Knowledge Is The Best Weapon…

[Vio]

^{Farren #6}

---

There was an eagerness in those eyes, mechanical and monochrome as they were. It wasn’t just the spark of whatever circuits sparked and gears whirred within that metallic shell of his — Horatio was as much a person as any figure of flesh and blood. Farren could see it. Perhaps more than that, she could feel it. Curiosity drove the wheels of humanity and its peers, powered by the sapient desire for understanding and comprehension. It was natural to ask ‘what?’ and ‘why?’, lest one choose to live in either fear or obliviousness. Neither appealed to Farren, Book was likely the same beyond his indeterminate range of archival knowledge, and Horatio? He too held the reins.

“It’s the kind that does not destroy its wielder,” he had said. On that point, Officer Fierabras was conflicted, but her own curiosity kept her from voicing concerns as she did little more than brush the sleeve of her arm passively. “This is the Gospel of Man,” the android continued, much to the woman’s intrigue. Sat with a forward lean and a slight hunch, she took in what was being shown to her — the simplicity of a book with pages yet to be filled and the complexity of a curious critter-like contraption.

“Absolutely,” Farren replied. It was time to ask her own questions, but the most likely ones to escape a person’s lips when faced with such an oddity were shelved in favour of something far more spiritual in nature. “I have to ask, Horatio; why people? Of all the foci of study this world has to offer — birds, plants, weather — what compelled you to pick ‘man’ as your field of study? Hm, better yet,” she paused a moment, visibly contemplating what to say, “what’s your chosen scope? Society? Culture? History? Or do you not see a need to pick and choose?”

Eyes shifted to Book, curious still as to whether or not the man would have questions of his own. He wasn’t the type to ask too much, but this was an opportunity. If not for a chance to reflect upon himself, then to show that there were perhaps things he did not have an extension comprehension of. It crossed her mind: Horatio was unlike anything she had ever seen, so was it the same for Book…?

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synposis:—}
<sub>Farren shows her curiosity.

Notes:— ——</sub>

---

Fierabras Farren | #e5e4e2
Book | #812525
Horatio Nullbuilt | #947464
Cinno Sebastiano [NPC] | #d3be7c

[Blushing z0ro]

BOOK
ACT I SCENE I

- Knowledge Is The Best Weapon… -

---

Hmmmmm… this Horatio was indeed a strange individual. How odd that those most removed from humans seemed to be the most invested in understanding them. Though in some ways that did make a lot of sense the man known as Book thought.

Animals did not care to understand themselves, but carefully prodded at other animals, plants and minerals to know what could feed and hurt them. So in the same way humans cared the least about understanding one another.

As for why one such as Horatio would choose humans over other fields of study, Book thought about it and thought humans were the ones that altered the world and thus the field of study of all other matter the most, by understanding humans one would most clearly be able to understand the rest of the world.

As the man known as Book walked however there was one thing that made him stop and truly think. Horatio’s statement that knowledge was the one weapon that could not hurt its wielder.

The scar on the man’s face began to ache. “Hmmm…. I… do not think I can agree. Knowledge can hurt those who hold it. A weapon that makes you a target is just as dangerous to its wielder as a bomb about to detonate.”

Such an odd thought, the man known as Book really wondered where it came from.

---

Tag: Vio pepsi
Words: 228
Book: 82525
Sebastiano: d3be7c

[pepsi]

Horatio drummed on the table with his metal fingers, producing a clinking sound with every tap. Pinturicchio wandered on the table, nudging around a rogue teaspoon. "As for why people... Yes, yes" Horatio voiced, looking at his small friend.
"I find it infinitely intriguing that I myself do not understand the object after the image of which I have been built." The robot picked the teaspoon up, not without Pinturicchio protesting; it seems the little one really enjoyed playing with the metal piece. "I look at my body and see an attempt at constructing personhood. I have a hunch that it is a botched attempt, but an attempt nonetheless."

Waving the spoon in Farren's direction, he reasoned: "Farren, if you suddenly one day woke up with the trunk of an elephant for a nose, wouldn't you go out and seek to understand what happened? Wouldn't you be interested in those objects in the world that share that characteristic with you, such as elephants? And wouldn't you be especially interested in people who, like you, have a trunk for a nose?" Horatio's shoulders performed a shrugging motion, his servo-motors whirring in unison. "I one day woke up a nearly fully formed human, and began my search."
That was his point: if you realise there's something special about you, then aren't others that share your quality also special? Horatio believed that they were, and that his attention and truth-seeking should be devoted to them.

It then was the moment for Book to ask his question. Horatio listened attentively, and lightly nodded - seemingly in agreement. "I understand what you mean, but you see. It is not the knowledge that destroys you. It is those who want you to part with that knowledge." Much to Pinturicchio's happiness, the robot absent-mindedly put down the teaspoon while thinking up a response. The small chameleon snatched the spoon out of his fingers, and kept on playing around with it.
"I cannot in my right mind say your knowledge is guilty of that. If you were alone in the world, just you and your knowledge, you wouldn't perish from possessing it. But for many other things, like wealth, power and fame, they would still corrupt you..."

Suddenly, Horatio's eyes lit up and his spine straightened. "... but of course, it is not possible to have wealth, fame or power when you're alone, isn't that right? I wonder if the social nature of such things has any bearing on their corrupting power. Perhaps this is worth recording. If you'll excuse me for just a second..."
The robot produced a pen from inside the book's cover, and began scribbling on a new page.

-- NAME // Horatio Nullbuilt

-- CLASS // E

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Vio]

^{Farren #7}

---

An attempt at personhood? I wonder… Something about the way in which Horatio worded his understanding stirred thoughts within Miss Fierabras, though not ones she wished to linger on. Sadly, they were very real problems the world now had to deal with—the world that wished for change from the stagnant and oppressive fog spewed from the upper echelons of the World Government. In a sense, she was surprised, but at the same time not as much as she felt she should have been; that there were other, lesser known attempts at recreating ‘human weapons’ such as the Pacifista.

No, they were different.

“I one day woke up a nearly fully formed human,” he continued, having used a rather amusing comparison for which the woman could use as point of reference. There was the answer. Horatio was far from Pacifista as far as she could see it. Those monstrosities were simply tools of warfare given a cloak of human guise, though she had never personally encountered one due to their comparative rarity, most likely lacking reason. But here was a machine—nay a man—built to be a person, armed with intellect and reason over state of the art armaments.

“I cannot in my right mind say your knowledge is guilty of that.” Farren looked to Book, certainly intrigued by the apparent conflict of philosophies the two—three by her own admission—of them seemed to be having. Tangible proof that this mechanical marvel before her was something more, or at the very least wanted to be, and that surely made him more human than some humans she had known. But the whole conversation, the topic of knowledge and its influence upon others, made her skin prickle. For a moment, she held the cuff of her shirt’s sleeve, drawing it up slightly to show her gloves kept her covered, softly scratching at her forearm before allowing the sleeve to fall back into place.

“Society has a way of making bad of the good,” the woman began, “but can just as easily make good of the bad. Humans, by their very nature, are social creatures… even if it isn’t always obvious. Very rarely a person may wish to hole themselves away from society in an attempt to find, escape, or even reconsider something. Hermitage is a gateway to understanding for some, where they are free of societal constraints. But,” she continued, once Horatio had finished his inscriptions, “that’s humanity—indeed all sapient kinds—in its most true form, no? The defiance of our baser nature, our instinct.”

Farren smiled, leaned forwards, and spoke anew.

“We achieve this through scientific study, cultural traditions, and philosophical debate. Each defines civilisation, a gestalt form of the human need to improve, but why? Humanity tries and tries again to defy its nature, but it always resurfaces, usually in ugly forms, but not always. Science creates medicine to prolong our lives, but also weapons to end them. Tradition uses the wisdom of our forefathers to establish a solid foundation for our society, but also becomes an unmoving roadblock when faced with the alien. Philosophy asks the questions that science alone cannot answer, but inevitably creates a conflict of ideologies.” A pause, allowing the men—of flesh and of metal—to comprehend her point…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synposis:—}
<sub>Farren tries to prove a point about humanity to Horatio.

Notes:— ——</sub>

---

Fierabras Farren | #e5e4e2
Book | #812525
Horatio Nullbuilt | #947464
Cinno Sebastiano [NPC] | #d3be7c

[Blushing z0ro]

BOOK
ACT I SCENE I

- Knowledge Is The Best Weapon… -

---

The man known as Book simply looked around the environment, a particular building in the cityscape catching his attention. It was odd, according to the record only four floors had been authorised for the plans at this location and no report of infraction had been reported. Either the highest floor had been a very recent addition very well blended with the rest or people had simply been very efficient at paying off the right officials to get away with it.

If they had the time later it would certainly be interesting to find out which of those hypotheses was true, or perhaps it was even a third option the scarred man had not even thought of. Unfortunately Officer Fierabras Farren and the man known as Book had quite a lot on their plate and would likely not have time to indulge such curiosities…. Ah.

“Hmmmm, while I am much one to enjoy inquisitive discussions, I have recalled that, unfortunately, we are somewhat pressed for time. Perhaps this discussion could be tabled for later? Our business is quite urgent after all.”

This was spoken mostly to Farren as essentially she was in charge of this mission, what to do with the strange individual that was now accompanying them would also fall onto her. As someone with seeming knowledge of all things, Book was certainly intrigued by this Horatio. However he did not make a habit of pushing his interest over the need of a jobor that of other people.

---

Tag: Vio pepsi
Words: 248
Book: 82525
Sebastiano: d3be7c

[pepsi]

Horatio nodded along with Farren's observations. "Those are some very wise and insightful points" he remarked, praising the woman for her words. He closed the Gospel and let the pen slide into his sleeve, disappearing from sight with the most natural of movements.

In his mind, Horatio was glad he had the opportunity to interact with those two very interesting humans. While he couldn't exactly feel the happiness, not in the way a human would, his subroutines and circuitry for sure had an activity corresponding to that same pattern - and that was all that matter. After all, a feeling and a thought are separated by naught but patterns, and otherwise they are the same.

"Yes, yes. I understand you have your own matters to attend" he said, "I would also love to stay here and discuss these matters further. But alas, everyone has their obligations."
He motioned Pinturicchio to come near, and the little chameleon hopped right on top of his hand and zoomed over to Horatio's shoulder. "I just wonder, if it is not too much hassle, whether joining you on this journey is allowed - or allowable. I cannot promise I will not document what I experience, but I promise to keep absolute secrecy if that is your concern."

-- NAME // Horatio Nullbuilt

-- CLASS // E

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Vio]

^{Farren #8}

---

“Unfortunately, we are somewhat pressed for time,” Book announced, bringing Miss Fierabras back to the ‘present’ as such. Caught up in the moment and her own personal intrigue towards Horatio, it had managed to slip her mind that their mission required at least some modicum of urgency. An honest look of surprise took over her face for the briefest moment as realisation swept over her, but quickly subsided again as she nodded and hummed an agreement.

^{“I just wonder,” Horatio inquired:
“If it is not too much hassle…”}

…Interesting… For a moment, Farren remained silent, processing the artificial person’s prerogative. Truly, secrecy was a necessity in this endeavour, and they already had enough of a risk factor with their contact’s involvement. Taking on another, albeit very unusual individual simply because the idea entertained her curiosity was perhaps not a good idea by any standard. Book was unassuming enough, her stature didn’t help, and walking around with an actual robot with a grasp of sapience was sure to draw some intrigue from unaffiliated parties.

Grey eyes looked at Book, then back at Horatio.

“Strictly speaking,” the Revolutionary began, her voice quieting as she slipped a hand into her pocket and withdrew something—paper that remained folded and firm between the grip of two digits. “Any knowledge disclosed about our reason for being here is top secret, which means it also isn’t to be written down. That’s why Book’s accompanying me,” she smirked softly, thumbing towards her compatriot whose encyclopaedic mind was the ultimate tool for espionage and undercover work. That was the magic of the entire mission: The only thing written down had been done so by an external entity—their contact—and now found itself presented to the group as she unfolded it.

“But, I’m not going to stop you from doing so, Horatio,” Farren exhaled, “because that would be detrimental to both our causes.” What was now open for the three of them to see was a simple piece of paper, no larger than the partially gloved hand upon which it sat, kept in place by her thumb. Two things were etched upon the page. First and foremost, a series of connected pencil lines with tiny numbers beside each of them, with two terminal points. Second, partially obscured by where her thumb currently rested, a separated sequence of numbers—grouped in fours—with circles and crosses next to them.

“I have to hand it to our contact,” the woman uttered, revealing a little ounce of her fascination as she, too, eyed it all for what it was. “If I didn’t know what I was looking for, I would have no idea what any of this meant.” Though the paper sat in her palm, she freely allowed Book and Horatio to observe—even take the paper if they wished. Besides, she only had one piece of the puzzle…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synposis:—}
<sub>Thanks to Book, Farren focuses on the task at hand and passively accents Horatio into their fold. She also presents a puzzle.

Notes:— ——</sub>

---

Fierabras Farren | #e5e4e2
Book | #812525
Horatio Nullbuilt | #947464
Cinno Sebastiano [NPC] | #d3be7c

[Blushing z0ro]

BOOK
ACT I SCENE I

- Knowledge Is The Best Weapon… -

---

It was indeed a clever cipher, without knowing the actual target as well as the zoning areas of the city this little puzzle was effectively an unbreakable code. The man only known as Book glanced over at the paper held by Officer Fierabras, with his own knowledge of the area the answer presented itself quite easily.

Raffaele was known colloquially as the Big City and one with some of the largest profit and money going through it in this part of the Grand Line, as such it was also ripe with corruption and the crime that goes with it. Almost all of it off books of course, if the actual crime rate was made public it would scare away investments and the profits would go down, therefore crime is kept under wraps by everyone involved both in the doing and solving getting a cut.

Shipments get stolen on arrival? Just buy them back form the thief at a creation of the price, then thieves pay a cut to the authorities and carry on the process. On paper there is no crime, just an additional port fee and a tax.

The other side of that was obviously the smuggling of illegal goods that would need to be made legal, those with more money a power could bypass standard mercantile rules and increase either profits at the detriment of more legitimate businesses. This was likely were Cinno Sebastino came in, regardless of the man’s demeanour and poor taste he was one of those that stood to lose more buy a large amount of weaponry entering the local market, thereby devaluing his own stock, and as it stood the Revolutionary Army stood to gain from seizing a large amount of weapons for their own troops. Such was the risk of running a business on the wrong side of law, if your goods did get stolen for real, you had no legal recourse.

The scarred man simply thought through his process as the grouped walked through the streets of the city mankind there way to their destination, a warehouse by the docks in an area normally dedicated to fishery, it was clever in a way, the smell of fish and other seafood would cover any smell of powder and oil from weapon and the sound heavy machinery was still expected.

It did not even occur to the man known as Book to explain his reasoning to the others as they walked, they would either figure out the destination themselves or assume the man with a book knew where he was going, although perhaps it would have been more appropriate to state the destination first. What if had simply fancied a walk around while thinking and they had assumed he was leading them to their destination the entire time? That would have been very awkward indeed.

Luckily they did arrive where they were supposed to be going. The man known as Book simply stopped on the outside of a large fence that surrounded a group of warehouses.

“We have arrived.”

---

Tag: Vio pepsi
Words: 505
Book: 82525
Sebastiano: d3be7c

[pepsi]

Farren unfolded a curious piece of paper scribbled with tiny markings. Horatio's posture straightened as he attempted to get a better look. The markings seemed totally intentional, in the sense that each and every line on that page must have meant something specific. But the meaning of it all completely escaped Horatio's mechanical mind. "Oh, that is... curious indeed" he said, his otherwise monotone synthetic voice fluttering with excitement.

Horatio loved puzzles. He was not always intelligent enough to solve them, but he still kept close to his heart the ones whose solution struck just the right balance between rational and irrational. The one in Farren's hand looked like some sort of code - made specifically to be impossible to decipher without knowing the correct key.
Horatio knew that he wasn't meant to give any answer, but his robotic brain simply couldn't help itself. "Oh those could be... is this a route? Among points of interest in the city, perhaps? Fascinating..."
His attention was caught by the numbers on the side, and he went: "Oh, there's more to it, too. Crosses, circles... I really wonder what it would mean. But it seems this message has been hurriedly scribbled onto the paper with no regards to presentation, so I presume it is vital that it gets to the destination as quickly as possible."

"Come now, Pinturicchio, playtime is already over."

The group arrived at the presumed destination without too much of a hassle. Book had guided them through the city as if he had already been there a thousand times. "So, mister Book" Horatio voiced, in the lowest tone he could, "I sincerely hope that this isn't the end of the journey, already. I have much ink in my pen, still."

-- NAME // Horatio Nullbuilt

-- CLASS // E

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Vio]

^{Farren #9}

---

He figured it out? This man never ceases to amaze… Honestly surprised, pleasantly so, by Book’s ability to discern the code that Sebastiano had left for them, Farren couldn’t help but smirk to herself beneath the shade of her kasa. The vision of what appeared to be a rather simple industrial estate of various warehouses and a handful of interconnected structures to oversee them, penned in by a tall, spike-topped fence with just a few massive gates for entry and exit became clear. As too did the rich smell of fish.

Slate eyes scanned the vicinity as they approached, though the unlikely trio of goliath, amnesiac, and automaton was sure to draw some attention from vigilant eyes. And yet, Miss Fierabras saw nothing—standard workmen in tank tops, overalls, and boots going about regular labour. The most suspicious thing about the entire estate was the lack of safety apparel, but cutting corners wasn’t exactly an uncommon business practice on the cheaper end of the economic tether.

Gong… Gong… Gong… The distant bell of a clock tower ringing out drew the woman’s gaze across the city, the face of it clearly visible above most other buildings. For a second she stared. One second became several as she simply stood there, statuesque, with her kasa concealing much of her visage. Apparently, her body had decided it was time to get in a quick nap and—though it would last perhaps a minute at most—nothing would wake her from it. Sleep, however, worked in their favour, for when she awoke…

“…Sorry. Where were we? …Ah, yes, the second part of the puzzle,” Farren said, not a hint of fatigue in her tone and an unusual focus upon something that had likely not been the topic of conversation had man and machine been talking. “Time. Time to move,” she gestured with a finger, pointing her companions to the arrangement of workmen and security staff who seemed to have gathered around an open yard within the estate that served as some sort of place to rest and eat. The gates remained open. The rest of the estate was pretty much empty.

That was what the first of the sequence of four digit numbers had meant, the second as well. A fifteen minute window in which to get inside of where they needed to be with minimal risk of detection. But what of the other three? A circle, a circle, a cross. Cinno Sebastiano’s cipher was so strangely incomprehensible that no one brain could have hoped to discern it all without his knowledge at their immediate disposal…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synposis:—}
<sub>After Book leads them to their destination, Farren takes a brief nap before realising what some of the codes meant, providing opportune timing to get in.

Notes:— ——</sub>

---

Fierabras Farren | #e5e4e2
Book | #812525
Horatio Nullbuilt | #947464
Cinno Sebastiano [NPC] | #d3be7c

[Blushing z0ro]

BOOK
ACT I SCENE I

- Knowledge Is The Best Weapon… -

---

The amnesiac kept looking at this industrial estate as a bell rang to announce the time. Bell… gong… gong… ding?

The man known as Book looked up to where the sound of a bell came, how odd that it would ring so out of tune on the third bell… that was in complete opposition of the musical tones and ideas associated with the period of the bell tower. After all it was built by Donteni Fabricio who was aside form an architect a notorious composer with inflexible rules with tonality, such a thing would not have been allowed under his watch, this implied someone changed the tune of the bells at some point, this was too far to be simple lack of maintenance.. A purpose then… a signal.

The scared man let his eyes linger out to the state to see if anything out of the ordinary happened at the time of the odd ringing.

Huh

Some of the working men, not all of them mind you, only a small portion, put down what they were doing and began making their way to a different stack of boxes away from all the others and began lifting them, with great difficulty one might add, and taking them towards the back of the estate.

“Ah.” the man known as Book turned to his companions. "It appears the smugglers bring some goods in at regular intervals signaled by out of tune bells. I would suggest we hide ourselves with the crates and let ourselves be carried in. the Third out of tune bell would only ring out like that at the fifteenth minute mark past the hour, else it would be drowned out by the first again. Therefore they must spread their movement of smuggled goods every hour, like clockwork one might say.”

---

Tag: Vio pepsi
Words: 300
Book: 82525
Sebastiano: d3be7c