trans_9 | Welcome to Orongo

Once those who decided to go along on the mission were gathered on the Obs Deck and had time to go over the mission briefing, the detachment procedures began.

As with the missions before, the doors to the Obs Deck closed before it detached itself from Stacy, tethered by a massive umbilical cord. Those who had been on missions before would find the experience familiar if still somewhat unpleasant, but for those of whom this was their first mission, the sudden lack of gravity and lurching feeling as they entered the atmosphere would come as a surprise.

Thankfully though, the ride was quickly over as they landed safely on the planet below, the gravitational dampeners of the Obs Deck gently dropping the crew members back on their feet. One of the walls opened up, forming a ramp to the ground below. There was a sudden, slight gust of air as the door opened as the thick air rushed in. Even so, the air felt quite warm and refreshing.

Looking outside, the crew would see the bright yellow sun looming overhead, quite close in comparison to the sun on most planets. A handful of small, silver clouds dotted the blueish purple sky.

Ahead of them stood a rather impressive looking plateau, surrounded by a tall, ornate stone wall which was covered in tribal markings. Directly ahead was a large gate through the wall, with several small stone buildings in front of it. Beyond the gates, a larger settlement could be seen. Surrounding the plateau and covering the surrounding region were numerous strange, blue and purplish trees and plants.

~~[ooc: hold up until subthreads are set up]~~

[ooc2: ready! feel free to tag!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I s-sleep too," Alex joked. "N-nah, I d-do some video g-game playing, a-and some c-card games. N-not much s-sleeping gets done. I r-really miss the i-internet, but I b-browse the i-info in the m-media library. C-closest thing ta the internet around here, w-without the people, at least. What about you?"

"Well, I've tried familiarizing myself with the ship, and I've run into a few people so far in the Sensoriums and elsewhere. But a good percentage of the time, I'm not actively doing anything, especially when everyone else is asleep.

But someone did suggest I try the library. What do they have there, anyway? Movies?"

"A-and a lot more! B-books from all over, d-digital encyclopaedia, s-some v-video games, m-music, a-all sortsa things."

He looked amused. "Well, do you have any particular recommendations, or shall I start with the A section?"

Alex thought for a moment, "W-well, video g-games are my area, r-really. M-maybe start with ADOM. It's a r-really basic system, b-but it's pretty well c-coded. N-no fancy graphics. I-it's the s-sorta game I made wh-when I g-got on the ship. Th-they might have the L-Legend of Zelda series, which i-is a c-classic, along with the Final F-Fantasy series. T-then there's a-arcade games like F-Frogger, that b-bubble bursting g-game, the b-brick breaker g-game, o-or there's p-probably s-some shooter g-games in there t-too, but I've n-never been a big fan of them. I have p-played Metroid though. Another c-classic series. A-and we c-can't forget the Mario g-games, b-but since Bowser's o-on the ship, I think S-Stacy might've h-hidden those..."

He seemed to realize that he was now ranting and stopped, "Oh- err... S-sorry. I c-could probably r-recommend something b-better if I k-knew what s-sorta games you'd l-like..."

Zouichi listens to him, not really recognizing all of the names, but it's obvious that Alex is pretty knowledgeable (and enthusiastic) about this topic. "I'm afraid I've never really played video games, actually. What is that first one about, ADOM? Would you recommend it for a beginner?"

"And Stacy... hides the video games? Why would she do that?"

"S-so you c-can't find out wh-what would've h-happened t-to you. S-same with m-movies and b-books.

"A-ADOM... I-it's... You'll die a lot. I mean a LOT. I-it's not e-easy, b-but it's c-concept is simple. I-it's easy t-ta learn the c-controls, b-but learning t-ta not die... M-maybe not that one, th-though I d-did make a g-game a b-bit like it, b-but s-simpler, a-and i-it's e-easier ta s-survive. M-made it as a s-sorta intro g-game ta the g-genre..."

"'What would have happened to me'? What do movies and books have to do with that?" Yeah. Zouichi doesn't know he's a manga character, obviously.

"Sounds like a challenge," he said, grinning for the first time. "I pride myself on not dying."

Alex laughed a bit. "ADOM is a g-good challenge f-for not dying. I c-can p-probably get it s-set up on the o-omnicomm, o-or your c-computing device o-of choice.

"A-as for b-books an' m-movies, w-well, apparently our s-stories are k-known across universes, s-so, in s-someone's w-world, s-somewhere, w-we're a part o-of that w-world's 'fiction'."

Zouichi considered this. "Maybe the omnicomm would be best. The only other computing device I have is the bike, and I probably shouldn't play games on it while I'm driving."

"So I'm part of someone else's fiction story?" He looked skeptical. "I guess I can imagine why the ship wouldn't want people to know what would happen to them in the future, but since our worlds were all destroyed, doesn't that mean that that future will never come to pass?"

Actually, if their future would never come to pass, then the story couldn't be written and Zouichi's head was starting to hurt now.

"P-playing while d-driving's g-gotta be bad... I c-can't manage ta w-walk and play even though I do anyway. B-but the whole future thing, i-is, as I understand it, th-that we had f-futures, b-but then the Ohm c-came along and ch-changed w-what was s-supposed to be. S-something about t-time n-not being linear, and b-being more like a map... o-or something t-traversable... O-or something... It's e-easier ta j-just not think t-to hard on it." As he was speaking his brow had begun to knot, but he shook away the confusion and offered a smile.

"We're a-all r-real people, I think. J-just different dimensions. Loretta u-useta say b-books were j-just windows t-to other dimensions th-that were real in th-their own right."

"So you're an extradimensional being?" He eyed Alex for a moment. "I don't know, I always thought if I met someone from a different dimension, they'd... have no concept of time as past, present, and future, or be composed of pure energy or something. You look pretty normal to me."

"W-well... th-the Void that S-Stacy t-travels through i-is between d-dimensions..." He scratched his head nervously. If he thought about it that way, then everyone was an extra-dimesnional being. "W-well, a-all those sci-fi movies a-are a let-down..."

"Hmm. Well, sorry to disappoint you. If I start sprouting tentacles or phasing into another plane of existence, I'll be sure to let you know."

Laughing nervously, he scratched at the back of his head and said, "A-actually, I-I think I'd r-rather you n-not... T-that sounds a b-bit scary."

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