9136/Wiring Up a Vampire

Wiring Up a Vampire
Date of Scene:	17 December 2021
Location:	Alley Pond Park
Synopsis:	Blake Riviere becomes Nightshade.
Cast of Characters:	Peter Parker, Blake Riviere

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Peter Parker has posed:
It was...A DATE WITH DEATH!
Well, not really.
INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE.
Nahhh, that's been done.
Peter was sitting in the shadow of the Queens Giant, his ubiquitous backpack at his side. He sipped from a Coca-Cola - one of the Mexican ones from a nearby bodega, the kind with real sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup.
He had left a message in a place Blake would check, with a day and a time...and here he was, preparing to bring Blake Riviere, centuries-old-but-doesn't-look-a-day-over-99 vampiress, into the 21st century.

Kicking and screaming, if necessary. Even a creature of the night has to get With It sooner or later.

Blake Riviere has posed:
Sometimes the spooky vibe just seemed inate for Blake, a natural part of her very being and vibe thanks to that whole 'bloodsucking immortal' thing.... but apparently not always.

When Blake arrives it is...disturbingly normal, she arrives on foot, walking with what appeared to be her phone in hand. She might look like any other attractive young woman out for the night, even her usual gothic attire had been toned down to black jeans and a slim jacket over and admittedly still deep-red and low-cut top.

Arriving as she does, Blake lifts a hand and offers a little chuckle as she gestures to herself.

"I had a lunch with a 'friend' earlier."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter smiled wryly. "No lace, no leather...I had wondered why you were out of uniform."
Peter stood up, then walked over to a nearby park bench. "Glad to see you made it. I was sitting on this for a few days, must have optimized the code twice. But, now you're here...let's do this."

He reached into the backpack and brought out a small red plastic box, something the size of a lunchbox. He smiles wryly, then opens it. "Miss Riviere...meet the ultimate high-tech, low-profile, low-COST communications."

He took out each component, and on the surface, they didn't look like much.
A set of wireless earbuds in a small black battery case.
A set of contact lenses, complete with a lens case...normal, except for the USB cable coming out of it.
A thin black choker necklace.
A thin set of gloves with gold patches at the fingertips.

"On first glance, what do you think?"

Blake Riviere has posed:
"Even I can recognize there are some places where it wouldn't do to draw the eye or stand out that much," Blake muses, although in truth it was more the fact that her dining companion was used to something a little more 'incognito'.

Discussion moving on, it was time to inspect the items laid out before her and the vampiress gives a little tilt of her head. "You have made this from existing things, yes?" she questions, picking up the gloves and turning them over. "And the gold parts here are for?"

She had to assume conduction of some sort, but even if she wasn't technologically inept (She'd seen most of the modern age develop after all), that didn't make her an expert!

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter chuckled. "Those are motion sensors. you can actually remove them and put them in the fingertips of your favorite pair of gloves, or wear these under bulkier gloves. For setup purposes, you can wear those gloves."
He points to the lens case. "Contact lenses. Use the brand of contact-lens fluid in the box, it recharges them through conductivity. Have you ever worn contacts before?"

Blake Riviere has posed:
A quirk of her brow at that, Blake actually smirks. "I have been able to see greater than any human being since before eye-glasses exist Peter," she chuckles, as if the answer were rather obvious. "I remember finding the first pair I saw to be quite the novelty."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter nods. "You better let me help you put these in. I'll start with the left eye, then you try with the right."
He opened one cap in the case, then lifted the curved lens with the tip of his finger. "Don't blink. It takes a light touch."
He demonstrates placing the lens on the surface of her right eye. It is blurry for a moment, then it clears.
"You want to try the other one?"

Blake Riviere has posed:
"That is...monsterously uncomfortable," the vampiress who had been shot, stabbed and even staked once or twice complains, but the application is a success none the less.

Of course, she had no way of knowing if this was going to interfere with her hypnotic gaze, but if normal glasses didn't interfere it should be fine...right?

It takes a moment longer for her to apply the second one, a frown on her lips, but she manages it well enough.

"And the purpose of this part is...?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter grins. "Okay. Let's get the rest of it on. The earbuds are seated in a unit that charges them whenever you put them in there. The choker...just place it around your nexk, with the disc with the spider on it to the right side of your neck."

Blake Riviere has posed:
The spider-emblazoned disc placed as described, there is a little raise of her eyebrow as she wordlessly takes in the clear identifier, tucking her existing necklace away into her pocket while she listens. Explaination would obviously have to wait till they were done.

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter is grinning like the canary that ate the cat. He takes out a tablet, taps a few virtual buttons, then says, "Okay, say, 'Spider-Comm On.'"

Blake Riviere has posed:
One last glance around lest the pair of them be spotted, the vampiress shrugs her shoulders and speaks up, her accented tones hopefully clear enough.

"Spider-comm, on."

Peter Parker has posed:
And that...is when things happen.
A pleasant, but impersonal male voice says formally, "Startup."
A green box pops up in front of her eyes. It hangs in midair, opaque and translucent, as text appears on the screen:

LOADING NYC.DAT...
LOADING GC.DAT...
LOADING METRO.DAT...
Then other smaller shapes appear - a book, a compass, a phone handset, a text balloon - all at the periphery of her vision. She can see through them, but they float at the edges of her vision.

Blake Riviere has posed:
A little sharp intake of breath, Blake squints for a moment reflexively before clearing her throat, a frown on her features.

"It is wonderful...but can you turn the brightness down just a little, my eyes are...sensitive to a point."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter nods, tapping a submenu on the tablet.
"Gamma reduced 10 percent." The brightness of all the shapes and icons fade slightly. "Okay. Now...try saying something, only without making a sound. I have a throat microphone in the choker, so you can speak and send messages without making a sound."

Blake Riviere has posed:
"Speak without making a sound?" Blake repeats, a tilt of her head before shrugging her shoulders, attempting just that, to speak so softly it made no noise.

"Is this what you mean?"

Peter Parker has posed:
As Blake vocalized silently, a text box opened with the cartoonish symbol of a set of smiling fangs in a red circle, with the name TBA next to it and in italics, "Is this what you mean?"

Blake Riviere has posed:
Blake Riviere actually blinks at that, turning her head a little on reflex and giving a soft chuckle. "Facinating, that is a handy trick. How accurate is its translation? Is it by sound or by movement?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter chuckles. "Movement of the larynx. It reads the larynx and translates it. Now...if you look in that direction..."

He points to the spire of the Empite State Building, and as Blake turns to look at it, a red pointer appears in her view, hovering above the Empire State, with a text box above it:
Empire State
12.3 Miles
Cache #34

"Look at any significant structure, and you can get basic or in-depth info about it. You can also select it by pointing at it. Now, here's the next trick, See the book icon? Reach up and tap it with your index finger, right where you think it is."

Blake Riviere has posed:
Alright, so this tech was a little more advanced than she was used to. All the information at her fingertips? The vampiress reaches out as directed with a little soft laugh from her lips.

"This is certainly quite a bit more than I have seen before. To think, some of the radios used in the war were about as big as I am..."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter nods. "You can run searches by name, alias...even visual recognition. You can even say 'Tutorial' to get to a list of visual exercises you can use to train yourself in the use of the system. Now, the code name is not yet set. You'll have to choose. But you'll be referred to by handle, not name. The network is stealthed, but it's still safer this way." He looked around. "Might as well test out if it goes with you when you swarm from place to place."

Blake Riviere has posed:
The mist form was easy enough, she could carry what she wished with her after all, shapeshifting too. But the bats?

A shrug of her shoulders and she exhales a breath before her form drops to more of a silhouette before it breaks away to a swarming flutter of the bat swarm.

Of course, if the technology was ready for being mystically transfigured and split was anyone's guess!

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter looks at the tablet. "Interesting...for the period of time when she is swarming, temporary disconnect from the network...but then re-connected as she re-forms."

Blake Riviere has posed:
The 'swarm' shifts, reforming to Blake once more as she stands next to Peter once more, touching her finger to the choker experimentally. "Well, at the very least it remained in place. Unsuprising if my phone works...but still." She muses, arms folding under her bust with a little noise of approval.

"You should be proud of this little trinket," she addresses Peter before tilting her head. "Not many construct their things with shapeshifting vampires in mind."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter sighed. "Not many design them with shapeshifting vampires in mind. I wasn't sure if what you did would disrupt the tech, but apparently the devices are small enough to keep their architecture." He points to Blake's eyes. "There's a file there on criminal activity. We have our own database, so we don't connect to any external sources. We do have a Web browser, if you want to use the Internet for information gathering. If you want to type, hold your hands in front of you in the typing position, a virtual keyboard you can type on will appear."
He hands the red box to Blake. "You should be able to use wall outlets or a computer to keep the components charged. The disk has a solar cell, so you can just leave it on a counter that will get some sun to recharge it." He paused. "You...probably should get cracking on a code name. I'll enter it in when you decide on one."

Blake Riviere has posed:
Blake takes the box, tucking it into her jacket for the time being and nodding to his explaination. Charging instructions taken in, it was almost certainly going to require a little more practice and experimentation with before it felt comfortable for her. Smoothing her deep black hair out of her eyes, the woman laughs softly at the question of the codename, nodding her head.

"Of the list you offered me, NightShade or 'Night Queen' seem the most appropriate. Whichever you like more. Anything beyond that is...perhaps too wordy or gawdy. Or far too formal, like the other vampires of the city.

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter hmms. "'Nightshade' works best, I think. The active agent in nightshade, atropine, is healthy in the right dose. But the wrong dose...not so much." He taps a few keys, and 'TBA' is replaced by 'Nightshade.' "Now...we have to consider a costume. But that can wait." He smiled to Blake. "Welcome to the Spider-Crew. Never a more motley bunch of people, from all walks of life. No reason to be exclusive, eh?"