voidtreckermods: (voidtrain)
VoidTrecker Express Mods ([personal profile] voidtreckermods) wrote in [community profile] voidtreckerexpress2021-03-01 05:44 am

A New Platform [Intro Post March]

On the Train

Once again passengers are awoken by the morning announcement.

"Good morning passengers, it is day One of the month of Kazoo. 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 is thick, the air is warm and humid and there are rumbles of thunder, the air heavy with the promise of rain.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing as they walk silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers: Alfredo Martini, Daia, Enna Alchiba, Lord El-Melloi II, Natsuno Yuuki, Nita Callahan, Saku Gyousou, Sakura, V and Wen Qing

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, and seems smaller with twenty-seven 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.

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'). Those not new to the train will note the addition of an eighth sleeper carriage. The store rooms have been restocked with fresh ingredients, it seems the month of Kazoo is defined by the tomato and there are plenty of them.

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 as thunder rumbles further and the storm threatens to break. 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!
famtastic: (unsure)

[personal profile] famtastic 2021-03-04 07:42 am (UTC)(link)
"That would be one pyshiological difference to investigate." Why some needed it and some didn't. "I speak a few naturally but there does seem to be some translation function going on. Still, it might not be limited to the SCA if you don't need it on the train. Some sort of portable extension? Connected to a central hub somehow?"

She thought.

"Are there any interfaces on this train? And if it's a tether that begs the question of why we need a tether. Or do we need a tether? And when and how were we tethered to begin with? Transdimensional porting is not easy but considering the amount of people here, it doesn't seem too difficult for this...whatever it is."
10billionpercent: (Default)

[personal profile] 10billionpercent 2021-03-04 12:09 pm (UTC)(link)
"That's the running theory, that it's an extension of the tether we have. Provided we haven't been fed data that isn't true." He always feel the need to disclaim that, he wasn't sure everything they were told was the truth.

"The tether, as we understand it, is keeping us safe through the void and it's what allows for death to just be a minor inconvenience. If you die, you wake up again in the luggage sometime later." Senku explained. "The whole mystery is fascinating, if you ask me."
famtastic: (unsure)

[personal profile] famtastic 2021-03-04 09:17 pm (UTC)(link)
"Interesting. Death should not be so easily avoided. I wonder if this sort of... a psychic simulation. It seems real, it feels real, but our physical bodies are where we left them and our psyches been sort of transplanted here."
10billionpercent: (I Sense A Plot)

[personal profile] 10billionpercent 2021-03-05 05:02 pm (UTC)(link)
"I haven't died here, so I can't tell you what the experience is like. I was going to test it but people had a problem with that." Senku couldn't imagine why. Only he knew because they yelled at him for awhile until he got it.

"According to the train, you've been taken from your world and are considered missing and if you share a world with someone else, you may not be from the same place." Senku reported.

"However, I would exercise healthy skepticism when we're being told anything." He commented. "But I've made a mental note of what it said."
famtastic: (huh)

[personal profile] famtastic 2021-03-06 06:49 pm (UTC)(link)
"Well people do get a bit tetchy when it comes to death, it being final and all." Even she was cagey with it. Well considered missing isn't anything anyone isn't used to so she's more or less okay with that, if it's true.

"That's smart. But may not be from the same place? What does that mean exactly?"
10billionpercent: (Avoiding Emotions)

[personal profile] 10billionpercent 2021-03-06 11:08 pm (UTC)(link)
"It isn't here, as far as we know. I've promised not to do it on purpose."

Yes, someone had to extract that promise from him.

"Parallel worlds, presumably. Because if Gen and I -he's someone from my world- were from the same place, when I vanished which is further back in time from him, he would've noticed." Senku commented. "He didn't, as far as he knew I was with him the whole time and I definitely would've told him if I came back before him coming here."
famtastic: (now this is a situation)

[personal profile] famtastic 2021-03-07 06:20 am (UTC)(link)
"Doesn't have to be parallel worlds. If you vanish from further back in the timestream but reappear right after you vanish with your memories mucked with, it's like you never left. Time has a way of healing its own wounds. Except when it doesn't. But then things get tricky."
10billionpercent: (Sentimental)

[personal profile] 10billionpercent 2021-03-07 12:16 pm (UTC)(link)
"Well you aren't wrong, that could be a possibility. I can't discount it. As much as I wish I knew more about time travel, for the sheer fascination of it, there isn't much I know. In my world, time travel was never achieved." Senku explained.
famtastic: (you're clever)

[personal profile] famtastic 2021-03-08 07:45 am (UTC)(link)
A wide grin. That was her forte.

"Time doesn't go in a straight line. It's not a strict progression of cause and effect but from a non-linear, non subjective point of view it's like... a big ball of..." She gestures. "Wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff."
10billionpercent: (Default)

[personal profile] 10billionpercent 2021-03-08 02:32 pm (UTC)(link)
"Hm, interesting. For humans time seems to be linear." Senku commented. "You're born, you experience your life as it is with each year ticking by and then you die." He hummed.

"Even if time isn't linear, I bet you can't change the past, can you."
famtastic: (doctor)

[personal profile] famtastic 2021-03-09 06:04 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh you'd be surprised. Some things you can. Some things you cannot. Some things you can but you really better not. Past present and future is all malleable. But you can see the malleability of time even if you move linearly through it. It's all around you. It's actually bloody brilliant if you ask me."
10billionpercent: (I Sense A Plot)

[personal profile] 10billionpercent 2021-03-10 02:08 am (UTC)(link)
"Fascinating." Senku hummed. "I would bet a major world ending event couldn't be changed...then again the effects of that would be far reaching and would still require a sacrifice so I wouldn't change the past anyway. Everything has a cause and effect."
Edited 2021-03-10 02:08 (UTC)
famtastic: (doctor)

[personal profile] famtastic 2021-03-12 05:26 am (UTC)(link)
"I'd say to leave it to the professionals but I never do." Technically she's a sort of professional, but, she's more of an enthusiastic hobbyist.