etcelsior | The power is in your hands

TEST DRIVE MEME

Considering apping into MASK OR MENACE? Want to dip your toes into the setting and get a feel of whether your character will fit into it? Or maybe you're just cruising and want to play around? Then you've come to the right place!

Pick any of the following scenarios below or feel free to make up your own, but don't be afraid to throw yourself at someone else's thread, either!

And remember to have fun!

01. Your memory might be a haze still and you might even feel frustrated or anxious by the sudden news that you are no longer in your own world and that the Porter scientists and military cannot send you back. You don't get a chance to linger long in the underground Porter lab, but something is clearly amiss; light patches on the floor indicate something else used to sit in that spot in the room. Parts of the wall, floor and the tables look as if they have been refurbished in the past few months -- something happened in here some time ago. Something big.

You're ushered out quickly and then suddenly, you're enveloped in a faint blue blue light before you find yourself under the bright Floridian sun. Another soldier steps toward you with a smile, directing your attention to a car near a large gate. She mentions she'll be debriefing you soon, handing out a brown folder and a pamphlet. You don't see the digital tattoo on your wrist, but it's quickly explained on your way over to the car as you realize there are other confused faces nearby, all holding files of their own.

02. The city of Heropa is what one might expect from a small, bright and cheery place. The locals are friendly enough and local shop owners might offer a free drink to help cool you down in this awfully nauseating heat. Some of the locals might thank you for always lending your service to the nation and others might not say anything. In fact, some people might back away from any imPort who quite obviously looks like they aren't from around the neighborhood. Once in a while there's a look of disdain on someone's face and hushed voices. Something about "the outbreak" and "the government's gotta crack down on their medical files". "Some of them can't be right in the head" says another.

03. De Chima, Virginia, is a large city with a healthy economy, and though it's quieter, there are just as many citizens awed at your presence. Heavy winds have people grasping at their newspapers and constantly brushing hair out of their faces, but that doesn't distract them from crowding you in excitement if you're obviously from a different time or world, or just let it slip that you're a newcomer. Children and young teenagers are especially likely to ask for an autograph and a photo.

Some locals seem less enthused to see you. They never make an approach, but they can be overheard scoffing and muttering something about cameras. "Who do they think they are?" or "I don't like it... it reminds me of the government corruption back in the eighties." What could they be talking about?

04. Maurtia Falls, Pennsylvania, is normally known for being a little more on the apathetic side, but there's been tension in the atmosphere lately. Nobody will outright state what it is that's rustled their jimmies, though you might find a newsstand with articles on recent and aggressive vigilante behavior within the city. "ImPorts: loyal to the cause of their own?" reads one newspaper article.

People are not as friendly in this city and go out of their way to avoid walking down the same sidewalk as the more obvious looking imPorts pass through. Local cops say nothing, but they scowl at those imPorts and utter something about "no badges" and "acting like authority figures".

05. Nonah, North Carolina, is the liveliest of all cities. It's loud, busy and there's some kind of energy in the air that gets everyone buzzing with excitement. Anyone who they come to determine an imPort is bombarded with all sorts of offers; job offers, advertising gigs, spokesperson for advocating children stay in school, etc. Anything and everything! You name it. Shops offer discounts for food and clothing, whatever they need. People flock in droves with questions, but they all say the same thing. Thank you for your service to this country, Hero. You saved a lot of lives. Wow, feels great to be a hero, doesn't it?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well, they do revive us after death.

And I don't know. Technology generally doesn't deal with magic well, so I should be able to cure it again.

But we'd still need to fine whoever was responsible, and stop them- that's part of why RISE was formed, after all.

[ Back it up there Sabriel, he has infinite questions. ]

They revive us after death.

At what cost?

Supposedly the nanites are fueled by a mineral called 'continuum'. It's consumed when they replicate and revive us.

As for how true it is, I'd need to see a revival in action to know for sure.

If that's what they're for, why bother recruiting those of us from other places? Why not from their own planet?

Apparently, it only works on imPorts... and we're the only ones in this world with powers- no natives have them, and the process of our arrival grants powers even if people were perfectly normal before.

Our employers [ said in the tone that means "captors" ] couldn't find a workaround?

Oh, I'm sure they've tried, but the first group of imPorts arrived in 1984. [And worked to overthrow the dystopian police state, but that's a different story, so Sabriel continues.]

They've been studying the Porter for that long, and haven't found a way to replicate the process. To be honest, I don't think they really understand that much about it, even now.

...What happens if we try?

[ Since he figures that, you know, if there aren't people working on this 24/7 there's a good reason they gave up... ]

Good luck getting access. They're still trying to study it, but even imPorts with scientific experience aren't allowed access.

If you mean trying to give people powers... The methods used in my world to give people access to magic only work on imPorts here.

I meant access but... Power transfer in your world is common?

There's no magic on my world. I find that fascinating.

It's... People may be born with an affinity for it, but baptism is always required for someone to access the Charter and use its power. [One type of magic at least.]

Some bloodlines may have stronger ties to it, or specialties, but we all bear the same mark. [Sabriel gestures to her forehead, and the faint symbol there.]

And you can use your magic, even on another world?

[ He's just asking since it seems to be tied to a source, whatever this Charter is. ]

What kind of magic is it that you do?

Yes, thankfully.

Ah- various sorts. The Charter describes and contains all things, but my specialties are binding- and necromancy. [And while the latter is not Charter magic, it's a detail she doesn't feel like discussing.]

[ Whoops, jumping straight to touchy subjects then... ]

You... Bring back the dead?

No. [The word comes out more forceully than Sabriel intended.]

I use it to make sure the Dead remain dead, and cause no harm to the living.

Oh. Alright.

[ Sorry he asked... ]

Are they vengeful?

No. Most of them- most of them were either brought back by the less pleasant sort of necromancer, or were so desperate to live again that they've chosen to steal life from those who still live.

I'm sorry to hear that.

[ As someone who so desperately wants to see his mother, his father. ]

Have you seen the afterlife, then?

I don't know what is beyond the Ninth Gate- only the parts of Death that lie between it and Life- the river that flows from Life to whatever lies beyond.

[Sabriel's tone is soft.]

No one can go past that until it's their time, and nothing returns from there.

Edited 2015-08-26 03:17 (UTC)

[ He's not even going to pretend he's not slightly disappointed. ]

That's a long journey.

[ That's probably what they mean the light at the end of the tunnel... ]

Sometimes. Other times it's swift. Death is... not like Life. Time works strangely, there, and I can't reach it in this world.

Edited 2015-08-26 03:29 (UTC)

I see.

So... What do you do here?

I tend to graves, and act as a member of RISE.

It's a group of imPorts that stop those of us who pose a threat to each other, and to this world- the kind of danger that people here can't stop.

If I may ask, what kind of dangers are those?

Oh, you know. Dragons attacking, swear-ins being gassed with something that causes everyone to go into a violent panic, a plague that turns those infected into violent lunatics, Lucifer using rings to make everyone lose their minds...

Things people here shouldn't have to deal with every other month.

(no subject)

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