fifth glitch

[perfectisnteasy]

[it's taken CLU a few cycles to digest everything that happened to him out there. to everyone. to digest the fact that he's actually CONSIDERING everyone, at that. his mind's been blown, to say the least, and it's been a constant effort not to just crash at the implications of it all, every time it comes back to him.

but he and Flynn have been working on that. slowly, steadily. patiently.

the patience part has been driving him nuts, and he's itching for something he can actually DO with all of this knowledge, this new data, these parameters and pathways and possibilities. he wants to build.

so he finally breaks down, gets over his taboo, and wishes himself up a computer, like the one he'd seen Alleyne using in the library after he first arrived. it doesn't take him long at all to find CastleNet, and pulling his disc off his back, he activates it, pulling up the code from their time in the Mirrorland. taking up his journal, too, he cracks it open to a blank page, and dictates, calmly:]

Hey, I'm putting some stuff up on this CastleNet of ours. Easiest place for me to move it all. Pretty important, too. Definitely worth a look.

[and then he'll put in a URL...]

---

[the site links to a series of high-resolution images, as clear and crisp as though they were something the viewer were looking at, themselves, in real time - because they're snapshots from CLU's physical memory banks. they're the pages of an ancient book - the text is garbled in some places, illegibly smudged or strangely warped. but what is visible is clearly so:]

...in the heart of the land. Though it is no longer the metropolis it once was, it remains active, continuing to take in inhabitants in considerably smaller quantities to maintain its current size.

The primary source of power has always been the human soul and its wide range of emotions. Sudden pikes or changes in emotions generate greater power, and as such Cair Paradisa has become volatile in nature in order to produce more power for itself. This has been necessary since the Great Departure when The Five first departed from the castle, resulting in the creation of five additional smaller castles. [SEE THE GREAT DEPARTURE, THE FIVE] Though the most prominent castles in the land, there would be many smaller castles to arise, and their numbers have yet to be recorded...



...named Libet, whose personality differed from that of Cair Paradisa. A more benevolent castle, it catered to the whims of its residents to the best of its ability. The result was castle that maintained a cycle of power. The love its inhabitants felt for it fueled the castle itself, and in turn it would reward the people by bestowing them with gifts. Often times the gifts were rather extravagant, requiring a great deal of energy.

It was not nearly as volatile as its predecessor, and as a result took in less power than it exerted. Though loved dearly by its inhabitants, Libet could not continue to sustain itself, which resulted in its untimely demise, and the demise of those who did not wish to flee in its final hours...



...Among the first inhabitants were The Five:

A valiant Knight of great honor and strong ambition, whose reputation was highly regarded; men aspired to be like him, and women aspired to be his.

A fierce Dragon of great power and might, but with a gentle soul to those who regarded him with their utmost respect, rather than their hatred or fear.

A vivacious Bard of great loyalty and endless generosity, whose songs would be sung for generations and who would be remembered for placing others before himself.

A wise Wizard of great magic and insight; often underestimated by those around him, he proved time and again his willpower, and provided great council for his peers.

A beautiful Princess of great strength and endless kindness; a woman of the blade to the surprise of many, one who always stood for the greater good.

---

[the upload finished, CLU disconnects his disc and puts it back, then tilts his head at the computer. he knows there's got to be some kind of algorithm that could be created to decode the garbled pieces of the image, fix the resolution or unscramble the code ... so he calls up a command prompt and starts editing in commands. it's a VERY clunky way to operate, as opposed to his old Grid method of just ... Making It Happen ... but it's still something he knows from being Flynn's clone.

there's just one problem. the second he types RUN, the entire screen freaks out.]

Oh, what the hell...?!


((OOC: This is the information that the kidnapped characters found in the Mirrorland library! Pass it around, discuss, debate, point and gape, say "I KNEW IT", go crazy! CLU might be a little distracted by the discovery of his loss...))

Comments

[wilder]

[STALKING A STALK. Both on this entry and on Castlenet]

[is0latedthinker]

What is all this, Flynn? It's from the mirrored world?

[perfectisnteasy]

One outta two.

[is0latedthinker]

[...Oh.

He was able to tell them apart so easily before - something's changed. CLU's more like his User. And despite Flynn telling him over the journal when he was gone that he had it under control, Alan is a little more skeptical. CLU isn't himself in coded form; Alan can't suddenly change from suspicious to trusting without repeated, concrete evidence seen by his own two eyes.

He chooses his words carefully.]

You've changed.

Dictation!

[cyan_maid]

[She didn't even realize there was internet until she heard this entry, and this CastleNET piqued her interest. Let's just say this information has floored newbie Jane.]

Goodness gracious! Souls?! Is this real?!

[perfectisnteasy]

Sure is. I was there. Took the images myself.

[cyan_maid]

Gosh! This has to be one of the most interesting things I've seen all day, even if it is a bit terrifying!

Is there any way to find more?

[ruin_mania]

[Oh, well, that's useful. Though she comes from a rather technologically backwards culture, Raine is surprisingly good with technology. Well, surprising to anyone who doesn't know her, anyway. So it doesn't take her long to find and read over the information, and she writes a reply into the journal.]

Thank you. Where was this information found?

[perfectisnteasy]

In the library, in that other world. The backwards one. It was in a cage, at the end of a long, narrow bridge. If you need a visual, I can give you that, too. ... Soon as I figure out what's wrong with this son-of-a-glitch monitor.

[thump]

[ruin_mania]

There was a library there? [Yeah, guess who's been too distracted to actually learn anything about the other world?] Did it seem as a reflection of Paradisa's library, or as something completely different?

[foughtfortheusers]

Master?

[perfectisnteasy]

Rinzler! [he sounds cheerful enough - not quite edgy-cheerful, but almost there. he's half annoyed, half worried. okay, more like 65% annoyed. he went through a bunch of crap to save you and then you disappeared. that's not cool, man, that doesn't fly. not that he knows you couldn't help being a cat. or that he almost kicked you.]

Where y'been, man?

[foughtfortheusers]

Was changed, Master. Castle.

Am normal now.

[psych0p0mps]

[SAVED..... man there is no better way to improve Aradia's outlook than to poke her archaeology nerdness like this.]

oh wow this is amazing
where did you find all this??

[perfectisnteasy]

It was in the Mirrorland Library, at the end of a bridge. In a cage.

[psych0p0mps]

...
apart from mirrorland i have no idea what that means
but this is so cool
if even half of it is accurate
*five* castles gosh
and they have creators
this sir
this is a good post

[messin_with_my_zen_thing]

Hey thanks for uploading that, man. That'll definitely be handy.

[a pause]

Something wrong?

[perfectisnteasy]

Mmyeah. Can you come take a look? It -- I was trying to program an algorithm to decrypt those fuzzy bits we couldn't read, and --- the monitor's glitched out.

[courageous_wit]

[Hermione's just gonna read all this and memorize it. Especially the info on the Five]

[perfectisnteasy]

[eeeexcellent. help give it to the people who don't know what a kom pyew torr is?]

[Flynn]

[sixguns]

Where is th' book now? I'd like t' take a closer look at it.

[It's likely Noah wouldn't be able to decipher any of it, but he wants to see it again. Maybe it would give him a better understanding of why. It feels important to do so.

[The whole trip troubles him in a deeper way than he'd thought.]

Sir Not Appearing In This Thread

[perfectisnteasy]

[welp that's what he gets for sounding like his User]

[unnaturalpause]

[Quietly cursing having to use a computer but he does find it. And yes he's doing the stalking thing himself now both this entry and the CastleNet one.]

[ex_avenged224]

Write it down. I don't know what this H T T nonsense is and I do not think I am alone.

[perfectisnteasy]

But it is written down.

[no really see, right there.

on

the

screen]