savetheearth | 03

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03 | [Audio]

Has anyone else gotten...stronger as a result of all of this? I...it's like I don't know my own strength anymore. I keep breaking stuff. Had to send myself home from work. I guess I need to practice or something with it, but I don't really know how...

[There is an oddly loud crunching, grinding noise that sounds like it's far too close to whatever Hajime is speaking into and an exasperated hiss from Hajime.]

...and if someone could recommend a place that fixes cell phone screens, that would be great.

((OOC: Feel free to have been in Hajime's restaurant at some point in the past couple of days to have witnessed Hajime accidentally breaking dishes because gauging his own strength is now kind of hard. Those poor, poor crushed glasses...))

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... Just the normal way that comes from having robot arms?

Also, fuck. If I wasn't having problems with my arms I could fix your phone for free. I uh. Do have the spare parts though, depending on the make? If it's an iPhone and not an Android though you may be shit out of luck.

We might have to get a third person though because you're too strong and my stupid robot arms have the shakes.

[Robot arms...suddenly being afraid he was turning into some kind of giant bug monster seemed much less frightening by comparison. At least the bug-thing he was becoming was organic.]

I'd appreciate that, if you could. It's an Android. One of the Samsung ones.

[He's considering this.]

One of the other guys at the restaurant is on the network. He'd probably help...and we could bring food over, if you like Japanese.

[But does he really want Al anywhere near anything involving repair work?]

Oh, yeah, no problem. I use a lot of cell phone parts in building the drones I use to test my programs at school -- er, I'm an engineering student -- so I've got loads.

I do love Japanese food.

[He is not even going to pass judgement on those "drones," shady as it might sound.]

That works.

And hey, even if I find someone who can fix the phone with less trouble, I can still hook you up with some food.

[There's a pause as something occurs to him.]

You know, using the chopsticks might help with your, uh, condition--practicing dexterity and all that.

[Believe it or not? They're not shady at all. The first ones she built to deliver hot dogs to people on campus. Granted, she IS gunning for a military contract, but even so.]

... you're probably right, actually. I've figured out that they grip about as well as human hands, so it's mostly not knowing how to use them. ... also sugar seems to help with the shakes, believe it or not.

Try eating jelly beans with them, then. When I was a little kid, my parents had me practice using my chopsticks by moving beans back and forth between two bowls. It's not bad practice.

Yeah, I think I'll try that. Thanks.

[Fixes cellphone screens? Well, what a coincidence...]

They do some repairs at the cellphone booth where I work. But if that sound was your phone? Then I'm not sure there's any hope for it. [He laughs a not particularly kind laugh.] How's your warranty?

[...huh, and why did this voice sound familiar?]

I think it's just the screen. The rest of it seems like it's okay. I wasn't even gripping it that hard...

[Who is this guy? The voice is definitely familiar, but Hajime can't place it.]

I guess it's still under warranty. Maybe.

[He has no idea.]

Edited 2013-06-20 01:47 (UTC)

Does it even work anymore? Does it respond to touch? It is a touch screen, right? Tch...

[Whoever he is, he's condescending.]

If it's under the warranty, go to whoever your contract is with. But if it's not, it's about twenty to forty bucks just to buy the replacement. That doesn't count paying to get the work done. But maybe I can make you a deal...

If it didn't work, I don't think we'd be having this conversation.

[Unless the network was magically making the phone keep right on chugging along. That wouldn't surprise Hajime. He pulls the phone away to check on the rest of it, and he's pleasantly surprised.]

Screen still works; there are just a few cracks.

[And by "a few cracks," there are massive cracks running all the way across the screen, and it's a miracle the phone is still functional at all.]

...so what kind of deal are we talking?

[Not that he particularly trusts any sort of deal this guy might be making, but he's curious.]

Maybe, maybe not. This... number network, it's weird.

[Different minds, same ideas... but he's not dwelling on that. For there's business to discuss.]

You tell me everything you know about this. All of this. The numbers. The changes. You sound like you know what's going on. And I'll fix your screen. Free. No cost. Just information.

[Hajime considers this. Sure, Chris wouldn't charge him anything, either, but she's got enough to deal with from the whole "I have robot arms" thing.]

Alright. You've got a deal.

Aha! I was wondering why the gyudon bowl broke yesterday. No, all I seem to be getting are these ingenious tiny robots that transform from cans. One of them FLIES! Simply magnificent.

Yeah, that was...that's been happening a lot.

[He cringes a little at the memory of that bowl, because that had taken quite a bit of explaining, and he's still not sure his dad bought his explanation of a freak temperature change causing the bowl to shatter like that.]

Robots seem like they'd be easier to deal with.

[As long as they're not actual body parts.]

Not stronger, but I'm faster than I used to be. Faster than I should be.

I...kind of had that happen too. Sort of. My reflexes just got really good. It's kind of hard to sneak up on me now...

I don't think my reflexes are consistent with human capabilities anymore, but I haven't really...noticed much else changing that isn't. I'm not sure what to make of it.

Mine seem to be more than human as well...have you tested yours against anything?

[There's a definite bit of curiosity there.]

I'm stronger and faster than anyone really needs to be...but I guess it'll come in handy if we get attacked or something.

It's seen use against the mutant wolves and against the creatures in the mine, but I haven't really...tried to test the limits or find a point of comparison, no.

Might be a good idea to know what our limits are, if things get bad.

It would be.

[Although considering he discovered his awesome reflexes by nearly taking Toshi's arm off by mistake, he's been a little worried about pushing himself on purpose. What else is he likely to do out of instincts he didn't even realize he had?]

...I'm reluctant to try pushing myself without suitable precautions in place, though. I may need to think about how to go about this.

Yeah, I know what you mean. It could get dangerous.

[See yet another reason he'd kept himself home from work.]

Maybe a junkyard or something would be good...

Somewhere abandoned, certainly. I was also thinking of something to react to that wouldn't...require anyone else to be too close.

Yeah, that would be a good idea.

[He considers this for a moment.]

I wonder how expensive skeet shooters are...those are supposed to deliver targets without anyone getting in the way, right?

Amazon is giving me anywhere from thirty dollars to...six hundred. It depends how much we'd want out of it, I suppose.

It wouldn't have to be anything too nice...just something functional enough for a little bit of testing.

I think I'm going to spend a little time sifting through customer reviews...but I'm guessing one of the cheaper ones should be adequate.

As long as it didn't blow up in anyone's face, it would probably work.

I think I can scrape together enough money to avoid that much, at least.

I wouldn't mind trying it out myself. I could chip in some, if you want.

We might not be the only two, either. Maybe we should pitch this to everyone.

Wouldn't be a bad idea. I know a lot of us have powers we need to test.

[Such a reassuring thought, that so many of them were changing...]

Possibly in shifts or small groups, though, considering how well things have gone the last few times I've seen large groups of us congregate.

Probably best not to tempt fate that way, yeah.

I'll ask around later and see how much interest there is. I suppose the rest can follow from there once we know how much of a group we're looking at.

Sounds good. Keep me posted if you get something together.

[Not that he wantsto check in on the guy. He thinks anyone who went was stupid and deserved what happened to them, but he does feel a little bad.]

I'd recommend laying low for awhile.

It's hard not to. My insurance isn't good enough to cover everything I might possibly break if I go out.

[Man, his dad had been steamed before Hajime excused himself...]

Not yet, but I get the feeling that I'm going to.

Trust me, you might want to stock up on some plastic dishes. Something that's not going to break as easily as glass or ceramic.

That's all I've got anyway.

You should be alright in that department, then. Try working in a restaurant. I've been a one-man disaster area.

You can't take a break?

Until you figure out how to control it?

That's what I'm doing now. I'm pretty sure Dad would have tried to kill me otherwise.

[ ... She doesn't know what to tell you, man. Especially since it's practically a chore for her to care enough to push past the misgivings to reply to anything here - never mind being engaged in a (relatively) prolonged exchange.

After several minutes in which she gets distracted away before finally getting back to coming up with something: ]

Just be careful here.

[That's cool; it's not like he thinks anyone here is going to have any answers.]

I will. We should all be.

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03 | [Audio]

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VOICE (BATTA CANDROID)

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text; iphone

[Voice, texting is too much potential breakage]

phone text

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[still text because what is hiding her tone]

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