❪ test drive: #2 ❫ THE OVERFLOW

[natha]

ORIGINAL POST

THE PROLOGUE     Many people in stasis seem to be medically sound enough to wake up, brother. Are the preparations ready to go? Yes, I've long prepared myself for this. Watching them everyday has been truly rewarding. ... Right. Yeah. Okay, let's get them ready to wake up. We should keep their minds active to ease the transition into consciousness. A simple VR program should do the trick, I think. I will boot one immediately. There! All systems are green. Their consciousnesses are linked. However, their minds appear to be too active... They may be over-stimulated, brother. Huh? How can that be...? Can we pull them out safely? Not from my end, no. This may be too large for us to fix alone. Do you think...? Yes, I think so... It will have to be done organically. Can you send out a message to our refugees? Of course, brother. I will send one swiftly. We must be sure to fix this before Darma returns. There is urgency in the Orbiters' request. Refugees currently in El Nysa are asked via mass message to please return to Thesa Station virtual reality area immediately. Zasere tells them that the next set of Refugees are scheduled to wake, but there's been an issue. On Thesa, refugees will find that the people in stasis are still apparently trapped in slumber. Most of them are complete strangers, but there's a chance you may recognize a familiar face or two. Normally, these people would wake up from their pods without issue, but due to a malfunction caused by the unforeseen force during The Descent, they have to go through extra measures to make this possible. Those in slumber require extra stimulation, something to keep their minds active. What better than a simulation of an area of El Nysa? Keeping their minds active requires an extremely involved simulation. Those subjected to the VR (prospective characters) will find themselves completely immersed in their new environment, believing themselves to be native Olympians. To wake up from the simulation, characters must work together to accomplish a certain objective(s) in the icy tundra. Characters in-game will be aware that this is a simulation, but this is good practice for properly interacting with El Nysa natives, isn't it? An AC-length log thread on this TDM may be submitted for Two (2) Natha REP points HERE. Please read the OOC note at the bottom of this post for the terms. PROMPT: WINTER CAME     The wind in the icy wasteland is bitter and frigid. You are wrapped up in a winter coat, but even still, the cold bites at your skin and leaves you yearning for a warm fire. Perhaps you're a merchant from the city, here to make a delivery, or you're a royal guard, sent to patrol the area. Who are you? The sky is the limit. One thing is certain — you won't snap out of your new identity until you finish a task. 1. Due to the vast diversity of the creatures on El Nysa and the fact that new ones are constantly being discovered, an important objective is to carefully chronicle different species. Unfortunately, to research these new species, they happen to need more than just a visual. More than just fleeting glances in over a snowy hill. Researchers are constantly looking for ways to secure... You guessed it! Blood and stool samples. The supplies for the former will be given. Supplies are offered in a small box; one per person. In this box is a small dart that will automatically procure a small touch of blood, and easily shaken off so the creature will be able to securely escape. As for the latter— well, they'll give you a plastic bag if that counts. Look, sometimes to get a job done, you have to get your hands dirty. Specifically, they seek samples from a newly recorded rare beast known as a Klep. Kleps spend much of their time hidden in caves, so hitting them with the darts will be tricky. They are also nocturnal, but you may be able to lure them out of the cave with fish as bait. When struck with a dart, you must grab the dart and escape immediately, as they will charge you, and killing such an endangered species is illegal. As for stool samples, well... Once you find a pile, you will have plenty of sample to work with. 2. It's cold, to say the least. Too cold to continue forward. Whatever you were doing, you must stop and seek shelter. Looks like your goal is clear, at least. Get warm. Not finding a way to sustain heat, whether it be seeking shelter, building a fire, cuddling up, or all of the above, will likely end in serious consequences. 3. You are stuck in a dilemma. On one hand, you are set to work for Olympia. One the other, you're not completely sure what is really expected of you, or who the man who gave you this mission truly is. You and your partner are meant to protect precious trade cargo for them. You were told that these were essential supplies for one of the outer colonies. They assured you it was mostly food. In loading the cargo onto the supplied wagon with your partner, however, you noticed something inherently off about it. The weight and even the sounds of some of the contents inside definitely don't sound like food. Moreover, some boxes are more obviously more concealed— draped in black sheets and reinforced on all sides. You've also caught wind of rumors that you are potentially being utilized to supply advanced weapons and other contraband to Wyver terrorists in the colonies. But what do you do? Refuse to make the delivery, and people in the colony will surely starve. Try to remove the weapons and only deliver the food, and you will be killed on sight for being too suspicious. Make the delivery as-is, and not only will Olympians die at the hands of terrorists in the future, but you will betray your country. Decide quickly... 4. There are many dangers associated with traveling in such an isolated, harsh environment. You must help each other to survive. Perhaps someone has fallen on thin ice, and requires a rescue. Maybe someone is on the brink of starvation, and you must share what provisions you have. When you come to, you will awaken in Thesa Station. All will be explained to you by Zasere or Sael via telepathic link. Your world is no more. The Storm has consumed it. We offer proof in the Observation Deck if you desire it, but it won't be an easy thing to stomach. We offer you a new life, in our planet of El Nysa. We just ask for your help in maintaining the vitality of El Nysa. What can we offer you in exchange for your help? PROMPT: STASIS UNIT     You have found the massive section of Thesa known as the Stasis Unit. There’s no special access required to access this part of Thesa Station, but refugees are warned that it may not be for the faint of heart. Here, in large pods that nearly cover every square inch of the space, are all of the people the Orbiters have managed to rescue. Your loved ones, your greatest enemy, your next door neighbor— you might find them here. These people are in a state of deep cryosleep. Due to the damaging effects of The Storm, their bodies are not yet ready to be awoken. PROMPT: GET REKT     The Orbiters have noticed that some of the refugees really miss their video games. The technology in El Nysa could be much worse, but it definitely leaves much to be desired. Which is why, after expressing relief that everyone awoke safely, the Orbiters have decided to provide a little fun in the form of video game competitions. Anything from old-timey arcade machines to state-of-the-art computers, consoles, and VR headsets (though you may be a little tired of VR right now...) is available, and yes, they have your favorite games! Enjoy PAC-MAN, Starcraft 2, or perhaps Dance Dance Revolution! Teach a friend how to play. Get unnecessarily angry and competitive. Most importantly, have fun. Keep fourthwalling to a minimum, please. Recommended playing: QWOP PROMPT: OMAGE     Upon receiving your mobile phone, you will be asked to set a username. Voila, you can now access the network! You can choose to send a message to the entire network, specific usernames, or you can try out the Orbiters’ service, Omage, which connects you to a random user. They thought this might be a good way for their new guests to make friends with each other... Connecting to server... Looking for someone you can chat with... You’re now chatting with [username]... Say hi! PROMPT: WILDCARD     You are welcome to write any scenarios in Thesa Station! Characters have been granted temporary access to the Observation Room, and are encouraged to study it carefully. FINAL OOC NOTE     Please give toplevel priority to prospective characters! Current characters wishing to thread these scenarios with other current characters are encouraged to create separate logs. However, threads between 2 current characters are not eligible for Natha Orbiter REP. These threads may be carried over as game canon if players choose! Players are encouraged to submit TDM threads as application samples, but they are not required. Please direct any OOC questions to the questions thread below! A TDM thread of AC length may be submitted HERE for 2 NATHA ORBITER REPUTATION POINTS. Current players may submit their thread at any time, and prospective players may submit a thread after acceptance. Please note that threads must contain at least five (5) log comments from your character. A toplevel counts as a comment. Network threads are not eligible. QUICK NAV premise ● faq ● world ● map ● reputation ● npcs taken ● reserves ● application calendar ● hiatus/drops ● modbox [ FULL NAVIGATION ] elnysa nysalogs nysaisles nysaooc elnyan

Comments

[fractaljesus]

[It's actually because he's an alien, but 'sociopath' isn't completely inaccurate if one tries to apply human psychology to a truly alien mind. He's spent billions of years as a logical, emotionless, and sexless entity that being human (and everything that comes with it) is a wholly new and strange experience.

As he listens, he stares at the pod. Again, her words make sense individually, but the concepts don't quite get through. "Present but not themselves"? "The warmth the carry"? He doesn't understand. Shindo is there. He is present. How can he not be "himself?"]

No, that cannot be correct. [He doesn't understand, and that's... he doesn't know what emotion being incapable of understanding instills in him. It's like anger, but also anxious. His eyebrows crinkle in a much more genuine show of emotion than the calculated smile from before--a true scowl.]

[cykedelic]

[ Well, as this is her first experience of aliens it's the best that she can apply to the situation that makes sense from what she knows. ]

Why not? [ Her voice is level, and she actually seems to be quite serious now as she tries to get him to understand. ] His body is present, but it is not our bodies that make us who we are. Our minds and hearts need to be active to show our personality, and without that we aren't really "us". At the moment, all of these people in the pods are just shells of themselves.

When they wake up, they'll be back to normal though, so you don't have to worry about that.

[fractaljesus]

[It... sort of makes sense, in a way. Shindo didn't become important to him because of his body, it was because of his mind. The way he acted differently from other humans, and could accept everything as it was while giving him a challenge in turn. If he's asleep, he can't talk to him.

That, he supposes, he does miss.]

I understand. [But his voice wavers slightly, unsure. He can grasp the basic form, and accept what she is saying, but the minutiae of the concept is still incomprehensible to him. It's like trying to comprehend the concept of 'infinity.' Something of which the definition can be understood, but the scope can't fully be grasped.]

[cykedelic]

[ She's glad that she explained it well enough for him to get this time too. That he can take some relevance from it. Gently, she even reaches out to try and pat him on the shoulder as a means of reassurance. ]

I'm glad to hear it. You never know, something might come up and we might find something to get our friends to wake up sooner. It'll be fine.

[fractaljesus]

[He doesn't like waiting. It's paradoxical to his nature, since he's done nothing but wait for an unfathomable length of time. Billions of years. An eternity. And yet in the span of three months, he has become ever more impatient. Maybe it's because his perception of time is so skewed that the short lifespan of a human feels like less than the blink of an eye. He is used to waiting, but he doesn't like it now. Even so, there is little he can do in the face of the situation regarding the people in the pods. All he can do is wait, and wait he shall.

He allows her to touch him, though takes no comfort in it, lips drawn in a tight line. He cannot calculate the probability of their waking, or the amount of time it would take on the chance they ever do wake, and that sets him ill at ease.]

Fine, you say. [He muses, testing the word on his tongue.] 'Fine.' A satisfactory result that is nonetheless not ideal. [It's appropriate.]

[cykedelic]

[ Waiting can be a curse as much as it can be a blessing, that's a certainty. Yet, somehow it can also breed hope. You have time to do something, no matter how small it may be. She doesn't know anything about the importance of their relationship, but she does know that he cares and that's what matters. ]

I suppose that's one way of looking at it... It's just something my friend says when he's struggling. "I'm fine!" always seems to make the mood feel lighter. I know, why don't you try it?

[fractaljesus]

[Try it? He looks at her with the confusion of a lost child. "I'm fine" doesn't seem appropriate. He's not fine. Nothing about his emotional state is satisfactory. How does one even be "fine"? It's a vague term that means nothing except for the comfort of those hearing it, but is almost always untrue.]

It is fine. [The situation, on the other hand, he can classify as 'fine,' even if he himself is not. He will not lie, for his concept of dishonesty is still forming. He may not be entirely forthcoming, but he never outright lies.]

[cykedelic]

Uh... [ Her expression drops. ] That's not exactly it but... Good first try, I guess! [ She's quick to pick herself back up, even if it isn't quite right. It isn't like he's got the emotional capacity to understand the significance, she'd know that better than anyone. ]

What are you planning to do now?

[fractaljesus]

[He's learning! Being human is hard, okay? It's not something someone can jump right into after billions of years as an emotionless thought entity without at least some adjustment period.

He glances back at the pod, but only for a brief moment before returning his attention to Athena, his jaw set.]

The Natha desire assistance in maintaining the vitality of El Nysa. [He begins, and one of his floating hands points in the direction of the planet even though it isn't visible from their location.] For that purpose, they have preserved many intelligent life forms on this station. [A second hand gestures vaguely to the Stasis Unit around them. It's all information they both already know from the telepathic correspondence the Natha had provided upon their waking, but he needs to repeat it to preface his answer.]

This world is rudimentary, simple. I desire to bring advancement to the peoples of El Nysa. This will be my contribution to the Natha's cause. [He doesn't have any of the devices he'd prepared when he manifested on Earth, but there are other ways to advance a world.]

What actions will you take, knowing the purpose the Natha have set for you?

[cykedelic]

[ Being human is very hard, that's something anyone can agree with. Emotions are, in principle, what make them human too. Even an entity that is only just learning to be human -- rather anyone in that situation -- would undoubtedly find the whole process difficult to swallow.

Not as difficult to swallow as his floating arms, mind you. ]

Um... do you really have to do that? [ She indicates to his arm, not even trying to be subtle about bringing it up. ] It's really weird.

Either way... the actions I'll take? I can't say I've completely thought about it just yet, it depends on if I find anyone else from my home that's awake.

[ If no one else is... what should she do? ]

[fractaljesus]

[He would find it surprising that even humans find being human difficult, honestly.

He's also somewhat taken aback by her discomfort with his hands, and after a brief moment, they vanish back into thin air. There's a shuffling in his cloak before his hands, now firmly firmly attached to his shoulders, emerge, gesturing vaguely in her direction as if unused to the motion.]

This is satisfactory? [Because folding space to use his hands is so much easier than simply moving his cloak out of the way.]

And if you do not find them?

[cykedelic]

[ As someone who, alongside her own ability, has seen the growth of robots being made to identify human emotions, she's somewhat of an expert on it. It doesn't change the fact that she's still a bit wary of him, but he seems to be genuinely trying which is a start. ]

Much better! Now it doesn't make you look like something that stepped out of a horror movie.

[ nice. ]

Though I... I'm not sure what I'll do yet. It's something I'll have to think about.

[fractaljesus]

[A horror movie? He blinks at her. He understands that a horror movie is a film meant to frighten the viewer, but did she truly find his arms so disconcerting?]

I am simply reaching through Novo--my territory--to move my hands. It is no different to me as if would be for you to extend your arm. I am merely doing so in a different direction. [To demonstrate, his arms vanish from the elbow-down again. They reappear almost as abruptly right in front of Athena, palms open toward the girl in a gesture meant for her to explore and investigate as she pleases.]

However, if it troubles you so badly, I will refrain in your presence.

[cykedelic]

[ Her hand goes to her hip, and she is listening to what he says but it's all new. No one in her world can do that sort of thing. ]

It's more that a lot of people wouldn't be used to it. I'll just need some time to get used to it I guess.

[ Will she ever get used to it?? Well, only time will tell. ]

It's just something to bear in mind.

[fractaljesus]

[Sure they can! They just don't know how.

And again his hands go back to being attached to his body, taking her discomfort into account.]

I see. Humans are unnerved by that which they do not understand.

[cykedelic]

[ Well, point. There's a lot humans don't know as things are - even in 2028 when she's from. ]

Usually, yes. [ She smiles. ] But exposure is helpful to get people used to it.

[fractaljesus]

[Which is a huge part of why he wants to bring "advancement" to... well, it was humanity back in his world, but now he wants to bring it to the peoples of El Nysa. There is so much untapped potential--so much they don't yet understand that they could understand.

...Like folding space to detach your hands.]

Yes, that has been observed. [No one batted an eye at his arm trick back in his own world after the first exposure.]

[cykedelic]

[ So not actually technology but... detaching limbs. Interesting. ]

Well then. Um... I guess we should leave them be for now, huh?

[ She eyes the people in the pods. ] Are you staying in here longer?

[fractaljesus]

[Not specifically detaching limbs. That's just one possibility out of a limitless number of possibilities. And it's difficult to bring technology when he doesn't have any of his devices onhand. They didn't come with him, unfortunately. He'll just have to get creative.]

A bit longer, yes. [He wants to stare creepily at Shindo's sleeping face for a while.]

[cykedelic]

[ Well, hopefully it'll work out and he can do everything as normal.

Her eyes go to the figure in the pod opposite him, frowning. She can understand wanting to stay close to people he knows but... ]

Try to not stay here too long.