Hacking #14: Focus

[technologic]

Characters: April and anyone else!
Setting: Floor 28, Floor 39, Floor 22 (Locked to Naoya) and Floor 62 (Locked to Aleph).
Format: Brackets to start with, but I can match you!
Summary: April likes keeping herself busy, especially after all the shenanigans that were going on. So, time to keep herself busy!

[Floor 28]
[April has been practising the piano more and more since she arrived here, and she has really started to improve now. So when she's playing in the music room, she is actually pretty good, and she sings along with what she plays too and she's a rather good singer.

She's completely absorbed in what she's doing though, so she won't really notice if anyone arrives on this floor straight away.]

[Floor 39]
[Despite her bad leg, April does try her best to stay in shape, especially with how her powers could be unreliable in the tower. Plus, it helped her burn off energy when she's feeling nervous, which she is now.

So she can be found running laps, even if she does eventually end up limping near the end of it cause oops leg doesn't approve. She can also be found lifting some weights, and she's able to lift more than you would expect someone of her height to be able to lift. Even if she does get to enthusiastic sometimes and tips back onto her rear end.

She's get it. Eventually.]

[Floor 22/Locked to Naoya]
[She can't help but sometimes wander up to the art gallery, if only to catch glimpses of whar her world once looked like through the paintings.

It's while she's walking around this floor that she spots someone she recognizes.] Ah, Naoya?

[Floor 62/Locked to Aleph.]
[While April was born in a beachside town, she never really went to the beach munch before. But with the heat, heading to the beach floor sounds like a very good idea, plus it means she gets to spend time with Aleph, which is also a good idea.

She just needs to adapt to the heat first before she does anything else. At least she decided that wearing her coat is a really bad idea.]

Uuggghh, it's really hot....

Comments

[technologic]

[And April can't help but frown in concern as she walks over to him.]

A-are you all right?

[crouching_sin]

It's just difficulties sleeping. It'll pass.

[He glances back at the painting and sighs, shaking his head.]

It's not surprising this was one of the paintings that showed up today.

[The 'nuclear option' is starting to look more and more like a likely strategy here - though how to achieve it is a problem.]

[technologic]

Ehe, I know the feeling...

[She blinks up at him, before looking up at the painting. And her frown deepens a bit more.]

... I guess not... Is this painting based on something that really happened?

[crouching_sin]

... Yes. Do you know what an atomic bomb is?

[technologic]

... N-no. What is it?

[crouching_sin]

Without getting too technical, it's a weapon that is fueled by nuclear reactions. As it's set off, all of the material inside of it becomes unstable, creating an enormous explosion capable of killing thousands of people instantly and leaving many more injured and sick, as well as devastating the area around it by contaminating the air, water, and ground.

[He gestures to the painting.]

This one is from Hiroshima. During World War II, Japan attacked the United States. After some time of fighting, America dropped two atomic bombs on two Japanese cities a few days apart. The first was Hiroshima, the second was Nagasaki. The attacks crippled the entire country, and a few days later Japan surrendered.

... No one knew what sort of effects were going to happen. Not fully. There was some testing, but never on that sort of scale. I was there when the first bomb dropped. It was close enough to be affected but not so close as to be hit by the wall of flames from it.

I was walking with my uncle - school had been called off since there were bombings nearby. Suddenly there was a great whistling noise. We both looked up and there was a huge flash, and pain. Some people were vaporized instantly, their shadows burning into the ground. We were far enough that we were just hit by a shockwave. When I woke up he was crouching over me, shielding me. He'd been hit by debris and impaled, and he died while I was watching. I was burnt, and in the next few months I slowly died from radiation sickness, ending about a year after the event.

... It was an important point for humanity - realizing we had such destructive power. And yet... even though I suffered from it, I admire them for it. The ability to create destruction and use it as a tool, instead of being used by it. Not all beings can claim the same thing.

[technologic]

[April listens silently, her expression curious at first. As she listens, she starts to look more and more troubled, before she looks back at the painting with a deep frown.]

... That's true. An awful tool, but it is something humanity has been able to wield... Too bad they don't always know how to use it properly.

[crouching_sin]

Of course not... but every child ends up playing with fire and getting burnt before they learn not to do that.

[technologic]

Pretty much. Too bad the burns take a while to heal sometimes. [She rubs the back of her neck with a hum in thought.]

... But at least burns eventually heal.

[crouching_sin]

... Radiation burns take a very long time to heal, if they do at all. Many people had to either live with them, or undergo surgery to cover them up. Those that had some of the more prominent burns tended to die from radiation sickness. Even the water was contaminated. Not to mention the fact that survivors from the blast were and still are looked upon as shameful. They're seen as people to be pitied but also discriminated against.

[He shakes his head.]

I didn't live long enough for that to be a real issue for me. I spent another two short lives elsewhere, and then was born again in Japan.

[He gestures to himself. That's this one.]

[technologic]

... T-that's horrible! E-even the aftereffects of the war back home weren't t-that bad...

[April whines to herself, rubbing her head with a sigh.]

I-I see... Were there any more, um, atomic bombs after that?

[crouching_sin]

There was some testing, I think, but no. There's never been another atomic bomb used in conflict since. I believe the two of them were enough to scare most countries off of using them.

There was a large conflict between America and the Soviet Union, where each had more and more atomic weaponry, but none were ever fired. It was mostly just posturing. There are still countries with the capability to build it, and every so often a new country decides to develop the technology. So I suppose you could say that there are still atomic bombs - but they haven't been used.

... However, that's not to say other destructive weapons aren't poised for use. The microchips implanted in Japanese home appliances, for example, are all capable of connecting and forming a giant electromagnetic field capable of killing thousands of people in an enclosed area... like in the Lockdown.

[Hopefully she gets where he's going with this.]

[technologic]

[April tilts her head faintly, rubbing the back of her neck with a hum as she glances back at him.]

The... Lockdown? [She does remember something about that, but the info she got from him about it during their bodyswap has completely fuzzed over.]

... And would... the thing with the microchips be able to be replicated?

[crouching_sin]

Heheh. The seven days where people were locked inside of the Yamanote Circle while demons ran amok.

[He thinks for a moment.]

In theory, yes. In practice, no. We don't have the materials, and even if we did we don't have a powerful enough computer that we have consistent access to. We'd have to make the microchips ourselves.

[technologic]

... Wow. That... sounds really dangerous.

[April hums to herself.]

... What about the microchips that were on the walls?

[crouching_sin]

That... may do it. I need to check and see if there's enough left. Individually they wouldn't carry that much... but I might be able to wire them together somehow.

[He presses a hand to his forehead, and tries to hold back his pained expression.]

[technologic]

Right, there should be a way to...

[She trails off when she notices him pressing his hand to his head, and she quickly looks concerned.]

A-are your headaches really bad again?

[crouching_sin]

... Yes. Heh. The recent 'excitement' hasn't helped with that at all.

[technologic]

[April bites on her lip, silent as she thinks for a moment.]

... Would you, um... Could I-I do what I did before, w-with you headaches?

[crouching_sin]

... It would be appreciated.

[He doesn't like asking for help. He hates feeling weak. But he should be able to trust April.]

[... It's just hard to get used to trusting people again.]

[technologic]

[April can sympathies with that, which is why she doesn't mind and instead motions for him to lean down.]

Um, could you lean down a bit, please?

[crouching_sin]

[He just snickers a bit and sits down on the floor for easy reach. Not his fault.]

[technologic]

[She can't help her shortness! So she just huffs quietly at his snickers and places a hand on his forehead gently, eyes glowing as she uses her electrokinesis to lower the pain of his headaches.

It only takes a few seconds, and while she can't get rid of it, she manages to reduce the pain to a level where it's far more bearable. Once she's done, she pulls her hand away, the eye glow fading away.] A-and done. How's the headache?

[crouching_sin]

... Better.

[A lot better, actually. He stands and grins a little bit.]

[technologic]

Ehe, that's good! [She grins happily up at him. Then she shuffles nervously, opening her mouth before closing it. And then she just decides to hug him anyway.]