Who Does That Purposefully? [Blue]

[Flakeblood]

Katie sat quietly in the new laboratory (or was it the same one as before?), waiting for the new scientist she knew would arrive. She was not bound, which was good. It felt more comfortable, and it meant that the next session probably wouldn't be painful. Probably.

It was entirely the scientists prerogative though, and Katie wouldn't complain even if handcuffed or tied down. It wasn't her call to make. Pain made her unhappy, but that wasn't important; not anymore. The scientists didn't care about her moods unless she was reacting to specific stimuli. "Please react as you would normally," they'd say. So she would. When the scientists were satisfied with results, she left in better condition. Their emotions counted; hers didn't.

She sighed through her nose and leaned back in her chair, letting her head loll back so she could see the ceiling. White, white, white. Legs kicking back and forth in a childish way, her eyes roamed the ceiling above, checking for imperfections. After a minute she found one: a tiny spot of brown two feet from her. She imagined it was chocolate from a messy scientist, blood from a raging subject, and a stain from a squished bug that somehow made it to the space station. Poor bug.

She started weaving together a story of epic adventure and tragedy, forgetting about who she was supposed to be waiting for.

[Blue]

She continued her rounds of interviews with an unusual subject. They had already been altered fairly substantially, with so-so results. But the young lady’s psychic powers had increased, if not by much, and that piqued her interest. This subject might help her to further expand her understanding of just how it was psychic powers actually functioned. This girl was a living, ongoing experiment on that particular topic.
She entered the room with a smooth hiss of the door, heels clacking on the white floor as she swept in with poise. Under her open lab coat, she wore a shimmering gold dress that hugged her curves, from bust to thighs. As the door shut behind her with another quietly mechanical hiss, her kitsune tail twitched out behind her and she gave her newest subject a once over with her single eye.

Moving toward her chair, the only other thing in the bare lab, she smoothly sat and rested her clip board on her knee. For a long moment she simply looked at the lady across from her with a gaze that, despite the honey-warm color of her eye, was cool and level - perfectly devoid of emotion.
But Asuka Chiyoko was anything but similar to her fellow scientists at TRIM.
“Kaden, how much do you understand of the experiments done to you, and the effects they have had?”

[Flakeblood]

Oh. My. God. Or perhaps Goddess would be more appropriate, as the scientist who had just walked in practically shone with a golden radiance. Katie was instantly jealous, awed, and humbled, all at once.

Most recent made-up fairy tale fresh in her mind, Katie tried to place her in it. A princess? No, not this beautiful lady. She had a commanding air, and Katie knew she wouldn't be one to sit and wait for a rescue. Not a fairy godmother either; she looked too cold. An enchantress then. One who rescued and cursed mortals on a whim, based on their behavior. One who came out of nowhere and left just as suddenly; a mystery. Yes, that's who this scientist was. She was the enchantress with enormous power who had come to decide the lowly experiment's fate. Katie rather liked the sound of that.

Under the piercing gaze, Katie sat up straighter and put her hands in her lap, keeping polite eye contact as she waited for an explanation or demand. She got neither. The use of her original name startled her before she remembered that it would have been on her file. She wondered if they knew what nickname she used to go by as well.

"Ma'am," she said with a respectful nod, "I understand that telekinesis, which I had when I arrived, is generally used to move solid objects, and any kinesis used to manipulate liquids or energies are generally given more specific names. I know my original psionic abilities have been altered to the extent that they have changed fundamentally, but I do not know how."

She hoped that wasn't a rhetorical question, though she'd answered as best she could all the same. While speaking, and even after she stopped, Katie couldn't help but look at the lady scientist. Katie had just never seen someone move so elegantly and still command respect. Was this what royalty had looked like back before technology's hold, during the times of the fairy tales Katie often dreamed up?

[Blue]

She tapped the cylindrical silver pen against her clipboard after Katie had answered, a light sound in the emptiness of the room. It was another strange, extended silence, as if the gold-clad scientist were pondering all the questions and answers possible. An innumerable mass of possibilities, all flitting between those two sharp kitsune ears.
Finally, the tapping stopped, and her smooth voice rose to fill the silence in it’s place.

“It’s my educated opinion that psychic powers are purely the manipulation of physical molecules and atoms. It can be broken down into simple science. The hard part is understanding why some minds have the ability to manipulate things outside of the body, while others do not. According to your file, you’ve had molecular alterations done - this has had a slight effect on the strength of your natural abilities. Even if the results are slight, the fact there was any change at all is a piece in the puzzle.”

She stood in one liquid movement, closing the distance between them with a few heeled strides. She showed no fear of her subject, as if the idea of being attacked was in itself totally absurd. Perhaps with someone like Katie that was true, but she had the same nonchalance when handling all subjects - she was entirely self assured.
“You’ve practiced making barriers. What you are manipulating are the molecules in the air - and you seem to tint them purple. Your powers have become a resonance effect - your mind tries to alter the molecules around you to be more similar to your own, thus allowing your brain to manipulate them more easily, like it would any molecules in your own body.”
Holding up her hand, she placed it in front of Katie, easily at eye level.
“Focus not on my hand, but on the air in front of it - you cannot see it, but you know it is there. Make it dense, compact it, into a barrier.”

[Flakeblood]

Silence didn't bother Katie much. She had learned that it was just part of living at TRIM. Besides, it was immensely more favorable to the screams she could be hearing. When the scientist finally spoke, she listened and tried to absorb everything. The lady might not expect her to remember it all, in fact she might have been contemplating aloud more than talking to Katie, but she didn't mind. Trying to remember and understand was a decision that Katie could make for herself.

She watched as the kitsune stood and moved closer, still perfectly poised and beautiful. Listening to the continued musings, Katie felt she grasped a little more of who she had become.

Her powers tried to make the particles her own, tried to control them, tried to exert her own influence. Did she feel so helpless that her strength would manifest in such a way? She knew the answer to that though.

She left her own pondering and focused on the hand in front of her. She quickly thought up an invisible wall, a solid substance blocking the hand and separating it from her face. She thought herself into the mindset of a mime and brought up her own hand to help her concentration. A slight purple shimmer appeared as Katie brought her hand closer to the graceful one in front of her. She pushed. Her hand hit a solid wall, only about a square foot in size, and pushed the lady scientist's hand back an inch.

Katie felt the humming in her mind, a slight, comfortable one, as her fingers impacted the now solid area of air. Her face softened a bit, as it always did when she used her abilities. She could not help but feel content and proud.

[Blue]

The reaction was surprisingly quick and efficient - her subject clearly had a fairly good grasp of something as simple as this. And simple though it was, it was but the first block in the foundation. By steps and increments were greater things built.
She pushed back against the barrier to some degree, feeling it’s solid presence, and noting the purple translucence that appeared to accompany it, just as the notes had mentioned.

Without moving her manicured hand, a large sharp kitsune ear flicked mildly.
“I wonder now if the purple sheen that is added to everything is not your mind’s attempt at causing something invisible and ordinarily intangible to be seen by the naked eye. Often humans find themselves unable to conceptualize that which they cannot actually see and observe - this could be an adaptation to that effect. By allowing you to see what it is you are manipulating, you are better able to visualize the barrier, thus sharpening your focus.”

She dropped her hand then, apparently content with the outcome of the first experiment - and they were experiments, though perhaps not the conventional sort Katie was used to enduring. Moving on smoothly, Asuka silently lifted her other hand, the one holding the clipboard and pen. The clipboard ended up balanced upon her finger tips like a tray, the pen now resting upon it.
“You already know you have the ability to manipulate the air around you. Rather than make a barrier, I would like for you to push the pen off of the clipboard. If you have trouble, I will attempt to give you a visual to focus on, but I would like to see you attempt this on your own first.”

[Flakeblood]

Katie blinked and looked at the scientist, brought back to reality from the musings. She didn't catch much, but what she got out of it was, 'You make things purple so that you can see what you're doing.' Made sense, she supposed.

She stared at the clipboard and pen she was to affect next, and assumed that she was to push the pen without tipping the clipboard off the lady scientist's hand. Though she had a slight urge to be cheeky and topple the clipboard anyway, she ignored it.

The barrier she had been making started to morph, catching Katie off guard. A slight niggling feeling in the back of her head, instinct maybe, told her how to shape it. Soon, the barrier had grown and split into five slimmer segments at one end, each one aligning with a finger of her hand. She flexed her hand slowly, and the barrier moved with her, though not as fluidly.

Grinning slightly, she moved her new barrier-hand to the clip board. She wanted to do something more complicated than just push the pen. For some reason, she wanted to prove herself and maybe even show off for this scientist. Perhaps it was her cool, calm presence that commanded respect. The barrier-hand proved unwieldy to handle though, and Katie had a hard time making it move the way she wished. She knew she couldn't control the 'fingers' delicately enough to pick up the pen without hitting the clipboard.

She huffed, frustrated. "Can't it just move?"

Without thinking, she channeled her irritation and curled the hand into a fist. She lowered it to the pen's level and swiftly shot a single finger at the writing utensil, flicking it half way across the room. Katie paused before grinning again.

"Awesome."

Even when the barrier dissipated, Katie still felt satisfied.

[Blue]

A better reaction than she could have hoped for - she had just witnessed the morphing and expansion of Katie’s power first hand. Just as the brain was constantly being challenged to make new neural connections, her psychic powers were similarly being pushed to evolve and change. A logical deduction, but it was good to witness the proof.
“Awesome indeed. That was an advanced step your powers just took. Now then, I’d like to see how you handle this next task.”

She did not bother retrieving the pen, for she still had the clipboard balanced upon her fingertips. It did not wobble or tremble at all - her hand was perfectly still.
“Lift this clipboard at least an inch from my hand for at least three whole seconds, if you would please.”

[Flakeblood]

Yeah! Yeah, of course it was awesome. Katie was proud of herself, especially since she'd done what the scientist lady wanted and more. It was like the fairy tales where the hero has to complete five--or was it seven?--tasks in order to get what they most desire. She hadn't considered herself a hero, but maybe, for this story, she could try it out.

She pumped her fist tentatively, then reached for her powers again. She didn't think she'd be able to make the hand again, not without another psychic guiding her, but she could feel the air beneath the clipboard. She concentrated and pushed her hands out, watching as the clipboard went up slowly. It stopped at half an inch and held position there. For all Katie tried to get it to move further, she couldn't seem to. Agh. This was so difficult without someone else to help her focus her powers.

She let out a long breath, closed her eyes, and attempted something different. She slid the clipboard sideways, like a puck on an old air hockey table she'd used so long ago, as she pulled her arms towards herself. It came closer to Katie, and she opened her eyes. Alright, now if she could figure out how to make it go farther up-- She stopped and stared.

She hadn't really meant to look at it, but the clipboard had information pertaining to her. She flicked her eyes away, not waning to seem rude. She didn't really know why she bothered with tact, but it was something she hadn't been able to abandon, even with years in this place. Speaking of tact...

"Ma'am." She shuffled a bit, watching, but not really seeing, as the clipboard started to slowly move up again. "I never bothered to ask your name. Please forgive me."

She'd often found that her powers worked best when she wasn't concentrating consciously. She registered the clipboard making it to just over an inch above its starting position on the lady's hand, though she didn't look directly at it. Maybe it was her getting used to someone else actually controlling the details of her psionics over the past few years, but she could really only provide power herself.

Asking this question was a good way to distract herself from thinking on the clipboard too hard. Plus, she really did want to know. The hero should always be chivalrous; that's just how it worked.

[Blue]

…The hero, hmm? That was adorable really. Ah, but she shouldn’t skim other’s thoughts, it was nothing but a distraction in this setting. Nothing changed on her face, not even a flinch to betray her amusement. She sat silently, watching, as her subject made attempts at completing the task set to her. That single golden eye did miss Katie’s own gaze flicking away - likely she’d seen the clipboard then. Well, it was to be expected, though there was nothing terribly groundbreaking to be found. It was all just basic info, with the rest allocated to observations on the studies she was currently conducting. Her handwriting had been elegant, but strangely hard to make out - even were Katie to stare at it, she was unlikely to recognize the letters or words.

The request for her name was a surprising one, though instantly she realized her subject was seeking to take her mind off the task at hand. Indeed, many people could not concentrate overhard on their powers or they would cease to work. Often giving them something else to do helped switch their mind onto autopilot, freeing up higher processes to be used toward psychic manipulation.
“Asuka Chiyoko. I don’t particularly care which name you prefer, but I do not abide nicknames, so keep that in mind. No need to apologize, most here have no desire to know the names of those who hold their fate. Ours is generally not an amicable relationship, for obvious reasons. I, however, do not make it a point to antagonize any of the subjects here - I believe it quite possible for us both to act civilly, and get along just fine.”

[Flakeblood]

The clipboard went up half a foot as Katie brightened. "Yes, Miss Chiyoko."

Katie had been taught respect, and sometimes had it pounded into her, so she reflexively chose to use the last name.

Her respect was well earned in this case. Miss Chiyoko showed nothing but dedication to her job and unwavering professionalism. Katie, having been in military training before this, knew how difficult it was to be so unflinchingly calm and serious. Also, she mentioned that she merely did her job, with nothing unnecessary included. Katie tried not to hold opinions on the scientists--they were people too--but she often found the personalities and extreme requests of some distasteful or horrifying.

"I agree. It's not as though we all met out of personal grudges. Besides, it's our own faults that we were sent here..."

It was quite clear who she was referring to when placing blame; her face fell and she stared at her standard grey shoes.

'It's for not being good enough,' she added in her head. 'At least I didn't come because of criminal acts.'

She changed expressions to pleasantly surprised when she caught the clipboard sitting between her and the scientist at a height just above her own head.

[Blue]

There was an odd shift in her chest at that bright response, but Asuka knew better than to pay it any mind. She’d been here far too long now to let herself slip up, even for one adorable human girl (and for one as long lived as she, all humans were children). At least the distraction strategy had paid off - Katie was making definite progress.

Her subject’s next statement was…unusual, to say the very least. Most subjects were more than willing to blame anyone and anything for their being in this place. But for one to blame themselves? Hm, curious…
And unsettling.
The clipboard was now above eye level, and the golden scientist seemed to feel that it was enough. Without warning, the clipboard snapped back into her grasp, and she calmly began to write in more of her indiscernible notes.
After a long pause with nothing but the sound of pen on paper, her smooth voice again appeared.

“You are here…because there is a company with the resources enough to make the procurement of living, sentient test subjects a solid reality. Because there are groups who eagerly, direly, wish to understand both psionics and magic power. Because the vast majority of those with a burning need to know why, cast aside all else in that pursuit of knowledge, including morals. Because the groups with the biggest push and pull in this system have the most base desires for that knowledge. Power. Control. Even more than understanding, these are the forces that drive the cogs that turn the wheels that landed you in this place.”

[Flakeblood]

Again Miss Chiyoko started explaining something that Katie couldn't quite grasp. She understood what was said, but she felt as though there was an underlying meaning she was missing. Was she adding on other reason why she was here? Unlikely. All of the reasons she was giving were connected; they meant something. Could it be that... she was displacing Katie's own reasoning? The meaning behind her comments couldn't possibly imply that... that...

'It wasn't my fault?'

She wouldn't have been sent here if she wasn't at fault though. Other Candidates got through training; she didn't because she was—

...Weak.

Katie immediately shook her head back and forth to clear the thought from her head. Anyway, Miss Chiyoko was probably just being accurate. This calm, smart scientist wouldn't be here if she truly thought so ill of her work. That's why she treated the subjects with civility. No, no, she was a professional. No way she'd let feelings influence the way she worked.

Katie decided to terminate her line of thought before she said something stupid aloud. However, she wanted to at least acknowledge she had heard what was said.

"Uhm, yes ma'am Miss Chiyoko."

...Brilliant. That sounded very intelligent. She kicked herself mentally and waited for her next task.

[Blue]

Asuka did not rush the completion of her notes, even as Katie struggled to understand just what it was she had said. The scientist tended to be rather direct and to the point - she did not speak in riddles, though she was well aware that most could still not quite comprehend everything that left her lips. It could often be chalked up to the massive gap in existences - there was nothing quite like her left in this solar system. There would always be a certain space between herself and other living things. Some days she sought to bridge the gap; others she simply let it be.

Setting the pen down, she let her single-eyed gaze flick back to Katie.
“No, not in the most literal sense, it was not. You failed to reach a standard that is very particular and very unforgiving. However, your psionic power is not something you control - you were born with an ability, and though you may be able to develop it, you cannot fundamentally change it. It is like a muscle - you may exercise it, grow it, even alter it for better or worse, but it never stops being a muscle. It will always have limits, things it can and cannot do.”
She stood briskly then, clipboard under her arm.
“Were that this place did not exist, your inability to do the impossible - to force your ability to be something it is not - would only land you outside of the candidacy project. It would not mean that you should live the rest of your life as a test subject. The greatest thing one can do is understand the world in which they live - humans rarely live long enough to manage this, but the most enlightened are the ones who have learned the most. And as for weakness…the only ones who are truly weak are the ones who lack willpower of their own. And unlike many things in life, ‘weakness’ is not a permanent ailment.”

She glanced at the door then, as if somehow taking note of what was going on well beyond it’s barrier to the rest of the station.
“From what I’ve observed today, your abilities have definitely solidified due to previous experiments. I would tentatively say that you could learn to manipulate your barriers as if they were solid objects - like the hand you created earlier. Such visualization, if practiced, could yield an ability that is quite versatile and useful.”

[Flakeblood]

Miss Chiyoko was making less sense than she should have. Where did that speech come from? It didn't sound like a continuation of what had been said aloud. So, was she listening to what was thought? But for what reason? Katie wasn't sure what to think of it, though it didn't really bother her. The scientist was at least skimming her thoughts--she remembered that some other scientists did the same--but she was only using the knowledge to... help her feel better? It didn't make any sense.
Perhaps she was simply stating the facts as she saw them. She did manage to degrade the human lifespan in her spiel.

Katie also glanced at the door, following the movement of the only other in the room, but turned back when she realized that nothing was happening there.

"I understand." If she continued to improve, she would remain interesting. Maybe even interesting enough to keep the attention of this more professional scientist. Said scientist was facing away, cold and calculating gaze not on her, giving Katie a bit more courage to figure out the situation directly. She squirmed in her seat before voicing her thought.
"Will we continue?"

[Blue]

It took a long moment, but Asuka finally returned her attention to the woman sitting across from her. Her face had been unreadable, but for a moment that honey amber eye softened just the slightest bit.
It was gone in a flash, but the scientist did not seem the type to slip up unintentionally. The look was likely meant for Katie to spot, however brief.
Back to her professionalism, she jotted a few more things down onto her clipboard.

“I will request your future appraisals be handled by me specifically. There are a few of you whom I am interested in studying at greater length. I will have your name added to the list as well.”
She bowed slightly in parting, before turning on her heel and making for the door with a strange liquid grace.
“Good afternoon.”
The door slid shut behind her.

(Ok first, brb dying because dat sig omg. Second, shall we end this thread and, if you want, start up a second?)

[Flakeblood]

Silence. Katie's mouth was a small 'o', and her eyes were wide. A few blinks brought her back to herself, and a shy smile grew until she hummed and swung her legs again.
She was going to keep with Miss Chiyoko. No more of the scientists she cared nothing for, or odd, painful experiments. Probably. At least there was a good chance she meant what she had said earlier.

"Good day, Ma'am," she whispered, "I'll do my best."

She wasn't sure whether she had imagined it or not, but she grinned as the guards came to escort her back to her cell, thinking of the slight softness the scientist had shown.

(ooc: Ehehe, thanks. It is pretty great. This does seem like a good place to stop. And I definitely want to start up a second thread! PM me?)