text, un: strange

[rehandle]

The mission files on the station are corrupted. A sample of 4 for certain, including the crew's most recent mission, enough to extrapolate that the rest could be the same. All files and functions aboard this station are part of Olivia's wider access. While the files exist in the Ximilia's programming, so does the corruption exist within 0-L1V-14. There's no separating them from her without deleting them.

I've asked her to isolate them all and deny direct access requests

DO NOT ATTEMPT to access the mission files directly. The consequences are steep, immediate, and it's impossible to know for certain how far-reaching.



We have the option to delete the files, but the fact that they're corrupted speaks to their significance.

We need to be careful what we do here. Time and reality are fickle friends on the best of days. Aboard the Ximilia we have no universal law to fall back on.

If anyone has any further insight, good time to share with the class.



[ It's somewhat disjointed, peppered with wizardly wisdom, thoughts ordered until they're interrupted by themselves and then fall back into line again - but he's said everything he needs to say, and he can manage the rest in shorter bursts if people get back to him. It'll do. ]


( ooc. Stephen had a chat with Olivia and ended up having a not good very bad time. Feel free to infoshare, theorise and threadjack etc to your heart's content! )

Comments

text; un: felix

[swordandshield]

Please tell me this is not a time travel episode.

[When in doubt, make dumb jokes.]

[rehandle]

I'd love to

[ But he... doesn't... haha.. ha ]

[swordandshield]

[Goddamnit. Yeah, he suspects as much at this point.]

Were you here when will dealt with Olivia last time?

text; un: y.mikotoba

[softshoes]

[steep and immediate, huh?]

What happened? Are you all right?

[rehandle]

Some kind of vision. I'll be fine

audio;

[softshoes]

[Yujin switches to audio, if only to put on his best Doctor Voice.]

I'd like to see that you are fine. Would you meet me in the infirmary?

{text} un: joric

[drawsblood]

[ The mountain man from the land before electricity is probably the worst person to try and discuss technology, but what little info he has he'll share. ]

When I talked with Olivia there were strange sounds coming from the earpiece that she said she didn't hear. The first few were loud and nearly made me go deaf and then there was a softer humming noise.

I can't offer more because I don't understand technology, but if she isn't lying and truly wasn't aware of it, that could be even more corruption than what we already know.

[rehandle]

[ He's heard a couple of the fluctuations himself, but there's something that catches him about the description. ]

Do you remember what you were talking about when either sound was triggered?

[drawsblood]

The crew being missing.

[ And then a moment later as an afterthought: ]

She said there was no place that the orbs' power couldn't touch. Then later when the humming started she said to find the orbs and bring them to her.

text ↪ un: うちは

[blackfire]

Which missions specifically were in this sampling?

[rehandle]

The names as close as I can make them out - the corruption is considerable even in the unopened files - are:

Altrusa (the most recent mission)
Corothawn
Tsujiwe Kinu / Tsujiwekinu
V-45G

She should be able to provide the full list of mission titles and their timeline without needing to present the files themselves. The 3 additional missions are a random sample I requested to the test the theory after confirming Altrusa was corrupted.

[blackfire]

If they are encoded by cipher, it is not one of which I am aware or able to easily parse.

（ boy howdy does mr perfectionist knowitall hate that. although that does raise the question — are they corrupted, or are they simply fragments from an alternate universe — or the past of the other crew — in which those were the names of the worlds they had chanced to visit?

wrong crew, as olivia had stated. ）

When you say 'consequences' — may I ask what sort?

Voice;

[heroooic]

Okay so are we thinking time travel or altered reality? Both? Let’s start taking bets, guys.

[ Despite his outwardly cheerful demeanor, this situation is really stressing Finn the heck out. Altered timelines were no laughing matter and Finn had never tangled with one that hadn’t ended in tragedy or disaster.

So he’s doing what he does best and pushing that fact to the back of his mind and not thinking about it. ]

My money’s on alternate reality but with a timeslip element.

text,

[rehandle]

[ And immediately, too recently buffeted by the winds of an envisioned future to stop a thought that's been circling the pan of his mind from leaping across in answer here even while he's busy with other conversations - ]

If the Ximilia exists outside of universes there's no universe to fix to a high chance the timelines don't branch according to usual universal law no branching timeline means no alternate reality no alternate reality means only one linear chronology means the future we were living was created now or the future we'll go back to is in the making

[ ....... sorry Finn ]

Voice;

[heroooic]

[ A long,


long pause. ]



…dude, that’s hard to bet against.

voice; un: jtd

[doooooog]

That’s what you get for reading, homie. Get some safer hobbies.

text,

[rehandle]

Ha

[ ....... sorry Jake ]

audio; un: mccoy

[homeostatic]

Consequences other than a tangled mess of nonsense, you mean?

audio,

[rehandle]

[ It's the first message to twist enough anxiety in him that his response shifts organically into audio. Thought given tight, tense voice. ]

Please tell me you didn't.

audio, again...

[softshoes]

[This isn't directed at Stephen, who he's seen in person by now, but it is aimed at the rest of the orbers reading this. Also, it is definitely in his best Doctor Mikotoba voice.]

Until we're certain of the risks, I must stress that no one open any files sent by Olivia, as the corruption may be present outside just the mission data and may potentially cause one real, physical harm.

Please take care and use great caution when speaking to her.

[Of course, this won't stop those who are willing to risk it for the sake of curiosity, so--] I will be in the infirmary if you need me.

Text; un: 苣屋

[dispassioned]

[Not even surprised, actually.]

Last time something like this happened to me, everything digital was messed up. Useless except under very specific circumstances. So this sounds about right.

[wtf does he mean last time, Chishiya, are u ok.]

I’m a little surprised our network is still working.

[rehandle]

[ Chishiya, are u ok. Fortunately somebody's a little too distracted to fully register the significance, but you'd better believe he'll be back to mine that at a later date. Instead, for now - ]

Gift horses, mouths

[ Is that it Stephen ]

audio; un: Sabriel.Abhorsen

[bindsthedead]

If the mission files are corrupted, as is Olivia's programming... then she may not be trustworthy.

[Although given that her means of attacking the previous crew had been subtle, perhaps]

And we should also assume she's able to listen to this network.

text,

[rehandle]

Caution

[ It's an agreement, a sign of understanding, the only word of it that leaks from him as he grapples with his own symptom of Olivia's corruption. ]

un: Ambus

[legalcy]

Olivia told me that she is monitoring our movements in case we give her reason to mistrust us.

We're essentially strangers in her home.