Dusk
Elite
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2005
- Posts
- 2,715
- Location
- In the Auction House, selling my shit.
- Avatar Name
- Trinity Dusk Trinity
"Welcome to Port Atlantis", bellowed the tannoy on board the transporter ship as the bay doors opened in front of me, giving me and my fellow passengers our first glimpse of a new home. As I strode down the ramp onto solid ground for the first time in months I noticed that the air temperature was warm but not as humid as I might have expected for what seemed to be a sunny mid-afternoon. Once I'd got away from the engines of the vessel that had brought me here, the smell was one of clean air. Really clean air; a total contrast from my previous home in a polluted city in the English Midlands.
I was one of the lucky ones. I'd got hold of a basic guide to Calypso while I was back on Earth. Not much is ever heard about this place back on my home world, other than through a few specialist websites that tell of experiences to be had and fortunes to be earned. The information in this guide was a leg-up for me over the other eighty-or-so passengers on that transporter ship. It had made me aware of how to earn money with a little effort but, crucially, without equipment. Having said that, the description of sweating did seem a little strange.
To be honest, I'm not really sure what the biggest driving factor to make me come here was. I've never been an explorer by nature. I remember as a child chickening out of going into a derelict factory near my home with friends. It must've been like an episode of "Scooby-Doo" as I nervously said something along the lines of "you guys go first", before promptly running off in the opposite direction.
Maybe the thought of becoming a millionaire was the reason I'd come here. I've always been money driven; I've got dreams of building my perfect, bespoke home in a picturesque field near the coast, complete with roof garden, outdoor jacuzzi, but also powered by renewable energy.
Perhaps it was the puzzle of what happened to my half-brother who came here six months before me. He was the only family I really had left, and he'd promised to keep in touch despite his need for new adventures and the obvious communication problems between the two worlds. To be honest, I'm torn between feeling let down by him, and feeling scared that something bad has happened to him.
There might have been one other reason as well though - escape. Escape from the memories of a relationship that ended without warning. My other half had just upped and left. Not a word, not a telephone call, not even a note to explain why. This had happened totally out of the blue, and to this day I have no idea why. All this happened about the time that my half-brother had left for the new world, so I'd gone from a position of having these people close to me to suddenly having no-one. Frankly I was struggling to come to terms with this.
Anyway, whatever the reason, I was now here. Stood in Port Atlantis - literally without a friend in the world...
I wondered about the bussling area in the town around the teleporter to try to figure out what was happening.
"Selling sweat, 0.6pec."
"Selling armours, all in male."
"Buying all paints, come trade with me!".
Dozens upon dozens of traders, all desparately trying to shout over each other. This was all too much for me. I felt I needed to get away from here. It was mad; hectic; like London's Leicester Square at rush hour. Very in-your-face is probably the best way to describe it. Anyway, after a long journey it wasn't to my liking so I decided to head for the nearby North exit. On the other side of the exit it was alot calmer. I could still hear the traders, but they were more distant. All that stood here was green grass, boulders and an animal I recognised from that guide I'd seen as an Exarosaur. It was definitely more tranquil.
"Ah-ha!", I thought. "An Exarosaur". It was stood minding its own business about 80 metres away. The guide to Calypso had told of the practice of sweating. Maybe now was the right time to try it?
I cautiously walked towards the animal, not wanting to scare it away. I'd got to about 30 meters away when I stopped. I stared at the Exarosaur, concentrating on it, willing something to happen, just as described in the guide. My breathing had involuntarily become slow and deep - so much so that I'd never recalled feeling quite so relaxed in an unfamiliar environment in my life until now. But nothing had happened. Perhaps I needed to be closer?
I moved towards the animal again - only by another six or seven meters this time. At this point I tried concentrating again. Again, my breathing was slow and deep, and I felt totally relaxed. I focused on the animal in front of me, like I was looking at something that I totally longed for. Suddenly, I was enveloped in a green haze. This was a shock. Seeing my hands glowing more intensely was a bit un-nerving too. I'd read about the mystical properties of this part of the universe but had kind of dismissed them as a fairy-tale.
"What next?", I wondered. I think the guide said to do the same thing again to collect sweat. I focused on the animal again, and a beam of green light travelled from the Exarosaur to me, as several small bottles of what I presumed was sweat appeared in the palm of my hands. My joy at a successful sweating was short-lived, however. An animalistic groan drew my attention to this previously placid-appearing creature bearing down on me.
"Ouch!", I cried as the Exarosaur bit me. And again, drawing blood from my arm this time as I'd tried to shield myself. I ran back towards the town. The sound of the traders that had earlier been a source of irritation to me now seemed more welcome as they got louder and louder. The Exarosaur bit me on the back of the leg as I ran away from it, but just as I thought I was going to get badly mauled by this angry beast the sound of machine gun fire rang out.
By now I was sprawled on the ground. I slowly looked around to see the bullet-filled corpse of the Exarosaur lying a few metres from me. I then looked up to see a small plume of smoke from a partially hiden machine gun turret.
"You're new here, aren't you?", a voice said.
"Um, er, yes", I gasped. "How did you know? Do these things attack only new settlers?"
"No", said the tall man who'd seen me running for my life. "You're still in orange!"
This man was holding a flat box in his out-stretched hand. As I got back to my feet and dusted myself down, he did something with the box.
"There you go", he said before running off without giving me the chance to say anything else. I was going to ask where I could find a first aider but he'd gone. But then, as I went to tend to my gashed upper-left arm I realised that it was no longer injured. It ached a little, but it appeared undamaged. Did that tall man do something to heal me? I guess I'll never know...
to be continued...
I was one of the lucky ones. I'd got hold of a basic guide to Calypso while I was back on Earth. Not much is ever heard about this place back on my home world, other than through a few specialist websites that tell of experiences to be had and fortunes to be earned. The information in this guide was a leg-up for me over the other eighty-or-so passengers on that transporter ship. It had made me aware of how to earn money with a little effort but, crucially, without equipment. Having said that, the description of sweating did seem a little strange.
To be honest, I'm not really sure what the biggest driving factor to make me come here was. I've never been an explorer by nature. I remember as a child chickening out of going into a derelict factory near my home with friends. It must've been like an episode of "Scooby-Doo" as I nervously said something along the lines of "you guys go first", before promptly running off in the opposite direction.
Maybe the thought of becoming a millionaire was the reason I'd come here. I've always been money driven; I've got dreams of building my perfect, bespoke home in a picturesque field near the coast, complete with roof garden, outdoor jacuzzi, but also powered by renewable energy.
Perhaps it was the puzzle of what happened to my half-brother who came here six months before me. He was the only family I really had left, and he'd promised to keep in touch despite his need for new adventures and the obvious communication problems between the two worlds. To be honest, I'm torn between feeling let down by him, and feeling scared that something bad has happened to him.
There might have been one other reason as well though - escape. Escape from the memories of a relationship that ended without warning. My other half had just upped and left. Not a word, not a telephone call, not even a note to explain why. This had happened totally out of the blue, and to this day I have no idea why. All this happened about the time that my half-brother had left for the new world, so I'd gone from a position of having these people close to me to suddenly having no-one. Frankly I was struggling to come to terms with this.
Anyway, whatever the reason, I was now here. Stood in Port Atlantis - literally without a friend in the world...
I wondered about the bussling area in the town around the teleporter to try to figure out what was happening.
"Selling sweat, 0.6pec."
"Selling armours, all in male."
"Buying all paints, come trade with me!".
Dozens upon dozens of traders, all desparately trying to shout over each other. This was all too much for me. I felt I needed to get away from here. It was mad; hectic; like London's Leicester Square at rush hour. Very in-your-face is probably the best way to describe it. Anyway, after a long journey it wasn't to my liking so I decided to head for the nearby North exit. On the other side of the exit it was alot calmer. I could still hear the traders, but they were more distant. All that stood here was green grass, boulders and an animal I recognised from that guide I'd seen as an Exarosaur. It was definitely more tranquil.
"Ah-ha!", I thought. "An Exarosaur". It was stood minding its own business about 80 metres away. The guide to Calypso had told of the practice of sweating. Maybe now was the right time to try it?
I cautiously walked towards the animal, not wanting to scare it away. I'd got to about 30 meters away when I stopped. I stared at the Exarosaur, concentrating on it, willing something to happen, just as described in the guide. My breathing had involuntarily become slow and deep - so much so that I'd never recalled feeling quite so relaxed in an unfamiliar environment in my life until now. But nothing had happened. Perhaps I needed to be closer?
I moved towards the animal again - only by another six or seven meters this time. At this point I tried concentrating again. Again, my breathing was slow and deep, and I felt totally relaxed. I focused on the animal in front of me, like I was looking at something that I totally longed for. Suddenly, I was enveloped in a green haze. This was a shock. Seeing my hands glowing more intensely was a bit un-nerving too. I'd read about the mystical properties of this part of the universe but had kind of dismissed them as a fairy-tale.
"What next?", I wondered. I think the guide said to do the same thing again to collect sweat. I focused on the animal again, and a beam of green light travelled from the Exarosaur to me, as several small bottles of what I presumed was sweat appeared in the palm of my hands. My joy at a successful sweating was short-lived, however. An animalistic groan drew my attention to this previously placid-appearing creature bearing down on me.
"Ouch!", I cried as the Exarosaur bit me. And again, drawing blood from my arm this time as I'd tried to shield myself. I ran back towards the town. The sound of the traders that had earlier been a source of irritation to me now seemed more welcome as they got louder and louder. The Exarosaur bit me on the back of the leg as I ran away from it, but just as I thought I was going to get badly mauled by this angry beast the sound of machine gun fire rang out.
By now I was sprawled on the ground. I slowly looked around to see the bullet-filled corpse of the Exarosaur lying a few metres from me. I then looked up to see a small plume of smoke from a partially hiden machine gun turret.
"You're new here, aren't you?", a voice said.
"Um, er, yes", I gasped. "How did you know? Do these things attack only new settlers?"
"No", said the tall man who'd seen me running for my life. "You're still in orange!"
This man was holding a flat box in his out-stretched hand. As I got back to my feet and dusted myself down, he did something with the box.
"There you go", he said before running off without giving me the chance to say anything else. I was going to ask where I could find a first aider but he'd gone. But then, as I went to tend to my gashed upper-left arm I realised that it was no longer injured. It ached a little, but it appeared undamaged. Did that tall man do something to heal me? I guess I'll never know...
to be continued...
