⇨ THE MATRIX

[ringleaders]

Who: EVERYONE!
When: S1:D22 - S1:D??
Where: Visiting the Matrix.
What: The carnival arrives at its next location, as outlined here. This is a general mingling log for convenience purposes, but players are welcome to make as many other logs for this purpose as desired.
Warnings: Could be a lot of things.

THE MATRIX↴ "What IS the Matrix? The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it." ► INSIDE: On the inside, it all seems so normal. Beyond what you know of the reality you've stepped in, every bit of this place feels just as real as it did back in the carnival. If you were to forget where you'd just come from, would you know any different? The simulation of Chicago is identical to how it would have been in the early days of the new millenia, to anyone who comes from a similar Earth. Humans bustle around you, oblivious to the world outside of the Matrix that they were born into. One bright side to it all is that this hyper realism means the coffee tastes just as good as it does in real life. Anything you could do in real Chicago you can do here - and perhaps even more. ► WHITE ROOM: But before that, you were here. The White Room is a loading program, intended to port objects and people into the Matrix. You arrive as a reconstruction of your true physical form, but common sense suggests that for some of you, entering the mundane world looking like yourself isn't the best idea. It's in this empty world that you will be able to load in whatever physical objects you are, and change the way you present your own body to the system. Changes can be little, or big, but whatever you do, the body has to be able to function according to Earth's physical laws. Don't forget, if you die here, you die in the carnival too. ► DEJA VU: It doesn't matter what you're doing, but at some point you'll notice it - something around you has repeated itself, like a line on a skipping record. Maybe it's the same person bumping into you twice in a row, or the same cab driver yelling at you to get out of the way. It's like reality has rewound and repeated itself, and after the fact you have no proof of it happening beyond the memory of what you saw. You don't know what it means, but something about it is chilling. It may be a good time to find a buddy. ► THE ONE: It won't necessarily come naturally, but in a moment of need you may find yourself bending the world of the Matrix through sheer belief and force of need. How you bend it will always stay without the rules of the universe, at least for now, but when it comes to enhancing your own physical characteristics, just about anything is possible. It will not be easily reproducible, not now, but it could be your first view into the window of what's possible.

Comments

[pipers_son]

Still, what kinda friend would I be
If I didn’t listen ta yer preferentiality?
And besides, I think yer understimatin’ how ya look
Passin’ by, ya would surely rob hearts like a crook

[He’s having too much fun with this as he steps back and grins at her.]

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

Anypony, girls or guys,
Gets long looks from your eyes.

[Really, Joker, after all this time you think Zecora doesn't know that? She flashes him a wry look as she slides her arms into the sleeves of the coat.]

[pipers_son]

[He can’t even pretend to be sheepish, just shrugging with a laugh.]

It’s not my fault that I have a fine appreciation
For the folks we see in our constant migration

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

[No, he can't. That's just how he is, so Zecora has no problem teasing him when they both know it's fond.]

Your eyes like all that you seek
So don't pretend I am unique.

[pipers_son]

But aren’t we some of the closest of friends~?
I think that changes it a tad at the end!

[Laughing, he leans back on his feet.]

So, what plans do ya have for explorin’ this place?

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

We are friends so I should thank
You for staring at my flank?

[Never change, Joker. Zecora rolls her eyes fondly, then tugs at the jacket to settle it better on her shoulders. Thinking about her zebra form always makes a human one feel stranger; better to just forget and go with the flow.]

No plans except to see
Everything new to me.

[pipers_son]

Now ain’t that a way ta be rude!
Would ya really say I’m that crude?

[More shameless dramatics and false swooning before he lets the rest of the wardrobe vanish. What an interesting little place this is- it’d make wardrobe a lot easier, he has to say.]

With all the places we’ve traveled
I wonder what more there is ta unravel?

[Bowing, he lets her take the first step, so to speak, into the new world.]

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

The universe is huge and wide
And in it many secrets hide.
We could wander ten thousand years
And never lack new treats for our eyes and ears.

['Entering' take an effort of will she is unaccustomed to, which means her abrupt appearance in an alley leaves her stumbling into a wall with the suddenness of the transition.]

[pipers_son]

[Joker shows up just a second later, and he immediately goes over to her when he sees her position.]

Zecora! Ya alright?

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

Quite all right!
Sorry for the fright!

[Pushing against the wall, she regains her balance quickly, a wry little smile on her face.]

That was a bit more
Than stepping through a door.

[pipers_son]

[Chuckling, he offers her his hand just in case he wants the extra balance.]

Well I guess things are always gonna be a bit tricky
We're rarely ever just settin’ up shop in a new city

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

I have heard of no secret plan.

[She takes his hand, thankful for the offer, though she's quite steady on her feet. This isn't her first rodeo, after all.]

Though they avoid telling me if they can.

[pipers_son]

Even without whatever they’re goin’ on about
Usin’ dreams or phones is a new thing ta try out~.

[Once he’s sure she’s not too stunned from the arrival, he starts off, although he’ll let her take the lead if she likes.]

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

What's new to me is not to others
It seems everypony and their brothers
Knows more about this or that.
Diversity is where it's at!

[She's here purely to explore and see the sights, so she'll gladly defer to Joker's lead without complaint. Any direction suits her!]

[pipers_son]

On that sorta thing, we’ll definitely agree
A lot more fun happens when there’s variety
Now all that’s left when it comes ta outside the show
Is makin’ the decision of where ta go!

[And that’s why he’s humming, glancing over billboards and other advertisements, hoping to find a clue as to where to start. Entire cities are alway fun for this reason.]

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

Is there a place you seek?
Somewhere you'd like to peek?

[She may have no preferences, but that doesn't mean Joker doesn't.]

[pipers_son]

What I’d like, huh….

[That’s always difficult to say. Joker thinks that, for all the bad parts of being a part of the Ringmaster’s carnival, leaping from world to world satisfies something in him. Something that had hated feeling shackled to England, a country that had never cared for the ones it had crushed underneath its heel, and looked out past the ocean. It’s opened up a whole desire to just see more and more, and, sometimes like now, he almost doesn’t know where to start when there’s so much to do.]

So many places ta go, and people ta see
But maybe check out a museum or such, if it’s up ta me

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

[Zecora can empathize; seeing other worlds is the best part of this gig. Learning magic is pleasant and helpful, but expanding her boundaries and finding new things (to make brews out of) is a magnificent adventure.]

A museum! What a delight!
We must do that tonight.

[pipers_son]

Then I’ll take yer enthuisiasm
As a sign ta make it happen!
I’m sure it’ll be easy ta make it so
A city like this has ta have one where we can go

[He's already hopping along as he tries to find one of those tourist looking stores. Already he's become used to those kind of sights after traveling with the carnival for a bit.]

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

But will we recognize
Such a place before our eyes?

[This is a very legitimate and very important question, when so much of what she sees here is strange and foreign to her. Despite knowing Joker for so long, she isn't familiar with the circumstances he comes from -- is all this normal to him?]>/small>

[pipers_son]

Ah, I have ta admit that’s a good question
But I’m sure someone can give us some direction~.

[People who are fine with shamelessly bothering other people: Joker, which he starts to head off to do, right now, unless Zecora stops him.]

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

[She might worry if it were someone else, but Joker has an easygoing way and a natural charisma that mean he should be able to accomplish an interaction like this safely enough.]

[Nevertheless, she's trailing on behind -- pretty sure that her rhyming is more than likely to draw unwanted attention.]

[pipers_son]

[It’s certainly one of Joker’s easy qualities, along with his naturally improvising nature in the event that anything goes wrong. But nothing does this time around, and he’s turning back to Zecora in no time with a grin.]

Looks like there’s a few interestin’ things we could go ta! Said there’s one for science and industry, a “natural” one so I’m gonna say that’s about animals and the like-

[...Of which Zecora is, so would that be weird? Hm.]
-well, there’s a few, ta say the least. Anythin’ in particular sound good for ya?

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

Science and industry would be a treat
There I'd surely learn something neat.

[Never mind the cultural advancement. Aren't museums aimed at fillies? She surely ought to be able to pick up something from visiting one!]

[pipers_son]

It outta be fun ta see what’s so different with this
Science versus the usual potions and mystics

[While they do have engineers, well, most of the things in the carnival are some level of magic, some more than others. Worlds like this are interesting because they don’t have that at all, trying to at least pretend to run on some level of simple or not-so-simple science. Joker isn’t really experienced in either, but even like that, he likes seeing how they vary.]

Ah, but it might take us a bit of a trip
But a city like this should have ways ta make it quick
At least I hope that’s right
Or I’ll be quite contrite