[Event] Calibrations Waiting Room Mingle

[trpmods]

WHO: ALL HE ROWS PRESENT
WHERE: Calibrations Area
WHAT: Mingle log for literally anything you'd like to take place in the waiting room between sleep cycles during the event
WHEN: June 10th to July 10th
WARNINGS: Please mark individual threads with warnings
NOTES: If you have any questions, please go Here

An Agrii, or what may have been an Agrii, led you here, and now you can't get out. From the moment one steps through the door into Calibrations there is no going back. Luck, good or bad, even prevents people from being in the entrance way when another He Row arrives, meaning there's no slipping out to be hoped for. This is because Calibrations at their core keep you from going out and seeing the world, keep you from doing much but exploring the space and interacting with your fellow trapped He Rows. This wouldn't be much of a problem if there was a lot to do in the lengthy hours between the compulsion to sleep. At least there is some modicum of comfort offered to those who were tricked into this timed trap.

Some might find the area familiar, having haunted these halls before. Upon entry one walks down a large hallway before it opens into an even larger waiting room with chairs, tables, and the same food dispensers available in the ships, save that it lacks any Red Fruit Drink. It's a shame, actually, the alcohol might help you get through things, and since there was no warning this time, the dispensers are likely the only source of food available. There is more than enough to feed everyone, even to the point of being overstuffed at every meal. At least there are those small favors.

There are also communal bathrooms - one men and one for women though nothing would stop a person from using whichever they desire - with several toilet stalls and shower stalls in each, including basic shampoo and soap dispensers. All of the dispensers put out a liquid that smells like motor oil for some reason. The water in the showers is pleasantly warm and just perfect for getting clean. Well, it is for good little boys and girls who don't blow up buildings. Given that sort of comfortable temperature hasn't been available in past sessions, it's a real relief.

Branching off of the main waiting room are hallways that lead to a number of bedrooms. The door of each bares a nameplate on it, imprinted with the name of a He Row. Those who are returning here won't find their name plate in the same place it was previously, which might be frustrating in its own right. The doors aren't locked though, and anyone can enter any other room or share with anyone else if they wish to. Each room has a single, simply made queen-sized bed, and a set of drawers. The drawers have a white jumpsuit in the size of the He Row whose name was on the door, as well as a pair of equally white canvas shoes. It's kind of your captors to offer you clothes, and for a change there will be new ones available to you this time through, replacements appearing once every week. You can wear them or ignore them as you like.

Greater pity has been offered this time than before for the He Rows, offering a variety of things to do in the downtime. Given most of what He Rows may have been able to grab and bring with them for their 'escape' may not be much good for entertainment, it's helpful to have even the little things. Shelves are available in the large waiting room, filled with boxes and containers. There are pictures on each box, brightly colored and then defaced with Agrii smilie art, showing all sorts of aliens having fun with games.

Sadly the games are not written in a language anyone knows. Luckily the Communications datapoint is working right this time, and it's possible to translate the instructions for a change, letting people play things with all the fun you need. Unfortunately this year there are pieces missing. Because of course nothing can ever be easy. The only thing that is fully intact is that solid gray puzzle and of course, Monopoly Longest Game Ever. There's even paper and pencils and crayons! It's like the Calibrations area was upgraded just for you!

In fact, you don't have to rely on just the board games to keep you occupied this year. In addition to them, the food, getting to know each other, and probably building forts out of all the beds, there's one big plus offered to everyone: arts and crafts! That paper and those crayons aren't the only thing. There's containers of water based paint, there are brushes and canvases, there's even clay for modeling and glue for pasting paper together if you decide to cut some up. No scissors or knives though. But maybe you can spend some time beautifying your mostly white surroundings. Or maybe committing some graffiti in your frustration. Anything to pass the time.

You can opt to spend time in your room or in the larger, common waiting room. But about every twenty-two hours, all people suddenly feel a compulsion to sleep. Once this starts, you can’t fight it off. You find yourself going into your room for bed or wherever else you feel like you’d prefer to sleep. And then, inevitably, you close your eyes and dream.

Comments

[thepurpleone]

He's fourteen and no one's ever bothered to tell him what he can and can't do, and now he's stuck in some kind of prison, give him a break.

Sighing forcefully, Donnie shoves up his goggles to look over towards the doorway. "You didn't have to come in here," he points out. Ah, it's that doctor lady.

[butterfly_kiss]

"I'm checking in that everyone's health is doing well," she countered. So yes, she did have to come by. Though clearly this was another one she wasn't qualified to help.

[thepurpleone]

"I guess doctors need to make the best of a situation." Donnie still looks a bit dubious. He's never gone to the doctor's in his life. For obvious reasons.

"Well, everything's okay here, you know, aside from the being stuck in some weird underground prison of some sort."

[butterfly_kiss]

"Best of a situation?" she asks, sounding a bit offended. "Yes, because I'm just here to make more paperwork."

But he doesn't like the underground prison.

[thepurpleone]

Donnie scowls a bit. "No, I meant like...putting your skills to use or something." It's basically what he's doing, except he's focused inwardly than outwardly.

Quite frankly, this situation was in fact Not Okay. This is worse than getting grounded, and you couldn't even sneak out! That there's something on an entirely different level than what his tech can handle is beyond concerning, and the only reason he hasn't taken his buzzsaw or drill to the wall is because he's not sure how long they'll be stuck here and doesn't want to drain the power on his tech-bō.

[butterfly_kiss]

Yes, that was true. She did put her skills to use the best she can.

"I have a responsibility to all of you," she points out. "It's only together that we can hope to get everyone home."

IT wasn't like she was someone to search for a lot of stuff or solve the troubles here. But she was going to keep those who could alive.

[thepurpleone]

It is however within Donnie's purview, which is part of what frustrates him. How's he supposed to figure out how to get everyone home when they're stuck in someplace else within the initial place they're stuck in?

He tries not to huddle around his tech too much, but home always seems farther and farther away.

"Can't do much to get home when right now," he mutters sulkily.

[butterfly_kiss]

Yes, there is that. Which is enough to make her sigh.

"I suppose you aren't wrong. Unless there is a hidden tunnel to some teleporter or something."

[thepurpleone]

Donnie wrinkles his nose at that. "If there is, it's well hidden. I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary, but the only place that my readouts get disrupted somehow is where the exit should be."

[butterfly_kiss]

Huh, weird.

“So kidnapping aliens are blocking you? Damn we could use some pickaxes right now.”

[thepurpleone]

"I guess," he huffs. He'd like to show those aliens a thing or two.

"I have a drill but it won't do any good if it isn't guaranteed to get us anywhere."

[butterfly_kiss]

"Little in life is guaranteed, but yes, I suppose I see your point."

And that would imply they should save their energy for other investigations.

[thepurpleone]

They're of a like mind on that point. Donnie would rather conserve power if they had no idea how long they'd be stuck here. He knows better than to think he'd be able to drill through a cave wall, especially not knowing for sure what's on the other side.

But there had to be something because why jam his scans if there wasn't?

"...I wonder if there's anything to be picked up on a more general observation..." Donnie muses aloud. Frowning in thought, he sets his things aside, pushing himself to his feet.

[butterfly_kiss]

"Is there any manner by which I can help?"

She didn't think it was in her wheelhouse, but she did want out, thank you very much.

[thepurpleone]

"Mm...if you have any suggestions, maybe..." Donnie considers, stretching out his legs and rolling his shoulders. Ugh, how long had he been sitting there?

"I'm going to check out where the door was, again. Something's keeping me from seeing what's there, but maybe there might be more obvious hints. Mechanisms in the wall, power humming from somewhere? Know any other places that might be worth studying?"

[butterfly_kiss]

"I really don't. I understand some people have been here before. Maybe they would have advice?"

Lord knew she didn't.

[thepurpleone]

"Maybe. I don't know who all's been through this routine before though. Although that's pretty awful to think about, being here more than once." He pauses. Actually he did know someone who'd been here before, but he hadn't seen Tony anywhere. He's not sure whether to be concerned about that or not.

Donnie shakes his head, heading for the door. "We passed through a doorway from the cavern tunnel. If it opens up in the same place, there has to be a reason. There may not be any visible trace, but something is there because something's not letting me get a closer look."

If Tae follows, she'll find the turtle heading down the hall to where the entrance had been.

[butterfly_kiss]

"Probably those who have been here longer. But I don't know that. I'm a doctor, so a lot of people choose not to trust me."

Which was of course exceedingly frustrating. But at least this much she can do. Following, yep. check that off. So she does stalk after him, her heels clicking on the floor.

"Have you met anyone who has said they have been here a while?"

[thepurpleone]

"I don't really have any experiences with doctors so I don't know why that would be. Shouldn't it be the other way around? I mean... you should be able to trust a doctor, right?"

Donnie slips over to the wall with the very absent door, frowning at it before he sidles up closer, setting his hands there as he feels around.

"Tony. He mentioned there was a door down the tunnel that went to a place with rooms and wanted me to look at the door to figure out how to open it. Except when I came to look, there wasn't anything." He sighs, mad at himself for getting himself stuck. "I should've figured this was all fishy. Why'd I even come in here anyway? There was an...Agrii? Saying something about going home? That's incredibly sus, right?"

Donnie presses an ear to the wall, listening for any telltale hum of some mechanism or electricity, or ugh magic...

[butterfly_kiss]

"It should," Tae says with a sigh. And it's really not that simple. "But there are always people who go and abuse power, and being a doctor is power."

And there were plenty of people here who, of course, had not really had the best experiences. Which she hated. But she supposed that she had seen the dark side of the medical industry too. So this would be bad. Could not stop being bad.

"Yes, an Agrii. It didn't talk like the ones I've seen archived messages from, though those are few and far between."

[thepurpleone]

Power, huh? Donnie hadn't thought about it that way.

He squints as he tries to make out anything, pausing to knock on the wall at different areas.

"Now that you mention it, yeah... That Agrii was oddly fluent. But then there seems to be varying levels of their grasp of the language. Which is weird when it's English, now that I think about it. I know Earth thinks it's all that but I'm not sure how influential it can possibly be when we haven't even flown anyone past the moon."

[butterfly_kiss]

"If they are powerful, maybe it's like Star Trek. Some form of universal translator," she suggests. Actually, she supposes she can test that.

"Any chance you speak Japanese?"

[thepurpleone]

He continues knocking, frowning before he runs his hands along the wall.

"I mean, I'd considered that, but the scope is kind of crazy. How are we not hearing an overlap? Is this a magic thing or...did they, I don't know, put some alien implants in us that auto-translates things directly in our brains?"

Donnie shudders at that thought. Nooooo thanks!

"I know some. Dad's from Japan but he didn't really teach us much. A lot of what I've picked up is self-taught."

[butterfly_kiss]

Not a lot, huh? They might still be something to work with. Tae considers carefully.

"We could at least test a theory. If I speak Japanese and you understand all of what I'm saying when it's non-conversational level, surely that means there is something going on like that."

It seems a fair theory to her. She had just been surrounded by so many people clearly and admittedly from America that she'd defaulted to English to speak.

[thepurpleone]

"Sounds fair to me," Donnie agrees, nodding. "Okay then, go for it."

Meanwhile he continues his study of the wall, brows arching as he comes upon something interesting. He runs his hands along a particular section, then up and down before edging along the wall to the opposite side where he does the same.