#003 - Questions & Answers

[kryptonian]

So I’ve been here for about two weeks and I have some questions, after exploring a lot and talking to people. This is going to be pretty long, so if you’re flipping numerous pages in the journal, I’m sorry. (But I’m not actually sorry.)


General

1. How long has the oldest resident been here? The resident that has been here the longest.
2. What’s the shortest anyone ever stayed?
3. Who has been here the most times? I’ve apparently been here four times, and I do not like it.
4. Why are so many people here from Earth?
5. How come some people come back with memories and some don’t?
6. How many people here have come back with memories? How common is it??
7. What’s the most people that was ever here at one time?
8. What’s the craziest reaction someone ever had to coming to Paradisa?
9. What have people tried to get out?
10. How do you know time stops back home while we’re here?
11. How many different universes exist here?
12. Do some of you really come from such, uh... unadvanced worlds?
13. To people who aren’t from the 21st century: how confused are you?
14. Are some people here the only people from their worlds? Like, has never met anyone they know, or comes from some sort of “anomaly” universe?
15. How many people have met people they know, but are actually from other universes?
16. If we don’t age, does hair grow? Fingernails? Periods??

Death

1. When you die, what happens? Does it effect the timeline?
2. How often does it happen?
3. If people don’t stay dead, are you guys cool with murder or is it still wrong? (It’s not cool.)

Journals

1. Why do liquids come through?
2. Why do people bother using them? Can’t we stop using them and instead all get laptops or something? I have never written so much in my life, if it were possible, I would have carpal tunnel already.

“Price Losses”

1. What do people lose?
2. If you lose a memory, are you aware that you lost that memory, or is it like nothing ever happened?
3. If you lose an ability, what happens if you try to do it anyway?
4. What is the weirdest loss ever? The worst?
5. Do we KNOW that it’s a price we pay for being here, or is that just an assumption? (And you know what they say about assumptions... Or you should, anyway.)
6. Why does the castle pick what it picks?

“Temporary Losses”

1. Why do we even call these “losses”? I feel like that’s a little dishonest, from what I’ve seen and read about, some of these aren’t losses so much as “everything going crazy.”
2. What’s the extent of what can happen? Basically, what HASN’T Paradisa done, where does it draw lines?
3. What’s the point? I get the “draws emotional power, we’re batteries” thing but why does it pick what it does?
4. What’s the longest one ever lasted?
5. Is there a way to stop them early?

The Building?

1. I’ve been looking at the way the wires and vents are, and nothing really matches up. Nothing makes sense. Do we know anything else about that? Everything goes down to the ground, has anyone tried going under the castle?
2. Why do so many people hang out on the roof?
3. Is the laundry room sponsored by Tide? That’s so confusing to me, you have no idea.

Insolitus

1. What do we know about the abandoned room in there?
2. Has anyone tried to map it? I know it seems to change, but is there any sort of pattern, to it? Does Tunnel B go left only on a Monday, that kind of thing?
3. Has anyone ever gotten lost in there to the point where they couldn’t be rescued?
4. Has anyone tried drilling or breaking through walls in there? I guess what I’m asking here is does it “match up” with other parts of the maze, or does everything exist on different planes of whatever? I haven’t been able to figure it out.

Outside of Paradisa?

1. Why don’t people go out there more often?
2. Is there anyone out there?
3. Are there no other cities?
4. I don’t know much about city building, but it’s kinda weird to me that they can have a whole city with no trade or anything. Do the people in the city ever get shipments or whatever?
5. Why are there all these random abandoned warehouse type things when the city is pretty Dark Ages? Or Medieval Times? Or Renaissance? I don’t know the difference. If someone can explain that, that’d be great.
6. How far have people travelled?
7. Do we have a map?
8. Why don’t we have powers out there? Does Paradisa do that?

Misc.

1. Why is there a garage full of cars and other vehicles if this place doesn’t have any roads meant for cars?
2. What’s that big orange crystal on the lawn? I, as a rule, don’t go near random coloured crystals.
3. What’s the biggest mystery you want an answer to? Having only been here two weeks, I can’t even imagine what I don’t know.
4. Tell me something cool about the castle that I maybe haven’t thought of.

Thanks!
Kara

Comments

[kryptonian]

Me? The new Lois Lane? I don't think so.

[secondchances]

Only in that sense! Or maybe not. I don't know. We just need to collect all the organized, intellectual, and curious types and brainstorm.

[kryptonian]

They can do the paperwork and analysis and whatever. I just want the answers.

[secondchances]

Sound good to me. Answers and not doing paperwork.

[kryptonian]

What everyone wants, huh?

Oh and hey, I met one of your friends when I arrived, I forgot to mention. A girl named Lucrezia?

[secondchances]

That saves me from doing introductions. I forgot to mention that I'm collecting people from the Renaissance. She's the cutest of them all.

[kryptonian]

Collecting, huh? How many Renaissance pals do you have?

[secondchances]

Currently three. Lucrezia, her brother, and some other guy. [Micheletto is a douche and isn't even on the friend radar >:( ]

Though it actually wasn't intentional, I swear. It just sorta happened.

[kryptonian]

Wow. Am I going to walk into your room someday and find you wearing one of those medieval dresses and working. at a loom or something?

[secondchances]

No loom. Lucrezia likes to put me in her dresses, though. I'm sure she'd love to play dress up with you, too.

It's kinda fun.

[kryptonian]

If the lady insists, I guess I would.

I can't even fathom what life was like then, other than not having proper toilets and everything being coated in disease and nobody having any rights. I watched that Monty Python movie. That's all I got.

[secondchances]

It's dramatic. Getting married off when you're still a kid, the whole concept of being a "teenager" doesn't even exist, family and honor and all that... I could write a book. But I guess I could just read one.

Uh--Lucrezia is actually the daughter of a pope, by the way. I don't know how much you know about Italian history, but he apparently wasn't a very good guy. It's all really complicated, but your best bet is to play the naive modern girl role and smile and nod. It's what I do half the time. [Kinda.]

[kryptonian]

I can't even imagine. I don't know anything about Italy, other than the few times I've flown over it.

She seemed really nice. Daughter-of-a-villain type thing?

oh my god was there a filter going on here WHATEVER LAST COMMENT WAS FILTERED filter forever

[secondchances]

You're like me a year ago, minus the flying and more spaghetti from boxes.

She is really nice. Cesare is nice, too. But their father had the family of the other Renaissance guy here executed. And the Borgia siblings don't know that. I mean, my dad was a criminal, but this pope takes the cake. My dad never killed a bed-ridden little boy.

And, I know this goes without saying, but don't say anything about this ever.

Re: oh my god was there a filter going on here WHATEVER LAST COMMENT WAS FILTERED filter forever

[kryptonian]

[pause]

What the heck, Steph?! You've practically gotten involved with the renaissance mafia.

[secondchances]

Most of their drama is at home! No judging.

[kryptonian]

No judging, I'm not judging! I'm just saying...

[secondchances]

... yeah... it's all sorts of crazy. I really don't even know how I got this involved.

Anyway, Lucrezia is one of the cutest people I've ever met. She likes learning about stuff from our time.

[kryptonian]

Well... you're involved now!

She knows I have powers and she reacted pretty well. It kind of surprised me, but I also wondered if she thought I was like, some sort of weird space tramp. Aren't women supposed to be covered from head to toe in her time? Does she even know what space is?

[secondchances]

I'm sure she's met people with powers before. It's hard not to, here.

[Steph laughs :') ] I've seen a lot of her cleavage, so not exactly. It's more just arms and legs, I guess. Lucrezia and Ezio don't seem to mind it too much, aside from the occasional comment about pants. [Cesare, you jerk!!]

[kryptonian]

Good to know, don't want to be, like... the super-skank from the future.

Which one is the brother? Cesare or Ezio?

[secondchances]

Don't worry. I think they kinda understand that times change and all that stuff.

Cesare is her brother. He tends to keep to himself.

[kryptonian]

That's good.

So what do you do for fun with Renaissance people?

[secondchances]

[Cuddle, have sleepovers, eat a lot...

GOD, THAT SOUNDS SO WEIRD. Steph has a moment of "what has my life become" before scrounging up a response.]

We exchange a lot of stories. They're baffled by a lot of things, like drinking laws and stuff like that. They like watching me try to get a grasp on things they pop out of the womb knowing, like wearing those poofy dresses or riding a horse. We just... hang out, really. It's not too different from what you and I would do.

[And they talk about sex a lot more. SIGH.]

[kryptonian]

[Kara laughs.]

So you're telling me people aren't that different even after hundreds and hundreds of years. That's good.