This continues the story of Brock Petersdorf-Nelson from the thread Brock and Roll.
As the cave collapses, you hear an alarm clock buzzing rather loudly, an intermittent buzz, buzz, buzz. Scott is shouting something at the same time, and the flames of the volcano are flickering, flashing brighter and darker, lighting up the space around you. Another voice joins the first, an iguana trying to ask you a question about building a bridge to escape the island. He is speaking rather insistently. Finally, he says, "Who are you, and what are you doing on my bridge?"
--M. J. Young
Shaking my head slowly, I groggily sit up and murmer quietly "Whoa, what on Earth was THAT?".
Then, I'll look around and try to ascertain where I am.
As you try to rise you are abruptly seized under both arms and hauled to your unsteady feet. The lights are flashing and the buzzer is buzzing and there's still a voice which is repeatedly saying something like "Magruder revert". Through your bleary vision you see a man in strange but very neat clothing some feet away from you, and he repeats, "Who are you, and--" then, turning his head to address someone else, he says, "Torbin, shut that thing off."
"Which thing, sir?" says a very calming voice that seems to come from several directions at once.
"Torbin, please cancel the intruder alarm."
The flashing stops along with the repeating voice. You are finally getting your bearings, and seem to be in a room with a lot of television-like screens and control panels. Two men are supporting you at the moment, but you're finding your legs. The man in front of you, who is not touching you, turns his attention back to you:
"Who are you," he says more calmly, "and what are you doing on my bridge?"
--M. J. Young
Footnote: I will post your character sheet as I have it behind the screens; if there is anything that you picked up in the Tropical Island that I missed, please let me know.
--M. J. Young
Apologies, my internet was shut off and I don't have a bus pass this month with which to go to the library. It's back now, obviously.
"I'm Brock. Where is this, exactly? A bridge? What, like a spaceship's bridge? How would I have gotten from a volcanic island in the middle of erupting to here??"
obviously I know how I got here, thanks to Scott, I'm playacting.
two posts
Here is one of the applications of meditation I think I didn't list before:
Focus All Attention on one idea/task/point/etc. Become unable to focus on anything else, including noise, pain, discomfort, people's movement, etc. Sort of a self hypnosis. Lasts until willingly ended (or if I became unconscious somehow). Bonuses tasks related to the area of focus, like completing a task or noticing detail, depending on what is being focused on.
What would be the other details, in game terms?
I've listed an enhanced concentration skill; details are behind the screens.
"You are asking me how you got here?" The man shakes his head.
"Torbin, how did the intruder board the ship?"
The same calm voice from multiple directions speaks again.
"Insufficient information. He may be carrying an advanced sensor jamming device. He might have teleported to his present position. Neither of these explanations is fully satisfactory."
While he is speaking, a woman in her late twenties comes over to you and speaks more quietly than the others.
"You are aboard The Destiny. You seem just to have appeared here on the bridge. What's the last thing you remember before being here?"
--M. J. Young
"Sheltering from the volcano erupting on the island I was stranded on. Then my vision going funny, some loud noise, and that man asking me how I got here." I point as I say this.
"Captain," the woman says, "the man is obviously confused. He may have been drugged. I'd like to take him to sick bay and have Torbin examine him thoroughly."
The man seems to reflect on this for a moment. Then, "All right," he says, "but George is to be with you until I'm satisfied that he's not a threat."
With that, one of the two men releases you and the other maintains a hold on your arm; the girl says, "Please come with me," and heads toward the wall behind you. As you turn around, you see an open passage, and the man with you goes with you through it.
It is apparent that they are planning to give you some sort of medical examination when they get wherever you are going.
--M. J. Young
I'll go along, and basically rubberneck while I'm going with; that is, I am looking everywhere in an effort to figure out more about where I am. I make no attempt to hide this.
There's not that much to see, really; it's high-tech looking corridors with closed doors or hatches most of the way. The lights are built into the walls, ceilings, and floors, and whether they are always on or some computer program identifies where you are going to be before you can see the dark areas, it is always well lit wherever you are.
You board something like an elevator, but feel no change in momentum despite the fact that the girl gives verbal commands that sound like you're supposed to go somewhere else, and when the doors open again the halls look the same.
Soon you are in a relatively small room with something like a cross between an examination table and a dentist's chair.
Your two companions seem friendly enough. The one introduces himself as George White, and tells you a bit about his life jumping from career to career; he's in his early to mid fifties, and just a bit overweight with slightly graying light brown hair. Apparently he has worked as just about everything at one time or another, but mostly on space ships, and generally jobs which would be considered legal but for the fact that they usurped Federation authority--e.g., he wasn't smuggling anything that would be considered illegal, but if you deliver food to a starving planet without a Federation license, its smuggling.
He introduces the woman as Marilyn, and she is also friendly but in a more professional manner, the way a psychologist is friendly with patients and patient family members. She tells you less about herself, but asks you more about yourself--where you were born, where you lived, what you remember about your parents and your home, how long you've been away, where you traveled and how, things like that. These questions are interspersed among George's conversation, and both continue while they ask you to sit in the chair, which (assuming you do) drops back to become more of a table, and a variety of non-invasive scanning instruments start moving around you.
--M. J. Young
I'll listen to George quietly, saying little but making it clear I am listening, and answer Marilyn's questions thus:
Born in Tacoma, St Joe's Hospital
Lived all around Washington State at various times
I grew up in a trailer with an abusive dad and an intelligent, loving mother, before we started moving everywhere with my stepdad.
Been away from home 2 game days, right?
Explain in depth where I woke up and what I was told, entirely truthfully. I hope that isn't a bad idea. Oh well, too late now.
They ask you about Washington State, and establish that it is some province on Earth, and that Tacoma is near the Seattle Dome. It confuses them that you know nothing of the Seattle Dome. The idea that you were raised in a trailer also confuses them, and they ask where the trailer was going. It's also confusing that you know nothing about the Federation, and they ask more than once whether Tacoma might be on some colony planet that took the name "Earth" for its local residents.
"So then," the woman asks, "you believe that if someone kills you, you will simply appear in another place? And that this has happened to you twice already?" There is nothing judgmental or doubting about the questions, but more a sense of clarifying the facts.
George comments at one point that that's "interesting", but it seems to be something to do with the readings on the equipment. The woman agrees that it is interesting, but assures you that it's nothing to concern you--you are perfectly healthy.
She leaves you with George, saying she'll want to report all this to the captain, and that George should probably take you to the galley and get you something to eat and drink.
--M. J. Young
"Yes, that seems to be the case."
explain to them what I was told of scriff if I hadn't already by now
They nod at your explanations of Scriff, although they admit never to have heard of such a substance.
George asks if you're hungry. You probably are, but you can deny it if you like. He will escort you to the galley for something to eat if you wish.
--M. J. Young
No sense discomforting myself. I'll follow him, and begin asking some questions of my own. It's obvious to a sci-fi fan like me that this is a space station or ship of some kind.
"So...this is the Destiny, then? Is it a ship or a space station?if he says it's a ship, then ask-Trading? Scouting? Combat? Colonization? If it's a station-Defense? Communication? Research?"
"You really have never heard of The Destiny?" He seems puzzled, but shrugs as it does fit with your story.
"I'm not certain how much I should tell you at this point. After all, the captain will be looking for cracks in your story--suggestions that you know something you pretend not to know. The instruments back there say that you really believe your story to be the truth--you're not creating this, but have experienced it. The question is whether those are implanted memories, and whether you're here for some purpose that you've somehow managed to keep hidden to this point. But I think it's safe for me to tell you that this is a ship. As to what it does, you'll have to ask the captain. He'll probably be along shortly, so let's get you some food and drink and see if he wants to meet us in the galley.
"So, tell me about the ships and space stations you remember."
--M. J. Young
"Oh, I've read about them. You know, in fiction. I don't know if this world ever had them, but have you heard of Star Wars? Star Trek? Red Dwarf? Andromeda? Battle-star Galactica? Ender's Game? A lot more besides, heh."
"Well, Andromeda is a galaxy, so of course I've heard of that. The others don't ring any bells, but there might be information in the history files of the computer. Destiny knows a lot about Earth history, much more than I would have suspected given her origin.
"So you don't remember ever having been on a space ship or station, and you didn't have anything like that when you were on Earth?"
Meanwhile, you reach the galley, which is completely automated, like the Automat only without the people behind the doors. It is empty, but has room for perhaps a hundred diners.
--M. J. Young
"Nah, we were still working on getting a man to Mars. I'd be interested in learning some galactic history, assuming I'm not jettisoned by the captain or locked up somewhere."
"Well, I don't think Captain Alexander will toss you out an airlock, and if he decides to drop you somewhere, you'll have at least a few hours, maybe a few days, before we get there.
"So, what year was this?"
George also watches your efforts to figure out the food delivery systems, and assists when it is obvious that you're not familiar with them. The food is surprisingly good.
The girl returns with the captain.
"So, Brock, is it?" the captain begins. "It seems that the best explanation anyone has for your presence here is that you've fallen through some sort of dimensional rift. That fact that you've done it twice is a bit surprising, but it is possible that you fell into an unstable universe and then fell out of it again. In any case, you appear to be home again--back in your own universe, that is, but a few centuries in the future.
"The question, then, is what we are to do with you next. What do you think?"
--M. J. Young
"What year was this?"
2009.
"So, Brock, is it?" the captain begins. "It seems that the best explanation anyone has for your presence here is that you've fallen through some sort of dimensional rift. That fact that you've done it twice is a bit surprising, but it is possible that you fell into an unstable universe and then fell out of it again. In any case, you appear to be home again--back in your own universe, that is, but a few centuries in the future.
"The question, then, is what we are to do with you next. What do you think?"
"Hmm. Well, it seems I'm unemeployed and penniless and on your property. Sounds to me like your options would be: kick me off or put me to work somewhere, or imprisonment...um...variations on those themes...and...um..." at that point I trail off, lost in thought.
"All right. Well, the resistance doesn't really have facilities for holding prisoners, particularly prisoners who are not working for the Federation; and it's not as if you've got to get back to your own family, even if we could figure out who they are. So let's start with finding out what you think you can do for us?"
--M. J. Young
"Resistance?"
"I was hoping you'd say that. Well, if worse comes to worse, I can do menial labor, but I'd much rather be taught to do something a little more important. I learn quickly! I don't really know much about the operation of a ship, though, so some kind of labor or lowly technician work seems likely. Unless you have some kind of direct neural link training equipment in the future, in which case I could learn particularly swiftly. I've an interest in engineering and piloting, but I'm sure both will require extensive training and time before I could work there. I'm willing to indenture myself for a while in exchange for training in such a task though!"
"I'm sure Burly and Toni could use an extra set of hands down in engineering, so we'll introduce you to them and set you to work on whatever they need down there. There's usually something to repair or maintain on a ship this big, and I know we ask a lot of them."
He goes over to a wall and hits a button.
"Engineering?"
A woman's voice returns.
"Yes, Captain."
"Toni, we're going to assign this new guy--Brock, right?--to work with Burly. Shall we escort him down?"
"No, I was just going to get a bite to eat, so there won't be anyone down here for a bit. Burt's napping; he had a rough night with a leak in the secondary coolant system, and didn't wake me to help him. Sweet, but it's left him a bit too tired."
"Understood. Well, we're in the galley now, so we'll introduce you when you arrive."
He steps away and makes the unnecessary comment, "She's coming." Then after a moment, "Did you get enough to eat?"
"Marilyn, make sure we have a place for him to sleep. Someone will have to show him the way, and code the door so he can open it. We won't give him full access just yet--a security precaution," he says to you; "you understand--but we'll make sure he can get where he needs to be."
In a few minutes a tall slender black woman around thirty enters. She smiles in a very friendly way as she approaches. "I'm Toni Bently, Burt's wife and his assistant in engineering. Welcome aboard. What experience do you have in fixing things?"
--M. J. Young
Have I been carrying my belongings with me, or did we leave them in the bridge?
"Yes, I had enough, thanks for asking."
"I have some experience fixing 21st Century Earth technology in the comfort of my own home. That is, rough amateur tinkerings, building simple robots from commercially sold toolkits and the like. I suppose, in this day and age, pretty much kiddy stuff.
"On the flip side, some experience (as opposed to none, of course) will ensure I learn a lot faster, eh?"
Looking back at the previous thread, it indicates that you packed your gear and took it into the cave with you. Looking at your equipment sheet, it appears that nearly everything would be in your backpack or pockets, so unless you had something in your hand, you were wearing it all when you versed out, and you are still wearing it now.
"Robots, huh? That's still fairly impressive, even if it's basic stuff. I'm sure you can solder and cut and tighten, and you'd be surprised how much of what we have to do is simple electrical and even plumbing work. If you'd like, I'll give you a tour."
"We still have to assign him quarters," the captain says.
"Don't worry about that," Marilyn says. "While Toni is showing him around engineering, I'll get a room set up for him. Then we'll introduce him to Torbin, let the rest of the crew know he's aboard, and get him settled."
Toni says, "We can leave some of that weight here, if you like. No one will bother it. I don't know what all you're carrying, but you probably won't need it for a while."
--M. J. Young
unless someone took it, my staff will be in hand. That's sure to affect people's impression of me, backpack on my back, stuffed full pockets, and a staff as tall as me that's been polished and all. Some of my excess equipment probably ended up in a plastic bag or two, which I will leave at their offer of leaving it here
"Oh, I see. I may have misunderstood-are you basically the maintenance department? Fix what breaks and install any new parts and all that?"
"I'll leave the bags here, thanks."
thoughts for later These thoughts have been running through my character's head:
some kind of console with education information, check on tech advances of this culture over mine own.
research all the positions available on a ship such as this.
what resistance and Federation? Sounds like it's straight out of a sci-fi story
"What did you think engineers do? We keep the ship running, monitor the systems, fix what breaks and maintain what we can't afford to have break, try to keep everything running at peak efficiency."
You leave the bags behind, and everyone leaves the galley. Toni escorts you to one of those rooms that looks like an elevator but has no kinetic feeling of motion, and as you exit you are in a very different part of the ship--one with high ceilings, lots of pipes, and many more utilitarian consoles. There is a fairly high background noise, but Toni talks above it comfortably.
"This is the heart of the engine control systems. Those pipes are the primary cooling system; secondary is on the the next level down. The panels show us everything--core temp, coolant temp, power output, efficiency, demand, thrust, balance." She continues with information about other systems. There are apparently three main engines, and varying the thrust between them causes the ship to alter its course, but there are also smaller maneuvering engines. The mains are antimatter driven, the smaller engines simpler fusion drives. All of it is controlled by computer systems here, all of which in turn are tied into Torbin, the ship's main computer which is extremely sophisticated "regardless of anything Phil Banson might say to the contrary".
There are also several weapons systems, including two independently operated detachable weapons banks which are piloted remotely from the bridge. They are only capable of sublight maneuvering with fusion engines which also power the energy weapons on them.
There is also the teleporter, the only one known in the galaxy, and you'll be taught to operate it, but Phil and Burt are still working on figuring out the details of it, so you probably won't work on it.
Any questions?
--M. J. Young
"I associate engineers with the people who make such systems in the first place, and researchers. I didn't realize you also call the people taught to repair such things engineers-I thought they were called technicians."
I show interest in the console with the readings for the coolant system, but I don't say anything. I show little interest in the weapons systems.
"What does Phil Banson say about the ship's computer, specifically?"
"A teleporter!? I'd love to know how that works!
more unvoiced thoughts
I wonder how the antimatter engines work...
"Oh, well, technicians certainly help, and if you want to be labeled 'technician' we can call you that. But things are pretty informal here, and we'll probably just call you Brock, if you're comfortable with that. It won't take long for you to meet everyone, and they'll probably have less trouble remembering your name than you will remembering theirs, although Ishara might not bother trying to remember yours at least for a while, so just get used to whatever he decides to call you."
"Oh, you have to take Phil with a bit of salt, I think. He just might be the best human computer expert in the galaxy, but if so this ship was not made by humans, because Torbin is a more advanced computer than anything else he's ever seen. So he has to denigrate it a bit now and then to assure us that he is superior to the computer. I'm sure he is, in terms of what he does, although I doubt he could do what the computer does without using several other computers."
"We'd all like to know how the teleporter works. So would the Federation, which is one of the reasons there was such a concern about your mysterious appearance. We'll try to teach you what we know, but we don't know a lot yet. It's too valuable a piece of equipment to disassemble it beyond what we can repair, but as Burt says, it's also too valuable for us not to understand how it works enough to be able to fix it when it breaks."
--M. J. Young
"I don't mind what you call me. Youcan call me 'strange guy who appeared out of nowhere babbling about volcano' if you'd like. Doesn't bother me, heh."
"so...what, you found the teleporter on a an alien world or something? First reason I would think of that you guys wouldn't know how it works.Anyway,I think I need some galactic history at some point-who is the Federation?"
"Hmm, so you have a computer more advanced than the best computer expert you have can deal with, and a teleporter you don't yet know a lot about-just what is this ship's purpose? Technological transportation?"
"I guess no one told you," Toni says. "After Phil and John--Captain Alexander--had started working together, they found this ship adrift. They were able to board it, and searched it thoroughly. The computer has never explained what happened to the previous crew, or where the ship originated. Phil insists it's because it's stubborn, but even working with Burt he's never been able to locate any memory sections that contain that information. So all of this is apparently at least foreign if not alien technology. We don't know who built it, or why, or where, nor even when, really. It's enough like our own that we have been able to figure it out, and the medical systems understand human physiology quite well, but nothing tells us more about its origin than that."
She promises to get you information about the history when you get to your room. Since I don't see much else to do here, we'll move to that.
The room is rather spartan, with some sort of bathroom facilities attached at the far end, something like a closet, a recessed platform which might be a bed but that it has no mattress and several dials at one end, and a platform that has the look of a desk attached to a wall. Here there is a screen, and Toni deftly accesses an account that reads something like this:
The Federa-tion started as exactly that, a collection of inhabited planets, human populations spread through this end of the galaxy, who met together to discuss how to deal with mutual problems such as space piracy. Earth was the meeting place of this group, partly for sentimental reasons and partly because it was pretty much in the center of the three-dimensional expansion to the stars. Since Earth hosted the meetings, the Earth ambassador assumed the chair at meetings without objection. And for decades this continued.The Federation in those days did wonderful things. It established trade agreements, organized disaster relief, settled many disputes. But in the real issues that had brought it together, it proved powerless. Space piracy continued to expand, and no one had the resources to prevent it. Some planets, it was believed, actually supported and bene?ted from these activities, but because of individual planetary sovereignty there was little which could be done about it.
In 2317 that changed. An agreement was reached which gave the Federation full authority over all interplanetary and interstellar space, and authority to pursue violators of interstellar law into planetary jurisdictions where they could arrest not merely those who were directly engaged in space crimes but also those who supported them and bene?ted from them while remaining on the ground. A smaller Council of Seven, led by the Chairman, was given executive control. Taxes were assessed and a military raised and equipped; many of the taxes were collected in the form of equipment, stripping the planetary governments of their own now unnecessary space force militias. But space crime, especially piracy, was reduced drastically within the decade, so the few complaints and objections faded.
But the power of the committee grew; and so did the list of activities which were considered "space crime". It regulated and taxed interplanetary trade, established customs of?ces on all member planets, took control of communications and other satellites, and disbanded the remaining military units as con?icting with its jurisdiction. It then created a uni?ed law and justice system, claiming that for interplanetary com-merce to be successful, laws, procedures, and rights had to be consistent throughout the galaxy so citizens traveling between planets would not be arrested for conduct which was perfectly legal on their own planet. Administrative government burgeoned as law enforcement became part of the Federation mandate, and soon there was only one nation stretched across many planets.
Centralization and regulation increased. The chairman today was the most powerful ruler to have controlled humanity in its known history. No one was allowed to dissent, to object, to suggest that anything should be other than it was, other than what the Committee decided. Planetary rulers had either toed the line or been arrested and replaced by Federation governors.
Questions?
--M. J. Young
Did Toni leave me alone, or is there elsewhere she wanted to take me right now?
If she left, I'll examine the dials on the elevated surface, and the terminal. Sounds like a bed with adjustable surface variables and a highly advanced computer screen that accesses the computer's database to me.
I believe I brought several notebooks with me. Ah, here: 4 journal type notebooks with various notes on a RP system I was making, a book I have been writing, random thoughts, and reminders to do things. I checked my room, these are all about 1/3 full.
In one of them, I'll copy an abridged version of the information on the Federation, and a crew list which I will fill in later. I'll sum up the Federation information in about 2 paragraphs, which shouldn't be so hard since it was mostly history, and I just want the facts and bare bones-started good, gradually got all-powerful and problematic, pretty much becoming an empire.
Your conclusions are solid. The platform has something of the look of a black air hockey table, with pinholes gridding the top, but that it has more the texture of a wrestling mat or one of those thin foam camp mattresses. One of the dials controls airflow through those holes, and you can also control the temperature and humidity of that air, which enables you to create a comfortable immediate environment without blankets. The last dial controls the gravity in the area immediately above the mattress, allowing you to adjust it from earth normal down to what seems to be zero.
There is no crewlist as such in the database.
--M. J. Young
"...and a crew list which I will fill in later."
this was to be a section with notes on people...that I meet personally. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
I recall the captain mentioning a resistance. I'd like to check the database for information on that, assuming the terminal has an interface I can figure out. I assume it has some kind of keyboard, and is likely to be exceedingly similar to a computer in several respects, but I don't know yet. Is it like a computer, and what are the apparent differences between a computer of today and it?
It does seem similar to a computer in several respects, but you are unable to determine how to get information on a "resistance".
Who have you already listed on your crewlist?
--M. J. Young
It's a page with crewlist written on the top, and nothing yet below. It is to be filled in later.
I don't recall being told anyone needed me for anything at this moment, So I'll sit on the platform and meditate. It's just a way to pass the time, and to be at peace. I just close my eyes, and consciously deepen my breathing, and sort of drift out of consciousness. It's very relaxing. (I'm sure you know all this, but just to be sure, and you may have thought it's a psionic skill or something.)
I tend to meditate between 1 and 2 hours at a time if uninterrupted. If I'm not interrupted, when I come to I'll fiddle with the platform's controls in an attempt to make a comfortable, soft bed. Then sleep.
No one was requiring you to be anywhere yet, and as you retire to your room and go to sleep no one bothers you.
What will you do upon awakening?
--M. J. Young
Take a peek outside the door and see if anyone is there, hoping for some instruction on what I am supposed to do now. If no one is there, I'll pull out my Darth Bane novel and read.