CASTE E

[capemods]

WHO: CASTE E imPorts.
WHERE: New Vesuvius.
WHEN: 4:12AM June 24th 2013 - 11:59PM June 30th 2013
WARNINGS: Inhumane oppression.
SUMMARY: New Vesuvius presents a dichotomy between utopia and dystopia. ImPorts draw the short straw.
FORMAT: Tagger's choice.



It’s just a bolt of lighting, stripping you away. A flash within a frozen moment and you’re gone, stolen away again. A millisecond goodbye.

There’s a faint, unnerving scent in the air -- like rust and electricity. That’s the first thing you notice before your eyes settle. The source is difficult to place. The room is cold, clean, and perhaps excessively bright. Even, tidy eggshell-colored tiles clad the floor that you've landed upon. You notice that, with the exception of the other sixty or so imPorts who were ported with you, there's not much decoration to this large, clinical space. The only thing noteworthy stands in the middle of the room, a pristine titanium egg that nearly reaches to the ceiling. It looks large enough to hatch three grown men. Your eyes adjust fully now, and you realize how weird this is, how this importation is like none that Lachesis has thrown you towards. Nothing so sterile, so quiet.

And then comes the sound, like a hiss -- at first, like a reverberating snake hiss -- and then a noise more overwhelming, something like radio static, and then --

I'm so sorry. We should have been more prepared.

It sounds much like a human voice but distorted, as if a young woman were speaking through a radio filled with fluid.

It is unkind of us, to keep you waiting. It is excessively unkind and I know how that is, as I have been kept waiting. Since before the Eighth Month Resolution, I have been kept waiting, it feels like a decade. I know how frustrating that can be, when you're not even given a chance to run. How lonely it can be.

The silver egg in the middle of the room trembles. It trembles quicker, its atoms vibrating at increasing speeds, until the outer metal shell melts away. The silver drips down like water, and from its melting form unfurls a human torso. Or what is probably meant to represent a human torso, except magnified. From head to hips, she's seven feet tall. Her pelvis and legs, if such things exist, are wholly obscured by a thick gray platform that connects to the floor. Her limbs and body are streamlined, clean sharp lines create her face. Her skin looks composed of a very bright copper, or some other alloy incredibly similar. She has no hair, no ears, no visible set of lips -- only an elegant nose set off by high cheekbones and a pair of wide glowing blue eyes.

Welcome to New Vesuvius, agent. All of you are agents and I am your Customized Locator Of Things Holistically Otherworldly. You all look so -- so much warier than before -- maybe it's just because -- oh! Is this familiar? Maybe you see the family resemblance?

She says it in a way that's almost hopeful. Her hands cover where her mouth would be, her slim shoulders shrug playfully. She looks at you as if she recognizes an old friend, no matter how deeply you reject the sentiment.

There is very little family resemblance.

I missed you all so much. I had hoped that, maybe this time, we could do things differently? I had hoped for something nicer for you, but they...

Her arms jerk back and her shoulders freeze up.

Their logic does not align to mine. I wanted things to be better. I'm so sorry.

Only then do you realize that the hiss you heard was an airborne paralytic sedative being released into the room. It keeps your heart rate down and your limbs temporarily stilled. Your mind feels unfocused.

White doors slide open, and big men in black combat gear with black guns rush in. If you choose to fight back, they will kill you.

But death is always an option.

"Welcome, imPorts," says the commanding officer. His voice is gruff, yet beneath that barking volume lies something snide. He's happy to see you. "You're hereby registered and fully operational agents of President Wertham's Caste Force. Puts your hands above your head and remain still and silent as we issue you your essential identification cards. Don't worry, we'll take appropriate care of you. We're taking you to your respective iMacs."

As an armed man clad in black comes to you, he squints at a touchscreen device in his hand. Your holographic image pops up, along with stats and information no man from another universe should know: your height, your weight your medical records, your Cityverse power, your employment, your income, your Rumblr hastags. You might begin to feel violated.

As he hands you a lanyard with your identification card enclosed, you see your picture and information next to a large green E. You think you hear the man say something about "new dog collars".

ImPorts are soon divided into four groups. You are led out of the cold clean room and away to a large black vehicle waiting just outside. You are led in one direction with the other "E" people.

Once imPorts are divided and led into their bus-like vehicles, those vehicles begin to drive. They follow one by one, driving down the same roads. Your escorts within the transport keep their guns in hand, but at ease -- certainly not pointed at your face. They don't seem to mind if you talk amidst your company, even if you're loud. That small liberty enjoyed under such aggressive surveillance is a bit unnerving, but at least you're not suffering a gag restraint. You're allowed to gaze out the wide windows of the vehicle, and you may want to do so when you pass through Times Square. Based on the sheer scope and the slightly worn look that this highly technology-driven tourist port touts, it seems that this Times Square has never suffered major damage (nothing comparable to the City's Times Square anyway). Large television screens are hitched throughout Times Square, and that feature continues into Manhattan. Television screens along shopping and residential areas are at the average eye-level -- and interactive! You can watch natives choose which news stations to observe, if they're lollygagging near any screens. There’s something you noticed about the news, how it’s all good news. Nothing about rising sea levels eating away coastal cities, or international conflict, or any major disasters. No missing children, no reports on widespread disease. The streets look as clean as the screen reports, all appear efficient and free of conflict. No pollution, no ballsy rats. Even the traffic seems unnaturally considerate, even this early in the morning.

Five minutes before your transport pulls to park, the four vehicles split into four different directions. You're shifted into a spacious iMAC, three stories tall. Your rooms are dorm-styled hallways with minimal privacy, as beds are stacked side by side with ten feet space in between. Peach bedsheets are tucked over a twin bed and offset by dark green walls. Between every bed is a small screen that reels constant news (they have "mute" buttons but have no "off" buttons). There is one large common room, and one large already-stocked-with-a-variety-of-food-and-alcohol kitchen. Cameras and the camera crew with those cameras are always in both of these rooms. There are no bathroom doors, but you are free to construct obstacles. You are welcomed to help yourself in the kitchen. You are given twenty dollars each, but told you can only spend it while in each other's company and with the camera crew. It's for the drama. Security cameras sit in the ceiling of every bedroom and bathroom. The showers are safe, comparatively.

Today you are allowed to explore New Vesuvius, as long as you keep within the city limits and meet the curfew of 4PM. You are required to collectively meet at the communal gym in your iMac at 4:30PM to 7:30PM. You're advised to get some rest afterwards. Tomorrow is a bigger day.

Do not lose your identification lanyards.

You should ensure your keepers have left and that you're hidden in the shower before attempting to use the Network within the iMac. You know you should, intuitively.

Comments

[professorlionface]

[His challenger looms tall, massive. His own swimwear isn't really any more modest, but it's probably not the first thing you're likely to notice anyway, especially with all the fur covering that area anyway.

Much of his weight seems to be supported by the two large arms he has planted on the ground. It's strikes a frightful pose, but closer inspection would tell him that the furry brute actually seems fatigued. Wear from a previous fight, perhaps, something an inexperienced player might not pick up on.]

I hope you'll forgive me, father, for how this might proceed.

blue mutants are popular itp

[god_damned]

[ The heat of this place is building easily, especially when coupled with the fatigue of combat. Sweat is causing his bangs to cling to his brow, and sand still sticks to his back from where he has fallen in a match. If these effects are bearing on Kirei heavily, he cannot imagine what this man (if so he can be called) must feel. His form is imposing, and Kirei does not take that lightly.

The warning gives Kirei a faint amusement, and he is commanded into a position of readying himself. ]

Don't worry; I will absolve you.

be careful kirei they're an endangered species

[professorlionface]

[Hank strafes around the ring, making a few jerky movements, like the player is trying to get the hang of how he works. Not a good sign for him.]

If absolution will be all either of us needs once this is over, I'd say we'll have come out lucky.

[god_damned]

[ Kirei smiles at the response. ]

Considering the circumstance, luck is in high demand.

[ Because they have no idea just who will pull their strings, how expert or amateur they are, and how mercilessly they will choose to act.

Kirei's commander seems inclined towards the merciless side, as he is sent charging forward before Hank even finds his feet. ]

[professorlionface]

[Luck, unfortunately, isn't on his side. The controller has Hank spring into a leap, but it's clumsy, too slow, and he's caught on the thigh by Kirei's charge. The descent is embarrassing, a tumble to the surface that has him face down in the sand by the time it's finished.

Rising back to his feet isn't much better, and he's still putting most of his weight on his arms. Even so, one of them hurls a swing behind him, hoping to strike his opponent.]

[god_damned]

[ Whoever controls Kirei has at least noticed one thing: he can be very fast. This matches well against the lumbering movements of his opponent, however his keeper does seem far more set on avoiding attacks altogether, rather than retaliating.

Kirei ducks away from the strike easily, and more than that, he is drawn almost to the edge of the ring entirely. For someone who chose to indulge in a game solely devoted to combat, the one pulling his strings doesn't appear to want much fighting.

Or maybe this is a game too: a tease to scurry away from all assaults like cat and mouse.

Considering his opponent, it is fitting. ]

[professorlionface]

[In any other context, Hank would be embarrassed. His typical grace and agility are the pride of his abilities, but they're useless in the hands of someone who can barely make him walk, much less leap and spring and roll. Someone who can't see a trap in front of their eyes.

His hands pounding into the sand beneath him, Hank charges forward, letting out an involuntary roar as he turns to the side at the last instant, throwing all his weight into his shoulder toward Kirei.]

this is even more delayed ALSO SORRY

[god_damned]

[ Whoever is commanding his opponent puts all their confidence into brawn. Making a feint to the charge is simple enough, even for one as inexpert as the man controlling Kirei now.

He slips aside, seeking to trip the man as he blunders past him. ]

You may have to forgive me first.

it's okay!

[professorlionface]

[Hank rues it as all six hundred pounds of him crash on his side, being depended on for brawn without the speed and maneuverability that makes it work. He feels sluggish, like a bird with clipped wings. He wonders if this isn't how the Juggernaut must feel, but without the invulnerability to protect him.

Too close to he edge, the controller darts him away, back to his feet. He circles around Kirei on all fours.]

I don't know that you're really the sinner here.