Event: Healing Waters

[voidtreckermods]

"Good morning passengers, it is day twenty three of the month of Grasshopper. All passengers of the Voidtrecker Express require rest. Next stop Jema’grethy Island. All passengers prepare to disembark."

It is a very strange morning message that rings through the train on the morning of day twenty three but as the passengers of the Voidtrecker Express wake their screens glow with the colour of the void and a holographic screen pops up for them to read.

World #2554098133741: A world once inhabited by an ancient civilisation and now preserved as a historical site, nature reserve and well-being retreat. It is famous for its relaxing hot springs, calming atmosphere and beautiful beaches.

It is a popular void-traveller destination, particularly among void missionaries as a place to rest and recuperate after difficult missions.

The Voidtrecker Express will spend three days here, arriving today and leaving on day twenty six of the month of Grasshopper. The dressing carriage is open for your convenience.

It is time for a holiday it seems!

Preparation

For those who go to explore the dressing carriage they will find a variety of beachwear and wetsuits. One cupboard has a pile of tents and groundsheets in all four team colours.

One cabinet is exclusively filled with beach towels, in a kaleidoscope of colours, designs and patterns. Another is filled with different shapes and sizes of plain towel dressing gowns. There is even a cabinet with buckets, spades and small rock-pooling nets.

It seems they are in for quite an adventure.

Arrival

"Shortly arriving on World #2554098133741. Exit from void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

The train lurches and rattles as it leaves the void they will get a glimpse of silver-purple sky and a beautiful ocean below.

However some passengers might be a little more than distracted, one staring at that table for a second too long, another seeming lost in thought for a couple of seconds, a longer than normal pause in a sentence. They see a vision, a glimpse of a life that is not their own. Not all at once, but here and there as the train descends to the island.

But then it is gone and things are back to normal. Just in time, as they come to land.

Jema’grethy Island

The train has landed on a grassy ridge, overlooking a beautiful beach of white sand and the ocean beyond. It is warm, but not too hot, a cool ocean breeze cutting through the heat making it pleasant. Behind them is a grassy plain, changing to forest in the distance. There is the sound of birdsong in the purple sky. To the west the land is more craggy, the silhouette of a fortress in the distance. In a word, it is idylic. A sense of peace permeates the island.

A little more worrying is the volcano-like structure in the north. But even a quick glance will show it is not a typical volcano. There is no smoke and the liquid slowly running down it in rivulets is pink and blue.

Exploring the passengers will find beautiful beaches, ragged cliffs to walk and caves to explore. Where it is more craggy the beaches are made of pebbles- perfect for rock pooling.

The place has no people, but it is clearly maintained. The eastern beaches have racks of shallow boats, both canoes and one- or two-person sailing dinghies. There is also a small building in which scuba gear is stored, along with several waterproofed manuals and instructional literature.

Ruins of ancient houses are scattered across the island, but the main settlement is built into a rocky section in the north-west that has been secured with ropes and stairways cut into the cliffs, perfect for scrambles and hikes.

There are no living quarters, but there are sheltered sections with basic toilet facilities marked as camping grounds in five different sections of the island - by the hot springs, within the ruined fortress, beside the harbour, on the eastern beaches, and on the northern face of the mountain.

Hot Springs

To the west are the hot springs. They have both outdoor and indoor areas; the indoor areas being wooden loghouse saunas, changing rooms and storage sheds, whilst the outdoor areas are a tiered series of pools spilling down the side of the mountain and shaded by brightly flowering trees. The waters are hot, mineral-rich and soothing.

Perfect for overly stressed, world weary Void heroes...

(OOC: More setting information is here, please feel free to go wild with the setting and have a fun and relaxing time. You can use this post as a catch all for your holiday or make your own posts on middleofsomewhere. More information about how the memory event is structured is here!)

Comments

[blue_ice]

Kaiba was on his way to a different spring, wrapped in a towel, when he spotted a familiar silhouette. Wasn't she the one he'd once played a game with? She took up a lot of space, if he remembered correctly, so of course she was alone.

But the bigger question was how was she alive. Or online, or functional, or whatever the applicable term was.

He promptly sat high up on the rocks, leaning over to check for damage. "...should you be in there?"

[stillnewatthis]

"I did not identify any signs indicating omnics are unwelcome," Orisa said, quite missing the point.

[blue_ice]

"Not what I meant," he shook his head. shifting forward on the rock and leaning down slightly, as if he could see any electrical malfunction.

"The combination of mineral water and steam doesn't damage your hardware at all? No rust, no internal corrosion, no electrical discharge?"

[stillnewatthis]

"My chassis is sealed!" She extended her left arm, turning it slightly to offer a view of the joints. "While many omnics operate on more conventional joints, mine are electromagnetic. This gives me a full range of motion without needing to expose gaps in my armor."

[blue_ice]

"Impressive seal."

And he means it, too. He squints and confirms that the magnets do indeed work.

"And yes, by the human definition, you're in a relaxed state. That's unbelievable, but apparently true."

[stillnewatthis]

Orisa tilted her head slightly.

"Why is it unbelievable?"

[blue_ice]

"...it's just...wrong word. Counterintuitive. Usually when machines need to run more efficiently, cooler temperatures are better. I've been in server rooms that are almost frozen wastelands."

He's still curious, apparently. "But if it works for you...mm, stay and take advantage while you can. "

[stillnewatthis]

"That is because the majority of servers require atmospheric heat transfer," Orisa said, still quite cheerful. "They generate heat from electrical resistance in the course of operation. As an omnic, I do rely extensively on semiconductors in the same manner, but I also have a built-in generator which requires a significantly higher operating temperature. You have cars which rely on internal combustion engines, yes? Even in those cases, the engines operate best at a significantly higher temperature."

[blue_ice]

"Right." Not entirely his specialty, but adjacent enough that he can follow. He decides to curl up on the rock for now, watching curiously."

"Usually when humans relax, they think about future goals or come to some epiphany about their work. Anything like that for you?"

[stillnewatthis]

"I am constantly considering ways to improve my performance," Orisa said.
"So this does not seem that much different. Incidentally, are you familiar with the game 'Go'?"

[blue_ice]

"I am," he answered, squinting suspiciously. "It's not my main game, but I'm familiar with the general strategies. Did you want to play when we returned to the train?"

Could he beat her? That, he wasn't sure, annoyingly enough. It wasn't as simply solved computationally as chess, but advances had been made, and it would be a tough fight. But he would try.

[stillnewatthis]

"I have considered it and I think it would be an interesting game to learn."

Orisa might be a machine, but in many respects her intelligence wasn't greater than humans. Plus she was totally new to the game, so that would help!