unfinishedlibrary | I'm not saying that it's aliens

Who: Readers and Actors
What: Beta Story final log
When: November 28 - December 11
Where: Woodhurst (UK) and the SS Radiance (in space!), 2019
Content warnings: Please tag warnings in comment headers!

In Woodhurst:

There is quite a bit of confusion in the village as the weeks pass by- by now it is clear that some people are very much not themselves, and there are multiple theories as to why. Aliens, obviously- the really weird bit is that it’s not just certain edgy teens purporting this theory, but since there’s been some (alleged) activity previously, maybe they’ve come back! Some tourists (and perhaps some locals) have made signs of the ‘Take me with you!’ variety, mostly loitering in the town square or in the park, whenever they get chased out of one or the other.

Suffice it to say, those people aren’t being taken seriously by those in charge- though even they have to admit that something strange is going on. Prevailing theories amongst officials are ‘gas leakage’ and ‘water contamination,’ neither of which are suitable explanations but no one seems to want to think too hard on it. As a result, the friends and families of those acting out of sorts are in a strange position. Do they try to seek medical help? Wait and hope it sorts itself out? Or do they join the crowds bidding welcome to their potential alien guests, demanding their real loved ones return?

Visitors of all stripes might find themselves a bit more scrutinized, as a result. Didn’t a bunch of weird people show up just as people seemed to start changing? Readers and aliens alike had best be on their most normal behavior, or it’s possible they’ll get cornered by someone asking what’s happening, or… a fanatic who wants to be taken up into their spaceship. Some of whom have some weird questions about probes. Good luck figuring out what that’s about.

On the IMW Group Supply Ship: Radiance

Things are not all well further up in the atmosphere, either. The staff have had to deal with much more pushback than they were expecting, including some people who seemed to not enough understand the concept of mental health (which was not in the briefing- shouldn’t they have at least heard of it before?). A few cases also seem to be quite severe, involving a level of intervention that they weren’t really prepared for- but of course, they’re here, so they’re going to do the very best they can to get all the humans the help they need! Hopefully legally.

Most alarmingly, however, it seems there have been some kidnapping attempts! …Kidnapping attempts that didn’t involve them! Someone, or multiple someones, have managed to get the patients off the ship without first filling out their discharge paperwork, and that simply will not do. As a result, security is ramped up on the ship… sort of. There’s very little in the way of a security crew, after all, and it’s not like they can call in reinforcements. So mostly this means that there are some very tired counselors who have been put on hallway shifts, and everyone has been assigned a little name badge that they MUST wear at ALL TIMES.

(There are actual people guarding the shuttles now, but again… there’s only so much security. The real question is, do you really want to beat up the aliens who are just trying to help?)

To their credit, the various Group members are trying to listen to the concerns of the patients who are here… less than willingly, and are beginning to filter some cases back to the planet by request. But they are going to do it properly, which means the proper forms. A wrap up visit with their counselor, a form agreeing to be finished with treatment, a politely worded request to maybe not tell people about the aliens (it’s not an NDA, because the Group has never needed those, it’s really just a form asking if they’re going to talk about it so management can figure out how badly this is going to go). Oh, and would you mind filling out this survey about your experience?

Of course, not everyone is in a hurry to leave- or at least needs something to do while waiting for bits of paperwork to approve. All the regular classes and sessions are still going, and they even retrofitted one of the spas to have water instead of… whatever it was before. Now certified safe for humans!

[Information on what's available on the ship is in the first log; info post is here.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I. People-watching

Outwardly, Randy doesn't seem particularly bothered by it all. When he does leave his shop it's with a look of bemusement on his face at the people with signs out, asking to be abducted, as if it were an ideal and not a completely different situation if you were willingly going into it.

And if he's approached, knowing his reputation for being the town kook, he'll take it in good humour for what it is; functionally a weird joke that he wasn't brought in on earlier.

II. Off Hours

Behind closed doors, however, he's a bit less relaxed.

He doesn't like that the crew that's made their way back to Earth is so flippant about security, enough that people have worked it out. Because it puts him at risk, if anyone got too nosy about the weird old guy with the apparent obsession with aliens and a locked basement (not that anyone knew that part besides the kids, and even then it was a reasonable precaution. A man is due his privacy).

But the teens especially, or anyone that happens to catch him off-guard in the bookshop, will find his perpetually pleasant demeanor a little tested at the moment.

For the Bride

He's not used to being followed. He was deeply paranoid about it some twenty years ago, but these days the only people who come stomping around after him are his flock of teenagers.

But today he can feel heavy footsteps, an unfamiliar tread, staying some steady ten yards behind him, that followed him since he left the shop in the morning to go grocery shopping and trying to pretend that she - because he's glanced back, multiple times, and seen a tall, imposing woman trying to hide her face and be anything but - isn't following him. And so he sighs, and ducks into the alleyway behind the row of units that his building is a part of; there is a back door to his house, but mostly it's away from prying eyes as he pretends to put his shopping backs down and fiddle with the lock to give her time to try and approach him properly.

Here comes once of Randy's best customers, who had been avoiding this place for weeks.

To say she(?) looks different is an understatement.

"Sorry I haven't been by," the young Tsukuda says, with a very definitely deeper voice. Deliberately so, it seems; it still seems awkward, artificial. "I've just... been on unexpected holiday. Found out a few things about myself."

Tsukuda takes a deep breath.

"Such as - no, that can wait. Anything interesting come into the sci-fi section while I was away?"

It was only a matter of time. Frankly, he thought the council was taking far too many humans. How could the humans not notice something was off? Some of the reactions though are rather...unexpected. Fear, confusion, hysteria, understandable feelings to have when your friends and loved ones are not acting as they should. A strong desire to be taken though, a very odd response to all this.

Him, playing the role of a edgey teen who thrives on alien theories, has to play along with their nonsense. Acting enthused about what they think they've discovered, how he has to agree about being abducted. It's exhausting keeping it up. A few times he nearly dropped his facade out of sheer boredom repeating the same lies over and over. It's such a relief when they finally close for the day and he can plopped onto the nearest couch once the door is locked and the curtains pulled.

"How does he keep this up every day?" He says breathlessly, exasperated by the foolishness of humans. "So many willing to be 'kidnapped', as if they've already given up." Ridiculous. He was only being verbal about this since it was just him and the old man in the shop. The old man, who turned out to be a Kloax. Having worked out neither are after each other and confirming Shadow is out having his own little adventure, they've been in mutual agreement to simply coexist in each other's presence.

"You're looking at it backwards, unfortunately."

He leans back against the counter, resting his weight on it with a quiet groan. Sure he's strong, but he's still old. "The lot of you taking humans unwillingly was the main problem. If any of you knew anything about human culture, you would've made a drrran'guk killing off of making an alien-themed spa holiday your gimmick."

Admittedly it was nice getting to use his native language again, feeling how the sharp consonants vibrate in his chest without needing to hide it. That was a mild one - in English it'd be more or less 'goddamn' - but it always had a satisfying click to it for him.

He gestures to the books wearily. "These don't exist because I commission them, you know, humans choose to write and publish and purchase them."

He's rolling his eyes. "All these books just tell me they are dissatisfied and have...very vivid imaginations." He leans back in his seat, shoes going on the table.

"I'm not exactly following what the council wants and doing my own thing." He waves his hand lazily, correcting him. "I don't understand why we have to care so much about the people of this planet in the first place. They can decide their own fate."

It was so familiarly endearing, how mad his new adoptee was about the human ritual of it all.

"Ah, well. The lot of you on that ship care about humans the same way a scientist might care about a particularly curious and rare flower. You're fascinated and want to help it blossom, but without any knowledge of how it's come to exist in its current state, all you're doing is tearing it from its home and doing whatever makes you feel good."

He rounds the desk to sit in his chair. "And you ought to care about people because someone has to. If you're in a position to help them, why shouldn't you?" He puts a hand up briefly. "Or rather, you should put yourself in a position where they welcome your existence, and accept your help without it being shoved down their throat."

"You don't have to tell me what I already know, yara." Calling him an old man, cause he is. He left so he didn't need to hear them bicker and lecture on what to do with the humans. Admittedly, even among the Revanians, Zarnex was considered an odd one. Not against or for what the council wants. Far more independent and closed off from the others. He likes privacy, something Revanians fail to grasp.

He huffs quietly at the other's insistence that he should care and do something. "I don't think need to try that hard." A glance towards the front door, all those people walking around with signs, asking to be taken. "...Eitherway, I don't believe we should be interfering in the first place."

I'm not saying that it's aliens - TAKE A LOAD OFF, LOG 2

Randolph | OTA

II, post-discharge

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