(no subject)

[aluminumandash]

[ RE419S | TEXT | 001 ]

[ After the message (warning?) has blared two successive times, Rust waits about an hour and sends: ] Progress on locating unauthorized transport?



[ OOC: Threadjack to your heart's content! ]

Comments

voice-to-text; TN811N

[hyakuoku]

[ Senku isn't close enough to hear that message, but he's nosy enough to read what he can, so he's gathered some context. ]

I get that this must be a reference to something but from where I am I haven't seen any signs of transport here at all. I found an old suitcase on the beach where I woke up. Nothing I'd call "transport."

So the question is: is whatever brought us here unauthorised transport? Or is there someone else here doing something that whoever brought us here doesn't want them to be doing?

/threadjacks forever | text | callsign: DI481O

[salamanca]

Old suitcase, huh? How old is "old?"

And where on the island are you located, Mr...?

[ Lalo is actually getting into this now! Vividly, he imagines himself as an over-eager rookie with a note, writing down every piece of information he encounters, relevant and not. ]

[hyakuoku]

[ well THAT'S an ominous callsign, if he's reading it right. Interesting...? ]

As soon as I reinvent carbon dating equipment I'll let you know.

[ Surely he's kidding. Right? He must be kidding. ]

It's hard to say for now. It's too waterlogged to really get a read on that. It's a hard case one, has barnacles on it. Barnacles can grow a lot faster than you think, though, so it could be days, weeks, longer. Had some paper in it that turned to unreadable mush.

No Mr.
Just Senku is fine.

As far as I can tell, I'm on the southwest part of the island. Are we sure it's just one island, though?

[salamanca]

[ Screw you, man, they're random!!! He didn't pick it. ]

I meant approximately, smartass. Couple years ago? Two decades ago? What style is it? Suitcases go in and out of fashion. You can tell one that was made now from one that was made in the '70s just by how it looks.

[ He does consider what Senku is saying, though. Interesting. SW, huh? Not sure it's one island? He looks around at the peninsula that juts out in front of him. ]

I don't think we are certain of that, unless I missed something.

Hey, you a marine biologist? Sounds like you know a lot about barnacles! I'm impressed.

[ He means that! He is impressed. ]

[hyakuoku]

It's hard to tell with the water damage. That's also a very relative question, isn't it? I assume you mean 1970s. But 1970 was so long ago for me that this suitcase should have rotted into nothing if it was from then.

[ Though really it shouldn't exist at all but he won't get into that just yet. ]

On this island, when is "now," do you think?

[ This might sound patronising even in text but he does really mean it. He's got two theories he's bouncing around already about this place, but needs more data. ]

Without a better idea of just how much ground we're covering, I'm not sure if it's one big island or several small ones, or even if it attaches to a bigger land mass. But assuming it's an island, southwest.

You didn't tell me your name back btw.

Not specifically a marine biologist, but I am a scientist.

[salamanca]

[ When is "now," do you think?

Many possible interpretations of that question run through Lalo's mind at warp speed. Frustratingly, operating over text like denies him the opportunity to interpret the tone of voice of the person or even the sound of the voice he's talking to, that might make it a little bit easier to figure out what's meant by that.

He considers that he's talking to a teenager or college kid who is making fun of him for his age, which frankly, sounds pretty likely if this person apparently thinks the '70s were that long ago. He considers that he might also be talking to someone who is insane.

Or... that he's talking to some kind of physicist who understands things like time warps and worm holes and has devised some theory to explain all of this shit.

He works backwards. He answers the question about his name first, since that's the easiest! ]

Wow, I did, didn't I? That was rude. Officer Ben De Guzman. At your service, Senku.

[ Next the question as to whether it's an island or a peninsula or multiple islands or... ]

Moving inland. Just arrived at the mouth of river. Looks like a bay, maybe a sound of some kind. Not sure. Looks like where I was before was connected to something bigger. Doesn't mean it's all one body of land. Looking like at least some of it might be pretty well-connected, though. Decent-sized!

[ Now the question of "when"...

He settles for a playful approach. He can always lead more into credulous later. He figures his good-guy cop identity should maybe be a little gullible, right? ]

Hate to break it to you but the '70s weren't that long ago, kid. How old are you? 20? :P

[hyakuoku]

[ Really, two of the above are true things in the end. Senku was born in 2004 so to him, sure, the 1970s were awhile ago. But he'd never make that rotting comment if he didn't mean it literally.

He does have an advanced understanding of physics, though things like wormholes and time travel are base theories that no one had proven; he hasn't studied them extensively because there wasn't much to study. But the point of science was always to advance, wasn't it, so he'd read up. Wormholes often came up in relation to space talk, and his number one goal was always to go to space. ]

You're a cop?

[ That means a certain set of skills, he thinks. Too bad they're not anywhere in close proximity. Senku knows he can't survive alone forever, after all. ]

I got stuck at a river too, so either it's a big river or there are multiple ones. Could still be one island with a river system, or several islands that are connected with larger bodies between them that we haven't discovered, but I think I'm leaning towards the one island idea for now.

Yes, about 20, but my age is ten billion percent irrelevant here.
My question was: when do you think NOW is?

I'll ask another way to get the answer I want to know. What year was it just before you came here?

I'll even make this more interesting for you so you don't think I'm screwing around.

[ Not that what he's about to say will probably help, but he's such a straightforward person that it doesn't occur to him that it won't help. ]

I meant what I said before very literally. WHEN I was just before waking up here, there isn't one millimeter of a chance that a suitcase from 1970 could exist. I don't mean it hyperbolically. Nothing made of cloth and plastic could have lasted anymore.

So? What year was it?

[salamanca]

Yeah. This thing we're by? It has to be pretty good-sized to accommodate a sound like this. If you're at one mouth, and we're at the other, then we'd know for sure if it's one island or a couple if we meet in the middle.

If there's a middle to meet in.

[ In other words: he, too, thinks it's likely there's only one island. He starts with that first because it's the easiest. ]

Doesn't mean there can't be more than one, but a big island looks the most likely. If you ask me.

If there's more than one island, then at least one of them can't be too small.

[ It does occur to him that he's not just being mocked, though. Even without being able to hear them, he can tell the person on the other side of the walkie talkie believes what they are saying. This person is serious about this. They mean it.

20 and "a scientist" registers to him as odd, but not as odd as all of this "when" shit. ]

Yeah, I'm a cop. But I was just shitting you, kid. I don't care how old you are. As long as you obey all local age-restricted alcohol laws wherever you're from.

[ Lalo hesitates before he types the next part, unsure if maybe it's a bridge too far for someone who is supposed to be "nice". But it's genuinely the first thing he can think of to say. ]

Hey, don't take this wrong way or anything, but what are you on and where can I get some? Kidding, kidding! Don't actually give me anything. Please.

[ He continues typing. ]

You sure you're okay, though? Didn't hit your head when you washed up here, did you? You said nothing from the '70s could've survived, soooooo. ..

What year do YOU think it is?

[hyakuoku]

I wish I had a better idea of the actual scale. It would be a lot easier to get an idea of map and location if we knew that. I can't calculate where we are in the world without more information either. It's frustrating, but a lot of science starts with barely any information. It's only been a few hours. We'll get some answers eventually.

But those are good points. So we'll stick with the only one island theory until we know better.

[ Senku is a very serious person all the time — ten billion percent serious — even when he sounds like a lunatic. He sometimes forgets that other people are like ?!?!?!? in his general direction. Even at home that was true for most of his life. ]

There aren't any laws like that anymore and I don't drink.

[ See, too serious! ]

[ He's just going to roll his eyes and ignore that drug comment. ]

I'm completely fine. You didn't answer my question but extrapolating from what you've said, I would assume you're from somewhere in the early 21st century. You're older than I am based on the comment about me being 20, old enough that you might have lived in the 1970s yourself. I'm assuming you come from before 2019 but I might be colouring that with my own experience. I do know better than to do that but I have to start somewhere.

To answer YOUR question, it's 5749 WHEN I come from. The where isn't entirely relevant at the moment, but we can get to that eventually. I can already guess how you're going to take that, and I am NOT confused, hallucinating, or bullshitting you.

Go ahead, ask whatever you're gonna ask and get it over with.

[salamanca]

Occam's Razor, right?

[ About the island. The easy part. If they were speaking over voice, he'd insert a slightly nervous laugh there.

The things Senku is saying are... well, they're are all correct, but they're also obvious statements to throw out, if you're also from 2004 -- like everybody else here, ofc -- and want to convince somebody you're a time traveler. For some reason.

He considers how to react to this. It would be easy to dismiss this person as crazy or a charlatan, and he considers doing just that. He still gets the impression that this person is extremely serious but can't fully get away from how much the way this person lays out how they knew his age and "when" he lived feels like a ploy.

After some thought, he offers one question and two statements. ]

How do I know you're not bullshitting me? Prove it. Prove you're from 5749.

[ Will that even be possible here? Lalo isn't sure. He can't imagine what this person could say that will definitively prove to him that they're from so far in the future. ]

text | RE419S threadjacking the threadjack...

[aluminumandash]

Hang onto the paper.

The suitcase washed in from the ocean?

[hyakuoku]

It isn't paper anymore, just mush that used to be paper.

I found it in a tidepool covered in barnacles so I'm fairly confident that's where it came from. It wasn't at the mouth of the river or anything.

[aluminumandash]

Just where do you think paper comes from? Can reconstitute it, dry it out and use it for kindling.

Be worth mapping the sky.

[hyakuoku]

I know damn good and well where paper comes from.

Mapping the sky isn't a bad idea though. Probably take a group effort but I don't think it's impossible.

[aluminumandash]

Just forgot, huh? [ Things that were apparently worth laboriously typing out. ]

What you know about ink?

[hyakuoku]

As if I ever would. But it's pulpy, which won't be good for kindling. Maybe in a super pinch it would serve but as far as STARTING a fire, it's beyond my skill level without some more stuff that isn't soaking wet. That whole rubbing sticks together thing isn't as easy as it looks in movies.

[ HE SHOULD KNOW, he sucks at doing it. He had to rig a whole pulley system to do it when he first revived at home, and that was better circumstances than here in some ways.

But point taken, he'll keep the paper mush for awhile. ]

What kind of ink? Synthetic or organic? That's a broad question.

[aluminumandash]

Best go with reconstitution then. What's your skill level?

Consider the here and now.

[aluminumandash]

Yep. [ Is that it? Almost. ] You heard of a drone before?

[hyakuoku]

[ Well THAT was...succinct. ]

Yes.

[aluminumandash]

[ He has trouble accepting it, that ready affirmative—but that's only because he'd heard of no such fucking thing until a few hours ago. ] Seen one?

[hyakuoku]

Sure, I've built one before.

[ This would be just as annoying sounding out loud, probably. ]

If you're asking me if I've seen one HERE though then no. Did you?

[aluminumandash]

[ At least a claim like that'll be easier to sniff out as a lie. ] Heard it. Mechanical hum. [ He'll be seeing one in a few hours, though! ]

Whod you build it for?

[hyakuoku]

If you see it, can you describe it to me? Some drones are pretty harmless but some might have weapons on them.

I built it for me, of course. Well, for my search team when we were looking for something.

[aluminumandash]

[ Judiciously choosing his questions: ] Yours have weapons?

[hyakuoku]

Not MINE as in the one I built. But ones that existed where I came from did at one point, yes.