Act I, scene 1.

[laelys]

[Introductory scene for a new character. Many thanks to all involved!]



Puzzle Park

You are standing on a ring of holofinished chrome, part of a huge orrery model. The orrery, a hundred meters across, is a stylized representation of the Puzzlebox structure itself, in a chaotic state of perpetual construction. The web of broad orbital rings, arcing topopolitic strands and slender orbital towers turns in a slow, stately orbit, making perhaps one full revolution an hour. At the center of the orrery is the sun, a hemisphere of sun-yellow translucent plastic that serves as a stage. Fluorescent gas filling the hemisphere glows bright and warm. At the edges of the structure are soft but impregnable wallfields.
The orrery hangs suspended inside a sphere, on whose inner surface is projected a swirling mass of color and form. Rainbow fractals melt against sheets of pink flame, liquid copper circuits wriggle and swarm over blooming electric flowers.
Ascending from the center of the sun-hemisphere is... something like a tree, only its trunk and branches are gleaming rectilinear chrome, and its leaves slowly turning cubes of holographic foil that dazzle any onlooker with bright flashes of reflected color. At the base of the "tree" there's a dark circular that leads down to the Transit Nexus that links all of the Mess together.

Frostbyte says, "Creative goals... I've got one, but it's explicitly carnal, so I doubt it would interest you. What goals did you find?"

Karrie says, "I've been composing a noisetrack for a project of my colleague."

Laelys is somewhere up, afloat, unnoticed. A tight ball of strange, tightly curled up flesh. Foetal. Adrift in a slow, straight trajectory aimed toward a point somewhere close to the base of the Tree.

Laelys rebounds softly, his new trajectory mirroring his inbound course. When it reaches a height of about thrice his size, he crashes down abruptly with a loud thud.

Asterisk looks startled at the violently landing dragon.

Karrie looks a teensy bit set off. "Oh my, are you hurt?"

The Recollector speeds away from *'s shoulder to examine the crash site.

Frostbyte raises an eyebrow.
Frostbyte says, "Goodness."

Runa blinks at the ball, shirt switching to a shade of blue. Unless it was always that colour. "Ooooh... I wanna try that!" Previously bare feet now sporting rollerblades the ferret kicks them into the air, bouncing in place, ready to hop in and join the fun should anything else start crashing down. He waves to the ball energetically, regardless of it sentience status.

Laelys, eyes closed, curls up tighter. Lying on his side. A slow breath, his first, is heaved by heavy flanks, the sound of myriads of molecules pushed in and out of his throat coming out hissy, dry. "... Where is... the woman in white?..." It's almost a whimper.

Karrie's vehicle cranks to life. Its pistons fire, hissing, as it kneels down to slide its two claws under Laelys. "Please relax." says Karrie.

Runa's fingers curl around the edge of the bench as he leans forward to see better, whiskers twitching.

Laelys slowly, slowly rolls onto his paws; doesn't push up yet. His eyes open. They're a deep shade of ochre; vertically slitted. The pupils are abnormally thin; they widen as cecity leaves his eyes. His breathing becomes faster.

Karrie's vehicle forklifts (or at least tries) Laelys into the air, its claws folding into a delicate brace. "Please describe this woman in white further for me, Otissa will see if it has anything in its database."

Laelys doesn't answer anything yet. His lips pressed together in a thin line, he tries to get up on his hindlegs. Loses his balance. Finds himself on all fours; behind his, his tail twitches, without control.

Asterisk walks over to the dragon slowly. It steps into the dragon's field of view. "Do you know where you are now?" it asks softly, the little white ball of the Recollector hovering back over to *'s shoulder.

Laelys shakes his head, very slowly. Confusion in his expression; eyeridges slowly quirk up. "What woman in white?" His voice: a deep basso, uncertain.

Runa hops up and pushes off to slowly skate around the group of three, trying to catch a glimpse of the mechabody-obscured dragon, Chester running behind him, trying to catch up.

Karrie vehicle shoulder-joints hiss, and the arms raise Laelys a little higher. A speaker set within the cradle xer head is set into crackes, "... Where is... the woman in white?..."

Laelys breathes in, breathes out, slower. Seeking self-control. He slowly extracts himself from Karrie's arms, nods in thanks, then looks at Asterisk. "I am not sure," he answers, guardedly. "Where is this?" Only then, does he glance a round. Takes in the Mess. His pupils widen in shock.

Laelys sends another confused look at Karrie. He doesn't recognize his own voice. Yet.

Karrie's vehicle has a bunch of LEDs on its front. One of them blinks, recording data. The arms hiss back to the sides of the machine. "Are you certain you are alright?"

Asterisk turns his head to face Karrie. "I believe this fellow is a bit disoriented. Please, give him some room for a moment; he'll soon get his bearings."

Runa pipes up from behind, "Give him a hug! Hugs help!" Hopping in place gives the smaller mustelid the chance to catch up and crawl back up on Runa's head, holding the ears as reigns.

Karrie says, "Otissa only wished to help."

Asterisk looks back at the dragon. "I can assume safely from your expression that you are not where you expect to be, if indeed you had any expectations prior to your arrival. And in truth, I'm not really qualified to give a good answer to your question, but I can assure you that you are safe."

Runa blinks at Asterisk. What language does ve speak...

Asterisk swishes its tail widely across the ground, looking over to Karrie. "I meant no offense. I am quite sure you had only the best intentions, and there is nothing wrong with what you did. I simply think this young dragon needs to take a few breaths and re-orient himself."

Laelys lifts a front paw, looks at it, thoughtful. He opens it, closes it, opens it again. Then he cranes his neck back to look at his own shape. Expression: blank. And yet... And yet, somehow, it .fits., in a way. Slight frown across his eyeridges. Then he looks back at Asterisk, and steps away from the circle of assembled creatures. Takes himself away from the unintentional spotlight. "I am glad to hear I am safe," he says slowly, as if considering each word. "Where is this?"

Asterisk says, "This place, as I understand it, is generally refered to by its denizens as, quaintly, 'The Mess,' which I find endlessly amusing and quite appropriate."

A tiny tonguetip moistens Laelys' dry lips. "The Mess," he says, tone and expression blank. His tail's twitching slows, gradually brought under control. But the beginning of mild panic appears in his eyes, and a faint shadow seems to seize his flanks. "Who brought me here?"

Asterisk shrugs its shoulders sadly. "I'm afraid I can't answer that. Some here still don't know where they came from.

Karrie perks xer ears. "Oh, you are a new arrival then?"

Laelys looks from Asterisk to Karrie. "How do people usually arrive here?" he questions; a decent job of keeping his voice polite, under control.

Asterisk says, "Some are simply noticed to be around one day."
Asterisk says, "Let me put this another way: where were you before this?"

Karrie says, "Some intentionally travel from elswhere in the Puzzlebox. Others are simply created within the Mess."

Laelys sits on his rump, head lowering. Maybe a little dizzy. Questions. Answers? No. "I am not sure," he says, cautious. "Are people usually from somewhere in particular?" Intense concentration on his face. Where is he from?

Karrie says, "There have been many arrivals from a distant planet recently. Perhaps due to isolated wormhole activity."

Asterisk says, "Not necessarily, but you seemed as if you might be. I am from nowhere."

Laelys sits up, seems to grow taller as he pulls himself up. His voice is firmer as he says, "Is there a library? A museum? A source of documentation somewhere?" A long look around, the Park, the Mess, brings another mild look of panic to him. His jaws clench together discreetly.

Karrie says, "There is a museum, and also a library."
Karrie says, "You may feel safer in the museum, however."

Laelys says, "Why so?"

Asterisk holds up a hand. "Ah...he may feel more comfortable if he is a bit acclimated to the environment before he ventures beyond the park, if he is still this nervous."

Karrie says, "The library is located in a very dangerous Warp... oh, yes, the warps are areas of the Mess designated to different purposes. The library is in Strangewarp. You're likely to run into trouble there."

Laelys addresses Karrie a slow nod. Information dutifully noted. "Warps. How large is this place? The Mess?" Organizing data, already, yes, yes. Order; understanding.

Karrie says, "That is a difficult question to answer, not even Otissa is aware of the size of the Mess. It may be able to offer a rough estimate, depending on what type of information you are looking for with relation to size."

Asterisk says, "The actual size of the Mess is somewhat incalculable. It seems to change frequently, and its apparent size can rarely be accounted for by its contents...or possibly its contents cannot be accounted for by its size."

Karrie says, "Suffice to say, it is very large."

Laelys looks at Asterisk longly, eyes never blinking, before nodding. Then, to Karrie: "What is Otissa? Who?"

Asterisk says, "Yes, large. Much more succinct."

Laelys says, "The woman in white you mentioned earlier maybe?"

Karrie says, "Otissa is the automated commune I have spent my life living in and with."

Karrie smiles benevolently. "Once you are well, I can show you."

Asterisk says to the dragon, "Actually, it was you who first mentioned the woman in white."

Laelys watches Karrie in silence. A moment. Then: "Is Otissa how I shall call you, then?" He turns his head to Asterisk. "Did I? I do not remember," he says, voice soft. Pondering.

Karrie says, "No, my name is Karrie, what is your name?"

Laelys misses a breath. Maw opens slowly, silent. "Laelys..." he suddenly hears himself whisper. And then he blinks. Laelys. It fits. "I am Laelys," he repeats, louder.

[And in a few seconds, it is sealed. Laelys may not have been his name. From now on, it will be.]

Asterisk says, "Well one can hardly blame you; it appeared that you were barely conscious when you first arrived. Perhaps you will remember in time."

"I do hope so," says Laelys, softly, unsure.

Laelys says, "What can you tell me about this place?"

Karrie says, "Do you mean Puzzle Park, the Mess, or the Puzzlebox?"

Laelys remains silent a moment. "I think I know about the Puzzlebox," he finally says, tone quiet, if a bit surprised. "Tell me about the Mess, please. Maybe we can talk about whatever the Puzzle Park is later."

Asterisk turns to Karrie. "Is there actually a difference between Puzzlebox and the Mess?"

Karrie says, "The Mess is a creation of the Puzzlebox, or so the theory goes. It's composed of six warps: Top, Bottom, Up, Down, Charm and Strange."

Karrie says, "Yes, there is, *. The Puzzlebox is much more vast than the Mess. The Puzzlebox is like a warp and the Mess is the warp's park, to use an analogy."

Asterisk says, "Ahhh. That was never adequately explained. Thank you."

Laelys's eyes widen slightly. "A creation of the Puzzlebox. This is interesting." There is a long pause before he says, "Are there charts somewhere? In the museum you mentioned, maybe?"

Karrie says, "The Mess is the most densely populated area of the Puzzlebox at this point in time."
Karrie says, "What sort of data are you interested in?"

Laelys moistens his lips, again. He looks into Karrie's eyes, apparently struggling not to stare at her robot body. "About everything I can find, I suppose. Topology. Culture. History. Ways in, ways out. Dangers. Possibilities. Technologies. Currencies."

Karrie says, "I can answer some of your questions, if you'd like."

Laelys says, "Please."
Laelys's tail swishes slowly; he listens intently, watching Karrie with sharp eyes.

Karrie says, "The topology of the Mess is hard to describe, seeing as it is a nth dimensional construct."
Karrie says, "However, all of the warps can be accessed by the transit nexus just below Puzzle Park, which we are now in."

Laelys lets out a small "Oh!" So there's what the Puzzle Park would be.

Karrie says, "As for culture, I'm not sure what you're familiar with, so I'll assume you're familiar with nationalities."

Laelys considers silently, then nods. "Nationalities. Yes."

Karrie says, "In the Mess, we do not use a system of nationalities as a guide for culture. We function on the concept of idealogical factions."

Karrie says, "Some factions are more prolific than others due to their aggressive recruitment techniques."

Laelys's cheeks crease into a smile of sorts. "This must be interesting. Factions are usually revealing of a population's mindsets."

Karrie says, "Yes, although some may join factions against their wills. The Haemotopians are an example of this, as are, at times, the Bubbledolls."

Karrie says, "In addition to the Chitin Queens, these factions like to modify the egos of individuals joining the faction, whether they be willing or not."

"Are there protections?" Laelys asks very quietly.

Karrie says, "There is a mind/body/soul backup system."
Karrie says, "This also prevents unintentional death."

Laelys arches his eyeridges. "A backup system. How... interesting." There's an odd edge to his voice, but he doesn't add a word. He keeps listening.

Karrie says, "As for history, I'm afraid that knowledge is being protected by Strangewarp."

Asterisk says, "Well, I must be going right now, but I hope I will see you again Laelys."

Karrie says, "However, it's been rumored that the statues which exist in the squares of each Warp are the founders of those Warps."

Karrie says, "Have a good day, *."

Asterisk says, "Oh! I apologize! I entirely forgot to introduce myself. My name is *. I will see you again, I am sure."
Asterisk nods. "You as well, Karrie. Farewell."
Asterisk has left.

"History can wait. There are other, more pressing matters," says Laelys, maybe a little impatient. He nods politely to Asterisk, whose name he indeed didn't know. "Good by, *." He doesn't get the pronunciation exactly right.

Karrie says, "Yes? What is it you are interested in?"

Laelys considers. "Mostly places, cultures and currencies. The bases for survival," he voices thoughtfully.

Karrie laughs politely. "Survival is an option here."

Karrie says, "You'll only find fringe factions that still use currency. We have an instantiation system here which can create anything you desire."

Karrie smiles, "As long as it's not too complex. It can only create macrotechnology."

Laelys forgets to breathe: slight shock. "This is a post-Singularity place?" he asks sharply.

Karrie says, "Post-Singularity? We've advanced far past that point. We are almost post-everything."
Karrie says, "I believe the term for our system is post-scarcity."

Laelys remains silent a long moment, his breathing resuming, too fast. "Who is in control, then?" he finally asks.

Karrie says, "Control?"

Laelys says, "In charge."
Laelys says, "In power, if you want."
Something about this seems to disquieten Laelys greatly.

Karrie says, "Oh, hierarchal systems have long been considered archaic, although some factions still employ methods of control."

Flyte climbs out from the hole at the base of the cube tree.
Flyte meeps quietly. "Hello, citizens."

Laelys nods very slowly. "This would make sense," he notes, as if to himself. "How does one obtain food and a place of their own?"

Laelys inclines his head gracefully toward Flyte, not knowing the proper greetings this culture deems appropriate.

Flyte notes the new person; he smiles. "Good day. Karrie giving you an orientation, then?"

Karrie says, "Hello."
Karrie says, "This depends on your tastes, Laelys."
Karrie says, "Upwarp has very advanced facilities. Topwarp puts more emphasis on quality than efficiency. Charmwarp is more stylistic than anything else. Downwarp has an interesting ambiance, as does Bottomwarp. I suggest you stay away from Strangewarp."

Laelys attempts a faint grin as he turns his head to Flyte. "I think that 'orientation' is a very fitting word," he quips, then returns his attention to Karrie. "What kind of tastes?" An edge of cautiousness to his voice. This place goes deep.

Flyte cranes his ears towards the new arrival, nostrils flaring, his damaged wingfields orienting on the draconid to passively 'watch' other frequencies.

Flyte murmurs, "I will not interrupt, then. If you have other questions or want a second opinion, I will be glad to assist."

Darkon climbs out from the hole at the base of the cube tree.
Darkon waves her tail

Flyte trills a greeting.

Karrie says, "If you stay away from Strangewarp, you are free to look around yourself. I can follow you, if you have any questions."

Karrie says, "Hello."

Darkon just mewls in greeting.

Laelys nods again, good student, but there's again a slight frown across his eyeridges. "If this is an offer for a tour, I would be grateful," he says, his voice warm. "But I would be more comfortable following you. For now."

Laelys addresses a nod of greetings to Darkon; nothing involved.

Karrie says, "I shall introduce you to the Warps, then."

Flyte murmurs, "Good luck.."

Laelys says, "Thank you very much, Karrie."

Karrie hisses, vehicle carrying xer toward the hole.
Karrie disappears down the hole at the base of the cube tree.

[And then Karrie kindly proceeded to guiding Laelys through Up, Top and Charm. Thank you, Karrie.
More RP in the Park followed. I may post it later.]