middleofsomewhere | Not with a Bang Start and Ongoing

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Not with a Bang Start and Ongoing

"Good Morning passengers. Today is day seven of the month of Imagination." The voice echoes through the train as passengers wake up in their beds. Not long afterwards their SCA’s glow with the colour of the void and a holographic image will appear.

Preperation

They have about an hour to prepare, a little less than usual but perhaps expected, given the urgency of the task.

The cupboards in the dressing room are open to reveal rows of tents, in all four team colours as well as some basic camp cooking equipment. They are in bags that should be easy enough to carry.

"Shortly arriving on System #6416. All passengers get ready to disembark. Next stop world 6416. Exit from void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." The train rocks and lurches, bright colours of the void filling the space and then fading as they fly downwards towards a very green landscape.

Arrival and Initial Task

The train lands in a clearing, curving round in an attempt to fit. Once everyone who wishes to disembark has done it flies back into the air, vanishing from sight.

The air is heavy and humid, though it is not currently raining. The clearing is open to the sky and looking up will reveal a worrying sight. The sky is an angry red colour, colours shifting as if the clouds themselves were on fire. It's an unnerving sight.

Their SCA's show three points, one Orange, One purple and one that is half blue and half red. The three control centres. Each are a few hours treck through the jungle and it certainly feels like there is no time to waste.

Those that don't want to treck through the forest can start setting up camp, though the darkening sky might be a little distracting. As time goes on flecks of fire drift down, though they extinguish before hitting the forest floor.

Orange are to travel to the north, Purple to the south and Blue and Red must travel together to the west. Each route takes them through thick and unrelenting jungle. Flying is difficult here unless you can get up past the canopy layer, which means vision of the ground is severely hampered.

The control stations themselves are half buried in vines and require cutting into. If voidtreckers are unlucky they will meet their first security robots here, firing on the intruders. They might even meet their first giant Armadillos, the creatures are curious and may wish to investigate. They are not helpful or constructive to trying to power up the stations and prevent the destruction of the planet.

The control stations are simple enough to operate, but there's quite a lot that needs to be done in way of repairs and clearing. It will take a team effort to get it in working enough order to activate the shield.

The shield itself, when it is activated, is mostly invisible but there is a loud humming sound. The meteor, which has gotten more visible throughout the five hours, hits the shield and splinters, fire enveloping the whole sky. It is visibly terrifying, but no fire falls to earth, no rocks get through, the planet is safe.

Ongoing

Once the planet is safe the voidtreckers deserve a rest. But once the next morning dawns it is time to start with their next tasks, to make sure that this planet stays safe from future threats.

Red

The robots at the control stations are not the only malfunctioning security robots around. They roam the jungle, or are more often stranded in the jungle, powering up only when faced with a new threat.

Some are benign, terraforming machines whose only crime is using up precious power. These need to be dismantled so that power can be saved for the shield system. Others are security robots that will attack the intruders to the planet.

Though the machines are scattered they are often obvious, emitting warning alarms or flashing lights. Their SCA's will show some areas where there are larger clusters but machines can be found anywhere.

Purple

Their SCA's are filled with hundreds of purple dots, each a solar stations that needs cleared and brought back online. It's not the most glamourous job, the stations are deep in the jungle, the treck is difficult and most of the work needed is weed clearing.

But once the weeds have been cut away they will need to patch up the station, doing basic maintenance to get it back online. In some cases wires need to be patched back together but it shouldn't take any great feats of engineering to get the stations up and running.

They may run into some of the security automatons, needing to fight their way into the stations before they can begin the clean up operations.

Orange

Like the red team their SCA will show areas where there are clusters of the small insectoid automatons that need to be rescued and restored. However they can be found anywhere throughout the jungle, they are not too suited for the terrain outside of the stations and so they have gotten tangled in vines. They can be found powered down, stranded and in dire need of maintenance.

Tools and spare parts can be found in many of the solar stations that purple team have been locating. Actually repairing the robots takes some engineering knowledge but once they are restored they will go about their tasks in the stations. They will need help getting to the further flung stations as well as the main control centres.

They are very basic in design and follow pre programmed instructions rather than being able to hear and listen to orders. But once in the correct place they are very effective at their job.

Blue

Once the shield is up there is a faint humming that can be heard throughout the jungle if they listen closely and find it among the sound of rain and insects. But once they hear it, it is obvious where it is louder and more prominent.

Their SCA will pin point some of the larger control boxes but there are truthfully too many to show on a map. Not all of them have attracted Violet Pandas, but many of them have.

They are curious creatures, both of the power boxes and the voidtreckers. They are protective of each other but not so much of territory and therefore it is not difficult to move them on. Keeping them away is another matter, the power humming is interesting and they will unearth wires and chew through them. It doesn't seem to do them much harm, there is clearly safety stops in the system for such eventualities. It does however cut power off to entire solar stations and require a lot of patch work.

Good luck voidtreckers!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Honestly, it's less concerning to Eva and more comforting; it means Yuume is well practised with the weapon.]

Yeah, and it can be used as spare parts for repairs, be it for this one -[There's a nod to the robot she's holding even as she starts moving] - or some other one.

If you ask me, the more of these ones we repair, the better.

Mnnnh, that's true. They might not have much need for security robots, but for the maintenance, if they can make use of these parts...

[Well, robot awkwardly held in her arms- it's quite awkward, that's for sure- Yuume will follow where Eva leads.] ...the maintenance robots are fairly cute actually...

[Tiny friends...]

Given they've got planet-wide shields, I don't think they saw much need for security, which if you ask me is a mistake. There's always going to be that need, even with shields.

[Walking and talking is the order of the day.] They are and I'm almost tempted to see if I could get another porygon built to resemble them. It'd probably cost a fortune though.

[And she doesn't know what she'd do with it, either.]

Mmmm, quite true...

[Ah-] A 'porygon'..? Is that a sort of robotic creature from your home then?

Yeah, it's technically a pokemon, but really it's just a fancy AI robot thing. I can show you once we're back at camp?

[It's an open offer as she really doesn't mind showing off her expensive, very neon green toy.]

Ahh...when you put it that way, do you mean to say there's a difference between what would be considered sapient, and that..?

I'll admit it's taken some getting used to, explaining the line between 'shadow robots' and 'robots', so I have to check every time now...the former, where I'm from, are as alive as anything else- but suffice to say I've long since realized that what's here is...

[Well. Not.

But as it is.] I'd love to see it regardless though, I'm fairly curious now.

Yeah, there is - and pokemon, at least from Arkea, aren't sapient.

[Though if Fluffy every shows up... Eva'll have some serious explaining to do.]

Shadow robots?

Aaah, I see...

Shadows are...Not quite native creatures to my realm, but the population from a connected one, [She explains, tapping at her own.] As best as folklore from the Shadows themselves can tell, a connection was formed in ancient times to protect both realms from an unseen threat. Regardless of the origins, what is known is that for every soul, there is a shadow that matches- though not all shadows have such a connection.

[Which is good, or quite frankly people would be screwed.] To get to the point on this, they take any manner of form- including what you would expect to be synthetic, these days. Thus, shadow 'Robots'. I've actually travelled within such a train before...it was rather interesting.

I see, I think.

[Eva cocks her head at that. The rest is interesting - make no mistake and she'd love to know how Yuume's 'shadow' is visible but her own isn't. Never mind it's probably something unique to that world- yet-]

An unseen threat?

[The only thing she even has a true reference for that is the Distortion World, and that's... Not good.] Like... something that would cause a serve and negative affect on reality as we know it?

Ahh....nothing quite that precisely known, [She chuckles.]

When I say 'unseen', it would perhaps be more accurate to say 'unknown'. Shadows and Humans have technically been connected since the beginning of human history- however, the periods in which both have access, and awareness to the other, in more than small individual cases...mmnn, well, from what research has pulled together, it tends to occur every 5000 or so years...

The point is, while there are certainly a few shadows that may well be as old as history and beyond it, they aren't necessarily reliable interview sources. No one actually has a firm reasoning for what started the bonds as a result...

[Eva cocks her he in thought.] So it's cyclical in nature then. Why wouldn't the oldest shadows be 'reliable interview sources'?

And if you tell me they tell old tales or legends that don't make sense, then you're lost already. Even the most outlandish legends have sands of truth.

Mmm. Regarding the strength of connection at least. Ah-

...Of course it wouldn't be something like that..! [She protests, even looking somewhat insulted by the suggestion.] The problem is that the older they are, the more distant the memory is...but on top of that, many of them don't speak any modern languages- and those who survived so long have so far been too proud to bother learning on top of that..! We've had to work bit by bit to reconnect, and that's assuming they'll even give us audience...

The only shadows that old are elder gods, after all..! [This has, it seems, been a point of upset for a while with Yuume.]

[Eva nods in understanding.] I gather you've at least started to try and form a working dictionary at least?

And... I won't even pretend to say I know the situation, but a lot of the time, it's not so much pride as it is... it's their language and you're the ones going to them, so from their view, it should be you learning the language, or at least being seen to make the effort.

[Hahaha... Eva says that but she really does not put her words into practice re what languages she herself speaks.] At least, that's what I assume is probably happening?

Bit by bit...it does get rather complicated when we get so far back that a spoken language isn't necessarily in existence...

[Ah. Ahaha.] Unfortunately while I understand your point, I can safely confirm it's indeed typically a matter of pride... [She sounds quite lamentuous.] Even those from more ancient eras who have made the leap can be quite belittling to speak to...I do find that working with their own language gets a margin of gratitude, but for every polite deity, there's another asking why we can't sacrifice a few goats in their honor anymore...

[It really does vary, ultimately...] Ahhh, but perhaps I shouldn't dwell on that...after all, speaking frankly, we've managed to come to know more about our world's history than ever dreamed possible thanks to what's there thus far.

[Eva nods, even if she desperately wants to know why there wouldn't ever be a be spoken language. Language's always been around, right? ~~As far as Eva's people know, anyway...~~

Plus, there's more important things-]

Uh- why wouldn't you make such a sacrifice when you talk to them? If that's what they're used to, then you shouldn't snug the gods. That's... That's asking for trouble.

[That much Eva knows, at least in her understanding of how gods work.]

[Hahaa.]

Because while they are 'gods', that does not give them any greater right over other beings. Would you sacrifice a group of creatures- any kind, of any sort- not for food, but simply to burn, drown, be slaughtered in some way, simply because a powerful being asked for it?

Times have changed. In this case at the least, for the better. If their request for a conversation requires slaughter, then they will have no conversation at all.

I-

[Eva stiffens. For all she's very, very aware that her gods are just pokemon at the end of the day, just as mortal as anything else in life, they're still god-species, still vastly, magnificently so even, overpowered compared to other pokemon. One does not just disrespect them and as far as she cares, that is what Yuume's doing here.]

If that what it took then yes. They're gods after all, and what you slaughtered would not go to waste. It'd either feed the god somehow, then the rest used to feed the people, or even just you and yours, or there's be nothing left because the gods devoured everything.

I... to deny a god that just because 'times have changed', because people forget that there's more to just sacrifice than the act itself, is... wrong. It's disrespect, both to the god and the animal that gave its life.

[Yuume is surprised perhaps, but patient. She brings up her hand- the motion to wait, please, for just a minute- and otherwise waits until Eva is done.

And then explains.] I suspect you have assumed what gods exist for you, are the same as what exist in mine.

It is not that we are denying any necessities, or holding such things over them in the interest of conversation. It is that these are beings who crave a time of dominance, and waste. They do not represent all of those from that era- but those who cry for sacrifice as a whining child would for dessert, want little more than to see something alive put to waste before their eyes, 'for them'. They would have you raze a flock of sheep to inedible ash, simply because it takes from one, and gives to them. They would not even eat it; simply leave it to rot, fester, and disappear.

They are not being 'appeased' to avoid harm, or anything of the like. These gods are simply holding a grumbling tantrum for a world that has outgrown it, while others of their own ilk have learned to adapt.

I am glad to hear that there can be a respectful exchange where you come from- but very unfortunately, Eva, the same cannot be said for what I am referring to. Those who would have taken an offering with care do not ask for an offering of sacrifice in an era where it isn't needed. I have seen deities request things such as toys, instant noodle cups...you'd be quite surprised! [she chuckles, sobering up again.]

But I'll repeat myself, to make it clear. When I speak of gods lamenting their glory days, I am not speaking of beings who care for the people in the realm of Light. And quite fortunately, they have no say in that realm either. So, until they can learn to 'grow up' as their brethren have, they can quite frankly continue their grouching for as long as they like.

It's possible...

[It's truth and she knows it, even as she listens to what Yuume says. She wants to believe it. She honestly does Yet... Yet something about the way Yuume talks makes her uncomfortable. Calling it a waste. Perhaps from one view, that is waste, yet to someone who's grown up amongst a world of monsters and their non-standard diets...

She has to wonder. Have Yuume's people lost touch with all the uses something can have? It seems like it to Eva, and she can't say that seems like a world she'd like to visit.]

I... Forgive me, but that seems a very black and white view, and the example you gave is a very simple one and it doesn't take into account that the charred ashes can be mixed into a crop's soil, more so if the gods doing it believes they've taken everything of value. [It makes sense, right? most people would think what good is a pile of charred ashes.

Answer: Actually pretty useful.]

Plus, for all who can turn to these alternate means, there will always be those who cannot for whatever reasons. I don't know; are these sacrifices like feeding them? And, how do you know it is 'waste'? A thousand per-cent waste that can't be used any other way? Do you know they can turn to alternate sources like the other gods?

[Eva inhales.] I want to understand, is all. I can't be there to ask these beings the questions myself, nor offer them anything for the chance to ask... and assuming isn't... Well. That makes birdshit out of us.

[And she's worn it enough times in her life to Not Like It.]

[There is a quiet sigh- perhaps recognizable in its tone. A moment to gather patience, patience...]

...Eva, [She finally speaks.] I am sorry.

That is not what these gods wish with ash.

Our worlds do not align in their laws of reality. We work in harmony with many, many gods. But there are, in my realm, going to still be those who do not want to so more than take.

Sometimes, a deity exists for selfish reasons, rather than to balance the entirety of existence. Please- simply have peace in knowing that is clearly not the case in yours.

I...

[What even...]

How... She swallows. Myths of the Four's Creation... Not something she says lightly at all. How can anyone be so selfish as to not think of the community or its survival? That...

[Even Giovanni, for everything he ended up being, complete with all the worst stereotypes of a boy with power, did his bit to support the community. Maybe because it was expected, yet she'd like to think it was because of the general state of Arkea: A monster ruled world where it's better to be a community and make use of everything.

In many ways Eva's lucky to have avoided, outside news outlets, the truly heinously selfish people of her world. In others, it means she's having trouble truly comprehending the sheer level of selfish Yuume means.]

I don't think I like your world.

[It stings. She won't pretend it doesn't sting, even if she does well to hide little more than the slightest flinch at those words. They feel lost. Innocent, perhaps. It's almost strange to hear such a stabbing statement from someone she consciously knows to be so close to her age.

But more importantly, they're words about her home. Her home.

It stings...]

I understand if that's how you feel, [Yuume manages softly. It would be far ruder to insist it should be liked, even if her heart screams for it. Of course it's not perfect. Can any world be perfect? But...] ...The contrast from what you call your own...it must be unfathomable...

...It's important to recall though perhaps...that what I've described to you is a vast minority, after all. Just like humans...like so many living things, most are invariably good. This, I truly believe, and have seen with my own eyes. As one who studies history, and ancient history at that, I can far from deny that there has never been selfish matters from gods and people alike...

But at least let it be known that for every deity who holes themselves in the Shadow's Realm and bemoans their lost time, there are thousands more who worked tirelessly, even through ages of being unknown, to protect and work with the world of Light. And likewise, countless people working to help in turn, whether aware or otherwise.

[She's silent for a moment. Ultimately however, she sighs again.] ...We should return to our tasks, neh..?

...Someone needs to help this world now, after all.

Yeah. It- I won't deny our problems, [-and oh boy do they have Problems and that's just what's come across her world view-] but honestly, to be that selfish? You're right. It's unthinkable. Even -Even Shinoda Sakaki-san he... for all he was awful, he did his bit to support the Tokiwa-ken community. But, it's good to know that, like Arkea, their rare, if not more common there.

[Even though she offers up an apologetic smile, it's clear she's not exactly comfortable with the idea of a world where such things aren't rare.

Give her time; it's a lot to take in, even for Eva.]

Ah... [Oh, right. Mission.] Yeah, we should. It's what we're here for after all.

[She nods. The less pressed on it, the better, she expects.

It is, after all, quite a lot.] Indeed.

In any case then, I'll see you later neh?

[For the best, yes.]

Of course! Take care, yeah?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Not with a Bang Start and Ongoing

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[historian voice] IT'S NOT -FAIR- THAT THE GOD ATUM WON'T LET ME INTERVIEW THEM!!

Yuume plz.

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Do you mind if we start to wrap this?

nope, we can start moving toward a wrap :0

... and then Eva's hackles got up. GJ Yuume.

fortunately she's patient as hell

good because she'll need it with Eva.

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Wrap?