Alucard \\ Adrian F. Ţepeş (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cryptsleeper) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
abraxaslogs2024-07-04 12:04 pm
cryptsleeper) wrote in abraxaslogs2024-07-04 12:04 pm
cryptsleeper) wrote in abraxaslogs2024-07-04 12:04 pm
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[Instead of petty infighting between territories. Alucard is probably right, though, that it's too late, and none of the governments are to be trusted. Nocwich is probably not a bad idea, now that their offense regarding the Summoneds' choice seems to have blown over.]
Wishful thinking, probably.
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[There's other matters to attend to.]
You mentioned you had something to discuss?
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Besides, Alucard is right that they have other things to discuss. Viktor nods, though he doesn't necessarily look happy about it.]
It's about the bombing of Thorne Castle.
[What else could it be?]
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His eyes rest on Viktor quietly.]
I'm listening.
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[Because that’s what it was. A bomb, a weapon. Crafted based on his own theory of the arcana symbols as instructions for ambient magical energy, turned towards destructive ends.
Viktor’s voice is low, as if he expects to be overheard.]
The arcana symbols inscribed in the metal…the energy that emanated from the device…I recognize it.
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The conclusion is foregone. Viktor would not be sharing this with him if he didn't trust the dhampir to some extent still, nor would he be dropping his voice this low.
He won't make Viktor say the thing out loud. That is cruel.]
How much more advanced or different is it from your own work?
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It's...clearly based on my notes. It uses the same arcana theory, and those who witnessed the bombing described it in a way that is familiar. Only, instead of building a conduit for healing magic, they built...a bomb.
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[The first words are the easiest. There's no shame or judgement from Alucard's tone, only real, genuine sorrow. Viktor's stance about violence has always been clear, and to have anything he's worked on be altered so harshly is a crime.
He considers this all for a moment and then:]
Will the pieces allow you to find a way to disarm them from a distance or otherwise impede their use?
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[They all knew this was the risk when they decided that Viktor's life was worth more than any potential destruction that the Free Cities could enact with his work. Despite this, he finds he can barely face the consequences. He thinks he if he knew the Free Cities could crack his notes, he never would have put pen to paper after all. He thinks he might have accepted his fate.
Alucard asks if there's a contingency, but that's already ben breached.]
It's my theory of the arcana system. Once they understand that, there's...nothing they can't build.
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He exhales slowly. The contingency is fucked. Great.]
So we're going to sabotage the government's war machine?
[The question is politely curious, like asking about the weather. If nothing else, Alucard doesn't seem opposed.]
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[He'd built the Hexcore to be esoteric--and to use blood, for that matter. Who knows what the Free Cities did to puzzle out the remnants of his notes, and who knows how much further they might go? Viktor can't see a way to easily stop it, now that they've cracked his theory.]
They can break through Thorne's wards now. We have no leverage.
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[It's not plausible. Any of it. The focus is instead on Viktor and making sure that his trust is founded and that he won't descend into abject misery.]
--We don't. That's as honest an assessment as any. Have you shared this information with anyone else?
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[He trails off, knowing that anything he could offer is useless, or equally likely to be misused. Viktor can't accept that the answer is to stop making anything at all, but that increasingly seems like what must be done.
A shake of the head is all he can offer.]
No one, not yet. [But he will go to other, trusted individuals.] I'm still deciding what to do.
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[He's only somewhat joking about the offer.]
Thank you for trusting me with this. [Viktor has many reasons not to, these days. It feels...correct, acknowledging this.] There is every chance that what you should do will appear only when you're not thinking of it.
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[Scatalogical revenge notwithstanding, they're likely not working off his original notes anymore.]
I should go to Portam Hall. Demand an audience with Reiner. What I say after, that, though...
[He isn't sure.]
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[He won't. Promise, even if it would be satisfying.
Alucard opens his mouth to say something, pauses, and closes it for a moment. Then he figures out a more tactful way to say his current thought.]
I don't think that will end where you want it to. A meeting like that requires strategy. I-- [shit.] Astarion might be better qualified for exacting words. Or even legal recourse, come to think of it.
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[Despite the fact that Viktor is not entirely certain of how that might end up, he can't expect someone else to fight his battles for him. They have no legal recourse, is the thing--Reiner has suspended elections and can more-or-less do what she likes. Pushing back on this might get him thrown out of the Academy, or roped into building more for the goverment.
There's one thing he does know, however.]
This is something I need to do on my own. So if you have any...recommendations, please share them.
[Before he goes inside.]
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He exhales slowly, trying to collect stray thoughts.]
How soon were you planning to approach?
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[That could be a joke, but Viktor seems deadly serious. Trying to confront Reiner about this will be one of the hardest things he's ever done.]
But I can't delay, not for long.
[They might do something worse, in the meantime.]
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[For all of Alucard's recent frustrations with Viktor, it is impossible not to appreciate the dedication to humanity and progress that is the bedrock of his work. The outrage here, it is correct. Appropriate. Deserved. And like hell anyone should not let Viktor make it clear this is unaccepable.
...There's a thought. Alucard breathes out, repeating the words left for all Summoned after their awful little adventure with that goddamn rock.]
We are you, and you are us. You are not theirs. I think that needs to tie into it.
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How? Don't you think it's dangerous, to further reveal the nature of our connection to the Singularity? Even if I told them what happened to us, I don't think they'd believe me.
[He doesn't think they would understand it.]
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[He really, really may have already talked to Sten about this, but never mind.]
I think that it's the undercurrent of it all, rather than anything explicitly stated. That there's a fundamental and moral wrong being done here at the macro level of warfare and microlevel of stolen research, especially when the researcher's perspective has been clear from day one.
I'm just not sure how you say all of that. I've always been better at actions.
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[Viktor says that with a huff--impossible, of course. There's no getting around this. It has to be him, and they both know it.]
If they had any integrity, they would not have stolen research from someone who could not object.
[And he did object, refusing to allow them access even from his recovery bed. Raiding his laboratory at that exact time was a low he was sure they wouldn't be able to duplicate, until now.]
Chastising them won't work. I need to appeal to something else.
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[Appealing. Alucard frowns, considering.]
What do the want, ultimately? And how much can you bluff?
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[Anything could be repurposed. His hands are tied. For someone whose entire worth hinges on how he's able to improve lives with his technology, this is the worst possible position to be in.]
I imagine they want to continue using the technology with impunity. It can break through Thorne's wards--there's little reason to stop now.
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/end, I think?