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doubled down
"I used to live in a room of mirrors, and all I could see was me..."
The Ingress has pulled you in. Your body experiences several sensations at once: being pushed forward as if a hand is resting on your back, momentary and startling blindness, a gentle ringing in your head. You have difficulty discerning whether it is hot or cold, but where you have been prodded is noticeably warmer than the rest of you. Some may suffer from dizziness while others are perfectly fine. Once equilibrium has been reestablished, you will notice you are standing on a long platform and that the room is filled with a soft cerulean light. It's slightly humid and dark despite the glow around you, and nothing is familiar.
Those that arrive will find they have a very short amount of time to actually adjust to time on the Moira before the ship is preparing to enter the orbit of a nearby planet. Shifts in gravity are normal, but for the most part, things carry on as usual.
WELCOME TO EMIRI
Despite recent events, it seems things are slowly coming to a standstill. As the Moira comes closer to this new planet, the Captains relay a message to the crew informing them that they are required to dock and stay on Emiri for an indeterminate amount of time due to the nature of its most prized resource: matchmaking. Although it is universally known by many other names, Emiri is a central hub for pairing others with their true intended—or second self. Each crew member will be asked to participate in a series of MANDATORY tests - both physical and mental - so that their profile may be uploaded into an efficient database before being allowed to explore what Emiri has to offer. Curious about the process? Don't be! Side effects to these simple tests are rare, and while some of them may be lengthy, the majority of them are timely, efficient, and short.
However, the company responsible for this modern miracle is well-known, especially throughout Emiri, and each Morian should verse themselves as to exactly who they are and what they do.LINK'D INC.
The Art of Once
Link’d Inc. knows that finding your second self isn’t easy, so we take the guesswork out of it for you. If you’re looking for love, a perfect genetic match, a person to help you build an empire, or something more, you’ve come to the right place. Link’d Inc. runs mental and physical screenings and performs a background analysis--all at your discretion. Immediate customization of a detailed profile is ready for you in seconds.
This profile is then calibrated into our system and cross-examined with over 99.9 billion others. We’ll find you your second self, the perfect counterpart, the very first try. It’s the chance of a lifetime. It’s the life you deserve. It’s... The Art of Once.These are some of the many different sorts of advertisements found throughout Emiri describing the corporation responsible for this advanced science. Its founder, Frederick Link, is not easily contacted, but there is some information available about him. Anyone that asks will be told bits and pieces of the following: Frederick Link searched the universes for his perfect match, only to be met with disappointment and loneliness. A businessman at heart, but a romantic to his very core, Link decided to take that perceived failure and channel it into a company that could provide others with the very thing he longed for: the perfect second self. Two years into development, during a trial run, Link was matched with a woman from a neighboring galaxy, and they’ve been together ever since. A prosperous thirty year relationship shows that the methods of Link’d Inc. can provide a person with love, romance, a business and life partner, or anything else that one might need. Whether they hear all of it is determined by how much the crew explores the vast cities of Emiri, which are connected to one another by a railway system that makes travel quick and simple. There are also numerous other modes of transportation that range from cars and trucks to boats and bicycles.HARASHANCommercial & Professional
Map of HarashanPopulation: ~ 7.28 million
Major Landmark: The Aerospace
Literacy Rate: 95%
Harashan is the main district for education and learning. There are countless programs and schools offered to those of varying races and ethnicities throughout the galaxy. Want to learn another language? Perhaps brush up on some of the arts that were never quite mastered? This is the place to perfect things that need a bit of fine tuning. It is also the main business capital and transportation hub of Emiri—the aerospace is located centrally, a busy place that monitors the comings and goings of every ship. The Link'd Inc. corporate office can be found here, as well as its chains and subsidiaries (i.e., screening facilities and health services). Their motto is: Finding your second is a business strategy. Get it right the first time.☄ DATING 101: Someone thinks you need a little more education before meeting your one and only because you're now being forced to attend reform school. Ettiquette, dining, dancing, and more, there are countless lessons you'll be taught and tested over through the course of your stay on Emiri. Perhaps you won't be so unlucky and have someone to share in the experience. ( 01.01 - 01.17 ) ☄ BOARDED UP: Crew members located in this city will be passed a flier by an unrecognizable stranger who is immediately swallowed up in the crowd of Harashan; being able to follow them will be impossible. Yet, the thin paper has nothing on it but a specific address. Asking some of the locals eventually leads to an abandoned station on the outskirts of the city in the opposite direction of the Aerospace. It's dirty and falling apart, like the residents of Emiri have completely ignored its existence. There are also signs of a struggle in random areas throughout—black scorch marks, bullet holes, and dried blood stains. Yet, the most noticeable feature is the single flag tacked onto a wall just down a flight of steps that leads to a closed subway system bearing an unfamiliar symbol. What happened here? Why won't anyone know what you're talking about if you question them? Something seems to be brewing beneath the business-driven energy of Harashan. ( 01.18 )
AvelleRomance & Love
Map of AvellePopulation: ~ 2.1 million
Major Landmark: Wem-Run River
Crime Rate: 15%
Avelle is Emiri's second largest city and is centered around those individuals looking for their second based on love compatibility versus the "entire package". However, it differs from Harashan due to its increase in families rather than individuals and is more suburban in its layout. While it does have schools and general places as Harashan does, its most noted feature is the Wem-Run River, which courses through the center of the city. Much of Avelle's energy and livelihood is generated by this natural formation, but the water is not drinkable. Their motto is: Finding your second is finding your soulmate. The first time is the only time.☄ FAMILY MATTERS: Congratulations! You've been given the keys to a new place of your very own, completely furnished and with no strings attached. But there's always a catch, right? Well. It's the starting foundation of your new life with your second—regardless of whether or not you've met. So, get settled and get comfortable. You have a while to figure out what you're going to do. ( 01.01 - 01.17 )
☄ BOMBS AWAY: Crew members located in this city will suddenly feel the slightest tremor shake the ground. Depending on how close you are to the Wem-Run River, it might be possible to see the remains of a burning ship. You might even notice the few figures in the water who are immediately swept up by - what appear to be - the authorities of Avelle. If you're further from the water, there will be thick black smoke pouring into the air, and as the crowd begins to grow larger, it's almost impossible to see what happens across the river. Yet, some of the debris will wash ashore eventually, and pieces of the boat will bear an unfamiliar symbol. What happened here? Why won't anyone know what you're talking about if you question them? Why do they whisper Komai? Something seems to be brewing beneath the light-hearted energy of Avelle. ( 01.18 )
St. MurtelGenetic & Biological
Map of St. MurtelPopulation: ~ 867,000
Major Landmark: Link'd Inc. Gen-Lab
Success Rate: ERROR
Unlike other cities across Emiri, St. Murtel's access is extremely limited and monitored closely. It is the center of medicial-related queries as well as laboratories and other screening facilities. Physical and mental conditioning and other educations are held in the pristine buildings of St. Murtel due to its heavy focus on pairing people from a genetic level to "create a better future". The streets are clean despite the vast highways that runs either side of the center of the city. Settled between these busy roads is the Link'd Inc. Gen-Lab. Their motto is: Finding your second is for the future. A perfect legacy is only born once.
☄ INFANT POSSIBILITIES: The future is closer than you think! With help from several Link'd Inc. sources, you can now know what your offspring will look like. Accessing the system is easy, and all candidates who have been logged through Link'd Inc.'s matching process will be available to view by anyone. Not the most precious thing you've ever seen? Don't worry! There are even programs that assist with altering what those genes may produce so that you can have exactly what you've always wanted. ( 01.01 - 01.17 )
☄ CUFFED: Crew members located in this city will notice an unrest arising within the people slowly gathering outside the Link'd Inc. Gen-Lab. Upon closer inspection, it seems the authorities have been contacted due to some sort of threat, and if you look even closer, that "threat" is a person being arrested and detained for questioning. What might strike you as odd is the an unfamiliar symbol inked into the back of their jacket and the shout the stranger gets out before being shoved into a locked vehicle. "The Komai won't stop until it's over!" What's happened here? Why won't anyone know what you're talking about if you question them? Who was that person and what did they mean? Something seems to be brewing beneath the strict energy of St. Murtel. ( 01.18 )
( ooc; For questions or more planet information, go here. Please comment to activity check to receive new ranks (if applicable)! )
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hownkai) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
thisavrou_log2016-01-01 12:09 am
Harashan; Dating 101
Sneaking out under false pretences ('women's troubles', never failed), she quickly moved through the halls, looking for one of the more interesting lessons to infiltrate. And ran smack into one of her shipmates.] Oh, I am so very sorry!
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If anything, it only makes Bruce even more averse to the whole idea.
He has a moment of worry when he thinks she's one of the natives, but soon he spots the MID on her arm and he breathes out, smiling in relief. ] No, it's alright. I wasn't looking where I was going. [ He lifts up his own arm with the MID on it. ] You're from the Moira too.
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[Flashing a brace, she grinned at him.] Jacky Faber, at your service! Formerly of Boston, America, but I been stationed on this bark three months or so. [She bites off the rank; it's surprisingly very hard to be in her lieutenants rig and not claim the rank, but she's adjusting. Sort of.]
What class you sneaking out of? [She's making an assumption, here, but she didn't think she was too wrong. He looked a little hunted around the eyes, and she empathised. A lot.]
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[ Of course, that left the question as to whether or not she'd recognize his name, and if this was going to be another of those complicated conversations after what had happened on the last planet. But Bruce had decided to own up to that and he would keep doing so. If she wanted to ask any questions about it, he would do his best to answer them - he certainly wasn't going to lie about his name. ]
I'm Bruce Banner. [ He glanced over his shoulder, just making sure no one was onto him. Either of them, really. ] Dancing class. I've got two left feet, so that wasn't going well for me.
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Ah, that was actually the class I was trying to find! Me, I'm ditching 'conversation'; I think I already know how to talk to folks.
[Although, the last two dances the class had tried to teach her were either baffling or boring to the extreme. Eyeing her crewmate, she decided that if she had a lead on something more fun, she was in.] Where were you headed?
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[ All these classes seem like a weird mix between etiquette, dating tips, thrown in with some magazine advice column on how to land the person of their dreams. It's just all so... forced. He doesn't expect any of the other crewmates to actually be into this kind of thing either. ]
Out of here, actually. I'd rather just go for a walk around the city.
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Care for some company? I think I'm feeling a mite bit stifled in here myself.
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Do you know the quickest way out of here?
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[It weren't too difficult to get outside, even while dodging the staff that seemed to be lazily roaming the halls. Two lefts, a right, down a flight of stairs, through the curiously wide basement tunnels, up another half flight, and they were at one of the side doors that from what Jacky had seen seemed to be used as an outdoor smoking room. Coming to a stop, she spun and gave her best 'curtsy without a skirt'.]
Tadaaa! Fresh air at last!
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Bruce took note of everything he saw on their way, some of it normal, some details a little more intriguing, until finally they were both stepping outside. He smiled at the curtsy, tipping his head a little in a small mimic of a bow. ]
Impressive, how you managed to get around in there.
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Where in particular were you thinking of heading, now that you're free? Done much exploring, yet?
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I haven't gotten to look around the city much yet. I'd just arrived when... well, this. [ Kind of roped into these classes, basically. ] So, anywhere? I was hoping to take some pictures of landmarks and the like.
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There's a nice bit of green alongside the river, and some nice bridges. Lucky you, the light here's right prime! [A pause.] ...Though I guess that doesn't matter much, with these cuffs, yeah? Sorry, m'still used to the only pictures being done by hand.
[She laughed, a little embarrassed. She couldn't stop dating herself, could she?]
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[ The thought is amusing, though. Bruce would fail miserably at trying to actually draw or paint anything. ]
But yes, that sounds like a nice spot. [ He gestures vaguely ahead. ] Lead the way.
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'Photographs', you say? [She thought hard.] Light writing? Light records? Is that right? Sorry, my greek isn't all that great; was always better at latin.
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[ If any at all - it was a little difficult to tell, at times. ]
Of a sort, yes. Images made with light. More or less. [ He tilted his head. ] You haven't seen one yet?
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[She shook her head.] No, not yet. I've seen the 'video' messages on the cuff, but nothing like a still image. [She eyed her cuff.] Can these take 'photographs'?
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The bit about recordings, mementos, that hit close to home - harder to let go and move on. She was right there. And yet... would he really prefer to not have recorded memories at all? No. It didn't mean he hadn't let go, though. He just liked to keep the memory of some people more alive. ]
Then I see how all this must be so strange for you. [ He'd expect more shock and awe, but then she might have had days to adjust, if not longer. ]
Yes, they can. It's not exactly the same as the original photographs. You see, the name comes from a process through which you expose a film with a light sensitive chemical to a certain image for a very brief period of time. Because light reflects on surfaces and people in different ways, it also passes onto the film with those variations, and once you process the film, you get the picture of the scene captured there. These, though-- [ He lifted his arm and gestured at his MID device. ] They use a digital process. It's just a machine that captures the image, there's no film or paper or any actual physical material on which the image is engraved. Does that... make sense?
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Eh, I'm getting me future legs under me, I guess. [She sighed.] Or at least, I hope I am. M'sure Ratchet don't think so; he's the one who has to walk me through 'programs' [She did actual air quotes there, something she picked up and loved] when he's stuck in Nav when I'm in the Nest. But even for me, after three months some of the weirder things can seem mundane. Like, at the bar, I've this 'electric' kettle for tea. It boils water in minutes. I have no idea how I'm going to live without one when I go back, they're amazing. Also, y'know, one of me good mates on board is a talking yellow-orange cat man, so. What can be weirder than that??
[As Bruce explained to her the process, she listened closely. That sounded right fascinating.] Aye, it does! Cor, that's amazing! Oh, I hope they figure that out during my life time; I'm a fair decent miniature painter, good at painting squirming babies, but even I cain't work miracles.
[Excited, she began to poke and prod at the options in the cuff. And promptly blinded herself with the flash.] Bloody hell!
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You seem to be doing alright so far.
[ With a lot of doubts, a lot of questions, but then, that was how people learned new things. She seemed open-minded, not really the kind to panic and call everything new and unknown to her some devil's work or a thing possessed by demons. Which may be an unfair generalization on his end, but it's what he would have expected from someone coming from her time. ]
I'm sorry to tell you that electric kettles are a very recent invention, so you probably won't see any in your lifetime. [ Unless she wasn't human and would live longer than one, but he was guessing that wasn't the case here. ] You should get the first attempts at photography, though. Around 1825, I think? Nothing like what you'll see here, but it was a pretty amazing achievement back then.
[ He leaned in and watched her fiddle with her MID, the flash making him flinch a little too, then he chuckled. ] Wait, flip the camera around. [ He reached for her cuff and changed the settings, then gestured in front of her. ] Try to take a picture of the landscape now.
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Boy, am I glad to hear it!
[Throwing her head back, she laughed again, light and free. She wasn't often self concious any more, but being in the future was knocking her. In a lot of ways, it was like being in Rangoon; then, she'd just gotten angry, but she'd had her Ravi to look after, and between the two of them their smarts kept them going. Here? Alone? It was hard to not let it get to her.]
I had a feeling about the kettle; not sure when anyone's going to harness electricity, but if Mister Franklin couldn't quite do it, I'm sure it's a far way off. Cor, though, I hope you're right about the photography! I will drag all me and mine down and take a hundred pictures. They'd be perfect heirlooms for our grandkids! [Even if trying to convince Amy to do it (with or without Ezra) would be like trying to herd cats, it would be worth it.]
[Watching him closely, she committed the buttons he pressed to memory. Later, she was definitely going to play around with it further. Looking around, she eyed a fascinating little metal arch covered in lights and took a picture.]
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Benjamin Franklin? Well, he did make some progress in that area. But it was only closer to the late 19th century that electricity became a more widespread necessity, safely harnessed and used even by the average citizen. [ The average very rich citizen, mind. But details. ]
The first cameras were pretty heavy. But you should see a number of new models popping up in your lifetime. So maybe you'll get that chance. [ He figured they were rare and expensive then, but he didn't have enough knowledge to say for sure. Regardless, it was a nice sentiment.
He leaned in again to take a look at her picture once she snapped it, nodding at her with a smile. ] That's nice, isn't it?
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[Focussing on her cuff, she frowned as she tried to figure out the settings.] Aye, but it's not as clear as I might've hoped, and I got the composition all wrong. Still, every artist has to start somewhere! And these cuffs are a lot more forgiving than oil paints.
[Glancing up, she recognised the cross street they were at and guided Bruce down towards the right. Hopping down the open concrete steps, she turned and bowed.] Et voila! The park, just as promised!
[Looking out over the green and the river, Jacky breathed in deep. There was nothing like a bit of shore leave to make a sailor feel good!]
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[ Merely an observation, much more of a compliment than anything else. It was nice to be with people this cheerful and energetic, and it did good things for him too. ]
You'll get the hang of it in no time. [ It was a bit of an impulsive picture, and for a first try when she had no experience with any kind of camera, not a bad one at all.
He looked around as they got to the park, enjoying the clear open view there, lifting his own MID up to snap a couple of pictures of the area. ] Strange culture aside, it's a very pretty place.
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Ah, well, that's just me! It's just my way, to try and enjoy the finer things in life.
[Ignoring the times The Black Cloud rolled over...
Smiling, she looked around, taking in the artful sprawls of green.] That it is. I'll be honest with you, Bruce, I still think Rangoon was stranger.
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