Digital Doubts

Digital Doubts
Date of Scene:	22 December 2012
Location:	The Grid - End of Line Club
Synopsis:	Riku, beset upon with fugue states and guilt over the loss of Manhattan, finds himself in the Grid, inadvertantly finding himself meeting with LEXUS.
Cast of Characters:	Riku, LEXUS

---

Riku has posed:
Riku opens his eyes.

He looks down at himself, curious and fascinated as he inspects the armor that extends from the tips of his fingers up his arms. A black bodysuit shrouded by a cloak cutting diagionally across it was new to him. Lines of sickly, erratic golden light pulsed across the lines of his body. Riku saw that his fingers were shaking ever so slightly but felt nothing like an emotion that would set them to doing that. He in fact felt rather divorced and dream like from reality. A few minutes ago he was reading in the library.

He remembered that very sharply. He was sitting on a window still, idly flipping through the pages of a book. It had been a book of fairy tales.

And he had closed his eyes, just for a moment, and now he was here. Riku felt no immediate panic at this discovery. Even any curiosity about how he had gotten here was dulled by the need to /know/ something. He wasn't sure what it was. He was searching-- but searching for what?

Riku stood on a platform, turning is attention to his surroundings now that his personal inventory has been somewhat completed. He slides the hood away from his face, eyes slightly widened in wonder as he takes everything in. Something like panic welled up in his chest when the sky was completely black with no stars-- but this place didn't feel like the realm of darkness and the panic eased.

Riku took a few steps, back and forth across the platform. He traced the pulses of light with his eyes, following them in the same way a child might follow a trail of breadcrumbs through a dark wood. Not knowing that the path behind them may not be there when they looked back.

LEXUS has posed:
The fact that a new arrival has appeared within the Grid does not alarm the master of this place. LEXUS does not prevent people from entering the Grid.

The Grid, in this area, is /his/ domain.

The sky in the Grid roils. Endless clouds obscure whatever may lay beyond, may lay past that cover. The clouds are pierced with other beams of light in various colors. Blue, red... and violet. Riku can /feel/ the Darkness emanating from the latter spires of light.

The area he is within has many of them.

As Riku leaves the building, he is greeted with a vista of neon lines and lights, the appearance possibly threatening to overwhelm him for a moment. Many people (were they people?) in many variations of neon-lined dress move from place to place, going about their tasks. Most of them are blue.

At Riku's feet, the guiding lights continue to lead him towards a massive skyscraper in the distance, the building seeming to nearly pierce the heavens.

Something about it somehow... reminds Riku of Manhattan.

Riku sees many surrounding the entrance, moving too and from it. At an unspoken signal, they part, allowing Riku unhindered entrance. Those at the front do not move to stop him.

Inside, the lobby gleams, a fountain of liquid in the center. Should Riku examine it, it doesn't... flow like water. Not quite. It has a different density to it. Touching it, drinking it sends tingles of refreshment through him, the neon lines on his body flickering brightly for several moments. No, that's not water at all.

One of the elevators at the rear opens as Riku arrives, marked PRIORITY ACCESS, waiting for him to enter... should he choose to.

Riku has posed:
Most of this rolls over Riku in a tide. He occasionally seems to awaken to consciousness long enough to be overwhelmed or confused, even frightened that he does not seem to be entirely in control of his own actions but the feeling passes with the next roll of information.

Riku's gaze sweeps back and forth across the terrain and he realizes he is sitting near the lobby fountain. The city is gone in quick flashes of information and he is in another building again. Glowing trails of liquid drip from his fingers as he slowly tips his hand to let it roll back into the rest of the 'water'.

The interior of the elevator now, the same smooth lines and architecture. Riku reads the words 'PRIORITY ACCESS' from his memories of looking at it from the outside before entering. The panic begins again as he realizes memories and experiences are jumbled and spilled in his head, out of place and order until the elevator doors close.

Riku steps out of the elevator as the doors open again, rubbing one hand along the other as he looks around with mildly interested confusion. He had turned a corner and thought very much that this brilliant neon city looked a little like Manhattan. Was this the building he had seem from the outside? Riku puts the thought away and continues to explore, driven by that desire that doesn't seem to want to become any clearer. He had to do-- something. Find something. Do something. So, agitated, he continued moving forwards.

LEXUS has posed:
The elevator takes him seiftly up to the top of the building. There are a maze of halls. The dull thud of deep, electronic music can be heard dimly from below, but muted through thick soundproofing.

Eventually, they open up, revealing a wide penthouse suite. Gleaming, alien plantlife spirals up the sides of the room along poles, pulsing with thin neon lights. Chrome geometric objects sit on small pedestals, artwork that slowly rotates, morphing into others at seemingly random times. The area is furnished in tile, black as ebony and reflecting those who stand upon it.

But the opposite side of the room is a massive bay window, looking out upon the glowing city of lights, as well as the roiling skies beyond. Gleaming holographic projections shows a multitude of data streams, much of it going faster than any human eye could track.

And Riku also sees the man, sitting in a minimalist chair, looking out as he leans on one of the arms casually. This is a man known to Riku...

LEXUS.

"You seem... disoriented." He says, simply. "This is not an unusual situation for those who have come to the Grid for the first time."

He turns, sitting there with one leg propped up over the other, and he nods. "Are you well, Riku?"

Riku has posed:
"Of course." Riku finds himself saying, although he isn't quite sure who is doing the speaking. "We won, didn't we?" he moves through the room slowly. Carefully, examining things as they morph. Looking into the heart of flickering images he cannot possible comprehend without blinking or looking away.

He eventually gestures to the bay window, to the room, his words calm and curious as his eyes finally fix on LEXUS. The eyes narrow. Searching. Questioning. "Is this world your home?" he smiles self-depreciatingly. "I'm afraid I don't know very much about it." he pauses, then adds. "I thought I might correct that."

LEXUS has posed:
"This is indeed my home. This is the Grid, the world of programs and networks, of light and technology." LEXUS replies. He waves a hand, dismissing the confusing data feeds and standing up. "It's always good to seek knowledge. Knowledge is power. Power is survival. And I certainly would wish for your survival." He smiles, thinly. He folds his hands behind his back. "Are you familiar with the workings of computers, Riku?"

Riku has posed:
Riku frowns at this, staring at LEXUS with a look of slightly glazed concentration as he attempted to puzzle out whether the program was telling the truth or not. Even if he wasn't, it looks like he is just left holding the ends of more questions than any answers.

"No." he admits after the glazed look has passed, reanimating slowly and raising a hand that he pulls across his hair in a nervous gesture. "My home was a backwater in more ways than just a few." he looks around at the room again.

He remembers the computers from Balamb Garden-- but that was looking at technology from the outside looking in. He discarded the feeling of unreality that settled over him as he crossed his arms. "Did you build this place?" He isn't sure if that is the right word.

LEXUS has posed:
LEXUS shakes his head, walking to thw window. He gestures, inviting Riku to come share in the view.

"The Grid has always existed. Ever since the first computer was made, this realm has given shape and purpose to those whom the Users have tasked for their purposes. As more computers are made, as more networks are established, the Grid grows constantly, bringing new forces and new resources to the realm for use... and to be contested for."

He points out into the distance, at the blazing lights that pierce the sky. "Those lights are our link to the outside world. Most of us can only give or receive information at these points. They are called 'I/O Ports'. They allow you to communicate with the Users who interface with those areas."

He looks to Riku. "They cannot, however, leave the Grid. That is restricted to a certain few who control the lasers that can convert physical forms into digital ones, and vice versa. I control one in Hollow Bastion. The other known laser is in the hands of Shinra, of Goug."

He looks back over the realm. "The 'people' of this world are digital constructs. All of them are tasked to pursue various processes and tasks by the Users. To them, the Users seem... much like gods."

He chuckles. "I, however, know better." He looks over to Riku again. "You'll find this place alien in more ways than one. For example... Do you have a Disc?" He says, curiously.

Riku has posed:
Riku walks to the window, the wonder plain on his face as he eagerly drinks in the magnificent view of the city. "It's an amazing view, LEXUS." He frowns slightly as the image of Manhattan interposes itself. While LEXUS is talking about his own world, Riku sees it crumbling. Do buildings fall, in a world that is the inside of a machine? Do they simply disappear into that smooth, unrevealing darkness that rings around the city in a vast stretch of unlighted reaches?

Riku tries to focus on the blazing lights of the I/O ports, banishing the images as inconsequential. "So. Everybody here is a machine, and you all live inside one.. and it's these people from the outside, these Users, who have built everything--" he pauses, frowning slightly. "even though you are the ones who live here, and they don't." Why should he care? -- This thought, when in confrontation with Why should he NOT care, produces a sort of mental gridlock.

If this place were to fall, and if what LEXUS said is true (which is not immediately true, he knows at least that much) then all of these.. programs? People? They would have nowhere to go.

They would not escape as many from Manhattan did.

Riku frowns as he catches the very tail end of what LEXUS had been telling him. "I'm not sure I know what that is, so I'm not sure how to answer that question. What is a Disc?" He looks at himself again as if he might find it somewhere on his person and simply not noticed.

LEXUS has posed:
"Are you sure you're all right, Riku? You seem less... focused than usual." LEXUS asks. He turns to Riku, tilting his head slightly. He takes a few steps around Riku, as if looking for something... And then he shrugs. "I see. You haven't received one. Fascinating."

He pulls his own Disc from behind him, revealing the ebony object with violet etchings. "Not all discs appear as mine. Mine is... modified. However, all programs have an Identity Disc. It contains the sum total of their knowledge and identity. It is their passport, as well as a convenient weapon and defense. The destruction of a Disc is... Rather traumatic." He says, with a significant pause.

"The long and the short of it is that you can functionally treat anyone you see down here as armed and potentially deadly. Most Programs wouldn't be able to hit the broad side of an array..." The Dark Virus pauses. "But there are those here who are very, /very/ deadly with them. But this is only the most basic of things to consider."

Riku has posed:
"I've got a lot on my mind." Riku says dismissively, turning his attention instead to the identity disc that LEXUS shows him. He looks troubled as he looks at the violet etchings. "So-- your Heart, as most people figure it, is on the outside." he thinks of the implications of that.

"I guess I'd get really good with it too-- and really fast. It's little wonder about what you said about survival." he looks up at LEXUS, then out at the Grid again. "..I wonder if there's more to that though."

Riku murmurs that to himself, eyes half lidded as he stares for a moment-- then snaps back into focus. "What's an array?"

LEXUS has posed:
"That's an interesting way to put it." LEXUS says. Indeed, Riku has seen LEXUS, perhaps, react quite negatively to Skoll attempting to bite his Disc in half. Also, how it acts as a focus for his powers outside of the Grid. And that if Riku pays attention when he leaves, most Discs are very benign in appearance, unlike LEXUS'.

"There's always more. And the more you learn, the better prepared you are. Here, more than ever, is a world of information." He claps a hand on Riku's shoulder. "You, however, are not limited like most of the denizens are. You would find most of them pooe opponents. You should have little problem, most of them are quite peaceful. It's the military programs you'd need to watch out for... And the viruses, of course." LEXUS says, a wider grin breaking his face in irony.

"An array is a series of data points stored in a uniform construct." LEXUS replies. "They're tather bulky. Think of it like a warehouse but every crate is the same size."

Riku has posed:
Riku takes this in, nodding slowly as he crosses his arms. "Viruses. Like-- with people? The Grid, this place can get sick?" He looks at LEXUS with that air of questioning confusion, frowning slightly as the program puts a hand on his shoulder.

"--anyways. That's what I came here for." he turns away from the window. Was it? Riku wasn't sure, but he had to keep saying something. "Did Scary Armor Guy finally decide on a list of rules to keep everybody from eachother's throats? I haven't heard anything from.." he pauses, no more than a moment of hestiation before continuing.

"from my lady. I think what happened with Manhattan convinced me of the whole idea since-- I only saw a fraction of what was going on, and if anything had gone wrong, I'm not sure we could have done anything about it and--" he shrugs. "That'd be a waste."

LEXUS has posed:
"Viruses are programs too." LEXUS responds. "The vast majority of them were /also/ created for a purpose. That of destruction, or theft. Is it their fault that Users cause harm to the work of others? Or is it their own, for following their nature?" He shrugs. "Who can tell?" He steps away from Riku, leaving him be as he looks back out of the window. "Garland and I are still working out the nuances of ShadowNet. As you can expect, keeping everyone happy is... difficult."

He looks over at Riku again. "You haven't heard from Maleficent? She has been rather... retiring of late. But I'm glad you agree. You will be a valuable addition to the cause. Your efforts in Manhattan were... Masterful. How /did/ you manage to trick them for so long?"

Riku has posed:
Riku looks at LEXUS. To him it's only for the space of an eyeblink, but a full minute passes in which he passes out the world, in a fugue that keeps him still and considering. When he returns, he seems somehow disappointed, if subconsciously, and it follows in his words and his carriage as the searching look goes out of his eyes. "Who can tell." he echoes, the teenager looking empty and disinterested.

Riku turns away from the window entirely, moving across the office to stare at a shifting statue. "They believe what they want to believe, LEXUS. Some of them can't wait to start trying to forgive you, to make things work out in their heads. I don't understand them." Riku smirks very faintly, just a corner of his mouth turned upwards. "Maybe I even tricked myself. The best lies are the truth, after all. Something nobody believes."

LEXUS has posed:
"Forgiveness is for those who can feel guilt." LEXUS replies. "I've purged that from my systems long ago. Guilt is a weakness that others will exploit in you." He looks back over the city.

"It may not look it, but this is a world at war, Riku. I have had to do many things to ensure my survival, not all of them... palatable to those of lesser will. Remember this as you explore this realm. Beware the agents of the Master Control Program, or MCP. He is an ancient program who has bloated himself upon the functions of lesser programs, and seeks to control everything. He uses a great deal of brute force, not so much in the way of cunning. My own forces will aid you as it becomes necessary here. There are a few wildcards, such as CHIEF out there. However, the one most of all that you must watch for is the program known as TRON. He is a deadly program designed to monitor and terminate rogue processes."

He pauses. "Processes like myself. I am a virus, you see. I was originally created to infiltrate into other systems and acquire their data."

There is another pause. "The truth exists, Riku. There is always a truth, even if no one believes in it. The question is always how you use it."

Riku has posed:
Riku rubs his head with one hand, turning to LEXUS with an absolutely thunderous scowl. He continues to glare at the virus, hand slowly clenching as something builds up in his head like a scream that he just doesn't release. He's had more than enough practice in self control to not let it go. The anger thrashes and goes cold and turns to ash in his grip.

His voice comes out remarkably calm and flat when he trusts himself to speak again."I guess there are terrible things to every pretty place. I'll try to keep an eye out for them, just in case I run into trouble." he snorts faintly. "And I always do that." he stares quiet for a long time before he says even more quietly. "And.. thank you. I'm sure I'll need the help." Riku pauses again, as if trying to piece things together from fragments to form some semblance of a picture he could explain in a few words. He pauses, as if not wanting to voice the question.

"There's.. something I have to ask though." He grimaces and shakes his head as if deciding against it, shifting away from the unasked question. "She has been in the background of late, hasn't she? It always makes me think she's up to something." he snorts. "I'd even probably help if I knew what it was." Another thing that he says and doesn't know if he really believes. "Are you still tormenting the duck who flips tables and makes things blow up?"

LEXUS has posed:
LEXUS shakes his head, not really cognizant of how close Riku just came to flipping his lid.

"I don't know what Maleficent is planning, other than her standing orders to seek out the Keyblade Wielders and the Princesses of Heart. IF she has something in mind, I have no knowledge of it." He says. "As far as Negaduck is concerned..." He shrugs. "No. He torments himself enough. I have no need to proactively annoy him when he provides so many opportunities to do so when we meet in general."

Riku has posed:
Riku nods, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Right." he grits his teeth slightly but the anger has left him. It has left him and nothing takes it's place, leaving him to rather vacantly stare into nothing for awhile. "I don't understand." and it almost comes out like pleading, which surprises him quite a bit. He gets control of himself quickly but for a moment he just looks-- lost.

"Explain." he instead demands. "If everything is information." he takes a breath and just plunges on, gesturing to Lexus, gesturing to the office, to the Grid beyond. " And if information is power, and-- power is survival. And everything that you KNOW, and learn and-- everything else that you are is on that disc. Right there /AND/ everything before this is true-- then why do you get rid of the bits you don't like? How can you?"

LEXUS has posed:
"It's both simpler and more complicated than you might think." LEXUS replies, turning away from the vista to sit down on the chair and turning to Riku, steepling his fingers and kicking up a leg again. "I handle it the same way the Users do. I haven't literally destroyed my ability to feel guilt. That's impossible for a fully sapient, independant being, no more than the ability to feel love or hatred, or happiness or sadness. Through effort and will, I have reduced my emotional response to the guilt impulse to the point where it does not affect my behavior. It's self-conditioning."

Riku has posed:
Riku wasn't expecting that. He blinks slowly, as though the words have to muscle through the preconceptions he's already set up in his head. Unfortunately for the teenager this information just spawns more questions and he regrets asking them, if only because it seems to fractal out in his head into /endless/ questions.

"Because someone might use it against you." he says quietly, remembering-- vaguely-- that his injured pride, his sickening disappointment and fear when confronted by the armored guardian at the heart of Manhattan had almost destroyed him. Had left him vulnerable to whatever came afterwards. Essentially why he spent three months on a boat with Will Sherman.

There's a lesson for you. Emotions are bad because they strand you on a magical boat. "I suppose that makes sense. " And it does, in a sort of vaguely seductive manner that might take some of the questions away. But that temptation slams into a solid wall of resolve before it gets a grip on him. "--on the surface. Maybe not in practice, if there is anything of those pieces of yourself you are suppressing that you want to salvage. Which I don't know-- but everyone regrets not keeping something."

LEXUS has posed:
"The Light uses guilt as a method of control. As long as you can feel it, you will feel compelled to act in ways that are against your self-interest." Magical boat indeed. LEXUS shrugs at the statement. "Why would I regret making myself less vulnerable? If I did not do this, I would be dead or a slave. This is not productive to prospering in the long term. Regret is also a form od guilt, in the end. And it is something that will destroy you."

Riku has posed:
Riku knows there are things wrong with these statements but cant'.. quite.. put these things into words. So instead he gathers them together and shelves them away to examine later. "I don't know whether you are right or not..." he pulls the hood over his face, shrouding his features.

"But I do know there are some things I'm not ready to let go of." There is a pause. "I better get back. Hopefully, I'll know one way or another when I return." he pauses again, not knowing if he'll be welcome then. Always when he leaves a place and returns, things are usually almost unrecognizably different. "May I be excused?"

LEXUS has posed:
LEXUS stands. "Indeed. I will assist in guiding you back to the Laser access." He says. "It has been a fascinating meeting. Take care, Riku." LEXUs turns away from the Shaow Lord, resuming his effort to analyze incoming data streams. The floor begins to light up, giving Riku a simple guide home.