Brotherhood of the Machine (IC) [PG/14]

[Prof B Hunnydew]

The Doctor is focusing on the data from the IC chip in the Police Chief's neck.  It looks like she is going to need to be in direct contact to see it can be removed, but the others are going have to figure out if they can be removed them without alerting the Brotherhood.  Blowing the the chips with massive EM pulse could kill the populous at large.

"Morgan Do I understand that the microchip on the Chief is transmitting data to the web on a change frequency?  Oh Goddess, Morgan, you may have to worry that the Brotherhood is getting data feed on you from the Chief."  Shouts the otter over the comlink.

PBH

[Ryudo Lee]

Morgan soon recieves a report on the analysis of the chip.  It seems that it's strictly a receiver.  It recieves signals from the electromagnetic field and transmits the signals directly to specific parts of the host's brain that would cause this type of behavior.  The signals themselves appear to be a form of subliminal messages, made up of mostly pro-Brotherhood propoganda.

[Arcalane]

"Correction: Not the web, Medic. If it was even capable of transmission - and systems that size rarely are - Unit calculates that the most likely recieving source for the transmissions would of course be the tower. That is assuming the Brotherhood would want to keep direct tabs on the populace and have to crunch all the possible data that would come around because of constant transmission."

Exo pauses, merely out of decency and to think some more.

"Extrapolation: systems that size rarely contain a power source large enough for continued long-range transmission of data. Whilst recieving is fairly non-stressing to the power system, transmitting tends to be significantly more draining, dependant on distance, interference and so on."

It fiddles with some equipment and adjusts a few widgets to keep the incoming transmission stable.

"Summary: Morgan is likely not in direct danger yet. However the Chief may yet report him to the Brotherhood anyway. If everyone in the town is as cheerful as they seem, on the other manipulator, then the Chief may ironically ask for Brotherhood investigators to assist in Morgan's search for the smugglers."

[techmaster-glitch]

   Jexx was still in the main command console. When Moragn's data about the microchips reached him, he said, "Man, we all were really off on that one. At least we know that the risk of us falling under their control is zilch, unless one of us gets captured and implanted."

[Catffeinated]

    Gerald was walking through some forest, after being lost for several hours. The two stupid AIs in his head had convinced him to stray of the path, and now here he was, climbing over bushes and worming around trees, with very little supplies left.
   The he saw that up ahead there seemed to be a clearing. Greald walked towards it, talking aloud to the two voices that made him think that he was going insane sometimes.
   "I told you so, Omega. I told you we should have gone left instead of right. And Mars, I knew we shouldn't have strayed from the path, but nooooo, you two just had to be right, didn't you? Well, now look at where we are. Stumbling through some godforsaken forest with no clue as to-"
   Gerald stopped short as he stepped fully into the clearing. There were several parked black vans, one of them looked like some outpost, a pile of crates next to it, what looked like cooking equipment in the center of the clearing...
   And a rather large group of the most random assortment of people, cyborgs, and robots Gerald had ever seen, standing around the van that looked like an explosion of equipment at first glance.
   "Eh?" Gerald said under his breath, "Food!"
   "Um, excuse me..." Gerald yelled to the group, "Um, I've lost my way. Could any of you be so kind as to give me directions?" He smiled
   And hopefully some food...

[techmaster-glitch]

   Jexx, from inside the van, heard an unfamiliar voice approaching. He couldn't understand what was being said, but the the voice suddenly became clearer, and he heard it asking for directions.
   Confused, Jexx got up from the command console and jmped out of the back of the van, seeing a strange cat anthro with a mechanical eye standing at the edge of the clearing.
   Jexx morphed his hands back into his usual handcannons, powered them up, and pointed them both at the stranger, Jexx demanded "Who the hell are you?"

[Catffeinated]

"Whoa! Hey! Please, don't shoot!" Gerald yelled putting his hands up.
He just stood there as his cybernetic eye focused on the cannons.
   <Unknown Energy weapon>
      <Leathality: Unknown>
      <Ammo: Unknown>
      <Integrity: Unknown>
   <Advised action: Negotiate>
"Listen, I'll put my weapon aside if you put away yours, ok?" He said, slowly pulling an ancient Colt revolver hidden on his ankle and throwing it aside, "There." He sighed, returning his hands to the air.
The things I'd do for food...
"My name's Renald Gin, I got lost. Could you please tell me where the nearest city is? I need to resupply"

[Tapewolf]

"Who sent you?" asked Dorcan, his eyes narrowing as he assumed an aggressive stance.

It could go either way.  The Brotherhood seem to take care of their own, so he could easily be a refugee... unless it's a bluff... Gods, I miss being able to thought-read.

[Boog]

Mister turned toward Jexx and the newcomer.
"Jexx, young sir, I do believe people still stray from previously beaten paths in this day and age. There is no call to threaten him." That young man is most certainly in need of some manner of guidance; violence is so often what is foremost on his mind.

[Catffeinated]

"No one sent me, I just thought cutting through the forest was a bit faster."
   <Risk levels high>
   <Mars Status: Standby>
"Please don't hurt me..."
   <Well, looky there, surveillance vans. Brotherhood?>
   Why whould the brotherhood have a Steam... thing... wazamawhozit? Gerald thought truly confused...
   <Good point...>

[techmaster-glitch]

   Jexx listened to Mister, but shook his head. "We have no idea who this guy is. I do honestly doubt he is from the Brotherhood, but in what experience I have, I've learned to never, ever take chances."
   Jexx then looked around at all the allies on his side, then back at the newcomer, who had thrown away his only (visible) weapon. Jexx figured that even if this guy had other concealed weapons and was indeed a threat, and made a wrong move, he'd be nothing but a smoking crater from almost a dozen different attacks at once. Still, Jexx hadn't managed to stay alive fighting the Brotherhood alone for two years without being a little paranoid.
   So Jexx decided that, with everyone standing next to him, he could afford to calm down, just a little. So Jexx lowered his left handcannon. But only his left. The right one he kept firmly trained on the stranger. Then Jexx began circling around, until he was standing off to the side of the stranger (as opposed to behind him, where Jexx could be caught in a crossfire), and said, "I, for one, still don't trust you. And I won't be taking anything you say at face value until I'm at least absolutely sure you are unable to cause us any harm. If you don't want my burning balls of plasma frying your body to crispy barbecue, I suggest you step forward, slowly, toward the cop-looking guy. And keep your hands up!" To the cop-looking guy in question, Jexx called out "Griffy, you said you were in a narc unit once. You any good with pat-downs?"

[Catffeinated]

   Gerald smirked, "Well, since we're being honest, my name's really Gerald Flint, 'Renald' is just what my ID says... and, tell you the truth, I don't trust you %100 either. It's obvious your not Brotherhood, the steam golem gives it away, still, you never know."
    <While we're on the topic, that wound you got from the scavengers hasn't healed yet, it'll take some time, the bullet was infected.>
    Great, how much longer?
    <Say, two hours?>
    Crap, Gerald thought, looking at the vans, Omega, see if you could slither your way in there, see what I'm up against.
    <I don't know, this guy dosen't seem like he'd think twice about killing you>
    <She's right, besides, your only real weapon is five steps beside you... but then again...>
    Shut up Mars... Gerald thought stepping to Griffy

[Prof B Hunnydew]

Doctor Sally looks up from her computer and Morgans data on the mind controlling microchip at the noise of newcomer was causing.

"Well, I'll see what the troubles is about" she says to herself.  She walks over to Gerald "Hello, and who else are we?"  The doctor's danger sense put him in non- Brotherhood, but he maybe a target or threat.

"Look This is a back road and all, and we are all jumpy with the brotherhood so heavy handed here, So lets just go over there" [as she point to a fallen tree log and good 30 meter away from the camp]" and you guys can question they or him.  I can give her or him and a checkup, Okay?" says a little confused and worried otter doctor.  "We can see if him safe, in control of his own mind or not?  Well, I will be able to see if he is a victim of the brotherhood's scam or not."

The dark grey otter lady doctor schooing Gerald and anyone else to tree log, so she could work on him.  Gerald can see her medical bag and medical clothing.  As she directs him to the log    Her empath powers had flared again, and she was reading a group of people with this new guy.  But beyond knowing that he had a group of people inside him somehow and a bullet, she was has clueless as the rest of them.   

"Well Come on! You can stand there for a few hours and I will check you out after you fall down unconscious or we can see to you, now." states the Doc as she walk to the log herself and stands there awaits.

PBH

[Catffeinated]

"Hmm.. In control of my mind? Yes. My AIs... Not so much." Gerald moaned walking over, "And besides, if I was with the Brotherhood, I'd be drooling and have half my brain ooze out of my ear." He ranted, "In fact, that was who I was running away from..." He paused... and slapped his face (in a D'oh sort of way).
I just told them, didn't I?
<Uh-Hu>
I'm gonna die, arn't I?
<Uh-Hu>
"L...listen," Gerald said,  half panicing, "I lost them about five miles ago, I'm just putting some comfortable space between us, just in case..."

[Tapewolf]

"You led them to us?" shrieked Dorcan.  With a supreme effort of self-will he managed to calm himself, and turned to the doctor.  "Yes... give him a check-up..." he said unsteadily, "first priority should be to locate and disable any tracking devices.  We may still have to relocate the base camp though," he added.

[Catffeinated]

Gerald sighed, "Those weren't Brotherhood you nincompoop, you panic too easily. Sorry 'bout that, I'm Omega, Gerald's assisting AI." Gerald said in a peaceful, yet irritated voice, a bit diffrent than his own.
"Omega! I told you to ask me before you take over..." Gerald said in his normal voice, his head shaking as if to get something off, "Sorry... A small glitch in her programming... doesn't happen often." Gerald apologized, his ears folding back in embarrassment. "Still, I shouldn't need much attention, my repair nanoids should be able to fix me up, and Omega would detect almost any outgoing broadcast."

[techmaster-glitch]

   Jexx was visibly happy at the prospect of Botherhood coming for them. It meant he could set up an ambush, and take whoever he needed.
   Then a female's voice eminated from the cat's mouth. Jexx would have been more surprised at that, but there were only two words in the first sentance that Jexx cared about, and they dissapointed him; "weren't Brotherhood".
   Then the cat started on about an AI, and the matter of the Brotherhood was pushed just back in Jexx's line of thought. "Wait..." Jexx began. "Are you saying that you have an AI...in your head?"

[Catffeinated]

"Erm, Well, two... one for strategy and one for combat, I've been working on 'Alter Ego' AIs, where they temporarily control your body. Nonetheless, there's always a limit to the free will, so it can't go and... say, murder your best friend... your mind just wouldn't allow it and purge the AI from your mind. Still, they make me feel insane every once in awhile."
<I told you this experiment wouldn't bode well with the public.>
Hush!

[techmaster-glitch]

   Jexx merely had one eybow raised so high it looked like it waws going to jump off his face. All he did was mutter something under his breath, "Sounds like something Baiye would be interested in..."

[Tapewolf]

Dorcan raised an eyebrow.  The level of miniaturisation required was surprising.  Either that or it's multiple-personality disorder, he thought to himself.

"Look, I don't mean to be harsh," he told the feline, "but you'd probably be paranoid as well in my place.  I am trapped in a strange world and the first people I met - this so-called Brotherhood - seem to want me dead.  All in all I've had a really bad day."

[Catffeinated]

"Yeah, I can see that, but still, I wasn't even armed!" He said, glad he kept Mars under control, "Could I get my gun? I... I feel naked without it, or something of the sorts..." He asked as his body started to involuntarily twitch.

[lucas marcone]

"Naked or not you are an overly nervous man trapesing about the forest talking to your self.....and talking about putting ai in your own head. now you want us to just hand you a dangerous weapon? Honestly I don't know who is more insane. You, or the people starting to belive you!?" Josh said as he kept his hands near his nine millis just incase.

[techmaster-glitch]

   "Oh no! No gun for you!" Jexx yelped, bringing his left handcannon back up. Unlike the slightly twitching feline, Jexx's hands were pefectly steady, focused with the single-minded intensity of turning this guy to ahs if he even thought about taking a step back toward his gun. Jexx quickly circled around to where said gun was, morphed one handcannon to a hand, then, while still perfectly focused on the feline, reached down and grabbed the gun, before placing it in a pocket of his shorts, then circled around back to where he was.
  "You can have this back when I know for absolutely sure that you have no intention of harming us."

[Tapewolf]

"I think we should let him have his gun back, if he wants it so badly," said Dorcan.
"I'm not so sure about the ammunition, though."

[techmaster-glitch]

   Jexx stayed focused on Gerald, but just barely heard and understood what Dorcan said. "...Fine. But I can't do it, I don't even trust you guys to shoot him if he makes the slightest wrong move."
   With the one hand that was still a hand, Jexx reached down to his pocket to fish out the gun. It was then that he just barely felt something strange about it's weight, but disregarded the felling. Keeping both eyes and one handcannon trained firmly on Gerald, Jexx used his one free hand to toss the gun to Dorcan. "Check it."

(OOC: I'm assuming that if anyone fiddles with the thing, it's chameleon ability will deactivate...)

[Catffeinated]

"Just, please, I don't care about the ammunition, it's like a security blanket, ok?" Gerald said, getting more twitchy
"He gets like this every time he's weaponless... but press the safety on the pistol, it's not what you think it is."

[lucas marcone]

"Couldn't you be alittle more descriptive that that? For all we know it could be a bomb." Josh sneered. The typical xenophobe from a village in hideing was really starting to show.

[Tapewolf]

It looked like a revolver, so Dorcan attempted to snap it open to empty the chamber.  To his mild surprise, it would not open that way.  In fact, it didn't feel quite the same as it looked.  Checking it carefully, he aimed it at the ground and fired, to be rewarded by a short beam of energy which punched a hole into the topsoil.  Cute.

Flicking the safety catch, he studied the handle and removed the power pack.  As he did so, it flickered and changed into something rather more plain and functional.  If it couldn't even disguise itself anymore, it probably couldn't fire either, but Dorcan wanted to be sure.  He checked and tested the weapon all over again, just in case it had some residual charge or a backup supply.  Satisfied, he returned the weapon to its owner.

Dorcan turned to Jexx.  "I guess we'd better frisk him, but don't be too rough.  We have few enough friends as it is..."

[lucas marcone]

Josh was already half way to the vans, but they could hear him muttering. "f***in insane asylem that's what this place is. when i find those b******* that destroyed my village ill kill em all ang go hide somewhere yeah." He clambered back into a van and took a nap. Though Josh was just kidding about killing he hopped to expose the brotherhood for what it really was and bring magic back to the public as a good thing again.

[techmaster-glitch]

   Jexx heard the unmistakeable sound of an energy blast when Dorcan fired the weapon. Jexx grinned at Gerald. "An energy weapon disguised as an archaic, outdated slugthrower? Boy, that was strike one." The red glow from Jexx's handcannons winked evily. "And I only give...one strike. But, given the day I've had, and the current circumstances, I'm willing to give you one more."
  The Jexx heard Dorcan saying, like Jexx said earlier, to frisk him.  Jexx simply said, "Are you suggesting I do that? I'd probably bash him upside the head with my handcannons if I tried to do that. And I'm not so sure it'd be by accident..."