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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 |
no subject
I have a couple more bottles; you can have this one. It will help with the reflex. Please just take it, because if that is so then this will last you a while.
( But in the space of a bit of care and the relaxation of being away from the robots, he suddenly goes red in the face, and she tips her head with a quiet little quirk of her smile, as if to ask what's wrong. )
It's nice to meet you, Cyrus. And yes, I am. Last I recall, I'd been on a transport across the desert responding to a recent bombing in a small town, but somehow... ( She shakes her head, poof. Ended up here. ) ...I usually do have my work cut out for me, so I'm sure I'll adjust. Have you also just arrived?
no subject
[ At least his fit seems to be dying down now that he's actually relaxing and not hacking up a lung. Still there's a persistent cough that cuts through him every few minutes or so. He she tilts her head at the inquire to his reddens features he's just...going to ignore that. Totally not even going to get into the whole discussion over that! ]
Yeah just got here, which is pretty impressive, since I don't know where here is. I've traveled all over the universe and I can't make out where the hell this place even is. I've never seen star patterns like this before either...
[ He'll look up once more, robotic eye now whirling and flickering that bluish color again as he scans the sky with it. ] I know the universe is vast but this is- [ another cough as he covers his mouth. ] -it's just strange.
no subject
Eventually her touch along his back eases off as well, though he'll notice her brows pinch every time he coughs following with a little twitch of her fingers ready to set right back to rubbing. )
Oh? A space traveler? That is impressive; where I'm from, we've only barely explored Mars and attempted a beginning colony on the moon. I'm afraid I've only ever been able to pick out a few constellations myself, but it's a little disconcerting to hear that there's nothing familiar for anyone.
( The universe is vast indeed, but if the stars aren't even similar— it must mean they're in a different one entirely. A neighboring one, perhaps. She watches the flicker of blue in that cybernetic eye and looks back down to his arm, then back up. )
Are these prosthetics?
no subject
[ Perhaps it's a timeline divergence as well? His assumptions will be made clear depending on her answer. But it does seem like her Earth is still around.
Cyrus's prosthetic arm will twitch at the sudden scrutiny, both eyes looking away as he coughs again, taking a small swig of that water, before he clears his throat. It's obvious from his reactions that he's...got some hangups about them though stoic as he tries to be. ] Ah? Y-Yeah. Finest ones made on Palma...
no subject
( Or from the way he phrases his follow-up, maybe something more like a collection of... places? She's tipping her head inquisitively but the twitch of his arm and his avoidant gaze pulling away from her own says enough. Sensitive subject, then, but the water seems to help the next spasm that tries to lodge itself in his diaphragm.
So she already looks apologetic. )
I apologize, I shouldn't pry. They're beautifully-made; I work with them myself, so it was just professional curiosity. I'm always thankful when they seem to do others well.
no subject
[ Palma wasn't even the most impressive of the three but it's where he grew up and where he felt the most at home.
His expression looks...muted as she says those words. Beautifully made as they were, he hated them regardless. Having these things...never made his life easy, at least not when he was little, and not now either. He coughs again before he looks back at her. ]
Yeah? What kinds of work have you done with them then?
no subject
( Her marvel would remain about the same whether it was the size of Mars or the size of Pluto, or some smattering of little moons about Jupiter— but it gave her a visual in her mind. When she compliments the prosthetics, however, she sees his expression withdraw further. She won't apologize again, but when he looks back to her, he can likely see that she wants to in the pinch of her brows.
Yet he continues the conversation. She only hesitates for a moment before tentatively beginning to answer. )
I only truly started to dabble a bit over ten years ago. A patient was brought in in dire condition; I worked alongside a famous engineer to replace three of his limbs and synthetically support or replace a number of his organs. Most of my work was with him, for a good few years. But since then, I have provided a number of cybernetics for various organs and body parts to those requiring them. Eyes, hearts, kidneys, even ears. Limbs were fairly straightforward compared to the more delicate, smaller replacements.
I suppose everyone feels differently about them, on either the giving or receiving side, but... allowing someone to continue to function in a way they otherwise wouldn't have been able to is the best I can hope for. And I can only hope it improves the quality of the rest of their lives, as close to intended as can be.
no subject
[ He doesn't mean to be withdrawn when it comes to them, but it's obvious that there's a lot more going on with them then he's letting on. ]
That's pretty advanced work, especially for Earth, though I'm guessing you're from a time period when Earth was hitting it's technological advancement age...
[ It's way before when Cyrus gets there...millions of years after the fact. But he saw what they were capable of, humans, and it was pretty good stuff. ] I'm sure that the patient you helped is putting them to good use. Even if it's just...living day by day.
no subject
Is it as beautiful? More? And you may be right. I'm from 2076— we have hover tech, and sentient artificial intelligence. The cybernetics are a plus as well, of course.
( Her smile gets a little wistful for his reply, gaze distant for a few moments. )
Living day by day comfortably is all I could ever ask of them. Is that not true for you?
no subject
Ah, well, it's...different than what you're probably used to. Humanity was...wiped out? I mean we saved most of them, on the Palma well before I was born, but the planet itself when I went there was abandoned. [ He might tap his robotic hand against his thigh as he thinks. ]
For me in my galaxy it's the year 30039. But for Earth in the Milky Way it's around...300 million years? Something like that. The Sun still exists, so you know it's not over 6 billion at least.
[ He'll cough again as that question passes her lips. His metallic arm clenches into a fist for a moment, before he coughs again as lets out a sigh. ] Yeah. I guess without these things I wouldn't have been able to protect people, or become a soulist.
[ But was it worth all the torment and treatment he received? Probably not, still, he hadn't turned out too bad given his situation. ]
no subject
I see. I suppose that is about to be expected; we could only reverse so much damage even by my time, some century after the worst of it had occurred. Nuclear failures, oil spills, fossil fuels and its waste, microplastics in the environment— people did what they could, but even the newer technology took time to research and find its impact on the world. I'm glad to hear they were saved, however. If not the planet itself.
( Still, hearing there's such an incredible span of time between them without seeing considerable signs of evolution is... inherently interesting. 300 million years? AD? Must be, seeing as the Earth was already 4.5 billion years old by her time. Quite a long time from her when. She doesn't remark on it much further, deep in thought on the comparisons until he's answering her next question, hand resting against his back for a few more soothing circles. Keep those coughs at bay. )
I'm glad for that, at least. But I take it not all of your experiences have been positive?
no subject
That's why I...became one a soulist. To stop things like that from happening. It's not anything humanity did but a disease from something else. [ He frowns as he looks back at her and then back at his arm. There's a...distant but pained expression on his features for a brief second before it's gone. ]
What gave it away? [ He lets out a laugh as he shifts in his seat flexing his metallic fingers. ] But it was a long time ago, so it doesn't bother me as much anymore.
[ That's a big ol' lie but he's not about to spill his guts to a complete stranger. ] But, um, thanks for...helping me out. I appreciate it.
no subject
( She may not be able to glue herself to his side to soothe that poor diaphragm from how hard it's working to make him cough, but she seems quite insistent on keeping it up while she's here. She doesn't stop. She'll have to find him something to help numb his throat, and maybe a mild muscle relaxant...
Her thoughts stray, if only for a few moments, before returning to his expression and response. She doesn't quite answer the rhetorical question— she only gives him an apologetic smile that conveys enough understanding and acknowledges his general skittishness surrounding the limbs. When he flexes those metal fingers between them, she reaches over to cover them with her other hand, if only for a moment. She offers him a gentle squeeze. )
It's all right if it still bothers you. If you ever wish to speak about it, please let me know; we can poke at it. Another time, of course. But you're very welcome. Did you ever find a place to settle, here?
no subject
Collect souls of course. But it's not the traditional sense of the word. Souls are like...manifestations of an idea, thought, or word. They exist on every planet and soulist like me...consume them to gain their powers.
[ Another cough as he clears his throat. ] Like fire souls allow you to withstand heat or control fire and manifest it even in airless vacuums like space. [ It's weird to hear, probably, but she seems pretty okay with a lot of weird shit he guesses?! ]
If you mean one of those run down apartments, then yeah. There's plenty to choose from at least.