Description: Told by Marisol that there was another girl at Gedo High-- Stasya-- who had 'powers' like her own, Shurui shows up at the GK member's door, looking to ask some questions. The two girls bond immediately over their shared confusion, and exchange what knowledge they've gathered about their abilities. Resolving to follow the lead Ayame offered her the last time they met, Stasya promises to share whatever information she might discover from that lead with Shurui.
Wind and icy rain pelts the windows of the dormitories this off day as a hollow knock is heard.
*knockknock*
There's a Russian student who goes to Gedo High, it seems. Said girl happens to be a member of the somewhat Gedo-exclusive team of 'Guardian Kings', of which one person she's met already: Kenji. Now, all of this information wouldn't be worth more than any of the other information Shurui hoards in her brain like a greedy squirrel, except that, well, this student seems to have powers that mirror her own.
Marisol told Shurui the girl's name was 'Stasya'.
And so, the short clone is at Stasya's door, her hands slipping into the pockets of her hoodie. C'mon door, open. She's bored. "I'm a new student here. 'Wanna talk to you about something."
It's only a short while before there's the sound of papers shifting-- a book dropping on the floor-- and then, a brief moment of silence. Eventually, the door opens, and Shurui gets her first glimpse of Stasya Voronkova: the only Russian IN Gedo High, a member of the noted Guardian Kings team, and thereby... rather easy to find. The pale blonde peeks out at Shurui tiredly; from the look of her, and the look of the desk behind her, she seems to be in the middle of schoolwork (sadly, she and Kenji are probably the only people at Gedo who take studying decently seriously).
Stasya doesn't look unhappy to be interrupted from reading in the slightest: though, perhaps, somewhat mystified as to the reason for it. Nonetheless, she herself was new not all that long ago. She knows what it's like, and she can take a moment out if this girl has questions.
"Yes, what is it?" Her Japanese is accented, her phrasing a little stiffly formal in that awkward way that indicates she learned the language from books. But that stiffness is fading, a hint of a more natural note creeping into it now: the result of being surrounded by people and teammates who're infinitely colloquial in their use of the language. Remembering herself, she cracks a bit of a wan smile. Trying to welcome. "You are having questions?"
Despite all Shurui's heard, the girl seems to evince no real reaction that might indicate an ability to read auras. She doesn't squint, doesn't look taken aback-- doesn't look much of anything. No, her psionic power manifests in a different way than does Shurui's. And should Shurui choose to doff her shades and look, her aura would read similarly to Alma's and Rose's only in the sense that it's generated by the same sort of not-chi power. Stasya's aura is not that of a person who's found stability or serenity; it's that of a person still trying to find herself, still trying to open up after a lifetime of holding back. It comes in conflicting shades of steel-silver and red, sharp and deep-hued and cold, and the most striking impression it gives is one of countless keen edges and hard points.
The features on Stasya's face are distinct enough that even Shurui's eyesight picks up on them at this range. She was suspecting Russian-Japanese, but, for all intents and purposes, Stasya seems to be 100% European. Or Russian. Whatever; they sort of all blend together for Shurui. "Yeah...." The clone hesitates, but not due to shyness. It would have been better if she had thought of a more strategic way to ask the questions that collide around in Shurui's head. "Someone mentioned to me during a fight that there was a similiarity between me and you in our powers."
What exactly Shurui's heard is.... very vague, at best. While it's possible that Stasya has the same 'sight' as Shurui, the short girl finds herself doubting it. Alma seemed to posess it in some capacity, but his aura hinted that his prowess with psi was far more extensive than Shurui's more tailored abilities.
It could also be that Marisol lied to her, but that seems unlikely. There'd be no reason for the young woman from Pacific High to do so.
... Still, the possiblity is there. So Shurui pushes the glasses over her eyes up on her forehead without another word, looking the Russian over as nonchalantly as she can muster. And therein lies enough proof for the girl to pursue this issue further, as well as prickly view into the taller girl's core. Or, at least, the surface of it. Hard-colored steel and red, mixing unnaturally, unable to find a natural cohesion. At least, just yet. "We both seem to have that weird chi but not chi thing going. I'm trying to find out everything I can about it."
Nope. Stasya is 100% Russian. As far as she's aware, anyway. All things considered, one might have expected such a person to end up at Pacific. She'd fit in there a lot more, considering most of the students are foreigners like her, and it isn't as if her father doesn't have the means to pay the hefty price tag attached to an education at Pacific; but both she and her parents had agreed to Gedo High for... their own reasons. Stasya hasn't gone into those reasons with anyone, and she isn't likely to anytime soon.
Shurui, at the least, is straightforward in mentioning why she's sought Stasya out. A flicker of instant wariness sparks in Stasya's emotional signature-- and then, a curious hope. A quick onceover of Shurui's emotional state seems to suggest truthfulness: this is good enough for Stasya.
For the moment she takes to do that, the girl seems unresponsive-- but then afterwards, she immediately brightens. "Someone did? Who was it that was saying this? I have told very few... --I forget myself. Come in. Sit down." Stasya flutters off without waiting for an affirmative, busily clearing off her desk, picking her book off the floor, and smoothing her bedsheets. She sits right on the edge of her bed, letting Shurui have her chair.
The look she fixes on Shurui is avid, and it doubtless mirrors the same feelings Shurui gets whenever she gets a lead on the mysterious abilities she can employ. "I have been trying to find out about it also. Is sad to say I am not getting far..." Stasya hesitates. That message from Ayame... it's been a few weeks since they fought, and she hasn't acted on it despite the other girl's warnings. She'd been worried, trepidations mingling with curiosity mingling with a real fear that her father would stop her from going and destroy Ayame's message... but she's just about convinced herself to do it. Yes. She'll have something to say soon... just as soon as she can tell Tenma. Even if she cannot tell her parents, she should at least tell someone. "...but perhaps soon. Have you found much?"
Many times, if she's impatient enough and gets her nerve up, Shurui can be as subtle as a brick crashing through a window. Here, it's actually useful.
Even if it *did* make warning bells go off in Stasya's mind. Thank god they're both psychics. Or Psychos. Or whatever the hell it's all called. "A girl named Marisol. She goes to Pacific Hig-" The clone blinks as Stasya goes off, cleaning up her place for her impromptu guest. "... err..." That brick-like grounding that the short girl has cracks a little, with her face blinking in confusion.
Er. Uh.
It's.... hospitality. Right. A sting of awkwardness shimmies up her spine, but the girl walks right in, continuing her thought. "She only commented our powers felt similiar when I hit her with an attack." An... attack. "Then she told me your name." Sitting down on a place on the floor that seems to hold the least amount of inconviencence for the cleaning Stasya (see, she *is* considerate of people!), Shurui turns her head upwards. "... Well, to be honest, all I know is from two people at the YFCC: a man named Alma and a woman named Rose. It wasn't until I met Alma that I was..." She thinks. "... That I realized that someone out there could be similar to me." Dark eyes peer at Stasya. "What are you able to do? So far, everyone seems to have a different spin."
Stasya seems oblivious to Shurui's discomfort-- outwardly. In truth, she -can- sense that Shurui is feeling a little uncomfortable, and her bustling hospitality is, in a way, her attempt to calm that anxiety and make the girl feel a little more welcome. Unfortunately, she can't really tell that it's her actions which are making the awkwardness worse; her senses aren't yet that refined. She just knows that the nervousness is escalating.
After a moment, she gives up and just sits herself down. There's a brief interjection when Shurui sits on the floor-- "O, no need to sit there when there is a perfectly good chair!" --but otherwise, Stasya just listens.
"You met Marisol." Stasya nods, largely to herself. "Yes, I am knowing her." Apparently Tenma has recently had some discussions with her about their teammate gone missing... (where, in Stasya's understanding, 'discussion' can be replaced with 'beatdowns') but Stasya herself doesn't know much about that particular situation as of yet. Just that, for once, this rivalry-- which Stasya doesn't even fully understand herself, having come into the picture a bit late-- might actually be put aside!!
--for the space of a few moments.
"We have fought before-- she would know what it feels like." Stasya grins, pushing a wing of blonde hair behind her shoulder. "I am glad she is sending you to me, though I do not have a lot to offer you other than shared experience." These other names-- Alma, Rose-- are taken in with interest, and Stasya notes down the name 'YFCC.' It might be a place for her to investigate, if it's got two psions there. "I am not knowing much, either," Stasya confesses. "I have met a girl like us, a girl at Seijyun called Miu. Like us, she is trying to find out what it is we have; like us, she is self-taught. Her power came out as feathers. Mine--"
Stasya turns her hand palm-up, lifting it slightly. With a sound like steel unsheathing, psi pierces outwards from her skin: the humming red energy formed into a series of keen and pointed shapes. She pauses a long time, her eyes searching Shurui's. She isn't certain whether she wants to divulge the other ability granted her by her psionic energy, the ability of empathy-- but soon demonstrates she has little trouble with revealing the last. 'It always has an edge,' her voice explains, directly into Shurui's mind. Her eyes flutter away, and when she talks again it's vocally. Apparently, she can't transmit on the scale Rose can. "I have tried to make it other shapes, to dull it-- it is not possible."
It's the more complicated reasons and emotions that Shurui and Stasya have yet to decipher so readily under their native radars. Whatever it is that Shurui seems to feel, it fades off into obscurity, replaced by something far more neutral.
... As well as a sort of strange naive curiosity, held under lock and key but obviously peeking through the bars. Shifting from the floor to a newly offered chair, Shurui faces the young woman at her apology. ".... Mh, no. It's alright. There's another?" Lack of information fails to surprise the girl, but the understanding nods from people she's met lately, whether direct or vague, have been something else entirely.
It's made it a lot easier for Shurui to find something to be positive about, which in turn is at least helping with her less than stellar personality. Said personality peeks out as a mind speaks in her head, causing the girl to violently recoil like from some sort of phantom tramua. It's brief, and the clone manages to clamp down on herself quickly enough.
".... You can... speak through minds." Her mouth opens in a sigh, her spine relaxing. What was *that* all about? "... You caught me off guard."
Holding out a hand, Shurui forces the internal energy to come out, manifesting it as a sort of hazy grey energy that's almost ghostly, now that it's not being thrown at or manipulated to do anything specific. ".... I thought what I had was chi like everyone else's, so. I shaped it like chi. It doesn't have any real shape. I never was really good at making it do things behind that." The energy thins out. "I'm better at seeing things. Like, energies. That's how I knew you did, indeed, have whatever I had when I took my glasses off."
After a while, Stasya feels Shurui's emotions plane off and subside, and she doesn't try to chase them and keep tabs on them-- she lets it go. She never quite feels comfortable forcing her empathic ability to pick up that which is restrained or hidden. It doesn't feel right to her to pry like that. What's left to her is that everpresent curiosity; an emotion she can understand, because she's feeling it herself.
Stasya is quick to apologize when her transmission takes Shurui off guard. She half-starts up from her spot, immediately wincing in contrition. "Yes-- I am sorry, I should have warned you. I did not think..." The unspoken addition that goes unsaid? 'I was excited.' Settling herself back as Shurui seems to relax, Stasya's shoulders slope a bit, the embarrassment still present in every line of her.
She abates that feeling by focusing her attention on something else Shurui just said. "...It may be more common than we at first think," she eventually continues. "There is you, me-- Miu. The two people you have mentioned. And I met someone who... she does not have it, but she acted like there were many, many more with power like this."
That someone... was Ayame. Stasya seems preoccupied again, her eyes half-lidding.
"I might," she admits eventually, "be having a lead. That someone-- I met her in the Saturday Night Fights, and she said she could connect me to others like us: people who could tell me more." She hesitates. "I have not followed up yet-- it has given me lot to think about-- but I plan to. When I do, I will tell you what I learn." She is subdued a moment, sunk back into her private worries over Ayame's offer, before she abruptly brightens. In that vein... "You are going to school here, yes? I am guessing we are not in same classes, I have not seen you. How can I find you?"
She pauses. Her eyes skate up. And out of pure curiosity, she adds another question: "...you can see energy? What does it look like?"
"Heh." The intake of breath is sharp, but the girl doesn't seem to be at all offended. "Don't bug yourself about it. I wasn't... really expecting that either. That reaction. that is." It might have been a lot worse, Shurui now realizes, if it had been months earlier. Things that disrupt the girl's hold on reality press on her sanity like too much weight on a hastily built bridge. However, any possible strain about finding out all she has about this ability has been negated by the gradual progression of information. She takes it all in at a time, and, even if it was all at once, it may not be enough to shatter any piece of Shurui's core.
The idea of clones, and that *she* is a clone, could be an entirely different story. But that's neither here nor there. "I was.... really violent about my privacy when I was younger. It might have triggered that. Don't feel bad." She shifts a leg to bend, her left foot resting atop the other's knee. "It wouldn't surprise me that there are others. If this occurs naturally, whether it's rare or not, there's gotta be more."
"..... A lead." A.... connection. Something about those words call to mind other such 'connections', of drug dealers and syndicate members and 'if you join us, you'll get a meal and a roof over your head, just think about it, won't you?' and- ".... Who was this person? Were they a psychic or whatever too?" Her lips thin. ".... Let me know what you know. Just be careful. Whenever there's something that someone can do that no one else can, people'll want to use that for their own gain."
Shurui was lucky. She *was* used, but she allowed herself to be used for the benefit of a whole group. 'Is this man chasing us'. 'Which one is the weakest person we can take on.' 'Is this person distracted enough that we could steal from them'. Shurui had to survive in a pack, not by herself. Or, at least, she did when she was Hoodie.
Hoodie is no more. Shurui can take care of herself. She has to, no matter what the cost.
Stasya's questions bring Shurui back to reality. "Everything and nothing." Those are the first two words that come to mind, then this: "You know how snowflakes are all different, right? Energy's like that. At least, what I see. Everyone's is different. Yours is different from mine, and from everyone else's, but... I'd say I'd be more surprised to find someone who looked the same as someone else than I would anything else. That's what I see, when my glasses come off."
Stasya subdues visibly. Her eyes shutter, her head dipping slightly as some of her concerns become just a little more visible. "...I know. In honesty I got this message from her some weeks ago-- I have not acted all that time out of concern. I have thought it over a lot in that time, the pros and cons. I have decided it -is- dangerous-- but those who risk nothing get nothing. And I will take precautions." Stasya is a rather deliberative individual, and-- due to her upbringing-- she's certainly not naive. She knows that criminals can come in the most innocuous packages, and she knows how they work. Her parents were both criminals, after all.
Still. There's a -chance- she might learn something from this-- a chance she might actually run into someone who DOES just want to give help. And if she can find out anything...
Stasya looks pensive a moment. Then she seems to shake off her malaise with a rustling of blonde hair and a faint laugh. "But I will be sure to tell you if I am discovering anything." She meets Shurui's eyes, a moment of contrition sneaking back into her eyes, "And I will remember you are a quite private person. I am understanding. Many are, in this school." And so is Stasya, really, though she doesn't seem to act the part. She just has her two faces-- one which she shows the world, the warm one Shurui sees now... and the real Stasya, the colder, grimmer one, who knows that she goes home to parents who've killed and facilitated killing... and loves them no less. Primarily because, with her empathic sense, she can -feel- their love for her as a concrete truth.
And now, she is now in the company of a girl who, like her, possesses a power to perceive beyond the norm. "I... you must be getting this question a lot." Stasya pauses, but curiosity spurs her to finish: "What do you see about me?"
Shurui could be said to be two-faced. She can cuss, be competitive, even feral even it comes to fighting. She can show a violent, antisocial attitude towards others, and even instigate fights as long as she doesn't socially suffer from them. And even then, depending on how bored she is, she may go through with it still. She can also be concerned, lonely, reaching out when something in someone else calls to her. Or when the person appears to be worth the effort of looking closer. Who these people tend to be appear to be as random as the affection a child may find for a beat-up old doll over something new and brightly colored. Shurui isn't sure what she wants that she can possibly try to gain. Muda is dead; she can't get him back. But she can find other people. People who give a sense of being, of existing.
She's a stray cat, used to the kindness and cruelty of humans and so eager to have so much of the former and so cautious of the latter.
".... I don't like plans that don't have a failsafe." Her head tilts. "Fighting is one thing; shady information's another. The Guardian Kings- I'm assuming you trust them? Maybe tell them your plans. If trouble starts up, you got a failsafe. They might try to stop you, but that's something you gotta deal with." Shurui's eyes look to the side. "Usually I try not to get involved in other people's business. But this might help me out as well, so I wanna see you succeed."
Fighting is one thing. She'd take on a fight with anyone if it was within the confines of a fair match. Someone gets knocked out, game over. When there's more to lose, especially if it's vague? Shurui's more realistic.
Indeed, Shurui gets this question a lot. "... Eh, sure. It's only fair, since we're exchanging information." Peering studiously at Stasya, words fall from the clone's lips. "Metal. Steel. Mixed with red. Shifting, shiftless. Transition. Sharp, prickly, hard. Deep color."
"Thank you for the concern," Stasya sighs. "I will keep that in mind." In reality, Stasya isn't so sure whether she will tell Tenma and the others; she can see the benefit of doing so, but she can also see where it might drag them into trouble-- get them hurt. This is Stasya's own problem, and she's only willing to let herself be hurt over it. If it comes to that at all. "But I am not going to asking you to endanger yourself by being involved." Perhaps, she thinks in retrospect, I should have said nothing at all; but I felt like I wanted to have information to share... especially since she came to me.
Well. It's too late to take it back now. Stasya shrugs it off with another affirmation, albeit one of dubious honesty: "Yes, I think I might tell them." She might leave -something-, at least... some indication of where she went. But on the other hand... she's afraid of getting her boys hurt because of her.
She's more interested, for the time being, in what Shurui has to say about what she sees. She nods slowly at the description, frowning slightly. She's sure there's some deeper meaning to it... some way it indicates her 'essence' or whatnot. But for the moment, all the comment she has is, "Euh. Is nothing embarrassing, at least. Is pretty true." She leans back. "I cannot read people like that, or see anything special about them. I can talk into a mind-- I can feel emotion." She feels a bit more comfortable about giving that particular ability up now-- it it, as Shurui said, only fair. "But is not to worry. I can't read mind or anything creepy."
"It's up to you on that end." Shurui can't get anymore involved just yet; not unless she has reason to believe this is all a danger. "As for me...." She closes her eyes and tilted her head, somewhat smug. I'll do what I feel like doing. I may investigate it all myself if I feel like it."
It's a lie. When she can confidently guess what the consequences of her actions are, Shurui will surge ahead, seemingly uncautious about the consequences. When things are more vague? .... She'll sit back and watch, then act when she has enough information. If things blow up in Stasya's face and Shurui knows about it, she may just storm in and notify the Guardian Kings herself.
In a stragetic point of view, if someone's going around trying to lure psychics into some sort of weird game, then Shurui could stand to benefit from refusing to ignore things.
"... So far, everything's pretty vague. I can take guesses on what someone is like, but there's room for error." Stasya can.... feel emotion? The girl's interest is piqued. ".... You're kidding. Direct from the source?"
..... This one will be harder to test than Rose's bout with Shurui's bad drawing skills. Shurui can lie, but her emotions are another thing entirely. "Must be useful in a fight. You can determine a person's mood and use that to your advantage."
Well, Stasya will cross the bridge of 'telling the GK boys' when she comes to it. For now, she seems happy enough to just let the topic drop. Looking a bit troubled, she says nothing immediately to Shurui's bluster, finally just sighing out a short, resigned, "Well. I can only tell you to be careful. As I will try to be. There are many dangerous people in the world. ...but of course, you are knowing that already."
Nice to think these two girls might look out for one another. It is, indeed, worthwhile to band together. Psychics seem to be particularly persecuted, mostly because of their inherent deviance from the chi 'norm.' As much as chi is 'normal,' anyway.
As for Stasya's particular ability? The girl demurs a little, pushing her hair behind her ear with a faint smile. "Is useful in fighting, yes. But also, it is useful in many other contexts. There are many downsides, though." Steepling her fingers, letting her fingertips press against her lips thoughtfully, Stasya tells Shurui conspiratorially, "Sometimes it is affecting my own mood, if what I feel is too strong. --And I do not like crowds. Too much info. Gives me headache."
"Yeah." Shurui is silent a while, pausing to push aside a few strands of grey hair from her forehead. "... But... I'm about as curious as you are. So... uh..." The smug smile is now a sheepish frown. It's a selfish desire, to see Stasya do as she wants. A year or two ago, that would have never bothered the short girl; she lived that way. Now, here, even if this may turn into nothing serious at all, or even something helpful, Shurui knows that she'd rather Stasya deal with whatever happens, then let herself reap the rewards. "Tell you what. I just got a cell phone, and I can give you my number. If and when you decide to meet this person, lemme know. If things go okay, call me back. If they don't, well... I'll let your team members know and...." She shrugs limply. "I mean, I already met one of em'. Kenji. He's.... okay."
This is her peace offering, both to herself and Stasya. And, in all honesty, it wouldn't be a stretch for Shurui to care for anyone, especially a fellow psychic. Especially one that seems willing to open up to her.
"... Yeah." Pale fingers pick up the shades on Shurui's head, holding them for Stasya to see between two fingertips. "I have to use these to get by. They're just normal tinted glasses; my eyes are too bad for standard glasses to be of any use to me. I thought it was the color that blocked things, but... maybe it's just a trick I play on myself. Since these powers seem to have everything to do with the mind. They help shield my eyes too, I guess. From sunlight. If I'm in a crowd for too long without these, I get a headache too."
Frowning slightly, Stasya finally makes a decision. She won't exactly be extremely forthcoming about it, in case something -does- happen that could put her friends in serious danger... but she should, at the least, have the decency to say something, rather than just skulk off. It's good, in a way, that she had this conversation with Shurui; this issue was one she had not given a great deal of thought to before now. She had been more worried about Ayame-- who she was, what she wanted, what she might be able to tell her.
"I will probably be mentioning it to them," Stasya assures Shurui. "At the least, I will give Tenma a message... in case, I suppose, he wanted to find me because he was needing me. Do not worrying too much about it. But still-- yes, I think I would like your number. I appreciate your gesture, and..." The girl cracks a wan, but encouraging smile as she turns briefly away to snare a piece of paper and a pen. "...I like you. We are both new: we should be stickings together. I will give you mine."
Writing down her number, Stasya tears it off and hands it over. "Oh, you met Kenji. Yes, he is a nice boy-- even if he flirts with everything cute and female that moves." An amused pause-- and then, the inevitable question. "How does -he- look?" At this rate, Stasya will be making Shurui look at all her teammates out of sheer curiosity as to what they look like. Especially in Tenma's case-- she's deathly curious what 'asshole' looks like in aural sight.
It's very tempting to throw all caution to the wind and proceed with something, especially when it's information that has been held back for so long. Shurui knows that feeling on so many fronts. "Yeah," the girl finally says, looking along the inside of her hoodie for a scrap piece of paper. Finally pulling a reciept for something or other, as well as a pencil, Shurui presses the paper flat against her hand and holds it close to her eyes, writing a number down. "It'd be good to exchange numbers. Don't know many people here." She could, if she really tried. But even when people reached out to her, if she's not interested, they sometimes get pushed back. And yet, there are other times when she is the one doing the pushing.
She now just has to figure out how the hell her phone works. It took *forever* to find one that didn't screw with her bad vision.
As for Kenji, Shurui looks back up at Stasya's words. "...... yeaaahh.... I sort've noticed that." She sort of turned him down in a horrible way, however, and, in retrospect, she even feels a little guilty. "His aura?" Shurui closes her eyes, hanging over the paper with the scribbled numbers on it to the Russian. "It was.... one of the brightest I've bothered to remember. I couldn't look at him for longer than a few seconds before I put my glasses back on."
Accepting the number in silence, Stasya reaches over to her desk to settle it between a couple pencils in her pencil holder. She'll enter the number in her phone later; she hates it when people mess with their cells while she's trying to talk to them, and wouldn't do it to somebody else. I still do not knowing a lot of people here, Stasya confesses. I am very different here and my Japanese is not very good. A self-conscious laugh. It has helped to be on the team.
"If you are thinking he is bright now, though, you watch him when he is in a fight. Even those with no special sight go blind." But then Shurui confirms her description of Kenji from personal experience, and Stasya's expression cracks into one of open amusement. "Ohhh, so he hit on you too. I am not surprised." Thoughtfully, Stasya twists a lock of blonde hair around her fingertips. "I don't know why he is fail so much, I suppose girls are more preferring assholes." Yes, she did just assume that Kenji failed. Poor Kenji. Though in truth, she kind of cheated-- she noticed that guilt, and guessed at what it meant.
"...but. Anyway. I am glad you came by," she eventually says, her tone a bit more sombre. "It is hard when you are the only one." Not to say that there are no other psychics-- but of the few which Stasya and Shurui know, between them, none are really in their age range or situation, are they? "It will be nice knowing someone who can understand."
Log created on 22:11:26 02/14/2008 by Stasya, and last modified on 11:59:11 02/19/2008.