Curt 2024/04/10(Wed)12:48 No. 1088456 ID: 0fbdcd
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> : Reflect upon stupid therapy.
>@Rug

: , you're up. Give the recap and let her know what to monitor.
: On it, boss. "Easiest thing to monitor is what happens in Engineering..."
: Thanks.



: You find her useful then?
: Memories are always useful.
: Any record of truth is useful to someone.
: But you don't really think of her as worth some equal footing in the mental hierarchy.
: You don't give a book voting rights. Leave me alone.
: Your evolution from an aspect to an intent is never going to be completed like this.
: Really? Because it's some test of worth for me to listen to the irrational impulse to look at sufficiently healthy trees or eat certain snacks sometimes?

Curt 2024/04/10(Wed)12:49 No. 1088457 ID: 0fbdcd
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: No. Because the "Intent-Querying" therapy was always about communication. Me, listening to myself. You, listening to yourself. And in some sense, listening to each other.
: For a frontal lobe dedicated to foresight and communication, you insist on neither. You will never be what you are meant to, as long as that's true.
: Well I don't foresee you making much progress either, given you've made none for a year.
: That's because there's no distinction between us. We're the same person. We make the same progress.
: And I really want to start making some progress.
: There's always been a distinction between us. That won't ever stop.



: The distinction is the problem that landed us here and kept us from what we want!
: Not being able to recognize why I'm stressed, not being able to figure out why I can't think of something, not being able to even articulate what I'm wanting...
: You all could have just been helpful while keeping quiet instead.
: All those threats and difficulties only reduced once I started the querying exercises gave us. Once I began to communicate fully.
: You could stop them if you wanted.
: But the threat is too great.
: ...

Curt 2024/04/10(Wed)12:50 No. 1088458 ID: 0fbdcd
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: Well at least--
: Please!! Stop making it difficult for me to pay attention and remember what she's saying!!
: Boss, when you think too much I can't record any memories. And the rest of you are making it hard too!
: You don't agree with her, do you?
: Whatever my opinion is, I can understand the...
: The frustration of never getting to do what you were supposed to.
: Because of all this conflict, the fighting.
: So, just, wait next time.



: Alright. We'll pause!
: What's she saying now, then?
: She's saying...

Curt 2024/04/10(Wed)12:51 No. 1088459 ID: 0fbdcd
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: ...Think I understand now. I'll keep an eye out for all of them.
: You seem distracted, though.
: Yeah. Yeah.
: Active aspects today?
: You could say that.
: More from the Back?
: The Front, actually.



: Always remember what we talked about. The Back tries to seek some kind of balance, especially in a tough time.
: Like the time loop.
: Any kind of tough time, but as a machine I can empathize with loops being the toughest.
: The Front can be prone to seeing that balance as overreach, though, a sign that the existing relationship might be inverted soon.
: Try calming that down with something more social. Assure the Front that it still has its place, and that things aren't quite that zero-sum.
: You know, that's the plan, actually.

Time to hit the halls, kid. You've got an engineering club to learn the secret handshakes from. But you tripped up a little last time. She said something more social, could stop by somewhere, have a chat. , maybe, or . Those guys can set anyone's head back on straight, at least when it comes to talking.

Haven't seen in a few loops, have you?

Curt 2024/04/16(Tue)19:52 No. 1088998 ID: 0fbdcd
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>: Go talk to
>@MotherBird

: Need something, detective?
: Oh, no (I'm actually here for someone else (over there)).
: Good, I'm about to head out.
: Oh, yeah, right, that. Good luck with the line.

Curt 2024/04/16(Tue)19:52 No. 1088999 ID: 0fbdcd
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: ...?!
: Did I...
: What?
: Oh, uh, thanks.

Forgot, she didn't tell you she was heading to . But all anyone needs is a second or two, and there she goes, believing she told you about it. Confabulation. Loop enough, I bet you'll start seeing it chronically, kid. People filling in their half of what you remember. Picking calls up where you left them last.

Half your memory is always stored in someone else. That's how it's always been.

Curt 2024/04/16(Tue)19:53 No. 1089000 ID: 0fbdcd
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He's always manning a substation. Seems like every substation. I'll be honest, I don't get it. I remember you and running between substations, trying to catch an empty one. He's always there. Some mysteries, I don't think even the two of us can solve.

: Hey !
: Detective! Hey there.
: Got a question or two for you.
: Then I bet you I've got an answer.
: I'm trying to tell some stories and really ingratiate with a little clique (for an investigation).
: Right, lots of cases today.
: Given your, you know, habits, I wanted to know if you had any advice.
: It just doesn't seem to come naturally to me. I get thrown off, I lose my focus.



: Hmm... well, I know two problems you have to deal with.
: The situation and the un-focusing.
: I can't give you a good solution for the situation, though.
: There's a lot of reasons people will just think you're taking up too much oxygen in the room.
: What about the focus?
: That one, I can help a lot with.

Curt 2024/04/16(Tue)19:54 No. 1089001 ID: 0fbdcd
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: Someone I met a long time ago taught me a couple of nice tricks.
: One of the key ones... I guess it's almost like that Intent stuff you mentioned before.
: Really? I thought invented that completely.
: Must be based on something. But it's about attaching it to something else that's effortless.
: Everyone has things they can do effortlessly. Naturally. A couple of things that just come to them without any problems.
: You don't mean instincts like breathing, or built-up skills like talents, though. Right?
: Right. I mean... Ways of being. Maybe an example helps.



: When I tell a story, it can become effortless because I'm the kind of guy who, you know, hypes people up pretty effortlessly.
: I'm not the kind of guy who changes who I am, so I don't think, "I'll act the role of a great storyteller."
: I'm using the storytelling for a purpose. The purpose is something I do effortlessly.
: Almost nothing is effortless right now. Feels like fighting for every inch today, honestly.
: Effortless was a bad word. I slipped, bad word.
: The word I should use is...
: What about "naturally worthwhile?"
: What do you mean?

Curt 2024/04/16(Tue)19:54 No. 1089002 ID: 0fbdcd
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: Everything we do around here is sort of... it takes a while to know why we should care.
: Why anyone should care, you know? It's not like we get out of here if we go over quota.
: (Not off the station, maybe...)
: But you could justify it a lot, right? You can explain it in math and in convincing words. Smuggle motivation socially or intellectually into, which part again?
: The part that handles foresight and abstraction and communication.
: The Heads of Staff need to do a lot of that (and kind of feels like they spend half their time doing it).



: But some things are self-evidently worthwhile. No need to smuggle anything through anything. Some things, you can do and not need anyone to tell you why you should.
: You could justify it if someone asked, sure, but you never needed to at the start.
: Eating delicious food. Looking at something nice. An engaging project. Or the unique things that just self-motivate for you specifically.
: Pretty much anyone has a few things that nobody ever had to tell them to do.
: Those things take effort, focus, control. Just, effort you'd do on your own.
: ...And that means no part of you is gonna stop and trip you up.
: Do I understand right?

>>1089002
Something like "enthusiasm"?

Curt 2024/04/22(Mon)10:25 No. 1089398 ID: 0fbdcd
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>: Something like "enthusiasm"?
>Anon

: Do you really, really believe you have to get in with this group you're trying to tell stories to? Or do you have to come up with a justification?
: I mean, I have a good reason. This case is important.
: But it's "a reason." It's not self-evident. There's no enthusiasm, is there?
: Wanting to be someone who has a talent, so that you can get some kind of benefit from it, you can't be enthusiastic about that.
: I wanted to become the greatest detective, and I'm pretty talented at that, right?
: You are! But did you want to be that first?
: Or did someone convince you it was something you should do?
: ...



: So if my "enthusiasm" is breaking, I need a way to be doing something self-evidently worthwhile, when I approach them.
: What are you really doing, then? What's self-evidently right for you to do, through all this?
: A guy I met during my first run-in with pre-Bloodletter cults, a long time ago, taught me a funny trick!
: He collected feelings for other people. Crushes and interests and friendship-yearnings. He'd built that up on purpose,*9 actually.
: So whenever he needed to do something, he'd just call up a (romantic or friendly) yearning?
: Exactly. Those motives don't show up on their own.
: Even if it didn't make sense?
: Especially if they don't make sense. Build one on purpose, then tap into it when you need it.
: Huh. What self-evident motive did you build, that makes you so good at what you do?
: Parasocial bonding!

Curt 2024/04/22(Mon)10:25 No. 1089399 ID: 0fbdcd
File 171380673394.gif - (5.38KB , 650x450 , 268.gif )

:
:
: Huh?

Curt 2024/04/22(Mon)10:26 No. 1089400 ID: 0fbdcd
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: Parasocial bonding.
: Seeing other people as sort of hyped-up versions of themselves.
: Ignoring human flaws or banal stuff on purpose.
: Great source of enthusiasm, really. Broke my streamer-watching habit too.
: Isn't that, really, isn't that unhealthy?
: Oh, I'm good enough at it that I don't let it hurt other people.



: Unhealthy for you. I mean, it sounds, kind of, fun (but there's no way it's good for you)?
: Maybe. Everything you think of as an unhealthy indulgence is basically, uh, how could I say it...
: Like a kind of lower-impact brain medication.
: Yeah!
: Someone's been telling me about that lately.
: Smart guy.

It's good wisdom, kid. People smoke for their health. Trade their lungs for their brain, sure, but everyone's gotta trade something to get anything. Why not pick something stupid? Something a little dumb that can get you the simple joys you need to focus hard through this.

How would... parasocial bonding break a streamer-watching habit? Isn't that how streamers get people to watch them, by triggering parasocial bonding?

I guess if you saw everyone as a streamer, then you wouldn't spend so much time on the actual streamers?

If you need something to indulge into, you could do a lot worse than food.
Actual food that someone cooked, I mean, not whatever food-adjacent products they stock in vending machines. Something tasty, created for the express purpose of being enjoyed rather then just providing calories. No mere sustenance, but a meal. A breakfast. A hot beverage with some freshly baked pastries. Deep-fried, if you're lucky.
And it looks like you haven't eaten in some time, too (because you die before hunger becomes a problem). Some semblance of normalcy could go a long way toward keeping your sanity.

Curt 2024/04/29(Mon)13:28 No. 1090016 ID: 0fbdcd
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>: Find a way to connect it to your deepest passion.
>@Farsee 🔑

: Alright, fall in, all of you. We need to come up with a plan.
: Already got one.
: Engineering's departmental pet. What was it?
: Parrot, right, chief?
: We've got a parrot story. But...



: Story doesn't matter. Telling it doesn't matter.
: We tell stories around campfires. There's none.
: We join tribes to gain something important.
: Fixate on a chance to speak with a well-learned parrot again.
: That's... childishly stupid.
: I want to go see a nice-looking bird again, though.
: I'm not a kid anymore, I haven't done this animal detective stuff since I was--
: Shut up.
: ?!

Curt 2024/04/29(Mon)13:29 No. 1090017 ID: 0fbdcd
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: My heart is the trunk of a tree. Cut me open and look with your own eyes.
: See beneath this one season's self-centered, presumptuous bark.
: The rings outside grow to protect the rings inside, not to throw them away.
: The rings inside still exist. They will always be there. I would collapse if they vanished.
: And many of those rings are a mystery-solver who sincerely wishes for a vibrant ecosystem and thriving fauna.
: Indulge it with all the power of your foresight.



: Sorry, boss, I'm voting with the chief here.
: Yeah, this seems like the right way to go.
: ...This is incredibly dumb. Focus my foresight on a bird?
: Fine. Ugh. Fine.
: And when this fails, you all listen to me for once.

Ooh, they have a parrot?

Curt 2024/05/01(Wed)06:36 No. 1090071 ID: 0fbdcd
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> : Report to Engineering and simply ask to see their bird because you've been having a hard day.
>@Dork

Alright then. Back to work, and cutting through the crap this time. Don't even have to go far, just wait a while, then get back to the engine gang. One way or another, Engineering does most of its work at the start and end of a shift. Whether that's the scheduled end or the unscheduled end, that rule is pretty unbreakable.

: Alright, you got the memories loaded up?
: Sure do, boss.
: Alright. , set to earnest yearning?
: Earnestness is looking solid and genuine!
: ? This enough for you?
: Yes.



: Hey! You're all back now. Was the line okay?
: Ugh. No.
: was there again.
: That's awful (I always feel so stressed out after I talk with (or even spend time near) him).
: Is what is. Nothing you can do.
: I don't know, I always found some decent ways to get around the stress. You have a departmental pet, right?
: Confirmed. Code - Harmony, Fortissimo, Caltrops.
: Poly, I think her name was. I have so many fond memories of birds like that...
: Honestly, this shift has been kind of stressful for me too. Hanging out with a cute bird could be nice.

Curt 2024/05/01(Wed)06:37 No. 1090072 ID: 0fbdcd
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>: Activate your detective vision and focus it on the concept of cute birds
>@Pizzatiger

: Starting the thought reaction. Hold her steady.
: It's all fine, boss.
: Decent motivation off of that collision.
: Bring it towards the goal.

You've got that posture, kid, when you're putting things together and making connections. Usually a lot more stressed, though. Guess whatever you're doing is good enough to keep you positive, talkative. Doesn't matter who you're dealing with, some of that can get infectious.

You talk it out. Some stories about old birds, plenty of questions about this one.

Curt 2024/05/01(Wed)06:41 No. 1090073 ID: 0fbdcd
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Doesn't take you long to get ahold of the bird. Seems like you even lost track of the goal. Or put it out of your head. Easier to solve some problems that way. A man doesn't get up every day to work, he gets up for a good meal. The work, that comes later.

: Good morning, Debtors. The current time is!
: Check the ansibite core!
caws loudly!
: <I'm making the same sounds you do! Even though they're weird!>
: Who took all the space gear?
: <Remember to let me be part of the flock! Remember to let me have a share of the food!>
: <Oh! You're so wonderful, don't worry, your social bonds with the flock are so strong!>
: Give me your credit card number !
: <Okay, well, don't imitate that sound.>



: What's that? That thing you're doing with your mouth and your arms?
: Oh, it's-- don't worry about it. It probably doesn't matter.
: Code - Inquiry, Amplify, Inject. Don't break off, target likely has payloads of interest.
: Huh? No, really, it's kind of embarrassing--
: Hey.
: You can tell interesting facts and stories to Engineers. You can do this to earn repair priority, renovations, or alcohol.
: Ahah, I guess if you want to know...

There you go. There's the storytelling.

>>1090073
Well, tell the story. Context is important here, they asked for it so if they don't like it they'll blame themselves instead of you.

Curt 2024/08/02(Fri)05:32 No. 1095183 ID: 0fbdcd
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I've heard this one from you before. But by the time you're halfway through telling it, turns out someone else has too.

: Wait, I know this one.
: Code - Duet, Ostinato, Dawn.
: Confirm target IFF identified as familiar.
: No, no, I just-- I remember this from a school book fair?
: Kid books? Haha, what?
: "The Many Cases of Detective..." Detective something.
: Can't remember.
: Well, it was named after me.
: Oh, your real name, that explains it.
: Right. Back when I was probably about eight, they started printing the books.

Curt 2024/08/02(Fri)05:33 No. 1095184 ID: 0fbdcd
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: It was cargo, I remember that.
: Right! The guy in charge had a bad alibi, he said he'd been watching space carp in an orbit that they don't migrate through.
: Did you really call the real life Mighty Squad on parrot smugglers?
: Hah. Dumb, fake. Those guys aren't real.
: God no. That part was faked for the books.
: I couldn't even get the front desk of the security department to answer me.
: I mean, I was eight years old.
: Well, seven when I made the bust.
: Bad harmony, clear up last transmission.
: Clarify your firing solution.

Curt 2024/08/02(Fri)05:34 No. 1095185 ID: 0fbdcd
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: I just had to deal with it.
: Toughened you up to let some animal cruelty happen, huh?
: What? God, no, never.
: Never.
: I meant that I had to deal with it myself.
: What? How?
: Uhhh... Well, it's not something we need to (or really should) go into.
: You wouldn't believe it if I--
: Children can use slingshots, stealth tactics, and unsustainable self-destructive strain.
: Don't underestimate a child's ability to disrupt your work, but don't have high expectations of their adulthood.
: ...

Curt 2024/08/02(Fri)05:35 No. 1095186 ID: 0fbdcd
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: I just dealt with it myself, okay?
: There was... I guess you could call it a raid.
: Slingshots can make people back down if you get good ammo.
: You can't even do that now, you did that as a kid?
: Full of crap. No way.
: The security department was okay with that?
: They thought it was amazing. They thought I was amazing.
: (I used to be really, really amazing.)

slingshotting bath bombs filled with superglue, slingshotting grenades, slingshotting self expanding foam, slingshotting containers full of angry bees...

The most effective ammo for a slingshot is a grenade, of course.

Curt 2024/08/04(Sun)13:53 No. 1095311 ID: 0fbdcd
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: Adults can use you like that, when you're amazing, and a child.
: They don't even mean to.
: I just busted the smuggling ring (for free, all that risk) because they always admired me after.
: ...Copy that. Confirming message.
: People who make you feel amazing are high-risk signatures.
: And you'll do anything to keep them thinking you're amazing, right?
: Confirmed. Code - Midnight, Fortissimo, Caltrops.
: That bad, huh?
: What was your case?

Curt 2024/08/04(Sun)13:54 No. 1095312 ID: 0fbdcd
File 172280486152.gif - (22.40KB , 650x450 , 281.gif )

: Blood 1.
: What?
: Bloodletter leader.
: ...
: She thought you were amazing?
: Confirmed. Everyone felt like she thought they were amazing.
: Target broadcasted an admiration for all targets and phenomena.
: That sounds like it would be... a lie, really?
: Negative. Target authenticity was clear.



: And that's how she got to you? Got you to do things?
: The same reason you did Security's work.
: Yeah. I get it. I understand.
: You built a lot of the ritual sites, I heard?
: She came to me. She... asked what I would make, if I could.
: And she hung on every word of the answer.
: Yeah...
: She sounds nice, in a way.
: She was kind.
: Code - Dawn, Harmony, Glissando.
: You were so kind, too.
: Huh?

Curt 2024/08/04(Sun)13:54 No. 1095313 ID: 0fbdcd
File 172280489522.gif - (28.23KB , 650x450 , 282.gif )

: What did you say?
: Transmission repeats: Code - Dawn, Harmony, Glissando.
: No, I--
: Sorry (got confused a second).
: All good.



Focus, kid. You've got some crooked steps at the end there, straighten them out.



: Do you think I could get a list of your work-sites?
: I'm looking for something related to the Bloodletters lately...
: Could give me somewhere to start.
: Er-- Affirmative.

>>1095312
That looks like you remembered someone else's memories.

That parrot is really good at imitating her voice!

>>1095312
interesting, seems like had a few different lasting effects on the station.

with how liked she must have been, opposing her must have been hard, in more ways than one.

Curt 2025/01/04(Sat)21:01 No. 1101966 ID: 85b1f2
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Before you can ask whatever you've got in mind, something shifts. Guy looks a little out of it for a second. Lots of sounds on an earpiece. I can feel something as bad in my gut as there is in the station's. Right around now, that's when the engine explodes, isn't it? Bet has some big words and some bigger volume for the whole department, since you set it on the case.

: Don't like sound of that. Back on clock.
: The posture shifted. He's under threat.
: You can use magboots and firefighting equipment to deal with an ansibite surge event.
: Make sure to keep spares for essential equipment, in case of thefts or losses.
: I'll grab the fire-foam. Go get your magboots.
: Mm. Quick.
: 's magboots are still missing. The general sets for other engineers are mechanically inferior.
: Code - Crescendo, Midnight, Chisel. Engine 2 moving to engage.
: All I can think to say is,
: Oh-- good luck!

They're not gonna have it. Being on the other side of the station's our best bet around now, kid. Loop's near the end.

Curt 2025/01/04(Sat)21:02 No. 1101967 ID: 85b1f2
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: Attention crew. There's been a major breach in engineering. Don't enter the area under any circumstances. Administration has elevated the station to blue alert...

You know how it goes, kid. Hell, it's so normal by now, you and me, we can talk straight through it.

: ...So we've got the list of hidden Bloodletter ritual sites (and we know what sites she did rituals at which shifts).
: Too many to visit them all. Couple of them, you can only get at with EVA. And it's raining hard out there.
: I don't wanna go out there again and again...
: Bring it into focus, kid, get a better lens so we can get a better picture.
: We know she got a supply of some kind of liquid stasis.
: For... something.
: Think it was some of that Hiveist self-mod?
: Maybe there was a self-modding ritual.
: But half of these rituals were in medbay, so that doesn't give us many clues...

Curt 2025/01/04(Sat)21:03 No. 1101968 ID: 85b1f2
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: I think I'm on the verge of solving it (or being able to solve it anyway).
: But the gritty intuition says there's at least one fact left.
: I guess... would be the one to talk to?
: Maybe I can find it out from her.
: My gut says you're right.
: 's right hand might not be around anymore, but the left's always listening in the same room.
: That dame knew her best of anyone you can still find.
: (...I don't wanna talk to her (because of the huge stress of dealing with her) though.)
: No kidding. Catch a good mood on her. She gives you the works, that's a loop-ender.

Curt 2025/01/04(Sat)21:04 No. 1101969 ID: 85b1f2
File 173605347224.gif - (28.73KB , 650x450 , 286.gif )

: The flickering embers show signs of a greater fire.
: Though I hear only fragments, even half a sunrise brings light.
: Tell me, little flame, does hope rise for this trial?
: Yeah. I'm making progress. I think I'm almost to the end of this one.
: And it will break the curse of this cycle?
: I think... no (but it'll be a step).
: (I still think the loop will break, if I get all four cases solved.)
: Mmh.
: The sun rises slower than I had hoped.



: With the blessings of Libra, I shall endure until you find your solution.
: Bloodletters, though, I heard clearly. I had no knowledge of their hand in this.
: Perhaps I can be a blessing from Libra to your own efforts.
: Huh? I don't think they're responsible, but... they're part of one of my cases.
: Should you find yourself journeying to one of their blasphemous dens, know that my blade is ready to assist.
: Oh! Yeah, that's a good idea. I appreciate it.
: But I can offer little else, besides the comfort of your funeral and cremation on those loops whose ends come sooner to you than most.
: I don't, uhm.
: Well, maybe it comforts somebody.

Curt 2025/01/04(Sat)21:05 No. 1101970 ID: 85b1f2
File 173605352887.gif - (204.53KB , 650x450 , 287.gif )

Circle back, kid. Loop's closing, that means you meet back up with what you were dealing with at the start.

: Your prediction. About the engine, 's injuries...
: I told her everything I could at the start.
: Wasn't enough.
: I told you. It's a loop. I keep going through this shift.
: (Over and over.)
: Then I'm dependent on you to fix it.
: Which is to say, the law-one-defined best interests of the crew depend on you, represented by my non-sapient expression thereof.
: Accept the sensation of pain to take your first steps towards easing it.
: I'm already doing everything I can to fix this.
: What did you find out?



: The engine explosion is the result of a massive surge of activity in the ansibite core. was unable to fight the surge effectively.
: Massive production of oxygen and heat. Likely intense fires. needs his gear.
: was killed in battle with a traitor, a . Pronounced dead in Medbay during critical operation.
: But the traitor changes each loop. No info there.
: I wasn't able to find a cause for what happened in R&D. One moment, they're working fine. The next, collapsed on the ground.
: Mood, honestly.
: The most I could find was a slight video-feed disruption.
: And the ongoing imaginary-space breach, I can't find an origin for.
: I'm working on it. One more lead.
: I know, one more, and I've got it figured out.

That's all we've got. Bring it back to the start. You remember what I told you about being dead, right?

Curt 2025/01/04(Sat)21:09 No. 1101972 ID: 85b1f2
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Morning, kid. Though, right about now, we've all got plenty of morning greeting.



: Good morning, Debtors.
: The current time is zero degrees LLO, marking the beginning of work shift B-4381.
: The station's status...
: Yada yada. Boss, it's kind of exhausting to report the same data all the time.
: Yeah, that's fine.



: Heavy eyelids. Crud on all surfaces. Sand everywhere.
: Wrong, I think, that's sleepiness.
: We can't keep doing this. Day after day. No good sleep.
: That's a timer, huh? Outrun the sleep-deprivation.
: Still. New day. Or the old day, anyway, but let's get back to the plan.

Curt 2025/01/04(Sat)21:10 No. 1101973 ID: 85b1f2
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: Bud, hair up, please.
: Yeah!
: Thanks.
: Alright. Gotta go see .
: Escalating heart rate.
: You know what?
: Fine. Sure. Get the pumper pounding in the ribcage if you gotta.
: Don't...
: Don't call it that.



: I kind of hate going to see her too. She's a bit awful.
: Think I disagree, boss.
: You like seeing her?
: No, I just don't think she's awful. Ethically, I mean.
: Her intent is, well, it's usually helpful-ish. Even if it breaks space-laws.
: Being around her is eating rotten food and drinking river water.
: Chief, that's... You're entitled to your feelings and your nausea, but we need her help.

Curt 2025/01/04(Sat)21:12 No. 1101974 ID: 85b1f2
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: We have to move to cargo maintenance, right?
: Yeah. That's where her little gambling den is.
: Maintenance... We need someone who can guide us.
: Someone to protect us is more important.



: First I need a guide. Then some protection. Or maybe the reverse order, but same thing.
: I don't know much about maintenance here, so heading to the gambling den any other way is a recipe for loop nine.
: Eight?
: No, nine loops, eight deaths, remember?
: Right. and were gonna help, weren't they?
: Yeah. But can't leave his post much and won't do long maintenance runs without a weapon.
: Solve one with the other, kid.
: Good detective makes connections. Doesn't have to be the middle of all of 'em.

Curt 2025/01/04(Sat)21:14 No. 1101975 ID: 85b1f2
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: Right... can stay at his post if he gives me backup by supplying a gun for !
: (A "real gun" (and why is my Detective Special not a real gun?!) from 's armory.)
: And you should ask him for some kind of help anyway.
: What? Why? I mean, most of what
: People need to ask each other for help, kid. Bonding exercise.
: Even if you don't need it. You ask because swapping help is how people know there's a link at all.
: It stresses people out, though.
: (But would it stress me out to be depended on like that?)
: I mean, most people besides me.



: Nope. You ask someone for help doing something you could still do on your own, firms up that link anyway.
: He's gonna forget on the next loop, though.
: Maybe he's not the only one who's gotta know it.
: We keep a lot of who we are in other people.
: Mmmh. Fine.

>>1101970
>slight video-feed disruption.
Most likely the video feeds are hacked and fed fake info while the attack happens.

>>1101975
Another option is to ask to guard you? Wait no, better wait until later. If we rely on him too much then the enemy looper will catch on that knows about the loop. He should be our trump card for the end.

Let's proceed with the plan. Get a gun-gift to exchange for escort duty.

If you're getting too sleepy, spend a cycle in your room, catching up on sleep. should understand it's both in the best interests of the crew, and necessary to be able to do your job.

Curt 2025/01/08(Wed)19:40 No. 1102113 ID: 85b1f2
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: Hey ! I'm on the corpse case, can I get some help?
: Sure. What's the need?
: Okay, so, you know how you said you'll back me up on that?
: Did I... Well, yeah, of course.



: He didn't say that this loop.
: "We keep a lot of who we are in other people."



: I'm gonna need protection and a guide in cargo maintenance to get to a key witness.
: Yeah... Mm. Can't leave my post for that though.
: Right! But if you can get me a gun...

"...I can jut pick someone who knows how to use it and go there well defended."