Chapter: Chapter 2: Party Guests

Chapter 1: Dirtball

Anonymous asked: Talita, what's a quantum phone, and how is it different from a regular phone? Talita: It's a phone with a quantum computer CPU. It's— this isn't my field, I'm in mechanics, not compsci— but basically quantum computers just use qubits instead of classical bits. This allows them to run more processes parallel to each other than a classical computer.  It's also, like... absolutely a useless extra price point on a personal CPU? Nobody needs that kind of processing to play games or call their mom. If you want to flaunt your wealth just buy hard wood jewelry or whatever. Room temperature quancomps and the vast majority of quantum programming languages also originate from bug ferrets. The legend goes that their code is so spaghetti, it resulted in them accidentally creating sapient AI. …I'm so glad I'm not a programmer...
Posted on June 29, 2024Anonymous asked: Cal, how did you get hired on Dirtball, and what's your job there? Calcery: I had previously been the overseer for a large microgravity recycling station. When Ixion inquired about on-planet work, I was interested, but conflicted about leaving. I compromised by budding off this individual, Calcery, to work at IRP. My parent iteration, Calcine, stayed at the microgravity plant. We keep in touch. My job on Ixion-3... or "Dirtball," haha, was not a huge change of pace. I managed IRP's fleet of autonomous harvesting vehicles. During the workday I actively controlled the vehicles, and during my off hours they followed autonomous routines I programmed for them.
Posted on June 27, 2024Image: A group of bug ferrets exiting a tunnel. Their fur has a variety of colors from dark brownie to reddish pink to white, and their visible unfurred skin is pale green. Most have magenta eyes. Caption: Bug ferrets have been in space the longest of any of the known sapient aliens, and they created the wormhole generating technology that links interstellar space. Avians were the first sophonts they encountered by throwing wormholes into new systems, followed by humans, both of whom had colonized their local systems. Most recently they contacted centaurs, who had only rudimentary electronics. Bug ferrets are unisex (meaning simultaneous hermaphrodites, like snails or earthworms) and extremely gregarious, living in family groups of up to 30 adults and their children. Native to a cold planet with most of its surface occupied by barren ice caps, bug ferrets evolved to live in the vast biogenic tunnels and cave systems of chemosynthetic organisms beneath their planet's tropics. Ferrets have poor vocal flexibility compared to other sophonts. Although some spacefarers get cybernetic implants that allow them to speak alien languages, native bug ferret communication is a combination of visual sign, tactile sign, and expressive barks. Unlike human sign languages, many bug ferret languages are made of non-representational syllables and can be spoken in complete darkness. Their most commonly "spoken" sign is a constructed inter- national auxiliary language (like Esperanto, but far more successfully adopted) known as BFL-2, as it was ironically the second bug ferret language encountered by humans after first contact. Because of the clunky way that BFL-2 words are transcribed, bug ferret names and entities are usually either given acronyms or nicknames in English. BFL-2 (Bug Ferret Language 2) BFL-2 reading order is bottom up, right to left. Three symbols are transliterated as: [B-X Grasp D-C Drag] Image: The signer grasps their hands around the outside of the receiver's arms and drags them from the second joint to the third joint. [B-P Fist B-D Drag] Image: The signer makes their hands loose fists and drags the knuckles on the outside of the receiver's arms from the wrist to the second joint. [L-P Palm-O B Twist 2] Image: The signer makes their left hand flat with their fingers together and thumb out, and rotates their wrist twice to flutter it, tapping both sides of the receiver's right wrist. Image: A large underground space connects to the cold blue light of the surface through a small skylight. Buildings extend down in a column, cut through by transportation corridors, horizontal areas in reach of skylight growing blue-green plants. Under the column, where it spreads out, a cross section shows homey tunnels flooded with warm light from bioluminescent organisms. Caption: Bug ferret living spaces are a dense tangle of rooms with blurry delineation between public and private spaces.
Posted on June 25, 2024LOG 1.1 Avians Caption: Avians ("Chew" in Tiiliitian) are a genus of small, winged sophonts that walk on their forelimbs and have a bisex reproductive system comparable to Earth animals like seahorses. Though there are five sapient species, the most commonly seen in space are skimmers, who form the majority population of a large colonialist monarchy called the Dominion of Tiiliit. SKIMMER AVIANS Population: roughly 12 billion Image: Two skimmer avians stand next to on another. The one labeled "dun" is taller with drab clothing that covers the back of their head. The one labeled "bright" has a blue and yellow striped crest and eye stripe, and is wearing elaborately sewn blue and yellow clothing. FLIGHTLESS AVIANS pop: 5 billion Image: Bust of avian with a bulky head, small ears, and a huge crest. PYGMY AVIANS pop: 5 millon Image: Bust of a small avian with grey feathers, large ears and a rounded crest. DIVER AVIANS pop: 4 billion Image: Bust of a black and white avian with a pointy face and a flattened, fin-like crest. POLAR AVIANS pop: 3.2 billion Image: Bust of fluffy white avian with almost no visible crest and fluffy ears. Caption: The two sexes of avians are referred to as brights and duns in English. This is due to a mixture of concerns from sexually conservative avian cultures about alien terminology influencing bright-dominated hegemony, Anglophone humans wishing to distinguish between alien genders and their own, and linguistic limitations. Avian languages often have two-tone vowels that sophonts with only one set of vocal cords cannot pronounce. Tiiliitian, for example, is a tonal language with five vowels. But each of these vowels has five different tonal slides, which can be combined, similar to musical chords (although the avian voice has been described less as musical and more like a duet of yowling cats). Alien xenointerpretors specializing in bitonal avian languages often use a keyboard recorder device to layer tones while they speak. The 5 Basic Tiiliitian Tones level tone sinking tone rising tone upwards warble downwards warble The Tiiliit Image: A skimmer avian bright reclines in a huge luxurious robe, and a fancy metal headdress on top their crest adorned with feathers, inlaid stones, and fabric. All of their clothes and the skin of their crest are shades of mint and seafoam green. Behind them is a banner with a symbol made of a circle with three equally spaced radial lines entering from the outside and meeting in the center. Caption: Only the Tiiliit is permitted to wear this hue of green. Other greens are generally only worn by royalty.
Posted on June 22, 2024Talita lies asleep in her bed, directly across from the 8 boxes of recharging phones. Unbeknownst to her, a single phone screen lights up, casting a glow over the foot of the bed.
Posted on June 20, 2024Talita: Ugh, I'll shower tomorrow then... She walks back into her storage unit apartment. Inside, she puts down her tablet and glasses down at her bedside and gets under the covers, watching the tablet from a couple meters away in her bed. In the video on the tablet, two humans sign to each other next to a board reading "ASL LESSON 74: Provided by the North American Republic College for the Deaf". The scrolling caption reads "—ODAY WE'RE LEARNING NEW SIGN VOCABULARY. REPEAT AFTER ME—" Talita watches drowsily from her pillow, but slowly her eyelids slide closed and she falls asleep.
Posted on June 18, 2024Talita looks up in surprise from her bench at the large central pillar of the habitat as it emits a loud chime. SFX: BIIIIING BOOOOONG Overhead, the dozens of bar lights on the habitat ceiling begin to noisily switch up, abruptly plunging the city into nighttime. SFX: CLAK CLAK CLAK Talita: Goddamnit!! How is it bing bong already?
Posted on June 15, 2024Talita puts on headphones and selects a podcast on her tablet, tapping the touchscreen with her trunk. Podcast: Welcome back to J-tech labs, your one stop shop for Jovian polity tech news. I’m Mark— And I’m Kylie. As you may have heard, aerospace company Vspear acquired– Talita puts away the junk on the floor into boxes. Podcast: –their competitor Unitine, though it’s unknown if they’ll continue Unitine’s revolutionary material science research– Talita vacuums underneath the couch cushions. Podcast: –It’s certainly on our minds after the wormhole station failure at Mars L5 caused 11 month shipping delays— Talita hangs up some laundry on a wire. A commercial sized laundry machine tumbles clothes. Podcast: –But the element still needs to to be mined— by infamously slow chemical rocket drones— Talita lies supine on her workout bench and lifts weights in her backyard next to the laundry machines. The weight machine has heavy duty chains connecting the push bar to the weight stack, and the metal plates she's rowing with her midlimbs are several inches thick and about a meter wide. She pants in exertion, the air leaving her body through the excurrent nostrils behind the ribcage of her lower torso. Podcast: –So it may be decades before enough is commercially available to lower prices and raise ship speed— that is, unless ship recycling operations can step up to the demand— Talita: Yeah, right.
Posted on June 13, 2024Talita looks around at the mess throughout her living space. Used pitchers and dishware next to the couch; an electronics desk cluttered with parts, tools, and half finished projects; her floor covered in random supplies and open storage bins. She heaves a long sigh and looks exasperated, then walks into the bedroom portion of her apartment, pushing open the large curtain that separates it from the rest of the living space. She rolls out an extra large charging mat there on the empty floor there and puts the 8 boxes of phones down on top. All of the screens briefly blink white as they begin to charge.
Posted on June 11, 2024Talita walks past Gillie and the ferret line, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment about the interaction. She approaches one of the small, half cylinder shaped dry storage units and punches a code into the door number pad. The door noisily rattles as it rolls up to open. Inside is Talita's messy apartment. Most of the furniture looks vaguely cobbled together and homemade, or adjusted from human furnishings that were slightly too small. Windspinners hang next to air circulation units, shop lights hang from the ceiling, and a model space ship hangs from one of the shop lights. To the left is an enormous couch and TV surrounded by used dishes and pitchers, a fridge covered in weirdly shaped magnets extracted from electronics, a sink, and a range. To the right there is an overflowing electronics workbench with a twin-sized mattress on the floor as a crude chair, standing tool chest, and drafting desk covered different types of 3D printers.
Posted on June 8, 2024Talita approaches the far end of dry storage, where her path intersects the bug ferret procession. In the distance, she sees a human conversing with a bug ferret in sign language. She is a fat freckled white woman with medium-short fluffy red hair. Her round face has a button nose, thick eyebrows, and serious expression. She wears a pleated skirt and white collared shirt. Gillie, presumably. Talita watches her intently signing as she walks by, assuming Gillie is too busy to notice her. Gillie spots her anyways and briefly waves hello. Talita, taken off guard, waves back with frantic nervousness.
Posted on June 6, 2024SHIKAVIIL PORT Original population: 1,536 avians Current population: 50 humans, 24 avians, 1 centaur An overview of the city habitat reveals it is a circle about one kilometer in diameter, divided radially into 8 wedges, and a circular road separates those wedges into interior and exterior portions. One half is primarily industrial, with a construction yard, wet storage, animal agriculture units, dry storage, on the exterior; and climate control, water treatment, and electrical distribution on the interior. The other half is primarily residential. The exterior has human and avian housing blocks and park spaces behind the large apartment buildings with corresponding Terran and Avian flora. Between the two housing blocks is the medical offices, and on the end further from the plant entrance is the post office and rec center. The inner section of the residential side has half and half avian and human agricultural units, with rows of covered plant beds and massive multistory aquaponic greenhouses. Talita pushes her cart of phones down the residential side of the circle road, while the ant line of bug ferrets and forklifts goes down the industrial half to the far airlock exit, which has rail access to the ground-to-orbit boats. She passes by a human worker in the agricultural section who is using a sprayer on some of the plants. Talita: How’re the green beans, Rasheed? Rasheed: The spider mites are winning. Talita: Bummer. She continues her long walk, glumly resting her head on the cart's cargo.
Posted on June 4, 2024The large exit door rolls up, showing bright light outside the hallway. Idrisah: If Gillie’s still working with the ferrets, give her a wave from me. Talita: Sure thing. Idrisah: See you tomorrow! Talita walks out of the personnel exit into the massive exterior space, which is, ironically, another interior. An opaque geodesic dome ceiling covers the sky of a small city habitat with a utilitarian mixture of industrial, residential, and agricultural buildings. A large central pillar features the current time in human and avian timekeeping methods. Bug ferrets form an ant line emerging from the vehicle exit door onto the circular center road, driving forklifts carrying Calcery's server units. A few avian residents can be seen flying laps in the airspace above the buildings.
Posted on June 1, 2024Talita: Besides cleaning the hell out of my apartment. Idrisah: Don’t worry about it. We’re probably just going to take photos and hang out. I’ll leave the boring stuff for my parents afterwards. Talita: Is your wife coming? Idrisah: Of course! Talita: I’ll have to brush up on sign language… Idrisah: (ASL) You already understand us well! Talita: Yeah, I just wish I could… uh… reply. She wiggles one of her four fingered, symmetrical hooved hands in the air. Idrisah: If Gillie can talk to ferrets, I think your hand shape could work for most signs. Talita: Ehhh… She looks away, face bristling in embarrassment. Talita: I’d just look like an idiot. Idrisah: That’s always part of learning a language! Talita pushes a button on the panel for the exit door to the recycling plant.
Posted on May 30, 2024Talita and Idrisah exit into the hallway and walk towards the plant exit while Cheevwut and Ohwitiil continue to scream at each other. Talita: Wow, those two can barely get through a shift together. Idrisah: Just wait. They bicker all year but I swear— every spring they pair. Talita: Really?? Cheev, NO… Idrisah: At least Cheev’s not keeping the Ohwitiil eggs in. BOTH: ewww Idrisah: So are you excited for the party tomorrow? Talita: Oh! I wanted to ask… I only know about the Jovian holidays, is there anything specific I should prepare for Eid-al-Fitr?
Posted on May 28, 2024Ohwitiil: AND YET IT DOESN’T SEEM TO GET FROM YOUR HEAD TO YOUR BRAIN! They gesture between Talita's head and the area between her midshoulders. Another avian walks over, this one crest-less with simple pleated garb and a cap-like head covering. Cheevwut: Stop having a hernia over dust and negotiate with our aluminum buyer, geezer. Ohwitiil: Cheevwut. I can hear your disrespect, even if you use Jovian English. Cheevwut: What, are you gonna dock my pay? Oh wait, I’m in charge of payroll now. Ohwitiil: I’M STILL YOUR MANAGER! They scream at each other in Tiiliitian. Talita waves awkwardly to Idrisah, who is peeking over her cubicle wall to see the commotion. She scurries over to Talita and starts gently pushing her towards the exit, smiling politely at her arguing coworkers. Idrisah: Excuse us!
Posted on May 25, 2024
Posted on May 23, 2024Talita: Idrisah? She peers into Ixion Recycling Plant's Admin Wing. Inside is a large open office space with humans and avians working at cubicles. Idrisah stands in the center aisle of the room, speaking to two avian workers in their language, Tiiliitian, with the assistance of a keyboard and microphone pinned to her sweater. She is a tall, friendly-looking woman in her thirties with a long face and nose, medium brown skin, and a turban style hijab. The avians she is speaking to are feathered, bird-like aliens half her height with black bare-skinned faces, hooked beaks, six small beady eyes, and large bat-like ears. They stand on their winged forelimbs and use their computers with the two-fingered hands on their hindlimbs. One is smaller with a colorful striped head crest and flashy elaborate dress, and the other is larger with drab clothing that covers the crest-less top of their head. Talita waves frantically from the entrance. Talita: Idrisah! Idrisah continues her conversation, oblivious.
Posted on May 21, 2024Two bug ferrets sit in a forklift and awkwardly operate the human-designed controls. They begin to lift one of the server rigs. Ferrets swarm around Talita's legs, tapping her. Ferret 1: Noove. Ferret 2: Go. Ferret 3: You’re in the way. Ferret 4: You have to noove. Talita: (panicked) I’m going! Talita exits and grabs the cart again. She watches the forklift heading out with a Calcery unit at the far freight door. She looks wistful as she walks deeper into the facility. People speak indistinctly in the distance.
Posted on May 18, 2024Talita: But it pays well, you know? I owe it to Mel for onboarding me right out of college. Calcery: It’s been almost a decade. No one owes an employer that much. Ferrets come over to tap Talita's side. Ferret 5: Ninute is over. Ferret 6: Electricity needs to go off. Talita: I’ll text you, Cal. Safe travels. Calcery: You too, Talita. Talita: But I’m not— Calcery disconnects with a click. Ferret 7: TRILLLLL! One ferret yells and signals frantically with a hand while another switches off the server power supply. SFX: CHUNK, descending hum
Posted on May 16, 2024Calcery: Aw, that’s sweet. I’ll miss you too, Talita. Working with you made this fly-in-fly-out hellhole a much nicer place. Talita: Haha, well, you too. Calcery: Say bye to Idrisah and Gillie for me. Spend time with them outside work! Talita: Yeah, of course! Talita pauses. Talita: …Was the fight with Mel really that bad? Calcery: As attentive as they act, I’m not sure Mel is ever actually listening. But no manager could make staying on Dirtball WORTH it, you know? Talita: Yeah, I’m honestly surprised Ixion kept you this long. Calcery: When are you going to leave? Talita: Me?? I don’t know. It’s fine here. Calcery: No, it isn’t.
Posted on May 14, 2024Ferret 1: Friend of the A.I.? Ferret 2: We leafe soon. Ferret 3: It’s too late. Ferret 1: No, he’s still awake. Ferret 3: The centaur should just text hin later. Ferret 2: Don’t de rude. Ferret 4: No conns. Ferret 2: Fut in this jack. They shove a bug ferret headset into Talita's hand. Ferret 4: (signing on Talita's leg) You have a ninute. The ferrets leave. Talita looks dazed. Talita: Uh. Thanks. She plugs the headset jack into one of the server rigs and puts it to her ear. SFX: biiiii-boop Calcery: Hello?? Talita: It felt wrong to let you leave without saying goodbye “in person”.
Posted on May 11, 2024Talita: ...Buddy? She leans out over the crowd of ferrets to shout at two humans sitting in a forklift. Talita: Tod? Killian? Did they take his comms equipment already?? Tod is a tall fat black man in his late fifties with stubble and thinning hair. His forehead has a large white piebald patch. Killian is an extremely short genetically modified human in their mid forties with a long prehensile tail, thumbed feet, and crinkled whiskers on their eyes, jaw, and wrists. Both of them look tired and slightly irritated. Tod: No idea.  Killian: Ask the ferrets. Talita approaches two ferrets speaking in tactile sign by tapping each other's arms. One is sitting in a forklift. Talita: Um, excuse me... Ferret 1: Yesh? Ferret 2: Can we helf you? They turn their heads to address her but do not pause signing. Talita: Is Calcery still online? I’d like to say goodbye.
Posted on May 9, 2024Bug ferrets abound. Their faces have stalk eyes with a pupil shaped like a serif I, two triangular fan-like ears, flat frog-like ears, insectoid mandibles, and a "goatee" of two tufted antennae. Talita abandons her cart in the hall and awkwardly wades through them to get into the server room. Talita: Sorry. Excuse me... SFX: HUFF. rr. eef. HF! wuff. Ferrets are scuttling in and around the room, moving stuff. There is a row of numbered black server rigs taller than Talita, each labeled "Calcery." Talita: …Cal? Hello? SFX: huff. Rr. wuf.
Posted on May 7, 2024Mel: Sigh… I don’t know. It’s not like he’s talking to me. Talita: I’ll go check. Mel: Oh, real quick– Could you send me those old schematics you drafted for your apartment? Talita: Uh, sure. Why? Mel: You’ll find out! Mel: (walking away cheerfully) Don’t trip on the bug ferrets! Talita tugs her cart of phone boxes further into the facility, exiting the vehicle bay and entering a hallway with bug ferrets in it. They are low-stanced hexapodal aliens with bug-like legs on fuzzy tubular bodies covered in whiskers, and not very covered in clothes. They have a variety of large spotted fur patterns. They tap each other's arms and quietly vocalize. SFX: WUFF. YIP. HURF.
Posted on May 4, 2024Talita: I’m gonna recharge them at my place. If their CPUs weren’t fried by engine radiation, I should be able to ID them. Mel: Thanks, Tal. Mel: So... how was the temp crew? Talita: Well! Nothing more field experience can’t fix! Mel: You can always come to me if there are… issues. I know people sometimes make weird presumptions about centaurs. Talita: It’s fine! Really! She waves a hand in frantic dismissal, the feathers on her face prickling in embarrassment. Talita: You know you’re my manager now and not my legal guardian, right? Mel: It’s my concern either way! Talita: Anyways! Do you know if Calcery’s packed up yet?
Posted on May 2, 2024Mel: How was the reclamation run? Talita: Nothing special, just prepping scrap for the automated night cycle. But you know that fusion ship that just came down the launch loop? Mel: Oh yes! Nice ship, isn’t it? Most of it we can just dismantle and resell. Talita: Check out what I found in the habitat capsule. She pulls over a cart with some large boxes in it. Mel: Eight boxes— Of quantum phones?? These are... worth a LOT of money. Talita: Yeeeah.
Posted on April 30, 2024Talita puts her glasses on. They have an elastic band that holds them behind the rear ridge of her skull. SFX: THWAP! Mel: Talita! Talita: (From inside the suit she's taking off.) Ah! Talita takes off the middle section of her suit and speaks with the mouth at the end of her trunk. Talita: Mel! What’s up! Mel: How was the reclamation run? Mel walks over from the direction of the admin wing. They are a thin middle aged human with a greying close-cropped beard and feminine proportions.
Posted on April 27, 2024Talita starts to take of her suit in front of the staff lockers. She twists off the air hoses to her helmet, undoes the latches at the base of her neck, twists the neck seal open. Human crew members walk by, their heads barely taller than her lower torso. She pulls off the helmet to reveal her face. Her neck is tiger-striped with an integument somewhere in between fur and feathers. Her owlish face tapers into a short slender trunk with lips at the end, and a larger mouth in a more predictable place has two round, dark patches of skin on either side of the lower jaw. She picks up a pair of rectangular glasses on top of the lockers.
Posted on April 25, 2024The recycling crew returns from the junkyard with a swarm of heavy equipment vehicles, passing through the airlock. Text labeling features inside the industrial interior of the recycling plant is bilingual, with English and an alien language. Talita: Now you can unlatch your helmet, Dominic. Dominic: Sorry.
Posted on April 23, 2024Talita looks deeper into the gash in the hull. The hole continues to the inner spine of the ship, where it has wounded the electronics. The torus-shaped living room is lying on its "side" and completely trashed, like a house flipped around by a tornado. Hundreds of phones spill outwards into the habitat module from boxes near the outer wall, screens glittering in the headlamp light. Talita: …Phones?
Posted on April 20, 2024Calcery: Goodness. I guess I don’t! Please, resume the reckless self-endangerment. Talita: What is this writing, anyways? Avian? Human? She leans over the rail of the jack stairs to look up at the symbols on the outside of the habitat module. Calcery: Centaur. As was the crew, presumably. No clue what it says. I think only two of your species’ written languages have been fully net documented. Talita stares at the writing. Calcery: Shoot, they’re packing my radio stuff. Catch you later, Talita. Talita: –Yeah! Sure thing. SFX: (radio click)
Posted on April 18, 2024Calcery: Not sure, it was part of a bulk deal from a scrap trawler. I guess the habitat capsule got busted enough that it wasn’t worth refabbing? Talita climbs up the stairs on one of the jack's bracing arms, to where it contacts beneath the puncture wound in the habitat capsule. Talita: Huh. It looks pretty spotless otherwise. She peers into the dark hole, eyeshine flashing. Talita: Probably even sound enough to walk inside. Calcery: Sure, if you want to risk getting trapped or crushed. Talita: Oh, I’m sorry. Do you work here?
Posted on April 16, 2024SFX: (radio click) Talita:  Aaauuugh Cal! I hate being a supervisor! She scrambles away on all sixes. Calcery: My condolences about your promotion. Talita: I hope working on a ship full of bug ferrets drives you nuts. Calcery: Haha! Talita: Then you’ll be stuck back on Dirtball with me again. Calcery: Hey, you could come with! Talita: Very funny. You’d have to saw me in half to fit me in that stupid hamster tube maze. Talita: Also, sorry to bring up work… But why’d we get this fancy little torchship? She approaches a large spacecraft sitting on a a massive sled jack. It's sitting on the rails next to the berm between the launch loop and the junk yard.
Posted on April 13, 2024Talita: Hey! Adam! Don’t walk within 3 meters of the grinder blade! She is yelling at a human worker in an exosuit, who is carrying something near the operating rotary blade arm of a utility vehicle. Adam: I’m not in front of it. Talita: Shrapnel can fly out at any angle! Adam: Isn’t that what the suit is for? Talita: Your suit is for breathing. You don’t want to find out what happens if you blow a hole in it! Adam: Fine. He walks further away.
Posted on August 15, 2023Talita is walking through an area with people working in large utility vehicles. She is a centaur-like hexapod with a long owlish face mostly obscured by a helmet and mantis-jointed arms ending in symmetrical, four digit hands. Calcery: Packing up is such a pain, but. Talita, I swear to god. If I stay here another day I’m gonna flip out and drive a front loader through the admin wing. Talita: Ugh, at least you’d be doing it on purpose. This temp crew is not very experienced with outdoors work. They’ve been– uh— Just a sec, Cal. SFX: (radio click)
Posted on August 15, 2023Opening scene on Dirtball. Overhead is a starry, atmosphere free sky with an enormous launch loop rail stretching off over the horizon as a string of lights. Talita is wearing an exosuit and walking in the spacecraft junkyard, having a radio conversation. Talita: How’s the move going over there, Calcery? Calcery: Shouldn’t you be busy managing my replacements? Talita: What are you, my boss? Calcery: Not anymore! Haha!
Posted on August 15, 2023

 

Chapter 2: Party Guests

Birdie asked: Talita, what holiday traditions did you grow up with, and which of them was your favorite? Talita: Oh, mostly just the Jovian holidays... so like, the maintenance weeks, Easter, the quarters, Allnighter, Independence Day... Allnighter was always my favorite. In the Garriton District kids got to help program the festival lights. At the UoJ us engineering undergrads would set up these races with improvised vehicles, using scrap we scrounged during maintenance week duties. Allnighter on campus would get pretty rowdy, and we definitely weren't helping. I usually ran with the races and played watch duty for campus security, heheh...
Posted on October 3, 2024gigi-the-bear asked: Gillie, what was it like visiting earth for college? I'm sure that amount of nature everywhere was strange for someone who grew up in space. Gillie: You Terrans think we live in 6 foot grey tubes... Nexus Jovia has, like, parks. There's way more nature on Earth, obviously, but that wasn't the most jarring thing about it... For me it was the sky! Not being able to see the rest of the city above me felt so unsettling? Like we were all going to be swept out into space at any moment!
Posted on October 1, 2024Honey asked: Bip, how much can you feel it when the device(s) you're on are moved/touched? Do AI have external sensation at all? Bip: What, like, innate sensation?? That's not a thing. I have to be connected to sensors to feel things. So do you, though you come in sort of a... wet package deal, which doesn't react well to being disassembled. These phones just have a dinky little accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, and capacitive touchscreens. It sucks. My equipment on the ship is sooo much better...
Posted on September 28, 2024LOG 2.2 Animal Agriculture Caption: Alongside the horticulture in Shikaviil Port, livestock are kept for biological waste processing and dietary supplementation. Each variety of sophont has their own unique and frequently incompatible biochemistry, requiring different agricultural branches for each of their native biospheres. Invertebrates and other small, low maintenance animals are a more sustainable source of food for spacers than large livestock, although some exotic terrestrial meats (like beef and pork) can be replicated with a food printer supplied with microorganism sourced macromolecules. But this is a lower quality food, often relying on imports. Closed, relatively diverse food systems are preferred in space habitats, as it helps prevent starvation in emergencies. Avian Livestock Animals Background Image: A tarp-lined pool of tinted water has suspended nets vertically submerged in it with stuff growing on them. a fish-like creature with six eyes and horizontal caudal fin a chiton-like animal with a seaslug face, fins, and greatly enlarged antennae a red colonial tunicate-like honeycomb crust an extremely round crab-like thing a crustacean-like animal with a long segmented eel-like body a polychaete worm-like animal with body segments that transition into new individual worms who break off Caption: The avians' animal agriculture is primarily aquatic, with large saltwater ponds split between algal tanks and livestock tanks. Avians have a more carnivorous diet than humans, and rely more on livestock for sustenance. The animals in the tanks include filter feeders that scrub the water of the hydroponics system; detrivores that recycle farming byproducts, waste, and food scraps; and herbivores that graze on algal buildup. The water in these tanks is tinted magenta by the presence of dissolved cobalt salts, just like the huge ocean of the avian homeplanet. Human Livestock Animals Background Image: A long hutch full of chabbits with nesting boxes at the end. a chabbit, a hexapodal GMO with bird-like hindlimbs, winged midlimbs, and rabbit-like forelimbs. The rear torso and pelvis are feathered, while the front of the animal resembles a typical rabbit with a chicken comb and wattles. The individual shown is a commercial breed with black and white pointed coloration. chabbit eggs, two varieties shown: a pink stripe egg and blue egg with green spots. Their markings are distinctive but naturalistic. mealworms (Tenebrio molitor var. stelladomesticus) crickets (Gryllus assimilis var. stelladomesticus) freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) freshwater fish (Sarotherodon galilaeus) Caption: The humans' livestock includes a dry section, with chabbit sheds and a cricket and mealworm bin farm. The invertebrates are fed food waste, while the chabbits are fed plant clippings from the park section of Shikaviil. Originally produced as an "Easter bunny" GMO pet; chabbits are now popular egg producers in space for being entirely herbivorous, quieter than chickens, and more sociable than rabbits. Old layers and excess roosters are also occasionally slaughtered for meat— a rare treat. The wet farm raises freshwater fish and prawns, and forms the back end of the hydroponic system supporting the fruit, vegetable, and fungi farm beds. Centaur Livestock Animal Image: A lifecycle of an alien invertebrate is shown. They have jar-like eggs with ridged sides and a circular "lid" which pops open when hatching. The juveniles look like smaller versions of the adult female, who is a strange hexapod with a mottled brown, partly exoskeletal body with six tiny eyes and an appearance somewhere in between a caterpillar, and guinea pig, and a sea cucumber. The female pupates and then becomes an adult male. The male is radically different with jointed butterfly like wings, a slim shrimp-like body, a proboscis with large compound eyes, and bright red, yellow, green, and black coloration. Caption: Talita's invertebrate farm is a small operation producing a protogynous hermaphroditic species with several different edible life stages, including adult females about the size of guinea pigs and flying males about the size of crows. Talita mostly eats them raw or frozen, to supplement a diet of food printer sausage and starch patties. Homeplanet imports are a rare and expensive delicacy for her. Image: Talita bites into a whole adult female bug. SFX: crnch
Posted on September 26, 2024LOG 2.1 Humans Caption: Due to the Pleistocene extinction event, humans only have one remaining natural species in their genus. However, their history with genetic modification has created new human species, colloquially referred to as GMH (genetically modified humans). “Humans” are thus described as a genus of related animals, like avians. TYP HUMAN Image: An ordinary human. TYP WITH ARTIFICIAL TRAITS Image: A human with green hair and slightly pointed ears. BIOMODDER Image: A human dressed in holographic, black, and white alternative clothing. Their skin is ink-black and blue, and their hair is bright orange, red, yellow, and black arranged in defined colorblock areas. They have fur in their hair colors on their neck and shoulders. Their ears are fin shape with bright colors matching their hair, and their eyes have red scleras and yellow irises. Their bone structure is the same as a typ human's. TAILED SPACER Image: A small human with dark reddish purple skin, auburn hair, supraorbital and genal whiskers, and very long prehensile tail. Their feet have thumbs and their body proportions include a long flexible spine and arms and legs of approximately the same length. CETASER A large human with defined grey and white countershading, neck gill slits, more body fat, webbed hands and broad webbed feet, a raptorial stance, and thick dolphin-like tail with a dorsal fin. MAGPIE BRIDGER Image: A small human with a pair of winged limbs positioned over a pair of short but otherwise ordinary human arms, a deep chest, a feathered tail, and thin digitigrade feet. Their feathers are black with white patches. DRAGON Image: A human with blue and copper scales, large ram-like horns, claws, dorsal spines, digitigrade feet,  and reptilian tail with a club at the end. TAUR Image: A hexapodal human with a human-like foretorso and an ungulate-like rear torso and rear four legs. They have white fur and hair, deer-like feet, a long tufted tail, horse-like ears, and single horn on their forehead. ANDROTHERIAN SPECTRUM Anthro-type and catgirl-type Image: A couple sits with their child between them. The anthro-type has a dog-like appearance with tan fur all over her body, a fluffy tail, floppy ears, a very short snout, and black wet nose. The catgirl-type has an ordinary human appearance other than their cat-like calico colored ears and tail. The child is somewhere in between the two, with a single floppy ear and partial fur coverage. Caption: After the popularization of GMO pets and livestock, the Overton window on human modification was shifted by financially powerful gene lab institutions who stood to gain from a designer baby craze. GMH children were especially popular as a status symbol in pre-WWIII United Martian States culture. Though the hyper-capitalist UMS government did not survive the Climate Wars intact, the natal lab institutions did, and pre-natal human alteration is still considered relatively normal in the modern day. Not that there isn't a lot of political fighting over legality and regulation— made more complicated by the fact that humanity's extreme genetic variability now means many parents need natal lab intervention if they want to have genetically similar, healthy children. Naturalized Artificial Traits artificial eye colors piebaldism pointed ears artificial hair colors iridescent hair artificial skins colors stripes Caption: Most modern clades of GMH were originally created by the designer baby industry, or by scientific communities seeking to create humans hardier to the conditions of space travel and a changing Earth. Groups of reproductively compatible humans large enough to form stable populations are referred to as “clades”. The largest clade is “typ” humans, which includes non-modified humans and those with minor artificial traits like pointed ears, skin patterns, and unusual colors. Typ humans with these naturalized artificial traits are not usually classified as GMH for the same reason a non-modified human wouldn’t be classified as GMH for undergoing gene therapy for cancer treatment, microgravity tolerance, or other routine medical purposes. The distinction is entirely constructed, since all of them have undergone some level of genetic modification. Bio-modders are a separate phenomenon from GMH, as they undergo elective cosmetic surgical and gene therapy changes as adults, while GMH are altered before they are born. Mods for adult bodies are much more limited than pre-natal alterations, but medical technology is slowly catching up.
Posted on September 24, 2024
Posted on September 21, 2024Talita is using a web browser on her tablet. She is on a website called "A.I. Lookup," which has a pair of cartoon glasses representing the double "o"s in the title. She has selected "shipboard" from a "location" drop down menu, "sapient" from a "class" menu, and has the "services" dropdown menu open. It lists "general hire, translation, information, communication, administration, pilot, any." She selects "any" and types the name "Bip" into the search bar. No matching search results are returned. The website's glasses mascot looks sad. Talita looks annoyed. Talita: Ugh... She goes to the Ixion Recycling Plant employee portal and looks at the list of yard deliveries, which are listed by date, item class, and SIMS number. She selects and copies the SIMS number ATJTW-62398562.
Posted on September 19, 2024Talita unites the string holding up the top of her dress and begins to disrobe, then suddenly stops dead. She looks to her right at the boxes of phones with their tiny cameras staring up at the ceiling. Bristling and annoyed, she throws a blanket over the boxes before she finishes undressing. Her dress and all four of her fancy sandals removed, she reclines in bed, operating her tablet screen with her trunk.
Posted on September 17, 2024Bip: Yes. A clan of 10. Talita stares off into space, thoughts racing through her head. Bip rolls their eyes and places a hand on their avatar's chin, tilting its head knowingly. Bip: Would you like to ask me something? Talita: Huh? No. Talk to you later, Bip. Bip: Good night, Talita. The tablet screen goes black again. Talita stares at it for a bit, feeling a complicated emotion, then drops her hand to her side. She stands alone in her apartment.
Posted on September 14, 2024Bip: I saw on your resume that you go by "she/her" instead of the Jovian default pronoun for aliens, gender neutral singular "they/them." Talita: How many of my files have you read? Bip: Only your public ones. Talita: Also, that’s not the same thing as “woman.” Bip: Well, given your education and work history, flawless English, Jovian cultural mannerisms, and human-like body language… I figured you could only be a cross-species foster case. Talita is taken aback. B: So pretty likely you’d also have a human cultural identity. T: You’re certainly astute. …If presumptuous. Talita looks irritated, but her mood shifts as she recalls the symbols on the outside of the ship. Talita: Bip, was your last crew centaurs?
Posted on September 12, 2024
Posted on September 10, 2024Talita picks up her tablet and takes it off the charger. Gillie and Idrisah move to leave. Idrisah: I have to go before my parents send search and rescue. Gillie: (ASL) Seeya. Don’t let the criminal supercomputer murder you in your sleep. The couple exit Talita's apartment. Talita watches them go with a tired expression, then presses the button to close her rattly roll-down door. Now alone, she looks back at the boxes of phones trepidatiously. Talita: …Bip?
Posted on September 7, 2024Talita: Can I get back to you on that. I need to think. Bip: Sure! When? Talita: By Monday. Bip: After work? Talita: Sure. Bip: Ok! The tablet screen goes black. Talita stands there awkwardly as Gillie and Idrisah stare at her. Idrisah: Talita. Seriously? Talita: I didn’t promise them anything. Idrisah's phone buzzes in her pocket. Gillie: (ASL) Text from mom? Idrisah: Shit.
Posted on September 5, 2024Idrisah: You think we’re BORED enough to commit CRIMES for a STRANGER? Bip: Well, now we’ve met! Would you consider crimes for an acquaintance? Talita rubs her eyes and pushes her glasses up, holding her face. Her expression is haggard. Talita: Can everyone please leave my apartment. Bip: I’d love to, but I’m 841 phones. Talita: (murderously) Get off my tablet. Bip's avatar looks nervous. Bip: Could I at least get a yes or no on the power reconnection?
Posted on September 3, 2024Idrisah: YOU’RE GONNA GET ARRESTED WHEN YOU TRY TO LEAVE, ANYWAYS!! Gillie: (ASL) …Yeah, unless you’re planning to forge many papers… Bip: You two would be great help with that.  Seeing how writing those papers is your day jobs. Gillie looks skeptical. Idrisah is deeply offended. Idrisah: EXCUSE ME? Gillie: (ASL) Sounds like a lot of work. What’s the pay? Bip's avatar shrugs. Bip: Oh, I’m legally dead. I have no assets. This offer comes without bribes. I just thought I would ask, since you three seem intriguing… highly skilled… and deeply bored.
Posted on August 31, 2024Bip: Well, if I had to pick… Bip's avatar points up at the wall projection, where they have displayed Talita's diploma from the University of Jovia. Bip: It would be the woman with unlimited junkyard access and a masters in aerospace. Her eyes widen and face bristles. Talita: St— Stop touching my files! Bip: –But, that’s not what I’m asking for. The only urgent thing is the power connection. Idrisah: Yeah, suuure. Why shouldn’t we report you right now? Bip: Because snitching is lame? Idrisah looks outraged.
Posted on August 29, 2024Gillie: (ASL) You’ll have to talk to the gate authorities anyway. Idrisah: (ASL) Yeah, and if you have a piracy record, they’ll find it. They have nothing better to do all day than count ships and find flaws in my paperwork. Gillie: (ASL) Besides, you’ll need to borrow legs from Ixion to even leave. Bip: Well, true! Bip's avatar reclines and points at its "chin" thoughtfully, while the projector displays another diagram with the projector, showing a flowchart connecting a pile of scrap, a frontloader, and their spacecraft. Bip: Though, considering how minimal the damage is… And the piles of spare ship parts… And the fleet of RC drones here… It wouldn’t be that hard to get my “legs” working with help. Gillie grins and laughs loudly. Gillie: HA HA HA HAW! (ASL) Sounds like fun! Good luck getting project approval, pirate! Talita: Yeah, also… Just who on this rock do you think can help you REBUILD a SPACESHIP?
Posted on August 27, 2024Gillie appears bemused and impressed. Gillie: (ASL) Yes… Talita: You want something from us. What is it. Bip: Isn’t it obvious? I’m in quite a predicament! Bip uses the projector feature on the back of Talita's tablet to display an image on the wall. It's a diagram of the Runaway, showing the location of Bip's servers in the upper habitat capsule, the location of the fuel cells and communications systems below them on the spine of the ship, and the severed electrical lines between the two. Bip: Right now, I’m stranded outside my own brain. (Nice projector, by the way.) I was left for dead after the projectile that punctured the habitat cut off my access to communications. It would be simple enough to fix. Talita: And you’re talking to us instead of the authorities because… you have a record? Bip's avatar places its hands under its "chin" in mock-innocence. Bip: What record? Gillie: (ASL) Wait, wait. You’re in a grounded ship?
Posted on August 24, 2024Idrisah: Who is this?? Talita: There was an AI… in these phones from the junkyard… Bip: You must be Idrisah! I’m Bip, pleasure to meet you! Idrisah: (worried) How do you know my name? Gillie: (ASL) What’s going on? Bip promptly switches to a captioned mode, with their dialog appearing as a speech bubbles on the tablet screen. Bip:  Oh, what is that? American sign language? So that’s why I couldn’t hear half of your conversation! Talita: You were eavesdropping. Bip: Give me a sec, I’ll download that. The lights flicker. Idrisah looks extremely stressed. Talita's mane feathers raise in anger. Talita: STOP ABUSING MY BANDWIDTH! Bip: There we go! Stay in front camera range. You’re Gillie, right?
Posted on August 22, 2024Idrisah: …Pirate ship? Gillie and Idrisah stand at the still-open entrance of Talita's apartment. Talita turns around to look at them, shocked, and begins backing away from her tablet. Bip's avatar gestures invitingly. Bip: Come on in! We’re discussing crime! Talita: (enraged) I’M NOT PART OF THIS!!
Posted on August 20, 2024Talita looks up with a completely flat expression and vacant stare. Talita: I’m going to have a panic attack. Bip: No need! I’m not gonna hurt you or your tablet. After all, you rescued me! Talita: Rescued—your data is in all these phones? Bip: Most of it! Some of it’s left onboard, but without power I can’t connect to it. Talita: Wait—don’t tell me you were the shipboard AI of that new wreck! Bip: I am telling you that. The damage cut off power to my servers, but luckily we still had all those contraband phones! Talita: …Contraband. Bip: Oh! Bip moves one of their avatar's hands in front of its face, as if talking conspiratorially. Bip: Don’t tell anyone, but… I was a pirate ship.
Posted on August 17, 2024Talita: WHAT ARE YOU? WHY ARE YOU ON MY TABLET!? Bip: WOAH, woah, calm down! I’m an AI, duh. My name is Bip. Thanks for asking. I’m on here because your security program suuucks. And I got bored of waiting for you to look in the boxes. Talita: The boxes? Talita looks wide-eyed at the eight boxes of quantum phones on the charging mat, then leans over them to get a better look. As she does, every single phone in the boxes lights up with a Bip avatar face on its screen. Every phone simultaneously: Hello!
Posted on August 15, 2024
Posted on August 13, 2024Talita's tablet, which sitting on her bedroom desk plugged in to charge on its stand, has something on the screen. It's a white iconified avatar of a bug ferret with human or centaur-like cartoon eyes against a black background. Talita stares in blank surprise, pitcher raised to her lips. The avatar lifts its two-fingered vector hand in greeting. Thing on the screen: Hello, Talita! Gillie and Idrisah are walking home, holding hands. Gillie is on her phone. SFX: SHRIEK! A loud scream erupts from the still open door of Talita's apartment, startling Idrisah but unnoticed by Gillie.
Posted on August 10, 2024Talita stands at the threshold of her illuminated open door and waves goodbye to Gillie and Idrisah from as they walk away into the dark habitat dome. Now alone, she takes a big stretch that arches her back and sticks a rear leg and arm out. She fills a pitcher of water at the sink and sips it from the spout side, absentmindedly opening the curtain separating her bedroom from the rest of the apartment.
Posted on August 8, 2024It's dark outside in the dome. Gillie and Idrisah put their shoes on as they stand in the open door of Talita's apartment. Idrisah: Thank you so much for having us! Talita: Thank you for coming over! Idrisah: Sorry to be running out right after bing bong. I have to— Gillie: (ASL) Let’s hurry. Your parents are awake by now. Idrisah: (ASL) I know… Don’t tell them we celebrated before I called for Eid prayers. Talita: Is Eid on a different day in the Nexus? Idrisah: Well… on Earth, it’s based on the local sighting of Luna in its crescent phase after the 10th month of the Islamic calendar. In space, everyone usually goes with Mecca’s sighting. But Nexus Jovia is on Martian Valley Time… and Dirtball’s on 23/7 Human-Avian Standard… Inset panel: Human home system showing Earth, Luna, Mars, and Jupiter with Nexus Jovia where Idrisah's parents live. A segment of Avian Territories shows a little star marked "Ixion-3 or Shikaviil-3 (a.k.a. Dirtball)." Idrisah: –I just try to celebrate when the rest of my family does. Talita: I see.
Posted on August 6, 2024Talita: Not right now, though, please. Gillie: (ASL) Now we have more excuses to visit you. Idrisah: (ASL) It’s important we remaining residents stick together! Talita: Yeah… It can get pretty lonely out here. Inset Panel: The barren surface of Dirtball. Gillie: (ASL) Are you two more interested in the bug ferret soap opera now that the TV is muted? Idrisah: (ASL) The audio is only part of the problem! The TV screen shows The Dragon victorious, the subtitles reading "I'm very pleased to claw this victory away from Claws..." Time passes, the lights-out chime sounds out at 20:00. SFX: BIIIIING BOOONG
Posted on August 3, 2024Idrisah: (ASL) Oh, sure! It’s not like we’re listening, anyways. Gillie: (ASL) This app is bad with non-human voices and even worse with crosstalk. We need to train it to recognize you. Idrisah: (ASL) I think Talita should just try signing! Gillie: (ASL) Your comprehension IS really good... Talita's cheeks begin to bristle with embarrassment. Talita: There’s… a lot to work around. Gillie: (ASL) that just makes it more exciting. Idrisah: (ASL) We’re xenolingiusts! “Working around” is what we do! Talita bristles even harder, shrinking away from her friends. Idrisah: (ASL) We’re willing to help if you’re willing to try! Talita: (ASL) …Yes. Gillie and Idrisah smile.
Posted on August 1, 2024Idrisah: TEMPS… With Calcery gone, our apartment building is crowded for once. Your new crew is NOISY, Talita. Inset panel: Idrisah taking out the trash and looking down the end of the apartment hallway at the 5 temps raucously conversing and drinking. Talita: Not like me telling them off would do much. Idrisah: Are they being jerks? Talita: It’s the usual vibes. Like they’re worried that if I get mad I’ll flip out and maul them, or something. Idrisah: That’s so stupid!! You’re just a person! Announcer: TEN! THAT’S A MATCH FOLKS! CONGRATS TO– Gillie nervously looks down at her transcription app as the two talk. It is struggling with the overlapping conversation. App transcript: ??1: it’s remarkably hard to condense the dragon— ??2: for besting her opponent and waning— ??3: Thor 3 meters tall with sharp teeth galactic cup— Idrisah: I wish you could just tell them to go fuck themselves— ??1: threats are absolute bottom of the 100 kilo weight last— ??2: of things that help— Gillie: Ahem Gillie: (ASL) Can I… uh… mute the TV?
Posted on July 30, 2024Talita: Not any weirder than the rest of the stuff you all do with your genetics. Idrisah: Yeah, natal labs will let people do some crazy stuff to their kids. Gillie: (ASL) And sometimes they don’t even get it right. She tugs on one of her ears. Talita: Um… If it’s not too personal… do you conceal those in public because you were born off-model? Gillie: (ASL) I never know when one of the temps is gonna be a prick about it. The humans because they know what a designer catgirl is SUPPOSED to look like… Inset panel: An on-model catgirl reclines on her side. She has furry cat ears and a long fluffy tail, but the rest of her body is perfectly humanoid. Gillie: (ASL) And skimmer avians are just freaks about GMH in general. Talita: Like they aren’t bad enough about other species of avians. Inset panel: A skimmer avian bright yells "Blasphemous speciation!"
Posted on July 27, 2024Gillie: (ASL) We’re going to watch something COOL. She selects a different channel. Onscreen a large human woman with scales and thick tail grapples a woman with fur, large cat ears, and taur bodyplan with a catlike rear torso. The border text reads: GMH Wrestling Galactic Cup, Round 4, Katya "Claws" vs. The Dragon. Idrisah: (ASL) Ah… The girl-watching channel. Idrisah: Well, if it works for Talita… Talita: I’m not picky. Announcer: KATYA GOING FOR THE FOUR-LIMB GRAPPLE! Announcer: THE DRAGON’S DOWN! CAN SHE BREAK OUT IN TIME? The cat-taur grips the dragon woman with her front four limbs and pushes her down to the floor of he arena. Idrisah: You know, I’ve always wondered… is it weird, seeing human taurs as a natural hexapod?
Posted on July 25, 2024Idrisah: Oh, speaking of history… I’ve been meaning to watch this climate wars documentary… She selects a media file with the PC remote titled "Flooded Coasts." Gillie: (ASL) Hey!! We could watch that ferret soap opera I captioned! Idrisah: (ASL) Gil, I love you, but those give me a headache. A diagram shows an example of a bug ferret soap opera. There are many chaotic text, image, and video layers overlaid on the "main" content. Gillie: (ASL) That’s why they’re fun! Idrisah: (ASL) There’s also this new story letsplay from RingLight Studios. Talita: Those are usually big budget awards-bait shlock. Idrisah: I just wish more series were playing anything other than Luxcraft. Talita: Yeah… I prefer classical survival games. Gillie: (ASL) You two don’t get it. You watch RingLight series to mock them. Idrisah: (ASL) Yeah, but it still gives them views. Gillie: (ASL) AUGH! Give me that! She grabs the remote out of Idrisah's hand.
Posted on July 23, 2024Idrisah: At least you aren’t eating entirely from that food printer anymore. Talita: I’m still shocked I could find enough info on centaur invertebrate farming to set it up here! Bugs are a lot better than just printed meat. She takes a bite of the smoked meat. A diagram shows the food printer machine and the hexapodal invertebrates that look somewhere in between a sea cucumber, a caterpillar, and a guinea pig. Idrisah: You’d think 80 years after first contact with centaurs there would be more spacer resources. Gillie, who has been following the conversation via live captions on the phone in her lap while chewing on a chabbit leg, taps Idrisah's shoulder. Gillie: Nm-m-mh. Gillie: (ASL) Bug ferrets shouldn’t have contacted a sapient species in their radio age in the first place. At least humans and avians already had space infrastructure from colonizing their local star systems. Talita: Mel used to joke that I must have gone into engineering because I had to build all my own accommodations anyways. Idrisah: That seems too true to be funny.
Posted on July 20, 2024Gillie gives Idrisah the stick PC, a chocolate bar sized rod with a plug on one end, and she plugs it into a port on the side of Talita's TV screen. The rear casing slides off, becoming a handheld remote. The trio sits down on Talita's massive couch, Gillie opening a box of prepared food. Talita: Do you two mind if I have your gift now? I haven’t eaten yet today… Idrisah: Go ahead! Gillie: (ASL) We brought meat too! And not mealworms— I struck a deal with one of the animal ag guys… She holds up what appears to be a breaded and fried rabbit leg, grinning cheekily. Idrisah: I feel so bad for the chabbit, though… Talita: Must be nice to have options. Being a carnivore is SO expensive in space… Talita pops open the plastic shrink wrap on the smoked meat with sharp beak-like front incisors.
Posted on July 18, 2024Talita taps an entry code into the number pad by her apartment door. She, Idrisah, and Gillie walk inside under the rattling roll-up door. Idrisah: I can’t believe they still have you living in DRY STORAGE. Talita: Well, setting up the separate septic over HERE was a nightmare enough. Besides, I fit. Idrisah: Yeah… I feel bad having you come over… A small diagram shows Talita standing on all sixes under a human building's 2.5 meter ceiling. Talita: Eh. All sixes is only a hassle if my hands get dirty. Talita presses a button to lower the door and Idrisah turns to Gillie. Idrisah: (ASL) Can I get the stick PC? Gillie: (ASL) Just a sec. She reaches into her hair and removes two soft ear clips, revealing pointed ears somewhere in between a human's and cat's. She unties the sweater from her waist, underneath which is a short tail covered in white fur. She stuffs the sweater in her bag.
Posted on July 16, 2024Three closeups of the trio's hands show them taking photos of the others on their mobile devices. Gillie takes a picture of Idrisah and Talita posed elaborately, back to back and holding hands over their heads. Live captions show Talita asking "Am I posing right?" While Idrisah laughs happily. Gillie's phone has a large rectangular screen with no buttons, and her hands are chubby and freckled with thick narrow nails somewhat resembling claws. Idrisah takes a photo of Gillie and Talita kneeling with their hands supporting a large cartoon heart image that has been overlaid digitally. A photo filter has made their appearance very cartoony and a background starburst effect has been added behind them. Idrisah's hands are thin and expressively posed, and her phone has a screen block attached to a large camera block and a Tiiliitian tonal keyboard block. A small phone charm with a cat face bead dangles off the keyboard. Talita takes a photo on her tablet of Idrisah blowing a raspberry on Gillie's cheek. Gillie grimaces, showing off sharp teeth as she playfully pushes her wife away. Talita's hands have naked palms and a short coating of horse fur-like feathers elsewhere, and her fingers end in dark pointed hooves. They make her large tablet with a manual key block look smaller than it is.
Posted on July 13, 2024Talita: Woah, that’s huge. Idrisah: Well yeah, it’s for you. Gillie hands her the meat. Talita looks astonished. Talita: Wait— this is from the centaur homeplanet!? Idrisah: Yep! Smoked meat, express shipped! Gillie looks at her phone's live transcription app as the two talk. Talita: Idrisah, I can’t accept this! It must have been so expensive! Idrisah: Well, we can’t eat it! It’s got the wrong molecules! Talita: But— Idrisah gets Gillie's attention. Idrisah: (ASL) Hey! Ready to take photos? Gillie: (ASL) Yep. Gillie steps back to get both of them in frame on her phone camera. Gillie: (ASL) Smiiiiile! She grins, revealing cat-like pointed canine teeth.
Posted on July 11, 2024It's 10:30. Mel calls Cheevwut, stirring eggs in a pan. A Tiiliitian musical ringtone plays from the phone on Cheevwut's floor. Disgruntled at being woken up, Cheevwut picks up the phone, sees that the caller is "Mel (boss)," picks up the call, and then throws their phone across the room. Mel hears a muffled thud on the other end of the line and is confused. It's 11:00. Talita waves from outside her apartment to the approaching human couple. Idrisah waves back, Gillie is holding a large bag. Talita is wearing a light flowy chiffon sundress and fancy sandals. Idrisah is wearing a black twisted headwrap and a pantsuit with a capelet and belly band. Gillie is wearing a shortsleeve romper with lace trim and and a long beaded necklace, and has a sweater tied around her waist. Talita: You two look lovely! Idrisah: Aw, you too! It’s been so long since we had an occasion to dress up! We brought more than ourselves, though… Gillie pulls a massive shrink-wrapped piece of smoked shoulder meat out of her bag, and holds it over her head triumphantly.
Posted on July 9, 2024It's 09:30. Gillie rips the blankets off Idrisah. Idrisah: EEEK! Idrisah: (ASL) You’re already dressed to go out?? Gillie: (ASL) I’m hungry. Let’s go! Gillie packs their belongings while Idrisah gets dressed. Idrisah taps Gillie's shoulder. Idrisah: (ASL) Can you carry the gift? Gillie: (ASL) Yep. Meanwhile, Talita takes a mist shower, blow dries her head feathers, puts on her dress, and uses her tablet front facing camera as a mirror to tie the string of the dress top behind her neck. It's 10:00. Mel calls Ohwitiil. Both of them are cooking breakfast in their own apartments. Mel: Sorry to call you on a day off, Ohwitiil— I was just thinking about the next round of temps— Ohwitiil: If you can convince Jovia it’s worth the tax money, I doubt the Dominion of Tiiliit will care. Mel: We’d need another water filtration loop, more invertebrate agriculture units, remodeling… Ohwitiil: Sourcing them in the first place will be harder. Staffing is Cheevwut’s area, not mine. But that brat is probably still asleep. Cheevwut is indeed, still asleep. They are curled up naked in a round bed with random clutter beside it; like food wrappers, their phones, a cup, and a bowl full of discarded bug heads (the bodies presumably eaten).
Posted on July 6, 2024It's 09:00. The view of the habitat dome zooms out, with small comics appearing connected to their location in the dome with a tail. Gillie pokes her wife Idrisah, who is tucked into bed, in the face several dozen times. Idrisah shifts in bed and signs, eyes still closed. Idrisah: (ASL) 5 more minutes.... Mel scrolls through their phone contacts while brushing their teeth, stopping at Ohwitiil. Meanwhile, in a different apartment, Ohwitiil is filing down their upper bill. In yet another apartment, Cheevwut is asleep. SFX: BEEDLE BEEDLE BEEDLE BEEDLE BEEDLE Talita's alarm goes off on her bedside desk. After a while, she props her head up with her eyes closed, wobbling with drowsiness and mane feathers rumpled into an unflattering lumpy profile.
Posted on July 4, 2024Chapter 2: Party Guests SFX: BING BONG It's 08:00, the tower chime sounds out and morning comes to the unchanging dark side of Ixion-3. The huge protective berm surrounding the even taller launch loop towers over the kilometer wide circle of the habitat dome. Massive rail tracks, building sized cranes, and neatly arranged piles of scrap lie to the right of the small habitable area.
Posted on July 2, 2024

 

Chapter 3: History

LOG 3.1: The Launch Loop Talita: The launch loop is an active structure maglev cable transport system. The upper rail is held 80 kilometers above Dirtball's surface by the momentum of dozens of rotor belts that circulate through the structure. The circulation transfers the weight of the structure onto magnetic bearings at the grounded ends, which support it. Diagram of the end of the launch loop: 30 km wide rail loop radio dome berm wall surrounding rail loop magnetic bearings attached on each side of loop loop access rails ground access rail Talita: In total, it's about 2,700 kilometers long and 80 kilometers tall, and the support rail width is about 60 meters. Quite large! Diagram of a cross section of the launch loop rail: central maglev rail 2 maintenance cables and personnel maglev rails below main rail 7 active support stands support rails for stabilizing payload Diagram of a cross section of an active support strand: 5 rotors per strand Talita: This megastructure was created as an upfront investment by a Tiiliitian mining company, and it paid for itself in ease of exporting billions of tons of metals, rare gases, and heavy water. LOG 3.2: The Skyhook Orbital Tether Diagram: counterweight satellite body 600 km tether The hook, which may be swapped out to pick up different kinds of payloads. orbital direction (path around planet) spin direction (rotation of the entire structure) Attachment Process Diagram: payload accelerates on launch loop rail to the speed of the passing attachment point both traveling 3,800 m/s relative to surface "basket" grapple points extend from hook The RCS (reaction control system) positions baskets over “hitch” attachment points on the payload sled. basket tightens Diagram of Dirtball (aka Ixion III, Shikaviil III): Path of satellite body: a circular orbit around Dirtball Path of hook: A three-lobed path following around the path of the satellite body Talita: Incoming payloads give some of their kinetic energy to the skyhook, which slows them down enough to be safely transferred to the loop’s rail, and the skyhook uses that borrowed kinetic energy to fling outgoing payloads into higher orbit. Talita: The skyhook orbits Dirtball about every 2 hours, and the entire structure slowly spins as it does. The 600 kilometer tether extending from the satellite body passes 80 kilometers above the surface at 3 different points, most importantly over the rail of the launch loop. Payloads are put into support sleds with hitch spurs and are sent up the rail of the launch loop to accelerate up to 3,800 meters per second, the speed of the passing skyhook's attachment point. Idrisah: It's so scary. Talita: (visibly delighted) Everything in aerospace is!
Posted on December 12, 2024Talita stops speaking abruptly, staring wide-eyed at the ship below as the elevator silently raises her away from it. The empty starry sky fills more and more of the background. Sorrow enters her expression and she brings a hand to her throat, looking back up. Talita: I... I'm sorry. Bip: It's fine. The panel shows the dark puncture wound that ripped through the side of the habitat module. Bip: I didn't expect any of them to make it.
Posted on December 10, 2024Talita climbs back out of the hole in the habitat wall, carrying her equipment. Talita: How long will the transfer take?  Bip: About 3 days. Any thoughts on other repairs? Talita:  …I'm going back to work. Talk to you later. Talita packs her stuff into a large cart and gets back on the industrial lift. Bip: Talita, can I ask one more question? Talita: (annoyed) What. Bip: Is the emergency boat still docked? She looks down at the ship below, and sees the small spaceplane still attached to one of the docking ports. Talita: Yeah? Wh—
Posted on December 7, 2024
Posted on December 5, 2024
Posted on December 3, 2024
Posted on November 30, 2024
Posted on November 28, 2024
Posted on November 26, 2024Talita stares in astonishment at Gillie and Idrisah, who are arguing in sign language too fast to understand across the hab. Idrisah walks off in a huff, leaving Gillie looking defeated. Gillie then notices Talita spying on them across the way. Gillie: (ASL) YOU.  She points at Talita with an intense stare. Talita jumps. Gillie: (ASL) I know you can read me from there. Meet me after work. Don’t tell Idrisah. She heads back towards her apartment building. Talita watches her and grips her throat nervously.
Posted on November 23, 2024Bip: Thank you, Talita. The cranes move the Runaway off the rails of the junkyard into one of the empty building foundations. Time passes, the tower chimes bing bong, and Talita wakes up to the alarm of another workday. She showers, eats from a large bag of bugs, and leaves her apartment. Just like last time, she closes the door with one of her hind feet. Across the dome, she spies two people apparently talking to one another.
Posted on November 21, 2024
Posted on November 19, 2024Talita: (grimacing) Is that an attempt at flattery? Bip: Is it working? Cheevwut suddenly appears, riding into the vehicle workshop on a squeaky company tricycle. Cheevwut: Ey, Tal! Are you on overtime again? Talita glances nervously at the wall clock, which no longer shows any evidence of Bip. Talita: Oh–uh– I... Hadn’t seen the time! Cheevwut: Don't do that too much, or Ohwitiil's gonna yell at me. They look down at their phone. Cheevwut: Oh, also, message from Idrisah. She says to clear the rails, since we have new junkers coming down the loop tonight. And… uh… “No funny business". Whatever that idiom means. 
Posted on November 16, 2024Talita: Uh. No??  She launches into a nerd rant, listing off problems on her fingers. The dialog text appears on a giant piece of notebook paper behind her, with the lower lines partially obscured. Talita: First of all, deconstruction is a completely different activity than fabrication and refurbishment. The equipment we have here is designed to rip heavy machinery apart, not delicately piece together anything spaceworthy. And there's a LOT of specialized work we would need to do to get your ship running safely. Craft like yours are made in microgravity and not intended to leave it. Now that it's been grounded, you'd have to check the entire ship for weight strain damage to make sure the structural spine doesn't bend in half the second it gets pulled off the tracks by the sky hook. Additionally, the amount of damage to the Whipple shielding and other exterior surfaces would require extensive patching or flat out replacement, but we lack comprehensive fabrication workshops and the only available prefabricated material for that here has been abraded by regolith for decades and isn't up to any reasonable standard for launch safety. And that's not even starting on the INTERIOR… forgetting the damage to the habitat capsule, you’d have to check the fuel tanks and power plants for catastrophic leakage, or you’re going to turn into a radioactive fireball as soon as you fire up your primary thrusters. And going back to the hab, when that hole got poked— Bip: Seems like you know a lot about repairing spacecraft. Bip's avatar casually reclines on the numbers of the wall clock, which show Talita has been talking for 2 minutes. Talita's face bristles and she looks embarrassed about having been caught. Talita: …Knowing is different from expertise. Besides, what do you want from me that you couldn’t just download? Bip: Cooperation would be much more efficient. And digital information can’t really replace field experience. As a wise woman once said… Knowing is different from expertise.
Posted on November 14, 2024Talita: The company computer systems too?? Bip: Hey, It’s not like I had anything else to do this weekend. Talita: I told you to stay put! Bip: You told me to turn off my mics until you made a decision. So are you going to reconnect my power or not? Talita: I– I don’t know! Bip: I don’t even get the dignity of a refusal? Talita: Why do you even need my permission? You already hacked the equipment! Bip: Ummmm… Because I don’t want to piss off the woman with my entire living consciousness in some boxes! And you’re my only shot at getting repaired, so… y’know. Talita smirks and folds her arms. Talita: My thesis was in dismantling craft, not repairing them. Bip: Yeah? It's the same thing but backwards.
Posted on November 12, 2024As Talita works on the frontloader arm, the digital wall clock behind her hits 14:00. The arm of the frontloader vehicle taps her on the shoulder. Frontloader: Hey. Talita: Just a second, Cal— Talita freezes, staring at the hand with her mane feathers standing on end. Frontloader: Who’s Cal? Talita: Bip?! How’d you get that frequency!? Bip's avatar appears on the wall clock screen, pointing accusingly at the minute digits. Talita looks on in alarm. Bip: Hey, don’t deflect. You’re 3 minutes late to a very important discussion!
Posted on November 9, 2024Talita: But in my experience… their style of intervention makes things worse.  Talita inhales deeply, and her pronounced forearm and upper back muscles tense as she lifts the cutter attachment off the frontloader's nose rig. Tod watches in bemusement as she puts it down on the hanging chains. Tod: Maybe you should just fling your temps back into orbit. Talita: Har har. So what’s up with the housing project? Tod: You’ll find out eventually. Talita: …You too, huh? Tod:  See you around, Talita. Tod walks away, waving over his shoulder. Talita works on repairing the suspended cutter arm alone.
Posted on November 7, 2024Talita picks up remote control and drives the broken frontloader towards the vehicle workshop, stomping angrily alongside it and muttering to herself. Talita: “Doesn’t fit in the vehicles.” Yet SOMEHOW I’m still a more competent driver than you pricks! Mel and Tod are in the vehicle workshop when she arrives. Mel: Oh! Talita! Are the temps still behaving themselves? Talita: Uh… Yeah! Mel: Great! Tod, I’ll see you at the housing project tomorrow! Tod looks knowingly at Talita as she begins to disconnect the cutter arm attachment from the frontloader. Tod: You don’t tell Mel much, do you. Talita: They mean well… 
Posted on November 5, 2024The crew take their suits off at the lockers, and Dominic looks nervously over her shoulder at Talita before whispering to the other temps. Dominic:  Are they mad? They look so mad! Phoebe: I can never tell with centaur faces. Dominic: Aren’t they a predator? Do you think we look like prey to them? Talita grimaces and rubs her neck, not looking at the temps, who are unaware she can hear them. Adam: Don’t tell me you’re scared of that stripey sock puppet just because it eats meat. He smirks and mimes a sock puppet talking with his hand. Dominic: I’m not scared! Phoebe: Ha! You’re funny, kid. Adam: Some diversity hire, too. They don’t even fit in the vehicles. Talita's face bristles and she grimaces even harder, focusing intently on tying her shoes. As the temps walk away, she shoots an angry glance at their backs.
Posted on November 2, 2024While Talita looks off in the distance, Phoebe and Dominic are in the modular front loaders. Dominic moves the cutter arm around dangerously close to Phoebe's vehicle and one of the hydraulic lines catches on a sideview mirror. Phoebe: Watch it, Dom! Dominic: Is the arm broken? It won’t move. Talita: Dominic, ease off. Let me make sure you’re not about to— Dominic moves the arm up and the caught hydraulic oil line snaps. Talita: …break something… Later in the workday, the crew and their vehicles re-enter the airlock of the recycling plant. Dominic: I—I’m sorry—About earlier— Talita: It’s fine. Those hydraulic lines were due for replacement, anyways.
Posted on October 31, 2024Talita puts on a sprayer can backpack and talks to Yao, who is also holding a sprayer. Talita: Only mark metals today. Big intact chunks. Dominic: Oh! Oh! Can I take the cutter today? Talita: Remember not to point it at anyone. Taltia and Yao walk around, marking different kinds of salvage with paint. Talita gets distracted by the Runaway off in the distance, sit at the base of the berm wall below the launchloop that fills the sky. It's over 20 kilometers away but her enormous eyes can make out enough details on the ship to start making observations about possible repairs. Text overlay with arrows pointing to different portions of the ship: Fuel tanks: empty, may have hidden transport damage. Crumpled radiator pair: extensively damaged. Replace structural frames. Extendable solar panels: dust abrasion damage. Structural spine: appears undamaged? Emergency boat intact. Puncture in habitat module: • severed electronics • replace plating and shielding • damaged plumbing Old Whipple shield: may be due for replacement.
Posted on October 29, 2024The vehicle procession continues along the transport rail, passing a dozen empty foundation pits where mining operation buildings used to be. Talita: Jovians bought the place after it got stripped of most of its rare metals and heavy water. Most of the old infrastructure on the dark side got salvaged ages ago. Clayton: But not the electrolysis plant? Talita: Well… She looks at the huge semi-cylinder shell of the the plant where it sits next to the transport rail. Eight large fluid tanks sit to its right. Talita: It's not making deuterium fuel anymore... It’s just storing leftover heavy water for wetting down the regolith dust around the worksite… Clayton: That's some expensive mud. Talita: Ehh... There's not enough icecap left to turn a profit on export. They arrive at the slag field. Twisted chunks of metal stick out of the regolith substrate. Talita: Yao, you’re marking with me. Everyone else, uh, your choice of vehicle.
Posted on October 26, 2024The vehicle procession drives deeper into the junkyard, away from the launch loop berm. Dominic: So the slag field is just... Stuff dropped right off the skyhook? Into the ground? Talita: Yeah. Only salvageables and expensive junk gets a ride on the launch loop. Inset panel: Slag is shown being flung directly off the skyhook into the ground. Salvageables are shown being dropped off gently onto the launch loop rails. Dominic: Is that safe? Phoebe: Cheapest way to deorbit junk. Clayton: The cheapest way to deorbit junk is to keep it in orbit. Where DID this piddly operation get the cash for a launch loop? Talita: Oh, this used to be a Tiiliitian mining operation.
Posted on October 24, 2024Adam: You’re a GMH? Phoebe: Excuse me!? I’m in the typ genepool with you, twerp! Clayton: Where do you find these people, boss? Talita: I’m not in charge of hiring. Most of the crew has suited up and loaded into the personal transit buggy. Talita fusses with Dominic's suit. Talita: Dominic, you forgot a helmet latch again. Dominic: (unintelligible) Talita: And your radio. They exit the airlock and go back out into the barren landscape of the junkyard. The protective berm looms to the right, and behind it the launch loop stretches through the sky and disappears over the horizon. The tall plant buildings dwarf the procession of vehicles exiting it, which appear only as a string of lights.
Posted on October 22, 2024The crew puts their exosuits on. Yao takes xer horns off xer pedicle implants with a click. Adam grabs one out of xer hand. Yao looks shocked. Adam: Why do you wear these dumb things to work? Yao: Hey!! Give that back! Adam holds the horn out of Yao's arm reach. Adam: What, no “please?” Talita leans over the two of them, casting a long shadow. She grins mirthlessly to show her sharp, beak-like teeth. Talita: Adam. Could you not? Adam: Whatever. I’m sure Yao has a great reason for wearing xer expensive surgical jewelry to a job that requires a HELMET. He drops the horn and Yao catches it. Adam: At least it comes off, I guess. Phoebe, why’d you get your ears replaced? He is referring to Phoebe's long, furless goat-like ears. She looks up from donning her suit torso, offended. Phoebe: Do I LOOK like a biomodder? These are an artificial gene from my pa’s side.
Posted on October 19, 2024Talita removes her steel toe boots and puts her socks in them next to the suit lockers. Clayton approaches. Clayton: Morning, boss. Talita: Hi… you can just call me Talita, Clayton. Where’s the rest of the crew? Clayton: Relatively on time. The other temps approach. Phoebe is grimacing and rubbing her forehead, and Adam is squinting. Talita: Had a fun Sunday night, huh? Dominic: Phoebe and Adam were the only ones drinking, boss. Phoebe: Don’t TELL them that! Talita grimaces, rubs her throat, and looks away. Her face bristles. Talita: “Her” that… please… Clayton: Where we headed today, boss? Talita: Slag field. Suit up and check in with me before entering the airlock.
Posted on October 17, 2024Talita: Uh, I'll try... She walks into the vehicle hanger of the plant and starts preparing for the day's outing. She unplugs a modular frontloader and leans into the cockpit to press some controls inside. Her foretorso is about the same size as the entire chair in the vehicle. Talita then uses a remote to control the frontloaders and line them up ready for use.
Posted on October 15, 2024Talita: Well, holler if you need brute force. Coming in? Tod: I’m waiting for Killian. Poor bastard’s got short legs, even for a tailer. Lord knows why they’ve been sticking around here in gravity. Killian walks over to where Talita and Tod stand. They are about a third Talita's height and half of Tod's height. Killian: When do the interns get here again? Tod: 10:00. If they aren’t hung over. Killian: Well. It would buy us time to diagnose the sorter jams… The trio walk into the plant together. Talita: Are your temps giving you trouble? Tod: Egh. Killian: They’re college kids. Nice enough, kinda irresponsible. Talita: Mine have been… I don’t know. I’m not a very good manager… She grips her throat nervously. Tod: Don’t let them bully you today. Killian: Yeah, outdoors work is dangerous. They need to listen to you.
Posted on October 12, 2024The talking figures are Ohwitiil and Mel. Their dialog bubbles are small and greyed out with parts cut off. Mel: — to six stories tall to preserve the window layout and some of the floor infrastructure. Ohwitiil: — ght work fine. — ou'd still need — o remodel the — doors, plumbing. — Add thickness — o upper floor. Mel: — s of course! There would — quite a bit of fabrication — eded to. I talked to Tod — ier and he told me it shou — stly be possible to keep in  — e with the plant equipment. Talita stares at them uncertainly, then walks on the other side of the loop to the plant doors. Tod is there, opening the door wirelessly with his tablet. Talita: Morning, Tod. Tod: Something like that. Talita: Do you know what Mel and Ohwitiil are up to by the guest housing block? Tod: Mel’s on about co-species housing upgrades. Like my crew isn’t spread thin enough. Talita: Need help? Tod: You got enough on your hands these days.
Posted on October 10, 2024Talita's tablet sits on her bedside tablet next to her glasses. The room is dark. SFX: BEEDLE BEEDLE BEEDLE BEEDLE BEEDLE whap The 8:30 alarm goes off and Talita hits the tablet with her trunk to stop it. She squints blearily at the light, then gets ready for work in a montage of closeups: filing her teeth, brushing her mane feathers, snapping on her overalls, and pressing the button to open the rolling garage door of her apartment. Having left, she casually presses the button to close the door with her hind foot. Off in the distance by the human apartments, she notices two figures talking.
Posted on October 8, 2024Chapter 3: History Saturday 24:00 Talita investigates on her tablet in bed. Sunday 8:00 Talita sits at her large drafting tablet, still investigating on the internet. Sunday 20:00 Talita rubs her eyes in frustration in her dark room, still at her drafting tablet. Monday 1:00 Talita lies in bed and glares at the boxes of phones. Parallel to the panels of Talita is a text list, titled "Network Search History." download> search results> A. I lookup database A.I. lookup database Bip download> search results> ATJTW- 62398562 ATJTW- 62398562 ATJTW- 62398562 vessel history ATJTW- 62398562 piracy ATJTW- 62398562 smuggling ATJTW- 62398562 arrest ATJTW- 62398562 Bip ATJTW- 62398562 A.I. download> BFNET> search results BFNET> A.I. database BFNET> A.I. criminals BFNET> ATJTW- 62398562 BFNET> ai arrests BFNET> smuggling arrests BFNET> Bip local> employee handbook local> employee legal agreement download> search results> smuggling arrests Jovia smuggling arrests Jovia piracy arrests Jovia A.I. arrests Jovia ex-criminal vessels download> search results> A.I. criminality laws A.I. criminality laws What happens to arrested A.I? Jovia A.I. criminality laws local> vessel ownership laws local> company property rules download> search results> derelict vessel laws derelict vessel laws abandoned vs derelict abandoned vessel repair legality abandoned vessel refurbishment local> company property theft
Posted on October 5, 2024