It occurred to Phero that Eris shared her lack of world-wisdom; it would ordinarily be nice to find someone so similar to herself in that respect, but here, she found herself wishing that they had someone between the two of them who was a bit more sly and quick on the uptake. It was pretty cute watching her examine her own butt like it was new to her, Phero had to admit. Some people might be a little perturbed that Eris had twisted her whole torso like she had, but Phero was more interested in the behavior.
Anyways, it was time for Phero to try to digest some more esoteric machine garble; she narrowed her eyes and focused. It sounded like the first user, presumably Eris, was a little off from where they needed to be in order to meet what the machine wanted. Furthermore, she herself was apparently way off base... The voice had even requested they pause the test and inform an administrator. Obviously, she couldn't do that; the chamber had closed, they didn't know how to open it, and furthermore, speaking to an administrator would be pretty counter to the mission orders she'd received going in. That didn't last long, thanks to what Phero assumed must be intervention from Pass.
The computer's responses to her queries were pretty hard to parse, but basically, she confirmed someone was monitoring this "test" (hopefully Pass) and that the parameters they were being tested on were, most nearly, sex appeal. That made things easy if she wanted to get good test data, but that wasn't even their mission... on the other hand, getting bad test data as she did previously seemed to send out some kind of alert to terminate the test. Too many of those and they'd end up in the dark as to what this chamber was used for and how to get out of it. For the sake of their mission, she resolved she'd have to do what it wanted, i.e., try to be sexy.
"Well, it sounds like the one giving the test is as curious to see your booty in action . We're supposed to use the desk, the pole, and the seated man to show off everything we've got in the sexiest way we can," Phero explained, finding her voice coming out in rhythmic meter, sounding more aroused than she actually felt at the moment. "How we use them is up to our imaginations, but I'm sure we can think up something really fun to use them for~" The pink-haired girl felt a little frustrating, wanting to give a clearer break-down of how she thought the test was really working, but the words wouldn't come out right for her.
Worried about what would happen to Eris, she followed after the other girl. It seemed natural that one of them would take the chair and the other the desk, but then, Eris wasn't "taking" anything yet, just inspecting the items. That started with the desk, and seemingly, ended there, as she found herself stuck. Speaking of ends, Eris' was poking out, this time even more erotically than it had earlier; her tail was doing a quarter-assed job of saving her modesty, literally, as it was hiding the naughty bits from view still. Even if she hadn't been called over, Phero might find herself drawn in to take a better look. "Eris, you look like you're-"
"Stuck", she thought to herself.
"Inviting me to try it after all," she spoke softly taking up position behind her ally for the mission. "Don't worry, I'll help you... I know a much better way to help you," she continued, as she tried in vain to warn Eris what she was in for. Instead, with no further clues given, Phero grabbed a hold of the sides of Eris' bottom. It really was remarkable, the width of them... it was pretty close to what she remembered AdjustLady's being like, after the other lady had cranked her dials up to an extreme level. "And the softness!" she added, internally, as she allowed her hands to move slightly in towards the center and sink her fingers in a bit. This was clearly a navi who'd been made with the thought of someone playing with her butt in mind.
"I'm sorry," she spoke correctly, indeed feeling very guilty about what she was doing, then continued, helplessly: "but I can't resist this amazing ass of yours! I know you were on the fence earlier, but there's still a lot of you that I want to explore myself!" She maneuvered her thumbs underneath the provocative skirt and attempted to hike it up further, up to the point where she could see the connection point of Eris' tail, if it'd go that far. "Like this interesting tail of yours... I like it," she giggled, pressing her fingers around the circumference near the tip, as much as she could fit her hand around it, and gently running her gloved fingers up the length. If she could get high up without it coming alive and biting her, a possibility given that she was close to running out the clock, she'd lift it aside to give whoever was watching a look at Eris' panties (or lack thereof)... though not too much of a look, as she was standing pretty close to Eris from behind.
Dharma watched the scene and gulped, suddenly unable to give much useful advice. She was busily thinking about how much better suited she'd be for the jobs they were doing and how the dunderheads ought to be doing this and this and that differently... Mostly, just how much she wanted to be doing it, now that she realized they had an audience.
As soon as Phero could, she released Eris and backed up, holding up her hands in an expression of innocence and failing to say anything, for fear that she might dig herself into a deeper hole. Hopefully, Eris could actually crawl out of there and wasn't stuck for real, because Phero was far too worried about the upcoming reaction to risk grabbing hold of her ally's hips again.
------------------------------
Elsewhere, Boil was involved in a much different and less steamy struggle, trying to talk her way through a grilling by a mostly unknown scientist who seemed to work in the laboratory. "Oh geez... Just what did Phero and this AdjustLady get up to?" Boil thought to herself, thinking that she was in the dark on what appeared to be some extremely important details. "What kind of scientist participates in a swimsuit contest anyway?!" she added, still only in her thoughts. Though, if she knew how close she'd come to ending up doing what Phero and Eris were doing, a swimsuit contest might not seem so bad.
"But he has good taste," Boil remarked, unable to hide an approving smile, as the man mentioned he'd like to witness both Phero and herself having fun in swimsuits. "Wait. He might just be a pervert, talking to a girl he just met about wanting to see her in a swimsuit." Her expression soured again to its usual state.
"Well, I can't give him my contact info. That's right out," she resolved. Screwing up the mission was one thing, but doing something that so clearly put her in hot water with Dharma Heart-Payne was a one way ticket to being tossed in the trash, for an expendable SP like herself. It was going to be awkward, but she really needed to find some way to avoid letting this guy go off on his own, since anything he got up to was likely to go poorly in terms of corroborating her story so far or keeping him out of Phero's hair. Still, the guy was mostly business and apparently had his heart set on going alone to a test room, which meant she wasn't likely to be able to divert him or really even join him. She had to figure out another angle to attack this from...
"Ha ha... Well..." she stalled, adjusting her goggles a few more times than they really needed. "Okay, I respect where you're coming from, one scientist to another. Work is important! However, er... I'm sure you know how it is, when your work schedule doesn't allow you much time out the laboratory at all, right? I don't have a lot of chances to get out and enjoy myself! My inbox, even, is for work-related messages only, and strictly monitored!" she insisted, not having to act at feeling as though she'd been put into an awkward position. "I really wanted to have some fun and meet one of my fellow scientists! And boy, if you saw the kind of fun that Phero and AdjustLady had at the... s-swimsuit competition," she coughed, realizing the vagueness wasn't helping either of them here, "you'd understand, I bet! What do ya say? One scientist who lives for her work to another scientist who lives for his work, hm? Allow me to sit in on one of the experiments?"
She was pretty used to being a pest, but she wasn't used to having to act or bluff. Her job was mostly a desk job, which involved sneaky politics sometimes, sure, but not a lot of pretend play. "Saaay, we're both scientists, right?" she repeated, heading towards ad naseum. "I'm sure there's a way I can help out around here! I tell you, anything you need an extra hand for, just to get out of my own lab for a bit! Anything?" she added again, adjusting her glasses for the twelth or thirteenth time since he last managed to get a word in.
WAC Secure Labs
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"Evaluation. User *garble* synchronization rate: 2. 10%. 3. 10%. 4. 10%. Warning: certified user does not meet test calibration levels. Recommend user terminate trial and report to admin for troubleshooting. Test pause overridden. User *garble* synchronization rate: 2. 10%. 3. 10%. 4. 10%. Warning: certified user does not meet test calibration levels. Recommend user terminate trial and report to admin for troubleshooting. Test pause overridden. Warning: admin be advised certified user test levels are below critical threshold. Recommend admin verify user credentials. Test paus- Admin override: test resumed... Admin issuing instructions to actor..."
After a brief pause in which the voice was completely silent, the mannequin-like figure raised one arm and issued a thumbs-up gesture, then lowered its arm again. Although it had gone motionless, after seeing it move, it was easy to picture it moving again at any moment... or, funnily enough, as another being that was just making a great effort to remain completely still.
Calibration procedure complete. Result: calibration is far below acceptable levels and will not- Message skipped by admin. Test p- Admin override: test resumed. Admin requests user input. Required: test program, test model number. Provide requested input to continue. Refer to main screen for further information and available selection. User call test program ID and test model number.
At this point, what appeared to be a window in front of them now suddenly became less opaque, a dark-colored display overlaying it with white text that appeared in a jumble that would need some figuring out...
Of equal interest to the two would likely be the fact that as the screen had appeared they were, at least for the moment, relieved of the grip the chamber seemed to previously have had them under, and could act and communicate normally. The voice appeared to be waiting for the requested input and remained silent. Similarly, the figure Phero had assumed was the aforementioned "ACTOR" remained motionless and quiet.
---
AdjustMan continued to listen with remarkable patience, although his foot was beginning to tap, likely an unconscious gesture. "Oh. I see. I totally understand. But, um, you seem quite intent on meeting my coworker for... uh, whatever reason," the man finished, at a loss as he was clearly tiptoeing around even guessing what kind of vague "fun" Boil was describing. "You know, I'm afraid I'm quite confused. You want to sit in on an experiment, but... while you have me at a loss for the kind of 'fun' happened at this beach, I assure you it likely isn't the type of thing you'll see in the testing labs here. Our work is not that much fun, I'm sorry to say."
The man continued watching her with curiosity, stiffening up as she rambled on and tried to make some sort of offer. "Anything? Ha... if I didn't know better, I would assume you were propositioning me, ma'am!" The man was obviously struggling to make that sound like a joke halfway through the sentence leaving his mouth. "But as far as helping me, I'm afraid the equipment here all requires special clearances and training to access. I don't think..."
He paused, crossing his arms, looking like he was giving it serious thought. "All right, I apologize, but I'm really going to need some more information if we're going to continue. As pleasant as conversing with you is, you still haven't told me your name, or even what sort of 'fun' you had in mind with my coworker. You have me at quite a disadvantage. I sympathize with your situation, but AdjustLady is occupied at the moment, I'm supposed to be occupied myself, and there isn't anything in here that can quickly be operated or attended to without training and access. I don't mean this to disparage your talents, only to say I really couldn't let you just wander about without clearance, and I won't be able to keep an eye on you while I'm testing. I couldn't even let you organize my office without clearance, you have to understand..."
After a brief pause in which the voice was completely silent, the mannequin-like figure raised one arm and issued a thumbs-up gesture, then lowered its arm again. Although it had gone motionless, after seeing it move, it was easy to picture it moving again at any moment... or, funnily enough, as another being that was just making a great effort to remain completely still.
Calibration procedure complete. Result: calibration is far below acceptable levels and will not- Message skipped by admin. Test p- Admin override: test resumed. Admin requests user input. Required: test program, test model number. Provide requested input to continue. Refer to main screen for further information and available selection. User call test program ID and test model number.
At this point, what appeared to be a window in front of them now suddenly became less opaque, a dark-colored display overlaying it with white text that appeared in a jumble that would need some figuring out...
Quote ()
AVAILABLE TEST PROGRAMS (AND USER MODELS):S01
S02
S03
S04
S05
C01 (STR)
1. (Modified Default)
2. (Modified Default)
3. (Chastity)
4. (Charity)
C02 (NUR)
1. (Chastity)
2. (Charity)
C03 (BEA)
1. (Modified Default)
2. (Modified Default)
3. (Chastity)
4. (Charity)
C04 (SCH)
1. (Modified Default)
2. (Modified Default)
3. (Chastity)
4. (Charity)
5. (Grace)
C05 (POL)
1. (Grace)
2. (Faith)
3. (Modified Default)
C06 (ARC)
1. (Employee1)
2. (Employee2)
3. (Customer1)
4. (Customer2)AdustMan
1.(Default)
2.(REVISED — Today's test)
AdjustLady
1.(Default)
2.(REVISED -Today's test)
OTHER (Locked)
None
Of equal interest to the two would likely be the fact that as the screen had appeared they were, at least for the moment, relieved of the grip the chamber seemed to previously have had them under, and could act and communicate normally. The voice appeared to be waiting for the requested input and remained silent. Similarly, the figure Phero had assumed was the aforementioned "ACTOR" remained motionless and quiet.
---
AdjustMan continued to listen with remarkable patience, although his foot was beginning to tap, likely an unconscious gesture. "Oh. I see. I totally understand. But, um, you seem quite intent on meeting my coworker for... uh, whatever reason," the man finished, at a loss as he was clearly tiptoeing around even guessing what kind of vague "fun" Boil was describing. "You know, I'm afraid I'm quite confused. You want to sit in on an experiment, but... while you have me at a loss for the kind of 'fun' happened at this beach, I assure you it likely isn't the type of thing you'll see in the testing labs here. Our work is not that much fun, I'm sorry to say."
The man continued watching her with curiosity, stiffening up as she rambled on and tried to make some sort of offer. "Anything? Ha... if I didn't know better, I would assume you were propositioning me, ma'am!" The man was obviously struggling to make that sound like a joke halfway through the sentence leaving his mouth. "But as far as helping me, I'm afraid the equipment here all requires special clearances and training to access. I don't think..."
He paused, crossing his arms, looking like he was giving it serious thought. "All right, I apologize, but I'm really going to need some more information if we're going to continue. As pleasant as conversing with you is, you still haven't told me your name, or even what sort of 'fun' you had in mind with my coworker. You have me at quite a disadvantage. I sympathize with your situation, but AdjustLady is occupied at the moment, I'm supposed to be occupied myself, and there isn't anything in here that can quickly be operated or attended to without training and access. I don't mean this to disparage your talents, only to say I really couldn't let you just wander about without clearance, and I won't be able to keep an eye on you while I'm testing. I couldn't even let you organize my office without clearance, you have to understand..."
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"Wait, um, Phero? That's not really--a fence?" Eris said, an errant squeak escaping her lips as Phero went and dove into the exploration of her behind. For some reason, she wasn't able to control her voice, either, letting out little moans every now and then. Her body seemed to be locked in place now by some invisible force, only able to squirm about slightly in response to Phero's lavish attention--she wasn't even able to turn her head back, only forced to look either forward or down. In fact, every little movement seemed to press herself backwards towards her partner, making it easier for Phero to sink her probing hands into her own rump. The development concerned her, for some reason, having her rear exposed as such, but having her butt be handled as such seemed to feel good as well, so she didn't quite know what to think.
"Hii?!" she yelped suddenly, as Phero took hold of her tail. Simultaneously, panic and pleasure raged inside of her as her tail began to react sluggishly to the stimulus. Unfortunately, in her attempts to pull away from Phero's hand, she only managed to end up gyrating her rear end. The end of the tail, which would normally house a fearsome row of ready teeth, simply leaked some odd bit of black goo instead, causing the entire tail to become slick with it as Phero pulled it upwards to hike up her skirt.
At that point, the strange restrictions were lifted, and Eris suddenly launched herself forward, crashing into the wall with her body upturned. Her head lolled about slowly with a stupefied look in her face, stars dancing in her eyes. Her skirt was also still hiked up, but mercifully, her tail had come back to life, and pulled itself into a position to cover her decency. Unfortunately, with the black goo it had leaked earlier, it seemed to have served to merely 'enhance' the scene in unintended ways instead, splattering it all over her face. Eventually, it composed itself enough to shift Eris's weight to land her on her side instead.
Thankfully, she also came to her senses fairly easily, propping herself up from the floor with a shake of her head to clear the black goo from earlier away from her face. "I-I'm okay!" she exclaimed, to no one in particular, even with nobody visibly there to receive it except for Phero. "Oh?" A mechanical noise drew her attention, and she turned towards its source--which was the mannequin, giving them a thumbs up for whatever reason. Slightly confused still, she saw no reason not to reciprocate, and flashed the mannequin a thumbs up of her own. While the voice continued, she listened intently, still seated on the floor, until the indicated screen came to life.
"Oh! More stuff," said Eris, bounding up to full height. She turned to Phero, with her thumbs-up still in the same pose as the one she gave the mannequin earlier. "This stuff is easy!" she grinned. As she approached the screen, however, her forehead creased, and she scratched her head in confusion. "Uh... I take that back, this stuff is hard. What's all these test programs and user models? Can we ask them what they mean like you did earlier?" she asked Phero.
"Hii?!" she yelped suddenly, as Phero took hold of her tail. Simultaneously, panic and pleasure raged inside of her as her tail began to react sluggishly to the stimulus. Unfortunately, in her attempts to pull away from Phero's hand, she only managed to end up gyrating her rear end. The end of the tail, which would normally house a fearsome row of ready teeth, simply leaked some odd bit of black goo instead, causing the entire tail to become slick with it as Phero pulled it upwards to hike up her skirt.
At that point, the strange restrictions were lifted, and Eris suddenly launched herself forward, crashing into the wall with her body upturned. Her head lolled about slowly with a stupefied look in her face, stars dancing in her eyes. Her skirt was also still hiked up, but mercifully, her tail had come back to life, and pulled itself into a position to cover her decency. Unfortunately, with the black goo it had leaked earlier, it seemed to have served to merely 'enhance' the scene in unintended ways instead, splattering it all over her face. Eventually, it composed itself enough to shift Eris's weight to land her on her side instead.
Thankfully, she also came to her senses fairly easily, propping herself up from the floor with a shake of her head to clear the black goo from earlier away from her face. "I-I'm okay!" she exclaimed, to no one in particular, even with nobody visibly there to receive it except for Phero. "Oh?" A mechanical noise drew her attention, and she turned towards its source--which was the mannequin, giving them a thumbs up for whatever reason. Slightly confused still, she saw no reason not to reciprocate, and flashed the mannequin a thumbs up of her own. While the voice continued, she listened intently, still seated on the floor, until the indicated screen came to life.
"Oh! More stuff," said Eris, bounding up to full height. She turned to Phero, with her thumbs-up still in the same pose as the one she gave the mannequin earlier. "This stuff is easy!" she grinned. As she approached the screen, however, her forehead creased, and she scratched her head in confusion. "Uh... I take that back, this stuff is hard. What's all these test programs and user models? Can we ask them what they mean like you did earlier?" she asked Phero.
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As it turned out, Phero and Eris were more alike even than she'd suspected: they both secreted strange, unidentifiable liquids from the pores of their skin. The stuff ended up coating Eris' tail and due to her comedic tumble, amazingly, even on her face. Phero moved her hands from an "I'm innocent" gesture to cover her mouth instead, stifling a gasp. She realized some of the black stuff was still on her hands as it ended up pressed to her cheeks and withdrew them, wiping them quickly on her metal skirt. Flushing, she used the backs of her gloves to clean her face up as well. Thankfully, her new friend was either being magnanimous or undervaluing her own modesty and seemed to have gotten over the embarrassment pretty quickly. "That's a relief!" Phero sighed; it'd be bad if she'd burned her bridges with Eris at the same time she'd become locked in a small box with her. Eris' bubbly rebound caused Phero to smile too... it was nice working with such a cute, upbeat person, she thought to herself. The prototype navi hoped her friend had the same impression of her.
While Eris got right side up, Phero listened in to the Wonder Wall; it sounded like, this time around, they hadn't made very good synchronization, putting it generously. Eris wasn't letting it get her down (or perhaps wasn't even aware of it), but as a navi created for testing and one used to being reprimanded when they wasted time during those tests, she felt twin pangs of disappointment and fear. "No way... was that not sexy enough? Maybe it wasn't as nice to watch as it was to do?" she thought to herself, shooting another glance to Eris' butt and trying to imagine how someone couldn't get some level of excitement watching it.
Dharma was more concerned about the fact that the low synchronization was prompting the voice to recommend a check of user credentials; she felt pretty certain that could be a red flag for both Phero and Eris. Fortunately, the "actor" gave a gesture that seemed to convey that someone, presumably the actor, approved of their actions, or otherwise had gotten the heat off of them, at least. "The low synchronization probably means your guess is wrong," Dharma pointed out to her navi. "The synchronization is either related to a different parameter or perhaps acting a character. Either way, I'm not convinced it matters."
Not wanting to be left out, Phero gave a thumbs-up as well, wondering if she was being impolite by not having introduced herself earlier to the actor who was now interacting with them. He seemed to go stony again, though, and she decided to table the idea for now. Given that she could finally had the freedom of agency to ask more questions without them being twisted into something from a porno, she decided to follow Eris' suggestion and ask some more questions. "I think I've got a couple ideas... b-but just to be safe, let's ask. Ahem... Query!" she started, looking at the actor again, as if expecting him to answer. "Do the three digit 'C' designations refer to a scene? And query: do the 1 digit numbers following them refer to what metric is being measured, perhaps?"
Also thinking along those lines, Dharma mentally took inventory of what sort of situations had likely been prepared... "Strip, that's the first one. Then nurse. Then beach. Then school. Then... police? Or poledance? And... I have no idea what 'arc' would be," she admitted, mumbling to herself as she worked out all of the asinine pornography genres that the average, pathetic pawn tended to enjoy. "What is the actual purpose of these test chambers? What is Pass really after, for that matter? Maybe... she's just voyeuristic? She took the chambers, reprogrammed them to have our navis do erotic things, and then lured our navis in?" she thought aloud. She would be pretty bemused if that turned out to be the case.
Phero decided to test her luck with more queries while she could. "Query! Can you give a little description of each of the test programs so we can decide which we want to do?" she added, crossing her hands behind her hips. She also noticed that AdjustMan (presumably the enlarging navi she'd avoided on the way in) and AdjustLady's names were here, but they didn't appear to be available for selection. Hopefully, the voice wouldn't be upset that she hadn't decided on a program yet, but hopefully, she'd have a chance to get some more information before deciding anything.
She pressed a thumb to her lip as one more question occurred to her. "Er... query! How do we exit the chamber from the inside?" she asked, staring blankly at the wall and wondering if it could really be that easy to solve the problem they'd, supposedly, been sent in to solve. Dharma thought the percentage chance that it would be so simple was some infinitesimally small number approaching 0, but she didn't stop Phero... It couldn't hurt to try.
------------------------------------
Watching Phero and Eris receive and perform an impromptu grind session had been excruciating for Dharma. Watching Boil try to stall AdjustMan was excruciating, for a much different reason. For once, the pieces just didn't seem to be falling into place; he just wasn't biting. Ordinarily, she'd be pleased to see such devotion to scientific pursuits, but here, it was serving as an insurmountable roadblock for Boil.
If Dharma was frustrated, Boil was irate. She'd been backed into a corner and couldn't find out... or, a more accurate metaphor would be to say that she had failed to back him into a corner and he was walking out right past her. "N-No, I'm a reasonable woman, remember?" she laughed awkwardly, while steam began to fill the hallway, rolling across the ankles of both navis. "I wouldn't propose anything... unreasonable!"
As AdjustMan railed off the many reasons why Boil, nor anyone else unqualified, could help with the experiments, meet AdjustLady right now, or really even take up any more of his time, Dharma explained to her SP why none of that even mattered. "I have a theory, Boil," Dharma spoke, to her SP only, crossing her arms at her chest and tilting her head slightly. "There's no danger in AdjustMan reaching his test area and beginning his role in the test. This is because Pass has already taken control of the test. She must have known that there was already a danger of others interfering, correct? If you hadn't held AdjustMan up, he, and probably AdjustLady as well, would already be taking part. You're not actually accomplishing anything at all," the operator explained, not intending to be hurtful for once, but finding a way regardless. "If anything, Pass had a web set up for those two to walk into and you've been generously holding AdjustMan back from entering it."
Pass clenched her teeth in a helpless expression, looking to both sides and making clear that she really had no idea how to act on that information, if it was true.
"So I'm saying let him go," Dharma groaned, already as exhausted with the SP as she had been the SP's former operator. "Let him go into the web. Let him go wherever he's going. If you keep holding him up, you're only disrupting the plan. Did Pass even ask you to keep intruders out of the experiement?"
Dharma hadn't expected an answer, which was good, because Boil was in no state to give one. "Of course, I'll give you reasonable answers. My name's Boooo-"
"Just give him the truth."
"-ooooil," the stocky lady finally got out, with a lingering grimace as though the word had sounded bad on her tongue. "The fun that AdjustLady and Phero had on the beach together was just aaaaaaah-"
"Oiling each other with suntan lotion, feeling each other up in bikinis."
"pplying suntan lotion to each other in provocative swimwear," she continued, blushing furiously now as she tried to imagine how the president had allowed such a thing to happen to the company's valuable prototype navi. "Boy, you know... The stress of our jobs, am I right? Just makes you want to... Squeeze another lady's ass," she spat the words out. She was not actually into other women, but that was really besides the point; she felt like a damned fool "telling the truth" like this. "But I see that you're quite busy. I'm sure she is too. So I'm going to leave. Farewell," she finished, puffing out her chest and adjusting her glasses with a pouting frown on her face. She'd then attempt to turn back the way she came. "You needn't worry, I'll show myself out."
Hopefully, he'd let her go with that, but there were no guarantees... Still, he had to figure she'd gotten in somehow, so maybe he'd buy that she was going to leave? There was a chance that having told the ridiculous "truth" would throw some of the scrutiny off of the real, just-as-ridiculous reason she'd come here.
While Eris got right side up, Phero listened in to the Wonder Wall; it sounded like, this time around, they hadn't made very good synchronization, putting it generously. Eris wasn't letting it get her down (or perhaps wasn't even aware of it), but as a navi created for testing and one used to being reprimanded when they wasted time during those tests, she felt twin pangs of disappointment and fear. "No way... was that not sexy enough? Maybe it wasn't as nice to watch as it was to do?" she thought to herself, shooting another glance to Eris' butt and trying to imagine how someone couldn't get some level of excitement watching it.
Dharma was more concerned about the fact that the low synchronization was prompting the voice to recommend a check of user credentials; she felt pretty certain that could be a red flag for both Phero and Eris. Fortunately, the "actor" gave a gesture that seemed to convey that someone, presumably the actor, approved of their actions, or otherwise had gotten the heat off of them, at least. "The low synchronization probably means your guess is wrong," Dharma pointed out to her navi. "The synchronization is either related to a different parameter or perhaps acting a character. Either way, I'm not convinced it matters."
Not wanting to be left out, Phero gave a thumbs-up as well, wondering if she was being impolite by not having introduced herself earlier to the actor who was now interacting with them. He seemed to go stony again, though, and she decided to table the idea for now. Given that she could finally had the freedom of agency to ask more questions without them being twisted into something from a porno, she decided to follow Eris' suggestion and ask some more questions. "I think I've got a couple ideas... b-but just to be safe, let's ask. Ahem... Query!" she started, looking at the actor again, as if expecting him to answer. "Do the three digit 'C' designations refer to a scene? And query: do the 1 digit numbers following them refer to what metric is being measured, perhaps?"
Also thinking along those lines, Dharma mentally took inventory of what sort of situations had likely been prepared... "Strip, that's the first one. Then nurse. Then beach. Then school. Then... police? Or poledance? And... I have no idea what 'arc' would be," she admitted, mumbling to herself as she worked out all of the asinine pornography genres that the average, pathetic pawn tended to enjoy. "What is the actual purpose of these test chambers? What is Pass really after, for that matter? Maybe... she's just voyeuristic? She took the chambers, reprogrammed them to have our navis do erotic things, and then lured our navis in?" she thought aloud. She would be pretty bemused if that turned out to be the case.
Phero decided to test her luck with more queries while she could. "Query! Can you give a little description of each of the test programs so we can decide which we want to do?" she added, crossing her hands behind her hips. She also noticed that AdjustMan (presumably the enlarging navi she'd avoided on the way in) and AdjustLady's names were here, but they didn't appear to be available for selection. Hopefully, the voice wouldn't be upset that she hadn't decided on a program yet, but hopefully, she'd have a chance to get some more information before deciding anything.
She pressed a thumb to her lip as one more question occurred to her. "Er... query! How do we exit the chamber from the inside?" she asked, staring blankly at the wall and wondering if it could really be that easy to solve the problem they'd, supposedly, been sent in to solve. Dharma thought the percentage chance that it would be so simple was some infinitesimally small number approaching 0, but she didn't stop Phero... It couldn't hurt to try.
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Watching Phero and Eris receive and perform an impromptu grind session had been excruciating for Dharma. Watching Boil try to stall AdjustMan was excruciating, for a much different reason. For once, the pieces just didn't seem to be falling into place; he just wasn't biting. Ordinarily, she'd be pleased to see such devotion to scientific pursuits, but here, it was serving as an insurmountable roadblock for Boil.
If Dharma was frustrated, Boil was irate. She'd been backed into a corner and couldn't find out... or, a more accurate metaphor would be to say that she had failed to back him into a corner and he was walking out right past her. "N-No, I'm a reasonable woman, remember?" she laughed awkwardly, while steam began to fill the hallway, rolling across the ankles of both navis. "I wouldn't propose anything... unreasonable!"
As AdjustMan railed off the many reasons why Boil, nor anyone else unqualified, could help with the experiments, meet AdjustLady right now, or really even take up any more of his time, Dharma explained to her SP why none of that even mattered. "I have a theory, Boil," Dharma spoke, to her SP only, crossing her arms at her chest and tilting her head slightly. "There's no danger in AdjustMan reaching his test area and beginning his role in the test. This is because Pass has already taken control of the test. She must have known that there was already a danger of others interfering, correct? If you hadn't held AdjustMan up, he, and probably AdjustLady as well, would already be taking part. You're not actually accomplishing anything at all," the operator explained, not intending to be hurtful for once, but finding a way regardless. "If anything, Pass had a web set up for those two to walk into and you've been generously holding AdjustMan back from entering it."
Pass clenched her teeth in a helpless expression, looking to both sides and making clear that she really had no idea how to act on that information, if it was true.
"So I'm saying let him go," Dharma groaned, already as exhausted with the SP as she had been the SP's former operator. "Let him go into the web. Let him go wherever he's going. If you keep holding him up, you're only disrupting the plan. Did Pass even ask you to keep intruders out of the experiement?"
Dharma hadn't expected an answer, which was good, because Boil was in no state to give one. "Of course, I'll give you reasonable answers. My name's Boooo-"
"Just give him the truth."
"-ooooil," the stocky lady finally got out, with a lingering grimace as though the word had sounded bad on her tongue. "The fun that AdjustLady and Phero had on the beach together was just aaaaaaah-"
"Oiling each other with suntan lotion, feeling each other up in bikinis."
"pplying suntan lotion to each other in provocative swimwear," she continued, blushing furiously now as she tried to imagine how the president had allowed such a thing to happen to the company's valuable prototype navi. "Boy, you know... The stress of our jobs, am I right? Just makes you want to... Squeeze another lady's ass," she spat the words out. She was not actually into other women, but that was really besides the point; she felt like a damned fool "telling the truth" like this. "But I see that you're quite busy. I'm sure she is too. So I'm going to leave. Farewell," she finished, puffing out her chest and adjusting her glasses with a pouting frown on her face. She'd then attempt to turn back the way she came. "You needn't worry, I'll show myself out."
Hopefully, he'd let her go with that, but there were no guarantees... Still, he had to figure she'd gotten in somehow, so maybe he'd buy that she was going to leave? There was a chance that having told the ridiculous "truth" would throw some of the scrutiny off of the real, just-as-ridiculous reason she'd come here.
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The featureless man made no further gestures, approving or otherwise, as the ladies made themselves relatively decent and tried to further their understanding of the system they hoped to crack out of. The questionably helpful voice spoke up again in response to Phero. "Query near match: Clarify test program nomenclature. Types: Standard... Custom... User Profile... Other. Type followed by identification number. Warning: test program names are determined by admin. Insufficient information has been provided by admin to answer query. Recommend user consult admin."
Phero continued her questions, and the system continued to respond in kind. "Query near match: Describe parameters of all available test programs. Test program C01: S. T. R. Target parameter: Unidentified. Nearest match: Sex appeal. Environment: Stri- Query response terminated by admin. Query near match: Describe measures by which user may exit the chamber. Four measures identified. Warning: list is not all-inclusive. One. Admin terminates test. Admin has jurisdiction to terminate test at any time from console. Two. User call ID for authorization to terminate test. Three. Unsafe lab conditions. Warning: "unsafe lab conditions" is defined as the identification of dangerous conditions which jeopardize the safety of lab users unable to act free- Query response terminated by admin".
The system didn't seem to be rushing them, continuing to display the same screen of information with no change. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like the admin was being supportive of their attempts to gather information.
---
AdjustMan continued watching Boil with his arms crossed and his toe tapping, now becoming visibly impatient as she remained silent to listen to Dharma. He paused as she finally gave her name, although he didn't look pleased with her delivery. He stopped entirely when she elaborated on the fun she'd been eluding to earlier, then let out a sudden, ragged laugh. "No! Are you kidding? Aaah, now I really want to hear more about it! I'm going to make her tell me later."
The man continued laughing, propping his back against a wall. "Oh dear! She was describing it to me like... hrk... like she ended up performing an experiment! I guess she really did get to experimenting, huh...? Oh man. This is crazy. This is so crazy!" He continued speaking over Boil's insistence that she was going to leave. "And the weirdest part is, I didn't have you pegged for... I mean, earlier, I thought you were trying to..." The man coughed, then let out another little laugh, then tried to reach for her hand. "Come now, come with me. Lab 01, that's where she's testing. Now that I know what you're here for, I've got to let you meet her. I've gotta see her face when she learns one of her funny-business beach buddies found a way in here... Considering the admin hasn't started shouting at me yet, they must not care that I'm late. What's a few more minutes? Let's go meet her!"
If AdjustMan could get a hold of Boil's hand, he would begin leading her back towards Lab 01, the door Boil had previously left and found to be shuttered before. He didn't seem powerful at all, and if Boil wanted to, she'd probably find she could plant her feet and avoid being dragged. There was also a brief chance for her to try and dodge his initial grab, but weak as he was, his grasp was relatively quick.
Phero continued her questions, and the system continued to respond in kind. "Query near match: Describe parameters of all available test programs. Test program C01: S. T. R. Target parameter: Unidentified. Nearest match: Sex appeal. Environment: Stri- Query response terminated by admin. Query near match: Describe measures by which user may exit the chamber. Four measures identified. Warning: list is not all-inclusive. One. Admin terminates test. Admin has jurisdiction to terminate test at any time from console. Two. User call ID for authorization to terminate test. Three. Unsafe lab conditions. Warning: "unsafe lab conditions" is defined as the identification of dangerous conditions which jeopardize the safety of lab users unable to act free- Query response terminated by admin".
The system didn't seem to be rushing them, continuing to display the same screen of information with no change. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like the admin was being supportive of their attempts to gather information.
---
AdjustMan continued watching Boil with his arms crossed and his toe tapping, now becoming visibly impatient as she remained silent to listen to Dharma. He paused as she finally gave her name, although he didn't look pleased with her delivery. He stopped entirely when she elaborated on the fun she'd been eluding to earlier, then let out a sudden, ragged laugh. "No! Are you kidding? Aaah, now I really want to hear more about it! I'm going to make her tell me later."
The man continued laughing, propping his back against a wall. "Oh dear! She was describing it to me like... hrk... like she ended up performing an experiment! I guess she really did get to experimenting, huh...? Oh man. This is crazy. This is so crazy!" He continued speaking over Boil's insistence that she was going to leave. "And the weirdest part is, I didn't have you pegged for... I mean, earlier, I thought you were trying to..." The man coughed, then let out another little laugh, then tried to reach for her hand. "Come now, come with me. Lab 01, that's where she's testing. Now that I know what you're here for, I've got to let you meet her. I've gotta see her face when she learns one of her funny-business beach buddies found a way in here... Considering the admin hasn't started shouting at me yet, they must not care that I'm late. What's a few more minutes? Let's go meet her!"
If AdjustMan could get a hold of Boil's hand, he would begin leading her back towards Lab 01, the door Boil had previously left and found to be shuttered before. He didn't seem powerful at all, and if Boil wanted to, she'd probably find she could plant her feet and avoid being dragged. There was also a brief chance for her to try and dodge his initial grab, but weak as he was, his grasp was relatively quick.
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"Wha--hey! We weren't done listening to that! Uuuuuuh, whoever this 'admin' person is, they're not very helpful!" huffed Eris, as she puffed up her cheeks in indignation. "We want out! Let us out!" she yelled, beginning to beat on the screen for a bit in frustration, before looking up at the ceiling. "Unsafe lab conditions, I'll show you unsafe lab conditions!" she exclaimed, presumably addressing the voice that had been talking to them previously. She then began to stomp on the glass-like flooring rapidly, appearing to throw a thoroughly unhelpful tantrum.
Of course, as her previous words might have indicated, that wasn't the full extent of her actions. As she grunted angrily, the black liquid from earlier began to seep out from her feet, and her stomping began to splash it about in a multitude of directions. Her partner might be distressed to find out, however, that the fluid she was emitting now was no slick lubricant, as it was before. Everywhere it went, on whatever surface that the black liquid contacted, began to sizzle loudly. Whatever the liquid touched began to turn into a gleaming red and deformed rather quickly, almost as if it was melting. Soon, a small puddle of red was gathered about Eris's feet, and spreading fast--the result brought about by her activation of the SetLava program installed into her NaviCustomizer.
"Uuuuuuwaaaahhhh!!" bellowed Eris, appearing to have thoroughly forgotten that, while she herself would be unaffected by the lava, there was a certain other person in the room that would probably not be taking too kindly to the sudden shift in room temperature.
Of course, as her previous words might have indicated, that wasn't the full extent of her actions. As she grunted angrily, the black liquid from earlier began to seep out from her feet, and her stomping began to splash it about in a multitude of directions. Her partner might be distressed to find out, however, that the fluid she was emitting now was no slick lubricant, as it was before. Everywhere it went, on whatever surface that the black liquid contacted, began to sizzle loudly. Whatever the liquid touched began to turn into a gleaming red and deformed rather quickly, almost as if it was melting. Soon, a small puddle of red was gathered about Eris's feet, and spreading fast--the result brought about by her activation of the SetLava program installed into her NaviCustomizer.
"Uuuuuuwaaaahhhh!!" bellowed Eris, appearing to have thoroughly forgotten that, while she herself would be unaffected by the lava, there was a certain other person in the room that would probably not be taking too kindly to the sudden shift in room temperature.
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Pelted by a head-spinning series of answers and non-answers, Phero tried to make heads or tails of what she was hearing. "O-Okay, so all the standard programs are disabled. That means the custom ones are open, I guess because she's set them up for us. User profiles and 'other' are also turned off," she spoke quickly, trying to explain it all as much to herself as to Eris. "It can't tell us the full names, because I guess only the admin knows what they stand for... Okay, so program C01 ST-um-STR measures sex appeal in a setting- wait, it got cut off-" she babbled on, trying to helpfully interpret the information but just ending up talking over it instead. By the time the voice was explaining ways to exit the chamber, she'd decided to be quiet and listen. "Ah ha! There are some ways to terminate the test, then! I guess you're right about the administrator, though, Eris..." she murmured, though she didn't want to talk bad about the one she assumed was their employer.
"Hmph. This is a waste of time. You both must have realized that the administrator doesn't actually want you to find a way out of the test chamber, correct? That was a misdirection; their real goal was to ogle your bodies in a setting where they control every parameter. So the two of you continuing to- what is Eris doing?" Dharma began to explain to her navi, then paused, watching Eris throw a hissy fit, which was accompanied by throwing something else around too.
"Oh, don't call attention to it! It's embarrassing when I leak compound like that," Phero hissed to her operator.
"Yes, it is. But your embarrassment isn't the primary concern in that scenario, and it isn't here either. I'm wondering what that fluid is," Dharma scowled, thinking that she certainly wouldn't want Phero getting covered in a strange navi's unknowable fluids.
"Ah!" Phero gasped, jumping back a bit as she heard the telltale "ssss" of something that could injure her two times as badly as it would the average navi. That was her call to get onto the desk, probably a little later than the test room observer had been hoping, kneeling on all fours atop the desk and watching the floor. Due to the nature of her petal-like skirt, anyone viewing from a certain angle would get a nice view of her butt, possibly the last good look before it burned to ash. "Eris, stop! You're creating a hazardous environment that will interrupt the test- oh, I get it," she murmured, suddenly understanding. Just because she understood didn't mean it was safe to come down from the desk, though. "Okay, yeah! Continue! Just, um, maybe rage more carefully!"
Dharma rested her hand on the column extending from the wall of her own lab room and rapped her fingers on it irritably. The success of Eris' plan hinged on her being wrong. "And that means it's destined to fail," she sighed to herself. "But this will at least be a lesson for Eris and Phero both, I assume." Part of her also felt as though she ought to be concerned about her navi being trapped inside a box filling up with what was effectively lava, but she assumed that no decent administrator would let the two navis burn alive inside their chamber.
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"Yes, please get the story from her. I'm sure it's a real page-turner," Boil grumbled, having no desire to hear the same full story from Phero or AdjustLady. Now that she'd been forced to humiliate herself in front of a fellow scientist, she was ready to sulk back off to obscurity. She turned a pouty frown towards AdjustMan, not caring for any train of conversation that continued to needle her about sexy events that she was not privy to, nor did she wish to become privy to. Her eyes opened wide and her glasses slid down her red nose a bit as she found out that she wasn't going to be able to slip away after all. She was still trying to decide if that was a good or bad thing as he began to pull her along.
"Go with it," Dharma sighed, realizing that Boil was just going to stare in silence until receiving some direction.
"Okay. Yes. Let's meet her. What's a little lateness for the sake of pranking those hard at work among consummate professionals such as ourselves?" Boil questioned, her voice as dry as the air around her was not. She followed with no further words, waiting to see what was behind door number 01.
"Hmph. This is a waste of time. You both must have realized that the administrator doesn't actually want you to find a way out of the test chamber, correct? That was a misdirection; their real goal was to ogle your bodies in a setting where they control every parameter. So the two of you continuing to- what is Eris doing?" Dharma began to explain to her navi, then paused, watching Eris throw a hissy fit, which was accompanied by throwing something else around too.
"Oh, don't call attention to it! It's embarrassing when I leak compound like that," Phero hissed to her operator.
"Yes, it is. But your embarrassment isn't the primary concern in that scenario, and it isn't here either. I'm wondering what that fluid is," Dharma scowled, thinking that she certainly wouldn't want Phero getting covered in a strange navi's unknowable fluids.
"Ah!" Phero gasped, jumping back a bit as she heard the telltale "ssss" of something that could injure her two times as badly as it would the average navi. That was her call to get onto the desk, probably a little later than the test room observer had been hoping, kneeling on all fours atop the desk and watching the floor. Due to the nature of her petal-like skirt, anyone viewing from a certain angle would get a nice view of her butt, possibly the last good look before it burned to ash. "Eris, stop! You're creating a hazardous environment that will interrupt the test- oh, I get it," she murmured, suddenly understanding. Just because she understood didn't mean it was safe to come down from the desk, though. "Okay, yeah! Continue! Just, um, maybe rage more carefully!"
Dharma rested her hand on the column extending from the wall of her own lab room and rapped her fingers on it irritably. The success of Eris' plan hinged on her being wrong. "And that means it's destined to fail," she sighed to herself. "But this will at least be a lesson for Eris and Phero both, I assume." Part of her also felt as though she ought to be concerned about her navi being trapped inside a box filling up with what was effectively lava, but she assumed that no decent administrator would let the two navis burn alive inside their chamber.
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"Yes, please get the story from her. I'm sure it's a real page-turner," Boil grumbled, having no desire to hear the same full story from Phero or AdjustLady. Now that she'd been forced to humiliate herself in front of a fellow scientist, she was ready to sulk back off to obscurity. She turned a pouty frown towards AdjustMan, not caring for any train of conversation that continued to needle her about sexy events that she was not privy to, nor did she wish to become privy to. Her eyes opened wide and her glasses slid down her red nose a bit as she found out that she wasn't going to be able to slip away after all. She was still trying to decide if that was a good or bad thing as he began to pull her along.
"Go with it," Dharma sighed, realizing that Boil was just going to stare in silence until receiving some direction.
"Okay. Yes. Let's meet her. What's a little lateness for the sake of pranking those hard at work among consummate professionals such as ourselves?" Boil questioned, her voice as dry as the air around her was not. She followed with no further words, waiting to see what was behind door number 01.
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Phero and Eris became more frustrated at the less-than-helpful answers they were being given due to the admin's interference. While Dharma had her own ideas about how the ladies would get out, those two were losing the patience to deal with it.
"Warning: prohibited action by user detected," the system complained in its robotic monotone as Eris took fists to the screen, which reverberated like plexiglass under the strikes. Finally, Eris's frustration boiled over into something halfway between a fit and a strategy, as she began flinging goop that would soon become lava around the lab, nearly torching her ally in the process. "Undirected user damage of laboratory equipment is prohibited. Under Chapter 3 clauses of the W. A. C. employee handbook, damaging lab equipment- Warning: unauthorized environment shift detected in test chamber. Rebooting. Rebooting. Reboot- Reb- Rebo- Re- Re- R- Reb-"
Anyone listening to that sound alone might be misled into believing Eris's tantrum was having a surprising but potentially useful effect, frying circuitry in the machine to cause it to mechanically stutter as it degraded.
The actual truth either more or less positive, depending on what one considered a success. Whenever a spot of goop landed and finally set into lava, a flash of light burst from the floor (or wall) to revert it to its previous state. Each individual splash was met with a separate call of "Rebooting," leaving the system sputtering in quick succession as it worked to undo changes to its surfaces.
This would continue (becoming maddening if it kept up very long) until Eris finally let up, or someone stopped her. "Warning," the system finally spoke, "Undirected user alteration of testing terrain is prohibited. Under Chapter 3 clauses of the W. A. C. employee handbook, altering laboratory surfaces during testing through means other than direct alteration by system program is prohibited. Current version programs are not designed to adapt to unexpected environmental parameters. Therefore, any unexpected environmental parameters are scheduled to be immediately reset."
Nothing changed on the screen in the meantime, and the lab was returned to its original state, no matter how many times it was changed.
Two other things in the lab did change: first, something finally moved behind the glass at the front of the lab, behind the screen still displaying their options and awaiting input. One of the unidentifiable figures close to where Phero was essentially presenting to the screen on top of the desk shifted a bit, as though tilting a head. That small gesture made it easy to guess what was probably there, which had previously been difficult to determine: with a bit of imagination, the figure could be a short humanoid sitting down in a chair at a computer monitor, with the person facing their lab and the monitor facing away from it. Alternatively, it could be a tall person slouching... of course, it could be something else entirely. In any case, if it had tilted its head to see something particular, it wasn't hard to guess what it was interested in.
The other was that the actor, which had previously remained completely still, had pressed itself up against the corner to avoid Eris' outburst. As though remembering it wasn't supposed to do anything unless a system voice spoke for it to, it remained pressed there, completely still.
Finally, the ladies would hear a message from Pass, although they'd probably lack any context to interpret it. "Short Mortal! My indicator indicates that instead of heading to the lab you're outside this one. I've locked it for my own protection while I finish my hack and monitor you all. Another genius idea on my part. In any case, there's no reason for you to come in here for now. I don't know why you're not in the lab, but find something else to do! The other two are in their lab now, and I'm sure everything's going as planned, so they'll be out of there in no time."
---
AdjustMan seemed not to notice Boil's lack of enthusiasm or her dry sarcasm regarding his work ethic as he pulled her along, back towards laboratory 1 which had been sealed previously.
Some static crackled into her earpiece, after which she'd hear the same message Phero and Eris just had. She'd hear a muffled voice behind the door, a low enough volume that you probably wouldn't notice it if you weren't listening for it. Interestingly, there was a sound like other, even more muffled voices within, which were not coming through on the headset.
In any case, if Boil intended to change course, she'd need to do so quickly. "That's strange... the laboratory normally wouldn't lock, especially different odd-hours testing. I wonder if it's something high-confidence...? Ah, well, I can't pass this up. Access Lab 01," he chuckled, suddenly raising his ID card to his mouth as he spoke. With his words, a click came from the formerly locked door, which he began to reach for...
"Warning: prohibited action by user detected," the system complained in its robotic monotone as Eris took fists to the screen, which reverberated like plexiglass under the strikes. Finally, Eris's frustration boiled over into something halfway between a fit and a strategy, as she began flinging goop that would soon become lava around the lab, nearly torching her ally in the process. "Undirected user damage of laboratory equipment is prohibited. Under Chapter 3 clauses of the W. A. C. employee handbook, damaging lab equipment- Warning: unauthorized environment shift detected in test chamber. Rebooting. Rebooting. Reboot- Reb- Rebo- Re- Re- R- Reb-"
Anyone listening to that sound alone might be misled into believing Eris's tantrum was having a surprising but potentially useful effect, frying circuitry in the machine to cause it to mechanically stutter as it degraded.
The actual truth either more or less positive, depending on what one considered a success. Whenever a spot of goop landed and finally set into lava, a flash of light burst from the floor (or wall) to revert it to its previous state. Each individual splash was met with a separate call of "Rebooting," leaving the system sputtering in quick succession as it worked to undo changes to its surfaces.
This would continue (becoming maddening if it kept up very long) until Eris finally let up, or someone stopped her. "Warning," the system finally spoke, "Undirected user alteration of testing terrain is prohibited. Under Chapter 3 clauses of the W. A. C. employee handbook, altering laboratory surfaces during testing through means other than direct alteration by system program is prohibited. Current version programs are not designed to adapt to unexpected environmental parameters. Therefore, any unexpected environmental parameters are scheduled to be immediately reset."
Nothing changed on the screen in the meantime, and the lab was returned to its original state, no matter how many times it was changed.
Two other things in the lab did change: first, something finally moved behind the glass at the front of the lab, behind the screen still displaying their options and awaiting input. One of the unidentifiable figures close to where Phero was essentially presenting to the screen on top of the desk shifted a bit, as though tilting a head. That small gesture made it easy to guess what was probably there, which had previously been difficult to determine: with a bit of imagination, the figure could be a short humanoid sitting down in a chair at a computer monitor, with the person facing their lab and the monitor facing away from it. Alternatively, it could be a tall person slouching... of course, it could be something else entirely. In any case, if it had tilted its head to see something particular, it wasn't hard to guess what it was interested in.
The other was that the actor, which had previously remained completely still, had pressed itself up against the corner to avoid Eris' outburst. As though remembering it wasn't supposed to do anything unless a system voice spoke for it to, it remained pressed there, completely still.
Finally, the ladies would hear a message from Pass, although they'd probably lack any context to interpret it. "Short Mortal! My indicator indicates that instead of heading to the lab you're outside this one. I've locked it for my own protection while I finish my hack and monitor you all. Another genius idea on my part. In any case, there's no reason for you to come in here for now. I don't know why you're not in the lab, but find something else to do! The other two are in their lab now, and I'm sure everything's going as planned, so they'll be out of there in no time."
---
AdjustMan seemed not to notice Boil's lack of enthusiasm or her dry sarcasm regarding his work ethic as he pulled her along, back towards laboratory 1 which had been sealed previously.
Some static crackled into her earpiece, after which she'd hear the same message Phero and Eris just had. She'd hear a muffled voice behind the door, a low enough volume that you probably wouldn't notice it if you weren't listening for it. Interestingly, there was a sound like other, even more muffled voices within, which were not coming through on the headset.
In any case, if Boil intended to change course, she'd need to do so quickly. "That's strange... the laboratory normally wouldn't lock, especially different odd-hours testing. I wonder if it's something high-confidence...? Ah, well, I can't pass this up. Access Lab 01," he chuckled, suddenly raising his ID card to his mouth as he spoke. With his words, a click came from the formerly locked door, which he began to reach for...
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"Haa, haa, haa..."
After having thrown her 'strategic tantrum', Eris looked around through half-lidded eyes, evidently a little more tired than she was before. Her skin glistened with sweat, as she collected herself and propped herself up with her arms on her knees. The tail behind her seemed a little exhausted as well, as Phero could see a lolling tongue out from the end of it, panting in sync with the girl. After a little while, Eris took a deep breath, and stood up straight again. While her breathing was still labored, she was able to look around a little, and noted that her efforts hadn't been quite successful and getting them out of the chamber. The door was still closed, and nothing in the room had notably changed, save for the odd mannequin in the corner of the room, though Eris didn't pay it much mind, tired as she was.
Scratching the back of her neck, she grinned sheepishly towards her partner, who seemed rather precariously placed on top of the desk. "Sorry, Phero, I tried my best, but I don't think I helped much... I guess we should pick one of those program things now?" she said. Any reply Phero would make would be preceded, however, by Pass's message, which cause Eris to look up curiously. "Short... Mortal?" she mused, not quite making the connection to Boil, whom she had forgotten about for the moment. The next few sentences made her perk up slightly, and she clapped in glee. "... Oh! She said we'll be out of here in no time. That's good. I think."
After having thrown her 'strategic tantrum', Eris looked around through half-lidded eyes, evidently a little more tired than she was before. Her skin glistened with sweat, as she collected herself and propped herself up with her arms on her knees. The tail behind her seemed a little exhausted as well, as Phero could see a lolling tongue out from the end of it, panting in sync with the girl. After a little while, Eris took a deep breath, and stood up straight again. While her breathing was still labored, she was able to look around a little, and noted that her efforts hadn't been quite successful and getting them out of the chamber. The door was still closed, and nothing in the room had notably changed, save for the odd mannequin in the corner of the room, though Eris didn't pay it much mind, tired as she was.
Scratching the back of her neck, she grinned sheepishly towards her partner, who seemed rather precariously placed on top of the desk. "Sorry, Phero, I tried my best, but I don't think I helped much... I guess we should pick one of those program things now?" she said. Any reply Phero would make would be preceded, however, by Pass's message, which cause Eris to look up curiously. "Short... Mortal?" she mused, not quite making the connection to Boil, whom she had forgotten about for the moment. The next few sentences made her perk up slightly, and she clapped in glee. "... Oh! She said we'll be out of here in no time. That's good. I think."
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From the words of the Wonder Wall's automated response program (or Dharma assumed it was automated, anyways), it sounded as though her hypothesis had been confirmed: environmental damage as a means of escape was a dead end. While she supposed she ought to commend Eris for keeping her mind on the mission while her own navi had not, she thought the truth was rather cruel and obvious: the program wouldn't simply tell them how to escape, because the person or persons behind all of this had a vested interest in keeping them trapped and had taken abundant preparatory steps to do prevent an early cutoff. She'd been suspicious earlier that Pass's trapped friend could be a ruse just to spur them to action, but it now seemed fairly likely that there really could be a friend trapped in much the same way as Phero and Eris were now.
The confirmed presence of what seemed to be an observer behind the class was an interesting development from Dharma's perspective. "Hmph... Whoever is in there, they're too short to be either Dart or Toss, the two who were supposed to be friends of Pass.. or if they're stooping, that's still the wrong posture. It's not right for AdjustLady either. Perhaps I was wrong. Whoever is in there, they may be part of the WAC Labs after all. If that is the case... things become significantly more complex," Dharma realized. Could it be that the two navis had really been led to one of the chambers to find a way out, just like Pass said, and instead became eye candy for an industrious WAC researcher? If that was the case, was there any situation in which the two would conceivably be allowed to escape without being apprehended? "Whoever is in there, they are clearly enjoying the view. That tells me nothing; Phero is scientifically designed to provide a 'good view' to the majority portion of any sample size of viewers," she thought to herself, rolling her eyes.
The other just-as-interesting revelation was that their actor appeared to have a sense of self preservation and was capable of being quite animated when it suited him. Phero's understanding of this new information didn't begin breeding all sorts of new paranoid theories like Dharma's did, but still, she knew that it was an oddity. It was also a little strange to hear Pass speaking apparent nonsense, but she quickly reminded herself that they were probably all sharing one communication channel. Boil was a little shorter than she was, so presumably, Boil was the short mortal. For now, though, she needed to give Eris some reassurance. "Sorry you tired yourself out... It was a good plan! I guess we will just have to try more of the programs. I'm not so sure about what Pass said, though... it sounds like she can't see what we're doing in here. I don't know about you, but I'm still pretty confused about what we're doing here," Phero sighed. "I think we may have someone who can help us after all, though! Right?" she asked, turning her head towards the being that had pressed itself up against the glass and hopping off the desk.
"I'm going to call you 'Actor' for now, unless you have another name? It's nice to meet you, Actor! I thought you were just a prop; otherwise, I would have introduced myself earlier," Phero began, crossing her hands behind her back and approaching with her head tilted, as though trying to inspect the figure from another angle. "I guess you're not trapped here like the two of us are... And I guess you can't talk, either. And I guess you... approve of, ahem, the things we did earlier, from the little bit of communication we did get," she continued, kicking one foot idly and blushing slightly. "So I'm hoping we can help each other! What say Eris and I do one more of these tests, and make it a really good one, and in exchange, you try to communicate something to us that'll help us get out of here? You can show us with hand gestures, maybe?" she asked, tilting her head a bit in the other direction.
Dharma wasn't pleased by this development, but only because she found Phero far too trusting. This was an annoying reminder that she needed to make Dharma fear strangers in some capacity... she seemed to delight in their company at all times, simply because they weren't her creator (or more accurately, didn't tend to act like her creator).
Hopefully, Actor would nod along with Phero's plan. Even if he didn't, Phero didn't thave any other ideas on how to proceed just yet. In hopes of avoiding another very embarrassing situation, she decided to avoid the first test program for now and try another one. "User input, test program C06 'Arc,'" Phero spoke up, now facing the glass wall, since it seemed that was where the administrator likely was. "User Model 1, Employee 1...?" she finished, with some hesitation. She would just have to hope she'd stated all that correctly.
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Dharma had half a mind to let Boil stand aside while AdjustMan opened the door, just so she could sate her curiosity of what Pass was doing while the others worked... and, for that matter, who she was talking to. Still, the mission came first; she couldn't let things go this direction. "Boil, you fool... You're leading him right back to Pass," she snapped.
"Ah," Boil spoke, unfortunately aloud, as she managed to recall the layout of the laboratory again. This was indeed the first door she'd gone into to start with. She really couldn't afford to let him in, and the situation couldn't be worse, given he was just one card swipe away from barging in on their employer.
"Wait just a minute... This is the laboratory that AdjustLady is supposed to be in? Then why is Pass in there?" Dharma questioned internally, pressing one fist to her mouth as a myriad of mad propositions came to mind. Was AdjustLady the cohort of Pass's that was locked inside the chamber? No, that didn't make any sense... AdjustLady seemed to work in the lab, so how could she get locked inside one of their machines? Could AdjustLady have tweaked her various knobs and programs until she looked like an entirely different person, so infatuated with Phero that she wanted to impersonate someone else just to get another look at the pink-haired beauty? That didn't check out either... AdjustLady had seemed very capable of modifying her mannerisms and her appearance, but it didn't seem like she was able to make so drastic a change as this. Could it be that AdjustLady had been held up elsewhere to allow Pass to use the room? Fortunately, this particular answer they could get from the horse's mouth, rather than having to rely on the Wonder Wall to give them a vague answer.
In the mean time, Boil had to spring into action. Unable to come up with a single other thing to do, she reached out both hands and attempted to grab hold of the man's wrist and the card at the same time, yanking away the card if she could manage to do so. "Ha ha ha! Ha ha! Ha..." she started giggling, then tapered off awkward. "I was just thinking, ah ha, that it would be best if I were to... prolong my fun time as long as possible by... well, we were going to have that kind of fun, weren't we? So I'll just..." she babbled, then, presuming she'd managed to get the card, she'd stretch out the neck of her skinsuit and pop the card inside. She'd pat at her neck and her broad bosom a few times until it was deep in and secure. If she didn't manage to get the item, hopefully he'd still be startled enough and ready to question her before entering into the room.
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"Phero, I need you to do one more thing. Ask Pass where AdjustLady is and see if she has a response. If she says nothing, ask who Pass's locked-up companion is. Whatever she answers, I want you to ask one more question: who is she talking to inside that laboratory?" Dharma asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. In this case, a non-answer would be as good as an answer.
The pink-haired navi reluctantly obeyed her navi; the questioning all sounded a little military and unfriendly to her. She couldn't imagine what significance they could have, either. "Chatter... Pass, can you tell me where AdjustLady is? If you know her... And also, can you tell me who your companion is? Oh, and could you tell me who else you've been speaking with? If anyone?" Phero asked. For a moment, she was worried she might not have used the proper terminology to cue a response, but then she remembered that Pass was not the Wonder Wall... hopefully the word "Chatter" was enough to activate their headsets for communication.
The confirmed presence of what seemed to be an observer behind the class was an interesting development from Dharma's perspective. "Hmph... Whoever is in there, they're too short to be either Dart or Toss, the two who were supposed to be friends of Pass.. or if they're stooping, that's still the wrong posture. It's not right for AdjustLady either. Perhaps I was wrong. Whoever is in there, they may be part of the WAC Labs after all. If that is the case... things become significantly more complex," Dharma realized. Could it be that the two navis had really been led to one of the chambers to find a way out, just like Pass said, and instead became eye candy for an industrious WAC researcher? If that was the case, was there any situation in which the two would conceivably be allowed to escape without being apprehended? "Whoever is in there, they are clearly enjoying the view. That tells me nothing; Phero is scientifically designed to provide a 'good view' to the majority portion of any sample size of viewers," she thought to herself, rolling her eyes.
The other just-as-interesting revelation was that their actor appeared to have a sense of self preservation and was capable of being quite animated when it suited him. Phero's understanding of this new information didn't begin breeding all sorts of new paranoid theories like Dharma's did, but still, she knew that it was an oddity. It was also a little strange to hear Pass speaking apparent nonsense, but she quickly reminded herself that they were probably all sharing one communication channel. Boil was a little shorter than she was, so presumably, Boil was the short mortal. For now, though, she needed to give Eris some reassurance. "Sorry you tired yourself out... It was a good plan! I guess we will just have to try more of the programs. I'm not so sure about what Pass said, though... it sounds like she can't see what we're doing in here. I don't know about you, but I'm still pretty confused about what we're doing here," Phero sighed. "I think we may have someone who can help us after all, though! Right?" she asked, turning her head towards the being that had pressed itself up against the glass and hopping off the desk.
"I'm going to call you 'Actor' for now, unless you have another name? It's nice to meet you, Actor! I thought you were just a prop; otherwise, I would have introduced myself earlier," Phero began, crossing her hands behind her back and approaching with her head tilted, as though trying to inspect the figure from another angle. "I guess you're not trapped here like the two of us are... And I guess you can't talk, either. And I guess you... approve of, ahem, the things we did earlier, from the little bit of communication we did get," she continued, kicking one foot idly and blushing slightly. "So I'm hoping we can help each other! What say Eris and I do one more of these tests, and make it a really good one, and in exchange, you try to communicate something to us that'll help us get out of here? You can show us with hand gestures, maybe?" she asked, tilting her head a bit in the other direction.
Dharma wasn't pleased by this development, but only because she found Phero far too trusting. This was an annoying reminder that she needed to make Dharma fear strangers in some capacity... she seemed to delight in their company at all times, simply because they weren't her creator (or more accurately, didn't tend to act like her creator).
Hopefully, Actor would nod along with Phero's plan. Even if he didn't, Phero didn't thave any other ideas on how to proceed just yet. In hopes of avoiding another very embarrassing situation, she decided to avoid the first test program for now and try another one. "User input, test program C06 'Arc,'" Phero spoke up, now facing the glass wall, since it seemed that was where the administrator likely was. "User Model 1, Employee 1...?" she finished, with some hesitation. She would just have to hope she'd stated all that correctly.
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Dharma had half a mind to let Boil stand aside while AdjustMan opened the door, just so she could sate her curiosity of what Pass was doing while the others worked... and, for that matter, who she was talking to. Still, the mission came first; she couldn't let things go this direction. "Boil, you fool... You're leading him right back to Pass," she snapped.
"Ah," Boil spoke, unfortunately aloud, as she managed to recall the layout of the laboratory again. This was indeed the first door she'd gone into to start with. She really couldn't afford to let him in, and the situation couldn't be worse, given he was just one card swipe away from barging in on their employer.
"Wait just a minute... This is the laboratory that AdjustLady is supposed to be in? Then why is Pass in there?" Dharma questioned internally, pressing one fist to her mouth as a myriad of mad propositions came to mind. Was AdjustLady the cohort of Pass's that was locked inside the chamber? No, that didn't make any sense... AdjustLady seemed to work in the lab, so how could she get locked inside one of their machines? Could AdjustLady have tweaked her various knobs and programs until she looked like an entirely different person, so infatuated with Phero that she wanted to impersonate someone else just to get another look at the pink-haired beauty? That didn't check out either... AdjustLady had seemed very capable of modifying her mannerisms and her appearance, but it didn't seem like she was able to make so drastic a change as this. Could it be that AdjustLady had been held up elsewhere to allow Pass to use the room? Fortunately, this particular answer they could get from the horse's mouth, rather than having to rely on the Wonder Wall to give them a vague answer.
In the mean time, Boil had to spring into action. Unable to come up with a single other thing to do, she reached out both hands and attempted to grab hold of the man's wrist and the card at the same time, yanking away the card if she could manage to do so. "Ha ha ha! Ha ha! Ha..." she started giggling, then tapered off awkward. "I was just thinking, ah ha, that it would be best if I were to... prolong my fun time as long as possible by... well, we were going to have that kind of fun, weren't we? So I'll just..." she babbled, then, presuming she'd managed to get the card, she'd stretch out the neck of her skinsuit and pop the card inside. She'd pat at her neck and her broad bosom a few times until it was deep in and secure. If she didn't manage to get the item, hopefully he'd still be startled enough and ready to question her before entering into the room.
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"Phero, I need you to do one more thing. Ask Pass where AdjustLady is and see if she has a response. If she says nothing, ask who Pass's locked-up companion is. Whatever she answers, I want you to ask one more question: who is she talking to inside that laboratory?" Dharma asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. In this case, a non-answer would be as good as an answer.
The pink-haired navi reluctantly obeyed her navi; the questioning all sounded a little military and unfriendly to her. She couldn't imagine what significance they could have, either. "Chatter... Pass, can you tell me where AdjustLady is? If you know her... And also, can you tell me who your companion is? Oh, and could you tell me who else you've been speaking with? If anyone?" Phero asked. For a moment, she was worried she might not have used the proper terminology to cue a response, but then she remembered that Pass was not the Wonder Wall... hopefully the word "Chatter" was enough to activate their headsets for communication.
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The system, actor, and presumed administrator behind the glass remained impassive and silent as Eris and Phero considered their situation. The "administrator," for his part, had tilted back to become one with the stationary shadowy mass, inscrutable. While the actor had shown some capacity for self-preservation before, he was remaining devotedly still now. It pressed away from the wall when the danger was gone, and turned its head to Phero as it heard her call its name, but didn't give any indication of whether it intended to help or agree to her conditions.
The system, at least, was receptive to Phero's course of action. "Test program C06: A. R. C. selected. Loading environment and actor model... User *garble* model 1 selected... Warning. Equipment error detected. Attempting- Equipment error resolved. Administering graphic model override... Warning. Graphic model override error. Graphic model has not loaded successfully. Attempting incremental override... Parameter matching in progress. Warning. Instant parameter stabilization failed. Attempting incremental stabilization..."
As the system spoke, the ladies being tested would observe the environment around them beginning to shift. The most notable aspect would be the room was not just redecorating, but expanding: the walls of the lab seemed to disappear entirely, and the glass window faded from view, leaving the two standing in a room that was impossible in terms of dimensions from where they'd been previously. The props from before had vanished, and in their place, an arcade had appeared, very retro by most standards. Rows of arcade cabinets, skee-ball machines, air hockey tables, and pinball machines surrounded them. The floor was carpeted in a faded, kitschy blue-and-orange pattern, and the drywall was painted a friendly red. The ceiling was plastered with a cream color, and lamps embedded in that ceiling kept the area well-lit. The display showing their options was still conspicuously present, although it was now capable of being walked through, as there was no longer a back wall. Where the back of the lab with the glass screen had been, there was now an open exit leading out to a sidewalk and street, although that portion had a feeling of emptiness or, perhaps, incompleteness, its lack of passer-bys in stark contrast to the electronic beeps and cartoon voices playing around them.
At the opposite end of the arcade was a ticket counter with a variety of prizes both large and small, where the actor appeared to have moved. It had taken on an appearance that Phero might find passingly familiar: The Navi appeared to be of the custom variety, with a body that was mostly red, dressed in an orange shirt patterned with white tropical flowers, a flat straw hat, and tan shorts. At various areas, such as the bridge of his nose and his forehead, his exposed shoulders, or the palms of his hands, the Navi had grey-plastic-looking coloration with small green and yellow lights dotting them. He had a smiling mouth and mostly human features, although his eyes were shaded by heavy lids and no white lit them. His build similar to how it had appeared as a featureless actor: he was pretty impressively muscular, but given the non-human appearance his color scheme gave him, his slightly boxier-than-human angles, and his hairless head, it might be hard to picture him working out to achieve it. A Navi-symbol featuring a red row of three tickets, as might be won at an arcade game, decorated his chest and ear guards.
The Navi's smile gave him expressiveness the previous actor had lacked. That said, he shared one trait with the previous actor: he was completely still, standing behind the counter at a ticket register and leaning forward to cross his arms on a glass display of toys and trinkets, looking ready to greet customers.
Phero would likely have increasing concerns as well: her behavior was beginning to be affected as before, but in fits and starts, and not neatly timed by a schedule announced by the system. Furthermore, while the behavioral swings were hard to pinpoint, she could easily sense the earpiece she was wearing attempting to override her base appearance with a .GMO. Initially, she would find herself relatively free, with the program only limiting her ability to try and exit the arcade. After approximately thirty seconds, some major changes would occur: she'd find herself only capable of trying to encourage others to play the games in the arcade in all forms of communication, her hair would become bleach-blonde, and a black Velcro-strapped belt would appear around her waist containing arcade tokens. Ten seconds later, a lanyard would appear around her neck with indecipherable text displayed on a name tag, followed by "ARCADE STAFF." Another fifty, and she'd find her range of behavior options expanded, allowing her to tease others and act promiscuously, her top being replaced by a black bra and a short, bright red tee with a unique neck cut to hang off one shoulder, displaying the text 'TICKETMAN ARCADE' in white across. After another thirty, she'd find her lower garment replaced by tight jean shorts, sporty white socks, and red sneakers, a plain black pair of panties with the word "TURBO" across the seat beneath the shorts... Another thirty would grant her a black baseball cap with a red visor. Forty seconds after that, she'd find her behavior and communication strangely less restricted: she was able to communicate more freely, so long as what she said and did didn't run directly counter to her previous orders. She'd also realize a need to display that behavior at regular intervals: doing otherwise would eventually find her suddenly either stepping into it or shutting up / stopping entirely. Finally, she'd find she was only able to refer to the figure behind the counter as "the Owner."
Eris was free from all of this at the time being, free to watch the strange changes in her friend, inspect the arcade, or try and interact with the system.
In the brief period of free communication she had, Phero managed to try and ask Pass some questions. There was a brief pause before static buzzed and Pass's voice followed. "AdjustLady? Yes, no harm in telling you she's the one in the chamber I'm trying to free. I'm not sure what you're talking about with the others. Listen when I'm speaking to you, student! I'm speaking to each of you and no one else, okay?!"
---
AdjustMan was excitedly preparing to share his new knowledge with his coworker and was lacking any defensive posture. As such, it was easy for even Boil to inhibit him and take his card. "Hey!" he shouted, seeming to snap back to reality. "Wait, don't-" he started, staring dumbly as she plunged his possession into her cleavage. "H-hey! That's very important company property, Boil. Seriously, I'm going to get in so much trouble if I don't..."
The Navi came to a trailing stop, then put his hand to his chin thoughtfully. "Actually... hm. A-are you... are you telling me to...? Hold up, that's not possible. We're in my place of employment. I can't just reach down your shirt to grab my card. Be reasonable and return my card, immediately." The Navi held out his long arm with his palm upward, looking impatient again. "If you don't, I'll... I'll do what it takes to protect company property! I-is that what you want...?"
Boil would also hear Pass's message. She'd be in a position to confirm that Pass's voice on the inside, with a slight delay, matched the voice they were hearing over the headsets... however, if she listened closely, she'd definitely hear the two other voices behind the door within, still unable to be identified.
The system, at least, was receptive to Phero's course of action. "Test program C06: A. R. C. selected. Loading environment and actor model... User *garble* model 1 selected... Warning. Equipment error detected. Attempting- Equipment error resolved. Administering graphic model override... Warning. Graphic model override error. Graphic model has not loaded successfully. Attempting incremental override... Parameter matching in progress. Warning. Instant parameter stabilization failed. Attempting incremental stabilization..."
As the system spoke, the ladies being tested would observe the environment around them beginning to shift. The most notable aspect would be the room was not just redecorating, but expanding: the walls of the lab seemed to disappear entirely, and the glass window faded from view, leaving the two standing in a room that was impossible in terms of dimensions from where they'd been previously. The props from before had vanished, and in their place, an arcade had appeared, very retro by most standards. Rows of arcade cabinets, skee-ball machines, air hockey tables, and pinball machines surrounded them. The floor was carpeted in a faded, kitschy blue-and-orange pattern, and the drywall was painted a friendly red. The ceiling was plastered with a cream color, and lamps embedded in that ceiling kept the area well-lit. The display showing their options was still conspicuously present, although it was now capable of being walked through, as there was no longer a back wall. Where the back of the lab with the glass screen had been, there was now an open exit leading out to a sidewalk and street, although that portion had a feeling of emptiness or, perhaps, incompleteness, its lack of passer-bys in stark contrast to the electronic beeps and cartoon voices playing around them.
At the opposite end of the arcade was a ticket counter with a variety of prizes both large and small, where the actor appeared to have moved. It had taken on an appearance that Phero might find passingly familiar: The Navi appeared to be of the custom variety, with a body that was mostly red, dressed in an orange shirt patterned with white tropical flowers, a flat straw hat, and tan shorts. At various areas, such as the bridge of his nose and his forehead, his exposed shoulders, or the palms of his hands, the Navi had grey-plastic-looking coloration with small green and yellow lights dotting them. He had a smiling mouth and mostly human features, although his eyes were shaded by heavy lids and no white lit them. His build similar to how it had appeared as a featureless actor: he was pretty impressively muscular, but given the non-human appearance his color scheme gave him, his slightly boxier-than-human angles, and his hairless head, it might be hard to picture him working out to achieve it. A Navi-symbol featuring a red row of three tickets, as might be won at an arcade game, decorated his chest and ear guards.
The Navi's smile gave him expressiveness the previous actor had lacked. That said, he shared one trait with the previous actor: he was completely still, standing behind the counter at a ticket register and leaning forward to cross his arms on a glass display of toys and trinkets, looking ready to greet customers.
Phero would likely have increasing concerns as well: her behavior was beginning to be affected as before, but in fits and starts, and not neatly timed by a schedule announced by the system. Furthermore, while the behavioral swings were hard to pinpoint, she could easily sense the earpiece she was wearing attempting to override her base appearance with a .GMO. Initially, she would find herself relatively free, with the program only limiting her ability to try and exit the arcade. After approximately thirty seconds, some major changes would occur: she'd find herself only capable of trying to encourage others to play the games in the arcade in all forms of communication, her hair would become bleach-blonde, and a black Velcro-strapped belt would appear around her waist containing arcade tokens. Ten seconds later, a lanyard would appear around her neck with indecipherable text displayed on a name tag, followed by "ARCADE STAFF." Another fifty, and she'd find her range of behavior options expanded, allowing her to tease others and act promiscuously, her top being replaced by a black bra and a short, bright red tee with a unique neck cut to hang off one shoulder, displaying the text 'TICKETMAN ARCADE' in white across. After another thirty, she'd find her lower garment replaced by tight jean shorts, sporty white socks, and red sneakers, a plain black pair of panties with the word "TURBO" across the seat beneath the shorts... Another thirty would grant her a black baseball cap with a red visor. Forty seconds after that, she'd find her behavior and communication strangely less restricted: she was able to communicate more freely, so long as what she said and did didn't run directly counter to her previous orders. She'd also realize a need to display that behavior at regular intervals: doing otherwise would eventually find her suddenly either stepping into it or shutting up / stopping entirely. Finally, she'd find she was only able to refer to the figure behind the counter as "the Owner."
Eris was free from all of this at the time being, free to watch the strange changes in her friend, inspect the arcade, or try and interact with the system.
In the brief period of free communication she had, Phero managed to try and ask Pass some questions. There was a brief pause before static buzzed and Pass's voice followed. "AdjustLady? Yes, no harm in telling you she's the one in the chamber I'm trying to free. I'm not sure what you're talking about with the others. Listen when I'm speaking to you, student! I'm speaking to each of you and no one else, okay?!"
---
AdjustMan was excitedly preparing to share his new knowledge with his coworker and was lacking any defensive posture. As such, it was easy for even Boil to inhibit him and take his card. "Hey!" he shouted, seeming to snap back to reality. "Wait, don't-" he started, staring dumbly as she plunged his possession into her cleavage. "H-hey! That's very important company property, Boil. Seriously, I'm going to get in so much trouble if I don't..."
The Navi came to a trailing stop, then put his hand to his chin thoughtfully. "Actually... hm. A-are you... are you telling me to...? Hold up, that's not possible. We're in my place of employment. I can't just reach down your shirt to grab my card. Be reasonable and return my card, immediately." The Navi held out his long arm with his palm upward, looking impatient again. "If you don't, I'll... I'll do what it takes to protect company property! I-is that what you want...?"
Boil would also hear Pass's message. She'd be in a position to confirm that Pass's voice on the inside, with a slight delay, matched the voice they were hearing over the headsets... however, if she listened closely, she'd definitely hear the two other voices behind the door within, still unable to be identified.
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The newly dubbed 'Actor' wasn't proving as sociable as Phero had been hoping he would be, but all wasn't lost. He seemed to have accepted the name, at least. As for the system, it was proving as unknowable as ever, presenting error after error in response to the specifications she'd given it. Still, it didn't sound like any of what it was encountering was a full stop, so she supposed the test could continue.
She took a look around herself, feeling some mild surprise and a little relief that they'd ended up in an arcade rather than anywhere particularly sexy, given what Dharma had hypothesized for the others. After what she'd done to Eris earlier, she was hoping to avoid embarrassing either of them any further, so a locale that wasn't too stimulating was probably for the best. It even gave her a little chance to show off some of the knowledge she'd gained. "This place is an arcade, a building where people play video games. That man behind the counter is a ticket-taker... no, wait. I think I know him," she murmured, squinting her eyes for a moment and leaning forward. "I can't remember where from, though."
"He's the beach-goer, TicketMan or whatever, that HunterWoman teased with her buttocks while you were busy with the inappropriately named BigShotMan, remember?" Dharma clarified, rolling her eyes and leaning her head on her fist.
"Ah, yes. He's TicketMan, who-" Phero began to inform her ally, before she began to undergo various changes that seemed the more pressing concern for the moment. The GMO override was another familiar element from the beach... which helped her begin to piece together the same truth she'd get other confirmation on momentarily: that Pass and AdjustLady were indeed working together, in some fashion. By the time she was blonde, she found herself unable to talk about who exactly TicketMan was; there was only one thing she could manage to get out. "There's only one thing to do in an arcade, Eris: play video games! We'd better try some out," she tried to convince her ally, feeling frustrated as soon as the words were out of her mouth. It was clear that they were being heavily manipulated again. A little while later, by the time she was almost done changing, she felt that she probably couldn't speak without embarrassing herself again, but at the same time, she couldn't talk about anything but playing the games anyways. Finally, once it was all done and she was in her new cap, she finally found herself capable of broadening her range of topics a bit. That said, like on the beach, she still felt a little inextricably horny.
"Well... this is an arcade, and there's the Owner behind the counter," she tried to explain again, finding that, to her annoyance, she couldn't call the creature by the name, 'Actor,' that she'd just given it, nor could she call it TicketMan, whom it now seemed to be dressed to imitate. "As I recall, this guy has a 'big prize' inside his pants, but whatever you need to do to get it, just shaking your butt in front of him isn't enough," she pointed out next, immediately wishing to retract that knowledge. She wasn't even sure if it was true; she kind of doubted that Actor/Owner had the same big prize inside of his pants that TicketMan purported to. "Th-Though that isn't really relevant right now regardless," she pointed out, blushing slightly.
Next, Pass has a brief, snappy response, one which clarified one question while raising others. "Wait a minute... now I'm really confused! Ahem, I mean... Chatter: wait a minute, now I'm really confused! These are AdjustLady's labs, aren't they? She's trapped inside her own machine?" she asked, feeling a little suspicious despite her trusting nature. "Chatter, and another thing! Why are we operating in secret, if you're working with another one of their lab members right now?" She turned to Eris with a frown on her face, showing that for all the confusion Eris must be feeling, she was at least not alone. "Something fishy's going on... for now, though, let's go see if Owner will let us see his Big Prize," she spoke to Eris, looking aside again as the unfortunate word came out. "We've yet to see a simulation like this, so there could be something to learn."
She approached the ticket counter, keeping her hands behind her back, and looked the navi behind it over again. The best thing here would be some more simple questions, but she felt herself freezing up as she tried to interrogate him. The second best thing would be to let Eris, who was unaffected thus far, begin the questions, but she couldn't seem to manage to do that either. Instead, she lifted her leg all the way up onto the counter and began stretching her calves, leaning over the mostly bare leg and smiling to the Owner. "Owner! There's a girl here who'd like to see your 'Big Prize!'" she began, smiling in a way that looked very horny. "E-Eris, maybe you ought to try asking him something?" she tried again.
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Boil lowered her eyebrows behind the thick rims of her glasses, thinking to herself that what she was doing was probably not the least appropriate behavior going down in AdjustMan's place of employment, based on the kinds of things Dharma had been saying. "We're both reasonable beings, so we shouldn't waste time with answers we already know the answers to," she responded, giving a smile that seemed more sympathetic than sexy. "I'm saying if you want it, you'll have to come get it." Unfortunately for both of them, she didn't mean that just in the sense he'd been thinking of; she also began to run away the way they'd originally run off.
As she did, huffing and puffing, releasing more bursts of steam that did little to conceal her position and were clearly just involuntary, she sent the others (Phero and Eris only) a message containing what little she'd managed to learn.
The part about being at her limit was true both in terms of her physical capability to keep running and her emotional capability to act like a flirt.
She took a look around herself, feeling some mild surprise and a little relief that they'd ended up in an arcade rather than anywhere particularly sexy, given what Dharma had hypothesized for the others. After what she'd done to Eris earlier, she was hoping to avoid embarrassing either of them any further, so a locale that wasn't too stimulating was probably for the best. It even gave her a little chance to show off some of the knowledge she'd gained. "This place is an arcade, a building where people play video games. That man behind the counter is a ticket-taker... no, wait. I think I know him," she murmured, squinting her eyes for a moment and leaning forward. "I can't remember where from, though."
"He's the beach-goer, TicketMan or whatever, that HunterWoman teased with her buttocks while you were busy with the inappropriately named BigShotMan, remember?" Dharma clarified, rolling her eyes and leaning her head on her fist.
"Ah, yes. He's TicketMan, who-" Phero began to inform her ally, before she began to undergo various changes that seemed the more pressing concern for the moment. The GMO override was another familiar element from the beach... which helped her begin to piece together the same truth she'd get other confirmation on momentarily: that Pass and AdjustLady were indeed working together, in some fashion. By the time she was blonde, she found herself unable to talk about who exactly TicketMan was; there was only one thing she could manage to get out. "There's only one thing to do in an arcade, Eris: play video games! We'd better try some out," she tried to convince her ally, feeling frustrated as soon as the words were out of her mouth. It was clear that they were being heavily manipulated again. A little while later, by the time she was almost done changing, she felt that she probably couldn't speak without embarrassing herself again, but at the same time, she couldn't talk about anything but playing the games anyways. Finally, once it was all done and she was in her new cap, she finally found herself capable of broadening her range of topics a bit. That said, like on the beach, she still felt a little inextricably horny.
"Well... this is an arcade, and there's the Owner behind the counter," she tried to explain again, finding that, to her annoyance, she couldn't call the creature by the name, 'Actor,' that she'd just given it, nor could she call it TicketMan, whom it now seemed to be dressed to imitate. "As I recall, this guy has a 'big prize' inside his pants, but whatever you need to do to get it, just shaking your butt in front of him isn't enough," she pointed out next, immediately wishing to retract that knowledge. She wasn't even sure if it was true; she kind of doubted that Actor/Owner had the same big prize inside of his pants that TicketMan purported to. "Th-Though that isn't really relevant right now regardless," she pointed out, blushing slightly.
Next, Pass has a brief, snappy response, one which clarified one question while raising others. "Wait a minute... now I'm really confused! Ahem, I mean... Chatter: wait a minute, now I'm really confused! These are AdjustLady's labs, aren't they? She's trapped inside her own machine?" she asked, feeling a little suspicious despite her trusting nature. "Chatter, and another thing! Why are we operating in secret, if you're working with another one of their lab members right now?" She turned to Eris with a frown on her face, showing that for all the confusion Eris must be feeling, she was at least not alone. "Something fishy's going on... for now, though, let's go see if Owner will let us see his Big Prize," she spoke to Eris, looking aside again as the unfortunate word came out. "We've yet to see a simulation like this, so there could be something to learn."
She approached the ticket counter, keeping her hands behind her back, and looked the navi behind it over again. The best thing here would be some more simple questions, but she felt herself freezing up as she tried to interrogate him. The second best thing would be to let Eris, who was unaffected thus far, begin the questions, but she couldn't seem to manage to do that either. Instead, she lifted her leg all the way up onto the counter and began stretching her calves, leaning over the mostly bare leg and smiling to the Owner. "Owner! There's a girl here who'd like to see your 'Big Prize!'" she began, smiling in a way that looked very horny. "E-Eris, maybe you ought to try asking him something?" she tried again.
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Boil lowered her eyebrows behind the thick rims of her glasses, thinking to herself that what she was doing was probably not the least appropriate behavior going down in AdjustMan's place of employment, based on the kinds of things Dharma had been saying. "We're both reasonable beings, so we shouldn't waste time with answers we already know the answers to," she responded, giving a smile that seemed more sympathetic than sexy. "I'm saying if you want it, you'll have to come get it." Unfortunately for both of them, she didn't mean that just in the sense he'd been thinking of; she also began to run away the way they'd originally run off.
As she did, huffing and puffing, releasing more bursts of steam that did little to conceal her position and were clearly just involuntary, she sent the others (Phero and Eris only) a message containing what little she'd managed to learn.
Quote (Boil)
Phero, Eris, it seems Pass is lying. She's talking to two other navis right now, though I can't identify so much as their gender, let alone their identities. The only question now is, do we benefit more from keeping on with her mission or exposing her? If we want to expose her, all I have to do is break in using the keycard I'm holding now... don't ask how I got it or where I'm holding it. But there might not be any benefit in it- she's our employer, so we don't really have anything to gain by pointing out that she's lying, do we? Instead, I'll keep buying you time as long as I can, but it's not easy. I think I'm about at my limit... If you guys can figure out what Pass wants you to do, whether that's breaking out or something else, you better hurry and do it!
The part about being at her limit was true both in terms of her physical capability to keep running and her emotional capability to act like a flirt.
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While the world around the two girls transformed in response to Phero's request, Eris looked around in amazement. Arcade machines and various decorations that befitted a retro arcade aesthetic appeared around them, as if they had been entirely transported to a new place. However, strangely enough, it didn't feel at all like they had been moved at any point, such as with a real network transfer. Looking down at the display that still floated in midair somewhat proved it as well. "Well, I guess that did something," said Eris to Phero, who seemed equally about as surprised about the scene change. Something about the scene seemed a little off at the moment, though, somehing she couldn't quite pinpoint.
"... Oh, that's it," she murmured after a while, noticing that the mannequin that had been in the corner seemed to be gone as well. Scratching her head, she looked around in puzzlement. After a little while, she spotted the ticket counter off to the side manned by the 'actor', its form now changed quite significantly. Afterwards, Phero began to explain the setting to her. "Ah, yeah, I know what an arcade is. Ticket taker, huh... Maybe we have to win some prizes or something!" she said, clapping excitedly as she began looking around the area for some game that would catch her eye. At that point, Phero then resumed her explanation, only to be interrupted by the system's transformation.
"TicketMan...?" said Eris, tilting her head as she turned back to her friend, only to be surprised by the latter's transformation. However, she incorrectly surmised that it was one of Phero's own costumes, perhaps designed to blend in with arcade staff; never mind the fact that said staff were conspicuously missing save for the bright red ticket taker. Thus, Phero's suggestion of trying out the videogames was accepted with excited agreement from Eris. "Yeah, let's try find some games to play! Which one do you think we should try?" she asked.
However, the answer she received wasn't one that she expected, and she tilted her head in confusion. "Eh? Okay, the owner's there... Um. A big prize? In his pants? Do we need to take them off, then?" she queried. The following answers confused her even further, with Pass's voice interrupting whatever Phero was trying to explain. "Er... okay. So we're trying to let AdjustLady out of her lab, and to do that we probably need to do something about this Big Prize. Hm-hm, okay, I think I got it," repeated Eris, somehow connecting the two together in her mind, having been thoroughly confused by the two interweaving objectives. She followed Phero to the counter, freshly convinced of her theory, and followed Phero's lead. "Mr. Ow---Uh, wait." Before the words left her lips, she caught herself momentarily, and her face brightened, as if she had thought of something.
"Ah! Query! Mr. Owner! We'd like to exchange something for the Big Prize in your pants! The biggest one you have!" she said, raising her hand up into the air enthusiastically as she propped herself up on the counter and thrust herself forward. Then, her upraised hand lowered slightly, while her expression briefly showed her pondering something. "Actually, why is it--er--Query, why is it called the Big Prize if it's in your pants? They don't look like they can hold much..."
Boil's message, coming shortly after, showed up promptly, though it only added to the cryptic nature of it all. However, her earlier 'deduction' short-circuited her decision--if all they had to do was finish whatever it is that they were asked for, then there was no reason not to, since the solution was right in front of them. However, Boil did seem rather urgent in her message, so she figured she would hurry up the process. "Er, ah! Also, um, we really really need the Big Prize really soon, so if you could get it out quickly, that would be good. Please and thank you!" added Eris.
"... Oh, that's it," she murmured after a while, noticing that the mannequin that had been in the corner seemed to be gone as well. Scratching her head, she looked around in puzzlement. After a little while, she spotted the ticket counter off to the side manned by the 'actor', its form now changed quite significantly. Afterwards, Phero began to explain the setting to her. "Ah, yeah, I know what an arcade is. Ticket taker, huh... Maybe we have to win some prizes or something!" she said, clapping excitedly as she began looking around the area for some game that would catch her eye. At that point, Phero then resumed her explanation, only to be interrupted by the system's transformation.
"TicketMan...?" said Eris, tilting her head as she turned back to her friend, only to be surprised by the latter's transformation. However, she incorrectly surmised that it was one of Phero's own costumes, perhaps designed to blend in with arcade staff; never mind the fact that said staff were conspicuously missing save for the bright red ticket taker. Thus, Phero's suggestion of trying out the videogames was accepted with excited agreement from Eris. "Yeah, let's try find some games to play! Which one do you think we should try?" she asked.
However, the answer she received wasn't one that she expected, and she tilted her head in confusion. "Eh? Okay, the owner's there... Um. A big prize? In his pants? Do we need to take them off, then?" she queried. The following answers confused her even further, with Pass's voice interrupting whatever Phero was trying to explain. "Er... okay. So we're trying to let AdjustLady out of her lab, and to do that we probably need to do something about this Big Prize. Hm-hm, okay, I think I got it," repeated Eris, somehow connecting the two together in her mind, having been thoroughly confused by the two interweaving objectives. She followed Phero to the counter, freshly convinced of her theory, and followed Phero's lead. "Mr. Ow---Uh, wait." Before the words left her lips, she caught herself momentarily, and her face brightened, as if she had thought of something.
"Ah! Query! Mr. Owner! We'd like to exchange something for the Big Prize in your pants! The biggest one you have!" she said, raising her hand up into the air enthusiastically as she propped herself up on the counter and thrust herself forward. Then, her upraised hand lowered slightly, while her expression briefly showed her pondering something. "Actually, why is it--er--Query, why is it called the Big Prize if it's in your pants? They don't look like they can hold much..."
Boil's message, coming shortly after, showed up promptly, though it only added to the cryptic nature of it all. However, her earlier 'deduction' short-circuited her decision--if all they had to do was finish whatever it is that they were asked for, then there was no reason not to, since the solution was right in front of them. However, Boil did seem rather urgent in her message, so she figured she would hurry up the process. "Er, ah! Also, um, we really really need the Big Prize really soon, so if you could get it out quickly, that would be good. Please and thank you!" added Eris.
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"TicketMan," "Actor," or "Owner"... whichever the girls chose to call him, he was remaining entirely still, his grin frozen on his face as the changes began for Phero and Eris took stock of the arcade.
Pass would give Phero a response to her concerns, while she was still able to voice them clearly. "I understand you're confused. That's the default state for a mortal like yourself, I suppose. All right, let me make clear again: AdjustLady works at these labs. A situation has locked her inside of the machine. We are trying to find a way for her to get out without having to destroy anything, which is obviously out, or use her authorization code, which would have to be officially logged and become an embarrassing situation for her. I'm making excellent progress on hacking her out, though, so you really ought to just sit tight and do what you can on your end. Don't think about it so hard, silly student!"
Meanwhile, the ladies made their approach to the counter, each of them inquiring about the "Big Prize," although their intentions differed. Although they were speaking to the Owner, the phrasing Eris used caused the system, previously silent, to boom around them once again. "Error: Query called, but no query given. Error: Query called, but no query near match found. Warning: 'Big Prize' is a term which has not been defined by admin. Warning: User *garble* has not selected an applicable user model. Program will not engage until all users have selected applicable user models."
For his part, the Owner remained silent and still, being rude to his "employee" and her friend with his fixed grin. Notably, as the two made their inquiries more closely, Phero moving her leg onto the counter and Eris presenting her impressive chest, the Navi's grin twitched at the corner. It twitched a bit more strongly again as Eris made a comment about how much room for a "Big Prize" appeared to exist in the owner's pants, fixing into a more strained grin as the Navi remained completely still.
---
"W-No! Please, no more running!" AdjustMan begged, beginning to run after Boil as she played a reluctant game of tag. "All right, you're asking for it. I wouldn't ordinarily lay a hand on... a reasonable woman..." he huffed, sounding winded very shortly after he'd begun running. "But I have no choice..."
Boil might be laughing at that, as even with her short legs and lack of athleticism, there was no evidence from his footfalls that he was gaining on her. If she was to look behind her, however, she'd get a look at how AdjustMan intended to make up the difference: he was turning a knob on the front of his right shoulder with his left arm, causing his right arm to extend out to a disturbing length. Of course, Boil would probably recall how weak the man's grip was from earlier. It didn't feel like he had much hope of holding her back with it, even once it finally got long enough to reach...
It didn't seem like he had much of a good plan thought out himself. With his hand finally in range, he curled it around towards Boil's chest. He began feeling around the chest armor, obviously searching for some way to get at the neck. Finally, he managed to curl a finger into the neck of her suit. It was hard to imagine how he would leverage that into getting the card from her bust if he couldn't also close some more distance, but regardless, it made an awkward situation.
Pass would give Phero a response to her concerns, while she was still able to voice them clearly. "I understand you're confused. That's the default state for a mortal like yourself, I suppose. All right, let me make clear again: AdjustLady works at these labs. A situation has locked her inside of the machine. We are trying to find a way for her to get out without having to destroy anything, which is obviously out, or use her authorization code, which would have to be officially logged and become an embarrassing situation for her. I'm making excellent progress on hacking her out, though, so you really ought to just sit tight and do what you can on your end. Don't think about it so hard, silly student!"
Meanwhile, the ladies made their approach to the counter, each of them inquiring about the "Big Prize," although their intentions differed. Although they were speaking to the Owner, the phrasing Eris used caused the system, previously silent, to boom around them once again. "Error: Query called, but no query given. Error: Query called, but no query near match found. Warning: 'Big Prize' is a term which has not been defined by admin. Warning: User *garble* has not selected an applicable user model. Program will not engage until all users have selected applicable user models."
For his part, the Owner remained silent and still, being rude to his "employee" and her friend with his fixed grin. Notably, as the two made their inquiries more closely, Phero moving her leg onto the counter and Eris presenting her impressive chest, the Navi's grin twitched at the corner. It twitched a bit more strongly again as Eris made a comment about how much room for a "Big Prize" appeared to exist in the owner's pants, fixing into a more strained grin as the Navi remained completely still.
---
"W-No! Please, no more running!" AdjustMan begged, beginning to run after Boil as she played a reluctant game of tag. "All right, you're asking for it. I wouldn't ordinarily lay a hand on... a reasonable woman..." he huffed, sounding winded very shortly after he'd begun running. "But I have no choice..."
Boil might be laughing at that, as even with her short legs and lack of athleticism, there was no evidence from his footfalls that he was gaining on her. If she was to look behind her, however, she'd get a look at how AdjustMan intended to make up the difference: he was turning a knob on the front of his right shoulder with his left arm, causing his right arm to extend out to a disturbing length. Of course, Boil would probably recall how weak the man's grip was from earlier. It didn't feel like he had much hope of holding her back with it, even once it finally got long enough to reach...
It didn't seem like he had much of a good plan thought out himself. With his hand finally in range, he curled it around towards Boil's chest. He began feeling around the chest armor, obviously searching for some way to get at the neck. Finally, he managed to curl a finger into the neck of her suit. It was hard to imagine how he would leverage that into getting the card from her bust if he couldn't also close some more distance, but regardless, it made an awkward situation.
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On reflection, Phero thought that Pass' explanation made enough sense to check out. She supposed it would be a little embarrassing, as a scientist, to admit you were locked inside your own hardware. It sounded like, somehow, Pass was making progress. That was good enough for Phero, though Dharma was not so sure; in her mind, she couldn't help but imagine some clandestine activities going on, even if they were as simple as Pass and/or AdjustLady enjoying a free show at her navi's expense, waiting until they were fully satisfied to cut it all off.
Phero thought to herself that she ought to immediately dissuade Eris from any course of action that involved taking off Owner's pants, and really would have preferred to play some fun games and win some tickets herself, but mental suggestion was guiding her in certain, inescapable ways. Phero's means of trying to get to the Big Prize had been one thing; Eris' were another entirely, and Phero couldn't help but wonder which of their approaches was more likely to be effective. The answer, as it turned out: neither. It didn't seem like they were going to get much of a reaction out of the guy, as long as Eris was still out of costume.
... But it's not like he didn't react at all, and that made Phero think. They could go ahead and get Eris into another costume, but she couldn't help but be curious about the nature of Owner. It seemed like he was mostly without motion and without feeling... however, he'd saved himself from Eris' boiling goo earlier, and just now, she'd seen him show some flicker of emotion as they continued to question it about the Big Prize. There was nothing in the current program that forbid her from gnorantly pressing a while longer, just to see what would happen. The two of them could consider this another form of rebellion... she'd see how the test chamber handled this one. "Hm hm! Follow my lead, Eris, and we're gonna change the rules of this little arcade game!" she reassured Eris with a quick wink and a grin.
"Alright, 'Owner,' we're gonna get a look at your Big Prize, and I guess if you're just going to man the counter, you don't mind one way or another, do you?" she giggled, pulling her leg back and putting her hands up onto the counter. With little extra warning, she performed a leapfrogging motion over the desk to stand next to him, then motioned with one arm for Eris to do roughly likewise. "Here's a game we can play, Eris! What do you say you and I take this 'Big Prize' into our own hands, and we can make a race out of it! It's my duty as an employee to inspect it, after all," she smiled, placing her hands on her hips as she shimmied closer to the Owner, leading with her hips. She reached her hands out and rubbed her hands from its chest, down towards its groin. "Let's see who can get to the Big Prize first!"
Mostly, she was interested to see if the thing would try to defend itself from their advances, as, presumably, the simulation wouldn't allow them to pants the Owner right here in the storefront. If it did, that would be an interesting surprise on its own. "Don't worry; I'm not doing anything I won't let you do later," she cooed to the navi she was now beginning to pull the pants off of, although that part just sort of slipped out and wasn't actually part of her scheme.
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All things considered, Boil had less to worry about than she had thought she would when she cooked up her own hair-brained scheme. It didn't seem like AdjustMan had much of a way to retrieve the car, and he seemed very intent on trying, so for all intents and purposes, this was definitely keeping him tied up and unable to interfere with the others. She could potentially keep this going on for a good while...
... Or so she thought, but soon enough, he'd managed to hook his finger into her neck like a fly-fisher. "Okay, okay... You're okay, Boil. He can't do much from over there; imagine trying to angle a floppy hand like that just right inside of a tight turtleneck," she reasoned to herself. That said, the more she ran, the more she was sweating... she could feel the card slip down her neck into her bosom, so if he wanted to get it, he was really going to have to dig in there. The chest armor wasn't likely to get in his way much, though, especially not with his ability to change the size of his digits and probably even his hand.
Hopefully, she'd gotten the shape of the hallway right in her mind; if so, she could keep running around in a circle without him catching up. She reached up and fixed her glasses back in place, thankful they were attached as goggles. "I'm reasonably sure you're never going to catch me!" she called back to him, taunting him a bit. That was really just to keep him from getting suspicious as to why she was doing that... hopefully he wouldn't take it as too much of a call to action.
Phero thought to herself that she ought to immediately dissuade Eris from any course of action that involved taking off Owner's pants, and really would have preferred to play some fun games and win some tickets herself, but mental suggestion was guiding her in certain, inescapable ways. Phero's means of trying to get to the Big Prize had been one thing; Eris' were another entirely, and Phero couldn't help but wonder which of their approaches was more likely to be effective. The answer, as it turned out: neither. It didn't seem like they were going to get much of a reaction out of the guy, as long as Eris was still out of costume.
... But it's not like he didn't react at all, and that made Phero think. They could go ahead and get Eris into another costume, but she couldn't help but be curious about the nature of Owner. It seemed like he was mostly without motion and without feeling... however, he'd saved himself from Eris' boiling goo earlier, and just now, she'd seen him show some flicker of emotion as they continued to question it about the Big Prize. There was nothing in the current program that forbid her from gnorantly pressing a while longer, just to see what would happen. The two of them could consider this another form of rebellion... she'd see how the test chamber handled this one. "Hm hm! Follow my lead, Eris, and we're gonna change the rules of this little arcade game!" she reassured Eris with a quick wink and a grin.
"Alright, 'Owner,' we're gonna get a look at your Big Prize, and I guess if you're just going to man the counter, you don't mind one way or another, do you?" she giggled, pulling her leg back and putting her hands up onto the counter. With little extra warning, she performed a leapfrogging motion over the desk to stand next to him, then motioned with one arm for Eris to do roughly likewise. "Here's a game we can play, Eris! What do you say you and I take this 'Big Prize' into our own hands, and we can make a race out of it! It's my duty as an employee to inspect it, after all," she smiled, placing her hands on her hips as she shimmied closer to the Owner, leading with her hips. She reached her hands out and rubbed her hands from its chest, down towards its groin. "Let's see who can get to the Big Prize first!"
Mostly, she was interested to see if the thing would try to defend itself from their advances, as, presumably, the simulation wouldn't allow them to pants the Owner right here in the storefront. If it did, that would be an interesting surprise on its own. "Don't worry; I'm not doing anything I won't let you do later," she cooed to the navi she was now beginning to pull the pants off of, although that part just sort of slipped out and wasn't actually part of her scheme.
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All things considered, Boil had less to worry about than she had thought she would when she cooked up her own hair-brained scheme. It didn't seem like AdjustMan had much of a way to retrieve the car, and he seemed very intent on trying, so for all intents and purposes, this was definitely keeping him tied up and unable to interfere with the others. She could potentially keep this going on for a good while...
... Or so she thought, but soon enough, he'd managed to hook his finger into her neck like a fly-fisher. "Okay, okay... You're okay, Boil. He can't do much from over there; imagine trying to angle a floppy hand like that just right inside of a tight turtleneck," she reasoned to herself. That said, the more she ran, the more she was sweating... she could feel the card slip down her neck into her bosom, so if he wanted to get it, he was really going to have to dig in there. The chest armor wasn't likely to get in his way much, though, especially not with his ability to change the size of his digits and probably even his hand.
Hopefully, she'd gotten the shape of the hallway right in her mind; if so, she could keep running around in a circle without him catching up. She reached up and fixed her glasses back in place, thankful they were attached as goggles. "I'm reasonably sure you're never going to catch me!" she called back to him, taunting him a bit. That was really just to keep him from getting suspicious as to why she was doing that... hopefully he wouldn't take it as too much of a call to action.
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The reaction of the system and the actor to their advances seemed to be rather disheartening--it seemed like their efforts weren't going to be of any use unless they followed the rules to the letter. Through some stroke of luck, she noticed the little twitch that "TicketMan" let out on the edge of his grin, and glared at it for a solid couple of seconds. After it refused to change, she opted towards letting it go, as she began pinching her forehead to think. Thinking back, the previous status update from Pass came to mind; somehow, they needed to "do what they could on their end". As far as she knew, there was only one way to "progress", still, and that was to do what the system wanted them to do--whatever it was.
"Mmm, I guess I need to pick a model first, then," said Eris, scratching her head as she looked around for the display floating in midair that they had left behind before. Before she could go back to get it, however, Phero mentioned something about turning the rules on its head. Recalling her earlier attempt at breaking the system hadn't had much success, she clutched her fists close to her chest and nodded promptly, intently waiting for what Phero was about to do.
The sudden leapfrogging quite surprised Eris as much as anything else, but she determinedly vaulted over the counter as well. As soon as Phero explained the "rules" of the new game she had just made up, she was a little more confused than before. If the aim was the Big Prize, as she had said before, why were they starting so close to the finish line? Was there some trick to pulling someone's pants down? Her eyes went down to glare down at the lower part of the "Owner's" garments, seeing nothing wrong with them.
Nevertheless, she was determined to follow Phero's lead as best as she could--she had failed in her own attempt after all, and this was her chance to make up for it. "Okay!" she responded enthusiastically, her hands rushing to grab onto the Owner's waist and rear. Attempting to get a grip as best as she could, she slowed down for a moment, before asking, "Um, do we go on three or something?"
"Mmm, I guess I need to pick a model first, then," said Eris, scratching her head as she looked around for the display floating in midair that they had left behind before. Before she could go back to get it, however, Phero mentioned something about turning the rules on its head. Recalling her earlier attempt at breaking the system hadn't had much success, she clutched her fists close to her chest and nodded promptly, intently waiting for what Phero was about to do.
The sudden leapfrogging quite surprised Eris as much as anything else, but she determinedly vaulted over the counter as well. As soon as Phero explained the "rules" of the new game she had just made up, she was a little more confused than before. If the aim was the Big Prize, as she had said before, why were they starting so close to the finish line? Was there some trick to pulling someone's pants down? Her eyes went down to glare down at the lower part of the "Owner's" garments, seeing nothing wrong with them.
Nevertheless, she was determined to follow Phero's lead as best as she could--she had failed in her own attempt after all, and this was her chance to make up for it. "Okay!" she responded enthusiastically, her hands rushing to grab onto the Owner's waist and rear. Attempting to get a grip as best as she could, she slowed down for a moment, before asking, "Um, do we go on three or something?"
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Phero and Eris hadn't been having much luck getting a reaction from the Owner, but a funny thing happened when the two of them hopped the counter and got even closer to the owner: from this side of the counter, observing their quarry more closely, they could see the small ticks of the being's face more clearly. There was no notable motion of him breathing, no sweat... but then, there was no reason a Navi necessarily had to have those features in the first place. If one stopped to consider that, it was easy to imagine the Owner as a Navi working very hard to remain completely still.
Regardless, Phero had a plan to force the Owner's hand and make him exhibit a stronger reaction for the preservation of his own pride. She had made up her mind, and Eris had left things in her capable hands: this left the two ladies tag teaming to shame the arcade owner.
The result may be more or less favorable depending on what the ladies were hoping for: the shorts weren't baggy enough to neatly drop, but once they got to working together, the two didn't have much trouble forcing them down. For his part, the frozen Owner did nothing to stop them. Unfortunately, it would be hard to drop the Navi's pants without getting a better look at the greatly anticipated "Big Package," which, from the shape in the Navi's red boxer shorts, could more accurately described as average. That said, it had definitely been activated. It wasn't clear if the shape had changed from the earlier blank model... or, if it had always been there, but... dormant.
Unfortunately, that would be all the revelation they'd get. The Owner's grin was persistently twitching now, but that was just more of the same. Pass was apparently happy to cut the conversation off if she wasn't addressed, as the comm line remained clear.
---
Boil had correctly figured the shape of the hallway: as rounded the corner, she saw the offices again, still dark: as she made her way past them and turned another corner, she'd see an admin access door just like the one on the short wall of the hallway she'd passed previously. It looked like things were going to go her way.
Seeming to realize the same, AdjustMan let out a groan. "Enough! Enough, augh, enough..." he kept repeating, as if there was some quota he could meet in order to make her stop. Finally, he shut up, continuing to huff and puff as he chased her around in pensive silence. "... Now I have a plan," he finally announced.
The Navi withdrew his hand from its ineffective position in the turtleneck, flexing his fingers experimentally while keeping a thumb hooked into her turtleneck. "Remember, it wouldn't be reasonable to blame me for what you brought... brought on... agh," he finally stopped, unable to keep up his dramatic line while running.
Apparently, while he'd been keeping up the chase, AdjustMan had done some observation and decided on a weakness he might be able to target. Quickly, the Navi's hand moved up to first lightly slap Boil in the cheek, then slide up to her glasses, hooking under the edge and making an effort to pull backward and up. It might be possible for Boil to counter with her own hands, but at the very least, AdjustMan seemed to be counting on her having to slow down to adjust. "... Give up! Give... hgh... up... hugh..."
Regardless, Phero had a plan to force the Owner's hand and make him exhibit a stronger reaction for the preservation of his own pride. She had made up her mind, and Eris had left things in her capable hands: this left the two ladies tag teaming to shame the arcade owner.
The result may be more or less favorable depending on what the ladies were hoping for: the shorts weren't baggy enough to neatly drop, but once they got to working together, the two didn't have much trouble forcing them down. For his part, the frozen Owner did nothing to stop them. Unfortunately, it would be hard to drop the Navi's pants without getting a better look at the greatly anticipated "Big Package," which, from the shape in the Navi's red boxer shorts, could more accurately described as average. That said, it had definitely been activated. It wasn't clear if the shape had changed from the earlier blank model... or, if it had always been there, but... dormant.
Unfortunately, that would be all the revelation they'd get. The Owner's grin was persistently twitching now, but that was just more of the same. Pass was apparently happy to cut the conversation off if she wasn't addressed, as the comm line remained clear.
---
Boil had correctly figured the shape of the hallway: as rounded the corner, she saw the offices again, still dark: as she made her way past them and turned another corner, she'd see an admin access door just like the one on the short wall of the hallway she'd passed previously. It looked like things were going to go her way.
Seeming to realize the same, AdjustMan let out a groan. "Enough! Enough, augh, enough..." he kept repeating, as if there was some quota he could meet in order to make her stop. Finally, he shut up, continuing to huff and puff as he chased her around in pensive silence. "... Now I have a plan," he finally announced.
The Navi withdrew his hand from its ineffective position in the turtleneck, flexing his fingers experimentally while keeping a thumb hooked into her turtleneck. "Remember, it wouldn't be reasonable to blame me for what you brought... brought on... agh," he finally stopped, unable to keep up his dramatic line while running.
Apparently, while he'd been keeping up the chase, AdjustMan had done some observation and decided on a weakness he might be able to target. Quickly, the Navi's hand moved up to first lightly slap Boil in the cheek, then slide up to her glasses, hooking under the edge and making an effort to pull backward and up. It might be possible for Boil to counter with her own hands, but at the very least, AdjustMan seemed to be counting on her having to slow down to adjust. "... Give up! Give... hgh... up... hugh..."
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As it turned out, Phero and Eris had their wires crossed a bit; Phero was still trying to appeal to her perception that Eris would like to buck the system, while Eris had instead already accepted said system as their only way of progressing through their mission. That made Phero feel a little silly, but she still hoped maybe they'd get some kind of revelation out of her little game. "Sure! One, two, three!" Phero counted, before commencing Operation: Pants The Owner.
She made three revelations, none of them particularly earth-shattering: one, that the Owner was wearing red boxer shorts. Two, that the Owner was capable of becoming aroused, or perhaps had been all along... it wouldn't be surprising if he was, given that the tilt of the simulation still appeared to be sexual in nature. Finally, she made the discovery that he wouldn't move to stop her... her first thought was it must mean he couldn't stop her, but then, she was certain she'd seen him leap out of the way of the boiling goo earlier. For a moment, she couldn't help but entertain the mean thought that roughly handling his manhood for a moment would be a sure-fire way to see the extent of his reactions... after all, what guy could just stand perfectly still smiling while his genitals were being mistreated? But she thought that'd be a little cruel and unusual- not the type of thing she had a stomach for anyway- and abandoned the thought.
With her face now fairly close to the elevated part of the man's under-shorts, and Eris on the other side, she made a quick nod with an apologetic smile. "Ah, that was a bit of a silly detour I think. I didn't learn much. We should probably go ahead and get you into one of the models after all. Try activating the system like I did earlier to put one on," she suggested to her partner, as she rose back up to her full height. She didn't have much to do while Eris took care of that. She stared downward for a moment, wondering if it was okay to just leave his pants down like that... she couldn't help but feel a little guilty, seeing as he didn't appear to be able to fight back. "If it makes you feel better, I won't blame you if you want to get a little revenge, once you're up to it, Actor," she encouraged him, intending to sound endearing as she leaned one hip against the ticket counter. "By pulling off these tight little shorts," she added, then winced, realizing that whatever was influencing her voice hadn't left yet.
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Boil was huffing and puffing plenty herself now, though, alarmingly, not as much as her chaser. He must really be out of shape if she was managing to outrun him... gym class was never going to be her forte. "It, hff, wouldn't be reasonable, hff, to-" she began to counter, first feeling a slap, then his hands on her glasses. "Ack! That's highly unreasonable! You should never touch a woman's glasses!" she warned him, but the damage was already done; they'd been shifted out of place. She reached up with both hands to fix, but the brief moment's distraction and lack of visibility ended up crashing her straight into the wall.
If that was the most embarrassing part, she'd be all set, but the way she'd impacted, two of the chasing navi's fingers ended up betwixt her lips and inside her mouth, submerged to the knuckle. Her glasses had been flipped back on top her head, but for now, she was more concerned about the navi's progressing retrieval of his keycard. If she didn't do something quick, now that she was a stationary target sitting on her bum, he'd probably get his hands in and nab it. She still had one means of slowing him down, though...
The white-haired navi reached up, her eyes crossed slightly as she watched his hand, then set both hands onto the elongated wrist and trapped the fingers inside her mouth. "Nuts! Nuts on salad, I don't have a clue how to do this!" she thought to herself, as she began exploring his fingers, from the length to the inside groove, using her tongue. He was probably wearing gloves, so this would be less effective than it could be... if it could be effective at all. If he withdrew his hands, they'd probably have a ring of saliva and her lipstick on them, probably more gross than sexy, regardless of his thoughts on Boil. If he didn't try to withdraw the fingers, well, that would be kind of gross in its own way.
She made three revelations, none of them particularly earth-shattering: one, that the Owner was wearing red boxer shorts. Two, that the Owner was capable of becoming aroused, or perhaps had been all along... it wouldn't be surprising if he was, given that the tilt of the simulation still appeared to be sexual in nature. Finally, she made the discovery that he wouldn't move to stop her... her first thought was it must mean he couldn't stop her, but then, she was certain she'd seen him leap out of the way of the boiling goo earlier. For a moment, she couldn't help but entertain the mean thought that roughly handling his manhood for a moment would be a sure-fire way to see the extent of his reactions... after all, what guy could just stand perfectly still smiling while his genitals were being mistreated? But she thought that'd be a little cruel and unusual- not the type of thing she had a stomach for anyway- and abandoned the thought.
With her face now fairly close to the elevated part of the man's under-shorts, and Eris on the other side, she made a quick nod with an apologetic smile. "Ah, that was a bit of a silly detour I think. I didn't learn much. We should probably go ahead and get you into one of the models after all. Try activating the system like I did earlier to put one on," she suggested to her partner, as she rose back up to her full height. She didn't have much to do while Eris took care of that. She stared downward for a moment, wondering if it was okay to just leave his pants down like that... she couldn't help but feel a little guilty, seeing as he didn't appear to be able to fight back. "If it makes you feel better, I won't blame you if you want to get a little revenge, once you're up to it, Actor," she encouraged him, intending to sound endearing as she leaned one hip against the ticket counter. "By pulling off these tight little shorts," she added, then winced, realizing that whatever was influencing her voice hadn't left yet.
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Boil was huffing and puffing plenty herself now, though, alarmingly, not as much as her chaser. He must really be out of shape if she was managing to outrun him... gym class was never going to be her forte. "It, hff, wouldn't be reasonable, hff, to-" she began to counter, first feeling a slap, then his hands on her glasses. "Ack! That's highly unreasonable! You should never touch a woman's glasses!" she warned him, but the damage was already done; they'd been shifted out of place. She reached up with both hands to fix, but the brief moment's distraction and lack of visibility ended up crashing her straight into the wall.
If that was the most embarrassing part, she'd be all set, but the way she'd impacted, two of the chasing navi's fingers ended up betwixt her lips and inside her mouth, submerged to the knuckle. Her glasses had been flipped back on top her head, but for now, she was more concerned about the navi's progressing retrieval of his keycard. If she didn't do something quick, now that she was a stationary target sitting on her bum, he'd probably get his hands in and nab it. She still had one means of slowing him down, though...
The white-haired navi reached up, her eyes crossed slightly as she watched his hand, then set both hands onto the elongated wrist and trapped the fingers inside her mouth. "Nuts! Nuts on salad, I don't have a clue how to do this!" she thought to herself, as she began exploring his fingers, from the length to the inside groove, using her tongue. He was probably wearing gloves, so this would be less effective than it could be... if it could be effective at all. If he withdrew his hands, they'd probably have a ring of saliva and her lipstick on them, probably more gross than sexy, regardless of his thoughts on Boil. If he didn't try to withdraw the fingers, well, that would be kind of gross in its own way.
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The revelation of the fact that there was, indeed, something hidden underneath the "Owner's" trousers was a little disappointing to Eris, as there didn't seem to be anything underneath except, well, more garments. The one playing the role didn't seem to react all that much, with him still carrying his wide grin just fine. The demon girl narrowed her eyes for a moment as she saw the grin twitch slightly. Did he have some kind of itch or something? Her train of logic carried her eyes back down, to the bright red boxers. She then moved her face in closer to inspect it more clearly, glaring at it for a moment as if it would react to her doing so.
Fortunately (?), her curiosity was cut off by her partner saying that they should most likely just proceed with what they had been given in the first place. "Oh, okay. I guess we can't get the prize by cheating or anything like that," said Eris, almost like it was a matter of fact. Still, she was a little confused as to why they had pursued this particular line of action in the first place, but pushed the thought to one side as she stood back upright, and looked around for the console from earlier. Finding it easily enough, Eris leapfrogged over the counter and jogged quickly over to it to look over the options again.
Her finger hovered hesitantly over the console screen, with her other hand scratching her head as to which one she could pick. She could ask Phero or Pass, surely, but it seemed like Pass was in a bit of a hurry, so she had to act by herself. "What was the one Phero picked...? C... zero six?" she mumbled to herself. Her finger went down the list until she found the group of options labeled as such. As she recalled, Phero had said something about 'user model 1, employee 1' as well. Therefore, it was only logical to select the most similar option. "Um... user input, test program C06 'Arc', user model 2, employee 2," said Eris, poking her finger at the floating display for good effect.
Fortunately (?), her curiosity was cut off by her partner saying that they should most likely just proceed with what they had been given in the first place. "Oh, okay. I guess we can't get the prize by cheating or anything like that," said Eris, almost like it was a matter of fact. Still, she was a little confused as to why they had pursued this particular line of action in the first place, but pushed the thought to one side as she stood back upright, and looked around for the console from earlier. Finding it easily enough, Eris leapfrogged over the counter and jogged quickly over to it to look over the options again.
Her finger hovered hesitantly over the console screen, with her other hand scratching her head as to which one she could pick. She could ask Phero or Pass, surely, but it seemed like Pass was in a bit of a hurry, so she had to act by herself. "What was the one Phero picked...? C... zero six?" she mumbled to herself. Her finger went down the list until she found the group of options labeled as such. As she recalled, Phero had said something about 'user model 1, employee 1' as well. Therefore, it was only logical to select the most similar option. "Um... user input, test program C06 'Arc', user model 2, employee 2," said Eris, poking her finger at the floating display for good effect.
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The Owner continued displaying his best poker face (and body, and muscle control) as Phero and Eris gave his "big package" some visual scrutiny. Since the ladies were in agreement that there was nothing else to be found by inspecting the actor further, they reverted to the original plan of playing along. Phero made small talk with the unresponsive mannequin that was apparently the arcade's Owner; Eris hopped the counter and made for the console again, reasoning that activating a model as Phero had earlier must be the correct way to proceed.
" Loading actor model... User *garble* model 2 selected..." The system voice droned along as it had before, not seeming affected by the unexpected pause in its work from earlier. "Warning. Equipment error detected and resolved. Administering graphic model override... Warning. Graphic model override error. Graphic model has not loaded successfully. Attempting incremental override and parameter matching. User be advised: Admin has manually adjusted override process parameters."
As Eris had likely expected, changes began to incrementally come over her. While the process wasn't instantaneous as one would expect with a typical graphic model override, it wasn't multiple minutes, as it had been when Phero changed. In short order, the span of thirty seconds, Eris would find herself re-dressed: her hair would become full black, and her outfit would match Phero's almost exactly, with the exception of a pair of black noise-cancelling headphones in lieu of a hat, customized to have an edgy skull design on the outside of the phones. There was a compact portable music player to match in her shorts pocket, with a cord that was currently rolled up and bundled in with it. Her undergarments were also different, a tight, dark purple bikini-style cloth set with the word HYPER across the seat in silver lettering. Besides that, the outer garments and lanyard all matched Phero's own.
In terms of behavioral direction, she would find some of the same directives: she couldn't try to exit the arcade, and she could only refer to the actor as "the Owner." Besides this, she'd be encouraged to act aloof but capable and unfazed by whatever she had to do in the service of her job, with a bit of a sharp tongue and dirty mouth. As with Phero, she wouldn't be strictly bound by these behaviors, but if she went very long without displaying them, she'd find herself either pulled into them or unable to proceed at all until she did so.
"Program status: Ready. User status: Ready. Initializing program." the system spoke up. A buzzer noise went off, and with that, the two would quickly notice two changes:
First, their programming appeared to have picked up some new instructions: without any speaking, it was immediately clear that both of them were workers at this arcade, a destination that provided customers the service of playing arcade games while attended to by lovely ladies like themselves; there were all kinds of special services the patrons could purchase from the attendants using tickets they earned in the games, besides regular prizes at the counter. However, the rates of the arcade and special "membership rates" were intended to get people addicted to the arcade and spending beyond their income. The arcade hadn't opened for the day yet: with only the owner and his two employees present, it was time for him to do an inspection and evaluation.
This much was known to both of them: however, there were obviously a lot of blanks in the information. The two didn't have any consistent knowledge of exactly what the arcade's rates or deals were, for instance. If either lady stopped to consider this, they'd find the information quickly filled in with their best guess and acknowledged as a truth. Then, if the other tried to consider the same information, she'd find the answer consistently the same. These "answers" were generally informed by the behavior conditioning and the backstory they'd been given, but it also seemed to be possible for an answer to be filled in based on their own thoughts, occasionally.
The other thing to note was that the owner had immediately become animated: Phero would recognize his voice and mannerisms as exactly matching those of TicketMan on the beach, what little she'd noted of him. Of course, he wasn't opening with ordinary circumstances to react to, and was immediately working to get his pants back up and fastened. "Girls! Who had the bright idea? We're the only three here, so I know it was one of you! Phero, feeling frisky this early in the morning, huh? Maybe I ought to give you two fine ladies a special inspection, huh...? That what you're after?"
Having gotten his outfit back together, the Owner fixed a lecherous grin on Eris, beckoning her to come over. "Eris! Get over here. Start off with the greeting: you two, show me how you greet a customer to our fine establishment."
---
Taking advantage of Boil's misfortune, AdjustMan began to close in on her. The man turned a knob at the shoulder of his extended arm to begin to "reel it in," allowing his body to move forward while the arm receded into it, reducing in length. "Stay right there..."
He continued dauntlessly as Boil began a questionable plan to set him off balance. He didn't immediately react: he was, after all, wearing gloves, so it was likely he couldn't feel it until Boil became more aggressive. When he finally reached her, he was, unfortunately, less than apologetic: the first thing he did was use his free hand to finish removing Boil's glasses from the spot on top of her head, raising them over his own tall head before he started jerking on his other, still slightly elongated arm in an attempt to free his wrist. "This is preposterous. I don't know what kind of... crazy play you ladies were up to before, but this is a bit of a stretch even for someone who considers himself open-minded. Let's have a trade, shall we? My card, your glasses. We'll bring an end to this, and I'll let you on your way.
With no glasses and little dignity, Boil seemed to be low on options, to the extent that she needed them at the moment. There was one card to consider, if she wished: holding the glasses with one hand and with the other trapped, AdjustMan didn't seem capable of freeing the one Boil had captured. Of course, she'd probably have to cede that particular control of it if she wanted to pursue dialogue. For what it was worth, she also seemed to have succeeded in, improbably, dragging their awkward game of cat and mouse out even longer. Despite having her at a disadvantage, he wasn't making any aggressive move to rescue his card from where she'd stored it.
" Loading actor model... User *garble* model 2 selected..." The system voice droned along as it had before, not seeming affected by the unexpected pause in its work from earlier. "Warning. Equipment error detected and resolved. Administering graphic model override... Warning. Graphic model override error. Graphic model has not loaded successfully. Attempting incremental override and parameter matching. User be advised: Admin has manually adjusted override process parameters."
As Eris had likely expected, changes began to incrementally come over her. While the process wasn't instantaneous as one would expect with a typical graphic model override, it wasn't multiple minutes, as it had been when Phero changed. In short order, the span of thirty seconds, Eris would find herself re-dressed: her hair would become full black, and her outfit would match Phero's almost exactly, with the exception of a pair of black noise-cancelling headphones in lieu of a hat, customized to have an edgy skull design on the outside of the phones. There was a compact portable music player to match in her shorts pocket, with a cord that was currently rolled up and bundled in with it. Her undergarments were also different, a tight, dark purple bikini-style cloth set with the word HYPER across the seat in silver lettering. Besides that, the outer garments and lanyard all matched Phero's own.
In terms of behavioral direction, she would find some of the same directives: she couldn't try to exit the arcade, and she could only refer to the actor as "the Owner." Besides this, she'd be encouraged to act aloof but capable and unfazed by whatever she had to do in the service of her job, with a bit of a sharp tongue and dirty mouth. As with Phero, she wouldn't be strictly bound by these behaviors, but if she went very long without displaying them, she'd find herself either pulled into them or unable to proceed at all until she did so.
"Program status: Ready. User status: Ready. Initializing program." the system spoke up. A buzzer noise went off, and with that, the two would quickly notice two changes:
First, their programming appeared to have picked up some new instructions: without any speaking, it was immediately clear that both of them were workers at this arcade, a destination that provided customers the service of playing arcade games while attended to by lovely ladies like themselves; there were all kinds of special services the patrons could purchase from the attendants using tickets they earned in the games, besides regular prizes at the counter. However, the rates of the arcade and special "membership rates" were intended to get people addicted to the arcade and spending beyond their income. The arcade hadn't opened for the day yet: with only the owner and his two employees present, it was time for him to do an inspection and evaluation.
This much was known to both of them: however, there were obviously a lot of blanks in the information. The two didn't have any consistent knowledge of exactly what the arcade's rates or deals were, for instance. If either lady stopped to consider this, they'd find the information quickly filled in with their best guess and acknowledged as a truth. Then, if the other tried to consider the same information, she'd find the answer consistently the same. These "answers" were generally informed by the behavior conditioning and the backstory they'd been given, but it also seemed to be possible for an answer to be filled in based on their own thoughts, occasionally.
The other thing to note was that the owner had immediately become animated: Phero would recognize his voice and mannerisms as exactly matching those of TicketMan on the beach, what little she'd noted of him. Of course, he wasn't opening with ordinary circumstances to react to, and was immediately working to get his pants back up and fastened. "Girls! Who had the bright idea? We're the only three here, so I know it was one of you! Phero, feeling frisky this early in the morning, huh? Maybe I ought to give you two fine ladies a special inspection, huh...? That what you're after?"
Having gotten his outfit back together, the Owner fixed a lecherous grin on Eris, beckoning her to come over. "Eris! Get over here. Start off with the greeting: you two, show me how you greet a customer to our fine establishment."
---
Taking advantage of Boil's misfortune, AdjustMan began to close in on her. The man turned a knob at the shoulder of his extended arm to begin to "reel it in," allowing his body to move forward while the arm receded into it, reducing in length. "Stay right there..."
He continued dauntlessly as Boil began a questionable plan to set him off balance. He didn't immediately react: he was, after all, wearing gloves, so it was likely he couldn't feel it until Boil became more aggressive. When he finally reached her, he was, unfortunately, less than apologetic: the first thing he did was use his free hand to finish removing Boil's glasses from the spot on top of her head, raising them over his own tall head before he started jerking on his other, still slightly elongated arm in an attempt to free his wrist. "This is preposterous. I don't know what kind of... crazy play you ladies were up to before, but this is a bit of a stretch even for someone who considers himself open-minded. Let's have a trade, shall we? My card, your glasses. We'll bring an end to this, and I'll let you on your way.
With no glasses and little dignity, Boil seemed to be low on options, to the extent that she needed them at the moment. There was one card to consider, if she wished: holding the glasses with one hand and with the other trapped, AdjustMan didn't seem capable of freeing the one Boil had captured. Of course, she'd probably have to cede that particular control of it if she wanted to pursue dialogue. For what it was worth, she also seemed to have succeeded in, improbably, dragging their awkward game of cat and mouse out even longer. Despite having her at a disadvantage, he wasn't making any aggressive move to rescue his card from where she'd stored it.