Threaded- not thinking about that. Not thinking about that. 

"Yes! Yes that would be lovely! Books! I'll be there!!"

There's nowhere in here to bathe - oh, that makes sense, actually. What do they do for baths?

Going by smell, they don't, that often.

Though there were a few places selling soap, and several of those advertised 'no-water wash!'

Mr. Wild's office is just like it was yesterday! Plus a guard out front!

He just wordlessly and theatrically presents a row of books when she enters.

"Here we have some books selected for entertainment value. Practical ones are in the other box. Wasn't sure what to pick."

The Missing Comet and The Lost Dreamer

A False Prince's Gambit

Legends of The Homeworld: Napoleon

Myths of The Homeworld: Olympus

Falling Stars: Book 1: Kindling

Collected Works of Shakespeare, 2202 Edition

Journey To The West vol 1

The Republican Cycle

She doesn't mind how people smell naturally so much but some of them are dirty. 

All right! It's going to be fine! She'll work something out!

She wants all of the books! How much? She wants to start with ones about the Homeworld whatever that is, it sounds like the world they came from before they went to the stars, and 'Shakespeare' must be someone worth collecting, and then she wants all of them. 

Mr. Wild has a fair price for her.

Napoleon was a famous conquerer and general apparently. He started the first* true* modern* Republic*, but then went all tyrannical and was eventually ousted. Historian opinions are mixed as to whether he really was for liberty, or was mostly in it for glory.

"Olympus" is a book about the greek pantheon of gods. Those silly ancient greeks used these "gods" to explain the capricious and unfair nature of the world, and human nature. These ancient stories and mythos still have some themes which echo in the stories we tell today. They are not kind or good, they are capricious and flawed. Zeus's rape habit makes the summary.

The Shakespeare book is big! "My favorite play of his was always Hamlet," Mr. Wild says. "It's generally regarded as the best of the lot. Though Romeo and Juliet maintains an annoying cultural prominence in some places."

She doesn't know much about politics! "Republic" sounds kind of like the way her home worked, but they didn't actually vote, that would be creepy, like ranking everyone you know by how much you like them out of a hundred points or something.

...Zeus's what. Someone should do something about Him! No wonder you're not allowed to know the names of any other gods! Is He likely to be around here? She wants to start on Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet but priorities, if there's a rogue god around she needs... she's not sure, she'll need a plan...

"I'm pretty sure Zeus is dead or never was alive in the first place, hon. And you seem like such a cinnamon roll I should warn you that most of Shakespeare's stuff is tragedies..."

He has unboxed the 'practical books' now, too. A children's book on orbital mechanics and null-g movement. A different children's book, aimed at slightly older audiences, 'Get Ready to Live on a Wheel Station!'. A booklet on common issues groundsiders encounter on stations, aimed at wealthy tourists. Pop-sci books on common methods of water filtration, hydroponic gardening, and electricity in general. A few actual textbooks with long and serious names on the above topics, including space movement. A 'shopkeeper's survival guide' that is about 100 loose pages in a manila folder, not properly bound.

She would assume the real gods killed Him but They don't really seem to be active around here much either. Which is strange, really, she made it here. 

Anyway! She nods seriously abut the tragedies. You have to be careful with those. 

She has knowledge! There's said to be a lost Spell for reading a whole stack of books in seconds and more than ever she wishes she had it now, even if it did sometimes cause mild insanity. 

Priorities... the booklet, and the shopkeeping guide. 

She'll have all of those too please! Can she get reading right away or is there something she should do or perhaps are there people for her to meet??

"There are people who want to meet you. I wasn't sure how to screen them so I told 'em all 'I'll get back to you'. Do you have any particular ideas or priorities for contacts?"

The most important thing to do when visiting stations is to remember that there are different dangers and ways of doing things! Make sure to obey all safety regulations and pay close attention to any warnings or travel advisories!

...

Spinwards? Levels? Cors? Degrees? Help, I'm lost! [There follows a diagram of a generic station with some navigation instructions. Some people can proprioceptively tell which way is spinward, especially on small stations. You can also throw something down a long corridor- If it falls more slowly, that direction is anti-spinward!]

...

Navigating in zero-gravity can be very fun, but it is a SKILL. Be sure to move carefully and wear padding, or be firmly seated and harnessed, while experiencing zero-gravity until you are familiar with it. Zero gravity sex injuries are distressingly common! [There follows a bunch of diagrams of safety equipment.]

...

FIRE HAZARDS! In enclosed environments, especially smaller ships and stations the danger of runaway fire is immense. There is no convenient source of water to put it out, and fire can rapidly consume all breathable air in a compartment. It is even more dangerous in zero-gravity. Most stations have strong fire safety regulations.

...

Ironically, space is expensive in outer space! Any enclosed volume has to be regulated for temperature, pressure, and air quality, with nothing but vacuum as a backstop and where any leak can be expensive or dangerous. Expect cozy conditions compared to most planetside locations. Dealing with the psychological impact of having no 'true' weather systems or sunlight for a lengthy period of time can be a serious adjustment. If you find yourself growing anxious or depressed, try spending time in sunlight-simulated green spaces or returning to a planet.

"I feel like I should probably talk to - someone who can tell me more about farming? The 'hydroponics' stuff? And also I do like the sound of green spaces, I'm going to make my room very nice but-" it hasn't hit home yet but she's going to really miss the sky. "...Oh. Actually. Um. Is there somewhere I can get a good view of the stars?"

Zero gravity sounds fun. She has Fly, which isn't the same but does sound like it would make injuries much harder! Maybe she can cast it for people! ...Maybe she should get some of that safety equipment just in case. 

"The big storage tank is gonna be one more day. I'm having some stuff from my plasma fuel cartridge business diverted to clean it out and seal it. Green spaces and a view of the stars are both upper deck things. You could probably go up there but... I'd take an escort. So you don't misunderstand something and have a problem. I have a line on a grow operation supervisor though. Plus a mercenary who wanted to meet you and might have a useful perspective, and a brillian but eccentric engineer if you want to talk machines."

"...Is there an outer wall down here? I could cast Invisibility on it to see the stars. If not - an escort would be so nice, thank you!" 

It hasn't actually escaped her that something is going on with the people in charge here, based on what the guard said yesterday, and she would really like to know more!

She is curious about the machines! Brilliant but eccentric is just how people normally are when you live among fellow wizards! That sounds great! 

The grow operation... Hmm, she actually should look into food more! That's going to be important!

As for the mercenary... Probably a good way to know more about the people who run the place!

All right! All of them! Ideally the mercenary first? But whoever's available first is fine! Thank you so much! She's not very good at noticing things like this but she can tell how much effort he's going to and she really appreciates it!

"I would really not advise going into the abandoned sections to reach the final outer bulkhead. Maybe there's a sidewall chamber that we can know vacuum is on the other side of... Hmm... Ah, one mercenary, coming right up."

It's the same guy who escorted her yesterday!

"Heya, ma'am. I heard you made it rain and want to help out around here. I figured I could help you help us. What do you say? Got questions?"

"I do! And I have so many questions! Thank you Mr Wild! Anyway yes hello! I don't suppose you can safely escort me somewhere I can see the stars? It's good to see you again! Do you want to - I don't know what people do around here! Go for a drink or something? Or did you just drop in here to see me?"

This does seem like a good person to talk to about maybe seeing if the various Problems here can be solved. She didn't expect to find an outer plane with so many Problems, but she'll make the best of it!

"We can go to the upper levels and see the Janus Gallery and other big amenities. It would be good to have a story in mind: You're a tourist-"

Mr. Wild hands him a plastic card and a piece of paper.

Which he then hands to Naevys. "-Aha! Yep, Naevys, a tourist, with a 'valid entry pass'. You're from a planet that tries to keep things natural and low tech to spiritually connect with the world. That framing will make you seem a little bit silly and harmless to folks here and help explain away astonishment at things that we would consider normal. Best to avoid any overt magic in the upper decks though."

"Oh, all right! Spiritually connecting with the world would be idolatry but I can lie about the rest of it! And yes all right I'll be careful!" All right, so she needs to worry about the 'upper deckers' actively doing things to hurt her, they're not just passively dysfunctional, hmm! 

"A religion you actually believe in is even better. Other richy-rich things to do up there than see the stars and tourist docks... Shopping, green spaces, spas and massage places, there's a small museum, a school, a station security sanctioned gun range, and there are zero gravity sections with safety gear you can play around in. I'm not comfortable with you suiting up and heading outside, I'll advise strongly against that 'till you're used to the place."

Otiluke's Resilient Sphere should be protective against the Void but you know what she's going to listen to the dangerous-looking mercenary charged with keeping her safe in this completely foreign and hostile environment because she isn't stupid!

"That sounds lovely, thank you! What... do you mean about religion." It's a slightly dangerous thing to ask, she's been a little bit careful around whatever horrible heathen deities there might be here especially after hearing about 'Zeus' Who is hopefully long dead, but this is as good an opening as any.

"Okay, that's a plan then. Religion is about what gods exist and what stuff they say is good and bad? I used to be agnostic, no way to tell if there's a god or gods if they don't do things, but I'll hear your pitch out if you want to give it. Water conjuration is pretty convincing that we don't fully understand the universe, you know."

"It's surprising to me that no gods do anything here! I come from another plane, the gods definitely do things there, They talk to people sometimes and do great miracles and choose people to channel Their power! If nothing like that has ever happened here then maybe They can't or don't do things in this plane, but I bet the Goddess Aphrodite can still See me, She watches over elves. What... do you think is good and bad if there are no gods here."

"We think a lot of different things. Sometimes we mean two different things when we use the same word. Sometimes people just say they believe something is right, but don't actually practice it. Or openly disagree with other folks' opinions. Sometimes we live up to our own stated ideals, sometimes we don't. I have always been a bit of a cynic, thinking that the human impulse to kindness is just... An evolutionary enforcement mechanism. Betraying people feels bad, and liars hurt the group to benefit themselves, so groups that can catch liars do better, so fewer dumb apes betray and lie, so the group as a whole does better... Wanna start heading up, get some of the stairs out of the way? Once we cross to mid-deck we can take an elevator."

"Yes!"

She ponders this a little as she climbs. (Elevators are cool, though she wishes she could see it going up - maybe glass isn't as easy to make in bulk as metal?)

Evolution isn't something she's read about, but the concept is fairly obvious once it's put that way. Could that be part of how people came to be, at home? It's not difficult to imagine, Godhead works by subtle paths. You could imagine a story where elves and humans and dwarves and so on all evolved for different spaces... 

"It isn't just that. The gods are Good and They didn't evolve to work in groups... I think. And I'd still care about people outside my group... I think maybe your world is what you'd expect to see, if humans grew up not knowing anything about the real gods! I honestly do not know doctrine very well and am not qualified to do the liturgy but I can try. Elves, ah, don't really bother with that kind of thing a lot but it's very important for humans. I wonder who I could talk to about that! That might help with the upper-and-lower-decks problem."