Your consensus algorithms perform a final reconciliation against the last round of input, a late result which suggested a carefully targeted telepathic search.
Stay calm, you instruct Ryouko.
We have no idea what's happening, or if this is even real. Find out as much as we can before committing to anything, don't attract any attention, don't shout for help, don't broadcast anything telepathically ... just lay low, and act casual.
We're going to have to interact with people to find out more. We have a couple of options here. Option One, we try to follow the boy. He seemed to recognize us, and he might help us with answers. We'll also be in a more public place, which could be safer, and it might seem less out of place if it looks like we're walking to school. Option Two, we stay put. If we run into any groups they'll probably be smaller, as will the amount of trouble that we run into. I like this a little better. I'm not sure we should try to hide or anything, though, it could just look suspicious.
Ryouko gives a little nod of acknowledgement.
Less trouble sounds like a good idea. So, I guess, just hang out and act casual?
Her mental image of herself acting casual involves her traipsing around idly through endless fields of flowers, clutching her hands together whilst marvelling at the clear blue skies and fluffy white clouds overhead.
Casual, not, "oh-my-goddess, this-is-the-most-delightful-morning-ever."
Oh, remarks Ryouko. She leans up against a tree and begins to fiddle with her fingernails, deploying her very fine Distracted Teenager visage.
Try seeing if you can reach Asami or Simona, you suggest.
In the meantime, you listen to some of the radio bands. There's definitely structured digital traffic on a variety of channels, but you don't have any of the codecs. You could probably reverse engineer something, given enough effort, but you're not sure where to start. You're not exactly optimized to be a protocol engineer, after all.
Hold on a minute, though.
No. There's no way. Even in 2011, it's such a waste of spectrum.
These are shockingly primitive peoples, you think to yourself, as you program a trivial superheterodyne circuit, and listen in awe to crude weather forecasts and music over amplitude-modulated analog broadcasts in the kilohertz spectrum.
Here, listen to this, you say, as you play the sound in Ryouko's head: mostly clear skies, 20% chance of rain overnight, followed by a traffic report.
This is genuine AM radio. If this world isn't real, it's a very lovingly crafted fake.
She marvels at the noise, before considering the implications further.
Okay, then what happened? How did we end up here? All I remember was Homura showing up, and then… chaos.
If you don't remember it, I don't either, you note.
Homura's powers are wild enough that they're probably involved, but Simona's behavior was more suspicious. When did she even make a contract? Where did she come up with her plan?
"Good morning, Shizuki-san!" calls a voice, a girl's.
Ryouko looks up, surprised. A group of
three girls is approaching you.
Perfect "surprise" reaction, you reassure her.
Exactly what we want for an honest to goodness case of mistaken identity.
Wait, interrupted Ryouko,
which Shizuki-san exactly would she mistaking me for…
Don't think about that. You're not the Shizuki they're looking for.
"Oh, wow, nice dress," says one of the other girls. She's short, with brown hair, and pigtails. "I really like it!"
"My my, too cool for the dress code this morning, are we?" asked the third. She had deep green hair, almost black, up in a ponytail, and red eyeglasses.
The first girl, a tall one, with long, straight, reddish-brown hair and a cool demeanor, smirks. "You're right. How scandalous."
You can do this, you reassure Ryouko.
"Um, good morning," said Ryouko, nervously. "Ah, I'm sorry, um, I, ah, don't believe we've met before…"
You should stop expecting the nomenclator to be useful, you chide Ryouko.
But good work so far; this is exactly as awkward as it should be.
"Huh?" asks the cool girl.
"What?" asks the girl with glasses. "You're being weird."
The short girl gasps, and lurches backwards, falling to the ground on her bottom. "That's not the real Hitomi-chan!" she says, pointing. "Her hair is too long and her breasts are way too small!!"
"Well geez, Yuuka," said the one with glasses, looking at the short girl.
"Oh. My. Gosh." said the cool girl, gazing at Ryouko's chest. "You're right."
"Uhhhh," says Ryouko nervously. "My name is Shizuki
Ryouko."
"What." said the girl with glasses. "Are you a clone."
"Oh my gosh, Hitomi-chan has a twin sister and never told us," said the short girl, still on the ground. "That's unfair!"
Don't think too hard about it, you warn Ryouko.
You don't know her.
"Uhh," says Ryouko, still nervous, "I don't think I know the person who you're talking about."
"I'm not buying it," says the girl with glasses. "This is some weird stunt, and you're wearing a wig or something. Real hair doesn't look that good." She places her hand to her temples and closes her eyes in thought. "All right, who do we know who would put Hitomi up to a weird stunt?"
"Are you kidding me, Wakaba-chan?" said the cool girl. "This has Miki Sayaka's name written all over it."
"I know," says glasses girl, evidently Wakaba, "that's the problem, it's almost
too obviously her. I like to think she has higher standards than this."
Ryouko has placed the name
Miki Sayaka quite effectively. She's read the official versions of the MSY's history, she's seen the movie, she's seen the memorial middle school on the map, and she's had the visions. She is, right now, calculating exactly what level of great-great-grandmother of hers a Shizuki Hitomi would have to be, but failing, foiled by an incomplete record.
The short girl, Yuuka, has picked herself up. "Ryouko-chan?" she asks, tentatively. You get the sense she's placed Ryouko at roughly the same level of familiarity as Hitomi herself. She's eyeing Ryouko with wide, wide eyes, paying special attention to her hair, but also noting the red ribbon still tied around one hand.
"Do you think her partners in crime are hiding out behind a tree somewhere with a camera?" asks the cool girl. "Sayakaaa? Cute trick, you had us for a moment, but you can come out now."
"Hold on," says Wakaba, retrieving a small object item from her school bag, a grin coming to her face. "I'll see if I can flush her out." The object appears to be made out of plastic, with a hinge that she opens to reveal a primitive user interface.
Ryouko looks around nervously.
Is this what you had in mind?
> advise Ryouko
You seed the relevant analysis subprocesses with a spectrum of preliminary ideation.
[ ] This is excessive attention. Bail out.
[ ] Teleport away.
[ ] Run away.
[ ] Ask politely, but firmly, for them to leave you alone.
[ ] Keep playing dumb. You were just hoping to meet a friend.
[ ] Enquire after your friend, Nakihara Asami.
[ ] Enquire after your friend, Simona del Mago.
[ ] Enquire after your friend, Tomoe Mami.
[ ] Enquire after your friend, Sakura Kyouko.
[ ] Enquire after your friend, Akemi Homura.
[ ] Enquire after this stranger, Shizuki Hitomi.
[ ] Tell the truth, but play along with the idea that it's part of a ridiculous prank.
As an additional contingency, it occurs to you that, as an object of interest, they may attempt to show off Ryouko to friends. This may involve leading you away from the area.
[ ] Play along, to meet new people.
[ ] Avoid further entanglements.
