welcome, welcome!

[iterumadmin]

[ A day or so after the Chosen start arriving, three loud chimes begin going off on all devices across the City to alert to an incoming Magistrate message. These will be different from the regular ringtones that alert a Chosen from any close friends of incoming calls or messages.

A woman with platinum blonde hair sits behind a large desk, offering a smile that's all business. ]

So. Here you all are. Okay, I guess it’s up to me to formally welcome you to – or back to – the City. You'll see that not much has changed geographically for those in the latter group. Those that are new? Listen to what the returning people tell you. I’m sure they’ll have a lot of important information relevant to your interests, comfort and safety.

Your district Magistrates have all changed with the exception of Nina, who’s still in charge in the Coliseum district and Star who does her best with what she has over in Shantytown. Aiden Knight is your guy over in Leisurebrook. Fern Wilder heads up Finance Street while Skiffell Lubbee is stationed in the Gardens of Pleasure. Then we have the handsome Baren Everett over in the Red Lantern District and that leaves me, the Duchess, presiding over the Tower District.

[ Gets prompted from someone off camera. The Duchess looks at her watch. ]

Alright. I’ve got roughly ten minutes before I’m due in another meeting, so the floor is open for questions. Well, most anyway. Let’s steer away from the more complicated ones, yeah?

Oh, yes! There will also be a welcome banquet at the Tower next weekend in your honour. Information about that will be on the invitation in the basket you received upon arriving in the City.

Okay, who's got questions?

Comments

[bossyboiler]

[ Not that she's going to miss the Emperor but she is curious... ]

What happened to the other Magistrates?

[iterumadmin]

Hello, Ms. Cordello. I am assuming you mean all the original Magistrates? Well, those ones were all found dead or have been demoted and reassigned elsewhere. There was no further use for the Sun and Nina Baronger -- as I've already explained -- has kept her position as Magistrate of the Coliseum District.

[bossyboiler]

Hello.

[ God. It's worse than talking to your high school principal. Of course, she knows her name. Her sin is pride after all. She supposes that she could have been more polite and said hello first.

She has a few questions like who killed the former magistrates. What else exists in this universe besides the City if they were reassigned? ]

What happened to the City while we were gone? Is this some kind of experiment?

[iterumadmin]

No, not an experiment. Things got a little intense, and everyone who got pulled in got pushed out for five months. And before you ask me why, I can't tell you because I don't know.

[bossyboiler]

I see. [ Does she see? Does she really? ]

If you don't mind the bluntness of this question, what do you know about what happened?

[iterumadmin]

As far as I know, there was a problem with the City and the Heart of it. One that began bringing people in that posed a threat.

[bossyboiler]

But there have been threats to the City before, haven't there? What made them special?

[iterumadmin]

A number of them, yes, but this was a different kind of threat. Think end-of-the-world type threat.

[bossyboiler]

And the City is that important to protect?

[needsabreak]

How about telling us why we're here and what the hell is going on. Or is that one of the 'complicated' ones? [Yeah, he's not happy about being kidnapped.]

[iterumadmin]

I'll be blunt, the City wanted you. Whether that's to feed off whatever emotions you can't help yourself having while you're here, or you have a job here to do that you won't know you've completed until you return home. However, that looks.

[needsabreak]

The City wanted me- us? [He obviously doesn't believe her. Trying to blame the city itself seemed like a cop out.] Ok, so that's the narrative you're going with - 'the city' is doing it. And conveniently, no one knows specifically what the city actually wants from us. Right.

So, what makes you a Magistrate? Are you able to communicate with the City or something?

[iterumadmin]

You should talk to some of the Chosen that have returned who can offer some of their first-hand experiences. It's not a narrative.

What makes me a Magistrate is my experience with running places like the City. This isn't my first rodeo. Communicating is part of it, but not all. Think of it like you would any other body of government.

[needsabreak]

[He shakes his head.] That's not what I mean. [It's even more annoying because he isn't really sure if she'd misinterpreted his question because it was insane or if she was being obtuse on purpose.] I don't mean can you communicate to everyone in the City. I meant is the 'City' an entity that you can communicate with.

Most governmental bodies I know of aren't chatting with some inhuman, universe bending lifeform, or whatever.

[He did intend to ask the people who had been here before about their experience though. And he'd be damned if he called them 'the Chosen'.]

[iterumadmin]

I think you phrased it perfectly fine, Mr. Kennedy. Yes, we communicate with the City, it is sentient. Those that have been here before will tell you that, too. The native citizens, however, might not want to get into it. But you can try.

And are you sure about that? It might not be a sentient City, but governmental bodies do chat about a lot of things the wider public knows nothing about.

[needsabreak]

[His expression stays neutral, but he goes stock still. The thought that the City truly was a sentient entity is terrifying.

Her next insinuation makes him narrow his eyes.] Yeah. I'm sure. I know a thing or two about classified info and it's not about living fucking cities.

[iterumadmin]

I would wager it's something equally dark and disturbing but that's just my experience speaking.

Did you have any other questions?

[needsabreak]

[He'll give her that much. It's not quite on par with a living city but the things he knew that had been covered up were pretty horrific.]

Yeah. When you talk to the City, what's it say about us - the people it's pulling here. Just that vague 'they have some role to play'? Nothing more than that?

[iterumadmin]

The City isn't capable of gossip if that's what you mean. As you might recall, I explained that you and everyone else who has been brought here have been chosen for something. As for what exactly that is, I can't be sure. Nor do any of the other Magistrates. We're all here to do a job.

[needsabreak]

I didn't mean gossip. I was hoping it might have something more than a vague reason as to why we're here. Guess not. Or if it does, it's not telling you. [It's a bit of a jab at her. He isn't sorry.]

[iterumadmin]

I'm afraid the communication works differently and that's one of those complicated questions that I don't have time to answer.

[abeautifulgame]

Why bring us here?

[he doesn't sound upset, just curious. this is the first time he's been somewhere outside of home where there's actually a face to his kidnappers]

[iterumadmin]

As I explained to Mr. Kennedy, the City chooses you for its own reasons and I can't confirm what those reasons are. Generally, it's because you exhibit strong emotional responses to certain things and it feeds off that.

[abeautifulgame]

[if he noticed her responses to Leon, if he can even see them, he's keeping that to himself. asking the same question would serve to prove whether or not she could keep her story straight, after all]

So, the City is sentient.

[interesting, but]

Feeds how?

[are there side effects?]

[iterumadmin]

I don't know the science behind it. As with prior Magistrates, we are only here to make sure the City maintains some kind of order. Much like any other local government system does.

As for how it feeds, I would wager a guess that heightened emotion by many people all at once, in one particular area would be easier than, let's say, syphoning gas, one tank at a time.

[abeautifulgame]

So, more osmosis than, say, vampires.

[that still doesn't necessarily fill him with confidence]

What do we get out of it?

[still, he's hopeful for something symbiotic rather than parasitic. if he's going to give, he wants to get in return. it's no wonder his sin is Lust, really]

[iterumadmin]

I'm asking the same thing for taking up this position. Will you settle for 'when I know, you'll know'?

[abeautifulgame]

I imagine I don't have much of a choice.

[he doesn't like that much, but -- well, he really doesn't have a choice, does he?]

I suppose I'll just have to hold you to that.

[you'd better tell him when you know something more, lady]

[silversneakers]

Weren't you a Magistrate last time?

[Though he could be remembering that wrong. He didn't always pay the most attention to that sort of thing.]

[iterumadmin]

No. The Magistrate before me for the Tower District was the Emperor.

[silversneakers]

Yeah, but you were here, right? You were something?

[iterumadmin]

Unless there was someone here who looked like me, the answer is still no. I was somewhere a great deal further out in the universe, Mr. Maximoff.

[silversneakers]

[He's not even going to bother asking how a Magistrate knows his name. She won't tell him, and he it's no surprise to him that any of them know certain things.]

Where were you before this?

[iterumadmin]

A universe known as Zade 9I3. A planet called Angara.

[silversneakers]

[That's a surprise. He hadn't actually expected an answer.]

Why did you decide to come here?

[revmeup]

So, like ... What?

Sorry, I wasn't listening, cuz you're sooo pretty.

[iterumadmin]

Thank you, and do continue. I'm of the mind that flattery gets you everywhere.

[ssbardock]

[ Bardock's scouter is connected to the Magistrate's message even though he had no idea who and what to expect from these people. The Saiyan visibly shows his displeasure with the conversation. ]

What exactly is a magistrate and give me a good reason as to why you brought me here?

Private - Next morning

[cinnamonspice]

Dude, really Duchess? You gave them my government name?

I guess it's cool. I just wanted to pretend to be one of them awhile. Wanna catch brunch?