voice;

[paterelohim]

[With how much Chuck loves doing video post, the fact that he's sticking to voice should be the first red flag. The choked tone in his voice is another.]

Fred- Winifred Burkle. Has anyone seen her?

Her NV's offline, she isn't answering it.

[There's a long, sunken silence.]

I think... she's gone.

I want to say she'll probably be back, but I just don't know- I haven't seen it yet. God, what's the point of seeing the future if it doesn't help?

Anyway, I just- thought everyone who knows her should know. She's out.

Comments

[paterelohim]

Only the residents. They were born here and they- they can have kids, and when they die it's for real.

None of the rules apply to us. We don't get to have our children, keep them, or die normally.

[He's quite a lot drunker than he's been letting on in his other conversations, because he holds his booze like a champ.]

[failedparenting]

You're fucking with me.

[But it makes sense. He hasn't heard of any newcomers having kids. That'd be some kind of news, right? The awful newcomers multiplying?]

[paterelohim]

We don't have kids. It's never happened, I'm pretty sure.

[failedparenting]

[Well, fuck, that's not good.]

That doesn't seem right, man. Like it's on purpose.

[paterelohim]

I don't know. Can you imagine a pregnant woman vanishing halfway through her pregnancy? Or a baby's parents going home suddenly? Who'd get the kid? This place doesn't exactly have immigration laws set up.

[failedparenting]

With all that, that'd mean the Core has a mind of it's own. Which option is scarier to you?

[paterelohim]

I don't know. I've heard theories that it's sentient.

[failedparenting]

Christ.

I hope it's just the scientists.

[paterelohim]

Are you kidding? I trust a pissed off, sentient machine a lot more than I trust the fucking natives.

[failedparenting]

Seriously? The idea that a machine that can think for itself and has the power to kidnap people from different goddamn times and universes doesn't make you nervous?

[paterelohim]

It's just one mind, and it's probably hurting- I mean, they say the Core is broken.

You can talk to one mind. You can convince it, appeal to it, or argue with it. You can figure out how it works and relate to it on its own level.

But a mob- you can't reason with a mob. There's nothing more cruel than an ignorant public.