And with the sweat of your brow...

[bathymetric]

Fun Fact: Did you know that if the multiverse is real, there could be an almost infinite square mileage of completely unexplored ocean out there?

No reason.

...

You wake in one of 25 rooms with a sense of unease that doesn't quite track with how nice the accommodations are. Maybe it has something to do with the giant window leading out to the sea. The temperature is low, which might make you wish you had woken up under the luxurious covers instead of atop them. The lights, too, are low. But next to your bed is a small personal radio, and it's playing a song for you. There's also a small note printed on folded cardstock next to it.

Dear Prospective Citizen,

Welcome to the Helios Suites at New Rapture. The time should currently be 12:00 PM. Please take a moment to get your bearings and become acquainted with your new environment, then meet in the hotel lobby at 1:30 PM sharp for an orientation with Mayor Fontaine.

With only that for guidance, there's only the one thing to do: get out there and start exploring... well, it's hardly a full city, but it's something! And in the halls (or on the wall of your suite or the lobby), you very well may find up to 24 other captives.

What you do until your meeting with Mayor Fontaine, well... that's up to you. Every room certainly gives you something to talk about.

Comments

Profiles

[pairtner]

Would you say such an age is accurate?

[Ah, a voice behind Nandor! When he turns around, there's Aiba's human form, some distance away from him. She has covertly been observing him for a while, her tangible, real form small enough to follow others undetected. The lack of reflection has been noteworthy. Intrigued, she couldn't stop herself from talking to him]

[fuckingguy]

[ This is yet another presence he doesn't see coming! But he can't get indignant about it, because now he has to do the exact thing he just cursed over: make a believable human excuse. ]

Nnnnnno. [ fuckin nailed it ] No, this is a complete fabrication. There should be no seven here.

[ Nandor has forgotten what a 59 year old looks like. ]

[pairtner]

[Hah, Aiba's projection doesn't have a reflection either. Who knows if there's a mirror in this area, but if there's one, her lack of reflection happens too.

Later she will sympathize with Nandor, because she has to pretend to be human, and she's terrible at it too]

I assume the number about your descendants also had five zeroes mistakenly added to it, too.

[fuckingguy]

[ He perks up immediately, energized by the definitely non-facetious explanation that this mystery woman has provided. ]

Exactly! And only three wives.

[ So energized that he forgot his 37 wives aren't even mentioned in the profile....... ]

You see? The numbers are all over the place.

[pairtner]

[Totally non-facetious, haha]

Yes, I can see.

[So much about Nandor is a weird mystery, and she can't avoid asking:]

How much time passed between each wife?

[Aiba wonders if Nandor will cause a contradiction of some sort by answering that question, yup]

[fuckingguy]

[ If he thought to do the math here, he would almost certainly fuck up! But instead he circumnavigates the issue with, uh, something that is absolutely no better. ]

Oh, no, all at the same time.

[ NANDOR?? ]

[pairtner]

[That's definitely not better at all]

By lying and keeping up different fake lives?

[Are you a serial cheater, Nandor?]

[fuckingguy]

What? No, of course not, I am an honorable man who just happened to marry thirreeeee women. Why must you ask so many questions of me, ah...?

[ He's looking at the profiles again to find the name ... ]

[pairtner]

I was attempting to find out if you're human or not. Any judgment about your marital status is beside the point, albeit could be circumstantial evidence to prove you're not a common, everyday human.

[Either there's polyamory going on, or Nandor is morally bankrupt in regard to relationships, she's sure]

[fuckingguy]

Oh.

[ This is where it would be super helpful to have a documentary crew around, so he could look directly at a camera and make a little face! Actually, it's strange that they aren't here, isn't it? Every other time he's been in mortal peril recently, they've managed to come along and shoot the experience just fine, ]

So, eh, hypothetically, what would be your conclusion?

[pairtner]

You're not human.

[Pretty straightforward conclusion, yup]

[fuckingguy]

[ ah, ]

I am, though.

[pairtner]

The reference to your eternal existence is strong evidence to the contrary, Nandor the Relentless. You cannot argue that part is a typo.

[fuckingguy]

Eee...

[ Truthfully, he hadn't read that far yet! He stiffens, for a second remembering the fact that he was in fact extremely upset about that eternal existence up to the moment he showed up here, and then leaps back into action to attempt... to continue salvaging his reputation.......... ]

--Eh, you put it all up there like that, of course it's gonna look bad! You cannot go jumping to conclusions that I am some kind of immortal being just because the wall says so, there are perfectly good explanations for all of this!

[ He angrily indicates the profile with a sweeping gesture. ]

[pairtner]

Such as? Blaming it on incompetence on the Mayor's part is not a valid explanation -- however I welcome alternatives.

[She's kind of having fun grilling him about this. She sympathizes with him, she really does! But poking fun at him also is nice and cool and she likes it, so there]

[fuckingguy]

Well...

[ The fun thing about this argument is that at no point is he going to turn it around on Aiba! Even though that would be so easy and simple, he's the one on the spot now, and he's simply not getting out of it. ]

Clearly he is doing it on purpose! Yes. The Mayor is using the walls to sow seeds of discord. You see how now you are on my ass about this and I am defending myself, and neither of us is finding him to cut his head off?! [ He takes a moment to feel proud about having managed to pull this out of his ass before concluding: ] Also, as I mentioned before, the typing errors.

[pairtner]

I can do that while talking to you. Multitasking is a valuable skill. What I'm doing is displaying my remarkable capacity to multitask.

[Aiba doesn't even bother to explain how she can find the Mayor while standing here, she definitely said that just to needle him further, haha]

[fuckingguy]

Where is he, then?

[ why is this the thing that gets him to question anything he's just heard... ]

[pairtner]

[Aiba points upwards -- towards the higher floors. She has no idea if the Mayor is actually there or not, but hey, it's an answer]

Don't bother trying to reach him. Our only option is to wait for him to contact us. I assume you have questions and demands to make, just like the rest of us.

Among them, perhaps a few 'corrections' to be made on your profile.

[fuckingguy]

... Okay, not a fan of your tone, but nonetheless it is basically correct. When we encounter this man, I, Nandor the Relentless, shall compel him to correct the numerous discrepencies on my wall portrait! With normal human methods.

[ he will not, he will ask "are you sure" and then make a reference to a movie he has definitely never seen and that's pretty much it! ]

[pairtner]

...perhaps I will ask for some adjustments to mine as well, once you have softened him up with the normal human methods.

[Hah, hey, that's more or less what Aiba would have done too, more or less. She's prone to dropping references too, haha]