Day 1: Out of One's Element

[perfectimitator]

Characters: Peony, Jade(s) (closed)
Location: Grand Chokmah
Time: late morning, day 1
Warnings: none yet

Comments

[voiceofrappigs]

Peony sighed, long-suffering, as he drew up alongside him. "Right right, and you wouldn't want me to start expecting you to be reasonable or anything-- Like be available at any point after sending me a message like this?"

It wasn't that it was uncharacteristic of Jade -- especially if he had more pressing things that needed to be handled immediately (as Peony hoped he would, if the undead were involved) or if he didn't feel like he had enough information to report on -- but rather that it was an extremely aggravating characteristic of Jade. If Peony kept informing him that it was extremely aggravating, perhaps even Jade could be eventually taught a new trick.

The blond was nothing if not relentlessly optimistic.

And since Jade was here now, and he was confident that in a matter of moments he would have his answers, he could engage in a little futility, especially since it took the form of jerking his friend's chain. "What's the meaning of sending me a message like this?" Peony asked, amused, holding the missive with casual pointedness between two fingers. "You couldn't have spared the extra minute to let me know what precisely I was supposed to be on guard for?"

[perfectimitator]

He felt his lips twitching, and since his first instinct was to suppress it, he did. "Are you accusing me of unreasonableness, Your Majesty? Why, I can hardly believe my ears."

Of course, he had no real idea what the message had been, but if it was something the Emperor of Malkuth was meant to be on guard for, well. Given the present circumstances? There were few possibilities. He only needed confirmation.

"Time, essence, all of that. You'll have to forgive me, I was slightly occupied at the time. Besides, a thing like this..." He trailed away and adjusted his glasses, shrugging unrepentently. Bemused.

One more hint? His memory is going, you know.

[voiceofrappigs]

"A thing like this indeed," Peony said dryly. "Next time, make some time to tell me a little more than to not be surprised if I run into the walking dead, okay? It's a tad alarming."

He folded his arms over his chest, not really expecting an apology (from Jade? never) so much as some sort of elaboration. The timing was even stranger, in such close conjunction with Jade's visit to Kimlasca and Luke's mysterious return--

Then he turned around, double-checking their surroundings to confirm what he already knew, and then scolded, "And it's just the two of us-- you don't need to be so formal. I know you know what my name is."

[perfectimitator]

And there it was. He allowed himself a faint smirk. "Indeed. But bear in mind, at this point it is still only a theory -- the matter will require further study." Jade paused, and then added, with a twist of his lips, "You should appreciate the fact that I'm saying anything at all. You know how I hate to theorize out loud."

Because you know me.

He was used to being around people who thought they knew him. He was used to the cloying familiarity, the bent heads and conspiratorial tones. But this was more than that horrifying familiarity. Something like -- real friendliness.

It was cloying. Suffocating. And from this person, somehow worse than it would have been from a complete stranger.

Do not flinch, he told himself fiercely. This person is an excellent resource. He knows nothing of the current situation, but he knows this world, and if you are his dear friend here, so much the better. Do not flinch.

"Ah, I think I do," Jade agreed with acid sweetness, tilting his head as if he really weren't quite sure. "It begins with a 'P', or something, doesn't it?"

[voiceofrappigs]

Peony was prepared to allow that much, but oh, those wounding words! He scratched his head and mused thoughtfully, "If you have difficulty remembering it, I can always give you a rappig with the same name. Then a quick glance at the nametag will help remind you. You know, keep it fresh!"

Despite the carefree jab, he found it a little odd, though -- Jade was usually not quite this recalcitrant, even though he certainly did hate volunteering theories without compelling evidence to back them up. He wouldn't have sent the note if he hadn't thought it was important enough to warn Peony about, whether as a soldier of Malkuth to his emperor, or between two friends. And if it was important...

The blond gave Jade a long look, trying to identify the reason why. "...Does this have to do with Luke? I thought it seemed strange that the first thing he wanted after two years of being missing was to voluntarily subject himself to your laboratory."

[perfectimitator]

An error on his part, obviously -- that was a searching look, and the suggestion likely a test. "There's no need to threaten me," Jade assured him. He remembered what those little beasts could do to a well-ordered lab, and somehow doubted they were any better behaved in an office setting. "Peony it is."

He removed his glasses entirely then, and began to clean them, making no secret of his reluctance, since it had already been spotted. "It isn't unrelated," he agreed slowly, because the replica certainly fit his definition of the walking dead, and coincidences were not useful. "How well do you remember theoretical physics?"

Everything was eggshells now, but the worst thing he could possibly do would be to scramble in an attempt to reassure the other man. The analytical part of him even admired the suspicion. If it didn't run such a high risk of being fatal for him, he might have even graciously admitted defeat and revealed his deception.

[voiceofrappigs]

Oh Yulia. Theoretical physics? Peony's memories of Professor Nebilim's classroom were mostly of excitement at stealing away from his own tutors and escaping the manor, and the fervent desire to be distracting to her more ardent students. The actual content of her lessons had rarely stuck for very long in his quick-moving mind, since no report of his progress would be sent back to his father (and although at first she had attempted to test his learning regardless, he had spent examinations kicking his legs idly and staring out the window while he waited for his friends to put down their pens, and eventually she gave up on that). Only a very scattered assortment of information was still really with him.

Peony said dryly, "Let's just pretend I've had more important things on my mind than intellectual theory for the last thirty years." He didn't take his eyes off Jade, but he relaxed slightly as the direction seemed to be moving more in the intended direction.

[perfectimitator]

"I would roll my eyes, but..." But that was more or less the answer he had been expecting. It went both ways, then; something to keep in mind. You haven't changed.

Should he explain in full, careful detail? Expound one of the great theories, crushing their elegant symmetry into short, simple words? Goddess, he hated the very idea. Jade studied his glasses a moment longer, and shook his head, mostly to himself. "Put simply: Our universe exists. It may not be the only one." There. Only slightly painful to say. "One theory is that our universe came from an original universe -- a parent universe, if you will -- and that, essentially, every event in our universe -- every path taken, every choice made -- takes us another 'step' from that parent universe. But at that exact moment, another choice is also made, and our universe splits in two -- or three -- or four -- or a million, all the result of that different choice. And this is happening every second of every day."

He looked at the other man, attempting to gauge how well he was following, then went on with a bit of a sigh, "Previously, there was really no way to conclusively prove the existence of these parallel universes -- it was impossible for one universe to communicate or interact in any way with another. The occasional fonon could drift through occasionally and be observed, but that was all." Jade pursed his lips, and finished plainly: "Something has clearly gone rather badly wrong on that count, because now we seem to be experiencing quantum interference in the form of whole people."

Hopefully, that would be the end of it.

[voiceofrappigs]

"How unusually helpful of you," Peony said breezily, but he had heard and followed and it -- troubled him. Math had been something that his tutors had impressed on him and he had been reasonably good at it; he remembered probability trees that started out simple and eventually grew into massive things with the potential to go on into infinity. To think of the universe in such a manner was-- unsettling, to say the least.

The words quantum interference meant nothing to him, but the implication was clear: "So 'walking dead' means that we may get visitors from these other universes, who may have experienced different things, taking the form of people we know who should be dead," Peony mulled. That explains the clause about memories.

"Although--" The idea dawned on him, and he really hoped that some inexplicable quirk of this theory (there were always inexplicable quirks) would prove it wrong. "It doesn't have to be people who we think should be dead, does it?"

[red_under_glass]

"That is correct, Your Majesty." It was Jade's voice that responded, yet the Jade in front of Peony hadn't spoken...? The answer to that question came with the opening of a nearby door, and through it stepped...Jade. Two Jades? The world must be ending! "You followed along with that surprisingly well. A good thing, all considered, considering you've already met one of them."

He adjusted his glasses, then regarded his otherworldly counterpart. After finishing his questioning, the Colonel had returned to report to Peony--but while on the way, he'd run into a maid who'd made a very curious comment to him about having made sure that all of his spare uniforms were cleaned so they wouldn't have another incident like earlier that day... Jade had stared at her for a second, smiled, thanked her, bid her on her way--and then very quickly gone searching for Peony.

He'd been standing behind that door for a few minutes. Listening had made it clear that his counterpart had already gotten a very quick grasp on the situation and was doing his best to pretend to be...well, himself. Jade thought he'd done a fairly good job; the technique was pretty much the same as he'd used for Vandesdelca. He'd thought that this might be a good way to gauge his counterpart, because the Necromancer knew better than anyone else how dangerous a man he was. Difficult to do behind a door--no body language to read, vocal inflections muffled--but it let Jade hear which questions his counterpart asked, what attitude he took. Since he wasn't proving to be an immediate threat, it would be more prudent to hold back to see what information could be gathered.

They were, essentially, exactly alike. This person was simply rather cooler towards His Majesty. That didn't necessarily prove anything, because Jade imagined he would take the same attitude if he found himself in a parallel universe, but he still thought it was indicative of a fundamental difference in his attitude towards Peony. Talking with Blade and Vandesdelca had already proved that there were significant differences in their world; if his counterpart truly were removed from His Majesty, then the most significant difference Jade could think of would be...

And so that look Jade gave himself was cold behind the smile, calculating, searching. If it turned out he was only being paranoid, then that would be fine; his counterpart had already proved himself intelligent enough to understand the dangers. If not, then there was no problem, was there? Save for all the *other* problems. "Thank you for that explanation, Jade. I couldn't have done better myself."

Then he turned his smile towards Peony, and if it was cold to him too, it was because Jade couldn't afford to put down his guard. "It does indeed have to do with Luke, by the way--but I shall have to tell Your Majesty the details later. Suffice to say there's already been one incident, which prompted the note that I sent you earlier this morning. I suppose I should have mentioned that those non-replicas were in fact people from other worlds, but that seemed no less confusing than what I'd already written..." Jade's red eyes flicked over towards his double. "...and I hadn't expected something quite like this. Quite careless of me."

[perfectimitator]

He stiffened slightly at the sound of his own voice, but did not bother to glance back or gawk. He knew what he would see behind him. Checkmate, then; game over.

"Do I really hate explaining things so much that I would rather hide in the shadows than arrest a possibly dangerous impersonator?" he asked dourly over his shoulder. "Ah, I have a truly terrible sense of priorities."

Jade turned his attention fully back to the Emperor of Malkuth then, and offered, "Careless is certainly the word. You should reprimand me somehow. Duplicates of the dead might be unsettling and cause -- ah, rather rash actions, on the part of some -- but a duplicate of someone you trusted could be deadly. I should have mentioned the possibility. Or," he added, his lips curving, "at the very least, I should have given you some sign -- some subtle signal or password -- for use in the event of meeting me."

He held out his wrists, clasped expectantly together, and did not seem at all to begrudge either man the obvious necessity. "Well, I suppose the jig, as they say, is up."

And now, his execution, no doubt -- perhaps it would be quick. At the very least, to die here and under these extremely bizarre circumstances was something he had never, never anticipated. There was some small, analytical satisfaction in that.

[voiceofrappigs]

Peony backed away immediately at the second voice, turning to regard the door and looking back and forth between the two -- for once, not even a trace of a smile on his features. This situation had very quickly gone from hypothetically bad to extremely and obviously bad. He had been talking to an alternate, and he had only had the slightest idea that anything was awry... they were identical. It was eerie.

It was worse than he'd thought. It was like the mass replications all over again--

There would be panic.

Peony straightened, recollecting his composure as he stepped back to where he could see both of them -- uncomfortable though that prospect was. "Well," he said dryly, running a hand through his hair casually, "This certainly is the worst of all possible scenarios. Two of Jade? I asked that question because I was hoping the universe would implode before something this creepy occurred."

He waved the... other Jade's hands down, and told his friend, "He's right, you know. We need a secret handshake."

[red_under_glass]

"You made it clear by your conversation that your priority was to seek information on your situation, and therefore it was unlikely you'd jeopardize that by engaging in unnecessary violence," Jade replied calmly to his double. "Ergo I could afford to wait for a good opportunity to interrupt while getting a better sense of your own world via your attitude and choices. Since you were also unaware of my presence, that also gave me the advantage of a surprise attack were you to decide to employ force against His Majesty for whatever reason, so simply jumping out immediately to arrest you would have no advantages. Really, I would have thought that I would keep the bigger picture in mind."

The Colonel adjusted his glasses again, regarding Peony as his double offered his suggestion. It was obnoxious, yes, but he had to admit that he had a point. It really was his own fault for not anticipating that the situation might escalate this quickly when already he'd met a copy of himself, and that carelessness *could* have cost Peony his life. He opened his mouth to agree--and then laughed as his counterpart lifted his hands. "Behind your back, please--" he said, only to pause, a frown flickering over his features as Peony simply waved the double's hands down.

Hm. That was going to be a problem. Jade merely sighed for the nonce, however, and folded his arms, ignoring the jab about 'two Jades.' Frankly, he agreed with Peony--and what's more, he thought that seriously, rather than making a joke out of it. "Yes, I know. I apologize for that, Your Majesty; it truly was an egregious oversight on my part. But whether it's a codeword or a secret handshake, we'll need to do something about him immediately." A shift of the head towards the other Jade. "As for the situation in general, I'll inform you that I instructed the military police to search out and mark the movements of any doubles that might appear without approaching them directly. There's already a double of Van in prison, incarcerated on charges of impersonation of a dead criminal and being potentially dangerously delusional. My delay in reporting to you is due to my questioning him. So, the police at least already have a partial explanation to give to the public."

[perfectimitator]

That was, admittedly, a fair point. And -- at least on the surface (he would hate to jump to conclusions) -- considerably more cool-headed than he would have given his duplicate credit for. Really, it was reassuring. Point for him, then; perhaps that made them even thus far. (If they ended this game in a tie, he would consider himself the victor -- surely some sort of handicap should be afforded to the fish out of water?)

He had already begun to move his hands as per his duplicate's request when the Emperor rendered it -- unnecessary.

Jade stared at the other man, expressionless. Was he serious? It hardly seemed possible. How could anyone be so distastefully naive? Surely some assassin would have already taken advantage of this by now to feed him poisoned apples or stab him in the back on a pleasant evening's stroll. It was preposterous. He kept his arms at his sides, hovering, waiting for one man or the other to have the final word on the matter.

(Did this mean he wouldn't be executed?)

[voiceofrappigs]

That was some measure of relief -- it wouldn't save them from the inevitable panic when people finally figured out what was going on, and they might inevitably miss a few, but the damage control was already in place. Of course there were other steps that would have to be taken, which skimmed through his mind quickly before he set them aside. They could wait for an hour, a half-hour. The second Jade was right here, already confusing servants and emperors alike, and that was a more pressing issue for the moment.

"Good work, Jade," Peony said with a nod, grateful acknowledgment, although he quirked up a grin and added, "even if somewhat -- patchy in places."

There had been a moment of mixed signals there, a very brief beat of conflict where he and Jade had each given a different impression to their guest, and Peony glossed over it and ignored it with sweeping confidence. Blithely, he mused, "But you're right, of course... both, right. We definitely need to do something. For one thing, looking at the two of you is making me dizzy."

Peony entertained moment's thought, just long enough to invite one or both Jades think up something to say into the silence, and then he immediately announced, "Okay! We're all heading that way." He pointed down the hall, towards his chambers. "I'm done holding very confusing conversations in the hallway. Further sensitive information will be dealt with in a more private setting."

[red_under_glass]

Now, how different did Jade really expect himself to be? Actually, he was significantly different, so perhaps it was only fair for the otherworldly Jade to start with a low opinion and work his way up--but it would be a learning game either way. Never mind that Colonel Jade didn't consider this a game in the slightest. In a way, it was good for the second Jade that he had decided to play along with Peony, for if he had shown any inclination towards violence, Jade would not have even bothered arresting him. Although if this was His Majesty's attitude, the Colonel highly doubted he would approve of it, he considered execution a strong possibility for this man.

Ironic, that. Or perhaps it was only appropriate?

"Your Majesty's critique is duly noted," the Colonel replied mildly in return for the grin. Well, if he was going to keep things pleasant for now and save any real scolding for later--or simply consider things as 'what's done is done' and move onto the next problem--then Jade couldn't really complain. He wasn't fond of letting Peony say that this other Jade could walk around unchained, given as both of the Jades thought that that was a spectacularly imprudent move...but this wasn't the time or place to argue about it. For the time being, he awaited the Emperor's orders like a proper soldier.

"...Very well, Your Majesty." Jade very much so didn't fancy the idea of questioning his counterpart in Peony's own room, but it couldn't be denied that that room would have better security than any other. And so he stepped to the side and planted a hand firmly on his double's opposite shoulder--as much to gauge his reaction as to take control of the situation--and began to lead him in the appropriate direction. Before he did, though, Jade met his double's eyes and gave him a smile and a Look. It was a look his double would be able to read well: I know you're clever enough to tell what will happen if you try anything funny. So don't, because I won't show you any mercy.