ataraxion | 001. video; Public Service Announcement

Guessing everyone's feeling a little closer to compos mentis now. Great, that's gonna make this a whole lot easier.

My name is Nathan Petrelli. I'm Senator for New York, elected representative of the people, and recently made Head of Homeland Security by the President himself. It's my job to do what's in the best interests of the people, and in this case I figure that's gonna be easier said than done.

I don't want any of you to worry. Once I get up to speed on the details of what's going on here, I intend to get to the bottom of how we got here, why we were brought here, and how to go about getting back. And I mean how and why, not the bullshit they've been feeding you about jumping and wormholes and the ship needing a crew. There's a malicious intent here I'm gonna address, and then I'm getting everyone back where we belong.

I realise we're not all Americans here, and maybe you think I have no jurisdiction, but I earned the right to intervene the moment I woke up with a tube shoved down my throat, just like everyone else. I want to speak to people who know the most about this place, or be directed toward them. Captain Kirk: you're on my list for starters, but I'd rather speak to the real Captain, rather than some washed up wannabe.

Oh, and before I wrap this up, there's one other thing. A few of you will have spoken to my brother, Peter; he got here during the 'jump' previous to this one, and as I understand it he's been pretty liberal with his imagination ever since. Some time ago my brother convinced himself that he could fly. He stood on top of a twelve story building one day, called me up and told me he was going to show me he could do it. He jumped, and he fell - fortunately only as far as the fire escape - and a couple days later woke up in the hospital with minor injuries. It wasn't long after my father's death, right in the middle of my run for Congress, and I guess he was desperate for attention.

What I'm trying to say is that he's had brushes with depression before - it runs in the family - and he's not exactly stable right now. All of this doesn't make it any easier. If everyone could please be delicate with him, take what he says with a grain of salt, and inform me if it sounds like he's planning to do something that might hurt himself or others. I appreciate it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm not talking about why, Captain. I'm talking about the how of waking up. The process that's in place here for getting people used to where they are and how they got here. Finding volunteers to do certain things, like making sure no-one's having a damn panic attack.

The first guy I spoke to about you said that you were down there with him keeping an eye on new arrivals. I'm talking about there being more to it than that. It might just be a nap to you, but it's waking up in a new place - with no idea how or why they got there - to other people.

You seem to be forgetting that I'm not from this universe, Senator.

[because it's not a walk in the park for Jim, it never is, and waking up here had been hell for him, too. he's seen what people do when they panic on arrival, it nearly got Capa killed.]

We can guide people the best we can, and we have been, but the disorientation is something we can't fix, just like we can't fix the fact that those things drop you like a foal being born.

[he's spending too much time with Bones.]

First time's the roughest, though, right? Back in the Navy we called it 'Orientation'. How about a handbook?

[ Nathan just shrugs. It was his first time, and it was rough enough for him, but it was rougher for other people, like Isaac for instance. ]

Some people down there are dangerous, but disorientation makes it worse--not being able to get answers. Then when you do go looking you've got this communications network, all these people babbling about stuff that seems pretty trivial compared to 'you're in outer space', 'you can't go home' and of course 'try not to be an asshole about Kirk'--it's gonna make those dangerous people more dangerous.

But I'm sure you've heard this all before. I'm just wondering why no-one's done anything about it.

[Kirk's brows hitch up]

We have a handbook.

{FILE TRANSFER||:___ FAQ.txt}

Right, of course.

Printouts? Tape it to the lockers? Some kind of repeated audio file that triggers when people start waking up? A public service announcement, you know?

[ Reading. ]

But this--this is good.