voidtreckernet | Day Twenty One: Engine Room to All Carriages

What? But then-...then--!

[Waver froze up, gripping his cane so tightly that his hand began to ache. If he'd been here for however long...no one had heard from him. Not Reines, not his students, not any of his contacts...Maiya, Ilya, Irisviel--god, they were already low on time. He'd sworn to help them, and if he was trapped here-]

...I never would have volunteered for this. No matter what Second Magic shit is at stake, that's Zelretch's job and not mine. I want to know who or what is responsible for our being here. What person, being, or force brought us to this train?

You were brought here by the Voidtrecker Express.

Edited 2020-12-12 10:59 (UTC)

That's not an answer and you damn well know it isn't! Christ, I hate this fae shit-! I already have my own world to save, damn you, you had no right to take me or anyone else on this blasted train without our explicit agreement--!

[...Deep breath.]

By what parameters is our work considered 'completed', or what goal must we achieve that we will then be allowed to return home freely?

Edited 2020-12-12 23:22 (UTC)

The mission is never complete.

Thank you for your questions, passenger Waver Velvet.

[Something clearly snapped at that, Waver practically snarling before kicking the nearest object as hard as he could with his left leg.]

Fuck--!

Edited 2020-12-13 06:55 (UTC)

[Well, whichever car Yuume was in, it must have been close enough to come into this. She finished her own questions rather quick, and rather calmly. Time for a coffee, or-]

Hihh-! [Or you know, just, flinching when she comes in to hear that.]

What on earth!?

Fuck this train and everything governing however the fuck it works--!

[Another frustrated kick to some unfortunate chair.]

[....Well, this has cleared up nothing, immediately, but she has no idea what she expected.] ...I don't suppose I could ask what about the train warranted this? [she asks almost tiredly, rubbing her head.]

...If I make a coffee, do I risk being caught between your foot and one of those chairs for that matter?

[Waver made a wordlessly frustrated noise, pressing one hand to his face with the other still white-knuckled on his cane. One deep breath, and then another.]

...Everyone I know and care about on my world is either going to die, or already dead. Go right ahead, you're not who I have a problem with.

....What?

[Alright, hold on coffee is getting delayed.] What on earth are you talking about, why would that happen at all?

[She pauses, before adding-] ...What did you ask the train? [It's undoubtedly connected after all- everyone presumably had or still has the chance to ask, therefore...]

One, time is passing on our worlds while we're screwing around here.

Two, I am no closer to understanding what force or will we just spoke to.

Three, we're never getting the hell off this train except through whatever weird flicker of fuck-all lets people leave the platforms.

Unfortunately for me, what that means is 'my world's going to end without me there'.

....Ah.

[She can tell where things happened then. Alright, well. The woman nods, but after a moment begins to speak. Fortunately at least, she can perhaps provide...a fragment of reassurance here.] Well...I can't say that we're likely to be able to reconnect at the exact points but...

This train travels through time. The theory then goes that this train, and other VoidCraft, could reconnect at a prior point in history. If anything, the very goal implied by what people discussed before proves it- from what I understand, something happened to whatever planet this train came from- yet, they want to reverse that. [It's what she's understood from the most recent meeting between the train's passengers at least, not to mention folks like Nita.]

With that in mind, time may be passing yes... ...but with the right channels and focus, it would become an irrelevant point. We would be able to return within the few moments we last remember.

[That in itself probably isn't very assuring however- and after all, what he just said is a bit...upsetting in itself.] ...I'm not fond of the idea of being left to the whims of whatever lets people leave, but...I do expect that much will be able to change when more is settled. From what I understood during my own questions, it's very literal- a computer, after all.

...in terms of contact however, I confirmed it isn't impossible. [Yuume pauses, inclining her head somewhat as she goes on.] ...I asked if there could possibly be a method through which we could contact our homeworlds in order to pass even a single message. The answer was that it isn't currently possible, but could be, provided we work together on the matter.

...We can't succeed at anything if we focus on the worst. It's not good, but it isn't entirely without hope either. It seems important, to be able to hold onto that.

[Waver dropped into the chair he'd been ineffectually beating up, trying to take this argument apart and examine it piece by piece while also in a state of moderate panic.]

Right...right, I suppose if this train essentially uses some variant on Second Magic, then traveling to differing points in time isn't so great a logical leap. Do one impossible thing, easy enough to do another. [He was muttering to himself as he worked it out, sounding like he half believed it and half needed to convince himself. Nervously, he started fidgeting with a pendant mostly hidden under his collar.]

...We have to figure out what the hell that means--what we need to do to get a message out. I can't let them think I abandoned them, and I know I can't be the only one to feel like that. And then we have to figure out how to get this damn train what it wants so we can leave.

I can't say I've heard of 'second magic', but I find it helps to remind myself that nothing here is particularly familiar. The rules of reality...simply don't line up, not entirely, [she determines with a small shrug.] ...Oddly the most familiar thing so far has been how the train travels- there was a subway quite like it where I came from, travelling between connected dimensions.

[At any rate, she's going to start making her coffee as she speaks.] I suspect someone will be calling to compare notes across the train's passengers soon enough. With how many are on board, we're bound to have determined something about how the train operates...beyond that however, [Yuume adds, filling a kettle,] Knowing it's possible at all is good enough a start to getting a system of communication made. I know that ah...Seto, [she settles on, not quite certain on how to address the distant relative in conversation yet,] Has at least worked with technology breaking through dimensions. It's the same thing that became the subway at home, so between him and anyone else with similar experience, we should hopefully find something.

[She does wince a little bit.] ...Viewing it as what it wants might not be best though. A computer can have a condition for 'completion' of a program, but for something meant to run indefinitely, we're not likely supposed to be within that bracket...we'll need to find some way to determine how the system itself works, from a perspective other than it's own I suspect. Otherwise we'll probably end up going in circles...

It's the principle of travel between parallel universes where I'm from. Only one person's capable of it, so a train like this is something beyond logical comprehension by the logic of my world. But since it's so easily achieved here, time travel is no less insane.

[He started tapping his left foot in an overabundance of nervous energy, frowning.]

At that point, it sounds like we're bordering on considering how to hack the train and altering its parameters. And if there isn't any other way to break out of whatever infinite loop it's stuck in, we may have to.

Oh! [Oh boy.] I can certainly see why then... I'm beginning to feel like I have an unfair advantage with the subway experience at this point...

[It just seemed so normal, that the idea of something stretching even farther across time and space felt like a natural step upward...

In any case.] Mnh. I definitely don't recommend that, personally. Not without someone who has direct experience with the technology- for all that I asked if it would be acceptable to do internal work if it became necessary, the train's immediate reply was that it would 'not be appropriate'. Chances are that if we try anything without enough information, we'll find ourselves facing unexpected consequences on both ends. [By which she means, the train may not even intend to harm anything when harm inevitably comes to them as a result.]

[Waver answered with a vaguely thoughtful hum, thinking that over.]

No, it'd be pretty stupid to go poking about in something we don't understand. And that's even if we knew where to start. But we can't keep going on like this from mission to mission forever, least of all with so much at stake. I don't want to rely on the suggested concept of time travel being dangled in front of us when the current situation seems closer to 'we're stuck here until the train says so, which is never'.

Naturally not, that would be absurd. [She might seem to be taking this casually, but she's far from of the mind that they should roll over and let it all be.] Working on communications is at least something we can start with, but finding out some way to get more information on 'Void Technology'- preferably someone with that knowledge- is definitely something we need to keep on our minds...

I can bet that that one will be the most troublesome for now though. We're limited by whatever planets and worlds the train stops at- and I suspect it's avoiding anything with awareness of the technology given this...'renegade' status, [she hums, frowning.] ...I can't say I can fault it for that, but it's still an obstacle in our path...

...with any luck breaking the communications barrier can solve two problems at once in that regard.

You're right--we're a train full of amateurs, essentially. We need someone who has the faintest clue how this is supposed to work, but locating them even if we do find a world where they exist will be tricky.

...If we can just get messages out--just that alone would set me and a lot of people at ease, I bet.

I think it would put most of the train at ease, truthfully... ...I don't know if we're blind grabs, or if it's deliberation bringing us here, but at the least if we could get some sort of word out, it would be one less question on everyone's minds.

[The kettle is starting to steam.] Ah, that's quick-

Do you want a cup of anything? I filled the kettle to the top. [She'd offer coffee, but she suspects that's not the best option for any nerves right now. Much as it's her go-to.]

I don't care if it's random or not, it's pretty clear we didn't agree to it and that just pisses me right off. [If nothing else he was a hell of a lot calmer, at least outwardly.] ...Tea would be nice, if you don't mind.

Sorry--in all that, I didn't introduce myself. Just call me 'Professor' for now.

To be quite fair I didn't either, [she remarks, setting up two mugs.] Any preference on the tea..? I'm not sure what teas we have but it's hopefully more than one...

...Professor? [Oh- She can't help but laugh a bit at that.] ...It's like being back on campus, hah... ...Yuume Souryuu is my own name. The train has me registered incorrectly, but I don't expect it to understand apprentice systems in the end. Is it alright to ask what you teach then, 'Professor'?

Surprise me, I'm more of a coffee person. Don't have much of a preference.

[He shrugged, fingers tapping on the silver handle of his cane.]

I'm a teacher of alchemy and modern magecraft theory back home in London. Nice to meet you, Yuume.

'Modern magecraft'... [She locates the tea after a bit, ultimately picking something that should hopefully be calming.] It certainly sounds intriguing...

At home, magic is considered anything not quite pinned down in regard to the laws of energy exchange...a sort of science in itself, but one that's yet to be defined. It's normally inaccessible to anything other than the Shadows however, so I suspect it's going to remain undefined for a long, long time.

It's good to meet you as well, [she ultimately adds with a nod, filling the mug.] I study history, myself- arguably archaeology with how far back it stretches, but I find when interviewing beings that have lived since those times, 'history' is the preferred word.

[She's had at least one 'Magician' get touchy about being considered so old they're part of archaeological study. (It's hardly her fault there's nothing written from those eras...)]

Oh, magecraft's pretty well rooted in science. Even the base capability to utilize it is largely genetic and related to the nervous system, and the rest is more exact science than the vague mysticism of your average fantasy.

[But he raised an eyebrow at the last remark, interested rather than skeptical.]

...I'm sorry, interviewing what?

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me googling the difference between history and archaeology like 'oh ok'

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