One after the other, Legato triggers the illusions. Silent, moving images appear on panels on the ceiling of the dome until the entire dome is lit. The panels show a world that looks a lot like Earth in the 19th century. You see a lavish chateau in the countryside, a unicorn spied drinking by a pond, a crowded metropolis with signage in what looks like French, a mother and child, a man with them who looks like the child's father, the same woman again stretched out naked on a bed, elves with French rifles, and a ring of stone gates surrounding a platform crowded with back-packed travelers. All of these scenes could be on the same 19th century Earth-like world. But other panels depict worlds unlike Earth. One illusion shows an assembly of animal headed diplomats banging paws on a conference table. Another shows Atlantis. Each scene invokes a feeling of love or wonder.
Only one panel shows a place that looks like Utopia or its world; you can recognize the island and the architecture, but it looks quite dystopic. People cover the island like ants, with more coming in a stream of vehicles. Even from a distance you can see the people streaming towards the island and hiking in a long winding line up the mountainside. Tens of thousands of people all heading in the same direction. The illusion invokes a feeling of panic and commitment.
As each illusion activates, a second level of magical code runs sharing the transdimensional coordinates of each scene you can see.
Oh, and one of the panels shows an arrogant young Atlantean man slowly turning into a d$!*%ead and then back again. You can tell he is Atlantean by the gills. You looks arrogant, but don't they all. This image links up to the five symbols indicating that Pod 2 is a Dick Head.
Nissa averts her eyes. “Yeah, well… that’s two planets in a row where I saw a penis. And that d%++%ead’s wearing pants, so I really wasn’t ready for that.”
She looks again. Winces.
“Uhhgh… you see? At first, you think he’s like that 20th century superhero, Plastic Man. Stretching his neck. Geeeeeeen.
“I guess technically Plastic Man could morph his face to be penis-shaped. But whatever for?”
......I'd eat a Unicorn... once anyway."
Communicator Kate is, at first, overcome with emotion at these scenes, and then horrified by the confusing understandings she picks up from Nissa about Plastic Man and Legato about eating unicorns.
"Hmmm... advertisements for places to evacuate to?" Charles suggest. "We don't like the way they attach emotion to the images. Propaganda is bad enough without that kind of thing."
"So, was this a... refugee camp, of some sort? People stayed here on the way from this world to another, perhaps? That tells us something, for sure, but other than history what can we learn...?"
Henri moves back closer after it turns out to be a picture show. ”Well, I have a theory. I think this sounds like a means of entertainment and news to me. I think the people coming to the island knew something was about to occur and they gathered there as refugees. Probably used the gates we saw to escape whatever was coming. I think this is the last ‘broadcast’ and we are seeing the final news report and the end of their entertainment programming. Whatever happened here so long ago, it was not a surprise to a significant portion of the population. They had enough warning to escape - or at least gather.”
Henri moves back closer after it turns out to be a picture show. ”Well, I have a theory. I think this sounds like a means of entertainment and news to me. I think the people coming to the island knew something was about to occur and they gathered there as refugees. Probably used the gates we saw to escape whatever was coming. I think this is the last ‘broadcast’ and we are seeing the final news report and the end of their entertainment programming. Whatever happened here so long ago, it was not a surprise to a significant portion of the population. They had enough warning to escape - or at least gather.”
As with your visit, Utopia has a glowing dome of energy over it and lighting within this shield. The rest of the world is dark. You could see vehicles making their way through the gloom towards glowing Utopia and then crowds making their way up the mountain.
He muses, "No, wait, it had already happened. This was the escape plan in action."
Henri studies the door's latch/lock mechanism to see if he can figure out a way to open the next hut from outside.
Nissa asks Henri, “Wait… you mean the people abandoned their planet, but left the machine on that creates more people?”
She also wonders why Elven Utopia has so many 19th century French guns, but she doesn’t ask that.
Shrugs "Or that's the backup plan. Then wake up after." gesturing to the pods. "The whole "Lets sleep and wake up after the workds done" schtick."
He muses, "No, wait, it had already happened. This was the escape plan in action."
Henri studies the door's latch/lock mechanism to see if he can figure out a way to open the next hut from outside.
[dice=Engineering]1d20 + 14
If Henri could charge the door, he might be able to activate it.
Theo blinks out of his revelry. "Wow. Ready-made civilizations. Zeus, those Atlanteans were something else."
Henri studies the lock. ”If I had a power source…”
Charles shoot a look at Theo. "Our own home would likely be capable of much the same, if we could get everyone to work together on it."
They start to walk toward the central structure. "The other two smaller huts are likely the same. But this central one may tell us more, if we can enter it."
They look around for any kind of electrical generator to power the doors of the main structure.
"Does the vehicle we arrived in have any plugs or the like for electrical power?" they ask.
"Lets check the other pods then. Salvage!" Legato giving a fist pump replies to Henri's power lamentations.
"I have a spare battery. If you don't want to lend a hand, it might be best if you stand back."
Legato shakes both of his hands out, stretching his fingers towards the floor before flipping them up and two rough looking work gloves appear. "I mean, whats the worst that'll go ya? If it fails, I might have a lil something else I could maybe try."
”Sounds good. This is what I’m thinking…”
Nissa hovers near Henri, eagerly awaiting his thoughts.
And waiting.
Waiting.
Waiting three seconds now.
“The ~ au~di~ence ~ is ~ riveted,” she trills through a plastered smile, trying to encourage Henri to keep talking.
Another second passes.
Charles suddenly frown to themself as a sudden bit of knowledge intrudes on their minds.
"If you need, we... may now be electrically insulated, at least sufficiently that an accident with a battery wouldn't hurt us?" They cock their head to one side, folding their lower pair of arms. "On the one hand we don't really want to test this, on the other hand it would be nice to know if it actually works before it's important..."
Peps up as they work, "I can always buzz ya if you wanna check. A lil zip zap."
Henri looks up in surprise, not realizing he had an audience other than Mr. Oaks. "OK, well, you see this contact here and here? My hope is that there is enough power in a freshly charged battery that I can create a circuit through these contacts and power up the door lock. I suspect that a self-contained system like this would be solar-powered because in most environments, that's one power source you can rely on." He looks up before adding, "but hundreds of years of darkness would have allowed even the best battery technology to trickle to a dead state."
Looking back at Legato, he says, "So I will hold these wires to the poles on the battery. If you can hold each wire to a different contact, we will see if the lock gets any power. I really need one more pair of hands, but not until after we know if there is a sudden power transfer, which could potentially be bad for us standing close."
He looks up from the work at Legato, "Are you still good with standing right here?"
As Legato holds the wires to the contacts and Henri begins to make the connection on his end, he pauses to consider another idea. "Oh, here is an idea. You have shown considerable variety in your abilities. Do you by chance have something in your bag of tricks that is an adhesive or might act as one? If not, I have some medicinals that when combined form a tacky substance that might serve as a primitive glue."
Working with Legato to work up a sticky connector so the battery connection can be made without manually holding it, Henri is able to address cracking the now-powered lock directly.
"Mm. I can stick things together for a while. Long term is a bit less likely." Legato replies, a moment before the sigils on his body flare for a moment and he adheres what Henri wants.
The door tears open and the crackles. A whine and a puff of smoke tell you this is the last time that door opens, but 700 years is a long time for any technology ...
This hut is a lot less clean than the other, but also better preserved. There's a cot, a small table, three large books and a tiny book on top of that pile. A small jar of ink and some kind of writing utensil sit beside the small book on top of the pile. A pile of clothes sits on the floor. The style is familiar ... most of you have met Atlanteans before. The clothing is Atlantean; you can tell by the neck frills that look like gills.
You see a small bowl of coins on the little table and a bit of clutter on the floor.
From the entourage, you hear someone cry out. You don't need Communicator Kate to tell you that making some ancient technology cackle, fizzle, and smoke is pushing things for them politically. They're going to have to explain this damage back home. It better be worth it.
Henri thinks to the Communicator, "Ma'am, if I may have a private conversation with Nissa, please?" He waits for acknowledgement that Kate will not immediately pass everything he says on to the rest of the group before whispering to the resident solar fairy.
He also steps aside so the locals or someone more culturally knowledgeable can investigate first. He feels his primary role was to open the door and will offer any insights he can after the others look around.
Mindy the Minder shoves her way in front of the host Minder who looks at the Director to come to her defense. He does not.
She glances at the clothes, bends over and examines the books without touching them, and pokes at the coins in the bowl.
"Nissa read?" she asks Nissa, pointing at the books.
"Nissa read?" she asks Nissa, pointing at the coins.
The larger books, according to their covers, are written in Atlantean and recount the War of 1000 Princes in two volumes. The smaller book has an Atlantean glyph meaning "beloved" on the cover. The Atlantean doing a research exchange at Boston Theoretical gave gifts of dried squid with this glyph on the wrapping. This little book was a gift to someone. The cover looks like manta-ray skin.
Nissa flits about, honoring every request!
Nissa first helps by explaining Henri’s action. “Please forgive the accident. We are making some discoveries to save your world and save lives. I hope you will find this is a small price to pay—and certainly accidental. The boys will be more careful, and surely will not repeat the same error…”
Next she reads at Mindy’s request. Of course… Nissa was only the top student in a class where all you did is watch movie and talk. Well, you were supposed to write essays, but Nissa was so spectacular at oral presentations she got out of having to write a lot.
So books… boooooriiiing! Reading coins is more Nissa’s speed!
They nod at Nissa's comment. They're far too interested in what is in the shelter anyhow.
The coins are mostly Atlantean and Nissa recognizes some of the figures from her studies of the language and culture. None of them are recent. They'd be quite valuable to a collector. The most recent is still over 700 years old.
The War of 1000 Princes is written in a very formal style Nissa cannot follow. She should have paid more attention to the part of the lesson that started with, 'Here's a writing style no one has used in 500 years!'
The smaller book, however, is a journal. Nissa can read it easily.
Journal of Master Ta-Hashar of the Lost Line, Heir to Atlantean Outpost Eau-21,
333-34593-22
"I take these notes in the hopes of documenting the work that I, and my fellow rescuers, who come from 31 different worlds in the Julian Cluster, are doing on this dying planet. When I joined this mission, as a representative of the Atlantean nobility, I was hoping to be closer to the excitement and be stationed on the Utopian Island Project itself, but, instead, due to some administrative blunder, I have been placed at Aviary 39. I will be working with a biologist of some sort to create stasis tubes that will, when the sky is clear, convert to ideal hatching conditions for one million birds. These tubes will be filled with eggs of different species and be placed in the aviary. They will wait while the bioscrubbers, also provided by Atlantis at reasonable prices, have cleared the pollution from the atmosphere. When the aviary's guardian detects that the sky has cleared, the birds will begin to hatch. The guardian, the intelligence behind this structure, is of course Atlantean magitech and a courteous gift from the noble court of blah blah blah dad's title and b&%&&%$+"
333-34593-22
"Did I say biologist? Avignon sent a wizard! This guy is amazing. I'm not really sure how I can support him, but I'll do my best. I almost feel bad for giving him Pod 1, which has a leak in the door and is a bit cold at night."
333-34593-23
"Hamel and I smoked something he brought with him from Avignon, his home, and then he showed me some illusions he had created. I've never felt that way before. It was a disconcertingly dreamy feeling, but pleasant after I stopped fighting it. I'm not sure how illusions are going to help us in our mission to save hundreds of bird species, but they were beautiful. He showed me his world, his parent's estate, his wife and child. They have elves and unicorns on Avignon! It looks lovely. I hope that, when our time here is done, we will be friends enough that I could visit it with him. Somehow, knowing that each night he is gazing upon his homeworld as he goes to sleep, makes me happy for him, but even more homesick. I will ask him if he can create an illusion of Atlantis 21 for me in my dome."
333-34593-27
"It took four tries, but Hamel has done it. He created a reasonable image of a place he's never been, my home Atlantean Outpost Eau-21. He is going to teach me the magical trigger for this illusion, so I can set it myself at night and, like him, go to sleep gazing on my home while the cold winds howl outside."
333-34593-30
"Okay. So, it turns out I have zero magical ability and Hamel has to put me to bed each night, coming in to say the magical words that will project the illusion that will help me sleep. I feel kind of useless. It's kind of him though."
333-34594-15
"Oh, my god this is boring. All I do is clean stasis tubes and line them up in Pod 3. All day. I never said I could do magic; why did they stick me with a frickin' wizard. I'm an Atlantean noble, trained in magitech of course, but not magic! I'm useless. Hamel even says so."
333-34594-17
"I don't care what he says, magic is nothing but insufficiently understood science. He says, 'Science is nothing but boring f#&+ing magic' ... what the hell does that even mean. I swear I'd choke him if he couldn't read my .... This f%#@ing guy."
333-34597-01
"A pod containing 500 migrants landed, lost, looking for Utopia. We pointed the way. Utopia is lit like a g@#%&%n beacon. How can you not find it? Most excitement in a week. Sick of the gloom. Hate this place."
333-34598-42
"The last of the planet is almost evacuated. Should be heading to Utopia tomorrow. It's earlier than planned, but the gates have started to malfunction and they want to get us offworld before it gets worse. One more ring to set in the Aviary and I'll be ready to head home. We've done good work here, even I did get stuck with a magical jackass for four months."
333-34598-44
"Okay. So, this is a f@!&ing nightmare. Our transportation never arrived. They've forgotten us and our comms in Pod 3 aren't getting through. The cold is getting worse. We had heard the gates in the Utopia Project had started malfunctioning and then, nothing. Hamel said he has an idea, but he won't tell me. I don't think I'm going to like it. We're going back into the Aviary; he said he'd show me there. If someone in charge comes before the food runs out, look for us there."
Nissa looks up from the journal. She turns to Mindy and Kate. “Ummmm… this isn’t a happy story. It contains strong language and Pod 3 might actually contain bodies.”
She asks Kate to tell the story to all as she reads.
Charles make a rumbling sound deep in their chest. It's probably meant to be thoughtful. "So did the bioscrubbers fail, never arrive, or did something else happen? Maybe the malfunctioning gates kept them from arriving?" they muse. "And is this guardian still active or has the lack of power also gotten to it?"
Their voice shifts subtly. "It's curious that the pollution never settled out of the atmosphere on its own, for that matter. What could it consist of that persists in a layer instead of eventually falling out? Or is it still being generated?"
"For that matter, we wonder what kind of bird species they had here. Are they similar to our own?"
"For that matter, we wonder what kind of bird species they had here. Are they similar to our own?"
"Bird," says Mindy picking up the meaning of the word from Kate's translation and learning the word immediately. "We have bird."
The Utopians tell you there are a handful of birds living on the island, all of the same species. The idea that there could be different types of birds blows their minds. In fact, most of this blows their minds. They're not entirely convinced this is for real and, if they didn't trust Nissa, they'd think she was making things up.
Besides, as Charles notes, there are unanswered questions still.
”Do you want us to open the next pod?” Henri makes no move to do so, understanding the political pickle the Director could be in.
Theo walks up to Kate.
"Kate. I don't think you understand what you and your people have here! Between the very wordy journal, Nissa's familiarity with the Atlantean alphabet and your ability to communicate to your people; your people now have a basis for understanding all the symbols and sigil around Utopia!"
The Utopians are busily chatting among themselves too fast for Kate to translate. She speaks of the gist.
"They're excited. And scared. This changes everything. Our ancestors escaped? Lived? Through the gates? There are people like us? People who tried to help us out there? They had a solution for the ever-lasting gloom?" Kate is excited to and the questions come fast and furious.
"If Nissa can teach others these symbols that will be of some use in understanding those who came before. ..."
She listens for a bit and asks some questions. She points beyond Pod 3 to the large dome. "They think this must be the Aviary he mentions. They could not get past the entrance."
Henri nods, "That appears to be the case. I think we know how to get in. Do you want us to try?"
Nissa says to the Utopians, “You’re not gonna say no to that, right? Just be mentally prepared. I get the funny feeling there’s gonna be some… unpleasantness.” She adds, “I could be wrong, though. I’m not a clairvoyant or anything.”
"Or it's possible this 'idea' was a form of magical stasis, and we're about to have two or three very confused people from centuries ago on our hands. Or it's possible that there's nothing left but bones," Charles suggest.
"It does seem like the best way to learn more, though. But the door will probably have the same issues as the last one."
"After 700 years, if they did not survive, there's not likely to be much remaining. If they did survive... well, that will be interesting."
"They're excited. And scared. This changes everything. Our ancestors escaped? Lived? Through the gates? There are people like us? People who tried to help us out there? They had a solution for the ever-lasting gloom?" Kate is excited to and the questions come fast and furious.
"If Nissa can teach others these symbols that will be of some use in understanding those who came before. ..."
"Why, Yes! It certainly looks like we'll have to extend our stay here among The Utopians..so Nissa can help decipher the Atlantean Alphabet."
"Right, my Good Girl?"
Charles frown at Theo. "We *also* need to get the refugees we brought with us to their homes quickly, if possible," they state sternly.
"Yeah yeah. That too, Chuck", Theo adds, trying to save face.
The cold winds, the only kind you've experienced anywhere on this planet except the shielded island of Utopia, are picking up.
The Director speaks. The meaning forms in your heads thanks to Kate, "We may only have another couple of hours before we need to hunker down."
"Big winds come," says Mindy, "Very cold."