I vote we go see Layli.
Hmm... Layli’s my vote for first visit, with Sirrin as a close second. I mean, technical stuff was our thing.
Gonna put down my vote to speak with Layli, once we're ready.
Vote for person to visit: Sirrin
You briefly debate whether you want to see Sirrin or Layli, but in the end decide on Layli. If your first visit is going to be a point of pride, and points of pride can get turned into material gains like Carlisle says, having some favors with that world can’t hurt.
Carlisle nods when you tell him you’d like to see Layli.
“Fair choice,” he says, starting to lead the way down to the broadcast tower.
“We can get you set up with a network account while we’re there, which will save some time. She’ll be properly chuffed to see you too. Layli has a thing against crowds, but she still likes interacting with and being liked. It’s one of the reasons she does a fine job administering our social networks. Aside from the occasional gross invasion of privacy.”You shoot Carlisle a sideways glance and just gives you a ‘yeah-that’s-what-I-said-innit’ look.
“We set up a lot of our systems to imitate what we had in life, at least a little. Layli did a lot of the architectural legwork, and it’s a bit of an open secret that she has private backdoors into everything. Short version, don’t put anything online you’re not OK with letting her see. I’ve never known her to directly use it against someone, but that woman always knows too damn much.”The rest of the walk you spend engaged in a few more questions with Carlisle, and he seems to answer the best he can. He also spends some time pointing out various structures in this area. Power for everything in the settlement is maintained through a combination of solar power, passive field accumulators, fuel cells, and emergency capacitors. All of it’s salvaged from the gigapolis, and Carlisle notes that power is one of the more valuable things that the runners can bring back.
The broadcast tower is, like everything else, a lovingly made construction of scrap and native stone. There’s a single story building at it’s base, and the spire itself rises the center of that structure. Judging by the various antennas and dishes, this thing should be able to receive and broadcast on a spectrum of frequencies -- though you’d guess that not everything is active. You can see the angular black spikes of a grid broadcast cluster, but, conjuring your phone, you still don’t detect any active grids in the area. It’s possible it’s a planned addition, or something they used to have here and lost.
Carlisle conjures his own phone between thumb and pointer, tapping out a quick message, before pushing open the door to the broadcast center and motioning for you to follow him.
The lobby of the small broadcast center is surprisingly homey, if a bit chillier than you expected. The room is a sharp square with an exit in each wall. The ones to your left and right are curtained off with green dyed plastic sheeting, while the one directly ahead of you has a metal door. The floor is deeply carpeted, and there are mismatched chairs set up for people to wait at. In the middle of the room is a simple metal desk with a holographic terminal and a dwarf seated behind it. The dwarf glances up at Carlisle, bushy black mustache bobbing as he nods, and then ruffling magnificently as he gives you a double take.
“Oi, you brought the new fish?” The dwarf asks Carlisle, giving the big orc a conspiratorial wink.
“I hadn’t heard thing’s had gotten so bad between you two that you needed to resort to bribery.”“Nah, he actually decided to come here first of his own free will. Probably means he’s one of you technically inclined folks, as if putting holes in things wasn’t work enough for an honest man.” Carlisle shakes his head in feigned resignation.
“Sarill, Thaddeus. Thaddeus, Sarill.”Thaddeus, the dwarf, stands, blowing out his mustache and extending a hand over the desk to shake with you.
“Eh, everybody calls me Thud, and hear you me, you don’t have to spend your time behind a weapon to make a life putting holes in things. Pleasure’s mine, I imagine that biggin’ has your day planned out, but if you are interested in getting in on our projects or just sitting in while we make sparks, just drop in and let one of us know.”The dwarf gives your hand a firm shake, then releases it and looks back at Carlisle.
“You seein’ the boss?”“If she’s in.”“Naw, she went sociallin’ with a whole gaggle of folks. Heard there was a new tanning place opening up.”Carlisle gives Thud a single, bushy, arched eyebrow.
Thud chuckles.
“Of course she’s in. Go on.” The dwarf goes back to his work as Carlisle moves toward the door at the back of the room, then steps and turns back over his shoulder.
“You did call ahead, right? She hates it when you don’t call ahead.”“More or less,” Carlisle replies, pushing open the door and holding it open for you to follow.
As you step through and Carlisle shuts the door behind, you can see Thaddeus puff out his mustache again and hear a faint, rueful, repetition.
“More or less...” The air grows noticeably colder as Carlisle leads you up a short flight of metal steps, up into a round room that seems one part engineer’s workshop, two parts design studio, and one part lounge. The floor here is metal grating, with either glass or plastic backing just beneath that, allowing you to see down into what looks like a server room below. Large sections of the grated floor have been covered up with plush, brightly colored rugs. On your right is the workshop area, cut off by plastic sheeting, but with a plethora of fine electrical design tools clearly visible. A modern circuit printer, articulated soldering kit, and an infusing board press are among the few items you can immediately identify. Beyond that, in the opposite half of the room, are several chairs and screen-easels, large glass plates with haptic pens connected and faintly glowing drawings still in place. You’re a bit far to make out details, but it looks like the user was storyboarding something, with numerous ‘crumpled’ sheets littering the bottom of the screen.
In the center of the room is an interface chair, reclined and active, with sensors delicately spidering over the body of a moon-pale human female in an immersion visor. For a moment, you think she has the peculiar monochromism of the watcher, but she does have striking color. For one, you can see that her veins are faintly blue, and her hair, though cut in a short bob, has been dyed a deep lavender, while her nails are similarly painted. She’s wearing a green and grey patterned robe that’s somewhere between bathrobe and kimono, and rather immodestly open in the front.
Carlisle sets his feet, as though preparing for a wrestling match.
“Hey, Layli, I-” “Didn’t call ahead first. Again.” The woman in the chair responds, completely unsurprised by Carlisle despite having her visor fully engaged.
“I sent you a message.”“Not the same. Also, you sent it, what? Twenty seconds before you walked in?” Layli tsks her tongue, giving you a full view of very long and very sharp looking canines.
“Ten?” “I also talked to Thaddeus. That had to have burned at least a whole minute.”“You know, I’ve got a full library of digitized material on how to be a good neighbor. Now, it’s meant for six year-olds, but It should be something for you to cut your teeth on. Oh wait,” Layli pauses for effect, not lowering her visor but putting one violet fingernail to her lips.
“Probably wouldn’t work with those fuckhuge chompers. Guess you’re just hopeless.”Carlisle Nods.
“Yeah, bein' big is a problem with a lot of parts of my body.”Layli shakes her head in disgust, then suddenly smiles. Popping the visor up and leaning out of the interface, causing the sensors to retract immediately.
“That line is going in.” “Dirty pool,” Carlisle says with a wince.
“No more than y--” Layli breaks off when she, for the first time, notices you. She grins at you, looking you up and down, then glances back to Carlisle.
“You brought me a present?”Carlisle shrugs.
“Actually his idea. Sarill, this is Layli. Layli, this is Sarill.” Layli looks back to you and nods her head, as though to an invisible beat. She looks you back up and down again, then gives a low whistle.
“Bi-shie…” she finally says, drawing both syllables out.
“So, as the duly appointed immortal in charge of maintaining our communications, the sovereign keeper of the power grid, and high lady of all digitized materials, what do I owe the pleasure of having your visit, New-Sarill-Guy?”“Oh,” she adds suddenly.
“Can I take your picture as well? Just as a reference later.” 
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Topic: [SG] Arisen (Read 5647 times)