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thirstology2018-04-01 12:05 am
futurologists) wrote in thirstology2018-04-01 12:05 am
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TEST DRIVE MEME
FANTASTIC MR. FOX  Welcome to Azeria, a small single-biome planet covered almost entirely by deep, mossy forests. The natives of Azeria, a sapient foxlike species called Vulphytes, have reached out to Hathaway for help in repelling a planetary invasion. Other Vulphyte tribes have sent word of dangerous aliens descending in silver machines and laying waste to the forest, killing and capturing Vulphytes and animals in their wake. Hathaway analysts have calculated that the Merging is to blame for this sudden invasion; before, these two nearly identical universes didn't see each other, but now that they are one, these strangers are suddenly planetary neighbors. The aliens, seeing a new planet, must be searching for colonization prospects, while the Vulphytes are helpless against their spacefaring weaponry. ▸ FOR NEW VOLUNTEERS.On greeting the Hathaway agents, the Vulphytes will initially be very awkward and surprised, or as awkward and surprised as sapient foxes can appear. The Vulphytes speak telepathically, and eventually a spokesfox explains the cause of their discomfort: the invading aliens are humans, just like most of you. ▸ PROMPTS Your mission is simple: protect the Vulphytes, forests, and native animals from the invading humans. It's not necessary to kill all the invaders (unless you want to), simply keep them from taking the planet for their own and do a good enough job to persuade them never to come back. Of course, the invaders are a bit... forceful in their methods, so it's up to you.   The Vulphytes live in a cluster of burrows which are unfortunately not large enough for anything human-sized to visit, but the presence of non-aggressive aliens (that's you!) is enough to get the majority of them to pop out and curiously observe. The Vulphytes are variably black, grey, or red, with fur transitioning to moss along their backs; animals you might see in the forest, including deer, rabbits, and owls, have a similarly moss-covered look. The Vulphytes will take awhile to warm up to anyone who is human (or those who visibly look human), their telepathic tones suspicious as they ask questions about their loyalties, where they're from, and what their homeworlds are like. Those who are clearly not human will receive a much warmer reception, the Vulphytes asking curious questions and the Vulphyte kits trailing behind in fuzzy little rows. When the invaders' silver machines -- spaceships -- become visible in the sky, through breaks in the tree canopy, the Vulphytes look skyward and begin to howl. It's a pre-battle ritual, one of them explains, and characters are invited to join in: howl to the sky, to your enemies, and get ready to fight. TWO ▸ THE INVASION. The silver spaceships of the invaders crash down through the trees, sending animals fleeing in all directions. The Vulphytes stay put, snarling in the direction of the noise and waiting for the invaders to come to them. If you'd like, you can rush forward and head them off -- or stay and fight alongside the foxes. Just as the Vulphytes claimed, the invaders are human. They are dressed in armored space suits, the visors on their helmets obscuring their faces and reflecting the forest all around. Their weapons are various types of laser guns, though a few are holding axes that have laser blades, which they use to start chopping down trees as their compatriots march toward the Vulphyte dens. The invaders are surprised to see people here, but they're not interested in talking: they open fire on anyone they see, not recognizing any of the recruits as their people and thus pegging them immediately as enemies. Though they're aggressive, they're not suicidal; if a single invader encounters too much violence or are outnumbered, they'll run back to their compatriots for reinforcements, so it's best to dispatch them quickly (or prevent them for running for help in some other way). Once the invaders reach the Vulphyte dens, the foxes fight viciously, swarming individuals in a flurry of claws and snarling teeth. Kill the invaders or simply give them enough trouble to make them retreat for good, it's up to you. But either way, look after your furry/mossy hosts; despite their telepathic way of communication, the Vulphytes don't possess any magical abilities, so they'll need to be looked after in the face of laser weapons. THREE ▸ BABYSITTER'S CLUB. The baby Vulphytes are in the greatest amount of danger from the invading humans, being entirely unable to defend themselves and uncertain of what's actually going on. Hathaway has been tasked with rescuing them from their dens and whisking them away to safer areas away from the fighting where they can be cared for until the fighting is over. The only problem is that baby Vulphytes are... well, babies. They're quite upset by all the ruckus, yowling in a way that resembles crying, and aren't exactly happy to be taken away by strangers they don't know. In fact, some of them might try to make a great escape, so you'd better be quick! Those who make it to a safe area will need consoling and, once that's done, entertainment. They'll also need their caretakers to make sure no invaders sneak up on them -- since some are hidden in the woods. It's a big job, but you can handle it, right? FOUR ▸ VICTORY CELEBRATIONS. Once the invaders are finally chased off, everyone gathers together to celebrate. The Vulphytes bow (as well as a fox can) as the team enters and apologize for their uncertainty before; they see now that many of you are nothing like the aliens who threatened them, despite your similar looks. They'd like you all to stay and celebrate, if you have time. The celebrations are... a bit different than most might be used to; it's definitely not a human party. There are games with handmade balls of packed moss, which the Vulphytes seem to love. In fact, they go crazy for Fetch, a game they were never introduced to before due to their tragic lack of opposable thumbs. They "sing" for the team in howls, a rare example of adults not communicating telepathically. As for the team, they receive a congratulatory message from Imogen on their magitek suggesting they take the rest of the celebration to meet and greet with the unfamiliar faces. There won't be much time to do so back at Headquarters, I'm afraid, she adds. Drakstaden awaits, darlings! FIVE ▸ CHIT-CHAT. It's your standard network option. Make battle plans, chat about how cute the foxes are, or share good hiding places. No matter what, you get one username to identify you and one only -- if you don't enter one, it will default to your real name (for example, Voldemort's would be tomriddle.) Choose wisely... or make it assfarts69, if that's your thing. More information on the jewelcomms can be found on the devices guide. SIX ▸ WILDCARD. Do whatever the heck you want! Go pick wildflowers. Climb a tree. Hunt animals. Loot innocent fox dens, you monster. The world is your oyster. ▸ OOC NOTES Welcome to the second test drive meme of Futurology Season 2! This test drive will function as an optional mini-mission for both new and current characters, similar in feel to the missions we have in-game but on a much smaller scale. Threads on this test drive are game canon by default unless one of the participants would like to retcon it. Current characters may use TDM threads for non-!plot AC proofs. Both test drivers and current characters are welcome to top level! While current characters are allowed to tag other current characters, we ask that you please make an effort to be welcoming to test drivers as well! Since incoming characters currently don't have official specializations, we have no specialized prompts. However, feel free to play as if your character is level 1 of whichever specialization you would like to choose. Questions about the game in general can be directed to the FAQ. If you've been with us before, you might notice things look a little different around here. Make sure you check out the welcome page for the basic rundown of how your character joined up with Hathaway. For further information about the game, the full navigation has all the links you'll need. ▸ Upcoming Events (Futurology runs on timezone UTC): |
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Of course I’m happy. I know it’s important to you, and it’s not like I didn’t care about saving them. [ he drops his hands to his sides, a bit defeated ] Cath, I’m not trying to hammer you, I’m just trying to understand. I said I wasn’t disappointed because I thought the reminder might cheer you up. You know, that they’re living out eternity among the stars, and so are we. Seeing things differently doesn’t have to be a bad thing all the time.
[ He feels weirdly helpless in this conversation, to make himself understood, to deescalate things while they’re just careening off of their own volition somehow, to avoid making Catherine withdraw even more. She doesn’t want to talk about it, which is fine, except she keeps drawing conclusions that Simon doesn’t want her just walking away with. Because they’re not true. Or because they are, maybe.
Except for what seems to be the assumption that he’s dense on purpose to be an asshole because no one could possibly actually have this many problems wrapping their head around things. Sadly, that one is false. ]
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Facts are facts. The fact is: she trusts Simon with a lot of things, but she's not sure she trusts him to trust her.
She looks down at the ground, practically deflating. She really doesn't want to fight with him, and getting Catherine to deescalate is as simple as not engaging. She doesn't have the assertiveness to perpetuate an argument that the other person isn't adding inertia to. ] I... this is better than I ever thought would happen. I know that. [ It's something she expects neither of them will ever be able to articulate to anyone else here, the magnitude of their reversal of fortunes, and just how deus ex machina it was. Akin to an act of God. ]
A lot of things happened, [ she goes on slowly, deciding what to say, ] past what you remember. I'm not-- I don't know. [ She swallows tightly, still looking at the ground. ] I'm proud of what we did, but it's only been a few days for me. Sometimes I think I'm dreaming this. Or that I... I'm still deactivated, and malfunctioning, and imagining everything.
I need more time, Simon.
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So he nods. It’s almost a comforting compromise, in a way. That she needs time. You know, some of that time that they now actually have. ] Sure. That... that works.
[ And it implies that she doesn’t plan to just shut him out forever. That’s pretty good. It’ll have to be good enough, right now. He pauses, shifts from foot to foot awkwardly and adds, ] Well, if you need anything while you’re settling in...
[ He offers her a wide, dweeby WELP, HERE’S ME? shrug. He’s trying to extend a hand of weird-apocalypse-friendship here, but also, Simon will find something Catherine finds engrossing and impressive about his experiences. ]
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It's a perfectly normal thing, to ask for more time to process a major trauma. It implies a normalcy that just wasn't possible for them, back on their decimated Earth. ]
I'll let you know. [ She means that, honestly-- she doesn't intend to just abandon Simon. Catherine is always brutally honest, even when she shouldn't be, and she fumbles to try to give some parting assurance here. ] I am glad we're here. That we're both here.
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[ Simon considers her carefully, feeling somehow more out of the loop than ever. Catherine had fully expected the ARK to benefit everyone except herself, and if she hadn’t launched it yet, she would have turned down Hathaway’s offer of the only possible escape from PATHOS-II that she-as-she-exists could ever hope for. It’s not as if Simon wasn’t invested in Saving Humanity, but he didn’t help her with that same certainty that it wouldn’t save him, and he still couldn’t turn down Hathaway, even then. Because he didn’t want to die at the bottom of the ocean on a dead Earth in an alien body.
In the thick of their demi-argument it almost felt threatening how foreign this was, but now, standing in relation to her doesn’t make Simon’s position as a perfectly normal person in this respect feel like it’s changed so much as it puts her on another, overachieving scale of altruism entirely when he’d thought they could be measured on the same one.
You hear about people like that, but you don’t expect to meet them, or to find them in people you’ve met already, who act like it’s totally normal to be that self-sacrificing.
He catches himself staring at her in puzzlement — again — and looks away like a super casual normal person who definitely knows what’s going on right now, fiddling with his jewelcomm ring until something else occurs to him. ] By the way, if you meet a buff pink-haired Russian woman, just... don’t tell her you’re a robot.
[ yeah that’s. that’s his veteran Hathaway advice. ]
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Just leaving them down there to rot, when there's something she can save... She can't do that. They trusted those scans to her. She might not remember taking them, but clearly, she'd managed to convince all of those who'd been scanned to trust her with their effective lives, and abandoning that just wasn't in her.
She's a simple person. She needs to finish one thing before moving on to the next. And the ARK-- is done.
It's still a surreal, profound thought, and frankly she welcomes Simon's blunt, out-of-place advice as a needed tone shift. Even so, she squints at him in skepticism. ]
What? A 'buff pink-haired Russian woman'-- why would I lie? [ Catherine is proud of who and what she is and she has no intention of pretending to be something else to satisfy anyone else's sensibilities, whatever delusional denial-land Simon's been living in. ]
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The ARK launch was his lone carrot on a stick. He braved the monster-filled obstacle course that PATHOS-II had turned into for it, and even then, he found time for his thoughts to turn to the futility of their new existence, which Catherine knows because she heard about it almost every time.
His answer to her is slightly exasperated. ] Because she hates robots. Just trust me on this one. You don’t even have to lie, you look human. You can just not bring it up.
[ He had some awareness that her social standing in her human life was weird, but Simon can feel his understanding of Catherine shifting in places just from the twenty seconds they’ve been talking about this. Like anybody, he has a baseline understanding of How to People that he assumes everybody he meets possesses, and Catherine keeps... like, not even failing at meeting these expectations, but just dodging it somehow and doing something else. It’s “be nice to Imogen” all over again. ]
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Plus, some core element of her doesn't understand why she should try at all. It seems exhaustingly difficult for what's sure to be little return.
She levels Simon an unimpressed look, puffing out a breath of air. ] That is lying, [ she points out. ] I'm not going to censor myself to make her feel better. There's nothing wrong with the way I am. Or the way you are.
[ Suddenly she gives him a harder look, at odds with baffled uncertainty in her voice. ]
Wait-- has she been giving you trouble?
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In her world, robots are everywhere, and some kind of worldwide glitch broke out and started a war between robots and humans that destroyed her whole village. I guess she thinks I’m going to get some kind of... virus, and go on a killing spree. She laid off when I told her I was human, but she still doesn’t trust me.
[ He looks away from her scrutinizing squint, and there’s an uncomfortable I-don’t-like-it-but-I-kinda-get-it ambivalence in his voice in explaining this. Sure, it’s super racist against robots, but it’s kinda understandable. From what little he could glean of what life was like in 2104– well, Simon doesn’t consider himself technophobic by any means, but people who’d get implants in their brains so an A.I. could do a doctor’s job obviously trusted it more than his 2015 cave-people did. He’d like to dismiss Zarya’s concerns entirely, but the WAU and its out-of-control evolution and its hivemind are just that little bit too similar to what she was talking about for his tastes.
Next to Catherine, he’s its most stable, autonomous creation, and that thing still had way more of a key to his brain than he was okay with.
Not that Simon “literally doesn’t breathe but still gets winded from running” Jarrett could pull off a successful killing spree under any circumstances, even if he could imagine wanting to. ]
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They are what they are, what they're programmed to be.
Actual people, real, breathing people, on the other hand... ] You? Has she spoken to you at all? [ Catherine's immediate dismissiveness is either insulting or complimentary, and it's not totally clear which. ] What about all the humans that get a 'glitch' and go on a murder spree-- does she mistrust all people, too? Apparently not, if telling her you're not an A.I. got her to back off.
That's ridiculous. You can't hold robots to a higher standard than you hold people. Especially since we made them. If they have any flaws, it's our fault. We don't talk about exterminating humanity because of our history of mass genocide.
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[ Simon says this in his distant ‘actually I’ve already decided to feel conflicted about this forever but thanks’ voice. It’s almost like there are good reasons not to bother trying to figure out what he wants to hear, not when ‘I’ll think about X, Y and Z when I’ve figured out A and I’ll never figure out A’ is still so subconsciously useful.
...but then he actually thinks about it, staring past her for several moments, and shit it makes sense ]
Okay, that’s a good point. I don’t think it would do much to change her mind, though. She doesn’t see me as completely human, just... more human than other robots.
[ For all that he ruminates on whether he and Catherine are really all that different from robots programmed by people, it doesn’t occur to him to draw these kinds of comparisons. He didn’t think Catherine would either, much less based on the premise of robots being comparable to people like it’s a foregone conclusion, instead of something Simon is still undecided about. ]
I don’t know. If somebody doesn’t like that I’m a robot, then great. Neither do I.
[ He can’t feel as confident in this stuff as Catherine does. Simon wasn’t some kind of ideal human specimen, and he still doesn’t feel equal to that. He doesn’t want to identify enough with robots to argue that he is one and fuck toy it’s fine, and he never feels well-equipped to argue that he’s human.
He even totally forgot to acknowledge her ambiguous You?, which has multiple possible interpretations. All of them accurate, but still. ]
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How is she... supposed to respond to this? She knows how Simon feels, and he knows how she feels, already.
Catherine huffs out a breath. ] I know you feel that way, but at some point, you need to try to accept it. You never tell me I'm not human, so what gives? Why are you so special that you need Simon Jarrett, 2015, Toronto, to be real?
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And never let it be said that Simon’s spooky robot form has no enhanced abilities. ]
You’re the only Catherine I’ve ever known, but I remember everything about being human, so I see all the ways this doesn’t measure up. How am I supposed to just accept something that sucks just as much today as it did at Upsilon? I might have actual options now.
[ Hathaway’s made it a more tolerable existence, but in some ways it’s also worse. It’s probably a moot point, because Simon would find the time to hate his robot situation no matter what he was doing. ]
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Meanwhile, Simon gets to see exactly how droll and unimpressed Catherine looks at this reasoning, in real time, without any extrapolation needed from her voice. ]
So pursue those options. What do you want, a medal of honor? [ She starts brushing off some dirt. ] Anyway, even if you don't see yourself as fully human, that doesn't mean you should accept it when somebody else says it.
[ In a mutter: ] I'd like to see her handle waking up a hundred years in the future in a dive suit.
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Catherine’s confidence in this is totally inscrutable by Simon’s standards. If he can’t fully believe it, even though he’s supposedly less beholden to logic than a scientist, how can she? It’s not as if he doesn’t feel a flare of defiance whenever someone implies that he isn’t human, but how can he defend it? ]
How would you argue that? If somebody told you your whole body’s artificial... that data’s data, no matter where it came from, so you’re not human. What would you say?
[ His tone’s purely conversational, as it often is even when his questions are in ‘help me Obi-Chun Kenobi’ mode.
Also, it’s nice that Catherine has a three-dimensional presence now, but not having a face seems particularly unfair all of a sudden. ]
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Catherine has no problem arguing with someone that she's a human being. ]
I'd say they have an extremely poor understanding of the way the human brain works, and if they want to have an existential crisis about my existence, that's their problem. I'm fine the way I am, and I don't need their validation to know that I'm human.
Maybe we're not perfect replicas in every detail, but most people aren't shining examples of the human race, either. Why do our flaws, because they're digital, mean we're not human, when other people with malfunctioning brains still are, just because they have an organic body? That's what you define as humanity-- needing air to breathe, rather than your capacity to feel, to live, to have dreams?
[ She even sounds blatantly unimpressed as she recites this, as if someone in front of her had questioned their humanity... Hmmm. ]