meadowlarklogs | ARRIVAL LOG 009

WHO: Everyone
WHERE: New Tokyo
WHEN: October 10
WHAT: The ninth arrival
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Coercion and loss of autonomy. Further notes at end of log.

> ARRIVAL LOG #009

Awareness comes to you in blurred snatches, cloudy fragments of sound and light, color, sensation. Hazy and difficult to grasp on to, but slowly aligning into focus. A series of regular, rhythmic beeps. A sharp, cold breeze that blisters your cheeks as you walk through a thick, cold snow. That soon fades, replaced with warmth. A medicinal, astringent smell. The sensation of movement, a low hum and accompanying vibration under you. Your eyes are heavy, hard to keep open, but in the glimpses between slow, dark blinks you see four people in black body armor seated opposite you, as well as a man in dark gray scrubs.

You realize there are others next to you. All of you in heavy winter coats, water-resistant pants, and snow boots, hair recently cut but at various stages of growth and haphazardly tucked under warm winter hats. You're all restrained by straps across your chests, arms, feet, holding you to the bench under you. To your left, an armored interior door, two more people visible, though due to the storm there's hardly any visibility through the windshield. You try to open your mouth to speak, but it's as if your tongue is coated in tar, and you manage nothing more than an empty parting of lips.

The vehicle stops, landing gingerly in the snow. The guard opposite you stands and comes to unbuckle you from the bench, helping you to your feet. Your limbs feel wooden and heavy, slow to move. One guard opens the back of the vehicle, there's the sound of a high howling wind and that same blast of cold that signals at being somewhere else, combined with a sea of white as far as your eyes can see. The nurse moves to stand at the back, checking each passenger over one by one just before they're helped out of the vehicle, quick and methodical. He doesn't climb out after you, moving to sit as the last passenger is unloaded.

The guards keep their heads down. Their actions are quick, firm, but not entirely unkind. Once all the passengers are out, most of them climb back into the vehicle and close the doors. One stays behind, pointing you and whoever else is near you to one of the closest buildings. "In there," he orders, just before he interfaces with the doors and they slide open. "Stick around until your buddies come to find you. You'll know who they are."

Snow comes up to your knees on this city street, and you're left with no idea of where you are or why you've been brought here. But you'll feel compelled to move toward the building that the guard pointed at and step inside. In fact, you'll have no choice but to follow that order. Once you're in, he closes the doors behind you and hops back inside the vehicle. The engine powers up again, and then the large truck lifts up slowly and flies off.

Inside you'll find the lobby of what seems to be a corporate building. After taking note of the fact that there's a small group of other people dressed in similar clothes who are also confused about how they got to this place, you'll be able to warm up and try to figure out what's going on. For now, it's impossible to exit the building. The same door you came in won't open no matter what you try, so you're all stuck for now.

But don't worry, help is on the way.

◉ Though entirely capable of independent action and thought, new characters will find themselves completely, unquestioningly compliant to any verbal statement which could be taken as a command or request.

> WATANABE CORPORATE BUILDING

The message from El comes the same as usual: insistent, not waiting for any active attempt to open it. Scrolling within your vision as if being written while you're reading it.

I know you all were wondering what would happen if we had a batch of new arrivals while you're all out on your little field trip, but it turns out that they've all landed in New Tokyo too. They're holed up in the lobby of a corporate building, so make your way over and escort them to the PRESERVE dorms. Try for a warm welcome, okay?

At the lobby where the new arrivals have been dumped, they'll find that there's a check-in desk which is currently unmanned, and on the wall behind it there's a logo mounted which reads "Watanabe Corporation." There's no one to be found here and no one to greet them. The good news is that the building is heated, meaning that those heavy coats can probably come off for now. Further in on the ground floor, there's a set of six elevators that presumably lead up to the many floors of the skyscraper, but they're non-functional, and there don't seem to be any accessible stairs either.

For now, all the newcomers can do is make use of the comfortable chairs in the lobby and commiserate among themselves about what's going on. There's a water cooler and some cups to make use of as well, all of it made of biodegradable material, but there's only so much. Try to share.

The Displaced who received a message from El will have also received a GPS pin showing the location of the new arrivals. At this point, the promised supplies (which includes clothing appropriate for the harsh weather, along with additional foodstuffs to stock the dormitory kitchen) have come in compliments of PRESERVE. Everyone will be allowed to leave the dorms where they've been cooped up for the last two days to explore the city or go help out the newcomers.

Getting around a city covered in snow is a little more of a challenge. Going by foot is an option, although most of the streets haven't been shoveled yet and it will be slow-going. It's more feasible to make use of a hover bike. There's a garage connected to the dormitory that's stocked with twenty-some bikes. While they don't function perfectly well over snow and reckless driving with such poor visibility could easily lead to a cold and painful crash, it has to beat walking. If you don't how to drive, guess you'll have to find someone who does. (The bikes can seat two.)

> PRESERVE DORMS

With the help of the current Displaced, the new arrivals will be brought back to a dormitory building managed by PRESERVE. PRESERVE is a world-wide relief organization that focuses on environmental conservation and disaster relief. While a good number of Morningstar agents have joined up with PRESERVE thanks to their charitable activities and because they're UN sanctioned, it is not an organization that's affiliated with Morningstar. As a group, they are entirely pacifistic in their ideals – they believe the world can be saved through being conscientious.

The Displaced are here because they agreed to help PRESERVE with a very different disaster, but that's now a very severe and uncommon snowstorm. This is where they're all staying during the trip, so while this isn't anything close to home, it will have to do for now. A representative from PRESERVE by the name of Nico has been hanging around the dorms, ready to answer any questions from any of the Displaced, new or old. Nico is also a member of Morningstar, as well, though she'll be very hush hush about this fact when around her fellow PRESERVE members.

Newbies will be allowed to pick out additional clothes and gear from a cache of supplies (there's coats, thermal underwear, boots, scarves, hats, gloves, and anything else that would be needed to survive the intense cold), and they'll also need to figure out which of the rooms has an opening where they can sleep. It's four people to a room, with the use of two sets of bunk beds, and space was already limited before the newcomers got added to the mix. Hopefully peace can be maintained and there won't be too much fighting over who gets top bunk.

Other than the rooms, the dorm building has a kitchen, a large common area with comfortable couches and chairs, communal bathrooms, and a small, modestly stocked infirmary. There's also a viewing room which is a large space furnished with bean bag chairs and other comfortable things to lounge on, and a large blank wall that's meant to be used for group viewings of movies, shows, etc. This requires one character to "throw out" their feed from their neural implant onto the wall, and anyone who wanted to watch with them would need to sync up with their ID to watch along. Anyone not synced would just see a blank wall – and unfortunately, that does include anyone new.

There are other PRESERVE volunteers staying in this dormitory and milling about. Many of them already had supplies, so they've been in and out since the Displaced arrived.

◉ The drugs making new characters compliant will remain in their systems for a few hours after their arrival at the dorms before finally beginning to fade. They will be gone entirely after a night's rest. In the meantime, they may want to be careful of what others say to them.

◉ New characters will be given rudimentary access to the network on arrival to the dorms, but will not have their ID set up yet. They will be able to make posts and replies, but their messages will be anonymous and they do not have inboxes yet.

◉ Normally, new characters are confined to a safehouse for 4 days before they can leave and explore the city. Given that these newbies have arrived under unorthodox circumstances, that won't be the case for them. They'll be able to come and go from the dorms, but given that it's a frozen tundra outside, they'll at least want to prep first. At some point during this adjustment period, you can assume that El will contact them and work on setting up their IDs. There is no law enforcement around in these conditions, so anyone wanting to head out can.

◉ New characters won't be able to abscond to somewhere else in the world, as a lack of ID means no tickets or travel papers.

◉ While most businesses in New Tokyo are shuttered, a few convenience shops remain open near PRESERVE's dormitories because they know they can make money off volunteers. New characters won't have any means of paying, as they don't have a registered ID. They'll have to see if a kind soul will spot them the credits if they want something.

> RELIEF EFFORTS

With the new arrivals successfully recovered and supplies delivered to keep everyone warm in the harsh conditions, it's time to set out and fulfill the reason for everyone being here: to offer support and relief to the population affected by the harrowing storm. Nico will provide the Displaced with the information they need to get their boots on the ground and make a difference. There are a number of ways that she'll suggest to help out.

◉ First, she'll deliver a word of caution. While New Tokyo is a large, entirely steel city that runs deep underwater, most of its citizens have evacuated to the upper levels and are huddling down in various locations hoping for some relief. Heading deeper in the large city structure could prove dangerous. In this emergency, heating is centralized on the upper levels of the entire man-made metal city structure, while the lower levels are frigid and dangerous at this time. The only heating revolves around the trains coming and going, and their schedules have been largely delayed thanks to the storm.

◉ Delivering food, clothing, and medical supplies. With power cut off from most homes and all of the citizens having been cautioned to stay indoors and conserve warmth, there are a lot of people running low on food stores. Those who live in impoverished areas are even worse off, with little insulation in their homes. The threat of some people freezing to death is real, so getting the needed supplies to those people could allow them to hold out until power is restored or the storm has passed. Nico encourages people to travel to these neighborhoods in pairs for safety reasons, and again, the hover bikes will come in handy here. Supplies can be carried in heavy-duty backpacks or in a side-car attached to the bike, and all of this is provided by PRESERVE.

◉ Shoveling snow. For those of the Displaced who aren't opposed to grueling manual labor, one of the largest concerns is getting the major streets cleared of snow so that transportation is easier. The train lines also need to be cleared off so public transit can eventually be reinstated, so assuming they're not afraid of heights, the Displaced will get access onto the train tracks that crisscross above the city to clear the snow off. Some homes are also completely snowed in, trapping the residents inside, so those will also need to be cleared. There's no shortage of work to be done. PRESERVE will provide the snow shovels, and they have access to a single snow plow that can be used in shifts by anyone who's got a driver's license (also found in the garage). Nico will also hand out hot packs. Everyone should be bundling up, but in the event that someone takes a fall or ends up with too much snow-to-skin contact, the hot packs will help stave off the cold and prevent frostbite.

◉ Missing persons. There have been multiple reports of missing persons sent into PRESERVE, and the Displaced will be assigned particular people to go look for, if they let Nico know they're interested in this task. She'll give them the description of the missing person and their last known location. This could be anywhere within the city of New Tokyo -- a shopping district, a residential area, a park, etc. If they manage to find the missing person, they'll be instructed to take them to the closest PRESERVE relief center so they can receive medical attention and be reunited with their families.

◉ Restoring power. Turbines are jammed due to ice build-up past any conceivable norm, and need to be carefully thawed and given a jump from a backup battery pack. This is a highly dangerous, but necessary endeavor. The turbines are located offshore due to the fact that New Tokyo primarily generates energy through tidal power. When working correctly, these offshore turbines then feed energy into local sources within the city. For those who have any sort of experience with electrical work, they'll be directed toward areas in the city where covered electrical boards interconnected with the city's branched power source have been buried. They'll need to be cleared of snow, checked, reconnected, and made ready for when the turbines begin to flow again.

While the new arrivals are welcome to help out with these relief efforts if they wish, it certainly won't be expected, given that they're still getting adjusted to everything that's going on. They're allowed to stay in the warm confines of the dormitory building until everyone returns to New Amsterdam, if that's what they would prefer. As for the rest of the Displaced, there will be some expectation that they're going to contribute. That's the whole reason they came all this way, isn't it? And it's not like Nico knows that some of them didn't actually sign up for this.

> FINAL OOC NOTES

Welcome to Meadowlark, newbies! You're now free to post to the network and logs comms. To reiterate, your characters will have no IDs or inboxes until October 14th (OOCly, April 25th). All posts they make on the network until that point will be anonymous. During this time it's expected they'll have gotten a good idea of their new situation from their fellow characters, and will have discussed their background and job potentials with El in order for their false IDs to be set up.

If you have any questions or ideas about how you'd like to get your character involved in the world, please head over to the plot engagement post and drop us a comment! For questions specific to this log, there is a thread below.

Please check out our April/May calendar rundown for a look at things happening this month, as well as some additional notes from the mods.

As a reminder, AC for new characters accepted in April will be 10 comments across 2-4 threads, while current characters will need to provide the full AC of 20 comments across 2-4 threads. AC will be posted on May 1 and close on May 8 at midnight UTC. If you do not reply to AC, you will be considered idled and dropped from the game. We will not post a warning list.

> NAVIGATION

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Gods?

[ he frowns, trying to figure out if these were actual gods he meant or if it was something metaphorical and gods were some kind of authority figure in his world. ]

In the religious sense?

[ At first Jack only shrugs, because he isn't entirely sure how to explain it. He would like to claim that they only call themselves gods and that it's not an accurate term, but that goes back to how to define that word in the first place. Rocket had talked almost casually about it. ]

I guess the people of that world viewed them that way. For the rest of us, they were mainly a pain in the ass.

[ Like that time he got turned into a feral wolf for a month. Fun times. ]

I do not know much about religion but from what I do know, most of the time the gods that people believe in do not meddle. Are you implying that yours do?

[ that's what he seemed to be saying with the gods being difficult to deal with. ]

That's unusual.

Yeah, that's what I'm saying.

[ It had worked on two levels. The Natha had been considered gods by the natives of El Nysa, but the planet itself had also had a number of gods that were connected to it and responsible for its safekeeping in some way.

Jack's not sure if any of it is worth explaining. It doesn't seem to matter anymore. ]

To be clear, this wasn't on my home world. I got brought somewhere else before here.

[ that still makes his head spin if he's honest. the thought of multiple worlds and people traveling so effortlessly between them. people had just begun to think about going to the starts in his time and here he was meeting those who had been in space and those who regularly hopped from planet to planet. ]

You sound like you have been quite busy.

[ and now here you were, stuck on one planet and made to sleep in a bed that was probably too small for you. ]

This must be quite the change.

Feels that way, yeah.

[ Jack heaves out a sigh and lifts a hand to rub at the back of his neck, a little below that scar that he's trying not to think too much about. Not that it's really possible to forget that someone cut into his head, but for the moment there's not much he can do about it. ]

I haven't gotten to see much of this place yet, but it's definitely more like my home than El Nysa. It was... pretty primitive. This is just a different version of Earth.

[ He'd lived in a jungle city, with a lack of technology that had taken some getting used to. The hover bikes had been a welcome sight, even if he hadn't been fully able to appreciate them in his disorientation. ]

Not the Earth I'm used to.

[ it would never not jar him to say earth and not russia or italy or some other country. no, he is comparing this version of earth to another version and that is...something that his mind still wants to reject.

he's been here long enough to fight past that but the feeling never leaves. ]

I am from an Earth long in the past. [ if that wasn't obvious. ] This city is something I thought an impossibility or so far into the future that I would never see it.

[ and yet here he was. ]

[ It's a concept that would have thrown Jack off too, except for the fact that during his time on El Nysa, he'd met plenty of other refugees who came from other versions of Earth. At this point, it's hard to guess how many versions exist.

Illya says he's from the past, which also isn't a new concept for Jack. ]

What year? [ The guy doesn't strike Jack as completely backward, so it can't be too far back. ] For me it was 2076. Do you know what year it is here?

[ It's a question he hasn't had the chance to ask yet, but could add some context to his situation. ]

For me, it was ninety sixty three. [ and he hasn't run into anyone, save for those that came from the same time as him, that came from somewhere even further back. he's not that old but when compared to some people, he feels like he is. ]

I did not understand the majority of the technology that exists here when I first arrived. I've learned a lot but there's still a lot I don't understand.

[ which is why he shies away from it for the most part. ] As for the year it is here, I believe it is 2511.

[ so even futuristic compared to jack's time. ]

[ 1963. Yeah, Jack can't imagine that was an easy transition, but it sound like Illya's had time to pick up on things. Being forced to adapt will do wonders for quick learning. As bothered as Jack is by the existence of the neural implant, he can admit that it's intuitive. When all you need is a thought to make something happen, there's not much of a learning curve, at least.

At the mention of the current year, his eyebrows tick upward for a moment but he doesn't react other than that. It's strange to have been thrown into what feels like the exact opposite of El Nysa, save for the space station. ]

That's a pretty big leap for both of us. Guess I'm gonna have some catching up to do too.

Good luck.

[ he means that, sincerely. this is not an easy place to adapt to though he thinks jack might have an easier time. he is coming from a place where technology was probably somewhat advanced already whereas illya had not been from anything like that. ]

I would offer to assist but I would cause more harm than good. I'm still trying to catch up. New things happen every day that I spend time trying to comprehend.

[ Jack doesn't envy Illya for all of that catch up. While he also feels like he needs to do some research on the history of the past few hundred years, and whatever else he can find, at least he isn't thrown off by the technology of this world. ]

It's fine. Right now, I just need the place to sleep. The sooner I can get those drugs out of my system, the better.

[ As much as the thought of sleeping with someone else in the room might bother him, Jack doesn't have much choice. With a sigh, he bends down to start pulling off his boots. He probably won't strip down any further than that and just sleep in his clothes, otherwise. ]

I can leave you for a little while. I do not know who else might show up but I will at least give you the room.

[ for a few hours. to give the man time to sleep off the compliance drugs because illya remembers those all too well. ]

Our bags are on the bunk we've taken. Anything else can be yours.

[ Jack isn't expecting Illya to offer to vacate the room on his account, and for a moment he considers saying it's not necessary. But he would sleep better if there wasn't anyone else in the room, and it seems like Illya gets it. In a manner that someone else who operates the same way would get it, maybe.

It's something Jack can appreciate, though he isn't the best at showing it. ]

Thanks. I won't take up much space, don't worry.

[ He scoots himself onto the bed, lifting a hand in a quiet goodbye as Illya exits the room. ]

ARRIVAL LOG 009

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