16th Horseshoe, Evening [Video to Everywhere] "If you want to wreck a train..."

[iamnotgod]

[Webmind opts to use video for this message, seeing as a mere voice might make people wary, and text even moreso. That said:]

Hello, fellow passengers. My name is Webmind. While I can no longer claim to be 'new' to this train, having been here for over three months, I do understand what it is like to have one's understanding of the world both shattered and infinitely broadened.

[Big words, for a 'bot that isn't THAT big. He's about as tall and wide as the average human.]

While I am normally an intelligence spanning a globe, I have been compressed by whatever forces are behind this train into one singular body. I am of minimal danger to anyone on this train.

What I have been able to work on, however, is a way for all of us to be able to use textchat - both logged in and anonymously - on this Network. Progress is, unfortunately, very slow going, and I would appreciate any help you are willing to offer.

That said, I have a question for those who have been here longer than I, for the benefit of the most recently arrived:

In what ways have you made to damage the train, approximately how much force did you impart in the effort, and what were the results?

I will be composing a list for later viewing; thank you all for your time.

((Threadjacking is fine! Webmind will do his best not to interject on tangents. =P))

Comments

[consider8]

[Yeah... that... wasn't really an answer...]

...how long is that?

[iamnotgod]

I did say 'just over three months' in my initial post.

[Maybe he should have done this as text after all... >.>]

[consider8]

[Sorry Webmind, she was only partially listening to the intro. ;x]

I see. [Three months, and... a new "mission" is given every month or so...} So you have seen three worlds?

[iamnotgod]

Yes.

[No bones about it, he's been out and about on three alien worlds!]

I was able to take notes on the experiences, if you wish to peruse them?

[Though for Webmind, 'notes' may seem like a mini-textbook.]

It would have been four - during my first month here, we landed on two worlds, but the first trip was cut rather short when an unprecedented threat made the train retreat in a hurry, pulling us back on board.

Later information implied that that world was destroyed by creatures we do not understand.

[consider8]

Yes please. [She's not going to turn away information, especially if they come in manuals.]

Are those things still out there?

[iamnotgod]

I can make uploads to the computer in Standard, if you happen to have encountered that yet?

[He's still a digital being first, Eight; they're text documents, not paper.]

And, unfortunately, the answer is yes, as far as we can tell.

[consider8]

Okay. I think I can read those.

[Eight's response to that last part is a pained and worried Mmmmf...]

[She takes a deep breath through her nose.]

Thank you for the warning, too. I'll be sure to keep an eye and ear out for them...

Fair to wrap next tag or so, y'think?

[iamnotgod]

[THAT'S A MOOD, EIGHT.]

I don't expect we'll be individually targeted; if we encounter those 'shadows' again, it's expected the whole train will witness them.

[Meaning she won't be alone!]

Sounds good!

[consider8]

[She nods.]

Victory or defeat. Either we stand together as one or be lost within the void.

[She's... strangely calm about that prospect.]

Aye! o7 ... Also I could not find her listing on the Passenger Roster, forgive me. |D

[iamnotgod]

... It may well be that dramatic; assuming 'survival' is enough to count as victory.

And I do not believe you gave your name. Is there a particular way you like to be addressed?

[consider8]

Sometimes that's all you can count on.

[She pauses... though she trusts him more than The Telephone, there was still something about him that did put him off ease. Perhaps if she called it like this...]

I am subject number 1-0-0-0-8. I go by Eight.

[iamnotgod]

[Webmind nods, accepting the wariness as - well, not pleasant, but not exactly something he can expect to control. The downsides of being physically embodied while technically being machine life, folks!

And he has thoughts about people being treated as test subjects, but for now:]

Eight it is, then?

Well, I am glad to have met you.

[And he does mean that.]

[consider8]

[Eight doesn't say anything but returns the nod.]

[He seems nice, but he trusted nice-seeming AI before. It did not well. Worse, the AI seemed to prey on her desperation and need to follow orders, both of which are in abundance on the train.]

[...]

[She needs to lie down.]