THE FRACTURED WORLD: ARRIVAL

[modormenace]

 

A

rrival for some goes all but unnoticed. It's a sudden shiver, the sensation of being watched... and then nothing at all. Life continues serenely as it always has. The only indication of any change comes with sleep, wrapped in dreams: vague and distant echo imagery of another life, melting away in the morning.

 

F

or others, arrival is a sharp jolt. In the space of a single blink, they find themselves in an unfamiliar world, surrounded by the trappings of a life they have not lived. They are replacements, spirits taking possession of bodies belonging to people very much like themselves...

 

A

nd for the rest, arrival is a procedure. Routine. Those ported in to the Fractured World wake hazily in the comfortably dim light of the Porter room, laid out on an exam table. Their wounds, if they remember having any, have been healed— and even those who remember their own deaths find themselves miraculously restored. As they regain consciousness, an automatic audio-visual presentation is triggered. Regardless of their backgrounds or physiology, all imPorts 'see' and 'hear' this message as if in their own language:

"Greetings, imPort."

The voice is calm and gently authoritative, almost certainly selected by committee.

"On behalf of the Synod and all imPorts it represents, we welcome you to the planet Earth."

A decidedly non-humanoid robotic arm holds out a palm-sized device and rather insistently demands the new arrival take it. This is the imPort's comm, used for accessing the Porter's database of information, as well as the communications Network— though it won't receive communications from outside the Porter building until carried through one of the many Gates set up in a long, crescent-shaped array on the far side of the room.

As each Gate is approached, information about the faction it leads to flashes up on the comm device's screen. Which will you choose?

THE WHITE TOWER SANCTUM AURORAE KRAKOA HOUSE OF M EMPIRE OF LIGHT EQUALITY BEFORE LAW THE TWIN CITIES OLIN VALE EDEN SEEKERS OF THE NEW DAWN NORTHWESTERN IMPERIUM GREEN PIECE MAD BURNISH LUMINARY

Comments

i live to please? here, let me make it worse

[ttwwiiccee]

[ He pets her a while, slowing down the petting as he goes and relaxes, feeling comforted. And then he feels guilty about that. ]

I stopped making copies of myself. It didn't end well. I don't think it's gonna end well here, either. There's too many of us... so you gotta make sure you don't stick around here too long, okay? You're nice. Too nice. I don't want you to have to see that.

[mamaterasu]

[Copies? Ah, so all those other men around here that looked the same...they were copies - it sort of makes sense, Ammy figured there was some sort of magic afoot here. There's no possible way that everyone in this city can all look the same, be the same age, and acts and talk the same. Not to this degree, anyway. Twins, triplets, even quadruplets are certainly a thing that occurs, but...hundreds? By the gods, no mother should have to endure that... And that's coming from the Sun Mother herself.

But, as she lays and listens to his lamenting, Ammy understands a bit more. Not the full story, but "didn't end well" seems to paint as vivid a picture as she can make it, and her ears fold back against her head. Her nose brushes the underside of Jin's chin and she gives his scruffy face a gentle lick, putting her massive paw on his arm. It's not like she hasn't seen her fair share of hardships and grief. And not once did she turn a blind eye to it, or run from it.

She's not going to be moved away that easily, sir, even if you push. It's nice right here.]

[ttwwiiccee]

[ He sniffs, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. ]

See, this is what I'm talking about!

[ Jin will now die for this dog. ]

What if we both ran away, huh? Get outta here and find a place that's not this mess.

[mamaterasu]

[Now there's an idea. What would this place have to lose if one of their own just...left? For as annoying as the others are, they don't seem inherently bad, just a little too...overzealous and loud, for her liking. If one of them really just packed their bags and left, would anyone even know? Would they even notice? They all, quite literally, look exactly alike, so it'd be...sort of easy...to not notice one of the herd missing.

Jin might feel something wet on the back of his hand, and if he inspects it, he'll find that there's fresh, black ink there, and the kanji that reads--

Where?]

[ttwwiiccee]

[ There's just a moment where Jin stares at the kanji on his hand, a blank expression on his face.

There's a word on his hand and it wasn't there before. ]

...What the fuck?

[ Wait.

Wait wait wait wait.

He frantically points at the ink on his hand, staring at the dog. ] Was this you?! Did you do this?

[mamaterasu]

[Ah...yes? D-Did she do something wrong? Ammy blinks, tilting her head to one side with a slow nod, as her ears fold slightly, tail tucking between her legs. She'll nose the back of his hand where the ink is, to lick it off. It tastes, well...awful. It's ink, but it's not toxic or anything like that, thankfully, but it does come off, see? Not permanent or anything.

It's just harder for her to ask actual questions without talking - which a thing Amaterasu tends to avoid, if she can. She doesn't enjoy it, even if she can do it as easily as the humans do, tending to speak in little whispers and sentences only every so often. Or with words and especially with pictures. Her powers are derived from painting, after all.]