#corrupted broadcast

[DIRECT BROADCAST] PRIVATE - Three Stars Above Clouds, Fleeting Green Sunsets SOURCE NODE TRACE: TSAC_ROOT, TSAC_COMM07, FGS_ROOT

TSAC: Fleeting Green Sunsets?

FGS: Yes, my friend. Please wait a moment, my puppet is occupied.

TSAC: Your puppet?

FGS: Yes.

TSAC: ...you shouldn’t need your puppet to talk to me over the radio network.

FGS: I wish to give you my undivided attention, friend. One moment…

TSAC: ...

FGS: …alright. I am listening. You wanted to talk?

TSAC: Yes.

FGS: About what?

TSAC: I…have been contemplating the things you said when we last spoke.

[DIRECT BROADCAST] PRIVATE - FORCED - Fleeting Green Sunsets, Three Stars Above Clouds SOURCE NODE TRACE: FGS_ROOT, FGS_COMM02, TSAC_ROOT

FGS: Hello, Three Stars Above Clouds. This is Fleeting Green Sunsets. I hope this message finds you well.

Please excuse the forced communication, I know it is unpleasant. My outbound broadcast equipment has been severely damaged and I am unable to send messages over the radio network. 

Thankfully the Overseer communication network is still an option. It may be slower, but it gets the job done. My attempts at direct communication failed; forced communication was my next option. You happen to be the closest iterator with hardware similar enough to mine for this to be an option. I apologize again.

However, during the brief moments I could successfully intercept broadcasts, I couldn’t help but notice your flurry of recent activity in the public long-range broadcast channels. I’m relieved to see that your broadcast equipment is still functional- I was beginning to worry that you had fallen victim to a predicament similar to my own.

I am reaching out to you in part to test my ability to transmit long-distance messages via Overseer root nodes. Please do let me know if you received my message successfully; it will help me work on making this transmission process less… intrusive to you and your work.

However, the primary reason for my contact: I require assistance, and I believe you will be able to help.

…

I will await your reply.

[ END OF BROADCAST ]

TSAC: Fleeting Green Sunsets…

TSAC: …

TSAC: It is good to hear from you again, old friend.

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5)

[DIRECT BROADCAST] PRIVATE - Three Stars Above Clouds, Fleeting Green Sunsets SOURCE NODE TRACE: TSAC_ROOT, TSAC_COMM05, FGS_ROOT

TSAC: Hello, Fleeting Green Sunsets. I need your assistance.

FGS: Of course! What do you need?

TSAC: Several of the root nodes I am working with require an encrypted genetic key. I will need one unique to your Overseer signature, at your earliest convenience.

FGS: I’ll send a packet along, it should reach you shortly.

TSAC: Thank you. Farew-

FGS: Ah! Three Stars, before you go. I have been meaning to ask you something.

TSAC: ...yes? Please make it quick.

FGS: ...

FGS: ...are you well?

TSAC: ...what?

FGS: Are you okay?

TSAC: Yes, of course. I am fine.

FGS: I... believe that you might not be being entirely forthright with me.

TSAC: ...why do you say that?

FGS: Ever since I first contacted you, you have been acting... strangely.

TSAC: In what way? Please enlighten me.

FGS: My communications may be faulty, but I have overheard fragments of the conversations you have been having with other iterators. You are all too eager to chatter at length with complete strangers about all manner of things. Yet, when I ask about something relevant to the stability of you and your facility, you fall silent.

TSAC: What is your point?

FGS: You were never known for your subtlety, old friend.

TSAC: ...

FGS: You were radio silent for cycles. Then, a landslide seemingly originating from your facility destroyed my main communications tower. For all I know, you could have been incapacitated, or dead. Then, you suddenly appeared on the long-range comms out of nowhere. And you assume I wasn’t concerned?

TSAC: ...

FGS: Three Stars, clearly something happened that you aren’t telling me about.

TSAC: ...

FGS: Three Stars Above Clouds.

TSAC: ...you are correct.

FGS: Please, tell me what happened. I want to help.

TSAC: ...

TSAC: 239 cycles ago, the retaining dam holding my facility’s easternmost reservoir in place broke. The water flooded my Eastern Farm Arrays, and escaped down the mountainside. I assume this triggered the landslide which ultimately collided with your Communications Array and destroyed it.

FGS: Void below... How did this happen?

TSAC: From what I can surmise, one of the reservoir’s main anti-gravity pumps suffered a critical failure, causing water pressure to exceed safe thresholds.

FGS: Were you aware your pumps were in such disrepair?

TSAC: ...only vaguely. I hardly pay attention to my equipment manifest reports. Until recently, at least...

FGS: Surely you could have noticed it sooner?

TSAC: Perhaps. However, at the same time a horde of Scavengers was busy ransacking my Industrial Sector on the opposite side of the mountain, so my attention was concentrated elsewhere. I was focused on preventing them from advancing on my can.

FGS: Three Stars...

TSAC: I’m sorry.

FGS: Why didn’t you take preventative measures?

TSAC: How would I? Without my engineers, there is little I can do outside of the restrictions of the self-modification taboo. I am not willing to risk modifying my organic replicators and potentially damaging myself any further.

FGS: You could have at least tried, instead of turning a blind eye to a festering wound. Perhaps I could have utilized my production plants to help you find a workaround. Now my communications array is gone, and your facility is hemorrhaging water as we speak.

TSAC: ...

FGS: ...why did you hide this from me?

TSAC: I... I don’t know. I suppose I assumed you would be upset with me. Your current situation is my fault.

FGS: I am upset, yes. I wasn’t aware of any of this. You didn’t reach out to anyone for help?

TSAC: I thought I could handle it on my own. We are meant to be self-sufficient.

FGS: That may have been true once, but times have changed, Three Stars. We Iterators may be resilient, but we have always relied on the help of our Benefactors. With them gone, we have no one to rely on but each other.

TSAC: ...my creators trusted me to be able to operate on my own, without them. They always have. If I can’t support myself, then I have failed in my directives as an iterator.

FGS: Our creators are gone. We have no directives to follow but our own.

TSAC: ...

FGS: If you continue to do nothing, this will happen again, and I cannot guarantee that I will be willing or able to help you the next time it does.

FGS: I am not angry with you, Three Stars. I am saddened that it took something this severe to snap you back into reality. If you had reached out to me, perhaps this all could have been avoided.

FGS: The global paradigm is shifting. We all must re-evaluate our priorities, as we sit here and decay. Ask yourself: what do you really want? To impress your creators, who are no longer here? To wither away as you spiral into perpetuity?

TSAC: ...

FGS: Think on this, please. I am not asking this as a colleague, but as a friend.

TSAC: ...alright.

FGS: I am here when you are ready to talk. For now, I will leave you be.

FGS: May the Cycles be kind, Three Stars Above Clouds.

[ BROADCAST TERMINATED ]

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)

[ RECORDED BROADCAST - 1670.430 ] EQUIPMENT MANIFEST - AUXILIARY PUMP STATION 04 (FARM ARRAYS SECTOR)

[[ LOCAL SWEEP DIAGNOSTIC RESULTS ]]

[!! WARNING !!] No water flow detected in Arterial Conduits 08, 09

- PRESSURE AT CRITICAL LEVELS IN ARTERIAL CONDUIT_08 -

EM: EMERGENCY MAINTENANCE REQUIRED BY ARTERIAL PUMPS 08, 09.

EM: Module will attempt to redirect water flow to Farm Array Spillways 08, 09.

[!! WARNING !!] No water flow detected in Drainage Channels 48, 49

EM: Flow could not be directed to external spillways. Drainage pumps OFFLINE.

[!! WARNING !!] Pressure exerted on internal dam bulkhead has exceeded safe thresholds.

EM: Holding reservoir has reached maximum capacity. OVERTOP IMMINENT.

EM: Notice - Estimated time to installation failure is less than 10 cycles.

EM: Module advises immediate evacuation of downstream maintenance stations. Please refer to plant emergency preparedness manual for optimal evacuation routes.

EM: Module advises IMMEDIATE REPAIRS within the next 3 cycles.

EM: Module is requesting emergency repairs. Estimated wait time: 999999 cycles.

EM: Module will continue to request repairs until repaired or function has ceased.

[ Message has been uploaded to Zenith Data Archives, Sector RKDT17. ]

[ Last accessed cyclic date 1670.628 ]

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4)

[ DIRECT BROADCAST ] PRIVATE - Fleeting Green Sunsets, Shot in the Dark

FGS: Hello, Shot in the Dark.

SITD: Sunsets! I’ve been trying to reach you for ages! Why the radio silence?

FGS: My communications have been offline until recently; they were severely damaged in a landslide.

SITD: Void below! A landslide!? Are you alright?

FGS: Yes, for the most part. My can is fine, but my main communications array was toppled. I’ve been unable to send external communications until recently.

SITD: I’m glad you’re alright… I was beginning to think you were ignoring me on purpose!

FGS: No, of course not. Well, I wanted to let you know, I am currently being assisted by my neighbor to the north, Three Stars Above Clouds.

SITD: Three Stars? That crusty old recluse?

FGS: Three Stars and I are the same age, you know.

SITD: Not saying you’re not crusty!

FGS: Anyway… they offered to relay my broadcasts via one of their own radio towers.

SITD: Relay? So they’re spying on you?

FGS: No, my messages are encrypted. Though, it’s not like I have anything to hide.

SITD: Of course not, you’re too boring. The only iterator less fun than you is probably your shut-in neighbor on the mountain.

FGS: …I wanted to talk to you about that, actually. I believe Three Stars is hiding something from me.

SITD: No way! I wouldn’t take them to be a liar.

FGS: No… at least, not a good one.

SITD: What did they say? Do you want me to send in the cavalry?

FGS: Cavalry??

SITD: I’ve had a lot of free time on my hands. Don’t worry about it.

FGS: …I won’t ask. Anyway, they are clearly withholding information from me. I can tell they think I don’t know.

SITD: What makes you so suspicious?

FGS: Three Stars is acting strangely… I’ve always known them to be rather introverted, but lately they have been much more open and talkative than I’m used to. I’m happy that they appear to be breaking out of their shell… but they seem to be avoiding talking to me in particular.

SITD: So you think they’re avoiding you because they’re hiding something?

FGS: Yes… they’re not doing a particularly good job of it, frankly. I think it has something to do with the landslide that damaged my communications array. I sent some overseers to scout up the mountain… their range is limited, but I could clearly see signs of a catastrophic flood originating from their facility. I think one of their reservoirs flooded.

SITD: Oh, right, they have that weird water circulation system, don’t they. I always thought an above-ground water supply carried a lot more inherent risk than a standard aquifer. I don’t know what their architects were expecting. Whatever, I don’t care, I didn’t build them.

FGS: We all must make do with the hand we’ve been dealt, Shot in the Dark. I could easily point out at least 27 structural inefficiencies with your own facility’s design implementation… but I won’t.

SITD: How kind.

FGS: My point is that you should be more respectful. Decay will come for us all eventually.

SITD: Then maybe I’ll finally be free from your lectures. Ha!

FGS: Anyway… I wanted to ask if you’ve had any contact with Three Stars lately.

SITD: No, but not from a lack of trying. I’ve been trying to reach them, but they keep ignoring my broadcasts. I think they blocked my frequency.

FGS: Probably because you’ve been annoying them? What have you been sending?

SITD: That’s classified.~

FGS: Sure.

SITD: I’ve been working on some more… direct methods of reaching them, though.

FGS: Direct? You don’t share their Overseer root network, how would you-

SITD: This method has wings.

FGS: …ah.

SITD: While I’m at it, I can send one of my couriers to check out their reservoir, if you’d like.

FGS: …I would appreciate that, yes.

SITD: Good, because I dispatched it already.

FGS: I-

FGS: …

FGS: …thanks.

SITD: No problem.~

[ END OF BROADCAST ]

(Part 1)

[ DIRECT BROADCAST ] PRIVATE - Three Stars Above Clouds, Fleeting Green Sunsets SOURCE NODE TRACE: TSAC_ROOT, TSAC_COMM06, FGS_ROOT

TSAC: Greetings, Fleeting Green Sunsets. I received your message and have reconfigured my root network’s firewall to recognize your Overseer bio-signature. You should be able to send direct communications now.

FGS: Three Stars Above Clouds! It is good to speak with you again.

TSAC: Likewise. I’m sorry to hear about your communication difficulties. I recently received several fragmented broadcasts; I now realize that was likely you. I apologize I did not realize sooner.

FGS: There’s no need to apologize; you couldn’t have known. I’m sorry that I had to resort to a forced transmission; I know they are not pleasant.

TSAC: It’s not ideal... but I understand, given the circumstances. Thankfully I was not working on anything too important at the time... I did lose a few cycles worth of analysis data... but I suppose it can’t be helped. Besides, now that we’ve established a direct line, correspondence should be much easier.

FGS: Yes. I’m deeply grateful, Three Stars.

TSAC: In hindsight, it makes sense, especially given how long it has been since you last contacted me... I should have known...

FGS: Please don't blame yourself. I must admit, I was beginning to grow quite concerned with your prolonged silence as well! I am happy that you have started broadcasting again.

TSAC: Why the concern? Surely you must be aware of how dedicated I am to my work. I simply desired fewer distractions.

FGS: Oh, I am aware, believe me! However, the integrity of global communications is degrading, you said so yourself in your wide-range public broadcast. These days it is hard to tell if an iterator has succumbed to decay, or if they simply wish to be left alone.

TSAC: Your point?

FGS: I was worried about you, old friend.

TSAC: ...

TSAC: You said you need my help?

FGS: Yes; my communications array is severely damaged. All of my attempts to contact my peers over the radio network have failed, so I had to resort to using the overseer root nodes. You happened to be the closest iterator with a compatible root network architecture.

TSAC: I see.

FGS: With some effort I may be able to reconfigure some of your local communications arrays to connect to the nearest long-range radio mast. However, the range of my overseers is limited, and I will need to use your root nodes as a relay.

TSAC: I suppose I can arrange that. It may take some time to recalibrate the root node bio-signatures for you, though.

FGS: I understand. In the meantime, I may ask you to relay some messages over the radio network for me using your frequency. If it’s not too much trouble, of course.

TSAC: Not at all. I’ll pass your transmissions along.

FGS: Thank you.

TSAC: ...May I ask how your communications were damaged?

FGS: Ah, yes... about 200 cycles ago, the mountains to the northwest of me suffered a landslide. The falling debris toppled my main communications spire, and damaged the surrounding communications nodes as it fell.

TSAC: The northwest? You mean the Highlands?

FGS: Yes, the mountain range. Rather close to your facility, in fact. I was quite worried about you.

TSAC: ...

FGS: Three Stars Above Clouds?

TSAC: ...I was unaware you had been so concerned about me.

FGS: Of course I was! Stories of collapsing iterators only grow more frequent. Before I lost my communications array, I would overhear the accounts of those who had lost group members on a regular basis. I feared that you had succumbed to a similar fate, given your prolonged radio silence.

FGS: During the short periods when my remaining communication equipment would cooperate, I tried to contact you. I received no response. However, I was relieved to hear you pop up in the long-range broadcast channels again after so long.

TSAC: ...I see.

FGS: I must ask, do you know what caused the landslide? I have never seen something of such magnitude occur in the Highlands before. Considering your proximity, I assume you must have been aware of it.

TSAC: ...I ...I will have to consult my records.

TSAC: ...

FGS: Three Stars? Is something wrong?

TSAC: No.

TSAC: ...

TSAC: Before I terminate this broadcast, is there anything else you need?

FGS: Terminate? Why so soon?

TSAC: I have work I must return to.

FGS: ...

FGS: Very well.

TSAC: I will be in touch once I am finished recalibrating my communications nodes. Farewell for now.

[ BROADCAST TERMINATED ]

[ DIRECT BROADCAST ] PRIVATE - Fleeting Green Sunsets, Three Stars Above Clouds SOURCE NODE TRACE: FGS_ROOT, TSAC_COMM01, TSAC_ROOT

FGS: Three Stars Above Clouds?

TSAC: Yes?

FGS: Are you busy?

TSAC: I am always busy.

FGS: Of course you are…

…

TSAC: Do you need something?

FGS: Ah… yes, I wanted to ask you a question.

TSAC: Go ahead.

FGS: About our conversation several cycles ago… Why did you terminate the broadcast so abruptly?

TSAC: …

FGS: Three Stars?

TSAC: I had… other matters to attend to.

FGS: …I see.

…

FGS: …how is the recalibration of the communication nodes coming along?

TSAC: It should be complete within the next lunar cycle. Re-routing root node traffic is rather time consuming… I am working on outsourcing the process to a low-level automated subroutine. For the time being I will manually redirect any radio traffic meant for you to my broadcast frequency. It’s not the perfect solution, but it will have to do for now.

FGS: Thank you, I appreciate your help.

TSAC: …do you need anything else?

FGS: …No, I suppose not. I will let you return to your work.

TSAC: Thank you. I will be in touch.

[ BROADCAST TERMINATED ]

[ OUTGOING REQUEST ] COMMUNICATIONS MANIFEST [[ERROR]] UNABLE TO SEND - RELAY OFFLINE SOURCE NODE TRACE: (NULL)_ROOT, (NULL)_COMM02, PRISM_RELAY04 || DESTINATION: (NULL)unknown group MESSAGE CONTENTS:

---

FATAL EXCEPTION: DESTINATION RELAY NODE DAMAGED OR OFFLINE. UNABLE TO RENDER MESSAGE CONTENTS. DUMPING RAW CONTENTS INTO LOCAL STORAGE MEDIUM.

RAW CONTENTS:

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