16666/Interlude: Physician, heal thyself. Or at least inspect the instruction manual.

Interlude: Physician, heal thyself. Or at least inspect the instruction manual.
Date of Scene:	31 December 2024
Location:	Lucifer's Penthouse, Melville
Synopsis:	Science is pesky and doesn't bare thinking about too closely when you were a being born of thought, made of purest energy. But Scientists are sciency.
Cast of Characters:	Sinister, Lucifer

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Sinister has posed:
Once upon a time, there was a Firstborn son. And then, he got in a bit of trouble and ended up having all kinds of adventures throughout time, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Mostly, just sublime to the ridiculous so much of the time. Ups, downs, highs, lows...

Now which son are we talking about here?

Yesterday was very pleasant into the night. A ticket might have been used -- this morning, bringing a fresh snowfall, has covers and fire being quite toasty...

And there's a coffee, with a shot of whiskey already waiting for the devil.

Sinister can be found though, along with Sinister mkII, working in the lab. There's two of them. One has his lab coat and gloves on, the other has his shirt off, turned to face the wall with his back to Doctor-Sin, being... thoroughly inspected. Probes are deep in flesh, but there's no blood and apparently no discomfort either, as the Doctor-patient duo watch an image as clear as a MRI on a flatscreen nearby.

Lucifer has posed:
A few nights have been well worth the trouble he's gotten into his entire life. All of those choices made, paths taken, led to moments like that. The Devil is living in bliss with nothing that could really sour the mood right now.

Except maybe waking up to a cold spot beside him.

Yet there's coffee doctored with whiskey just like he prefers it and it's still warm when he takes a sip. Shifting to stand - only wearing his boxers - but then he's quick to put on a robe and his Devil slippers. Cause it's cold. He'll need to turn up the heater a bit more.

Fucking winter.

Then there's finding Nathaniel in his lab, not working on what he was expecting. There are two Sinisters and Lucifer has to stare really hard to make sure he knows which is his Sinister and which is not. "Morning."

Sinister has posed:
His would appear to be the one with the probes in his back. The other one is ... well, also Sin, but the 'feel' isn't right. A clone or a polyp version of him, expressed for the purposes of an extra pair of hands or at least a pair of eyes behind himself. "Sometimes, it's just easier to look at things yourself, with a second set of eyes," Sinister opines, to answer a question that wasn't asked. "Morning. Woke up feeling vigorous and thought I'd let you sleep, dearest. Did you dream sweetly? You were going through all the motions last night..."

After however many times around the block THAT was.

Lucifer has posed:
"Do I ever dream?" Is asked with a smirk as the Devil shifts forward a few steps but makes his berth wide so he can take in the scene from a far angle. Of course, he's not going to know a DNA strand from a gene splice - but that's beside the point. And likely not even what Nathaniel is looking at.

"The answer is, yes, I slept well. If I did dream, I don't recall anything...but that might be a good thing. Means I was out enough the sleep was solid." He grins and then sips at his coffee once more. Of course, having coffee in the lab might make it lose a bit of sterile quality but - he's at least clean about it. "Have you found anything interesting yet?"

Sinister has posed:
"As a matter of fact.... yes..." Sin the patient points the screen, between his shoulderblades, just below the collar bone. There's two pairs of somewhat dense looking... erm... silvery balls of yarn? That's what it looks like on the screen at any rate, with little rooted fillaments interconnected with other root-like extensions form spine and other areas. "Those are nerves..." the doctor explains "...but those are nerve -bundles-. Medical terminology calls them ganglions. They're not supposed to be there normally, but one set's been there since the incident with the Hell-purge and the hypospray."

Patient Sin grins, glancing at the coffee but it might just be he sterilized it and used ultrafiltered water to make it in the first place. Plus the alchol detoxes (ahahaha) a lot of nasties.

"Now there's two. The second set seem to be connected into the sensory nerves. Which I suppose means not much, eh?"

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer listens. Well. He tries to listen. Actually, he does listen, but it's the understanding that sort of gets to him sometimes. Though Nathaniel does do a good job at explaining what he's looking at on the screen. Bundles of nerves. "Wait. Bundles of nerves are actually a thing? It's not just a saying?" He asks this and then tilts his head to one side. "Okay. So it's not supposed to be there, and now you have two. But one is connected to sensory nerves... which... I assume... is not a good thing..."

He sups more of his coffee and then looks to his cup just as he notices Nathaniel glancing to it. He actually offers it out in case the doctor wants a sip.

"Is there any good way to get rid of them?"

Sinister has posed:
"I don't think it'd be wise to do so. For you, if I were to try and look at your back, I might find something similar, but this is..." Sin looks back at the screen and can but shrug...

Which makes the wings come out, whilst the probes are still in there. It almost, but not quite, knocks the coffee flying.

But it DOES wallop the doctor version of him with a faceful of feathers.

On the screen though, there's a crackle of 'activity' over the nerves. "They're the root. They stick around whether they're grown in or not. But I've now got two bundles. They're like... uhm... tiny brains that thing viscerally. Primally. Nature has them in particularly complicated life forms that have to control complex functions with what nature gave them." Pause "Prevalent in such creatures as multi-winged beings. Insects and the like, with multiple sets to coordinate. And where autonomous movement separate from the brain, has to be done."

He pauses again.

"The second it mostly sensory, so I suspect... part of my crazy moments of overload have been because I've been growing a set of tuning forks."

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer blinks as the wings pop and then he tilts his head to the other side. "Oooh. So the nerve clusters are the brains of your wings, but they're also tuning forks and trying to determine when the wings should come out and when not? But you can also still....summon them at will?" He looks himself over a moment and then hums. "And this is also something that could be found in my shoulders?"

He really hates science. It doesn't make sense. Trying to explain everything, even things that shouldn't have an explanation.

Sinister has posed:
"Yes. I can summon them at will..." Maybe he can sense the confusion and desire to understand that's fighting with the urge to say 'You don't have to explain fossils son, they're /there/. They've always been there.' Because evolution and the passage of history are at odds with the 'official story' so to speak. Trying to explain everything, even things that shouldn't have an explanation, defined so many things. Paleontology now understands calcification process and sedimentary settling. ANd sometimes, you can even piece together bits and bobs of DNA, from a thing that died millions of years ago, or never existed in the first place, if you buy that line!

"...but I've been perpetually perplexed as to why they just manifest sometimes. Mostly around the Host -- sensory ganglion is picking up on rudimentary instinct. You display to one another, but can control it. I couldn't because I didn't know it was even there until I had a lightbulb."

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer hums a moment. "Okay. So you can summon them at will. Yet sometimes they pop out on their own. Especially around the Host. Also known as...me? Like when mine come out? Or just when we're together?" Which could, in a sense, make Lucifer feel somewhat guilty. "Does it hurt? Or is it just there? And being there and... being sometimes uncontrollable has just gotten some wires...crossed. Or...the wires crossing make...uhm....them.." He sighs.

"I don't think I get it. But if there's anything I can do to help..."

Sinister has posed:
"I think you just being you, the energy that is your being, triggers the sensors in the wing nodes. You do it to your family, they do it to you, but it's like 'Hi, this is us'. Only, I'm not 'us' but my nerves don't know that... how do you control a reflex without conscious effort? You don't, easily." Sin chuckles, shaking his head as they fold. The doctor version of him looks mildly annoyed but grateful he doesn't have a faceful of feathers any more... probes are gently adjusted, so that they can properly see activity.

"Didn't you ever do that when you were learning to be what you are, back in the very beginning of things? BOOM, mine are bigger than yours are. Hey, hey, that's a nepharious nasty thing from outside of this universe, BING here's the wings for travelling..."

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer finishes his coffee and ensures the cup and saucer are clean enough before setting them down. "Likely once or twice. Especially to get on Michael's nerves. But they're so...well I can't really say that they're controlled can I? Sometimes...even now...I know that they've come out due to a reaction to something. Without me thinking about it. So I get it. The control and the knowledge will come with time..."

Then he thinks on it.

"Unless there's something you can glean from my...clusters? To then transfer into your own? Or is that... playing with fire too much?"

Sinister has posed:
"I don't know that it would read all that well, but there might be something to glean from it. I think it's safe to say though, this is visible evidence of my gradual... assimilation? Metamophosis? Something. It does make me ponder what I'll end up being, in the grand scheme of things. I don't think I can be..." he gestures up and down and sort of sideways "...you know."

That's not helpful at all, now is it?

"Intense curiosity and the need to appreciate the depth and breadth of all living things is a bit of an obsession, I suppose. Maybe I shall evolve to be a denizen of the deeps, eh?"

Oh yes, let him burn. Only the flames are kind, aren't they?

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer gets close, even if he has to push the Doctor Sin out of the way. Hands lift to cup Patient Nathaniel's cheeks and he grins. "Maybe that's the missing key. Perhaps I should take you down and bathe you in the flame of hell and you'll be reborn as you are now meant to be." His eyes even flicker with hellfire at the words. The idea. Like he's actually committing to the idea that it will work.

"Anyway...I'm going to go make you some tea. Perhaps some crumpets. With butter and jam..." A kiss and then he steps back. "Will you be much longer here?"

Sinister has posed:
"It might be a notion," it's practically breathed. Sometimes, the devil is a breathtaking thing, particularly when there's a measure of promise in what is being said. The feathers twitch, then vanish along with the wings as the Doctor sighs and extracts the probes from where they'd been lodged. That part of him just got all distracted after all.

With thinking!

"Crumpets with black currant jelly sound fantastic. With tea."

He follows, not quite like a lost puppy, but aside  of the Host. It is how it is, Sinister is sinister to the Lord of Hell.