driftfleet | video broadcast. REAAADING RAAAAINBOW.

Who: Sam and you!
Broadcast: video.
Action: if you're someone aboard or visiting the red fish would like, just lemme know!
When: today! Jan. 17th. hurrah.

[Sam has been mostly settling in. Now that the planet's behind them and he's got a hardy collection of salt and a bundle of self-written notes about the icy world they left behind, he's gotten back into learning some sign language (to bug Coil with, of course, though he's obviously not so great yet; sorry Coil). Outside of that, Sam's gotta keep himself busy, okay? Okay.]

And now we're buckled in for this long-winded space roadtrip again, right? At least I'm out of pajamas for this one.

[Small favors. Has it really been a month since he popped up? Feels like just yesterday. It's been a hoot, being in motion. Sort of.]

I'm all for the power of technology, but I'm actually more a fan of physical, paper books. There's just a difference there that's hard to replace with a network device. Anybody have any they'd be willing to let me borrow? Or maybe even trade for, though I'm a little limited on goods, fair warning. Hell, if there's a place around here with an actual library, that'd be great; I wouldn't mind helping out there with extending it however I can, planet to planet. Keeping it updated. After all, there's an eternal stream of history, fiction, poetry — all from different worlds and universes. Why not take advantage of the circumstances and learn about all of that in our spare time?

Anyone who takes there time writing or recording information, let me know. We could maybe include it in whatever we already have, get some cataloging in place, maybe download things digitally into the system as a back-up? If we have the ability to yet.

[Hmm. He sounds amused for a moment when he continues:]

If you guys did have to pick a book or series or something to include in a collection around here, what would it be?

... Chances of finding it in the middle of some random galaxy is kind of low, but I'm pretty sure us being here was one in a million.

[Wait, another thing.]

We have kids on board, too, right? Maybe I'll look for some kids books at the next place. I can only imagine how bored they'll get, sitting around on a ship. It's not like this place is giving younger passengers a lot to do.

[guys he's a fucking nerd what do you expect out of him]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

..That was a good one, but it wasn't my favorite. It didn't catch me as fast as the others did.

[ He's quiet for a moment and shrugs a shoulder. ]

Maybe someone will have more of them? Or we'll get lucky and stop some place that has them.

I'm not one to give up on small odds, at least.

Earth seems like it's pretty common around here; maybe the rest of space will know about it. Though I'm starting to wonder where Earth is in all this mess to begin with.

They don't keep us completely void of things, so it's possible.

[ He considers this, and concedes with a nod. ]

Most of the people in the Fleet are from earth, from what I gather.. Or something like it.

Alternate timelines. Definitely not the first time I've dealt with them. Even before this place, and the last. [He sighs.] Earth does seem to be pretty popular. I'm sure the aliens around here can't how many of us there are by now.

You're familiar with alternate timelines?

[ He pauses, but looks at Sam with determination. ]

Can you tell me anything about them? [ He needs to know for reasons. Totally not because there's an alternate of his own or anything. ]

Ah, yeah. Sure.

What would you like to know about them?

[He's got a great resume.]

Anything useful.

[ Really, he's not sure what to ask. ]

Well... I can tell you it's pretty much infinite. Any one person can make a different choice, at a different time, in a different scenario. Right? There's a ripple effect — or, um, a branching. Like a family tree from hell.

Alright. It makes sense. Are there any negative side-effects in interacting with them?

[ It wouldn't stop him anyway, but it's good to know, at least? ]

Interacting with things in another timeline, or interacting with someone from another timeline?

[ Sam's sharper than he'd initially thought. He concedes to the call-out with a subtle nod. ]

Someone.

[Aha.]

Good question.

I've met myself face-to-face before, in a timeline. And I changed the events differently from my own timeline's. I didn't exactly stick around to see it through and figure out what changed, though...

I'm guessing... there's someone here from a different timeline, but they're similar enough to you that you're wondering if meeting you'll alter anything?

..That's right. Things changed for him a long time ago. Might be too long ago to really matter at this point.. But I'm not familiar with this.

[ He's reluctant to admit that it's out of his depth. It's simply uncharted waters that he's toying in like he's still in the shallows. Well, it's too late to do anything differently, now. Hopefully it won't matter. ]

I think it depends on what he remembers when he goes home. I've come and gone between worlds personally and forgotten a lot of things — but because we were able to control it ourselves in the last world I was in, I have all my memories of what I did there. What I learned there.

It could, in theory, alter timelines if you remember what you take from here.

Or vice-versa.

But... It won't necessarily alter anything for you. Or you for them.

That...makes sense. I've heard that you don't remember anything when you leave this place.

[ .... ]

But it's speculation at this point.

Yeah, no guarantees about anything. Every universe we're swept up into has its own rules, I've noticed. One thing I will say is that, from my experience... if we can find our own personal ways to return home, we have a much higher chance of remembering. Or even traveling to an entirely different world than ours.

[ Hmm. Well, Sam, you've certainly given him a few things to think about! He frowns in concentration, mulling things over quickly. Winter nods tersely. ]

It's too much of a long shot.

Well... that's true.

But there's still a possibility. It's what happened to me.

Thank you.

video broadcast. REAAADING RAAAAINBOW.

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