1I just read through all of this...what a note to end on!
Travelogue of the Stars Above
- Thread starter Laplace
- Start date
- Original
Incident Report for Sepharajuna's Personal Use (I)
- Location
- boundless optimism
@ 14:234:45, RIGEL IBN AMIR separated from Away Team due to a section of unstable geological grounds. Rigel survived the fall, totalling a distance of three hundred ciya. No damage was sustained. 18.45 subdivs later she expressed mounting unease, culminating in hysterics about a river. I immediately set out to supplement's Away's security options. Heavy interference in the lower caverns forced Den's technician, GRAGR HASV LEK, to upload current morphological data onto the suit. Aforementioned interference also caused Rigel's beacon to scatter all over the magnetosphere.
@ 14:368:94 I entered the caverns, descending rapidly to meet with Oan Rej and Vi Oma. Combatants URAGT YR OT, VSHEI PY LSK, JEVIA TIZ LURGH, commanded Security Constellation 945 to maintain perimeter to radius of two kilosiya wide and deep. VIPs placed on alert to evacuate in the face of an unknown threat. Followed marker trail and established contact with LLIDY IN TUASK. We began sweeping the possible area for the possible locations of Rigel's fall. Noted ferromagnetic nanoparticles in crevices, with Ulyantine-hypothesis shielding architecture via anomalous heat buildup.
[Note: Five generations in and these skins still don't offer decent non-visual receptors. Maybe I should write home for one. Or have a visual ocular hacked in.]
@ 16:345:56 We encountered the first Kending era defensive mechanism. Looked like a copy of Potterdog HEV, with a slightly more predominant plasmoid cannon. Removed from equation .04 subdivs from initial contact, no shots loosed. Exceptional performance. Waste heat from the Catchsun boiled away the greywash, leaving it unable to maintain coherent physical corpus.
[Note: Three cuts plotted to cause gross physical trauma- highly inelegant. Nondifferentiated combatants. So annoying.]
We were unable to locate where Rigel might have gone. In the meantime, Professor Issij recommended an evacuation of Jesta and Hrashkr. For brevity Llidy split off and I continued contra recommendations.
@ 19:985:34 I proceeded further corewards, natural formations gave way to Kending era constructions. Similarly, communications began failing but I informed Den Actual that I will be pushing on, despite Jevia's insistence. Blue marker-lights, white leshya facades, rotted with age. Tunnels expanded to tremendous width and height. Unable to discern with mapping tools on hand the precise dimensions but I would estimate fifty ciya high, twenty wide. Certain sections lacked friction due to almost perfect smoothness. Saw evidence of tech-poachers in the form of multiple corpses. Biological remains count three Potterdogs, one Kaduban, and nine unidentifiable with substandard gear. Wounds symptomatic of a wirerazor mine (3), lethal spike of hard radiation (4) and some form of necrotizing microorganism (2). I slowed down my pace drastically in response.
@ 20:000:01 Encountered entryway into the Kending complex proper. Found evidence of passage as the giant door was open.The internal rooms of the Kending complex were similarly airy, spacious, and obsessively geometric. The walls were coated in some reflective material- glass, or reflective metal, I was not able to determine. At the center was what appeared to be a planter box without any plants. The next three rooms were of similar construction, and I eventually concluded @ 20:456:04 that I was purposely being misled, so I cut a section of the wall open to semi-natural caverns and began to walk around the suspected perimeter of the complex.
@ 21:894:03 Encountered greywash reflection of myself. It lacked a Catchsun and instead was equipped with a metallic sword-shaped protrusion of similar length. It was quick, reacted excellently, and was also an utter bore to fight. I feinted upwards with Rain Canopies, threatened its space, and split it crown to groin in .57 subdivs.
@ 21:894:04 Encountered second reflection.
@ 21:894:05 Encountered third reflection
@ 21:894:06 Encountered fourth reflection.
@ 21:894:07 Encountered fifth reflection.
@ 21:947:48 Believed prudent to escape. I broke through a rapidly forming enclosure, cut off the limbs of one, and lept over a gap .5 ciyas wide. Thus I continued, the reflections in hot pursuit. One nearly breached the seal of my armor, but I threw it into a radiation trap, which caused the greywash to decohere. The resulting explosion caused the reflections to draw back, allowing me to further penetrate the compound.
@ 25:345:50 Re-entered compound from the floor, entering a pool from the bottom three ciyas deep. Molecular compensation was less like water, bearing more similarities to some sort of gel. My Catchsun was deactivated due to pyrophobic construction. I utilized a knife and cut my way to the surface. The gel retained enough cohesion to support the armor, once I stepped away from the cut. Found evidence of floral life further within the compound, bearing resemblance to a vitrified fossil with bioluminescent symbiotic bacteria.
@ 45:059:04 At this point, I began to harbor suspicious that the compound contains a gravity inversion field. Topological analysis suggested a conclave curve, and as I ascended the various rooms in towers and elevators, sonar pathfinding showed that the Kending complex looked more like a city on the inside of a bowl, curved within itself. At the sky is
At the sky is
Hard to describe. I can't remember it. There was a humming drone that caused damage to the aural receptors of the HEV. I had to remove the helmet after verifying that the atmosphere was not corrosive, leaving on the rebreather. I think… I think there is a singularity at the core of this ball of ice. It sucked all the heat within it and around it was a halo in the excess of nine hundred thaums.
I will attempt to refilter my memories later. I think I might have been infected by an infohazard. When I try to remember I forget. It's just…
I remember being somewhere else. Sometime else. I can't describe it.
@ 46:011:45 I engaged a perfect reflection with a Catchsun under the singularity.
A/N: haha two cliffhangers in a row. It's a hack decision imo but the next update will focus around the Cynocephali team and will provide a more zoomed out view of the whole thing.
@ 14:368:94 I entered the caverns, descending rapidly to meet with Oan Rej and Vi Oma. Combatants URAGT YR OT, VSHEI PY LSK, JEVIA TIZ LURGH, commanded Security Constellation 945 to maintain perimeter to radius of two kilosiya wide and deep. VIPs placed on alert to evacuate in the face of an unknown threat. Followed marker trail and established contact with LLIDY IN TUASK. We began sweeping the possible area for the possible locations of Rigel's fall. Noted ferromagnetic nanoparticles in crevices, with Ulyantine-hypothesis shielding architecture via anomalous heat buildup.
[Note: Five generations in and these skins still don't offer decent non-visual receptors. Maybe I should write home for one. Or have a visual ocular hacked in.]
@ 16:345:56 We encountered the first Kending era defensive mechanism. Looked like a copy of Potterdog HEV, with a slightly more predominant plasmoid cannon. Removed from equation .04 subdivs from initial contact, no shots loosed. Exceptional performance. Waste heat from the Catchsun boiled away the greywash, leaving it unable to maintain coherent physical corpus.
[Note: Three cuts plotted to cause gross physical trauma- highly inelegant. Nondifferentiated combatants. So annoying.]
We were unable to locate where Rigel might have gone. In the meantime, Professor Issij recommended an evacuation of Jesta and Hrashkr. For brevity Llidy split off and I continued contra recommendations.
@ 19:985:34 I proceeded further corewards, natural formations gave way to Kending era constructions. Similarly, communications began failing but I informed Den Actual that I will be pushing on, despite Jevia's insistence. Blue marker-lights, white leshya facades, rotted with age. Tunnels expanded to tremendous width and height. Unable to discern with mapping tools on hand the precise dimensions but I would estimate fifty ciya high, twenty wide. Certain sections lacked friction due to almost perfect smoothness. Saw evidence of tech-poachers in the form of multiple corpses. Biological remains count three Potterdogs, one Kaduban, and nine unidentifiable with substandard gear. Wounds symptomatic of a wirerazor mine (3), lethal spike of hard radiation (4) and some form of necrotizing microorganism (2). I slowed down my pace drastically in response.
@ 20:000:01 Encountered entryway into the Kending complex proper. Found evidence of passage as the giant door was open.The internal rooms of the Kending complex were similarly airy, spacious, and obsessively geometric. The walls were coated in some reflective material- glass, or reflective metal, I was not able to determine. At the center was what appeared to be a planter box without any plants. The next three rooms were of similar construction, and I eventually concluded @ 20:456:04 that I was purposely being misled, so I cut a section of the wall open to semi-natural caverns and began to walk around the suspected perimeter of the complex.
@ 21:894:03 Encountered greywash reflection of myself. It lacked a Catchsun and instead was equipped with a metallic sword-shaped protrusion of similar length. It was quick, reacted excellently, and was also an utter bore to fight. I feinted upwards with Rain Canopies, threatened its space, and split it crown to groin in .57 subdivs.
@ 21:894:04 Encountered second reflection.
@ 21:894:05 Encountered third reflection
@ 21:894:06 Encountered fourth reflection.
@ 21:894:07 Encountered fifth reflection.
@ 21:947:48 Believed prudent to escape. I broke through a rapidly forming enclosure, cut off the limbs of one, and lept over a gap .5 ciyas wide. Thus I continued, the reflections in hot pursuit. One nearly breached the seal of my armor, but I threw it into a radiation trap, which caused the greywash to decohere. The resulting explosion caused the reflections to draw back, allowing me to further penetrate the compound.
@ 25:345:50 Re-entered compound from the floor, entering a pool from the bottom three ciyas deep. Molecular compensation was less like water, bearing more similarities to some sort of gel. My Catchsun was deactivated due to pyrophobic construction. I utilized a knife and cut my way to the surface. The gel retained enough cohesion to support the armor, once I stepped away from the cut. Found evidence of floral life further within the compound, bearing resemblance to a vitrified fossil with bioluminescent symbiotic bacteria.
@ 45:059:04 At this point, I began to harbor suspicious that the compound contains a gravity inversion field. Topological analysis suggested a conclave curve, and as I ascended the various rooms in towers and elevators, sonar pathfinding showed that the Kending complex looked more like a city on the inside of a bowl, curved within itself. At the sky is
At the sky is
Hard to describe. I can't remember it. There was a humming drone that caused damage to the aural receptors of the HEV. I had to remove the helmet after verifying that the atmosphere was not corrosive, leaving on the rebreather. I think… I think there is a singularity at the core of this ball of ice. It sucked all the heat within it and around it was a halo in the excess of nine hundred thaums.
I will attempt to refilter my memories later. I think I might have been infected by an infohazard. When I try to remember I forget. It's just…
I remember being somewhere else. Sometime else. I can't describe it.
@ 46:011:45 I engaged a perfect reflection with a Catchsun under the singularity.
A/N: haha two cliffhangers in a row. It's a hack decision imo but the next update will focus around the Cynocephali team and will provide a more zoomed out view of the whole thing.
Last edited:
- Location
- England
Minorest of nitpicks, I think this should be 07 instead of 04.
Well that's
Not good.
If this wasn't an Incident Log, which means Sepharajuna survived to write it, I'd be worried for the poor girl. As it stands I'm potentially worried for a couple of her limbs.
WinterLantern
Smoked bird
- Location
- North England
The word infohazard fills me with terror but I can't remember why
- Location
- Australia
- Pronouns
- He/They
You do not recognize the bodies in the water.
Incident Report for Team 345-A Kending, UJS, Rrugrkash Official (Public Ver.)
- Location
- boundless optimism
Cycle 10 of Nagosh Expedition 01.
During the first expedition into the caverns, Third Class Citizen (Educational Visa) Rigel Ibn Amir fell into a deeper section of the caverns. His vital signs reported heightened stress and anxiety. DEN ACTUAL, under the orders of Captain of Security Second Class Citizen (Legionnaire Visa) Sepharajuna of Yesterday began making preparations for a fast exit. Adjudant Lek made a formal statement to the negative regarding Captain Sepharajuna's decision to personally descend into Nagosh Cavern A. In response, Captain Sepharajuna said, "sure, whatever" and proceeded.
Around 0466, strong electronic fuzz began to disrupt communications. Agent Pal co-ordinated with Research Student Rej to find a rally point in extreme conditions. The security constellations also began reporting kay millisecond lags, but was ultimately judged that they would function adequately.
Officer Tuask regrouped with Captain Sepharajuna around 0465. They were unable to locate Citizen Amir's trail. Captain Sepharajuna ordered Officer Tuask to regroup with Officer Oma and Research Student Rej. Captain Sepharajuna was unable to maintain good connection, and Adjudant Lek was unable to clear the band.
At 0462, midway through evacuation of the Hab, Officer Lsk confirmed visual on a greywash entity with . It was quickly dispatched by a drone and a cursory analysis by Professor Ket confirmed that the greywash was constructed with techniques emblematic of late Kending era programming. Two more similar signatures were detected ten and twenty trails out, similarly dispatched.
At 0445, emergency broadcast from Research Assistant Rej. <START SEPHARAJUNA ATTACKED KILLED OMA BARELY ESCAPED, CONDITION FINE. GOING TO RALLY POINT STOP>
Agent Pal pushed for a team to go down to the rally immediately in support of the expedition team, citing Captain Sepharajuna's capability in the Legions. Officer Lurgh refused and their co-workers agreed. Evacuation was to proceed at an accelerated rate, before the greywash could infiltrate the surface in large numbers.
At 0424, it was discovered that Cargo Ship 345-Z was unable to engage engines. It was unable to engage engines since the second day after landfall. Den Actual made the decision to relocate at the Rally point after salvaging communications equipment.
Den Actual relocated with all available assets at 0400 at the Rally point with Research Assistant Rej. Research Assistant Rej was declared not compromised, except heightened stress levels. Professor Ket ordered a dose of anesthetics to Research Assistant Rej.
The interference intensified exponentially. HEV radio failed entirely, and the electrode lighting soon followed. Bioluminescence lighting remained stable. Den Actual utilized sign language, blink code, and writing on the cavern walls to maintain communication. Multiple individuals reported severe Isolation Trauma, aggravated by wild speculation on the possibility of subversion via Kending defensive mechanisms or mimicry by the greywash.
The situation developed into a standoff. Multiple people did not trust Research Assistant Rej's claims of not being subverted, and Research Assistant Rej was not confident in Den Actual's status. Upon further review consensus was reached in that none were able to discern each other's true status. Den Actual and Research Assistant Rej decided to focus on other matters before verifying everyone's status.
Agent Magrh recommended that Den Actual complete the expedition into the Kending complex. Professor Ket and Officers Ot and Lsk disagreed, citing the possibility of more dangerous Kending defensive mechanisms. Agent Magrh argued that holding position would be ultimately futile, and it would be best to search for a safer location or an area free of sensor interference in order to broadcast a distress signal.
At 0356 Den Actual began to attempt a breach into the Kending complex. Breached exterior wall with detonation charge, confirmed that the topology was morphologic. Den Actual proceeded this way downwards, coming into contact with three more greywash entities.
At 0331 Den Actual encountered the first Kending installation of note- a crystalline server farm of cryo-light (Dated Kending 345 Before Separation). Contained junk data and corruption, mostly semantic arguments about peculiarities of Kending grammar. Purged before computational systems compromised.
At 0299 Den Actual encountered runaway data structure. A self evolved infovirus contaminated a decorative cryo-light floral structure. It attempted to communicate itself and Den Actual was forced to immolate it.
At 0294 Den Actual entered a greywash incubation tomb. Further analysis revealed that the genetic instructions for the greywash had evolved to nowhere in the time since Separation to discovery. It appears that the Greywash reverted to basal OS level instinct for lack of direct impetus. Uncovered algorithms capable of forming exoflight capable combatants, infiltrator units, and other entities fully detailed in Agent Magrh's report.
It is in the opinion of Professor Ket that the arrival of the UJS Expedition caused the greywash to react to the new stimulus. Neural patterns, comms emissions, etc, caused the greywash to revert to aggressor instincts. Den Actual proceeded to find a kill-gene in order to deactivate the greywash.
During the first expedition into the caverns, Third Class Citizen (Educational Visa) Rigel Ibn Amir fell into a deeper section of the caverns. His vital signs reported heightened stress and anxiety. DEN ACTUAL, under the orders of Captain of Security Second Class Citizen (Legionnaire Visa) Sepharajuna of Yesterday began making preparations for a fast exit. Adjudant Lek made a formal statement to the negative regarding Captain Sepharajuna's decision to personally descend into Nagosh Cavern A. In response, Captain Sepharajuna said, "sure, whatever" and proceeded.
Around 0466, strong electronic fuzz began to disrupt communications. Agent Pal co-ordinated with Research Student Rej to find a rally point in extreme conditions. The security constellations also began reporting kay millisecond lags, but was ultimately judged that they would function adequately.
Officer Tuask regrouped with Captain Sepharajuna around 0465. They were unable to locate Citizen Amir's trail. Captain Sepharajuna ordered Officer Tuask to regroup with Officer Oma and Research Student Rej. Captain Sepharajuna was unable to maintain good connection, and Adjudant Lek was unable to clear the band.
At 0462, midway through evacuation of the Hab, Officer Lsk confirmed visual on a greywash entity with . It was quickly dispatched by a drone and a cursory analysis by Professor Ket confirmed that the greywash was constructed with techniques emblematic of late Kending era programming. Two more similar signatures were detected ten and twenty trails out, similarly dispatched.
At 0445, emergency broadcast from Research Assistant Rej. <START SEPHARAJUNA ATTACKED KILLED OMA BARELY ESCAPED, CONDITION FINE. GOING TO RALLY POINT STOP>
Agent Pal pushed for a team to go down to the rally immediately in support of the expedition team, citing Captain Sepharajuna's capability in the Legions. Officer Lurgh refused and their co-workers agreed. Evacuation was to proceed at an accelerated rate, before the greywash could infiltrate the surface in large numbers.
At 0424, it was discovered that Cargo Ship 345-Z was unable to engage engines. It was unable to engage engines since the second day after landfall. Den Actual made the decision to relocate at the Rally point after salvaging communications equipment.
Den Actual relocated with all available assets at 0400 at the Rally point with Research Assistant Rej. Research Assistant Rej was declared not compromised, except heightened stress levels. Professor Ket ordered a dose of anesthetics to Research Assistant Rej.
The interference intensified exponentially. HEV radio failed entirely, and the electrode lighting soon followed. Bioluminescence lighting remained stable. Den Actual utilized sign language, blink code, and writing on the cavern walls to maintain communication. Multiple individuals reported severe Isolation Trauma, aggravated by wild speculation on the possibility of subversion via Kending defensive mechanisms or mimicry by the greywash.
The situation developed into a standoff. Multiple people did not trust Research Assistant Rej's claims of not being subverted, and Research Assistant Rej was not confident in Den Actual's status. Upon further review consensus was reached in that none were able to discern each other's true status. Den Actual and Research Assistant Rej decided to focus on other matters before verifying everyone's status.
Agent Magrh recommended that Den Actual complete the expedition into the Kending complex. Professor Ket and Officers Ot and Lsk disagreed, citing the possibility of more dangerous Kending defensive mechanisms. Agent Magrh argued that holding position would be ultimately futile, and it would be best to search for a safer location or an area free of sensor interference in order to broadcast a distress signal.
At 0356 Den Actual began to attempt a breach into the Kending complex. Breached exterior wall with detonation charge, confirmed that the topology was morphologic. Den Actual proceeded this way downwards, coming into contact with three more greywash entities.
At 0331 Den Actual encountered the first Kending installation of note- a crystalline server farm of cryo-light (Dated Kending 345 Before Separation). Contained junk data and corruption, mostly semantic arguments about peculiarities of Kending grammar. Purged before computational systems compromised.
At 0299 Den Actual encountered runaway data structure. A self evolved infovirus contaminated a decorative cryo-light floral structure. It attempted to communicate itself and Den Actual was forced to immolate it.
At 0294 Den Actual entered a greywash incubation tomb. Further analysis revealed that the genetic instructions for the greywash had evolved to nowhere in the time since Separation to discovery. It appears that the Greywash reverted to basal OS level instinct for lack of direct impetus. Uncovered algorithms capable of forming exoflight capable combatants, infiltrator units, and other entities fully detailed in Agent Magrh's report.
It is in the opinion of Professor Ket that the arrival of the UJS Expedition caused the greywash to react to the new stimulus. Neural patterns, comms emissions, etc, caused the greywash to revert to aggressor instincts. Den Actual proceeded to find a kill-gene in order to deactivate the greywash.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
The time's counting down. I'm sure nothing will happen at 0000.
Greywash... getting somehow mind-controlled. Why grey? Grey goo? Is this the result of nanomachine infiltration? We get greywash "entities". Communication via blinking lights. I definitely don't understand this all the way yet. It's a strong infohazard of some sort, but it could be hit by a kill-gene. Huh. Curiouser and curiouser.
Greywash... getting somehow mind-controlled. Why grey? Grey goo? Is this the result of nanomachine infiltration? We get greywash "entities". Communication via blinking lights. I definitely don't understand this all the way yet. It's a strong infohazard of some sort, but it could be hit by a kill-gene. Huh. Curiouser and curiouser.
- Location
- United States
This is a remarkably curious medium to consume what is essentially a sci-fy horror movie.
Chloe Sullivan
Subdefective
- Location
- 1630 Revello Drive, Sunnydale CA
The term Greywash is used in Lancer to describe aggressive swarms of micro or nano machines that erode stuff, so yeah I'm going with degenerative nanocould thingie.
WinterLantern
Smoked bird
- Location
- North England
Oh, I was wondering what the fuck this greywash doomtide was and how it would be able to infiltrate like the crew feared, then I remembered this delightful piece of doctor who:
I was Assaulted by Creatures of Air
- Location
- boundless optimism
I believe I now have an understanding of what desert aesetics experience and I must say that I do not see the appeal. My head throbs when I reach for the memories, the recordings from my suit are singularly unhelpful, and any wisdom I might have received from the jinns of Kending has absolutely nothing to do with the accumulation of wealth, worldly or spiritual, so I feel betrayed by the whole affair. In addition, Sepharajuna had discovered that I have designated her people false jinn, and she has jokingly or not so jokingly threatened to duel me in her official capacity in defending the Regality's dignity.
I have burned bridges magnificently with the Cynocephali. By Sepharajuna's accounting, my probable punishment would be lifelong exile to some desolate world to build some city. So I will never return. S
Shame.
This bears explaining. We two barbarians travelled deep into the heart of the Kending labyrinth. I'll not commit my experiences to paper- and yes, I have been using paper again, scritches off labelling tape. The slate is a piece of black glass for a week now, so I believe that Jesta and the others have returned with an account of our deeds and by some sending locked me out. It is no matter. For some price there are people who will remove this.
One might notice that I have not attached a transcription here. That is because it is half incoherent screeching, mad ramblings, and asinine descriptions of vases of all things. Why vases? My mind was not in a good condition.
So, from the top.
The Kending labyrinth is on the reverse of the earth. That is the truth. There is a sun within the skin, a singularity, a critical mass of information. These are not my words. I have said them and I transcribe them but they are not mine. I have no idea what a singularity is before I asked Sepharajuna. And how information can be something to touch and feel, something that is like a lead dropped on a sheet, seems
implausible.
My mind is not in good condition.
Wit helps. Sepharajuna and I have been passing poems together on the ship. Even if the meters clash horribly, and half the time we argue about which language to translate- Ayafana to Arabic, or perhaps Persian to Letazu? Each have their own qualities and unique cadences, and we are each vicious partisans for our own. I spent what feels like a year wandering the halls and their orchards of ghost-trees, avoiding the grey specters but I think they were avoiding me, in the end, until I reached
The surface? The roof? The ceiling? The basement?
I saw the other sun, and the giant it became the heart of.
This matter of horse shit is why I have not attached the transcript. Poetic ramblings of no use whatsoever. So I have communicated with this thing and I believe it has given something back but I have no clue what it is or what it can do, so I shall instead speak of how I have committed my first act of piracy and stranded the expedition on Nagosh.
In truth, I still do not quite understand how I bumbled my way into grand theft. I believe one of the wisemen was not a scholar, but a hunting dog. It is the most sensible explanation as to why, when I could hear their voices over the device, they ordered me to go in deeper as opposed to retracing my steps to find the expedition. Jesta Oan Rej was insistent that I remain rooted shortly after I fell, but this Magrh Eshi Pal wanted me to go deeper, to do this, to do that. Highly contradictory.
At this point, I met with Sepharajuna, who by her moderately inflated account slew ten of the grey specters. She, too, was in contact with the wisemen, and they, too wished for her to explore further.
Sepharajuna, at first, shared my opinion that this was highly irregular. By all rights, we should have waited for the greater body of the expedition to find us instead of gallivanting around a palace of wonders. Then she became of the opinion that the Cynocephali wanted us to find that great weapon to defeat the ghuls.
Being a proud patriot of the Regality of Sun and Flower, she decided to steal a march. This she hid from me until after the deed was done. But that was not hard, at that point.
To clarify, for a moment- I met Sepharajuna after I communicated with the Kending thing. The chronology is muddled. The reader must pardon me. My mind is not in good condition.
We passed through glass palaces, large as mountains, and through doors of light that connected places leagues apart. Distance no longer had any meaning there. To say that it made navigation a dicy affair would be an understatement. At first, Sepharajuna scorched lines but they were lost.
I think
I think we traveled against the clock. I remember seeing myself before. Meeting myself. Those mirrors never quite give you the entire impression.
Was I wearing the helm? I don't think so. I distinctly remember the grey specters fleeing from my voice when I recited the Quran at some points. Sepharajuna agrees, although she disputes that it is the Quran that drove them away.
Name of God, this is as fanciful a tale as any other. I ought to give up scribing for penning plays.
Sepharajuna believes that communing with the giant from Kending gave me some power over the greywash. This was also the case with the expedition, who unbeknownst to me ordered Sepharajuna to capture me.
To her credit, she did. She just didn't hand me over to the Cynocephali.
The grey specters I talk about are termed greywash- some form of living water, or not so living water. Mercury, I think. The State of Kending left them behind when they passed, and they can take the form of many things. Someone in high office, for instance…
I don't think I can command the specters to do such a thing. All I can do is to get them to flee, especially on the sample Sepharajuna secured.
In any case, we were able to reduce the greywash to an inert state- there was an incantation in specific that turned them into lifeless pools. We sent it to the Cynocephali and left them before they could reach the surface.
That man Magrh caught up to us on the surface. And he shot me.
I am currently recuperating well, but Magrh is currently short an arm by Sepharajuna's blade. I was able to start the vessel before I fell into unconsciousness.
This is not as epic a tale, on reflection. In any case, we are headed to the territory of the Ghuls, hoping that the Cynocephali will cease pursuit. There, Sepharajuna will make farewells and return to her land to present the greywash to her court. I suppose that I must muddle my way through life, once again.
A/N: SO IT TURNS OUT I CAN'T ACTUALLY WRITE A HORROR FILM THROUGH DIEGETIC RECORDINGS HUH HOW ABOUT THAT
I have burned bridges magnificently with the Cynocephali. By Sepharajuna's accounting, my probable punishment would be lifelong exile to some desolate world to build some city. So I will never return. S
Shame.
This bears explaining. We two barbarians travelled deep into the heart of the Kending labyrinth. I'll not commit my experiences to paper- and yes, I have been using paper again, scritches off labelling tape. The slate is a piece of black glass for a week now, so I believe that Jesta and the others have returned with an account of our deeds and by some sending locked me out. It is no matter. For some price there are people who will remove this.
One might notice that I have not attached a transcription here. That is because it is half incoherent screeching, mad ramblings, and asinine descriptions of vases of all things. Why vases? My mind was not in a good condition.
So, from the top.
The Kending labyrinth is on the reverse of the earth. That is the truth. There is a sun within the skin, a singularity, a critical mass of information. These are not my words. I have said them and I transcribe them but they are not mine. I have no idea what a singularity is before I asked Sepharajuna. And how information can be something to touch and feel, something that is like a lead dropped on a sheet, seems
implausible.
My mind is not in good condition.
Wit helps. Sepharajuna and I have been passing poems together on the ship. Even if the meters clash horribly, and half the time we argue about which language to translate- Ayafana to Arabic, or perhaps Persian to Letazu? Each have their own qualities and unique cadences, and we are each vicious partisans for our own. I spent what feels like a year wandering the halls and their orchards of ghost-trees, avoiding the grey specters but I think they were avoiding me, in the end, until I reached
The surface? The roof? The ceiling? The basement?
I saw the other sun, and the giant it became the heart of.
This matter of horse shit is why I have not attached the transcript. Poetic ramblings of no use whatsoever. So I have communicated with this thing and I believe it has given something back but I have no clue what it is or what it can do, so I shall instead speak of how I have committed my first act of piracy and stranded the expedition on Nagosh.
In truth, I still do not quite understand how I bumbled my way into grand theft. I believe one of the wisemen was not a scholar, but a hunting dog. It is the most sensible explanation as to why, when I could hear their voices over the device, they ordered me to go in deeper as opposed to retracing my steps to find the expedition. Jesta Oan Rej was insistent that I remain rooted shortly after I fell, but this Magrh Eshi Pal wanted me to go deeper, to do this, to do that. Highly contradictory.
At this point, I met with Sepharajuna, who by her moderately inflated account slew ten of the grey specters. She, too, was in contact with the wisemen, and they, too wished for her to explore further.
Sepharajuna, at first, shared my opinion that this was highly irregular. By all rights, we should have waited for the greater body of the expedition to find us instead of gallivanting around a palace of wonders. Then she became of the opinion that the Cynocephali wanted us to find that great weapon to defeat the ghuls.
Being a proud patriot of the Regality of Sun and Flower, she decided to steal a march. This she hid from me until after the deed was done. But that was not hard, at that point.
To clarify, for a moment- I met Sepharajuna after I communicated with the Kending thing. The chronology is muddled. The reader must pardon me. My mind is not in good condition.
We passed through glass palaces, large as mountains, and through doors of light that connected places leagues apart. Distance no longer had any meaning there. To say that it made navigation a dicy affair would be an understatement. At first, Sepharajuna scorched lines but they were lost.
I think
I think we traveled against the clock. I remember seeing myself before. Meeting myself. Those mirrors never quite give you the entire impression.
Was I wearing the helm? I don't think so. I distinctly remember the grey specters fleeing from my voice when I recited the Quran at some points. Sepharajuna agrees, although she disputes that it is the Quran that drove them away.
Name of God, this is as fanciful a tale as any other. I ought to give up scribing for penning plays.
Sepharajuna believes that communing with the giant from Kending gave me some power over the greywash. This was also the case with the expedition, who unbeknownst to me ordered Sepharajuna to capture me.
To her credit, she did. She just didn't hand me over to the Cynocephali.
The grey specters I talk about are termed greywash- some form of living water, or not so living water. Mercury, I think. The State of Kending left them behind when they passed, and they can take the form of many things. Someone in high office, for instance…
I don't think I can command the specters to do such a thing. All I can do is to get them to flee, especially on the sample Sepharajuna secured.
In any case, we were able to reduce the greywash to an inert state- there was an incantation in specific that turned them into lifeless pools. We sent it to the Cynocephali and left them before they could reach the surface.
That man Magrh caught up to us on the surface. And he shot me.
I am currently recuperating well, but Magrh is currently short an arm by Sepharajuna's blade. I was able to start the vessel before I fell into unconsciousness.
This is not as epic a tale, on reflection. In any case, we are headed to the territory of the Ghuls, hoping that the Cynocephali will cease pursuit. There, Sepharajuna will make farewells and return to her land to present the greywash to her court. I suppose that I must muddle my way through life, once again.
A/N: SO IT TURNS OUT I CAN'T ACTUALLY WRITE A HORROR FILM THROUGH DIEGETIC RECORDINGS HUH HOW ABOUT THAT
Neruz
Rogue Spiderbanana
- Location
- The Land of Fire and Poison
Astonishing. Who could possibly have imagined such a thing?
- Location
- Argentina
So to clarify:
The Cynocephali ordered for him to explore the ruins instead of waiting for the expedition, probably to get whatever weapons or information they could.
Later our intrepid hero met with Sepharajuna and was exposed to the singularity, which seems to have given him access to some control of the nanobots/whatever they are, as well as made time wonky. Or maybe that's just the info-hazards messing with his mind.
Afterwards once on the surface they were attacked by the Cynocephali to get the sample they captured, they managed to escape and here we are.
Did I miss or get anything wrong?
The Cynocephali ordered for him to explore the ruins instead of waiting for the expedition, probably to get whatever weapons or information they could.
Later our intrepid hero met with Sepharajuna and was exposed to the singularity, which seems to have given him access to some control of the nanobots/whatever they are, as well as made time wonky. Or maybe that's just the info-hazards messing with his mind.
Afterwards once on the surface they were attacked by the Cynocephali to get the sample they captured, they managed to escape and here we are.
Did I miss or get anything wrong?
- Location
- Neptune
Maybe it's time for you to the-read the previous chapters.
- Location
- within 2 hours of the White House
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Oops.
No that sounds right to me. Though it is a bit hard to follow through the lens of the format
- Location
- Great Khanate of Scotland
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yeah I just did a bit of a reread myself - Rigel and the other characters are still pretty cool, though I wonder where he goes from here. The Ghul polity? Sepharajuna's homeworld? Also I can't help but wonder if we've seen the last of the singularity, or if Rigel will ever get home.
grommile
nasty-minded old cynic
- Location
- NERV-Mercia
- Pronouns
- Traditional/Animate
At this point, I suspect going home for Rigel would be a bit like it was for the protagonist in Heinlein's Glory Road.
Not in Person
Once Known as The Nobody
- Location
- A place
Is it the one where the protagonist parallels Buddha, the antagonists are called the names of Hidu deities, but acually they're all survivors from a super-high-tech colony ship, or some-such?
grommile
nasty-minded old cynic
- Location
- NERV-Mercia
- Pronouns
- Traditional/Animate
That sounds more like Zelazny's Lord of Light.
Glory Road is the Heinlein novel where a discharged veteran (who got screwed out of some of his veteran benefits because the deployment he was part of didn't count as an official war) meets the empress of the multiverse on a nudist beach and is recruited to her quest to recover the database artifact she needs in order to actually finish being trained to do her job.
ExNihilo
SPACE!
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
You know, you said it was a Heinlein book, but given that description, I probably could have guessed.
- Location
- boundless optimism
Nah, Magrh Eshi Pal was an agent for the Cynocephali spook department that was picking up a history degree to slap on his CV. He tried to secure Rigel by himself due to the fact that Rigel may or may not have the command codes for Kending greywash burned on his cortex. The rest of the university expedition didn't have any say in what the Bureau of Affairs can do for the security of Rrughrkash.
It is a little hazy, and I feel I could have gotten it across better, but it is what it is. Apologies for the confusion.
Not in Person
Once Known as The Nobody
- Location
- A place
Right, that's what it is. Thanks.
I understood, more or less, that only one Cynocephali was an Impostor, and the rest were just as confused as (probably) us, the readers. And Rigel even more.