001

[pocketpal]

Who: ELN-1470
Broadcast: Yes!
Action: On the Marsiva
When: 2/21

This is ELN-1470, reporting for duty. [ A woman looms over the communicator's camera. It's filming from close to her feet, and she looks large - except, no, that's definitely just a trick of perspective. She's on top of a table. She is tiny, peering down at the communications device, tiny hands on tiny hips. ]

It appears that my prior duties have been canceled, due to the catastrophic disappearance SISC0117. Which, I may add, not only contained my duties, but my dwelling and all of my possessions.

[ Someone’s not pleased. ]

Please inform me of my updated schedule.

I’m sure it will be a pleasure to serve. [ To turn off the communicator, she stomps on a button. ]

Comments

video;

[heresyandlace]

Maybe some of us are talented enough to not need to be given a function.

I also captain one of the ships... so, perhaps that is enough.

video;

[pocketpal]

The ships have captains? They don't captain themselves?

video;

[heresyandlace]

...No?

[what an odd thing to ask.]

Well, they do have a sort of conditional auto-pilot mode. And we are all forced to drift within the confines of the host-ship's range. ...But there is still a captain for each ship.

video;

[pocketpal]

Well, what do the ships think about that?

video;

[heresyandlace]

[a bit of a pause there...]

...You can't mean the ships themselves, can you?

video;

[pocketpal]

What else would I mean?

video;

[heresyandlace]

The crews, the captains. The things with brains.

video;

[pocketpal]

Someone took out the ships' brains?

video;

[heresyandlace]

[narrowing his eyes at the screen again, he takes a moment to tap a finger against his chin and give this some thought.

clearly, there is some important miscommunication going on here.]

...The ships... the vehicles that we're floating around in, the boxes of dead metal drifting mindlessly through space... that is what you're talking about, correct?

video;

[pocketpal]

Why would anyone float around space in a dumb hunk of metal?

video;

[heresyandlace]

Don't ask me. I didn't decide that it was a good idea, but that is certainly the current state of things.

video;

[pocketpal]

No creative course-correction or up-to-the-minute calculations! No internal regulation!

video;

[heresyandlace]

...I can only guess as to what those mean.

video;

[pocketpal]

It means this is all very stupid.

video;

[heresyandlace]

[he laughs, just a little.]

Well... I really can't argue you on that.

video;

[pocketpal]

Does that mean you want to argue? I don't understand humans.

video;

[heresyandlace]

I'm not human, but good guess.

video;

[pocketpal]

You're as big as a human.

video;

[heresyandlace]

And you are as small as a mouse.

That is hardly a strong argument, is it?

video;

[pocketpal]

Better than yours. You look like a human. I'm obviously not shaped like a mouse.

video;

[heresyandlace]

Oh, I don't know.

If I tilt my head and squint a little...

video;

[pocketpal]

Then you will be inadvisedly impeding your own vision.

video;

[heresyandlace]

...Goodness, you're a literal one, aren't you?

[though still sounding charmed by the whole thing.]

video;

[pocketpal]

Perhaps I just don't appreciate your humor.

video;

[heresyandlace]

Out of curiosity, is there any sense of humor that you do appreciate?