acatalepsy_rpg | video

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video - week 2

If I may, I request your attention for a short while.

[This mystery illness has taken a toll on Minfilia, and she's far from a pretty sight, with her nose and eyes red and the rest of her far too pale. She's not slept well, and any useful time awake she spends in weary attempts to find anything that might help all of them...if not feel better, then at least not get any worse. Really, she's rather stunned she managed to get the watch to do what she wanted, which is a feat even when she isn't a dizzy and congested mess.]

None of us are wont to suffer the symptoms of whatever is plaguing us for one moment longer than necessary. [She hopes.] In the last few days I have witnessed several sets of hands and minds at work in pursuit of a solution.

[A pause for a sound sneeze and a bit of coughing, which she tries her best to keep well away from the recording. The remainder of the message sounds as if someone is holding her nose, but there's nothing to be done about it now.]

Until now, these disparate but dedicated souls have, to my knowledge, proceeded tirelessly - and apart. We should all be better served by combining what we know has helped, and what has already proven itself of little use. To that end, I propose that all those striving for both treatment and cure convene as soon as possible, today if we can. The earlier talk of organizing aid and proper supplies will be invaluable as well. The kitchens ought to be sizable enough to hold a crowd.

I know also that a fair few of you wish to venture forth, or have done so, on temple grounds or out in the wilds, to further the chance at finding aught of use. Those who are well enough to travel could thereby divide into larger and more organized groups for continued investigation.

[This is wearing her out, and it's only talking and putting the words together in proper order.]

I look forward to working together in person.

[[ooc: So! A meeting in the kitchen after lunch - feel free to mingle as well as video chat! Primarily she's thinking they really ought to work together to go deeper into the temple or the forest, or both, because this is only getting worse for most people.]]

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[ on the contrary, the woman on this end of the video looks completely healthy. Being an android does have its perks. ]

If you think there's some kind of medicine outside this area, I can search for it.

[ resource gathering isn't supposed to be her job, but she ends up doing it a lot, anyway. Right now, there's little else she can do; walking around with nothing to occupy her but her thoughts and her concern that these humans are going to fall prey to some mystery illness is miserable.

Also, her understanding of how sickness and medicine work is rudimentary at best. If that isn't obvious. ]

[It's a relief to see someone who doesn't look sick. The more people who are up and about, the better, really.]

Unfortunately, I haven't the slightest idea what can be found beyond the temple grounds, nor the knowledge to make use of any potential discoveries. That is what-

[Sorry - her voice is already weary after the initial recording, and it cuts out in the next few words. It takes a moment and some hard swallows to get it back again.]

- Forgive me. That is what I hoped might be accomplished in coming together: understanding what we know and how to use it.

[Awful as she feels, she has a ready smile for this young woman anyway.]

Of course, if you're volunteering to take on the task once it is established, I'm sure we would all be very grateful.

[ a nod. ]

Leave it to me.

[ that said... it's hard to ignore how terrible she looks, even as she tries to hold herself together. 2B tilts her head just slightly. ]

Are you sure you should be doing this right now?

It may not be ideal, but it is far better than the alternative. The longer we wait, the worse all of this is like to become, and we've no way of knowing what has been lost to even this much delay.

[The trouble with all of this is that there are a dozen hands and minds for researching, and no material.]

What would benefit us most is some sort of reference work for this world...or any record at all.

... There isn't anything?

[ there's a note of disbelief to her voice now. She just got here, but she knows some of the others have been around for at least a month. Surely, someone had done some kind of recon... ]

If there is, I've not encountered it in my few short weeks of living here.

[She doesn't mean anything recorded by those from other worlds, although that would be useful too, probably. It takes her a minute but she seems to come around and realize where the confusion might be and shakes her head at the watch display.]

Whole, planned structures such as this one do not simply leap full-made from the ground. We have some sort of predecessor here, though they might well be centuries gone. Would they not have kept a record of important practices in their lives, at the very least?

[The possibility that Astoria just happened the Temple is there, but then why the appearance of age and decay?]

Oh.

[ that. 2B hadn't considered it, seeing as she's lived her entire (short) life on a planet covered in ruins like this. ]

Maybe. But it's easy for things like that to be destroyed. [ a pause as she thinks. ] We could dig for artifacts, if we knew where to look.

That would prove educational, if nothing else, but likely wouldn't aid us much in solving the current problem, unless whoever built these ruins also carved common remedies into the stone.

[But she isn't dismissing the thought entirely. If they are to live here indefinitely, they ought to know as much about here as they can.]

I've a colleague who has made it his task to set forth and collect particular helpful herbs and other plants from the forest. If you are unaffected by this illness, might you be willing to accompany him? Twice the hands make for half the work.

[And she's been stopped more than once from making the trip herself - though she has gone. Just not the times she's been caught.]

Sure. I can do that.

[ it was never really her job, but she'd ended up running errands like this for the androids (and occasionally, the machines) living on Earth more than a few times; she doesn't hesitate in agreeing. ]

What's his name?

His name is Alphinaud. Who might I inform him has offered her assistance to his cause?

[She's had...a lot of conversations today and most of them without proper introductions. Gods, did she even begin her message with an introduction? The congestion must be stopping up courtesy on top of everything else.]

Alphinaud... Okay. [ a nod. ] YoRHa Unit 2, Type B. You can call me 2B.

[ she almost adds a ma'am, but she found most of the humans she met don't like it when she does that. ]

[That would be far from the first time Minfilia received a "ma'am" and she wouldn't bat an eye! It's the way 2B introduces herself that really catches her attention.

A military designation? A reference to some sort of clan or tribal living arrangement?

Most probably an insult to ask for more unless 2B offers it.]

And you may call me Minfilia. [With something of an embarrassed smile, because since when has she managed an entire conversation and framework of a plan without even telling people who she is?] Well met, 2B.

[ +1 to the unaffected crew. He's similar to an android, but not exactly one - though, the most eye-catching part of his appearance is the pair of horns on his head, with a scaled luster similar to Auri horns. ]

I have gone hunting in the woods. It is not easy, but I can provide for some food.

[There's going to be an awful lot of nodding to people today. She can tell.]

Thank you. Does the withering of plants beyond the temple persist still?

[If so, she'll worry about something also affecting any game they try to hunt.]

Yes. I figure the cause was from the sickness from that other world.

[ He wasn't there at that other world, so he can't say much beyond that. ]

[Minfilia puts one hand over her mouth in thought. It's all well and good to think they are ill because of going to and from another world altogether. But.]

Is it not spreading unconscionably fast for something of this nature? I'm not familiar with any sort of illness shared by both people and vegetation, save for too much or too little aether.

[She shakes her head quickly and regrets it, blinking some dizziness away.]

And if it is something of that nature...too much or too little life force is not contagious in that way, much less able to be brought from elsewhere.

[ He supposes this warrants some sort of explanation. The initial confusion is something he's experienced before ]

In my world, one of the scholars in medicine devised some sort of explanation for this, the presence of small creatures called 'animalcules'. These animalcules are incredibly tiny, but they exist. They can be seen through the use of a magnifier device. Animalcules usually go about their business like a mouse or beetle would, but sometimes they are induced to change from their harmless nature. Just like how a fly would come to nibble on one's food, the changed animalcules would come and suck a person's blood or invade their body to cause illness. The scholars proved the efficiency of their study by making medicine that specifically drive out these animalcules from an ill person's body. Then they got better.

[ Boreas folds his arms. ]

If there were changed animalcules in that world, maybe they could have attached themselves to the travelers' clothing like tiny fleas. Then they disembarked here and went around doing their havoc. The problem now, of course, is catching one and identifying it....

[What he's describing is only slightly more malicious than corrupted aether...and, from the sound of it, much easier to drive off, provided they are able to produce an antidote of sorts.]

In an environment not their own, they may not even realize the damage they cause. [Especially since Struxta was made of metal and glass - spotless in a terribly unsettling way, and not receptive to organic life. Something endangering it would go unnoticed by the constructs on the planet for a very long time.] If it is as you describe.

Are you knowledgeable in the methods of creating this medicine?

I am, but the problem I face now is that I lack the tools. Still, the knowledge can be useful in stopping the disease from spreading further. Keeping the patients well-rested and isolated from the rest can help in containing its spread.

[ No chiurgeon's kit, no magnifier... all of these are problems. ]

I heard a youth with white hair and pointed ears is trying a similar solution. Do you know of him?

I do indeed. Alphinaud is a colleague of mine; we belong to the same organization in out home.

[The specifics of what the Scions do, not to mention their priorities and hierarchies, aren't at all necessary to stopping this plague, so Minfilia neglects to mention them.]

Neither well-rested nor isolated is going to be very easy, I'm afraid, and Alphinaud informs me that what he has discovered but affects the symptoms, and is nigh impossible to stomach.

[ So they do know each other. That simplifies a lot of things. ]

A young man named Akira told me about the same. I've been thinking of looking into it, but our limited resources are again the biggest hurdle.

A hurdle we may not be able to surmount, at that, but that's no reason not to try.

[Sometimes the solution to an impossible obstacle comes bounding over from the other side.]

I suggest getting in touch with Alphinaud directly if you wish to discuss the specifics of his temporary remedy. He claims it isn't yet perfected, but 'tis far better than having nothing at all.

I will when I am able.

[ There are certain other things he still has to attend to, but the cure is definitely on his mind. ]

I will also let you know if I observe any changes outside.

You have my thanks.

[And, as will happen to her several times today, she realizes at last that she has come this far with no introduction whatsoever.]

Forgive my discourtesy, if you would. I am Minfilia.

It's good of you to try and organize people even when you're clearly not feeling well, yourself.

[Minfilia does look rough around the edges, but Aerith certainly admires her dedication.]

You're right, we should be working together. I'm a more recent arrival, and I've been lucky enough not to get sick— what do you think we might find further out? [She presses her lips together for a moment, fretful.] I know a lot about plants and gardening, but I can't even begin to tell what's making the plantlife here sick. Assuming it's the same thing effecting the people here, then being able to figure out the source would make it easier to find a remedy for both.

[There's a faint edge to her voice, one of frustration. This is a situation in which her natural-given talents with both plants and healing should be of great help, but the first hasn't done her much good so far, and the second isn't available here at all. She's annoyed by the fact that she feels out of her depth when any other time, she would be the ideal person to step in and help.]

[A frustration Minfilia understands very well. It's impossibly difficult to be rendered helpless by circumstance.

She shakes her head a little, trying to focus on what this young woman says.]

If pressed, I would suggest we might find more solutions within than without. I'm no botanist or alchemist, but those among us who are could set forth something more feasible than my weak conjecture.

[Minfilia rubs her temples a bit, which shifts the video because the watch is on her wrist, but soon enough she looks at the screen again.]

If we somehow brought this back with us from the world we left behind, then there is every chance it will happen again.

[Aerith may not be a certified botanist, but she certainly knows where her strengths lie. She nods in response, tapping her index finger against her chin thoughtfully.]

I could take a closer look at the plantlife here. I may not be able to explain what I find in the most scientific manner, but I might be able to find something to trace back if I can go by feel.

[Which, she's sure, sounds silly, but it makes sense to her.]

I can't hear the earth here the way I normally can, but maybe I'm not listening for the right thing. If this sickness was brought back from another world, then maybe searching for some kind of dissonance is the answer.

Any manner of explanation, however scientific, would better serve us than none at all.

[Even if the explanation is unsound, at least there is the certainty of being wrong about something. Indeed, the one she gave is based in quality, but it's a type of language Minfilia finds very familiar.]

Are you able to record what you find?

Of course.

[She nods to confirm that much.]

I can take notes about whatever I find— you're right, anything we can turn up is better than nothing at all.

[That said:]

In the meantime, you look like you could stand to take it easy. Rest a little, if you can.

I appreciate your concern.

[Not that she will do much about it until she feels her tasks are done, but since the worry is genuine and not without merit, it deserves an equally courteous reply.]

Would you be willing to share your findings, of any sort? Even that which isn't apparently useful now may prove to be of great import should this happen again.

[She nods again— she had figured that part probably went without saying, but it occurs to her that there are plenty of people in the world who aren't half as open as she is.]

I don't know how much sense I'd be able to make of them on my own, anyway. Better to have a few more pairs of eyes on the situation, just in case— I know we're definitely not the only ones worried about what's happening here, but none of us are going to figure it out without some help.

[On that same note:]

Has anyone else offered anything that might be useful yet?

Several others have offered to help with anything and everything they can. We've no shortage of ready hands, but I lack even the beginnings of knowing how or where to direct them.

[Ordinarily she'd not admit this failing to a stranger. But things are ever so slightly desperate on that front; could not some sign point toward where they should start?]

A friend of mine from home claims to have discovered a potion of sorts that can ward away the symptoms. He also says it is vile, almost beyond drinking.

[Aerith wrinkles her nose a little in response.]

Why is it that the most effective medicines always taste the worst?

[And why is this universal?]

Anyway, it's fine if you don't know where to point people— nobody knows, and even the people who've been here longer than the newest of us still have a lot to learn about this place, not to mention how things work here. We'll figure it out, okay?

[Together, or else what's the point of them all being brought into the same 'circle'?]

Perhaps to discourage us from doing anything that might result in another illness.

[She jests, but they could all use a little humor, could they not?

Alas, not knowing where to point people is a feeling Minfilia rarely experiences; if she doesn't have an answer herself, she absolutely knows someone who will, or who will have a general idea of how to find one. It is a strange feeling indeed to have someone reassure her so over the certainty of their success.]

Thank you for such kind sentiments. Most of all I want to avoid this worsening any further, if we can.

[They certainly could, and it has the desired effect— Aerith cracks a smile in response.]

I think you might be right about that.

[Even based on this one conversation, Aerith has decided that she likes Minfilia— she can even see the two of them becoming fast friends, given the opportunity.]

I'd like to avoid that, too. I'll go take another look at some of the plantlife and see if I can find anything, however unscientific it might be. I'll report back as soon as I can. Until then, I hope you'll take care of yourself?

[REST, new friend.]

[Right on queue, Minfilia sneezes and needs a moment to recover her composure. 'Tis too late to pretend it didn't happen. The watch sees everything.]

Rest assured, I intend to do just that the moment I am able.

[She's had years of practice with such lööpholes.]

[Bear with him, Zack is very new to this new piece of technology on his wrist so his face might just be a tad too close.]

I only got here just recently but from the looks of it, no one is safe from whatever flu or fever is going around. It 's a nasty bug. I'm fine so far but I'm not counting my chickens just yet.

If you need people to go off to look for anything that might help out I want to be on that team. I think I'll be better used out there than in here.

[Because he's no healer and has no healing materia on him (not that it would work, anyway). So getting put to good use elsewhere is exactly what he wants.]

Looks like you could use a rest yourself too, though. Take it easy?

[She has had more than one personal conversation while holding the thing upside-down. The visual discrepancies don't register with her as a problem.]

I'm sure we all welcome as many willing and able volunteers as we can manage, particularly those not already ill. If only we could say for certain what to seek.

[Usually, someone she knows or can reach through someone she knows will have some sort of starting point. But it seems little is known at all about the temple grounds.]

Thank you for your concern. [She says it with a smile, rather than dismissal.]

[He nods. Zack isn't about to ask her to make sure she does take it easy or not. No need to pester another adult like that.]

What do we know about this sickness so far? It's killing all the plants and giving everyone massive colds...

[He's no doctor by far but maybe recounting everything they do know might help him brainstorm something. He wants to be optimistic.]

Not every plant, nor every person. [Thank the Twelve.] Some amount of vegetation survives, though we might not deem any of it thriving, but as my colleague pointed out to me a few days ago, if all of it was dying, then naught else in the forest could live. Yet the animals remain, and they must have a food source somewhere.

[Hm. Minfilia holds her chin in thought, rather losing the idea that she ought to look at the watch the whole time.]

Could it be suggested that we share some trait or susceptibility with the affected plants?

Good point. If the animals are still around then maybe whatever is going around hasn't hit a critical point, yet. It would be nice to keep that yet from happening.

[Zack nods.]

And maybe, but I've never heard of any sort of sickness that transfers from plants to human beings before... Hmmm.

[She shakes her head, still not quite looking at the screen.]

Not that it came from the plants, but that they have fallen prey to it as we have. The solution may lie within those that have not. They can resist it. I'm no botanist or alchemist, but perhaps there is a way we can harness that resistance.

Right, I see.

[Should he go hunting and try and track down a healthy deer? Would she be okay with a wild animal getting thrown down at her feet?? He's not good at medicine or science, either.]

I'll see what I can find in the woods, maybe try to bring back some live rabbits or something. Either way, I'll do my best to help us all figure this out.

[She would be...surprised but not appalled, really. It isn't as though she's any stranger to hunting for game, or for sport, and this cause is better than both of those. However, she would have no use for it, nor any idea how to proceed.]

We've no shortage of willing volunteers. [Which is also not strange to her; most of the people she knows jump at the chance to lend a hand so long as there is a purpose and direction to it.] Now we must hope something we try bears fruit.

Here's hoping.

My name's Zack by the way. Zack Fair.

[He's hoping to make some new acquaintances around here as well.]

[Most of the time she doesn't notice the...sense of "yes, that's right" that hovers in the background of what people say. This time, she does, though all it prompts in her is a little frown before she lets it go.]

I am Minfilia. It is a pleasure, though I would that we could have met in happier circumstances.

Hey, sometimes the best comrades are made in the worst circumstances. It's nice to meet you, Minfilia.

[And that's the way he's looking at all of this. They're all here together. Probably for a reason.]

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video - week 2

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