BRAINIAC 5

[googledox]

● BRAINIAC 5 ∵ QUERL DOX

[video | audio | text]

Comments

text;

[princesspower]

What's your status message mean?

text

[googledox]

"Do try to avoid wasting my time."

[It definitely isn't the most polite, but in a hostile situation he's far less chatty and far less patient.]

[However, it seems as if they're going to be here for some time before perhaps having a chance to escape. He supposes he should try to see the comms as less frivolous. Social bonds and all that.]

I mostly wanted to see if these abominable excuses for "computers" would accept alternate characters from my native language.

A pointless exercise, I suppose, when only one other person here can speak some of it, but I was at least able to relabel all the system display language on my comm.

[It makes it a little more...familiar. In a place where a lot of things are alien.]

[princesspower]

Well, I hope I'm not!

Wasting your time, that is.

[ She's still trying to be friendly about the whole thing, because weird languages are cool. Although unlike First One's stuff, she can't just understand this one. ]

Honestly, that sounds kind of neat. Bring a little bit of home with you.

[ She's also used to taking whatever freedom you can from a system that wants you to only be one thing. She remembers the Fright Zone. ]

[googledox]

Travel between planets is common where I'm from. To compensate for worlds often having many native languages of their own, we have a communal language with a common alphabet called Interlac. Many worlds, like my native planet, use Interlac exclusively. On other worlds, people learn it alongside their native tongues.

Earth exists in my universe, and I've considered it home for much of my teen years and adult life. But it's...very different. The impression I've gathered is that I'm from far in the future of this timeline. So even ignoring the apocalypse, it may as well be a completely different planet. It's far more diverse, for one. Many different species live there in relative harmony.

No matter what world you're on in the UP, you see Interlac, but on Earth, especially so.

[So yes, it did make it a little more homey, especially when he's used to Earth having Interlac plastered all over. On the rig, there are signs, menus, books and magazines, and not a single Interlac character to be seen. He wanted to see it somewhere and it was a good (small) test of his computer skills on these comms that would likely escape any of Jorgmund's serious notice.]

And you're not wasting my time at all. It's more that there are others here that already seem...trying.

[Mac.]

I doubt "leave me alone" messages would work on them, though, even if they were in English, so it's more like a protective incantation.

...Or would be been if I didn't hate magic.

[Bane of his sprocking existence at times.]

A "positive affirmation" then?

text

[pasthole]

[ It's been a day or two since Brainy talked to Karkat on the comms. ]

You said were collecting different words to use to get around filters.
Here are some of mine I know it doesn't catch:

[ He sends along an attachment. ]

OBSCENITY.TXT
waste chute - the end of the digestive tract
nook - anatomical
bone bulge - or just bulge, anatomical
shameglobes - or just globes, anatomical
lumpsquirt - bodily excreta, a thing you do or don't give one of sometimes
bugwinged - intensifier for pretty much anything
chutemaggot, bulgebiter, nookwhiff - varieties of idiot
pan and sponge - Human "brains." Just put whatever insulting thing you can think of in front of pan or sponge, it's high-utility. Globes for sponge is classic.

Some common lower class replacements for another useful word are manure and leavings, but none of those are as straight to the point so it's a shame.

You get the most flexibility out of combining profanity with mundane words. You get drowned out if you come out swinging with nonstop curses. You need to soften them up, keep them off pace.

text

[googledox]

I appreciate the addition to my vocabulary. I usually shy away from more anatomical profanity but with these filters, needs must.

You're right about the cursing. My entire team is foul-mouthed to a fault, but my friends think I'm the one that drops the most effective S-bombs because of how infrequently I do it.

It's all about timing.

And, in my case, having such a sense of propriety the rest of the time that people are shocked every time I say sprock.

[pasthole]

You could say I have a fucking reputation.

[ It goes through. The words sit on the screen, untouched. ]

Holy shit, is it just letting me say whatever I want here?

[ That sure seems to be the case. ]

Wow. Look at this fucking incredible piece of shit communications network. I would say I'm stunned, but considering I've already spent plenty of time being *literally* that here I'm going to just laugh and count my blessings instead.
There's one of them so far.
It's being allowed to say fuck.

sent over the secure network

[wheyoftheadept]

hey, don't think we've met in person, but your name came up in a conversation. i got a favor to ask. can we meet? this is saturday, the elf who punches good.

locked

[googledox]

Name a time and place, and use your discretion for the levels of privacy your request will require.

Re: locked

[wheyoftheadept]

gardens, by the citrus. not for jorgish eyes but not personal business.

--> to action?

[googledox]

I will be there shortly.

[When he arrives his bearing is as casual as Brainy gets, hands clasped behind his back, his gaze at the trees around him. He looks like someone very uptight taking a much needed walk and enjoying the plant life.]

[Nothing to see here, just someone who needs to relax enjoying the gardens.]

[When he sees her, he looks around with discreet and subtle movement of his head to make sure no one is around, then looks at her with a tilt of his head.]

What do you require?

Sent as a cryptogram hidden in a network-hosted crossword puzzle

[xrater]

By the way, the new boy's actions have me considering whether or not Texas should consider restricting a new account's access to older logs. At least until a solid feel on them has been gained.

[googledox]

[He solves it instantly and sends back a similar puzzle in the shifting color patterns of a kandy krush style game that ultimately spell out things in binary.]

[There is nothing tying it to Brainy, though how many New Hires could notice and solve that?]

[But it's about plausible deniability not a tried and true smokescreen.]

Access to past posts can be given manually in the future. Someone's first pass at any current encrypted logs can tell us a lot.

The sheer pageantry involved in how he acted versus just running right to Jorgmund tells me it's a front of some kind, but nothing wrong with playing it safe.

[xrater]

[She spends a little too long enjoying the simplicity of the game before replying. The response comes in an ultimately Sisyphean game about rolling a two dimensional boulder up a hill while racing a wall of fire. The circular boulder's measurements are off. Calculating them will reveal missing digits of pi that equate to the letters of the English alphabet.]

He may have genuinely had good intentions, but I distrust anyone who thinks being malicious enough to throw torture into a victim's face is a good way to call attention to perceived security threats is a good idea.

If he were doing so in public, playing the role there, that would be one thing, but in a safe space like that? It's been luck of the draw that we haven't run into anyone like that before now, discounting Rose Tattoo, who had unintended access, and Ronald, who is too genuinely damaged to be a serious threat.

[71lines]

[This one's delivered in a little bit of origami left in his drawer. A banana.]

Do you know how to make ammonium perchlorate out of the materials available to us?

[googledox]

Unfortunately no. Ammonia is abundant in different maintenance closets but perchloric acid is not as easy to produce.

The easiest way would be via anodic oxidation of aqueous chlorine with a platinum electrode. The electrode could, however, perhaps be salvaged from a lab. But there are several potential ways of synthesizing it.

[He lists multiple lists of ingredients and components, noting which ones can be found on the rig. For the ingredients and components that are likely not on the rig, he lists places out in the world beyond where they might be found.]

[He leaves it in the same place he was left a message. Ninja, after all.]

-->action

[googledox]

[Brainy's response to the way Robbie shows up at their door with the celery is to laugh himself stupid.]

[Sorry if you were going for true romance there, Robbie.]

[He manages to squeeze out the words.]

They're lovely. If only I had a vase to suit them.

[walkingballpit]

[ Are you kidding? Querl’s laughing at his dumb play on social expectations? This is true romance.

Robbie leans on the door frame, which is no longer just mocking them with its lack of door, and continues to hold out the ‘bouquet’ for Querl to take. ]

Woah, let’s not get greedy. I’m still excited we have a door.

[ There is nothing sweeter than making someone laugh on cue. He just wants to soak it in with big heart eyes. ]

[googledox]

[He takes the "bouquet" with one hand and also tugs on Robbie's arm to make him come all the way in the room.]

Get in here. The point of a door is for you to be on the same side of it as me.

text; waiting for Brainy after Don't Touch That Dial

[runes_brand]

You still open to answering questions about helping teenage trauma survivors?

Re: text; waiting for Brainy after Don't Touch That Dial

[googledox]

Yes. Though many of my circumstances were somewhat unique.

Re: text; waiting for Brainy after Don't Touch That Dial

[runes_brand]

Noted.

[There's a...significant gap between that and his next message.]

I don't know where to fucking start asking. We've got them in a safe home, assuming Rune and me vanishing doesn't fuck that up, and I'm teaching the ones who want to know how to fight. That seemed to work before. And they all know that we'll fucking annihilate anyone who tries to lay a hand on them, because we already did.

PM to Lonestar; text

[credit_not_blame]

I salvaged parts from some still-in-one-piece computers we encountered on our last mission! Figured that someone here could use some unregistered electronics for something. Let's arrange a dead drop.

I also accidentally kicked off a huge argument on the mission, which was unfortunate because it wasn't what I was trying to do and it really cut into our planning time. I was hoping to revisit the topic so that everyone can hash out their feelings and come to a consensus when we're not fighting a mind-whammy plus body dysphoria. But since "is it ever all right to kill someone" is apparently a contentious topic (I know! Shocker!), I was hoping I could request some moderating powers from you. I'm not looking to banhammer, just the option to freeze some threads or put people on a five minute time-out for screaming.

(The computer parts are yours regardless, but I've got a lot on my to do list so you get a combo message instead of two separate ones.)

Re: PM to Lonestar; text

[pathkin]

Re: the parts: Gimme.

[She gets modding rights instantly transferred, even though he remains admin.]

Re: what's likely to be a very irritating conversation, please do. I don't want to have to referee that.

Re: PM to Lonestar; text

[credit_not_blame]

They'll be in an extra garbage bag beneath the one in the can by the showers.

[Stacia grins when the notification for her new network powers appears. Maybe if she's extra responsible with them, he'll let her keep them after the discussion.]

Thanks! I'm not particularly excited about refereeing it either, but it's a conversation we clearly need to have and somebody's got to keep everyone in line. Story of my life.