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[The feed flickers on.]
[All the subjects are out on the front lobby area of The Quinn. While the process of getting them here may have taken long, for them it didn’t seem like much time had passed at all. In fact, this little meeting is the first time any actually got to see their competition.]
[There’s a mixed reaction throughout the crowd. DOROTHY was expecting people a lot more menacing, MARINN is intrigued and confused at the numerous non-humans in his midst, and ELISE just seems happy that they all seem weak and powerless. The only people who don’t really have much of a reaction are CHANCE and the members of COMPUTER BUG - CHANCE never really had a frame of reference for ‘normal’, so anyone seems like a worthy adversary, and CALI and DEILE interacted with a wide variety of species in their home story, leading them to simply see the other 4 as normal as anyone else.]
[While DOCTOR BRONTË and ABACAXI prepare to get the competition rolling, the subjects all start to mingle between each other. Well, at least, most of them do.]
[ELISE, being the social butterfly she is, is the first to start mingling. She approaches CALI.]
[ELISE]: Oh my god, Hiii!
[CALI]: Oh, uh. Hi! I guess we’re going to be… competing against each other at some point?
[ELISE]: Seems like it. What’s your name?
[CALI]: My name is Cali, and th-
[ELISE]: Well, it’s so great to meet you Cali! I’m Elise. Oh, and I have to say… I absolutely adore your style.
[CALI]: Oh, uh. Thank you?
[ELISE]: It’s so… Librarian-esque! Long skirt, little sweater with a wacky pattern… you even have the giant old computer lab monitor too, haha!
[She taps the top of CALI’s head, causing her face to flicker.]
[ELISE]: Oh, speaking of, if you ever want to upgrade it, just let me know, my dad has an in with someone at Coralberry, they’d be able to get you something way more sleek and modern. Just, y’know, in case you wanna look nicer. Nice talking to you!
[ELISE walks away, leaving CALI stunned. DEILE approaches.]
[DEILE]: Sorry, I was over at the polygon computer thing ordering some grub. Did you make a new friend with the pile of clothes?
[CALI shakes her head and goes to sit down, DEILE, now with a plate of food materialized in his hand, attempts to catch up.]
[DEILE]: What? Did I say something? Should I have gotten some for you too?
[Over on the other side of the room, MARINN sits alone on one of the few benches in the area, looking out at the others. This whole situation feels too similar to him… getting transport, then shuffled into a big room with people he doesn’t know, about to see some sort of speech from the headmasters of the whole thing, all it does is remind him of-]
[DOROTHY]: Hey.
[MARINN jumps at the sound, and turns to face the source, to find that it was DOROTHY. She’s leaning against the wall, arms crossed.]
[DOROTHY]: Are you alright? You looked like you were about to panic, or cry, or… both.
[MARINN wipes his eyes.]
[MARINN]: I’m fine, I’m fine. I just… I don’t know how to feel about all t-this.
[DOROTHY]: Hey, you’re speaking like you’re the only one. I don’t think that tin woman and her bug friend are fans either, and I know I’m not. The only ones that seem excited are the purple one without arms and the invisible girl, and I can’t say I really like either of them that much.
[She shakes her head.]
[DOROTHY]: This whole thing seems off to me, and not in a whimsical way. The place seems to be teeming with magic, but it looks as sterile as a hospital.
[MARINN looks around the place. It seems a lot more tech based than magic based, but to be fair, he didn’t know much about either. He’s just a wood carver, after all.]
[DOROTHY]: Frankly, I don’t think anyone’s really happy to be here. I mean, just look at the hosts.
[She gestures over to BRONTË and ABA. ABA’s looking bored out of his mind, as if showing up to this is just an obligation, while BRONTË is straight as an edge, and incredibly annoyed at ABA.]
[DOROTHY]: Were they practically on the brink of fighting when you came in too?
[MARINN]: Hm… uh… I don’t think so. But they did seem pretty nervous near the end…
[DOROTHY]: Yeah. This seems as much of an irritant to them as it is to us. I’d like to believe that means we’ll be able to get out of here sooner rather than later, and back home.
[MARINN sighs in relief, until he remembers where exactly he’d be going back to. He starts to slightly panic again.]
[MARINN]: B-but… what if I didn’t like where I was?
[DOROTHY]: Hey, I didn’t like where I was either. But you’ll get through it, I’m sure.
[MARINN]: No, you d-don’t understand. It was-
[A loud whine comes from the overhead PA system, as BRONTË taps it.]
[MARINN]: I-I’ll talk to you later.
[DOROTHY nods at him, but they then turn their attention to the front of the room.]
[A small makeshift stage is sitting where the captain’s chairs usually would be, mainly to get that extra vertical distance.]
[BRONTË]: Hello, and welcome onboard The Quinn. I’m sure you all know us by now, and hopefully, you’ve started to get to know each other too. We thank you all again for your agreement in joining this experiment.
[DEILE]: (Not like we had much of a choice…)
[BRONTË looks at DEILE, but does not call attention to him. She clears her throat and continues.]
[BRONTË]: Starting today, all facilities of The Quinn are free for you to use. I’m sure you all have gotten to know the ins and outs of the dormrooms… some moreso than others… but we wouldn’t want you to stay cooped up in your rooms the whole time aboard. I’ll go over a few of the interesting points of the ship now.
[BRONTË floats over to a large screen embedded in the wall of the ship.]
[BRONTË]: This central screen is the main way that you all will be contacting our helpful AI companion, Cync. Here, they can answer questions, materialize anything within reason, and play board games. You all may have also noticed a smaller version of this screen in your dorms. It can do all the things this one does, including rearranging and redecorating your rooms, but if multiple people are using them, this central one will always take priority. Cync has a lot of responsibilities on the ship, we don’t want you to overload them.
[The group of six murmur amongst themselves.]
[BRONTË]: Next, we have the Simulation Room, if you all could follow me in-
[A button is pressed, and one of the 3 large steel doors opposite the ship’s windows open up. The group collectively shrug and start to head inside.]
[The room itself seems incredibly simple, just plain white walls glowing faintly, with a Cyncpad on the wall next to the door. CHANCE holds his fist up against the wall, noticing it slightly shudder and shift as his glove touches it.]
[BRONTË]: This room is one of my greatest creations. It allows for simulation of any location, real or fictional, a place you’ve been or one you’ve dreamed up, anything.
[She taps on the Cyncpad twice, and the room instantly starts to shift. Small cubes float up from the walls and floors, combining together and gaining color, until the subjects and the hosts are all standing together in… an Italian Restaurant.]
[BRONTË]: Apologies for the basic example, it’s just one of the defaults.
[The group responds with oohs and awes. DOROTHY begins picturing ways to make a formidable training arena within, while ELISE has other plans.]
[ELISE]: Can this thing contact places? I know you all don’t care about Wifi or whatever, but I need to tell my girls about all of this.
[BRONTË]: …No, this is just a simulator. It’ll take wherever and whenever you say, and place you there, as long as either you or it knows what you’re speaking about. Nothing in it runs in realtime.
[ELISE]: Ugh, you scientists are always focusing on the wrong things.
[BRONTË]: I will also note a few other limitations of the Simulation Room. No area can be too large, as then the computer may start to overheat, and that would not be great for reasons you can guess. Also, please keep in mind that it can only simulate locations and objects, not living beings you can interact with. While the machine could generate a body for them, their mind would be completely blank, as the mind is a very complex thing to simulate.
[ABACAXI]: and also ‘cause she’s too lazy to.
[BRONTË shoots ABA a glare.]
[BRONTË]: Well, that about concludes our tour, so-
[CALI]: Wait. There’s… only two rooms in this whole thing?
[BRONTË]: No. There’s 7. There’s 5 dorms, the main lobby, the Simulation Room. The rest is all backroom areas where you all are not allowed.
[DOROTHY]: But didn’t you say we’d have access to all facilities?
[BRONTË]: Yes. There are no Exclusive Facilities in the backroom. It’s simply just Abacaxi and I’s living quarters. And the interview room. And all the elements to keep the ship running. It- this doesn’t matter. You don’t go back there, and there’s no reason to. Alright?
[The group seems to murmur in agreement.]
[BRONTË]: Alright, good.
[BRONTË]: Now, I’m sure you all are excited and ready to get into the actual competition…
[CHANCE]: Wait, actually! Did we ever get any confirmation on the whole uh. What we’re doing for it? Like what we’re being judged on?
[BRONTË]: No, you didn’t.
[BRONTË]: …
[BRONTË]: Now, with the competition, please be aware that any and all matches should occur within this Simulation Room. If any start outside of it, then you all will be forced into here as to not cause any unneeded damage or chaos.
[BRONTË]: Any other questions can be answered by our lovely assistant, Cync. If you need me, just tell them. That will be all from me.
[BRONTË shakes her head as she leaves the room. As the 6 subjects exchange glances, ABA floats up to replace her.]
[ABACAXI]: sorry about that. she's just a little nervous.
[DEILE]: That's a great thing to hear about the person who's spaceship you're stuck on.
[ABACAXI]: valid dig. i get that. but i do wanna at least start getting you all pushed in the right direction, kay?
[ABACAXI]: main thing to point out is that, yeah, the competition is happenin', right now. so, if you ever get into enough of a tussle, that may or may not count for the whole... competition thing, y'know. it'll be clear if it does start, 'cuz then there'll be like. an indicator. i think. the doc's the one who did the tech, if there's not anything, i'll just tell ya, okay?
[ELISE]: You know, this is like, a horrible way to run a competition. There's supposed to be a bracket, and then you get hyped up, and then you tell everyone else how their picks are obviously wrong because you- I mean, your picks, are going to win. What sort of competition just goes with a 'whatever happens, happens' rule?
[ABACAXI]: ALRIGHT geez. i get it. if something doesn't happen within a certain amount of time, we'll force something to. okay?
[MARINN looks incredibly uncomfortable after hearing that.]
[ABACAXI]: great. good to see we're on the same page now. feel free to plot ways to defeat each other, or become friends, or idk, just stay in here all day. but you'll end up in a match sooner or later, i can guarantee.
[ABACAXI]: oh, and we'll be doing a board game night tonight if anyone wants to join in. i got mousetrap! i know marinn likes the sound of that one, eh? eh??
[MARINN looks even more uncomfortable. ABACAXI just grins and shrugs.]
[ABACAXI]: can't win 'em all. but just remember, if you ever wanna chat with one of the higher ups, i'm always open. at least talking to you all is better than being scolded. or being bored. anyway i'm leaving now, peace
[He floats through the door, leaving the 6 of the subjects alone in the Simulated Italian Restauraunt. They all disband almost immediately- going their seperate ways into their dorms, or to hang out in the lobby. It'll be quiet for now. We'll check in to see the first match soon enough.]