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[Bill lets people clear out. Bill wraps duct tape around the game box, several times, sealing everything in. Bill lets Ford eat, and shower, and take care of immediate necessities, then tugs him by the elbow to take him aside.]
OKAY, I.Q., LET'S TALK. WE'RE GONNA TREAT THIS AS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE!.
OKAY, I.Q., LET'S TALK. WE'RE GONNA TREAT THIS AS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE!.
Edited 2019-12-19 17:28 (UTC)
Hello Stanford I went and talked to the Admiral after you posted your research because I felt concerned. I know you probably are loath to trust him but I feel as though this response is better than a direct confirmation we are leaving a trail of crushed worlds
[a transcription of the conversation in question.]
not to discourage you from continuing research or cross referencing what he said. I think it should be cross referenced as thoroughly as possible, but perhaps it introduces some new ideas?
[a transcription of the conversation in question.]
not to discourage you from continuing research or cross referencing what he said. I think it should be cross referenced as thoroughly as possible, but perhaps it introduces some new ideas?
Stanford. How are you doing?
[are you okay are you feeling better last post seemed bad]
[are you okay are you feeling better last post seemed bad]
[This thread is dated to shortly after this conversation with Bill.
Hange is suspicious. She likes Bill but is hyperaware that the feeling is maybe not mutual, and that if Bill does have any liking or friendship for her, it might be overshadowed by being able to take advantage of a warden. Thus, a laundry list of questions for Ford, per our plurk discussion - his answers are indented!
Hange first tells Ford that she has a pocket dimension attached to her, but not what it does or exactly why she wants it gone.
â–º Does Ford in his professional opinion think the mindscape is the first and best place to start inspecting the pocket dimension attached to her?
â–º Bill suggested Hange put him on her access filter - is Bill on FORD'S access filter? Can she crash in Ford's place and be at least loosely monitored while they do this?
â–º Of course Hange has questions about the mindscape, especially given the information Ford gave her previously about Bill's ability to possess people. General queries go here.
â–º Ford is this just a damn fucking horrible idea across the board? Should Hange pull the plug on this now?
Would Ford have any questions for Hange?]
Hange is suspicious. She likes Bill but is hyperaware that the feeling is maybe not mutual, and that if Bill does have any liking or friendship for her, it might be overshadowed by being able to take advantage of a warden. Thus, a laundry list of questions for Ford, per our plurk discussion - his answers are indented!
Hange first tells Ford that she has a pocket dimension attached to her, but not what it does or exactly why she wants it gone.
â–º Does Ford in his professional opinion think the mindscape is the first and best place to start inspecting the pocket dimension attached to her?
Ford thinks that, yes, that is a good place to start. It is probably better than opening up the pocket dimension on the Barge so Bill can see it.Hange absolutely does not want to open up the pocket dimension, so this is fine with her.
â–º Bill suggested Hange put him on her access filter - is Bill on FORD'S access filter? Can she crash in Ford's place and be at least loosely monitored while they do this?
Yes, Bill is on Ford's access filter. She can crash at his place, but unless he is asleep with her and connected to her mind somehow, he will not be able to see anything that goes on in the dream, only make sure her body stays safe, but would be willing to do the latter for sure, and the former only if she comes up with a way to link their minds.Pending further information on the mindscape, Ford spotting externally is acceptable to Hange.
â–º Of course Hange has questions about the mindscape, especially given the information Ford gave her previously about Bill's ability to possess people. General queries go here.
What Ford would tell her is this: he would tell her that the dreamscape is not going to let Bill possess her or control her. However, he would advise her to check with Luke, because Bill had minor telepathy there in the 80s and Ford, since he has a dang plate in his head, doesn't know if Bill can currently do it, since Bill can't read his mind ever. Awake or asleep. If Bill doesn't have that telepathy, then get good at lucid dreaming, because sometimes Bill can poke around in your memories from your dreams. But you can keep him from seeing things if your mind is organized or alternatively very chaotic and hard to navigate. The safest way to do it is going to be to frame it as a deal. Bill does not have deal powers but he respects the terms of deals, like, psychologically. So, if you say you'll let Bill take a look at the dimension if and only if he respects your privacy, it'll work.Check with Luke, learn about lucid dreaming, or write in respecting her privacy as part of the deal - Hange is building one currently, whoops. Got it, got it, good.
â–º Ford is this just a damn fucking horrible idea across the board? Should Hange pull the plug on this now?
As for the dimension itself, and the wisdom of showing it to Bill. Ford will tell Hange point blank that if Bill finds a way to use it himself, he'll do it. Bill will not use it to kill her people just because, or for funsies, he does not destroy worlds unilaterally anymore. And odds are her people are off his radar. He may not find a way to take advantage of it for his own gain! (bringing himself back to life, fucking up the admiral, getting to the Authority) But he'll be looking for one. So! It is a risk. But probably the risk to her world is low. And risk can be mitigated with agreements/deals/offering Bill things he wants more. Probably the most powerful leverage she has available to her as a warden is getting Bill his powers, or his job at the bar, back. Also: Bill has a ring in his eye-nventory that flashes when he consciously lies. Bill cannot currently access it, because Bill cannot get to his eye hole pocket, but in Ford's experience, it is reliable and can't be tampered with.Hange has lots to think about here. She doesn't want to put the barge population at risk, or impede the function of the place - I don't think she'd tell Ford, but she'd probably decide that at least one initial examination was probably okay. Plus, if Hange were forced to tell the truth herself, the idea of doing this is pretty fascinating.
Would Ford have any questions for Hange?]
[Stan has no idea how to have this conversation with Ford, and he's still pissed off that Bill talked him into it.
...Well. No, that would imply that he actually was sold on the idea, and he wasn't at all. But he's weighed his options, and he's not going to get away with lying about talking to Ford with Bill around the barge. It'll just piss both of them off, and then he'd really be up shit creek.
What the hell is he supposed to do anyway? He can't just talk to Ford. Every way he can think of to approach the subject ends in disaster. It's not like he can just say "Hey, Bill told me you've been down on yourself lately". That would be weird! But he's supposed to tell Ford exactly what they're doing for him, and exactly what the plan is. Presumably that would include why.
...He fumbles a little.]
Uh, hey Ford! How's it hangin'? [THAT'S NOT AWKWARD THIS ISN'T AWKWARD AT ALL.] Listen, me and Bill, we got to talking, and we're gonna do something nice for you, but the guy's blocking us from doing it unless I actually tell you about it first.
[He forces up a laugh.] Crazy, right? Anyway this is that. This is me tellin' you about the thing, so you know it's gonna happen.
[There's an extremely long pause where an explanation should probably be, until Stan just breaks.]
Welp! Catch you later, Sixer!
[And Stan hangs up, pitches his device across his cabin to one of the bunks, and abruptly leaves so he doesn't have to face consequences for his actions.]
...Well. No, that would imply that he actually was sold on the idea, and he wasn't at all. But he's weighed his options, and he's not going to get away with lying about talking to Ford with Bill around the barge. It'll just piss both of them off, and then he'd really be up shit creek.
What the hell is he supposed to do anyway? He can't just talk to Ford. Every way he can think of to approach the subject ends in disaster. It's not like he can just say "Hey, Bill told me you've been down on yourself lately". That would be weird! But he's supposed to tell Ford exactly what they're doing for him, and exactly what the plan is. Presumably that would include why.
...He fumbles a little.]
Uh, hey Ford! How's it hangin'? [THAT'S NOT AWKWARD THIS ISN'T AWKWARD AT ALL.] Listen, me and Bill, we got to talking, and we're gonna do something nice for you, but the guy's blocking us from doing it unless I actually tell you about it first.
[He forces up a laugh.] Crazy, right? Anyway this is that. This is me tellin' you about the thing, so you know it's gonna happen.
[There's an extremely long pause where an explanation should probably be, until Stan just breaks.]
Welp! Catch you later, Sixer!
[And Stan hangs up, pitches his device across his cabin to one of the bunks, and abruptly leaves so he doesn't have to face consequences for his actions.]
Hey, there's a chance you're getting a few of these right now- but you're a good guy.
Not to rat him out but it appears Bill Cipher loves you and is seemingly worried about you.
Not to rat him out but it appears Bill Cipher loves you and is seemingly worried about you.
HEY FORD!
[There is absolutely no need to yell, but here he is, doing it anyway.]
You got any saltpeter? That seems like a thing you'd have laying around somewhere in your science stuff.
[There is absolutely no need to yell, but here he is, doing it anyway.]
You got any saltpeter? That seems like a thing you'd have laying around somewhere in your science stuff.
[Immediately after this exchange, Stan skips the network and goes right to just knocking on Ford's door.]
You home, Sixer? We gotta talk. Now.
You home, Sixer? We gotta talk. Now.
[This is getting ridiculous. He's been putting on a good face in front of Betelgeuse and Rose, but things were so rocky between him and Ford during the mirror nonsense. Plus he, or his mirror, or whoever had a pretty public breakdown on the network, and that's pretty embarrassing. He's got a lot of mixed emotions about everything that went down, but his priority is making sure things are good between him and Ford.
They have to talk. So, this is his attempt at talking.]
Hey, Ford! So I was thinking, and...you wanna go get a drink and definitely not talk about anything from the last couple of weeks?
[...No one said it was a good attempt.]
They have to talk. So, this is his attempt at talking.]
Hey, Ford! So I was thinking, and...you wanna go get a drink and definitely not talk about anything from the last couple of weeks?
[...No one said it was a good attempt.]
Rose doesn't try to go ahead with even the small amount of self-psyching that would be necessary to message Ford. She just shows up at his door a little after what a human would consider dinner time, and knocks.
[At some point during the flood, the need to Do Science is overwhelming, or at least Stan assumes that's why he's down in Ford's lab, conducting tests to see what constitutes a lie, what the different variations in bugs mean, and maybe even learning valuable barge information in the process.
So Stan, the greatest liar Ford knows, has stolen the chair at the console for himself while Ford finishes preparations. The only preparation Stan thought of ahead of time was a bucket.]
This is probably one of the weirdest things I've ever done for you - y'know that, right?
[Surprisingly, no bugs occur. This is objectively one of the weirdest things he could be doing for Ford, period.]
So Stan, the greatest liar Ford knows, has stolen the chair at the console for himself while Ford finishes preparations. The only preparation Stan thought of ahead of time was a bucket.]
This is probably one of the weirdest things I've ever done for you - y'know that, right?
[Surprisingly, no bugs occur. This is objectively one of the weirdest things he could be doing for Ford, period.]
[Some very short nebulous time after Steve has discovered Bucky is on board and managed to announce it to anyone who might slip up around him, he's knocking on Ford's door, hoping the guy won't mind that Steve's come to do this in person, even though they just recently talked.]
[Within a day or two of the pairing announcement, Ford makes it a point to track down Orpheus. He knew the guy on the train a few months back -- is very grateful to him for what he'd done for Ford and his family! -- and a greeting in person feels warranted. It's much more personal than a "hey, how you doing, if you need anything let me know" over the communicator.
So, he'll keep an eye out at mealtimes, and if he spots Orpheus, Ford will bring his tray of food over and ask, "Do you mind?" indicating the seat across from the man. If he doesn't, Ford will track him down in the greenhouse and approach.]
So, he'll keep an eye out at mealtimes, and if he spots Orpheus, Ford will bring his tray of food over and ask, "Do you mind?" indicating the seat across from the man. If he doesn't, Ford will track him down in the greenhouse and approach.]
[Shortly after this conversation, a wine bottle appears outside Ford's cabin door. Attached to it is note - unsigned, but he should know Tesla's handwriting by now.]
Remind me to tell you about Adam Worth some day.
Remind me to tell you about Adam Worth some day.
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