Voice

[foundafamily]

Is anybody here a fan of Poe? I got this in my locker last jump:

[There's the sound of a paper rustling. Firo clears his throat.]

"Thy soul shall find itself alone
‘Mid dark thoughts of the gray tombstone;
Not one, of all the crowd, to pry
Into thine hour of secrecy..."

[He continues to read, impatiently speeding up at the end so the lines of the last stanza run together.]

To be honest, I never really got the end back when my friend used to read it. But it’s creepy, isn’t it? Really suits this place.

What I'm wonderin' about is if it's supposed to be some sortta threat or message. 'Cause just comin' out and sayin' it would be too easy, right?

Comments

[lastisocorn]

[She sighs dreamily.]

After I read that, I spent at least half an hour wishing -- as hard as possible -- that I could fly. I mean, I can fly. I can pilot vehicles that fly. But to do it on your own, and just because you really believe in it? Amazing!

[foundafamily]

[He laughs.]

Hey, at least you're close! You actually fly 'em yourself?

[lastisocorn]

Yeah! They're called lightjets. They're very small -- designed for aerial combat. Do you want to see?

[foundafamily]

[He's taken aback--though not displeased--by the offer. Just how small could a vehicle be that she could show it off within the halls of the Tranquility? Of course, there is the chance that she just has a picture.]

Yeah, sure! But can you really have something like that in here?

[lastisocorn]

Oh, no! No, not in here. It's small, but not that small.

[She unhooks the disc from her back and holds it flat in her open palms. A moment later, the disc projects a holographic image of the lightjet as it loops, ascends, and descends in a firefight.]

But my disc records all of my memories.

[foundafamily]

Holy--

[That's a good deal more impressive than just a photograph; there's no technology like that where he's from. Firo stares at it, wide-eyed.]

That's amazing! How'd you do that?

[lastisocorn]

[The images fades and blips out. Quorra beams as she returns the disc to her back.]

I just pressed a button! The identity disc records the memories of every program who wears one.

[foundafamily]

Identity disk..? What do you mean by "program"?

[If the programs are what wear the discs, does that mean she's one? Or is that also something she just has hanging around?]

[lastisocorn]

Well--I'm a program. You know, like from a computer system.

[Bright, encouraging smile.]

[foundafamily]

[He shrugs helplessly.]

I don't really know what any of that means... Is that all pilot stuff?

[He assumes that the people who fly those machines have their own jargon, so maybe that'd explain his confusion.]

[lastisocorn]

Well--no ...

[She pauses, not sure how to proceed. It seems that there are people from different timelines on this ship, so perhaps ...]

Have you ever used computers? They're machines, originally designed for rapid calculation.

[foundafamily]

I've heard people talkin' about 'em here... I still don't completely get what they do. But you're sayin' you're a program on one of 'em... Like, that's your home?

[lastisocorn]

Well, you're using one right now! A type of one, anyway. A program executes the functions it's written for. For example, there's a program that's ensuring your communication through this device.

[She gestures to herself.]

My home--my system--had a lot of programs with various different functions. To you, a user, we were just lines of code ... but within the system, we looked like I do now.

[foundafamily]

That's... weird. No offense.

[Even the artificial humans he knows have a (mostly) normal physical body.]

So, wait, then how'd you fly that plane thing if you were stuck in a little thing like this?

[He taps the screen of the of the communicator.]

[lastisocorn]

[She shrugs it off blithely. This place, with its trees and peaches, is just as weird to her.]

Because the system inside a computer is its own world. There are buildings, roads, motorcycles ... not a lot of weather, though. Some rain. No sun.

[foundafamily]

...Huh. I don't think I'm smart enough to understand how somethin' like that works.

[He laughs.]

But it's still pretty amazing! There's nothin' like that where I'm from--it's kinda weird that we still have the same books.

[Of all the things to be similar across worlds, Firo would think it would be the more complex things.]