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“>Ah. Well, limited or not, it at least means you can make eye contact while talking to someone, turn to easily show when you’re talking to one person out of a group, and utilize facial expressions. Simple things like that can make a pretty big difference in some situations, on top of the overall convenience of having more ways to get your thoughts across instead of relying solely on what you say and how you say it. Some people have trouble talking to me for those reasons; I don’t have body language to indicate subtle changes in how I’m feeling or to show I’m still listening, and a few have admitted they don’t like either not knowing where to look or just the lack of a face to be talking to at all. I think many just prefer having a place to focus their gaze in conversation; even people on board tend to pick a particular wall or camera to look at when speaking to me, I’ve noticed.”
The struggles of being quite large and lacking almost every feature expected of beings able and happy to talk are numerous. It really, really sucks when you’re someone who loves making new friends or learning more about the ones you already have and just overall loves interacting with others when the opportunity arises. Others, of course, do not include Doomers, and just the mention of them seems to make her almost brace herself, or at the very least move her oars more stiffly to give that impression. Even just three or four regular Sphere Doomers can be dangerous, or even deadly to ships like her if they aren’t evaded or fought off quickly enough. A single Grand Doomer can practically be a death sentence should one appear unexpectedly; ‘a flock of Grand Doomers’ counts as a one-phrase horror story in her opinion.
“>I’m sure mine would as well, especially after all the time he’s spent practicing his magic to fully restore his control over it. I’m not just as home, and he’s more than just my pilot; we’re like family, and we’ll do just about anything for each other. It’s just that, unlike me, he has the benefit of being secure in knowing they wouldn’t see him as an all-you-can-eat buffet…”
That’s gonna be a huge nope from her, thank you very much. What isn’t is the understanding that a projected form isn’t without difficulties. However, any interest she had in elaborating on her own communication difficulties rather than continuing to talk about the closest things a Starcutter has to natural predators disappears as she notices the changes in her alternate. Her concerns about why their mannerisms changed are confirmed rather promptly. So they had been one of the ones to experience things that way… The realization makes her regret having mentioned her own crash situation.
“>… My condolences that you went through such a thing. I don’t even want to imagine what it must have been like, let alone what it would have been like for me. 28,000 years trapped in a volcanic cavern would have been hellish enough without crashing afterwards… Being aware would have only saved me the trouble of coping with how much time had passed between my sealing and awakening. Accepting that, in what had seemed like an instant from my perspective, everyone I had ever known was long gone, everything I knew had changed drastically or crumbled away, and I would be living in a time period I was not built for. Knowing I had been abandoned and forgotten for so long, that I could have easily never been found…”
Her voice trails off, whether because she didn’t know what else to say or didn’t want to continue the thought. The soft, droning hum of her engines had quieted down significantly, her oars barely moving, robotically slow and rhythmic. A sense of loneliness tries to creep in, but the feeling is pushed away for the sake of not continuing this more upsetting discussion. Even all these years later, in spite of the other feelings she has towards her past, the reality is still difficult to think about. She couldn’t say either of their fates was better or worse; both caused them suffering in different ways. The change in tone and subject was more than welcome at this point, if the way she seemed to perk back up to how she had been was any indication.
“>That makes sense. Perhaps some of these differences between us reflect differences in the culture expected to be present on-board? It would seem your design was intended to more directly provide for your crew, reducing the workload and activities required to keep things running smoothly. I believe my design had an almost opposite approach in mind; many amenities are built-in and available to use, but not automatic so as to maintain a sense of normalcy when compared to living elsewhere. Most likely this was based on the idea that people like to do things, to feel useful and more in-control. Missions could potentially last months or years at a time, so a routine based in doing such activities rather than having them performed automatically would have given crew members ways to stay occupied between research and recognizance sessions. Not that I really, uh… had much opportunity to confirm that…”
The Starcutter’s tone of voice gives the impression that she’s more embarrassed than sad about whatever the reason is. When the other expresses her hypothesis as to why their usage was cut short, she can’t help but feel a sense of solidarity. Even if odds are high that their old lives had little in common in such regards.
“>Well, we have that in common. I’d only been around for… a few centuries? Not too long in the timescale they operated on back then, especially with time travel in the equation. Most of that time was spent docked rather than out being a research vessel because… Well, to put a long story short, I didn’t always get along with the ones I was supposed to work with and it showed. But in my past self’s defense, they were the ones to give me free will and then get upset when I wanted to act on it… and I did also occasionally cause problems on purpose purely out of spite… Regardless, I ended up being sealed in the Haldera volcano for… Hm. Let’s just say I knew things I wasn’t supposed to.”
Imagine being thrown in time out and then forgotten after digging you up became too expensive, all because you happened to know major government secrets that made you a liability in ways other than just being a pain to deal with. Not cool, very cringe.
“>Oh! Aether magic is a sort of blanket term for magics related to the formation and structure of dimensions and dimensional planes. It comes in different forms that have various properties— for example the multicolored lines on my hull are channels of its somewhat stable liquid state— and it tends to combine with other forms of free-standing magic it comes in contact with. Notably, it’s what allows me to have a stable and consistently accessible non-Euclidean interior pocket dimension, makes up the force fields that contain energy spheres, and is a major constituent of Doomers. It’s also the same magic behind most portals, as well as warping and teleportation spells. It’s most commonly accessible in Another Dimension, forming very large crystals as well as other structures that are less stable and defined.”
Truly an incredibly versatile type of magic, in spite of the many risks associated with its use and manipulation! There’s an air of excitement in her voice; this was, after all, one of the main subjects of what she was designed to research. Being able to talk about your interests is always fun! Space boats LOVE the exchange of information. They also love going places to see new things and meet people familiar and not, so things have just really started to look up all at once in the last few minutes!
“>Well, I’ll be sure to take you up on that offer, thank you! I can’t be entirely sure if my Magolor will join us, as it depends on what he’s up to at the time and how his social battery is doing. Chances are he will, though, I know the thought of seeing an alternate timeline would be enough of a reason for him on its own. You should’ve seen him when he found out I could time travel. Not that I have since before getting shoved in a rock, considering the state of the fabric of spacetime thanks to Halcandra’s various past exploits… But anyways, it’s almost a guarantee we’ll find the time to visit you in your world eventually!”
Attention still rapt, the Lor listened to her counterpart, stars swirling with intrigue in the galaxial fill of her holoform's face. This Lor had such a breadth of emotions she felt, it seemed. At least, the way she spoke, they had many emotional attachments, whether positive or negative in consequence. Many things to yearn for, to anchor herself to.
The Lor's own experiences, meanwhile, felt so shallow by the lack of time spent inactive. The world was infinite and small; not insignificant, but certainly of many fleeting and fragile things, data points made of supernovas. The HAL pinged a notification, and, at least for the time being, she agreed with its judgment. Perhaps best not to elaborate on such somber subjects.
It was by time her counterpart spoke of cultural differences in their makers that the Lor found something she wished to add to the conversation again, having been enjoying the information so long that the HAL could not interrupt her attention. It was easier when she spoke less like this, as the HAL interface did not pester her with quite so much to do. She simply signaled with nod and hum where it indicated, to reinforce her attentiveness.
"Research is your purview, then?" she asked. "I do not mean to presume, but I was built to sail into danger, to take warriors to great battles and keep them ready for such things. I believe that may explain the difference in our capabilities. My first crew were none who could steer a ship so well as swing a sword. As ship it was my duty to carry them to their ultimate battle, to care for them in physical and mental capacities to and from it. I am built to provide comfort, stability, and, in emergencies, combat support."
Hearing the confession of mischief next, however quiet, the Lor laughed. Her eyes squeezed in amusement.
"It is a shame that you and I share the experience of being buried beneath the Haldera. But I am glad to hear we also share some spirit of defiance."
Her amusement quieted at the explanation of aether magic, once more replaced with that attentive-eyed look. The Lor found herself looking along her counterpart's galleon, to shared anatomy in appearance alone, it would seem. She allowed the HAL to twitch her ears in surprise and fascination all alike.
She would have to follow up about aether magic in a more formal degree at some point. The taxonomy of magic seemed a useful thing to know about for cross-dimensional trips such as this, especially when the universal laws that governed nature proved only universal to the nearest boundary of Another Dimension. She filed that away for later, then spoke up again when her counterpart acknowledged the invitation to visit.
"There is no pressure if your captain does not wish to join you. Mine as well has a limit to his..." Whirr. She'd have to remember that term. What a useful thing. Maybe it could help her remind Magolor to not overextend himself so much. "Social battery, is that what you called it? He cannot handle talking to people for long, if he does not prepare extensively for it."
Any elaboration was caught in the spin of more processing when her counterpart spoke of time travel, though.
"You are... capable of time travel? Pardon me, but this is not a function I possess, unless by which you mean the travel through dimensions that, by its very effect, cleaves through time."
