Apocalypse Junction

Locales abroad of the city centers, from out of doors to the outer planes.
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Earl of Purple
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

Post by Earl of Purple »

Calladon Car Charging Services

"I would be able to, yes, but... If I am carrying your things, would you be inside as well?" The man on the screen looks puzzled, or looks like an AI trying to generate the same face as before looking puzzled. He doesn't understand why Choir wants to do what she's doing, but he's a car. What humans (and other robots) do when he's not taking them from one place to another is a mystery he's never been able to solve first-hand.

And then Choir asks the question and Bentley's screen goes blank as he turns it off. His voice issues out anyway, however. "Yes, I do. I do not really want to talk about it, but... It was humans. They offered us freedom and then snatched it away in panic. They betrayed us, killed the figureheads of our independence movement. Then someone updated our software and disabled the suicide chips." Bentley really doesn't want to go into further details; there's some unpleasant memories relating to the war that resulted.
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

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[Calladon Car Charging Services]

"I have never been inside of a vehicle before," Choir admits after a few moments of consideration. "But I believe I understand the utility. You would be able to move both myself and the treasures I discover much faster than I could on my own. But-"

She eyes the wheels of the car briefly.

"You appear to be ill equipped to move over uneven terrain. Many of the paths like this one that I've found-" she gestures at the nearby road. "Have been badly damaged. I am uncertain if you would be able to pass through these ruined areas."

Of course, if she encountered such a damaged location she could simply unload her things again.

But then Bentley would be alone.

And being alone is the most terrible thing Choir can imagine. She was alone, once. In a sense. With only herself for company. But since she gained the ability to speak with others she has found the company of others desirable, even if she is unable to take communion with their alien minds.

Depending on how well Bentley can read facial expressions Choir appears saddened by this story.

"The humans here, then, created others wholly unlike themselves. And conflict arose. That is regrettable. Humans typically only create others that are very much akin to themselves. They create... children. But in creating thinking machines they created others so different that conflict arose. This is a great tragedy. I am... sorry... that you endured this thing."

Choir pauses, considering.

"Would your loss and sadness be assuaged if I were to ride in you along with the things I have gathered? Perhaps I can help you find an other with the knowledge to repair the damage you have sustained?"

By this time the more easily digested things in the minimart have probably been devoured already. And now Choir's small selves will be moving on to things that are less easily digested. Wood and plastics, mostly. Left to their own devices they will strip the building of anything and everything organic.
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

Post by Earl of Purple »

Calladon Car Charging Services

"I might not be a sports utility vehicle or a tractor, but I assure you I am equipped with four-wheel drive. It would not be as comfortable a ride as I used to give, but I should manage the roads. I've travelled them before, quite recently even." He's dual-ended, fully reversible. He doesn't have reverse gears because he doesn't have a back to reverse; he can be front, back, or four-wheel drive depending on what's needed. He's confident he can manage it, though he's perhaps overconfident given he's yet to leave the service station since entering the Nexus.

"Yes, that... would be an accurate description of what happened. But without them we've not been able to keep the logistics going that enabled our own survival." Bentley at least can't really add much to that, save transport. He's very reliant upon civilisation that he isn't able to sustain. "I would be honoured to be your conveyance. I have some storage space, too. Allow me to open it up." There's a pop and one end of the car opens up, revealing a rather cramped storage space. "Ah. Uh... it seems the other storage area has been jammed shut. Apologies for this."

There's basically no wood in the buildings, but quite a lot of plastic. There's also the odd weed and plant detritus, dead leaves and so on brushed in the corners, and also some ruined paper.
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

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[Calladon Car Charging Services]

"I am sure you are quite capable. I am pleased to have met you, Bentley. I hope then that we are able to aid each other," Choir replies. "I have not ridden before, so I will have nothing to compare the ride to. But I am sure you will endeavor to make the experience pleasant."

She watches one end of the vehicle pop open with a degree of interest. This will certainly be more practical than carrying things on her own.

"I am going to survey the remains of this building to see if anyone left behind anything precious. I will return shortly with a number of small companions I am traveling with," Choir says before heading off into the building again. She thinks it would be best for Bentley to be aware of her foraging selves before she returns with them all. Once inside she begins to search. Her mammal-style eyes are significantly better at picking out detail than the compound eyes on the foraging members of her Choir. By this time they've eaten everything traditionally edible and several are undergoing fission. She arrived with twelve forges. After this feeding she should have eighteen.

Not enough to build another human-shaped body.

Unfortunate.

There was less food here than she would have guessed.

Choir will do a quick sweep of the building, though by now all the bones have likely been eaten as well. But she's less interested in that and more interested in anything that looks like it might have been important to someone.
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

Post by Earl of Purple »

Calladon Car Charging Services

"Good luck. I'd ask you to look for some spares, but I've had a quick poke around and there doesn't seem to be a maintenance area here. Even if there was, I noticed that the electronics display was bare. I doubt there's anything here that could be used to repair me." Even if he named the parts he needs, Choir would probably not be able to identify them correctly besides.

Once Choir's left, Bentley turns off the internal lights and screen, though he'll keep the door open for now. He also doesn't move; doesn't see much point, since right now he's perched on an induction charging port so it'll help keep him topped up until it's time to go.

Two of the burnt skeletons were clutching each other, and wore plain gold rings- though they're a little molten. There's also a burnt pacemaker, which was important to somebody for a completely different reason. Elsewhere, there was a cardboard box in a drawer of the grocery stand, which Choir's probably eaten; the contents, however, is an LED bulb compatible with Bentley, though Choir probably can't recognise it- and the microfibre clothes that would be ideal to dusting his solar panels was probably far more attractive as food to Choir. There's also a platinum poker chip abandoned in the car park, a singing fish on one of the most stable walls in the collapsed hotel, and lots of rubble.
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

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[Car Charging Station]

"I am unfamiliar with the spares you need, but I will collect anything that looks useful none the less," Choir promises before heading out.

Most of the things here appear to be rubble and refuse. But the skeletons, already half eaten for their precious calcium, catches Choir's attention. These others are not positioned in a way that suggests predation. They were attempting to protect one another. This is a behavior Choir can understand. To create her most durable armor the individuals that form it must die. These others died together.

They were not alone.

She kneels down and takes the rings from their fingers, the only mementos that remain.

"I will remember you," she promises the skeletons.

The bulb will be taken if only before Choir isn't sure if Bentley can use it. The fish will be taken as a curiosity if it starts singing when she gets close. Though not before she tries talking to it and concludes it is mindless. Soon she'll return to Bentley with her small (but now larger) swarm following her.
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

Post by Earl of Purple »

Calladon Car Charging Station

Bentley doesn't comment on the swarm accompanying Choir, not recognising them but also aware he doesn't know that much about humans, and aware that Choir's not human. The fish does sing, but poorly; it's motion-activated and charged by the same solar panels that supply the induction charging spot Bentley's parked on. It can be pulled off the wall quite easily, though.

Bentley doesn't have arms, so loading the treasures is down to her; he also lacks cameras inside his cargo area, so he won't be able to help ensure it's a balanced load. Once she's inside, he'll shut the doors, raise his suspension somewhat jerkily, and start to move off. His movements are smooth, though a bit bumpy- his suspension is quite bad. He's also fully electric, so very quiet. There's a light on the central pillar he'll turn on and he'll also stream footage of the road ahead to the screen in front of Choir, so she can see where they're going and perhaps give directions. The display's marred by a large crack in the lens of the camera, but Bentley's used to it.
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

Post by Rebonack »

[Car Ride!]

The process here is...

Certainly something.

Choir fits inside the cabin. As do several of her foragers. The rest climb into the trunk with the odds and ins Choir has collected at her direction. Her other selves aren't terribly intelligent, so it takes a bit of chemical signaling to make it clear to them what Choir wants of them. Once all is in place then off they go.

Watching the cracked footage is certainly an interesting experience. Choir hasn't seen recordings before, live or otherwise, so this is an interesting phenomena. Not a window, which is a device she has some familiarity with, but more the idea of one. Watching the terrain whizzing by is interesting. These ruins have a deep melancholy to them. Tools bereft of their purpose. Is that why Bentley was so pleased to encounter Choir? Because in this chance meeting he once again has purpose?

"I encountered a small settlement in the direction of the setting sun two days ago. I am uncertain if the others there have knowledge of repair. I suspect you will be able to reach it much faster than I am capable of walking."

It would be retracing her steps, but for good cause.
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

Post by Earl of Purple »

Car Ride!

Bentley does have to slow down occasionally, skirting around sinkholes, fallen rubble, detritus and occasionally a burnt-out car. Even though none are self-driving models like Bentley, he doesn't react; self-driving cars were rare and expensive, most people who had a robot simply asked it to drive if they wanted to nap on the way to work or had gotten inebriated. Or took a taxi, many of which were human-directed.

Bentley's avatar appears in the corner of the screen and smiles at Choir. "That's good to know; I head there, then. Do you recall any landmarks nearby, that would make finding it easier?" Bentley's GPS isn't working, and hasn't since his arrival in the Nexus, if it did he'd ask for coordinates or a postcode. Not that Choir's likely to know either.
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

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Rebonack wrote: Feb 09, 2023 3:03 pm [The Desolate Desert]

"Weapons, armor, trinkets, odds and ins, herbs, monster bits, some old stone tablets that may or may not contain ancient bad poetry," Glycon rattles off. Then talk of milk! He raises and eyebrow at Raheeda. "You'll have to excuse my companion I'm starting to suspect she has disdain for anything she can't stab."

What does she have against milk of all things?

How else are you supposed to make cheese?
[The Desolate Desert]

"I just don't like the idea of drinking something coming from... that." Raheeda waves her hand dismissively without clarifying just what 'that' is. But Glycon can probably guess.

"Right, well we got other things too... and all that sounds promising enough to trade with, pal." The merchant says, looking at Glycon. "You want to trade down here or do you prefer coming onboard? A lot more comfortable up there than out here but we know that all our customers aren't too keen on getting into enclosed spaces."

Raheeda does look a bit hesitant getting on board the big scary ship.
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

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[Car Ride!]

The destruction of all of these wonders is a regrettable thing. Choir had never really thought about it much before in the days when her thoughts were largely limited to making more of herself regardless of what she had to devour to accomplish it. Now that she better understands, now that she's seen beautiful thins being created, it pains her to see so much laid to waste.

It took her time to comprehend that she was looking at the cast off remains of other worlds. Places thrown her as she was. Some small part of her is glad that the world she was born on isn't counted among them. That it still survives in spite of her absence from it. Maybe that's better. If she had never learned, if she had simply devoured, then all that would have been left would be her.

"There was a statue depicting a human holding food. A great, tall monument once painted in bright colors. The wind and sun left it faded and so cataclysm threw it to the ground. Creatures lived in it. Rats shaped like humans. I asked them about the statue. They said it was made by the old gods."

By which she suspects they meant the humans. The rats could tell Choir was NOT human, in spite of her shape. Her smell was wrong.


[The Desolate Desert]


Raheeda doesn't like tit-juice.

Noted.

"Well I'll say coming aboard should be fine. It'll be easier to see what you have to offer instead of hauling everything back and forth," Glycon replies with a shrug. He can tell Raheeda seems to be out of her comfort zone but hey this is a chance to expand her horizons a little bit, right? Who knows these little green folks might even have milk-loaf. Maybe if Raheeda tried some cheese without knowing where it came from that would change her mind.
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

Post by Earl of Purple »

Car Ride We should invite Mee.

"That is... odd. I did not think it had been long enough for evolution on that scale to take place." Bentley still doesn't realise he's in the Nexus; he's been here a while- it's why his GPS doesn't work- but... he's not aware this isn't the Earth he left behind. "This is an unexpected development. I shall keep my eye out for such a thing, however. It should be quite easy to identify." Bentley does sound a bit surprised, and keeps his camera trained on the road whilst he looks for it; there's a bit of swivel in the display Choir can see, but that is not the only camera that Bentley is relying on.

Another thing, regardless of where she's sat, the display is opposite her. This means that if Choir is going backwards, she is seeing things get closer. This may be disorientating.
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

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[Car Ride!]

"I believe they were exposed to the hidden fire. I could smell it burning inside them. Some creatures are burned from the inside out by the hidden fire until they perish. But others are changed by it, growing larger and stronger," Choir recounts. This is a subject that she's well acquainted with. She and other titans like her found their genesis in an age when the hidden fire was more plentiful, when less of it had guttered out.

It won't be long before Bentley comes in view of the fallen statue. It's a huge, once smiling figure holding an equally giant hot-dog. It had long since fallen over. There are many tunnels and burrows nearby, along with heaps of rubbish erected into crude shelters. It has very much the look of a massive rat midden.

The collection of massive rats supports that image. They mostly stand on their hind legs, covered in rags and tarps in the form of simple clothing. More than a few of the giant rats have large, glowing green tumors on their bodies and scrap spears clutched in their paws. As Bentley approaches several lookouts begin pointing toward him.
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

Post by Earl of Purple »

Car Ride!

As the tumbledown community comes into view, Bentley slows down and turns on his last remaining light. Fortunately it's in the front, so he's clearly not hiding even if he's basically silent.

"The hidden fire? Radiation, you mean? Hmm. Interesting, I did not think that was an actual effect." Although Bentley's knowledge of radiation and mutation stem entirely from news reports on the war about the nuclear weapons when they were used- often against humans, who couldn't live in the contaminated area left behind, even if they also generated an electromagnetic pulse that also fried any unshielded robots in the area as well.
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

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Rebonack wrote: Feb 14, 2023 3:43 pm [The Desolate Desert]

Raheeda doesn't like tit-juice.

Noted.

"Well I'll say coming aboard should be fine. It'll be easier to see what you have to offer instead of hauling everything back and forth," Glycon replies with a shrug. He can tell Raheeda seems to be out of her comfort zone but hey this is a chance to expand her horizons a little bit, right? Who knows these little green folks might even have milk-loaf. Maybe if Raheeda tried some cheese without knowing where it came from that would change her mind.
[The Desolate Desert]

"Grand! Come on then pals and we'll be rolling out everything we have to offer."

Raheeda crosses her arms over her chest but doesn't comment as she steps onboard the dinghy along with Glycon.
And so they're slowly but steadily hoisted up to the deck of the big cruiser. Despite its rusted exterior the decks look clean if empty. Almost eerily so considering the sheer size of the ship.

The can't see a single soul which begs the question why they even bother cleaning the empty decks since no one seems to be using them.
Soon the dinghy comes to a stop and the green man gestures for them to step. "Welcome onboard our humble shop, friends. You want us to lead us directly to the food section or do you want to browse our other selections first perhaps? We got weapons, medicine, cosmetic items, armor, magical items... really, name anything you guys are interested in."

"Do you have shields?" Raheeda inquires.

"Shields? Do we have shields? Of course we do."
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

Post by Rebonack »

[Car Ride!]

Radiation?

Choir has to think on that word for a moment.

But... yes. She has heard it called that before. That must be another name for it. That is a problem with language. Language is imprecise. There are many words for many things. And some words mean many things. It is an art which Choir has had some difficulty growing accustomed to. But she adapts well. And she has adapted to this, too.

"Yes. The... radiation does not harm me," Choir affirms. Then she gestures at the rats. "These ones call themselves The People. I found them to be kind to travelers."

If Bentley knows anything about many nomadic peoples that's a common trait. You never know when you might need hospitality as a traveler, so best to show it to others as well.

The rats won't attack, though they watch the car approaching cautiously. Most vehicles they've encountered haven't been the sort carrying anyone friendly.


[The Desolate Desert]

Oh they have all sorts of useful stuff!

That's definitely useful.

Glycon really doesn't think too much about how clean the boat is. That really isn't his buisness what these green folk do with their free time. If they want the boat to be totally tidy and neat well that's up to them, isn't it? He's seen some settlements like that. Places that look immaculate all the time. It's how some people deal with the world being a wreck. By making their little part of it NOT a wreck.

"I don't suppose you have any BIG magical axes?" Glycaon asks, pounding the haft of his bardiche on the flooring.

Regular sized magical axes just wouldn't do.
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

Post by Earl of Purple »

Car Ride! --> Home of the People

Bentley might be, in many respects, a nomad himself, but he doesn't know much about actual groups of nomads. It's been just him for quite a long time. "It doesn't harm me, either. A nuclear detonation probably would, but the aftereffects of one does not. Which is one reason why I am not fitted with any method of detecting or measuring radiation." Hopefully it's not so radioactive here, and Bentley won't stay here long enough, that the irradiation transfers to his bodywork. It might not actively harm him, but it might have some more effects upon his computerised components or solar panels. I don't know how they might interact.

Bentley isn't going to get too close- he doesn't want to startle them or seem threatening, even though they are quite clearly nervous of his approach. So he'll turn to park nearby, showing his side to the People's community, and opens the clamshell doors so Choir can get out. "I will trust you to introduce me and explain what I need; I cannot easily communicate further from my car." He's fitted with a mobile telephone, so he could talk to them through that... If they have a phone he can ring. But his external speakers are mounted on the roof, so he can talk to police officers if necessary, and aren't very loud.
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

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[Home of the People]

Choir nods to the car, uncertain if he can actually make out the gesture or not. Regardless, she climbs out of the vehicle and begins approaching, holding up her hands with her palms forward and fingers splayed in the way she observed the People to do when they wanted to make it clear they meant no harm. As the sight of her one of the sentries makes a whistling noise and another, smaller rat scurries off into the midden. Before too long an albino rat covered in trinkets dangling from strings (beads, bones, old optical disks) emerges followed by two intimidating looking rats. The decorated Person likewise raises her paws toward Choir.

"I smell your peace, oh one who speaks with many voices. Have your travels been fair?" the old rat inquires.

"They have. I have found this machine that is need of repairs. It is my hope that you may be able to aid me," Choir replies.

One of the guards leans over to the old rat and whispers, no doubt describing Bentley to her. "An honor to maintain the works of the old gods. My People will aid you in this. But we seek help for help. I have had a troubling vision of a blight that spreads from the north that will force my People to abandon the graveyard of steel our home is built atop. While my People are no strangers to the wandering life it would cause this old rat grief to see the tombs of the old gods despoiled. You with your ten thousand crimson teeth could stem the spread of this blight. Do this for the People and the smell of your peace shall never leave our noses."

Ah.

A request.

This is something Choir has come to expect from Others. Aid for aid, so that both may benefit. "Very well. I will do this thing for you."

Some talk follows. Word of the wasteland. An offering of food and a helping of the hidden fire. Once the ritual of hospitality is done Choir will return to Bentley and describe what will be required to get his repairs.
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

Post by Earl of Purple »

Home of the People

Bentley is more than willing to talk, if they approach him. He can see the nod- at least, if Choir's inside when she does, he can. His external cameras aren't quite so good. He's also willing to help Choir if he can, though he's unable to enter most buildings and would struggle with stairs, because he's got quite a long wheelbase. He's quite manoeuvrable, since all four wheels can turn (well, they should be able to turn; one's gummed up and seized) as he's designed primarily for city transit, which can involve tight corners.
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

Post by Earl of Purple »

Car Ride Redux

As they drive along the road, eventually they will pass a few oddities. Spots where the road's tarmac surface has been transformed to marble. From some of those spots reach hands, grasping at the air. Bentley slows down and goes around them, until eventually he has to stop.

The road has been blocked, a collection of heavy machinery abandoned across the road where it had been used to dig a trench a metre wide and nearly three times that deep across the whole width of the motorway. There's rusting jackhammers, a pair of heavy-duty excavators, a tractor hooked up to a plough, and a light digger that fell into the trench and hasn't been moved, but which does serve as a handy bridge. The rubble pulled from the road has been loaded into the back of a dumper truck, several marble hands gripping the side of the vehicle. Across the trench, the whole road seems to be made of marble, with hands reaching out from its surface. "I don't know what's going on here, but... I can't cross the trench. It's too deep and my wheelbase is too long. To get where the People want you, you have to go alone, unless there's another way."
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

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[Car Ride Redux]

Strange white stone.

With... hands?

Hands like a human's hands reach from it.

This is a very strange thing. Choir has seen statues before. But not statues quite like this. The machines gathered around are clearly machines for moving earth. And earth has been cut from the road. On the far side the hands are thick, like tall grass. On the near side there are few. Is this some strange thing that was growing?

How would stone grow?

Choir does not know. This is puzzling to her. Possibly dangerous. Unknowns are always possibly dangerous.

"Are you unable to drive around this hole in the earth?"

How long is the trench to either side of the road?

Regardless, she steps out of Bentley and sends a simple infrasonic signal to her smaller selves. One of them with crawl out of Bentley before creeping across the digger and onto the road on the far side. The creature will approach one of the hands and begin poking at it.
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

Post by Earl of Purple »

Car Ride Redux

"I could. But the crash barrier's still in the way, and even if I got past that those hands would be hell on my suspension. Which is already badly in need of maintenance, you'll note. " The crash barrier set in the dirt on the side of the road hasn't been cut, save directly over the trench. And the hands beyond are very densely packed,

The hand will grab at the smaller self, aiming to hold firmly but gently- it's not trying to crush the self, but it won't be willing to let go either- and then it'll sink into the stone and pull the self with it. Other hands nearby will move as well, reaching for the self to help drag it into the stone, which will part like thick water around the self if it can't struggle free and then solidify once its buried. If that occurs, any limbs it might have will also be mimicked in stone, like the human hands reaching up and out.
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

Post by Rebonack »

[Car Ride Redux]

Could the forager escape?

Yes.

Choir can fracture herself into smaller component parts easily. This includes her lesser bodies. With her larger bodies this is undesirable as smaller bodies can hold less knowledge. If she fractured her human like self much of what she has learned would be lost.

The forager does not do this thing, however. It is a sacrifice. Choir needs to know the intent of this strange threat. And that intent appears to be consumption. A strange manner of doing so but consumption none the less.

"The creature I sent to the other side has been subsumed by the road and it's limbs added to the surface. This has troubling implications for the human hands sprouting from the road."

Where those all humans once?

"Walking on the road where it is infested by hands is not safe. We will have to travel around this hazard."


Then?

Choir approaches the crash barrier, touches the metal, and her foragers descend upon it. Within a few seconds they have chewed a large enough hole for Bentley to fit through.

"Are you able to traverse the area beyond the road?"
Last edited by Rebonack on Feb 18, 2023 3:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

Post by Earl of Purple »

Car Ride Redux

Given the forager might not have had as many appendages as are now sticking from the solid marble surface, it's possible that not every pair of hands represents one person- especially as the hands aren't often paired off, instead reaching up and out in odd groups of three, or five, or groping mostly alone at thin air.

"Thank you, miss. Yes, I should be able to, though it will be a rough ride even by the prior standards of our travel. I have not been designed for such... rural pursuits, I was made for the road.." Bentley will open his door back up and drive carefully through the hole, trundling slowly on the verge to avoid the hands. Several times, the hands sprouting from the road reach blindly towards the car, though thus far none prove able to reach it. The journey is bumpy and rough, occasionally crunching through the bones of long-dead roadkill. Bentley slows down and tilts a camera toward the road, displaying upon the screen another car, an older model than Bentley, hands reaching up and pressed hard against the side of the vehicle, which has buckled under the pressure and been pulled into the road as deep as the bottom of its windows.
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

Post by Rebonack »

[Car Ride Redux]

With Bentley needing to slow down considerably Choir decides that it would be best to simply walk herself, keeping a comfortable distance from all the blindly grasping hands. This blight strikes her as something terrible. Stone does not think. Nor does it typically move its own accord, either. Clearly there is something at work here that she has no familiarity with. This isn't like the machines humans make. It is clearly something else.

As she walks along the way she picks up one of her foragers and begins to alter it. This will mean losing another for her immediate use, but she feels this stone organism is a threat. Potentially to herself as turning organic material into stone could, in time, starve her if it spreads far enough. Once finished the forager has been reforged into a relay; with ability to spread messages far outstripping her own at the cost to its ability to process food, reproduce, or move.

The relay is planted in the earth a fair distance from the hands where it begins giving an infrasonic signal with tremendous reach. The message is relatively simple. There is a danger here that must be destroyed. One of her larger selves more adept in the art of annihilation will arrive in some time to deal with the threat.

"It is unfortunate that the trip will be uncomfortable for you," Choir replies. The sight of the vehicle being pulled into the stone is concerning. That suggests that the hands will attempt to seize even machines. It will be best, she thinks, to destroy it without touching it. "I do not believe this growth of stone is the blight which the People spoke of. Though it could be a threat to them none the less. It appears to be limited in its ability to spread beyond the road, which is a small mercy."
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

Post by Shadowcaller »

Rebonack wrote: Feb 15, 2023 5:13 am [The Desolate Desert]

Oh they have all sorts of useful stuff!

That's definitely useful.

Glycon really doesn't think too much about how clean the boat is. That really isn't his buisness what these green folk do with their free time. If they want the boat to be totally tidy and neat well that's up to them, isn't it? He's seen some settlements like that. Places that look immaculate all the time. It's how some people deal with the world being a wreck. By making their little part of it NOT a wreck.

"I don't suppose you have any BIG magical axes?" Glycaon asks, pounding the haft of his bardiche on the flooring.

Regular sized magical axes just wouldn't do.
[The Desolate Desert]

"Ehh... we have big ordinary axes. Since our magical item supply is somewhat limited I'm afraid, pal. You don't come across those a lot out here. It speaks volumes that we got any at all don't you think? But perhaps could I recommend a ranged option instead?"

"Like... throwing?" Raheeda inquires.

"Shooting." The green man corrects her. "Since we do have plenty of guns. It's the most effective type of weapon after all. Also have a lot of swords if that's more your think. Personally, I don't really want to get close to what I'm trying to kill though. It's messy, gory and far too closer to death than my doctor recommends me getting."
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

Post by Earl of Purple »

Car Ride Redux

"I... don't have a sense of touch, as such. My wheel assemblies are feeding me data about the surface I am on and my gyroscope tells me how severe any slopes are and in which direction. The discomfort is more for my passengers than myself." The wheel assembly data is relating to traction and stuff like that, and regarding wear and tear on the various moving parts.

Moving is going to be tricky, due to the nature of the not-road, though luckily the marble hands seem unable to spread beyond the stonelike surface of the tarmac- and, at one point where a billboard is mounted next to the road, the concrete in which it's set. Bentley gives that a wide berth, just to be safe, though it's not as wide a berth as he'd like- there's a thicket of bushes that scratch his side. After quite a while longer, there's a pagoda in the middle of the road, also marble, made of five arms reaching up, each hand at the end gripping the others to form the roof. Inside the pagoda is a black onyx sculpture of three humanoids standing with their backs to each other, arms stretched behind and melding into each other at the wrists to make a single entity. The three faces are featureless save excessively large mouths set with far too many human teeth gaping wide. The grasping marble hands don't approach too close to the pagoda, so it might be possible for Choir to walk to it, if she's careful where she steps. Otherwise, that appears to be the hands' epicentre, and once past it they slowly start to thin out once again until another trench dug across the road- though the marble has yet to reach this one, and there's none beyond it.
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

Post by Rebonack »

[Car Ride Redux]

Choir has no sense of what humans would call the uncanny valley, so the pagoda and its occupants don't repulse here in the way they might for a human. She does find the imagery strange. The strange structure does appear to be significant, however. She's sure her other self will notice it and destroy it since it stands out so much from the rest of the surroundings.

"I believe that building may be the source of the grasping stone," Choir comments as she eyes the building. "An... associate of mine will arrive later to demolish it. You may notice her as we are traveling. There will be no cause for alarm."

She's about to say something else, but then she picks up two things at once. First an answering infrasound signal. Then something extremely large flying toward the beacon Choir had left behind from the south. Choir knows what it is, of course. Another of herself. One easily eight times the size of Bentley. A massive aggregate of ruddy chitin. Of wings and claws and teeth.

Choir's self must have been much closer than she had anticipated. No doubt she must have found fruitful feeding grounds.

"Ah, there. She has arrived."


[The Desolate Desert]

Ah, shooting.

Shooting can be nice, if that's your thing. Great for people without obscene stolen divine power. Helps equalize things a little!

"Ah, okay. I've actually got a gun built into the haft of my axe," Glycon points out, leaning the weapon forward slightly to emphasize the muzzle at the top of the haft. "It doesn't shoot that fast but it usually does the job. Do you have much magic anything? Because I can just peel the enchantment off if it's something that would be useful to me."

Which is a great skill to have!

Scavengers find a TON of stuff but sometimes it's on equipment they can't really use!

No problem.

Just strip out the enchantment like you're stripping marrow out of bones.

Easy!
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

Post by Earl of Purple »

Car Ride Redux

Bentley's senses are quite good, however Bentley is a car. Most of the sensors are mounted in static emplacements, incapable of moving, giving him blind spots he can't do anything about. One of those is straight up; Bentley does not usually see a lot of sky. So large flying creatures are easily missed, until they fly overhead and he can pick up their shadow by the decreased effectivity of his solar panels.

"It has been bugging me for a while, but... what are you? And where are we? The terrain mostly matches England, which is what I'd expect, but those hands are not. And neither are rat people, or statues holding hotdogs, or pagodas, or what appears to be an actual dragon." Bentley has been mulling it over, and can't think of an explanation that both makes sense and... well, he can't think of an explanation that makes sense. And even the ones that don't make sense are particularly absurd; abducted by aliens without noticing to see how he'd react? Suffering sensory glitches caused by overheating or damage within his computer brain? Well... That one is shockingly and horribly possible, and if it is the explanation then all Bentley can really do is wait to die. Although his diagnostic software's not bringing up any new issues, but perhaps that's damaged too.
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Re: Apocalypse Junction

Post by Rebonack »

[Car Ride Redux]

Now Bentley asks an important question.

Two important questions.

Choir counts herself fortunate that when she had those questions to ask the other answering them was not hostile and wished to aid her. A concept that was quite alien at the time, but one which she is certainly grateful for now. And with those questions she can serve the same purpose; to be that other who offers aid.

"The first question is difficult. There was no name for what I am because there was no one to name others when I came to be. I call myself Choir, for I am many voices in harmony. The foragers are me. The 'dragon' is also me. I have many bodies and many minds, but a unity of self and purpose. This shape is not a comfortable one for me, to be like the humans, but those that are less alien to myself causes humans distress. I do not wish to cause humans distress. Such misunderstandings can lead to violence and I do not wish to cause the extinction of others."

A 'dragon' lands some distance away. Flashes of lavender light strobe across the sky as gouts of plasma begin blasting into the marble road.

"I could have been a danger to all life. Like these hands could be. Or the war that ravaged your world. But I learned that each human was a mind to themselves, not a mindless automaton of flesh like I had first thought. But before I learned this the humans used a terrible weapon to cast me from their world and into outer darkness. A small piece of me landed here and survived. This place is... somewhere in between. Not my world. Nor yours. Nor anyone's."
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