Hiccup

[ someone sounds tired ] The exits aren't real. Or, at least, if they are, we can't use them.

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Okay you're going to have to explain to me what that means, because... well. We don't have highways where I come from.

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I found out that the girl at the Diner along the highway doesn't seem like all the drones here in town. Also I heard something earlier about bears, but I never encountered one.

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What do you mean "doesn't seem like?" How's she different?

[He ignores the part about bears because. Well. His village had to deal with dragons for centuries. Bears are no big deal.]

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Exits... well, they're side roads that usually lead from the main highway to other towns. Sideswipe tried to drive off on one, but we ended up in a ditch.

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Well, when I introduced myself, she didn't act like it was strange. Most the drones will act like you're a bit crazy because they think you've been here forever, right? She just introduced herself back.

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Okay, so... what does that mean? It's gotta lead somewhere.

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So... it wasn't weird that you showed up and didn't know her. Did she... [He hesitates, trying to figure out how to word this next part.] Did she... notice that the highway had just kind of... shown up out of nowhere?

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Not exactly. But she did understand it had re-opened. She said something like "You people have been coming in all day."

She also told me she had lived in Mayfield once, but she didn't seem to recall how long ago. Said everyone here was uptight, and that nothing ever changed.

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It either means they're not real, or it means that there's a way out that we can't get to yet. The road just... flickered and vanished.

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...wow. Okay. So what about the highway then? If the exits aren't real then... does it actually go anywhere?

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Huh. Okay. That's... really weird. Was she... was she completely different, or was it just a few things that were off?

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Just back here.

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One big circle then.

...What's the point?

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Well... If you don't mind my general observation, she felt different than the others here in town. Like... Um... [Kira pauses, obviously trying to think of a way to describe it.] Have you heard Lucy or any of the others here, like the Postman, speak?

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Uh... no. Not yet. I mean, I talked to the regular drones and they're weird and bland and... really kind of monotonous, but I haven't heard... them talk. I've only been here a little over a month.

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No idea. Do you think it's tied to what's going on at the Dairy?

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Kind of hard to imagine it isn't. I mean, they both happened around the same time.

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Oh... That makes it harder...

[There's a very long pause, and only the sound of what may be Kira tapping something can be heard. Finally, her voice comes over the phone again.]

Well, the drones all seem really the same. Like, they're programmed or practiced to say things, and, and like... Well, it's like they're dolls or something. Lucy and the others, though, they seem sentient and aware. This girl at the diner, Barbara, seemed like that to me.

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That's my thought, too.

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brb-inventing.livejournal.com

Hey, Hiccup! You wanna go check it out with me? I'm totally taking the car to see it for myself.

[Warning. She has never driven before.]

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backseat-dragon.livejournal.com

I missed going because I had to work...

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hontobakabaka.livejournal.com

"I went with a few people from class, but it seemed fairly routine and uninteresting. There was a diner and a gas station and it looped back onto itself. It basically just gave us a slightly dangerous out of town area to explore for a bit."

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Question is, though, what is making the noise? I thought it sounded like a machine of some kind, but... it's hard to say for sure without getting a good look at it. Which. We can't.

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