2020-10-25: Web of Horrors: Discussing New Hopes and Old Dispairs (Interlude)
| Discussing New Hopes and Old Dispairs | |
|---|---|
| Li Bong and Vic meet and discuss concerns over the ongoing linkdead issues and touch on his concerns about the New Hope locations in the city | |
| IC Date | October 25, 2020 |
| IC Time | early evening |
| Players | Li Bong and Vic Rasmussen |
| Location | Emerson's Bar and Grill |
| Prp/Tp | Web of Horrors |
| Spheres | Mage |
|
Li Bong comes in, slightly longer than expects. He had to bicycle here, then find a place to chain up his rickety piece of crap ride. Even tho it's highly unlikely anyone would steal it. A Chinaman in monk's robes gets funny looks, but not enough for anyone to give him a hard time.
Stopping inside, he looks around
Vic, having taken the bus, only had a short walk and is there already. She's got a frosted mug with a ruddy colored craft beer and her bag is with her but she's been waiting patiently. She was expecting a suit so there's a moment of surprise when Li Bong enters the restaurant. She waves to him and greets him in Mandarin. "Ni hao."
Li Bong sidles up and slides onto the bar. Speaking in Cantonese. NOT Mandarin. >Greetings and salutations, G..." There's no translation, so he slips to English. "Gumptupus Gal."
Vic, replying in flawless Cantonese, says, "Good afternoon, it is a pleasure to see you in a more relaxed situation. You may call me 'Vic' if you would prefer, Mister Ji." Naturally her name is just her name, but beyond that she is responding in kind. In English she asks, "Do you want to order anything before we get into the reason I reached out to you?"
Li Bong grins, "Your Cantonese is passable." He bows. "And please, call me Bong. I would like a beer and a sandwich, if you please. I carry no cash."
"I was going to have a cheeseburger and matza chips, does that work for you?" Vic asks, in English, while smiling at the compliment.
Li Bong quirks an eyebrow. "Matza?" His English is pretty heavily accented. So he switches back to Cantonese. "Apologies. I will try them."
Vic nods and stands up so she can head to the bar and order a pair of cheeseburgers with matza chips as a side. She returns with a frosted mug full of the same red colored craft beer she's drinking and sets it down in frong of Li Bong. "Its got a real pleasant taste I've found," she says as she sits. "When the foods ready I'll get it, this place is pretty much self-serve you see, they've got cooks and the bartender there as staff," she explains.
Li Bong looks around and nods. If the method of operation registers with him, he makes no indication. He seems content with whatever Vic orders. In Mandarin, he says, >This is an interesting place. I will try these chips.<
Vic nods and, switching to Mandarin right along with Li Bong, says, "Its an unleavened flatbread which is a part of Jewish cuisine," she explains. "They're pretty quick preparing the food, should be ready fairly soon."
Li Bong nods, looking around. And then a smile, he moves toward a table.
When her name is called out by one of the employees Vic heads back to the bar and returns with two plates. She puts them down on the table so that they're both equidistant from Bong's seat and the one that Vic takes. Continuing in Mandarin, she asks, "Anything new on your end?" to allow him to set the tone of the conversation.
Li Bong looks at the plates, and then with a shrug, digs in. He will go with Mandarin. "Nothing new. I have done a little more investigation into the conditions of the victims. The magic that attacked them stole their life force. Their spirit. Their Soul, if you will." He pauses, "I do now know which terminology you prefer."
Vic takes the other plate and asks, "Any changes in their condition in the past week by any chance?" in the same and adds, "Spirit works, but I found that their Minds were part of the loss also," before taking her first bite of the cheeseburger.
Li Bong shakes his head, "No change." He lifts the bun to look at the burger, then takes a bite. Chews. Nom nom nom. "And yes, the mind is trapped. Or may even be wiped clean. But the more serious damage is to their spirit. Even if the Mind was restored... there's nothing for it to return to. Wherever the source... only destroying it, or reversing it, will even have a chance of recovery."
"I understand," Vic replies. "Rufus and I got one of the corrupted sectors reformatted. I had hopped it helped the victim." She pauses and takes another bite which she washes down with some beer. "However, I wanted to discuss something else. Which New Hope Gym did you think I was referring to. There's at least two and New Hope is part of the name of nearly three dozen businesses in the city."
Li Bong shrugs, "I did not realize there were so many. Is it a franchise?" He looks at the chips, but doesnt try them yet.
Vic laughs softly and shakes her head and continues speaking in Mandarin. "Not that I can tell. But remember, Prospect is called the 'City of Hope' so a lot of people use the name. Again, which were you thinking I meant. Raise Devlin's MMA gym isn't related to the gymnastics gym though." She pauses in her expliantion and then says, "I back end checked the Better Business Bureau's records."
Li Bong nods. "You probably found the same things I did. The company doesnt have that sordid of a history. The man we met was the obvious criminal, but there's another personality we have not investigated yet. And my guess, he's probably operating from within the Web."
Vic shakes her head. "I've not looked into Maxar really," she admits. "You have then?"
Li Bong nods. "That's how I knew who we found in the warehouse. He was the CMO. And his criminal record spoke for itself. There's another person behind it, the CEO and Creator. And he's likely the Programmer."
"There's a presence in the Digital Web," Vic explains, "Do you think that this is a Technarch playing with the people or something more like a technomage Nephandi?"
Li Bong says, “Technarch?" He doesn't seem familiar with the term. "Part of me secretly -hopes- it's a Nephandi, so then our choice is set. If it's just a misguided Mage... then we may face a moral quandary.”
Vic shakes her head but says, "I guess. However there's not a lot of wiggle room. We have to stop them. If they push back too hard... well, that's just too bad. We have no choice but to stop them so we do what we must, right?"
Li Bong nods, "We always have a choice, Miss Vic. Sometimes, it's a hard one. In this case, it may not be difficult at all."
Vic nods. "Naturally, but choosing not to take action is paramount to consenting to their actions," she says, adding, "And that's not a choice that I can let myself make... so there is no choice."
Li Bong nods, "We already made -that- choice." He smiles, while chewing burger. "I was speaking about the one where we decide how to End this."
"Well, mostly that's finding the creature in the Digital Web and vanquishing it I'm thinking," Vic says. "Then we need to teach that CEO to not do anything like this again, one way or another. That's my thought on the matter at least."
Li Bong nods, "He may not even fully understand what they've created. But, we'll find out, and if you or your friends are squeamish about how to convince him, either way... you can leave that to me."
Vic nods and focuses on her burger for a bit. She then asks, "Squeamish? Really, you think I'm squeamish?"
Li Bong shrugs, "I don't know where you are from, nor how you were raised. Ethics are somewhat... regional, when it comes to fundamental questions of morality. In the Middle Kingdom, spiritualism is part of culture at every level. So is the concept of the soul returning in the next life. And, unlike the Euthoanatos, we do not experience or fear Johr."
"Spiritualism... wasn't really a major portion of my life no. But doing what is needed," Vic says, "That's always been part of it."
Li Bong nods, "Being human is a very complex project, is it not?" He grins, finishing the burger. "What is the next step? Are you and your colleagues going back into the Web?"
"Well, there's three more non-quarantined corrupted sectors as far as I'm aware," Vic explains, "That's not even counting the creature's lair which will have to be dealt with." She then asks, "But you're not that comfortable in the D-Web, right?" in a confirmational fashion.
Li Bong chuckles, "I can handle myself there, as needed. There is even a rig in Chinatown that I can use, if you are inviting me along."
"I foresee a major confrontation there, if you want in I can make sure to coordinate with you," Vic says.
Li Bong nods, with a smirk as he wipes at his lips with a napkin. "I am not one to shy from confrontation. If you arrange a meeting in an adjoining Sector, I can meet you there."
Vic nods. "The sector I recently interacted with was corrupted into the image of a set of movies with 'Jason' as the primary villain. All of them are twisted into versions of various horror films it seems," she explains.
Li Bong tilts his head, "Jason of the Friday the 13th movies? You said you'd been to another one, yes? What was that?"
Vic shakes her head. "I haven't. Rufus told me that one he went to was based on Frankenstein and I believe he mentioned one based on the old Hammer horror films." She then says, "But yeah, that's the franchise as I understand it. Not personally familiar with them though."
Li Bong frowns, "Did you go in -on- Friday the 13th? That would fit. Otherwise, it must be building on a recurring theme. You said the other was Frankenstein? Then if following the pattern, bring silver bullets, wooden stakes, and a Van Helsing icon prepared."
Vic laughs at the thought and says, "No, it was Monday the nineteenth," about the recent digital excursion.
Li Bong hrms. A nod. "Well, I certainly hope the next Sector doesnt format itself for a Chinese horror story. We have 10,000 hells!"
Scene faded here
