001;

[privateeyed]

Who: Ben and you folks
Broadcast: Yes
Action: SS Huntress
When: now

action; SS Huntress

[Ben doesn't take teleportation well. In fact, if the confetti and the music didn't tip the ship off, the loud cursing probably does - there you go, Huntress, your security officer is here]

What the fuck—give a guy some fuckin' warning next time, geez! God damn teleporting bullshit.

[once he's calmed down, though - and picked up some of the pudding because far be it from him to turn down free food - he's wandering the ship, peeking his head into rooms to see what's what]


broadcast;

[once he's somewhat settled in and found a place to sit and digest everything going on, Ben decides to set up a broadcast to get some Shit Done]

Anyone here good with cybernetics? Or - I don't know, computers? Advanced stuff, can give you the specfics if you're interested. Don't need you right now, I'm just covering my ass just in case.

[he pauses, and maybe realizes he should . . . introduce himself. Like a normal person would. You know, instead of just getting down to business]

Uh - anyway, name's Ben; if you don't know shit about cybernetics . . . I don't know, come tell me about the weird crap going on here. Or stuff I should know. I like being informed.

Comments

[privateeyed]

Yeah. It's older tech and I've put it through some shit, so it'll glitch or just stop working. Nothing too big - and it usually fixes itself after a few minutes.

[he shrugs] Pretty normal for cybernetics, honestly.

[passingthrough]

And I thought waiting for a computer to restart was a hassle.

Are they common back home? The cybernetics.

[privateeyed]

I've played around with the old ones - how the hell did anyone have patience for all that wait time?

[he makes a face] Yeah, they're pretty common. Lot of folks have the smaller ones that they implant into your arm or your neck - it's a stupid trend. I mean, some benefit from it, like they get 'em for their jobs or because of some medical reason, but - for the most part now it's just - trendy bullshit.

When I got mine it was still - mostly for folks who needed it.

[passingthrough]

It gave us the motivation to make them faster at least?

Wrath was from a world that did things like that to be on trend. Kind of an awful sounding world in a lot of ways though. Still a better reason to do it than what it was usually used for back home.

[privateeyed]

Good point. But damn - ya'll had some slow as hell tech.

[a snort] I know it seems hypocritical for me to be against it, but I didn't really get a choice when it came up. Life-saving bullshit or whatever. [don't be so casual about it, Ben] It's not too bad, but - what'd they use it for back home?

[passingthrough]

Just wait until you meet someone from a world with no tech. Or no tech as you recognize it. Maybe some magic.

Sometimes life saving and for mobility where it had been diminished.

[But]

Mostly to build up an army.

[privateeyed]

Magic's kinda cool, though. Tech and no tech is - y'know, normal. World didn't always have this shit. Magic, on the other hand? I definitely want to see some.

[ah, there it is. One of the reasons he hates cybernetics and mods]

Figures. It ain't that different where I'm from either.

When I was in the army we got offered the newest bullshit. They wanted us to be better and faster for their shitty war. Most of my squad turned them down.

[passingthrough]

They were lucky to get the option. [Leaving it unspoken, but probably obvious for the moment, that this wasn't the case where she was from.]

I guess people have the same bad ideas in lots of places.

[privateeyed]

[he just snorts. He can definitely pick up on what that means]

Doesn't surprise me. When it comes to armies and wars, history makes the same mistakes over and over.

[passingthrough]

It really does, but with much bigger weapons each time.

[privateeyed]

Mmhmm. Sorry that it seems like you know that the hard way.

[passingthrough]

Well, some of it I read in books. You know, the more history-ish parts. [She gives him a little smile.] Sounds like you saw some yourself? Or were you in the military in times of peace?

[privateeyed]

Hey, me too. That's another thing we have in common - history nerds. [he is absolutely a history nerd when it comes to the army] I enlisted right in the middle of a big war, so no. I got to see it all up close and personal.

[passingthrough]

My nerdiness normally gets pointed out in other areas first, but I'll take it. [She tips her head, looking at him curiously.]

What was your war about?

[privateeyed]

Yeah? Like what other areas?

[he makes a face, rolling his shoulders] It started out as a few rebellions overseas, and then it escalated when everyone else decided to go in and try to fix things their way. [...] It was supposed to be about helping the local folks, but instead it escalated into a full blown war. And then that escalated.

After that it didn't matter what it was about originally. No one really came out a winner.

[passingthrough]

Escalating past full-blown war doesn't sound like a good thing. [Though a familiar thing.]

And I am nerdy about science. Physics mostly. Tech. Languages. Sometimes fiction. [Winn inspired a lot of that.]

[privateeyed]

Yeah, it wasn't. I won't get into it too much, but I'll put it this way - LA and New York areas just opened back up less than a year ago. The coasts are still shit.

[the nerd conversation is a good distraction from all that though] Huh, that is pretty nerdy. Not like I can talk, though. I'm into antique shit and nature documentaries.

[passingthrough]

[It would be nice to have cities going again.] That's good that there's some progress.

Nature documentaries where someone British would talk over video of animals stalking prey and such? [At least that's what she remembers.]

[privateeyed]

Some, yeah. I won't lie, I was really glad that most of my family lived in the midwest. Feel bad for the coastal folk, though, having to deal with us landlocked heathens.

[that's . . . really specific] Uh - there's one show that has a British dude narrating, yeah. Are you thinking about the real popular guy from way back when? 'Cause they do specials and shit with him.

[passingthrough]

That's good that some areas escaped it. [A normal person would see it as more horrifying than positive, right?]

I'm not even sure. I just remember watching them with my Mom sometimes when I was young. They probably weren't all British. It's been a long time. I feel like I've lived several lives since then.

[privateeyed]

Yeah. Gotta look for the positives in all that shit, you know? [no he sees that as perfectly normal. At the very least, that's how he is about it all]

Huh. Only some of 'em got the British guy. But they're all - I don't know, soothing voices? Calm and quiet. They make for good filler noise or for something to watch at night to de-stress. [a snort] I understand that feeling.

[passingthrough]

[To being on the same page with tragedy!]

Soothing voices are good. I can see why you'd nerd out for them.

[privateeyed]

[that earns a brief grin]

Usually people think I'm an animal enthusiast.

I started watching them after I was sent home - think someone recommended it to me, actually. Couldn't watch the news, so . . . nature docs. [he shrugs] Keeps me calm and makes me a genius when it comes to animal trivia.

[passingthrough]

I feel like I should quiz you, but I don't think I know enough about animals to know if you're right or not. I do keep a small zoo in my room though.

[privateeyed]

Yeah, there's no way to fact-check stuff here, is there. [...] How do you keep a zoo in there? Isn't it - you know, crowded?