reveriance | TEST DRIVE #002

TEST DRIVE #002

( 0 0 1 ) » WAKE UP

Were you asleep or were you unconscious? It doesn't matter: when you come to, there's an odd taste in your mouth and there's a low-level mechanical hum in the air. Your head hurts and you feel nauseous. You aren't anywhere you know: everything around you is metal, from the floor you lie on all the way to the ceiling. You are dressed in a jumpsuit you definitely weren't wearing before.

"We tried to save the world. I think— I think we did the opposite."

The message repeats on a loop. If you look for its source, you find a comms device on the floor next to you. The logo on its wallpaper says REVERIE TERMINAL. Upon closer inspection, you find the same logo on your jumpsuit.

Welcome to your new home. What choice do you have but to explore your surroundings?

( 0 0 1 . 1 ) » WAKE UP WHERE?
When you wake up, you find that you're not alone. But more importantly, you find that you're in a closet. An empty closet, bar you and your new companion. It's small, cramped, and there is no door that you can see. The ceiling is low, there is barely any lights, only some coming from the tiny flashlight clipped to your suit's shoulder. You cannot be sure that there is any air coming in to the room.

Are these grooves in the wall supposed to mean something?

( 0 0 2 ) » OBSERVATION DECK

There were no windows in the corridor you woke up in and no windows in any of the crew quarters you might have checked for occupants — but there are plenty of windows on the uppermost level of the station, deck 1. In fact, there are windows from floor to ceiling all along the circumference of the station's circular deck, and it's possible to walk along it all. What it shows is a strange solar system you've never seen before and a planet that might resemble one you know, but certainly isn't the same.

You're in space. You don't know where you are. Neither does anyone else.

( 0 0 3 ) » BAR

On deck 3, you find the bar. Tucked away from the crew quarters, it's dimly lit, there are bar stools thrown down on the floor and what looks like some very old drink spills, crusty and dark against the bar top. But there is alcohol here, or at least, what you think is alcohol, in bottles with faded labels, most of them indecipherable. Take a drink, get drunk, start a fight, or start a party? You're stuck on this station, might as well make the most of it, right?

( 0 0 4 ) » SPACEQUAKES

One second, you are is walking. Magnetic boots are on, the ground feels solid enough, for a metal deck in a space station. Everything is perfectly fine, or at least as fine as it can be, given that you still don't know where you are or how you came to be here.

The next moment, it's like everything explodes around you. You're thrown against the wall as sparks erupts from electrical panels, as the whole station rumbles and shakes around you. You fall to the deck, earning yourself scratches from the grating. When you look up, it's like nothing has happened. No wires hanging from open panels, no flickering lights, no more shaking. Like an earthquake in space.

( 0 0 5 ) » NETWORK

The comms device you found next to you when waking up connects to a station-wide network, REVERIE NET. You have the option to post video, voice or text messages.

What will you share?

( 0 0 6 ) » WILDCARD

The station features a variety of locations, from sleeping quarters free for the claiming to a dirty swimming pool and a bar that still holds alcohol (though some of the bottles seem to have been opened a while ago).

Go wild, but don't wreck the place. It's your home for the foreseeable future, after all.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Mm, I'm not really sure? I kind of lose track of time really easily...

[The gamegirl chimes with a triumphant noise, and she puts it down to look at Harry properly. Luckily she hadn't noticed the blood before, having been somewhat engrossed in what she was doing, so he's off the hook in that regard.]

Oh, but you really should play it if you get a chance. You get this cool plasma cutter and it's like, whoosh, bam, just cutting stuff into pieces, it's great. I mean, if you like horror.

I think I've probably had my fill. [There's a pause, then he adds:] I used to write horror novels for a living. So I'm all set.

I'm Harry. How about you?

Oh, that's pretty neat. I don't read very often, myself...

[She looks down at her gamegirl to start a new run of Gala Omega, and the pew pews of her shooting can be heard ringing through the Observation Deck. She's not trying to be rude by playing while talking or anything, this was just... how she was.]

I'm Chiaki Nanami. It's nice to meet you, Harry.

...I could give you some other recs sometime. We have some games around here that are good for beginners.

[Gaming is kind of the only way she knows how to connect to others, sorry Harry.]

That's all right. It's not for everyone.

[Fortunately, Harry doesn't seem to be particularly offended. Instead, he smiles at her focus on video games.]

Is Nanami all right? I don't want to be rude. [He's not overly familiar with Japanese etiquette, but he knows that much at least.]

You know? Sure. That'd be fun, I bet. Just don't make fun of me too hard for how bad I'll be.

Yep, that's fine.

[She shoots him a thumbs up (somehow seemingly still doing fine in the game meanwhile), head still looking down at her screen.]

Of course not. Video games aren't about who's best or worst anyways, it's about the fun you have while playing it. As long as everyone's having fun, who cares who's winning or losing?

I think that's a pretty good attitude. I mean, so long as you don't expect me to be very good at it. I've... played Tetris?

[He laughs sheepishly.]

Anyway. You don't seem very worried about being here. Is there a reason?

Oh, I love Tetris! I'm holding out hope I find that one around here sometime, I love retro games a lot. Gala Omega is my favorite, though.

[She points to the pin in her hair, which is a Galaga ship, but apparently not called Galaga where she's from. At his question, her expression grows thoughtful.]

Hmm, well. I guess I kind of am? But there's nothing I can really do about the situation, so I'd just be making myself even more stressed out if I spent all my time worrying about it.

That's just what I think, anyways.

Then that'd be a bit more my speed.

[Harry doesn't question it terribly, but he is endeared by how much she's enjoying her little handheld system.]

Everyone has different ways of handling a difficult situation. A distraction's not really a bad idea anyway.

I'd probably feel a bit better if I had paper and a pen.

Would you like to try to play mine? I have Gala Omega loaded in at the moment.

[She looks up from it again finally as a little happy chime plays, once again beating the level she was on.]

That's a rare commodity around here... we're lucky to find what we do. Stuff just kind of appears suddenly without any rhyme or reason.

TEST DRIVE #002

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