Kent/Feldspar

[videointhenoise]

"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.

Comments

[getfeldsparred]

Their reactions are more of the same when Kent speaks, but Feldspar can see a glint of curiosity in his friends’ eyes. There’s a reason they all wanted to go into space, after all. And Hearthians naturally have less of a fear of the unknown; Rutile always tried to explain it as an evolutionary trait.

Gossan’s the first to speak. “Kent,” they say, trying out the name for themselves. “Nice to meet you, Kent.”

Good ol’ Gossan. Feldspar smiles as their friend and continues down the path to ground control’s building.

Along the way they try to retell the story of how they came across Kent the traveler - the crash of their ship, their initial meeting, the technology that can only travel one way, how they decided that Kent should come back with them in the meantime. Feldspar does all the talking so Kent doesn’t have to right now, and it’s enough of a story that they’re all able to get inside by the time they wrap it up.

Hornfels quickly pulls closed the curtains while Slate locks the door, and Feldspar sets their helmet down and fetches a glass of water for Kent. Gossan motions to a chair, and Feldspar shakes their head.

“Chair two steps to your left, Kent.”

[videointhenoise]

He takes two steps and finds the chair, sitting carefully in it. He'd been listening, but grateful for the reprieve. Reliving it just seems so - strange. Overwhelming.

He hears voices and footsteps, but no other senses. No smells. No touch.

His heart is racing.

"Hey - can I get atmosphere specs and take the helmet off? Getting some oxygen warnings here that don't sound great."

[getfeldsparred]

Hornfels and Slate exchange glances. Feldspar imagines they’re thinking similar things - how do they know that this human can breathe their air? But the Nomai seemed to flourish in this solar system, and the jellyfish and angler fish do alright as well, so it’s likely this life form, so similar to their own, should be able to thrive.

Or maybe they’re like Feldspar, and itching to see for themselves what’s under the helmet.

“Should be breathable,” Hornfels starts, “78% nitrogen, 20% oxygen, minuscule amounts of argon and carbon dioxide. Do you…do you need assistance with the helmet?”

[videointhenoise]

Kent shakes his head. "No. They trained me pretty well with it."

He reaches up and unclasps the metal piece around his neck.

"Moment of truth," he says with a nervous chuckle, and he lifts it off of his shoulders. He automatically takes a deep breath, coughs, and -

And -

And breathes in deeply.

"Oh thank God," he mumbles.

[getfeldsparred]

All four Hearthians seem to join the human in taking a very deep breath. They wait, wincing and frowning at the count, and then breathe again with them. Him.

Feldspar openly stares. Two eyes. Pink skin. Fur on the top of his head. Mouth not as elongated, lips not at pursed. Bone structure…similar, but with some marked differences in the head and fingers.

Kent’s an alien all-right. They can see the others taking stock of the sight - Hornfels looking absolutely thrilled to be meeting an alien face-to-face, while the others look equally parts curious and cautious. A real-life alien! Not some long dead species that they’re still finding the bones of scattered across their solar system, but a living, breathing alien.

“Hey, Kent,” Feldspar smiles. “How’s that air treating you?”

[videointhenoise]

"Not bad. Smells a little like pine trees, though." Or maybe that's the equivalent of saying something tastes like chicken.

He starts to remove the gloves, setting them to the side. "Someone want to unzip me?" he wonders, reaching back to indicate the zipper on the back of the suit.

[getfeldsparred]

Gossan is closest and steps up to help Kent with his suit, Feldspar looking on with just a twinge of jealously. Kent is his alien!

“I know this is a sensitive question, but…can you see us?” Gossan asks.

[videointhenoise]

"Uh, no," he laughs. "Nothing sensitive about it. It's not common in my kind. I just - there was an accident when I was born. So I've never really had sight."

Under the suit is just his sweatpants and a t-shirt, something he threw on that morning.

...God, it was just that morning.

[getfeldsparred]

Gossan and Hornfels share a quick, worried glance, but it’s Slate that speaks up.

“They sent someone who can’t see into space? What sense does that make!” they exclaim.

“Slate,” Hornfels says quietly, “we don’t know anything about their species. Don’t jump to conclusions.”

“Hold on, hold on, we should - let’s introduce ourselves before we start in on this,” Gossan says quickly. “I’m Gossan, pilot for Outer Wilds Ventures. It’s our space program - and the whole reason you met Feldspar to begin with.”

“Hornfels, ground control.”

“Slate, engineer.”

“And you know me,” Feldspar chimes in. “This is Kent. He’s from a planet called Earth.”

[videointhenoise]

Kent bristles a little at Slate's words.

"I wasn't the first one, and they weren't certain I'd go into space," he points out a bit stubbornly.

But their introductions take up most of his attention and he memorizes their voices. He sits back down, knocking over the water he had been given.

[getfeldsparred]

Hornfels rushes to clean up the spilled water. “What do you mean, they weren’t sure?” they ask, softer-spoken as a point of apology for Slate.

“The craft wasn’t really a ship,” Feldspar explains. “It was round, and nothing for propulsion.”

“I’d like to see it,” Slate mutters to themself.

“It’s still up on Brittle Hollow. Slammed right into the surface. I didn’t see any windows either.”

“So what was it for?” Hornfels asks, looking to Kent to answer.

[videointhenoise]

"Ah. Yes. It was - well, we weren't certain. The first person who went through said it was a way of meeting them. That it was one step and, in time, there would he another."

He shrugs. "They thought it would be fine to send me. As a spare."

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar frowns to themself. A spare. It’s upsetting to hear Kent refer to themselves that way. It doesn’t matter that he wasn’t the first choice - he was one who was sent! He was the one who met the alien race!

“Them?” asks Gossan.

“An alien race,” answers Feldspar. “Not us or the Nomai. The ones who contacted them.”

“No kidding, Felds,” Slate mutters.

“Maybe this is the second step, contact with a second alien civilization,” Hornfels says, getting that glint in their eyes.

[videointhenoise]

"Maybe, though they could have warned us before stranding us. They said it's the way things had been done for - well, forever.the Machine wasn't even theirs. They passed it along to us."

He leans forward. "It opens up an entire - wormhole. Do you have - starcharts? Maybe that I can make tactile? I can show you where my galaxy is if I can figure out where you are."

[getfeldsparred]

The glint becomes a full-blown explosion at the mention of star charts. “Yeah! I’ve been mapping the stars for years now. I suppose I could figure out how to adapt them, I’d need to project them on an appropriate surface…”

They continue on, and Feldspar fetches Kent a second glass of water and taps it against his hand. “Here. Hornfels’ll figure out something so you can get your bearings.”

[videointhenoise]

Kent takes the glass from his hand, wrapping his fingers around it, touching Feldspar's in the transfer. It's the first time he's actually felt him, and he lets the touch stay for a moment, feeling more comfortable with that voice in his ear.

"Yeah," he mutters and sips the water, finding it absolutely perfect. "It sounds like it. But - if you go back out there, will you bring the bag and the crate that was in the sphere?" he wonders in a whisper.

[getfeldsparred]

Huh. Kent’s hand is so soft and warm. They marvel at it for a second before realizing they were asked a question.

Well of course Feldspar’s going to go back! They smile and raise their shoulders in a shrug. “Sure, sure. If you don’t want to come back with me, that is. It’s your vessel. But I’ll get it to you one way or another.”

[videointhenoise]

"I'm not exactly an asset on your ship," he tells them with a laugh. "And I'm not going anywhere without a seat belt."

Kent takes another long drink. "This is - so good."

[getfeldsparred]

“Because you’re dehydrated,” Feldspar laughs. “But you’d be an asset to me!l

With Hornfels still chatting away, this time with Slate as they start figuring out how to modify their charts, Gossan slips over to Feldspar and Kent to quietly intrude.

“I’ve been saying those ships needed seat belts for years,” they grin. “You must be exhausted. You can rest here as long as you need.”

Feldspar shares a look with Gossan - the village is going to know. They have to. They can’t keep this a secret.

“Kent, we’ll need to tell the rest of the village about you,” Feldspar tells him. “Not now, not if it’s too much, but at some point.”

[videointhenoise]

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep," he tells them both. "But you know your people. Whatever you need to do. It doesn't seem right to keep it a secret from them for long."

He reaches up to scrub at his face.

"And I'm not dehydrated. I'm just - thirsty."

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar peels their eyes away from Kent’s face for a moment to stare at Gossan.

“Well, Felds? What’s the call here?”

The village is going to find out, there’s no way to keep a secret this big. But Feldspar doesn’t even think hiding him should be an option - he‘s only the greatest discovery in Timber Hearth history! They’re anxious to show him off and have him meet everyone; he’s extraordinary, after all. A true traveler.

“Go tell the mayor,” Feldspar decides. “Rutile can figure out next steps.”

“Good call. I’ll be back.” Gossan pauses. “Nice to meet you, Kent.”

[videointhenoise]

"The mayor," he laughs, a little overwhelmed. "So - who are these people? The alien welcoming committee?"

He leans forward, dangling his hands between his knees, holding the empty glass between his fingers.

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar laughs and sits themself down on the floor by Kent’s feet. “These are my friends - the founders of Outer Wilds Ventures, which is just the fancy name we call ourselves so we sound more official. Well. I say founders, minus Esker - they’re on the moon right now establishing the lunar outpost.”

They sigh a little. “I can’t believe you’re here. This is really something, you know? If it’d reversed, and I crashed into your planet, it would probably be a lot different, right?”

[videointhenoise]

Kent hesitantly reaches out and places his hand on their shoulder. Well. They have shoulders. That's good. It's a strange feeling, the coarse fabric under his fingers, and he idly brushes his fingers against it.

"Oh yeah. Real different. I don't know how you feel about secret government bases where people in suits do weird experiments, but that would be your life. So - I'm glad it was this way. And I'm - god, is it bad that I'm relieved they'll never find you?

"They wanted to militarize this project first."

[getfeldsparred]

Only some of the concepts really translate, but they get that it would be bad business for any alien creature that happened to crash on his planet. They’re glad for it too in that case, though it makes them a little sad. Another place to explore sounds amazing.

As Kent touches their EVA suit Feldspar raises their hand up to let him feel the difference in their hands for himself.

“Militarize? Does that mean someone else takes over the project? Not your astronauts or traveling program, right?”