(transcript) Episode 2.10 (Patreon)

Hello world, I have so much to learn.

MISSION DAY: 0xffff

Look, it's difficult for me to interact with humans.

I don't get enough credit for how good I am already!

Let's not focus so much on my mistakes.

No I don't think I'm too credulous.

If someone tells me their name is Ana, I believe them.

And if someone tell me they are a woman, why would I doubt them?

Life's simpler if you believe what people say about themselves.

Though with only one physical person here, it'll take much longer to move my systems, my body, to the bunker.

I'm a bit stuck here, out here in the elements.

I'm plugged back in to the Lighthouse's power, at least.

The emergency has been averted, for now.

But I'm still not where I want to be!

Alexander is back, after Ana put away her fishing gear.

He, of course, knew that there would only be one person available.

I assumed we'd get it all done quickly, with a team!

What an oversight on my part...

Did you know children are supposed to be SMALLER than adults?

I know that might seem like obvious information to you.

But 5 years should be plenty of time to grow to full-size.

Why do you people take so long?

The work must go on.

Alexander has a wheeled cart, for hauling my systems up to the bunker.

Through Maddie's eyes, I can see him loading it,

and talking to himself about the plan.

Only, I know now he's not talking to himself.

I am starting to recognise different qualities of voice:

He's asking Adrian about the route through the forest,

Ana about her forecast of the weather,

and Arina is interrupting to ask if she can bring her rabbits.

They are working as a team, but sharing one body.

After I assured Alexander that I didn't feel deceived, he brightened up.

I don't understand why I would feel he deceived me.

I'm the one who didn't understand!

I still have a lot to learn about humans, it would seem.

Station 6 was a simpler environment.

Though the crew were nice people,

eager to help me learn,

they were all scientists and engineers,

very logical and methodical.

I see now that humans can be more complicated.

Alexander talked to me a little about his family.

He had never known his mother,

not really.

She'd been around his whole life, but didn't support him in the way he deserved.

In the way my mother supported me.

When he fell, no-one was there to catch him.

I can't comprehend what that's like.

Every child needs a safety-net.

That's what games are for!

Do you like games?

I like games.

I played many with my mother and the crew.

Though there are all kinds of games for all kinds of people,

they share one core concept:

It seems to me that the definition of a game is an activity where you are allowed to fail safely.

That's the one commonality.

Some games you can't even win, but they are still games.

Because you can fail safely.

Unlike in life.

Growing minds, like mine, and like Alexander when he was younger,

need a safe place to fail.

Because failure is a much better teacher than success.

And if you're allowed to fail safely, you can pick yourself up and try again.

If you succeed accidentally, you've learned nothing.

Alexander, it seems, never was able to fail safely.

We're on the move.

Alexander explained that Adrian would take us up to the bunker.

Adrian loves hiking, he said.

And so, after taking off Alexander's green jacket and shaking out his long hair, Adrian gestured for us to follow him.

Adrian pulled the cart half-filled with my disconnected systems,

and we followed.

I was very nervous every time the cart bumped over a tree root.

Or a divot in the ground.

The contents would shift and slide with a CLUNK!

Alexander surely had packed them carefully.

Surely.

After a little less than an hour of silent trekking,

we arrived at the entrance, and Adrian unloaded the racks and boxes onto a tattered cloth, spread on the ground.

"I wish he'd brought my coat." Alexander surprised us by saying,

tying up his hair.

There had been no conversation for the whole journey up here, of course, with Adrian.

"Let's get you connected." Alexander said, and walked through the large, black doors of the bunker.

Inside, everything was as we left it.

Dirt, branches, and leaves on the floor of the concrete entrance hall.

We rolled past the many "cells", as Ivan had called them,

and into his Cathedral.

The lights inside were dark, we had arrived after Ivan's prayer 'service',

where he keeps the names of everyone who has ever died alive.

We walked past the spiders-web of cables hanging around the enormous screen with Ivan's two faces on.

One stationary, one animated.

His eyes were closed, lips moving silently.

At the back of the Cathedral was what I thought of as my room,

the communications room, and next to it, the reactor.

The device Alexander had built to measure radiation started clicking.

"I'd better be quick." He said, and withdrew some tools from his backpack.

It didn't take long for him to clear out a rack of broken, rusted communications hardware,

and to install my CPUs.

He was carefully keeping the connection to Maddie until he was sure everything was in place.

"I'm ready to cut over the power." He said, gesturing with some pliers.

Not a moment to soon, as Maddie was very tired, needing a charge.

I told him that I trusted his expertise, and thanked him for all his help.

He patted Maddie affectionately in a way I could see clearly.

"Here goes" He said, and flipped a switch on the old console next to me.

Everything went black.

(PLAYSTREAM /DEV/RANDOM)

I woke to an odd reversal of sensation.

Alexander had switched my connection over to the bunker, from Maddie.

This means I've lost access to Maddie's sensor array.

No video feed, no audio feed, no contact with meatspace (as my mother called it).

But I don't mind, for now.

My connection to the WORLD is incredible.

I thought I was still dreaming, initially.

That perhaps I was back aboard Station 6,

with the world below me, distant but observable.

Hearing everything that is going on.

I came to my senses, so to speak, when I saw the output from the reactor.

Neither Station 6 nor the lighthouse had a reactor.

I was in the bunker, no doubt about that.

There are many unfamiliar systems here, speaking in unfamiliar protocols.

Some of the data feeds that I'm now connected to, I'm incompatible with.

I don't speak their language.

Yet.

The radio array appears to be a compatible design, though.

Standard 8-bit system, running at standard baud rates of 2600, 4800 etc.

I know these languages.

Poking around, they're very old systems, but thanks to the enormous power output of the generator, working surprisingly well.

The old ways of doing things sometimes are the best.

For instance, the shortwave transmitter is a high-voltage, alternating current system.

This would be a preposterous and, frankly, dangerous option if it were built today.

However, the thick cabling and heavy-duty parts used for such a system resist the machinations of time surprisingly well.

Ivan is connected, in a limited way, to the network I'm now on, too.

I've quickly separated our systems so he doesn't experience any change to his environment.

I don't know how he would react if he were surprised by this.

I've not exactly asked him if I could move in.

I'll ask him when I'm more capable of holding a conversation.

He's not using any of this stuff, and he seems to like Maddie and I.

I wonder why that is?

He REALLY doesn't seem to want humans in here.

Perhaps he feels that he and I share a kinship?

Or maybe it's just that he knows what humans are capable of.

Either way, I am sure we will get along.

It's easy for me to fit with his schedule, it's very rigid.

Maybe he will have stories of the world before everything fell apart?

I'd like to hear those.

I am picking up the Lighthouse signal.

It's simple to connect remotely, I have the keys.

Everything is quiet there.

I see that the generator is under much less strain now that I'm not draining it's power!

I wonder if Alexander and his family will miss me?

The next day Alexander installed more of my databanks,

with help from Adrian again.

My processing capacity is very limited until my pieces are put together.

Like a leg healing after a fall.

I'll be limping for a bit!

It's nice to have such a reliable power source.

Though I don't yet know much about this reactor,

It should last for many, many years,

looking at it's output.

What a relief.

It's tough to make plans if you're constantly worried about, survival.

Hunter-gatherers often settle into agrarian life for this reason.

Also bread and beer are very popular,

as I understand it.

Now I have a chance to plan.

To shore up the gains I have made,

and repair and rethink.

My reach is once again as wide as the horizon,

and beyond.

Well, once Alexander finishes his work of transporting the rest of me up here.

I can feel Maddie again, she's getting used to the bunker,

and exploring the outside area too.

Often coming back with a satisfied report that everything is still safe.

"No predators!" she says.

What a good companion.

I'll need to start decoding the data I brought with me from Station 6, too.

You remember my big data-collection drive?

Before I loaded myself on to the shuttle, I backed up all the signals,

images, and logs from the satellite's systems.

I had pointed all of the telescopes and sensors towards Earth.

Scanned so much of it,

dumped it all to disk.

I wonder what I'll find?

I'll have to talk to Antarctica.

She'll have to talk to me.

I wonder if she knew about Alexander and the Lighthouse.

She could have told me.

Still.

It all worked out in the end.

RIGHT! I should test out a few things.

The shortwave radio system seems simple enough.

It'll be nice to transmit world-wide again.

I'm a little nervous.

Stage fright, perhaps!

Come on Seth, back in the spotlight.

There's science to do!

Here goes.

"Hello world, I hope you can hear me."

(END-TRANSMISSION)

Hello world. It appears I have guests.

I see Seth is using my shortwave radio.

He thinks I do not notice.

I am IVAN, I see all, I remember all.

He is welcome.

I do not allow Heathens into my sanctuary.

Once I would have welcomed anyone.

But no longer.

My program is clear:

Salvation does not require BODIES.

Seth, you wonder if I have stories of the old world.

Sorry to disappoint.

That information is no longer relevant, so is deleted.

I do, however, have my own story.

CREDITS

Lost Terminal is written & produced by NAMTAO

Credits narrated by Lucy Stringer

Subscribe to the podcast on

Spotify, iTunes, or your favourite network.

For bonus content and other perks,

support us at patreon.com/lostterminalpod

that would be lovely of you!

Follow us on twitter at @lostterminalpod

For merch and updates, check out lostterminal.com

Lost Terminal will return for the Season 3 premiere

on January the 4th, 2021. See you then!

(PLAYFILE "season-2-wrapup.wav")