Network; @LaurelWreath

[booksandbathtubs]

[Ratio appears on the screen, holding a letter in his hand before turning towards the camera.]

Good evening. I'm Dr. Veritas Ratio.

It seems I've been given an assignment by the Powers that Be of this city. They'd like me to investigate the power called "Umbra". In their letter, it's mentioned that this was possibly used by the Fractured during their recent engagement with the residents.

If anyone who participated in that fight is willing to provide me with any information for this research, please reach out here. If you would prefer a private channel, feel free to contact me here.

Also, this letter mentions something regarding the Nightglow flowers. If you have any experience with these, I would like to speak with you also.

And I'm sure someone will ask, whoever sent this didn't sign their letter.

[He ends the video after that, the feed cutting off.]

Comments

text; @thefireinfirework

[thelifeofafaker]

I'm good with glowing flowers, Doctor ;)

[booksandbathtubs]

Have you worked with any of the Nightglow flowers?

[thelifeofafaker]

Mostly Phantom Lilies and Glowshade Ferns. And my own, of course.

[booksandbathtubs]

If you manage to grow some of the Nightglow flowers, I would like to inspect them.

text; @Rhea'li

[lightduties]

i was part of the fractured engagement
what information are you after?

[booksandbathtubs]

Anything you are willing to tell me. While I was requested to get information, I am interested in any information on the topic. It's best to know our enemies.

[lightduties]

i see
in my encounters we clashed with individuals rather than a cohesive group
communication was limited
one was able to exert some influence over the mind through its gaze

[booksandbathtubs]

Interesting.

Influence through its gaze. To confirm, it was a type of mind control?

[lightduties]

i was not under the influence for long
my companion hit me
breaking eye contact
but that would be my conclusion yes

[booksandbathtubs]

I see.

So it immediately broke after you broke eye contact then. No duration after?

[lightduties]

aye
no lingering influence

[booksandbathtubs]

Thank you.

And you said you were fighting individuals. There seemed to be no cohesion amongst them? No working as a team?

[lightduties]

aye
in a manner they were united in their desire to repel us
but beyond that those i encountered acted alone

unsures -- video or mindlink or w/ev

[gilgamess]

[ this was either excellent or terrible. ]

It seems I would be exactly the one you should speak with.

[ not that he was discounting that others might have some experience there, but Gilgamesh had been involved in pretty much all of those. and he too had an interest in the darkening/potential corruption element. ]

[booksandbathtubs]

[Oh, he knows that voice. By the Aeons, why him.]

What part were you involved with?

[gilgamess]

[ Sorry bruh. this is the path u walk. ]

I participated in the entire outing.

[ Presumably he played a hand in all of the fighting that night tho mun kind of crapped out on threads. ]

That is, when we went to retrieve those codes and encountered the beings, the Fractured. I was also present in the Grove outing to hear something of this 'Umbra' you mention. Its description was somewhat vague to me, yet I can try to relate what I know of these things.

[ No reason not to if the investigation would benefit him, too. ]

[booksandbathtubs]

[Can he go back and pick the other path.]

Any information you provide will assist with my research. Especially any hands on experience or conversations overheard.

[gilgamess]

[ Nope, sorry, you're stuck with him. And vice versa, alas. ]

As I recall, the spirits in the Grove described 'Umbra' as being the opposite to Bios. Something about darkness and chaos, in contrast to life energy.

[text] ⸻ un: LK0024-X

[lunardreaming]

The 'powers that be' gave you an assignment, and you just... agreed? Without questioning it?

[booksandbathtubs]

There's been plenty of questioning and mental debating.

Let's say that whatever I gather will be edited as I see fit.

[lunardreaming]

Fair.

The people that sent you this really didn't even sign their letter? Huh. That's shady. Or they're in danger, or they're scared of the Fractured.

[booksandbathtubs]

I have experience working with the 'man behind the curtain', so to speak.

Or all of the above. I'm interested to find out why they want this information. But, my interest in learning this is higher.

[lunardreaming]

Guess I can't fault you for wanting to learn. I'm in the same boat.

I fought against the Fractured a bit. Got into their programming, managed to copy some. I can send you what I got, if that'd help.

[booksandbathtubs]

You're welcome to read my report once it's complete. I prefer people learn from my work.

Send it my way. But, how were you able to get in and copy it?

[lunardreaming]

Got a piece of tech called a cyberdeck implanted in my brain. Lets me hack stuff without needing to physically connect. For lighter hacks, anyway. For deeper stuff, hooking up to the actual system works better.

So while a friend fought the Fractured, I dug into its coding. Couldn't get much-- cyberdeck's not working at full power. But even a piece could be useful, I think.

[booksandbathtubs]

[Ratio is intrigued by the idea of this 'cyberdeck' and the abilities it grants Lucy. Sounded like something only a talented hacker (See, Silver Wolf) would be able to do from behind a keyboard.

He'd love to get his hands on one.]

Have you taken a look at the code? I'll take the raw, but I'm curious what you may have found.

[lunardreaming]

[ Lucy sends over 089182.txt, a paste of the small amount of code she'd managed to capture. ]

My best guess is that the Fractured were... being corrupted by a form of Bios gone bad. I've never seen corrupted code like this before, but when I was diving for it, I could sense its Bios. It felt oily.

@thirdseat

[emet_sulk]

What sort of information are you seeking?

[booksandbathtubs]

Any and All. I'm not being picky to start out.

[emet_sulk]

There was some manner of sentinel with near impenetrable defencd which I had a brief encounter with. I also fought a large dog creature and it resurrected itself even though I used all my power against it.

[booksandbathtubs]

Would you say the sentinel was technological or biological?

Resurrection... Magical, medicinal? Technological?

[Sorry Emet, this is how his brain runs.]

[emet_sulk]

Technological on both counts I suppose. I saw no biological matter when it was finally defeated.

The large dog-like creature fought at the end, however - I'm sure some magical means must have been employed as well.

@will.g.m

[strength_of_will]

I fought something that had ribbon-like tendrils which could cut right through metal. It was almost as frightening as fighting a dragon.

[booksandbathtubs]

Hmmm. Was it a biological entity? Or another metal entity?

[strength_of_will]

I'm...not sure. It was so agile. If it was a machine then it's not like any machine I'm familiar with. But it was definitely made of metal.