piers | 02. most love like hunters

[There's a sideways glance, because Setsuna sees what you did thar, bro. In the end, he doesn't bother chiding Amuro for it, but otherwise ignores the question by focusing on the nu-Gundam.]

You can use a psychoframe because you're a Newtype.

[Conjecture at best on Setsuna's part, based mostly on what little he knows about Newtypes in general. These Innovators-yet-not-Innovators...]

[ Drat. Caught red-handed. Amuro eases his attention away from the 00 again, honoring Setsuna's bullheaded obstinacy in playing keep-away with information. Square one doubled back to the Nu, he supposes, with patience that is not insincere. ]

At it's core, that's true. [ Amuro has long since grown into what he is: the "unknown" element. The stigma still lingers with him, for all his dedication and compassion, but now was not the time. ] The data there is as you see it. The psycommu system is a mind-to-machine interface that translates a Newtype's brainwaves into electrical commands.

They're not quantum brainwaves... [At least, not in any form that he can recognize. Though, admittedly, he's far from an expert on the subject, and given that he's humanity's first Innovator, there are no real experts to turn to. Its left Setsuna to muddle through much of this on his own, to be pulled by instincts that he can barely understand. He's painfully aware of how different he is, and the stigma has all but crushed any social development he's made in the last few years.

Why those instincts keep pulling him towards Amuro and the Nu, he couldn't begin to explain. But he does start to understand as he hits along a line of thought regarding the Psychoframe.]

...but the psychoframe lets you become one with your machine.

You can become... Gundam...

[Which may not seem like the biggest deal on the surface, but the way Setsuna hands tighten on the railing, and the intensity with which he's staring down the Nu Gundam, this might be something of importance. (To Setsuna, anyway)]

Become...? [ Amuro finds himself briefly tangled in the wording. Becoming part of the machine sounded wildly unreasonable to him, but he says nothing out loud, noting the profound effect it has on the other pilot. Then he remembers that he is not the most reasonable of people to deal with himself. Maybe that was something they could relate on, even if Amuro is certain it wouldn't be the only thing. ]

I'm not familiar with quantum brainwaves. [ Amuro leans on the railing, arms crossed. ] But you could look at it that way. Utilizing the Gundam's power via thought. Being able to visualize your enemy and with those--[ He points at a newly operational fin funnel being stacked onto the Nu. ]--make them fall.

[ Amuro is about results. Data, physical technology, raw material he could shape to his liking. Complicated, but linear. Being a Newtype, something so seemingly infinite and nebulous in concept, contradicted everything he thought he knew about himself when he'd first encountered the Gundam. ]

It was that ability that exposed Newtypes to the world. [ With him at the forefront. ] But not the idea that made the Earth fear them.

[Setsuna, by contrast, has always been a big picture guy. It was the broad strokes that mattered, the details were what you put into them. He was a man of faith, even if, rather than having faith in god, he had faith in Gundam.

It wasn't something Amuro understood yet, given the way he answered, but this was still a feeling out process between them.]

So what did? [Make the earth fear them, he means, though he doesn't bother to clarify.]

The unknown. Those on Earth fear what humanity could become in space. The emergence of Newtypes was seen as dangerous if they couldn't be controlled.

[ His gaze also locks onto his Gundam. Amuro had invested everything he was into the Nu. It was a machine--a weapon--but something else altogether, too. ]

But humanity doesn't deserve to be punished for that.

[ Gravity should not have been as good as a death sentence. Not like he wanted. ]

[He glances over to Amuro for a moment, hearing what wasn't directly said, that they couldn't understand him. Setsuna's expression turns thoughtful for a moment, before he looks back at the Nu.]

Were you able to come to an understanding with them?

[ That was the million dollar question. Amuro has to think about that for a second. ]

No.

[ For all the alliances, the friendships, the lovers, and the wars that raged through each of them... ]

But that kind of understanding can't be forced onto humanity. It takes time.

[Setsuna can only say one thing in response to that.]

No.

[There's a certain emphasis behind that rejection. Time? One year? Ten years? A hundred years? Time is something that happens too passively for anything to change.]

If you want the world to change, if you want them to truly understand you, you have to fight.

[ Amuro could argue with him. Tell him that's what Char Aznable would say. But intent is everything, and he only smiles wryly. Even if Setsuna's solution was to fight, it wasn't to force war upon humanity. Destroy the planet. Jettison them into space out of pure selfishness. ]

Only someone who perceives things differently would say something like that.

[ He looks at him sidelong. Not a Newtype, and yet... ]

Right?

[No, that would be a waste of a planet. But dropkicking some sense into humanity was not out of the question.]

That's what Celestial Being is about.

[Might be ducking the question entirely.]

[ Well, stop it. ]

I meant you, specifically.

[There's a pause, since he knows what Amuro is getting at. After a moment, he turns his head to look at the 00.]

...I'm a Gundam Meister.

[There's enough of an inflection to convey that that's not the answer you're looking for, I know. But its about the only honest answer he can give. At least using words. ~~And wearing pants~~]

[ ~~Okay but you have to wine and dine him, first.~~ In some ways, he understands how there's no reasonable way to really articulate what it means to harbor the kinds of changes Newtypes go through. Or whatever equivalent it was Setsuna had. ]

I think you're able to sense things others don't. You're aware of it, but you don't know how to use it yet.

[ Not really a fine or subtle point. And also fairly personal, on Amuro's part. Shots in the dark were all he had left. ~~Until the glitter comes in.~~ ]

Your machine... that Gundam, the 00. It reacts to that power you have. Just like the Nu Gundam.

[ That light on the battlefield he can't explain. ]

[Again, there's a stillness, mostly because Amuro's shot in the dark happened to hit something.]

I feel things...

[Unfortunately, that's about as well as Setsuna can articulate being an Innovator. His evolution granted him a lot of new abilities, but eloquence wasn't one of them.]

It's not a machine. Its changed.

We've changed.

[Well. You got four sentence fragments out of him. Progress?]

[ In truth, Amuro doesn't know what he thinks of an ambition lofty enough to end war. He hates it, but it's gotten into his bones, seeped in so far that no matter his own feelings, he's come to accept its presence.

His fight had always been personal, anyway.

So maybe Setsuna has a kind of promise that he never did. ]

Few people understand that. [ He exhales patiently. PROGRESS. ] What will you do together now that you've changed?

[ Referring to the 00 as if it were alive is still something he's trying to get used to. But hey, trying is the name of the game, here. ]

We'll eradicate war. [Yeah, back to that. But that's part of who he is. Though he does add to that--] And we'll help bring about the reformation of humanity.

[Setsuna doesn't do anything by halves.]

[ Amuro closes his eyes, trying to lock in that statement. Though that need for remembrance disappears a second later. ]

You could probably do it. [ The 00 commands his attention again, the one suit present he knows nothing about and yet feels like he somehow gets. ] No, you won't stop until you do. Neither of you, for the sake of the world.

[ Amuro finally moves from the railing, past him--seemingly satisfied with that answer. Faintly, he tacks on: Not like him at all. ]

[Setsuna initially lets him float by silently, almost as if this conversation was over. But its not. Not yet anyway, as there's something Setsuna still needs to know.]

What about you?

[He turns to face Amuro, then pushes himself off the railing and follows him.]

What will you do now that you've changed?

[ The twin set of questions actually catches him off-guard, enough for him to plant his feet back on the catwalk. Amuro's answer is immediate, however. ]

I have my own fight to end. [ AKA stopping a genocidal maniac from blowing up the Earth ] If humanity is going to change, it can't be out of resentment for misguided revolutionaries.

[ And from being theoretically jettisoned into space. Either way, his answer is particularly final, resigned to something he doesn't quite have words for. Instead he kicks off again, motioning to the long-abandoned holopad. ]

Setsuna. I'd like to try out how the Psycoframe reacts to someone like you. [ He catches easily onto the chest unit of the Nu. ] Is there a name for it? If not a Newtype.

[There's a slight look at the mention of "misguided revolutionaries", but Setsuna doesn't comment on it. Especially not when he's essentially offered a chance to hop into the driver's seat of the Nu.

It takes him by surprise, enough that he's left momentarily flatfooted, and it shows on his face. He didn't think Amuro would make that kind of an offer. But after that initial moment of shock passes, his face settles into a serious expression again.]

Innovator.

[Its a response to his question, though its given after such a heavy silence that Amuro might not realize that, and Setsuna doesn't say anything else beyond that. Catching the railing, he kicks off of it and heading towards the cockpit of the Nu. He doesn't know what the psychoframe will do to him, but he doesn't seem to have any trepidation now that he's made up his mind to try it.]

[ Amuro catches it, but he figures if Setsuna doesn't linger on it, it's not worth pointing out in turn. Celestial Being and its Gundam Meisters may have been horrifically idealistic, but not disillusioned. When Amuro said he believed Setsuna may be capable of what he is not in all his single-minded determination, he meant it. ]

Innovator. [ He tries the word out and smiles a little roguishly. It sounds a little sharper than "Newtype". ] That's fitting.

[ The Nu's hatch remains ajar, the hulking behemoth of a white suit crawling with technicians. Amuro had sort of jumped the gun and taken it out straight off the chopping block ~~multiple times~~, so its downtime now sees constant tinkering. ]

The controls might not be a standard you're used to. [ Amuro kneels and takes a hold of the hatch, swinging himself down to the front of the cockpit. The inside is laced with wiring from testing equipment. ] But I'm sure you can manage.

[Its not like Setsuna hasn't done the same thing to the 00, jumpstarting it via nearly exploding it with Trans Am. He doesn't know whether or not he'll explode the psychoframe or not, though that doesn't stop him from swinging himself into the cockpit and taking a seat.

The controls were... different, to say the least. Certainly not what he was used to, ~~and lacking in both holographic keyboards and meister fairies,~~ but if it operated on some of the same basic principles, then he was certain he could figure it out. Only one thing left to do now...]

Power up the psychoframe.

[Nope, he does not waste time at all.]

No hesitation... [ Amuro mutters it to himself, partially amused. It's only out of respect that he doesn't offer up a training simulation first. ~~But let's keep the exploding to a minimum on their end, tex.~~ ]

All right! Put on the headset monitor behind you. It'll make it easier for the Psycoframe to pick up on your initial thoughtwaves. [ Well, if an Innovator was anything like a Newtype, anyway. A console set up on the catwalk outside the cockpit allows Amuro to analyze the functions of the Gundam. Inside, the monitor should be leaping to life, dropping the floor out from beneath Setsuna and replacing it with a full 360 panoramic view.

Also leaping to life are the millions of microscopic Psycommu receptors. ]

Roger that.

[Hesitation is for sissies. And for people who have a shred of common sense. Neither of those things describe Setsuna F. Seiei, particularly when he's in the cockpit of a Gundam. He puts on the headset, grabs hold of the controls and starts to concentrate. Its here where Amuro will probably notice the first major difference between Newtypes and Innovators, namely the whole glowing eye thing Setsuna has going while he kicks his quantum brainwaves into high gear.]

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