1st Mistake; video

[moralperil]

[Two lavender eyes stare deeply into the camera, leaning in too close.]

Testing, 1, 2, 3! Um, hi? Oh good, it's working...

[Mahdi slides backward. He's in the dining area of one of the assigned apartments. The guy looks about fifteen, and was clearly plucked right from his job: he's wearing a clean but old and stained black apron over khakis and a polo that have seen better days. There's a hairnet crumpled up on one side of the table, next to a glittery purple flashlight.]

Is there any way for me to contact my boss on this thing? You'd think a simple inter-realm transmission wouldn't be that hard considering how much other crazy stuff they have out here. [More to himself than to the netbook:] I really just want to tell her I won't be coming in. I'm supposed to be there for the breakfast crowd and she's gonna be up a creek without me. Probably can't get out of getting fired for not showing up... even if technically I was there. Early, even!

[He seems to remember himself, and addresses the camera once again.] Anyway, hi! I'm Mahdi. I'm new. They set me up with a place to stay, so I guess I'm gonna be a prisoner for awhile here, huh? [He doesn't exactly seem upset about it, though at least it's clear he's not enthusiastic.] I hope we can makes friends! That's what people do on the internet, right?

Comments

[moralperil]

--I have to go back! All of our regulars will be so hungry already, they've been frozen for hours! [Yeah, he's still not getting it, really.] Who should I talk to about being sent home? I'm no good as a fighter anyway, bringing here was probably a mix up!

[healplz]

To begin, not all of us are fighters. I can only assume there was some other reason those in charge of transporting us took an interest in you.

And secondly, what I had intended to say is that your world at home is not progressing without you. If—or when—you eventually return, it will be at the same moment you left it. [ a beat ] Am I making myself clear?

[moralperil]

Did they need someone to cook? I'm pretty good at cooking. And singing. Do they need a singer? [Mahdi's not getting into the other stuff. Most of the people here look like lesser mortals, and they're not supposed to know about his kind.]

So... when I left, it's like the world hit the pause button? I guess that... I guess that kind of makes sense... except for the time-traveling stuff.

[healplz]

Perhaps. I cannot claim to understand their reasoning.

It is similar to that. [ he actually has no idea what a pause button is, but it sounds about right. ] It is precisely the time traveling that allows them to replace you at the time you'd disappeared, I believe.

[moralperil]

...Weird. That seems like a whole lot of trouble to get someone here. They must really need everyone's help!

[healplz]

It is a war, so I've heard.

[moralperil]

--Okay. Um. No. [The flightiness of his previous attitude has fallen right off his face.]

I can't fight anyone. I can't hurt anyone.

[healplz]

[ well, that sounds more serious than just 'i've never done that before' ]

Why is that?

[moralperil]

[firmly.] Violence is wrong. It spreads like a plague and I won't help it along. [This isn't a cry of fear or inexperience: it's a deep and abiding belief.]

[healplz]

[ a brief pause ]

Although I cannot say for sure, it's possible you will not have a choice.

[moralperil]

There's always a choice. [Firm nod. And then after a thoughtful pause:] I'll just... cook, or sing, or do laundry or something instead! There are many ways for people to contribute without violence. Even criminal organizations need drivers and lookouts!

[healplz]

Then I wish you luck in that venture.

[ another pause, and, well, there's no use in holding it back: ] Although most recently, we transports were thrust into a pseudo reality, in which battle was unavoidable.

[moralperil]

Pseudo-reality? [That's confusing.] That sounds bad. And also... not real. I guess that's why it's pseudo.

[healplz]

I've heard it called "VR", if the term is more familiar to you. [ because it totally wasn't to him ]

[moralperil]

Do you think it's like a VCR? It's this thing you can use to watch movies if you can't afford a DVD player.

[healplz]

It... could be. [ what is dvds, what is movies ] I understand it stands for "virtual reality".

[moralperil]

So... like a video game?

I'm glad I wasn't here for that. I'm bad at video games. I can never figure out how to run or anything.

[healplz]

I'm—sorry, I'm unfamiliar with a "video game".

[moralperil]

[cheerfully] It's not important.

[But he becomes more concerned when he goes back to the original subject.] What happened? You said there was fighting.

[healplz]

Yes. We were pressed into our own memories to fight the people remembered within.

[moralperil]

That's terrible! Why? Why would anyone put someone through that?

[healplz]

We're been told it was a malfunction. Whether or not this is true remains to be seen.

[moralperil]

I'm not exactly the tactical type, but it doesn't make a lot of sense to bring such an inconsistent group here. It'd be like herding cats to get us all to do the same thing. Only less cute.

Maybe this really is all a mistake. In which case, we should be trying to help them fix their equipment so we can go home.

[healplz]

It's not impossible that this is a mistake. I've seen examples of their work, and that option would be no surprise.

Have you any experience with machines at this level?

[moralperil]

Nope! My last job I had to travel pretty light, and since then I've been broke as a joke so no way I could ever afford a computer. Even a cellphone's stretching it. [A pause.] I guess that probably doesn't mean much to you. I'd like to help however I can, though, but... I'd probably mess everything up and install a virus instead. [He seems apologetic for even doing this hypothetically.]