Astra

[l.m]

After the glowing liquid is injected and flow through his veins, Robin becomes as anxious as ever. The pod starts somehow getting smaller and smaller around him, or at least that's what the impression he was having. He looks around at every corner, stressed, trying to find an escape from that insupportable transparent jail, his thoughts getting messier and messier as the time passed. He was eager to get out of there as soon as possible. But then, what?

Suddenly, he hears someone screaming his name, in a very low, almost impossible to hear voice. SATURN! His heart skipped a beat. He spends all of his efforts inspecting the pod and trying to find an exit. However, after some time, he realizes he can't do anything.

Robin sobs.

[GrandPiano]

Finally having fully regained his senses, Togham sits up and looks around. He suddenly realizes how cold it is and shivers. He then realizes that he isn't wearing any clothes, and wonders how he didn't notice that before. He looks around again and sees the thousands upon thousands of pods in front of him. He then looks again at the pod next to him marked "Marge". Strange that I ended up next to a familiar name among thousands of pods... Was it intentional, or is it just an amazing coincidence? Or maybe she's not the same Marge... Marge isn't that uncommon a name, after all.

Now that Togham has fully recovered, he decides to see if he can get someone's attention more easily. "Hello?" he shouts, not too loud, but loud enough that he thinks someone next to him might be able to hear him.

[~Yuri]

-EVERYONE-

So many people are speaking and screaming at the same time in the thousands of pods that it's almost impossible to hear anything clearly beside yourself. Even then, hearing yourself was also proven to be hard. After a while going through the rails, you can notice your pods have entered some kind of tunnel, those of you looking at the side could notice each pod was entering a separate one.

After a short while, your pod slows down, and you get inside a room from above. The room was shaped like a cylinder; it was small, just enough to barely fit a bed, a closet, a desk with a chair and a holographic device above the table. Memories of this place start to come back to you; This is where you used to live for 3 years. You slept here, you used that holographic device to access all kinds of information, and you used the closet to store your clothes and other belongings of yours. Your pod's door opens. Above your bed are the clothes you were using before stasis, and a chip just about the size of your thumb.

Looking at these chips brings you memories, most specifically, about information storage. One of these chips had approximately 100 Pebibites of storage. With these chips, you were able to store your memories simply from touching it while connecting it to a compatible device. It'd use the electric currents of your nerves to reach and interpretate your brain's data, including all memories of tasting, smelling, hearing, seeing, and touching. Not only that, but it was able to transfer sensation directly to your brain, so you could have any taste, any smell, any touch and etc. you wanted to simply by using this device. You could taste a donut without needing one to be there. Not only that but you could have that chip simulate the texture, the density, the dimensions, the visual, and the smell of that same donut to give the illusion of having eaten a donut, without even having one. Of course, you'd still be hungry.

However, these devices have been put to bad use. It can inhibit pain and hunger, it can force your neurones to increase activity, it can create a whole fake universe in front of you, if it has enough storage to do so. It can also force your neurones to stop working, so it can kill you, just from touching, should one be programmed to do that, and since the tecnology was invented in 2154, it was the most used way of commiting suicide. Due to all these characteristics, the device has since its invention been used by many as a drug, and the strongest one that could possibly exist. It also can trick your brain into believing something by changing and erasing memories and experiences, and it was used by Strutzza to brainwash their citizens into believing their ideals. Strutzza was a former country that was unified with other countries to form the Eastern Mega-nation, that had a dictatorial government before the Mega-nation alliance.

Your closet also gave some memories about the tecnology back, as its recognition system to unlocking it was one of the most advanced security technologies yet. It required you to put your finger on a holographic flat image, and that hologram would just like the chip, connect through your body's electric synapses to access a certain pattern of memories you'd select, and use them to identify each individual. It also uses the bodily heat when the hologram is touched as a secondary factor, so it's impossible to hack this device using the chip. This device would allow for people who have shared similar memories to enter the same room. Basically, someone selecting memories similar to these of other people as the identification key of a room or a computer, or any storage manner, would make it so those who share the memories of that moment can also access whatever it is that is protected by the key. It's like a shared password between a select number of people, but one that no one else other than themselves can replicate.

The pod door opens, and you can instantly feel the difference of temperature from inside the pod to outside. It was conforting to see your home again.

[NanTheDark]

Tania looks around the room. She got some clothes and got dressed. She decides not to use those... chips. At least not now.

She stretches her body, trying to see if she can move well.

[Zunar]

Jay quickly dresses, but is wary of touching the chip. This might be dangerous if not used correctly. Maybe I should just leave it alone until I need it.

[Harmless]

Stumbling out of the pod, Casper straightens up and smacks his face a little, trying to keep his concentration straight. Before dressing, he opens his closet wide and immediately searches for his penchant. A few minutes of searching passed by when he finally found it, stowed openly on a level platform inside the closet.

Opening it, all he could do was smile warmly. Good times, good times.

Oh, right. He also had a few books sitting next to that penchant... ah, yes. Brandon Sanderson, Way of Kings. Ray Bradbury, Farenheit 451. Seirawan Silman, Winning Chess Strategies. Robert A. Heinlein, Glory Road... ah, yes. His absolute favorites... timeless novels he could read again and again.

After putting on his penchant around his neck, he takes his synthetic polyester non-buttoned shirt, dark blue trenchcoat, and cargo pants and puts them on.

"Okay, so maybe I won't need to bust out of here. That announcer still talks a lot of mumbo jumbo though."

[Megar]

Green uncomfortably takes a silent, gentle step out of the pod. He remembered what was what now, of course, but just as he was beforehand he was still not particularly fond of the whole thing. Quickly he dressed himself, not really caring what he thrown on, apart from a thick, dark-green sweater which he took care to pull the sleeves up so the vines on his wrists were exposed.

He looked down and more appropriately took in what he got himself wearing, and it didn't seem to be anything more than a generic pair of light blue jeans and a pair of white shoes. Upon deeming said items 'appropriate enough, I guess' Green looked towards the chip. In some attempt at making things more comfortable, he set it to give off the smell and sound of the forest back home, as well as making the room appear far more natural. As little trust as he placed in this place, he at least knew he could rely on the chip to do what he wanted.

Despite the brief comfort given to him, he still felt too cramped and wished to leave.

[Oranjui]

Warmth. But Saturn still shivers. "There better not be anything else this big that I've forgotten about." Not even thinking about clothes, Saturn hurriedly strides over to their closet to use the chip: to find some sort of clue about Robin, to remember how they got here, to get high on memories, to forget about everything. Are you in there somewhere?

[~Yuri]

(So, I'm not going to update everyone at the same time anymore, since the events are no longer dependant of one another, and it'll take a while until we have a "EVERYONE" perspective again. So, if I make an update post and you haven't posted, don't worry.)

-TANIA-
You stretch yourself to get used to everything. It feels weird to walk again: You can feel the pressure of the gravity for the first time in a long while, and it feels... good. You can walk, move around, do everything you could not do in that tight and cold capsule. Even though the room's temperature was still relatively cold, you could still feel warmth: Perhaps because of the extremely low temperatures you were put into inside the capsule pod.

As you exit the stasis pod, it goes back through the same hole in the ceiling it came from, and the entrance to your room closes. You left the chip alone on your bed due to not trusting it, though, the chip could not work should you not connect it to a holographic device, one you have to the right side of your bed. Some memories come back of when you first saw one: It was for sale on one store back on earth, where it was called a RSD by everyone, standing for Reality Simulation Device. Its production back on earth was controlled by the government, so only few manufactories could produce it legally. Of course, its illegal production was still a huge problem.

Your clothes were on your bed, and looking at them gave you a certain nostalgia, and some memories back of when you wore this on your previous homeland. Perhaps something inside the closet could help you regain memories as well.

-JAY-
You wear the clothes on your bed, and is wary of touching the chip. Though, after a while you remember that the chips cannot be used unless you connect it to a specific holographic device, one you had on the right side of your bed.

Seeing one of the RSD chips after so long reminded you of a particular case you saw on media back then. A man was in the progress of developing a program for the chip that could allow humans to see things out of our visual spectrum. It would allow humans to see gamma rays, micro waves, and even radio waves. This meant that light would not be needed anymore, should you be using this chip, and you'd be able to see everything even without any light source, or even see through solid structures. You could not help but wonder what could have possibly happened to such project.

-CASPER-
Dressing up with your favorite clothes felt good. Though time passed like it was nothing, the feeling of the texture of your clothes and the warmness felt extremely confortable. You haven't felt more alive in decades. Literally.

By opening your closet you could see a note written on paper right beside your books. Real paper. That was an honor to you, considering how scarce and unused paper was back on earth.Even your books weren't made from paper. Handing a paper to someone signifies trust, and it was always an honor to receive something made from paper. The technique of Origami was one of the most traditional techniques that was still used in the 22nd century, though it was extremely sofisticated, and was displayed as art and given as a gift due to the lack of paper. Along with said note there's also your portable teleportation device. It's not activated though.

-GREEN-
You connect the chip to the holographic device to the right side of your bed. The files contained inside the RSD chip are shown in a holographic display:

The one single file you had was, NATURE SIMULATION.vir, which as the name said, would add a more natural feeling to your room, from visuals, to the texture of the soil, the sound of the forest, of a water stream, the smell of the wet dirt after rain... Everything just as you knew and loved. Needless to say, you executed the file. It felt like you were on earth again.

Though, the space within the room didn't change, of course. It was still closed, no matter what you did to give the illusion it's not. You wanted to get out of there, but how? You remember there was a portable teleportation device you owned, but where could it possibly be?

-SATURN-
You could not stop thinking about Robin. You tried looking everywhere for clues to find him. You put the chip in the hologram to the right side of your bed, though, no memories with Robin could be found there. Of course, you would not put something so important in there. Though, there was a recording of the first concert you did along with Robin. You can hear it as if you were there. With him. You close your eyes, listen to the music, and try to remember... How did you usually visit Robin?

After a long time, drifting through memories, you remember you had a portable teleportation device. Surely it was programmed to go to Robin's room. But... Where could it possibly be?

[Harmless]

"Funny. Why do I not remember the contents of this note..."

Curious, he opened up the note and read its contents.