A new friend welcomed to the Caritas ((tag Rhys))

[slayers_desire]

April walks through the newly opened PINpoint portal into the Caritas, leading Rhys through it. Even though they had just met, April's voices were already guiding her into supporting this decision. That positive benefits would be discovered for Rhys.

And perhaps, the Initiative members would learn a lot from him.

The Caritas was not as lively as it had been, when Lorne was alive and running the joint. In several ways, it was like the building itself was still mourning the loss of Lorne.

But as the new managers, the Initiative put their hearts and souls into keeping it as an Open Door sanctuary for any demon or human who might need it. They all had taken different jobs around the bar too. So it was Rhys' chance to get to meet many of them in person.

Hulk was one of the bouncers. He could be seen standing in one of the corners', his glowing green eyes a constant reminder to those who might consider starting an incident.

87 was the bartender today. She was chatting up a rather large demon, who took up several bar stools, as he drank away his woes for the day.

Mouse was playing the DJ for the afternoon, with her cybernetics hooked into the karaoke machine to give any singer their chance on stage. She had some great songs playing now in the background.

"Welcome to the Caritas." April smiled at Rhys. "Where not everything is black and white."

Comments

[slayers_desire]

"What ever makes you more comfortable." Winston is one of those people who is more concerned about other people.

[thecompanyman]

"I'm good either way." Leaving them attached is less effort though, and he figures that it'll be helpful to see them in action, so he just presents his right arm for inspection. The new arm is unpainted metal, missing some of the outer structure, allowing access to the servos and hydraulics inside. It's pretty clearly a work in progress at the moment, but he has full range of motion, compared to his organic arm.

[slayers_desire]

"You have worked on this piece for quite some time. But it appears like you were missing some necessary materials." Winston notes. He studies the arm for quite some time, before bringing his attention to Rhys.

"I think he would benefit from taking your class, Winston," April notes.

[thecompanyman]

"I just had to get it working well enough to do the eye and the port," Rhys says with a nod, allowing Winston to study his arm as much as he wants. His ECHOeye stands out a bit more than the previous model did, because of its yellow color, but unless he activates its deeper scan modes, it looks passable in quality.

[slayers_desire]

"Why yellow?" Winston questions. Not many cyborgs who could pass as humans would choose such a different color.

[thecompanyman]

How to explain without being stuck telling the story for hours? "I made a big mistake, one that cost me pretty much everything. Long story short, it's a reminder of that. My previous eye was blue." His organic eye is brown, though, so they still wouldn't have matched.

[slayers_desire]

"Yellow makes you remember a mistake. Interesting." Winston stores that information away.

"Is it typical for cybernetics to be accepted in your world?"

[thecompanyman]

"It's not really that uncommon, to be honest. Well. Maybe it is on Pandora, I dunno. Seems enough people get their limbs eaten by skags or whatever. Most people who have enhancements just tend to have one or two, not an integrated system like mine."

[slayers_desire]

"Are they just cybernetic parts as replacements?" Winston asks.

"I don't think they have other species in his dimension." April notes, knowing what Winston is asking.

[thecompanyman]

"Huh? There are aliens, if that's what you mean," Rhys says, puzzled.

[slayers_desire]

"Sentient aliens?"

[thecompanyman]

"Yeah. Well, no, not all of them. But the Eridians built a lot of crap before they disappeared, and there are a few other species running around out there."

[slayers_desire]

"Interesting. It sounds like there is a lot to learn about your dimension."

[thecompanyman]

"What'd you mean about the cybernetics as replacements? What else would they be?"

[slayers_desire]

"I was wondering if they used implants from other species. If you were like us." Winston explained.

[thecompanyman]

Rhys is silent for a moment while he puzzles that out. "I take it you don't just mean artificial parts."

[slayers_desire]

"No. My genetics are half human. Half demon. With cybernetic parts added where it was desired."

[thecompanyman]

Well, that's messed up. "If there's anything like that in my universe, I don't know about it."

[slayers_desire]

"Let's not go into too many details." April doesn't want Rhys to feel overwhelmed.

[thecompanyman]

Rhys shrugs. He's got things he doesn't want to talk about, so he isn't offended that they do too. "In any case... I hear you've got a lot to teach about advanced cybernetics."

[slayers_desire]

"Yes. We should talk at length."

[And since the mun is no good at such details. Yadda Yadda Yadda. Rhys learns from Winston. Yah!]

[thecompanyman]

((SCIENCE!))


Rhys never really realized how much more there was to learn about cybernetics. He knew the basics of how his own implants worked, and how to do basic maintenance, but he'd let his mechanic worry about everything else. Now they're gone, along with everyone else on Helios, and he has to start from scratch.

By the end of the conversation, he feels he has a much better grasp on what upgrades he needs to perform to get his arm up to its usual level of quality, although the integrated ECHOtech isn't something Winston can teach him about just yet.

[slayers_desire]

"I do hope you register for my class. I am sure there is more we could learn from each other." Winston returns him to April.

[thecompanyman]

Rhys rubs the back of his own head, considering it. "Would that work, with the whole... going from one universe to the other thing?"

[slayers_desire]

"We do have a secure PINpoint portal, that we could give you access to."

"It will be a balance, but it is possible," April notes softly. "Myself, I was living in the Nexus, attending college in Clark's world, but still visiting my world all at the same time."