Victory Road IC Inbox

[yousayyes]

"Good morning, evening, afternoon- whatever time it is where you are when you're calling- this is Winston Zeddemore speaking. ...I've got other things to tend to at the moment, so just leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

Comments

[yousayyes]

[The feeling of something else speaking into his mind is a little alarming at first- not necessarily because of the sensation by itself, but the fact it's happening without warning. However, Winston is nothing if not adaptable, so once he's aware of these thoughts being implanted into his mind, it doesn't take long to adjust to them existing alongside his own personal introspection.]

[At the moment, he can't help but wonder what this is all leading up to- and what it has to do with the device Egon approached him with. Why he needs his brain... if it even has to be Winston's brain to begin with. What the repetition of "dad" is supposed to mean.]

[Then he catches sight of Kö, this weird little floating goo baby, and while her presence only raises more questions, he can't help but feel a small smile cross his lips seeing this thing.]

Aw... who's this little buddy, Egon? [He rests his hands on his hips, fondly looking between the two of them.]

[pkemeter]

< Kölliker. >

[What follows is a mental imitation of Egon's voice, accompanied by brief flashes of curiosity, baby-like burbling, and an image of a textbook Egon once read about the purpose of the mitochondria.]

Yes--that's Kölliker. She has telepathic abilities, as you can see. She was sent to me when I first arrived to this dimension. Apparently, she is descended from the Pokémon starter that the other Egon had upon arriving here.

[He says this like he's talking about the weather, and doesn't explain what he means by..."other Egon". Egon approaches a toaster-sized machine on the table and starts fiddling with the dials. He holds out the weird device from earlier for Winston to take.]

Please put this over your head.

[Kö, meanwhile, floats over to Winston and reaches out her gooey hands to touch Winston's face. Just to get to know him.]

< you dad? >

[yousayyes]

[Winston blinks his eyes a bit after receiving Kölliker's mental projections, slightly disoriented by the images suddenly implanted in his mind.] What do you mean by the o- [His words stop abruptly and he quickly makes a sharp and unnatural subject change mid-sentence to course-correct.] ...telepathy. Does it work both ways, like she can see what I'm thinking, too? Or is it just a one-way street?

[If he had to guess, he'd assume it's the latter. Because he's not sure why a telepath would need to ask questions if they could find the answers in people's minds themselves. ...although, admittedly, he's fuzzy on the details of how telepathy works, so who knows. Could be completely wrong about that.]

[As for the question himself, he's... not really sure how he's supposed to answer that, so he just quietly smiles and nods at her.]

[...which is roughly the same way he's reacting to being told to put this weird device on his head. Taking it in his hands and slipping it on, carefully brushing away the loose wires to make sure they don't get trapped between his hair and the inside of the helmet. He silently eyes the machine with some minor apprehension.]

...so, were you planning to tell me what it is I'm being tested for, or was that something I needed to ask for myself?

[pkemeter]

Both ways. It took some practice to get her to stop digging through other people's brains without permission.

< : P >

[Egon grimaces slightly. Back when Kölliker was a rowdy teenage Duosion...well, he's somewhat glad that Winston wasn't here to witness his awful parenting skills.

The Reuniclus floats away from Winston, apparently content. She hovers by the machinery and begins fiddling with the knobs and buttons. Winston can probably pick up on various snatches of thoughts she's projecting, though most of it is somewhat incomprehensible. Flashes of emotions--curiosity directed towards Winston's presence, excitement about Science™, and anticipation.

It takes a moment or two for Egon to realize that Winston has asked him a question, and his face flushes ever so slightly.]

Oh. I'm taking the measurements of your neural oscillations. I've done it with Venkman and Ray. There seems to be an interesting difference in data between dimensions--something like a "marker" left by being native to that dimension, I presume. Much like markers for blood types.

[He gestures towards Kölliker to turn on the machine, and a dull buzz becomes audible. Beyond that, however, there isn't any sort of sensation intruding on Winston's brain--that is, beyond Kö's thoughts. Kö begins tapping at a kid-sized computer keyboard with almost cartoonishly large keys, writing down the data that appears on a nearby readout.

Egon is silent. Perhaps small talk would help Winston feel more comfortable?]

How have you been adjusting to this dimension?

[yousayyes]

[While Winston would be perfectly content to just sit and listen to Egon talk, he's not going to turn down the opportunity to get a dialog going with him.]

Oh- uh... pretty well, all things considered? Let's see, I caught a Pokemon for myself over in Viridian forest... been stopping by the library to brush up on the fiction and mythology of this universe among other things... getting back in the swing of watching gameshows with Ray again now that we're all together... as far as getting spirited away into a whole new dimension goes, I'd say this is a pretty good deal?

...I mean, yeah, I'm still not sure how okay I am with the people here letting toddlers run wild with superpowered monsters, I won't lie about that. And... Peter brought up something about a "time flux", which... on the one hand- I'd want to hear more details of what kind of chaos goes down during it, so I can know what to expect and how to mitigate the damage done.

On the other hand, I have a feeling I already know the answer to "What can you do when time itself starts acting up?"- and I'm afraid it's gonna turn out to be, "Not much!" [He lets out a shy reserved chuckle, which is partly laughing at his own joke and partly relieving the tension of existential dread brought on by this line of questioning.]

[...of course, there's still a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. Something telling him that nobody should get too comfortable here, or get too attached to anyone they've met in this world, because either of you could be taken away as unpredictably as you arrived.]

[He knows better than to express that specific concern out loud to Egon.]

[pkemeter]

[Egon nods slowly, falling quiet as he walks over to the table with all the weird machines and tenuously scientific technology. He doesn't look like he's going to continue with the conversation until he finally speaks--]

No one can die from extreme injury in this dimension, apparently. I'm sure we'd all be safe from any ills the time flux launches towards us.

[It's been fifteen years, and he still doesn't really know how to carry a normal conversation with his partners.

Kölliker peers curiously at Winston, then floats over to him to extend one of her gel-like arms towards the other Ghostbuster. She's curious, and wants to know more about him.]

< you like smart glasses scientist dad? >

[yousayyes]

I know that, but you say it like there's not a million other ways for things to go wrong. What if... you lost your research notes, or your spore collection, or your equipment collapses, or... or something-

[The question Kölliker confronts him with is disarming enough to make him stop positing his own hypotheticals to Egon.]

...I- yeah, of course I do. [He self-consciously shifts in his seat, starting to wonder if he's been falling short in expressing this.] Why wouldn't I?

[pkemeter]

[There's a quizzical feeling that enters Winston's brain, reflected in Kölliker's twitching "ears".]

< Curious . Askin Things. >

[She just wants to know!

....Winston might also get the distinct feeling that she's trying to prod through his memories. Egon raises an eyebrow.]

Kölliker. Don't do that.

[The Reuniclus withdraws, giving Egon a petulant expression.]