A New Platform [Intro Post April]

[voidtreckermods]

On the Train

Once again passengers are awoken by the morning announcement.

"Good morning passengers, it is day Sixteen 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 after lunch. A lunch that may be a bit sparse: between the big eaters and the stress bakers, the stores have been stretched thin the last two weeks.

"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 steam is thin, with blue skies seen above. The sun shines brightly down, warm light pooling on the platform.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing as they walk silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers: Cassie Lang, Glorfindel, Jessie Custer, Olivia, Paddra Nsu-Yeul, S’reee, Thea Queen, Wei Wuxian.

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, open, with a vine-covered wall stretching high either side of the barrier. 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 eighteen 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 doors close behind them.

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 plenty more tomatoes.

For passengers that have bought items, these are also scattered around the luggage carriage in various suitcases and bags. There is a suitcase stocked with spare wash kit items, for those who are running low as well as a box labelled Do Not Use Yet that is full of small 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 who are making the most of the sunshine. 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

[weisexual]

He looks down at the book in his hands, realizing that perhaps simply taking ones that looked like they had the potential to be interesting and educational was not his best course of action. He closes it and sets it aside.

"Do you know what book might come before this medical text?" Lan Wangji knows a decent amount about medical but it is clear there has been advances and discoveries beyond what was available on his world.

[10billionpercent]

Senku rested his hands on his hips, tapping with one finger as he thought about it. "I think I saw..."

He went over to the shelves to see if it was available and returned with a Compendium of Diseases.

"It's a bit more dry." He said, putting it down in front of him. "But it basically gives you an encyclopedic rundown of various forms of diseases that people can have, with a description of what to look for, and basic treatments. It might be both more and less basic, but if you find any of them interesting, there are more books in medical that would compliment this one, more focused on the treatment aspect."

[weisexual]

"Mm..." He takes it and flips it open to the first page, scanning over the text and finding it a little more straight forward then the one he started with. It would make for a good base and probably guide him to what he needed to know to understand the other.

He gives a small nod and looks up at the one who has helped him. "Thank you. This should help." He is smart so he knows he will figure things out fairly quickly. But the key to this library is figuring out what order to do things.

[10billionpercent]

"Not a problem." Senku said with a bit of a smile. "If you run out of books to read in the library, I've amassed a decent collection of non-fiction myself, I'm happy to lend them to you if you want. They're all scientific texts."

[weisexual]

"Do they explain more about this...technology?" Basically the things that he didn't have in his time period which is basically everything involved with this train. Because he will be able to get through the books in this tiny library very quickly and having some that might actually help him navigate this place would be beneficial.

[10billionpercent]

"Which technology?" Senku asked. "If you mean the train, specifically, not that much. It's not inclined to help us understand how it works. If you mean trains in general, or the ICP, or just about everything else on board, I can certainly explain what you want to know." They might not have that many engineering books though.

[weisexual]

"All of it. Everything here is new and I want to make sure I utilize its full potential."

He does not want to look like a fool in front of those that have been here or are used to it. He wants to be able to be useful.

[10billionpercent]

He could understand that drive, after all understanding things was how he got through the world. He smiled.

"I'll start with the ICP then." Senku said, crossing the room to the wall and tapping it. "It's like a computer which you probably don't know what that is, but that's just to give you a name. It works for communication across the train. All of the cars have them, including your room, except for the ones in the quiet car. There's no control of the volume so if someone decides to broadcast something, you'll hear it."

He held up his ticket, pulling it out of his pocket. "This ticket that you use to get into you room, also operates this machine. You swipe it to identify yourself and you can send a video, which means everyone can see you in real time, or just hear your voice. You can send it to a specific car, or just to everyone overall, by selecting the options on the screen."

[weisexual]

He listens quietly, absorbing it as easily has he has learned anything else in his lifetime. Fingers twitch as if desiring a brush to write down what he learns. But there is none convenient and nothing has been said yet that he can't remember on his own.

"Is there no way to only communicate with one person?" Something so advanced that it can talk to everyone at once seems useful but not nearly as useful as something he could use to talk to one. He doubts he will ever have anything he wishes to say to the whole train.

[10billionpercent]

He shook his head. "The best you can get is sending it to their room, which limits it to them and their roommates, if they're around." Senku commented.

"You can have private conversations on the SCA, which is the thing on your wrist." Senku pointed to the one on his. "But it only works during missions. The communication function doesn't work on the train. I don't know why, yet." He mentally filed that as another question.

[weisexual]

He doesn't like that at all but there is little he can do about it. He doesn't exactly know how the technology works and so he can't make any changes to make it better. So he will have to endure this inconvenience.

"So these work even when off the train?" Regarding the thing called an SCA.

[10billionpercent]

"They do. They are meant to be for safety. So far I can tell you it does the translating for us, we don't speak the same language, potentially." Senku mused. "As well as warns you of personal dangers attuned to your person." He continued. "And we found out last mission it guards against illusions and mind control."

[weisexual]

He quirks his eyebrow up slightly, "It can do all that?" Impressive. But he doesn't want to rely on some little device to protect him.

"What else can you tell me?" About anything. He is interested in it all.

[10billionpercent]

"It does at least all of that, if not more we don't understand. For example, it alerts me to my allergies, which is incredibly specific, I think. Strange. Something that's out of place." It bothered him the most.

"I can tell you pretty much anything that's scientific related." Senku quirked a smile. "Like those books there that you're reading. I could even open this screen up and show you how it works if you want." He had tools.

[weisexual]

He nods and settles in his seat ready to learn. He has always been the most proper of students. Even though he hasn't been in lessons for over sixteen years that doesn't mean he can't still remember what it is like to listen to an instructor.

[10billionpercent]

He flicked his wrist, the hand that had the ring on it and then in his hand appeared the handle of a tool kit.

Senku caught the weight with an oof, and set it down on the gound, before crouching to open it up and pull out what he wanted, a screwdriver, mainly.

"Granted, I can only tell you about how I know how screens like this are made. If there's some strange alien technology that's train based, I can't account for that, or magic. There's no magic in my world. What little magic I do know now, I've picked up here. But it looks just like the tech in my experience, so that means the odds that I'm right are significantly higher."

[weisexual]

He looks from the screen briefly and then back to his face. "So you have not done this before?" Which means the man is about to tear the thing apart without any proper knowledge as to whether it might explode in his hands if he does so.

The uncertainty of it makes him nervous, but the need for knowledge doesn't wish for him to stop in his investigation.

"If you break that, will they give a replacement?"

[10billionpercent]

"Taking it apart? Multiple times now." Senku said, using the screwdriver on the panel. "I can also repair it, provided it's not damaged, like a broken screen."

He tilted his head back to glance at him. "Also, yes. When things break they get replaced usually when we are at the platform getting new people which is roughly every two weeks."

[weisexual]

He nods in understanding. Feeling a little bit better that this man seems to know what to do to put the thing back together. He turns his eyes down towards the device and watches what he is doing.

[10billionpercent]

Once he had the panneling removed, he could pull the screen forward and out to show him the wires. Senku began to explain what each wire did, and what kind of reaction made things like TV screens work.

Fortunately, he was used to dealing with people who had no foundation of knowledge on this subject, since he'd made the sonar and radar at home.

[weisexual]

He listens closely. It's a lot to absorb but he is smart enough to understand the concepts behind it all. It is also easy to figure out how this technology is also used in other areas of the train. Obviously it would take many days and possibly weeks for him to understand everything in this place, but this is a good start.

[10billionpercent]

It's a significant lecture, about the different parts, how they work together, what each thing does and how many of these components exist in other electronic items.

When he's finished, he will of course, reassemble the ICP exactly how it was, so anyone who needed to use it, could.