The Center of Time

[Tashtego]

Seregal quickly follows after Ohm Eleven, quickly finding himself with the rest of the group. He scratches at his beard. "So what's happening with the core?"

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

For all those brave souls, you step into the opening of the hatch, and the column of air slows your descent and deposits you gently on the floor.

This chamber seems to be a continuation of the one above, including the three plates on one end of the room. The left and center plates look very similar, throwing up shafts of light to their counterparts above, but the right plate is clearly fed by the flower petal-like arrangement of spheres, each containing a growing abhuman. There must be hundred of them arranged around the walls, and all of them are fed by streams of clear fluid, that stem from a river of the same, fed in turn by a spring at the far end of the room that seems to well up from the floor. The spring is surrounded by seemingly natural chunks of rock, and seems incongruous with everything else in this complex.

A peculiar thing you note is that at the entrance to every smaller stream of fluid are one or more flexible colored membranes that the fluid flows through, tinting it slightly before it goes to feed the developing abhumans. The air here is warm, human, and fragrant with the scent of earth, salt, and water.

At a panel on the wall across from the landing zone, Wisco is just pulling his hand away from a multi-colored panel on the wall.

As all of this is going on, a half-dozen of the spheres fall from the wall, and float in the river to the right-side plate. The membranes of the spheres flow together until it creates the single tough membrane you remember from your first encounter with the abhumans upstairs in the Assembly Chamber. Then the plate rises, bringing them up. Six more membranes begin to grow from the "stems" where the others had fallen.

 

[Shayuri]

There's a lot going on, but Echo tries to stay focused. She nods at Ohm and descends into the core itself.

"Wisco," she starts to say...

The other nano tersely interrupts, "I'm done. Time to leave I think."

Echo uneasily looks around, but nothing seems deactivated or interfered with.

"What did you find?"

 

[doghead]

Wisco, A Tough Nano who Lives In The Wilderness

There's a lot going on, but Echo tries to stay focused. She nods at Ohm and descends into the core itself.

"Wisco," she starts to say...

The other nano tersely interrupts, "I'm done. Time to leave I think."

Echo uneasily looks around, but nothing seems deactivated or interfered with.

"What did you find?"

Wisco frowns for a moment. He is not really sure himself, really. He needs time to sort it out in his own mind first.

"I'll get back to you on that," he says eventually.

"The machine is fine," he adds with wink. "And I am starving."

With that Wisco heads for the air lift and the surface.

 

[fireinthedust]

Duncan stands in Wisco's way. He has a concerned look on his face; not angry, just deeply concerned, and clearly he doesn't understand what Wisco or Echo are talking about.

His voice rumbles, and the electronic hum is more audible now.

"What do you mean 'it's fine'? There is an army of abhumans being formed here, and one false move could mean death for thousands. What is fine, and why do you think we should not turn this machine off right now?"

 

[Shayuri]

"Duncan," Echo says, "I know it's scary to be in the middle of, but this is something that has to happen. At the very least, we can't try to stop it without knowing the consequences. Wisco, there's supposed to be an archive here. Did you find it?"

Without waiting for an answer, she goes to the panel Wisco had been at, looking for answers of her own.

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

The panel has many of the symbols you've seen before, a few new ones, and a rather unusual single pane of soft, multicolored lights. As Echo approaches, it forms in the outline of a humanoid hand, and pulses gently.

 

[doghead]

Wisco, A Tough Nano who Lives In The Wilderness

Duncan stands in Wisco's way. He has a concerned look on his face; not angry, just deeply concerned, and clearly he doesn't understand what Wisco or Echo are talking about.

His voice rumbles, and the electronic hum is more audible now.

"What do you mean 'it's fine'? There is an army of abhumans being formed here, and one false move could mean death for thousands. What is fine, and why do you think we should not turn this machine off right now?"

"'Fine' as in I haven't turned it off. As for why, Echo already asked me that. Still don't have an answer better than 'it seemed like a good idea at the time'."

Wisco notes Echo heading over to the panel. The kid is like a magpie; can't resist anything shiny. Wisco turns his own attention to the room seeing as it looks like they might be here a bit longer, and the Nanao didn't really give it much attention when he first arrived.

Wisco heads over to the mouth of the stream flowing from the rock formation. He is motionless for a moment, before reaching down and dipping his hand into the water. Cupping his hand, he takes a taste.

 

[doghead]

Xiaon, A Strong Willed Glaive who Focuses Mind Over Matter

Without waiting for an answer, she goes to the panel Wisco had been at, looking for answers of her own.

Xiaon watches as Echo heads over to the panel, clearly intent on accessing it. The ab-humans have brought Xiaon and the others down to this chamber to prevent Wisco from accessing the panel. Perhaps they would feel differently about Echo doing so, being the 'keyholder' and all. But perhaps not.

With a faint smile playing across his face, Xiaon move smoothly to position himself between Echo and the ab-humans where he can protect her back should the need arise. This might get interesting after all.

 

[Shayuri]

"It's all right," Echo murmurs. "It was their idea I do this, after all."

She gives Wisco a thoughtful look, then puts her hand on the panel, in the outline. Her other hand still grips the rolled up map she now believes is somehow the 'key' to this place.