Pony Express long-haul space freighter "Tulpar"
Crew: Five
Planned Shipment Duration: 382 Days
Elapsed Transit Time: 147 Days[1]
The Tulpar is the setting of Mouthwashing. It is a long-haul space freighter provided by Pony Express. The vessel was designed to accommodate a crew of four for upwards of a year of continuous interstellar travel.
Besides the mandatory captain and co-pilot in control of the vessel, the Tulpar is also staffed by at least one engineer and a medical officer, the latter of whom is tasked with administering weekly psychological evaluations ("psych evals") on the remaining crew. The Tulpar's navigation system is capable of running on autopilot and operates on such for the majority of its flight, but it also has an emergency manual override. Related to this, the Tulpar also houses cryogenic pods to be used in the event that the vessel becomes inoperable, and the ETA of rescue services exceeds the onboard oxygen and food supply. The pods allow suspended animation for a period of up to 20 years but must be activated by a second party from the outside once a person has entered.
As a direct result of the crash, it drifted off of the intended path, with the ship sure to run out of power within six months and food rations much faster.
Locations[]
The Tulpar has two floors with two sets of stairs.
Lounge[]
The Lounge consists of a kitchen, dining area, table, and living room lowered by a few steps. There are two vending machines for coffee and food (the type of food is not specified). The dining area has a long wooden table and several chairs. The living room has a large night/day screen, an L-shaped couch, two chairs, and a small coffee table with a board game set up on it. Post-crash, the room was used as the sleeping quarters for the crew except Curly.
Utility room[]
The utility room is where the cryogenic pods, axe, and various tools used by Swansea are located. It also contains the broken vent Daisuke attempted to fix. Post-crash, Swansea was dedicated to guarding the room and did not let anyone inside. This is also one of the only three rooms that can be locked.
Cockpit[]
The cockpit of the Tulpar was where Curly and Jimmy steered the ship when necessary, received messages from the higher-ups, and monitored the ship's general state. This is also the room where a gun was meant to be located before Anya hid it. This is also one of the only three rooms that can be locked.
Medbay[]
The medical bay is where Anya worked and was mainly occupied. After the crash, it was where Anya mainly stayed as she had to take care of Curly. This is one of the only three rooms that can be locked.
Sleeping quarters[]
The sleeping quarters are where the crew used to sleep. After the crash, the entrance was blocked by foam. Anya specifically mentioned that the doors had no locks.
Cargo hold[]
The cargo hold is a large space for storing cargo meant to be locked for the duration of the flight. Months after the crash with no signs of rescue, the crew chose to open it and discovered that they'd been transporting exclusively mouthwash.
Vent system[]
There is a broken vent connecting the Utility room and the medical bay. In the medical bay, the vent is located on the floor. The gate was closed with caution tape and a red note labeled, "DANGER!! HANDS OFF IDIOTS!" In Utility, the vent is located on the ceiling, opened with damaged wires hanging from it.
The vent allegedly collapsed long before the crash. Anya was nearly stabbed in the leg when the vent was open during maintenance, and Daisuke once triggered the emergency foam attempting to fix the vent.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- "Tulpar" is the name of a mythological winged horse, renowned for its incredible speed, in several Turkic cultures, comparable to the Greek Pegasus.
- There are two in-universe educational videos of the Tulpar that double as advertisements for Pony Express and Mouthwashing. (Episode 1 / Episode 2)
- The board game located in the living room area of the Lounge closely resembles or possibly is the German game Mensch, ärgere Dich nicht (English: Man, Don't Get Angry).
- It is often mixed up with Trouble or Sorry!, but the layouts of both games do not match up the one seen in-game.
- The game also resembles the French board game Jeu des petits chevaux (English: Game of small horses), a cross and circle game based on the same principle as Mensch, ärgere Dich nicht. The horses could be a reference to Pony Express.
- The positioning of the board game pieces changes throughout the game.
- The Medbay has a calendar to which the date changes up until the day of the crash. The month is unknown other than the fact it lasts 31 days.
- Seven days before the crash the date is assumed to be 18th on a Thursday.
- The ship crashes on the 25th of the month, Thursday.