10-13-2015, 03:26 PM
Ah, most delightful! A friendly enough, talkative sort!
"Ah, most fortuitous!" he tittered, inclining his head in a nod. "I find interrupting business of any urgency to be altogether reprehensible, to put it mildly." He tilted his head to one side slightly as the Kid went on about not having met anyone without violence on their minds. "My, but that is dreadful...over a month without meeting a single civil soul? My, my. And here I thought my own world was a lovely place." He waved a hand dismissively, moving on to another topic entirely. "As for what a Verse is..." He turned his gaze aside, toward the Gate clearly visible in the near distance.
"Every individual location in this lovely collection known as the Omniverse, separated by the Gates, is colloquially known as a 'Verse', on its own. Or perhaps that is their true name, and not really a colloquialism at all? I cannot say, for I do not know! But that is what they are called commonly, true name or not!" He shrugged with an expression of amusement and overall disinterest. "But I don't really suppose names mean all that much, do they?"
"My, my, but you are full of questions! How refreshing!" He lowered himself back down to sit in the relative shade afforded by the sail of his craft, one hand coming to rest on his chin, fingertips barely brushing his skin. "I must admit as to being unfamiliar with anything you have just mentioned. But I gather they were," he leaned his head back, gesticulating vaguely with one hand, "unpleasant?" he finished lamely. "And you are rather fortunate, in some ways. Had you been a few moments ahead of your present pace, or just a few moments behind, you might very well have indeed gone for at least a while longer without any reasonably company! And in a place such as this," he swung one arm out wide, at the general expanse of sand, "that would be frightfully unpleasant, indeed, no?"
"But, on to your questions, as I've rambled on quite enough, I should think." He cleared his throat, and held up one hand, four fingers extended. "My name is Erik Whitman. If you should ever acquire a Dataverse-capable device, you should find me easily enough there by the name of egregiousInquisitor. I would always be inclined to share a word, if you are in need or simply in a conversational mood." He folded down one finger.
"I have been here for what seems like a great while, to be certain. But, there is a..." He frowned slightly, the expression looking altogether unnatural on his face, like paint spilled across a finished painting, shattering the captured scene. "...complication with measuring time here. I cannot state exactly how, but at times I have left on minor trips, taking only days from my own perceptions, and returned to find over a week had passed, and sometimes more than that!" His mouth twisted into an unpleasant grimace, as if he had just smelled or tasted something exceedingly sour, but then he sighed, his usual laugh bubbling up out of the gloom. "But I suppose I could estimate a year or two, if I must place a number to my time here." A second finger folded down.
"There are a great many others, both in this Verse and the others. Many Primes, those summoned by our dear lord, Omni, himself, but many -- countlessly many -- more Secondaries, those who have been summoned by Primes." He held up his free hand in a listless shrug, shaking his head. "I would suspect an exact count could be made, perhaps...but it wouldn't be feasible." He folded down a third finger, leaving only his index finger raised.
"And lastly...how to get back..." He sighed, looking suddenly glum and tired, though his expression remained smiling and positive. "Assuming you mean getting back to your home, where you came from before being pulled here...I know of no way. I have my suspicions -- and others do, as well, if my observation of theories and hypotheses are any indication -- that there very well may not be a way to return home. Only Omni himself would know, for certain, but he isn't very easy to speak to." He folded down his index finger, and laughed in clear amusement.
"But this place is so very interesting, I can't imagine wanting to leave!"
"Ah, most fortuitous!" he tittered, inclining his head in a nod. "I find interrupting business of any urgency to be altogether reprehensible, to put it mildly." He tilted his head to one side slightly as the Kid went on about not having met anyone without violence on their minds. "My, but that is dreadful...over a month without meeting a single civil soul? My, my. And here I thought my own world was a lovely place." He waved a hand dismissively, moving on to another topic entirely. "As for what a Verse is..." He turned his gaze aside, toward the Gate clearly visible in the near distance.
"Every individual location in this lovely collection known as the Omniverse, separated by the Gates, is colloquially known as a 'Verse', on its own. Or perhaps that is their true name, and not really a colloquialism at all? I cannot say, for I do not know! But that is what they are called commonly, true name or not!" He shrugged with an expression of amusement and overall disinterest. "But I don't really suppose names mean all that much, do they?"
"My, my, but you are full of questions! How refreshing!" He lowered himself back down to sit in the relative shade afforded by the sail of his craft, one hand coming to rest on his chin, fingertips barely brushing his skin. "I must admit as to being unfamiliar with anything you have just mentioned. But I gather they were," he leaned his head back, gesticulating vaguely with one hand, "unpleasant?" he finished lamely. "And you are rather fortunate, in some ways. Had you been a few moments ahead of your present pace, or just a few moments behind, you might very well have indeed gone for at least a while longer without any reasonably company! And in a place such as this," he swung one arm out wide, at the general expanse of sand, "that would be frightfully unpleasant, indeed, no?"
"But, on to your questions, as I've rambled on quite enough, I should think." He cleared his throat, and held up one hand, four fingers extended. "My name is Erik Whitman. If you should ever acquire a Dataverse-capable device, you should find me easily enough there by the name of egregiousInquisitor. I would always be inclined to share a word, if you are in need or simply in a conversational mood." He folded down one finger.
"I have been here for what seems like a great while, to be certain. But, there is a..." He frowned slightly, the expression looking altogether unnatural on his face, like paint spilled across a finished painting, shattering the captured scene. "...complication with measuring time here. I cannot state exactly how, but at times I have left on minor trips, taking only days from my own perceptions, and returned to find over a week had passed, and sometimes more than that!" His mouth twisted into an unpleasant grimace, as if he had just smelled or tasted something exceedingly sour, but then he sighed, his usual laugh bubbling up out of the gloom. "But I suppose I could estimate a year or two, if I must place a number to my time here." A second finger folded down.
"There are a great many others, both in this Verse and the others. Many Primes, those summoned by our dear lord, Omni, himself, but many -- countlessly many -- more Secondaries, those who have been summoned by Primes." He held up his free hand in a listless shrug, shaking his head. "I would suspect an exact count could be made, perhaps...but it wouldn't be feasible." He folded down a third finger, leaving only his index finger raised.
"And lastly...how to get back..." He sighed, looking suddenly glum and tired, though his expression remained smiling and positive. "Assuming you mean getting back to your home, where you came from before being pulled here...I know of no way. I have my suspicions -- and others do, as well, if my observation of theories and hypotheses are any indication -- that there very well may not be a way to return home. Only Omni himself would know, for certain, but he isn't very easy to speak to." He folded down his index finger, and laughed in clear amusement.
"But this place is so very interesting, I can't imagine wanting to leave!"
![[Image: kUpgBYg.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/kUpgBYg.gif)