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!)

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

This is... an incredible finding, more than I think any of us could have hoped for. Truly, the bond between you both allows you to accomplish much.

I don't know what services I could provide, but if you need resources you know I shall find it for you.

You know this already but. Officially - I'm in. I’m ready. Whatever you need, data checked, numbers run… hell, a volunteer through a rift. I’m your man.

[Darin laughs bashfully.]

Bond..? Y-Yeah, well...love makes you move mountains and all that, yeah? And since I can kinda already do that naturally, I figure I could try and navigate space-time?

But, that would be great, Espio! The few that I made required some pretty rare materials. A steady pipeline would help me manufacture them quickly without having to stop and source the materials myself.

Think I can get you a list of things? And name your price and consider it doubled.

Actually, I'd been thinking about this. Your universe has mastered space travel, right? Do you have any knowledge about rifts in general?

I actually had some questions that I wanted to kind of toss out there.

Oh, finally, congratula--

[Kaveh hadn't even looked up or started listening when Mehrak alerted him to a post from Darin about 'exciting news' but he does fall quiet after a second.]

...Do you have any of these boxes I could take apart? How are they made?

[Ugh fine make him say words-!!]

I know what we use back home. Mass relays, FTL travel.

The relays would probably be the closest to what the captain’s describing here. Something capable of connecting two points. The relays connect to each other, and the rifts to worlds.

Love, whether romantic or otherwise, is a powerful force. I believe it.

Of course, I would be glad to assist you however I am able. I can't offer much in terms of understanding how to cross the boundaries of dimensions and time, but I can help you get materials at least.

Heh...you know, maybe this whole thing started because I fell in love but if that were the case, I could have just...focused on finding a way to get myself to the world I want to be in.

But...I don't think I thought of it like that. I started thinking about everyone else here and how they all have lost people or how they, themselves are lost. It...made me sad. And when I thought on it more, the idea that I could get my happily ever after and people were still stranded...?

It bugged me. Why should I get my happy ending when others can't?

So...yeah. Having someone to scout for me would be a huge help.

Two points in distance, but what about time?

[Listen, there's another element to this that he lacks experience and perspective on Garrus and you're from the space future.]

I'd prefer not to dismantle them because I only have a few and I want them ready to go for anyone who wants one.

But, I've got blueprints, schematics, and an entire notebook filled with the design process I can make a copy of for you. Obviously, the master prints stay with me.

I could take those. The notes are the most interesting to me--I can do more with it when I know the underlying principles, and knowing you and the Princess, these are at least partially magical in nature, no?

[Kaveh is drumming his fingers on the table, weighing something.]

If these can work...do you think they could allow people to travel to worlds not the one they came from?

Mm, only in the most… loose sense.

FTL - faster than light - travel, kind of bends the rules a little. Propelling a ship faster than light travels means you shave off hours, months, of flight time. The relays cut it down by centuries in some cases.

So… they sort of skip time, you could technically say. But as for literal time travel, no. It’s not possible as far as I know. No one’s really researched or seriously tried.

[And the best scientist he knew was a bio-science guy. And also dead.]

That sounds very much like you, to think of others before yourself. Reminds me of someone else. [you know like another blue spikey protagonist] Which means I feel all the more confident in assisting you.

Keep me updated. All my skills are at your disposal.

[Darin rubs his chin thoughtfully.]

I'm not looking to travel backwards in time, specifically.

[He's not sure how much he should say. Zelda's technically from a point in her kingdom's distant past and she wants to get back to her proper time. Theoretically, if the rifts could be traversed, he'd wind up in Zelda's distant past with her.]

...It's hard to explain. But people can arrive here from different points in time from the same universe, right? Part of what I want to find out is a way to log those points as access points. But, based on my reading and understanding, if space is represented by an X, Y, and Z axis, time kinda runs through the whole of it concurrently. The same point in time exists across all spatial vectors.

[Garrus, you would be forgiven if you are wondering where Darin suddenly found his brain.]

[ Wait.

Wait wait wait wait was this guy serious?]

Whatever I can help with, I will.

[Shit he didn't even-- think, he just pressed reply to and--]

I-- promised to take someone home with me. Who can't go back to his. So-- If this could help us all travel between this world and others--

[There was a lot Dojima would be willing to do to help with that--]

Do you think you'll be wanting a box?

...Yes.

I have a promise to keep that cannot be done while I'm here. That, and I have family I yearn to return to. I don't know what I could give up, but I would do it.

That's the plan. I promised Zelda I'd find a way for us both to go to Hyrule together. I'll break any rule, even the metaphysical ones, if it means making her happy.

The first step though, is learning about what rules are even in play. There's nothing ironclad in this universe and even if there is?

I'm a blacksmith. "Ironclad" just means more materials for me to work with.

Zelda's been helping me parse the data but the construction is all mine. The only magic is that of the Leviathans. I had them completed the same way our personal ships are created. I offered up the box, and something of deep, significant value to a leviathan and, in return, I got a completed box.

It's a start. I can't make any promises but it's the same for me. There's someone I want to be with more than the rules of this universe will allow.

So I'm learning the rules. Figuring out what makes these rifts function and how. If you care about this person? All the more reason for me to keep doing this.

For now, the most important things I need are resources and data. I need more people willing to attune themselves to the boxes so we can have a larger sample size.

Take your time and think it over. For me, I gave up my hammer. My adopted father forged it for me when I became his apprentice in the trade. It's like a...rite of acceptance. I've had it with me for over ten years now.

But I know that he'd tell me that a hammer is a hammer and what matters is the arm that swings it. I incorporated a piece of the hammer into my new one and gave up the original.

But, I think anything that comes from your heart would more than suffice.

I see. ...I may have something, in fact. It would sadden me to give it up, but I would prefer to do that than nothing.

And at the end of it all, most material items are indeed replaceable.

[ As someone agonizing over the friendships he's made in this world for the past half month or so, this is very welcomed news. ]

I might provide some interesting data to the study. I know there exists others who are "Sherlock Holmes" in more than just name. They are alternate versions of myself, or I might be one such alternate for another. The Beacon Box would need differentiate between my particular world from theirs. Even if it manages to pick up their worlds, I assume that would still be valuable data to you.

[ What could he offer as something to be a tether? If the personal value is the important part more than the physical item... Hm.... ]

If there are multiple people here from the same world, presumably only one of us would need to give up something for one of these Beacon Boxes?

...Wait, so there's other versions of you? The Beacon Box should attune to you specifically, but this would be a great way to confirm that. Like...how different are you from other versions of yourself.

[Like, say, if one were a mouse or something...]

Interesting question! They were designed for one person to offer up the personal item, but if more people wanted to, I'd have to wonder if the effect would be boosted.

Naturally, I wouldn't force anyone to give up anything...it might be worth discussing on your end.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

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Seeking Interested Parties | VIDEO

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