lostcarnival | ⇨ POLARIS

Entry tags:

⇨ POLARIS

Who: Everyone!
When: Days 102 - 109
Where: Polaris
What: With the Ringmaster kidnapped and the rest of the carnival imprisoned, characters find themselves at the mercy of a Winter Fae called the Mother of Invention.
Warnings: Graphic experimentation in places.

TRIALS & TRIBULATION↴

After a day of cleansing and processing, where all the belongings and attire of their old lives are stripped away and replaced with something newer and more form fitting, the former members of the carnival will find themselves let loose into the Farm for the first time. A sizable green area, filled with orchards growing inorganic looking fruits and field ready for tending, the Farm is where they will be spending their days for the forseeable future.

Food and drink are no longer needed, and so every day is an endless cycle of work. Technicians are seen only when necessary, and when being taken from your place of work to your lonesome cells at night. Every day, there are new postings on the "Production Board", where various dire sound scientific trials ask for subjects. The majority won't be forced, at least not yet, but the system is at work to push its participants to the brink and force their hand.

After all, volunteers make the best subjects.

► PRODUCTIVITY: As explained elsewhere, characters will be forced to compete to attain enough Productivity Point to be considered Satisfactory. There are literally not enough points to go around for everyone to attain this, which means that at least some people will be deemed "Below Expectations" by the end of the first four-day cycle. What this means has yet to be discovered, but the Technicians have grimly warned against it.

Productivity involves many tasks, including orchard picking, tilling, planting, harvesting, watering, maintenance, and more. Any task you can think of that would take place on a plantation is applicable here. Beyond that, the Production Board awaits you, offering precious Productivity Points in exchange for your cooperation. How you become Satisfactory is up to you, but it's every person for themselves. Only one person can turn in the credit for harvesting or preparing fields, and while you can certainly try to help others by letting them take credit for your work, it's a sure fire way to fall behind the herd, especially if you are already in a low Classification.

Fruits and fields will miraculously grow overnight, and will be ready for a new day when you are. You've been told not to eat anything you harvest, but right now you aren't hungry anyway.

► POLARIS BY NIGHT: During the night, you are left alone to your thoughts and maybe an annoying roommate. Solo or in pairs, the entire night will be spent in small sleep pods, as shown on the locations post. Is it possible to sneak out? It doesn't seem like it is, but who is to say? The real question is if you want to dare to try. There is one hour of rest before and after seven hours of darkness. Even if you don't usually have to sleep, you'll find yourself oddly weary and inclined to rest. Supernaturally, almost.

► PARTICIPATION: Sometimes participation in experimental trials is manditory, sometimes it isn't. You are free to handwave your character having been pulled aside for minor examinations, such as blood tests or aura scans. Each time, you will be pulled into a separate part of the station and analyzed by a Technician and heavily automated machinery. Anymore more complex than basic check-up level tests will be posted about in a section called "TRIALS" in the body of the post below.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Honestly, planting seeds together sounds like a great idea. Though she does have to add a Very Important Warning. "...We have to make sure to say we did half of it at the end then, okay?" she says 'seriously'. "...Because Yuuya tried to give me his fruit picking, and he needs to prove he did stuff first."

In other words, she's not interested in riding on everyone's progress. Hooray! Good thing that's not the point here.

As it is, her fingers are pretty darn great at the dirt prodding thing, which makes the perfect holes for seeds. "...What do you want to talk about though?" she asks, what with Strange having said 'chat'.

Okay, but consider this: Strange's 'get the hell out of dodge' plan entails him rising up in ranks and not sharing points. He gives Reira a sort of 'you've got to be kidding me' look before he nods, and mentally decides not to work with Reira again for the rest of their stay.

"Just for this round," Strange agrees. He picks up some seeds and gestures for Reira to start prodding the dirt and making some seed holes. While they work, he quietly starts to talk.

"How much do you know about the faerie who runs this place?"

Well, she doesn't want people to GIVE her points. So there. But you're using her time for gossip, so you gotta pay up. "That's okay. It's probably better to work alone and make your own 'production' anyway." Case in point.

Now then.

She tilts her head at him, poking a few holes. She does it pretty quickly, evenly spaced and properly aligned, so that's a bonus at least. That's the question??? "...Nothing." And is anyone surprised by that, probably not.

Strange is not at all surprised by that. But, the more people know about the Mother of Invention, the further they can spread the information if/when Strange does something stupid that puts him out of commission for a while (it happens a lot, he's kind of accepting the inevitability here.)

"Her name is the Mother of Invention. She's Winter Court and focuses on technology. She's integrated magical technology within the bodies of her changelings before." There's an unspoken 'and might try it with us.' "From what I understand, her main goal is to help the fae develop a resistance to iron."

As Reira pokes the holes, Strange goes behind her, puts a seed in it, and then smooths the dirt out over top of the holes. His aren't as evenly smoothed as Reira's are but the seed's covered, that counts.

It's fine enough, and who knows maybe the points he gets from this will give him a decent boost.

Probably not. Still, Reira nods. "Mnh. So...she makes cyborgs," she determines. "...But she'll also probably test iron on us."

If Strange thinks she sounded casual about the cyborg bit (whatever those are), and only sounded worried about the iron bit, he is absolutely correct.

Having been through two digital worlds, Strange has a vague understanding of what cyborgs are. And honestly, he's not questioning the fact that Reira's casual about it. What's worse, getting odd techno-magic parts shoved in you or being literally tortured and crippled so badly you might never recover? Strange is going for cripples.

"I don't know what sort of tests she might run on us. But those two are likely candidates. On the bright side, I doubt we'll have the rest of the Courts on our tail. I got the impression that most viewed her as too eccentric to bother."

Still poking holes in the dirt, she considers that for a moment. "...That's definitely better...."

Ah. Hold on.

"...Ummm....Strange-oji?" she asks, staring even as she continues the work. She's awful good at that. "...If all the other fae ignore her... ...would they know if Mr. Ignatius was taken away?"

Suddenly, that iron experimentation point is leaving a rather nauseating taste in her mouth.

The long, slightly suspicious silence before Strange answers Reira's question practically answers the question by itself.

"I don't think so. There's always a possibility Ignatius managed to talk to the Court before he confronted the Huntsman...but I don't think he did." Strange doesn't remember the exact details of their conversation, but the general atmosphere of it leans towards 'nope.'

Hmm.

That. Causes a pause. It's only a short one- she remembers they're supposed to keep working- but it's a pause.

"..We have to get him back too. The danger definitely isn't over," she 'explains', not entirely sure it's a good idea to say 'we still have a contract' out loud. "...And if no one knows he's here, it wouldn't be fair to leave him behind. ...We're the only ones who know now."

"We do," Strange admits. But...how? Ignatius isn't on the Farm (which makes sense: why let your prized test subject do manual labor?) If Strange manages to work his way up the ranks then perhaps eventually he could see Ignatius. But then what? It'll be damned hard to break out a True Fae and, though he hates to admit it, Strange's main priority at the moment is keeping himself alive and getting himself out of here.

"But we can't do anything until we find out where exactly he is. There's obviously testing chambers...one of those might have him."

How is the big question. Especially since, well. "...But they won't put us in the same ones," Reira assumes. "...That wouldn't be very smart, at least..."

Actually, she wonders.

"...Do you think, if we get close to the room he is in though, that something could happen?" Maybe the contracts would allow him to do something. Something that could overpower his captors, give them a boost...

Faeries have to get SOMETHING out of contracts, right?

And well, if Ignatius could get out like that who knows maybe it would make things easier for them.

The idea that the Technicians may have considered that themselves (if it even matters) doesn't hit her just yet. As it is. "...This would be easier if we could use magic again. ...Getting out." Boo.

And Strange is just about to crush Reira's idea even further. "Even if we could get close to the room, I doubt anything would happen. Ignatius is sheer power: they must have him under lock and key as well as heavily wounded or tortured to keep him from blowing this place to bits."

Strange still isn't entirely sure how being near Ignatius would actually do anything, but might as well let the kid hold onto her weird hypotheses. Who knows, there might be some merit in it...maybe.

"Hmmn." Just because it's right doesn't mean she has to like it.

Oh well. Poking continues. "...Well, I guess we have to get out of this spot first anyway," she mutters, not really hiding her frowning. "...Mnh. So...What are you going to do?" Reira calmly asks, looking to him. Maybe if she copies what he does, she'll find a way to help faster.

~~Boy is she going to be disappointed if there's an answer~~

"Try to find a way out of here," Strange simply explains. "By any means necessary."

Reira isn't getting all of the details. Why would she, she's a kid. Lord knows her worldview is simple enough that she'd chastise him for doing what they wanted or going along with the enemy's plans or what have you. She's too young: she wouldn't understand that when all your options are terrible ones, it pays to pick what you think is the most terrible.

And, because he knows that will only make it so she asks him even more questions, he changes the subject. "Of course, we've only been here for a few days. Even when I had my magic, very few important things can be accomplished in a few days time."

Surprisingly she'd understand very quickly. She would also simply be naive enough to assume that it totally wasn't the only or best option and that anyone considering it to be was 'Super Dumb'. People did that to herself and the 'Lancers' back home to a lesser (PG) extent- it would make sense here, even if she didn't think of it initially.

But that's nothing that will come up now. Instead what does come up is something she agrees with more whole heartedly- "...Mnn. The things that happened in a few days always got people hurt, because people moved too fast," she remarks almost pointedly.

...One thing she's got to ask. "...Do you think 'trials' will make it easier?"

"I've no idea," Strange admits, with a little shrug. This is before the productivity results go up, he's not entirely sure how the trials relate to the rankings and what have you. He knows he'll probably do a trial if only to satiate his own curiosity (and probably brownnose), but he's got no idea what the trials do.

"It can't hurt, though."

Ah, well. Bugger. To that she'll just have to give a shrug. "I guess. ...I hope one I can do appears," she decides in the end. "...If I can do it, it probably won't be that bad."

She's accepted her lot in life as a seven year old, really. And that lot is 'not much, for the next few years'. "...I hope you find one you're good at too. ...one that doesn't seem 'bad', I mean."

Because that last bit isn't ominous right.

Thankfully, Strange bites his lip before he points out the obvious: nothing they've ever encountered so far gave a damn that Reira was a seven year old. Why would this place do something like that?

"I'm certain I'll find something eventually." And not just because he's going to casually suggest a few things to one of the Technicians. "I hope you find one that suits your taste."

So far, she's got that message loud and clear. Which is why if a trial actually seems to consider that, it's definitely going to be easy for everyone she figures.

She's also worried that if one DOESN'T, she won't be able to do one at all. The girl sighs. "It's not about taste," she grumbles, poking the last stretch of soil and standing. "...I just want to be allowed."

Qualify. The word she's looking for is 'Qualify'.

"Something will come up eventually," Strange responds, with a shrug. "If they want to have data on all of us, they'll find a way."

Whatever sort of bullshit test the technicians would come up with, Strange doesn't know. He just has a feeling that it might happen.

Phew. She seems to hope so, at least.

Anyway she's poked all she can poke, so that's that task done. "...Well. Thank you for telling me things at least," she decides in the end. "...I hope you make it." Up there. And all that. Also with working for that matter.

"I will," Strange simply says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. With a little nod at Reira, he starts to go back to work.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

⇨ POLARIS

A | SCREW IT, REIRA TIME...

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject