Scene #1965: Stay A While And Listen

Owner	Pose
Mortimer Balman	As the people who wish to understand approach Poqmori, they will find Mortimer's locator beacon pretty easily. There's no radio traffic or light pollution or interference of any sort save for ambient background radiation from natural stellar causes- atmosphere, sun, all that stuff. Mortimer's location is coming from a large continent which is split near evenly by the planet's equatorial line. A continent roughly the size of North America, only it's almost entirely desert, with sparse bits of savannah and badlands here and there. Lots of little oases, but mostly desert. Waiting near the westward edge of this continent is Mortimer. He is sitting in a spot that is now pure desert, nothing but a sea of dunes for hundreds of miles in all directions, with one small oases that probably won't last but a decade or two longer before it dries up. There are no visible ruins or any other signs of civilization anywhere near him. When they land they will find he is sitting on the foot of a heavily customized Gelgoog Marine type Mobile Suit, along with his pokemon Reder, Falstaff, and Nettle. They're all staring up at the slowly setting sun, watching as the stars slowly come out. Reder and Mort are smoking, while Nettle is 'resting' on Falstaff's snoozing head. There are no signs of any immediate threats.
Rory White	The COGNIZANT ODYSSEY's been through one heck of a refit. It's completely unrecognizable - only the IFF codes haven't changed! No longer a massive cargo ship with rotating passenger booms fanning out to resemble a massive umbrella, it's now a streamlined frigate with a slightly more aerodynamic shape. Clunky, but suitable for atmospheric travel! However there won't be any Atmospheric travel for it today. Instead the ship establishes high orbit briefly - a small cargo hatch opens and deploys something gleaming and black, something that scoots off on its own. Once it's clear, the Odyssey descends into a geosynchronous orbit above Mortimer's nav beacon! Then the Transporter transmitter surges to life, and a thick blue beam spears through the atmosphere to almost instantly splash down about twenty meters away from Charr's. When the light disperses... It leves behind a fair-skinned young woman with sky-blue eyes and aqua hair, clad in a stylish and elaborate labcoat that ALMOST resemble priestess robes looked at from other angles. Her breathing is far too regular, but chances are a few glances won't reveal this oddity. "It's... so... EMPTY..."
Staren	Staren just sort of assumed that Mortimer was one of those who had unified far from their world. Now that he thinks about it, he never actually /asked/... so, upon hearing that Mortimer is returning to his own world and inviting people to visit, He's /gotta/ check that out. The Cognizent Odyssey picks him up wherever, carrying a couple of folded lawn chairs. He doesn't bother with space safety gear -- Rory's sensors can tell that he's still in his combat synth. He's just wearing his normal clothes. Reviewing the Cognizent Odyssey's scans just gets a 'Hmm.' After Rory beams down, he's quick to follow. Also in a labcoat. He quirks an eyebrow at Rory, then looks to Mort. "So, this is your home? Um... is there anybody else left?"
Dukemon X	The Guilmon X meet up with Rory White and got a chance to ride on a spaceship! An actual spaceship! This actually made the Digimons day as the four foot dino-dragon Digimon was probably asking about /everything/, while at the same time trying to not be annoying. He even compared it to some of the comics he had or even a movie he may have watched. He was very much like a young kid really, but something about those gold eyes, past that exterior look, there was something much deeper inside the youthful act and appearance. Once the beam comes down and Rory exits, Duke is not to far behind with another beam and the red dino-dragon Digimon looks around, his gold eyes examining the depths of the vast dune desert, including the Oasis that Mortimer located. Though the sand is hot and it doesn't take long till Duke does a quick hot steps while saying 'hot hot hot' a few times as he goes to find some cool grass to stand on or maybe even a place of shade to get his pawed three clawed feet off the hot ground. Those ear fins of his though stay perked up and his sniffs around the area, taking in the new smells and sounds-- even the lack of.
Mortimer Balman	Long trails of sweet smelling smoke leave Mortimer's nostrils as he watches the travelers arrive. Duke will find plenty of smells- the winds carry the scent of odd flowers and pollens and water and trees, along with a variety of Grass and Fire type Pokemon, from various distances. "Yea, it is quite empty now, ain't it? But that's alright." He'd smile a bit and look back up at the skies. "I was born here, Staren. Yer standing on the site of what used to be Azaton.. But that were damn near fourty thousand years back. The Sands have long since claimed it, as they always do.." He'd get up and walk over to one of the lawn chairs, plopping his butt in it and leaning back with a sigh. "Ahh.. You bring the beers, Staren? I'd like one please. Let's see, you must be Duke, and you must be.. Rory. Make yerselves comfy. Welcome to Poqmori.. Well technically it should be called Koboshi by this point, but since nobody's here to care, I'm callin' it the old name." He'd puff on his pipe a bit more as Reder hopped over and settled on his lap, yawning tiredly. "In a sense, yes, Staren, there are still 'anybodies left'. They've just all declined into a tribal state, for now. The people on this continent now live as nomadic hunter-gatherers, as my ancient ancestors first did. They follow herds and hop from oases to oases, relying on their shamans and spirit-talkers who pray to the Goddesses and to Cressalia for guidance in hard times.."
Dukemon X	Duke closes his eyes as he takes all these new smells in, before he opens his eyes and heads over to where Mortimer and the others are gathering. Those gold eyes looking over the Oasis, before he hops up into a lawn chair and then sits down with a butterfly like sitting position and his tail danging off the edge. The very tip of it moving side to side slowly. "Why would it have been called Koboshi by this point?" Duke asks with a held tilt before he asks the next part, "...and goddesses and Cressalia?" Duke does give a wave to Staren with a smile on his muzzle.
Staren	"Forty thousand..." Staren echoes, almost breathlessly. Forty thousand years ago, Earth's inhabitants were paleolithic. Nomadic hunter-gatherers who had yet to domesticate livestock. Much like this world's current inhabitants, apparently. "...I'm sorry." He tries to imagine how he might feel, 40,000 years from now, if he returned to Earth and found it like this. ...It would depend on what happened. If civilization was wiped out, that's a tragedy. If everyone emigrated to space or something... "What happened to it?" he asks. Duke gets a nod and a slight wave.
Rory White	The trip would've been exhausting to Rory if she weren't physically tireless. Emotionally and mentally on the other hand... well, suffice to say, she's a bit rattled by Duke's childish enthusiasm but has definitely enjoyed answering all the questions as well as she can! But now she's down on the planet, surrounded by an endless expanse of... "Sand, sand, and more sand... so novel! Yes, that's me! Rory White of the Argonauts." She executes a sort of bow - an awkward one at that. Her expressions are even and hard to read compared to her voice tone, which DOES convey emotion and inflection where her body language doesn't. "... All this sand... not very useful.... you're saying a whole city was buried here?"
Mortimer Balman	Mortimer's ears flick at all the questions. "Slow down a bit! Gwahehahaa.." He'd shake his head. "Koboshi was what the world was called at the height of its most advanced developmental stage. There were so many lights coming from the surface that from a distance it looked like a star. So they renamed it "Little Star"." He'd yawn a bit. "...Beer, Staren?" Boy was just not listening but he guesses he should have expected that. "There is no reason to be /sorry/, good gods.. And yes, we had many gods. Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, Manaphy, Shaymin.. These are the 'lesser gods'- the ones who were 'closest' to us, who directly intervened on our behalf the most. Then there's the High Gods- Cressalia, Darkrai, Palkia, Giratina, Dialga, Azelf, Mesprit, Uxie. The Creator, Arceus. And a whole bunch of demigods, like my Moltres, Articuno, Zapdos, Entei, Suicine, Raikou, Lugia, and so on. Anyway! We had lots of divine and semi-divine figures. All of them real- I've seen them with my own eyes! But.. I guess for scientific people like you, that's prolly not much, is it? All well, it can remain an old man's stories I guess.. Anyway." Pause to puff on pipe. "The city isn't 'buried' here, Rory. It's crumbled away and become part of the desert. The stones and ceramcrete and other materials have been weathered and beaten down until they are indistinguishable from the grains you stand on. And believe it or not, the sand actually IS very useful! This particular type of sand is extremely useful for making ceramcrete and several types of glass! But that's another subject altogether." He'd pause for a moment to think of how to answer Staren. "Short version, the world ran out of easily mined resources. Civilization split into two factions over the course of centuries as a result of resource scarcity and various social and religious tensions. Luddite Traditionalists, and Developmentalists who wished to keep pushing the proverbial envelope. The Developmentalists built grand starships and took off for new worlds. The Traditionalists stayed here, but their conserving nature made it impossible to keep the grand cities going, so they ended up declining into a very primitive tribal state when the lights were turned off."
Staren	Staren blinks. "Oh, sorry." He walks over to Mort, setting down the lawn chairs and handing over a cooler as Mort enumerates the gods. Staren shrugs at the comment of it not being much, and listens to the tale. "I see. I presume their current state is what the Traditionalists would have wanted..." He looks out towards the horizon, then back at Mortimer. "So, where are the Developmentalists now?"
Dukemon X	Duke listens as Mortimer not only explains his questions with a nod of his head, but also listens as he explains everything else as well. How the cities have become the same, how the people left here are now tribal, and how others have gone to the stars. Which at that, the Digimon looks up at the coming Night sky and his ears fins droop back a bit, those eyes almost becoming wishful. Rory may not realized it with all of Duke's own questions to her, but she may have seen this look on his face as well when he gazed out on the stars themselves. The Guilmon X then looked back to Mortimer once more, his tail twitching gently, but this time, he remains quiet. Letting the others speak and ask questions. He'll pipe up with his own if something really peeks his interest.
Rory White	Blink! "... An.. entire city simply eroded?!" Well color her surprised. She's probably running some lookups now to gather data on how powerful erosion IS. Someone living in space rarely has to worry about such things, after all! "... The split you mention does seem to have worked out, but there isn't much o a future left for anyone born now who'd wish to progress. Short of cannibalizing whatever ruins remain... although they can always leave if a Gate is established..." Rory frowns. But she sprouts a smile nonetheless. "I have no reason to disbelieve you. There haven't been any sightings of 'gods' in my world but there's no data to suggest they do not exist elsewhere!"
Staren	Staren blinks and looks at Rory. "Gods exist." He states flatly. "I'd show you, but Morg's power isn't really conducive to flashy on-the-spot demonstrations." He thinks for a moment. "Actually, do you have a microwave on the Odyssey?"
Mortimer Balman	Mortimer shook his head at Rory, correcting her, "/Town/. Azaton was small. Population maybe.. Three, three and a half thousand persons. It was not a metropolis. Fyre is still there-" He'd use his pipe to point off to the west, "You saw it on your scanners, I suspect." A moment to yawn, then he'd pop open the cooler and pull out a beer, cracking the top off with his teeth and gulping some down. "Ahh.. Thanks, Staren. Nothin' quite so refreshin' after a day in the desert heat as a good, cold beer.." A contented sigh. "And remember, Rory, it's been many, many thousands of years. That should hardly be surprising." He'd muse for a few moments on Staren's inquiry. "Mmm.. A good question! I have no idea, though. I wouldn't recognize them if they were staring me dead on in the face. They're out there, somewhere. We never developed FTL technologies, at best we could reach sublight speeds. Generation ships I believe is the term for such craft. Drifting throughout the cosmos, looking for suitable new worlds to call home. Building new societies up, or integrating themselves into others. Some may die out, others will not.." He'd point his pipe at Rory. "There's plenty here. When those tribals begin building new societies and new civilizations they will cannibalize the remains of the old world to fuel their new industries. They will reach the Gate networks and tap into our radio channels and look for friends. It may be centuries from now. But it will happen, in time." He smiles again. "<Hey, Sarge. Beer me?>" Reder tortled sleepily, making Mort pause to pick up another one and crack it open for the wartortle, who greedily sucked it down. "<Aaaaah, better..>"
Dukemon X	Duke listens still and flops over onto his white belly, resting his muzzle under his three clawed fingers, his feet dangling off and his tail just lazily laying there. Those ear fins perk up a bit as Mortimer explains the whole new society deal, then Duke tilts his head ever so faintly. "What if they ever came back?"
Rory White	"unfortunately, Mr. Balman... neither Staren nor I are capable of eating or drinking anything right now... at least I /doubt/ Staren can, unless he's made modifications... we're both in Synthetic bodies right now. that surprises me, Staren. Most biologicals I know prefer flesh and blood when they have it." The expanation Charr offers does get her smiling though and nodding quickly. "That does make sense! ... there is that much material left, it's true. Yes, several ruined cities... it's much better than looking at what remains of Earth." Frown.
Staren	Staren nods a bit as Mort explains. "So I guess there's not really a place for you here anymore then... so what brings you back? Just... checking in on things?" He looks to Rory again. "I don't like to resleeve frequently, so on the occasions that I sleeve into this body, I usually stay for awhile because it's useful."
Mortimer Balman	Mort grins a toothy grin at Rory. "Aye, that there are. They've also got magical and psychic powers to help'em supplement things quite nicely." Turning his head to Duke, "I dunno. If they came back, they'd come back, I suppose. Maybe try to resettle or dominate the tribes or whatever. They've been gone centuries now, though, so it'll prolly be a long time yet 'fore they return, if they decide to. Makes no nevermind to me.." He'd stretch out and lean back in the lawn chair, sipping more at the beer. "Mmm.. Even if there is no place here for me, Staren, this is still where I was /born/. All of this.." He waved an arm out, gesturing to the wide open spaces. "I spent time uncountable doing the work of my gods, to achieve this outcome.."
Dukemon X	Duke tilts his head head faintly to Mortimer, before he sits up slightly and looks at the grand expanse as he points it out to Staren. He stares outward and just, watching the colors across the sky as the sun sets, before his ear fins drop down a bit. "It is beautiful." Duke says softly. "I bet someone could easily start over with a new life out here and have a second chance too." Duke looks back to Mortimer, "Is that why you are happy with the outcome? A second chance at life? To live again as you believe you should have?" Philosophical there much, Duke?
Staren	Staren looks around as Mort gestures. "...And is it the outcome you wanted?"
Rory White	"The resources available here would never suit me, but if others enjoy it... all the more to them, right?" Rory sort of shrugs. It's an awkward gesture, hardly natural to her, but she tries. Either way, Staren gets an understanding nod. "Resleeving IS disorienting!" "I'm surprised that there wasn't even a single artificial satellite in orbit. Not even a beacon left behind..."
Mortimer Balman	Mort shakes his head at Duke. "Nope.. I already got my new life in Equestria. The ponies there have given me home, family, acceptance.. That is where I belong. But that does not change that this was my /first/ home. The world, the /time/ I fought so hard for.." A pause as he looks at Rory. "Huhn.. You're right. Well I expect most of them either got decommissioned or taken with the Developmentalist faction when they left. Any that didn't probably just stayed up there till their orbits decayed and down they came." He frowns a bit when Staren asks that question. But the frown fades quickly enough. After finishing off his beer and tossing the empty bottle down, reaching for a new one to crack open. "Staren, I know I told you before.. I was picked by the goddesses to be one of their pawns. I was removed from the natural order of things and sent across the timelines to do the dirty jobs the Gods, for whatever reasons- generally ones involving /Rules/- could not do themselves. All of that, for who knows how long, for the purpose of creating a smooth, stable time stream wherein /this/ potentiality is the one what actually became the future."
Dukemon X	Duke mms softly as Mortimer answers his question. "I suppose I understand." Given he now stays with Alexis most of the time and sometimes runs off with Doran for hunting trips. The Guilmon X then rolls over on his backside, kind of flopped there really. He looks at Mortimer after he explains that he was chosen once more to Staren and that this was probably the path. He goes to open his mouth to speak, but then he closes it gently, only a huff of air passes past his draconic-dino lips. There is a flick of his tail and long silence from the Digimon, as if choosing his words carefully right now, before he at last does speak up, "I am glad things have turned out they way they should have for your world, Mortimer. I bet those who have sent you through time to do all that you have done are also grateful. Maybe that is why they have at last shown you and lead you here, right? To let you see what work you have done has brought." Duke then sits up, before he scratches a bit behind his ear fin. "I'm going to go look around a bit, if that is alright? I wont stray to far."
Staren	Staren looks at the discarded bottle, wondering if this counts as littering. "But is it a future you're happy with?" Beat. He shakes his head. "I guess it doesn't make a difference, does it. At least, we can't change the past now, but I imagine you'd feel better if this is what you wanted." He looks out at the horizon again. "Is there anything more to do here, or just... look, and reminisce?"
Rory White	"The locals are unlkely to trust strangers. Salvaging materials would only deprive them of their potential development. I don't see any reason to remain except researching whatever technology might remain functional... but that would be easier served by tracking down the generation ships. It's possible with Faster-Than-Light drives, but... I'm not inclined to do so. And microwave? What's a microwave-- ...oh." Probably her Muse just told her. "... what a primitive way to heat food. But I can project microwaves...?"
Mortimer Balman	Mort waves a hand a bit. "Don't go too far, Duke! But by all means, explore a bit if you like." He'd look back to Staren, smiling. "I am happy with it, Staren.. I know that might sound odd. But I am happy with it. My civilization, the story of the world as I knew it, lasted for fifty thousand years. Now their story is done. When they are ready to, the tribes will come together and make new cities, new societies. They will begin a new story. Such is the way of life." He'd lean back in the chair, sighing. "There is much we could do.. There's not much salvage to take but there are many stories still hidden, I believe. I intend to try and find the hidden strongholds of the Alakazams. There is one in Peth in particular that I wish to find. Their monastery had great walls made of psychically enhanced basalt, whereupon they carved the names of every single person who ever died in war, throughout our history."
Dukemon X	Duke hops down to his feet and gives Mortimer a big smile. "Will do!" Though before the four foot digimon runs off, he turns to look at the pokemorph, "Mortimer," Perhaps overhearing what he has said to Staren. "If you ever like help exploring, I'd be more then glad too." His left ear fin flicks for a moment. "I love exploring and seeing this world... it... it kind of reminds me of my own... what," His eye ridges narrow a little as a bit of sadness hits his eyes, "...what I can remember of it at least." Those ear fins perk back up and he smiles. "So if you ever need anything, Mortimer and I'm not busy training, I'll be glad to do what I can!" With that the digimon hops through a bush and goes off to explore around the area.
Staren	Staren shrugs at the comment that might sound odd. "It is your civilization. I have my own values I could judge it by, but yours may be different... so I wouldn't say it's odd that you are happy with this." He stares off again. "Even by my ideals... I just think everyone should be able to choose their lifestyle, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. If some people wish to live this way... that is their choice. While I might wonder if people born here and now, with no choice, might prefer something else... I can see no practical way of ascertaining that and acting on it." He shakes his head. <<I don't know if that would work. We could try it sometime.>> he radios back, then has the lab send her video records, obviously recorded from Staren's sight. Testing the 'sacrifice food to Morg' ritual with a microwave in his kitchen, praying for help and the following fugue states that produced The Second Gauntlet and the device that attempts to hack into the Abstractum network, the ritual placing of a defensive ward with 'holy water' and the resulting damage to filth-infected that cross it. <<Of course, these are only video records, but if you wish to study directly the effects of divine power, we may be able to arrange experiments later.>>
Staren	"...If you need any help, let me know. I'd be happy to help you look and explore the ruins." Staren adds.
Rory White	"Exploring does sound exciting. And I can provide equipment to record everything like that, Mr. Balman. Freely. History is worth preserving regardless of the world!" Rory brings both hands across her lap, folding them... and smiling rather genuinely this time! Seems she's only good at this body language thing when it's very basic stuff that involves no thought...
Mortimer Balman	Mortimer chuckles some. "I would like that, Rory. Yer a good sort. There's a great deal of history on this world.. Much to be preserved.. Yes. I'll start lookin' again tomorrow.." He'd yawn a bit and settle back in his chair, watching the moon slowly rise. "Ah, look, up there." He'd point at the moon as it came into view. "The southern crater there, looks a bit like an odd head. The mark of Cressalia. The spirit-Queen of the Moon. She carries prayers to the gods, and sometimes sends her protection to the helpless. I'll tell you that legend later.." Eyes closed, and he drifted off into a bit of a nap.