Makeover [2430-1-2 Wed 10:00 am]

[Skye Thompson]

The large screen on the wall sprang to life, making Skye jump. She stared in amazement as Persephone expertly moved different things around. It was as if there were a whole new world just contained inside this screen. And from Persephone's explanations, it sounded as though this world was now opened to Skye. It was daunting however, to watch Persephone go through the mysterious process of navigating the viewscreen, and Skye wondered if she would ever learn to do so. She was reminded of a time six years ago, when Adrian had showed her the padd he'd purchased for his work as a pilot. She'd been completely lost then too.

But now she was more than lost. She was intrigued, excited. The whole world was open to her. Everything and anything Skye had ever wanted to know, this computer could tell her. Anything? Could it really tell her anything? Tentatively, she stepped forward and touched one of the icons at the bottom of the screen. The program sprang open, and Skye started even though she'd been expecting something like that to happen. "Hello!" said the too cheerful voice of a young woman, "Welcome to the tEncyclopedia. May I define something for you?"

"Ummm... yeah." Skye murmured, feeling unsure of herself, "define, um, define Nox." "Defining." Chirped the automated voice. And slowly, pictures began to spring up on the screen. Pictures of a dark planet, pictures of barren landscape, of glowing orange liquid seeping between rocks, of dark forests full of shadows and mist and gnarled trees. None of it looked pleasant. Skye grimaced. So this was where poor Adrian had met his end. Her poor, brave, kind brother, he didn't deserve to die in a place like this. But of course, life wasn't determined by what a person deserved. It just happened.

[Persephone Ruspoli]

Nox? That was an odd first definition. But maybe it had something to do with the guy Skye had mentioned, the one who'd basically been a dad to her when her step-father had been busy trying to crush Skye's soul. Best to let it drop. Everyone had secrets they weren't ready to share, and you didn't learn them by forcing them to open up.

"You can sort through anything they give you." She touched a few photos and drug them up around, showing Skye how to get rid of them, or to make a shortcut to them, or how to clip them to the top of the screen to save them temporarily while browsing. "Just tapping the screen will stop any video you're not interested in, and then you can handle it like a photo. Double-tap to get it playing again."

She opened up one video, a documentary done on the werepeople of Nox. The calm narrator's voice was soothing but jarring considering the subject. Once again, Persephone kept to the side to let Skye try it out for herself.

[Skye Thompson]

As before, Skye watched with a mixture of awe and confusion as Persephone rearranged the pictures on the screen. Then she tapped one picture, and it began to move. Another automated, too-cheerful voice narrated as the images streamed by. Skye was startled to see a young woman morph suddenly into a wolf and then back. The almost irritatingly nonchalant voice of the narrator explained that the woman was a were, a person who could transform into an animal of their own free will.

Skye watched, enthralled, as the video continued, showing scenes of were towns, more weres transforming, and even and interview with a man who was a were-bear. With his broad shoulders and thick neck, he certainly looked the part, and his deep voice seemed to sound almost like a growl. It was fascinating, a whole new race of people, completely separate from her own, and they weren't the only ones. Skye felt she could have kept busy the rest of her life with all the information on inhabitants of other planets.

But somehow, she didn't want to. She reached up and closed the window with information on Nox. There were some things she wanted to see with her own two eyes. Someday, she would stand on the surface of Nox. She would meet a real were, instead of just watching video's about them. And when the time came, she didn't want to know quite what to expect. She wanted it all to be fresh and new and beautiful, just as the Top was to her now.

"This is great!" Skye grinned, giving Persephone a quick hug, "thanks so much." She was reminded of last night, when her excitement and joy had filled her so that she'd forgotten herself and hugged Titus without thinking. That had been perhaps the most awkward moment in her life. But this time, she meant to do it. Skye had a strange feeling that Persephone wouldn't mind, even if Titus had. Well, people were different, that was what made life interesting. But as she stepped back, Skye saw to her horror that Persephone's shoulders were soaking. "Ooops. I got you wet, I'm so sorry!" She reached up and touched her hair. It was still dripping from watering it down earlier. Mortified, Skye mentally erased hugging people from the list of things she planned on doing in the future. It just didn't seem to work out well in the Top.

[Persephone Ruspoli]

She hugged back. They'd only known each other for an hour, maybe more, and Persephone had already decided she really liked Skye. She was so open and positive and stronger than she had any right to be. Hopefully Titus would behave himself and not frighten her off. Skye deserved to have a good life, or at least one that wasn't filled with horror.

Speaking of horror, the look on Skye's face made it clear she wanted to crawl into a hole somewhere. "Don't worry!" Persephone shrugged it off, "It's just water, it'll dry. And I've still got some clothes lying around here somewhere."

"Anyway, those are the basics." Persephone put the viewscreen onto random mode, letting it serve up photo after photos, mostly landscapes from all over or pictures of people and assorted species. "Don't be afraid to experiment. You seriously can't break these things, even if you're trying to."

[Skye Thompson]

Persephone's comment almost made Skye want to try breaking the viewscreen. She would never actually do so, of course, but somehow it was still tempting. She figured it wouldn't be hard, any old large and heavy object would probably do the trick. But she also figured that Titus wouldn't be to happy with her if she did that, and she definitely wanted to stay on his good side. She wanted to stay on everyone's good side, although in the Top that didn't seem to be too hard.

She was surprised at how quickly Persephone had forgiven her for getting her all wet. In the Below, most people would have had the same reaction, 'it's just a bit of water', but Skye had expected that when you were used to comfort, it was a much bigger deal to be uncomfortable. Perhaps, she thought, when you were used to comfort, you didn't mind a little discomfort now and again. Or maybe that wasn't it, maybe it was something else. Skye was getting tired of trying to figure out the intricate workings of other people's minds. There came a time when you just had to accept that things were the way they were just because they were.

She turned her attention back to the screen, watching the pictures flash up onto it, disappearing moments later as other pictures took their place. It was overwhelming how many different images there were. "Wow," she murmured, speaking half to herself, half to Persephone, "I never would have thought there was this much stuff in the world. It just keeps going on and on..." And at that moment, Skye knew that if she was right, if there really was an almost infinite supply of knowledge in the world, then she could be happy for the rest of her life discovering it all.

[Persephone Ruspoli]

"You know what's freakier? The content on the Network doubles at least once a month. So if you started reading now, by the end of the month, there would be twice as much stuff to read, or listen to or watch than when you started. And it's always growing. You could do nothing but try keep up for your whole life, and you'd never see every last photo or hear ever last song." She paused, then added, "But that's quantity, not quality. It's a lot easier to keep up with the quality media, since it doesn't grown nearly as fast."

She was feeling rather damp. Persephone could wait for it to try, but she wasn't sure how long she'd be out and about today. "I'm going to go grab another shirt. I'll be just down the hall." She stepped out, leaving Skye with the viewscreen.

Titus' room was where it always was. She opened up his closet and quickly browsed through it, past his shirts and jackets, until she finally found her clothes tucked inbetween the suit jackets and his winter coats. She picked out a plain pink top and dropped the wet shirt into Titus' hamper. The clean pink one slid on easily enough, though she hadn't worn it in four or five months.

She couldn't help but pause to snoop and see what else of hers had been kept. The clothes were there, but she already knew that. Persephone poked her head into the bathroom. Her toothbrush was still tucked into the holder, beside his. She gave it a sad little smile. Titus never acted like he missed her, never said anything, but there was proof in his bathroom and his closet. Some of her was still here, even if the rest of her had moved out long ago.

[Skye Thompson]

Persephone's footsteps receded along the hallway. Skye sat back down on her bed, staring blankly at the viewscreen and feeling dazed. "Double?" She murmured weakly. How could anything, least of all information, double so quickly? How could it just multiply over night? Even now there might be new information, new things to know. That meant she could never learn everything. But that also meant that the computer would never know everything. There would always be new ideas.

The idea that she could spend her whole life in front of the viewscreen was one that frightened Skye. Sit in this room for the rest of her life and watch pictures move around? Never. Skye Thompson was going to go out into the world and see things for herself. She would not just sit around and let her mind absorb things like a sponge while her body wasted away. She may not be brave like her brother, but she did have his adventurous spirit. No one could ever take that away.

[Persephone Ruspoli]

She'd messed around in Titus' room long enough. He'd probably know she'd been in here. If her shirt coming back in the laundry didn't give it away, then something else would. He might even have cameras in his room. It wouldn't surprise her. He was an assassin.

Skye was still in the room when Persephone went back. She looked slightly overwhelmed by all the new data, but she'd adapt. People were amazing that way. "Well, your hair looks pretty good. We can always take you to a stylist and say it grew out if Titus thinks you need a better cut. We'll see when he gets back from work." She couldn't keep the sour note out of her voice.

[Skye Thompson]

A voice broke suddenly into Skye's thoughts. She turned to look at Persephone, who was standing in the doorway. As the woman spoke, Skye thought she heard a hint of bitterness in Persephone's voice. Was she angry with Titus? Did this have something to do with the argument they'd been having earlier that morning, before Titus had gone to work? Work... suddenly, Skye felt sure she knew exactly what was bothering Persephone. She couldn't pretend that the thought didn't upset her as well. The thought that her new half-brother could be out in the street at this very moment, taking a life... But then, did Persephone know?

Skye had been in the Top twenty-four hours, and already she was keeping more secrets than she'd had her entire life in the Below. What if she made a mistake? What if she let something slip? She'd just have to chose her words carefully, that was all. She was used to that at least. Although it seemed that in Titus' presence, words just slipped out of her mouth uncensored. But so far that wasn't a problem, she wasn't trying to keep any secrets from him.

She nodded slowly. "Okay, that sounds like a good idea. I mean you're the expert on this stuff..." she let her voice trail away, wondering how to ask the question without telling Persephone the truth, on the off chance that she didn't already know it. She hesitated a moment longer, then, "Are you... are you angry with Titus?" She hoped the question didn't seem too forward. Then again, it would have been much more forward to ask, 'Hey Persephone, did you know my brother kills people?' In some ways, she hoped Persephone knew. Perhaps it was something the two of them could talk about. However, a more selfish part of her mind wanted to hear that Titus had trusted her and only her with this secret.

[Persephone Ruspoli]

"I'm... that's a really complicated question." And it was. How could she sum up two years of twisted emotions in a way that didn't paint Titus as a bad guy? Persephone didn't want to start driving a wedge between Skye and Titus. The girl had just found her brother, she deserved some happiness.

"It's less that I'm angry at Titus... as I am angry at Digeo." Now she had to tread carefully. How much had Titus told Skye? It was no secret what Titus did, but it was still a shocking thing to tell someone from the Below. If you were poor and you were paid money to kill someone, it was murder. But if you were rich and you were paid a lot of money to kill someone, you were a government contractor.

She finally settled on asking a question. "Do you know what Titus does for a living?" If he was lying to her, then Perse wouldn't tell Skye the truth. That was Titus' job, not hers.

[Skye Thompson]

"Yes. Yes he did." So Persephone did know. Skye felt a hint of disappointment, but mostly she was relieved. This was one less secret she had to keep from Persephone. It was already hard enough for her to hide the fact that she was not really related to Titus in any way shape or form. But she would have to get used to that, because she was going to be telling that lie to everyone. She would have to pretend that she really was Titus' half-sister. Strangely enough however, she had already started to feel as if she was. Perhaps it wouldn't be so hard to pretend that was true, even to that man Digeo, who she knew was the one they really had to fool.

So it all went back to this Digeo person... He didn't seem to be very popular among those who knew him. Titus seemed to see being associated with him as a sort of necessary evil, and now here was Persephone, saying she was angry with him. But why? What exactly had he done? Titus had told Skye enough about Digeo to make her afraid of him, but she didn't quite understand why everyone she talked to seemed to hate him so. She opened her mouth and then closed it again, unsure exactly how to ask this question. Finally, she said slowly, "Titus seems sort of upset with Digeo too. He told me a little bit about him, but I don't really understand, I mean why... What is it that makes him so horrible? Why does everyone seem to hate him so much?" She waited as her words hung awkwardly in the air, almost frightened to hear Persephone's answer.

[Persephone Ruspoli]

So she did know. Good. He wasn't lying to her. But on the other hand, he had told her. Skye must have taken it well to be this calm. That was odd, but then again, considering how much she had been through, maybe a professional killer for a brother was nothing compared to the other things she'd lived through.

"Titus and I have very different reasons for hating Digeo." She quickly clarified. Digeo was a monster, but it was important that Skye understood that he was more than just a monster. "He... it's hard to tell exactly what Titus' issue with Digeo is. When we were together, I thought maybe it was just teenage rebellion. But he follows every order Digeo gives him, even the ones he knows he shouldn't, and he seems completely happy being under Digeo's thumb. At the same time... he resents Digeo too. I don't know if it's because Digeo raised him or because Digeo was the one who knew what Titus would be the best at and let Titus fail before showing him the way, or maybe because the only way for Titus to advance in the ranks of the assassins is to kill Digeo. Your guess is as good as mine."

"My own reasons are little more petty. I hate him because he controls Titus' life. I hate him because he encouraged Titus to become an assassin and-" and nurtured that dark side of Titus and told him it was okay to let it grow until it wasn't just hidden in a corner, but always there behind his eyes. No. She couldn't tell Skye that. That wasn't fair to her or to Titus. "-and because he hates me too. I'm pretty sure he'd kill me if he thought he could get away with it."

Perse sat on the edge of the bed, running her hands over her thighs. It wouldn't do any good to like to Skye about the rest. She had to understand why why Digeo was dangerous. And he would be dangerous to Skye. Anyone he thought was taking Titus away from him was seen as competition. "He's a dangerous man Skye, maybe the most dangerous man on Terra. Digeo's not just a professional assassin. He's charming and smart and handsome, but more than all of that, he's utterly ruthless. He'll kill you for standing in his way. Or for bothering him. Or for just stepping out of line. "

[Skye Thompson]

If Skye was afraid of Digeo before, she was terrified of him now. A man who would kill you just for getting in his way. A man who hated a person just for being alive. Skye had known a man like that, and his name was Jack Thompson. She had never imagined she would meet anyone who scared her more than her father. She hadn't even met Digeo, and already she was almost as frightened of him as she was of her father. What would happen when she had to face him for real? Skye sighed and looked down at her hands as she twisted them in her lap. She glanced up at Persephone sitting next to her, and bit her lip. Had she leaped out of the frying pan and into the fire?

No. No, here she had Titus, she had Persephone. In the Below she had had no one. She once had someone, but that had ended four years ago. Suddenly, a horrible thought struck Skye. What if history were to repeat itself? What if Titus and Persephone were forced to leave her, as Adrian had been? What she was stuck here for the rest of her life, at Digeo's mercy as she'd been at her father's? Skye shook her head vehemently. That would never happen to her again. She wouldn't let it. No matter what happened in her life, from now on, Skye Thompson would determine her own destiny, and she would be at no one's mercy. Yet still, she couldn't keep the doubt away... "Persephone? You're not planning on leaving Terra anytime soon, are you?"

[Persephone Ruspoli]

It was clear that Skye was terrified. Good. Digeo was like a snake in the grass. Knowing he was there didn't mean you wouldn't get bitten, but it did mean you were at least aware of the danger. Of course, it was still cruel to tell Skye that she wasn't safe in the Top, not any more than in the Below. But as nasty as Digeo was, he wouldn't hurt her the way her stepfather had. Digeo was a lot of things, but he wasn't like that.

"No, I'll be here for a long time." She assured Skye. "I prefer to be planet-side. This is about as high up as I like going. And there are enough aliens wandering around Terra anyway. If I want to visit with a faun or an elf, I can go find one down at the University, or the docks."

Persephone had no real interest in off-world things. There was so much Terran history and culture to sort through before you even bothered immersing yourself in some other species culture. Lots of artists these days were all about borrowing from other planets, and Persephone took pride in knowing she alone was one of the few human artists who stayed pure when it came to influences. Well. There were those creepy xenophobes, but Perse wasn't like them. She thought Terra was important, but she didn't care if other people wanted to visit the planet or create shoddy imitations of Dwarven carpet-weaving, or whatever these people did for art.

[Skye Thompson]

As she listened to Persephone speak, Skye felt herself relax somewhat. The fear was still there, but it had lessened, and she felt comforted. Persephone was making her a promise, and although she knew that people couldn't always keep their promises, Skye found herself trusting Persephone. She felt guilty for trusting a woman she barely knew more than her own brother, who had almost sacrificed his life for her, but she couldn't help it. Maybe it was just the fact that Persephone was here, now, and Adrian had been gone for years, but somehow she couldn't really believe that. Persephone had been kinder to her, gentler with her, and more honest with her, that was why Skye trusted her. Persephone's words made her feel safe, even when she knew she wasn't.

In addition, they also gave her something else to think about. Where there really people from the other worlds right here, right now? Over the past few weeks, she'd seen a few aliens as she wandered through the streets of Terra, and as a little girl growing up she'd sometimes seen them from a distance. She'd heard that the local bars usually got there fair share of aliens, but her fathers had never gotten one as far as she could tell. This, of course, might have had something to do with the large 'humans only' sign pasted on the front door. Just another reason why Skye hated living with her father. But now that she was free of him, she could meet an alien for real, up close, actually talk to one. She felt a thrill of excitement as she Persephone. "Are there a lot of aliens in the Top?"