skerries: a deep space odyssey

<<reply: whoa, what, ok, what's going on?>>

[[report: system scans have discovered an anomaly in the primary file directory, please refer to the following log]]

<<reply: ok, i'm not sure what I'm looking for here, just looks like a list of files with creation dates>>

[[response: during our last system scan, the highlighted lines were not present in the file system]]

<<reply: hm. that is.. a lot of lines. and you're saying none of those were here a few weeks ago? these dates range over like, the entirety of the last two years. is it possible there was a malfunction during the last scan and these files were missed?>>

[[response: negative. system scans show total drive space several weeks ago was lower. most recent space calculations account for 100% of the surplus files]]

<<query: and there weren't any incoming transmissions or downloads matching that amount of drive space, were there?>>

[[response: negative, no transmissions or downloads]]

<<reply: wonderful. so a bunch of files have appeared on the primary drive in the last two weeks, apparently created during a period in which I was in hypersleep.>>

<<command: set up a new partition and move all the new files over, lock them so that only I can move or edit, and then put them through a line by line scan and let me know if anything interesting comes up. I want to know who created them and what's on them before we do anything else.>>

[[response: initial scans that revealed the anomaly also may have also included the identity of the creator]]

<<reply: well why didn't you start with that? who is it??>>

<<command: computer? tell me who it is.>>

[[response: all indications point toward the creator of the anomalous files being.. you.]]

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<<It has already been a few weeks since we made the jump through the time gap, though as far as my nerves are considered it could have been less than a few hours ago. I keep catching myself checking the instruments, just to make sure they're working, because I am *not* getting caught off guard again.

I can only begin to guess what happened to the rest of the Council, we didn't leave each other with any info that could be used against each other. I doubt any of us had even settled on a hideaway for fear that it could be pried from our minds by an agent for the other side.

The earth timeline I came out at is... far from ideal, but let's be frank: none of them are anymore. This earth faces many of the same issues that its siblings do, just adjust the specific groups and technologies. All things considered, though, it's a good hiding spot, somewhere I might be able to stay for a while.>>

<<query: hell yeah, where'd we land ourselves this time>>

[[after collating and cross-referencing star charts, I can confirm that we are currently located in the vicinity of earth. according to local calendars, today is the 7th of November, year 2023]]

<<response: oh fuck, okay, great, love that, super good. I knew we were aiming for a magical void, but damn, we really landed in the least magical decade possible for this timeline>>

[[all scans seem to point toward that conclusion. now that our space-time coordinates are confirmed, the official records show that we crossed over during the interplanar thinning that typically occurs in the earth's arcanosphere surrounding All Hallow's Eve and All Saint's Day]]

<<response: ah, that would certainly explain all the turbulence. well, I can't say I'm happy to be HERE, but that's a secondary issue at the moment>>

<<query: can you run a scan to see if we were pursued through the time gap?>>

[[affirmation: I began cycling sensors the moment the total system check was complete. No sign of pursuit through the time gap, the only signatures present belong to our own vessel]]

[[37/37 primary systems scanned]]

[[all systems pass minimum requirements for safe operation]]

<<statement: took quite a bit longer than 23 hours, there>>

[[response: according to my most recent intergalactic lexicon data, "estimate" is defined as the following "to form an approximate judgment or opinion regarding the worth, amount, size, weight, etc., of; calculate approximately"]]

[[synchronizing timelines]] [[collapsing quantum waveforms]] [[scanning for stellar navigation reference]] [[initializing transition to realspace in 3.. 2.. 1...]] [[...]] [[...]] [[...]] [[transition to realspace complete]] [[beginning total system scan]]