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Post by Pah'mazhan on Mar 26, 2015 14:02:57 GMT
The North Capitol was full of distractions from the important issues that plague mankind. The city was much different than the cold laboratory that Pah'mazhan was used to. Kouda, his creator, was of the mind to keep things simple and unimpressive, so long that it served its purpose. As such, this city was more alien to him than he was to most of the city's inhabitants. Yes, Kouda explained much of Pah'mazhan's heritage to the bio-android after the event. According to the good doctor, he was made of human, Ee's, and arcosian DNA, making him a sort of biological chimera of the three. And if his own calculations can be trusted, it indicates that his own potential is as limitless. He thrust his fists against the posts and still insists he's seen the ghosts.
The people that hustled past him in such a hurry were ignorant of the life they have. Watching them go about their days in droves was unlike any other race Kouda has seen before. The humans used to be ruled by the Ee's for a time, and it's almost as if they were never here to begin with. The Ee's were very scientific by nature, calculating and unable to consciously remain ignorant. These humans were a far-cry from their former masters, it would seem. To the bio-android, it simply did not make sense how they could remain stagnant for so long. Do they not wish to progress any further? However, these were not Pah'mazhan's concerns. His primary goal was to scout the planet and maintain a steady analysis of power within the people of Earth. He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists h sees the ghosts.
So far, humans are unimpressive. It is impossible for any one of the dwellers of this planet to stand even a chance against the bio-android, much less his creator. Kouda could annihilate entire plains, level cities if he so chose. Disappointing, at least to Pah'mazhan. His role is sure to decrease if Kouda is not in need of a body guard. This was a new feeling to the bio-android, but the sensation in his core was dread. He would need to increase his search, he would need to find more powerful humans to report to Kouda. He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
The North Capitol's night streets were alive with activity, with no current indication of slowing down. Quite the contrary, it seemed that the city, at least where Pah'mazhan is located, is even more busy now that the sun has gone down. Continuing his search down these pristine streets, the bio-android stumbled upon a building with a sign above the door with a glowing 8 ball with dice rolling around inside. The glowing neon exploded the nearby area with red and green lights seeming to shout at the world "Lucky 8 ball casino!" His curiosity piqued, Pah walked inside and was met with something he was not expecting. He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
The building inside was much larger than he initially thought, and the entire building was packed. Humans of all shapes and sizes were sat down at different tables with men behind them, dealing what looks like laminated paper to each person. Intrigued, Pah'mazhan decided to sit down at a table with other humans, who gave him untrusting looks. The dealer looked at him with confusion, and passed him a few chips. "On the house, friend." Looking at the chips with distinct interest, Pah'mazhan was dealt a few cards, with letters and numbers on each. Confused, Pah'mazhan looked to the man on his left and whispered, "How do I play?" He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2015 18:10:49 GMT
An evening out, Abraxas dressed himself up to the nines, an asymmetrical black blazer hiding a heavy revolver. He slipped a pair of gloves on, and adjusted his trousers, analyzing his frame in the mirror. He liked to look good when he was going to make a killing on a bunch of unsuspecting people. With a satisfied smile, he stepped to the door of his small apartment, grabbing a few rolls of money from his small dinner table and exiting out. Leaving his complex, he stepped into the cool night, and took a deep breath. He'd meditated on this night for a few hours, and culminated in a tarot card reading. It said that there was an unfamiliar factor that would take hold of tonight's evening, and that he should be on his guard.
This, contrary to making him more cautious, made him more excited. He'd never found a situation he'd had trouble slipping out of, and as such, he had something of a death wish. Uncontrollable, stressful scenarios? Right up his alleyway. Also, the last card had said he'd gain a lot from tonight, so hey, more money, more power. He swaggered down the street, clearly in his element once he hit the seedier night streets. The vibe in the air was positively electric, and with the gun tucked into his jeans, his effortlessly assured gangster lean, he felt like he was exactly where he belonged. People moved out of the way for him, and some even greeted him warmly. Along the way to the casino, he gathered a small number of followers into a small entourage.
When they reached their intended destination, the doors opened to reveal a wonderland of sensory input. A solid barrage of dinging from slot machines, the ever-present rattle of the roulette, the collective rumble of the new rich and new poor, all collected in mankind's most futile pursuit: gambling. He bought a few chips for everyone who'd come here with him, and walked with a larger stack over tot he blackjack table. He sat down next to an empty chair, and as the hand began, another individual seated himself at the table. Looking him over, he seemed relatively unremarkable, aside from a weird look to his eyes. Something about him was off, but the dealer gave him a few chips and started dealing cards again.
Then, the voice. "How do I play?"
Abraxas turned to the man, and gave him a wry smile. "Well, don't turn the face down card face up. That one remains concealed. The cards are numbered one through ten. If it has a person on it, it's worth ten. If it's worth one, you may also count it as eleven. You want to be as close to a sum total of twenty one as possible without going over. If you go over, you lose, along with all the money you bet." Abraxas looked at his cards, and counted a 13. He slapped the table and told the dealer, "Hit me."
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Post by Pah'mazhan on Mar 27, 2015 4:23:18 GMT
Pah'mazhan noticed another person sit down at the table with him. This person had the air of a professionalism about him. A man with obvious skill and intent with gambling, but Pah'mazhan believed that this skill bled through to his other endeavors as well. Everyone seemed hushed around this figure, creating a bubble of silence around his person, a stark contrast to the cacophony of noises around him in the rest of the casino. This man is obviously well known around here, but why? This intrigued the bio-android, this human was different than the others on this planet. Even the sensei at the dojo he traveled to was less skilled and matured, that much was obvious. This newcomer was different, and it behooved Pah'mazhan to figure out how and why. Could he be more powerful than the common rabble of this place?
The dealer of this card game, a short, unremarkable man, gave the newcomer another card, a black number 8. Pah was still quite unsure whether this was good, but he decided he couldn't be too sure, being unaware of the other card this man has. The dealer looked at the people that entered with the human, and said, "Wow Abraxos, you're really bringing them in tonight, huh?" Ah, so his name is Abraxos. Pah'mazhan was still mildly confused as he looked at his own cards. He was dealt with the number 9 and a picture of a man, and from what rudimentary knowledge Kouta has given his creation, Pah'mazhan assumed that this figure was some sort of royalty, based on the dress and stature. Feeling a little more confident at the rules, and he said, "It seems like I require another card. Man behind the counter, give me another card." Chuckling a little under his breath, the dealer slid the bio-android another card. "You say hit me when you want another card, friend."
"How interesting," Pah'mazhan mused out loud. "Kouda didn't mention how fighting-centric the humans are." Looking at the card given to him and thinking back to the advice Abraxos had given to him, Pah'mazhan concluded that he sat at a 20. Looking around him at the table and catching everyone's attention, Pah said, rather boldly, "I'm not 'hitting' anymore, I'm staying where I am." Looking back at the new man named Abraxos, Pah'mazhan asked, "What makes you different than other humans on this planet? There's something unique about you."
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2015 14:33:12 GMT
The dealer spoke to him as he gave him the card. Abraxas inwardly felt something inside him twitch, and he slid the card over to his others, flipping it face up. An eight! That put him squarely at twenty-one. He'd be taking this game home easily. He leaned back in his chair, cool and confident, but not arrogant. No need to grandstand or celebrate until victory was secure. He might be a profligate and a gambler, but he had manners. The man next to him, apparently playing his first game, seemed happy with the hand he'd been dealt. An ace and a nine. The only way he'd have twenty one is if he had an ace face down, and there was another ace face up on the table. The odds were not in the newcomer's favor, given Abraxas's hand. "What makes me different is I intimately understand how these games work, and I have the devil's luck."
The dealer himself hit, as he had to unless he hit seventeen or went bust, and called for everyone to "Show 'em," after he was done. Abraxas flipped up his hand, and the table groaned as he encircled his winnings with an arm, drawing them to his pile. "Sometimes they say I know exactly how the cards are going to fall. I don't, really, I just understand the mathematics of these games exceptionally well. I could teach, you, Mr...I never got your name." The man was still gazing at him deeply, as if trying to see through him. "As you've heard, I go by Abraxas. It's a nickname I picked up from somewhere."
Something different.
Abraxas felt a tickle at the back of his head, as he usually did when his subconscious was trying to tell him something, yelling in the echo chamber it exists in below the conscious mind. Something was up with this guy. Whether good or bad, Abraxas felt like perhaps his name would be one he'd hear many times in the near future.
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Post by Pah'mazhan on Mar 31, 2015 15:29:18 GMT
The newcomer named Abraxos retrieved a 21 a this game, indicating him as a winner. As Abraxos spoke, Pah'mazhan was sure that there was something different about him. something set him apart from the rest of the people on this planet. As the human described it, he was just lucky and knew the mathematics of the game, but the bio-android was sure that there was more to it. As everybody flipped over their cards, he saw that he too had lost to the newcomer. Accepting his fate as he handed in the chips he bid, he put the rest of the chips in his possession on the table, indicating that he was willing to play again. Looking toward the human as he was dealt a new hand, he said, "Pah'mazhan. My name is Pah'mazhan." From the way this person talked and held himself, the bio-android was sure that he was very powerful, both in his command of strength and will. This would benefit Kouda greatly. Deciding that his goal for the moment is to recruit this human, he decided to go at it from a different angle. Looking toward Abraxos as he rested a hand on the table, he asked, "what do you fight for, Abraxos? Power? Money? Women?"
The dealer eyed Pah'mazhan warily, seeing that the conversation has turned in a rather new direction. As he slid the new cards toward everybody and before he looked at what he was dealt, the bio-android put all of his chips in the middle of the table. "I'm putting all of my chips in." Looking down at the cards he was dealt, Pah'mazhan noticed that he hit an ace and a king. As everybody else looked at their cards, the bio-android looked from the dealer to Abraxos, saying, "I was given a 21 to begin with. Does that mean that I win prematurely?"
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2015 17:09:58 GMT
The stranger flipped up a 20 and Abraxas had no choice but to trump him with his 21. Not a pure blackjack, but it would suffice today. He raked in the chips, aware of the way he was being looked at around the table. His opponents looked at him with knowing exasperation, the dealer had a smirk, and the stranger continued to observe him. It was eerie; it felt very analytical, like someone was doing a cost-benefit analysis on taking his body apart and selling him for parts. It felt...alien. The stranger didn't look alien, but something felt alien.
"What do I fight for? I fight for...I don't fight. I just act. I change. I learn. My life is going through some changes right now, and I'm simply taking time to focus on myself. A previous business venture failed, and I'm sitting on my spoils while I find a new one." The new hand was dealt out, and Abraxas had hardly scanned the table before Pah'mazhan declared he had a blackjack. He flipped his cards up, and Abraxas laughed. "Yes, that means you win before any other cards can be dealt. Take your winnings."
Abraxas counted up a few more chips and threw them into the center for the next hand, before continuing. "Now, you ask me these questions in the tone of a man who possible seeks to give me something to fight for. I've fought before, I've fought hard, and I'm still willing to fight...given proper incentive or a worthy goal."
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Post by Pah'mazhan on Apr 6, 2015 12:17:12 GMT
Abraxos spoke, and the grin that Pah'mazhan had widened. His calculations were correct, then. The dealer frowned toward Pah'mazhan, clearly unhappy that the cards were dealt in his favor. Odd, the bio-android thought. Why would he have a personal stake in who wins and who loses? As the dealer, a sharp looking man with even sharper glasses took the cards he very recently dealt, Abraxos just explaining what he fought for. Even though he explained that he did not fight per se, Pah'mazhan was positive that he was unsure of his own answer. Semantics, Pah'mazhan thought. He's unsure of himself at this point. At such a pivotal time, change is assured.
Although not purely mathematical, the bio-android could see through emotion and anything that would dampen the logic that he invariably had. Yes, as he suspected, Abraxos would fit in perfectly, although he was curious about what Kouda would say about the being that the bio-android was bringing in.Standing up, Pah'mazhan took his winnings to the counter and exchanged the surplus chips in. Waiting while the woman at the counter, mid 20's, obviously bored, Pah'mazhan looked toward Abraxos and said, "If you're interested in all the change you could handle, follow me to the desert. There, you'll find all the answers that you're looking for, both about me and about yourself." Smiling, Pah'mazhan waved the human goodbye. He could see the dealer as he left, obviously relieved. It was as Pah'mazhan suspected, the dealer had placed bets on players he knew would win, Abraxos being one of them.
((Thread Exit, requesting zeni. Bio-android zeni bonus in effect.))
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2015 15:57:57 GMT
Abraxas's fingers danced over the chips he'd left in the pot, and drew them back. An unfamiliar factor indeed. He might not have seized control of the situation in its aggregate, but he had piqued Abraxas's interest. Pah'ma'zhan. What was he? Who was he? What could he want with one such as him? He was simply a slick grifter, with a few special, possibly extra-human abilities. Abraxas slid all his remaining chips into the center, and figured he'd go all in on this hand. His hand slipped over the two he'd been dealt, and he felt that same twitch again. Peeking, he saw the Queen of Hearts and the Ace of Spades. Auspicious, and a big win. His mind, however, was elsewhere.
His mind was in the desert. He stood up, failing to collect his chips, and simply walked out the back door of the casino, aware of the eyes following him. Something was happening.
Outside, he gazed in the direction of the desert, and frowned.
What next?
(Thread exit. Zeni. Human bonus.)
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Vi-Poi
Administrator
Premier of Earth
PL: 434,410
Soul(x40P), Overdrive(x43)
Zeni: 1,247
Tag: @vipoi
Posts: 2,833
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Post by Vi-Poi on Apr 6, 2015 19:40:05 GMT
Pah, your WC is 1690 and your bonused gains are at 1448 Zeni!
Abra, your WC is 1259 and your bonused gains are at 1162 Zeni!
Nice thread you two. Adding.
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