Story Seed - Recursion Keys

This is a short one, mostly playing with the idea of recursion key's and how they might function by giving a strong set of sense impressions as recursion "coordinates".  I also figured that if the American West/Wild West/Weird West hadn't spawned a recursion or three by now then I don't know what would.

The recursion key looked like nothing more than a wedge of sea smoothed glass. Its surface was smooth and cloudy, but beneath the surface there seemed to be a nascent glow, a barely there amber flicker.  Henry weighed it in his palm, the glass feeling more substantial than its size would indicate. "You three ready?" he asked his companions.

Two of the others nodded. The third, a thin woman named Alice, looked up, "Any idea where it leads?"

Henry shrugged, "I guess it's now or never. Let you know in a moment." Without further preamble he popped the weathered glass into his mouth.

Sensation flowed into him.  Taste was first, as was befitting this particular cypher's activation.  Stale beer. Cheap whiskey. Scent next, the odor of tobacco and something acrid (gunsmoke perhaps) flooding his nose. Piano music, rollicking and festive. A horse whinnying. The rattle of a snake’s tail.  The cold steel of a trigger. Hot wind. Leather and denim.  The bright sun, so bright it was blinding. The wavering mirage of heat rising from the baked earth of the badlands.

“Oh,” Henry said, as the trance began to translate them to some other world. “Giddyup cowpokes, this one could be dangerous.”

~~~~~~

Recursion Key sensations for Steampunk recursions:

Sight: clouds of steam or smoke, the gleam of gaslight off brass, gears & cogs
Smell: coal smoke, fresh leather, machine oil
Taste: tea, tobacco, scotch
Auditory: hissing steam, ticking of gears, rumble of a train or carriage
Touch: supple leather, hot metal, grease, mechanical vibrations

Recursion Key sensations for Cyberpunk recursions:

Sight: neon, skyscrapers, chrome, grime
Smell: exhaust, ozone, synthetic materials (new car smell)
Taste: processed foods, coffee, saki/rice wine
Auditory: the sound of rain, the whir and hum of servomotors, electronic music
Touch: smooth metals, the heft of sword, the feeling of pills falling into your palm

Story Seed - The Sound of Water

Image source: http://chris-karbach.deviantart.com/art/Somewhere-beyond-the-sea-402564967

The first sound they heard was water.  Not quite the rush of a waterfall, but far more than a drip.  Strange musical sounds came next.  Gaorm and Jurx sat up.  They spent the next several minutes evaluating if they had any missing parts.  The teleport that had dumped them here was clearly faulty.

Thankfully nothing was missing.

Relieved they turned their attention to their location; a long, circular, steel hall terminating in a spherical room which they currently occupied.  Unsteadily they got to their feet and started down the hall.  The sphere was clearly a dumb receptor and could not return them, so no time was wasted probing its limited machinery.

Windows lined the tube, exposing a view from under the ocean. Creatures swam by, some of them appeared to be the source of the music.  The two exchanged a look.  Suddenly the sound of rushing water was for more disturbing.  Renewed urgency propelled them down to the tube.

The end opened to a large room. Windows enclosed the space, showing the underwater world beyond.  From above water was entering in a worrying volume.  Oddly the glass seemed intact; it was the structure containing it that was failing.  Red light illuminated the space.  Fallen panels and supports littered it.  Water flooded it, ankle deep and rising.

On either side from their tube doors, sealed now, led in opposite directions.  Gaorm and Jurx had two options; drown here, or find salvation through those doors.

Story Seed - The Tale of Fong Li & Wei Fan

“Yes!” That was Billy’s voice, but my brain was telling me that his name was Wei Fan.

The translation hadn't gone smoothly, we’d made it through but only barely, and for the past few minutes the two of us had been incapacitated.  The effects were starting to wear off finally.  Faster for some of him it seemed. I sorted through my new memories that really weren't new.  My name was Fong Li.

“I frickin’ love kung-fu!” Billy again, clearly more excited about this than I was. That’s not what he actually said. It was more like, “I have great joy for the execution of kung-fu!”, but my brain wasn't entirely acclimated yet.

I sat up.  Actually I tried to sit up.  Fong Li was a large man.  I was a large man.  Fong Li, occasionally called the Jade Bulwark.  My gut was huge, and the new center of gravity was hard to get used to. I rolled to my side and pushed myself upright with a thick tattoo covered arm.  Not muscular; thick.  I closed my eyes and sighed.  Clearly being grossly obese had never hindered Fong Li, in fact his weight was central to his signature style of Kung Fu; Stampeding Elephant Style.

I opened my eyes again, trying to take it slow; the acclimation was not being kind.  That, or Fong Li was also hung over…

Crap.

Looking up I see Wei Fan running a kata.  If I was a mountain of a man Fan was a river.  Willowy thin and nimble he moved fluidly and with great speed, befitting his own signature style of White River Kung Fu.  My stomach grumbled loudly and I grabbed a rice ball from a satchel at my considerable waist and a bottle of wine and saw to my needs.  As I did I contemplated the quest to retrieve the Jade Swan of General Jhao.

Summary - Two Estate operatives find themselves in a Wuxia inspired recursion while tracking down a powerful item.