retrospec | Point of Order

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Point of Order

Hitori Togusa shared a photo.
5/11 near Recolle Police Station

So. A few things.
First. Dave! I want my membership card! Talking robot spider tank with a grenade launcher. Apologies to Koutarou for stealing some of his modeling clay to make my toy up there. I still remembered nothing about myself, though, so the betting pool is still open. Anyone who wants in on the 'What Is Togusa Repressing' pool, let me know. I think the odds on 'samurai' just got a lot longer, though.

The second thing is a little more important. A few of us made it into the subway, which is supposed to be shut down, the lines were damaged. The trains sure aren't running, but either it's shut down intentionally, or someone has taken advantage of it. Throughout the line connecting Enprise to Tisse, there are these QR codes all along the floor. They're those things you can scan with your phone to see a picture or other information. Scanning them didn't get any data, though.

The other area I went through, I don't even know how to explain what I saw. Try going to the middle of town. Next time, I ought to bring a camera with me.

I know that as soon as I post this up, Retrospec will probably try to lock it all down even tighter than they already have. But seeing as how I was assuming that's how they were getting things through the city without us noticing? If we can make them stop using it, I'll call that a victory.

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Togusa smiles as he walks in and sees Chloe. He nods his head politely. "Miss Chloe. Thanks for the invitation." It's good to see her when he's not on the clock, for once.

He orders his coffee, no creamer, but he is already grabbing for a ridiculous amount of sugar. "A celebration, I guess? For gaining more information that only leads to more questions, and for me catching up to some of the rest of you?"

"You're quite welcome. As I said, you've been rather ... busy lately," she said, smiling but keeping her tone pleasant and neutral. She nodded in response to the statement before they were seated again, not wanting to get too specific where others would hear.

"A celebration," she agreed, lifting a cup of tea she'd bought earlier and taking a sip. "More for you managing to learn something, anything at all. There's very little that we seem to have figured out so far, so anything at all is progress. The strange ... I don't know what those were? I'm not sure that's something to congratulate for. Those things looked dangerous."

"The Tachikoma? Oh, that's the strangest part." Togusa's eyebrows shoot up. "Keeping in mind that I have no idea how I know any of this."

"They're- friendly. They run on an artificial intelligence, but it's a somewhat simplistic one. As if their makers were trying to keep them very childlike. Even their voices! Programmed in to talk and make conversation, play board games." Togusa himself looks a little surprised at that part, an odd thing to remember. "But they spoke in very high-pitched voices, like children."

"Maybe it was a way to keep them following orders? Or maybe some way to increase likability with their pilots?" Togusa shrugs as he finishes pouring the final sugar packet into his coffee. "They've got firepower, but dangerous is actually not the first word that comes to mind when I think of them."

"So... they were robots in what looks like a cross between a spider and a tank? But with the minds of children programmed into them?" Chloe frowned, visibly a little perturbed. "I am not sure if that isn't one of the most frightening things I've ever heard, or oddly cute." She doubted that she'd ever be sure, because that was just weird.

"But, I suppose that makes a certain amount of sense, in a very strange way. It isn't like children question the adults who take care of them when they're very young, or at least not about something important." Though it had disturbing possibilities about their use as weapons.

"Oh, before I forget! I have something for you." She reached into her pocket and offered him one of the decoder rings, the little plastic device looking a bit like something out of a cracker jack box.

"Well," Togusa holds out a hand, "if it's an early development of AI, then maybe I could see why it wasn't so complicated. But it's hard to figure out people's motivations when this is all I have to go on."

Something for him? Togusa looks up in interest, and then he takes the plastic ring curiously. He holds it up, and it takes him a second to realize what he's looking at, and then he laughs in delight. "Oh, really? Thank you! Where did you even find something like this? I didn't know they still made them!"

She nodded. Well, yeah, that actually made more sense and if it were true that was kind of forgivable. "You know, if you're right, then that's much cuter, though it's also cute with guns, which is... odd?" she said, smirking some.

His reaction to the ring made her smirk and wink at him. "Oriental Trading," she said, giving them a free plug. "Kitchy little plastic party favors are apparently their forte, and they had some in stock that weren't just decoder ring look alikes for once. I ... bought a lot. I want to be able to give one to everyone, if they want it." Well, everyone on the app anyway.

Togusa keeps grinning at it. "This is great. Makes it all feel even more like a spy thriller, as if it wasn't already. Thank you."

He leans back in his chair casually. "One of my coworkers has a bet going that these will show up soon. So, if they're cute, then I guess we'll all find out?"

"The other betting pool is what I am still not remembering." Togusa shakes his head. "Because as great as the Tachikoma are? I still have no idea how I fit into the picture? Did I use them? Was I fighting against them? Did I help design them? I don't know."

"My, quite a betting pool," she said, musing a bit. She honestly would never allow such a thing with her own memories, because she was already sure that the direction of them was going to be less than savory, even if she was a good girl in the end... hopefully a good girl anyway. "But I think that I would never enter that pool on the side of not seeing them. I suspect they'll show up eventually. As for what you don't recall of these things... that's more the question."

She frowned some and tapped at her own decoder ring. "You're right though. It's a bit like we're in an old spy thriller of a sort. And we might as well play along a little. It might give us the best odds of success."

"Your other options are, 'no memories at all,' 'yakuza or bosozoku member,' and 'robot apocalypse freedom fighter," Togusa comments. "Someone also bet on samurai, but I think we can take that one off the table now."

"A sense of humor keeps me from dwelling on it too much. Because didn't we all have fantasies like this growing up? You read all that fiction where a kid gets pulled into another world where they're really a hero, or a wizard, or the reincarnation of a god. Strange that Retrospec is offering us that exact same idea, only now we don't like it."

"But, what about a cyber samurai? Those could be your steeds?" she hazarded before laughing at the thought and shaking her head. Ok, that was a little much, wasn't it? It was a hilarious image, but it did improve the mood. "You're right. A sense of humor does help. I need to try to enjoy these thoughts more."

She sighed, wiping a tear from laughter from her eyes. "Yes, I suppose we do. Would you like to know the irony? I used to read spy novels a lot when I was younger, and I still go to all of Scarlet's films."

"Ah, the Gibson answer," Togusa nods sagely. "Neuromancer, the street samurai for hire. That's a possibility, you're right." But he indulges himself in a familiar laugh, too. It's all so silly.

"Scarlet? Emilie?" Togusa guesses. He has only spoken briefly to her, but he thinks he's seen her talking to Chloe. "I wasn't aware she was an actress?"

She laughed and shook her head. "No, no, I meant Jovanni. She does all those generic spy roles these days. I guess she's the favorite, but she's quite good at them." She chuckled and shook he head. "But Emilie would make a lovely actress I think, though don't tell her that. She might get too big of a head. She's already quite famous after all."

"And, perhaps you as a street samurai would be interesting, but I suspect it might be a little disturbing too. Just imagine what you'd have to fight!"

(OOC: ^.~, figured I'd use a generic stand-in for Johansen for a favorite spy girl thriller actress.)

"Mmm," Togusa nods sagely. "Feed into other people's theories. Then I'd have to be a motorcycle samurai, and shoot up other rival Japanese gangs. I suddenly wake up covered in tattoos, we'll know everyone was right."

Aw, but it would make sense, wouldn't it, Togusa? That's why they sent you a possibly-illegal Japanese gun in the mail?

Nope, Togusa is taking a long drink of his coffee to try to shove that thought back down.

"Emilie, she mentioned that her family owns a software company, gaming? Does that really get you so famous, in the right circles?"

[OOC: And then someone shows Togusa a Scarlet Johannsen movie and 'hunh that kind of looks like the Major' and we have a recursive explosion.]

She considered that for a moment and ran her fingers over her chin. "You know... that really does sound like the sort of thing I would have read when I was younger," she said, before nodding. "But as outlandish as these hallucinations are, why not? And with these Tachikoma, who can say what was possible?"

"In the right circles, though I might be overstating it because she's my friend," she said, which was admittedly rather true. "Wealth does tend to add fame, after all. In the right circles."

(OOC: Oh lord. That'd be a trip.)

"In the right circles," Togusa agrees with a smile. "That charity fundraiser last month was a good chance to spot all the rich and famous in the city, really. I didn't know we had quite so many of the 'upper crust' so to speak."

"Was interesting seeing people like me and Professor Izunia doing our best to fit in. Some of us did better than others." A small smile, because that's something he'd much rather think about. There's a photo on his desk of himself with Gentiana, and that night is going to stay with him for a long time.

"I believe that there are some who view Recolle as a project, wanting to make the city rival some of the larger ones in wealth and in how much a jewel the city is," Chloe hazarded. It certainly felt like it at times, that they wanted the city to stand toe to toe with the San Frans, Chicagos and New Yorks of the American world. She wasn't sure how well that would go, but it made for interesting events as they tried.

"I enjoyed myself, but I am a decent dancer, so that didn't hurt at all. It was... certainly not something I was as accustomed to being part of."

"I don't think I'd want that sort of event to be something I'm accustomed to," Togusa muses. "I wouldn't want to get used to it, and think it's boring. You could pick out the people in the crowd who felt that way, though," Togusa points with one finger.

"For some people, it is just another weekend." Togusa frowns in puzzlement as he remembers one or two people who were fitting in surprisingly well. "For some of the people you'd least expect it, too."

"I am not really the high society type myself, so I have to agree. One of my friends is much more accustomed to that sort of thing, but she is part of a very wealthy family, so it is to be expected." When you were an heiress, these were just things you went to, she assumed.

"Who surprised you, if I may ask?"

"Dante Rantanen," even the way Togusa says his name is like he's surprised. He props his head up on his hand. "This kid has been raising absolute hell all over the boards, in the best ways," he holds out a hand. "It's been hilarious to watch, it's just typical teenage trolling, but he's so good at making people angry."

"And then he's there at the party and schmoozing and rubbing elbows like he belongs there. Pretty big contrast to how he'd been behaving before."

"..."

She turned more fully to face him and the look of surprise was apparent on her face. One eyebrow raised and she smirked. "Ok, I admit, I didn't notice him there as I was busy, but that name is a bit surprising. He is not what I would expect to be within a mile of that event." She was trying to suppress laughter at the same time.

"I know, right!?" Togusa gives in to the urge to laugh. "The last guy you'd think. I'd expect Dave to be behaving himself before Dante. And Dave is still just my imaginary friend."

Togusa leans back in his seat, almost bringing the front two legs up off the ground. "Dante and I have really been getting along, it's uncanny."

She kept chuckling as he mentioned Dave. Yeah, even Dave was better behaved than Dante seemed from their few conversations. "Your imaginary friend? Whatever do you mean by that?" She cocked her head. "And you never know. Sometimes people just have a knack for getting along, even when you did not expect it, no?"

"Okay, if you have seen Dave in real life, if you have some kind of evidence that he actually exists? Do not give it to me." Togusa shakes his head and waves his hand back and forth. "I don't want this to get ruined intentionally. One day, we're going to run into one another and the game will be up. But for right now, Dave and I have no real contact with the other one, and it's turned into a joke that he's an imaginary friend. One of my best contacts! With some of the most interesting theories about what's going on. But yes, imaginary." This is all a joke, but sometimes they need some joking in order to cope with everything else that's been going on.

She laughed and shook her head. "The games we play. Very well, I will not. You have to keep your mind fresh, I am sure," she said, grinning at Togusa. "I will leave it up to you when you find out the truth. Games like these... they almost feel normal for us now, don't they?"

Wait until that imaginary friend started to really use those time powers.

"They do. You'd almost think we'd have enough games going on in our lives, but sometimes it's nice to be playing one that we made the choice to play." Togusa tilts up his coffee cup and drains the rest of it.

"You've already seen what I was up to. What's your next step from here?" Because Togusa knows better than to think that Chloe is going to sit idle and wait for Retrospec's next move.

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