VARIABLE.

New Vegas had some merit...

Drinking from a water bottle at the edge of a burning encampment.

No magic.

A place with no magic.

*Schrödinger

Shroedinger's jail cell.

Are they in it or not?

there was forty feet between them
when they stopped to make their play

and the swiftness of the ranger is still talked about today

🙄

go.bsky.app/2ngV1fJ

They simply nod.

They won't remove their mask unless asked, and so they sit down in the center of the cell, cross-legged, where they remain motionless for now. Waiting to see if Lorelei would ask more questions or not.

'You could have killed me a dozen times over by now. I have seen your skill with a rifle. You know that I do not trust your leadership. Why let me live?'

'Poorly considering I was captured.' They gestured to the cell, hoping a wry sense of humor would appeal somewhat to Lorelei. They were not currently being tortured, or stripped, and when they asked for food, they were given it. This place could certainly be worse.

Which is why they wanted it.

They resisted the initial urge to immediately ask to explain the complex issue she mentioned and instead digest the rest of the information.

'I know who you are.'

want. Food. Shelter. Protection. Why? There have been major explosions here. I had to know what strange things happened here and I know the casino owner is weak and addicted to Jet.'

They listen intently, then sign their response, relieved they don't have to write anymore. The only sound was the fabric of their clothes moving in the jail cell.

'I have no name. I call myself Variable. I threatened the casino owner after I disabled the scorpion robot. This settlement has what I

They stare unblinkingly at Lucy, white lenses in their mask hiding their eyes but giving her the sense of being watched.

'Yes' they sign back, unable to hide the excitement in their form at the sign language.

'How much sign do you know?'

They made sure to sign slowly so that Lorelei could keep up better if she didn't remember that much.

They don't respond other than to gesture to the exit. The mask does turn toward the pile of their stuff off to the left, in a small chest, although they noted it was unlocked.

A neat, legible script wrote all about how the leadership of Haven Lake was compromised due to some shadow government. They watched her read without saying anything, but there weren't all that many people in Haven Lake that could both read and write and would've been in this jail.

They shake their head at the inquiry in Spanish, then mime writing with a pen on their left hand with their right index finger and point over to the abandoned ledger and pen the one-eyed man had left behind in the jail on the floor.

They do not speak. The lensed eyes make it difficult to know where they're looking, so all Lorelei or Arlo have to go off of is where the mask is pointing, and right now it's just pointing at the exit.

They stop moving when they see Lorelei.

They glare at him while they continue to make their racket, those white lensed eyes giving them an inhuman vibe with the robotic actions.

Smashing the metal cuffs against the metal bars in a discordant hymn.

Making a racket in the jail.

Alone again.

Idiot.

They shake their head. They won't offer proof until they're free.

They push the ledger and the pen back and then scoot to the far edge of the bars.

They gesture to the bars.

“Freedom for proof.”

They drew a map connecting Haven Lake to several other settlements in the area.

“Compromised. Incompetent leaders allow raiders to come in. Sunshine failed. Robot will kill the defenses at the last second for raiders to take over. Casino burns. People turned to slaves.”

They just underline "compromised".