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thegreatspacerace2022-09-28 07:29 pm
space_aces) wrote in thegreatspacerace2022-09-28 07:29 pm
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TEST DRIVE MEME #1
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.
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.
1Overclocked
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.
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.
2Skeletons 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?
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?
3The 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?
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?
4Hot 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.
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.
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.
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.
Damian Wayne | DC Comics: Rebirth
[Damian Wayne, the fifth Robin - the fifth former Robin - is a lot of things, but one thing that he isn't is naïve. Or stupid. When he received this invitation to this great Space Race, he of course had to suspect it was a trap.
Walking along the steel supports and pipes of this giant stronghold, he has to question why he didn't pay more heed to the voice telling him that, which could be anyone from Pennyworth to his own damn common sense. Still, he has a responsibility, whether he's Batman's Robin or something else, he still lives by that creed.
And if he notices someone nearby, he will call out, as if from nowhere.]
Have you found anything?
[And then he will drop from the supports he was standing on, with all of the grace of a cat. That's one thing he can do.]
If you can't fight, I suggest you go wait somewhere with other civilians.
[He... he means well.]
ii. SKELETONS
[He is both demon and detective, and this time, the detective in him wins out. He's staying, longer than he should, because something about this entire facility pings his interest.
It's in one of the rooms, clearly meant to be some kind of residential area that he is crouched down, gathering bits of dust and putting them in small containers.]
This used to be lived in by living beings. Probably aliens. Something happened. [A DNA sample would be next to impossible... still, he's going to at least try. It'll be useful down the line.]
iii. THE SHIPYARD
[The robots are working on a ship he designed using the frankly very cool and very handy ship builder, and he's looking at it as it's being built. It seems like it's been designed with stealth and speed in mind, and isn't designed to hold a huge amount of people. He will regret this as soon as he sees an animal he likes and needs space for it on his ship, but for now, it's about the size of a submarine, with room for two or three people.
He's one of the last of the Privateers out here, due to having spent so long investigating the facility, and if it looks like there's anyone else out here unsure of what to do, he'll purse his lips and sigh.]
Do you have a ship? [He would really prefer to be alone rather than leading or part of a crew (this is of course a horrible idea and he would go mad and die), but he's not going to leave people stranded either.] I can make more room if you don't. But I'm driving.
[He is absolutely not old enough to drive a car, let alone a spaceship.]
IV. SPACE TINDER
[His answers to the questionnaire are simple.
Tell me a little about yourself.]
No.
[Are you a LEADER or a FOLLOWER?]
Neither. But leader if I have to pick.
[What is your best feature?]
My unwillingness to play along with stupid introduction games like this one.
Skeletons
Yeah, like maybe some plague wiped them out, but I don't see any skeletons around. No trinkets, no knick-knacks, no sentimental photos left behind, nothing. You'd think there'd be at least something... Lame.
no subject
no subject
He can't help but be caught by that explanation. Millions of years ago... Even that's way longer than he's lived. Probably sixteen times as long.]
Gods... And I thought I was old. This sucks, being so late to see what happened.
[Hermes sighs a little.]
...You think there's any black boxes around for us to snoop into?
no subject
Instead he continues working.]
...We'll see. We might be able to find out what happened anyway. Though I'm not sure how safe it is to stay here.
[Which won't stop him, but it's pointed at Hermes. Do TVs die in extreme weather?]
What do you mean by black box?
[He's a DC comics character, he's sure this is something from the TV's point in the vast expanse of the multiverse.]
no subject
You don't know what a black box is? They're disaster-proof containers of data that holds locational and other information, as well as recordings of any recent telecommunications. I'm pretty sure every ship has one, including me.
no subject
[Now he's indignant. He huffs, irritably.]
You'd be surprised how many terms are used to mean one thing on Earth, and then mean something completely different in other corners of space or the multiverse.
Besides. This isn't a ship, it's a massive computer. The data is probably somewhere in the computer's memory, but accessing that seems like it would take an extreme amount of work.
no subject
Hehehe... Ahem. Anyways, that's the only meaning I knew of in the computer game I was stuck in for over sixty thousand years. Or.. hmmm, would that be around 8 months of total playtime in your normal human time?
I mean. SUPERBIA's an AI, right? We can probably ask it.
no subject
An alien species I'm familiar with uses devices called Mother Boxes. They're similar to black boxes but fully alive.
[ANYWAY.]
That's running on the assumption we can trust it. This is an extremely advanced system.
no subject
Mother Boxes, huh? Got any more good juice on those aliens?
[Hmm... There was one person that bought up some really good points about trusting SUPERBIA... but then again, paranoia caused a humongous problem for Hermes before he was bought here...]
How about we ask it and then decide whether or not to trust the information it tells us?
i.
( she doesn't care that the voice is seemingly coming from the great beyond; she's busy right now. clearly.
whatever they're in looks like a giant circuit board. it's pretty different from her Unit 02, but if she can find a way to interface with this thing, find a port, or an input, or a nerve link cable... she's tracing a giant one now, a tunnel large enough to drive through, with walls of copper. )
I don't need some little kid telling me what to do. I'm not here to be your supervisor!
BABY FIGHT ROUND 2
[He snaps back with an irritated huff, now notably only a few feet behind her. Wow, and after he was being so reasonable and well behaved, he told her to get somewhere safe and now she gets all mouthy at him. Stupid civilians.]
What are you even doing, just standing there staring at the wall? The technology isn't even from your planet.
[Not that that's stopped him trying to understand it either.]
🔔 DING DING DING 🔔
What do you know about my planet?
( he's right; this stuff isn't even remotely native to angels and EVAs, but asuka didn't graduate at the top of her class for nothing. she can gleen something from this technology... if she wasn't being tailed by some brat. )
If you're going to micromanage my every move, you could at least make yourself useful. Go. ( she points. ) Tell me if that side of the tunnel the positive or the ground. You can tell by which way the current is flowing. If it's the hot, I'm going to follow it. It'll take me to the source of whatever's being powered here.
Re: 🔔 DING DING DING 🔔
Tt. You have no authority over me, girl.
[He needs to make that clear real quick, but he does do what she says all the same, reaching a hand against the wires. Hmm. Sure enough...]
It's the hot. [Credit where credit is due...] You're not stupid, at least.
[Shame about everything else is what goes unsaid, because apparently he's playing nice today, it makes him feel superior. He unhooks a batarang from his belt, unfurls it to function as a throwing knife. It's not as if he has a large supply of the high tech ones, but he'll manage.] Come on, then.
no subject
( she's not going to fully acknowledge that backwards-ass compliment, but she does hear it. she recognizes that she's being recognized, even if it sounds like more of an insult than anything. no, she's not stupid. she's the smartest person she knows, and she doesn't have time for this! )
I don't remember asking you to come along. And what's with the stupid gadgets, anyway?
no subject
Also, I don't care whether you asked me or not. You're not my priority, finding answers and getting everyone out alive is. [At least he's not operating under the assumption that she can't take care of herself anymore, he thinks she can probably handle herself at least a little bit - though she's not going to assume anything about her combat prowess.
Her competence level in his mind has gone from "civilian" to "police officer". Or more commonly known as "Dead Weight" in his personal experience, though they have their uses.]
The "stupid gadgets" will come in handy, rest assured.
1
Yes. But she will still entertain Damian's suggestion for a second, before sending him a withering look. ]
Wait where? Can I expect you to ferry me out of this labyrinth once you've found a path?
[ Because she's really not about that life. Relying on other people is, at best, an unfortunate necessity, and as an alchemist she's all about that equivalent exchange, not charity.
Besides, she's busy trying to follow a pipe to its source, hoping it will lead her to the heart of the star they're in. Even if it's red hot and pumping... something probably dangerous to everyone. ]
III. The Shipyard
[Eddie is nineteen and he feels like maybe he shouldn't be so nervous talking to a younger vigilante, but it's always nerve-wracking to open yourself up to possible rejection.]
I'm Kid Devil. If we are from the same... general part of the multiverse, I just want you to know that I'll help you however I can.