openmisc | Kent/Feldspar

Kent/Feldspar

"Just once more," they had said when Ellie's team petitioned for it. She was busy with Palmer, falling in love with science while he fell in love with God, and Kent was left to pick up the pieces. He wanted another damn go at it. The Machine had a pricetag in the billions; it was begging to be used again.

But they wouldn't let Ellie go. They wouldn't let just anyone go. They wanted someone who knew how it worked, who had been there from the beginning, but someone who isn't completely taken in by Ellie's words.

That leads them to a dozen people and they end up with Kent. He's blind, but that's not what decides it. They claim that he wouldn't hallucinate the way Ellie did. That he has a unique perspective.

And, he's already proven himself steady and loyal.

He experiences it all the way that Ellie does, but something goes wrong on the other end. Maybe another terrorist attack. Maybe not. All he knows is that he's in the sphere and then, suddenly, he's floating, unable to find his footing until a great crash and he slams into the bottom of the machine.

He groans, pulling his helmet on with a grunt and a wince.

"Fuck this," he mutters, finding the edge of the sphere with his hands. There was a door there somewhere. He just - has to find it.

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Lapis shakes their head. "No," they manage to choke out a little. "No, it's - well, imagine that they could have another life inside of a computer....no. Imagine that you have this dream, only everyone was there, and everyone could share it."

They tilt their head. “Alright…” they say quietly, “I’m imagining. Is that what you’re saying happened to these people?”

Feldspar pauses and looks around the ship, though what for they’re not entirely sure. Some sign of a dream? That’s just stupid.

"Yeah, Mapa," they say softly, using the word that Kent had made up for them years ago. A parent word that has no meaning to anyone except Feldspar.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. They went into this dream together and the prisoner there....has been there for a long time."

They feel like the wind’s been knocked out of their lungs - their little name for them, the thought that this entire species went to ‘sleep’ and are somehow still here? Both, maybe, or it’s that their little hatchling is confiding in them with something so important.

“So you found this spaceship, this entire civilization, learned their secrets, found their prisoner…and then what, Lapis? What are you telling me?”

They look to Feldspar and then back to the prison.

"I think I love them," they say in a whisper.

Feldspar feels the floor fall out from underneath them. They were prepared for a lot of things - they assumed anyway - but for this to be about love?

“Oh, Pebble…”

They tug on Lapis’ arm to draw them closer. But what can they say? What are they supposed to do here? Their hatchling is in love, but it seems like an impossible situation, even for a dreamer like themselves.

“Can I meet them?” Assuming there’s a way to step inside the dream and this spooky-looking prison. Assuming they’re still alive and dreaming in there too.

Lapis folds themselves into Feldspar, closing their eyes tightly as they soak in their touch. They've been holding this in so long, so far, so long, and I isn't something they can do on their own anymore. The question isn't unexpected, and they nod. "Yeah. I've spent the past few days gathering what we need. We...have to walk to the canyon."

The canyon…that’s upstream, isn’t it? Feldspar frowns softly and follows the winding river up towards the high canyons, wondering quietly about the path but trusting Lapis. If they say this is how it is, then this is how it is. No one knows this place better than their hatchling.

“I’m good to make that trek. Let’s head out, before the others get up.”

They nod and pull away, sniffling a little. "I'll explain on the way," they promise and start to lead. "So the dream..they built it because they stripped the moon they lived on of all its resources. And the dream is a replication of their homeworld. Or...home moon."

“So they couldn’t just go back,” Feldspar murmurs, following after Lapis. At least they’d started building paths up this way as well - they can see wooden ramps with shards of gravity crystals in the telltale Hearthian style twisting towards the canyons ahead.

“They came hear chasing the same thing the Nomai did, is that right? I’m guessing they were before the Nomai.”

"Yeah, but they found its true purpose, like I said, and they were angry. They felt betrayed and...and scared. So they blocked the signal from ever being found. That's why it took the Nomai's technology so long to find it," they explain as they start up the pathways. Lapis has hid all of the reels he could find, the ones that show how to enter the simulation, so he isn't concerned by the Heartheans finding anything yet. Eventually, yes, but there are other things to do first.

“There’s fear and then there’s being a complete pain in the ass about something.”

Fear they get. Sort of. Contrary to popular option they’re not exactly fearless, not when it comes to the big things like disappointment and loss, but the unknown doesn’t frighten them like most. But to go out of their way to hide something like that - that’s a new level of fear, something deep and profound.

Lapis breathes out as they approach, laughing a little at Feldspar's interpretation. "I...yeah. I think that's why I like the Prisoner so much," they say over their shoulder. "They were strong enough, brave enough, to speak out. To fix the mistake."

And they were isolated among their species for their point of view. No wonder Lapis saw a kindred - they were both lonely. It was partially why they and Kent had found each other, both were a little on the outskirts, bigger dreamers than the rest of their kind.

“How many times have you spoke with them?”

That feels like a question Kent would ask, but since he’s not here he has to do what he can to represent him.

"Uh...three times."

They shake their head. "It's hard to get to them and - and it always ends too soon."

Feldspar lets out a quiet laugh. “Love at first sight, huh?”

They roll their eyes. "Shut up. Come on. We're almost there. Do you need to take a break?"

It’s good to be able to tease them again. They grin to themselves and shake their head. “Nah, I’m okay, let’s keep going.”

Lapis takes them inside and to the room with the lights which are, thankfully, all on. Lapis points them out before going through.

"That's their homeworld," they explain. "The one here, with their ringed planet...that's the one with the mechanism." And to demonstrate, he pulls the lanterns from the sill and leave the painting in darkness. There's a soft click.

"Come on."

Feldspar hasn’t seen the portraits before, so staring at the paintings now is the first time they’ve actually seen these creatures. They glance from painting to painting, feeling a chill creep up their spine at the quiet movement of a wall in the dark.

They press on with them, stepping up into the doorway and on through the pitch black stairwell. It winds down further and further, and Feldspar continues to grow more and more unsettled as they see a soft green glow in the distance.

“What…Lapis….”

In front of them are a ring of mummified alien corpses, all of them holding still-lit lanterns.

“What the actual fuck.”

Lapis turns around and picks up the artifacts. "Oh. Right."

They wince. "I should have warned you. Sorry."

Well, there are all the alien corpses, guess that solves that mystery. It’s eerie though, looking at all that leftover flesh on their grimacing bodies.

Feldspar creeps over to one of the bodies and looks it up and down as Lapis does whatever it is behind them with the lanterns.

“You weren’t kidding about this dreaming part,” they mutter. “Are the lanterns part of it?”

"Sort of. Okay, come here. Take this." He holds out the artifact that has the green fire from the middle of the room shining in it. "You're going to...go to sleep, holding this. Like they are."

They take the artifact with a skeptical stare, but they’re willing to follow Lapis’ lead. They’ve done all this before, and over and over again at that. Feldspar nods and sits down in front of the fire in the center of the room, trying to make their heart slow down from all the anticipation of what’s to come.

“I don’t know if I can sleep.”

"Is it the dead bodies?" Lapis intones dryly.

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