(no subject)

[donkeyballs]

[ Hello, Network. There's a face few have seen before - even though he's been around a few months, now, he's never done a direct post to the network. It just ain't his style. He's hardly Holden, after all. If he were, then you'd probably all have already seen an impassioned speech about the injustice inflicted on imPorts - yada, yada.

Instead, you get this fella, with his beard neatly trimmed and his hair slicked back, smiling a little awkwardly at the camera. ]

Howdy, ya'll.

[ The Texan drawl is thick, and it's hard to tell how affected it is. He certainly doesn't seem to be concerned by it. ]

So, uh, guess I better properly introduce myself, now that... well, now that it's just myself. My name's Alex Kamal, recently of the Rocinante, and most lately of... well, Earth, I guess. But that ain't why I'm here.

See, while I've been acclimatin' myself to the big blue ball, I've run into enough people to get a good sense that Mars don't always mean a hell of a lot, to you folks. Most of you know it as a dead, dusty orb floatin' so far off as to not affect you at all. Which, I mean, given the year here, that ain't all that surprisin', is it?

But it isn't the case for all of ya, so I figured I should put a more formal inquiry out into the either, like.

Can ya'll tell me what's happenin' to Mars back where you come from?

If there are people livin' there at all, or if there ever were?

Sorry if this is a weird question.

Other than that, if you, ah, have any good recipes for - well, hell, anythin', you just let me know.

Comments

video

[melodramagic]

[ She has to wonder if being a non-Earth citizen makes him an alien technically. Non-alien? She's got questions! ]

They're still researching Mars where I'm from, but nothing has changed. It's simply a planet we can't live on yet.

[ Tilting her head. ]

My Aunt Hilda would make me pancakes for breakfast sometimes. They were seriously the most delicious pancakes I'd ever eaten. I know how to make it, but I have to admit they don't taste quite like hers.

Re: video

[donkeyballs]

[ He gives her a warm smile. ]

Well, it's the yet that's important, isn't it. You're from Earth, then, I'm guessin'? Mind tellin' me when?

[ He gives a low hum as she describes the pancakes. ]

Sometimes it just takes a magic touch and a little extra bit'a love. Can't say pancakes is somethin' I'm too used to cookin' myself. Ain't they made on a skillet?

video;

[lootsnshoots]

I already told ya 'bout my version of Mars, so lemme hit ya with this:

[As he speaks, he ticks off the list by counting his fingers.]

- Chicken broth (sorry Colonel)
- Ramen noodles (the good kind not the instant)
- An egg (again, sorry Colonel)
- olive oil? I think?
- garlic, ginger, green onion
- that spicy sauce that comes in the bottle with the rooster on it

Bam! Spicy Ramen.

[donkeyballs]

[ Huh. ]

Y'know, I ain't ever actually had an egg. Not a real one, anyway. Had the powdered stuff, before.

What do they make the 'good kind' of ramen noodles out of?

video;

[senateur]

I'm sorry to say that I hadn't heard of Mars before arriving on this planet. I'm not certain whether this solar system is part of uncharted space in my universe or if it simply doesn't exist.

[ And she does feel quite terrible for not having anything better to share with him on that matter. However: ]

I would be happy to share a few recipes from my homeworld, though.

[donkeyballs]

It's alright, darlin', nothin' to apologize for. Sounds like Earth ain't a thing where you're from either, then?

[ He brightens at the last. ]

Yeah? Some real otherworldly cuisine, huh? Bet you have a hell of a time findin' replacement ingredients.

Permavid

[governorkang]

I don't think Mars exists in my universe. Or Earth, for that matter.

[donkeyballs]

Sounds like you ain't the only one, hoss.

Where're you from, then, if I might ask?

video

[khajidont]

Hi, Alex.

[ Remember him? ]

There were - maybe are - people living on Mars where I'm from, but they're not human. They're Martians. It's, um, got a complicated history. I don't really know the half of it, except for that the planet's been at war for a really long time. Totally insular, though. We wouldn't even know about them if we didn't get a couple of... refugees.

[donkeyballs]

Oh, hey, Jaime. [ He gets a smile, this time, significantly more happy than the last time Jaime saw him, though there's almost something forced about it. ]

[ The smile fades a little and a confused look pulls down his brow as Jaime continues. ]

Wait - so Mars was inhabited before humans even got there?

[ That one is new. ]

-- what were they like?

video

[cannotrest]

[With the green light tracing through the circuit patterns in Ashley's skin, the camera struggles to focus on her.]

There's about three and a half million people there - or, there were, before the war broke out. The first permanent city was founded just over eighty years ago. It's kind of a backwater, except for the scientists and researchers.

[And for context:] Oh, it's 2186 back home.

[donkeyballs]

[ It's a good thing that green light isn't blue. He's getting used to weird things here, but seeing blue glowing veins on a person would definitely make him go weird. ]

Huh. That sounds - well not exactly the same as home, but gettin' there.

War, though? Earth tried to invade that early?

text;

[hellogoodhigh]

only person i know who actually lived outside earth was on the moon for four years

[ He's not naming names, because frankly? Not exactly a good subject for Luther. ]

there's a moonbase here with a research station/colony(?) but idk if there's anything like it on mars

text

[donkeyballs]

Hey, I met a man who lived on Luna here, too. But even that seems pretty damn rare compared to the rest of people here.

Far as I know, there ain't.

Heard there was somethin' strange that went on out there, but no colonies.

video

[am_i_a_monster]

I have a lot of good recipes. I love to cook, especially savory dishes. One of my fav recipes is for venison with chanterelles in cream sauce and braised red cabbage. It takes a couple days to make 'cause it needs to marinate overnight in the fridge.

[donkeyballs]

Venison? You're kiddin'.

[ He looks really excited about it, though. ]

That sounds like somethin' out of a movie... Deer, cream, cabbage? I'm gonna have to give that a try.

video

[harvesthoney]

[Lacey gives him a bright smile and a wave.]

Hi there, Alex. I'm Lacey. No one was living on Mars where I'm from, unless you count the movies.

I'm a chef so I have plenty of recipes. I can't give away all of them. I wouldn't mind sharing a few. Anything's kind of broad. Maybe we can narrow it down a little. Are you looking for a meal or a snack recipe? For a group or for one? Any allergies or special dietary needs?

[donkeyballs]

Howdy there, Lacey. [ He gives her a warm smile. ]

But you had Mars in your solar system at all, I take it? Movies are still better than just plain not existing, as far as I'm concerned.

A chef, huh? No kiddin'. I'm a bit of a cook myself, though I ain't gonna call myself a chef anytime soon.

Basically, darlin', the issue here is this: I ain't never had access to all the foods that Earth here provides. Most of all the meals I know how to cook are soy and mushroom based - not that I'm complainin', since they're tasty as hell. But I'm tryin' to expand my uh - horizons, as it were.

[ After he has literally expanded his horizon. ]

video;

[heliophilic]

My Earth's got Martians. Or I should say one Martian. Something happened, and now he's the only one left.

[M makes a face for a second, as if surprised he even knows that, before shaking his head slightly and moving on.]

Either your Mars is totally different, or you're secretly very green. And I mean literally green.

[donkeyballs]

[ His face falls a bit. ]

Just the one?

[ But the green comment clears it up, some. ]

Uh - sorry, Hoss, I ain't green. I'm as human as any Earther. Though you aren't the first to tell me that bein's of other races live on Mars where they're from.

( voice | un: assimilator )

[emperysse]

What was the year for you?

( if mars wasn't just a dusty red orb )

[donkeyballs]

2350.

So a fair bit off Earth here.

How 'bout yourself?

video

[psychophilia]

I'm still a little unclear- did Texas claim Mars?

[donkeyballs]

[ Tulip gets a warm grin for her trouble. ]

Well, now that yer askin' - that'd be a yes and a no.

I come from a place called the Mariner Valley, and when it was first settled there were three main ethnic groups that came to live there. The Texans, the Chinese, and the South Asians. My family were mostly all from India, on Earth, but it don't matter what blood you came in with - we all came outta it with a Texan accent. Guess it just caught on.

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[bifroster]

That is not a weird question at all!

[Yes! Someone talking about space!]

We've recently discovered that Mars has water on it, and possibly, was much more Earth-like millennia ago, and maybe even had a thicker atmosphere! We're not sure how complex life on Mars was, but we are fairly certain that there was microbial activity before the environment became too hostile to support it. There are also some theories that there still is life on Mars, but deep below the surface where radiation from the sun cannot harm it.

[donkeyballs]

[ He smiles broadly at that. ]

Well, hey now. Sounds like you're from the start of the 21st Century - that about right?

Hate to say we never did find any livin' alien life. Not on Mars, anyway. But probably for the best - can't imagine the quagmire that'd make for the terraformin' project.