Mae Borowski (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thishouseishaunted) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomtownies2019-01-04 03:30 pm
thishouseishaunted) wrote in fandomtownies2019-01-04 03:30 pm
Entry tags:
The Holoscene, Friday afternoon
Mae was really starting to get to know the town pretty well. Spending a week bouncing around on the rooftops and wandering over every street at least twice would do that. For the most part, the town seemed to be just the weirdo-hippie side of standard: you had your fast food place (she didn't know Moobies at all, but she assumed it was a southern thing); your convenience store (which didn't even have an animal in the name, what the hell?); you variety of restaurant options, including a diner (which either served weirdly non-diner-ish food, or had a really sarcastic person doing the specials signs); your miscellaneous shops. There was no big box store, just the Turtle & Canary, but that wasn't too weird for a small town; Possum Springs hadn't even gotten a Donut Wolf until the highway came through. Small towns were just like that, sometimes.
And then there was this place. Mae had no idea what this place was. It wasn't the comic book shop or the arcade (no way was Fandom big enough to support two of either of those). She was pretty sure it wasn't another bar, though she supposed this place could be drunk enough to support three of those. Looking through the window didn't help; all she saw was a counter and a couple closed doors.
Also, as far as she could tell (and she had a pretty good eye for these sorts of things), it was abandoned.
Mae scanned the street really quick for any sign of those weird not-cops that seemed to enforce the laws around here. The coast was clear — she didn't even see any squirrels. She ducked down the alley next to the shop, looking for a way in. Abandoned stores always had a way in if you looked close enough — a loose board, a broken window, that sort of thing — but this one looked like it hadn't been closed that long, so it might take a little while. The doors on the ground floor were all locked, but a couple quick jumps (packing crate, dumpster, fire escape!) got her up onto the roof, where, sure enough, someone had propped the door open with half a brick. Mae slipped in and down the stairs, and soon enough found herself in the weirdest room she'd ever seen.
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat."
"Welcome," a voice called. "Please select a program to begin."
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat —" Mae said again. "— is this place?"
"This is a recreation class holosuite. Please select a program to begin."
"Like . . . a video game?"
"A video game is a two dimensional interactive storytelling and entertainment computer program, circa the 20th and 21st centuries on Earth. This is a recreation class holosuite. Please select a —"
"Okay, I get it, what are my options?"
"This holosuite has a stored catalog of 56,782 individual holonovels and simulations. Would you like them sorted alphabetically or by average customer review score?"
"Um," said Mae. "Do you have something where I can smash things?"
"Opening program: Baseball Hooligan." The room around Mae shimmered, and suddenly she was standing in a parking lot outside a downtown stadium, in a crowd of rowdy, drunken sports fans.
Someone handed her a bat.
"THiS iS tHE beSt PLacE evER!" Mae shouted, and took a swing at a nearby car's headlight.
Hey, so long as she wasn't hitting people, Dr. Hank had nothing to complain about. Right?
[establishy, unless someone has a really good reason to be here too. The fact that Mae was snooping around the Holoscene can be broadcast, but not the actual sneaking in, please! Mae is now in charge of the local public holographic facilities. Mwahahahaha!]
And then there was this place. Mae had no idea what this place was. It wasn't the comic book shop or the arcade (no way was Fandom big enough to support two of either of those). She was pretty sure it wasn't another bar, though she supposed this place could be drunk enough to support three of those. Looking through the window didn't help; all she saw was a counter and a couple closed doors.
Also, as far as she could tell (and she had a pretty good eye for these sorts of things), it was abandoned.
Mae scanned the street really quick for any sign of those weird not-cops that seemed to enforce the laws around here. The coast was clear — she didn't even see any squirrels. She ducked down the alley next to the shop, looking for a way in. Abandoned stores always had a way in if you looked close enough — a loose board, a broken window, that sort of thing — but this one looked like it hadn't been closed that long, so it might take a little while. The doors on the ground floor were all locked, but a couple quick jumps (packing crate, dumpster, fire escape!) got her up onto the roof, where, sure enough, someone had propped the door open with half a brick. Mae slipped in and down the stairs, and soon enough found herself in the weirdest room she'd ever seen.
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat."
"Welcome," a voice called. "Please select a program to begin."
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat —" Mae said again. "— is this place?"
"This is a recreation class holosuite. Please select a program to begin."
"Like . . . a video game?"
"A video game is a two dimensional interactive storytelling and entertainment computer program, circa the 20th and 21st centuries on Earth. This is a recreation class holosuite. Please select a —"
"Okay, I get it, what are my options?"
"This holosuite has a stored catalog of 56,782 individual holonovels and simulations. Would you like them sorted alphabetically or by average customer review score?"
"Um," said Mae. "Do you have something where I can smash things?"
"Opening program: Baseball Hooligan." The room around Mae shimmered, and suddenly she was standing in a parking lot outside a downtown stadium, in a crowd of rowdy, drunken sports fans.
Someone handed her a bat.
"THiS iS tHE beSt PLacE evER!" Mae shouted, and took a swing at a nearby car's headlight.
Hey, so long as she wasn't hitting people, Dr. Hank had nothing to complain about. Right?
[establishy, unless someone has a really good reason to be here too. The fact that Mae was snooping around the Holoscene can be broadcast, but not the actual sneaking in, please! Mae is now in charge of the local public holographic facilities. Mwahahahaha!]