A New Platform [Intro Post February]

[voidtreckermods]

On the Train

Three days after the Voidtreckers return to the void after their adventures on the biosphere world, they are awoken by a familiar announcement.

"Good morning passengers, it is day Sixteen of the month of Jelly. Points have been updated on the system."

They have indeed, and everyone can spend the morning shopping. Those who have been on the train for a while will also be expecting the second announcement that comes a few hours later.

"Shortly arriving into a designated void platform. Exit from void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." A lurch and a jolt and the windows fill with the fog that means they are at a platform. The fog seems thicker than usual and as they step out onto the platform they will find it is cold, very cold. Icy fog sticks to their clothing, makes it hard to see very far; the atmosphere is dark and gloomy.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing as they walk silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers: Alexis Rhodes, Elfnein, Itsuki Myoudouin, Ken Ichijouji, MT, Neku Sakuraba, Nike Lemercier, Noctis Lucis Caelum, Rainbow Dash, Rei Saotome, Taichi Yagami, Tsubomi Hanasaki, Yuri Tsukikage and Zechs Merquise all pass through the platform, not looking back before they disappear through the barriers and into the fog beyond.

But on the platform itself there are new faces. Wearing hoodies in all four colours, in various states of confusion.

For New Passengers

At first all they can see is steam, billowing around them as they come to their senses. As their eyes adjust, they will see they are on a platform, glass and dark stone rising in sturdy arches around them. Behind them is a set of barriers, and in front of them is a single track extending both ways into thick fog.

They are standing, in clothes that are not their own and a style they might not even recognise. They are carrying a rucksack on their back. For a moment it seems to just be them, alone in the white haze; then the steam begins to fade and they realise they aren’t alone.

The platform is not large with sixteen figures scattered around, all facing the tracks, all dressed in cargo trousers and hoodies. To both the left and right, tracks disappear into the mist. Then there is a roaring sound and out of the fog arrives a train. Jet black with gold writing on the side. The Voidtrecker Express. There is a hiss as the doors slide open and out step a strange assortment of people. Some are human, some are less so. Most are wearing the same hoodie in one of the four colours, red, orange, blue and purple, though some are sporting different clothes in a variety of styles.

The Train

After a short time, the doors hiss open again. Those from the train may encourage those on the platform to board. It’s not like there's anywhere else to go and even if there was, you feel a pull. A need to board, a feeling that staying on the platform would lead to something terrible. If that is not enough, there are plenty of people on the platform now, to encourage them onto the train.

Each ICP shows the same message and next to the screens there are stacks of leaflets written by those on the train, with further information (see
'Publications'). The store rooms have been restocked with fresh ingredients, including several crates of avocados, the ingredient of the month of Jelly, as well as all sundries.

For passengers that have bought items, these are also scattered around the luggage carriage in various suitcases and bags.

New passengers will find their ticket allows them into their cabins. They may need to negotiate for beds, especially if they want a top bunk!

Room is tight but there are storage cubbies at the head of each bed, beds fold up and the bottom bunks double as benches for the small table. There is storage under those benches full of spare blankets and pillows.

Departure

A second horn sounds to encourage any stragglers braving the freezing fog, and the doors slide shut. Veteran passengers know what will happen next, but they may wish to brief their new companions.

The train sets off, the fog obscuring the view again as it picks up speed.

"Welcome aboard, passengers of the Voidtrecker Express." A female-coded artificial sounding voice echoes throughout the train. "Please take the time to read the passenger information displayed on the Information and Communication points and familiarise yourself with the layout and emergency exits."

The train begins to tilt, leaving the ground and rising up into the fog-filled sky.

"Entrance into Voidspace imminent. New passengers are advised to remain seated. Entry into Voidspace in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

A shudder, a jolt, a lurch to the left. A flash of light, colourful and blinding. As quick as it happens it is done. The train seems to steady itself. The fog from the windows is gone now, replaced with a kaleidoscope of ever-changing colours.

Welcome to the Void!

Comments

[forleaving]

His language of expertise was Latin. Which surprisingly came in handy quite often while searching for dead Welsh kings. He could, however, tell that 'soldat' wasn't English, and he was pretty sure he could guess what it meant.

"That's-- an interesting name." He was too polite to say anything else. "And right," he continued, moving to follow, "I was just seeing what was going on with the food and stuff." Seeing what they had, taking stock.

[herarrows]

"Your world must be very different than mine. Farmers need all the hands they can get. And Heralds start training as young as 12 or 13." They needed all the hands they could get, after all, and they didn't have to pay to have their children help out in the field. She can't even imagine what sort of economy would allow for children to go to school an that was it.

"That sounds inordinately complex."

[sciencegirl]

"I've always found something, even when that something is nothing."

She's starting to notice that this person is pretty dead set on the idea of hopelessness. Which is something Entrapta has never actually encountered. There's always data. For theoretically being in a Void, she's found anything but while being here.

[knifewithnoname]

There is one person in triage and she makes a small curious noise as she sees the outline through the wall.

This was so cool. She looked back to them, part of them was a different colour, an arm. Oh wait, their metal arm. The figurine didn't glow at all.

"How do it be working?"

She looked back at the figure though the wall.

[knifewithnoname]

She nodded, she meant it as a compliment so it was good that she took it as one.

"Well if you do be needing anything you can just be asking me, if you do be being hungry I can be showing you where the kitchens do be being."

[theturksway]

Reno remained thankfully clueless to her unsettling instincts. The sharing of the blanket was sweet and though he'd never say that out loud, he let it stand as a form of silent appreciation.

He picked up the case and gave it a cursory look over. He looked at the screen where her character was moving across the scene with speed and accuracy. She was good. Reno wasn't a fantastic gamer but he knew enough and he easily recognized talent when he saw it. She was very good.

He watched her for a little longer in captivated silence.

Then, finally, "Got any two player games?"

[yondu]

"Yeah, you're not wrong..."

There's two trains of thought. One, that Peter would probably have been better off at home. Was Yondu better? Well, not all dads give their kids spaceships at ten. Yondu did.

The other, he really wishes he had been saved before he was an adult.

"You had that kinda issue?" He asks. "Sounds like you knew a pretty big dick." Either his own, or someone else's.

[10billionpercent]

"True, I haven't travelled the entire world yet or anything, but you'd think they'd be online." Senku mused thoughtfully.

"Back before everything, I mean." He waved his hand. "Everyone was online. Kind of like how the computers in every car keep us connected, only so much more than that."

He gets that

[10billionpercent]

Land territories in my world were divided based on the people who lived there to avoid strife, mainly. People decided what constituted a country and the people from there were meant to have some kind of patriotic tie to it. It was a way of classifying where you were born, partly, and what kinds of culture you were exposed to. Continents were collections of countries, separated by oceans. Many wars were fought over time to decide these things. It isn't important to your trip in the void, but I can explain further if you want.

[ He's really used to it. ]

There are recipes that come with the ingredients which are instructions on how to use them for a meal if you aren't sure what to do with them. They are simple to follow if you want to make something more complicated.

[10billionpercent]

"That's how my world is now, out of that same necessity. The villagers consider you to be an adult when you're fourteen. In Japan, before all of that, the age of majority was twenty." Senku explained, meaning that he'd just now reached the age to be considered an adult, physically.

"University studies were based on more complex professions, like a doctor. That's the easiest example I can come up with. It would've been really expensive to go, but because I'm smart, my tuition probably would've been paid." Senku hummed. "Oh well. I'm not sure it would've been as rewarding as rebuilding after the end of the world."

[kabano]

"Very well." Could be interesting to keep this one close, she seems to know quite a bit, or is at least capable of finding it.

"What data have you found?"

[herarrows]

"Lord and Lady, nothing would get done." Twenty is far too old, as far as she's concerned, but then she'd been ruling a country by then. She desperately wished that Elspeth wouldn't have to take over that young, but she's not blind to the fact that it's a real possibility, especially since Selenay herself is trapped here. Valdemar had to move on, and she was only one person, even if she was Queen.

"How very humble of you. The money you do or don't have should never be an obstacle to education."

[10billionpercent]

Senku chuckled. "Ah, but the population was much much higher. There weren't enough jobs for everyone so the longer they didn't have to enter the work force, the more time there was for people to retire. It was quite the system. There were nine million people in my city alone. And, because of that, it was one of the most expensive places in the world to live too. So while my dad made a decent enough salary, he sunk half of it into our rent alone." Economics were complicated.

He snickered. "I don't know about humble." He hummed. "Education became quite a big business. Once compulsory education ended you were responsible for paying for it so again, that's something else my dad paid for, unless you could get a scholarship by being smart enough that they wanted you."

Re: Library

[guru_clef]

Not so much show off as not having his friend's sister think less of him.

He shook his head to her question. "One of the other passengers was kind enough to provide me with a refresher on the internal workings of what constitutes a modern portable computer in his world, and from a combination of that and my own memories I was able to extrapolate what I needed to craft and assemble the parts myself. I would rather spend points on books that I have not yet red and thus cannot create than on saving myself some minimal effort."

And also, he was just like this.

[so_dark_a_road]

"Probably not. There are other people on the train who are vegetarians, and the train does provide a lot of nutritious food choices that are not meat."

Nobody should have to eat things that would be against their values to consume!

"Ah, I see. The silkplants like to grow up high, and they like a solid foundation for their roots. We might be able to build a structure that is something like a tree, or maybe the silkplant could adapt to growing in a bed of soil."

He takes another sip of tea. "What's your world like, Merwen?"

[xue_yang]

"Cultivation tends to need pure mind and soul and many times they live in remote places. It's possible even your online isn't something they would invest much time in."

It would be interesting to ask others and see how many of them could recall cultivators on their worlds. he wonders if his is the only one...

[so_dark_a_road]

"I guess that's why it's such a popular food substance. We didn't have it very often in my world. Cacao plants only grew far to the south of my territory, thousands of miles away. We did manage to import it once in a while, but it was a rare treat."

Curufin gave him an answering smile. He knew Romeo was still sad, but at least he had something to think about, a few projects to honor the departed. And he had delicious chocolate in the meantime.

"How have you been since I last talked to you, Romeo? Have you been keeping busy?"

[fivemilesdeep]

[That is...a lot. All at once. Ryo blinks a few times, trying to put his thoughts together after that deluge of information. It's a few questions answered, at least - at this point, he's pretty sure this is Zagreus.]

[He pauses, then puts the knife down. Knifework and conversations that require concentration tend not to mix.]

[Deep breath in, deep breath out. Okay.]

Okay, one: Thanatos doesn't seem like he gets to make a lot of his own decisions, so making one and then getting criticized- [Makes you feel like you can't do anything right-] -probably doesn't feel great. Two: we can plant one if you want - if nothing else, we can probably find a pot to plant it in. Three: Persephone is a kind person; if you've apologized and meant it, I'm sure it'll be fine. Four-

[...he doesn't have a fourth point. He'd just gotten carried away.]

[Um-]

...are you Zagreus?

[Hopefully that works?]

[10billionpercent]

"Possibly, possibly. But even remote communities were known about, talked about by archaeologists and the like." Senku mused.

"Anything is possible."

[xue_yang]

"Well maybe you will have cultivators in your new world. All your online is gone now, right?"

New cultures could pop up when a world is restarted into a new way. He starts on his third drink, this time not bothering to mix it. It's much stronger this way even if it doesn't taste as sweet.

[10billionpercent]

"Sure, if we manage to revive them. They could create a whole new culture, like the village I'm from. Can't rule it out."

It seemed like a strange idea. "But if it's about magic, I don't think it would happen."

Want to wrap this thread?

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin laughed. "Lucky for you, no such retribution has ever been visited on you. I had a son of my own, though, and he was quite a handful. Not as much so as I was, but enough to remind me that my poor parents must have been anxiety-stricken a fair amount of the time, considering how much mischief I got up to."

He nodded. "You were a highly intelligent child and you knew enough to pay attention to the warnings in books."

"I hope you and Gen get your vacation soon. It would be nice, wouldn't it?" The train was a bit stifling! "And I hope that you get to go home one day, and entertain and educate others with tales of your adventures in the multiverse."

[fivemilesdeep]

[He's quiet for a moment as he checks on the tea. An offer isn't the same as digging, is it?]

If you want to talk about it, I'm here. If not, that's fine.

And the booths in the quiet car lock from the inside. You should have some privacy in there.

Want to wrap this thread?

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin smiles. "I'll bet the trainees would enjoy it! Silliness does lighten the atmosphere, and Glorfindel and I actually got quite a lot of cleaning and cooking done, in between the Kitchen Wars."

And now he snorts with laughter. "I do like being theatrical, and the more ridiculous the play, the better. But oh, woe is me! How sad was the Kitchen Saga! You would probably be better off if you didn't know." He flings a histrionic forearm to his forehead, shuts his eyes, and pretends to be devastated. And then he smiles again and chuckles.

Okay if we wrap this thread and catch up later?

[so_dark_a_road]

"I'm not surprised you saved the Earth. You and Trowa and Duo seemed so competent, and I'm sure that whatever you attempted, it worked out well in the end."

All the worlds were complicated, as far as Curufin could tell!

He smiled at Quatre. "I hope so, too, actually. I would like to deal with all the unfinished business, and try to make up for my wrongdoing. Thank you, Quatre, for your compassion. I, too, believe that everyone deserves a second chance."