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QuestionText:	Hello modlies!<br><br><b>Katalyth studies update:</b> Following up on Bricks & Jayces' [https://alogos.dreamwidth.org/1341.html?thread=619581#cmt619581 Katalyth studies]; they figured out how to get Katalyth to reduce in size before Jayce went on Golem hiatus. Brickston [https://opposed.dreamwidth.org/1042.html?thread=92690#cmt92690 continued] the work while he hibernated, and figured out the other half of how to make it worsen/grow, especially using music. His goal is definitely not to just make things worse <s>can you believe it</s> and he does approach this with empathy and wants to figure out polite respectful communication methods through trial and error. Is there anything additional he may have learned between now and then he could excitedly tell Jayce about, or more directions their research could take when he wakes up?<br><br><b>Madness suggestion?:</b> I'd love to have Brickston have an arc of possibly taking inspiration from Georges andor slowly go crazy/self destruct over the next month or two, so I don't know if there's any segues that might come about with some Very Obsessive Katalyth research/communication, or experimenting with augmented as-possible-resources, or if there's another aspect of the setting that might facilitate a character going a little mad and sounds fun, please let me know. I'm very into that. 👀<br>edit: it will be my turn for a little hiatus next month as I'll be traveling, actually very open to having Patho-Gen call him in for experimentation or find out he's been experimenting on Katalyth or messing with the computer terminal or something of that vein if that might slide in nicely with a hiatus mechanic, too!<br><br><b>Kelesian connection error:</b> Feel free to shoot this down (or if risking it for the biscuit is a dice roll option, I'm game) but asking since Bricks saw the corresponding [https://enochlesis.dreamwidth.org/898.html?thread=962690#cmt962690 communication computer] a while back would want to try something. It seems pretty busted and not much to traditionally tinker with so he'd be willing to try one of three things in increasingly desperate order; <blockquote>1) bring a tiny wrapped-up-in cloth fragment of Katalyth down with him and try to mend whatever little connection is left with it. He's willing to suffer with it, he's dead, he's got a few minutes. He might musically encourage it to grow/shrink/spread if needed. <br>2) failing that, he'd be willing to disassemble/sacrifice his Syntrofos to try and mend whatever little connection is left. <br>3) failing that... he'd be willing to rip one of his wingletts off and try to mend it with whatever little connection is left, offering a piece of himself as a connective bridge/tissue. He'd then go back to Patho-Gen HQ and explain what he did and if needed offer the other winglett to the corresponding computer. Like two little fleshy antennas.</blockquote> How would any of that potentially go?<br><br><b>where Gojo gogo:</b> UNRELATED TO THAT at some other point in the month he'll stop by Patho-Gen HQ and ask anyone [https://karteria.dreamwidth.org/16190.html?thread=2205502#cmt2205502 where] Gojo Satoru's body went. He'll phrase it like. What would they say?<div class="edittime"><em>Edited <span class="datetime"><span class="comment-date-text"> </span> <span title="2025-09-25 02:56 pm (historicallyloaded's time)">2025-09-26 06:56 am (local)</span></span></em></div>
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AnswerText:	Sorry about the delay and also sorry for these words:<br><br><div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" overflow:auto;"><div style="font-weight:bold">because this ended up long</div><div class="mw-collapsible-content"><br>That's some good work Brickston, being a very responsible sort and definitely only working for the greater good/benefit of all. <br><br>It's not as though Katalyth is exactly 'conscious', or can react as a living (or reasonably sane) person could to this demonstration of empathy towards it. Not... exactly. It's not thinking, at least not at this time. But Brickston is hitting on more 'chords' that it is reactive to, through his persistence (and willingness to suffer for it). The more he communes with this specific piece of Katalyth, the more reactive it specifically becomes to Brickston. When he causes it to grow, it <i>really</i> grows. When he causes it to shrink, it will diminish more than someone else could do. And a greater portion of that diminishing- that energy that's quietly released with it (in itself a spell of emotion)- will be absorbed right into Brickston. <br><br>It could be worse. As a Spectral-type, he's naturally resistant to arcane radiation (which this emotion-energy is). And aligning himself so deliberately with it, reading this piece and 'talking' back to it in a way that it responds to- will earn him a few <i>bonuses</i>. His magics as a Spectral will be temporarily enhanced after each session with the Katalyth. He's absorbing this energy that would kill a normal human- and be likely to sicken a non-Spectral (or Golem). It would feel both exhilarating, and absolutely dreadful. It's still Katalyth.<br><br>Of course, if he does this too much (diminishing the Katalyth and feeding off of it), his physical state will corrupt more, developing more (temporary) little features. More winglets, more eyes, teeth in the wrong places, etc., it could be whatever you'd like. But alongside it comes the more ongoing (or permanent, depending on how you'd like to play things) mental effects... so tying into the <b>Madness Request</b> more specifically now.<br><br>Just as Brickston is tuning into Katalyth as a construction, he is also imprinting something of himself into this particular portion of it. Whether he's causing it to shrink or grow, it's aligning personally to him (Brickston being the only one really concentrating on it for these weeks is what causes this connection to grow by leaps and bounds; no one else's 'signals' were in the way.). He'll start to hear it talking to him more often, through the music it gives off. While it had always done this to some extent (once he and the Science Team were deep enough to start hearing it anyway) it will feel that much... personal. Sometimes it's in language he understands (the language of home); sometimes it's utter gibberish but he will <i>feel</i> the meaning.<br><br>The only meaning is what Brickston ascribes to it. In truth, there is no mind to his Katalyth companion, no heart- at least not at this precise moment. This is all delusion. But it is a very real delusion, it's reacting to what he <i>wants</i> to hear from it. It 'wants' to talk to him, to learn from him, to share itself with him... Brickston could feel as though he were always at the edge of a breakthrough with it, that if he communed a little harder, fed it and diminished it in some beautiful cycle... that he'd find his answers at the end of all things.<br><br>But it always, always trails dark. It can't help it; the emotions written into its melody, that are being rewritten to fit Brickston's own fears, judgements, traumas... it can't help but react to his heart and reflect it in itself. It 'sympathizes' with them, expands them; when he causes it to grow, it will be written with him in 'mind'. When he feeds off of it, it will compound everything he's already feeling. At this point it would be very, very easy to spiral into greater madness (as though he weren't already there, having done all this).<br><br><b>Kelesian connection error:</b> Brickston continuing his clever ideas in bringing his pet Katalyth shard with him on holiday into the hell pit.<br><br>1. ...Luckily for him <small>(rolled an 18 btw)</small> Brickston's first attempt nets him the success he's after, without him having to resort to more desperate means. Maybe all the time spent around his Katalyth has paid off?<br><br>Because it responds handily to Brickston's intent, his channeling of its energy (at cost to his own health/sanity) forces the computer back into brief operation. It's not operating on its own sanity any more; the machine remains broken in practice, but Katalyth energy transcends sanity. <br><br>Even so, there's not any sort of keyboard available, or other obvious way of telling it what to do now. Fortunately, this thread of connection has spurred it into doing something on its own. <br><br><font face="courier">Connection lost. Please wait... ...<br><br>Logged into: Arboretum Hub<br>Error in sending last report. Abort/retry/fail?</font><br><br>There's no way of telling it to do anything. Smacking the monitor (a tried and true method) causes it to flicker and hum, and after a few seconds (whether manhandled or not) lines of text and numbers proceed to fill the screen. It's enough that it's all soon scrolling out of sight.<br><br>But it looks to be information on various aspects of the area. Soil qualities, air qualities. There's that nitrogen reading again. The radiation quantity in every category is "catastrophic".<br><br>There's a lot of numerical codes complete with short abbreviations and yet more numbers. Each row ends with either "unknown" or "lost".<br><br>Still, it's a lot to take in at once and it's all flying by very quickly. But it's at least an impression of a lot of scientific readings, and perhaps some kind of inventory.<br><br>The screen ends on someone's typed notes- a clear addendum to all this data. The words of the last person to have ever used this machine. <br><br><font face="courier">It's already too late for us. You knew this would happen. What happens now is blood on your hands.<br><br>We've disabled the teleporters. Maybe this will strike you as spite, but it's not. Containment has failed. <br><br>...<br><br>Please wait...<br><br>pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease<br>pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease<br>pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease<br>pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease</font><br><br>...maybe the Katalyth is doing more to this poor machine than powering it. The screen is quickly filled with a repetition of the same word, before shutting off completely. It will not turn on again, no matter what anyone does. It's dead, its final message conveyed.<br><br><b>Gojo hunting:</b> Brickston has been on good enough behavior recently, so he's not just shown back out the door when he turns up asking questions. The staff will be surprised at his phrasing, but it won't change their answer: a confirmation that Gojo is being held in Patho-Gen HQ due to an Augmenter malfunction. They would say the same thing even if he asked it in a less weird way. <br><br>They would be apologetic about the news, and wouldn't hide that this meant that it was exceedingly unlikely that he would be seen again. They've yet to find a cure for this error once it's already happened, but they would assure that their engineers are doing their utmost to get to the root of the underlying cause. Hopefully it can be fixed and prevent losses like these from happening in future.<br></div></div>

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