contagio | ( MEMES ) TEST DRIVE >> 005.

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( MEMES ) TEST DRIVE >> 005.

THE TEST DRIVE

Like it or not, you've been dragged from your world into the sanctum. It's a pretty nice city, all things considered--sci-fi, high-tech, glamourous.... Except, of course, for the giant dome encircling it, and the threat of glitching, contaminated zombies at your door. Looks like humanity's built itself a fortress that looks suspiciously like a cage, too.

The object of this meme is to get people familiar with the world of the Sanctum, and to try to see if their characters would fit in a sci-fi utopia such as this. Here are your options:
1. Intro: Waking Up. Make your intro post, folks. You wake up in a strange place, and get a strange transmission to go with it. There's a pair of glasses connected to some sort of communications network, but otherwise not much else in the room with you. What are you going to do?

2. Environmental Glitching. Why the hell is it so hot inside the dome? Wasn't it just the perfect temperature yesterday?

3. Genetic Altering. What it says on the tin. Want a go? Want to suffer the side effects? Want to keep someone you love from getting something done?

4. Memory Glitch. Nobody seems to remember you. Literally. Not your housemates, not your coworkers, not your friends. It's like you never existed.

5. Military Training. Everyone's got to start somewhere. You're training the green folks, maybe you're one of the newcomers yourself. Maybe you haven't even touched a gun before in your life. Either way, you'd better start now.

6. Network Glitches. Strange messages are coming through the network, embedded in posts from other users. Beyond anonymous and completely untraceable, these posters claim that Bifrons has changed more about you than you know. It's suggested that you look into past dealings with Kilo to gain better understanding of what you're up against. Do you investigate?

7. Wildcard. Choose your own adventure or create a cocktail from the presented options! The choice is YOURS.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Comes out of the tap warm. Not hot, warm, but that doesn't do a damn thing. Icemaker's busted. No point in circulating air if the air you're moving around is hotter than hell. I meant. Clothing wise.

[ He flicks a hand at her and if he's moved that much he may as well stand, scraping the sweat from his forehead. ]

I think I have something in your size that won't be so awful.

Water's water, but if the clothes are decent, I'll take those.

[Yeah, she's not prancing around scantily clad today. It's too hot to punch someone if they get stupid. It's kind of amusing that he's standing, and the whole thing pushes her into motion too, a little impatient shift of her weight from one foot to the other.]

Shorts and a tanktop. [ He waves a hand vaguely at the opaque sky as he walks inside to fetch the aforementioned clothing. It's HOTTER inside despite there being less light, why the fuck is that. It's awful is what it is. Awful. Bucket of sad, melty ice full of water and beer, clean clothes, and sweating like he's going to die later, York wanders back out and offers it to CT. Here's to hoping he didn't sweat on them too much. ]

Bathroom's first door on the left if you wanna change.

[Oh, thank goodness. She puts both hands out to take them, looking at him with a grateful nod and a vague smile of relief. Even if they've been sweat upon, it's not like she isn't used to being kept in armor that is theoretically climate controlled but in practice... well, kind of hot regardless.]

Thanks. I wish there was something more practical for me to wear on a regular day. I'll figure that out later. Right now, I'm changing.

[And so she heads inside for a moment, finds the bathroom after a longing look at that melting ice, and relaxes for a moment before she swaps the clothing out. It's seems reasonable enough to lay her previous garments out to air a bit, so she does that, too, and returns to him with a warning.]

Alright, so if the bathroom stinks, it's just my shirt.

[ By the time Connie's come back out York has once again melted onto the grass, flopped out with melted ice on his forehead.

It doesn't help. Christ. ]

We'll clean it up later. That feel better?

[She walks over and stands close to him, fanning herself still. Damn him and his ice, too. She'd take it all if she wasn't so goddamn courteous. Not that she's ever had a problem with a little give and take before, but this is different. She's a stranger in a strange land and not sure how she stands with anyone yet.]

Good enough to keep me from dying of heat stroke, yeah.

Grab some ice. And some water. Seriously just looking at you is making me sweat.

[ He'd been tense when she first popped up. Wary until three days passed and that- that's not her fault. He doesn't even know how to TELL her it's not her fault. How to explain what Bifrons did and how it screwed with his head. Now he's- she did the right thing. She's always TRIED to do the right thing and all he can do is hope that she doesn't resent him for not catching on sooner.

The house is full, otherwise he'd invite her to stay. Maybe he should just expand it. Add a room.

When it's not huge and hot. ]

We're all going to bake alive if Bifrons doesn't get their shit together.

Surprise, surprise, authority not having their shit together.

[Such sarcasm. She doesn't know where she stands with anyone, really, whether she's being pitied or tolerated or something else entirely. Certainly not embraced, definitely not welcomed, in her eyes. She's sticking it out alone and somehow that's just going to have to be okay. She wasn't alone before, but nothing ever said she couldn't be. Support systems are for the weak.

And no one's particularly sat her down to explain what went on, what went right and wrong after her untimely departure. It's one big black hole of information that she's afraid to even look at just yet. She needs to feel it all out first.

Also to not be burning alive.]

Last time it was a blizzard. And we had to go out in below freezing weather to fix these module things in each district. But that wasn't for the weather, it was for the filtration system for the atmosphere outside. Cuz it's toxic to non Immune. You and me? Eh, fine. Anyone from here? Apparently skin melty mess.

Which is gross.

[ Up. He can get up. Can't he get up? Okay. Sit up. Gradually he drags himself up onto his elbows, peering up at her. There are things he should say, probably. Explain. He's just got no idea where to start but living without knowing what comes after is- it's rough. He's been there. Then learned everything all at once which SUCKED. ]

...I keep meaning to apologize. I just- how do you tell a person 'I'm sorry I got you killed?' [ Because he did have a hand in it. If he hadn't popped the door so quick maybe they would've gotten away fine. Maybe not. Who knows but it would have changed...everything. ] Because I am. Sorry.

Okay, glad I missed melting skin. That would've been a little to much for me.

[Well, since he's not getting up, she'll forget the water for now and sit down a foot or two away from him. It's hopefully not awkward, maybe just... casual and normal. She was never anyone's best friend in the group, but at least York had a good head on his shoulders. He was one of the ones she liked.

As he speaks, she tenses a little.]

Look, I don't know what anybody had to do with anything. You weren't there, so you're technically not directly responsible. You didn't see it, you didn't do it. You were just a sheep like the rest of them. Pawns.

[With a near sigh, she flops back on the grass. It's not a big deal. It can't be a big deal. She did what she had to do.]

So don't apologize.

I popped the lock to let Carolina and Tex in.

[ That's damning enough for him. ]

Doesn't make me feel much better that I didn't see what you saw. I wasn't paying enough attention. You understood better than the rest of us what was going on and we all just...went with it.

I should've figured that one out.

[Seriously, how else did they get in? But he never physically went after her; he was just a tool. Then again, they all were.]

Anyway, you guys were all fucking blind. I tried. I would've done more if I could.

Orders were retrieval. I didn't think- none of us thought it'd go the way it did. It feels really fucking stupid to say that's when I clued in to how fucked up everything was but that's when it clicked.

[ He should have known after Georgia. After Utah. After the first mission where they weren't being turned on the aliens they were supposed to be fighting and instead were turned on, what? Splinter groups? The 'insurrection'? Bullshit. It was all so much bullshit and he'd bought every last drop. ]

You did plenty. We just- we -didn't have your back as much as we should. Tex got the data you left her. We, me, tex, and North tried to get to the Alpha. Blew the ship to hell and crashed it while that happened. Scattered after.

[The revelation silences her for several seconds. So it did some good. So Tex did it, and York and North believed her.]

Better late than never. Nobody ever really had my back, no matter how much you want to pretend everyone did. I'm not gonna hold a grudge and, I dunno, stab you in your sleep, but come on. The whole thing was a sick joke. Everybody, everybody was out for themselves.

Not at first, I don't think. It's...really hard to remember how shit was before the leaderboard went up.

[ But she could be right. Probably was right. They were all the best at what they did, they all had some kind of ego, and they weren't really picked for their skills. They were picked as a social experiment. One that went wrong in a horrible way. ]

We can do better here. We have to. There's no war, there's just Bifrons and trying not to get our heads fucked with their experiments. I'd like to try to at least be, I don't know. Friends. Keep the air clear of everything that fucked us over back home. I mean...only Wash and Carolina make it out in the end.

Hard to remember when people actually had a real cause to fight for.

[She puts a hand over her eyes to shield them from the sun.]

Wash made it? [Relief. Lots of it. So much. At least he got out.] And I don't know half of what's going on here other than the whole "we're totally screwed" aspect of things, but an ally's better than an enemy. Besides, what do I have to lose?

Mhm. After Epsilon went crazy in his head he was in therapy for a little while, I think. Had to be. But he knew most of what happened. Epsilon remembered everything that was done to him, so Wash knew. [ Poor kid. Never signed up for that, he's pretty sure. ] Carolina made it because- actually I have no idea. I just know she survived.

The rest of us aren't so lucky.

Here, though- we have another shot. To be people, not pawns. So. When all this heatwave bullshit is over, I owe you a few million beers.

It's a little early to try to get me that hammered, so do me a favor and spread those out over the rest of eternity.

[Is she faintly amused? Yes, she is.]

Whatever happened happened, and we can't change it, so... roll with it. I'm pretty okay. I'm not having weird phantom pain or flashbacks or anything like that. Just... here. It's weird. Pisses me off that Wash did.

I'm glad. You were...kind of here before. Sort of. S'why I was weird at you for the first few days. They cloned people from our lives that we knew were dead and...well the first two days were fine.

On the third you kind of. Melted. Dissolved.

[What.]

That's... special.

It wasn't painless. So I... [ He lifts a hand, miming a gun. ] Yeah.

[Well. That turns her stomach.]

Thanks?

Sorry. There's never been a good time to bring it up.

I don't think that was a good time, either.

Protip: there is never a good time to do or say shit here. There's just time.

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