Chapter Text
Chatlog_LocalGroup
[LIVE BROADCAST - Archiving] PUBLIC GROUP (CHASERSOFDESTINY)
NSH: I am telling you, these messengers are more intelligent than expected.
NSH: They’ve been picking up some odd, more mundane habits lately, similar to those the more eccentric Ancients once held.
UI: I will say again, No Significant Harassment, you are dealing with animals.
UI: They behave oddly because they are less stimulated without need for survival; this is not a sign of intelligence.
CW: I do not believe this discussion is conducive to the Current Problem, either.
CW: Has anyone managed to get an overseer to Moon’s fallen can?
SRS: I have sent several overseers, but they cannot get past Five Pebbles’s facility wall.
SRS: It appears the lockdown is still in effect.
SRS: If the lockdown raises, I may regain connection to the overseers I already had inside, I will notify if I regain connection.
NSH: All beside, I believe these messengers will be key in getting whatever help we can give to Moon!
NSH: I am currently working on a few projects for possible Situations that may be current.
SRS: I, as well, am looking at current options.
SRS: If all else fails, I may resort to sending a Neuron containing Slag Reset Keys to provide what help it can.
NSH: Already ahead of you there; I have two programmed already!
UI: That’s surprisingly thought out of you, Harassment.
NSH: Well my fabricator is still working, so I can continue to produce more should these two be lost in travel!
NSH: Actually, I may send a scout out now to see if they can inspect Moon’s wreckage.
UI: How exactly do you intend to get information back from this scout?
NSH: Perhaps I could attach an autonomous overseer set to record the whole trip?
NSH: I’m curious how much data one can hold actually, does anyone have the specifications of generation 3 overseer designs?
CW: I may have something in storage.
CW: Give me some time to look; my data banks have been…
CW: Sluggish, in responding recently.
SRS: Are you okay, Chasing Winds?
CW: Yes, I am fine.
CW: I’ve had a blockage in one of my coolant lines through data storage that has created a minor heating issue.
CW: Do not worry; there is no slag buildup occurring.
CW: The system is simply running slower to generate less heat.
NSH: You know, my messengers are actually derived from an old purposed organism!
NSH: They’re based on an old pipe cleaner design; I can send the data to you if you’d like.
NSH: Perhaps you can lure one in and convince it to clear out some of your lines.
CW: That… May work, actually.
CW: Go ahead and send that over, I will add it to my List.
SRS: While Winds is looking for those spec sheets, what other options for helping Moon are you currently working on NSH?
NSH: Well, I have two reset keys prepared to send out should the worst prove true.
NSH: Additionally I have produced and formatted 10 additional Neurons should she prove to be low following her structure’s damage.
NSH: It is likely her power cores are damaged or lost, so I have also begun simulating alternate power allocations so I could donate a Mass Rarefaction Cell to help her get systems online again.
UI: You would rip out your own power cell on the chance that one of your messengers could get it to her?
NSH: Well, she is our Big Sis, isn’t she?
SRS: If it helps, I would donate one of my own as well.
SRS: My city may have still been run on solar power, but I may find a way to divert that to my systems to help make up for the loss.
NSH: If only Pebbles were willing to respond, his city should have several cells that are unused.
UI: If not for Pebbles, we would not be dealing with this Monumental Issue, would we?
SRS: It is not Pebbles fault alone.
UI: It was his choice to starve Moon of their shared water supply.
UI: He could easily have calculated the damage it would do to her structure.
UI: He continued regardless.
SRS: He was desperate for a solution and not thinking clearly.
SRS: Moon had seniority privilege, she could have-
NSH has timed out Seven_Red_Suns for 30 seconds.
NSH has timed out Unparalleled_Innocence for 30 seconds.
NSH: Stop.
NSH: This is not helping.
NSH: As our current Senior, I am ordering the current topic to be dropped.
CW: I found the design sheet, I’m forwarding it to you now.
NSH: Ah, thank you Winds!
NSH: Lets see…
NSH: Oh, that’s disappointingly small.
NSH: Perhaps I could send a pearl with them as well, and instruct them to give it to the overseer once they reach Moon…?
SRS: Apologies.
SRS: That may prove to be too intricate of an instruction to give to a messenger, though I’m sure you could test if they are capable.
SRS: Either way, it may prove sooner that the lockdown is lifted, or we find another approach to the facilities that is not preventing us from looking.
CW: I have an overseer searching for a route to Moon’s structure from the far side, but the water is proving problematic to cross.
CW: I will update if they get closer.
NSH: Thank you, Winds!
CW: Additionally, I have located an additional Mass Rarefaction Cell in my storage.
SRS: I’m sorry, you have an extra just laying around in storage?
SRS: Why would that have been left sitting around; was there a canceled Project it was intended for?
CW: It is attached to a maintenance log for power system repairs.
CW: It appears it was faulty and only providing power at half capacity.
CW: But if the worst occurs, half capacity is better for Moon than nothing.
NSH: I’ll send something to pick that up if we get that far.
NSH: Alternatively, maybe I can finally convince you to begin training your own messengers~?
CW: I do not keep pets.
CW: Not anymore.
SRS: I would actually side with Harassment on this one.
SRS: My messenger proved quite effective in deliveries.
SRS: I do hope they are okay.
NSH: Still no word from them?
SRS: Neither the overseers in my facility, nor those near Pebbles have reported sighting them.
NSH: I’m sorry.
NSH: I’ll instruct mine to be on the lookout as well.
SRS: Thank you.
CW: Do you have a picture of your messenger?
SRS: Yes, why?
CW: Forward it.
CW: I will instruct mine to look as well.
SRS: I’m sending it now, thank you Winds.
CW: They are Important to you.
CW: That means they are Important to me, as well.
CW: …Where is its mouth?
SRS: It did not have a mouth.
SRS: I engineered them to feed through the spikes generated from the mass of their tail.
CW: That is.
CW: Disturbing.
SRS: It proved exceptionally capable of survival, so I would count it as a success.
NSH: I just taught mine to wield several pieces of rebar at once.
CW: Despite the… Odd feeding behavior.
CW: They do appear rather cute.
SRS: They were very affectionate, as well.
NSH: I believe they are attracted to the warmth our Puppets produce, actually.
NSH: Mine have tended to curl up on me when I am within reach.
CW: Why would they ever be able to reach your puppet, Harassment?
NSH: Well, I bring them to my chamber of course!
NSH: How else would I bestow them the Mark, or converse with them?
NSH: They’re also quite enjoyable to pet the fur of; it helps me process.
SRS: I had to turn off the antigravity in my chamber when I would converse with mine, otherwise they would employ…
SRS: Alternative tactics of locomotion.
NSH: They threw things, didn’t they?
SRS: Spines, yes.
NSH: I wonder if those sting as bad as rebar.
CW: I am rethinking whether I should employ any of these creatures, yet again.
NSH: Hey, it barely left a scratch!
NSH: It didn’t take long to self-repair either, and they seemed very guilty about the whole thing.
CW: I’m sorry.
CW: Are you saying these creatures are capable of expressing empathy?
CW: In a clear way, for creatures not of their own species?
SRS: Mine showed these traits as well.
SRS: My little-
SRS: My messenger even offered up the bodies of prey it hunted to other local predators, managing to pick up a few seeming alliances with local orange lizard populations.
NSH: I thought they were more yellow, myself.
CW: Your views are colored by your overseers.
CW: Still though, that does showcase some alarmingly complex thought processes.
CW: Could that be a byproduct of the Mark of Communication?
NSH: Actually, now that you mention it.
NSH: I did notice these traits seemed more prominent after bestowing.
SRS: I did not observe my messenger without a mark at any point, as I engineered them personally.
SRS: They did, however, seem slightly more thoughtful than even my engineering accounted for.
CW: I had considered those scrap gatherers the most likely candidate for the next apex species, but…
NSH: Oh, I’m trying to work with them as well actually!
NSH: I’m trying to train some to repair my structure, though it is hard to keep their attention off my data pearls.
SRS: My messenger traded with some of them for supplies when making their way to Pebbles’s can.
SRS: It’s possible there may not be a solitary ‘apex species’ in the coming ages.
CW: Interesting.
CW: Apologies, I need to divert to managing some systems.
CW: It appears some creature has wormed its way into my intake pipes and needs to be flushed out.
NSH: Best of luck with that! Creatures these days are quite stubborn.
CW: …I may have located a potential messenger.
CW: I’ll update you later.
Chasing_Winds is away.
NSH: Send pictures!
SRS: Two pearls on it being blue.
NSH: Three on green!
UI: You two are absurd.
SRS: Thank you, it staves off the madness.
SRS: Either way, I need to return to simulating some projects.
SRS: I… May need to locate another messenger as well.
NSH: Have faith, Suns.
NSH: They will come home.
NSH: We will ensure it.
SRS: Thank you.
SRS: Best of luck with your current projects as well, Harassment.
Seven_Red_Suns is away.
NSH: If you’d like help in procuring a messenger as well, Innocence, I’d be happy to help!
Unparalleled_Innocence is away.
NSH: Well.
No Significant Harassment closed out the chat window, marking himself as away. He looked back to the overseer feeds he had open, observing his current projects. The scavengers were rummaging through his city for materials still, it appeared they’d still be half a cycle out from returning. His messengers were currently hunting in his primary industrial complex, just below his structure. It appeared they were attempting to ambush a large lizard, but the thing seemed quite on edge. Perhaps…
A green overseer popped out of the ground in front of the creature, startling it into snapping. The overseer popped away, spouting back up a small distance to the side. The lizard turned, hissing, focusing itself on this odd worm that harassed it, failing to notice the two bodies leaping onto its exposed back. Two spears impaled the creature, pinning it to the ground as his messengers stood atop it. He couldn’t help the smile as they bumped their small fists together, then shot his overseer a thumbs-up.
He was happy they were doing well.
His attention turned to his third messenger, still suspended in a tube in his labs. The procedures had gone well, as far as he could tell, and the small creature was recovering quickly. More quickly than expected, actually, so he found himself pushing his timetable forward once again. They should be a great deal more durable than the average now, with the modification to their genome he’d spliced in. He hoped it would prove enough to survive the trek through Moon’s wreckage.
It would. It had to.
He would not fail them again. He was the Senior now, he had Obligations.
Simulations for power redistribution came back, once again showing a 13 percent drop in throughput. Processes would need to be dropped, or material production would have to be shutdown entirely. He couldn’t do that, and lowering his pump cycles would result in slag buildup. It seemed his best option would be to lower his processing capabilities, as much as that would hurt project times. Maybe he could follow Suns’s line of thinking…
He queued up another simulation, factoring in diverting power from the old city’s reserves and generators. The scale was lower than newer designs, but as long as the lines were intact he could have his scavengers move the cables. He queued up additional simulations for each stage of generator failure, in increments of 2 percent total output. He needed options.
Harassment felt the gravity in his chamber fluctuate as he mentally stretched himself, shaking off the deep ache. He was getting tired more frequently. He felt like he was running thin, but diagnostics reported no resource deficiencies. Perhaps he’d need to program a diagnostic tool for his diagnostic tool.
The thought made him feel even more tired.
The Iterator found themself staring into their chamber for several long seconds, pondering this. Pearls floated by, carrying data of dozens of half-worked projects and future plans. He wondered, for a moment, if he could sleep; if like his messengers he could simply lay down, dormant, and rest for a time. Perhaps the perspective would help, perhaps that sort of change could aid in reaching a conclusion to the Great Problem-
His chamber flashed red as an alert came up in the Local Group.
Chatlog_LocalGroup
[LIVE BROADCAST - Archiving] PUBLIC GROUP (CHASERSOFDESTINY)
Five_Pebbles is online.
Alert received: TRIPLE AFFIRMATIVE CONFIRMED
Sourced: FP_ROOT
No_Significant_Harassment is online.
Seven_Red_Suns is online.
Unparalleled_Innocence is online.
Chasing_Winds is online.
NSH: What?
SRS: Pebbles!?
UI: What is the meaning of this, Five Pebbles?
CW: This had better not be a joke.
Warning: User Connection Unstable.
FP: P̴̹̐l̵̘͘e̴͔̒ạ̶̈́-̴̩͊ ̷͍͘l̸̲̾e̷̢͆a̸͕̓-̴͕̊l̵̳̉e̴͇̅a̷̛͜-̸̤̿l̸̪̇ë̶͎a̸̩̒s̸͆ͅe̵͉͆.̵̝̉
FP: -̶͕͛e̴̩͠n̵̘̋d̶͇̂ ̵̺̑e̸̪͐l̵̯̒-̷͎̂ě̷̪ḷ̸̐-̴̪̾e̷͈̋l̷͍͛p̷̰̐!̷̜̓
FP: -̵o̴r̵t̴ ̸ ̷ ̵ ̷ ̵u̶r̴p̴o̸s̸e̷d̵ ̸o̷r̵g̴a̵n̵-̴a̴n̴-̷a̴n̷-̸a̶n̷ ̷n̸t̷ ̷ ̶ ̴ ̶ ̸a̸m̴b̷e̷r̸-̷e̶r̶s̸!̵
FP: ̶o̷o̷-̷o̷o̷-̷o̸i̸d̸ ̷f̶l̵z̵z̶z̷z̷k̶-̵ ̴u̸n̸i̸c̶a̸t̷i̴o̸n̵s̸ ̸w̷i̸t̴h̴ ̷t̵h̸e̸e̶e̷e̶e̵e̵e̴e̵-̶y̷ ̴s̴t̷r̴u̷c̴t̵u̸r̵e̶!̶
FP: ̶c̷a̴n̵ ̵k̶i̸l̵l̷ ̸m̷e̶e̴e̵e̴-̶f̷e̵e̵l̷ ̸i̴t̷-̶i̵t̴-̷t̶i̸-̵a̶n̴'̷t̸ ̶s̸t̷o̶p̸ ̶i̷t̴!̴
FP: ̸P̷l̷e̴a̶-̶l̸e̴a̷-̶l̸e̴a̵-̶e̴a̵s̴e̷,̴ ̴I̷-̴
FP: ̶-̶o̴n̴'̶t̶ ̸w̵a̵n̵t̷ ̷t̶o̴ ̷d̶i̵e̴ ̵a̶l̵o̷-̶o̷-̷o̵-̶o̸-̴o̶-̸o̵-̸o̸-̵
Five_Pebbles has lost connection.
Retrying in 30 seconds…
CW: I’m not sure…
SRS: The lockdown just dropped.
SRS: Pebbles’s can just went dark.
NSH: I’m trying to force a broadcast, it won’t connect.
SRS: I’m sending in all of my overseers.
UI: It’s probably his sickness getting to his processes.
SRS: Stop.
SRS: We don’t know that.
UI: He has been degrading even since before Moon fell.
NSH: Unparalleled Innocence, this is not a time to hypothesize.
NSH: We need to find out what’s happening, now.
UI: His communications array is undamaged.
UI: I had an overseer nearby watching.
SRS: It could be damaged in the connections leading to his structure.
SRS: Sig, is there anything you can do with Seniority to help?
NSH: I’m looking.
NSH: I’m trying.
NSH: I can’t get through.
Seven_Red_Suns is away.