Logging #BESM to 'logs\#BESM.ChatSociety.log'
Alice	I have landed getting pizza
The_Guild	K. When last we left this intrepid traveler, she had completed the first phase of her physical and psychological training.
Alice	And had done a litle pirouette
The_Guild	In a glass hallway through a pleasantly warm yellow void.
Alice	What is that void? (Checking with Thinkers)
The_Guild	~It is a structure isolation matrix, designed to safely buffer radically different rulesets coexisting in a single dimension.~
Alice	"Interesting..." Is Natila-Vv awake yet?
The_Guild	She woke as you were walking out of the facility, yes.
Alice	~Hello Sleepy~
The_Guild	~Alicenest more temperhard... more stuffthick is too. Is okay?~
Alice	~Yes dear. I am just improving myself. Be careful around the sore place in my mind. I needs to be there to get more temperhard.~
The_Guild	~Is good. Natila-Vv be good, right?~ She seems... more cautious now.
Alice	~Natila-Vv is excellent! Alicenest is improving so she can be better with Natila-Vv.~
The_Guild	~Okay...~ She sounds uncertain, but acquiescent.
Alice	Can I feel what the problem is?
The_Guild	She seems to be adjusting a lot more... the veins in your arm writhe slowly, causing them to itch.
Alice strokes the back of her neck soothingly.
The_Guild	~Prrr... .~
Alice	~I'll let you get on with exploring me.~ Any replies from my post about memory erasure?
The_Guild	A few, yes. A couple of them are offering the memories of other people, though.
Alice	How do you mean? Memories of test subjects and such?
The_Guild	Girlfriends wanting their boyfriend's memories erased of ex's that they might have had, that sort of thing.
Alice	Ah, okay. Can I made a modification to the post mentioning that the memory erasure must be voluntary and citing appropriate Guild procedures?
The_Guild	Of course.
Alice	By procedures I mean rules about erasing memory against a subjects will. Which I assume there are.
The_Guild	Yup. :) Done. Your message is updated. You still have two relevant applications.
Alice	Acutally one small thing. I want to leave it open for people to use my services when the subject is unwilling if they follow appropriate guildlines. For example, if someone needed test subject memories wiped before reintegration back into society. It's not a moral thing for Alice, she just doesn't want trouble.
The_Guild	Okay. In most cases procedures like that would already have memory erasure programs in place, but you may get a nibble or two.
Alice	Cool, what about the other two.
The_Guild	On closer look, one wants a memory replacement rather than just an erasure, while the other one wants a soured relationship wiped clean.
Alice	Okay, I send of messages to everyone who replied except that last, explaining why I can't help them and thanking them for their time... To the last person I'll send a message saying that I am interested, explaining that the effects are permanent etc, and asking if they are still interested.
The_Guild	Done and done. It takes a little time, but it's done within fifteen minutes.
Alice	While I am doing this, I'll head to Comestibles, my second home.
The_Guild	Of course. Comestibles is pretty busy. You sit down beside a four foot tall purple cucumber wearing a lowcut robe and it's catlike eating companion.
Alice	I do some quick research to find some cool new food to try (with a good calorie content) and order it.
The_Guild	You order apar barée, and it arrives... sadly, it looks like a large slice of purple cucumber, garnished with flakes of furry meat. The two sharing your table soon leave. You order apar barée, and it arrives... sadly, it looks like a large slice of purple cucumber, garnished with flakes of furry meat. The two sharing your table soon leave.
Alice smiles
Alice	I go ahead and eat the food. While I am doing that I want to acquaint myself with all the guild rules and policies about psionics.
The_Guild	The information filters through your mind as you eat the salty veggieflesh. Psionics, in a nutshell, is fine as long as it does not attempt to injure, damage or otherwise directly inconvenience another being in Shar Torin. There are permissions that can be granted and revoked, to allow more or less access to one's mind, body and soul, but in most cases permission is refused by the Thinkers.
Alice	How about psionic enslavement of non Shar Torin entities?
The_Guild	Again, it is a matter of permission. If you're not in Shar Torin then the rules of whatever dimension you are in would apply. If you bring a dominated individual to Shar Torin, however, Translation may unshackle them and leave them as a free mind... or may bond them permanently to you for the duration of your stay.
Alice	Okay. Makes sense. Now the next big thing. I want to know about he Harvester experiments. (unless you would rather explain at another time so the other pcs can hear.)
The_Guild	The Harvester Experiments was a famous series of failed attempts at recreating the original Harvester - an Astral Dragon capable of consuming the entirety of a dimension - through the training and enhancement of the spawn of the original - the Harvester Progeny.
Alice	As a weapon?
The_Guild	Fourteen of the seventeen Harvester Progeny were destroyed before advances in Degenesis - a parallel yet rival project - prompted the disbanding of the Harvester Experiments. As a collector of raw power.
Alice	And the original Harvester, how was it made/destroyed?
The_Guild	The original Harvester was found and bargained with on occasion to yield it's power to the benefit of the Guild. There are conflicting reports of it's destruction - some blame it on Arturo, others on a mishap while consuming a dimension, others simply say the Harvester ascended, or left, or died of old age.
Alice	Arturo?
The_Guild	A collector of raw power, as in the dimension is broken down into component pieces - Law, Chaos and a small, salvageable amount of pure Divinity that the Shargat collects to use in experiments. See: Neighbours, Arturo Combine.
Alice	Right. Okay, that fills me in.
The_Guild	Any other questions along those lines?
Alice	I'd like a better understanding of Divinity
The_Guild	Divinity is an admixture of pure Chaos and pure Law, creating the fundamental building block of anything and everything.
Alice	"Sounds handy."
The_Guild	It is the power of the Gods. It is.
Alice	Okay, What are Phoenix constructs?
The_Guild	A Phoenix construct is a being created with a Divinity filter that converts available Divinity into psychic and magic potential. They are used as power sources for Shargat experiments and high-consumption facilities.
Alice	Okay, I am going to grab a selection of research in these areas so I can get a flavour for it. When was my coffee date with Hlemstr?
The_Guild	Certainly. The information flows through your mind. Most of it is incomprehensible, but synopses and conclusions are somewhat legible. Good question. She'll let you know tomorrow when she's free.
Alice	Okay. ~Natila-Vv, are you very hungry for memoryfood?~
The_Guild	~Natila-Vv not at all.~
Alice	~Okay. Tell me when you start to be.~
The_Guild	~Emissary Tegway would like to have a word with you, Thoughteater,~ A girlish voice tinkles in your mind.
Alice	~At once.~
The_Guild	~Of course.~ Tegway's office is easy to find with a map of the Guild in your head.
Alice gets up and heads to Tegway's office.
The_Guild	You find the door in a lush hallway of wood panelling and thick carpet, the ceiling a handpainted masterpiece from one end to the other. Her door is unremarkable compared to the others.
Alice	What is the Etiquette: knock or walk in?
The_Guild	Tegway has expressed no preference.
Alice	I knock. I also want to get basic info on Tegway from the thinkers.
The_Guild	The door opens, and without taking a step you find yourself in a large glade of glittering pillars, reaching up into the hazy green blue mists above. The floor is a combination of exquisite tile, foot paths, grasses and beds of wildflowers, and the walls are indistinct past the haze that surrounds and permeates the glade... Sparkles and shivers dance through the air, stirring up leaves and rustling the bushes and leaving faint trails of children's laughter behind. The room is occupied by girls and women in beautiful, gauzy dresses, each one highlighted with shimmering beads of dew. They are of all sizes, the girls, from thimble sized to a sultry giantess lying redolent on her side and used by several others as their own lounging place... Faint music can be heard floating through the air, harp and wind instruments, and occasionally you espy a player prancing through the glade... just for a moment before they disappear again... And all this surrounds a dais upon which reclines the most beautiful woman you have ever seen. Deep red hair, long and full, frames a face of creamy porcelain beauty - full, playful crimson lips, and sparkling, entrancing green eyes. Her dress is of the faintest mauve colour, light as a feather, floating like a cloud all around her... Perfect, slender fingers pluck at thornless rose's petals, placing them delicately upon the tongue of a naked, sweet-faced young boy whose eyes never leave her face.
Alice	I approach.
The_Guild	~Jocelyn Tegway is one of the most influential Emissaries in the Guild, a coercive force to be reckoned with. She has never uttered a command or a demand, but is nevertheless followed faithfully by all who meet her. A native of the Colopa dimension, she has climbed over the years to the top of the Guild's ladder.~ A breeze swirls around you and a lively tune entices you to dance, or skip, or hop.
Alice	[Colopa? My home?]
The_Guild	[Yes.]
Alice	[Interesting....] How strong is the urge?
The_Guild	It is a playful invitation, though you feel as though there would be no harm in partaking... for the moment, at least.
Alice	I politely decline in my mind.
The_Guild	The breeze ripples by, and three of the girls get up and dance away after it, laughing gaily.
Alice	"I have come as you requested."
The_Guild	"You are a conundrum, Alice... so natural that you should come here, being what you are... and yet, I cannot help but think that it is more than coincidence that ties us together... Rose petal?" Her voice is melodic, floating in your mind and refusing to be forgotten, a dream of a lover's whisper, or a whisper of a dreamer's love... .
Alice	"Thank you. I am also amazed. I assumed I was the only one to leave our mundane little dimension."
The_Guild	Two elven women flank you, one on either side. They smile helpfully and entice you to sit in the soft grass at the foot of the dais as you speak with the Emissary. One removes your shoes and socks, and you immediately feel as if this is how it should be, your toes surrounded by the grass, a feeling of primal closeness with the earth that rivals your connection with Natila-Vv... who is purring quite contentedly.
Alice	I smile and relax, enjoying this rare sensation.
The_Guild	"There have been a few, and there will be a few more, but they are unimportant... No, what is important is you... and me... and what we mean to each other... or what we are being led to believe we mean to each other..." Her finger caresses the cheek of the young boy beside her, trailing down his neck to his chest, where she draws aimless patterns. His eyes close in rapture. The other woman kneels behind you and begins to massage your shoulders gently, so gently as it seems there is no pressure at all, but simply relaxation. Her fingers comb through your hair as she massages your scalp, and Natila-Vv purrs louder as the woman caresses the back of your neck.
Alice	I let go of myself and enjoy the sensation. "What is this bond?"
The_Guild	"Though the Guild changes all it touches, there is nevertheless a core... of being... that remains unaltered... untouched... We are of the same stuff, you and I, and it is this bond that someone desires to exploit..." She gives the boy a gentle push and he stumbles a step backward. He shakes himself awake from his daze, smiles at her brilliantly, and then runs off after the dancing girls, disappearing into the mists.
Alice	Alice is unused to being touched which makes this sensation more strange and thrilling.
Alice murmurs "Who?"
The_Guild	Like no other place, this place feels safe, a refuge from the outside world. Here you are accepted as you are, you are welcomed and worshiped just for being.
Alice	Any of my natural defences against closeness being triggered?
The_Guild	"It is as yet uncertain... it could be a Traveler trying to advance their position through me... it could be another Emissary, out to make a coup of my dominion... it could be someone outside of the Guild, using us as a wedge to drive it apart... Surprisingly, no. The company of these women seems quite soothing, bypassing your natural inhibitions.
Alice	"And what is it I can do to help you?"
The_Guild	"Whomever it is, we must endeavour to gain the upper hand, to take that one step ahead of them that will ensure our safety and the safety of our enterprises... It may very well be that our friendship is meant to be our undoing... but we will deal with that should that quandary arise..." "Above all I worry for your sake, Homesoul... I am a fixture now in the Guild, while you... you are a newcomer... vulnerable to the vagaries of a mischievious court... I offer you nothing but my friendship and sanctuary, dear Alice... I do hope these humble gifts suffice."
Alice	"I thank you for both the gifts and the warning. It is my nature to be cautious and careful but now... I know I must be especially so."
The_Guild	"Free access to information in The Guild simply creates a blanket to obscure more convoluted plots and schemes... do not doubt but that this world is still very similar to ours despite it's differences - such can be said for any world you visit. At the same time, however, you will not reveal anything by looking for it... it is only by not looking for it that things will come to you..." "For now, your concern is with your Traveling... share with me your thoughts and feelings as you would a friend... and I will untangle the weave to which our thread is tied...".
Alice	"My fears center around the Guild itself primarily. The Travelling is an unknown but I do trust in my ability to cope with changing and immediately dangerous situations. My past however has made me very nervous about the power of large entities like the Guild. So far I have been offered almost nothing but gifts: knowledge, long life and most my dear Natila-Vv. Almost everything I have ever wanted in the space of a week..." "Now I fear what the price must be. Will I be found unsuitable for what I have been given and be forced to live with it being taken away from me. I am not sure I could take that."
Disconnected
Now talking in #BESM