Chapter Text
[Lingering Whispers' archives - Violet pearl]
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Excerpt from an opening statement of Eight Steps beyond Deep Rivers, Count of no living blocks, Counselor of 18, Leader of the Society of Silent Dustfall, from his debate with Grey Bricks in Dawn Light, of the House of Beads, Count of 5 living blocks, Counselor of 8.
I urge you, my neighbors, to look at the sky. To see the heavy wall of clouds that separates us from the ever unchanging celestial spheres.
I urge you, my neighbors, to look at the ground. The shifting soil, the surging rivers. Our cities' foundations crack and give way. The ancient temples beset by the sea of grime and mud. Covered. Buried. Forgotten. Gone are the layers of dust, noble signifiers of the passage of time. Replaced by the dirt, writhing, flowing with each downpour.
I urge you, my neighbors, to think of the future. How are we supposed to leave the cycle, if the world is moving, shifting, changing, our prison following us whenever we try to escape?
[LIVE BROADCAST] - PRIVATE Eleven Branches, An Empty Set
EB: I am not sure if I should bother you with this at all, but...
AES: Please do bother me with any and every problem you might have. I find the boredom unbearable.
EB: If you say so.
EB: Ever since the last inhabitants of my city have... departed, I thought it would lay still and unmoving, only the wind and the rain slowly eroding the infrastructure.
EB: But...
EB: My overseers have reported unexpected damage to some of the buildings.
EB: I'm sure it's nothing.
AES: If you were sure, we wouldn't be having this conversation~
AES: Tell me more about this mysterious citizen of yours. What did they damage? How much? I assume your overseers haven't managed to spot them directly.
EB: A few buildings in the living blocks. They smashed some windows and broke some furniture.
EB: Stole things, too.
AES: Are the gardens alright?
EB: Yes, thankfully.
AES: That's good. What did they steal?
EB: Food, mainly. Anything that hasn't gone bad in the few cycles, and some things that have. I'm worried. Some of the things they took may have become dangerous to ingest.
AES: That probably rules out one of your citizens somehow surviving the mass ascension. They would know better.
EB: I was afraid you would say so. I know it's unreasonable, but I held hope nonetheless.
AES: I'm sorry.
EB: I'm sorry too.
AES: I can ask Cloth if she can purpose an organism to snoop around your city and catch the intruder.
EB: That is a good idea. Thank you.
AES: No problem!
[LIVE BROADCAST] - PUBLIC GROUP [STONESINTHEOCEAN] An Empty Set, Lingering Whispers, Two Golden Dots
AES: Do you ever think about why the world isn't filled to the brim with creatures?
LW: Isn't it?
AES: No, I mean, yes, but not in that way.
AES: If everything that dies wakes up again, and also new creatures are born, wouldn't we be swimming in a writhing sea of biomass by now?
LW: But the purposed organisms do not reproduce.
LW: The only reproducing species have just dealt with overpopulation in their own radical way.
TGD: That's a polite way of saying "ditched us for the rain and wind to slowly disassemble".
LW: ...
AES: I've been sending my overseers pretty far into the bogs lately.
AES: And I've noticed several species caring for their young.
TGD: Wow, it seems like our benefactors were even more careless than I thought they were.
LW: Golden.
TGD:What? What exactly am I doing wrong by not watching my words anymore? Who's going to punish me for it?
AES: You're not wrong, Golden, but your frustration seeps into every conversation. I'd say it's a bit...
AES: Unproductive.
TGD: I would say you are underreacting.
AES: You know I miss my citizens too. Well, most of them. I just can't bring myself to be agitated for more than ten cycles in a row. Especially about something I can't change.
AES: Anyways, I think my ideas might provide a distraction for you both~
TGD: ...
TGD: I'm leaving.
LW: ...
LW: Will he be alright?
AES: It's nice to see you do care about him~
LW: Set, please...
AES: I know, I know, just teasing, sorry. I think it's better to leave him alone for a bit. I'll talk to him later.
LW: Thank you.
LW: So, creatures?
AES: Yes! I'm not sure exactly what to think of it though.
AES: Maybe we will get buried in creatures in a couple thousand cycles.
LW: I doubt this will be the case.
LW: Think of the times before the void fluid revolution and ecosystem control. Before purposed organisms, even. Things reproduced, and this was never a major problem. I don't think something like extreme overpopulation would be left out of even the most basic records.
AES: You're right.
AES: Maybe the ecosystems self-regulate somehow... The creatures stop reproducing when a certain number is reached.
AES: I need to conduct more experiments. Thanks for your input!
LW: No problem. Do inform me of the results.
LW: ...
LW: And do talk to Two Golden Dots.