middleofsomewhere | Event: Healing Waters

"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!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Mmm, I imagine that was quite the problem at the time, but it's been over a hundred generations, I expect natural selection has come into play, and some of the less desirable genes have been bred out over time. It would be fascinating to take some blood and do some genetic studies but I don't have that kind of equipment yet." Senku was giving the question serious thought though, it wasn't the first time.

"Overall, they are pretty healthy. There are people in the village who are in their 50s, even 60s, but I expect the average life expectancy is pretty low all the same. They didn't have much by way of medicine, so things like illness run rampant when they appear. It was lucky that Ruri's pneumonia didn't, actually. On average, in a year, they lose people to exposure and starvation. They were primarily a hunting and gathering tribe. I'd expect too, that probably infant mortality rates and childbirth are just as perilous."

"Some of them are nearsighted, that much I've noticed, but how they differ genetically I'm not in a position to say just yet."

Senku quirked a smile at that. "You don't say. Fascinating data point." It was good to know time wouldn't pass. "All the same, if for some reason I didn't return, I expect my generals will handle it, so I'm not worried."

Nita made a private note to check her Manual on that genetic math; one would think they'd become too unhealthy to survive as a whole after all... Lucky for Senku that hadn't been the case, though.

She made a grimace. "Not exactly a pleasant environment for them. Given they had to recreate plumbing as well, I imagine."

It occurred to Nita that, technically speaking, Senku was younger than her. ~~Blame Nautilus.~~ She quickly put that thought aside.

It was definitely worth a full study, it just wasn't a priority at the moment for anyone, not when survival was still mostly the name of the game.

"No plumbing." Senku said with a bit of a laugh. "Not enough people, not enough infrastructure."

Nita made another face. "Probably smells worse than here, then, and we have bathrooms."

Too many people, not enough infrastructure; it amounted to the same thing...

"Tell me more about how you're crossing the ocean to America, though?"

It made for a better tea conversation, especially since Nita thought she saw some pastries in the fridge and didn't want to be too ill to try them!

Event: Healing Waters

no subject

Fade out as they drink tea?

Sure

Aaaand wrap.