➟ [video] ▘ 000

[outtatime]

[The video turns on to find one teenaged boy who is completely soaked to the bone in front of the Welcome Center. He doesn't look so much lost as he is bemused by how weird this communicator looks. There are some weird things in the future, that much Marty McFly knows but the novelty behind a starfish camera thing...that he will probably never get.]

So this is the communicator, huh? Talk about matching themes here...

[Marty takes a good look at the device, tilting it and turns the camera to face where he's looking at: Your typical bustling underwater city.]

I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that this thing isn't used to translate fish-talk. So who exactly am I supposed to communicate with? Maybe I should try phoning in one of the locals here. Maybe that's how you get them out of their shells.

[Terrible puns aside he turns the camera over to face him. Marty combs the wet bangs aside from his face.]

Yeah right.

[The video feed cuts off there.]

Comments

[Video]

[akumanotrill]

I guess you just got here?

[Video]

[outtatime]

Yeah...

[Well this is a little weird.]

How'd you get my number?

[Video]

[akumanotrill]

Eh? I didn't... I just saw you on my communicator thing.

[Video]

[outtatime]

Communicator thing?

[Well that explains a whole lot.]

So you saw all of ah--everything that I just said?

[Video]

[akumanotrill]

Yeah, I'm afraid so.... but not to worry, it happens to just about everyone here!

[Video]

[outtatime]

That's good to know...I guess. You're probably the only one so far who has actually given me a straight answer. Everyone else around here are pretty weird about it.

[Video]

[akumanotrill]

I am? That's strange... I wouldn't think this was a secret or anything.

[video]

[vulgarwoman]

[Man, what's with Vatheon taking all of these kids? ChiChi would be on the warpath if she knew that Gohan was here by himself (even if he is an adult version) how would the other parents feel?]

Sounds like you're already getting the fish talk bug, honey.

[Ha ha ha, that was a joke.]

But anyway, I have good news and bad news. The good news is the locals do speak English, the bad news is they're not and never are going to give you information. You're better off asking--

Well. Other foreigners, which is what you're doing right now.

[video]

[outtatime]

[Huh? Wow this is some pretty far out tech right here. Nothing you'd find in the 1980's.]

No kidding? Guess that explains why I've been doing the whole roundabout since...

[Now that he thinks about it. How did he get here in the first place? With the DeLorean and Doc out of site Marty has absolutely no idea where and when is he.]

--Err never mind. So uh, you're not from here?

[video]

[vulgarwoman]

I know, I know, this communicator business might be hard to catch onto for people from some worlds. [Not her, naturally, since she's a genius and this SFC is actually kind of grade school compared to tech back home.]

But you're right on the mark. I'm from Earth--or at least one version of Earth--and this is Vatheon, who knows what planet it's on. Foreigners like me and you are brought from our worlds to provide the energy powering the barrier keeping all of the water out. Aaaand we're stuck here. That's about the gist of it.

[video]

[outtatime]

I think I'm starting to get the hang of it already. [They remind him of those video phones in the year 2015, only portable.

At least Marty can take comfort in the fact that he isn't the only human abducted into the lost planet of Atlantis. Gotta see the silver lining in these sorts of situations.]

Wait a minute- so we're here all because they need to keep this thing up? [Looking up at the barrier/sky.] Not your most typical alien abduction story.

{Video}

[bootsweremadeforcasting]

Fortunately, none of us speak fish that I know of. However, you can use it to communicate with the rest of us that are trapped here.

{Video}

[outtatime]

Ahhh, I get it. It's like a walkie-talkie.

{Video}

[bootsweremadeforcasting]

[He sort of gets what a walkie-talkie is from the name.]

I suppose. You can talk using just voice or go to video like we are, or you can send messages with texts.

{Video}

[outtatime]

Whoa!

[He's just looking at this thing with just sheer amazement. A phone that has a camera and type to people? This has definitely go to be the future.]

You can really do all of that? But wait--How'd you know where to contact me?

{Video}

[bootsweremadeforcasting]

You sent a broadcast over the network. I can simply just send in a reply to your SFC.

{Video}

[outtatime]

Huh...So that's how it works?

[A rhetorical question. This kid is steadily getting the hang of this new, funky alien tech.]

And here I thought I was speaking with the Welcoming Committee the whole time.

{Video}

[bootsweremadeforcasting]

I'm certainly not industrious enough to greet every newcomer who washes up under the Coral.

video;

[handholding]

... these things can talk to fish?! Cheria never told me that!

[Way... to miss the point, Ico.]

video;

[outtatime]

Oh that? Thaaaat was just me thinking out loud. Don't think the instruction manual ever mentions that it can translate anything else besides people.

video;

[handholding]

Aw...

[Have a disappointed little boy, Marty.]

That would have been really neat.

video;

[outtatime]

[Ah jeez...]

I think this place has enough neat things going on for itself.

video;

[handholding]

That's true...

.. have you been up the big lift that goes to the island yet? It's very pretty up there!