enough. Perceptor need not know the rest.
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Perceptor-3
Rookie
Curiosity killed... everyone else. After a lengthy examination, of course.
Posts: 139
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Post by Perceptor-3 on Sept 4, 2008 5:47:09 GMT -5
As he suspected, she has the rest hidden. Still suspicious, his wild one, and yet, she still comes to him for her needs. Time. Patience and time.
"They would, however, if the others were not," he muses aloud. "How very intriguing... Are they distinct? Or do they form a singular consciousness?"
He picks his way through her organic propaganda, having grown used to her bias over even these short months here. "So their world was once organic, then? And had become less so? Is that where they developed the ability to utilize decomposed matallics?"
See, Botanica? Perceptor need not always pick his specimens apart. He can sate his curiosity in a less intrusive manner-- but only with your assistance. What incredible things might be learned, if only you would extend just a little more trust. You might even tame the savage lack of compassion for your precious organics within the wholly mechanical scientist.
Oh, but what you could do for your precious plants with Perceptor's knowledge at your fingertips...
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Botanica-3
Cadet
Audrey II second cousin, twice removed.
Posts: 73
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Post by Botanica-3 on Sept 4, 2008 11:12:32 GMT -5
It is not in her nature to trust. That she comes to Perceptor at all is compliment to the scientist and his studious patience. She does not trust him, but he has not yet tried to harm her as others have done, nor does he agitate her as the Prime does.
"They did not change. They were changed." Botanica's expression grows angry. "Forced, imprisoned, tested...used," she snarls out, her hands closing around the fluff she holds and clutching it to her chest. A tiny bit of it slips between her fingers and falls to the ground as she suddenly backs away, but she seems not to notice.
There's a wildness about her now that wasn't there but moments ago. Her eyes narrow and seem unable to still on any one thing, as she mutters, "Seen enough, heard enough, you with your poking and your prodding, your urge to know and to claim."
Her energon cube is almost empty now, and she's trembling slightly. Chances are very high she will bolt at the slightest provocation.
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Perceptor-3
Rookie
Curiosity killed... everyone else. After a lengthy examination, of course.
Posts: 139
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Post by Perceptor-3 on Sept 4, 2008 11:53:00 GMT -5
Perceptor watches calmly as her lucidity trickles away once fuel begins to settle into her systems.
"It is my function," he replies almost gently, remaining still as he simply watches her, studies her. He does not even glance at the bit of lost specimen on the ground, gives no indication that he'd even noticed it. "I need to know and to learn. It is what I am."
Unapologetic, also.
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