VIDEO -> TEXT. UN: DAGNY.

[dagnyology]

[ Dagny's face appears on the network. Behind her are snowy plains, where small gnomes are jumping and playing. Her face is flushed from the cold, but she smiles. ]

Hello! I hope you're all doing well! The Timeline has finally computed your mission objective — sorry it took so long! Sometimes he gets a little slow. Now, I know he may seem— different, but he's always been correct! Just... ah, be careful when talking to him? He's a learning machine, and all he really knows is about missions, so sometimes he says some strange things when he goes off topic. But don't worry! He tries his best. I'll connect you to him now.

TIMELINE.EXE IS PROGRAMMED TO RELEASE MISSION PARAMETERS. MISSION OBSERVATION IS COMPLETE AND RESULTS FOR MISSION: Nalawi ARE AS FOLLOWS:

Hello World ( ﾟ▽ﾟ)/ Take the hassle and confusion out of the
Mission,
Try this One Weird Trick!

To help NALAWI, you will need to DEFEAT the GODDESS NALANNI so the energy can return to the world.* In doing so, the people of NALAWI will LOSE THEIR POWERS but the world will continue on. If this objective is not reached, NALAWI will BURN OUT PREMATURELY.

*NOTE FROM TIMELINE.EXE: Giant squid of the Sea, too
2 or 0 Not 1! Thank you

[OOC NOTE: This will serve as an IC discussion post. The OOC discussion post is here!]

Comments

[agrizzlysin]

You trust something you can't even understand that implicitly?

[dagnyology]

Well, yes. It's been around for hundreds of years, and not once has it steered us wrong. It's the reason the multiverse is still in existence! There's only so much energy to go around after the Cataclysm.

[agrizzlysin]

[He's missing something here. This doesn't make sense yet. If ALASTAIR is judging the infallibleness of "The Timeline" by the fact that they all still exist, then all it takes is a single mistake for everything to suddenly not exist.]

The Cataclysm? Are you serious?

[dagnyology]

Yes -- do you mean to say you haven't heard of the Cataclysm?

[agrizzlysin]

Excuse me if I've been busy since I was dropped into your survival exam and then sent to a damaged world to be kidnapped by cultists.

[Yes. Yes, he means to say he hasn't heard of the Cataclysm.

...

Sorry.]

[dagnyology]

[ Ignoring that attitude... ]

The Cataclysm was -- well, the most important event in the world! It's the entire reason ALASTAIR exists. The one universe broke into pieces, creating the multiverse as we know it. That's why there's only so much energy; the energy that used to power one large universe now has to power all of them.

At least, that's how I learned it. I certainly wasn't there, it happened long ago.

[agrizzlysin]

[King can't say he completely understands, but...]

Then there's no way to create more energy?

[dagnyology]

Some can be generated, by things like defeating goddesses or smaller things such as creating or resolving conflict, but for the most part -- yes. We are running on mostly finite energy, I'm afraid!

[agrizzlysin]

[Wait, hold up--!]

By creating conflict?

[dagnyology]

That's something that could generate energy, yes, although I suppose any change to the status quo would do.

[agrizzlysin]

Which is more effective: creating or resolving conflict?