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rp_help) wrote in janitorscloset2015-12-29 12:13 am
[Event] Introduction to the Nexus / MoI crash
Within the fabric of the multiverse the differing possibilities of each branch are woven, overlapping but separate, converging and looping at times, but often wriggling apart by ever-increasing degrees until the substance of it is thick with possibilities. This fabric is five-dimensional, not recognizable in its true form to the beings that are forced to live within the constraints of linear time and three-dimensional space. Unknown to those who live out the events contained within it, the sense of it is only kept by the special properties of the interactions between universes—it would seem that each universe is independent, but the nature of this fabric is such that certain events—convergence events—tie each universe together in an indelible way.
This is not to say that these convergence events all take place in the same way in each universe. But there are key threads that cannot be unraveled from their neighbors, and though the players in a scene may not all be the same in each universe, the moments contained in these convergence points are so tightly woven that in some ways they may be indistinguishable from their neighbors.
II.
An indelible part of those universes where Project Freelancer came to be is the fact that the Project could not succeed. It was based on flawed theories, illegal activities, biased science, no matter which lifetime this particular founder of the Project was living out. And so its failure, or more specifically that moment where its impending failure came to a head, became a convergence event. Like a network of strong magnets, the turning point brought the multiverse together in an intimately linked way. For this reason, when in one universe the ship Mother of Invention fired upon itself and began its descent into the atmosphere of the nearby planet, it sent shockwaves of destiny through the multiverse, bringing each doom destined for Project Freelancer into clear focus.
Much of the technology in the Project's facilities, both on the ship and the planet itself, were experimental. Dimension-hopping was one of the unsanctioned activities taking place under the Project's purview, though it was intended for fast travel through space within the same universe rather than through the multiverse itself. This didn't change the fact that once again, the Project was messing around with things that weren't entirely understood. The emotional states of the users of the dimensional portals had a huge effect on them—and the person effecting the portal didn't necessarily have to be actively using it, either. This wasn't known or considered when the Project moved one of its portals from its planet-side facility to the labs on the ship.
III.
And so it was that the combined anger, fear, and desperation of the occupants of the ship at the time it crashed reprogrammed the portal in the ship's belly, and in turn created havoc in the transporter nexus that resided on the planet. Like an arc of electricity sparking from a Tesla coil, the wave of reprogramming touched every portal in the nexus. Every portal would now lead to the Mother of Invention in the aftermath of the crash. Worse than this, it caused the portals in the nexus to draw in users from other parts of the multiverse. They would enter the nexus unknowingly, simply hearing a ringing like crystal and finding themselves within it. Attempting to leave would simply send them to the Mother of Invention at a most dangerous time.
IV.
Timeline of events:
• Day 1: Residents of other times and places will find themselves on the planet containing Freelancer facilities in the teleporter nexus. Everyone who comes to the nexus will find that their cell phone, 2-way radio, comm device, or helmet radio can be used to communicate with anyone else who has arrived in the nexus at any point. Attempting to leave the nexus via any portal will lead to the crash site of the Mother of Invention. Recovery agents and guards will be evident all around the grounds, but things are chaotic. It will be impossible to locate the end portal the character arrived through to return to the nexus.
• Days 2-5: Things are calming down at the site, but time itself will seem to be undergoing an echo effect—recovery agents and guards will still be on patrol, but as time goes by they will seem to be in several places at once and though they may spot characters who arrive, they will be unable to apprehend them. The end portals that lead back to the nexus will be intermittently visible, but in a shivery way that will make it difficult to use them to return. When one manages to return to the nexus, they will find that they're unable to reprogram the teleporters. Teleporters now lead to various locations, however, rather than just the ship crash site—they also lead to various bases inhabited by simulation troops. Like the guards and recovery agents at the crash site, however, the simulation troops will not be quite able to interact with the characters who have arrived.
• Days 6-10: The shivers that are going through time and space now seem to be settling down, and the teleporters are increasingly responsive to attempts to reprogram them. By the time the ten days are up it's easy to cycle them between other Freelancer and UNSC facilities, and many technologically-savvy characters will be able to deduce the fact that there is a resonant frequency inherent to their own universe that can be programmed into a teleporter via their radio or comm device.
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[North looks up from where he's been fiddling with the transporter and is taken aback, in more ways that one. He recognized the voice but he hadn't expected Wash. The last time he'd seen the other freelancer was, well, when the ship crashed. And he hadn't been in the best shape then.
All things considered, North probably should have expected it, given the aforementioned weirdness.]
Wash? What's with the get-up?
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[But that is very much proof this isn't Oak.]
[...which begs the question why North didn't question how he looked older. How long HAD it been since North had seen Wash before he found his body?]
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[He hasn't quite reconciled the different dimensions bit. Or at least, that's not going to be the first thought that occurs to him.]
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How do you-you shouldn't be involved w ith Chorus. [North was dead before he met the Reds and Blues!]
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[And shit was just starting to get real there so he had to get back.]
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[And now....now he's hating how he knows so much and so little. Because his memories are broken, fragmented, minutess amongst weeks, months, years. And he doesn't know. He doesn't know if maybe there was a trick, some dramatic reveal his life likes to pull.]
[Or]
[If this is an alternate timeline.]
[Because he knows those exist. God, how many timeilnes did Aoko find out about herself? At least four. Hell, he's SEEN the other Aoko sleeping in mirrors, it was a thing that happened!]
[This could be another timeline and he won't know because he won't have the damn memories to try and figure it out.]
[Maybe Oak wasn't going to remember dying...]
[Sadly, Puma's face is definitely one of Distress, even if the full extent wasn't obvious. But he's a bit more open than normal current Wash, though more closed off than in those PFL days.]
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Or a version of you, anyway.
[The idea of multiple timelines is a weird one alright.]
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Did you, uh, ever fake your death?
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[He's pretty sure he'd remember a weird magic place. But all he's got is Chorus and really, that planet is anything but magical.]
What? No. I've never done that. Unless almost dying for real counts?
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Depends. Because I remember it and now I'm trying to figure out if that was real or I just have memories missing about how people aren't dead. [Because he's not sure how to feel about any of that.]
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[Might as well just roll with the weirdness, right?]
Well, maybe it was a different me, because again, didn't fake my death. I just almost died when Maine attacked, but you and South were able to get me back to base before going after him. After that I was on my own until the Project fell apart and the Chairman sent me to Chorus. That where we ran into each other again. You were with the Reds, Sarge, Donut...and Lopez.
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[That is his life now. He's had several battles with a Japanese schoolgirl as his partner against giant monsters.]
When Maine attacked? [No, that....that didn't make sense. He saw Maine acting weird while he was struggling with his implantation, but he hadn't been the Meta yet. And after the implantation....he's pretty sure that's when it all fell apart.]
[So]
[At least his North was dead.]
[....]
[He tries to not let the disappointment show on his face.]
Was I still with the Federal Army? I know we were with them for a short while at least. [Oh god, was he really isolated with the two he shot and Sarge?] Was Lopez a problem? [What was with that pause? Certainly more important to think on that then...anything else.]
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[North is not sure whether to be scared, concerned, or impressed.]
Yeah, or technically, I was and then you guys got brought in. Before I ended up here we were all reunited, with the Blues and Carolina.
Lopez was fine, I just needed to remember his name...but is the Spanish a constant thing? Donut tried explaining it to me but it barely made sense.
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[The answer is yes]
That's the Reds. And it is. I have no idea why, but I have no idea why they do a lot of things. I just accepted the madness.
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But yeah, I sort of got that. I mean, they're pretty cool otherwise.
[Donut's easy to get along with and Lopez is Lopez. He won't mention Sarge's issues with his armour and how purple is closer to blue than red.]
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They are pretty cool. [And there's such a FOND smile on his face because goddamn if his High School Battle Partner will let him get away with hiding every damn emotion.]
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[Another version of him? He's almost scared to find out how many there are.]
But yeah, you found some good people. I'm just sorry I didn't find you sooner.
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[Puma has just accepted the sanity. It helps his adopted family knows about like four of hers.]
Well, I was on the run for a while. If that stayed the same.
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The only time I really heard you were on the run was when you joined up with the Reds and Blues and became the Blue team leader. Something about making the sides even.