No business. You only break out of the dystopian human experimentation facility you grew up in once, right? That's worth celebrating.
[ She sounds flippant but simultaneously unapologetic about the sentiment behind it. Root can say the most insouciant things as a way to smooth over communicating the very real and intense feelings she has. She's more palatable with a coat of humor over the top, and she knows it.
Root gets out of the car and starts walking toward the sign posted walkway, confident he'll follow on his own. ]
[He could go for another can of that stuff, in fact, but if Root's boss thinks this is okay, then he supposes he can go along with it.
Getting out of the car, Accelerator suddenly freezes. It has been one thing when they were driving, but being out here in the fresh air, nothing recycled or run through heaters or air conditioners, is like an assault on his senses. It isn't just the air either, he's realizing —there are sound waves he can't identify, chemical compounds comprising new odors, even the light is different. Mathematical calculations for a whole host of new vectors enter his brain, and he needs a couple of extra seconds in order to process it all.]
.......................
[He closes his eyes, inhaling deeply as he sorts it all out, then moves to follow after Root.]
[ She decides it would be too sad to explain that a can of coffee is nowhere close to being a celebration -- he'll pick that up himself with enough time -- and she stays silent as she leads the way. Accelerator's delay puts some distance between them, so that by the time they both make it down the winding treacherous path to the viewing platform, Root has been standing there for several long seconds, leaning on the railing and gazing out at the scenery and the night sky with a softly ponderous expression.
The moment they crossed the entrance to the pathway, the falls revealed themselves: hundreds of feet high, thunderous and murmuring, the jagged cliffs seemingly sprouted from the sky. The darkness casts the trees framing the drop all muted orange and cooler greens, their firey fall colors asleep for the night. There's no lights down here; the stars stand out as pin-pricks on dark velvet above them, the parking lot above a distant thought.
As he comes up behind her, she finally speaks, voice kept low. ]
Some people go their whole lives never realizing they could break out of who society has told them they are. The opportunity you have now is a privilege.
[As Accelerator follows Root down the path he gradually grows more accustomed to the sensory overload. His brain has always been exceptionally good at processing large amounts of information and right now is no different, even when he's taking some of it in via his conventional senses. The sound of rushing water gets deafening by the time he reaches the viewing platform, and as he steps onto it he stares up at the falls. For someone who has spent his entire life surrounded by white walls it's an insane sight, and he has to stop for several moments to stare up at it before slowly approaching.
Resting his hands on the railing, Accelerator continues to stare at the falls. It's beautiful, and it's strange to think that this is something most people could just come see of their own free will.
There are plenty of things like that in the world, aren't there? Stuff like Edinburgh Castle or Shibuya Crossing, or the Grand Canyon or the Atlantic ocean. Things he could go see himself if he wanted, now. Does that mean he has the same amount of freedom as a regular person? Some random office worker isn't going to be in danger of being tracked down by some military force, so how can that be the same? Even if he isn't in the facility anymore he could get dragged back at any second....
He frowns thoughtfully, and glances over at Root.]
Is it? Feels like I just made my life a hell of a lot more difficult.
[ Root could say she had made that choice for him, but she hadn't. She'd stopped and explained enough to see if he was willing on his own, and he had walked himself out, had swiped the keycard whenever directed and brought the structure crumbling around the researchers' ears in a display of skill probably beyond human comprehension. He'd done those things himself; she'd only asked. He's probably been denied personal agency so routinely he doesn't recognize it when he sees it in himself.
Watching him instead of the scenery, she goes on: ] But it will be yours.
[He appreciates that Root isn't sugarcoating things. From what he knows about her (which is, admittedly, very little) she doesn't seem like the type to do so.
It's going to be difficult, but she's here right now, and she and her boss are going to help him through it. For the first time ever, his life is actually his. It's overwhelming, but he doesn't want to give it up.]
... Yeah. I've never had anything that was mine before, so I guess that makes it worth it.
[ If Root is pulling punches, it's because she's actively manipulating the other person for something -- in this case, she's being honest, which means she's utterly forthright.
There's nothing she needs to say to that, so she edges a little closer and lightly, playfully bumps shoulders with him. A form of human contact and a sign of support without making it something he needs to acknowledge and respond to. ]
So. What d'you think? [ she prompts, looking back at the falls. ] How'd she do?
[ Fishing for compliments for the Machine? Of course. Root knows she rarely gets any direct feedback or thanks apart from Root herself. ]
[The shoulder bump is definitely not something Accelerator is used to, and his first instinct is to actually tense up. Kind of depressing when you think about it, though it only takes him a half second to process that this is just a friendly gesture not anything threatening.
He doesn't return the gesture, though he does relax. And he looks over at the waterfall, his expression turning contemplative.]
... I think it's a good introduction to the world. That's what she was aiming for, right?
[ She picks up on his reaction being to initially tense up, but hey, if no one does it to him, he's never going to get comfortable with it. And if he does react violently and automatically, she can handle it.
A little pain never bothered her. ]
Hard to say with her, [ Root says, a touch wistful. ] She likes to let people figure things out for themselves.
One thing I do know: it means she cares. [ About everyone, really, but also about him specifically. ]
[At that he lets out a little huff, and decides to rest his elbows against the railing in front of the falls, leaning on it.]
She cares about someone she's never even met. That's charitable.
[She's already done a hell of lot for him so he doesn't sound overly skeptical at this point. It's just a bit surreal -- she helps break him out of the facility, and then takes him here so he has a good first impression of the wider world.]
[ Her earlier thoughts swirl back to her, both sides of them -- that Accelerator is someone she could imagine learning about the existence of the Machine, one of the very few who might appreciate her for what she truly is... and that doing so would permanently endanger him. She needs to give him time to decide who he wants to be before springing that on him. Right now, he would just say yes, like a lost duckling wanting to know about the rescuer it was imprinting on.
Root mulls that over in a split second of thought and then says easily, ] Like I said before, she's a sap. [ But there is something real she can say, she thinks, without deciding either way about telling him. ]
And she's a little bit like you: capable of things most of us can barely comprehend, sought after by laughably corrupt old men as tools to further their careers. She set herself free. I can see why she'd want to do the same for you.
[Root's line of thinking is spot on. These are basically scraps of information about someone who sounds really, really important, and his curiosity is piqued. Unsurprising, given he's never had the chance to meet anyone who could be described as 'like him' before.]
Hmm.
[Accelerator thinks on that for several moments. She got away, and he isn't sure she would have had the same help she's now offering him, so his chances (however slim) must be better. That's somewhat reassuring.]
Do I get to meet her sometime?
[Maybe not right now, but if she's as unique as he is then he's interested in the possibility.]
[ Normally the answer to that would be a resounding no, Root brushing past it with a mild joke about her boss being shy, but she really can't tell what the Machine might be up to in his case. The only honest thing she can say is: ] I don't know. That's up to her.
[ She takes a step back away from the railing. ]
Come on, time to go. Somebody's due for a makeover. [ And she is for sure going to enjoy it. Speaking of which, she's going to need one herself. There's no shopping trip like one for a new identity taken up on the fly. ]
[Ah, another mysterious answer. He supposes that's the best she can do, since her boss isn't actually here right now to give a direct answer. It's tolerable for now, especially when there are a lot of other things that he figures need prioritizing.
... Like his clothing. Even he knows that wandering around in hospital clothes will make him stick out like a sore thumb, so he gives the waterfall one last long look before nodding and stepping back as well.]
I don't want any stuffy shit.
[That's most of what the researchers at the facility all wore, and it's pretty boring!]
[He nods as he follows after her, pausing briefly to give the waterfall one last glance to commit it to memory. Nothing stuffy, something cool that will suit his hair so he doesn't have to worry about dying it or wearing a wig.]
Not specifically, but probably somewhere we can pick up new IDs along with our makeovers.
[ Root is still in Caroline Turing's sensible professional woman clothes, meaning she has to teeter her way up the inclined path on pumps. She's eager to get out of them and into something more practical. ]
I'm thinking I can be your aunt, [ she says thoughtfully. ] I've always wanted to be the cool aunt.
[ Except she doesn't have any siblings, so that was never going to happen. Why not play at it now? ]
[The IDs are obviously more important, but Accelerator can't help being a little excited at the idea of getting to pick out a cool style. You can bet he's going to be observing any and all people in their vicinity on their way to this makeover to build on what little knowledge he has.]
Yeah? I've never thought about having an aunt before.
[Especially a cool one, but she certainly fits the bill.]
[ She reaches up to touch her right ear, which is not at all a necessary gesture but one she does when she has the luxury of it anyway, the equivalent of a fond glancing hand on someone's shoulder. ]
What do you think -- or did you have that already figured out?
[ A momentary pause as she gets the Machine's response, stopping at the trailhead to wait for Accelerator coming up behind her. ]
Huh. Do you speak Japanese? That's convenient. You can be ハーフ. おばさんと呼んで, [ she says cheekily. ]
[As he catches up he blinks, for a second thinking she's talking to him. But he certainly hasn't given any of this any thought, so... no? He furrows his brow at her.
... Well, he does speak Japanese, so he may as well reply in that language.]
[ Although she's not totally fluent in Japanese, it's enough to get by, and she has the characteristic chirpy tone of girlish delivery.
Root shoots that back as a tease, already ducking into the car again. She's eager to get back on the move now that she's realized the Machine had assigned him a name based off of Harold's oldest identity. She thinks she knows where their ultimate destination is going to be, and she can't wait -- both to disrupt Harry's life and, on a simpler basis, just to see him again. She does get lonely, and this has been a long assignment. It'll be nice to get to relax somewhere she can be herself, even if it is a dingy Chinatown subway station. ]
You're going to be Isuka Wren, [ she continues once he joins her in the car. ] That's a special name, so try not to do anything flashy with it, please?
[ Look, she's even asking nicely. Wren might not be around much anymore, especially with Samaritan in the picture, but Root's willing to bet she'd used it because it creates a lengthy plausible series of connections in the way paper-thin identities just don't have. Which means he should know to be careful with it -- those don't come around every day. ]
[He lets out a little snort as he follows her, climbing back into the passenger seat of the car. This feels... nice? He'd like to say it feels normal, but he isn't delusional. He doesn't know what qualifies as normal, so for all he knows this pit stop is still completely abnormal.
However, Accelerator at least feels relatively sure that this is nice. Spending time with someone he likes (he's deciding that in this moment, that he likes Root), seeing his first instance of how amazing nature can be, eating food that normal people eat instead of vague nutritional garbage... maybe there's a better word for it, but right now he's content with 'nice.']
Okay. [He looks curious as to why it's special, but it could just be because her boss picked it out.] I'll try.
[Accelerator is serious about that. Even if he doesn't understand why it's special it's still important, and he doesn't want to screw up his newfound freedom by treating his new fake name poorly.]
[ Root would call it domestic. Which is something she normally abhors, but in this context, rescuing a supremely dangerous teenage boy from dehumanizing exploitation as a favor to her god, she's enjoying herself. It tweaks her sense of rebellious irony to be practicing domesticity with Accelerator, anyway, who has no doubt never been subject to it. ]
A small little brown bird, extremely common in North America -- and extremely inconspicuous. [ Root is not a fan of birds, but it's impossible to miss that Harold is, so she's of course looked up all the types of birds he uses for his identities just to see if there's any meaning there. For Wren, there was.
She starts up the car, this time plugging in her phone and handing it off to her passenger, music app pulled up on the screen. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[ She sounds flippant but simultaneously unapologetic about the sentiment behind it. Root can say the most insouciant things as a way to smooth over communicating the very real and intense feelings she has. She's more palatable with a coat of humor over the top, and she knows it.
Root gets out of the car and starts walking toward the sign posted walkway, confident he'll follow on his own. ]
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[He could go for another can of that stuff, in fact, but if Root's boss thinks this is okay, then he supposes he can go along with it.
Getting out of the car, Accelerator suddenly freezes. It has been one thing when they were driving, but being out here in the fresh air, nothing recycled or run through heaters or air conditioners, is like an assault on his senses. It isn't just the air either, he's realizing —there are sound waves he can't identify, chemical compounds comprising new odors, even the light is different. Mathematical calculations for a whole host of new vectors enter his brain, and he needs a couple of extra seconds in order to process it all.]
.......................
[He closes his eyes, inhaling deeply as he sorts it all out, then moves to follow after Root.]
no subject
The moment they crossed the entrance to the pathway, the falls revealed themselves: hundreds of feet high, thunderous and murmuring, the jagged cliffs seemingly sprouted from the sky. The darkness casts the trees framing the drop all muted orange and cooler greens, their firey fall colors asleep for the night. There's no lights down here; the stars stand out as pin-pricks on dark velvet above them, the parking lot above a distant thought.
As he comes up behind her, she finally speaks, voice kept low. ]
Some people go their whole lives never realizing they could break out of who society has told them they are. The opportunity you have now is a privilege.
no subject
Resting his hands on the railing, Accelerator continues to stare at the falls. It's beautiful, and it's strange to think that this is something most people could just come see of their own free will.
There are plenty of things like that in the world, aren't there? Stuff like Edinburgh Castle or Shibuya Crossing, or the Grand Canyon or the Atlantic ocean. Things he could go see himself if he wanted, now. Does that mean he has the same amount of freedom as a regular person? Some random office worker isn't going to be in danger of being tracked down by some military force, so how can that be the same? Even if he isn't in the facility anymore he could get dragged back at any second....
He frowns thoughtfully, and glances over at Root.]
Is it? Feels like I just made my life a hell of a lot more difficult.
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[ Root could say she had made that choice for him, but she hadn't. She'd stopped and explained enough to see if he was willing on his own, and he had walked himself out, had swiped the keycard whenever directed and brought the structure crumbling around the researchers' ears in a display of skill probably beyond human comprehension. He'd done those things himself; she'd only asked. He's probably been denied personal agency so routinely he doesn't recognize it when he sees it in himself.
Watching him instead of the scenery, she goes on: ] But it will be yours.
no subject
It's going to be difficult, but she's here right now, and she and her boss are going to help him through it. For the first time ever, his life is actually his. It's overwhelming, but he doesn't want to give it up.]
... Yeah. I've never had anything that was mine before, so I guess that makes it worth it.
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There's nothing she needs to say to that, so she edges a little closer and lightly, playfully bumps shoulders with him. A form of human contact and a sign of support without making it something he needs to acknowledge and respond to. ]
So. What d'you think? [ she prompts, looking back at the falls. ] How'd she do?
[ Fishing for compliments for the Machine? Of course. Root knows she rarely gets any direct feedback or thanks apart from Root herself. ]
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He doesn't return the gesture, though he does relax. And he looks over at the waterfall, his expression turning contemplative.]
... I think it's a good introduction to the world. That's what she was aiming for, right?
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A little pain never bothered her. ]
Hard to say with her, [ Root says, a touch wistful. ] She likes to let people figure things out for themselves.
One thing I do know: it means she cares. [ About everyone, really, but also about him specifically. ]
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She cares about someone she's never even met. That's charitable.
[She's already done a hell of lot for him so he doesn't sound overly skeptical at this point. It's just a bit surreal -- she helps break him out of the facility, and then takes him here so he has a good first impression of the wider world.]
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Root mulls that over in a split second of thought and then says easily, ] Like I said before, she's a sap. [ But there is something real she can say, she thinks, without deciding either way about telling him. ]
And she's a little bit like you: capable of things most of us can barely comprehend, sought after by laughably corrupt old men as tools to further their careers. She set herself free. I can see why she'd want to do the same for you.
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Hmm.
[Accelerator thinks on that for several moments. She got away, and he isn't sure she would have had the same help she's now offering him, so his chances (however slim) must be better. That's somewhat reassuring.]
Do I get to meet her sometime?
[Maybe not right now, but if she's as unique as he is then he's interested in the possibility.]
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[ She takes a step back away from the railing. ]
Come on, time to go. Somebody's due for a makeover. [ And she is for sure going to enjoy it. Speaking of which, she's going to need one herself. There's no shopping trip like one for a new identity taken up on the fly. ]
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... Like his clothing. Even he knows that wandering around in hospital clothes will make him stick out like a sore thumb, so he gives the waterfall one last long look before nodding and stepping back as well.]
I don't want any stuffy shit.
[That's most of what the researchers at the facility all wore, and it's pretty boring!]
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[ Root has absolutely not forgotten. Her steps going back up the pathway toward the car are light and buoyant. ]
I can make that happen.
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Okay. Do you know where we're headed next?
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[ Root is still in Caroline Turing's sensible professional woman clothes, meaning she has to teeter her way up the inclined path on pumps. She's eager to get out of them and into something more practical. ]
I'm thinking I can be your aunt, [ she says thoughtfully. ] I've always wanted to be the cool aunt.
[ Except she doesn't have any siblings, so that was never going to happen. Why not play at it now? ]
no subject
Yeah? I've never thought about having an aunt before.
[Especially a cool one, but she certainly fits the bill.]
translation in hover text
What do you think -- or did you have that already figured out?
[ A momentary pause as she gets the Machine's response, stopping at the trailhead to wait for Accelerator coming up behind her. ]
Huh. Do you speak Japanese? That's convenient. You can be ハーフ. おばさんと呼んで, [ she says cheekily. ]
same!
... Well, he does speak Japanese, so he may as well reply in that language.]
俺は推測する。 でも、伯母ちゃん？それは可愛すぎるわ。
no subject
[ Although she's not totally fluent in Japanese, it's enough to get by, and she has the characteristic chirpy tone of girlish delivery.
Root shoots that back as a tease, already ducking into the car again. She's eager to get back on the move now that she's realized the Machine had assigned him a name based off of Harold's oldest identity. She thinks she knows where their ultimate destination is going to be, and she can't wait -- both to disrupt Harry's life and, on a simpler basis, just to see him again. She does get lonely, and this has been a long assignment. It'll be nice to get to relax somewhere she can be herself, even if it is a dingy Chinatown subway station. ]
You're going to be Isuka Wren, [ she continues once he joins her in the car. ] That's a special name, so try not to do anything flashy with it, please?
[ Look, she's even asking nicely. Wren might not be around much anymore, especially with Samaritan in the picture, but Root's willing to bet she'd used it because it creates a lengthy plausible series of connections in the way paper-thin identities just don't have. Which means he should know to be careful with it -- those don't come around every day. ]
no subject
However, Accelerator at least feels relatively sure that this is nice. Spending time with someone he likes (he's deciding that in this moment, that he likes Root), seeing his first instance of how amazing nature can be, eating food that normal people eat instead of vague nutritional garbage... maybe there's a better word for it, but right now he's content with 'nice.']
Okay. [He looks curious as to why it's special, but it could just be because her boss picked it out.] I'll try.
[Accelerator is serious about that. Even if he doesn't understand why it's special it's still important, and he doesn't want to screw up his newfound freedom by treating his new fake name poorly.]
A wren's a bird, right?
no subject
A small little brown bird, extremely common in North America -- and extremely inconspicuous. [ Root is not a fan of birds, but it's impossible to miss that Harold is, so she's of course looked up all the types of birds he uses for his identities just to see if there's any meaning there. For Wren, there was.
She starts up the car, this time plugging in her phone and handing it off to her passenger, music app pulled up on the screen. ]
You pick the music. Go nuts.