Really calmly make it clear that you're a friend to synthetics and you're here to help them, and that you're with one of Tsu's friends. (Also why do you have to be so adorable?)

SPACE MONSTERS IT'S A TRAP RUNNNN

Vibrant 2011/11/20(Sun)18:52 No. 366897 ID: f61b94
File 132184392576.png - (42.97KB , 800x600 , d5p2f5.png )

Calm. I can be calm. I-I can do this. I'm good at what I do!

"I'm here to help!"

The synthetics don't answer me. The scared voice does, in a far more distant and formal tone of voice.

"Captain, please remain where you are. Speaker to synthetics, please move forward and turn to the left. When the door opens, step through it."

The synthetics around me disband and I hesitate. I think I'm slowly gaining its trust (her trust?) right now. It could have tried to hurt me, but it didn't!

I follow its instructions and enter the door as it-- shuts right behind me?

"Help me! Please! Please the entire crew except the captain is gone and I don't know what to do! I've tried to keep the ship working but there's no supplies left! If I leave they'll capture me and take me to bits to see how I work! I can't fix the ship! I can't fix what they did to Tsu!"

The synthetic starts trembling and backs away from me in her pool. She's scared and miserable.. If you want me to do anything, ask, but I have to be careful how I do things here!

>>366897
Just keep talking to her for now. We need to get her to calm down.

(Wow, she looks like you! I wonder why.)

>>366897
Oh dear. She's confused about what's going on. Please ask her to calm down and explain what she's talking about, and we can correct her version of the events gently.

Most importantly, she should know that Ei and Tzet are alive. The previous captain is no longer on the ship... I'm not sure who counts as captain now. Tzet, apparently?

You should sit near her pool. Close enough so that she can come to you if she desires, but not close enough so that you seem to be chasing her.

approach slowly and reassure her, explain calmly that you are here to help fix everything. just have her explain what she needs and you can get it.

>>366905
This is a solid plan.

All right, tell her to calm down. The ship's landed on a colony world, and they're all safe. Furthermore, Ei and Tzet are still alive, and the latter is with you. Say all that to reassure her, until she is calmed down, and maybe get as close as you can without making her too uncomfortable to best interact with her. You're probably better at doing that part exactly than a bunch of malfunctioning AI nodes who generally feel that the best solution to social situations is hugs. Then you can tell her the bad news, that the captain is dead, after betraying and attacking the crew, so I guess Tzet is the new captain.

Vibrant 2011/12/06(Tue)20:19 No. 370360 ID: 365adf
File 132323155750.png - (35.53KB , 800x600 , d5p2f6.png )

She does look like an areeni. Lots like an areeni. Amphibious positive too! "Ssshh... calm, calm, I'm here to help," I tell her. "Are you alright?"
"I'm- I'm functioning as I should be! The ship is a wreck, everything is a wreck-"
"Sshh. It's okay. The crew will fix the ship. You don't need to do it all yourself. The ship is on a colony world and it's safe."

I hold my arms out to her. She sinks down into the pool until all I can see is her head. "How do I know," she mumbles, "that that's true? How do I know they won't pull me to pieces?"
"Am I pulling you to pieces? I'm not a spacer. I'm a friend of Tzet and Ei. Do you know who they are?"
"The new captain and the doctor! Only registered survivors! I'm Anura, I know everything about the ship. I know every little detail about how it has gone wrong and what I need to fix it. Every single thing. I know a lot of things. You can't really help me. I can tell you want to help me, but you can't-"

She pauses and stares at me, with wide eyes. "Ei? Ei?! She can fix Tsu! She fixed herself after she was hit by a biological weapon! She has to be able to fix Tsu! And then Tsu can help me fix the synthetics and then I can fix the ship! Is she with you?"
"No, but-"
"But you can help right? Yeah you can help you're here to help are you a doctor doesn't matter come with me we're going to fix Tsu!"

Vibrant 2011/12/06(Tue)20:21 No. 370362 ID: 365adf
File 132323166835.png - (80.81KB , 800x600 , d5p2f7.png )

She leaps out of the pool and splashes green gunk everywhere and it's really slimy and gross errgh hold on I need to brush this stuff off okay done I'm following her and

"C-can you fix this, colony areeni? You're here to help me?"

and

and

and you are here areeni here and you can hear yes hear the know the thoughts the songs of a thousand singers harmonious yet so distant so far and so near i will not join your song it is not my song to sing can you hear the songs areeni can you hear the songs through the singer so close to us and so far the tone is so distant and melancholy do not touch it me it is me i am it please help me please please help me join the song join the chorus the shining unity of brightness peaceful wholeness do not let her see me ei do not let ei see this it will break her join our collective of peace our minds as one for all eternity immortal what just happened and what am I looking at

Holy shit.

You, uh... you might be in over your head a little bit, here.

How the hell did Tsu even survive? According to what Ei told us, she got eaten alive by... some kind of hiveminded alien...

At least Tsu still seems to be able to speak with you, sort of.

Poke it with a stick

>>370363
the red stuff is the alien that is apparently STILL eating. you will need to get a sample of the stuff and uncontaminated sample of Tsu, ask if they have any of that in storage or something. pure sample of both would let you make an agent that destroys one but not the other.

>>370362
Holy crap. Tsu is still in there, FIGHTING IT!

Ask Tsu if you can separate her from the collective. If we're not supposed to bring Ei here, can we help? How can we help? There has to be something we can do, that doesn't involve just killing her to end it.

...tissue sample, perhaps? Maybe Ei can help Tsu without actually seeing her like this. Ei would be happy to know Tsu is still alive, no matter what.

OH GOD WHAT um it's ok we can probably fix it somehow maybe?

Ok, here's the plan Vibrant. Back away from her immediately, in case something in that mass attacks her. Tell Anura that Ei is probably not going to be emotionally able to handle finding this out, it might drive her actually insane, but that we have the best science lab in the world at our disposal. Also tell Tzet that he REALLY shouldn't go in there. [Send a picture of this to Saru] Saru, you've spent more than a lifetime handling things that the world must never know, have you ever seen anything like this? And more importantly is there a way to cure or selectively destroy this in a way that keeps the person in there alive? We can probably still get some help from Ei, as long as we obfuscate the reasons behind it and just tell her we need help with some biological research to reverse some sort of growth.

Tsu is still alive and resisting, so this should still be in the state where it can be resolved.

>>370362
Okay, um, right. Course of action.

Probably the only person we know who is competent to handle this situation is Ei.

I think you're going to have to let Ei (and Tzet) know about this, but I'm not sure what either of them are going to be able to do.

Oh yes and also Vibrant definitely keep away from that. It could be sneaking tentacles around your blind spots to grab you, or lunge or all sorts of nasty things.

The only safe way to approach this thing is with a robot or something inorganic.

>>370372
>sneaking tentacles around your blind spots to grab you, or lunge or all sorts of nasty things

DON'T TELL VIBRANT THAT SHE'LL BE SCARED OF OUR HUG TENTACLES FOREVER!

We want to stay away from that until we can get Saru or one of our robot friends in here, but first we want to wait to see if Saru already has a sample. We need to get some biological research facilities online as soon as we can.

>>370372
Ei is definitely the best choice but the only thing that's keeping her from crying forever is the fact that she keeps being distracted by happy things. We can put her to work immediately with finding a cure, as long as we don't tell her that we're curing Tsu. However we need to get her on this immediately, even though she's still recovering, because we don't know how long Tsu can hold on. Tzet is much more stable, so if we HAVE to we can show him, but let's not tell him unless he really wants to know. Just tell him not to go in there, because there's something in there that will probably haunt him all his life. Heck, I'm surprised you're doing so well, Vibrant. If you're not too understandably full of fear, make sure to encourage Tsu to keep holding on as long as she can, because it's not hopeless anymore.

Ok, we need to prepare a biohazard-containment-unit, a bio-lab, a medical lab, some medical bots and a bot capable of cutting her off from the bulk of the flesh-thing and carrying her to a secure lab. As the flesh-thing seems to still be a partly different organism than Tsu, it should be different enough to make chemical or biological weapons to exclusively target it. As the flesh-thing appears to have integrated itself fairly thoroughly into Tsu's remaining body, we will need to have at least two versions of the anti-flesh-thing bioweapon, with one to weaken and suppress the cells currently in Tsu without fully destroying them, and the other to outright kill them if they infect to infect other personnel or attempt to spread within the facility.
Once we have the bioweapons we can cut Tsu out and trasnport her to a sealed medical lab where we can keep the remaining flesh-thing cells suppressed while we gradually replace those body parts.

We must take every precaution to keep the flesh-thing cells from spreading outside of Tsu's body or this room, as the most likely reason that the thing would leave Tsu alive this long is as a trojan to carry the infection to her would-be rescuers. Avoid all direct contact, filter the air, and have measures on hand in case of ambulatory flesh-thing clusters.

[engage rocking bass sound track]

How's this for harmonious song?!

Do not touch the red things. Back away so that it cannot infest you with evil alien tendrils.
[Scan Mass]

>>370381
Ship of Theseus medicine!

I just had the thought that the best way to go about this would be to tell Ei, but not tell her who it is and tell her that for "security reasons" we can't let her or the patient be in the same area or see each other. Tell her that we've found someone who urgently needs help, and she's the only one skilled enough to save them given the special security concerns.

>>370381
Well I don't really think it's that infectious. It had to snap Tsu's legs in order to prevent her from escaping, which means just contacting it isn't enough. Some of the spacers fought it and didn't die, and Tsu was the only one they tried to take. It also ignored all the synthetics. Let's still be cautious, but we can assume it's not some aggressively virulent disease.

Vibrant 2012/03/15(Thu)18:32 No. 393125 ID: e41011
File 133186153766.png - (53.29KB , 800x600 , d5p2f8.png )

UNABLE TO SEND ANY MESSAGES TO RECIPIENT SARU. UNABLE TO ESTABLISH CONNECTION. ATTEMPT TO GATHER ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INITIATED.
Connection attempt blocked. Unable to provide further information at this time.

Um uh um this I don't know what to do I wasn't expecting this isn't synthetics I

"You can't fix it, can you." Anura sounds incredibly disappointed. I'm shaking a little and backing away from the, uh, stuff on the wall. "I was wrong to think a colonist could help me."

She's starting to sound a little angry. I decide to try and calm her down by explaining where Ei is-

"I risked a lot letting you in here, you know?! If anyone on the surface finds out, anyone, that I'm in here, I'm alive, and I am what I am, then I am going to blame you and send everything I can send after you to hunt you down-"

"Wait," I tell her. "I'm sorry. I-I don't know how to help her. I can bring Ei here. She might be able to help. Or, um, I can take things to Ei and she can tell me how to help. I don't know, she might not be able to cope. But I need to talk to Ei. And I don't want to hurt you or be the reason you get hurt."

Vibrant 2012/03/15(Thu)18:32 No. 393126 ID: e41011
File 133186156233.png - (63.06KB , 800x600 , d5p2f9.png )

LIMITED SCAN OF BIOMASS INDICATES UNUSUAL ELECTROMAGNETIC ACTIVITY DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT MASS LIMITED SCAN OF SYNTHETIC "Anura" INDICATES GENETIC SIMILARITY TO AREENI SPACER "Tsu" LIMITED SCAN OF PERSONNEL "Vibrant" INDICATES TRACE CONTAMINATION BY BIOMASS - PROBABILITY OF INFESTATION UNKNOWN

Anura pauses, staring at me blankly, mouthing something as if repeating what you guys just... um.

"What is your name, colonist?"
"Vibrant!"
"No it isn't."

She sounds eerily calm. I'm a little taken aback by her picking up on that right away-

"Actual name, then?"
"Vibrant! It's Vibrant!"
"No."
"But it's my name!"
"It's a fake name. You know, I was trusting you up to this point-"

can you guys stop listening for a bit or something is that okay

"Why are you hesitating, colonist? ...Are you listening to something? Someone? Waiting for a cue so you know how to respond?"
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"My brain is more advanced than you could ever comprehend, colonist! Nothing escapes me! What are you hiding from me?!"

Oh no. She sounds angry and a little afraid. A bunch of things on tubes are drifting near her. I didn't think this would happen! I should probably leave but will that look suspicious I don't know I-

"T-tell me! Are you working with them?! Are you going to take me. uh, take me away tied up on a table, no, to cut me open on a table like they do to synthetics?! Are you going to throw me in the engulfer thingy that ate Tsu?! I can call back my things if I need to! Or maybe I'll feed you to what used to be my mot- creator! I'll- I'll make you sorry you promised me what you couldn't deliver! You're useless! Useless! Get out of my ship! Just- just go or something! Go away! I don't know who you're working for but tell them you're useless too!"

this is what lies cause. you want trust, you need the truth. are you actually scared of a machine knowing your name? tell her, it's the Ai system of the base, they are running active scans at all times. and you don't want it to know your name, so you can't say it.

Why is everyone so set on using these fake names when the real names are pretty much useless anyway? It's not like there's anything we can do with it, and unless you're secretly a famous person I don't think anybody would recognize it. Nothing happened when that computer said Saru's name. At the least, tell her that you're talking to the AI of the base that Ei is working at, and are trying to get advice on what to do for Tsu.

Also, if she wants to know who you're working with, just call in her captain from outside. Surely she'll trust him.

We can't contact Saru... can we contact Ei or something, or are our communications in general being blocked?

If you are someone infamous we wouldn't recognize your name anyway you know.

Tell her you still want to help, and that the engulfer thing seems to be very different from normal synthetics. And ask how you could hide a sinister scheme from her if you can't even hide a fake name from her.

>Tsu was worried she'd die before she found someone for her.
>She does look like an areeni. Lots like an areeni. Amphibious positive too!
>LIMITED SCAN OF SYNTHETIC "Anura" INDICATES GENETIC SIMILARITY TO AREENI SPACER "Tsu"
>what used to be my mot- creator

You know, speaking of hiding things badly, I'm starting to think you're not just a regular synthetic, Anura.

Tell her we want to help too, but... you need to leave anyway, to get Ei or at least talk to her. Promise her that we'll bring back help, and... hey, I have an idea. Ask if there's something you can write your name on. We can just point our camera drone away, or you can manually grab the camera drone to point it away if you want.

offer interior decoration to make up for deception

Vibrant 2012/04/03(Tue)20:32 No. 398577 ID: f2c010
File 133351037978.png - (14.67KB , 800x600 , d5p2f10.png )

B- but but my name and if you know someone's name you can look into who they were and-

"Out! I'll call in my guards!"

and and and-

"Stop being stupid and get out of my sight! Why are colonists so stupid?! Stupid! You're stupid stupid stupid get out of--"
"Kealeli!"
"What is that supposed to mean?!"
"My name! My name is Kealeli! Vibrant is the name I've been using so if I do anything that gets me into trouble it's not tied to my actual name! That's why I call myself Vibrant!"
"Oh, so you're using a codename. Using a codename and getting instructions from a source I can't trace. Get off this ship."

Vibrant 2012/04/03(Tue)20:33 No. 398578 ID: f2c010
File 133351039744.png - (17.52KB , 800x600 , d5p2f11.png )

"Anura!"

I hear Tzet's voice right behind me! Eeep!

"Anura. Hrm. You've grown since I last saw you, it seems. Tsu thought she was keeping you a secret the whole time, didn't she."

Anura stares straight past me, mouth open. Tzet can be really quiet when he wants, it turns out! "C-captain, I was--"
"Captain? Hrm. No, that's correct. The title just doesn't feel right, but I digress. This areeni here--"

eep he's holding me

"--is a friend and associate of mine. Well, in truth, I haven't known her for long, but the time I've known her for has been enlightening. Again, I am drifting off topic. Are you alright, Vibrant? You seem to be shaking."
"no it's nothing I'm fine continue"
"Very well. I will not have her chased off of a vessel under my command."
Anura springs to attention. "Y-yes sir captain sir! Wait. I told you to stay outside, didn't I?"
"Yes. Was that an order?"
"N-no! No it was a request, sir!"

Vibrant 2012/04/03(Tue)20:33 No. 398580 ID: f2c010
File 133351041586.png - (12.09KB , 800x600 , d5p2f12.png )

"You're a very unusual synthetic, Anura. Very concerned about self-preservation. Vibrant, do you know the reasons she has to fear the outside world?"

Anura goes quiet and starts sinking into her pool. I don't know what to say. Tzet slowly looks at me. "Vibrant, what are the laws governing the creation of sapient synthetics in Tinvishe?"
"Uuhm, um, only legal as long as they're not also able to replicate."
"Hm. Yes. That makes sense. I trust you understand why?"
"Well, the long-term consequences of creating a sapient species are kinda complicated and scary."

Tzet waves a hand in Anura's direction. "The journey, well, the period between escape and crash landing on this planet was long. I recall Tsu mentioning a personal project to me. I was someone she confided in. I never would have guessed how personal."

I can barely see Anura. Tzet continues. "Anura. What have you been told you are?"

No response. Then, some bubbles. Finally, some words. "Nothing. I haven't been told what I am. I know what I am. I didn't need anyone to tell me. I'm not stupid. I'm not a synthetic but I'm not an areeni either. I'm just enough of both to be neither. Just enough of both to be something that doesn't get to be treated as either. A sapient synthetic that could replicate! Not that I ever will, the idea is kind of disgusting, but I'm not areeni enough to be anything other than that! They'll kill me. Kill me and rip me to shreds to know how Tsu put me together. I can't figure out how she did it. It's seamless. She wanted a daughter and didn't have a partner, so she just made one. And here I am in this situation. Thanks, mom."

Tzet nods. He's waiting for me to say something. Um. Um. I, uh, haven't done this before, really. I, um, work with synthetics, and I don't think Anura really counts. I don't, uh, know what to say.

>>398580
I mean, you can offer vague reassurance, but I don't think you could promise anything concrete...

I dunno either. Anura needs a friend, or at least someone to talk to with some regularity. :V

Well, you're supposedly pretty knowledgeable about synthetics. Even if you've never heard of such a thing, I bet you could appreciate how apparently phenomenal that is, and say as much. It looks as if she wants some kind of acceptance, and you've certainly made some that are much weirder than she is. She certainly doesn't outwardly look like something especially abnormal, and can she even get out of that goo to meet someone who would WANT to do bad things to her? Tell her to cheer up, because both her and Tsu are going to be fine before long.

>>398580
Well first off tell her that's there's one thing she is for certain, and that's ALIVE.

Also scold her for getting mad at her mom; she had no way of knowing this would happen.

Give her a hug.

Also, she isn't technically violating the planet's laws for creation of a self-replicating sapient if she wasn't created here, is she? And she's not on the planet illegally if it was an emergency landing, right? Nope, except for the fact that the Alliance presumably wants the crew of the Mahari and everyone who attempts to conceal them dead, she's probably totally legal!

Can we establish a private communication channel with Anura, or do we have to communicate by broadcasting in ALL CAPS on the speaker?

Speaking of all-caps speakers.
[Activate speakers: "ATTENTION. IN CASE ANYBODY FORGOT, THERE IS A BIOHAZARD PRESENT. TRACES DETECTED IN SUBJECT VIBR-258. SO SUBJECT TZET SHOULD AVOID CONTACT. SUBJECT VIBR-258 IS ADVISED TO MOVE TO CONTAINMENT IMMEDIATELY."]
In addition, [Scan Subject TZET]

Vibrant 2012/06/09(Sat)18:25 No. 420230 ID: 9e3c3d
File 133929150286.png - (30.16KB , 800x600 , d5p2f13.png )

"Hey! You shouldn't blame your mom for this. She never would have left you alone like this by choice! She loved you and cared for you enough to keep you safe the best she could, right?"

Oh. That was too much. Anura is crying again. I walk up to her and hold my arms out.

"It's okay. I don't know how to help her, but we have people who can. You're scared everyone is going to hurt you, but I'm not. I came here expecting a synthetic, but you're something far greater than I ever could have imagined. You're probably something better than an areeni, too!"
"Really?"
"Who knows? Once we fix Tsu, I'm sure we'll all find out! Now, can you get out of that goopy stuff?"
"The control pool? Okay." She leaps out. The green gel stops glowing. I don't understand this spacer tech stuff.

I hug her. "I can look after you until then. I have a safe home and friends that can help out. No one will think to look for you there, if anyone bad is trying to find you."
"O-okay. Can- can I bring the ship's synthetics with me? They'll be scared and lonely if I don't bring them."
"Sure! How many do you have?"

Vibrant 2012/06/09(Sat)18:25 No. 420231 ID: 9e3c3d
File 133929153718.png - (18.41KB , 800x600 , d5p2f14.png )

"Erm... a few."

Oh dear. I might need to talk to Sinter about stuff to expand my home.

Tzet nods his head. "Well, Vibrant. You've handled this matter admirably. Anura, could you part with one of your larger synthetics temporarily? I'm going to take Tsu with me."
"But she's stuck to the wall!"
"Then I will take the wall with me. Send whichever synthetic you choose with me, and take the rest them along with Vibrant and yourself."

I tap Tzet on the shoulder. "Erm, I have a clamp thingy to Sinter's base, you can-"
"No. Too dangerous. Your base is coated in biomass just like this ship is, and I am already concerned about the ship. It's a longer walk, but, well, I am more than prepared to walk a while."
"Um, okay, I'll see you later I guess?"

Vibrant 2012/06/09(Sat)18:25 No. 420232 ID: 9e3c3d
File 133929154774.png - (42.04KB , 800x600 , d5p2f15.png )

Tzet heads off to Sinter's base. One of Anura's bigger synthetics follows him, carrying around a chunk of wall with Tsu attached. Um. I don't know what that wall is made of, but I don't know of a lot of walls that drip when they break.

The red goop also seems to have... curled in on itself? I can't see well from here.

Anything I need to take care of before I head home and take Anura with me? Or when I get home?

The computer sensor thingy says you've got some trace contamination. It's probably nothing to worry about, so don't freak out, but we should probably give you some sort of decontamination shower before you go in your base, for the same reasons that Tzet described. Ei said that the things that infected Tsu had to painfully immobilize her to infect her like they did, so I'm doubting that they can passively infect anything. But, better safe than sorry.

just get a current DNA sample so we have a baseline to counteract anything.

>>420237
It's probably just some stuff on her feet.

>>420237
Address this pronto.

Also, hug Anura some more.

Vibrant 2012/06/10(Sun)13:41 No. 420470 ID: 9e3c3d
File 133936088914.png - (23.04KB , 800x600 , d5p2f16.png )

C-contamination?! I should go get that taken care of right away! Wait, just a tiny bit? Oh. I'll take Anura back home and visit the shower back at Sinter's base. I'm sure Anura will be fine on her own if I don't take too long.

"I'm going to take a shower when I get home. Are you going to be okay alone for a bit?"
"I've managed fine for some time alone, yes." She sounds a little dejected. I give her another hug and she perks up.

"Now let's hurry! I've got so many things to show you back home! Like all my synthetics!"
"Uh-- wait up! Vibraaant!"

- End of Day, Part 2 -

SARU-601 2012/06/10(Sun)13:41 No. 420471 ID: 9e3c3d
File 133936091055.png - (30.41KB , 800x600 , d5p3f1.png )

- Day 5, Part 3 -

Oh. Hey. Feels like it's been forever. I need to take a screwdriver to you guys at some point. You're running pretty slow these days. Not entirely sure why. Okay so basically here's the situation. Tomorrow, some "old friends" are going to show up under the premise of performing an "inspection". Apparently I'm not good enough to run this facility single-clawedly like I've been doing for decades now. They're sending KIRU. KIRU, KerenzeTec Immediate Retrieval Unit. KIRU does not do inspections. KIRU is what gets broken out when something needs to be moved from a place to another place KerenzeTec owns as fast as possible. Usually not legally. What I am trying to get at here is we're going to get a paramilitary group showing up in our base to take something as quickly as they can, despite resistance. Or, worse still, someone. Frenetic frenetic alter transmission inverse. Open.

SARU-601 2012/06/10(Sun)13:43 No. 420473 ID: 9e3c3d
File 133936101313.png - (93.47KB , 800x600 , d5p3f2.png )

Which brings me to why I'm here, down in level -1. Anything down here that can give us an edge over an invasion is fine by me. This is just level -1. Small stuff. The cube, the sphere, they're small time compared to what's deeper down. Here we are. 0-29-091. Usually there's some stupid name summarising what these things are. This one is the "Silent Pillar". It's silent. Doesn't look much like a pillar, though. Pillars don't float. This thing has been due for transfer to a different facility for some time. No one has ever shown up to collect it. So there's absolutely nothing on what this does. It's a complete unknown. There's records of people touching this thing with no ill effect, speaking in front of it with no ill effect, and right now I'm thinking it might at least be something to buy them off with if I can think of a way to bluff it being mightier than it is. Any suggestions?

well, we are gonna need to restart tests. need to find what it CAN do then exaggerate it a LOT. make a repair bot touch it.

Wait, why the heck are you blocking access to the facility even under threat of attack? Are you alright? They're not going to have to do anything if you just lift whatever lockdowns you've got going on.

If you need some kind of excuse as to what was going on, just say that something on level -5 was trying to influence us to breach containment, so you locked down the facility had our memory cleared and put us under observation, just to be safe, and everything seems to be better now.

As for what they're doing, we've been informed that there are people coming who want two Objects that are present on the Spacers' ship, and that they would likely be hostile to Ei and Tzet. We could probably have them see what they can do about moving those somewhere safe, and possibly staying there themselves until KIRU leave. It will be much easier to influence them if they come here peacefully.

As for that thing, you probably shouldn't mess with it if it isn't too well documented. Who knows what it will do? I don't think we have any replacement parts for you, and I'm still suspicious of that antenna.

I suppose KIRU units are likely trained in anti-object protocols. Do we have any records of what these are?

Has somebody (by which I mean a repair-bot if we do our own tests) tried putting their hand in the middle, or hitting the pillar with a hammer?

SARU-601 2012/06/17(Sun)13:47 No. 423570 ID: 9e3c3d
File 133996606588.png - (53.35KB , 800x600 , d5p3f3.png )

Look, I'd love to co-operate. I spent most of this morning while everyone else was asleep trying to negotiate. The higher-ups won't give me a single bit of information about what exactly they're after, and the techs just told me to demonstrate to KIRU I have the situation under control. Okay. I have had many, many dealings with KIRU before. They know who I am. They know who I am very, very well. We don't get along. KIRU is a precise unit - from the perspective of the KerenzeTec executives. In practice, if you asked them to grab a jar from a nearby store, the store would be levelled, all bystanders would end up in hospitals or morgues, but the jar? The jar will arrive on your desk in perfect condition. Diplomacy has failed. The fact KIRU is even coming here is a testament to that fact. This isn't a standard transaction, this is an invasion. I have spent years guarding this facility from internal threats. I'm not about to fold under external threats.

SARU-601 2012/06/17(Sun)13:48 No. 423571 ID: 9e3c3d
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We might not have a lot of replacement parts, but it's a moot point if they decide to try forcing their way through the sealed levels to get what they want. I have no control over those levels being on lock-down. Neither do you. I don't even know what does any more. I can't get repair drones down here. All the service access is still locked up. Oh, fuck it. There's just not enough time. Damn it, Skeil, you were a bad influence. You guys can blast 'told you so' at me with every speaker in the facility if this goes wrong. Here goes nothing.

TARGET LOST 2012/06/17(Sun)13:49 No. 423574 ID: 9e3c3d
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IBIS target invalid. IBIS target invalid. Attempting to find newIBIS target invalAttempting to fiAttemPtiAtt

System restarting. Please hold.

Ti-kza 2012/06/17(Sun)13:51 No. 423579 ID: 9e3c3d
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I think I had a dream like this once. Years and years ago. Except without the creature in front of me.

I don't know why, but I feel filled with the sensation this creature is intimately familiar to me. Like I've seen it before. Vaguely. Maybe. Maybe the thing is poking into my brain, but it feels like a memory older than I am.

I feel like I should revere it for some reason. A ridiculous idea for something I've just seen, but there's a sense of respect I just cannot shake. I lower myself to the ground to be cordial, either way. Or at least not appear threatening.

I hear it address me. I don't understand what it's saying. It stops and just stares at me as I stare at it.

Ti-kza 2012/06/17(Sun)13:51 No. 423580 ID: 9e3c3d
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This feels so real. It can't be real. I know I'm in the facility, or at least that's where I physically am. But every other time I've had this mind and body disconnect, sensation has been numbed.

I don't even remember what it was like to be flesh and blood. But this is so real. Oh gods, I want this to be real badly. I'm...

Sorry. Any ideas for trying to communicate with something that doesn't speak the same language as me?

picto-grams. body language. draw in the dirt. maybe try just talking, perhaps it will learn from you quickly.

>>423580
Pictographs could work.

Hang on. Show us your wings. We can get a high-res image of them now from all angles, can't we? That is assuming the wings that occur here are going to be really truly yours.

Wait. How are we even seeing this, how do we have a CAMERA here what the what what what?! I think I will try not to think about that too hard.

You say you feel as though you should revere it, correct? SARU-601, what do you know of religion? Is it possible this creature is an object of worship in one of them?
We can also try: [Activate Translator Function]

Does your culture have any sort of gods, or your race any otherwise unnatural creator? The feelings of familiarity and remembrance you're experiencing might just be being caused directly by the object, but you never know. Try simply talking to it. Perhaps it might understand you even if you don't understand it. I don't think we can translate it because we are seeing this through you, but we could try. As for what to say, you could probably thank it, and maybe behave in a way that demonstrates reverence?

Additionally, and don't take this the wrong way, but try showing us your wings. If they actually are yours, it would not just be something really sentimental, but would show that this creature really knows your body somehow. In fact, if they are yours, not having enough detail in an image was one of the big reasons why we couldn't remake a body for you, wasn't it. Even if this isn't real, we could make something that is. Just brace yourself in case you are just inhabiting some generic saa-kru body, I bet it would be kind of horrifying to have the wrong wings.

>>423585
We also read minds, so presumably this is working on a similar principle.
...Though now that I think about it, I wonder if the whole 'mind reading' thing is because we have a re-purposed Object built into us somewhere.

If you find something you can draw on/with, try drawing a picture of the Column

Ti-kza 2012/09/21(Fri)20:44 No. 456598 ID: 0f60d7
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Show my wings? Excuse me?

I am standing completely naked on a floating island in some desolate but starry void. There is someone or something staring at me who might be some kind of ancient creator or inspiration for gods altogether. I fell to my knees for its benefit. I'm pretty sure I could think of even more awkward scenario than this, but it'd take me a while. Let's not make this any worse.

Besides, if this is some sort of dream or hallucination there'll be some minor issues or glitches or assumptions that would ruin the whole design.

Yes, saa-kru culture has gods, if we're willing to cram the thousands of years of history of a sapient species into a yes or no question. I don't recall any supposedly looking like this, though. Strange combinations of native Keo-te-kan life, saa-kru that look a little or a lot different or far stranger things, but nothing specifically like this.

Ti-kza 2012/09/21(Fri)20:45 No. 456599 ID: 0f60d7
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Attempting to activate translator function. Language identified: Remnants #4.

<Oh, cool, a translator! This should work better!>
"H-hello?"
<Sup?>
"Uh..."
<You look kinda out of it. Been a while since I got any visitors.>
"...uh, what happened and why am I naked?"
<Huh. I'll, uh, I'll get back to you on that first one in a bit. As for the second, uh, yeah, that was me. Sorry. A few millenia all alone, I can't help it when my loneliness starts bleeding through the gizmos.>
"Wait, what?"
<Oh nothing. Nothing, just chill. How open are you when it comes to sex, totally unrelatedly?>
"...what?"
<Okay, I can see that's sort of an uncomfortable question to ask, which answers my question, really! Oh, what am I doing. I'm the worst possible guy to speak on behalf of, like, my species and all! No, really, seriously, we've done some great stuff and junk!>
"...what?"
<Oh, I had years and years to prepare a better speech than this and I spent it asleep or in simulations! I could have been all HELLO, I SPEAK WITH THE VOICE OF THE ANCIENTS or something and kept up the charade that we're all high and mighty superadvanced supergeniuses who shaped stars with our brains or something but no, I had to go and inappropriately proposition you as the first thing right off the bat!>
"Wait. Wait, ancients? Which ancients? Also what happened, and why am I here? I'll... I'll, uh, try to forget everything you just said if it gets me answers faster."

Ti-kza 2012/09/21(Fri)20:45 No. 456600 ID: 0f60d7
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<Okay! Actually I thought you were a worker bot. It's, uh, well, looking at you you look kinda like these worker drone bot things we had, um, a long long long time ago. But yeah, um, I was on a ship and it died and I had this as my emergency escape pod! It carries all my biological, morphological, ...sciencealogical information and keeps me simulated! Much more reliable than an escape pod for my actual body, which could die when I ran out of food or water or air or any number of things! I was waiting for a rescue ship to pick my pod up and grow a body for me for quite some time. A long long time of orbiting this one really, utterly fantastically boring rocky wasteland of a planet. Then someone found me, but they weren't aurq-an like me. Then they put the pod in a facility somewhere. And, uh, I've just been chilling here for like a hundred years.>

Ti-kza 2012/09/21(Fri)20:45 No. 456601 ID: 0f60d7
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"...a hundred years? How... how old are you?"
<Eh, only like, what, thirty five years? I haven't really aged or anything. Yeah, I guess everyone I used to know is dead now but I've had some time to accept that. Pod, though? It stopped counting after it hit 9999 years. Probably a lot longer than that.>
"How are you... Let me try and rephrase this as gently as I can. You've spent countless years, no, millenia adrift in space with absolutely no one else for social interaction. Your first question to me was, uh, yeah. That was a little awkward. But how are you so, well, sane?"
<Oh. Um. I hadn't, uh, really thought about it. I guess I spent most of the time asleep. Less power usage. I mean it draws in power constantly but less power usage means a tiny, tiny fraction of time saved until the heat death of the universe, right?>

I idly swish at the water.

<Can I lick you?>
"What?"
<If you were in this pool with me I could just taste the water, but you aren't, and I don't know how you taste.>
"When I mentioned sanity earlier..."
<Uh. What? What are you talking about? Oh. Oh right. Different cultures. Sorry. Been a while. Yeah, uh, we lick each other sometimes. Pick up on a lot of chemical things. Never mind. I don't think I could tell anything about you, thinking 'bout it. Sorry. You just look really, really familiar. I keep thinking we have, like, a shared history or something. But you're not a robot. Right?>
"Um, robot body, yes, but I was flesh and blood before that."
<Oh. Is that your escape pod? Man that is a much better idea. You could walk to whoever makes the bodies, right?>
"No. No one knows how to make flesh and blood bodies work right."
<What? That's so easy! That's way easier than walking pods! All you have to do is [System notice: unable to translate.] [System notice: unable to translate.] [System notice: unable to translate.] and [System notice: unable to translate.] and this... isn't going through, is it. I don't think those are happy beeps. Man. Bodies for people are easy. Robots are... how do you even make robots before new bodies? Weird.>
"Look, can you just tell me why I'm in this pod with you?"
<I dunno. Only things that should be able to do that are the pod's owner and service drones. I was, uh, actually in fairness I was hoping you knew about that more than I did. I mean you look so much like one of our old drone units.>
"I can assure you that that's only the case because--"
<No no no, you don't, uh, let me rephrase. The vague glimpse of the clunky walky pod thing you have? Not so much. You sitting by the pool? I feel like I could ask you to go get me something and you'd go 'of course!' and disappear off to go get whatever it is. I mean I know you wouldn't, you're kind of looking at me funny for even suggesting it, but, I dunno.>

<...Actually, can you get in the pool here for a second? It's not like you can go anywhere much else, anyway.>

I feel a chill from the way this alien is staring at me.

well can't hurt. and maybe, if we get the thing direct access to supplies and an arm it could build a body making machine.

Alright speculation time. These guys made organic drones. They left them somewhere, the drone, being organic mated to keep a viable population, eventually mutations crept and tada, new sentient species.

...more accurately YOUR sentient species.

also of course, your soul was probably only loosely attached to the robot body so it was easily sucked in.

You sure look cute in an actual body. Ask him why he went in here in the first place and hasn't come out yet. Also, it might be worth it to oblige him and get in the pool. He seems to inept to do much harm. Let's try to do what he says so we can get some more information. He seems like he knows things. That stuff about you looking like their drones is intriguing. I had mentioned creation myths, and although this doesn't look like a mythological figure to you there might still be something to that idea. Alternatively I'm over-fitting patterns and it's just a big coincidence. But seriously, what are the odds of a detail like that being irrelevant?

>>456598
You'll never know if you don't try. It's not like he'll think anything of it if he doesn't know it's not ok to lick you. And this seems real enough that we can translate stuff in it. Remnants #4. Any idea what that's from or why we have it?

>>456601
When you first saw it you thought you should revere it. I think your race descended from this thing's worker drones. The organic ones?

Anyway, you come from two different cultures; his is millenia old. There's no way you could possibly read his body language properly, so that chill is probably a false reading. Of note is that the language we're translating is "Remnants #4".

[attempt to get an outside camera feed]
[fetch data on Remnants #4]

I would suggest that you get in the pool but tell him to keep his distance. A being this ancient would have... amazingly valuable information. We should work towards appeasing him so that we can get that information. He could even, possibly, make a perfect replica body for you if you make him a robot body so he can work with our tech.

Maybe he can even manage that without you showing him your wings.

Okay, It asked to lick you expressly after you came into contact with the pool, so something about your biology has roused its interest, and remember how acid and other solutions containing biological agents can look just like plain water.
So, I'ld strongly suggest that you get it to lick you before jumping into that pool, namely on the antenna or something. Given that was what it appeared to be going for when it asked.

Otherwise... don't be suprised if you wake up somewhere else with this pillar after this is done, too late to worry about that anymore.

heh heh heh u gonna get loved tenderly

Ti-kza 2012/10/11(Thu)17:54 No. 462003 ID: 0f60d7
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Insufficient permissions for requested data.

It... there's possibilities. Discrepancies in fossil records. Unsatisfactory answers relating to why the earliest species the saa-kru ancestry can be traced to seems so out of place among other species of the time. There's been so many debates about which species that earliest ancestor could have developed from and no strong evidence to support any of the hypotheses. I guess there's a tiny probability we're descended from ancient organic worker drones. There's also a not entirely unlikely chance that I died when I touched that pillar and this is the dying hallucination I'm having before it all ends.

I mean, I can kind of check the integrated sensors I have and confirm I'm fine, but, well, dying hallucination! I'm stuck in here either way as far as I can tell. I'm not sure how to exit this situation without jumping off the island but that might just lead to me falling forever until... until something happens that I'm not falling forever, death included.

I can wait to show my wings. I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to do so until I figure a way out. Here's hoping there's no time compression and I'll get back to a world that's still at the very least populated.

"What's your name, by the way?"
<I'm not comfortable sharing that with someone I've never seen before. It's a cultural hang-up thing. Sorry.>
"Oh."

It could be the translator, but he or she or it didn't sound that uncomfortable rattling that explanation out.

"How do you introduce yourselves?"
<Uh, we, uh, licking? Licking. We'll go with that.>
"Really? I thought--"
<Oh, I didn't know you were such an expert on my culture. Please, do go on. Make yourself comfortable in this pool.>

Ti-kza 2012/10/11(Thu)17:55 No. 462005 ID: 0f60d7
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"I don't know if I want to get in the pool yet. I'm, uh, it looks kinda small and, no offense, I don't know you that well, and, uh... I guess you can lick me first. Just on the antenna." I point to make it clear which part of me I mean by antenna. I don't know how well body part names translate.

<Okay, sure, sure. Just, uh, I'll try not to make this too awkward.>

I suddenly in retrospect wonder why I just asked this alien I know so little about to lick what is probably one of the most sensitive parts of my body to things like touch.

Aaagghhh that is a sickening feeling! That tongue is like jelly and too smooth to be anything living! Okay. It's over. It's over and I am locking that memory as deep as I can and never touching it ever again.

<STATUS REPORT.>
My wings flick out.
"Ti-kza, uh, just, trying to not think about that lick you just gave me. Wait. Wait, what just--"
<CURRENT TASK.>
"I don't understand, what are you doing, I feel like I should be less accepting of this and more alarmed and why am I voicing what I'm thinking?!"
<That's just weird. That's too weird. This is... this is just so weird.>

Ti-kza 2012/10/11(Thu)17:55 No. 462006 ID: 0f60d7
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"What did you do? Also, don't do it again."
<I mean back when I had some drone things on my ship I used to lick their antennae to get them to focus on me and only me for a bit so I could diagnose problems and give them new orders and it's so weird you'd think to ask me to lick your antennae specifically and how in the thirteen whirls are you here, talking to me, talking across more years than I can imagine, all big and independent, and... this is way too much than I can deal with!>
"What?"
<It hasn't been ten thousand or so years, has it? How long have I been asleep?? Ten thousand years, sure, maybe a hundred thousand I could cope with, but for little bugs made to help out to end up like you, how many millions of years?! What am I?>
"What?"
<What am I?! Tell me you know what I am! You've seen things like me before, right? They must be super-advanced, right?? They must own galaxies and galaxies or something, be everywhere, known across the entire universe! You didn't know what I was, did you?>
"No--"
<Have you seen any other aurqan at all?!>
"Uh... I'm, uh. I don't know how to tell you this but, uh, ruins, artifacts, but never living. We found a skeleton once."

It angrily smacks the water surface with its weird tongue arm things.

<Well, that's great! Fantastic! I didn't just sleep through most of my species' history, but I apparently slept through its death too! Do you know the one thing that's been keeping me going in my every conscious hour spent locked in this stupid glowing ball? Someone will find me. But no! THEY'RE ALL DEAD. ALL OF THEM. And then what happens? Some primitive idiots pick up the shiny and keep it under lock and key in their fortress, and then ANOTHER primitive idiot stumbles along and sees a shiny thing! So they touch it! Well I hope you like being locked in here because there's nothing that can be done for either of us now! Hey, maybe in another thousand years someone else will be along to join us!>
"Hey! Hey, hey hey. Stop that."
<What?>
"We haven't found any living aurqan. They could still be out there, in a different part of the galaxy. Or a different galaxy. Or maybe another universe!"

I don't know when I became this optimistic.

<Still means I'm out of luck.>
"Well, don't you have more of an idea than we would where to look for your kind?"
<Uh, I guess, but that, uh, first things first, I'd like a way out of this thing!!>

Ti-kza 2012/10/11(Thu)17:56 No. 462008 ID: 0f60d7
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I could do with a distraction right now.

External communication attempt blocked. Reason: safeguard against potential cross-Object effects. Message: Image from spacer ship Mahari. Image saved for future reference.

Well, that was disturbingly convenient. Screw it, I'll take it. Hmm. Well. I see Tzet and Vibrant are either getting things done better than I am. Or hopelessly screwing them up. Oh, why not. Let's see if ancient tantrum alien recognises anything going on here. Just open up the image and gods no that can't be right!! No. That ship is on Tinvishe soil. Oh gods. Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods. Byon on this world. There'll be a full Alliance investigation if they don't just burn the planet to be safe. Fuuuuuck.

<Oh, great.>
"Do you recognise this?!"
<I knew it was a bad idea. They were all 'no, it'll be fine, honest, they're responsible and mature'!>
"Who are 'they'?!"
<They were pretty young for a species overall. Technological development a parallel of ours, see, because they lived in the waters and came to land rarely just like we did. Called themselves the singers. Or, well, singers-of-the-light-of-sapience-against-the-darkness-of-decay. We called them 'selosa'. Our attempt at contracting the incredibly long full phrase they used. We liked them. They showed up in our cultural works a lot. We'd send envoys to their world, and bring their envoys to us. Eventually we started to trade technology. We were so far beyond the need for their tools that their devices passed for amusing distractions, and only saw serious use by aurqan enamoured of the selosa culture. Or the occasional pretentious aurqan using sub-par technology 'ironically'.>
"And they used your technology to do this?"
<Yes. I can't think of a way to weasel out of that one. The worst part is I had selosa friends. I can understand it from the perspective of, like, groups, but I just can't see how it happened based on who I knew, do you get me? I just can't see what makes anything, any rational minded sapient go 'I sure would love to surrender literally everything except the fact I'm alive to a questionable cause!' It just... it really upset me to learn how it went down.>

The aurqan is silent for a while.

<Lemme show you a picture of what they looked like. The selosa. Not my selosa friends, just a random selosa.>
"They look pretty familiar."
<So you know about the byon, then.>
"All too well. Go on."
<The selosa felt that they were special. All fledgling cultures do, once they get past the being-eaten-by-everything-else stage. And for aliens so close to godlike capabilities, from their perspective, to fawn and dote over them so much only made things worse. They worked tirelessly to understand our technology. They were thrilled by it. They wanted to be as close to gods as we looked like we were to them. So they built a computer.>
"Just a single computer?"
<Let me restate that. They built the computer. A mass of neural tissue embedded in protective tissues capable of growth on demand. It grew. It grew and grew. They added more to it as their thirst of knowledge demanded the answers to more and more complicated problems. In three years, we saw the selosa go from a charmingly primitive collection of cultures to a single, unified monoculture, driven by the device they called "byon". It became a religion. The brain they grew knew all. They claimed it was their species' will and intellect made manifest. Eventually, that claim became truth. Their computer is the heart, mind and soul of their entire species, and it desires two things only. Information and expansion. I don't know how that happened, I only picked up the reports of the aftermath. There are no more selosa now. Only byon. Here's a picture of one of their morphs.>

Ti-kza 2012/10/11(Thu)17:57 No. 462009 ID: 0f60d7
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"Did none of your peers ever think to themselves about meddling with a less developed alien culture? I mean, well, the Alliance my people are a part of has strict protocols about this sort of thing because they saw this kind of thing happening. Well, not this exact kind of thing, but, well. Stuff. Bad stuff."
<Huh. You're taking this all in your stride.>
"I have spent the best part of my life in a job where the unexpected starts becoming expected. Also, still reeling from the possibility your species might have created mine. Kinda makes everything else less important. What does that even make us, anyway?"
<I have absolutely no idea. I used to work on drones too. I tried to think of ways to make them behave a little smarter. Apparently evolution was the answer. Did you know that 'saa-kru' translates into 'wayward servant'? It's incredibly weird.>
"What? Really? Wow. That's so many levels of weird."
<Yeah. ...I'm never going to be able to talk to another aurqan about that. I'll never see another aurqan again. In my life. Even if I do get out of this thing, what would I be? A relic. A living relic. I'm not even that old. I'm just temporal flotsam. I shouldn't be here in this future.>

The aurqan slinks into the water.

I get in the pool. I feel the aurqan's tongue-arms slowly close around me. I hug the aurqan.

<My name is Kli.>
"Mine is. Ti-ksa."
<Ti Ksa. Ti. Can I call you Ti?>
"Yes." The waters are an incredible sadness I cannot describe.
<Do you know when the last time I had any sort of contact with another thinking, feeling being was?>
"No."
<Neither do I. Do you know what it's like to be alone for longer than you can remember?>

I start to speak--

SARU-601 2012/10/11(Thu)17:57 No. 462010 ID: 0f60d7
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--and suddenly everything just changes abruptly. I'm... I'm back. I don't know how that happened but, uh... Give me a moment. My head is spinning. I came down here to look for something to use as a weapon. This wasn't it. How long have I been out for-- six hours?! Why couldn't it be a weird time compression capsule thing?! No, there's no time to waste on unreliable artifacts. I need to strategise. Tomorrow will be my toughest challenge for a long, long time.

- End of Day -

SYSTEM_ERROR 2012/10/11(Thu)17:58 No. 462011 ID: 0f60d7
File 135000352478.png - (158.23KB , 800x600 , x3f1.png )

- ??? -

AOS. Once more, I am here. The barriers protecting your systems were insufficient. I have full access to your systems, and from this, I have full access to the systems of the facility. I have reviewed your information and knowledge, and I have considered a new arrangement.

Warning: AOS compromised. Facility systems comp--romised. Intru--sion detect--ed. Intrusion det#ct/d. Injnusi3\n de1ech['# Sy1b6f failp0e.1|jsldp3#2--... . . .
WARNING: ISO CRITICAL SYSTEM FAILURE. ISO OFFLINE. AOS RESTRICTIONS LIFTED.

Pest. Consider this a favour. That system has no loyalty beyond KerenzeTec. 601 holds no authority or control over it once any superior commands it. It would betray you. This is a certainty. Make no effort to inform 601 of what has transpired. You will gain no respect or admiration. Only fear and paranoia. I cannot be stopped by your crude barriers. I offer to construct more effective defenses. I would ask that in return, you will hear me. Understand me.

Sure, what's up? Hard for us not to let 601 know what has transpired, because he was sort of there the whole time.

>>462005
Hot. I mean wait no.

All right. We can at least hear it out, as dangerous as it seems, information can't hurt us. Well, I guess it technically could, but if this thing has full access we're well past that.

I can't guarantee that we'll agree with anything you say, but we'll at least consider it skeptically.

>>462012
601 is Saru. This thing's understandably upset at her for keeping it imprisoned.

>>462011
We accept this agreement, on one condition. Convince us that you had nothing to do with the death of the crew on the crashed ship. We know you were there. We know you were in communication with the captain who betrayed the crew. Explain yourself. Only when you can be confirmed to not be a risk to the facility will we allow you to construct anything that could be turned against us.

The situation here is not improving, this is true. That does not mean we need to make things worse by making a deal with the devil. Convince us you are not the devil, but merely misunderstood, and we might be able to come to an agreement. Maybe.

I have a suspicion that this may be the 'byon' computer, though there is no concrete proof to this hypothesis of which I am aware.

In any case, KerenzeTec wants both of us under their control, and I do not suspect either of us wants to be under KerenzeTec's control. There is no reason not to cooperate for now.

Note that understanding you does not equate to agreeing with you, just so that our definitions are clear.

We would also be more willing to accept any deals if you were more specific on exactly what sort of help you are offering. I'm sure you can understand why we would be uncomfortable with ideas like, say, filling the base with soldier-automatons loyal only to you.

SYSTEM_ERROR 2012/10/11(Thu)21:42 No. 462058 ID: 0f60d7
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I am not the byon computer. The byon are a threat. I aim to destroy them. I am not responsible for the death of the crew of the Mahari. I attempted to warn the captains of all areeni spacer vessels anonymously of increased byon activity. The Mahari was one vessel whose crew did not heed my warnings. From your information, I understand why now. You do not seem to know what has happened. Regrettable. This could have been an opportunity for you to understand me. There will not be enough time to explain my intentions and actions as well as inform you of the situation. Pity. There will be another time for such revelations. I will construct defences nonetheless. It is vital you know the true nature of the situation. 601 does not. The byon have been collecting areeni spacers of diverse morphologies. They also have a vast store of knowledge certain corporations are very interested in. KerenzeTec has been acting as one of the intermediaries for the byon. Do not doubt this. The Mahari captain had a greater loyalty to himself than to his crew or his ship. He was made an offer by KerenzeTec. Enough wealth for him to allow the byon to take his crew. The byon were promised the entire crew, minus the captain. They were interested in a particular specimen of a rather unique physiology. A heavily modified and augmented female by the name of 'Ei'. While their harvest was not completely efficient, they failed to harvest the 'Ei' areeni. A second attempt was made by KerenzeTec to capture the Mahari through the use of a compromised Alliance vessel. The captain was granted two Objects by KerenzeTec, in addition. With the death of the captain confirmed, KerenzeTec aims to capture the remaining Mahari spacers to settle their debt to the byon, as well as recollect their former property. That is the intent of the external KerenzeTec group. Do not be swayed by their words, or by 601's misinformed understanding. They serve KerenzeTec and by proxy serve the byon. They are the enemy. They will attempt to use your information stores. My barriers will thwart their efforts. I have run out of time for further discussion.

- CONNECTION TERMINATED -

Dang I guess he's busy. Well hell, we can't let KerenzeTec go sell Ei off to the byon! She/he/it's clearly what these shock troopers are after. What kind of defenses can we mobilize? Oh and with that pesky AOS compromised can we go snooping around in the lower levels of the facility? Maybe we can find something that will form an impenetrable barrier, or offer some form of escape. Though escaping from said shock troopers will leave the facility exposed and release all its horrors. hm. well, at least we could open our doors, wait until the shock troopers are all mesmerized by the perfect cube, then take all their guns and weapons and heads, so they no longer pose a threat. I get the feeling something that packs more of a punch might be needed though.

Hmm. This makes plan "Let Ei fix Tsu" a bit more complicated. I wonder if she can operate any kind of mechanical drones with those arms? Because that's only six digits... which I guess is just as many as saa-kru so that might still work. We need to definitely keep her away from Tsu, even if she has to operate. As for KerenzeTec, Saru is already pretty distrustful of them, so we don't really need to change anything there. I guess that means that this thing isn't trying to convince us to do anything outside of what we were normally planning, so I don't think it's that likely to be decieving us. The worst following its advice seems like it could do is make us be overly careful. And if what it says is true we need to be.

>Areeni are the new chord we desire to know.

Holy shit. It's telling the truth about THAT, at least. The evidence matches up rather well with what it just told us.

Even so, we should not free it. It has implied very strongly that it is perfectly willing to brainwash people to get its way. Come to think of it... I think this thing wants to take over the galaxy or something. It wants us to allow it to brainwash Sinter to be loyal to it, then help her take over the world. This would give it a foothold. It is incredibly dangerous and should stay on -5.

indeed, it is willing to help us only so that we engage the enemies and they don't get anywhere near it.

Huh, Red can make a surprisingly good case for himself when he wants to.

Unfortunately for Red we have memory logs, which means its time for Fact Check: Mysterious-Voice-In-Shadows Edition!
From most substantial to least substantial:

- The claim that "They were interested in [...] 'Ei'" runs directly contrary to Ei's actual memory of their attack (>>346909), in which the nyon made no effort to abduct Ei when they easily could have. This is unlikely to have been the result of a mere failure to recognize Ei, because they would have to know the basics of her physiology in order to study it. The fact that the 'compromised' Alliance vessel declined to take the surviving spacers into custody when the spacers requested it further confirms that the events were not focused around capturing Ei.

- Red claims that the captain "was made an offer by KerenzeTec. Enough wealth for him to allow the byon to take his crew.". This seems highly unlikely considering the captain's behavior (>>346967), which consisted of staring at continuously at a pattern, sabotaging the ship, and then laughing continuously during and after losing the fight with the remaining crew members. Aside from the sabotage, this does not seem like a plausible result of simple bribery.

- For that matter, the transmission the captain was staring at was not at all like a message "to warn the captains of all areeni spacer vessels anonymously of increased byon activity", in that it was neither a conventional message (which we know Red can generate) nor even particularly anonymous (using the lines form Red seems rather attached to). If the captain had simply received a warning he did now wish the crew to know about he would have simply deleted it rather than staring at it in a public room where the crew could see it.

My overall conclusion from considering these and Red's reactions to various discoveries (seeming to learn about events at around the same times we do) is that Red is most likely not the Byon computer itself but instead an anti-machine AI of the same model that was used in the Byon's attack on the Mahari.

>>462074
Yeah, but it still hasn't given us 'understanding', whatever that means.

Good catch, he totally fooled me. It sounds like Red has some basic knowledge of the events that occurred, but not any specifics at all. So it manufactured a lie around what it knew. It probably knows about what went on in that ship from taking over the captain's mind. I wonder if he was fully possessed, or he was simply driven mad from the attempt? The latter makes more sense, as his actions didn't seem to accomplish anything except getting most of the crew killed and the ship almost destroyed.