[An image is extremely blurred as if the person holding it is shaking like a leaf.]

W-w-oah--

Ah--

[An image of a teenaged japanese boy flashes on screen looking down curiously at the viewer. He has sort of messy brown hair, curled up on both sides with brown eyes. His face suddenly cringes in shock.]

Oh crap! It's already on!

[A little more shaking of the picture till it slowly settles down. The camera has been put on a stable platform, probably  the bureau of the boy's room]

( Where am i ? )

[Oh. It's this guy again.

Though Wheatley is, at least, wearing clothes now, the concept of grooming seems to have escaped him entirely--he's arranged haphazardly in a chair, his jumpsuit is only half-zipped, he's unshaven and barefoot, his glasses are askew and his hair sticks out at odd angles in wet clumps--perhaps a "DOCTOR WATSON I AM CAPABLE OF A SHOWER" more than anything else.

Ladies.]

Uh, yes. Hello. As my, um. Colleague, HAL, so eloquently mentioned earlier, it is possible that some of you new arrivals might be experiencing a form of…bodily displacement. Don't be alarmed! Well. Do be alarmed, because this is, actually, rather alarming, but you're not alone! I'm one of you--provided you are an artificial intelligence or…a robot, or something of a computer-like nature. I am here to help.

See, once upon a time, I asked Doctor Watson if he could possibly provide me with a list of--of everything humans need to ensure continued survival. And--and do you know what he told me? Told me it couldn't be done. Said, [He lowers his voice--this is obviously his Watson impression.] "Wheatley, it can't be done". Told me to come see him, instead.

Did some thinking. Decided if there wasn't a list--and obviously the humans have no interest in making one--I could fill the void, as it were. Needed to learn how to type anyway, had my little mental catalogue of human design flaws, figured I could do that thing with the birds and the stones. So good news! There is a list now, based on my, um. Observations. And experiences. It exists, because I wrote it, even though they told me it couldn't be done. Did it anyway--that's me, every day, doing the impossible.

Right. Sending it out. To all of you. Nnnooow. Typed it up myself, did I mention that? Fingers.

( very scientific observations by wheatley.txt )

Hopefully you'll find it educational, straight from one of your own. I mean, you could go down to medical. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. I do, however, have it on good account that the blokes there enjoy assaulting unsuspecting computers and tossing them in bathtubs without any--without any regard or--or consideration for hydrophobia that. May or may not have resulted from untold decades of being made entirely of metal and circuitry. Insensitive, that.

But, you know. Your choice. Don't say I didn't warn you.

[VIDEO OVER THE END. Wait no he's back.]

Oh, um. Mister Johnson wanted me to. Let everyone know that if you have not filled out an Enrichment Center Test Subject Application, please do so and send the completed form to either Mister Johnson or myself at 001-043 or 001-089, respectively. We appreciate your cooperation; thank you for helping us help you help us all.

[ Hello Ax, have a slightly nervous – yet trying like hell to keep her calm – looking Ariadne. She is just going to be looking into the device a moment, as she attempts to figure out what exactly she wants to say – or really how she wants to word her thoughts. (She has a lot of thoughts right now, okay?)

A small smile, slightly forced, but nonetheless a smile appears on her face then, as she takes a deep breath finally speaking. ] Would anyone be willing to create a roster of sort of – a passenger manifest of some kind? [ A pause, brows raised hopeful, as she is going to be looking into the screen, just wanting to give everyone a moment to think this idea over. ]   It seems like a good way to figure whose who here.

[ Her nose crinkles slightly then, as she quickly moves on to her next thought. ]  And I’ve been working on those maps and I’m wondering if anyone has anything to contribute to them -- namely in the area of that creepy door?

If you have any would you let me know? I’d like to get the maps fully drawn out soon.

[Viewers are greeted by a charmingly dashing white smile, easy and confident without being cocky, shining blue eyes and the face of a 1950's matinee idol. He's dressed in his customary outfit of braces and greatcoat, his very presence commanding your attention]

Hey there, kids. So it's come to my attention that there are some of us a little more used to this whole traveling in space thing, am I right? I mean. There are some of us on here who have literally never even heard of the idea, which. Is charming, really it is. But that means that this whole Tranquility thing has gotta be more than a bit of a shock. So here's where I'm going to be taking a poll.

How many of you are familiar with travel in space? How many of you have heard of it, but never dreamed you'd do it yourself? How many of haven't even dreamed of traveling the stars?

I figure if we cover that much at least, we'll be able to determine how many of us need a bit more explanation than the fact that we seem to be on some sort of large passenger vessel traveling through some undetermined part of some unknown galaxy. Vague, I know, but I haven't exactly found a viewing screen yet, have you? That's where the rest of us come in. Maybe, with your help, we can figure this all out.

[He goes to reach forward to turn off the video feed, before a thought comes to him and he stops, a more mysterious look in his eyes as he does] I don't suppose that any of you are familiar with time travel...?

[You might have seen this guy skulking around the ship both looking like he knows exactly what he’s doing and a lot like he shouldn’t be doing it. Truthfully, he’s not done anything yet that would warrant a spell in the brig, but there’s little hope of that staying the case.

What he has seen is a bunch of people walking around without any idea of how much danger they’re in at any given moment and that’s a problem for Dean. He’s spent his entire adult life working to save people from freaky ass crap that goes bump in the night. Here isn’t any different.]

Any of you get the impression we should be keeping our eyes very freakin’ open 24/7?

I dunno about you, but I know that getting pulled onto a spaceship with no explanation and shoved in a tank of goo is pretty high up my list of pros for constant vigilance. Nobody else is taking responsibility for all the people walkin’ around without a goddamn clue of how to defend themselves. Maybe we should, ‘cause if we got a snowball’s chance of getting off this ship in one piece... time to start payin’ attention.

Interested? Qualified? Talk to me.

[Yeah, he’s aware that there’s a security team already ‘in operation’ around the ship. He just hasn’t seen them do a damn thing yet. And since he knows none of their history, he’s not apologizing for assuming they aren’t capable. Sorry, guys. He is, however, open to introductions and definitely wants to be proved wrong. Maybe then he can start to shake this feeling he’s got of being watched.]

[ The broadcast comes from the interior of the medbay - many will probably recognize the grav couches off to the side. There are three men here, among the machines vaguely resembling metallic stretchers, but one specifically speaking to the camera. ]

Good afternoon, Tranquility. I'm Doctor Watson, and these are my colleagues, Doctor Ratchet and Caleb. We're your medical staff for the time being.

As it happens, it's been about a week since we all woke up. I trust everyone is working to settle as best they can, given the circumstances. Us three have been working to familiarize ourselves with the equipment and inventory the stock so that we can help you with any medical needs.

What we need now, however, is to speak with anyone that may have special conditions to uphold so that we can best be prepared to treat you, should the need arise in the future. Primarily, we're looking for any non-humans aboard the ship to present themselves at this time. Secondarily, anyone that has the need for medication should come consult us to see if we have anything that can help. People with known medical conditions should at least report them to us - I'm speaking of allergies, heart conditions, diabetes, joint troubles, and etcetera.

We're open for check-ups for the rest of today and possibly tomorrow. Schedules beyond that will be subject to change, as we're still arranging to have someone in the medbay at all times. This is quite possibly your only chance to meet us all at once.

Those of you who are recently human: I have spoken with a few of you regarding the conditions you'll need to uphold, but I highly recommend every one of you to check in so that we can see that you're healthy. Don't make us come and find you.

That's all.

(( OOC: In this thread, you have the potential to be speaking to one or three med staff at once. ICly, all three of them are here and will be monitoring the feed/patients coming in, though you may only be actually threading with John. Ratchet!mun is here, but Caleb!mun is on hiatus and may respond little to none. There's no posting order. Open to action, text, and video! ))

[ sup, fellow space kidnapees. a considerably more relaxed jenna, here. ]

Okay: so here's a question that doesn't have anything to do with your spaceship related skills or why we shouldn't wander off by ourselves.

If we're all stuck here together-- the together part is key-- doesn't it make sense to get to know each other a little? I'm not saying we need nightly family dinner, but maybe one time so everyone can meet, exchange names, mingle, develop basic connections?

...And make a roster, maybe. Because asking if 'that really taciturn guy I met by the elevator' is okay doesn't have the same ring as a name. [ sup spock. ] And not to be looking at the negative already, but that way people without someone they already know here don't end up slipping through the cracks.

[ she spreads her hands wide and grins, teasingly. ]

So, are we in? Because if we all have to shower together, we should probably have dinner first.

Oh, and one more thing. [ jenna holds up an iPod, waving it a little. ] Can anyone in the science club tell me they can recharge this? I have an almost full battery, but that's not going to last forever. I can trade... I don't know, something for it. We can work it out.


( filtered to alaric saltzman | private | hackable )

Oh, Tranquility. Looks as though the honeymoon's over. We all had a good run-around with our hands in the air wondering what the hell was going on... a week in, no real answers as to what happened, things are getting all Quiet on the Western Front and suddenly - bam. Potential prophecy of impending doom. The long silence about to be broken. Secrets beginning to creep in from the shadows...

It’s all very exciting and a little bit scary, or possibly the other way ‘round depending on who you are, but here’s a bit of advice. Resist the urge to start the whole hands-in-the-air thing again. It’s fun the first time, and necessary in a way, but after a certain point it just becomes counter-productive. We can’t start panicking or killing ourselves over the suspense. Find a book to read. Get to know your neighbors. Play cards or charades or chess. And whatever you do...

[He leans in a touch closer - he seems serious about what he's about to say, but there's a look in his eyes. A knowledge, you might say, if you had to put a word to it.]

...Whatever you do, don’t go trying to hunt those secrets down before their time. Don't think about those parts of the ship the lifts won't take you to. If you find anything that looks like a Big Important Button, do not under any circumstances think about pressing it.

If you see a locked door -- just walk the other way.

[He holds that look for a moment, then glances down as though he’s about to cut the feed - but then glances up again, his mood doing a one-eighty from focused and intense to relaxed and casual.]

--one more thing. It occurs to me that all of us have had something about us changed. On the one end of the spectrum we have the people who only received the number on their arm; on the other end, some of you got the full-body transplant. And in the middle there's people like that nice girl from earlier, with the running, and me... and my sonic screwdriver.

[He holds it up for everyone to see.]

Now I’m not saying this is the same thing as having a biological function altered, although the sonic is a bit organic; all the same, could be something else entirely. I almost hope it is... Some sort of security measure; disable technology foreign to the ship to minimize damage in case of invasion or attack. Which I’d understand, only I’d like to know about it if that’s what’s going on. I’m looking at you -- [And here he smiles at last, and it's almost - flirtatious?] -- Commander Resnik.

[Greetings, Tranquility passengers. It's your resident 51st century flirt, Captain Jack Harkness, and just from the video, with the broad white smile and the twinkle in his very blue eyes, it's obvious that he's laying on the charm. He's looking for answers, and he knows that he can pretty much flirt them out of anyone if he tries hard enough, so that's exactly what he's going to do]

So. We're stuck on a ship. How many of you out there have gone exploring so far? What have you found? I think we're pretty much all aware of the stasis tubes and the passenger's quarters, but what else is there out there on the ship? It's not like there's a map or a guide or anything. And for those of you who're interested... Anyone wanna go exploring? It could be fun. You know, you and me. We'll have ourselves an adventure.

Speaking of passengers quarters, by the way, I don't know about the rest of you, but as much as I love the setup, I'd give an arm and a leg for a private bathroom. [He makes a face as if whoever designed the ship is listening] I'm just saying...

[GREETINGS, NETWORK. Some loser's got his coke-bottle lenses way too close to the camera. Back up, bro, you're fogging the screen, and that is gross.

Turns out he's just trying to make the device stay upright. After a few moments, success! Wheatley (who looks extremely nervous) takes a step away, hovering over the communicator as if he expects it to fall, like it did the past seventeen times.

He is not wearing any clothes.]

Hello! If anyone is there and I'm not just--not just talking to this little black box, which, by the way, could stand to be a little clearer in the "what does this button do" department...

Not that I had any trouble figuring it out. Fiddled around for a bit, and boom, there we go, video feed on. Not a problem. But, you know. Instructions. Just in case anyone's a little...technologically impaired. Couldn't hurt.

[Wait. Where was he?]

Right! Uh…show of hands, if you would, seeing as we've all got hands now. Who's an AI? That's Artificial Intelligence for the aforementioned technologically impaired. Robots count too, I am also a robot.

And--and I know what you humans are thinking; Wheatley, you're not a robot, you're squishy and inefficient just like the rest of us but that, humans, is where you're wrong. One hundred percent robot, right here, just as soon as I get my body back.

Point is, if you see someone in an orange jumpsuit or...or a lab coat, maybe hear them talking about Science or Apertures, or some combination of the two…go ahead and let them know that Wheatley's looking for them and also that...it is important.

[A small pause as he fidgets, suddenly looking that much more uncomfortable.]

Actually. Don't tell them that. Tell me, instead! If--if you meet anyone with that description and. I will go. Find them.

[Cybertronian encryption]
This is Ratchet. Who else hails from Cybertron on this ship?

[Open voice]
How many here woke up organic? I've made a perusal of the activity on the network already and I am quite curious.

[ Hey Ataraxion, have one obviously annoyed, slightly frustrated, small brunette currently looking into what she assumes is the camera of the device in front of her. She’s only been here for a couple of hours, and already she thinks this is some convoluted dream – she just hasn’t figured out whose yet.

Brow furrowed, she lets out a long sigh, rubbing at the back of her neck before finally speaking to the screen. ]  So it seems I'm not alone here. [ Which is a good thing, right? (or so she hopes) ] Yet none of you seem to have any real answers.

[ It’s not annoyance in her voice then, more sympathetic perhaps. (She feels your frustrations, okay?)  A small smile ghosts across her face, taking on an almost hopeful expression. ]

Is there a way we could all work together - start ruling out some possibilities maybe?

At least maybe get an idea as to why we were the ones taken. [Quickly adding: ] Is there something significant about you others would find beneficial – anything that may be important?

[ She pauses, attention turning away from the device, and the faint sound of metal hitting the table can be heard. (She tests her totem yet again, still unsatisfied with the results.) Her attention drifts back to the screen, as she clearly is fighting back the panic and uncertainty before she mumbles. ]

Dreams feel real when you're in them...

[ Not that the rest of the people here would understand that. But she needs to keep reminding herself this fact. ]