un: mori

[setpoint]

This morning, I received a message on my communicator from the username m.muller. When I tried to message them back, all I received was an error. I don't recognize her, but maybe someone else will.

[So Mako attaches a video file. There's a woman with frizzy red hair and freckles on screen, looking slightly panicked. "My name is Martina Muller," she says, and her voice is calm and slightly accented. There's a sudden crash behind her, and she cuts herself off with a gasp. "You have to warn the others! There is a traitor on board. Wherever you are, there is a traitor on board, you have to–"

And then the message cuts off.]

It seems like not everyone received it, so it wasn't a network wide broadcast. As far as I can tell, it came from the station, but I don't know where.

I also tried to unlock one of the doors. I've figured out which wires control the locking mechanism, but nothing I did to override or overload them seemed to work. Has anyone else had any luck?

Comments

un: ripley

[retund]

Maybe it's a warning for us, too.

[ a survivor on the inside shooting out every clip they can get their hands on, or a clever comms technician who set the messages to go out randomly to any live receptors in the vicinity, even after their own death. she assumes the latter was how the last message from an alien death trap was sent to her ship. ]

text; un: H. Gurszky

[magneticfields]

Was that transmitted within the station? Is it possible it was sent from elsewhere, and would we be able to tell if it was?

[setpoint]

As far as I can tell, it was transmitted from within the station, but I haven't been able to figure out when.

[setpoint]

Do you think the traitor might still be on the station?

[It's not completely out of the question. Like Raleigh said, there's no telling who among them was actually kidnapped, and who's simply lying.]

a true nightmare scenario

[setpoint]

I assume there was a way to override the doors from the terminals, but those are locked down tight. I haven't been able to access anything but the network.

[magneticfields]

[ She seems competent enough that he doesn't feel the need to demand to know how she can tell. ]

I think it's safe to assume it happened before we arrived.

[ He refuses to accept more time travel in his life than strictly necessary. ]

This also brings up the question of how many generations have been brought here. Are we the second, or merely the latest in a series.

[retund]

Yes.
The station itself might be watching, too.

[ Mother had betrayed them aboard the Nostromo. Traitors come in all forms, from the seemingly impartial AI to the lying company man. ]

[setpoint]

What makes you think we might be part of a "series"?

[setpoint]

The station itself? Do you mean an AI?

[She's hoping that's what that means, anyway, and not another person thinking the station might literally be alive.]

[magneticfields]

What makes you think we aren't?

[retund]

I do.
It happened aboard my last ship.

[ The AI’s being in on the conspiracy, she means. ]

[setpoint]

The only AIs I've dealt with weren't advanced enough to do something like that.

un: niijima.m

[boazjachin]

I agree with @ripley.

I don't have experience with AIs [like at all she is so out of her depth there] but the number of unnatural occurrences on this ship so far could just as easily be attributed to science as the supernatural.

Is there a way to conclusively prove that the message isn't current? I haven't seen her either, but that doesn't mean much. We can only access a small part of the station.

[crayzies]

i got real sleepy. like nyquil levels of suddenly slumping all over. those tranq darts they shoot cheetahs and other big kitties with on national geographic.

and usually i'm kind of hyper.

[solarcharged]

I didn't look too closely, to be honest. I'm limited in how far I can go on low power and I didn't want to stray too far. Next time I go, I'll make sure to have a proper look and let you know.

What's your name?

[retund]

[ someone who agrees with her...amazing. ]

I don't think we can prove anything.

The other message that played when we first awoke and then again on some of the comms would suggest a crisis occurred as we woke up or earlier, at least. The lockdown also supports this theory, but that doesn't mean Muller's warning isn't current.

[retund]

[ She types lucky you but deletes it. Androids are a mixed bag. ]

AI's and androids are advanced enough to fool humans out here.
You might not even realize that you've spoken to a synthetic person.

[ This place is similar enough to other stations that Ripley understands the tech. She can only assume AI's are at the same level. ]

[donkeyballs]

Nothin' I could rightly make out, but... Screaming. Cries for help. That sorta thing. But when I go looking for who's cryin', I can't find 'em.

un: brightness_kholin

[veristitalian]

Be careful entering the walls. The people who were chasing the voices screaming for help, who experienced the wave of exhaustion when they tried to break them out? The sensation was an unrelated defense mechanism the building has in place. It triggers a personal physical attack if you make an attempt to do damage to the station.

un: tokumei

[neuralnet]

I might be able to trace the source of the message, if you let me see your communicator.

[ So far, he hadn't had much luck accessing the station's network archives, but it was worth a try. ]

[setpoint]

Something similar happened to my friend. Maybe the station has defense mechanisms we don't understand yet.

[setpoint]

Mako Mori. What do you mean by low power?

[setpoint]

I've heard other people mention that, too. Maybe something strange is happening with the station's acoustics.

["Ghosts" is more than she can wrap her head around at the moment.]

[setpoint]

[That is... absolutely fascinating, but Mako manages to stay on topic rather than asking a million questions.]

Do you think whatever went wrong here had something to do with an AI?

[donkeyballs]

My feelin' is that maybe they're recordings, stuck in the station's broadcast system, somehow. Playin' em back on a loop at random intervals.

Would make sense, if we're gettin' comm messages, too. Could be that the communication's system is fried.