A New Platform [Intro Post May]

[voidtreckermods]

On the Train

Like clockwork, the Voidtreckers are awoken by a familiar message this morning.

"Good morning Voidtreckers, it is day one of the month of Llama. Points have been updated on the system."

With points updated, everyone can spend the morning shopping. Most people will 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 air is sticky and warm, the windows almost immediately dewing over with the humidity outside.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing, walking silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers. Azula, Prisoner, Amery Vallet, Dyme Graydon, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, Yoite, Piccolo, Bulla Brief, Xie Lian, Kurosaki Ichigo, Hua Cheng, Renee Corbin, and Ran Mouri; 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 find themselves on a platform, rich wood and pale stone forming a natural, tree-like structure overhead. Behind them is a set of barriers, and in front of them is a single set of tracks extending both ways into thick fog. The air is rainforest-hot, and the sound of frogsong can be faintly heard over the drip of the artificial canopy.

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 fog begins to fade and they realise they aren’t alone.

The platform isn't large, and seems smaller with twenty-eight figures scattered around, all facing the tracks, all dressed in cargo trousers and hoodies. 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 pours a strange assortment of people, over a hundred at least. 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.

Behind them, the doors close, and the train is cloaked in the same fog that hides the world beyond the platform.

The Train

After a short time, the fog clears and 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 nori, the ingredient of the month of Llama, as well as all sundries.

For passengers that have bought items, these are also scattered around the luggage carriage in various suitcases and bags. For each member of Purple Team, a small silver box with their name on it contains a glittery cupcake.

New passengers will find their ticket allows them into their cabins. They may need to negotiate for beds, but at least they won't be alone in their confusion - since the sleeper carriages are now double-decker, and experience isn't going to avail the passengers in finding their rooms.

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.

The new double carriage's transfer ICP is active, allowing people to move to a double room should they meet the requirements with another person, though they'll have to move their belongings themselves.

Departure

A second horn sounds to encourage any stragglers taking advantage of the fresh air, 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

[sciencegirl]

"Oooh! I love that idea. We've been working on some simple drones to help people that can't tolerate extreme conditions. Trying to make two for each team. Devero, Kaiba, whoever Devero is getting help from- I would recommend talking to them! They're both great at cooperative efforts. But yeah! We definitely could use more robots."

She is excited to talk shop to people. "Uh huh! I could actually show you her if you want to see. I got the crystal today so I need to install it. She's still very rough, though, I don't have any of her plating on." Anything to share the fun, right? Even to people that are completely new. He seems interested! Why not?

"So far she's cost me a crate and a half of found robot parts, the price of a weapon, which was ninety. The price of a box of Horde tech, which was forty. The price of a First Ones crystal, which was twenty-five, and some durable flasks to contain a potion stock which was another forty. That's just to build the alpha version. I'm still going to add more."

[intelinside]

"Drones are a good idea. Surveillance or combat?" He'd left his rucksack in his room, but in his hoodie pocket he has one of the pens and the notebook he's been provided, as well as his tool roll at his waist. He pulls out the notebook and pen now, opening it to show that he's already made a few notes. On the page he turns to there's a few book titles, as well as a couple names, and he adds Kaiba's, noting, "You're the second person to mention Devero, but Kaiba's a new name."

Entrapta may be quick to trust, but in this case she's right, Phineas is incredibly interested, smiling openly at the invitation to see the robot in question. Honestly, seeing her without the plating will allow him to get a better look at the internal mechanisms, which is even better. "I'd love to take a look. Robots are some of my favorite projects," he admits. "I could tinker with them for ages." That's how he got the name!

"So that's..." He scribbles down those details as well, using shorthand, and quickly calculates the prices. "A hundred and ninety-five points, not counting salvage. Without, it might go up to two-fifty- to two-seventy-five. That's not too bad... What are you thinking about adding?"

[sciencegirl]

"Mmmmn to be honest, I want to increase her shield and weapons capabilities as time goes on." She drums her fingers nervously along the edge of her scanner, making a nasal little uneasy noise.

"People here are really worried about robots going insane, but in my experience it's flesh and blood people that are more susceptible to mind control. So when I was mapping out her strategic combat I also used the fight maneuvres of a lot of crew to enhance her performance. I don't want her to be seen as a risk!" She loves her babies, they're usually so good! It's not fair for them to be judged on a few bad eggs.

"I just have to make her strong enough to slow someone down if they're mind-controlled. If Claudette knows what to do and is equipped to counter some attacks, she can do that."

Right, the drones though! "Both, possibly. Mostly objective work of any sort. We had a mission that allowed us to 'hard light holograms', meaning that the hologram was accompanied by resistant fields that gave them solid properties. I salvaged a bunch of broken ones to use and repurpose. Kaiba is decent with VR technology and Devero has drones in his own world. Each team has a number of highly powered individuals, but for basic people like me who can't survive inhospitable conditions or for almost inaccessible areas it would be invaluable."

She rests her chin on her hands. "Sooo what were you thinking of?"

[intelinside]

For a moment, Phineas can't source her unease. As she explains her concerns, though, or her concerns about other people's potential concerns, it becomes more clear. This definitely sounds like it might be more advanced AI than he's used to, but in some ways he can relate: It's not like he hasn't made things that could easily be turned against him or the people he cares about, before.

"I can see why people would be nervous," he admits. "And if someone did hack her, and she's sentient, that could be upsetting for her, too." Honestly, that is itself a worrying prospect. PTSD can mess up a human being badly enough, he isn't sure how a robot might deal with it. "If you want her to be able to step in if someone's out of control, and you don't want people to worry about her being out of control, have you considered programming in a failsafe? Even if it's something only you have access to, if you can put her into a temporary shutdown, like putting a computer to sleep, it shouldn't hurt her."

He nods along to her explanation of the drones, though he's fascinated by the concept of hard light holograms and it's obvious he's stopping himself from immediately asking questions. "It sounds like it would be," he agrees. "And like the three of you have a good idea of what you're doing. Would you mind if I had a look at the hard light hologram technology sometime? I've done a lot of work with holograms, but I've never heard of anything like that."

Phineas smiles at the question. "I've had a couple ideas. I haven't started sketching anything out yet, but primarily, I was thinking of making something like the VR headsets in the games car, except instead of virtual reality, it would give someone remote control over a robot. Whoever was using it would be seeing through its eyes in as close to real time as possible, operating it with near-immediate response time. Something with hands, so that it's capable of making repairs, restarting or shutting down systems as necessary, as well as surveillance or combat or delivering supplies."

That's the first thing he thought of, anyway. He knows he can be much more use if he is not personally in the field; he's not exactly suited to that.

[sciencegirl]

"I'm planning to! I'm letting an android I know who broke her programming that dictated violence initiate early communications. Plus I've been listening to people's cautionary tales of AIs that went rogue in their worlds. Often it was mistreatment, so I just have to make sure she's treated well for the most part and really focus on symbiotic personality traits."

She'll have to find other storage options if people end up insisting on mistreating her.

"I do have some parts left if you want to take a look. We only made eight functioning drones. Kaiba was supposed to be responsible for the headsets, but unfortunately he's... had a run of bad luck." And she's trying to be emotionally aware about it. "If you know how the headsets work, maybe you could help develop something multifunctional, especially if we talk to Kaiba about it. It could have options to use the drones or the eventual robots."

She adjusts the bug-like welding mask she has pushed up on her head at the moment. It's purple, like her hair, and kind of clashes with the mishmash of prominently Orange team gear (though she is wearing a purple team shirt, part of a trade she made with a girl of similar size).

"There's probably only a week before the next mission. I really want to get those drones done in time."

[intelinside]

"If you're already planning on it, then there shouldn't be a problem." Phineas is firm about that much, not necessarily reassuring but no-nonsense. "I'd tell anyone the same thing. You're taking every reasonable precaution."

That said, "What level of intelligence would you say she's going to have? Cat, parrot, human?" Parrots themselves are about toddler-level intelligence, honestly. "Whatever the case, it's not a surprise if they start lashing out if they're mistreated."

He gives her a quick smile. "I'd appreciate that." He grows more serious again when she explains about the drones, about difficult things interfering with the process, and looks thoughtful. "The headsets here are more advanced than what we have back home," he admits. "But I understand the concept, and I think I can see how to make it work. If Kaiba's willing to share his notes, I'd be happy to help with the project." And honestly even if he balks at the idea Phineas would be interested in helping with the project, because he's just really into this kind of thing. He'll just be able to jump in faster.

Purple and orange is definitely a bold choice, but honestly, Phineas has gotten used to some eye-catching color combinations. And there's something almost endearing about the design of the welding mask. Insectoid, with big eyes.

"I'd feel better if there was a little more time," Phineas, who would always like extra time to perfect his projects, admits. "But I'll do what I can."

[sciencegirl]

"There are certain worlds with creatures that live in either a symbiotic or commensel relationship with humans, usually involving humans using them for combat. This may sound initially like mistreatment, but the creatures are naturally predisposed to gaining strength through combat and the intention isn't to kill, but to grow stronger. It happens even in the wild for them, but with human aid they have the capacity to recover from battles faster. This is more common an occurrence than you'd think."

Essentially Claudette will think like a Pokemon or a Digimon.

"It would be an enormous help if you could lend a hand, actually! I don't know you but the train doesn't tend to make mistakes on the skill levels of its recruitments. Even people with crippling self-doubt are much more capable than they believe." Devero.

"There should be more time after the mission as well. At least that's what usually happens. I've only been on two, though."

[intelinside]

"So... something like a fairly intelligent animal?" Phineas doesn't automatically make the jump to Pokemon, but he thinks he gets the idea, at least. "Even that's more advanced than the AI where I come from; we're still at the point that it should probably be called machine learning rather than implying actual intelligence.

He smiles at her comment on the skill level of the passengers, how the train is good at what it does. "Then I'll try to talk to Kaiba and see what I can do over the next week. Whatever I can't get done, I'll keep working after."

His smile turns into a bit of a grin, "I've been warned that we get short bursts of activity and then basically nothing. Which should at least give us plenty of time to work and make adjustments."