Novelux The Museum of Everlasting Brilliance

[Tetra]

Koa nodded as he took in the Dwebble's explanation. Strange, but then again, it made sense that there would be different trams for different size mon. Especially without the convenience of pokeballs. His gaze lingered on the Scrafty, but it didn't turn back or try to wave the tram down. Probably not the mon Ghaspius was supposed to meet then.

Craning his neck, he peered up at the massive building as he listened to the conductor. It easily rivaled even buildings back home in Sinnoh. He hoped Ghapius and Andre had better memories than him about city, in case he missed anything interesting.

The exact science of perfume making went over Koa's head, but he found himself appreciating Ghaspius passion for the science. Or alchemy, he guessed (although he wasn't sure how exactly they were different here). He peered out the window, his gaze landing on the Gothitelle. For a moment he wondered if she was the one they were meeting. Although if she was, Koa wasn't sure why she didn't just make herself known. Maybe just some curious bystander then...

"So... what's you favorite part of the city to visit then?" he asked curiously.

 

[MintyMimix]

Andre took the chance to pry. "You said Fermlein was a self-made mon. What's the story there?" When it came to anyone 'self-made', he was always skeptical.

"In his youth, he was just a humble cotton worker with barely a dollar to his name," the Conductor began, leaning on the panel as he gestured with his claws, "But he was smart. He knew which times of the year had the best yields, knew how to use his moves to separate the seeds from fluff, and knew which companies would be short-staffed. He carefully chose the companies to work for and periods of overtime he could do, and saved up as much as he could. He was even able to get an oversight position at one point, which gave him a lot more info about how the industry worked."

He began to dig beneath his hat as his continued. "Long story short, he made some real smart investments in materials of the future — oil, coal iron — 'til he was finally able to make his own steel mill with the money he saved up over the years. But the real competitive advantage was some he learned from his cotton job all those years ago: transportation."

The Dwebble pulled out a small book from underneath his hat with one claw as he proudly tapped his panel with another. "Fermlein set down many of the railways you see around Novelux today. Trains were the future! And he was 100% right!" He handed the book to Andre. "I got here his autobiography if you're curious. But he's living proof that all it takes is a bit of observation and a lot of trust in the railway to go from rags to riches!" The Conductor just really liked his trains.

"So... what's your favorite part of the city to visit then?" he asked curiously.

"Well, I'd be lying if I didn't say the Wharf wasn't my favorite place. All of those beautiful railroad car models..." The Dwebble pinched his claw as he closed his eyes and smiled. "But if we're talking about my favorite place to recommend visitors? I'd say the Howard Sparkwright Polytechnic Institute. Ever wanted to see where all the eggheads make the city doohickeys? One of the museum exhibits is full of stuff straight from there!"

He opened his eyes again and gave a sympathetic look. "And sorry about the museum being closed today. Come back around in a bit and I'm sure you'll have a great time." He briefly looked at a nearby street clock. It was almost time to depart. "Am a bit curious though, you've got a mix of accents going on there. Where are you all from? What brings you to Novelux?"

 

[canisaries]

The Dwebble pulled out a small book from underneath his hat with one claw as he proudly tapped his panel with another. "Fermlein set down many of the railways you see around Novelux today. Trains were the future! And he was 100% right!" He handed the book to Andre. "I got here his autobiography if you're curious. But he's living proof that all it takes is a bit of observation and a lot of trust in the railway to go from rags to riches!" The Conductor just really liked his trains.

Andre nodded reservedly as the Conductor recounted Fermlein's story. It did sound pretty legit after all. Well, it wasn't as if self-made people were a complete myth, especially when industry and technology were growing so quickly.

"That's alright," he said when the dwebble offered the book. "I'll look into it later."

He opened his eyes again and gave a sympathetic look. "And sorry about the museum being closed today. Come back around in a bit and I'm sure you'll have a great time." He briefly looked at a nearby street clock. It was almost time to depart. "Am a bit curious though, you've got a mix of accents going on there. Where are you all from? What brings you to Novelux?"

Andre glanced at Koa and Ghaspius. He didn't really want to reveal their off-world-ness as it would probably become a whole thing, but he wouldn't really be upset if the others did it, either. He decided to start with a partial truth. "Well, we're from Frontier Town. Ghaspius here got an invitation to an interview, and I tagged along to get more acquainted with the city. I feel that seeing the place in the flesh would be more informative than just hearing or reading about it."

 

[Tetra]

Sick... "Huh, he sounds pretty impressive." He'd never been the business sort, but the idea was admirable anyway. Chasing a dream, starting from nothing...

"Am a bit curious though, you've got a mix of accents going on there. Where are you all from? What brings you to Novelux?"

Koa nodded along with Andre. It wasn't a secret, considering all of Frontier Town had to know, "Yeah we're travelers, friends of Ghaspius. And I wanted to see the museum too." And he'd wanted to make sure Ghapius wasn't alone if he ran into trouble. After everything that had happened, it was better to travel in pairs, at the very least.

"You guys get a lot of news from out in Frontier Town?" Couldn't hurt at least to see what people had heard about them.

 

[MintyMimix]

Dwebble stuffed the book back into the hat with a shrug. Or perhaps he was just making sure it stayed in place. "Suit yourself! You can find copies all over Novelux. Novelty Forged in Steel."

He turned towards the panel before answering, fiddling with the controls as he did so. "Did he now? Well, considering the museum's state right now... you sure you didn't get a letter informing you about it?"

"Not a doubt in mind," Ghaspius replied as he shook his head. "Checked my mail every day before we traveled out to make sure there weren't no updates. Even sent a reply saying I'd be here."

The Conductor rang the bell as he lifted his head a nudge. "Well, you did exactly what you should've." He seemed like he had more to say, but held his tongue for a moment before setting the trolley into gear. As it lurched, he spoke again. "Don't get as many from Frontier Town as Magna City, that's for sure. But I hear some group has been making a name for themselves. Wayfinders, I wanna say."

"Wayfarers!"

"Ah, that's the one."

The travel back was unremarkable, save for a bit of grandstanding gesturing towards the Silver Striped Bridge and its testament to Fermlein Steel's commitment to the city as they passed over it. Otherwise, the Dwebble seemed content to leave things as they were.

The trolley soon arrived back to the museum and came to a slow stop, and the Conductor tipped his hat. "Pleasure to meet you folks. Hoping that glimpse of the city gave you a bit of insight into how things operate around here. Feel free to stop on by in a few days and I'd be happy to give you a ride to the museum when it's finally open again!"

You may now request to visit the museum proper at any time — feel free to reach out to me if you'd like an NPC to provide a tour or accompaniment!

As Ghaspius floated off the train waving a pleasant goodbye to the old crab, he failed to notice the Scrafty approaching. The same one at the downtown stop, no less.

The Scrafty roughly bumped into the ghost, hissing, "Watch it, bud," before moving on as quickly as possible.

Ghaspius let out an indignant huff, but quickly shook it off. He failed to notice the folded piece of paper that now visibly sat in the brim of his hat.

 

[canisaries]

The trolley soon arrived back to the museum and came to a slow stop, and the Conductor tipped his hat. "Pleasure to meet you folks. Hoping that glimpse of the city gave you a bit of insight into how things operate around here. Feel free to stop on by in a few days and I'd be happy to give you a ride to the museum when it's finally open again!"

"Thank you! It was very informative. Looking forward to next time!" Andre said, smiling warmly. He hopped off the train and produced a vine to wave goodbye.

As Ghaspius floated off the train waving a pleasant goodbye to the old crab, he failed to notice the Scrafty approaching. The same one at the downtown stop, no less.

The Scrafty roughly bumped into the ghost, hissing, "Watch it, bud," before moving on as quickly as possible.

Ghaspius let out an indignant huff, but quickly shook it off. He failed to notice the folded piece of paper that now visibly sat in the brim of his hat.

Andre was looking away when the bump happened, but turned around once the scrafty spoke. He frowned at the reptile's rudeness, but his expression shifted to intrigue when he noticed the paper in Ghaspius' hat.

"Hey, you got something on your hat," he pointed out, pointing with his still-extended vine. "Could it have been..." he looked after the scrafty, but he was already gone.

 

[MintyMimix]

At Andre's remark, Ghaspius quickly searched his hat and unfolded it. His eyes squinted as he read the text aloud.

39 8 92  15 33 34 D.
T 74 8  74 EE 19 16  87 8 M  102 74:
10 X T  49 52 R 23 53 E 74  @  D 92 16 19
26 R M LE 49  16 52 E L

"What do y'all make of this?"

 

[Tetra]

"Hey-" Koa stifled a growl of annoyance and for a moment, almost considered following the Scrafty. He was sure it was the same one from before who'd been watching them. He quickly dismissed the idea. Chasing some unknownmon in an unknown city was a terrible idea.

Instead he turned back to Ghaspius and eyed the paper curiously. "Sounds like a code..." he murmured thoughtfully. Not any he could think of that would make sense. "Maybe map coordinates or something?" He had never been the riddle sort, not exactly. And simply changing numbers for letters didn't seem like it would work here.

"The numbers have to mean something..." he said, thinking out loud.

 

[MintyMimix]

Ghaspius hummed in thought. "Whenever I get stuck on an alchemy problem, I always go back to the formulas. Tryin' to break things down to an atomic level and all that." He scratched the top of his head. "But I guess this ain't really a formula, is it...?"

 

[canisaries]

Andre was stumped looking at the code. It couldn't have been letter substitution if it went up to 102 - and he wasn't sure how that would work when everything was being translated for them anyway.

Ghaspius hummed in thought. "Whenever I get stuck on an alchemy problem, I always go back to the formulas. Tryin' to break things down to an atomic level and all that." He scratched the top of his head. "But I guess this ain't really a formula, is it...?"

A figurative lightbulb lit up above Andre's head. "Wait, atomic? Could it be... atomic numbers?"

 

[MintyMimix]

If the glowing gemstones on his forehead were any indicator, Ghaspius's own figurative lightbulb manifested into something physical as Andre spoke. He muttered to himself as he combed over the letter a few times, occasionally, making a slip-up before finally reading:

"You passed. Two weeks from now: next interview @ dusk. Fremlein Steel." A designated time and place, and a strange level of secrecy.

There was only one thing on his mind as he blinked. "Wait, there was a first interview?"

 

[Tetra]

Atomic numbers! That made sense. Not that he really remembered his worlds. Or that it would have been the same. Ghapius seemed to know his quite well though, and managed to translate the message. At hearing that he passed, Koa couldn't help but grin a little, glad for Ghapius.

Koa almost missed what Ghapius said next, his mind distracted by mulling over the implications. How much knowledge of something like that did people from Forlas have? Did that mean whoever left the message was from a human world as well?

At the sound of Ghapius voice he blinked and snapped back to attention. "Could the Dwebble have been interviewing us?" he murmured,
brow furrowing. "Didn't he say something about... Fermlein paying for tours?" Why all the secrecy?

 

[canisaries]

"Well... this is all very strange," Andre said, "but I'm happy for you, Ghaspius!" He would have pat him on the back, but he didn't know if Ghaspius really liked to be touched. He tried to show a thumbs-up instead, but remembered that he had hooves. Face heating up, he lowered his hoof and hoped that no one had noticed.

 

[MintyMimix]

With nothing but questions left on their minds, the group drifted through the streets of Novelux as the crowds filled in the empty spaces they left in their wake. A few days later, the museum opened with seemingly no fanfare, and the trolley was once again brimming with tourists. Though it seemed the Conductor had changed shells to a much more brighter top hat.

<><><><>​

 

[Butterfree]

The museum was all a bit pretentious, waxing poetic about glorious civilization, but at least it was an interesting window into the state of science in Forlas, and into how the locals thought of their history.

Everything extolled Novelux and the triumphant advance out west as the pinnacle of modernity. Apparently the local native lapine tribes were integrating well, with an unstated undercurrent of unlike some other savages out west. The virtuous pioneers of civilization, nobly bringing technology, proper governance and finance to the primitives. Weird overcompensatory shit about how nobly industrious they were, what good spouses they were said to make.

Dave looked up from a set of wax figures depicting some historical event or other and found a familiar orange Deerling reading off a placard.

"Hey," he said. "Enjoying the Museum of How Great We Are?"

 

[canisaries]

A voice snapped Andre out of his thoughts. He looked over to see a familiar mightyena. Andre smiled, even if he knew this one wasn't really a ray of sunshine. He did seem to be a mon of sense, though.

"Well, history has always intrigued me," he began. "While the narrative they tell here is unfortunate, it is still quite fascinating."

Andre replayed what he said in his head and quickly became embarrassed. "I'm sorry, that was weirdly posh. I can talk like a regular person, I swear." He shook his head. "You were Dave, right?"

 

[Butterfree]

Dave cracked a smile at 'I can talk like a regular person, I swear'. "Dave, yeah. It's Andre, right?" They hadn't talked much, had they. He'd been there when they'd gone to see Sierra, when they'd attacked Terminal Two. But mainly Dave remembered him from the wagon, that night, unassuming, saying he was a human and had experience with criminals.

He indicated the museum exhibits with a paw, shoulder stinging briefly. "What kills me is my world had history that was kind of parallel to all this. Western frontier was definitely a thing, cowboy fashion, et cetera. I'm just here imagining what parallel atrocities they might be sanitizing in all this as they write it up pretending there's never been racism. Or whatever you even call it when everyone's a fucking Pokémon."

He looked back at Andre. "You're human, right? Is this all reminiscent of your world, too?"

 

[canisaries]

"Dave, yeah. It's Andre, right?"

Andre nodded.

He indicated the museum exhibits with a paw, shoulder stinging briefly. "What kills me is my world had history that was kind of parallel to all this. Western frontier was definitely a thing, cowboy fashion, et cetera. I'm just here imagining what parallel atrocities they might be sanitizing in all this as they write it up pretending there's never been racism. Or whatever you even call it when everyone's a fucking Pokémon."

He looked back at Andre. "You're human, right? Is this all reminiscent of your world, too?"

"I'm a human, yes, and absolutely. This is about how it went down in the Unovan States. The Borean settlers displaced the indigenous peoples of the place, mostly human but also some mon, like the gurdurr line, the gothitelle line, the bisharp line..." He paused. "How are pokémon in your world, actually? Ridley told me months back that the pokémon in his world aren't sapient. Most of them aren't sapient in mine, both in species and raw numbers, but he said his world has no 'people' pokémon at all. And it sounded more like a fact than an opinion."

 

[Butterfree]

Huh. Some particular species being sapient while most weren't was a new one.

"Yeah, mine's more like Ridley's. Pokémon can be sort of clever within their particular niches, and they're quick to pick up commands, but they don't do complex communication or abstract thinking. Lot of studies examining Pokémon intelligence and that's the gist. Fucked up that that of all things is so variable across all these universes. What, so Pokémon species are a universal constant, cowboys are a universal fucking constant, but every world's Pokémon vary in intelligence?"

Dave shook his head. This place was going to be the death of him. "So in your universe, the sapient species are all humanoid? Like, bipeds? Are they, what, evolutionarily related to humans over there...?"

 

[canisaries]

Dave shook his head. This place was going to be the death of him. "So in your universe, the sapient species are all humanoid? Like, bipeds? Are they, what, evolutionarily related to humans over there...?"

"Well, it's like... there are species that always turn out sapient, species that can turn out sapient if raised with the right stimuli, and species that can't turn out sapient no matter how they're raised. A lot of the always-sapient species are humanoid, and I think the theory is that it's because they have hands to better manipulate objects with. There are exceptions, of course, like the malamar line, though they have tentacles and psychic powers to act out the role of hands. As for the relation to humans... genetic analysis seems to suggest that humans are most similar to simian pokémon, like pansear, and yet we don't have any elemental powers - unless aura is considered one, though even aura is one in ten thousand. So, either we had elemental powers until recently and then somehow lost them, or we somehow managed to evolve all the way from little lizards to human beings without dying out from pokémon predation or competition." Andre leaned in and lowered his voice. "Of course, there are some people that say the reason there are no fossil records for human evolution is because we're descended from aliens."