towerofanimus | I try to live on science alone

Entry tags:

I try to live on science alone

Characters: Hojo and you
Setting: In his room and between the dormitories and the laboratory.
Format: Prose or action, whichever you prefer.
Summary: Hojo's arrival and subsequent explorations.
Warnings: Hojo being Hojo; also, blood and needles.

Room 2-08:

Strange, very strange. It's not that he isn't surprised by this change of scenery, but he must think this through with logic, not emotion.

His world has been destroyed? An interesting little pair of letters. Well, well, he can only hope he was responsible. That would be ideal, wouldn't it? Considering the timing, it's not so unthinkable… But then, it is an incredible claim, and he'd need proof to believe it. Scientists don't believe claims without evidence, though he's always willing to consider a theory that has merit. Yes, he'll consider it. He touches his fingers to the collar at his neck, a curious expression on his face. He's almost--amused.

After a long pause, Hojo rises and stretches, studying the room and, before long, opening his trunk. How thoughtful! A ShinRa armband, and his clothing. First, he studies the Materia in the armband with a faint smile. Now, that is useful. Ah, and there's his gun. He dresses and arms himself quickly. No sense in waiting. Once that's done, he's happy to find some of his samples at the bottom of the trunk, nice and neatly stowed away.

He drums the fingers of one hand upon the back of the other, looking down at his arm thoughtfully. "Hm, and I wonder, are you still in there? Or have you left me?" He asks--maybe himself, or maybe he believes he's actually talking to someone else. He chuckles, his lips twisting into a smile. "First things first, I should find out, shouldn't I? It would be rude of me to ignore you. Must check my results."

Later, throughout the Tower, anywhere between the Dormitories and Floor 27:

He hums to himself as he walks, not any particular tune, just a tuneless collection of notes sprinkled here and there. With his lab coat covering his gun and his Materia, he's not visibly armed unless one looks very closely. At first glance, he certainly doesn't look fit for combat. The truth is, fit or not, nothing could stop him from exploring. He has investigations to conduct!

It's a shame he failed, he thinks to himself--yes, even he failed in the end, but he knows why. Like any good researcher, he was able to pinpoint the exact moment and nature of his error, once he realized that there was a flaw in the research. Cloud. Yes, Cloud, the one he'd deemed to be a failure, who was in fact his greatest success, the perfect Sephiroth clone. If only he'd seen it sooner! The last thing he remembers before arriving here is Cloud. And dying… Not that dying matters. Not to him. Not anymore.

And, on Floor 27:

Excellent! Just what he's been looking for. A laboratory to work in. Much of the equipment is odd to him, but some is far more familiar. So much to explore, but for the moment, he only has one goal. He doesn't need much. Just a microscope to analyze a sample of his blood. Yes, that's what he's most interested in now. He's brought a syringe and needle with him, and he draws his own blood without blinking, still smiling and humming the same tuneless non-song to himself.

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"Another shame. Science is the way individuals study and so understand their world. It allows them not only to understand, but to better deal with their environment, and even improve upon it."

He nodded. "My time is ample. I'm pleased to discuss it with you" There were still so few things to do here. He was pleased to talk, especially about things that were within his sphere of knowledge and interest. "There are objects known as Materia, which contain energy--life energy, you might say, but not all aspects of its nature are known. Some of these have the power to call from another plane entities both small and great. Each particular Materia calls only one particular creature, again and again. They have form, and some possess sentience or even sapience. I have studied them somewhat."

New and different forms of energy were also intriguing. "I see, I see. Does the added number of swords and the presence of your master, or masters, increase your spirit energy, or is it a constant?"

"My time is not yet capable of the feats this tower shows on a daily basis. Although, I am certain that Her Grace and the Old Ones before her would be more pleased about that, than anything."

She actually liked hearing about the materia, the creatures that could be called through the use of it. If her face could be more expression, she's probably look similar to a child, staring in wonder at a pile of presents.

"Would it be possible to see this materia 'in action'?" She's really like to see.

"Unfortunately, it does not affect my energy. I remain as strong, or as a weak, as I was back on my own world."

"The tower, yes. I have only recently arrived, but it is very unpleasant, it is not? True science is much more inspiring. It improves people's lives rather than limiting them. I am sorry your first vision of science was such a one as this."

Hojo believed that he was intent on improving humanity, though at the same time, he was aware he was being disingenuous now, since most people didn't share his vision. Why should he share it with them, then? Well, dissembling was nothing new to him, and nothing difficult, especially when he believed or half-believed many of his lies.

"I would be glad to demonstrate if I could, but I have no Materia here to summon with." He had Materia, yes, but not to summon with, though he won't mention that for now. "Being drawn here may have severed the bond between the Materia and the realm of the summoned creature, in any case. It is hard to know exactly where this tower is."

He nodded once more. "Self-contained and stable. That may be for the best, design-wise. A constant power level has advantages over fluctuations. And what sort of things can you do for your master? I imagine a construct such as yourself must have some abilities."

"It is quite alright. If I had not come to the Tower, I would never have seen anything such as this. My world is completely incapable of such feats during that age that I served my Master." She raises her 'wings' to indicate the tower in general.

That was a bit disappointing but Fi never let herself get her hopes up. Who knows how big the summons could be, the tower might not have been able to contain them.

"Perhaps there will be an opportunity sometime in the future. As of yet, we seem to incapable of leaving the tower. There are several people that believe our worlds have not been destroyed."

"I am capable of sensing my Masters presence should we become separated, I have a connection to him that allows me to monitor his health. When he handles the Master Sword, I can help him dowse for anything, or anybody, he needs to locate. I have minor magical abilities in which I have used to give him stone tablets that allowed him to travel to the Surface and I am left with messages from the Goddess to guide her Chosen Hero. Lastly, I am capable of telepathic communication so that I can call for the Ancient Robot, Scrapper, to collect items from the Surface to carry them to Skyloft."

"A primitive world? With limited technology? What would you say the people's greatest invention there is?" That might be a way to gauge the level of technology.

He smiled. "In the future, I hope to have more to demonstrate, indeed. It would be my pleasure." That would make this place far more bearable, the act of displaying his work.

At the mention of the destroyed worlds, he made a skeptical noise. "I myself don't believe it yet. Our worlds, destroyed? Incredible claims require incredible proof." Though he would have been perfectly willing to accept blame for his own world's destruction, or for any destruction, he was reluctant to accept the claim as a whole. "I've seen nothing I'd consider proof. More likely subjects have been taken from a variety of worlds and fed that information to see how they'll react."

It seemed like nothing to much as an experiment to him. It was obvious. Not that it didn't rankle to think of himself as an experiment. Oh yes, it did. All the more reason to begin his own experiments, to lessen that indignity, as well as the others he'd suffered recently. "I'll have to conduct my own studies and draw my own conclusions."

All that talk about a Chosen Hero sounded like so much nonsense to him, but he was willing to tolerate it for now, for the sake of appearances. Not that he looked particularly impressed, for his dissembling only went so far. "Quite a range of tasks." None of which interested him a great deal, but he wasn't entirely bored. "You serve as support then, a true service construct. When your master is not present and has no need of you, are you dormant? Can you summon that robot here?"

"Out of all the creations both in Skyloft and the Surface, I would say that the Ancient Robots are among the most impressive creations. Of those created by humans, it would be Beedle's Airshop." And the Airshop was not as impressive as one would think. Still, it was the most impressive thing that the people in Skyloft had to offer.

Fi nodded slightly. She didn't really believe her world could have been destroyed either. Emmett Brown's explanation of them being destroyed at every point in time seemed too far fetched for Fi, and difficult to understand to be honest.

"I do not believe the worlds are gone either. My Masters descendants would not be present within the tower if the world was gone." It took her a moment to think over the question but she nodded, again.

"When my Master and I parted at the completion of our mission, my consciousness faded into the Master Sword for an eternity of slumber. This place has interfered. As for Scrapper, I am incapable of calling him or sensing him anywhere within the Tower."

"They sound impressive enough. What are they capable of?" Ancient Robots were something, he supposed, though he usually left the robots to the other departments. "The Airshop? What is that?" It was a term he was unfamiliar with, though it was suggestive of certain ideas.

"Quite sensible of you! It's possible, I suppose it's possible that it's true, but I have my own reasons to doubt. The most likely and simplest explanation is that we have been lied to. That kind of mass destruction, with this place remaining, all the details--it's too elaborate and unlikely. If this is an experiment, it's probable they are controlling and manipulating our knowledge." He shrugs. "We are subjects; it's not necessary for us to know. I wouldn't believe anything they say, though there might be some value in listening to their words, true or not." Even lies were useful information, in their own way.

"So you had outlived your usefulness as a separate entity and were programmed to deactivate? Practical enough, if your purpose was served within the sword. Did you continue to augment the sword's power with your spirit energy?" He laughed, shaking his head at something other than these questions and answers. "Those who run this place do seem intent upon interfering. With a variety of things."

"From what I observed in the Lanayru Province, when they were reactivated via the Time Crystals, they operated primarily as miners and servants to the dragon that oversaw that province. Other operated at sailors or delivered objected. As for Beedles Airshop, it appeared as a small wooden home with a propeller attached to allow for aerial transportation." Which was good because his island in the sky was pretty far away from Skyloft itself. It made her wonder if he had a Loftwing but that was irrelevant right now.

"I do take a small amount of pride in looking at all possibilities and taking in all possible information to come to the most logical of conclusions."

That was... actually a bit of a sad way to hear it. Sad but true.

"That is correct. I was only created to guide the Chosen Hero in his quest to destroy Demise. My abilities continue to be a part of the Master Sword, unfortunately, it seems that the knowledge of it's capabilities were never passed down the Hero's bloodline."

"Interesting, interesting. Much different from my own world. I never thought to speak to people from other worlds, or that so many could be accessed from a central location." Since arriving, he had been reading all he could on the network, trying to familiarize himself with the basics of this world, reading the simplistic questions of others, and their answers, and the multiplicity of worlds--or universes?--had caught his attention right away.

"Ah, indeed--perhaps you have the makings of a scientist, then." He nodded, enthused. "For that is what a scientist does. Above all else! Considers all the possibilities, to the best of his or her ability."

That other worlds could be accessed without the need for space travel--it was an exciting, intriguing idea. How much more he could have done, if he'd been capable of something like that? Maybe he still was... Well, he would keep some theories to himself.

"I think that's a waste of your capabilities, personally. Wouldn't you be more useful if active? And you could continue to inform these 'Chosen Heroes'." Chosen Heroes struck him as ridiculous, but he was always ready to consider another's work and criticize another creator. "Look at you, you're quite a successful, self-powered, sentient construct. If you can exist indefinitely, then why deactivate you?"

"I had never considered it possible myself, with the level of development my world has. It is enlightening here, none-the-less, being able to talk to others now.

"Perhaps, while here, I will pursue that." Fi bowed her head slightly in thanks. She hadn't considered that kind of potential for herself. Or anything, really. Right now, Fi still didn't consider herself sentient, no matter how many people insisted. If Hylia were awakened... But now, that wasn't possible without Zelda, any descendant of the goddess really, cleansing herself in the sacred water of the temples.

"I could be, yes, but I do not believe her Grace considered the possibility of Demise cursing all those of the Hero and the Goddesses bloodlines at the time of his death. It seemed that both were saddened when I entered my slumber, however."

"I have considered the existence of such, the possibility, but the notion that such boundaries between the worlds could be breached--most would consider that a sure formula for disaster." He shakes his head, and he finds a certain grim amusement in this. They're supposedly here because of a disaster, no?

She might not have been sapient (he wasn't sure), but she appeared cognizant enough, from his standpoint. Whatever kind of AI she was equipped with, it was impressive, sophisticated. "I recommend it. How else are we to understand this place we find ourselves in? Calm, logical, research." His research was, ordinarily, neither calm nor logical, but he was free to consider it so.

"Past current events aren't a concern of mine." He doesn't need to know more about Heroes and Goddesses. "But it strikes me as an oversight. Best to have a backup plan, or several. Things can go wrong all too easily, I've found. Even the best make mistakes."

"If this tower have proven it possible, despite the situation including the destruction of each world, then it would not be outside the realm of possibility for anyone present to learn a similar technique to achieve it." Fi wouldn't mind seeing other worlds. That was if leaving didn't force her back into her slumber though, of course.

She had to consider what he said for a moment but he was right. She had observed others being miserable and otherwise allowing emotion to control them. Fi was beyond that. Or she was supposed to be.

"You are correct in that statement. I will offer any assistance that I can in researching this tower and what secrets it holds.

"Perhaps her Grace did have one, but our world was destroyed before it could possibly be enacted."

He nods, eagerly. "You're quite right. I had thought that. The gathering of others from different worlds may not be the cause of that disaster, if there has truly been a disaster. It could be possible! What it could mean, for worlds to meet; it could change society, if not reality itself. Fascinating thought." So many worlds to study.

"I'm pleased. I thank you. I can tell you do have a scientific mind." He smiled. "I will appreciate any assistance--I know so little about this place, and I must start from nothing." Also, he had his enemies. Most of those who knew him here had an irrational dislike of him, so emotional, when he had done nothing but improve them. They were so much stronger now. He improved upon things--it was a feature of his genius!

"Ah, I see. Yes, there is that! If our worlds have been destroyed..." Then his own backup plans would have been ruined. But he's not sure, yet. How can he be, without evidence? "I wonder."

"A trade of skills and information would benefit most societies that involve themselves in travel to each other world. Alliances could be made." Trading would mean the potential for free travel between Skyloft and the Surface. Beedle wouldn't have to nearly kill himself every time he had a customer. That was, of course, providing their worlds did exist somehow.

"I will be glad to answer any questions you have that I have already found answers for. I have not resided here as long as others but I have been diligent in collecting information." Information that didn't include learning how to draw.

"You wonder?"

"Would it not? So much knowledge could be shared. Lives would be improved, no doubt." Not that his idea of improvement was necessarily the same as others'. "Ideas and advancements could spread like never before." And Jenova, too, could spread... The cells within him, perhaps, made him even far more interested in that goal than he had been previously.

"Knowing so little, I'm not sure what I would ask. Have you made any particularly noteworthy discoveries thus far?"

He exhales, a long breath. "I wonder what happened to my own experiments. My own world. A natural thing to wonder, I'd say... Even if it's not destroyed, and I will continue to doubt that it is without proof, there were--uncertainties."

"The worlds would benefit greatly. Powers sought on one world could be disregarded for more sensible things." Things that didn't grant the wish of anybody who touched it because, really, why was that a good idea in the first place?

"The Time Shift Crystals would be the most noteworthy discovery, I believe. The crystals, when struck, revert the area around it to a time centuries prior. The Ancient Robots need them to live."

Fi tilted her head slightly. For a man like him, it must have been really hard to hear about the destruction of his world and all the work he'd done.

"Perhaps some of your work was brought with you? It was simply not place in your trunk, however?"

"The possibilities would be limitless." He smiled, thinking mostly of how it would benefit his own research. The transformation of all those worlds. "Yes, it's worth studying. If we could figure out how it was done..." It was difficult to say how the information could be used without knowing more about it first, but it would be worth knowing, nonetheless.

"Time manipulation? Those crystals are most intriguing in theory--are there any here? What I meant to ask was, what have you discovered in this tower?"

He nodded, then touched a finger to his temple. He didn't wish to speak of the samples he had with him, not even to this interesting construct. He wasn't prone to be forthcoming about his work. "My true work is here, within, always, as is true of any scientist. It cannot be taken from me." He referred not only to his mind and memory, however, but to the Jenova cells he'd gained.

"Here in the tower, I have only seen one thing that stands out. There are devices that show exactly what occurred in the last moments of our worlds. Not only see, but feel it all as well if you are sensitive to it. As for the Time Shift crystals, there are none here." Unfortunate as it was. What if they activated it in the tower? Would they see the world it was on before it was built? Or nothing at all?

"That is good to hear." And she was completely oblivious to what he meant about Jenova. "Perhaps you will have the chance to begin again while here. The Tower has extensive facilities."

"Hm, I will have to examine these devices. Feel as well as see? And what do you mean by that?" He had a feeling he knew, but it couldn't hurt to inquire further into this "sensitivity".

The Time Shift crystals had sounded potentially useful, but if they weren't available, there was no sense in worrying about them now.

He nodded again. Most people weren't aware of the results of his research that he carried with him. "Extensive, are they? That is a pleasure to hear, though I wonder why they saw fit to provide us with such facilities. I will examine them as well. There's much to be done, I see."

"The device shows you the death of the world and if you had a strong connection to certain type of life, you will feel it as it died." Feeling the Surface and the Kikwi and everything die was a terrible experience. One Fi would never wish on anyone else.

Perhaps requesting one... Fi would have to look into that later.

"Perhaps to observe how we react to being well provided for." Despite the crap they did to everyone and the horrible food. Thank the goddess for Fi never needing to eat. "Or to keep us occupied so we do not consider a revolt."

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I try to live on science alone

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