Scene #1954: The Lost World

Owner	Pose
Mortimer Balman	After a good deal- weeks, perhaps?- of searching, one of Lute's Unowns would say it had found the world described to it. And however Lute got himself to there, he would find first and foremost, that this world was not immediately reachable by Warp Gate. It was several astronomical units of distance from it, in fact. Any good ship with a sublight engine could reach it in a brief period of time. It is a lonely planet, far away from anywhere else, with a small yellow star that it circles, and a moon roughly the same size as Earth's moon- or more accurately, used to be. The chunk of rock bore many signs of being mined, but there was no mining equipment there. From orbit it can be seen that there are six continental bodies. One is a vast desert with sparse bits of mountainous regions and badlands, very few bits of greenery or savannah. Another is coated in arboreal forests and great mountains that reach almost as high as the Himalayas, with signs of a semi-active volcano. Another is mostly dense jungles and rivers, still another that looks like a very long crooked strip of land just above the equatorial divide seems mostly tropical. The fourth bears a great many topographical features reminiscent of Japan and China. There is also a bizarre continent to the north which is so heavily shrouded in cloud cover that does not move that beneath this place must surely be a land of complete darkness. Finally there is the southernmost continent, which looks much like Antarctica but it sticks up enough away from the frozen reaches that it becomes proper land, mostly tundra with a few bits of temperate forestry. There are no signs of heavy industry or lights from major urban developments, though there are obviously spots where cities of some sort or another still rest. And there are signs of life, albeit a bit sparse.
Lute	Lute is, currently, within orbit of the planet. He's on a spaceship he has hired to bring him here. He pauses, looking down at the planet through one of the ship's windows. He frown, looking down at the place. The fact there is no warp gate that he could find is a bit of a problem. But, still, it's not one that'll halt his attempt. Instead, he's just going to work with it. He asks the pilot to get into a bit lower of an orbit, over the Japan looking area. He'll start here. The pilot flies into a cloud, to keep the ship hidden somewhat, as per Lute's request. And then, Lute walks over to the hatch of the ship. He opens it, letting the ramp hang down a bit. Looking down, he smiles. And then, he jumps. As he falls through the sky, he reaches for a Pokeball. Opening it, the gigantic dragon Pokemon, Giratina, appears. It catches Lute on his back, and Lute hangs on, smiling. But, Giratina isn't the only Pokemon following Lute out of the ship. About one hundred Unown are following after him. Their flight formation is rather simple: Starting at the southern end of the Japanese looking area, he has his Unown form an incredibly wide V formation. Lute flies in the middle of the formation, near the back. And, the moment the Unown spot a city that looks decently populated? Giratina's path is shifted. To fly towards the city. The Unown would follow suit. Lute remembers something Mortimer has said: Unown and Giratina are feared. They're both likely Legendary in this world, and thought to be mythic creatures. And so he is going to approach a city on the wings of a God itself, in their eyes. And he's going to use this for his full advantage.
Mortimer Balman	Approaching the Orient-looking region is easy. There is no radio contact, no air traffic, nor anything else that might stop him or get in his way. A handful of feral bird-type Pokemon are flying through but they scatter like hell in all directions at the sight of Giratina. As Lute approaches the largest city he can see, he will be able to spy that it is of magnificent construction and architecture. All manner of strange science-fiction like designs mixed with ancient Chinese and European aesthetics, almost haphazardly at first glance. But an engineer would be able to see that it's all very carefully, indeed masterfully, laid out. The feng shui would be almost perfect. However, as he nears, he will see that this magnificent city.. Seems to have shut down for the weekend. There are no lights, no sounds of traffic, no odd noises. No vehicles. And most importantly.. No /people/. No humans, pokemorphs, weird alien freakshows, nothing. Only winds blowing dust across long-unused roads made of high density materials. It's like a ruin except everything is still largely intact and has not fallen to pieces; perhaps by virtue of particularly durable construction techniques. Either way. This is a ghost town.
Lute	The high tech ghost town surprises Lute. What the hell happened? He has Giratina fly through the streets, but he won't stay too long. He'll send one Unown down to explore, to have it fly through the streets, the buildings, and explore. Trying to find /any/ form of life here. But, otherwise, he's not going to stick around for long. He'll use his link with the scout Unown to check in on its vision occasionally. And, of course, it will alert Lute if it sees anything. He has Giratina pull further up. He's glad this Legendary Pokemon is relatively fast at flight But, he sends ten Unown in a wider pattern to search further north. The rest? They follow him, flying towards the next continent over. The Jungle continent. Here, he'll take the same basic strategy. Spread his Unown wide, and look for a large city. Lute bites his lip a bit, though. No people? Really, none? He's here hoping to cause some chaos, but if there was an extinction level event that got rid of all people or something? He might feel a bit guilty about his plans.
Mortimer Balman	It's a bit of a flight between the Orient-like land and the vast jungles and bits of plainslands of what Lute should, reasonably, recognize now as Peth. The plainslands were not so bad. But inside the jungles they are /sweltering/. The temperature even in early spring is close to 100 degrees and humid as hell, and the jungles cover vast tracks of land. There are terribly few urban developments here but what few there are seem to be similar in construction, if not design, to what Lute saw on the other place. The aesthetic leans more toward oversized and urbanized Vietnamese and French aesthetics, though. And they are all just as empty. But here Lute will feel as though he is being watched. Perhaps by pokemon or by people. The Unowns in their searches will report signs of life but they are very good at hiding and very quick at running away- they seem loathe to come anywhere near Lute and his Giratina, much less the Unowns themselves.
Lute	Lute doesn't quite realize he's being watched. But, still, he's getting incredibly suspicious. And though this place is having less urban development? He's still going to approach. Floating above some of it, remaining on Giratina, he puts out some orders to his Unown. Float into building, check around as thoroughly as possible, then leave. It's fairly systematic of a search. Lute himself is trying to use his own eyes, as well. Checking the hidden spots of the jungle. He does have one idea, though. "Go, Arcanine. Set flame to the jungle!" He releases his Arcanine. It remains on top of the Giratina, and then begins to shoot off bursts of Fire Blast at the jungle. Burn away a /bit/ of their hiding places, and maybe he'll find /soemthing/. He also puts in a call to the ship. It travels faster than Giratina, after all. So, if nothing is found here, he plans to move the largest city, on Ginseng. Using the ship to get there faster.
Mortimer Balman	The Unowns will find little within the buildings. If there was anything not nailed down- or more accurately, not built into the structures- it has been long since taken away or eroded into dust by the passage of time. As for the Arcanine.. Wet wood doesn't burn very easily, but the local jungle is set aflame. Animal life- all of it Pokemon- can be heard screeching and caterwauling as it flees from the sudden flames. A small village of sorts will be revealed by the destruction of nearby trees. It is extremely small. And extremely primitive. Small huts and tents made from a mixture of different pokemon hides- Zebstrika, a bit of Charizard, one of them looks a bit like Tauros- and it has obviously been lived in very recently. There are spears made with chunks of dented and scratched metal- very advanced metals, perhaps looted from the city and used to make the spearheads- and a campfire that still smoulders in the center. The people that lived here are obviously some small tribe, maybe no more than a single large family unit. But the inhabitants have all beat feet right fast. No doubt because an Arcanine just set the damn jungle on fire.
Lute	The primitive tribe puzzles Lute. But, as they flee, he stops giving orders to burn the forest. He sighs. Mortimer isn't going to like this news. Honestly, Lute is more dissapointed that the chaos isn't his own fault. But, oh well. The spaceship comes in, and Lute flies Giratina and his Unown into it, returning his Arcanine as well. And, he gives orders. Fly to the largest city. Lute, meanwhile, is pacing on the trip. Swearing a bit. ...He's probably just going to break the news to Mortimer soon. But, he's still trying to figure out how to get a profit out of this. Or at least torment him a little bit. ...And then, he hears on the radio, that Mortimer is onto him anyways. So.
Mortimer Balman	THREE HOURS LATER. Lute has landed in Ginseng. A magnificent city. It looks much like what you might expect to see out of a futuristic New York, or perhaps London, or some other major UK/US-style city from the future. But this too is empty. There are street signs written in Japanese, which hopefully Lute can read, if not well he's not gonna know where all he can go. His ship will no doubt warn him about a giant robot that has entered through the Gate and is speeding toward the planet. Classification: New Zeon Gelgoog Marine Mobile Suit. It's transmitting IFF and identifying itself as being piloted by Mortimer Balman. The Mobile Suit lands fairly far from where Lute is, almost at the very edge of the town, near the forests. It seems to have stopped near a Japanese-style bath house, which despite the high technology of the city, is built to be very traditional. Though the hot springs around it have grown cold. Whenever Lute gets there, he'll see Mortimer staring at the building, waiting for him. Smoking a very fancy looking pipe, with Reder perched on his shoulder and Nettle hovering around. The wartortle seems to be laughing his ass off.. But the laughter is bitter, like he's been party to some kind of cruel joke.
Lute	As Lute approaches Mortimer, he remains on guard. Honestly, he isn't sure whether he can really trust the Pokemorph. Especially considering that, as far as Lute can tell, Mortimer's world is no longer his own. Behind him, Giratina simply walks along. His Raichu walks in front of him, his Tentacruel on his right, and his Tyranitar on his left. He's flanked himself pretty heavily. Just in case. Still, though, as he spots Mortimer? He's just quiet for a bit. He looks at the building. He smiles. This really isn't getting him down, unfortunately. He's probably the worst person for Mortimer to be with in a situation like this. Sure, Lute feels a bit bad for Mortimer? But Lute doesn't respect Mortimer enough to not keep the casual smile on his face. But, he'll at least listen and talk a bit. "...Let me guess. This was your home?" He reaches into his pocket, pulling out a beer. He holds it out towards Mortimer, though will toss it underhanded towards him if Mortimer is ready for it.
Mortimer Balman	Instinctively, Mortimer's hand reaches out and catches the beer, popping it open to swig from it. Even if it's poisoned, at this point. "Welcome, Logan Trieste!" He gestures out with wide arms to the great city around them. "Welcome.. To the end of my civilization. Fifty thousand years it endured.. A good run for anyone, really. Wouldn't you agree?" Another sip of the beer, and if it's not poisoned, he'll pass it off to Reder to finish it. "This was sorta my home, yea. I owned this piece of property. The New You Health Spa! The single best place in all of Ginseng to go at the end of a hard day's work, whether blue or white collar worker, to soak in a good warm spa. Get a massage from one of our highly skilled relaxation specialists! Get a beer, get a meal, made by our highly trained culinary technicians! Bring the kids! Discounts for lunch and dinner on Family Fridays!" The great big grin on the pokemorph's face fades after a bit. "You know the place was condemned for years, before I bought it? Hey Falstaff, come on out! See yer old home!" With a loud grumbling sound, an ancient and decrepit old Absol looks out of the cockpit of the Gelgoog and leaps down, landing on all fours perfectly, but still grumpily. It stares at Lute's assorted pokemon and grunts, then goes off to the side and flops down to nap. "The former owner was a murderous bastard of the highest quality.. His favored prey were children.. And my friend, who was the chief of police, told me that he feared me buying the place, because the murderer was never caught, and might come back to his old haunts if it ever reopened." A sinister shadow falls over Mortimer's face as he speaks. "And he did.. Falstaff ate well that night. Didn't you old boy?" A tired growl is the only response. "Heh.. Those were good days.."
Lute	Lute just listens for a bit, looking around. Yeah, he didn't poison the beer, but still. He guesses Mortimer needs someone, anyone, to talk to right now. He just smiles, waiting as Mortimer keeps talking. Normally, this wouldn't be something he'd care about, but hey, Mortimer is rather likely to be breaking down a bit right now. Though the part about Falstaff eating the murderer surprises him a little. "Well. Everyone's gone, now, it seems. Guess you can start over at least. Hell, entirely empty city? Could move a huge amount of people here, have them live. Might as well make the best out of a bad situation, eh?" He shrugs a bit. He's too removed from this situation to care. If this was an actual friend of his, he would feel more sympathy. "So. What do you think happened? Time shit make it unify further ahead? Some Legendary Pokemon? Society just break down?"
Mortimer Balman	Mortimer is actually quite stable, indeed he seems.. /Pleased/ by this. "Ah.. You look upon the culmination of all my hard work, Lute, in service to the Gods. Everything went exactly as it was supposed to, for an optimum outcome of developments.." He sighs wistfully. "Yes, of course. I said I'd tell you.. Here, have a sit down. This will be something of a long tale.. By all means feel free to interject with queries if you'd like.." Mortimer would hop up on the foot of the Mobile Suit, while Reder hopped off into the forest, lazily throwing the now empty beer can aside. "The first thing I suppose I should make clear, is that this isn't the result of any sort of apocalyptic End of Days. This is the natural result of evolution and development! Which.. Is, ultimately, for the best. People evolve. They form societies, civilizations, they spread. They develop, they build, they /leave/. There's no choice, after all. The more a civilization builds up, the more resources it uses, it keeps growing, reaches a point where a single world can't support it, moves on from there. You've seen this song and dance on many other worlds, I'm sure." Mort pauses to puff on his pipe some more. "Well.. This is more or less the same as all those other places. Granted, most of them don't usually /abandon/ the world, and they sorta didn't.. But there was a /schism/, you see, when that tipping point of development reached its apex."
Lute	Lute doesn't sit. Instead, he just remains standing. He's still not certain Mortimer is stable right now, even though he absolutely is acting so. A lot of people can keep up a strong front when they want to. When, really, on the inside, they're breaking down completely. Which is why he has his Pokemon out. Just in case Mortimer pulls something. "...So. Society reached its peak, and just left? ...This world doesn't seem... /that/ crowded, though. There were large portions of wildlife. Unless they decided to leave much earlier than they needed. ...Though, I imagine you have an idea of why." Lute, for his part? He's still considering trying to claim this world for himself or something. Hey, it has infrastructure already, and it needs to be fixed up, but...
Mortimer Balman	Morty shook his head. "Not quite, no. It's more like.. There was a crisis. Of resources, mostly. There was also a lot of social and religious tensions, but really it was mostly resources. We tapped this rock for pretty much all she could give. The only place you can get common resources- zinc, iron, all that good shit- on this planet now? Is if you go to the outer mantle. All the best deposits were otherwise tapped, then filled in later with base rocks. We never developed any sort of "energy to matter conversion" like what some civilizations did, so no replicators or anything. So this is what happened.. Mind you this is the abridged version because if I explained all the nuances, we'd be here for a /week/." Mortimer put his pipe down for a moment. "Centuries of built up tensions led to two major factions of people. Traditionalists who wanted to return to more "natural" ways of life- namely, ones that relied on as few resources that require industrial work- and Developmentalist sorts who wanted to keep pushing the boundaries. Since the planet was about tapped for resources anyway, the Developmentalists took and built grand starships and took their population and left. The Traditionalists who stuck around behind, though.. Well. This place is far too advanced for /luddites/ to keep going. Their chunk of society and civilization simply declined. Low birth rates, struggles with the Ditto, other shit, they just declined until reverting completely to a tribalistic state. All that's left of people now are disparate tribes of scattered morphs." He'd pick up the pipe again. "I'm sure you had some sorta grand, stupid plan for this world. Maybe conquering it for the Confederacy, mm? Perhaps bringing in some empire to strip mine the joint. Well.. Sorry, Lute! There's fuck all left here that's /worth/ anything. The only people you'll find here are small tribes.. Perhaps one day, centuries from now, they'll start rebuilding. Take apart these old cities, use them to fuel new civilizations.. Mine, however, has run its course."
Lute	Lute pauses, looking around. He's actually fairly annoyed right now. He had hoped to get /something/. Perhaps he can still find /something/, if he looks in the right places across the planet. But, he isn't going to get anywhere /near/ the amount of use out of this planet as he had hoped. Instead, he just sighs, looking around. "...Well. Guess this dump is useless, then. At the least, you can have the hollowed out shell of what was once your planet. ...Though, feel sorry for the tribes if they ever do decide to move into the cities again. If you guys mined out the resources, they'd still be living in the shell of what once was, anyways." He sighs. Signalling the ship, he just looks around one last time. "... So. What are you going to do /now/?"
Mortimer Balman	Mortimer chuckles some. Lute's annoyance is obvious. "Sorry, chief. I admit I was kinda hoping it'd unify sometime earlier too.. Even our late medieval period woulda been nice. But.. At least I can see the culmination of my civilization. People survived. Endured. Moved away. The efforts of History haven't been fer naught.." He'd pause at Lute's question, thinking. "I don't know.. I'll come back and visit the place, now and again. Maybe I'll dig around where the Old Kingdoms used to be. P'raps I can find traces of them. That'd be nice.. For certain though, I'm going to Grouda. And collecting some of the sands to take home with me. It will be nice to have a few bits of my first home with me."
Lute	Lute just nods a little, looking up. The ship is coming in. He just shakes his head a bit. "Well. I'm going to gather up my Unown and take off. I might send an expedition to loot stuff, but I imagine anything /useful/ is gone already. So, whatever. Least you have your world back." As the ship lands, Lute recalls is Pokemon. He begins to walk up, into the hatch. Frowning at Mortimer, he sighs a little. "...Was /really/ hoping to rub one in your face. You've always annoyed me, for some reason. And the fact that I ended up helping you get your home back is just rubbing me the wrong way." The hatch is beginning to close a bit, though still time to say a bit to Lute before the ship takes off.
Mortimer Balman	"Not much to get back, but yes, yer right. Tell you what, Lute. You were kind to me on this, so if I find a good sized lump of gold somewhere, I'll give it to yah, sound good? At least then it won't be a total waste for you." Old Mortimer laughed and lifted his gaze up to see the towering, empty steel vaults that had once been arcologies and skyscrapers. There was a bitter magnificence to them all. To see his home, having reached its end.. To finally see the full totality of the fruits of his ages of labors. A comfort, albeit a cold and slightly hollow one, given that everyone from his era was long, long dead.
Lute	Lute nods at Mort. Well, at least that's something. "Yeah, you know where to send it to. Just send it to the Confederate's base. I'll be using it to fund my ranch being built, so, not going to be a bad investment either way." And with that, Lute takes off to space again. Heading on the long voyage home.