They say of the Acropolis where the Parthenon is... [Open]

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

Another day, another patrol; by now, Zouichi was accustomed to the layout of the ship, and though nothing in particular seemed to be amiss (well, beyond the ordinary conflicts and problems, of course), he dutifully canvassed what areas he was assigned. His bike ran smoothly and quietly, and using it to get around made things a little easier. On the occasions when riding wasn't an option, however, he'd simply sling it over his shoulder and carry it along (that was what the handle was for).

He stopped to chat with people he ran into along the way, but at the end of the ride, he found himself wandering about in an area of the City he'd not yet visited. Which is how he ran into the Parthenon, not a crumbled ruin as it had been in his own time, but fully restored (or perhaps it had simply not yet had time to fall into disrepair). He looked up at the stone structure, curious. A relic of a time when people believed in divine beings as patrons of their cities.

Comments

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

"You'd think with all these resources and all this time on their hands, they'd have built something more useful than a temple. The Romans, I mean. Or the Greeks. Whatever." Someone never paid much attention in history class.

Howard's been more reclusive than usual, since the big kerfuffle over the omnicomms (which he's still bitter about, by the way). Mostly this has meant spending longer hours out scavenging in the city, or just exploring.

He gives Zou a little wave. "No bikes in the holy temple, man."

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

"The Greeks," said Zouichi, turning toward Howard. He set the bike down. "I haven't seen much of you lately."

He turned back to the temple, studying it. "I'm sure they felt it was important. Just as the Chancellor feels it's important to hold services."

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

"I've been keeping my head down since the whole omnicomm thing. Did you catch what happened there?" Truth be told, Howard's a little embarrassed about the whole thing. On the other hand, he's also still fairly close to livid. "Because if you didn't, Spider-Man accused me of starting a lynch mob."

Howard rolls his eyes. "What do you think the odds are, if there's a god or gods at all, that any given group of people were sacrificing goats to the right dude? I mean, since you're supposed to be damned if you're worshiping the wrong guy, and there's practically infinite worlds and religions."

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

Zouichi frowned. "I read the initial few messages. Apparently, I stopped before things became contentious. You mean figuratively, right?"

"I suppose the majority of religions would be wrong, or incomplete. Not all of them specifically damn nonbelievers, though." Howard seemed unusually invested in the subject, though. "I take it you're not religious?"

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

"No. I mean he literally accused me of starting a lynch mob. I guess the 'master of wordplay' never learned the definition of racism or irony."

"No, but most of the major ones do." He raises an eyebrow at Zouichi. He thought his opinion on religion has always been fairly obvious. "Why would I be?"

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

"You just seem unusually invested in the subject of religion. Wait, an actual lynch mob? Which Spider-Man was this? Not the one in Security...?" Zouichi didn't have nearly the same outlook and assumptions about racism as a black teenager from the 21st century, but he does know what a lynch mob is.

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

"I just think it's dumb, and people use it to back up their arguments all the time like everyone agrees with them on stuff we can't prove. Orc was really into it, though." Howard hesitates. "I mean, no offense if you're religious. I just never pegged you as the type."

"The one in the science department, I think. This is the brains who's supposed to grow cell clusters and clone body parts for us," Howard says. "It's just like, no one bothered to step back a minute and think about the fact that yeah, I probably already knew what a lynch mob is and didn't need it explained to me. How dumb do they have to be?"

[fattynoparents]

Chell was apartment hunting.

Having abandoned the crew quarters and deciding that being a full-time hangar hobo (and sleeping in an X-Wing, not that she knew what it was called) was unacceptable, she'd taken to the city with the intent of scouting out a suitable new place to live.

Her efforts thus far had proved largely unsuccessful.

That was, until she'd come upon this GLORIOUS BUILDING. It wasn't a very practical home, sure, but perhaps a good place to crash while on her search. The historical and mythological significance was, unfortunately, completely lost on her.

She liked standing at the top of the steps, looking out over the City with her hands on her hips. It made her feel important.

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

Zouichi caught sight of Chell, and waved a little in greeting, setting down the bike and making his way up the stairs after her to check out the view. She had to be standing up there for something, right?

"You look well. Are you a fan of old Earth architecture?" He put up a hand to shade his eyes, looking back over his shoulder at the City. The temple itself was quite impressive, of course, but being able to look out at the buildings and trees made it strike home how large the place really was. Or, depending on your frame of reference, how small; this was only one area in a very large ship.

[fattynoparents]

She waved back, always glad to see a friendly face, and began jogging down the stairs to meet him in the middle.

Truthfully, Chell did not remember a whole lot of iconic Earth architecture, but she knew a cool building when she saw it. This was a cool building.

Bounding down the last step (at least to where Zouichi was standing), she raised both arms in an exaggerated shrug, peering past him to where he'd left the motorcycle.

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

He blinked. "Ah... not a big fan of the arts? Well, the view's nice, isn't it?"

Zouichi noticed her looking in the direction of the bike. "Oh, that's right. You haven't met Fuyu yet, right? Would you like to?"

[fattynoparents]

At the mention of a name, she vaguely wondered if he was referring to another person, but no. Definitely the bike. Well, that ways okay. Maybe he just liked the motorcycle so much that he named it. After Lirath, she'd become at least a little more familiar with the vehicles.

So sure, why not? She nodded, offering a small smile.

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

Yes. That was totally what it was. Zouichi slipped back down the steps, toward the sleek black vehicle. A hologram blinked into existence over the handlebars; it was the miniature image of a young woman with pale hair, currently only about six inches tall.

Fuyu waved at Chell with one holographic hand. "Hello! I'm Fuyu. You're Chell, right?"

[youmissed]

"Nice to know they're renovating," John whistles from behind Zouichi. He cranes his head. "You know what they say about it always being bigger in person."

There's just something nice about seeing Earth architecture. John thinks he has a new appreciation for it these days: no weird smelling blobs or sharp pointy ends that're damn determined to go go right for the eyes, like that kid in that movie. The one they always played on TLC. That one. He has to say he likes Zouichi's sense of taste. Old school but normal, comparatively speaking to the rest of the galaxy (or at least that's how he takes it) and maybe it's not home like his dad's house, it still beats another trash heap on an asteroid.

By the way, nice ride.

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

"No," said Zouichi, blinking. "What do they say?"

Ah, it was that new crewman from before. Well, not so new any more. "It does look pretty striking restored like that, doesn't it? Where I'm from, the basic structure still stands, but it's obviously gone through a lot of weathering. It probably would have been worse if they hadn't shored it up, though."

[youmissed]

If there was a way for Zouichi to throw a verbal speedbump at him, it was that. John shot him a confused look. They? Uh, that was a good question and he was glad he wasn't expected to have to come up with an answer right there and then when Zouichi went right on talking. John glanced back at what looked out of place in a ship like Stacy, craning his head.

"It's kinda the same where I'm from. What I want to know is what it's doing here," John said. "I mean, what, is there some alien going down a checklist of Earth; What's Worthwhile or something?"

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

Zouichi shook his head. He also didn't think much of John's confusion. "I don't know. There are a lot of things that seem to be of special significance -- temples, castles, statues... but there are a lot of perfectly uninteresting buildings, too. It's as if someone picked up the highlights and then everything around it that looked like it might be of use, just in case."

"...but that's just speculation, of course."

[youmissed]

"Speculation, fact; makes sense to me," John said, the gears in his head turning. He turned to eyeball the area around them. Please have a real bed, please have a real bed, his face said, only without so many words. A guy could hope, right, Zouichi? "Me, I'm just gonna be able to find a place that isn't pulsing at me. Know what I mean"

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

Zouichi tilted his head slightly at John, curious. "You're looking for a building in the city? To inhabit, I guess?"

Well, he probably wasn't going to find it here, unless he was a fan of open-air marble temples.

[thewunderkind]

And one of those times that he carried his bike over his shoulder was just the same time Lash happened to be passing by.

"That looks counter-productive," she offered.

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

Zouichi stopped and turned to Lash. "What does?"

Clearly carrying your motorcycle was a perfectly normal thing to be doing okay.

[thewunderkind]

"Usually people ride on them, not carry them around. That's like if I took my Neotank and held it up while running around myself."

Zouichi this made no sense and you had to know it. Maybe.

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

Zouichi tried to stifle a laugh at the image of Lash hauling around a tank. "I don't think that's quite the right analogy. People pick up their bicycles when they need to go up steps or ride on a train. The same principle applies here."

He put the motorcycle down, showing Lash the handle built into it. "See? As designed."

PERFECTLY NORMAL

[thewunderkind]

"You're kidding right. This is like if Max put a handle on his tank and...come to think of it, he probably did." She glared a little more.

"Why can't you just ride your bike into the train?" Lash would do that. "I can't find a situation where I'd need something like that."

Lash you had crazy CO powers that allowed you to climb anything.

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

"You can't? Really? What if you need to get through a swamp? Or into an elevator? Or what if it breaks down?" Get that brain firing on all cylinders, Lash!

"Tanks with handles... well, they'd require drivers capable of using those handles, but..."