driftfleet | (no subject)

Who: two nerds and you
Broadcast: fleetwide
Action: Marsiva
When: now!

[ The audio comes on sharply, but everything is still dark as two people discuss their situation.]

Is that the camera? Can you get it to work?

I - think so? Here, push this --

I am pushing it, Hank. I thought you knew about these from that show you keep watching. Space Trek?

It's Star Trek and that isn't exactly - you know, the same thing as this.

Right. . . . Wait, I think I see something on the side.

[ And the video flickers on, the red light glowing softly. It focuses on two men. One in a wheelchair and the other right next to him, peering curiously at the camera before they step back satisfied. ]

Well, that’s over and done with. Hello to anyone who might be out there. My name is Charles Xavier and this is Hank McCoy. Apparently we’ve been kidnapped again, by an unknown force again for some mysterious reason.

[muttered:] Again. [and louder] So if anyone would be kind enough to explain exactly what's going on, we'd appreciate it. You have our thanks in advance.

But do keep it pertinent.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

And yet here we are.

[ He wonders if they took away their memory of choosing this place. It has happened before. ]

Yeah. I'm not entirely sure that Atroma has 100% control of who comes and who goes, to be honest.

How could they not?

[ How would that work? ]

Well, the official explanation when people leave here is that they weren't popular enough with the audience. But I've noticed people being sent away after a matter of weeks- definitely not enough time for them to have made much of an impact either way. And on the other side of the coin, some people I would have thought were doing well in the ratings got sent home. There's also the fact that some people have many others from their home worlds show up while others have none. It's a little too random.

So there is no discernible pattern.

[ That lines up with Kyriakos and the library. There was no rhyme or reason to why people left or were taken, never to return home. Here, he assumes they would be sent back with no memory of this place. ]

That's right. But Atroma's also purposefully vague about a lot of things- they never, say, give us progress updates or anything, let us see how we're doing in the ratings, nor even tell us what make us appealing to the audience. So we're pretty much flying blind.

But surely they don't expect us to stay on these ships for indefinite periods of time?

You'll get assigned to a ship soon, and we stop on planets and waystations regularly. So you won't be confined for very long. And there's always the Iskaulit- that's the huge ship following along with the others. People have set up businesses there, there's a gym and a garden and such.

If I was not here, I would have called that science fiction.

[ Because despite all that Charles has seen and done, this was new to him. ]

Believe me, I get it. I mean, I've seen some pretty unbelievable things in my life before, but the whole reality star gig is a bit much.

It certainly invites a lot of disbelief.

Yeah... so I just try to ignore it and live my life as best I can. It's about all any of us can do.

I don't know if ignoring it is something I can do.

Thing is, we can't actually see the filming equipment anywhere. Atroma keeps their presence carefully hidden from us.

I heard that the cameras are simply there for show. But we know they're definitely watching us, correct?

... not so much. As far as I know, we've never seen any actual footage of ourselves, despite Atroma's assurances that it's there. It's part and parcel of their whole "we don't actually tell or show you anything useful" shtick.

Edited (SORRY I tried to correct a typo and made it worse) 2016-04-28 22:55 (UTC)

[ The similarities to the Echoes and Portraits was startling at times. ]

Yes, that always seems to be the pattern.

It's frustrating. But it allows them to keep control of us, too- it stops us from being able to look for any weaknesses or any ways to fight back.

Well . . . I'll keep my eyes open for any weaknesses anyway.

I agree- and it never hurts to have as many pairs of eyes looking as we can.

Edited 2016-05-02 22:11 (UTC)

I don't suppose we keep any records?

I know some of the contestants do, yes- I think some of them do pen and paper, since Atroma can probably tamper with our devices if they so choose. I'm not sure what Atroma themselves might have on us, though.

I'll ask around then. It never hurts to know our history.

Not at all. I'm not sure how much one might find that may be useful, but as they say, knowledge is power.

I can't disagree with that.