TEST DRIVE MEME #1

[space_aces]

WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD

Your journey only happened because of your benefactor, so it begets that it starts at your benefactor as well. SUPERBIA, which is as much of a location as it is an entity, is where everyone's search for Fortuna begins.

There's not much of a welcome party: shortly after their fateful encounter with SUPERBIA, in which they swore to join the quest to find Fortuna, the new Privateers will find themselves afflicted by a sudden change in perspective. See, teleportation is a tricky process, so from SUPERBIA's point of view, why not make the target destination none other than itself? One highly disconcerting moment later, and the Privateers find themselves inside the belly of the beast.

The vast mega-structure is shockingly lonely, void of anyone other than the Privateers. Those who look off the metal satellite and to The Network for intelligence (or take a skim at the Space Wikipedia article) will find out that the surrounding space is clear for lightyears; rumors have it that the place is cursed. It won't take long to understand why.

1

Overclocked

The innards of SUPERBIA are that of an impossibly scaled up computer, and the Privateers start right in the middle of it. You are the spider living in the dusty PS4. Literal rivers of coolant, transistors the size of mountains, landscapes made entirely of circuitry. The sky, bounded by a distant metal ceiling, is constantly alight with coursing electricity that cracks the sky with lightning storms. It can be assumed that the Privateers are the first living things to set foot here, because such a place is not ever meant to be traversed by delicate, organic, mortals that worry about things such as "temperature" or "voltage". SUPERBIA needs not lifeforms to continue its operations; why design for them? Traversal itself is difficult: unscalable walls and perilous drops are common to encounter. The only company the Privateers will find are oddly adorable maintenance robots, which sadly seem too occupied by their directives of maintaining the massive machine to offer any assistance (or even acknowledgement of their new guests).

It is immediately clear that the most urgent priority is to get the hell out of here. Before your adventure ends at the starting line.

2

Skeletons In The Closet

If one stays inside SUPERBIA, either by getting horribly lost or losing all common sense, one will notice a peculiar pattern emerge as one gets deeper into the bowels of the mega-structure. Passages shrink and become more level, and the incredible hostility and danger of the surroundings fade away, until one comes across areas which were definitely intended for humanoid organisms to use at one point.

The construction of these areas is cramped, unfurnished, and dreary; they are reminiscent of artificial environments meant to handle harsh external conditions like a submarine or bunker, but they are entirely livable. One can eventually find distinct rooms, but everything in them has crumbled to dust and their original purpose is nigh impossible to discern. Deeper investigation may reveal the few items that have stood the test of time. While it is more plausible for life to have existed here, that doesn't seem to be the case now. What happened here?

3

The Shipyard

In the opposite direction, when one finally reaches the outer edges of SUPERBIA, they will be rewarded with the place to pick up a spaceship and a stunningly beautiful view of outer space. The outside of SUPERBIA has no atmosphere to get between you and the stars, and they shine brightly, like a beacon calling one out into the first steps of adventure.

The shipyard is already filled with countless space ships of every size, form, and function, all autonomously constructed by SUPERBIA's factories over the countless years. What's the harm in taking one or twenty out for a spin? Even if one has no intentions of permanent ownership of the vehicle, it's not like SUPERBIA will miss it. For a Privateer with a more specific vision, however, there are kiosks around the yard which will allow one to design their very own space ship down to their exact specifications. When the process is done SUPERBIA's matter printers will have it out and space-ready right before your very eyes.

If a Privateer has a ship, vehicle, or large item that they intended to bring with them, they will also find them here, neatly parked in the Shipyard. Why didn't SUPERBIA extend this courtesy to the pilot's themselves? The answer is revealed as soon as the owner makes a closer inspection: the inner contents have been rearranged, like a whirlwind was unleashed inside and assorted loose items thrown around. Now aren't you glad your transportation was given special attention, and the same didn't happen to your innards?

4

Hot Crewmates in Your Area

But how will a single Privateer man an entire space ship? No worries: when one steps into a ship, the strangely endearing maintenance robots will suddenly take acute interest. The robots will follow inside and immediately start assuming the duties of a spacefarer, eliminating the need for extra hands on deck.

Even still, there's just no eliminating the want for a human touch, though. Thankfully even that dilemma has a contingency plotted by SUPERBIA.

Communication devices are easily available on every space ship. They come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from huge stationary consoles to portable smartphone-like screens. But whenever a Privateer attempts to access the Network, a pop-up will appear, obscuring the whole screen.

Tell me a little about yourself. Are you a LEADER or a FOLLOWER? What is your best feature?
The device will be rendered unusable until one relents to the pop-up's demands and provides answers to its questions. What will these be used for? The mystery will be solved when a social media app mysteriously installs itself on the same device, with profiles preemptively made for every Privateer. Each Privateer's profile consists of their given answers, paired with embarrassingly candid photographs. SUPERBIA has eyes in many places it seems.

Comments

[nothing_can_stop_me]

Oh, gosh, what don’t I want? I mean…!

[She quickly goes to choose everything and…]

What?! I can’t?! What kind of ship-building is this?! Augh. Okay, gotta go practical, huh? Guess the best thing to do is have safety…

[kid_devil_you_dont_know]

[Eddie chuckles.] I had the same impulse. But... triple constraint. In business, it goes "Good, fast, cheap. Choose two." and it seems that SUPERBIA has a similar setup for ship design.

[He leans in just enough to point at one of the sections onscreen.] There's your armored hull options. For safety. Then you have to choose between size and speed -- the larger a ship is, the slower it will go, and vice versa. [A slight pause, and his tone is apologetic when he amends,] Which is probably completely obvious to you. Sorry.

[nothing_can_stop_me]

Oh, no, no, don't apologize! Really! I'm the impulsish once in my family, so things like this don't really come out at me at first. Or second. Or thirtieth.

But, either size or speed, huh? Hmm... that's a good question.

[kid_devil_you_dont_know]

I never liked it when folks talked down to me, so I try not to do it myself, that's all.

[Eddie nods.] I guess that decision depends on whether you want a big crew or not. Or if you're thinking of taking one of the building-sized battle robots along. [He jerks a thumb to one side, indicating a row of mecha standing in between some of the larger pre-made spaceships.]

Personally, I'm used to being on my own, so I went for a smaller ship and kept it fast.

[nothing_can_stop_me]

Oh, I usually have a crew by my side, but… ooh, those machines…

Nope, head in the game, Della! Need something practical!

[kid_devil_you_dont_know]

Della, is it? I'm Eddie.

Maybe you could gather a crew of people who already know how to use those battle robots. You offer them transport, they teach you how the big machines work... everyone benefits.

[nothing_can_stop_me]

Yep, Della. Nice to meet ya, Eddie!

Hmm… Y’know what? You’re right! I should do that! Piloting a ship is different than piloting a robot, sooo…!

[kid_devil_you_dont_know]

If you do decide to go for a larger ship, I suppose I could modify mine to act more like a shuttlecraft for you. [He smiles,] That is, if your crew roster doesn't fill up with robot pilots.

[nothing_can_stop_me]

I’d rather have regular faces over robots, honestly. You do NOT want to be marooned and left alone - it is not fun.

[kid_devil_you_dont_know]

[Eddie nods thoughtfully.]

So... you volunteered to search for Fortuna, too, right? Mind if I ask why?

[It might seem like a subject change, but Eddie's actually trying to see if their goals align enough that he'd genuinely team up with Della for the quest.]

[nothing_can_stop_me]

The thrill of adventure! It’s a long-missing treasure out in the final frontier! I know the rest of the family’s learning I’m out here and I’m sure they’ll follow me to make sure I’m safe if not to find the treasure, too!

[kid_devil_you_dont_know]

Your whole family would want to go on an adventure with you? [Eddie sounds awed at the idea, as well as delighted. His own parents are not exactly supportive of his ambitions.] That must be nice.

I want to find Fortuna so that I can get my home back. My real home.

[nothing_can_stop_me]

Oh, you bet! It’s been in our blood for so long!

W-wait, wait… get back home? What happened?

[kid_devil_you_dont_know]

Are you familiar with the multiple worlds theory? Scientists in my world -- and a network of related others -- discovered that it was true.

The world that I originally came from was partially destroyed years ago. If you've never heard of the Anti-Monitor, you likely weren't affected by it. The surviving worlds within the network were merged... into something new. A single universe. I don't really belong there.

[nothing_can_stop_me]

I… uh… woah, that… yikes!

If I didn’t experience certain things before this, I’d wonder if this was a story from a comic!

Though, sheesh. I really hope you can get back. I know what it’s like…

[kid_devil_you_dont_know]

[He gives her a sympathetic look.] All by yourself and far from home?

I'm sorry. It's a feeling I wouldn't wish on anyone.