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!)

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[ 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.

The information we've been exchanging pertains to your research of the rifts. I fail to see how knowing my name would help with it.

[ He's SUCH a stick in the mud. ]

Without concrete definitions of what you are working with you may as well make up anything you want and interpret the data to fit.

[ Oh, she has a definition for 'world.' She's just not telling him yet. ]

The information we have been exchanging? [ An eyebrow quirks up. ] Well, that's odd. I can't seem to recall any of the information you have given me so far.

And let us be clear, a warning is not the same as information.

Information comprises everything. Even the sound of my voice is 'information'.

[ For a moment, Zelda is quiet, her face twisting up into an inscrutable expression.

Then, she snorts.]

Truly? The sound of your voice?

[ She tries to suppress her laughter, tries to couch her expression into something neutral.... but it escapes anyways. ]

F- Forgive me, I am not mocking you. [ Yes, she is. ] I've just not heard that before. It's [ paranoid ] not what I was expecting.

Edited 2026-03-12 02:03 (UTC)

[ There's a baffled silence on his end for a while. Why is she laughing? What's funny about this?? How should he even reply?.. ]

... You would argue that you do not know what I sound like?

[ Omg he doesn't even know why she's laughing?? Then he was completely serious?? ]

No, no, I certainly know how you sound. [ And it's 'like a paranoid weirdo.' ] But if we are comparing the exchange of information to payment in coin, I would not have expected the sound of one's voice to have monetary value.

[ He was completely serious.

Also, he scoffs at the monetary simile. ]

The pursuit of knowledge should not be compared to such base things.

[ (And he still hasn't given her his name.) ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Seeking Interested Parties | VIDEO

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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