❪ test drive: #1 - the overflow ❫

[natha]

YOUR STORY BEGINS     The Storm came. You only remember darkness, but you don't remember much after that. All you know, perhaps, is that it was cold as you slept. You don't know for how long you slept, but the dreams were short, at least. You remember the expanse of stars and the universe that came in view. Every world and solar system ever known was displayed in your dreams in careful, pristine detail. You have also witnessed The Storm, which has devoured a fair portion of these galaxies. It was a dark, thick smog; ominous in appearance and ever foreboding. Your Earth and similar planets were immersed in The Storm. Somehow, you knew it would be the last you'd see of it. That was when she told you what happened, and how you can help. You knew that you'll be living somewhere new, even though you never asked for it. The details here weren't clear, but you knew you'd made a deal with Darma. Not long after, you'll wake at Thesa Station — Your body is still cold. It was all a dream, but somehow, you knew it wasn't — now, will you keep that promise you made to Darma? PROMPT: THE MESS HALL     It's fascinating to the Orbiters how such a dull room can be turned around so completely with people in it. All meals are served by Roman, and while all the food is delicious, some of it is a bit odd. Is that neon green soup? That’s hideous. If you happen to be in the mess hall at a particularly unlucky time, you and the food will suddenly begin to drift. Someone’s got jokes, and they’ve turned off the gravity control. Now it’s just you, your fellow refugees, and the floating sea of food. Wait, did that person just chuck a pie in your direction? PROMPT: TRAINING MODULES     While it’s all nice and well to familiarize oneself with Thesa Station, it is most advised that new arrivals venture out a bit. Not physically. No one is quite prepared for that yet. However, there will be several virtual reality training programs set for those who dare to be adventurous. For those who aren’t and don’t dare, well— good luck, all the same. Be advised, however, that participating in one of the training modules will start you off favorably with the Natha Orbiters’ in terms of REPUTATION. Once seated and appropriately strapped in, the system will automatically whir to life and the dense foliage and forestry of a section of El Nysa will open up. According to one’s map registry, it clear to see that it’s miles from the outer gates of Olympia, but not as far enough to venture into any other territories. So, in that sense, you’re safe. 1. Or you could have been, but unfortunately the wilderness is home to various types of beasts and monsters hailing from different universes and galaxies. On the bright side, perhaps one of them will be oddly familiar to you. Or maybe someone else who is currently synced is willing to give you that extra helping hand. Fortunately, if you’re powerless, there are options. From telekinesis to flight, there are strange abilities one can adopt and “test” out in the virtual reality. Granted, you’re only limited to one at a time. They say in the near future, some of you may be granted these abilities under certain conditions. But, please practice some caution. You aren’t alone in the system, after all. 2.. Who do you fight for, the VR system will ask you individually before you enter the module. The righteous Olympians, or the free-spirited Wyvers? Whatever your choice, when you enter El Nysa, you will wholly and truly believe your allegiance. A. Working together: You now have to suffer the consequences of your choice, as you and your partner have been captured by guards of the opposite faction. Now jailed and soon-to-be tortured, you must find some way to negotiate your release. Perhaps you’ll find some means to escape without detection. Maybe you’re the “fight your way out” sort of people. B. Facing your enemy: That person you stepped into the VR with? They’re out to capture you. Or maybe you seek to capture them. 3. When you enter the virtual reality, things aren’t exactly how they’re supposed to be. Maybe that’s natural, especially if this is your first time, but the problems here seem a bit more fundamental. Maybe you find yourself under a parental safety lock, and you’re suddenly censored. Exposed back? Censored. Body suit? Censored. Or replaced with a mascot costume. Worst of all? You can’t sign out. Not right now, at least. Regardless, whatever it is— ridiculous filters, body alterations, or even body swaps with other users... you are assured it’ll all be fixed with due time. Zasere sends his humblest apologies and promises no more wire chewing, or so the announcement states. 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: HANGAR STATION     You find your way to the hangar station. Here rests are a factory worth of docked mobile suits. You recall how the Orbiters had previously spoken of a "space frontier," but only after seeing this you realize how real their words are. Most machinery have marks of wear and tear, assurance that they have indeed been used before, and an assembly of others are going through repairs and maintenance. No one seems to care that you've just strolled in. In fact, there seems to be a couple of the aircraft that beckon you to take a closer look. Maybe you’ll only look on the outside, maybe you'll be greeted by the hand of a mobile suit extending toward you and welcoming you to its cockpit. You go out and explore SPACE!!! Unfortunately, that mobile suit should have warned you it only had 20 minutes of flight time left in its system. Or, perhaps, you’re a particularly ambitious pilot and you’ve strayed past the designated perimeter. Either way, the HUD display is now blinking with errors, cropping up with a single message: DISTRESS SIGNAL. 1. You’re the poor sap who happened to chill around the Observation Deck. Unfortunately, everyone seems busy with the influx of mobile suits out and about, and the only one who can answer this distress signal is on the Navigation System, well, you. Hope you can figure out the controls fast enough. Guide the pilot back to the safety of the hangar using the most efficient route possible. Keen Navigators will find an instruction manual that provides a shortcut to automatically return a suit back to base. 2. You’re actually sitting in a two-seater mobile suit. Funny how that works, isn’t it? Maybe you were unwittingly dropped down a hatch, or dragged along for a joyride by your ambitious co-pilot. Either way, it looks like help is going to take some time... 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     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 Training Module thread of AC length on the TDM may be submitted for 1 NATHA ORBITER REPUTATION POINT after acceptance. QUICK NAV premise ● faq ● world ● map ● reputation ● npcs taken ● reserves ● application calendar ● hiatus/drops ● modbox [ FULL NAVIGATION ] elnysa nysalogs nysaisles nysaooc elnyan

Comments

[axiomed]

That's impressive. And quite a variety too! It must make your job very engaging.

[gekkajuu]

It really is. And they are such good people, too.

[Admittedly, Atsushi's standards for what constitutes a good person are pretty skewed, but he's not wrong in this case.]

[axiomed]

I suppose it's my turn then.

[gekkajuu]

Are you really a professor?

[axiomed]

Yes. I have my own school where I am the principal.

[gekkajuu]

Your own school? That's very impressive!

Do you want to do the same kind of work here?

[axiomed]

Thank you.

Perhaps. I don't know if there'll be much need for it.

[gekkajuu]

Running a school right from the start might be difficult, but I'm sure teaching is a valuable skill anywhere.

[axiomed]

Yes, but I can't help feeling I've been rendered rather useless here.

[gekkajuu]

I think we all feel that way. Being flexible is all well and good, but having to adapt to circumstances this new is a lot to expect of someone.

Not just new surroundings, but missing many of the people who were important in your life.

[axiomed]

At least I am adaptable.

How are you coping so far? You have a healthy attitude.

[gekkajuu]

I'm doing all right,
thank you.

At least it's fairly quiet here. I feel like we've been trying to save the city non-stop for months.

[Before the storm, he means. He still misses everybody terribly - what good is a "vacation" if his friends aren't there to enjoy it with him? - but he's trying to focus on the good things. It may be a healthy attitude; it may also be more like trying to escape from reality.]

[axiomed]

Why? What kind of trouble was the city in?

[gekkajuu]

There's always something. The mafia wreaking havoc, or ability users from abroad trying to do something or other...

A lot of ability users don't use their power for good.

But that makes it more important for the others to do what good they can.

[axiomed]

[ . . . Huh. ]

That's what I've always believed. Unless we start showing a better way, no one will believe it.

[gekkajuu]

To me, it's more that... if we don't stand up against other ability users, who will?

There's no way for regular people to defend themselves against such powers. Nobody deserves to be put in a position like that.

[And then he belatedly realizes the implication.]

Wait - you're an ability user, too?

[axiomed]

[ And isn't that Charles' philosophy, word for word? He exhales quietly to himself, unnerved. Kindred souls in his beliefs were unheard of and he had only recently begun to hope again. ]

I am. I'm a telepath.

[gekkajuu]

[Mind powers..? Atsushi only knows one ability user like that, and his experience meeting the boy wasn't a pleasant one. So he has to ask, even if it takes him a while to work up the courage.]

Do you only read minds, or can you control them?

[axiomed]

[ Charles smiles, tinged with a wry bitterness. ]

I can do both. There are very few limits to my telepathy. It is restrained by my desire to prove to mankind that we can co-exist in harmony.

I have no interest in violating a person's privacy for my own means.

[gekkajuu]

[That's fair enough. Atsushi is still a little wary, but that's his own fault, not the professor's, and he knows it.]

Excuse me, but if you put it that way, it sounds like you consider ability users something other than human.

[axiomed]

In our world, we are called mutants. The next step in evolution. The term is important to us.

[ It can be seen as dividing, but the terms give meaning, especially to those who discover their powers and find their identities have changed. Sometimes, they are essential. ]

[gekkajuu]

I may not know a lot about evolution, but I'd see it as a side step more than a next step. Abilities aren't always a good thing.

[Ability users are still half an urban legend, where he's from. That may not by definition be positive, but it's more comfortable for him. He wouldn't want his ability to define him.]

[axiomed]

They may not be good but evolutionary isn't always a steady process from one point to another. There will always be exceptions. The same could said for any evolutionary process. It may not be understood, but that doesn't mean it's not natural.

[gekkajuu]

That's not what I meant to suggest at all! I don't consider abilities unnatural, or even a bad thing.

[Not even his own. Well, not always.]

But it can be as much of a burden as a blessing, and it's rarely only the latter.

Someone once told me that ability users all have something twisted inside of them, and I don't think that's untrue. Even if it's only a result of our life as an ability user, a lot of us have been through too much to still be normal.

I don't consider that a bad thing, though! But it's definitely not only a good thing.

[axiomed]

[ Hm. ]

Perhaps. But I find that kind of thinking comes at the expense of the user themselves. Why be blamed for something they have no control over?

Shouldn't the blame come from how they are used, not how they came to be? Or what form those powers are? I have no doubt it can be a burden. My abilities certainly can feel that way.
But to treat myself that way seems repressive.