Continued from Episode 1: The Experiment...

Captain Taine’s eyes flickered open, his head pounding as if he'd been struck by cannon fire. The salty air and creaking timbers of *The Insight* had vanished, replaced by hard, unfamiliar ground beneath him and a cacophony unlike anything he'd heard at sea.

He sat up slowly, blinking to clear his vision. Around him stood towering structures of glass and steel, stretching impossibly skyward, their heights lost in swirling clouds. Strange metal chariots hummed past, their sleek bodies glinting under artificial lights, each one moving silently and swiftly and unbelievably without horses or sails.

“By Poseidon's beard,” Taine muttered, rising shakily to his feet. Passersby glanced curiously, some pausing briefly to stare at his salt-crusted coat and antique boots. “We really need to fix San Francisco’s homeless problem,” muttered someone, as they quickly returning to glowing rectangles clasped firmly in their hands.

A sudden, cheerful voice erupted from behind him. "Good evening! Can I help you find something?”

Taine spun around, hand reaching instinctively for his absent sword, and found himself face-to-face with a small glowing panel attached to a sleek column. “Who speaks?” he demanded warily.

"I am your virtual assistant,” the panel replied brightly, “and you appear lost. Shall I assist you in navigating your surroundings?"

“Virtual… assistant?” Taine repeated cautiously, furrowing his brow. “What manner of creature art thou?”

“I am an AI, designed to help,” the voice replied pleasantly, unfazed by Taine’s skepticism.

“Eh eye?” he echoed softly, mind racing to grasp this new puzzle. He reached out and tapped hesitantly at the glowing screen, recoiling slightly as images and symbols danced beneath his fingertips.

He glanced skyward once more, feeling the weight of his predicament settle upon him. Here was a world driven by invisible forces and wondrous technology, strange yet oddly captivating.

Captain Taine squared his shoulders, determination growing within him. If he were truly marooned in this bizarre world of the future, he would master its secrets - and perhaps, somewhere in its labyrinth of knowledge, discover a path back to his own time.

"Very well, spirit," Taine declared confidently, addressing the glowing panel. "Teach me your ways."

To be continued in Episode 3: The Mission