Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
There appears to be a tie, so we're just going to go with both memories for now. Don't expect this to be a repeat thing, though.
Machine Learning: A Cave Story Quest
- Thread starter Lepidoptera
- Start date
- Action
There appears to be a tie, so we're just going to go with both memories for now. Don't expect this to be a repeat thing, though.
File 1, Entry 9 - Decryption
Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
Machine Learning - File 1, Entry 9 - Decryption
The Egg Corridor is difficult to navigate. The floor is uneven, being made up of randomly-stacked boxes and crates only occasionally connected by scaffolding. You keep to the scaffolds. Most of them lead off into the mess of boxes. A few connect to doors leading to side-rooms like the one you entered from. It appears that the scaffolds were made after the corridor was filled up. They snake around the towers of boxes like a plant's roots pushing through the soil. You catch sight of more of the Island's fauna watching nearby, winged insects as large as a small dog, but they keep their distance after you splatter the first few against a wall with a few well-placed gunshots. The Mimiga girl in your arms squirms when you pull the trigger. They would be a genuine threat if they swarmed you all at once, but animalistic self-preservation is enough to keep them at a distance. You consider taking cover in the lower levels of the Corridor, but the flash of something far faster than you can track says it's best to stay away.
Once you're certain that you won't be attacked, you begin to prod at the Mimiga for information. Subtly, of course. She's still recovering from her earlier panic, and will cause more problems if you upset her again.
"How far are we from your village?" you ask. It's an acceptably soft question to begin with, one that you have an entirely reasonable justification to ask for.
The small Mimiga shuffles as much as your grip on her body will allow, then answers. "It's suuuper far away! Past all kinds of other creepy things. Like you, but way worse."
"I am not creepy." you repeat mechanically. Clearly this is going to be a repeated issue. The Mimiga's answer sounds more like childish embellishment than accurate information. Perhaps she's hoping to scare you off so that you'll let her go on her own. "You mentioned one other Mimiga in the village. Is it only the two of you?"
The girl answers slowly. "…yeah, it's just me and the old man. Nobody other than my family's around there." Her next words are spoken quickly but halting, less spoken and more tumbling out of her mouth. "Do you have any family, creepy robot?"
"No. Robots are made, not born. We don't have parents, siblings, or children. I don't have a family." you answer immediately. Before you can think on that answer, you force your thoughts towards the new information. The village is hardly a village at all if it's composed only of two Mimiga. The chance that they would pose a reasonable threat is extremely low. If the Red Flowers are found, of course, then it won't matter. Any Mimiga can be dangerous if they become Rabid. And if they're a threat, they need to be dealt with. The girl's answers appear unreliable, though. She obviously doesn't trust you, and these questions are too obvious. You need to be subtler if you are to gain any useful information.
"What is your family like?" you ask. When the Mimiga girl doesn't answer immediately, you glance down. Unlike before, she isn't pausing to decide her answer. The rabbit-creature's face is stalled on a single expression, ears folded back and eyes staring wide up at you. When she notices you looking back, her expression quickly corrects itself to something more defiant.
"It's not that interesting. Zett's always making me do things or telling weird stories about the-" Her voice suddenly cuts off. "About things that aren't real." she finishes, too quickly to be convincing.
"Do you not have any other family?" you ask further. The way she describes the older Mimiga doesn't match how you are told children refer to a parent, and even if he was her father it would leave the role of mother unoccupied. In spite of the probabilities involved, you can't help but pursue the first train of logic that presents itself. You and your team went through the Island not long ago. Your memory is patchy, but even if it wasn't pinpointing relation between any of the Mimiga you killed and the one in your arms now would be impossible unless somebody else were to confirm it. It is completely unworthy of consideration, but it embeds itself in your mind anyways.
"No. It's always been just me and Zett for as long as I can remember." the girl answers, without the hesitation or hollowness that you would expect from grief. Some tension within your machinery eases. It's not confirmation, but unless you were inactive for far longer than you believed you could not have been the one to kill her parents. They may not be dead at all. There's no evidence in any direction, but you are a killing machine and your thoughts cannot avoid trending towards death.
"Do you not know any other Mimiga?" you ask further, leading naturally into a more useful question. This time, the girl doesn't wait before answering.
"Sure, there's some others, but none of them are-" she begins, but abruptly stops and starts again mid-sentence. "-Anywhere near where I live. We only talk every once in a while, and we have to walk a long time to meet up."
"It's dangerous to go walking through this place without a way of defending yourself." you observe, watching a pair of oversized insects follow another, even larger thing with spikes and fangs jutting from its chitinous body into a broken air vent with a dead Critter's body. The Island would be a death trap even without the Mimiga there, and the rabbits themselves are not known for weapons.
"It is," the Mimiga girl confirms, "but it doesn't matter. I'm super brave, so I don't get scared at all."
Her bragging in her high-pitched, childish voice might have been irritating. It wasn't useful information, and balancing an extra body is slowing you down. But you can feel her heart pounding violently under her fur and skin, heat leaching into your body, and you know that she is afraid of you. Not out of some irrational idea or blind cowardice. She is afraid of you for a good reason, and is just pretending to be brave. There is only one person to blame for that.
The Commander would have done this better. Him or Curly. They're the personable ones, the friendly ones, the ones who know how to talk to people. Instead, all there is is you.
\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\
Restore Memory
Recall an experience with Commander Syn and Curly Brace. . . . .
[x] The members of your squad receive their names
[] Your last Rabid Mimiga hunt
[] Curly Brace is given an informal warning
The Egg Corridor is difficult to navigate. The floor is uneven, being made up of randomly-stacked boxes and crates only occasionally connected by scaffolding. You keep to the scaffolds. Most of them lead off into the mess of boxes. A few connect to doors leading to side-rooms like the one you entered from. It appears that the scaffolds were made after the corridor was filled up. They snake around the towers of boxes like a plant's roots pushing through the soil. You catch sight of more of the Island's fauna watching nearby, winged insects as large as a small dog, but they keep their distance after you splatter the first few against a wall with a few well-placed gunshots. The Mimiga girl in your arms squirms when you pull the trigger. They would be a genuine threat if they swarmed you all at once, but animalistic self-preservation is enough to keep them at a distance. You consider taking cover in the lower levels of the Corridor, but the flash of something far faster than you can track says it's best to stay away.
Once you're certain that you won't be attacked, you begin to prod at the Mimiga for information. Subtly, of course. She's still recovering from her earlier panic, and will cause more problems if you upset her again.
"How far are we from your village?" you ask. It's an acceptably soft question to begin with, one that you have an entirely reasonable justification to ask for.
The small Mimiga shuffles as much as your grip on her body will allow, then answers. "It's suuuper far away! Past all kinds of other creepy things. Like you, but way worse."
"I am not creepy." you repeat mechanically. Clearly this is going to be a repeated issue. The Mimiga's answer sounds more like childish embellishment than accurate information. Perhaps she's hoping to scare you off so that you'll let her go on her own. "You mentioned one other Mimiga in the village. Is it only the two of you?"
The girl answers slowly. "…yeah, it's just me and the old man. Nobody other than my family's around there." Her next words are spoken quickly but halting, less spoken and more tumbling out of her mouth. "Do you have any family, creepy robot?"
"No. Robots are made, not born. We don't have parents, siblings, or children. I don't have a family." you answer immediately. Before you can think on that answer, you force your thoughts towards the new information. The village is hardly a village at all if it's composed only of two Mimiga. The chance that they would pose a reasonable threat is extremely low. If the Red Flowers are found, of course, then it won't matter. Any Mimiga can be dangerous if they become Rabid. And if they're a threat, they need to be dealt with. The girl's answers appear unreliable, though. She obviously doesn't trust you, and these questions are too obvious. You need to be subtler if you are to gain any useful information.
"What is your family like?" you ask. When the Mimiga girl doesn't answer immediately, you glance down. Unlike before, she isn't pausing to decide her answer. The rabbit-creature's face is stalled on a single expression, ears folded back and eyes staring wide up at you. When she notices you looking back, her expression quickly corrects itself to something more defiant.
"It's not that interesting. Zett's always making me do things or telling weird stories about the-" Her voice suddenly cuts off. "About things that aren't real." she finishes, too quickly to be convincing.
"Do you not have any other family?" you ask further. The way she describes the older Mimiga doesn't match how you are told children refer to a parent, and even if he was her father it would leave the role of mother unoccupied. In spite of the probabilities involved, you can't help but pursue the first train of logic that presents itself. You and your team went through the Island not long ago. Your memory is patchy, but even if it wasn't pinpointing relation between any of the Mimiga you killed and the one in your arms now would be impossible unless somebody else were to confirm it. It is completely unworthy of consideration, but it embeds itself in your mind anyways.
"No. It's always been just me and Zett for as long as I can remember." the girl answers, without the hesitation or hollowness that you would expect from grief. Some tension within your machinery eases. It's not confirmation, but unless you were inactive for far longer than you believed you could not have been the one to kill her parents. They may not be dead at all. There's no evidence in any direction, but you are a killing machine and your thoughts cannot avoid trending towards death.
"Do you not know any other Mimiga?" you ask further, leading naturally into a more useful question. This time, the girl doesn't wait before answering.
"Sure, there's some others, but none of them are-" she begins, but abruptly stops and starts again mid-sentence. "-Anywhere near where I live. We only talk every once in a while, and we have to walk a long time to meet up."
"It's dangerous to go walking through this place without a way of defending yourself." you observe, watching a pair of oversized insects follow another, even larger thing with spikes and fangs jutting from its chitinous body into a broken air vent with a dead Critter's body. The Island would be a death trap even without the Mimiga there, and the rabbits themselves are not known for weapons.
"It is," the Mimiga girl confirms, "but it doesn't matter. I'm super brave, so I don't get scared at all."
Her bragging in her high-pitched, childish voice might have been irritating. It wasn't useful information, and balancing an extra body is slowing you down. But you can feel her heart pounding violently under her fur and skin, heat leaching into your body, and you know that she is afraid of you. Not out of some irrational idea or blind cowardice. She is afraid of you for a good reason, and is just pretending to be brave. There is only one person to blame for that.
The Commander would have done this better. Him or Curly. They're the personable ones, the friendly ones, the ones who know how to talk to people. Instead, all there is is you.
\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\
Restore Memory
Recall an experience with Commander Syn and Curly Brace. . . . .
[x] The members of your squad receive their names
[] Your last Rabid Mimiga hunt
[] Curly Brace is given an informal warning
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chickenbouillon
Will probably never finish a quest
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Your last Rabid Mimiga Hunt
- Location
- Maybe?
[X] Your last Rabid Mimiga Hunt
Poor awkward robot. Let's make it worse with a Robot 'Nam flashback.
Poor awkward robot. Let's make it worse with a Robot 'Nam flashback.
ToadLicker
Just another person
[X] The members of your squad receive their names
Dybbukpossesed
Falling Somewhere
- Location
- California
[X] The members of your squad receive their names
I need to know where those names came from.
I need to know where those names came from.
[X] Curly Brace is given an informal warning
[X] The members of your squad receive their names
- Pronouns
- He
[X] The members of your squad receive their names
- Location
- Oregon
[X] Your last Rabid Mimiga Hunt
Being automata is suffering.
Being automata is suffering.
questioningmeme
Just be yourself
- Location
- River of Light
[X] The members of your squad receive their names
This seems important.
This seems important.
The Mimiga hunt might provide key info if it happened relatively close to to the time when we were injured and the team got separated - but honestly I want to see "Curly is asked to speak to HR" more. Also I feel that might reveal conflicts within our team which could be equally revealing.
[X] Curly Brace is given an informal warning
[X] Curly Brace is given an informal warning
Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
I think everyone has got their votes in now, so I'll close things here. See you soon.
Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
Update will be tomorrow. On another note, Wind Fortress is extremely rude. I beat this area when I was about the size of a large dog playing on a 3DS that I'd dropped a few times and barely remember it, but now as a fully-grown human it's killed me more than Bloodstained Sanctuary did.
Recovered Data 1 - Names I
Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
Machine Learning - Recovered Data 1 - Names I
None of you are named when you are first built. It may be an unspoken rule that a creator names their creation, but the engineers that made you had no intent to do so. You are not named after your entire squad's construction is complete and you are ready for fieldwork. There is a celebration when the time comes. Your squad is an extremely impressive technological achievement. Human-like intelligences had been created as soldiers before, but the older models had always been inferior even to human soldiers due to the costs of accommodating their processing systems. A machine that could fit a human-like mind into a space more comparable to a human brain was a triumph. They don't assign you names, though. You each have a number, counting up in order of your production, to differentiate between yourselves.
"Number Two", or just "Two" if the speaker feels like getting to the point faster, is the title you answer to for the first eight missions your squad is assigned. It's a functional enough thing to be called. "Sub-commander" is too wordy even if it's technically correct and none of your comrades care about propriety anyways. In the early days, even that title is not used often. There is little reason for Command to address any of you individually, and when they do it is always directed to the Commander. Beyond that, you do not speak much at all.
It's after the end of your eighth mission when you are waiting in your quarters that this changes. You are used to the sounds of heavy footsteps against the metal outside your room. When it stops in front of your door, you sit up from your bed and return the instructional manual in your hands to its place on the shelf. You quickly scan your room for anything out of place as you move to open the door. Everything is as it should be. Your bed is sequestered in one crowned of the room beside the desk with your computer, which is turned off. Rows of practical books, organized first by topic and then alphabetically, a carefully slotted into the shelf above your desk. There isn't a trace of clutter or disorganization. Just like you, it is clean and precise and mechanical.
When you open the door, it's not a member of Command or one of the engineers who you see waiting on the other side. Three's overly-bright smile and blue eyes greet you, already halfway through an enthusiastic greeting. She's still wearing the starkly red pants and crop top that she wore on your last mission.
"Hey! How are things, Two?"
You don't return her enthusiasm. "Three. Everything is fine. Is there a reason you're here?"
Undeterred by your obvious disinterest, Three pushes onward. Her energetic cadence slows to something more subdued and cautious, though. "Well, we've all been talking lately, and we think that-" And then, upon spotting something in your room, the energy returns in full force. "Oh! You have a rug now! When'd that happen?"
"It was the most recent hunt." you answer plainly. You aren't in any hurry to relive that mission and you don't think Three in particular is either. It's only your third encounter with Rabid Mimiga at this point, and Three in particular has trouble being proactive during the hunt. Despite the textureless, clear lighting of your base, a layer of gloom appears to settle over the entrance to you room. "Does it matter? It's a rug." you ask, moving away from the uncomfortable topic.
"I guess not really…" Three admits, enthusiasm clearly blunted. "But you don't have much in your room. I didn't think you cared about salvaging things." She suddenly straightens her posture, smiling unashamedly. "Oh! I've got some spare stuff in my room that I'm not really using. You can take that if you'd like!"
"That's unnecessary. I don't need anything else in my room. It would only produce clutter." you say. Three's exuberance dims noticeably. Five already forced the rug on you because, in her own words, "It's square and kinda plain, so it's totally perfect for you, yeah?" and because she and Four finished their parts of the mission faster and had extra time to scavenge.
"Ah… W-well, that's not what I was gonna talk about anyways." Three says. "It's about names!"
"Names." you repeat.
"Yeah! We've been doing a great job, so I think we all deserve to at least have names, don't you?" Three proposes. You stare blankly at her.
"We?"
"Me and Six, and also Four and Five." Three answers. Everyone but you and the Commander, then. Because he isn't easily accessible and you aren't liked. You wonder which of them was the first to propose the idea.
"Why? We don't need names."
Three opens her mouth quickly before sharply cutting herself off. She waits quietly for a moment, just long enough that you start to reach for the door. "It's kinda inefficient, isn't it?"
You pause with your hand halfway towards the handle. "How? We have our production numbers. It's simple enough to address each other by those."
There's smile is as bright as always, but sharpened in a way you don't notice at the time. "Yeah, but there's plenty of other things that you call numbers. We should have more unique names. Y'know, for clarity's sake!"
"That is… a fair assessment." you admit. Distinguishing between each off you for the sake of specificity is a perfectly reasonable course. You don't have any real objections to the concept, even if you aren't especially attached to it. The only real question is if Command would allow your squad to take real names. Much of the purpose behind your creation was to ensure human lives are not lost in wars. Instead, machines can take their place and fight and die for them. The logical implication of this is obvious: your squad cannot be human if you are to remain useful. Are names a step too far?
"I will take your proposal to the Commander." you conclude. "He'll decide what to do about this."
Three moves so quickly you nearly reach for your gun on instinct, taking your hands in hers. Her smile is brighter than the fluorescent lights filling the room and more full of life. "Thanks Two! You won't regret this!"
You haven't done anything, you should say. But the way Three looks at you like you've done something special is too fragile to risk. It's nice, having somebody actually using the proper channels and delivering suggestions to the Commander through you for once.
You don't expect that respect to last, of course. It never does.
None of you are named when you are first built. It may be an unspoken rule that a creator names their creation, but the engineers that made you had no intent to do so. You are not named after your entire squad's construction is complete and you are ready for fieldwork. There is a celebration when the time comes. Your squad is an extremely impressive technological achievement. Human-like intelligences had been created as soldiers before, but the older models had always been inferior even to human soldiers due to the costs of accommodating their processing systems. A machine that could fit a human-like mind into a space more comparable to a human brain was a triumph. They don't assign you names, though. You each have a number, counting up in order of your production, to differentiate between yourselves.
"Number Two", or just "Two" if the speaker feels like getting to the point faster, is the title you answer to for the first eight missions your squad is assigned. It's a functional enough thing to be called. "Sub-commander" is too wordy even if it's technically correct and none of your comrades care about propriety anyways. In the early days, even that title is not used often. There is little reason for Command to address any of you individually, and when they do it is always directed to the Commander. Beyond that, you do not speak much at all.
It's after the end of your eighth mission when you are waiting in your quarters that this changes. You are used to the sounds of heavy footsteps against the metal outside your room. When it stops in front of your door, you sit up from your bed and return the instructional manual in your hands to its place on the shelf. You quickly scan your room for anything out of place as you move to open the door. Everything is as it should be. Your bed is sequestered in one crowned of the room beside the desk with your computer, which is turned off. Rows of practical books, organized first by topic and then alphabetically, a carefully slotted into the shelf above your desk. There isn't a trace of clutter or disorganization. Just like you, it is clean and precise and mechanical.
When you open the door, it's not a member of Command or one of the engineers who you see waiting on the other side. Three's overly-bright smile and blue eyes greet you, already halfway through an enthusiastic greeting. She's still wearing the starkly red pants and crop top that she wore on your last mission.
"Hey! How are things, Two?"
You don't return her enthusiasm. "Three. Everything is fine. Is there a reason you're here?"
Undeterred by your obvious disinterest, Three pushes onward. Her energetic cadence slows to something more subdued and cautious, though. "Well, we've all been talking lately, and we think that-" And then, upon spotting something in your room, the energy returns in full force. "Oh! You have a rug now! When'd that happen?"
"It was the most recent hunt." you answer plainly. You aren't in any hurry to relive that mission and you don't think Three in particular is either. It's only your third encounter with Rabid Mimiga at this point, and Three in particular has trouble being proactive during the hunt. Despite the textureless, clear lighting of your base, a layer of gloom appears to settle over the entrance to you room. "Does it matter? It's a rug." you ask, moving away from the uncomfortable topic.
"I guess not really…" Three admits, enthusiasm clearly blunted. "But you don't have much in your room. I didn't think you cared about salvaging things." She suddenly straightens her posture, smiling unashamedly. "Oh! I've got some spare stuff in my room that I'm not really using. You can take that if you'd like!"
"That's unnecessary. I don't need anything else in my room. It would only produce clutter." you say. Three's exuberance dims noticeably. Five already forced the rug on you because, in her own words, "It's square and kinda plain, so it's totally perfect for you, yeah?" and because she and Four finished their parts of the mission faster and had extra time to scavenge.
"Ah… W-well, that's not what I was gonna talk about anyways." Three says. "It's about names!"
"Names." you repeat.
"Yeah! We've been doing a great job, so I think we all deserve to at least have names, don't you?" Three proposes. You stare blankly at her.
"We?"
"Me and Six, and also Four and Five." Three answers. Everyone but you and the Commander, then. Because he isn't easily accessible and you aren't liked. You wonder which of them was the first to propose the idea.
"Why? We don't need names."
Three opens her mouth quickly before sharply cutting herself off. She waits quietly for a moment, just long enough that you start to reach for the door. "It's kinda inefficient, isn't it?"
You pause with your hand halfway towards the handle. "How? We have our production numbers. It's simple enough to address each other by those."
There's smile is as bright as always, but sharpened in a way you don't notice at the time. "Yeah, but there's plenty of other things that you call numbers. We should have more unique names. Y'know, for clarity's sake!"
"That is… a fair assessment." you admit. Distinguishing between each off you for the sake of specificity is a perfectly reasonable course. You don't have any real objections to the concept, even if you aren't especially attached to it. The only real question is if Command would allow your squad to take real names. Much of the purpose behind your creation was to ensure human lives are not lost in wars. Instead, machines can take their place and fight and die for them. The logical implication of this is obvious: your squad cannot be human if you are to remain useful. Are names a step too far?
"I will take your proposal to the Commander." you conclude. "He'll decide what to do about this."
Three moves so quickly you nearly reach for your gun on instinct, taking your hands in hers. Her smile is brighter than the fluorescent lights filling the room and more full of life. "Thanks Two! You won't regret this!"
You haven't done anything, you should say. But the way Three looks at you like you've done something special is too fragile to risk. It's nice, having somebody actually using the proper channels and delivering suggestions to the Commander through you for once.
You don't expect that respect to last, of course. It never does.
Last edited:
Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
Proposal To The Commander
[] Make the proposal alone
[] Make the proposal as a group
-[] Attempt to encourage the Commander
-[] Remain impartial
-[] Attempt to discourage the Commander
[] Make the proposal alone
[] Make the proposal as a group
-[] Attempt to encourage the Commander
-[] Remain impartial
-[] Attempt to discourage the Commander
- Location
- Oregon
[X] Make the proposal as a group
-[X] Remain impartial
'Two' here seems undecided, and these options will let the our squad mates take larger roles in the upcoming scene.
-[X] Remain impartial
'Two' here seems undecided, and these options will let the our squad mates take larger roles in the upcoming scene.
questioningmeme
Just be yourself
- Location
- River of Light
[X] Make the proposal as a group
-[X] Attempt to encourage the Commander
Names are good designations. Especially if the group will operate with another group.
Being able to easily identify who is who is good. And names don't need to be long anyhow.
-[X] Attempt to encourage the Commander
Names are good designations. Especially if the group will operate with another group.
Being able to easily identify who is who is good. And names don't need to be long anyhow.
Dybbukpossesed
Falling Somewhere
- Location
- California
[X] Make the proposal as a group
-[X] Attempt to encourage the Commander
-[X] Attempt to encourage the Commander
[X] Make the proposal as a group
-[X] Attempt to encourage the Commander
If everyone but us was wanting it behind our backs, it would probably be good for morale
-[X] Attempt to encourage the Commander
If everyone but us was wanting it behind our backs, it would probably be good for morale
Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
Now that the voting has concluded, the writing may begin.