agogelogs | THE AMAZING BASE.

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THE AMAZING BASE.

WHO? Everybody!
WHAT? Welcome home, nerds.
WHEN? Outside time and space, in the aether between dimensions.
ANYTHING ELSE? There is also a fish. Please warn in subject lines for anything beyond physical violence and move to a personal journal if things go beyond PG-13.

MYSTERY FISH;

question the mystery fish

DEPARTING GALLIPOLI

The order comes the day after the Marie Antoinette sets sail:

PACK UP AND GET READY TO MOVE OUT. WE'VE DONE ALL WE CAN HERE.

DEPLOYMENT: BASE.

WE NEED TO RESTOCK. BE PREPARED FOR MORE TRANSFERS ON ARRIVAL.

STAY SAFE. TIME-STEP EXPECTED TO BEGIN WITHIN THE HOUR.

FOR THOSE OF YOU NEW TO COST: FIND A SECLUDED SPOT AND TRY NOT TO EAT ANYTHING BEFORE THE JUMP.

The Time-Step

The transfer begins like a vibrating heat on the collar bone, just a hum of sensation.

But the vibration spreads. Veteran COST soldiers often refer to this phenomenon as "the buzz". The feeling builds, not unlike standing near a great engine or the wind-rattled branches of a massive tree. There is a long moment of motion sickness and you can't be sure if the world is shaking you from the inside out or the outside in. It may be better to close your eyes against the growing nausea, as the world blurs out of focus.

A star shines in the distance. You may hear the faint rustling of leaves. Some swear they hear voices in this moment, indistinct words echoing off nothingness. Others say they feel a touch of the divine, that the eyes of the eternal look down upon you. Ancient bones rattle just out of earshot, cold and brittle and nothing more than the suggestion of sound. Or maybe it's only an illusion, brought on by the powerful technology grafted into your skin.

One thing is for sure: One moment you are here and the next you are not.

The shift takes you from whatever solitude you could find aboard the Marie Antoinette to the temperature-regulated hallway of what looks like a very poorly put together space station. Droids rush up and down the long hallway, fixing broken bits of machinery or just chattering with each other. A few crows sit on high ledges, looking down and watching. Someone mutters something about a centaur around the corner.

And you might just notice, provided you were in Gallipoli long enough to acquire stowaways, that the parasites lurking on your skin are mercifully gone.

For new arrivals who didn't experience Gallipoli: You, too, will appear in this long hallway, filled with droids and crows and humans (still filthy and clad in ANZAC uniforms, carrying battered equipment from the first World War). And you'll be wearing the minimal COST-issued athletic underwear and holding whatever one item you were allowed to bring. Surprise!

READ THE BASE INFOPAGE.

home away from home

Those who have been to BASE before may find a strangeness to it all: BASE seems...still. The windows show a verdant world instead of the usual aether (though with the typical paranoia), and the halls are bereft of all but a few crows. A man stands at the end of the long hallway you arrived in, waiting for you to get your bearings before he speaks.

Except, you know, he's not a man. He's a centaur.

"It's been barely a week since you left, by my reckoning. But for you, I'm sure, it's been much longer. Still, much has changed. You may have noticed we are...becalmed. This is due, it seems, to an error in our ways. We kept something that does not belong to us, several wild creatures that are meant to be free. They seem to have psychically called out to their home, and their home responded; we are now somewhat stranded.

"But let me explain—the Aether is the nexus between worlds and times, but it is not a dead thing. Creatures live in it. We have crashed onto the back of one such creature, a mighty beast, as large as a small country and entirely undiscovered. We have found why the creature has intercepted us: we have accidentally taken captive some of its children. Shapers, the wild creatures I mentioned, it seems they form a symbiotic bond with the creature, and live happily within its stomach."

He frowns, considering this.

"Shapers, I should mention, are creatures that briefly infested our fair BASE. The issue was dealt with, though we kept some for experimentation. The coelacanth took issue with this, it seems. It can speak, of course; we are stranded very near its head, and if you wish to ask it a question, I implore you to do so. The creature is older than creation—older than me—and only speaks once to any creature it encounters. It's said its wisdom brings kings to their knees."

His eyes crinkle in humor.

"My name is Chiron and I am the caretaker of this place, for those of you whom I have not had the pleasure of meeting. More importantly, I am a trainer and a teacher of some experience; if you wish training or schooling of any sort, do summon me. I will be happy to assist."

He's easy to contact, often found in the library, the training area, his capsule, or elsewhere in the station, attempting to fix what he understands and arguing with crows.

"We intended to spend this time exploring, for this is a rare opportunity to discover more of an entirely uncharted world. I hasten you to see if anything on the coelacanth can be of use, but be careful. Take only what you need, not what you may want. I intend to learn my lessons well; these creatures are not pets. Takes food, water, and any materials of use to us for our survival and perseverance, but no more. We task you with this: explore the coelacanth, and see what of it can be understood. Bring us back samples, but do try to interrupt the natural habitat as little as possible. We are guests here."

He bows and the action shows a slight limp in one of his back legs.

"I would join you, but I am far too old for such activities. Still, do pepper me with any questions you should encounter. I am always available on the network, or in person, within this hulking mass we call home."

And then he leaves you to find your capsules and rest.

CAPSULE ASSIGNMENTS

Once you've found your room and settled in—perhaps taken a shower, collected clothes, and eaten—a droid will approach you with camping equipment and give you a brief explanation of how to access and use the database. It's time to get your gear and go.

Of course, you can decline. You can stay and tend to the fort, maybe try and clean up this patchwork jumble of metal and machinery. But seeing the sights on the back of a giant fish flying through non-space? Who can say no to that?

the undiscovered country.

BASE's airlocks open into a lush valley, vibrant with color and rustling with life that has thrived on the coelacanth's back for millennia. It's a striking shift from the rot and gunfire of Gallipoli, unmarked by shrapnel, bombshells, and never-fresh air.

No, the air here is clean in a way that can leave you breathless, untouched by pollutants and stirred into a gentle breeze. It's a marked departure for anyone used to a more modern Earth or rough equivalent; letting the air sit on your tongue leaves a crisp, unsullied taste behind. And the whole forest feels alive, in a way that reminds you of how small you really are.

A white crow perches in a tree near BASE's exit, too high up to properly engage but a stark contrast to the bright leaves around her. She merely watches recruits come and go with a shrewd eye, feathers fluffed against the light chill. There are other crows scattered throughout the wilderness, some easier to find than others as they flit through the trees, sit on camping equipment, or hitch rides on the hoverbikes.

Besides those brief flashes of black feathers, however, you're left unsupervised.

Try not to fuck up anything too badly.

EXPLORE:INFOPAGE|DATABASE
talk to a fish | destruction report

NAV. NETWORK LOGS OOC MEMES PLURK

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Ah, yeah, been a while since I've been in an onsen. Not that it's difficult for anything to be more luxurious than this. The food sure could use work.

[He waves his free hand at what's around him in general.

It had been one of those very rare moments where he was dragged out of a dojo to "hang out" with students and other teachers, an assistant instructor carefully maneuvering conversation into the tatami back home instead of anything regarding his personal life while he soaked. Not that he had much to hide, really. His life just had been learning and teaching all at once, until then.

He remembers it being relaxing, but it was the only time he allowed himself to indulge. His sore muscles thanked him, the next day. He had been a demon in the next spars.

He shrugs, tapping at his sunglasses.]

I had another pair of specs with me, those project a sort of layout over the surfaces and people around me into my retinas. That's why I was wearing the mask - that kind of technology would've blown my cover.

I'll admit, I haven't tried the food yet.

[ Genji doesn't need to eat much to get by these days. He needs some nutrients for the parts of his body that are still organic, but he can go a few days without eating and it isn't a problem. So he might be putting it off, just a bit. He's already heard whispers about the quality of the food here.

As for the topic of onsen, he's made his fair share of visits, whether it was with family or more recreational. It's been a long time for him too, and it simply wouldn't be the same anymore. Like so many other things.

The explanation for how Mamoru is able to see quickly diverts Genji's attention, though. ] Really! That sounds fascinating. [ As much as he'd resented his new body at first, he's come to appreciate what a medical marvel it is, and how impressive it is that Angela had been able to salvage him. ]

Is there a reason you're not wearing them now?

[A tilt of his head.] Why not?

[It's been a while since they arrived, and he doubts that Genji would bring any of the food from Galipolli with him.

Still, not a completely far-fetched idea considering the people he has come to meet at COST. To each their own, he supposes, so maybe there is someone, somewhere, who finds that kind of ration a delicacy.

He thinks that it's more likely that it has to do with Genji's modulated voice, though. Maybe he has some sort of problem in his trachea, or esophagus. Some sort of special need. Hell, he could even be some sort of vampire - that would explain his penchant for walking so lightly.]

There are a couple of advantages to map out a place through other senses rather than sight. [Tactical advantages, being constantly ready, helping feel the shift of moods, the way feet fall on the floor according to the way people are walking.] That, and I've come to appreciate resting my eyes every now and then.

[ Those are both fair reasons for choosing not to see for a time. BASE is meant to be safe, unlike Gallipoli where a lack of sight could have been the difference between life and death. Genji certainly isn't going to judge Mamoru for his choices. It sounds like the sort of exercise Zenyatta would have assigned him. See what you can perceive about the world around you without the most significant sense. ]

I see. You'll have to let me know if you notice anything I might have missed.

[ Genji is a trained stealth operative, even if he hasn't functioned as one in years. He's practiced at quickly assessing his surroundings, but he doesn't want to assume he'd catch everything. ]

As for your question... I don't require as much food as a normal human. [ Genji pauses, as he realizes that Mamoru might have no clue what he's talking about. He'd looked like a regular person at Gallipoli, and Mamoru can't see him right now. ] I'm a cyborg. COST put me in a disguise for Gallipoli, so it may not have been obvious there.

[At that, Mamoru jerks his head a little more quickly than a normally composed person would. The modulated voice had only been the tip of the iceberg. There were things that were latent and kept tugging at his strings, begging for attention, that Mamoru had let rest for a while. The way he could hear Genji's steps only because he intends them to be heard, the breath that doesn't really flow forward as he speaks. The weird idea that there's something at work even though there is absolutely no indication of it, no sound, nothing. Yet the organic precision that is too precise to be organic.

The puzzle that lingered at the back of Mamoru's head clicks into place at that mere sentence. "I'm a cyborg". Shit, the disguise had been good. Really good. Not that he'd be the best person to figure out its kinks, considering his own limitations, but it shocks him nonetheless.

He can't help but let a short burst of a breath - a chuckle, silent and almost nonexistent. While not a stealth operative per se, Mamoru is used to working in the shadows - figuratively and literally.] That makes a lot of sense.

Let me guess, [He's frowning at the floor when he walks, chin low, but lips curled in a slight grin] you're either one of those people who came from some sort of distant galaxy or you're from Earth in the future.

[ It "makes a lot of sense"? Genji isn't entirely sure what to think of that, but while Mamoru seems to be a bit shocked by this sudden revelation, he doesn't come across as angry or put off, so that's something. It must be strange to have interacted with someone, thinking they're completely normal, only to learn that's nowhere near the case.

Genji hadn't meant to be deceitful about it, either. It's not always the easiest thing to slip into conversation, so if anything he's glad that he got the chance to mention it before they part ways.

At the question, he gives a quick and enthusiastic response. ] The second one! [ He holds two fingers up in the air, before remembering there's no point in doing that. ]

It was 2076 back home. How about you? [ It's strange to realize just how many people here are from the past, whether not-so-distant or ancient. Genji's sure that there are people here from his future too, however. ]

Huh, interesting. [He says this both at the reply and the enthusiasm. He has some sort of suspicion that Genji hasn't exactly become a cyborg by choice. However, he feels pretty laidback about it.

As someone who had also been given a choice to rely on technology, he knows that takes a long time to process. But if he is augmented enough to call himself a cyborg, then, he supposes it must've been a lot harder for him. ] I'm from 2015.

[He feels some hesitation at saying that, even if short-lived. He supposes a lot of people who care about semantics enough would freak out about referring to a point in time as a place, but Mamoru is practical enough to let it slide. Then again, they had both been in plain World War I. ] Aside from the specs I was given, technology there had only reached to some advanced prosthetics. That I know of, at least, I ain't exactly an expert.

That's why I had recognized the lack of noise from your limbs, but couldn't really place it.

[ Genji can only imagine that most people have a whole host of questions they would like to ask him once they learn what he is, but Mamoru chooses to refrain for now. It's not always the easiest story to tell, so he appreciates it.

Given that time is so fluid here, it seems fair to say that they're from a certain period in time. 2015 is long ago from his perspective, but what Mamoru says of the technology of that time more or less lines up with what Genji knows. ]

I see. That would make it confusing. My left arm is still flesh and blood, but my three other limbs are prosthetic, as you said.

[ When it comes to his chest and his abdomen, it gets even more complicated, and he doubts that anyone wants all of those boring details. ]

[Traumatic histories, scars and overall difficult backgrounds. Three things Mamoru has first-hand experience in, not to mention the people who he ended up meeting and working with in his - he's not sure he should call it a job. It would be to oversimplify it, to cheapen it. It was a normal thing - you don't really end up neck deep with people trying to kill you without much of a story, anyway.

He nods, tapping his cane gently from side to side. There's a buzz coming from their right which tells him there's a droid passing by them at an intersection of the corridors. He entertains the thought that it will scurry past them, take care of the 'flick flick' of a light in need of a replacement a few steps behind. The droid whirs away, to their left, leaving the light flickering at their backs. Hm, it was only a possibility, anyway.

So his question doesn't really go to how Genji came to be what he is today, but how he deals with it now. After all, he can kinda relate - kinda, but not to the same extent. ] How accepted are people with cybernetics, where you're from?

[ This conversation is bordering on difficult, so Genji actually appreciates the brief passing of the droid. He smiles and waves at it as it whirs by, glancing down the hall for a moment to see where it might be going.

Then Mamoru asks another question, and it's certainly a loaded one. Genji's quiet for a few seconds, the only sound his light footsteps. He might be walking a little faster than before as well, though he doesn't fully realize it. ]

It depends. If it's just a prosthetic arm or leg that someone has, that's normal enough. But for someone like me, who blurs the line between man and machine... it gets complicated.

[ The 'why' of that requires a brief history lesson, and Genji doesn't know how deep down this rabbit hole Mamoru would like to go. None of it is that relevant to their current situation, after all. ]

I get it. Kinda. Not to the same extent as you, but--

Even a guy in Gallipoli called me a "cheater" when he found out about my shades. [He snorts. It's not like he's playing the disability card at all - except when it's to put people on the spot. But then again, the guy in question seems to be... troubled, somehow, though that's not the word he'd really use for it.

He doesn't need a history lesson, because of that. Part of him would be hopeful that with new technology, the world would easily accept its access, the abilities that they provide; the new challenges, the new chances they could offer. It's all very rose tinted and he's aware of it.

Another part of him isn't surprised at all that society somehow made it difficult. Debatable, even. He wouldn't be surprised there would be extremists regarding that very same issue, too. It's part of human nature.

He shakes his head. ] Guess it's only through dissonance that we can evolve.

[ Cheater? How rude! Genji doesn't get the sense that Mamoru makes a point of his blindness most of the time, so that makes the comment even more inflammatory. While Mamoru might have been willing to brush it off, Genji has an idea of how he would have reacted, had he been present. ]

I'm sorry that was said to you. It's never a good feeling.

[ Genji sighs to himself and shakes his head, recalling the various things he'd been called over the years. Not to mention everything he'd thought about himself, in the dark parts of his mind.

That last statement from Mamoru has quite a ring to it; it almost sounds like something Master Zenyatta would have said. ]

Maybe you're right. I believe that we can make progress with it, given time. Everyone here has been polite, at least.

[ Some were curious, having never seen anything like Genji before, but that he doesn't mind. It's the judgment and distrust that bothers him. ]

[Mamoru shrugs his shoulders, an unconscious tilt of his head accepting the sympathy, though. He had thought it was funny - unabashed, even refreshing. But then again, Mamoru is the first one to admit that he has a weird mentality, an even weirder sense of humor. A product of 'growing up fucked up' as he once described it to his partner back home.

He hears the whirr of machinery becoming louder, and the heat and scent of food wafting closer to them. They're nearing the kitchen, it seems.] What do you think of COST so far?

[ The sudden change of subject doesn't bother Genji at all, especially since there's not much else to be said about their respective physical differences. Genji wouldn't think of himself as having a disability, given that he's now more capable in so many areas, but that doesn't mean he isn't treated differently. ]

It's hard to know what to make of them. If they had been straight-forward in recruiting me, I might feel a little more secure. But their cause seems like a noble one. I have friends here who seem to believe in what they're doing, and I respect their opinions.

[ That isn't to say that Genji doesn't think for himself, but since he's still so new and hasn't seen enough to form his own opinion yet, he's willing to listen to what people like Jack and Angela have to say. ]

Are you hungry?

[ They are approaching the kitchen, so it seems only polite to ask. ]

[A soft hum precedes:] I get it. I do remember getting here, the whole recruitment process, but it must be real confusing for some people who had their BCE's glitched.

[Excuse you, Genji, he's going to zoom in into that particular detail.] You have friends here, then? That must be nice.

[He pauses to consider it. In fact, when isn't he hungry? But he was on a mission of mindmapping the rest of the ship, so he better follow through. Still...]

Thinking of getting a snack, then we can keep going, if you want.

[ Confusing is an understatement, but Genji isn't going to dwell on it as this point. He's hardly the only one who suffered this glitch, and complaining isn't going to bring back those memories.

At the question about friends, Genji nods. It's a habit he can't really break, even if it's unnecessary with Mamoru. ] I do, yes. Three of them, actually. Two have been with COST for some time, one is new like me. [ It doesn't sound like Mamoru has anyone from home with him, but Genji won't put salt in the wound by asking. ]

And that's fine. I haven't been to the kitchen yet.

[ They're approaching the doors now, and he's quick to take the lead and hold one open for Mamoru. ]

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THE AMAZING BASE.

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