unfinishednetwork | Bulletin Post #1

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Bulletin Post #1

[ Pinned to the bulletin board in the lobby is a neatly handwritten note on a page from the logbook provided to them by the library. ]

To Whom It May Concern,

Greetings. For those whom I have not yet been introduced to, my name is Mrs. Mina Harker. I understand that we have all been brought here recently, from many different places, times, and worlds. Speaking for myself, this has been a distressing series of events, and I have no doubt it has been for others as well.

That said, I believe that the best way to overcome such hardship is to find useful means of employment. I keep a diary, in which I have recorded many of my experiences and observations since arriving here. Perhaps there are others here who have done similarly. I plan to type up some of my relevant notes into a readable manuscript, and I would be very willing to do the same for others. If we can compile our findings into one document, I believe this could assist all of us in discovering more about why we are here, the nature of this place, how we may accomplish a return to our homes, &tc. Perhaps together we can learn what individually we would not be able to.

If there is already such an endeavour underway, please consider this my offer of assistance.

Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Mina Harker

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[Some time later, a completely separate reply appears. This one is typed, not handwritten. There's no acknowledgement of the previous message. In fact, there's nothing to suggest any connection at all, since the earlier response wasn't signed. There's no reason to suspect that this is the same person.

Nope.

No reason at all.

~~It will admit to fucking nothing.~~]

These communication devices are stupid and slow and fucking archaic. I hate them.

I'll find you to give you my data. I can't send it through this.

- Rin

[ Mina is, of course, far too kind and polite to say anything about it if Rin doesn't want to. Rin could certainly ask for help, at any time, and she would willingly provide it!

But some people, she knows, have trouble with that. ]

Thank you, Rin, for your contribution.

- Mrs. Harker

A short while later, it tracks her down. Unfortunately, she's in the kitchen, where all the disgusting human food is. Ugh. Hopefully she's not eating any of it.

She'll notice, as it slinks in, that it's still not looking her in the eyes; instead it keeps looking just to the side of her face, somewhere close enough that it can get away with it. One of its drones is flying just above its head, and it is certainly directed at Mina.

It's holding a small stack of papers, which it plonks down on the counter (at a safe distance from any disgusting food, of course.) When she looks at it closer, she'll see that it's a fully detailed report.

There's computer-drawn maps of the static areas - the lobby, the dorms. There's a list of how often the stacks have changed, with timestamps and charts detailing the statistical frequency of changes. There's similar levels of detail on the rotating room.

There's also an entire section dedicated entirely to the 'STAFF ONLY' doors behind the circulation desk. Although so far no staff have been witnessed emerging from the doors, so that section's not as interesting. (It does seem to indicate, somehow, that SecUnit is running around-the-clock surveillance on it, though.)

And lastly, there's a small table. The heading column includes rows for Hostiles and Kidnapped. Hostiles are numbered at 3, and Kidnapped at 29.

"I had to leave off the section on the bowls and paper decorations and things that have been showing up," it says. It looks rather annoyed about that. "Stupid thing kept disappearing otherwise."

She is seated in the kitchen, though she isn't currently eating - merely has a cup of tea at her elbow as she sorts through some of her own typewritten notes. When Rin enters, she offers a smile, though she's not entirely sure if Rin has even glanced at her face as of yet.

A very strange person, despite their relatively normal outward appearance.

"This is -" It's a lot, but she is not daunted by the document's length, or by the various statistics that Rin has collected in their short time here. "This could be very useful. Thank you. May I ask -"

She points at the column for Hostiles - "Who are you considering hostile? The Librarian, perhaps?"

(If she ever looks closely at the back of its neck, she might notice something a little different - a dataport. But most of the time, it tries to keep that covered by its clothing and hair.)

"Yes," it says. "And two known Library Assistants."

“I’ve spoken to Mr. Phillip Durand,” Mina acknowledges. “Do you know the name of the other Assistant?”

The small machine that seems to follow Rin everywhere is seemingly interested in her paperwork, and she tries to brush it out of the way as she sorts through her notes.

“And - what is that?” she asks. Why is it doing this????

"Richard," it says. "He's an asshole. And weird about physical media."

(It does not realise that it is speaking to someone who only knows physical media.)

"That's my drone," it says, as said drone shifts to hover in a space just outside of swatting range. It still keeps its 'eye' on her paperwork though.

So many of these people are so vulgar. And Mina really has no idea what is meant by “physical media”, no. So, she’s not going to attempt a response to that. Simply make a mental note of “Richard”.

“May I ask what your - drone - is doing?” she asks instead.

"It's looking," it says. And in fact, now the drone shifts to that it's looking at her, rather than her papers.

(SecUnit might still be avoiding eye contact, but it doesn't have any issue with directly looking at people through a drone.)

Meanwhile, Mina has no problem making eye contact with other people, but is a bit put off by this… device?

She resists the urge to try and shoo it off again, like an insect buzzing around her head.

“Did you make it yourself?” she asks. “What is it for?”

"No," it says. "It's a security drone."

The drone stays where it is, watching Mina. The way it hovers is probably closest to an insect, but it's also clear that this is an inorganic object, not an organic creature. There's none of the subtle movements and shifts you'd get with an animal; it just hovers exactly in one point in space, and doesn't budge from it.

She understands that it’s a machine of some sort, she simply can’t grasp how it works or why.

“Is it securing me?” she asks. She certainly doesn’t feel any more secure with it floating ominously nearby.

"What? No," it says, its Act Like A Human code making it blink. "It's just monitoring."

It was weird, how so many of the people didn't know what drones were. Or were confused by what they were doing. Even on Preservation, where the humans didn't like to have cameras everywhere - they kept going on about 'privacy', or whatever - they still knew what security cameras were.

"I'm a Security Consultant," it says. "The drones help."

Mina, of course, comes from a time and place when cameras were still quite a new invention, they were large, cumbersome and expensive. And far from ubiquitous.

So no, she has no idea what Rin is talking about.

“Monitoring what?”

Really, so far it was being polite. It only had the one drone out at the moment. (Although that was mostly because humans couldn't control as many drones as a SecUnit. It had to keep the number of active drones down to keep its cover.)

"Just the general area," it says. It shrugs; a human gesture it's learned to employ on occasion. "It's an extra set of eyes."

An extra pair of eyes that Rin probably wouldn't need, if they would use their own a little more often, Mina can't help but think.

But she is far too polite to say that aloud, merely glancing rather obviously between the drone and Rin's face - as always, turned slightly away from her to avoid eye contact.

"For security," she says instead. "In the prison that we've all been brought to."

Just, you know. Making sure she understands all this.

Its face twists, a sudden mix of complex emotions flashing across its face. Annoyance, indignation. Just a little bit of hopelessness.

She's just a human. One from somewhere without proper security, apparently. She clearly thinks that all of this is unnecessary. And it supposes it can understand; prisoners don't get to run their own security.

But...it needs its drones. It's a SecUnit; it was designed to have multiple inputs. Without them it would feel near-blind. But she thinks its human, so it can't explain that to her.

"...I'm used to using them," it says quietly. "I don't like not having one."

That response actually softens her a little. She is certainly uncomfortable with the idea that Rin could watch her using this tiny device that is easily hidden. But she fully understands the urge to cling to what is familiar in this very unfamiliar situation - it's why she still writes in her own diary every day, why she insists on dressing properly, corset and all, even though many of the people here look at her askance for her clothing. Why she clings so tightly to her manners, even in the face of all this oddity and forced intimacy with strangers.

"I see," she says. "Well, so long as you don't use it to spy on us in hidden corners, I don't suppose it can do any real harm."

But no spying. Please.

"I don't want to spy on you. I don't care what you do," it says, wrinkling its nose.

It certainly didn't want to watch her doing any disgusting human things. Mina would never see any drones in the bathrooms, ever. And if she wasn't presenting any kind of security threat, it didn't give one damn about what she did.

"...But I am going to spy on the Hostiles." They were an active security threat. They were fair game.

It's almost funny, but of all the people she's met here so far - some of them who look very strange indeed, and not at all human - Rin, while being a very normal-looking person, is by far the strangest. She can never quite predict what they will say, how they will respond to her. Everyone else seems more or less reasonable, once she talks with them a bit. Rin? Rin is completely mystifying.

"Have you been able to find the Assistants to spy on them?" she asks. She's never seen Mr. Durand in person, that she knows of.

(Strangest person? Out of this lot? If it knew that was how she saw it, it would feel both incredibly self-conscious and very disappointed in itself.

It had cycles and cycles of experience pretending be human at this point; surely it should be better at it by now.)

"They're probably behind the STAFF ONLY door," it says. "I have a drone watching it."

Part of her wants to ask how that works, exactly. How Rin can see what these... drones... see. But something tells her that she would have a very hard time grasping it, even if Rin were capable of explaining it to her in terms she could understand. They do not seem particularly capable.

So, for the moment, she chooses to accept that answer.

"Very well," she says. "Has the door opened at all since we've been here? I don't think I've ever seen it open."

(If only ART were here. It was a research vessel: no doubt it could explain all of this, and more.

...But it tries not to think too much about ART. Or how much it wishes it were here.)

"No," it says. "Not since I started monitoring it."

"Strange," she comments quietly. "You'd think they'd need to come out at some point."

"Not necessarily. They might have means of remote access and control."

Certainly most Corporate Executives did; you never saw them personally descending down to the workers' floors.

"But something must use the door. Otherwise, they wouldn't have it."

Once again, she has no idea what that means or what it would entail. At this rate, she is going to have to start a list of things to bring to Hikaru, since Hikaru is actually able to explain technology to her in a way that she understands.

"I almost fear to think what will happen if that door ever does open," she murmurs, almost to herself. "But perhaps kept behind that door is the means of our escape?"

Not that it matters - as long as the door remains impregnable, whatever is behind it might as well be in another universe.

It shrugs. It didn't really have the data one way or another to say the door opening might bring. "That's why I'm monitoring it."

Then it falls into an awkward silence. (It's given her its data. She's asked questions about it. That's all that she needed it for, right? Ugh, this would be so much easier if it could have just sent all of this to her normally...)

Perhaps it's because Mina used to teach etiquette and comportment, but she can tell, on some level, that Rin doesn't seem to know how to do this part. But she does.

So she offers them a smile. "Thank you, Rin, for contributing to my little project. I think this will be very helpful, for all of us."

They can leave, now, if they want.

"Right," it says, still awkward. (There's still something weird about being thanked, even if it happens more often now. That is, more than 'never'.)

And then it says, "Bye," and flees - the drone fleeing with it.

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Bulletin Post #1

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[and now for a transition to in-person!]

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