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

[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."

[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."

[herarrows]

"I suppose so, but that still seems incredibly ridiculous." Whoever thought that was a good idea? Suddenly, she finds herself very disappointed with other worlds, but then she was the sort of monarch who actually cared about all of her people, and not just the noble ones.

"Again, the money you do or do not have should never hold a person back from an education."

[10billionpercent]

"It shouldn't but..." Senku sighed and shrugged a little bit. "There were ways to get around it, and still it's quite possible to some people we would sound very rich, but it all depends on the economics of where you live. You can be given a lot of money but if it doesn't buy very much then the numbers are meaningless."

He hummed. "But I'm not sure that's what you meant to ask me about in the first place." He let out a bit of an amused chuckle. "Not that I get to talk about the past that much anyway."

[herarrows]

"Don't like to, don't want to, or don't have a chance?" There's a difference, but she needs to know before she starts offering to listen if it's going to be painful to bring it up. There are any number of things she'd rather not talk about in her past, she can't exactly blame him if there are secrets in his.

[10billionpercent]

"It doesn't usually come up." Senku admitted. "Gen and I have talked about the past, over time, but it doesn't bother me. It's just that people find the future more interesting, and more pressing, really."

[herarrows]

"To be quite honest it's a damn sight more confusing for me." Technology and all of that still doesn't make any sense, she'd just learned not to question it too much. It works because it does, and that's as complicated as she'll ever be able to understand.

"Should you need someone to drone on at, I'm quite good at listening."

[10billionpercent]

"It isn't that really. I have far more concerns in the future, and responsibilities. Even if I could go back to that time, I don't think I would." Senku admitted. "For one thing, it wouldn't fix anything, and for another I'd have to suffer through more high school and that's not fun for anyone." He joked with a bit of a smirk.

He looked a little tired, leaning back in his seat a bit. "I think the challenge right now is a lot more interesting than anything I could've come up with."

[herarrows]

"Well, at least your regrets are manageable." Quite a feat in and of itself, she can't even say that about herself. And he really does sound like a Herald the longer she talks to him, all responsibilities and concerns.

"And I'm glad someone is enjoying it."

[10billionpercent]

"There's other things I wish was different, but at the moment they can't be. I'm too pragmatic to linger on that for very long. There's no real point in playing 'what if'." Senku commented with a bit of a hum.

"I think I enjoy engineering far more than I would've thought. It wasn't going to be my field, but building things is quite a challenge."

[herarrows]

"And what is engineering, exactly?" So many words she doesn't understand. "Is it just building things or is there something else involved?" That sounds awfully like a carpenter to her, but it sounds much more...involved.

[10billionpercent]

"Engineering involves using scientific principles and applied math to design and build a wide variety of things." Senku explained. "Machines, buildings, roads...all kinds of things. Most people specialize in one type over another. Because I wanted to go to space, I might've been an aerospace engineer if I was going to pick engineering at all." It had been a possibility.

[herarrows]

"Why is everything in your world so very complicated?" It's a childish protest, but she almost can't help it. What was wrong with keeping things simple? "I suppose I don't really know all the intricacies of building such things, but it seems like your world might have overcomplicated it a little."

[10billionpercent]

He chuckled lightly. "What happened was simple scientific progression. The more humans know, the more they want to know, the more they invent and the more complicated they make things. Some of the things you see on the train are that level of technology or a step behind it. I don't think there's anything here that's really beyond my world's technology."

"Science and math though, it's all very easy to understand." Senku paused. "For me, anyway. For me, I look at it and think it's all incredibly logical. Everything that comes builds on what came before. You don't start at the end. Mind you, I'm trying to run to the end, but that's because we've been there before. We're still lagging far behind where we once were."

[herarrows]

"Well, they did teach figures at the Collegium, but nothing so...involved." Probably the absolute basics to him, if she were entirely honest. Heralds were probably the most well-educated people in Valdemar, and she still feels like a child next to him. She probably seems like one, too.

"You'll get there, I'm sure."

[10billionpercent]

"Probably not since it sounds like your world isn't as advanced." He didn't think she seemed like a child. He was very used to having people around him who didn't understand.

"I know we will."