recollecters | NPC INBOX 2.0;

NPC INBOX 2.0;

Zee Carlisle

A wise duck once said: "Let's get dangerous."

VOICE | TEXT | VIDEO | ACTION

Zee Carlisle, #55891
~~Retrospec Hiring Manager~~

Newly housed in a remote location attached to the Recollé Public Library, one only has to pass through the invisible door scanners to access Zee's current office. Upon entering, users will see an upgraded suite, three unmarked (and closed) doors along the wall behind Zee's desk, and windows overlooking the city.

-Threads with Zee may be used for AC/bonus points should players choose to do so.
-Threads with Zee may be used to gain mission assignments or discuss plot points, game events, etc.
-Threads with Zee may be cut short if they are irrelevant solely to save on mod-time as well.
-Unless stated otherwise, assume that he is always reachable for Retrospec users.

Old inbox can be found here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Nooope." The 'p' pops a little and he rolls his eyes to the ceiling. "It's always been set up that people who aren't a part of the project would be kept on the first layer, and people that were added would move to layer two. We should have realized back then that the layers were maybe more tangible than we thought."

Aslan, who doesn't care for these talks, woofs in agreement to Togusa's deal before busying himself with the jerky and politely taking it from Togusa's hand. Zee can't help but chuckle a little.

"I never really got a choice about supporting the project or not, but the rest is about right. Their methods have been messed up since I remember being just like you guys instead of an employee. But being here meant access to more data and information." He frowns again. "I'm still missing key pieces of who I am, and if I work here long enough maybe I'll remember. And maybe I'll learn how to help balance you guys and let you actually make a choice. It's…even if everything's messed up about how it's happening, they thought they were doing something good by saving you. I can't fault them for that. Can you?"

Togusa points at Zee, "I first thought that when we hit the layer that led us to the four cities and gave us you, actually. Felt like we had caught up to where you were, so we could all talk now. I don't know why I turned away from that idea. I kept expecting more physical locations to show up, but we've gotten so few."

Zee's question is a good one, and Togusa heaves a heavy sigh. "I can't really. I can fault them for so many other things. But not for trying, if they thought this was a real problem."

"So much of what I want to fault Retrospec for, I'm learning is really the fault of these worlds. Why does a world exist where a nine year-old kid needs a tank? Or a kid can summon gods? Or," he waves his hand in a vague up and down gesture, "all of James' bullshit?"

"It's something like that, yeah." It's close enough and he won't correct him because he gets the general idea and that's all that matters to him. "The locations are in a space you guys can't see them. We just didn't know it until recently."

He shifts a little while leaning against his desk. "That's a question more about how the universe works, Mr. Togusa, and while I can probably come up with an answer I'm not sure it'll be satisfactory since it boils down to 'because.' It's why I want to get soul theory right this time to adjust things as they come. You think any of us wanted James to lose an arm or for Rose's eye to get replaced with a flower?"

"Frankly?" Togusa looks at Zee as seriously as he can. "You? No. Retrospec's leadership? Yes. In the absence of any communication from them, it's felt like every injury to us is all a part of the plan, and therefore, exactly what they want. At best it looks like they see it as an acceptable loss."

"This is why it's been so terrible that we've had so little communication from Retrospec. Without them giving anything of their side of the story? The narratives we end up telling each other take over. I'm positive the leadership isn't nearly as callous as we all think they are, but they haven't spoken for themselves. It makes your and Joanne's concern feel like the exception, not the rule."

Another skritch to the pup to calm himself down. "But I'm here and willing to listen because I know that can't be the truth."

"Maybe the old leadership. The company's changed hands a few times since its foundation but the main goal has always been to recreate souls as whole as possible." There's a shrug because...well. He can't entirely refute that either. "If things are developing the way that they "should" be, then it's part of the plan, theoretically.

I don't think the lack of communication's entirely been on purpose though. As far as I know, Jo liked you guys pretty well, and some of the others tried. All of us had to sign some kind of an NDA when we were hired. Theirs just might have been different than mine."

What is the truth, he thinks? He finds himself mulling on that as Aslan chews on his treat and Togusa pays attention to the dog instead.

"...I think I'm not sure what it is I want to say. Or, rather, what needs to be said to make sure this goes as smoothly as possible. Make sense?"

"Old versus new leadership means nothing to us. We keep hearing that, bits and pieces, how there's some new leader, but we've known nothing different. So it just becomes another piece of the blame game."

But Togusa very slowly nods, turning all his attention to Zee. "It does. I won't jump down your throat, I promise. Trying to be better about that." Not always succeeding, but trying.

"I think sometimes no matter what's said it's going to be a blame game because you guys didn't ask for this and neither did I at first. That's all." He takes a breath through his nose, sorting his thoughts carefully before continuing.

"Trying's better than nothing. I guess it's...I don't know what it is you guys really want to know. So. What's the most pressing thing, sir?"

Togusa ponders and absently skritches the dog a few times to get his thoughts in order. Because a few of the first questions that pop up, he knows Zee either doesn't have the answer to, or Togusa already knows Retrospec's party line on. The question hits him all at once, one of the oddities of their situation that he has gotten used to, but shouldn't have.

"If there's a physical aspect to the layers, like you said, almost as if we're gaining physical territory as we remember more. Then what happened to the world outside these cities? We got cut off, and then," Togusa gestures to Zee. "We got access to the four regions and to you. So what happened to everything else?"

"We can't really leave, I can't get a call through to my parents in Japan. I got," he waves a hand, "once or twice, really short. Is that also part of the plan, or is that something that went wrong?"

"...they're still there, in theory. Just on a separate layer. But because of the nature of the project we had to start curbing the desire to head out there and fall out of alignment. It's why you can't leave until you're off the project, and why phone calls didn't work for as long as they did."

There's a short chuckle though. "The regions and I have always been here, Mr. Togusa. You guys just weren't ready to explore them, and I wasn't ready to take on the hiring manager position." He understands the worries though. "It's a little of column A and a little of column B. The idea was to...think of it like a venn diagram. Layer one's in one circle, layer two in another, with a middle ground in-between so you could still talk to people on the first layer. Over time because of what's been happening and Vanderweele's interference that middle section's shrunk. It's why we're stuck until we fix it, and why phone calls are brief and new reports show nothing about what's happening in the regions or anything. It's all a part of the illusion."

Togusa points again. “‘Not ready.’ That’s another phrase that keeps getting a lot of resentment out of the people on the app. Don’t act like we can’t handle the knowledge or responsibility. If you mean something different by that? Then what exactly does everybody mean when they call us not ready?”

"It's not about the knowledge or responsibility." He shakes his head. "It means your souls aren't stable enough for what might happen out there, and we'd rather not actually kill you. Tell me something. Would you have been able to survive beyond the doors without the skills and memories you possess now?"

A sharp frown. “Okay, since we objectively know the answer to that is ‘no.’ Was that all it was about?” His hand is unconsciously going back to his side of his chest.

“And it worked out for Retrospec. Even if some of us didn’t get the most dangerous powers, they knew enough of us would that we’d protect those who didn’t. Some of the unreality has been safe, but not enough.” He glances back at Zee. “And you had to come in to the powers that would protect you from us.” He’ll neglect to mention that Zee wasn’t protected the time he needed it.

There's a lift of both hands, weighing the options a little before he shrugs. "It was mostly about the physical capabilities, yeah, but do you think anybody would really listen if we said that? There's enough of you who're arrogant enough to keep trying anyway." There's another annoyed sort of sigh though.

"This isn't about my powers right now, but you're right. You guys have started working together to protect each other. It was sort of about that, too. Making sure your bonds with each other were strong enough."

"You'd think we would have figured it out when a giant monster ate the sea. But even that wasn't enough." Togusa slumps a little. "And your sample size got pretty lucky with the sociopath count. Only had what? Two? Three? So far?"

He finally lets go of his side and runs that hand over his face. "So far, I've been banking on the idea that because people can be restored to themselves when Retrospec lets them go. That's got to be some kind of proof that we exist separate from the remembered souls. If that's what you're trying to make sure can happen? Then maybe looking into how Retrospec does that is a possible avenue."

"Otherwise, I just want to help how I can. If the only way that the other Togusa's world gets restored is by losing me?" He hesitates. "Well, that's the question I keep coming up to, and I answer it differently every time."

"Well now that depends on what we're qualifying as sociopathic. Some of them got better." It's not quite an amused tone, but he can make some light of it.

"In a way is it really losing you though if the two become one? I'd use the Venn Diagram example again but it's not quite as cut and dry as that. But there is a space where the Togusa that was and the Togusa that is start to become one in the same. The world he came from can be restored, but you don't have to lose your place here, too. If I can, I'd like to find a way to safely manipulate the soul essence you've all regrown to add or remove whatever it is that makes you a hybrid of the people you want and need to be."

It's complicated and he knows that. It's why he falls quiet again. "But the souls are one in the same. I'm sorry to tell you that."

Togusa falls quiet again, looking down. Aslan seems to notice his discomfort and noses him again, earning an absent muzzle pat. His brow slowly tenses up, and relaxes a few times, clearly spending effort in thinking something over.

"It would have been easier before what Vanderweele did."

He knows that's cryptic as hell, so he reaches in to his inner jacket pocket, pulls out the wallet with his detective's badge on it. But he fishes in the back of it. There's an extra piece of paper tucked inside. Just a high-quality photo paper, printed.

"I don't even know if someone other than me can see this."

It is a photo, printed from his cyberbrain output, of Hikari, from when she was here, and Togusa believed he had a daughter. All dressed up for the festival. He offers it over for Zee to see.

"If Togusa doesn't exist in that world, then neither does she." Sad, soft.

He reaches forward and takes the picture from Togusa's hand, glancing at it and taking in what he's seeing. So that's why, huh? Togusa's not the only one who has people he needs to establish their existence. He knows plenty of app users who are worried about people who've gone offline, people that never existed at all.

Still. He holds the photos between two fingers before he sighs to himself.

"...I believe there's a way to recreate people's souls based on the energy your souls exude. It's something I've been doing some research on, but obviously I've been keeping that on lockdown for a reason. I'm sure you understand?"

There is a quick burst of hope, something in his chest, before Togusa very slowly nods in understanding. He was right. From a philosophical standpoint. Now they just need to turn it into a scientific one. He reaches out for the photo back.

"I understand." Tempering his own excitement. "You're not sure if it would work, and a false hope like that could be devastating to a lot of people."

But to Togusa?

"How can I help?" There's more determination than ever in his voice. "Even if it fails, I want to try."

"Exactly." He allows Togusa to take the photo back but he's pleased that the answer seems to be easily spelled out for him. "That, and I'm not even sure everyone would trust me to do something like that to them given its experimentation and potentially capable of rewriting things, even if they're things that may be better to have overwritten in the first place."

He thinks though because, well, what a question. "...I'll need group leaders, I suppose. People who can keep everyone else on track while we're dismantling old labs and Vanderweele's bunkers."

Togusa pauses, and for a few seconds, he can only wrinkle his brow in thought. His mouth opens, then he re-thinks his first instinct. His look turns more confused. “Looking to me for a leader? I can keep people on track well enough.” But lead? Surely, he wants Mariko.

Or- whoever her Other is.

But Zee can still see who he has in front of him, not Retrospec’s wish for just the Other. Togusa sighs. “Year ago, I would have said you’ve got the wrong man. Even my Other is apparently the wrong man. But I’m who you’ve got.”

“You’re expecting- or banking on- Vanderweele having resources in the outer layers?”

"May as well. You've got more experience with what's going on than a good chunk of the users." He shrugs a little. "I'll take my chances, and I think they're good ones. But it's what I'm banking on, yeah. If I'm right, we'll have to do some diving to find those resources as far as Retrospec can reach. That's not just here."

It's the other four regions, too, but he expects Togusa to understand that.

There's a small smile at Zee's admission there. "It's down to, what, me and Ardyn's nephew that have been around since the very beginning?" It's almost impressive.

"As far as we can reach. I know it was chance that sent me to Pesgare the first time, but I'm kind of fond of the place now." Another small smile.

"You can count on me. I guess that's what I'm trying to say. But it's better to know where we both stand."

"I believe so. So many of you have been kicked out...I'm guessing because you'd learned too much and proved to be something of a threat." It's all he can guess at any rate.

"I appreciate the honesty, sir. I hope the feeling is mutual. We'll do our best to make sure everything goes according to plan."

Togusa's eyebrows pinch together and he looks at Zee suspiciously. "We'd heard all along that people slipping out of alignment wasn't intentional. At least not on Retrospec's part. You think Vanderweele has been targeting specific people to remove from the platform?"

While Togusa literally clicks his back teeth together to try to keep his paranoia from shooting from 0 to 100 in an instant.

"We thought it wasn't until recently." So yeah, he has that feeling. "What we know about Vanderweele though is that he's pretty particular when it comes to who, exactly, is a part of the project. It's always been that way according to history."

...then again... "There's also no saying it wasn't both. For a long while, he was still under lock and key. He could be capitalizing on the instability of some of the souls."

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