Nue Quest Alter Code 6: A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

> Tense up for a moment.
> "I...just thought of something. Patchouli said that an act contrary to his beliefs could disrupt what he's doing. I pointed out to him that he's effectively buying his new economy, and he said it was a necessary evil and that he'd made peace with it. What if him personally making peace with it doesn't matter?"

>Byakuren frowns. "That could be a problem."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "It could be a huge problem. He says he can't harvest sparks from exchanges he's not in, which reduces what he can do a fair amount, but it still would leave him at a huge advantage. And now we have the problem of his simply eradicating Gensokyo's economy instead of altering it."
> Put the 'capelet' on the ground.
> "Please make sure this doesn't get ruined. I need to go back down there. Things are about to get really hairy."
> Try to duplicate our hair all along our exposed skin other than our face. Lay it on fairly thick, so it retains warmth better.

[Hello Purvis]

> "It could be a huge problem. He says he can't harvest sparks from exchanges he's not in, which reduces what he can do a fair amount, but it still would leave him at a huge advantage. And now we have the problem of his simply eradicating Gensokyo's economy instead of altering it."
> Put the 'capelet' on the ground.
> "Please make sure this doesn't get ruined. I need to go back down there. Things are about to get really hairy."
> Try to duplicate our hair all along our exposed skin other than our face. Lay it on fairly thick, so it retains warmth better.

>"Yes, that does seem to be a likely possibility," says
>You set the Disguised Apron on the ground, and concentrate on covering yourself with hair. It's not particularly difficult, hair has always been fairly easy. It take you a couple minutes to do so, as you coax out thick black hair that rather resembles the bear you encountered last night.  Much less dull and much silkier, of course. Your arms, legs, and neck are covered with it, probably a good inch and a half thick.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I'll send someone or someones back up when I get back down there, just so they can warm back up."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I'll send someone or someones back up when I get back down there, just so they can warm back up."

>Byakuren nods, saying nothing, though she is clearly doing her best not to stare at your recent steps toward bearhood. "I shall stay wary for any kind of trickery up here," she adds after a moment.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Grin.
> "Yeah, I know it looks weird. But function over form right now. Be back soon."
> Assuming Byakuren does not object to our departure, turn around and fly back down the stairs.

[Hello Purvis]

> Grin.
> "Yeah, I know it looks weird. But function over form right now. Be back soon."
> Assuming Byakuren does not object to our departure, turn around and fly back down the stairs.

>"A little," she says. "But I understand."
>You fly back down the stairs; this turns out to be a particularly good idea when you note the ice has encased the lower three steps.
>Returning to the basement, you see that ice has crept up all of the nearby walls, and it is easily cold enough to store meat without difficulty. Mokou doesn't seem to be particularly bothered, though Renko is hugging her arms close to herself and shivering a bit. Rinnosuke doesn't seem to be affected much, but he is some yards away and sitting still.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Look at Renko and jerk a thumb toward the staircase.
> "Head on upstairs and warm yourself up."

[Hello Purvis]

> Look at Renko and jerk a thumb toward the staircase.
> "Head on upstairs and warm yourself up."

>"I'm fine," she says. "I want to see what happens."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Grin.
> "What, you gonna make me hug you to keep warm?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Grin.
> "What, you gonna make me hug you to keep warm?"

>"Hey," says Renko, frowning. "It's not that bad."
>As far as your concerned, it really isn't that bad save for your face. But you expect your clothes aren't going to keep you warm for too long. But your extremities are alright.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Well, we could always grow shorter hair underneath our clothes...
> How does the area around Rinnosuke and the money seem to be faring in contrast with the rest of the room?
> "Anyway, we have another potential disaster on our hands related to this. A thought occurred to me while I was upstairs. Patchouli told me a good deal about the faith-y magic that's at work here, and pointed out that someone employing this kind of magic will lose control over it if they do something that runs counter to their beliefs."

[Hello Purvis]

> Well, we could always grow shorter hair underneath our clothes...
> How does the area around Rinnosuke and the money seem to be faring in contrast with the rest of the room?
> "Anyway, we have another potential disaster on our hands related to this. A thought occurred to me while I was upstairs. Patchouli told me a good deal about the faith-y magic that's at work here, and pointed out that someone employing this kind of magic will lose control over it if they do something that runs counter to their beliefs."

>This would be a logical solution.
>It's hard to tell around Rinnosuke, but it seems unchanged. Closer by, you see some condensation on the money.
>"Yeah?" says Renko.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Now this guy here, his beliefs are firmly rooted in the beauty of exchange. He sees currency as a pretty damn ugly thing, practically heretical. So he took Gensokyo's existing capitalist economy, which you see all around this place, and he wants to exchange it for an economy predicated completely on exchange, one where currency doesn't even exist."
> "So we have faith-based magic that'll fizzle once the user does something that runs counter to the rules defined by the faith, and this particular faith is about how exchange is great and currency is terrible. And we have someone trying to use this faith-based magic and a big heaping wad of cash to get what he wants. Let's say he actually succeeds in trading away all this currency. When the anti-money rules notice that their magic is being used in conjunction with money to buy a new economy, what do you think is gonna happen?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Now this guy here, his beliefs are firmly rooted in the beauty of exchange. He sees currency as a pretty damn ugly thing, practically heretical. So he took Gensokyo's existing capitalist economy, which you see all around this place, and he wants to exchange it for an economy predicated completely on exchange, one where currency doesn't even exist."
> "So we have faith-based magic that'll fizzle once the user does something that runs counter to the rules defined by the faith, and this particular faith is about how exchange is great and currency is terrible. And we have someone trying to use this faith-based magic and a big heaping wad of cash to get what he wants. Let's say he actually succeeds in trading away all this currency. When the anti-money rules notice that their magic is being used in conjunction with money to buy a new economy, what do you think is gonna happen?"

>"Mmm," says Renko. "Yeah, I see what you're saying, it'd be like...I dunno..." She frowns. "There's got to be a good analogy for this..."
>"Your concerns are noted, Miss Houjuu," says Rinnosuke. "But it is mired in the past."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Turn to Rinnosuke.
> "And what makes you say that?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Turn to Rinnosuke.
> "And what makes you say that?"

>"Look around you, Miss Houjuu," says Rinnosuke. You are quite sure you can see his breath now. "What do you see?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "A whole bunch of money."

[Hello Purvis]

> "A whole bunch of money."

>"What makes it money?" he says. "Is it spent? Does it flow between people? Does it do anything at all? Miss Houjuu, what you see are a collection of metals. If they were allowed to circulate, they could indeed blossom into an economy, but as it stands, they do nothing. They are nothing, merely disks of metal. If I were to exchange some of them, you may be correct in you concerns. But I shall not, I will dispose of it all. It is not money, you understand. They are the corpse, and the seed, of an economic system."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I'd say what makes it money is the value people put into it. Value they still do put into it, regardless of its location."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I'd say what makes it money is the value people put into it. Value they still do put into it, regardless of its location."

>"Value placed outside of ownership is without meaning in the case of money," he says. "They cannot use it; their thoughts on the matter are moot. Only I can use it. And as I do not recognize it as a means of exchange, it is dead."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Chuckle a bit.
> "For someone so enamored with exchange, you have a bizarre concept of ownership, if you think theft constitutes a change in ownership. Possession, sure, but not ownership."

[Hello Purvis]

> Chuckle a bit.
> "For someone so enamored with exchange, you have a bizarre concept of ownership, if you think theft constitutes a change in ownership. Possession, sure, but not ownership."

>"Exchange terms as you like," says Rinnosuke. "I have it, no one else does. For something like money, this is all that matters."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> How's Renko holding up?

[Hello Purvis]

> How's Renko holding up?

>She is staying near the stairs, and presently rubbing her hands together.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Well, if this guy's that far off the deep end, there isn't anything words are going to accomplish.
> Watch Cirno's work unfold while growing some more hair to cover the skin underneath our clothes. Don't make it quite as long as the hair over the exposed skin, of course.

[Hello Purvis]

> Well, if this guy's that far off the deep end, there isn't anything words are going to accomplish.
> Watch Cirno's work unfold while growing some more hair to cover the skin underneath our clothes. Don't make it quite as long as the hair over the exposed skin, of course.

>You cease speaking, and so does Rinnosuke.
>You spend the time adding more hair to yourself, until you are practically wearing a bear suit. To be honest, it feels wonderful in the chill, and gives you the temptation to add a nice thick beard to keep some of the cold off your face.
>The ice continues to spread while you change yourself. In some places it reaches the ceiling and starts to spread across it. Soon after you finish fuzzying yourself, Mokou says, "I'm going to start a nice fire outside. C'mon Renko."
>"But I wa-"
>"You're gonna hear it if anything happens," Mokou says. "C'mon."
>She starts upstairs, hovering. After a moment, Renko follows behind.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I'll see you two soon."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I'll see you two soon."

>"Yeah, don't get frostbite," says Mokou from out of sight.
>The ice continues to spread, creeping across the ceiling. After another minute, Cirno says, "There!"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Look around at the room, including inspecting how Rinnosuke is holding up.