008 -- video;

[jilt]

[ irene's not sitting in her room, she's sitting in someone else's. namely, the room that once belonged to her version of sherlock holmes. on her index finger are three gold rings that she fidgets idly with while she speaks. ]

I see our very own cautionary tale has graced us with an echo. For those newly arrived, I'd say pay attention to that, and note what happens if you don't get yourself into a pod before the jump time. It leaves in quite a mess, or so I'm told.

[ there's a clink of rings as she shakes them off, letting them fall onto the side table, edging them lightly into place with her fingertips. ]

Now, having that settled, I suppose I'd ask an introduction on the part of those newly arrived. All those newly arrived. In all the chaos of your arrival, it's only polite that we all introduce ourselves. We are to be living in rather close quarters for the foreseeable future, are we not?

Comments

[jilt]

It seems in all the excitement people do forget the most basic of manners. What a crying shame.

[withlace]

We are given the occasionally fantastic excuse for forgetfulness, and yet it's unsettling to see how many people seem unaware of the power of a name. [ one day, julian, she is getting to out you. and it will be hilarious. ]

But I applaud you for making the opportunity to share a little less daunting.

[ and for weeding out the newbies. ]

[sweetbreads]

Perhaps if one's name is Rumpelstilzchen, possessiveness of the secret might be a necessity. I have no such compunction. [ He's a lying liar and his name is made up. ] How much power do you place in a name? Tell me yours, if you dare.

[withlace]

It has as much to do with what you see in a name as it does in the person holding it. And similarly, you might see it as just a name while everyone else finds something far more in it. Elusivity and suddenly everyone wants to know who you are.

[ This is what happens when you work with people who have a million aliases your entire adult life. ] Mine would be Lauren Reed.

[sweetbreads]

I see a great deal of things. Any power a name has we invest ourselves. Those who build themselves up as something better than they are invariably fall--and so they should. Honesty is not in modesty, nor excess, and we do begin with our names.

Mine is Fell, Doctor Fell.

[withlace]

And yet beginnings aren't always where others think they start.

[ In other news, she likes you far too much already. ] It's a pleasure, Doctor Fell.

[sweetbreads]

The beginning depends on where you are going. Is it your intention to visit the Unspeakable One in his Inferno or to escape from it? Depending on the story you mean to tell, you might travel into the depths of Hell or else rise through its circles instead.

Dotore would be fine, Lauren. [ He isn't sure about it on his tongue yet. He pronounces the first syllable like 'Law', testing it out. ] Do you speak any Italian?

[withlace]

In that regard, I would imagine your name might only be seen as something others use to guide you on your path, no matter which direction you've chosen. A name can hardly stop someone from falling from grace -- rope might be far more useful than what others have deemed your.. calling to be. It's the potential you've imbibed it with, instead.

[ She's not usually forced to be existential. At least not to this extent, but at least she can enjoy being kept on her toes. She shakes her head however, just a touch. ] Not enough to be worth mentioning, no.

[sweetbreads]

Indeed, to be a Fell does not prevent me from falling--or perhaps I have already fallen, as the name implies. A name doesn't protect you from doing wicked things, or offer greatness laid out before you. But a name... A name does represent the hope that a parent has for their child. They set us on our paths with that decision, don't you think.

That's a shame. If your mother had called you Carla Rae, or perhaps Blossom, do you think you would have achieved the same things in your life as you have, Lauren?

[withlace]

Perhaps they had, but you wouldn't know the difference because you have no reason to think otherwise. In any instant you can begin with a name, without knowing the possibilities of what had come before it.

[sweetbreads]

Quite right, of course. Setting aside our stereotypes to better embrace first impressions should be a necessity, and poor names can sometimes put fire behind a person's ambitions. We all have that potential.

You're not a politician.

[ Lauren is throwing off his readings. He's not sure what to make of her, and the video link is nothing like meeting someone in person. She's not a politician, but she talks like one; raised by one, perhaps. A politician or an official with some power. Her English accent is not entirely there. An ambassador's daughter, but not an ambassador herself. She has the lingo for it but not the patience. ]

[withlace]

[ The sudden shift in topics, while odd, doesn't make her flinch. If only because this conversation was leading to one place, and one place only -- who people are, defined by their names. Which implied that who they both truly were would inevitably come up in conversation. And whoever this man is, he's taken it upon himself to try and guess at her. ]

I'm not, no. But that wasn't a question.

[sweetbreads]

It wasn't. You have the bearing of an aristocrat, I daresay you're comfortable at the opera. You play a musical instrument, perhaps, if you have the ear for it--you took lessons as a child. Your parents had great hopes for you when they chose your name, that you might have the opportunity to rise beyond the limits of your sex.

They did everything they could to help you break that glass ceiling, didn't they?

[ He moves straight to the question. ] What is it that you do, when you're not riding spaceships to who knows where?

NOT HERE

[gilding]

[Watching you bro.]

NOT HERE EITHER

[sweetbreads]

[ I can't lie I totally hoped he would be. =D ]

[jilt]

Or the power of a well tended secret. But such is the folly of those with loose lips.

[ a beat. ]

Do you think you could come visit me? I've grown so very tired of speaking into this little box.

[withlace]

Of course I could. Anywhere in particular, or your current hideaway?

[jilt]

My current one should serve us well enough, though I can't say its the most hospitable of rooms.

[withlace]

It's likely that i've been in worse. I'll head your way in a moment, it shouldn't take too terribly long.

[jilt]

I'll leave the door unlocked for you. Don't mind the mess, it's a bit leftover from the room's previous occupant.

[withlace]

[ she simply nods before hanging up, choosing to head on her way instead of wasting time with more conversation that wears through her teeth. slowly, she's growing that much more tired of faking all of it, every day and every second but she puts up well enough. most days.

though what intrigues her most is the request for conversation in person -- she had no reason to deny it. but it was still requested, and she's still curious. which is why it doesn't take too terribly long to get where she's going. no need for stops or to warn anyone else of her absence, and then she's knocking on the door twice before slowly pushing it open far enough to step inside. ]

The less time I have to use that thing to hold a conversation, the better.

[jilt]

[ in the time it takes, irene's free to carry on a few more conversations. it's not exactly what she'd wanted when she'd made her address, but it's something to fill the time. and here and there she'd uncovered some acquaintances that might be useful, if cultivated correctly. but that's all set aside when lauren arrives. ]

My thoughts exactly.

[ not that irene had ever really trusted them, but. ]

I'd wanted to ask you about that. I've certain...disadvantages when it comes to these devices. They're all unsecured, is that correct, or is it just our fellow passengers overexaggerating?

[withlace]

[ that's an easy question to answer and lauren moves to close the door behind her, leaning against the frame for a moment as she thinks of a simple way put her thoughts about it into words. ]

All technology is unsecured to a certain extent, depending on how you use it. Rather like a cloned cellphone, from my own world. It also depends on how you approach your means of encrypting whatever information you're passing along- how good you are. Back home, there's constant streams of information filtered through computers that pick up on specific words or intelligence that might be of use to whoever's looking, but it's far more difficult when the information is garbled by encryption. Not that I believe that's occurring here save for the Comm's department, but not to the same extent

[ she shrugs, however. there are ways of getting around that, just like there are when it comes to tampering with what the FBI happens to know. ]

Are you concerned regarding the safety of your own device?

[jilt]

[ it's all rather beyond irene, the business of encryptions and all that. she looks irritated, and then nudges the device to the side with a sigh. ]

I'm considering how best to manage this. I'm not overly fond of the idea that private conversations can be read.

[ private meaning sensitive, which lauren must appreciate. ]

If that child could decipher it, then surely our absentee captain and the rest can.

[withlace]

I would like to imagine there's a way to avoid our illusive captain gaining access to certain information, however that's one i'm not truly sure of.

[ a fact that also perturbs lauren to no end. the man behind the curtain, the one they have no access to, could be reading everything and simply biding his time. lovely thought, that is.

lauren moves over to sit, pulling out her own device and fussing with it absently. ]

Are you looking for help with encryptions? Or are you trying to think of better ways to communicate in the first place? Especially among those of us with a particular need for discretion.