Mini-Event

[mnemosynecrew]

EVENT

It happens in the dead of night - so sudden, so absolute, that for a moment, it feels like the ship itself has ceased to exist. The familiar hum of the Mnemosyne's systems vanishes, replaced by an unnatural, suffocating silence. A heartbeat later, the darkness takes hold. Total blackout.

Then, as if the ship itself is gasping for breath, emergency lights flare to life, flooding the halls in deep red. A shrill hiss follows as every interior door slide open in unison.

The system has gone dark. Terminals are dead. CL-10's have no access. Anything reliant on the ship's core network is unresponsive. Even elevators between decks are frozen in place, leaving only the cold, metal emergency ladders as a means of traversal. Synthesizers refuse to function.

And most critically -

L3TH3 is gone.

Not silent. Not unresponsive. Offline.


Yet, despite the eerie stillness, some things persist. Life support remains operational, oxygen still cycles, temperature remains stable. Airlocks are firmly shut. The engines continue their course, thrumming faintly beneath the floors. Even power still technically exists, but there is no intelligence behind it any more. The Mnemosyne is still moving - but without a pilot, without a shield and without defense.

To some, the fact that the ship's quarantine protocols also remain intact is a reassuring sign of system redundancy. To others, it is an opportunity lost. After all, a coup - or mercy killing - requires more than emergency rations and dim red lights.

---

Welcome to this month's mini-event! The system being offline will continue for a week, until the 17th. As the mod will also be unavailable at a computer during this time, direct any questions to mnemonsynecrew@gmail.com for a quicker reply.

As noted in the event, CL-10s won't be able to access the system for anything (work, ship data, etc.) during this time, but it can still be used to communicate between crew and used for personal data.

Comments

[itdoesntlikeyou]

... Failsafe systems are down in many parts of the ship. It may be important to confirm dangerous actions even if alarm systems are not activated.

[Sure, Rin.

Still, they sound pretty even, saying it, as they follow Hilbert down to the strange arcing center of the ship with its rows upon rows of cryopods.]

[anesthetic_rage]

Bah... it's not fucking working anyway. The controls are basically slag right now.

[He let the cables be grabbed and stood, giving a heavy panel a nasty kick before growling and rubbing his temple.]

I'm trying to see if we can power one of these externally. Not having much bleeding luck obviously.

[anesthetic_rage]

He was on a 'rest period' when we last heard from L3TH3, so that's probably a no go. The man's likely to have periods of in and out for consciousness, being honest there. So we likely can't get that from him.

[Grunt]

Obviously propulsion and life support have workarounds. I'd say shields are a priority due to possible collisions since navigation is essentially shoot without bridge access. We're essentially on rails here.

[tarakan]

[ When they reach the cryostasis room, Hilbert immediately goes to one of the pods. He can't really get specific data, not now, not like this. But he can at least do a quick eyewitness survey. No signs of melt. No leaking. Everything smells normal. No errors flashing on any displays. ]

Whatever life support systems that are keeping us from floating aimlessly in space, also seem to keep cryopods working. Obviously I will have to make routine checks as long as power is down, but there does not seem to be any big, obvious malfunctions.

[lastdecember]

[ Most of the ship's systems rely on the AI, that's true -- and Wolfwood knows it. He's just not happy with that knowledge. ]

Without the AI we could wake up enough crew to run the place! We're only banned from wakin' up the rest of the shift because of fear of this plague, right? But quarantine's holding, so let's get the rest of the ship checked out then go start wakin' people up.

[lastdecember]

[ Move aside, dammit! Wolfwood will get those cables connected, and correctly -- he just needs a little more room and a couple minutes to splice everything in. ]

Next time don't hook 'em up this way, see? You've got to connect this one here, and then... [ Actually, you know what? ] Never mind. Wait for me next time, how's that?

[ Even if he can get power to the console, without the AI there won't be much useful data, will there? He's not sure what Massani's plan is, but at least this way he's doing something. ]

This whole damn ship relies too much on the AI.

[itdoesntlikeyou]

Confirm plans to awaken crew members with medical staff before attempting.

[They'll gladly throw Wolfwood to the wolves, metaphorically speaking, on that. But the way they look towards him for just a moment probably indicates, silently, that they don't think that's right.]

What next. [Or, what has Wolfwood already checked, in other words - though from the way Rin heads back towards the ladder, they're clearly expecting to accompany Wolfwood on these tasks, too.]

[itdoesntlikeyou]

[Rin hauls themself along one of the tethers to a different pod, and while they glance over the pod itself briefly, they quickly swap to poking a few times at the diagnostics, abandoning it before they can hit any dangerous-looking sections.]

If it was tied to L3TH3's systems it probably would be instantaneous release.

[So: could be worse.]

... Still no response from AI systems.

[itdoesntlikeyou]

[Well shit.

Not that they have any direct means of contact when L3TH3 isn't handling the connection, anyway...]

Did you have data on current course and potential obstacles?

[tarakan]

I wonder...we have life support, we have basic things like artificial gravity still active. AI should have basic programming, correct? Something that runs as base level, without personality program.

[ At least, that's how it feels to Hilbert. He doesn't know much about AI. He doesn't know how they work. But the idea of there being something baseline, the idea of there being a base to the AI that a personality matrix is built on top of...that makes sense in his mind. ]

Why do we not have basic AI function? Why is L3TH3 completely offline?

[itdoesntlikeyou]

Maybe we're just walking through L3TH3's corpse.

[Wow, morbid. And they're... not entirely sure where that impulse came from, to describe it that way. It feels true, though. Whoever should be occupying the ship around them, it's gone, leaving only the automatic functions, like the ship itself is in a vegetative state.]

There might be a black box somewhere. Like the bridge.

[tarakan]

Even if we did not have highly contagious mutated captain on bridge, would not be able to access the bridge in current, depowered state.

[ Which is a damn shame. Because if there is a black box somewhere, Hilbert wants to poke at it. ]

[lastdecember]

[ No worries there -- by now Wolfwood's used to people on this ship thinking he's nuts. But he was right about the captain, and he's right about L3TH3 now -- it'd be better for them all of the AI never comes back online.

But the only way to be sure of that would be to go onto the bridge and smash the server there, and he's not about to expose himself to Drake's disease. If the systems stay off long enough for the current crew to get the ship stable and running, if they're able to get more crew woken up then he'll revisit the idea of dismantling L3TH3. Until then... ]

What do you mean, what next?

[ The bridge is secure, so he's going to head back down to the lower decks. Rin can do what they like. ]

You need direction? Figure out how to get the ship to run without L3TH3, there's your direction.

[itdoesntlikeyou]

[This sucks. They don't say it because of the zappy box currently attached to their spine, but from their expression they're absolutely thinking it, mostly hidden behind the filter mask they're still wearing and the dim lighting in the cryopod bay.]

This would be easier if L3TH3 really had killed the Captain.

[tarakan]

Obviously as doctor, I would prefer if all patients remained alive and breathing with mercy killing as last resort.

[ But as he says it, it's very much Hilbert saying these things because they need to be said and he wants it on the record that he is a good person who doesn't murder (maybe. He's not sure).

That being said, he instantly continues the conversation with, ]

Unfortunately, you are right. I do not know how much technical support and maintenance can be done from our current situation, away from bridge.

[itdoesntlikeyou]

[Oh, for -

Fine.]

What are you checking so I don't duplicate your work.

[It's not like there's some secret other way off of A level. No matter where they go, they're both going to have to take the ladders to get around. So Rin and Wolfwood are going to be stuck on the ladder together anyway, if they're continuing to be urgent about this - and Rin seems determined to be thorough about this.

-- Unless.]

Are you going to the cryopods.

[Usually their flat tone is still a question. This time it sounds more like an accusation.]

[itdoesntlikeyou]

[For a while, Rin just lets that sit in silence, as they try and think around that. It's... depressing, to say the least.

Too bad they had to disable all the previous crew's leashes. The systems access would come in handy, right about now. If there's even still a system to access.]

... If L3TH3 doesn't reboot, we may need to rewrite protocols from scratch.

[lastdecember]

[ There is only one way off A level -- and really, isn't that unsafe? Shouldn't there be a second route in case of emergencies? -- and this is still an urgent situation, but the edge of panic is gone.

He moves down the ladder quickly, but without the frantic haste of earlier. He doesn't respond to Rin at first, trying to think of a way to say I'm going to go check on my friends without actually saying that, but then Rin keeps going and makes some accusations, saving Wolfwood from the unbearable threat of being seen, even for a moment, as a good person. ]

Sure am.

[ He dreamed somewhat recently that he was part of the devil's army, a monster waiting in the dark for something truly terrible to happen. That felt a little like this does now.

He tries to keep his tone light and joking, but he's not good at dissembling. ]

So how about you confirm if the food synthesizers are up and running. We're gonna have a lot more mouths to feed soon.

[tarakan]

That is big 'if.' Obviously we will not do anything until situation becomes such that it cannot be maintained.

[ It's not dodging the question. It's not kicking the can down the road. It's taking time, taking course, and waiting. ]

For all we know, L3TH3 will reboot tomorrow, perfectly fine.

[anesthetic_rage]

Hey, if it gives you more work to do, less for me.

[Was that his plan all along? Nah. He was desperately trying to get the shields up and running. Somehow. Everything else could rot, but the thought of colliding with an asteroid was haunting even if he was trying to laugh it off.]

You don't have to god-damned tell me twice about that. We need redundancy on systems here besides life support.

Meant to talk about that, though. How much do you trust this AI?

[anesthetic_rage]

Minimal. We weren't 'expecting' anything, but half the damned obstacles we run into aren't exactly planned. Most asteroids qualify as dark matter if they're far enough away from a heliosphere. Ship can't pick them all out of the dark in the nebula.

[Maybe they'd get lucky...]

Good news. There's a lot more empty space out there than asteroids. A LOT more of it. Bad news? We've got shit luck.

for Vash

[itdoesntlikeyou]

[There's too much of the ship and too few people to properly check everything, with the ship's systems down. That's the whole point of L3TH3 - to manage the complexities of a journey far beyond the capacity of a simple human lifespan, even multiple human lifespans.

The problem, of course, becomes obvious the moment things go down.

Rin may only be a scientist by the crew log but they're not really sold on the concept of getting blown up and sucked into space, so despite the sheer level of alarm that hits them when the system goes down, they send out their messages and get moving. Of course one of the first places they try is the power systems, an obvious conclusion when the lights go out.

There's no ladder for them to drop down and scare anyone half to death, but they still practically hurl themself around the corner, already scanning the space for Vash.]

Saverem.

[itdoesntlikeyou]

[Something's wrong if Hilbert has been stuck into the role of being the optimist. Though, given the number of pessimists on this ship, 'relatively optimistic' doesn't have to be more than a few points above...]

Right.

[Fine, if they're all maintaining as best they can - (and isn't that what they've been doing anyway? Going through the motions as best they can, with the situation stuck in an un-ideal equilibrium?) - then there's a few things that ought to be taken care of.]

What systems do you consider priority for triage in this situation.

[itdoesntlikeyou]

[So Rin just halts on the ladder, blocking the way. They can't exactly stare right at Wolfwood's face with the two of them on the ladder like this, even if they wanted to, but their face is angled up in his direction.

They're not actually saying anything, they're just waiting. Wolfwood can say something to get them moving again, probably. Or he can try and force it to happen. The joke didn't land, clearly.]

[plantussy]

Come on, baby! Please?

[ Vash is next to the power generator's window, desperately clicking away on his CL-10 at the speed of light - the red of 'error' reflecting in his yellow glasses every time he hits another wall.

As soon as he hears his name, he looks up at Rin with a very lost expression. ]

She's not talking to me!