Re: The Spectacular Exhibition (S3G2) [Round 1: Parallels/Perpendicularities]
01-28-2011, 03:59 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Mirdini.
Tria had not been in the most lucid state of mind when she was plucked out of her reality and roughly slipped into the Counsellor’s pocket of the multiverse. What had started as an evening of gently drifting into oblivion in front of her – well, the damn company’s – holoscreen rapidly escalated to something she could only rationalize as a dream. Yet the situation she found herself in didn’t resemble her usual nightmares – there was no mechanical horror tearing towards her, for one. Her perception of the room was also… clear? The cloud of confusion and terror she associated with sleep was missing, but so was most of the comforting haze that she spent her waking hours in, replaced by a slight tinge of nausea. Glancing throughout the room she saw a variety of strange - people? Things? - none of which were moving.
Tria tried twisting her head to see the rest of the opulent lounge, the realization that this was impossible hitting her like a speeding train.
I can’t move my head. I can’t move. I can’t moveIcan’tmovecan’tmovecan’tmove. The world shrunk her heart was bursting she couldn’t breathe can’tgetawaycan’tgetaway.
The only outside indication of Tria’s distress were her eyes, dilated and darting in random directions.
By the time the Counsellor entered the chamber a few minutes later Tria’s panic had subsided, though whether this was the result of the remaining drugs in her bloodstream or her own psyche realizing that there was no immediate threat to be found was debatable. One thing was certain, this wasn’t any sort of dream – she would have died by now if that were the case. That still left the puzzle of why her senses seemed so much sharper than usual. Being brought here must have reduced the dosage running through her veins, Tria thought. That would also explain the persistent nausea she was feeling.
Tria listened to the Counsellor’s speech with growing unease as she informed her “contestants” that they were now engaged in a fight to the death and proceeded to clinically list the attributes and defects of each being that had apparently been caught in the same situation as Tria. In fact, as the Counsellor continued Tria was reminded of Liren – this… woman seemingly had the same fixation with fixing problems, though she seemed focused on problems of the mind rather than Liren’s obsession with improving physical "defects".
Whatever she wants I’m not going to be part of ANOTHER experiment! Not after the years I spent working for that madman. Tria thought, glaring in the direction of the Counsellor moments before she was once again blinked out and back into existence.
Whether by design or accident, Tria unfortunately found herself suspended at least 4 meters above what her memory strained to recognize as "sand", something she had only seen once before on a tour of a glass production facility. Hitting the ground with a pronounced crunch Tria was relieved to find that the implant's sturdy construction had absorbed most of the blow.
As she gingerly picked herself up Tria examined her surroundings. She had never seen a desert before - company schools only instructed what was considered relevant to a future employee's work, and as Yilia was completely covered in industrial sprawl basic geography had not factored into that education.
Where're all the buildings? What's with those weird green poles? Tria glanced into the sky and immediately regretted the action, shielding her eyes from the glare of an angry desert sun.
There's... there's no clouds in the sky? Where AM I? Tria began to sweat. The heat of the desert was like nothing she had never experienced, and if she didn't find shelter soon...
Oh man am I thirsty. Scouting around she could see the shape of what seemed to her to be a long, spiky cluster of buildings on the horizon.
Maybe I can find some shade under there. Tria thought and set off in that direction, making it almost halfway to the mountains when she was startled by the din of what was unmistakably machinery erupting from a sand dune between her and her destination.
Tria had not been in the most lucid state of mind when she was plucked out of her reality and roughly slipped into the Counsellor’s pocket of the multiverse. What had started as an evening of gently drifting into oblivion in front of her – well, the damn company’s – holoscreen rapidly escalated to something she could only rationalize as a dream. Yet the situation she found herself in didn’t resemble her usual nightmares – there was no mechanical horror tearing towards her, for one. Her perception of the room was also… clear? The cloud of confusion and terror she associated with sleep was missing, but so was most of the comforting haze that she spent her waking hours in, replaced by a slight tinge of nausea. Glancing throughout the room she saw a variety of strange - people? Things? - none of which were moving.
Tria tried twisting her head to see the rest of the opulent lounge, the realization that this was impossible hitting her like a speeding train.
I can’t move my head. I can’t move. I can’t moveIcan’tmovecan’tmovecan’tmove. The world shrunk her heart was bursting she couldn’t breathe can’tgetawaycan’tgetaway.
The only outside indication of Tria’s distress were her eyes, dilated and darting in random directions.
By the time the Counsellor entered the chamber a few minutes later Tria’s panic had subsided, though whether this was the result of the remaining drugs in her bloodstream or her own psyche realizing that there was no immediate threat to be found was debatable. One thing was certain, this wasn’t any sort of dream – she would have died by now if that were the case. That still left the puzzle of why her senses seemed so much sharper than usual. Being brought here must have reduced the dosage running through her veins, Tria thought. That would also explain the persistent nausea she was feeling.
Tria listened to the Counsellor’s speech with growing unease as she informed her “contestants” that they were now engaged in a fight to the death and proceeded to clinically list the attributes and defects of each being that had apparently been caught in the same situation as Tria. In fact, as the Counsellor continued Tria was reminded of Liren – this… woman seemingly had the same fixation with fixing problems, though she seemed focused on problems of the mind rather than Liren’s obsession with improving physical "defects".
Whatever she wants I’m not going to be part of ANOTHER experiment! Not after the years I spent working for that madman. Tria thought, glaring in the direction of the Counsellor moments before she was once again blinked out and back into existence.
Whether by design or accident, Tria unfortunately found herself suspended at least 4 meters above what her memory strained to recognize as "sand", something she had only seen once before on a tour of a glass production facility. Hitting the ground with a pronounced crunch Tria was relieved to find that the implant's sturdy construction had absorbed most of the blow.
As she gingerly picked herself up Tria examined her surroundings. She had never seen a desert before - company schools only instructed what was considered relevant to a future employee's work, and as Yilia was completely covered in industrial sprawl basic geography had not factored into that education.
Where're all the buildings? What's with those weird green poles? Tria glanced into the sky and immediately regretted the action, shielding her eyes from the glare of an angry desert sun.
There's... there's no clouds in the sky? Where AM I? Tria began to sweat. The heat of the desert was like nothing she had never experienced, and if she didn't find shelter soon...
Oh man am I thirsty. Scouting around she could see the shape of what seemed to her to be a long, spiky cluster of buildings on the horizon.
Maybe I can find some shade under there. Tria thought and set off in that direction, making it almost halfway to the mountains when she was startled by the din of what was unmistakably machinery erupting from a sand dune between her and her destination.