ablankpage | Voxophone 5/??

Progress is slow, frustratingly so.

[For his own purposes, Robert still treats the journal rather like a voxophone. Others can hear it, yes, but only if they choose to, and he isn't revealing any great secrets. Besides, they've had their work stolen once. Here, justice would be easier.]

With our books and notes, we could catch up to our prior work in a matter of weeks. As it is, it will take months, if not years.

[Time he and Rosalind had to spare but time others might not think was so dispensible. After all, there was no reason for them to leave, if this really was some sort of tangent universe. Let the world Elizabeth and Booker knew reset. They would remain here.

They weren't needed in that world anyway.]

There is the further trouble of equipment, as well. The Malnosso are not generous with what can be found in the enclosure, and the time it will take to earn what we require further delays our research.

[He can't help the annoyance that creeps into his voice as he continues:]

If they would but assist us, we might further their aims as well as our own.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's certainly a complicated relationship. [He's not ready to blame the enclosure's other residents - not when he's seen proof in the tunnels of how inhumane the Malnosso had treated Lucetians in the distant past.]

I imagine you haven't heard of Mister Tony Stark's portal project.

I don't believe I've heard it mentioned, no.

Perhaps it's time that you learned. You may find it particularly relevant to your own project, as well as the Malnosso's roadblocks.

I have the time for the education, certainly.

I abhor the very idea of being any type of educator, but then again there isn't really anything of value that I can ask for in exchange for this information. Perhaps I can simply tell you.

If you've mentioned something without any interest in telling someone about it, I'll assume it's not that engaging of a subject matter.

I can't say that it's the most exciting story that I've ever heard, but it's certainly relevant to your project. I merely find it tragic that the nature of our confinement makes it all so easily to exchange information freely.

One benefit of being here, certainly. [The other is avoiding death or worse, but he won't mention that.]

It's a benefit in a way. But one tends to miss the fun of negotiating terms for exchange.

Alas... But perhaps I've stalled enough. You see, there's a foolish man who was here for some time until just recently. Tony Stark. He sought to make a machine utilizing technology from his own world capable of crossing dimensions, known as a worm hole.

I assume he was unsuccessful.

Had he created a machine such as it before? Did he employ the assistance of the Malnosso?

'Unsuccessful' may be an accurate summary indeed.

He had never created it before. He and another researcher present within the enclosure were creating it based on scientific theory from their own world. As for the Malnosso's involvement, that's where things get interesting.

The entire operation was performed behind the Malnosso's back. They called in favors from various inhabitants, to use their mission points to buy parts they needed piecemeal. They wanted to use the worm hole to form an escape without Malnosso interference. Hence, they employed such tactics to keep the Malnosso from catching onto their plan.

I trust they tested the process of transporting objects between worlds before they attempted to convey people, at least.

I can't tell for sure. To be honest, most of my knowledge of this incident has been pieced together after the fact from a number of sources. [From his few encounters with Tony, the few messages on the journals concerning it, and by using Ion's journal to access past LucetiLocked entries. It all helped him to piece together what he knew.]

All I know is that at one point, the scientists did test the portal on themselves. The machine seemed to have worked... but somewhere along the way, something backfired. Perhaps the barrier, perhaps the Malnosso, or something about the nature of the world. Perhaps it was simply a flaw in the machine's design. All I know for sure is that the two researchers survived, yet they suffered from temporary loss of senses, similar to the death penalties given on this world.

I shall certainly take those factors into consideration as our work progresses.

[So many vairables to account for, but... Well. Unlike these former scientists, he intends to account for them.

Then again, his ego is a force to be reckoned with.]

By the time we're ready to reconstruct our machine, I intend to involve the Malnosso. They have been here longer and could, likely, provide valuable insight.

I see. Simply consider this a friendly warning. [He says with an odd cheeriness, vaguely close to sarcasm.]

I suppose you'll find out when the time is right whether or not the Malnosso share your interests.

One of their representatives showed an interest when informed that my colleague and I have successfully created and utilized technology to travel between several alternate worlds.

This place, of course, does not operate by quite the same laws, but we have, at least, had practical experience in the field.

Is that so? I'm interested in seeing how your project fares, in that case.

[He's given what warning he could. Now he'll do what he can to watch and see if this man could truly succeed or fail. It should prove entertaining. And it could prove as a way to truly confirm whether or not the Malnosso would aid such a project.]

I imagined members of the Malnosso would be somewhat displeased following Tony Stark's experiment, but perhaps your offer of open cooperation could still truly work.

If all goes well -- and it never does, there will assuredly be setbacks -- I should imagine that we will have a prototype to present to the Malnosso to begin minor testing on in a year.

Recreating two decades of research and experimentation won't be easy, but we have the knowledge of successfully crossing worlds of our own volition as basis.

My, my. It certainly sounds impressive.

[And then he adds a bit dryly:] I'll have to mark my calender, then.

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