04 | [Video]

[talktothedoll]

[The webcam feed opens, and Mort looks a bit ashamed of himself.]

It would seem that I...well, I seem to have forgotten everything about these numbers and this network for the past couple of weeks. It's somewhat alarming, really.

[He sighs.]

I apologize if you came in looking for help with anything and I gave you a difficult time about it. I'm now leaving a few notes for myself in the event it happens again. Don't worry--it's nothing personally identifiable or dangerous to keep lying around, but it should be enough that I won't immediately start treating anyone talking about numbers and strange powers as delusional.

My office usually isn't open on Sundays, but given the circumstances, I'm here now. If you need to talk--or if I may have made things difficult for you this past week, please, stop by. If anyone's experiencing any new developments they're having trouble with, again, please feel free to stop by.

[There's another pause, as though what he's about to say next rubs his sense of ethics the wrong way.]

If circumstances call for it, I can...er, I can reassure your family members that everything's under control and that they've got nothing to worry about with these changes.

[There. He didn't outright say he'd lie for anyone, but that's basically what he means, loath as he is to admit it.]

[ 3rd | text | iPad ]

[hoennmaihime]

[ Haruka Minamoto did not get scared. Fear was for children, not competent adults (...even if too few people saw her for what she really was. Hopefully the number 16 would bring her more respect and acknowledgement than the number 15 had, although two weeks in, she couldn't say much had changed.)

Experiencing feelings of... caution, however - that was perfectly acceptable. Well-advised, even. All successful people of business dealt with them. Someone who did not feel the need to properly evaluate danger, or saw the point in seeking to manage and mitigate potential risks, would quickly find themselves at the helm of a failed endeavor.

Another thing - successful businesspeople also knew when to seek advice. As arrogant proud as she was of her abilities, Haruka knew when it was time to outsource. Google had only been able to take her so far, and it was time to gather more firsthand, specific information has to how she might better control her newly-echoed back Blaziken.

It had kind of attacked that girl, after all. Again, not that she was afraid or anything, seriously, what kind of coward would be afraid of a 6ft tall fire-breathing chicken, jeez. ]

I need to bond with someone. Quickly. If you have any experience with this, especially if you've done so in a short period of time, I would appreciate being regaled with how you achieved it.

It is pertinent to our cause.

[ Because lord knows too much of the bullshit that goes on the network isn't. ]

2nd Mantra

[stagnantair]

Video; 6:27PM

[Gavin's face appears on the network, looking tired but excitable as usual. He's still wearing his work shirt, it's obvious he's just gotten home.]

Does anyone else work with phones all day? That buzzing is giving me awful headaches. I might have to call off until it stops, if it will? Does anyone know how long these things normally last? The water thing lasted about a month, if I'm backlogging correctly.

[He looks away from the screen a moment, fiddling with the ring on his finger idly, before rubbing the bridge of his nose.]

I can hear it now too, but no one else seems to. It's only effecting the Number's Club, right? The women at work didn't hear it but it was ringing through the headsets all day. I even tested someone else's to make sure it wasn't just mine.

I'll use the time I have to work on my data plotting. Whoever is willing enough to tell me about their Echoes and Pulses, I'd really appreciate it. Mine seem to be random, but I'm new so I can't really say much... I'm looking for patterns and spikes, to see if there's certain times of the month or certain levels when more people Echo at the same time, to see if there's a way to either avoid them or know when they're coming.

Luckily I have a couple weeks of sick days lined up.

[And then he looks wistful.]

I'll miss the clam chowder though...