Dreams rarely make a lot of sense and Envoy's last one even less that usual! It was wet, and sticky, and weird feeling, and all sorts of odd noises were made! At points it was almost like some sort of bizarre life or death wrestling match! It also didn't help she vaguely remembers Inala peeking in now and then and giving advice. Well, up to the point Morpheus threw a pillow and clocked her right in the face. That just made the Eeee storm off in a huff and complain about being unappreciated.

When everything finally came to an end she felt tired in a dream and waking up ended up feeling like she was falling asleep. Well, maybe she isn't really waking up at all ... but the smell sure reminds her of the gateway tower on the planet Morpheus. So does her surroundings when her eyes crack open. Morpheus sits across from her, eyes closed and legs crossed.

Crystalline Tower 'Bedroom'
It seems a little strange that a being that is an entire planet would bother to have a bedroom. Morpheus probably crafted it to make visitors feel more at home. Well, if their home is a lavish castle, that is. The blueprint must have been someone's dream. The bedroom is easily thirty feet by thirty feet with a twelve-foot ceiling! Everything from the lavish four-poster bed, the floor to ceiling wardrobe, and even the central circular fireplace is made out of translucent crystal. The 'fire' is also crystalline with lights dancing about inside. It brings true meaning to the term 'frozen flame'

Everyone else seems to be off in the tower somewhere. At least she can hear all four of their voices. They're discussing if they need to extract any other equipment from the old Silent-One ship or not.

One of Morphues' glossy eyelids opens and he looks at her through that single eye. "Yes?" he inquires.

"How long were we..." Envoy starts to ask, and then blushes. "Are Cypher and Icarus finished?"

Morpheus has to concentrate for a few minutes. "My internal chronometer suggests we were asleep for about six hours. I rather imagine they are done by now," he tells Envoy as his legs unfold and he slides off the odd bed. His eyes go to the nightstand and shortly thereafter his ears flick a few times. "That's new," he remarks.

"Is this where we started?" Envoy asks, a little blearily. "We should check on the others.."

"It is, more or less. That white box wasn't here before, though," Morpheus notes and gestures towards the night stand. "I will go check the others while you recover," he adds as he turns and heads towards the door.

Envoy finishes getting out of the bed, and checks herself over to make sure she's back to her normal anatomy.

Envoy seems quite back to her normal 'lack of anatomy'. She does still feel a little funny inside, though.

Frowning, Envoy thinks she should visit a Life Mage.. or use the Silent-Ones medical scanner.. when she gets back to Abaddon. She looks around the clothes she doesn't remember actually taking off before the dream. But then, it was pretty intense, and this is the planet Morpheus, where dreams can affect the landscape.

Nothing seems that out of place, really. It's prettymuch how she remembers it all being before going asleep. The only thing new is a small box on the nightstand with a blue insignia on it, the Babelite script for the Flower.

"Inala.. can affect this place too?" Envoy asks the world at large, before cautiously trying to lift the lid of the box.

Envoy discovers the feeling of deja-vu when the box opens. Sitting inside on two shiny little pillows are silvery-white rings with the symbol of the Flower etched into their surfaces, then inlaid with some sort of blue stone.

"Do Babelites even have engagement or marriage rings?" Envoy wonders, but doesn't dare touch either of the rings. Who know what they'll do?

The rings just sit there looking ever so innocent and harmless! Surely they can't do anything horrible to the wearer, right? As for Envoy's question, there is no one around to answer it!

Which also gets Envoy wondering what is taking Morpheus. "Well, I just won't put it on," she says, and picks up the ring that looks right for her size, so she can examine it closer.

The ring is surprisingly light in her hand and it has an odd feeling of warmth. Normally metal is cool to the touch, after all. "Everyone is fine," Morpheus declares as he returns, "There was a bit of minor trouble when Cypher got her head stuck in a tree in the old arborium on the ship, but they were able to get her unstuck with some old engine grease."

"Why was she.." Envoy starts to ask, then gets an odd feeling. She could easily see how a curious person could get their head stuck in a tree. Why, when she was still brand new.. "Anyway, Inala has left us a gift," she says, showing the box and rings.

"I believe there is an old saying about bearing gifts," Morpheus notes a bit dryly as he eyes the box and its contents. "Are you actually going to try it on?"

"I don't know what they're for," Envoy notes. "We should ask Inala.. Unless she left a note," she suggests, and starts looking through the box again, and even the bottom of the lid.

Nope, no note. The box is devoid of any other content. "That would be far too easy," Morpheus points out. "I expect it is some sort of a test to see if we trust her or not. Personally, I do not."

"She seemed upset with us after you hit her with the pillow, too," Envoy says. "Her last gift was.. a dream. It helped me reconnect to Child though.." She eyes the rings uncertainly.

"The choice is yours," Morpheus says. "I do not think she could inflict much real damage here. This is my domain."

"Well, there are two of them," Envoy points out. "One for each of us, I assume. Like wedding rings.."

"And I'm supposed to join you in testing this gift?" Morpheus asks Envoy. He reaches down and picks up said ring and holds it up for a better look. "I don't sense much from it," he states after turning it this way and that a few times.

"I think we just put them on," Envoy says. "Unless we're supposed to put them on each other?"

"I honestly have no idea. I suppose I will test this with you if you really wish. How do you wish to do it?" Morpheus asks as he somehow manages to balance the right right on the tip of his index finger.

"Well.. we could just put them on for a moment," Envoy says, and prepares to slip the ring onto her finger, while watching Morpheus to see if he's going to do the same.

"And you are sure about this?" Morpheus asks as he holds his ring over his own odd glass-like finger. "I will place it on your signal..."

"I'm never sure about anything anymore," Envoy says, taking a deep breath. "But.. I shouldn't suspect everything either. Inala has shown me that." Then she slips the ring on.

Morpheus does the same. And ... nothing happens. Not at first anyway, but the the metal band starts to glow softly. Tendrils of light sprout and flow from the rings like flowers reaching towards the sun as they coil back and snake up and along her forearm. It feels ... warm to Envoy ... and soon she feels that warmth flowing into her. The dream she had comes back to her in full force, but that isn't all that flows with it. For a moment she feels, well, it's hard to really describe. An utter willingness to sacrifice herself for certain people; Morpheus, Barrabas, and Icarus are the first that come to mind, along with other lives she has known in her time in this odd universe. She feels a warmth deep inside when images flow through her mind; like the first time she saw Icarus' eyes open when he was still within the failing life support system. She feels all the very best moments in her life that have made her smile, she sees the faces of friends current and of those long gone. It's ... hard

It's ... hard to tell quite what this ring is doing to her; but none of it feels bad.

"Is it love?" Envoy whispers, smiling. "I didn't think Inala knew that feeling.. or.. that I would?"

Morpheus looks ... confused as he holds his own light-entwined arm out before his body. "I ... " he starts to say before seeming at a loss for words. "Is it trying to teach us what that word means?" he finally asks. "By ... showing us? I've seen many dreams of others; but so many parts have never quite made sense. Why people would do some of the things they would do. Why someone would walk into certain death without even feeling afraid because it would spare someone else. But .. it makes sense now."

When her fingers close around his there is a rush through both of them. It is like the dream, a feeling of intense pleasure and contentment. Other feelings join it, desire to have him, protectiveness, a willingness to die for him ... and even jealousy that someone else might try to take him!

"It's being mortal," Envoy says, eyes wide. "It's how they must feel, all the time.. every feeling battling for attention.."

"Mm, it is a wonder they ever accomplish anything," Morpheus remarks, "I am not ... " Whatever it is he was going to say is cut short when Walter Thorndike sticks his head through the doorway. "I thought you would like to know I made one of those odd dishes you called a pizza for lun ..." he says, then abruptly stops. "Oh, excuse me! I didn't know you were still busy. I oh gosh, how embarrassing!" His head quickly disappears!

"It is hard to imagine Walter feeling like this," Envoy admits. "Mortals grow up learning to deal with their emotions, but beings like you and I.. we don't have any defenses against this.. kaleidoscope.."

"Ah, yes, quite," Morpheus admits in a rather distracted-sounding voice. He starts to gently try and tug his hand from Envoy's to see if she will release him.

After a bit of resistance, Envoy does let go eventually, and takes another deep breath. "It.. it's a lot more pleasant than the Boomer memories.."

"Of that I have to agree." Morpheus says as he continues to hold his hand out and eye the ring upon his finger. "Maybe it explains how they endure such memories, though. They have others that ease the painful ones."

"I think I know why Inala gave us this," Envoy notes, looking at the ring on her hand. "She's a goddess. She thrives on the worship of mortals - so maybe she thinks if we're more mortal, we'll worship her too?"

"There is that possibility," Morpheus agrees as he reaches out and pulls the ring from his finger. It comes off without any struggle and the glow around his arm fades. "Still, it seems unusual. It is as if aspects of her have changed somewhat. Perhaps she changes with the world and what those believe of her. Hard to say. I still don't trust her."

"Maybe all this interaction is.. mellowing her out," Envoy supposes, and takes her own ring off, waiting to see if the feelings fade with it. "The Yodhinala were scattered, so.. maybe she's coming under other influences."

The ring comes off easily enough, but the feelings it provided do not fade so quickly. In fact, they don't seem to be subsiding much at all at the moment and her lower stomach feels even odder after all that.

"I've got butterflies in my belly," Envoy tells Morpheus. "I don't know what it means. Is it the pizza?"

Morpheus actually pokes Envoy in the lower stomach a few times with one of his fingers. "I don't ... hmm," he muses, "Ah. Ahah. Oh dear. It's good that you removed that ring when you did. I suspect it was trying to make you more ... functional, like in the dream. Whatever it may have changed should revise. In theory," he says.

"But I was feeling it before I put on the ring," Envoy says, blinking. "I thought my cells were locked, without illiaster to fuel.." she says, then looks at the Sifran crystal in her forearms.

"Exactly," Morpheus notes and taps one of Envoy's forearms. "Your body isn't so immutable now, I suspect."

"I'm adapting again," Envoy says in wonder. "Just.. slower," she says. "I still don't know what was changed when I arrived on Sinai.. besides my wings and feet, I mean, and.. you know.. having a mind.."

"Mm, you could have fooled me. Now, we had better go before everyone outside starts coming up with odd theories as to why we have not come out yet," Morpheus notes as he taps her on the nose. The odd khatta-Eeee then holds up the ring, twirls it a few times between his fingers, and it disappears! "There, I tucked it away safely."

"Show-off," Envoy says, and puts hers in a pocket. Probably would get weird looks if she put it on her horn after all.

"That's a very mortal emotion," Envoy points out. "Or a dragon one.. so I think I'm entitled.."

"Soon you will feel embarrassment," Morpheus claims, "And maybe actually have a need for clothing if your body develops ... parts. I wonder what your Mage's Guild would think of that." He opens the door and holds it for her.

"I think they'll be happier thinking that I can't reproduce," Envoy notes with a smirk.

"Too late. You have a son and a daughter," Morpheus points out as he follows her out and closes the door behind them. The walk through the gateway is short and uneventful. They come out in the main room near the inactive gateway portal. A small campfire has been made here, along with a blanket spread out in picnic fashion. There are a couple actual pizza-looking things sitting on the blanket, along with some banged up plates and silverware from the old ship. Icarus is munching away on a piece, as is Walter and Elsa. Cypher is sitting crosslegged and staring at it. Now and then she pokes at it and remarks, "Fifteen-thousand and forty-three shares of red per square inch..."

"How do you feel, Icarus?" Envoy asks, trying to mask the concern in her voice. "Oh, and Walter.. uh.. I need an ultraviolet laser. Do you know what that is or if you've seen one in the ship?"

Envoy does sit and grab one of the slices to try. It's pizza, after all! She's got an imperative to seek it out..

"An ultraviolet laser? Oh, you mean a death ray that operates outside of the standard visual spectra in the realm of shorter wavelengths," Walter asks, "Or am I mis-interpreting? It's not hard to build; you can make one with a carbon dioxide tube, after all. Why do you need one?"

It's not a perfect pizza by any means, but then it was made be amateurs. It seems to be topped with some sort of preserved meat-stuff.

Swallowing first, Envoy explains, "I need to ionize a path through air, then release a large electrical charge into it. I probably will need high-density capacitors too. I intend to use the power cell from the Sifran spaceship to power it all. Von Bronson's creations seem to rely on solid-state technologies, and I think a sufficiently large charge should disrupt them."

"Mainly because I don't know how to conjure lightning like a good Air Mage," Envoy admits.

"Ah, uh, hm. Why not build a Tesla Coil? It's a remarkable device created by a strange scientist named Nicola Tesla. I hear he's a bit loopy, but he did create amazing displays of electrical bursts with high-voltage coils," Walter explains and waves his slice of pizza around for emphasis. "But ... I think I can build what you're asking for. There is plenty of spare parts in that old ship."

"I need to deliver more than voltage," Envoy notes. "I need a lightning bolt that goes where I aim it. I.. weapons design is not a skill I have, only general knowledge. My creators didn't use any, really.."

"You're not planning on going after that lunatic, are you?" Walter asks. Morpheus, meanwhile, is trying to distract Cypher from counting the striations in the cheeze on the pizza.

"No, I don't," Envoy says. "That would be a waste of effort, when he will surely come after me and Icarus himself. He knows I need to visit a particular outcropping of Sifran crystal to gather components needed for Leviathan. I therefore assume he will be laying in wait."

"Am I really important enough that someone would actively come after me?" Icarus asks now that his mouth is finally free of pizza.

"Von Bronson wants the control node crystal in your head, Icarus," Envoy notes. "You're the key to his.. perfecting.. his super-soldiers. As for me.. he just doesn't seem to like me. Which is strange, because I'm very likeable, aren't I?"

Icarus pokes the side of his head. "My head is valuable? What exactly does the thing in it do?" he asks.

"It's a quantum node, capable of manipulating matter on a subatomic level. Gravitational effects are just the byproduct of manipulating the states of the very building-blocks of matter," Elsa answers. "The Sifras were masters of particle manipulation. Von Bronson was researching their old equipment and trying to master it."

"Quantum-gravity effects can be use to rewrite the ray-tracing of space-time, which.. well, is magic, sort of," Envoy notes. She taps her own head, and says, "I have something like that in my head too, like a little universe that can act as a quantum particle for entanglement, but that part was broken since Sifran space is managed. They control the quantum wormholes that entanglement operates through.."

Elsa gives Envoy a rather serpentine look at that comment. "If Von Bronson knew that, he would have cut your head open when he had you. I wouldn't go around advertising that fact," she remarks.

"Does that make me a God?" Icarus now asks, "If I can alter reality ... that's Godlike, right?"

"Well, you can alter managed reality," Envoy notes. "I don't know if Sifran crystal works outside of Sifran space. I think that's what the Master Interface on Fortunatis was supposed to do."

"Does what, extend its range?" Walter inquires. Meanwhile, Cypher as scooted herself closer to Envoy and is now actively staring at her. "Your face has perfect mathematical symmetry. I can provide you with the equations that define it..."

"I already know those equations," Envoy says to Cypher with a smile. "As for Fortunatis.. I think it works at a more fundamental level than the.. Lesser Interface.. that seems to operate and maintain Sifran space. I think it's meant to alter the vacuum state of the universe. It would need to, to access enough energy to alter reality on a larger scale. But.. if there's a mistake, it could destabilize the vacuum and matter and energy would go poof.."

"Good thing nothing is trying to collect enough energy to affect the entire universe, then," Walter remarks as he munches a bit more. "That would require power generators on a massive scale. Like ... tapping combined gravitational effects of multiple planets or something."

Cypher actually looks upset that Envoy already knows the equations. "Oh," the odd, young, lifeform says.

Blinking, Envoy looks at Walter. "The Primus system is a machine of some sort, on a planetary scale. The only bit that is out of step is Fortunatis. You think it might be a generator?"

"I don't rightly know," Walter remarks and shrugs. "Haven't seen its plans to be able to tell you."

"Behemoth has engines for each planet, which generate little universes to gather power from," Envoy notes, looking worried now. "So.. the Primus system could be one of those, on a much larger scale, I suppose. I... I'd have to ask one of the Svartifin.."

"You look worried about something," Morpheus remarks as he sits down beside Envoy. "What troubles you?"

"Should I be concerned that I can access instructions on how to destroy planets?" Envoy asks.

"I.. need to keep that possibility open," Envoy notes, sounding a bit embarrassed. "I don't know how the machine is supposed to work, or why it doesn't. I'm pretty sure others have stopped it from activating in the past."

"Then maybe you should just leave it alone," Walter suggests and points a pizza crust at her. "Maybe it's working just the way it is supposed to and fiddling with it is the real danger."

"There are big holes in parts of it," Envoy notes. "I don't know if the Tribunal intends to repair it, or use it, or.. whatever! I don't know if the system chose me to appear on Sinai, but it did alter me, and I intend to find out why."

"Ignoring a possible threat is not a wise course of action, either," Morpheus counters. "I unfortunately cannot offer much insight here. I was built as part of the system, but I was not given the reason for the system."

"I've already messed with the system," Envoy notes. "I helped.. fix.. something."

"What's the worst that could happen? You become known as the destroyer of planets and the murderer of billions," Icarus jokes.

"They were very pleasant and wise in their own ways, just.." Envoy pauses to search for the appropriate adjective. "Practical," she decides on, leaving out the 'ruthlessly' modifier.

"No," Envoy says, toying with the crust of her pizza. "They are universes away from here."

"Dinner is almost over. We need to get anything else we intend to take back, then head back through. I need to finish work on the boat," Thorndike comments, "And you need to go gather your crystal eyeballs or whatever it is you want to get from the desert."

"I don't mind my independence," Envoy says to Icarus with a smirk. "And I always have their examples to.. guide me. I just don't want to be like them if I can help it. And Walter is right.. time for another pass through the ship, and to make our plans. We need to make remote bodies for Morpheus and Cypher still too."