[IC] Lost in Dreams (Chandra)

[ericthered]

Gopper sheepishly agrees that the statement is probably true. "But they'd never allow it."

Smith: "Yes, we'll need to check to make sure. Just remember... You're not twins. You're alternates from very close parallels. Stranger things than matching finger-prints happen in these cases".

There are plenty of nooks for Chandra to study in. She is able to start in on a wealth of basic information about infinity, its wealth, its history, and what is expected of an icop in training. Its an awful lot to take in at once: rules and regulations for the academy that have gradually been relaxed: a list of subjects all cadets are required to know: wilderness survival, parachronic theory, a certain number of societies (language, culture, skill within them), combat skills, regualtions that must be memorized... The list goes on and on.

One of the books is labeled 'The cross-time community'. It is something of a guidebook on how to recognize fellow world-travellers, where they are likely to be found, and appropriate responses: mostly negotiation, capture, or subterfuge. The largest portions of the book are devoted to people from homeline and another world known as 'centrum'. These people travel using primarily conveyors. A small section is devoted to people (or things) who can travel by themselves. This seems to be one of the primary methods of travel for a nasty world known as 'Reich-5', but also for a number of Maori who flit from world to world, a breed of rabbit, some of what seem to be honest to goodness elves, and a handful of people who can just plain do it. None of the description remotely match Chandra, and none of them describe any method of jumping that sounds possible while sleeping. It does describe how to identify that a person is a world-jumper, and some fairly ruthless procedures for ensuring they either don't figure out who you are or how to capture them if they do.

[Rocket Man]

From her first day in Britain, Chandra had learned one simple truth: assimilation is survival. She had played that game and played it well. And now it seemed to be more vital than ever.

After all, the English weren't going to stick me in a bloody concentration camp if I made a false step! she thinks.

Her mind wanders again to her three new acquaintances. How far can she really trust them? Granted, they had been helpful to her so far but perhaps she had just caught them off guard. Perhaps they needed time to plan or to summon reinforcements, so that her trip to Coventry could be assured.

If you can't trust yourself .... but then, as she had been reminded multiple times, Chandra Gopal was not herself. She had been alone, off guard, with a person her culture described as dangerous, easily capable of overpowering her and replacing her. Now she had had a chance to alert friends that something else was going on, friends who might have to be subverted or overpowered if in fact this was a trap.

Incipient paranoia? she wonders. Or survival instinct?

She'd had to survive alone in the UK. She could do it again here if need be.

With an eye to Gopal's schedule, Chandra tries to focus her study time. She looks for short articles on this strange field ... did they call it parachronics? ... written for a general audience or beginning student, both to reinforce the things 'everyone knows' and because an unfamiliarity with the basics would be the easiest way for her to give herself away. She also tries to absorb information on this "Centrum." She guesses that it will likely be slanted if the worlds are opponents, but it might give her at least an idea as to whether there's someone to run to rather than just from.

As she studies, she watches the clock. If it reaches the point where 'Gopal' has to be somewhere, Chandra heads for the class or appointment. Otherwise, after about two hours or so, she'll pack up her study materials and get a feel for the campus ... unless something starts to 'feel wrong,' in which case she'll leave sooner, abandoning the books and notes if she has to.

(OOC: If her fears prove groundless, or at least aren't realized right away, she'll set aside regular time slots for study, trying to drink from the firehose in reasonable sips.)

One thing that has started to weigh on her is the quiet. The casual sounds of this place aren't the ones she's used to and her usual CDs and MP3s aren't at hand for a study background. As she wanders the campus, she tries to see if there's anything in the way of music near at hand.

[ericthered]

Music is of an odd nature here... its one of those things that are forbidden at the beginning of the year, but is now allowed. Which means the various music on campus is difficult to get. Comparatively few people have it. The popular loop hole seems to be hanging around some of the music classes or a practising student. Which is not quite the same quality she would have liked: the music seems to be aimed at posing as a bard of some sort in a number of cultures.

Its possible that she could run to Centrum, but it is at the very least it will be a very foreign place. They have a different history than homeline, and homeline is actually a decent approximation to home.

Parachronics is a thick subject, with lots of theory, and the more she reads, the more confused she is about how she or anyone else would be able to travel without the aid of machinery.

Chandra sneaks into one of her double's classes... in this case, on how to treat infections in various low-tech situations and various techniques, as well as a run down of common taboos to be sure not to break or that can be leveraged to explain things away. She seems completely at ease... and even a little bored.

[Rocket Man]

While dutifully taking notes, Chandra subtly looks around to see if anyone else finds the subject as simple and tedious as she does. If so, she'll risk a short conversation with them after class, just to get to know someone who hasn't been pre-selected by Gopal.

(OOC: She'll use her Acting, both to maintain the pretense of being Gopal and to carefully keep the chat out of dangerous areas, especially if the other person seems to know her double. It helps, of course, that Gopal isn't known for being a great conversationalist.)

[ericthered]

Chandra notices one man who seems to be quite bored: He looks vaguely Asian but is quite light-skinned and large. He is rather idly scanning the rest of the class room and doodling on a piece of paper.

It seems there are a standard set of questions you ask someone when you meet them at this academy: What's your name, Where you are from, What types of cultures (including technology level) you are studying, and which department you are hoping to go into. He doesn't know Chandra's double from anywhere, so the questions start flying back and forth.

He is named Matthew So, he is from Seattle, He is studying far high-tech parallels. and is hoping to go into the security or internal affairs departments. He could very possibly end up on contact, but the teams he'd want to be on don't take green agents.

Its a little surprising to find him in the class, and he admits he's mostly here because he had to round his classes out and he thought that if he ended up in a low tech culture things had already gone badly and he would need to know how to patch up himself.

Matt seems to be a diligent student: if anything he seems to have been over-prepared for the academy and is now enjoying life-- and trying quite hard to pick up new languages, something he seems to struggle with.

[Rocket Man]

Chandra smiles as Matthew describes his linguistic struggles, one earnest student appreciating another.

"Yes, it would be much easier if everyone everywhere just spoke English, wouldn't it?" she teases, using her "Morgan accent" in a slightly affected way to drive the joke home. Then she remembers a stray bit of her reading and allows herself to laugh, falling back into her Gopal voice."And now you probably think I'm a Centran spy, out to infect your mind and degrade your morals."

[ericthered]

Matthew smiles at Chandra's joke: "I'll have to turn you in. We can't have Centrum infecting the quanta with English! How about you? where in the service are you planning to go?"

He asks for her information: what she's planning on doing for infinity and so forth.

In all Matt seems to enjoy the interaction, and is willing to talk for a while before checking the clock and hurrying off to another class (this one on various high-tech security techniques).

[Rocket Man]

If she can get away with it without violating her schedule or her "character," Chandra will sit in on the high-tech security session for at least a little bit. It gives her an excuse to hang out with Matthew for a little longer and (more pragmatically), to get a sense of how to outflank some of the obstacles she may meet in escaping the timeline or fooling the authorities.

If anyone asks, she'll tell them she's covering all her bases in case she needs to subtly get a teammate out of a hospital on another timeline, some of which may be well-watched ... while leaving a hint of an ulterior motive in keeping up with an, ahem, "interesting" classmate. After all, if a suspicious mind finds a routine motivation beneath the surface, they're unlikely to look deeper.

I suppose I should warn Gopal that there may be a little bit of gossip, she thinks to herself. Then again, as nose-to-the-grindstone as she is, she's unlikely to notice much or to believe it if she does.

Over the next few days (or even weeks), she'll continue to keep up the pretense, trading off shifts with Gopal and spending some skull sessions with her and the boys to trade experiences and learn what she needs to know on a personal level. During her out and about time, she'll attend classes, scope out the base, learn as much about the Academy and the ways out of it as she possibly can ... and spend a bit of time with Matthew. Nothing that could be called an outright date, but when one is this far from home, one treasures every friend.

Chandra also hangs around some of the impromptu music sessions and classes, learning a little of an instrument if she gets the chance. If Gopal's religious background is at all like her own, she'll attend whatever chapel the Academy has available on Sundays. If not, she'll do her studying near that area on Sunday, mentally adding suitable lines from the Book of Common Prayer in the appropriate places. Even though she's not terribly devout, the presence of the ritual is comforting.

[ericthered]

Chandra's personal schedule is quite free: Gopal was not expecting her to attend the same classes as her. the real constraint (which has already been violated, if with care, is to not appear in the same place as Morgan). Chandra can attend most of the classes she wants. Gopal is particularly willing to give up some of the physical training classes: she doesn't particularly enjoy them.

The high tech security class is interesting, if overwhelming. Much of homeline seems to be like Chandra's homeworld, but the security is quite advanced, and while she comes out well informed, she also comes out overwhelmed. The first rule seems to be to identify what systems they are using and then check up on cross-world solutions to the security: not very helpful for her particular situation, but at least its progress.

Hanging out with So (its apparently in fashion to use your surnames here), isn't too suspicious. He is a rather plain guy (-1 on appearance) but rather charming anyhow and extremely intelligent. Or at least extremely well prepared for what he wants to do. Convincing him that he enjoys her company (as opposed to not minding it) is going take a little while. From her observations, she does suspect that he would be better at actually getting her out of here than Smith and Gopper... but of course, they already know who she is, and have motives for helping her.

Morgan has been assigned to sleep earlier rather than later (of the two Chandras). When the alarm wakes her up on the first night, she is tired and completely unadjusted to the new schedule, but has to vacate the room so her double can use it. As she is walking down the hall, she gets a sensation she's never felt before: on the other side of the door something is ... moving. She's extremely aware of its direction, and she think she knows about how far off it is, but the sensation is quite alien, and definitely not one of the standard five.

************************************************** **
Week planning stuff hasn't been covered yet but I will use the post when its time. As a note, Gopal is not Anglican: she's Hindu. Their religions were picked up from their foster homes. This means she won't be at risk to be noticed as a double if she attends, but she will be noticed as new. A few visits to the chapel won't be too bad: Cadets are encouraged to be familiar with a wide range of religious services, but repeated regular attendance may attract attention.

[Rocket Man]

A sixth sense? Nightmares aside, Chandra tends toward the materialistic, and had never given much thought to claims of ESP. But this felt ... undeniable.

She closes her eyes for a few moments to isolate the feeling and be sure of where it's coming from and where it's going. Or rather, in this case, where it's not going. Not a passing ship on the river, but a waterfall, so to speak; in motion but always in the same place.

Chandra hesitates but only briefly. Yes, her life has already gotten quite strange enough. But it's too late to seek any kind of safety now. She's already down the rabbit hole; any new strangeness could as easily help as harm.

Moving quietly and carefully, she approaches the door, opens it a crack and peeks through.