touchscreens | First Lance

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First Lance - [video]

[The rat woman who may have been seen atop various buildings across the city appears on the screen, sans hat, looking unsure for a moment before appearing to realize the feed is working correctly. She clears her throat quietly before speaking in a serious manner.]

I have a question for you all, if you would be so kind as to answer.

There seem to be many worlds represented in this city, but I have noticed that there are many from a planet called Earth. I am from the planet Gaia, but I have yet to meet anyone from my world, be it the same or an alternate version.

So my question is: What world are you from, and is it similar to this place we've found ourselves in? I would like to see if there is any correlation between the home worlds of people brought here.

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You're from Gaia? I'm from Gaia!

[ Maybe not the same one, but. Close enough? ]

[You're the closest she's gotten so far, Zack! They can bond over chocobos? Similar magic naming systems? Battle mechanics??]

You are from Gaia? Then... [It seems like a stretch, since his clothes are different from what she's familiar with, but it's worth a shot.] Have you heard of Alexandria, or of Lindblum?

[ And monsters, don't forget the monsters. ]

...Ah, no, sorry. [ Well, so much for that. He frowns, even if there's still a hopeful note in his voice. ] What about you? Do you know Midgar? Corel? Mideel?

[Don't look so sad, Zack. She feels bad.]

I see. I'm afraid those names are unfamiliar to me. [Still, there was the issue of other unexplored continents...] Even so... do you think there is the possibility we simply are unaware of each others' societies?

[ Awww, don't feel bad. He'll get over it. Like immediately, because hey, that was a little much to hope for, anyway, right? ]

Maybe, but... I'm not so sure. I've been all over the world, and I think the only place ShinRa hasn't personally surveyed is the northern continent, and some of the southern islands.

No place big enough to have a whole bunch of other cities hiding in. [ Just maybe one or two. ...With nobody left living in them. ]

[That's the spirit. Your cheer just might remind her of a certain someone...]

I see. I suppose you are right. I am not even certain travel from different continents is possible on my world, aside from by boat... there are very few who stray outside of the Mist Continent. [Oh well. It was worth a shot.]

Thank you for answering, Sir...?

What? You guys don't have airships? Or planes? Or anything?

[ No wonder nobody travels that far. Sure, traveling by ship is still an option - but only traveling by ship? That's rough. ]

Uh, Zack. Sorry. And you?

We do have airships, but they're powered by the mist... which does not extend past our own continent.

[So they can basically go wherever they want on their continent... but when there other continents have no or very few beaches, they're pretty much off-limits. Not that many have shown any interest in going that far to explore. Still, Zack's Gaia has airships... perhaps there are more things they share?]

Freya. It's nice to meet you, Zack.

Freya? Likewise.

[ He nods, but there's a frown as he tries to imagine what kind of crazy magic mist they have that powers airships. He may not know much about the inner workings of engines that large, but he knows enough to think that's pretty damn outlandish. ]

But how does mist fuel something as big as an airship? Or anything at all, for that matter?

[Ah, so his world didn't have that, either.]

When I say the Mist, I'm not referring to an ordinary sort. For a very long time, the lower elevations of our continent have been covered in it. It has some sorts of magical properties... it can spawn monsters, among other things.

It sounds almost like mako... Only free-floating in the air.

[ Which is admittedly a pretty scary thought. ]

That's the stuff we use for fuel. It can be just as damaging as it is beneficial, though, if people aren't careful with it. Or misuse it on purpose.

That does sound similar to the Mist. [She's not getting her hopes up, but it might count as a similarity...]

Where is this mako found?

In the ground. Sometimes you can see it in the air, around natural fountains or where a lot of damage has been done. But that's only trace amounts.

It's, uh, like a bright green glow. The vats of it in the bottoms of reactors - they're almost too bright to look right at.

It sounds as if the Mist much less impressive to look at... I could only say that it limits visibility.

Do you use it for more than airships, then? ["Reactors" don't exactly sound like they're limited to powering engines, but she could be mistaken.]

Oh yeah, of course. Mako powers pretty much everything.

[ Including him, but that's a little personal. ]

And in its solid form, it's also how we use magic. That's called materia.

[She gives a thoughtful hum, wondering if there's a way to harness the Mist for energy for everyday things as well. If this mako is used for "pretty much everything," why couldn't it? More ideas she'll have to write down and take home for reconstruction...]

Then you cannot use magic without this materia? In my world, we use certain equipment to help us draw out our potential, but once mages master spells, they can use them without needing the equipment any longer. [Perhaps Zack's Gaians didn't have any innate magical prowess? The idea of something allowing you to use skills you couldn't otherwise have was certainly interesting.]

Nope. I don't think anybody where I'm from has a natural talent like that. ...Or, not most anybodys. [ That whole Ancients thing is still kind of a fuzzy grey area, for him. Not a lot of learning opportunities. ]

If we want to use magic, we have to have materia. But that stuff's just about everywhere, so it's not really a problem.

I see... [Then it must be more limited compared to what she's used to...] This mako and the materia it forms sound as if they changed the way your world works.

Sure it did. Mako makes people's lives easier - most of the time. But I can't really say what things were like, before it came into use. That was a pretty long time ago.

[She nods to herself, arms folded. If it's been around for a while and is that useful, she can imagine its use would spread.]

Thank you for explaining everything, Zack. I hope I can make use of this information at some point... though it is a shame we do not hail from the same Gaia. [She needs more cheerful friends to hang out with, for one.]

No problem. [ Though he's not sure how much good it'll do, as little as he really knows about mako and its uses - outside the simplest outlines. ]

I guess that'd be kind of a long shot, anyway. Seems like most people around here are from different places, even if a lot of them have the same name.

[It wasn't like mako existed in this place or on her Gaia (that she knew of), but it did give her some ideas, at least.]

It appears so. It is a bit hard to keep track... I never would have thought that so many worlds existed like this, much less ones that are so similar yet different. [She lets out a tired sigh.]

Mmh. Right? It's pretty weird, when you think about it. Even here there's a lot of stuff I recognize, or that's almost familiar.

[Freya nods in reply, though she imagines things here are more familiar to him than to her. At least the basic things she knows are still recognizable here. It's the technology she has some trouble with. Speaking of which...]

If you don't mind, I believe there is someone else attempting to respond... but I would like if we could speak more later.

Sure thing. Give me a call whenever.

[ He tips her (or the monitor) a wave by way of signing off. ]

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