driftfleet | video;

Who: The Vision
Broadcast: Video from the planet's surface
Action: Locked to Wanda
When: Now

[This video opens up with a view of a sea of dunes stretching out as far as the eye can see, lit only by the stars above. Some of those stars are moving about in a lively fashion - space traffic, though even the large stations are no more than points of light from this distance. Then the camera pans over to view some shadowy but dramatic rock formations - sandstone or a similar sedimentary rock, though it's hard to tell without more light. The voice narrating the scene has a gentle tone and a British accent, almost like a nature documentary. It's only very slightly muffled by the helmet he's wearing.]

A desert planet is hardly unusual. It's the most common type of rocky exoplanet according to the science in my time. Yet here we see several signs that this was not - and need not always be - the case. Look at the gentle curves in the rocks and the way the sand forms dunes. These are signs of more wind and water than the planet has. Did it have a stronger gravitational pull when it was younger? Did its atmosphere bleed off over time? Are these problems that could be fixed, with the right resources and engineering?

And would that effort destroy the view of the stars above? [He focuses the video a little more on the sky. Granted, they can see the stars any time from their own ships, but there's something about being on a planet that makes it different. The perspective, perhaps? A field of infinite stars is enough that the mind loses its focus unless there's something to compare it to, something to give it context.]

It might. Or it might allow even more people to see their beauty.

It's worth a look if you, like me, find the walls and ceilings too enclosing at times. But do wear your protective gear or you won't make it far outside a shuttle. This planet isn't for the unprepared.

[The view sweeps back to the dunes again, where it rests for a few moments before blinking out.]

[The Vision clicks off the communicator feed and smiles over at Wanda. He's in a full exosuit - he wouldn't need it if he decided to stay intangible throughout the trip, but then he wouldn't be able to grab a couple rocks as souvenirs. Or hold her hand through the gloves as they fly, because here is a space meant for such things.

And he really has missed flying.]

Shall we go to the top of that spire? It looks broad enough for the both of us.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm very much a beginner in the field, but I suppose it couldn't hurt. At the very least I could do some color mixing, and perhaps some of the native rocks here could be processed for pigments. I do intend to sample a few of them before I return.

[If only he had more of a teacher than a few archived episodes of Bob Ross. What are you supposed to do when you can't fill the landscape with happy little trees?]

Regardless, it is breathtaking down here.

Hey, it's worth trying, right? And everyone started out somewhere, so if you want to do something, I think you should just go for it.

[ Happy little rock formations definitely sounds less charming, really. ]

It does look like it. I guess I really should get down there... not let the chance go.

[He definitely sounds amused at that.] It's a good attitude to have. Perhaps I shall.

Or if you don't feel like running around in an exosuit, you could fly one of the shuttles down here. The autopilot is fairly easy to program, if you're not a pilot yourself.

Yeah? Maybe I will. And that's good to know. They didn't give me that, uh, implant thing.

Which, you know, I'm not complaining about much here, but... kind of creepy, right?

Oh, I fully agree. It reminds me of one of those software updates that are always trying to install themselves without displaying the terms and conditions. They may have beneficial aspects, but we didn't ask for them, and might have rejected them if given the chance.

Exactly. [ Oh man, he remembers those. ] Half the time those updates broke everything, too. I mean, I like that I sort of understand the ships and how to fix things, but... who even knows what these things can do?

And with the augments, I cannot even look at the code directly to verify it. It's terribly inconvenient, not to mention potentially dangerous.

Ah, well. Regardless, it's something we have little choice about but to live with.

Yeah... hey, at least it's helpful, whatever else is going on there.

[ Wait. Code? ]

Would you normally be able to look at code like that?

[ Sorry, Vision. ]

As a matter of fact, I would. Visualizing and interacting with code is something I've always been able to do.

[So you'd think he'd be able to encrypt his own darn messages, but nooo, he still needs a Comms officer for that. It's highly irritating.]

video;

video; no worries!

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