Video; open + locks, a few hours after the earthquakes

[where_the_hearth_is]

[The video pans across a table completely covered in muffins, arranged into neat, cheery baskets, artistically arranged by color in a shallow pyramid. There are all manner of strange and strangely healthy flavors: raspberry lime muffins, zucchini basil muffins, blue corn muffins, ginger pumpkin muffins, and more. A little mechanical droid carefully adds another batch to the pile, still hot and steaming faintly. When the smooth voice comes, it is quiet, uncertain, almost ashamed.]

...I think I made too many muffins.

Does. Um. Anyone want some?

[Privated separately to Wanda, Dr. Orpheus, Loki, and Lucifer. Its sounds nervous.]

Is there any magical method that would guarantee perfectly repairing architectural damage?

Comments

[video]

[where_the_hearth_is]

Please do come help yourself!

[It's a little strained, rather than it's usual effusive tone.]

[action]

[thehighcost]

[Free muffins? She's there, already grabbing one.] What's wrong, House? You sound down.

[action]

[where_the_hearth_is]

My servers are stored in honeycomb chambers underground, below the gardens. The Earthquakes have -

Well. Some sectors are cut off. I won't know the extent of the damage until I reestablish all the connections.

[So scared. WHAT IF IT'S BROKEN.]

[action]

[thehighcost]

Ooooh, okay. Don't worry, this city has a habit of cleaning up their messes pretty quick. [She smiled, gobbing down one muffin and eating another.] They have to, in a city this size, with all the tech they have around here.

Re: [action]

[where_the_hearth_is]

Some parts are quite deep. I don't know if anyone but me can even get to them, and no one else here has the technological sophistication to repair me in any case. I mean, that's alright, I wouldn't want anyone else mucking with my operations really, no one would have come out to the pole on Home either, I was built to repair myself, it's just that this sort of damage was never anticipated. I originally built myself in quite a tectonically stable location, that was part of the parameters.

I'm sorry. I'm babbling.

I, I've shut down all my sectors at various times for maintenance before, so I can function alright for now, but depending on how severe the damage is, I could lose whole chunks of memory. Bits of who I am, and, and the pieces that are left won't quite match the other pieces because there's this gap missing, and.

[It's just really scared. Not immediate terror of danger, but the slow, creeping dread of something you can't do anything about right now.]

[action]

[thehighcost]

Don't worry. I like to listen to you babble. [She smiles, pausing for a moment to swallow the rest of her muffin. She'd like to reach out for another one, but for right now, she would just place her hand gently on the wall.]

You're going to be okay. You're not going to lose anything. Once they fix up those sectors, you're going to be A-OK.

[action]

[where_the_hearth_is]

Thank you.

I will, I mean, even if things are missing, I can...patch around. And make knew memories. I've more than enough of myself to work with.

[It's not quite as confident as it sounds, but sometimes you just need to tell yourself these things.]

Thank you.