(Open) - Research and Plans

[true_noir]

WHO: Chloe and whoever stops by
WHERE: The public library
WHEN: 6/3-6/10
WHAT: Researching blueprints, discussing plans to investigate further, plotting of a more clandestine nature.
WARNINGS: N/A

Chloe, as she had told a few people, was easily found during her off hours at the public library in Recolle. She wasn't hard to find, though she'd backed herself in against a wall, so that she could see anyone who happened to be approaching and conceal some of the things that she was looking at if she didn't know them for certain.

Anyone happening across her was going to find architectural books and drafting books around her (two of them at least yellow-bound and labeled 'for Dummies.'). She seemed to be looking over a set of blueprints, though only two of the documents were really of importance to her, both hidden until she was sure someone was a person she knew as they approached. The rest were there for practice.

She was doing a lot of frowning today, but didn't seem to be in too bad of a mood, just very busy, and a little cagey. Thankfully it was a quiet enough part of the library that a low whisper could be heard without bothering any patrons. It was a beautiful, gray day outside. People weren't usually in the library on days like this.

Comments

[megabond]

He sighs at this, still remembering what happened at that time. "I see you're affected as well. Thankfully, I managed to snap out of their whispers and returned to the city before they can call out again.

From what I can tell, I feel that those flowers didn't exist before that incident."

[true_noir]

"So, then, they are still out there? They probably relate to Retrospec somehow, though I couldn't tell you exactly where or how." They certainly didn't link to any vision she had, and she had a somewhat obsessive fascination for flowers at times. "I know that the time we shrank was the first I saw them."

[megabond]

"Well, I did return to the woods after the incident, They were still there, but I didn't get close to the flowers since I don't want to repeat that episode again," he said as he flipped through the pages of his journal, revealing his sketch of the said flower. "But other than the flowers, I think that's the only small changes I've encountered so far."

[true_noir]

She considered and nodded. "It is something to keep a note of," she admitted. "But it is not necessarily the only one, so we'll want to keep a lookout for further changes like that. They might show us a pattern that larger changes might not."

[megabond]

"That might be a good idea. If we do, we may able to solve the mystery behind these world changes."

Despite his words, he has some doubts regarding this. Yet, following the pattern of the larger changes seems very reasonable to know how this strange phenomenon works.

[true_noir]

"I don't know that it will work, but every piece of information helps." And, in the end, she really couldn't think of anything else to do there, not until they had more to go on. That was the problem right now. They needed a direction, an angle to look into.

[megabond]

Speaking of information, Augustine quickly remembers something from his first visit in the Retrospec building once he sees the blueprints again. "Before I go though, I do remember something from the company's building from my first visit there."

[true_noir]

"What do you recall?" She said, looking over at him curiously for a moment. Maybe it would apply?

[megabond]

"From what I can remember, I did saw large glass tubes mounted to the walls that contain a variety of colored stones. Not to mention that the elevator seemed to disappear that time."

[true_noir]

"Oh yes. I recall that," she said, nodding and scratching her chin. "It's things like that which make me wonder if the building is becoming this... like what's on the blueprint slowly."

[megabond]

"It's not only that. I haven't touched the stones, but I feel that they are somehow important to Retrospec. Only I can't tell what it is."

As for the building, he then wonders regarding the changing interiors of the Retrospec headquarters as he turns to Chloe and asks, "Well, will it be okay for me to see these blueprints you've just found?"

[true_noir]

"I touched one, after I broke the glass, and it made me feel intensely, painfully homesick. I do think you are right, though, about them. I fled right afterwards," she said, shaking her head. "But certainly. They're only a fragment. It's a copy of a page that was ripped out of a filing cabinet in haste, so it doesn't say much."

Saying that, she pulled it out to show him. A corner of the building, signs to the architecturally inclined that the building was approved as being much larger than it currently was, and the Retrospec Logo. It had scant detail thus far.

[megabond]

Broke the glass that contained the colored stones?! Guess there are some things he may never know about Chloe. Still, he's now more concerned regarding that a touch made her homesick for some reason.

As for the fragment of the blueprint she showed to him, he can tell how official it looks as well the logo itself, which remains blue despite the situation about the missing colors. "Hmm... It's really hard to tell with just a fragment, but from what I can tell, I can guess it's connected to that Retrospec building itself."

[true_noir]

She did. She'd thrown something at them hard enough to do it, which was the only reason it had happened in the first place. The feelings had been overwhelming, almost sickening in the end.

"Logically, yes, but there's no space for a building that large where it is. It's like it isn't even remotely as large as it should be right now. Which, considering all of the changes... doesn't really surprise me?"

[megabond]

With what they discussed about the building's changing interior so far, he wonders if the building is not only changing from the inside but also the outside as well.

"It is true that the interior is changing during our visits, yet that doesn't explain the true importance of the maps Ainsley and I found as well with those colored stones to the company. We do know that the former are some kind of maps to some other worlds, yet we only knew little about them."

[true_noir]

"I was looking at pictures of one, and it made me remember a place once," she said, shaking her head. "A place that doesn't exist here, but did for the other Chloe. It wasn't actually on that map, however. Each answer, each piece of evidence, tantalizes us with the possibility of real secrets, but in the end just gives us more questions."

Her eyes narrowed and she frowned down at the blueprint. "One way or another, they will run out of new questions and we will start to narrow it down. I don't know what this blueprint has to do with those maps, but eventually we will find out."

[megabond]

"Guess that means waiting for their next move might be our best option for now." Although, he does admit waiting isn't the best option when it comes to Retrospec. Yet, it is the only solution to obtain more clues for now.

"Until then, I might try to visit some other users' posts along with some past ones and see if I can cross-reference something from them."

[true_noir]

"For now, at least," she said, nodding sadly. She didn't like it, but it would be sufficient for the time being. At least until she could really make progress on her research and find an angle to approach the search from. "Let me know, if you manage to notice something in the patterns though. It might give us a route to take."

[megabond]

"If I do, I will contact you as soon as I can," he said as he straightens his bag's strap while getting up from his seat. "I also try to inform what I know so far to my friend but considering this secret matter, I'll try to be discreet about the details I will give to her."

[true_noir]

"It's most important we make sure Retrospec doesn't know, if that's possible. Any form of communication that avoids their app or easy ways for them to see is helpful. But I trust you." Really, they didn't have a choice. Retrospec was a bit close to ubiquitous after all.

[megabond]

Of course, trusting him regarding any form of communication is not a mistake on her end. Augustine is also cautious when it comes to this app and it might be better if no one except Chloe and Ainsley is aware what they are really doing.

"Alright, let's just hope the next change might not be too severe as the missing colors. The least we can worry about is a full colorblind plague or something worst." Then as he is about to leave the library, he turns around and says, "I'll be on my way now. But just be careful on your investigation, alright?"

[true_noir]

"I will, and you as well," she said, waving to him as he was heading out. She definitely wanted to take as few chances as she could. This could go south if they weren't careful, after all.