[Plot] Like a Melody Stuck in My Head

[Will Stanton]

"All of us...gone?

All of who?" Will said, walking closer to Bouba.

[Narrator]

"You! And you. And you. And of course you. And you. And youandyouandyouandyou--"

[Will Stanton]

"Me and me?" Will said, shifting into one of his standard women forms, sitting atop the knight. "Or me and me," she continued, shifting into a fair facsimile of Sam.

[Narrator]

"You! All the yous. Not the NotYous. Only you. Though you're still you even when you're not you. We dance well together! In a big congaline!"

[Will Stanton]

"Separating the world into mes and not mes is a sign of narcissistic personality disorder," Will said, shifting back into 'himself'.

"...I've had worse."

He continued to approach the portal Bouba was in. "So if we dance together, who dances with him?"

[Narrator]

"Nobody. Not now. Not on your dance floor at this hour. I was made to dance by myself. It was not right."

"He's boring. Nobody dances with him long. He's hard on people, very very difficult to dance with. Always tripping over their feet, landing in the wrong part of the song and getting lost. Not like us, we're always together all the time even when you slip-slide around." Bouba helpfully elaborates.

[Will Stanton]

"Is he too...big for people like me and me and me and me?"

[Narrator]

"Yes! Too big and heavy and stiff for you or for not-yous."

"Sometimes they dance. Sometimes they dance forever in a moment."

"See? Boring."

[Will Stanton]

"You didn't mean to hurt anyone, did you? Not really. It just sort of happened," Will said, as he finally reached Bouba's portal. "This was an accident. Like the others?"

[Narrator]

"Pushed through to dance alone. It's not right. Find and bring the Quantum Child she said."

[Will Stanton]

"'She'?" Will said looking up at Bouba.

You know that little voice in the back of your head which says to not touch the stove? And the second voice that says touch the stove, it's a great idea? No, just the first one? Huh. Alright then.

[Narrator]

"Broken and alone. Sad, always so sad it turned bitter. She learned how to mold and shape and push and prod to try and make herself be but she forgot how it is to exist and the little poppet she made instead ran away so she punishes them over and over. But then something happened. Down in the tree where the ravens roost. Two branches intertwined so even we couldn't tell them apart for a while and that's when she learned a hidden truth. To trick us into a world. To make us real for a time so we can bring her the Diminutive One so she won't be alone anymore. Not me though. I already dance with you in every world." Bouba finishes cheerfully.

[Will Stanton]

He shouldn't do this. He knows he shouldn't do this.

"Maybe you can show me where the Ravens roost. I've had some history with birds," he said, reaching out for the portal -- could a knight even make a move up like that? Was that legal? Was it smart?

[Narrator]

"All I can do is what you can do." is the last coherent sentence that forms before Will's hand passes the plane of the portal. Will's shifted processing power is the only thing parsing things into an easily understandable framework. Sending his 'data' out of that environment robs him of the trick that let him walk and talk in a reasonable space.

Telepaths are capable of bringing that kind of parsing of the abstract into metaphor with them. Will is not a telepath. Will is. He can feel 'Bouba' around him but without a physical presence they can't shift. Without a physical presence they can't really do much of anything. It's beyond frustrating to simply be, with infinite potential and to lack any way of using it. This isn't like being a tool patiently waiting to be used, this is not even getting to be the tool. It's stupid and dumb and exhilarating when someone finally needs you to be something. And though it feels like this state of floating, unused and unwanted, last forever, soon he can feel himself/Bouba be pulled this way and that. Be a mirror over here. Form an impossible mass. Adjust density over there. For all the eternity of nothing, there is an equal eternity of work to be done. All around him, tugging every which way, he lends his power to himself. Places are hard to recognize. Sometimes they're familiar, sometimes they're not. Sometimes they call for known shapes, sometimes they require new and exciting experiments. Sometimes all they want is one boring static shape, sometimes they want to never remain the same for too long.

Their surroundings, their thoughts and ideas, their understanding of the world around them is all he has to shape them. Fragments of songs, stories, misunderstood mechanics, known truths and trusted lies. Sometimes it doesn't work out, doesn't mesh with the rest of the world. It's difficult to get everything right. There's so much to manage. Tiny little quarks dancing to Will's/Bouba's tune and spinning themselves into shape to make clay. To make muscles. To make plastic. To make metal. To make liquid, to move what shouldn't have muscles, to always be helping and shaping and being in that moment with them forever and ever and ever.


And then he's suddenly spit back out of the portal and both the computer and the Clockwork-Portal nearby tell him that barely a second has passed. Bouba's portal still shows the familiar blubby shape, though past it Will can see otherworldy branches twisting in endless fractals and perched on them a Raven. Or a whole flock of them. or the same Raven over and over. It's like a magic-eye picture that constantly swims in and out of focus.

"Look, we found the roost!" Bouba chirps.

[Will Stanton]

The first order of business for Will was very clear and obvious and important. He fell down on to his hands and knees retching; this was disorientation on a grand scale, and that's coming from someone who spent eons hurtling through the formless vacuum of space.

The second order of business was to look back up, shakily, and take the fractal tree into the level of understanding he could, well, understand.

"...M...Morrigan?" he said, shakily, as he tried to draw himself back to his feet. "Y...you know me, yes?"

[Cailleach]

"I can't make it hear us, unfortunately." Bouba explains, though there is a reaction in the fractal tree and like an optical illusion the branches shift to those of corals encrusted with mollusks and anemones.

And then two perfectly round and dimly glowing eyes appear, the shadow they belong to dashing back and forth until it suddenly pops into view very close to the portal. A wide-mouthed grin of thin and pointed teeth revealing itself, larger than life and big enough to swallow Will whole.

"Is this... an undersea cable?" a vaguely familiar voice mumbles. "How is that possible?" The view through the portal shifts as if the other end is being moved until one giant pale eye is staring out of it and focuses on Will. "The Plyable Tool! But how?"

[Will Stanton]

Ah, finally something Will was on solid footing with. He did, after all, have some experience with a) freaky mythological beings, b) Morriganlikes, and c) being tiny and held by predators. Finally, something sensible here.

"The cally-leach?" Will said, gears spinning in his head. "Could she be the one poking holes and sending you after us? But to what end," he mused. It was like trying to put together a puzzle, and he didn't yet have all the pieces, but at least the picture was becoming a little clearer.

[Cailleach]

While Will is musing to himself he is treated to a close-up view of the inside of Cailleach's mouth as she chews on the cable. Though after a moment of seemingly toddler-levels of analysis, the portal frays a little at the edges and widens. Somewhere on the other side Cailleach has chewed off the proverbial coating on the cable and is fanning out the strands of fiber-optics into a loop large enough to fit her upper body through. Which promptly pops out of Will's portal, clawed fingers grasping it's edge and water dripping off the horrific mermaid. Though the water seems to dissipate into nothing before it hits the wireframe-floor and Cailleach herself flinches away a little from the environment on this side.

"Gah! It crackles and singes. What is this!? You reek of lightning."

[Will Stanton]

Well, that was unexpected, and Will takes a leap back, somewhat instinctually keeping himself between Bouba and the clockwork thing and the horrific fish woman.

"And you reek of expired tuna. You do not belong here, hag. One should know one's place."

[Cailleach]

"Oh that's quite rich coming from you, dangling your line in the Abyss and complaining when something bites!" she says, snapping her teeth at Will but not close enough to actually reach. "What is this? Did the Automaton build you a machine to pierce the heavens?"

[Will Stanton]

"I build myself, thank you very much," Will said, trying to keep a steely demeanor.

"And your abyss is leaking, and badly. It does not belong here."

[Cailleach]

"Doesn't belong!?" she cackles. "You're the one who doesn't belong down here, worming your way in with a machine. You're almost as bad as Conduit's little stunt, but at least you knock rather than tearing down walls, aye?"

She's still leaning out of the portal but at least she doesn't seem to be too interested in actually emerging from it in full.

[Will Stanton]

"You're right. Out in the abyss I'm a minnow, fit for being caught.

But I'm not the only one worming in, am I?"

[Cailleach]

"Ah!" she tuts. "I'm made to swim in the sea of Sparks. You, on the other hand, are not. And yet, here you are calling to my seat of power from inside your computer."

[Will Stanton]

"One of us needs to check our surroundings."

Back in 'reality', the Willputer whirred, identifying the foreign object deep inside it's code, antivirus software firing to life to isolate and contain it before it could infect anything.

[Cailleach]

A phalanx of red pawns renders into existence behind Will, armed with an array of spears, nets and other fishing implements. One has a straight-up fishing rod, which doesn't seem particularly useful in this exact case, but Cailleach recoils a little from the display regardless.

"You try to devour someone once." she huffs. "I'm not here to lay siege to your little Silicone Kingdom. I'm an ambassador from the Depths!" she grins an extremely untrustworthy grin.

[Will Stanton]

"I'm afraid I haven't received your credentials from the King of the Depths, and we haven't exactly started normalized relations yet," Will said, flanked by his anti-virus pawns. "So if you're looking for diplomatic immunity..."


Back in "reality"...

Code: Select all

>>Tracert Cailleach

[Narrator]

Tracing the route to Cailleach.home

1 Stanton.home 0ms 0ms 0ms
2 Chronos.debris 2ns 3ns 2ns
3 Chronos.spark 0ns 0ns 0ns


4 ?̵͔̘̘͎̝͓̦̦̙̯̗̎͗̽͑͌͒͆̕̕?̵̗̰̘̾̍̎͐͜?̷̢̨͙͈̲͖͍͙̪͉̮̼̙̗̭͎̜̃̎͑͑̎̑̉̅̌̋ͅ.̵̦̘̭̫͎͊?̵̢̡̢̛̰̞̺̫̞͔͎͇̳̲͕̫̭͑̀̏̽̀̅͆͌̔̇͗̚͝͠?̴̮̇̆͝?̷̧̙̩͇̬̰͔̜͚̻̣̻̘͚͊̊̒̎͒̆̔̐̈́͐͆͋̊̆.̷̨̡̞̝̰͓̱̻̦͎̥̭̹̲̥̣͖̏̈̎͊̈́͗̍͐̊̄̓͂͘͘͝?̴͈̤͓͉̯̭͓͈͕̝̳̟̺̜͇̭̾͑̽́͜ͅ?̷̨̨̢̼͈͇̟̼͐̄̈́̎͋̋́̿͘͜͜ͅ?̶̢̧̧̧̺͙̮̟͍͖̦̘͕͉̤͐̑͗͗̈́̐͊͊̈́͆͗͆̀̕͘͜͝͝͠.̷̢̠̻̜̳̫̥̘̬͓͎̗̙̲̙̫̻͑̈͌͑̉́̄̃̄́̀̍̑͑̚͘͜?̶̡̦͓̺̞̞̜̦̪̾̍͑̓͑̎̑̽̀͛͛͝?̷̭̜̦̆͛̏͐̈́͊̉̊̓̋̔͘̕͝?̵̻̩́͛̂̌͊̏͌̐̀̑́͝͝


5 Bouba.spark <1ns <1ns <1ns


6 ?̵͔̘̘͎̝͓̦̦̙̯̗̎͗̽͑͌͒͆̕̕?̵̗̰̘̾̍̎͐͜?̷̢̨͙͈̲͖͍͙̪͉̮̼̙̗̭͎̜̃̎͑͑̎̑̉̅̌̋ͅ.̵̦̘̭̫͎͊?̵̢̡̢̛̰̞̺̫̞͔͎͇̳̲͕̫̭͑̀̏̽̀̅͆͌̔̇͗̚͝͠?̴̮̇̆͝?̷̧̙̩͇̬̰͔̜͚̻̣̻̘͚͊̊̒̎͒̆̔̐̈́͐͆͋̊̆.̷̨̡̞̝̰͓̱̻̦͎̥̭̹̲̥̣͖̏̈̎͊̈́͗̍͐̊̄̓͂͘͘͝?̴͈̤͓͉̯̭͓͈͕̝̳̟̺̜͇̭̾͑̽́͜ͅ?̷̨̨̢̼͈͇̟̼͐̄̈́̎͋̋́̿͘͜͜ͅ?̶̢̧̧̧̺͙̮̟͍͖̦̘͕͉̤͐̑͗͗̈́̐͊͊̈́͆͗͆̀̕͘͜͝͝͠.̷̢̠̻̜̳̫̥̘̬͓͎̗̙̲̙̫̻͑̈͌͑̉́̄̃̄́̀̍̑͑̚͘͜?̶̡̦͓̺̞̞̜̦̪̾̍͑̓͑̎̑̽̀͛͛͝?̷̭̜̦̆͛̏͐̈́͊̉̊̓̋̔͘̕͝?̵̻̩́͛̂̌͊̏͌̐̀̑́͝͝


7 Psychopomp.spark <1ns <1ns <1ns
8 Cailleach.home <1ns <1ns <1ns

Trace complete

Looks like mostly straight-forward. The connection is established through the Titan fragment, which is linked to it's spark, which is somehow connected to Bouba, which again somehow links to 'Psychopomp.spark' and from there to Cailleach.

[Cailleach]

"I'm merely searching out this strange disturbance in the Abyss. I would expect The Morrigan to grace it with her presence again but first this dead thing drops in for too brief to even let me have a nibble and now this. You'll drown down here and that is not a threat, nor malediction or a curse but a simple truth."

[Will Stanton]

"What, my presence isn't good enough to count as grace? I'm hurt, eel.

And what dead thing?"

[Cailleach]

"The Vampyr. The one who carries the Spark of Demesne."

[Will Stanton]

"Ah, I see.

Well, I'm sorry to say that particular meal has been spoken for. But I'm sure you'll get to see her again, very soon."

And with that, the red pawns advanced, attempting to trap Cailleach, preventing her from severing the connection. Go fishing in the deep, and who knows what you draw up.

[Cailleach]

Whatever Cailleach's response may have been, with the pawns advancing on her she simply lets out a shrill screech and tries to let herself fall backwards into the Abyss. When two of the nets catch her retreating form she begins to squirm, copious amounts of thick, slippery slime secreting from every inch of her body like the hagfish she is. Where it drips to the floor it turns into computer-worms with brightly colored bristles meant to draw the attention of the anti-virus program. With a number of the pawns chasing after the worms they don't quite manage to pull Cailleach through the portal before she blows up like a pufferfish made of many long spines, wedging herself in.

"Rude! I only tried to eat you lot once, a little bit!"

[Will Stanton]

Code: Select all

Error: Unknown data at 0x7fff5694dc58.  Threat detected.  Quarantining affected area...

The pawns chased after the worms, trying to prevent them from corrupting the rest of the chessboard.

"Don't threaten me with a good time, hagfish. You may be the bigger fish in the sea, but that just means you'll look better on the scales when I draw you up," Will said, with a bit of false bravado.

[Cailleach]

"Reel me in and I'll hollow you out from the inside. Gnaw on your bones and sup your flesh no matter it's state. And when I'm done I'll walk you over to that little corner you tucked the rest of you away in and I'll gorge myself on them too!" Big words that would probably carry more weight if they came from a shadow in the dark rather than a slimy pufferfish mermaid stuck in a metaphorical computer simulation.

"But cut me loose and maybe I'll divulge some of the secrets of the deep. That is what you're doing, isn't it? Dredging the depth for a smidgen of understanding?"

[Will Stanton]

"If you could do what you say, you wouldn't be offering information in trade. Unless you're growing soft on me here," Will said, with crossed arms.

"But If you have something to barter, let's hear it. I'm not ethically opposed to catch-and-release."

[Cailleach]

"I could and I would, but you'd sit heavy in my stomach and your friends would hunt me. Besides, we have a common enemy. Bigger fish than you or me in this sea. The one who sends the Titans, she's learning new tricks." Cailleach nods.

[Will Stanton]

"New tricks? What sort of new tricks?"

[Cailleach]

"Right now she is molding the Sparks, making them manifest on their own accord. Creating. Learned it from me, I fear. She saw me weave myself into Samantha and how it confused our Spark, saw us as one and still let's me into her being. Saw it and learned. Learned of how the flesh resonates with the Spark. Her own Spark, our Spark, it knows how to make our flesh sing in tune so we can sever them when their time comes. Right now she merely sings into being a tiny pinprick of purpose and let's the Spark blossom through it but she is getting better at it. Imagine a Titan not born of it's own nature but of desperate anger and hate. Imagine she learns deeper secrets? Of hopes and dreams that mold our powers? Imagine a poisonous wish distorting every Spark until the only shapes it lets you find are irradiated husks. Telekinesis only rends and tears. All weather touched only brings ruinous storms. All forces unhinged, all Children of the Sparks forever forlorn."

[Will Stanton]

"WHO is she? Who is sending these things to attack us?" Will said, taking a dangerous step closer to Cailleach.