#broadcast logs

[threestarsaboveclouds]

An unusually small slugcat crawls out of the access shaft and clumsily falls to the floor as soon as the gravity is back on. It looks very tired…

After recovering, it nonchalantly tosses a pearl in TSAC’s direction, then immediately falls asleep.

The pearl reads:

[TRANSCRIPTION - FUCHSIA PEARL]

This message is intended for Three Stars Above Clouds.

Hello! This is Echoes of Chiming Winds.

Hope this finds you well. I am sending you this pearl because my broadcast failed, apparently… I’m sorry if it frightened you, I only tried to respond to your invitation. I suppose I hoped I wouldn't have to send my messenger to such a harsh environment. Hope they get to you in one piece. And sorry if they caused you any problems.

Don't worry, I'm not in any kind of distress! Thank you for trying to help, but I'm afraid there is not much you can do. My communications equipment is unreliable by design. I never know when my messages get corrupted… On particularly bad cycles, I can't send them at all! I’d rather send data through pearls.

Curiously, I can receive broadcasts just fine, though. I guess my Architects thought me being able to overhear conversations was more important than actually being a part of them... I can tell you more about them if you'd like. I certainly want to hear more about you! For now, I suppose that's all. It's nice to meet you, Three Stars Above Clouds!

TSAC: ...what’s this? Another messenger?

I seem to be receiving an increasing amount of them these days...

TSAC: Ah, please don’t- my chamber is not a shelter...

...

It must be very tired... better to fall asleep here than send it flailing about inside my Cognitive Nexus... I suppose...

TSAC: ...

I see, Echoes of Chiming Winds sent you. You must have traveled very far, if my telemetry data is correct.

[DIRECT BROADCAST] PRIVATE - Three Stars Above Clouds, Echoes of Chiming Winds

SOURCE NODE TRACE: TSAC_ROOT, TSAC_COMM04, 201913_SPIRE01 || DESTINATION: EOCH_ROOT

TSAC: Hello Echoes of Chiming Winds! Your messenger arrived safely to my chamber earlier this cycle. I am quite impressed that they were able to travel such a distance... however yours is not the first messenger who has braved the harsh mountain climate to visit me. I was skeptical at first, but perhaps these messengers are a more viable communication method than I had initially thought.

TSAC: I am glad to hear you are well, despite your communications difficulties. I apologize for my reaction to your broadcast... I will admit that I have been a bit on edge lately due to some ...other concerning broadcasts I have received recently.

TSAC: Such communication issues appear to be increasing in frequency, I’m afraid. I fear that one day the larger iterator populace may become completely isolated from one another... thus my request for others to reach out and communicate. I am glad that my wide-range broadcast appears to have been received despite the decaying radio network.

TSAC: ...you wanted to know more about me. Well, I am an astronomical research facility first and foremost. My research focuses on changes within the Celestial Spheres, and aims to form an understanding of the material universe. My main directive is to catalogue the objects and occurrences in the night sky, and I maintain an extensive archive of astronomical data from across the cycles. I am happy to share any of my records with you if you wish!

TSAC: I will admit that I have had little interest in other fields of study until relatively recently... however after the departure of our creators, I was left with little to do in my free time other than pore over literature from other fields. I now believe that collaboration is key to locating the Solution, a strategy that is under threat due to the decaying communication network. I would like to learn as much as I can about my fellow iterators before I lose the chance.

TSAC: Thus, I would like to know more about you as well! What is your facility like? Do you have any preferred fields of study? Have your iterative strategies changed since the departure of our benefactors? Any findings you would like to share?

TSAC: ...I realize that you may not be able to send a reply to my broadcast until your messenger returns. I will send them on their way as soon as they are recovered enough to travel. In the meantime I will await your reply. May the Cycles be kind.

TSAC: As soon as it wakes up, I can direct the messenger to a more... suitable hibernation spot. Then I suppose it will be on its way.

... I will simply have to work around it in the interim.

[threestarsaboveclouds]

[ OUTGOING REQUEST ] COMMUNICATIONS MANIFEST [[ERROR]] UNABLE TO SEND - RELAY OFFLINE SOURCE NODE TRACE: (NULL)_ROOT, (NULL)_COMM02, PRISM_RELAY04 || DESTINATION: (NULL)unknown group MESSAGE CONTENTS:

---

FATAL EXCEPTION: DESTINATION RELAY NODE DAMAGED OR OFFLINE. UNABLE TO RENDER MESSAGE CONTENTS. DUMPING RAW CONTENTS INTO LOCAL STORAGE MEDIUM.

RAW CONTENTS:

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

[ Pending upload to public records by dispatched Overseer. Unit will enter read-only state in 45 cycles. ]

[threestarsaboveclouds]

[LIVE BROADCAST] - PRIVATE Naught Yet Rarefy, Three Stars Above Clouds

NYR: Greetings Three Stars Above Clouds!

NYR: I am Naught Yet Rarefy—NYR—Solitary Supplier and Designated Senior of several Iterators from the Archaic-Hiemal Regions, Greater North.

NYR: I've never spoken with you before, but your call for communication during these final moments we, as a general population, have remaining connected was cause for intrigue! ...As well as reflection on how hesitant I've been to engage in group conversation in the past. Ha!

NYR: Well, now is not the time to be worrying about that sort of thing. I'll admit I've never been particularly interested by what may or may not lie waiting above us. My interests are... far more grounded. In the time since our Creators departed, I've kept myself occupied by extensively studying Iterator biology and the ways in which the lesser organisms our Parents left behind have adapted to survive in this age of significant ecological damage.

NYR: I'd be interested to know how my research might intersect with your own. So, from one scientist to another, what have you been studying these past few cycles? Anything on your mind that you'd be interested in sharing? I would love to talk more if you have the time!

NYR: Before I close this broadcast; one of my neighbours, Radiant Their Light, shares a common interest of yours. I believe he's referenced your work in some of his studies. Perhaps you know him?

[ooc: this was NOT meant to be that long, so sorry for that aha. what can I say, I love letting my characters ramble —@underrottengaze]

TSAC: Hello, Naught Yet Rarefy! I’m glad to be able to speak with you, especially given the state of global communications, as you mentioned. I’m impressed that your signal was able to reach me, given the distance between us- my facility is located at a much lower latitude than yours in the North. Perhaps the communications network has not been decaying as quickly as I first thought. 

I can empathize with your hesitancy to engage in conversation… up until very recently I dedicated little time to communicating with my fellow iterators. I lack a local group, a fact which I used to appreciate. My time is valuable to me and I appreciated not having neighbors who would bother me with trivial matters. 

… Not to say that I don’t appreciate your communication! I value it greatly, in fact. My opinion has changed in recent times; I am trying to obtain more experience speaking with my peers. I believe the wider iterator populace might be able to help one another more if we avoid becoming isolated.

On the topic of research interests… I believe my opinion is almost the opposite of yours! I was specifically designed by my creators to study the stars, and I am quite passionate about the field of astronomy as a result. In the past I paid little mind to biology and ecology… I preferred to focus on my own work and let the scholars of my city’s Houses handle the ecological and biological research necessary to sustain my superstructure. However after their departure I have realized that I have a significant blind spot in these fields. I have been using my newfound downtime to attempt to broaden my understanding beyond the niches I was built to study. Iterator biology is ironically a field that I possess only a passing knowledge about… I left the responsibility of maintaining my facility to my bioengineers and let my superstructure’s automated repair and replication systems do the rest. However as my components age, I recognize the importance of understanding my own biology in case problems arise in the future.

As for the relations between our respective areas of study… the fields of biology and ecology may seem far-removed from that of astronomy, but they intersect in intriguing ways! Astrobiology is quite a small niche within my own already small field, but I have lent some of my data to aspiring astrobiologists from my city in the past before.

My own work involves searching for patterns and cycles in the night sky, and part of this research involves the study of planets orbiting around distant stars. Occasionally, a planet will pass directly in front of its host star and block out a tiny amount of its light. This dip in brightness is almost imperceptible, but can be discerned using sensitive instruments such as those used by my observatories’ telescopes. In some cases, though the planets cannot be imaged directly, the composition of their atmosphere comes through in the star’s spectral data. Studying these planets’ atmospheres can reveal potential signs of life. Water is thought to be a very important component for life, just as it is on our own world. Other potential signs include abnormally high levels of hydrocarbons, or pollutants such as carbon dioxide or sulfur.

I will admit that my own personal research has turned up… very little. The data I collect was primarily used by the scholars within my city’s institutions, and the researchers of the different Houses made some great advancements in the field of Firmamentalist studies as a result. However I believed many of the conclusions drawn from their research was… how do I put this politely… rather fanciful. Many scholars focused more on the symbolic import of data and how it was tied to their own beliefs about ascension, rather than furthering an understanding of the material plane. I prefer to focus more on understanding my surroundings than coming up with fantastical details about whatever might lie beyond the Carnal Plane. I recall some scholars being rather annoyed about this.

In recent times I have been focusing more on my own personal curiosities than what was requested of me by my citizens. In terms of what I have been doing recently… as of late I have been combing through my archives to identify any evidence of E-mode polarization within the Karmic resonance spectra obtained from microwave background radiation… though I won’t enumerate the details of that here, lest this transmission become three times as long.

On the subject of your neighbor, Radiant Their Light… that name sounds familiar. I believe I’ve come across his work before, though only in passing. You see, I try to stay up-to-date with the different academic discourse in my field of interest, and I spend much of my free time reading through the publications of my peers. As a result I have read the work of many different iterators. I’ve only had the privilege of speaking personally with a few of them… Perhaps I should try reaching out to Radiant Their Light. We may be able to compare notes.