week 2

[airlockedmods]

Week 2

[The second week in the Champion Excellence Program kicks off on a somber note. Chitanda, Toby, the Griffin- all three of them gone, two of them in one fell swoop. If anyone thinks to check the profiles on their P.I.P.s they will find that the dearly departed Champions' profile photos have been greyed out.

Right on the dot at 7 am the mechanical woman's voice chimes to awaken the remaining champions on Sunday morning, as she has for the past week. After the initial wake-up call though there's a new message tacked on:]

Congratulations, Champions! By surviving your first trial, you have unlocked the second floor of the ship. A new mini map has been added to your P.I.P.! To access the second floor please stand on the teleporter and select the floor you wish to be teleported to.

[The new floor isn't the only thing floating around the ship though, at least metaphorically. When the Champions are awakened they have regained one new memory from the ones they've lost. Starting again on Sunday, as well, Jamie and Bolton will be back to their usual office hours in their usual locations.]

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday


[ooc: welcome to week 2, everyone! Check-in has begun and don't forget to submit your memory regains!]

Comments

[misplacedxsheath]

They're old symbols of fertility. Rabbits have a fast reproduction cycle and eggs carry new life, so both are major symbols befitting a celebration honoring renewal and rebirth. The combination of the two is believed to have its roots in a Germanic tradition that was introduced to the holiday in the eighteenth century AD.

Additionally, from a strictly Christian perspective, it was once believed that rabbits were hermaphroditic and could reproduce without mating. As a result, they came to be associated with the Virgin Mary and the immaculate conception of the Messiah. Eggs were forbidden by Orthadox traditions during the period of Lent, which ended just prior to Easter. As a result, newly laid eggs were boiled and eating them became strongly associated with the holiday. Fertile eggs hatching is also symbolically connected to the emergence of Christ from his tomb.

[yukionna]

[ For a few moments, Rukia is scrambling to write this all down, but eventually gives up and just listens. ]

Okay, the rabbits and eggs make sense-- [ as much as they can to someone who never studied biology can ] --but what's this about a tomb? I thought he was dead?

[ zombie jesus ]

[misplacedxsheath]

Dead and resurrected. Christ was crucified by the Romans and his body entombed. Yet three days later, he emerged from that tomb alive, through the power of divine will. It's that rebirth which is recognized and celebrated by his followers on Easter Sunday.

[yukionna]

[ o....kay. ]

Is this considered unusual, or are the figures in your religion usually not supposed to stay dead when they die?

[ Because that sounds exactly like a zombie but, his is his belief system so she's not going to...say precisely that, out loud at least. ]

[misplacedxsheath]

At the time, yes. It was thousands of years before technology existed to revive the dead. Back then, the only way such a thing could have occurred is if God Himself decreed it so, much like He sent His servant to bless the Virgin Mary with a holy child. And other than the Messiah, there are no records of anyone else experiencing such divine restoration.

[yukionna]

You have technology that can revive the dead? [ She's not sure how she feels about that, as the expression on her face says quite clearly. ]

...I see. Thank you for explaining. I think I get the gist of it now.

[misplacedxsheath]

The results of the Life Recycling Act. Such practices are currently illegal, but there's still a few cyborgs running around who were revived upon their deaths and have yet to run out the duration of their obsolete parts...

At any rate, feel free to ask if you have any other questions about historical culture. I've made quite an extensive hobby of studying such things.

[yukionna]

[ oh, good. that reassures her a little. ]

It's interesting, but a bit much to take in at once.

[misplacedxsheath]

Of course, even active research needs to be handled in segments. There's no expiration on the offer. My interest in speaking of such things has lasted this long, I have my doubts it's going to fade in however long it takes us to escape this place.