WEEK 3

[strangerpeople]

WEEK 3



[The week begins as last week began. But there's is a great difference-murder. It has happened. Blood has been drawn; it cannot be undone. The Game has made itself known. The Game is paramount. The Game simply is.

As morning dawns, those who were not present with the DEAD lock will find that the doors that were locked are now gone-and a whole new area has finally opened up to them. They will also find that they remember something they had not been able to recall beforehand. The question is, was it worth it?

And-is it you, or is the ship getting...colder as the hours go by? No, it's not just you. By the end of Sunday, the ship has started to dip into freezing temperatures. It might be difficult for people to bundle up-unless you're Brain, who will find his closet inundated with winter clothing that fit him perfectly.

Yup. This is going to be a long week, as if last week wasn't bad enough.



There are currently 16 strangers in this place.]

Comments

[somuchshipping]

Have you ever done this before? YouLookedLikeANatural! I wouldn't be surprised if you figure skated before.

[exequte]

[That makes her laugh.]

Like, how many times have I?

I guess it's like a million.....

times zero.

Yeah, I've never really done anything like this before. I guess it's part of my power?

[somuchshipping]

[Hermes blinks. He looks at Akane. Then, he looks at his own claw.]

...I was never able to summon fireballs before, but when I used it before, it just... came naturally? I guess? IsThatWeirdToYou? And what does the profile mean I can charge them up? Fireballs aren't batteries.

[exequte]

That's how this is for me. It's like I know how to do it already.

[The second comment she considers for a moment, then glances around.]

Hm...

Maybe this isn't the best place to practice for you. We could go to the incinerator? But, well.... I wonder, have you tried to um, hold a fireball back yet? It seems like being able to charge it could also mean that you could wait before casting it and have it grow.

[somuchshipping]

[It's still so weird to him. Hermes would prefer to do this stuff at the incinerator and will follow AKane's lead.]

I had other powers before I got pirated and bought here. I helped Mors in the Underworld. We were the only ones in the game capable of using [Space Ripper], which allowed us to rip holes in the code and trabel to anywhere in the universe and even to the Underworld. I'm also the fastest gen 1 AI in the entire game. I moved so fast, everyone else saw a blur.

And I was also able to see a timer counting down to when people are supposed to die. I guess not being able to see when people die adds a little anticipation, but it also helped both me and Mors. We usually do a whole buncha paperwork in preparation when a universe dies and a new universe takes its place.

[exequte]

That.... uh....

[She blinks as she tries to figure out how best to respond to that.]

It takes... paperwork when the universe dies...?

[somuchshipping]

Yep! Tons. We have to take a census on all planets and species so they're available for the next universe! OtherwiseTheUniverse MightHaveNothingInIt! And that's only if the universe dies naturally. If it ends abruptly, say after 200 years or so, then that's when the screaming happens. Mostly by me.

[exequte]

But.... if there's no universe, then... how... um... where.... is that paperwork?

The universe encompasses everything. Unless, I suppose, you're talking about parallel universes.

[somuchshipping]

A new Universe, and thus, new Neo gets born! I don't know how many universes the real world's been through, but this one's been an interesting experience so far!

As for the paperwork, Mors- I mean Clockwork and I usually keep it all in the Underworld. I go and gather intel and info for M- Clockwork and he puts it in the correct place and checks it all over for any errors! We're great co-workers and friends!

[exequte]

Only one, as far as people know, though, um... some of the things that have happened here do seem to lend weight to parallel universe theory.

But, generally speaking, universes don't just end. Or, at least, not quickly. I guess you could make the argument that it's slowly dying, based on the fact that entropy does exist, but... hm. It just... I guess doesn't seem very useful to get too hung up on something that won't happen for billions and billions of years more....

[somuchshipping]

Our universes generally don't tend to run parallel. It wastes too much memory that way. OneUniverseAtATime,Please!

But why our universes die and why we get new ones is to randomize gameplay to an extent. New people to meet, new adventures to go on, new epic loot to gather! It makes it so that no two playthroughs would be exactly alike. And Fortuna even allows players to generate new planets, species, fauna, and even humans! So it's a guarantee each run of the game will be completely different!

[exequte]

Ohhh, okay. I guess an in-game universe would be easier for something like that to happen in.

In real life the universe is unimaginably massive, and there's so much that we still don't know about it.

[somuchshipping]

Yeah, and apparently, none of you guys here have ever hit FTL travel before! If this universe is similar to the save file I'm from, you're going to love it! SoManyPlanets AndSpeciesAndAdventures! AndAction!

[exequte]

Not where I'm from, anyway. Though the theory of relativity does mean that the first who tries it is effectively going to give up their life to do that, at least as they know it.

[She hesitates a moment as they reach the incinerator--they really hadn't been very far away--before sighing.]

Sorry. I don't really... like it here.

[somuchshipping]

[Einstein is the first thought that pops up in Hermes's memory banks. But who IS Einstein? Hermes only knows the name but doesn't know WHY he knows the name. This is the same feeling as when he looked at the Mona Lisa. WELL, FINE, WHATEVER. Hermes hides his discomfort because HEY INCINERATOR NOW HE CAN PRACTICE!]

Oh, hey, we're here.

So... Do I just start flinging fireballs around?

[exequte]

[Akane could have told him, at least about some things! Maybe another time, however.]

Try... calling one, but not throwing it yet. Do you think you could do that?

POWER INVESTIGATION

[somuchshipping]

[Hermes will slightly nod. He holds one of his footclaws up in front of him and calls to summon a fireball, but not throw one. He doesn't release it and generally tries just keeping it from escaping, just to try and see the maximum amount of charge.]

[strangerpeople]

[The more charged the fireball gets, the more unruly it becomes. More like an easily distracted child than an unruly one, though - it isn't difficult to keep it charging, it just requires attention.

It can keep charging for a little while - it starts slowing after 30 seconds and plateaus after about a minute, if we're staying focused that long.]

[somuchshipping]

[At 20 seconds, Hermes starts tapping a foot against the ground impatiently. At 45, he looks like he's beginning to get tired and ready to fall asleep out of boredom. At 57 seconds, Hermes very NEARLY nods off, releasing the fireball and nearly falling onto the ground before catching himself.]

...Yeah, I don't think I wanna charge it up for that long.