savetheearth | {001} Video

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.]

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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.

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

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.

Edited 2015-02-04 05:17 (UTC)

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

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

[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.

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

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?

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

Edited 2015-02-14 00:54 (UTC)

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.

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.]

[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.

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

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

Yes, besides you! I'll definitely ask around. But you mentioned it turned back once, right?

It turns back a lot, actually, since I still commute to Princeton. Any time I leave town, it goes back to "normal."

[He tilts his head thoughtfully.] Might be the same for other things, if they didn't come out of thin air.

That's crazy... What about other things? When you leave town, do you still have your other 'echoes'? Memories, and any other objects?

Kind of. My memories're still there, though they're pretty fuzzy. I have to leave notes to myself to remember everything.

As for powers, not sure. I don't really have any. [Which was a boldfaced lie, but it's not as if he's bothered to test them outside of Locke either.]

That must be hard, I'd hate forgetting things like that... But I had my first echo in Japan, so there must be places like this all over the world, right? Las Vegas and Locke City are the main verified ones I read about.

[She hates to think that she might forget the very things she came here to research if she leaves.]

Do you know what kinds of powers people have?

Probably. There's a couple places in Europe, but we're mostly concentrated in the US.

[He hesitates.] One of my friends can heal people, another can go intangible... and I know a guy [himself] who can "compel" people into doing anything he wants them to.

[Misa goes still, staring at the video in shock.]

Really? The first two aren't so bad, but... a person here can control people? Like hypnosis?

[The idea clearly frightens her.]

Kind of. He can... uh, he can control non-Numbered, but they're aware it's happening. [He bites his lip, looking everywhere besides the camera.]

I don't think he uses it often. It kinda scares him.

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