When everyone has gathered in the audience seats - and practically anywhere nearby - Bahar starts the events with his usual welcome. In advance, he's invited some people, who he believes have special knowledge of the event, to be where the ringleaders usually are. The ringleaders themselves have not been given precedence in any way - even Sebastian sits with his ring in the audience.

Among those on the central platform are Miko, Corteza, Xanders, Alexandra, and Nanto.

Mizuki looks over at Andrea and his ringmembers briefly, studying them, nodding to Andrea if she gets eye-contact, though she doesn't seek it.

Andrea keeps his attention on the platform and doesn't notice Mizuki

"Welcome to the discussion about the events of the 26th", Bahar says. His words are magnified by the speakers in the area as well as broadcast over the necklinks for those who couldn't attend.

"That day was a day of great fear and sorrow for every one of us", Bahar continues. "I, like every one of us, wish with all my heart that this kind of thing never happens again - we were damn close to being destroyed completely as a colony."

"And that's why we're here today", Bahar says. "If we can go through all the rumors and hearsay and simply get to the truth of those events, I honestly believe we'll be able to avoid such things in the future. Because wisdom can only be built on truth, and without wisdom, horrible things happen. This has been shown by our history time and time again. So, if I can ask for one thing in every one of you today, I ask you, tell the truth. To honor those we have lost."

"First", Bahar says, "let's give floor to the TSR, since this is after all, a TAU-related matter. So, Miko, what on Earth happened?"

"Oh", Bahar says. "And please do remember to ask for the floor through the system in TAU space, if you have anything to add to anything we're talking about here. This is a discussion, after all, not a lecture."

"Ehem", says Miko. "Well, it's good to have the attention of you all so we can get this cleared up once and for all. I'm getting a little tired of all the questions, to be honest."

Miko: "The problems started when a colonist made some adjustments to the flow-control systems in the Tubelift Central, but due to hurry did not perform all relevant regression tests on the system. Then, when an error condition occurred, the error wasn't properly handled but was instead propagated into the core processes of TAU. The error was there falsely interpreted as a critical system attack, forcing the system to lock up in defense."

"Wait a moment", Bahar says. "We have Emmy on the line. You have a question?"

"Yes", says a voice from the audience. "Who did those bad repairs?"

"I don't think that's relevant", says Miko.

This comment creates a hurdle of arguments, presented without order or asking permission.

After the noise dies down, Miko continues: "Look, if there's one person in this lynching crew who's never done a juryrig, may they stand up and toss the first rock. Otherwise, if the person who made this honest error wishes to come forward, it's their choice, not ours. We do not wish to be the vehicle of casting blame!"

The crowd is suddenly very quiet.

"Thank you", says Miko. "I'll finish now if you please."

"It took us a while to find out what had gone wrong", Miko continues. "And even after that we couldn't bring TAU back online immediately, because the lockdown was password protected, and that password was very complicated. We attempted to look into the databases, manually, for any hints about what the password might be. Unfortunately we also had to take care of the safety of the colony, including the floatbeds, and even when we finally did find time to work on this, we were *disrupted*. But Xanders has a better idea of this."

Mizuki frowns slightly, watching Xanders.

"I sure have!" Xanders says. "We had a false alarm on some poison gas from down in the Shaft. Yes, mind yoy, we *can* make mistakes."

Xanders: "Then we had this woman, Corteza, rouse the people into *breaking guarantine*! We had to *shoot* her with a *non-lethal* weapon to stop it. When it turned out there was no poison gas at all, we lifted the guarantine."

"Non-lethal?!" Corteza screams, out of turn. "I needed CPR down there!"

"Lies", Xanders states. "She was simply unconscious for a couple of minutes."

"I'm not going to be called a liar in front of the Tower!" Corteza shouts. "Ishi can tell you! Ishi, are you in the crowd?" Corteza looks around in the audience.

Ishi obligingly raises her hand.

"Great!" Corteza gleams. "Would you please tell them how you restarted my heart after they shot me?"

"Uhm..." Ishi says. "I had to inject Corteza with the ATR-H injection. To restart her heart."

Everybody looks at Ishi.

Ishi: "But it was not technically in arrest yet. She was not actually dead. I injected her to be safe. It was very unlikely that her heart would have stopped entirely. I did not want to risk it."

Corteza: "That's not what you said!"

Ishi: "I was so shocked by the happenings at the time. I reacted with emotion and panic. I'm sorry if I made anyone believe something that was not true."

"Not to cast accusations on something that was clearly done with best of intentions", Khitasang says, after asking for the floor. "But I feel I'm obligated to point out that that was a very unwise procedure. ATR-H must only be used after a confirmed stop of heart.

Ishi: "I can only be glad that it did not do any harm."

Khitasang nods.

"But let us proceed", says Bahar. "There was an insurgency but it was... quelled. Did you then find the necessary time to work out the passcode?"

"Yes, we finally did", Xanders says. "Some of us, anyways. Others had to manually operate the floatbeds, which took all the time they had."

"We were surprised, however, by the fact that someone else solved the problem for us", Miko says. "We had never thought that the code might be *breakable*, but appears it was." Miko turns to Alexandra.

"Yes", says Alexandra. "The Association of Scholars worked on the problem from the start. Due to some... lapses in communication between parties..." Alexandra glances at Miko, "we had to work it all out from scratch. We were glad to have the greatest minds of the Tower contributing to this task, though, and finally, managed to use a combination of software engineering and mathematics to break the code."

"We apologize", Miko says. "We should have placed higher trust in your abilities."

Alexandra: "Please try to remember that next time we *ask you a question*."

"Yes", says Bahar. "I must admit that does sound like a great achievement. From what I understand TAU codes can be very complex."

Bahar: "But let's move on to the matter of the Chimbots, shall we? We've heard several different variations of the rumor, and frankly I'm not sure if I believe any of them..."

Bahar pauses for a moment. "Sinuhe?"

Mizuki frowns again.

In the audience, Sinuhe stands up. "I'm sorry, this may be a little out of order, but before I forget: I need to bring to your attention that there were others too who did great things that day."

"Namely, the efforts of Da Vinci Fire Brigade, Da Vinci Prospectors, and many others", Sinuhe says, "who scouted the Canyon in order to save those who had been trapped there. Without their efforts the death count would have been even higher."

"Especially, I'd like to thank Mizuki of The Horizon!" Sinuhe gestures grandeously towards where the members of The Horizon stand. "Without whom I wouldn't be able to speak here today!"

Mizuki blinks once.

Andrea, sitting right next to Sinuhe, looks obviously surprised

Mizuki bows her head slightly towards Sinuhe, acknowledging his gesture.

"In fact", Sinuhe continues, "considering the fact that it was my application of the Laudatur's Paradigm that allowed the optimisations of the code-breaking strategy, we could say that it was Mizuki who saved us all in the end! So let us all give a great applause to Mizuki, and the other heroes of the day!"

With that, surrounded by a wave of applause, Sinuhe sits down.

Mizuki blinks again, not so comfortable with the applause apparently, gliding in between Horizon members.

"But", says Bahar. "What about the Chimbots? Any truth to that story?"

"Yes", Miko says. "We first believed that a few Chimbots had somehow gained independence from TAU. But judging by further data, we must conclude they were remote controlled, most probably by The Lurkers or some other such group."

Miko: "We believe they'd have remained under their control even after the returning of the power, so getting rid of them was the right thing to do. Apparently the aggressors used their idle state to install their own programming."

Miko: "I think Nanto can tell more about that."

Andrea fixes his eyes in Mizuki's direction

"Thank you", Nanto says. "Yes, we came into contact with the Chimbots just before the lights went out. But I don't like to talk all the time, and I wasn't there, so why don't you shed light on that one, Mike?"

Mike stands up and after thinking for a second or two, starts telling the story.

Mike: "I was scanning for any live systems when we got the alarm of the dropping pressure in the Canyon.  Just before heading into the Dawn Club, I managed to catch a single packet off the air.  Shortly after getting everyone in, we organized a team to examine the situation further.  At first we didn't have any luck, but after doing some abnormal adjustments to our RCIs, we started getting data.  We followed it towards the factories and determined that someone was operating them.  After getting back and analyzing the data further we realized that it was strewn with some packets we had attributed to the Chimbot protocol"

Mike turns to Theodore for a moment as he says something to Mike.

Mike: "I was just reminded of an even earlier encounter.  Theodore and I were doing some factory maintenance, and got shot at by a laser when we tried to get out of the maintenance room.  Shortly after, the lights went out and the factories stopped.  We had to cut our way through the factory to escape.  This was probably one of the first attacks from the Chimbots."

"Now did I get this right?" says Hansila. "The Chimbot attacked *before* the power was lost?"

Mike: "I'm pretty sure of it."

Hansila: "Then it couldn't have possibly been that the Lurkers took control of the Chimbots while they were disabled by the Blackout, it would seem."

Miko seems to think for a moment. "That's true", says Miko. "If that story is true, that is. Are you sure, Mike, that it was a Chimbot? Is it possible that the Lurkers were already in the process of attacking us when they were presented this new opportunity?"

Miko: "I mean, could it have been a live Lurker who shot you?"

Mike: "I can't be certain of what it was since neither of us was able to see the source.  It did shot clean through a multiwrench though, much like the Chimbots' lasers."

"Interesting", says Miko. "Seems we'll need to have another look at that data, just in case. But why don't you continue about how you destroyed those Chimbots in the end?"

"I believe Tagato or Theodore would be a better person to tell that story, since they took part in the bombing mission."  Mike looks at the two

Mike sits down as Theodore takes his turn at talking and gives him a brief smile

Theodore stands up, tall over the heads of the audience. "Well, there was this bomb, and we were going to take it with the helicopter, but then there was no helicopter so we had to send five people to use this kind of jamming device while the others circled back. And then Tagato saved us both, although we didn't manage to save Kata and Kaiyung and Royan..."

Theodore: "Oh, and the Chimbots were building this thing we saw with Tagato with IR, but we're not sure what it was for. It's in pieces now, anyways."

Theodore: "Anyways, what I meant was that it was really scary with the Chimbots coming from all sides, but then again, Nanto had asked for volunteers..."

"In short", Nanto interrupts. "We spotted the Chimbots building some large, spherical structure at the far end of Canyon C. We didn't know what it was for, but they killed our patrol, so we assumed they must have been up to no good. We built a bomb out of a power source, but we had no device to shoot it from. The helicopter, which we had first planned to use, was needed elsewhere, so we had to take a dangerous approach. Unfortunately that meant the death of three of our people. We formed two groups: one to disrupt the Chimbot communication links using a jammer, while the other installed the bomb, destroying the factories the Chimbots were using, and the structure they were building. The mission succeeded, but the cost was great."

"Tagato", Nanto says. "Why don't you give your version of the events?"

Tagato stands up slowly, sorruonded by Horizon members.

Tagato: "Well, I don't have too much to add, first Theodore and me went out to check on the patrol, as noone knew what happened to them. After that I volunteered in the distruptor team, we got the distruptor in place but it didn't work as it was supposed to, but at least it was enough distraction for the other team to plant the bomb. A number of Chimbots attacked us, they killed 3 of our team, as already stated, and we managed to get away only by sheer luck."

"Luck?" Theodore shouts merrily out of order. "Sorry, Bahar, but I think there's a liar in this meeting after all!"

Mizuki smiles slightly.

Tagato looks at Theodore and smiles a bit.

Theodore: "You know, he, like, used those heat-keeping cloaks Miko gave us and turned them inside out, saving us both from sure death!"

It seems everyone's decided to pretend they understood. Some give applause.

Tagato sits down silently.

"Well, I think we understand those rumors better now", Bahar says. "But even these weren't the only scenes were people worked to save the tower - there was a lot of that going on that day, it seems to me."

"As we all know", Bahar continues, "the most tragic of consequences of the Blackout was the floatbed malfunction. 147 people were killed in their sleep before they could be reactivated. Miko, would you shed light on, how *did* you manage to make them work, allowing many badly injured patients to be healed?"

"There was no mystery to that, really", says Miko. "We simply used an Enhanced Remote Control Interface, as well as the expertise of some very talented individuals. Basically, Kitty and Hastings controlled the floatbeds manually using their RCIs."

"Yes", says Corteza, "and in the process managed to kill several more of my ring."

"... And this is exactly why Kitty is not here today to take your... gratitude", says Miko, sourly.

The crowd mutters, apparently divided by this matter, many feeling very strongly either way.

Mizuki's attention seems to wander, her eyes settling on Ami.

Corteza: "I'd just like to know, what it was Fu Lin - our leader - did to deserve this!"

"She might have deserved many things", Miko says, "but we didn't provide her with anything."

"Well, maybe, just *maybe* it was the fact that she wanted to *end the tyranny of TAU*!" Corteza shouts. "I guess you wouldn't want that, now would you?"

The crowd seems to be watching the exchange with great interest.

Miko: "This is nonsense..."

Corteza turns to face the crowd: "Six of us were killed that day, three of them in their gentle care! They think they can stop the movement through murder, but they're wrong! For every one they kill, ten will rise against them, until we're free from the tyranny of machines and those who use them for control!"

Many of the crowds make a tentative cheer.

Mizuki folds her arms and studies Corteza.

"They tell us there is no alternative, but it's a *lie*!" Corteza continues. "The biological blocks in our bodies that make us dependent on floatbeds are *not complicated*! They were meant to be reversed, and so they can be!"

"And how would you produce food?" Laura asks angrily. "Would you abolish necklinks too?"

Corteza: "If the floatbeds can produce the food we need, I can't see how we couldn't produce the same stuff and just *eat* it! Should be *simpler*, actually!"

Corteza gains another cheer, louder this time.

"Know this, people!" Corteza says. "We can and *will* make this happen! There's a project for this, and anyone's welcome to help! Sure, there are things we must solve but that's what it means to be human! If we *want* we *can* do this!"

The echoes of the final roar from the audience linger as Corteza sits down.

"Well..." Bahar says when it's silent again. "This was all I had in mind for discussion. Please feel free to discuss whatever is still on your mind."

And of course, people ask questions after questions, going through the same stories over from a little different perspectives, wondering what this and that person were doing at this and that time etc. Lots of information little knowledge.

When the discussion finally dies, far into the afternoon, Bahar reads aloud the list of names of all of those who died on the 25th. It's a long list and after each name there is a short moment of silence, to honor the person's memory.

When the list is done, Balthasar volunteers to say a prayer in order to speed the journey of their spirit into wherever they're travelling.

This is met with some puzzled reactions from both the audience and those on the platform.

Many seem to find it offensive that this kind of a fairytale be attributed to the deaths of their companions, while others don't exactly see harm if not anything good in it either. And then there's the loud minority supporting the idea.

Few want to turn this into another argument, though, so Balthasar is finally allowed to say a short prayer.

There are 232 dead, among them Merry Smile, Marco, Paavali, Toko (the leader of Bio Security Squad), Pekelo, Jean-Pierre and Elise (from The French Clique), Hanita and Miamang (of The Council of Elders), the entire Recspace Collective, Zing and Mirca (of The Revolution), and Edik.

After that, Bahar calls the meeting to an end, and invites everyone who wishes to discuss their experiences to meet Eleanora at The Garden. "She's asked me to convey her wish to have anyone willing to help listen to these people go talk to her. She can use any help she can."

52

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The meeting concerning the recording about Sebastian happens on schedule, on 13.9.

Bahar calls the meeting to start, although that's hardly necessary. Everyone's already talking about Marco's incident, spreading all sorts of rumors about the events in McGregor's appartment.

Mizuki sits together with the other Horizon members, watching the proceedings calmly.

McGregor, along with Marco, is a center of attention, with people asking him what kinds of things happen in his lounge and if Marco might just be covering up some weird stuff he was doing.

Ishi sits with the rest of the Horizon.

McGregor feeds these rumors by describing countless wild sexual practices he's been teaching some of his more interested pupils.

Mizuki raises an eyebrow.

Mike sits next to Mizuki and Ishi

Ishi tries to spot Huo.

Huo sits near Ishi and Zeven.

"You did well saving Marco's life Ishi.", Mizuki says with a tiny smile while looking at Ishi, dark eyes passing over Huo briefly, wondering.

Bahar asks Hussen, Marco, and La, to report on their findings about the recording.

Ishi: "Well, I wasn't very likely to just leave someone lying there, was I?"

La explains that she didn't find any flaws, even though she examined the recording three times.

Mizuki: "Of course not, iie. "

Nanto shows a recording showing Kitty handing a recording to Jesse, implying La's lack of impartiality.

Alexandra, leader of The Association of Scholars, denies any involvement of the ring as a whole, saying Jesse seems to have acted on his own and will be sanctioned.

Hussen explains that he has, in fact, found certain anomalies in the recording. Very subtle, but as Sebastian points out, he wouldn't expect anything less from Felman's handiwork.

When his turn comes, Marco almost shouts at Zing and Mirca. He explains someone from their ring, The Revolution, attacked him and tried to make him lie about the recording in their favor. He strongly supports Hussen's view that even though the anomalies are very subtle, they're clear proof that the recording is a fake!

Ishi glances at the people Marco shouts at.

Mizuki looks at Mirca.

Alexandra questions Marco's honesty, pointing to the certain rumors and even asking McGregor if there could have happened something that Marco might be trying to hide with this. McGregor admits that many things happen in his room, many things of joy, but he couldn't see any reason for anyone to hide anything like that.

Andrea, standing in the background, looks thoughtfully at McGregor

Zing adamantly denies any involvement in any kind of torture, but no one seems to have expected anything else.


In the end, the majority of the attendees seem to be in favor of Sebastian and Marco. Many, including Hansila of Society of Free Colonists, an opponent of The Horizon, emphasize Marco's character as a very honest man.


The members of The Revolution storm out of the room shouting insults at everyone present, while The Scholars try to answer to dozens of accusations at once.

As it all finally dies down, Sebastian thanks the people for their vote of confidence in him. He promises not to let them down.

Ishi looks relieved.

Mizuki lets out a very small and brief pleased smile. "Good, this nonsense is over now then.".

Huo looks thoughtful.

Zeven: "At least that mess is out of the way."

Mike smiles in relief as well, but comments to Mizuki "I hope it is."

Zeven: "So, what do you think, why did the TSR help them fabricate that? Just because they hate Sebastian so much?"

Mizuki: "I am beginning to lose track of all the intrigues in this tower. I do not know. "

53

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The Garden is packed with people sitting on the grass, leaning on the pool wall, or standing, peaking over the next person's head. The only empty space are the wide steps on the left side, where the panelists are sitting, on the stairs, in a relaxed manner. They converse quietly with Bahar of Da Vinci Collaboration.

"All right", says Bahar after everyone has had time to assemble. "Welcome to yet another Panel Discussion. This time we're talking about history, the times before most of us were born at all."

Bahar: "Our panelists are all experts of history: two of them were there to see it unfold themselves, while one of them has studied its ways rigorously for his life."

Mizuki nods to all Horizon members present and seats herself together with Ishi and Mike.

Bahar introduces Sinnai, one of the eldest of the colonists. She's 84 years old, exceeded only by Sebastian and Felman. Her face is as smooth as anyone's, but her hair has turned grey.

Bahar then introduces Sebastian of The Horizon, whose face has gained some wrinkles and whose grey hair and narrow beard fall onto his shoulders like waves. He nods as he's introduced.

Tagato sits near Mizuki and the others, though not next to them

Mizuki nods shortly to Tagato, perhaps with a quick question in her eyes.

Bahar: "And last, to bring another perspective to the discussion, is Zesiro of The Association of Scholars, a scholar of anthropology." Zesiro is a black man with a gaze that seems to look for fault even in the trees shadowing his position."

Tagato nods and smiles briefly to Mizuki.

Mizuki smiles slightly to Tagato before looking at Zesiro with an unreadable expression.

Bahar: "We've all heard stories about the past, I'm sure I have. But which ones are rumors and gossip and which ones are true? And for those less factual, is there still a seed of truth behind them?"

Bahar: "And please remember, this is an informal meeting, so don't hesitate to ask questions of our panelists!"

Zesiro: "I would say many of the stories circulating in the Tower fit in the defination of folklore. Legend, myth. The stories told about the first six are similar in proportion and extraggeration to the myths about Greek heroes by Homeros. This is completely natural in a culture that has lost most of the recordings of the past."

Zesiro: "Take the way they're described in absolutes. Fisher 'never dropped his smile'. Sebastian was 'always finding and solving problems'. Lely knew 'everything that's ever been worth knowing and more'. Is that a way you describe a person? Would you describe any of your friends that way?"

Zesiro: "No, because that's the way to describe a legend. An image built by ourselves based on dreams and ideals more than facts and actual events."

"Really? Then why don't we go through some of those legends and see what's hidden beneath?" And more or less following Bahar's lead, the three panelists talk about several important parts of history from the awakening of the Legendary Six, through the establishment of their unofficial rule, the crises and catastrophes facing them, to the breakup after Lely died.

Mizuki listens attentively, face kept neutral, body unmoving throughout the discussions.

Tagato listens to the discussion, but it's clearly visible that his thoughts are somewhere else.

Sebastian takes turns with Sinnai as they relate the events. Sebastian speaks with skill - without sounding like he's exaggerating he still manages to convey great feelings of joy, comradeship, achievement, despair and loss.

Ishi pays close attention to the discussion, especially the parts pertaining to Sebastian.

Sinnai speaks in more everyday way, adding facts as well as the point of view of a regular First Colonist (a 'non-legendary', as she puts it). At times, she makes jokes about Sebastian's grand tales, but they don't come off as mean. At those times, Sebastian gives her a warm smile.

Zesiro interrupts them at times, pointing out things he finds inconsistent or out of scale. He gets corrected at times, while at other times the two elders have to admit to having remembered or interpreted something wrong. Sebastian lets Sinnai do most of the arguing.

As time goes on, Mizuki starts to tense slightly, almost not noticable for even those sitting nearest.

When it comes time to talk about the death of Lely, a darkness falls upon Sebastian. With sorrow he relates the event: He found Lely's body near one of TAU's consoles - she had been hit by a laser cutter. He took her to their friends, and with long and respectful words, put her into a floatbed.

Ishi sounds surprised at hearing that.

Bahar listens attentively and with compassion. "There's been a rumor going around that you suspected Felman for murdering Lely. Is there... any truth in this?"

Mizuki suddenly looks slightly concerned, frowning very slightly, a bit of anger in her eyes, perhaps worry too.

"There is", says Sebastian. "It was not an accident. There was no way a laser cutter would have accidentally hit her right in the heart at a TAU command console. And Felman had always been ambitious. I knew he was jealous at Lely since she had the control over TAU and not him. He felt he deserved control for he had invented the system, which was true. He admitted this several times before her death. And before Lely died they had severe arguments as they were together in the command center - arguments neither of them wanted to explain. On top of that, Felman was not in the funeral, nor did he ever confront my accusations. He simply retired into hiding, and that's where he still is, with his friends.

"I never believed he would be capable of such an act", says Sinnai. "But you never do, I suppose."

Zesiro: "Is there any proof on Felman's guilt?"

Sebastian: "There isn't. I'd be surprised if there was. Felman is a smart man, he wouldn't leave evidence."

Matt raises his hand and asks: "Are you then comfortable with accusing people without evidence?"

Mizuki shifts her position a little, moving for the first time during the discussion.

Sebastian: "I'm simply saying what I feel is the truth. There is no trial to present evidence at, there's no jury to decide his guilt. There's no attempt on my part to bring him to justice or punishment. There are only my words and I'm just as entitled to them as anyone."

Zesiro: "Your words have a more weight than the average persons, don't you agree?"

Sebastian: "My words have the weight they desire, the weight they're given by the thinking, feeling public. That's all there is to this."

Sebastian's words are greeted with agreement by many in the audience. Zesiro tries a couple of more arguments, but without success. The discussion moves forward.

"Why don't we leave all of this sad stuff behind and talk about something a little brighter?" asks Zing of The Revolution. "Why don't you tell us a little more about that crisis you solved. The 'Corrosion Crisis'?"

"With pleasure." Sebastian relates the story about how he led the Tower through a bad situation involving a corrosive element in the air circulation.

Zesiro: "So, in short, something went wrong in the power settings and you heroically masterminded the tower in order to find it?"

Sebastian: "I wouldn't use those words myself, but in a nutshell, that's what happened."

Zing: "That's not what we heard!"

Zing stands up and walks towards the panelists. He's carrying a portable holoprojector, a black box with a hole in the middle.

Zesiro turns to face Zing in surprise.

Bahar eyes Zing. "What's the meaning of this?"

"Evidence to the contrary", says Zing, standing at the focus of attention now and activating the device. "A record from the time we have no record from."

A holographic projection fills the air amidst the five people on the stairs. It's a recording from someone's eye perspective. He or she is walking into a dimly lit room with computer screens and flickering lights all over.

Mizuki looks at Sebastian.

Zing: "This is a recording by Kazama, a technician who lived around 50 AA. She used to take recordings of events she found interesting."

A female voice speaks over the recording.

Kazama: "This is Kazama. I'm performing a routine check on the waste removal systems.""

The recording goes through the different screens that show different statistics at Kazama's command. She stops at the fifth screen. "Interesting. This shouldn't be. Why are the settings so low...?"

There is an echoish voiceover that's used in recordings to indicate a necklink conversation. Kazama has contacted Sebastian. "Sebastian, I'm wondering if the power level of the waste removal systems of Biotank 3 is supposed to be as low as 3.5. Is it an emergency measure?"

"I'll make a query of that", Sebastian replies on the recording. "It might be only a user's error. I'll see to it. Return to The Canyon - your help is required here."

Zing: "If you look at the date, you'll see that the recording is dated three days before the Corrosion Crisis. But let's watch another one before making judgement."

The second recording is longer. In it, Kazama is looking for the cause of the problem along with other people. She's breathing heavily under the gas mask, receiving constant orders from Sebastian, telling her to hurry to one control station after the next, to read values, report them, read more values...

Then, suddenly, Kazama drops all that and runs through several long, twisting, empty corridors, halls empty of people. Finally, she reaches the same control room, and there it is, the power is still at 3.5. She quickly adjusts the power level up to 10.

Tagato looks at Sebastian, and the to Kazama, finally at Zing, then he shakes his head a little.

Zing fast-forwards the video for some time, but stops to make it clear that the crisis is over in a couple of hours. Kazama travels by tubelift up to The Middle Cluster, where she meets with Sebastian, as well as Felman, and reports.

Kazama: "... and I believe that's when the impurities entered the distribution system..."

In the recording, Sebastian buries his head in his hands. "Yes, I see. And I know your next question. Why didn't I take care of the power levels when you first mentioned them?"

Mizuki blinks.

"Yes. Why didn't you?" asks Felman in the recording. "You didn't...?""

"I forgot", says Sebastian. "There were a hundred other things going on..."

"I thought you could *handle* a hundred things...", Felman starts but is silenced by a wave of Sebastian's hand.

Sebastian: "Very well. I'm going to have to make an announcement."

Felman: "... stating that you found the problem and had it fixed."

Sebastian tries to argue but Felman pushes on: "People have died because of this. Do you think people are going to just let this go? No, they're going to tear apart all that we've built here, and what good will that be?"

Sebastian argues some more, but finally sees things Felman's way. He turns to look at Kazama.

"What about my recording?" Kazama just asks.

Felman: "It'll need to be destroyed."

Kazama: "Very well."

The record ends.

Sebastian calmly watches the recording, then gives a short, dry laugh. "Interesting", he says.

"Is that true?" asks Zesiro, turning to face Sebastian with a grave expression.

Everyone looks at Sebastian expectantly.

"Yes," says Sebastian. "I seem to remember saying many of those words. In a meeting with the Revolution a couple of weeks ago, if I my memory doesn't fail me. If I had known it was being recorded, though, I'd have worn something more appropriate." His words are greeted with a few chuckles here and there.

Sebastian: "They've done wonders with my hair, though. I've not looked that young in ages."

Mizuki sits perfectly still, watching the panel.

Zing: "You think this is a fake? Hah! I knew you'd try something pathetic like that!"

Mike doesn't show much outward expression, listening to the discussion

Tagato watches the scene with a curious expression.

The exchange is greeted by muttering and yelling from the ranks of the audience.

Bahar: "Calm down, people, calm down. It's been an unexpected revelation, but I'm sure we'll be able to get to the bottom of this in a civilized manner."

"I'm wondering how you put together Felman's lines, though, " says Sebastian. "He seems to say most of the... informative bits."

Zing offers the holoprojector towards Sebastian. "You check it out yourself! Do any tests you like, you won't find anything wrong with it."

After yet another uproar, Bahar silences the crowds and gives a suggestion: "I agree the matter needs investigation. I suggest we give the recording to several analysts. There's one at the Scholars, isn't there, Mark?"

Matt: "You mean La? Well, yes, she's studied Data Authentication, if that's what you mean."

"Right. Let's check the database." Bahar spends a while quiet. "Ah, yes, seems we have three experts in Data Authentication. Hussen of The Stargazers, the ringless Marco, and La of the Association of Scholars."

Sebastian: "Zing, would you mind telling us how exactly you came to have this recording in your possession. I don't think your ring has the necessary skill to create it."

Zing: "Create it? You just don't stop trying to accuse us, will you? Try to take some responsibility for your actions, for a change!"

Sebastian: "Taken under advicement, though I'd still like to know where this came from."

Zing: "Well, if you *must* know it came from... Felman himself."

Nanto: "Felman?"

"Why would Felman give this to you?" asks someone. "He's like, the bad guy of the whole scene!"

Zing: "He felt he no longer could live with the lie! Like some people do!"

Sinnai, who's been quiet for the whole discussion, finally speaks. "It doesn't feel like Felman's character to reveal something like this out of mere guilt. I've known him for quite some time, and honesty was never one of his virtues."

"Speaking of character", says Zesiro, almost interrupting Sinnai, "how do you find the material that's been shown here? Is it believable to you that Sebastian would have gone through all this to cover up his mistake?"

Sinnai thinks for a while, giving long looks to Sebastian. "Yes. I do believe Sebastian would have taken any measure to protect his position."

"Well, I for one am full of this!" yells someone from the audience ranks. "Just because he's willing to take responsibility doesn't mean Sebastian's some powerhungry bastard!"

The speaker gets some support and counter-arguments among the audience.

Nanto looks to Zesiro. "Nice change of topics there. One might almost think the Scholars have some interest in which way this goes."

"Just trying to make sense of all this, that's all", Zesiro says apologetically.

"Just wanted people to consider that when you look at La's report, that's all", Nanto responds with equal calm.

Finally, the meeting reaches conclusion. It's decided that each three of the experts will look at the recording to find out if it's original. Sebastian points out that the job might be difficult if the forgery is Felman's handiwork.


In two weeks, there will be another meeting where the new evidence will be evaluated.

The meeting's ended.

As you approach the audience platform opposite The Window, the seats are already getting sparse. It seems half the Tower has skipped on their daily jobs in order to attend the meeting.

A few ringleaders are already there, absent-looking, probably going through their agendas on their ring channels. They're sitting on seats arranged in three semicircular rows, facing the audience. At the center of the semicircles is a single seat, facing the ringleaders - the seat of Bahar of Da Vinci Collaboration, the Chair of the meeting.

You know it's not possible, but you can almost hear the storm outside hammering the multilayered glassteel window, blocking the sunrise from view. The storm is even more humongous than usual, as if Da Vinci itself was trying to crush the meager gathering of the unwelcomed vermins on its surface.

Tagato sits beside Andrea.

Mizuki moves to stand together with the other The Horizon members.

Andrea walks in to sit on a seat without trying to get in contact with anyone he knows. He's got a hint of a strained and irritated expression on his face

Ishi walks up to stand near Mizuki."

Mizuki nods to Ishi

One after another, the ringleader seats are filled by people coming in from the corridor in the back. Some move to their seats straightforward, some greet the audience curtly, while a few wave extravagantly.

As he arrives on the scene, a few minutes before the beginning, Sinuhe takes a long pause looking up to the audience before taking his seat. He sits upright, his legs crossed, giving quick glances to the ringleaders.

Punctual as always, Sebastian walks onto the platform, nodding curtly to the audience before taking one of the last remaining seats. Soon after, the XXXII Ringleader Meeting begins.

Bahar's voice echoes from the speakers placed on all sides of the hall. The lighting on the audience platform turns dim, leaving the Ringleaders bathing in a cone of bright, white light. "Welcome to the thirty-second Ringleader Meeting", Bahar says, turning around to face the audience. "Every month we gather in this hall in the spirit of friendship and cooperation, to talk about matters concerning each and every one of us."

Bahar: "Before we begin, I must remind you all about the courtesy of submitting the topic descriptions in good time before the meeting, in order to give everyone time to familiarize themselves with them. This time we had several topics delivered during the last three days, one only yesterday, which is bad form. Thank you."

Bahar then begins to introduce the Ringleaders present. The light focuses on each leader as he or she hears his or her name and stands up to greet the audience.

After the introductions have been conducted, Bahar opens the discussions about the first topic on the list: the Lurker Investigation Project and Sinuhe's suggestion to open a diplomatic channel to them. First, the floor goes to Sebastian of The Horizon.

Sebastian quickly reminds the people about the facts about the Lurker situation - the killings, the thefts, the recent developments. "I'm sure we all agree, in the light of these events, that Aleksei was a poor choice for leading this project. He didn't even volunteer for the task - he accepted it out of a sense of duty after we pushed it on him, because we were too deep in our petty disputes to choose someone more qualified. Now he pays the price for it."

Before Sebastian gets to go further into his arguments, Bahar gives the floor to Sinuhe, who explains his point of view. He refers to the message on the TAU Space Message Boards and urges everyone to sign it. After giving his usual pacifistic arguments, he requests permission to invite Ping of The Association of Scholars to tell her story about the time she spent as a prisoner of the Lurkers and her feelings about the matter.


Clearly nervous about half of the Tower staring down at her, Ping steps into the focus of the cone of light.

Shaking visibly, Ping begins her story about being lured into a trap by the Lurkers, having to survive on inhibitors, the deaths of her companions, the panicked escape, getting lost in the endless maze beneath... The fear, the uncertainty, the constant fear of dying. But even though she talks about fear and horror, her voice remains steady and afterwards she answers the bombardment of questions in a calm, detached tone.

Bahar: "But now that we've heard one side of the argument, let's move on to the other. Sebastian, you have the floor."

Sebastian: "Thank you. Before I say my words, however, I'd like to ask another participant in the expedition to give her side of the story. Ishi."

Bahar approves the request.

Ishi walks up to speak.

The ringleaders turn to face the back of the platform.

Ishi explains about the first time they met the Lurker, just wandering around and being attacked, she reminds people of how Hideo was killed, just because he was standing in the way. She explains the conversations she overheard and the things Shamha said to her, and says she doesn't think their pacifist faction is very large or powerful, as a lot of others of them clearly kill for hardly any reason at all.

Ishi goes on to explain how it seemed like there was a lot of hatred for us up here, among the Lurkers, for no reason that she understood. And finishes with explaining how even if they contact them and get a reoly, she doubts that would be such a good thing, since we have no reason to think they wouldn't lie to us, and that they hold all the cards, knowing much about us and us knowing next to nothing about them save for their violent tendencies. And says how she fears that they would only be in a position to use us.

Ishi bows to the audience and leaves again for her seat.

Ishi too is bombarded by questions, such as "how do you know they'd be lying" and "what bad would it be to just ask what they want".

Ishi explains they were lied to by them before, when the seemingly pacifist man told them they'd be let out of the hole soon, but then they were left there for ages, and after that Shamha came along to try and see if she would levae the others behind if they promised to let just her out, and told her they would all be killed after all after Ishi refused t ocome out without the others.

Sinuhe: "You say it is foolish to trust them, and I agree. We're not planning to go into this blindfolded. But don't you think it would be at least as foolish to confront them, violently, since we, as you said, know hardly anything about them?"

Ishi also explains that she thinks that they might ask for unreasonable things, or ask for things and give false reasons for them, maybe build things with them that they could later use against us, as they seem to hate us so much.

Ishi asks why he thinks anyone was planning on doing anything violent.

Reneb: "Perhaps we can quell the hatred by being reasonable ourselves. They might not expect it, and be positively surprised."

Sinuhe: "Perhaps because that's all what the 'Lurker Investigation Project' has been doing so far?"

Ishi: "Perhaps. I can help you hope but I have little faith in it, you think we did not try to be reasonable with them down there? Asking them why they were doing what they did?"

Ishi explains they went on just one exploratory mission to try and gain -some- infromation.

After a few more questions and answers they die down and Bahar asks Ishi to return to her seat in the audience.

Ishi returns to her seat.

Sebastian: "Thank you, Ishi. But now since we're all familiar with the past events, we'd like to move on to the solution, which is to continue the Lurker Investigation Project with a proper leadership. We do not, in any circumstances, support the idea of cooperating with the Lurkers. As Ishi mentioned, we have no reason to trust any of their members, even if they claim to be of a peaceful faction. Instead, they've shown time and time again they have no problem with murder or betrayal. Talking with such people is not only a waste of time - it'll make us vulnerable."

Sinuhe: "That kind of a cynical attitude we would expect from you, Sebastian. But I wish the rest of the tower hasn't lost their faith in open-mindedness, patience, and understanding. Did it ever occur to you that there may actually be a reason to their hostility, a reason that would perhaps be worth learning?"

"We all know it's Shamha, the one who murdered our own Ringleader that's leading the radical faction of the Kingdom", says Reneb of Da Vinci Collaboration. "We also know that when the floatbeds malfunctioned she escaped from quarantine with a group of dangerous individuals. Three of them had been diagnosed with a psychopathic disorder. These are likely to be the ones responsible for the killings, and their motives may not go beyond their madness."

Reneb: "But we've learned there are many others who have either joined or collaborating with the Kingdom. Recent investigations to a detail of Ishi and Tagato's story have shed new light on the motivations of at least part of that group. The word they use to refer to themselves - 'Kingdom of Orph' - has a history. We'd like to call Solomon to give us his expert opinion."

Bahar accepts the request, and Solomon emerges from the back of the Ringleader platform.

Solomon: "The phrase 'Kingdom of Orph' dates back to the later centuries of The Technocracy. It's a fairy tale, an urban legend of sorts. A tale about a safe haven for all those luck has abandoned in their lives. The poor, the sick, the intellectually challenged. Some historians even claimed it true - that a good-willed billionaire had indeed created a hidden paradise for the societal outcasts."

"So you found out about all this - and decided to spill it out in the Ringleader Meeting?" says Eeb of The Stargazers and The Dreamers' Alliance. "Did you actually want the Lurkers to know we know about their plan, or would you just diagnose yourselves as intellectually challenged?"

Reneb: "We brought this up because we believe everyone needs to know what it is we're being afraid of. And we wish to send the Kingdom the message that we're willing to understand them if they're willing to help us do that. For that, we need honesty, not paranoia."

Sebastian: "This is all very interesting. But it's trivia, and changes nothing in the end. Whatever the reasons they believe they have, they're still a serious threat to the Tower. A threat that must be fixed, not fed by listening to their lies and empty promises. My suggestion stands: continue the Lurker Investigation Project with a new leadership, someone with the required knowledge about the Tower and the experience about human nature. Someone smart and wise who can lead without hesitation. Not a political choice this time, but a wise one."

Sebastian's suggestion gains support among the ringleaders. The majority, being still sceptical about Sinuhe's suggestion, are in favor of a renewed project to investigate the Lurker threat without giving in to them. They also grudgingly agree that Aleksei may not have been the best choice.

"So, who do you suggest to lead the project then, Sebastian", asks Alexandra of The Association of Scholars. "One of your lackies, perhaps?"

Sebastian: "I'm not suggesting any of my ringmates for this job. Even though I trust them explicitly and know they're capable of a lot, this project needs something more."

Sebastian gives the crowds time to contemplate, then stands up in his full height. "I, Sebastian of The First Patch, volunteer to lead the Lurker Investigation Project!"

When the gasps die down, Sebastian sits back down on his chair. The room is filled with arguments and complaints, each shouted over the next, but he doesn't seem to be even hearing it. "What? The mighty Sebastian steps down from his throne to get his hands dirty...?" "...must be very important to him..." "...I would rather have an amoeba leading this..." "...a very good idea, actually..." "...well, who would be more qualified...?" "... you, perhaps? I don't think so..." "...you can't be serious, I won't trust him as far as I can throw him..."

When order is finally restored, Sebastian says: "You will tell me all the information you know about the Lurkers. If you don't, we'll find out and you'll be considered collaborators. I will make up my team later today and begin."

After that Sebastian answers to none of the arguments. During the next half hour, other rings suggest several other leaders for the project, but none of them seem to get the same support as Sebastian.

Finally, Bahar has no choice but to call silence on the ringleaders and move on to the next topic of discussion.

Bahar opens the second topic, concerning the life support project. He asks Laura to give her views.

Laura: "As we all know, there are several parts of the Tower that have unreliable life support systems. Those places include Ringlab Beta, and - Recspace, including the floatbed chambers. I don't think I need to stress the seriousness of the situation."

Laura's speech is greeted by excited muttering all over.

Laura: "That's why it causes me great concern that the project has had such difficulties. Led by a man that, understandably to his age, doesn't enjoy the respect and trust of an experienced leader. His decicions have been rash and erratic, his organization of things less than ideal. We don't blame Andrea for this - he's done better than most of his age. But we do think the project should be moved to a more capable leader."

Mizuki looks at Andrea quietly, studying him.

Sinuhe: "So you would believe yourself more capable of taking care of this problem in the Floatbed Chambers - and, I must stress, in the Ringlab."

Andrea is sitting quietly, without making any visible reactions. His eyes do become a bit distant, though

Ishi glances at where Andrea is sitting.

Laura looks at Sinuhe, then frowns. "No. In fact we find it more feasible to take care of the matters in Recspace and leave the Ringlab to someone who's more familiar with it. But we need a leaderhip to govern both sides of the project, a leader that can handle it smoothly so the efforts don't hamper each other more than they must."

Bahar: "So, who would you suggest?"

Laura: "We believe the person best equipped to handle it would be McGregor of Tower Engineering Society."

McGregor looks at Laura with surprise.

Laura: "You've got just the experience, and the resources, to handle a major-scale project like this."

McGregor: "Um, well, I'm flattered by all the attention, I sure am, but like I've told everyone, including you, before, this is not the *only* high priority job here. And I'm working on pretty much all the others."

Laura: "Is that your final word on this?"

"Yes", McGregor says fairly stressedly.

Laura seems a little disoriented as she continues. "Oh, well then, I'm open for suggestions."

Andrea shakes his head with an almost sad expression

"We would be willing to take care of it", says Igaros of The Canyon A Collective. "We know how to handle such things."

"I doubt it", says Hama of Dreamers of Gaia. "You've been stuck in your Canyon A for who knows how long. We, on the other hand, have just the expertice needed."

Hama's argument is countered by a third ringleader, who seems to have no trust in her leadership ability at all. Then another counters that, until there's a chorus of cacophonic voices again.

After another long while of bickering, Bahar finally managed to bring order to the hall. "Since there seems to be no agreement, we'll have to move on to the next topic..."

He is, however, interrupted by Sebastian, who simply states: "I would like to add, if you don't mind, that The Horizon would also agree to the role. We have several good leaders and teams trained to work under them. We have prior experience on similar projects as well as patience to see it through."

Sebastian: "But we're only taking upon this role if asked."

The familiar chorus of complaints arises, but is soon quelled by Sebastian's continued assurances the last thing he wants is to force his ring on this project.

Alexandra: "I just wanted to add that The Association of Scholars will not accept The Horizon as leaders of this project. They've wanted to pin us down in Labspace for a long time, and we're not going to give them the chance!""

Sebastian returns to his musings, ignoring the rant.

Bahar finally opens the next topic of discussion, which is about public polls.

Gwandoya of The Technocrats explains her concerns about the state of democracy in the Tower. She suggest the colony takes a step forward by creating a system of public polls that bind the decisions of ringleaders.

To Gwandoya's annoyance, but seemingly not surprise, the motion doesn't seem to be of much interest to the other ringleaders. She gets a few tired comments about there being no way to enforce decicions so there's no point to such a system.

Most of the ringleaders don't even say anything, and when Bahar finally asks them who's in favor of the suggestion, only a handful raise their hands. Gwandoya's topic is closed.

The fourth topic is about whether the factories of Bit 5 at The Mall should produce Condensed Nitrogen Cells Mark 5 or Mark 7. Ting of Patch 178 feels Mark 7 would give better performance on many applications produced today, and now they have to settle for the less efficient Mark 5s. However, as several people point out, Mark 5 has a much longer lifespan, making it ideal for low-power items such as vehicles and hand-held tools. However, Ting argues that the requirements for power have steadily increased according to graph A12 in her research report X25...

Finally the more engineering-minded ringleaders come to the conclusion, that Mark 7 will indeed better satisfy current needs and agree to correct the production accordingly.

Bahar sound a good deal less frustrated as he concludes the discussion and introduces the next one, this one too brought forth by Laura.

Laura: "As many of you may have heard already, there was a serious accident in Recspace about a week back. In that accident, five of my ringmembers were injured. One of them, Jake, had to get a spinal prostetic, which is still hampering his movements. This accident was caused by a circular... toy... being thrown at my ringmate Sara, while she was working on fixing the structure of the ceiling near The Garden. This toy hit the back of her head, taking her and the ceiling with her off balance. We were lucky there were no fatalities."

Laura: "Since this woman, called Merry Smile, has been behaving erratically before, we must consider her to be a threat to the tower. And like all such threats, measures must be taken to make sure it won't happen again."

Bahar: "Thank you, Laura. Now, I understand this woman has been given a guardian responsible for her. I'd like to invite Tagato, a ringless colonist, to our circle to give his views."

Tagato stands up from beside Andrea and walks down to the platform.

Bahar: "So, Tagato, is it true your... daughter... caused this accident?"

Tagato looks at Bahar, then at Laura, "From what I know, she could have tried to... play with those who were working in that room"

Bahar: "I see. And does she often do that?"

The light from above is focused on Tagato's face as he answers the questions. The ringleaders all gaze at him from the rim of the light cone.

Tagato: "Also, I'm sure you know, that at that time, I was either in a coma becouse of the inhibitors, hoping with all my heart that someone would get us rescued, or after that, in the floatbed."

Laura: "Her other guardian, Mike, doesn't have that excuse, though."

Laura: "And it was not the first time one of them leaves Merry Smile alone in The Garden."

Tagato: "The thing... that she used, is something Mike and me made for her. As for Mike, I don't know what did he do in the meantime, probably securing the nanofarm, that the Lurkers tried to take from us, and with the help of one of us!"

Tagato: "Was it not for our secrecy and planning, they would have taken it."

Mizuki smiles very slightly, wryly.

Igaros: "Don't change the subject. We all know you've done all kinds of heroic things, but we're talking about Merry Smile now."

Laura: "Yes. Her mental disorder makes her a threat."

Tagato nods. "But that doesn't give you the right to just put her in the floatbeds forever."

Bahar: "In fact it does. It's been done before, in case of dangerous individuals."

Laura: "And it's not forever. When we have the proper facilities for treating her illness..."

Hama: "Right. Except if the Tower falls, she'll never wake up!"

Tagato: "Of course, I know that we don't have the facilities to treat her, but you can't take her under the same case then those who are dangerous becouse of their mental disorder. She has no mental disorder, she's just a child, at least in mind, that wasn't a crime ever. "

Sebastian: "Nevertheless, the safety of the Tower must come first. It's unrealistic to expect Mike and Tagato can keep an eye on her constantly, and still manage to do their jobs. There are several ways a mentally problematic individual can cause serious harm to the Tower and also herself. One mistake and she might end up dead next to a smoldering hatch."

Laura: "I'd like to ask the opinion of an expert on this: Eleonora, the psychologist of Common Good."

Laura: "Eleonora, would you consider Merry Smile a child?"

Tagato: "You always argue about the constant newborns from the floatbeds, then you argue about not having enough manpower. Why can't we create a facility, where someone with the right knowledge tells the newborns which field to learn, so we will have the specialists we need. Every newborn comes out of floatbed with their individualistic ideas, which creates disorder.""

Laura: "Well, if you think that would be a good idea, then why not make it a project? But please try to keep on topic."

"It is on topic, I suggested an alternative to yours", Tagato smiles at Laura.

Eleonora: "So you would... quarantine Merry Smile into this facility to keep her from harming others?"

Tagato: "Just today, you said a *three months old* newborn isn't enough to lead a project, and yes, though I wouldn't call that quarantine, only if you think it would be quarantine for the rest of the newborns."

Laura frowns. "Andrea isn't throwing things at people, so your comparison is weak..."

Tagato: "Of course, if you think the current system of dealing with newborns is good, then it's useless. But I seriously doubt that."

Eleonora: "I'm not saying your idea doesn't have merit. It would actually be an interesting idea to me. But we don't have such a facility now, and we may never have it."

Sebastian: "I suggest we place Merry Smile in floatbed quarantine now, and in the future if such a facility is built, we move her into it. That way she won't need to be in the floatbed forever, and the safety of the Tower won't be compromised either."

Eleonora: "However, I'm not sure how such a facility would differ from quarantine for her. We wouldn't be able to teach her anything - the speedgrowth packaged available in the backup of the backup database are high-order, not elementary."

"And will you suspend the idea of creating such facility for an undecided time?", Tagato turns to Eleonora "You are the specialist, we just have to teach them... her at least, we can't rely on TAU in everything.", Tagato looks back to Sebastian.

Eleonora: "We might be able to teach her some very elementary things, but those wouldn't be of much use to the Tower. She wouldn't be able to learn with the other newborns - she'd be on a completely different level."

Laura: "Well, I suppose you'd just have to see to building that facility if you want her out. Unless you have another solution to the problem."

Tagato: "Alright, given you are still argueing on the projects where my skills could be used, I will do that, given I have no other choice."

Laura: "It's good we have an understanding."

Tagato: "I just hope, that there are others who think that such a facility isn't worthless."

Bahar: "I'll inform TSR about the quarantine order later today."

Bahar: "Topic closed."

Tagato walks out of the platform and out of the meeting, heading towards the Garden, alone.

Andrea follows Tagato with his eyes

Having more or less covered all the listed topics, Bahar informs the public that the Ringleader Meeting is over. "It was a pleasure to have such a wide audience today. Shows clearly that the people of the Tower are indeed interested in matters that touch them all! Thank you!"

Sebastian sits there for a while alone, until Amas and Ilieth walk out of the shadows. They follow him in his wake as he leaves for Canyon C.

The crowd disperses back to their jobs.

55

(18 replies, posted in Games Discussion)

Yes, I've been playing it a little, so has Rookie-Do. I'm also in the closed beta, but I don't really spend much time there. Can't say anything about the actual RP, nobody I met RP'ed in beta.

Graphically, it looks ok indoors and characters look ok when not.. moving wink Animations are not too nice though, and the outdoors looks somewhat.. ugly big_smile It's not that bad though, there's both effort and money in it, just not AAA title money.

As for the setting and lore, that seems fine and promising. The text is in general good. Wouldn't play it without great RP though, but the setting works.

56

(14 replies, posted in Neverwinter Nights 2)

Shameless bump AND advertising! wink

If it disintegrated shortly after I quit playing, it didn't last long at all, heh. Right, perhaps some of us will try out TUM then smile

57

(72 replies, posted in Sava's Garden)

Yeah, welcome Kai smile

58

(6 replies, posted in Steambaths)

Huh. Didn't see that coming, not even on Facebook, but uh. Ok. Happy birthday smile

59

(4 replies, posted in Games Discussion)

wtf? world of goo? UIh.. Never heard of it. Sounds like a rip-off wink

60

(3 replies, posted in Steambaths)

... Carrot?

None - as long as things start after 10.00 CET wink

And moi.

No surprise, I'm in wink

Don't even know what that project is, but I'm at home sunday, so.. wink

65

(2 replies, posted in Steambaths)

Hehe.. sounds 'interesting'

Good luck with your emergency. Whatever it is smile

Works for me. Saturday evening doesn't, just in case things have to be rescheduled.

68

(659 replies, posted in Steambaths)

No.

Saturday I have time until around 13-14 GMT+1. Friday evening (and day actually, I think), I have no plans so far.

They won't, but those are features I'd love to see. Just.. Lobbying y'know wink

/whisper and /think ! smile

72

(659 replies, posted in Steambaths)

.. Uh wink

73

(54 replies, posted in Steambaths)

Great link Norah big_smile

74

(659 replies, posted in Steambaths)

Uhm.. Is that Bhaal's symbol from BG?

75

(659 replies, posted in Steambaths)

Wow.. That's a wild guess indeed.

Ishar 2 and 3 ruled btw!