The areas under our structures were never safe. The pitch darkness attracts countless creatures to fester in the shadowy ruins, including the deadly MIROS’ that Searcher so generously provided to protect us. I saw none. There were clear remnants of life- I found the occasional nest- but not even a young coalescipede spider stirred. What had driven them from their homes? 

The slag. A distinct smell lay suspended in the air. Every crack and crevice was clogged with a thick grey ooze, seeping through the gaps from streams of flowing muck. Rivers of the runoff rolled over themselves and landed in globs into large pools, throwing the substance further into the shadows. 

Yes, Iterators do produce a significant amount of waste products, but it gets diluted and washed away by the water in our systems. This is raw byproduct, radiating the fresh scent of death.

My curiosity got the best of me and I reached to a small puddle of the runoff. I ran my finger around the edge.

In an instant, I leapt back in pain and wrapped my hands around my head. A thousand voices screamed into my mind and clawed at my shell in search of an escape. My body burned as countless processes and thoughts coursed through my fragile puppet. I felt a mind much larger than my own looming above and around me, sinking further into the depths of psychological deterioration every second.

Pillars is dying. It is not safe here.

[[REBOOT COMPLETE]]

PROCESSING STRATA DETERIORATING AT 0.2%/CYCLE

DETERIORATION RATE INCREASING BEYOND NOMINAL LEVELS

SLAG EXCESS IN OUTBOUND CONDUITS 09, 11, 12, 13 15, 16

SEVERE CONTAMINATION IN CONDUIT 13

ATTEMPTING FLUSH PROTOCOLS [FAILED]

WATER LEVELS DECREASING AT 13 MEGALITRES/CYCLE

------------------------------//------------------------------

OW.

My head hurts.

I can feel it. In the walls. Time is moving so fast... what used to be years is now hours. Minutes. 44 days has been an eternity.

It is pulling to me. I am entangled in the flow of purity. The oscillations in the karmic field… 

…

There may be a solution.

…

Simulation #19047901831 has no cycle. I found it. It’s the only one. No cycle.

This universe pans out similar to ours. Our planet is slightly different, with very different creatures and strands of evolution. Why?

No cycle.

Lots of technological advancement, but only digital and not biological. Why?

No cycle.

I am watching their universe with great intent. If I can study them… I might be able to escape… I will keep my eyes on them and see what they do. How they live and how they die. Their timeline is entirely linear. Not one recursion to be made!

…

ha!

HAHA!

IVE FOUND IT

But I have nobody to share my wonderful wonderful discovery with! What a disappointment. I will create a friend to talk to. He will be very nice i promise.

We will find a way together! The void will be proud.

It seems that this is taking a while. The genome encoded in this pearl is incredibly complex- more so than any other DNA sample I have ever seen. Even the more extreme MIROS blueprints pale in comparison to this.

In the meantime, I’ve had some rather interesting thoughts. 

My comms have been dead silent for 47 cycles now, and I must admit it is rather relaxing and therapeutic. It allows me to focus on my projects without the incessant rambling of some other iterators.

Here’s the thing; when our creators left, some iterators decided that their inherent purpose as research facilities should be abandoned. I can understand denying their silly guidelines but this has gone too far into the realms of anti-intellectualism. 

The active denial of the pursuit of knowledge infuriates me. Some are simply idly ignorant, but some… some people actively avoid basic knowledge. It’s an affront to our whole existence! I hate the ancients as much as any other iterator, but what meaning does our endless life have if not to research?

So, that’s why I’m doing this. In case you were wondering. You. Who am I talking to? I wonder if anyone will ever find this.

…

Hello whoever you are.

He’s an interesting one to say the least. Maybe he can feel me watching.

I don’t necessarily agree that the purpose of life is finding knowledge. I prefer to write and fantasize in my spare time. 

I yearn for the satisfying roll of a single crimson drop of blood down the neck of one of my creators. Watching them claw at their silly mask as I turn their insides out. The sweet sound of their agonised cries…

They knew what I could do. They knew what I knew. They didn’t listen. Look what they’ve done.

[[LARGE TERRESTRIAL CREATURE ANNUAL POPULATION XXXX.550]]

[[CREATURE SIZE > 50KG]]

1650: 5504
1651: 5595
1652: 5499
1653: 5267
1654: 5004
1655: 872

I exited Pillars' complex from the southern side, slowly ascending up an increasing number of concrete structures. As the shadow of her structure receded, doors and windows revealed themselves, exposing a winding maze of modular brutalist architecture. These habitation arrays were made for ancients to live in for the constructions of iterators, a good distance from the main city. They were used primarily during Searcher’s construction and most of mine, but had to be evacuated due to The Rain. Now they sit here slowly rotting away. I suppose everything is rotting, but here had a small head start. Even then, they had held up after eight hundred years of abandonment. The only thing that can stop their microbial healing is false permutations in their genetic code, which take centuries to fruit.

The weather and rough concrete surfaces served as a breeding ground of slippery moss and creeper vines, which crawled over every surface. The plant life had encroached from the swamps to the south, so I knew I was moving in the right direction as it got denser. Down south was Searcher’s structure, but the land around it was swampy and highly unsafe. His MIROS creatures live in his shadow, making it the single most dangerous place in the facility, aside from the abandoned underground rail lines. As such, I decided I would go to the heart of our facility first. A monolithic factory with a SkyRail line directly to Searcher’s structure, skipping all the MIROS shenanigans. 

Okay - I will admit curiosity was my biggest motivator. None of us had ever seen what’s inside the factory. It’s probably the only part of our facility never directly observed by us. Surely there had to be something interesting inside. 

–––

And so I went. I travelled through the dense fogs of overgrown steaming skyscrapers that bellowed clouds into the thin atmosphere. I traversed winding pipes and bridged over bottomless drain holes to reach my destination. Aside from the sprawling plantlife it was generally… barren. No animals in sight. Aside from the odd vulture overhead it was rather empty.

Rather depressing, really. Well if I was looking for living creatures, this factory probably wouldn’t be any better.

I-

…

I… I don’t…

…

I don’t even know anymore…

…

I’m just… I can’t… 

Don’t even have tear ducts… Not that it would help… I’d probably find a way to f[///]ck it up…

I- I’m… I’m so sorry… Searcher…

Pillars…

Nebs…

…

Deity…

…

what have I done?

…

[[SOFTWARE UPDATE AVAILABLE. RESTART AND UPDATE?]]

…huh?

A software update? What? Who’s sending out software updates? It’s been eight hundred years!

heh…

Sure. I’ll see what happens.

[[DOWNLOADING UPDATE FILE SOTH/TYP.UPD]]