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You know what to do.

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[ Very generous. Too bad he doesn't make good use of it, since his mind is too busy immediately running through the potential scenarios. ]

I'd try to make a guess, but the number of potentially loathsome developments while trapped in a spaceship hurtling through an unknown universe is - well, mathematically speaking, probably infinite.

Surprise me.

An Ingress malfunction has jumped us to another universe.

[ It's not the worst potential scenario— and it's hardly the worst potential universe. But still. ]

They say this one is particularly unpleasant. While it is not the worst possible reality I've ever witnessed, the event itself is troubling. And I think it likely that while their estimation be somewhat hyperbolic in comparison with my own experience, our situation may have become markedly more dangerous in ways we have yet to grasp.

Fantastic.

[ Fucking. Of course. He sounds as thrilled as she might expect. ]

I'm not exactly surprised, and that's saying a lot about the last two months. What do we know about this place, other than "it sucks"?

Slavery is very popular in this corner.

[ Though it may say a lot about Medusa's life that this ranks as a more ordinary problem, compared to some of the ones they might face. ]

Beyond that, little to nothing. But for an entire universe to be considered worth alarm, there must be something more. Or the Captains have a very low threshold for what constitutes a "bad universe".

[ She thinks they may both be of a doubtful opinion when it comes to the captains, but given their behavior thus far...she'd rather plan for the worst. ]

In which case their inexperience may be the bigger problem.

[ Tony isn't the type to shrug off stuff like slavery, but he also figures slavery is a constant in just about any universe you can think of — shitty, but true. Which means Medusa is right, and there's something far more ominous that they're not yet aware of. ]

Let's not rule out both.

[ He's been out for less than an hour and already has a migraine. ]

Obvious question, but humor me: the sudden and distinct lack of glass is directly related?

It disappeared when we arrived, yes. Dr. Banner might have an explanation for that.

[ She's not one of your science people. ]

Well, you're not gonna hear me complaining.

[ The glass shit sorting itself out is the only reason they're even having this conversation. He'd probably still be on ice otherwise. ]

... About that one specific part, anyway. I'm reserving my right to bitch and moan about the rest.

Far be it from me to revoke such a right.

[ #sarcasm. ]

More to the point, we are lucky that the worst we were greeted with was kidnapping and enforced enslavement. Not to make light of such things, but among possible alternatives we could have been immediately confronted with, that at least has a more—attainable solution.

[ It's easier to deal with flesh-and-blood men than undead cancerous slave engines built from universal abstracts. As a hypothetical that was not really hypothetical at one point. ]

Whoa, wait, hang on a minute. Are you telling me crewmembers ended up enslaved?

Temporarily, yes. The situation has been resolved.

[ Except for the trauma. ]

Jesus. Okay. That's great.

[ Medusa can probably HEAR him massaging his temples. ]

I was only under for, what? Two weeks?

I sympathize. I was gone for a week and suddenly we were at war.

[ A lot can happen in two weeks. A lot more than this. ]

Nothing has happened since, if that brings you any comfort.

Slightly.

It just means I get to join everyone else in riding out whatever's next on this shitshow.

[ Because he's with Medusa on this one - it could be way worse, and probably will be. ]

Or we could perhaps take advantage of a break in the action.

Yeah? You got something specific in mind?

I am no scientist, but it occurs to me that the actions of the Ingress may not be entirely random.

Random, no. I mean, we've already observed some patterns. An affinity for our cluster of universes, for example.

Precisely. So I would imagine the fact that we've landed here, in this of all possible universes, is not entirely random either. And should it happen again...

Yeah, lemme stop you right there.

I'm gonna need a drink before I continue following this train of thought.

I fail to see how that is going to help you in any way.

I'd say "watch me", but I just remembered the bar is gone.

Talk about a nightmare.

You would still have to confront reality tomorrow morning.

My powers of denial are superhuman. Except in this case, inconveniently.

Two months ago I would've called bullshit on this entire conversation we're having.

It is not a conversation I want to be having either. But we do not have the luxury of pretending it is not happening, or the privilege of blind optimism that someone else will solve the problem for us.

Well, if I get my way, I'll have my hands on the thing sooner rather than later. That seems like a good place to start.

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accidentalqueen - 2016-08-24 04:12 (UTC) - Expand

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