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Axon Clips Chapter 8: Difference between revisions

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Axon Clips Chapter 8 (edit)

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{{AxonClips}}
{{AxonClips}}
==Kamal==
[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/genetic_profile.wav genetic_profile]
(working on chatter)<BR>
Kamal: Peekaboo you bastard... I'll find you... I'll find you peeping tom sucker-- ghost <BR>me, huh?
Sophia: Kamal?<BR>
Kamal: Sophia. What are you doing here?<BR>
Sophia: Uh, just dropping by. Hiro told me where to find you, and I thought that we <BR>could have lunch or something.
Kamal: I'm pretty busy actually.<BR>
Sophia: Oh? What are you working on?<BR>
Kamal: Laura. Her accident.<BR>
Sophia: Who's Laura?<BR>
Kamal: My sister.<BR>
Sophia: I thought her name was Yasmine.<BR>
Kamal: Sophia, it turns out your juvenile MCF victim has a real interesting genetic <BR>profile. If you look hard, you get 2 distinct groups. The congenitally disfunctional, and a much smaller group of ultra-high achievers.<BR>
Sophia: Like your sist--<BR>
Kamal: --shhhh... (whispers) people are listening.<BR>
Sophia: Kamal, there's nobody here.<BR>
Kamal: Not here, here... (taps chatter) Let me show you something.<BR>
[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/parabolic_lemonade_failure.wav parabolic_lemonade_failure]
Kamal: The cafeteria's a better place to talk. Realistically they can't have a live person monitoring every minute of my day.<BR>
Sophia: Monitoring?<BR>
Kamal: It's got to be a program. Probably not even an AI, just a simple keyword scavenger. An environment like this will make it harder for the voice recognition to work.<BR>
Sophia: Why do you think someone is ghosting you?<BR>
Kamal: --I don't think, I know. Someone is going me. I know the signs.<BR>
Sophia: Kamal...<BR>
Kamal: Remember that headset I won in the lottery?<BR>
Sophia: You mean the chatter you won in the raf--<BR>
Kamal: --keywords, Sophia.<BR>
Sophia: Oh. Oh... I get it.<BR>
Kamal: There was no raffle.<BR>
Sophia: Lottery.<BR>
Kamal: Right, it was a setup. Someone just wanted me to have a particular--<BR>
(together) --Headset.<BR>
Kamal: Right.<BR>
Sophia: You don't think Aiden--<BR>
Kamal: --No. No, I don't. Aiden couldn't dream of doing the kind of ghosting that's been <BR>happening to me.
Sophia: Then...<BR>
Kamal: I think it's someone who's interested in parabolic lemonade failure.<BR>
Sophia: Parabolic..? oh...<BR>
Kamal: Right.<BR>
[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/going_offline.wav going_offline]
Sophia:  Your...brother? The people who took your brother on that trip.<BR>
Kamal: Exactly.<BR>
Sophia: Wow.<BR>
Kamal: Let's get some food.<BR>
Sophia: What are you going to do?<BR>
Kamal: I'm thinking about going offline.<BR>
Sophia: Don't!<BR>
Kamal: Why?<BR>
Sophia: It's dangerous. Cars won't drive you, hospitals won't treat you, the automatic <BR>door at the grocery store won't slide open for you, and the cashier won't take your money. You don't know what it's like to be off the grid.<BR>
Kamal: And you do? (to a vender) Can I have a piece of the cornbread?<BR>
Sophia: It's not you Kamal... you'd be like a fish on dry land without your chat<BR>
[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/abracadabra.wav abracadabra] 
Kamal: Hang on... (signal/offline) And presto! Now I'm offline. As far as the grid knows, I've just disappeared.<BR>
Sophia: If someone really is listening to you, won't they notice that you just vanished?<BR>
Kamal/Offline: I spent the last few days building a little Franken-kamal out of my own <BR>bitstream traces.
Sophia: I'm going to pretend I understood that to keep you from explaining it again.<BR>
Kamal/Offline: Good call.<BR>
Sophia: So what if they're listening to me too?<BR>
Kamal/Offline: Funny you should ask. I rigged a small... do you mind(?)<BR>
Sophia: I don't want to be offline.<BR>
Kamal/Offline: It's just a test.<BR>
Sophia: Alright.<BR>
Kamal/Offline: Abracadabra! (signal/offline) Congratulations! As far as the world knows, you're dead.<BR>
[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/chatter_to_chatter.wav chatter_to_chatter] 
Kamal/Offline:  You're a ghost!
Sophia/Offline: So now you think you're safe?<BR>
Kamal/Offline: Theoretically I guess you could build a program that would jump from chatter to chatter, tracking us everywhere we went, but it would have to be so unimaginably powerful.<BR>
Sophia/Offline: We aren't right now.<BR>
Kamal/Offline: Yeah.<BR>
Sophia/Offline: I know that feeling.<BR>
Kamal/Offline: Looks like it's southern food today.<BR>
Sophia/Offline: Are those real instant mashed potatoes, or the other kind?<BR>
Waiter: Didja see a maitre'd when ya walked in?<BR>
Sophia/Offline: I guess I'll have the... uh... chicken-fried tofu.<BR>
Kamal/Offline: Kamal. Pay attention to me now. Ask me how I am.<BR>
Sophia/Offline: How are you?<BR>
Kamal/Offline: Fine.<BR>
Sophia/Offline: Now ask me what I'm doing here.<BR>
Kamal/Offline: Actually, what are you doing here?<BR>
Sophia/Offline: I--<BR>
Kamal/Offline: --a glass of juice please. Blue--<BR>
Sophia/Offline: --just... thought I'd drop by.<BR>
Kamal/Offline: Oh.
[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/deported.wav deported]   
Kamal/Offline: That's great!<BR>
Sophia/Offline: You know, sometimes you are so stupid<BR>
Cashier: Will that be everything?<BR>
Kamal/Offline: I mean, yeah thanks, uh, I'll pay for the lady.<BR>
Cashier: (tries card) Your card's dead.<BR>
Kamal/Offline: Well that's impossible. Oh, wait a sec. (signal/online) Now try. Please?<BR>
Cashier: (tries again)<BR>
Kamal: You see?<BR>
Cashier: Have a nice day.<BR>
Kamal: Thanks<BR>
Sophia/Offline: Can you turn mine back on?<BR>
Kamal: Yeah, it was just a test. Hold on. (signal/online)<BR>
Sophia: So, ask me again why I'm here eating crappy food with you in a lowsy hospital <BR>cafeteria in the middle of the day.
Kamal: Um, something's wrong?<BR>
Sophia: You know for a smart guy, you're... you're kind of stupid sometimes.<BR>
Kamal: Sophia?<BR>
Sophia: I'm going to be deported.<BR>
[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/ashtray.wav ashtray]
Kamal:  What?!<BR>
Sophia: Aiden's in jail, the immigration cops caught him. They cancelled like half the <BR>Visa's he'd arranged, including mine.
Kamal: Oh my God!<BR>
Sophia: There's going to put me on a transport next month--<BR>
Kamal: Sophia?!<BR>
Sophia: --So my life is ruined.<BR>
Kamal: Omigod, isn't there any way you can stay?<BR>
Sophia: Ya, marry a citizen real fast.<BR>
Kamal: Not Aiden!<BR>
Sophia: Oh! Ya, sure, better to see me rot in a transport back to that dump.<BR>
Kamal: You didn't mean it that way!<BR>
Sophia: You know, you want to be this thing, Aiden's right, you know, you want me to <BR>be your mother, that little baba(?) making coffee, but I hate that place!
Kamal: You don't mean that.<BR>
Sophia: I'm glad I left! The Covies can turn it into a damned ashtray for all I care!<BR>
Kamal: ...I think you should go now.<BR>
Sophia: ...To hell with you.<BR>
[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/they_got_it.wav they_got_it]
(Kamal returns home)<BR>
Hiro: Hey, uh, Sophie called looking for you.<BR>
Kamal: Oh yeah?<BR>
Hiro: How about a beer?<BR>
Kamal: No. I'm going to go inside and trace the bastards ghosting my chatter. I'm pretty <BR>sure they're coming off the east coast.
Hiro: Beer first.<BR>
Kamal: Hiro - let me in the door.<BR>
Hiro: Kamal, Coral's...gone.<BR>
Kamal: What?<BR>
Hiro: Reports are just coming in -- they got it. It's gone. I'm sorry.<BR>
Kamal: Oh my God.<BR>
Hiro: On Reach, you know, on Reach they left some stuff. You've got to hope it was like <BR>Reach Kamal, hold on to that.
Kamal: ...oh my God. My family!<BR>
[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/just_wondering.wav just_wondering]
(working on chatter)<BR>
Kamal: What does the navy even do? We give them all this money--<BR>
(knocks)<BR>
Kamal: Oh no.<BR>
(knocks)<BR>
Sophia: Kamal?<BR>
Kamal: Sophia?<BR>
(opens door)<BR>
Sophia: I, uh, Kamal, I was just... I--<BR>
Kamal: --Sophia, it's raining, come in.<BR>
Sophia: (crying)--I was in the neighborhood, I was just wondering...<BR>
Kamal: Sophia, get some warmth(?)<BR>
Sophia: Just wondering if you hate me?<BR>
Kamal: Shh...<BR>
(Sophia's crying)<BR>
Sophia: Oh my God, I didn't mean it, you know I didn't mean it<BR>
Kamal: I know...<BR>
Sophia: Please can I stay here tonight?<BR>
Kamal: Sure, of course<BR>
Sophia: Please... (crying) mom...<BR>
Kamal: Shh, shh...<BR>
==Jersey==
[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/real_animal_fat.wav real_animal_fat]
Bev: Hello, and welcome to Hot'n'Cold. Please, place your thumb on the transaction plate.<BR>
Jersey: I'd like... do you have real cheese this week?<BR>
Bev: We have a high quality, soy-based, cheese product. Many people prefer it to dairy.<BR>
Jersey: I'm not of of them. Are the beans real?<BR>
Bev: Thank you! I'm afraid I don't know the answer to your question.<BR>
Jersey: *sigh* Give me a burrito.<BR>
Bev: Would you like sour cream with that?<BR>
Jersey: Is it real?<BR>
Bev: We have a high quality product (voice morphs into Durga) made with 100% real <BR>animal fat.
Durga: Just get a burrito.<BR>
[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/dispenser.wav dispenser] 
Jersey:  Durga? Are you in the dispenser?<BR>
Durga: Yes. Listen, Jersey. Something clicked in my head again this week and suddenly <BR>I heard the old man.
Jersey: The spy? W-wait, the one that thinks Section III is trying to kill Rani?<BR>
Durga: Yes. This time he was getting his aide transferred to somewhere safe. He thinks <BR>Section III is coming for him, too.
Jersey: Hm, where in the world is safe now?<BR>
Durga: He sent him to New Mombasa.<BR>
Jersey: Ok, that's pretty out of the way.<BR>
Herbert: Oh, are you done with this dispenser yet?<BR>
Jersey: Uh, almost. ...Durga, I feel stupid as hell talking to a dispenser!<BR>
Durga: Too bad! I like it!<BR>
[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/black_three_sugars.wav black_three_sugars] 
Herbert: Listen, buddy. I aint got all day. Give me a cup of coffee - black, three sugars.<BR>
Durga: Thank you! I am still serving Mr.Morelli.<BR>
Herbert: What are you, Miss Manners? Give me my damn cup of coffee!<BR>
Durga: Listen, Herbert...<BR>
Herbert: How do you know my name is Herbert?<BR>
Durga: If you'd seen the same DNA tests I have, I'd spend less time barging into lines, and more time wondering who Herbert Jr.'s real father is.<BR>
Herbert: What?<BR>
Durga: I'd also start looking for work.<BR>
Herbert: What?? I have a job.<BR>
Durga: That was then. (chatter ping) Uh oh! I bet that's (chatter ping) going to be bad news.<BR>
Jersey: Durga!<BR>
Durga: (chatter ping) I wouldn't answer that in a public place if (chatter ping) I were you.<BR>
Herbert: (leaving hastily) All I wanted was a cup of coffee (chatter ping)<BR>
Jersey: Ok, immensely powerful dispenser, where's this voice in your head coming from?<BR>
Durga: I don't know. It's as if I had a guardian angel looking out for me.<BR>
Jersey: I know that feeling.<BR>
(dispenser dispenses)<BR>
Jersey: What's this?<BR>
Durga: A free burrito. Who says flattery will get you nowhere...<BR>
Jersey: Yes!
[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/burrito_funeral.wav burrito_funeral]
Jersey:  Wait. It's got lettuce on it.<BR>
Durga: Lettuce is good for you.<BR>
Jersey: But I don't like lettuce.<BR>
Durga: You don't even like vegetables.<BR>
Jersey: I eat more than you do! hahaha Gotcha!<BR>
Durga: I have seen your 4th grade picture, Jersey, and I can send it to every girl you <BR>know in a heartbeat. Remember that.<BR>
Jersey: Yikes. Lettuce will be fine. So, what's so interesting about this old guy?<BR>
Durga: He thinks there's an incredibly powerful device being kept secret on Chawla base.<BR>
Jersey: Is there?<BR>
Durga: (mocking dispenser impersonation) Thank you! I'm afraid I don't know the <BR>answer to your question. Enjoy your burrito!
Jersey: Alright, so how much time do we have?<BR>
Durga: You need to get back to the apartment and change.<BR>
Jersey: *sigh* Yeah, this is my first.<BR>
Durga: Burrito?<BR>
Jersey: Funeral.<BR>
==Janissary==
[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/sweet_as_sweet.wav sweet_as_sweet] 
Jan: I'll be ready when I'm ready.<BR>
Gilly: Great angles from these windows. Jim picked a good place. Defensible. I guess he <BR>did most of the cleaning around here. Is that what you're wearing to the funeral? A combat shirt with the sleaves torn off?<BR>
Jan: Yeah. Look, you're not my mother, ok? You weren't here when I was growing up, <BR>he was.
Gilly: Yeah. Ok. I guess I'm more like the ghost of your mother. Hey, here comes Gladys. You could pick her off sweet as sweet from these windows.
[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/not_coming.wav not_coming]
Gilly:  (closes the window) Time for me to bug out.<BR>
Jan: Aren't you going to the funeral?<BR>
Gilly: Mmm... dead people don't interest me so much.<BR>
Jan: Jeezus!<BR>
Gilly: It's not like Jim Lee is going to be there kid.<BR>
Gladys: (knocks) Hey? Anybody home?<BR>
Jan: Hey, Gladys.<BR>
Gladys: Hello Jan. Hey Gilly. You're not coming, right?<BR>
Gilly: Nah, take care of the kid. See ya.<BR>
Gladys: Yeah, see ya Gilly. (door closes) You holding together ok, hun?<BR>
Jan: Is she on drugs?<BR>
Gladys: Hope so. Is that what you're wearing?<BR>
Jan: Don't hassle me, ok?<BR>
[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/one_point_one.wav one_point_one]
(ambient funeral sounds)<BR>
Jan: Thanks<BR>
Gladys: Well, that was a nice service - clean, short. Hun, aren't you cold?<BR>
Jan: No, I'm fine. So, who are all these people?<BR>
Gladys: Well it's your kin. That there's Moralis, oh and the kid next to him is his son <BR>Kevin, who's like you, a 1.1. And that there, that guy's DAC10, came in from the west coast for this--<BR>
Jan: A 1.1?<BR>
Gladys: A Spartan 1.0's kid. There's 16 of you.<BR>
Jan: Oh great, another freak.<BR>
Gladys: Kevin's a nice boy. Oh, Moralis said that you could stay with him for a while. Might be nice to get to know another kid like you.<BR>
Jan: Stay with him? I don't even know him.<BR>
[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/this_damn_rain.wav this_damn_rain]
Gladys:  Well, it's not like you can stay with Gilly<BR>
Jan: I dont have to stay with anybody.<BR>
Gladys: No one is saying you need to decide anything right now.<BR>
Jan: I'm 17, I can live on my own.<BR>
Gladys: Ok!<BR>
Jan: He looks like a grind...<BR>
Gladys: Who? <BR>
Jan: The 1.1 kid. He's a dweeb.<BR>
Gladys: Kevin? He doesnt usually wear a suit.<BR>
Jan: Yeah, but look at his hair... on the other hand, he obviously hasn't gotten his dad killed.<BR>
Gladys: Now I told you once and I'll tell you again, that dog don't hunt. Jim James got in over his head. It happens.<BR>
Jan: It's rule #1, Gladys. Never go into a situation alone.<BR>
Gladys: And he broke it.<BR>
Jan: Because it was me!<BR>
Gladys: Sometimes those things happen, honey. Like the weather... like this damn rain.<BR>
[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/james_james.wav james_james] 
Jan: Hey Gladys, Gilly called dad by a different name. Lee - Jim Lee.<BR>
Gladys: She did, huh?<BR>
Jan: Is my last name really Lee?<BR>
Gladys: Your last name is whatever you want it to be. You want to be Janissary James, <BR>that's who you are.
Jan: But I...<BR>
Gladys: James James... (chuckles) He said it was so dumb everybody would assume he'd <BR>been born with it.
Jan: So do I... have cousins or something?<BR>
Gladys: Well now I can't help you out there. I know this family, but Jim never talked <BR>about that one.
[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/free_cemetery.wav free_cemetery]
Jersey: Hey Jan. I guess the rain finally stopped, huh?<BR>
Jan: Jersey, what are you doing here?<BR>
Jersey: I'm so sorry about your dad. Listen, could I talk to you for a sec?<BR>
Jan: Talk away, Jersey, it's a free cemetery.<BR>
Jersey: I mean in private.<BR>
Jan: Look, I'm kind of strung out from all this, could we do it some other time?<BR>
Jersey: It's important. I promise.<BR>
Jan: Sure.<BR>
Jersey: Hey, do you want my rain coat? You look really cold.<BR>
Jan: No, I'm ok. Now, what did you want?<BR>
Jersey: Look, I know all about Thin Kinkle. And Bradley. And the knife.<BR>
[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/go_ninja.wav go_ninja]   
Jan:  How do you know that?<BR>
Jersey: I've been ghosting your CP.<BR>
Jan: You've been spying on me?<BR>
Jersey: A little, a little - but before you go all ninja and kill me, let me just say we can <BR>really help you.
Jan: We? Hah, like who? You and Steve? Oh! I know, you and Dwayne.<BR>
Jersey: No, just me, and a really good AI program I've got.<BR>
Jan: You pathetic sneaking bastard, if you were listening to me, why didn't you call the cops?!<BR>
Jersey: Listen, listen - Kinkle's boss is a woman called Monster Ann, she works out of a place called Crystal Security Fence & Gate.<BR>
[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/perimiter_alarms.wav perimeter_alarms]
Jan: Say that again...<BR>
Jersey: I know who Kinkle's boss is. And I know the business that she uses as a front.<BR>
Jan: How do you know that?<BR>
Jersey: Jan, I've got God's own spyware. And if you tell anybody about it...<BR>
Jan: Jeezus Jersey...<BR>
Jersey: I can get you inside their security.<BR>
Jan: If you're lying to me--<BR>
Jersey: Hey, hey, remember how the perimeter alarms went off when your dad showed up at Thin's place?<BR>
Jan: Yeah.<BR>
Jersey: Never went off went Gilly showed up did they?<BR>
Jan: I don't know, I don't know, I was out.<BR>
Jersey: Well, they didn't.<BR>
Jan: You did that?<BR>
Jersey: We did.<BR>
Jan: Aunt Gladys! Aunt Gladys! Hey, come over here, there's someone I want you to <BR>meet.
[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/say_please.wav say_please]
Gladys: So you want me to believe you've got an AI that can hack into things the police <BR>can't split open? And you programmed this thing yourself?
Jersey: No, well...<BR>
Gladys: Boy - either one of two things: You are lying and this is a setup by the people who killed Jim James, or you are wasting my time. And in either case, I am not a happy woman.<BR>
Jersey: No wait, for one thing, you don't want to piss her off.<BR>
Gladys: 'Her'?<BR>
Durga: Me. You are Gladys Wilson, born Gladys Ashantia Swanson in Tahoka, Texas. You volunteered for a Spartan program in January of 2491, after a year and a half of special forces.<BR>
Gladys: How in the world--?<BR>
Durga: Your superior, Aaron Lewis, said he OK'd the transfer because you were a good soldier. But in his words, 'more trouble than fireants at a barbeque'. And this was one way to get rid of you.<BR>
Gladys: What the hell is this?<BR>
Durga: You were decorated for bravery at Eridanus, retired after making Gunnery <BR>Sargeant, entered into a brief, but spectacular marriage--
Gladys: --huh--<BR>
Durga: --with a man who just couldn't keep his zipper--<BR>
Gladys: --Shut her up!<BR>
Durga: Say please.<BR>
==Jersey==
[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/military_application.wav military_application]
(entering apartment)<BR>
Jersey: That was sad.<BR>
Durga: Yes.<BR>
Jersey: ...and scary. Gladys...<BR>
Durga: I thought you handled her fine.<BR>
Jersey: You're the one that handled her. Durga?<BR>
Durga: Yes.<BR>
Jersey: Are we doing the right thing? I mean, giving Jan all this stuff about Thin and <BR>Monster Ann and Crystal security?
Durga: Why do you ask?<BR>
Jersey: Well, Jan's looking to make someone hurt. Even if it's just herself.<BR>
Durga: If you're waiting for me to say violence is never the answer, you'll be waiting a <BR>long time. As you pointed out, I was built as a military application.
Jersey: Yeah... I've been thinking about that. Durga, what's Kamal doing right now?<BR>
Durga: He's gone offline. I've been meaning to tell you - he's got processes running to <BR>block me. And he's turned everything off.
Jersey: Commuter grid?<BR>
Durga: Nothing.<BR>
Jersey: You'll find him.<BR>
Durga: I don't like not knowing where he is.<BR>
[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/she_died.wav she_died] 
Jersey:  Yeah, I think there's a reason for that.<BR>
Durga: What?<BR>
Jersey: Tell me about his sister.<BR>
Durga: Who cares about her?<BR>
Jersey: Durga! Does Kamal have blue eyes, or brown?<BR>
Durga: Brown.<BR>
Jersey: Favourite colour?<BR>
Durga: He thinks it's red, but it's a tie between iced-tea colour and water at dusk blue.<BR>
Jersey: The third test he took his 2nd year at med-school...?<BR>
Durga: Pathology 2 - Skin Infections. He aced it, which was trickier than it sounds. The <BR>professor didn--
Jersey: --So he had a sister, she died, and it turned out she was kidnapped.<BR>
Durga: So? I mean, who cares? (voice slowly mutates)<BR>
Jersey: Take a little girl, right... kidnap her, so they could turn her into a Spartan. Only <BR>some people don't make it through the process. That's what Jan's dad said.
Durga: (girl's voice slowly intercedes) I don't care about her. I'm me.<BR>
[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/another_name.wav another_name]
Jersey:  The ones that don't - there's this thing called 'cognitive impression <BR>mapping'. They use their brains to make smart AIs. Like you.
Durga: Jersey?<BR>
Jersey: When you were little, Durga, they kidnapped you. They faked some kind of <BR>accident and rushed you to the hospital.
Durga: Stop it Jersey.<BR>
Jersey: They sent the flash-clone home to your family.<BR>
Durga: Please?<BR>
Jersey: Once upon a time, a long time ago, you had another name, Durga. And that name <BR>- was Yasmine.
Durga: Don't say that! (Durga's voice slowly returns) It feels-- I feel terrible. Jersey. <BR>That's not me. I like what I am.
Jersey: (whispers to himself) For a quality experience, kiddo, the girl had to be real.<BR>
==Rani==
[http://ilovebees.com/outbound/sleeping_underground.wav sleeping_underground]
Rani: Sarah-John, thanks for the offer, but I've got to stay with my mom and dad.<BR>
Sarah: Jason wouldn't mind.<BR>
Rani: Well you've been married a month! Jason sure'd better mind!<BR>
Sarah: Well then stay with my mom, you don't have to stay at your parents'.<BR>
Rani: They can't make me that crazy, for two nights.<BR>
Sarah: Rani, he's making your mom live in the bunker...<BR>
Rani: They're living underground?<BR>
Sarah: Your dad's afraid they won't get any warning.<BR>
Rani: Well I am not sleeping underground in my dad's bunker.<BR>
Sarah: (laughs) It's more than just a bunker, Rani. Your mom and dad had us over for dinner last Sunday, and we got - the tour.<BR>
Rani: "The tour?"<BR>
Sarah: You at your driveway yet?<BR>
Rani: Just coming up on it.<BR>
Sarah: Wait til you see your new room.<BR>
Rani: New room?<BR>
Sarah: Actually it's your old room - he moved the whole thing.<BR>
Rani: What does that even mean? My room is on the 2nd-- (sees the house) Oh my God! <BR>What happened to my house?? Sarah-John?!
Sarah: 'No point in leaving the good stuff above ground' - that's what your dad said!<BR>
[http://ilovebees.com/outbound/duck_pond.wav duck_pond]   
Rani: Dad, are you down here?<BR>
Tommy: Rani! Well don't you look business-like? Move back home and you can wear <BR>overalls every day.
Rani: Just visiting for the weekend, daddy. I've got a good job.<BR>
Tommy: A good job. The Covies are coming and you're worrying about your job? Come <BR>home, honey...
Rani: If we don't all do our part in the fight, we will surely all die when they get here, <BR>dad. So yeah, I'm worried about my job... dad... why are you living under the duck pond?<BR>
[http://ilovebees.com/outbound/heat_sink.wav heat_sink] 
Tommy:  (chuckles) Hear me out now. You see, water can never be hotter than <BR>boiling, which is 100 degrees. That pond is a heat sink. You know what a heat sink is...?<BR>
Rani: I can kind of figure it out, but--<BR>
Tommy: --underneath the pond is a full meter of ice, wrapped in piezo-foam and <BR>pelticours.
Rani: Daddy! Listen to yourself!<BR>
Tommy: And under that, is a meter of wax. Under that is the sealant here which is <BR>foamed glass, just like a cooking pot.
Rani: How did you afford all this?<BR>
Tommy: They measure it in joules. The heat, and this room, can take 70 billion of them <BR>before it even begins to warm up!
Rani: Dad?<BR>
Tommy: I've been all through the pension thing with your mother, Rani. I don't need to <BR>hear it from you.
Rani: Your pension?!
[http://ilovebees.com/outbound/fusion_cell.wav fusion_cell]
Rani: Daddy!<BR>
Tommy: Did you listen to the news today, honey? They got to Coral too.<BR>
Rani: Oh my god... Coral too?<BR>
Tommy: Money's no good when the planet's glassed, sweet pea. I have got a year's <BR>supply of food down here and a composter that turns waste into soil, I've got a starship grade recycler, and a fusion cell to run it.<BR>
Rani: But... this is crazy...<BR>
Tommy: Over here I've got picks and drills for digging out through the glass, and seeds <BR>that ought to do well after, well... you know, afterwards. Hey, I've been doing my homework on this.<BR>
Rani: Daddy, this is crazy. It might be 20 years before the Covenant comes.<BR>
Tommy: "So man also knoweth not his time", as the preacher said.<BR>
Rani: You know what... I... I can't even talk to you. I can't.<BR>
Tommy: Rani... Rani!<BR>
(Rani leaves)<BR>
[http://ilovebees.com/outbound/persnickety.wav persnickety]   
Rani: I'm amazed dad still lets you use the above ground kitchen.<BR>
Leah: It's just until he can get the fusion cell working. It's being persnickety.<BR>
Rani: Mom, you've got to stop him. This is crazy.<BR>
Leah: Honey, you're daddy's doing what he thinks he needs to do.<BR>
Rani: You're living under a duck pond!<BR>
Tommy: Rani!<BR>
Leah: Tommy, don't you have to go to the hardware?<BR>
Tommy: I don't have to go right now, I can go tomorrow morning.<BR>
Leah: Well you go now. And get there before they close.<BR>
Tommy: Look, I just want to explain--<BR>
Leah: --Let us talk a bit.<BR>
Tommy: Oh. Ok, uh... Rani, you want I should get you anything?<BR>
Rani: No, daddy. I'm fine.<BR>
[http://ilovebees.com/outbound/new_chicken.wav new_chicken]   
Tommy:  I'll just take stock in the garage a minute, and then I'll go.<BR>
Leah: Here's your tea, sweet pea.<BR>
(dad leaves)<BR>
Rani: How can you put up with it? When I was a kid, it was the AI dog-walker business. <BR>And then he was going to grow ginseng. And then, it was duck. The new chicken. It's one crazy scheme after another, and now, this!<BR>
Leah: Your daddy has always worked hard, always has a job, and always been faithful.<BR>
Rani: You're living under a duck pond.<BR>
Leah: I know! Aint it great?
[http://ilovebees.com/outbound/only_one_alive.wav only_one_alive]   
Leah:What cute young thing with a figure is that man <BR>going to lure under a duck pond?<BR>
Rani: Mom, be serious.<BR>
Leah: Rani, everybody is looking at the same thing, and we've all got to find ways to deal with it.<BR>
Rani: Well, medication is a whole lot cheaper.<BR>
Leah: They're saying people survived on parts of Reach. And for your father that means there's a chance. If only he can take it.<BR>
Rani: Do you really think it's going to work?<BR>
Leah: Honey, if the Covenant comes, I don't want it to work. I don't want to be the only one alive. But I trust in my maker. Whatever happens happens for a reason.
Rani: I don't know, mom.<BR>
[http://ilovebees.com/outbound/eye_out.wav eye_out] 
Leah:  You know what I admire about your father? Despair looked him in the eye <BR>and he didn't blink. And these days, hope is something we need more than pills or bullets.<BR>
(chatter beep)<BR>
Rani: Hold on mom.<BR>
(Rani takes the chatter outside)<BR>
Herzog: (on chatter) Rani...<BR>
Rani: Wow, aren't you afraid this line will be cracked?<BR>
Herzog: Not this line. Listen, Section 3 security on Chawla base - that's where they're <BR>keeping the artifact.
Rani: I know it. I don't have nearly that kind of clearance.<BR>
Herzog: I know, but keep an eye out. Watch for techs. Word is they've been going over <BR>and over it with magnetometers.
[http://ilovebees.com/outbound/big_city.wav big_city]
Rani:  Ok.<BR>
Herzog: Since they triggered the artifact, it's been putting out fluctuating fields, up and down, weaker and stronger, but steadily overall, weaker - it's decaying.
Rani: Is that wierd? It sounds binary or something... up, down, on, off...<BR>
Herzog: It's more of an oscillation. I think it will continue for a few weeks more. It's regular enough they can estimate it.<BR>
(rustling)<BR>
Rani: My dad's coming out to his truck. I've got to go.<BR>
Herzog: Uh Rani, I don't know how much longer I'll be able to keep in touch. If you can't find me, don't come looking, and don't mention anything to anyone. For your own protection.<BR>
Rani: What are you g--<BR>
(chatter off)<BR>
Tommy: Hi Rani. Those folks making you work on the weekend?<BR>
Rani: Big city, you know. Rush rush rush!<BR>
[http://ilovebees.com/outbound/decay_timer.wav decay_timer]
Tommy: So I said to Len, well, you know how Len is - Len, I can do the test. I've got the certification. (chuckles) ...A great dinner Leah!<BR>
Leah: Thank you honey.<BR>
Rani: Oh, yeah mom, really good.<BR>
Leah: Something on your mind, sweet pea?<BR>
Rani: Mm, I had a wierd call from work today. I'm not allowed to talk about it. Go on daddy.<BR>
Tommy: Ah, well, Len wants me to make sure we're not getting static discharges. If you get static during assembly, it can fry your work.<BR>
Rani: Uh huh<BR>
Tommy: But we don't have the kind of audit equipment for what he's asking for. So I said, Len, I'm going to need a variable resistance reference, and with that kind of oscillation, I'd need a decay timer. I'd need an audit kit like the one I had over at McFarlane's.<BR>
Rani: Wait, what did you say? A decay timer?<BR>
Tommy: Yeah, a decay timer. You can estimate how long it's going to take before it drops under a certain threshold.<BR>
Rani: So things decay, and they get weaker and weaker in a way that you can predict, right daddy?<BR>
Tommy: Oh, well, sure.<BR>
Rani: I've got to make a call.<BR>
[http://ilovebees.com/outbound/counting_down.wav counting_down]
(Rani runs outside and calls Herzog)<BR>
Herzog: (on chatter) Rani, you shouldn't call me.<BR>
Rani: The artifact -<BR>
Herzog: Yes?<BR>
Rani: My dad was talking about something called a magnetic decay timer. What if the artifact is a timer?<BR>
Herzog: The artifact...<BR>
Rani: Maybe it didn't go off one time, like a grenade. Maybe that was just the pulse of it turning on and now it's counting down.<BR>
Herzog: If it is, what happens--<BR>
Rani: --when it gets to zero<BR>
==[[Herzog]]==
==[[Herzog]]==


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