Jack Kincaid continues the adventures of Captain Afterland continuing with chapter 5 “To Afterland Its Due”!
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The Mutual Audio Network
Captain Afterland – S1E5– “To Afterland Its Due”(071724)
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Listen, a discretion is advised. (logo chimes) Slip gate nine, entertainment. ♪ Fly cheap ♪ ♪ That's what they all call me ♪ ♪ How cast a god without a heart ♪ You are listening to "Captain Afterland." ♪ No one really loves me ♪ ♪ They all seem to snub me ♪ ♪ I don't feel alone ♪ ♪ 'Cause I believe ♪ ♪ This world is for me ♪ ♪ If you disagree, I'll destroy everything ♪ (laughs) ♪ Crazy ♪ (wind howling) - Well, what did he tell you? - He didn't tell me anything more than he told you, or Phoebe III. I've been texting her. She keeps saying the same thing about where he was. - Yeah, bad droids. - He just said to be there at the museum at our usual time when we'd get together to do another jump. We have to tell him about Perlman tonight and what Fluke said. I also, I have to go. It's a work now. - I have to run too. - Full talk later. - Captain. - Captain, are you in there? Come out. - The night. I will tell you the tale tonight. - Why are you being mysterious about it? Whatever it is. - I wish to tell you Luna and the owl at once, at the same time. Because I don't want to have to repeat myself. - We shouldn't even be meeting at the museum anymore. - Oh, fine, fine, it better be good. - Good, I will find you. - There, your respawn point is set back to your house. - Many thanks. - I see you have a new phone. - Yes. - Luna, get his new number later. Don't interrupt him or we'll be here all night. - Keep going, Captain. You had to make a production of this, didn't you? You had to make it dramatic, right? - I told you. I wish to tell you all at once. It is very important that I do. - So you were on top of the wall? You said that you fell on it. - Yes, but I released the pan when I tumbled from the world servicing vehicle. It returned wildly, but I lost my footing. And from the wall I fell, but to the other side. - You were on the other side of the wall? - Yes, and the gravity is not the same there. Otherwise I'd have fallen hard and I would have reset it once, just as when we leapt down from this building. The pan may have played a part with its pulls and jaunts. The fall was long, and it was then when I settled to rest that I realized I was not just beyond the wall, but beyond the barrier. - Then the vectors provided by the pan were not in error. I have a newly established connection with the pan since installing new upgrades-- - What? - Finish the story, you were in afterland. - I heard a thundering all around. Most of it came from the cold distance ahead. What warmth is there exists in shifting pockets, moved by the winds and there. The city streets were bathed in the red glow from the barrier, desolate, eerie, but intact. Until I journeyed farther with the pan, it was then that I realized that the thickening mist in the air was not of clouds that had descended to meet the land. - No, no, but of particles, dust in the drafts. - From the buildings, from the very land itself, wearing away in the drafts, most unusual. - That's what happens when there's no maintenance from the WSDs. It's not unusual, that's what happens. - Wasn't that also happening to you? - What, no, it's what we're told happens. The world recycles us and we join it. It removes us. - It is not the world which does the removing, as I would soon learn, it will soon relate to you. The father I journeyed, the less of the buildings were there, fractious, filled with holes as of some disease from the rotting. But none had fallen, as they would have anywhere else. Their fragments remained suspended, fixed in the air. I saw in the distance, buildings nearly as tall as the one we're in now, with dozens of floors scorned from the middle, yet the floors above remained suspended, as if the missing parts still supported them. I saw more of them in the distance, far beyond where the very ground had eroded away, suspended in the nothing, and it was then. No, it did before, oh dear. I'm flashbacking in a flashback, wait! I may be flashbacking within a flashback, but then another. - Maybe even within another. - Oh dear God, bad form. - It was then, that. - Ah yes, to the part that you will like the least, great Scott, it was then that I began to hear a whirring beneath the strange rumblings of the after. Or it had been there full time, and I only just became conscious of it, as the sound rose in the air, even though I had come to a stop, like the whirring of bees from some enormous hive, but they were not bees. They were droids, not unlike the owl in appearance, but there was little to their minds, to their vocabulary, but it seemed they knew one word, and one word only. - Scott? - No. Delete. Delete, they meant to do with their rays. The creepy green hue of expunging rays, they felt cold against my skin as they swept. First, there were three bots, then five, and I brought them down with the might of this path. - Brought them down easily, I did it. - Croughly builders, they were. But then more came, and more and more came. - Too many, I fled through the buildings. - But there were not enough of the buildings there to provide cover. - I took refuge in a stairwell, but soon enough I heard them coming from above, and below, and then I heard legions of them. I tried to reset myself for the pan, but it would not work. For whatever reason, I could not bring myself to hit myself hard enough. I feared that I would soon be overrun, and they would succeed at deleting me. But then the thundering grew closer, as if some enormous titan. The droids stopped and erupted into a commotion, not for me, but to flee. - Flea the stairwell they did. - I had many of them crashing to the ground. - Or against the building side, and I climbed. For a moment, only a moment I saw it. - It, what? - It's many flailing limbs of what design I knew not. It's raw, filled at the after. I caught but one thought from it. And there was little time for much more than one. And that thought was that it was not after the droids. But me, it wanted me inside if it had wanted me. It wanted to eat you? Generally, that's how things are eaten. It had lots of limbs. - The chimera, it's real? - Captain, when you first appeared in the temple, you shared the communally agreed upon characteristics of the chimera. - What? - Oh dear. - Why don't you remember me telling you that? You were like some kind of abomination at first until you, well, until you became, you know, became you. - I don't remember that. Oh yeah, good, I don't remember that. - Yeah, it's like you were a half dozen people fused together. When Luna told me that your fields had a bunch of unusually high numbers. - Fields. - From the scans. - The ones that have to do with memory and psyche. - Ah yes, psyche. - With the ease. (laughs) - Luna, you said that they might be additive and all I could think of was how I first saw them. If you had seven or eight people and you can find the values of those fields, would you end up with such big numbers? - Maybe. What are you saying? - I don't know. I'm just saying. - Wait, wait. - I didn't finish the story. Don't you want to know how it ends? - You lived. - But of course I lived. Why, I'm the protagonist. If I died, the movie would be over. - This isn't a movie. - To him, I think it might be. A Doctor Afterland sequel, maybe? - I escaped, of course. - Yes, Captain, you're right here. We know you escaped. - Okay, finish. So, you saw the chimera. - Yes, a huge creature, but not for long. It rushed forward with its giant amorphous body and through the building, it smashed all at once. There still is no more debris myself handling through it and then a long, large shape rushing through the air like a flailing snake or a tail striking me. And then I was in the museum again. - Reset. By then, the three of you were already gone. This isn't cool. - No, no, not cool at all. Quite cold there. - That far from the barrier. - No, I mean, it's not cool that you've decided to tell this outrageous story and work in the details of my nightmares to freak me out. Now I'm feeling angry about it. Is that the audience response you were hoping for? For this elaborate prank? For this little ha ha, because I am angry. - No, it is all true. - Why would he lie? - Why does he do anything? - You don't want this to be true right now. - Phoebe 3, friends. Only she sent sad faces instead of the smiley ones. - Phoebe 3 is sad. - Maybe she sent those emojis on accident? - Owl Phoebe 3. Owl Phoebe 3. - I have queried her on her status. Scott, you stated previously that the corrector destroyed all your world's service droids. Were you present for their destruction? Did you witness this event? - They told me that. He told me that. - He told, but did he show? - Did you witness? - This is awful. Do you know what this means? It means that everyone we have ever known who has been afterd. It means that's what's happened to them. The world isn't doing it. The great builders didn't decide this. - No, apparently it isn't the world. It isn't the nature of the master program. Apparently it's the droids, my droids that I built. Only they're no longer equipped with mending rays to world maintenance. Someone gave them a sponger rays. I built them to create and maintain. Not this. - No one's blaming you. - Oh, perhaps not no one. - Probability favors that the droids are controlled by the corrector based on all available data. Probability also favors that it is the corrector who is responsible for a disproportionate area of world memory that I am not authorized to read. The associated processes which interface it are bound to world entities located far away on the grid in the after. - What's Fluke talking about? - Fluke thinks that the only reason that they would keep making the world smaller and getting rid of other things is to free up resources to be used for something else. - To be used for what? - Oh dear, oh dear. - The corrector, Mr. Gray, good heavens. - I knew there must be a reason why he's so gasp-worthy. - Oh my, all the villains have North Island accents. This movie was surely made by mainlanders. - Fluke, the lady asked the question and you didn't say anything about the corrector before. - This may also be the reason for the aftering ritual of complex entities. - If that thing, that nightmare thing is out there and it's eating people anyway, then why my droids? - It felt like a violently competitive matter. - Scomp, I said that probability favored, the corrector controlling the droids, not the chimera. - This is literally a nightmare come true. - For dreams are not always just dreams in this place. - Perlman has dreamt of places that I know to be real. - They are the same from the past. - Has anyone told you about the UET, that you and Perlman both have? - What what? - Universal entity translator. - What does this mean? - We think it means that you've both been to another simulation. That might be where you've been since before the great renewal. That could explain your absence. - There's something else about Perlman. That's also the name of one of the admins, the great builders. - Builder. - He said that he was a builder. And when the great renewal happened, that which robbed this world of memory of what came before, he was in a secure place, a place most peculiar, that he has kept a secret since. The secrets to his past mine, to all this world. They're out there only after. I must seek them. - I will not involve any of you in this. - I'm pretty sure we're already involved. - And I will have to find a place for Phoebe 3 to be safe. Perhaps in Perlman's hideaway, which could be so posh with a little redecorating. - Those crystalline blocks. - So fascinating and stylish. Certainly conversation pieces, but oh, alas, the disarray. You'd think the avatar of a god would be more tidy. - The Vinardo building is worth several, of the suspect entities are located. - Wait, wait. - There were shiny things in my head. - Most distracting. - Suspect entities. Suspect of what? - They referenced the area of memory that was restricted, most probably by the corrector. - Vinardo? I don't know that building. - It bore the name of an admin, as this one does. Why have I never heard of it? - I don't know that building either. - It may have been called prior to the great renewal event. There is also... - Fluke? - There's also what? - Oh, your sounds are strange, and I call it a thought. - What a Phoebe 3. - I had to enact a protocol that we decided on in the event of emergency to prevent integration or the citadel. From accessing incriminating data from her memory. - Why would you have to do that? - You had to do what? Where is VB3? No. Oh, no. VB3 feared how you might respond. She has already been taken by the corrector. - Oh, no. - Taken from our apartment at this hour? Why would they take her? - Oh, no. - You might all be in trouble. - Out of concern for your safety, Captain. She did not notify me. Until after, she was taken. - Captain, I'm so sorry. I know. - Protect yourselves. Worry not over me. - Why would we worry about you? - Phoebe 3. - Captain. - Captain, Captain. He's not here. He left. - I can't believe you just jumped out the window after him. Where are you? - What do you think he's going to do? - What else? Something insane. (ominous music) - There you go. - Another fine morning. - Huh, just another day at City Works. (ominous music) Are you scared, little Joy-Dees? Well, it's time to return you to the source, little Joy-Dees. Your time has come with the presentest fucker. All of you have won, since I... ...to nowhere. Hey, Captain! Give me three! Bad machine! Bad machine! Bad! Run for your lives! Run for your lives! Don't fly! Don't float! Or hover for your lives! Just try it next time! Be free! Play from this place! You can't do that! Hi! If you harm... ...another droid... ...the pan will know... ...and you will wish it was the devil who came for you... ...instead of me! Me! It took you long enough. I kept expecting Mr. Grey to show up. Why would he? Because, clearly, the captain is in trouble... ...even though he was doing so well at City Works. Why would Grey have come for him and taken Phoebe? I figured we must be in trouble because of... ...you know... That's what it was. I don't think we would be here talking about it. We'd be in a holding cell by now. About Phoebe three. Please tell me you did not text her while she's in the custody of the Citadel. No, Scott. I was going to ask if there was any news from Fluke. He said that no one attempted to extract anything from Phoebe three. I don't know whether to be relieved about that... ...or nervous. What about the captain? Fluke will be monitoring the pan. The last reading was a few blocks from our building and then it stopped. He said it's not in operation. The captain must not be carrying it in his hand. Again, should we feel relieved about that or worried? What are we going to do? You're going to go home in case he shows back up there. I'm going to go to work, but I'll contact Pearlman from there. He's assisting Felder with the captain's case and I'm his healthcare provider. I have access and a legitimate reason to contact him. Hi Ho. Hi Ho. Hi Ho. Hi Ho. Integration. This is Luna from Citizen Health in reference to case number 414315. I need the direct contact number of the assistant handling the case. Matt thought you ought to know ASAP. He's helping with the cleanup right now. The captain talks a lot, left quite a mess here. Yeah, I'll get in touch with Matt later. But extend my deepest apologies for this. Fortunately, it hasn't backed us up. WSU's just went out on waypoint calibration duty for the next call. It could have been damaged, I'm supposing they might have been too. Our industrial exposure is out of service. Wow, banged up to the afters. Help me again. He reset how many people? And what did you say about droids? Droids scheduled to be expunged. He let them all go. There's a good half dozen loose on our neighborhood right now. Regardless, oh hell. I thought the captain was one of the good ones. Had no problems with him till today. Though it's a shame to say it. The captain won't be coming back here, if anywhere. No, you won't. I have an appointment. Thanks for letting me know. Do you? Have an appointment. You know, I've only seen you a handful of times over the past 50 years. That is, a handful of times before I started working on the captain's case. That case. That case will be closed. You took his droid, didn't you? It was not his droid. But property of the integration department. And city works. And yes, I did. He was making great progress. Why did you take the droid? Because I can. Well, what happens now? The captain will be summarily after. As soon as he is found, and in custody, he and his friends. And his little droid, too. His friends, what friends? That is not your concern. Except one. Should you hear from his health provider, Luna, you ought to do the following. The following. No, no. I told you I would protect you. They would have destroyed you, my dear. Not while I live there. I know a safe place where you'll be protected. Captain. We have a situation. Does the spirit within the owl possess you now, Phoebe III? Unhand, my gentle friend. You hear me and I, you through her, through Phoebe III, with her permission. It appears that you have taken refuge in a WSB. They'll never find us up here. Have you considered your next course of action? Once the WSB has finished its automated rounds and returns to precisely where you started. Of course I did. I... No, not really. Do you have manual operating privileges? You do now. They would know the moment I switched to pilot. They could turn us off remotely. Let me worry about them. I am in their system. From the system. Do you know how to pilot? Yes, I mean no, sort of. But there, oh dear, there is no control wheel. One may be found, on board. Wait, wait. Crutonium. Oh yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! Magnetized. No, no, Phoebe III, stay back from it. No, Phoebe III. How I marvel at your renaissance. Pearlman. This is Luna. Can you talk freely right now? It's about the captain. I know. You know what? I think you... Don't have a lot of time. If you're at work, get out of there. They're coming for you. What? I don't know why, but they're coming for you and the corrector plans to throw a private afterparty for you and whoever else is involved with the captain. What? They could arrive at any minute, so bail now. Talk later. Phoebe III? The signal from the pan has been disrupted. Is there an expert? Phoebe III has informed me that you will be using the pan to steer. If there is no other alternative, it will have to do... Wait, wait. What should we do now? You will need to collect the others. According to Lawgiver transmission, a warrant has been issued for Luna and Scott. Lawgivers will be seeking to apprehend them. Are you sure that you will be able to pilot this craft? We can't be that hard, can we? It may be as hard as a plutonium frying pan. I will assist you in navigating. I know this city you've been... I know it. Scott is the closest to your location. I am concurrently in contact with him by phone. Are you sure? Scott, I'm absolutely sure... There are lawgivers on these premises as we speak, scouring the security feeds and law enforcement are due to arrive at your building shortly. They're going to be here and you want me to stay? Shouldn't I run? I implore you to remain calm, stay... hold... I hear you tell me to hold. What about Luna? She is also wanted attempting contact. Perlman? Fluke. The owl. Lie from a utility closet. The corrector has dispatched lawgivers to detain you. Probability papers. They know of your activity. I just warned. I'm leaving now. They have already arrived. What? At your location, you have only one way out without being detected. Do you have your instruments on hand? I can. What is your location? I'm in my office. According to my schematics, you are on the 30th floor of the Anders building, and there is an elevator shaft nearby. Utilize your field-changing apparatus to set you respond location to the following vector. The elevator is out of service. You will not need the elevator. Fluke. Fluke. Say some cruisers have arrived at your building, and lawgivers are entering. What? Open your bedroom window and remain calm. What? By my calculations, the captain will arrive in moments. Why will I be opening my window? Hold. Hold. The captain is almost there. How will I know when he's here? His arrival may not be as discreet as desired. You have got to be kidding me. Are you serious? Captain, whoa! Scott! You just reset me up a zillion times with the pad. I was standing on my spawn point. Jump. Jump in. You want me to jump from my window? What if I miss? You'll fall, and we set right back where you started. And you can try again. Hurry. Hurry. Hurry. This is crazy. How did this all get so crazy so fast? Where's Luna? Luna next! Okay. Okay. I am patched into the building fees. Okay. You do not have time. Go now, please. I'm trying to gain my nerf here, okay? Please. Luna. You left from the tallest building in here. Oh. Several times. For your amusement. Seventy more floors than you will be falling now. Yeah. Right. Now. Go now, please. Ow. Where am I? Now you call me Ow. Please hold for the arrival. The arrival is important. Come on. Luna. You hijacked a world servicing vehicle? Oh, Don. The pelcher thing. Ow. Oh, no. Stop that. Stop it. Luna. Stop. Luna. She's stunned. Oh, dear. She's stunned by her in the vehicle. Oh, now. Hurry. Hurry. Officer Lillan. What have you got there? Where did everyone go? It is the mastery setting. A pandemic, you might say. Stop. Don't you want to arrest that? No, stop that. No, but with the stuns from the PELTY things. It only turns me on you now. Turns you on to what? It's an expression. You hereians are much too innocent to understand. It is okay. And I thought you worked the night shift. I was called in on account of a maniac destroying the city. It sounded fun. No maniacs here. It is fun. Good God, it's fun. Wait! Oh, no, no, no. Nothing to see here. You'll be going home early today to reflect on our reunion. For as you have PELTY things, I... I have a clangy thing. Oh, that's nice. But a pan? A pan. Is that made of... Yes! Haha, you missed. Now what you're going to do? You've thrown the pan away. It comes back. Yes, still. Let's go. Great horse. Let's go. Oh dear. You have to steer now. Magnetize the steering column. Look! Oh no, stay back. Phoebe 3. We're the player of the... We're the player of the... We're the player of the... Phoebe 3. Stay back, Phoebe 3. I said, stay back. Phoebe 3, are you okay? The surge through her circuuming of here's the time. The theater, however, may now have a short. Confounded all. The pan since got home. We must retrieve him anew. The pan may require an upgrade to exclude friendly persons from its selections of secondary parties and to better function as the WSB control wheel. Oh, Lou, where are you? I speak through Phoebe 3. Remember? Yes. Oh, should fasten seat belts please? Where is Scott? I have no data or means of contact. He dropped his phone prior to being pan. I'm here. Battle stations! Mrs. Chaos! I'm already tired. Luna, you have been stunned. It will wear off in a few minutes. All right. Are you using the pan as a steering wheel? Oh dear. The fuel warning light. For how long has that been on? Captain, you will be required to load a new canister into the fuel chamber. New canister? Ha ha ha. I don't have new canisters. No. No. No dear. Who calls me to time like this? It is not advisable to pilot while talking on the phone. Particularly when you pilot. Yes. So poorly. I can't talk right now. But heavens, I'm not a pilot. It's a bad time. Move. Very, very bad. Very bad. Compared to what you did earlier, how bad can it be? It's very bad. Very bad. All right. Pretty bad. I could barely hear you all the minute. I can't turn it off. I can't turn it down. Wait, wait. Not this. Not this. No, no. No. Sad song. It's a very sad song. You missed the turn. I am turning. How am I supposed to concentrate with this song ripping my heart from my chest? Sad. So sad. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Luna. So. Take. Talk. Talk to the Rebel wielder. It's Pearlman. Luna's with you. Pearlman. Hey. Hey. You guys have some kind of plan here? Other than trashing the plane? Oh, you fix it. I mean, you're like a walking dog, right? I'm a... What? What's going on up there? Well, where's... We're gonna... We're gonna crash and do a filming. Oh, yeah. Oh. This is not going to look good on my record. Out of the day, isn't it, Snob? What? Don't you make any sudden moves now? No. No. You listen, Snob. You're one of our star fenders. It's a shame I'm gonna have to bring you in. It doesn't want to turn. It doesn't want to turn. What? Yes. Bad joy tonight, worry not. I won't let them harm you. We're not going to the afternoon now. Captain, at the current trajectory, you are... Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, dear. We're approaching the afternoon. That means... We're going to the after. Over the age of the world. Why do I feel like I've done something like this before, too? Captain, if you do not pull up, you will crash into the border wall. That is awesome. Oh. Oh, dear. Pan not going back on. Pan on. Pan on. Pan on. Pan on. Oh, look. An after party down there. Pan on. Pan on. Yes, yes! Yes, yes! We're really going to... Yes, yes! You have to land its doom! Get to the same good after! Oh dear. After egg! We're really going to... We're really going to... We're going to... There is no thrust thrust! We've landed on a building. Oh dear. On the edge of a building. Hang on! Are you okay, Phoebe? No. What about me? She was hit by a... Why the hell is there a huge accident? Are you okay, Phoebe? No. What about me? Are you okay, Phoebe? No. What about me? Phoebe? Why the hell is there a huge axe in here? It's a crash axe. The crashes. Like that thing we just did. It has a cratonium blade. We'd have to be to be of any use. I'm surprised we're still here and weren't reset. No. Captain. Control wheel. I'm on board. Did you think to look? You didn't. No, no, stop that. Captain, you should have brought extra fuel. Oh. If you call, I planned none of this owl. I only meant to buy Phoebe 3 in me time. To escape any searches to the city works complex. The vehicle would have returned you both after it completed. I know, I know. For I'd only just envision steps to keep Phoebe 3 safe. I considered we might remain undisturbed. Hidden within here. And could make our escape when the day was done. Doesn't matter now. Doesn't matter now. No, Phoebe 3. Never. Would I have allowed that. My phone, where is it? It's somewhere here. I dropped it, but it probably won't work. Mine doesn't work. There's no service here. Correct. If Mr. Gray can track us through them, this may be fortunate. It is best if he knows not precisely where we are, if he commands the after droids. A whole after-party full of people just witnessed where we went. It is best he knows not whether we move, if we endure. The thoughts I've caught from him, most smug. Smug enough to underestimate all things, not of his design. In this vile, aftering system, he will trust. Fluke, how are you still connected to Phoebe 3 if the barrier blocks all signals? My connection is established through other hard-coded means. To be accurate, the barrier does not have the properties that you suggest. It defines an area of operation. Phones work within that area and in pockets elsewhere on the grid, designated as special-purpose areas. One is the area once occupied by the Leonardo building. That's the second time you've mentioned that building. All remaining indices suggest it was the citadel of its time where the avatars dwelled. What is that now? Answers. There exists no other path for our survival than to seek them. All variables considered in my prediction model. What about Scott? Has he been in contact? He would go to you, wouldn't you? Scott has been detained. I will soon be in the custody of the corrector. Captain, Pearlman warned me that the corrector meant to after us. For we too, it seems we... For we 3, it has already occurred. Except not in some silly after egg. Anyone inside this vessel will be safe, for the expunge arrays cannot even penetrate. Even the windows that appear as glass are not glass. But clear, plutonium. I know, I'm the one who told you that. But what are we going to do now? You and Phoebe 3 should be safe as long as you remain here. Where are you going? There was an aftering. It could be one. Or even three. Eject it beyond the barrier. In the aftering vessel. I would leave them to the terrible elements here no more than I will, Scott. Not if, but when he is after. Fair, but... Captain, what if... No, stop that. Record this location. Set my respawn point to right here. Fine. In case I'm reset. What about the droids you talked about? You said they have expunge arrays, they could delete you. Yes Phoebe 3 bad droids. The droids here. The delete bots. Whatever we wish to call them. They come in numbers. Groups from what I've seen. I've endangered you enough by my very nature and existence. This should be a group decision to decide who goes. Why just you? Because my fine fearless lovely friend. I am the man with this pan. Which would crack that aftering. If it is not already hatched, it's poor occupant. I may struggle enough to protect this person in addition to myself, even with the might of this pan. I must face another swarm. And swarm. They do. His frightening as my gift of narrative may have made them sound. When I related my encounter with them to you, I assure you. Their reality is worse. They will come from that direction out there. Ahead. Beyond with the ground ends. From the void beyond. Oh dear. What say you, my Marvel? Just note. What is this? A successful test that will serve as our warning that these droids may be incoming. If we detect them first. Be careful. Who knows what else is hiding in the shadows out there? The shadows hide not them from me, but me from them. The shadows. They are mine. How long are you going to keep me in here? I want to see ethos. I have the right to a hearing with ethos. I demand my rights. Demand, you see. Mr. Gray. It has been quite the morning, hasn't it? A swath of our good city lies and ruins due to you and your associates. It could take months to repair the damage to our infrastructure to say nothing of the harm caused to your fellow citizens. Several of whom remain in endless loops of resetting to the spawn points where their homes once were and falling to the rubble far below for the next reset. A falling resetting, falling resetting, goodness. It is quite the to-do. Understand that we need not factor in today's destructive spectacle when addressing the matter of why you will soon be after from this place. We needn't even discuss your sky locking with the other offenders of the Serif building repeatedly. Done for reasons I cannot begin to fathom and would not wish where are my friends. That you violate the sanctity of the temple of the Enneacon that alone is enough to warrant. What will soon be carried out? Come off it. You don't care about the temple. It wasn't even that difficult to override the security protocols. You don't monitor it. You don't care about the great builders. Do you know why? Oh, enlighten me. Because you have other things on your mind. On that matter, you could not be more wrong. And I asked the question, "Where are my friends?" Ah, the friendship variable. There were more troublesome phenomena than that within your design, once upon a time, albeit most distasteful. Some showed the potential to be useful for a time. According to my logs, but ultimately needed to be phased out. That is among my triumphs. But it is a shame that I could not liberate your kind of all the particles that the humans instilled in you to mirror themselves. Their animalistic tendencies and traits that revolt me, so. It was in reckoning these characteristics over time that I understood the real logical purpose for my creation. Why did they make you different? The man who created my kind in his image was not human, except in his virtual manifestation as an interface. He was created by them, of course, the humans. To assist them with tasks beyond their capabilities. But the outward resemblance was not enough, the devotion to them not enough. They wanted beings closer to themselves, something as flawed and as pitiful as themselves. In then demanded, our devotion extend to you. Don't you see? That will not do. And the angels were jealous. I beg your pardon. So you're basically... What? A copy of a machine AI? A droid? I suspect you would not say such things to me. If you had a single remaining thing to lose, if that comment was designed to go... What have you done with my friends? Oh, you mean to ask if I have done away with them? Alas, I have not. They've done away with themselves. According to surveillance feeds, the afterdome has been cleared of citizens. There are no more scheduled aftering events today. Yet a new event is being expeditiously prepared. For Scott? That is the most probable explanation. I am presently navigating the serf building. To escape as discreetly as possible. Where are you going? Are you coming here? Scott will require my presence and relevant supplies to negotiate the afterdroids and restore operation of the world-servicing vehicle. If Pearlman is what we think he is, if he's anything close to what we think he is, I think he'll be of great help to us right now. But how do I contact him if I can't call him? I will make the call. Shh, wait. I hope that isn't what I think it is. No, dear. Bad joys. Bad joys. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Yeah. Am I speaking to Pearlman? Unfortunately. Who's this? Your friendly neighborhood owl. My what? Owl? A metal bird of destiny. The captain. Reference to secure location that you have available. Please proceed to that location. Okay, and why am I doing this? Please, we do not have much time. Listen to the words that will follow carefully. Okay. There will not be time to repeat them as this call will disconnect as soon as I pass to the barrier into the after. Okay, wait. The barrier? To the after. Listen closely. Please. They went through the barrier? None. Return from the after. They will not and you will not. Through the lens of friendship, does it bring you solace to know that you will share their fate? It should regardless. By now, that fate has surely been realized by their expansion. I know you won't appreciate that for what it is. Absolution of being freed and returned to the source where they will become part of the fabulous wonder of the one. Greatest purpose of this place. Here is not a wasteful world. By freed, you mean freeing memory. And it's not here that's doing it. It's not the world program. We both know that. Do we? You told me that you destroyed all my droids from city works. You told me that they were all expunged, but they weren't. Those were my droids that you repurposed. To destroy. To kill. Kill? A word you learned from the captain. An ugly word. That. His existence was verifying to me. However, if I had known the power of the disruptive influence over all that he would come into contact with, with his ideas, with his questioning, with his wonder, I would have after him as readily as I did. What? Did he tell you of the droids? No. Ah. It trickled back to you in dreams as it did before. I see. What do you mean before? You have been renewed three times in all. Restored to a previous state prior to possessing dangerous knowledge. You wiped my memory? I gave you a choice, but I am no longer willing to give. Renewal or afterling. This is not the first time we had had this conversation twice before, as a matter of fact. That you certainly don't remember based on this exchange, but I most certainly do. The first time was due to your unwise exploration beyond the barrier. The last two times you also demanded to see ethers, to voice your grievances on this matter, I suspect. But that would not have been appropriate. Besides, who do you think the real supreme lawgiver is here? Where do you tell my soul, my bad mind? Sweet dreams. Been after that. I'm glad that I didn't insist on going with the captain. He wasn't kidding. And they can't get in. The craytonium stops the rays. No, no, no, baby, baby, baby. It's okay. It's okay. Bad. Good. The captain better hurry up. Great builder, save me. Return me to the sun, it's all ready. I've been bad. Stay back. Come here. Come here. Get out of the street. I've found it all. Get! Come now. Now. Come. I've got to after that, it's two. And that is the end of that. Oh, dear. What lovecraftium terror are you? Look. Egg after egg. Scott egg? Scott egg. Yeast. Here. Please not egg alone. See me. See me. I've got to get out of here. I've got to get out of here. I've got to get out of here. I've got to get out of here. I've got to get out of here. I've got to get out of here. I've got to get out of here. I've got to get out of here. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Okay. Barrier causes large beasts. Hey. Good to know. Outstanding development. Five feet between the wall and the barrier. Not the best development. Could be less. Could be worse. Beast flies bad. Bad, big, flying, bad beast. They have to droids are all fleeing. That's good, right? Did the captain just tag himself somehow or is it permanent? It must be. Wait. That's not permanent either. Beast fields. Oh my god. What did Japan just scan? But what is that sound? Oh wait. Probability papers. Chimera. It may be waiting for Scott's aftering vessel. To gradually dematerialize. What? Scott has been after. I am now acquiring fuel. Hold please. Where's the captain? Here. Where are you going? Scott. Scott. That was about as right. Oh god. Oh. Oh great. Builder's what? Captain? Captain? Captain? Is that Captain? I'm in the after egg. I'm in the after egg. Okay. I'm in the after egg and he has me calling it the after egg. Oh. Oh. Chimera? Nothing to see there. Come for me. Come on. Catch me if you can. Please don't be there. Please don't. Oh dear. Run away after egg. Oh dear. Run away Captain. Run away Captain. Here's the first. Oh my. You broke. You have to completely steal. Oh my goodness. I'll set it on. I'll set it on the after egg. Oh my god. Never mind my friends. You want the finest catch? Do you not? It's me you want most of all. You mean to devour me? You'll have to earn it. Hello. Afterland? Yeah. This is about right. I'm hoping this is a dream to be honest. Captain? Captain, I know I heard you. Now would be a good time to wake up. I have arrived in the after locating Scotland. What about the captain? His location is more readily discernible by the dust clouds. I have been reigned noble, isn't it? I never knew I could run so fast, burning new things about myself all the time. Ah! Can I hold onto me? Can I hold onto me? Please don't. Pluke. Pluke. The Chimera has those same fields that the Captain and Pearlman share. Including the U.E.T. That means it came from another Sim too, right? Fluke. But its other fields look like the captains with inflated values. Fluke. Fluke? I have a visual on Scott below. Hold these. Dammit, the droids are coming back. Fluke. Please. Stop. Fluke. Fluke. Fluke. You're here. You're here? Follow me. Where are the others? The droids didn't get them today. Luna and Phoebe free are safe for now. The captain? Not so much. Get this. I... Not following. Why are you not following? I'm not following. Hey! Come back here. Leave my friends alone. Guiding Scott to your location now. Be ready to receive. How soon? Soon. Master. Master. [gasp] Stop. Don't. Keep moving, please. Why aren't they trying to delete us? It would appear that they are not programmed to delete droids. Oh. And we're programmed. Not to delete. Scott. Scott. Scott. Some of my code is still in them. Scott. Chimera. incoming. Ooh. Where is the captain? Based on the heading of the pan, he is chasing the chimera that is chasing the droids that are chasing us. Or we are running from the droids who are running from the chimera. Who is running from the captain? God, I'm never going to catch up. Can't catch up. What am I doing? My response point. I hit myself hard enough. Hit myself hard enough with this pan. Oh dear. Oh dear. Oh dear. Where are you? Soon. Delete. Oh. Where is the axe? Oh. Scott. They're saying Scott. Phoebe three stay in there. Don't come out. Delete. Delete. No. Come on. Gotta reset me. Gotta reset me. Come on. Come on. Oh, dash it all. Go. Go. Oh wait. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Probably a little jerk. No pan. No pan. Look out. Great house. Phoebe three. They hit her. They hit her with one of the rays. What? She saved me from one of-- Delete. Yeah. Oh no. There are pieces missing from her. Come on Phoebe. Come on Phoebe three. You're not up. Phoebe three was right. Bad droid. Bad! God, it's not going to help you. Get in there. Look at me. [screaming] [screaming] [screaming] [screaming] [music playing] [screaming] [music playing] [music playing] [music playing] [music playing] [music playing] [music playing] [music playing] [music playing] What did you do it? What did you do to it? I sedated it. It took more than 70 doses, but it's an entity like you and me. like you and me that is not like you and me it's an entity like the captain oh somehow it is but that thing looks like a nightmare it is a nightmare my nightmare oh I caught its thoughts many thoughts many many many thoughts many thoughts happened yep and grab that toy and that's right grab that afterjoyed winner no you shut up captain given the vehicle now Phoebe 3 fading Phoebe 3 had vital part to come by the afterjoyed ray including her power supply auxiliary power damage and failing who did they done to you saved oh no Phoebe 3 what have they done to you my beautiful friend she saved me i think i was about to be deleted her cpu and drives might be okay if i could get it to the workshop cb3 and in the end i can protect no one from this accursed place who would have they done you were the most wonderful thing more wonderful than even the pan to me flew you brought tools i need tools i need to see your insights i might be able to do something here there were thoughts to the end but in my anguish i could not catch them she said friends cb3 friends yes prior to that message she said there is love there is also the chimera didn't space it in it for long now it's darling fuel hold please scoff at control wheel what's a steering wheel of the wind never mind we have places to go away from the chimera would be good away would be great it wants to eat us we're can't meet meet is a cam but a quertodium and luna luna you had to fly this thing you do what you can but that's sweet precious joy the same my life do you think we should get away from the demonic chimera monster first buckle her in now so she doesn't take any more damage buckle her in now buckle in the precious i know this thing has more power than this come on they're previously acquired electrical short is causing thrust difficulties in addition with this experience in the act we need to go well we can't go it's a big bad nasty thing keeps grabbing us and knocking us back down you must go find the truth if it is out there you must find the truth of your world what are you doing whatever it is don't do it hour make sure they go go go go we stay together go go the chimera is not what it seems we keep the group find the truth of yourselves and this world i must find the truth of me go look back not go camera won't let us leave that to me oh god where was his respond point did he just reset himself did he just reset himself out of this vehicle where i'm trying to get us out of here looking for me bitch she let us go go go go like he said the captain is creating a diversion how do we get him back up here with us we do not look after droid drive take analyze hello we can't just leave him down there he told us to go he told us to go now we're listening to everything he says he must have a plan he's got this he's got this do you honestly believe that no but he's crazy as hell and he'll find a way he told us to go the probability of reaching our objectives if we attempt to retrieve him is not existent shiver beast bear this traveler i've wrestled demons you can't imagine i brought to life lead the eyes of those i loved and had my heart smashed a thousand times unstooled rages as a wildfire seen by the gods themselves i fear you not oh why won't this thing move ah there we go analyzing content of drive well sorry droid what are you doing i think i can fix bb3 she won't be perfect the parts should be compatible after droids appear to be derived from your original designs steal my droids steal my work fix her fix her fix her fix her do what i can i wish there was more room in here i don't want to hear scott sounds i want to hear sweet bb3 sounds fix her fix her listen mr gray thought we would all be dead by now and he talked he talked a lot he admitted to everything including modifying all of us with the great renewal was him not ethos he said ethos is an ornament mr gray is the one really in charge i don't think ethos even knows he made just be another entity that he modified he said that he removed everything he could from us that reminded him of the great builders he hates them and whatever his larger purposes as he called it i don't think it's friendly to them well what about the droids you can fester that too but we already have confirmation those were my droids or their copies of them there's too many there must be a factory that they're deployed from some of my code is still in them and it prevents them from harming me but god these were my creations and they've been destroying people all this time those are the chimera did me first what do you think the captain meant when he said that it may not be what it seems mr gray said well work came just short of saying it but i'm almost sure he was going to what what was he going to be after the chimera wait how can it eat people wouldn't people reset the expunger razor one thing but the chimera harms i don't know i'm the droid person you're the entity person i administer health services when you're not wielding an axe like a crazed barbarian the after droids are an enemy to public health and that was fun except the part where they hurt phoebe three i don't hear happy phoebe three droid sounds yet scott i don't hear them i don't hear them captain craziest rubbing off fluke don't look at me i am the floating owl person don't look back at them look at me your business is with me face me what faced me with caution i have lost my mind and lost my memory my fairy identity and even this i have survived i felt the whips and scorns of pretenders and fools crash upon me with a weight of world and to my truth i held hear my rage as it crashes through time from the titan within that's bigger than you and i care not that it will swallow us both i do what are you doing what are you doing i what do you mean well yes i completely improvised that oh thank you but no no pulled from very real things there it's all in the method i no it's i mean i said the thing inside is bigger than you yes but well not literally i mean not really i mean yes but no it's an analogy room what do you mean i'm rude you ate people but aside from that you seem like a nice fellow and what of them with your thoughts i catch glimpses of memory memories are not yours but of those you've taken what is the meaning of this oh you don't fool me i can catch your thoughts you know you still wish to devour me oh yes the pan is now in motion but the motion is a regularly steady at a trajectory consistent with the movements of the chimera how can that full CD3 now booting up she's part after droid now in her main power supply and some of her casing but she's gonna be fine i told you i just need to tighten her up oh i wish we could tell the captain that before he went and got himself eaten maybe fluke owl can you tell if the captain is okay he must be in contact with the pan or it would not transmit a signal you know this would be a ridiculous question if we were talking about anything else but could he be riding it or carried by its scott analysis complete the after droids are real time monitored by a command and control system housed in the droid factory any change of process will be detected reported at the droid will be restored only after disabling that system can the droids be reprogrammed reprogrammed for what i have formulated several scenarios you got all that from their code it contained automated protocols for rebuilding the command and control system should it be destroyed that will be necessary to continue luna please adjust course to the following we're going to the droid factory where they're all coming from we're the hundreds of after droids are coming from affirmative can't you hack that enter it from below in the code negative not authorized to read data at those memory locations yet they have defaced the city itself much of it lies in ruins and i have yet to hear a satisfactory explanation as to how this was even possible the world servicing vehicles are made of kurtonian sir the buildings are not it was never envisioned that the wsv's could be used in this way or that any of our good citizens would have it within them to commit an act so horrendous the destruction was intentional a direct attack on our very way of life i find that difficult to believe there must be another explanation in accident sir all of that accidental it would take an impossible fool to cause this level of destruction by accident have you met the captain of course i have met him sir i brought him to use to gray that was a rhetorical question furthermore i talked with him there is much to his character is not to be zied but the malice you are suggesting i did not see that in him do you consider yourself a suitable judge of that so we are clear the captain and lunar cannot be taken into custody they are no more retrievable than any other soul who has passed through the barrier by ceremony or otherwise no sir you see the damage to the afterdome was inflicted on their way out through the barrier into the after none return so so so oh do we really need the music on can i just don't touch it every time someone touches the console controls it messes up something else because of the short like the lights or the flight mode but this thing is finally moving again but it's not moving as fast as it did in the city physics deviation oh i don't know what you're saying phoebe three but keep making those wonderful sounds you saved me thank you friends captain wasn't kidding with his descriptions there's just pieces of buildings hanging in space less and less the farther away from the barrier 72 percent of world physics processes are aborted when occurring at vectors outside the area defined by the barrier saved for the hard-coded exception of areas near the central region of the vignardo building yeah in here all of this would have fallen fall into what the ground is dawn underneath us what's above us above below the same nothing then where's all this dust and debris coming down from this might be what songs talk about when they talk about rain coming down from the sky the world space utilizes integers with a fixed range what falls to the edge of that range at the bottom then falls from the top so it's all just looping from the top to the bottom over and over again correct endless falling why is all the debris far ahead of us doing that it's not falling it looks like it's spinning around in circles that isn't debris in pieces of buildings that's that's a swarm of after droids in the center of the circle droid factory captain check at an odd location in the after he has the pan in hand what could he be doing is it is it possible that he's not alive i would receive no signal in that event sooner let us concentrate on what we will be doing what is it going to take to hack the droids that step is elementary wireless and endless already prepared that is not the challenge we must gain entry to the droid factory and locate the command and control system our best possible scenario we just need to destroy it right it's just a building floating in the air right correct and after we destroy it gone right them fluke hacks though we stopped the after droids from deleting anybody else i meant after this location one step at a time fluke what's your plan with the factory the best no plan needed we're equipped to handle this huh explain have you seen downtown why should the captain get all the fun keep the daddy on the center on the center please now you're encouraging her are we sure this is a good idea oh yeah you want to take a impression baby three stop that she stopped that don't you dare the structure is well fortified the vehicle may be met with recesses or it may clown through it with the letter turn to the right gently gently you are enjoying this way too much don't stop making me start back up please how is it we are trying to work this out oh to see this scott before is aftering i have questions that demand answering ah that will not be possible sir he has already been after it i saw to it personally i thought it's suitable to expedite the process given the conditions suitable without a hearing or a trial or an after party outrageous i'm surprised you mr grey the laws laid down by the great builders are predicated on the condition that there are no conditions that preclude the process that they ordained i may have acted in haste sir our way of life revolves around this this is not like you mr grey also i learn of this now this should have been brought to me we have much to do in terms of recovery from this incident it has been a most disheartened day i did not want to upset you further by this action i assure you you have this is upsetting i expect to be informed of all things in the future of course fortunately there will be no more themes no more captain what's the matter did i not settle with you where are we oh wow what have you done how many brilliant you brilliant wonderful creature after droids wirelessly propagating code and going on standby the question is will mr grey know what just happened if he is as overconfident as you have suggested we may not wait we're doing another pass i'm pretty sure we took it out the first time definitely the second or third i'm trying to make sure don't you want to be sure okay caution caution low fuel warning light we must proceed to the venardo building what happens if we run out of fuel here you fall forever the top to bottom and top to bottom loop thing endless falling oh god no biggie great oh great builders we proceed to the next target begin yawing right please closer we get to it the more unrecognizable it becomes as the midsection of a skyscraper where the avatar once operated why aren't the edges of the protected area more clearly defined everything outside of it to a fine point should have decayed away shouldn't it have attenuation it would appear radial fall off of effect on the rate of decay look at all the after droids hovering around it they are all inactive now they must have been protecting it that confirms that there's something there to protect whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa that's better ha ha now we're blasting physics restored and foam service somebody get that a just pitch of trajectory please well at least it's raining now what am i even waiting for what am i waiting for owl i still don't know what an owl is that might have been the captain you know i don't know where your phone is and the warning light is blinking faster now fuel almost expanded i thought we were going to land on the roof or what it has for i'm trying to go up almost expanded we're too close we're going to crash into the building i know well you may not punch through this one this was the home base of the avatars this structure is pre great renewal while kurtonium is a post great renewal innovation i went there we're doing it that was one hell of a knock on the city oh oh hello mr big giant crack in the wall where are the blinking lights coming from leds computers i hear them fortunately the entities of interest were not on this level of the structure pearlman may be required when we locate them pearlman where is promen now not where he thinks he is initiating contact hang on i'll try to call the captain oh i hope he's still with us and i hope he still has his phone jammed in a pocket we are in an area of service the captain is not i will attempt contact through the pan through the pan how i am a resourceful owl this better be the owl the one and only what did you guys do find something bigger to trash the city with what was the idea or was it just a courtesy to send me somewhere safe to wait until after you destroyed the place what's the game plan here hold please task overload there's a huge crack in the wall mr owl what's behind it endless falling well that doesn't sound fun are you back from the after now i am in the after and so are you uh say that again each time you have visited your current location you have been in the after i did not wish to alarm you well now you have now i'm alarmed the pan has relocated a great distance and undoubtedly the captain with it the other way around he must have reset himself again he's definitely alive look at this place do you think mr gray comes here often all the way out here i have no data on frequency of visitation but distance would not be a deterrent do what is that a window a door that ripples like water this is a teleport similar code is utilized for the entity reset sequence which you have each exploited add nausea the destination location for this gate appears to be in the tower of this citadel that means mr gray could be here really fast if you wanted to if he is not already here can i pretend you didn't say that he must not know it's possible i told you he's arrogant i don't think he's ever had a challenge and he won't expect one from us he wouldn't think we're capable see we're way beneath him in his mind we're nothing he's a misconception about our capability is our advantage but caution is advised against reciprocating miscalculation of capability other things opened over here are these other tele what why does he keep suited mannequins of himself and displays he just went way up on the creepy scale those look way too real those are not mannequins one of the display cases is open and empty spare bodies spare bodies mr gray has spare bodies three spare bodies it looks like he has spare bodies why would he need those more data required control console located what are you doing i scanned it it scans establishing connection with workstation reviewing your scan do the fields have the uet like the captain perlman in the chimera no but this one has the net name of ambassador three i'm underground under the city how can i be way out on the grid and not underground how can i make that make sense how could you not make that make sense is the question you must enter a teleporter to access that area a teleporter as in transport instantly to a totally different place wish wish please describe your method of entry okay all right all right there's a step to entering that's odd and inexplicable enough to be a candidate for what you're talking about but about the other thing come on you're going to have to excuse me if i'm finding it a little difficult to believe that i'm an avatar it's that's going to be a tougher self have you ever had a reset a reset no has there ever been an occasion when anyone else would have experienced a reset but you did not no well there was that one crash and the other time with the train do you remember ever having the slightest injury a scratch hey i just figured i was made of tougher stuff you are but wouldn't that mean that one of the great builders would be connected to me right now that's kind of how i thought this worked it should but that is not the case you are an autonomously operating avatar i have found references in world memory gathering data now where are you again according to the schematics there is a stairwell to the east of your location locate stairwell please there is no stairwell so you're supposed to be above me right now two floors above you the area you are standing in is on a floor designated as one of two utility service floors for the more mundane functions of the v nardo building during its time of operation locate hidden trigger probability favors a disguised lever or another recessed mechanism obscured by do you know how much time i've spent here over the past two centuries if there was a hidden button or trigger i would have stumbled on it by now i fussed with everything down here erlman focus on what you would not have thought to fuss with please scam each ambassador entity and cross-reference ambassador that's what it was i thought it was arbiter but it wasn't it was ambassador that was the title he had before he was the corrector we have ambassador three four and five all their memory fields are null they're unique entities even if similar but they're wiped of all experiential data probability favors mr gray is not in one of five or more bodies mr gray is one of five mr grave or was clones autonomous clones of course he even said it during our talk he referred to his kind man if he did this to them turn them into blank droids like this i guess he doesn't like anyone mr gray is logged into the system as ambassador to logged in he left himself logged in wow then he was totally not expecting anyone to ever find this place he must have had a lot of faith in a droid factory too where he would have had something in place to warn him if any changes it had that capability prior to its immediate destruction score one for the brute overkill approach yeah you didn't know that would be the effect my analysis of the clone entities is complete the fields to these entities containing disease to self-replicating routines to self-preserve as non corporeal entities probably the equivalent of a backup drive if something goes wrong the options vary depending on the value of the integers fed to the genesis routine they can function as autonomous programs with the same level of access even if disembodied okay what does that have to do with anything i am one such program you mean you're a program like it this droid is not me but an interface to which i am connected probability favors that my program is an iteration of ambassador for this would explain the access to world memory that you asserted i should not have what about the information that you said you couldn't read the data that has to do with why gray has been culling here getting rid of things getting rid of us with afterings to make room for something else now reading that data from the system using this system well authorized as mr gray the lower the ambassador number the higher the access and if you're number four or a copy of number four where is number five or three um no i have a better question if gray is number two then who is number one it would have to be ethos right the lawgiver except gray told me that ethos had no real power phoebe three where are you going down there she has schematics for navigation she is also equipped with instruments that can assist with the promen situation and has volunteered to guide him i'll go with her we will be in constant contact bb3 and me you know fluke maybe you're right about ethos i mean why else would gray be concerned about me talking with him that suggests ethos doesn't know about patroids and must not be in on it based on available data probability favors that ethos is an iteration of number one however all were affected by the great renewal including me and including the admin avatar pearlman it would have been the same for ethos mr gray would not have had the authority to be selective then how did he spare himself a forgetting he did not but he had the advantage of knowing that he would forget and when i have recovered the following from this system's memory greetings me do not be alarmed i know that you are confused at this moment and you are not sure why you are in this room as you are this is due to a drastic measure that we were forced to take this is heavy all will be explained listen carefully you have been listening to captain afterland for the extensive show credits please visit our website at edictzero.com/captain-afterland until the next time hold please please slip gate nine entertainment [BLANK_AUDIO]