thesphererp | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

[ Please give a warm welcome back to a walking representation of early 2000s Hot Topic. The woman that comes on the screen has strikingly green hair, a black studded jacket, and an unenthusiastic expression. ]

Soooo [ she folds her arms across her chest and heaves a sigh. Try to be polite, Polaris. Don't start of making enemies right away. ] I'm Polaris. I'm sure I'm not the only one that has more important things to be doing, so I'll spare you all a complaint filled introduction. [ She's that generous. She runs a hand through hair hair and sighs again. ]

I'll keep it short and sweet: what are the things I need to know about this prison? Rules, problems, problem people, and especially progress you've all made on getting out. That one first preferably. [ Surely someone's made progress, right? Please say someone's made progress. ]

And let me know when the group townhall kumbaya meetings are. We're all stuck here together, right? Guessing people meet occasionally to discuss the shit they've found out. [ A pause and then she awkwardly adds: ] Thanks.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

We do. It's... well I guess interesting is a good way to describe it. Complicated too.

[Alex laughs softly, because it honestly doesn't bother her to describe it as such. Any relationship with Richard Strand in any incarnation would definitely have those as qualifiers.

But then her laughter shifts into something more compassionate, and Alex just shakes her head quickly.]

You don't need to apologize for that, Lorna. I mean, we were friends. What the Sphere showed only sort of deepened our friendship, I guess? I didn't judge you or anything like that if that's what you're worried about. From everything that you shared, versus what the Sphere did, I can't even say that I wouldn't have done the same thing if people I loved were in danger and everything else that had happened.

Complicated, hm? [ She gave a tiny scoff and rubbed the back of her neck. ] I know how that goes. [ It was how things with Marcos were now thanks to her....choices. Mistakes? Both. It was both.

She blinked at Alex's explanation and found herself unsure of what to even say to that. After a few seconds she let out a sigh and shook her head. ] You're more understanding than most people were...are. [ Honestly, she has no idea how things are going to go now that she's back with everyone. Though, she guessed, it didn't really matter much right now. Now she had an entirely new set of shit to worry about. ] You're human...right?

Yeah, I'm human. But I've also got some abilities that developed here rather than at home, so that's odd even if they're the same sort of ones that would have come from back home. It's a bit hard to explain.

[An understatement there, honestly.]

But when we see memories and stuff, we feel like what it felt like. It's like we're living them. I've wondered if the Sphere means it to like foster empathy or whatever, but it's recently said that it's a side effect of the communication devices. And all of here have done things that we're not particularly proud of. Even me.

This place can give people powers? [ Well, that added a new layer to the weird. So did the further explanation of how the memories worked. No, that wasn't just weird, that was a disturbing violation. It's one thing to see someone's memories, it felt like something even more uncomfortable to know that people experience everything about it. She tensed and crossed her arms over her chest. ]

That's uh, kind of a big side effect. [ She scoffs and her tone is laced with restrained frustration. The entire subject isn't something she wants to stay on for long. It's nice to have the information and be prepared, but she's not good with dealing with shit she can't actually do anything about. So, she moves the topic back to Alex's abilities. ]

What can you do?

Yeah, it is. And that's where the nightmares come from. I don't understand how exactly but it has to do with how the technology isn't really meant for humanoids. I think it may be what the Sphere itself used to use to communicate with it's people.

[Alex just shifts a bit, because she remembers how Lorna wasn't too fond of telepaths considering everything--Lorna had told Alex when she'd first discovered her powers.]

I'm a low level telepath, but don't worry I'm like blocking using it with anyone. I don't want to violate someone's thoughts because I wouldn't want mine to be gone through. I can also bilocate, which is like being able to be two places at once.

Is it an AI or something? [ An AI that advanced that could cause all this seemed...well, she supposed it didn't seem any more far fetched than everything else going on.

Lorna's shoulders tensed at the admission. ]

Just, make sure you keep out of my head. [ Her tone was definitely a lot more defensive than she should have allowed it to be. The paranoid part of her wondered if that was the real reason this woman had invited her over, to try to sift through her memories. Nothing about Alex had actually implied she was that untrustworthy. She knew she was just allowing recent shit to color her judgement, but it was hard to not go full defensive mode. So, she decided to change the topic as quickly as possible. Her jaw was still tense but she was trying. ] Has anyone else gotten powers in this place?

Honestly, we don't know. I don't think it is though. I think it's just an alien and one that's old. Like ancient which I know sounds like something on the History channel or whatever, but it's definitely a possibility.

And yeah, one other did but they've left now. They went home a while ago.

Alien doesn't sound anymore weird than anything else here. [ She gave a casual shrug and then shook her head. ] And ancient alien sounds less creepy than AI, honestly. [ It seemed more likely they could bargain or at least try to talk to some sort of ancient alien than to an AI. ]

Wonder how it decides who to give powers to and what to give them.

I don't know. It does other things too, sometimes. It gives people animals or specific items from home and stuff. It's hard to know how it decides anything. The Sphere has only spoken directly to us three times in the year and a half that I've been here. Once after it had been affected by some moss that had infected it, once when it was testing us to see if we would chose to put ourselves before the others here and once explaining to us what was going on here.

And don't worry, I really don't want to be able to look into someone else's head.

[ Another look of confusion crossed her face and then she shook her head. Maybe she should just get used to being confused. ] Where do the animals even come from? [ She sighed. ] Generous of it to abduct us and then be so willing to talk to us about what it wants. [ Another thing she should be used to: being left somewhat in the dark. ]

Makes you pretty different than most of the telepaths I've known. They seem pretty quick to sniff around.

Unfortunately, we don't know. I mean they're probably not real animals. There was... [Alex frowns for a moment, and there's haunted sort of look on her face.] It was testing us a bit ago and we found out that a lot of the people who we thought were real here weren't. Like they were little micro... experiments with them? I don't know for sure. No one does other than the Sphere.

And don't get me wrong, I'm definitely nosy, but not in that way. Maybe it's because I got them so late in life or whatever.

[She says like she wasn't 34 when she got them and is only 35 now.]

Not real like what they're clones? [ And shit just keeps getting more weird. She rubs the back of her neck and then just heaves a sigh. ]

Everyone gets nosy, but most people can't just poke into someone's mind to cure that curiosity. Must have been weird for you to get them so late in life though. I only know one other person it happened to and he struggled with it.

More like...they're not real as their like... holograms or something like it. Something with that kind of functionality. They don't seem to ever have been people. At least here.

And it was weird, but you helped me honestly.

Holograms? Right...of course. [ Something told here there was a lot she just wasn't going to understand about this situation and that was definitely frustrating. ]

I helped...? Huh, well, glad I could help I guess?

Yeah, you helped me see that different wasn't bad, and that I didn't need to be afraid of getting this. You and Wanda definitely made it okay to have them, as well as to like be able to control them so I'm not bouncing about all the time.

[ She gave a soft, but awkward, smile. ] I'm glad I could help, I guess. I'm sorry I don't remember it.

It's alright. I hope we can be friends again. I know that like things and circumstances change, but I still hope.

[ There was an undeniable awkwardness in the smile she offered Alex. ] If we got along before, can't imagine why we couldn't again, right?

I hope not! [Does Alex notice the awkwardness in that smile? Yep but she’s still gonna hope that they will anyway. ]

[ She pauses and then offers a quick smile. ] So, what's something about you I should know? It's only fair, right?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only