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(no subject)

Who: Victor Frankenstein and You!
Broadcast: Fleet-wide
Action: S. S. Heron
When: Now and possibly a few days after for his crew to drop by and say hi

Video
[Victor finally changed out of the striped suit he'd been wearing when he arrived. Not knowing if there was a proper medical uniform, he went with blue scrubs. Seemed like a safe bet. His hair is still darkened, since he didn't want to waste resources getting hair dye. And he's already made himself at home in the Heron's sick bay]

So I finally made it onto a space ship. I want to be excited about it. We're going to be out there exploring new worlds, discovering new life, boldly going and all that. And yet... [He sighs] This isn't really how I thought it'd go. Though if this is some ridiculous reality show, it would figure that they did it this way. Increasing drama, I guess.

Crew of the Heron, I'm your new medical officer. Or doctor or whatever it's called here. I'll keep my office hours flexible if you need anything. I've heard a lot of stories about living and working on a star ship. In spite of everything, I'm looking forward to it.

Action

[And with that, he sets about cataloging all the stuff in the sick bay so he knows where all the medicine and equipment is. He doesn't know whether or not any of his new crew will come by, but he'll keep the door open for them just in case]

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Ah, so not only new, but a nerd - good to know.

[He slides more fully into view, a tray of cookies just floating in the air behind him.]

Soooo, is this space and exploration thing new to you or are you another old hand at the world-hopping business?

I lived on a moon in the world I was in just before this one. We didn't really get to go beyond it, though, so this would be my first time to other planets.

As for worlds, I've been to three of them before I came to that moon. So I guess I'm on my fifth world now.

No shit? Me, too! Moon-living's where it's at.

[Well, a fake moon, but whatever! To everyone on Faerun it was just a moon so it's close enough]

Buuuut hold up there. How can you have been to three - five? worlds? If you've never been to another planet?

I guess I just think of "worlds" and "planets" as different things. You see, where I originally came from, many different worlds exist in the same reality. It's not easy to go from one to the other, but it's possible.

Planets take a lot more to traverse. That's why we're on these star ships, after all.

[Worlds existing in the same-- Oh. OH.]

Oh, you're talking about planar travel?

[If so, that pings Taako hardcore because he's been trying to that same thing.]

Shifting between the layers of reality to visit other versions of it?

I guess that's a good way to describe it. But it's not entirely accurate. These worlds aren't different layers of reality. They're all existing on their own, with their own rules and laws.

[Mmkay, color him intrigued. He'd just given Lup a bad time about being a planar nerd, but this? This is kind of interesting.]

Does each plane - er, world, I guess? World? Yeah, world. So does each world have like their own thing they govern or their own little quirk? 'Cause that's how it is for us, where I'm from, the planar system. Plane of Magic, of Thought, of Fire, Water, whatever all those elements, the Astral Plane, the Celestial one, shit like that.

Eh, no, it's... it's more like their own countries. Here. [He gestures the other farther inside, grabbing a sheet of paper and a pencil. He starts sketching land forms on the paper]

Think of where we are right now as a "world". And where you came from as another "world". [He points to one land mass and then a second] And everyone else on the ship is also from another world, or from the same one as you. They might have similar histories or even have people who bear the same face as someone you know, but there are distinct differences to tell them apart.

With me so far?

[Okay, this shit just got confusing. So it's an alternate reality that isn't a separate reality and -- you know what?

Nah.

Taako shrugs because that's about as close of an answer as he can give. He's never been a scientist and he was barely bright enough to understand all the shit that Lucas Miller had been spouting off. But he's following, even if his interest has waned now that it isn't about breaking out of different planes of existence.]

No idea, but go on. I'll figure it out at the end.

[Victor frowns. He can tell he's losing the other, and pauses to think of how to explain this from a magical point of view]

Are you familiar with the story of the girl who was caught up in a tornado and landed in another land?

[Wait, what? That was a sudden shift and Taako blinks, tilting his head to one side as his long ears twitch at the thought. Does he know that story? Give him a second to roll back over memories as he leans his head back again, thinking.

Yup, there it is. A scroll he saw once a loooong time ago. Must've been some traveling circus thing or whatever, but they'd had a scroll that was painted in vivid colors back when he was still a young elf.]

Mmhm? Got tossed by a gust of wind up into the clouds or something, right? Red shoes and something about landing her house on some warlock lady's sister?

In some stories the shoes are silver, but yes. That's the basic idea. Well, she wasn't tossed onto a different planet, right? Just a different world. And that's just one possible world a person can travel to.

[Mmkay, so yeah, it's kind of like the Planar System, but not quite. The traveling this guy is talking about is closer to what he might be expecting here then.

Taako goes quiet again, rolling that idea around in his head. He's got a few theories now to work with: planar binding, a summoning spell, alternate reality, or world-hopping. It'd make sense that they'd be doing something of a mix of all of them. Comb through all the different versions of the world, select the ones they wanted, summon them here, and then bind them to this reality.

Finding the right combination of spells and getting the right amount of power to break it is all he needs to do.]

Mm, got it, I guess. It's close enough to the system I know then, just hopping to new worlds instead of new planes.

[Close enough that it's easy to understand. Like Blinking to a new world instead of just the Ethereal Plane. Easy peasy.]

So that's what you did, huh? World-hopped around? Using... what? Tech? Magic?

Yes. Well, I did hop into one. But the other two I was forced to go. And I was forced to come to this one, too. I would've definitely stayed where I was if I had a choice.

[He lets out a sigh] Sadly I haven't come up with a scientific way to cross worlds yet, so it's been achieved through magic. Though it could have been technology when I was brought to the moon and this fleet. I know technology is different across worlds.

Funny how kidnapping doesn't give a shit what you want, huh? I guess it's "elf"-napping in my case.

[He shrugs at the thought. It's a little disappointing that there's no technology he can use or bribe out of this guy to help him with his endeavor, but that's how it is. He'll just have to figure out the spells he needs then.]

You ever get a glimpse at what magic was used? Color me curious.

[He shakes his head]

I know why you're asking, and forget it. A lot of the methods are specific to that realm. You wouldn't walk through a mirror to get to Oz, after all. And even if you could recreate the magic that crosses multiple realms, there's no guarantee it'll work properly.

Now, if you really want to find a way back to your realm, I can work on a scientific solution, but I'm not messing with magic unless I have to. It's bitten me on the ass one too many times.

[Doesn't mean he can't, bucko.]

Never said you'd have to be doing the magic, my guy. That's kind of my field.

But if you ever find a breakthrough on the science side, just keep me in the loop. Curious doesn't mean I'm gonna go getting myself killed over it.

Yeah, I know. But I'm still not giving you details on how it works.

That's just not very charitable of you at all, is it?

[Honestly, you'd think this guy would be more invested in trying to get back home. Well? Whatever, no skin off Taako's back - he'll just keep forging ahead on his own.]

But your choice, my man. It's not like I don't have resources otherwise. Although, if you're not sharing with me, then I don't gotta share these- [The elf takes a step back out of the lab, jerking a thumb over his shoulder at the plate of freshly baked cookies floating behind him.] --with you either. Such a shame.

[He glances at the cookies and shrugs]

Yeah. It's a real shame.

[He rolls his eyes and then gives the stranger a half salute. He was going to leave these for the crew, but not no more! Bloodsport or Starduck can get them now.]

Have fun in your nerd lab.

[And Taako wanders off to go find someone else to mess with who actually appreciates food.]

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