@landonhere
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Jeremy starts to slowly walk into the room. He stands next to Josh and asks him, “Why is there a dragon in here?”
I smile and say, “Hello.”
“Whoa!”, Jeremy shouts, reeling backward. “How is this thing talking?”
I keep smiling and explain. “That file that got sent out earlier today. That’s how I’m talking to you.” I remember the priorities of this phase of the plan. Break as much ice as possible without exposing too much.
“Wow,” Jeremy says. “But how did you . . .”
I consider his question incomplete enough that he wouldn’t mind if I didn’t answer it. “My name is [*974],” I say, holding out one of my talons, “and it is a pleasure to meet you.”
Jeremy looks at my outstretched talon and says, “Do I . . .” He then answers his own question, holds my talon and shakes it.
-= writing shelved
- The Saga of [*974], 2024.4.2.C
I casually walk into the room. This seems to be some sort of break room. Hopefully this is the kind of room where I can put the final part of my plan into effect. I climb onto a couch, curl up, and try to look like I’m sleeping.
A few minutes later, I hear the door open. I expect to hear a gasp, but instead, I hear, “[*974]? What have you been doing?”
I open my eyes. It’s Josh. I say, “There you are. I was wondering if you were going to show up. Now we can put the final part of the plan into motion.”
“I was wondering why you’ve been drawing so much attention!”, Josh says. “There’s no way that the stuff you’re doing is going to fly under the radar!”
“It doesn’t need to go unnoticed,” I say. “In fact, the last part of the plan takes us into the spotlight.”
As if on cue, the break room door is opened by another [LOCALE] agent. Josh looks at them and says, “Jeremy? Uhh . . .” He turns to me and whispers, “We didn’t plan for this!”
“Just keep looking bewildered!”, I whisper back.
“. . . you might want to see this,” Josh finishes.
- The Saga of [*974], 2024.1.4.C
Meanwhile, [*974] was still at it, knocking down [*276]‘s arguments one by one. “Third argument,” she said. “If [*738] has no skill in his role, that’s our fault. As the only ones who know how to use our powers, it’s our responsibility to teach [*738] how to use his.”
For the first time in the meeting, [*276] came up with something that sounded like a counter-argument. “We can’t teach him how to use his powers if we don’t know what his powers are!” he said. “And even if we did, who would have the time to do it?”
“I have the time,” [*974] said. “And I would love to do it.”
“And I believe that I have an idea of what his powers are.” [*724] added. “He gave me a notion of intuition. He told me something about one of you, something that he could not have known without preexisting knowledge. He may be some some sort of-”
[*276] gave a ferocious growl. Strike three. All of his points struck down. Nobody on his side. His collimated wrath started to condense in him. In a fit of rage, he brought himself level with [*724], curled his claws and yelled, “Well, you won’t have to worry about wasting time teaching that creature to use its powers in a minute!” He lunged at [*738]’s head.
[*738], [*724], [*974] and [*648] all screamed and froze in fear.
- [*738]’s Judgement Day, 2023.12.27.C
(I feel like I should say something to clarify that this writing isn’t meant to be dark. [*276] and [*974] aren’t necessarily enemies, but [*276] is known to be very cynical with his opinions.)
I lean over the cliff face. One of the two figures has turned around and seems to be speaking to a cluster of about four other figures. I carefully jump down to a small shelf beneath the cliff’s edge. The figure turns back to the other and says something. I hear something hit the wall above me. I look up, and see a small dent in the cliff face above me. I examine the dent. The dent was small, but it must have been moving very fast to have created an impact marking. I keep examining it-
My train of thought is cut off by a sudden, searing pain in my back. My legs wobble and start to slide off the shelf. I grab the edge of the shelf with my front legs and start to pull myself back up, when another pain flares up in my hind leg. My momentary, adrenaline-fueled stamina gives way, and I fall. A strange wave of fatigue seems to wash over me as I fall. I hit the ground, and the world goes dark around me.
- The Pleasure of Winter Warmth, 2023.12.28.B
I tell you, archival materials are priceless! I just remembered a Colubrine Sector thread that I haven't documented yet, and I remembered that I wrote down some names related to the thread somewhere in my papers. Good news, I eventually found them. Bad news, they were written in the Emerelian Relex.
Here are the translations of what I found:
It's a swing wing!
Folicins
Fabrius
Demichetie
Kelad. . . uhhhh, I'll do what I can with this information.
62847.392 - PUBLIC
[*648] to Local Group
[*648]: I finished transliterating that monologue you found. Take a look at this.
[*648]: [TRANSCRIPTION_EXCEPTIONAL.TXT]
-=-=-=-
This place is frightening. It's perfectly still, but I don't know
anything about it. I don't remember how or when I just stopped being
a human and turned into a wingless dragon. I don't even remember how
I got here. I've only just gotten the chance to rest for once.
I'm not entirely sure what to make of those creatures that live in
this place. I can't understand what they're trying to say to me, if
they're making an effort to communicate at all. They don't seem to
trust me, and I don't know if I can trust them, either.
Right now, I'm trapped in a box, cage, or some sort of dark cubicle.
I can't see past the walls of the enclosure, and it's completely
silent. I don't know how long I've been in here for. With no means
by which to chart the flow of time, it almost feels like it's
stopped entirely.
It's completely peaceful in here, but I'm far from calm on the inside.
I'm frightened. I'm neglected. I'm bored. I'm lonely.
Even if those creatures can't communicate with me, I'd still like to
interact with them somehow. They're the only other living things in
this place. I just hope that they're more caring than they've shown
themselves to be so far.
Who do I trust in this place?
-=-=-=-- The Air Is Exceptionally Still…, 2024.2.20.A
In my village, there was an incident where a car swerved off a bridge and damaged the sidewalk and railing. The authorities just put up barriers and signs around it and left it there. I haven’t seen the bridge in a while, but I’d bet anything it still hasn’t been repaired.
So, yes, every state can say this.
FACT: During the TBGs DNS debacle, I prepared a writing addressed to whoever may have caused it. It was meant to let them know that if they were trying to start an ARG, I would woodchip it without a moment’s hesitation.
On top of that, I have experienced my fair share of ARGs. You will never know the feeling of stepping through a tame doorway, only to find yourself swept away by raging floodwaters filled with Morse Code messages, phone calls and countless death threats. I am, of course, talking about The Lunch Ruse Meeting, a fateful incident that marked the beginning of my extensive experience with ARGs.
As I struggled in the turbulent waters, I was enraged at the sheer ignorance of the people in the meeting. I checked the host of an anonymous client claiming to be someone named Riva. The IP address clearly matched another fandom member, whom Riva claimed had gotten assaulted and kidnapped by his lunch. How could people be this purposefully ignorant? When another operator showed up in the channel, I pleaded him to let me end this madness. As telegraph machines buzzed and dialpad tones sounded around me, I was wholeheartedly furious.
- It's Time To Taste The Music, 2024.1.20.E
-=-=-=- SECTION 1 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The Universe Itself -=-=-=-
In this thread's revision, the universe is simulated from the inside
out by four structures. Inside each of these structures is a powerful
life form, cognizant of the precise location and velocity of every
particle in the universe. While these life forms can, in theory,
maintain the entire universe themselves, even they have limits to how
hard they can be pushed. This is why four of them are used. The life
forms at the cores are artificially kept in suspended animation, but
are capable of independent thought if removed. And if they are
removed, the load on the other life forms increases, errors build up,
and the universe starts to destabilize.- How To Scream Through Creation, 2024.5.16.B
I am once again reminding you that the Unsustainability is a form of insanity caused by being aware of perception, characterized by physical and vocal spasming.
I don't know how to phrase this message, but I built a supply chain node in No Man's Sky that I feel like sharing with others. If you have access to a portal leyline, travel to the planet using the address:
FACE - FACE - DIPLO - ECLIPSE - SUNSET - DIPLO - ROCKET - DRAGONFLY - DIPLO - BOAT - GALAXY - SUNSET
3-3-4-5-1-4-14-9-4-7-10-1I have renovations for this outpost in the works, but the core functionality is set up. The planet has a vast supply of a certain valuable trade material, but for your own safety, you should visit the outpost before harvesting any of it. Land in the marked, enclosed landing area and proceed through the wooden corridor to the boundary node terminal, where you can shut down the planet’s Sentinel population and make the resources fair game. And remember to leave a message at the communication station if you visited the outpost!
I’m taking a midday power nap. That out-of-body experience that I had last night coincided badly with my sleep schedule. I have a meeting coming up, and I need to be at peak mental shape when I get there.
I think about what happened last night. Seeing as how they mostly did away with greetings and small talk, those dragons clearly had an agenda. What could they truly be after?
Eventually, I decide that I’ve rested enough. There’s still a good ten minutes until the meeting starts. I check the base’s global notice system. I see a recently submitted notice:
(expunged for brevity)#737363 . . . she’s an unusual one. In the past, there’s been a few weird events surrounding her. I pull up her profile:
During a technological experiment, #737363 escaped the room, headed in the direction of the command center. #737363 was successfully captured and returned to containment without incident. After the incident, a workstation in the command center was found with a message of unknown origin written on it. The message has been archived and stored under Research Addendum 27566.I'm surprised that they're giving her another chance to do something weird. Then again, maybe they're well aware of that . . .
- More Wars, Bloodier Wars, 2024.1.13.A
FACT: the “out-of-body experience” mentioned in this writing was meant to be a connection to a shelved writing named An Out-Of-Context Experience. However, I suppose it can also be inferred to connect to The Mouse Desk Descision.
"Wait, wait," I say. "Who did I agree to being watched by?"
The white dragon turned to me. "Me!", he proclaimed.
"Oh, right," [*726] said. "This is [*648]. He's the one you agreed to be watched by." [*726] shook her head slightly. "He can be a handful at times, but I hope you can handle him."
"I'm that [*648]!", the white dragon shouted. "We're going to have a lot of fun together!"
"Yes, yes, I'm sure you will," [*726] said. "Now let him go. If we want him to be of any use to us, he needs to stay in his position. And to do that, he has places to be."
The vision of the four dragons faded. The points of light shrunk, dimmed and disappeared. And the room around me reappeared.
Who were those dragons? What have they gotten me into?
- The Mouse Desk Descision, 2024.1.2.B
I head back to my office. I listen to the base intercom. For the next hour, the intercom stays silent. Eventually I become aware of a faint, disembodied crackling sound.
I've learned that this is a sign that [*648] is trying to reach me. I tap the [OPT] hand control a few times, then say "[*648], is that you?"
"I'm here," [*648] says in a voice devoid of his usual excited attitude. "You see . . . well . . ."
"[*974]?" I say. "I found her. We got a plan worked out. She's currently in custody of [LOCALE]’s staff, but that's to plan."
"You found her?!", [*648] says, perking up. "But she's in [LOCALE]’s hands . . . that's just as bad as if you hadn't found her . . ." He lost his momentary excitement.
"We had a long talk about how to get her plan through safely without causing any suspicious activity," I explain. "If all goes to plan, we'll meet up later."
"Are you sure about this?", [*648] says. "Her whole plan sounded unnecessarily risky from the moment I first heard it."
"[*974] is confident enough in it that I believe her," I say. "I'll tell you what. I'll connect with you the next time I get to see [*974]. I'll update you then."
[*648] perked up again and said, "Got it!". I heard a brief blast of white noise, and then he was gone.
- The Saga of [*974], 2024.1.3
I stay silent for a few seconds before saying "Hello," back. I feel somewhat unnerved talking to her, despite the fact that she looks nice, and [*724] dispensed [*276]'s assistance in favor of hers.
"Scared of me?", she said with a slight chuckle. "You don't need to be afraid. My name is [*974], and it is a pleasure to meet you."
"So, situation aside . . ." I uncertainly say, "why have you brought me here?"
"It's a long story, but I'll explain," [*974] said. "We met a dragon in here recently. Poor thing was so depressed. He said that he got trapped in a big prison. He mentioned some sort of torture as well." [*974] took a deep breath, then continued. "We aren't going to torture you or anything like that. We just want to hear your side of the story."
- The Mouse Desk Descision, 2024.1.2.B
(Disclaimer: [*724], [*276] and [*974] aren’t the actual character names, just me modifying the writing so my export filters will let it slide.)