the mock mingle

[airlockedmods]

[An hour ago you woke up in a bed that wasn't yours, awakened by a chirpy, feminine voice coming from the device on your non-dominant arm. The voice cheerfully requests that you exit your sleeping quarters and to please make your way to the the main deck of the ship for a debriefing on your circumstances.

It was around this time you might have noticed the clothes you last remember wearing are gone and replaced with this little number. If you take a moment to check out the Personal Identification Program on your arm, you'll find a touch screen with a few icons that lead to a series of 21 profiles and a series of apps that lead to note-taking functions and a number of customization appearance screens. The profiles all contain a photo of each Champion, their name and title, their age, species and world of origin.

As you stumbled out of your chrome-y quarters (into an equally chrome-y hallway), with every step the floor lights up under your feet, illuminating the dark ship a little at a time. On one side of the hallway are a series of mechanical doors with screen pads embedded on the walls next to them. A quick flash of your PIP will open them for you without hassle. On the opposite side of the hallway are a long string of windows showing nothing but vast amounts of stars and the deep, dark blackness of deep space. Once you reach the end of the hallway you'll find a large central living space with 20 other people, the same people from the profiles, either there already or filing in along with you. Floating well above everyone's heads in the middle of the room is a large computer screen. Once everyone piled in, the screen blinked to life and the same voice from your PIPs greeted you in the same peppy tone from before.

The voice introduced herself as the Champion Excellence Control Environment or C.E.C.E. before welcoming you to the Deep Space Champion Excellence Program, explaining that you were selected for this program based on being the best in your particular field in your particular world, hence the title of "Champion". In this program you will be expected to live communally together here on the ship for as long as possible. The ship is fully-functional and fully-stocked for an extended stay.

Oh? You don't want to stay and participate in the program? That's alright, there's an easy fix to that! All you have to do is kill one of your fellow Champions and not get caught. That is easy enough, right? Right.

When the debriefing is complete, the screen dims but doesn't turn off completely. If need be C.E.C.E. is available to answer any more questions you have throughout the week. For now, you're free to explore the ship as you like. There's the communal dining hall, a zero gravity room, a kitchen, a holo deck, the central living area and the personal quarters everyone woke up in.

Go make some friends, dears, you may be here a while.]

Comments

[have_a_heart]

Probably. I have not seen them.

[humanitarianherbalist]

[Well, that makes sense too.] Have you ever come across nonhumans in your afterlife? [Hey, it's a legit question when you consider all the weird creatures who've shown up here.]

[have_a_heart]

There are fish in the river.

[humanitarianherbalist]

[He tilts his head, which feels funny in the zero-g room, and decides not to turn it too much.] Can you eat them? [That would raise a lot of theological questions.]

[have_a_heart]

Yes. I do not know if they have souls or they simply exist.

[humanitarianherbalist]

Fish are considered separate from other animals by many. I suppose that could be true even in the afterlife. [He pauses.] Do you know if there's anyone who actually created this afterlife? They would probably be the one to ask about fish.

[have_a_heart]

I do not know. Others have asked me as well, if there is a God there. I could not answer for them either.

[humanitarianherbalist]

Why would they ask you particularly? Or is that simply a question that people pass around a lot?

[have_a_heart]

I am the student council president. Maybe that is why.

[humanitarianherbalist]

I see. So you were the highest authority then. [He seems to "harrumph" a bit.] Humans always seem to defer to that, even when it's obviously a poor idea.

[have_a_heart]

Do you think so?

[humanitarianherbalist]

My most recent memory of human authority is a mayor who chose to banish the kindest and most noble man among his people, simply because I had grown fond of him. And as far as I know, he still holds that office.

[have_a_heart]

Only because of you... Because he did not like you.

[humanitarianherbalist]

Indeed. They feared me, although I had no particular desire to do them harm, nor would most of them have been fitting meals for me. I even did my best to take on the duties of the Minor Canon after he disappeared, because they lied and claimed he had gone off on a journey of his own will.

[have_a_heart]

I am sorry. It is hard to get people to understand.

[humanitarianherbalist]

It is alright. That does sound quite complex. It is not your job to explain all of this either, is it?