(IC) Lost in Dreams (Julian)

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Col Tatim: "You're just confused. Probably didn't happen."

"I spent like two weeks in and around Bumundo. Falling to my death was pretty normal by comparison to some of what I saw. If it didn't happen, did any of it?"

Originally Posted by ericthered

Col Tatim: "They were useless before, unless they had a ship. Did they ever have a ship?"

"They seemed to think making one would be doable in six to ten months."

Originally Posted by ericthered

"And its still a crisis. They're certainly capable of kidnapping and blackmailing another astropic.

"Or getting frustrated and doing something drastic, like taking a Starpus apart and seeing how it works."

Originally Posted by ericthered

"Huh? how do you know?"

"That doesn't prove you're a seeker. That's a starpus action..."

"Is the direction helpful or not?"

I recall something:

Originally Posted by ericthered

Preparations are made to smuggle Julian and the Starpus off Curry Station on onto Panogos. The plan is that he will be riding with the Starpus.

"They were planning on smuggling me off with the Starpus. Maybe they're still on the station while they wait for shuttles to move again?"

Originally Posted by ericthered

Something dawns on him.

"You're not astropic, are you? not really. Not like me and the rest of my clan. I mean, you can do all of it, but they use a genetic test in the hospitals. Panogos probably made you. Or someone."

"Oh, so they just made me as an experiment, and then just decided to dump me a goldfish bowl that looks like 21st century Earth for kicks. Sure, Jan."

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by TGLS

"I spent like two weeks in and around Bumundo. Falling to my death was pretty normal by comparison to some of what I saw. If it didn't happen, did any of it?"

Col Tatim: "How should I know. Probably not. I'm not an expert on that."

"They seemed to think making one would be doable in six to ten months."

Col Tatim: "And until then the Starpus are worse than useless."

"Or getting frustrated and doing something drastic, like taking a Starpus apart and seeing how it works."

Col Tatim: "They just might be that stupid and desperate."

"Is the direction helpful or not?"

Col Tatim: "It's helpful. Lets get you moving so that you can triangulate"

"They were planning on smuggling me off with the Starpus. Maybe they're still on the station while they wait for shuttles to move again?"

Col Tatim: "Almost certainly. We'll keep the shuttles shut down for as long as we can. we'll get another seeker on the station and they won't be able to hide the starpus."

"Oh, so they just made me as an experiment, and then just decided to dump me a goldfish bowl that looks like 21st century Earth for kicks. Sure, Jan."

Col Tatim: "Do you have a better explanation for where you came from? Cloners have been chasing that sort of technology for years: The ability to raise people via virtual environments. You just showed up without any explanation, any history, and all references to where you think you came from are impossible. A genetic experiment raised in a VR environment makes a lot of sense. They wronged you badly."

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Col Tatim: "And until then the Starpus are worse than useless."

I think about how much they moved the tank when we were fleeing... "Do you think they might jostle the tank?"

Originally Posted by ericthered

Col Tatim: "It's helpful. Lets get you moving so that you can triangulate"

I start walking and calling...

Originally Posted by ericthered

Col Tatim: "Almost certainly. We'll keep the shuttles shut down for as long as we can. we'll get another seeker on the station and they won't be able to hide the starpus."

Wow... I guess I wasn't winning from the start...

Originally Posted by ericthered

Col Tatim: "You just showed up without any explanation, any history, and all references to where you think you came from are impossible. A genetic experiment raised in a VR environment makes a lot of sense."

"But... Why would they raise me in that kind of environment? They could dunk me in an environment where I'd be exposed to no alternative ideas. But they put me in the early twenty-first century for most of my life. Why would they pick that? Why would they just dump me off behind the Starpus aquarium instead of actually using me for some purpose?"

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by TGLS

I think about how much they moved the tank when we were fleeing... "Do you think they might jostle the tank?"

Tatim: "No idea. I worked hard to not have to deal with starpus."

I start walking and calling...

Julian is escorted by a team of Concordance Military/SWAT through the station. He's not quite sure where he is going, but he is getting close, he thinks.



After a point, the signals split, with one set going one way and another set going the other.

Wow... I guess I wasn't winning from the start...

So little faith in Royal...

"But... Why would they raise me in that kind of environment? They could dunk me in an environment where I'd be exposed to no alternative ideas. But they put me in the early twenty-first century for most of my life. Why would they pick that? Why would they just dump me off behind the Starpus aquarium instead of actually using me for some purpose?"

Tatim: "I don't know, figure it out."

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by ericthered

So little faith in Royal...

Poor self-confidence and Concordance security knowing about the operation would do that.

Originally Posted by ericthered

Tatim: "I don't know, figure it out."

Seems like he knows that his version doesn't fit, but he he rather put me in a box of his choosing rather than consider a different answer...

Originally Posted by ericthered

Julian is escorted by a team of Concordance Military/SWAT through the station. He's not quite sure where he is going, but he is getting close, he thinks.

After a point, the signals split, with one set going one way and another set going the other.

"They're going in two directions now. [I specify which directions]. Which should we follow?"

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by TGLS

"They're going in two directions now. [I specify which directions]. Which should we follow?"

Tatim: "How should I know. You're the seeker. which one is more like starpus? Or are they both starpus? or is one bigger?"


There is no difference he can pick up.



They decide arbitrarily to follow one and send another team after the other. Then the one they are following splinters into three different groups. Julian is catching up to the signals.



Tatim: "Either they're trying to make it so we only catch one, or they've got screamers and they're coming for us."

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Tatim: "Either they're trying to make it so we only catch one, or they've got screamers and they're coming for us."

"I only saw the three screamers, but I disabled the lot of them, I think."

"Don't they need eight to make a starship work anyway?"

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by TGLS

"I only saw the three screamers, but I disabled the lot of them, I think."

"Don't they need eight to make a starship work anyway?"

Tatim: "They need a starship to make a starship work."


Tatim: "They got you awake, right? they might have the screamers awake now too."


Soldier: "we don't see a screamer being openly carried though."


Tatim: "We don't know what all of the enemy looks like, and they could be concealing it until the very end."


"Lets get me and the Kid in uniform. We can make use of this same advantage."

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Tatim: "They got you awake, right? they might have the screamers awake now too."

"Yeah, but like Screamers are fish. Would the same medicine to wake them up even work? Surely they just used something off the shelf to make me recover faster."

Originally Posted by ericthered

Soldier: "we don't see a screamer being openly carried though."

Tatim: "We don't know what all of the enemy looks like, and they could be concealing it until the very end."

Well, I suppose Royal might have people I don't know about working for her...

Originally Posted by ericthered

"Lets get me and the Kid in uniform. We can make use of this same advantage."

"Is that really an advantage? 'A kid in uniform' is still 'a kid'."

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by TGLS

"Yeah, but like Screamers are fish. Would the same medicine to wake them up even work? Surely they just used something off the shelf to make me recover faster."

Tatim: "I don't know, you called the woman a mad scientist."


Concordance Soldier: "How long ago did you know them out? The effects only last for about 20 minutes. The screamers are functional again."

"Is that really an advantage? 'A kid in uniform' is still 'a kid'."

Tatim: "might make them work harder. We can get some concordance personnel with smaller frames to run interference. At least one more, surely"


If Julian does not object, they'll make a detour to put him in a uniform and rendevous with the smallest concordance personel they can find.



Then its back to hunting down the signals.