Beauty & The Beast

[Brian]

N'dovu raises an eyebrow, and then nods wordlessly, before heading up the stairs as he is told.  Once he gets to the top, however, he doesn't head for the office.  Instead, he looks around and examines his surroundings.

[Carthrat]

The first thing that hits N'Dovu is the doors. They're like out of star trek or something; fully made of metal, that slick, shiny futuristic feel, and little keypads next to them all.

The lights are another thing; sure, they're just lights, but they're designed with aesthetic sensibilities, and they enchance the overall hi-tech feel of the place. The walls are shiny, the floor is clean, and there are racks of complicated looking scientific equipment here and there. There's some strange abstract art hanging on the walls, and nobody seems to be around.

[Brian]

N'dovu frowns.  So alien ... and yet, for all of the oddness, no guards.  Shaking his head, and clutching his staff tightly, he scans for an emergency exit ... or somewhere he could escape, if he had to.  He doesn't relish the idea of falling to the street from this height, but one does what one must.

Once he's got some idea of what he'll do, N'dovu heads to the office in question.

[Carthrat]

The door slides open at N'Dovu's approach. It's not an office, as such, but a laboratory. It's a very white room; white walls, white equipment, white tables. The two people in there are also dressed in white, and they're none other than Angela, the blind scientist, and Kyle, her bodyguard. (He's still got his hands in his pockets. Maybe he never takes them out.) In one corner of the room is an uncomfortable-looking chair, with all sorts of wires hanging about from it.

Kyle whispers something to Angela, and she nods. "N'Dovu! Glad you could make it."

[Brian]

"As am I," N'dovu says, nodding at both Angela and Kyle.

Already somewhat uncomfortable with the situation, but trying not to show it, N'dovu asks, "Do I need to sign anything?"

[Carthrat]

"Uh, no," replies Angela, nodding. "This is strictly under-the-table business, you understand."

[Brian]

N'dovu nods slowly.  "Very well.  Let us proceed, then."

[Carthrat]

"Ok. You'll get your cash when the testing is done," says Angela, nodding. "Take a seat," she continues, and Kyle gestures towards the fancy-looking chair in the corner.

[Brian]

N'dovu eyes the seat dubiously, and nods, setting the staff within easy reach as he attempts to fold himself into the thing.

[Carthrat]

The chair, surprisingly, adjusts itself as N'Dovu sits down in it. A slight whirring sound, and it extends- somewhat dramatically- to fit his large frame perfectly.

"Kyle, if you would," says Angela, absently. The man starts producing wires from behind the chair, and beings attaching them to N'Dovu's head.

"These are just to keep an eye on your brainwave patters while the, er, second-sight is in effect," says Angela (wincing a bit on the word 'Sight').

[Brian]

N'dovu, already uncomfortable with the situation, merely nods.

[Carthrat]

"Ok," says Angela, nodding. "So how exactly do you do this? Do you need to chant out some ritual, focus the inner eye, or just smoke until you see things? We've got all the drugs anyone could want, here, so you really just need to name one.."

[Brian]

N'dovu blinks, and raises an eyebrow.  "There is no need for ceremony, it merely shows the spirits that you respect them," he clarifies.  "And the staff, to focus, of course," he says, indicating his weapon.  While it's blatantly untrue, what N'dovu knows and they don't can help him a lot.  "I have seen medicine men use nothing other than their own eyes in the past ... but lack that skill myself."

After a moment of pondering, N'dovu says, "For this, I think, peyote will suffice."

N'dovu isn't certain that peyote will be powerful enough to overcome the very non-spiritual nature of the location he's in, but he does know that if something goes wrong, he'd rather be high on peyote than have to try and function in combat on LSD.

[Carthrat]

"Right," says Angela. "Kyle.."

The man heads out the room for a moment, leaving Angela alone with N'Dovu.

"How did they teach you how to see like that, anyway?" she asks, puttering around a little until she finds a chair of her own to sit on.

[Brian]

"Mmm," N'dovu muses, frowning.  "My first vision came from a blow to the head," he finally says.  "After that, the medicine man that gave me my spirit marks," he nearly pauses to indicate where the marks are on his face before he remembers that Angela is blind, "also taught me to commune with the spirits.  There is much ritual for our spirits ... the souls of the Zulu.  But there is much less ritual here.  It is the mind that must accept the visions; the ritual is merely ceremony."

N'dovu tries to let his wry smile enter his voice.  "Of course, even knowing this, I require some small token of ceremony before I am able to see the spirits."