[ooc] I can't really think of anything to ask. [ooc]
"I must admit "knock you over the head" is not the phrasing I would have expected from that entity. How long ago was this discussion out of curiousity?"
”About 7 or 10 years ago, depending on your timeline, shortly after I was trapped on your world and before you got me out.”
One of Moore’s servants comrades brings in four weathered copies of The Island of Dr. Moreau, half of them from British libraries. ”Can’t get these here anymore,” explains Moore. ”They got rid of the books and replaced them with telescreens. That way they can update the news, change the past, rewrite history in real-time. I guess I should say ‘we’. We can rewrite history in real-time.”
Moore stands up behind his big desk and shuffles around a bit nervously.
”Look, I know it’s awful here. I’m not going to stay. Even being Big Brother is awful; everyone wants to take my place. But, if this works, the Canonites are going to be overwhelmed. Metaphorically, they will throw themselves against the walls of my fortress. And, while they are busy, my people will liberate the Great Library and I will be allowed to go home. Unity, if you want to help, here’s what you can do: When you’re in Moreau, let the Canonites know you’re there. You’ll be gone before they can get there, but it will keep them busy. And, Theo, just be yourself.”
Big Brother Moore opens one of the books and summarizes the first chapter. The story by the same author as War of the Worlds begins, like Beowulf, with the protagonists at sea. These ones are on a dinghy, lost, starving, dehydrated, and debating how to decide which of them will be sacrificed to feed the rest.
Moore looks apologetic, ”It’s what we Fictionauts call ‘a hard entry’. It won’t be pleasant, but it’s the only way into Moreau’s real sanctuary, unless you want to risk using the Wand to jump to an unknown location.”
”So, what do you say? Will you eat? The staff are already preparing a feast for you, I’m sure”.
Nissa says, “I can’t starve. Food doesn’t do anything for me, or water, or air.” She grins at Dr. Moore. “I was in space…” She stops herself from telling the story.
Her eyes flicker to the food. Then she tries not to look at it without looking like she’s not looking.
“Well, the hard entry may be the best way in, but of course… that shouldn’t be my call, since it’s not as much of a risk for me.”
Unity chuckle. "We think it'll be hard to hide our presence while we're there."
They listen to the start of the story and sigh. "Probably best for us to eat before going, yes. Maybe bring some food with us, too."
"Or hunt it there."
”Look, I know it’s awful here. I’m not going to stay. Even being Big Brother is awful; everyone wants to take my place. But, if this works, the Canonites are going to be overwhelmed. Metaphorically, they will throw themselves against the walls of my fortress. And, while they are busy, my people will liberate the Great Library and I will be allowed to go home. Unity, if you want to help, here’s what you can do: When you’re in Moreau, let the Canonites know you’re there. You’ll be gone before they can get there, but it will keep them busy. And, Theo, just be yourself.”
"Naturally", the godling smirks.
"I could eat", The Olympian smiles, rubbing his belly.
A sumptuous meal is served by the 'Comrades' who look and dress an awful lot like servants. Roast pig, vegetables, gravy, white wine, and rich, chocolatey deserts.
By the way they eye the food while you eat, it is clear they will be taking home any leftovers to feed themselves and their families.
They hover over Nissa, particularly.
Unity eat, but not nearly as much as they really could. Whatever the alternatives, they still have little fondness for what Moore has done here, and the state of the 'comrades' hardly eases their concerns.
Zellgato opts to not eat from this world; less for moralistic reasons and more for his own brand of paranoia. This is further enforced with the potential "doggy bags" for the folks who probably could use it. "I've got enough supplies for me for a decent spell, and options otherwise. If we're wanting hard we can go that way. I suspect, to an extent, that the story may not allow suppy bypassing though if it requires a set up to crash ashore." He looks briefly at Henri as if he was intending to state something but does not.
Henri eats heartily, far more than someone his size would be expected to consume. He understands the plight of the serving staff, but he feels like he needs to be fueled up for the next adventure.
Nissa does notice the hovering. (And because she craves appreciates attention, of course she responds to them.)
“I’m sure what you have prepared is delicious. Please don’t think me rude for not eating it.”
She sits on the edge of a wine glass, well aware this emphasizes her tininess and near-weightlessness (and she thinks it looks cute… that or she’s nostalgic about a past photoshoot that had her posing on wine glasses, heeled shoes, cupcakes and other objects built to a 10:1 scale).
Pointing to a vegetable bigger than her body, she asks, “Where would I put it, right?”
The dinner goes on for far too long, mostly because the supply of food is never-ending. Throughout the meal, Alan Moore—a man who has lied to you, betrayed you, bullshitted you, and who, despite all this, genuinely seems to consider you his friends—chats amiably about the Tarotverse, the Canonites, and Dr. Moreau.
”Moreau, see, is a man obsessed … he’s a geneticist who sees himself as some kind of God. He creates these animal-human hybrid species that he calls Moreauveans. I mean, Genetically altering mammalian DNA to that degree and have it still breed true is a challenge; he’s a genius, no doubt, but his claim that he is bettering humanity by swapping in animal DNA, calling them Moreauveans, … clear signs of his narcissism,” Moore says, his mouth full while he talks. When it comes to accusations of narcissism, Moore lives in a glass house.
”Moreau has established a lab in the Shuffle and he has seeded thousands of worlds with his creations. He likes to find Earth-type planets and drop a few dozen of his hybrid species on them. He enters these dimension’s timelines while Homo Sapians and Homo Neanderthalis are still hooking up—about 30,000 to 15,000 years before your time—and makes sure pure humans never become the dominant species in that universe. He’s done this on thousands of dimensions in the Julian Cluster.”
”Oh! Also, he’s a strict vegetarian. He allows synthetic meat, but I wouldn’t make any jokes about hunting. The Moreavean species he’s created, on the other hand, often develop quite carnivorous appetites. I heard of one world where the Moreauveans kept humans as pets and for food.”
Moore talks and talks. When dinner is finally over, he gives you a gift—well-read copies of 1984, Animal Farm, War of the Worlds, and The Island of Doctor Moreau. All of the books come from the same publisher, but were pulled from different libraries in the early 1950s.
”You should be able to get to the Island, Nissa. Take a few minutes to read and then take out your Wand,” says Moore with least condescending tone he’s ever been able to manage.
He leads you away from the table. The eagerness with which the servants descend upon the food is heart-breaking.
Unity have no trust for Moore, perhaps even more because he doesn't seem to understand why anyone would disagree with him than if he had understood. But they cannot deny his knowledge of the 'fictional' realms of the Shuffle and how they interact. So he listens, even as he leaves most of the food set before him uneaten.
Nissa glances over at Unity. She draws her wand seemingly from thin air.
“So… we’re doing this, right?”
Moore walks you down a hall past a room closed off for construction.
”I had to use a matter transconfiguration gun on the old Big Brother. Things went quite smoothly with the rest of the Inner Party after that,” explains Moore. ”I had accidentally left it set to bubblegum earlier that day because this world doesn’t have any. None. I’m thinking of starting a brand called ‘DoublePlusGood’ …”
A matter transconfiguration gun was one of the things Mr. Rabbit asked Henri to keep an eye out for.
Moore goes on and on as he leads you to an open space to leap dimensions.
”Vivu la revolucio!” says Moore. ”That’s vive la révolution in Esperanto!“
"Doctor, do you have another matter transfiguration gun? I might know a market for such a device."
"Ha! Now, there's a way to hide the evidence." Moore, using a hanky, pulls out of his pocket a weapon that, on the surface, looks like a revolver. The cylinder turns to change the settings. He hands it to Henri, being careful not to get his fingerprints on it. It has settings for 'bubblegum,' 'water', 'mystery meat', 'carbon', 'peppermint gum', and 'cement'. "It needs to be recharged!"
Henri shudders with a sudden realization as he accepts the odd weapon. He did not accept the proffered gum earlier. He checks the gun over for a safety or quirks before carefully tucking it into his pack.
Unity frown at Henri slightly, not sure if they're actually intending to use the weapon for something... or just wanting to get it away from Moore.
They nod at Nissa. "We need to do this. Whatever our creator is doing, we need to know why... and for all the dangers this is safer than following that homing signal of theirs."
Having Unity’s approval, Nissa says, “I read the book, so here’s hoping we end up somewhere between the table of contents and page nine!”
She waves her wand—
—and accidentally bumps it against a propaganda poster or something.
”Next time we meet, it will be in the Great Library!” yells Moore as you step into the explosion of light that emanates from Nissa’s crystal wand.
As usual, thousands of motes of light explode all around you, with some of those motes exploding themselves. Swarms of these little lights swim by, each representing a different potentiality, a different entry point, a different continuum. Millions of motes of light signifying millions of dimensions dance before you and around you before you sink down into one and fall into the cold blue ocean.
The book Nissa had just read a bit of began the adventure off with the protagonist, starving, at sea in a dinghy drawing lots with two other men over who will be eaten and who will eat. This is a hard entry. Your entry is a bit harder.
You find yourself dropping out of the Shuffle 30 feet above a vast blue ocean.
You can see a dinghy not far off. There are two men in it. They seem to be arguing.
Zellgato was not expecting the water landing-he should have been-but sadly his airboard is packed in his pack as he starts to twist to grab it but instead results in a belly flop into the ocean with a groan pause before he surfaces.'"Note to self...prepare for wands better. this group is not as adept as others. Ow.
Unity half-open their wings, as much in surprise as in any conscious attempt to fly, before they hit the water. Fortunately after their experience in the deep ocean, their body has already decided that being adapted to cold water is a good idea, so they don't find it all that unpleasant.
"We *might* be able to go hunting in the ocean," they suggest to the others as they tread water, "If none of you are going to need help swimming."
Henri’s uncanny agility kicks in and he attempts to flip around to land on his feet as he activates his hoverskates.
Theo just pulls his body into a dive as he falls in the water below.
The water is not so cold as to be dangerous, but I wouldn’t tarry.
The men in the dinghy stop arguing and stare at you. You’re about 150 feet away. Far enough to make a conversation difficult. They seem confused by what they are seeing.
”Zellgato, do you need help? I’m guessing Theo and Unity are able to withstand any cold.”
"We are," they confirm. "If you don't need our help immediately, we think we will see about catching something to eat, since we know that's going to be an issue."
Unless someone asks for their help, they do dive deeper into the ocean, tail sweeping powerfully behind them to drive them forwards as they go 'fishing'.
Making a splash, "I should be fine for now.... Unless some kind of cryptid finds me delicious, pulls me under, tears me limb from limb with its demonic tentcles, or swallows me whole with its 100meter wide mouth full of teeth. Or spews forth innumerable spawn that rend us with claws and new born hunger....." he spews out answers quickly, "but that probably won't happen.. I think... probably.. yeah.. I can ride my wing board once I'm out of the water for a bit."
Zellgato starts to swim towards the dingy to attempt to have a conversation as a form to get his fear of massive deep sea monsters out of his head.
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Unity, looking for prey under the water, find themselves staring into the saucer-sized eyes of an enormous cryptid with demonic tentacles, a 100-meter-wide mouth full of teeth, and a look that says "I would find you delicious".
Theo swims his way to the boat, occasionally looking back to make sure the others are following him.
Theo sees whether the others are following, and perhaps a frightened look on their faces. He also sees that the men on the small boat look half-starved to death.
Theo figures the scared look is natural, considering how they entered this world. The godling will swim up to the boat.
"Hello, folks. Which way is land from here?"
Henri holds back, watching the men's reactions. He doesn't want to add to the stress of the moment. He looks around to see if there's any land visible.
Theo figures the scared look is natural, considering how they entered this world. The godling will swim up to the boat.
"Hello, folks. Which way is land from here?"
[dice=Diplomacy]1d20 + 17
”We don’t have food for all of you,” says one starving man, eyeing Theo hungrily.
”Tell them to stay back,” says the other starving man, holding one hand behind his back.
Henri shakes his head, "There were three survivors of the Lady Vain. The story's already begun." At this distance, those near the book probably cannot hear him. He begins walking toward the dinghy, keeping an eye on the men, wondering how they killed their companion.
”We don’t have food for all of you,” says one starving man, eyeing Theo hungrily.
”Tell them to stay back,” says the other starving man, holding one hand behind his back.
"No problem guys", The Olympian nods. "but we are gonna hang on to the boat so we don't drown. Fair?"
☀️
Nissa helps her dad out.
She blazes a trail of fire in the air—
—not close enough to set the boat aflame or harm the men, but close enough so they feel her warmth.
“If you let my friends on, you have my word: they will not eat your food and I will provide warmth.”
She smiles oh so pleasantly.
…then adds, “Another promise: if you don’t let my friends on the boat, I will burn it.”
The two men back away from the edge of the boat and quickly sit down on opposite sides of the boat.
"We haven't any food. Haven't for days," says one.
"They can see that, Pendrick," snarls the other.
Henri walks across the water casually. As he approaches the boat, he notes the bloodstain on the oarlock. "It's not even dry yet. What did you do, just throw the body overboard? You didn't even have a nibble?"
Nissa has no idea what the msn was hiding behind his back, and she doesn’t really notice anything else suspicious—aside from the fact there are two in the boat, not three.
She simply emanates warmth as promised and says, “Thank you for permitting us to board. Rest assured, at least one of us will always be awake. No harm will come to you, provided you make no attempt to harm us.
“Is there anything unclear about what I just said?” Rhetorical, perhaps. But Nissa waits patiently for an answer.
Panting abit, lamenting his lack of cardio lately and the excess amount of snacks he had during his time off. Zellgato catches up,
"Also, I don't think you could actually stop anyone from coming aboard. But we might be able to fish together."
[dice=Perception]1d20 + 10
Henri walks across the water casually. As he approaches the boat, he notes the bloodstain on the oarlock. "It's not even dry yet. What did you do, just throw the body overboard? You didn't even have a nibble?"
"He fell," says one man, hastily.
"You tried to grab him!" says the one called Pendrick."Because we had made an agreement and drew straws and he lost, didn't he? You know he had agreed and it had to be one of us..." the starving man stops talking, forgetting what he was saying.
Henri nods, suspicions confirmed.
”Any idea which way might lead to land? Has anyone seen Unity?”
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Unity freeze when they see the ridiculously large creature. Surely they don't look like appetizing prey...? They'd hardly be a snack. If they don't move, maybe it won't pay attention to them.
Henri nods, suspicions confirmed.
”Any idea which way might lead to land? Has anyone seen Unity?”
"If we knew where land was ..." says one.
"I saw a bird on the water from that direction ..." says the other."You dream," says the first.
The two are unpleasant and starved and half-gone. If they don't get food, they will try to eat you while you sleep. They don't even pretend this isn't true.
Panting abit, lamenting his lack of cardio lately and the excess amount of snacks he had during his time off. Zellgato catches up,
"Also, I don't think you could actually stop anyone from coming aboard. But we might be able to fish together."[dice=perception]1d20+16
"If only we had fishing line," says one.
"He did," says the other."But it was in his pockets when he 'fell'," says the first.
Unity freeze when they see the ridiculously large creature. Surely they don't look like appetizing prey...? They'd hardly be a snack. If they don't move, maybe it won't pay attention to them.
[dice=Stealth]1d20+3
The creature with the very large eyes and mouth full of teeth boops Unity with its nose to see whether they are alive or dead. The boop pushes Unity 5 feet away.
Unity don't think trying to swim away would work, so they do their best to continue to seem dead, since that seems like their best chance.
It is, of course, rather hard to stay calm enough to play dead, especially when you have so many appendages and your wings are dragging in the water so you start closing them and forget you weren't supposed to be moving...