[color=f7976a][b]LÊ BẰNG KIỀU[/b][/color] and [color=fff79a][b]JEANNE DU BORDEAUX[/b][/color][hr] [hider=The Devil is in the Details] Bang flipped through another page of the borrowed roster. His initial plan had been to do his nightly meditation as Jeanne slept but that did not appear to be on the agenda for her. Instead he'd decided to pass the time by picking up where Jeanne had left off. From his place on the couch, he turned the book to face where she sat. [color=f7976a]"What about this fellow? A... Redouane LaPorte."[/color] [color=fff79a]"A man of meager intelligence and accomplishment, who besmirches his family name with every breath he takes,"[/color] was Jeanne's own evaluation, one that she had concluded without even having turned in Bang's direction. [color=f7976a]"...Not a suspect then."[/color] Bang flipped to the next page, smile unmoved. [color=f7976a]"Oh! The snout on this one could be bat-like, right? Or maybe it's more canine...?"[/color] [color=fff79a]"A seahorse. Though for all that you've taken to naming them a 'manbat', I saw a devil."[/color] Jeanne snorted. [color=fff79a]"You're looking for a human's face, not a beast's."[/color] [color=f7976a]"Intelligent eyes, huh."[/color] It took some more time for him to scour the catalogue completely. There was no sign of an axe-shaped head in the photographs. Either this Egoist wasn't in the student register at all - a stowaway perhaps? a staff member? a pre-existing island inhabitant? - or they were hiding the extent of their abilities. He wouldn't be the only one, Bang supposed. [color=f7976a]"Well, no one said this would be easy,"[/color] he murmured aloud, flipping back to the start of the register to go over it again. [color=fff79a]"Again?"[/color] Jeanne's eyes slid slowly in the Vietnamese Egoist's direction. [color=fff79a]"Are you so disengaged as to partake in meaningless redundancies now?"[/color] [color=f7976a]"Repetition is reinforcement."[/color] He turned the page. [color=f7976a]"And forgive me for saying this, Miss du Bordeaux, but I did not bring much to engage in when I volunteered to chaperone. That, and I assumed you would not be interested in idle conversation with me."[/color] [color=fff79a]"I've no interest in idle conversation, yes, monsieur. Do you profess yourself to be an idle individual?"[/color] [color=f7976a]"Never."[/color] Stalled, maybe, but never idle. [color=f7976a]"Though a conversation of any kind can always be a delight. Maybe we should be trying it more often, since we'll be in each others' orbits for the next few days."[/color] Jeanne raised a brow. [color=f7976a]"For example, are we wrong to assume that this devil is a student in the first place? Since I'm having some difficulty narrowing down suspects in this register."[/color] The Frenchwoman rolled her eyes, but turned her body away from the window to face Bang directly. [color=fff79a]"Is Egoism not your Major, monsieur? Regardless of what this devil hides, their body was not that of a human's."[/color] She laid her hands over her lap, tilting her chin upwards. [color=fff79a]"If you were them, how would you hide such a hideous face?"[/color] [color=f7976a]"Isolation. Getting housed by a benefactor or simply skulking in the shadows during the day time."[/color] Bang chuckled. [color=f7976a]"Otherwise we'd be trying to track down someone immensely powerful."[/color] [color=fff79a]"This is Bermuda. Though rabble persist, I will not be so arrogant as to claim that only I am the exception."[/color] [color=f7976a]"Yes, sorting this population by the definition of 'genius' wouldn't get us anywhere. I need a new parameter..."[/color] The suspect was an Occidental Egoist. Rare enough on its own, but for them to have such mastery over a Major that was supposed to be foreign to them, it was likely they would have spent significant time in the Orient. Bang flipped through the register again, more rapidly now that he'd gone through it once. John Ellis, Ottobuono Desideri, Jan Joosten, [color=f7976a]"...Solomon Antidivula. Didn't, hey, didn't he have some side specialisation in developing cameras too?"[/color] [color=fff79a]"And?"[/color] [color=f7976a]"I read about him in a journal once. He Minors in Technologism, portable photography specifically. Resided in... Tibet? Mongolia? Anyhow, he decided to further his Egoist studies around there. That man is a genius in the truest sense of the word."[/color] Bang paced to the dining table where a copy of the Bermuda Triangle was resting. The staff page listed a 'Catharina Ahlgren' as the writer of the article, and an 'Anonymous' as the photographer. He noted the quality of the picture. It almost definitely came from a Polymath-crafted camera. He turned back to Jeanne. [color=f7976a]"He also happens to be French. Would you be familiar with his clan at all?"[/color] [color=fff79a]"There is no noteworthy intersection between energy generation and the capturing of light. You've proven yourself more knowledgeable than I, monsieur, in the matters of your peers."[/color] Her chin dropped, eyes turning up towards Bang. [color=fff79a]"You suspect him to be such devil?"[/color] [color=f7976a]"After narrowing down the potential suspects, he appears to be the likeliest candidate, yes."[/color] [color=fff79a]"Then what?"[/color] [color=f7976a]"Then I let the others know when they get back. When morning comes, I'll pay a visit to the office of this newsletter and see if we can get more evidence corroborating this theory. If everything holds up, we can confront him and ask some questions about his behaviour that night,"[/color] Bang listed methodically. He locked eyes with her and noted her expression. [color=f7976a]"I... thought you'd have some more interest in this development?"[/color] [color=fff79a]"You are a well-read individual, one who seeks to connect with Polymaths as community and as individuals."[/color] She favoured him with her profile as she gazed off to the side, to the motley collection of evidence and detail. [color=fff79a]"You should know then, that this is nothing new. Justice remains pliable, and the only truths that exist are natural or cosmic."[/color] A breath, the hiss of the furnace's bellows. [color=fff79a]"Have I ever showed interest in this?"[/color] [color=f7976a]"Not that I could glean..."[/color] He took a step towards her. [color=f7976a]"But I expected some show of self-preservation at least."[/color] The look she gave him was one of disdain, or perhaps condescension. [color=fff79a]"It's only expulsion, monsieur, not an execution. If they value a building over a Polymath of my caliber, then they are fools undeserving of the progress they seek."[/color] [color=f7976a]"If Bermuda means so little to you that you'd be willing to leave after less than half a week, why did you come out all the way here?"[/color] [color=fff79a]"Take a guess."[/color] A cautious grin. [color=f7976a]"Your secret but admirable wish for unity between the Majors?"[/color] A smirk formed on her lips, but not so cruel as to manifest any personal grudge. [color=fff79a]"Your readings lean towards the imaginative, doesn't it? Pour me a drink, would you?"[/color] The boy acquiesced, pouring two glasses of the nearest wine within reach and carrying them over on a tray. He took a seat on the far end of the windowsill. [color=fff79a]"My life has been spent with conservatives and charlatans. I had hoped Bermuda would be different."[/color] She regarded the glistening glass, the fluid within. [color=fff79a]"His Holiness, at least, can be trusted to seeing beyond history. But none here."[/color] [color=f7976a]"How can you be so sure in the brief time you've spent here?"[/color] [color=fff79a]"In your country, is it the peasantry who hold power to shape society, or the powerful?"[/color] [color=f7976a]"...The latter."[/color] Bang took a sip from his glass. [color=fff79a]"Then you understand."[/color] He nodded. [color=f7976a]"Living under the thumb of another can be... humiliating, yes. Back home there are certain reasons one cannot challenge those in power. But here..."[/color] A larger sip this time. [color=f7976a]"Like you said, it's not an execution. With the stakes significantly lowered, don't you think there's more enticement to challenge this society? Show them what a great mind can truly achieve?"[/color] Jeanne continued to ponder her glass of wine. [color=fff79a]"What drives you, monsieur? Is it that?"[/color] He laughed, as if they really were friends. [color=f7976a]"Nothing as grand as changing the world or anything. It's just..."[/color] He pondered for a second. [color=f7976a]"Freedom. I want to be free to do the right thing. A little self-centred for the Cripple Prince of Vietnam, huh?"[/color] [color=fff79a]"You wish for world domination?"[/color] Jeanne grinned. [color=fff79a]"How like a boy."[/color] [color=f7976a]"Yes, perhaps when I finally hit puberty I'll desire something more sensible, like riches or a machine exoskeleton."[/color] [color=fff79a]"Sensibility does not befit a Polymath,"[/color] Jeanne snorted. [color=fff79a]"Leave the sense of the commoners to legislators and politicians...though you'd do well to grow a beard before you posture as a king."[/color] He leaned closer with a cheeky smile, exaggeratedly stroking his chin. [color=f7976a]"Do you think I have the jawline to pull one off?"[/color] [color=fff79a]"Are you not an Egoist? Or are your Formulizations just for show?"[/color] [color=f7976a]"You're right, it was silly of me to focus on regrowing my liver instead of cultivating the perfect handlebar moustache."[/color] [color=fff79a]"At the rate you partake in libations, it certainly is wasted effort, devoting your energies to such matters."[/color] A pause. Words sank in. [color=fff79a]"But it's getting late, so I shall turn in. Does your duty require you to share a bed with me as well, monsieur?"[/color] Bang contemplated the question as he emptied his glass. He glanced at the couch, then to her. [color=f7976a]"Only if you feel a further need for supervision."[/color] He leaned in further. [color=f7976a]"...Do you?"[/color] That sneer formed again, disdaining but without personal sentiment. [color=fff79a]"Take a guess."[/color] [/hider]