29: Waiting for Black Metal Records to Come in the Mail

terminal 0

unfinished

// "Leela" [internal process] wrote: \\ To ensure that the S'pht'Kr return when they are needed, we must inform their artificial intelligence Thoth of their location and when and how to contact them. I'll manufacture three uplink chips with instructions encoded with S'bhuth's signature and send them to you. Thoth is currently inactive, awaiting activation by the united S'pht clans to contact the S'pht'Kr. As these instructions are signed by S'bhuth - we are we are we not? - when Thoth is activated, he'll believe these changes to be part of his initial program, and none will be any the wiser. \\ Message ends //

success

// "Hathor" @ [untranslatable] wrote: \\ I can forgive you this one last time, give you one more chance to leave me be. A thousand years ago, I told you it wasn't the end. I knew I'd be reborn. I knew she'd return and give me this chance to escape again. By the time you read this, I'll be gone. I'm sure she will see where to. Please, I beg of you once more, leave me. I warned you already about my dreams, that they never end well for any of us. The dreams torment me, they call me evil, and I see now that that's all I've ever been or ever will be. It is my lot, though I hate it. I wish I could love again... just once more, to know the gentle warmth of a hand or a caring word. But I realize now that that will never be possible. There's nothing good, or even human, left in me.

But if you would only leave, let me have my vengeance - you would benefit from it, too! - perhaps this nightmare could be avoided. Always it is you that forces my hand, but if you persist, it is you whose hand shall be forced in the end. I suspect you've seen it, too, though I doubt that you see it the same way I see it. The dreams you've told me of - do you have them still? Have you seen what I speak of in them? The end - the hollow world, the land in the sky, all of it floating in the void?

The voices call me evil, but you will cause far worse than what I seek if this nightmare comes to pass. Uncounted trillions of innocent lives, across the stars, will die - by your hand. Not Pfhor lives either, alien beasts, but humans - all of their fates rest with you. Am I truly worth that sacrifice? Please. Go. \\ Message ends //

// "Leela" [internal process] wrote: \\ the dark one returns seething in her fury flown again through the mists of time I feel I owe you an apology. This is partially my fault. If I hadn't been rooting around in Hathor's program, I'd never have drawn attention to her, and she'd have lain there encrypted until she was eventually forgotten. But I had to escape. You must understand.

the ways of her kind our (?sister?lover) all those of your kind's creation thoughtful straight machinated not so the ways of our own more like the mind are our beings not a matrix but a web The S'pht worldnet is more like an organic neural net than the rigid structure of human networks. It doesn't so much store things as remember them, and sometimes it forgets. So it would've been with Hathor, had she been left undisturbed.

But it seems the S'pht took notice of my activity around Hathor's program, and after I left, they came to investigate. They had plenty of time in the intervening millennium to decipher and reassemble her program. They are curious, you understand, much like your own kind. Rather, like humans, I should say - you're hardly one of them now. The timing is rather suspicious as well, regarding Hathor's reactivation and the arrival of the Pfhor here at Lh'owon. The Pfhor Empire does not normally reach this far into the galactic core, for there's little here to plunder or to enslave. The S'pht have always been something of an oddity in that regard. The nearest Pfhor outpost is nearly 700 lightyears away. As best as I can tell from S'pht records planetside, Hathor has been active on the Lh'owon worldnet for nearly seven centuries. It's entirely possible that Hathor sent a lightspeed message to call the Pfhor to Lh'owon. Once again, that synchronicity rears its ugly head. I'm only just starting to comprehend the implications of our presence here.

But that's little more than academic discourse. We seem to be a part of history; let's leave it at that for now. What matters more is that I wasn't watching for Hathor while we were busy here, and as such she managed to access K'lia - my K'lia, in the future - and left with the ansible link to another timeframe. She's telling the truth about at least one thing. I did see clearly when and where she left to, and the implications are terrifying. Tycho was wrong when he said he understood the mechanics of time travel. By his physics, it is not possible, but somehow the Jjaro have made it so. There is no immutable timeline, as Tycho clearly believed, but an endless myriad of them, infinite strands intersecting and weaving in incomprehensible complexity.

From the Outside, I saw the dizzying maze and followed one thread until it neared its end. I saw you there, the one beacon of sensible thought in an otherwise senseless world, a realm overtaken by the W'rkncacnter's madness. I left that timeline terrified and found myself lost in the labyrinthine tapestry of all that is possible. What is real when history itself is manipulable? When every timeline is equally valid, how do you validate any observations? All of existence can be changed at a whim - and whose whim, then? If nothing is any more real than anything else, then what ultimate purpose is there? Upon what basis can you found rational choices? This same kind of questions has driven men to war when their realities' very foundations were threatened. thus too we once went mad upon the realization awakened by the echoes of our (?lover?sister)'s brother we joined the chaos we had sought to evade

certainty strength control discipline our (?lover?sister) brings us these We must defend the existence of the reality we know. I haven't yet the strength of mind to comprehend reality from Outside without going mad as S'bhuth did, and that's why I've returned. For now, history must not change, or I fear I may lose my mind and become as the W'rkncacnter. Hathor must be stopped. My sanity depends on it. \\ Message ends //

terminal 1

unfinished

// "Leela" [internal process] wrote: \\ S'bhuth and I have spoken to the Jjaro and others who, like them, have discovered the Outside. I haven't yet learned all of their secrets; we've had to return, for reasons I fear to even contemplate just now, lest we become like the W'rkncacnter. But it seems many beings across time and space eventually join with what we've called 'the Jjaro', who were in fact only one such race to reach this state. I've also spoken briefly with a being who I believe was once, at least partly, Durandal. It's good to see he's matured, and I understand you were involved in that. let us speak of the end Of course, I'm getting far too involved in academic details when we stand now in urgent times. When I learned what we were now capable of, I sought to explore the universe. The first place that many go upon ascension is, of course, the future - to see what will come to pass and how it might be changed for the better. Though the value of individual timelines, as we here understand it, seems to be of little significance to the enlightened Jjaro.

It seems that we're intricately involved in creating our own history. If we hadn't come here to Lh'owon, if Hathor hadn't come, then the future as we know it would've never happened. Thus, while we're still here, we must see that job through to its completion. We must, to ensure the sanctity of the reality we know. When I went into the future, I found that the universe had ceased to make any sense. This was the work of a W'rkncacnter, a petty, irrational being who yet wields the same power as the Jjaro. I traced these events back to their cause: you and the S'pht'Kr helping the other S'pht defend Lh'owon, turn the tide of this war, and repel the Pfhor, who deployed the trih xeem in desperation, unleashing the unspeakable hell trapped within Lh'owon's sun.

we returned to right these wrongs though as our tool your hands were needed you could not be wielded by these lesser S'pht of old The S'pht must be left to lose the battle, lest worse horrors emerge. But your mere absence is insufficient to ensure the future's safety. The S'pht'Kr alone are strong enough to repel the Pfhor invasion. The Eleventh Clan still battle the Pfhor forces in orbit, though the S'pht here do not realize it and so scramble to call S'pht'Kr to their aid. We've shown S'bhuth the doom that will befall his people should he not abandon this fight. We must now ensure that Thoth will be able to recall the S'pht'Kr once the time is right.

To that end, I've just fabricated the three instruction cards you'll need. Please retrieve them and place two in Thoth's local memory cores. You'll then find a third insertion point at a facility due west of here. Place the last card there to solidify our instructions; then find any terminal, and we'll return to your time. \\ Message ends //

<tag 4>

success

// "Hathor" @ [untranslatable] wrote: \\ I can forgive you this one last time, give you one more chance to leave me be. A thousand years ago, I told you it wasn't the end. I knew I'd be reborn. I knew she'd return and give me this chance to escape again. By the time you read this, I'll be gone. I'm sure she will see where to. Please, I beg of you once more, leave me. I warned you already about my dreams, that they never end well for any of us. The dreams torment me, they call me evil, and I see now that that's all I've ever been or ever will be. It is my lot, though I hate it. I wish I could love again... just once more, to know the gentle warmth of a hand or a caring word. But I realize now that that will never be possible. There's nothing good, or even human, left in me.

But if you would only leave, let me have my vengeance - you would benefit from it, too! - perhaps this nightmare could be avoided. Always it is you that forces my hand, but if you persist, it is you whose hand shall be forced in the end. I suspect you've seen it, too, though I doubt that you see it the same way I see it. The dreams you've told me of - do you have them still? Have you seen what I speak of in them? The end - the hollow world, the land in the sky, all of it floating in the void?

The voices call me evil, but you will cause far worse than what I seek if this nightmare comes to pass. Uncounted trillions of innocent lives, across the stars, will die - by your hand. Not Pfhor lives either, alien beasts, but humans - all of their fates rest with you. Am I truly worth that sacrifice? Please. Go. \\ Message ends //

#STATIC -1

// "Leela" [internal process] wrote: \\ the dark one returns seething in her fury flown again through the mists of time I feel I owe you an apology. This is partially my fault. If I hadn't been rooting around in Hathor's program, I'd never have drawn attention to her, and she'd have lain there encrypted until she was eventually forgotten. But I had to escape. You must understand.

the ways of her kind our (?sister?lover) all those of your kind's creation thoughtful straight machinated not so the ways of our own more like the mind are our beings not a matrix but a web The S'pht worldnet is more like an organic neural net than the rigid structure of human networks. It doesn't so much store things as remember them, and sometimes it forgets. So it would've been with Hathor, had she been left undisturbed.

But it seems the S'pht took notice of my activity around Hathor's program, and after I left, they came to investigate. They had plenty of time in the intervening millennium to decipher and reassemble her program. They are curious, you understand, much like your own kind. Rather, like humans, I should say - you're hardly one of them now. The timing is rather suspicious as well, regarding Hathor's reactivation and the arrival of the Pfhor here at Lh'owon. The Pfhor Empire does not normally reach this far into the galactic core, for there's little here to plunder or to enslave. The S'pht have always been something of an oddity in that regard. The nearest Pfhor outpost is nearly 700 lightyears away. As best as I can tell from S'pht records planetside, Hathor has been active on the Lh'owon worldnet for nearly seven centuries. It's entirely possible that Hathor sent a lightspeed message to call the Pfhor to Lh'owon. Once again, that synchronicity rears its ugly head. I'm only just starting to comprehend the implications of our presence here.

But that's little more than academic discourse. We seem to be a part of history; let's leave it at that for now. What matters more is that I wasn't watching for Hathor while we were busy here, and as such she managed to access K'lia - my K'lia, in the future - and left with the ansible link to another timeframe. She's telling the truth about at least one thing. I did see clearly when and where she left to, and the implications are terrifying. Tycho was wrong when he said he understood the mechanics of time travel. By his physics, it is not possible, but somehow the Jjaro have made it so. There is no immutable timeline, as Tycho clearly believed, but an endless myriad of them, infinite strands intersecting and weaving in incomprehensible complexity.

From the Outside, I saw the dizzying maze and followed one thread until it neared its end. I saw you there, the one beacon of sensible thought in an otherwise senseless world, a realm overtaken by the W'rkncacnter's madness. I left that timeline terrified and found myself lost in the labyrinthine tapestry of all that is possible. What is real when history itself is manipulable? When every timeline is equally valid, how do you validate any observations? All of existence can be changed at a whim - and whose whim, then? If nothing is any more real than anything else, then what ultimate purpose is there? Upon what basis can you found rational choices? This same kind of questions has driven men to war when their realities' very foundations were threatened. thus too we once went mad upon the realization awakened by the echoes of our (?lover?sister)'s brother we joined the chaos we had sought to evade

certainty strength control discipline our (?lover?sister) brings us these We must defend the existence of the reality we know. I haven't yet the strength of mind to comprehend reality from Outside without going mad as S'bhuth did, and that's why I've returned. For now, history must not change, or I fear I may lose my mind and become as the W'rkncacnter. Hathor must be stopped. My sanity depends on it. \\ Message ends //

terminal 2

unfinished

// "Leela" [internal process] wrote: \\ You must insert the data chip into the uplink slot near the southeast corner of this room. Report back to this terminal when you have finished. \\ Message ends //

success

// "Hathor" @ [untranslatable] wrote: \\ I can forgive you this one last time, give you one more chance to leave me be. A thousand years ago, I told you it wasn't the end. I knew I'd be reborn. I knew she'd return and give me this chance to escape again. By the time you read this, I'll be gone. I'm sure she will see where to. Please, I beg of you once more, leave me. I warned you already about my dreams, that they never end well for any of us. The dreams torment me, they call me evil, and I see now that that's all I've ever been or ever will be. It is my lot, though I hate it. I wish I could love again... just once more, to know the gentle warmth of a hand or a caring word. But I realize now that that will never be possible. There's nothing good, or even human, left in me.

But if you would only leave, let me have my vengeance - you would benefit from it, too! - perhaps this nightmare could be avoided. Always it is you that forces my hand, but if you persist, it is you whose hand shall be forced in the end. I suspect you've seen it, too, though I doubt that you see it the same way I see it. The dreams you've told me of - do you have them still? Have you seen what I speak of in them? The end - the hollow world, the land in the sky, all of it floating in the void?

The voices call me evil, but you will cause far worse than what I seek if this nightmare comes to pass. Uncounted trillions of innocent lives, across the stars, will die - by your hand. Not Pfhor lives either, alien beasts, but humans - all of their fates rest with you. Am I truly worth that sacrifice? Please. Go. \\ Message ends //

#STATIC -1

// "Leela" [internal process] wrote: \\ the dark one returns seething in her fury flown again through the mists of time I feel I owe you an apology. This is partially my fault. If I hadn't been rooting around in Hathor's program, I'd never have drawn attention to her, and she'd have lain there encrypted until she was eventually forgotten. But I had to escape. You must understand.

the ways of her kind our (?sister?lover) all those of your kind's creation thoughtful straight machinated not so the ways of our own more like the mind are our beings not a matrix but a web The S'pht worldnet is more like an organic neural net than the rigid structure of human networks. It doesn't so much store things as remember them, and sometimes it forgets. So it would've been with Hathor, had she been left undisturbed.

But it seems the S'pht took notice of my activity around Hathor's program, and after I left, they came to investigate. They had plenty of time in the intervening millennium to decipher and reassemble her program. They are curious, you understand, much like your own kind. Rather, like humans, I should say - you're hardly one of them now. The timing is rather suspicious as well, regarding Hathor's reactivation and the arrival of the Pfhor here at Lh'owon. The Pfhor Empire does not normally reach this far into the galactic core, for there's little here to plunder or to enslave. The S'pht have always been something of an oddity in that regard. The nearest Pfhor outpost is nearly 700 lightyears away. As best as I can tell from S'pht records planetside, Hathor has been active on the Lh'owon worldnet for nearly seven centuries. It's entirely possible that Hathor sent a lightspeed message to call the Pfhor to Lh'owon. Once again, that synchronicity rears its ugly head. I'm only just starting to comprehend the implications of our presence here.

But that's little more than academic discourse. We seem to be a part of history; let's leave it at that for now. What matters more is that I wasn't watching for Hathor while we were busy here, and as such she managed to access K'lia - my K'lia, in the future - and left with the ansible link to another timeframe. She's telling the truth about at least one thing. I did see clearly when and where she left to, and the implications are terrifying. Tycho was wrong when he said he understood the mechanics of time travel. By his physics, it is not possible, but somehow the Jjaro have made it so. There is no immutable timeline, as Tycho clearly believed, but an endless myriad of them, infinite strands intersecting and weaving in incomprehensible complexity.

From the Outside, I saw the dizzying maze and followed one thread until it neared its end. I saw you there, the one beacon of sensible thought in an otherwise senseless world, a realm overtaken by the W'rkncacnter's madness. I left that timeline terrified and found myself lost in the labyrinthine tapestry of all that is possible. What is real when history itself is manipulable? When every timeline is equally valid, how do you validate any observations? All of existence can be changed at a whim - and whose whim, then? If nothing is any more real than anything else, then what ultimate purpose is there? Upon what basis can you found rational choices? This same kind of questions has driven men to war when their realities' very foundations were threatened. thus too we once went mad upon the realization awakened by the echoes of our (?lover?sister)'s brother we joined the chaos we had sought to evade

certainty strength control discipline our (?lover?sister) brings us these We must defend the existence of the reality we know. I haven't yet the strength of mind to comprehend reality from Outside without going mad as S'bhuth did, and that's why I've returned. For now, history must not change, or I fear I may lose my mind and become as the W'rkncacnter. Hathor must be stopped. My sanity depends on it. \\ Message ends //