(no subject)

[savmods]

Who: Everyone
When: July 1 and onward. See this post for info.
Where: Kauto + Chioni + Ingress Complex
Warnings: Potential violence. Please label warn-worthy content in your subject headers.

There's a burst of light in the sky when the Ingress breaks, a final flare followed by a shuddering that only those in the facility can feel. A flurry of panicked activity in the complex follows, ushering new arrivals to where they need to go in a hurry, with little time to give them the needed information, much less answer questions. The lights remain on, but dimmer now, life functions still operating but little else. On Kauto and Chioni below, the sky fades into an early twilight, followed by night, and day does not come again.

nerds save the world

Before the end of the day, all TABs receive an emergency broadcast notification outlining the situation. The speaker, a lead Savriite Ingress technician, does not invite panic but nor does he mince words. The Ingress is broken; their best efforts have failed to restore it. The time has come to turn to anyone who can help: scientists, engineers, those who have worked with advanced technology on any world. Formal qualifications don't matter when it could be the end of everything.

"Help us. Before it is too late."

Those who come will have the run of the complex and full access to the Ingress, as well as whatever tools are available and as much coffee as they can drink. People are encouraged to work in groups and share ideas, and a small number of young and nervous technical assistants will be on hand.

the land below

As Thisavrou is denied light and warmth, the weather becomes brisk and descends into bitter cold. Chioni is evacuated due to the effects on the already-harsh weather cycles there, although a skeleton crew of scientists remain behind. On Kauto, the arboreal Region Three and pastoral Region Two suffer the most from the temperatures and the snow that eventually begins to fall. Many crops are frozen over, and refugee citizens are driven from their homes to the Regions One and Five, where stored energy will keep dwellings warm. Save for those who choose to leave the underwater facilities, Region Four remains largely unchanged, but there are unverified accounts of strange aquatic animal behavior near the surface.

Overcrowding, limited supplies and a pervasive fear presents the opportunity for both heroism and foul deeds. Many come together to share resources, supplies and fellowship in what could be the end of worlds, while others take what they can from the unwilling or exploit the desperate. Sentient evacuees are followed by fauna from Region Three and unsettled lands beyond, in search of warmth or food or merely confused by the change in habitat. Some are unthreatening herbivores, while tanglesnakes and clownbees are more troublesome. Others are poisonous hunters, while still others are small, but dangerous when faced as a pack.

Just when all seems lost, light returns to the sky. The Ingress begins to function once more.

the coming days

As the temperatures rise, many demand answers, but most turn to the rebuilding of their lives first. Damage has been done that isn't so easily fixed, and even in the least-affected areas, remnants of the crisis show in the lack of fresh food, in the increased signs of criminal activity. Those who can help others through their own efforts of by organizing assistance are needed, but those with impure intentions are more likely to go unnoticed.

Eavesdropping on the streets may reveal a desire for vengeance. "Those intruders from last week. They're responsible for this, aren't they? What's being done?" But don't listen too closely, or a suspicious eye may be turned on you. "Aren't you one of the refugees from the Midway Hub? You should return to where you came from! All the trouble began when your people showed up!"

Life goes on. But life does not go on unchanged.

[quick ooc note: the Region 4 search & retrieval mission/RNG fight will be posted in a separate log.]

Comments

[seity]

[There's that 'sir'. It twists in his stomach again, stronger and sharper. Calla's other words, like 'reassignment', 'programmed', and 'localized', don't mean anything to him, so they float past him without much notice. He doesn't need to understand them to know what is going on. But before he can help Calla, Calla will have to help him.]

I am not a sir, I am not the one holding a leash and do what we like or it's the dungeons for you. We are the [stresses it] same.

[callamities]

[The agitation in the young man’s voice startles Calla and he looks like he’s about to apologize yet again, despite the fact that he barely knows what the other is talking about—when that last word suddenly processes.

Calla’s voice is tentative—and perhaps a little hopeful.]

Do you mean… Are you saying you’re a Created?

[seity]

Created?

[It makes something fizzle and spark in the back of his thoughts, a recognition of a word that he read somewhere recently but hadn't really paid attention to. A lot happened here; the information was overwhelming. In this world, he could know everything that was happening everywhere just by staring at the little screen given to him. It was like Leliana's crows, but instant, and with less feathers.]

No. I am, [well, he wasn't exactly human] I am a person. Like you. That is how we are the same.

[callamities]

[There’s a hint of puzzlement in the deferential smile that Calla returns. “Person” is too general to be meaningful. Certainly, it shouldn’t be enough for a Creator to label themselves the same. But there is no use arguing.] I suppose we are.

[He manages to bite the sir back this time. Perhaps the young man still doesn’t know what he is. It’s still no excuse to break protocol.]

If you don’t mind, may I ask how you prefer to be addressed?

[Since "sir" is apparently objectionable.]

[seity]

My name is Cole.

[He's glad the 'sirs' have stopped. The annoyance that had been snapping along his spine fizzles out, no longer fed, and he can turn his ear more to the strange song. It's difficult to understand, strange and alien and mechanical, puzzles pieces instead of strokes of paint. He thinks he can make out a thrum of fear— is that what that rapid pulse is— and it seems to have been repeating for a very long time.

Cole takes a step towards Calla, wanting to be nearer so that he could hear him better but also so he could speak softer.]

What is yours?

[callamities]

A pleasure to meet you, Cole. My name is Calla.

[The tempo of his sound evens out some now that the conversation is back in familiar territory. Still, Calla doesn’t miss that Cole is moving closer, nor does he fail to notice the focus in his expression. And after the past couple of months, Calla has learned to recognize when people are listening for something.]

I apologize for the noise, [Calla says, a touch hurriedly.] It’s just a minor audio glitch. [And because he’s already told one lie in the previous sentence:] It should be fixed soon.

[He can only hope that puts the Creator at ease—and that the sound doesn’t have the same unfortunate implications that it had on Earth.]