Axon Clips Chapter 8: Difference between revisions

'''Sophia''': Kamal?<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 />

'''Kamal''': Not here, here... '''(taps chatter)''' Let me show you something.<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''': 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 />

'''Sophia''': It's not you Kamal... you'd be like a fish on dry land without your chat<br />

'''Kamal/Offline''': Funny you should ask. I rigged a small... do you mind(?)<br />

'''Kamal/Offline''': Abracadabra! '''(signal/offline)''' Congratulations! As far as the world knows, you're dead.<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.

'''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 '''("baba" = grandmother)''' making coffee, but I hate that place!

'''Sophia''': I'm glad I left! The Covies can turn it into a damned ashtray for all I care!<br />

'''Hiro''': Hey, uh, Sophie called looking for you.<br />

'''Hiro''': How about a beer?<br />

'''Hiro''': Kamal, Coral's...gone.<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.

'''Sophia''': I, uh, Kamal, I was just... I--<br />

'''Sophia''': Just wondering if you hate me?<br />

'''Sophia''': Oh my God, I didn't mean it, you know I didn't mean it<br />

'''Kamal''': Sure, of course<br />

'''Sophia''': Please... '''(crying)''' mom...<br />

'''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 product (voice morphs into Durga) made with 100% real <br />animal fat.

'''Durga''': Just get a burrito.<br />

'''Durga''': Yes. Listen, Jersey. Something clicked in my head again this week and suddenly <br />I heard the old man.

'''Durga''': Yes. This time he was getting his aide transferred to somewhere safe. He thinks <br />Section III is coming for him, too.

'''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 />

'''Herbert''': Listen, buddy. I aint got all day. Give me a cup of coffee - black, three sugars.<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 />

'''Jersey''''''Bold text''': What's this?<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 />

'''Durga''': He thinks there's an incredibly powerful device being kept secret on Chawla base.<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 />

'''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.  

'''Gladys''': Yeah, see ya Gilly. (door closes) You holding together ok, hun?<br />

'''Jan''': Don't hassle me, ok?<br />

'''Jan''': Thanks<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 />

'''Gladys''': A Spartan 1.0's kid. There's 16 of you.<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 />

'''Gladys''': Well, it's not like you can stay with Gilly<br />

'''Gladys''': Ok!<br />

'''Gladys''': Your last name is whatever you want it to be. You want to be Janissary James, <br />that's who you are.

'''Gladys''': Well now I can't help you out there. I know this family, but Jim never talked <br />about that one.

'''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 />

'''Jan''': You've been spying on me?<br />

'''Jan''': We? Hah, like who? You and Steve? Oh! I know, you and Dwayne.<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 />

'''Jan''': Aunt Gladys! Aunt Gladys! Hey, come over here, there's someone I want you to <br />meet.

'''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 />

'''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 />

'''Durga''': You were decorated for bravery at Eridanus, retired after making Gunnery <br />Sargeant, entered into a brief, but spectacular marriage--

'''Durga''': Say please.<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 />

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 color?<br />

Durga: He thinks it's red, but it's a tie between iced-tea color 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 />

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: 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 />

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.

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 />

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?!  

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: 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 />

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 />

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?  

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 />

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 />

Rani: Hold on mom.<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.

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 />

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 />

Tommy: Hi Rani. Those folks making you work on the weekend?<br />

Rani: Big city, you know. Rush rush rush!<br />

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 />

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 />

Standish: Herzog<br />

Herzog: Who is it?<br />

Standish: Standish<br />

Herzog: Is this connection secure?<br />

Standish: I'm using a disposable line. Are you busy?<br />

Herzog: Just catching up on paperwork while the car drives. What do you want?<br />

Standish: Uh where are you?<br />

Herzog: In a car, Standish.<br />

Standish: Hey, you hear they're talking about dropping the speed on the belt-way again? From 350kph to 300. Yeah, they say the road-bed is so degraded, it isn't safe, and it's too expensive to upgrade.<br />

Herzog: You called me to talk about construction on the belt-way?<br />

Standish: No! Uh, your girl, the one at Chawla - you'll be pleased to know the Admiral has put no trespassing all over her.<br />

Herzog: That was stupid Standish.<br />

Standish: I know. They weren't supposed to kill her, just scare her.<br />

Herzog: Spare me.<br />

Standish: You're right, they were going to kill her. <br />

 

[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/results_are_results.wav results_are_results]

Standish: She was a problem. But, she wasn't the real problem.<br />

Herzog: No, the real problem was that you're a dictator and we live in a democracy.<br />

Standish: The real problem is that you and I have always seen the world differently. I am willing to sacrifice principle for results.<br />

Herzog: Principles are results they are ends in themselves.<br />

Standish: No, results are results.<br />

[Vehicle]: Switching from automatic guidance to manual.<br />

Standish: Herzog. At the bottom of this hill, watch out for the bridge.<br />

[Vehicle]: I'm sorry, manual breaking at this speed is not recommended. If you would like me to apply automatic deceleration, please--<br />

(enormous crash, static)