shellphones | Seeking Interested Parties

Entry tags:

Seeking Interested Parties | VIDEO

Type: Video
Sender ID: forgeabettertomorrow | (Darin Altway)
To: Public
Subject: Darin and Zelda have an IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT to make
Warnings: N/A

[As the video blips on, Darin walks onto screen from the left. He looks…anxious? Excited? Definitely more energized than usual. He leans forward, the top of the frame cutting off his head so you have a close-up of his torso and not much else.]

Did I do this thing right, Sunshine? I kinda wanna frame this up right.

[ The video feed wobbles a little, the camera going out of focus. Zelda's voice is audible from somewhere off screen. ]

Almost! Don't forget to activate this setting here.

[ The video feed wobbles again, the camera coming back into focus. ]

Alright. Alright, let’s do this.

…Oh holy crap, we’re already recording.

[Darin immediately stiffens as he realizes that he is, in fact, broadcasting.]

Damn piece of— whatever, just go. Okay! Hey everyone! So, I wanted to put this out there publicly because…Zelda and I have some exciting news.

[Darin takes a step back and reaches towards Zelda to take her hand with a wide, excited grin on his face.]

So…I’ve been working on a…on a project. An experiment, really. About the rifts that brought us all here.

[If you were waiting with bated breath for a certain matrimonial announcement, sorry, this isn’t gonna be that. It’s gonna be BETTER. It’s gonna be about SCIENCE.]

I…I’ve made no real secret of the fact that I want to figure the rifts out for…obvious, personal reasons. So, over the last couple of months, I designed something.

[Darin reaches off screen and returns holding what looks like a wireframe cube with a spherical chamber suspended in the center by eight converging rods anchored to the cube’s points.]

This. I call it the Beacon Box. I figured that the Rifts were too…potentially volatile to be controlled but hey, like any other force of nature, you don’t try and tame it, right? You learn to navigate it. I won’t…bore you with the science of it but the short version is I imbued it with an essence of me and my world with the help of the Leviathans and had it cast into the rift. I wasn’t expecting much but…

[Darin excitedly looks at Zelda.]

But we got some data. Zelda got some readings that we’re still parsing but…well, I’ll let her tell you.

[ Zelda, grinning just as excitedly as Darin, gives a little wave to the camera with one hand. In the other, she's holding the Purah Pad. ]

It took a little bit of doing, but I was able to program the Purah Pad to receive periodic transmissions from the Beacon Box while it traversed the Rifts. I believe a number of us have conducted research on the Rifts before, myself included, and a prevailing theory I came across was that the Rifts are related to the Leviathans-- possibly even created by them. So I expected that the energy signature of the Rifts would resemble that of the Leviathans.

[ And here, her grin gets wider. She looks like she's almost vibrating as she clutches the Purah Pad with both hands. ]

But that is not the case at all! Now, these remain preliminary readings, but the energy signature detected from the Rifts differs significantly from that of the Leviathans. Nor do they match any other signatures I've recorded in this world. The Rifts are far, far more powerful.

But that's not all! We recorded a few sudden influxes of energy-- "spikes," if you will-- the timing of which seem to align with the arrival of a few new riftfarers. I believe these spikes are indicative of people-- or even objects-- passing through the rifts. I posit that the same spikes occur with departures as well, although these are rather more difficult to verify.

Now, I've been examining the data produced by these spikes to see if I can't find any patterns or measurable specificity-- things which might help us determine when a passage through the Rifts will occur, or if any of these readings might indicate the world to which they are connecting-- a "world signature." As of now, I've not found any, but employing additional Beacon Boxes will expand the data pool significantly and allow for a much more thorough study of it.

[Darin chimes in now, tossing the Beacon Box back and forth in his hands like a kid waiting his turn to give a presentation.]

I know…it doesn’t sound like much. But it’s a start and this is where I want some help. Creating a Beacon Box requires…well…it requires you to give up something of deep, personal value. Something that can tether you to your world and can, in turn, call out to it. But…if I’m right?

If I’m right, people we’ve lost might be able to find their way back. And the people who want to go home? They might be able to do just that. But like Zelda said, we need more data. If you want to be a part of the project, please reach out to me or Zelda. I’ll be offering the construction of these boxes for free for anyone interested and if there’s anyone out there with even a passing interest in…dimensional space and time rifts? I’d love to work with you.

[At this point, Darin turns to Zelda, grinning from ear to ear. Unable to contain his excitement anymore, he sweeps her up into a giant bear hug, twirling her off screen to cries of “I did it!”]

(OOC NOTE: This is the start of the EXTREMELY LONG RUNNING BEACON BOX PLOT. ALL ARE WELCOME TO PARTICIPATE. I'll draft up an OOC write-up later but the short version is that Darin is looking for ways to navigate the rifts. If you have any questions, please feel free to DM me here, hit me up at Bitterbearface n Discord, or ping me on plurk at bitterbearface For the purposes of this post, please place in the subject line if you'd like to speak with DARIN or ZELDA specifically. If you have no preference, leave it blank!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ It's a good thing he did not turn off the broadcast immediately upon the lovey-dovey introduction, he got some nice SCIENCE instead. To Ulpianus this, too, is the best news he's had so far.

However... ]

You would announce this to an unknown and uncontrollable audience. Have you safeguarded these boxes and yourselves? Do you plan to deal with those who copy and profit off your idea? How will you ensure the items brought to you belong to the bringer?

I'm not worried about myself. If anyone made an attempt on us...well...

Let's just say there isn't much I can't handle.

I understand your concerns about security and it's something I've been considering. As for replicating and profiting off of my idea? I don't think many people can do either one. I'm not planning on making the schematics widely available and I can't see how money can really be made off of this. Not when I'm offering the opportunity to have one made for free.

As for the items...it would really only be harming themselves if they brought something that wasn't theirs, wouldn't it?

Schematics are unnecessary. The idea of a "machine that can control the rifts" is enough for conmen to spring up. What you are offering is a new sort of power. A new resource to fight for. It will be exploited.

[ He just has a pessimistic view of humanity... which is very justified, to be fair. ]

Are you always there to protect your workshop? Can your Sunshine handle herself? Threatened with the other's death, will either of you give up the schematics?

[~~Darin sees this guy giving Zelda the softball questions. He gets it. She's cute, right?~~]

...I'm not. No. And Zelda can handle herself just fine. She's handled herself without me before and I have every confidence that she doesn't need me the way some people might think.

The security of the workshop is a good point, I'll grant you that. But anyone thinking they can do anything to Zelda?

...It'll be the last mistake they make. I won't have to give up the schematics. I don't do well with ultimatums.

Because I tend to break every rule put in front of me.

[There's an edge in his voice. Something dangerous and powerful. Something he's reining in.]

Besides, I have faith in people. And yeah, I can be proven wrong but I'd rather be proven wrong than lose that.

[ Look it's more that Zelda is being A Scientist about it which makes Ulpianus homesick. (But it's true she also has baby vibes.) ]

Given that you continue to breathe, you are failing to break at least one rule.

[ Contrarian that he is, Ulpianus absolutely definitely needs to point that out. ~~(Please god don't let Ulpianus pick a fight with yet another couple by being a contrarian asshole please)~~]

Only a fool ignores reality in favour of his beliefs.

[ That one is something Ulpianus had to learn himself, but he allows no indication of that, delivering the statement matter-of-factly. That said, back to the topic at hand: ]

What will you do once you run out of volunteers or objects they can donate?

[Darin laughs.]

I'm harder to kill than most realize and plenty have tried. And so what if that makes me a fool? You're adhering so desperately to reality because maybe you forgot how to believe. In a way, aren't those your beliefs you're sticking so fervently to?

If I run out of volunteers or objects, I survey and parse the data. I wait until a new opportunity presents itself. As long as I wake up in the morning, that's another step towards my goal!

[ He will just Ignore the beliefs argument; there is no point in discussing it, nor do Darin's words wound him. Ulpianus knows what he himself believes in, but dealing with the... passionate types was never his forte. ]

So you have no plan. Perhaps I should be discussing this with Miss Zelda instead.

Actually, I think planning that far down the line is a waste. Things could change tomorrow. Drafting up a three part plan doesn't work if we never go beyond the first part.

I think being able to pivot is important!

And hey, I know my girlfriend is cute, but you can't have her. I'm perfectly open to discussion.

Let's just keep the veiled threats to a minimum, yeah? We're all friends here.

--What?

[ The line about Zelda throws Ulpianus off enough that he abandons his train of thought. Why would he want to have her, whatever that means? He just wants to talk about the scientific method of this research?.. ]

What?

[Darin just rolls along without a second thought.]

Look, I appreciate your concerns and your input. And I would love to hear more if you want to drop by the forge.

If you're worried about someone attacking me, feel free to test me if you'd like. Pretty confident I can handle most of what people can dish out towards me.

Besides, you don't seem like a bad person.

[ DARIN IF ULPIANUS DOESN'T SEEM LIKE A BAD PERSON TO YOU YOU NEED YOUR EYES CHECKED...

He ~conveniently~ ignores the offer to test Darin's skill. While he is fully ready to do so, arranging it beforehand would entirely defeat the purpose of checking the boy's ability to handle an unexpected attack. ]

There is no need for meeting in person. Talking through these... 'shellphones' is sufficient.

[ A hint of disdain in the word "shellphones", because he's a giant snob about technology. ]

Who has the control over where and when the rifts open?

As far as I know, no one. There are stewards that sorta...maintain the rift integrity and allow us to fish some things out of them but...where they open other than that? No idea.

Honestly, that's another thing I hope the boxes will tell me.

[ Oh, these are good questions. Zelda hasn't even considered some of these. ]

These are wonderful questions, thank you. [ She smiles and nods. What helpful feedback ♪ ] Although, to be perfectly honest, I don't see why anyone would want to steal these boxes or attack us over them. We're not looking to profit monetarily from them and their only value is in the materials used in their construction.

I will be frank; I would welcome anyone to replicate and iterate on our work. Perhaps someone else might see areas for improvement that Darin and I overlooked. Science thrives when scientists build upon or challenge the work of other scientists. For instance, were someone to provide an item that did not belong to them, we would have the opportunity to observe how a Beacon Box created under those conditions might function differently from the others.

[ There is a moment of silence and a sound like a soft sigh. Realistically, he should call her naive, but... her outlook really reminds him of home. ]

You speak of humanity how it should be, not how it is. In an underdeveloped society monetary gain will take priority over the advance of science. Non-functioning copies of your boxes can be sold to the general populace as "a way to control the rifts". It does not matter if they work or not, as long as that initial sale is made.

[ That said... ]

I want to see the schematics. And the signatures you've recorded.

[ He's not really thinking that this may sound like HE plans to profit off the boxes. ]

[ When she was younger, Zelda would have taken Ulpianus' critiques as personal failures and chastised herself harshly for them. But she's no longer that anxious teenage girl; she's a woman grown, sovereign leader of her kingdom and now captain of a ship and crew. So she doesn't flinch at the brusqueness of his words, only nods in acknowledgement when she hears them.

Until that last part. That makes one suspicious eyebrow quirk up and the corner of her lips turn upward in amusement. ]

For purely scientific pursuits, I assume? Not to craft faulty copies to sell to the unsuspecting public using false promises in order to turn a tidy profit?

[ There's a jeering tone to her words that says she's less concerned about Ulpianus being a genuine threat and more amused by his overall lack of awareness of how his request sounds right now. ]

[ It takes him a moment to understand why she's asking that, because obviously he wouldn't have warned them about potential grifters if he was planning to be one himself... but he has another very important point to make: ]

Your partner has already shown the box in the transmission. Imitating its appearance will be easy.

[ This does NOT help his case. ]

[ Zelda's eyebrow goes back down, but her amusement doesn't fade. Either he's testing her, fucking with her, or genuinely has no idea how suspicious he sounds right now. Whichever's the case, she's having fun playing along. ]

Well, it sounds to me like you've no need for the schematics, then.

[ It's... a bit of all of those. That is testing her, not being entirely aware how sus he sounds, and Refusing To Think People Are So Simple-Minded As To Assume He's Sus When He Has No Such Intentions. ]

I have no interest in its appearance. It's the inner workings I want to see.

The technology of these lands has been exhaustingly primitive so far. I find it hard to believe you've found a way to transform and transfer information on such a level.

"Exhaustingly primitive?"

[ She repeats his words in a dubious tone that says "wow, elitist much?", but stops short of calling him out entirely. Nevertheless, her smile remains. ]

Well, I suppose you are correct on some level; the collection and transmission of data does not rely solely on this world's magitech.

[ Zelda picks up the Purah Pad and waggles it enticingly. ]

We handle the bulk of raw data reception and evaluation using this device I brought with me from my home world, which a good friend of mine reverse-engineered using her distant ancestors' "primitive" technology.

[ Ulpianus, like most Aegir, is indeed incredibly elitist about technology... and culture... and many other things... To make things worse, it's usually true that his homeland is a lot more developed. They just don't have to be snooty about it, but they are. ]

The 'magitech' of this world is barely fit for these audiovisual transmissions.

[ HE'S A GIANT ASSHOLE ABOUT TECHNOLOGY. The Purah Pad, however, does sound better to him than most things here. ]

Tell me about your process of analyzing the data. Please and thank you.

[ Oh boy, a 'please' and a 'thank you.' That's quite the show of courtesy from this guy.

His remark about magitech earns a dismissive scoff from Zelda, the vocal equivalent of rolling one's eyes, but her countenance remains pleasant. She's starting to get the feeling that Ulpianus's bark might be worse than his bite, but she'll reserve a final judgment of his character for now. ]

I would be happy to.

[ Zelda turns on the Purah Pad and opens one of the programs she has been using to crunch data, then turns the device around so that the screen faces the shellphone camera. On the Purah Pad's screen are a few charts and graphs, as well a window showing some overlapping frequencies. It all looks legitimately scientific. ]

At the moment, I only have data from Darin's prototype, so most of my efforts have centered around interpreting and visualizing it. The Beacon Box records and transmits energy readings along with locational and spatial data. I used the mode from the energy readings to identify the baseline, then charted any significant deviations. Most of these were sudden increases, the "spikes" I mentioned earlier, which I then compared to known happenings, such as the arrival of new riftfarers. There are enough matches to indicate a correlation, but I cannot confidently identify causation.

Further, I recorded unique signatures within locational and spatial data, using the Beacon Box's signature as my control. Each world has its own energy signature, kind of like an audio frequency. Based on the strength of the signatures, I was able to chart the box's spatial location within the rifts relative to them. However, I am not presently able to identify the specific worlds correlated with the recorded signatures, excluding Darin's home world of Anmaral.

[ Zelda can't see it because he's still being mysterious over voice, but he actually leans in closer to his shellphone to inspect the data. He's pleased with Zelda's methodology and reasoning - much more than he is with Darin's apparent "throw things at the wall and see what sticks" approach. It's just nice to be able to discuss Modern Principles Science(TM) with someone. ]

And how were you able to identify his world's signature?

[ But throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks is basically the scientific method in action! ]

At the moment, I'm using the energy signature from his Beacon Box to represent his home world. I hypothesizes that each individual has their own energy signature of sorts, and that a part of it would include their home world's signature. I, as a being of Hyrule, should theoretically present an energy signature which bears similarities to Hyrule's. A derivative signature, I suppose you could call it.

In any case, one of the goals of this project is to see if a Beacon Box imbued with an individual's energy signature will be pulled through the rifts to that person's home world. So, if Darin's prototype records a signature similar to its own, it would not be unreasonable to theorize that signature to be Anmaral's itself. And it would lend further credence to my theory of derivative signatures.

[ Yeah but you have to be METHODICAL about the throwing things at the wall! And not just assume something will work out! Smh kids these days! ]

And what exactly do you define as a 'world'? Is it a given region on a planet, or the planet itself? Its star system? Its universe?

[ He huffs. There are just so many assumptions and variables there! ]

Furthermore, do you have anything in place to isolate which part of a person's energy signature corresponds to that of their 'world'?

[ Zelda actually rolls her eyes when she hears Ulpianus huff. Geez, he's a real stick in the mud. She lets out a little scoff of a laugh. ]

Are you newly arrived, sir? Because I'm afraid you are looking for rigid distinctions that do not exist in the context of the multi-universal space we find ourselves in. One's 'world' may be any of those things: region, planet, star system, etc.-- or even none of them. I know several individuals who identify their home world as 'Earth,' but they hail from such different versions that one must conclude each 'Earth' is a separate world from the others.

[ She laughs again, this time more good-naturedly, and smiles at the camera. ]

You know, I have freely provided you with an awful lot of sensitive information, while you have not even given me the courtesy of your name. I think, perhaps, our exchange has been terribly unequal.

Seeking Interested Parties | VIDEO

voice; un: encoreinthedeep

[VIDEO]; un:forgeabettertomorrow

voice (he's ~mysterious~ (=bad at face to face communication)

THAT'S FINE, Darin will just keep being the showman on video

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video; un: multidisciplinary

voice, sorry zelda he's bad with being perceived,,,

video, perceives him harder 👀

no!! no perceiving!! only voice!!

forces him to perceive her then

he's fine with this, more info for him this way 👁️

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i faked this science as hard as i could lmao

handshake, the worst part of playing ulpi is that he is A Scientist and i have 1 braincell

🤝

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