the one where the red scions make a forum post

[argumentiste]

Subject: An invitation to collaborate
Date: February 7
Time: 11:30pm
By: 333 – 0281

( The struck out text is what G’raha has been dictating to Alisaie. What appears in red is her version of it. Both Alisaie and G'raha will be replying but this is open to thread hopping and chattering so long as the others involved in the thread are okay with it! )

It can be difficult to quantify, let alone qualify, the amount of anomalies that one can experience on this star. Since arriving here we have all experienced strange happenings on this star. But the difficulty alone should not be a deterrent to better understanding the mechanics of the world we find ourselves in. We (G’raha Tia and Alisaie Leveilleur, honestly G’raha why wouldn’t we introduce ourselves first?) know there are many like-minded individuals, not limited to those who call themselves “Storm Chasers”, who strive to acquire this knowledge. Our hope is to collaborate and share it.

For those that are yet unaware, the van (We really should name this, shouldn’t we, Alisaie?) (Yes, why haven’t we named it yet, G’raha?) is a service we’ve established that acts as a mobile library. where we are hosting a mobile library of both collected local literature as well as making our own research and notes available. You may have seen it on the streets of Panorama! It is in desperate need of a paint job. Though we hope this has been useful to anyone who has used it thus far, it does not feed our desire to collaborate. have the same spark of collaboration.

So, wWe would like to begin a more open dialogue with like-minded individuals. While there are countless innumerable topics to review, here are some burning questions that have kept us (mostly G’raha) awake at night: a few that are of current interest to us:

- Does anyone have any suggestions as to what to name a mobile library?
- Do you have any experience traveling between stars/worlds/planets?
- Have you encountered any other individuals from your star and your timeline? Or perhaps even similar timelines?
- Are there any diffusion zones you visited that stuck out to you? If so, what was it and why?

- Additionally, I (Alisaie) am taking up a campaign to map and catalogue various diffusion zones. I would be very interested in having others contribute to this database on the chance we discover patterns.

- Have you encountered the “Cube” that is floating above Acerage? If so, what has your experience entailed?
- And finally, would anyone like to have a pillow with a man’s face on it? I’m afraid we have one too many (six) for our liking and others are welcome to have them. For free.

We look forward to collaborating with you!

Sincerely,

G’raha Tia and Alisaie Leveilleur

Comments

open to threadjacking

[hexcurse]

Mobilibrary? Or Mobi-library.

To your questions:
- No experience with travel beyond the surface of our planet (until now).
- My partner and I are from the same world and timeline.
- We have been exploring as many diffusion zones as we're able to, and have tried to keep in contact with other Storm Chasers. Some months ago we recovered an strange substance from a zone that appeared more technologically advanced than what we're familiar with. We've managed to find the right conditions to stabilize the substance and - it would be easier to show you in person and trade notes.

[ He's not going to ask about the pillows... ]

[argumentiste]

[ Are you sure you don't want a pillow, Jayce? Please take a pillow. ]

Simple and to the point. We'll include it on the list of suggestions - thank you!

A substance that is more technologically advanced? That seems...odd. And far out of my realm of expertise but perhaps G'raha might know more if I can prod him awake. I think the pair of us would be interested in coming to see it if you and your partner are amenable.

open to threadjacking

[sharranselunite]

There are two of my companions from my 'star' here. They have been here for many months, and no time has changed within my experience, they were never gone. One is from an earlier time in the timeline than the other two of us.

[argumentiste]

There are some amongst my companions that also come from scattered timelines. Myself and my brother are from earlier points than the whole lot of them which caused confusion from the offset as you can imagine.

Would you mind if I asked if there is a large amount of time between yourself and them?

open to threadjacking

[godjr]

Hi Alisaie and G'raha!

To your questions:

1. No I'm not good at naming things, sorry!
2. Yes I have been able to open rifts to other timelines in my world, but it wasn't other universes entirely, it was only parallel timelines to ours.
3. There were several people from my world here, although all have gone except for me and Rowena.

I flew up to the Cube. When I touched it and used my psychic abilities, I experienced many visions and images, almost like a television switching channels. There seemed to be many voices or thoughts in it. Time also slowed when I was up near it, I thought it was only a few minutes passed, but I was told it was hours later when I came down.

[argumentiste]

[ Jack!!! Suddenly she's Very Concerned. ]

I'm a little envious that you made it up that far - I wasn't able to. Though I was able to capture some interesting noises on our tape recorder which would align with time slowing down. When we sped up the sound it was all normal civilian noises things like traffic and the wind and so forth.

Though could you expand on what were in the visions?

[exarched]

While Alisaie follows up on the Cube, I would like to inquire further on your second point. How is it you were able to access other timelines?

open to threadjacking

[ungovern]

- No.
- Yes. Interstellar travel is common where I'm from. Starships use a system of wormholes to move between systems within the galaxy.
- No.
- Wedding: someone died. Museum: schematics of unknown technology.
- From a safe distance. At the time, I didn't witness anyone interacting with it die or get brutally maimed, but I wouldn't say that makes it safe.
- Absolutely not.

[argumentiste]

[ Succinct and to the point she sees. Well, she can respect that. She did after all red line a lot of G'raha's dictation.

...Shame about the pillow though. Even if it's understandable. ]

Fascinating! Are the starships also meant to carry large number of passengers? Are they similar in size to the cars here?

open;

[stations]

Hi

Do you accept donations to the library?

I want one of those pillows more than I've ever wanted anything in my life.

Some name suggestions for you guys:
The Bookmobile
Book Bus
The Word Wagon
Unstationary Stationary
The Roaming Periodical
Wheely Nelson
Bookleggers
The Bookaneer
The Story-Go-Round
The Scrolly Roller
Tome Taxi
The Plot Twist
The Unreliable Narrator

Hope that helps
-Jack

[argumentiste]

The library is more G'raha's project, but I believe so!

Consider it yours, Jack. I'd be grateful for it. I can't help but feel as if it's staring at me from the hiding spot we've put it in.

[ As for the names - goodness that's a lot. ]

Do you have a preference for the name? Perhaps a top three or five? They're all brilliant. Particularly the Tome Taxi. It sounds ominous.

threadjacking ok

[satanicpanics]

- the pied piper
for whom the book rolls
- kind of
- yep. 2 of them. both from the same timeline but different places in it which is really goddamn annoying
- no
- i've looked at it. seems like enough to me
- UH??? ABSOLUTELY

[ He would like a Nic Cage pillow, in fact...You know this guy probably loves a bad Nic Cage film. ]

if you need a paint job, consider this me offering my services

[argumentiste]

Oh I do enjoy For Whom the Book Rolls. It has a some gravitas to it. What sort of paint job are you proposing? And consider one of the pillows yours.

[ Please pitch yourself, Eddie! Also there's a lot of really great info here but she can only ask so many questions at once.]

In regards to kind of, would you mind expanding upon that?

threadjacking welcome

[mechatheism]

My partner Jayce has already described our situation, as well as our current work with the substance we recovered from a diffusion zone.

I did manage to “speak” to the cube.

[argumentiste]

Viktor! I believe Jayce commented briefly before you did. We're enroute at the moment and will be there shortly. Apologies for the intrusion.

Did the cube say anything this time?

open; 618 – 5257

[ofgoldenthread]

Hello Miss Alisaie and Mister G'raha Tia. If your mobile library is in need of books, I do have some Romance novels which I've finished and would be glad to donate or trade.

As for your queries, I did somewhat recently discover that a companion of mine and I seem to be from the same continuity, although the two of us had never met prior to our arrival. He, as I understand, was (only moments before his arrival here) about to make a visit to the star system my home allegedly resides in, whereas I seem to have arrived nearly a year after that. It is only by discussing the fortuitous meeting of mutual alliances in the interim of those events that we understood our connection at all.

I hope that is of some use to your research.

Oh, from the description alone, you may find enough joy in burning the pillows you mentioned.

[ She doesn't need a photo to know a pillow with a man's face on it sounds ugly. ]

[argumentiste]

Miss Aglaea! We would be happy to take them if you're willing to part with them. Thank you for your offer.

It is certainly a good point to make note of. Would you believe that the pair of you would have met had you not been brought here?

As for the pillow...I did consider it. I even suggested as such but G'raha thought it better to see if anyone else would appreciate them first.

002 - 0001 (open to threadjacking)

[surpriseitsclarence]

somebodys gotta ask this

(so it might as well be yours truly)

whats with the pillows

[argumentiste]

You know, I find it very odd that no one has asked.

[ In other words, she's appreciative of it because she personally would. ]

We conducted our own experiment with the cube and collected a number of inanimate objects, one being the pillow. It spit out about six of them and I suspect it would have produced more had we kept throwing them.

171 – 6600 (open to threadjacking)

[marcato]

How lovely this posting is. How scholarly. I've found that so many people in this world focus on survival without interrogating the environment. Without interrogating the why.

I do wonder what conclusions you've drawn thus far, if any. Will you tell me?

[exarched]

The "why" may be a lofty goal, but it makes it no less important.

I cannot say they are conclusions made with confidence, but we do have a few theories regarding the nature of this world and of diffusion zones. The hypothesis I am currently operating on states that diffusion zones appear through similar mechanisms that we do, but with a wider breadth and less accuracy, hence they are flawed reflections of various stars and timelines as opposed to our complete transference of aether.

715 – 0279

[coraza]

You guys got anything on getting out of here?

( ignoring all the questions and just asking his own. )

[argumentiste]

No, unfortunately. But I can say with certainty that we would proliferate the information if we did.

619 - 2113 | open

[godfragment]

This is John Doe. G'raha will be aware of some of this already, but:

★ Yes, I have experience travelling between planes of existence/worlds.
★ I've not encountered anyone from my 'timeline' or world as far as I know, but the matter is complicated by the fact that I belong to more than one. And, in fact, outside of time entirely.
★ Yes, I have encountered the cube, and 'communicated' with it briefly. It is a fragment of an entity from beyond the void, one that some would call a 'god'. I didn't learn much else, aside from experiencing time dilation and a sense of being outside of myself after speaking with it. It seemed curious but reticent.

[savante]

The cube in the sky is a god?

open to threadjacking

[searingbond]

[ Her first text conversation! Exciting! ]

i've met two people here so far from back home. we arrived at the same time and remember the same things from before.
someone i've never met before also told me i'd be here before, but i don't remember that at all.
very weird! though 'weird' seems to be the standard here.

[argumentiste]

Weird is absolutely correct in terms of describing this star and all its happenings.

But that is rather interesting that they've met you. Do you suppose it was you or a different version of you?

538 - 7763

[savante]

[ !!!!! This entire post has activated Lune's academic nerdery like a sleeper agent hearing their codeword. ]

All of this sounds like an excellent project. What sort of books have you already collected for the (as yet unnamed) van? Are there any subjects you're looking out for in particular?

I've met two people from my world (or star, as you put it). I'm newly-arrived and so, regrettably, don't have much relevant experience re: your questions-- but I'm very interested in the findings & any future collaboration.

Out of curiosity, have you noticed anything unusual about your eldritch pillows?

[argumentiste]

[ Lune is the exact sort of person they were hoping to attract with this message. The nerds can never hide too long when there's discoveries and findings to be shared. ]

G'raha would be able to speak more confidently to the current selection but there are very few instances we would turn such generosity away.

Apart from the unsettling expression? No. They are stuffed with feathers and seem perfectly identical in every way.

140 - 1907

[recitations]

- a few stars. another shard once, too.
- a few of my companions are here.

Let me know if you need help cataloguing that database.

[argumentiste]

[ She and Aria haven't really spoken about what had transpired on the train. They had, in the way they are want to do, had gone back to their old ways. Is it advisable? Probably not. But they are similarly cut from the same cloth in that way.

And besides, it is easier to interact with someone you aren't sure how to breech an uncomfortable topic with over text. ]

I might very well perish of boredom if I do it myself, so please.


Also, you neglected to answer the other questions posed.

—very open to threadjacking

[elsecall]

[ There are two axehounds inside Jasnah Kholin. One wants terribly to engage in these topics — to make colleagues, if not friends. And the other guards her knowledge like a precious stone.

For now (cautiously) she splits the difference: ]

I haven't personally traveled between planets before arriving here — but I've met those who have. They call themselves Worldhoppers. Or some do, at any rate.

[exarched]

That seems an apt name for someone with such experience. Are you aware of how they accomplish it?

[magike]

( this is both news to her and exciting

she might also get to the other questions later, let her nerd first )

What materials exist in your library?

[exarched]

Materials on a variety of subjects, Miss Rowena! The largest portions are regarding vehicle maintenance and mechanical engineering. But we have collections growing considerably around astrophysics, geography of other worlds as well as their unique histories.

Is there something you're looking for?

273 - 2378

[soulshard]

For most of these questions, you already have my answers. However, I did run a test with the Cube with the help of a friend, though it didn't tell us much. I'll share what we discovered all the same.

A fortune teller we had met some moons prior has a special item, a crystal ball that seems capable of sensing and reacting to figures or items with cosmic residue on them. When near to them, it burns red hot. My companion used one of her abilities to float the crystal ball near to the Cube, and it started to burn so hot that it backfired onto her as well, leaving her feeling overheated even after the fact.

When we returned to the fortune teller, we asked if she could divine anything from the ball itself. Nothing happened with that, but a few days later she contacted me about a strange, vivid dream that she had.

Here's the odd part. That dream matches the vision that I (and I believe many others) experienced on the train.

[exarched]

The vision on the train? So the strange events from the train and the Cube may be connected?

176 - 0273

[longtooth]

- I traveled to a demiplane, though it was accidental. We passed through a spot where there was an unexpected thinning of the barriers between planes.
- There is one other person from my home and timeline here as well. We were both in this other plane when we arrived here, and we remember the same events leading up to our arrival.

Regarding this cataloguing you wish to do, what are you hoping to learn?

[exarched]

A "demiplane"? I'm not familiar with this term. Could you elaborate?

We are hoping to learn any similarities or patterns between diffusion zones or the types of worlds that appear to be linked to this one. Any threads to tug at to further unravel the mystery of how and why we are here.

[soul_sight]

I believe you know most of my answers to you’re questions but if you need my services for collecting or cataloguing information you need only ask.

As for names…The Page Wagon?

I would take one of those pillows.

[ And if it ends up at Emet-Selch’s place he has no knowledge of that. ]

[argumentiste]

I would appreciate the company if you have the time to spare, Hythlodaeus.

Oh, the Page Wagon has a nice ring to it. We'll add it to the list!

And you can have two if you'd like. We have some to spare and no one else seems to be willing to take them.