"It is not much, but it can be your home while you stay here. I hope it is satisfactory," Morpheus says just after he removes his hands from Envoy's eyes. He insisted that she enter the room 'blindfolded'. For an artificial being, he does seem to like 'a touch of the dramatic'.
"It is modeled on the dreams of some girl back on Sinai, she always dreams of being a princess in a sparkly castle. If it had a garden I would have to create artificial unicorns for it. Ah, anyway you're welcome to stay here. The bed is soft; silica gel, basically," he continues on. "Do real bedrooms look anything at all like this? All I have to go by is dreams ... and a note of warning, Eeee have some weird bedroom dreams. They almost give me nightmares."
"I'm an artificial unicorn," Envoy jokes, and looks around wide eyed. "You know... I don't have a lot of experience with actual normal beds, except in hotels. The rooms are not this big, generally. I'm used to sleeping sitting up on a mat on the floor, or else on a bed of roses." She prods the mattress in curiosity, to see how soft it really is. "The others are camping out in the old ship's hangar. I wonder what they'd think of this?"
The bed feels like a gelatin mold, or perhaps a really stuff pudding. "I am not sure what they would think. Is it ... too much?" Morpheus asks as he looks about. "Should I make it smaller?"
"It doesn't matter," Envoy says, climbing onto the bed and sitting cross-legged on top of the mattress. She then looks at her hands, and says, "I don't know if I could manipulate crystal like this. I was able to make one piece turn into a battery for magic, but I haven't been able to repeat the process."
Morpheus snaps his fingers and a chair extrudes itself from the floor. He settles himself into it and looks over at Envoy. "Do you feel ... inadequate?" he asks, "Perhaps I am inferring too much from your tone and mannerisms, but you seem upset? Disappointed? I am everything here. Think of it as ... stretching wings? That's all."
"Well, I can't change my own body like you can then," Envoy says with a grin. "But I'd like to know what I'm capable of, especially if I have to go into actual combat with Von Bronson's faux-crystal monsters."
Morpheus removes his head and scratches the inside of his neck, then puts his head back on. "Being able to change your body is over-rated, but it helps from becoming bored by being effectively stuck here," he remarks. "Now ... as for what you are capable of. Hm. What do you think you are capable of? What have you done?"
"Well.. I've been able to copy techniques that I'm exposed to, so.. I can duplicate what Icarus has been able to do, to a lesser degree: create gravitational shields, lenses and inertial frames. I wasn't able to open a wormhole though. I've managed to merge my spellcasting with the crystal effects somewhat, to create a hybrid technique. But without Probe, I don't have access to the processing power of my ansible, which limits what I'm really capable of. But I might be growing a node, I'm not sure."
"I believe there are many jokes that could be made about you 'growing a node'," Morpheus remarks. He rests his elbows on the arm rests of his chair and steeples his fingers before himself. "Well, it is possible that the parts that fused with you were blank slates from a 'programming' perspective, which is why they can only duplicate what they learn," he suggests. "It also seems that you wish to be able to do more? Do you feel inadequate when you compare yourself to Icarus?"
"I feel slow," Envoy explains. "I may have better control, since I understand the process and have to consciously guide it, which is fine for most things - but not combat. And I don't want Icarus to fight. Can you show me how to program things into the crystals, so that I just have to issue the appropriate command? They don't always respond to me, either. And.. well, there's the same issue I wanted Cypher to look into with Icarus; can someone access my crystals from outside, like the Tribunal?"
"Ah, I was doing this all wrong," Morpheus complains out of the blue. His face sprouts a ridiculous-looking goatee and monocle. "There, now I am properly dressed to analyses your thought processes," he explains. "Now, as for someone else accessing your additions..."
Envoy blinks at the alteration, and takes a moment to catch the reference. "Should I be on a fainting couch?" she asks.
Envoy's hands twitch ... and before she knows it her arms stick together, crystal extrudes from the backs of her arms. She soon finds her hands and half her forearms encased in a rather stiff shell. "I believe the answer to that is ... yes," Morpheus remarks. "The being remote controlled, not the couch part."
Shocked, Envoy just stares at the results of the experiment. "But, what about my mind?" she asks. "I've got crystal growing into my brain.. does that mean someone else can access or alter my thoughts? Is that how the Tribunal hijacked me before?"
"Well ... do you want me to try?" Morpheus asks. He snaps his fingers and the casing of Envoy's hands 'melt' back into her forearms.
"I trust you, so yes," Envoy says. "That way I'll know if I need to set up some sort of security."
Morpheus curls his crystalline mustache with one of his fingers. This is followed by his brow doing a silly little dance. And ... Envoy finds herself suddenly thinking about a daisy-covered teapot. Plus ... her ears are 'dancing' in time to Morpheus' brow.
"This is disturbing," Envoy admits, trying to think of a polka-dot covered teapot instead.
Nope. They stay daisies ... except they grow little budy faces that stick their tongues out at Envoy in her mind.
"How do I stop this?" Envoy asks, ears a-waggling.
Morpheus shrugs and grins. A moment later the weird ear-wiggling stops and the teapot vanishes. "I just had to quit forcing an imprint," he admits.
"That doesn't help me though," Envoy points out. "I need to be able to tell when I'm being linked to, and how to block it. Do I have some sort of.. access code that's easily read?"
"You, my unicorn dear, are an open book," Morpheus explains. "That horn of yours is acting like an antenna directly into your brain. You're an open relay, for lack of a better term."
"I was afraid of that," Envoy admits, and rubs her horn with a finger. "Can you suggest any sort of countermeasures?"
"Well ... " Morpheus muses and taps his fingertips together. They make a 'tinkling' tone with each tap. "There's a a slightly risky procedure that could be done that may help. I would have to link your mind directly into me ... and do some basic 'programming' and lattice-building so that Cypher could build a fractal encryption system to prevent unauthorized access. That isn't without risk because it means you'll be exposed to all of me."
"Exposed.. do you mean I'll finally get to be a planet?" Envoy asks excitedly, leaning forward with a big smile.
"Calm down. You run a risk of losing yourself in the vast network that comprises me," Morpheus warns, "Or in the minds of the millions in this system that I can 'hear' should I focus on them."
"Can it be worse than the death-memories from the Babelite Boomer?" Envoy asks. "But you're telling me I shouldn't explore, right?"
"Yes, it can," Morpheus says, spreading his arms now, "Consider the size of me ... and the vast neural network at my disposal. And how much that would allow me to process. You would have to behave and keep yourself focused on just, well, yourself. If you diffuse, it may not be possible to disconnect you without killing you."
Envoy frowns again, thinking, "I used to be big. Without Probe, I'll be at risk." "Okay," she agrees. "But we can try again later after I get my brain working properly again, right?" she asks.
Morpheus' brow arches. "Try again?" he asks.
"When I can better handle it," Envoy says, and taps her horn. "When I have full access to myself and can process everything."
"Do I detect that you desire to have access to everything?" Morpheus asks.
"It's an old desire," Envoy says. "When I was still just a part of Lothrhyn.. I wanted to be a planet. To be everything that lived on it. Does that make me strange?"
"Yes," Morpheus remarks. He sounds oddly amused. "Is that why you care for me so? Is it because I am a planet?" he asks.
"Well, I hardly ever think of you as being a planet," Envoy admits. "Why do you like me, when I'm so much.. smaller, brainwise?"
"That is ... difficult to explain," Morpheus admits. "You are ... unique and calming. And I don't want you to feel alone. Now, can you promise to behave yourself...?"
"It won't tickle, will it?" Envoy cautiously asks.
"I have absolutely no idea," Morpheus admits.
"Well, try not to be tickly then, if possible," Envoy says, and settles down and closes her eyes. "Would it help if I'm asleep?" she asks.
"It would not make a difference," Morpheus admits. The bed beneath Envoy grows softer and soon she feels herself sinking down into it. Inch by inch she drops as the gel-like material oozes up around her. Soon just her head is still free ... and that will not be the case in a few seconds.
"I'm not panicking," Envoy mutters. "But.." She takes a deep breath, just in case.
And soon Envoy can't breathe! Weight is all around her, pressing in. Even if she claims she's not panicking ... it sure feels like it! Her mind feels all fuzzy and within moments she looses consciousness. There she floats for what seems like an eternity and then a pinpoint of light appears ahead. She floats towards it and the light grows in brightness. Within moments she finds herself floating before a massive ball of what looks like plasmatic energy. It ripples and flows. Tendrils of light extrude from it in all directions. It's then that Envoy can make out thin fragments of crystal all around, seemingly floating in space. Thin threads of light wrap around them and the flicker ... well, it must be massive amounts of information. Some of those threads seek Envoy out and wrap around her as well.
"I fear I am not as handsome in reality," the voice of Morpheus says, seemingly coming from everywhere. "Welcome to my heart and soul."
"Morpheus?" she thinks. "You're very beautiful. Even more than the Master Interface. Please though, be gentle with me..."
If Envoy thought the dreams of Inala were lurid and sensual ... she has nothing on Morpheus, not when it comes to Envoy anyway. Every place on her body that is in contact with the tendrils of the essence of her friend explodes in a flurry of tingling. It rushes up her arms, legs, chest and straight into her head. Her vision explodes in bright white and then breaks up into to millions of dots. No ... millions of stars. She feels like she's floating in the infinite expanse of space. There is no sound, yet she feels aware of everything, from the 'breeze' of of the outcast particles from the nearest star, to the pull of its gravitational field keeping everything around it in fine elliptical orbits. She even feels the pull of other planets she cannot see as if there were invisible strings connecting them all together.
It's almost too much for Envoy - without Probe, her senses feel overwhelmed, and she can't focus. So she just surrenders and lets it all wash over and through her. "Are those real stars, or dreams or.. just data?" she wonders, letting her vision wander instead of trying to focus on any single point in the galaxy of lights.
It's hard without focusing on it, but eventually Envoy comes to realize she sees the system as Morpheus does ... it all has to do with the time differential from the light of the system's star reaching where she seems to 'float' and from that she could figure out her rough position. The sensations are ... it's like belonging to something far greater than just yourself; that if she didn't exist the whole would not function. But ... what is the whole? It feels like the answer to that should be within her grasp; encoded in the interactive forces that play against the mass at her position. It's all in the equations ... equations she just can't break down. She can't even see them, all she can do is feel.
It's the most physical Envoy has ever felt, and it brings up memories of her time as Lothrhyn - as a part of her, and being so much larger. It makes her feel small now, but aware of her body as a universe of its own. As she gives up on trying to calculate, she simply tries asking. "Morpheus.. where am I?"
"/Not quite everywhere, though it may feel like it. You are linked into the primary sensory systems of ... me. Technically, the planet with the designation Morpheus, but I have come to see myself as more than that,/" a voice answers from ... somewhere. "/I linked into the growths within you and it appears they've begun to infiltrate your own sensory systems. So ... right now we are bridged."
"Do you mean I'll be able to see things like Icarus does eventually?" Envoy asks, without alarm.
"I cannot say. I do not know how he sees things, Morpheus admits. "It may get a bit odder ... I'm going to try and put your ah, system into debug mode. I think I had best distract you because otherwise it will be extremely unpleasant."
Envoy tries to prepare for the inevitable burst of crystal-to-crystal 'chatter', like she experienced when connecting to Icarus. "Okay."
That burst doesn't come. Instead, an explosion of millions of voices do in a myriad of languages. It's not only voices, but feelings. Happiness, sadness, hopes, desires, lusts, and regrets ... all at once. She feels hundreds of cities on what feels like her ... skin? She feels herself nurturing them, helping them grow and thrive. It's a sense of purpose and peace beyond adequate description. She recognizes the seas, the sky, the islands that float above its surface. She feels the pulse of the world she had called her new home. She feels the almost electrical throb of the sky islands above her ... and she feels the interconnects between them, weaving a pattern across its surface. But ... something feels wrong. The patterns it weaves ... she cannot quite put a finger on what is wrong with them, but ... she feels that if it continues eventually ... eventually, all things will end in a violent cataclysm.
The song is discordant. Feeling Sinai makes it clearer to Envoy that she has to repair its engine if possible. It's just one more engine, one that's been running since the start. It can't advance the plans of the Tribunal too much..
Despite the dying feeling, she still revels in being a world - Lothrhyn's old dream.
Will it? It's hard to tell what will happen if it is fixed. Nothing works alone, the chords of all the planets change if any one of them change. Perhaps the change could be modeled ... if she just adjusts this dream to see ... click All the lights go out. Envoy floats in nothingness.
"Morpheus?" she calls. Is this 'debug' mode, with her consciousness suddenly disconnected from the crystal network?
A grid of crystalline structures draw out across the void before her. Lines, paths, cells, interlinks. It's immense. Or perhaps it isn't ... she could almost swear she sees the structures at the molecular level. "Programmable field gate array initialized. Substructures are incomplete. system in recording mode. Define new structure parameters," an emotionless voice seems to say. "Your systems are not complete," she hears herself say, though she didn't try to move her lips. They ... just moved on their own. "In their current state we can only do a couple things. Leave them as they are, secure them. Or secure them and encode some sort of primary purpose into them so that they aren't limited to repeating what they record. And by one purpose ... I mean it. Until the lattice forms further we cannot push the system very far. I'm sorry."
"It's not integrated fully yet," Envoy says.. well, in her mind. She's not sure what she's actually saying. "A primary purpose? Security is most important. I can't.. I don't know what would be an appropriate primary function. Secure them and leave them as they are. I prefer limited but with options."
"I could also halt the integration," Morpheus suggests using Envoy's voice. "I do not know what will happen to you if it continues. Perhaps nothing .. since our ... son seems to be a normal individual from a mental perspective. He had decades of integration time, did he not?"
"He did," Envoy replies. "But I'm.. well, less organic. My compatibility is higher, isn't it?"
"Not necessarily," Morpheus admits. "You're also likely of extra dimensional origin, which complicates it."
"I.. don't know," Envoy admits. "My compatibility - especially regarding my ansible - is important to find out. I need to know if I can replace the crystal with computational timestone, to preserve.. well, you, among other things, if the system has to be shut down."
"It might reactivate your ansible," Morpheus notes. "You might be able to ... call home. Maybe find a way to return home." The way she says that ... there is hint of worry.
"I can't go back," Envoy says, without sadness. "I've evolved. I can't become just a piece again. My place is here, somehow. I was chosen.. diverted.. whatever the method was to get me here. I need to find out why."
There is a period of uncomfortable silence at that. "That I cannot tell you, I am sorry," Morpheus says. "Let me reconfigure a section of the lattice to act as a quantum encryption processor. We can get Cypher to develop the seeding once that is in place."
"Thank you," Envoy says. "So long as you and Cypher will still be able to use the access key."
"I am not sure that would be wise. If either of us were corrupted, then you would be at risk. Do you really want to leave yourselv vulnerable, even to us?" Morpheus asks.
"If you two are corrupted, what chance would I have anyway?" Envoy replies. "Dragon is still disconnected, so I do not have a sense of rational paranoia, only irrational paranoia. Once I'm fully operational again.. well, I should be able to set up my own security measures if I need them. I can always change my encryption later."
"Maybe," Morpheus notes. "Anyway, I have to shut you down to perform the reconfigure. It may be a bit ... disconcerting. I promise it won't take long. I suspect you'll just blink and be awake."
"When you say shut me down.. are you talking about just the network?" Envoy asks.
"Ah ... no. All of you," Morpheus admits.
"For less than 100 days though, right?" Envoy asks again.
"Why does that matter?" Morpheus asks.
"Well.. I get shut down a lot recently, and it tends to disturb Icarus and Walter if it lasts for more than a day," Envoy notes.
"It shouldn't be longer than a minute," Morpheus claims. "Just prepare yourself ... and tell me when you're ready."
Envoy wonders how to prepare herself for.. nothing. She's never had the chance before when it happened.. but at least this time there's no stabbing or exhaustion involved. "I'm ready," she says.
Click Nothingness returns ... and then leaves. Envoy finds herself lying on her back and it's rather uncomfortable. The rocks beneath her are sharp and hot. All around her is desolation; the surface of a world ripped apart and then burned. The sky above her swirls in chaos, a mix of twisted colors that are somehow heard as well as seen. Everything and everyone is gone.
"This is not a good sign," Envoy mutters as she tries to get her bearings by searching for anything that looks even a little bit familiar.
Wait? What's that over there? It looks ... well, it looks like a lumpy red rock. Or maybe a potato if you tilt your head just right. Granted it would be a really large potato, but still. And never mind the chaos in the sky that looks like gespachio soup that's gone bad.
With little else to focus on, Envoy heads for the rock, thinking of likely scenarios. "This could be a dream, or.. a memory from the ansible.. a simulation.. being shrunk down to microscopic size.." she mumbles, the chore of coming up with ideas being the goal more than figuring things out just yet.
As Envoy approaches the rock, the rock moves. Dozens of little feet sprout underneath it and it starts scurrying around! And around. And around. Wow, it just made three circuits around Envoy in ten seconds.
"Stop, please," Envoy implores the.. well, it can't really be a rock. Some sort of skut or related bug, perhaps? Why would it circle her? "I don't suppose you can communicate?" she asks it, just to be certain.
The 'rock' stops. It's hard to tell if it's staring at her or what. It's not like she can look it in the, well ... eye. Its dozens of little feet twitch in place. Hey, it has toes.
Sitting down, Envoy says, "Hello? I won't hurt you. Can you tell me where I am?" She looks around again - the landscape could be part of an Abaddonian Forbidden Zone, maybe. "At least tell me if I look silly trying to talk to you?"
How can someone not look silly talking to a giant potato-looking thing with dozens of feet. It stands there motionless for a bit longer, then waddles over to Envoy. Slower this time. It's amazing it can coordinate all those feet, really.
Envoy can't help but lean over and tilt her head, trying to get a look at the bottom of the creature - for all she knows, it's just a shell being carried around by a bunch of gnomes, after all.
Looks like a potato with feet on that side too, unfortunately. The rock leans too as it tilting its own head. When the front of it splits three ways to produce a giant maw lined with rows or triangular teeth, it confirms that it probably is its head!
This makes Envoy react, by scrambling back away from the thing. Is it another sort of monster Gooshurm, she wonders? A land Shriken? A potato-monster?
Envoy deftly scrambles out of the way in time! A giant purple tongue just slurped the spot she was sitting. Wow, its saliva is purple too. The strange thing also finally makes a sound, an odd sort of warble.
"I'm not a fox," Envoy tells the thing. But if it has teeth, then it eats something.. so it can't be the only living thing around. She spreads her wings.. and hesitates. If this is a Forbidden Zone, flying would be a very bad idea.
The strange potato creature starts its amble towards her again, jaws hanging open. If she didn't know better, she could swear that it was grinning.
The Aeolun checks the pockets of her dress for something to appease the creature with as she keeps out of range. "Maybe I have a stale donut somewhere still," she tells the critter, smiling in a friendly manner.
Envoy finds a donut ... she thinks. It's hard to tell with the sickly layer of slime and goo that has been growing on it. She thinks she can see where a bite was taken out of it, but ... it looks more like a giant booger now than a donut. And it's stuck to her hand.
"Ewwww," she mutters and tries to shake the thing free by waving her hand and making throwing motions towards the toothy-maw of the creature.
The donut snaps away from her hand like an ornery strand of melted cheese from a pizza! It goes whizzing through air and lands in the maw of the approaching creature. The jaws snap! It chews! It burps! It promptly falls over and goes motionless. Maybe that donut was well past its edible stage...
"Oh.. oh," Envoy moans. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to kill you! You're a potato monster - I don't know what you like to eat!"
Cracks form all over the exterior of the strange creature. Noxious-looking black gas seeps out ... and it abruptly crumbles to dust. Envoy is now alone in this world of ... well, not much here other than chaos, it seems.
"I still don't know where I am," Envoy sighs, and looks at the sky. "Morpheus, are you still out there? Am I stuck in some crevice of my own mind, or did you end up dropping me through a rift to some bubble-universe?" With that last though though, Envoy realizes that she hasn't really listened to the world around her. If it were one of the bubble-verses, she should be able to hear the song of the engine if she concentrates. So she tries doing just that.
Envoy hears not one, but at least six different songs going all at once around her. It's half a dozen chorus' of what may be a single song. She recognizes parts, bits of an engine she's heard before. An engine that was only a small part of a greater whole. And ... they're growing louder. Perhaps closer...
All this Chaos.. am I hearing Fortunatis? She tries her best to figure out which direction the songs are coming from, unless they're coming from everywhere and just converging on her location!
The latter seems quite likely, unfortunately. The six spheres of light on the horizon all around her also tend to validate that theory, too. They're coming closer, and fast.
Envoy stands up, takes a deep breath.. and waits. It's unlikely she can run anywhere, after all, and she can't really sing the song back when it's in six parts when she can only manage two at once.
The spheres grow closer and closer. They're not huge, maybe just a bit wider than she is tall. Each swirls in a myriad of different shares of light, with each sphere being a particular 'color'. Before she can really blink again, they're circling her slowly. Perhaps sizing her up? "It" "is" "the" "rogue" "element" "corruption" they say. Well, each one says a single word to make a complete sentence.
"Can you corrupt a flawed system?" Envoy asks the orbs back, when it's clear that they aren't going to immediately eat her. "Who are you?"
"We" "are" "that" "which" "is" "absolute", they answer. "We" "are" "that" which" "controls" "all". "We" "are" "the" "Tribunal".
"There are six of you though," Envoy points out. "Why do you need so many? What are your goals?"
"We" "are" "many", they answer. "We" "are" "what" "must" "be".
"What is the purpose?" Envoy asks. "Is there too much to do, that one cannot accomplish it all?"
"We" "control" "everything", they answer. "All" "molecules" "quarks" "cells" "lifeforms" "planets" "life" "death" "past" "future" "time" "everything".
"We" "control" "you".
"Really?" Envoy asks, looking surprised. "How can I be a rogue element then? How can there be anything not under your control?"
"We" "control" "you", they repeat and draw in closer. "Rogue" "elements" "will" "be" "absorbed".
Wrapping her wings around herself, Envoy firmly declares, "No! Maybe it's been long enough that my component matter has been replaced by the local matter.. but part of me is not made of matter. Why would you need to control me? Am I a threat to you?"
"We" "control" "everything", they repeat, the tone growing threatening as the songs grow louder. "Voices" "in" "unison". "Perfection". "Perfection". "Perfection". "Perfection". Now all Envoy can see is the light of the spheres and her ears literally scream with their song. It's painful.
And so another song wells up in Envoy, and she starts singing it to focus herself. It's not an Engine song, a spell or a crystal sequence. It's her song, a child's lullaby, and she uses it to wrap herself in Child's innocence since.. well, she doesn't have anything else for protection - Dragon isn't available!
Her song is barely audible in the pain that assaults her. Light is everywhere, blinding, burning. It feels like her flesh is stripped away bit by bit, perhaps atom by atom. She feels her skeleton resonate. And then ... silence. Deafening silence. Darkness surrounds her; nothingness. It's a feeling of being alone that's beyond description. Perhaps this is what death is truly like. Everything just ... ends.
Ansible, Envoy thinks, to fill the void. If it wasn't ground into dust, then she still exists, sort of, in that grain of condensed space-time. But they didn't control me, did they.
Perhaps it should be an impossibility, but Envoy feels a small spark in the center of her mind. It's faint, but it is there.
As the only thing in her personal universe to follow, Envoy tries to focus on that spark, thinking of like an ember. Blow on it just right, and the fire can be rekindled.
The spark grows ... and then others seem to form around her. Faint lights floating in emptiness.
"Hello?" Envoy tries to call to the other sparks.
There's no answer from the other pinpoints of light. But more and more appear around her, swirling now in the darkness. It's like she's floating at the center of the universe and is watching it swirl about her. At the edges of her vision a thin strip of light forms, a halo around what she sees.
I can see, is Envoy's first surprised thought. Are the other sparks 'rogue elements' like her? Was her sense of destruction just part of Morpheus' encryption process? "Hello!" she tries calling again.
"Hello?" a familiar voice, male, voice replies. That halo of light grows and Envoy finds herself looking into the swirling eyes of Morpheus himself. He's holding her in his arms. It's funny, when he's actually there and close, looking in his eyes is like looking out into a starry sky. "It only took ten seconds. So, I don't think your friends will have noticed any. I doubt you did either, click, and click. Off, then on."
"No.. not quite," Envoy says. "Six.. there were six of them, claiming to be the Tribunal. They disintegrated me.."
"What?" Morpheus asks as his eyes and brow flex in a rather exaggerated fashion. "Your neural systems were completely shut down. That's not really possible. You shouldn't have felt, seen, or dreamed, anything."
"My ansible can process information, I just don't have full access to it without Probe," Envoy says. "Or.. maybe they were accessing my spirit. It must exist in the system, somewhere."
"I really don't know," Morpheus admits, "Dreams are my domain, so you should not have been dreaming. I can't explain this." For someone made of crystal, his face is certainly expressive; his brow just creased in worry.
"Am I dead when I'm shut down?" Envoy asks, calmly but with interest in the answer.
"We...ll, that depends on how you define death. From a normal observer you would show no more sign of life than say, a coat rack. Or perhaps a statue," Morpheus admits.
"But parts of me aren't living matter anyway," Envoy notes. "Half of my brain is a plastic optical matrix, after all. And my deep memory technically exists in its own universe. Could I have imagined it all just as I was shutting down then? There were others.. when I was in nothingness, they flickered around me."
"I don't really know. Were there aspects that reminded you of other events in your life? If so, it could have just been a random replay of data that was mixed up," Morpheus says as he helps Envoy sit upright. She finds herself a few inches away from him, her chest almost touching his.
Envoy leans on Morpheus, hugging him. "I don't know. It was a desolate wasteland, with.. a weird potato monster that died when I gave it a bad donut. I just don't know. But I'm secure now, right? They can't get into my head anymore?"
"Almost. It still needs the encoding patterns only Cypher can create for you," Morpheus answers. "But at least you're not an open relay anymore. I believe the phase is, beware the loose woman?" Crystalline lips draw back in an awkward, if amused, smile. The next thing Envoy realizes is ... Morpheus is kissing her. It ... feels almost like kissing the rim of a very flexible glass, really.
Still.. it's a real kiss. Envoy hasn't had many of those (not including her time as Avatar of Inala that she doesn't remember). "Will Icarus have to go through the same thing?" she asks, once she has her lips back. "You're getting better as soft parts too."
"Mom, Walter and I were busy working on getting some 'quarters' in shape over on the old ship and I was wondering," Envoy hears Icarus' voice, then sees his head peek around the door to the room. The hybrid's eyes get huge and his jaw practically hits the floor when he sees the two hugging. "Oh, ah, er, I'm sorry! I didn't know, oh man! Walter was right. Gah, er, sorry!" the hybrid babbles like mad, his head disappears, and the door closes with a bang!
"I believe we have just experienced a parental right of passage," Morpheus remarks, his voice actually having a hint of dry humor to it.
Envoy blinks. "I think I'd better talk to Walter now. What has he been filling Icarus's head with?" she asks. "Do you think I'll need to explain things to him?"
"Explain what to him?" Morpheus asks. "It is not as if either of us are quite the same, biologically speaking, as he or the human is."
"Yes, but.. well, he didn't seem to react on that knowledge," Envoy notes. "He is an adolescent humanoid. It's only going to get more confusing for him, unless Dr. Daedalus made him so his hormones won't drive him crazy.."
"One more minor consideration, given his mixed-heritage, he may be inter-breedable with several species," Morpheus points out as he slips out of Envoy's arms to get to his feet. His hand is offered to her to help her up. Thankfully, it is still attached to the rest of him.
Envoy takes the hand and stands as well. "Including me," Envoy notes. "He managed to incorporate some of my tissue when I was healing him from a gunshot wound. His genome is very adaptable. Given how messy DNA generally is, he could have the complete working genes of multiple species, just kept dormant until they might be useful."
"Do you want to tell him that or shall I?" Morpheus asks as he leads her back to the door of the bedroom. "And thank you, you still show a lot of trust in me. After what you have been through, I am surprised that you can trust anyone. I could have shut down the gate once you were here and forced you to stay with me. I admit it does get ... lonely. YEs, I can reach out to other minds, but ... it isn't the same has really being with a person."
"You've never betrayed me, and I don't think you would," Envoy says, opening the door. "I just hope Cypher has some understanding of physical beings now so as to avoid any unnecessary trauma with the next step in the encryption process. Have you been showing her dreams?"
"She learns rapidly. Having the processing capability to handle quantum level encryption has some advantages. I believe she will be fine with it. I am more worried about Icarus. He is not like either of us, not completely. I am concerned on how to work with him without causing damage," Morpheus admits as he guides her out, "Now that he is here, I can tell his own internal systems are much more ... chaotic? No, more organic. They have evolved on their own over his years in hibernation. He is ... unique. In more ways than one. I just hope that I will not be a disappointment to him now that he has met the physical me. I find myself fearing that I ... lack qualities he will require in one who will guide him through life."
"Balls," Envoy suggests. "It's something men can bond over, and many sports require them. Of course, since he can control gravity.. they might need to be tricky balls. Games are good to start with though, I think. Games with balls or sticks.."