revivalproject | Another mysterious delivery...

Someone has left a baby outside.

It is sitting just in front of the door to a darkened office building in the Northwest side of the city. One frequented by Drake Riley. It can't be any bigger than a newborn, and is swaddled tightly in a furry, rainbow-coloured blanket that has bulbous, stuffed paw tassels hanging from the corners with fuzzy, pink toe beans. It is very patient with this situation, doesn't move or make a noise.

Should you investigate, you will find the blanket is actually wrapped around what feels a lot like a hot water bottle, warm to the touch and with a firm jelly-like give. It is translucently purple, and is largely bean shaped. Don't poke or squeeze it too hard! Its casing looks about as delicate as the film on boiled milk. These are all important baby qualities, aren't they?

Pinned to the blanket with a comically sized diaper pin is a note:

Rye Lee
Rye Lee no care. Rye Lee no sleep.
New Rye Lee must care. Care full four hole wick.
Agrii care Rye Lee and New Rye Lee. In poor tent rye salt.

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Of course he investigates it. He practically trips over it, and comes to such a sudden stumbling stop that he has to hop over the strange little bundle to avoid kicking it.

"What is-?!"

He stops suddenly and then bends to pick it up, already concerned that it isn't making any noise, but then frowns in confusion at the water ballon-like object snuggled in the blanket. The note is noticed and snatched off the pin and his lips move silently as he reads it to himself.

"No care...?" Drake says indignantly to no one in particular, "Of course I care, I care about a lot of things!" He doesn't really follow the rest of the note, but it's plain that someone's left something - er - baby-like at his door and he doesn't much appreciate it.

A few minutes later, Drake makes a network post. As per usual, he's in his makeshift lab with its low lighting and his blinking computers behind him and he's leaning forward over the counter that his communicator is sitting on.

"Hello. Uh. Bit of an urgent matter, I think." He reaches forward and the view pans sideways until it's on the strange rainbow bundled purple bean, nestled in a cushioned chair.

"Is anyone missing this? Or does anyone recognize it? It had this attached." The note takes up the entire screen for a few moments before refocusing on the bundle and then panning back to Drake's confused face.

"So? Anyone know what's going on?"

Kyle stares for quite a while before turning on his camera.

"Dude. Dude is that a BABY?"

He tries so hard to stop there, but he can't help himself.

"...I didn't know you were expecting."

It's evident from the sudden unamused glower that Drake was not expecting nor appreciative of the dismissive humor.

"Oh, you're quite funny. Truly a riot, I'm in stitches, honest." He heaves a sigh and looks off to the side and from this angle, there might indeed be a certain indefinable sadness or perhaps that sleep deprivation that the note mentioned. But it's there and gone again when he looks back with resigned patience.

"No, I don't think so, though the presentation certainly suggests it. From what I can tell, it isn't alive. It seems to be a thin film containing some kind of warm, viscous fluid, at least one of which is purple in colour. I may extract a bit of it for analysis, but if it isn't self healing, I'll first need an adhesive to patch the pinhole."

Kyle thinks a moment, chewing his lower lip. "When you were a kid," he says slowly, "did you ever have like, a health or family planning class or anything? Because when I was little, we were paired off and had to look after an egg for a week. Like pretend it was a baby. If we broke the egg we failed the assignment."

He gestures at the jellybaby thing. "This seems an awful lot like that. So. I'm not sure you should poke a hole in it."

[Drake just stares with furrowed brow for a few moments ... Then he turns his head a little and one corner of his mouth tilts up in an uncertain grin]

Nnnnnna na na, you're not serious.

You're taking the piss out've me.

Why - why in God's name would - That doesn't make any sense, why would they do that?

[Kyle shrugs.] I'm actually pretty serious, dude. It seems like the sort of 'teach you a lesson' crap some vaguely omnipotent force would pull on us.

[He looks a bit stuck at that.]

Well - yeh, but -

Alright then, why me? If they know so bloody much, they must know I've got two children already and don't need any instruction on how babies work.

I mean this in the nicest way possible, but maybe they're not impressed with your parenting skills? Like, I dunno, are you the kind of dad who never shows up to your kids' dance recitals and shit?

[He looks affronted by that, turning a bit red in the cheeks and raising his voice argumentatively]

Well I wasn't, was I? But what, the Agrii think they can improve on my parenting skills by taking me away from my children?! Christ, that is- that is beyond the pale. That is -

....wait, are you suggesting they've been watching since before they were even born?

[He rubs his face with both hands, then his temples]

No. I'm- I was very busy. Sometimes I was away for a few weeks at a time, but nothing compared to actives on deployment. Sometimes my wife needed space, and I gave it to her. Sometimes she took the kids places by herself. [The way his voice dips softly might suggest that this happened more than sometimes and while he was available.] But I always made time for them. Always.

I don't know if they were watching before, but they sure seem like they know plenty about us. Maybe they can read our minds or something.

[Oh. That's just... Kyle's expression softens considerably.]

It sounds like you loved them a lot. Uhm. Did you, like... tell them that? That you loved them and you'd drop shit for them?

[He points a finger for emphasis.]

Love. Present tense, I'll thank you to remember that I have a family right now, one that I will not rest until I get back to, and this - this bag of jelly is an insult to them and can go to hell.

[For a moment, he looks angry enough to tear the jelly baby to pieces as he clenches a fist and snarls at it - but he grips the arm of his chair instead.]

I cook with them. Write songs for them, play video games with them, teach them how to build things. I named a binary planet system after them orbiting a star named for my wife. Before the kids were born, I went to work because I loved it. Now it's to protect my family from brain sucking alien parasites.

Did I tell them. Pff.

Sorry, love. So. Uhm.

You're more of a show-don't-tell guy. [He's being gentle here. Well. Gentle for Kyle.]

I'm not saying that's bad, dude. I actually think that's amazing. I know people who would kill to have a dad like you. Like my old best friend? His dad? Oof. I'm just trying to figure out why they'd give you the jelly baby.

I tell them. Every chance I get. I just don't get many chances.

And that's what I'm trying to figure out, too, isn't it? I've been playing ball this long in the hope that it'll get me closer to finding a way home, but this...

I'm trying very hard not to see it as a slap in the face.

Which is why my only recourse is to study it. What's inside it, what's its purpose, what's this "in poor tent rye salt"?

You sound like a good dad, dude. For seriously.

Huh. Yeah, calling it an important result is fucking WEIRD. I dunno, dude. I'm still not sure you oughtta poke it.

[Drake pauses with a look somewhere between suspicion and discomfit, with a little uncertainly thrown in as to which he should settle on.]

I uh...

[cough]

I try.

SO. Instead of studying it, you think I should treat it as a secondary school RSE class doll - which, by the way, I didn't have to take, I skipped most of secondary.

I think it's worth a shot? If nothing happens from doing so you can always poke it later.

Yeah, you're a genius, I'm not surprised. My little brother skipped a bunch of grades too.

[He thinks about it for a few moments, casting an appraising look sideways at the warm purple blob nestled in the chair beside him.]

I don't suppose it could hurt. Unless it could, of course. Maybe it's filled with poison. Maybe it's some kind of egg. [frown] I should set up a containment chamber... Right. Okay. We'll see what this important result is, then. Thanks for the chat.

No problem, dude. Keep us posted.

Another mysterious delivery...

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