maskormenace | 💣 001

[There's the sound of fumbling and a little bit of unintelligible muttering before any real words are spoken - the communicator isn't hard to figure out, but it still takes some practice to get the hang of.]

-- this button here, and then-- oh, there we go. Have I got it? Hello.

[Alfie's voice is deep and rumbly, and very Cockney. He switches on the video next. It's zoomed in too close on him to give any real clues to his surroundings - there's just the back of a couch and a blank wall visible behind him - but his clothes are clearly old-fashioned.]

Fucking fantastic, these things. Looking at your little images on the screen, it's like you're really there. Yeah, wonderful picture quality. I'm very impressed. But I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, should I - bigger and bolder seems like something of a trend here. I discovered one of your supermarkets earlier this morning. Fucking hell, the size of that place. Entire aisles set aside for nothing but ketchup; for ice cream. Hats off to the future, eh?

[And since he's actually wearing a top hat, he goes ahead and tips it.

But despite his conversational tone, his eyes are deadly serious. He narrows them a little, as he peers closer at the screen. He seems calm and affable, sure - but if you look behind that front, it's clear that he is very much not happy with how his day is going.]

Right. How many people am I speaking to, right now? Is it just those who've been brought here like me, or do I also have the pleasure of the army's company?

[Because he would like to have words.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Fucking hell.

[The eyeroll is audible.]

Just thought you might like a head's up ahead of time. [In a rather chipper tone:] I can imagine how you'd be a fan favorite.

And what about you? Does the public love you?

A lot of it does, yes. I have written a bestselling book. Also... [Somewhat defensively.] Perhaps because -- well, I am attached. Celebrity couples, you know. There is a market for that.

Not the sort of subset that would find your accent stirring.

You've written a book, here? How long have you been here?

[So far, people have talked to him in terms of days - not months, or years.]

Oh, since the first wave. Years.

[Thus confirming the worst.]

I mean, I have returned to my natural world in between -- but only briefly.

And randomly, yeah? Pulled in and out?

Exactly. No discernible pattern to it, and from what I've gathered, our governmental hosts haven't cracked any code either.

Although I have little doubt the conspiracy theorists would claim otherwise.

But you're not a conspiracy theorist. So what are you, having been here for years? Having written a book, found a woman...

I am a psychiatrist -- I presently specialize in imPort psychology, in fact, being one myself grants a unique perspective.

Doctor Frederick Chilton, pleasure.

Yeah.

Tell me, mate - what's the longest an imPort has been here. Years, yeah? How many years?

It depends on which universe, I suppose -- there was one before this one, with imPorts. But I've been in this one for, oh, two and a half years.

You switched universes twice?

It was rather messy. The prior universe was destroyed before our eyes, rather unsettling actually.

Really makes one consider things.

And what did it make you consider.

That there really isn't any point in life insurance, not when that can happen.

Also, we tend to resurrect. As imPorts. In case you didn't know.

Yeah, I was told.

[Everything here is the creepiest ever.]

So, two and a half years here. How long there?

Oh -- not fully a year there. I suppose it wasn't as wretched an experience as it could have been, the whole shattering of a universe. I mean, I hadn't really grown roots.

[Beat.]

Even my ex had made the transition over here. But she didn't stay for long, thank god. [A quick clearing of his throat, before:] We tend to have passionate relationships with other imPorts, you understand. For better or worse.

Is the imPort life so terrible that it bands you together?

The whole superhuman empowerment thing creates something of a divide, yes. Birds of a feather.

Why? Not enticed by your Network explorations?

Oh, it's all very interesting, mate, but I'll be hoping that the Porter sends me on my way as soon as possible.

I wouldn't hold your breath. Those who want it most tend to stay a fairly long time -- something of a joke, I imagine.

And here I thought it was random.

Well. We all presume a little intent on forces outside our own control, don't we?

Wishful thinking? Yeah, I suppose. Are you above that yourself, as a doctor of the mind?

voice;

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