{001} Video

[lovesickkiller]

Wow, a secret network! This whole story keeps getting more and more mysterious!

[She had never imagined finding something like this so soon after arriving in the States. Though nearly breathless with excitement, Misa attempts to keep herself in check and remain at least a little bit professional. Beaming at the discovery is impossible to cover up, but she manages to avoid blurting out the first question that comes to mind in favor of a thought-out response.]

Hello, my name is Misa Amane! I’m new here and I’d love to have a conversation with anyone who has been here a while, or has information about what’s been going on. The news has been pretty crazy, but if you want to share your stories then I’m here to listen!

[There, that sounded pretty good, right? She hopes that no one too weird answers, but at least with this number she doesn’t have to meet them face to face right away. Besides, an insider scoop is definitely worth the risks. This is going to get her name on the map for sure.]

Comments

audio;

[stefanged]

So... you're just going to ask our stories without getting yours in return? [He isn't even bothering to hide his suspicion.]

That doesn't sound very fair.

[Video]

[lovesickkiller]

That's what someone else said too. I'm used to just asking for other people's stories as a reporter, but I've never covered a story like this before... I can tell you about me if you want.

audio;

[stefanged]

Yeah, that's... kind of my problem. [He sighs softly.] I haven't been a Numbered very long, so I don't want relatives or the people at my masjid finding out through the news.

[Honestly, if he weren't Muslim - and thus already discriminated by the news - he would be super open to discussing this.] You're familiar with informed consent, right? If I can get your word in writing, I can tell you what I've experienced so far.

[Video]

[lovesickkiller]

Oh of course, I won't share anything without permission! I can write a contract for us to sign if you want. It must be tough trying to hide this from your family.

[She pauses a moment, uncertain what the unfamiliar word he used was and trying to decide if asking will make her look bad. Showing an interest is good, right? As long as he doesn't think she's dumb for it.]

Sorry, I don't know what... what was that word? Masjeed? I don't know what that is.

audio;

[stefanged]

That'd be great. It's... my immediate family knows, but the extended ones are out of the question.

[There's a hesitant pause. Wait, she doesn't know about masjids?] Um, mosques? They're basically a place of worship for Muslims, but they're also community centers and whatever people in Locke need them to be.

[Video]

[lovesickkiller]

Gotcha! Sorry, we don't have a lot of those in Japan. So it's like a shrine, or maybe more like a church?

[Though she finds Christian imagery appealing and holds some beliefs influenced by Shinto, religion has never factored into Misa's life very heavily. ]

audio; => video;

[stefanged]

Oh. [Now he just sounds embarrassed.] Sorry, I just assumed...

Kind of. They're more like churches, in the sense that they're places to worship God, but also different in how they're set up, since masjids need more indoor open space for prayers. [He could talk about this for hours, and that's more than a little problematic.] But yeah, if you're Japanese, you wouldn't know about the... ["discrimination"] thing.

[So he goes ahead and switches to using his camera. He gives her an apologetic smile.] So hey. I'm Stefan.

video forever!

[lovesickkiller]

[Misa smiles, clearly pleased that she has coaxed him into using video. He isn't bad looking, either.]

Nice to meet you. So what thing don't I know about? I might be from far away, but I read you know!

[stefanged]

You too. I was referring to discrimination. [Blunt and to the point.] Surely you know about Islamphobia? I kinda grew up with that.

[Even though he doesn't look Muslim and he knows it.] So take what I face every day without compounding the whole 'I'm Numbered' thing, and it's kind of a giant minefield.

[lovesickkiller]

Oh. I know about discrimination, of course. Has it been really bad here, being 'Numbered'? How can people tell?

[stefanged]

With people like me, not so easily. I don't even pass for Muslim most days. But if you hang around here long enough, you'll meet people - and other species - that don't exactly "fit" the mold people are so used to.

[How to say this without being blunt...] Some Numbered are human, but others may be vampires or werewolves or even ghosts. I don't even know if I'm actually human, myself.

[lovesickkiller]

[Oh god not another one. She tries not to look overly skeptical.]

Someone said they were a vampire... You really believe all that?

[stefanged]

[Not that he can blame her. His first day was one giant hazing ritual into the unknown.]

Sure I do. You can't remain in denial for too long and still be Numbered, because you'll see it every day.

[lovesickkiller]

So far I haven't seen anything that couldn't be explained by a trip to the party shop. Except for the number.

[stefanged]

The number's the first thing. You get "pulses" or "echoes" too. Memories of a life that's yours and yet not yours.

Has anyone explained those to you yet?

[lovesickkiller]

Yes, I think I've had one or two, but they're a little bit fuzzy. That phenomena is what I'm most interested in!

[stefanged]

I don't think I can explain the science behind it, but Echoes are strange things.

Sometimes, they're fuzzy memories. Others, they're stuff your past life owned. [He holds up his hand, displaying a rather prominent ring on his finger. It's silver, with a huge lapis lazuli inset gem along with his [past life's] family crest in silver. If Misa looks closely, it'll have his initials - SS.] Some even get family pets.

If you ask me, I think it's luck of the draw.

[lovesickkiller]

Oh wow! That belonged to your 'other'?

[Misa studies the ring, boggling at the idea that physical objects can appear as well as memories. What science could possibly explain that?]

It's beautiful.

[stefanged]

Thanks. [He can't help glancing down at it too.] Yeah, it belonged to him as a family heirloom. Or something - I don't know how he got it quite yet.

[lovesickkiller]

How did you get it? Did it appear out of thin air?

[stefanged]

Kinda. So for my sixteenth birthday, Baba - er, my dad gives me an old family ring. It didn't look anything like this, either, so when I put it on and it just transformed...

I didn't really know what to make of it. Kinda thought I was imagining the old ring - what it looked like before, and then I went to Princeton and this ring turned back into its old form.

[lovesickkiller]

Whoa! So instead of just appearing, it took over another object??

[The implications are a little terrifying, but Misa is beyond intrigued. She pauses a moment to scribble down this information in a notebook off screen.]

[stefanged]

[He nods.] It varies with the object, from what I hear. Some transform like mine, and others appear out of thin air... so it's not super consistent.

[lovesickkiller]

That's kind of scary, isn't it? Do you know if anyone has lost something important that way?

[stefanged]

Besides me? [The ring was technically a family heirloom.] I'm... not sure. You'd have to ask the Network.