damned_institute | Day 38: Patients' Library

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Day 38: Patients' Library

The intercom rang out, disrupting what had turned out to be a rather pointless breakfast conversation, at least in Brainiac 5's eyes. He couldn't wait to put more distance between himself and Scar's blather of how logic, of all things, might not work the same way in this dimension. It was almost enough to make him believe that the man may very well have been a lion originally after all, as he'd never heard anything so very... ignorant and uneducated.

He quickly finished up the fruit he'd been nibbling on - he was no longer as hungry as he had been - and looked around automatically to see where Clark was. Unfortunately with the press of people around, some being led off to the library and others to the mentioned 'therapy sessions' - if that was what they really were - he had lost sight of the Kryptonian. Still there wasn't many places he could go, so Brainiac 5 would be able to catch up with him eventually to check on his condition and try and learn more about what had happened last night. That the Chapel had healed him - admittedly by passing his injuries to another - was interesting, but far more important in his eyes was what had happened to Clark and his powers. They hadn't been working correctly and that worried the Coluan boy more than he would normally have admitted. Without Clark's abilities... he wasn't sure what they would have to rely on in order to escape.

Another problem he would have to deal with was Grell... or, if he was to believe the notes on the bulletin board, the person pretending to be Grell. But that was going to require more careful planning before he made a move. Come to think of it, he had agreed to meet another in the library today on that same post that had sparked this whole mess. At least then he would have something of interest to look forward to, as he doubted any of the 21st century books were likely to be worthwhile to someone of his advanced intellect.

Following the nurses led him to what must have been the library; a reasonably large room filled with a range of archaic books on tall shelves, a few tables and chairs interspersed around the room. The Coluan boy couldn't refrain from wrinkling his nose in distaste as he entered the room, not liking the cumbersome books and the dust that he knew would have gathered on them; he much preferred the clean arrangement of his C.O.M.P.U.T.O. systems back in the Legion headquarters. It was much more practical then shelves and shelves of books on fictional worlds and dated information.

Trying to avoid as much of the room as possible, Brainiac 5 settled himself down on a chair to wait, keeping an eye out for a tall, dark-haired man with a red... something on his forehead.

[for Homura]

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"Actually, believing my people are completely robotic is a common misconception, it's far more complicated than that," Brainiac 5 said, though it was an automatic reaction more than anything else. Truthfully he wasn't sure what to say to Homura other than the obvious and pointless insistence that it just wasn't possible that his memories were false, that he wouldn't have deluded himself into believing that he had delet- killed friends and allies. So instead he said defensively, "I'm not saying what you experienced or are capable of is false, only that such terms like 'magic' merely obscure the true cause behind things. Everything can be explained with science and reason."

Brainiac 5 simply could not, would not, accept that something as nebulous and ill-defined as magic existed. His whole world was based in science and logic, he used what he knew daily to help his teammates, to invent and improve technology, and to save others. That there could be something out there like magic, real magic, with no rules or reason, only needing the flick of a wand or what-have-you... No. He couldn't accept that. The universe didn't work that way.

"Dragons that turn into cars?" he said skeptically. "That makes no logical sense. How can an animal turn into an inanimate object? Unless it happens to be a shapeshifter with a particularly odd sense of humour, but in that case it would simply look like a car, not actually be a car." And as for the remark about creating a universe... Brainiac 5's eyes narrowed, but he didn't rise to what was obviously an attempt to bait him. No one had the power or ability to create a universe, of that he was certain. Otherwise he was sure that his people would have learned of it centuries ago.

"Fine," he answered perhaps a little more sharply than he'd intended. "I've already dedicated some thought to the matter after all. It's obvious that whoever has abducted us has access to both time and transdimensional travel, however I'm no longer certain if our actual bodies are what was brought here or if they merely created a copy of our consciousness instead. The first would explain those who have experienced no change from their normal appearance I suppose, but the second is both more efficient and explains those who have found themselves in entirely different forms."

He paused, recalling that some on the information board had found his theories on copying consciousness distressing, but Homura had asked after all. "As for how they keep us here, I imagine simply removing any technology and abilities we may have had has been the most effective method. Earth of the 21st century is hardly advanced in means of space flight or timetravel after all. And considering how advanced their technology would have to be simply to get us all here in the first place, they could be utilising any number of means to restrict powers."

"It would have to be something specific to each individual however, so that helps restrict it further. Not to mention it would also have to be small and either capable of covering a vast area or, more likely, hidden on or in each patient..." Clark would be his best opportunity in that particular area then, as Brainiac 5 was already familiar with the Kryptonian's specific weaknesses and abilities.

He shot a particularly amused and superior look at Homura as he finished speaking. "Does that help you at all?"

Well, the speech was amusing. Homura leaned back in his chair, ignoring the spike of pain that came along with the movement as he let Brainiac 5 have his say. What was possible, and what was impossible--it was strange in a way that the boy would have such firm beliefs in his own case, yet would so quickly say that others were wrong. Regardless of the hypocrisy, however, Homura kept his reactions in check, even when he decided that with his attitude, Brainiac 5 would have made a very good god.

"And yet it was a car." Homura shrugged, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "A group of four were using the creature to head to India, across China. One of them is here, should you wish to find out more. A man named Genjo Sanzo." He imagined the priest would have a great deal of 'fun' with such an attitude. "Though if you do talk to him, you would be wise not to mention me. He hates me a great deal." The feelings obviously weren't mutual, but Sanzo was rather trigger happy. It'd be a shame if Brainiac died before Homura could find a way to use his knowledge.

Since his comments on creating a universe were seemingly unheeded, Homura let the matter go. It was another of those things that was simply true, something he had given a great deal of effort towards accomplishing. The theories were more interesting, and in their own way made sense. It explained the time differences, and why, when a person vanished and then reappeared, time could have passed for them in their world. If the first attempt was a failure, they could replace it with another, perhaps drawn from a latter time, until they got it right. If that was the case, then those who were dead in their own worlds were indeed alive here, as a separate existence. It was a simple theory that explained everything.

And it also meant that none of them had a home to return to.

Keeping that potentially devastating thought silent, Homura considered the rest. "Or when they created the copies, they altered the powers." He murmured it softly, another unpleasant thought. What if he didn't have any powers to regain, as he was? A copy of an original, altered to fit the environment he now found himself in. Again, it confirmed to Homura that this theory could not be revealed as truth--the consequences could be too much for some. Fighting towards ones own death would likely stop some from fighting at all, and numbers were too important in this place.

So he focused on the last part, the smugness returned with a well-practiced arrogance. "Not unless you or someone else can find a way to restore the powers. Theories that can't be put into practice won't free us, will they?" He was purposely antagonizing Brainiac now, to see how the boy would react. If he could light a spark in him, and drive that person to focusing on that goal, Homura would then find it helpful.

"Perhaps I will," Brainiac 5 answered noncommittally. But even if he did seek out this 'Genjo Sanzo', he doubted that it would convince him of anything much other than he was yet another individual who would be too busy insisting that magic was real to accept the idea that perhaps what he thought of as magic was simply something that had yet to be fully uncovered by science. Though he doubted there was anything that would actually allow a creature to change into a car, not even Chameleon Boy or any of the shapeshifters from the past had been able to do something like that.

Rather than trying to continue the obviously futile discussion on what was and wasn't possible, Brainiac 5 focused instead on how they came to be here and how those with powers had had them restricted so neatly. "That is also entirely possible," he agreed. "Particularly when considering the technology needed to create new bodies for us in the first place, many of which have curious similarities to our original forms should we have been other than human. It suggests a very high level of control over the appearance of the body, so that control could also extend into less physically apparent areas."

Brainiac 5's eyes narrowed slightly as, despite everything he'd already said to the technologically-inexperienced supposed-god, the older man was still looking down on him with a particularly high-and-mighty expression. "I can hardly just fix a problem like this without having even the most basic of technology at my disposal," he snapped. "Even something as archaic as a microscope would be helpful in determining what might have been done to us, and then I could work on a viable countermeasure. Unfortunately the laboratory here seems devoid of anything useful, and my search in the storage areas was... cut short.

"Besides," he said with a condescending smirk, "if your 'magic' is so powerful, then why don't you all pool your resources and find your own way to restore your abilities? Or isn't it capable of that?"

Homura's expression, his condescending air didn't fluctuate in the least when Brainiac spoke to him in anger or in self-assured victory. This response was exactly what the demi-god wanted, after all. Something to make him angry, and all the more eager to accomplish that one, specific goal. In his own world, he had used his strength to antagonize Goku and the others. Here, he'd use his wits.

"I can have a group look for the things you're after." Though he didn't know what a microscope was, there were enough people from the future in the History Club that he thought someone would. Brainiac had called it archaic, after all. "Searching for supplies is hardly an uncommon task, after all. I would just need a list of what you'd like to have." And providing those supplies would put Brainiac into his debt, though Homura had yet to determine if he was the kind of person who believed in such principles.

When it came to the question of magic, Homura chuckled at the boy's attempted impertinence. The question was short-sighted. "There are several reasons. One, the specific ability to grant powers has been reduced or eliminated; I know this firsthand, as I once had the ability to turn mortals into gods. The powers I'm left with don't quite do the same thing. And two, we don't know if it is magic, technology, or a combination of the two that is the cause of the loss. In my world, both exist, and the combination of both is what can do things beyond the imagination." Which was why it had been forbidden--not that a rule stopped certain ambitious mortals. "So magic alone may very well not be enough. Obviously it's already been limited to begin with, hasn't it?"

Brainiac 5 tilted his head and surveyed the older man carefully, somewhat suspicious of how easily he had offered to help acquire the needed equipment. But he would need assistance with something like this, and finding out more about what had been done to them exactly would bring him closer to finding a way to reverse it and to return them all to their correct places in time and space.

"Very well," he said finally. "Ideally I would need a decent amount of advanced medical technology, but from what I saw of the laboratory last night... that isn't likely unless we are able to locate the true laboratory which I theorise is where we would have all been either created in or brought to before waking here. So I suppose I can settle for several smaller items to begin with in order to narrow down the possibilities." At the very least he would be able to check samples for the presence of nanotechnology. "Unfortunately I don't have anything to write down what I need at the moment; would it be possible for me to get it to you another way?"

That this plan may end up placing him in Homura's debt didn't even occur to the Coluan boy. While on his homeplanet he had been provided with any technology or resource he had required and with the Legion, while it had been more problematic to obtain what he needed, he had never had to owe anyone anything as his inventions were always intended to help the group. Instead he accepted Homura's offer of help as an agreement that Brainiac 5 was more capable of unraveling this particular problem.

Even if the man did insist on using the term 'magic' and claim to be a god.

"Perhaps once I'm able to restore things to how they should be, I could see this so-called 'magic' first hand," he speculated aloud. "If it really can do all that you claim it can that is." At the very least he would be interested in learning about the true reason behind it, rather than attributing the highly unlikely events to something as nebulous as magic.

"Of course." The solution for communicating the list was simple enough, and Homura motioned towards the exit. "Simply put it on the bulletin. By day's end would be preferable." That way, he could send a group after the items that night. There were members who had been drawn from dates much farther ahead in the timeline than Homura, and they would hopefully be able to identify the items at the very least.

The boy's speculation, however, wasn't seen as innocent curiosity. Far from it, and the sense of superiority grated even on Homura's nerves. Regardless, he kept his composure, his eyes shifting not because of annoyance, but for another reason. "Perhaps. Though the ability I mentioned, to transform mortals into immortals, I'd rather not display." Though the ones put to the test always seemed to choose that path, Homura despised the secondary effect. To lose one's own will, the freedom to live life as one desired was something Homura couldn't understand selecting. Yet so many did, for the promise of living forever that way.

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Day 38: Patients' Library

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