middleofsomewhere | What their Eyes See: Start

What their Eyes See: Start

"Good Morning Voidtreckers, today is day five of the month of Llama." 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 and Arrival

As usual they have a couple of hours before arrival to ready themselves for the mission ahead. As promised the dressing carriage is open for them to find suitable clothing. Trench coats, a lot of leather, a lot of black with neon colours thrown in here and there. There is a lot of choice in a variety of sizes so everyone is bound to find something to fit. Hopefully something they like, though some passengers may be more comfortable with the fashion choices than others.

A couple of hours after the announcement of the mission the voice speaks again. "Shortly arriving in system #93426194992. Arriving in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." The train shakes as it leaves the void, colours fading to be replaced to a grey thick smog outside the windows.

The train bumps slightly as it hits rails, snaking its way towards the city before entering a tunnel. A few moments and they come to a stop, the doors open onto a platform. Stepping out into the station the first thing to hit them is noise, it sounds like there are ten different advertisements blaring, someone or something is playing loud music. There's a lot of flashing signs, screens with advertisements, bright lights that change colour for no real apparant reason. Heavy on the senses as they make their way to the gates.

They will find that their SCAs allow them through the barriers and into the wider train station, which is somehow even louder. It is busy as well, people hurrying from place to place. There are signs declaring this to be Tier Three, Home of Manufacturing. as well as signs pointing the way to lifts, to take them to other tiers.

Tier One

Mapping

For those travelling up to tier one the first thing they will notice when they leave the lift is, it is a lot quieter up here. Peaceful even, there are people around, all looking official and busy. None will pay the Voidtreckers any mind unless they are acting particularly suspicious.

The air feels better here, probably because the whole tier is encased with a dome that they will be able to see as they enter, coming from a lift near the edge of the tier. The buildings are all harsh dark metal, almost uniform in design. The streets are clean and there has been an attempt at greenery with some shrubs and simple plants.

The buildings all need to be accessed using their SCA's. Their SCA maps show them where the buildings are but give no information about them, nor do they have maps of inside. Once the voidtreckers enter they will find that their maps fill in as they explore.

There are plenty of different buildings, offices, labs and meeting rooms. There are also a lot of security staff and anyone acting too suspiciously will be approached and questioned. Hopefully they have a plan, blend in or sneak around.

Flickers

Sometimes though that is a little harder, they might enter a room to find themselves on their old street, in a world they have visited before on the train or somewhere else that is decidedly not here. These illusions get more common as time goes on and people will begin seeing the illusions of others or find the two scenes merging together.

Voidtreckers who are immune to illusions will not see these strange visions and those who are particularly strong willed will be able to fight them off. Once people know they are illusions they can focus through them to see reality even if it is overlaid with what their minds want to see. It will take a lot of concentration to stay focused and get an accurate map.

Tier Two

A Mystery

The lift here brings them out into a glass covered corridor. Outside the glass the air is thick with smog but the filtration systems means that the air seems fine inside, especially with their SCA's helping out. Outside the tunnels they will be able to see the lights of hovercars zipping around and the silhouettes of buildings. Office blocks and large houses make up this sector. Large billboards blare out advertisements at all hours, neon lights shining through the smog.

The atmosphere of the sector is one of fear, people hurry about their business, keeping an wary eye on their surroundings. The newcomers won't get too much scrutiny but people are likely to be very wary if approached or questioned.

But they will talk once they guage them to not be a threat. Murders. Six people dead, from inside their own houses. Locked doors, security systems, all for nothing. Is it a serial killer? But the reports suggested an animal attack? From what animals?

Getting access to the houses will take some negotiating or breaking and entering. The bodies themselves have been cleared by law enforcement, caution tape still up to keep out any nosy public.

The rooms the bodies were found in were all rooms that used holograms as decoration and the voidtreckers will realise when they enter them that these holograms seem a lot more realistic than some of the others they might have seen in their stay in the sector so far.

Creatures

As they talk to people, or overhear gossip they will hear more about animal attacks. Someone swears they saw a lion prowling the streets. A hovercar crashed and the driver swore they had been attacked by an eagle. Neither of those creatures live in the city. Neither of those creatures exist on this world anymore.

But the Voidtreckers will quickly learn there is something to these rumours, especially as dark falls, the feeling they are being hunted. A paw tread, a tail disappearing around a corner. As days go on they may get attacked by a bear, a tiger or perhaps a creature from their own world, one that should not exist here at all...

Tier Three

A Crisis

Leaving the station brings them into crowded streets, air thick with smog, Up above them is the floor of the plate above, set with bright lights to offset the lack of natural light getting through. Billboards and screens blare advertisements, traders yell their wares. Life is fast and swirls around them as they step out into the streets.

Here also there is an air of worry. The talk is all of Spectura, kids unconcious after playing video games, hospital overflowing. Spectura's fault, there are calls for accountability, claims of sabotage. No person gives the same story and it becomes clear that most people don't know what has happened but almost everyone knows someone who has been affected. Fear, blame, tensions are high.

But life must go on, the factories never stop, people can't not work and with so many people unconscious people have to pick up the slack. The whole sector feels at breaking point.

If they try and buy Spectura systems they will not be stopped though they will need to sign a waiver, to take on all responsibility for what might happen to them if they go into the system.

Spectura

There are a whole range of games to look through, though the two most popular ones where the majority of players can be found are an open-world farming MMO called AgriTopia VI Ultimate, with bright landscapes and calming diegetic music, and Aegis Force, a tournament team shooter with short battle scenarios and smaller maps.

Those entering the system will fall unconscious in the real world and as they enter the problem will be pretty obvious straight away. Red vines, covering everything, tangling trees, creeping up buildings, coming straight for them to attack.

Anyone who gets overwhelmed by them will be stuck, unable to move or progress. It is possible to fight them off and for those voidtreckers who have faced the vines before they will find their soothing powers will work here as well.

People are tangled throughout many different games and once they are freed will need some help to find the next save point or exit. They need to help plant the final hundred potatoes, or team up to take down the level boss or solve the next puzzle, keep the vines away and free as many people as they can.

Tier Four

A Way In

As they leave the lifts they will find this tier is dark, dim lighting barely penetrating the smog. Homes are makeshift and all on top of each other. The streets are crowded, loud and people don't stop to chat. It is incredibly claustrophobic, with large support columns, exposed wires and large pipes running alongside and over the 'roads'.

Here there are plenty of stores selling anything and everything, certainly not above board. Credits are sometimes accepted but more often store keepers will prefer to trade in barters, food is popular. Anything that isn't nutri slime or the even worse unbranded basic version.

Bars and other seedy establishments are open all hours, neon signs beckoning. It is here that they will find the entry points to the fighting rings.

People don't talk about it openly but you look big enough, mean enough or dramatic enough then it will be slipped into conversation. Have you heard? Winners get a dream come true.

The fights are a mix of one on one and group fights. All terms are negotiated before hand with an overseer and fights are to the yield. The crowd wants a show and so dramatics are encouraged.

What was that?

The rumours about people going berserk are spoken in whispers. No one really knows what has gone on. A few fights have gotten out of control, a couple of fighters broke down after fights, at least one has quit for good. Most spoken about is The Crimson Fist. The best fighter in the ring who two days prior just left. Left the city with no protective gear, no word to anyone. No one knows what happened to them.

As the voidtreckers get further into their fights they will begin to realise something strange is going on. That opponent you are facing? They now look like your worst enemy, or perhaps your best friend, your lover. Sometimes you're no longer in the city but in a place of fond memories or your worst nightmares. Fights can very quickly go south when your opponent believes you their greatest foe.

Advancing the ranks now seems like it might be more difficult than first it appeared.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A feeble nod- fancy future MaiTais sounds delightful. "Fortunately for me, breaking through illusions is a specialty of mine; a necessary one for my field," she mutters, looking around her to make certain she's not being listened in on. "Very briefly my opponent resembled someone I had to face in battle at home, but I broke it before it amounted to much... ...it felt strangely similar to the illusions of the last mission but I can't be certain; those ones were only over the city itself, not on the people...certainly not like this at least..."

A sigh. "I haven't seen anyone acting in that way outside of the ring just yet, but I suspect it hasn't become necessary...regardless, I don't imagine this is either entirely automatic or targeted in its infliction."

... "...I don't know exactly who he viewed me as... ...but I don't look forward to being seen that way again."

He puts it down in front of her.

"So if you know it's there and you've broken it before, you can break it."

He starts washing a glass to keep his hands busy. "Why do they think they want to control who wins and who loses so badly? Are they trying to get at who is offering whatever this prize is?"

His compassion towards the opponent is probably not what it should be. If people are getting in the ring at this point, they know the risks. They're practically inviting trauma in on themselves.

"On myself, yes." And, let's take a sip of that-

"Not on the others, that's why I had to talk him through it... ...I'm not actually sure he managed to break through by the end," she mutters with a wince.

"The strangest thing is I can't see how this would control the win or loss; all of the combatants are affected- we might not react the same, but it's not hard to assume both sides are more likely to enter a state of rage..." Honestly, Murphy isn't likely wrong about the combatants at this point however. They can't possibly be ignorant of what's happening.

"Well if one side is scared and the other is angry, then usually the vengefully wrathful one would win. But... Maybe it's just practice. Maybe it's just looking at all these great fighters on display and going, 'Hey, let's see what works.'"

He squints at that. Who knows, he'd have tried it. Even now he's paying attention to how these fighters act in case he might need to use them.

The only difference is that empathy colors his perceptions. One thinking fondly of a significant other, or bursting with inadequate rage is something he responds to with a reflected emotion. Their thoughts build a stronger fondness in his usually hard heart. He doubts that these people causing the illusions will do the same.

"Mnnh. Perhaps- the question becomes then, how do they know who will react and how?" But even saying that, the answer is relatively clear. It wouldn't be hard to do some digging, if someone was already controlling the illusions.

"What's worrying me more is where the illusions are coming from; I don't think I would be able to break through something entirely technological."

But on the flip side, the planet shouldn't be capable of anything but.

"Every tier seems to have its own type. Maybe it's all just a big expirement." He drawls that out a little hatefully, remembering oh so well what it was like to be a labrat. The bitterness is most definitely there.

"It's in our heads down here," he finally says, and makes a motion around his head.

"I'm a little psychically sensitive." He makes an eensy space between his fingers, though he's considerably more than that. "I can't tell where they're coming from, but if I'm monitoring someone-" psychically linked to them "-I feel something... change. If that makes sense."

"Hmmmm. ....that would make more sense if it was localized to the lower classes..."

And oh? She blinks, and then frowns again. "It makes sense, not to worry. The problem is that all clues are pointing to an outside source now. Aside from the frankly rampant classism that should have prevented this from affecting the higher tiers, if not the highest one, the very nature of what's causing these should be impossible to these people..." Hm.

"A shame we can't use that ability to track down the source, but considering how many are affected I can't be surprised either..."

"To some cosmic asshole, everyone here is lower classes," he gestures to himself. "Even stylish bastards like me. Ha!"

He shrugs. "Just means it's not psychic. It's whatever magic mumbo jumbo is going on. If it was psychic I should be able to follow it. So maybe the Fellowship of the Void can figure it out, considering I've seen Fabio the Black Mage running around everywhere."

He gives her a fresh drink because, fuck it, it's not his booze!

"I don't even want to think about how gods would put it..." she grumbles, gladly taking that fresh drink now with a gulp. "Most of them are crotchety brats, who can't figure out why humanity stopped worshipping them en-masse..."

Well that's a take!

Ah- She can guess what the Fellowship reference is, but- "...Fabio?" Oh, hold on. "...Are you hallucinating as well?"

"The guy with the big blonde hair going on. But lets be real, there's a bunch of people with big blond hair."

He leans on the bar and puts his chin on his hand. "The only way I can deal with a life beyond any control is to snark at it. Not everyone always gets the joke."

Case in point, Yuume finds herself looking toward the ceiling in thought.

"....I have...definitely seen a large number..." She trails off rather than letting herself go on a drunken tangent about the blonds in her life.

"If it helps, I've been told I'm hard to pass a joke by," she laughs weakly. "Something about keeping my nose in books and training simulations more than anything else."

"Hey, take it from a guy that had fun taken away from him. Have it while you can! Books and exercise are nice but when it's all you can do it becomes a nightmare... Oh so that's why the train gets on my nerves. It reminds me of pre-apocalypse blue collar prison. Riiiiiight."

He pulls a face as he muses out loud, and then whispers (with no real desire to keep it secret, rather for the comic effect of how ridiculous the charge is.)

"I was in on postal fraud." He winces.

"The train reminds you of prison?" she starts dryly, arching a brow for a whole hot second before simply widening said eyes at the charge.

"...Postal fraud? They imprison people for postal fraud where you are?" That didn't really seem like an imprisonable offense!!

"Yeah. And since they experimented on me because I was a prisoner, essentially I was turned into a lab rat because of postal fraud. If I'd know that I would have become a bartender to violent reprobates a long time ago and led a much happier life."

He looks at the crowd. Comparatively friendly.

"Before the apocalypse, It wasn't comfortable exactly but it wasn't that different. Designated bedtimes. Designated play areas. We had guards but there was still the occasion where people fought. Less of the things they usually warn you about when it comes to prison. I just mostly played cards and picked up golf."

"How barbaric..." Disgusting...genuinely disgusting...

"That does sound like what I've heard of prison however- other than the golf. Did they really play golf?" It...it just seems such a strange thing to have going on in a prison...

"Yup!" He grins. "I'd always think about how I'd get out and play golf with the country club types! I actually got to a couple of times. But the first time they were zombies and the second, they were a bunch of rich assholes."

Ah, memories.

"You know? I can't decide if I hate the whole world or if I love it and all the shitty people in it. The great duality of man, huh?"

"The first time they were zombies? I'm surprised it went in that order..." AH, well.

"There's probably an in-between in there; I suspect even with an apocalypse, there's beauty in the world after all." She's. Guessed by now that this is a zombie apocalypse situation honestly.

"I got kidnapped to a reclusive wealthy colony in Hawaii and harvested for blood, but managed to schmooze my way into some friends."

He spreads his hands.

"What are you gonna do, right? World's always been a mess, it's just what you do with it. Like, this place is awful but look at these people!" He gestures around him to the ones at the bar. "You do what you gotta do."

"I can only imagine how it went from blood harvesting to friendship..." Really. Her eyes are quite wide with not quite disbelief, but definitely something.

Ahhh, but it's true- with a somewhat saddened smile as she looks over the crowd at the fighting ring, she nods. "...Very true," she admits. "...It's a crude entertainment, but it's already clear that for some here, this is plenty to live for. ...I can see why we were called here."

Even if it's on its last legs, there's still something left in this world.

"Okay, maybe I've got it wrong. Friendship is a strong word. Call it a companionable arrangement where I'm a willing lab rat with benefits. Really, that makes a considerable difference for me."

He smirks. "Besides, I could always put in a little earworm to fight the establishment. Just for fun."

You can have a little chaos. For a treat.

Having had two drinks by now, Yuume is far less argumentatively defensive of people's rights, and far more comedic, fortunately for Murphy. With a nod, she hums-

"One can't deny the power of an earworm- it'll stay with people for decades."

Nothing beats earworms.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

What their Eyes See: Start

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