[MoM] IC Contact

[superposition]

will prettify later

Comments

text; 08/19

[mathemagier]

How have the past few days been treating you, Mr. Qubit?

[superposition]

[Shiiit, he knew there was someone he'd forgotten to contact.]

Not the worst days I've ever had. Yourself?
I'm sorry I didn't get in touch with you and Newton sooner, just my head's been in about a hundred different places since then.

text; Sept 14th, before their meetup for testing Hermann's teleport

[driftsintobuffetline]

Hey! Quick question. What do you want? We're ordering Chinese take-out.

[superposition]

Cashew chicken, if they have it. What all does it come with?

Sept 26th - audio

[driftsintobuffetline]

[Following this starter and this conversation. The messages come separately, but in a very short period of time.]

[driftsintobuffetline]

[It starts off okay. Newt makes a genuine effort to NOT FREAK OUT, though he sounds frazzled and more manic than usual.]
Hey! Qubit! Buddy! Hi! Pick up, man. I've got a favor to ask. Big one. Pick up, pick up. I really need you to pick up.
Please be awake. Call me back asap, okay? Okay dude. Please. Like. Now. Kind of an emergency.

[driftsintobuffetline]

Okay, yeah, well, I-I get it if you're still asleep--Iiiiii probably wouldn't be up myself--but I've kind of got a BIG problem and I really need you to call me back AS SOON AS you get this message.

Please. Pretty please.

text; 09/27

[mathemagier]

Mr. Qubit, I'm sure you know there is a supermoon eclipse this evening. If you're interested in a decent viewing at any point, we're located at 43.287616, -73.567042 in Hudson Falls, New York and you're welcome to join us.

[superposition]

I may just take you up on that. Want me to bring anything?

text; 1/?? I'll let you know

[maglevflash]

I'm going to break something.

text; 2/?

[maglevflash]

I'm sorry for texting you so late
but I can't sleep and...

[text; MISFIRE i'm so sorry]

[puppydoctor]

Hey are you free tonight?
Because I want to take you out, real dinner, like I said.

I was thinking about you all day.
And about

other things.

text;

[superposition]

George, I'm going to have to stop you right there, because I'm pretty sure you have the wrong number.

And if not, I'm busy.

misfire

[glowsferatu]

tell me something funny im losing my mind and no one is who theyre supposed to be

[superposition]

[Funny, huh... Yeah sure whatever.]

A: "I know a man with a wooden leg named Smith."
B: "What's the name of his other leg?"

Voice

[driftsintobuffetline]

Hey! So we've got like a week... or less, really, til this masquerade thing and was just wondering if you were going! Not that I'm asking you to it--I didn't even technically ask Hermann--but just seeing if you're interested in going or what. I've gotta stay on top of this or you and Hermann crawl into your math hermitages and don't resurface for like ever. But yeah, this is your "come out and play" message for the week.

[superposition]

What masquerade is this?

text; Nov 7th

[driftsintobuffetline]

Have you seen Mako???? Lately? Like today? Her phone's not working/taking calls, I checked in at her apartment and everything looks normal?????, we spoke to her after she got home from the party so it wasn't like she went home with someone from that?????????????????????

ASAP tell me you've seen her.

text;

[superposition]

I haven't, no. Did you check with her work?

[voice; backdated to 12/23]

[puppydoctor]

Hey. Um.

[There's the sound of a muffled hospital PA in the background, and the rumble of traffic. George is calling from a bench outside the trauma center, where he's basically been living for the past week.]

I got dumped, and the hospital actually won't let me work anymore hours so. What are your Christmas plans?

voice;

[superposition]

[And here Qubit had totally forgotten George had a girlfriend. Or didn't know in the first place. Something like that. He kind of recalls that mis-text from forever ago...]

Well - nothing fancy, just lending a hand at the local soup kitchen. But if you'd like to come with, I'm sure they wouldn't turn you down.

January 20 or 21, after things have started to settle

[driftsintobuffetline]

Qubit.

Qubit, this is Newt.
I don't know if you're reading this, but--look, for the record, I rarely use the damn neural interfacing with the comms and it took a while to remember we could do that and we don't have our phones on us anymore and I just wanted you to know I'm here, wherever here is. In space, I guess. That's what they're telling us. The Russians say we're on the shuttle. But we're literally pissing into a grate on the floor so we're not talking zero-g.

I'm going to tell you what I know or what they tell us and what I think I'm figuring out. I'm trusting you to take this info and do something with it. Come on, Qubit.

Check in on Hermann for me, would you? I'm not--I'm going to try not to info dump on him because I know him. He's going to work himself to death and you know as much as I think you need a day off, you're not as invested in this as he is. You can filter through what I can dump on you and not make this personal in the same way it's way too personal for Hermann.

If-- Tell him I miss him, okay?

There's between 50-60 of us in here. It's tight. It's pretty inhumane. Basically sardines in a metal jail cell. Some of us are in scrubs. I don't know what warranted that. Weapons checks, maybe. There's something call Lackey...I'm thinking AI. It put us here, or claims to have. Not sure if this means the Russians have a Porter, but I'm guessing so. Did we ever figure out what happened to Lachesis? Maybe that needs followup.

I don't know if they're going for a Porter arms race or if they're just trying to steal all of us Imports. They say we belong to the Soviets now.

I don't have powers. I don't think anyone in this room does. What kind of power suppressants (organic or mechanical) I don't know.

We're guarded. They're changing guards out periodically. This facility has to be a lot bigger than a Shuttle would allow.

Anyway, please keep an eye on him. I don't know what-- he's probably disconnected from the Drift because I've been suppressed and you know how nuts it made me to have distance between us and disconnected from the Drift ...we've never tested that before. Christ, Qubit, we've never tested that before. It could kill him. I have no idea what that feels like. It's dead here. Just dead. Nothing but emptiness. Normal, but it feels silent. Comparatively it feels silent, like a house after a house-guest leaves, and I miss him. Tell him I miss him. I miss his dumb presence in my brain. Please tell him that. Tell him he's everything. He'll know that's from me, then.

I hope they don't have you. I hope you're not on another shuttle...SHIT why the fuck am I thinking that now, why didn't I think of that before I sent you this message. Please be safe somewhere, you fucking Morrissey wannabe. Do me a huge favor and check on Hermann and make sure he isn't going mad and please. Don't you die, okay? Really.

text

[superposition]

[Now, don't get him wrong, he's still taking this super personally. But you're right, at least Qubit knows how to pace himself.]

Newt! Thank God. Good to hear from you. Are you hurt, any of you? Who's there with you? We're trying to figure out who's missing, but our total's nowhere near 50 yet. Any names you can get me will help.

I'm still Stateside, don't worry about me. We're going to get you out of there. [Who's "we"?] If you're all in one place, that simplifies things. Keep me posted if they start removing people, though, even if they bring them back later on.

Also, whatever you do, don't let on to the Soviets that you're still in contact with us. They may figure it out anyway, if they think to check your phones, but we want to keep this link available as long as possible.

For now, cooperate with them, within reason. I don't want you getting killed any more than you do.

audio; private

[rassera]

Qubit.

[His accent slips out slightly, but there's a harsh edge to his tone.]

same

[superposition]

Kaneda.

[He's not 100% sure what's up, but he's got a guess.]

text - ID reads Kid Flash

[runningstart]

i gotta talk to you
off comms

about this hostage sitch

can you meet me at the heropa library

[superposition]

Sure. Give me two minutes.

[He finishes whatever message he was sending, then portals in just outside the front entrance. (So does "at" the library mean inside or outside? WELL WHICHEVER, if he doesn't see KF out here he'll go in and look.)]

delivery! (2/14)

[glitterateur]

[On this, the most important romance-related holiday of the year, Qubit receives a card delivered by a flying pig. The pig was probably supposed to look sort of like cupid, as is appropriate for the day, but Mabel made the wings way more bat-like than cherubic. Oops!

There’s a small chocolate heart taped to the back, and a little note: Happy Valentine’s Day! Have the best day EVER!! sorry I went to Antarctica]

March 4 - tgif

[driftsintobuffetline]

Heeeeey, dude. How're you feeling? Less ...upchucky yet? Just checking up on you since you know, we only ever manage to talk when shit's going down, and since shit's not currently going down, now seemed a good time to call. So how are you?

voice

[superposition]

[That earns a chuckle. Good lord - if he was still throwing up like that two and a half weeks later, he'd have long ago turned himself inside-out.]

Hi, Newt. Much better, thanks. As of... about twelve hours after going back, actually. That whole pitiful debacle did turn out to be LACKEY's doing, just as I'd suspected. Oh, and speaking of, I don't think I got a chance to thank you properly, did I? Sorry you two had to put up with all that.

[You know, both the grossness and the crankiness.]

Voice - may 1

[driftsintobuffetline]

So, uh, the end of May is our half-year mark--Hermann's and mine--and Hermann said I had to wait until we hit six months before I even attempted a proposal and you know how the sort-of one went during the Occupation. I guess what I'm trying to say, is, dude, would you think it's presumptuous of me to start, well, LOOKING for a ring? Or would it'd, actually, be bad if I didn't? I mean, do you think Hermann EXPECTS me to propose, do you think he PREFERS I didn't ...I don't want to disappoint him and I don't want to annoy him and ...

Thoughts?

Help me, Q.B.1. you're my only hope.

[superposition]

[why]

Well, my first thought is that, once again, you're vastly overestimating my expertise in that area.

[but, once again, he will try anyway. sighs]

Frankly, I think everyone's going to take a relationship at their own pace. You're the one who can read his mind, what do you think?

audio - 06/05

[drizzle]

Um, hi! Or rather good evening.

[She'll try to remain as formal as she possibly can at this point.]

My name is Nike Lemercier. I was once one of the recent imPorts that arrived to this world almost a month ago. I've been wishing to speak to you after a Jacob Taylor informed me of your interest in helping others in way of humanitarian efforts through inventions, if I do recall his description of you correctly. [A pause as she translates her informal speech to a more formal one; trying not to break the current flow and all.] Are you still working in that area? If you are, I would love to speak to you more about it. I would like to help, if it is possible to. Please call me back whenever you can...?

[And she'll end the message there. Hopefully it didn't sound too bad.]

[superposition]

[Step 1: receive voicemail. Step 2: Google her name. Step 3: check for comm entries. These efforts, of course, don't turn up anything either good or bad, so it's back to the phones. A referral from Jacob is a good sign, though, Qubit has a lot of respect for that guy.]

Hello, Nike. It's Qubit, returning your call. You were interested in humanitarian work?

Backdated to end of Road Not Traveled event

[driftsintobuffetline]

So... You were going to tell me more about your Super Team? Don't think I forgot about that. And I mean the original ones, not the team you're assembling here--not that I don't want to hear about them, too, I mean, I'm sure they're cool, but tell me about your Super Squad back home. Obviously you were the brains, the Q. Did someone have a invisible jet? A watchtower in space? A ring that gave them super-powers? A high-tech multi-billion dollar corporation that functioned as a front for all the super-gadgets? How many aliens did you have?

[superposition]

[Newt do you have any idea what time it is here - eh whatever, Qubit's awake anyway. Have the customary raised eyebrow.]

Should I assume those are all pop-culture references? Or are any of them actual questions?

text; July 18th

[mathemagier]

I apologize for the delay in getting back to you, but it's taken a good deal of thought. Newton insisted on a code name and at long last, we've reached an agreement.

So if you're still recruiting, I'd like to formally offer my skill set for your team.

Sometime in the past couple of days

[driftsintobuffetline]

Are you available for a little science on Sunday? Afternoonish?

[superposition]

Sure, I've got nothing important planned. What do you have in mind?

text - early August;

[grimreaping]

Mr Qubit, prior to my disappearance by the Porter at the beginning of May, you'd requested to speak with me in person once my sentence had been commuted. On my return, I was informed that had been done.

[superposition]

So I did. Are you available sometime this evening?