002; rude questions [video/action]

[assumedposition]

Ladies and gentlemen of the Tranquility, good evening.

[From the video, you can see Albert is seated somewhere in the oxygen gardens, on a wide-open patch of grass. He looks somewhat contemplative.]

I have a-- a somewhat personal question to ask of you all, so don't feel compelled to answer if you don't wish to. [He seems to hesitate, and then he plunges ahead quickly, as if he must ask it before he loses courage.]

How many of you here believed yourselves to have passed away before you woke up in this place?

And-- for those of you who don't want to talk about something quite so morbid, maybe you could tell me what year, or what country, or planet you come from. I'd... really like to hear about other people's homes. As for me-- I'm from Paris, France, the year 5053.

I've also got some tea and plenty of cups to go around here in the garden, if you'd prefer to speak in person. I'd welcome the company, and the chance to meet all of you.

Comments

Video

[justdumbluck]

[He's too busy being floored by the rest of the information to point out that some people probably wouldn't appreciate that question.]

5053? You serious? It's only 1934 where I'm from. I wouldn't have thought the same places'd be around after so long, but there's a Paris back home, too. You're talkin' about the big city with that tower, right?

permavideo o/

[assumedposition]

The one and only. I like to think that as Frenchmen we're just too stubborn to get rid of, haha.

[justdumbluck]

...Do you mean that as in other people have been gotten rid of?

[Maybe they're not from the same world, but he still worries for his Family's territory.]

[assumedposition]

Well, you know how it goes, sometimes cities and countries rise and fall...

But most of the major players from the 20th century are still around in some form or another, if that's what you're wondering about.

[justdumbluck]

[He nods; while he can't remember much of it, the Great War demonstrated that.

The next statement perks him up.]

Really? I'm from New York in the U.S., is that still around?

[assumedposition]

Oh-- definitely! I can tell you without a doubt: I don't think New York is going anywhere any time soon.

[justdumbluck]

That's good to hear! Hard to imagine it ever bein' gone with the way it was when I left, but who knows what a thousand years or so can do? Things have changed enough just in ten.

Are there still have railroads runnin' everywhere?

[assumedposition]

Subways and skyways are more common in the city, these days. There are too many cars on the roads for ground-level train cars to be practical. But they still run over land between cities.

[justdumbluck]

Too bad, they're pretty neat. What's a skyway? Like the el?

[assumedposition]

I'm not sure what the "el" is...

But a skyway is like a train line they've built slightly above the ground-- it runs over the tops of buildings, and so forth.

[justdumbluck]

Yeah, that's it! Well, not over buildings, they're too tall.

[A disturbing thought enters his mind.]

...They haven't stopped buildin' skyscrapers, have they?

[Assuming Paris had any in the first place; Firo just assumes they're necessary if a city's going to call itself a city.]

[assumedposition]

Hahaha! Of course not. New York will never stop until they reach the outer limits of the sky.

[justdumbluck]

Nice to know some things haven't changed.

[And then he remembers that this guy said he was interested in learning about other places, too. Sheepishly, Firo wonders if he's been hogging all the questions.]

Hey, was there anything you wanted to know about...uh, the past, I guess?

[assumedposition]

I was just wandering about the spread of people we have here. We have a lot of people from Earth, but not from other planets. Don't you think that's interesting?

[justdumbluck]

I never really thought about it, but you got a point. It seems like they'd take about an equal number from each planet, right? What's so special about ours?

[assumedposition]

I wish I knew.

Perhaps if we knew the reason we were here, it might shed some light on matters...

[justdumbluck]

[He frowns and his tone takes a turn for the bitter.]

Fat chance of that ever happenin'. The only reason I can come up with is that whoever's runnin' this boat is really creative about how they get their entertainment.

[assumedposition]

That... seems unlikely. I mean, there are surely easier ways...

[justdumbluck]

Hey, I don't understand it, some people don't care if it's easy or not. Like in that story... "The Most Dangerous Game," I think. You ever read it?

[assumedposition]

[A blank look is about all the answer you should need, but Albert shakes his head after a moment anyway]

What's that?

[justdumbluck]

It's a story about some rich guy on an island who tries to hunt people, says he sees it as a "challenge" and that makes it better than normal huntin'.

[Firo's parallel between that and the Tranquility isn't quite perfect, but it's been a while since he read the story and he only remembers the basics.]

It was pretty sick. I forget if the main character made it out at the end or not.

[assumedposition]

That's sick...

But I can't imagine anything like that would ever happen in real life. That's why it's a story, right?

[justdumbluck]

As far as I know, it's just a story. But there's still messed up people like that out there; who's to say they're not the ones runnin' the show here?

[Somebody's bitter.]

[assumedposition]

Well... for starters, I think we'd be a lot less bored.

[justdumbluck]

[That's an argument he didn't anticipate, and he blinks as he takes it in. It makes sense enough; why would they have such long lulls on the ship if they wee kidnapped for entertainment value?]

...I didn't think about that, actually. Maybe it's like a cat and mouse thing?