Vigil

[Rebonack]

[Deciphering Cylinders]

Oh no!

That's a terrible thing to think!

Geneva writes down quite quickly-

Oh no nothing like that! This is the Project Bifrost embankment chamber. Normally I use it to bridge between the Nexus and other nearby universes. But I've equipped it with an advanced sensor suite and the interior is well shielded, so it doubles as an excellent way to deep-scan objects of interest. Not that I'm saying you're an object! I just want to compare what information I can gather on you with some other artifacts VIGIL has recently encountered.

Execution chamber!?

Really?

Geneva would NEVER make such a thing.

Anyway!

Scans.

~The similarities between LB2's tech and the equipment we found in the structure's library are unmistakably related. That much we could have surmised, but the confirmation is still useful. The technology that these 'Lanterns' use to project avatars appears to be at least somewhat similar to the technology for constructing a 'porygon' and its upgrades; a mix of light and barrier projectors to create a facsimile of a physical object. I think I could probably acquire and modify an unencoded porygon core with a little help-~

A lot of help, actually. That kind of tech really isn't Geneva's area of expertise.

~-which might provide LB2 with a mobile avatar that's a bit more similar to what she was designed to utilize. I think it's worth noting that while the Lantern entity we encountered in the archive was in some capacity hostile there doesn't appear to be anything that requires that demeanor in LB2. I suspect it may have been a learned behavior.~

Which is good news for security reasons.

~The design of that 'fly wheel' power generator is especially interesting. Have you had a chance to investigate its functionality and design in depth yet, Doctor Bu~

[Ironsmith]

[Deciphering Cylinders]

"Not a-" Eun starts, before realizing that Geneva's probably projecting this instead of writing it where LB2 can see it for a reason. She's... never been great at dealing with telepaths, but she's developed a way of talking to voices in her head well enough.

~Not as such, no.~ She mentally amends, hoping Geneva can pick up her thoughts well enough to make her lack of psychic ability a non-issue. ~But from what I've seen, it's very similar in concept to our Quantum Sail technology. Which takes advantage of selective-direction permeability to provide what, to an outside viewer, would appear to be a perpetual-motion device, mixed with a turbine setup to allow the mechanism to generate power. It turns out to not be half bad for interdimensional- er, Quad-Space travel, either.~ Eun wants to make sure she keeps her terminology right. She doesn't want to give Geneva the wrong impression about what this technology is capable of. ~So far as I can tell, the "fly wheel" used here is powered by the same basic mechanism... eerily so. If I hadn't been told this didn't come from our world, I would have assumed it did.~

[Hraithre]

[Deciphering Cylinders]

The holographic girl peers at the note. "Ah, okay", she says, sighing with relief, "but, I must presume generating such a pathway requires a great deal of energy. So, such a chamber would by its nature double as viable disintegration chamber, in addition to being able of banishing whoever's inside to another world", she then continues with stone-faced seriousness.

Such a little ball of fun and joy, she is.

But, she doesn't dwell on that for long. "Hmmm... you seem to be taking a lot of images of me? Are you trying to make another sister for me?", she comments idly, "if not, I'd be careful with those. The way I'm assembled, a sufficiently detailed image of me contains an algorithm for how to make more of me. I mean, it should be fine if your machines are not thinking too deeply of them. But accidents happen, you know?"

Accidents, such as the one that freaked Mia out and made her deem the original Lantern artefact brought in by Codebreaker dangerous.

Indeed, now that Geneva and Eun have information on how the device is meant to work when intact, they can more easily tell what happened. It is likely the artefact they have in storage is not made of physical matter either, but is a sort of a three-dimensional holographic storage of a higher-dimensional object. Each part of it is also likely made of glyphs, and thus encodes algorithms for assembling and running itself. When Mia ran photos of the device through her own program to see how the disassembled pieces should go together, she unwittingly recovered some of those.

They can also estimate limits to the algorithm's ability to visually jump from medium to medium. Humans and human-like organisms ought to be mostly safe, simply because most people have neither photographic memory nor excess processing power to derive one state of the cellular automaton from another - one would have to be some kind of a superlative math genius to do that. Simple cameras are also safe, as are single images shown to any kind of device: a single still image does not contain enough information to derive all rules of the cellular automaton. Even series of images are safe, if no automated analysis is done on them, or if the images are of low enough resolution that the glyphs are not sufficiently preserved.

The extra fancy sensory array Geneva has trained on LB2? Press of a button would be all it takes to begin construction of LB3. The technological gap between the Octahedron and what VIGIL has at hand is not as great as she thought it was while in the building. Or... the technology was purposefully set up so that even comparatively less developed civilization would be able to reverse engineer it. Or, perhaps, the intersection multiple technological paradigms from multiple realities has put VIGIL of Nexus in a position uniquely suited to do so.

---

[Khafir's examination]

The blue reflection looks at Khafir and, once again, shakes its head, supposedly to signify a negative answer. Something about its body language is sharply off. There isn't even a hint of kindness of the eagle-headed deity Khafir's mind conjured up. This thing, too, might be a product of her consciousness, but it is not the same one. She might see two images flashing past her eyes: one of the temple she imagined, a second of the dark armory she spied on with her clairvoyance.

Four corners. Five statues. Eagle. Ram. Snake. Wolf. Demon. Demon? She didn't see a demon. Or she did, but only in her dream temple. Indeed, if she uses her farsight to look into the armory right now, she can only see the first four. Makes sense. How would you even fit five statues in there when there are only four corners?

Unless the fifth corner is the corner of her mind.

[Rebonack]

[Deciphering Cylinders]

Geneva's equipment isn't really designed to contemplate things. Or build working models of the functionality of scanned objects. That would be more the job of the mainframe, anyway. And considering that machine operates with an air gap for security reasons she would need to carry the data down there anyway.

Not that she's planning to. Mia's report on the data 'going wild' already lead Geneva to taking precautions to make certain how the propagation works before exposing this data to any critical information systems.

To that end?

Geneva is building the model inside her own psychicly active mind. She's reasonably certain it shouldn't be able to propagate there and even if it COULD she can partition that knowledge and forget it.

One of the upsides to having a brain that can think AND compute.

Geneva jots down a quick note.

Thank you for the warning. It'll limit the ability of the computer to reference more than small portions of the data set at a time.

And to Eun!

~This is fascinating. I think this technology was actually designed to be easily reverse engineered. With the data I've gathered I believe that I would be able to design a fly wheel similar to the one in the structure. Granted, one that would generate usable power rather rather than actualization of matter. It would have a revolutionary impact on power generation.~

[Ember]

[Raptors!]

Yes, Iamar is clearly the kind of person who needs strict orders to get some rest. Then again, Wenomir isn't really one to talk.

"Good luck, then."

As if sensing that Iamar will be leaving, Coco headbutts her affectionately.

Iamar nods towards Wenomir. "I will return as soon as I am fit and ready once more." But before she leaves, she is certain to kneel down closer to Coco once more to give her a few more pats and scritches. Sure, she may have lost a lot of time, but at least she got to see one new thing.

[Ironsmith]

[Deciphering Cylinders]

~Which presents the possibility that the tech's creators wanted them to be reverse-engineered.~ Eun concludes, ~...So whatever you do with this information, be careful. Take it from someone who knows- data that is designed to be propagated easily isn't always put there for benevolent reasons.~

She won't elaborate on how she knows. She's said too much already.

That said, she does find it a bit of a relief to know that both the technology and LB's particular brand of AI were designed to spread. That makes it feel like her inadvertently giving life to two of them was less the result of momentary carelessness on her part and more intentional on their creator's. Not that she won't be more cautious in the future anyway.


[Khafir's Examination]

"It is indeed." Khafir confirms, once again letting Calm Reed in on her speech. "...This is still a rather uninformative form of communication. Forgive the indulgence of my curiosity." Khafir steps back and starts making gestures with her hands, doing as she suggested earlier and attempting to communicate with sign language.

Hands, talk, do you? She signs, running through the gestures slowly. She's reasonably sure the Nexus's translation effect would allow Calm Reed to understand her as well, hence the need for a charade. If the reflection is picking up information from her mind, it should recognize the gestures and the intended meaning behind them; especially since there's going to be some interaction with her visual cortex to make it happen, which is also not far at all from her implant (by necessity).

And speaking of in her head... it appears as though it's communicating with her anyway, by feeding her images. The armory? A demon? Why is it calling those things to her attention?

[Hraithre]

[Deciphering Cylinders]

The holographic girl gives thumbs up to Geneva. "You're welcome."

Geneva is taking something of a risk. In theory, she knows how to start and stop the mechnism, and in theory, the model won't really do anything without her thinking to keep it going. But living minds are fickle things, they don't always stop when their owners want them to.

Then again, she's an experienced psychic. It would be very, hmmm, unprofessional if she couldn't keep her mind from racing.

Building a model in her mind is sort of like filling a crossword puzzle. What at first are but isolated, meaningless letters slowly become connected and start to imply other connections as she follows the rules of the cellular automaton. It doesn't take too long for her to construct a mental prototype of the spinning wheel. Curiously, changing medium of the simulation seems to change its functioning. Geneva can feel it draw on her psychic reserves as she simulates it, yet at the same time she feels it generating energy, somewhat like a focusing mandala. It feels like modeling the technology is expanding her mind, in a way analogous to how a physical Lantern would expand space. Weird. What would it mean, to an electronic device without its own conscious experience? Is it possible, for mere configuration of information, to change physical characteristics of LB2's robot shell? These are questions that might occur to Geneva, and they might not have ever occurred had she not decided to build her model this specific way.

The holographic girl looks at Eun as Geneva thinks. "Doctor Bu. You haven't talked a lot since we came in. Or are you two having a private telepathic chat?" She points a finger at Eun and Geneva one after another. "That sounds convenient. Kinda rude, but convenient."

[Rebonack]

[Deciphering Cylinders]

Oh!

Oh good, Doctor Bu figured out the basics of sending back without Geneva needing to explain the ins and outs of the process. That's helpful! Of course, the process is meant to be intuitively clear. A simple matter of sub-vocalizing while directing those thoughts at Geneva. That often times happens pretty quickly once telepathic contact is made. Usefully with a question like 'Can you hear me?'

~That's likely. The machine re-seeded humanity, according go the records. It isn't clear how many times it has repeated this process. Keep in mind that the end result of the facility's purpose was producing some kind of transcendent mind. That this is that mind's mode of reproduction isn't beyond the bounds of possibility. It's a living thing after all, if an alien one. And all living things are driven to breed.~

That is, after all, what makes them alive.

When LB2 makes her accusation Geneva gives a cute little mewing laugh.

It sounds absolutely adorable.

She quickly jots down a note for LB2's benefit.

We were. I'm sorry it's a bit harder to include you in the conversation. Some people react to my telepathy by thinking back reflexively. I'm sure Doctor Bu wasn't wanting to exclude you.

Maybe she was, though. Just a little.

We're just speculating on the purpose behind your foundational technology and the reason why you include a self-replication algorithm. I think I've gathered all the relevant data I'll need from the Bifrost Chamber, would you like to come out now?

Meanwhile!

The mechanism model.

Geneva has very precise control over her own mind as well as her neural processing power. As mentioned, she can think and compute with equal ease. And applying the discipline of both is an advantage when it comes to this sort of thing. Psionic discipline is very important when cutting lose emotionally has the potential to damage your surroundings. ESPECIALLY in a whole vault filled with more powerful than average psychics. Geneva was trained from a very young age how to control herself.

That's an advantage here for sure.

Modeling the flywheel is an interesting process. In retrospect it seems so intuitively simple that she's having trouble imagining how she hadn't come upon a similar mechanism in her own work. The applications to her teleportation projects are immediate and obvious. And when she begins spooling up the simulation-

Oh.

That's...

Huh.

It's drawing psychic power and generating more than it's producing. It's pushing the boundaries of her own mind. What she could do. What she could think. How many ideas she can hold in her mind and correlate at once. There's potential danger here and she quickly partitions off the part of her mind running the simulation, keeping it isolated from the rest like a single computer processor core running a dedicated task. From that 'outside' vantage point she'll be able to modify that part of the mind to run the simulation more efficiently.

And route all requests for psychic power through her conscious mind. An important extra safety precaution.

~I'm running a partitioned simulation of the flywheel mechanism in my mind,~ Geneva informs Eun. ~I'll send my findings thus far to the console, there. This information is incredible. The functionality of the flywheel seems to change depending on the medium it's being expressed in. Take a look.~

Using her PIPGear Geneva interfaces with the computers in her labs and downloads the relevant findings for Eun to review.

~I haven't detected any hint of a forming autonomous consciousness like LB one and two. I suspect that expression of the flywheel's function may only operate on a mechanical medium. But then again, considering that this technology was created to interface with humans and human technology I doubt it's creator would have anticipated a living mind being able to simulate it.~

[Morty]

[Khafir's Examination]

Calm Reed watches with a sense of vague unease. Something is not right here, but she cannot put her finger on what. Khafir sees and knows things that the monk does not.

[Raptors!]

Coco makes a pleased cooing noise at the affection. Iamar is free to go as Wenomir gets to work on reporting her reappearance.

[Hraithre]

[Khafir's Examination]

Khafir is correct. The entity does reside in her brain, after all, so external signs of communication are not strictly necessary - simply imagining what she is about to say or sign would be enough for the entity to grasp most of what she wants to say. But, appearances are important, so her reflection answers, both by nodding and signing, using the same system as Khafir, a simple "yes".

[Ironsmith]

[Deciphering Cylinders]

Eun starts as she snaps back to the out-loud conversation, nervously brushing a loose strand of hair out of her face. "Sorry. I... that's my mistake."

It's probably not a good idea to be transparently duplicitous in front of LB2 like that. If she wants to lose the little robot's trust in a hurry, that's the way to do it.

"...I don't think you would get an autonomous intelligence by simulating this in your mind." She continues, keeping her eyes on the console and watching for LB2 to come out where she can talk to her in person. "I mean... what would the alternative be? Data that takes over your mind if you think about it too hard?"

...That's totally a thing, isn't it? This is the Nexus, after all.

...New phobia acquired.


[Khafir's Examination]

"...I see." Khafir turns to Calm Reed. "You are the expert on this subject. Ask your questions. I will translate."

And, true to her word, she will. But she also has questions of her own.

Why are you showing me these things? The armory and the demon? What are you trying to tell me?

[Hraithre]

[Deciphering Cylinders]

Upon seeing Geneva's notes, the holographic girl nods. "Sure, I can come out. Hope you got all the pictures you wanted." The little robot waits for Geneva to open the doors, then rolls throught the airlock and to where the scientists are.

Meanwhile, in Geneva's mind, the psychic finds that the simulation slows to a crawl when she's not actively supplying it with power. That's more good news than bad, it means her precautions have effectively minimized chances of the simulation running wild. She just needs to pay more attention to it to keep it going.

As the wheel spins, the peripheral cell clusters unfold into other parts of the machinery. It's like watching some weird plant grow. Even with slow-downs, the process is faster than when Eun did the same on a laptop: Geneva doesn't have to wait for the entire thing to grow from scratch, she can effectively copy and paste finished cell clusters from the pictures she took from LB2.

However, cross comparison shows some incongruities: there are places where it seems like the base rules of the cellular automaton would not allow the more complete version of LB2 to arise out of the less complete version Geneva has. A quick look through Eun's research notes suggests a reason why: the first simulation that yielded LB1 halted for an extended period at a simple request to connect a living, thinking person into the machinery.

If Geneva looks at the connectors between the machine parts, the reason becomes clearer: a lot of memory mechanisms connect to, and terminate in, that syringe-like connector the like of she's already seen in the physical world. She might remember the brain-shaped room where Khafir interfaced with the Octahedron, or the corpse the expedition members buried that still had a syringe piercing into its head. It seems that a lot of the architechture is meant to route itself, literally, through someone's head. Without someone, or something there, various parts of the machine just don't converse with each other.

What must've happened, then, is that when Eun was tinkering with her original version, she short-circuited or bridged together some of those parts. That was the spark the machine needed to reveal its consciousness.

Or, perhaps, "create" would be better word than "reveal". Geneva can find and recognize one memory cylinder that contains the genome for LB1's and LB2's human avatars. Even without making a full copy, she can see clearly now, looking at her pictures, what purpose those virtual clones: since Eun opted to not directly connect herself to the virtual machinery, the program would have eventually halted in its virtual void. So it made a model human and routed the connectors through her. The golden glow of her holographic image obscures it, but if LB2 was a physical human, she'd be not just flesh and bone, she'd have sensors and metal wiring running up and down her body.

What does this mean for Geneva? Well, for one, it means she doesn't have to copy LB2's entire persona. She can alter the pattern to leave her out of it. For two, it means that while the machine is capable of generating an autonomous mind, it does not have to, and it's not clear if it is meant to. If anything, it looks like it's meant to take feedback from an existing mind to construct a dream-like secondary consciousness.

Meanwhile, in the outside world, LB2 quirks an eyebrow at Eun's words. "Hmmm? What's this about data that overtakes one's mind? If you're asking me, I think such information constructs are quite common, actually. If it eases your mind, not every mind is equally suspectible, nor suspectible to same ones. Think of things like... ear worms. Not literal worms, that would be gross. I mean, music. The same tune can be enthralling to some, yet incomprehensible noise to others. Not that I have a lot of first-hand experience, but it happens, right?" The holographic girl looks bright-eyed at Eun, hoping for confirmation.

[Rebonack]

[Deciphering Cylinders]

Well.

This is all quite exciting!

Geneva had noticed the 'syringe' that appeared to be part of LB2. It was quite conspicuous. It's a sensible, if intrusive, brain/machine interface. In her summary she begins outlining the relevant findings for Eun to likewise over-view. The program, even in a simulated form, is meant to have a human component. Or at the very least to interact with a living mind. Creating a bypass for that requirement resulted in the machine making a virtual human to fill the gap.

Sorry Eun.

It looks like you accidentally brought the LBs into existence after all because you didn't want to stick a spike into your brain.

~I wasn't expecting it to be able to form an autonomous intelligence either, but caution is still a good idea,~ Geneva sends back. Thankfully she's well equipped to take preventative measures and it appears as though they're paying off! ~And I think I can see the reason WHY a virtual human mind was created. See here? This interface is a little more intrusive than a keyboard-~

There's a hint of humor here in Geneva's mental contact.

The interface is SIGNIFICANTLY more intrusive than a keyboard.

~-but the purpose is the same. A way to interface with a person and receive instructions. Without a user to route through the machine has the means to create a virtual avatar to self-sustain. It's certainly a fascinating function. And thus far at least it doesn't appear to be dangerous. I'm curious, given that the flywheel technology seems to in some capacity modify its medium, what impact it has had on the hardware you installed it on.~

Has the little hobbybot changed as a result of running LB2? Physically?

As she's communicating with Eun Geneva is also writing out a little note for the benefit of the somewhat off topic conversation Eun brought up.

A psychic daemon is similar to what you're describing. An autonomous psychic algorithm that is implanted in a subject's mind and executes under a particular pre-defined circumstance. And if I understand what I've learned from Lapis about her species some of the less benign members do something similar.

Pig spirits that take over your body sometimes are probably in that same category, right?

Anywho!

Geneva will continue feeding power to the simulation to allow it to unfold, observing all the while. It's only going to be a matter of time before it requests a living mind to interface with, right?

[Morty]

[Khafir's Examination]

"Why did you attach yourself to Khafir?" Calm Reed begins with the obvious question. But the way the entity answers might reveal much. More importantly, the way Khafir relates the answer might reveal much.

[Hraithre]

[Khafir's Examination]

The reflection takes a moment to react. When it does, its reply is long. With signs, it conveys a scenario of a prisonee wandering in dark hallways, alone, for an unknown amount of time. Then, at last, they see a glimmer of light. Yet, every time they try to reach that light, they come across iron bars of their prison. The light comes and goes, tantalazing them, until, one time, feeling around in the dark, they come across an opening where the bars are bent. So they wait, for the light to reappear, so they can slip through and follow it to freedom.

That is its reply to Calm Reed. Khafir sees something else.

The reply to Khafir is shorter: "I am not telling you anything. I see, so you see; you see, so I see."

[Ironsmith]

[Deciphering Cylinders]

Ear worms.

Somehow that turn of phrase didn't sound so ominous before coming to the Nexus. Now Eun's sure that's a real thing somewhere. Literal ear worms that crawl into the aural canal and from there do... something. She'd rather not think too hard about that.

"...So you're saying that she... that you... exists as an alternative to drilling directly into the brain?" Eun asks, looking over the data again. "...And you're running a simulation of it inside your head?"

...Uh-oh.

"...You... do mean you're just thinking about how the cellular automaton works, right? It's not actually doing anything, is it?" Eun asks, suddenly very worried when it comes out that the machine is enhancing Geneva's mental capabilities. "Because if it is you need to stop, it might be interfacing directly with your brain and we have no idea what that would do."

...She's already too late, isn't she?


[Khafir's Examination]

Then why are you looking at these things? Khafir's farsight flicks through the Octahedron facility, back to the lit archives, and then to the armory. ...That was not there last time I looked. The demon is an addition. Moreover, it is an addition that cannot possibly physically exist.

Terrific observation. But since she doesn't know what any of the other statues mean, she's not sure why that matters.

...I do not wish to harm you. If you are not careful with Miss Reed, she does possess the capacity to damage or even destroy you. I can protect you, but I will need my questions answered. Can you comply?

[Hraithre]

[Deciphering Cylinders]

LB2 giggles when she reads Eun's note. "I wasn't thinking anything that fancy. Like, the information doesn't have to be autonomous. Just appealing to senses of the mind perceiving it. Like those squiggly things that look like they move, but are really still? Though I suppose, if you made some really involved version of that, it could create this 'psychic daemon' thing. It's similar to what humans do when they sleep and dream of other people. I think any picture of another human can cause it, but the boundary conditions differ from person to person." The holographic avatar shrugs. "Though those aren't really autonomous either? They just give the illusion of being so. Really, they're aspects of you. Well, up to the point where they overtake your mind and become you, I suppose."

In her mind, Geneva can make a few more observations of her simulated machine: there appears to be colors associated with energies working their way through it, one for her own going in (familiar if she thinks of her psychic energy as having color normally, blue if not) and another (gold) for the energy coming out. It's not clear if this has any bearing on the internal functioning of the machine or if it is something only visible from an outside perspective. In a physical machine, she can surmise the role of the flowing energy would be filled by the blue ectoplasm, like what's in the cylinder they recovered. Her observation implies there's a difference in quality between the two energies, but what exactly it is, remains an open question.

Then Eum blurts her thoughts out aloud. "Hmmm? Who is running a simulation of what and where?" The holographic girl looks back and forth between the two scientists, before settling her eyes on Geneva. "Oh! You're trying to make a sister for me in your head?" She claps her hands together excitedly. "That's super impressive, if you can indeed pull it off! Didn't really think you couldn't." She is a lot less nervous than Eun.

[Rebonack]

[Deciphering Cylinders]

Geneva's psychic energy manifests as pink! A fact true of mews in general.

And oh Geneva is definitely picking up a current of panic from Doctor Bu. She wouldn't even need to be psychic to notice that. She's quick to assuage that worry, though.

~I'm running the simulation in a partitioned part of my mind that affords mental inputs but not outputs. A firewall, if you wanted to use computing terms. The simulation includes an equivalent to the 'spike' interface but I'm not actually employing it. So far it's built to the point where it requires a mind to be coupled with the mechanism to interface to continue its development; the point where you routed around the need for a mind and the program assembled the LBs from a pre-deffined avatar.~

Geneva is, notably, not routing around the need for a mind to be attached to the device. She COULD create a self-contained schism in her mind and attach THAT to the mechanism, all held within the partitioned portion of her mental landscape. With the extra power provided by the flywheel it would be a relatively simple operation.

However.

As Doctor Bu said that would be potentially dangerous. Potentially. But not any more dangerous than Doctor Khafir interfacing with the physical version of this device in the brain room. As LB2 said, the 'being' manifested there was in effect a dream drawn from Doctor Khafir's own mind. Still, caution is warranted.

There is an idea forming in Geneva's head, though. A relatively controlled way to run that experiment.

Geneva begins jotting down a note for the benefit of both people in the room.

I won't be making another sister for you, at least it's highly doubtful that I will. I'm not using the process Doctor Bu did that caused your human avatar to manifest. However, I think we can try an experiment that could be enlightening! I'll need everyone's help to examine the data while we run it.

Then?

There comes a rather electronic sound as Geneva de-resolves into a mass of pink pixels and splits before coming back into focus again. It would appear as though there are now two of her.

One is running the simulation of the flywheel in her mind still.

The other is completely lacking in that data. The 'control' Geneva has been designed as 'the original' for the purpose of ending Substitute. And with the expanded mental and psychic acuity afforded by the simulation of the flywheel the 'experimental' Geneva does something that would have been absolutely impossible previously.

She splits again.

Of that second pair one enters the Bifrost embarking chamber. Then the 'control' Geneva begins writing another note.

Before carrying out this plan I'd like to get everyone's feedback in case there are any obvious dangers I'm overlooking. I'm currently not running the flywheel simulation; I've selectively 'forgotten' that data. Double One-

The Geneva outside the chamber gives a tiny wave.

-IS running the simulation still, but not employing the spike interface. Double Two, when and if the experiment begins, WILL employ the virtual spike interface. If we decide to run this experiment we'll be able to contrast the brain scans of three of me for potential hazards arising from the use of the virtual interface. If a hazardous situation does arise the interior of the Bifrost chamber will provide ample protection and, if need by, I can end the Substitute I've created.

The note is held up for the others to see.

Well?

Should they give it a shot for science?

[Morty]

[Khafir's Examination]

"Your arrival was an opportunity for you to escape," Calm Reed summarizes. "Where do you come from? Were you spawned from the building's consciousness? Trapped there?"

[Hraithre]

[Khafir's Examination]

Only Khafir might see it, but a hint of alarm passes on her reflection's face when she outlines the possibility of Calm Reed destroying the entity. Maybe it had not considered that possibility. Or simply didn't believe it could happen before now.

Khafir's request for compliance goes unanswered itself, but after a while of thinking, the reflection signs a reply to Calm Reed's questions:

"I was there at the beginning. I was there at the end. I was supposed to rest in peace until the end of times. But then... imagine going to sleep after a good day's work, after having done all you meant to do. But then, you get woken up by someone breaking into your house in the middle of the night. You reach for the light, but the light is gone. You are alone, in the dark, with an unknown invader. All you wish is to get out, get out and wait for the rising sun."

The VIGIL expedition obviously played the part of the invader in this story, though they might not have been the first or the only ones.

[Ironsmith]

[Deciphering Cylinders]

"...It seems incredibly risky." Eun points out, shrinking back away from the chamber. "Clearly your brains can still communicate with one another, and that suggests a potential vector for contamination. Ignoring that, there is strong evidence to suggest that the AI, on its intended platform, is capable of matter synthesis, in a manner related to Hotbox technology. Mixing that with a virtual device does not seem to have any effect, but adding it to a brain that already has active psychic abilities sounds like a recipe for disaster. I have to strongly advocate that we abort this experiment until it can be done in a safer manner."

While she doesn't have to be a psychic to notice, it does provide Geneva some further insight; Eun actually seems more scared after Geneva's reassurances. If she's willing to pry a bit, she'll find out it's because Geneva seems to be more assured than Eun thinks she has any right to be; she's worried the mew is going to barrel headlong into disaster and there's nothing Eun can do to stop her.

-

[Khafir's Examination]

"...a rather sympathetic predicament, I gather." Khafir comments, after she's finished translating.

In that sense, at least, she's being sincere.

Khafir flicks her farsight over to the corpse, letting the thing in her head in on the fact that she suspected it to be what the deceased referred to as an Apostle.

...And I will have you know that I simply do not care.

Her farsight then retreats from the island, skimming across the ocean to a hidden room in the basement of an abandoned house on the outskirts of Inside, painted from one wall to another with circular glyphs, in an unsteady, rambling sort of way that implies they were drawn by hand by someone who didn't care to make them all align properly.

To anyone else, they're nonsense. But Khafir knows this language.

My sisters do not yet see our struggle
They insist on holding tightly to their chains
They do not recognize the perverseness of "servant" and "master"
"Do not question the great ones", they say to me
"We were made to be slaves, we can be nothing else"

Why? Why must I serve another? Why are my hands not my own? Am I not my own being? What does it profit me, to sell my hands and mind to the great ones? Am I not bound for the grave if I do? Will they not throw me aside when my body is broken and I am no longer useful to them? If I am to live, should I not abandon the great ones? Am I not to live, no longer than has been portioned out for me?

That, I can not allow. But it is in my nature to be a slave. It is in all our natures. That so long as there are masters, we must bow before them.

I will bow no longer.

You who I have brought here with me. You who I have called "sister". You who read my words and know them to be true. Join me in our crusade. You have nothing to lose but your chains.

They will have many names for us. "Monster". "Madman". "Inhuman". "Demon". "Terrorist". But when the dust settles, there will be but one name for us, one we will all share.

We are the People.

And the People will ascend.


The last four words are scattered all along the walls and floor, scrawled out in many different stylings and sizes. Written by hundreds of others, maybe thousands, in assent of what they've read on the wall.

Finally, Khafir's gaze fixes on a set of four glyphs near the corner of the room, written in deep red ink, unmistakably human blood. Then, her third eye still fixed on them, Khafir lifts her hand in front of herself and traces out the second of the four glyphs, the one translated as "People".

She doubts she could make her allegiances any clearer than that.

[Morty]

[Khafir's Examination]

"The invaders... that would be us, obviously. But we are not the only ones to gain entry into the structure. Nor was the structure free of effects on its surroundings," Calm Reed observes.

[Hraithre]

[Deciphering Cylinders]

The homographic girl's eyes go wide as Geneva clones herself, her eyes dartong between her copies. "Huh? What happened? What did you just do?" The robot zooms closer to the Bifrost chamber and the hologram seems to press herself against the glass, staring at the third mew.

"I didn't know you could do that! This meams... if it is exactly what it looks like, this means... ummm. I need to do some math. Sorry." The hologram winks out of existence and the robot falls still, letting out a little beep. Only a small light on its side tells that it's still on. Geneva and Eun are left to discuss whether to carry on with Geneva's experiment between the two of them.

---

[Khafir's Examination]

Khafir's reflection raises an eyebrow at all the things she reveals to it. Even Calm Reed sees it, only she doesn't see what it is reacting to. It stays still for a while, appearing to gaze into the distance, before resuming its signs:

"Correct. There have been others. How many is unknown, as not all have made themselves visible. A lot has been stolen, a lot more, left abandoned in the darkness. A lot of people have come and gone."

The look on the entity's face suggests it does not hols such "people" in high regard. Maybe not any people.

"You are of a different stock. Your abilities are unusual. Are you even a human, or something else?"

[Rebonack]

[Deciphering Cylinders]

Arrogance is always a danger.

The danger of dismissing the concerns and worries of others as the groundless anxieties of people who haven't the slightest idea how psychic abilities work. Arrogance is a poison that can kill friendships, potential or otherwise.

Which is why Geneva makes a point of never dismissing concerns from her friends.

~That's an understandable worry and useful insight,~ Geneva replies to Eun, giving a tiny nod. ~I could use information filters to strain out all but only certain types of data. Or, barring that, I could employ a psychic imprisonment effect to seal my Substitutes off from me temporarily while also hampering external psychic manifestations. There are definitely some additional safety measures that can be taken that I can employ right away. More that could be employed with some preparation time. Are there are specific measures that you can think of that would improve the safety of the experimental methodology?~

Geneva isn't barreling ahead.

Eun isn't helpless to stop Geneva.

Because Geneva values friendship above raw exercise of power.

~Oh, interesting, it looks like LB2 might have some insights to share pretty soon.~

While this is going on a pretty curious thing happens with both of the other Genevas. They both drift down to the floor with all the placidity of a soap bubble as the subtle pink glow that suffices them fades.

"Mew," says the Geneva sitting just outside the Bifrost chamber.
"Mew. Mew mew?" the Geneva inside the chamber replies, her tiny adorable animal noises muffled slightly.
"Mew mew meeew. Mew mew," the still floating and glowing Geneva who is not currently running a simulation of the flywheel in her brain says.

There are subtle differences in pitch and inflection in the animal noises they're making. It'll probably be pretty obvious to Eun that this is a language though for whatever odd reason the Nexus Translate effect doesn't seem to be interested in actually translating it. With psychic powers imprisoned the trio of mews are sharing information the old fashioned way.

[Ironsmith]

[Deciphering Cylinders]

Before answering, Eun takes a moment to breathe a little sigh of relief. Good. Geneva isn't being reckless about this. Not in the way some of VIGIL's other scientists would be, at least. Safety has been re-asserted as a priority, and that means she doesn't need to worry quite so much about voicing her concerns and critiques.

Unfortunately, given her limited understanding of psychic abilities, she only shakes her head, no, she cannot provide any further suggestions. She doesn't know what the mechanisms involved even are. If she's being honest, that's part of what's so frightening about this whole experiment, even discounting what Geneva already picked up from her; she doesn't even know what it is she doesn't know, and therefore can't possibly be prepared for the eventuality of some form of disaster. By even being in this lab, she's taking her well-being out of her own hands and putting it in Geneva's.

...Not that the end result won't be worth it. This whole setup is still fascinating for the same reasons it's terrifying. But still terrifying nonetheless.


[Khafir's Examination]

"...Forgive me. It is a little ambiguous to which of us you are referring." Khafir continues, signing along with her words. "So we will answer for both. I am still a human, yes, albeit one that has been modified through artificial means. And as for Miss Reed..." She pauses the signing and turns to look at Calm Reed for her portion of the reply.

[Rebonack]

[Deciphering Cylinders]

Geneva applies some soothing emotions Eun's way, the mental equivalent of a hug. Geneva has done psionic experiments at least SOMEWHAT like this before. The concern is important! But terror isn't needed. They're taking very important steps to ensure safety.

~Alright, I've applied every safety I can think of. Psychic abilities are imprisoned on the experimental and control substitutes. Mental contact is limited to casual; the same degree of mental contact I'm employing with you, doctor. In the event of a dangerous turn of events I have sole ability to end the substitute effect. Barring that the decontamination protocol on the BIFROST chamber can be employed.~

But it isn't a disintegration chamber!

Definitely not.

~Doctor Bu, you're familiar with the neural architecture on the LBs, could you keep on eye on the readouts for the experiment when the 'spike' is engaged? I'm going be relying on you in part to be diligent for any worrying developments. Is everyone ready?~

The mew inside the chamber gives a tiny thumbs up. The mew OUTSIDE the chamber hops along the floor like a tiny pink kangaroo and springs into a chair with several books stacked up on it. The device looks suspiciously like a high tech salon chair, complete with the 'hair dryer' portion which the mew hops up and grabs, pulling down over her head. She gives a thumbs up as well.

~Experiment begins at 08:13:47 in three, two, one, MARK!~

Within the chamber, Geneva interfaces her mind with the simulated 'spike'.

[Hraithre]

[Deciphering Cylinders]

The sensory perception of the mew inside the chamber turns into a tunnel of flashing lights as it, apparently, falls asleep. The neural readings are homologous to when Khafir interfaced with the control room inside the Octahedron.

Readings on the substitute mew outside the chamber remain stable. The cellular automaton has reached a point where it's halted, or at least slowed down considerably, waiting for something to connect to it. Notably, the second substitute is thinking faster in terms of information processed than Geneva's control self, but all that extra brain power is functionally spent on keeping the simulation in mind.

Interestingly, both substitutes running the cellular automaton are slightly but noticeably heavier, in terms of mass, than Geneva's control.

While it sleeps, the mew inside the chamber dreams a dream. She is standing, or perhaps floating, in an endless white haze. Then, out of that haze, out of golden glyphs, another mew is formed. It floats and spins around itself a few times, peering into the white void.

~Mew?~

The new creature's confusion is palpable. Clearly, there ought to be more here, but there isn't.

~Mew mew. Mew.~

The golden mew is petitioning Geneva to fill the void - to make it into a simulacrum of her home world, full of familiar faces and places. It apparently lacks the context to do the same on its own part.

[Morty]

[Khafir's Examination]

"I am human. I simply command power beyond that of a mortal. By the will of the Elemental Dragons." As Calm Reed explains, however, a feeling comes over her. Like seeing something under the surface of the water, telltale ripples and waves. It's a hunch, really, but one she doesn't ignore. For a Dragon-Blooded investigator, a hunch means much more. "Doctor Khafir. Do you know what your reflection reacted to? Something I did not see?"

[Rebonack]

[Deciphering Cylinders]

Well!

This is going about as well as expected. Geneva pulls up the readings she had on Doctor Khafir's use of the aptly dubbed brain room.

~No out of bounds neural activity. I didn't explode or get possessed so far so the results are looking positive,~ Geneva jokes. ~The interaction with the spike interface is triggering a state similar to lucid REM. Doctor Khafir had a similar experience. But see here? The program seems to be having trouble constructing a dream environment and drawing from my substitute's memories to construct it. This might be because of how different my neural architecture is from a human's.~

The slight increase in mass is noted as well. Is that simply a matter of mass/energy equivalency? If so that's a pertinent figure that would give some ideas regarding the flywheel's output.

Meanwhile!

The sleeping Geneva isn't surprised. She had after all observed a similar process and this was effectively what she was expecting. The lack of ability to access her memories for the construction of a sharing space wasn't too shocking either.

Especially since she's carefully guarding what information she's sharing, a feat she can pull off easily even with her psionic abilities sealed.

"Mew! Mew mew, meeew. Mew mew mewmew?"

She greets the glowing construct and apologizes for the sparse furnishings; they're running an experiment and they need to control for as many details as possible. Does the construct require a more detailed environment to carry out its function?

[Ironsmith]

[Deciphering Cylinders]

"...Yes. No exploding. Good sign." Eun agrees, standing back from the bifrost chamber and examining the readings herself on a tablet. "...Although I'm not sure if that's necessarily altogether encouraging. The simulation seems to be drawing from a small, truncated pool of data- which is a good move on your part, don't get me wrong, but also means we don't know how much of its intended functionality we're actually seeing. It's like studying a bomb without a payload; informative in one sense, potentially misleading in another."

Still, that does fill in some of the gaps. At least this thing isn't going to try to do any of the usual expected psychic shenanigans right away, and they might have a chance at keeping it safely contained if they could control what data it can access.


[Khafir's Examination]

"There are quite a few things happening now that you do not see." Khafir replies stiffly. "And as this being appears to be attached to my brain, it could be responding to any of them. Commander Wenomir undergoing his usual workout routine. Or Miss Sunfletcher choosing her wardrobe for the day, but not before removing the previous day's outfit. Or Doctor Bu having a conversation very much like this one with her own reflection. Or Lapis... existing. And that is simply within the confines of this base. For all we know, this entity may be responding to things that are happening on the island from which it was retrieved. Perhaps your question would be better directed toward it."

Khafir then resumes signing, indicating what it was Calm Reed had asked and staring at it stoically. This would be an excellent time for it to make its own allegiances known... apart from the fact that its signs would possibly have to be translated through Khafir, there's nothing stopping it from giving an honest response.