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| - Something seems to shift and pop within your mind, just barely within reach of perception, and you hear a young man's voice saying: "I think...I think I've got it this time..." Tharsis snaps out of a daze as he hears the faint voice.. "What the..." he says, as he pulls his attention from a self diagnostic. "I've got to check this program.. it's missing something, 'cuz I'm hearing things.." Majors arrives from Forward Corridor. Majors has arrived. Tharsis's projection is currently off, but his bridge controls are alive with activity as he runs several maintenance and diagnostic programs. "Oh, heya Majors." he says. "I'm trying to find a glitch in my circuits... I swear I'm hearing things." Majors stumbles in. "No no lad.. I am quite certian I heard something all the way out in the range... I came running here." The man huffs. "You too!?" Tharsis voice replies. "Then if it's not a circuit glitch, where did it come from? It's not a voice I recognize.." "The hell if I know lad. Spooky if you ask me." The Sivadian murmurs. "Do you think the psionics finally got pissed and broke the barrier?" "I wouldn't be surprised. From what dad used to tell me those psi blockers used to piss a lot of people off." Tharsis replies. "Yes... Think all the years of screwing with the psionics... and then their net went down...others heard it. There blocking isn't working." Thomas murmurs before he looks over at the AI. "But.... you heard it as well? It was in my mind.." "Yes... I heard it too. Right out of my positronic pathways. Which in some ways makes me think it wasn't exactly psionic, because they can't affect me." Tharsis replies. "It was almost like it was some sort of... transmission." "It couldn't have been electronic in source could it..? I saw no speakers and while yes I can pick up radio transmittions with my brain.. I am not too sure about everyone else." Thomas replies. "That I don't know..." Tharsis says. "At any rate, the voice sounded like it was nearing success on.. something. Perhaps that success was sending that signal?" "... That is why I thought the psionic suppression network. I assumed they were near done with the network going down. Tharsis.. scan the signals off world and on please. See if its just us." Thomas rubs his cheek. "You got it." Tharsis replies, as one of his screens flips on and brings up an image of the scan in progress as it sweeps through nearly every known spectrum. "This might take a few minutes.." "Suppose we have time to wait and we can't be the only wankers that are trying." The Sivadian flops back into a seat. "I'd offer you a smoke but seeing as you have no lungs..." Tharsis chuckles. "It'd play havoc on my optical data network anyways." he says. Majors nods his head and out of his pocket comes a silver cigarette case and lighter. A black cigarette with a gold filter is placed between his lips. "Any reports from the other worlds? Avalon is out at the casino...probably too far to network and use her computing power aye?" "Probably... I could see if there's a comm satellite in range I could use as an amp." Tharsis replies. "Still, given the distance it would be such a slow connection I doubt it would do a lot of good. Still, better than nothing at all I suppose." "Can go get it.. but thats about a twenty minute flight all around for me I think." Thomas replies. Another screen flips on with the status of the link up. "I'll transmit as much as possible to the Avalon's comp and let it crunch on it while I continue my scans." Tharsis replies. "Better than attempting it in real time." "Anywhere here I can get INN?" Majors takes a drag from his cigarette. "I figure I can tune in to the broadcast channels." Tharsis replies, turning on a screen on a nearby console which links up to the current broadcast. "There.. that should do it. MAybe we'll find out if this is more widespread than just La Terre." Majors glances up at the screen as he lounges back in the seat smoking away. "So lets see...." He murmurs. News reports from around the known worlds indicate that billions of people heard the same words being spoken and felt the same sensation of things shifting. Some are saying that they saw strange lights. One woman on Tomin Kora insists that a flock of geese flying in V formation battered her after emerging from one of these "light rifts." Although she has some scratches and bruises, medical tests indicate she was under the influence of narcotics at the time. "Wow... that's a lotta people to hear the same thing all at once." Tharsis says. "'light rifts'? If dad's records are any indication, rifts are usually a bad thing..." "Well it was not localized." Majors rubs his chin for a moment. "Not psionic networks failing... And this isn't like the Nall... transmittion seems... out there as not everyone can pick up the signals.." The Sivadian runs down the list. "But you have to love the TeeKayers... geese." "Does Tomin even have geese?" Tharsis asks. "I thought it was an asteroid or something." "It is a pirate world.. I should call my daughter." Majors muses. "But no native life and no geese.. And good question, what the bloody hell is a light rift?" "Something that isn't going to make our lives easier, I would guess." Tharsis says. "When does it ever?" Majors asks as he rubs his eyes. "Shall we stick around here.. or shall we go elsewhere?" "Hmm... a good question. I'm fueled and ready to go, but where to?" Tharsis asks. "We can get the Avalon...She's fueled and my supplies are on her. At the Stars and Garters.. though I am not sure I want to remain on a place with... were it can be vented." Majors muses to himself. "Antimone.. New Luna? Somewhere we can try to figure out what is going on?" "Allrighty... New Luna would be a sensible stop after we pick up the Avalon since it's nearby." Tharsis says. A soft rumble precedes the telltale cycling of air and the low hum of the ship systems as Tharsis readies himself for flight. "New Luna it is. Welcome Rock or our landing pad behind the bar?" Thomas asks as he starts to strap himself in. "Welcome rock is a fairly central location. We'd have a better chance of meeting others there I would think." Tharsis replies. "Welcome Rock it is." Thomas nods his head. "I will contact the Hope when we have everything together." Tharsis gets himself on a departure trajectory. "Sounds good. It shouldn't take long to get there." "Hopefully nothing... interesting will go down between now and then." Thomas murmurs. "I hope not. I'm not exactly the most maneuverable thing in space and I'm no war machine." Tharsis says. "Interesting?" inquires a seven-foot-tall rabbit that materializes to the left of Majors, one ear flopping down to cover an eye patch. The rabbit is clad in a black frock coat and top hat. "I can put on a space suit and stand out side........" Majors turns to look at the rabit as his cigarette flops out of his mouth. "I would say so chap.... Wankers put something in my cigarettes again Tharsis." "We should be there in about 3 min... what the..." Tharsis says. "... and I must have a serious glitch in my optical resolution circuits.. what /is/ that?" "Smoking is a filthy habit," the talking bunny opines to Majors. "I would say... " Majors blinks a few times and leans forward to pick up his cigarette. His eyes are still locked on the bunny, even as his fingers are burned a few times before he is actually able to pick it up. "I do say chap.. its one bully day... Thomas Owen Conrad-Majors III... and you are... here to take us down the rabbit hole to Wonderland?" "Wonderland...?" Tharsis inquires. "That's a new one on me, I'll admit..." he says, his optics maintaining a focus on the bunny that has appeared on his bridge. "Wonderland? I'm unfamiliar with such a place," the rabbit replies. "I am Solomon Dove-Phillipe of Sivad." "A fellow countryman. The.. east end of Enaj I would assume.." Thomas says as he glances the rabbit over. "Wonderland.. a wonderful place such as its name implies... the rivers are brandy and the streams Earl Grey... the women young and nude... I do not suppose you know.. where that is? Do you perhaps know how is it you came to my humble friend's nerve center?" The tall rabbit shakes his head, flopping the low ear about. "One moment I was sipping tea in the Chesterfield, enjoying the most fantastic gene-party of the millennium, and then there's a voice in my head, a flash of light, and...well, the party's over, apparently." "Sivad?" Tharsis wonders aloud. "I've got to make a note to look that place over thoroughly, because I haven't seen a place yet that had walking talking bunny rabbits..." "Gene party.. Oh yes.. nasty little trends if you ask me." Thomas rubs his eyes idly. "And how is old Totty doing?" He asks idly. "And... do you like to gamble?" "I don't know anyone named Old Totty," Solomon the rabbit-man replies. "I stopped gambling after I lost my right hand the third time." "We should be landing here soon." Tharsis says. "Perhaps we should alter our next destination to Sivad?" he inquires. "No no... Lets keep Peter Rabit a bit longer.. Ole Totty the head waiter at the Pink Kulbati on the upper level of the city." Thomas replies. "Upper level?" Solomon ponders. "You mean the top of Shupman Tower?" "Works for me." Tharsis replies as he settles himself onto a landing pad inside the casino's hangar bay. "The Archology. What year is it chum?" Thomas asks as he watches the hanger grow larger in the screen. "There are no arcologies on Sivad, you nattering fool," the rabbit-man grumbles. "It's the year 3057." "Ok... either your chronometer is way off, or mine is... but according to my time base it's 4008." Tharsis replies. "You said there was a flash of light before you appeared here?" "4008?" Solomon asks, eyes narrowing as he scowls at Majors. "Did Eli put you up to this? It's a gag, is it not?" "It is indeed 4008 and the planet is covered in arcologies." Majors replies as he stands up and pinches his nose. "We will get this cleared up Peter Rabit." The Sivadian ignores the bunny for now. "Going to get the Avalon prepped. I will meet you on Welcome Rock." "Roger. I'll meet you there soon." Tharsis replies. And Majors makes his exit, no longer to be a drag on the scene. Tharsis returns his attention to his furry passenger. "So.. uh.. I'm guessing a trip through time wasn't in your travel plans?" he says. "I haven't traveled through time," the rabbit-man growls. "It's 3057 and my friend Eli is taking the piss. He's having a go at me, you see." "Well... not sure how to tell you this buddy, but the timestamp on the current newscast is showing 4008..." Tharis replies. "We're no where near Sivad either... this is the Stars and Garters Casino near New Luna." "*New* Luna?" Solomon sighs, shaking his head. "Something wrong with the old one, then?" He laughs. "Good one on you, then, Eli. You've outdone yourself. This is ten times more impressive than the dead hooker in the hotel room." "Who's Eli?" Tharsis asks. "Dunno if I've ever met someone by that name... and what's a hooker?" "Right then, lads, let's just teleport me back to the party and call it a job well done, shall we?" the rabbit-man says, crossing his arms. "Sorry pal, I'm fresh out of teleporters." Tharsis replies. "I could take you to Sivad but.. uh... I don't think it's the one you're expecting." "You just do that, then," Solomon says, nodding curtly. "Take me home." "Ok... next stop: Sivad." Tharsis says. Unfortunately, the FTL drive is now a bookcase full of Scientific Demarian magazines. Tharsis tries to power up his drive.. and gets a shock. "What in the world!?" he says, switching on his diagnostic routines. "Where did my Spindrive go!? Ok.. this is officially pegging the weird-o-meter." "What's the problem, old chap?" Solomon inquires, sarcasm dripping from his tone. "Someone pour sugar in the tank again?" "Sugar in the... tank?" Tharsis says. "No idea what that is, but if you can explain my engineering section suddenly turning into a library, then I think we'll be on the same page." "Another good one," the rabbit-man enthuses. "It's the details, really. Those sell it." "Look pal, this isn't a joke." Tharsis says. "I'm sure not laughing, I have no idea who this Eli character is, and you have to admit, talking to a walking, talking, snappily dressed bunny rabbit isn't exactly on my list of normal occurances!" Solomon frowns. "And I talk to starships every blinking day." He then snickers, shaking his head. "I'm going to owe Eli at least a decade's worth of piss for this one." "Still not convinced this is 4008, eh?" Tharsis says, and with a mental nudge, activates his holo projectors to bring his visual projection online. "What's it going to take?" he says, turning up the volume on the newscast of current events. Solomon tilts his head, considering the question. "Well, friend, if money's no object, you can simulate just about anything you want for a practical joke. But, if it really is the year 4008, my obituary should be on file somewhere. Look it up. Solomon Dove-Phillipe. Tell me when and how I died. Bet you weren't planning on me to ask about that, Eli!" "If that's what it will take, then so be it." Tharsis says. "I should be able to link into the Sivad datanet... assuming my comm array hasn't become a freezer unit or something." he says, pausing for a moment. "Solomon Dove-Phillipe... ah, here it is. Solomon Dove-Phillipe... died December 20th, 3057, during the collapse of a building called Shupman Tower in Enaj... the time of which was... about the time you appeared here." he says. "Here it is, if you care to read it for yourself." as the file lists on a nearby monitor screen. "You did say there was a flash of light...?" The rabbit-man peers at the ceiling. "So, I've died and gone to talking spaceship heaven, have I? Creative, Eli. I'll grant you that." "If this is heaven, then boy were you gypped." Tharsis quips. He flips on his viewscreen to show New Luna beyond. "I'm gonna set down before something else switches around in here." A soft rumble as his engines activate sends him towards the planet. "By the way, who's Eli again?" "My best friend for the past six years or so," Solomon answers. "Eli Paddington." "I doubt he's still kicking... want to see his obit too?" Tharsis asks. "I think I could probably find your whole family given time. Over 900 years tends to wreck havoc on people's living status, you know?" "Sure! Show me Eli Paddington's obituary," the Sivadian replies. Tharsis pauses for several moments... "Hmmm... ah, here it is Eli Paddington... ah, he got a lucky break, wasn't in the tower when it went down, but it gets better. He died in prison for blowing the tower up... with you in it, so it would seem. Some pal, eh?" Solomon furrows his brow. "The joke's getting less funny." "Yeah... took 15,000 people out when he did it. I wouldn't find that funny myself." Tharsis says. "Still need more convincing? Or is it starting to sink in here?" The Sivadian nods, rubbing his upper left arm with his right hand. He settles onto one of the padded couches. He leans back on the couch, floppy ear bouncing a bit as he starts doing some silent calculations. "Eli had his problems with the Shupman organization. I thought he'd let bygones be bygones after the magistrate tossed out the court case." Solomon shakes his head, letting the ears hang. "Everyone I knew or loved is dead and gone. I didn't get to watch Charlie and Mandy grow up. Cassidy's dead." He winces, then falls over on the couch, slipping into cardiac arrest. Tharsis widens the eyes on his projection. "Uh... Solomon?" he says, heading over. "Uh ok.. uh... I think I've read about this..." he runs over to the emergency cabinet and gets out a defib kit and gets it hooked up. "Ok... charging... ok.. uh... let's see... 'shock'.. yeah.." He presses the button and watches... At first, there's a response - a brief blip as the defibrillator jolts the Sivadian rabbit-man's chest. The ears bounce almost comically as the body jerks. The heart then goes flatline again. Tharsis starts to look really worried. "Uh.. ok... this isn't good.. come on bunny man..." He hits the charge button again and waits for the signal, then hits shock again... No response this time. Just a jolt, a jerk, and a flatline. "Ok... third time's the charm.. one more... come on man, this isn't funny!" Tharsis says, firing it up one more time, and slapping 'shock'. "Dang it, no one's ever died on board me and I'm not going to start now!!!" Just before the paddles can actually *shock* Solomon's chest this time, they turn into king crabs, clinging to Tharsis' manipulators for a moment before they detach and scurry off the couch, clattering on the deck. "Ok.. WHAT IN THE GALAXY IS GOING ON HERE!?" Tharsis shouts. "This is utterly insane!" he says as he sets his controls for landing. "I've got to get on the ground before I lose anything else!" Systems report: The FTL drive is now back online and is no longer a collection of Demarian science magazines. However, the impulse drive is now a giant potato in a cylinder of boiling water. Tharsis feels the engines go dead, and switches internal scan to engineering... "What in the... oh no... I'm adrift and headed straight for the planet! Ok.. ok... don't panic... I'm sure dad got out of tougher fixes than this with just his wits... yeah... ah who am I kiddin... dad had 500,000 YEARS of experience! I've got less than 30 under my belt... ok... PANIC!!" His controls go into hyper activity as he tries to use his maneuvering thrusters to alter course to get into a semblance of orbit. Systems report: The impulse drive has returned to normal. However, the control consoles are turning into flat-topped jumbo mushrooms. "Ok... this is beyond funny... this is beyond insane... this is UTTER NONSENSE!!" Tharsis shouts as his controls suddenly become useless, and the engines are heading him the wrong way. "Ok.. think Tharsis... THINK..... ok... maybe the master gyro... maybe I can offset the balance and get myself turned.." Systems report: The control consoles are back to normal. However, the couch is now consuming the dead Sivadian rabbit-man. Tharsis takes advantage of the momentary normalcy of is control systems and gets himself into orbit. "What the... ok.. ok.. I'm going to close my optics... count to 10, open them, and realize this was all a bad dream..." Everything appears to be mostly normal aboard Tharsis now...except for the dead rabbit-man's leg dangling from under one of the couch cushions. "That.. doesn't look like a dream." Tharsis says as he attempts a landing. "I've got to get down to the rock... and try to clean up.." Tharsis activates his cleaning robots to try to get up what's left of the rabbit-man. "Rifts... changing objects... man-eating couches made out of my own furniture... what a night.." he says. He brings up his sensors on maximum to watch for anything approaching him.
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