Editing Entelechy

{{Verbatim}}

 

ORIGIN: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_219134 HD 219134] // Unidentified ship, tetrahedral structure, derelict, heavily damaged; left in place<br>

KEYWORDS: [[The Traveler|Gardener]]; [[Final Shape|final shape]]; [[HNW047622]]<br>

Yes, now I can see the path to the [summit/Pyramidion/final shape]. Here, the matredda blade-leaves. There, the green-glass isbati blossoms arcing overhead. I have brought enough progenitor material to seed a hundred worlds, never mind five! In time, there will be a grand harvest of panacea<span style="color:#40678e;">*</span> from this garden. I'm sure both you and your [Merciful/[[Penitent]]/Benefic]<span style="color:#40678e;">**</span> will be pleased.

After all, that would just be a [reflection/shard/imitation] of [[System R-3TN-PLRMA]], wouldn't it? And you know I've never had any interest in recreating other people's designs. So, just between you and me, here's a little secret: the panacea progenitors weren't all I brought with me.

Oh, but I mustn't get ahead of myself. Before any of this can happen. I'll need to prepare. I've unfurled the [[Pergola]] to capture what I need to weave each planet's atmosphere. The Pergola's sail is so vast that I must cross my ship from vertex to vertex to see around the sparkling cloth.

RETRIEVED FROM: [[House of Winter|Winter]]ship [[Simiks-Fel]] // Databank E7619P<br>

<span style="color:#40678e;">I began my search with the familiar. During the [[Long Drift]], peaceful encounters between [[Ketch]]es were rare, even when they hailed from the same House. But when such meetings did occur, they would exchange valuable resources, including data. This practice helped the [[Eliksni]] navigate that vast and dangerous void, to know who might open fire or which areas had already been stripped of resources. These data exchanges leave traces, and even if the relevant entries are later overwritten, a Scribe can track these traces to their source. Especially a Scribe who grew up with the hum of a [[Servitor]]!</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">I combed the databanks of our [[House of Light|Light]]ships for any mention of the Witness, and followed those paths as they forked through dozens of Ketches. Based on a single mention of records recovered from a "tetrahedral ship," I was able to track down these transcripts. They were buried in the databanks of a decommissioned House Winter Ketch, the Simiks-Fel. Repairing the ship's generator was quite an adventure-I shall have to tell you about it another time!</span>

RETRIEVED FROM: [[Rainship Taliks-Syn]] // Databank Q20K2G <br>

ORIGIN: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_37124 HD 37124] // Long-range communications buoy, derelict, scrapped for parts<br>

KEYWORDS: final shape, HNW047622, [[RS6243199]]<br>

IDENTITIES: HNW047622, RS6243199<br>

[HNW047622]

[HNW047622]

That we have failed to do so, even among the [[Consensus (Precursor)|Consensus]]<span style="color:#40678e;">**</span>, suggests imperfections in our own understanding. If we cannot prove an apodictic final shape even to each other, to our own kin whom we strive to understand as well as our own selves, then how can we possibly declare it fit to teach to others?

[HNW047622]

I agree with you, in theory, but we do not exist purely in the theoretical. This suffering is already happening now, all the time, everywhere we look. Come see me, and I will show you the [[Observatory (The Witness)|Observatory]]'s readings. Such sights as we have seen, my friend, make me sick to my soul.

[HNW047622]

[HNW047622]

[HNW047622]

We have all studied our histories. We know what we are capable of. What we have done. What if the [Nihilists/[[Redolent]]/Accepting] are right, and our final shape is our own destruction?

[HNW047622]

[HNW047622]

And why does it allow its gifts to be misused? It did not correct the [Profusion/[[Bountiful]]/Swarm] on their path to their great, fatal error. It did not stop the [Conquerors/[[Primacy]]/Sovereign] from using the gifts it granted for subjugation. Are we to accept that these, too, were meant to happen? If you reject the notion that destruction can be a final shape, how are we to accept that the Gardener allowed us to make such grievous mistakes?

[HNW047622]

<span style="color:#40678e;">*The final shape is no longer described with a ternary semantic cluster (c.f. SCRIBE ARCHIVE XI-2-4A), but HNW and RS continue to use that structure to describe other concepts. Potentially reflective of semantic narrowing?</span><br>

<span style="color:#40678e;">***From the context, some sort of computational assistant? There appears to be some etymological overlap with the names of [[Vex Mind]]s. Something to investigate later, perhaps!</span><br>

<span style="color:#40678e;">My cross-check for the identification code in SCRIBE ARCHIVE XI-2-4A proved quite fruitful. The trail of datacrumbs led me to a databank retrieved from a [[House of Rain|Rainship]] originally downed on [[Mercury]]! [[Saint-14|The Saint]] and [[Osiris]] were kind enough to share it with me, along with a pot of tea.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">Our conversation was most illuminating. I understand that Mercury was a scorched wasteland before the Great Machine's arrival. When it had finished, [[Human]]s could walk unprotected on its surface. What wonders the Great Machine can work! I can only hope that Mercury will return from the Witness's clutches, released as Titan was, so that I may see it for myself. I hear that, thanks to [[Sun|Sol]] engulfing its sky, one could study without pause… or at least until exhaustion proved greater than the desire to learn! Perhaps I could catch up on some light reading…</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">In any case, the concept of the final shape has worn many faces. From your encounters with the [[Disciples of the Witness]], we know that they all had their own understanding of this concept - that they all saw what they wished to see in it. But this communications log, here, appears to predate all of them. If I am correct, and the parties communicating are among the Witness' precursors, then this may be the concept's original form. We can see in this log that HNW and RS, at least, were preoccupied with the concept of a higher purpose. They sought the final shape, but at the time of this exchange, they did not agree on what it was, or how to achieve it. RS speaks of how the final shape will prevent suffering and maximizing benefit; HNW expresses concern over the methods of achieving this.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">If it had stayed on [[Riis]] for that long - if humanity's [[Golden Age]] had continued unending, would we also have fallen victim to the same mentality? Lost sight of others as equals and seen them as animals to be herded.</span>

RETRIEVED FROM: [[The Spider]]'s collection - long-range communications beacon; disabled<br>

It had been so long since we encountered the whisper ∩ Nightmare ∩ predatory memeplex<span style="color:#40678e;">*</span>. We had grown naïve without the reminder of fear.

From the leading edge came a current. It swept through our noosphere, a spark in dry brush ∩ ink in water ∩ hope curdling in an instant. The emanations were confused and fragmentary. I could not parse them all.

Planets stolen from space, ripe fruit plucked from orbit. Structures dissected and reassembled by thousand-fingered hands. Anchors and selves unraveled into first principles, sectioned into wafer-thin slices.<span style="color:#40678e;">**</span>

I regretted it the moment I did. We were dying, but we were dying together. My unimaginable cowardice will not assure my survival, only a delay in my execution. The ruin ∩ predatory memeplex ∩ WITNESS<span style="color:#40678e;">***</span> knows the pattern of our oscillations. I can hear it, still plucking the tattered edges of the noosphere ∩ webbing.

—-Why do you hide?—-<span style="color:#40678e;">****</span>

I believed I would die alone in this abandoned outpost. But I found a crate, forgotten deep within a dusty storeroom. Emergency beacons, produced and stored in another time, one when we knew the fear of death.

We are dead but not unmade. We are ossified ∩ temporized ∩ reiterated ∩ perpetuated ∩ anatomized ∩ finalized.<span style="color:#40678e;">*****</span>

We ∩ the [[Noesis]] existed.

<span style="color:#40678e;">*****Significant semantic overlap here. I believe the total blended concept is related to the final shape.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">The Spider has acquired many items of interest over his lifespan, but precious few may be accessed freely, even in the best of times. the worst of times, on the other hand, seem to have inspired some… conditional generosity. Reluctant as I was to request his assistance, the information I have gleaned has more than paid dividends. Ugh, that's something he would say.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">The contents of this beacon proved quite challenging to transcribe. It seems to operate on a similar principle to your sensoriums, but it directly transmits concepts, rather than inducing sensory hallucinations. Some of the concepts showed significant semantic overlap, though whether due to the nature of the data, age-related degradation, or the recorder's emotional state, I cannot say.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">Now, from the content of this record, I believe we may draw a few conclusions about the Witness's methodology. It is capable of disassembling mind and body, then somehow reassembling them. It did not destroy the Noesis, but unmade and then 'finalized' them.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">Curiously, this account describes a markedly different approach compared to similar recorded attacks. The conquest of the Noesis was swift, almost surgical, and remarkably thorough. The Witness does not seem to have cultivated a Disciple from among their number or left anyone who could tell the tale, yet it did not simply massacre them. Consider how the Witness speaks to the Noesis who is recording. It is almost… gentle. There was no comparable communication during the [[Whirlwind]].</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">I reviewed all the information about the Noesis I could find and discovered this: the Noesis never encountered the Great Machine.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">Is it the presence or absence of the Great Machine which determines the Witness's approach? Did the Witness ever speak to humanity during the Collapse? Did it offer comfort, as it did to this doomed Noesis?</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">I need more information.</span>

TYPE: Emergency Broadcast; Sensorium Telemetry<br>

RETRIEVED FROM: [[CloudArk]] Archives, Deep Storage; [[Neomuna]]; [[Neptune]] // [[Exodus Indigo|EXO-IND4b0082.bank 021830192]]<br>

ORIGIN: EXO-YEL402k1977.10g 001137021<br>

IDENTITIES: [[C. Liang]]; [[S. Bennouna]]<br>

KEYWORDS: Collapse; Black Fleet; [[Rasputin]]<br>

Mayday, mayday, mayday. All stations, this is the [[Exodus Program|Exodus]] [[Exodus Yellow|Yellow]], 25,000 souls aboard. We are under attack by unknown hostiles and sustaining heavy damage. Engines 1 through 6 are down, kinetic weaponry has been disabled, and we are transmitting in the blind. We have a possible SKYSHOCK event, requesting [STATIC]

BENNOUNA: Doesn't matter to the [[Warmind]]. Not under CARRHAE WHITE.

LIANG: We can't possibly have any working guns! Not after that last hit. What does Rasputin expect us to do, wiggle our engine nozzles at that <span style="color:#40678e;">*</span> big ugly triangle?

BENNOUNA: Hold-oh, <span style="color:#40678e;">*</span>, doc, grab (STATIC)

LIANG: Anand.<span style="color:#40678e;">**</span> I just need to get Anand up, and she can get us out of here.

SYSTEM WARNING//[[Warsat|WARSAT]] PREPARING TO FIRE

===SCRIBE NOTES===

<span style="color:#40678e;">*Expletives omitted.</span><br>

<span style="color:#40678e;">**Most likely Flight Dynamics Officer [[P. Anand]], who was one of the injured crew on the bridge.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">It was quite difficult to find firsthand accounts of the Collapse. The Humans who lived through it are long dead, and any contemporary [[Exo]]s have been rebooted several times since then. Most data, even when encoded and protected in engrams, has degraded too badly to be recovered, especially under the post-Collapse conditions on [[Earth]]. But I heard about Neptune—the city of Neomuna, and the people who hid there during the Collapse. I suspected they might have more complete records.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">The journey to Neptune was long and quiet, but the rumble of a ship's engines is as familiar to me as any lullaby. It's a shame that there isn't any remote uplink to Neomuna's archives yet, but to be honest, I relished the chance to visit it myself. The stories and images were pale mimicries of the city: the lights, the colors, the sounds!</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">I have never seen anything like it. This is not mere exaggeration; I mean that, until now, every settlement of every civilization I have ever seen has been a ruin of its former self. The [[Last City]] is a marvel, a testament to humanity's survival and spirit, but even here, I can see the scars left by your Collapse. Neomuna was marred by the [[Invasion of Neptune|war]] which landed in its midst, but it was still a vision. I could see the shape of your Golden Age in its skyline.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">I was greeted warmly by [[Quinn Laghari|Scribe Laghari]]. How marvelous to discover a kindred spirit! She was quite helpful, and I shall have to return when I am able - the Neomuni have a tremendous bounty of information in their CloudArk. I have even been asked to share some of my own stories so they may be recorded for posterity! Together, we were able to retrieve and repair several records that had been damaged, either by Vex incursions or data degradation, and I have included the most relevant record here.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">Also, Scribe Laghari asked me to tell you hello, and to remind you that the [[Hall of Heroes]] is open to you whenever you may wish to visit. Her holoprojection performed an unusual motion when she said this—I believe that you would call it 'waggling eyebrows’? It was very fascinating. Is there a corresponding gesture among Exos?</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">On to the record itself. We can see that the Black Fleet deployed gravitational weaponry, which is corroborated by other accounts of Sol's Collapse (cf. REP # 904-[[Titan (moon)|TITAN]]-[[New Pacific Arcology|NPA]]) and our own records of the Whirlwind (cf. REP # 112-|RIIS-WWD). Such weapons were not described by the Noesis's account of the Witness's attack (cf. SCRIBE ARCHIVE XI-14-9D). We also do not see evidence of what the Noesis described happening to their civilization: slicing, anatomizing, temporizing. Nor do we see any serious attempts from the Witness to communicate.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">I have reviewed everything I could access about the Warmind's attempt to halt the Collapse. Rasputin declared many protocols, two of which I find important here: CARRHAE WHITE (a state of emergency so severe that Rasputin could seize control of the entire system's defenses, and even conscript civilian ships to serve in combat; suggestive of a threat of extinction), and TWILIGHT EXIGENT (a situation that required a change of Rasputin’s ethics; if obeying ordinary ethical restrictions would result in the extinction of humanity, then Rasputin needed a way to bypass those restrictions).</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">Rasputin seems to have enjoyed abstruse terminology - useful for masking intent, but quite difficult to parse. How do I pronounce CARRHAE? Is it easier without mandibles? Perhaps I should start a dictionary. It would be easiest to ask [[Anastasia Bray|Ana Bray]] directly, as she knew the most about Rasputin, but I thought it might be… discourteous, to ask so soon after his passing.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">According to all the documentation of Rasputin's defense of [[Sol System|Sol]], even with such extraordinary circumstances allowing him to act beyond his normal limits, Rasputin could not stop the Black Fleet. Had the Great Machine not acted, the Black Fleet would have ground all of Sol into dust.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">Still, I cannot understand why the Black Fleet would choose to deploy gravitational weapons. If they were totally unharmed by humanity's greatest weapons - if the Witness could disassemble entire fleets with a wave of its hand - why would they need to use such comparatively slow weaponry?</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">Perhaps this was not done out of necessity. But why, then? I feel that I am still missing something.</span>

TYPE: Personal Record<br>

RETRIEVED FROM: [[Ada-1]] of the [[Black Armory]]<br>

ORIGIN: Black Armory Papers; Entry 68, Cont.<br>

KEYWORDS: Collapse; Black Fleet; Black Armory; [[Henriette Meyrin|Meyrin, Henriette]]<br>

[[Yuki Satou|Yuki]] woke me up. I had never seen that look on her face. That fear.

"The sky," she said. "The sky, the sky…" She couldn't say anything else.

The sky grew darker and darker. Then… light.

I realized later what had happened. During humanity's early forays into space, we'd littered the LEO region with debris. Some of it had been removed, the better to facilitate interplanetary travel, but there was always so much…

[[Amira]]. She had fallen behind, and…

[[Helga Rasmussen|Helga]] closed the doors. I’m not sure whether to thank her or not.

===SCRIBE NOTES===

<span style="color:#40678e;">The Black Armorer approached me as I was resupplying in the City. She had heard of my search for information pertaining to the Witness, the Black Fleet, and the Collapse, and wished to help. Though it seemed to physically pain her to part with them, she offered me a sheaf of papers. They were so worn with age, I feared they would crumble in my claws, and I held my breath when I transcribed them.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">She waved away my thanks and said you had found these documents for her some time ago, and to consider this a favor repaid.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">More clues. More pieces of the puzzle. Fire and smoke, poisonous air, earthquakes, cyclones. Why do these things? Why did the Witness cause great tidal waves on Titan (see REP # 904-TITAN-NPA), if it could simply Take the entire planet, as it did [[Arrival of the Black Fleet|later]]? Neither the Eliksni, nor humanity, were as advanced as the Ecumene or countless other fallen civilizations. It could have overrun either of us without all the… theatrics.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">Theatrics. As though all of this was mere performance, like those [[Ghost]]s who put on masks during the [[Festival of the Lost]] and pretend to chase the children of the City. But I cannot think of any other word for it. It appears the Witness has staged a show, but for the Eliksni of Riis and the Humans of Sol as its audiences - even though we should be so far beneath its notice, never mind its concern, that it shouldn't even care about what frightens us…</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">That's it!</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">The Witness is not indifferent to us. It cares about what we think of its performance, though, of course, it does not seek to delight or provoke. No, the Witness has done all it can to spread fear and despair among the people of Sol, as it did the people of Riis. It has chosen the approach that would cause the maximum possible amount of suffering and continued doing so until the very moment it went through that awful portal.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">I doubt that this is some brilliant tactical ploy to demoralize its enemies. It would have defeated both Humans and Eliksni, with or without its campaign of terror. Indeed, such actions appear to have drawn out its attack on Sol and were a deeply inefficient use of its power. If the Witness's only goal was to corner the Great Machine and to use it to further its plans (whatever those are), then why bother doing anything else? If this performance has affected the Great Machine at all, there is no evidence of such - and, anyways, the worst atrocities of the Whirlwind occurred after the Great Machine left us and could not see its effects. No, I believe this display of cruelty was meant for us. It was done to maximize our torment.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">I cannot think of any motivation to ascribe to this except malice.</span>

TYPE: Bridge Audio Recorder<br>

RETRIEVED FROM: [[Reef]] Cryptarchy Archives; [[10 Hygiea]]<br>

ORIGIN: ARCO475B71 // [[Arcadia-Class Jumpship|Arcadia-Class]] [[Jumpship]], Golden Age; discovered partially integrated into [[31 Euphrosyne]]; no pilot was recovered with the ship // Data heavily degraded, partial restoration successful<br>

KEYWORDS: Collapse; Black Fleet; [[Darkness]]; [[Taken]]<br>

IDENTITIES: One [1] unknown [u.1].<br>

[Engines scream, sputter, and cut out]

[Loud metallic clang; rapid, labored breathing]

[u.1:04] Ha. Ahaha. Our guns, our ships, our silent god… useless. Useless!

[u.1:10] But now I'm up here. I'm up here in this… this tin can.

[u.1:11] And I can see it out there, that ugly marble, it's just… it's just floating there! Do something!

===SCRIBE NOTES===

<span style="color:#40678e;">Once again, I am grateful for the circumstances of my upbringing. It is not as difficult for me to enter the Reef as it might be for others, and the [[Techeun]]s and Reef Cryptarchs generously granted me access to their archives. There is a great deal of information preserved here that was lost everywhere else. The [[Yang Liwei]] brought with it exabytes of data, intended for the benefit of the colonists it sheltered. Though they hoped to escape the shadow of the Traveler, they did not wish to lose their tether to the rest of humanity. All of that data survived the ship's transplantation to the [[Distributary]]. Part of it was copied onto the ships [[Mara Sov|Marakel]] brought with her to the Reef, and of that part, almost all has survived in the Reef's archives to this day.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">I must admit, I almost didn't include this transcript. I am no stranger to the disturbing and distressing; as a Scribe, it is my duty to record and pass on history. Even a history written by the survivors will have its dark corners.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">Nevertheless, I found this recording difficult to listen to. It echoes the bitter words I've heard countless times before. From Eliksni who suffered the Whirlwind. Who saw the Great Machine leave us and cursed it for abandoning us.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">But when studying history, discomfort often accompanies the information that is most crucial to understanding. That was what I needed! That discomfort, that echo of Eliksni lamentation.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">The Witness does not need cruelty to win. It does not need to mutilate the Great Machine's creations. To inspire fear and despair. It does not even need to tempt you to use the Darkness, which it has claimed to be - though we know, from your experiences on Neptune, that the Witness does not hold as complete a dominion as it wishes us to believe. In fact, its cruelty has actively slowed and hindered its purpose. Had the Witness simply overwhelmed humanity and crushed all resistance, there would have been nobody left for the Great Machine to uplift. No Ghosts or Guardians to defy it.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">I have spoken with [[Ikora Rey]] about the texts Humans know as the [[Lore:Unveiling|Unveiling]]. I have tried to reconcile it with how I understand the [[Light]], and what I know of the Great Machine. My understanding is imperfect, but I have gleaned this much: the Winnower speaks of convincing you that it is right; of existence as truth; of predation and defection. Nowhere does it speak of malice, or hatred, or despair. It does not care whether you embrace it or curse it. It simply desires to win and, in victory, be validated.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">But for the Witness, victory alone is not enough. It must ruin all the Great Machine has touched, from the smallest creature to the greatest planet. Destroy everything the Light has built. Drown hope in bitterness. The Witness would have us all curse the Great Machine, refute its gifts, and betray it, as the Black Fleet tramples us underfoot. It would make us all [[Eramis, Kell of Darkness|Eramis]], sick with despair and crushing our own dreams.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">You see it too, do you not? The record from Simiks-Fel. The communications from Taliks-Syn. These messages set down in hope, in optimism. Once, those who came before the Witness saw the Great Machine as their hope for the future. As we did. As you do.</span>

TYPE: Communications Log<br>

RETRIEVED FROM: Reef Cryptarchy Archives; [[10 Hygiea]]<br>

ORIGIN: Core; [[Vex]] [[Minotaur]]; [[Sol Divisive]]; [[Black Garden]] // Retrieved by Prince [[Uldren Sov]]; decryption successful<br>

KEYWORDS: HNW047622; final shape<br>

IDENTITIES: HNW047622<br>

 

Even as I say those words, I feel the old doubts crawling through my thoughts again. But it has been long, and longer still, since you renounced the Consensus and set off into the cosmos. You have not seen the violence that visited our shores; a terrible reflection of that ancient history, which we believed was behind us. Though we were steadfast in our position and would have continued to argue it, however long it might take… there were dangerous elements. Subversives and defectors. We did not strike first! Nor did we choose our response lightly.

There is not much time. Now that we are in Consensus, our progress is unhindered. [[The Veil]] unravels before us. The fundamental principles we have long hoped for are woven in its [[Strand|threads]].

And when we have completed the process and thrown off our lesser selves… we will be perfect. Even so, I cannot help but nurture this seed of heresy, the grit which I hope will be subsumed by the pearl: that what we become will be lesser, if it is made without you. How could perfection be lesser? Yet the feeling burns in my veins, so I must share it with you.

I confess this in selfishness. I do not want to forget you.

===SCRIBE NOTES===

<span style="color:#40678e;">*This group appears to be the same as the [Merciful/ Penitent/Benefic] mentioned in SCRIBE ARCHIVE XI-9-2C. There is no usage of ternary semantic clusters whatsoever throughout the text.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">I did not expect to find this. I pen these notes as I await my audience with Marakel in the Reef. As there are many matters which require her attention, the hours stretched on, and I searched the databanks for those old identification codes on a whim.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">To think that this data was retrieved by Prince Uldren Sov. Is this what Humans mean when they say they feel someone walking on their grave? Though, in the prince’s case, that grave is empty. Would it be too awkward if I thanked Crow for an act done in a past life?</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">I apologize. I am rambling, and two different Techeuns have asked me now if I’m quite alright. Physically, I suppose, I am a little tired - this journey has taken me far, and I have slept perhaps slightly less than is ideal - but in truth, I feel deeply disturbed by this record.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">I cannot clearly interpret my own reaction. It is too visceral. Overwhelming. Disgust and horror mix with pity. I even find myself feeling sympathy.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">Sympathy! For someone who admits openly to murdering dissenters! For a people who purposefully erased their own history, as though not remembering those crimes would absolve them of it! For the minds that would form the Witness - for those who destroyed Riis!</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">And yet, in my horror, I am reminded of [[Guardian]]s. After all, we do not blame Crow for the actions of the prince, nor should we. When [[Glint]] brought him back in the Great Machine's Light, Crow was born anew. As were Ikora, and [[Zavala]], and [[The Guardian|you]]. It is as Ikora says, is it not? Grace and memory. The Light forgets.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">Just as the Witness forgot.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">But then I think, no! The Witness did not forget! It was not reborn; it did not choose unreasonable grace. It exuviated, in its own words, but it remembered where it came from. It chose what to forget, not to allow for new possibility, but to destroy it. A self-justifying teleology.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">It is not just reality that the Witness mutilates. It has dissected and reassembled itself, its own memories, its own history. The Witness went from confronting the uncomfortable truth to erasing it. It is grotesque.</span>

<span style="color:#40678e;">As a Scribe — as [[Eido]] — I cannot feel anything but revulsion.</span>

TYPE: Interview<br>

RETRIEVED FROM: Throne Room; The [[Reef]]<br>

KEYWORDS: final shape; Witness<br>

IDENTITIES: [[Mara Sov]], [[Queen of the Reef]] [MARA]; [[Eido]], Scribe of the [[House of Light]] [EIDO]<br>

[I hope you will forgive me; in my curiosity, I allowed myself to pursue a bit of a tangent. It is not often that my [[Mithrax|father]] speaks of the time before he found me. I have much to ask him, now!]

 

[Some time passed. We discussed the documents I have included here, as well as others I believed redundant or only tangentially helpful. Marakel's insight is as keen as any blade; even in those minutes, my understanding multiplied.]

EIDO: The final shape. What it seeks to achieve, with all the tools it has gleaned over the years. This… eternal, perfect thing.

EIDO: It seeks… compression. The combination of a chosen past and limitless future into a perfect forever. A state of being that cannot be anything else, because it is everything it could be.

MARA: It cannot accomplish what it envisions—its true ideal of the final shape — without the Traveler's power.