//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 - While this is a familiar situation, it doesn't help that it is. // Story: Drifting Through Realities // by Thadius0 //------------------------------// Drifting Through Realities Chapter 2 - While this is a familiar situation, it doesn't help that it is. I came to, again, and noticed a few things. The first thing was that, quite simply, I seemed to be in a hospital. At least, if the bed and walls were anything to go by. I looked down and noticed that, yep, I was in a hospital gown. Which means someone had run tests on me. Which meant it was time to go. It never went well after that. One of my early Drifts was into a world that looked quite similar to I, Robot. No, not the book, the movie version. Which is good, because the Drift before that had landed me in some sort of...war zone. And like it was said, it ain't just about what they can take if you die. It's also about what they can put back. It had been a fairly standard arm, leg, and eye replacement. And once I Drifted again, and again, and again...I ended up in a world with artificial intelligences. They saw my cybernetics as the perfect fusion of man and machine, and 'awoke' my 'dormant slave' to test our relationship. Fortunately, we got along well, which confused the hell out of them! I think by the time I Drifted from that reality, some measures were going to be taken to try and create similar relationships, but without the trauma. "Xavier? Xavier buddy, you up?" There was a flickering in my right eye, and lines of code ran across it. Eventually, I heard a voice in my head. A familiar one. Hello sir, how long have I been out? "Ever since the start of Raneria. Something about that world just didn't agree with you. Arm and leg and camo systems stayed on, but we're in a hospital now, in a new world." Oh dear. Shall I begin our standard 'scan and scram' tactics? I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "Nah, not yet. The fact that it is a hospital instead of some healer's tent means that there's a chance they'll understand what words I'll use to explain it. Just give me the filters and start defragging the memory, wouldya? I'd hate to forget more than I normally do." Starting process, sir. Filters available. De-fragmentation of memory underway. Estimated time until completion: one day. I looked around the room to notice my clothes all bundled up and on a chair, with my pack atop it, along with the harness I had made for Origin atop that. Good, fewer questions. I walked over to my clothes and began putting them on. I'd barely got the pants on when I heard voices beyond the door, which caused me to panic, even as Xavier and I ran through situations. Likely they are not hostile, sir. After all, who would place someone into a hospital, only to turn on them later? "Anyone who didn't do a comprehensive scan on what makes us up, Xavier, which means everyone before they started their tests. I trust nothing, now. Not that I ever did." Fair enough point, sir. Your paranoia has kept us alive for longer than we should have been. Origin's hilt rested in my right hand, and my pants were, thankfully, on. I'd not had time to get my shoes, my t-shirt, or my hoodie on before the door opened, and in walked the last three things I expected. The first was someone in enough high-tech armor to make me think Who let Master Chief in here? I could make out nothing about the features of that individual save that they were human, or vaguely human-shaped. The second was someone who looked like...well, he looked like he could be my dad. At least, in terms of age. And there was something in his eyes that resonated with me. Something along the lines of We've both seen some serious shit, boy. I'll buy you a drink one day, and we can reminisce about it. And the third was a pony that walked in behind them. That would normally be enough, even discounting the fact that it seemed to be a green-coated unicorn, but then my right eye reacted and started applying filters willy-nilly until it stopped on infrared. My left eye showed me a pony, my right eye showed me the thing from Alien in pony form. My eye's iris changing colors probably alerted the humanoids as to what was going on, even as I pointed the hilt of my sword at them. "I don't know who you are, but the fact that you're walking around with an illusionist is enough to set me on edge. You two seem to be what you look like, but I don't trust him. Hell, I don't trust you either, but I really don't trust him." The humans shared a look (possibly, it was hard to tell what the armored person was looking at under that visor) and sighed. "Figured he should have been like Eleanor. The x-rays should have been a good enough indicator for that, especially the cranial ones," the old guy said. Armored figure nodded and responded, the voice helped me to place the gender as male, at least. "Yeah, but the question is, is he machine or man?" "Both, neither, pick your poison. I think the technical term is cyborg," I said flippantly before scowling. "Like I had a choice. Just glad I only needed the repairs I did, and that Asmiov's world was willing to aid me, and the repayment option wasn't as invasive as I'd feared." I then brought up the elephant in the room. "So what's with the bug?" The two looked back to me and old guy smiled. The pony-alien looked at me and the illusion scowled. "I would appreciate it if you kept my identity a secret. And stopped looking at it." My right eye flickered back to normal, before flickering again, this time settling on what I dubbed 'the thaumometer.' Basically, it could tell me how magical a world was, by showing me the magic in the air. Assuming, of course, that the magic didn't interfere with how well it functioned. Some worlds were picky like that. My right eye was looking at the world through a haze of violet. I waited a moment for it to clear before I realized the haze was the magic of the world, and my jaw dropped. "Wow. Suddenly glad I grabbed my stuff. This...could have been bad. So much magic in the air, it's like the air is magic." The humans slowly nodded at that. "Yeah, that's the main problem in this reality for Jumpers like us. Well, one of them, anyways." I blinked at that before realizing the other question I had for the situation, mainly because I wasn't where I'd entered into this world. Which is bad, real bad. I need to know how many crystals there are and if they've meddled with them. "Okay, I know I landed in a house, and when I arrived, there were at least some blue crystals. Tiny little things, look like D8's. My question is, how many were there, and what have you done with them?" "Let's start with something more basic, buddy," armored guy said. "Introductions. Give us your name, and-" I stopped him there by summoning Origin to its hilt. The suddenly appearing sword blade gave both humans and the pony pause. "I said. How many were there, and where are they?" Old guy slowly held up his hands, and I only now noticed that he had a knife on him. "Easy. Local authorities brought you to the hospital, and the crystals you arrived with up to the university. Last I heard, there were over a hundred there." My world shattered at those words, my trains of thought derailed and exploded. I felt Origin fade from the hilt before it hit the ground, falling from my suddenly limp fingers, with my knees following it into gravity's embrace shortly thereafter. I turned the statement over and over in my head, but I could only come to two conclusions. Either he was lying, or he'd said exactly what I thought he said. "Please. Tell me you're joking or lying. Please." A hand rested on my shoulder and I heard him speak up again. "No. I'm not. Why?" I explained while feeling numb, my mouth providing the conclusions my brain had already reached. "Because every time I land in a world, I bring a small amount of crystals along for the ride. Each one is indicative of how long I'm going to remain. One to a year spent in that world. Sometimes I wake up and am moved, or have the crystals stolen, so I don't know how long it'll be. But if there's a hundred here..." Armored guy filled in for me then. "Yeah, you'll probably die of old age here. Not the first. We've all had calculations like that." The scenarios ran through my head. All of them? More than one Drifter had wound up here? And they were all doomed to die of old age here? Was it something about this world then, that kept them from Drifting on? I would never Drift again? I would have no chance to go home? I would forever be stranded in this unfamiliar world? My eyes landed on Origin and my lips pulled upwards in a smile. No. Not doomed to die of old age. I had just begun to reach for it when I felt sleepy and saw a green glow envelope my vision... ----- "Well," Emerald said as the sleep spell took effect on the human boy. "I think we should separate him from his weapon. Or anything else that could be considered dangerous. Hopefully, there will be minimal damage to his genetic structure with this spell, but if I had to choose between a slightly shorter lifespan for him or his life, I'll choose the first one." Alex nodded. "If he's suicidal, then yes. I assume there's a reason for it, and I'll try and talk him out of it, but until then, we'll need to keep him separated from his sword." Matt spoke up as well, to voice his agreement. "I know what he's feeling. Heck, we all do. Kid's probably blowing it out of proportion. Shouldn't take us long to make him realize that suicide isn't the way to go." Alex gently picked up the sword hilt and held it like one would hold something that smelled offensive before reaching behind himself and dropping it in his bag. The doctor nodded and left the two humans to pull the new arrival back onto his bed. He then walked out into the hall, where a certain DJ mare was waiting. She looked up from her magazine as the doctor walked by and greeted him in her typical fashion. "Yo, Doc! How's my house-crasher?" Emerald sighed and rolled his eyes. "My name is Doctor Emerald, Miss Scratch. And to answer your question, not well. He got the standard set of Jumper news and took it poorly. He even had a weapon and looked prepared to use it." The mare blinked and shivered. "That's nuts. Who on?" Emerald didn't miss a beat. "Himself." Vinyl's mouth dropped as she considered what the doctor was saying. She barely noticed when he continued. "Fortunately, I was able to knock him out with a simple sleep spell, one that should barely effect his genetic stability. Misters Matt and Alex should be able to talk him down, and afterwards, pending a full evaluation, along with a question and answer session, he should be cleared to leave." Vinyl chuckled a bit. "So basically, watch him and keep him away from anything sharp?" Emerald paused and looked at Vinyl with a scrutinizing eye. "Miss Scratch, I was unaware that you were responsible for his lodgings. Has this changed?" Vinyl thought about it for a moment and shrugged. "Isn't that how it goes? First ponies one of these Jumpers runs into, first served?" "...You're thinking of lines, Miss Scratch."