[network] @ADMIN; Arrival [open]

[snowblindmods]

Welcome to Norfinbury. The time is E̛̬̞͖͖̫R҉͖̯̬R̼̻͉̰͎̳̙O̩͓͔̫͇͈̯R and the date is E̛̬̞͖͖̫R҉͖̯̬R̼̻͉̰͎̳̙O̩͓͔̫͇͈̯R. This network has been provided for your use. Please interact politely with everyone else on this network.
E҉̘̩̙͢͝͡R̛̫̘̝̮̞̬͓̝̫̻̻̜̦̀ͅŖ̮̳͕̲͚͜O̷̙̖͓͙̗̰͘͟R̯̝͓̪̻̩̟̟͕̥͍̭̪͍͘:̵̛̛̝͖͓̺̥̙̝̀͜ ̧̛͙͚̱̫͇̹̙̥͎̜̖̺̻̕͠͝I͇͓̫̺͖̻͈̝͇̰͕̩̯͝͡N̶̛̪̯̤̭̻͎͚̻̟͙V̧̼͙̹͔͝A̷̸̵̧̰̱̺̗̤̤̹̙̺͕͎͇̦̫͕̣̰̪͟L͏̡͍̣̫̘̖̰̟̤̟̕I̛̜̻̖̦̥͓̟̫͡ͅD҉͏̶̴̷͔̬̗̘͖͓͚͔̗̱̝̹̻͔ ̷̢̗͉͚͓̱̫͙̱̪̥̤͢R̵̢̭͕͖̙̤̣̬̪̜͎͇̙̥̘͕̙͟͜ͅE̴̷̶͇̖̙̪̜̜̫̪̬̣̣̫̺͜F̢͏̸̳̬̟͖͉͎͉̤͉͉͎̣̲̙͉͢E͏̨̧̫̩̭̯͓̬̼̳̳̱͉̤͞R̶͉͈̪͔͈͘Ȩ̧̩͙̦̝͉͇͚̼̫̭̕͘͡N̷̡̖͇͕̻̰̯͈͕͉̯C̳̝͍̤̫̥̰͝Ȩ̴̨͡͏̥̥̯̰̭̻̳̫E҉̘̩̙͢͝͡R̛̫̘̝̮̞̬͓̝̫̻̻̜̦̀ͅŖ̮̳͕̲͚͜O̷̙̖͓͙̗̰͘͟R̯̝͓̪̻̩̟̟͕̥͍̭̪͍͘:̵̛̛̝͖͓̺̥̙̝̀͜ ̧̛͙͚̱̫͇̹̙̥͎̜̖̺̻̕͠͝I͇͓̫̺͖̻͈̝͇̰͕̩̯͝͡N̶̛̪̯̤̭̻͎͚̻̟͙V̧̼͙̹͔͝A̷̸̵̧̰̱̺̗̤̤̹̙̺͕͎͇̦̫͕̣̰̪͟L͏̡͍̣̫̘̖̰̟̤̟̕I̛̜̻̖̦̥͓̟̫͡ͅD҉͏̶̴̷͔̬̗̘͖͓͚͔̗̱̝̹̻͔ ̷̢̗͉͚͓̱̫͙̱̪̥̤͢R̵̢̭͕͖̙̤̣̬̪̜͎͇̙̥̘͕̙͟͜ͅE̴̷̶͇̖̙̪̜̜̫̪̬̣̣̫̺͜F̢͏̸̳̬̟͖͉͎͉̤͉͉͎̣̲̙͉͢E͏̨̧̫̩̭̯͓̬̼̳̳̱͉̤͞R̶͉͈̪͔͈͘Ȩ̧̩͙̦̝͉͇͚̼̫̭̕͘͡N̷̡̖͇͕̻̰̯͈͕͉̯C̳̝͍̤̫̥̰͝Ȩ̴̨͡͏̥̥̯̰̭̻̳̫E҉̘̩̙͢͝͡R̛̫̘̝̮̞̬͓̝̫̻̻̜̦̀ͅŖ̮̳͕̲͚͜O̷̙̖͓͙̗̰͘͟R̯̝͓̪̻̩̟̟͕̥͍̭̪͍͘:̵̛̛̝͖͓̺̥̙̝̀͜ ̧̛͙͚̱̫͇̹̙̥͎̜̖̺̻̕͠͝I͇͓̫̺͖̻͈̝͇̰͕̩̯͝͡N̶̛̪̯̤̭̻͎͚̻̟͙V̧̼͙̹͔͝A̷̸̵̧̰̱̺̗̤̤̹̙̺͕͎͇̦̫͕̣̰̪͟L͏̡͍̣̫̘̖̰̟̤̟̕I̛̜̻̖̦̥͓̟̫͡ͅD҉͏̶̴̷͔̬̗̘͖͓͚͔̗̱̝̹̻͔ ̷̢̗͉͚͓̱̫͙̱̪̥̤͢R̵̢̭͕͖̙̤̣̬̪̜͎͇̙̥̘͕̙͟͜ͅE̴̷̶͇̖̙̪̜̜̫̪̬̣̣̫̺͜F̢͏̸̳̬̟͖͉͎͉̤͉͉͎̣̲̙͉͢E͏̨̧̫̩̭̯͓̬̼̳̳̱͉̤͞R̶͉͈̪͔͈͘Ȩ̧̩͙̦̝͉͇͚̼̫̭̕͘͡N̷̡̖͇͕̻̰̯͈͕͉̯C̳̝͍̤̫̥̰͝Ȩ̴̨͡͏̥̥̯̰̭̻̳̫
E҉̘̩̙͢͝͡R̛̫̘̝̮̞̬͓̝̫̻̻̜̦̀ͅŖ̮̳͕̲͚͜O̷̙̖͓͙̗̰͘͟R̯̝͓̪̻̩̟̟͕̥͍̭̪͍͘:̵̛̛̝͖͓̺̥̙̝̀͜ ̧̛͙͚̱̫͇̹̙̥͎̜̖̺̻̕͠͝I͇͓̫̺͖̻͈̝͇̰͕̩̯͝͡N̶̛̪̯̤̭̻͎͚̻̟͙V̧̼͙̹͔͝A̷̸̵̧̰̱̺̗̤̤̹̙̺͕͎͇̦̫͕̣̰̪͟L͏̡͍̣̫̘̖̰̟̤̟̕I̛̜̻̖̦̥͓̟̫͡ͅD҉͏̶̴̷͔̬̗̘͖͓͚͔̗̱̝̹̻͔ ̷̢̗͉͚͓̱̫͙̱̪̥̤͢R̵̢̭͕͖̙̤̣̬̪̜͎͇̙̥̘͕̙͟͜ͅE̴̷̶͇̖̙̪̜̜̫̪̬̣̣̫̺͜F̢͏̸̳̬̟͖͉͎͉̤͉͉͎̣̲̙͉͢E͏̨̧̫̩̭̯͓̬̼̳̳̱͉̤͞R̶͉͈̪͔͈͘Ȩ̧̩͙̦̝͉͇͚̼̫̭̕͘͡N̷̡̖͇͕̻̰̯͈͕͉̯C̳̝͍̤̫̥̰͝Ȩ̴̨͡͏̥̥̯̰̭̻̳̫ E҉̘̩̙͢͝͡R̛̫̘̝̮̞̬͓̝̫̻̻̜̦̀ͅŖ̮̳͕̲͚͜O̷̙̖͓͙̗̰͘͟R̯̝͓̪̻̩̟̟͕̥͍̭̪͍͘:̵̛̛̝͖͓̺̥̙̝̀͜ ̧̛͙͚̱̫͇̹̙̥͎̜̖̺̻̕͠͝I͇͓̫̺͖̻͈̝͇̰͕̩̯͝͡N̶̛̪̯̤̭̻͎͚̻̟͙V̧̼͙̹͔͝A̷̸̵̧̰̱̺̗̤̤̹̙̺͕͎͇̦̫͕̣̰̪͟L͏̡͍̣̫̘̖̰̟̤̟̕I̛̜̻̖̦̥͓̟̫͡ͅD҉͏̶̴̷͔̬̗̘͖͓͚͔̗̱̝̹̻͔ ̷̢̗͉͚͓̱̫͙̱̪̥̤͢R̵̢̭͕͖̙̤̣̬̪̜͎͇̙̥̘͕̙͟͜ͅE̴̷̶͇̖̙̪̜̜̫̪̬̣̣̫̺͜F̢͏̸̳̬̟͖͉͎͉̤͉͉͎̣̲̙͉͢E͏̨̧̫̩̭̯͓̬̼̳̳̱͉̤͞R̶͉͈̪͔͈͘Ȩ̧̩͙̦̝͉͇͚̼̫̭̕͘͡N̷̡̖͇͕̻̰̯͈͕͉̯C̳̝͍̤̫̥̰͝Ȩ̴̨͡͏̥̥̯̰̭̻̳̫
E҉̨̢͎͎̗̦͈͎̘R̨̘̦̙̖̳͈͟R̢̞̺͖̩̟̻͙͕̩͜O̢̢̼͉͔̟̯̝͇̙͜͠R̴̛̗̝͕̣̘͙̪͖̀͟:̢̢͉̙̥̝͖͉̯̟͇̖̱̖͓̲̳ ͏̴͉͈͈̦̝̦͉͖̖͉̪̝̠̭I͡҉̣̼̜̩̻̜͓̻̳̼̥̭̯̭̫͉̭ͅL̶͖͖̯̝̥̬̖̤̥̹͎̟̬̻̦̜̝̻̗͟͞Ļ̸̸̸̥̺̝̜̭̘̞͈͎͚͉E̶͍͍͈̬̕͜͟G̳̬͉̙̥̩̼̭̦͔͘͜͡À̴͟҉̤͔͇̩̳͝ͅL̟͉̯̥̝̀͢͝ ͏҉͈͎͇̞̪̬͓͎̖̥̜̦̖̜O̺̹̺̜͉̠͉̠͇̭̣͔͡͞P̢͘͜҉̺̝̥͎̜Ḙ̢͔͇̰͇̯̺͇͓̜Ŗ̦̝̫̯̻̰͍͙̼̮͎̕ͅA̸̬̯͉͓̥̕͢͞ͅT̷̡͎̻̳̥Ḭ̵̡̥̭̥̀͞O̴͈̤͚͇̜͘͘͞N̢̬͕̙̫̦̳̫̭͖͙̤.̧͢͜҉̩̼̬̞̟̻͇̭͖ ̳̝̺̯̣̠̣̲͎̝̞̣̭̫͘͠S̡̧̼͈̱̳̰̰̳̻̺̫̝͈͖͎ͅH̦̖̣̦̱͓͙͓̣́͜͠͠Ù̸͎̹̼̱͈͇̼̼̕ͅͅṰ̤̝̦̞͍̮̦̞̼̪͕̹̬͈͝T͞͏̟͖͔̯̼̫̞̥̣̘͉̫̟ͅI̢͖̪̮̺̰̟͎͈͇̻͈͔͉̱̯͓̻͞N̢̨̮̱͕̣͟Ģ̸̝̟͚̩͙͖ͅ ҉̴̝̭̩̯̫̤̼̬͇͡ͅD̨͏̺͎̝̟͔͉͕̲̮͎̦͓̥͕̹͓̮̖̘̀͠Ǫ̵͍͇̝̱̖̳̦͖͡W̸̧̩͕̹̹̬̰̻̣̣͓̞̼̮̦̺͟͞͡N̡̛̫͙̠͚̠̲̙̟̤͔̦͙ͅ.҉̢̻̝̦͓̀̕͠

Comments

H.G. Wells - Day 001 - OTA

[indelibleink]

Morning - Network (Text) - ID: HGWELLS

[This was decidedly not where Helena had been. She had a feeling something wasn't quite right. Perhaps her senses as a former Warehouse Agent telling her this. After all, she'd had plenty of experience with strange happenings. And as far as she knew, she hadn't touched an Artifact that would've sent her to a completely different place of the planet.

No, that would be something Pete would do. Helena was careful. Which was why upon waking, she first took in her immediate surroundings before the tablet caught her attention. It didn't take her long before she registered herself on it, and found the network. And an apparent welcome but there seemed to be some error with it. However, she'd poke at that later if she felt like it. First was attempting to make contact with someone.]

Hello? Anyone there?


Afternoon - Network (voice) ID: HGWELLS

[After searching the house she'd woken up in, Helena had struck out to see what was around her. That's when she found the convenience store. She didn't know what was stranger, the abandoned feeling of the place, the lack of electricity or the one machine that had electricity powering it. Or at least seemed to, anyway. When she speaks, there's an obvious English accent to her voice, an upper middle class one with very clear and pointed diction.]

I seem to have made a discovery. I located what seemed to have been a convenience store, and while there was no electricity, I found a machine, one of those movie rental type ones? It's working, apparently, and it gives out SD cards for the tablets. Not sure what that's supposed to mean, but it certainly sticks out.

Anyone else have any interesting discoveries like that?

afternoon, ID: SceptredIsle (voice)

[keepscalm]

[When he goes through the network posts and hears the first few syllables of the message, England almost drops the tablet. A mixed rush of both elation and panic washes through him; while it's a huge relief to hear something so familiar, it makes him ill to know that one of his citizens has been dragged into this strange situation, as well.

He debates on how to respond for a while, but eventually settles on voice so as not to seem untrustworthy. He sounds remarkably composed, but only because he took a few moments to simmer down.] Nothing as interesting as that, I'm afraid. We're blocked on a few sides by walls of snow, it seems, but I'm not yet certain as to how far they extend.

You were able to take some of the cards from the machine? [He assumes so, at least, or how else would she have discovered its operation and what it dispenses?]

[indelibleink]

[Upon hearing the voice, Helena is equally as elated at hearing the familiar accent. Nothing against her American friends, she did miss her home country. Though London was far different than the London she'd once called home. Nevertheless, she's still relieved she isn't the only Brit here.]

Walls of snow? How high do they go, if I may ask? I have not seen a wall of snow, only what is covering the ground. [The walls of snow were entirely intriguing, she had to say.]

I was, yes, though I could only take one. I made note of the location so that I could go back there if needed.

[keepscalm]

At least fifteen metres, though it was a bit difficult to determine its exact height. [This weather is a visibility killer.] It's possible that we're surrounded by it on all sides, but I wouldn't make any definitive claim regarding that.

[He wishes he had something as exciting as the convenience store to share, but, in time. He's at least comforted by the fact that being lodged in the corner of the snow walls gives him some sense of direction, so he should be able to continue his exploration efficiently from here on out.

When he continues, there's an obvious note of interest, clear through his clean-cut accent.] Were you able to view the contents of the card?

[indelibleink]

Fifteen metres? [That was rather shocking to her. Then she started to think.] Clearly someone or some thing does not want us to get out if we are indeed surrounded on all sides.

[She would need to see if she could find a wall herself. But looking out the window of the building she was in, she was unable to truly determine what direction she was facing. That only added to the feeling of disorientation. It was definitely a good thing she'd marked the trail from the house she'd woken up in to help her find her way back there. It was as good a place as any to use as a base for the time being.]

Ah, yes. The card itself is blank, so there is nothing to view on it. However, I believe anyone who has one is able to put things on it. I was going to give it a try once I return to the house I woke up in this morning. It may certainly be a tool that could be handy for keeping track of where one has been here. This place is more than a little disorienting. [And she definitely didn't like the isolation factor, but at least she could talk to others through the network. That was better than nothing, at least.]

afternoon, ID: thelonewanderer (voice)

[vaultexile]

I found one of those SD cards things I think. It has a video on it of the house I woke up in, with actual people in it.

[indelibleink]

Was there snow in the video you saw on it? And this makes me wonder even more what happened to the people that were here.

[vaultexile]

I couldn't tell, it was just the kitchen, they didn't look outside. There was an old woman taking the video and a man and a women arguing in the background about something.

[indelibleink]

Fascinating. It at least goes to show there were people that lived here. It's more convincing evidence aside from finding their belongings. Or, rather, what's left of their belongings.

ID: Spoiler (voice)

[spoileralert]

Can you upload it?

voice/text

[vaultexile]

I think so. The technology's a bit weirder then what I'm used to but it looks ... Give me a minute.

[She's actualy not bad with figuring stuff like this out so a minute or so later the video is uploaded to the network.]

Video File

voice;

[spoileralert]

Awesome.

[ Steph watches the video four times before she responds. ]

You said the phones don't work in Illinois. Why not?

Morning - Voice - ID: fenris

[scowls]

[ After staring at the name he assumes goes with the message, Fenris decides not to even try pronouncing it. It's constructed like no language he recognizes and he suspects he will say it incorrectly. And perhaps anger the spirit it belongs to.

He also isn't going to try writing back. He doesn't know how on this thing and he's not confident enough in his writing ability to make the attempt to an unknown entity. ]

Yes. I am here. [ That isn't terribly informative. ] Outside the mirror.

[ Which is what he's calling the bizarre device, since he has no idea what else it might be. ]

[indelibleink]

[Oh good, there was someone else there. Allegedly, anyway. For all she knew, Helena could be hallucinating all of this. It wouldn't be the first time she'd been trapped in her own mind. Still, his choice of description about the device was curious.]

Hello there, my name is Helena. [Might as well start off friendly, right?] Did you wake up here with no knowledge of how you got here as well?

[Also might as well start in on the mystery of this place. Because if this was an Artifact that had trapped her again, Helena was going to unleash hell upon whomever had used it on her.]

[scowls]

[ He eyes the name displayed on the glass in confusion, trying to fit Helena into HGWells. It doesn't look anything like what it sounds like, but he cannot pretend he's mastered the ability to read. Perhaps that's the trouble. ]

Yes. I went to sleep elsewhere and woke up here. This place is nothing like where I was.

[ A slight hesitation, and then he remembers to be polite. ]

I am Fenris.

[indelibleink]

[If asked, she could explain. But as it was, Helena had felt snarky upon choosing her username for the network. Plus her brother wasn't here to fight her over it.]

May I ask where you are from? Perhaps there might be some clue as to why we are here if we have any commonalities. [It was a place to start trying to make sense of this, anyway.]

It is a pleasure, Fenris. Though I prefer meeting people under less strange circumstances.

Morning; text - ID: RSTARK

[kingofthenorth]

[Robb had spent half the morning looking around his surroundings and the other half of the morning staring at this metal square. Different text scrolled across its screen and Robb had never experienced such things before.]

Who is this?

[A moment later]

Can you see this?

[indelibleink]

[The response was a bit reassuring that there was someone on the other end. It'd simply be better if she could see them in person.]

My name is Helena. And yes, I can see this message. It's a bit relieving that there's others out there and I am not utterly alone.

[kingofthenorth]

I've not crossed any people in my search. Where is this place?

[Because clearly she would know. She responded, didn't she?]

I don't recognize these lands at all.

morning - text - ID: claytonator

[dr_unconscious]

Don't worry, you're not the only one.

If you don't mind, can you show me where you are? Maybe we can find some kind of common landmark to work with, to make this town seem less empty.

Text

[indelibleink]

Of course, let me step outside first.

[A minute later, after some slight fiddling with the tablet because sometimes she still doesn't get modern technology, she turns the video on and aims the camera at the surroundings. She turns in a full circle slowly before turning the video off and going back to text.]

I do not see much by way of landmarks, though I think there is another building to my...south I think? I am going to travel in that direction and see what is there.

[dr_unconscious]

[Clayton regards the recorded video with a distinct pout. Another little house like his, also surrounded by almost nothing except snow. This is not promising.]

I would be careful. There are a lot of others on this network, and they're all in the same situation we are--which means, if that building isn't as close as you think it is, or isn't a good enough shelter to rest in, there might not be anyone close enough to help you get back.

Do you have plenty of warm clothes? A way to start a fire to heat up and dry off when you get somewhere safe, at least?

afternoon; text [ID: Deacon]

[anygoodstories]

What, no DVDs? Not even a video tape? And BLANK to boot?? Talk about shoddy service. Perhaps we've been taken to some alternate culture where tablets are free and we watch videos on SD cards.

Sort of takes the fun out of setting up a collection, if you ask me. Perhaps it was used to catalogue things? Like some sort of high-tech home video collection.

[He took the liberty of snooping on the rest of the conversation before adding some useless input, apparently.]

Text

[indelibleink]

Not that I could find. It was more than strange how the machine was the only thing that had power. Still, it is at least something of note among otherwise unimpressive surroundings.

That is an excellent theory, and perhaps they were used for such a thing. And if so, it would at least be something that if we could find more of what people left, it could perhaps give us a better understanding of what happened here. And, more to the point, answering the question of why we are here.

[anygoodstories]

Perhaps it's to do with whatever keeps these tablets powered? A battery of some sort?

[Man, that'd be one big battery.]

That was so well put I could've said it myself and never even realised the difference! If we're right, the key to these mysteries should lie in the records of the past-- whether it be some sort of catastrophic snowstorm or a rebel overthrow, in an age and place where people had this sort of technology at their fingertips, they've undoubtedly recorded it!

So the question becomes-- any idea where to find more? You think your machine had any recorded cards, or just blanks?

And as a bonus-- if that machine was functioning on some battery power, it's possible there may be some way to utilise that energy for a generator or heat source.