City of Amnesia

~Vega, Hitomi~

*Vega's group is working on building a new branch of the library. His supervisor calls him over & asks him to get the plans for the original building from the librarian.*
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~Zell~

*Zell hears a knock on her door.*
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~Luna, Lilith~

*A redhead girl comes in. When Luna looks up, she stares at her with a flat expression for several seconds. Then she whips off her travelling cloak & reveals there to be a dark hole where her left arm should be.*

"Hello. I would like to report a theft. I apologize for my gaudy clothing, I live with a woman who has no taste."
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~Thiera, Topaz~

*When she comes into view of the subway tunnel, she sees a woman in all white getting a flashlight out of a briefcase & looking around.*

"Where is that girl? She was supposed to meet me here 15 minutes ago!"

Zell was pacing around. She was having a bad month, and it seemed to be coming to a head right then and there. A month ago she was given an offer, though she felt it was a bit more of an ultimatum, from Paradigm Head Office. The offer was simple enough, paint. It was what she used to do, and she was good at it, so the offer should have been a fairly easy choice. In fact, it was. She was well aware of the fact that she had not put paint to canvas in almost a year, but who could say no to the money she was being offered?

The problem wasn't that however, the problem was the eerily targeted killings that had taken place almost as soon as she had received her offer. Six artist of varying fields had been killed within the month, six. Things like that didn't just happen, especially since she knew three of them. That could have been blamed solely on the relative smallness of the art ring in Paradigm, but Zell was feeling a bit paranoid. If she took the offer, how could she not assume that she would be next? How was she to know that the other deaths were not due to being offered the same deal she was.

Zell ran a hand through her hair and let out a heavy sigh, "Dammit, I can't say no, but it is hard to say yes when I fear for my life." Zell let out another sigh and took a seat at her dinner table. There a cup of tea sat, steaming, and lightly flavored with honey. Just as she was about to take a sip to try and calm her nerves she heard a knock at her front door. She nearly jumped out of her skin, nearly, luckily the worst she did was splash a bit of the tea around in her cup.

Zell took her sip, let out a breath, and stood up. "I guess this is it." She said making her way to the door, "It has been a month after all." Once at the door Zell looked through the peep hole and asked, "Hello, who is there?"

"I'm sorry but I'm not the one you should tell about a theft..." Luna began, then hesitated, "uh... do you mind if I ask what happened to your arm?"
She wondered over to the red head and stared at the gaping hole.

*She draws one of her guns and points it at Thiera, slowly walking towards her. After she gets a bit closer, she shouts from the shadows.*

Topaz: <Who are you?>

*She sees a man with slicked back black hair with a black suit, black tie, & sunglasses.*

<I'm the cameo. Sorry. I meant to say, "negotiator.">
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*Thiera draws her own gun, pointing it at Topaz.*

"Why don't you tell me?"
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"I just told you. It was stolen. This is a police station. I am reporting a crime. I would very much like my arm back as soon as possible. I don't know if you've ever had an arm stolen, but it is quite inconvenient."

*She steps forward, still aiming at Thiera.*

Topaz: <I'd rather not. Are you the killer?>

Zell smiled, took a step back and opened the door. "Hello," She said, extending her hand, "I'm sorry for being a bit jumpy." She ushered Roger in and closed the door. "Please, take a seat," She said, motioning towards the dinner table. Zell took the seat she had before, and picked up the tea cup again, taking another sip before putting the cup down. "I guess you're here to talk about the offer from the Paradigm Head Office."

[Would have been nice of him to say which librarian.]

*Vega approaches the counter and seeing most of the librarians doing other things, he approached the one who was merely sitting by the sign in area reading the books on the cart.*

Vega:<Excuse me?>

*Hitomi doesn't look up from her book. By the looks of the cover it appears to be about archetecture.*

"Yes?"

Vega:<Would you happen to have the floor plans for this building?>

"No. They're in the archives at the back of the building."

Vega:<Would you mind taking me to get them?>

"I suppose."

*She closes up the book and sets it down. Standing up she walks away and returns a short while later with a ring of keys. Going through the aisles, the two come to a set of windowless doors with a sign above them that says Archives. Hitomi unlocks and opens the door.*

"Wait here."

*She enters leaving the door open behind her. Vega peeks into the room seeing shelves with boxes bound shut and labled, large books on other shelves and at the back a series of shelves with tubes circular slots. Shortly after looking away, Hitomi returns with a cardboard tube under her arm and after closing and locking the doors she holds the tube out to him.*

"Here."

Vega:<Thank you.>

*Vega takes the tube and without another word, Hitomi walks away.*

[Is she one of those androids I've been hearing so much about?]

*Tube in hand, he returns to the job site.*

"If you aren't answering my questions, then I have no reason to answer yours. Now, you get one warning: If you don't back off & quit pointing that at me, I'll shoot & never look back."
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*The supervisor takes the tube from him & starts reading the plans.*

<Huh. There's no date on here. Guess that means this library must be over 40 years old. I bet there's some interesting stuff in those archives...here we go. If we put it here, we should be able to make it lead to the basement level.>

*He points to a spot on the ground.*
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*Roger sits down, putting his briefcase on the table. Zell, of course, knows his name from their earlier meeting.*

Roger<Yes. You already know the offer, but the Paradigm Head Office has asked me to ensure you that these attacks have nothing to do with it. They point out, as I'm sure you have noticed, that all of them took place outside of the domes. They believe the assailant is targeting the poor, & that artists are extra vulnerable because they have to make a lot of personal appointments. But tell me...what do you think?>

*Hitomi returns the ring of keys to who she got it from and returns to where she was sitting. Picking up the book she opens it to the page she left off at and resumes reading.*

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*Vega looks at the spot the supervisor pointed at.*

"If we put what here?"

<The add-on to the building, obviously. We'll start by digging bases for the support beams. It'll be up to you & the android to put them up.>

*He sets about marking spots on the dirt.*
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*Hitomi's supervisor comes to inform her that the library is closing.*

"Oh... you're an android, right?" Luna sighed and turned, motioning for Lilith to follow, "Follow me, I'll take you to a constable and you can report the theft to him."

"Okay."

*Hitomi closes the book she's reading and a long with three others puts it on counter to check out. Returning to the cart she begins to go about reshelving the recently checked in books.*

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*Vega looks about from left to right for said android.*

[It's probably staring me right in the face and I don't even realize it.]

Zell listened to Roger talk, she always liked the man's voice. It was as if he practiced it when he was driving around, maybe over some a nice smooth jazz track. After another sip, Zell spoke up, "I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who was taking notice." Zell said, crossing her legs and taking another sip, "I did notice that the attacks have been outside the domes, but I'm not so sure that the reason for that is attacking the poor, call me paranoid, but it really does feel like only artist are being targeted." She put the cup down and leaned in a bit, "If it was only the poor, why only artist, if it is artist because they make easy targets, why not attack the homeless?" Zell leaned back, "You asked me what I think, well, I think there are attacks being made on artist, and the Paradigm Head Office wants to make me one of the most visible in the city." Zell picked up her tea cup again, "All I want is a little assurance that I'll be safe. Peace of mind is conductive for good artistry, and with that killer out there, well, my mind is less than at peace." Zell finished, taking another sip.

<I am behind you.>

*Behind Vega is a humanoid figure wearing construction garb with a plain steel face set into a neutral expression.*

<My arms extend, so I'm the obvious choice to help you with this task.>
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"I think 'gynoid' is the most accurate. Many people feel that 'android' implies a male figure. Do you think I look manly?"

*Lilith follows. The only hint that she's a machine is a light clanking that could pass for jewlery noises.*
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<Unfortunately, the police really don't think it's that big a deal. Paradigm might offer you a few body guards. Or...hmm...do you have an aversion to living with others? Specifically women? Or androids, for that matter?>

Zell was afraid of that, if the police thought anything of it odds were she wouldn't have to worry at all, but an attack outside the Domes, even a serial killer, wasn't going to draw too much police interest. The idea of bodyguards was something she wasn't too thrilled about either, but it was a step in the right direction at least, safety was all she wanted. When Roger brought up the idea of living with someone else she furled her eyebrows, "No, not really, though I didn't think I would have to move in order to fulfill this contract." Zell then thought a bit more about it, not being at her home might actually be helpful if a murderer comes knocking around. Taking another sip, Zell asked, "What are you getting at Roger? Do you have somewhere for me to stay?"

"Uh, sorry then, what was your name?" Luna asked Lilith as they wondered over to a pair of swinging doors that led to a room full of tables.
Behind the tables were a bunch of men and a couple of women, either chatting or flicking through messes of paper on their desks.

"My name is Lilith. You didn't exactly answer my question, though."
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<Well, it's just that I have this other client...negotiations are going lousy, but I think she'd be fine with someone else moving in. Provided they wore mostly white while in her house.>

*She doesn't move, staring into Thiera's eyes.*

Topaz: <Should I take that as a "yes"?>

"Heh, I thought it would be a good idea to avoid the question..." Luna's tone of voice softened as she pushed open the swinging doors and walked into the main room, "Hey, Constable Barkley."
Luna led Lilith over to a young looking constable, who looked as though he had just gotten over a gigantic hangover, and had a cigar hanging out of his mouth.
"Report your theft to this guy here, bye now" Luna explained briefly and turned to wonder off to her own desk.

"Mostly white?" Zell said, looking down at what she was wearing. Her black slacks were, well, black, but everything else was white, "So this lady only allows guests to wear white?" Zell giggled a bit, "Now I know why your negotiations with her are not going well." She said, motioning to the all black outfit that Roger wore. "So tell me, Roger, who is this woman? I imagine someone from the Domes if she has an android. Anyone I might know?" Zell asked, taking another sip of her tea.

*After the books from the cart are returned to their proper shelf and the cart's returned to its proper place, Hitomi goes about signing out the books she intends on taking home.*

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*Vega jumps and turns around slowly.*

"I'd imagine so."

*Putting on his gloves, Vega begins to go about the task at hand.*

*Thiera darts into the subway tunnel.*
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<Yes, she is. And you might know her, if you have any interest in memory recovery. Her name is Thiera Psyche.>
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*After they get that done, it's about time for everyone to go home. Even in the City of Amnesia, construction is painfully slow.*
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<...Is an explanation actually required?>
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*Luna's father is going over the map again. Four of the victims were shot in the back of the head. One of the reporters had his house set on fire. The photographer was hacked into pieces by an unknown weapon after being blinded, presumably from a camera flash. All of the murders had taken places near different subway entrances, leaving only 1 entrance outside the domes untouched.*

Topaz: <(I hate when they do that.)>

*She chases after her.*

*Hitomi collects her books and leaves, heading home.*

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*Vega deactivates the magnets in his gloves before removing them, returning them to his back pocket.*

[I could use a nap.]