nexus_crossings | (no subject)

The woman playing fetch in the park doesn't look out of the ordinary, but the animals she's playing fetch with might catch Marcus's attention. One of them looks like a dog crossed with a tiger, and is the most enthusiastic about running after the ball she's tossing.Another looks like a little dinosaur and moves more slowly.

The third creature, a bird, makes no pretense of playing games. It perches protectively close to the woman and stares alertly at everything around it.

Overhearing his question, Adia tosses the ball once more before replying, "Reading, I guess... does that count as a hobby?" She looks from his laptop to the drone flying overhead. "Is that yours?"

Edited (borked html) 2017-05-09 16:20 (UTC)

Marcus perks up when he spots the woman with the strange looking group of animals, and he even goes as far as to hold his hand out for the dog to sniff. "Hey there good boy!" And his inner childhood tugs at his heart strings. The entire Nexus is like a dream come true, that is if this place isn't the result of him dreaming in the first place.

Turning his attention away from the dog, and he nods his head. "Course it does. If reading is something you do for fun, you're damn straight it counts. As for that there." He looks away from Adia and turns his attention back at his computer, and the program he's using to control his drone.

"Yup, that's my drone. And yeah, computers and drones are a bit of a hobby of mine." Without looking back up to Adia, and his fingers gracefully dance across the keys and the drone flits about high over their heads. "So what type of books do you like to read?" He asks as he looks back up at Adia.

The growlithe drops its ball at Adia's feet before trotting over to sniff Marcus's hand. "Girl, actually," the woman corrects with a smile. "Her name's Sarah." She seems friendly enough, amenable to head scratches if Marcus is so inclined. "This is Ethel," Adia pats the side of the pokemon with a shield for a head. "And Bucky is --"

Bucky is quickly positioning himself between Adia and Marcus, glaring at the stranger suspiciously and puffing up his feathers. "Bucky, easy... it's okay." She leans down and soothes the overprotective rufflet. "Sorry, he's wary of strangers."

Adia looks a little tense herself, although Marcus's friendly response does a lot to ease her mind. "That must give you a great view of the Nexus. Um, non-fiction, mostly. I love reading about animals, and the history of other cultures. Advancements in science, things like that."

"Whoops! Sorry, I didn't mean to..." Marcus looks a bit embarrassed, and he isn't about to turn down giving the growlithe her share of scritches. Marcus has a huge thing for animals especially dogs. "And I'm sorry, that I don't carry dog biscuits in my pockets!" He can't help but to burst out into a fit of laughter. And he stops to look at the dinosaur like pokemon. "Nice meeting you Sarah and Ethel."

He continues to give Sarah tons of love. "You too Bucky. And it isn't a problem if he's a bit shy."

The laptop in Marcus' lap topples over, and the view of the Nexus above the two is visible to Adia. "It can't go up that high without me running a risk of loosing my signal. Or too far, or it will get lost." He explains about the drone, as he goes to rebalance himself as he leans back to rest on his hand. "I'm more of a fiction kinda guy. Science fiction, give me a spaceship, robots, or even a total dystopian future. Not to say I won't turn down a book about Hobbits."

"It's fine," Adia says reassuringly. Sarah doesn't seem to care about it, wiggling happily while Marcus gives her plenty of attention. Her fur is warm, warmer than normal for a dog on a mild spring day. "I don't know if she's allowed to have dog biscuits, she's not a dog... she's a kind of pokemon called a growlithe."

Ethel rumbles something in acknowledgement, content to stay by Adia's side. Bucky continues to watch Marcus with an unrelenting stare that only a bird of prey can pull off, but doesn't try to interfere with the conversation. Adia sighs. "He's more than shy... his owner was hurt very badly recently. I'm taking care of the three of them in the meanwhile. I think he's worried something will happen to me, too."

She takes a seat on the ground next to Marcus, the better to see the screen. "What have you been looking at, then? Anything interesting?" His choice in books catches her off-guard for a moment and the tension in her shoulders returns. "That's... that's what I used to read, too. I loved science fiction. But when you're stuck in your own dystopian future, the genre loses its appeal..."

As if sensing her shift in mood, Ethel leans against her and rumbles soothingly.

Marcus does notice the warmth of Sarah's fur, and his inner childhood is squeeing in delight that he is petting a pokemon. But the last thing he wants to do is cause any commotion. Freaking people out like that isn't his forte. "Maybe she eats a healthy diet of sandwiches." He jokes.

If there was damage done to the surrounding buildings during Khan's attack, Marcus wasn't paying attention. Just being here and arriving here, and exploring was more than enough for him. And getting his phone to work as a PinPoint, the nest of flying lizards, and Pokemon are keeping him busy.

He nods his head. "Animals are special like that. They know more than we think they do. And I suppose, it works the same for a Pokemon too. Now don't worry, Bucky, I'm not going to do anything to your friends here." He says to try and reassure the eagle or hawk like pokemon. "Friend. I'm a friend."

"Just was trying to get a bird's eye view of the park, and I could have sworn I saw a fire lizard fly into a tree." Marcus explains, as he finally stops giving Sarah scritches, and he reaches over for his laptop but he leaves it angled just enough so Adia can see. "Name's Marcus. And yeah, I don't blame you if you live in something that resembles a book. I just live in plain ol'boring San Francisco, so I don't like you know, normal stuff. Though non-fiction is awesome."

Adia laughs softly at the joke. "She has special pokemon food. She can have a little human food, but only as a special treat." She'd be both pleased and confused to know that Marcus is living out his childhood dream, unaware of pokemons' fictional status on some Earths.

Bucky gives him a look like the human is trying to sell him a bridge in Brooklyn, but another soothing pat from Adia dials down the intensity of his stare. He flies into a nearby tree and preens his feathers, still casually keeping an eye on things. "They know far more," Adia agrees, watching Bucky for a moment before returning her attention to Marcus. "They're the smartest animals that I've ever met."

Sarah tilts her head, puzzled when the scratches stop. She trots over to where she left her ball and barks at Ethel to come join her in a game of keep away. The shieldon looks up at Adia; she smiles and pats Ethel's side fondly. "Go ahead, go play. I'll be fine."

San Francisco is a new place name for her. "Is that on Earth?" she asks, watching Ethel plod away. She relaxes again, something about Marcus's words amusing her. "Well, if you don't like 'normal stuff', you've come to the right place. The Nexus is about as far from normal as you can get. It's nice to meet you, Marcus. My name's Adia."

"Ah, then I'll just head on down to the Pokemon Mart to get some Pokemon treats." Marcus continues to joke, and while he was in heaven with scritching Sarah, his hands were needed to pick his laptop up from the ground and to help steer the drone. Still all smiles, Marcus is trying to come to grips with everything. If it were a dream, Marcus is sure he wouldn't have felt Sarah's warm fur, nor the grass that he sat himself down on.

"And sorry, Ethel, didn't mean to give you a cold shoulder." He laughs, and he nods his head in response to Adia's question. "That it is, Adia. Here let me show you." He moves the program that is controlling the drone off to the side, and he brings up a web browser.

Nudling, San Francisco, California brings up a video of the city he is from. "Dam straight, it is a great city. Sure, it isn't as great as this Nexus place, but it is home."

She doesn't get the reference, although she's aware of stores in the Nexus that specifically cater to pokemon. It's where she managed to find a ball for Sarah to play with that wouldn't melt if she accidentally set it on fire.

Adia turns her attention to Marcus's laptop once the video starts playing. The skyline reminds her of Caprica, all shiny and modern, but it is the Golden Gate Bridge that captures her imagination, as it must do for anyone who sees it for the first time. "Oh, your city is beautiful... I haven't seen a bridge like that anywhere..."

"You're kidding me. You're going to tell me don't have suspension bridges like this one where you are from? I mean not this particular bridge, but ones just like it." Marcus continues to watch the video as it shows the beaches and people just having a good time.

"But the city itself is pretty nice. And seeing how this place works, Adia maybe I can show you around one day. As far as cities go, it is pretty safe." A smile still rests firmly on his face, and he looks at the drone footage of Mission Park.

"But enough about the pretty boring and safe place that I call home. What about you, Adia where are you from?"

"We had suspension bridges, but none of them were that color." It's such a distinctive visual that it takes her a while to notice all the people enjoying themselves on the beach. It makes her smile wistfully. It's always nice to see images of a vibrant Earth.

She blinks at his offer. It constantly amazes her how comfortable people are with someone from another world visiting theirs. "That's... I'd like that. Thank you." She laughs softly. "Safe is good. You have a wonderful city to call home."

"Leonis, originally. One of the twelve tribes of Kobol. But right now I'm living on a spaceship." Despite how much she misses Leonis, after six months on New Caprica, she's glad to say that she's on a ship again.

"I guess the State of California got a copyright on that color. And I happened to have the fortune of going to the very top of this bridge, and boy what a view." Marcus thinks to the artwork he went to contribute to the world famous landmark in order to do a weee bit of advertising for the group he that works with. "If I ever get you to visit, I'll see what I can do to get you up there. There ain't nothing like seeing the Pacific Ocean and everything else from up there."

He got the low down about this place prior to sitting down to send his drone to explore the park. Still all smiles, it grows, and boy does it grow when she mentions the fact she lives on a spaceship.

"Aw, you're shitting me? Really?" Marcus plays around with Adia. "Dayumn, girl! That sounds way better than boring ol'San Fran! And seeing I don't know Leonis or the twelve tribes of Kobold, I'm guessing you're an alien who happens to look human."

Climbing to the top of the Golden Gate Bridge doesn't sound nearly as safe as a pleasant tour of the city, but Adia isn't afraid of heights. She shrugs gamely. "Sure, sounds fun. What else is there to do in San Fransisco?"

Adia laughs, tickled by his reaction. "Yes, I really live on a spaceship. It's a research vessel called the Chiron. But I'm not an alien. Human life originated on Kobol, where I'm from. Earth's a myth... maybe more of a legend than a myth, since we have evidence now that it exists. It's just a matter of finding it."

The maintenance lifts that he took to get to the top were nerve wracking even for someone who is used to heights. "There's the beach, parks, and there are some other touristy things I don't normally bother with. Because you know, tourists. But there's fisherman's wharf, seals, China Town, and sports stadiums if you're into that kind of thing."

"And I'm sure, none of that compares to living on a spaceship. And you have to be seeing some awesome things on a research vessel, though that depends on what kind of research you're doing."

Marcus has all bit lost interest in talking about San Francisco. And the video about the city has all but finished, and he just lets it play on. "Well to me you're an alien who looks human, and I'm also an alien who looks human to you."

She laughs a little at the tourist comment, although she would probably enjoy doing all the touristy things in addition to what he describes. "I don't know if I'd be familiar with any of your sports, but everything else sounds fun. Did you grow up in San Fransisco?"

"Infectious diseases," she tells him. "And it's... well, it's an experience. It's not for everyone, but I like it." Especially because she isn't on New Caprica anymore. "I'm guessing space travel isn't common where you're from?"

She laughs again, amused. "I don't know... I'd need to compare DNA to be sure, but I have a feeling we're both human. But you're an Earthling, and I'm a Leonisian. That's how we referred to one another on the Colonies."

"Nah, I grew up in Oakland." Marcus brings up a map, and it shows the smaller city right near San Francisco and some pictures of his neighborhood. The place where Marcus grew up in looks a lot different from the nicer parts of the city, and a bit run down. "It isn't as bad as it looks. But Oakland isn't San Fran by a long shot."

But at the mention of infection diseases, Marcus looks at Adia with a look of mock horror. "Please, please, please don't tell me you were trying to turn people into space zombies. And if you want to compare DNA, I'd be more than happy to swap some genetic materials..." He starts to blush and his mind goes right into the gutter. "Not that kind of material mind you. But just don't use it to make zombie Marcus clones."

"Though that does sound like an interesting name for a movie title. Interdimensional Space Zombies!"

"Oh, I see." She would never in a million years insult someone's hometown, but it does seem less nice in comparison to San Fransisco. She's still prefer living there than New Caprica.

Adia blushes vividly, both in reaction to Marcus's unintentional double entendre and the idea that she would try to turn someone into a zombie. It takes her a moment or two to realize that he's joking. "I'd only need a cheek swab," she says meekly. "And, um... no, we were only studying diseases." She winds the end of her scarf around her fingers and adds, "And it's, uh... sentient robots we have to worry about. Not zombies."

She did say she was from a dystopian future, she might as well come clean. But before she can explain further, Sarah comes bounding over with her fire-proof ball in her mouth. Plop! She drops it at Marcus's feet. Throw it, please, new friend!

Marcus wouldn't take slight to anyone insulting his home; it is what it is as far as he is concerned. But he still pulls the conversation away from something he sees as being boring and the mundane. As he is far more interested than the world Adia comes from than his own.

"Then a cheek swab is what you shall revive, then a swab is what you shall get." He closes hips laptop, and he sets it down on the grass besides him. He laughs a little bit, and he reaches a hand up to itch his nose. "You sure about that? Maybe nobody has told you the truth of the diseases you're studying out there." He tries to keep a serious voice, but he is joking. But the joking fades when she mentions they're under threat from sentient killer robots.

"Shit that's heavy." But before Marcus can ask her another question, his eyes widen when Sarah comes running back to him with her ball and drops it at his feet. "You want me to throw this? Com'on I'll show you how a pro plays fetch!"

Getting to his feet, Marcus picks the ball up in his hand and he looks in a good direction to throw the slobbery in. "You do know you've got someone with a damn good arm to throw this." And he throws the ball as hard as he can across the field. "And to answer one of your other questions, yeah, we have some space travel if you can call it that,” says Marcus as he sits himself back down on the ground. “Though most of the stuff we do now is for launching satellites and research.”

She's surprised by his sincere offer of a DNA sample, so casually given, and for a moment she wants to tell him to wait right there while she gets herself a cheek swab. It's been a burning scientific question in the back of her mind if she is indeed related to humans from Earth. But then common sense sets in and she shakes her head. "That's... thank you, that's very generous of you. I can't really test anything right now because of limited resources, so... maybe someday. If you're still interested."

His joking, unfortunately, hits a little close to him. "I'd like to think I'd notice if I was working on a zombie virus," she replies, attempting to sound light-hearted and not quite succeeding. Perhaps it has something to do with those sentient robots she mentioned.

But all of that can wait because Sarah has Marcus's full attention, and even Adia can't help but laugh at the way she wiggles around, panting excitedly in anticipation. The growlithe takes off at top speed, gleefully chasing the ball all the way across the field.

"That's a common theme with the Earths I've heard about... does your Earth use fossil fuels? I think that makes things more difficult."

Giving someone a swab of his DNA for science is a-okay in Marcus' book. And he looks a little disappointed when he hears that Adia doesn't have the resources to check. And even then, he wonders if their DNA would be different due to being from different universes, not that wouldn't be really fucking cool. "Hey I'll keep it in mind the next time we meet. And for now, I don't intend on going back home for a bit. Not that I don't want to, but this place is a nerd's wet dream."

He laughs and will make a trip back home to tell Wrench, he has to tell Wrench about this place and rub it in a little. Marcus keeps the light-hearted tune going. "You sure about that? That's what people in power want you to think." He might be giving Adia a bit of an insight of what he uses his technical prowess for.

"But yeah, we use fossil fuels still. I mean we have solar powered and electric cars, but society still runs on oil. And I take your spaceship runs on something that doesn't require chemical combustion."

Resources are tight on the Chiron, otherwise Adia would take him up on his offer. And though she agrees with his opinion of the Nexus, she can't help but be a little concerned over his enthusiasm. "Just be careful. Not everything here is what it seems.... there's an anti-violence field, but it can be spotty in places, and recently it failed completely. Make sure you have a way to get home quickly if anything happens."

"Is that a problem where you're from?" she asks, deflecting the joke. "We had a horrible president for a while... but he's gone now. I trust our current one."

Sarah comes bounding back with the ball, but is intercepted by Ethel, who chases her for it. Adia has been playing with them all afternoon, the shieldon has decided that she needs a break. "It runs on tylium. It's a metallic ore found on asteroids. It has its own problems, but it burns cleaner than fossil fuels. We haven't used those since we left Kobol."

Marcus looks around the place, and he hmms to himself with the enthusiasm still not fading off. Scrunching his face just a little bit, he has not told Adia about his ability to get himself out of trouble that he has caused. "Don't you worry about me, I'm sure I'll do just fine here."

"But yeah, we've sent a rocket to the moon, but that was years ago and everything else we send are mainly probes. No colonies on neither The Moon or Mars. But I'm sure at one point we'll have those." Marcus' eyes light up when he hears about what runs the spaceships in her world.

"And maybe we'll get a chance to mine our own asteroids, and the fuel to reach the rest of the universe will be waiting for us. Who knows, maybe I'll have a great, great, grandkid who'll get to do something cool like that."

But worrying is what Adia does best! She does smile at his reply, though. "You are handling your first time here really well. I was so nervous... I thought I was either dreaming or had lost my mind. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

Maybe things would have been different for her if she hadn't just lost her home, family, and boyfriend was secretly a Cylon all in one fell swoop before stumbling into the Nexus. At least she seems comfortable now. "That's what I've heard from people on other Earths. You'd need to do some serious terraforming, yes? All of our colonies were habitable."

His enthusiasm is contagious. "I hope so, Marcus. But in the meanwhile, you at least have the Nexus. Have you been anywhere else except the park so far?"

"I guess I read a little too much science fiction, and play waaaay too many video games during my down time. Then there is movies and everything else. But if you want me freak out a little, heh, I'll be more than happy to flail my arms about." Marcus lifts his hands up into the air and he flails them about wildly.

And while flailing a little more, Marcus nods his head. "And we don't even have the ability to do that. So, it'll take a whole lot of money, and a whole lot of brilliant minds to figure out how to make it work." Marcus better and he know that things need to be done naturally. And to make sure those who aren't going to use it for personal and ill reasons.

"I've been to the area where there's a whole ton of places to sit, but other than that, I haven't been anywhere else. I can bring up a map on my phone, or do you know of other places to visit?"

His arm flailing makes her giggle. "Sure, that helps." She looks over his laptop again. "Is the drone flying a hobby, or does it have something to do with your work? I was a big fan of science fiction, too, and that helped inspire me to pursue a career in biology."

It still is a foreign idea to her, humans living on only one planet with no means to get off of it. But if there isn't an overwhelming need to leave Earth, then they can afford to explore at their leisure.

"Oh, yeah, the Plaza. I feel like everyone ends up there at some point..." She frowns thoughtfully. "Well, there's a huge shopping district that has all kinds of nice stores and restaurants. There is also the Wilds, if you like nature. Um, the Industrial District has some interesting vehicle repair shops, but you have to be careful, it starts to get sketchy out there. The AV field should protect you from violence, but you can still get ripped off."

"It is a bit of both, part of my job and a hobby. I find it great that I get to combine the two together. Even if I find myself getting into a bit of trouble while doing it. You live what for me is science fiction, but I suppose there's still more things to find inspiration to push yourselves further and further."

Marcus figures at some point there will be something out there in space, be more space stations with better functionality than the ISS, mining operations on asteroids and then the eventual push to find a new home.

"I take this place will take whatever money I got on me. Or do they have some type of exchange where I can swap out a few bucks, for whatever money this place uses." Marcus looks quite impressed, and he then looks around the park once more. Putting his hand to his chin, he mmms. "I'm cool with nature, but I'm much more happier hanging out in civilization. Oh, are there any hotels or a place I can stay for cheap?"

Edited 2017-06-02 23:55 (UTC)

"What kind of trouble?" She asks before looking embarrassed. "Sorry, you don't have to answer that... " Marcus seems like a good guy, but she knows what kind of trouble people with computer skills can get into. "My world may seem advanced, but compared to yours it's only in the fields of robotics and space travel. We aren't any more advanced in the biological sciences. No flying cars, either, or replicators."

Sarah comes trotting over to them again, proudly holding the ball in her mouth. She flops down on the ground next to Marcus and chews on her prize. Ethel has given up chasing her and is dozing under the tree that Bucky is perched in. "There are currency exchanges... you can find those in the shopping district. But I think most places take Earth money because it's so common." She frowns a little at the question of where to stay. "You'll find lots of places to stay there, too, but I don't know how much any of them cost."

"Nah, it's cool. I break into the computers, and distribute information on all sorts of corrupt types. You know, big business, banks, and politicians." Marcus seems cool about it, and then he laughs a little bit. "Big Brother and taking the fight to the New World Order. Or well one global government instead of having a bunch of sovereign countries, with a fun size fits all type of government."

He sounds serious, and in fact, he is serious. Marcus places his arm around Sarah, and he laughs a little. "I know it sounds a bit crazy, but people just don't seem to focus on it. That or they're feed a bunch of lies, and they gobble it up."

"Darn! I would have hoped you'd have flying cars and food replicators!" He reaches over for Sarah's ball, and he tosses it in the air and catches it in his hands. "Good. I don't need anywhere special, and maybe I'll set up an Arcade or something like the shop that acts like a front for the hacker group that I work with."

That's the sort of trouble she was assuming, but she's glad to hear that Marcus is using his hacking powers for good. Although she loses him a little with his global government theory. "We've had that for the last 50 years or so... one government to oversee all twelve colonies. But it was planned and voted on all in the open." She frowns thoughtfully. "I'm sure we had corruption, too, but it's not much of an issue right now."

Sarah lets Marcus take the ball, hoping he'll throw it. She follows the toss with her head, then whines a little when it lands back in his hand. "Sorry to disappoint," Adia says with a small laugh. "You can probably find both here, to be honest... an arcade, like a video-game arcade? That would be fun. I haven't seen anything like that here."

"See that's the thing. It wouldn't give people a choice. And besides, what might be in the best interest of one country or in your case colony, might not work in another. So it is all being done in the name of freedom." Marcus really wonders how Star Trek manages to make it all seem so peaceful. And he sighs. Not all good ideas on paper really are good ideas in reality.

"Corruption runs deep when it comes to politics. Business too. The bigger you get the more powerful you are, and you don't seem to care about the little person. Not to say that there's good, but man there is lots of greedy businessmen who'd love the whole one government idea."

Marcus turns his head to Sarah, with a playful smile on his face, and he is more than happy to give the ball another throw. "You bet! Now if I can find some vintage video games. Centipede, Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Frogger!" He is almost dancing in his seat, as the sound of an old time arcade like those on the Santa Monica peer seems to bring a tear to his eye. "Ski ball, hoops, and man it'll be great."

"Oh... I understand now, okay." Although it's hard for her to reconcile a world full of shady businesses and political conspiracies with that beautiful video of San Fransisco. "I hope you can bring that corruption to light."

Sarah chases after the ball, but takes her time bringing it back. Playtime at the park has managed to wear her out a little. A few more rounds of fetch and she'll be ready to go back home.

The list of video games is unfamiliar to Adia, although she recognizes ski ball and hoops. "Do you think you'll have foosball?" she asks hopefully. "I really like foosball..."

"Already tackled one big pain in the ass, but I'm sure there will be another corrupt business to take its place. Then again our little group has lots of followers." Marcus hates the idea himself, and there are other things he would rather do with his life. But he isn't about to argue about the things he's done in order to save the world. But the world is a chaotic place, and shedding the light of truth to the rest of the world. "So I can afford a little time off."

Marcus holds his hand out for Sarah, and he has enough energy to keep this up. Though it might be due to the fact, he's playing fetch with a Pokemon.

"I'll be sure to scrounge up a foosball table or two. And air hockey." Marcus scrunches his face up as he tries to think of more arcade games to add. "Maybe people can bring some games from their own worlds. Think of it as a bit of way to get to learn about each other's cultures a bit better."

"What, on social media?" She frowns thoughtfully. "That's good, right? If more people are aware of what's going on, there's more power to stop it." As far as deserving a break, Adia seems to approve. "There's only so much good you can do before you need to take a break or risk burning out. I'd spend all day helping others if I didn't remind myself to rest now and then."

Playing fetch with a pokémon does add an extra bit of flare to a game of fetch. Sarah plops the ball into Marcus's hand, eager for another round.

"Oooh, air hockey." Adia's eyes light up. "I haven't played that in ages... you should ask around and see what people play. I'll bet there's a lot of fun games out there."

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I love that your icon has a dog in it :)

http://i.imgur.com/PfJ3e6Y.gif - The game has dogs that Marcus can interact with. :)

so cute!!

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