[ AGGREGATE INFOSHARE ] AUDIO | UN: 354.204-S

[bijective]

Pardon the interruption, but perhaps now is a good time as any to parse through our current intelligence. I’ve offered a simple template of questions to get the ball rolling, so to speak—

- What/Where/Who have you investigated?
- What do we know from said investigation?

I believe these should be clear-cut to answer. Now, I may lack the proper rigorous experience like the lot of you. But it would be to our benefit to double-check the unmarked areas within this town.

[ ooc: assume this is around the second week into the mission. before all hallow's day and all that jazz. the goal is to see if there are any opportunities for potential search request baton passes and piecing what we know so far! so go forth! thread hop. be merry. ]

Comments

[dr_unconscious]

Woah, really?
Did you do that? Are you ok?

[gusurules]

[physically, yes.]

Yes. I am unharmed.

[His guqin, however...]

It was brief. The orb was not happy to be contacted.

[dr_unconscious]

That's a relief.

Weird that the orb doesn't want to be removed, though. Aren't they broken pieces of something bigger? I would assume they'd want to be put back together again.

[A few moments of pause and reflection later: ]

Although, I guess if each of the pieces developed their own self-awareness, they might not want to be reformed. Maybe they'll lose their identities or something.

[gusurules]

[he wouldn't know.]

It was also upset at being 'interrupted'.

[dr_unconscious]

Ominous. Any ideas on what it might've been doing?

[gusurules]

Hurting others. That is all it seems to be doing.

[dr_unconscious]

I
won't argue with that

Do you think it wants to be hurting people, though? That's what I can't wrap my head around.

[gusurules]

It said we were interrupting it's fun. I believe it does not care that it is hurting others.

[dr_unconscious]

Unless it doesn't realize that it's hurting other people with whatever it's doing.

[This man is determined to make the orb not a bad guy.]

[gusurules]

It does. It struck at my guqin and purposely snapped the strings. It threatened us.

[dr_unconscious]

I'm sorry that it did that to you, [To...whatever a guqin is, ] but we have to try and look at things from its perspective. Maybe it's trying to defend itself. Maybe it's trying to establish a new life here and we're threatening that. There's a lot of angles this unknowable orb thing could be working with.

[gusurules]

It is not unknowable. It was clear in it's communication. We offered it aid and it decided to attack and threaten us. It enjoys the chaos it is causing and does not with for it to end.

[dr_unconscious]

I'm not going to put those kinds of words in its mouth.
If it even has a mouth.
Its orb speaking apparatus.

[Even if it...explicitly said them...listen, ]

See, that's exactly my point - we're making all kinds of assumptions about what this orb wants and what it's getting out of it, but it's so far from being human that I'm not sure we can.
Or even humanoid. Or living in the technical sense. What does something like this really feel like it needs to survive and be happy?

[gusurules]

You are also making assumptions: that it cannot be understood, that its motivations are mysterious, that the words it has spoken and the actions it has undertaken somehow have different meaning to it than it does do us despite the clarity of them.

It spoke mind to mind. With both words and visions. They were not vague.

[dr_unconscious]

Ok, I'll admit that visions are a different animal.
It gave you direct intent that it wanted to hurt us, for its amusement?

[gusurules]

I have already told you what it said. The visions were related to it's wish to remain.

[dr_unconscious]

Then that sounds like self-defense. Or self-preservation.

[gusurules]

No.

[dr_unconscious]

[Clayton can recognize that this conversation is becoming unproductive for both of them, even though he wants to stubbornly continue arguing. He pushes the message away with a lot of effort and leaves Wangji on read.]