Fracture

 I am not happy.

Very not happy. Enough to break radio silence just to say how I am as Not Amused as Queen Victoria.

I recently found out that Fracture had come into possession of Zero's sword. Naturally, I wanted to know why. For good or ill, it's a Runner item with a very long and storied history, and I didn't appreciate his magpie hands all over it. Konaa, I trusted to hold it, and hold it safely. Fracture, I distinctly do not.

I still had his number from the time I sent him attack drones. Seeing as I didn't want him noseying about my hideouts, I went into the Port Hills to call it. Back in WWII it was feared Japan would attack New Zealand shores, and bunkers were made to overlook the sea. Even with the one I was at now a grey concrete remnant, it had a fantastic view.

He appeared from nowhere behind me, as he does. I didn't bother with any preamble. I started yelling at him, what was he thinking, why did he think he had any right, etc etc. I believe the words 'cultural misappropriation' may have surfaced at some point.

You know the answer he gave me? His entire reason? That it was too dangerous for Runners to have, and that he was hiding it in a Loop to keep it safe. Like he was a dutiful mother taking a razorblade from a toddler. Like we were incapable of recognising and safely dealing with the danger ourselves. Like that was even his decision to make, or his right to carry out.

 I counted to ten. Loops are not foolproof. They can decay and collapse. More importantly, they can be pierced, and not by Runners. I do not want this passing hands between proxies. If he wanted it out of the ability of anyone to misuse it, there were safer and far more effective ways to do this, and they should be done by Runners. I told him of one such method, which I won't detail here because I still want cause to use it.

"For now, you just need to trust that its where it needs to be."

"And I don't trust you, Fracture. Get off your high horse. It may work for your underlings, but I am not one, so don't think you can give me vague platitudes and think I'll walk away satisfied. The sword is not yours. I have a better claim to it than you do. And you are not listening."

"If you were listening you might have this half way figured out. I'm not on my high horse. I'm doing my job. This isn't a matter of claims. Your job, my furious little sword, is to find a way to stand and fight. My job is to keep everyone alive. Our titles are very different. The kind of claim yours gives you over the sword will bring ruin."

"My job? And who do you think you are, my employer? The lack of any sort of pay could have fooled me. And trust me, I am fully aware of what happened the last time a Sage held that sword. So I won't hold it. I can get another to dispose of it. But it's not for proxy hands either, Fracture. And however you're hovering on the brink of becoming a runner, you're not one."

"I can't be a runner. That'd be suicide."

I shrugged. "Your Boss isn't pleased with you. You can't be a proxy and do runner things. That's equally as suicidal. Tip one way or the other, why don't you. But we're straying from the point. The sword. Relinquish it. I get what you're doing, Fracture, I really do. But it's not for you to do."

"It's something I have to do. I wish you could see the world like I do. The seas of possibilities. But that's my burden and so is the sword. I'm sorry kiddo, I really am. I'll make it up to you... probably."

And then he was gone in an instant, as he does, the dick, and I was standing alone in windblown tussock.

"Idiot." I kicked one. "Make it up to me, pfeh."

He'd said he was a Guardian, and that was why. But he forgets; a title only has as much power as others give it. He may have named me a Sage, but it was the ratification of the epithet by the Runner community that has truly made me one. You're not a Guardian for us, Fracture. That's not your burden, or your task, and you are so, so arrogant if you don't realise this.

There's no way this can end well. Maybe I can't see "seas of possibility", but that's something I can.

Experiment #4: Vaccine

It’s been a while since I made one of these posts. The purpose of this experiment to help recreate the Cure by testing the hypothesis that it activated an immune response to azoth.

Each group of test rats shares a cage, food and water supply.

Trial One:

10x rats are a control group.

10x rats are continuously exposed to azoth vapour. Their cage has activated charcoal filters in order to prevent the vapour from escaping into the lab and contaminating the results. Similarly the vapour supply is shut off one day before the cage is weekly cleaned, in order for it to have dissipated before it is opened. The filters are also changed at this time. The azoth is replaced monthly.

10x rats are injected weekly with a 20 mg/ml solution of dissolved dead azoth.

The supply of dead azoth is taken from the living azoth sent to me by Kelevra, which after a conversation with Rose  we decided to name Rinforzando. It is ‘fed’ a solution of equal parts bleach, ethanol, chlorine and hydrogen peroxide to ten parts water. Varying the concentrations to see which constituent is most effective is an experiment for when this one is over in order to keep things consistent; my money’s on the alcohol. As it grows excess amounts are cut off and killed with concentrated hydrochloric acid, before being stored for later use.

Trial Two is similar in construction, save that each rat has been innoculated with 2 per cent solution of antibodies extracted from Carter’s blood beforehand, and then was observed for three weeks before exposure to azoth in order for any adverse effects to become apparent. There were none.

In other news, Adam left me his fedora behind, along with a note. I am sincerely touched.

I’ve managed to pin the chemical structure of the active substance in Strider’s pills. Extensive searching of the literature reveals no previous work on it. Making a drug is, if not easy, then doable in a garage with the right equipment and the right recipe. But the development of a drug takes years and millions of dollars, so why no patent or paper to pay it back or get recognition? I suspect government involvement, but that only increases the mystery as to why a random Runner had them on him. Speaking of making it, I can. The yield is incredibly piss poor, so if you want any in bulk I’d probably be repeating the same procedure over and over again for the next six months, but at least Strider has something to show for his donation. I’m currently working on trying to find ways to increase the yield.

As for Morningstar’s pills, I haven’t had much chance to do any work on them, but a quick test reveals the becoming increasingly familiar chemical signature of azoth. Teasing out the other chemical constituents will take a little more time.

Speaking of chemical constituents, something I should have done earlier was to test azoth for DNA. Interestingly, it has none. It does, however, contain RNA. All this means that if there is a LUCA, it is far, far back. Azoth has more genetically in common with virii than any other living or unliving creature.

R, your arms are almost done. I just need to do some fine tuning to get smoothness of movement up to par and then weld on the outer coverings. Since I can’t do any neural integration, especially so far away, the controls for the arms will be on a modified tooth protector which you operate with your tongue. I’ll send you two of those and a pack of the batteries they require. The arms themselves require power point charging. An overnight charge will keep them running for three days straight. Roy, your leg is a little behind but works similarly.

What else, what else… right. The Dying Man river water. I have a hunch that the black dots are the active ingredient and also that they are some sort of organism, and I am planning to test both.

Thanks to the hemisphere flip, I’m getting the Winter Solstice much sooner than most of you, just as you’ll be getting the Summer one much earlier than me. Since I still have some time on the car rental left, I plan to grab Black, skip town, and spend it out on the plains near the mountains, where there are minimal trees and lots of wide open spaces. The other option is to stay home in the city, but since both Kelevra and Fracture have independently found my house it’s evidently not as safe as previously thought. So I’ll be incommunicado until I get back.