driftfleet | (no subject)

Who: Robin
Broadcast: Video!
Action: None!
When: Now!

---

[hey, it's Robin. he's lounging around in his captain's chair, feet up on the control panel. he's twirling something around in his fingers--it looks kind of like a glow stick? it's a glass cylinder filled with some sort of glowing, red liquid.]

Back in those casino stations, I won one of these.

[he stops twirling the cylinder. when he holds it up closer to the camera, you can see that it's capped with silver on one end. the insides seem to be bubbling a little, as if the liquid is carbonated.]

This is a Luxilizer... though most people below the surface just called them Dummy Sticks, as in, you were an idiot if you walked around the lower levels without them. They're filled with a liquid extracted from a luminescent fungus that grows in the caves of my hometown.

[he twirls it again. Robin himself doesn't seem particularly delighted about the thing, he's just casually explaining, perhaps out of boredom.]

They were originally designed as a backup light source, in case a person got lost in the tunnels. It also makes it easier for others to see them. It can get pretty dangerous down there, in the dark...

[after a pause, he grips the glowing tube and smiles at the camera.]

It's funny to me. No one where I'm from would give these a second thought, but I've learned that underground cities are not a familiar concept in most worlds.

---

[PRIVATE TO JASON | TOTALLY HACKABLE, HE AIN'T NO COMMS OFFICER]

Hey, remember me? [waving from his side of the video feed.] Mr. Mean Everything?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Partially underground, fully-enclosed domed Cities are common on the Earth I am familiar with. The majority of the residents of these Cities experience severe trauma on being exposed to an open environment, primarily psychological but also with physiological symptoms. They require time and assistance to adapt to an outdoor environment, or even to large windows. Is this the case for you?

[He's partly interested, partly worried.]

[he listens with only mild surprise edging his expression. the expositional delivery was not expected. he's also never heard of an Earth like that, before. his answer remains smooth:]

Not me, in particular, but I have known people who were born and raised on the lower levels that have a psychological aversion to the world above. It's not very good for them. Our government tries to enforce regular trips to the surface for that very reason, but you can't catch everyone.

It would be wise to encourage such policies, in my opinion. As unpleasant as people may find the surface, in avoiding it they limit their own potential.

Out of curiosity, for what reason do humans of your world live underground?

Mm... [interesting...] Many would say it's our punishment for living too greedily, and encroaching upon the Kingdom of our Gods.

[his smirk is edged with a dry laugh.] But the scientific reality is that Gratia's surface became unlivable. Humans trashed it, forced the climate out of balance, set off an upswing of natural disasters--which, in turn, upset a lot of nuclear power centers and other atomic wrecks.

[there, he stops lazing about, putting his feet on the floor like a normal person.]

I suppose the bloodthirsty monsters that poured out of the ground didn't help either, but the radiation did the worst of it. Down was the only direction anyone had to go. Not many of them survived, honestly.

Ah. Then the nuclear disaster feared by humans in my past did, in fact, occur in yours. I am sorry, though I am glad that at least some survived.

[Although there is one thing about that that's weird...]

I don't understand how 'bloodthirsty monsters' are part of this scenario.

Well, they ate a lot of people. [his expression goes flat, and he shrugs.] They weren't related to the radiation, they just happened to be released with the ground cracked open.

If they were underground creatures, I would not imagine they would be well-suited for above-ground predation.

[He's a little... literal-minded.]

Was the cracking of the ground related to the nuclear disaster, or merely coincidental?

[he considers all of this, for a moment... frowning a little. after several long seconds pass, he clicks his tongue.]

I feel I should mention the presence of magic on my world. It tends to inconveniently bypass scientific reasoning.

[That's... not exactly an easy explanation for him to take.]

Ah. There is certainly nothing that can be accurately termed "magic," where I am from.

I had a feeling...

[but he raises a finger anyway, to make a point.]

Tectonic disturbances split the world open. The monsters have always defied explanation.

Would it be out of place if I were to ask questions about these monsters? I am... curious.

Not at all. There's no reason I couldn't talk about them.

Thank you. Though these monsters may defy explanation, perhaps they do not defy description. Are they very numerous still, remaining a serious threat, or have they diminished in number? Are humans the main part of their diet?

Their numbers have diminished since the Third End... Which is what we call that particular period of time when the world shifted and humans fled underground. Back then, it felt like a war. You had to fight for survival everywhere that you went.

Now, you only have to worry about them in the lowest tunnels, and in some parts of the wilderness... Stragglers come up towards civilization every once in a while, but humans put an end to their rampages very quickly.

As for their diet... [he taps his foot against the floor...] We've actually studied them. They can eat other things, and sometimes eat each other in a fit... But they only seem driven to eat humans.

That is very peculiar. Such a limited predatory drive would be... disadvantageous for any species. I am glad they have diminished, but still, I would be in favour of eliminating them entirely.

You aren't the only one. Rumor has it that one of the underground cities to the east had been completely cleared of monsters, thanks to the Capitol's aggressive cleanup operation... But I've yet to see it myself.

Rumours... may or may not be accurate. Still, it is at least something to aim for.