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

[mouflon]

I didn't say just to look at art. But you know how the saying goes. Two birds with one stone and all that.

[ Rin isn't much of an art appreciator herself, but she idly examines the painting as she speaks. ]

It could be that, too. Though it'd be a pretty weird power move, all things considered.

[drladysounds]

...I feel like I'm missing something. I read the rules and checked everything and generally have an idea what this Professor person expects from us, but I just keep feeling I missed something obvious.

[And places like this art gallery are the puzzle pieces that don't fit in, because Shelley is overthinking things a little]

[mouflon]

Of course you do. We have just enough information to know what's happening, but not enough to come to grips with the situation. It's probably on purpose—even if we keep a united front, it's practically useless when we don't know where we are or what the real motive behind all this is.

[drladysounds]

If you were an evil mastermind kidnapping people and locking them in your fancy underwater complex, what's the one thing you would stop them from finding out?

[...]

Other than a way out.

[Theorizing, why not]

[mouflon]

Would it be cheating to say "how I kidnapped them"? Right now, we don't know where we are or how we got here. Even if we found a way to escape the facility, we'd be stuck with a choice between staying captive in a place where our basic needs will be met, or venturing out without any guarantee of survival or even that we'll be able to find our way home.

[drladysounds]

That's cheating but a valid point. You get half a gold star.

[Rin is right, she has to admit. Shelley takes one of the paintings off the wall, rotating it like she expects to find something between the frame and the painting]

That depends on what place we get to once we're out of here! If we manage to get to a city we'll be fine even if we're illegal invaders. If we land on a deserted island we're doomed.

[Getting home isn't impossible! Because she hasn't realized they're likely all in a different world than home, yeah]

[mouflon]

I don't know about that. Have you not looked at the data they have on us yet?

[ To go along with her point, Rin fishes out her handheld and clicks through a few pages. She stops on Della Duck before she holds it up for Shelley to see. ]

I don't know about where you come from, but 36-year-old adventuring ducks with clothes and hair aren't exactly normal in my world.

[drladysounds]

[Shelley raises her eyebrows, but doesn't seem very befuddled]

I hadn't seen a duck before, but I admit she's not the first animal I have seen like this. They're not normal in my world, but I do have seen my...fair share of them.

[Her town is weird. Regardless...

I do see your point, though. I guess how well we'll fare out there depends on what kind of land we'll find, even if there's people there.

[mouflon]

What about... [ A few more clicks, and this time she stops on Jasper. ] Something like this? The age and size especially.

Not that it matters, exactly. If there are forms of life here foreign to my world, that's already enough to prove that we could be in any world, at any point in time.

[drladysounds]

[That one does get her to go 'oh'. Right, the giant orange woman]

Okay, that one is still a mystery.

[And she's sure she will be on her bad side before a week passes]

...if we're in another world, we, uh, we're not going to be okay. Not unless we steal from the Professor the means he used to bring us here in the first place.

[Meaning Rin was right. How they got here may have been the best thing to hide. Full gold star, she supposes]

[mouflon]

Exactly. I don't think that's impossible, but it does make our options more limited. Even if we figure out how to escape the facility, even if we figure out the means to make it to the surface without being crushed by the water pressure or drowning, there's still the fact that we may be out of space and time to contend with.

But, [ another few clicks on her handheld, and when she holds it up again, the screen displays Rule 7 ] if this means what I think it means, the good news is that we might be standing in the device that brought us here right now. The trick is finding out where and how we can access control of it.

[drladysounds]

...if we find it do you think you could handle it? Strange tech and little ol' me go like oil and water. These talentless hands of mine are no good with them.

[She says, trying to remove the painting off the frame. Not the most dexterous one, judging by how badly she's doing it]

[mouflon]

[ That makes her... smile, actually. ]

I'm a wizard. No promises, but there isn't much tech that I can't crack.

[drladysounds]

That's the spirit!

[All is well that ends well. Finally done pushing the painting out of the frame, she just...puts it aside because yeah, this was a bust. These paintings just don't seem to hold any secrets, and checking aaaall the paintings here would take her ages. THat'll have to wait for after the meeting with the Professor]

Thank you, you really helped me get my ideas in order. I better get ready for the Professor.

[Yup, looks like she's going to take her leave!]