[DISCONNECTED] Mailbox [IC]

[a_perfect_end]

[he got it to beep just like a tape-fed answering machine]

Greetings!

Recently-deposed Grid management and complaints department.

You know what they say: if you can't say something nice, lay it on me. Do your thing at the tone!

Comments

text;

[a_perfect_end]

[He's right, he's been right all along. None of these organics know their priority queue from a hole in the ground and they're going to level what little civilization he's even managed to find here with the sheer force of their twice-glitched curiosity.

But let him fix it? Oh, no. Oh, never.

...Still. That's hardly Rinzler's doing.

Sort by relevance. Get the things at the top of the queue out of the way first.]


Report: Status?

[Pause. Can cursors even flicker in a grudging manner? Clu is certainly trying for that impression.]

Inquiry: Status of Alan-1?

Re: text;

[notglitching]

Functioning. No damage.

[It's a succinct report, if not... entirely comprehensive. Still, if Clu wanted to ask about prior status (exposure?), he would.

Besides, grudging or not, the second inquiry draws much more attention. There's a full quarter-micro's lag before Rinzler sends back:]

Assessing.

text;

[a_perfect_end]

All of it, for the entire exposure interval.

We don't know if that--if it's transferable, and unless you collected hard data to the contrary, I

[He is repulsed that this parasitic whatsis exists and also experiencing an uncomfortable sensation related to Rinzler's well-being, and that is not lengthening his fuse] would rather have the specifics.

As in, currently? Concurrent with our--

...Good. If there is no response, I will accompany you.

text;

[notglitching]

[So much for succinct. And hopefully Clu's mind-reading powers don't extend to catching Rinzler grumbling at the screen. He's fine.]

No effects observed on asteroid.
No substances retained [certainly not ingested] on return.
Subsequent rest cycle interrupted to minor system errors. Resolved shortly.
No lasting malfunctions or damage.

[Fine.

...if staring slightly blankly at the... offer? No, order that comes next. Rinzler knows his programmers have been on not-overtly-hostile terms of late, but...

Alan-one should respond soon. That would be good.]

Acknowledged.

Re: text;

[a_perfect_end]

[Processed as though Clu hasn't spent over a megacycle coupling fragments into lines to read between, signal to noise to parsable results.

Still. Absent motive to prevaricate, Rinzler doesn't.

Nothing observed, nothing retained. It's not the same as an all-clear, not in this stupid frontier backwater Shangri-La with nothing like a decent debug team, and certainly no compiler suite.

Risks must be assessed. But there's no reason to let on he's doing it, not until there's evidence available. Not least because it can be turned on him.]


There's a delay on it...What's the interval?

No? Good. If any of that changes--duration, frequency, content, anything--duplicate the dump file and pass it to me.

[He squints at that last one. You bet your bits, acknowledged.]

Don't worry. I won't let him scrub himself twice.

text;

[notglitching]

[That last line is... marginally more comforting. (Marginally.) Rinzler cancels any effort to quantify how much in favor of redirecting to the relevant queries.]

Unknown.

Singular incident, estimated +0.6 millicycles after system transfer.

[He knows when he shut down, but not when the error (dream) began. He hadn't thought (until today) that it was anything worth reporting.]