dualisooc | TDM 001. WELCOME TO THE CITY

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TDM 001. WELCOME TO THE CITY

» 01. WELCOME WAGON

Wow, what a bunch of new faces! The city of Dualis hasn't seen anything like this in a long time, and they've seen some pretty crazy things. Chances are you're seeing some pretty crazy things, too, unless you're used to a lot of neon, robots, weird-ass technology, magic, and an omnipresent police force...and hey, if you are, congrats, you're gonna settle in juuuuust fine. But for the rest of you, the Head knows this has gotta be pretty overwhelming, right?

Well, since your quaint individual processing units are probably having a hard time, why not link up with another one? By which the Head means...

Hello, new citizens of Dualis, and welcome to your first monthly Network Adjacency Protocol~!

NAPs are a monthly community networking event similar to the Earth concept of speed dating! Two citizens (new arrivals and old hands alike) are placed at a table together with a handy cue card of queries to help break the proverbial ice. Ask queries and receive results, or ignore the card and yeet yourself straight into a brand new friendship! But don't be too shy, you've only got ten minutes together, and if you just sit in silence for the whole ten, then the Network Admins are likely to come supervise and try to repair the uplink through a mild shock to the ol' central nervous system. You might find yourself saying all sorts of unintended facts about yourself if that happens...probably better to just make friends, right?

» 02. A BUG IN THE CODE

Remember how the Head mentioned that whole plague thing? Well, don't worry, this isn't that.

It is, however, a really, really terrible flu circulating through the residents of Dualis. Symptoms include fever, chills, vomiting, hallucinations and even in some cases seizures. Bad news, all around. Luckily, this is something the Head knows how to deal with! Time for vaccinations, everyone~

The vaccination process is pretty straightforward: just head to your local clinic and get innoculated! You'll be in and out in less than ten minutes, MedDualis is pretty efficient that way. There isn't even a copay. The MedDroids will tell you, however, that there might be some minor side effects** to watch out for, including physical reactions and odd dreams, but don't worry--those will wear off within forty-eight hours. Nothing to concern yourself about! Of course, if that worries you, you could always run the risk of getting the flu--or passing it on to your loved ones...

**Possible side effects include: Gender or sex change, positive or negative size change, appearance alterations, shared dreams, and mild telepathic links, among others. Please contact your local MedDroid if these symptoms become too severe, or other side effects such as death occur.

» 03. TANSTAAFL

Well, you're settling in just fine, and the basic accommodations and amenities are okay, but maybe you've got a hankering to see that new VR Film: SHARKS IN SPACE 85: BLACK HOLE SHARK DO DO DO DO DO DO DO. Or maybe you want some sweet new duds to wear around town, or even just an actual slab of steak. Sorry, those cost extra, pal, which means it's time for...

JOB HUNTING.

Fortunately, Dualis makes this pretty easy! There's a job fair on this week, down at the Central Hub! Plug your certifications and skills into any of the EmployMe terminals in the Dualis Central Hub, and the computer will auto-generate a currently open job that it feels you'd be best suited for. No resume writing or lengthy application process required! Of course, whether or not this job sounds like the right job for you is another matter...but hey, how could an AI with millions of years of learning be wrong? Time to get started, or try and switch waivers with another unhappy new employee--but be warned, some unforeseen consequences may occur if you try swapping identities with someone else...

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[ Sharon was getting an idea of the kind of person Hank was, or as well an idea one can get in such a short amount of time, but it wasn't a bad one. He came off grizzled, worn by the constants of time, but kind. For all she knows, though, he could be a monster underneath all that, most people are, but, for now, he wasn't so bad. ]

So, the future isn't really all that different than the present, then: people still suck. At least I've got that to look forward to if I ever get back home. [ A touch of dark humor and her expression turns slowly serious and she leans into the table a little, voice a touch quieter. ]

What do you think of this place? [ Because she's not certain herself. She's not sure of her safety. Or his safety. Or if anything they've been told is true. It's all bugfuck crazy to her and she's meant to give birth to a god. ]

On the good side, the androids had about as peaceful a revolution as one could hope for. My partner's one. Great guy. Somethin' to give you faith in humanity again, seeing something made just to be a machine and exist only to do a task go and learn to do its own thing. Most of what it chooses based in empathy and kindness.

[There's the rare burst of optimism there, all the admiration in the world for Connor, who he's fucking glad isn't here. No DNA to speak of, so there shouldn't be any reason to be.]

I don't really see any of that hope in this place, though. We got fed a line we can't be sure of, put in a position we didn't volunteer for.

[He gestures to himself.] I'm a fuckin' cop back home- was a cop... am a cop? [Still up in the air. Probably not anymore. He did punch a federal agent.] -If someone told me some shit about my DNA or whatever antibodies I had in my blood being a cure for a fuckin' disease? I might have played along. I don't like the lack of choice we got in this.

[But what the fuck is he going to do? Can't fuckin' catch a cab back.]

I'm sure you love being dragged off to be part of someone's greater good. [She looks high school? Early college? Too damn young to have things fucking with her. If he'd known what she'd already been through? He would still think that.]

[ He says 'good side' and all she can think about is just how bad is the bad side. It sounds like he has hope for his future, for his world of android partners and self-driving cars and peaceful revolutions, but he doesn't hold that same hope for this place. And why should he? She sure as fuck doesn't.

She bristles when he mentions he was a cop, instinct to dart quelled by a quick reminder that this wasn't home, he wasn't from her time, and none of that mattered here. She thrums her fingers against where her hand rests on her arm, fear and uncertainty settling in her chest.

Oh god, she wants to go home. She wants her dad.

She laughs sadly, wrinkling her features to keep a frown from forming. ]

Yeah, it's just fucking grand. [ Her expression quickly becomes pained, as if this was the first time she was saying any of this out loud. She normally doesn't dump personal info on a stranger but things aren't normal anymore. ] It's not like my dad was kidnapped by crazy assholes and I was the only person who could deal with them. But now he's probably dead.

Or worse, knowing them. [ Pain turns to anger and frustration. ] I don't care if I could save every last single person on this fucking planet, they took me from the only thing that mattered, so I hope they never find their cure.

[ Harsh. ]

Your dad's been kidnapped? [The first thing his cop-brain latches onto is there, brow knitting up and leaning forward some.]

[But then the next bit hurts. The sentiment is harsh, but she's a kid. And people her age aren't inherently cruel, especially ones going through a traumatic experience and feeling helpless. They're just trying to get by.]

I'd ask if that's what your dad would want you to say, but if I was your dad I'd be way more pissed off you got stuck in this shit. [As some sort of helpful labrat, not a consenting donor.]

Maybe there are people here that we can talk to when uh... [He sort of glances around, and does his best to indicate a 'we're not being monitored' or at least a 'not here' type of head bob and expression.] Ask the right questions and if you're from 2011, and I'm from 2038, it seems like there's a chance not only you could go back a little early and not only would you get to your dad you could stop his kidnapping.

Might cause a butterfly ripple effect but humanity's gonna do what humanity's gonna do. To each their own.

[He's not good at hope, really. But he's pretty decent about thinking his way out of tight situations and planning for later.]

[ There's a small hint of a flinch at the mention of what her father would desire, her frown tightening. He's right, in a way; Chris, for all he's done to keep her safe, has always taught her better. But Chris taught Sharon that—Heather that. Not Alessa.

It doesn't really matter what he would want in this situation. It didn't matter when he told her to stay away from Silent Hill. It didn't matter when he told her to keep her head down (though, to her effort, she did try). To not drink. And like fuck it would matter if he wanted her to help save a world that made her lose him.

She rolls her eyes at his suggestion. Angry that it's a good suggestion. Angry at the circumstances making her angry. God, she's just angry. Or scared. Or fucking both and it's stupid. ] So I be the patient lab rat all while knowing that my dad is trapped with the most... [ The table shakes. Her leg bounces but it's not enough to make the table rattle that way. It stops quickly when she leans forward, pressing her arms against its surface, her words rolling out with venom. ] ...disgusting monsters you could ever imagine and hope they'll send me back a few days before my birthday where I can save him this time.

Or maybe I can go back farther? To when things were normal, right? [ Now, she's just taking it out on him. She knows he doesn't have the answers and she's angry about that, too. ] What happens when they tell me they can't do that? Do I hope they find their cure then?

[ She immediately feels a wave of guilt for snapping at him. He hasn't done anything wrong. Hell, he's just giving her a good suggestion but she has to go and put her foot in her mouth. She's too prideful to apologize. Too young and brash and arrogant. ]

[Hank's good at taking his hard feelings out on people. He does it all the time. Hard words, insults, sometimes fists if the mood hits him. A couple of times a gun if an officer was being particularly out of line and needed to be stopped. Hell of a reprimand he got / gets for those.]

[But he's good at recognizing someone else having an emotional reaction, too, and he doesn't snap back when she starts breaking. Just lets her wind it out in what sound like hopeless angry words.]

[When she's done talking though, he fishes in his pockets, looking for something. In the year of our lord 2038 he had to be the only man still with a pen somewhere on his person. A real inkpen, with which he could write on real post-it notes.]

[Nope, must have left it in his room.]

[So with an exasperated sigh, he nods to Heather and says-] Well, that's the only plan I got. Plenty of tech saavy guys around that might be able to make a more solid one than that. [He would add in that he thinks there must be some sort of rebel cell. Something off the grid and with more information than they'd be allowed. He's spent so long chasing them that now he thinks there's a possibility to find them here (though his position in the chasing has notably changed). But he doesn't think she wants to listen at the moment.]

[ He doesn't snap back or raise up or chide her. He sits there and listens, takes it all in like he's done all this before. He probably has. Maybe he's got a kid her age or maybe he's just dealt with a lot of delinquents as an officer. She wants to be angrier, for him to say something to give her an excuse to yell or say something cruel, but he doesn't and the fire in her dims.

She scoffs. Upset. Disappointed. Not surprised. And her expression falls, jaw tight. She allows herself to fall quiet for a minute or two, stewing, before she finally speaks up again. ]

Do you have anyone who needs you back home?

[It is a case of having more experience with traumatized and distressed teens through work. He never will get the chance to be a father to a teenager. His son would have been nine this year (or this year off in his Detroit) had he lived past the age of six. Forty-four is an older time to become a father, and he saw it as his last chance. He wanted that chance, though.]

[But even though Cole is dead, he has a friend left.]

Yeah... that partner I mentioned. He's been there for me through some really rough patches. [Fishing a guy out of the floor and dragging him to the shower is better than people could expect of most friends, and all Hank had done is talk shit to him up to that point. He could have done without the slapping though, Jesus.] If he was gonna help me through it, I was supposed to help him through his. Only fair, right? I saw what androids left on their own lived like. Old abandoned places, surrounded by rotten stuff, just sort of living out of the remains of some human's life. Ankle deep in bird shit and half-rotten houses and just sitting alone in attics because they're fuckin' scared to move.

I needed to be there for him as much as he was there for me. Now I've been fuckin' absconded with and he's on his own and I don't know if he's gonna make it somewhere safe let alone decent. So, yeah. Yeah, I wanna get home, too.

[ She listens with a frown, anger bubbling away in her chest at the absolute unfairness of the whole situation. For them both. The future—his time, what-the-fuck-ever—sounds complicated but he did say something that clicks as he stops speaking. She's not the type of person to offer blind comfort but... ]

He's your partner, right? [ Her question has a certain insistence to it, more rhetorical than an actual question, as if she's telling him to have faith or hope or something equally outrageous in their current situation. ]

I bet he can handle his fair share of bullshit, even the human variation of it.

Yeah, most of the time.

[But he has seen him shot a couple of times. Not fatally, but enough to know that despite being impressively badass he's also a fool that takes too many risks. Like he counts on his replaceable parts he won't be able to get anymore after this.]

[He can appreciate the deviation in her anger, though. It's still there, but at least becoming hyperfocused on their situation, where it should be.]

How much do you know about who kidnapped your dad?

[They just have about five more minutes. He wants to know how much she's worked out.]

I know enough. [ More than. Too much. Maybe not enough to save herself, though. It's OK, she walked into that town knowing she may not get out of it, like Rose. ] The who, the what, the where.

I got it all straight from one of the people involved. He even let me know they weren't planning on playing fair, either. [ No equal exchange. No his freedom for hers. She had to be smarter than them but she was desperate and desperation rarely helps people make the right choice (one of the many reasons she ran in head first, accepting help from the first person to offer it, foolishly). ] They're religious fanatics, burn kids and women alive to keep "darkness" at bay. [ l o l says the girl who literally brought the darkness ] Or bring about their God or Paradise.

A bunch of fucking crazies. [ And crazy isn't easy to predict, meaning all she can do is dread what sort of insane shit they'll do to her dad. She's got good reason to be angry and fearful, even if she weren't here. ] They should have been wiped out when their town burned in the 70s.

[ Vindictive. ...She seems to wish death on a lot of people. Sorry about that, Hank. It's a good thing she doesn't have her gun anymore. ]

Jesus, and I thought the fuckin' Westboro Baptist Church was bad.

[Still around. Still miserable. Still decrying gays at whatever event they can show up at.]

[But he doesn't doubt her. Mostly because it's not yet that the actual possibility they're more than psychotic zealots and that they can bring about the rebirth of their god hasn't yet hit him.]

So you're dealin' with some crazies that you're pretty sure won't even let him walk away. If you know that, then no matter what they're doing you can't go to them without back-up. Doesn't sound like you're gonna go to the police.

[He doesn't actually sound all that sympathetic for the kidnapping, people-burning zealots. She can hate all she wants.]

But you can't go alone and you can't go without someone experienced. That's 'third location' material. You'd just end up at a disadvantage with a lotta people that don't sound like they plan to go easy on anybody. Otherwise just don't go. I bet your dad would rather you not get hurt. If it was my kid I'd want 'em to be safe. [He doesn't think about what he says at the end there. It just slips out.]

[ She shoots a look of annoyed disgust at the mention of Westboro. It seems hate just finds a way to keep chugging along, regardless of how much time proves them wrong. She can only hope that The Order continues to remain kept under lock & key, separate from normal reality, forever running in fear like rats in a cage.

All of Hank's suggestions are sound, good advice she'd expect from just about anyone with a good head on their shoulders, but then he mentions what her dad might want—what Hank would want for his own kid. She laughs, no ounce of cruelty, just surprised disbelief and then something sad. ]

Dad always knew what might happen. He always told me to stay safe, to... [ Her voice breaks a little. Her dad would rather die than have her go after him. ] ...to let him go if something happens but he'd never let them take me without fighting back. Fuck, he's given up his whole life to keep me safe. And when you love someone, you don't give up. Ever.

[ All firm fire and passion. She'd walk through hell for him. Will. Is. ]

I bet your kid would do the same thing for you, no matter what you said.

[He's quiet for a moment, thinking about that.] He didn't really get the chance to feel that way. [Because Hank couldn't keep him safe.]

And that's why I think you should consider that maybe it wouldn't be giving up. Maybe it's just saying, "Fuck you, you can't have what you want. You take away mine and I'm not bringing yours to you."

But whatever you do, don't do whatever you're thinking of doing alone. There's a reason cops go in with back-up and it's not just for the conversation.

[ She frowns, an apology stuck in her throat that she doesn't let loose, but her gaze holds plenty of it. She never wants to bring a child into the world because she never wants to pass on the horrors she is but she can imagine what that loss would be like. ]

That's not an option. That's never been an option. [ It doesn't help she's already reached the point of no return. She drops her attention to the table. ] I didn't go in alone, though. His name was Vincent, he'd tried to get me to turn back, too, and now he's dead. [ As far as she's aware, he's dead. ]

He used himself as a distraction so I could get in deeper, so I could find my dad.

I know you think I should have probably reached out to the cops but they wouldn't have been able to help. If anything, they'd have hindered me and died. [ Not necessarily by her hand but because of her, sure. ] Not to mention, they wouldn't even have fucking believed me.

[ She's spent her youth thinking she was hiding from them. Technically, she was. She was hiding from the cops as much as she was hiding from the cult. Sharon had to remain a missing person, the world had to think she was gone. ]

A lot more of us would believe a "dad's been kidnapped by crazy cultists" story. Throw some 'I think they're on drugs' in there and you'd end up with a bullrush. I was in narcotics for a long time. I remember how fast we used to jump on that shit.

Anonymous calls help a lot too. We do follow up. Don't give up on the first dismissal. Just because one of us is an asshole doesn't mean the second one will be, and honestly if someone is pretty urgent about saying it more than once, we'll look into it.

And we pretty much go into the job knowing we might get killed. Doesn't mean we aim for it... [Well, most cops anyway. Hank's been hoping a little, even if he's feeling a little better.] ...but it'd never be your fault if one of us did. I'm full of stab wounds and bullet scars. Not the fault of the people that called me in.

[ She listens, a portrait of disbelief beyond that of typical teenage rebellion. ]

Would you have believed me? [ Just the base of her story is nuts, the additional details she could add to complicate it are insane. ] "My dad's been kidnapped by a cult that we've been hiding from for years." Would you have believed that?

You have no idea how many young women come to cops with an accusation of some asshole cult leader that wants to make them their bride or the mother of some bullshit savior just so they can be fuckin' sick perv. And they're real bad for holding family in a 'come back to us' way. We're pretty willing to act when we know that family wants to get out.

Shit, I could probably name you three big cases right off the top of my head. Unification church, some Mormon extremists, The Children of God. I can keep going. The CCC. River Road. Most of them outed by fleeing young women. Bring in the possibility of hard mind-altering drugs and you'll get some real careful treatment of the situation. I've personally seen a methhead take twenty bullets before being staggered. Like that shit doesn't even register.

It's not as unheard of as you'd think. You don't sound crazy, alright? You sound fuckin' scared for someone you love. That's fair.

[ Her expression becomes raw briefly, as if all the steel she's built up has had its foundation shaken. When she responds, she's quieter, hesitant. ]

...They think I killed a detective. [ Ah, a complication and the fact she's giving him one means Hank's said something to make her feel she might be able to trust him, a little. Maybe. ] I didn't. I just saw what did. Not... Not who did. What.

[ She makes sure to keep her eyes on his to push her point. ] I'm not being chased by some fucking lame ass, manipulative perverts who found an easy way to get what they want. This group... They're not normal. They're not drugged up, either. There's something worse wrong with them, something that makes them more dangerous than anything you could even dream up.

Yeah, the 'killing a detective' part does make it harder.

[He leans forward, folding his hands, and whether or not he ends up believing it he is at least giving every physical signal that he is listening. Maybe a world full of androids or cyberpunk bullshit have opened up his eyes.]

What happened? What did it?

[ It'd be nice if someone out there would believe her, even if they were just... bullshitting her. She licks her dry lips, nervous suddenly. ]

That cult, they'd hired him to find me. He followed me around like a fucking creep and then expected me to listen to him. [ A detail she doesn't really mean to add but the words just come out. It all happened pretty quickly. ] He was talking and then...

[ Her gaze becomes distant; remembering. Once she starts, the words just all sort of spill out, somewhat rushed. ] It dropped right down from the ceiling, right behind him. It didn't have fucking hands, just these blades. It tried to grab him or stab him or I don't know. I pulled him back but it took off his fingers before I got him into the elevator.

It didn't stop trying to get in. It tore through the roof and just... ripped him right out. Like it was nothing. There was so much fucking blood and it was all real. It was all fucking real.

[He can see why that would be rough. Her delivery, panicked and uneasy, seems very genuine.]

No offense, you don't look like a girl who can tear a roof off or take off fingers with a single swing. So if a cop was any sort of decent cop, he would have at least considered a psycho in a Halloween costume. Especially if the evidence was right there.

Why the hell was the piece of shit taking fucking money to find people. [He's under the impression this is a police officer, not from the private sector.] Okay so... they pulled you here just after that? Like how long ago was this?

[ To Sharon, a private detective may as well be a detective, the distinction doesn't feel important in her mind.

His questions give her pause. She doesn't so much clam up as she has trouble admitting what happened next. ]

It's been... It's probably been a day by now. I ran. I didn't know if it was following me, I didn't know what to do. He told me they were coming, he'd told them where I was!

[ Her voice softens again. ] And I couldn't reach my dad. I went home, I found the place just... trashed. Come to Silent Hill written on my wall in blood like it was some shitty horror film. And then the cops showed up, banging on the door.

I know what would've happened if I'd stayed to let them in. I would be crazy, a suspect, and they wouldn't have been able to stop what was coming for me. [ Her dad would die. Those cops would die. She has a feeling he won't agree, he's a cop, after all, but it feels good to put it out there; to tell someone something she hasn't even had time to consider much herself. ]

[He could tell her again that she could have made some anonymous calls. He could tell her to lie and say drugs were involved anyway, even if they weren't, because it means that SWAT teams would be sent rather than a few unprepared cops. He could reassure her that there should have been a place to run.]

[But she's a scared kid. One missing her dad. One who just saw a guy mutilated just a day ago.]

I'd say I can't believe this fucking place grabbed a kid going through a fucking traumatic situation but it doesn't seem to give a fuck.

[He sounds pretty pissed off.]

Hey, we're getting to the end of our ten minutes, this isn't a great thing to have on your mind when they send you off to talk to the next guy. I'll go talk to somebody and see if they'll let you off the hook, alright? [He says, starting to get up.]

[ His anger is refreshing. It's nice to know that she isn't the only one boiling about this place, even if it isn't for the same reasons.

The offer seems to catch her off-guard but she quickly reaches forward and out to grab him by the arm, shaking her head. It's a kindness she doesn't get often and, honestly, after everything, she appreciates it but... ]

I'd rather not have attention drawn to myself, Hank. [ He's been kind so far, she can remember his name. She can't remember the name of the private detective who died. She quickly releases her grasp on him, somewhat apologetic. ]

I can handle whoever comes around next. I can play it off. [ And she'll keep her mouth shut next person. She shouldn't have told Hank what she did but she's always had her moments of foolishness. ]

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