The Hydrogen Sonata

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xGSV Just The Washing Instruction Chip In Life’s Rich Tapestry

I think I speak for all of us when I say — relative to that last bit there — what?

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xGSV Contents May Differ

Well, quite. The Smile Tolerantly has been discovered in the Zihdren home system and now apparently describes itself as a tributary adjunct to the Z-R, with enhanced loyalties and a hybrid OS now including multiple elements congenitally associated with Z-R craft.

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xGCU Passing By And Thought I’d Drop In

“Enhanced loyalties”?

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xGSV Contents May Differ

The thinking is this actually means divided loyalties, though when pressed the vessel also expressed a preference for “dual loyalties”.

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xLOU Caconym

Is there any hint it has access to the Z rather than just the Z-R?

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xGSV Contents May Differ

Sadly, none. In fact it specifically ruled that out. It was at pains to stress it was a level down from whatever parts of the Z-R get to pick up the mysterious but majestic crumbs of information and instruction that fall from the celestially elevated high table that is the Enfolded Realm. It would appear to have become devoutly eccentric, if not technically Deranged. It ceased communication with the ship which re-discovered it — its own old home GSV, the Unreliable Witness — after a few short messages, and was willing subsequently to reveal only that their exchange had already run over some (it is believed arbitrarily arrived-at) limit.

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xGSV Just The Washing Instruction Chip In Life’s Rich Tapestry

So do we now need somebody specialised who can talk to it? Or a succession of them, each claiming their ration?

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xGSV Contents May Differ

Possibly. This is being looked into.

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xMSV Pressure Drop

And, a “hybrid OS”?

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xGSV Contents May Differ

Whatever that might be taken to mean. It has hinted that it has incorporated certain processing paradigms and substrate/software architectures from the Z-R into its Mind.

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xMSV Pressure Drop

My first — and, thus far, abiding — reaction is, That’s diseased. But perhaps that’s just me?

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xGSV Contents May Differ

No, not just you.

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xGCU Displacement Activity

Ditto.

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xGSV Just The Washing Instruction Chip In Life’s Rich Tapestry

Okay. While accepting that that particular nugget of nonsense presents as a one-off random irrelevance, it still seems somehow pointedly symbolic of this whole enterprise turning up grisly unpleasantnesses that it might, in retrospect, have been better to have left stewing under their particular little rocks. Need we go on with this? Can’t we just, for once, let the slumbering ogre be, and step lightly away?

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xMSV Pressure Drop

I might see some merit in that.

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xLOU Caconym

Well I don’t. It is not seriously being suggested that we back off just because what we seek isn’t falling into our laps, is it? We made an undertaking to help the Z-R. We stick to that.

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xGSV Just The Washing Instruction Chip In Life’s Rich Tapestry

But they don’t seem too concerned about us sticking with it. Why should we?

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xLOU Caconym

Because somebody around here has to keep their word and do the right thing.

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xGSV Contents May Differ

Let’s vote on it. We can discuss details later, and/or set up different proposals, but just to clear the air here, the proposal is: we abandon the whole shebang regarding the attack on the Z-R ship and the BoT (and whether it’s actually “T” or not) and go back to what we were each doing before this all blew up. Yes or no?

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LOU Caconym No.

GCU Displacement Activity No.

GSV Empiricist Abstain.

GSV Just The Washing Instruction Chip In Life’s Rich Tapestry Yes.

Ue Mistake Not… No.

MSV Passing By And Thought I’d Drop In Yes.

MSV Pressure Drop No.

LSV You Call This Clean? No.

GSV Contents May Differ (Co-ordinator’s abstention, but leaning towards Yes.)

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xGSV Contents May Differ

Clear enough. Does anybody want to resign from the group?… No? Any other comments? No?… Really? All right. As ever; back as and when with whatever exciting new snags start laddering the skein…

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xGSV Just The Washing Instruction Chip In Life’s Rich Tapestry

oGSV Contents May Differ