001

[flickerflash]

Who: Katie and anyone!
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Marsiva
When: 1st December

[Oh. Well, this is new.

The bunks are comfy enough, and it's not exactly the first time Katie has found herself in an unfamiliar place. (Is it Thursday?) But it is the first time she's woken up in one for a long time, and so she squints at the door for a long moment trying to remember what she was last doing.

Then she peels off the bunk, blanket and all, and shuffles her way out to explore. She's not particularly worried, and most confusion goes right out the window when she see the giant windows that let her see out into space because seriously. She rockets over, face smooshed against the glass. That's probably where anyone on the Marsiva can find her for a long time, because space. Spaaace. This is the best accidental visit ever.

Much later, she'll actually think to check the comms, and only when she goes looking for the one she's meant to have. She turns up on the feed still with the sheet half draped over her curls and her nose still a little red from her mushed space-watching, and addresses the network cheerfully in a British accent.]

I think I took a left turn. Are we really in space? That's not just a clever painting or something, is it? Does that mean there are spacesuits? Can I go out in it? Is anyone here that I know? And what buttons do I push to leave again? Not that I didn't turn up here on purpose, because I've always wanted to see space and I really can't jump that far. Oh, but I should probably make sure, so if you could help I'd be much obliged.

...oh, I need a sword, too. Mine ran away.

[Hello, I am nine and full of questions and lies. But genuinely, she is curious. Something is afoot.

(But space.)]

Comments

[huaaaaagh]

Whoa, so you not only have a sword, but you make them, too?

[TINY BLACKSMITH]

[flickerflash]

[Ooonly under the strictest supervision of an eight foot tall blue guy with horns. But. That's not the fun answer, is it?]

That's right! I sell them on the street corner every Sunday. They're very popular. Oh, but I can only sell them to people with a license.

[I'm sorry Kirito.]

[huaaaaagh]

[ALL MY TEARS]

So how does one go about acquiring a license for swords?

[flickerflash]

You have to sit a test! And then if you pass that, they make you do lots of different things with a sword just to show you can hold it without cutting anything you didn't mean to.

[huaaaaagh]

Ah, so it's kind of like school. For swords.

[That actually sounds kind of awesome.]

[flickerflash]

It's very much like school! We take our weapon safety very seriously.

[huaaaaagh]

You'd be reckless not to. Weapons can be dangerous to the user just as much as the enemy if not used properly.

[flickerflash]

[Katie nods solemnly.] Not knowing which end to hold it by can be quite dangerous. Though I think you'd be rather stupid if you couldn't tell right away with a sword.

[huaaaaagh]

W-well. That's what school is for.

[He'd. He really nervous if he had to go to class with someone that dense.]

[flickerflash]

I suppose it has to be good for something. Most other things we learn are very dull.

[huaaaaagh]

It's important to take the good with the bad. I mean, if I didn't learn math, I wouldn't be able to build computers.

[flickerflash]

You build computers? [Uh. Hmm. She's not that familiar, but...] Like Apple?

[Her library has two of those!

...1980s.]

[huaaaaagh]

Similar to Apple, yeah.

[That's blasphemy, child. PC MASTER RACE 4 LIFE]

Custom builds are a lot more flexible as far as design, though, so I prefer them.

[flickerflash]

Oh...I agree. [Do you see her eyes glaze. Do you. She has no idea what you just said.]

Do you play computer games? [That's... something she's vaguely knowledgeable about? SHE TOTALLY PLAYS MARIO OKAY.]

[huaaaaagh]

[omg katie you're the one who asked in the first place.]

All the time, actually. Probably too much.

[SEVERE UNDERSTATEMENT]

[flickerflash]

[Then you were technical at her! She's only nine, gosh.]

Really? What games do you like? I'm not good at any, but I play them anyway.

[huaaaaagh]

Mostly what's called MMOs- massive multiplayer online. I meet up with friends in games and we go on adventures together.

[flickerflash]

[Oh hold the phone, that sounds amazing. Especially to an 80s kid--]

Together? Like you see each other in the game and everything?

[huaaaaagh]

Yeah, that's exactly it. You can create a character and play as your digital self in the game, and thousands of other people can play at the same time.

[flickerflash]

That sounds like so much fun! We've got plenty of those where I come from, but I've never had a chance to play one. I wonder if I can here.

[huaaaaagh]

[Wait, so she's got MMOs and computers, but swords and squires? What a weird-

Like you're one to talk.]

That would be pretty cool. I'd love to get one set up and working, but I think it would be pretty hard to get the right tech for it.

[Where would one even find an Amusphere in space?]

[flickerflash]

[Changeling courts, man. Even in the 21st century they still have their silly noble systems.]

Do you know how to make games, then?

[That is very creative and would make you one of her favourite people.]

[huaaaaagh]

I'm... learning. Actually, I was learning a lot about coding programs before I ended up here. It's just hard to practice without the right kind of computer access.

[flickerflash]

[Hey cool more stuff that goes right over her head BUT that's okay. She figures it's ahead of her time by now. (The future sounds awesome.)]

What kind of access do you need? [She sounds out access like she's not terribly familiar with the concept.]

[huaaaaagh]

[...Okay. Okay, how does he even explain this in a way that makes sense to someone who doesn't know tech.]

Well... to make the game work the way it needs to, I'd need to code it, and also form a network with a series of PCs to let others join in.

[Aaaaand he's really bad at this; even he knows that was a terrible explanation. TRY AGAIN.]

Hah... so... think of it like a blacksmith shop- you can't just barge into someone else's store and start using up materials and equipment. First you either need permission, or the shop itself has to be yours. Once you have that, you make whatever you want.

With me so far?