video

[clericals]

[It's her first post on the network. It won't be her last. Karen slides her fingers through her hair, obviously looking for a place to start.]

Okay, does anyone feel like they've actually adjusted to all of this? I know I haven't been here for long, and even when you know for a fact that there are aliens, when you've seen them come down and make a mess out of New York City, you just never expect to be taken on board an actual spaceship. [There's a nervous little laugh at that before she takes a deep breath.] But this happened, so...

[Karen looks directly at the video and smiles.]

So I guess I'll start. Uhm...for those I haven't met, my name is Karen Page. I'm from Vermont, originally, but I moved to New York. Hell's Kitchen - I know, it sounds like a terrible place, and it can be. But there's also some really good people. I work at a law firm there. I'm not a lawyer, I'm...I make coffee and answer phones and I'm the deciding vote in things like whether or not we're having pizza or Thai food for lunch.

[And it's worth noting that the more she talks about her life, the more her face lights up.]

So, who wants to tell me more about themselves? Like where you're from and what you do there, or anything - just anything.

[Conversation always makes for the best distraction. She catches her breath.]

I promise I'll listen.

Comments

[imaginary_wife]

I got to be on the other side of the "showing up at Earth and making a mess of things" party. But, in our defense, our planet just blew up and we really needed a place to go.

I'm Dr. Meh Yewll. I'm an Indogene. I came from the Votanis System, which had a habitable range that supported many planets and even more races on those planets. Our technology was advanced enough for us to build Arks and leave our worlds.

We now live in one of those, "you lie and call it peace but everyone is a little bit bigoted and pretends they're too good for that", sorts of peace. If you know what I mean.

[clericals]

To be fair, there's plenty of people already on Earth who've messed it up a little too.

I'm sorry to hear about your planet. That must've been awful.

[imaginary_wife]

Everybody dies. Even planets. Just the facts of life.

Yeah, it was already headed down the crapper when we got there. Thankfully not as bad as ours. So there's not really snack foods or easily obtainable coffee or television or air conditioning anymore but there's a lot more high end technology in clinics and weapons and security systems.

[clericals]

Yeah, but it's sad.

And all of that stuff is necessary, but some mornings I'd trade all the technology in the world for a cup of coffee. Especially on a Monday.

[imaginary_wife]

Not enough Arks for us all. Not enough time. So I kind of have to compartmentalize that sort of thing.

The Votanis Collective is mostly prominent in South America. They've got all the good coffee now.

[clericals]

Do you miss it? Or is it better here?

[imaginary_wife]

I was created as a member of a slave race by one of the older Votan races. [One they thought they'd killed off. She sincerely wishes they had.] Then I was in the war. And in the last town I lived in, had the lawkeeper and mayor cut off a hunk of my skin against my will to help a member of that previously mentioned jerkwad race.

I don't got a lot of fond memories either way. Best I got is making sure people don't die when they get in the way of someone else's poor judgement.

[Doc Yewll is a gem of optimism.]

[clericals]

What a bunch of dicks.

[Karen doesn't really mince words when it comes to her thoughts. She's going to take it as things being better here - they have to be, don't they?]

I think I would've given you plenty to do back in Hell's Kitchen.

[imaginary_wife]

I take it that it's not called that because the cuisine is lacking.

[clericals]

The cuisine is actually pretty good. It's just making sure that you don't run into any trouble on the walk home.

[imaginary_wife]

Back where I was from, seemed like that was like what most of the world had become.