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 Posted: Thu Sep 23, 2021 7:50 pm
While compiling some data at base camp, Fae-Fae had told Gavaen all about the Shopping Mall: an adequately accessible complex of stations where people performed transaction rituals to acquire items they used to decorate their bodies. She had even gotten him a pair of "sunglasses" from one of the stations as a souvenir sample for continued investigation. It had all been quite a thrilling experience, and she was eager to go out again.
So now the two of them were getting a firsthand experience with the city's public transportation system. Discovering that the humans had made such a thing at all had been a pleasant surprise -- in spite of their lifespan limitations, and other assorted problems, they were capable of getting some things right sometimes.
However, Fae-Fae had quickly decided she did not care for the bus. It was noisy, and bouncy, and swerved so dramatically whenever it made a turn. She had no idea why, when there were plenty of empty seats available, some of the humans chose to stand up with nothing but some dangling loops to grasp on while this vehicle thrashed about. It was a death trap! One she would firmly stay seated in until they had a chance to escape!
Her fists clenched tightly on top of her knees as she waited for an opportunity.
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Posted: Thu Sep 23, 2021 8:34 pm
Gavaen had gotten to spend less time than some of the others getting to know the people of earth and their world, as he had been asked to do this or that around their base. He often found himself taking on many tasks because he simply had an impossibly hard time saying no. He somehow always managed to juggle the multitudes of tasks with efficiency and satisfactory results, but it did leave him with little time for his own research. Gavaen luckily could eagerly read the reports of his fellow Vanguardians. Today, however, he was finally exploring the city! In human glamor he looked scarcely different from his usual self - he hadn't much creativity when coming up with his disguise. His teal hair was same as ever, pulled back in a long braid. He had the sunglasses Fae-fae had given him perched on top of his head, for he found the color change when they sat in front of his eyes to be a bit jarring - he couldn't see the true colors of things! However he would surely be thankful for them later when the sun lowered in the sky. He had adopted a sun-kissed skintone, and wore what had been labeled as 'athleasure' wear, programmed in the colors of his uniform. Again, he was not the most creative. "I wonder how much time these humans spend out of their short lives just going to and from places in this manner," Gavaen pondered aloud to his friend who seemed quite bothered by this rather dis-satisfactory method of transportation. How much more efficient would humans be if they had the technology to warp places? How did they find time between the jobs they dedicated much of their time to, and the transportation there, to do anything else? He opted to offer an arm around Fae-Fae's shoulders to help provide some stabilization, noting her discomfort with this rather treacherous ride.
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Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2021 1:29 pm
Fae-Fae gratefully accepted her friend's stabilizing arm, a breath she had been holding finally escaping. As she worked to catch her breath, she thought: Gavaen certainly had an interesting question. They would have to try and investigate that later. The problem was that every time the bus stopped, it only stopped for a few seconds, and jerked back to life again faster than she could collect her bearings and get up. How anyone could adapt to it was beyond her understanding. So now they had to wait for one of the longer stops they had seen before to get off. Part of her wished the bus were empty so she could just warp off. But eventually, the bus found a place to settle down for a bit longer, and Fae-Fae gratefully tumbled out and collapsed on the bench nearby. Sweet, sweet solid ground. The two Cadets had ended up in a part of the city that wasn't as crowded with tall buildings as other parts they had seen. There was an array of small buildings labeled with confusing signs behind them, while a more open space beckoned to them from across the street. Upon approaching it further, they could see rows of stalls and tables loaded with an impressive range of Earth plants for humans to select from at their leisure. A sign nearby greeted them to Birch District Farmer's Market. She texted Gavaen: This place looks worth investigating.
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Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2021 5:18 pm
This part of the city was a lot less overwhelming than the parts they had passed through. As much as he was ready to throw himself in to learning and experiencing what this city was about, he had to admit it was probably smarter to start small, and temper his excitement with reason. Gavaen nodded. "From what I understand, Earthlings exchange a thing called 'currency' for things like food and other such needs?" That is what he remembered reading anyway. Thinking on it, his brow furrowed and he continued with, "What if an Earthling does not have this 'currency' to trade? Surely they would not allow their own to starve?" Gavaen did not think that he liked this part of Earth, although he was only experienced in the Valencian way, and perhaps biased. A hand went to his pocket which housed the card and weird paper stuff that had been generously supplied to them. The Vanguard had come fully supplied and ready to support themselves for the duration of their stay. They didn't need this generosity that an ally had bestowed upon them, when surely there were people who lived here that needed it more? He felt both extremely grateful and undeserving at the same time. But given this opportunity to partake in Earthling commerce and experience Earth food, he would do so with a truly grateful heart, and find some way to repay that kindness.
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Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2021 5:45 pm
Gavaen's insightful questioning of human commerce made Fae-Fae's blood run cold. Surely, they wouldn't do that, right? Surely they made sure everyone could eat. Humanity was almost good enough at some of the things they did, they wouldn't fail at such a basic function of even the most primitive societies. Right?The Shopping Mall made it seem like currency was mostly reserved for things that, from a Velencian perspective, were wasteful and meaningless in bizarrely creative ways beyond imagining. The food was nutritionally poor in quality, but had a strange appeal. Much of the clothing was impractical or overly complex, but humans enthusiastically sought it out. Few items there appeared essential. It was reasonable to conclude from these observations that the commerce ritual was for non-essential items. But the food here obviously had genuine nutritional value. That didn't need a scan to confirm. Well-grown fruits and vegetables from any planet had characteristics that were easy to spot: rich colors; firm shapes. As they drew closer, Fae-Fae could make out the little machines they used to sacrifice currency in exchange for goods -- which she pointed at with a distressed hum and a dismayed expression. So far, there wasn't anyone showing up to the vendors without money. It looked like Gavaen's hunch might be right.
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Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2021 6:07 pm
The fruits and vegetables looked very appealing, and Gavaen would have loved to try them all. The variety of edible plants surely came with a variety of flavors, and his taste buds didn't know just how much they longed for something with more flavor than the food of their home world until he had tried some of the food and drink they had also been generously given back at base. These thoughts had almost shoved away Gavaen's earlier ponderings when Fae-Fae directed his attention to the currency machines. He could tell what she was trying to convey immediately - earthlings did, indeed, have to pay for their food, it seems. But Gavaen had also noticed that the people of earth seemed to like to consume in excess - maybe...maybe earth did provide to it's people, and this was just....extra? He had read that there were some people who gardened for fun - maybe that was it! He wanted to be optimistic, and he'd grasp at whatever he could to maintain that optimism. "Maybe it isn't as dire a situation as we think," He said, trying to placate Fae-Fae, and stoke his own optimistic fire, "I have read that there are those who like to garden for fun, and Earth is full of people who love to eat more than they need. Food has become an art on this planet!" Okay, so someone had given them some magazines and there were a lot of food ones in there and maybe he had looked more at the pictures of those than actually reading them.... "So maybe this is from and for their recreation, rather than need?" He beamed down at her with a broad smile. Oh how he wanted to believe. And he wanted Fae-Fae to believe too - he couldn't have his friend be sad or distressed. Not when they were on this otherwise almost impossibly amazing planet!
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Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2021 5:25 pm
Gavaen's familiar optimism brought a little comfort to the situation. Fae-Fae thought that was one of his best qualities. He was always quick to try and cheer her up when she was distressed, or find a way to draw some inspiration out of an unpleasant situation. At the same time, he once again had some very interesting ideas. Could Earth really be so abundant with resources that growing food could be a simple recreational activity? That boggled her mind so much it almost gave her a headache. At the same time, it lined up reasonably with other things she had seen: it seemed as though humans were quick to make a recreational activity out of almost anything. Even the multicolor writing pen she'd gotten from Albireo had highly impractical colors it could write in, for "fun." At the same time, humanity was definitely flawed in ways that reflected Gavaen's initial concern. She replied: Perhaps we can locate other food distribution centers after investigating this one. Or attempt to interview some of these humans on that topic? The commerce ritual often involves a short conversation. It would also be worthwhile to scan and sample some of the produce, she thought. They were in a market full of plants accustomed to natural sun and natural soil... any one of them could grow favorably on Velenia.
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