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"Where is it?"

"He's not here."

"I know it isn't here. Where did it go?"

"Somewhere else." The interrogator sat back in his chair. He wasn't in restraints, but that hardly mattered since there was nowhere for him to go. "I can't be certain. He could be anywhere he wants to be, and I have no way of knowing where that would be. I've only just started to understand."

The agent stood up and left the room. A series of clicks from the door indicated that the locks had been engaged.

He looked around the room. He stilled his mind and focused on the idea of being where the room was not. The walls softened slightly, becoming less substantial, but one does not overcome a lifetime of reinforced causality after one lesson.

He rose from his chair and walked over to the door. He checked and verified that the door was, in fact, locked. Perhaps something less drastic could be accomplished. He considered that the door was not locked, and had, in fact, never been locked. He reached out and tried the door again.

This time, to his surprise, it opened. Standing outside, grasping the door handle, was a bruin, one of the uplifted ursine security guards recently brought in from Earth. They both appeared startled at the proximity of the other.

The bruin's facial expression was inscrutable. He hadn't had enough time with them to be able to read their faces easily. But it didn't appear hostile. No, he chided himself, -he- didn't appear hostile.

The bruin chuffed, as if he could read the man's thoughts, but it was probably not that. "Why are you...?" the bruin began, his voice very deep and rumbling, then he stopped and started again. "Nevermind. We don't have a lot of time. You know where the child is, and we have to recover them before this whole thing escalates and all of you humans get wiped off the face of Poseidon."

He stepped back, trying to process all that. "Wait... what? Are you talking about war with the Xiang?"

"No, not war. Well, yes, but you... Look, you know what they can do. I don't have to explain to you what is going to happen if they decide your kind need to go. If anything happens to their cub, they will wipe you out without a second, or even a first, thought."

The look on the bruin's face was one of concern, but not for himself. Bruin's weren't known for their overly sentimental behavior towards humans. Not like some of the new canine shock troopers were, at least. But he seemed genuinely concerned.

The world faded from view and became insubstantial. He saw events playing out all around him. A vivsection leading to anger, leading to violence and death. A rescue leading to interception, leading to death and still resulting in violence and death. Every way he looked forward, he saw violence and death and anger and pain. Except one.

"We can't save him. But, we have to try. Let's go."

The pair took off down the hall, the bruin occasionally dropping to all fours to boost his speed. The corridors weren't made for someone his size, but that wasn't going to stop him.

#WritersCoffeeClub #WordWeavers #TimeTravelAuthors #PennedPossibilities #Microfic #BluePlanetRecontact #BluePlanetFirstContact #DarktideSaga

He opened his eyes to confusion expressed in visual ambiguity. The room had dissolved into a hazy version of itself, like it wasn't permanent or the walls were insubstantial. The table the Xiang was cuffed to seemed like it couldn't support a coffee mug, let alone restrain the small creature across from him.

"What's going on?"

You're seeing the world as I do. Nothing about your world is substantial, is it?

"I feel like everything here is tissue paper."

Know you see why we don't take your "ownership" of this world seriously. You are temporal, ephemeral. Nothing about your way of life is permanent or even designed to last for any substantial amount of time. This is the Flow. Now look at me.

The man turned his attention to the Xiang. Unlike everything around him, including himself, the Xiang was there. He existed. He was solid.

"You exist."

The Xiang smiled quietly. Do you understand?

"Xiang are enduring."

An excellent answer. We have patience. Everything that exists has pasts, presents and futures.

"Plural?"

Of course. You don't come from any one place or time. You could have taken multiple paths through time and space to get here, but you are here right now, just as you could be any number of other places right now, and, in fact, you are in those places now, and you did come from all of the places you were from and took all of the paths you could take to get to the places you are now. And from those places, you will go to all the places you might along all of the paths you could take.

"The Many Worlds Interpretation. All choices can and do happen in different realities. Each choice makes its own world."

Not exactly. All of these things are happening on this world. In this universe, as you understand the concept. But you can only see the one path you are currently on in the way you think of yourself as being you. Change that mindset slightly, and your viewpoint, what you see in this world, changes with it. All viewpoints are equally valid. Not all viewpoints are equally likely.

"Meaning?"

If you choose to be a certain person strongly enough, you will reduce the chances of you being anyone else to being non-zero but almost zero. This is how I knew that no matter how much I tried, I would never be able to communicate effectively with the agent who was with me before you arrived. It is also how I knew what to express in order for them to send you, someone I could communicate with, someone I could get to understand.

"We can't hold you, can we?"

*You are a child grasping the most basic concepts right now."

"You don't exist as I see you right now because of your long life. You are solid in my sight because you know who you are, what you can do, and there is nothing around you that can restrain you. You are here because you want to be. You're here to teach us. No, you're here to teach me."

I am here to teach you. You alone, of all the humans in this facility, have the capacity to understand. But they have found the key and I must leave your mind for now. If they pull you away while I'm still with you, it will tear your mind to pieces.

The world went white and then darkened, and his awareness was suddenly muted, shallow and small. The world returned to looking solid, factual, but he knew that it was not. He wondered where else he might be if not here, and what else he might be doing if not this. He wondered if he would continue to exist.

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"Right. So, I'm told you refuse to tell us anything unless we provide you someone smart enough to not waste your time." The human sat down across from the small ferret-like alien who was handcuffed to the table. He was dressed in a disheveled white coat and his hair had the appearance of not being particularly concerned about appearances.

Yes, I'm certain that is what you were told. The small ferret, a Fero Xiang, sat quietly, his two black eyes sizing up the man as a predator would its prey. While not wholly inaccurate, it lacks the nuance I was expressing. What I communicated was that I would require someone more educated so as not to waste either of our time.

"I can see how that would be an important distinction," replied the man.

That you can understand the distinction being made indicates we can proceed. Nuance is at the heart of what I wish to impart. He regarded the handcuffs silently for a moment, then chuffed. It almost sounded like laughter.

"Might I ask you to elaborate. A better explanation might prevent further losses of time, should that prove to be a critical factor."

The ferrets snorted, sounding more like a sneeze. As you wish. Telepathy does not convey words. Whatever you believe you're hearing me say in your mind, it is an illusion you're telling yourself is happening. In reality, I'm expressing concepts, in a particular order, exactly as I wish to express them, and your brain is interpreting them as best it can. Humans think is words, so you're hearing my thoughts in a voice you believe I would have. I can only imagine how I sound to you. There was an unforgiving sarcastic tone to the last comment.

"I can see how the agent formerly interrogating you must have been a disappointment. Preconceived notions would be an impediment to such communication. He said you were silent for most of his questions, and that you told him to stop interrupting at certain points. Was this because he had so little understanding of the concepts you were trying to express that his mind had no basis for interpretation? "

Correct.

"Are you still willing to tell me what he couldn't grasp?"

We can try. I'm not certain any human is capable of grasping the nature of the Flow.

"Yes. The Flow. Your people have mentioned it many times. We don't understand it, but we hear the name. Why is that? Is it some sort of religion?"

I can see why you would think so. We have reverence for the Flow, in the way that one would revere the incomprehensible weight of eternity.

The man furrowed his eyebrows, trying to make sense of why that made sense. "Is the Flow your concept of infinity?"

I see you understand, but you do not comprehend. I will explain, but we cannot be interrupted. It would be dangerous for you. He removed his small paws effortlessly from the handcuffs and gestured to the door. Its internal mechanisms clicked as the locks engaged. That's should keep them distracted for about half an hour. I locked the door an isolated the control algorithms behind a 4096-bit cypher. Now I can begin your education.

The small Xiang climbed onto the table and stared deep into the man's eyes. Within seconds they were deep in a gestalt trance.

The Blue Planet: Recontact Player’s Guide has Arrived from Gallant Knight Games

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://thegaminggang.com/game-news/the-blue-planet-recontact-players-guide-has-arrived-from-gallant-knight-games

Blue Planet: Recontact is finally, officially out!
If you're SF fan, I recommend taking a look at the updated version of this superb and unique setting.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/496641/blue-planet-recontact-player-s-guide

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/496642/blue-planet-recontact-moderator-s-guide

#ttrpg #pnp #rpg #SF #scifi #sciencefiction #BluePlanet #BluePlanetRecontact

Had a nice roleplaying session today. The players encountered the most mysterious lifeform on the planet - and I noticed, I feel a bit more comfortable improvising.

#BluePlanetRecontact #ttrpg #pnp

#ttrpg #pnp #diving #BluePlanet #BluePlanetRecontact
I'm looking for a simple way to deal with decompression after dives for basically arbitrary depths.

Ideally "just" formula(s) where I plug in depth and dive time.

Does not need to simulate reality, just give me something to throw at the PCs :)

In learning a new #rpg setting and system - and collecting ideas for running them as #GM, today I looked up
- Ground effect vehicles (planes and boats),
- Average lengths of human body parts, specifically arms,
- the speed of nerve impulses, and
- why nautical miles and knots are sensible measurements for ships and planes.

But, as they say: "Prep is play." :)

#BluePlanetRecontact