[IC] Lost in Dreams (Chandra)

[Rocket Man]

The "Chandra talks" in the room rarely have a specific topic, more like two sisters who have never met getting to know one another. Sometimes it's about their respective childhoods and schooling (though the early India days remain difficult to bring up). Sometimes it's about their worlds as they are now. Sometimes it's likes and dislikes: books, movies, places to go, guys. Sometimes it's dreams and goals.

Never having had close family, this is a new feeling for Chandra, and she's still exploring the situation to see how much she cares for it.

===
When she feels the "waterfall" again, Chandra pauses.

All right, no blasting in like the SAS this time. We're going to do this scientifically, she thinks. She keeps her mind on the feeling and starts moving back, trying to see how far away from Broam's room she can get before the feeling stops. Once she has an idea of the range, she'll find a decent place inside the radius to set up a "study spot," opening some books and notebooks so that she has a reason to be there.

Then, if the feeling is still going on, she tries to focus her mind on it and see if she can pick up more than just ripples.

[ericthered]

These talks more than anything really cement in their similarities and strengths. Chandra knows some psychologists would kill to sit in on this: a great study of nature vs nurture. Chandra finds it informative about herself as well as her alternate.

One night, Gopal asks "So, are we the same person or different people? Its an odd thought. And if we were in opposite situations what would we be doing differently?"

=============================

Chandra finds she can sense something when she's within 100 feet, but its faint, indistinct, and she can only get a good flow of it when she's within 50 feet or so. This is pretty close, but she sets up camp and starts concentrating.

Focusing on it does increase how well she can feel it, but only to a point. And the only thing she can sense right now is the waterfall.

[Rocket Man]

Maybe I should have stayed in India after all, Chandra thinks ruefully. My sister is probably better at this sort of 'meditation' than I am. The question from the other night rises up again for a moment: what would Gopal be doing right now?

She suppresses an unladylike snort. Probably diving into her exam notes and losing track of time. For all their similarities, her alternate twin doesn't exactly seem the adventurous type.

Then again, she is the one who's stepping out into the Third Worlds, so to speak. Don't underestimate her.

At this point, Chandra Morgan sees only two paths ahead. And somehow, the path of knocking on the door and asking Broam what's going on doesn't seem likely to be terribly productive. One to keep in the back pocket as a last resort, maybe.

Slipping into the room itself while Haley's out? Higher-risk but maybe higher-reward. By now, the boys should know when she leaves her room and for how long, she thinks, still keeping her mind on the waterfall and trying to parse some sense from it. Though that roommate -- if she actually is one -- is a wild card.

OOC: What time is it? And from the surveillance, when does Haley usually go in and out of her room, or is there a pattern?

[ericthered]

Its 1:17 AM. Haley does appear to have a pattern of being in or out, but its based on the week, not on the day. She tends to spend a lot of time in her room: its where most of her studying seems to happen. But given the load she has, there are lots of times when she is not in it, and identifying a class period to break in during won't be hard.

[Rocket Man]

Chandra lingers a while longer, trying to "tune in" to the waves as much as she can. When it's clear that she's not making any further progress -- and that Haley isn't going anywhere -- she goes about her schedule for the time being. When she can do so discreetly, she'll pull one of the boys aside.

"Are you in the mood to aid a little mischief? I could use a lookout a bit later, if you're not preoccupied with plans to ... er ... redecorate the Commandant's office this week."

[ericthered]

Gopper: "As of now, we have no plans to redecorate the commandant's office. Or any other office. At least not in the next month. But you're supposed to be keeping a low profile."

[Rocket Man]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Gopper: "As of now, we have no plans to redecorate the commandant's office. Or any other office. At least not in the next month. But you're supposed to be keeping a low profile."

"All right," Chandra says sweetly. "Then how do you feel about a bit of B&E?"

In all likelihood, he's better at it than I'll ever be anyway.

She explains the return of the waterfall feeling. The only way to get answers about Haley and her 'battery,' it seems, is to do a bit of quick scouting in her room while she's away. Barring a sudden chattiness on Haley's part, that is, which seems about as likely as the Queen doing a hand jive.

"I'm not trying to court trouble," she says after a quiet moment. "But this is important. I ... " She shakes her head. "I despise fuzzy language like this, but I can feel it. Certainly important for me. Possibly important for all of us."

Despite herself, a tiny smile breaks through.

"And much as I would care to do the honors," she says, "I must defer to the master."

[ericthered]

It takes Smith and Gopper quite a bit of arguing and a day's worth of pressure, but they agree to get the battery. Gopper promises to deliver the battery after Chandra finishes a certain class, and assigns a quiet place near her living quarters to wait for him. He hopes to have the battery back before anyone notices.

He gets the battery to Chandra a scant five minutes later. Its about two inches across and a six inches long: quite large for a battery. Gopper says this was one of the small ones. It doesn't seem to be a proper battery though: its a solid lump of metal with a complex pattern reminicent of a spider's web on it and no other markings.

Chandra can't feel anything about it.

[Rocket Man]

She takes a few pictures of the battery and its web pattern with her phone (if it has the capability) and then looks for a switch. Haley was able to turn off the "waterfall" the last time Chandra surprised her in the room, so it must have an easy way to be turned on and off -- assuming it's not activated by some sort of mental control.

[ericthered]

Gopper: "Anything else? It'd be nice to get this back. oh!"

He pulls out a pair of callipers and measures the cylinder. The dimensions come out to be exact in inches, or at least very close. He weighs it with what seems to be a fish scale.

"I'll give you this much: its certainly an odd object to have here, and I've never heard of it before"