July Adventure: Where the Weeds are Now Growing Free

[lifeaftr_mods]

NEW ISLAND: UMUI

Who: Everyone!
What: Umui appears, and a new adventure begins
When: July 10th and onward
Where: Umui
Warnings: Tag as you go!

'Cause the Dirt is Up to My Eyes
As of July 10th, the mana pools on Ensō and its islets will now allow for travel to the new island of Umui.

Travelers will arrive on a mana pool situated on the C1 square. The thick crops of flowers spring freely across the lush, grassy landscape, clustered in dense knots. The variety behind these growths seems profoundly limited: it is as though each flower has only sprouted around others of its kind, mingling solely at the edges. A large building looms in the corner of the region, a twisting, unfurling mass of piping and a half-crumbled metallic shine.

Whatever lays inside, or beyond the island's limits, is for you to discover for yourself.

---

Welcome to the new island of Umui! As the island is now accessible, feel free to begin preparations and explorations in this log, or create new ones of your own! For further information in regards to the island, or plotting, the following links may prove handy:

[ ♆ ] OOC info and introductory post
[ ♆ ] Optional future event sign-up
[ ♆ ] Umui on the Locations page
[ ♆ ] Search Requests page

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LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

[aftrnpc]

[It is likely obvious by now that the disrepair extends well beyond mere memory circuits; nearly everything in ARUM-25's chassis has been overgrown and rusted, degraded over time and the inexorable pressure of plant matter squeezing around them.]

[Their head creaks downward, the more pieces are brought before them.]

DESIGNATION: MONI-49
DESIGNATION: CULU-33
DESIGNATION: XACE-40

[Then a sputter and fizzle - a spritz of sparks from the segmented joints at their neck, as they turn to Legion in a quiet appeal:]

SYSTEM: RECOGNITION
Permission to take to take to take off-off-offline?

[forwearemany]

(They are distressed.

It is possible they are the last synthetic of their type still functioning.

...Is it ethical to repair them?)

Affirmative.

(They have not indicated a desire to cease function. Legion turns to the Knight.)

Thank-you.

(And they'll get to work stripping the robots in question for necessary parts.)

[lightlessfuture]

( The Knight merely nods in response to Legion's thanks, watching carefully as Legion strips the broken machines, using their clawed fingers to unravel and pick away the plant matter that has dug into the parts over time. Cleaning, as best they can, in readiness for repair.

They have little expertise in mechanisms, but from what they've seen of Hallownest's machines, such parts needed to be clean and free of interference to function.

As they sit and clean, they give ARUM-25 a very, very gentle pat on the head. Leaving their hand there for a moment, a delicate touch, before they go back to their task.

They are not sure if this strange metal creature would understand it, but they try anyway. Touch is all that's left to them for communication of possible reassurance. )

[aftrnpc]

[It's not clear whether ARUM-25 has any sort of synthetic equivalent to nerves, or if they're so deadened by time and age that whatever they may have possessed that would detect a comforting touch has long since gone grim and inactive. But either way, they fall silent, perhaps mercifully so.]

[They do not wish to see the components of their brethren at this time.]

[They'll stay silent for this process, for however long they can.]

[forwearemany]

(Legion is okay with silence: their work requires concentration, and though it requires few programs to interpret language, the distress associated with the current situation is distracting.

Eventually, they finish the task of stripping the nonfunctional synthetics. If it seems like they've have experience with such tasks it's because they do: Geth platforms were typically recycled once they were no longer usable.)

[lightlessfuture]

( The Knight is similarly okay with silence. Nothing to be heard but the wind blowing, ceaseless and lonely, rustling the bright flowers that dot the island.

There is a certain calm to it. Though the Knight found it unsettling when they arrived, the information they found later has made it clearer that this, too, is a kind of grave. That they have come to an island overgrown with the remains of the dead.

They are at peace in dead kingdoms, at least. That is something.

They keep cleaning, busily, glancing at the silent automaton now and then in what appears to be concern. They did sound distressed. But perhaps it's better, that they're not paying attention. Memories are painful things; they know that very well. )

[aftrnpc]

[For the most part, ARUM-25 is quite still. Eventually, however, they do say something:]

Any dddd-d-d-data - data - data logs intacttttt-t-t?

[forwearemany]

(Their work is silent until the robot speaks. Legion goes still at this and does not answer.

Their headflaps ripple, flutter, then they power up their omnitool and try to initiate a scan.

They are, of course, assuming that by data logs Arum means the robot's memories, though they are unsure they are even capable of detecting anything whether there is anything intact or not.)

[aftrnpc]

[The scan will reveal quite the weather and wear to ARUM-25's internal schematics; almost all their memory circuits have decayed over time, and the ones that haven't are already succumbing to the steady creep of the greenery that's snaked up the back of their neck.]

External logs?

[By which they mean - datapads, hard drives, anything along those lines.]

[forwearemany]

(...That would also make sense.)

Uncertain. It is possible others have discovered them.

(For now, though, they'll go back to repairs.)

[aftrnpc]

May - may - may help.

[It may help them recall memories, at least until repair can be done to their circuits.]

Speech processing-g-g-g damaged damaged damaged.

[forwearemany]

Affirmative.

(Restoring their fellow synthetics memories is a priority, second only to ensuring their survival.

Briefly, they look at the Knight.)

Are you aware of the presence of data logs?

(Without waiting for an answer, they move to check out the robot's neck, since their scanner seemed to imdicate that plantgrowth remained there. Obviously, that needs to be fixed.)

[lightlessfuture]

( They've been working away patiently at cleaning, but they look up when they're asked a question.

Oh. 'Data logs.' They did find that strange, flat device, with Grimm. And they've been following the discussions, on the community board. They nod in response, but their friend might have turned away by then.

They see Legion moving to take care of something in particular, and they obligingly shift to hold ARUM's head steady just in case, to let Legion work without having to worry about destabilization. )

[aftrnpc]

Confirm presence of inp-inp-input?

[Automatons do not have nerves. They do not have a complex wirework of systems threaded in and out and across them, a roadmap of veins that warm to the touch. They can register that someone is steadying them, but they cannot see who or why.]

[forwearemany]

We are attempting removal of excess plant growth.

(Though Legion does not have the same level of touch sensitivity as an organic, they are far more advanced in that area than this automaton.

In particular, their hands are quite sensitive and dextrous, a fact that should come in handy as they pick at the plant growth on Arum's neck.)

[lightlessfuture]

[ The Knight adjusts themselves so they can hold their position comfortably, and then waits for Legion to progress.

Once the plants there have been removed, they settle, gently letting go of Arum's head and working on untangling some of the vines that have snared the memory cables. Anything that's not a wire or some mechanical part is deftly, and carefully, removed - or cut away as much as possible, if it's too entwined to be safe. Legion can take care of that, later.

They watch for signs of further response as they continue their work on the strange machine. There's significant progress, at this point; Arum is beginning to look much more like a badly damaged robot on a chair and less like an odd plant that happened to have some mechanical parts to it. ]

[aftrnpc]

[The damage done to their memory circuits is...extensive. The growths and tangles haven't simply been due to their surroundings - some of them appear to have grown from inside the automaton's chassis.]

[The circuits at the back of their head and neck have undergone some of the worst.]

Interior damage sus-sus-sustained - additionnnn-n-nally.

[forwearemany]

Acknowledged.

(It is to be expected. Not necessarily the plants growing inside, but the damage.

For now, they will examine the damage on the outside. As they work, they question.)

Will replacing damaged circuits cause harm to software?

(They don't look all that functional, but if they are at all functional it's possible they might be storing vital data.)

[aftrnpc]

Un-un-unknown-n-n-n.

[Another tin-rattle of ancient machinery attempting to churn itself back into something resembling efficiency. The reduction of plant matter has made some of it, at least, slightly easier.]

Software already dam-dam-ddddddDamaged. Acceptable r-r-risk.

[forwearemany]

Acknowledged.

(Well, now that they've settled that they're going to inspect things closer and work on figuring out how they're even going to remove stuff to replace it. Their tools are currently limited, though they are capable of being creative.)