epidemiology | PLAYER EVENT ★ HELIOLOGY

PLAYER EVENT ★ HELIOLOGY

INTRODUCTION.

It's difficult to tell time without the presence of a sun or moon. There are no stars. The world is in constant blackness, the heavens barely visible from below and the only light artificial. It's been like this for months.

Suddenly, those who expressed interest in observing the sun (or lack thereof) will all at once receive a text message on their ALASTAIR jewellery from 82736775:

Get your shit and go look at the sky. Now's the time. If you need me, I'm around.

It's time to get to work.

OBSERVATION.

Find the highest point you can and point the telescopes at the sky. Should be easy, right?

Be mindful that there are still guards patrolling the city, looking for escaped prisoners, and some citizens would be very happy to tip them off to your presence. There are still animals in the forests to contend with, and there are still nosey citizens who may ask you too many questions. There are also your fellow ALASTAIR agents, who may not be very willing to share the spot they already staked out before you just showed up.

People and animals aren't all you need to look out for, either. Seven hours after the observation starts, there is a lightning storm. It lasts for 30 minutes, bolts of electricity arcing across the sky. It might be a good idea to scurry down someplace lower when this happens -- you know what they say about lightning and height.

82736775 doesn't contact anyone after the initial text, so observers are free to give up whenever they decide they've been sitting out in the freezing dark for long enough.

[ note: even if you didn't sign up, feel free to tag in! your character won't have a telescope but that doesn't mean they can't mingle. ]

[ previously: ic info | ooc info ]
[ direct questions here! ]

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( she nods, once, if not enthusiastically than at least affably. it's a pleasure to help her companions, especially with a task she personally doesn't mind doing, and especially one that doesn't require much effort. she takes the telescope in hand, holding it closely to her chest. any instrument of knowledge tends to be rather fragile. the fact that it doesn't seem, to her, to be made well doesn't exactly allow her to be reckless in good conscious. for once, she's actually a bit restrained, as she shifts her weight slightly to one foot to accommodate the shape of it. )

Not a problem. We just need to find some place high, right? ( she looks up. and, briefly, around. ) Preferably out of view. Judging by your skulking earlier, I'd guess you know why well enough.

Precisely. We'll be monitoring the sky for a few hours straight.

Will you be alright? It's a somewhat tiring task. [He frowns in concern. Julius doesn't want Marian to overdo it or anyone else for that matter. Her assistance is greatly appreciated thought.]

I have an idea. Let's take turns. This way one of us can rest.

Tiring? ( she laughs a bit. ) I would have said sedative, but--( and here she shrugs, shaking her head once. not to disregard his concern, but more to express that, really, there's a reason why that might not be a good idea. ) well, what do I know.

Regardless, I think that's a fine idea, safe for one small detail. I might need a bit of instruction on how to use one of these 'sky-tubes'. ( it's her, not him. also, she does know that it's a telescope, she's seen them before, but they're not something she's ever had the chance to use. she gives it a small little shake as she admits this in so many words. ) So I guess I'll be requiring your assistance, too.

Let me show you how to use it. [Julius approaches the telescope and points to a couple of buttons on it.]

Use this switch to turn it on. You can adjust your view by turning this knob.

[His instructions are as clear as day. It shouldn't be too difficult to understand.]

Sure thing. ( and she's actually paying attention, which goes a long way to be sure. while listening to his instruction she nods occasionally and touches the various bits that he points out. )

I think I get it, thank you. Have you often used a telescope? It's pretty straightforward, but you seem to have some familiarity with it. ( dark as it may be, she smiles slightly. )

Not often, no. I know how it operates though.

It's not particularly difficult to use and don't mention it. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[He thinks he can answer them. If not then he'll just pester Rick. Rick is the one who made these after all.]

( and she wouldn't mind him having to ask Rick either, she finds him a pretty amusing person to listen to. as for what's in front of her exactly now, she considers the telescope for a moment more and arches one brow. sorry, but this is next question is going to be slightly at a tangent to what's now. )

Do you have any idea how something like this could actually divine your future? Horoscopes, the houses for planets, that kind of thing. I've never had a star chart done, but that was something my sister was into. Apparently it's quite a lucrative business. ...It's kind of hard to think this thing doesn't have any magical properties at all, not even a small enchantment.

You had sibling? This is news to me, though I do agree with you. I have a difficult time believing that stargazing can tell anything about your future.

[Aren't you the one who decides your future? Julius doesn't believe in fortunetelling at least. It seems a little bogus to him. Life would be really convenient if you could accurately read your fortunes from stars anyways, that's what he thinks. ]

I'm no expert in fortune telling. Sorry I don't have much to add.

Yes, a younger brother and a younger sister. They were twins. ( she doesn't linger on the subject. ) Honestly, I'm not completely sure I'd want to know anyway, though maybe it would be nice to know, so you can recognise what your fate is supposed to be.

( and that comes with a small laugh. she wouldn't say that she believes in fortunetelling per se--surely she recognises a charlatan when she sees one--but she's had her own future told to her by someone who was wise, saw much, and knew what she was talking about. maybe that's the same thing as fortunetelling. )

No need to apologise. That just makes things easy, doesn't it? I'm not entirely sure what we're looking for tonight but at least I know it's not my fortune.

[Julius is an only child. He can't really relate to having a sibling, though he can relate to having a family member. That much is easier to understand. He wonders if Hawke misses her family at all. It is a personal question, so he won't ask now.]

Indeed. As long as we're here we need to find some important clues. How can fortunetelling help us with our search? It doesn't seem useful in this situation...at least to me.

[He shakes his head at the thought.]

( she wouldn't mind talking about it, but it's an easier topic when she's at least a little drunk. anyway, for now, she's pretty interested in this whole telescope business even if the way in which it can actually help them is beyond her. at least it is kind of important. )

Maybe we could divine the exact source of Michel's magic? Or his horoscope could tell us why he was in such a nasty mood. ( teasing, this bit. ) Perhaps he should have avoided bodies of water that day.

I feel that we need to understand these so called Order Members in order to make more progress. [This line of thought isn't coherently wrong, rather Julius agrees with it. Learning more about Order could help them out significantly.]

If reading the stars will show us some fruit then I'd consider that to be an acceptable method of information gathering. Do you think someone here's well versed in stargazing?

I agree. Any organisation calling itself The Order, you ought to wonder who's the one actually issuing the orders to make whatever they think 'order' is. I wouldn't trust them with any kind of power until we actually knew. ( she pauses a moment to give it some consideration. ) Though their goals are predictable enough maybe we can find something that'd make them more willing to compromise.

( she smiles, then shrugs. ) That's kind of what we're doing now, isn't it? Though Rick wouldn't put it in such heathen terms. Don't know anyone myself. I take it you don't either?

No, I'm afraid I don't. It's a shame we'll need to progress with our current resources.

[Julius sighs and shakes his head. These missions aren't going to be easy, he's aware of that. A part of him just wishes that they had more resources to work with. ALASTAIR can't honestly expect them to work at full force when they're setting up like this.]

It seems that we both don't have acquaintances who've studied stargazing in their world.

What, you're not impressed with these piles of trash cobbled together by a drunken mad genius? ( she indicates the telescope, smirking for a moment. ) I'm not surprised, though. I'm still pretty sure they don't even know what they intended for us to do here. They probably just pocketed the profits and left us beholden to their responsibilities. ( they were kidnapped, after all. it was still hard for a part of her to believe that had actually happened. )

So it seems. Though I have to ask now, if not astrology, what kind of hobbies do you have? ( she's getting astrology and astronomy confused btw ) Something else scientific? You strike me as that kind of a guy.

You aren't exactly wrong. I'm fond of gardening. If you continue to invest in nature then it'll still be there for someone to use decades down the line.

[Trees can last for centuries, unlike people. The air will still be clean as long as someone decides to plant trees and flowers. We need that nature to survive, it's why he likes it.]

How about yourself? What sort of hobbies do you have? I'm interested in hearing your answer, I admit it.

Eh. Reminds me too much of ploughing. ( hard manual labour, why that... ) Though I guess gardening for most is a more genteel pastime. And it also gets you some good food sooner than that, yeah?

( spoken as someone who hasn't had to try and coax nature back from the brink of some horrible destruction. she wasn't around for the restoration efforts after the blight ravished what she used to consider her homeland, and she hasn't yet seen how horribly this plague caused by human sin has devastated other entire countries. )

Gambling and drinking, I'm a woman of predictable vices. ( she laughs. ) And I used to keep a journal.

That's part of the reason why I find it a good past time. You can grow whatever food you want and eat it when it's ripe.

[Home grown foods usually taste better than military rations.]

Don't you take a lot of risks when you gamble? I presume that it's all about how much you're willing to risk.

[Some people fish and others like to write. Julius isn't judging Hawke after she admitted to liking drinks and gambling. Everyone's different, he likes the fact that ALASTAIR's recruits are all unique.]

Nothing like getting to enjoy the fruits of your labour, huh? Though I guess some would consider it a luxury to not have to grow your own food.

( she shrugs, not feeling anything in particular. it doesn't occur to her to feel judged because his voice is without censure. besides, these are things she does socially, they are how she spends time with her friends if they're not killing things together. ) Only if you're being irresponsible and don't know your own skill. Besides, what harm is a few lost coins, if they're going to someone who needs them? The risk is part of what makes it enjoyable. Unless you prefer taking no chances at all?

I don't like taking risks if necessary. [Julius has always been the sort of person who'd think first and not take any risky actions. He's a battlefield commander so his stance on the matter is only normal.]

You're experienced in gambling so I suppose you know your own limits. That's a good thing to keep in mind.

[Yeah, he can totally understand why she'd want to do it when she isn't overestimating her own skill in this.]

Well, how about you play a game with me sometimes and figure out where you limits are? Know thy own self--that's a pretty good bit of advice, I'd say.

( she laughs a bit, and of course is still smiling. though it may be good to have a good head on your shoulders you can never underestimate the good that a little fun can do. he seems like the kind of guy who doesn't indulge himself that often. it sounds like the state of the world he told her about wouldn't encourage that kind of thing in people who wished to survive. ) Later, naturally, so I don't distract you tonight. But maybe you could tell me some more about yourself over cards too.

Interesting, I'll have to accept your offer in that case.

When I was a child I never had the opportunity to play with a simple game. [He was always told that work was more important so he doesn't even know to play cards at all.......woops. That can change now!]

Would you feel inclined to teach me the rules?

[That's the only thing he requests. Someone to teach him how to play otherwise this is a lost cause.]

That's absolutely atrocious. It will be a pleasure to see it rectified, my friend. ( a laugh at that. she smiles, too, and gives him her full attention now. so much for the telescope. )

Absolutely, I'll even teach you two thing rights now: never bet less than three silvers to start and make sure you're never the drunkest one at the table. Think of it as my way of saying thanks for teaching me... how to do basic science, I guess.

Less than three silvers? Alright. [Not that he understands the meaning behind it but he nods.]
It's no problem.

We have to start somewhere. You've been managing this quite well I'm sure you would have figured it out even without my assistance.

[It's simplistic enough, it wouldn't exactly take a genius to figure out how to operate a telescope anyways.]

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PLAYER EVENT ★ HELIOLOGY

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hey, sorry for the lateness!! somehow the notif got moved out of my inbox idek

nppp

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