[Video, @atlas]

[theprezident]

[ When Rhys starts the feed, he's leaning against the hood of one of the trucks between the warehouses in town. He's got a new shirt on, courtesy of Foodland, and has decided to forego the vest and tie, at least for the time being. ]

Hi, fellow captives!

[ He probably shouldn't sound so cheerful with a greeting like that. ]

For anyone who doesn't know me, the name's Rhys Strongfork. I've been exploring the town since yesterday and I found a few things that might be useful. First of all, I found these things.

[ He gestures over his shoulder with a thumb. With his metal hand, for anyone who might react to it. ]

If anyone's good at cars, maybe we could take a look at them and see if we could use them. It'd be an efficient way to cart supplies from the town to the cabins, if nothing else.

I also found greenhouses! Only one was actually whole as far as I could see, but there are seeds and everything, so if there's someone who likes gardening, we could try growing our own food.

Lastly, I found an abandoned train. I managed to open a couple of the cars and found beer and toasters, and also lots of boxes? But I couldn't open all of them, probably because they've been standing there for a while. I don't have a lot of brute strength so if anyone would like to help me open the others, I'd appreciate it!

Rhys, out.

[ He makes a salute, then ends the feed. ]

Comments

@tenta.callme

[kinkprofessor]

I'd be more than happy to help open the others. I know I don't look much stronger, but I assure you I can access at least a couple.

[ However- ]

For a price.

[theprezident]

[ How very cooperative of you. And, look, he's a businessman so he totally understands the need of paying for services and all that, but he also doesn't see the point in a place like this, where money has no value and they can sort of take whatever they want.

And also survival kind of hinges on actually helping each other out but, you know, who cares about that. ]

What's the price?

cw: quin

[kinkprofessor]

A free pass for what must be an amazing mustache ride.

[theprezident]

[ Oh my god what

He opens his mouth, but can't find the words and ends up just standing there gaping for several seconds. ]

I ... don't know how to respond to that.

[kinkprofessor]

[ Ah. He so loves that dumbfounded look. ]

That's alright, I'll let you think on it. I do hope we can come to an agreement though.

video

[mannerless]

( don't mind wei wuxian, holding the phone a bit closer to squint at the so-called 'cars' over his shoulder. )

Ah - can you point your phone directly at it? I've not seen one before. Is it some sort of wagon?

video

[theprezident]

Oh, yeah, sure!

[ He turns the phone around at the same time as he takes several steps back so most of the truck will be in camera view. ]

It's called a truck.

[mannerless]

A truck, ( he echoes thoughtfully, nodding as if somewhat impressed. ) Aha, I think I understand - it carries people in that spot in the front, yes?

How does it run? It wouldn't be so simple as using this 'electricity' everywhere seems to have, would it?

[theprezident]

No, probably not. I'm guessing it runs on gas? Just not sure where we'll get our hands on that, since I doubt the gas station will work.

[mannerless]

( gas? gas, where has he heard that befo- aha, how stupid of him, the 'gas station' obviously. it's a name which has never held any real context or meaning for him, like how carp tower back in lanling has nothing to do with carp. )

If you tell me what this 'gas' looks like, I can keep an eye out?

video | un: kd6-3.7

[obeir]

I could help with the gardening. And the boxes.

[ And don't worry, he absolutely does not want any sort of ride in exchange for his inhuman strength. He also couldn't help noticing what looked like some kind of cybernetic implants... ]

What happened to your hand?

video

[theprezident]

[ Oh thank god he didn't want to take Quin up on that offer and this makes his life so much easier. ]

My hand?

[ It takes him a moment to realise what K is asking about, because it's been so long since anyone asked him and by now he's had his cybernetics for ... a long time. Is it ten years by now? He's not completely sure.

When it hits him, he raises the hand more clearly into view. ]

Oh, you mean this? Nothing. I swapped it out willingly.

[obeir]

[ K looks it over (or as much as he can via video feed, anyway) with clear interest. ]

Why? [ And maybe more importantly: ] What does it do?

[ The cybernetics appear to extend beyond his wrist, which has K wondering if it doesn't enhance the strength of his entire arm. Maybe those boxes are just beyond the capacity of the cybernetics. ]

[theprezident]

It's my phone and computer. Connected to my eye and this.

[ He turns his head to the right and taps his left temple, where the port is. ]

The eye can scan things, and anything I have stored in the hard drive I can bring up like a hologram from my hand. For example--

[ He brings the cybernetic hand into view again, turning the palm up and spreading his fingers. A light spreads out from a circle in the middle of his palm and quickly turns into a picture of the lake with a square marking the island in the middle, along with a note: Appeared overnight? Covers the hatch? ]

Pretty cool, right?

[obeir]

—Oh. That's useful.

[ Can't deny that. And it is, admittedly, pretty cool.

But with how quickly outdated technology tends to be, it seems strange to have it installed directly into one's own body rather than relying on external devices. Also exponentially more dangerous, because: ] What if you get hacked?

[ Sure would be a shame if the resident technology deity decided to have fun trolling Rhys, huh. ]

text - un: song.zichen

[snowflicks]

[There is a whole lot that he's seeing that he doesn't know or understand, but he's not here to bother Rhys with that. That can come later.]

do you still require help opening boxes?

[Unlike Quin he has no ulterior motivations.]

[theprezident]

Yes, absolutely! I don't know how much it'll take to get them open, so more hands is a good thing.

[ That's two volunteers (not counting Quin). Should be enough. ]

[snowflicks]

you found them in the train are they still there or have you moved them?

[theprezident]

Oh, no, sorry, I guess I wasn't clear. I haven't gotten some of the train cars open. The doors are rusted shut, or something like that.

[snowflicks]

I believe I can still help you
but I have a few more questions what is a train and where in the city is it located?

TEXT | @nobodyspecial

[lethechained]

[ Although Naminé hasn't done much reaching out over the network - as evidenced by her still unchanged username - she makes an exception here. The town's appearance has her equal parts worried and curious, enough so to investigate both digitally and in person. But there are some places she'd rather not venture blindly and she's always been a cautious sort, so research it is. And since he's an eye-witness, ]

Do you know what kind of plants were growing in the greenhouse?
I saw some of them from the outside but I couldn't tell what they were.

TEXT

[theprezident]

[ That username. Is this person okay? ]

Oh, there was a little bit of everything. Some tomatoes, cucumbers, pepper. Pretty sure I saw some pumpkins too. Might be other things too, but I can't tell what's weeds and what isn't.

TEXT

[lethechained]

[ Whether or not a person with said username is okay is probably a valid question, especially so long after they've all finally been allowed to change them. Naminé, however, is not accustomed to thinking about that sort of thing and remains blissfully unaware of how weird it might look. ]

I see. So a lot of it was food.

[ Now she feels a little bit silly over her reluctance to check inside - although granted, she'd already been pretty on edge in the first place what with the feeling of being watched. ]

Did you notice anything that looked dangerous?
Something with vines or thorns, maybe?

[ Because honestly, after that whole basement incident, she's pretty concerned about what the technicians might have cooked up that the people wandering around in the new area could inadvertently unearth. ]

[theprezident]

No, I didn't. Looked like a perfectly innocent greenhouse. Worried there would be carnivorous plants or something?

[lethechained]

[ Perfectly innocent... Well, that's a departure from the creepy basement - which didn't look especially benign even from the word 'go' - so perhaps it really does count as evidence that the Technicians want them to take up farming.

And sure, maybe his question could have been meant humorously, but, ]

Yes. [ Those'd be one possibility, anyway, if not the one she would have thought of first. ] Among other things.

[ Like vines that are a little too willing to give people very unwelcome hugs. ]

They did tell us in the pamphlets that there would be trouble.

[ Death and suffering, specifically. ]

And the whole town just seems
wrong.