unbearablynaive: (city at night)
The Vision ([personal profile] unbearablynaive) wrote in [community profile] driftfleet2018-09-04 03:47 pm

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.

[personal profile] padadin 2018-10-02 03:16 am (UTC)(link)
I'm not surprised to hear that, most people that were dragged here seem to come from Earths with young space programs - lots of twentieth and twenty-first century, I've noticed. With NASA still around.

[He makes it sound like NASA is a thing from another age... because for him, it is. That little smile from Vision though? It tells Shiro that the topic of conversation is fine, that he can make questions and chat about this. Cool.]

Magic as a science we don't understand - you should meet Allura. Her race's alchemy fits that description. They used Balmeran crystals to power their ships - those power crystals are also huge sources of energy that allowed them to wormhole, but they don't have the ability to influence minds like your stone. The robots we know that developed some kind of conscience were made by her father from a trans-reality comet infused with Quintessence, which as far as I understand, it's the word they have for life force. Apparently the comet itself guided him through the building process? Five huge ships shaped like lions, and it's them that choose their pilots, the bond making them stronger. The concepts you're telling me about remind me a lot of them, although you're far more sentient and intelligent.

[personal profile] padadin 2018-10-09 11:24 pm (UTC)(link)
And yet you already exist there. It's quite a contrast.

[He wonders if this is how his Earth is feeling when his commander took the information they found, how they will when Shiro and the others finally return with five magical robot lions. It's a surreal thought.]

Something you adore, huh? If you plan on continuing working on that, you should contact some of my teammates, they've worked with the lions at home. I bet they'd be interested, and they may have more detailed information to tell you about. Allura is the pilot at the Tourist, Pidge the engineer at the Bishop.

[personal profile] padadin 2018-10-16 07:59 pm (UTC)(link)
The Turing test... that's the one that checks if a machine can act like a human, right?

Maybe an engineer can help you build something from scratch? But it's interesting to hear you managed those code modifications. I have to wonder how far we could go with the right tools - some times it feels like Atroma gives enough things to offer a sense of working but not true freedom to go all the way.

[personal profile] padadin 2018-10-27 01:29 am (UTC)(link)
That's a very good point. I guess for the test to truly work they'll have to re-define "communication". Back in my world, there's a kind of planet called Balmera. Except it isn't a planet, it's a creature of the size of one. Aliens live on it and everything. They could communicate with and through it by touching it and sending messages through vibrations.

[Digress all you want, Vision, Shiro is interested. While his nerdiness usually sticks to astrophysics and space in general, since he became a pilot of a semi-sentient lion ship, this topic interests him too.]

I look forward to see what you achieve.

[personal profile] padadin 2018-11-08 03:40 am (UTC)(link)
Even when it's in you, you can't truly communicate with it? That's-- peculiar.

[The word he wants is unnerving, kinda creepy. He doesn't like things in his head like that, the lion being the one exception. But he's trying to be polite here, and it seems the stone is important for the man's existence.]

You're welcome. I'm Shiro, by the way, captain and pilot of the Blameless.

[personal profile] padadin 2018-11-12 02:28 am (UTC)(link)
Your relationship with your "rock" makes mine with my lion sound easy, and that's not an easy achievement. It's a first, actually

[He didn't share a language with Voltron, but ~magic~ allowed them to understand each other. He sees now how lucky he is for that.

There are many things from that statement he wants to comment on - the fusion, the returning. But his eyebrows go up at a very simple thing: his name. It can be a coincidence, he knows. He isn't behaving like anything that Billy has told him. But it's not just Vision, he's also the Vision, what are the chances of that being the same? He has the obligatory weird backstory to match, too, he can almost hear Billy's voice in that thought. And knowing Atroma's preference for certain universe, well... can't hurt to ask, right?]


It's nice to meet you, Vision. [He thinks. So far different realities seems to be the strongest theory.] If you don't mind me asking - are you from the world with the superhero groups? Avengers, and mutants, and supersoldiers.
Edited 2018-11-12 02:29 (UTC)

[personal profile] padadin 2018-11-16 12:48 am (UTC)(link)
Six. [The word leaves his lips before he even notices. Shiro may've moved on, but the memories of a certain friend that has left are still dear to him, in both a happy and a sad way.] Last time someone from your universes counted, there has been at least six versions of your world here in the fleet. It was early last year, though, so it may've gone higher since then. [A pause.] Just a moment.

[The feed is turned off for some minutes, and suddenly Vision will receive a text with a link to an old network post on it. Right after that, Shiro appears on the screen again.]

Do you recognize that woman? [Suddenly he feels nostalgic, as if he was having that conversation with Kate again. A good way to identify universes is her very own existence. "How many Hawkeyes do you know?" never failed her, it seems, and Shiro will trust her test.]

[personal profile] padadin 2018-11-19 03:38 am (UTC)(link)
[Not his own. Relief immediately shows on Shiro's face. Which Kate would tease him for, he's sure, since the fact she doesn't exist in all those other places obviously bothered her. But this is good news. It means this isn't Billy's Vision, and boy that takes some big weight off his shoulders.]

I see. The adventures I know of aren't yours then. [And this is the last time he's bringing up because there's no way he's going to discuss those world differences with Vision of all people.] Alternate Earths definitely are infinite. It's hard to define the words "universe", "world" and "realities" now. But you must admit Atroma has a thing for your people.

[personal profile] padadin 2018-11-26 03:21 am (UTC)(link)
[A three years old, aww. It reminds Shiro of a talk he had with Billy about ages and weird time stuff, and he quickly throws that thought away. He doesn't think Billy would want to be associated with this.]

From what I understand, it seems most of your heroes have been around for longer in the other versions of your world. So at least you aren't alone there. [He nods at that conclusion.] I bet you are. In general, it seems they like bringing adventurous people, heroic. I haven't met many clerks, bus drivers or cashiers around here.

[There was Tina... a miracle that poor girl survived this.]