Re: The Battle Majestic (Round 3 - Oxbow Inc.)
10-04-2010, 11:24 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by Not The Author.
The roundabout method by which the contestants were shipped to their new starting points gave Jacob a great deal of time to think.
Due to the nature of his work and magical specialization, Jacob had spent some time learning about how the universe and time travel worked. There were several theories – branching models, singular overwrites, parallel streams – but most of the more plausible variants relied upon the existence of multiple universes. In theory, an infinite number of universes existed in which all things that could happen did happen, and that Jacob’s home universe was not a singular timeline but something more akin to a mesh of streams. The specifics didn’t matter, though, as an infinite number of universes meant there were infinite opportunities for an underwater city such as this to develop, an infinite number of Jacobs running around killing things or possibly not.
Thus, while there didn’t need to be an infinite number of them, more in the vein of S and Talis was not nearly far-fetched enough for his liking, even without their confirmation. Much as he didn’t want to admit it, though, their only discernible lies to date had been via omission. He had the time to wonder what the most likely number of pseudogods was. Probably somewhere between infinity and eight.
Of course, there wasn’t really much he could do about that, so he didn’t worry about it. One of the things he’d learned over his career was that worrying about immutable facts only distracted from current objectives. On the other hand, there wasn’t much to do but worry at the moment, so he might as well plan ahead.
He’d killed John. Well, he hadn’t really killed John, but if anyone had seen them together prior to the eruption, that would be the assumption. So he’d have to diffuse that misconception quickly should it arise. John had gotten himself killed by being rash. True enough to pass for truth.
Sen was in hydroponics. No, Sen was going to be in hydroponics. This was for the amusement of a higher power; zany antics couldn’t be appreciated if they ended too quickly. He’d hole up there, set up an ambush if he could, and wait for Sen to come to him. Of course, the lizard might plant a Tree elsewhere, but he couldn’t really do anything about that besides keep his eyes peeled.
And then there was Iris. He’d not exactly met Wolf, but this being an entirely different individual it didn’t really matter. All it meant was that, were she to end up hostile, she’d be that much more difficult to kill than a wild animal. The “summoning” thing was concerning, but he’d deal with that later.
The containment bubble vanished, and the sound of rushing water filled Jacob's ears.
__________
The Problem was simple.
The Problem was not that there was pressure buildup at Junction Delta on Deck 4, though that was why he was there. The Problem was not that the entire hydropower facility was shoddily built, though this was why he was employed there. The Problem was not even that nobody had had any idea about how to properly build things designed for underwater living, or that no one had since bothered to permanently fix them, which was why he had so much work. These were not The Problem because these he could deal with. He was good at his job; the work it entailed was rewarding; and he liked the place of his employment.
“Hey, uh…”
No, The Problem was that everyone was idiots.
“Workin’.”
He didn’t even bother looking up from the tangled mess of pipes. Heng was a busy Rhone, and there would undoubtedly be more problems halfway across the facility before he’d finished here. A mechanic’s work was never done, after all. But nobody seemed to get that. They were always hounding him with inconsequential details when a pressure build-up like this could breach the dome if left unchecked!
“I just-“
“Sai’ ‘m workin’!”
“Look, the sooner you help me, the sooner I’ll get off your case. You don’t even have to get up.”
The mechanic stroked his trunk with a free hand. He supposed it couldn’t hurt, and anyway, he didn’t necessarily have to help well to get this guy to leave.
“Spi’ i’ ou’, ‘en.”
“Yeah, see, they told me to go to hydro… something. But they mentioned plants, and this place doesn’t look like it has plants…”
“Ah, yeh, thi’s ‘ydropower. Yer s’posed t’ be ‘n ‘ydroponi’s.”
“Yeah, that sounds right. …Sort of. So, which way is…?”
“What’ch do ‘s… See th’ cable u’ there?”
“…There are a lot of cables up there.”
Heng rolled his eyes and looked at his guest for the first time since they’d started talking. He’d intended the look to display exactly how little he cared for the interruption, but it sort of ended up as a bewildered stare. Not that you could tell behind the goggles.
“Which one?”
“…Th-tha‘ ‘n. Jus’… follo’ i’ ‘ntil y’ get t’ th’ plaz’n ta’e a lef’.“
“Uh.”
“Then y’ kee’ on ‘ntil y’ ge’ t’ th’ fact’ry ‘n go u’ three de’s.”
“…Right.”
“’En jus’ follo’ th’ yello’ catwa’k ‘ntil y’ get t’ th’ sign an’ yer there.”
“I'm... just... going to find a map somewhere. Thanks for the... help, anyway.”
“N-no probl'm.”
Heng watched the man casually stroll down the catwalk, fancy shoes clicking against the worn metal. He only managed to tear his eyes away when his pager started beeping. Fumbling the device from his pouch, he flicked the alarm off and read the waiting message.
[Deck 6, turbine array 3. Need replacement blades in turbines F and H.]
More work, of course. Some days he wondered how the dome managed to stay up. The mechanic glanced up from the alert to the filter before him. He was nearly finished, just had to reroute a couple of bypassed pipes back into the main apparatus and everything would be good until it broke again.
And yet...
Heng turned once more towards the sound of receding footfalls. Then he was on his feet, sprinting for the nearest service phone.
For once, work could wait.
The roundabout method by which the contestants were shipped to their new starting points gave Jacob a great deal of time to think.
Due to the nature of his work and magical specialization, Jacob had spent some time learning about how the universe and time travel worked. There were several theories – branching models, singular overwrites, parallel streams – but most of the more plausible variants relied upon the existence of multiple universes. In theory, an infinite number of universes existed in which all things that could happen did happen, and that Jacob’s home universe was not a singular timeline but something more akin to a mesh of streams. The specifics didn’t matter, though, as an infinite number of universes meant there were infinite opportunities for an underwater city such as this to develop, an infinite number of Jacobs running around killing things or possibly not.
Thus, while there didn’t need to be an infinite number of them, more in the vein of S and Talis was not nearly far-fetched enough for his liking, even without their confirmation. Much as he didn’t want to admit it, though, their only discernible lies to date had been via omission. He had the time to wonder what the most likely number of pseudogods was. Probably somewhere between infinity and eight.
Of course, there wasn’t really much he could do about that, so he didn’t worry about it. One of the things he’d learned over his career was that worrying about immutable facts only distracted from current objectives. On the other hand, there wasn’t much to do but worry at the moment, so he might as well plan ahead.
He’d killed John. Well, he hadn’t really killed John, but if anyone had seen them together prior to the eruption, that would be the assumption. So he’d have to diffuse that misconception quickly should it arise. John had gotten himself killed by being rash. True enough to pass for truth.
Sen was in hydroponics. No, Sen was going to be in hydroponics. This was for the amusement of a higher power; zany antics couldn’t be appreciated if they ended too quickly. He’d hole up there, set up an ambush if he could, and wait for Sen to come to him. Of course, the lizard might plant a Tree elsewhere, but he couldn’t really do anything about that besides keep his eyes peeled.
And then there was Iris. He’d not exactly met Wolf, but this being an entirely different individual it didn’t really matter. All it meant was that, were she to end up hostile, she’d be that much more difficult to kill than a wild animal. The “summoning” thing was concerning, but he’d deal with that later.
The containment bubble vanished, and the sound of rushing water filled Jacob's ears.
__________
The Problem was simple.
The Problem was not that there was pressure buildup at Junction Delta on Deck 4, though that was why he was there. The Problem was not that the entire hydropower facility was shoddily built, though this was why he was employed there. The Problem was not even that nobody had had any idea about how to properly build things designed for underwater living, or that no one had since bothered to permanently fix them, which was why he had so much work. These were not The Problem because these he could deal with. He was good at his job; the work it entailed was rewarding; and he liked the place of his employment.
“Hey, uh…”
No, The Problem was that everyone was idiots.
“Workin’.”
He didn’t even bother looking up from the tangled mess of pipes. Heng was a busy Rhone, and there would undoubtedly be more problems halfway across the facility before he’d finished here. A mechanic’s work was never done, after all. But nobody seemed to get that. They were always hounding him with inconsequential details when a pressure build-up like this could breach the dome if left unchecked!
“I just-“
“Sai’ ‘m workin’!”
“Look, the sooner you help me, the sooner I’ll get off your case. You don’t even have to get up.”
The mechanic stroked his trunk with a free hand. He supposed it couldn’t hurt, and anyway, he didn’t necessarily have to help well to get this guy to leave.
“Spi’ i’ ou’, ‘en.”
“Yeah, see, they told me to go to hydro… something. But they mentioned plants, and this place doesn’t look like it has plants…”
“Ah, yeh, thi’s ‘ydropower. Yer s’posed t’ be ‘n ‘ydroponi’s.”
“Yeah, that sounds right. …Sort of. So, which way is…?”
“What’ch do ‘s… See th’ cable u’ there?”
“…There are a lot of cables up there.”
Heng rolled his eyes and looked at his guest for the first time since they’d started talking. He’d intended the look to display exactly how little he cared for the interruption, but it sort of ended up as a bewildered stare. Not that you could tell behind the goggles.
“Which one?”
“…Th-tha‘ ‘n. Jus’… follo’ i’ ‘ntil y’ get t’ th’ plaz’n ta’e a lef’.“
“Uh.”
“Then y’ kee’ on ‘ntil y’ ge’ t’ th’ fact’ry ‘n go u’ three de’s.”
“…Right.”
“’En jus’ follo’ th’ yello’ catwa’k ‘ntil y’ get t’ th’ sign an’ yer there.”
“I'm... just... going to find a map somewhere. Thanks for the... help, anyway.”
“N-no probl'm.”
Heng watched the man casually stroll down the catwalk, fancy shoes clicking against the worn metal. He only managed to tear his eyes away when his pager started beeping. Fumbling the device from his pouch, he flicked the alarm off and read the waiting message.
[Deck 6, turbine array 3. Need replacement blades in turbines F and H.]
More work, of course. Some days he wondered how the dome managed to stay up. The mechanic glanced up from the alert to the filter before him. He was nearly finished, just had to reroute a couple of bypassed pipes back into the main apparatus and everything would be good until it broke again.
And yet...
Heng turned once more towards the sound of receding footfalls. Then he was on his feet, sprinting for the nearest service phone.
For once, work could wait.