lung, meet rewind

[msrewind]

She gets the note just before lunch. She's in the PHQ in less than twenty minutes, then she knocks on Piggot's door politely.

Comments

[thinkering]

"There's an idea." The bot fills in a side branch.

[mxglam]

"So any strategies that apply to rescuing Rewind's parents apply to fake-parents. Except then we'd have the problem of rescuing her actual parents at some point, probably."

[thinkering]

"Yeah. If Lung puts them somewhere findable."

[mxglam]

"Okay, so... any other failure modes?"

[thinkering]

"Nothing that seems likely enough to bear mentioning."

[mxglam]

"Alright. Is there any difference in strategy between if they're rigged with something and separated or if they're rigged with something and together? Other than my speedster?"

[thinkering]

"No, I think that's the only difference."

[mxglam]

"Then the bring-Rewind's-parents-in-person whole subtree's done, I guess?"

[thinkering]

"Yeah." The bot wraps it up.

[mxglam]

"Okay, next's remote transmission, which could be either a video feed or a phone call."

[thinkering]

"Make sure," Lorica tells Rewind, "if it's either that you get to see or hear them react to something in real time."

[msrewind]

"Yeah, if it's a recording it's pretty useless."

[thinkering]

"But it could be a recording pretending to be a live feed, if you don't interact with it."

[msrewind]

"I won't let him trick me."

[mxglam]

"Okay, so, if it's a telephone conversation... I can't actually conjure anything through the phone that won't alert them."

[thinkering]

"What do you mean, 'that won't alert them'?"

[mxglam]

"Well, I can only conjure stuff if I can notice it's been conjured. Via video or in-person I can make a tiny locator somewhere they're not likely to be looking but which I can see, whereas via the phone it'd need to produce some noise loud enough for me to hear and then they'd hear it, too."

[msrewind]

"Wait, really? I didn't know that."

[mxglam]

"Eighty percent of power is appearances."

[thinkering]

"Okay, but would it have to be a particularly implicating noise? Make it sound like somebody pressed the 6 button by accident or like the Rewind copy coughed."

[mxglam]

"But... hmm... well, what could I conjure that's useful and would produce that kind of noise? Also there's the problem that I won't be seeing the other side, so whatever thugs that will be there might notice the thing I conjured wherever my power makes it appear."

[thinkering]

"A bot," says Lorica. "A little, mini bot, which can make noises and see. A camo model."

[mxglam]

"Where would I conjure it, that whoever's holding the phone wouldn't hear?"

[thinkering]

"Inside the casing? If you can get it small enough."

[mxglam]

"Hmmm... I probably can, but then it wouldn't really be able to see. Which, well, might not be necessary, if it's just a locator. Oh, your bots have night vision don't they?"