Post-Event Blues

[lucetimods]

Who: Everybody, everybody!
What: The battle is won. Now what?
When: The eleventh, twelfth, and onward
Where: Luceti
Summary: With Zompano dead and the cultists routed, Luceti is restored. Kind of.
Rating: F for Feels

On the eleventh, things were slowly breaking down. Memories of their true lives were breaking through. The village, scarred by the battle with the cultists, began to rebuild itself. Community buildings that had vanished were returned to their rightful places. The battle dome was uncovered from the earth that had covered it. Hundreds and hundreds of fake homes slowly faded away. Paved roads gave way to trees and grass. It was an incredible sight for anyone who was willing to sit aroun and watch it happen.

Things wouldn't be easy for the villagers, though. The memories perpetuated by the last ten days would not be easily removed. The feelings and hatreds it had created would take time to conquer and remove. Perhaps, in a way, that was Zompano's nastiest trick of all. The village itself may heal from his invasion, but it would take far more than a few Shifts to fix the people left behind.

Towards the end of the day, their wings returned. Much like some of the buildings, they seemed to just reappear, as if they had never been gone. Their barcodes became visible again as a singular reminder that they were, ultimately, just the property of another entity who as a whole were not much better than Count Zompano.

By the twelfth, the village looked as though nothing had ever happened. Sure, the contents of buildings might have been messed up or destroyed during the battles, but things were otherwise as they were supposed to be. The night before, people would have had to find their old beds to go sleep in, as they no longer possessed the old ones granted to them in another life.

The village was peaceful.

Modly Note: That wraps up the event. As noted in the prose above, you have the option to play up the after effects of the event more than in other ones. While it won't have the same impact universally, the Shift was constructed in such a way that people may have difficulty shaking off the emotions they developed during the event. In effect, it was a cruel send off to Luceti so they would have to deal with the loathing and hatred that came with the less desirable parts of it. Of course, that means the feelings of familial bonds will also persist for awhile as well. It's up to you, as players, to decide how much or little to play with it!

Comments

[ablankpage]

[The touch pulls Robert's eyes open. He looks at the woman touching him and does not see her. Not as she is. Instead, for a brief moment, he smiles.]

Rosalind.

[Quickly, though, the present takes hold. If he sees Rosalind, if he feels her -- it is because he is hallucinating. So he forces himself to concentrate. Rosalind vanishes and... a fellow "patient" reappears.

He doesn't have the energy to be miffed about being touched. It's too familiar a gesture for him, but he has no will to scold her now. Everything hurts now that he's let it, and his mind is still in a state of constant motion more often than not. He wants to make it back to the apartment, wants to fall into his bed and not get up. Perhaps ever. Exhaustion. Mental and physical.

The nightmares will come. The memories will come. But for now, all he craves is rest.]

[descrier]

[ Marita's demeanor does not change as he seems to mistake her for someone else, nor does she blame him for it. The strangeness of this event has taken a hold on all of Luceti, leaving the town feeling more melancholy in their stupor. Instead, she decides not to press him and weigh in a friendly conversation instead as a much easier distraction.

Her expression remains stoic, but her words are kind. Truthful. ]

How are you feeling?

[ablankpage]

Tired.

[It simplifies what is a very long list of ways he is suffering. His body will not react as he wants it to, and his mind is in rebellion. The injuries from the battle are not grave, but he half wonders if he just stopped trying right now... if they might not be enough, combined with this utter exhaustion, to kill him. If he fell asleep here, would he wake up?

The memories of death are tempting. Of never being alone.]

But-- [he nods to a building not far away] --what has been done is being undone.

So, something was accomplished.

[descrier]

[ She quietly nods in agreement to all of his statements, letting her hand fall from his shoulder and too her side. One would think it strange to see this man sitting on the ground and a woman standing next to him, but Marita is far too lost in her own haze to really do anything about it. She supposes everyone is.

Zompano, though, is an entirely different situation. It is hard to really grasp the full scale of his motivations for the fact she has only heard very few mentions of it, even so... not enough to recall his name. There are too many pieces of this puzzle scattered out amongst the town and she thinks that once it settles down, it will be easier to understand. For now, though, she is more concerned with the after-effects. ]

I don't think that we know the entire story yet either... but I think in the coming days there will be more to understand. Mostly why it happened, even with the Malnosso's vagueness. The light of what exactly was accomplished will be easier to recognize then.

[ablankpage]

[For his part, Robert has never heard the name Zompano. Not before, not during, not after. That anyone who might have been with the Malnosso had been found to be in charge is an unknown variable, something that cannot weigh on his mind.]

This will set my work back.

[It's what he can focus on. What he can grasp. He has work. Important work. Work he'd promised himself -- promised Rosalind -- he would resume. Just before all of this began.

Now... Now his mind was in too much chaos to be effective. He can't even imagine how much time it will take before he can focus again, before he can be effective. Part of him still wonders if that was why he suffered the fate he did. Why he was locked up in that place, why he was strapped down, why electricity was sent through his brain.]

[descrier]

[ She gently turns her head to look at him again giving him a curious look. ]

Your work...? What kind of work do you do?

[ Her own work was always set back by the Shifts and yet, at the same time, they progressed forward because of it. Especially when it comes to those who are higher up in the ranks of Luceti, such as Carol and Davis had been... but... she wonders if the dissonance between what has happened and the now-reality of Luceti has mixed up his mind or if there is something more behind it. ]

[ablankpage]

Quantum physics.

[He chuckles. It's a faint, distracted sound, his eyes half shut as he leans against the building he's near.]

"The mind of the subject will desperately struggle to create memories where none exist..." Barriers to Trans-Dimensional Travel, R Lutece, 1889.

Of course, most of my peers mocked the very idea. Wrote in their reviews that the greatest barrier to trans-dimensional travel was that such a thing could not happen, as there were not, as I hypothesised, alternate worlds to travel to.

[What relevance does it have? Perhaps none. But any internal filter is shaky at best. His rambling comes out freely.]

[descrier]

Word of mouth says that we don't retain our Luceti memories when we return to our 'home universe' but... [ She extends her palm outward to the portrait of Luceti's town. ] Even if they don't believe you, your proof is right here. The Malnosso, the rest of the inhabitants like us, the town itself... I don't think your work will be held back too much, though...

You could also argue that even studying Luceti's behavior will not matter much if you do return home, but I don't think that makes the research useless if it's archived somewhere for others to see. [ She slightly turns her body toward him. ] Even if it's not the ones who you want to see it.

[ablankpage]

I have spent eight days in near-isolate, suffered three -- or was it four? -- strong, continued electrical currents through my brain. My thoughts are disorganized at best, and what was a minor auditory hallucination has turned into an auditory, visual, and even tactile hallucination.

[He closed his eyes again then quickly opened them. No. No, he reminded himself. He couldn't let sleep come. He was half afraid he'd never wake up.]

I think I may consider myself justified in saying that waiting for those symptoms to abate will delay my work.

[descrier]

I didn't mean it like that.

[ Her tone is kind, without condescension or in a patronizing fashion. Marita is certainly understanding of those sort of things and it tells a story alone with her voice. ]

My point still stands... the Malnosso are vague about Luceti because they are being controlled by someone else. If this isn't a simulation, then... there is a chance it still may be trans-dimensional travel. Though we don't know why or how. Your work may be delayed for awhile due to the Shift, but not overall.

[ablankpage]

I did.

[Of course it was trans-dimensional travel. There was no other explanation for the differences not only in universes but in timelines. Whatever this place was, it was different than he was used to, yes, but it was obviously trans-dimensional travel.]

I'd intended to start my work here about a week ago. This interfered then, and it will not be truly over for some time more. Thus-- my work is delayed.

I have, despite my book and my theories, experienced trans-dimensional travel. Mastered it, even. My hypotheses that it was impossible -- or, rather, that the barriers were insurmountable to a human mentally and physically -- were disproven.

But there is work here I cannot do. Not until my mind rights itself.

[descrier]

Considering how hard it is to get any sort of information here, I don't think there is anything to worry about except the possibility of returning home and another Shift on the horizon.

I've been here seven months, a co-worker of mine has been two years, there's hardly been a huge breakthrough in such a short time. [ She pauses, looking at a nondescript building slowly gathering itself into it's original piece. ] Though, that doesn't mean it's impossible... it does mean that there is a chance for you to recover and return to your work.

[ Davis had told her that the Malnosso want people who don't wish to live in Luceti, those who wish to escape it, but... she refuses to believe that there is nothing there for those who have nothing to return home to. Maybe she has not escaped completely, but here... she has more of a choice. More of a way to begin something new that started with something old with a chance to be a diplomat once again.

Marita takes a deep breath and sighs through her nose. ]

[ablankpage]

[Robert gives a quiet laugh. Or else it was a scoff. It doesn't really matter, not even to him.]

I believe we are having entirely separate conversations.

[There is no cause to say another word, not in his mind, so he doesn't, just leaning himself against the building.

In a few moments, he promises himself. Then he'll get up, make his way to the apartment. Or at least move a few feet then rest.]

[descrier]

[ Marita does not think so, but then again...she's so very used to different meanings hidden beneath other ones that perhaps she's not entirely sure what he is trying to say. Vague pieces of information she handed to Mulder that were given to her from Cancer Man, Krycek's words enshrouded in deceit and darkness, but... even as a diplomat she knows that human beings can be completely different creatures when it comes to certain situations.

The things they say have more meaning than anyone could ever possibly understand. She nods, not prodding further. Her own mind is hardly sound now that she's sure even her own discourse sounds disjointed. ]

Then maybe we should have it later, when we're able to. [ She turns around to begin her descent, but then pauses and looks at him over her shoulder. Something tugs at her, as if she is looking at a mirror and seeing her own vulnerability looking back at her with hollow eyes. ] My name is Marita... please take care.