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FINAL TDM.
● ● ● T D M . 10
The words ring in your ears as in the darkness of your dream, a copper glow pulses, slowly enveloping you. It is not a feeling of comfort that surrounds you, though — as a distorted voice whispers in your ear, you feel it: cold dread, and a sudden certainty that everything is about to be irrevocably changed.
It is to this daunting realization that you wake, and as your heart slows into something resembling a normal tempo, you notice something you should have noticed immediately: you are not in your bed.
1.0 White walls, clinical yet clean, sparsely-furnished rooms. You may wake in one of three rooms: a room with only one bed, a room with two beds, or a room with four beds. Those waking up in rooms with more than one bed notice that they are very much not alone. Perhaps the other occupants of the room are still sleeping, dreaming the same dream as you just did, or a regular one after returning to the station just a few days ago … or perhaps you wake to the other person in the room watching you.
What you do is entirely up to you: yell in surprise when you wake to someone staring at you? Or maybe you’ll try to sneak away before anyone notices you...
2.0 Those with life-threatening injuries find themselves awakening in the infirmary, in a regular hospital bed. Most of their injuries have been treated, and any lingering illnesses or conditions will have designated medicine bottles on the table next to the bed.
White curtains surround the bed on both sides, giving an illusion of privacy. But is that a rustling sound you hear? Some footsteps? Perhaps you’re not the only one in need of some medical attention... or you've attracted the attention of those with experience in medical aid, and they rush to your bedside, surprised about this sudden new patient.
It is not just for your injuries that you may want some company, but also for leaving the infirmary — you can’t stay there forever, after all, and will have to make your way through the hallways of the station to the living quarters, and claim a room and a bed there.
Once you’re up, you may notice there’s something in your ear: an earpiece that, when you become aware of it, quickly runs you through the instructions for how to use the network, a recorded message by a female voice that explains exactly why you’re here… and leaves you with a map of the station.
So what else is there to do but to explore? Best get to know what is now your new home.
3.0 When trying to decide where yo go, you may find your way to the armory, where you can try to work the machine there to make yourself a weapon — perhaps to replace one that didn’t come with you to the station… or maybe you want to be prepared for the future. The recently-returned team members will surely recommend having a functional weapon with you.
4.0 After you’ve exhausted yourself training, it’s time to grab a bite. For that, you should head to the kitchen, which is equipped with all the basic appliances you might need, and ingredients for most regular dishes.
5.0 A welcome reprieve to the cold, dark space that surrounds the characters can be found in the sunlight room. A skillful illusion surrounds anyone who steps inside the room: you can hear the trilling of birds, feel a light breeze caress your skin as you walk through a grass field. The illusion has been programmed to reflect the seasons — the leaves in the trees are currently bright with all the colours of autumn: orange and red and yellow; and the air is crisp and clean. If you follow the path, you'll be led to a bridge rising over a sparkling, babbling brook, a few fallen leaves floating on the water and falling around you like very bright raindrops.
With an illusion so authentic it may leave you longing for a nice glass of ice-cold lemonade, it is easy to forget you are in space at all. Perhaps that gives you comfort, or just makes you miss the real nature all the more.
6.0 If you’d rather choose tinkering over nature, the lab is guaranteed to provide you with some entertainment. Glass vials and jars of chemicals sit on shelves in a surprisingly beautiful display of colour on one side of the room, while the other side of the room contains stacks of boxes containing assorted equipment: cords, bolts, panels, buttons, gears, gadgets, gizmos, and thingamabobs. The downside is that the parts available seem to have no apparent method to their sorting. So get digging, and you may just find exactly what you need to make what you’ve always wanted to make!
7.0 As you wander back towards the common areas, you may notice a room off to the side. The room takes up a chunk of the common area, and on its unassuming door is a little plaque that reads, 'The Ximusic room'. Should you enter, you will find a sound-proofed practice room that contains — yes, you guessed it, band equipment that even the most musically inclined should be satisfied with. So pick up an instrument, saunter up to the microphone to belt out your favourite tunes, or take a seat at the side of the room and enjoy others' playing.
8.0 If it’s items you’re lacking, though, some time after your arrival, the earpiece alerts you to a new message.
As you make your way to the platform, you'll see there is nothing amiss in the neat piles of items on it. There’s clothes, shoes, dishware, skincare, books… even a couple of CDs, and a few cute stuffed animals. So sort through what there is and grab what you want, before someone else does!
Maybe you have taken the warning to be ready seriously, or maybe you’ve heard someone mention the simulation room and want to see what the fuss is all about — whatever the reason for your walking into the room, the first few moments don’t seem too exciting. It isn’t until there’s another person in the room with you that the door suddenly slides shut, and the scenery starts to change.
7.0 Simulation on the Fritz: However, what it changes to is not one of the simulated missions. Instead, the room draws on its occupants. A little flash of memory here, a familiar scene there — the room molds itself after what one (or both) of the people in it know, perhaps a place they’re familiar with: the university library you used to spend hours and hours in studying, or the castle you’ve been trying all your life to conquer.
Or perhaps the room is torn between which person’s memories to draw on, and it ends up producing a strange mix of both: a busy street surrounded by lush forest instead of buildings, or a spaceship sailing on open sea.
As there is no simulated mission, there is no completing it to get out… so look for the little things that are not quite right in the simulation: a shimmer in the air, a grey brick in a red wall — a token of sorts. Finding it will make the simulation die down around you as the room goes dark again.
8.0 Mission — An Open Door: As the simulation starts, the scene that unfolds around you is a gilded hallway. It stretches on and on behind you and in front of you; along its sides, there are countless doors. Some are lavishly decorated, some made of pure gold, some of wood; some are decayed, looking like they might fall apart by mere touch; after a heavily reinforced door comes a door made of frosted glass… and so on.
But the longer you stand in place, the more you start to feel a sense of urgency: you must keep moving… you must find it. The orb. It’s there, behind one of the doors. All you have to do is choose which one to open.
Oh, you can open as many as you want, but be careful: you never know what is lurking behind them. It may be that you open one and step into a room that is nothing but air; it may be you unleash a horde of hungry monsters. Or perhaps you luck out and get a room that is just a room, with lavish couches and plush pillows, and maybe some grapes and apples set in a bowl in the middle of a gold-decorated table.
It’s not just the orb that you need to find, though... because just like in real missions, you receive a message that tells you your task — one that you have to complete, if you want the orb to help you in your quest to undo your regret.
● ● ●
N O T E: Additionally, there are three personal tasks provided to each character as they enter the simulation. In-game, each character will be given one task. For the purposes of the test drive, we’re leaving it to players to pick a task for their character and run with it.
A Tell someone what you are most ashamed of.
B Let a teammate get injured during the mission.
C Steal something from one of the rooms.
F Y I
• TDM threads can be used as samples for apps. In fact, we encourage it!
• Reserves are now open!
• Apps open September 26.
• For any questions regarding TDM, please direct them here. For questions about the game, please refer to the FAQ.
Have a clue about the upcoming mission—
Rude of them. They should be nice
Magnifying glass in hand, he peers closely and blinks at how bright the image behind the window is. ]
The majority of people I've come across appear human, so the objects they touch should leave traces: oil, dirt, or even brushing aside dust. If this machine isn't cleaned on the regular... ah! See here? That rainbow-like haze? This area is touched more often than others.
[ He startles a bit as the picture behind the glass changes upon his touch. ]
This complicates matters....
[ The technology difference strikes again. He finally turn to give a look at the man, brows knitting slightly. Why does this man seem familiar somehow? Sherlock's never met the man. ]
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The question is if Sherlock would tell him it's stupid to think that way, or be offended at the idea that he's not completely unique.
When this man doesn't immediately keep going as the screen changes, John reaches out to try clicking the same spot again, but pauses when the stranger looks at him with a ... very odd expression on his face. ]
Uh--
You all right?
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Being caught staring is hardly what Sherlock wished for, and he waves a hand at him nonchalantly. He can't keep reacting to people like this. He's trying to avoid people thinking he's lost his mind. ]
I'm fine. It was just a game of shadows. I'll admit that when I come from is hampering me somewhat. I shall have to consult an expert as soon as I find one. Watson is already going to enjoy that Copernican heliocentrism may have a practical use in my brain attic...
[ Although, Sherlock supposes he'd deserve it after unintentionally leaving Watson alone in the Louisiana bayou. Will the doctor want anything to do with him after all this? ]
But back to the task at hand. There, there, and there on the window have similar traces though in lesser amounts to where we first pressed it.
[ He says not realizing what his little aside might start. ]
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It's a flash of a memory, a sort of unbidden confirmation of what's been knocking around in the back of his mind. There are so many familiar things about this man. The way he carries himself, how he talks, how he thinks. And what did he just say? Watson?
A common name, of course. Come on, John, you're being ridiculous.
He shakes his head. ]
Not sure what that means. Maybe it's ... selecting specifics.
[ A pause. ]
Sorry, did you say when?
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[ He motions to the machine. Somehow attempting to explain perceived time travel seems less daunting than puzzling out why he vaguely recognizes (and doesn't) the older man. ]
I'm not a scientist, but I do try to keep up-to-date with new inventions. This far exceeds anything I know, and I can't address if such a thing even exists in fiction. That would be my flatmate's realm of expertise, not mine.
[ Watson's the one with dreams of being a writer and constantly ordering new books from Barnes. ]
Oh, forgive my manners. We've been talking this long, and I haven't even given you my name. I'm Sherlock Holmes.
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[ What in the actual hell is going on right now?
If Sherlock keeps looking at him, he'll probably be able to read perfectly well all the thoughts that rush through his mind in the span of a couple of seconds.
Sherlock Holmes. Watson. The damn magnifying glass. The way this man latches onto a problem with the intensity and flair John's come to know so intimately, even when it's something relatively small and insignificant. The way he looked at John like ... Like there's something he can't place, can't deduce, just yet.
But he's from 1882, and who would try to make something like that up? And he doesn't look ...
It's impossible. It has to be. ]
No, you're not.
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[ He does keep looking at the older man, can see the thoughts bouncing around. There is recognition. There is outright denial. Is this how Sherlock had looked at Dr. Watson when they first met at St. Bart's? He thought he had seen someone else, but he was fairly sure that, in his fluster, he had the sense to not deny Watson's existence.
Then again, Sherlock can't claim to have the fullest grasp on reality despite all attempts to. ]
I can assure you that I am him. I don't know what you may have heard of me, but do not let my age stop you from believing otherwise.
[ Yes, he's making the erroneous assumption (assumptions are bad) that the reason why this older man cannot believe Sherlock is who he says is because of his age. The number of people who deem to point it out or treat him as such is higher than he likes. ]
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No. [ He raises a finger. ] No. I know Sherlock Holmes, and you're definitely not him. Your-- Your hair's wrong, your face is wrong, everything-- Not to mention the year is 2011!
[ There's no way there could have been two men like this with the name Sherlock Holmes in the last 150 years. ]
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[ Sherlock crosses his arms, frowning. This is backwards. If he was in a disguise--which he is not--he'd prefer someone not recognizing him. ]
Why would I lie? This is far from London, and my current case has nothing to do with a machine controlled by a changing window.
[ He hopes. The expanse of space and images of giant, nearby planets isn't unfamiliar. ]
What would be my motive?
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Instead, while still looking incredulous, he finally gets around to his own introduction. ]
I'm John Watson. Doctor John Watson, flatmate of Sherlock Holmes. Who looks nothing like you.
[ His gaze flickers back and forth over Sherlock's face. ]
Enough not like you to not ... be you.
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I know Doctor John Watson and live with him as well. However, you will not hear me argue that you are not who you say you are.
[ Mainly because he has encountered an even stranger mix of someone being Watson but not Watson, and he's feeling a more than a little unnerved that this is the third time this has happened in his life. Or if he's to be exact, someone being John but not Jon. (He could even point to Watkinson and Holman: Chapter One by that infernal author, Wallace de Aurum, as a fourth if he stretched his criteria.) This is a pattern.
Sherlock shakes his head. He can ponder all this later at his leisure. ]
Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man can invent, Doctor Watson. The fact that we are here at all is proof of that.
[ And Sherlock's mind has invented a lot of strange things. ]
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Jesus Christ.
[ It's a harsh exhale, the words barely audible, and he pinches the bridge of his nose. He needs to sleep for a good couple of days. ]
Yeah, you know, you can say stuff like that, but I've never ...
[ He trails off, because even if he's never met someone from 1887 calling themselves Sherlock Holmes, this entire situation is unprecedented. ]
But I guess I've never been mysteriously transported to a space station either.
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There are better ways to spin a convincing story with the aim to deceive, and all of this is far too in the realm of the sensational.
[ He motions back to the machine because he feels both of the could use a distraction to divert their attention from each other. ]
And we circle back to my issue of when I come from which complicates my investigation of this invention. Shall we give it another go?
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This all started with a machine. ]
Okay.
Well. You might still do better than me, because this isn't too different from what I'm used to and I can't work it out. Life would be easier if Sherlock would do the shopping from time to time.
[ The machine's gone back to the starting screen, so he leans over to click the option Sherlock suggested earlier again. ]
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[ Sherlock moves so he can look at the window as Watson interacts with it. Once Watson presses that first spot, Sherlock expects the window change. He examines again with his magnifying glass, this time also paying more attention to how the window changes. ]
Then, here. Blueprints. Sounds promising.
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It does.
[ So he clicks that, and an extensive list pops up, filling the entire screen. He's taken aback for a moment by how much it is and how much of it he doesn't recognise, but there are definitely some familiar terms too.
With a breath, he starts scrolling confidently. After all, he knows exactly what he wants. ]
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[ Most of the weapons on the list are ones Sherlock doesn't recognize or even understand in meaning. (What is a "Nerf Gun"?) If he's honest, after a moment, Sherlock is paying more attention to how Watson interacts with the... maybe it is closer to a series of framed photographs than a window. An infinite scroll under glass?
Whenever Watson finds the weapon he wants, Sherlock will examine the glass controller--that is what he'll call it for now--again and compare with what's under it. ]
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[ Not his literally, of course, because no matter how fantastical this place is he doesn't expect it can conjure that. But the right type of gun.
It takes a little while to figure out how the blueprints are organised, but he finally finds it. He prompts the machine to make it, and takes a couple of steps back because he's not completely sure what he expects will happen. Rather be some distance away. ]
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I wonder if the design of my pistol can be found in this machine as well or if it would be too outdated and better found in a history book.
[ Although, perhaps it would be better for him to learn to shoot something more contemporary. ]
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Well ... Looking around, I think mine would be considered outdated too. But it's what I know.
[ So that's what he'll use.
He checks it over - that it's loaded, that the safety is on - then puts it into his inner pocket. ]
PS: Happy to keep this as game canon
He really wants to understand how this works. ]
Quite. Let me see if I can replicate your result with something of my own.
[ He has his magnifying glass at the ready, but he recalls what Watson did on the glass controller (start the process, select the blueprints, try to find something he recognizes). ]
Me too!
[ He gestures at the machine, and steps aside. Knowing he has a weapon now, he already feels much calmer, mostly content to lean back against the wall and watch this man who claims to be Sherlock Holmes. As though it might become clearer if he just studies him for a while. ]
\o/
It worked! It worked!
[ He's very encouraged by the progress he's already made in understanding or at least operating this new technology. ]
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He can't help the smile that spreads on his face. ]
See, I told you you'd get it. Just like that.
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But then he catches sight of Watson looking at him, and instantly, he flusters at being caught expressing himself to such a degree. He fidget with his hands and turns away as if that would hide what had just happened. ]
Yes, well. Th-This does prove that someone from my time will be able to be of use unaided once he has a little guidance.
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Probably good to end this one here?