Twi629b

Twila@M3 - Tuesday, September 11, 2001, 10:52 AM

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Eurasia - Skydeck

A park resides at the top of this station, which is as open to space as any place can get. Massive transparisteel windows cover this area, and pleasant grass and trees are maintained by careful gardening staff. It's very pretty, and not as dark as one might expect for a place that's exposed to space.

Sage remains sitting at the same bench as before, wearing exactly the same clothes. He has a newspaper at his side and it might very well be that he hadn't moved at all the entire night. He watches the people as they pass by, occasionally picking up a note pad and scribbling in it.. Upon closer inspection, a camera sits in his lap, and the newspaper has other pages within, as well as a clipboard. He doesn't look nervous at all though, to what he expects will happen, although there is a shifting of the eyes as he glances about.

Twila makes her way back into the park after a rather...hectic day. Thanks to Azor she didn't feel she had to bring along a cranky cabbit with her. The little one remains with the reploid...and will probably remain with him until some things are settled. For now---.

The changes made within Twila's appearance or overall minor...but perhaps enough to fall anyone who do not particularly know her. Her hair has been temporally dyed into a deep chestnut brown...still retaining some faint reddish hi-lights, and has been french braided as well. Her eyes are a chocolate almond, no longer pools of blue-green. Also, another change for those who may notice, she's wearing some...make-up. But enough to make her complexion somewhat different, although natural

Strange that. She always thought how ugly one was depneded on how much make-up one wore.

She soon approaches the appointed meeting place and tilts her head to the side. "Professor?"

Sage looks up and pauses, looking up. His face shows almost no recognition. "Excuse me Miss.. might I help you with something..." He pause and then blinks again, peering. Just then, perhaps for effect, he takes a pair of lenses from his coat pocket and places them on the bridge of his nose. He peers again, staring into her eyes. He pauses, and then speaks. "Ah... Ms. Thomas. I'm afraid it took me a few moments to recognize you." He smiles at that and places the eyewear away. "I see that you have done a marvelous job with your hair and I see that you've taken a few other things into account.

"Well, I tried to anyway." The girl looks down at herself, idly wondering if this means she should try to dress in a differnt style as well. But, best to take things one step at a time. Already she's been having feelings of being overwhelmed on several occasions. And that's not exactly good. Nor can it be helped. "Just hoping it's convincing for a few others who just happen to chance a glance. This is still all a bit new."

Sage nods and smiles. "You'll do fine. Simply put, at a cursory glance, you look like another face in the crowd, although you were slightly thick on the makeup." He pauses, shaking his head. "But who isn't these days. Upon seeing you, I can tell that this might have a chance to work."

Twila Peterson perks an eyebrow. "Thick? I hardly put any on," she states in mock offense...just as a teenage daughter may have done to her father in protest before she were to walk out of the door dressed for a date. "Although I don't usually wear much make-up anyway...save for special occasions really."

Sage snickers at that, smiling. "It was a joke.. please.. Do have a seat and rest your busy feet. I can tell that you've been working hard."

"Better had been," she lightly teases back. Twila smiles in return and takes the seat. A smile...she hasn't offered many of those lately much to anyone. "And yeah, was basically in the Merchant District for most of the day. Took two hours trying to get somewhat of an idea regarding just the hair with the wigs," she says, then makes a face. Some of the styles they have nowadays do not sit well with her at all. "Somehow I don't see myself with an afro."

Sage looks up and a smile creases his face a more genuine thing, rather than the one he gives to try to comfort others. He chuckles, squinting his eyes and bending over a bit as he does so, and then turns back jovially. "No, I don't see yourself with an afro either, although it would be an interesting sight.." He chuckles again and then just shakes his head. "Although maybe I should try one.."

Twila Peterson lightly taps her chin, then shudders. "On you? Eh...somehow I can't see it. Wouldn't suggest getting a mohawk either. Definitely would spoil the spiffy suit image."

Sage nods, smiling. "Very well then.. Shall we get down to business, Ms. Thomas.. I have the final paperwork right here, so that we can finish and I can hand you the identification."

The young woman sits up straight and nods quietly. The undertainty is still there. But it's not as if she agreed to any major changes or overhauls as of yet. "Is...there anything I need to sign or do?"

Sage nods and takes out a clipboard. "Alright. You'll need to sign here.. here.." He points to two lines and flips the page. "Here." Flips. "Here, initial here." He pauses. "And write down any relevant information that is necessary for all of us to know before continuing. This is so that we can ensure both your safety and our own."

As any knowledgeable individual does Twila likes to read somewhat of what she's going to sign first. She trusts Sage of course, it's just that she wants to make sure what she's getting into. Her almond brown orbs scan the pages first before she placed her "John Hancock". "What sort of 'relevant information' are you referring to?" she questions, not knowing what he's asking.

Sage explains carefully. "Relevant information as in relatives, places where you would be especially well-known. Allergies to certain plants. Medications. Anyone to be especially wary of. Just anything that you feel would be needed in case of an emergency, or that might put you in jeopardy." The paperwork is simply a release of liability of the people who are going to make the ID.

"Michele" ohs quietly. "Maybe I just outta put... 'everyone not related to the war' and that would be a good sum-up," she comments dryly. She hopes against hope that whoever knows of this isn't either going to end up turning her in andor get themselves hurt over it. If that be the case, she would rather chance it on her own. She's not one to want people to be placed in harm's way directly or indirectly because of her. After some thought, she writes:

High Risk In Regards To:

Dr. Wily & Robot Master Faction

Maverick Faction

Kaust Losstaret and all known associates

No known allergies, Alchohol Intolerance

Known Relative to Contact in Emergency: Rick Morgan

Information regarding how to contact her sibling is also provided as well.

Sage looks over the paperwork, frowning a bit and taking in a deep breath. He writes something in the bottom of the page and looks up to her, smiling as he hides what it says.

**I know this is a stretch, so I am adding an additional 200,000 zenny.**

"Alright. Now.. We need to get you up against that wall over there." He points a nearby blank white wall. "And smile." He stands up, taking the camera with him.

Twila Peterson doesn't see what's written of course. There's no way for her too. But she does catch the reploid's expression soon enough and releases a sigh of her own. She knows this is a bit more serious than a common, everyday variety and, tries to mentally figure out a way to pay Sage back for all he's trying to do to help. None-the-less, she does as he asks and stands up against the wall. "Uh...how wide a smile?"

Hmmm... "That you just got done standing in line from Big Bertha and her 6 screaming toddlers..." comes the amused answer.

A smile? That more or less deserves a classic eye-roll. But Twila indeed finds a way to smile. Nothing grandiose. But a smile none-the-less and waits for him to take the picture. "Smile nothing...would be whispering a prayer to have sanity saved."

Sage nods. "Exactly." Snap. Flash. The picture takes less than a second to make, thanks to modern technology. He places the camera down and waits for the development. "Well.. That should do it. The ID will take an hour tops to make, and all I have to do is get it stamped with the proper paper."

Twila Peterson tilts her head to the side and joins him to take a glance at the newly taken picture. "And the other cards?" she asks with a blink. She wants to ask him how much it's costing him, seeing as how he seems to be taking the brunt of, although perhaps not the whole bill. But she's somewhat afraid to ponder the amount. She is rather...high risk.

Sage smiles at that. "The rest of the cards are already made. Simply, they only needed a name and a small amount of identity to create." He takes out a couple of cards, including social security and a passport. "The passport was made to look older, so we doctored a picture of you via computer. We still have to update the knowledge within the US database system as well as a few others. The rest will just fall into place. Make a few minor loose identities to base your life around.. poof.. new you."

Odd that. Her life thus far has been "made up" in a way...so has Rick's. Begin finding the truth. Then it all must fall to the shadows. Twila forces the thought back before relaying. "As in coming up with some life story with a few details thrown in here and there to make it seem real enough?"

Sage nods. "Nothing exaggerate. Mostly mundane. Something to explain your skills and the way you act, which I might say is rather unique. Still, it won't be overly difficult. Unless you do something to alert the authorities, then we shouldn't have any problems."

"Rather unique?" Twila questions. It's in curiosity, nothing more As for alerting the authorities...hopefully her brother won't get her into any more stunts like he had the other night. But since he has a record of sorts of his own...hard to really say. He may be talking to the wrong sibling for that. "I'll be doing my best. At the moment, the authorities are the least of my worries."

Sage nods at that and folds up some paperwork. "I can send the card to your room when it's done. With that will come a key and an address. We've arranged for an apartment for you to live in. It's in a quiet neighborhood that has a lot of transient people, so, you shouldn't have much of a problem with gossip."

The young woman dips her chin, acknowledging him. "Where exactly would this neighborhood be?"

Sage mutters something about not having decided yet before speaking out loud. "It'll be in a safe place. I never will put you in danger, at least knowingly as thus far, I have checked and double checked everything to ensure that all ends are covered." He seems to be eluding the question.. "The neighborhood will be full of people who leave for work everyday and usually don't get home until late.

Twila Peterson perks an eyebrow towards his answer. "If you yourself don't know yet, it's alright to say so. You've done much more to help than---." But she stops right there, falling into thought. "Wherever it is, I trust your choice."

Sage notes the statement, and the exclusion of something, knowing that she meant to say something personal, but retracted it. He turns to her. "Thank you for your trust. Tonight, I will be looking at prospective places and will be ensuring your safety. If it will help, I can provide security monitoring of the area by camera and a guard..." He's really going out on this.. Having money can certainly come in handy.

As well the as the willingness, Twila notes to herself. Some part of her somewhat wonders if this all will work and it really isn't all for nothing. But...will just have to wait and see how...things go as they well. "Whatever you feel is best," Twila intones. "May I ask you something?"

Sage looks over at her, not expecting it entirely, but knowing it is part of society and decides to be polite. "Certainly, Miss Thomas, what would you like?" He tilts his head to the side, a slight incline.

"How many times...have you had to change your identity?" she asks carefully.

Sage blinks at that and looks over at the wall, carefully. He pauses, thinking, and looks down at the floor. His shoulders seem to be weighed quite heavily for some reason with the thought. "Officially, with papers and all, about 24 times. Unofficially.. countless."

Twila Peterson nods, having surmised it would have been quite a bit. She reaches out a hand lightly touch his arm. She uncertain if he would welcome the brief contact. But she offers it regardless. "Doesn't get easier does it?"

Sage shakes his head and he suddenly looks as if the wrinkles on his face are well placed. "Sometimes yes, sometimes no. People treat you differently if you are named Bob or Melvin or Chris. They expect different things from you, and sometimes they expect nothing, like from Jake or Asagrio. I've had women give me cautious glances and people come to my house with pies and cakes." He smiles a bit at the memories. "Dozens of lives, I have lived, seeing what people are like, some fearful, others joyous. I've seen children born and die, disaster and hope.." He shakes his head. "No.. it isn't easy.. but sometimes.. it's worth it. With all the people that I know live out there, not just exist, but truly think and act in response to others, treat other people with opinions" He takes in a breath. "That's why I don't like it when I hear so much destruction, so much wanton weaponry flung about like new toys. In defense of a people, they disrupt lives, hurt countless and kill the same." He looks saddened by the fact. "It's not easy, again, but I would do it a thousand times over if I could."

The hand is slowly drawn away as she contemplates his words. "I guess it's sometimes all too easy to forget to look to individuals as individuals instead of numbers or statistics," Twila ponders softly. "Not everyone is willing to realize that."

Sage nods and looks over to Twila for a moment, his eyes filled with worry. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have spoken like that. It's really nothing.. What's important right now is getting you safely hidden." He smiles at that, in his partially sad way, a look that states that he had said more than he intended. "Besides, what's so interesting about a reclusive old wanderer such as myself?"

"Oh...I dunno," Twila answer with a small shrug. "You're an individual as important as anyone else?"

For all his wandering...and for all his searching, she inwardly wonders if anyone has offered to know and understand him just as he tried to understand them within his own studies.

"And a friend," the girl adds after a beat.

Sage pauses for a moment and blinks at that, for a moment, not certain on how to act. A look of astonishment combined with happiness shows on his face. "I.. I really didn't expect that.. I.." He doesn't seem to know what he wants to say.. "I.. want to thank you, then.. It's been years since someone has spoken to me that way.." He just seems a bit awestruck. "Thank you..."

The young woman offers him a genuine smile and silently nods. "You're...welcome..." she returns, inwardly trying to decide a way to respond. "Just...always try to remember that, regardless of where your studies take you, alright?"

Sage smiles, something genuine and real, a tangible humane look and a glimmer in his yellow eyes that are both sparks of intellect and emotion. His lines seem to only increase this smile, making him look somewhat silly, but he looks out at the stars. "I will.. I will remember it until all the stars fall from the sky." He smiles and points upward. "Someone once told me about the expanse of space, that there may be places where life continues on without any knowledge of us, where they wonder if there is life out there.."

Twila glances upward in order to follow his gaze. Where life continues? Thoughts of Stardroids, their worlds, and everything regarding what happened during their visit on Earth comes to haunt her. But she quickly pats it down, willing herself to merely contemplate with him. "Somehow...I doubt they'd be much different than us...where it really matters...if there were."

Sage continues to look up. "All those stars.. any one of them could have people like us.. like you and me and everyone.. and for a moment, they all look lonely.. just waiting up there.."

"Yet beautiful to watch regardless," Twila muses softly. "When I was little, my dad would stargaze with me outside in the backyard. Used to play a mental 'connect the dots' after the sun went down at night. Was a childish game I know."

Sage smiles at her for a moment. "Childish or no... I know a good place to stargaze for a while.. Sometimes, when the world is passing you by, you can see a lot more than if you were watching it slowly.." He smiles and turns to her. "When I was.. younger. I dreamt of seeing the stars, of experiencing what I had learned.. When I did.."

Twila Peterson remains silent for a few moments, idly wondering if he's speaking of when he first came here on the Eurasia...or if he's referring to something else together. "And when you did for the first time?" she finally asks, avoiding any indirect mention of of that situation for now on her part.

Sage looks over at Twila. "You tell me what it was like to see the world for the first time, to see everything with open eyes..."

The young woman thinks on that. "I think I see what you mean. I came up here for the first time a few weeks ago. And all I could do was keep looking up above."

Sage smiles at that and looks back up. "Every time, if you try to gaze into the space between stars and find something out there, you suddenly realize how big everything is.. and every time it leaves me breathless.."

"I think it should to everyone...to help remind us all we're only a small part of an even larger picture, or grander story," she thinks aloud.

Sage nods for a moment, at that tilting his head a bit. "Perhaps.. It would only seem so.. who knows, then who is watching all of this, perhaps entertained as we are with television, or worried, but unable to act." He smiles. "Even without the philosophy though, to see all of these unhindered is simply remarkable."

Twila Peterson offers, "Or a designer who maintains watch over his creation and works in ways we couldn't fathom," she states softly. She then turns towards Sage. "I would think all that's needed to wonder at the heavens...are the eyes of a child."

Sage smiles at that and looks to Twila. "Sometimes, you can say that we get so wrapped up in life that we forget what it is to truly live.. The subtle reminders are the best. Wowing with discovery and suddenly, you aren't so old anymore.."

.oO(If that's true I come I feel double the age that Sage looks?)Oo. The young woman nods. "I think there was an old saying that said it best: Stop and smell to roses. Don't forget the simply things in life, the ones most important."

Sage nods to her, leaning back and relaxing. "All this war makes people worry and rush. They want to get home because they don't know if they will see the people they love. Fighting on a grand scale affects all people everywhere, even those cooped up in a lab for years at a time. It hurts lives, interrupts them and changes people's moods, their expectations. Life in general means little than survival.."

"When it should mean much more than that," Twila finds herself agreeing. "And yet, if there wasn't any type of struggle for life, there would be none at all due to those who try and take it."

Sage nods to her and closes his eyes, sighing. It's apparent that he's fighting over something within himself. "I can see that, but I can also see the lives that were lost in San Angeles, the fighting machines being made to fight and only fight. This war doesn't seem to be anywhere close to an ending, and people are beginning to notice.. When they decide that it's time for it to end.." He shakes his head. "I don't believe massacre will do anything to aid anyone's purpose.."

The young woman comments, "Only in the dreams of madmen, little more."

Sage nods at that and looks out at the world below. "And here.. you can't even see where people have lived, nothing, not even the Great Wall." He shakes his head. "Sometimes I wonder myself if what people do really hurt the world.. or if it's just another part of nature.."