Archive Class: Recollection
Field Notes – Cascader Simulation: ALBIREAN WASTES
Assigned Recollection Officer: BASILIKA (Cascader Doll of the Zaleri Research and Preservation Institute)
*KASSIOPEA TRANSCRIPTION LOG COMMENCE
Viewfinder Bot: Subject Recollector Basilika Cascader Class, and LAZARUS PROTOCOL SUBJECT Oberon have entered the simulated Albireo environment. This reconstruction has emulated the typical snowfall conditions in the planet. This Viewfinder unit is equipped with an emotional recognition unit, and will attempt to transcribe validated emotional assessments on a contextual basis.
SUBJECT BASILIKA produces the RED Inamorite MEMORY SPHERE (IMS) from her coat pocket. She lifts the orb to her face, at eye level, observing it intently.
BASILIKA: Well, how do I put it? It’s you, yes. But not you. Not really. To be more specific: it’s how we remember you. Anyway, I thought you’d appreciate the cold. We can talk here about your other burning questions.
*Viewfinder Bot: OBERON, LAZARUS PROTOL SUBJECT, (Subjective Emotional Assessment: >>49.4% AGGRESSION) takes the IMS form Basilika. OBERON ponders the red orb, and rubs it with their metallic fingertips.
BASILIKA: Hey, be careful with that! (BASILIKA GROANING LOUDLY) Father Zaleri is gonna put me in that stupid white room again if they find out that i’ve broken another one of those. The next shipment from Inamorata isn’t gonna come in like 26 cycles.
OBERON: How curious. In my time, memory transference like this wasn’t solved because of entropic degradation. Not even Dr. Sartoria could figure it out. Your Father Zaleri must be a smart man.
*Viewfinder Bot: BASILIKA clutches the IMS back from OBERON, and gives him a >>88% CONFIDENCE: MENACING<< glare.
BASILIKA: Father has transcended the definition of a man. But Right, right, right-o about everything else! I can see why they called you the smart one (Viewfinder bot: BASILKA GESTURES AIR QUOTATIONS) . Smartest among the Knights of the Aeonguard, yes? It’s very humbling to finally speak to an intellectual equal.
OBERON: You can spare me the sarcasm. I was nothing compared to Dr. Sartoria (>>64% HESITATION<<).
BASILIKA: I can tell you this. Your statement is inaccurate about one thing. It’s not true memory transference. It’s more like memory cascading. A memory waterfall.
OBERON: Is there a semantic difference?
BASILIKA: How to put this in terms a knight like you can understand? Hmm. Imagine a water fall falling to create a water basin. The basin is the sum of your memory. A memory basin. But a single water fall is not enough. We need to have hundreds, if not thousands of water fall nodes, each water fall source representing a different data point. We can reconstruct you based on these contextual data points, vetted against each memory fall node. Each node represents a fragments of history. But it’s all based on educated presumptions. Good guesses, yes, but all presumptions just the same.
OBERON IS LOST IN THOUGHT
BASILIKA: Awkward silence much? If you’re still confused just tell me. You are what we know of you. But the OBERON in front of me is not the same subjective experience of OBERON’s self. It’s not like we can pick up your brain and copy it, duh. Your own Voidfall theorem disproved that possibility.
OBERON: Interesting. So my theorem was not resolved after all. Everything leads back to the problem of entropic degeneration and its effects on the Remant memory, then?
BASILIKA: Uh-huh. For regular flesh remnants. Unless you’re like Father.
OBERON: That means I am a (SUBJECT MOOD ASSESSMENT: DOUBTFUL COGNIZANCE) [REPLICATED ENTITY]?
BASILIKA: Sort of. But you are totally more awesome than a mere replica! Think about it, your physical and mental prowess are directly derived from the Knight Oberon from the Legend of the Ballad of Sartoria. A living myth come to life! With awesome sword skills only second to the Knight Sartoria to boot! So much cooler than Aubrei or whatever they called themselves.
OBERON: He is so much better than Dr. Aubrei, in your view? And this grand knight (77% SARCASM) Oberon from your fictional Ballad was a ravishing gentleman, I suppose?
BASILIKA: Surely, Oberon is a man of no equal!
OBERON: That’s not what I— (AUTOCOMPLETE ERROR. PREDICTED WORD: “Meant” 89% CONTEXTUAL CONFIDENCE ). Then surely you knew that I was actually a… (SUBJECT CASTS THEIR GAZE DOWN THEIR CHEST AND SIGHS HEAVILY. 48% REGRET. WORD PREDICTION: ERROR. ERROR.).
BASILIKA: You are upset about something, Knight-Doctor Oberon?
OBERON: (OBERON SHAKES THEIR HEAD). Not important. Regardless, if I were this glorious Oberon of legend, then why am I able to recall the elements of my study from Dr. Qinxi’s doctorate, the Voidfall theorem? I can recite all her postulates with 100% accuracy, if you would indulge me.
BASILIKA: No need for that! You are welcome though. You can thank this little cute cascader (BASILIKA POINTS TO HERSELF. 100% SELF-SATISFIED CONFIDENCE). Little old me might have done something naughty and infused some free bonus info just for you because I love you so much! To make your integration easier, I authorized your IMS unit to have direct access to the Falzchen Librarium database! After all, we have a copy of Dr. Aubrei Qinxi’s published works, including the Voidfall stuff. Just by thinking of a random subject, your IMS can make an automated search query to our Falzchen database, and you will receive the necessary information.
OBERON: Then with all this limitless information, you have not realized you have bestowed a vile fate upon this body?
BASILIKA: What is so vile (EMOTION: DISGUST) about having all information at your finger tips?
OBERON: Nevermind that. I may be speaking out of turn, but i’d like to meet your so-called Father. Zaleri, wasn’t it? I’ve not known a Zaleri in my time. A strange name, to be sure.
BASILIKA: Hold your horses! Meetings with Father are only arranged by Father, when Father believes you are worthy. Father’s daughters and Father’s daughters sisters are not allowed to make such presumptions. Maybe if you complete memory integration, Father will decide.
OBERON: The more I hear about your Father, the less I want to meet them.
BASILIKA: I’ll pretend you didn’t say that. Well then, my memory cascader unit might explode if we stay in this simulation too long. Shall we return? The storm will get worse. I’ve ran this simulation before. This is a simulation of the final storm that preceded the siege of the Albirean Castle by the Amaya Nightwind in the War of the Thornless Roses. Surely you know what happens? That thing with the void beasts and Peacebringer…
OBERON: No, let me stay for awhile. I think that this will help in my re-integration. A question: Can I die here?
BASILIKA: Such a grave thought! But no, silly, we can’t let you die here. And you’re technically theoretically almost certainty functionally already dead. Maybe we should start defining what is dead to begin with? Care for a debate?
*Viewfinder Bot: OBERON waives his hand away at Basilika, interrupting her.
BASILIKA: You think i’m annoying, huh? You’re just like the rest of my sisters! Fine, you can stay if you’re being so grumpy! Whenever the great knight Oberon decides to return, just close your eyes and imagine that you’re back in cozy Falzchen. The retrieval protocol should activate just like that. No fancy carriage service needed. Whatever. Suit yourself. I need my hot coco. Buh-bye!
*Viewfinder Bot: Subject Recollector Basillika, Cascader Class, has logged out of the ALBIREAN cascader simulation. Subject Oberon, lost in thought, walks in the direction of the looming snowstorm.
LOG TERMINATED.
