taxonomites | 001: HOLO [i was angry when i met you, i think i'm angry still.]

Max had a bad habit sometimes of not looking where she was going. But she'd walked these steps up and down countless times before, so there was really no cause for suspicion. And besides that, she was a little pre-occupied with her thoughts. Thoughts about Logan, about Alec and Ben, about the newest situation in the news that painted transgenics out to be monsters, about everything that had come crashing down over the past few days.

So maybe that was why she didn't realize that the scenery around her had changed until it was too late. Not that she could have done anything about it even if she'd realized what was happening.

In any case, when she looked up and found out that wherever she was, it was very much not the base of the Space Needle, she was less than happy to discover it.

"Great," she muttered under her breath, looking at her surroundings. Some sort of metal room - it almost reminded her of Manticore, but given that Manticore had been a pile of rubble and dust since she'd burned it down, she doubted very much she was back there. "'Cause I needed this on top of everything else."

Her attention was caught by a pedestal in the center of the room that had what looked like a cross between a laptop and a cell phone on top of it. She frowned, going over and picking it up to turn it over in her hands. She knew a fair amount about pre-Pulse technology, but she'd never seen anything like it before.

As she was examining the tablet, the sleeve of her leather jacket moved just enough for her to catch sight of something silver that was now encircling her wrist. She set the tablet back down and held her wrist up to examine it, experimentally rubbing at the band.

And then a little harder.

And then a little harder.

Okay. Now she was worried.

She drew in a deep breath, then exhaled sharply through her nose, picking the tablet back up and glaring at whoever may have been watching her. (In these situations, someone was always watching you, and it was better to appear angry than afraid.)

"All right. Whoever you are, state your business and show yourself so I can kick your ass and get out of here. I've got some things to take care of back at home."

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Hi there, new person! Cordelia watches the girl from her tablet and wonders if--

"Hey. Are you... like, a slayer or something?"

Well, she can always ask right?

Huh. Apparently you can see people through this thing, too.

"Sorry, but no. What's a slayer?"

Actually, Max has abilities similar to that of a slayer, but hers are thanks to genetic manipulation, not magic.

"Oh! Well, she's a... person who slays. You know, slay-er. You were talking about kicking ass and generally speaking, you sounded like one."

She shrugs. "Anyway! I'm sorry you got dragged in this place, too. Those damn aliens!"

"Oh." Max still doesn't quite get what Cordelia's talking about - she slays what exactly? - but the subject seems to have been dropped, so she lets it.

"So...that guy before wasn't kidding when he said that aliens brought me here?"

"No, sorry," she tells her. "I mean... well, it's the main theory in this place. No one really knows who's behind it all, even why we're here - and on that note, we don't know where we are or what the actual date is."

Even after all this time... well, especially after a long time of staying here and not getting any closer to the truth? It can frustrate even those who have a lot of patience. And Cordelia isn't even one of them in the first place!

"But... well, if it's any comfort, none of us are in danger." Yet.

"Well, that's a relief, at least," she says, though that news doesn't make her feel a whole lot better. "How long have you been here?"

"A couple of weeks," Cordelia answers. "Two months, if I'm not mistaken. Just... watching people as they come and go, and wondering when my turn will be. Or waiting for people I know to show up, because as weird as that sounds - they have a tendency to."

That is kind of weird. "How many people are here that you know?"

"Ten?" she estimates, frowning a bit. "More or less. Some of them friends, some... well, not really."

"'Least you've got people you know around here, especially friends," Max replies, though she manages a smile at Cordelia.

"And it won't hurt to make one more, right?" She smiles right back. It's very nice and somewhat comforting to have people talk to you and assure you that you're not gonna die when you're in a strange room - well, in her case, anyway, when she was the newbie.

"I'm Cordelia Chase. And you are...?"

"Can't see the harm in it." Truth be told, Max isn't always the friendliest person, but this girl's being pretty nice to her so she sees no reason to be bitchy. Plus, she's given her some information about where the hell she is.

"Max Guevara."

"Max. Gotcha," she replies.

"You know, you can leave that room. Taxon isn't exactly heaven but it's bigger than where you are right now. Just take that tablet thing - the one you're using to talk to me - and the door should open that way."

She's been informed of this by this point and nods in response to Cordelia as she roams the streets. "Someone else told me that, too. It wouldn't have been the first time I've been kept in a cell, but I'm glad to hear this place has got more to offer than that."

Edited 2009-09-17 06:43 (UTC)

Cordelia tries to get a better look at where Max is now. "What about the dot? Has anyone ever told you about that?"

She nods to the tablet. "Some guy told me about it before. Apparently I brought something with me, now I've just gotta find it."

"Great!" she replies with a smile. "Then I guess you're good to go. Or as good as you can be, considering we're all trapped here and everything. I'll see you around?"

Edited 2009-09-18 05:39 (UTC)

"Sure," she said, smiling back. "Once I figure out how things work around here. Will I need to get a job?"

"Oh, no. At least I don't think so?" Cordelia taps her chin with a finger. "The hatches are there to provide everything you need - food, clothing, so there's no need for a job to cover the basics. But you might want to start looking for an exercise routine, though. I mean, tons of food, nothing to do? Goodbye slim hello couch potato."

She laughed. "Okay, that's good to know. How do they work?"

"Oh that's the fun part," she began with a grin. "Well, more like a preface to the fun part. You just... look for these atm-like things - which are everywhere, by the way - you think of anything you want, you place your hand on the scanner or palm reader or something, then, voila! You get what you want. Just as long as it fits the hatch."

Max paused in her tracks, then looked down at her right wrist.

"So that's what these things are for?" Thank God it's not a tracking device.

She glanced at her own wrist and shrugged.

"To be honest? I have no idea." After the first few weeks a person had that tendency to stop questioning everything and just go with bearing and living despite those things - well, Cordelia did, anyway. "I'm not really sure what this stick-on is for, but... maybe the others do."

"One guy said they were probably tracking devices," Max explained, turning her wrist over to examine the bracelet again. "I'm a little more comfortable with the idea that it helps you get stuff."

"Hmmm."

She thumbed her own bracelet. "Well, maybe, in a way? I mean, the tablets do have that function of telling someone where people are at any given moment. Creepy, but very useful sometimes."

[visual]

aregulargirl.livejournal.com - 2009-09-19 21:19 (UTC) - Expand