Video

[heypartner]

In case anyone was wondering what that strange light looks like I got me a pair of binocs.

[ Cobb waved a truly ridiculous pair of binoculars that are violently green and purple and look like some sort of rabbit/dog/animal. ]

And took a closer look. It's kinda like looking at the binary suns back home. A lot of bright and not a lot else around it. You can't see anything else but the bright.

[ Which explained why Cobb face was not centered in camera and he was still rubbing at his eyes. He had a few minutes at least before the bright spot burned into his eyes fades away. ]

So, sorry this didn't help much but if anyone needs to borrow some binocs I've got a pair handy.

Comments

[beholding_archivist]

What about the poles? Your planet apparently has day and night, meaning it rotates. Around two suns, somehow, but it rotates. Which means there must be an axis it rotates around and therefore- Poles. Unless, of course, the angle keeps it exactly parallel to the suns, which would be a ridiculous coincident given it's two suns, which would...

... Christ. You're practically living on a doner skewer!

[heypartner]

I've never been to the poles. I'm just tellin' you what I know from fifty years of livin' there. Never left it until I got dragged to this place.

It's desert and rock. Mostly uninhabited except for a few cities and small towns. No surface water I've ever seen. We pull it out of the air in moisture farms. We got two sunrises and two sunsets. Three moons in case you're curious about that.

Hell, there are other people here who can confirm this. They know Tatooine. Mando's been there.

[beholding_archivist]

Fine.

Fine!

But what I don't understand is-- How- Why do people live on such a planet? How does life even exist on it? As far as I know most living creatures require water to live. The absence of any reliable water source implies that any living organisms on the planet have been brought there. Which, again, implies anyone once has decided this life-rejecting place is a great place to live.

Why don't you leave if there are these spaceports?

[heypartner]

Because we can't. Most of us were born slaves and never make enough credits to get passage aboard ship. That's if we're lucky to get our freedom and make any credits. And some people do leave, but...

The one thing we can do? Survive here.

[beholding_archivist]

[ Slavery. Such a nasty little word that gives so much context and easily offers out a selection of potential explanations that even shuts off this Archivist quite effectively. ]

... shit.

I.... ah... I had no idea.

I'm sorry.

[heypartner]

[ Yeah, that's usually what happens when people find out. Cobb sighs and shrugs. If the pity comes next he might possibly curse. ]

Not your world.

That's home for me. It's miserable but it's home.

[beholding_archivist]

...no. Not my world.

I won't ask about it again.

[ Even though there may be a decent amount of fear and misery to unearth in this story. ]

Just... Do you want to go back?

[heypartner]

Look, you can ask about the world. Just trust I ain't lyin' to you about it. What do I gain for making up that my planet has no surface water? And trust me, if I don't want to talk about it, I won't.

[ Oh, there's plenty of misery to unearth in Cobb Vanth's past. ]

I'm free now. Marshal of a small town. Got good people around me. People who trust me to look after 'em. Yeah, I want to go back. Though I'm gonna miss all the water here. You know, showers with water are a luxury back home. We use sonic vibrations.

[beholding_archivist]

I wasn't assuming you were lying! I just- It's--

I am very familiar with being convinced of something being the truth that- Well. Isn't. Even on my Earth there are plenty of people that hardly know the basic geography of their planet. Especially in remote locations.

[heypartner]

Well, maybe your folks haven't explored as much as ours but space travel and faster than light travel makes it real easy to get a good look at the dust ball I live on. And folks have lived there a long time.

[beholding_archivist]

Well, no. We haven't really moved past our moon outside of science fiction movies. Please don't expect me to assume that's the norm for everyone else.

[heypartner]

Well, it helps when you want to map a planet.

[beholding_archivist]

Without a doubt.

That aside, I will leave you to your observations. Curious as your new tool may look, it appears to do its job.

[heypartner]

Have a good day, Jon.