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AUGUST TDM.
● ● ● T D M . 0 3
… What are you willing to do to erase your regret from existence?
The words, when they die out, leave you in emptiness — despairing, all-consuming, the kind that invites only the worst thoughts. What have you done? What have you agreed to do?
But then, from the emptiness, a golden light shines, and as you reach for it —
you wake up.
1.0 Perhaps it was less the golden light in your dream and more the insistent feeling of something metallic poking your side repeatedly, making beeping noises… wait, beeping noises?
When you look down, you’ll see a small robot staring at you and looking less than happy (maybe it has something to do with your disheveled state, maybe it's still mad about having to clean up after a certain pizza-induced mess). When you get up, it unleashes a series of beeps — and then furiously starts to scrub the floor.
Yes, the floor — instead of waking up in a bed, you find yourself lying on a hallway, white walls and white floor surrounding you. You don’t have long to stare at the minimalistic look of everything around you before the little bot starts poking you again, the word MOVE blinking across its visor.
So better get out of its way! Perhaps you’re on the hallway on your own and leave on your own… or perhaps there’s someone else, sleeping near you. Maybe do them the courtesy of waking them up before this little angry bot does! Or perhaps you’re the poor soul still sleeping and needing a rescue before the beeps make it to you.
2.0 If you need a visit to the infirmary, the situation may be more dire — perhaps there’s blood on the wall that you wake up against, your clothes may be dirty or ragged… whatever it is that has happened to you before waking here and has left you injured, it sure doesn’t create a reassuring sight. Best get to the infirmary as soon as possible.... with some assistance, perhaps.
Once upright, 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 The most pressing question that you might ask yourself is: but where will I stay? The question is answered once you walk through the winding white corridors to the common area. Behind it, there are three types of rooms: those with one bed, two beds and four beds. The rooms are clinical yet clean, and sparsely-furnished — and most importantly, most are occupied. So be prepared to get some roomies!
4.0 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.
And speaking of weapons: to put it to good use, head to the training room, where the entire purpose is to provide you with a space to spar and train to your heart’s content!
5.0 After you’ve exhausted yourself training, it’s time to grab a bite. For that, you should head to the kitchen, which… seems to be filled with a lot of leftovers: takeout boxes with an assorted collection of pizza slices, kung pao chicken, lamb curry... not to mention the entire tray of chocolate brownies. Feel free to eat your fill — or if takeout isn’t your cup of tea, open one of the large fridges to pick fresh ingredients and make your own lunch.
6.0 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. A new addition is a flower garden where there once was a meadow — now, roses, camellias, lilies and dozens of other flowers sway in the wind, all varieties in their own flower beds, with a winding path of stones leading through them. The path leads to where a bridge rises over a sparkling, babbling brook.
Here, 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.
7.0 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!
8.0 If it’s items you’re lacking, though, some time after your arrival, the earpiece alerts you to a new message.
Indeed, the platform near the personal quarters is still whirring with power, and new items form neat piles 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!
(CW: POTENTIAL BODY MODIFICATION)
Whether you’re a quick study and you’ve become settled into life on the station, or you want to get the full lay of the land (in a manner of speaking) first, if you decide to explore the hall past the control room, you’ll eventually come across the simulation room.
Step past the threshold and the doors will slide shut with a quiet woosh. Nothing suspicious; nothing to worry about. But before you can really get a sense of your environment (a grey, large-ish empty room, no furniture, no discernable objects to provide markers), the room goes dark, and then … there’s really no other way to describe it: the room transforms.
You find yourself in a club. The music is upbeat, loud, but not too loud. Down a short flight of steps flanking the bar and seating is the open floor with more tables and booths bathed in a warm, dim glow of light, and at the very end of the room is a stage with its bright spotlight showcasing its performers — though, at the moment, the stage is empty.
9.0 When you take a step forward, you’ll feel a presence gently push at your chest or your shoulder — a tall and jovial man resembling a well-dressed bartender from the top up (the rest of him appears to move along wheels) approaches with a tall flute glass in hand. Its contents are sparkly and blue.
Will you proceed? Please respond ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.”
There’s something a little strange about his voice, a cadence that doesn’t sound quite natural even when the simulation is so realistic otherwise. Once you’ve given your consent, the bartender continues.
10.0 It seems the bartender wasn’t lying. Once you’ve allowed the drink (tasty, sweet-but-not-too-sweet, effervescent, with light notes of your fondest childhood memory) to settle in your stomach you might experience a myriad of effects on your body, ranging from a change in skin colour (pink? green? blue with spots?), an additional limb or two (or three), a tail or wings, or cybernetic parts such as lie-detecting eyes or a tongue that can uncover truths and lies in others. If you happen to find another Orber within the room and both of you have consumed the offered drink, you might find yourself experiencing a full bodyswap.
None of the changes are painful; if anything, they might not even be noticeable until you look into a mirror, look down at your limb-in-question, or your companion points it out.
11.0 The moment you approach the stage, a performer will appear as if out of thin air and begin to sing, her voice strong and smoky and melodic. Her enthralling performance could put you into a trance, but you have an orb to find and a personal task to accomplish, so it’s time to put your best foot forward and do a little investigating.
Talking to some of the patrons might prove fruitful as some of them are convinced that the stage has never sounded or looked so good, like there’s something giving performers that extra oomph that no one can explain. It might be wise to wait until that last performance before you sneak up there — or maybe you want to do a little snooping around now, you know, while everyone’s distracted. Strategize with your fellow Orbers and uncover the location of this hidden orb.
● ● ●
N O T E: The effects of the drink and the level of changes your character experiences is entirely up to you. Patrons of this fine club won’t bat an eye if you look a little like them.
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 If you’ve been given a particular body change that might aid you in this mission, do not use it to your advantage.
B Team up with a fellow Orber to uncover the hidden location.
C Get up on stage and put on a performance during the simulation. Your song choice will determine the outcome of success in your investigation.
F Y I
• TDM threads can be used as samples for apps. In fact, we encourage it!
• Reserves are currently open!
• Apps open August 27.
• For any questions regarding TDM, please direct them here. For questions about the game, please refer to the FAQ.
FOR SOME FUN:
Have a listen for some clues about the second mission.
(Hint: there are four clues in total.)
1
Not blindly, of course, she makes sure to bring her sword out of long, paranoid habit, but when she sees a new arrival, sees them bleeding...
Sabriel reaches out, trying to hold the stranger up so she can look at his wounds and understand what she needs to do.
"Stay calm," Sabriel assures him, trying to keep her voice calm and steady, "I'm going to heal you, and then we'll go to the infirmary."
Mentally, Sabriel tallies up the marks she needs, and how they'll need to be arranged... and then she mentally dives into the Charter, the man in front of her temporarily obscured by the flow of marks as she searches through them to find what she needs.
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It's hard to form a complete thought to ask, to perceive or comprehend over the throbbing in his head, but it does mean his preoccupation makes him easy to manipulate as needed. He's a frail form, so even when he does bristle, it's not hard to get him upright.
Blue blinks past sudden tears of pain in his good eye, trying to focus on the thinking, feeling shape in front of him. She is color and vibration - something of a psionic heat signature he can only perceive obtusely in the moment.
What is clear despite the confusion, however, is the absence of the machine within that swirl of sensations. That means she's more than likely a friend.
But perhaps not: Something changes, something foreign, and he doesn't know at all what he's sensing.
Let me know if this is okay.
The Charter swirls, innumerable marks moving in an endless dance spinning all around, above and below and through, but Sabriel navigates it with long practice, gathering a mark here, a mark there, twining them together as she holds her connection to the Charter, but refocuses on the world around her.
There's concern and care in the back of her mind, but mostly she's focused on the healing. She lifts her free hand, holding it a few inches from the man's ruined eye, and lets the spell stream from her fingertips in a flow of golden light.
The spell arrives with a sudden surge of comforting warmth, like sunshine, and the pain rapidly fading as the flow of blood stops.
Sabriel exhales, breaking off her connection to the Charter. The spell should make him feel stronger, Sabriel thinks, concern coloring her thoughts- but she should still get him to the infirmary, so someone with more medical knowledge.
"Come on," Sabriel tells him, offering her arm for support, "I'll get you to the infirmary, and try to explain what's happening on the way."
all good
...Pain that doesn't come?
"What--" He can only gasp a little as the pain starts to ebb enough for him to focus, for a bit of vitality to back up the adrenaline coursing through him. Head still swimming, he looks to the arm in front of him, and then to the face of the person connected to it.
Who...?
"What's..." What is happening?
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Ah. He was speaking inside her head, although Sabriel doesn't smell the hot-metal stench, or feel the other sensations that came with Free Magic. And he certainly wasn't behaving like a Free Magic sorcerer or spirit to act, which makes it an easy choice to make. He's someone who needs help, and a new crew member.
"I'm a Charter Mage, and I just used a healing spell on you, and now I'm taking you to the infirmary," Sabriel explains, as gently as she can. For all that her skin is a sickly shade of white, she's clearly strong enough to support him, guiding him with gentle but firm steps down the hallway, even as she keeps one worried eye on him, trying to see if she missed any other injuries.
"As for what's happening in a more general sense- we are on the Ximilia, a space station. Apparently we're all here because we agreed to a bargain, in order to undo our regrets." There's more she'd like to say, more details about the orbs, and all the unanswered questions about the people running the station and the orbs themselves, but right now- clearly, this man needs rest and medical attention, not getting a bunch of mysteries dropped on his head.
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Meggido.
Nazca...!
His steps falter, and he has to hasten to clutch at her arm and shoulder to keep from pitching forward.
"Nazca," he echoes aloud, his eye going wide, expression fraught. "Did they escape...?!"
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"I don't know," Sabriel admits, "We all come from... very different places. And we haven't been able to learn much about what's happening at home- any of our homes. Or even how we might return, save for completing our end of the pact, and reuniting all the orbs."
"I am sorry," Sabriel says, and she means it. Sabriel wasn't taken in the midst of some deadly conflict, but this man apparently was. But all she could do now was deal with the problem in front of her, which meant making sure her new crewmate got medical treatment.
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Blue's eye winces - an action that makes the affected eye throb. It's not clear to him what's happening, who she is, where he is...
But it's not Meggido, is it? Nazca means nothing to her. And the things that had flowed from her mind were...foreign.
He's at a loss. Bewildered, but with no other options, he can only silently accept her aid, move as she bids him.
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"I'm going to explain as much as I can, but there's still much I don't know. But before I do that- do you have any more injuries I need to deal with?"
The last thing she wants is to be so eager to give an explanation that she overlooks something important. He might not be dying, but that's... really all Sabriel's death-sense can tell her.
"And... we're relatively safe here. Nothing's going to attack you, and all of us- we're all here for the same reason."
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But if he doesn't listen, he won't come to understand; it's a struggle, but Blue makes an effort to force his attention to rise above his racing thoughts and adrenaline-driven emotions to focus on what she's saying.
'Relatively safe' she says, and even that's miles ahead from an exploding megaweapon.
All of us, his thoughts echo, his brow knitting. What...do you mean?
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And Sabriel feels a pang as she says that, thinking back on her own regret- her classmates, her friends, girls she'd known for most of her life, dead because she dragged them into danger. But she shoves those thoughts aside. Right now, she can't help them, but she can help the stranger in front of her.
"We've already recovered one, and in the process, learned that the orbs can grant a variety of wishes- but demand a price for what they do."
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As adrenaline begins to ebb, the longer he's sat upon this soft surface, the more weary and drained Blue can feel himself become. It's a dreadful sensation, knowing he can black out at any moment, and who knows what could happen next? As real as this all feels, it could be another potent projection from the SD system.
And the more she speaks, the more it seems the case. Magical orbs? Wishes? That's the stuff of stories and fairy tales.
He exhales shakily, his hold on her arm going slack and falling away.
Regrets...undone... His eye flutters, and he has to shake his head a bit to try and stay lucid.
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"I can explain when you've gotten some sleep. As I said before, the station is... relatively safe. There's no outside threats, and all the crew gets along fairly well." Everyone having a common goal helps with that. Whatever personal friction they might have, everyone's relying on everyone else.
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Blue makes a faint sound of protest, and he brings a hand to his face, nearly impressing the heel of his hand into his affected eye.
I've slept...for so long...
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But if he doesn't want to sleep... Sabriel glances around, spotting a half-full coffeemaker halfway across the infirmary.
"Do you want some coffee? That will help you stay awake."
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But he doesn't.
Whatever can help. I can't...sleep now! Not knowing...
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Given how exhausted he is, and Sabriel's own prior experiences of running on desperation and adrenaline, she's not sure how long he can keep going. But if he wants to try... Sabriel fills a mug with coffee, grabbing a spoon and packets of creamer and sugar along with it.
"Here. Sorry, it's not that hot." It's lukewarm at best, really.
"I'm sorry. It's all a lot to take in, but there isn't much we can do."
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He flinches a bit when the bitter taste hits his tongue, but forces the sip down. Dreadful, really, but his throat was heat-seared and parched, so it's better than nothing.
'A lot to take in' is one hell of an understatement, isn't it? Yet the company he's with doesn't seem too staggered or shaken. There's some quiet shame rippling through him at that, because...he was Soldier. He needs to be stronger than this, no matter what.
I don't understand...how I'm still alive. The admission comes in a softer, less rattled tone of thought.
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"I can't tell you either. This station... takes people when they make a bargain to recover the orbs, but the offer only comes when when we're asleep, or... otherwise unconscious. And then we wake up here."
Sabriel's not sure of the details, just that it happens. At the face he makes, she nudges the packets of sugar.
"Coffee doesn't taste good, but sugar makes it taste better."
She's getting off topic, she knows, but-
"Still, you're alive now- and like everyone else on this station, I'm going to make sure you stay that way. Do you have any other injuries?"
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His eyes flicker up at the question of injuries. The pain radiating from his eye is what he feels the most of all, so he needs a moment to just listen to his body and understand what more could be at play. Now that he's not moving, he can't feel some of the burns under his clothes to tell.
He shakes his head slightly.
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"Do you need me to use a stronger healing spell on your eye, then?" It still... doesn't look good, and Sabriel has thoroughly recovered since Gyeonje, when she exhausted herself in the search for the cure and the subsequent fight. No one could lecture her about wearing herself out now, she thinks.
"I'm sorry. I know this is.. a lot to take in. My name's Sabriel, by the way- what's yours?"
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No trace of the SD System from any of her thoughts, no vision of Terra...
He is very out of his depth here. Starting small will be best for now.
Blue. He nods a little as the name leaves him. And...if you think it needs more tending to, then...please.
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There might be no trace of the SD system, or vision of Terra, but as Sabriel refocuses on her spellcasting, her mind dives into the Charter again, and Blue might see that same glimpse of an infinity of marks, swirling in intricate patterns as vast as the universe, and Sabriel's mind navigating through it- and communing with it, even as she dives ever deeper into it, selecting marks and letting them flow through her and out her fingertips, where they gather between her and Blue.
With a ferocious effort of will, Sabriel summons the last mark- one that shines brighter than all the others, a Master Mark of healing. Her mind retains the connection to the Charter, but Sabriel's focus shifts to ordering the marks in a specific pattern, one to mend his ruined eye as much as possible, and get rid of the pain- and then she releases the spell.
The spell arcs from her fingertips to his eye with a surge of light that's almost blinding, and Sabriel has to take deep breaths as she examines her handiwork, as though she'd just been sprinting all out.
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He remains still and outwardly silent, even as he asks, his mouth pulled in a troubled frown.
These symbols in your mind. It's...unlike any power I've seen before.
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"It's the Charter," Sabriel explains, "It's a force that contains and describes- well, everything. Everything that lives, has lived, or might yet be, and the bonds that tie them together."
Being able to reach it, even in this strange place, is reassuring, even if there are aspects of it, and her connection to it, that Sabriel doesn't fully understand. What does it mean, that one of the Great Charters lies in her blood?
"It's a form of magic. So Charter mages draw on the marks that describe what they want to do- like healing."
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