EVENT ▸ WELCOME TO HANABIRA

[futurologists]

LAND OF CELESTIAL MOUNTAINS Following guild Ophelia's first mission, after which the temporal shard was found and safely disposed of back on Headquarters, Guild Master Imogen informs them they've received a contract to help ease tensions in a land known as Hanabira, on an unnamed planet designated as Hathaway-484. However, the contract is from a third party and the Hanabirans themselves do not know about interdimensional travel, she explains, so it'll be best to announce Ophelia as visitors from a foreign land. Any strange appearances or abilities will be able to be brushed off as magic, as the Hanabirans are no strangers to things such as ogres and imps. They're given five days to look over the dossier, and then it's through the rift they go. Those who are new to rift travel may find themselves a bit dizzy on the way out, but overall, everything seems to have gone according to plan. Upon arrival, their magitek projects words in front of their eyes that only they can see: Location reached: HANABIRA. No events scheduled. You may wish to survey the surrounding area. » LAND OF CELESTIAL MOUNTAINS A militaristic society that values strength. Main sources of income: mining, foresting, hunting, blacksmithing. Heavy matriarchal ideals. Empress NAMA resides at the HEAVENLY SUMMIT. Those who attempt to reach the Heavenly Summit, which turns out to be the name of a castle situated on the tallest mountain peak, will not make it very far. Empress Nama's guards have no time for foreign strangers attempting to enter the castle without an audience, and there are plenty of them. It looks like that plan of action is going to take some time to rethink. There's still much more to look at, though. In the Merchant's District, you can stock up on everything you'll need to blend in. A cursory look at all the clothing and it's clear that the Mountain Clan style focuses on a more powerful look, with broad shoulder accents and thick fabrics. Both men and women wear kimonos, but it seems men's fashion changes depending on their age and marital status. Time to figure out those backstories! There are several more items for sale as well, as long as you're willing to pay -- or if you're particularly good at sleight of hand. The Commoner's District, derogatorily called the Slums by some, is where many of the lower class Mountain Clan work and live. Those who don't have the coin to buy a space in the Merchant's District sell their wares here; they are at a lower price, but often of lower quality as well, unless you're particularly lucky. This is the most densely populated area of the Celestial Mountains, and also the most egalitarian. Here, both men and women must do the same work to provide for their families. However, you will still find that the prevailing cultural attitude supports the matriarchy. On the other side of town is the Noble's District, which is patrolled by guards on regular routes. Men on their own will arouse suspicion in this area, as will anyone in any garb but the noble disguise. Troublemakers will be asked to leave and unceremoniously escorted out. Those who manage to stay will be able to find conversation with the nobility, many of whom are high-ranking military leaders. The rest of the town belongs to the lower to upper middle class, who are friendliest to women or groups with at least one woman in them. Women's reactions to sole men may range from dismissive to awkward, although men alone are not in any danger of angry or violent reactions (as long as they don't provoke anyone). ▸ SPRING FESTIVAL After a bit of time for exploring, a new message flashes in front of recruits' eyes. New event scheduled: MOUNTAIN CLAN FESTIVAL. » INFORMATION: Analysis of all mentions of 'festival' since the arrival of OPHELIA suggests heavy HANABIRAN presence at this time, during which guild members may wish to gather intel. It appears as though Ophelia has arrived just in time for the Spring Festival, a yearly celebration in honor of the changing of seasons. Plum and cherry trees throughout the Celestial Mountains flower in white and pink blossoms, creating a cheerful atmosphere as the population goes about their daily business during the day. Workers view the flowers during their lunch and tea times, and nobles can be found strolling through gardens in the Noble's District at all times. In the early afternoon, food stalls begin to appear in the Merchant's District, and by the late afternoon, the festival is in full swing: dumplings, noodles, persimmons, and skewered meat are available at various stalls, as well as plenty of sake. Other stalls sell beautifully designed kites, fans, and kimonos, and as the sun begins to sink down, some stalls begin to sell incense-stick fireworks. There are also games to take part in, from the light-hearted collaborative ball game kemari, to an archery competition, the winners of which are rewarded with plums and sake. An old man near the archery competition invites any passersby to join him in a game of Go, and he'll even offer to teach foreigners the rules of the game. There is also a falconry competition for the nobles, but unless you have a disguise, you'll just have to content yourself with watching. With so many people milling around, it's a good time to ask questions and try to get a feel for the political opinions of the people of the mountain clan. They are all in favor of their empress ruling Hanabira, supporting the spread of their traditional culture over the more lax culture of the sea clan. If asked their opinions on how to ensure there is no war, suggestions will range from preemptively killing the sea empress and her army, to banishing them across the sea. It should be noted that the mountain clan is not especially known for their expertise in diplomacy. As the sky darkens, fireworks light up the sky. It's very beautiful, but also very distracting -- the perfect time for something to go wrong. ▸ AN AMBUSH The fireworks are loud, and everyone -- even guards milling around -- are looking skyward toward the display. No one notices the danger until it's too late. A scream pierces the air, and everything after that happens quick and sudden: people are running in all directions, panicked, trying to escape. Stands are knocked over and food goes flying through the air. A merchant struggles to reach her wife, caught across the fearful throng of festivalgoers. It's chaos. As the panicked crowd begins to thin, those of Ophelia who stay behind to help will see the cause -- women wearing clothes of the sea clan and masks covering their faces are laying waste to the festival ground. They begin to set stalls ablaze, and though they aren't targeting any civilians, a handful lay dead or injured, crushed by the panicked stampede. Guards rush in to stop the women, and they could probably use help; they will be trying to capture them, but if your character is killing an ambusher instead, please let the mods know with a link to the thread. For those who aren't the fighting type, there are plenty of other things to do -- direct traffic, try to rescue civilians from the stampede, or go find someplace to hide yourself. Once the immediate trouble is dealt with, the festival unceremoniously ended, the civilians drift back to their homes to begin a restless sleep. If your character hasn't found lodgings for the night yet, they'd better get that matter settled soon. The morning after the ambush, there is tension and unease in the air. The people of the mountain clan mutter about taking revenge or continuing peaceably; the ambush and its effect on their relations with the sea clan is the topic of the day. Was this an attack sanctioned by the Empress of the Crashing Wave? Were these sea people acting of their own volition? Does it matter? The festival grounds could use cleaning up, and tending to the injured can be a good way to ingratiate foreigners (that's you) to the mountain clan. Otherwise, the forests of the Celestial Mountains are open for exploration, or the Flowerlands and its farms below. ▸ OOC NOTES Welcome to the first mission of the season! Apps are now closed and will remain closed until the mission is over. If you have questions about this log or the overall mission, please ask them on the dossier. Questions about Futurology in general should be directed to the FAQ. ▸ The festival and ambush lasts one IC day, after which characters may continue to explore. Areas currently open are the Land of Celestial Mountains or the Flowerlands. The Empire of the Crashing Wave will be introduced in the next log on 3 February. ▸ The Bounty Board is now live, as well as an items page. The February calendar will go live in late January. ▸ January AC will go up on 1 February. You will only need to supply one proof. February AC will require full activity.

Comments

[theseuschip]

[ Simon interprets that question as 'did you get all your philosophical problems out of your system'. And when he follows 9S's gesture, to green and Earth-like and alive, he has to agree with him that compared to their previous circumstances, they don't have much to complain about.

And you can't have splitting headaches if you don't have a head. Silver lining to everything... or whatever. ]

I mean, yeah. This is way nicer than PATHOS-II. What about you? You looked pretty excited about seeing this many people.

[ 9S is far more open about being glad he's not fighting a war anymore than 2B is, despite his compulsion to defend the war regardless. And watching an android from the year 12000 be fascinated by people is kind of entertaining. But totally in a nice way. ]

[bestaround]

[ For as excitable as 9S can be when faced with a new experience, he sure puts on a sheepish air when called out on it. The sobering conversation has toned down that eager little kid mode for the time being, but there's no denying it—9S is incredibly fascinated by what he's facing.

Still, he shifts on his feet awkwardly, like it's kind of embarrassing when it's being acknowledged by others and, thus, himself. ]

Oh. Um... I've never been in any towns like this before, that's all. I didn't expect it to be this busy.

[theseuschip]

[ a tone of good-natured amusement ] Seriously? All that, and now it’s weird to be excited? Come on.

[ He could’ve run with it when 9S was looking openly interested — well, maybe the guy would have caught himself and tried to hide it either way. No way of knowing now, but considering he might’ve derailed 9S’s enthusiasm, Simon kind of feels a duty to try to lift his mood, you know, as repayment for doing the same. ] Is it nerves? Like, a meeting a celebrity kind of thing, since the humans on your planet are gone?

[bestaround]

Meeting a celebrity...?

[ The words are muttered, not quite expecting a response. (They don't have celebrities.) Yet in the next moment 9S shakes his head, mouth twisting at Simon's reasoning nonetheless. ]

I'm not nervous—

[ Though chances are he would be if he hadn't already befriended a few as far back as when ALASTAIR was still in operation. Thankfully he's been through the adjustment period, but it's also taught him that some of them find the "hey look I've been straight up wired to believe you're the hottest shit around" part of himself a little... not so great. 9S isn't sure how much more of that he wants to say to Simon, who already appears to have a low opinion of the humans (that don't actually exist) who created him. ]

It's... [ He pauses. Well, fine, maybe he'll be a little honest about it... ] It's something I never thought I'd be able to see for myself, and now I—am.

[theseuschip]

That’s how most humans would feel about you. In 2015— on my Earth, people thought eventually we’d find a way to turn ourselves into androids exactly like you. We had books about it, movies about it... everything.

[ He could say more, but he stops himself. 9S gets skittish at best about the implication that he’s equal to a human — Simon has, in fact, finally figured out that something like describing how many people of his time would have considered 9S and 2B not only their equals but their superiors and the pinnacle of human evolution would just open a weird can of worms. ]

So you’re seeing things that have been gone a long time, and I’m seeing things that were so far off, they were just stories.

[ Even everything inside PATHOS-II falls into that category. If the aforementioned stories were terrible, which this one is. ]

[bestaround]

[ It'd definitely be a weird can of worms. What Simon says already is bizarre enough, leaving an odd feeling within 9S. Is someone like him really that incredible to them...?

Man... If Simon isn't making him feel conflicted about one thing, it's another. ]

You're not just talking about me, right?

[ Admittedly, it's an attempt to take the topic off himself for once. On the other hand, it's kind of a genuine question. They've crossed time and space with beings from all over to hop across the multiverse—surely 9S is far from the craziest thing around. ]

[theseuschip]

You, 2B — I mean, she had to tell me you guys aren’t human. We were still working on getting prosthetic legs to look good. Androids, real ones, that look and act just like people? That was pure science fiction. Thousands of years away.

[ Not that the androids will even be able to tell anybody about it if they keep getting deployed to places that just discovered electricity — and not that Simon himself, with his digitized, immortal mind, doesn’t fall into the category he just described. Just... the execution could’ve been better. Like, the actual creation of the brain-scan creatures and also all the literal executions. Just really lacking that sleek, finished quality that the androids with heads have. ]

[bestaround]

[ Ha—he isn't surprised to hear that anymore. ]

Yeah, I know, I know. That's what everyone says.

[ And they do. How many times has he had to explain what he is, now? It was honestly shocking to hear in the beginning, but at this point, 9S wasn't even worried about the locals picking him out as an artificial being. Hell, not when their own team can't... ]

But I guess your humans were on the way there if they managed to build the same crazy machine that created you.

[ Within the span of one hundred some years, no less. ]

[theseuschip]

Yeah. The brain scan stuff could have helped a lot of people. So could the WAU, I guess, if it hadn’t gone rogue. We just didn’t have time to find out.

[ If brain scans were limited to medical uses, anyway, and that just reminds him that the perfectly distinct person he’s talking to was manufactured based on some kind of personality template and he’s getting the heebies all over again, right when he’d managed to put the legacy scan issue out of his mind. Robot Stuff: The Worst. ]

[bestaround]

[ Sure didn't, and now they weren't ever going to reach that point. It is what it is, 9S supposes. Point being, however— ]

And you're still surprised by us? 'Sides, that's kind of ironic coming from you.

[theseuschip]

[ ... Well, 9S was surprised to hear about the brain scan thing. It sounded like he found it just as foreign. ]

Maybe. I feel more like a freaky experiment than cutting-edge technology, though.

[ Okay, yeah, second chance at life, but listen, people are weirded out by his robot head life is hard ]

[bestaround]

[ Shh, look, androids are totally more normal than the brain scan thing, okay. Either way, it doesn't change what Simon is: technically a robot. ]

Well, yeah. [ Doesn't even try to disagree, this one. 9S gives a noncommittal shrug of a shoulder. ] Some others on our team don't know what robots are, so I'm sure someone's bound to be impressed by you.

[ This is less said as an attempt at cheering Simon up and more matter-of-factly... sorry bro ]

[theseuschip]

[ Fortunately, Simon isn’t particularly easy to offend. Or particularly attached to the idea of actually being a technological marvel, since obviously he’d rather be just himself.

Also, for an android created for war, 9S is uncannily replicating the experience of talking to dude friends about things like dating woes.

the driest sarcasm, but he’s actually kind of amused ] Thanks. I’m so totally ready to blow away some teammates who don’t know any better.