Cotta 2026/10/27(Tue)13:45 No. 1133471 ID: c65cd0
File 179310870219.png - (208.86KB , 800x600 , 8.png )

They moved me somewhere else. Everything is so yellow! Have aliens not discovered cheap white lights?

Cotta 2026/10/27(Tue)13:45 No. 1133472 ID: c65cd0
File 179310871315.png - (214.10KB , 800x600 , 9.png )

I'm not sure what to do now. But I do have some clearcut facts:
I have enough space to comfortably stand up.
I have enough space to walk around.
I'm surrounded by alien animals.
the television on the wall has weird shapes on it.
there's a food bowl and a water bowl.
And the door out doesn't look too complicated.

You are part of a zoo or reality tv program.

scrabble at the door as though it is too complicated. gotta put on a show so they keep thinking you're dumb

>>1133472
There's a camera watching you now. Be wary of doing anything like opening the exit door. They might decide to put you somewhere else if they think you can escape easily.

While you're here, let's talk to the other animals. They look fun. Getting to know them would be a big help for your future plans.

...What are your future plans? What was your life like before you were abducted? Do you have friends or family waiting for you at home?

it looks like they want to study you, best way to stick it to them is to act as an outlier and throw off any generalizations they can make about your species. so... do something youd never dare to do! dance a jig! pretend you have never seen a door before!

>>1133465
Hmm, the text isn't a simple cipher.
Both this and the food bowl have words with characters divisible by two, so that implies symbols translate via pairs, but that's not quite enough to figure it out easily. The food bowl should read "food", surely, yet the two middle pairs are different. Heck, ALL the symbols are different, if the two moon symbols aren't the same. The thickness of the crescent is noticeably different between the two, and the writing on the box has the first moon symbol very thin compared to the following ones, just like the moons on the food bowl.
Anyway, I'm guessing it's not meant to be cracked, unless I'm missing something.

>>1133467
Oh dear, this looks like a real conlang. Potentially translatable if we get enough repeated words with attached context clues.

>>1133472
Do you have much reason to escape? Like, do you have anything important back at home? Life as a pet can be pretty good if you get a good owner.

Have a taste of the food to see if you like it. Then check the television; do the shapes change at all? The more you learn about these aliens before trying to escape, the better your chances are. Especially since they'll increase security after the first failure.

Hmm, do the shapes on the television remind you of the aliens' faces at all?

You are being treated like a pet or dumb animal more than an intelligent/sapient being, and possibly being used for entertainment.

You can either play along with this, of flaunt your sapience/intelligence.

Intelligent actions:
- Find a reflective surface and make it clear you recognize your reflection. Inspect yourself for anyting weird they did (like your mask).
- Try to clean your mask (what significance does the mask have for you?).
- Try to remove your collar with something sharp rather than simply tugging it off. Or remove just the bell.
- Make a show of discomfort/distaste for the bright yellow light.
- Try to read the writing on the bowl or associate it to other writing present.
- Exercise a bit to pass time.
- Pet the... Bird... Thing?
- Eat food with an implement or tool rather than your bare hands. No need to be unhygenic, and who knows what diseases these aliens might have.
- See if there is anything to write with and isolate the symbols. Ypu can later see if the aliens can speak the symbols individually and then you can write it in your own script, and establish a mutual alphabet.

Insidiously stupid money-making scheme. What goes on in the heads of people with no fear of being eaten by the strange monsters they captured? And what goes on in the heads of the suckers who buy them?

Smash camera.

Clean your skull, there's stuff on it.

>>1133494
Smashing the camera may result in similarly violent rebuttal (or drugging).

Easier to just cover it with a piece of cloth or tie it in a bag.

First, wipe that stupid grin off your face with the water bowl.

Cotta 2026/10/28(Wed)23:05 No. 1133524 ID: c65cd0
File 179322870118.png - (213.59KB , 800x600 , 11.png )

>You are part of a zoo or reality tv program.
I guess this could be a zoo, but there aren't any windows and I don't think a videography camera could be clear enough. Also, What's a reality tv program?

>Insidiously stupid money-making scheme. What goes on in the heads of people with no fear of being eaten by the strange monsters they captured? And what goes on in the heads of the suckers who buy them?
Aliens already know a lot about us. They probably know we don't eat people. (plus, they are like twice as tall as me.)

>Have a taste of the food to see if you like it.
>Eat food with an implement or tool rather than your bare hands.
I can already tell that this is the really stupid food that falls out of your mouth when you try to eat it. You can only eat this stuff lying on your back. Aliens are stupid.

>let's talk to the other animals. They look fun. Getting to know them would be a big help for your future plans.
"Hey. What's your deal?"
...
They don't seem very talkative.

Cotta 2026/10/28(Wed)23:05 No. 1133525 ID: c65cd0
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>...What are your future plans? What was your life like before you were abducted? Do you have friends or family waiting for you at home?
>Do you have much reason to escape? Like, do you have anything important back at home? Life as a pet can be pretty good if you get a good owner.
Well, I was a low level engineer working on coupling vacuum tube radiometers to the gimble calculator on the Mk.6 lunar nuclear detonation probe, but in my freetime I was-
"Onsmeisme me sme, smeri s omreri si oernimere 'rnirnie omeomiem om, rnoeni orni?"
...Huh. It sounds like a broadcast coming over the television. But actually, I don't think this could be a television. The lines are too sharp. What's likely going on here is that this is a backprojection system connected to a reel of film at one end. The symbols move when it speaks, so it's probably some weird transcription system. But if it is a transcription system, that would mean that film wouldn't work-
"M'rrire. Oeomreri si smeris merernie omeom. Rne esmerneri r n rnio oe reni!"
It's speaking louder now. I think the alien speaking wants me to do something. uhhhhh... Standard greeting!
"Gak. Gak! Gak Gak Gak!"
"...Sioerni nse n rn, rere."
I think it's done?
It's probably done.

Cotta 2026/10/28(Wed)23:05 No. 1133526 ID: c65cd0
File 179322870903.gif - (156.33KB , 800x600 , gak.gif )

Anyway, the real issue is that if I don't get enough white light, I turn into a monster, and frankly, that seems inconvient. Well, technically, it's just the next stage of the life cycle, but it still sucks. You can't hold silverware, you have to become a vegetarian, you can only say 'GAK' (which is a useful word, but I digress) and you can't even sit in chairs anymore!

It really seems like I won't get any white light in here, so I have maybe like two weeks before it's irreversible.

>>1133526
Gather all the white things in the room together and make panicked motions towards the pile.

stack everything up

>>1133526
Try asking the television for white light. Directly. These aliens don't seem very smart so they might have thought your monosyllabic greeting meant you can't talk.

...wait why the heck was it speaking a different language from the aliens? The consonants were a totally different set.

If you can't get through to it, then I say get some food and drink in you while it's easily available (even though it's bad food) then grab whatever seems useful and leave the room. Which wouldn't be much, by the looks of things. If the bowls are made of a hard material you could take one for a bashing tool.

>>1133526
Start drawing or scratching tally lines representing prime numbers in order to demonstrate intelligence

The aliens seemed to know you needed white light earlier while you were caged. The fact they don't now is either an intentional act, or ignorance if you were passed to a third party (like say an entertainment business instead of alien researchers).

Any book or drawing materials around? If not, you'll have to ask for something equivalent to crayons other writing implements. Try to mime drawing motions with your hands at the camera. Or find something you can finger paint with and mimic drawing/painting/writing.

Once we get drawing material, you can draw a sequence of events depicting what will happen if you don't get white light in a non-ambiguous fashion as possible.

Panel one: A picture of you under a yellow light, and you under a white light. Possibly add multiple colors dots and make it clear which colors are being referred to.

Pnael two: The passage of time, marked by a sun or moon / day night cycle, and a simple number tally (with fingers or such)

Panel three: Your transformation under the yellow light, but remaining the same under a white light. Mark a preference for the 'not transform' part.

As for other communication, drawing an 'alphabet' of some kind would be useful, or simple numbering system. Other modes of communication could be universal physics constants, like the atomic composition of water and its temperature properties (freezing point, boiling point).

Do you lose your intelligence if you become a quadrapedal 'monster' or retain it? How does your life cycle work anyway?

>>1133574
Use the hard food.
The little pebbles.
If the bird tries to eat them, or the beetle does.
Eat the bird and bug.

Attempt to manipulate the door open!

Ask the TV for white light.

Try reciting and gesturing numbers (up to your species 'base number') to the computer screen. Use the food pebbles if necessary.

With any luck, the AI / computer face will figure out you're attempting to communicate.

Otherwise, its some serious logography you'll have to learn.

[1/10] Cotta 2026/11/03(Tue)04:33 No. 1133706 ID: c65cd0
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>Try asking the television for white light. Directly.
>Ask the TV for white light.

"Hey! Whoever's in charge: Gimme some white light!"

"Neoereeome omesme, emrnise omeomesme rnieomeom oereni! Re risi, Ern nsinniri rere e nrnerni e iomeoerne o emrirr ri re omeereni se nin?"

Okay. Let's hope that worked.

[2/10] Cotta 2026/11/03(Tue)04:33 No. 1133707 ID: c65cd0
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>Start drawing or scratching tally lines representing prime numbers in order to demonstrate intelligence
>Use the hard food. The little pebbles.

Yeah, I can try that-
Wait, did they tattoo my face?

[3/10] Cotta 2026/11/03(Tue)04:33 No. 1133708 ID: c65cd0
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>Do you lose your intelligence if you become a quadrapedal 'monster' or retain it? How does your life cycle work anyway?

Well, everyone hatches from an egg underground, then the sanʒe pushes you outside, your parents adopt you, take you inside a school for the next few years while you grow, then once you're an adult you're let outside again. Then, around forty years later, you shut yourself in, and become a sanʒe from the lack of sunlight. Then, you dig a hole or enter a cave, and join all the other sanʒe. The girl sanʒe lay eggs, the boy sanʒe fertilizes it, and the cycle repeats. We're pretty sure they're still smart, but it's hard to tell when they can't use tools or say anything other than "GAK."

"Smeneo, sme ne o. Smeris rnnmrini reoesnn smeris rn rnnneome nmrnioeri re. Sioermn rnioe rnirnerni s rm oe me nirnoe re rinenesme ris rn neemn."

[4/10] Cotta 2026/11/03(Tue)04:33 No. 1133709 ID: c65cd0
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It isn't washing off! They did tattoo me! Did they name me and tattoo my name onto my face? Aliens are bizarre!

[5/10] Cotta 2026/11/03(Tue)04:33 No. 1133710 ID: c65cd0
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>draw

Yeah, yeah. I got it. Let's see if this makes any sense.

"Rio, rnioe rni'rnee rmrnn rnirni sme momensen rn siesme rinernnrm rnn rnen re rnioe re nirmrnoe r n&mrirrm ri rne oe rni n resr i nrnrne. Oe rnernioe rniernes re eremermome e renrniri rnereerni rir? Eremeern nrneereʒn rne ereoereome rne?"

"Yeah, I need white light. WHITE. LIGHT."

"Oernernio e rnismeri s rn reern? white light?"

"Yes! White light! I need white light!"

"Oernesrne rm n mrnirnio n rnn'rnee roernes re me nrnrnerni e remeoere ninirioe re nirireon rnn."

[6/10] Cotta 2026/11/03(Tue)04:34 No. 1133711 ID: c65cd0
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>Attempt to manipulate the door open!

"Hey, baby. There's a million bucks behind you if you just open up a little."

"RniOERniOe RneENeSM OmOeReNi MeRiRiRn. OeOmReRiSi SmeRiSERn NReRiRni RniOERni RneRniSRm OeMe!"

It seems angry. Does the guy watching me hate flirting?

[7/10] Cotta 2026/11/03(Tue)04:34 No. 1133712 ID: c65cd0
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>If the bowls are made of a hard material you could take one for a bashing tool.

Yeah. It's probably about time for me to actually do something.

>These aliens don't seem very smart so they might have thought your monosyllabic greeting meant you can't talk.

I hadn't really thought about it, but I guess there probably would be some smarter and some dumber aliens.

[8/10] Cotta 2026/11/03(Tue)04:34 No. 1133713 ID: c65cd0
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>The aliens seemed to know you needed white light earlier while you were caged. The fact they don't now is either an intentional act, or ignorance if you were passed to a third party (like say an entertainment business instead of alien researchers).

That would make sense. Aliens probably have a bunch of different factions and such with different knowledge and skills. This... uh, zoo, I guess, looks a lot different from the space ship I was on before.

"Mesmen, rnerir n riren oernerni rimomene rernioe rnisrm. Oe merire'rni oesenrni ri, inmes rnen Oe'rereE Oe, isrni rnerir n riren oernerni ri."

[9/10] Cotta 2026/11/03(Tue)04:34 No. 1133714 ID: c65cd0
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>...wait why the heck was it speaking a different language from the aliens? The consonants were a totally different set.

Why would all aliens speak the same language? There are tons of different languages on a single planet, so there must be a whole lot more across a bajillion planets.

"Smerisrni riri om oernierm ernrni. M ririome. Siosme? Oe rnerniooe rnerneri r n sinoe rnme rniooe renineri rnsmeris rn rnermn moenrne? Sme risoererne rni oe m rnioese n ome smesrerne m rnnsiere mernieom nrniooe renirnee rmernrni? Rnioerni 'rneniri rere e ineosni n oernerne s n rireerne rme mnrnerni e rnioeri re."


Now, how should I put this together?

[10/10] Cotta 2026/11/03(Tue)04:34 No. 1133715 ID: c65cd0
File 179368045954.png - (202.31KB , 800x600 , 22.png )

A crossbow is good for long-distance bashing, and ammo with a sharp wedge is good for long-distance cutting!

"Oe! Smeris 'rnnmeere ninrnris rne. Oeomeoe omnrnioe rni. Oeom reri si rniooe rnernere rnesmeri s 'rnnrmrn ri i eiomesme rnirnsme oe re nirnirin rnem ermn--si ooe mosmeris ernnmrir rm ome n rnin ome smeoisrne rni oe ne oenmeoere merioere ni--rneri Oe'rniri oere nirnirio esenrniri rneris re me rnion eomeernr ernerneri ri re ernesmeri s omenesen rnion meririrn. Oesioerne o Oemeoeme re'rnioe senrniri, isrnioe rni'rnerm rnri ni rne rroe reni, sme eomreri si. Oe'omeome rnirnsme rnirionome rmsmeris rirnio n rnsioe rne n."

I think the guy is excited? This could be some gladiatorial battle type thing. Now, how exactly do I want to leave? Quietly or loud?

>>1133715
With STYLE

>>1133715
Loud you already seem to be under surveillance stealth kinda pointless now.

The tattoo on your face resembles the expressions/faces of computer face. So... They gave you alien-style face paint to look more like them.

As for why they would do that... You might be in an actual petting zoo or similar 'cute harmless animals to admire' enclosure and would be too uncanny to fit in without it.

Probably go quiet, so the face watching you or the much bigger aliens don't assume you're just acting like a brutish beast or decide you're dangerous enough to kill.

Said television face is either a non-biological sapient intelligence, or an alien using a simple proxy remotely. They might be narrating your actions or trying to communicate, but it's hard to discern without some frame of reference.

Can you explain how your head biology works? You have a smooth, colorful plate you call your face. I assume it is what requires/absorbs white light. What about your vision, mouth, hearing and other basic senses? Notably, you might be perceiving things differently in terms of vision, hearing, smell.

Fast seems optimal, the thing watching you has probably already set an alert

>>1133711
Ah, looks like everything's in syllables.
Rni, Rne
Me, Ne, Ni, Oe, Om, Ri, Re, Si
E, O, M, S

...it's essentially impossible to isolate them without an indicator of inflection. There are single-letter syllables, and the syllables can start with a vowel or a consonant. I guess it doesn't matter for translation though.

As for the translation, it looks bleak. So far, words don't seem to repeat much, yet a lot of words are used in each sentence, so it's difficult to define anything. I'm guessing the spelling changes based on grammar or something, and who/whatever is talking through the monitor is very eloquent. I can see *one* thing, at leas. "Oe" seems to be an important syllable, since it's often capitalized. Might be an "I" equivalent.
What the heck? I spotted "nrneereʒn" and "n&mrirrm". Special characters can be present, somehow, in the middle of words.

>>1133715
Quietly. Speak softly and carry a big stick.

>>1133727
On the flip side, Sanʒe and GAK seem to be terms that have multiple meanings or very similar spellings/pronounciations (and uses greek letters). The writing on the floor might use similar looking letters to differ the 'same' word (Sanʒe with a, Sonʒe, Sαnʒe with greek alpha...). The numbering system is clear enough at least.

I'm suspecting our protagonist has a different hearing range, or hearing sensitivity? Like, minute 'accented' differences in the same word make for vastly different meanings.

Toh-may-to and Toh-mah-to as a whole language? The inflection you say Gak with leads to a whole different conversation?

If you encounter a green plant at some point (the kinds that require natural sunlight), you'll need to make a demonstration that, like the plant, you specifically need sunlight or a 'sun lamp' for your health. Assuming you and the aliens share the same sun...

Does it have to be white colored light, or does ultraviolet light (the kind that makes certain chemicals like alien blood glow in the dark) work too?

[1/2] Cotta 2026/11/05(Thu)02:54 No. 1133784 ID: c65cd0
File 179384727253.png - (192.51KB , 800x600 , 23.png )

>With STYLE
>Loud
>Quietly
>Fast
>Quietly

Okay, I'll go quietly.

>They gave you alien-style face paint to look more like them.
>You might be in an actual petting zoo or similar 'cute harmless animals to admire' enclosure and would be too uncanny to fit in without it.

I like to think the aliens are the uncanny ones. People tend to think I'm rather dashing.

>Can you explain how your head biology works?

Well, I can't say HOW it works, but here I go anyway. My face, of course, changes expressions depending on how I'm feeling. Negative emotions tend to be green and blue, positive emotions are yellow and purple. I technically have six eyes, but the other four don't open until I'm a Sanʒe, so I can only see through the two white ones. I don't know much about hearing or smelling, though. I think sound goes through my face or something? It's really loud when someone taps on it.

"Omeririom, Oerni'rne rmernrni rinersme rmrnri ni rne rroe renirnio e rniOeoese nrnirirne ris re me rnion eomeernr sion resmeris nrnem ermn, isrni Oe'omeome rnirnsme rnirionome rmsmeris risrni ernersm o erneOeme rerirnio n rnsioe rne n."

Okay, thanks surveillance guy.

[2/2] Cotta 2026/11/05(Thu)02:54 No. 1133785 ID: c65cd0
File 179384727607.png - (132.58KB , 800x600 , 24.png )

>Sanʒe and GAK have multiple meanings

Sanʒe always means the same thing: Sanʒe. I just have bad handwriting, so it looks slightly different every time I write it.
Gak is a little bit different, though. Gak is whatever is supposed to be there. Like, if your favorite mug is moved from where it always is, you can say "Where is GAK!?" but, the word 'where' is also supposed to be in the sentence, so you can just say "Gak is GAK!?" instead. Or, if you want to be quicker, "Gak GAK!"

>Does it have to be white light, or does ultraviolet work too?

What? Ultra violet? like bright purple? I think all I technically need is blue light, but it's impossible to make light that is pure blue. Electric lanterns go from red to yellow to white, but they don't turn blue.

"Onsme, rni on nsmoe rni oernerise n rn rnion rnn. Reri rnirniooe rnemeriri rn, rnion rensmrni riren."

Okay, thank you for your input again, I'm finding it very useful.


Where should I go next?

>>1133785
Following signs is a good idea you should do that they are trustworthy

>>1133784
Hmm, that's either an odd-lettered word on the wall or it's cut off.

>>1133785
Another odd-lettered word, but the last symbol is the same as the previous one. It also doesn't seem to be used on the inside of words, so it's some kind of special character I think.

>GAK is whatever you want it to be
How do people know what it means then? Do you psychically transmit the intended meaning?

The monitor-person is trying to direct you to a location. Maybe that word means "exit"? I'm not sure whether to trust it... At least disable that bell on your collar so it won't ring and alert everyone to your presence.
Ah well, follow the arrow just to see where it leads I guess.

I transcribed all the new signs and this just confirms there's another layer of encryption. There are an unusually small number of shared symbols so the extra encryption is scrambling it pretty well; if I had to guess it's shifting the alphabet by 1 every character since the door labels have ABB as the second word which is probably "lab", but I'm not sure how to crack that without knowing the alphabet. I guess if the food bowl really reads "food" then those two middle pairs are adjacent in the alphabet.

>>1133790
there's something you missed in 3.png

>>1133791
...the green bowl has an odd number of characters without any of the seemingly special characters.
That implies they might not be separated into pairs? Why are so few of them odd numbered then?!