middleofsomewhere | What their Eyes See: Optional Ongoing

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What their Eyes See: Optional Ongoing

By day eight the Voidtreckers have made a good deal of progress in all their tasks but there is still a lot to do to help the people of the city.

It is around mid morning when there is a message on their comms. For those that want to help it is easy to either find Anan herself or ask for netpoints and scanners to be brought to them by Chiff.

Illusions have gotten worse, uncertainty and fear are rising across all tiers and the situation is becoming more chaotic by the day. Indeed especially on the first and second tiers it seems that the voidtreckers themselves are being targeted, with creatures stalking them and attacks on their minds to make them believe that what they are seeing is real.

Same inside the Spectura system, the vines seem to almost be on the offensive against the voidtreckers though things are getting better outside the game system as more of the vicitms are freed and wake up.

Almost opposite to the situation on the lowest tier, which is getting more chaotic by the day. Anger is bubbling over, people are frightened and in a place like this the only real way to express that fear is through anger.

There has been a lot of progress but there is still a lot of work to do, especially as many of the voidtreckers have started to realise, this all seems a little too familiar.

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Soldat gives the drones a quick glance, then Murderbot, figuring the drones would probably be good enough advanced warning of trouble coming-- and they really do want to hear all this mysterious information first-hand. They follow Senku inside, and pull out their tablet. "I can record the conversation," they offer, holding it up. "Off the network. If that seems necessary."

Having spent a while in the classist hellhole that is the Industrial district, and seen how many of those bodies that had been escaping reality in artificial worlds were actually missing limbs or had a life of wear on them, makes the apartment a little hard to swallow comfort-wise.

But it's secure and it does the job and he's here for answers, not some hateful side thoughts. He'll be a bitter bastard later. So he just camps out on the arm of one of the sofas with his leg folded under him like the classiest soul.

"Reckon somethin' might happen to us that someone might need to find the recordin'?" He tips his head at Soldat, offering a legit question. Because, who knows, considering the train's history they might?

They shrug. "Easier than taking notes. Or expecting everyone to remember all the details." Soldat might remember, but Soldat has already died once. And if there's some concern about not sharing it on the network, having a record for other people not here doesn't sound like a bad idea.

"Might make it easier to distribute to the people who aren't here," Ghost says. He's gotten comfortable while waiting on the others; couch rights are his now. "I can get a transcript going, too, if anyone wants it."

Voice-to-text still isn't perfect, but it's pretty obvious that he's got some way of cheating even to the people he hasn't met before; his 'voice' comes from his phone as usual, this time set on the ghost living room's coffee table.

"I made notes, I just can't print them here but I should explain why I've invited you all." Senku said, moving so he could stand in front of everyone. He wasn't much for sitting in the first place.

"Welcome and all that whatever." He waved his hand. "Gen does the pretty words, I do the information."

He smiled and offered half a shrug. "So I'm going to get right down to it. I had a long talk with Anan, to ask her about all the information the train does not want us to have. I cannot say for certain if it monitors our on board conversations, although because it uses the ICP I would suggest it definitely monitors that." Senku pointed out. "And Anan says that her SCA logs the comm discussions, so I would assume that ours does as well."

Siebren follows everyone in but remains standing; he is well aware that he takes up more than his fair share of space on most furniture, and there are other, more important issues to focus on at the moment.

Such as the idea that the train itself is withholding information. It is not an unthinkable concept, but it is an unsettling one. "And what sort of information does the train not want us to know?"

Trunks let himself follow the others in, then settled where he could see entries and exits. Just in case. Standing, and quiet as he listen. Somehow he'd suspected it might be something like this.

"Even if it doesn't log, she can hear it."

Murderbot - whom has followed everyone else inside, leaving its drones out - seems quite certain of that.

"You should already be assuming that anywhere she has a component- she's listening." Whether or not she cares is another thing, but that's besides the point. "I'm not surprised there's stuff she hasn't told us, but if she didn't want us to know, period, we wouldn't have had the opportunity to talk about it."

Someone's a little paranoid. Though- it does glance at Ghost, and after a deep breath, as if it's preparing for something it doesn't want to do...

"...can you make white noise." Y'know. Something to 'feed' to their units while this is going on.

Edited 2021-05-19 19:00 (UTC)

"I'm figurin' that's right." About the train being able to listen in some capacity while they're on it. Probably even in the quiet carriage. "Kitchen shit an' some sorta music usually makes pretty decent background noise."

But still, he says, "Not that I'm doubtin' it wants to keep stuff from us-" He's got a lot of strong feelings about not being allowed to leave, and that's at least one small reason to keep stuff from them. "-but what makes Anan more trustworthy? Bein' acquainted with the void?"

Because it feels like the train is chasing something, and it could very well be her.

"I always assumed conversations on the SCAs and ICPs were logged," Soldat puts in, not particularly phased by this. It's not news, and it's not anything they'd consider a problem. The Beacon network did the same thing, albeit with the ability for individuals to search them, unlike the train. And, well, they live in the train. Of course she listens to everything.

Soldat, of course, has less standard ideas about privacy than your average person.

He tilted his head at Siebren as though he was surprised. "I take it you haven't gone searching for books recently." Senku observed. "Things like what the void is, how the train works, if there are other factions, how the whole system works." He waved his hand. "All of these topics are being gatekept by the train."

"Anan said that off the ICP, nothing was logged, but if we can still be heard, we're gonna find out real fast when we get back on board." Senku admitted. "If not, then we can assume at that point that there is some degree of safety."

He considered the latter question. "I considered that, and approached Anan with a degree of skepticism and mistrust, however she was willing to put herself in a vulnerable position to be helpful and more than that, I was just as vulnerable at the time and she made no move to harm me. I truly believe she wants to assist us. This is excellent news on the whole. It's not just anyone who will consent to removing their SCA for me, nor should they." Senku explained.

"She gave me a data point for my experiment." He was completely unrepentant about that. "And she gave me a ton of information we've been searching for."

"In general, probably," Ghost says, with a tilt of his head towards Rin. "But the train stuff is more stubborn than normal tech. I'm pretty sure she's only letting me affect it when she wants to."

Which in this case probably wouldn't work.

"That said, if the train really didn't want us talking to Anan, I don't think it would have taken her call," Ghost says. "I'm not sure what that points to, but it's something to keep in mind for all this."

Leia was quite happy to take a seat on one of the comfy couches, listening as Senku and the others talked. But it wasn't until Ghost spoke up that she felt the need to interject something into the conversation. "Agreed," she said. "And also, even if certain information is being kept from us, we shouldn't automatically assume that there's some sort of malicious intent behind it. I admittedly haven't been on board very long, but aside from its questionable recruitment methods- which I'll admit are an issue-, the train as an entity seems fairly benign."

"I'm going to respectfully disagree." Senku said. "I don't think the call for help is a specific call, I think it's more like a beacon signal of sorts. The train gets scant information, or at least, it gives scant information about problems in the world. I didn't ask Anan how she activated the call, and now I'm annoyed at myself for not doing so." He frowned a little bit. "The train has never identified the individual who pressed the call button for help before."

Senku sighed heavily. "Anan does not normally have an entrance to our comms either." He said, because he knew where that was going. "She hacked into one of our SCA bracelets."

"On the subject of the train, you may be right that it might not be malicious. Anan said that it cannot lie. It's origins are a machine, and sentience is a matter of debate, but at the same time our voidcraft is nothing like hers in a lot of ways. And I mean malicious as in intending to do us harm but it is very deliberately blocking us from the information that would help us understand, information that is given to every other void traveller, and would prevent us from finding a way to escape. It should be remembered it very much is holding us against our wills."

"I know I have been told the train is not good at communicating or understanding us and our needs," Soldat comments. They aren't necessarily a trusting creature, but they also understand that sometimes withholding intel is the smart, safe move. (Like not telling Steve some of our shit. Or just not getting into the person thing anymore.)

So here, they need all the intel before they can decide: "What exactly is it she is hiding?"

"For a long time, we've been trying to get information about what the void is, how the train works, what rules govern void travel, more information about the ministry or other factions, voidsickness and what to do about it, the tethers...Essentially, anything at all that would help us understand the situation we're in." Senku answered. "It's not just me, a lot of people have asked and gotten nowhere. Even something seemingly innocuous as to how to keep time on the train has been met with stonewalling and sidestepping requests."

He exhaled. "Anan was able to fill some of that in. Trust her or don't, I know where my opinion lies and that's based on my experience. I would suggest that she at least has offered this information. Some of what she told me shines a light on why the information is being kept from us, but it's not a good thing."

Senku waved his hand a bit, they could argue semantics and intentions later. "Beginning with the void itself. It's not a void, per se, it's a dimension of sorts. This isn't that surprising because voids don't have anything in them and this one clearly does. We know from the information from both the train and Anan that there are parts that are light and parts that are dark. Anan said the movement between them is for the mental health of the people on board as part of adjusting their systems to void travel."

"Then there is the matter of the train itself." He continued. "Void trains typically have a crew, which presumably would be us in this case, and that crew typically has access to the engine room carriage."

"Which we emphatically do not have," Ghost says. He's spent more than his share of time hanging out at that door, because being on the far end of storage - where people don't typically spend a lot of time in the first place - it's one of the few places he can get a psychic breather.

"To the point that I think a lot of people just forget that that door is even there. It's a good place to hide, and some of our habitual patrollers include it - " He gives a nod in Soldat's direction, there. " - but that's about it. I could set up an office up there and I'm not sure anyone would notice."

Yondu nods in confused confirmation about the crew thing being strange, wondering if he knows any more about that. "I actually asked her if she could tell any older crew she came across that the train been actin' funny and she said that there weren't any missing crew or I guess former crew that come forward."

His face twists up in some confusion.

"I'm with Senku on why she'd keep stuff to herself. Most obvious tactic you use to keep people is don't give 'em what they know to leave. Wouldn't be surprised if that's why some people up an' disappear too."

“From what we know, from the train, the former crew is lost. Asking questions leads to the train screaming at us to find them.” Senku said with a bit of a frown. “But that’s not terribly helpful. Good to know, but not helpful in finding the origin point.”

“I’m no longer debating on the sentience, it’s clear she’s a sentient being.” Senku acknowledged. “If a flawed one, but the biggest single count against the train is the fact we’re being captured and held against our wills. I have no desire to push my will on anyone else. I only want people to be given the choice. I’m not suggesting everyone has to go home.” He said, by way of explanation.

“I, however, have to. You know these catastrophe missions? That’s my world. Catastrophe’s already happened and I have an important role there.” He said all too seriously. “I’m filling a lot of roles at home that don’t exist otherwise and keeping people alive.” That was his biggest defense. He had a village, a kingdom of people to look after.

“In regards to the craft itself, she said that normally there is a pilot. It can operate on autopilot, but that’s atypical, which is why there is usually access to the engine car. I get the sense Anan has more information that she gets when entering a new world than we do. Not that the train lies to us, but rather it’s curating information. You might not know this unless you count or have some other way to tell time, but we are operating on a twenty-seven hour clock on board the train. Nine hours of light, twelve hours of darkness and six hours of enforced rest. The enforced rest is normal. Anan’s craft operates on a different clock, and is based on her home world.” He smiled. “That’s why time is apparently important, and potentially tied to the tether itself, since she explained to me how a tether is normally done."

Soldat is not liking this conversation, but it's for reasons that probably are nobody else's reasons for not liking this conversation. They aren't even sure how to express their problems, here. They're not even sure entirely what their problems are (look, Soldat is not super great at self-reflection, here), except that they're not siding with people pissed off at the train.

What they can safely say is: "My tablet operates on a twenty-four hour clock by default. So. I'd noticed." They hadn't really cared, but now that they know, maybe they can adjust the clock somehow to match. "Is the tether different for us than Anan?"

“Unknown.” Senku responded easily, although his expression didn’t change. “Anan explained how the tether is done. She went to her origin point, underwent training for void travel to learn about things like how to operate he craft, what the void is, how to deal with voidsickness...things that would be considered the basics and all information we’ve been blocked from having.” He wanted to impress that upon everyone gathered.

“From there, there’s a separation. She doesn’t remember that and she said that is common. The tether is tethered to three points: her physical body, the craft and her traveling self. So, either we’re dealing with a few possibilities.”

He held up one finger and counted off his theories to three. “Either our physical bodies are all at the same origin point, or they’re on our home worlds collapsed in a heap somewhere, or somehow we’ve been abducted whole.” Senku sighed a little bit. “I’m not sure which option is worse.”

“I can tell you that wearing her SCA was no different than borrowing someone else’s SCA on board, which would have me leaning towards a three point tether, but I don’t have enough data to make that determination.” Senku said with a bit of a frown. “There didn’t appear to be a difference being tethered to her craft or ours, and I didn’t notice any adjustment over the three minutes we swapped.”

“Aside from determining the origin point and potentially where the rest of our selves are, we have a real problem if people contract voidsickness to a severe degree because we can’t fix it. Most treatment is to manage the symptoms which can be done easily enough, but in severe cases, Anan says the treatment is to retether them which we can’t.” He frowned. “That’s a very real problem. I don’t know what would happen if someone got that sick, if the tether would hold.”

Well, that's not great news. And something he's guessing he might have to ask her about.

"Did she say what happens if you're dead? I'm talkin' 'probably don't even got a body no more' dead, if I got disposed of traditional-like, or you're rottin' away in some origin point."

Edited (clarity edit) 2021-05-25 23:21 (UTC)

“No.” Senku said and shook his head. “And I didn’t think to ask. Sorry.” He genuinely was sorry, because he should think of everything, but even he wasn’t perfect.

“I think there are some very real concerns with the situation, that is a big one because there’s not much we can do but mitigate symptoms.” He pressed his lips together.

“Aside from that, I asked her about the Void Ministry, because I thought it was peculiar she didn’t suggest we go to them for help. She seems...uncertain about them. She doesn’t want there to be negative repercussions for us if we contact them, and she’s not sure what law it is we’re breaking either. She thought, as I did, that circumstances would be taken into account, but still can’t advocate calling them. I don’t think contacting them is worth the risk.” Senku said very seriously.

“It’s one thing for me to walk in somewhere as a single person and contact someone, reach out to them...that’s fine, but there’s kids on board and involving them is not okay.” He sighed.

“All of this was very informative, and we at least got some of the basics. I’m hoping that we can take something away from that. If you have further questions, by all means, ask and I’ll see what I know about the topic. I’m mentally taking notes because if we get the chance to see her again, I can ask.”

"Not like we can be sure they'd treat us any better," Ghost says. "Say what you will about the train, but unless the Ministry's willing to return us where we came from, which is far from a perfect solution for everyone - "

He includes Yondu and Soldat both with slight nods before breaking off the momentary eye-contact.

" - what are they supposed to do with us? Put us in holding cells or temporary housing until they get it all worked out? Say what you will about however the train chooses us, but she's good at picking people who need something to do with ourselves. In those terms, the train is our best option - the best choice for the mental and possibly physical well-being of a bunch of purpose-driven people who don't have our purposes from home anymore and need to be doing something."

It's not just the kids he's worried about, in other words. Even their 'regular' people would have a host of potential problems if they went to the Ministry.

"And that's not even considering those of us who aren't human and what that might mean for us. I might be talking out of my ass since it's my first mission, but I'm guessing that most of the worlds you guys have been to have been mostly humans, yeah? Seems like a pretty good chance that applies to the Ministry as well, which could really fuck over those of us who aren't, depending on what their attitudes towards non-humans are."

Soldat nods. They refuses to be a party to anything that will potentially hurt the non-humans on board. ... or anyone on board, really, that the other people on board didn't sign up for by actually going out on a mission.

"I was told," they add, "that the train cannot go back to the authority. The. Ministry. Or she will be decommissioned. Because her world no longer exists." Which is a shitty, shitty reason to kill something, if you ask them. "If we go to them, she will be caught, too."

They take a breath, careful, and offer, "The best solution is. Probably. To talk to the train. Herself. Come to an agreement. Better communication, better permissions, something." They really don't think the train is doing any of this on purpose. They believe that.

What their Eyes See: Optional Ongoing

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