OOM: The Home Lecture

[command_dot_com]

[Back in Milliways: Enzo's little jaunt is Big News to his sister... And he's going to get a TALK.]

After spending a couple of microseconds in the bar, Dot finished up work for the office, and headed straight home to wait for Enzo to show up. She had filed away the list of people Enzo should stay with if neither Bob nor Dot were with him at the bar. It wasn't a very long list in any sense. She was expecting, at the very least, an argument over the fact she had made one.

It wasn't long before the sprite in question came home...

Comments

[a1enzo]

It's been a couple cycles since Enzo discovered the bar. He wants to go back, explore some more, see his new friends, but he did promise Bob he wouldn't go without him, and Bob's kinda busy with that whole 'war' thing, so Enzo's getting a bit ANSI.

Ah well. In the meantime, there are still things to keep him occupied. Like school. Bleah.

Home again, home again, zippety-zip...

"Hi Dot!"

[command_dot_com]

"Hey Enzo. ... Sit down I need to talk with you about something." She's got on her serious face tonight.

[a1enzo]

Yeeeeeek. That never bodes well. No avoiding it, though. *plop* in the chair. "What's processing?"

[command_dot_com]

"I want to talk to you about Milliways."

Yup. Not good. Bob must have gotten the brunt of the angry sister attack.

"I'm not going to stop you from going." Because it would be pointless, if the doors appear at random. Making Enzo avoid every door possible just was not going to be worth the trouble involved.

[a1enzo]

"What?!" Oh code how did she find out I didn't say anything aw man now I'm never gonna... huh? "You're... not?"

[command_dot_com]

"No. Because the door to there appears at random. And sometimes the door back can disappear on people." She pulled up a small vid-window with a short list of names. "And just incase that happens, these are people there that both Bob and I trust to be able to help you and keep you safe while you're there."

-Foxtrot X-ray
-Ray Stantz?
-Suzi Darley
-Whistler Emory?
-Danny Phantom

[a1enzo]

Delighted smile. Then nod. Then yeek-face (he was told about the door not always being there, but it still merits a yeek). Then eyeroll and :-P. But he takes the file and looks at it. "Oh, I met some of them! Foxtrot is fun, and Danny is just alphanumeric! And Suzi was nice too."

[command_dot_com]

She smiles and chuckles softly. "I know, Foxtrot said a lot about you and that you had a nice talk together." What about will be found, discussed and skinned alive later. "And I know you don't like rules but Bob gave me this talk when I first got there. User food is very harmful to sprites. He found that out the hard way. And you're going to want to be careful about some of the patrons. If you go outside check what day of the month it is. A few days out of the month you do not want to go out at night."

[a1enzo]

"Yeah, Danny and I kiiiiinda found out that the food thing goes the other way too." Cough, fidget. "And he warned me about the bad guys too."

"Day?" Enzo boggles. "Month? How long do you think I'm gonna be there?!"

[command_dot_com]

"Right.. ..Enzo?" Dot sighs and puts her hand to her head, ofcourse, missed that little spot as well. "Users live at much slower speed than us. A day for them is like a Cycle for us. They have 30-cycle months usually. 3 or 4 of those cycles of the month there will be werewolves out at night in the back area and forests. Real ones."

[a1enzo]

Nod, nod. "Okay, bigger and slower... this is freaky weird..."

Guh? "Werewolves?!" Vicious bipedal wolf-creatures, added to list of Bad Stuff. "Which cycles?"

[command_dot_com]

"Someone was smart enough to put up a calender by the back doors, the cycles where it's not safe to go outside at night are circled in red. It was, according to their Calendar, January 30th, the last cycle I was there." Best to remember when the next phase for those werewolves would be coming up. "The next time you're not going to want to be outside at night is in three cycles there. Every 29.531 cycles it will repeat. Now as far as I know, Bar time moves differently from Mainframe time. So -always- check the calender there. And check their clock to find out when Moon rise is."

[a1enzo]

"What's moonrise?" From Games, Enzo knows the rough astronomical definition of a moon and what it looks like from the ground, but not the rising and setting bit or the way phases work.

[command_dot_com]

"The sun and moon in the User world change positions in the sky all the time apparently. When the Sun rises about the horizon of a given area it is called Sunrise. Moonrise is the same sort of event. Point of fact, the way the moon is facing relative to a given area of the User world is what triggers a werewolf to change from a normal person into... ...well a werewolf."

[a1enzo]

"...they're people the rest of the time?!" Games... do not usually show that part.

[command_dot_com]

"Yes... I found something else too. Apparently in the User world, lycanthropy is like a viral infection. Lycanthropy is the name of the virus that causes someone to become a werewolf. So when it is triggered... ...they don't have any control over what they do. Do you understand?"

[a1enzo]

"Users can get infected?!" It's just one worldview-overthrowing bombshell after another in Milliways!

[command_dot_com]

"Apparently..." Yeh Dot double-checked to make sure the bar wasn't tweaking her circuits on that one. "They can. They're people. Like us."

[a1enzo]

"Yeah, but there's stuff that's different too," remembering Foxtrot's explanations regarding User clothing and water-cooled humans. "Oh, that reminds me, I had something to ask ya!"

[command_dot_com]

"Oh... Well let's hear it!" Has no idea what kind of question is going to be asked. Probably shouldn't sip that java while it is being asked.

[a1enzo]

"What's lingerie?"

[command_dot_com]

There is a fine spray of hot java sprayed across the table of their apartment and Dot has to cough a few times to clear her throat. "Who..wha.. ...why are you asking what that is?!"

[a1enzo]

"Um, 'cause I don't know..." Duh, Dot.

[command_dot_com]

And then it clicks.

"...Foxtrot." An eyeroll and a mildly annoyed look. "Ofcourse... Enzo. This is an adult thing. They're fancy clothes for adult sprites."

[a1enzo]

"Yeah, Foxtrot said to ask Bob, buuut I figured you'd know too!"

Sigh. Enzo knows how this goes. "And anything more I ask you, you're gonna say you'll tell me when I'm older." There is slouching and sulkiness.

[command_dot_com]

And the facepalming. "I'm going to skin that fox for this..." Dead fox. Oh so very dead kitsune.

"Enzo. ...remember when you asked how sprites are initialized?"

[a1enzo]

Enzo perks up. "Yeah... just barely, it was hours ago... am I old enough for that one, then?"

[command_dot_com]

If it were up to Dot, this talk wouldn't be happening until Enzo was 1-0 or 1-1. Thanks to a meddling kitsune, who will get appropriate treatment for this, it's been moved ahead. "Alright... ...when two sprites love each other very much... They'll get together in private and there's something called a plug in involved..."

And it gets into all of the bit-ridden details. Later Dot is going to need a strong drink and few tablets of Aspirin code. She will get her revenge on the MIGRAINE-coded chaos spirit that started this. Somehow.

[a1enzo]

"Uh-huh..."

"WHAT?!"

"They really..."

"And this is fun?"

"Okay..."

"Oh, neat!"

"Gheeee. Glad I'm a boy."

And so on. It's very weird, but it would probably be a lot weirder if his recent discovery of Milliways hadn't totally recalibrated his scale.

[command_dot_com]

"And that's it. ...Any questions?" Yeh it's weird. It's weird the fact that his sister has to give him this speech too, but Bob would spontaneously fragment himself if he had to give this talk.

[a1enzo]

Silent pondering for a moment. "So... Matrix and AndrAIa...?" Weeeeeeeird.

[command_dot_com]

Oh Enzo, you've been picking up Bob's cluelessness.

"...Yes." As much as she'd like to beat Matrix over the head repeatedly with a zipboard for doing that, he's at least been responsible.

[a1enzo]

Now comes the inevitable sidelong glance. "You and Bob?"

[command_dot_com]

BACKSPACE ENZO. This is space where Guardians dare not tread!

"Enzo. your room. NOW." Dot's turning an interesting shade of red.

[a1enzo]

"What?! What'd I say?"

[command_dot_com]

"What Bob and I.. ...we haven't. But it is -not- any of your business. Got that copied to memory?"

Yeh. Can you tell someone is frustrated?

We can't. No. Really. We can't.

[a1enzo]

"... yeah. Okay." Private topic. Got it. "Sorry.

... do I still have to go to my room?"

[command_dot_com]

"...No. You don't have to go to your room." She looked tired and worn out again. "...You going to keep Milliways a secret?"

[a1enzo]

"Why do I... ohhhh. Yeah. It'd sound random, wouldn't it?" He grimaces. "I'll try..."

On the other hand... this is something he has that he doesn't! Enzo suddenly looks a whole lot happier.

[command_dot_com]

"Yeh. That. I thought Bob was random when he told me. ...And if you can keep it a secret, I'll see about getting you another birthday party in Milliways, on top of your First one." May as well sweeten the pot for the kid to keep his input shut.

[a1enzo]

"...no WAY! Oh, pixelacious! Anything else you want me to keep a secret?!"

[command_dot_com]

Dot pauses for a moment thinking. "Yes a few things. One. For the love of code don't pester Bob about this topic. Two, no telling Foxtrot about any of my spare projects. And... ...I think I might have you run out and get some small bots and a mesh code for me. For a side project." A certain kitsune is going to have his image plastered all around Milliways. "Alright?"

God what the mun would give for a DEVIOUS icon right now

[a1enzo]

"You bet!" Two parties, one in Milliways! Now he can catch up to the right number! Dude!

[command_dot_com]

"Good... Now I've got some dinner in the charger, you feel like dinner before I check your homework?"

And thus..another night in the Matrix family home passes on. With some plotting to utterly humiliate a certain kitsune.