Text;

[undyingcrow]

In light of recent events, I believe we're past due for more information gathering.

First, I'd like to discuss the tower we encountered last month. There were... interesting messages scrawled across its surface, which I thankfully wrote down before its destruction.

They read:

"This remnant-

Carved from [...] First Impact Remains [...]

Meant to be left alone. The Tears used it in their ritual-

Now it's out of control, changing everything it can"

The Convoy Database regards the Silver Tears as effectively the antithesis of the Steel Wardens. Reverent to the moon and its "blessings" (the transformations). I've no doubt they're the ones behind the scattered shrines we encountered some months prior...

And, obviously, we're well acquainted with those wretched Wardens, with their hypocritical obsession with "purging" this world of monsters.

The words "First Impact" stick out to me as significant. I actually spoke with Blake-san about it as well, and she encountered similar mentions of an impact in scavenged books that had a great deal of information scrubbed clean.

There is clearly something that one of the factions does not want us to discover. Given my previous findings, we know that something of significance was broken in two, that the moon goddess suffers in anguish, and a ritual failed, with us as replacement participants to "share her pain" and "put the ritual right."

But now, thanks to that sagebrush, some of us have been gifted with visions, and I believe that if we share our findings, we can come closer to the truth.

In my case, I witnessed a woman dispatching a monster before turning to panicked civilians and murdering one of them in cold blood. Presumably, she went on to kill the rest of them, but the vision ended there.

For the sake of this post, I believe the most pertinent information is:

• Where you had the vision.
• The description of the vision...

An optional detail:

• The object that sparked the vision.

Mine was in the battleground, and the vision came as I tried ripping the sword from a fallen cyborg's hand.

Comments

[undyingcrow]

Hmm... So the sigils were their way of trying to give the changed more control over their faculties, perhaps.

That may in turn be what distinguishes us from the Husk monsters. Our sigils grant us great power and knowledge...

So perhaps the ones who summoned us share an allegiance with the long dead scientists.

[firstsoldier]

I'm not ready to assume we're dealing with others who shared an allegiance with anyone yet, given the amount of intensely sophisticated automation in the convoy. We may be dealing with an AI, magical or technological, running its program to the best of its ability with its creators long gone.

An alternate concern to keep in mind, such a being may require different methods of interaction.

[undyingcrow]

Artificial intelligence isn't out of the question, given the technological level of the Convoy and the Wardens themselves.

The messages we receive seem prerecorded. What I still can't quite figure out is the timing of our arrivals.

Are we being actively summoned, or were the means to summon is devised long ago and are only just now taking effect?

Why is it that new Drifters arrive every two months?

[firstsoldier]

The regularity of it makes me wonder. Surely human or human adjacent beings would try whenever they could? And it doesn't match lunar cycles that I can determine, in spite of how so much else seems connected. It's a passing theory, at the moment.

[undyingcrow]

You're right. It's much too soon to draw any meaningful conclusions.

In fact, we didn't even unearth more information regarding our summoning until the previous garage. Even then, what scraps we found were still incomplete. A vital clue, but far from a complete picture.

[firstsoldier]

I suppose we can think of these bits of conjecture as a fun thought experiment to keep in mind as the puzzle is pieced together.

If opportunity arises and more of those cyborgs from a couple weeks ago reappear, I'd like to find out if they have a central processing unit or some kind of hard drive, and store them for later examination. Answers could be there as well. Of course, now is a bit too late for that.. I'd been a bit distracted.

[undyingcrow]

Funny you mention that.

It would seem Donatello-san took some samples from the battleground and may have information regarding their memory banks.

[firstsoldier]

It's good to know someone didn't waste the opportunity. I suppose further on the list of resources to be watching for will be the sort of technology to properly analyze it with.

No time like the present to backtrack a bit.

[undyingcrow]

He actually sent some files to my phone. I'm not entirely sure how compatible it'd be over the default phones that come with our vehicles, but I could always transport the files to my laptop and present them that way.

Either way, I will be archiving information from those files.

[firstsoldier]

If you require one to test it with, I removed a couple of intact-looking radios from the cyborg raiders, they're in the bed of my truck. If risking one of ours is unwise, run it on those.

[undyingcrow]

I'll have to discuss it with Donatello-san first, but that isn't a terrible option. The difficult part is the memories had a visual component. That's why I believe a laptop may be a bit more efficient.

[firstsoldier]

Do you have a second laptop?

[undyingcrow]

Just the one, and my smartphone. It's more technologically advanced than the bulkier mobile phones that come with our vehicles, with touch screen capabilities, along with a working camera, file storage not unlike a computer, and several 'apps,' or programs.

Unfortunately, with no stable internet access, some are less useful than others.

[firstsoldier]

I would not suggest risking something currently unreplaceable. While there's some level of modern technology available, it may be wise to see if there's other computers which may be taken from the ruins and use that.

[undyingcrow]

I do have the video files on my phone now, so it's likely possible to transfer them to my computer.

I'm less certain about direct interfacing with the cyborg remains, of course. I'd rather not risk any system damage.

[firstsoldier]

Is there a way to be certain none of it has a virus which might destroy your electronics?

[undyingcrow]

I can ask Donatello-san. He's the one who decrypted the files and forwarded them to me.

Moreover, he strikes me as very cautious when it comes to electronics.

[firstsoldier]

[There's a delay as this is considered very carefully. That's not the impression HE'D gotten..]

All precautions are best taken until we have duplicates of vital items. I haven't seen any other 'smart phone' for example at all.

[undyingcrow]

Evidently, he did check for signs of virus or other hazardous files and found nothing, though he intends to be cautious, should he come across similar remains.

But you are right that we should be careful with any unique items from our worlds. Our resources here are limited.