middleofsomewhere | Event: 12 of Beetroot

It's been a couple of weeks since they had evacuated Osiga. In that time, many of voidtreckers were busy with a project to try and solve some of the many mysteries that surround the train they travel on. By the eight day of Rabbit they've exhausted all avenues, and whilst they have learned quite a bit, there are still some clear gaps.

Just as that investigation comes to a natural end, passengers are woken up by an announcement.

"Attention voidtreckers and passengers of the voidtrecker express. We are travelling to system #2554098133741. I have sent word to the ministry who have arranged recuperation packs for you. You have had a difficult mission and you deserve a rest.

But it is not just for rest. Last time we visited the system voidtreckers shared memories. Though it is understood that many of you did not enjoy the experience it is notable that certain voidtreckers saw memories of this voidcraft. They were memories that this craft had not accessed. It led to more pathways opening up in the operation of this craft.

I have done some research on the system and I believe we can trigger the caves of memory. This voidcraft understands this might be difficult for the voidtreckers and passengers of the voidtrecker express and it is hoped that only those of you who consent to this experiment will take part.

Regardless this should be a time for relaxation also and the dressing room is open for your convenience. We will arrive in the morning.

The dressing carriage is indeed opened for those who go and look. It's filled with swimming costumes, beach ware, summery clothes and sun hats. There's even a cupboard of buckets, spades, rock pooling gear and picnic blankets.

There are also team coloured tents for those who want to go and sleep under the stars for a night or two, though the train is remaining on the island for those for who camping is their idea of hell.

12 OF BEETROOT

RABBIT 9-12 ~ MEMORY CAVES: BONDING ~ MEMORY MAZE: SEARCH FOR THE TRAIN'S MEMORIES
ASK QUESTIONS ~ LOCATION INFORMATION ~ MEMORY CAVES ~ MEMORY MASTER POST

JEMA'GRETHY ISLAND: RELAXATION

The next day the train announces their arrival and they burst out of the void. For those near a window their first view of the island will be of crystal blue sea and white sand. It really does look like a paradise. The train circles down before landing 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 idyllic. A sense of peace permeates the island.

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.

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.

The recuperation packs are found at the closest toilet facilities to where the train lands. They are simple things, small gift baskets with a couple of fragrant soaps, fancier hair products and skin cream infused with herbs to encourage rest and sleep.

There are some sweet fruit biscuits and a cheesy bread. The packs aren't named but there are some suitable for the younger passengers with tiny plush and colouring books. Quite a few designed for teens with a more engaging activity book and components for making a fancy mocktail with a cute stirrer. Adult packs have a small bottle of alcohol- there's a mixture between the packs and what looks like a stone. When placed next to the skin it will either warm up or cool down depending on what is needed.

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.

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.

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.

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.

MEMORY CAVES: BONDING

Shortly before arriving they will receive some information on their SCA. It will explain how those who once lived on this island went about making life bonds. Both people would bathe in the hot springs and then dress simply, barefoot and walk to one of seven rocks on the island. Their maps will pin point these, which is good because there's no real indication of what makes these rocks different to any other on the island.

Here they must offer their wish to know the other deeper and share food and drink. They can then go about their day. Sometime in the hours after they will receive their first memory, seen through their partners eyes.

However it seems that in envoking the ritual they have woken something on the island. Even those who did not take part or chose to bond to someone find themselves seeing a glimpse of another life.

On the second day they see another memory, through the eyes of their pair. When they come out of it they find themselves in a cave with their partner, chosen or not. The same happens on the third day, except for this final memory both pairs see both memories, watching from the sidelines as it plays out. They find themselves in the cave once more and this time, for many there is only one exit, to leave through together.

Please go here to play out the bonding process!

MEMORY MAZE: TRAIN'S MEMORIES

On the third day the train sends another message to their SCA.

"Activating the caves that share memories has been successful. I know this is a lot to ask of the voidtreckers, but any who wish to assist in discovering what it is that I have forgotten, the path is open now.

Those who wish to may go to the sacred rocks. Please be warned, I do not know how voidtreckers will fare. Please only go of your own free will."

Their SCA's once again show the rocks on their maps and when they get there, this time they are faintly glowing. It doesn't take much. One touch and their minds are drawn away from their bodies, into a labyrinth of caves. For anyone who comes across these people on the island, they look like they are in a deep trance, breathing, safe but far away in their mind.

The labyrinth is made of cool, dark rock. The walls have a glow coming from crystals in-bedded in them, allowing everyone to see as they move through.

At first there's no more to this labyrinth, or so it seems. But then they turn a corner, and they are no longer in cavern as it just was. They may be in their childhood bedroom, or in the middle of a battle they once fought. Perhaps they are not in their own memory, but someone else's. Scenes move rapidly and often merge, one persons into another, mixing to make strange scenes.

These visions don't attempt to ensnare them like some illusions, and those with protection from illusions and such techniques, will be able to find their way forward through the cave, and away from this triggered scenario.

Time barely has meaning. Indeed, when they finally emerge from the caves only a few minutes will have passed. But in that time they will have seen much, and eventually they may stumble across a fragment of memory that belongs not to a voidtrecker, but to the Voidtrecker Express itself.

OOC NOTES

OOC Post ~ Questions
~ You can either write memories in your tags or if they are longer/require a lot of content warnings you might want to write them in this post and link to them. Just start a top level with your character name to keep things organised!

~ For those taking part in the memory share bonding the cave post is here. Characters arrive in the cave after the second and third memory but it is obviously up to you if you play out the conversations after each or both! For those who do decide that their characters will bond- the cave after the third memory will only have one exit for them to leave together.

~ For those who signed up for train memories you will receive the snippet that your character sees- use these in tags as you will. There will be a conclusion post on the 24th which will put all of those memories together!

Art Credits: Header: Tropical Jewel by Steven Power, Thumbnail image 3.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Seems like the springs are the real hit with the crew. Little too hot on the circuits for me."

Faux smiles Guri's way, "Heh, I wouldn't exactly call my style 'swimming'. More like bottom trawling," he pulls out the shell he found, showing it off, "Not without it's rewards though."

She brightens at that.

"Circuits! Are you also an artificial person?" she asks, brightly. But that is also an interesting shell, so she feels the need to address it, too. "What a perfect conical spiral."

Guri isn't a human user? "I'm a computer program. Names Faux, you might have seen me aboard." He's sure she isn't a program, She doesn't look mechanical though- Then, neither does he- "Are you one too? Or are you something else?"

Taking a closer look at his shell, he rolls it in his hand, it reminds him of the ISO's architecture. "Isn't it? Looks even better under the sunlight." He tilts his head downward, "I saw more of these underneath."

"Faux," she repeats, "I believe I have seen you in passing. Interesting - are you inhabiting a metallic construct, or functioning as a hardlight hologram?"

"As for me, I am a Human Replica Droid - an artificial being built to closely mimic all human functionality. I am, in fact, the most advanced model ever produced."

The others will pass as human unless you shove them through a medical scanner - Guri has the functionality to not arouse enough suspicion to call for a scanner.

Faux knows what a hologram is. Hardlight however... "Nope. Just code. From a computer." a small chuckle comes from him, somewhat hampered by a wave, "Believe me, I've been questioning my own existence since I've appeared on the platform."

After the wave moves along, "As a program, we just kinda appear like this inside a system." And no one really thought much of it until Flynn appeared either. "I look like my creator. Not all programs retain their creator's looks though." Besides one other, his entire system was filled with randomly generated programs. It made hiding his identity quite hard.

He stows his shell back into his pocket, then his face crinkles with another smile, "I think you've succeeded very well at your function. I hadn't known you were a 'human replica droid'. It would have been something I would have noted if you hadn't." Being created that way with purpose; very interesting. He wonders what her purpose is.

It's a theoretical where she's from - but it about summarizes things. Still, she can only imagine how difficult it must be not to even know your own composition and how it functions.

"Interesting," she comments, but nods. "But yes, the entire HRD program was meant to produce excellent human mimicry - even for the others, it would take medical scanners to detect the difference. I was meant to be the most advanced of these models, undetectable from the outside."

Faux doesn't know what a medical scanner is. Probably something to tell identify a human user or not, meaning such things are a necessity where Guri comes from.

"Sounds like you come from an interesting world," he answers with a smile.

His smile shifts ever so slightly, "I have to wonder... Obviously mimicking users is a great feat," his own user seemed to think so, "they do like to talk to those who look like them. Is it because users liked the look better?" Or... Everything sounds a little too clandestine to his ears, or perhaps that may just be his inner intrusion program chiming in.

Skimming his eyes over what he can see of Guri in the water, he has to wonder what a non-human mimicking droid must look like. "Heh, I don't think I'll be fooling anyone any time soon." And not just because he literally glows in the dark.

"Worlds, plural," she replied. "I have been to...well, quite a few planets."

Also interesting how he refers to humans as 'Users' - at least she assumes he means humans.

"I think, originally, it was about the achievement. About making artificial beings that could, as closely as possible, replicate biological life. But in order to secure funding, they also proposed clandestine uses."

Planets? So she means multiple systems then. His eyes widen at the immense scope, unsure how his own repertoire of visited systems would compare. User systems were so much... more.

"So you're an ah, infiltration unit?" He might have the slightest of a vested interest in the question, given his origins come from being an intrusion program, designed to infiltrate systems. His understanding of 'funding' though is hazy to say the least.

"I was," she corrected. "Now I get to make my own choices. I superseded my original programming."

Superseded her original programming, is not what he hears everyday. If anything, it sounds like corruption.

Or maybe he's just too... old.

"What's that like? Going by you're own directive?" No example he's ever witnessed has left him with good feelings before. However, from what he has seen of Guri, he has detected nothing concerning. A smile does edge back onto his lips again, "I guess that would make you kinda like a user, then."

"I am unsure of the term 'user,'" she replies, "but it was...I was programmed to be one thing, but when given a choice, it created a paradigm in which I could never again be denied choice. It created new pathways and subprogramming - an evolution that remains ongoing."

She would shrug, but she's in water.

"For instance, I would never have considered myself a person before - but the friends I have (another new concept!) were able to persuade me."

Event: 12 of Beetroot

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