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[outtatime]

[ A » Action; 918 Bilko Boulevard (Morning) ]

[ Jeez it felt like days since Marty last slept. He probably could get away with sleeping all the way until the afternoon but a part of him was pushing him to at least pry one eye open. The last thing he remembers was taking the DeLorean back home with the Doc but everything else is just one huge blur in his head. Chalk it up to getting your atoms scrambled on a near constant basis. Maybe that's what he needed, sleep it off a little more. That subconscious of his seems to have the right idea, it really does feel like he's sleeping on a full size mattress fit for two.

Yeah... just a few more minutes.

But as he shifts from beneath the comforters, something feels kind of off. His eyes finally flutter open that this...is definitely not his bed. Now that reality has caught his attention, his eyes are now wide open and shoots up from bed. ]

[ B » Action; Bilko Boulevard ]

[ Okay so Mayfield, right? Now he just needs to get a date on this place. The newspaper was able to tell him that much but the full year is scratched off. Great. Nineteen fifty-what? Every page he flips, the printed year appears to be nonexistent. Like something purposefully redacted it from the print. Nah, it can't be right. He just needs to get his hands on a better copy. If you're up and about enjoying your daily routine, don't be alarmed if there's a kid near your front yard, opening your trash bins for old newspapers. ]

[ C » Action; Downtown Area ]

[ Well... here we go again. You're probably one of the newer residents, maybe even a pro-Mayfield veteran. Who cares! Marty sure as hell can't tell. So whoever you are, there's a wild Marty from behind yelling-- ]

Excuse me!

Comments

[ooeeooahah]

Or, there is an answer, we just don't know it yet.

[ She smiles, and changes the subject. ]

Anyone else aware in your house?

[outtatime]

My house...?

[ He needs to think about this one for a second. ]

You're talking about that place I woke up in? Can't say I'm well acquainted yet. Everything happened pretty fast as soon as I woke up.

[ooeeooahah]

Think of it as your assigned bivouac, if it helps. You're going to need to sleep on the property about every third night. Otherwise, you get put back in your bed, and you get droned for about a day.

[ She shrugs. ] But as I said, you just need to be on the property. I've got an apartment in the basement, from when my assigned husband was someone who couldn't stand physical proximity.

[outtatime]

So all I gotta do is just stay on my turf and I won't be turned into one of the pod-people. Yeah, sounds easy enough.

[ Man, just thinking about being turned into one those things just makes him cringe. ]

Jeez talk about sticking close to your family. I'm not even out of high school and they got me settled down.

[ooeeooahah]

Eighteen is the magic mark for most people here. Your assigned mate a drone, or aware?

[outtatime]

Pretty sure they're not a drone unless I'm missing something here. Those kids I saw on the other hand... I was trying to get out of the house but they kept jumping in front me yelling "Dad! Dad!"

They even asked me for a pony...

[ooeeooahah]

[ Ilsa winces. ] Yeah, there's still one drone child at my house. But it's easier to deal with the kids than a drone spouse.

[outtatime]

No kidding. I don't think I'm ready to come home to a drone wife with a pot roast in the oven. It's bad enough this town thinks I'm married. My girlfriend would totally kill me if she found out.

[ooeeooahah]

Tch, I occasionally do make pot roast, but that's because it's something I can ignore for hours while getting research done.

[ Ilsa chuckles. ] She might be angry until she realized it wasn't your choice, give her some credit. If it were choice-driven, my alpha mate would have been assigned to me after my first husband was droned.

[outtatime]

[ Real smooth there, Marty. ]

Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I think it's all the fake attention they give that's really [ He eyes one drone taking a light stroll down the street with a great big, cheesy grin on his face. ] weird... They just don't have one care in the world.

But you're right. It's not like I got some sort of warning. Not even one of those weird dreams like when you get abducted by aliens.

[ooeeooahah]

Depends on the aliens, doesn't it?

[ She snickers and goes on. ] Right now, everything is boring, even if a bit creepy. But keep an eye on the calendar, and be aware of the holidays. That's the only warning we have so far of things going haywire. Not everything happens around a holiday, but that's one of the indicators.

[outtatime]

Haywire? What- Like the higher drones marching down the streets to make sure we drank all of our milk?

[ooeeooahah]

Not that easy - they usually influence parts of the aware population to do that for them. Hm, next holiday is... erg, Mother's Day. Last year, the guys were under the influence to follow any orders given to them by women, no matter how ludicrous, dangerous, or erm... biologically impossible.

[outtatime]

No kidding? And here I thought this place was trying to play keeping up with the Jones.

[ He smirks. ]

Thanks. So how long have you been here for?

[ooeeooahah]

A year, as of the 15th.

[ She sighs, frowning. ]

In that time, I've died four times, had my personality or perceptions altered several times, and been under a couple instances of partial droning.

[outtatime]

[ His brows furrow, looking at her sadly.

Jeez, the kid just got here and already he wants to hightail it out of here. Imagine staying here for an entire year. ]

Man, how do you keep a straight face? I'd probably go nuts here with all that happening to me.

[ooeeooahah]

I got a support network, found my mate early, and just kept searching for a way out.

[outtatime]

There's got to be a way out of here.

[ He waves the first introductory letter from Rose in his hand. ]

You can't be a hero, huh? Yeah well, I'm no hero but I know for sure just sitting around won't do any good.

[ooeeooahah]

Well, a good many of us were not... baseline humans before we were brought here. The reflexes are still there, but the abilities are not, not at first. So it takes a while to get used to living without the extra senses at first, then relearning the controls, or at least that's how it was in my case.

{ She considers him. ]

What were you before you were dropped in this mess? For that matter, who?

{ She smiles. ] Ilsa Higa, { she bows. ] We got so far into the details I forgot that part.

[outtatime]

Har-[ He stops himself before he lets a force of habit get the best of him. ] Marty. Marty McFly.

Me? I'm just a human who lives on Earth-like the real thing. I don't have any special powers or anything like that.

[ooeeooahah]

Someone who has had experience in not giving his right name, as well.

[ She chuckles, shaking her head. ] Not to worry, there's all sorts here. So, rather than abilities, you're more likely to get items from home, on occasion.

[ Her smile dims s bit. ] If things have been horrible, it's almost as if the town is rewarding us for being tortured.

[outtatime]

[ His face lights up when she mentions about getting their stuff back but then again- does he really want to stick around when the town decides to play with his mind? The thought just brings him right back down. ]

I really don't think I can wait that long. Hasn't somebody found where they keep all of our things?

[ooeeooahah]

[ She shakes her head. ] The one time I had heard that people were able to reclaim what was lost, it required the cooperation of one of the powers that be during some infighting.

However, [ she fixes him with a firm gaze, ] understand that though things are sent through the post office, we can't be sure they are kept there. I will not guess at your background, but there have been several high-caliber thieves and spies that have tried to break into the government buildings here. They are all still here, or brainwashed. So whatever your path, be careful.

[ Not telling him to not try, of course. ]

[outtatime]

With this town under lock and key? I'll figure something out.

[ Whatever that is... So they're in some place where even Superman might get his ass kicked. There has to be some sort of silver lining in all of this. ]

Even if that does mean potentially getting brainwashed...

[ooeeooahah]

Hmm...

[ Ilsa considers him a moment. ] I think it might be a good idea for you to talk to Quinn. [ She takes the map from him to mark Quinn's place on Brady on it. ] He's been here longer than I have, and may know who you need to talk to about a raid. Major Armstrong would be the one for a frontal attack, but I think she's concentrating on getting everyone fit, first. Her assigned job is at the florist.

[ She pauses to think some more. ] Sarah Jane Smith might also have more information, if you can catch her at home, but call first.