exsilium | video;

[The feed starts, focusing on a girl who appears to be around sixteen. She's sitting on a bed in the apartment she's been assigned to. She appears tense, nervous, though she does her best not to let that carry to her voice as she begins to speak.]

I'm sort of, um, not really new to the whole getting sent to a different world all of a sudden thing, so I don't really have any questions about that. I got everything about the war thing, too, even if I'm not going to have anything to do with it. I did have a few questions about some other things, though, so I'd be really grateful if there's someone out there who knows the answer!

The first thing might seem a little bit silly, but it's important. Um, to me, at least! I just wanted to know if there's a dance studio anywhere in this city, and where it is if there is one. The second thing I wanted to know is kind of more general, but, um, if the words Siren's Port mean anything to anyone here, I'd like to know, and to talk to those people a little bit, if I could. And the third thing...

[She pauses, looking down at her hands, away from the tablet.]

What do you think is the best place here to watch the sun go down? Um, thank you in advance.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

If they can decide how many people to keep around, why don't they just send all of us home?

I think I like Transports more. I mean, Newcomers makes it sound like - I don't know, like we're inexperienced, or we don't matter as much as the Natives.

Because the only thing they can tell the machines to do is take from another world. There's no put back option -- that happens on its own.

You called the other people natives? But yeah, I prefer Transports too. Though really, we're just needing a name for the group of us so we know who we're talking about when.

Then why not leave the machine alone? I mean, sure, they need people to stop the other side from taking our resources, but - isn't taking people from worlds worse than taking resources?

I think they called themselves Natives first. A lot of them probably wanted to make themselves seem more official.

Do you really think we're here to stop the other side from taking our resources?

Of course I don't, but that doesn't mean they can just take people to fight a war we don't really have a stake in!

Except they did just do that.

Okay, obviously they can, but that doesn't mean they should.

Yeah, the really shouldn't. But when you're as desperate to change things as they are, you do a lot of things you shouldn't.

( Her tone of voice softens. )

Like mess around with the past without knowing if it's going to bring you the kind of changes that don't completely wipe you and everything you know from the face of the planet.

I'm pretty sure most of us have been pretty desperate at one point or another. It doesn't give us the right to do bad things to other people.

No, it doesn't. I'm really not going to say they have a right to what they do, 'cause I don't think they do. I can just understand their... logic, I guess. How they make it okay to themselves.

Besides, it's not the sort of thing we should always talk about like this, if you know what I mean?

Why shouldn't we talk about it?

... On the network?

[A pause.]

They're not big on criticism, huh?

They don't censor us, I'm just -- pointing out -- ( and then she just starts to laugh. )

No, sorry, they're fine! I'm just saying it's kind of rude to criticize like this, and easier to tell them to your face if you care about them knowing at all.

Do you think they would listen? [Her tone is one of honest curiosity.]

I mean, they've got to have thought about the things I was saying before, right?

I feel like they'd listen. If that means they'll do anything other than say thank you for talking to them about your concerns, I don't know. But they'd at least listen, if you wanted to talk to them.