Gales used the remaining hours of the cycle to start the production of the filters she received from Far Whisper. The bug-like Iterator left not soon after Gales’ reactivation the call to undergo some much-needed self-repair and a soft reboot of her systems. They were not exactly able to communicate fluently due to Whisper’s frequent glitches and opted after a few tries to try again in the following cycles.
Approaching Sky stayed via Overseer the whole time at her side and guided his protégée through the process of generating the filters and programming a few of her less-than-two dozen Overseers with the dangerous task of installing them. Gales did lose two Overseers that night until at long last the third iteration of the solution yielded success.
Shifting Gales respired with an audible buzz of her speaker as the acid in her essential systems normalized thanks to the filters. She could still feel it nagging in her veins, but for now, the severity was drastically reduced.
As long as I can keep the filters intact and replace them before they yield should I be able to do that without losing any more Overseers? This … should give me a bit more time to plan out my next steps. But … what could that be? It is not like I just can walk away from my issues.
I am stuck with my problem. And given the more detailed reports from the Overseer at the Scavenger’s side, the situation with the Filtration System would not be salvageable. My little acid issue dissolved little by little the mountain below my feet in the past four hundred cycles. My Overseer shouldn’t have been able to see the System at all … concerning. Not to mention the more pressing issues. The legs of my structure are by now 80,65% exposed. I don’t know how much more of the mountain can be dissolved until too much of my foundation work is excavated.
I don’t want to imagine what that could bring … *sigh* … I don’t need to. The simulation shows a complete collapse in … 1500 cycles. Without the filters. With them ... 1800? Maybe 2000? …
Looking over to the Overseer, Gales smiled with her eyes at Sky’s flickering projection. His mobile eye wouldn’t be able to stay for much longer than maybe another cycle, she realized with concern. She stopped her slow hike to the city on her head and fully turned to him, tilting her head.
“We haven’t had much time to talk in the past hundred cycles, I apologize for that. I … wanted to take care of my acidic issue by myself, to not distract Whisper nor you from way more important topics. In hindsight … was not the best idea. Heh…”
“No kidding. But to no avail. Whisper and I worked already for nearly 100 cycles now on a small project. Given your ability to maintain broadcast connection is now an issue since you had your first ‘hiccup’, as you described it, I began to purpose a way to stay in contact with you even if communication falters completely.”
“…Oh?” Gales scratched her chin. “And what kind of project would that be? Knowing what you are sending to me semi-regularly for my research I can assume a hyper intelligent take on a purposed organism?”
“You are right on that.” Sky opened a live feed showing the Slugpup’s transparent cage. “Based on discussions I had with Whisper, she did recommend the species formally known as ‘Pipe Cleaner’. I introduced it a few cycles ago to the first dose of synthesized acid to kickstart the mutation process.”
Shifting Gales’ artificial heart melted when she locked visual contact with the Slugpup. She was well-acquainted with that species, which was an outperformer in her empathy research. She even mentioned them in her dissertations about raising animals in a karma-friendly way. She knew that Whisper read her papers, which meant she was hardly surprised that she suggested the critter, whom they internally called ‘Slugcat’, as a messenger.
However taking a closer look at the live feed she did realize another thing. A couple of things even. The cage was lacking in many key aspects if he intended to cultivate a dependable ally. It's a sterile environment she even criticised in her dissociations for being not enough to ensure the development of a stable and receptive mind and personality. How many cycles did she waste undoing the trauma Sky’s loveless way of nurturing them induced on the critters she performed her experiments on. Not to mention the main point of her critique.
“Hm …” She focused back on Approaching Sky. “I see you hold ‘it’ in solitude like you always do. No parent to learn from…”
“Do … I hear critique in my ways of dealing with my experiments, Shifting Gales?”
Shifting Gales began to move again, the cranking sound of her umbilical sliding across the railing further up to the city the only sound breaking the silence. She was giving him a small fraction to think before answering his suspicion with an exaggerated sigh, side-eying his zipping projection.
“I just want you to reflect, my friend. Let us start from the beginning. You purpose this Slugcat to become a messenger in case our communication falters completely. Am I correct?”
“I already stated that, Shifting Gales.”
“Just as a confirmation.” Gales sped up her pace after letting the Overseer emerge out of her umbilical to keep the connection stable. “A messenger. What are the core abilities you want from them if I may ask?”
“The ability to survive, defend themselves and bring the package safe to the target location.”
“Yes … but no.” Sky, honey. Show at least a little foresight. Haven’t you read my books? “The primary traits you want to have are loyalty, a sense of duty and willingness to push through. An unwavering character. A messenger has to burn for their task.”
“So … Should I resort to fire stimuli then?”
“No … Void, that was a phrase! Look Sky. I will ask you a simple question and I want you to answer it truthfully: Has the Slugcat seen you?”
“…It has seen my Overseer. And my servo arms. What are you trying to imply?”
Gales shook her head and twisted her floating body around, grabbed the overseer’s semi-transparent electric body and gazed deep into the camera's eye. She looked disappointed, but not mad. Her voice firmed up and her tone dropped an octave, putting seriousness into her following words.
“Ok, let me put it bluntly, Approaching Sky. Do you want to create a loyal messenger who should travel to an island currently getting pestered by merciless acid rain? Even if you make ‘it’ resistant against everything my island would throw against the Slugcat, would ‘it’ have any desire to listen? To embark on a dangerous quest without any motivation to do as such?
…
Well, at least you treat the Slugpup well. From what I can see your neglect is only of empathic nature. Luckily you have me for that … well until you have to recall the Overseer at least. Any questions?”
Gales could tell that her senior was flabbergasted by her outbreak of seriousness as he took a good tenth of a minute until finally continuing the dialogue.
“Well … yes. If you put it like that, I can see the logic in your words. The Slugcat is purposed for more than any of my other research subjects. It is only logical that I should adjust the way how I treat it. Far Whisper already made a few suggestions I integrated. Like petting sessions it seemingly quite enjoys. And flavouring the nutrients with sweet molecules.” He took a moment to simulate the clearing of his throat. “I do have questions indeed … but … I believe your answer to all these would be to finally read your empathy dissertations, am I assuming correctly?”
Gales’ puppet did not react to these words, but she could feel her inner workings briefly having given in, the antigravity of her structure’s brain disabling and immediately reactivating. She worked already for countless cycles with her senior, and read all of his dissertations and theories … even if she only understood a small fraction of them. But to imagine him never having read anything from her main topic … It fitted, frankly. He primarily valued her company after all. And her other karmic research and everything regarding why his experiments went nuts they actively discussed, even if he apparently didn’t take much benefit out of them, only bit by bit changing his ways from unethical to ethical yet uncaring.
She smiled back and raised a finger, playfully wagging it in front of Sky’s screen.
“You assume correctly, Sky. Finally provides you with a reason to figure out what your protégée was actually doing with your discarded critters. I know they might not be on such a dry and professional level as your publications, but they will certainly help you with raising the Sl- … You know what? Let us start with one question in advance. I am tired of referring to the Slugpup with ‘it’. Tell me a bit more about him slash her!”
Gales noticed with a hint of amusement how her senior’s stance shifted, shoulders lowered, and his glance finally looking past her. He felt embarrassed, that much was certain. Not the first time she saw him assuming that posture, after all, they regularly went in the past over his presence in the, from Five Lives Unbound organized, administration meet-ups between the five over-regional groups Lives was purposed to coordinate to work together.
It is a war against the impossible, but little by little I will be able to actually inject him with what others consider as social skills. The progress is slow, painfully slow even, but at that pace, he will finally be able to shed some imaginary tears when tragedy strikes once more. Whispy told me that Lives told her that Sky didn’t show much sympathy when the north-western administrator Looks to the Moon collapsed thirteen thousand cycles ago. Well, at least he did speak out his consternation, that much he was able to convey.
Sky summoned another green hard-light screen in front of his optics, having accumulated the data he gathered on the pup. Gales stopped her advance, still a few hundred meters away from the gate leading to her city, the only way she could take to visit the Silent Monastery. Stood still to listen as he began to summarise what he got.
“ [Project Acid-Rodent], subject 001. A descendant of the purposed species commonly referred to as Pipe Cleaner, named by my peers ‘Slugcat’. Subject 001 is a female Slugcat, created out of the perfectionated source pool I purposed for all my subjects of the overarching [Project Self-Awareness]. Born with the cranial activity of a young adult, she already showed promising development in her learning process. Unfortunately, calculations showed me that I had to begin with the project as quickly as possible, which means the source pool hasn’t received any adjustments to an innate loyalty to the cause.
I have to rely on your expertise, Shifting Gales. To turn this rebel into an ally. Time is of the essence.”
“So, now we know more. That’s good. Finally, I can address her properly. Ok, Sky? I want you to do the following. Can you do that for me?”
“And what would that be?”
“I want you to invite this little fluffball into your home. If you want to assure her of creating any meaningful bonds to you or the mission, she should get to see you and grow up with her creator. Don’t you agree?”
“I … you can say that easily, Gales. You can move around. I won’t allow her to stain my most holy.”
“Afraid this is no may condition, my dear Approaching Sky.~”
[LIVE BROADCAST] – PRIVATE - [1694.515]
Five Lives Unbound, Far Whisper
FLU: What in the Void happened last cycle in your perimeter, Far Whisper?
FLU: My excavation droids picked up strong seismic activity originating from … your superstructure? Is everything alright?
FLU: Do you need some assistance? In a couple of cycles, I could send over a few maintenance drones to patch up any damage your Microbe Strata can’t fix.
FW: No … I mean yes. It was me. And my current state is not the best.
FW: But that is nothing. Just … my temper.
FW: … Anger and sorrow about what all happened in the past 300 cycles.
FW: The last three cycles were hell…
FLU: …
FLU: Wait.
FLU: Here I am, dealing with the aftereffects of Looks to the Moon’s collapse, trying to keep her local group coordinated to figure out a way to compromise her situation.
FLU: My drones' optics are currently on her perimeter, serving as investigative support.
FLU: …
FLU: I DIDN’T focus on my own local group for less than a dozen major cycles.
FLU: Far Whisper. Please fill me in on what is happening to my local group.
FLU: What is the issue? I want to help. Is it Approaching Sky? It has to be him …
FW: No … you remember the brief group chat we had roughly three hundred cycles ago?
FLU: Dark. Wasn’t there a biological comparison of one of our functions? It was stated by Shift-
FLU: Right, an acidic hiccup. … Wait … Don’t tell me …
FW: We need your help, Lives.
Lives stared at the chat history, four tired-looking eyes scanning Whisper's words again and again. She felt awful. Control was slipping through her hands. First, the tragedy that is Looks to the Moon ... now yet another grave accident in her very own group.
She didn't know yet what exactly happened but could guess quite easily what went on in her attentive absence. A series of smaller communication errors with Gales' Can, followed by a full-on signal loss in the past three cycles. No, more than that. No data updates either. Shifting Gales was offline!?
Lives pulled Whisper from her chat presence to voice communication and sighed through her speaker.
"I understand. I assure you my full support, Whisper. I will request a group call when you feel able to join. Your signal is similarly concerning, but not as dire."
"N-no kiddidding. My speakers still haven't recoverered. Give me half a-a cycle. Sky's O-overseer should still bebebe with Gales."
An overseer is necessary to establish communication!? What in the Void happened on her island?
...
Guess I will have to figure that out in person. My communication arrays do fail to establish a stable connection to Shifting Gales. Usually, that would mean full degradation of the arrays, but Gales is a Gen 3 model after all. She shouldn't be suffering from that much wear and tear already.
Unless ... the issue is not of natural cause. Oh, Gales ...
Where are my maintenence drones when I require them? ... Oh, right. Making sure Moon's slow collapse doesn't take her neighbour Five Pebbles out as well. Tragedies just keep piling up in all of the five regions I got tasked to coordinate.
"I will open a group call in the following cycle at dusk. And Whisper?"
"Yes?"
"Send me a report of everything I have missed, will you? I assume we run on limited time, which means I should prepare myself."
