Week 17: Seoul Interchange

An entire floor of the Interchange was dedicated to the Rainchild visit. Large crowds were queuing up to have their books signed, to eat themed meals at the restaurants and to buy exclusive merchandise at the outlets that had been converted just for this purpose for the week.

Security was very high, with the UIG and the Ai Jinn both making a big show of having agents, officers and wardens stationed everywhere. This was in addition to the all ready high security of the Interchange.

Harriet herself was sat at a table, raised slightly above the line, so people could see her while they waited. She was striking looking, with a short, pointed nose, well defined cheeks and a high forehead, her long white hair pulled back into a bun. Currently she was signing a couple of the first BIOLine book, owned by two small children. She was kind and friendly to those she talked to, speaking mandarin fluently with a slight accent.

With a last flick, she finished her signature on the book, before reaching out and rubbing the kids' heads gently. "Next please." She said, her voice calmly carrying over the noise of the room. Behind her were two female combat replicants, who continually scanned the area. One of them followed the retreating children, her eyes glowing green and white behind her glasses. Both of them were heavily armed, being Harriet's personal guards, one holding a plasma rifle and the other two magnums, and both had a plasma sword at their hips.

Sosie squeezed the paper copies of her favorites. They were much loved, feathered, dog-eared copies... Mostly about replicants, though one of the last Biolines was in the short stack. She nervously ran her fingers through the bright blue tips of her three narrow mohawks. There was a dizzying amount of people, and despite her growing excitement, the cyberneticisit felt slightly.. wary. She'd never taken her daughter out in public before, and the young girl behind her was keeping very close. She was a good few inches shorter than her mother, with a head of soft pink and liliac colored tresses... And her skin was a strange, matte silver. Her eyes were very large, a deep green, and her features were delicate and very.. doll-like. A replicant. "You okay, Bell?" Sosie's voice was gentle as she spoke in Korean. The youthful looking replicant nodded once, face impassive. "Good, good. Do you want to get something to eat? Or we could wait in line?"

Bell pulled her white circuit patterned hoodie a little closer around her, and gave her mother a long glance. "I don't have a preference either way." Sosie nodded, not really expecting her daughter to have an opinion, but feeling better for asking. "Well, the line looks shorter now, and we may as well.. get ready to meet her." She giggled a little nervously, and then linked arms with her daughter. It was rare that Sosie got to meet her heroes, let alone the one that dominated most of her free time.. And personal time. And home page. The pair moved to the end of the line.

Han stood in line as he waited for it to creep slowly forward, clad in the shiny shirt Ida had given him. In his hands was a battered copy of his favourite of the Bioline series, number 32. He looked down the depressingly long queue, trying to get a glimpse of the author he was here to see. Disappointedly, he leaned back in to the queue and opened the book.

Over the hubbub of the interchange, Han was reasonably certain he could hear Ms Terrahaute, but he was unwilling to start a conversation with her, for fear she was still mad at him. If she wanted to talk to him, she would.

If one thing surprised Harriet, it was the number of agents coming to her, clutching old, dog eared copies of the BIOLine series. She supposed that they may have just grown up on them, but the sight of hardened, superhuman killers coming in costumes of varying degrees of quality, eyes glowing and eagerly talking about how much they loved the series entertained her. Still, at least it wasn't like the EI agents, who usually attempted to seduce her while she signed their books. Occasionally, she'd go with them, drink them under the table, then handcuff them to the bed with a note saying not to call her, they weren't worth it.

She finished signing the book of an off duty UIG officer, who had brought their kid along to pretend to have some form of dignity, and was about to call up the next person in the queue when she glanced down the line. At a rough guess, she counted 13 agents of various different factions, including an Ai Jinn agent and a Shi Yukioh agent who were standing next to each other, and doing their best to glare each other down when one was dressed as Hanimoto Yuki and the other as Raji Beriziky, and both were holding copies of the same book. She reckoned that they'd probably end up at the very least geeking out together, if not making.

"Next!" She said.

Han nervously approached the counter and shyly waved. Despite standing considerably taller then the author, he seemed very unsure of himself. "Ummmm, excuse me Ms Rainchild. Could I get you to sign this for me please?"

Bell, handily passing her observation check, looked around the room with a watchful glance. She took into account all the extra security, the crowds, the general buzzing air. She had read the entire Rainchild library and found she could identify most of the people in costumes and toys. She had found the books.. useful, instructive, and insightful for determining how human imagination worked. She didn't understand the pageantry at all... But what else could she do, especially with her mother chirping happily. Speaking of..

Sosie flipped through her books, making soft nervous comments. Would it be alright? She had brought so many to sign, AND her PDA, with the rest of her collection on it. From here, she could only see the combat replicants standing standing behind Harriet. She looked at their guns with mild approval, and wondered if they had read the books their mistress had written. She would be able to see Harriet better if that tall guy moved out of the way.. And then Sosie handily passed her own observation roll. That's Han... Not in armor. Betcha ten credits Ida bought him that shirt. Of course, Sosie's masterfully ripped jeans were also a gift from Ida. The cyberneticist idly chewed on her lip ring. He was only a few people ahead her. How had she missed him the entire time in the line? Oh god, their turn was coming up! "Shit."

"Of course I can't." Said Harriet, leaning back and crossing her arms. "You think I'd come all this way to a booksigning convention to sign books?" Her voice was stern, but had a hint of a giggle, and the grin on her face told Han she was joking. "Of course I can dear, what should I write?" She asked, motherly.

Han looked confused, wondering if he had fundamentally misunderstood the premise of this event. He began stammering a hurried apology when she explained she was joking. (Rolled Perception+Psychology to see if she was lying. Failed by 2)

"Oh, um, if you could just make it to Han that would be nice. And I just really wanted to say how much I loved your books, and that I really loved reading about all of the characters in Bioline but my favourite was Marc, cause he's really funny and..." He was gushing, speaking incredibly fast by this point.

Sosie listened to the conversation intently, interested both in what Han was gabbering about and how Harriet would respond. She was amused at how tongue tied and eager he was. It's best to practice what you want to say. Sosie had timed her words; in thirty five seconds, she would be have said everything she needed to say.. A little funny, a little poignant, and very appreciative. Psh, blubbering like an excited schoolboy. Hmph.

She gently nudged her daugther with an elbow, and whispered in Korean, "The man talking to Rainchild right now works with me at Oracle." Her voice was gentle as she continued. "His name is Han."

Bell nodded silently, watching Han for a moment before turning her eyes back to the combat replicants. She was openly staring.

Harriet smiled. She was used to this reaction by now, and it wasn't nearly the most impressive scene she'd had in front of her. That would go to the EI Nuke who panicked so much he stripped off his clothes and ran out of the convention naked and screaming...although, to be fair, he was also very, very high.

"Just Han then?" She asked, writing his name in the front and signing her name. "You know, I get a lot of agents asking me to sign this, but people like you, who look like heavies, generally prefer Yuki for some reason...I'm glad Marc's getting some more fans." She smiled.

Behind her, one of the replicants, her sunglasses slipping down her nose just enough to see her emotions, met Bell's gaze and held it, her eyes flashing from curiosity to excitement to happiness rapidly.

"Er...thank you. I guess he just sort of...reminded me of someone I used to know. And I guess I just liked how he worked with the rest of the team. That just really worked for me, I suppose." He took a deep breath and composed himself.

"Thank you for signing my book Ms Rainchild. I won't take up any more of your time." He gave a traditional bow, lowering to about 45 degrees before retreating.

Harriet smiled and nodded. "Have a good day now Han. I think that stall over there has some rather interesting Marc figures you might like" pointing at a Japanese run shop filled with various modelling kits and posed statuettes of the characters. "Next please?"

After a couple more people passed, a young girl with an older woman came up to the stand. "And who might you be?" She asked, looking at Bell.

Despite living with Syl, Bell was unable to read the combat replicant's reaction... She was only aware that her presence had caused one. Unsure, she took a small step closer to her mother, brow furrowing slightly. Sosie looked at her daughter, realizing that her hands were shaking. She grabbed the books tighter, and looked from her daughter to the combat replicant. A delighted thought struck her; being owned by Harriet would be a sure fire way to become a well rounded AI.

It was focusing on the obvious replicants that caused Sosie not to take a close look at Harriet until they were called to the table. Harriet's face turned to her daughter, and for a moment Sosie was filled with a strange sense of deja vu... And then her eyes followed the line of the writer's arm, to her long fingers and delicate wrists. Delicate, familiar wrists. Familiar...

Sosie froze dead, breath catching in her throat. Unable to move or talk, she stared, wide eyed. Bell, however, did not suffer this catatonic lock up, and took a hesitant step forward. "I am Bell." The pink and purple haired girl turned to her mother, who were it not for her brain oxygenator, would have passed out completely. The replicant swallowed once, face still betraying none of her emotion. "I am Bell Terrehaute," she repeated, "And this is my mother, Sosie Terrehaute."

"Y'egkwarzlch," Sosie stuttered, eyes wide and focused still on Harriet's hands.

A flicker of shock passed over Harriet's face as she heard the name, before it disappeared and was replaced by her normal, serene smile. Behind her, the other replicant, her sunglasses still covering her eyes, took a step backwards, her companion's eyes showing excitement and surprise.

"Please to meet both of you." Said Harriet, smiling and reaching forwards to take the books. Her other hand grabbed a bookmark from the table and scribbled something down quickly. "Are you alright, Ms Terrehaute?" She asked, concern lining her features.


She slid the bookmark across the table, revealing that it read "Not here. Come to the Interchange Hotel at 11pm".

It took a fair amount of tugging to get the books out of Sosie's hands, and they slipped onto the table. Her eyes didn't leave Harriet's hands the whole time. "F..nzl?" And then Harriet was writing something down. Sosie's eyes looked at the bookmark, reading it. The totally lockdown that had frozen her was interrupted by a voice demanding that she get a hold of yourself. She knows who you are, she knows you know WHAT she is, and this is not the time nor the place for this. The replicant smith shook her head once, stiffly extended her arm and grabbed the bookmark, shoving it unceremoniously in a book. You had the whole bit planned. Come on. Just act naturally!

In the three seconds that had passed since Bell had said her mother's name, she witnessed four completely unexpected reactions from Harriet, her replicants, and her mother. She felt utterly lost. Sosie took another small step forward and reached for her daughter's own wrist, her voice switching to a hoarse English. "I.. I.. I.. I'm j-just overwhelmed. I've b-been a huge fan for years. The BIOLine series, sure, but especially some of your later work.." She can see, asshole, she knows which books you picked AND SHE'S A REPLICANT FUCK FUCK FUCK "I.. I wanted to thank you. Working so long in the lab--I've read everything." HARRIET RAINCHILD IS A REPLICANT FUCK FUCK You know she's heard this all before you're being so banal so stereotypical IS THIS REALLY HER COULD IT POSSIBLY BE FUCK FUCK FUCK "Y-you're amazing."

Bell looked from her mother to the writer, aware that something was up... Since Sosie was grabbing her wrist like she was afraid gravity might turn off and both of them might fly away.

Harriet nodded. "I must say, you're among the first person I've met who's work I know about." She lent back in her seat, folding her arms across her chest. "I can't say I expected you." With a flick of her hand, she beckoned one of the combat replicants forward. "Betty, you have my PDA, correct? Can I borrow it a second?"

She continued to speak. "I've come across your name a lot while researching my books. Quite an impressive resume...particularly some of your latter work." As she said this line, she looked Bell up and down. She took the PDA from Betty and placed in on the table next to her. "I'd love to talk for longer, but I have a rather long queue to deal with. Some other time, perhaps?" She asked, signing Sosie's books. "I think you'll like this one." She said, outwardly to Bell, spending a bit longer than usual signing a particular book, before handing the pile back to Sosie, that book on top. She winked, and turned to Betty for a moment. "Send a message to Ra, would you dear? You know what to say." she said softly.

"Y-you.. know.. .." She knows you, fuck, of course, why or what else did you think THE REPLICANT WOULD KNOW WHO THE REPLICANT SMITH WAS, FUCK She swallowed hard, her mouth all of a sudden bone dry. Did she just compliment Bell? Did she.. "Of, of course I would be here! All of us were fans of your work..." She trailed off, eyes settling on Harriet's face just in time to see her wink. A cold shiver passed through her body, and all pretence at remembering to talk disappeared. She let go of her daughter's wrist and began very quietly giggling. She was a goner.

Bell took one look at her mother and grabbed the pile of books. "Thank you, Ms. Rainchild." She felt that this wasn't sufficient, and racked her brain to figure out what to say next. "I.. we both are very thankful and glad to have met you." Sosie nodded in agreement, mumbling a brief goodbye before tittering and clumsily walking away. Once far enough from the table--in fact, rather close to the figurine booth--Sosie collapsed backwards onto a wall, panting and giggling and smiling a winning but rather doofy looking smile.

Han was in the process of deciding which of the various figures would be an appropriate gift for someone, when he noticed Sosie near-hyperventilating against the wall. Instantly, his mind switched into battle mode, all the while regretting the severe lack of weapons he was carrying. If a fight broke out, he'd be at a serious disadvantage, at least till he scrounged some weapons. Wordlessly, he weaved through the crowd like it was water.

As he reached her, he asked. "Sosie, are you okay? Have you been poisoned?"

Sosie clutched the wall as if she was afraid that she would fall off, and indeed, her whole world had been turned upside down. She was dimly aware someone was moving toward her, but once her brain resolved it was Han, she lurched forward to grab the sparkling labels of his shirt. "..FFfff..fffuck!" She shook him a little bit, before looking around. There were a lot of children, a lot of parents, and her own daughter around. Some people were looking at her, and she glared around, mouth open, before turned back to Han. Her eyes were wide and looked strangely distant... But she was smiling, grinning happily, bursting with barely contained joy. Stop. Say nothing. "Th.. That's Harriet Rainchild, r.. r-right there!"

She turned to look at the writer, and noticed her daughter. Her brain made a few more helpful hints on how to conduct herself in public. She clinging to Han's shirt, she added, "And that's my daughter, Bell."

"Uhhh...wow. You must be really...thrilled to meet her, I guess. She seemed really nice." Han studied her closely, looking to see if her eyes were bloody or overly dilated. She appeared to simply be overexcited. Turning his eyes away for a moment, he turned to Bell and bowed politely. "A pleasure to meet you maam." He finished the bow, then there was silence for a moment.

"Wait, what? You have a daughter?"

Sosie's wild eyes were on fire, and she nodded at Han energetically. Her pupils did seem.. larger than normal, but her eyes were so dark it was hard to tell. "She.. She is nice, isn't she?" She swallowed again. Her tongue felt like it was covered sand. She swallowed again and looked at her daughter. "And, y-yes. Bell is my daughter. You remember me saying I was pregnant, right? Well, she's my child." Her eyes focused a little as she mentioned facts, seeming to come back to herself. Her hands were still balled around Han's shirt, white knuckled. She gently, gently began to undo them, aware that she hadn't had feeling in them for over a minute now. "Bell, come say hi. This is Han."

Bell looked up from the books. She had opened the top cover of the uppermost book, both to read the name and what Harriet had signed. Her large eyes looked intelligent and were a dark, sparkling green. She spoke Mandarin flawlessly. "Hello, Han. Mom has informed me that you work with her."

"Um...wait, if this is who you were pregnant with...then...what? How?" Han's face was rather...to say confused would be a major understatement. "Umm, yes, I work with your mother. I...uh...look, forgive me if this is rude, but I really have to ask..." He took a deep breath as he collected himself. "Are you a replicant, Bell?" He asked, all the while scanning her face intently, comparing the more subtle features of her to Sun Ren in his head.

Bell's impassive face shifted slightly, brows furrowing just enough to indicate confusion. She closed the book in front of her with a thump. "Yes. Do I not meet visual replicant requirements stated in UIG law?"

Sosie finally removed her hands completely from Han's chest, and rubbed her shaking digits together to get some life back into them. Her face changed a little, her smile losing its manic edge. In a more gentle voice, she added. "Bell is my daughter. I made her. She's a part of my family." She gently touched the arm of her daughter with her inelastic yet fluttering fingers. "It doesn't need to be more complicated than that."

"Ummm, maybe. I guess so. I don't really know the regulations that well, to be honest." Han shrugged. "I guess I don't know replicants well enough to pick them out immediately. Getting there though."

Han turned to Sosie and nodded. "I get that. She's your family, thats all that matters. Actually...that answers a lot of questions. Like the whole thing about being pregnant...that confused me at the time. But how did you..." Han's voice trailed off as his mind worked furiously. "Ahhhhhh, I see. You used the material gathered from that mission. That makes perfect sense now."