OTA - Watching volcanoes on the holodeck

[baron_harkonnen]

CHARACTERS: Baron Vladimir Harkonnen & Anyone (OTA)
LOCATION: A holodeck
WARNINGS: TBA- the Baron's his own warning.
SUMMARY: The Baron is drinking wine, watching volcanoes on holodecks and missing his home.
NOTES: OTA- Feel free to hit up the Baron for talk, volcano watching, etc!



The Baron Vladimir Harkonnen has still not adjusted to life on the Tranquility. In his estimation, the entire experience has been a parade of inadequacies, with the lack of servants grating upon him foremost. The lack of space in the general Passenger Quarter areas is also irritating- Vladimir is used to the grandiose scale of Imperial architecture, and, is tired of being generally surrounded by the sterile sensibility of it all.

Recently, however, he discovered the holodecks. Although the holodecks have been disappointingly non-interactive, the environmental illusions produced have proven tolerable enough, even admirable to a point. The Baron now sits within an environment loosely based upon a pre-programmed volcanic environment, drinking some almost-decent wine procured from one of the ship's bars. The chair he sits on and the table beside him are obviously real, able as they are to support objects.

All else is entirely artificial. His immediate holographic surroundings are those of a huge, red room, with vaulted ceiling upheld by massive pillars, marble everywhere, and enormous windows on all sides. Outside these windows, fountains of luminous lava burst from huge volcanic caldera- the proximity of these volcanoes is such that for the most part, the view is an ever-shifting tumult of fire. The unbearable heat which would be expected from such a vantage point is not present, however, only a slight sense of warmth. As a final touch, the room has been sparsely but tastefully furnished with an assortment of Imperial-style accoutrements, and a few statues of entirely unclad young men. A couple of well-made, scantily-clad young men with dark hair stand near the Baron's seat, their artificiality and not-quite-finished programming evidenced by occasional flickering and hints of translucency.

He has left the door to the holodeck open- perhaps some real, non-programmed diversion will enter, and make his day more interesting?)
 

Comments

[baron_harkonnen]

He nods to Daylen, saying, "Given the infinite range of possibility, I suppose that creating a duplicate of a real place suggests a lack of imagination." He smirks again, looking at his dwindling glass of wine, which he finishes off before admitting, "It is my home, and, although this ship is interesting, and the timing of my arrival was quite serendipitous, I'd prefer to be home." The Baron is indeed fond of his world of dark skies, volcanic wasteland, and slag-filled industrial expanses- it was, perhaps a Hell to most. But it was his home, and it was his.

"It's mostly accurate," he explains. "But, just one small corner of my palace, with a couple of aesthetic changes. Namely, less staff bustling about, and I moved the volcanoes. They were more interesting to watch here, and I didn't feel like taking hours to input the actual view. Harko's an extremely large city." Extremely large was perhaps a lacking term to describe the reality of the Harkonnen ancestral city, and all the other cities on the Baron's planet- but, it was a scale he was used to. In his mind, extremely large was accurate. The actual immensity, however, was rather astounding, containing as it did a sizable percentage of his planet's population in a massive superstructure. "They all are, on Giedi Prime. It's not exactly a hospitable world, and, focusing population centers in several preferred locations is much more functional than having them scattered all over the place." It was of course easier to manage a planets population when it was nicely sorted into a few specific areas as well, and far more efficient where industry was concerned. "It's not a hospitable planet, but it's a good one, very rich in metals."

Now that the subject has turned to homes, the Baron is curious- what is the world of these mages like, exactly? He pours himself another glass of wine, and turns his attention back to Daylen. "And your home, Daylen? What is it like? I am curious, never having known of a planet with mages before."

[magewarden]

Daylen frowns in concentration as the Baron explains, trying to make sense of the unfamiliar terms. To form a picture in his mind of what he means, of what a place like this would be like to walk in. Hot, he thinks, and the memory of walking through the burning circle tower in the fade rises unbidden. He blinks it away quickly, flicks his eyes out the window and watches the lava for a moment. Liquid fire rolling out over the environment. Not, Daylen would not have called it hospitable -- but a home is a home. He can understand that. One is inclined to miss it, even when it was not a place that treated you well. At least, in his experience. It's easy to get used to such a situation.

"Nothing like this," he offers -- turning away from the window once more to study the Baron. "At least, not the place I was from. Home is a difficult term. I no longer have a place that I will always return to. I suppose the tower where I was taught is the closest thing I have, but I am no longer associated with it. I simply travel wherever the road takes me, wherever I am required. The tower where I was schooled... it sits in the centre of a great lake. You can see a great way from its windows, out into the hinterlands, the wilds -- thick forest and foliage. In the other direction, the mountains. Of course... there is a reason we are isolated to the middle of a lake. We were not allowed to leave. All the same, since then I have travelled many of the roads I saw from its windows."