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

[fourhope]

[If Heero had even tried for a touching reunion scene, Quatre would be giving even the most harebrained theories Duo had for his supposed 'weirdness' for actual legitimacy.
No offense.]

Unfortunately, no. [Quatre leans back from where he'd been trying to per into an old chute.] Anything that might have been salvageable here looks like it degraded potentially centuries ago.

[Because things don't just break down this far in a few decades. It's... strange.]

It's good to see you, Heero.

[Business first and then pleasantries, because Quatre is still Quatre. But he'll forgo trying for a hug from this one.... for now.]

[heeroics]

[ Even now, it makes him pause.

Not because it's surprising for Quatre to be polite. He almost always is. It's because Heero has heard Quatre Raberba Winner when he's delivering his canned pleasantries, and in those moments there is none of the warmth that he detects on his... friend's voice now, and years later Heero is still getting used to existing in a universe where anyone is so genuinely happy to see him again that even he can see the hug in their eyes.

And this isn't even their usual universe. ]

Mm.

[ A single syllable of agreement, quietly understated, while his eyes dart towards the nearest item of interest on the adjacent wall.

It's all Heero can give without getting sidetracked by the expectations of a pleasant exchange with a friend, but Quatre understands that, too preternaturally perceptive to ever mistake these particular evasions of his for a snub. Whatever wavelength Quatre is uniquely attuned to, though it may defy logic, Heero appreciates that in his own way.

He returns the favor of being silently understood with his unconditional trust in whatever Winner has to say. ]

Centuries at least.

[ Whole pieces of what might have been a console installed into the wall flakes off alongside the caked-on dust with a brush of his hand. Even plastic and metal crumbles. Heero's exhale is frustrated, because that's the second one he's tried. ]

[fourhope]

[And that's enough, that Heero knows the hug is there even when it's not a physical one. Though, there's going to come a time Zero-One gets a physical hug whether he likes it or not.... just not now..

Luckily, Quatre is fairly fluent in mono-syllable conversation. Be it Heero or certain other more taciturn members of his friend group.]

No weather, no contact with animals or other things.... should have lead to careful preservation. The fact that things are in such a state...

[Quatre watches silently as the wall crumbles under Heero's touch. Which, Heero is ridiculously strong, but he's pretty sure that he'd not been trying for this to happen. It's just that everything is this brittle.]

Perhaps centuries is an understatement.

[Quatre's voice is dry, not quite bemused but certainly close to it. Though he does give it a try, finding a nearby panel that does indeed fracture at even the lightest of touches]

[heeroics]

[ It certainly helps that Heero and Trowa tend to be on a similar wavelength. Heero has never had to say much around Trowa, and he doesn't have to around Quatre, either. When Quatre immediately rises to try another panel, Heero knows for certain that the Sandrock pilot's sharp mind is just as engaged on the task ahead of them as he had expected.

And hoped.

Heero still isn't used to calling on others for help, if he's honest. He isn't trying to assemble a team. Yet... ]

What do you think?

[ These stakes may be too dire - and the circumstances too unusual - for Heero to pretend like he can search for Fortuna himself. ]

[fourhope]

[It's definitely helpful. Though Quatre'd be fairly quick to point out the ways in which they're dissimilar too. In that both of them are unique obviously, perhaps... a little defensive on his friends behalf.

Luckily for everyone involved, Quatre has no such issues or problems when it comes to asking for help or assembling a team.]

About the purpose of this place or our overall purpose here?

[Shrewd as always, plus Quatre's already had a conversation with Wufei about their ultimate goal here. Which means he's fairly confident that most of them should be on a similar wavelength, so it makes this topic a lot easier to handle that it might have been without it. Though it would have likely gone the same way regardless.]

There are a lot of variables that are impossible to track at the moment.

[While his head might not be as fast as a computer or quite as thorough, it's more than adequate for this situation.]

But if it does exist. I'm not sure that it should.

[He turns to Heero then, being as transparent as possible because zero-one is not someone to hide things from. Usually ends poorly for everyone involved.]

We're only a small fraction of the people recruited to look for this thing.

[He glances at the destruction their careful exploration has caused.]

And I'd say we're not among the first to be sent here either. So, if we really want to have a proper chance we need to work together on this.

[After all, they've basically done the impossible together once. What's one more time, right?]

[heeroics]

[ Twice, as far as Heero is concerned. In his timeline, he's had twice as long to dig deeply into his trust of 04's judgment. And indeed, it's Quatre's keen knowledge of his colleague's quirks and strengths that informs his decision to lay everything out plainly for Heero to hear, because Heero is bound to act on whatever knowledge he has at the time.

Knowledge is, at the moment, very hard to come by. Quatre has certainly just confirmed as much. ]

I agree.

[ Deftly, Quatre has answered both questions - regarding both their goal and their potential fate, judging by the evidence right before their eyes. Whoever came first? They're dust now. ]

A lot of people have already died.

[ And isn't that reason enough to destroy Fortuna - whether the object, if it exists, or if it turns out to be myth - the legend itself? ]

We shouldn't trust SUPERBIA either.

[ He doesn't feel shy about saying that aloud, either. Heero suspects that if the AI is advanced enough to have done all of this, then SUPERBIA surely already knows how Heero Yuy truly feels about its mission. No doubt it's figured a little unrest into its algorithms. ]

[fourhope]

[He's put a lot of time and effort into trying to understand his allies. He's not about to throw all of that out the window just because time seems to have gone strangely or because of this strange new world they've found themselves in. If anything, he's doubling down on that knowledge and trusting it to hold up under pressure. Much like they themselves have to.]

I had a feeling you would. I've already spoken to Wufei.

[In that it was effectively the first thing Wufei demanded of him upon their meeting. In typical Wufei fashion.]

And something tells me that number will only grow with time.

[Absolutely. If Fortuna itself doesn't exist the legend thereof is just as deadly. Maybe even more so then.]

I agree. [A soft smile despite what he says next.] Or anyone else for that matter. Strange people from unfamiliar worlds all competing for the same prize. It's a risk I wouldn't accept blindly.

[Some healthy caution even around each other, until they're truly sure of things isn't entirely out of the cards either, but that doesn't need to be said to be understood. Especially considering who it is he's talking to.]