voice;

[aloadeddie]

[So aside from poking his nose into Ariadne's network post, Arthur has been keeping a low profile since his arrival. Better to lurk, read what he can, get as much information as possible before sticking his nose out and drawing attention to himself. But eventually that line of inquiry always runs its course, so he's now at a point where he feels like he needs to say something on here or risk seeming strange and overly-reclusive. And he wouldn't want that, either.]

So what’s with the whole, “this isn’t death, or a dream, but it’s not exactly real" thing? Is anyone buying this? I didn’t die, that’s for sure, so what kind of dream could this be? [And he can’t wake up, either. He tried that. But really, this is just to see if the whole ‘dream’ thing pings anyone. He’s less interested in individual theories at this point. And it might help him figure out who here is a projection and who might be real, if he’s lucky.]

Also, while I'm sure gardening is great for some people, I'm not exactly gifted with a green thumb. I need something else to do. Back home I ran a private security firm, but I'm open to ideas.

My name is Arthur, by the way.

Comments

voice | encryption 87%

[build]

Hi Arthur, It's nice to meet you, I'm Ariadne.

[ yes, she sounds somewhat amused by this. But whatever, leave her alone, she's sort of surprised to see you addressing the network, okay? ]

So yeah, anyway, I'm thinking about creating my own Architecture Firm.

And well, I see you said something about being in private security. [ a long beat ] So I'm sort of wondering - or more hoping actually - if you could perhaps help me with a few things regarding that?

voice | encryption 87%

[aloadeddie]

Ariadne, Mistress of the Labyrinth?

[Arthur's voice is amused, though. Very funny, ha ha, etc.]

You think you can find that kind of work around here? I'd be happy to help with whatever you need, but since I'm still pretty new myself, I'll need to see what's available around here to actually secure your business.

voice | encryption 87%

[build]

Something like that. Though I've never been one for mazes and things like that though.

[ amusement - can you sort of hear it in her voice? ]

But yeah, I can't see it being an issue. I figure people are always in need of remodeling and what not - might as well put that fancy title of mine to good use.

[ a long, long sigh. ]

There seems to be a few questionable types lurking around my sector -- nothing to worry about of course - but enough that one might have to look into what they are.

[ seriously, are all the projections (lol, kedans) shady and vague people? ]

voice | encryption 87%

[aloadeddie]

Sounds like someone might've been hoping you would be, though.

[Yep, and he's happy to play along.]

High crime rate?

voice | encryption 87%

[build]

Maybe… Though, I've never been that much of an optimist.

And I don't think you can consider it high crime, but more than perhaps I would have assumed.

voice;

[grimreaping]

I can say with relative certainly that this isn't a form of death and that, given my Soul Perception ability has returned, everyone here appears to be living in the normal sense of the word.

voice;

[aloadeddie]

I know I didn't die; I'm very much alive.

I can't say I have any powers, though. Never did.

Re: voice;

[grimreaping]

That's good.

What kind of security firm, if I may inquire?

voice;

[aloadeddie]

Whatever we were contracted for. Mostly private security for individuals with money and power; sometimes event security. I did some government consulting.

[notdreaming]

Hello Arthur. My name is Kara.

[ This meeting new people thing is so great! ]

I don't know what to think about what they said, about us being between death and dreaming, but I know that returning to where I was is going to be difficult.

[aloadeddie]

Hi, Kara. Nice to meet you.

[He keeps his voice mild.]

Difficult how?

[notdreaming]

I can't fly too far away from the turtle, and even if I could I don't know what direction Earth is in.

[aloadeddie]

[There's a momentary pause, while Arthur pinches the bridge of his nose. Even in a dream, he wouldn't think of people flying.]

Given that I can't fly to begin with, I'd say getting home will be equally difficult for most, if not all of us.

[video]

[withoutaworld]

Some of us died. For the record. But it's not a dream. Try weird parallel universe where death doesn't work exactly the same. I mean, it still happens, but...

You know what, just call it magic and accept that it makes no sense. It's easier that way. But this is definitely real.

voice;

[aloadeddie]

[He's not going to comment on the death thing - he kind of already tried that, so he has some firsthand experience there.]

You're very confident. I guess I just come from a place where magic only exists in stories and dreams, so I can't really share your confidence.

[video]

[withoutaworld]

[ She shrugs a little, smiling. ] I get that. We've got... actual gods and magic back home, so. Yeah. You get used to it.

...anyway, even if it is a weird shared dream, we're stuck here, so... might as well treat it like it's real, right?

voice;

[aloadeddie]

[He frowns, thinking about that. Are these fictional characters that someone dreamed up as projections? What other explanation is there?]

Oh, don't worry. Until further notice, I'm treating this as very real.

[Since death doesn't work...]

[voice]

[tearsinnajar]

[She hesitates to answer, as in her experience, "private security" translates to "mercenary." But if that's the case, it would be a good bet to feel out whether he's the kind to be avoided or not.]

I'm not sure if it's a dream, but it's definitely surreal, I'll give it that.

[voice]

[aloadeddie]

Which could mean something. Or it could mean nothing, and we're back to square one. [Arthur's voice is still mild - nothing aggressive about his address, that's for sure. He's not the type.]

[voice]

[tearsinnajar]

[You can hear the shrug in her voice.]

Well, I'm just saying there may be something to it. However we got here, it certainly wasn't normal. And even if this isn't some mystical stopping point between dreams and death and everything, these people are going out of their way to house us and everything. So I'm thinking the more important question is "why?" Or more specifically, "Why us?"

[voice]

[aloadeddie]

On that point, we can definitely agree. We need to find a pattern - there's always a pattern, if someone engineered this there will be some kind of pattern, even if it's not immediately apparent to us. If there's any kind of reasoning behind bringing us here.

audio;

[trainwrecked]

Well, lucky you. But some here did die, so. Not that difficult to believe that, necessarily.

audio;

[aloadeddie]

You died? [Like, died in reality? He kind of wants to ask, but aside from being a bad idea to ask that in public, it's also kind of insensitive.] Do you assume this is... an afterlife, of some kind?

audio;

[trainwrecked]

Yeah. [...he maybe should, it would be an interesting discussion.]

And, for a while I sort of did? Then I got some people I know from home, here, and it was pretty clear that they weren't dead, and one was from a point later than the other, and the latter was still alive, then, so...

In short, in-between place makes the most sense.

audio;

[aloadeddie]

Sounds like it. [Sounds like limbo, really, except for the dead people - or maybe just near-dead people. Arthur still doesn't quite buy that. Maybe people just think they died because they were dreaming and didn't realize it. It's been known to happen, even to trained dreamers.]

Thanks for chiming in.