[Well. The fact that there are things out there that are like Bill but also not like him....it is slightly comforting, but mostly not.
But the question about the circle...Ford blinks and rubs his chin.]
Hm. No, I'm afraid I don't. He can't cast magic that way -- usually, what he does is more...direct. The Admiral's taken that ability away, of course, so I can't imagine why he'd be drawing ritual circles in nail polish.
...though it is possible...
...can you think of any reason it might annoy you to catch him doing it? Does it get under your skin at all? Bother you? Anything?
It was my first meeting with him,[ he points out, ] and pretty much everything he does gets under my skin, but the circle was the least of my irritation.
[ He works on the tea for a moment before he looks over at Ford.]
[It's said like an afterthought. Ford's mind is turning over. What could Bill have been doing drawing circles in nail polish?]
What you should understand about Bill is, everything he does, he does for a reason. Sometimes, that reason is only to get a rise out of you because he thinks it's funny. Other times, it's not as simple. Maybe he was expecting you to tell me about it so that I'd wonder what he was up to. I wouldn't put it past him.
Nor would I. However, it's just as likely that, as he was chanced upon, he decided to forge along in the hopes we would assume just that.
[ He's talked to Bill a few times now, and he's worked under Elias Bouchard. Xanatos Gambit was the kind of word you tried not to think in order to keep from losing hope around the Institute.]
Do you think it would be worth the trouble to recover the circle and take a look?
Then I don't suppose you'd have some idea where else he might be putting circles?
[ Ford has been here longer and might know better spots or have some idea how such things work in his world to guestimate based on location. At least, that's what he's thinking.]
Not unless I knew the kind of magic he was using. Setting up a barrier would require very different positioning than a spell to raise the dead, for instance. If only there were a way to tell what sort of spell he was trying to cast.
--ah! Wait a minute, of course there is!
[Ford grins and pulls a small scanner out of his pocket. It looks like the Ghostbusters props department got hold of a handheld barcode scanner.]
This can detect all kinds of energy, including most forms of magic. If Bill was doing a spell and there's any residue left in the area, this device will detect it.
No, no, that won't be necessary. This device can distinguish a phenomenon's universe of origin. Unless he's doing magic from your world -- which is unlikely, if your theory about convergent evolution is correct -- it should be able to tell the difference between whatever magic Bill was working and any you're giving off.
[Ford's mind is made up in a split second. He reaches into his coat and pulls out a thermos. He uncaps it, dumps the contents of the teapot inside, and closes it up.]
You can drink it on the way.
[He pushes the thermos into Jon's hands, gets to his feet, and heads for the door.]
That magic residue won't hang around in the air forever! Come on, there's not a moment to lose!
[ He actually just watches the tea go into the thermos before frowning a little and following after. He does make sure to lock the door on the way out.]
I would be very interested to know how long you think the, er, residue might maintain.
Ah. That would explain the music. And why I didn't recognize it. Haven't been down there much.
[He resents it, not entirely rationally, for, in his mind, replacing the library. Even now that the library is back, Ford has some sour feelings about it.]
[ To be fair, if Jon was aware of that change, he would have been similarly upset. One of those rooms was useful, after all. So far, he's largely been unimpressed with the spa.]
I did a full circuit of the ship upon my arrival. I thought it... prudent.
Now, tell me about that patron of yours, this -- cosmological convergent evolution. If there's anything else out there like Bill, I want to know about it.
It's known as... Beholding, the Ceaseless Watcher. Also as the Eye.
[ He keeps pace with Stan without issue. ]
It is the fear of being known, being seen, of your secrets being found out, your darkest truths being discovered, but also of what knowledge might nonetheless bring. Its realm is knowledge, knowing, and it... it apparently doesn't like to act much, if at all.
For the moment, yes. Or at least, so I've been told. The... person who told me wasn't terribly interested in unbiased reporting.
[ He breathes in and out and the out comes with a bit of a huff.]
My... superior, both within the Institute and in regards to... our patron is semi-omniscient. And he has used that to somewhat devastating effect before.
[ He turns to look over at Ford.]
But the Entity itself is- well, it's hard to describe and harder to explain. But there is more than enough horror to 'watching' something awful take place and know there's nothing you can do about it.
[ It's difficult, to talk about the Eye. It's like he'd told Iris: he can't really, viscerally, understand being afraid of knowledge. He's not sure if he could before, if he can remember what it'd be like when he was completely human. But now, and every time that he can think of before, all he's ever wanted is to know.]
Wish I'd been that lucky. True, there are some surface similarities. Bill was trapped in the mindscape for billions of years, and from there, all he really could do was watch. He could enter people's dreams, of course, and if someone was foolish enough to invoke him, he could strike a bargain with them in exchange for physical possession. But beyond that, his ability to affect the physical world was limited.
He'd always been planning to get through to it, though. He's been trying to get someone to open a gate between his world and ours since the beginning of human civilization!
Oh, right. You did mention that there were multiple ones.
So, what are the others like?
[There's a note in Ford's tone that says he's not expecting to be impressed. He'd kill for Bill's end goal to be nothing more than passive observation. It'd make everything so much easier.]
There are thirteen others, though even then that's just... it's more of a classification system, in a sense. Like naming colors if colors hated you.
There are major, easily-understandable hues, your blues and greens and such. Some of them clash and others flow into one another.
[ He'll start naming them off. ]
The Desolation, also known as the Lightless Flame; fire with everything good stripped from it, leaving only destruction. It is the fear of loss, of having everything good taken from you, and their avatars can- well- [ which is when he holds up his hand with a tired chuckle ] As I said, I've got my own reasons to avoid a handshake.
The End, obviously. The fear of death. The Dark as well, pretty self-explanatory. The Buried and the Vast are, effectively opposites: fear of being trapped and fear of your meaninglessness, of emptiness, in the face of the expanse. The Lonely, which can manifest just as powerfully in a crowd as on one's own. The Distortion, the fear of madness, of one's perceptions being off, of being unable to properly know reality. The Spider, or the Web, the fear of your actions not being your own, of being used, of being unable to escape another's machinations.
The Stranger, the fear of the unknown, your 'Uncanny Valley', that which is not at all familiar. The Corruption, the fear of rot, decay, putrification and infestation. The Slaughter or the Frenzy, the fear of violence, either directed or directionless.
[ He looks over at Ford.]
The other two are a bit... weird. But that's mostly because they're not really human fears. Their source is animals, and when they interact with people well... things get a bit weird.
[Ford nods, processing all of that. So, a pantheon of primal fears, some related, some opposites, all of whom with agents in the world with powers relating to them.
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But the question about the circle...Ford blinks and rubs his chin.]
Hm. No, I'm afraid I don't. He can't cast magic that way -- usually, what he does is more...direct. The Admiral's taken that ability away, of course, so I can't imagine why he'd be drawing ritual circles in nail polish.
...though it is possible...
...can you think of any reason it might annoy you to catch him doing it? Does it get under your skin at all? Bother you? Anything?
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[ He works on the tea for a moment before he looks over at Ford.]
If you could tell me how you like your tea...
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[It's said like an afterthought. Ford's mind is turning over. What could Bill have been doing drawing circles in nail polish?]
What you should understand about Bill is, everything he does, he does for a reason. Sometimes, that reason is only to get a rise out of you because he thinks it's funny. Other times, it's not as simple. Maybe he was expecting you to tell me about it so that I'd wonder what he was up to. I wouldn't put it past him.
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[ He's talked to Bill a few times now, and he's worked under Elias Bouchard. Xanatos Gambit was the kind of word you tried not to think in order to keep from losing hope around the Institute.]
Do you think it would be worth the trouble to recover the circle and take a look?
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Unlikely. If it was important enough that Bill doesn't want us to know about it, there won't be anything left to find.
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[ Ford has been here longer and might know better spots or have some idea how such things work in his world to guestimate based on location. At least, that's what he's thinking.]
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Not unless I knew the kind of magic he was using. Setting up a barrier would require very different positioning than a spell to raise the dead, for instance. If only there were a way to tell what sort of spell he was trying to cast.
--ah! Wait a minute, of course there is!
[Ford grins and pulls a small scanner out of his pocket. It looks like the Ghostbusters props department got hold of a handheld barcode scanner.]
This can detect all kinds of energy, including most forms of magic. If Bill was doing a spell and there's any residue left in the area, this device will detect it.
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Will... that is, I may set that off, to be honest. Should I let you go out and do your readings on your own?
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...do you think we ought to take those readings right now, or should we finish up here?
[ Look, he's rather driven, but, he had gone to the trouble.]
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You can drink it on the way.
[He pushes the thermos into Jon's hands, gets to his feet, and heads for the door.]
That magic residue won't hang around in the air forever! Come on, there's not a moment to lose!
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I would be very interested to know how long you think the, er, residue might maintain.
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Now, where exactly did you have this conversation?
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Down in the spa of all places. I'll show you.
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[He resents it, not entirely rationally, for, in his mind, replacing the library. Even now that the library is back, Ford has some sour feelings about it.]
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I did a full circuit of the ship upon my arrival. I thought it... prudent.
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Now, tell me about that patron of yours, this -- cosmological convergent evolution. If there's anything else out there like Bill, I want to know about it.
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[ He keeps pace with Stan without issue. ]
It is the fear of being known, being seen, of your secrets being found out, your darkest truths being discovered, but also of what knowledge might nonetheless bring. Its realm is knowledge, knowing, and it... it apparently doesn't like to act much, if at all.
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[Ford sounds a little surprised, like he's less impressed than he expected to be.]
All it does is watch?
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[ He breathes in and out and the out comes with a bit of a huff.]
My... superior, both within the Institute and in regards to... our patron is semi-omniscient. And he has used that to somewhat devastating effect before.
[ He turns to look over at Ford.]
But the Entity itself is- well, it's hard to describe and harder to explain. But there is more than enough horror to 'watching' something awful take place and know there's nothing you can do about it.
[ It's difficult, to talk about the Eye. It's like he'd told Iris: he can't really, viscerally, understand being afraid of knowledge. He's not sure if he could before, if he can remember what it'd be like when he was completely human. But now, and every time that he can think of before, all he's ever wanted is to know.]
I... may not be the best person to speak on it.
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Wish I'd been that lucky. True, there are some surface similarities. Bill was trapped in the mindscape for billions of years, and from there, all he really could do was watch. He could enter people's dreams, of course, and if someone was foolish enough to invoke him, he could strike a bargain with them in exchange for physical possession. But beyond that, his ability to affect the physical world was limited.
He'd always been planning to get through to it, though. He's been trying to get someone to open a gate between his world and ours since the beginning of human civilization!
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[ That comes with a very tired sigh and a sip of the tea in the thermos.]
I'm actually in the midst of interrupting one such ritual, or I was before I came here. I'll be handling it once my work is done.
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So, what are the others like?
[There's a note in Ford's tone that says he's not expecting to be impressed. He'd kill for Bill's end goal to be nothing more than passive observation. It'd make everything so much easier.]
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There are major, easily-understandable hues, your blues and greens and such. Some of them clash and others flow into one another.
[ He'll start naming them off. ]
The Desolation, also known as the Lightless Flame; fire with everything good stripped from it, leaving only destruction. It is the fear of loss, of having everything good taken from you, and their avatars can- well- [ which is when he holds up his hand with a tired chuckle ] As I said, I've got my own reasons to avoid a handshake.
The End, obviously. The fear of death. The Dark as well, pretty self-explanatory. The Buried and the Vast are, effectively opposites: fear of being trapped and fear of your meaninglessness, of emptiness, in the face of the expanse. The Lonely, which can manifest just as powerfully in a crowd as on one's own. The Distortion, the fear of madness, of one's perceptions being off, of being unable to properly know reality. The Spider, or the Web, the fear of your actions not being your own, of being used, of being unable to escape another's machinations.
The Stranger, the fear of the unknown, your 'Uncanny Valley', that which is not at all familiar. The Corruption, the fear of rot, decay, putrification and infestation. The Slaughter or the Frenzy, the fear of violence, either directed or directionless.
[ He looks over at Ford.]
The other two are a bit... weird. But that's mostly because they're not really human fears. Their source is animals, and when they interact with people well... things get a bit weird.
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He follows so far.]
Animal fears? What are animals afraid of?
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