Slugcat

691.039 - PRIVATE
Administrator, Blazing Cinder Thread


A: This is question one. Can you tell us your name?

BCT: My name is Blazing Cinder Thread.

A: Correct answer. Now can you tell us what you are?

BCT: If I refer to the documents left in my data, I am an iterator, which is a collection of machineries inside a superstructure that consists of neural tissue and circuits. I am currently speaking to you through a puppet in a can.

A: Correct again. Can you tell us your purpose?

BCT: My purpose is to find the solution to the Great Problem through experiments. It is an issue that prevents the ascension of certain individuals.

A: This is also correct. Might you have any questions, as you were created just now?

BCT: No, Administrator. I do not have any questions as of now.

A: This concludes our log, then.





700.113 - LOG


I had my first conversation with the other iterators of my local group. The local group consists of Many
Turquoise Waves, Conscious Evergreen, Roaring Thunder Shrieks, Seven Jewels and me, Blazing Cinder
Thread. MTW was very welcoming, and she is the oldest of the local group, thus she has "senior
authority" over us. CE is the second oldest, and he didn't really seem to care much. I can tell he is very
focused on his work, since he barely even talked. RTS was pretty enthusiast, that's all I can say. He is
very positive about things. SJ joked a few times while we were talking, and we get along very well. I
have a feeling we will be pretty good friends!





963.531 - LOG


It is very quiet in my city above my can. I understand that the population has been continuously shrinking due to the ascensions, but this is... sudden. Like they all suddenly vanished. I sent overseers to look for remaining invidivuals, and they returned with... nothing. No one is left. I'm going to contact my local group about this.





978.105 - LOG


It seems I am not alone with a silent metropolis. Some of the iterators of my local group have completely empty cities, while some have extremely low population, quite possibly a few individuals or groups of individuals. I do not know about the other iterators further in the north, but they are likely living the same thing. What are we going to do, if our creators all ascend before we even solve the Great Problem? It would all be in vain!





1000.190 - PRIVATE
Seven Jewels, Blazing Cinder Thread


SJ: They're all gone, now. The last remaining ancients of my city have ascended.

BCT: So they really went and did it, huh...?

BCT: What are we going to do without them? We rely on them to keep our equipment healthy.

SJ: I guess we keep working on this Great Task before we all inevitably collapse? I'm not sure what to do, either. Seems pretty selfish to just leave us here, to slowly decay.

BCT: I suppose this is all we have left to do...

BCT: What a horrible fate. I wish I could do something else, now that the Great Problem is just one big useless waste of time. It's not like the surviving creatures down there have enough intellectual capacity to even comprehend the solution, if we do ever find it.

SJ: Who knows, maybe we'll find it soon. And we don't know if our creators are totally extinct yet, since we don't know about the state of the colonies past the sea.

SJ: It would be nice if our communication arrays could reach the other side of the sea. "Hey! Where's your creators!? Could we borrow some? Ours are all GONE!!!"

BCT: Actually, about that... I heard that they are actually completely extinct.

SJ: What, seriously? They ACTUALLY all ascended? I thought it was just us being unlucky, but I guess it's our entire species. Our creators are SO rude. Can't even believe it.

SJ: Sigh... I guess I'm going back to work.





1147.521 - LOG


Over the past 20 cycles, I have been sending overseers to examine the surrounding regions and give me images of the state of the world around me. It is nothing but ruins, debris, and the last remaining buildings still standing thanks to their incredible foundations and rigid columns. The ground is pounded, and despite the torrential rains, the last fauna and flora remaining have adapted to their hostile environments. I gained a lot of interest for these few surviving creatures, which consist of a handful lizards, a few vultures, and a small colony of slugcats who migrated here not so long ago, about 6 individuals, possibly a family or two. They came from oversea from up north. There are so few living things here. This is when I decided on a project. Why not liven up the place a bit and start up a brand new ecosystem in the surrounding regions? I attempted to talk with the local group about my project, but Jewels was the only one who actually wanted to know about it. She is very supportive!