futurology | voice; un: eliasainsworth

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voice; un: eliasainsworth

I believe I have some information that might be of use, or at least to consider.

[The voice is low and very even, having only the barest hint of a conversational cadence.]

My companion, Shuyi, and I managed to locate and capture Miz Poppy. We captured her and two of her Deemer companions, and as we began to take them back to Perdition's Rest, she had some very interesting things to say.

She reaffirmed that there was no way to safely separate a Taraxa from its host without the destruction of the latter. What is more troubling, however, was that she insisted that hers and her compatriots' mission of destruction was something which the TIMELINE.EXE asked of them.

Before we could deliver her back here, one of the other captured Deemers sacrificed himself so that she may escape in the confusion.

It is not my intention to offer this information in order to incite mass confusion or doubt, as it is quite possible she was lying. But I do not think we can completely discount that she might be telling the truth—or that she and her fellows are somehow deluded enough to believe that they are. It is, as I originally said, something to at the very least keep in mind.

Threaded | Flat

That means that the execution of the program itself isn't something exclusive to ALASTAIR.

[ there's an easy way to connect the dots here, and it leads right back to Oska. ]

Isn't that curious?

Well, it wouldn't be the first time someone set two groups against each other to achieve a goal...

[He knows the Timeline isn't a person, but that doesn't discount someone using it as a tool to accomplish their goals. Whatever that was meant to be.]

[ Irritably. ]

We already know these slugs for liars. Their claims of salvation and religious devotion were a front. They cannot be trusted.

Has anyone found any evidence to the contrary about the Taraxa separation?

[because he hasn't heard any but who knows.]

It's soundin' less and less like the Deemers are gonna be able to be saved. We're gonna be sending a few back to Oska, just in case there's somethin' we overlooked, but it's not lookin' very likely.

That said, I'm sure some are awful curious about this timeline mess. Assuming they weren't lying. Hard to say for sure. Either way, there's no real reason to not fulfill whatever task ALASTAIR put out for us right now.

Hang on a sec — let's say she was telling the truth. Why would the Timeline thing tell one group to do one thing, then tell us to do the exact opposite? Can a program just... change its mind like that?

[ gdi pidge where are you to explain coding to him..! ]

If that's the case, it opens the door for a number of possibilities. As others have said, it could mean this "TIMELINE.EXE" program isn't ALASTAIR's product, and they might not understand it as well as we've been led to assume.

It might be a means to throw us off, of course...

But if we find it isn't, I don't think we could blindly follow its dictates going forward.

[Haise still remembers how that system had been what people cited as the reason they had to kill Nalanni and Ryba. They'd been told that was the only way. He'd doubted it then, and now...]

If nothing else, it will be a worthwhile matter to bring to Lloyd. We were not even aware of Zymandis' existence up until now, after all.

—Wait, what? But... that would mean they have access to a computer in Oska. Getting into that thing without anyone noticing should be impossible!

[ Because that is, truly, the surprising part here. ]

[The problem with this magitech is that it picks up on subconscious thoughts from time to time. Including,]

Naturally the moment I am sent on a different mission this world descends to the seventh circle of hell...

[Don't you... mind that...]

Once again it seems like Audentes will be first divided... still, I must thank you for sharing this information, whether it proves itself true or false in the end.

Elias... [ When she starts the audio, delayed after reading and listening to everything else, she sounds uncertain. Her voice doesn't shake, but it's softer and definitely more hesitant. ]

Who is to say that the system is even functioning properly? Software of any kind can be manipulated... who is to say that is not the case here? From what I understand of what has been said, ALASTAIR receives its information from this program and does not entirely know how it works... it could be possible.

If the Zymandis have their own program, does that make 'em our rivals?

I gotta say I ain't inclined to think any people who willingly put parasites into others are worth listenin' to. At the very least they look at the bigger picture and care for nothin' else.

If the Taraxa were only hired by the Zymandis, I'd like to have a chat with the real masterminds at work here.

Threaded | Flat

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