War Week

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[A week has gone and past, as has the first of your number. The Researcher revealing himself, more or less, by punishing Patches, the Trusty, for pushing an unclear boundary.]

[And yet, routine seems to have returned. The Researcher makes morning and evening announcements as if nothing has happened. Meals are served in the dining hall. The copies of Oregon Trail in the computer lab now have a text-only mode for some reason? Penny has not been seen since Friday, and attempts to access the Security Room have been fruitless.]

[But overall, life in the Facility has remained unchanged. But the atmosphere is getting tenser - sooner or later something is going to break.]

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday Thursday

Comments

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[Meredith gives things some time to settle down after the motive, and herself some time to collect her thoughts, then heads for the security room to talk to Penny.

The only other thing of any particular significance she does today is head for the library and search the shelves for... something. Honestly, she isn't sure what she's looking for. Something that jumps out at her.]

Security Office

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[Meredith doesn't have to knock- the door opens as she approaches, and Penny steps through, offering the way in.]

Miss Meredith. Um- come in, please.

[It should be pretty obvious how Penny knew Meredith was coming; the curved walls of the room are covered in monitors, showing most of the public areas of the Facility, aside from the bathrooms and the locked door at the back of the mannequin room.]

[Penny offers Meredith a rolling office chair, before settling herself into a rotating chair fixed to the floor in front of the monitors. A small keypad rests on the desk next to a thin microphone, how Penny has made her own announcements to the facility at large.]

...you were really upset by that photo. I'm sorry. I had no idea the Researcher was going to do something like that.

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[Meredith brightens up a little bit upon seeing the new room, and takes a moment to look around before she sits.]

No, it's... it's okay. I was just shocked. I don't think it's anything bad. It's just...

You know about what's happening in my world, with stories coming to life?

[Of course she does. It was in her extended profile.]

The ArcheTypes were designed to be a way of "fighting fire with fire," using more powerful story elements protect everyone. Robots created to embody the idea of magical girls, heroines who represent hope and always bring about a happy ending.

[Penny presumably knows this, too, for the same reason. In fact she'll know Meredith's actually oversimplifying--the Types also embody specific individual archetypes, with Meredith herself being the Seeker.]

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[Penny nods, listening intently.]

Yes, I- I know. ...I was given extended versions of the public profiles, so. I already know some details. Sorry.

[She looks a little guilty at this intrusion into Meredith's personal life.]

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[HAHAHA... YEAH... INTRUDING ON SOMETHING PERSONAL... THAT'S KIND OF A BAD THING... SOMETHING TO FEEL GUILTY ABOUT...

BUT this is not the time for Meredith to dwell on such things.]

That picture, though... I've been going over it again and again. You could see how the joints worked, and there was nothing that could be a control mechanism. The open spaces didn't have any places to mount internal components.

[She pauses for a moment.]

And I've been thinking about other things. We're the only advanced AI where I come from. Nothing else even comes close. A-and I shouldn't always look like this, usually when I'm upset about something I start looking more obviously mechanical.

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...so you're worried you were made with more magical elements to to your construction than you'd thought?

[Which would be bad, question mark? But it's definitely upsetting Meredith, so. Bad, regardless of whether it's actually a "bad" thing or not.]

[This may be slightly above her paygrade as an Assistant. Which is technically nothing.]

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Not magical elements, exactly.

[Meredith takes a deep breath that she doesn't actually need to take. Probably.]

More like narrative elements.

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[Well, narrative, magical, po-tay-to po-tah-to, in this case.]

[But Penny can see the issue, she thinks.]

...like the things you were made to fight.

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[Nod.]

We already knew we were archetypes. I guess none of us ever thought about how the "robot that wants to be human" is an archetype, too.

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I see...

[Sort of, at least. Enough to understand that this is obviously a pretty big thing.]

[After a moment of silence, Penny reaches across and takes Meredith's hand.]

I don't- know that I really understand everything, about what that might mean. I'm not a scientist or- I guess a writer or anything- but. Um.

I think. It probably shouldn't matter, what you actually are, or how you were made. And if it does, I don't care. Just because you've got magic and- narrative tropes instead of nuts and bolts doesn't mean you're not still Meredith. And you're my friend.

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[Penny is holding her hand aaaaah? This actually does help a little, and she gives it a little squeeze.]

...thank you.

I think you're right. Really, I know you're right, it's just... it's big, and I don't know how to feel about it.

But thank you. I'm glad to be your friend.

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[This is how you comfort friends right.]

I guess I don't know how to really feel about it either, if that helps? I mean- besides being upset that you're upset. But I'll be here until you figure it out. I'm glad to be your friend too.

[Given everything the past two weeks have been, it feels pretty good to have actually helped someone.]

Library

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[How about something that can't jump out? Because it's not there.]

[There's a section with a whole lot of books missing, is what I'm saying.]

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[Hm! That's strange and a welcome distraction from existential questioning.

What sorts of books are near the empty spaces? There wouldn't happen to be any sort of immediately obvious pattern, would there?]

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[Well, the organization of this library is a little haphazard at best, but looks like most of the books around the conspicuously empty spots are about magic.]

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[Well this is definitely not concerning at all.

Not sure whether she can glean anything else from the surrounding books, Meredith backs up a bit and looks at the gaps, wondering if by some wild chance they form words or an arrow or loss.jpg or something.]

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[Well, looking at the titles left behind, you can make out B... E... S... U... R... E... T... O... D... R...]

[But mo, the titles left behind don't seem to hold to any specific topic or theme.]

[Maybe whoever took the missing books checked them out, though?]

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[Bold of you to assume Meredith won't try every fucking useless thing she can think of before it occurs to her to check the damn ledger.

But assuming she doesn't discover anything interesting by carefully feeling the shelves, she does eventually go take a look at that sheet. What amazing secrets has she learned?]

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[If she looks hard enough, a few books do sort of make the loss.jpg pattern, if you're inclined to see it.]

[But if she eventually does make it to the ledger, she'll- mostly see that Veronica and Izuku and maybe Michael at least have all actually signed out books in their time here.]

[But there are a few entries before theirs.]

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[That actually seems significant and she will definitely violate their privacy on this matter, but let's check out those earlier entries!]

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[There are a few entries of YA romance novels checked out with just the initial 'P', which is surely a mystery for the ages.]

[But what's probably more interesting and definitely more relevant are the earliest entries, written in the same block-letter black ink writing that's shown up a few times now.]

Death Is But a Door by D. Acererak - M.H.S.
Necrowombicon, The by Mad "I Just Get These Headaches" Ahkmed - M.H.S.
Transmutation of the Soul by Ikriogami Rane - M.H.S.
Technomagical Fusion: Development of the Spirit Core Battery by L. Miller - M.H.S.
Necromancy for Fun and Prophet by Taven the Defiler - M.H.S.
Harry Potter and the Expiring Copyright by J.K.R. - M.H.S.

[The list kind of goes on like that.]