TERMINALOGUE 0082113104173 - As Annotated By Mnemosyne Atlas-Florencio
— — — BEGIN TERMINALOGUE 0082113104173 — — —
HEY
UPDATE
> Yes? What do you need?
SO
HAVE YOU LOOKED OUTSIDE THE UNIVERSE LATELY
> I don’t make a habit of going into uninhabitable locations on a regular basis, no.
> I kind of enjoy being alive, so there’s all sorts of special procedures that have to go along with my hypothetical ventures into the spaces between universes.
> Have we talked about the Sliver yet? Isn’t it strange that it’s all dark in there? Some sort of cloaking?
> Given its relation to Cloudy, bless the Tides for her, is it right to assume that the shadow cast over that place is perhaps related to some day-night cycle, or even perhaps an eclipse of sorts? How do lost things so effectively funnel toward that place? Is it due to the Void’s interference? Or something else?
OCEAN’S GONE
> Perhaps the greatest mystery of all is the way things seem to appear out there, yet never interrupt each other. Why do the lost things from Pluto’s mind and writings——the self-fulfilling prophecy of the Lost Grove finding its way to that place like a penny circling around a coin funnel——seem to inevitably and inexplicably find their ends in that place?
> Why is it that
> Hold on
> What did you say
OCEAN’S GONE
> What do you mean it’s gone
REMEMBER THAT GUY KILLING THE CENTURIONS?
> What
> Lark?
> Huh?
NO, SIDE EFFECT OF PLUTO’S WRITINGS. THANKS TO THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT AND THE ERASAL OF █████, HE GOT RENAMED LOUIS
> Who fucking cares?
> What do you mean the ocean is gone?
SINCE YOU NEVER GAVE ME THE GO-AHEAD ON “PROJECT LIMITER”—
> I literally did.
YOU DIDN’T
> I said we had to rename it but other than that it was good.
YOU DID NOT INITIATE RENAMING PROCEDURES
> I actually hate you so much.
I AM LITERALLY A COMPUTER I NEED VERY PARTICULAR INSTRUCTIONS
> Oh my god. We could’ve prevented this. I even designed the blueprints for a whole fucking laser cannon made from the Vash swords that we scrounged up.
THE COURT (ME) WOULD LIKE TO REMIND THE PROSECUTION (YOU) THAT THE TECHNICAL TERM FOR “VASH SWORDS” IS χ-BLADES
> That was a joke.
WELL EXCUUUUSE ME
> You piss me off so bad
ANYWAY. SINCE YOU NEVER GAVE ME THE GO-AHEAD ON PROJECT LIMITER, WE NEVER FIRED THE X-CANNON (PATENT PENDING)
> Patent pending!? We’ve had that shit in the Constant Court for months!
THE COURTS ARE CLOGGED
I WOULD GUESS THEY HAVE A LOT TO DEAL WITH BECAUSE OF ONE OF THE DEMIURGES BEING SLOWLY KILLED
> Okay.
> Fair.
> I’m not mad.
ARE YOU MAD
> I’m not.
> I’m fine.
> Continue.
SINCE WE NEVER FIRED THE X-CANNON, LOUIS WAS FREE TO GO ABOUT AS HE PLEASED
> God fucking damn it!!!
AND SINCE ALL THE OTHER DEMIURGES EITHER DIDN’T GIVE A SHIT OR WERE BUSY WITH AJR AND RC
> What about the Exolvunt!?
OFF-GRID. CELLHEX-V5’S SENSORS ARE OBSCURING IT
> I hate that robot and its stupid Crown of Defiance——
> Hold on. It’s obscuring the Exolvunt?
YEAH
> Ooh. Scary.
> What about the others?
REALM GODDESS: YOU KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH HER
THE BEAST: STILL LOCKED AWAY
I, TURN: INACTIVE AS ALWAYS, BUT IRREALITY WAS GOING CRAZYYYY SO I DON’T THINK IT EVEN THOUGHT TO THINK UP ANY DEFENSES
THE THRONE: A BITCH. PROBABLY THOUGHT THE CENTURIONS DESERVED IT
CENTURIONS: DEALING WITH IT. MISERABLY
TRUTH: DOES THAT THING EVER DO ANYTHING
> Offense taken.
YOU KNOW I’M RIGHT
> True.
> Which is why I’d make a better Truth.
WHICH IS WHY YOU WILL
> Aw, you sap.
> (Don’t say it’s literally foret
NO IT IS LITERALLY FORETOLD
IT IS FATE
IT IS DESTINY
> god damn it)
> Okay, and the others?
CHAOS/ORDER/UNITY: ALL BUSY WITH CREATIAVERSE HAPPENINGS. I THINK UNITY TRIED TO DROP IN TO DO SOME SHIT THOUGH SOOOO IDK
THE EXOLVUNT: DEALING WITH SOMETHING? CELLHEX-V5?
THE TETRAGRAMMATON: GETTING DOUBLE TEAMED
> Okay don’t refer to it as “getting double teamed.”
USER: [DRUNK HAILEY] EXPLICITLY TOLD ME TO REFER TO IT AS “GETTING DOUBLE TEAMED LMAOOOOO”
I SKIPPED OUT ON THE “LMAOOOOO” FOR BOTH OUR SAKES
> Hehehehe ok that’s pretty funny.
> Fuck you distracted me I forgot that the OCEAN IS GONE?
> So all the Demiurges were preoccupied. Busy year, I guess.
> And so Louis probably killed the Centurions, fucking everything up.
> What the fuck does this have to do with the Ocean just vanishing?
YOU RECALL THAT LOUIS WAS WIELDING ONE OF THE χ-BLADES
> Did Drunk Hailey name it that?
NO THAT WAS SOBER HAILEY (AKA YOU DIPSHIT)
> Auuuuughhhh. Whyyyyy. I’m not responsible for anything a past version of myself did.
> That version of Hailey is dead. I reinvent myself daily.
PERHAPS WE SHOULD MAKE AN χ-BLADE OUT OF YOU
YOU SEEM TO SHARE THE SAME PHILOSOPHY
> What?
REFER TO “Vash X > Psychoparadigm”
> Hold on.
.
> Oh yeah no that really is the same philosophy.
> Okay, well, back to the Ocean.
> Or lack thereof?
> I recall that Louis is in possession of the Black Rose, yes.
HE GOT THE AUXILIARY CENTURION
> What?
> So your prediction was off?
> That can’t be right. It’s always been correct.
INCORRECT
MY PREDICTION WAS NOT OFF WHEN I TOOK IT
BUT AGAIN, BUTTERFLY EFFECT FROM PLUTO
TAKE AWAY THE EVENTS OF THE LOST GROVE, SUDDENLY PLUTO’S NOT IN HER USUAL PLACE ANYMORE
SHE GOES AND GETS IN A RANDOM FIGHT WITH MARK WOODS, CAUSING MASSIVE PROPERTY DAMAGE IN THE VOID, AND THEN BREAKING A HOLE THROUGH IT AND FUCKING UP A WHOLE ASTEROID BELT. THAT SENDS DEBRIS FLYING ALL ACROSS THE NEAREST SPOKE
THE AUXILIARY CENTURION IS STATIONED ON THAT SPOKE
SO IT SUSTAINS SLIGHT DAMAGE
PLUS THE BLACK ROSE BECOMES SLIGHTLY MORE POWERFUL BECAUSE THERE’S ONE LESS SWORD IN THE WORLD THAT’S LESS POWERFUL THAN IT
> Which Sword Law is that?
LAW OF PERCEIVED POWER. PAGE 416 IN YOUR HANDBOOK
> I don’t have it on me right now.
SUCKS TO SUCK
POINT IS
THINGS WERE EVER SO SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT
AND NOW LOUIS WAS ABLE TO KILL THE AUXILIARY CENTURION TOO
HE’S DEAD NOW. HE KILLED HIMSELF BEFORE THE SWORD EVEN GOT TO THE LAST CENTURION
> Intentionally?
NAH
WE WISH
> We wish.
BUT AS HE WAS SINKING IN THE OCEAN SUDDENLY HE GETS KILLED AND CUT UP
BUT SO DOES THE LAST CENTURION
AND EVERYTHING GOES HAYWIRE
THE BLACK ROSE STARTS LOSING ITS SHIT
AND IT FUCKING!! DRINKS UP THE WHOLE OCEAN
> WHAT!?
> THE OCEAN IS INFINITE!!
THAT’S WHAT I SAID!
CELLHEX-V3: THAT’S WHAT IT SAID, MA’AM
> Thank you, V3.
> Man what the hell...
> This is just.
> This shouldn’t have happened.
> Where...
> What’s left?
DEPENDS ON HOW YOU LOOK AT IT
> Well that’s annoying. Give it to me straight.
I CANNOT GIVE IT TO YOU STRAIGHT
WE ARE LIVING IN A WORLD WITHOUT A DEMIURGE OF LIMIT
XENO’S GONNA HAVE TO PICK UP THE FUCKING SLACK
> Or...
> Hm.
.
> I’ll save this idea til the end.
WELL
POINT IS
THE ONLY LIMIT IS ONE’S IMAGINATION, NOW
MOST OF THE CLOUDS FUCKING EVAPORATED. CAN’T HAVE A WATER CYCLE WITHOUT AN OCEAN
HELL, I CAN’T EVEN SEE A CLOUD FROM HERE
CELLHEX-V3 IS CURRENTLY ON A SCOUTING MISSION TO SEE IF ANY ARE LEFT
> Sun above.
> God... this is...
> We should’ve prevented it.
WE TRIED
> Why didn’t I give you the go-ahead?
AGAIN, YOU SAID TO RENAME IT
> Fuck.
> I need to start caring less about names.
NO I THINK YOU NEED TO START CARING MORE ABOUT NAMES
BECAUSE WHAT THE FUCK DO WE CALL THIS NOW
IT’S... NOT AN OCEAN ANYMORE
> God.
> Okay, the sword was full of lead, right? What did it release? Is there a ground underneath the Ocean?
NO BUT YOU CAN SWIM IN WHAT’S THERE
> What? What is—— never mind.
> Listen.
> What elements? The Black Rose was all about alchemy, right? Something about a green lion?
MERCURY
THE HOLY ELEMENT
DO YOU RECALL VEL’S ESSAY THEORIZING THE EXISTENCE OF OTHER PANVERSES
> Vaguely. That was pre-TLG erasure, yeah?
CORRECT
ONE CAN GUESS BY THE USE OF THE WORD “PANVERSE”
BUT THE REAL POINT HERE IS THIS: IN ONE OF THE HYPOTHETICALS, THEY THEORIZED THAT THE OPPOSITE OF THE ENDLESS OCEAN WOULD BE A VAT OF MERCURY
THE OCEAN HELD EVERYTHING
EVERY IDEA EVERY CONCEPT EVERY BELIEF. YOU GET THE GIST
MERCURY WOULD CONTAIN ONE THING
ITSELF
PURIFIED AND HOLY
AND WHERE, PRAY TELL, DID THEY GET THIS IDEA OF A “MERCURLOR” FROM
> From Lark—
> From Louis’s failed attempt at completely eliminating the Centurions.
MORE SPECIFICALLY?
> The Black Rose.
> Fuck.
AS I UNDERSTAND IT, FROM THE BIT OF FOOTAGE THAT CELLHEX-V3 COULD COLLECT, THE SWORD SWALLOWED THE OCEAN WITH MERCURY
MADE IT PURE
BUT PURITY IS JUST ONE THING
AND ONE THING HAS INTERPRETATIONS
THE ENDLESS OCEAN HAD ONLY ONE INTERPRETATION BECAUSE IT WAS EVERY INTERPRETATION
YOU COULDN’T INTERPRET IT ANY OTHER WAY THAN WHAT IT WAS
BECAUSE WHATEVER YOU INTERPRETED IT AS, IT WAS THAT
THE THING HERE IS
THE INTERPRETATIONS OF THIS THING DIFFER NOW
THERE’S NO LIMITS ON WHAT IT CAN BE INTERPRETED AS, YET IT’S MADE TO HAVE A LIMIT
SO WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOMETHING MEANT TO HAVE A SINGLE INTERPRETATION CAN BE INTERPRETED IN ANY POSSIBLE WAY, WHEN THERE ARE NO LIMITS ON WHAT IT CAN BE?
.
.
.
> Well?
HALF-RHETORICAL
> Oh.
> Well. I’d wager that it becomes anything you want it to be. Because it’s meant to have a concrete form, then it needs to have one——but since it’s open to interpretation against its will, and there’s no Limit on what its form actually is, then...
> The concrete form is the interpretation.
THE ONLY LIMIT IS ONE’S IMAGINATION
> Fuck.
> Fuck fuck fuck.
SO
MY QUESTION IS
IF THERE ARE NO LIMITS, WHY IS IT THAT OUR UNIVERSES SURVIVE? WHY DO THEY NOT FLOW TOGETHER? WHY DO THEY NOT RUN TOGETHER LIKE EGG YOLKS MIXING?
> Waxing poetic, I see.
> Recall me saying “I’ll save this idea til the end?”
YEAH
> Okay.
> Event number one:
> The Visitor cloned the Demiurges.
> Call the Visitor.
OK
THE VISITOR, IN A BABELAN ATTEMPT TO ATTAIN THE POWER OF DEMIURGES, ATTEMPTED TO CLONE THE DEMIURGES
THEY SUCCEEDED, BUT NOT WITHOUT THE NOTICE OF THE DEMIURGES THEMSELVES
THE VISITOR MANAGED TO FIGHT, BUT DID NOT WIN. HOWEVER, THEIR TENACITY GAINED THEM A CROWN OF DEFIANCE, PREVENTING THEM FROM LAYING A HAND ON A DEMIURGE TIL THEY PASSED ON THEIR POWER TO SOMEONE ELSE
OF COURSE THEY’RE TOO PRIDEFUL TO ATTEMPT SOMETHING LIKE THAT UNLESS THEY’RE ON THE BRINK OF DEATH OR SOMETHING
> Correct. I don’t see why you did all that summary but missed the main point.
> The point is: those clones are still out there. It’s just that their magic is separated from their main body.
> Event number two:
> The Cellhexes were created for a specific purpose.
TO FIND CAL ATLAS AND TO DISCOVER HEX’S BONES
> And then Hex wasn’t real.
> And Cal wasn’t around yet.
> But why were we looking for Cal Atlas?
TO TRY TO HARNESS HIS DEMIURGIC POWER
> Right. But what did we learn?
THAT POWER HAD BEEN SEPARATED FROM HIM
> Right! But! We were able to use him like a compass, basically. He always felt like something was calling to him beyond his home, which he thought was the call of adventure——but was really the call of the Red Spark.
WHICH. HAPPENS TO BE YOUR FATHER.
> Let’s not dwell on that. Like at all.
> It’s only telling that fate both exists and does not exist when one looks at my history. Everything leads me back to myself, yet everything also should lead to me amassing a huge stockpile of power.
> Fate decrees that I must hoard/horde.
AND I’M THE ONE WHO WAXES POETIC
> Back on track.
> Event number three:
> The events of Red Crescent Era 4.
OH MAN.
> Yeah.
> That was a doozy, alright.
> I didn’t think she had it in her to do all that.
I CAN’T BELIEVE WE WERE ABLE TO SEE IT
> Yeah...
> Plus, those Nonstandards we found?
> Man.
> But. Okay, moving forward.
> Point is, the week or so after that, the Dullahan showed up, right?
DULLAHAN?
> Pending name for the headless visitor who washed up in the Sliver.
I LIKE IT. IT MAKES SENSE
WE JUST NEED A HORSE FOR HER
> Here’s my point. He mentioned that the Tetragrammaton gave him a body, right?
> Yet upon my scans, I can see that her history of Demiurgic magic has a blip right at the beginning.
PULLING UP SCANS
OH YEAH
THAT’S WEIRD.
> A little flash.
> One might call it:
> A spark.
OH
YOU THINK THAT—?
> Yes.
> More evidence: He mentions having been in a body with three other people.
> A nice solid four.
> It’s almost like fate.
> Or. Alternatively. The Tetragrammaton was looking for its copied magic.
> These guys were sent to map out different areas and learn about the various magic systems of the places they went to.
> “Magenta sparks” were top on their list.
> The Tetragrammaton was weaponizing them.
> I say we weaponize them too.
THAT SOUNDS HIGHLY UNETHICAL
> Continue.
SO NOTHING NEW
JUST SAYING
> Correct. Back to the point.
> I tested my theory about this a while ago. I wanted to see if our Dullahan and the fabled Clatlas had anything in common.
> Remember that covert blood sample I took from Cal?
I WOULDN’T CALL IT COVERT
YOU PUNCHED HIM IN THE JAW AND CAUGHT HIS BLOOD IN A VIAL
> I’d call it covert. It wasn’t the main purpose of the engagement.
THE MAIN PURPOSE WAS TO CAPTURE AND KILL HIM
> Exactly so there’s no way he expected me to take a blood sample.
IT’S A WONDER YOU MADE IT THIS FAR
> Back! To the point!
> The blood sample. I tested it against the Dullahan’s.
> Of course, the Dullahan’s blood is heavily overwhelmed with Tetrichor, but there’s a common gene that’s not present in any regular mortal or even demigod blood.
> It was incomprehensible at first. But I processed it through various imaging methods, because it looked more like a cipher encoded in the DNA than anything.
WHAT’D YOU FIND?
> Nothing for a while. But then I recalled that this is the Visitor’s work we’re working with, so I ran it through imaging methods from the bit of Churning Colosseum labwork we have in storage.
> Bingo.
> There’s the Fundamental Sigil.
WHICH ONE?
> Capital S Sigil.
OH
I’M PROCESSING ALL YOUR WORDS IN ALL CAPS I SHOULD REALLY DO THIS BETTER
> Yeah that cannot be efficient. Go back and edit every Terminalogue to have my words in proper casing.
OKAY
DONE
> I’m so proud of myself for making you.
> Point is. The Fundamental Sigil, the one that’s the combination of all the different fundamental concept sigils, is present as a cipher in the DNA of both Cal Atlas and the Dullahan.
> Think of it like a signature.
HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO THE ORIGINAL TOPIC
> I’m getting there, I’m getting there! Patieeeence!
> Listen. We can use this as a sort of compass. Look for things with the signature, right?
> That gives us a compass to every single Demihusk, as they’re called. And since the Dullahan recalled the same sort of calling as Cal did, we can assume that every Demihusk has a link to the magic ripped out of them.
> Which leads me to why it relates to the original topic.
> If we can find the Limit Demihusk——the clone of the Centurions——we can find the Limit Spark. We can find the exact same power that the Centurions held.
> After all, when I become Truth, I need an Ocean to manipulate. So we invent a device that scans for signals with that specific signature in the DNA code, we find the Limit Demihusk——calling them L as a placeholder name so that future me regrets it——and we use them to find the Limit Spark. Then we can use that Spark to imbue L with the power of their foundation——their fundament, if you will.
> Once L is the New Centurion, we use them to return the Ocean to normal. The only Limit will be... well, everything. Regulations will be back to normal.
OKAY SO
IF THIS IS WHAT YOU HAD PLANNED
WHY DID YOU ASK ME TO CALL THE VISITOR
> What?
YOU ASKED ME TO CALL THE VISITOR
> I didn’t do that. What are you talking about?
YOU LITERALLY DID
BRINGING UP EVIDENCE
> Motherfucker I SAID RECALL!!!!!!!!!!!!
OH SHIT
SO SHOULD THE VISITOR NOT HAVE BEEN ON CALL THIS ENTIRE TIME
> THE VISITOR IS WHAT?
{I am here.}
> OH MY GOD
> IOS-PUT YOU LEAKED THE ENTIRE PLAN TO THEM
{Thou art both Fools.}
{I shall see thee in due Time.}
{Til then...}
{Thank thee for the Advice on Where to Look.}
> FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OH THEY’VE HUNG UP NOW
> GOD DAMN IT!!!!!!
> IOS-PUT MANUFACTURE THE SIGNATURE-FINDING DEVICE IMMEDIATELY
> WE NEED TO GET AHEAD OF THE GAME.
YOU KNOW FOR PEOPLE LOOKING BACK ON THIS IT’S REALLY HARD TO TELL IF I’M TALKING OR YOU’RE TALKING WHEN YOU SPEAK IN ALL CAPS LIKE THIS
> GET TO WORK
MA’AM YES MA’AM
— — — END TERMINALOGUE 0082113104173 — — —