melodiesofkupo | 01. AIRSHIPS!! [Text]

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01. AIRSHIPS!! [Text]

I didn't know we were gonna get the chance to get our own airships! I know I missed being able to wake up and see nothing but sky and clouds out the window. Made drying the laundry a lot easier, too.

But that kinda got me thinking- you couldn't get very far without an airship back where I came from, but a lot of the people I've talked to have said they've never seen anything like them before! I know a few people here have had SOME sort of flying machine back in their world, though. If yours did too, I gotta know- what were they like?

For that matter, how many other pilots do we HAVE here, anyway?

-Red

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Good question. Shiro here, you already know I'm a pilot.

I've been pretty curious about the airships here. I definitely want to put in some time and learn how they work.

The video flickers on to see Connie sitting behind her desk, idly tinkering with some of the mechanisms on her gauntlet as she speaks. Eyes shining an eerie red, she says, "Alright, so I tried typing up a response to explain airplanes and spaceships back where I'm from, but it turns out that trying to describe them through text alone makes them sound like some kind of horrible apex predator, so I decided to just draw a few sketches for you."

Putting aside her gauntlet for a moment, Connie reaches across the desk to snatch a notebook, which she briefly opens to the wrong page (containing a drawing of a human skeleton, diagrams of muscle cells and nerves, "Gunnerkrigg? Might be worth a shot, isn't crazier than anything else here" scribbled in the margins, designs for what looks like a very, very fine laser to the eyes of a Magitek Knight, and "Functionality in dummy tests first, then figure out how to survive conversion" underlined multiple times near the bottom of the page) before rapidly flipping to a fairly faithful side, top, front, and inside view of a Boeing 747.

"Back on Earth, airplanes like these are the primary means of long-distance transportation, a lot like on how it works on Vaikuntha," Connie explains. "But rather than trusting in sheer power to take off and some sort of gas to stay aloft, it works off the principles of aerodynamics to glide. I guess it's not much different than some of the more advanced airship models here. Anyways, airplanes also see extensive use in military engagements as well as civilian ventures.

"And this," Connie flips the page to reveal a variety of space rocket designs, "are the explosions that humans strap themselves into to get into space. Yes, it's really as crazy as it sounds, astronauts put themselves into smaller modules," she taps a side diagram, which shows the lunar module, "and rely on immense power to get them out of atmo. Generally, the rockets aren't reusable, but there are efforts underway to rectify that.

"Any questions?"

Airships here were the common transport of most science fiction or works depicting an alternate society.

Where I'm from, you have your typical modes of commercial transport like the airplane or helicopter to more advanced aeronautics for brief explorations beyond Earth such as a space shuttle. Of course, not everyone was permitted due to the usual restrictions of studies and health requirements.

So I'd heard! But yours was something else, wasn't it? More like a spaceship or a mecha, right?

The ones here are real old-fashioned. Most of the ones I've seen are just a boat hanging under a really big balloon.

Yes, the Lion is a mecha but before that I was a pilot of spaceships and whatever aircraft we had available for use. I guess the best way to put it is I was a military pilot.

And yes, they do seem old-fashioned. They reminds me of old stories we heard back when I was just a cadet.

[Give him a second; he has to read it twice.]

So you just had a lot of the small stuff but made it hard to get a hold of it? What did everyone ELSE use to get around?

Bikes, cars, buses, trains, ships. While airplanes might be one of the quicker modes of transport, they're unnecessary when you can drive to the next town in a few minutes or a few hours depending on certain prices.

[And once her feed comes on, Red's camera blinks on-- catching him a little unkempt at his kitchen table, right as Mocha slides a massive mug conspicuously crisscrossed with whipped cream and chocolate syrup into his palm. He stares at the display dumbfounded, taking a small sip while murmuring into the froth.]

c'mon, it's not like I've never seen airplanes before...

[But toward the end of her enormous exposition, Red finally takes note of a small light atop the iMog-- Doggone it, he thought he disabled the auto-on camera setting! He hurriedly shoves the delicate drink aside and clears his throat, straightening the display- and with it, the previously-askew viewfield.]

oh for--hemhrhmrhm That actually doesn't look too different from the airships I've seen back home- kinda... flat and plain-lookin', but--

What, you don't like it, 'po? [Came an unimpressed voice from offscreen.]

No!-- I mean, yes! Look, it's good, but-- [No, not with the camera on-- back to it.] --it looks like there's just seats on the inside.

I've only heard of a few of those, but they're ground transports, right? Never had the chance to use them myself.

Being able to roll across the ground to the next town DOES sound pretty convenient- but doesn't it get crowded with all the ground vehicles sharing the same space?

People keep talking about spaceships- does that mean you humans actually left your planet? Why? Did you find someplace better?

[There's a long pause.]

What happened to earth?

I see. It sounds like air transportation was more necessary in your world.

It could be an issue mainly due to high traffic or accidents, but they get the job done. Though they might all be ground transport, they didn't all share the same space. Trains required railroads while cars and buses needed asphalt for the smoothest drive.

eorzea has airships. some of them use balloons, some of them have a ceruleum engine. they're not very common and expensive to ride. i had a prototype of a small one just for myself.

i'm sorry my words aren't very good yet.

Edited 2018-05-08 01:35 (UTC)

Most humans haven't left Earth. But we're a curious species, we wanted to see just what is out there. And who.

Even something as simple as asking how the universe was made requires some exploring and studying.

My world has all sorts of different transportation actually! We do have a single airship though called the Ragnarok but we only use it for really long distances because it looks like a dragon from the outside. We usually use Chocobos, trains, cars or just hoof it if we need to get somewhere.

Trains are the best way to get some place though.

i never saw any airships or anything in any of the places i lived

there were cars though! and magic sometimes
but those arent flying

What did you find out there?

If you were a military spaceship pilot, I'm guessing it wasn't good.

"I mean... yeah," Connie says, cocking her head. Something seems a bit off about Red, but she couldn't quite place her finger on it yet. She'd only seen him in passing at the Magitek Knight guild, but a ~~fursona~~ anthropomorphic dog was pretty distinct. "Humans can't really survive the low levels of atmosphere that most planes fly at. Thirty to forty thousand feet above the ground doesn't really have a lot of air."

Maybe... well, was it normal for his species? Connie couldn't quite remember, but she might as well ask. "Sorry if this is a weird question, but do you... normally have red eyes?"

It was. We didn't have enough ground left for stuff like that. Fortunately it also means we got really good at the whole airship thing.

Plus it meant you had PLENTY of space to fly around, so you never needed to worry about traffic! Just sky pirates.

Your words are fine, I can still understand you.

But I gotta hear more about that personal airship you had.

How can a ground transport stuck to a set of metal rails be better than an AIRSHIP SHAPED LIKE A DRAGON??

You're missing out! There's nothing like seeing the clouds pass by underneath.

Then again, you can fly anyway, right?

You didn't have enough ground left? For what reason?

[They'll come back to the sky pirate thing in a moment.]

[Oh, right.]

It was all floating islands, so there wasn't a lot of room for cars or trains or that sorta thing.

The GROUND-ground was beneath the clouds but you wouldn't want to go there even if you could.

Well, if it was shrouded by clouds, it might make living there difficult. Still, how come you wouldn't want to go there?

Because the Cloud Sea is one big storm. Its lightning tears apart almost anything that goes through it. And beneath it there's

not much left.

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