Challenge #02272-F082: Celebratory Explosions
A Havenworlder Group goes despite warnings and with offensive-warnings to Earth.
On New Year.
Yeah.... -- Anon Guest
Visit Terra! Invigorate your genome! the poster said. As a sales pitch, some would ponder its efficaciousness. However, the idea that exposure to hazardous situations could bolster a species genes through epigenetic influence was not only provable, but scientifically endorsed. In brief, the target audience were Havenworlders, and the pitch was super effective.
Havenworlders were warned, of course. Areas of Terra could easily reach a five on the Deathworlder scale. They're advised to stay in the Level Three and Level Two zones, like the safer cities. They're also advised to avoid certain Terran festivals, like New Year's. They are warned. Frequently. They are told as they enter the Sol system. They are told which holiday seasons are in play and what phenomena, behaviour, and celebrations to expect.
There is always at least one group of Havenworlders who decide that the warnings are unnecessarily overstated. They go regardless of the warning, and set the offensensitivity filters way too low for their systems, and foolhardily go to Earth to experience as much as they can. Thankfully, livesuits for Havenworlders are fitted with biomonitors and automatic shut-offs exactly because of incidents related to overconfident Havenworlders like these...
"It can't be that hazardous. The death toll from their storms is simply because Humans keep rebuilding where disasters strike." Hiti wriggled into their livesuit. "We've seen the recordings. They're kind of silly."
"The warnings for this season include copious consumption of alcohol by local Humans, sudden loud noises, atmospheric explosions, and startling displays of vivid colour," said Rikku. "This is not a safe exposure for us. We should readjust our settings."
"They always overstate these things. It's to avoid lawsuits[1]. We'll be fine. We're tougher than they think we are."
Long story short - they weren't fine. Two hours in to the New Years' fireworks, their automatic biosensors recognised that they were experiencing red-line levels of stress and shut down their sensory throughputs. The automatic saviour systems blacked out their viewscreens and replaced them with a calm, pastoral scene, their audio was replaced with soothing music. As for their physical safety, alert lights on their suits started flashing, and a signal sent to nearby authorities, who removed them from the scene of contention.
The Terran Tourism Board has since added further education about how Havenworlder Livesuits work. Both for the visiting Havenworlders, and for the Terrans in case they're nearby when a safety shutdown initiates.
No deaths have occurred from Terran tourism. Earth prides itself on that zero death rate, and regularly shames itself on the emergency intervention rates.
[1] This is also true, but caution should always be exercised anyway.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / chagall]
If you like my stories, please Check out my blog and Follow me. Or share them with your friends!
Send me a prompt [46 remaining prompts!]