contagio | ( MEMES ) TEST DRIVE >> 7

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. Toss in the odd memory blanks and the everpresent logo of Bifrons incorporated and it's enough to make someone paranoid.

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. Pet Adoption. Maybe you have the perfect genetically engineered pet in mind. Maybe you found a stray little escapee--do you keep it or turn it in? There's a reward if you let Bifrons know where the potentially dangerous little bugger is at, after all.

3. Alterations. Feel like you need an edge in the city? Find yourself injured and looking at options? Why not consider genetic alterations or, better yet, upgrading to a better, healthier you? Be warned, some of the side effects can be a little unpleasant.

4. Network Glitches. Strange garbled messages keep trying to come through in audio and text, but no way to track where they're coming from. Do you try to make contact? Compare notes with others? Surely it's nothing to be concerned about, right?

5. Dome Glitches. What was that in the window? There, again, in the bathroom mirror! Is that another you, living another life? Or maybe you spot an ominous shadow lurking around in the corner, something like a dysthrope but...worse. You're not going crazy, are you? Others see it, too, don't they? Oh, I wouldn't touch that reflective surface if I were you, or you might end up thinking you're living in that strange other world.

6. Outside the Dome. You're out and about without an armed escort, suited up against the atmosphere and dysthropes. It's supposed to be a green sector in this run down shell of what used to be a suburb, right? Nothing could possibly go wrong

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

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[He takes a deep breath, realizing only now that he had been holding his breath. A great big smile breaks out across his face at the sound of his name. Kirk recognizes him. He almost can't believe it. What are the odds that they would both end up here with their memories intact.

He lunges forward, wrapping his arms around Kirk's shoulders, pulling him into a tight hug. It's such a relief to have someone here who remembers all that they had been through the past couple of years.]

Thank God, I thought I was the only one.

_{[ Surprise and relief rush in him equal parts as he was swept into the hug. Thankfully, his arms moved on their own, wrapping around Steve in turn and squeezing just as tightly. He couldn't really believe it - Steve, the Steve he knew, had sparred with, had become friends with, shared memories with.

There's a brief flash of regret, having always hoped somewhere in his heart that his friends from Luceti would have found their ways home by now. But that selfish part of him was punching the air like it was some kind of victory, and he couldn't work up the grace to be sorry for it. ]}

I think that's my line. It's really good to see you again, Steve.

[He pulls away from the hug slowly, still a little shaky. But his expression reflects his happiness and his eyes are shining bright in sharp contrast to the glassy look he'd had before.

For that moment Steve feels alive again, like he can breath easy. It's enough to push back the horrible memories he's been combating since escaping that room. Kirk is a reminder of all his good memories in Luceti.]

It's really good to see you too. How long have you been here?

_{[ There's a certain sheen to Kirk's eyes as well, though he'd insist they weren't tears. He'd grown accustomed to seeing faces that belonged to people he knew and yet didn't, to being the only one who remembered, to introducing himself all over again. It's just the way it was, and you had to roll with the punches or be endlessly disappointed. Finally not being alone with the memories - something felt a little lighter inside of him for it. ]}

Uh, several months now. I haven't really been counting. It's kind of like back in Luceti - the time gets away from you and then sneaks back up. And it's been hectic around here. Not a lot of time for making tick marks on the wall.

Did you just get here?

[Steve's experience has been a little different so far, in that Thor and Loki had known him. Or at least a version of him in Loki's case. But he experienced much of the same loss when realizing that these men hadn't been the ones he'd spent so much time with the past couple of years. It was as if as the development between he and Loki, and his growing bond with Thor had been erased, leaving him with nothing but the memories.

He should be used to having nothing but memories of his friends, with so many of them long gone. But Kirk is like a spark, shedding light on the shadow of his grief. He might be somewhere new but he's not alone with his memories.]

From what I've heard, that's not the only similarity they share. [Thor had given him quite the list of grievances.]

Yeah. A few hours ago. After watching that video that explained the situation I came here. Figured I deserved it. [He doesn't mention how he'd booked it out of there in a panic. Kirk hadn't been involved during...that time. But if he happens to remember the details that Steve had once disclosed, he might be able to figure out why he'd been in immediate need of alcohol.]

So you've been given the welcome lecture, huh?

_{[ In a way it was relieving, because as much as people didn't like
hearing the lecture, it was harder still to give it. Having to force the
words between your teeth explaining your reality didn't make it easier to
accept. He could at least say that here he was more comfortable when crazy
shit wasn't happening. It was his level of technological advancement,
beyond even, and brought some of the comforts of home he had missed in
Luceti. A small comfort, but an important one, though it did little to ease
the longing of home.}

At Steve's explanation he nodded, remembering Steve telling him of the zombies in Luceti. They had not spoken long on the subject as it had visibly upset Steve as far as he remembered, and he doubted that being told up front what was waiting for them outside the walls of the Dome would have sat well with the super soldier.

So he clapped him on the shoulder and looked to the bar tender, holding up his finger for two more drinks. ]

I really think that free drink vouchers should be part of the welcome package.

Yeah, if you want to call it that.

[Perhaps it wouldn't have been so back had the message not ended the way it did. There's something very surreal about watching someone be attacked and knowing that there was nothing you could do but watch. There's no telling how long ago that message had been recorded, or how many times it had been watched by now.

But there is one question that lingers in the back of his mind.]

The man in the video...did he survive?

[Steve grins weakly. He could always count on Kirk to share a drink or three with him. It's almost like nothing has changed.]

Even a fruit basket would be an improvement.

Do you think he did?

_{[ He didn't have an answer for Steve, but what he had seen on that
tape - no, he didn't think so. He'd either been torn to shreds or infected
himself, and that wasn't any kind of life. But if Steve wanted to hold out
hope, Kirk wasn't going to tear it away from him. He'd had enough take away
from him already - they'd both had. Anyone who came here had. The world
they lived in now was cruel enough without adding his own dark theories
atop it. ]}

For saying we're their last hope, they aren't keen on making us comfortable.

[Steve looks away and slowly shakes his head. It doesn't take a genius to figure out how the rest of that struggle had probably gone. The man had been trapped, taken down. It would have taken a miracle for him to walk away from that unscathed and still human.]

Probably not.

[He smiles just a little and takes a drink.]

I doubt we're meant to be comfortable. As long as we're here and have no other options, we're at their mercy.

Not that big a change, right?

_{[ From Luceti. From living every day in a cage and knowing that
somehow you were being watched, that you could be shoved into battled or
dragged down into a nightmare or have memories that weren't yours shoved
inside of your head. No. There had never been any sense of control in
Luceti, and there was little enough of it here. More, but not enough.
]}

( MEMES ) TEST DRIVE >> 7

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