voidtreckernet | Imagination 21 -Standard to every car *after* the Q&A is ICly over

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Imagination 21 -Standard to every car after the Q&A is ICly over

I- I don't know what anyone else outside this carriage asked and I haven't heard anyone over the ICPs, but I- [Think, Eva. Now's not the time to be anything but rational, and maybe it's too soon, maybe it's not. She doesn't know. but she's never really been one to sit around and be helpless. She is, however, one to react to things, and that's what she's doing: Reacting.

Those who know her well can detect the banked helpless fury and frustration in her voice. Those in the Standard Car will see it as Eva slowly loses her cool while trying to keep it together for the sake of this.]

I think we need a train meeting? Don't know where -here in Standard where the computer is so we have a central database for everything?- but we should probably have one. Soon maybe? I don't know.

I- All I know is that whatever it said about time is false. We have proof amongst us it is. [And with that, she hangs up and goes to sit down and very much face in hands.]

(OOC: Anyone who wants to hijack this and get trainwide talking going is more welcome to do so! Same with those in Standard Car who want to threadjack stuff as Eva's in zero position to do anything other than face in hands.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Another big trainwide meeting? ]

Can we do it on this screen?

We can, actually. I am interested in hearing what other people found out.

Yes. I'm curious what other people learned. I learned because I'm tethered to the train my condition will remain stable and I won't deteriorate further. I've also had small improvements which are the train's doing. I'm also supposed to help with the missions, that's all.

[ His questions were very self-centered. ]

Ah, then you asked better questions than I did. I am glad your condition will remain stable and has improved slightly.

I had more trouble before I arrived, and it was a bit strange that things were a little bit better out of nowhere and I don't seem to need medication either.

[There's some incessant beeping as Yuume tries to call back whoever made this message. Hey. Pick up, Eva.

If she doesn't after...well, quite a lot of attempts, Yuume will ultimately have to seek Eva out herself she supposes. Can't be that hard, and she'll find her eventually.]

If I could ask what it is you were told about time?

I suspect I know what it is, since I just spoke with someone else about the matter, but I'd like to make sure before adding something...

[Eva doesn't even look up.]

That we're missing from our worlds and people presumably notice us missing even if we've been pulled out of the middle of things.

But that has to be false. It has to be; we've got proof with those from the same worlds.

[Because if it's not.... She can't - doesn't want to think about that at all.]

Ah.

[Ahem.]

Eva. This train travels through time and space, correct?

[Perhaps letting her piece through it on her own will help..?] ...Naturally the idea that time moves on is likely true to an extent but...

...That becomes a bit of a moot point when we ultimately travel back to the proper moment, even if it must be a few seconds or so after. Even assuming the train cannot...

...when I asked about matters of travel, it very much implied that craft capable of this exists.

[She won't say more than that on the topic immediately though. Something tells her that bits and pieces are best right now. But...]

....Do you need a drink, Eva?

[For a while she's silent as she mulls it over. What Yuume says is try and what she knows is also true. The train can presume all it wants, but-

It still stings, to know the train assumes one thing when something else is happening, or has to be happening, if only because she really, really does not want to think about the alternative.] True, true - and legends, I've love a drink. Do we have rum or something?

[[.... ]] to put in the tea of course.

I think we could buy rum, but maybe we should have the tea first neh..? We're not far from the kitchen either way though...and I find that it's better to have hope and remain calm in these situations, than focus on what the worse outcomes could be.

[It's hard to settle into the mindset for herself of course, but somehow, the chaos in the aftermath of this 'AMA' is helping.]

Ah, true...

[Though at the mention of tea, Eva grins a little.]

Raven-chan's coming with tea, though I'll never say no to more.

...you okay?

[Concerned Raven is concerned, even if she doesn't sound like it.]

... not really.

I regret asking what I did. Ignorance was better in this, I think.

I'm not sure there's ever a time when ignorance is better, personally. If you need someone to talk to though, I can meet you somewhere.

I think in this case it was better.

[A sigh, then:] I'm in Standard.

I'll bring tea.

[Because Raven has a feeling she'll need it, even if Eva doesn't. So it shouldn't be too long before she's showing up in a standard car with two mugs of herbal tea, looking for the other.]

Thank you.

[By the time Raven arrives, Yuume's with Eva. That said, it's telling how Eva reaches for the mug of tea.]

Back home, there's places this is called liquid gold.

[When Eva first noted that Raven was coming with tea, she was a bit surprised, but certainly not about to refuse. By the time she arrives, Yuume's taken a seat though- standing in the carriage gets uncomfortable after a bit.

Eva gets a sympathetic smile in any case.] Liquid gold? Sarcastically, or genuinely..?

[In any case-] Thank you for bringing that, neh? I think it's exactly what was needed...

[Raven hadn't actually expected anyone with Eva, but she's not really surprised. The other mug is offered to Yuume wordlessly.]

I often find it soothing, so I figured it might help.

Thanks. It will.

[There's a small nod to Raven before Eva takes a good long, sip of it. Ahh.]Literally. Like, it's made from the Aogin plant, which is a subspecies of the Chanoki or Tea plant. The leaves are vibrant blue before harvest, and the tea itself shines like gold in the sun.

Thank you, [Yuume repeats, taking her mug and looking to Eva.] Ah...is that so though...it sounds like a beautiful plant, though it's strange to think of something blue creating gold tea...

Colors and light can do interesting things.

[It was Raven's attempt at being social. She really wasn't one for words.]

I prefer herbal teas myself, or what's known as 'white' teas. Mostly because I don't drink it for the caffeine.

[To be fair, she's really not necessarily here to be social though. More concerned about what has Eva so distraught.]

Yeah, and it's the way it's grown and processed too, though I can't say I know much about that. [Lies; she knows more about it than she's letting on, but no one's here for a lecture on the plant.] All I know is that I enjoy the taste of tea.

[[Maybe she should try and get one of the plants some time. Someone on the train is bound to know how to process tea leaves, right? As it is, her hands tighten around the mug.]

It's a good way to steady oneself. Even if the Train has to be wrong.

I'll shamefully admit that I tend toward coffee quite often, [she laughs a bit weakly, scratching lightly at her cheek.] ...But at the very least for something like relaxing, herbal is definitely the best way to go about it...

[.......ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,,,] ...I'm not sure that's the best way to focus on it however... [She slowly remarks, glancing at the tightening grip Eva has on her mug.]

What do you think the train has to be wrong about?

[Because Raven feels a need to get to the point. Start getting it out, so they can help each other all calm down.]

That, according to the train's blasted mating flight assumptions, people notice we're missing even if we are pulled out of the middle of things.

[Her voice is tight with anger and emotion.]

It's false, it has to be. We've people from the same worlds yet different points in time, and they haven't reported anything like this.

Ah... [Yes, she suspected...]

Hmmm. Thinking about it with what context we have...That doesn't necessarily mean it's wrong I don't think. Rather it would mean that chronologically speaking, anyone from after that point in time who claims to have seen someone on the train from a prior point, was returned to roughly that moment in time at some other moment from outside that realm.

As both people are on the train from their respective moments in 'in-universe time', technically while time carries forward, the absence exists. But... ...given that it's likely possible to make use of something like the train to return to that point, then theoretically, when we do just that, the absence would be 'retconned'.

In other words, it would go from a noted absence, to an absence that no longer exists.

[That's how she's theorizing it, anyway. The other option is simply a matter of multiple timelines, but she suspects that would draw Eva farther away from a calmer state.]

It is the easiest explanation that corrects for possible paradox.

Hey. You OK, Eva?

I will be.

Eventually.

I trust you on that.

[That said...]

What on earth did the train tell you?

That, according to the train's blasted mating flight assumptions, people notice we're missing even if we are pulled out of the middle of things.

It's false, it has to be. We've people from the same worlds yet different points in time, and they haven't reported anything like this.

That...!

[Dairine stops mid-shout, sitting back with her hands folded in front of her, clearly thinking.] ...That would be unprecedented, yeah, and leaves us with more holes than it answers.

You called this an assumption. Did the train give any data to back up this statement?

I asked 'Does this mean that if time isn't 'slowed' -for lack of better words right now- back home, that people notice us very suddenly missing?' and got back 'Yes. You are missing from your worlds right now.'

I also asked, via Rich-kun, 'Given many of us seem to have been pulled out of the middle of things, do the people around at the time notice us literally not being there anymore?' and we got back 'That would be the most logical assumption. Yes.'

[Dairine mulls over the words.]

Those answers seem... kinda incomplete. Almost like the train's working off guesswork as much as the rest of us, yeah?

So time hasn't slowed or stopped back home. But that wouldn't necessarily stop us from arriving at the same point we left.

That's- [A sigh as she grimaces.] That's the only thing that makes a lick of sense. More so given the Inspectors called us 'anomalies'.

[She hates this. Hates not knowing anything and hatesthe fact what the train told her is likely guesswork at best.]

Anyway, what'd you find out?

Guess that's the trouble with being an anomaly. Even the experts might not know what's going on.

[Dairine can admittedly think of a few more worrying possibilities... but she's not about to start sharing them and make Eve even more upset.]

Not as much as I'd like. [The trouble with going too conversational was not being specific enough to get good answers.]

Apparently the train offered that Q&A session because some newer functions came online recently. It also confirmed that it needs our help, but I didn't get a straight answer whether it meant just with the missions or something more personal to the train itself.

Alright, so Gen and I got a lot of answers, actually, in detail since I told the train I wanted details. Let me start at the beginning, and I'm warning you now this is a bit of a long report.

First question was, how is it we get resurrected if we die on a mission. [ A small pause. ] Apparently it has to do with what's tethering us to the train, it makes it very difficult to die with any permanence. So a death is not actually a death. Interesting, but not something I think we should try to indulge in.

[ Oh yes, they're getting this editorialized, because of course they are. ]

I asked next how time works on the train in comparison with a twenty-four hour clock. The train said time is not comparable and that it's simulating a day/night cycle because that's what we're used to. Time is relative and only measured because we're measuring it. What that makes me think is that it may not actually exist as we understand it. I've counted, we are definitely not on a twenty-four hour clock when it comes to the day/night cycle and the rest we found out.

[ A small pause. ]

At that point, Gen asked how time progresses outside the train, both the worlds we visit and back home. Time is passing consistantly outside the void, apparently. We can only exit the void at times after we entered the void. The Voidtrecker Express can move backwards in time in a limited capacity only to respond to catastrophes. Interaction with the void does not affect time passing.

[ Here another pause and a sigh. ] So that tells me time is passing at home, which is not what we thought, and not only that, time is going on outside the void. I'm not sure we can accurate measure the date or time based on our jumps into the void and the places we visit. It's occurring to me now that maybe we should've asked how long we were actually traveling through the void between missions. [ Damn. Lost opportunity. ]

Gen asked then how long it is we're unconscious when we're forced to our beds every night. The answer is, while time is relative, it's six hours in terms we would understand. Admittedly that's a lot longer than I would've guessed.

I asked then what the repercussions would be if we were caught since we're considered fugitives who stole a train and the response would be there would be some kind of trial with an undesirable outcome. Not entirely unexpected but the train said the results of a trial would be unknown so it may not actually know the answer to that.

Lastly, Gen asked about getting more informaition about void trains and the void and we're limited to the points shop and the information in the library, which if you've tried to order things that are somewhat specific around that subject it's not keen on sharing that information.

That's what we found out. Any thoughts? [ or questions really, he's been mulling, he's up for a chat. ]

What it said about time...

[ He's listened in to the others talking to Eva just now, so. ]

That our worlds are going on without us?

That's how I understand it. I'm decidedly not thrilled about this, personally.

[ He has a lot to do, world to save, all of that. ]

At least, I have faith in the people around me to carry on without me, but it's not much of a comfort.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Imagination 21 -Standard to every car *after* the Q&A is ICly over

Voice

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VIDEO....OR ACTION?

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Action?

/slides into a three way thread

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Sorry for the delay

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Video

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Voice

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Imagination 21 -Standard to every car after the Q&A is ICly over