un: R.B. | Text

[godsandbats]

If you think you’re going to become a danger to others during this upcoming mission, what precautions are you taking?

Comments

[godsandbats]

True. At this point, every option we have has its risks. It's more of a matter of which one we want to take. Worth nothing that as far as accessible records can tell, Scylla has never appeared before.

[reincarnesiac]

I wrote his name wrong at first and then Aurora was able to correct it for me. So... there's a chance she does know him. Or of him. Or just has a better read on the naming conventions, because I just learned these are all Greek?

[godsandbats]

Yes. Scylla was the name of a monster in Greek mythology. The others' names are also Greek in origin.

[reincarnesiac]

Is Etraya Greek too?

[godsandbats]

Not that I'm aware of but linguistics isn't one of my strengths.

[reincarnesiac]

Me either, unfortunately. Not sure it means much other than Echo being a fan... of an Earth language. Or are we getting translations that all end up approximate?

If Echo ends up being from an Earth I'm going to be so irritated at the lack of even one hello.

[godsandbats]

There does seem to be a number of us who come from some version of Earth. Particularly noticeable when compared to the other worlds other Etraya residents come from.

[reincarnesiac]

Yeah, that's what I've been seeing too. Not as many who are all from one same Earth either? Which is interesting. Are most here from sometime before the 2020s? I haven't met anyone else from the lat 2040s so far. More from earlier.

[godsandbats]

A strange preference to have. Perhaps those variants are more likely to be in danger? Assuming what Echo and Aurora have been saying is true.

[reincarnesiac]

Is your world at a point of crisis when you're from? Arguably, and truthfully, mine is, but it also was fourteen, fifteen years ago. The world ending kind, both times.

[godsandbats]

The city I came from was in the middle of recovering from a battle. We won but it was a close call.

[reincarnesiac]

Could crisis points be one of the selection criteria for why we're here? Or people already in crisis management. Because seriously.

[godsandbats]

It's possible. Suddenly getting whisked away in the middle of a crisis could also be another way to motivate us to play along.

[reincarnesiac]

Is it working.

[godsandbats]

Maybe. As you've said, what they've said might be true. For some, they can't take the chance and have to play along.

[reincarnesiac]

I think it is true. But I was already not taking chances. This just makes it more obvious that if I want a world that can make bad decisions or good decisions or whatever decisions in the future, I also need to work toward it being around for that future.

The one thing I don't buy into is that it's at a Battle Royale cost between all of us here or between city bubbles.

[godsandbats]

Agreed. These missions keep emphasizing teamwork. If we're supposedly competing with each other, then shouldn't the missions be more focused on individual merits?

[reincarnesiac]

Or at least switch goals every other one. This makes what, the second one where something in our environment messes with us? But we're supposed to find the source of the thing messing with us?

[godsandbats]

And for this particular one, something is being purposely opened and then we're supposed to close it, all while being exposed to a substance that can negatively affect this. It sounds more like an experiment.

[reincarnesiac]

Was our exposure not significant enough in San Francisco? Because that's also what it feels like. An experiment with a different twist, 'cause sure, changing a moral compass is one kind of mental manipulation, but so is inducing hallucinations and paranoia outside whatever you usually have going on.

I don't like people being put into danger in a completely preventable way. The guy I talked to was surprised by this whole thing, that we weren't being sent away, that it was happening deliberately. So it kind of is part of the ongoing... social experiment you get on reality television kind of thing.

[godsandbats]

And we're all the lab rats. We have little choice but to take the word of our main sources of information. It's surprising to hear he might not be aligned with Echo.

[reincarnesiac]

I genuinely believe someone he loves is caught up in Echo's experiments. But it also makes me wonder if our being here or going home is more complicated than we know. Or the effects more lingering.

[godsandbats]

There must be more than the official story we've been given. His appearance complicates matters and is generating even more questions. It's surprising Echo hasn't taken action yet.

[reincarnesiac]

Do you think Echo cares more about any one bubble city than the rest?

[godsandbats]

With so little information we have about other cities like Etraya, it's hard to say one way or another. The missions where we were off world were different from Etraya.