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]

[It takes Xion a few moments to start really breathing again. Slowly her hands unclench from around her ears.

She takes several shaky breaths. Wipes at her face to get rid of the tear tracks, though even an unobservant person could probably still tell she's been crying. She also unclenches her teeth from around her lips. Thankfully she didn't bite through them, though they'll be painful for a while. Swallowing a few times to get the worst of the taste of blood out of her mouth (though it's still bleeding), she double-checks what she's seeing, then turns to wave Enoch over.]

Enoch, I- [she swallows again] I think I got it.

[warriorscribe]

*all he knows is that two of the team are looking like they're in pain while the screen tells them not to close their eyes, look away, or scream. It's unsettling, and he wants to know what's going on, so when Xion speaks up as he makes his increasingly uneasy rounds, he hurries over.

I think I got it, and on the screen, RESEARCH. He nearly sobs as he bends down to hug her tight, not even thinking about what he's doing.*

What in the world did he-...never mind. *He tears out the back page of his notebook and hands it to her.* Here, I don't have any cloth, but this might help your mouth at least a little. I'll see if anyone else has anything better after this. *A light clap on the shoulder.* You can start whenever you're ready.

[attheclocktower]

[The hug is actually welcomed, with Xion relaxing into his grip briefly before pulling back. She accepts the notebook page with a nod, putting it to her mouth to try to catch any blood leaking out and to carefully dab at the spots on the inside of her mouth.

Her lips make it a little sore to move around too much, including speaking, so she mutters her thanks briefly before turning back to the screen.

Now, to see what they found.]

> RESEARCH

[animusnpcs]

[> MULTIVERSE
> VIRUS
> RAGNAROK]

[attheclocktower]

[... yeah Xion definitely stares at that last file. Reno had told her what Ragnarok meant, when their own group had been named for it. Was it something to do with them? But no, if that were true, why wasn't there a file for Pandora? It must be something else.

She'll definitely make sure to check that later, if she can. But first... why they were here.]

> VIRUS

[animusnpcs]

Research into virus infecting worlds has been slow since it began. I feel now that this is deliberate. All infections show the same catastrophic loss of life, but worlds do not always share similarities.

Managed to speak to Zo on the matter without Ruana's interference; the worlds he pulls from are not always, as was previously assumed, directly next to each other. Sometimes the worlds are entirely isolated from any previous infection.

As far as I can tell, the only thing consistent in all of these worlds is our interference.

[attheclocktower]

[Xion's pulse quickens. The only thing in common is their interference? But... that could easily mean that-

What kind of interference? There has to be more information about it somewhere. Perhaps in the information about their worlds...]

> MULTIVERSE

[animusnpcs]

The existence of the multiverse has been known for as long as I have been alive. Ruana speaks of it often when she is awake, and has always made references to observing the various worlds in her sleep.

Interference with these worlds was not thought possible until Zo's appearance shortly before the return of the virus that Ruana had spoken of to us. I cannot verify either way, now, if Ruana spoke the truth when she said she could not interfere with the worlds on her own.

Multiverse appears to be infinite and also appears to confirm the many worlds theory. We have not observed alternate universes to our own, but they likely exist somewhere.

The method of finding worlds that are about to be ravaged by the virus is a joint effort between Ruana and Zo, with Ruana identifying the worlds and Zo manipulating the barriers between time and space to pull someone from the appropriate time period.

[attheclocktower]

[Xion reads it all quickly, takes it all in. This was... a lot of food for thought. She still isn't sure how the interference works exactly. Ugh, she has so many questions now, she wishes there was a way to ask them. But the person who wrote these files was gone. ... weren't they? There was the one behind the password earlier... it wasn't Dax but... something else worth investigating.

She bites her lip in frustration, then immediately winces. That was a bad idea.]

> RAGNAROK

[animusnpcs]

If this world is the source of the virus, then our rescue mission is no rescue mission, but instead a methodical destruction of the multiverse initiated by Ruana for reasons unknown. If it is initiated here, then it must be able to be reversed here. Time manipulation is not unknown to us, nor is space manipulation.

> MACHINE
> ZO

[attheclocktower]

[That's exactly what she was afraid of, as soon as she found out that the interference was the only common variable. Her eyes light up a little though, the further she keeps reading. A way to reverse it. A way to fix the damage.

She has two options now...

Zo's file was among the first set of files, so hopefully that meant that if something went wrong she could back up and get to it from there. So that left...]

> MACHINE

[animusnpcs]

In order to manipulate other worlds with the appropriate level of fine motor control, Zo is hooked up to a large machine. This has also been used for punishments in the past, as it keeps him contained to one area. Of note is that while Zo is hooked up to an area on top of the machine, there is an area in the middle where others would be able to sit.

This machine, much like the rest of the Tower, manipulates and absorbs excess soul energy in order to run. Zo is capable of running this machine in reverse to place people back in their worlds, and we are capable of asking him to do this. The machine has other functions, but I am unaware of the extent of them. It would be unwise to activate it any more fully than it already is without understanding its effects.

[attheclocktower]

[Machine... like the machine that they were hooked up to? That's... what it sounded like. Xion shivers slightly with unease. She'd been hooked up to that thing, with no knowledge what it did... She knew why she'd needed to do it and still-

Later. She'll think about it later]

> ZO

[Even if others check the file, maybe the decryption she went through unlocked something they normally wouldn't see...]

[animusnpcs]

Zo's abilities mean that manipulation of time is not beyond his abilities, via manipulation of the barrier between now and then. Theoretically, he could place a resident of the Tower back whenever he wanted into their worlds, although I have never been able to approach him with the idea.

Use paradox prevention to our favor? Need more information on exact cause of world destruction.

[attheclocktower]

[Good thing she clicked on that then. She isn't sure what "paradox prevention" is, but... Somebody should. She'll ask around.

There's no other options for her to click, nothing she's missed, so... Just the one last idea she had]

> Can I ask questions?

[Then, as an afterthought]

> Please?

[animusnpcs]

> Yes. However, I cannot guarantee I have answers.

[attheclocktower]

[Xion lets out a sigh of relief. She has a lot of questions, to tell the truth. But she doesn't know how much more time they'll have. So starting with the most important ones.]

> How were the admins interfering with our worlds when the virus started?

[animusnpcs]

[There's a pause.]

> Upon being informed of the virus, the first interference took place when the first group was brought to the Tower.

[attheclocktower]

[So the virus had come first... and maybe the Tower's actions had helped it spread?]

> How did they find out about it?

[animusnpcs]

> Records show Ruana was the informant. No direct observation of virus was seen until first interference.

[attheclocktower]

[... an idea is forming in Xion's mind. She doesn't like it.]

> Besides killing everything, does the virus do anything else?

[animusnpcs]

> Unknown.

[attheclocktower]

[Hmm... She'll stop this track for now.]

> What other things does the machine do, that you know about for sure, or have a good idea?

[animusnpcs]

> Unknown.

[attheclocktower]

[Well that was no help. However, there's something the file said about the machine. Something that bugs her. The machine could be run in reverse...]

> Has anyone ever been deliberately sent home?