Arrival

[letsplayamod]

The moment is a bit different for everyone. Perhaps you were just minding your own business somewhere, others may have been in more... dire circumstances. Regardless, you were approached by a figure you can't quite picture, and they offered you an accord; in exchange for aiding them in the healing of a world lost to chaos, you would be granted something almost unheard of. Godhood.

And each of you said yes, more or less.

A blurry hand, shifting and rippling, reaches out to you. You feel a glow of warmth, unlike anything you've known before. As soon as you think you can describe it, you wake up.

The room you're in is plainly furnished, but it's about the size of a small flat. Plenty of room to stretch your legs. Don't get too comfortable, however. On the bedside table each room has is a letter; handwritten, it's wrapped around a bronze key. The lettering could only be described as the platonic ideal of 'neat and precise'.

If you are reading this, than our deal has been made. You've awoken in a place that will surely feel strange, so I want you to take some time to acclimate. Meet with the others. Breathe. I shall be along shortly.

-A

Whatever that means becomes more apparent as you step out of your housing and behold the world around you. The building you were in, and every piece of architecture you happen across, is blatantly pre-modern. Yet, something about it is otherworldly. Stone and iron and glass as far as the eye can see.

But above you was where the real questions were. It wouldn't be right to say the sun was shining on you now, nor would it be right to say it's the dead of night. Instead, the sky is a hazy mixture of both, wrapped in suffocating storm clouds that are threatening rain. Everywhere you look, into the horizon, it's the same.

Welcome home. Take your time and explore. Nobody ever said godhood was easy.

Comments

[latinumsbetter]

And when are you from, exactly?

[murchada]

I believe the last recorded date on Earth was around 2019.

[THE MOST NORMAL WAY TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION.........]

1/2

[latinumsbetter]

Oh. Well that explains it, then. You've got another 40 years before--

2/2

[latinumsbetter]

--wait, what do you mean, "last recorded date?"

[murchada]

[40 years before what, mystery martian?]

Last recorded means last recorded. Well, I'm sure someone's still monitoring it, but... [actually, maybe that's her job? uh. the other her.] The year isn't really that relevant right now...?

[latinumsbetter]

And why's that?

[murchada]

Well, most of the planet is empty right now.

[latinumsbetter]

[...]

...it's what?

[murchada]

Empty. Bleached, to be specific.

[latinumsbetter]

Bleached?!

[sincerely, what???]

How did that happen?

[murchada]

It's... a long story.

[It would take at least several chapters to tell. Although, we could probably skip #2--]

And I only have a few of the pieces myself. It's like secondhand knowledge, or... mm, no, intrinsic...? I haven't technically seen it myself, anyway, I just know about it.

[latinumsbetter]

The bleaching thing or the stories?

Hold on, so where are you from exactly?

[murchada]

A simulated conceptual reality within the Imaginary Numbers Observation Device Paper Moon.

[...]

Yes, it's weird. I know.

[latinumsbetter]

[Quark takes that in for a second, mulling over what those words could actually mean.

But, simulated concept reality--]

...so, a holosuite.

[murchada]

Well, it's not a hologram... But I guess if both are artificial, that's close enough...?

[latinumsbetter]

So you're not a hologram, exactly? [he's trying to puzzle this out] What exactly is this Paper Moon thingy?

[murchada]

...Trying to explain that would be a pain. I barely get it and I help maintain it. So, let's call it a hyper advanced mapping system and call it a day.

[latinumsbetter]

A mapping system...so some kind of program?

[murchada]

Mm. Basically an exactly accurate map and compass of Earth.

[latinumsbetter]

...huh. And you help maintain it?

[murchada]

...Well, technically I guess I'm in charge...

[latinumsbetter]

Technically?

[murchada]

I don't know. I only just got the job right before we got called here...

[latinumsbetter]

So you didn't have time to settle in, so to speak.

[murchada]

I went from just a random AI in the crowd, to in charge of my own section, to suddenly running the place... It's been a big career bump.