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Post by Zdena Kilvorion on Jul 7, 2011 20:08:26 GMT -5
Zdena had been seeing very little outside of her new workshop. She still planned to make the most of her current lodgings inside the castle, but first, she needed something to impress the princess. She had been sidetracked by her own personal goals and needed time alone to work on projects that would benefit any possible business connections that she was making.
She also had the additional projects she had undertaken on behalf of that peculiar time-traveling countess. Not that she was bothered. Far from it, she found the impossibility of the tasks set before her to be quite invigorating. Even if she was forgetting such things as eating a proper meal every now and again.
But, such was the price of quality research. And she had come across something rather interesting in her studies. They were only legends, but app legends have some basis in fact. And the number of sources of this particular legend led her to the conclusion that it was highly probable that there was some truth behind it.
Leaving her workshop to the automated servants, they continued to progress on the projects that no longer needed her direct involvement. As the carriage clunked along the road, it was flanked by two, much larger Clock Guards. These mechanical soldiers appeared much better equipped for encounters with the larger, more unsavory creaters of the region. After that last encounter Zdena had taken to nicknaming them Ogre Busters.
And there was that curious house. The source of much fascination on the inventors part. The carriage came to a halt and Zdena stepped out. She carried with her a small case containing the clothes she had borrowed, from her last visit. Since that encounter, the articles in question no longer fit.
Leaving her Clock Guard by the carriage, she walked up to the door and rapped her knuckles on the door. She stood and waited patiently for the occupant's response.
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Post by DeaeExMachina on Jul 8, 2011 7:40:10 GMT -5
The Countess had been working. No not on finding a cure on death because she trusted Zdena would be able to come up with some sort of cure. Instead she was working on a way to recreate the human nervous system into well... A machine... So far the only result was a working hand, it looked lifelike, well except for the jumble of wires coming from the end. She had been working on the brain, which was at most just a small chip like processor. The rest of the head was bundles of metal wires connecting to the eyes and mouth. Without an actual skin over it, Angelina had to admit, no one in their right mind would actually engage in sexual activities with it.
The red-haired woman sighed putting her hands down on the table, everything she had been doing was minuscule work and even though she did have a magnifying glass of sorts, it was not enough and gave her a rather horrible headache whenever she used it. It was at this moment that she heard the knocks at her door. At first she thought it a product of her overworked mind but when it started again she decided to go look. Xxx
Unlocking the door, she pulled it open and to her surprise the girl with the magical pumpkin stood in her threshold. "Come in." The Countess said literally pulling her inside. When she grabbed Zdena, she couldn't help but notice that the girl felt more bony than usual.
"Would you like anything to eat? I think I still have some cake somewhere in here." She hadn't slept in a while either, partly because of the excitement of starting a new project and partly because she had someone else to help her fight death. "So I gather you are here because you found something."
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Post by Zdena Kilvorion on Jul 8, 2011 8:36:02 GMT -5
It was a rather easy task of pulling Zdena inside. Seeing as how she wasn't of a particularly commanding stature. Once inside she was able to glance around the house once more. It still looked quite ordinary, but she knew better. She would have to tale a closer inspection some time. Of course that would have to wait.
"Cake?" she pondered. Come to think of it she was a bit hungry. The inventor gave a nod of her head, "Yes, thank you."
She presented the small case to Angelina as soon as she was able, "The clothes I borrowed." she explained, "And yes...I believe I may have found something. I will admit, the research is rather demanding. The majority of which contained spells that would not have the desired effects. At least not in the way you are looking to raise the dead.
"But, I have come across several accounts of a particular legend that appears most promising. A family that once had connections to this country is said to have unlocked a means of restoring life to the dead. The accounts are still a bit vague, but they appear most promising. The more obscure details I have gathered thus far, were deep in the archives."
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Post by DeaeExMachina on Jul 8, 2011 9:36:26 GMT -5
The red-haired woman smiled nodding at her, as she started to look around for cake. She did, finally, find it but it had already gone bad... Perhaps leaving it out in the open was not such a good idea after all. "I'm sorry" she said giving her an apologetic smile. "The cake was a lie. How about some pie?" Hopefully she kept the pie fresh. Now where did she put that thing? Her time fridge. Trying to figure out this dilemma, she sat down on a box-like thing with the words "Freezer" written on it. She remembered soon enough where it was supposed to be. In the kitchen, and where was she? In the kitchen... Sitting on a box. Angelina hopped off and looked at her seat. Yep, that's where it was.
Taking out a seemingly freshly backed pie, she brought it over to Zdena. Unfreezing it from time, the scent of freshly baked pie wafted throughout the house. "Alright it's still fresh." Passing it to the inventor, she accepted the case, the short inventor had just handed to her, putting it off to a side, not concerning herself with it for now but she still couldn't hep herself from taking a stab at Zdena's age the last time they met. "You know what they say right? Kids grow up so fast these days." she said with mock drama. Angelina would have kept teasing the poor girl had she not started telling her the fruits of her research.
When the girl had finished, she nodded solemnly. She had a trail to follow now, a rather elusive one but there was still the chance the legends turned out to be true. "Well if we're following the trail of some family. Wouldn't it be impossible for me to join you? Or have you already found their location? Is it near my house?" Questions, questions, questions. Angelina had a lot of them. The woman had to know all there was to know to be able to save her wife. She was in the process of opening her mouth to ask more when realization hit her. She had not shown Zdena what she had done for their project yet.
"We'll talk about it more over tea." she concluded clearing her cluttered work table of notes and diagrams again. "And I'd like to show you this" she said picking up the hand she had finished making. "A fully working artificial human hand." The Countess presented proudly.
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Post by Zdena Kilvorion on Jul 8, 2011 9:50:23 GMT -5
Pie was a suitable substitute for cake. She was never very picky when it came to food. Once more the house revealed another intruiging feature. The box that locked objects in time. If it could be replicated, she knew it could very quickly become one of RRI's best-selling products.
But, now she was getting side-tracked. There was business at hand.
"Really?" she looked up from the pie, a very slight look of surprise crossing her face, "Fascinating."
She had only taken a few bites, but now it was pushed to the side as she picked up the hand. It felt like flesh and it looked like flesh. Turning it around, Zdena moved the fingers and inspected the wires that were hanging loose.
"How did you recreate the texture of the skin?" she inquired curiously.
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Post by DeaeExMachina on Jul 8, 2011 10:25:39 GMT -5
"Magic?" she said hoping it would do as an answer. "And pigs. A lot of pigs." Angelina smiled putting her slice of pie down. "It works see?" The woman took out a rather large remote control. "Well of course when we attach it to the body, it will be controlled by the robot's brain. But this will do for now." Moving the joystick around the fingers on the hand started to move.
"So... Could you perhaps tell me more about this legend of yours?" The Countess asked handing to remote over to Zdena.
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Post by Zdena Kilvorion on Jul 8, 2011 11:22:15 GMT -5
Magic could be quite irritating. It made everything look so easy and yet it was always just out of her reach. Oh well. She would just have to continue along her path.
"Let's see." she picked the controller and started fiddling with it. The hand moved about on the table as examined the controller. "Yes, the legend." Zdena said, not looking up, "The rather infamous clan has since moved down south. This was some time ago, in fact. But, before they left their ancestral home, they are said to have developed a method of restoring life to the dead. In the time they have left, they are said to have been extinguished and yet have made a return in recent years. These claims are said to be the cause of the Golden Canyon's recent troubles, but I have not had the time to verify. Regardless, I am sure there are records of their holdings in the archives. It is now a matter of finding them."
As she spoke, Zdena managed to manipulate the hand to use it's fingers to pull itself around the table. It was an impressive breakthrough.
"I hope you have kept an account of the process you engaged in. I will have to pass it back along to Volisov City for mass production. Once we have constructed a proper working prototype, of course." she said, "It is a most impressive device. I have been working on similar means of controlling machines. How is the development of the brain coming along?"
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Post by DeaeExMachina on Jul 8, 2011 14:26:33 GMT -5
"Well I guess that's more work for you..." she sighed shaking her head. "I wish I could join you but I can't. When you find a map, hopefully I'll be able to join you." Angelina said pulling out a leather bound notebook. "Here's all the notes I took on the hand. The blueprint's somewhere on the ground." She said waving her hand at the mess, a yawn escaping her lips. "Excuse me. It's been a few days since the last time I slept."
"The brain? I have this." The Countess said and grabbed the little microchip handing it over to her. "I think all that's needed is to get the correct program imprinted on it." Putting her hand in front of her mouth, she stifled another yawn. "If that's all." She said and then fell asleep, headfirst into her tea.
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Post by Zdena Kilvorion on Jul 8, 2011 15:04:35 GMT -5
Yes, there would be a lot more work coming her way. Fortunately, she rather enjoyed it. The chip that Angelina presented was rather small. If it had the capacity to control an entire humanoid replica, then that would be an even more impressive feat. As Amgelina continued she set the controller aside to further inspect this device. Meanwhile, Effie was going about scanning the notes.
A loud thud brought her attention back up. Her hostess appeared rather tired. So much, so that she didn't appear to mind sleeping in tea. She supposed she should do something about it.
Walking behind her she lifted her head and put it some place that wasn't amidst the tea. Or as far away from it as was possible.
"Perhaps I should have brought some of the Clock Servants along." she pondered aloud. Heading for the door she commanded one of the large robots to follow her inside. She could, at the very least, see to it that Angelina was placed somewhere more comfortable. Then she could look around the house a bit more. Seeing as how she was alreadyhere, Zdena figured it couldn't hurt to poke around a little bit.
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Post by DeaeExMachina on Jul 8, 2011 16:35:33 GMT -5
Sleep. She didn't feel anything when the Clock Guard came and carried her off, nor did she move when she was dropped unceremoniously on the bed. When she found herself lying in bed she moved around grabbing onto her pillow and hugged it. "Eliza." she murmured burying her head against the pillow.
--[]
The Countess woke up a while later, finding herself in bed with her arms wrapped around a pillow with a wet spot most likely caused by drool. It was unexpected but at least it was better than the time she woke up in someone else's bed. Brrr...
Swinging her legs over the edge of her bed, she landed softly on the ground(as soft as a pair of heels can be). Where was her guest? Wandering out of her room she walked around her house, now actually paying attention to the state it was in. It was quite disorderly, kind of like having a hurricane run through it a few times. Walking past a portrait of herself, she stopped to adjust it, guess this is what comes when the house is no longer cared for by a maid. Further continuing down her walk, she heard a rather odd tinkering coming from one of her rooms. So she walked towards the source, hoping to find whatever or whoever it was that was causing the noise.
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Post by Zdena Kilvorion on Jul 8, 2011 17:21:52 GMT -5
Zdena preferred to keep things organized, but she was not about to go straightening things up as she moved along. The house was a lost cause...at least as far as she was concerned. Once she saw to Angelina's sleeping arraingement, the inventor wandered about the house.
Both she and her robot companion were in the workshop, Angelina had showed off during her last visit. She was curious to see if she could manipulate any of the control mechanisms. But more importantly, she wanted to see if she could find any way to adjust whatever it was that prevented the Countess from leaving.
The Clock Guard had recently returned with the mechanical hand and the chip. By the time Angelina had arrived, she was busy, putting together a copy of the hand. The basics were simple enough. Following the notes, she had reasonable copy, forming the opposing hand to the one already built. She didn't notice the recently awakened Angelina.
"How fascinating." she spoke to herself, "But magic and pigs? I suppose it would work...but if there was a manufactured synthetic material...ah, more work for another time."
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Post by DeaeExMachina on Jul 8, 2011 20:52:37 GMT -5
"Pigs make a surprisingly good substitute for human flesh." Angelina said walk up to her from behind. "I see you've made a copy. It looks great." The woman sat down next to her with a small smile. "Well shall we go find a map? I figured I can access the library I'm just not able to enter in through the front door."
Angelina had the whole thing planned out, Zdena will enter through the library then throw her a length of rope from the library's window and then she'll simply climb up. She wanted that cure for her wife, and she wanted it now. "So let's get going. We'll work on the robots when we get my wife back on her feet. It'll be three pairs of hands instead of two and three brains as well." Anything to get her wife back as soon as possible.
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Post by Zdena Kilvorion on Jul 9, 2011 1:35:29 GMT -5
"Oh?" Zdena turned around and looked up from her work, "These types of projects are always easier to carry out when working from detailed notes."
She paused from her tinkering as Angelina took a seat beside her. She hadn't expected her to be up again this soon. Or had time already gone by that quickly? Regardless, the Countess was awake and very eager. Zdena would have to put her project aside in favor of the one she was originally obligated to carry out.
"I see. Well, we had best get moving then." she nodded her head, "I would be most curious to see how you are able to move this structure. The guards at the castle, I presume, will be most startled once a house appears in the courtyard."
It was an amusing thought to ponder. Although a panicked castle would hardly be the ideal research environment. But, once they obtained the desired information, she presumed their exit would be rather swift.
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Post by DeaeExMachina on Jul 9, 2011 15:59:41 GMT -5
"Thank you." she replied accepting her compliment gratefully. "I'm sorry to say but the house can't move once it settles down." The redhead shrugged standing up and used her hand to dust her dress. "I was thinking along the lines of rope and your upper body strength." Smirking she patted her on the shoulder.
xxx
"You know? I never realized the walls of a castle would be so... Tall." she said looking at the length of rope she brought. "I don't think this is adequate for such a task." Shaking her head she gave the rope to Zdena. "Just throw it out the window when you get there. I'll be waiting down here."
Waiting for something to happen is terribly, mind-numbingly boring. Then having the knowledge that whatever might happen might also fail to actually happen makes the wait even less enjoyable. Sitting underneath the window counting the passing clouds, until she can actually see a rope dangling above her head, it's the only thing she can do.
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Post by Zdena Kilvorion on Jul 9, 2011 17:32:07 GMT -5
"Simple...but effective." she nodded her head.
---
Once she was inside the castle walls, moving around was quite easy. Even with a giant robot and a length of rope, it seemed that most of the guard was used to the inventor's...quirks. All that remained was to find the appropriate window to toss the rope and haul the Countess up. At some point, she probably should have considered the legality of this action. But, there just wasn't any time.
---
Peering out the window, she spotted the redhead and dropped the rope.
"Can you reach it?" she called down. If not, she could just use her metallic companion to lower herself down in an attempt to cross the distance.
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