Naoto's Heart

[dramatispersonae]

You find yourself falling through a black abyss, the air cold around you, although not bitingly so. Just as your eyes begin to adjust to the darkness on every side, you're dropped through a chute and tossed out into a brightly-lit area...


((#hardwired))

Comments

Re: Management

[dramatispersonae]

"I don't need anyone's assistance. I can make do just fine on my o--manikin?"

Re: Management

[lifeistooshort]

[points to the door he came through]

It's out that way. It's missing an arm and a leg. [taps his automail as he says this] And a few organs, too.

Re: Management

[dramatispersonae]

The robotic eye sparkles and she grins, lifting a hand to her chin.

"But it has another arm and a leg, yes? And a head? Oh, the things I could do with two heads..."

Re: Management

[lifeistooshort]

Hey, hey, weren't you listening? I want to find its missing pieces, not take it apart.

Re: Management

[dramatispersonae]

"Do I look like I care about that?"

Re: Management

[lifeistooshort]

Well, you should! I get the feeling it's important to try and fix that thing.

[goes back to inspecting heart cavity, this time trying to see how the metal is attached, or whether it is removable]

Re: Management

[dramatispersonae]

She snorts in derision, but watching him closely.

The metal heart looks like it can be removed, actually. It's loose enough inside the cavity for you to reach in.

Re: Management

[lifeistooshort]

[. . . reaches in to pull it out so he can inspect it more closely]

Re: Management

[dramatispersonae]

Your fingers get about an inch from the heart before Naoto stabs your shoulder with her screwdriver, hissing.

"That one is mine."

Re: Management

[lifeistooshort]

[-- apsdfojpaosd yells, pulling back sharply]

I know! I was just looking!

Re: Management

[dramatispersonae]

"You look with your eyes, imbecile, or do I need to administer surgery to replace the ones you have that are clearly not working properly?!"

Re: Management

[lifeistooshort]

It's buried in the heart cavity! I can't see all of it without taking it out!

Re: Management

[dramatispersonae]

"You're just going to steal it!"

Re: Management

[lifeistooshort]

How do you know?! I said I wouldn't!

Re: Management

[dramatispersonae]

She grumbles.

"What are you going to do with it?"

Re: Management

[lifeistooshort]

Look at it to see how anatomically correct it is. I'm a scientist too, you know.

If it looks like it belongs to the manikin, then I might ask you if I can use it. But if you say no, I'm not going to take it without asking. What am I, a thief?

Re: Management

[dramatispersonae]

"There's no way for me to verify you'll actually bring it back--a scientist?"

She perks up.

Re: Management

[lifeistooshort]

[puffs up proudly]

Chemistry and alchemy are more my forte than biology and anatomy, but I'm no slouch in those categories, either!

Re: Management

[dramatispersonae]

"Oh? Do tell."

Re: Management

[lifeistooshort]

Back home, the higher ranking officers in the military were alchemists-- those who could harness their scientific knowledge well enough to know how to transmute one material into another. [a beat] I don't know exactly how alchemy works because I haven't gotten that skill back yet, but I know it involves harnessing the flow of energy of the objects, and manipulating their molecules and atoms to turn them from one substance to another. It's the ability to turn coal into gold, and back again. Except turning material into gold was illegal, so you had to use it to create other things.

[puffs up again] I happened to be one of those alchemists.

[also reaching for that heart again while he talks]

Re: Management

[dramatispersonae]

She looks fascinated.

"Really? But what about the conservation of matter?"

Re: Management

[lifeistooshort]

The number one rule when it comes to alchemy is simple: every exchange must be equal. Alchemists can't create something out of nothing. They can only manipulate whatever already exists. It puts limitations on what an alchemist can do, but a good one knows how to make the most of what they have.

Matter is not created nor destroyed, merely rearranged.

[trying to pull the heart out of the cavity again. . .]

Re: Management

[dramatispersonae]

"But there has to be some force of energy for the rearrangement on a molecular level..."

You can.

Re: Management

[lifeistooshort]

[success! inspecting the metal heart as he speaks, trying to see how anatomically correct it is, or whether it looks like it belongs to the manikin outside or not]

That's what the alchemists are for. They're the ones who act as the catalysts for the chemical reactions.

Er, I don't know exactly how that works, unfortunately. You can blame the Personae for stealing my skills.

Re: Management

[dramatispersonae]

It totally has the same metallic makeup as the manikin outside. Meanwhile, Naoto looks highly distracted.

"A human being acting as a catalyst... there must be some unique property there."