[OPEN] She turned her tender eyes to me, as deep as any ocean, as sweet as any harmony

[looksfine]

Characters: Aya & OPEN
Date: First Week of April
Location: Common Room of the Hotel
Situation: SCIENCE THINGS. Specifically, Network Console lessons and/or discussions of potential experiments to come....

Warnings/Rating: None to start. Will update if necessary

After making her announcement on the local Network, Aya logged out of the public console and began heading back towards the Hotel. There were few signs of illness to her now; her normal coloring had returned, energy levels were holding steady at a solid 98.6%, even when she initiated flight procedures, and all scans indicated operating at near-maximum efficiency.

She chose to walk in. Metallic boots clicking softly against the hard floor, but steps nearly inaudible whenever they touched carpet. The same route as Sokka had shown her previously brought her to the vacant room. Decently sized. Perhaps a dozen occupants could reside comfortably.

While in wait, Aya chose to utilize the few low-tech options available. Notepads. Her writing was in Oan, of course, but much of her descriptions were in numeric form. They would be easily translatable, as Math was a multi-versal language.

Besides that, if anybody asked, she could simply dictate it all verbally. She had it memorized, because of course she did.

Comments

[confirmationbias]

Sonja peeked her head in. "Hi, Aya, right? Am I in the right place for the encryption lesson?"

[looksfine]

The young Intelligence glanced upward with a pleasant expression at the voice. Though facial recognition did not immediate place her as someone Aya knew, that did little to deter her. Particular if she was, as indicated, here for the lesson that Aya had publicly advertised.

"Certainly. Please, I welcome you to sit anywhere you prefer."

[confirmationbias]

Sonja scanned the room. She didn't want to be sitting all the way in the back if she was going to be the only one here, but she also didn't want to be sitting right next to Aya if more people showed up. She figured out a midpoint and took a seat somewhere a moderate distance from Aya.

"Thank you," Sonja said, politely.

[looksfine]

"May I ask precisely what you have come to learn today?"

A vague statement, perhaps, but just as with Sokka, she saw little reason to waste time with a lesson the girl may already know.

[confirmationbias]

"Well-" Sonja did have the basics of encryption down, and it wouldn't be useless to know more about it, but its applications were slim in Keeliai. "Actually, I wanted to see if you could tell me anything about this."

She pulled a jar out of her backpack, with a small sample of the Pus she's pulled from a console with Bakura.

"Short of the metalworkers, I think you probably know more about the consoles than any of the other foreigners, and I figured you might be able to tell me something about this, or point me in the right direction?

"I got this from one of the consoles, back when the console glitches were happening. I have it on good authority that it is a virus partially responsible for the glitches."

[looksfine]

Not too long ago, Aya might have stepped forward without question and proceeded to scan the jar.

However...recent experiences had taught her a valuable lesson. Namely, there were things in this world that she was susceptible to, regardless of her inorganic components. Or, perhaps, because of them. And if the consoles were the ones affected....

"Do you know if the virus is currently active still?"

...there was every chance that such a thing could infiltrate her systems as well.

[confirmationbias]

"In the consoles? No, but that could just mean the metalworkers have successfully removed it from circulation. This particular sample could still be active."

[looksfine]

She frowned. Not necessarily blaming the young woman for bringing her a potentially live sample--she had no reason to suspect she did not know--but still not pleased with this latest development.

"Then I can not scan it until confirmation is otherwise received that said virus is purely biochemical in nature."

A biological virus, so long as it was properly contained, could not harm her.

A technological virus, or even biotechnical, still ran the risk of infiltrating her systems during any routine scan.

[confirmationbias]

"And I would go about doing that... how, exactly?"

She wasn't even annoyed or anything, she just had no idea how to proceed.

[gathersnomoss]

"You said something about lessons?" Zelgadis couldn't read the writing, but he was used to that.

[looksfine]

"Yes. I did." If nothing else, she seemed pleased that more and more individuals were expressing interest. "Specifically, I intend to focus on the instruction of basic-level encryptions to those who are unfamiliar with the security process. Is that what you intend to learn at this time?"

[gathersnomoss]

"I wouldn't mind learning more, but let's start with that. I only know how cryptography works via pen and paper."

A surprising number of wizards wrote in code or cipher. Or maybe not if you knew wizards.

[looksfine]

"May I see an example?"

Cryptography was slightly different than technological encryptions...but only just barely.

Besides that, Aya was curious.

[gathersnomoss]

"the most basic one is just a substitution."

Zelgadis took out paper and a pen. He printed the English alphabet once, then printed it beneath, one letter shifted, with B below A, C below B, and so on.

He then wrote ZELGADIS GRAYWORDS, and below it wrote AFMHBEJT HSBZXPSET.

"Shifting everything by one letter is pretty basic. You can randomize what letters go to what, but even then, you get stuck with statistics if the passage is long. Some letters and words are more common than others. Really, this one only discourages casual onlookers, and it's pretty obviously cyphered."

[looksfine]

The initial presentation of letters was...familiar, but only vaguely so. Samples of a written language known to those originating from Earth. She was able to recognize them from past memories, though she was not yet fluent in reading it.

Something which had proven a hindrance more than once; particularly as the majority of her colleagues seemed to speak either it, or kedanese. Languages which were easily translatable, if not by the local matrix, then by her own systems, but only aurally.

"I see. It is a means of obscuring written information, then. Though I would hesitate to call them identical, Encryptions use somewhat similar methods, although it is a series of commands that obscures not the information itself, but the broadcast with which you transmit it."

[gathersnomoss]

"To continue the analogy, it would be like... instead of changing the letters around, do something to the paper and ink. Like the trick with lemon juice -- if you write in lemon juice as ink, the ink won't show up until you heat the paper. If you write above an innocuous message, no one would know there was a second message on the paper."

[looksfine]

"A biochemical reaction to varying circumstantial stimuli."

She didn't sound so much surprised as she was...inspired. Already processing in her mind ways that this inspiration could be useful in the future.

"Yes, I do believe your current knowledge would be sufficient for learning encryptions. Shall we begin?"

[irishthor]

"So, you mentioned encryption."

There's a man leant against the door, dressed in leathers and cloth reminiscent of a period past in Earth's history. He hasn't had the oppertunity to procure other clothing just yet, so is simply washing and re-wearing.

"I've just got to grips with this bloody... network thing, but me da' always said I was a quick learner." He pushes up from the doorframe, walking in a bit. "I'm guessin' encryption means sending coded messages, right? And the ability to decode them?"

Colour him interested.

[looksfine]

And colour her...green.

But also completely unaware of the anachronistic nature of his current attire; Aya had never been to Earth. Before Keelai, she had encountered only a single individual from the planet, and Hal Jordan always wore his Green Lantern uniform in her presence. She had second-hand accounts and an archive of more important facts of the species and culture, but not enough to note whether or not any one individual's wardrobe was deemed out of style.

"You are correct. Although, presently, it is little more than encryption theory. As the consoles have been ridden of the software compatible for sustaining private encryptions."

Something which she was still incredibly curious about. Both the how and the why.

[irishthor]

Yes, he's trying not to stare. It's going moderately successfully.

He's going to walk on closer, arms folded as he tries to parse what was just said into something he can understand.

"So, it's possible to... encode messages, but these consoles don't have the means?" He asks, hesitantly. "I can see how something like this may be useful, but without something to practice on..."

He's concerned he might not be able to pick it up without seeing it in action. All this talk and theory was well enough, but...

[looksfine]

"You do not need the consoles to ensure the coding's success. My programming is fully capable of scanning any and all encryptions and determining their degree of strength."

It was one of the few things that made her (almost) uniquely qualified to assume the role of teacher.

[irishthor]

Okay, stop. Rewind. What?

"Your... programming?"

[looksfine]

In response, Aya held up one hand, palm facing the ceiling. A soft, green glow began to emit, from which an equally green holoscreen appeared. Transparent, but with easily readable--at least, from her perspective--symbols scrolling up and down the screen.

"Yes. It is, perhaps, not the ideal method of instruction, but it is the best that can be offered until a means of re-encrypting the Network consoles can be found."

[irishthor]

And cue him just taking a step back in shock, because... yeeeah. Okay. Yeah.

"Bloody hell..." He mumbles, staring at the holoscreen.

[looksfine]

The expression earned him a look of momentary confusion.

"Is something wrong?"