A tapping at the chamber door - Marvin's Haven

"I could give you a demonstration if you really wanted "

Now, that was an offer that was both scary and intriguing at the same time.
"I'd be delighted" the Londoner said, already half way out of the sofa, because passing up an offer to learn a bit more about the one man who had her pegged from day one would've been down right moronic. Regardless if what hid behind the facade of a business man was a crazed genius or tormented monster.
Insight was being offered. She wasn't about to turn it down.

He smiled, leaned back in his chair, and lit his absurd looking pipe.

"It is said when a Malkavian is embraced, they experience the whole of creation, see the patterns in everything, and then their minds shatter because it is too much to comprehend. We then spend the rest of our unlife staring into the broken mirror that reflects the universe, and studying the shards we can find and piece together. Needless to say it makes for some fascinating and horrifying experiences."

Puffing on the pipe he continued.

"You know one of my derangements. Everything around me must be in orderly straight lines" he gestured around the room as he spoke. "It is a hard one to hide, and usually not worth the effort to suppress. Imagine living a life where if you for whatever reason don't put a chair in a straight line with the wall, you risk frenzying. But my mind demands it as a way to keep a grasp on the reality of the world around me. You might call it a pressure relief valve. Put everything in straight lines, and my brain can keep working with what it sees in the condition it's in."

"I have killed several people in London because I was prevented from doing something as simple as rearranging furniture in an office building. It was not pleasant, and was almost a possible breach. But I was young, and my Sire cleaned up for me, and taught me how to better control myself. There are other things too I feel compelled to do, but they are trivial" again he lied. Documenting all undocumented code was a pain in the ass.

"I grew up in a small fishing village in Northern Maine. There I discovered a love for the primitive electronics of the 50's and 60's. I built radios and television sets, and for quite some time was a ham radio operator as a child and into adulthood even before I discovered computers. My family owned several fishing boats, and I worked on them as soon as I was physically able. They were my summer jobs through college, which is why I am unusually strong for what you now term a nerd."

He smiled at a thought "Very old school I am Miss Paxton. I graduated from MIT, and went to work for a company that did computer work for the government. I held a security clearance and twice was asked to examine Soviet computers. Once aboard a US Navy warship in a dangerous area. My skill, and the fact I was not some pale spectacle wearing basement dweller, earned me that unique experience. Such things unbeknownst to me attracted the attention of the man who would later embrace me. Which happened the night of my mother's funeral. I was drunk, and standing on the edge of the dock in town. The rest is fairly predictable."

"As for now, the madness I feel, and the way I experience the world? All I can say is that to me, to the way my mind has been altered, it feels correct, even as I am aware of just how shattered I am. To tell you the truth, i would not give it up if I was even offered. The fact I can pass myself off as sane most of the time is a blessing not all of my family shares, and as a programmer, folks tend to expect a degree of weirdness anyway so it is a perfect cover. "

More smoke filled the air and he smiled

"Mad genius, turned vampiric monster. What do you think? I am nowhere near as terrifying as some of my clan, nor do I wish to be. I seek to build something glorious for the future instead, something that will survive for generations and spawn a great awakening and advancement. Like Dr. King, I have a dream, but it is one where we turn away from our petty squabbles, and truly rise to achieve the greatness immortality and the powerful gifts of our kind can accomplish. The world is dying around us Oz, we could save it, even without tipping our hands. But we don't. We fight among ourselves, have our petty wars, and prance around like so many puppets on strings. Our lives are formed around ideas and ways of life that have been discarded by most civilized thinkers among mortals. But we keep at it, slow to change, and fearing what it might bring. The curse of immortality, and a modern Western culture that has only existed for a short time."

He tapped the side of his head "Madman, genius and visionary. Much is forgiven of the insane, and many rantings that would infuriate others are shrugged off because the speaker is crazy."

"That in a nutshell is Marvin. Visionary hacker with a shattered mind. One who got lucky and found a brilliant young hacker who was having a bad day. Who knows, you may have found me first. It happens. There is always someone better. Always."

That brought a much less kind smile to his face. "Perhaps the question shouldn't be who is Wire, but who is better than Wire?" Ahh the madness was back in his eyes with the possibilities that lead to.

The Caitiff listened silently with the same kind of patience she used to crack government codes, eyes never straying from his as he talked. It was a look beyond the usual mirror, a bit more detailed than what she'd expected him to be willing to share but nothing too close to heart. Then again, she kept her own cards close, she would've been surprised if he'd just placed all of his on the table for her to see.

Reaching inside her jacket Oz pulled out a pack of cherry gum, a funny contrast to his pipe.

"You eat shrinks for breakfast don't you?" she said with a hint of a smirk on her lips. Anyone crazy enough to take a deep dive into his mind were bound to come out the other end bat shit crazy, of that she had no doubt. Still, he was the closest she had to an ally in this city besides the Brujah Primogen who, although he had more power and influence, didn't have the same kind of insight into who she was. She'd survive a little bit of crazy.

"I'll break Wire. You'll see"
And she sounded damn determined of it as she popped another piece of gum in her mouth.

He chuckled

"I give shrinks what they want to hear. Really, I'm almost normal compared to some of my family. And for Wire, be careful. You both may wind up breaking each other."

"Now that would've been stupid, now wouldn't it? I might be young compared to the lot of you" she waved her hand somewhat dismissively. "But I'm not stupid"
Oz pouted her lips, popping a pink bubble with her fangs.
"I just intended to.... shake the tree a little bit and see what falls out"

"I've only been dead since the mid 70's. As far as the ones in power go, there is precious little difference between the two of us, except I've got a clan and you are just a caitiff. So I've that edge, but all other things being equal, we are both babes in the woods to the Elders. Well, a little tree shaking is fine, they started it after all, and doubtless expect the same. "

"I didn't come to town looking to step on toes, but someone stepped on mine so only fair I return the favour" the Caitifff smirked, a glimmer of permanent fangs behind her lips.

She leaned back into the sofa with the deflated body language of a bored cat, as nothing could possibly look as damn bored as a cat.

"Guess the kids have to stick together huh?"

"Yes, I think they do. It at least makes them harder to take down"

"Strength in numbers and all that" Oz muttered, her eyes wandering around the place. Whether or not she was actually bored or just her usual self was hard to tell, as quite often the two seemed to meld into one. "And to think I really did come here, intending to play the nice little submissive street rat"
Oh how things changed.

"I came here to hunt down a client who fortunately paid in advance, and decided to stay on a whim. And now we are both here, the madman and the street rat. What could possibly go wrong? Ahh don't answer that."

At least, in his madness and eccentricity, he made her smirk. Although anyone who actually knew her could tell, the girl rarely smiled because it made her looks sweet.
"Last ditch scenario, I can always get the hell out of here" she shrugged her shoulders. "They'd be thrilled to see me back in London, no doubt"

"There is always Berlin. I hear it's a delightful place. At least for a Malkavian. The family doesn't take sides, rather each night they pick a side to work on and go for it. Really amusing, and the end result is we get to do what we want, or so I'm told. You might like it."

"Your side of the family's insane. That gives you a lot of leeway simply because people don't want to be dragged into the maelstrom" that and anyone who actually had a bit of brains between their ears knew better than to rely on a Malkavian being all fun and games due to their madness. Because really, it was only all fun and games to the Malkavians.
"Berlin's not too bad though" Oz shrugged. "Except for allt he Germans"
Could've been worse though, it could've been Italia. That place was after all crawling with Italiens.

"Nothing wrong with Germans that a good kick to the arse can't cure. And you are right. Who wants to mess with a family of dangerous lunatics? It's fun. Besides, insanity is quite refreshing, you should try it sometime."

She rested a finger against her temple, looking lazily at him the way she looked at most things really.
"Only insanity I'm interested in is the one I can inflict on others. At least your family got that part of it right"

He looked at her intently.

"Maybe someday I will teach you that. We simply show people what the world really looks like, or enable them to follow their true feelings anyway."

"I know" the brat of a Caitiff said simply. "Your family's quite generous when it comes to teaching others about that. Though" she eyed him. "You probably have a better grasp of it than I do"

He smiled "Perhaps I do. And you should be glad you can enjoy the benefits of madness with none of the downsides."

"Depends on how you look at it" the corner of her lips curled into a slight smirk. "I'm currently associating myself with the Rabble and the Mad ones. I can't really claim to have escaped the madness now can I?"

He shrugged

"At least you are with one normal group of people. Can't say much about the Brujah though. Hit first, ask questions later. The more clever ones will recite poetry or give you a political lecture while tossing you through a wall."

"And for that I'll be ever grateful" Oz popped another bubble gum bubble with her fangs. "They might be straight forward, but they're good at moving people and getting things done. Which is more than can be said for a fair few others" because one really had to admire their tenacity.

"Mmmm that's true. Always best to not underestimate such. Still, I do enjoy a good stereotyping."

"I wonder how many others are like you out there? Stupid to dismiss someone simply because they dont' clearly fall into a clan."