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a bumpy start! {glyphcomm + action}
You wake up to the sound of alarms and a distinct sensation of quaking, and you're quite obviously not where you're supposed to be. This room is strangely shaped, nothing you recognize, and you definitely don't remember how you got here. The room is bathed in soft red light, which might look pretty, except it's blinking in a way that you can probably guess signals danger.
There's a symbol on the back of your hand that you don't remember acquiring, either, but that's probably less important at the moment than the sound of the alarms shrieking and the prerecorded voice speaking over the intercom. It's one of those bland, agender voices, entirely too calm in tone for the message it's relaying:
WARNING
WARNING
IMPACT THREAT DETECTED
EVASIVE ACTION REQUIRED
There’s a loud crash and another violent shaking, as that impact threat collides with the ship’s hull. The warning message continues to repeat on a loop amidst the blaring of the alarm. All passengers should be conscious now, with the noise at such a high volume. Opening your cabin door reveals a nondescript hallway, with five cabin doors on each side for a total of ten on each floor; the doors to the empty cabins are unlocked and inside the cabins hold the same plain, basic furnishings as your own. Halfway into the hallway, there is a lift on one side and a set of stairs on the other.
There's a symbol on the back of your hand that you don't remember acquiring, either, but that's probably less important at the moment than the sound of the alarms shrieking and the prerecorded voice speaking over the intercom. It's one of those bland, agender voices, entirely too calm in tone for the message it's relaying:
WARNING
IMPACT THREAT DETECTED
EVASIVE ACTION REQUIRED
There’s a loud crash and another violent shaking, as that impact threat collides with the ship’s hull. The warning message continues to repeat on a loop amidst the blaring of the alarm. All passengers should be conscious now, with the noise at such a high volume. Opening your cabin door reveals a nondescript hallway, with five cabin doors on each side for a total of ten on each floor; the doors to the empty cabins are unlocked and inside the cabins hold the same plain, basic furnishings as your own. Halfway into the hallway, there is a lift on one side and a set of stairs on the other.
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"Well, that answer is both easy and not." Tim rubs his hand over his mouth, thinking of the best way to put this. "You haven't really been kidnapped, because there isn't a person or entity responsible for it. There are these rifts in space-time, and as far as we can tell, that's what's responsible for dragging people here. We still don't know why or exactly how - I mean, I've got some ideas for how to run some experiments to find out, but it hasn't been the priority."
Sorry, Murmur, he's a bit of a nerd.
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He rose an eyebrow, interest piqued at that explanation. "I see," He murmured quietly to himself, folding one arm across his chest to prop his elbow upon, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "Yes, I suppose given the circumstances that is a more logical explanation. It did not seem prudent to pick up strays in the middle of a conflict." Mouths to feed, lives to worry about. Unnecessary complications to compound an already tenuous situation.
Granted, Tim could be lying, and with a screen between them it was much more difficult to discern for certain whether or not he was. However, given their situation, he was willing to grant him the benefit of the doubt for the time being. And, if he was telling the truth, what could be more indicative of an act of God than spontaneous space-time instability?
Either way they were stuck, and it might be with purpose. "So, we have simply found ourselves the unwitting victims of an act of nature. I would be interested to know how one would go about testing such a hypothesis. And, with that, I expect any questions in regards to whether or not we shall be returned from whence we came are moot until such experiments can be put underway?"
Oh, never apologize. Murmur is the biggest of nerds. He absolutely appreciates a fellow nerd.
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They’d be easier to avoid, if that were the case.
“Once we’ve established a pattern, we can predict when and where they’ll open, and we should be able to collect more data if we know the times and places to look. I’ve been doing what I can to record data from Navi’s travels, but finding Navi’s people has been the priority. In fact, you’re the first people we’re aware of coming through a rift in a couple of years. I’d started to think that the group I was with was a fluke.”
Tim’s starting to ramble now, caught up in thoughts about future projects, but he manages to pull himself back to the here and now to answer Murmur’s question - one sure to be at the top of most minds.
“Not at all - Navi’s people have a device that can send everyone back where they’re supposed to be, but it’s kept on the move. All you need to do is help Navi find their people, and you’ll be back to your home worlds in no time.”
Assuming, of course, that this new crew wishes to return. Which wasn’t the case for Tim, clearly.
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That aside, however. "How is it we've come to conveniently reside here on Navi, rather than floating in the void of space?" Or were they and Navi happened to kindly scoop them up?
Oh! Well, that does simplify things. Mission objective received. "Convenient. We assist Navi, Navi assists us. Simple enough," With their course clear that just leaves the particulars. "So, with that in mind, what is the quarrel with the Zerentians, and why do they pursue this "rogue vessel" so?" He does find it passing strange the vessel is alive, but they can touch on that later.
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Tim is notably less excited to talk on the topic of the Zerentians. “They created the Navigators, basically as slave labor, and they view them all as property instead of living sentient beings. The Navigators managed to escape, and they’ve been on the run ever since. If they’re caught, the Zerentians essentially lobotomize them, and since they’re empathic and linked in a kind of hivemind, they all feel the pain.”
An appalling display of tyranny and cruelty, in Tim’s opinion - observable in the deep frown that has taken over his expression.
“They’re scared. My partner and I stayed behind to teach them how to mobilize, how to fight back. I couldn’t just leave them and go home and hope they’d be OK on their own. Not after seeing what they were up against.”
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There's a flicker of... something there on Murmur's expression but it's truly impossible to tell, nor describe the complicated emotion that very briefly broke through his usually icy demeanor at that information. Created beings, empaths, property, hivemind... it all hit just a little too close for comfort. For numerous reasons. The fact of the matter remained that these beings were not gods, and for the transgression of playing as such they should be punished.
Yes. That's the part he'll focus on. "I can only imagine the terror they experience," That's not quite true. He could find out for himself. Maybe he will, later, when he had some time to spare being by himself for a quiet freak out. No one wants to be crushed under the weight of an empathetic attack with witnesses that's just embarrassing. "I see. A noble cause if ever there was one. How have they fared thus far? How capable are they at defending themselves?"
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As for the nobility of his work, Tim waves it off. “It’s what anyone would do, if they were in a position to help like I can.” Not entirely true; Damian and Jason both fought Tim, verbally and physically, on his decision to stay. “They don’t have much - they were created to be docile transportation vessels, so the only real defense mechanism they have is an ability to make an emergency high-speed jump to escape. We fought the Zerentians a few years ago by exploiting the psychic link when they boarded, but that doesn’t come naturally as a defense for them. We’ve been doing training on tactics and strategy, too - they’re capable of learning, they just need guidance. Most of them have been told for most of their lives that they’re nothing but property, so the biggest hurdle is getting them to realize that they are people and they deserve respect and autonomy.”
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Murmur only offered a vague, mysterious smile that clearly spoke of his immense doubt to that claim. They both knew 'anyone' would not. It took a particular kind of altruistic spirit to be willing to abandon everything from their home to assist these strange beings in gaining their freedom.
He nodded thoughtfully, again folding his arms. It was something. Psychic attacks were well within Murmur's wheelhouse, since they could learn it might be possible to help desensitize them to using their abilities as such. For emergencies only, he would hope. Unfortunate they had no shields from the sound of things, perhaps that was also something they could work on. Ah, realization dawned on him. Of course it would be that. A quiet, mirthless huff of a laugh escaped him. "Ever the greatest hurdle. When one is instructed from the beginning they do not have free-will and cannot self-actualize, to teach them such is untrue is a daunting task." Overwhelming, if they were too afraid to try. Murmur knew that much well. Angels were... exceedingly guilty of keeping themselves from growth.
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"The Zerentians are well known for their scientific advancements, but it looks like it all came at the cost of basic empathy. I can't imagine creating an entire species of living, sentient creatures and treating them with anything less than love and kindness and respect."
Humans don't have the best record with this either, and Tim knows that. Racism, war, genocide - all black marks on human history.
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"One need not look far to witness the cruelty many are willing to place upon their own. Pets, children, neighbors. It isn't much of a stretch." Instead he offered that. Sadly their actions really weren't that surprising, not in the grand scheme of things. "It is a wonder they managed to build their creations with such capacity for empathy, given their own significant lack."
But, here they were, and good for the Navigators in the long run. It made them capable and willing to escape for one.
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"Actually, they didn't intend to build it into the Navigators. From what I understand, their sense of empathy developed on its own, unexpectedly." Tim shrugs. "As they say, 'Nature finds a way.'"
Why yes, he did just quote Jurassic Park.
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"Fascinating, what I am certain they likely view as a design flaw has become a great boon to the Navigators themselves. Being capable of grasping the autonomy of others paves the way to grasping their own."
It's a roundabout method, but it is definitely a door that can be utilized. Just a matter of deprograming learned helplessness.
As for the Jurassic Park reference he did offer a huffed laugh. "Careful, that phrase invites trouble." He teased.
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Not that he's about to go volunteering exactly why but hey, Navi will figure it out anyway.
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Even if some were a little less amenable to the information.