(video)

[ninjamanager]

[Charles is seated at his very large, impressive desk, idly clicking a ballpoint pen as he talks on the phone] Uh huh. .... Yes. ..... Yes, by all means, bring the pie. We love pie here. Oh, but... leave the mayor out of it. He... Well. No offense, but he and William don't.... They don't mesh well. .... Thank you for underst- yes. Yes, for the best, exactly. .... Mmhm. We'll see you then. Bye now.

[once he hangs up, he looks down at his monitor, at the feed.]. Sorry for keeping you. That last call, he.... He tends to run a little long even on a good day. Anyway, my schedule is a little slower than usual today, so I figured it was high time I did a little, uh, research. What's the biggest impact the community has had on you? I'm not looking for New Age emotional answers, I mean direct effect. Not just viruses, but.... Well, anything. Someone recently told me this was much more than an information network, and I'm looking to find out just how much more..... If you'd be kind enough to, ah, oblige me? I'd appreciate it. Maybe I can even work out a way to send you something for your efforts.

["something" will probably be a hoodie, a coffee mug, or a gift card to Hot Topic. promo swag is serious business]

Comments

[pikapikapikarin]

Hmm... I'd have to say being able to talk to other people of my own age easier. Being here has really helped my social skills.

[ninjamanager]

[that counts as New Age and emotional and full of Personal Growth Feelings, sorry. he refrains from writing it down on his little yellow legal pad, but he's not a complete jackass, so he's not going to ignore her]

Your social skills? ... Don't you go to school?

[pikapikapikarin]

[Yayoi has trouble distinguishing between the two sadly.]

I do, but I have trouble talking to people sometimes. I tend to stay by myself and draw, or did a lot more than I do now.

[ninjamanager]

[yes, Charles, befriend the shounen types, this is the best idea]

An artist, hm? I see. ... How, uh, how old are you? If you don't mind my asking.

[pikapikapikarin]

I'm turning fifteen in a little bit.

[Video]

[material_guy]

Cash. [Greed is pretty sure he knows what he's looking to hear, and approves whole heartedly of such a mindset.] Technology from the future that makes it quicker and easier to earn cash. I got a robot bar-tender maid, a flashy surround sound celebrity slot machine, surveillance cameras... Rest of the world here's still happy to have ice makers. I got toys, music players and a few other useful stuff just for fun... Really, really foreign booze and food's a good plus...

[ninjamanager]

[as a manager, he can definitely appreciate the opportunities an answer like this presents. cli-click goes the pen, and he scribbles something down]

Hm. And, ah - have you seen any form of ... invoice for what you've recieved? Had to make some form of payment, material or otherwise? No such thing as a free lunch, after all.

[material_guy]

Built a deck for one guy who got me some stuff, beat up a freak for the robot, got a car for stopping a guy from getting some on-community harassment from a particularly pushy, aggressive, sometimes scary but overall likable, reasonable guy... Those people who paid me had to pay for the stuff in their worlds. Unless you got another world's money, you can't get their stuff no matter how rich you are. I got a little running list of what some worlds money's about equal to in others, but it ain't a perfect list yet.

If you bilked after lunch on some other world, it'd probably be pretty hard for them to track you down across universes unless their world's got a community using cop. That could just about be a free lunch. Not saying I'm suggesting or would do that kinda thing. Just that there's no such thing as no such thing.

[ninjamanager]

That sounds like a very useful sort of list to have. How much would you ask for a copy of it? And how do people generally transport goods across worlds?

[the marketing possibilities ALONE are staggering. he could make the boys another mint if he found the right niche]

[locked]

[docfoul]

[I will lend you my help again. In fact, today I am even feeling charitable enough to enclose my speech in easily visible brackets. Here is my testimony:

To me, this community did the unthinkable. For the briefest of moments, it made me panic.

I haven't disclosed this information to anybody else, here or otherwise. You should feel good to have my camaraderie.]

[locked forever]

[ninjamanager]

[it would be rude for Charles to ask how or why it made Doc Scratch panic. especially when the two of them are operating within the bounds of The Professional Courtesy Of Fellow Ruthless Badasses. he nods, succinctly]

I do, yes, thank you. [the tiniest of smiles. he sees the sarcasm in the remark, but is still glad just the same. this is the kind of relationship he enjoys cultivating, the kind that demands that wit is brought into play. it's refreshing after dealing with five thick-headed musicians all day] Though I'm curious as to why I should garner the honor over anyone you may have known longer, or at more depth.

[docfoul]

[My former favorite conversational partner is long gone from the community. Although you lack her exceptional cosmic power, I like your attitude. Plus, being dead and still conscious is incredibly tedious, and so I entertain myself.]

[ninjamanager]

Well, then, I'm definitely flattered. Mind if I ask who your friend was?

[seasaltzombie]

Uh... it brought me back into existence somehow. Literally, I mean, not figuratively or whatever.

[ though in fairness, the two often overlap in his world. ]

[ninjamanager]

That's the second time I've heard of that happening for someone. ... Do you have any clues whatsoever as to how?

[seasaltzombie]

None, sorry. That part's still a mystery to me even now.

[ninjamanager]

It's the way this place seems to hide things that worries me, I'll admit.

[answerer_sword]

Information has been the main benefit on my end.

[Then again, she had only tried to fish for information so far.]

But I do find the fact that this network makes travelling between worlds to be highly interesting.

[ninjamanager]

Yes, that's definitely one of my high points on the list. I'm trying to figure out how that travel becomes possible. One of my boys is also connected to the network, and, ah.

I'd rather he didn't accidentally wander off.

[answerer_sword]

I hear it usually requires travelling between worlds. Unless your friend is acquainted with someone with that power, I believe he will not wander too far.

[ninjamanager]

He might be. There's that one girl with the different colored eyes who's convinced he's a servant of hell ever since that lake troll fiasco.

[tenminutes]

If I didn't have the community, I would already be reincarnated and be chilling in Kokomo or Venice Beach or somewhere nice like that.

[ninjamanager]

So you resent being connected?

[tenminutes]

Not remotely.

[ninjamanager]

So you'd rather be where you are then, say, Kokomo or Venice Beach...? Is there a catch?