second case closed ♤ [ video ] ♤ i ponder on the lesson of my life's insanity

[suit]

[ when the feed opens, it's on a desk with a media pad sitting a bit askew on it. there's a bit of shuffling heard in the background and what looks like a male torso in just a t-shirt passes over through the recording before finally the person who is attached to that torso sits down in a chair and manages to make it so that his face is seen. he looks tired and before he speaks, he yawns. ]

Sorry about that, didn't mean to greet all of you with a yawn. Anyway, for those of you who haven't met me— which might be a fair amount, the name's Peter Burke. [ he pauses. ] I know a number of us or at least those of us who were asleep had to deal with— something not too unlike that memory sharing we all dealt with two jumps back or three depending on how you're counting. And looking back on what I missed when I was stuck in my pod dreaming about the past here I can see the shadows were here last jump too and the heat which would be the same, but you'd be surprised how the temperature shifts when you're on patrol in some areas.

In any case, I know some of us aren't fans of thinking about the whys of this ship and we prefer to write it off as just the ship being the ship and some of us get a little overzealous when it comes to theorizing. [ topher. ] But if there's one thing I've learned in my time at the FBI, it's that sometimes working together to think things through can provide answers that might get lost in the shuffle of your mind. And I just like it myself because I love a good sounding board when I'm reading a mystery. [ solving a case, same difference. ] I'm not asking any of you to do something you don't want to, since I know some of us would rather keep our focus on the day to day. But, for those of you who've thought about it— anything you wouldn't mind sharing?

Comments

voice;

[2leftfeet]

I don't have any theories except for the obvious but-- does anyone have any ideas about the murals? It doesn't really seem like the old crew was the type to go around finger painting.

[But all those murals down in the guts of the ship...]

voice;

[suit]

You'd be surprised who finger paints and who doesn't.

[ It's supposed a joke but it falls a little flat when he thinks of the glimpses of some of the crew he had gotten. ]

It's hard to say when you don't know who did them. Some might say Smiley but then what the purpose if there was any and he wasn't just putting it there to mess with us. Or them.

[2leftfeet]

You really think Smiley is a person? With a body? Topher might be a little intense about it, but Smiley has all the characteristics of some kind of AI -- or hive mind.

[suit]

I don't think he has one any more, no. Or at least— I don't think whoever created him has one any more. I'm not exactly the most computer intense person, so AIs are a little beyond my heavy scope of knowledge. But, AIs are made by someone in the beginning, right? They don't just appear out of thin air.

[voice forever!]

[ryuuzaki]

What's your theory, Mr. Burke?

[He sounds interested, in a cool way. He is, but for the moment, more interested in Burke, FBI, than in Burke's theories. The latter might be a means to an end.]

likewise!

[suit]

[ Peter laughs softly, something close a chuckle but not quite. ]

I don't have just one, you might have to be specific. I don't want to give you the wrong one. [ It's not that he's against giving out what he has, because it's only fair that he does, but he also doesn't want to just say the wrong thing. ]

[ryuuzaki]

Does anybody only have one?

[Probably. Maybe. He doesn't think that someone with any imagination would start there, and until recently, it would have been hard to narrow anything down. But there might be someone who's clung to a single theory from beginning to end. In any case, that was almost a joke.]

All right. We were both in our pods last month. What did you think about what Lotte was experiencing?

video »

[blabbers]

Right now, I would be more surprised if no one has any theories. [ a beat. the question is non-judgmental, just curious. ] Are you compiling a list?

video »

[suit]

Not everyone is the theorizing type, can't say I blame them sometimes. [ even if he loves to, he's got to admit it can be a bit frustrating. ] Of all the theories?

[ the clarification might just be needed, just to make sure. ]

video »

[blabbers]

Some prefer action over thought. [ but they're best when combined, she thinks; a soldier who doesn't think for him or herself and merely follows orders isn't an exemplary soldier at all. ] Of all the theories. [ she clarifies it with a small, brief nod of her head. ] Or — well, not all of them, but those with enough evidence to support them would be useful to compile into a list or some sort of... database, maybe, to cross-reference in the future if new information that supports any of the theories is found.

[ it doesn't hurt to be incredibly thorough. ]

video.

[braverys]

The only ideas I can think of is that it would be magic... But everyone has said that this place is less magical and more technological, so perhaps that wouldn't be the best theory?

video.

[suit]

I wouldn't count it out. I come from a world without magic, so I'll admit that potential explanation gets a little hard to swallow, but— [ he pauses. ] After a while here, it's not nearly as far fetched as it used to be.

Sometimes you can't explain everything with science. But you think it's maybe magic. Why? Or, how, might be the better question.

video.

[braverys]

Storybrooke was a world without magic until it was brought there. It was hard for some of our friends to understand too. [ See: Emma Swan. ]

Anyone can use magic if they learn and try hard enough. It takes dedication and skill, but it's possible, and not everyone wants to use magic for good. Despite that, all magic does come with a price. It's almost like making a deal - but sometimes the deal can go very, very wrong.

[Video]

[the_other_eight]

[Peter is greeted by that every present professional smile.]

It's a pleasure to meet you Mr Burke. I'm Pepper Potts and I've only just arrived, so I'm still collecting information before starting on theories.

[Video]

[suit]

[ Peter manages to give Pepper the same sort of smile, though it does seem a bit warmer. ]

Likewise Ms. Potts. Those first few jumps can be a bit hard adjustment. You don't have any preliminary ones?

Re: [Video]

[the_other_eight]

Just about the heating. Everything else is a bit above my pay grade at the moment.

[Meaning she doesn't have enough information about it to form a hypothesis about it.]

video » encryption 100%

[oikodomae]

[ tony would be so proud. ]

Do you think the temperature shifts are connected to the memories?

video » encryption 100%

[suit]

[ somewhere he preened just now and he has no idea why. ]

The ones that those of us asleep saw or some other ones? [ he shrugs. ] They might be.

video » encryption 100%

[oikodomae]

[ if he can see the sparkly emote that is basically annabeth on the inside. ]

Those weren't the only ones. People out of the comas saw them too, and then there were a few... [ whoops, giving too much info? annabeth tenses a little. ] That saw different memories entirely.

voice;

[skillz]

[Something has caught Q's attention.]

FBI?

voice;

[suit]

[ Welp. This isn't the first time. ]

FBI. [ a pause. ] For a long time.

[ Why are you asking is the subtext here. ]

voice;

[skillz]

MI6. [Not for a long time, though that doesn't stop Q from acting a tad uppity and snobbish about it.]

Your years of service, if you don't mind me asking? Maybe we've had run ins.

voice »

[became]

Peter.

[ for the love of god ]

voice »

[suit]

[ what's the word they say? oh, right, yolo. ]

Neal.

[ use your big boy words. ]

voice » stark locked

[became]

Remember what you're always telling me, about making wise life choices?

[ HINT HINT MOFUCKER ]