Erudition: Or, a text adventure where you are the star, but in SPACE!

@Cathy really quick: Whoops, looks like the narration forgot to add in the weird relational stuff.

Unathis have two systems of love. One is similar to human love, in which the partners are mutual, and then there's a alpha/beta sort.

The alpha is the dominant, the beta is the less dominant.

Occasionally, things can flipflop.

(NOTE: I will update later today. Merry Christmas!)

>I check out Tv Tropes of the future, and look up this forum game to see the future... of the future.

@Anolis: You click on Minesweeper the movie. LET'S DO THIS.

The movie itself is similar to this, but longer and filled with tasteless jokes. Also, the only Unathi in the film is literally a blend of stereotypes.

You're not sure how to react to this.

@Star Bee: Indeed. Space can be good, sometimes. As for Anime, there's more than a hundred thousand titles in stock, though some you'd likely never watch due to reasons.

Homesick the Anime is...currently on a hiatus. ANDREW. WHY.

You'll just have to rewatch acts one through four.

Revy: Luke and you have done it. You've caught Missing-

Error. Your file appears to have been erased.

Undertake speed run it is!

One quick bit of screaming and flailing around, and you've done it!

As for movies, there are many. Anime movies, live action, documentaries...

Your three choices are

Dionea High School XXVI: They did how many movies of this? Anyway, it's about a few dionea girls trying to act normal at a high school primarily filled with humans. Occasionally they deal with a villain or such, or have teen drama.

Space Knights VI: Based on a few minor crusades during the Earth Exploration Program. Though the plot is dumb, the characters are total eye candy. And, the villain is...AMAZING. Though the Cult of Narsie is utterly edgy.

Star Dust: Romcom with some action due to war-zones. Perfect for those who want bang-bang shooty action, and those who want three dimensional and realistic love interests. Death happens a lot.

Cali: The shuttle thankfully gives you enough leg room to move around, so you can easily check on the others, or bump into any new people, like the Dionea girl to your right, altering her screen with utter ease.

To the back are some restrooms, and the door to another area.

Your PDA is able to open group chats, send messages, record Nanotrasen Sanctioned videos, and translate some languages. It's also a nifty recording device.

There are a few small games on it, though they're nowhere as amazing as the ones on the screen.

@Skiller: Nine through Thirteen it is.

You weep tears of joy and loss.

RIP- No, you're not going to think about them. Too sad.

@Cathari: You click on the Unathi history section and read through the interesting bits.

''Long ago, most Unathi of similar color scales banded into clans, or tribes, leading to uneasy neighborlike relations with other groups. Occasionally, when something big happened, like one clan of Greens going to war with a clan of Blues, all of the clans would call a meeting and try to sort things out. Sometimes, it led to stronger alliances and ties. Other times, it led to bigger and bloodier wars.

Eventually, however, an Albino Warlord managed to unite the tribes mostly under his rule, creating a sole monarchy. The Blues ended up taking the position of Nobility, the Grays, of royal guardsmen, the Yellows and Brown, farming and mining, and Greens, the common solider.

He eventually picked two of his many children, a boy and a girl, as his heirs.

The boy was brutish, and made many plays for power, which worried the monarch. So, he passed off the throne to his sister, and made him the religious leader. Shortly after, he and said brother died of an unknown disease, that died with them, or so the sister claimed.

Naturally, it was poison. But, she held the throne, and so, the Pale Queen rose. Some paint her as an artisan, some, a genocidal maniac with a thirst for blood, and some painted her as a mixture of both.

The higher ranking nobles died from poisonings or royal guardsmen. More of the government fell under her control, and as such, she was a figure many Unathi sought to please.

She had many, many children, all with their father's colored scales, and her spots. She had many suitors.

She managed to live to the old age of 297 before her murder, at which point, many sighed in relief, or mourned. A grand-daughter assumed the throne, before a grand-son cut her down, before dying to a Royal Guardsman.

This era is known as the "Dynasty of Aeroth." for that is what the guard was named. He made many improvements for the common people, but got into trouble with the nobility, still mainly blue scaled. His solution was to strip them of their titles over the years, a project which neared completion around his death, at 106, through sickness. His descendants led the people through The Great Plague, during which, they sought advice from a local shaman, the Plague Scale. Eventually, the plague was cured, and the dynasty continued, before the "Dynasty of Merdock" took place.''

The rest is split into other tabs.

"Dynasty of Merdock"

"First contact with the Skrell"

"First contact with Nanotrasen"

"Unathi, today!"

@Whizzerd: You set up the reminder, before looking for more information on Loyalty Implants.

Loyalty implants are occasionally used to keep employees in line, or as a countermeasure, to prevent subversive elements. You are not cleared for any remaining information.

That was short, and curiosity inducing.

@Zero L: Hey, wouldn't it be cool if TV Tropes made a spoiler inducing game about your life? You think it would, and search for one-

Darn it, the only games you can find are either avatar related, or text adventures related to other stuff!

Whatever the heck Marooned is, it doesn't help in your current situation.

DAGNABBIT-

>Bleh... This Hiatus has been going on for almost 4 years now. Somebody please tell me this isnt another sick joke

>Rewatch One Piece instead

"Nothing really that useful."

> Attempt to access the biology sections for some of the other species.

>Spy on what someone else is doing.

>Peek over the shoulder of somebody who totally isn't another player character.
>Also open up my friends' group chat and blab about my new job that I know nothing about.

> Space Knights IV. Let's see how stupid this could be...

>Alright, what sorts of Unathi film do they have on here?

>That's... ominous.

>Try and find some information about the history of other "internees" like us; whether they're still serving Nanotrasen, whether there's been any notable instances of disagreeable interns, and whether certain races tend towards certain jobs within Nanotrasen.

>Remember all the instances of over-curious people getting 'taken care of' in movies, and wonder whether I should really be doing this.

@Star Bee: Four year hiatuses are generally a thing with Earth media, to be honest. Radiation Zones, fallout, poor living conditions, and occasional conflicts lead to that sort of thing.

Nevertheless, you figure Nanotrasen'll finally start paying attention to Earth, and the hiatuses will end!

For now, time for One Piece. Magical compasses and adventure, ahoy!

@Cathy: You click on the next biology section, marked Human Biolo-

NO

NEXT FILE

You at least memorized the fact that a human with no implants generally lives up to 70 - 90 as average.

The oldest live up to 125 - 130.

You're pretty sure none of those are on Earth.

@Skiller: Jesh looks at one of the other seats, as Cali looks at his! Very unsettling. Jesh gives a territorial hiss.

@Caliburn: OKAY LOOK AWAY-

Ahem, you'll talk to that blue Unathi later.

For now, let's check your friends group chat!

Everyone but you is offline, though you're sure to post a bit about Nanotrasen, your job, voice acting, and take a few selfies of yourself and multiple girls on the ship, receiving some odd looks, a few waves, and a few winks.

@Revyark: You select it, and the story begins.

Long ago, the Space Wizard Federation and the Cult of Narsie teamed up to use 'magic' to attempt to rewrite the laws of realit- blah blah, exposition, brief action scene introducing the mcguffin, here we go.

Most of the film is tedious, though a few characters are likable. Especially Castiel.

Wait. No! They can't ship him with Eliza!

WHYYYY-

The epic quest that you originally called dumb continues, as you watch with bated breath.

@Anolis: They've got all sorts of Unathi films! Name a genre, and you'll find something ya like, probably!

@Whizzerd: Ominous indeed. You check for employee related incidents, and find a few disgruntled employees, most of whom are 'replaced', due to Peacekeeper intervention.

The most notable involved one attempting a mutiny a few years ago, leading to Nanotrasen simply wiping out the entire station, with everyone on it.

It used to be that races were sorted into jobs, but now things are equal opportunity, mostly!

(Next update is Centcomm arrival.)

edited 25th Dec '16 4:07:04 PM by RandomWriter413

> Try to talk to other passengers here.

> Listen to some music.

> Wonder why the computer thing attempted to show me files on human when I am human of science. Also wonder why computer didn't show me stuff when I didn't have much trouble accessing that sort of information back at home.

> Read/listen to biology files on next species.

>Some historical fiction would be nice. War dramas, especially. Honestly, despite being a diplomat's kin, war seems so much more fun, if not as cost-intuitive. Maybe that's the reason why people have diplomacy. Whatever: it's still boring and there's always too much technical jargon and shady compromising involved. Or compromising in general. Really, any sort of compromising seems shady.

>Okay, that didn't happen. At least I won't have to talk to them on a regular basis, right?
>Putting that behind me, I'll go walk around the shuttle, see what's up, and when I get back to my seat, finish 100%ing TA and probably order a bite to eat.

>Look around for any female Unathi.

>Ah, things are more equal opportunity these days, that's nice-

>Wait no go back to that whole 'mutinous station was destroyed' bit. Was there a public outcry, or was it covered up? And what's there now if the old station was destroyed?

@Revyark: Revy manages to pry their eyes away from Castiel long enough to pause the movie, and look around. Might as well make friends!

So, you quickly plop yourself down in a group of seats, after walking around, and attempt to make conversation.

"Oh, a meatball. Nice to meet you!" A female Skrell in the group states, bionically enhanced eyes temporarily focusing, before going back to her screen.

"That's Rachel. For all of her bluster about the Skrell being superior, she has a human name." A human to your right states, as he waves. He's moderately built, and looks like the miner type.

"I'm David. Nice to meet ya!" He says, as he extends a hand.

After a reasonably polite bit of small talk, you hook up your headphones and drift off to slee-

@ Cathy: Looks like it just cycles through biology files.

Next one!

''The Skrell are amphibious, and are capable of breathing underwater for hours. This has aided in the construction of underwater cities, allowing them to colonize planets mostly covered in it. They are more comfortable in heat than they are in cold, though they prefer not being exposed to higher temperatures than former tropical areas of Earth, before Terraformation and Nuclear Conflicts.

Their heads have tentaclelike feelers, similar to squid, though they're around the same length as hair. Do not cut. Simply pull hard enough to detach said tendril if too long for a Skrell child.

Skrell History

The Skrellian Empire:

Nanotrasen Skrell wars.

Nanotrasen victory.

You begin to drift off to sleep, having scientifically natured dreams of many varieties.

@Anolis: War movies it is! Thank goodness your father isn't here to pause the movie and point out every time diplomacy worked, or when it was needed.

You decide to watch a drama on the great Biotech Solutions war, and how the Unathi, bored and hungry for combat, joined up with Nanotrasen, their 'frosty' allies the Skrell, and the Vox, to fight against a formerly giant corporation, and turn it to rubble.

Ten times the action, ten times the realism, ten times the amount of normal deaths in a fictional movie.

Sure, in the last thirty minutes the Tarajan join up to get a piece of the rewards, and there's a whole lot of boring talking as they split the planets up, yadda yadda, treaty, yadda yadda, shaking hands, political drama subplot resolved...

All in all, pretty good.

You drift off to sleep, dreaming of delicious cookies and being involved in a war movie.

@Caliburn: Here goes nothing. You pause the game, and stand up, chatting with many people. Some recognize your voice, and you get highfives and respect.

Now, back to the game.

You are in the final level, having made the decision on which party member to woo, and which to leave.

The door is in sight. The final boss is-

Is...

If not for the graphics, this gigantic mutant cyborg would be terrifying.

You easily beat him with the power of LEVEL GRINDING and order a drink, as the credits roll-

ZZZZ.

zzz

@Skkiller: Oh, this Jesh can do.

He stands, boxerlike pose, as he strides along, realizing that yes, there are many Unathi babes on board.

You're sure to memorize their seat numbers.

Then, you recline, dozing off.

@Whizzerd: Indeed it is! Nanotrasen is happy to hire anyone, though you yourself wouldn't trust any Vox in command.

As for the station, there was some outcry, but it eventually ended. Nanotrasen was mostly cheered on for stopping the madman.

Right now, there's a salvage effort going down to retrieve parts from the station, with plans for a newer, safer one under way.

With that thought in mind, you drink your water, and begin to go into a trance.

Photosynthesis. Photosynthesis. Photo...

@Everyone: You begin to stumble awake, as the ship leaves the final station.

"Beginning final bluespace jump to Cent Comm in 3...2..."

The ship begins to move at speeds you hadn't imagined, as the seat itself holds you down, the foam and gravity restraining you, as the ship itself travels through...Through what?

As Star-B and Anolis look out the window, they note large clusters of stars, nebula, and occasionally other ships, before the one they're in exits Bluespace...

And suddenly, there's next to no light outside, other than fringes of it, being blocked by a massive shadow that your ship can't even hope to match. Your ship is tiny, compared to the massive, metropolitan complex, weapons and machines that Zero can barely make heads or tails of on the exterior.

You have arrived at Cent Comm.

> Wake up, get off the ship when it docks.

> Go wherever I'm supposed to go.

>Oh hey, there's my drink. I'm surprised it hasn't spilled. I'm just gonna help myself to it as I exit the shuttle and enter CentComm.
>Also, if I can figure out how to, I put my save file onto a USB drive (or whatever the future equivalent might be) before leaving in case I get my own copy of the game or the sequel has an old save bonus.

> "THAT's Centcomm? Wasn't what I expected, but it'll do. I hope."

> Gather things and get ready to move onto Centcomm.

> Grab stuff and look to see where you're supposed to go. Maybe a sign that says "New recruits this way" or something

edited 26th Dec '16 11:36:06 AM by StarBee

>Hey, don't put me in a box here. Probably was dreaming about something else.

>...actually, maybe I am dreaming about that? Dreams are supposed to be your mind turning short-term memories into long-term memories or...okay, I'm no neurosurgeon, but it does have something to do with memories.

>Anyway, I'm awake. And wow. This is it.

edited 26th Dec '16 11:55:39 AM by BlackMageAnolis

>Get up and stretch, then go to where I'm supposed to go.

>Goggle at the weapons.

>Goggle more.

>Google. What does future Wikipedia have to say?