✪ 001: Video

[megazero_to_superhero]

[At first, there's only audio. A guy with a pretty thick Rhode Island accent can be heard muttering between keystrokes and clicks.]

—'Kay, where's da video option on dis thing ...

[And suddenly there's video. Oh, look, it's David, broadcasting from one of the library termninals! And boy, from the way he's slouching, does he look really worn out.]

—yeah, dere, dat works.

[In an attempt to try and not look so weak (and also so that people might understand him better through his fatigue), David straightens up with some effort and takes the unlit cigar out of his mouth and holds it between the fingers of his left hand before continuing.]

'Kay, so. All dat talk about da "Second Magic" and operating on parallel worlds got me curious.

See, we got all kindsa people in dis Tower, from all kindsa different dimensions. An' we're all here 'cause dat dimension-killing whatsit got loose in our home towns. But how many people here have actually been to other dimensions before gettin' brought here?

I ask, 'cause I'm one of 'em. It was a big deal where I'm from—even coined a name for our dimension, Primal Earth. Kinda have to come up with a name for da home team when you got entire alternate realities tryin' to make war on you, yanno? [Here, David briefly holds up two fingers with his other hand to illustrate what he's about to say—and he's actually careful to not do it in the way that's obscene to British people.] Went through two of dose. And we had to deal with dis punk who eats entire dimensions, Rularuu da Ravager. For a time I was thinkin' dat dimension-killing thing was actually him runnin' wild.

[David heaves a sigh as he puts the cigar back in his mouth.]

So yeah. I was actually doin' a lot of scoutin' missions for Portal Corp, helpin' explore unknown dimensions and watch for potential threats when da Tower nabbed me. How 'bout you guys? Any of youse done da dimension-hoppin' thing before?

Comments

[midgarhorizon]

Yeah, that's what I hear, but he went to a boat.

[megazero_to_superhero]

[David can't imagine that working out well. At least a tower is built on solid ground, but a ship ... well, unless it was built really, really sturdy ...]

Lemme guess, dat place went Titanic an' da admins here wound up savin' his butt?

[midgarhorizon]

I kinda think they landed, and then they figured out the dark mass on shore was a huge pile of bodies. Then he came here.

[megazero_to_superhero]

So wait—dey weren't stuck on dat boat? Dey could, uh—disembark?

[Not that it sounds like they'd want to. But that's still more than what Tower residents can do here. Then again, he hasn't met England or heard about what happened to him during the glamour failure ...]

[midgarhorizon]

Guess so. It's been a while since I talked with 'em.

[megazero_to_superhero]

[... It does get him thinking, though, whether anyone's actually escaped the Tower, or seen what it's like down below the clouds.]

No one's been able to do that here, have dey? Tried an' walk out. Guess dat ain't possible, if dese artsy-crafty bodies we got only work in da Tower.

[midgarhorizon]

I don't know. I was gone 'bout six months, there's a lot I'm still missin'.

[megazero_to_superhero]

Oh—so didja miss out on when da glamour failed da first time?

[midgarhorizon]

Yeah, I was gone.

[megazero_to_superhero]

But people's told you a lot about what dey saw since den, I'm guessin'. Or—well, I still see da glamour screw up every now an' den, you prolly saw it yourself by now.

[midgarhorizon]

Yeah, my kids, some others. Kinda glad I wasn't here, these flickers are kinda too much, y'know?

[megazero_to_superhero]

Considerin' it ain't a voluntary thing for us? I can imagine.

[David seems too comfortable with the whole "soul in a wireframe jar" thing.]

What bothers me, though, is how da windows outside went completely pitch black. Like, dere wasn't even a moon or starlight out dere.

[midgarhorizon]

...That part they didn't tell me.

[megazero_to_superhero]

What'd dey tell you about da rest of da Tower? In its, uh, "unglamoured state."

[midgarhorizon]

I've seen a lot, I was mapping it over the past several months. But y'know, only those flickers and not real good looks.

[megazero_to_superhero]

So ya seen how most of da floors look, yeah? Covered in dat goop.

[David glances to the side for a moment, as if in thought.]

You ever been to any of da "open air" floors when da glamour's off?

[midgarhorizon]

Nah... why, what's on 'em?

[megazero_to_superhero]

[David looks a little sheepish for a moment.]

Aheh—actually I was hopin' you could tell me. Dat's somethin' I was curious about, if dey're still open to da outside or ... if it's just a trick like everything else.

[A beat.]

Well—mostly everything else.

[midgarhorizon]

Haven't seen them yet. There's weird stuff all over.

[megazero_to_superhero]

Maybe next time we get a big glitch in da system I'll go check out dat floor again, see for myself.

[A beat.]

But man, if I do dat, I am stayin' near da stairs.