COMMENCE EXPERIMENT

[bathymetric]

Fun fact: Did you know that the Pacific Ocean has a surface area of 62.46 million miles? That's not even accounting for depth.

You awaken to a sharp jolt, like you've just hit the drop on a roller coaster. Then it passes, and you're in a bed, suddenly very clearly awake. Is that right? Were you asleep? Your memory is a little fuzzy as you come down off the adrenaline, but it puts itself into place soon enough. This is not, as one might say, your beautiful house. If you have a beautiful wife, she sure isn't here.

The positioning of the bed inside your new room gives you a very clear indication of where you are - or at least, where the building is. Above you is a decent-sized window looking out on... well, the ocean. But not in a fun beachside resort way, to say the least. Fish swim by pretty frequently, here to keep you company - but they cannot hear your screams, and do not seem particularly bothered if you tap on the glass unless they're right by it. It's thick, man.

On the bedside table, you'll find two things: a key card with a number between 1 and 25 on it (no points for guessing which one is on whose, unfortunately), and a small handheld device, a little like a smartphone but mostly like a blackberry? Remember those? Anyway, accessing it will reveal only a scarce few functions: a list of profiles, a map of the building, and a very ominous set of rules. You might try to ignore that last one! Unfortunately, you'll find them in a frame by your door. And in a frame somewhere in every room of the place, if you go out exploring at all. The tablet also has a message for you when you open it:

Greetings. Please take an hour to become accustomed to the facilities, then proceed to the meeting room north of your dormitories. Attendance is mandatory. - The Professor

But hey, it... it also lets you play Snake! Who doesn't love Snake, huh?

Anyway, head out into the halls! Make some new friends - or maybe enemies, wouldn't that be exciting? Look around a little! Just make sure to be back for whatever this meeting is - after all, you want a chance to face off with your captor, right?

Comments

[shieldsister]

Dwarves. A race of elves that mysteriously vanished a very long time ago and left behind plenty of machines that still operate and kill anyone who trespass.

[She glances over at that.]

I take it none of that sounds familiar?

[Sure, they're mostly found throughout Skyrim, but everyone knows about the Dwemer and their mysterious disappearance. Scholars still debate what happened to this day, and there are mages who want to recreate whatever incident spirited them all away. And more importantly, those stupid machines still exist and Aela has had to fight entirely too many of them because a certain Harbinger decided she wanted to go exploring instead of actually finishing her damn quest.]

[onefuture]

[...Okay, Lif's at least...heard of elves, in his readings back when he was alive. Are they like the Ljósálfar? He's only heard of those in legends, but considering what Aela says about them, they sound like mere legends in her area as well.

...Not that his brow doesn't quirk at the mention of machines that kill anyone who tries to trespass, but--]

None of it. The closest we have where I come from are the Ljósálfar, and the most that they've been said to do is provide pleasant dreams to those who sleep.

[So nope! He's pretty in the dark about this.]

And I take it that those are not familiar to you.

[shieldsister]

They are not. There are daedra capable of manipulating dreams, but I doubt they cause pleasant ones.

[You know. Given that they're daedra.]

It seems as though we must come from entirely different places. Such a thing should be impossible, and yet...

[Ugh. Well, thinking about it isn't going to change anything. Aela shuts the washing machine as she shakes her head.]

Ah, I haven't introduced myself. I am Aela the Huntress. [yes, that's part of her name.] And you are...?

[onefuture]

[Huh. Lif does listen rather attentively to Aela while she speaks, and in a way, it almost feels normal. Were this years earlier, he could have spent all day asking about the various differences between their worlds, just for the knowledge of it.]

Considering what I've heard from the others, that seems the most likely thing. I doubt that one place could such varying stories.

[Ah, right. Lif nods his head at her introduction.]

Lif. A general. [He doesn't exactly intend to expand upon that; his profile already says enough, he's sure.] I suppose that it's a pleasure to meet you.

[shieldsister]

Perhaps "a pleasure" is a bit much given these circumstances, but I'm inclined to agree.

[It's not quite sarcastic, but she is smirking a bit as she says it.]

A general, though? I imagine you must be skilled. What is your preferred fighting style?

[She can totally see this guy swinging a two-handed axe around. That seems edgy enough to fit the aesthetic.]

[onefuture]

I fight with a greatsword; my... [There are many things he could call Hel, and none of them are exactly very pleasant, but.] employer gave me one of her own swords in order to carry out her will, though I don't have it with me. My former sword wasn't cut out for the job.

[He doesn't have a particular style, so to speak, and he's. Leaving out a lot of details in regards to, you know, just what happened. But he's got the important part out of the way.]

What of yourself?

[shieldsister]

[Ah, she was close!! Greatsword, battleaxe, both are two-handed weapons!!]

I see. You do look like you'd make for a fierce opponent in battle.

[That is a very high compliment coming from her.]

I prefer a bow; ranged combat suits me better, though I can and will wield a sword or dagger when necessary.

[onefuture]

[Lif can't exactly smile given his current state of being, but he does at least seem amused by the assertion. She's not wrong, at any rate; he's worked to become a fearsome general so he could do what he has to, after all.

At any rate, he listens as Aela speaks about her own fighting style, and...huh.]

So you're proficient at long range combat, and close range as well... [Honestly, having a hidden sword isn't exactly how he expected Close Counter to work, but you won't find him complaining in the slightest.] You sound much the same. I'm certain that if we were to fight, it would prove to be a rather close battle.

[Not that sparring sounds like a good idea in a place like this, but at any rate, he does sound impressed.

Though if anything, she sounds like she'd be a hassle to kill. Though, he's certain if Hel got wind of this place, she'd...

No, it's best not to think about that now.]

[shieldsister]

Should you locate any weapons, come find me. I would like to have a match with you to see where we stand.

[Sparring isn't really her preferred form of combat, but it's better than nothing and Lif seems like he'll be at least as strong as Farkas and Vilkas. A worthy opponent, in other words.]

I'm surprised we weren't left with our weapons, given that the rules do seem to suggest that we should kill one another.

[thanks aela.]

[onefuture]

I'll take you up on that, when the time should come.

[And Lif does mean that much, too. Sure it's dangerous, but it's not like anyone's listening in on their conversation except this Professor, probably so it's totally fine and probably a good plan for--

Let's not think about that. Aela's statement gets a bit of a snort from Lif, at any rate.]

You're not the only one. If he wanted us to kill one another so badly, that would have been the easiest way to facilitate it.

It seems more like he wants to see how fast we'll lose our minds.

[shieldsister]

That seems likely. Given that this is some sort of "experiment", perhaps the purpose of it is to determine how quickly he can break us.

[She sounds mildly irritated by it, but Aela shakes her head once that's out there.]

I won't give him the satisfaction.

[onefuture]

That's rather likely, yes.

[He's not surprised that Aela is so determined, though.]

That determination isn't a bad thing to have in this situation. [And Lif at least sounds like he genuinely means it, when he says that much.] Perhaps it'll be us who forces him to break first.

[shieldsister]

That's my hope. The most we can do for the time being is get accustomed to our situation and learn what we can from what we have here at out disposal. There's no sense in getting too worked up just yet.

[onefuture]

[Lif nods his head in agreement.]

Getting worked up is likely just what he'll want. If we give into it, we'll lose sight of our goal to get out of here, and many of us will likely die.

[Lif states that much in a bit of a matter of fact manner; like, people are gonna die here, that's a certainty. But maybe there is a way to limit casualties.

...At least for now.]

[shieldsister]

Precisely. I cannot say that everyone here will be able to keep their wits about them, but I'm pleased I'm not alone in seeing the need to remain calm.

[onefuture]

Doing otherwise will likely only be to our detri--

[Oh hey, there's the sound of the laundry being done! It's actually enough to startle Lif, who's looking at the damn thing like if he had his sword, he'd cut it down for the slight.

...Man, he hasn't had a heart in years, and it feels like he was just given a heart attack. Gods above.]

...detriment. [Let him just. Fish out his stupid cloak and--wow, this is damp. It's not as damp as it could be, but it looks...cleaner, he supposes.] ...At any rate, as long as we keep that in mind, there should be few problems.

[please don't comment about the jumping]

[shieldsister]

[Oh don't worry, she won't, if only because the moment the sound happens, Aela has her phone raised like maybe she can use it as a blunt weapon to smash into the laundry machine for daring to make a noise at her.

Um. Anyway.]

Of course. We do still have much to learn about this place.

[Including the fact that machines will make noise at us and startle us both terribly but that's fine, we'll just ignore that.]

[onefuture]

We do.

[...]

I'm never trusting another one of these demon machines for as long as I live.

[LIKE HE'S NOT ALONG IN KIND OF WANTING TO TAKE BACK EVERY NICE WORD HE'S SAID ABOUT THESE SHITS, RIGHT]

[shieldsister]

They're horrible and should be destroyed.

[YOU GET HER]

At least your cape survived the ordeal, I suppose.

[the one silver lining here......]

[onefuture]

Agreed. If I had Sökkvabekkr with me, this machine would be naught but the metal it was made with.

[FUCK THIS STUPID MACHINE

Ugh, now he hates that his cape is damp, this isn't gonna be dry by the time this stupid meeting starts...]

It did, but it's going to need some time to dry. I suppose I'll just have to hang this in my room until it does...

[uuuuuugh, this suuuuucks, he's not gonna be able to keep his aestheeeeetic...]

[shieldsister]

A shame, but it did teach us something important. Now we know never to deal with these horrid things again.

[oh my god you overdramatic dumbasses]

At least your cape will dry eventually.

[onefuture]

I suppose so. I can't say I'm fond of being without it with this newfound humanity that I've been given.

[oh my god just put on a shirt you big baby, you can go without your security blanket for a few hours]

[shieldsister]

"Newfound humanity"...?

[..........so that isn't armor, that's just your chest wow okay then.]

What are you?

[It's blunt, sure, but she's not trying to be rude. It's curiosity more than anything, she isn't really bothered at all that Lif isn't human.]

[onefuture]

Essentially? A zombie. A more intelligent kind than Hel's usual, but one none the less.

[Honestly, he's gotten so used to all the weird questioning today that the bluntness doesn't even phase him. It's fine...this is just his life now...]

I haven't been human in quite a while. It's...interesting to get used to it again.

[shieldsister]

[oh no here we go—]

What is a zombie? I've never heard that term before.