redshiftlogs | september 2019. welcome to the void.

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september 2019. welcome to the void.

Who: Everyone in Anchor.
What: Third Introductory Mingle
When: The Month of September 2019
Where: Around and outside the city.
Warnings: Please add any warnings in the subject lines.

Redshift: Welcome to the v͖͕̺̲̘̱̜͎o̴̦̣̠̦̘̹͞i̯̖d̛̪̬͈̱̦̝͍̕.

Click here to read what characters will experience when arriving in Anchor.

a. turrets.

That power surge kicked off some sh... stuff, all right. It took a while for the systems to cycle back on, but two new areas of Anchor are now accessible and usable. One of them is nice and relaxing and safe, and we'll get to that one in a minute. The other one, addressed first, is not very nice and not very relaxing and definitely not safe.

The internal defense systems on the upper levels have come to life, and have targeted anyone within their range as a hostile entity. Get ready to run the gauntlet if you want to turn them off - you'll have to dodge lasers, bullets, and aggressive defense bots (that can be rewired and/or rebooted to assist characters instead of trying to murder them). The reward? Getting to the heavily protected (think many many murderbots and lasers) security control room. If you can make it, you'll be able to reboot the internal defenses, turning off the aggressive targeting and having access for the first time to surveillance of almost all of Anchor. Those areas your characters didn't know were there? Revealed. Those dense patches of jungle-like growth in the agricultural center? You've got a spotlight into their heart.

Though, huh, not all the cameras seem to be working. What's with those screens that show up from time to time that are nothing but static?

Oh well, doesn't really matter, does it?

b. hot springs episode.

One of the areas adjacent to the bar and intimacy lounge has been sputtering on and off ever since the power surge. One evening, with a loud crack and a humming sound that slowly dissipates, the lights come on and water starts flowing down the artificial waterfall into the fountain out front. The spa is back online!

The lobby is inviting and zen, with holographic walls that depict scenic locations (some of them very unlike Earth), with fountains splashing delicately on either side of the door. The attendants are slightly malfunctioning bots, but the most harm they'll do is bring you six towels when you ask for one, or a bucket of massage oil to work on those knots in your back with.

There are three areas in the spa, each of them fully-outfitted with towels, robes of all sizes, fuzzy slippers, the works. One has all the amenities of a Turkish bath, right down to the fantastically arched roofs and mosaics of Istanbul. One is designed not unlike a Japanese hot spring, though the spring is heated artificially rather than naturally. The springs are large enough to be communal in some areas and small enough to be private in others, varying in depth from deep enough to swim on one end and shallow enough to sit on the bottom on the other. All hot springs have a stone shelf around the edges where those who don't want to swim can sit. The last area is more Western, with steam rooms, saunas, massage tables, and mud baths for the adventurous.

One thing all of these areas have in common: the settings on virtually everything can be adjusted to taste. Not in the traditional way, either. The steams and waters can be tweaked to be soporific, can serve as muscle relaxants, can ease anxiety, and can even bolster moods. None of these effects are involuntary, and none of them are brought on by drugs - it's more an advanced mix of pheromones and harmless compounds that can affect a single person or a given pool or room. Also, the baths and hot springs have adjustable bubble settings. The water colors can change, some of them even allowing characters to dye their hair the color that's been selected for the tub without staining their skin. Bubbles of all kinds can rise up out of the water, from the foamy comfort of childhood bubble baths to hovering golden bubbles that chime when you pop them. Characters can choose from a variety of bath salts, scents, and oils - the spas were designed not just for relaxation, but for pure and simple fun.

c. joe's dirt.

So you've survived the security malfunction. You've washed off the dirt and anxiety at the spa. But the newly reactivated security stations throughout Anchor have revealed something odd. There's a blip in the power systems in one area of the agricultural level, like something is siphoning off power from the main lines. Tracking down the source in the deep tangle of underbrush won't be easy, and there may be a few mutated, fanged, clawed cattle that maneuver shockingly well between the trees, but eventually you'll come to a breach in Anchor's wall. At first it just looks like a crack, but it's large enough to squeeze through and there's the darkness of an open space behind it. A tunnel, leading down into the earth outside, well below surface level and thus largely safe.
Wires run along the roof and floor, though the tunnel itself is dark. Walk long enough and you'll come to a wider space, open enough for two or three people to move around comfortably at the same time. It's still dark, lit only by screens that show the same security feeds that are available at the stations throughout the city. And others. Angles on the surface that show Anchor from a distance, and other visuals that don't show Anchor at all, trained instead on massive structures or formations or lakes out on the surface somewhere. But there's something more disturbing: there are cameras set to record some people's rooms. And the only rooms that are shown are occupied.

Someone has been here, recently enough to track where new people have moved in.

On the floor in one corner, there's a crumpled photograph of a man some might recognize as Creepy Joe, happy and whole, with a little girl sitting on his shoulder. It looks like it's been stamped into the dirt.

Navigation.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[:( ok]

[Kieran nods, happy to be of some kind of help, and starts leading the both of them along the wall. The vines are thick and gnarly, lending a creepy feeling to the overall atmosphere. All they need is some fog and it'd be prime horror movie material.]

Why're we lookin' fer this hole again?

[Peter is definitely getting horror movie vibes from this and he's not a big fan. The good news is that his spider-sense isn't going off, so at least he's mostly sure that they aren't going to be attacked by some kind of horrible, mutated space beaver or something.]

Someone's stealing power, or uh, electricity from us. It's a big deal, because it's what, y'know, keeps the lights on and the water clean, and it keeps that big dome up there running. That protects us from all the dangerous stuff in the air outside, so if someone's taking power away from that, it could be really bad for us. I think that the power that's being stolen is going here, to this area, but whoever's doing it has to be hiding themselves really well. I don't see any structures in this area, so that's why I'm thinking it's probably like, maybe a cave or a hole or something.

[Peter's pretty good at breaking down all that complicated technical jargon into easy to understand chunks for someone from the late 19th century. It's a great skill to have. Maybe. At least in this very specific situation, it is.]

Do you think whoever this feller is has been here fer a while, then? Kinda, I dunno, livin' in the walls?

[He's heard of squatters who've done that before, living down in the basements or up in the rafters of abandoned homes. Some of them were just looking for a place to stay, most of them, really. The rest, well, sometimes they weren't all right in the head. That gives him a little more pause as they continue their search.]

[He's actually really new at it. It's something Patch had suggested he try to work on while he was showing her how the 3D printers in R&D work, since not everybody here speaks technobabble. Kieran is his practice cowboy.]

It's possible. Once we find it we might be able to tell for sure.

[He pauses briefly and then rushes to catch up to Kieran, patting him on the arm and pointing in front of them to the wall. BRO< there's a BIGASS CRACK IN IT]

There! Do you see that?

[Kieran stops and squints at the wall.]

[WOAH... WOAAAHHHH...!!!]

Yeah!

Looks like a bigass crack.

[And he starts to slooooooooowly step towards it, like something could pop out at any moment.]

[Sorry but sometimes Peter does have his immature teenager moments, and "bigass crack" gives him a bit of a chuckle. Ooooh bigass crack.

but yes, the slow and stealthy approach is a great idea, and Peter does the same. As they get closer and his spider sense continues to NOT go off, he picks up the pace a little until they're right up on it, and has himself a peek inside.]

Oh wow, this whole thing has been tunneled out.

[Guess what, Peter, it's good to be an immature teenager sometimes! You don't have to live in a perpetual state of superhero suck!!!]

[Also, based on how confidently Peter is moving on, Kieran feels like maybe things aren't as dangerous as he previously thought. That said, while he's keeping up with Spider-Boy, he's also trailing juuuuust a bit behind him.]

You thinkin' about goin' inside?

[There's a well-timed crumble of some debris off the tunneled wall. Also a water drip.]

Maybe we should wait fer some more people if we do.

[...At least he's saying 'we' and not 'you'. He trusts you Peter! He's willing to follow!]

[BUT HE HAS TO FIX ALL THE THINGS

He is absolutely already halfway through the entrance when Kieran says that. ooooops. But that well-times debris crumble sure was creepy, wasn't it.]

...Hm. Y'know, I don't hear anything weird? I think we'll be okay. Besides, there's not really room for a lot of people, so if we do end up having to get out fast, having more people behind us would slow us down a lot.

[He does mean that, but also he just wants to exploooooore]

[Uuuuuggghhh brooooooo this is a bad idea.]

[But hey, Kieran's entire life has been one bad idea after another, so why not continue the tradition?]

Alright, sure.

L-Let's head on in, I guess.

[FAMOUS LAST WORDS, ETC.]

[ADVENTURE INSIDE THE BIGASS CRACK WALL TUNNEL?]

[IT'S FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE, ADVENTURE INSIDE THE BIGASS CRACK WALL TUNNEL]

Awesome, I'll take point. Stay close.

[And Peter squeezes into the bigass crack, there he goes.]

[Kieran squeeeeezes in after him. It's a little tougher with his height and gangly limbs, but he'll manage to keep up.]

[He places a hand on Peter's shoulder so neither of them can separate.]

How far d--

[He pauses. Lowers his voice. And then starts over.]

How far down do ya think it goes?

[That's probably a good idea. Peter's a little over excited to go check out this MYSTERY HOLE. Keep this boy in line, Kieran.]

I mean, considering we haven't been able to find it until now, I'm gonna say it must go in pretty far. Like, really far.

[THAT'S A BIG OL' SIGH COMING FROM YOUR COWBOY FRAND HERE.]

Alright. I'm gonna trust you on this one, Peter.

[He checks to make sure he has his gun juuuuuust in case]

[But yeah, he trusts you, Peter!!! It's gonna be fine!]

[That said, Kieran's pretty quiet while they mosey along in the weird bigass crack tunnel, occasionally turning his head whenever there's a weird sound.]

D'you see an end up ahead or anythin'?

[It's gonna be FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE.

Thankfully the trip through the bigass crack tunnel is uneventful. No animals, no like crack assassins, no traps. It's a pretty chill tunnel. Too chill.]

I can't really see, but I think there's light up ahead? Unless my eyes are playing tricks on me.

[Chill in more ways than one. Kieran pulls his overshirt a bit tighter around his lanky everything as he turns from the latest sound to refocus his attention up ahead.]

Looks like it, yeah. Weird.

[As the tunnel widens a bit more, Kieran pulls away from Peter. His eyes catch some of the wires dangling from the ceiling. He reaches out and, without actually touching one of them, kind of signals that hey, they're a thing. Maybe a thing to watch out for???]

That's a lotta wire... think we should follow it?

[Oooooh that wire isn't a good sign. I mean, it's just about exactly what Peter had been expecting to find down here, but that still doesn't mean it's a good thing.]

Yeah, I think that means we're on the right track. There's really only one direction to follow it in, so let's uh. Let's keep at it.

[AND SO THEY DO, and before long they finally reach the end of the tunnel. HOORAY. Except not hooray, because it's a cave-like little room filled with security screens. HMMMM]

Ooooh, this just got weird.

Edited 2019-09-24 20:03 (UTC)

[Kieran shoots a look at Peter.]

...You're seriously just thinkin' this is weird, now?

[THE ENTIRE EXPEDITION SO FAR HAS BEEN SPOOKSVILLE PETER, COME ON.]

...I-- okay, fair. It's been weird the whole time. It just got a whole lot weirder, though.

[Peter's not an easy person to weird out, give him a break. ANYWAY, Peter's going to go on over to those screens and see just what the fickity fuck this is all about]

This is... this is security footage. Right here! This is from the camera outside my lab!

[Weirdness aside, Kieran follows Peter over to the screen. He's had limited exposure to videos and screens, but between the newly introduced moving pictures and the somewhat mainstream photographs, he's able to piece at least the concept of what's going on together in his head.]

[And even with that basic understanding, he doesn't like what he's hearing.]

[He glances at the other screens, brow furrowing.]

I think that's the barn, there, too. And that one looks like the dinin' area.

...

Someone's watchin' us.

[GOOD JOB STATING THE OBVIOUS, COWPOKE.]

[I mean it's stating the obvious, yes, but also like a month ago Kieran had no idea what any of this shit was. Peter is impressed.

He is also very concerned, because this is all very bad and alarming. It's especially alarming when Peter recognizes some of the footage as being people's personal quarters. He tries not to look as worried as he is, but doesn't quite nail it.]

...Yeah. Yeah, someone's watching us. Closely, it looks like. But who-- why would someone do this?

[Luckily, there are some nice people (including Peter!) who've wound up getting stuck on Anchor. Nice people who are patient in explaining how a lot of this technology works to the poor cowboy who's stuck in the middle of it all.]

[But the kudos can wait. There's a more pressing matter at hand.]

People only keep this close an eye on other folks if they're afraid of 'em, if they want somethin' from 'em, or if they wanna do somethin' to 'em. Sometimes all at once.

[Kieran paces, looking at all of the screens. There's not much else he can put together that Peter can't, but giving his eyes something to focus on while he thinks is helping. A little.]

I don't have a clue what this feller would want from us, though. Ain't like we showed up with anythin' valuable.

That's what I'm thinking. We didn't really come here with anything, which would rule out them wanting something from us. The might be afraid of us, which, fair. Some of us are... not exactly normal. I don't know why they would want to do anything to us, though. All we're trying to do is keep this place in good shape and survive, which in the long run would benefit this-- whoever this person is as well. I'd be ab;e to understand it they were just monitoring the more highly trafficked areas, but why our rooms? Like, right here, that's my room. This is my cat.

[He points out one of the screens, the lights are out so his little glow in the dark kitten is easy to spot. The kitten is doing that cat thing where it's running around the room like a little psycho, climbing all the furniture and jumping off of shit. Just fun cat stuff.]

Edited 2019-09-28 16:17 (UTC)

[For a split second, Kieran seriously considers asking Peter why the heck his kitty is glowing, but then he remembers a) he has Eavan and b) that doesn't really matter right now.]

[That's a cute cat, though.]

...Back where I was, the bigger gangs I rode with usually had a leader who wanted to know everythin' that was goin' on and who was a part of it. Made it easier to predict who'd try and pull somethin' like a mutiny or who was talkin' badly about 'em. Real paranoid stuff.

One of 'em barely knew my name, but he sure as shit knew what I was doin' at any given time.

I don't know why this feller's keepin' that close an eye on us, but if he's anythin' like those people I mentioned, then it ain't good fer us.

[It's the cutest cat and Peter loves hiiiiiiiiiim]

Even if whoever this is has good intentions, this isn't good for us. There's no reason for this-- this person to be sneaking around like this, we're not dangerous or anything. If this guy's watching us that closely, they'd like, know that.

[Kieran nods in agreement.]

[What was an already complicated and dangerous situation has just gotten, for all intents and purposes, worse.]

I hear ya, but that doesn't mean they think the same thing.

Far as this person knows, we're a bunch of folks who moved in on their space out of the blue. Some of us got some weird powers, and the rest of us just started buildin' things and changin' a buncha stuff. I don't blame 'em fer being careful or fer wantin' to make sure we ain't gonna hurt 'em.

Don't like it much, either, though.

[Kieran sighs and glances around the room again, cogs in his head turning. All of the fancy technology is bordering on overwhelming, but it's not nearly as bad as it was when he first arrived.]

[Which reminds him...]

...

Say, uh, you think this guy could be the one who's been tryin' to scare us off with those metal ants you were talkin' about?

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