redshiftrp | video; @Qubit

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video; @Qubit

[ Though Qubit generally prefers text, he's found that for whatever reason, people seem to think he's more sincere when he uses video. So he goes with that - you only get one first impression. ]

Good morning, Anchor. You may have noticed a grocery store, of all things, has appeared just outside the main airlock... Ah. I'm Qubit, by the way, should have led with that. Anyways, I've taken the liberty of scouting the place out, and I have good news and bad news.

Good news - near as I can tell, the food's still fresh. Bad news - that's more than I can say for the customers. If you do go, don't go alone, and be ready to defend yourself. It turns out the place has a bit of an undead problem.

[ He shrugs, as if to say "because of course it does." ]

On the plus side, the radiation levels are rather lower than I expected. I'd still recommend suiting up if you can, but you should be all right provided you don't - aah!!

[ As he was talking, something whirred in the background, and now a laser bolt hits the wall not a foot from his head. Startled, he drops the comm, but his voice can be heard receding in the background. ]

Son of a bi- [ the feed ends. ]

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[ This is rapidly becoming just sort of a friendly conversation but Reynir doesn't mind one bit. He's quick to forgive and quicker to make friends, whenever he can. ]

So you've traveled to a lot of places? What about Iceland?

[ A beat, and then: ]

Have you ever seen palm trees?

[ He asks, as if that were at all a normal thing to ask someone. ]

[ Yeah, weird. How'd that happen? ]

I've been a couple of times. Always on business, which is too bad. It's a beautiful country.

And yes, I have seen palm trees. You've never gotten that far south, I take it?

What kind of business?

[ Reynir can tell very clearly Qubit not only isn't from his world but isn't from one anything like it, either. ]

No, though I have been as far as Denmark.

[ Not gonna mention that he thought there would be palm trees, there. ]

Traveling is really dangerous where I come from. Especially for people like me, who aren't immune. Nobody really does it except for the military. The expedition I was part of went further than anybody else has in 90 years or so.

Superhero business. We were there stopping volcanic eruptions - same volcano both times, actually, but the second time it was artificially induced.

[ So yeah his world's just a little different. But Qubit's as curious about Reynir's world as Reynir is about his. ]

Really... What happened? Some sort of pandemic?

[ The translation on that first word must be a bit screwy but Reynir thinks he gets the general gist of it, probably. ]

WHAT?

Stopping a volcanic eruption? How?! I don't think even the most powerful mages in the world could do that. And how could anybody get a volcano to erupt artificially? I mean why would they even want to?

[ Maybe there was some kind of divine intervention? It's still just about the wildest thing Reynir's ever heard. ]

Yeah. A bad one. Not that there are ever any good ones, but this one was really really bad.

Most of the world population outside the region around Iceland is totally gone. Maybe all of it? Nobody's really sure. The Old World collapsed and it's full of Beasts and Trolls, now... animals and people who were infected by the Illness and became monsters. Like your undead, in that food store, only different. They're hard to describe. Just be glad there aren't any in this place, that I've heard.

[ Oof. Well geez, it's hard to talk about good-old-days superhero shenanigans in the same breath as an apocalyptic plague. ]

I see... I'm sorry to hear that. Truly.

[ For as much of his life as he's spent screwing around with other dimensions and worlds beyond understanding, Qubit has relatively little direct experience with alternate Earths in particular. But on his own, he's seen what basically amounted to an apocalypse, in the form of the Plutonian - and worse, humanity's desperate, suicidal, futile attempts to stop him. He's witnessed devastation on a comparable scale. Countries of billions, depopulated overnight. Entire cultures, destroyed. Streets choked with the dead and dying, and no one left who could answer their cries for help.

The key difference is that, ultimately, Tony had been able to stop it. By his calculations, there was still enough left of humanity to recover - to rebuild some of what they'd lost. It'll be a long road, he knows, and his Earth will never be the same.

But humans are nothing if not resilient. Reynir's Earth is living proof of that. It's a world where humanity is even more beleaguered, where the existential threat never ended - and yet, where little Iceland has survived ninety years past the end of the world. ]

I can go into the volcano story in a bit, but do you mind if I ask you some more questions first?

Yeah. I know it must sound really bad to you. Everyone I've talked to about home here gets really sad and upset about it. But it's just how the world is to me, you know? It was like that for my parents and their parents, too.
Life goes on.

[ Qubit had been so brusque and, well, rude before that asking permission like this is a little jarring. But Reynir just goes with it.

(And he really does want to hear that volcano story, later). ]

Yeah, of course. I don't mind answering questions at all, promise.

[ Yeeeah, he'll find that a lot of things about Qubit contradict each other. But a written medium does force him to slow down and really think about what he's saying; that's probably part of it, in this case.

The remoteness of the tragedy doesn't make it any less unspeakable, in his mind, but he can see where Reynir's coming from. He can't imagine life is easy for the survivors, but they have their lives. ]

Right. You said "the region around Iceland" - what does that entail?

[ Since last he checked, most of what's around Iceland is, uh. water. ]

There's Norwegians, Swedes, Danes, and Finns. Not a lot of them, but people survived the collapse of the Old World in remote areas and on islands. They figured out quarantines and how to fight off beasts and dealt with famines and stuff like that.

For a long time there wasn't any contact at all but nowadays that's changing. The expedition I was part of had people from every country.

[ He... isn't going to mention he was the only Icelander or how he had come to be on that expedition, entirely unplanned and by accident and a pretty big inconvenience in some ways. ]

Iceland is the safest, and has the biggest population by a whole lot. But a lot less of us are immune.

[ In a horrible way, it's logical. Natural selection, baby. ]

[ Interesting... that implies there could be other holdout societies out there, too, that Iceland and company still don't have contact with. It's just speculation, of course, and not particularly useful in this context, but it's interesting.

A multinational expedition sounds promising, though! It's always inspiring to see people band together for a common cause. It begs the question, though, what was a sheep farmer doing on an expedition like that? Granted, he's definitely picturing something a little more impressive than the real thing, but ... ]

Interesting. Can you tell me more about the Illness itself? Does it have an official name?

Most people just call it the Illness, or the Rash. If there's an official name that's the same in all countries, I really don't know it, sorry.

[ He had known so few actual details about the disease itself, before he left home. ]

I don't know a lot of history about where it came from or any of that. But you shouldn't assume that just because I don't know that stuff, no one in my world does. I'm not a scholar or a doctor or in the military or anything

I know you can get it from breathing without a mask near someone infected. Or if a troll bites you and pierces the skin, it will get in your blood. And I know you can be infected for a long time and not be sure, but be spreading it to other people. We have long quarantines, for anyone coming or going from a place where there are not-immune people. You have to sit around in a room for weeks and weeks just to be sure you don't start to get a rash. It's so boring.

[ Reynir's thoughts turn to Tuuri, then. Some of the enthusiasm he has for sharing information wanes, then. The ache of losing her still isn't much better, even if it is not quite so terribly fresh. ]

Once you know you're infected, it's much better just to die.

[ Qubit's just quietly taking notes on all this, but that last line surprises him with its harshness. Up to this point, Reynir's been very matter-of-fact about it - how it really is just a fact of life for him and his, that this deadly pathogen is out there, and keeping people safe from it causes all sorts of inconveniences for the healthy...

... but there's also what he mentioned earlier, about the end result. Beasts and Trolls. Falling victim to this plague isn't just a death sentence - it's worse. ]

Rather than become a monster?

[ There's a much longer pause before Reynir replies this time. They're straying from the state of the world in an abstract way to recent and painful events in Reynir's life. ]

I'm a mage, which means I can hear the voices of people who have been infected and become trolls. They lose who they are completely. Their souls are trapped until their bodies are killed, and they scream and scream and never stop.

[ In other words: yeah. ]

Edited (sfskdfjnsd) 2019-09-30 00:06 (UTC)

[ Yikes. Yeah, that is... that is seriously fucked up. ]

I see. And I assume that's how you know there aren't any here.

[ Oddly, it also reminds him of Tony, in a way. Hearing everyone screaming for help, everywhere in the world at once, and yet even with constant vigilance, even with all his strength, never being able to save everyone.

He's not sure why he wants to ask this, since it's more or less immaterial at the moment, but... ]

What's the radius of that ability, roughly? Are you able to shut them out?

Yeah. My friend (he's a mage too) and I did a thorough search when we first showed up. We didn't find signs of nests and we didn't hear anything.

[ Of course, Onni didn't entirely believe they were safe, and Reynir hadn't really, either. It had just been enough confirmation for both of them not to be in full-blown high alert at all times. ]

I don't know it in exact numbers. Only if they're pretty close. As far as I know there isn't any way to shut them out, you just kind of... get used to it.

[ His friend - ah, the one he mentioned earlier. Onni, was it? He makes a note of that. ]

I'm sorry. That can't be easy for you.

[ Reynir may have said the Illness and so on were just facts of life in his world, but this aspect of it sounds like it still really bothers him. ]

So to a mage's senses, Iceland itself must be a good deal quieter than the rest of the world.

I'm not gonna lie to you - it sucks. But there are benefits to being a mage. I'm just glad I didn't have to grow up hearing them.

[ Which is already an answer to Qubit's next guess, but Reynir confirms: ]

Completely quiet when it comes to trolls, although there's the odd spirit around. But usually they're just minding their own business. Iceland is the safest place on Earth. Maybe the only safe place, actually.

[ Right, as they've established. Okay. ]

Going back to the Illness - can you tell me a bit more about how it progresses? Other symptoms, is it bacterial or viral, that sort of thing? Just so I know what to keep an eye out for.

I can do my best, but I'm not a doctor or an expert. I might get stuff wrong.
Onni may be able to tell you more?

[ He's doing his best to answer abstractly, not think about Tuuri at all. But... he isn't succeeding. ]

I don't know the difference between what's bacterial and what's viral.
I know the Illness is contagious. People can be infected for a few days or a week before they show any signs, but they can still infect other people with breathing and touch and stuff. In the Silent World, the two of us who weren't immune had to wear breathing masks when there was a possibility of contagion. And you can get infected if you get injured and it gets in your blood.

[ Like what had happened to Tuuri. Hardly a foot away from him. No, not thinking about it. ]

The first sign is a rash. That's the thing to look out for. There's other symptoms later. Vomiting I think. Fevers? Mikkel said something about growths on bones and joints but I don't know how you'd see that from the outside. And you can keep an eye on how cats are responding. They can sense anything nearby that is infected and they freak out. So people keep cats around for safety.

[ Was that how Tuuri had known for sure? Had Kisa hissed at her? Reynir feels like he can remember that, but he's not sure. Had she had a rash yet? Were her bones aching, did she feel warm? How many signs had there been before she'd made her resolution? ]

Sorry I don't really wanna talk about this anymore right now. Maybe ask Onni.

Edited 2019-10-08 19:50 (UTC)

[ Since they've been texting, Qubit doesn't actually realize how much the topic is upsetting Reynir until he suddenly cuts it short. Even then, it takes him a second. ]

Quite all right, I'll speak to him. Thank you, Reynir, this has been very informative.

[ ... and a moment later: ] I hope I haven't upset you.

[ He has and there's no denying that without lying, but Reynir can manage a short, direct explanation, at least. ]

It isn't your fault.

My friend got infected. She died. It wasn't very long ago.

She was Onni's sister so he might be sad about it, too, as a heads up.

[ Just so Qubit is prepared. ]

[ Oof. Yeah, that does explain it. ]

Noted.

I'm sorry for your loss.

[ ... this is maybe not a good time to go back to the volcano story, then. ]

[ What's he even say to that? There is nothing good to say to that. ]

Thanks.

[ Yeah that was definitely weird but saying nothing felt rude and Reynir can't think of any other options. As for the volcano story, he's forgotten all about it, swept up in a wave of grief. He'll have to remember to bother Qubit for the details some other day. ]

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