[video]

[purrtagonist]

[the video starts of as nothing but static and white noise, a few seconds of black and white chaos that seems like nothing. but then a voice, distant at first, cuts through]

-- ing on? Helloooooo. . .

[a few moments later an image flickers into view along with the audio, although it's grainy and of poor quality. but everyone can see Akira front and center! he seems to be somewhere dark, judging by the poor lighting, and he's seated on the ground with a metal wall (???) behind him]

Oh, perfect. Stay that way for about five minutes? Cool, thanks.

[is he talking to his watch? anyway]

Remember that underground Connor-san was talking about a few days ago? Fooooound it.

[he gives a two-fingered salute as to emphasize his point]

If anyone wants to come tunnel camping with me, I'd appreciate it. It'll be fun. Probably? Probably. Bring food and water though; I haven't eaten or drank anything all day. Maybe also bring tools and explosives and other things that can break through thick metal walls?

[he angles the camera to show the wall against which is sits. it looks pretty sturdy, and it's clear what he's asking in so many words: please break me out of here]

That'd be pretty cool, too.

[somehow, he manages to sound so extremely blase about, um. being trapped in underground tunnels?? he pauses for a moment, as though thinking, before he perks up to speak again]

Oh, right. This place is huge. Probably about as big as the city itself. I wasn't able to wander too far in, but once we manage to break down the entrance, I think we should gather up a bunch of teams to come explore it. If we dive far enough, maybe we'll find something interesting.

[there's a pause as the video feed glitches out for a second or two, Akira's face replaced by more static, more white noise. but eventually he returns, brows furrowed as he flicks at his watch like he's trying to make the damn thing work]

Let me know if you need directions. You'll know you've found the place if you see two people-- [Ryuji and Ann, probably] -- standing outside a giant metal wall yelling at me for getting stuck.

[and that's when the feed cuts out entirely]

((a network post for this here! I don't plan on posting a tunnel exploration log, BUT once Akira's free you can totally handwave and/or thread out your characters exploring the tunnels and finding what's inside that post c: have fun everyone!))

Comments

( video ) slams into this late.

[unpatriarchal]

You're an adventurous lot.

[ curiously. ]

What do you believe you'll find down there, if you are successful?

[purrtagonist]

You say that like it's a bad thing.

[Akira replies as he adjusts his glasses]

I'm not sure, but someone named Connor mentioned there used to be a civilization of androids living underground. If we find anything. . . it'll be that.

[unpatriarchal]

It's not a bad thing; quite the opposite. But I'm pleasantly surprised that so many people trapped in this game are willing to play it.

[ it's almost encouraging, in a way. pressing against the boundaries to fix what needs to be fixed, even though they aren't here by choice. ]

It would make sense, especially if they're less amiable with their situation than the ones we've encountered thusfar. [ most of the androids here seem content to be mindless drones, which . . . well, great for them, but that never lasts long. ] Finding people hiding below would certainly put this Mass Subconsciousness business into a new light.

[purrtagonist]

[aha. . .]

Ask me my opinion on that sometime, when I'm not trapped underground.

[Akira has Thoughts about going along with Astoria's requests, but now is not the time nor place for that]

I had that thought, too. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I've been kind of on edge since our arrival. [he never once trusted the Mass Subconsciousness, that's for sure] I guess there's nothing else we can do but wait and see what we find.

[unpatriarchal]

[ hm. ]

I think a lack of free will is unsettling to most beings, but that's neither here nor there, now that you're apparently trapped underground.

[ good lord akira what are you doing ]

Removing someone's free will must create some level of discord, among people. But it happened so long ago that any beings who could remember such an event must be lost to the ages, absent a miracle. If any relics of the past exist to call into question the morality of the Mass Subconsciousness, it would surely be out of sight, out of mind.

[purrtagonist]

. . . locked in a prison, deep underground, where no one can reach.

[from the way he says that, it almost seems like Akira didn't pull that comparison out of thin air]

[unpatriarchal]

Possibly. Or someone does not want you to come inside. Either way, something is being hidden down there. Why else would someone go through such lengths to keep it hidden?

[ lotor pauses. ]

The Witch has granted me with a unique ability that may prove helpful in getting you out of there, depending on how thick that wall is. I can move things without much effort. [ he has telekinesis!!! ] I'll need to confer with my friends about camping, but I can at least assist in ensuring you don't starve to death.

[purrtagonist]

To keep it hidden, and lock it up.

[granted, that may just be because of the ancient illness that wiped out most biological beings oh so long ago, but. . .]

[at any rate, Akira shoves that thought back into the backs of his mind when Lotor offers assistance]

The wall is pretty thick, but I've got some people on their way to bust it down. [people like a GIANT DRAGON and a wordsmith who can rap up explosives] But either way. . . thanks. I appreciate it.

[because he is starving]

[unpatriarchal]

Of course; there aren't many of us here, in comparison to the rest of the beings on this planet. We're better served sticking together.

[ with a slight shrug. ]

It's a good find, though, regardless of what it took to get there. Hopefully it will be worthwhile, for your temporary discomfort.

[ akira why ]

[purrtagonist]

["Akira why" is a legit reaction]

Should be, even if searching for what makes it worthwhile might be like finding a needle in a haystack.

[unpatriarchal]

Most discoveries are.

[ mildly enough; needles in haystacks stopped being intimidating once you have the full expanse of the universe at your fingertips. but, you know. humans. ]

Whatever, or whoever, is hiding down there is likely far back, well-underground. I'm not intimately familiar with systems such as these, but all types of radar or sensory equipment has difficultly piercing multiple layers of metal or interference. They picked an excellent place to hide, if anything is here at all.

[purrtagonist]

[. . . speaking of radar or sensory equipment. . .]

It took a while for my watch to boot up, and I'm standing near the entrance. There's definitely something interfering with Astoria's magic down here.

[unpatriarchal]

[ . . . huh. ]

Concerning.

[ and interesting. ]

This place seems devoid of magic, sans our presence, for the most part. Entirely mechanical. Perhaps the two don't mesh very well?

[purrtagonist]

Yeah. Maybe.

[magic and technology aren't known for their stellar marriage of genres, after all]

Her magic may also just not reach this far. Astoria is powerful, but limited.