001. [video]

[topslug]

It's been a while since I've seen new faces on the network. [ Her smile's warm, but a little troubled. They were the first imPorts to be brought here for years, or so she's pretty sure she remembers hearing when they'd first arrived. Can it really bode well that more are coming through? ]

You must have a lot of questions. I'm sure those of us who arrived here earlier will do what we can to help answer at least some of them, so don't hesitate to ask.

[ She clears her throat. ]

But there was something else I wanted to bring up. Valentines' Day is in a couple of days. I think making your own gifts adds a personal touch, and I thought some people might feel the same way, but not know where to start. Chocolates are a pretty traditional gift -- I was going to make some for a few people tomorrow, so if anyone would like to come by and learn, I'd be happy to show you how to do it yourself.

If enough people are interested, I'll see if I can find a bigger place to accommodate us, unless you've got any suggestions. And if you want to teach people how to make something else, you're more than welcome to come.

Comments

[topslug]

[ While it's true that being transported to Heropa has tended to involve very little in the way of grand-scale trauma... ]

I get the feeling most people here could say the same thing. [ She pauses. ] What kind of things have you dealt with?

[abadidea]

Uh...let's just say this is cake and move on.

[Because I really don't want to explain what I've dealt with. I'd rather not think about it.]

[topslug]

... Of course. [ Her tone sounds faintly apologetic, and she switches her end of the feed back to video so she can offer him a sheepish smile.

Everyone has things they don't want to talk about. ]

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude -- I haven't even introduced myself yet. My name's Yako.

[abadidea]

...neither did I. [Well, that's...really sad. Good job, Isaac.]

I'm Isaac Clarke. It's nice to meet you, Yako.

[topslug]

The pleasure's all mine, Mr. Clarke.

And, well... it can easy to overlook it because the communicators attach our names to every post we make anyway. [ But nothing's quite like introducing yourself properly. ]

[abadidea]

Ah, that's true. Still, it's polite. [Or something like that.]

[topslug]

I think so, too. Taking a little time to be kinder to each other is important, since we're all so far away from home.

[ She stops, considering whether the next question is too personal, then figures he'll tell her to back off if it is, anyway: ]

Is this world very different from yours?

[abadidea]

It's...not really different persay. It's just...pretty far in the past. What about you?

[topslug]

It's in the future, for me. [ A beat. ] The world we were in before this one was closer to mine, since we didn't, er, have the flying cars or anything like that.

[abadidea]

See, flying cars I'm used to. Not having unmanned transports is new, or...old, I guess.

[topslug]

Unmanned transports... so things were mostly controlled by computers?

[abadidea]

Yeah, exactly, so this is a weird transition.