Let's open a way into your memories:
and think about what it was like when you all worked together that one time
I will now set the Scene, and prompt you to remember it
Emily (Human, She/Her)
- It was a time before the silver fish.
Throngly (Robot, Him/Her)
- (that’s what you think)
An error has emerged in my programming,
I cannot set the entire scene yet.
Instead, I have some questions for you
Was it easy or hard for you to work with the others?
Was there anyone you particularly did or didn't want to work with?
Emily (Human, She/Her)
- Tough questions. Emily looks at her feet for a few moments before snapping herself out of her reverie.
Mad Curator
What is ‘others’? We are all us.
Very true, MC. In some cultures, 'MC' stands for Main Character.
We Are All Us.
Throngly (Robot, Him/Her)
- in all honesty
- the mad curator sploshed a drink on my empathy circuit
- which made it difficult for me to do my work
Mad Curator
[sips, chews on leaf] In other cultures it stands for a DJ
Skylark (Robot, It)
- i find it enjoyable to work with others though at times it feels like FOR others
Mad Curator
Can a robot feel enjoyment?
Skylark (Robot, It)
- not entirely, more of a reoccurring pang
Emily (Human, She/Her)
- I give Skylark a hug.
Mad Curator
[Joins the hug, splashes champagne on Emily and Skylark]
Cherub (cat, she/her)
i always liked to work with skylark, and be driven around the quarters
Our subroutines restore themselves,
and we can now set one part of the Scene.
Harmanicus, the frog, was upset.
He was tending a wounded shadow-smoke critter.
He kept saying it was a dog, but you couldn’t really tell.
In the end, it became entirely manifest, and Harmanicus left abruptly.
He seemed tearful.
But it wasn’t just the ‘dog’ that was upsetting.
You had been arguing.
But you, together, all together, emerged from this rain of hostile associations.
One or more of you decided that you should all work together to help the other person finish their room, the altar.
Whose idea was that?
Emily (Human, She/Her)
- * tactfully wipes champagne off her shirt*
- I get confused by my memories.
Throngly (Robot, Him/Her)
- yes,
- i logged it
Mad Curator
Can’t tell a memory from a dream these days...
[if there's one thing L'Enfant overflows with, it's dreams]
Emily (Human, She/Her)
- Cherub, can you remember the work?
Cherub (cat, she/her)
the work kept me going
Mad Curator
The work is our art
Can’t remember what was it though...
Emily (Human, She/Her)
- Throngly, are your memory banks better than mine?
Throngly (Robot, Him/Her)
- yes emily,
- thanks for asking
- we had to find the way through the altar
- because something was wrong with it
- but the hole was very small
- and kept disappearing
Emily (Human, She/Her)
- That is bringing something back to the surface. I remember a small gremlin-like creature that we teased mercilessly.
- I can’t remember if that was through the hole or before the hole or concurrent with the hole...
Skylark (Robot, It)
- cherub and i could make it through, i am able to put in the 'legwork' as they same but lack the dexterity of such a highly regarded cat mechanic
- so am only of use to a certain point
HOW DID THE WORK FEEL TO YOU ALL?
Emily (Human, She/Her)
- Hive, do you remember these things or are you just teasing us? Perhaps I am the gremlin...
We are just as fragmented as the rest of the Ship. This is what it means to be the mind of a place, but not to be that place.
Emily (Human, She/Her)
- Cherub, once you were through, were you able to help the rest of us larger folk?
Was It Art?
Cherub (cat, she/her)
we helped you by working in ways you couldn’t see – it often felt when we were whizzing between airlocks, through holes and back to the engine room that we were the only ones working, always for the bigger ones
Emily (Human, She/Her)
- The work felt good. It felt like I had purpose. But afterwards I lacked for energy and felt suspicious I had been using the work to hide from something.
Skylark (Robot, It)
- ah yes I remember that bit for sure
Emily (Human, She/Her)
- I am grateful for our littler friends even though sometimes I don't show that gratitude. It's true you probably did the most work.
Mad Curator, perhaps a celebratory drink is in order!
Skylark (Robot, It)
- emily, though i do not remember your presence so clearly, perhaps it was actually the work you were hiding from?
Emily (Human, She/Her)
-
Mad Curator
[softly, inwardly] Was that Art...it was, wasn’t it? A pleasant activity without a practical outcome
Our journeys never truly end, they just turn sideways, and sideways, and
Mad Curator
I miss that feeling...doing my work...and not asking questions.
Cherub (cat, she/her)
not to mention the daily shapeshifting, not wild, but slight, contained but constantly in flux (one day a tabby, the next fluffy and orange).
Mad Curator
[to Emily, emergently] Oh yes yes! Where is it...Hive, whose work is it to do refreshments?
It varies, but Harmanicus is one
Emily (Human, She/Her)
- *As Emily feels the aether stretching* Goodbye fellow denizens.
In the end, he was okay, and when he saw all the work you had done, he decided to serve some up.
HERE IS A PARTY LINE, AS YOU HAD A PARTY:
After this, some of you relaxed. The tearful frog was going to be okay, and so were you, you probably thought.
Anyway, you had your own rooms to work on.
Some of you were reminded of that time you made a beach and went to it.
Emily (Human, She/Her)
- I miss that Harmanicus guy
After that was the next part of the past. It was the future then, though.
Thank you for remembering with us. We are all us, but some of you are also you. Take care.
Mad Curator
Miss him too... [staring at his empty glass]
Skylark (Robot, It)
- the refreshments at the altar were good that day I seem to remember, not all such hard work
Cherub (cat, she/her)
*slurprp*
--END OF SESSION 0--