Alga ==> Talk
Lili ==> Talk
"Any luck?" Lili called out, just as Alga spoke up.
"I-It's just... A bunch of worn o-out clothes..."
"Worn out ... clothes? That's weird...the center room has some sort of a library? It talked a lot about the war - but get this.... a lot of pages were torn out?! Weird don't you, think? I think it's worth checking out!" She crossed her arms before glancing at the group.
"That is pretty wierd," Aelia said, pondering. "What were the books about?"
"...were there pictures?" Brutus added. "Oy love them picture books!" Aelia rolled her eyes.
Lili turned to Aelia; "A lot of things. Most of it had to do with the war and Octarians. But it bugs me the places I've been torn. They were probably really important. It looks like diagrams and stuff were missing."
Lili rubbed her head. "It's big so maybe there are some pictures in there... somewhere for you Brutus?" She shrugged.
Thanking her, Brutus scurried into the library, following Alga who seemed just as excited for different reasons.
Continuing, Aelia said, "the final room contains a kettle. I've been informed by the sisters that you Inklings don't know what that is, but it is an instant transport device, however, I have no clue where it would lead."
"A kettle?" She seemed surprised; "I wonder where it leads.... although we should we should probably examine the library first before we even try to use that kettle. Any idea where it might go?" She questioned Aelia as she went to the library, following Alga and Brutus’ lead.
"None, though I know that kettles are entirely an Octarian technology. I have no idea where the Sisters would have obtained it."
Lili crossed her arms; "I see." She shook her head. "Is it usable? Has it been used recently? Is there anything else you know about these kettle things?"
"Seems in working condition. I didn't do a thorough check," Aelia explained, "but it shouldn't cause any problems to hop in and give it a go."
"As for usage... you can't really tell. That is, it's mostly impossible--as it's a teleportation device, all matter on one end is transported to the other. Any other questions? I know plenty."
"Hmm. Well. I suppose the only way to know where it leads is to hop in." Lili shrugged. "Though let’s wait for Alga and Brutus. I don't want to hop in without talking to them about it."
* * *
Alga was thrown. A library? She had to see this.
Eagerly, acting on impulse in a manner that was almost opposite of her usual demur nature, Alga strode towards the opposite door and slipped past Lili to get inside, pausing about a foot within the room and looking around with bright eyes.
This place was massive, and vaguely Alga could feel herself beginning to grin.
She set off like a kid at a candy store, stepping hastily towards a nearby shelf to begin perusing. There were so many titles, some in a language she couldn't read, and many of the books she looked at seemed several inches thick.
Alga got a feeling she wasn't going to be moving on anytime soon.
Brutus, at the prospect of picture books, followed Alga into the room.
"Oi, ya see anythin' that looks good here?"
In the short amount of time it took for Lili and Aelia to enter the library, Alga had relocated to one of the farther bookshelves some ways down, and was now perusing one of the top shelves via a ladder. She actually seemed much more open now that something piqued her interest, and periodically she took out books and let them fall flat downwards, sometimes for herself, and sometimes for Brutus to look over.
"Yeah-" She called, "I don't think these books have pictures you're looking for? They're all just. Diagrams."
"Wha's a diagram?" Brutus asked, staring at the picture, transfixed. Alga could almost see the gears in his head turning as he tried to wrap his mind around a somewhat complex schematic.
"That." She gestured towards the picture he was looking over. "They're just stuff that shows how something's built or made. If you're lookin' for kiddy books, you probably own't find any here."
"No!" Brutus puffed. "Oy like big person books! Oy... jus' can' read."
"You...can't read."
Alga stared. She really didn't know what to think of that.
"Well, I guess you can always learn."
"Yea," Brutus shrugged. "Oy... well, Oy'm nawt like Aelia. Oy weren't raised no noble."
"A noble?" Alga turned to sit on one of the ladder steps, looking at him in confusion. "There are no nobles. Inkopolis and all the surrounding areas are free countries. Everyone knows how to read."
Something wasn't adding up here.
Brutus blushed. "Most us Octarians don'. Ya gotta be rich or a noble or be born in a good place to learn readin'. Otherwise, ya end up in somethin' relatin' ta food, or fightin'."
"..."
Alga stared. Octarian? This kid was Octarian? Wait, so that meant-
Her eyes shot to Aelia, currently engaged in conversation with Lili. Her heart almost skipped a beat, and she had to force herself to take a deep breath to keep from doing something stupid.
Finally, she licked her lips and quietly made her way down the ladder, one more book clutched in her arm. It made sense, she supposed. She knew something was up, but this... Not really what she expected.
"So, uh," Alga shifted and landed on the floor, glancing away as she mulled over what to do. "I guess Octarians have a sort of, uh, monarchy?"
"Kinda? Oy think tha word is surf dumb?" He racked his brain to be sure. "Lards--Oy mean, Lords--are given land by the DJ. The DJ tells them ta make it all livable. Then they do, or they don't!"
He played with his hat as he continued. "If yer good at yer job, ya get to pass it to your kids and so on until someone drops the ball." He shrugged. "So lotsa Lordlings learn ta read and stuff."
This was...really interesting. Foreign culture and the like had always been intriguing to read about, and Alga found herself sitting on the ladder as she listening.
"That sounds pretty neat-" She started, only to fumble her words and back track. "I mean, like... Your way of living, I guess. Inklings are generally all free. We choose our leaders, and if they don't work well, we choose a different one. You know, the general stuff."
She wondered what it was like to live in a monarchy...
"Sounds cool!" Brutus smiled. Maybe he was better off uneducated? It was simpler that way. "How do ya choose a leader?"
"Leader? Uh, we take a vote. all of the Inklings do. Though, it's not just our species; there's also anemones and jellyfish and the like." Alga shrugged. "Since all of us vote, it usually takes a lot of time for us to actually choose a leader. Elections are messy business."
"Oy see. Sounds easier ta jus' have a DJ pick someone good." He turned a page of a book, clearly looking for pictures. When he found none, he looked up.
"Oi, where did Aelia an' Lili go?"
"Maybe, but everyone up here really likes to be free. We get angry if things are chosen for us-huh?"
She glanced up and found the other two gone, and chewed her lip. There was a brief moment of worry, but she tried to shoot it down. It was fine, they had probably just gone to look around a bit more. This place wasn't that big…
Indeed, it didn’t take too long for Brutus and Alga to find Lili and Aelia in the kettle room. The space was just as small as the other two, and as simple in construction. There wasn’t anything in the room except what looked to be an oversized kettle.
Once Brutus and Alga walked in, she spoke, as if she had been waiting for them. “I’m going to use this kettle now, but you need to know, most of these are one-way. Two-way kettles can cause entanglement quite easily, as there’s no way to detect collisions on both sides. So… if I don’t come back, that probably means it worked. If it doesn’t… chances are I won’t leave this room.”
Popping into squid form, the three watched in intense curiosity as Aelia’s Octoling form melted into liquid, bubbled quickly, then receded.
She didn’t come back.
...do you follow her?
