voidtreckerexpress | A New Platform [Intro Post December]

On the Train

It's only been a couple of days since the Voidtrecker Express took to the void once more, and many of the passengers are still recovering and recuperating after a very hectic end to their latest mission. Nevertheless, they are awoken by a familiar message.

"Good morning passengers, it is day sixteen of the month of Imagination. 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 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. It is warm outside with a pleasant breeze that flows down the platform, rustling the light spread of leaves that litter the floor.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing, walking silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers. Akemi Homura, Alfred the Poisoner, Donatello Versus, Chie Satonaka, Joscelin Fitzthomas, Ronan Lynch, Rose Tyler, Tangle the Lemur, Trowa Barton, Wester Mazaki and Whisper the Wolf 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. The second thing they will notice is the swirling leaves at their feet, moving in flurries and rattling against each other softly. As their eyes adjust, they will see they are on a platform, cement and packed earth forming a very practical, plain-looking shelter. 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 but then the steam begins to fade and they realise they aren’t alone.

The platform is not large and it holds eight figures all facing the tracks, all dressed in cargo trousers and hoodies. Both left and right the 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 into the gloom step a selection 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

The doors hiss open. 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 more jars of honey, the ingredient of the month of Imagination, as well as sundries.

A new carriage has been added right next to the luggage carriage. It is a second medical carriage, or triage carriage. Downstairs is more open with beds and chairs, upstairs are two surgical bays for those that need immediate attention.

For those intrigued by the claim of a parcel for every passenger they will find several large boxes filled with small blue bags. Inside each bag is ten dark blue coins imprinted on each side with a silver snowflake. Each bag has a small label with a passengers name. On the other side of the label it reads: Keep these safe for now.

Of course for any passengers that have bought items, these are also scattered around the luggage carriage as well.

New passengers will find their tickets allow 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 and you will hopefully find a pillow for your bed if it has not been nabbed by a roommate, there are also spare blankets for if it gets cold.

Departure

A second horn sounds to encourage any stragglers taking advantage of the pleasant weather 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. The fog from the windows is gone now, replaced with a kaleidoscope of ever-changing colours.

Welcome to the Void!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Clearly, if something that happened that long ago still left a mark on Devero. But of course it did. Even though the petrification happened thousands of years ago to the people in the village, as an example, they were still affected by the fact they seemed to be the only people left, that they were surviving on their own.

"If there's one thing I've learned, my friend," Gen told him, "it's that people have an amazing ability to just survive. To adapt, to look at really long odds and decide, you know what? This is bullshit, we're going to beat this thing, even though we've got basically nothing."

He gave Devero a small smile. "And with the technology you have - you're clearly doing more than simply surviving, at that."

Devero lets out another breath and nods. "You're right," he says. "We do. We've done it. And-- you said you had an apocalypse happen too...?"

Devero touches his Interface lightly. "Oh-- well. When you go from billions of people crowding an over-stressed planet to only millions, there end up being a lot of resources to go around." He still sounds-- not somber as he says it, but at least serious. All those resources had come at tremendous cost, after all.

“I suppose so,” Gen laughed a little weakly. “There’s a tipping point I think between reducing the strain on resources and, well, not having the people around to, err. Keep the internet going.”

He rubbed the back of his head. “So, err, I realize how ridiculous this sounds to most people not just because I’ve gotten that reaction before. But because it also sounds ridiculous to me? But, uh. Long story short.”

“Everyone on my planet had turned to stone, in the reality I was taken from,” Gen told him. “Then, almost four thousand years ago, my friend finally broke out and started the slow process of unpetrifying other people.”

So Devero doesn't actually look like he finds that ridiculous. In fact, he says, "Oh! Are you from the same world as--"

The name deserts him; he's met so many people already, and taken in so much information. He glances away, focusing on what he can see in his Interface eye, pulling up his little file of makeshift public tags. He flips through them with a movement of his hand.

"--Senku, that's it."

"I am!" Gen confirmed brightly. Seemed like that bit of wearable tech was really useful to Devero, though he wondered if it was crippled a bit by not being connected to any sort of cloud. It was simply a guess, he knew how devices back in the modern day worked - but perhaps in some future they wouldn't have that limitation?

"He's the one who woke up and started to figure out how to unpetrify people," Gen shared, if Senku hadn't already. "Really, humanity's pretty lucky - he's a genius, definitely the smartest person in our reality, even counting the petrified people. Probably the smartest on this train, too! So if anyone had to be in the right place to get un-petrified, might as well be that kind genius who can reverse-engineer what happened."

Oh Gen, if only you knew. If only Devero knew, in fact. He has not yet begun to realize how crippled his Interface is going to be here, nor himself by extension.

"He mentioned that," Devero says. He'd certainly gotten the impression in their conversation that Senku was bright, fast talking and full of ideas. But how full of how many ideas, not so much. He blinks at Gen, assimilating that, and in the end says with a bit of awe, "Your world really was lucky, then, wasn't it? To have someone like him to help it?"

"Undoubtedly," Gen confirmed with a nod. "He's a genius, but he's also got a knack for seeing other people's strengths, and stepping back when someone else can excel and shine. Take our friend in our reality, who was a skilled shipwright and navigator before the petrification. Or another, who used to be a sonar technician. Or even our friend who was a fantastic chef and baker."

Gen gave Devero a genuine smile. "Plenty of people approaching Senku-chan's genius have an ego to go with it. He doesn't. He just wants to fix a problem he's happy to let someone else take the wheel if they know more. People from my reality would have been screwed if he wasn't half as smart - but they'd also be screwed if he only thought of himself."

The more Gen talks, the more Devero starts to file Senku from 'citizen' status to 'administrator' in his head. Not in the conventional bureaucratic sense, but what the position means where he comes from: orchestrator; problem-solver; burden-bearer. Leader. Someone that it's up to people like him to support and facilitate.

Good to know.

"He's really an incredible person, then, isn't he?" he says, just as genuine as Gen. "Sounds like we're just as lucky to have him here as your folks were to have him back home."

"He is!" Devero got a bright, fond smile, as Gen easily agreed to that without hesitation. "Senku-chan is amazing. Though you don't need to take my word for it - I'm sure he'd love to talk about the technology you have there if you're looking for some nerdy conversation about it."

The way he said 'nerdy' was incredibly fond, certainly not an insult.

Then, Gen winked at him. "Though I warn you, my friend - he'll likely ask if he can take it apart to see how it works."

"He's welcome to ask," Devero says with a grin back, "as long as he can take no for an answer." His tone is fairly light, but there's a touch of brittleness behind clenched teeth. Bad enough to be stuck here without the net or most of the electronic conveniences he's used to. Without his Interface? Nope, not an option.

Gen noticed the slight tension in Devero, but it didn't seem to have anything to do with Senku, or himself. Something to watch for, then. Gen was curious, but not so much that he'd openly call someone out on such a thing.

Especially when someone like Devero could break his nose if he started to pry, just by his strength. Until he knew his temperament better ...

"Senku-chan understands boundaries, don't you worry," Gen assured him. "Though, if you were looking for help with it in the future, you might just let him poke around a teeeny bit. You'd be surprised what he can do with tech."

Devero sticks his hands in his back pockets and bobs his head. "I'll keep that in mind," he says. "Discipline knows I'm no expert on tech." Not for lack of interest on his part, but he'd ended up in the World Guard instead of university; he considers himself no more than a hobbyist.

Whether or not that's an accurate reflection of his tech abilities remains to be seen.

A New Platform [Intro Post December]

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