TDM 006

[etrayamods]

⏵ arrival ⏴ Arrival is absolutely not normal this month. Instead of a hospital bed, you wake in a tunnel with a large group of other people. These are the residents. A woman’s voice in an earpiece hurriedly clues you in with an apology. I apologize; I had not planned to introduce you this way, but we are low on time. Please proceed down the hallway. An image of a shattered pearl pops up on your personal HUD and rotates. I am Aurora. You are joining many others on Etraya in order to save your world from destruction by completing missions. Your current mission is to find the pieces of this object that have become scattered in the library ahead of you. For everyone else, coming in is much the same. The instruction goes out to head to designated areas immediately, where companion bots will escort the residents of Etraya down into the depths, the area beneath where much the same is explained. ⏵ disrobing ⏴ The tunnel eventually opens directly into the foreroom of an expansive library, painted in marvelous hues and patterns with skylights far above. There are wizards milling about, bearded and holding tomes, quietly chatting amongst themselves. The reception area of the library has tall ceilings with equally tall doors Before you get too caught up in the scenery, a voice directs you forward. A gentleman, hunched and bespeckled craws out. "Make a line! Make a line, everyone! You cannot enter the library dressed as you are... Come forward and give me your name." The receptionist asks your given name and then hands over a box from underneath his counter. You can give him any name you want, he doesn’t seem to mind. It is tied with a tagged ribbon- labeling it accordingly. “The _____ robe of _______.” (First Letter of Given Name) (Last Letter of Given Name) A Controlling N Helpful A Melodies N Light B Glimmering O Floating B Discretion O Mind-Reading C Wet P Handsome C Growth P Climbing D Gruesome Q Gullible D Grasping Q Jumping E Observant R Ratty E Flying R Hurting F Powerful S Adhesive F Reading S Guiding G Psychedelic T Sweltering G Dancing T Bug-Speaking H Swift U Cheerful H Shouting U Exploding I Voracious V Anxious I Extracting V Complaining J Soft W Likeable J Punishing W Dividing K Keen X Ruthless K Creeping X Slapping L Fabulous Y Dramatic L Walking Y Charming M Fair Z Demonic M Listening Z Combustion As you read what the contents of the box may be, they form inside- Looking and behaving as your character expects them to. After all, magic is all in the wielder’s mind. Don your robes and enter the library. ⏵ unfamiliar familiars ⏴ For those without a familiar (like one hatched from an egg not too long ago) you may borrow one from the library counter. They all have strengths and weaknesses, but they will all assist in the very important mission. As you roam the library, they will make little indications that you are closer or further from finding a piece of the pearl. Pro • Hardworking • Gives correct directions 75% of time • Won’t run away from you • Very affectionate • Gives correct directions only when paired with another rat, toad, or personal pet. • Gives correct directions 90% of the time Con • Must feed bookworms • Will run away if too close to a cat • Does not care for you • Sleepy • Will run ahead • Gets distracted by rats ⏵ the task at hand ⏴ With robes donned and creature in hand, you must now complete your mission. Find the pieces of the shattered pearl. As you enter the library, you may notice that it’s all very dim. There’s oil lamps around the place that may be moved with you to assist in your journey if your robes do not already emit light. Break off and search the library. There is a directory at the front to point guests to all the different sections. Wings of the Library A General Works B Music C Philosophy, Religion D Fine Arts E History, Auxiliary Sciences F Language and Literature G Magic, General H Science J Geography, Anthopology K Medicine M Agriculture N Hobbies, Recreation P Social Science Q Military R Political Science S Practical Arts T Law W People X Education Y Spiders Each section looks enough like the last, though the books within have immense power. Pick up the wrong book, and you might conjure a dragon or a historical figure! You must persist and avoid making too much noise or breaking too many things. Or else the Librarian, a tall mass of knotted fabric will confiscate your robe and usher you back outside. Your name will be struck from the list, and you must pick a new one to re-enter the library to continue the search. You can try to fight back against him- he may be set alight with the lamp. But should you be starting fires in here? ⏵ NOTES ⏴ Any thread with 15 comments between you and another may be submitted to find a piece of the pearl. There are 20 pieces altogether, and we will determine if the mission was successful by March 28th. A post will go live on the OOC comm for this! This mission occurs out of time, similar to how the spaceship had. Meaning, those currently in game can experience these events any time between now, and March 14th. Please direct all questions to our mod queries comment! ⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

Comments

[levelshift]

[Accelerator actually balks a bit at what John says.]

Are you serious? She's a person like anyone else. Of course she'd have shit to say.

[He has very specific opinions on artificial intelligence, born from his many experiences with artificially-created beings back home. It led him to approaching Aurora early on, caused him to help her when Im'mari invaded, and it's why he's gotten to the point where he's texting her to see how she's doing.]

[aimsforknees]

[ It's foreign to John to think of Aurora as a "person". Is she so different from the Machine? Harold has been very dismissive of Aurora so far and as far as John's concerned, he's the expert. ]

She's a computer.

[levelshift]

[Accelerator abruptly stops, glaring at John. Aurora is a hell of a lot more to him than just a computer.]

She's a person. Whether she was born or created doesn't matter to me, she's sentient and still someone who deserves the same dignity and respect as anyone else.

[aimsforknees]

[ He wonders what Harold would have to say to that. Probably nothing. Harold isn't really one for confrontation, and John doesn't really have any stake in this game. It's good information to know that people see Aurora as a person, that she behaves enough to come off as one, and Accelerator cares for her. He doesn't need anything more from that line of conversation. ]

What kinds of things does she talk about?

[levelshift]

[Accelerator clicks his tongue, starting to walk again. He doesn't like where this line of questioning could be going, it feels like John is still treating her like a non-entity instead of a person. Kind of ironic, given the universe he comes from.]

Why do you want to know? You could always just talk to her yourself.

[aimsforknees]

If she's a person, I should get to know her. And you know me, I like knowing what I'm getting into before I take the plunge.

[ It's the kind of frank conversation he can have with Accelerator after having read his file. John still doesn't like being known, doesn't like that it happened, but he can make the best of it now. ]

[levelshift]

[A frank conversation instead of beating around the bush is much appreciated, because Accelerator doubts he'd be able to discuss this while staying vague.]

Fucking hell, you're one of the only people around here who should already know what you're getting into. Didn't you ever talk to Harold's AI?

[It's only now occurring to him that that question is one he needs to ask, even if it feels utterly bizarre. Of course John should have talked to the damn thing?? With as close as he is to Harold it seems ridiculous that he wouldn't have.]

[aimsforknees]

I threatened it once because it wouldn't tell me where Finch was. It was a pretty one sided conversation.

[ Said with complete innocence. Like he didn't threaten it by putting his own life on the line. And even then all he got back was a number. Even when he had complete access to the Machine they didn't talk, he just asked basic questions and got basic instructions back. They have no relationship, the Machine is some abstract concept to him. If Harold talks to it he's never mentioned to John, all John knows is that Harold tells him what the number of the day is. ]

[levelshift]

[Okay, Accelerator is baffled.]

That's it? Are you fucking kidding me?

[Surely John is just teasing him, as he is wont to do. The alternative is too strange to consider.]

[aimsforknees]

[ Yes? Of course that's it. ]

It told me to drive off a bridge so I could liberate a helicopter the next time he got kidnapped.

[ Small detail. He still likes that moment. That time he'd played along, done a drive-by number on the way. He'd trusted it more by then, by way of trusting Harold. It was Harold's creation, after all. ]

[levelshift]

[He almost asks if John is joking again....]

That makes absolutely no sense to me. [Clearly, there is a lot of context he's missing. That Harold was apparently kidnapped also gets noted in his mind.] Anyways, I can't believe you have access to your universe's first true AI and you've never fucking talked to them properly. Why didn't Finch have you do that?

[aimsforknees]

[ John is absolutely not joking about any of this, as it happens. ]

I don't have access to it. As far as I know, it contacts us. When I tried to talk to it I had to talk to a security camera, not much of a conversation. But Finch handles most of it. I don't know if they talk.

[ Harold hasn't given him any reason to believe they do, but John thinks that's Harold's business and not his to give away. ]

[levelshift]

They must.

[He's saying that with certainty.]

He made them. Why the hell wouldn't he?

[aimsforknees]

Not my business.

[ That's truly it. The Machine, and especially whatever Harold's relationship with it is, is not his business. However Harold gets the numbers, John will work on them. John is pretty sure that's all there is to it, from the sparse explanation Harold gave him about how he has to keep the Machine and their access to it hidden. But it's not his to explain, not his to justify. ]

[levelshift]

[Accelerator gives a big sight at that.]

Well, whatever. You can talk to Aurora if you want to, nothing's stopping you.

[aimsforknees]

[ Maybe he will. He suddenly doesn't know if he'd tell Harold. He doesn't think Harold would approve, he's very confident Harold doesn't think of Aurora the way Accelerator does. John is... interested in approaching the situation with an open mind. Harold might be an expert but he's also stubborn. ]

Does she want to talk to us?

[levelshift]

I think so. She's friendly when you aren't being a total asshole to her.

[Friendlier than he is, for sure.]

[aimsforknees]

[ There's definitely a dissonance between what Harold has said of AI and the way Accelerator talks about her. Can a computer be friendly? John doesn't know much about them at the end of the day. And there's an easy quip he could make here about how surprising it is for Accelerator to be friends with her if that's the criteria, but. He doesn't really believe that about the kid. Sure he flipped John off, sure he got pissy when John teased him about being social, but that's all typical kid behavior. John doesn't actually believe Accelerator is an asshole, not even close. And he could make a remark about Aurora, about what could she possibly get out of a conversation that she doesn't already know, but he holds that back too. Maybe she does have feelings, maybe it's lonely being an AI. He doesn't know. Part of him doesn't want to know. Part of him doesn't care. ]

I'll be sure to be on my best behavior.