outer_divide | [video] Sunday Afternoon, Week 39

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[video] Sunday Afternoon, Week 39

[ While trying to figure out what path to take, Helga has been studying the communicator device that she was given. It is unlike anything she has ever seen before. It does not resemble something that even great Archimedes would have crafted. It is sleek. There are no gears that she can see nor can she see any moving parts. She cautiously experiments, buttons are pushed. The screen flashes on. People talk. It startles Helga into dropping the device as though it had just burned her.

What is that? The device is pointed up at her and it shows a woman with long, red hair wearing an even longer mustard-colored dress. She is sitting outside of the great ship. There is an expression of uncertainty on her face.

She watches it for a moment before picking it back up. ]

Is this a two-way mirror of some kind? Can anyone hear my voice?

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[Elissa is in the great outdoors, trees and greenery behind her as well as as a few wisps of smoke from a campfire.]

I can hear you, milady. I can also see you. My name is Elissa. Are you well?

[ Helga would not say that she is well. She is not well. ]

I am not injured nor am I damaged.

[ She is in good health. Helga has her wand and some of her belongings. However, she is very far from home in a strange land. ]

[Gently, Elissa replies after seeing the look on her face that equates with much of what she has been feeling for the past few weeks.]

But you are confused and a little frightened to find yourself far from home, are you not? I felt the same way when I arrived. Alas, I am too far away from the star vessel to offer aid in person at present, though I see that you have made it outside. What paths lie before you?

Edited (wrong icon!) 2013-06-26 03:12 (UTC)

Yes.

[ That is a more than adequate description of the feelings she has right now. ]

I see towers to the far North. There appears to be an encampment of some kind to the Southeast. A mountain range is West of my location.

I would advise against traveling North. Heading to the southeastern encampment would be best as it is closest to the star vessel. Ah.. to where you are. The encampment is called the Old City. Do not be intimidated by any there in uniform - if you remain polite and sensible, you will have no trouble. Tell them you came from 'the ship' and that should help things along.

As I am taking a rest from my tasks, I will gladly monitor communications to aid you as needed. I am fully aware how strange this place can seem.

[There is genuine friendliness in Elissa's voice and her expression is kind.]

May I ask why that will help? They sound as though they should be avoided. Is this a regular occurrence? How are those who come from 'the ship' viewed?

[ Helga idly wonders if perhaps it would be best to observe the encampment as a badger. ]

It is very strange, Elissa.

It seems to be a semi-regular occurrence, yes. The people of the old city are the Authorities. They are used to those of us who emerge from the ship and are tolerant of us. They can help you find a place to rest for the night at a rather poor inn called the Flop and then give you directions to the city called Poseidon. It is far less crumbling than the Old City.

I have complete empathy for how you are feeling now, my lady. My world was a place of armor and swords and magic - not one of machines and intricate engineering. There are many diverse backgrounds amongst us. I will be happy to explain more later, if I am able to meet you.

There is to be a festival in Poseidon soon. Perhaps then?

Your world sounds somewhat like mine though I cannot say that I have much need for armor. Where are you originally from?

Perhaps. I do not know that I feel much like celebrating.

I was born in Castle Highever in the kingdom of Ferelden in the world of Thedas. I have yet to meet someone from my exact homeland.

[Which wasn't a lie. The Zevran here had fought with another Warden, so he was not the best friend she remembered.]

And from whence do you come, my lady?

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[Pepper smiles from her end of the video link, her not-at-all-a-smartphone propped up against some books in the Poseidon library, visible as rows upon rows of yet more books behind her. The look of a baffled new arrival is one she's gotten used to over time, and her welcomes have grown polished in turn with them. One redhead, poised, warm and friendly, coming right up.]

We can both hear you and see you. It's not really a mirror, although it may look like one to you, but it's a device to communicate with others. My name is Pepper Potts. Welcome to Verdana.

[ Helga stares for a moment. The books intrigue her but there is a time and a place for that. She hopes.

She listens before speaking. ]

Pepper Potts, that is an unusual name.

[ The witch, whose surname is Hufflepuff, says. ]

Was everyone who climbed out of those pods, given a similar device?

Alliterative, though... although to be fair, 'Pepper' is a nickname. It's just gotten entrenched, over the years.

[Beyond the polished friendliness of a greeting, a bit of honest humour dimples Pepper's cheeks for a moment before she's all business again.]

So far everyone has. They vary in appearance -- the ship seems to have done its best to match them to objects we'd find familiar, or understand the purpose of, regardless of the world we come from. A few of the locals here also have communicators so that they can see or hear messages as well. There's basic accommodations available for new arrivals, as well -- no need to worry about where you'll sleep tonight, at least.

Nickname? I see.

[ Helga assumes she means it is a term of endearment of some kind, based on the context. A term of endearment that stuck. ]

I take it that there are many people who have climbed out of those pods. Enough that it is something of a regular occurrence but for what purpose, do you know?

The name my parents gave me was 'Virginia'. If it's easier, you can use that -- I still answer to it, it's just not all that commonly used.

[And, some time over the years she's been with Tony, Pepper'd stopped thinking of herself in terms of it. One failed (and fired) therapist had found that fascinating.]

Our purpose here used to be a matter of local myth and legend, but more recent developments suggest that the ship caught us after we all fell through... rifts, I guess is the best explanation. Rifts or tears in the walls of the worlds we all live in. We fell through them into a hazardous place and the ship rescued us and placed us in the pods until it could find a way to send us all home again. Unfortunately, it crashed on this planet a century ago and was very badly damaged in the impact.

[ That is not good news to Helga. It is the very opposite. ]

I see.

[ She doesn't see at all, actually, but there might be a silver lining. ]

My friends and my family, might they be aboard that ship in one of those pods?

I know it's a lot to take in, so don't feel like you need to put a brave face on it.

[Pepper's expression is wistful, remembering some of her own finer moments of adjustment difficulty over the months she's been able to lay claim to a place on Verdana.]

And... it's possible. Many of us do have people from our own worlds here, and I have friends and a loved one here myself. There are thousands on thousands of pods and only forty or fifty of us awake at any one time, so even if they aren't here now, they could appear at any time.

[ She is going to look on that ship every single day. If she cannot go home, she would like to see at least one familiar face. ]

I tried to wake a few in those pods. They would not.

[ Helga lowers her head. It is a lot to take in. ]

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Two-mirror would be one way of thinking of it. And to answer your other question, yes, several people can actually hear you, I would imagine.

[Straightforward warrior Mulan is straightforward.]

[ Helga appreciates the straightforwardness. Several people have heard her. She is not speaking into nothingness. That is good news. However... ]

What would be another way to think of it?

[That query gets a brief, wry smile.] Where I come, the quickest way to describe it would be as some sort of magic crystal. However, I've been made aware quite insistently that it is not magic at all, but some kind of very clever technology.

Mirrors are difficult enough to create. I know of no crystal, magic or otherwise, that would allow communication so easy as this. This does not feel like magic, I must say.

[ It feels foreign. ]

Perhaps you know more of it, to have a better feel for it than I. I have never been one who wielded magic for myself, only to have seen it done.

How often have you witnessed magic being used?

Edited (Grammar. I'm not sure if wielded was grammatically correct.) 2013-06-26 02:24 (UTC)

To be frank? More times than I'd like.

I know magic is but only another tool, but it's one in my homeland that is more often at the disposal of those with darkest inclinations.

[ Helga makes a note that Mulan's homeworld must be filled with dark witches and wizards. ]

In your opinion, do you think this communication device is dark?