A New Platform [Intro Post September]

[voidtreckermods]

On the Train

"Good morning Voidtreckers, it is day one of the month of Nebula. 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 doors open. As usual, those who leave first notice nothing, walking silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers. A-Qing, Atem, Beauregard Lionett, Casper LeBlanc Jr, Donatello Versus, Frankie Bacon, Ichiban Kasuga, Kumoko, Lena Sabrewing, Mami Tomoe, Mono, Peter Parker, Reno, Shi Qingxuan, Tobari, Wen Ning; all pass across the platform, not looking back. And then they're gone, disappeared 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. The platform is open to a bright blue sky, speckled with a couple of clouds. It's very warm, enough that they will not want to stay in those hoodies for long. Behind them through the fogs is a set of barriers, set in a brick wall and in front of them is a single set of tracks extending both ways into that same 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 on the foggy, blistering hot platform; then the fog begins to fade and they realise they aren’t alone.

The platform isn't large, but it is enough to hold the 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, perhaps ten minutes or so, 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'). They will also find a bunch of posters around the train and might notice the new clock in the standard coach.

The store rooms have been restocked with fresh ingredients, the ingredient this month is a strange meat, yaddon tail.

For passengers that have bought items, these are also scattered around the luggage carriage in various suitcases and bags. There is a box labelled for purple team containing a stick of rock for each member of purple team, including those who are new. Join in your teams success!

New passengers will find their ticket allows them into their cabins. In most rooms, the occupied beds are obvious, leaving the spotless, empty spaces for the newcomers. 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 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

[dnaofahalfa]

"You'd think then it wouldn't expend extra effort to nullify abilities then," Razzy said with quite a bit of annoyance. "Oh hey, dimension hopper invested in helping her cousin, how about we just negate that and force her to always be on the train, great idea! Just give me an anchor, I can find a way to figure out how to find Danny again!"

There are Many Inconveniences since her arrival and she's very vexed by them.

"And how about the other medical people?" Razzy asked. Never mind that it likely wasn't true the guy was younger then her, but people got weird at her being twelve to fourteen, let alone two. "Because it wouldn't be the first time I had to watch supplies. I'm good at basic numbers, at least, and memorizing weird chemical names."

[thawed_pride]

"Ah, that. I do not believe that to be an effort of the train, but rather the nature of the Void itself. My own magic functions normally, including the ability to conjure corridors of darkness - essentially entrances to the back alleys of reality..."

He pauses his unboxing to wave a hand, and a circle of dark purple and black energy swirls into existence on the other end of the room.

"The corridors simply fail to reach their intended destination when it would be outside of the confines of the train or whatever world we have landed upon. On a somewhat related note, exercise caution in attempting to use any world traversing powers in any place described as a 'void nexus', it has rather...unpleasant results."

He huffs and dismisses the corridor with a sharp flick of his wrist.

"As for the number of medical staff...we had quite a few people who were capable of volunteering some amount of skill at the last survey, but the ICP network is a poor medium for recording results of such things, and I have not seen a physical note detailing the results. Even if it was, such a document would need to be regularly modified and re-posted to reflect those who disembark each platform. At the very least, however, we are not notably understaffed for ordinary tasks of maintaining everyday health."

[dnaofahalfa]

She frowns, looking at the dark corridor. "That's....weird. Sabra was a completely separated universe. Its why we could get people from wildly different points in time of the same universe. We made the connections ourselves and even then, the Enterprise and Watanuki's shop should be another means of travel....so what is it about this void that makes it impossible?"

"We could set up, what's the word...a time sheet?" She said. That sounded like the word. "Have something to sign in and detail to make sure medical is always manned because even if we have enough people, it doesn't matter much if we can't find the people."

[thawed_pride]

"That much, I have been unable to ascertain. Even indirect exposure to the Void, such as in one of the aforementioned nexuses, can cause significant distress. Merely looking at it for too long causes severe headaches. Such conditions make it remarkably difficult to study, although the library does have some research material on the development of Voidcraft. They function quite differently from the gummi ships with which I am familiar, and I hope to test how gummi craft function in the Void now that we are capable of purchasing larger objects. Until such time as I am able to see such an experiment through, however, everything we know is either speculative or from a perspective that is wholly unfamiliar with other world traveling technology or magic."

As he speaks, his voice gets more animated, and he starts gesturing with his free hand as he removes a machine from his box.

"However, based upon what the train has communicated to us, it seems as though the Void does indeed exist somewhat separate from the time of the worlds it bridges. We have been able to receive information of a recently destroyed world, and then arrive in time to avert that world's destruction. There are also supposedly multiple versions of largely identical worlds, meaning that it is possible for two slightly different versions of a single person to coexist on the train. The other side of this, however, is that it is apparently difficult to return to visit any specific iteration of a world...assuming the train is not simply claiming as much out of a fear that her newfound crew would abandon her should we land upon our own worlds. She has been amenable to our feedback so far, however, so I do not see reason to assume the worst of her intentions..."

As he trails off, he realizes that she'd asked a second question, too. He nods, one finger tapping energetically on the top of his new piece of equipment.

"A time sheet would certainly be useful. Particularly if I can manage to set up a cell phone compatible network for the train, so that we can communicate more directly than the ICPs allow."

[dnaofahalfa]

"I wonder if I could get something from a space fairing world...maybe something from Chrono's world, his species could do a lot with technology and magic and I got a good look at the ship..." She said, frowning deeply. She wishes she had had more time to ask about the space traveling places. She knew a bit, but not near as much as she would like to even try to figure out this problem.

She looks at the machine, leaning closer to take a look at it. "Which makes it weirder. Sabra was like that too. It didn't happen often, but Edward had another version of himself that had been there before him...which just says how separated it is. Time wasn't consistent for the same world, and it could still pull from multiple of the same world. So what's the main difference?" She said, scratching her head. "Amenable to feedback doesn't always mean good. People don't question nice. Give a little nice, you can hide a lot of bad, and if the nice is of no consequence to a person..." She shrugged.

"Do you have people helping with the cell phone thing?" She asked. "Not that I can help, but sometimes really smart people forget to like...ask."

[thawed_pride]

"Our missions thus far have also been for benevolent ends, though I certainly encourage using judgment regarding what tasks to pursue. The train seems to be running on some form of artificial intelligence, and thus her perspective will be skewed by that regardless of where her intentions lie."

The machine seems to be some sort of compact medical laser, and as he turns his attention back to it, he seems to be examining it with an almost nervous thoroughness. Then again, there really is no such thing as 'too careful' when it comes to medical supplies.

"And for your information, I have enlisted the aid of Ienzo in the phone project. He is my..." He makes a gesture that he hopes will convey 'it's complicated', but mostly just seems confused and conflicted. "Anyway, his work on the Gummiphones provides a valuable perspective on the subject, even if they seem similarly foiled by the Void."

[dnaofahalfa]

"Artificial intelligence? Leke a computer?" She asked. "And sometimes things can start out well and quickly get out of hand. Stopping it early is usually better before it gets to the dubious holding stage."

"Which is one world technology. Just saying, if there's any struggle, other world perspectives have done loads to solve problems," she said, tilting her head as she looked over the laser. She's seen them before, but those were of the purely ecto variety. "I can't tell you how often I heard of a problem that was happening very specifically because of the world they were in that had an easy solution if they just talked to someone from another world."

[thawed_pride]

"Like a computer, yes. The train's original crew is missing, and the only biological entities on board are those whom the train has...recruited. And I am quite aware of how easily good intentions can lead one to disaster. I once made that mistake, and it cost more than most could imagine." He takes a tense breath and shakes his head. "That is why I make certain to evaluate the situations on each world we land upon, and do my best to make the most of our time there. If it means enduring some inconvenience due to the train's own priorities, then so be it.

"That, however, is irrelevant to the projects I am working on between missions. Ienzo and I are both seasoned world travelers, and it is, in fact, the variety of technologies and magics across worlds that is causing one of the major obstacles. We can hardly assume everyone who arrives with some sort of personal phone will be using something familiar to us."

[dnaofahalfa]

Razzy looked up at that admittance and she considers him for a moment.

Then she reaches out and pats his shoulder. "That's a good way to move forward," she said. "No matter how great the mistake is, you can still do good in the world if you're willing to commit to it."

"Of course..." She moved her hand away and looked up at the ceiling. "That takes realizing something has gone wrong and often those who take away the agency of others have a real hard time realizing what they did and being better. Just fall into things getting out of hand."

She hummed, leaning against the counter, crossing her arms. "And I guess resources are limited enough its hard to just make a new device?"

[thawed_pride]

He tenses and edges away slightly at the hand on his shoulder. There's no indication of surprise, but it's clear he prefers his personal space left empty.

"And that is why it is important that we have the ability to provide feedback. Already, those who had slightly more experience with missions than I have convinced the train to be more transparent regarding the dangers involved in pursuing our objectives. Resources, however, do continue to be limited. We have the means to shape raw materials into whatever we wish, but materials that are not being used for something else are in short supply. To say nothing of space, considering we are limited to the dimensions of a typical train car..."

[dnaofahalfa]

She'll pull her hand back at that. No touchy if he doesn't like it!

Razzy hummed, tilting her head thoughtfully. "Hmm, it is hard to get something from nothing. Maybe if someone had magic to make the insubstantial into an item," she said, rubbing her chin. "Or if its small enough to change something. There were a few people who could do that, so its not out of the realm of possibility here."