phantasmalrift | INTRO LOG

Eventually, Charm starts herding people towards the parked exploratory drone, a few at a time, mostly people who have finished their noodles or other business. "It's almost nightfall at the Station," he says, "and with this many new arrivals, we're going to have to make multiple trips."

(For those who might ask, he also explains that they've chosen not to stabilize the noodle shop for the time being, as the other androids will almost certainly want to speak to Viella, and have no other way of doing so, due to the fact that they don't dream. Aside from that small region, the Fissure is largely stable.)

It in fact takes four trips total to get everyone to the Station. Those of you who don't fall asleep on the way there - the minute you hit stable reality, the inability to sleep vanishes, and most will be hit with a wave of exhaustion - will find that the Station Annex, a building off to the side of the main station, has been finished, at least outwardly.

By the time the first group arrives, the sun is dipping towards the horizon; by the time the last gets there, it's set, leaving a few pink-tinted clouds in the sky. The drones drop everyone off (and that is everyone, even though of you who have fallen asleep) on the observation deck, where those of you who didn't get your fill of noodles will find several buffet-style tables set up with...

...Pizza? Yeah, pizza, in damn near every variety you can think of, including a few things that only loosely fall under the heading of "pizza." Half a table is full of calzones of various varieties; another significant chunk is things that are just desserts in the general shape of pizza, including a couple of iced cinnamon pastries, a pair of brightly-colored "pizzas" made of canned fruit over cream cheese, and a two-layer cake that's just decorated to look like a pizza, with strawberry jam and round slices of strawberry 'pepperoni' sandwiching yellow icing. Finally, the last third of the third table is just three baskets of breadsticks with varying amounts of cheese and garlic, accompanied by two turrens of dipping sauce (one white, one red) and a tower of little plastic dipping cups.

(Those who opt to head directly to bed will find that the banquet gets packed up and moved back to the kitchens around midnight, though it stays warm under a stasis enchantment for roughly the next day before someone packs the remainder into the fridge.)

In the common room, meanwhile, the usual boxes of clothes and trading post sign are set up. Unclaimed rooms can be claimed by writing your name in on a list set up next to the boxes, on what seems to be a broken music stand with a large ROOMS AVAILABLE sign hanging from it. There is also a rather hastily assembled, hand-poked Braille version of the sheet (with the paper punched through in one or two places).

Those who go looking will find that the androids are somewhat more absent than they usually are after an expedition; save obviously for Charm, and Strange who arrives on the deck as usual not long after, you'll have to go looking. Considering the amount of the station you have available, they could be just about anywhere... But perhaps it'd be worth checking over in that new building...?

[Mod note: Strange is the only NPC with a top-level this round, but others may respond to your top-levels, especially in the Annex areas! Consider it a fun surprise. c:]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[If Futaba were paying attention, she'd notice Carnivac's ears perk up with interest as she details her hacking capabilities. They weren't merely just impressive, but they'd be vital to his operations, whenever he gets out of this place.]

Showing up the police? [There's a delighted amusement in his voice, and it's not something he's spoken with for a while.] What were you getting up to?

[ Oh she definitely noticed. There's something about the prideful way she then holds herself in that next moment, head canted to the side ever so slightly. ]

Making sure the public was aware that the politician they looked up to so much was actually an awful scumbag of a human being who was about to have a sudden change of heart. He caused a lot of harm to my family, my friends and had others doing his dirty work behind the scenes for him.

[ A nod of her head and her smile is back full force. She's proud of her Futaba Cannon she prepared and how well that whole execution had went off back then. ]

Simply doing something low-level and basic wouldn't have gotten the information out or had as large an impact, so why not make it grand and on a large scale that people can't ignore?

[There's something of a smile on his face, an awe in his voice.]

You have it absolutely right.

[He liked this one. He was starting to see it, what Stakeout had seen in that human, in the appeal of allying oneself with them.

What Futaba had achieved was not only technically impressive, it was brave. In her youth, to achieve something of that scale and impact demanded nothing but the highest respect from him.

A respect, he feels, he isn't showing enough right now. Not like this.]

I must apologize for not introducing myself sooner.

[He straightens his body, and his limbs begin to bend and contort in a way that is incredibly unnatural. His furred, organic body unfolds into a much larger mechanical one, that shouldn't really fit inside what he was before.

He stands before Futaba, a good few feet looming over her, eyes unreadable from beneath his visor, but definitely making eye contact.]

My name is Carnivac.

[ Futaba nodded her head, feeling glad that the other was appreciating this talk of her work and outlook on that matter. Though it was as Carnivac spoke up again that she blinked a bit and raised an eyebrow, moving to shake her head afterwards. ]

Nah. It's totally alright. S'not a big deal.

[ She was honestly rather chill about that, but hadn't known what to expect after the guy had spoken. At least not until Carnivac had moved to straighten up, fur giving way to something much more mechanical and it became VERY clear that this had never been a regular wolf to start with.

The talking hadn't clued her in since she knew a talking 'cat', but this was something WAY cooler than what she'd expected. So don't mind her staring in awe for a moment, moving forwards so she could actually touch him and make sure this was real and happening right now. ]

Whoah. I don't know HOW you managed to do that but that was totally cool!

[ A beat and then remembering introductions were a thing. Kind of distracted in the face of there being an actual transforming robot here before her. ]

Very fitting. Name's Futaba. Can't really match up to yours but hey.

[...That was new.

He hadn't actually been regarded with such awe before. He's not entirely sure how to react to it, which leaves him awkwardly bewildered for a moment.]

Our culture has a tendency for descriptive names.

[You should see the guy the call 'Deathsaurus'.

He holds out a clawed hand in greeting, though much larger than her own. His tail lazily swishes by his legs.]

Glad to meet you, Futaba.

Yeah? Does it have some kind of meaning behind it, then?

[ Seriously. She did want to know, and besides. Even if it didn't, it was still a cool name either way. A grin quickly formed on her face and Futaba took absolutely no time in reaching her hand out to take his offered one the best she was physically able to. ]

Same with you, Carnivac. I mean, hey. It's not every day I get to meet a shapeshifting, sentient robot. You only like, see that in sci-fi movies, you know?

[ If he thought the awe was something else before, the interest that's now following should be just as surprising. ]

So you're all machine then, right? You can take a believable organic form but do you still have circuits and a high-level AI that serves as your brain? If not that, then you might have a brain that works similarly to a human's but with a more advanced, higher level of processing power capabilities.

[ Yup. Best day ever. ]

[He shrugs.]

I turn into a wolf. Carnivore, Carnivac.

[There's not much else to it.

Behind his visor, he winces to her questions. Sure, it was...not all that unpleasant to be regarded with such excitement and curiosity, but he wasn't all too prepared to deliver a cybertronian biology lesson.]

An organic machine, if that makes sense. We have a brain module, one of the three vital organs of our anatomy. I wouldn't place it on a higher or lower level to a human's.

[He's not one to rank a species as greater or lesser than the other, besides, he's met some really stupid cybertronians.]

Though, like any piece of machinery, it can be overwritten. [He sounds sickened at the thought.] Our biology leads to unique forms of punishment.

[ That did make a lot of sense the more she thought about it. Simple but worked for an explanation all on it's own. Then there was the real explanation of things that followed, awe showing clearly on her face in mere seconds along with a sense of understanding. ]

I see. I can imagine so and by the sounds of it, probably isn't anything all that great, either. The kinds of punishments your kind can receive and all.

[ She had to really think about it, to the point it was evident she was thinking through a lot of possibilities in her head. ]

An organic machine. You said 'our' biology and 'our culture' a moment ago so there's a whole race of beings just like you, then?

[Carnivac gives a nod. The girl picked up quickly, which he was grateful for. He didn't mind answering questions if it was this simple to explain.]

We're called Cybertronians. We can be found in a handful of colonized planets, wandering spacecrafts, and in some pockets of Earth. I was last in Alaska, it wasn't too bad.

INTRO LOG - APRIL/MAY 18

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