Chapter 11: A Fork in the Road of Time

[nanocerancowboy]

[One choice can make all the difference of a lifetime.]

[Gat might still be an android, but the change Friday brought to the minds within Mayfield have tampered with him considerably. He doesn't remember a thing about his life in the Gurhal system, or serving aboard Pioneer 2 and exploring the haunted world of Ragol. In fact, he doesn't remember Coral at all, either.]

[Gat's memories come from a life that might have been, had he never chosen to join the Pioneer colonization project. Instead he continued his work as a freelance Ranger for the various warring nations of the dying planet. Decades, maybe centuries passed—Gat will never know for sure, for the Great Blank forced all of Coral's androids offline, sent the Numans seemingly into extinction, and left humanity on the verge of following their child races into oblivion.]

[All Gat remembers is being recovered by an expedition party in the remains of the city of Paru, roughly a hundred years agter the Great Blank, with no memories left to him save for his name and what had survived in his body's sub-memory systems. By then, Coral was a very different place—most of the planet was now inhospitable, with toxins of unknown origin threatening to kill any human who wandered too far from the safer areas on the planet. Most of the wildlife that competed for space in these havens were openly hostile to sentient creatures, making both travel and communication between human settlements difficult—and life was difficult enough, with the once high-tech civilization of Coral reduced to something akin to the American Wild West, imbued with fragments of the previous age.]

[So, since Friday, Gat's been coping with the awkwardness of this CAST body built with technology very different from those from Coral at the time of the Great Blank. Dakki Sigal was never a co-worker or friend—and given her own memory corruption, they only barely manage to get along. Gat's personality has changed some, too—he's a little more blunt and serious than usual, and more of a loner.]

[ACTION - A (In and Around 458 Stone, Morning, HOUSEMATES)]

[Gat's busy taking care of house chores. Much as he'd rather be outside the house doing things other than being here with this woman who sees him as an arch-nemesis, this house was a shared living space. There's Chen to think about, and the drone human kids, too. He's got some responsibility to keep house.]

[ACTION - B (Mayfield Firehouse, Afternoon, OPEN TO ALL)]

[Where the technology of Mayfield's era once left Gat a little awkward due to its relative primitiveness compared to that of Gurhal and Coral's, he's now more confounded by it because much if it is actually more advanced than the technology Coralian civilization is capable of producing after the Great Blank.]

[This isn't exactly a good switch-up when you're trying to check the fire engine's ... engine ... for problems.]

[Are you a fellow firefighter? Or just passing by the firehouse? Feel free to bug the RAcast!]

[ACTION - C (Shooting Range, Evening, OPEN TO ALL)]

[When you're living with a woman who thinks you're her arch-nemesis and is more than ready to kill you to satisfy her deep-seated grudges, it pays to keep your own fighting skills at top notch. Which is why, while Dakki's out spending time training or exercising her skills as a Hunter, Gat's doing the same as a Ranger. Even though he has a strange mechgun that was sent to him for Christmas last year, Gat's preferring to train with whatever weapons are at hand—mostly shotguns and hunting rifles. As might be expected of an android, he's not a bad shot—but it looks like he's working on his timing and speed more than his aim.]

[ACTION - D (Anywhere in Mayfield, Evening/Night, OPEN TO ALL)]

[Rather than go home, Gat's decided to take some time to explore the town. Not necessarily to get a feel for the lay of the land—he'd already done that a few times, especially after he got this strange non-Coralian CAST body. It's mostly exploring for the sake of exploring—and the closest thing he'll get in a town such as this to the lifestyle he led in the post-Great Blank world, drifting from one town to the next.]

[Given the increase in violence in the town recently, though (to say nothing of Dakki's behavior), he's not letting his guard down.]

Comments

[1st_superhero]

Nope. What were the mushrooms?

[nanocerancowboy]

Happened back in th' middle of November. Somethin' that was causin' folks to lose their minds when they ate 'em. Th' woman livin' with me ... she lost her mind completely. Mentioned things an' places I ain't never heard of.

There was a phone call about where they came from—this girl said they're found on an island where she lives. An' I don't reckon she kept a garden of 'em somewhere.

[1st_superhero]

Oh.

[That meant that anything he encountered during his lifetime had a fair chance of being sent as a regain.]

Well, that means there's the potential for a lot of shit to end up in this town. Hope they don't start mailing me my current day subjects.

[nanocerancowboy]

Y'never know with this place ...

[Gat tilts his head inquisitively after a beat.]

Whaddya mean by "current day subjects," though?

[1st_superhero]

Ghosts. Lots of them. Kinda happens when you're judge of the dead.

[nanocerancowboy]

[Gat pulls his head back in surprise.]

Really now? Don't think you've ever mentioned that before.

[1st_superhero]

Not really a job to be proud of. All you get is the doom and gloom of the underworld. And lots and lots of paperwork. Oh, and watching through hours and hours of human depravity hoping to find some sort of goodness or meaning between it all.

[nanocerancowboy]

... Huh. Never thought I'd meet someone with a metaphysical job such as that.

[On the other hand, if Gat's memories weren't corrupted, he'd be less surprised, given his dealings with the SEED and D-Cell creatures.]

[1st_superhero]

And I never expected to meet an intelligent automaton before.

[Hell, he had been surprised that something could pluck him from his office and deposit him here.]

[nanocerancowboy]

[Gat glances out over the town proper.]

Reckon this town'll provide a first time for jus' about everything.

[1st_superhero]

Even whales in tutus dancing the macarena?

[nanocerancowboy]

Ain't sure what a whale is, or what th' macarena's s'posed to look like.

But this town's done some mighty strange things in th' past, not countin' th' folks livin' here.

[1st_superhero]

Yeah, you told me. The mushrooms. And the surgeries. Wonder what crazy shit it has in store for us this month.

[nanocerancowboy]

[Reminded of that, Gat sighs and shakes his head.]

Reckon we won't know 'till they do somethin'.

[Oh the irony.]

[1st_superhero]

You know, if this is meant to be a parody of a suburban paradise, why don't they just stick with the parody? Why torture us with events? Hell, why import us? Why not drone us all so we can all play sitcom characters?

Finally able to start tagging again! Sorry about the long wait!

[nanocerancowboy]

[He looks back up over at Gilgamesh.]

I wish I knew, myself. I don't see any practical purpose in th' kind of things they're doin' to us. My best guess is that we're all jus' here as twisted entertainment, an' th' drones're too "perfect" to give 'em what they want.

it's okay!

[1st_superhero]

Tch. The guy at the top doesn't have very good tastes. If anything, I'd say his interests subvert each other.

[nanocerancowboy]

[That makes Gat tilt his head, very slightly.]

How do you figure?

[1st_superhero]

Isn't it obvious? They want entertainment, but they also wanted paradise. Sooner or later, these things are going to clash, and clash hard.

[He gives a dry chuckle.]

And maybe then, the fallout will really be worth seeing.

[nanocerancowboy]

[Gat looks contemplative. He strokes the "chin" of his faceplate with a thumb and forefinger.]

If'n that's what you mean ... I wonder if it ain't happened already. I don't think th' state of affairs in this here town's a paradise for anybody.

[Well ... except maybe for the town leadership, assuming they were this cracked in the head to begin with.]

[1st_superhero]

If it did, then the way this town is being run would change. As far as I know, we're still a mix of sentients and drones.

[nanocerancowboy]

But what if it ain't always been this way?

[Gat's head turns slightly to the side, as if thinking.]

That recordin' they found durin' Thanksgivin' ...

[1st_superhero]

They found one? What did it say?

[nanocerancowboy]

Seemed to be somethin' relatin' to back when Mayfield was new. If'n you were around for that, you remember how th' town looked back then? As if th' place had been wiped clean off th' map?

[Gat looks down for a beat, before looking back to Gilgamesh.]

Somethin' like that apparently happened. An' it was why Mayfield was made in th' first place.

[1st_superhero]

So something blew up the rest of the world and that guy chose to hide here...

[He laughs.]

Who are they fooling? Death comes for everyone sooner or later. Why are they still trying to preserve this mockery of a life? At this point, they just need to let go.