If you follow, there may be a tomorrow

[warriorscribe]

Characters: Whoever signed up for the hacking plot, and Enoch in the pre-plot mingle, March 10th
Setting: Secret floor for briefing/mingle, and places with terminals for the actual hacking action
Format: Do what you want!
Summary: Enoch doesn't do tech, himself, but he sure as hell can find people that can. It's a mad scramble for Dax's research before time runs out!
Warnings: Things may happen to those involved, and there's no telling what they'll find...

*Everyone who offered their services to the cause will receive a letter in their mailbox (except Mitchell, whom Enoch will contact with whatever method he left him with):

It's time. Meet me in the place.

When everyone is gathered in the secret room, Enoch has to take a moment to take in the sight of this odd group, one of which has endangered his life personally and deliberately. But that didn't matter now, not now when their worlds were at stake.*

You already know what I've gathered you all for. This is strictly for finding what Dax has left us. We must try not to alert Ruana - she is always awake now, so this will be difficult. Do nothing that would immediately draw her attention - do not pursue anything related to her, or to the number thirty-seven. Try to mask your steps, and the others', as well as you can. My role here is as a scribe - I will be making rounds among you and transcribing what you have found, and carrying any messages you may have for the others among the group. We will not escape punishment for this. If you wish to back out now, you may. But this is for our worlds. Does anyone have any questions before we go?

Comments

[attheclocktower]

[Xion hesitates. She hasn't done this since July, and the elevators had been made to be unhackable. The only time before that... she doesn't remember hacking the Organization computers being this easy.

She has to rely on her own intuition at this point though, rather than her programming]

> view files

[animusnpcs]

[A very long list of files with gibberish names appears, long enough to scroll up off the screen.]

[attheclocktower]

[Xion's eyes widen. There's so many. And with those names, there's no real way to tell what's in them. There's gotta be a faster way. They were looking for information about what happened their worlds, and how to fix them, right?

Wasn't what had destroyed them called a virus? Worth a shot]

> search for files containing the word "virus"

[animusnpcs]

[No files found.]

[attheclocktower]

[Xion makes a quiet frustrated noise]

> search for files containing the word "worlds"

[animusnpcs]

[No files found.]

[attheclocktower]

[Okay, time for a different approach. The files had to be here... But then again if it was so easy to hack in here... maybe Dax hid them. That would make sense.]

> Show hidden files

[animusnpcs]

[Password?]

[attheclocktower]

[Ohhhh boy. She... isn't even sure how to begin decoding a password Dax might have. She's taking a leap though and... maybe he'd try to leave a clue somewhere. She tries to remember messages he's left in the past - like the one in July. But only one phrase from it jumps out - thanks to certain members of her friends]

> thingsthatarestilltrue

[Longest shot in the whole world, but...]

[animusnpcs]

[Clever. Incorrect, though, I'm afraid.]

[attheclocktower]

[... wait.]

> canyouunderstandme

[animusnpcs]

[Yes.]

[attheclocktower]

[PROGRESS. Xion smiles briefly, forgoing password-style typing for now if possible.]

> I'm a resident and we're looking for Dax's information on what happened to our worlds and how to maybe restore them.

[animusnpcs]

[Please hold still for identity confirmation.

A sweeping red laser shoots out of the terminal. It causes no harm or pain.]

[attheclocktower]

[Xion jumps a little in surprise but then freezes and holds still as she's scanned.]

[animusnpcs]

[Identity: Xion (X1176980). Correct?]

[attheclocktower]

> Yes. [and after a moment's thought] Thanks.

[animusnpcs]

[You're welcome. Please wait.

There's a pause of perhaps ten seconds.

Resident determined to likely be trustworthy.

The screen now displays a list of files:

RUANA
RIKI
JASON
ZO
s'edizehrtleez,eolosiohede
Fiu½hiAofonh(s(aaofhe-nelnyl]

[attheclocktower]

[Now Xion's hesitating again. Enoch told them to focus on the worlds and nothing that might alert Ruana to what they're doing, so... focusing on the gibberish folders, for now.

A brief (handwaved) interruption with Enoch later, and Xion knows that one of the others is already working on the first file. So she'll work on the second. If it worked for him, then maybe...]

> decrypt Fiu½hiAofonh(s(aaofhe-nelnyl]

[animusnpcs]

[To anyone watching Xion, she will appear to be sitting at her terminal as normal. To Xion, however, the world melts away until she floats with the terminal screen and keyboard in a black void.

Decryption will begin. Are you ready (y/n)?]

[attheclocktower]

[Xion gasps quietly, looking around the void. God, this place again? She'd thought this was over when February had ended... But the computer is still there, so maybe... maybe it wasn't quite the same.

She turns back to the screen, steeling herself.]

All right. Here we go.

[typing again]

> Yes.

[animusnpcs]

[Do not look away from the screen. Do not close your eyes except to blink. Do not scream.

In an instant Xion will feel as if she is being flung forward at an unnaturally rapid speed--the force presses into her body painfully, making it difficult to breathe. Something in the distance hums, growing louder and louder with each passing second.]

[attheclocktower]

[Xion clamps her jaws down, sucking her lips in and biting on them to keep herself from opening her mouth, sucking air in through her nose for all she's worth. Her hands jackrabbit away from the keyboard, and as the noise grows louder, they snake up to cover her ears, not tightly, but enough to provide some protection.

She blinks - rapidly at first, but soon more slowly, fighting to try to keep her eyes open and watch the screen]

[animusnpcs]

[The noise grows louder and louder, and slowly the void around her turns from black to grey and then white. A machine appears before her--considering the speed she's going at, and her inability to stop, it appears as if she's going to be hurtled into shining metal and angry gears.]

[attheclocktower]

[The hands covering her ears tighten as the noise gets louder. And then there's the machine, she can see it in her peripheral vision. It's getting closer and closer, she wants to stop, to not hit it, to look away or flinch.

no she can't she can't she can't-

focus on the screen. focus on the screen

It's a fight, to focus entirely on the screen, block out her peripheral vision, but it's her only chance]