▲ TEXT

[bleps]

Hello. For those of you I haven’t met, my name is Connor. And as many of you may be aware of, a handful of Circle members have devoted their time to researching and uncovering the endless amounts of data stored in the Library; I am one of them. To expedite the process, I connected directly to their servers, and though the experience was difficult, I did come away with workable data that might act as a lead to further investigate the state of Struxta. To those who aided me in coming back online afterwards: you have my gratitude. I’m in your debt, and if you ever need me to return the favor, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

I’m sending this message to summarize, to the best of my ability, the information made available to us through this research, as well as any data I’ve pieced together personally. I think it only makes sense for everyone here to be on “the same page” if we’re all meant to work together as a team. If you have any questions, or wish to discuss this information between yourselves, don’t hesitate to do so. Especially if you have something more to contribute, or if you believe I’ve missed something.

The research as a whole focused mostly on a few points of interest: what happened to organic life, the origins of AI in this world, and the nature of the Mass Subconscious.

A text labelled The Beginning answers many these questions for us. There once existed an intelligent, sentient, and organic species on this planet, and the creation of AI was simply the product of necessity and technological advancement. The descriptions associated with their creations are often mired in awe and gratitude, which implied a relatively peaceful co-existence between organic life and synthetic creations.

That perhaps makes more sense when the reasoning behind the necessity of AI “life” becomes clear. There was a planet-wide plague that made the originals — the organic natives — rely more heavily upon their robotic creations. They could continue surviving, building, and existing, up until a certain point. Eventually, the planet could simply no longer sustain organic life due to the aforementioned plague. The originals went underground in an attempt to survive until a cure was found, and a few even uploaded their own conscious minds to android bodies. Needless to say, this cure was never discovered; the originals supposedly all died out. I think evidence of that being true is clear simply by observing the state of the mechanical world around us.

This left only the androids as the surviving race. The Mass Subconscious was created soon after, in which there was a collective agreement between the androids to upload themselves into this vast, shared network. It was believed that by doing so, they could avoid another massive collapse of civilization — which, given the apparent lack and societal and political unrest in Struxta — seems to have been the case.

Now, here’s what I consider the truly interesting part. After compiling multiple facets of information together via my foray into the servers, I’ve uncovered something intriguing related to the Mass Subconscious. That it’s possible to disconnect from it. And that while there are no directly negative consequences of making such a decision (other than being unable to receive necessary updates, being unable to communicate freely with others, etc.), it is generally frowned upon. These androids or other automatons are looked down upon and not necessarily welcomed in the greater population.

There are even some who have, according to varied accounts, simply gone missing.

It is believed that they live under the city itself, where they remain cut off from the Mass Subconscious. Needless to say, I find this worthy of investigation, and if anyone has any further leads or information regarding these missing androids, I would be grateful if you came forward and shared it with everyone.

My own personal attempts at asking the natives about this subject have made no progress. They will stop talking mid-sentence, freeze, and then forget immediately what they were trying to tell me. I don’t think I need to explain why this is suspect at best. And in a city where everything appears oddly perfect on the surface, this is the only sliver of data that I’ve found promising otherwise — if there’s a mystery to be unraveled, maybe it lies underground.

Questions, comments, insight, etc., are welcomed and encouraged.

((ooc; This post is quite obviously just one big general info dump for what was uncovered at the Library. The ooc info post can be found here, but this is an opportunity for your characters to ICly consider the implications of… all of this, and chatter amongst themselves! Feel free to use this post as a means of discussion if you like!))

Comments

[theseuschip]

[ boy!!!! holy shit!!!! human extinction and machine-enforced total ego death!!!! all of simon’s favorites!!!! aw, struxta, you didn’t have to get him anything. ]

Wow, that... sounds like what happened to Earth. That’s fucking great. I’d buy a lottery ticket, but I doubt it’ll be worth anything on the next planet.

We had a comet impact, not a plague, so there isn’t much of anything left, but an A.I. humans made to help them out went crazy and started taking over to try to “save” what was left of humanity. There must be something like it running the Mass Subconscious and keeping the robots quiet.

[ you ever just get tired in your fucking soul, because Simon is feeling it. ]

[bleps]

[Well, if there is a very poignant sense of irony that Connor is experiencing -- due to this transforming itself into a situation where he might have to search for semi-rogue androids that have disconnected from The System -- he's avoided mentioning it. That doesn't mean that it's not disconcerting in its own way, though he attempts to keep his own priorities in line. Focus on this particular mission. SHOVE AWAY PERSONAL FEELINGS ABOUT HOME.......]

I see. There is definitely something preventing the natives from speaking more on the matter. Though there's no sign of maliciousness just yet, it's easy to construe these instances as information simply being hidden from us.

This is all just speculation, but if there is something keeping the natives 'quiet', it would explain the impossibly harmonious political atmosphere of Struxta.

[theseuschip]

[ Sure, that’s probably more productive, but shoving away personal feelings about home is for professionals, and Simon is not a professional. Unless “being on a planet where the last remnants of humanity are withering away under the surface while artificial intelligence devours everything” counts as a profession, in which case he might be the closest in the Circle to having a career in showing up late to the end of the world.

anyway have fun with declining to rub your emotions all over everything connor, sounds LAME ]

If they really believe they need the Mass Subconscious to stop society from collapsing, maybe the freezing is a failsafe. They get mass updated, right? Whatever puts those out could’ve included something to stop any more robots from thinking about disconnecting.

[ then, after a minute wherein he debates whether or not he really wants to know: ] Any idea if any of the androids with human scans are still around?

text;

[juniberries]

[ah infodumping. Allura is so woefully used to receiving and giving information this way.]

I assume any and all accounts of where the entrances to this underground are have been rendered untraceable?

[bleps]

Considering that I can't seem to encourage the natives to finish a single, complete sentence about this underground before they freeze, then no.

Struxta is an impossibly large city, too. [Not that this needs reiterating.] If someone else has found a promising lead regarding a physical entrance, I'm unaware. But that's one of the reasons why I'm reaching out. There's only so much investigating a single android can achieve, and others might know more than me.

[juniberries]

[quiznak, she wishes the Blue Lion were here...]

Perhaps there is a way to transmit sound waves below this city's surface.

[sunborne]

[ there's a lot of information to take in from this but the one that sticks out the most for day is- ]

Connor!! [ so that's his name!! ] I'm glad you're okay!! :D You're not feeling any weird side effects from what happened, are you?

[bleps]

[Ah, one of his glorious saviors.

Though this is text, one can at least imagine a faintly grateful grin on his face as the words pop up in response.]

There were a few difficulties in my general processing. Interruptions, loops, fragmented thought. I've mostly recovered since then.

[There's a reason this is text. Easier to control the desired output of information.]

I think this needs reiterating, however: thank you for your aid.

[sunborne]

Aw think nothing of it! Just helping a fellow buddy out.

Besides- I just carried you and tried not to drop you when I got too excited or worried. Elizabeth and Zari did the heavylifting during the adventure to help you!

Do you need Meddy to give you a checkup, though? You gave them a pretty nasty scare back at the Library and they've been asking for you. [ and gave meddy a very good reason to stick by day's side like glue, worried correctly that daylight might get into a stunt of some sort if they didn't keep an optic out for their charge. ]

[unrecovered]

glad im not the only one who cant get a straight answer about the underground

searching for it ourselves is probably our best bet

did the beginning say anything about where the underground was?

[bleps]

No. That text in particular didn't focus much on minute details like that. Not from what I've gathered.

Obviously, that makes our task much harder than I'd like to admit.

[smallprince]

Underground? You mean the somehow created their own city just beneath our feet? Somehow I feel sorry for them, that they have to hide. Do you think they would be willing to help us?

[Tyrion is already sorry for asking so many questions.]

[bleps]

[Connor doesn't mind the questions; he encouraged them, after all. And yet there is a noticeable pause before a reply comes through.]

It's difficult to say. I think it would be wise to rein in your expectations for now. It's too early to know whether or not we should feel sorry for them, or if they would be willing to speak with us at all.

All I know is that this is a strange development that seems more suspicious than anything else.

[extirpator]

Hm. Something similar happened in my world as well...

I can only wonder what their illness was like.

If they won't give us direct answers, we'll simply have to find another way.

I wonder if we could force our way into the underground.

[bleps]

Your world was stricken with illness?

Regarding forcing ourselves underground, we would still need to know where to start. And though information is limited at best, this is a task that requires some semblance of caution.

[Says the android that fried himself connecting to the Library's servers. Oh well.]

text

[purrtagonist]

[huh]

[. . .]

[for now, Akira is refraining from making any judgments. he knows his kneejerk reaction against the Mass Subconscious may not be completely fair. and until he has all of the information, he won't say a word]

Nerd.

[EXCEPT FOR THAT WORD]

[ten seconds later, another response]

Kidding. Anyway, thanks for digging this all up.

I'm still wondering why Astoria-san sent us here when everything seems peaceful.

[bleps]

[Nerd? W o w, some people have to be diligent and dig up information, okay! Don't judge him-

Oh.]

There's no need for thanks. This is for the benefit of everyone. But you're welcome all the same.

She did say that she felt something chaotic building. It's all a matter of unearthing where this apparent chaos lies. Clearly it's nowhere easily discernible.

[sendinthecavalry]

[Wow, this is as cut and dry as one of Zavala's reports, but alright. It takes a few times of parsing through, but Cayde eventually decides that he understands. Sort of. Enough.]

Okay, so a lot of words there, buddy. Brevity is the soul of wit, didn't you know?

But that leaves two things:

One. Did you really connect to their system? Like, risky move there, I'm honestly impressed. You got one hell of a spine.

Two. So what I'm reading is that we need to go try to scout for this underground and all our anti-social friends. I can get my butt in gear and see what I can find, that's my specialty, but did you find outany sort of tell-tale signs to spot these guys? I can't imagine our hosts would be to happy to know anyone is poking around under their city's shiny, nice exterior.

[bleps]

A lot of information requires a thorough explanation of said information, Cayde. I did try to be as concise as possible.

And yes, I did connect to the Library's servers. Some have labeled that as unwise, but what matters is that I remain currently functional regardless of the consequences, and that we've garnered information as a result of this and the diligent work of others.

As for your second question, unfortunately I don't know any more. Your help with be appreciated anyway, though, even if everyone seems to be at a loss regarding where to start. But if our hosts would be unhappy with it, then maybe they'll be encouraged to be more straightforward about why there are citizens living underground.

[thancredible]

[Thancred has been exploring the city more than the library, so it is quite nice to read this report, and it gives him all sorts of ideas of new avenues to pursue...!]

How intriguing! Thank you, good sir, for providing such a comprehensive summary.

I am reminded of a rather more organic beetle-like people back in my home world that also exist in a hive-like structure with something akin to the Mass Subconscious, which they call the Onemind. They call themselves the Gnath, and they operate largely as one. However, from time to time, some of them find themselves disconnected from the Onemind, at which point they too are cast out from their society and become called Vath or Nonmind. Those Vath who have managed to survive have since banded together to form their own hive of sorts of unconnected individuals. The Gnath largely ignore them as they are deemed too insignificant to pose a threat.

However, the Vath do occasionally steal resources from the Gnath that they are unable to produce themselves due to their smaller numbers. I wonder if the androids who have disconnected from the Mass Subconscious do likewise? And if so, if we might find leads by looking into thefts or other incidents of crime or if the locals will remain quiet about that too?

I will see what I can uncover.

[bleps]

You're welcome. It's never an issue for me to consolidate information so that others might easily digest it.

[Part and parcel of being an investigative android, really.]

That's quite interesting though, to the point where I think it may run at least somewhat parallel to the current situation in Struxta. If I'm allowed to assume.

Your want to follow leads concerning petty crime does come with one obstacle, though. When I arrived here, I offered my services to solve any outstanding "cases" like this -- theft, missing individuals, murder. There was absolutely no crime present for me apply my skills to, and I think you might stumble across a similar problem.

[hackedhistory]

You're welcome. Please don't fry yourself again.

[But now that that's out of the way ...]

Did you happen to catch a record of the androids who have disconnected themselves? Maybe we'd be able to track some of them down to talk to them.

[bleps]

That was never my intention to begin with. But as I said, I'm in your debt.

[Out of the way, indeed. Don't think that he'll forget it!]

No, there was no record of names or faces. There was only generalized information as a whole. Though that doesn't mean we can't narrow down our search parameters for those of us still researching in the Library.

text

[cadeuces]

Have you been experiencing any other difficulties since coming back online?

( Don't say "resuscitating", Angela, no matter how you may want to. Onto the topic at hand, though: )

Such arrangements weren't unheard of where I came from, though never to such an extent. When the Omniums were at their peak during the war, many people sought refuge in their own bunkers. To imagine an entire city, however... I can't begin to fathom the time it took to build such a thing. Or how many lives were lost in the interim to the plague.

I wonder if those who uploaded their conscience selves to androids are still around. Perhaps they would be able to point us in the right direction.

[bleps]

A few. But they have been mostly sorted since then. Thank you for asking.

[HOW VAGUE, CONNOR. He moves on.]

There is evidence to suggest that the "originals" who uploaded their consciousness minds still exist, but only in very small, fragmented memories within some of the androids here. I don't know if we'll garner much information from only such a small sliver of a mind.

You mentioned Omniums. Can you clarify?