1 ♡ audio (backdated to 11am, 2/14)

[dragony]

There's a number of new faces around here. But, in a way, we're all relatively new faces to this neighborhood. Maybe it would make more sense to say, this is a new experience for some, and an old for others. Isn't that right?

[ The voice speaking is a level, feminine voice: teenager, middling pitch, with words that are well-enunciated. While there is an accent—noticeably not American—it's caught in a threshold between others, and difficult to place.

It's hard to tell if she sounds bored, or if that's just how she naturally talks. ]

To get everyone on the same page, I thought it would be best to tell you how we came here, and what came before. It's something of a long story, though, and I'm not the best person to tell it, but better something than nothing. Right? Though, if you're not interested, you can skip the rest of this broadcast.

The "world before" this one, the one people mean when they refer to "the City," was Earth. Another Earth, similar enough to this one, and to the Earths you may have known—"the City" was their name for "New York City," if that means anything to you. At some point, a teleportation device was built, and on October 10th, 2008 by its calendar, and by this one, the "Porter" was activated, and brought the first "imPorts." At that time, it was controlled by an artificial intelligence in a suit of armor, but that being was later destroyed by the artificial intelligence of the Porter itself.

She calls herself Lachesis. Like the Fate.

For five years, she controlled our lives there. She determined who was imPorted, who was exPorted; who would return there with their memory intact, and who would not. If they would come back the same, or from some different history than the one we knew. She determined who was raised from the dead, if we died, and whose soul never came back. She could change the powers we were born with, and she could take them away. She could change our species, as it suited her. She's capricious, a fan of practical jokes and snide cruelties, and chess. Hers was the voice that welcomed us as "heroes."

Two years after it all started, she changed that world. Countries emerged, fully realized, emerged from nothing. The history of that world was rewritten; the memories of its inhabitants, too. The damage done by her enemies, erased. Those of us who were there could remember what the world was like, before she changed it, but we're the only ones who could.

After that, our shared enemy was Vulcanus. Others can tell you more about them, but they wished to take what made us powerful and use it to their own ends. Kidnapping, torture, genetic experimentation—that sort of thing. [ Though the content of the statement is serious, "torture" may as well be synonym for "toothbrush," for the easy, careless way she says it. ] But, when they could not... that is to say, "beat us," the way things were, they sought to gain power on other worlds, other dimensions. And we would follow them. Not by choice, and not with any sort of plan, but for months and months, you couldn't trust that placing one foot in front of the other would land on the same ground.

We're rather weary of traveling, I think.

In one of those worlds, we met her "sister", Clotho. But the third of them... you may have already heard. She destroyed that world, were we lived before. I don't... I'm not sure how it all happened, in the end, but in rescuing Lachesis, she saved us. Brought us here, to this world.

I can't tell you much about the state of this world, but there's two things I do know. One, large gatherings will almost always end in some chaos, so you should be prepared for that. And two, you can't trust people to act in anybody's interest but their own. The people of this world will not be kind to us for kindness alone.

[ There's pause enough that it might be mistaken for the end of the broadcast, before: ]

We should decide on names for all of these different worlds soon. This sort of thing will only get harder to explain later on without them.

Comments

[viced]

Because straightforward answers leave too much gray area, which means they're easy to apply to the wrong situation.

You could say I've been in too many media interviews.

[dragony]

I could say a lot of things.

[viced]

Wow, that almost sounds like you've been holding an opinion back, kiddo.

[dragony]

You don't have to patronize me for agreeing with you.

[viced]

Oh, that was agreeing?

I thought you were saying something else.

[dragony]

It's hard to know what someone means, when they don't speak so simply, isn't it?

[ ruka this is literally you all the time, forever. ]

[viced]

That depends on if they still speak clearly or not.

Simple and clear aren't the same thing.

[ God semantics!! Ruka pls! ]

[dragony]

[ never
why did he want her as an intern again ]

Clearly, then, but my point still stands.

[viced]

[ Because. He's cagey. ]

Maybe, but I'd rather provide an answer that covers myself, rather than getting roped into a needless media circus. They're fucking ridiculous.

[dragony]

You sound the same everywhere, sometimes.

[viced]

Good. That means I've got consistency going for me.

[dragony]

It wasn't a compliment.

[viced]

I know. Just because it's not a compliment doesn't mean it's not intentional, or a good thing.

[dragony]

You're not always the best judge of what's "good" for you, you know.

[viced]

Honestly? I'm the best judge I have.

[dragony]

Tacking "honestly" onto something doesn't make it true.

[viced]

I don't make a habit of speaking untruths.

[dragony]

No, I'm sure you wouldn't, but not speaking untruths doesn't mean anything. A man can possess a dishonest heart, but never trap himself in lies and falsities.

Which, I'm sure you can understand, if you frame it like that.

[ SHRUGS
why is this conversation still public anyway ]

encrypted

[viced]

[ Good question. A beat. The connection fizzes for just a moment. ]

MAKE THIS PRIVATE, COMMUNICATOR. NOTHING IN OR OUT.

Alright, is there something you're trying to say? It sounds like there's a problem here.

encrypted

[dragony]

[ switching ears on this because ow god mitch a little forewarning ]

Trying, nothing. I'm saying exactly what I mean to.

encrypted

[viced]

[ That's what you get for being kind of rude, ruka. ]

Nobody says something like that unless there's a problem, so spill.

encrypted

[dragony]

[ "kind of" ]

If that's what it sounds like to you, it's hardly my fault.

encrypted

[viced]

Weren't you the one who was complaining about how leaving too much leads to things being easily misconstrued?

encrypted

[dragony]

And here I thought you disagreed with me.

encrypted

[viced]

On principle, yes, but you obviously believed it, right?

[ Or are you a LIAR ruka... ]