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

[fridgeflower]

[ She shrugs at that, not for nonchalance, but... Rock and hard place, right? ]

I'm sure we look like White Tower's underling to anyone outside of Krakoa. They probably want that perception to stay. We'd have a better shot at equal footing if we were able to more fully break away.

[ Which is known, as are all of the reasons they haven't been able to be completely self-sustained. ]

That said, it'd be a strategic misstep for anyone to come for the island itself, right? We'll just have to worry about ourselves and those who hop stateside with us.

[helpdesk_hero]

[But they can't break away, not with the threats White Tower has over them. Dammit. Why can't anyone just understand that they want to not be involved? They want their little island, maybe some trade, and then to leave all else alone.]

Maybe it is, but we're forever chained to them. A collar around our necks. The fucking Registration Act all over again.

How do they not get that doing this only creates more anger and spite? More certainty that we want free of them?

[fridgeflower]

I mean, they probably get it. They just don't care.

[ Which also has no real solution. The Tower deals in power, and Krakoa doesn't stack up. They probably get off on the spite the dynamic generates.

She doesn't know what else to add, how else to help. This is why Laurie isn't a politician. Not really. ]

Is there anything I can do? For you, I mean. I don't exactly have the key to crumbling our overgrown parol officer.

[helpdesk_hero]

[No, they don't stack up. And even the distance between them isn't that useful, even if he wishes it were. Still, he is quiet for a good long time as he thinks about her question. Is there anything she can do. For him.]

Force me to take the weekend off of work. Tell the network that IT support is down due to power-cell issues, and steal every bit of easily accessible electronics I have?

[fridgeflower]

I think I can manage that.

[ She's not sure how long it'll last. He might walk it back before Saturday morning, even, too nervous and too capable of micro-management to let things rest. David's an exceptional man and he knows it, knows that he's the best he is at what he does.

To use the phrase...

Still. Laurie stands a better chance than most. At least, she'd like to think she does. She hums and smiles, and gently reaches up to remove his glasses, folding them and setting them on the table behind her. That's a start.

Then she leans in to kiss him. The eternal distraction tool. ]

[helpdesk_hero]

[Yep, the glasses are allowed to go, especially with those lips against his. His hands settle on her hips and he chuckles.]

You know that I’d rather not have your affection just as a distraction, right? I want you when you want me, my love.

[fridgeflower]

That's a nice sentiment. It's a bit of a paradox, though.

[ David's dedicated to what he does, to a degree that's proven adverse in personal relationships. They've had that breakup. Laurie's just more idle and bad at keeping to it, hoping that she might somehow paste things back together.

Or maybe it's just a selfish desire for attention, grabbing onto feeling important, not wanting to be forgotten in the fray of things.

But she could also just... not let it be that deep. ]

If you've got idle moments, you haven't told me about them. If distracting you is my best option, I don't have an issue with taking it.

[helpdesk_hero]

[The problem is that paste won't fix who David is and how he is. No amount of her affection and attention makes David and Josh fit together when David's the one so deeply in the wrong.]

Sass. She comes to me with sass.

[He smiles and pulls her down into a fleeting kiss.]

Fine. Distract me. Force a different sort of energy from me. We both know I need it.