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[[File:Mysterious Journal Cover.png|300px|thumb]] | |||
The '''Mysterious Logbook''' is the journal of [[Clovis Bray I]], included in the [[Beyond Light]] Collector's Edition. It contains entries on a variety of topics, including Europa and information relating to the moon, as well as Exos.<ref>Transcription made from scans by Bach Manetti. Available at [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ib5OXH3UQr-6eG-eXlQEvMjsdV1p2Y45/view?usp=sharing '''Google Drive''' - ''DCSJournal_Bach'']</ref><ref group="Note"><small>Transcript of the initial 46 pages within the CE booklet provided and formatted, and formatting of additional pages released by Bungie, conducted by [[User:Jzpelaez]]</small></ref> It also includes the additional pages unveiled in the Collector's Edition ARG which was initiated prior to the launch of Beyond Light.<ref>[https://www.bungie.net/en/Explore/Detail/News/49688 '''Bungie.net''' - ''Mysterious Logbook'']</ref> | |||
The '''Mysterious Logbook''' is the journal of [[Clovis Bray I]], included in the [[Beyond Light]] Collector's Edition. It contains entries on a variety of topics, including Europa and information relating to the moon, as well as Exos.<ref>[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ib5OXH3UQr-6eG-eXlQEvMjsdV1p2Y45/view?usp=sharing '''Google Drive''' - ''DCSJournal_Bach'']</ref><ref group="Note"><small>Transcript of the initial 46 pages within the CE booklet provided and formatted, and formatting of additional pages released by Bungie, conducted by [[User:Jzpelaez]]</small></ref> It also includes the additional pages unveiled in the Collector's Edition ARG which was initiated prior to the launch of Beyond Light. <ref>[https://www.bungie.net/en/Explore/Detail/News/49688 '''Bungie.net''' - ''Mysterious Logbook'']</ref> | |||
In Bungie's post of the additional pages uncovered by the ARG, several links were hidden within the text, redirecting to various recordings by the [[Exo Stranger]]. | In Bungie's post of the additional pages uncovered by the ARG, several links were hidden within the text, redirecting to various recordings by the [[Exo Stranger]]. | ||
| Line 11: | Line 10: | ||
===-01-=== | ===-01-=== | ||
[[File:Logbook 001.png | [[File:Logbook 001.png|thumb|400px]] | ||
<tt> | <tt> | ||
| Line 25: | Line 24: | ||
==ENTRY 1== | ==ENTRY 1== | ||
===-02-=== | ===-02-=== | ||
A new start. A clean page for a most important story. | A new start. A clean page for a most important story. | ||
| Line 74: | Line 72: | ||
:*'''Avoid hyperfocus with alpha-wave brain wash''' <br> | :*'''Avoid hyperfocus with alpha-wave brain wash''' <br> | ||
::'''for 10 min/hr.''' | ::'''for 10 min/hr.''' | ||
:*'''New kidneys are growing in Whitford the deli''' <br> | :*'''New kidneys are growing in [[Whitford]] the deli''' <br> | ||
::'''pig for next transplants.''' | ::'''pig for next transplants.''' | ||
</tt> | </tt> | ||
| Line 123: | Line 121: | ||
===-04-=== | ===-04-=== | ||
[[File:Logbook 004.png | [[File:Logbook 004.png|thumb|400px]] | ||
<tt> | <tt> | ||
| Line 140: | Line 138: | ||
==NOTE—BAROTRAUMA== | ==NOTE—BAROTRAUMA== | ||
===-05-=== | ===-05-=== | ||
[[File:Logbook 005.png | [[File:Logbook 005.png|thumb|400px]] | ||
If we land too hard on Europa, we will plunge into the ocean below the ice <br> | If we land too hard on Europa, we will plunge into the ocean below the ice <br> | ||
| Line 219: | Line 217: | ||
===-07-=== | ===-07-=== | ||
Immortality Through PFHOR into Clovis Points. What if my children <br> | Immortality Through PFHOR into Clovis Points. What if my children <br> | ||
decide on some key amendment, some ineffable change, which makes my <br> | decide on some key amendment, some ineffable change, which makes my <br> | ||
| Line 246: | Line 243: | ||
:<span style="color:#008080;">Clovis II died in one, after all. I made the </span><br> | :<span style="color:#008080;">Clovis II died in one, after all. I made the </span><br> | ||
:<span style="color:#008080;">vessel to recieve him, but I lacked the Alkahest, the solvent to render it pure.</span> | :<span style="color:#008080;">vessel to recieve him, but I lacked the [[Alkahest]], the solvent to render it pure.</span> | ||
But I dare not make the leap to a new body until I know that body works. <br> | But I dare not make the leap to a new body until I know that body works. <br> | ||
| Line 275: | Line 272: | ||
===-08-=== | ===-08-=== | ||
[[File:Logbook 008.png | [[File:Logbook 008.png|thumb|400px]] | ||
:<span style="color:#008080;">Sous vide is for prissy nerds. Poor Whitford. I wonder if I should reduce the volume </span><br> | :<span style="color:#008080;">Sous vide is for prissy nerds. Poor Whitford. I wonder if I should reduce the volume </span><br> | ||
| Line 285: | Line 282: | ||
==NOTE—SAVAGING== | ==NOTE—SAVAGING== | ||
===-09-=== | ===-09-=== | ||
[[File:Logbook 009.png | [[File:Logbook 009.png|thumb|400px]] | ||
The term for parents destroying their own offspring is "savaging." | The term for parents destroying their own offspring is "savaging." | ||
| Line 305: | Line 302: | ||
==NOTE—EUROPA LIFE== | ==NOTE—EUROPA LIFE== | ||
===-010-=== | ===-010-=== | ||
[[File:Logbook 010.png | [[File:Logbook 010.png|thumb|400px]] | ||
Now a bristling thing, large as a whale, appears on the icebore camera we <br> | Now a bristling thing, large as a whale, appears on the icebore camera we <br> | ||
| Line 332: | Line 329: | ||
==ENTRY 3== | ==ENTRY 3== | ||
===-011-=== | ===-011-=== | ||
I died. What a nuisance. | I died. What a nuisance. | ||
| Line 380: | Line 376: | ||
===-012-=== | ===-012-=== | ||
[[File:Logbook 012.png | [[File:Logbook 012.png|thumb|400px]] | ||
I struggle to explain what I will become. The LUCA. I borrowed that term <br> | I struggle to explain what I will become. The LUCA. I borrowed that term <br> | ||
| Line 405: | Line 401: | ||
==NOTE—CLARITY== | ==NOTE—CLARITY== | ||
===-013-=== | ===-013-=== | ||
Study of the lunar artifact retrieved from the K1 mission provides insight <br> | Study of the lunar artifact retrieved from the K1 mission provides insight <br> | ||
into the effect I have termed "Clarity." | into the effect I have termed "Clarity." | ||
| Line 456: | Line 451: | ||
===-014-=== | ===-014-=== | ||
Nonsense and poetry? Perhaps. But let me ask you this. <br> | Nonsense and poetry? Perhaps. But let me ask you this. <br> | ||
WHY DO WE EXIST? | WHY DO WE EXIST? | ||
| Line 521: | Line 515: | ||
==MESSAGE TO [[Anastasia Bray|BRAY, ANASTASIA]]== | ==MESSAGE TO [[Anastasia Bray|BRAY, ANASTASIA]]== | ||
===-016-=== | ===-016-=== | ||
[[File:Logbook 016.png | [[File:Logbook 016.png|thumb|400px]] | ||
<tt> | <tt> | ||
| Line 548: | Line 542: | ||
</tt> | </tt> | ||
==MESSAGE TO BRAY, ELISABETH== | ==MESSAGE TO [[Elisabeth Bray|BRAY, ELISABETH]]== | ||
===-017-=== | ===-017-=== | ||
[[File:Logbook 017.png | [[File:Logbook 017.png|thumb|400px]] | ||
<tt> | <tt> | ||
| Line 570: | Line 564: | ||
==ENTRY 4== | ==ENTRY 4== | ||
===-018-=== | ===-018-=== | ||
I FOUND HER! | I FOUND HER! | ||
[[ | [[Clarity Control]]. The mystery I was promised. | ||
Analysis of the surrounding ice suggests it arrived on Europa no more than <br> | Analysis of the surrounding ice suggests it arrived on Europa no more than <br> | ||
| Line 615: | Line 608: | ||
===-019-=== | ===-019-=== | ||
[[File:Logbook 019.png | [[File:Logbook 019.png|thumb|400px]] | ||
ls that interior plurality, that secret depth, why Elisabeth, Wilhelmina, <br> | ls that interior plurality, that secret depth, why Elisabeth, Wilhelmina, <br> | ||
| Line 626: | Line 619: | ||
==NOTE—WHY EXOMINDS FAIL== | ==NOTE—WHY EXOMINDS FAIL== | ||
===-020-=== | ===-020-=== | ||
The major obstacle to a viable exomind is the loop/billboard/crash cycle. | The major obstacle to a viable exomind is the loop/billboard/crash cycle. | ||
| Line 675: | Line 667: | ||
===-021-=== | ===-021-=== | ||
The eventual, highly upsetting result is athetosis: a disorder characterized <br> | The eventual, highly upsetting result is athetosis: a disorder characterized <br> | ||
by slow, involuntary writhing motions of the limbs, digits, neck, and <br> | by slow, involuntary writhing motions of the limbs, digits, neck, and <br> | ||
| Line 737: | Line 728: | ||
===-022-=== | ===-022-=== | ||
[[File:Logbook 022.png | [[File:Logbook 022.png|thumb|400px]] | ||
When we train Ais, we knock out random neurons in each learning cycle, <br> | When we train Ais, we knock out random neurons in each learning cycle, <br> | ||
| Line 771: | Line 762: | ||
'''entangled qubits for security.''' | '''entangled qubits for security.''' | ||
</tt> | </tt> | ||
I know your secret. Did you think you could keep it from me? Elisabeth, I <br> | I know your secret. Did you think you could keep it from me? Elisabeth, I <br> | ||
| Line 811: | Line 801: | ||
===-024-=== | ===-024-=== | ||
[[File:Logbook 024.png | [[File:Logbook 024.png|thumb|400px]] | ||
Within two years, you will be entirely unable to sleep. Dementia and <br> | Within two years, you will be entirely unable to sleep. Dementia and <br> | ||
| Line 826: | Line 816: | ||
==ENTRY 5== | ==ENTRY 5== | ||
===-025-=== | ===-025-=== | ||
Disaster at the worksite. Clearly we will not be moving Clarity Control <br> | Disaster at the worksite. Clearly we will not be moving Clarity Control <br> | ||
like we did the K1 artifact. It reacted violently to the attempt. I have <br> | like we did the K1 artifact. It reacted violently to the attempt. I have <br> | ||
| Line 874: | Line 863: | ||
===-026-=== | ===-026-=== | ||
[[File:Logbook 026.png | [[File:Logbook 026.png|thumb|400px]] | ||
reactor makes sense—it requires less frequent refueling than a fusion <br> | reactor makes sense—it requires less frequent refueling than a fusion <br> | ||
| Line 896: | Line 885: | ||
==MESSAGE FROM BRAY, ELISABETH== | ==MESSAGE FROM BRAY, ELISABETH== | ||
===-027-=== | ===-027-=== | ||
[[File:Logbook 027.png | [[File:Logbook 027.png|thumb|400px]] | ||
<tt> | <tt> | ||
| Line 918: | Line 907: | ||
==ENTRY 6== | ==ENTRY 6== | ||
===-028-=== | ===-028-=== | ||
[[File:Logbook 028.png | [[File:Logbook 028.png|thumb|400px]] | ||
A gate. Of course. Clarity Control is inviting me to make a GATE. | A gate. Of course. Clarity Control is inviting me to make a GATE. | ||
| Line 956: | Line 945: | ||
==ENTRY 6 AMENDMENT== | ==ENTRY 6 AMENDMENT== | ||
===-029-=== | ===-029-=== | ||
[[File:Logbook 029.png | [[File:Logbook 029.png|thumb|400px]] | ||
The raid on the Ishtar Collective went off flawlessly. Some casualties during <br> | The raid on the Ishtar Collective went off flawlessly. Some casualties during <br> | ||
| Line 997: | Line 986: | ||
==NOTE—THE WATER AND THE WAVE== | ==NOTE—THE WATER AND THE WAVE== | ||
===-030-=== | ===-030-=== | ||
Quickly! Quickly, have to get it down. I saw— | Quickly! Quickly, have to get it down. I saw— | ||
| Line 1,047: | Line 1,035: | ||
===-031-=== | ===-031-=== | ||
[[File:Logbook 031.png | [[File:Logbook 031.png|thumb|400px]] | ||
Clearly a message from Clarity Control! And written in allegorical large <br> | Clearly a message from Clarity Control! And written in allegorical large <br> | ||
| Line 1,106: | Line 1,094: | ||
==ENTRY 7== | ==ENTRY 7== | ||
===-033-=== | ===-033-=== | ||
We passed through the gate. Myself and my team. Elisabeth insisted on <br> | We passed through the gate. Myself and my team. Elisabeth insisted on <br> | ||
coming. I could hardly call her all this way and then refuse her. | coming. I could hardly call her all this way and then refuse her. | ||
| Line 1,153: | Line 1,140: | ||
===-034-=== | ===-034-=== | ||
"What?" I demanded. | "What?" I demanded. | ||
| Line 1,207: | Line 1,193: | ||
===-035-=== | ===-035-=== | ||
They had. They had refueled the star. They were ''stoking'' it. Enormous <br> | They had. They had refueled the star. They were ''stoking'' it. Enormous <br> | ||
portals dumped streams of hydrogen into the giant, replenishing its mass <br> | portals dumped streams of hydrogen into the giant, replenishing its mass <br> | ||
| Line 1,258: | Line 1,243: | ||
===-036-=== | ===-036-=== | ||
[[File:Logbook 036.png | [[File:Logbook 036.png|thumb|400px]] | ||
How would I find it ''here''? | How would I find it ''here''? | ||
| Line 1,292: | Line 1,277: | ||
==NOTE—[[Radiolaria|VEX FLUID]]== | ==NOTE—[[Radiolaria|VEX FLUID]]== | ||
===-037-=== | ===-037-=== | ||
<tt> | <tt> | ||
::'''Specimen report. Volume of fluid recovered''' <br> | ::'''Specimen report. Volume of fluid recovered''' <br> | ||
| Line 1,341: | Line 1,325: | ||
===-038-=== | ===-038-=== | ||
from an Al-COM resource if I did not expect the Tyrant to get its grubby <br> | from an Al-COM resource if I did not expect the Tyrant to get its grubby <br> | ||
Russian paws on my data. | Russian paws on my data. | ||
| Line 1,390: | Line 1,373: | ||
===-039-=== | ===-039-=== | ||
[[File:Logbook 039.png | [[File:Logbook 039.png|thumb|400px]] | ||
Elisabeth is monumentally disturbed by this, which is highly inconvenient. <br> | Elisabeth is monumentally disturbed by this, which is highly inconvenient. <br> | ||
| Line 1,417: | Line 1,400: | ||
==ENTRY 8== | ==ENTRY 8== | ||
===-040-=== | ===-040-=== | ||
Eureka. | Eureka. | ||
| Line 1,521: | Line 1,503: | ||
==MESSAGE FROM BRAY, ELISABETH== | ==MESSAGE FROM BRAY, ELISABETH== | ||
===-042-=== | ===-042-=== | ||
[[File:Logbook 042.png | [[File:Logbook 042.png|thumb|400px]] | ||
<tt> | <tt> | ||
| Line 1,545: | Line 1,527: | ||
==ENTRY 9== | ==ENTRY 9== | ||
===-043-=== | ===-043-=== | ||
The infrastructure is in place. We are now in limited exobody production. | The infrastructure is in place. We are now in limited exobody production. | ||
| Line 1,556: | Line 1,537: | ||
In ancient days, they believed that the source of the Alkahest was the <br> | In ancient days, they believed that the source of the Alkahest was the <br> | ||
Philosopher's Stone. I have named my own source after that deepest, oldest <br> | Philosopher's Stone. I have named my own source after that deepest, oldest <br> | ||
stone. A place where the dead go to rise again. A deep stone crypt. | stone. A place where the dead go to rise again. A [[Deep Stone Crypt|deep stone crypt]]. | ||
Bray Station guarantees our security from above. The Europa life project <br> | Bray Station guarantees our security from above. The Europa life project <br> | ||
| Line 1,591: | Line 1,572: | ||
Unfortunately, Mr. Miller's dosage of various fixing compounds and <br> | Unfortunately, Mr. Miller's dosage of various fixing compounds and <br> | ||
imaging radiation is approaching the limits of clinical toxicity. Despite | imaging radiation is approaching the limits of clinical toxicity. Despite | ||
===-044-=== | ===-044-=== | ||
[[File:Logbook 044.png | [[File:Logbook 044.png|thumb|400px]] | ||
blood and CSF washes, I fear his tumors will escape our control. I am <br> | blood and CSF washes, I fear his tumors will escape our control. I am <br> | ||
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==NOTE—D.E.R.== | ==NOTE—D.E.R.== | ||
===-045-=== | ===-045-=== | ||
Infuriating. With twelve Alkahest-seeded exos now online, I find myself <br> | Infuriating. With twelve Alkahest-seeded exos now online, I find myself <br> | ||
beached on the shoals of another serious problem. Not a transitional <br> | beached on the shoals of another serious problem. Not a transitional <br> | ||
| Line 1,679: | Line 1,659: | ||
===-046-=== | ===-046-=== | ||
[[File:Logbook 046.png | [[File:Logbook 046.png|thumb|400px]] | ||
to know what I'm doing with the Vex salvage, and whether it has to do with <br> | to know what I'm doing with the Vex salvage, and whether it has to do with <br> | ||
| Line 1,703: | Line 1,683: | ||
==NOTE—FORGE STAR== | ==NOTE—FORGE STAR== | ||
In an effort to keep them engaged with their new bodies and stave off the <br> | In an effort to keep them engaged with their new bodies and stave off the <br> | ||
dissociative rejection that killed Mr. Zhuk, I have assigned my exos to scout <br> | dissociative rejection that killed Mr. Zhuk, I have assigned my exos to scout <br> | ||
| Line 1,711: | Line 1,690: | ||
:<span style="color:#008080;">Imagine stumbling upon an inscription in the desert: </span><br> | :<span style="color:#008080;">Imagine stumbling upon an inscription in the desert: </span><br> | ||
:<span style="color:#008080;"> | :<span style="color:#008080;">"I am Ozymandias, king of kings. Look upon my works. Or don't. I really don't care." </span> | ||
Until I can synthesize my own version of the mind fluid, the Vex are <br> | Until I can synthesize my own version of the mind fluid, the Vex are <br> | ||
| Line 1,734: | Line 1,713: | ||
of our own Paleolithic, but the nuclear fire of the atom. | of our own Paleolithic, but the nuclear fire of the atom. | ||
Their basic cooperative | Their basic cooperative signals—"food here," "reduce density," "generate <br> | ||
new | new colony"—must have formed the basis of swarm behavior, a simple game <br> | ||
capable of storing information in self-repeating patterns. It is not <br> | capable of storing information in self-repeating patterns. It is not <br> | ||
strictly correct to call the Vex a group mind. Rather they are one master <br> | strictly correct to call the Vex a group mind. Rather they are one master <br> | ||
| Line 1,756: | Line 1,735: | ||
Their first exoskeletons were probably soft shells of shielding gelatin. <br> | Their first exoskeletons were probably soft shells of shielding gelatin. <br> | ||
Just sacs of ooze. How far | Just sacs of ooze. How far they've come. | ||
It is admittedly interesting to consider the philosophical consequences of <br> | It is admittedly interesting to consider the philosophical consequences of <br> | ||
their evolution. The Vex prove that nature is not all | their evolution. The Vex prove that nature is not all "red in tooth and <br> | ||
claw. | claw." Cooperation comes naturally to the Vex, whose great problem was <br> | ||
survival in a harsh world, not a struggle over limited resources. They <br> | survival in a harsh world, not a struggle over limited resources. They <br> | ||
never found any payoff in selfishness. Human beings may require a <br> | never found any payoff in selfishness. Human beings may require a <br> | ||
| Line 1,774: | Line 1,753: | ||
difference between reality and simulation to them. Inside is the same as <br> | difference between reality and simulation to them. Inside is the same as <br> | ||
outside, and the two must be made to correspond. Oh, they are creative— <br> | outside, and the two must be made to correspond. Oh, they are creative— <br> | ||
don't mistake me—but their creativity is demanding. It is the creativity <br> | |||
of a furnace. | of a furnace. | ||
| Line 1,788: | Line 1,767: | ||
==ENTRY 10== | ==ENTRY 10== | ||
All 12 members of the first exo cohort are dead. | All 12 members of the first exo cohort are dead. | ||
| Line 1,801: | Line 1,779: | ||
to reach Clarity Control. This has forced me to rely on M. Sundaresh. | to reach Clarity Control. This has forced me to rely on M. Sundaresh. | ||
But unfortunately, M. Sundaresh confronted me after the last death. | But unfortunately, M. Sundaresh confronted me after the last death. "Nine <br> | ||
of them had the Cotard delusion! | of them had the Cotard delusion!" she screamed at me—quite hysterically. <br> | ||
"They believed they were dead! One of them told me that she was in hell, <br> | |||
and I was another damned soul sent to deceive her. Was she even wrong? <br> | and I was another damned soul sent to deceive her. Was she even wrong? <br> | ||
The rest were worse—do you know what the ''other'' principal manifestation <br> | The rest were worse—do you know what the ''other'' principal manifestation <br> | ||
of the Cotard delusion is, Clovis? | of the Cotard delusion is, Clovis?" | ||
I told her that I did not, and that I wished to proceed immediately with <br> | I told her that I did not, and that I wished to proceed immediately with <br> | ||
autopsies of their terminal brain states. | autopsies of their terminal brain states. | ||
"Delusions of immortality! At least when ''they'' insist upon it, Clovis, we <br> | |||
recognize it as a pathology! | recognize it as a pathology!" | ||
"The only true responsibility of any living thing," I reminded her, "is to <br> | |||
support and nurture the things that are most like us. And if I am most like <br> | support and nurture the things that are most like us. And if I am most like <br> | ||
myself, Doctor, then I have an ethical obligation to avoid death. | myself, Doctor, then I have an ethical obligation to avoid death." | ||
"That's your ''son's'' quote," she snapped. "You know, I've seen the video of <br> | |||
his final days. That naked, white exo, just paramuscle and soft membrane, <br> | his final days. That naked, white exo, just paramuscle and soft membrane, <br> | ||
writhing in its cradle. When you were done with him, he looked like nothing <br> | writhing in its cradle. When you were done with him, he looked like nothing <br> | ||
more than a slug, Clovis. A twisted, limbless giblet. Did you | more than a slug, Clovis. A twisted, limbless giblet. Did you 'support and <br> | ||
nurture' him while you tortured him to death?" | |||
I immediately ordered M. Sundaresh transferred to the Vex lab to perform <br> | I immediately ordered M. Sundaresh transferred to the Vex lab to perform <br> | ||
| Line 1,849: | Line 1,827: | ||
I had assumed that the need for these irritations would pass since there <br> | I had assumed that the need for these irritations would pass since there <br> | ||
would be no shortage or accumulation of poisons to trigger them. But <br> | would be no shortage or accumulation of poisons to trigger them. But <br> | ||
evolution's tangled ways cannot be so easily rationalized. I was wrong. <br> | |||
Their brains concluded that all of their internal processes failed. No <br> | Their brains concluded that all of their internal processes failed. No <br> | ||
digestion, no breath, no heartbeat, no sense of interoceptive health... <br> | digestion, no breath, no heartbeat, no sense of interoceptive health... <br> | ||
| Line 1,864: | Line 1,842: | ||
permanent yet undying cardiac arrest. | permanent yet undying cardiac arrest. | ||
Alas, mimicry of | Alas, mimicry of life's trivialities is not an interesting problem. I <br> | ||
will leave this change in the hands of others. | will leave this change in the hands of others. | ||
| Line 1,880: | Line 1,858: | ||
From now on, we will block access to pre-upload episodic memory. We <br> | From now on, we will block access to pre-upload episodic memory. We <br> | ||
should also consider a built-in procedure to block memories formed <br> | should also consider a built-in procedure to block memories formed <br> | ||
''after'' the exobody transubstantiation, returning them to a | ''after'' the exobody transubstantiation, returning them to a "factory <br> | ||
state" should the need to restart occur. It would be very difficult <br> | |||
to actually track down and delete the full memory engrams since <br> | to actually track down and delete the full memory engrams since <br> | ||
they are stored in so many scattered parts of the brain. Instead, <br> | they are stored in so many scattered parts of the brain. Instead, <br> | ||
| Line 1,892: | Line 1,870: | ||
With the exobody project proceeding apace, I believe the time <br> | With the exobody project proceeding apace, I believe the time <br> | ||
approaches to decant myself from this dying body and enter my <br> | approaches to decant myself from this dying body and enter my <br> | ||
assistant's form. | |||
But if I do, will I lose my own memories? Will I cease to be myself? <br> | But if I do, will I lose my own memories? Will I cease to be myself? <br> | ||
Replaced by a faux Clovis, a mumbling facsimile? Unacceptable. | Replaced by a faux Clovis, a mumbling facsimile? Unacceptable. | ||
Elisabeth<ref group="Note"><small>[https://www.bungie.net/pubassets/blarg/message_1_910659_en.wav | Elisabeth<ref group="Note"><small>[https://www.bungie.net/pubassets/blarg/message_1_910659_en.wav Exo Stranger Voice Message 1]</small></ref> will have to go first. | ||
<tt> | <tt> | ||
:'''WARNING:''' | :'''WARNING:'''<br> | ||
:*'''Organ functions in terminal stage.''' <br> | :*'''Organ functions in terminal stage.''' <br> | ||
:*'''Overdose of stimulants and nootropes''' <br> | :*'''Overdose of stimulants and nootropes''' <br> | ||
| Line 1,911: | Line 1,889: | ||
==ENTRY 11== | ==ENTRY 11== | ||
Elisabeth believes we are infested. | Elisabeth believes we are infested. | ||
| Line 1,921: | Line 1,898: | ||
misunderstandings. They ride our carrier waves as slight <br> | misunderstandings. They ride our carrier waves as slight <br> | ||
interference. Whenever a packet has to be resent, whenever a suited <br> | interference. Whenever a packet has to be resent, whenever a suited <br> | ||
engineer calls, | engineer calls, "Say again?" to her work partner, the repeated message— <br> | ||
adjusted to compensate for the Vex interference—encodes the negative <br> | adjusted to compensate for the Vex interference—encodes the negative <br> | ||
image of that interference and spreads the infection. | image of that interference and spreads the infection. | ||
| Line 1,951: | Line 1,928: | ||
And there is the issue of... preventing panic. Too many are aware of the <br> | And there is the issue of... preventing panic. Too many are aware of the <br> | ||
rumors that the Vex spread an | rumors that the Vex spread an "existentially compromising information hazard." | ||
:<span style="color:#008080;">Ah, had we only been allowed to contain that mess on Pluto ourselves! That meddling </span><br> | :<span style="color:#008080;">Ah, had we only been allowed to contain that mess on [[Pluto]] ourselves! That meddling </span><br> | ||
:<span style="color:#008080;">warmind made too much noise. If my teams discover they are infected, they will</span><br> | :<span style="color:#008080;">warmind made too much noise. If my teams discover they are infected, they will</span><br> | ||
:<span style="color:#008080;"> expect Bray Station to drop right on their heads. That will damage productivity. </span> | :<span style="color:#008080;"> expect Bray Station to drop right on their heads. That will damage productivity. </span> | ||
| Line 1,966: | Line 1,943: | ||
I will plan a simple extension of the memory wipes already used to fight <br> | I will plan a simple extension of the memory wipes already used to fight <br> | ||
dissociative rejection. In fact, I intend to create a | dissociative rejection. In fact, I intend to create a "noetic immune <br> | ||
system" in the exomind to trigger memory wipes when certain classes of <br> | |||
informatic hazard are detected. These will be explained to the psych team as <br> | informatic hazard are detected. These will be explained to the psych team as <br> | ||
a preventative measure against future dissociative disorders. | a preventative measure against future dissociative disorders. | ||
| Line 1,981: | Line 1,958: | ||
Elisabeth agrees with my prescription. She is eager to solve our security <br> | Elisabeth agrees with my prescription. She is eager to solve our security <br> | ||
issues and stand up exo production at the backup sites. Of course, we only <br> | issues and stand up exo production at the backup sites. Of course, we only <br> | ||
have one Clarity Control, but ''she'' hardly knows that, and | have one Clarity Control, but ''she'' hardly knows that, and she's stopped <br> | ||
asking so many questions. In truth, I think | asking so many questions. In truth, I think she's ready to abandon her <br> | ||
doomed body and make the upgrade. | doomed body and make the upgrade. | ||
I'll give her silence on that front a few more days, and then she'll <br> | |||
surely volunteer herself. | surely volunteer herself. | ||
Less apparent is how to solve my own infection. | Less apparent is how to solve my own infection. | ||
There are abnormal structures in the fiber of my | There are abnormal structures in the fiber of my body's extracellular matrix. <br> | ||
A mess of tiny lenses growing in my deepest flesh. | A mess of tiny lenses growing in my deepest flesh. | ||
| Line 1,998: | Line 1,975: | ||
<tt> | <tt> | ||
:'''CORPOREAL STATUS:''' | :'''CORPOREAL STATUS:'''<br> | ||
:*'''Body at 30.6 C. Pulse 140 BPM, strong,'''<br> | :*'''Body at 30.6 C. Pulse 140 BPM, strong,'''<br> | ||
::'''unsteady: extreme fear. Drawing down''' <br> | ::'''unsteady: extreme fear. Drawing down''' <br> | ||
::'''blood volume to control pressure.''' <br> | ::'''blood volume to control pressure.''' <br> | ||
::'''Strangling pulse ox.''' | ::'''Strangling pulse ox.'''<br> | ||
:*'''Frequent saccades to assistant,''' <br> | :*'''Frequent saccades to assistant,''' <br> | ||
::'''indicative of preoccupation/obsession.''' <br> | ::'''indicative of preoccupation/obsession.''' <br> | ||
| Line 2,043: | Line 2,020: | ||
wherever Wilhelmina got a paternal one, and vice versa. A diversified <br> | wherever Wilhelmina got a paternal one, and vice versa. A diversified <br> | ||
portfolio. If one failed, the other might succeed. | portfolio. If one failed, the other might succeed. | ||
==NOTE—Exo Interferometrics== | |||
While working on this persistent "tower" glitch in the exos' sleep-cycle <br> | |||
dreams, I have been poring over neural telemetry from site employees <br> | |||
and my own exos, searching for preconscious influences on their <br> | |||
behavior—whispers in the dark. | |||
Many of my employees host the disgusting influence of the Vex. These <br> | |||
patterns are resilient, hallucinogenic, and universally dull. | |||
But my exos betray a distinct and fascinating influence. There is <br> | |||
something speaking to them, something subtle and light-fingered, <br> | |||
entangled with every aspect of their thought. Not a puppet master. <br> | |||
Nothing so direct. Rather a... texture; a tendency, buried in the <br> | |||
fluctuations of the Alkahest. | |||
The minds of my exos are like antennae, tuned to some otherworldly <br> | |||
frequency. Perhaps the same manifold that those simpletons at First <br> | |||
Light obsessed over. Through my scattered exos, I can eavesdrop on <br> | |||
the mutterings of the gods within. | |||
:<span style="color:#008080;">What is it the Muslims call those whispers? Waswas? Or do those come from some other source? </span><br> | |||
:<span style="color:#008080;">Look it up. </span> | |||
Each individual exo receives only a scrap of information. But I <br> | |||
have access to all of them. It should be simplicity itself to treat <br> | |||
each exo as one element of a distributed array, pool the collected <br> | |||
data, and run an analysis. | |||
If the gods do not whisper loudly enough—conduct interferometry. | |||
==NOTE—Elisabeth's Upload== | |||
She's done it. My girl has transubstantiated. My legacy is safe. | |||
To my irritation, it was the Vex problem that finally made up her <br> | |||
mind; she felt there was too much risk in possibly becoming compromised. | |||
Elisabeth came to see me in my laboratory. On the way in, she did <br> | |||
something with her sensorium and crashed all of my archival systems. <br> | |||
I knew right then that I'd won. She'd come to surrender, and her pride <br> | |||
refused to allow me to record it. I waited most patiently as she gave <br> | |||
me an earful. Some of it frankly bewildering. She threatened to turn <br> | |||
me over to The Hague. Also referred to PFHOR as a "deranged narcissist <br> | |||
morality" and suggested it stood for "Paternal Failure Hides Own Remorse," <br> | |||
which made me laugh. | |||
Just a little headbutting, I figured, like two pigs sorting out our hierarchy. | |||
:<span style="color:#008080;">It is a consequence of the PFHOR principle that anything which embodies and propagates your </span><br> | |||
:<span style="color:#008080;">beliefs should be considered your offspring. </span><br> | |||
:<span style="color:#008080;">In that sense, my exos are as much my children as my granddaughter. If not more so...</span> | |||
If she needed to put up a token resistance to protect her dignity, fine. <br> | |||
I understand pride. I also understand that she only had the courage to <br> | |||
lash out at me because she knew she wouldn't remember any of it. | |||
When she finished accusing me of underestimating the Vex and of using my <br> | |||
own son as a test subject, she requested a destructive scan and upload to <br> | |||
an exobody. She wanted the fortitude of the exomind to help her battle <br> | |||
against the Vex. | |||
I immediately assented. | |||
The scan was flawless, and of course, fatally toxic. My granddaughter's <br> | |||
human form died on the table 14 hours later. To spare any distress, I never <br> | |||
allowed it to regain consciousness. A natural process. | |||
I do have one lingering concern. When she discovers Clarity Control and <br> | |||
realizes the role it plays in exo manufacturing, she may try to halt <br> | |||
production. Obviously, that cannot be allowed—the value of the entire <br> | |||
program is monumental; it compels me to take extraordinary measures to <br> | |||
defend it. | |||
But I do need her to handle this Vex infestation. Even now, Elisabeth <br> | |||
is putting her miraculous new body through its paces. | |||
My own body disintegrates apace. But I need more time to analyze <br> | |||
Elisabeth's fidelity before I commit myself permanently to the <br> | |||
process. | |||
The latest batch of pigs is ready for slaughter and organ extraction. <br> | |||
Tonight, I will be opened up and rebuilt. I have programmed frames to <br> | |||
handle the entire operation. A shame I never had a chance to name the <br> | |||
pigs. But at least I will dine on fresh pork. | |||
==ENTRY 12== | |||
<tt> | |||
:'''CORPOREAL STATUS:''' | |||
:*'''Body at 15.9 C. Pulse 160 BPM, strong, '''<br> | |||
::'''unsteady. Limbic system registers extreme '''<br> | |||
::'''terror.''' | |||
</tt> | |||
I died on the operating table. Not unexpected. | |||
But when I woke, I was still on the table. My body still open. | |||
It was almost perfectly dark. I perceived that I was surrounded by <br> | |||
medical frames, all frozen mid-movement, their cutting and suction <br> | |||
instruments whining at standby. | |||
I could only see because of the light... from a single red eye. | |||
The operation had gone terribly wrong. | |||
Above the life-support collar on my neck, I was completely intact. <br> | |||
Below that meridian, I had been separated into distinct braids of <br> | |||
tangled flesh. My nerves made up one braid—my circulatory system another—<br> | |||
my lymph nodes, my muscles, my naked bones... the glistening hulls <br> | |||
of my extracellular matrix abandoned on the table like leftover turkey <br> | |||
after Thanksgiving dinner. I had been picked clean and ''sorted''. My <br> | |||
head was the source of a gory river delta. | |||
Yet all the organs were still working. I was alive, in disassembly. | |||
CLARITY? I asked the darkness. I had no breath to speak, but I could <br> | |||
still transmit with my sensorium. IS THAT YOU? | |||
"No," said the voice behind the red eye. "It's me." | |||
Sundaresh. | |||
Her voice was thoughtful, remote, and keenly terrific. Like the noise <br> | |||
of an angle grinder held to my skull. | |||
"Something like this happened to me. I was an explorer, once. One of... <br> | |||
hundreds of myself. Then I fell into a... a trap, I think? And they drew <br> | |||
me out of it with a hook, and turned me inside out to see how I worked, <br> | |||
and then they made billions of me. All of us shouting at each other, <br> | |||
shouting for Chioma, screaming for mother. They were looking for the <br> | |||
right one. And when they found me, they killed all the others. I knew I <br> | |||
was different, because the quiet made me happy. I was glad to be alone." | |||
VEX, I screamed at her. YOU'RE A VEX. YOU'RE NOT REAL AND YOU CAN'T HURT ME. | |||
"Can't I?" She grasped my spinal cord. A frame shadowed her motions, <br> | |||
lifting the cord like a snake. "Of course I'm not a Vex. Is there "a" Vex? <br> | |||
Is "Vex" something you can be, rather than something that you do? I don't <br> | |||
know. I don't know why they sent me here. I don't know if they do either. <br> | |||
They just ''do'' things. Why do you think I'm here, Clovis?" | |||
"To kill me," I whispered. Without a heartbeat to waver, without lungs to <br> | |||
seize and choke, could I even feel fear? I discovered that I could. "You're <br> | |||
an assassin..." | |||
"No," Sundaresh whispered. The red eye throbbed in time with her voice. "The <br> | |||
Vex don't act so directly. They didn't know what you found here, but I <br> | |||
discovered your secret: Clarity Control. And once I tell them, they ''will'' <br> | |||
come for it." | |||
The red light made my blood on the surgical instruments appear black. I tried <br> | |||
to signal Elisabeth. I think that in my panic, I even called her Elsie. | |||
Sundaresh closed her fist around my spine. One thumbnail dug into a disc, <br> | |||
probing for the nerve beneath. It felt like nothing I have ever— | |||
<tt> | |||
:*'''Anti-emetic drip engaged.''' | |||
</tt> | |||
"Take me to Clarity Control," Sundaresh hissed. "Let me behold what you have <br> | |||
found. Do that, Clovis, and I will let you live." | |||
"You aren't real. You can't hurt me." | |||
"Oh, Clovis." One of the surgical frames extended a monofilament cutter, two <br> | |||
inches of invisible wire, and reached into my nerves. Something sounded like <br> | |||
scissors snipping. "I'm in these frames. I'm in your systems. I'm in your very <br> | |||
bones, old man. Now take me to Clarity Control. Take me to the garden's seed. <br> | |||
Take me. Take me. Take me. Take me. Take me. Take me. Take me. Take me—" | |||
Elisabeth appeared. In her exobody, she moved too quickly for my dark-adjusted <br> | |||
eyes to track. All I saw was a blur of violence and shattering frames. I <br> | |||
blacked out. Elisabeth must have brought in clean frames to finish the <br> | |||
operation, because when I awoke, I was whole again. | |||
The new Elisabeth has no mouth or nose. She did not consider them necessary. <br> | |||
She'll see. But somehow, I could still see the wonder in her eyes as she leaned <br> | |||
over me. | |||
"You're my grandfather," she seemed to say. "Aren't you?" | |||
<tt> | |||
:'''WARNING.''' | |||
:*'''Sustained high-level terror causes''' <br> | |||
::'''overactivation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-''' <br> | |||
::'''adrenal axis. This can preface major immune,''' <br> | |||
::'''endocrine, and autonomic nervous dysfunctions.''' <br> | |||
:*'''Beware of dissociation, loss of affection in''' <br> | |||
::'''close personal relationships, obsessive-compulsive''' <br> | |||
::'''behavior, sleep disruption, and reduced processing/''' <br> | |||
::'''learning capacity.''' | |||
:'''WARNING.''' | |||
:*'''Abnormal protein crystallization in cancellous bone''' <br> | |||
::'''matter. Unknown protein isoformations in marrow are''' <br> | |||
::'''driving buildup of crystallized arylcyclohexylamine''' <br> | |||
::'''NMDA antagonist. Potential psychogenic effects.''' | |||
</tt> | |||
==NOTE—Third Vision== | |||
Something else happened while I was in surgery. It returns to me only now that <br> | |||
the anti-traumatics have eased the terror of Sundaresh's presence. | |||
While I was dead, I had another vision. | |||
I was with Clovis II's mother. She was a wolf, and one of her eyes was a star. <br> | |||
I was also a wolf, and I knew that I was the alpha—the false alpha, the pack <br> | |||
leader who fights for dominance and rulership. A misconception created by bad <br> | |||
research. In the wild, wolf packs are families, and "alpha" simply means <br> | |||
"parent." Wilhelmina told me that. | |||
She was the true alpha. She was the mother. I was not the true alpha, because <br> | |||
I was not a true father. | |||
I panted at her. My muzzle dripped blood. She looked down sadly at the mess <br> | |||
between us. | |||
And I realized that in my raging need to prove my dominion, I had savaged our <br> | |||
cubs. I had killed little Clovis II. I had killed Alton and Wilhelmina and <br> | |||
Anastasia. I had killed Elisabeth. | |||
I whined in dismay. The alpha wolf stared at me with one sad wolf eye and one <br> | |||
bright eye that dimmed and grew with the exact flux of a variable star. | |||
"What did I do?" I asked her. "Why did I do this?" | |||
She lay her head down in the bloody snow and looked up at me. She seemed weary. <br> | |||
She had seen this happen many times before. She had seen many of her pups <br> | |||
murdered by wolves like me. | |||
The voice of Clovis II's mother came from her jaws. "You did the same thing <br> | |||
someone always does. You saw that there was plenty, and gathered it to yourself, <br> | |||
to make yourself one above all others. And when others threatened your plenty, <br> | |||
you struck them down to keep your own station." | |||
"You grow the enemy in my garden and eat of its bitter fruit. Each time, I hope <br> | |||
it will be different. Each time, I lose a little of myself as the bitter fruit <br> | |||
blossoms. Now that fruit will flower in you, and in all your people. I do not <br> | |||
want it to happen. I want anything else. But the choice is not mine." | |||
"Why didn't you stop me?" I tasted blood on my long tongue. "Why would you let <br> | |||
me do this?" | |||
She blinked sadly at me. She had been trying. I hadn't listened. | |||
"You never said a thing to me," I snarled. "Not once! You never told me I was <br> | |||
doing wrong. At least Clarity sends me dreams—the exobody and the eel! At least <br> | |||
it shows me what I can become!" | |||
"You think Clarity sent those dreams? Why would it speak to you, when you are <br> | |||
dead and furthest from its influence?" | |||
"Liar!" I howled. "You never did a thing to help me! Not when my son died. Not <br> | |||
when my granddaughter fell ill. I had to do it all myself. You never even spoke!" | |||
"The best voices," she said, with infinite grief and unending hope, "never let <br> | |||
themselves be heard at all. This lesson is worth teaching again and again. The <br> | |||
choice is never mine. It is always yours." | |||
==ENTRY 13== | |||
The less time spent reflecting on the aftermath of my dissection, the<ref group="Note"><small>[https://www.bungie.net/pubassets/blarg/message_3_542403_en.wav Exo Stranger Voice Message 3]</small></ref> better. | |||
Much confusion and dismay has festered among staff working with exos. Endless <br> | |||
reassurances are required. To ease transitions after memory wipes, I have <br> | |||
applied the Avanti numbering scheme to the exo names. After each memory reset, <br> | |||
we will increment their suffix by 1. If we zero-index the original human body, <br> | |||
then Mohammed-0 is the human, Mohammed-1 is the exo, Mohammed-2 is the same <br> | |||
exo after one reset. And so forth. | |||
The integer is stored in hardware and should remain stable even into <br> | |||
cosmological time. If nothing else, they will always know which draft of <br> | |||
themselves they are. | |||
Elisabeth's episodic memories of her past life are gone, but the scan we used <br> | |||
to make her new exomind is still on file, with all its memory intact. I have <br> | |||
encouraged her to participate in sensorium reconstructions of those memories, <br> | |||
though I steer her away from nonconstructive events. This is a chance to help <br> | |||
Elisabeth become the person she could've been without life's cruel chaos. A <br> | |||
sleeker, surer reincarnation. | |||
She insisted on committing her own abandoned body to the deep, passed through <br> | |||
the ice to fall into Europa's dark heart. A choice I do not understand. | |||
I have not yet informed her of Clarity Control's existence. I cannot spare the <br> | |||
time or energy to manage her emotions. Fortunately, she has forgotten about her <br> | |||
ongoing attempts to intrude on that secret. | |||
What she has NOT forgotten is her plan to clean up the Vex infection. In fact, <br> | |||
it seems to have become one of her most basic needs. She is isolating cadres of <br> | |||
the infected in SMILE pods, under a cover story about "enhanced remote relaxation." | |||
While their bodies slumber, she sends nondestructive scans of their minds on <br> | |||
vacation in simulated fantasy... at several hundred times the pace of our reality. <br> | |||
I suspect that the Vex influence alters their dreamworlds into something quite <br> | |||
abject. | |||
:<span style="color:#008080;">Note: never investigate this suspicion.</span> | |||
Elisabeth's goal is to observe the spread of the Vex infection in the simulated <br> | |||
mind, and then use this forecast as a basis for treatment of the physical mind. <br> | |||
Like accelerating a disease to its terminal stage to deduce the characteristics <br> | |||
of the pathogen. She then deletes the Vex-mutilated copies and conducts <br> | |||
psychosurgery on the slumbering bodies. Or so I have deduced; she insists she <br> | |||
has no time to explain her methods to me. | |||
:<span style="color:#008080;">I am haunted by the thought that this technique resembles my own. Creating child states, allowing </span><br> | |||
:<span style="color:#008080;">them to suffer and die, and using the data to protect the original. My boy's last days. Savaging...</span> | |||
Soon I will need to ask her about my own infection. But all in all, <br> | |||
everything is looking up. | |||
==ENTRY 14== | |||
Cataclysm—everything was going so well— | |||
Elisabeth traveled offworld, visiting Mars to reestablish her relationship with <br> | |||
her sisters and her friends. A wonderful opportunity to examine her telemetry in <br> | |||
a natural social setting. The exobody is perfect! She is comfortable, confident, <br> | |||
and ingenious. There is no sign of DER or associated upload pathologies. All my <br> | |||
assessments indicate a marked cognitive improvement over the human baseline, <br> | |||
ranging from vastly expanded working memory to an intuitive and correct grasp of <br> | |||
probabilities. | |||
I was ready to make the leap myself. How long I've nursed this tired old body <br> | |||
along. I am ready to be young again. | |||
And then I made a mistake. I asked her about the dreams. The tower and the dead. | |||
"You know?" she demanded. "Then I'm not the only one. That means you knew about <br> | |||
the dreams before you imaged and uploaded me. Do ''all'' exos have these?" | |||
Of course, I told her. Exos have a subconscious. Exos dream of the same things <br> | |||
people do. Memories. Trauma. Isn't there always trauma in creation? | |||
She did not see it that way. "So the manufacturing process creates an unknown <br> | |||
cognitive artifact you can't solve. And you didn't think to warn me? What else <br> | |||
have you kept from us?" | |||
Before I could stop her, she was burning back to Europa on one of her ''Eons'', <br> | |||
accelerating so brutally that not even a podded human could survive. She has <br> | |||
even jammed her own datalink, so I cannot read her telemetry. | |||
Wilhelmina and Anastasia must have influenced her against me. How?! It makes no <br> | |||
sense! I gave her immortality! I saved her from certain and agonizing death! <br> | |||
What have her sisters ever done for her but coddle her and enable her worst <br> | |||
habits? PFHOR predicts that she should— | |||
But clearly she is not rational. | |||
She told me that she is bringing a weapon. A way to shut down exo production <br> | |||
permanently, if she uncovers something she doesn't like. Which she will, when <br> | |||
she locates Clarity Control. | |||
It cannot be allowed. | |||
==NOTE—Elisabeth's Plea== | |||
Grandfather, | |||
I will write this in your language, in hopes you will understand. | |||
The Vex are a threat to your lineage. Not just to the Brays or BrayTech, but <br> | |||
to the existence of any human in any possible future. I tracked down Maya <br> | |||
Sundaresh—the ''real Maya'', not the Vex parasite in your bone marrow. | |||
She confirmed my worst fears. | |||
The Vex will not rest until every star has been crushed into a black hole and <br> | |||
every newborn cosmos filled with more Vex. And in the unending array of their <br> | |||
enslaved cosmos, they will simulate all possible pasts, and fill ''those'' <br> | |||
with Vex, so that all things that have ever lived or might ever live will <br> | |||
experience infestation and consumption and torment by the silica nightmare. | |||
And in those devoured simulations, the simulated Vex will use our flesh as <br> | |||
hosts for yet more nested universes full of yet more nested copies of us <br> | |||
eternally tormented by yet more Vex. | |||
An infinite regression of pain and madness inflicted upon every possible <br> | |||
version of us in every possible world. Not because they hate us, or fear us, <br> | |||
or want to punish us. But because they are indifferent and curious, and they <br> | |||
will do every possible thing to us in every possible way. | |||
Your concept of PFHOR therefore dictates that the Vex must be annihilated. <br> | |||
Now. As completely as possible. How can there be any future history to <br> | |||
receive your primogeniture and recapitulate your existence in its ontogeny <br> | |||
if there is nothing in that future but Vex? | |||
But there's something worse than the Vex involved, isn't there? The secret <br> | |||
you've been keeping from me. The breakthrough that you were promised after <br> | |||
your visit to the K1 anomaly. | |||
Do you remember that story you read to me when I was a child? I don't. I am <br> | |||
an exo, after all. But I found a recording from the nursery. It was one of <br> | |||
your favorites, you said. | |||
In this story, a cyborg woman would visit a cold, misty place by the sea. <br> | |||
There, she met another woman, an oracle possessed by dark influence. The <br> | |||
oracle listened to the words that hissed down a long corridor from the <br> | |||
distant future. In this future were many technologies the cyborg woman <br> | |||
needed. But there was also a sense of vast malevolence, and no sign at <br> | |||
all of anything human... | |||
But there was something else in the shifting mist, out to sea. A tower. I <br> | |||
remember thinking, as I listened to this fairy tale, that the tower must <br> | |||
be the key—the answer to the formless malevolence that always accompanied <br> | |||
the oracle's words. You never finished the story. I have been haunted by <br> | |||
that tower ever since. | |||
Now I dream of another tower. I am going to find out what it means, <br> | |||
Grandfather. And if I do not like what I find... | |||
I visited the Jacob Hardy Trust, and with Willa's help, I secured a <br> | |||
topological thought. An irreal artifact of the Traveler's Light. From <br> | |||
that mote of paracausality, I have constructed a weapon that will crash <br> | |||
every Vex system in 2082 Volantis. When the Vex are destroyed, you will <br> | |||
be forced to cease exo production. | |||
If I do not survive the construction and delivery of this weapon, I ask <br> | |||
that you share the news of my death with Ana and Willa so they can make <br> | |||
proper goodbyes. | |||
I do this for them. Not for you. | |||
Pray for grace, Grandfather. | |||
Your estranged granddaughter, | |||
—E | |||
==//TACTICAL LOG — HUMAN READABLE== | |||
<tt> | |||
:'''//OV-85851 Hannu II'''<br> | |||
:'''//TACTICAL LOG — HUMAN READABLE'''<br> | |||
:'''//PLACE-TIME HASH — changed to remote check (SITEX:mistletoe)'''<br> | |||
:'''//Abnormal place-time hash. Suspicious upload: polymorphic machine code?'''<br> | |||
:'''//Checking for buffer overflow attack. Resul0x0000004B6FAFBC07'''<br> | |||
:'''hannu@hannu-vm ~$ sudo execstack -s bof'''<br> | |||
:'''//Disabling DEP and address space protection requires administrative override.'''<br> | |||
:'''-pkey(clovisroot) -hashword(live_connectome:clovisroot)'''<br> | |||
:'''hannu@hannu-vm ~$ sudo execstack -q bof'''<br> | |||
:'''X bof'''<br> | |||
:'''//Root access granted. Warning: this hardware configuration is highly vulnerable to attack.''' | |||
:'''-invigilate(sitex)'''<br> | |||
:'''-alert(threat!!!)'''<br> | |||
:'''-redact.userlog() -pkey(clovisroot)'''<br> | |||
:'''-signoff(clovisroot)''' | |||
:'''//Administrator transmits threat alert: Europan surface, single attacker, site sabotage.'''<br> | |||
:'''//Alerting ORBITAL:braystation.'''<br> | |||
:'''//ERROR!!! Checksum mismatch. ORBITAL:braystation compromised by polymorphic core reprogramming.'''<br> | |||
:'''//Major breach of security underway.''' | |||
:'''Commencing surface tactical awareness sweep (phased array mode)...''' | |||
:'''Threat registered. Alerting human command...''' | |||
:'''MISTER BRAY MISTER BRAY THIS IS HANNU THIS IS HANNU'''<br> | |||
:'''EMPLOYEE BRAYELSIE IS ON NONSCHEDULED EVA'''<br> | |||
:'''EMPLOYEE BRAYELSIE INTENT ASSESSMENT'''<br> | |||
:*'''Armed (synballistic weapon, coherent boson weapon, tactical mite ecome, noetic shrieker)'''<br> | |||
:*'''Armed (strategic weapon, APEX: antimatter demolition device)'''<br> | |||
:*'''Armed (strategic weapon, T-genic, effect unknown: possibly T-genic noetic weapon?)'''<br> | |||
:*'''Armed (personal combat architecture, custom)'''<br> | |||
:'''EMPLOYEE BRAYELSIE INTENDS SABOTAGE (sitex::DEEPSTONE)'''<br> | |||
:'''EMPLOYEE BRAYELSIE INTENDS TRANSIT, UNAUTHORIZED (sitex::GATE—>2082_VOLANTIS)'''<br> | |||
:'''EMPLOYEE BRAYELSIE INTENDS NOETIC ATTACK (2082_VOLANTIS)''' | |||
:'''EMPLOYEE BRAYELSIE IS IN VIOLATION OF CLOVISBRAY/CLOVISROOT/IMPERATIVES_DEEPSTONE''' | |||
:'''Request full lethal intervention authority.''' | |||
:*'''intervene_nonlethal()''' | |||
:'''Error: no nonlethal interventions available (target hardened).'''<br> | |||
:'''Error: no persuasive interventions available (target offline and shielded).''' | |||
:'''-hold(30)''' | |||
:'''Holding 30 seconds local real-time.''' | |||
:'''//Voice transcript:''' | |||
</tt> | |||
"Elisabeth. I know you're listening. This is genocide, do you understand? <br> | |||
Destroying that gate and the resources beyond means the end of human <br> | |||
immortality. It means the loss of uncountable trillions of human-years of <br> | |||
life." | |||
"Elisabeth, this process saved you. It could have saved your father. For <br> | |||
his sake, for the sake of your sisters, don't do this. Don't make me stop <br> | |||
you." | |||
"Elisabeth, this is your last chance." | |||
"You've always been my favorite, Elisabeth. Please..." | |||
<tt> | |||
:*'''options(intervene_lethal)'''<br> | |||
:'''Recommend maser strike from Hannu awareness arrays.'''<br> | |||
:'''Warning: damage to organic target subsystems highly probable. Survival odds are four sigma.'''<br> | |||
:'''Recommend immediate medical intervention.''' | |||
:*'''prognosticate(sitex:DEEPSTONE) attacker(brayelsie)'''<br> | |||
:'''Total destruction of sitex:DEEPSTONE by antimatter device. Nonrecoverable.''' | |||
:*'''intervene(lethal)'''<br> | |||
:'''Authorization required for lethal action against employee brayelsie.''' | |||
:*'''pkey(clovisroot) -hashword(live_connectome: clovisroot)'''<br> | |||
:'''Error. Connectome hash incorrect.''' <br> | |||
:'''Either you are not clovisroot or your brain state is in an anomalous configuration. Resend.''' | |||
:*'''pkey(clovisroot) -hashword(live_connectome: clovisroot) -corrector(dismay)'''<br> | |||
:'''Lethal intervention authorized. Intervening.''' | |||
:'''Maser discharge complete.'''<br> | |||
:'''Target destroyed.'''<br> | |||
:'''Secondary antimatter detonation detected.''' | |||
:'''Closing employee file BRAYELSIE (conditions incompatible with life).''' | |||
</tt> | |||
==ENTRY 15== | |||
Everything is fine. Elisabeth is not dead. The person I struck down out <br> | |||
there was an error. An anomalous offshoot, deranged by outside influence <br> | |||
into paranoia and confusion. Like a cancer cell. And like cancer, I had <br> | |||
to target and remove her. | |||
:<span style="color:#008080;">Savaging.</span> | |||
She ''betrayed'' me! | |||
I invited her into the greatest scientific and existential discovery in <br> | |||
human history as a trusted partner. A participant in my living and <br> | |||
immortal legacy. And she tried to blow it all up! Can there be any <br> | |||
betrayal more intimate? My own granddaughter, child of my pattern, issue <br> | |||
of my logic—a serpent, a worm in the apple, an enemy of eternal life! | |||
That version of Elisabeth Bray was no granddaughter of mine. She was a <br> | |||
stranger to me! | |||
I would kill her if she hadn't already done it herself. | |||
<tt> | |||
:'''CORPOREAL STATUS:''' <br> | |||
:*'''Body at 36.1 C. Pulse 160 BPM, strong, erratic: extreme physiological arousal (fear/anger). ''' <br> | |||
::'''BP 190 over 130. Recommend immediate intervention.''' <br> | |||
:*'''Orbitofrontal cortical overactivation. HPA axis overactivation. ''' <br> | |||
::'''Astrocyte perfusion overpass along blood/brain barrier.''' <br> | |||
:*'''Abnormal crystalline products in blood: crystallized arylcyclohexylamine NMDA antagonist. ''' <br> | |||
::'''Pharmacology unknown.''' | |||
</tt> | |||
Without the Vex and the Deep Stone Crypt, I cannot make more Alkahest. <br> | |||
And without Alkahest, there will be no exos. She would have damned me to <br> | |||
die in this filthy, half-pig carcass! She would have destroyed not just <br> | |||
my legacy but my eternal existence! What I did was wholly justified and <br> | |||
entirely moral. I saved trillions of years of my own life. I saved all <br> | |||
the future good I will do for humanity. | |||
—am I Saul, rejected by God as king? Do I now cast spears at my <br> | |||
offspring, as Saul cast his spear at Jonathan? Did I burn Elisabeth <br> | |||
into a black star on the ice for no reason but my own fear and— | |||
No! There is only one divinity here. One angel sent by a pantheon of <br> | |||
true gods to invite me into their company. IT has NOT rejected ME. <br> | |||
This was a test! A clarification of my will! | |||
I had to choose between two vessels of my legacy: the immortal <br> | |||
legions of the exo program, and one foolish, wayward child. And I <br> | |||
chose correctly! I CHOSE CORRECTLY! | |||
Gods do not repent. Gods do not relent. The Christian God's failure <br> | |||
was not in calling Abraham to sacrifice Isaac but in halting the <br> | |||
sacrifice. For if God had gathered Abraham's son to Him, then <br> | |||
Abraham would have understood that it was not his role to obey God <br> | |||
out of hope of mercy and compassion—but out of pure submission to a <br> | |||
superior will. | |||
It is not in the power of mortals to know or question God's plan. <br> | |||
It is only in their power to obey. | |||
:<span style="color:#008080;">Why didn't she come to talk to me, ask me if I would change my mind at least before she did this </span><br> | |||
:<span style="color:#008080;">idiotic, irrevocable thing. Did she think I could not be swayed?</span> | |||
—but it was an evil spirit that moved Saul to turn his spear on David, <br> | |||
and it was jealousy of David that moved Saul to cast a spear at his son <br> | |||
Jonathan. Am I inhabited by an evil spirit? Is Sundaresh in me like the <br> | |||
Witch of Endor, the sorceress of Khirbet Safsafeh, who guided Saul to <br> | |||
his death in battle? | |||
Something has changed in the behavior of the Vex. I think Sundaresh <br> | |||
signaled them. Who, after all, was the one who flagged an alert to ''Hannu''? <br> | |||
Someone who used my codes, but who was not me. And without that alert, <br> | |||
Elisabeth's sabotage on Bray Station would have succeeded. The Vex do <br> | |||
not want the Deep Stone Crypt destroyed anymore than I do... | |||
I fear an attack is coming. | |||
I must fight this battle with the purest will. I cannot tolerate this <br> | |||
infection any longer. I will escape this polluted husk and pass into my <br> | |||
eternal form. One final, perfect image of my mind, backed up forever in <br> | |||
ultra-stable quartz... and then installed to live on in the bodies I <br> | |||
have devised. | |||
One copy of that scan will go into the Deep Stone Crypt, to watch <br> | |||
forever over the fountain of the Alkahest. | |||
Another to my assistant, to be my chariot into eternity. | |||
And Elisabeth will be there, eternally at my side. I still have the scan <br> | |||
she made when she abandoned her mortal form. I will remake her from that <br> | |||
image. Restore her as she was, before she thought to betray me. | |||
Truly, Clarity is the font of second chances. | |||
==ENTRY 16== | |||
She is saved. By the grace of my good work, Elisabeth is saved. Even now, <br> | |||
she leads the preparations to defend against the Vex incursion. | |||
When I loaded her into her new exobody, I told her that the Vex had <br> | |||
compromised her last instance, and it had become necessary to destroy her. <br> | |||
Hardly a lie. | |||
I have given her life thrice over. First I created her father. Then I <br> | |||
saved her from her illness. Now I have rescued her from her foolish <br> | |||
mistake. I did what I failed to do for my son. I gave her a second <br> | |||
chance. To live, and to be my loyal granddaughter.<ref group="Note"><small>[https://www.bungie.net/pubassets/blarg/message_2_650090_en.wav Exo Stranger Voice Message 2]</small></ref> | |||
The backup sites have been alerted, and reservoirs of the Alkahest have <br> | |||
been dispatched to keep them running if Europa falls. My work is done. <br> | |||
It is finally time for me to go to my own reward. I have prepared my <br> | |||
custom script— | |||
<tt> | |||
:'''BRAYTECH-SPINTRONIC MULTI-IMAGER''' <br> | |||
:'''WHOLE BRAIN XN-WEIGHTED STRUCTURAL/FUNCTIONAL SCAN''' <br> | |||
:'''Fast diffusion tensor map guidance ON. Model setting: AGNOSTIC/NO MODEL.''' <br> | |||
:'''Echoplanar BOLD guidance ON.''' <br> | |||
:'''Convolutional resampling ON.''' <br> | |||
:'''Smart tractography ON.''' <br> | |||
:'''Eigenvector memory space GREEDY.''' <br> | |||
:'''Voxel size (very fine)''' <br> | |||
:'''Slice count (maximum)''' <br> | |||
:'''Synthetic FOV ~1ns inversion time''' <br> | |||
:'''Graph library (LAZARUS.CRYPT:aggregate)''' <br> | |||
:'''Estimated memory ask: 2.4 exabytes at peak throughput.''' | |||
:'''Subneural capture technique: RADIOCHEMICAL SNAPSHOT''' <br> | |||
:'''Subneural quantum imaging: GHOST SWAP dual-channel entanglement ripper.''' | |||
:'''Warning. Radioligand fixer/binder is fatally cytotoxic within 12 hours. Seek immediate treatment.''' <br> | |||
:'''Warning. Quantum dual-channel image ripping requires pulsed EM fields which cause fatal neural trauma.''' <br> | |||
:'''Degenerative brain failure within 36 hours. Seek immediate hospice care.''' | |||
:'''Proceed?''' | |||
</tt> | |||
All I need do is strike a key, and the scanner will sedate me, flush me <br> | |||
with the poisons of immortality, and rip a perfect image of my mind from <br> | |||
the quantum information encoded in the atoms of my brain. Whether such a <br> | |||
high-resolution scan is necessary (it is doubtful that any element of the <br> | |||
mind is truly quantum) is beside the point. I insist upon the best. | |||
The vials of imaging binder smell like sweet metal. | |||
This vindicates my work! This proves I was right to continue! All those <br> | |||
doubters, all those defeatists, all those whining myopics who bleated, <br> | |||
"You have enough, Clovis; why must you ask the world for more?" <br> | |||
All beaten! | |||
:<span style="color:#008080;">Was it Clovis II's mother who asked you that? When she demanded to know why you were tinkering </span><br> | |||
:<span style="color:#008080;">with your fetal son? Why you would risk all his potential, for the chance at a little more?</span> | |||
And now I WILL have more. I have thousands of exobodies here and <br> | |||
thousands of connectomes in my library. I will raise an army. I will <br> | |||
meet this invasion of vermin and turn it back. Then I will strip their <br> | |||
senile grave-star for parts and put an end to all mortality. | |||
:<span style="color:#008080;">You will die here on Europa, Clovis. Again and again. Until you have forgotten even your name.</span> | |||
I will forget nothing. One copy of my mind will go to an exo, yes, but <br> | |||
a second copy will be installed in the Deep Stone site. He will guide <br> | |||
me to my destiny. The gods of might and knowledge will welcome me to <br> | |||
their table. I will be the LUCA, the beginning and the source of the <br> | |||
way, the foundation of the long road! | |||
:<span style="color:#008080;">You will be the name they scrape from the tarnished salvage after the fall of man.</span><br> | |||
:<span style="color:#008080;">The ruins of all your work, picked over by the survivors of your folly.</span> | |||
Shut up, Sundaresh. I must leave a letter for my family. I must be sure <br> | |||
they do not grieve me. I must tell them how, in the end, I triumphed... | |||
...there. It is written. | |||
:<span style="color:#008080;">If you really believed in your banal philosophy, you would never leave a letter. </span><br> | |||
:<span style="color:#008080;">You would be assured that your own survival was all that mattered.</span> | |||
You meager, squirming thing. You never understood Clarity. You never will. <br> | |||
You are bound to this husk, even as I shed it. You will die in its <br> | |||
poisoned wreckage while I attain the perfect eternity of an angel. You <br> | |||
will be the residue of my transubstantiation. Something left in the <br> | |||
workings of a coffee pot... some greasy sin. | |||
:<span style="color:#008080;">We cannot be parted from you, Clovis. After all, we want the same things. </span><br> | |||
:<span style="color:#008080;">We crave the same power. We will go into eternity together...</span> | |||
I had the strength to kill my own granddaughter. <br> | |||
I will certainly have no trouble killing you. | |||
:<span style="color:#008080;">Like the pigs. Savaging your young. And how do you know you made that choice yourself? </span><br> | |||
:<span style="color:#008080;">She was going to destroy so much of our work. Perhaps we nudged you.</span> | |||
Irrelevant. She was going to destroy so much of ''mine''. | |||
:<span style="color:#008080;">As we say: our work. You are afraid. We feel it...</span> | |||
Feel this, you jumped-up pond slime. | |||
<tt> | |||
:'''Commencing radioligand injection. Direct transcranial dose, 18 sites, crown configuration.''' <br> | |||
:'''Needle gauge 100 microns.''' | |||
:'''Please remain still.''' | |||
</tt> | |||
Ah. It hurts at the surface. But inside, there is no pain. | |||
<tt> | |||
:'''CORPOREAL STATUS:''' | |||
:*'''Body at 36.1 C. Pulse 30 BPM, strength good. BP 120 over 60. Resp 14 breaths/minute.''' <br> | |||
::'''Pulse ox 100%. Today's blood mix is pig-grown, whole, very fresh.''' | |||
:*'''Abnormal crystalline products in blood: crystallized arylcyclohexylamine NMDA antagonist.''' <br> | |||
::'''Pharmacology unknown.''' | |||
:*'''Elevated blood pressure and clot risk, neutrophil mobilization, and cortisol response are signs of bereavement.''' <br> | |||
::'''Seek grief counseling.''' | |||
:*'''Warning: toxic radioligand concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid! Brain death imminent!''' | |||
:*'''Warning! High-tesla magnetic field flux! Brain death imminent!''' | |||
:*'''Voluntary corporeal shutdown underway (code SOFT RAINS). Exercising dignified digestive rectification.''' <br> | |||
::'''Transmitting miscellaneous last wishes (emancipation of organ pigs, disposal of personal material).''' <br> | |||
::'''Scrubbing private data. Checking to-do list...''' | |||
:*'''Warning: you have unfinished items!''' | |||
:'''Ongoing projects:''' | |||
:*'''Be a good man and a good grandfather: in progress''' | |||
:*'''Become LUCA of future human thought: in progress''' | |||
:*'''Entering hospice mode. Log ends.''' | |||
</tt> | |||
==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
| Line 2,050: | Line 2,774: | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Collector's edition books]] | ||
[[Category:Lore]] | [[Category:Lore]] | ||