Welcome to Gaia! ::

The seal on the pod popped and hissed gently as it powered down. Its inhabitant blinked groggily as he returned to consciousness. Where was he? What was going on? He'd had a really weird and sort of disturbing dream. And this was definitely not his bed, and he was hungry.

The pod door swung open, and Noah Andersen stepped shakily down onto the floor, looking around with first curiosity and then goggle-eyed wonder. It was like stepping into a science fiction movie, except this was real. He was pretty sure it was real, anyway. He surreptitiously pinched himself. It hurt, and he didn't wake up.

Could you dream you were pinching itself and it hurt? He had no idea, but for now he was going to assume that he was awake, because this was awesome.

Pod duty used to rank among his least favourite duties, but oh, how no air conditioning had turned the tables. He was not comfortable in the slightest with the pods-- they reminded him too much of the eggs from Alien, gestating terrors waiting to sprout out into the world.

(Except the terrors were people, and his only friend was among the ranks of the terrible, so why did it bother him-)

Kostya had been walking the rows, as someone else had been manning the monitors, when he heard the tell-tale hiss of an opening pod. He had not helped anyone else 'wake up', as it were, but he remembered the sound from his own first day on the job.

With an even clip, the Moon trainee made his way towards the pod in question, and--

There was a man offering a Vulcan salute to the newly awakened trainee. Konstantin squinted suspiciously at the man (in a sarong?) out of bewilderment, and shrugged.

When on Vulcan...? Might as well. Konstantin offered them both the sign to live long and prosper.

"Velcome."

Lawr's bright smile filled out genuine as the response he got from the newly awakened hunter played directly into his hands, and only grew as the other unfamiliar man - on duty, it seemed, not new - also responded in kind.

The spirits were on his side today.

this. Trapped and glass. Cauld and wrang. Smell. Closes in. Bite out. Masterrrr. Bite ooot.>

Trying to ignore the incessant keening made it difficult to think of anything else to say, what were they meant to say to people who woke up? He remembered being asked his name. His name. Hah.

It certainly wasn't starfleet anymore for this space cadet.

"Have a pleasant sleep?"



He didn't think the poor man would be sleeping well any time hereafter.

At the question, Noah's big smile squinched into a something a little haunted. "I had ... kind of a weird dream," he said, and looked back at the pod. Then he visibly shook off the disturbed moment. "How long have I been in stasis?" he asked excitedly. "What year is it? Am I in the future?"

Deus Ex. That sounded really cool. "Oh! I'm Noah Andersen," he introduced himself, realizing that the guy had offered his name. "Is that - um - Russian?" he added curiously.

Kostya narrowed his eyes a slight degree as Jan spoke. He believed the internet called his type 'new age' or 'hipster', he had a hard time remembering.

Either way, he wasn't ever intentionally rude, unless Lucky was around, so he ducked his head in greeting. "Is nice to meet also, Jan."

As the boy talked, he got from him an energy of nervous excitement, minus all of the nervous. Bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to face the world head on.

As excitable as he was, the Moon trainee was not about to allow the other into his(Mimsy's) space, so it was kind of Jan to do so: It was good to know your allies.



No, Syntax. We do not know him yet. Noah was not yet friend potential. Not yet: Kostya was too cautious.

"If in dream, you vere on island in masks, and kill very many people, vell." He shrugged. "No dream. Reality." A moment of slight bewilderment as Konstantin blinked, and suddenly his shoulders were squared with a little bit of pride. "Da, am from Tyumen."

Lawr gave Kostya a very bright and friendly smile, outwardly oblivious to the stoicism and reservations of the other man, inwardly he'd remembered why he didn't like eastern europeans, they were too sceptical to scam easily.

His smile did turn rictus however at the comment that the man's dream was a reality. Of course Wonder Park had been a reality, it was right here that was the dream. He tried not to think about it and instead eagerly beamed at Noah. "Yes! Magic is real here." Real, terrible and horrifying, he found himself thinking. He didn't want to consider the fact the man in front of him thought he'd died, it only made the feeling he was in purgatory even worse.



<>



"It's strange here."

It was an understatement.

"I'm ready to learn," Noah declared, practically sparkling. Magic, super-science, maybe both combined, this was totally why he'd said yes when the unassuming man with the scars had asked him if he wanted to become part of the group that defended humanity from what lurked in the shadows. Aside the obvious being-a-hero thing, anyway.

He looked around at the pods, understanding. "Oh. Like, virtual reality? That makes more sense, okay!"

He paused as that thought and talk of Russia made him think of something else. "Where are we? In the world?"

Golems were not quite virtual reality, but the comparison was fitting. It was like controlling a video game character, really...If your golem crumbled, it was game over, but you could reroll and try again without any real consequence.

Huh. He'd never thought of it that way.



"Ve are on earth," Kostya said, but it was half a statement and half a question, because now he was wondering. What if this was, perhaps, a pocket to a different dimension? They always travelled via portals and never via conventional means--

He made a mental note to inquire about it to Mimsy.

"Familiar? Hmm. Veapon, da. But have tiny shape." The Moon hunter looked sheepish-- almost embarrassed, actually-- and unclipped a small trinket from his belt, offering it to Noah.

It was small, plastic, and looked a little like a tamagotchi. Almost exactly, actually, with two buttons and a usb slot in back. On its screen was a tiny pixel blob, making an assortment of emoticon faces.

"Do not know vhat is, actually." Syntax had tried to explain, but Kostya didn't quite comprehend it-- how could something living be (formerly) comprised of code?