Zebekiah, I assume you were able to capture all the TMU posts that occurred while you were gone? The following is the text of everything that happened in Kim's presence in CHC. All the "yous" are addressed to Nancy, since of course I was only interacting directly with her player. I made a couple of assumptions about Kim's actions, which you can correct if need be, but they're minor and I think in character. When you and Ashiya went to the teacher's lounge, Ashiya curled up next to you, and asked if she could stay next to you. [I assumed Kim wouldn't have any major objections.] They napped for about an hour while Nancy and Mike were talking, and Kim finds herself completely refreshed when she awakens upon the couple's return, despite this being virtually the only sleep you've had in about three days. ****************************************************** ********* Ashiya stirs slightly as the two of you enter, then she wakens fully, apparently not having gone deeply into sleep. She looks at you with a guileless expression, until Mike says "I guess we'd best get back to our house, so you two can sleep on something more comfortable than this torn up couch." As Mike predicted, the kids are thrilled to be having guests. And, you notice ruefully, even as young as Jeremy is, Ashiya still has an effect on him. Of course, part of it is no doubt her exotic ethnic appearance. Crystal Lake is mostly white, after all, so he hasn't met too many Asians, and certainly no "Asians" like Ashiya. Ashiya, for her part, cheers noticably on meeting your children. She greets them warmly, and you notice she speaks to them most seriously, at a level they can understand, but she treats them with the same politeness she shows you and Mike. She stops just short of embracing them, when they hesitate, and she looks at you. Without being a telepath, you can sense she is making another internal comment about your culture. The way she curled up with Kim (and Kim, while not looking unduly distressed, also didn't seem that accustomed to it), and readily accepted your embraces when she broke down earlier, you can guess at another facet of Shabaali culture; they are very casual about physical contact. Hopefully she'll reign that impulse around Mike, you think with another tinge of jealousy. "Yes," she says softly, making you jump. "I may be still an alien here, but I have learned some of the more obvious taboos of your culture. I would not approach your husband, even if I was attracted to him." She pauses, then adds "He is not right in his assumption that I regard him as a lower life form. It is true I....we do not normally consider the mind-dead suitable partners. But we do not regard them as lesser human beings." She yawns, delicately, then says "You have wonderful children. They are well loved." She says the last almost as if it were an evocation. <><><><><> Nancy: Nancy isn't surprised that Ashiya seems to have an influence on Jeremy...she looks something like one of his comic book characters. All she needs would be to run around in some tight spandex. The blonde sighs as she thinks of the costume she wants to make once she gets a little spare time. While she's kept in pretty good shape, especially considering her three kids, she looks a little drab next to the exotic alien. *Make sure not to invite her to the team picture,* she says to herself jokingly. When they leave, Nancy will make sure Herman knows they're gone...leaving a note if he's still dozing. "Thank you," she says gratefully when the alien compliments her on her children. After meeting them, she and Mike steer the two women to the den so they can talk in private with them for a few minutes. "We know you're tired, Ashiya," Nancy begins, "so I'll try not to make this too long. First, I just wanted to know if you have any special needs that we'll have to take care of. Like if you have a special diet or whatever." She looks over to Kim. "That goes for you too, of course...I know sometimes people from...out west have some habits that might seem strange to us here." "Also, Mike and I were discussing the genetic nature of Functions. Would it be possible for you to check our kids...without being obvious about it? If they're Functional too, we think that would be important to know...before they discover it by accident like I did." "Lastly...I'm sorry if being evasive about what you are is difficult, Ashiya, but I don't think that children should have to worry about up there." She gestures vaguely towards space. "I'm hoping we won't have to lie to them to protect you...but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." <><><><><> [GM] Ashiya smiles slightly at your question regarding "special needs". "I am human," she repeats again, though not with as much force as before. "However.....we are-" she looks at Kim, "The term was 'vegetarians'?" Kim nods. Ashiya continues "I mean no offense to your customs, but the thought of eating flesh makes me ill. I would not like to impose on you, so if you have non-animal products, I would be happy to take my meals in another room." She pauses. "No," she sighs, "if I am going to be here for any length of time, I suppose I must learn to endure the sight and smell of dead animal flesh being consumed." She looks a bit nauseated, but tries to cover it. [I'll let Zebekiah give Kim's actual words when he returns, but I don't believe she has any "unusual" dietary practices. ] "Yes, of course I will examine your children for Functional genes," Ashiya says. "There is a strong possibility of active or latent Functions, even with a mind-de-" she stops and looks at Mike guiltily. "With a non-Functional parent," she finishes weakly. Mike doesn't seem to think that 'non-Functional' sounded a lot better. "All I need is a cell sample. I have an instrument that can take a sample from their skin. It is totally painless. They should absolutely be trained in their abilities as soon as possible. We Shabaali begin in the womb." She ponders your comment about evading her origins to the kids. "I understand your concern," she says slowly. "It is very difficult for me to lie, or even misdirect. It does not come naturally to us. I am not sure how I can avoid the truth, if they ask me directly. But I will...try to give an acceptable, non- disturbing answer." <><><><><> Nancy: "It wasn't a matter of being 'human'," Nancy replies. "It's just...it made sense that you wouldn't like eating meat." She gives a small smile as she adds, "And I'll try not to let your enthusiasm for my cooking go to my head." "If the children are Functional, though," she asks, "won't they have gravity powers like mine, if it's genetic like you say? Is there a race out there that has gravity powers? I'm just wondering how you could train us in abilities you don't have." "In the womb?", she says in amazement. "Well, if you're telepathic...I suppose that would work, yes." Several questions boil up through her mind, but she can't seem to put them in any order, so she puts them aside for the moment. "I would appreciate that...I don't think the kids need to know about all of this right this minute." <><><><><> [GM] Ashiya looks concerned. "I mean no aspersions on your food preparation skills! I just....cannot eat meat." She looks distressed. Chalk up another personality trait of Ashiya's, you think; doesn't understand Terran humor, apparently. At your questions about functions, she sighs again and looks thoughtful. "That enters a larger subject. I...forgive me, but I would like to see you 'control gravity'. The Lemaar are psychokinetics, and they can move masses by telekinesis. Perhaps you have been assuming you were controlling gravity when it was simple telekinesis? No Lemaar, not even the most powerful, can directly control gravity without the aid of powerful psi-enhancing devices." "I could not train you. If my suspicions are correct, you are a Lemaar, and it would be my obligation to conduct you safely to a Lemaar world. They would train you. As for your children, they should also be Lemaar. I would say absolutely, except..." she looks at Kim, somewhat oddly. "Kimberly seems to possess *both* Shabaali and Sebth Functions. That is....unheard of. It does not happen. Ever. That is why I am so concerned about your world. If your people are somehow able to manifest multiple Functions....your genetic traits have the potential to destroy the balance of power that has existed in Galactic civilization since our origins. It could mean the most terrible war since the Uprising, with your planet as the focus." Then she looks at Mike and says, quietly, "I am not fabricating, and I am not trying to be dramatic." Mike's grim expression deepens. He obviously is not enjoying her habit of reading his thoughts. She looks away, perhaps in response to whatever thought came after that. "But back to your children," Ashiya continues, after a short pause. "Normally, they should have your Function, yes. But, even aside from the potentially anomolous genetic phenomena here," another quizzical glance at Kim, "there is the fact, first, that their father....does not possess a Function." She sighs, as Mike seems dissatisfied with that phrasing too. You can't help feeling sorry for her; she really is trying. "That increases their chance of suffering the same condition." Mike scowls and Ashiya winces. Persisting, she says "Also, I presume your powers manifested only recently, after they all were born?" You nod, and she says "One of the traits of psionic potential is that close proximity to other Functionals contributes to the manifestation of an individual's own Functions. A child in the womb of a Functional mother is obviously in very intimate proximity, and so almost all Galactic children are born Functional. Your children's Functions may be....stunted. It may be difficult, or impossible, to cause them to manifest. The younger, the better the chance that no potentiator or similar means would be required. Bonnie will be most difficult to awaken any latent Functions, but there is a good chance for Jeremy, and a better one for Stephanie." <><><><><> Nancy: Nancy's smile broadens. "Relax, Ashiya. It was a joke. You know...humor? Arr, arrr...", she says in her best Robin Williams Mork voice. When the alien only becomes more confused, she says, "Forget it...it's not that important." She shrugs. "Certainly." She goes over to the door, makes sure that none of the kids are around, then closes it. She looks around the room...and focuses on the coffee table. Gently, she lifts it up and lets it leisurely float about 4 feet off the floor. "See...I'm not moving it with my mind, but changing its gravity. If you touch it now, you'll see it will twirl and move the way you poke it...just like something you'd see in one of those space movies. Oh, sorry...you know, like in outer space, where they don't have gravity?" Once Ashiya's done examining the table, she sets it down. "Maybe the reason we can do that is that you've bred the flexibility out of your gene pool, while we've been...feral, as you said," suggested Nancy. "You try to make sure everyone has those certain genes that result in those specific abilities...and you may be repressing other genes that have more unpredictable effects." She sighs and looks at her husband. "Mike, you're not helping. I *know* this is a lot to deal with...but just try to be a little more compassionate here...all right? Ashiya doesn't MEAN to insult you...it's just the way she's learned to phrase things." "Potentiator...what's that?", she asks. "I had to go through a very frightening experience to get my powers...will the children have to do the same?" <><><><><> [GM] "I do have a sense of humor", Ashiya says, somewhat defensively. Then gives Mike a look that is almost a pout. He's definitely not being kind, at least in his thoughts. Ashiya examines the coffee table, but still looks skeptical. She picks up her laptop computer and opens it. To you, it looks like the sort of portable PC you could buy at any CompUSA store....until holograghic displays materialize in the air above it. Ashiya studies the icons and alien lettering that flows past, while you and Mike stare. Kim seems to have seen it before. "You ARE generating contragravity waves," Ashiya says wonderingly. "It WAS you our satellites detected!" She shakes her head. "I would like to get a cell sample from you, Nancy. And Mike also. For that matter," she looks at Kim, "with all this travelling around your nation, I have not yet even analyzed Kim's genetic makeup." "Potentiator is a drug, that can sometimes activate a latent Functional's abilities. It has risks, though. We use it only as a last attempt to cure someone who will otherwise be left mind-dead." "God forbid you have any poor mind-dead children that might have to be abandoned on some primitive 'preserve' world," Mike says, in an icy voice. "Better to give them some dangerous drug and risk harming them, is that it?" <><><><><> Nancy: Nancy resists the urge to say "I told you so!" (both aloud and mentally ). She shrugs. "I don't have any objections. Whenever you'd like." "Mike!", she says sharply, in a voice usually reserved for the children when they're being exceptionally ill- behaved. "That was uncalled for. Their society has a different set of values than ours. That's not to say that she's right, but maybe she'd think we were a little less primitive if we tried to be a bit more understanding!" "I don't think," she says, turning to Ashiya, "that something like that is necessary," she says. "They can get along fine on our world without a Function, especially if activating it might be dangerous." <><><><><> [GM] Ashiya looks like she wants to say something, but refrains. She produces a small metallic cylinder, the size of a pocket flashlight, and with your permission, touches it to the skin of your inner wrist. You feel nothing, but she takes it away (there is no mark at all left behind), then does the same thing to Mike. (He looks skeptical of this process, but with a look from you, he complies.) And finally she takes a sample from Kim. Then she studies her holographic displays again. Without even bringing the cylinder to the computer. Her eyes widen. "You are a Lemaar," she says, "but also Asgur. And Kim has Shabaali, Sebth....and Atla characteristics!" She looks at Kim, startled. "What about me?" asks Mike, dryly. Ashiya hesitates, and he says, "I know, I'm 'mind-dead'. So what do these multiple traits mean? Which Galactic society gets to force Nancy and Kim to join them?" Ashiya gives Mike another pained look, then answers, "I do not know what it means. It is not possible. But Nancy," she looks at you, "your Function is at a very high magnitude, at least fifth. You would need to display it more fully while I am running psi sensors, but with your level of active psi Function, the chance is much higher that your children will also be Functional. And the more you use your abilities around them, the greater the chance of causing them to manifest." <><><><><> Nancy: Nancy gives Mike a dirty look and says, "I know what the Lemaar and Shabaali are...but what do those other terms mean?" "Well, at least you were right about one thing," she murmurs thoughtfully to Mike. "I've got to watch using my abilities around the house...or at least around the kids. We want to avoid having them manifest accidentally." If she hadn't lowered the table already, she does so now. <><><><><> [GM] Ashiya looks puzzled. "Do you not want your children to manifest? But I can tell you more when I analyze them." "The Sebth are teleporters, as I told you already. Kim....demonstrated that ability, I do not know how. She is also telepathic. It is quite impossible....but clearly, she defies what we consider possible. As do you. Perhaps to control gravity, I suppose your psionic Function would have to extend into the realm of matter *and* energy. The Lemaar can psychokinetically control matter, while the Asgur psychokinetically control energy, but no one can do both. Except you." She sighs. "And I do not know what it means that Kim also possesses Atla traits. The Atla are healers, but they are not a nurturing people. And allied with the Sebth, who are warlike and malevolent. But obviously the Shabaali traits are more dominant in Kim. You....you are much more calm and peaceful than most Lemaar, in fact in many ways, your mind set is almost like a Shabaali." <><><><><> Nancy: "I don't want them to manifest where there's no one to train them, no," Nancy Answers. "No offense, Ashiya, but Earth isn't ready for all of this. I agree with Kim on that point. I think the less our planet knows of Functions, the wars out there, and the decrees of your Galactic Council, the better. All it will do is cause panic and make things harder for everybody." She thinks for a moment. "Just out of curiousity, do your people have drugs that suppress Functions?" "Well, there are several things you've told us that don't make sense according to our science," she muses, "so I guess everyone has something to learn here." "It's interesting," she continues, "that you associate personality traits with the various races. Is that because the Function dictates your personalities...or are they racial characteristics?" "I'll take that as a compliment," she answers when Ashiya compares her to her own race. "Thank you." <><><><><> [GM] Ashiya looks frustrated. "Your science does not compare to ours! You have just begun to grasp higher physics, and you know nothing about psionics! Your genetic science is incomplete-" Ashiya stops, as Mike is staring at her so intently, you *know* he is quite deliberately thinking something at her that she's meant to 'hear'. And obviously she does; Ashiya's dark skin flushes deeper, and she looks away. At your other question, she hesitates. "I confess, much of what we consider 'racial characteristics' are undoubtedly social imperatives, impressed in us in a society that is quite ancient and tradition-bound. Yes, Mike, we are very stable, and by your standards, very static. But psionic ability is intimately linked with many higher-order brain functions, including cognitive ability and certain neural areas that affect behavior. So your Function does affect your personality, though of course it is not the only factor, or even the most important. A violent Shabaali is possible....at least on this world." You think of Chad. "Yes," she nods, "but I believe it will be much easier to teach him Shabaali ways than it would be to teach a non-Shabaali from a similar background." And yet again, she winces at something Mike is thinking. "I am rather tired," she finishes weakly. "Would it be impolite if I was to retire for the night?" Kim nods encouragingly; after all, according to Kim, Ashiya has been operating on virtually no sleep for the last few days, during which time she's endured quite a lot. She got less than an hour of sleep at the elementary school. She looks more than a little spent. <><><><><> Nancy: "Of course," Nancy says understandingly. "It was inconsiderate of us to have you do all of this so soon. I'm sure there'll be plenty of time to answer questions later on." She goes over and opens the door. "You go to your room and get some sleep. I'll bring you something to eat a little later...no need for you to have to do something traumatic like eating with the kids your first day here." [It's probably...what, about 3:00 Sunday afternoon? I assume they haven't eaten dinner yet....] <><><><><> [GM] [That sounds about right.] "Oh no," says Ashiya, "I enjoy your children very much." She yawns again. "But I would like to sleep first. Thank you." Gratefully, she withdraws to the guest room. <><><><><> Nancy: As Ashiya leaves the room, Nancy turns to the young girl still there. "Excuse us, Kim...could I have a few minutes alone with Mike, please?" [Since she's not there to stick up for herself...] "Sure," replies the young woman. She gets up and heads into the other room. ****************************************************** ***************** After this, Nancy wanted to ask Kim a couple more questions, which in your absence I answered for you like so: ****************************************************** ****************** [GM] (Mike) "I do think we should talk a little more to Kim too, though. For one thing, what do her parents think of all this? And," Mike chuckles slightly, "shouldn't she be in school tomorrow anyways?" [Unfortunately, Kim's still 'gone'. I think I'm safe in saying that Kim will probably provide the following information; She MET the Sebth, and has seen numerous examples of Galactic technology, not the least of which is the spaceship that she and Ashiya escaped! She saw the Sebth teleport, and has been communicating telepathically with Ashiya for the past couple of days. Telepathy makes it much more difficult to lie, or even avoid conveying things you don't want to convey; if you think about hiding something, that thought is what's most likely to pop to the surface! So while she also has serious reservations about Ashiya's cheery assessment of the benevolence of Shabaali culture and Galactic civilization in general, she does not believe Ashiya is lying, or suffering from delusions, though she is a bit worried about the alien's mental health, as she seems to be having trouble adjusting to Earth. Though Kim doesn't understand everything that's bothering Ashiya, she knows the slightly older woman is showing many signs of being highly stressed, and emotionally overwrought. She has not, however, seen much that would answer any of your other questions; she doesn't know how fast their ships are, or anything like that, and all she knows of their society is what Ashiya has told her, which isn't much more than what she's told you.] ****************************************************** ******** And after this, Kim and Ashiya retired for the night to the Hartwick's guest room, which is where we will pick up in the Forum. If there's anything you'd like to have Kim say, retroactively, go ahead and post private messages to me and Captain Micro. -David