( 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

[marineris]

Don't worry. I'll give a great speech at your funeral.

[He's all set, so Bobbie gives his helmet one last check, then heads to the panel and begins to depressurize the airlock.]

Here we go.

[charlieoscar]

What man could ask for more.

[He watches her, a little envious of her ease of movement, but more curious in what she was doing. He tries to make mental notes, in case there's ever a test. Then his eyes were pulled away, glancing around the room, listening as everything faded away except the rush of his own breath and the beat of his heart.

Cozy, he murmurs to himself.

He looks back at Bobbie, and gives her a thumbs up.

He's still with her.]

[marineris]

[Another quick touch of the panel, and the outer doors slide open. She heads for it, stopping just in the doorway before she turns back around, offering him a hand.]

Need a little help? It can be disorienting.

[charlieoscar]

[He's seen pictures. Movies. And she'd warned him, but really there wasn't any preparing for it. For the actuality of it opening up before him. The light so big and bright and seemingly right within his reach, while still miles and miles away, stretching into the yawning black horizon.

It's good she turns back. Because he's stalled at the starting gate, eyes staring past her, breath pluming against the front panel of his helmet.

Jesus Christ, he murmurs before realizing that she's waiting. That she's speaking to him.

Slowly, his eyes peel back to her. He stares at her in turn for a moment before saying:]

It's incredible.

[marineris]

[She knows exactly how he feels, because it's how she felt the first time, too. It's how she felt on Earth, looking up at an open sky with waves lapping at her feet. Bobbie grins at him, still hovering in the doorway.]

Beautiful, yeah? Ready to see it from outside?

[charlieoscar]

[And terrifying. And insane. And completely impossible.

But gamely, he steps forward, one step, then another, slowly coming even with her in the doorway. There he pauses again, eyes moving slowly across the infinite stretch.]

If I could feel anything in this tin can, I'd pinch myself.

[marineris]

[She laughs, stepping aside so he can get through, though she holds a hand out, as though ready to steady him if he loses his balance. It's easy to do that out here, when there's no horizon and nothing but the mag boots keeping you attached to the hull.]

So, how does it compare to the ocean?

[charlieoscar]

[He's silent for a moment, eyes moving back and forth.]

...Quieter. [Too quiet, honestly. Unnaturally quiet.] And not being able to see the end of it... nothing to focus on....

[He's not too proud to reach out and touch her elbow, just a little grounding, and he turns his head to look at her. Physical, right in front of him, not stretching infinitely away.]

Where are we going?

[marineris]

Towards the rings.

[She points, reaching out to take his arm to keep him steady as he looks.]

I've only seen the ocean once.

[charlieoscar]

[He tips his head and leans in the direction of her point, his low and distracted.]

You folks from Mars don't seem to care for it much.

[marineris]

[Bobbie glances over at him.]

What makes you say that?

[charlieoscar]

The way you all talk - you and Alex, both. It's a tone. Especially when you call me 'Earther.'

[By contrast, his voice is even. The conversation more a distraction than anything else. If he's thinking about that, he's not thinking about drifting off into the inky black of space.]

[marineris]

[Bobbie's mouth twists. A few months ago, she would have judged him much more harshly, but she's changed her tune a bit after going to Earth and spending so much time with Chrisjen and Cotyar. Still a lifetime of propaganda doesn't go away that easily.]

Most Earthers take what they've been given for granted. The ocean I saw was a garbage dump, and it was still one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. The UN undersecretary I was working with said she hadn't made a point to go down to the beach for years, even though it was practically on her doorstep. The universe sets you down on the only habitable planet in the system, and most of you don't even seem to care if it stays habitable.

[charlieoscar]

[Mike is silent for a moment... then he nods, his head tipping - as much as it can - from side to side.]

Fair. I'm not going to argue that people can't be awful. I know it. Saw it, before the plague hit, and especially after. But focusing on them loses all the good and decent people that are out there. I've known even more of them.

[marineris]

I'm not saying all of you are bad, but where I'm from, most Earthers act like Martians are single-minded robots for being so focused on staying independent and finishing the terraforming project. None of you realize what it's like to spend your lives under a dome.

[charlieoscar]

I really don't. Mars is still a great red mystery for my time. The closest we got are unmanned rovers. And now, with infrastructure still getting back and up running, it's going to be a long time before we even get back to that.

[marineris]

[It's a little hard to remind herself that for most of the Earthers here, Mars is still a dead rock millions of kilometers away.]

What happened?

[He's mentioned a plague, but not much past that.]

[charlieoscar]

The Red Flu. One guy, thinking he was too smart to fail caused a global pandemic.

[People could be awful. Neils was up there, near the head of that terrible pack.]

Millions died, nations were devastated. Looked for a while like that might be it for mankind. If not for Dr. Scott, along was some help from us on the James, it might have been.