epidemiology | EVENT ★ LOST IN TRANSLATION

RETURN TO OSKA

Upon arrival in Oska, new and returning recruits alike will find that something strange is going on. Any attempts to communicate with someone who doesn't speak the same language as you will be just that -- like you don't speak the same language. Let's hope everyone is good at charades, because you're going to be out of luck for a full day.

On the second day, a text comes across -- surprisingly intelligible to everyone. Is it over? Well . . .

crowley:
Hello, Audentes. We are currently experiencing magitek difficulties, as you may have guessed already. Temporal insects have arrived with our latest arrivals, and as you may imagine, we have had our paws full.

cherenkov:
We are working out how to mitigate the pest problem for good. For now, please put your unpleasantly huge feet to use and stomp them out. Or other such methods.

crowley:
We have created a quick patch to facilitate text-based communications, but verbal translation will continue to be down until the insects are exterminated. Thank you for your patience.

It's not over.

TEMPORAL INSECTS

This invasive species has worked its way in through the rifts along with the newest batch of arrivals, and information on them is available in the library (provided you can read the language it's written in!). It seems they behave like locusts, living quietly within the space between rifts for many years until their numbers suddenly balloon and they begin to swarm in search of food.

These bugs move fast and pack a nasty bite, but are unarmored and easily squished. Each one is about the size of a football, and leaves a little tell-tale slime trail that makes it easy to track. They can cling to any surface, and won't hesitate to leap onto attackers and bite if they feel threatened. One can take a decently sized but non-lethal bite out of someone, but a number of them together will pose a real danger. If punctured or squished they tend to explode into moderately acidic goo that can cause caustic burns if not immediately washed off.

They are attracted to any area of high temporal energy, which can be literally any surface, corner, or point on or within the castle and its grounds. As they begin to feed they cause temporal distortion in the area. This manifests as the immediate area seeming to flicker backwards and forwards through time. An insect gnawing at a table leg in the dining area, for example, might cause the area to stutter between years and years of dinner parties, ghostly attendants of all fashions and species appearing and disappearing as they enter and leave the affected area.

An onlooker can't interact with temporal distortions directly, but if the insect is left to its own devices, it will eventually eat through all of the temporal energy and render the immediate area gray, frozen, and completely inert. It's highly recommended you kill or otherwise chase off an insect before it manages this, as it can do irreversible damage to a world.

For affected Oska locations, please see this post.

OOC NOTES

The translation errors will continue through the rest of the month. For more information or to ask questions, please check the plotting post here!

New bounties are available in Oska!

Please remember to fill out your squidge success form before August 31, 23:59 UTC! Filling the form out is mandatory, even if you do not have the 3 squidge threads. You will not pass AC if you do not fill out the form. Characters who have been accepted on August 20th are exempt. Please direct questions relating to the success form here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[That's such a relief to hear he actually reaches out to touch Pidge's shoulder.]

Thank you. You have no idea how good it is to hear you say that. [No messing with his code brain, though! Unless it goes on the fritz and he needs it fixed. Then he'll know who to call.]

I once had a not-so-good experience with being hacked... [His animated eyes wander briefly, shamefully, as he admits this. Perhaps it's no surprise that he doesn't want to go into further detail about said experience. When his gaze returns to her, it's with renewed cheer and a quick change of subject.] Uh, anyway! My name is Retrovox R0-KV, but please, call me Rocky.

[Oh wow that's... that's a lot more gratitude than she was expecting. Apparently promising not to hack him was a good move.]

I'm sorry to hear that. I'm Pidge. Nice to meet you, Rocky. I'd love to take a look at your code at some point, if you don't mind. I promise I wouldn't change anything.

Welllll, I guess it couldn't hurt to have someone around who's familiar with my code. So maybe some day!

[Not all issues could be fixed through self-maintenance, after all. It could be helpful. And she did seem like the type who liked to get into things if the lock-picking wasn't already a perfect example.

But he can see why she might be interested in what lies behind the door. Even from here he can feel a low hum emanating from whatever was locked away in that room and he finds himself being drawn closer to the door.]

Sure, just let me know. [She supposes after having bad experiences, it's understandable that he wouldn't just volunteer to let her look through things that second, but there's a part of her that wanted to. It's hard, not being able to take something apart just because it's a sentient being.

Oh well. There's plenty of other things to take apart.]

Will do!

[He's leaning toward the door now, audio receptors alert. Unfortunately, he can't tell what's in there from the hum alone.]

Hmmm, now that's interesting. [He says, placing a thumb and forefinger along the lower edge of his screen.] Any guesses for what might be in there? Boiler room? Central Magitek hub?

Leaning closer towards the latter, though I'm guessing it's a little more complicated than a few servers.

[Or it wouldn't be locked up this tightly. This seems serious.]

Maybe it's something dangerous, like a nuclear core that powers the castle and everything around it. Or maybe it's a farcaster to other worlds and other universes! That would be neat, huh.

[He turns to Pidge with a cheerful smile.]

Hey, maybe I can help you break in!

[Before he's finished speaking, his hand and forearm expand outward while pieces and parts rearrange themselves in a small storm of movement. When the parts stop shifting, he has what appears to be some kind of hi-tech cannon at the end of his arm, a red glow emanating from the tip of its cylindrical barrel.]

[...seriously she may be in love. She's pretty sure it won't be that easy to brute force their way in, but honestly she mostly just wants to see that thing in action.]

Be my guest.

[She takes a few paces back.]

[Rocky takes a few steps back himself and takes aim at the door. A bright beam of plasma traces a circle around the lock in the door, heating metal to an orange-red glow wherever it touches. Steam rises, a spark flies here and there, the smell of ozone starts to permeate the air, and when the glowing circle of red is complete, Rocky ceases fire.

But when he approaches the door to inspect his work and nudge at the lock, he notices that something is amiss. The rapidly cooling metal is... completely undamaged. Da fuck?]

Well scrap me and sell me for parts, this is just weird! Usually metal stands no chance against forced plasma beams.

[It might not have worked, but it was still so cool. Pidge takes a moment to stop grinning excitedly, then schools her feature into a more serious expression.]

It's not just metal. Pretty sure there's magic involved. [God, she's getting sick of magic.]

EVENT ★ LOST IN TRANSLATION

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