"Chongan Bai True Belter. I must think, what we can explain to our children.  Take not that which is not yours, nor ask any being knowledge you have not gained for in so doing you incur a debt that is passed down a thousand generations.  You are a son of Earth, sold to the X in the Jittacorne for the foolishness of the Earthlings.  Do not anger neither the Lesser Races, nor the Greater Races, nor the Patron of the X, nor indeed He who holds the Balance in his  hands, and is beyond the Library, so says the Reborn Master Lao.  Now work at what work is put before you, and read those signs that are given freely, and now we rise to work my child.

He pauses, and then nods satisfied.  It takes you a moment to realize you've just received their equivalent of about eight years of schooling.

He hands you a rice bowl, and shows you to to make the rice and shrimp and water chestnut mix into little balls that you then pop into your mouth.  This is followed by a hot and sour soup which he makes fresh after pulling down various wall hangings to reveal cooking implements and bowls in the walls.  The heating technique is to shoot a laser at the soup bowl, and let the bowl warm the soup.

This is followed by 'Never Drank Water.' which tastes kinda minerally, and seems to be something of a ceremonial thing.

He shows signs of heading back to sleep, and offers you a sleeping harness (not as good as a bag, but its clear he does not have much, and what he has is worn and patched.)

As he instructs me, I listen carefully, and nod respectfully.

As we eat, I weave in the following queries into our conversation, listening for the response before proceeding...

"Thank you for your kind teaching, and for your kind hospitality.  Is there any way I can be useful to you?"

"I have a few humble belongings.  May I fetch them, and store them here?"

"How long is the rest period, and how long is the work period?  And what is the work to be done?"

And during a lull in the conversation, I check vectors to see how they have shifted when journeying to this sphere, to try and estimate how far away they may be...

At your first query he asks you 'What is the Second Precept?' With an indulgent smile for someone who has erred.

"As the Reformed Master Lao says, He who made us gave us two eyes, two ears, and one mouth. Speak at most in one in five if you wish to be balanced and wise."

"Yes." He says cautiously after considering the request.

"Shhhh."

You get a sudden flicker of superintelligence. One is five hundred feet away, and the other is 3 Astronomical Units away, and the other is 1/2 A. U. away.  Then the insight into geometry goes away, leaving a headache.

Unless otherwise, you sleep for several hours. Its hard, and your nose plugs up. Zero G sleeping is not completely wonderful.  However when you awake, your body feels easy.

He takes you to another third room, and to a telescope. He shows you pictures of four rocks, and he shows you how to use the scope in a grid pattern, and look for rocks.  And then on the rocks, look for the rocks shown.

You're clearly in the asteroid belt, but its not the Star Wars version. Here great distances separate rocks.

During all this, he says not a word.

After he's gotten you started, he gets started on another nicer looking scope.  He's clearly faster and more competent that you.  What takes you a half hour, he gets done in a minute.  But you're picking it up.

I incline my head respectfully, accepting the gentle rebukes when given.

Before sleeping, I fetch my belongings.  (OOC: Where were they, and what did I see along the way?)

I keep my eyes open for whatever signs (both literal and otherwise) are given freely as I seek to learn the ways of this place.

I learn and observe all I can as I view our surroundings through the telescope.

Whenever there seems to be an opportunity (perhaps during the next rest period or meal), I venture another gentle query...

"Are the teachings of He who holds the Balance in His hands available for reading?  And the teachings of Reformed Master Lao?  Please forgive me if I speak out of turn."

OOC: I'm not saying you 'saw' your belongings, but that your mind took the vectors, the moving, and instantly did geometry, so you knew where they had to be. Or am I misunderstanding?

You look for a way to get down to your belongings, but the whole total rooms are seven.  Almond. Sphere. Work. Closet. Airlock. Bath. And a hidden Panic room.

There seems no way to get down 500 feet.

You see another two of the rice paper signs in the panic room.

Work is His gift for it takes the mind from the injustices of life. Lao.

The hero dies only once, the fearful man a thousand times. Lao.

You note that each room, except for the bath and the panic room has a small bit of writing like the first as the sphere has Iris's Porch/Brig of Bala/Green Grove/More TBA.  Some are longer and others shorter.  The Work room has five designates, and no TBA.

"Lao tells us of the One. Unfortunately, I only have the first part of his Teachings."  He floats over to a drawer in the wall, opens it, bows to it, and very gently takes out a loose bound copy of rice paper sheets cut to large book size.

"Make sure your hands are clean."

And you begin reading.

"I am the clone of Beloved Ancient Master Confucious.  I have been induced by methods to hold what is thought and intuited to be his mind.  I present his thoughts and mine.  I am the Reformed Master Lao.

I write this to the children of Earth in the Jittacorne System. Your ancestors in their greed for knowledge betrayed themselves to the Library. Be not curious.

Say this to your children...

(And you've already read this bit as Bai presented it to you.)

Now while your physical situation is dire, in all cases the moral and spiritual situations are more important, so let us begin."

(And he lays out with several examples over the next page, the Cosmological Arguement for the existence of God.)

OOC: No, you are correct.  I optimistically assumed that my stuff was somewhere within the current facility, and that I would eventually be able to find it by following the vector.

Does the vector seem to be stationary, or does it seem to be moving (like drifting around in space, for example)?  :o

During this reading session (if possible), or spread over multiple reading sessions (as necessary), I gently open each and every page, with Ring scanning them, so that I may access it at any time.  That way, I can even learn audio-book style by having Ring read it mentally to me during my work shifts, and absorb the knowledge as quickly as possible.

During subsequent meals, I very gently seek to make the following queries, one per meal (so as to try to respect their limits of propriety)...

"Some signs are given freely, but I understand them not.  What is the meaning of signs such as 'Gregham's Tower, 'Isle of Pirates, 'Peaceful Cove', 'Iris's Porch', 'Brig of Bala', 'Green Grove', and 'More TBA'?"

"Where are you from?  What connection do your people have to Reformed Master Lao?"

"I can't seem to access my humble belongings.  They are around five hundred feet in that direction.  Is there a way for me to get there?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:47, Sun 22 Feb 2015.

In reply to Oak (msg # 24):

OOC: It seems to be fixed in space, but you're rotating and tumbling.

The words per page runs from thirty to a hundred with fifty as an average, so for forty pages, you're only hitting two thousand words.  And its well written, and easily read.

Its moral guidance.

You're able to read it the first time through.  Your speed seems to surprise Chongan Bai, but he says nothing.

"You are not Deepheld."

"It explains in the First Book which I quoted to you. Listen."

He smiles.

After a couple days, you're passbly good at spotting certain types of rocks in the asteroid rocks. You also spot a couple white circles out there.  He doublechecks your spots, and slaps you on the back in approval.

He has you get on a spacesuit which is rather more reminiscent of something like polymer lined long johns than the NASA variety.  It has some patches, and dirty spots.  There is no air tank.  Instead, right before he puts on your helmet with its tiny knight like helmet visuals, he gives you a pill to chew.

You do, and panic grips you as you stop breathing.  You try various things to get your breathing going again, and then gradually realize you're not suffocating.  He looks bored.

OOC: BTW, what kind of rocks am I looking for?  And what do I know about the white circles?

At some point during a sleeping period, I attempt to look at my companion via Sight.

After I am dressed and he hands me the pill, but before I swallow it...

:: Ring.  Record my current form now. ::

"How do I maneuver outside?"

After I finish conversing, I eat the pill, and pray until my panic subsides, and give him an understanding nod.

And so with another prayer, I venture forth from the station.

Once outside, I examine the facility from outside.

:: Ring.  Analyze star positions.  Identify current location and approximate date. ::

I then search for my stuff by following the vector...
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:59, Mon 23 Feb 2015.

OOC: Geology skill? Circles...unknown

USE of NON-PHYSICAL.....blah, blah....

He frowns at you, and picks up a rope.  The rope is snugged off to a door handle, and you and him go EVA.

Your rock is 200 by 50 ft at the longest and widest.  The stars whirl as he snugs off the rope to an iron ring on the outside.  He points ten feet up to another iron ring planted in the side, and points at you.

Further on, you and he get to a man-high slingshot with some gear attached to it, and a winding winch to pull it back.  Next to it are dozens of plastic seeming 'insects' about a foot long.

He jabs your arm, and points up.  You're not surprised when your stuff wheels into view just hanging out in space five hundred feet away as you were already looking that way for your stuff. A second later and its outof view again.

::High probability that we are 200 lightyears from Earth, give or take twenty lightyears.: Ring replies.  :Date. 1000 A.D. to 4000 A.D. Unable to narrow down further.::

I experimentally attempt to look at him via Sight, to see if their computer is still monitoring my actions outside.

I either watch him use the slingshot, or attempt to use it myself, depending upon what I can discern of his expectations...
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:16, Mon 23 Feb 2015.

He helps you load the 'insects', one at a time, into the slingshot, crank it back, and target with a low power laser one of the chosen rocks that had good rocks in it.  The home rock tumbles, but after a few spins, the whole frame of the slingshot blinks green.

He points at the trigger, and encourages you to pull it.

You do, and nothing happens. And then the target is in sight...the ground shakes slightly. The insectoid?? is speeding off toward the other rock which requires a telescope inside, or one on the slingshot to see.

You do this for half an hour, and you're starting to feel out of breath.  Chongan Bai taps your helmet and sticks out his tongue to his left as far as he can.

+@1 Walking mark for doing EVA.

OOC: Was my EVA Sight attempt given the foghorn treatment, or did it work, or did nothing happen?

Are we getting my stuff at all, or just getting rocks?

I look puzzled at him, then experimentally imitate him by sticking my tongue out to my left as far as I can...

OOC: Foghorn.  You don't know.

Stuck to the inside of the helmet is a row of pills. Your saliva loosens one.

Several more hours of shooting, and you're decent at it. Not sure what you want to call it. 1@3 at it, or a bonus at a broader skill.

And then he loads one, fiddles with it for ten minutes, and fires it at your stuff.  You can see it crawl over your stuff laying down a net. Its slow.  An hour later, a hundred foot wide silver white circle extends.

You both go back in, and ride out the twitchiness that seems attendant on stopping the pills.  He offers you a clear, and potent liquor to help which he takes and it does seem to relax him.  After an hour, the effects are over.  And now the both of you are truly, deeply exhausted.

He staggers to his feet and heats up some egg rolls, and forces himself to eat one.  He offers you the other, and then he goes to sleeping bag, and is instantly asleep.

OOC: "EVA Object Collection"?  o_O

BTW, is my stuff safely aboard, or simply gathered in a net outside?

I thank him sincerely but wearily, and crawl off to my own bag.

I ponder the star fields I just observed, and reach for my shard of superintelligence to see if I can get a more accurate estimate of when and where I am.

And then, with a prayer of thanks to the LORD, I swiftly fall asleep as well...

EVA OC 1@3

Your stuff is in a net, five hundred feet away, attached to a solid white circle.

Your shard tries to activate, but your brain is simply too tired to take the strain, and you're unconscious.  Some of the stars were ones you've seen from Earth, just from a different angle, and some from the same angle almost as from Earth.

Ring wakes you up.

::You have been asleep for twenty-six hours. Should I declare a medical emergency?" You feel a bit groggy, and of course nose plugged, but otherwise fine.

This day, you learn the next part of the job.  Each of those insectoids was going toward a rock, and some have landed.  And sometimes their teeny tiny brains get them stuck, and they can't get unstuck so they send a very low power laser message 'help'.  And then you send back instructions.  "Move two inches left. Back up four inches. Rotate..."  Its kinda like controlling a RC car at a range of five hundred miles.

You get the easy ones. Bai takes the ones where the target rock is tumbling weirdly.

Your meal is one egg roll, and tea.  You do note that the tea stays in the cup despite zero gravity.

:: I... think that I am OK.  This may be the consequence of the pills that enabled me to spacewalk without an air tank.  Do you detect any current anomalies in my physical state of health?  How long ago did Chongan Bai get up? ::

I learn as best I can, and observe Bai's technique with interest.

"You are very skilled at this.  How long have you been here?"

OOC: BTW, how long are the work periods, and how long are the rest periods?  How often are meals?  In other words, what is the schedule of a typical workday?

::Only current anomaly is that you do not seem to be aging, or if you are, it is at an undetectably low rate.::

::Four hours, eight minutes ago, Chongan Bai awoke. He planned breakfast, then chose not to eat, and instead set to work.::

Much of what Bai is doing, you're beginning to learn.

"Empty your mind. Your mind gets in the way of speed." He says after fidgetting for a good hour.

Some of his techniques you can't use because his hand grip strength is at least twice, if not thrice yours.

You work for ten hours, take a meal, and work for another ten.  Then bed for nine hours, and one hour rest and relaxation.  He breaks out a handmade board of stone of Go, and challenges you to a game.  Days seem to be roughly thirty hours.

Your one meal that day is half an egg roll, and white tea (boiled water).  Your work day seems longer than before.

I take the half egg roll with heartfelt gratitude.

"You have kindly shared your food with me, though my arrival was unexpected and uninvited.  From my heart, I thank you.  But are your supplies enough to feed us until they are replenished?"

"I have a bit of food in my supplies outside, if there is a way for me to retrieve it.  I would be honored to share it with you if it would be useful."
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:29, Tue 24 Feb 2015.

He quotes from Lao.

"To see what is right, and not to do it is want of courage."

"It is being retrieved, and you kind offer is noted. Now let us work."

And with that its a full day of labor, but you do find out what Never Used water is...its ice from the asteroid that has never been drank by anyone or anything before.  He went out, and came back with an armful of ice chunks.

The effect of one pill seems resistable.

As the workday ends, he challenges you a singing contest.

OOC: ??? o_O

I smile and give a friendly and respectful nod.

"I would be honored.  Do you wish to sing first, or shall I?"

OOC: BTW, I didn't respond to your previous post about the Go game.  Do you want to roleplay it a bit, or just summarize? :)
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:41, Wed 25 Feb 2015.

OOC: Sleeping, I meant  :)

"The guest should sing first, but be aware in our seasonal gatherings, I am well accounted."

You're still playing the Go game.  He is a slow player, given to a lot of hemming and hawing.  He has a mix of sound tactics and weird stuff he pulls out.

I am also a slow player, so it is good that he is a slow player.  I am definitely a novice, so my playing is probably less conventional as well.

"What season is it now?  I have completely lost track of time, and do not know what date it is, or even what season it is..."

It is still the first game, and you're both doing a mix of basic squabbling and wild tangents.  He's much slower than you, but you realize there is no particular reason to rush for him.

"The first season, about halfway through it.  Um, seven generations since the Indebtment. Eight years since I became a man."

He's not a time obsessed clock watching Westerner.  He seems bored by talk of time, although songs seem to get his attention.

I am quite happy to let him take all the time he needs.  I like to study the board, especially since I am such a novice myself...

"I have traveled here from a very far place, and know not the cycle of seasonal gatherings as they are observed here."

"Please, could you summarize them for me, that I may know how best to choose an appropriate song?"

"Master says, 'a prisoner, bound hand and foot, should welcome dinner at breakfast.  The superior man is able to make all time as the Porch of the Gods.'"