Starbucks and Sketches (IC)

[Azuth65]

"Honestly, I'm pretty horrible at chess. Pen and paper gaming is...," she struggled for a moment to define one of her favorite hobbies, "Sort of interactive storytelling. Your group comes to the table, role-plays their character, often cracks some really bad and/or crude jokes, scarfs down a meal often composed of cheetos, pizza or Chinese food and mountain dew."

"As for the computer help, that'd be appreciated. I know how to use one but I'd like to be able to code my own website, you know?"

[Cyroa]

"Of course. I'd be happy to help." He quirked am eyebrow a bit. He knew the terms of course just not used together. He'd have to do some research later; he made a mental note to get back to it. "Interactive storytelling, jokes and food. Isn't that called improv or something? I believe I read something about comedy clubs like that." He shrugged. "It certainly sounds social, which is always nice. I'm guessing there aren't many people to play it here. Did you play that wherever you're from, before coming here or is it a recent hobby?" He sat back and nodded to the waitress as came over.

[Azuth65]

"Improv usually involves much fewer dice," Vicky replied. Answering his last questions she nodded, "The former. Back in Chicago I got big into Dungeons & Dragons. I think most of us who've ever been bitten by the writer's bug have tried Gygax and Arneson's creation. Though, you're right about one thing, not many at school have expressed much interest in a game. There's a couple of us in the Gaming Club but for the most part, it's made up of purely-video gamers."

Pausing for a moment, she was pretty sure Cole could almost hear the gears working behind her sunglass covered eyes. He lips spreading into a slow grin, she asked, "Cole, how much do you know about the tech behind virtual reality?"

[Cyroa]

He gave a little nod. "Video games are more reactionary, less social affects and likely require less imagination. Well, in the fall, a whole new crop of students will be showing up. Maybe you can start a group then; make a few converts? The school is pretty big; it shouldn't be hard to find 4 or 5 people with similar interests."

He quirked an eyebrow at her question. "That depends. Do you mean the 'consumer' version and popular use of computers to simulate a virtual reality or the actual definition and application of the concept? The common version is really just using a camera-like view to move around a computer simulated layout. Which is really just simple graphics coding honestly. The later is more immersive as you are actually transferring and projecting, depending how the application I suppose, into the machine and code. Obviously the latter is significantly more complex given your also adding neural encoding to the mix." He took a sip of his drink, realizing he'd gone a bit off topic and was expounding. "So, to answer the question...a bit," he said with a chuckle. "Why?"

[Azuth65]

Vicky held her tongue while the waitress refilled their sodas. After she left she answered Cole's question, "Just an idea. Probably from too much Star Trek as a kid but, the idea setting something up for training just sparked. Rather than just the Doom Room which requires a lot of supervision. It'd cut down on injuries sustained from training and would allow for much more flexibility, allowing for multiple scenarios. And, with the right programming done, it might even have some recreational uses." She had to work hard to keep her voice low enough that it wouldn't carry but the excitement was plain as day.

[Cyroa]

Cole hrmmed a long moment. "Well...theoretically, yes it should be possible. I'd need a room to do this all in. Correct number of chairs and such. Not to mention extensive cerebral screenings to get the neural mapping right. Power shouldn't be a big concern; system will require a good amount but nothing beyond what I can develop. Obviously I'd need to create a custom machine for the hosting. Probably several really to make sure the filtering and feedback are tolerable and controllable," he mused. He had an almost faraway look on his face while he was talking. And it seemed more like he was talking to himself than explaining it to her. "Of course, then I'd actually have to code and design the virtual world and scenarios...though I might be able to simply create an algorithm to filter and create it from other mainstream sources." He nodded, focusing back on her. "It should be doable...might take me some time to build of course, but doable."

[Azuth65]

Vicky nodded, "Not much rush on it. Just a randomly occurring idea. However, if there's any heavy lifting that needs doing when you do get to it, let me know. My personal best is something around half a ton, more if I don't have to hold it for long."

Taking a bite from her sandwich she mused, "If we can program in a basic combat scenario, maybe we can include a full story..." Pulling a much sturdier looking binder from her bag, she turned it towards Cole. "I've got a whole bunch of settings and scenarios to start with. Though my favorite one at the moment is this," she said flipping to a page depicting an Old West looking town, "Zombies and Cowboys, not overly original but it was one of the first full stories I drew."

[Cyroa]

"Wow, that's pretty good. Teleportation, strength, healing and enhanced metabolism? Pretty varied there. Cool." He munched on his sandwich almost absently. "Well, I don't have any major project ideas at the moment. I can start working on the design tonight. I usually do that stuff pretty fast. Building...," he shrugged. "At least there's no rush."

He looked at her with a quirked eyebrow. "Zombies and cowboys isn't original? Really? Huh..." He shook his head, thinking he needed to do a little more research into pop culture and entertainment. "That's cool. Once I get close I can take your work and scan it in. A program using basic historical settings should be enough to fill in the miscellaneous details, buildings and such while using your writings and drawings as a template." He nodded, smiling. "Yeah, we can do this." He took the book from her, flipping through it. "Nice. How many stories have you done? How long did that take you?"

[Azuth65]

"Well, I am my parent's daughter," she said with a chuckle.

"It isn't really, there was one of those pen and paper games I mentioned earlier called Deadlands. I never got to play it myself but I recall reading somewhere that one of the major factions 'in-universe' was this group of super religious fanatics so desperate to see God they were willing to unleash Satan in the Old West. So, you have Native American shamans, undead cowboys, priests, and everything in between trying to stop them. Or so I've heard."

"As for my drawing time, it depends how much effort I'm putting in. I can have a concept sketch done in under half an hour but it takes considerably longer when I'm trying for more details or realism in my work. As for completed stories, I only have a few but since we'll be looking for ideas we can start with those. Also, I do have a large collection of movies to pick pieces of for brainstorming."

[Cyroa]

"Your powers are genetic then? Were, or perhaps are, they heroes or just people with powers?" He was curious, partly given he had no idea about his own past.

He quirked an eyebrow. "That certainly sounds like a rather eclectic mix of things. And your story takes place in this game world?" He flipped through the book, curiously, absorbing what he saw. "These look pretty cool. And having written several stories is rather impressive. Quite an accomplishment. We can definitely use your writings as the basis then. Once the base system and the rest are done, it shouldn't be nearly as hard to put them into a 'world' format for the computer."

[Azuth65]

"Private citizens with powers," she answered, keeping the fact she was holding the fact her parents used to be spies well off her face. That was not a topic she wanted to discuss in public.

"Oh God no, Deadlands is a bit too much of a 'crapsack' world for my tastes. I like my stories to have a more upbeat feeling to them, you know? Just something so that you know in the end there's a chance that the lives of most people might improve after the story finishes. Sequel bait is one thing but a super depressing setting just pushes me right out."

"Might be best to keep the 'worlds' separate so that stuff from a Steampunk story don't cross with anything from a setting based around magic and keeping them from the previously mentioned zombies and cowboys setting which is just gun-slingers defending a town from the undead," she began. "I've played Rifts games before and I don't think we need this to turn into one just yet."

[Cyroa]

He nodded. Since she didn't continue explaining, he let it drop. Either there was nothing much to talk about or, more likely, she wasn't comfortable sharing it with someone she didn't know too well.

"Wait, so this game is all about loosing? There's no chance to win? I don't understand. What's the appeal of that?," he asked confused. That concept just didn't seem fun at all to him.

"Oh, of course. The files would be completely separate of course. Just like on a normal computer. Only on a much grander scale." He quirked his head at her. "Wait...is this for training? Or for fun? Either is fine of course...I just didn't there there was a situation where we would every be guarding an Old West town from a horde of George Romero zombie shows. And...what is Rifts, besides the obvious definition?"

[Azuth65]

"No, no. It'd take a while to explain what I mean. Maybe you can sit in on a D&D game sometime. If nothing else, hey, there'd be pizza and Mountain Dew," Vicky offered.

"Well, I'm thinking a bit of fun, a bit of training. For the training in the Old West, we might have to program in some alternative undead. Like running zombies or something like the special infected from the Left 4 Dead games. As for Rifts, it's another of the roleplaying games mentioned already. This one takes place way in the future on a Post-Apocalyptic Earth after hundreds of tears in the dimensional fabric have opened and spilled very bad things onto the planet. It's a handy way for players to cross multiple genres with minimal explanation behind it, which is why it isn't uncommon for a group to have a wizard fighting an army of cyborg-ninjas."

[Cyroa]

Cole nodded with a curious look. "Sure, I'd like that. I'm interested in seeing how that would work. Never actually had Mountain Dew though," he said.

"We could certainly do both. This would almost certainly be an extremely realistic experience. I'm not sure how much fun some people would have being attack and chased down by scary zombies," he added with a chuckle. "Rifts sounds pretty interesting if somewhat confusing. But that should be easy too. Heck, we could do anything you can imaging and I can figure out how to code really. There shouldn't be any limits. If we want people to have their powers, I'd need to have accurate readings to correspond to the computer factors of course. Or we could just make random powers or weapons or anything. There's no reason all of of us couldn't be using plasma swords and power armor I suppose. The sky is the virtual limit after all," he said with a chuckle.

[Azuth65]

"Well, the club's fairly empty given many of the members have gone home for the summer. Until then, perhaps a trip to the mall is in order, get you caught up with some of the pop-culture references that are likely to be slung about. Or to let you loose in a Radio Shack while I sit back with a six pack of soda and some popcorn," Vicky smirked.

"I'd say Andromeda's the limit and even that I'm not sure about. VR, fictional literature, neither have any real limits beyond the designer's imagination."

[Cyroa]

Cole chuckled. "I've used the internet to try and figure out the pop culture stuff though I have to say it is rather...broad and extremely inefficient computer network. Information is scattered everywhere, none of it organized or even labeled correctly. Huge sections that are simply empty or blank. Quite frustrating really." The internet bugged his more orderly engineering tendencies. It was just so...ugh.

"I've actually been to the mall, just to put a physical representation to the terms and connotations I've come across. Most of the shops I didn't bother with of course since the school provides me with basic clothes but I really liked Radio Shack. While the materials aren't quite as advanced as I like, there's all sorts of options there. It has a lot of potential for shopping for supplies," he confirmed. He looked at her quizzically a moment. "I'm guessing you don't mean the Andromeda Galaxy. Another game? Either way, I'd happily accept help in comprehending how the whole pop culture bit works."

[Azuth65]

"Actually I did mean the galaxy. Trying for a joke about the sky not being a high enough limit. As for the pop-culture work...," she trailed off, "Well, I happened to see you and Caresse talking the other day under that tree. Any sparks there maybe? If there are, and you two are interested, I can suggest to Morgan a double-date, which would of course include a trip to the mall. A little time in Radio Shack and Barnes & Noble for you, grab something to eat in the food court, catch a movie, the usual things."

While she finished suggesting the double date, the waitress had come back with their check. Checking the total, the white-haired girl pulled a couple of ten dollar bills from her wallet and placed them with the check under a salt shaker.

[Cyroa]

"Oh, guessed I killed that reference," he said with a smile. "There are a lot of game references being bandied about; not hard to get them mixed up I guess."

At her mention of Caresse and 'sparks', he raised an eyebrow. "Uh...while I know from my readings that teenagers are supposed to be rather awkward and deal with some form of trepidation when dealing with the opposite sex, I can't help but mention, that with the lack of memories, I have an extra hurdle of literally having no experience on this sort of thing. I don't know what 'sparks' are really. That said, she is a lovely and healthy looking girl," he added. He was definitely going to have to do some more research on dating and what it entailed if this was actually going to happen. "Is the mall and shopping normal for double dates," he asked curiously.

[Azuth65]

Vicky felt no small bit of sympathy for the boy sitting across the table from her, first dates were hard enough without a near-complete lack of understanding on the social norms. "By 'sparks' I mean a personal connection, some similar interests for example. As for normal, yeah it is pretty normal, plus I like to maximize any trip you know? Bayview Mall has a nice selection of shops and it's really close to the school," she explained, interlacing her hands on the table, "It's where more than half the student population end up going on their dates."

[Cyroa]

"Ah. Well, she is pretty. Not sure about similar interests; some I'm sure of. There are some I'm sure: bikes, she like sparring I think. Maybe a couple other things. Does that count?," he asked curiously. "Ok, so a date includes a trip to the mall," he said, already making mental notes on what a date entailed. "What else do students from school do?" He figured this was a prime opportunity to gather as much data as he could on what dating entailed. He was perfectly aware that, while the internet was a goldmine of potential information, it was not always true; actually it was pretty likely that the Net was seldom based on truth as near as he could tell.

[Azuth65]

Vicky's sympathy for the boy grew, she barely had any real advice of her own to give. "Well, there's the occasional trip up to the Boardwalk, Ocean Heights over in Port Regal, the aquarium across the South River in Riverside Park, and a handful of other dating hotspots around town," she explained. "Actually, I've heard some good things about Ocean Heights."

"Here's what I'd suggest Cole," she said, "Offer to do some training with her, if you two get along, ask her to join you on a trip to the mall next Saturday night."

[Cyroa]

Cole didn't have a pad and pen in front of him, but he was still taking notes and writing down everything she said. He was just doing it in his mind. He tried not to make it too obvious; he wasn't entirely successful. He was going to have to research the places she mentioned as soon as he got a moment. 'Dating hotspots' was also important. But his main topic was going to almost certainly be 'normal dating routines' or some such. "Training? I could teacher about building a quantum state flux detector or maybe building a pocket sized mini-reactor or...which isn't what you meant at all," he said ruefully. "Ok, I can do that. I think," he muttered to himself.

[Azuth65]

"Yeah, it was a thought," Vicky said.

She slipped her booklet of finished stories back into her bag before sliding out of the booth, "So, Cole, back to the school? Before Old-Man Summers finds out where gone and gives us detention on an epic scale? Or should we tempt fate a little more? If we're doing the latter, I know a Bromwell's nearby I'd like to run into real fast. I'm running low on ink and pencils."

[Cyroa]

Cole slid out after her, making a mental note to pay her back once he got some money. "Temp fate? Bah, whatever," he waved it away. "We aren't doing anything wrong and there's no curfew that I'm aware of for the middle of the day. Nighttime, yes. After lunch, no," he said with a grin. "I'm up for a bit more. I'm fine with heading over there if you are." Cole followed her outside and headed towards the parking lot and the bike.

They had just rounded the building and entered the parking lot when there was a ripple and several 3 or 4 foot tale black 'spikes' slammed into the ground off to one side. A woman's voice, filled with derision and arrogance, drifted down to them. "Let's see how good your training is loosers..." Off and up in the distance, a figure disappeared around a corner.

[Azuth65]

Vicky jumped to the side of the spike that had almost landed right where she'd been standing. Hearing the voice she felt her temper rise, "Okay. Whoever that was, their mouth just wrote a check that their ass can't cash." It took more than a modest amount of willpower not to just teleport after their attacker and try and beat some answers out of her. Her training at Claremont and more specifically the recent sessions with Mr. Archer helped her ignore her impulses.

Looking for a handy place to duck in and change into costume Vicky's hushed voice reached Cole, "You bring your 'tux'? And how fast can that road monster of yours go?"