Introduction
(Not accepting new characters at this time, sorry)
When faster than light travel was invented, humanity rejoiced. Finally we could visit other inhabitable planets, meet alien races, colonize the galaxy... And that we did. All of it. At the time of this story there were, however, a few small problems:
One, there still was some limit to spaceship speed. It wasn't possible to travel to more than a few dozen interesting planets without dying of old age. The solution was hypersleep, in which a person didn't age.
Two, in hypersleep one wasn't unconscious, but the brain did get slowed down too much to control a spaceship, and long term memory was unreliable. The solution to the inevitable boredom was a virtual reality roleplaying game. The solution to being too slow to control the ship was to use an artificial intelligence as a pilot. Unreliable long term memory during hypersleep was not really a problem while playing the game: people would have more fun when they forgot the solutions to puzzles and had to solve them again.
Three, sometimes the entire ship would break down, including the life support systems. Nobody had figured out the cause of the problem yet, never mind a solution, but fortunately it almost never happened.
You are a passenger on the CSS Sunnyside. You might for example be a businessperson, a tourist, or permanently moving to another planet. You might be human or alien. You might be young or old. In other words, you might be anyone who has a reason to travel.
Right now, you're not aware of any of that, because you have been playing the roleplaying game for what feels like hundreds of years to you. You see, the faster than light engine and communications systems are broken and the AI thought it best not to mention it to anyone. The AI did spot an (apparently?) uninhabited but inhabitable planet and decided to fly the ship there using the regular engines. Soon you’ll have to remember who you are, and that in real life death is worse than having to create a new character and log back in. You'll also have to figure out how to survive using only your luggage, and how to let someone out there know that you’re not dead after all.
Oh, by the way, one passenger is a saboteur who disabled the FTL engine and communications, but you don’t know that yet. It might even be you, maybe you forgot... or did you?
Good luck.
Character skeleton
Name:
Age: (does not include time spent in hypersleep)
Gender:
Species:
Appearance:
Strengths and weaknesses:
Acceptable appearances for characters
Characters must be human, human sized humanoid aliens, or similar. They must be alive - machines don’t need hypersleep.
All characters must be passengers of the ship.
When faster than light travel was invented, humanity rejoiced. Finally we could visit other inhabitable planets, meet alien races, colonize the galaxy... And that we did. All of it. At the time of this story there were, however, a few small problems:
One, there still was some limit to spaceship speed. It wasn't possible to travel to more than a few dozen interesting planets without dying of old age. The solution was hypersleep, in which a person didn't age.
Two, in hypersleep one wasn't unconscious, but the brain did get slowed down too much to control a spaceship, and long term memory was unreliable. The solution to the inevitable boredom was a virtual reality roleplaying game. The solution to being too slow to control the ship was to use an artificial intelligence as a pilot. Unreliable long term memory during hypersleep was not really a problem while playing the game: people would have more fun when they forgot the solutions to puzzles and had to solve them again.
Three, sometimes the entire ship would break down, including the life support systems. Nobody had figured out the cause of the problem yet, never mind a solution, but fortunately it almost never happened.
You are a passenger on the CSS Sunnyside. You might for example be a businessperson, a tourist, or permanently moving to another planet. You might be human or alien. You might be young or old. In other words, you might be anyone who has a reason to travel.
Right now, you're not aware of any of that, because you have been playing the roleplaying game for what feels like hundreds of years to you. You see, the faster than light engine and communications systems are broken and the AI thought it best not to mention it to anyone. The AI did spot an (apparently?) uninhabited but inhabitable planet and decided to fly the ship there using the regular engines. Soon you’ll have to remember who you are, and that in real life death is worse than having to create a new character and log back in. You'll also have to figure out how to survive using only your luggage, and how to let someone out there know that you’re not dead after all.
Oh, by the way, one passenger is a saboteur who disabled the FTL engine and communications, but you don’t know that yet. It might even be you, maybe you forgot... or did you?
Good luck.
Character skeleton
Name:
Age: (does not include time spent in hypersleep)
Gender:
Species:
Appearance:
Strengths and weaknesses:
Acceptable appearances for characters
Characters must be human, human sized humanoid aliens, or similar. They must be alive - machines don’t need hypersleep.
All characters must be passengers of the ship.
The Story So Far... Write a Post » as written by 8 authors
Tom was a little put out by the awful mood Andromeda had returned with, and took the half-nut gingerly. He hadn't been looking when she opened it so he hoped Orion had noticed. He winced in sympathy when he heard about Andromeda's misfortune with the salty water. That went a long way to explain her mood.
Tom's attention was drawn to Corki as she began to click her pen again, seeming to relax a little.
"Hey Corki, did you see anything interesting out there, besides the salty water?" he asked, shooting an apologetic look at Andromeda for mentioning the cause of her current state. He watched her as she sat miserably by the fire.
He couldn't help noticing that she looked a little pale, even after so long out of the water, and that she was shivering. He wished he could comfort her, but his metal coverings wouldn't provide much comfort to anyone with any senses. He tentatively moved closer, still party afraid of bringing down her wrath upon his head like a ton of bricks.
"Uh... Amdromeda, you don't look so good," he said, quietly.
Tom's attention was drawn to Corki as she began to click her pen again, seeming to relax a little.
"Hey Corki, did you see anything interesting out there, besides the salty water?" he asked, shooting an apologetic look at Andromeda for mentioning the cause of her current state. He watched her as she sat miserably by the fire.
He couldn't help noticing that she looked a little pale, even after so long out of the water, and that she was shivering. He wished he could comfort her, but his metal coverings wouldn't provide much comfort to anyone with any senses. He tentatively moved closer, still party afraid of bringing down her wrath upon his head like a ton of bricks.
"Uh... Amdromeda, you don't look so good," he said, quietly.
"Hey Corki, did you see anything interesting out there, besides the salty water?" Tom asked.
“It was mostly the same as here,” Corki replied, “until we found the stream of hot salt water. There are strange trees growing in it, with pretty flowers and those nuts we brought back, there also are fish and funny bugs with really long legs. There’s lots of steam, and clean water dripping down from the trees. It’s really pretty, and now we have a place with food, water, and we could even have warm baths...”
She bit her tongue. For a moment she had forgotten Tom probably couldn’t enjoy bathing. The salt water might even make him rust.
“Too bad it’s too wet there to make a fire to keep animals away” Andromeda added gruffly. “Too wet in general, really.”
Tom noticed her shivering and pale face. "Uh... Andromeda, you don't look so good," he said, quietly.
Andromeda nodded, and stared into the fire. “I think I have a fever.” She showed her hands. “Let’s hope the local germs don’t know how to fight my immune system. If I’m lucky, I should be fine in a day or two.”
“What if you’re not...” Corki began asking.
“I’ll be lucky” Andromeda cut her off. “It’s not the first time this has happened to me.”
There was a good reason people tended to stay inside their cities and space stations. Each newly colonized planet had new microorganisms. Most of them were harmless, unable to survive in a human body, but some were lethal and immune to existing antibiotics. Thinking about this, Corki began to understand the danger Andromeda was in. If the infection kept getting worse, they might have to cut off her hands, and even then Andromeda would likely die. And it was all her fault. “I’m so sorry” she said. “You hurt your hands because you had to hurry because of me, didn’t you?”
“Don’t say that” Andromeda replied. “I would be feeling worse now if I had abandoned you. Hey! What are you...” Andromeda felt awkward in the hug she received. “Okay, I appreciate you keeping me warm, but please stop sniffling in my ear.”
“It was mostly the same as here,” Corki replied, “until we found the stream of hot salt water. There are strange trees growing in it, with pretty flowers and those nuts we brought back, there also are fish and funny bugs with really long legs. There’s lots of steam, and clean water dripping down from the trees. It’s really pretty, and now we have a place with food, water, and we could even have warm baths...”
She bit her tongue. For a moment she had forgotten Tom probably couldn’t enjoy bathing. The salt water might even make him rust.
“Too bad it’s too wet there to make a fire to keep animals away” Andromeda added gruffly. “Too wet in general, really.”
Tom noticed her shivering and pale face. "Uh... Andromeda, you don't look so good," he said, quietly.
Andromeda nodded, and stared into the fire. “I think I have a fever.” She showed her hands. “Let’s hope the local germs don’t know how to fight my immune system. If I’m lucky, I should be fine in a day or two.”
“What if you’re not...” Corki began asking.
“I’ll be lucky” Andromeda cut her off. “It’s not the first time this has happened to me.”
There was a good reason people tended to stay inside their cities and space stations. Each newly colonized planet had new microorganisms. Most of them were harmless, unable to survive in a human body, but some were lethal and immune to existing antibiotics. Thinking about this, Corki began to understand the danger Andromeda was in. If the infection kept getting worse, they might have to cut off her hands, and even then Andromeda would likely die. And it was all her fault. “I’m so sorry” she said. “You hurt your hands because you had to hurry because of me, didn’t you?”
“Don’t say that” Andromeda replied. “I would be feeling worse now if I had abandoned you. Hey! What are you...” Andromeda felt awkward in the hug she received. “Okay, I appreciate you keeping me warm, but please stop sniffling in my ear.”
Orion wolfed down the nut and turned towards the heap. As the rest of them spoke he pried open a second one. It didn't go as well as when Andromeda did it but he didn't care too much for style. He was glad they had something more to eat. He was going to need the energy for later.
He tried to look grave and hide his mirth when he saw Andromeda shiver. maybe nature was taking care of her for him. At the very least it'd weaken her. That combined with her fear of water left him with quite some options do deal with her. Corki shouldn't be too problematic either but Tom remained problematic. Then he made the same connection Andromeda had already made. Tom had quite a lot of metallic parts. If those started to rust he might be helpless. Orion didn't know just how water resistant he was. Maybe he didn't care for water, he had gotten out of the ship after all. It was something he'd have to look into further later. First he needed a way off this rock. He waited a bit, waiting for Andromeda to treat her hand and then cleared his throat.
"Listen everyone, I've been thinking a bit. we can't stay on this rock forever. I think we can all agree on that. No matter how idyllic and fun it might seem to keep messing about and falling in the water, we need to start thinking long term. I'm sure Andromeda's going to be able to shrug off this illness but sooner or later someone's going to get too ill. And then we'll be in trouble because there sure as hell aren't any apothecaries around the corner" he mumbled, all too well aware he wouldn't even have to catch an illness to die. if he ran out of pills he'd be in even more trouble.
"I'd say we go back to the ship. We need to see whether there's anything left to salvage. Something that will either get us off this rock or help us make our life a bit more...pleasant," he grunted. Maybe he'd find some bullets for his gun though he doubted those had been water-proof.
He tried to look grave and hide his mirth when he saw Andromeda shiver. maybe nature was taking care of her for him. At the very least it'd weaken her. That combined with her fear of water left him with quite some options do deal with her. Corki shouldn't be too problematic either but Tom remained problematic. Then he made the same connection Andromeda had already made. Tom had quite a lot of metallic parts. If those started to rust he might be helpless. Orion didn't know just how water resistant he was. Maybe he didn't care for water, he had gotten out of the ship after all. It was something he'd have to look into further later. First he needed a way off this rock. He waited a bit, waiting for Andromeda to treat her hand and then cleared his throat.
"Listen everyone, I've been thinking a bit. we can't stay on this rock forever. I think we can all agree on that. No matter how idyllic and fun it might seem to keep messing about and falling in the water, we need to start thinking long term. I'm sure Andromeda's going to be able to shrug off this illness but sooner or later someone's going to get too ill. And then we'll be in trouble because there sure as hell aren't any apothecaries around the corner" he mumbled, all too well aware he wouldn't even have to catch an illness to die. if he ran out of pills he'd be in even more trouble.
"I'd say we go back to the ship. We need to see whether there's anything left to salvage. Something that will either get us off this rock or help us make our life a bit more...pleasant," he grunted. Maybe he'd find some bullets for his gun though he doubted those had been water-proof.
Corki felt Andromeda go tense when Orion called falling into the water “fun”. She let go of the catgirl, who looked ready to show Orion a very fast way to leave this world. Was Orion deliberately antagonizing Andromeda? Why would he do that, after enjoying the fire and food provided by Andromeda?
“Oh,” Andromeda said, “my plan was to mine for metal and whatever else goes into electronics, reinvent electricity and faster than light communication, and then send a message asking for help. But your idea is much more practical. Thank you, Captain Obvious.”
Corki put her hand on Andromeda’s arm to get her attention. She shook her head.
Andromeda got the point: don’t fight. She wasn’t sure if she could do that. She took a deep breath, and continued speaking, now less aggressive. “So you want to go drag bits of spaceship around. Would you like me to tell you where you can find some clean water to drink before that exercise, or shall I start working on making a shovel?”
Corki was a little shocked. That same morning Andromeda had said people scared her, and that she needed Corki with her to dare to be around Orion and Tom at all. Now the same girl was showering angry sarcasm on Orion, who Corki was a bit scared of herself? A phrase occurred to her, fight or flight. Andromeda had been pushed pretty far by the situation, and she couldn’t run away from the worst things in it, which were pain and illness. Corki wondered how violent Andromeda could become if she snapped. Orion probably had no idea what kind of fire he was playing with by annoying that girl. Should she talk to him, ask him to be nice? That was a scary idea. But was it scarier than an angry Andromeda with a machete? Something told her Andromeda wouldn’t hurt her no matter what happened, but she was not so sure Andromeda wouldn’t attack Orion when provoked too much. Corki would have to talk to him, but she didn’t know what exactly to say yet. She started scribbling on her arm.
“Oh,” Andromeda said, “my plan was to mine for metal and whatever else goes into electronics, reinvent electricity and faster than light communication, and then send a message asking for help. But your idea is much more practical. Thank you, Captain Obvious.”
Corki put her hand on Andromeda’s arm to get her attention. She shook her head.
Andromeda got the point: don’t fight. She wasn’t sure if she could do that. She took a deep breath, and continued speaking, now less aggressive. “So you want to go drag bits of spaceship around. Would you like me to tell you where you can find some clean water to drink before that exercise, or shall I start working on making a shovel?”
Corki was a little shocked. That same morning Andromeda had said people scared her, and that she needed Corki with her to dare to be around Orion and Tom at all. Now the same girl was showering angry sarcasm on Orion, who Corki was a bit scared of herself? A phrase occurred to her, fight or flight. Andromeda had been pushed pretty far by the situation, and she couldn’t run away from the worst things in it, which were pain and illness. Corki wondered how violent Andromeda could become if she snapped. Orion probably had no idea what kind of fire he was playing with by annoying that girl. Should she talk to him, ask him to be nice? That was a scary idea. But was it scarier than an angry Andromeda with a machete? Something told her Andromeda wouldn’t hurt her no matter what happened, but she was not so sure Andromeda wouldn’t attack Orion when provoked too much. Corki would have to talk to him, but she didn’t know what exactly to say yet. She started scribbling on her arm.
Tom chipped in on the argument.
"Guys, guys, whatever happens, we're gonna need to work together. With so many unknown things on this planet, the more people we have alive, the better" - he glanced at Andromeda and Orion - "... So please try not to kill each other before we even start," he said with a grimace.
"As for leaving this planet, I doubt we could simply rebuild a ship out of salvaged parts and fly away. There are four of us, for god's sake. I think our best bet is to salvage some of the comms system and see if we can broadcast an S.O.S. signal."
He thought for a moment.
"Andromeda, maybe you could hook that laptop of yours up to something?" he suggested.
"Guys, guys, whatever happens, we're gonna need to work together. With so many unknown things on this planet, the more people we have alive, the better" - he glanced at Andromeda and Orion - "... So please try not to kill each other before we even start," he said with a grimace.
"As for leaving this planet, I doubt we could simply rebuild a ship out of salvaged parts and fly away. There are four of us, for god's sake. I think our best bet is to salvage some of the comms system and see if we can broadcast an S.O.S. signal."
He thought for a moment.
"Andromeda, maybe you could hook that laptop of yours up to something?" he suggested.
Andromeda
Tom also had the same idea. Of course he did, it was an obvious one. Andromeda didn’t like that Orion had talked as if she had been having fun while the truth was that she had done everything she could to help the others survive. She would rather be alone, but she needed their help to leave the planet.
"Andromeda, maybe you could hook that laptop of yours up to something?" Tom suggested.
“I... don’t really know much about computers” Andromeda had to admit. “I had to buy it for my studies, I haven’t had a chance to really learn how to use it.”
---
Corki
Corki fidgeted uncomfortably. Andromeda had attempted to hide the black box data that framed her, but didn’t really know how to use a computer? That could become a problem. “I could have a look at that” she said quietly. “But if we’re lucky we can get enough of the ship computer to work, that would be easier.” It would be easier, and the risk of getting blamed for the crash would be lower. The others might respond in a more logical way than Andromeda had if they found out.
She wondered who had framed her, and why. She didn’t know anyone who had been on the ship, and even if someone she did know had been there she couldn’t imagine why someone would do that to her. Could it have been Tom or Orion? Maybe it was Orion, the real him wasn’t very nice. No, that was unfair to assume. It probably was someone who died in the crash, there were more victims than survivors. What about Andromeda? Corki only knew she had been framed because Andromeda had told her. Maybe it wasn’t true, maybe Andromeda was manipulating her... for what?
The lack of sense in the situation made her paranoid. Andromeda was different from the rest of them by looking the same in the game and reality, if anything that made her the most honest, the first to be trusted. It was an interesting difference, each of them except Andromeda had been hiding something. She wrote “hiding” on her arm. Corki knew that in her case it was her lack of confidence. It was obvious that Tom would rather not have become a cyborg, and similarly it appeared that Orion would rather not be old.
Knowledge was power, but only when one knew how to use it. She needed to think about it some more.
Tom also had the same idea. Of course he did, it was an obvious one. Andromeda didn’t like that Orion had talked as if she had been having fun while the truth was that she had done everything she could to help the others survive. She would rather be alone, but she needed their help to leave the planet.
"Andromeda, maybe you could hook that laptop of yours up to something?" Tom suggested.
“I... don’t really know much about computers” Andromeda had to admit. “I had to buy it for my studies, I haven’t had a chance to really learn how to use it.”
---
Corki
Corki fidgeted uncomfortably. Andromeda had attempted to hide the black box data that framed her, but didn’t really know how to use a computer? That could become a problem. “I could have a look at that” she said quietly. “But if we’re lucky we can get enough of the ship computer to work, that would be easier.” It would be easier, and the risk of getting blamed for the crash would be lower. The others might respond in a more logical way than Andromeda had if they found out.
She wondered who had framed her, and why. She didn’t know anyone who had been on the ship, and even if someone she did know had been there she couldn’t imagine why someone would do that to her. Could it have been Tom or Orion? Maybe it was Orion, the real him wasn’t very nice. No, that was unfair to assume. It probably was someone who died in the crash, there were more victims than survivors. What about Andromeda? Corki only knew she had been framed because Andromeda had told her. Maybe it wasn’t true, maybe Andromeda was manipulating her... for what?
The lack of sense in the situation made her paranoid. Andromeda was different from the rest of them by looking the same in the game and reality, if anything that made her the most honest, the first to be trusted. It was an interesting difference, each of them except Andromeda had been hiding something. She wrote “hiding” on her arm. Corki knew that in her case it was her lack of confidence. It was obvious that Tom would rather not have become a cyborg, and similarly it appeared that Orion would rather not be old.
Knowledge was power, but only when one knew how to use it. She needed to think about it some more.
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View All » Add Character » 10 Characters to follow in this universe
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Orion Dahlberg
"Back in my day spaceships didn't break down..."
Corki Noelle Olsen
Is there a word for total screaming genius that sounds modest and a tiny bit sexy?
Thomas Redpoint
Wait, I'm a robot now?
Trending
Corki Noelle Olsen
Is there a word for total screaming genius that sounds modest and a tiny bit sexy?
Thomas Redpoint
Wait, I'm a robot now?
Orion Dahlberg
"Back in my day spaceships didn't break down..."
Most Followed
Corki Noelle Olsen
Is there a word for total screaming genius that sounds modest and a tiny bit sexy?
Thomas Redpoint
Wait, I'm a robot now?
Orion Dahlberg
"Back in my day spaceships didn't break down..."
View All » Places
32 posts · 4 characters present · last post 2013-11-05 17:05:13 »
What is this place, anyway? WHERE is this?
10 posts · 0 characters present · last post 2013-08-07 07:08:41 »
Welcome to CSS Sunnyside. We hope you enjoy your trip!
1 posts · 2 characters present · last post 2013-05-14 13:53:42 »
The Game ↪ Minigolf Owner: cucumbersome
Last attempt: hole in 512.
0 posts · 0 characters present · last post 1970-01-01 00:00:00 »
Sunnyside ↪ The Game Owner: cucumbersome
This is Virtual Reality Entertainment System 12.7 (February 3107), please enter your preferences and select start.
0 posts · 0 characters present · last post 1970-01-01 00:00:00 »
The Game ↪ Piranha Bar Owner: cucumbersome
Enjoy a drink with a bite!
Fullscreen Chat » Create Topic » Oh wait, this is not a game: Out of Character
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Gameception! [OWTINAG main OOC thread]
1 ... 5, 6, 7by cucumbersome on Fri Apr 12, 2013 10:10 am
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on Sun Dec 22, 2013 11:38 am
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Gameception! [OWTINAG main OOC thread]
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Oh wait, this is randomness.
1, 2, 3
by cucumbersome on Sat Apr 13, 2013 11:10 am
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on Sun Dec 08, 2013 9:27 am
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Oh wait, this is randomness.
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Oh wait, these are notes
by cucumbersome on Sat Apr 13, 2013 11:07 am
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Oh wait, these are notes
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