Video; un: abathur

[broodofone]

[Four lidless green eyes stare out of a chitinous face, the rest of the creature's massive bulk lit by its own phosphorescence. Its voice is deep, resonant, and emotionless.]

Organism Abathur experiencing unexpected behavior.

Without controlling mind, zerg become feral. Rapid process. Predictable.

Here, feral traits slow to develop. Reason unclear.

Require more samples. Local organisms. Must study phenomenon. Determine cause.

Survival of other organisms will benefit when cause is found. Feral attack chance further decreased when distracted by analysis. Deliver samples to burrow entrance. Coordinates included in message.

Psionics encouraged to attempt control. Chance of success minimal.

Comments

video; un: darth imperius

[drawsghosts]

You're not a large killik, are you?

[broodofone]

'Killik' unclear.

[drawsghosts]

Sentient insect species that are connected to a hive mind. Though, I've never seen a killik that could speak Basic.

[broodofone]

Not Killik. Zerg.

Killiks present in-system?

[drawsghosts]

I'm unfamiliar with the Zerg.

I've yet to see a Killik in the Trench. They're natives of Alderaan, back in my home galaxy.

[broodofone]

Correct.

Sample of organism Darth Imperius requested.

[drawsghosts]

And yet another odd fellow wants my blood. You'll have to get in line.

[broodofone]

Blood not required. Any strands useful. Flesh preferred.

[drawsghosts]

Flesh?

Would you settle for skin flakes?

[broodofone]

If sufficient quality.

[drawsghosts]

I just washed my bedding, but I might be able to scrape a couple off the pillow.

[broodofone]

Deliver to coordinates. Will assess there.

[drawsghosts]

Alright, but if this ends with you trying to take a bite out of me, I'm going to be very upset.

[broodofone]

Distress inefficient. Raises likelihood of feral predator response. No distress, less danger.

[drawsghosts]

I'm a Lord of the Sith, I'm not scared.

[broodofone]

Acceptable.

Define Sith.

[drawsghosts]

There's a couple of definitions. In a general sense, they're Force-users who follow the Sith code and employ the dark side of the Force. The Force is an energy that binds the universe together where I'm from, and certain folk are born with the power to manipulate it.

The Sith are also the original inhabitants of Korriban. They're known as Sith purebloods.

I'm both a Sith Lord and a member of the Sith race.

[broodofone]

Sith possess psionic capabilities?

[drawsghosts]

Most Sith purebloods do.

video; un: rider

[kaientai]

[ ryouma has no idea what he's looking at, but that just makes him more curious. or as curious as he can manage given how sleepy he looks otherwise. he's a coldblood, after all. ]

We aren't exactly like we were before we came here, so maybe that's why it's different? Havin' more free will and such than before.

[ he certainly has more options available to him here, but it's a little different... ]

But, uh, when you say "samples", what do you mean exactly?

[broodofone]

Metamorphosis of "sleeper squid" produced unique zerg body plan and capability. Process unknown. Must study.

Sufficiently intact biological material. Whole organism preferred.

[kaientai]

I see! So more than what comes off other Sleepers then, yeah? Animals and, I'm guessing, beast parts and such, huh?

I'm trying to get the local fisherman to teach me their craft if you're curious about what comes outta the sea. Probably just weird fish, though.

[broodofone]

Correct. Must learn ecosystem. Identify key adaptations.

Marine life desirable.

[kaientai]

Well, count me in! I dunno much about doing science, but I'm happy to bring you what I can.

I'm curious about you though, if you don't mind sharing. You said you're something called a "zerg", right? Nothing much like that where I'm from, although I'm plenty used to people not looking human.

[broodofone]

Correct. Abathur is zerg Evolution Master. [And his devotion to efficiency does not lead to him volunteering information unless specifically prompted by questions, or by his own needs.]

un: woe | text | private

[acidjail]

What is the upper limit of sample size you are capable of processing?

video | private

[broodofone]

Arbitrary. Can modify self to process more.

[acidjail]

I suppose they may always be rendered down into components, if necessary.

Is your nervous system (or equivalent) centralized, decentralized, or mixed?

[broodofone]

Correct.

Mixed. Configuration unique to Abathur.

Clarify purpose of inquiry.

[acidjail]

Assuming the controlling mind either triggers placidity or suppresses the so-called feral state, perhaps some type of replacement could be reverse engineered from you, or the relevant pathways could be adjusted to allow you to operate independently, although I will hazard a guess that the latter outcome is undesirable.

We can't have you going around mauling people. It would reflect poorly on the scientific community.

[broodofone]

Feral state not more aggressive. Behavior more impulsive. Prey drive predominates.

Modulation of executive function, complex process. Secure. Prevents Swarm hijacking by insufficiently capable organisms.

Evolution pit required to enact modifications. Growth template inaccessible. Original Abathur's banked sequences did not transfer.

[acidjail]

I assure you, I am not an insufficiently capable organism.

I also do not require a pit of any kind to enact modifications. Although perhaps knocking up a replacement there as well would be an interesting project...but that can wait.

For now, I am curious about what you might be able to discern from samples. Expect deliveries to begin shortly. I'll find something malleable looking.

video | un: graham crackers (cw: mention of possession and... throwing up insects)

[possessum]

( So much of Peter Graham's existence is strange, and often times absolutely horrifying. He's dating a witch. He's possessed by a goetic demon king of Hell. He sometimes does things like vomiting ants here, as a side-effect of said demonic possession. He knows spooky.

And recently, some spider face-paint at the Black Parade turned him into some horrible arachnid hybrid for a few days. (Which is absolutely what this thing is reminding him of, and his first thought is that maybe this is a fellow Sleeper who got.. transformed.)

But the more the being talks, the more it sounds like it's just.... maybe like that. Like all the time.

It takes a little while, but finally Peter responds to the message. He's looking pretty fucking terrified as he turns on his own feed, wide-eyed and breathing kind of funny. Darth Maul is no longer the scariest person living here. )

Uh.... hi. ( He winces sharply, very much exuding "someone is holding a gun to my head" energy. )

When you say samples.... do you mean.... people?

[broodofone]

[Abathur has not bothered with learning to identify Terran emotions. They have never been relevant to his work before, and they continue to be irrelevant. But he understands the body language of those under threat. The fear of one that thinks they might be prey.

But it is not an appropriate response. They are communicating at a distance, and he is not feral yet. He is not a threat.

But neither is he adept at putting anyone at ease.]

All organisms currently acceptable. Non-Sleeper Terrans, lowest priority.

[possessum]

( All organisms... It's definitely worrisome, but at least the next bit kind of suggests that maybe this isn't as awful as it could be. Like, he's not just specifically targeting people, here...

Still. Peter has to take a few more long moments to kind of process things, swallowing thickly. In this place, you never know what kind of threat something like this could involve. And admittedly, this entity looks a lot like what a Beast around here could look like. )

I uh... I'll remember that.

( The sample thing, though Peter isn't sure he could stomach handing over even an insect to this guy to be studied.

(...There's something else inside him that might be listening, however. Something that is certainly captivated with interest in this inhuman stranger on the network, something that would have no problems offering up samples.) )

So I guess this place is... pretty different from what you're used to? Your world.