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Entry tags:
TDM 002
| TDM 002: IF FOUND PLEASE RETURN TO |
( 1 ) Around mid-morning, a message from the Augur appears on bracelets all across the city. "New organisms discovered. Domestication in progress."  The wark of a chocobo rises up from the outskirts of the city. Several more join in, forming a charming chorus. And, strangely, this is when new arrivals begin to show up. Beamed in one at a time, scanned en masse, they are processed just as the first wave was. There's one major difference: whereas the old guard was given their bracelets and ushered into the City, the new folks are also given... collars. Buckled, snapped, or otherwise fastened around their necks, a variety of colorful collars with some rather unusual novelty pet tags. (These are just a few suggestions. The typical “If found, please return to ____” is also very much acceptable.)  "You are new organisms. Domestication in progress. Compatible Eros energy will complete domestication." No matter how hard they try, characters cannot take the collars off by themselves. They need a partner's help - but not just anyone will do. It very well might be the first person they find, or it might take several tries. The robots grow bolder as the day grows on, targeting characters who aren't new, as well. "Y̶o̶u̴ ̸a̷r̸e̷ ̵o̵r̵g̶a̴n̷i̷s̶m̸s̶.̶ ̶D̷o̶m̴e̴s̶t̶i̶c̵a̸t̶i̸o̴n̸ ̷i̵n̸ ̴p̸r̶o̵g̷r̵e̷s̵s̷." Their antics die down by nightfall, but for the next day or two, the occasional malfunctioning 'bot may accost someone in the street, so stay on your toes!  ( 2 ) An abandoned racetrack lights up the night. That's right: place your bets, folks, because these birds are about to run around a track while robots sell synthetic, overpriced aphro-popcorn. ...Did you say priced? That’s right! If you participated in the orgy earlier this month, you'll find you have a stash of credits accessible in your app. You've fucked money back into the world, so why not waste it? (Opportunities to earn credits will come up periodically and won't always be sexual in nature, so don't worry if your character wouldn't have any yet.) And if you don't have credits to bet with, why not get creative? N A V I G A T I O N |
1
If I knew, I wouldn't be wearing one.
[ He doesn't bother to gesture to his own collar - the girl seems to have functional eyes. She can look for herself. Besides that, he is neither aware that the collar is engraved with anything, nor does he care. It doesn't make much immediate difference to the reality of the situation.
And at this point, Heero typically would have walked away and been done with this exchange - except Juniper looks so terribly uncomfortable. Frightened, even.
He turns to her, though his expression doesn't soften one bit. ]
They don't loosen by normal means. Have you tried anything?
no subject
O-Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't realize... [She was so focused on herself, she didn't even think to look if the person she was talking to was in the same predicament as she was.
She sees the engraving on his collar, but he looks really scary with that expression... she decides not to comment. But he hasn't walked away yet, either. With what resolve she can muster, she tries to answer without looking like she's going to burst into tears at any moment.]
I-I've tried feeling around for a latch, or anything that might open it up... but the only thing I can think of is what they said when they got me and put that on me... and I don't know what they mean by 'Eros energy.' H-Have they told you anything...?
no subject
Affirmative.
[ He lets go of a breath, not quite a sigh. ]
Eros energy. The energy generated by intimate acts between organic beings, which is required to revitalize this world.
[ He may as well be reciting a spiel from one of the AIs, right down to their robotic, monotone inflection - in fact, that's exactly what Heero is doing, because what that actually entails is completely beyond him. If this girl happens to have any bright ideas, that would actually help him out a great deal? He pauses a moment, uncertain, because he still isn't accustomed to admitting when he needs help.
It comes out like this: ]
...have you tried that?
no subject
I.... n-no, I haven't... I didn't think that would be the key to the energy they want.
[There's a long, long pause. So that's what they need? And they're willing to ask this of people just arriving here, with no explanation... either they're brazen or desperate.]
They... they expect complete strangers to just... complete these acts to create the energy that they need? Why us? Are there no other organic people here than those they've brought here? Is everyone else a... a robot?
[The way Heero was talking, she would almost think that he, too, was somewhat robotic. But he seemed as human as she was, so... she takes a deep breath or two, stifling the coughing fit she knows is coming, that she's surprised she's kept at bay until now...]
I don't know h-how 'intimate' they mean... but perhaps physical touch is the core of it. Maybe... even something as small as a hug could create that energy. But it might not be enough...
no subject
That's my concern. Intimacy is subjective.
[ Heero, for example, would consider even a handshake with a stranger an act of intimacy that he would prefer to avoid. In the climate he'd come from, the fewer people who interacted with him enough to remember his face, the better.
She suggested a hug. Heero considered this, almost relieved that it was something within his scope of experience. He'd been hugged before. He was severely concussed and barely conscious at the time, but nevertheless it was a hug. Now, upon some reflection, he didn't find it the idea of hugging a stranger any more objectionable than a handshake. ]
Perhaps. Do you want to hug?
[ Fortunately, Heero had the foresight to ask before acting. Her voice sounded weaker than before, thanks to the coughing fits. He didn't think she looked ill, but it did give him some caution. ]