Re: THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN CANCELED [S!1][ROUND TWO: ETA CARINA]
05-01-2012, 03:50 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Sanzh.
Following the revelation that their newest patient was, in fact, conscious, the medical staff of Eta Carina's medical substation immediately threw themselves into a hectic pace. Hospital workers swarmed into the room she occupied, attending to whatever whims she had. At the behest of her cawing mechanical voice, the sedatives flooding her were quickly flushed out, allowing the avian to once again move.
Pushing away the orderlies that hovered around her, Kriok stood. She looked down, examining herself. The thick rolls of bandages wrapped around her torso and one of her legs immediately caught her eye. The injuries and mechanical damage had been fully healed and repaired, as far as she could discern. This reminder of her past misfortunes seemed extraneous-- as though the doctors supposedly responsible for her wished to draw attention to the prior attack.
Suspicions already heightened by the attempt on her life, the incongruous hospitality of the orderlies and the inattentive geniality of the doctors-- Kriok didn't like it here. Even as the doctors assured her the recent incident was abnormal, and that in a place such as this she had no reason to worry, the avian fretted. Her cold denial of their assuagement was quietly ignored.
As soon as she could, she left the clinic. The doctors insisting she remained convalescent were pointedly ignored. Kriok did not intend to become intimately acquainted with this place-- she had no intention of a lengthy visit to the clinic, nor the resort itself. Having marched through sanitized corridors, she passed through the hospital's exit-- and found herself engulfed in the main avenue of Eta Carina.
Countless spires stretched upward, reaching out to snatch and bottle the nebula above. The architectural edifices of a hundred universes walled the thoroughfare, displaying utter disregard for anything resembling a consistent aesthetic. The promenade stretched outwards in either direction, extending to display countless universes worth of collected wonders. Fighting to attract others amid the kaleidoscope of blinding color, neon lights promised the attractions and wealth of exotic worlds. Along the street, the denizens of Eta Carina drunkenly stumbled from one attraction to another. Vehicles flitted and danced in the air between buildings, forming long, winding processions. Further away, titanic vessels of numerous makes and designs sailed through the artificial atmosphere.
The concentrated spectacle was nauseating. Circuit-nerves simulated revulsion, desperately attempting to produce a facsimile of genuine disgust.
It reminded her all too much of the core of her civilization, the mechanical planets she had fled for the periphery. Suddenly being returned to chaos akin to the automated cities, after so long on the borderlands, was impossible to stand. The avian wished her robotic eyes would stop their incessant scanning and analysis and processing-- every sign, every inhabitant, every false wonder this world offered to her, all pried apart and filtered. The avian looked down, averting her eyes to regain some measure of composure.
She wanted to leave. The silent plotting of regulatory minutiae, the calculation background processes-- Kriok could barely hear these thoughts. The solitude of home was preferable to the thoughtless sensory overload of Eta Carina-- even if it meant coping with her now-dead species.
A subroutine reminded her that she still had yet to escape. Her mechanical sensors began again to investigate-- a withdrawal from this gilded, riotous prison had to be somewhere in the labyrinthine complex. In hopes of finding an exit, Kriok examined a few of the signs. A scant few directed visitors towards cross-universe transit hubs, and despite their obfuscated presence Kriok noted their directions. Veering towards the closest prospect, the bandaged avian walked.
Shuffling past the throngs populating Eta Carina's boulevard, she entered the terminal. Smooth marble worn from the march of countless visitors, elegant pillars supporting the immense burdens of above, lofty and expansive ceilings-- Kriok had entered another world, separate from Eta Carina's vivacious clamor. Distant signs noted exotic destinations, occasionally adjusting with shifts in schedule. The opulence of outside remained tangible, but subdued and masked-- it allowed Kriok to focus, to remind herself that she remained adamant about escaping. She pressed forward into the concourse, carefully navigating the dispersed congregations.
"May I have your attention, please."
The pleasant, faintly-automated announcement echoed through the platform. The concourse paused, waiting in jaded attention. Kriok paused.
"We regret to inform you that, as a result of Interstice sub-entanglement failure, all cross-universal transit has been deemed unsafe. As such, all dimensional crossings have been cancelled. We apologize for this delay, and wish that you enjoy your stay in Eta Carina."
With the message's conclusion, the signs far above changed to indicate new conditions. The travelers quickly dispersed, emptying the plaza. Kriok remained, dumbfounded at what transpired. Escape had been imminent-- and just when freedom was close, her opportunity had been stolen. A taloned foot loudly scraped across the marble floor as the avian cawed in frustration, a gesture ignored by the veteran visitors. Processes bitterly churned in response to the change in circumstances. Slowly concluding the new cycle of thoughts, the avian decided to lay low until the anomaly resolved itself-- she saw no other option. The outright confirmation of Eta Carina's dangers, the equal measures of violence and incompetence among her fellow contestants-- any other choice was suicidal.
With no reason to remain, the avian joined the wave of departing travelers. Once again on the main strip, Kriok searched the flood of competing lights. The attractions of a hundred dimensions beckoned, all of them ignored-- visiting any of them would draw undue attention, if not from the contestants then from Eta Carina's already-entrenched dangers. A single sign advertised a squat building-- small only in that it did not grasp distant stars. Seeing it as the most convenient bolt-hole she would receive, Kriok advanced towards it.
And then she entered The Traveler's Rest.
Following the revelation that their newest patient was, in fact, conscious, the medical staff of Eta Carina's medical substation immediately threw themselves into a hectic pace. Hospital workers swarmed into the room she occupied, attending to whatever whims she had. At the behest of her cawing mechanical voice, the sedatives flooding her were quickly flushed out, allowing the avian to once again move.
Pushing away the orderlies that hovered around her, Kriok stood. She looked down, examining herself. The thick rolls of bandages wrapped around her torso and one of her legs immediately caught her eye. The injuries and mechanical damage had been fully healed and repaired, as far as she could discern. This reminder of her past misfortunes seemed extraneous-- as though the doctors supposedly responsible for her wished to draw attention to the prior attack.
Suspicions already heightened by the attempt on her life, the incongruous hospitality of the orderlies and the inattentive geniality of the doctors-- Kriok didn't like it here. Even as the doctors assured her the recent incident was abnormal, and that in a place such as this she had no reason to worry, the avian fretted. Her cold denial of their assuagement was quietly ignored.
As soon as she could, she left the clinic. The doctors insisting she remained convalescent were pointedly ignored. Kriok did not intend to become intimately acquainted with this place-- she had no intention of a lengthy visit to the clinic, nor the resort itself. Having marched through sanitized corridors, she passed through the hospital's exit-- and found herself engulfed in the main avenue of Eta Carina.
Countless spires stretched upward, reaching out to snatch and bottle the nebula above. The architectural edifices of a hundred universes walled the thoroughfare, displaying utter disregard for anything resembling a consistent aesthetic. The promenade stretched outwards in either direction, extending to display countless universes worth of collected wonders. Fighting to attract others amid the kaleidoscope of blinding color, neon lights promised the attractions and wealth of exotic worlds. Along the street, the denizens of Eta Carina drunkenly stumbled from one attraction to another. Vehicles flitted and danced in the air between buildings, forming long, winding processions. Further away, titanic vessels of numerous makes and designs sailed through the artificial atmosphere.
The concentrated spectacle was nauseating. Circuit-nerves simulated revulsion, desperately attempting to produce a facsimile of genuine disgust.
It reminded her all too much of the core of her civilization, the mechanical planets she had fled for the periphery. Suddenly being returned to chaos akin to the automated cities, after so long on the borderlands, was impossible to stand. The avian wished her robotic eyes would stop their incessant scanning and analysis and processing-- every sign, every inhabitant, every false wonder this world offered to her, all pried apart and filtered. The avian looked down, averting her eyes to regain some measure of composure.
She wanted to leave. The silent plotting of regulatory minutiae, the calculation background processes-- Kriok could barely hear these thoughts. The solitude of home was preferable to the thoughtless sensory overload of Eta Carina-- even if it meant coping with her now-dead species.
A subroutine reminded her that she still had yet to escape. Her mechanical sensors began again to investigate-- a withdrawal from this gilded, riotous prison had to be somewhere in the labyrinthine complex. In hopes of finding an exit, Kriok examined a few of the signs. A scant few directed visitors towards cross-universe transit hubs, and despite their obfuscated presence Kriok noted their directions. Veering towards the closest prospect, the bandaged avian walked.
Shuffling past the throngs populating Eta Carina's boulevard, she entered the terminal. Smooth marble worn from the march of countless visitors, elegant pillars supporting the immense burdens of above, lofty and expansive ceilings-- Kriok had entered another world, separate from Eta Carina's vivacious clamor. Distant signs noted exotic destinations, occasionally adjusting with shifts in schedule. The opulence of outside remained tangible, but subdued and masked-- it allowed Kriok to focus, to remind herself that she remained adamant about escaping. She pressed forward into the concourse, carefully navigating the dispersed congregations.
"May I have your attention, please."
The pleasant, faintly-automated announcement echoed through the platform. The concourse paused, waiting in jaded attention. Kriok paused.
"We regret to inform you that, as a result of Interstice sub-entanglement failure, all cross-universal transit has been deemed unsafe. As such, all dimensional crossings have been cancelled. We apologize for this delay, and wish that you enjoy your stay in Eta Carina."
With the message's conclusion, the signs far above changed to indicate new conditions. The travelers quickly dispersed, emptying the plaza. Kriok remained, dumbfounded at what transpired. Escape had been imminent-- and just when freedom was close, her opportunity had been stolen. A taloned foot loudly scraped across the marble floor as the avian cawed in frustration, a gesture ignored by the veteran visitors. Processes bitterly churned in response to the change in circumstances. Slowly concluding the new cycle of thoughts, the avian decided to lay low until the anomaly resolved itself-- she saw no other option. The outright confirmation of Eta Carina's dangers, the equal measures of violence and incompetence among her fellow contestants-- any other choice was suicidal.
With no reason to remain, the avian joined the wave of departing travelers. Once again on the main strip, Kriok searched the flood of competing lights. The attractions of a hundred dimensions beckoned, all of them ignored-- visiting any of them would draw undue attention, if not from the contestants then from Eta Carina's already-entrenched dangers. A single sign advertised a squat building-- small only in that it did not grasp distant stars. Seeing it as the most convenient bolt-hole she would receive, Kriok advanced towards it.
And then she entered The Traveler's Rest.