( 002 » ENSEMBLE ) gravitational.

[reveriemod]

» WHO? EVERYONE
» WHEN? JUNE 1 onward
» WHERE? ALL OVER THE STATION (literally)
» WHAT? Gravity is always on, until it isn't.
» WARNINGS? zero g, paralysis, the vacuum of space, possible asphyxiation, possible character death

0 0 1 » LOSS OF GRAVITY

The outer rings of Reverie Station rotate around the shaft of the station, using inertial forces to simulate gravity. One moment, this works fine — people are walking along corridors, sleeping in their beds, eating in the mess hall or having a drink at the bar. The next moment? In some parts of the station, a crunching sound can be heard, like metal against metal, and shortly thereafter, the rings cease to spin, causing a jolt to go through all rings.

And then what passed for gravity just stops.

Your food, drink or blanket might have floated off after the jolt. Remember to engage your mag boots, if you're wearing them, lest you follow suit. Good luck getting around in zero g.

( ♪ )

0 0 1 . 1 » UPSIDE DOWN AND FLOATING

The lack of gravity may be disorienting at first for those not used to operating in zero g environments. Fortunately, mag boots mean you can continue walking along corridors — though the boots will engage with what used to be the ceiling of the corridors as much as what used to be the floor. No matter which part of the corridor you're attached to, if any, better make sure to collect anything that may be floating around, lest it becomes a dangerous projectile whenever gravity turns back on.

The mess hall and the gym area in particular are in a significant state of disarray. In the mess hall, some cutlery (of the grey, hard plastic variant) has been left unsecured and is floating harmlessly through the air. The same holds true for a large amount of protein powder. In the gym area, meanwhile, the entirety of the dirty water from the pool is no longer in the pool.

( ☺︎ )

0 0 1 . 2 » PARALYSIS INDOORS

One moment, you’re walking — or maybe you’re floating, mag boots disengaged. Either way, from one moment to the next, you become unable to move. Your arms, your legs, even wiggling a toe becomes a thing of impossibility. There’s a heavy weight on your chest, despite the fact that gravity is still not back on. Taking a breath is an ordeal. You can’t call for help, you can’t signal to anyone, you can only stay still.

( ♪ )

OOC: The length of paralysis is up to players.

0 0 2 » TAKE A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

It isn't clear why the rotation of the rings has stopped and gravity ceased, but one thing is certain: life on the station is a lot more difficult without gravity, especially for those not used to living and working in a zero g environment. The sensible thing would be to fix whatever is wrong, but in order to do that, you have to figure out what's wrong first.

One way to get an idea might be to put on a suit (if required) and go out an airlock to have a close look at the upper ring, where the crunching noise could be heard the loudest. The objective is to identify the problem and, if possible, fix it — but unless you have the power of flight and can breathe in the vacuum of space, the walk from the airlock to surveying the ring will be taxing in and of itself.

Better not lose hold of the station or each other and whatever you do, do not disengage those mag boots. Hopefully, no debris will come flying at you. The station may be built to withstand it, but you aren't.

( ♪ )

OOC: There are some 20 vac suits with oxygen packs and small thrusters for (weak) propulsion available in the spaces currently accessible to characters; these can be found in various airlocks.

0 0 2 . 1 » FLOATING AROUND

The station may be built to withstand debris, but you aren't — which makes it all the more unfortunate that some debris does catch you. In the side, in the face or in the legs, it doesn't matter: what matters is that the impact is strong enough to disengage the mag boots, which means you are now floating in space.

Did your suit take damage? Do its thrusters still work, or not? Is your oxygen pack still connected properly? If your connection to the station network is still intact, now would be a good time to call for help and hope that someone's close enough to get to you in time before you float too far from the station to still be reached, before your oxygen runs out, before any possible injuries you may have sustained take their toll.

( ♪ )

OOC: With this prompt, the extent of possible injuries, the time before rescue and factors such as oxygen or damage to the suit are all up to players. Please keep in mind that character death is very much a possibility — but that death means relatively little. Should a character die from their injuries or lack of oxygen, they will awaken again. As per the death mechanism outlined in the FAQ, characters are brought back to life (possibly repeatedly, if rescue takes a while), but they lose something. What they lose is up to players as well (a limb, memories, senses, social skills, ...) and the duration of the loss can range from a few days to permanent loss.

0 0 2 . 2 » PARALYSIS OUTDOORS

One moment, you are walking along the hull of the station. The next, you're frozen. Your arms and legs no longer move and there's pressure on your chest. Even taking a breath becomes an ordeal. You cannot move forward. You cannot move back. You can't even signal or call for help.

What choice do you have but to wait out this paralysis and hope that it loses its hold on you before your oxygen runs out? Better not panic, lest you use up more of it.

( ♪ )

OOC: The length of paralysis is up to players.

0 0 3 » WORK IT

For those who've successfully made the walk across the hull of the station to find the problem, it will soon become obvious what has happened: debris crashed into the station and got lodged between the uppermost ring and the shaft of the station, where it is stuck, preventing the spinning of the ring.

You will need to work together to cut through the debris or dislodge it. It's heavy, and you have little leverage in the absence of gravity.

Keep in mind also that if you successfully dislodge the debris, the outer ring will start moving again. Be prepared, especially if you're still connected to the ring by your mag boots. Inertial forces can be quite strong, so you will need to brace yourself or risk being dislodged yourself.

( ♪ )

Comments

[lightduties]

It might be hard to see, but said rock-man does indeed have a face, though at first glance, its expression may seem to simply be cracks on the stone that makes up its head. However, Titan-Egi's expression is perpetually angry...

Did someone say dangerous work to try and fix a problem? That sounds something right up his alley!

That, and he's going absolutely stir crazy from having nothing productive to do.

"Where are they leaving from? I'll h-" His words are cut off as the familiar headache associated with a vision lances through his skull, his expression twisting from the pain. Reflexively, he brings a hand to his forehead as his mind is taken elsewhere...

[neuralnet]

It's a plain-looking stairwell in a run-down building. The cement walls were once painted white, but the paint is cracked and peeling now, with graffiti covering large patches of it at each floor. Haruto walks up the steps floor after floor-- the elevator has been broken for weeks, and who knows when the landlords will get around to fixing it. But Haruto doesn't mind taking the stairs. The exercise is good for him.

The sound of multiple sets of running footsteps comes from above, as three young children come hurrying down the stairs, playing keepaway with some toy or other. Not looking where they're going, the leader crashes into Haruto, causing him to drop the bag of groceries he was carrying. A bottle comes rolling out, dropping down a few steps. The offending child rushes to pick it up before it can roll too far, handing it back to Haruto with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Mr. Roboto!"

"Yeah, sorry, Mr. Roboto," the other kids echo.

Haruto just smiles and takes the bottle back, patting the boy on the head before he gathers up his fallen grocery bag and continues up the stairs.

[lightduties]

He's never seen buildings like this before... a clear indication that he's walking in someone else's memory. When the vision fades, he shakes his head, lowering his hand from his forehead.

"Mr. Roboto?" The words spill from his mouth before he considers them. "Is that your name?"

An unusually ordinary seeming vision. But usually he sees these for a reason... There must be some significance to ti, though sweat doesn't seem like a terribly nice tasting drink...

[neuralnet]

Haruto, who had frowned in sympathetic concern when the cat-man appeared to have some sort of headache, freezes in shock when he hears the nickname his neighbors had given him.

"Wh-where did you hear that?" His eyes are wide, processors spinning on overdrive. "How do you know that name?"

[lightduties]

Rhea'li curls his hands around his earthen summon's rocky 'shoulders'. The name clearly means something important to this stranger, something to cause him alarm. So he keeps his tone calm, placating.

"Visions of peoples' pasts come to me. I have no control over it." A small smile, an attempt to be soothing. If it weren't for the lack of gravity, he would gesture with his hands, too. "If 'tis a cause for concern, I will keep it between us." A twitch of his tail. "What would you prefer to be called?"

[neuralnet]

So there's more to this person than simple cat features. He has some kind of superhuman mental power as well. Shaken to his very core, Haruto answers without thinking. "H-Haruto."

As soon as the name crosses his lips, he realizes his mistake. He's only given his chosen name to the other AI on the station, so far. To everyone else, he is Hideki Matsukawa. And yet, hearing his nickname had performed a sort of hard reset, and left Haruto scrambling.

It's too late now, he thinks, forcing a friendly smile and some composure back onto his face. "Please," he says, more calmly. "Call me Haruto."

[lightduties]

A nod. If that's the name he wants to go by, than he will not begrude the man his desire.

"Haruto." And in an attempt to try and put Haruto more at ease. "My name is Rhea'li."

It sounds suspiciously like 'really'. And his smile is toothy, a hint of elongate canines easily spotted.

"'Tis a pleasure to meet you."

[neuralnet]

"It's nice to meet you as well, Rhea'li." Haruto wonders if it's actually spelled like 'really,' or if there's some other spelling. But he moves on, gesturing to the rock-man.

"And what is your friend's name?"

[lightduties]

Rhea'li pats the rocky creature. It doesn't react. "'Tis a Titan-Egi. It has no name, for it's not like you or I, but a creation. The essence of the primal Titan given controllable form."

But importantly...

"How are you able to walk?"

Rhea'li is wearing his mag boots, but he missed the memo on activating them.

[neuralnet]

Haruto doesn't really understand the explanation about the 'Titan-Egi', so he decides to move on and focus on the following question rather than be stumped.

He peers over the Titan-Egi's shoulder at Rhea'li's feet, seeing the mag boots on them.

"Your shoes," he says, pointing. "They have magnets in them that engage when you turn them on."

[lightduties]

"Turn them on?" Rhea'li repeats slowly, blinking.

Like... a lamp? He furrows his brow, though it may be hard to see under his mop of hair. He twists and turns to get a better look at his shoes. Hmmm, nope, he doesn't see anything...

"Can you show me?"

[neuralnet]

"Sure." Haruto makes his way around behind the Titan-Egi-- a bit awkwardly; he's still not used to walking in mag boots just yet-- and grabs a hold of Rhea'li's foot.

"It's this switch here, in the back. See?" He flips it on and then does the same with his other boot. "Bring your feet to the floor now, and they'll stay put."