ataraxion | 001

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I took the liberty of checking out the blood samples we were able to get from the creatures at the end of the maze. Some of them seemed to have bacterial infections, which isn't surprising, but I also checked them against known DNA samples from Earth.

I don't want to alarm anyone, which is why I've encrypted this for now, but so far the results are all coming back in essentially the same manner. The DNA of these creatures is a mix between Earth creatures -- the lion is a large component, and there are also what appears to be genetic material from the Australian dingo and some sort of crocodile. However, at the present time it appears as though the largest genetic contribution comes from human beings.

Obviously the samples may have been compromised, as I've really only been able to work off their blood and some hair. I'm going to request a larger sample, preferably an entire specimen -- dead, obviously. Hopefully we can get more answers, and hopefully the human genetic material was just cross-contamination.

[ OPEN: ]
I've heard a few things about people returning to the end of the maze to clear out the rest of the creatures, in addition to a possible salvage operation. My name is Elizabeth Ross -- I'm a cellular biologist and university professor back home. If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to request a mostly intact -- though definitely dead -- specimen of the creatures. I'm sure there are a lot of people who are wondering just what they are and how they got here, not to mention how they've survived the jumps, and I'm hoping that an entire specimen might be able to give us some answers.

How is everyone feeling?

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[ Oh, but it is selfish. It is, it is. Alayne knows how readily she would lie to keep Sansa's brothers close to her; she knows that she would not hesitate to manipulate others into harm's way if it would shield those that she loves most of all. At first it had been a terrible realization, but she has since come to embrace it — albeit tentatively and with a critical judgment in her own hearts. Did it mean that she was less deserving of their love, did it mean she have no honor? Was she no longer good?

Petyr had given her the means to survive and, if she was truly selfish, that is what she would do. But no, instead, she turns those weapons outwards and uses them to protect the Starks instead. Surely, that was some measure of salvation, wasn't it? Absolution enough to be worthy of their love. ]

The lady Elizabeth has more than one question that demands answering, and every morsel of information brought to her may serve to better her understanding. And thus help the ship and its passengers. There are others that may bring her a beast, living or dead, but you— you've eyes and ears that no one else has. You can bring her tales of the beasts as they live amongst themselves — in the dark, where nobody but you can see.

Use what has been given to you, but use it wisely. You can do so, little brother, without risking yourself so readily.

[But they would be better watched by their own. That is the truth of it. There are few animals aboard the ship; it is no wood, where he might find a squirrel or fox to borrow. He had not used such creatures while he was yet in Westeros, but they would not be difficult, not after the practice he's been getting while here aboard the ship. It's just that there are no such creatures--only their direwolves, and a few pets--

And Sansa's crows. The thought comes late, because the crows have come late, but they are so noisy Bran should have thought of them first. These strange beasts of the ship would be difficult to get hold of, even with all of his practice, but a bird would be simpler.]

Could I borrow one of of your crows, Sansa? That would be less risk. They cannot see so well in the dark, I think, but I could get very close.

[She will say yes, of course she will--in part because she wants him to leave the thought of the beasts. The crows she will like better. Fly, the three-eyed crow had told him. And now he was going to fly.]

[ There is the question she'd hoped for, the conclusion she wished that Bran would eventually reach.

The trap had been set and easily sprung, but — no, that is not how Alayne should think of it, for what sister would readily look to bait her own brother so easily. Then no again, for Bran is not her brother, but how readily that gets confused in her mind these days. The badge sewn over her heart, the one that bears the name Alayne Stone, frays more and more with each passing week, revealing Sansa underneath.

Instead, she changes the words her mind thinks, shifts them to something less dire and dogged, less cruel around the edges. The path is laid and she leads him to it. Bran is smart — smarter than any of the other Stark children, Alayne thinks — and so it does not take much goading for him to find his way there. ]

You may borrow all of my crows, if it please you. Every single one, Bran. [ She smiles at him, encouragingly. ] I cannot think of a finger idea.

[It does not feel like a trick. It feels like a good idea, one that Bran warms to quickly under Alayne's smile. And if he harbors any further thought of reaching out to those creatures, he keeps it to himself--but he does think it; he is not a man grown but he is not a child, either, and so he thinks it.

But for all that, it is still a good idea, easy to take to. Flying. And that more than anything makes Bran think that perhaps this is where he is meant to be, less a prison and more another stop on the road going north, beyond the Wall. There are things here to learn.

He does not say that to Alayne, either; he smiles at her and lets her see how pleased he is at the prospect.]

I will practice with them--so they can be helpful for more than just this. [What else they will be used for, he isn't sure--but surely there will be some good use for them.] Thank you, Sansa.

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[ video | 30% encrypted ]

[ video | 30% encrypted ]

[ video | 30% encrypted ]