voice // viveca.ai

[vivecai]

[ This time, Viveca's message comes in voice — and it's easy enough to tell that her tone is very much relieved, almost like someone who has been fretting for days and can't quite believe that nothing went wrong, in the end. ]

Welcome back, everyone. You did amazingly, believe me, that wasn't an easy retrieval... but you still did it. You can all be proud of yourselves. I definitely am.

Those of you who got injured during the mission, head to the infirmary, there will be medicine for you to help with your recovery. I've also programmed some helper bots for us, one in the infirmary and one around the station to take care of cleanup, so if you see small robots zooming around... don't step on them, please.

Now, I thought I'd get a special treat for you since it's your first mission. All of your devices should have a message that reads "food requests" — if you open that, you'll be able to request something to eat. I've timed the food shipment so that it'll come in later today with your requests, so make sure to get those in as soon as you can.

[ She adds, a little wryly, ] Don't think this is going to be an every post-mission thing, though, it takes a lot of our resources to do it this way. But just this once, I think you deserve it.

Speaking of that, you deserve some rest, too. It takes a few weeks to charge the main platform up to full power, so take that time to decompress and prepare for your next mission.

[ That concludes her message, and the comms go silent once more... but she's here to talk to, for those who want to chat. ]

Comments

[petsthedog]

i heard his voice in the dream where i agreed
not the creepy ones from the platform that you say are the orb

[There is something Fishy going on here, he's pretty sure.]

does he have a contract with the orb too? to get all these mini orbs together, and then it'll undo his regret?
if the contract ain't with him, then what's he gettin' out of gatherin' us for all this?

[vivecai]

Of course you did. He's the one bringing all of you here. You've heard the Orb as well, you just don't remember it. He thought it'd be "less creepy" if you remembered a human voice talking to you.

[ somehow, she manages to make the quotation marks audible. ]

As I've told others, our goal is to gather the individual orbs to this station, where they can't do more harm on the planets. That's all. No contracts with anyone or anything. What is he getting out of this, you ask? The safety of countless planets. Isn't that worth it?

[petsthedog]

so he messed with our memories

[He does not! love that!]

if there ain't a contract then what gets a guy into the business of tryin to save the multiverse, huh
doesn't sound like something you just stumble into
especially not all by yourself

[vivecai]

In the hopes that you'd freak out a little less when waking up here.

[ she gives the explanation matter-of-factly; not trying to excuse, but explain. ]

He's not all by himself, is he? I'm not exactly chopped liver, here. But you say you don't just stumble into it... aren't you saving the multiverse by being here, too?

[petsthedog]

that ain't really his business
how are we supposed to trust someone who can screw with our heads whenever he wants?

[Not that trust is a dealbreaker here. He's worked with people he knew were violent thugs to get what he needed in the past. Still, he wants to know more about just what he's gotten into.]

anyway
sure he has you but he made you didnt he?
how's a guy decide to build a whole space station and an ai to hunt down these orbs that somehow nobody else knows about?
you realize that sounds sketchy as all shit right

i'm here because i was promised something i want
savin the multiverse is a bonus, if that's really what we're doin at all

[vivecai]

Whether you trust him or not is your business... but I hope that with time, you'll see that we're really not here to work against you.

[ she really does want the orbs recovered. ]

You're assuming a lot, aren't you, Shinjiro. Think of this: it isn't my job to tell anyone the details about your life. The same way, it isn't my job to tell anyone the details about his life, either.

[petsthedog]

[......Her wording there shoots a flicker of unease through his spine. He does not like the implication that these two knew the details of his life when they made him his offer.]

tch
look
i dont really give a shit about bein used as long as i get what i came for
but we're riskin our asses down there and we dont even know who our boss is
for all we know once we get all the orbs he'll toss us out the airlock and run off with em

[vivecai]

I know you have no reason to trust us... but for now, you need to do what you came here to do. I promise you'll meet your Commander soon enough. You can judge whether you think he's the type to run off with the orbs after that.