monolith revisited | mingle

[mythbuster]

One fine morning, a boyish voice broadcasts to everyone around base:

There's a lot left to explore inside the Monolith, so I'll be visiting it today. If anyone else wants to come along, feel free.

Once all interested parties are assembled and traveling arrangements sorted out, they're off to the Monolith! Given the length of the journey, this will be a real time investment. A one-way trip takes nearly two hours by flight. Traveling in silence? Boring. How should they occupy their time? Travel games? Joy rides in the Seamoth? Maybe even some old-fashioned chit chat??

Once they arrive, there's plenty to explore. With some sniffing around, they'll find a map revealing that the Monolith contains a cafe and common area, crew quarters, lab, med bay, and "special alien containment" room. However, it'll take some ingenuity to actually reach each area. And by ingenuity I mean bombs.

Which is why the group will need a demolition crew! Get to blasting those walls in logical places. Or illogical places. No one ever said it had to be a good demolition crew. With enough willful destruction, surely all of the the Monolith's secrets will be laid bare in no time.

(( Here are the full details on what can be found in the Monolith! Create your own topics and go nuts. ))

Comments

[mythbuster]

[ What is pop culture. Loki gives Dirk an odd look. ]

The Nostromo? Isn't it named after Joseph Conrad's Nostromo, the sea captain?

[splinten]

From the comment about inviting disaster, I'm pretty sure the reference is to the spaceship in the movie Alien, which is itself a likely reference to Conrad.

[And then this happened. They got what they deserved.]

[mythbuster]

Never heard of it.

[ Shocking. ]

I assume an alien invades the spaceship? What happens?

[splinten]

I won't spoil it. You should watch it.

[These kids are going to make Loki pop culture savvy.]

[mythbuster]

... I guess I might as well. The avenues of entertainment only narrow as the days go by.

[ In other words, he's running out of books to read.

The elevator doors open to reveal a common room, and beyond that what appears to be a cafe and commercial store. Immediately, Loki's eyebrows fly up. He's been expecting more cold, hard futuristic business. But it only makes sense that workers would need a place to break and relax... ]

[splinten]

Maybe we'll find some more books to steal from the dead here.

[Dirk walks over and flips through one of the magazines. It's all tame shit, but he tosses it aside anyway.]

As long as it's something age appropriate.

[mythbuster]

That's fine by me.

[ He wouldn't want to read anything lewd anyway!! And they do have actual children around now, so he is all for thinking about the children. He grabs a book lying around and checks the publication date. Earlier than anything they found on the Aurora... ]

So-called adult reading material is written with little regard for meaningful characterization or thematic intricacy.

[splinten]

Yeah, what's with all this low-quality pornography? We've got too much mass market smut and not enough fucklit for the educated elites.

[Dirk tosses one of the magazines casually into the waste bin.]

1/2

[mythbuster]

[ Nod nod. ]

Exactly--

2/2

[mythbuster]

-- Wait, WHAT-lit?! Dirk!

[ His ears are too tender and pure for this. ]

[splinten]

[Loki. Don't overreact. Because Dirk here is clearly very very chill. He picks up another dirty mag and flips through it.]

Literary smut. High brow pornography. The erotica your English professor teaches.

Writing for the intellectuals to get their rocks off to.

[mythbuster]

[ Telling Loki not to overreact is like telling him not to BREATHE. He reaches up to smack the magazine out of Dirk's hands and into the trash can. These are the things that will lead him to say that nothing is sacred anymore!! ]

I'm fairly sure those were all contradictory.

[splinten]

[Rude? Dirk doesn't fight it. That poor magazine, though. Rest in Peace.]

You've never read Marian Engel's Bear.

[mythbuster]

I haven't, and now I'm afraid to.

[ But it was kind of the author to make a content warning of the title. ]