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

[stillnewatthis]

That question was easy to answer, and she perked up as her eyeshields opened slightly. "My purpose is to keep the people of Numbani safe. I believe I should keep everyone safe that I can."

[10billionpercent]

"Always a good goal." Senku said, approvingly. "What kinds of things do you do to keep people safe in your world?" He could imagine what kinds of things she might need to do with what he's heard about the train, but he wasn't sure how it differed with where she came from.

[stillnewatthis]

"I am primarily built for combat operations." Orisa lifted her fusion driver slightly. "However, I have extended my protocols to other aspects, such as rescuing kittens and helping the elderly across the street! Just because I am not in a fight every day does not mean I cannot help every day."

[10billionpercent]

"That's interesting. You decided to do more than combat on your own?" Senku asked, because that was the most fascinating part about artificial intelligence.

"It's a testament to your programmer that your parameters were so loosely defined perhaps. Or, you've evolved beyond it and your programmer had no idea that would happen. Either way, it's really interesting."

[stillnewatthis]

"Efi intended me to be a hero. Helping others this way is in the spirit of her intents. But I am a full, unbound artificial intelligence. Though I am programmed with directives and purpose, that is much like how a parent raises a child with ethics and a belief system. I may choose whatever I want. And that is what Efi wanted too."

No question that Orisa admired and respected her creator.

[10billionpercent]

"That's a good motivation. Smart." Senku praised her designer, because it allowed for parametres to be moved around in that way should Orisa achieve full unbound intelligence.

"I didn't mean to say you weren't, I'm just...I guess I'm a bit curious about the process because programming was kind of a hobby of mine, not that I was ever aiming for artificial intelligence."

[stillnewatthis]

"I am not a programmer myself. I understand certain things as facts, but I don't possess the knowledge of how to put it all together. It is like looking up words in a dictionary, but not knowing how to speak a sentence."

Which was to say... she wasn't such a good resource. Sorry about that. She tapped a finger against her fusion driver sheepishly.

[10billionpercent]

"Oh, yeah, I've done that. I kind of forced learning English that way." Senku said with a little bit of a laugh. School was not helpful at all in learning things like scientific jargon.

"It was just a stray thought. I have a lot of those. Do you like being in the hot spring?"

[stillnewatthis]

"It is a fascinating set of sensor readings, internal and external." That was probably a yes?

[10billionpercent]

He supposed for a robot, that would be the equivalent.

"As long as you find it fascinating." Senku said, agreeably and stretched a little bit. "I'm going to get out of here before I get too hot."

He wasn't even in the water, but he was sensitive to temperature change like that.

"See you around sometime?"

[stillnewatthis]

"That is inevitable. The constrained nature of the train makes it so, even without my size as a factor." Which it so often was, since she basically took up the whole aisle when she decided to move.