001 ↯ text

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Am I getting this right

is this

Oh I think I'm getting it

<sub>[Would you look at that, it's baby's first attempt at sending a network message! His words seem to be going through just like how he's seen other messages work--so far, so good.

Next time Anders will practice with the 'delete' key. For now, he'll focus on getting his point across with proper punctuation.]</sub>

Bear with me, this isn't how I'm used to exchanging letters but it's exceptionally handy for picking a bunch of brains at once. I'm curious to know more about the little girl with the cat. You know the one--Alice. From the Wonderland book? Has no eyes now, portends events?

What's the story behind her? Was she an actual person from some other land who was brought here like the rest of us?

Those scenes suggest this isn't the first mansion of its kind, but what happened to her?

Comments

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i hear her hair's insured for $10000

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_{[That's a long line of neatly arranged zeroes.]}

I hope her eyesight had a good going rate, too.

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[ SIGH ]

she's fictional where i come from. which is probably the answer you got the most, right?

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_{[Sorry, Faith, his Mean Girls trivia needs some work. As does his knowledge on English classics.]}

I'm still working on the getting information part. I've heard a thing or two about the book being nothing more than make-believe since coming here, but it's not a story I'd heard of beforehand.

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it's pretty much a kid on a drug trip. which is par for the course considering

[ faith pls ]

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A hallucinogenic episode wouldn't be so bad. Magic closets that conjure up the heart's desire could make a fever dream extra fun.

But now that this one's come alive? I'm willing to take it a little more seriously.

_{[Your average drug trip has an end point. This one seems ready and willing to go on indefinitely.]}

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sure until you figure none of the memories were real
i mean
they fell out of the sky dude

[krmvgivv]

She's been here for 150 years and has been 12 the whole time. Have you tried talking to her? She's weird but nice.

Also when it's through phones it's called texting, not letters.

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_{[Sweet Maker, a hundred and fifty? He takes back what he said about her being a little girl. He'd guessed she'd been here awhile, but not that long.]}

I remember that age. I haven't seen her in the flesh, but she seems admirably upbeat for someone frozen in their awkward years.

So she's been trapped here all this time?

_{[That's... bad news. Particularly bad for those of them who still have their eyes, their sanity, and (probably?) most of their memories.]}

[krmvgivv]

Yep. It's not that awkward.

[Yes it is. But it's Dipper's age and so he can be defensive about it.]

Though yeah. Not a good age to be stuck at for eternity.

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_{[Well, that's a complete lie, but he's not about to stop someone from defending the sanctity of puberty if they want to. Whatever float's a person's odd little boat.]}

What does that make this place? A dream world she didn't wake up from as the ending of the books say?

[krmvgivv]

I don't think the books are all that accurate to the real place. And she still could wake up and go home. She's been here a really long time, doesn't mean she'll be here forever.

[circlejerked]

If she hasn't popped off home in 150 years, I get the feeling she's going to need more than a pinch on the arm to get back to where she belongs. The real place seems to have a more stubborn hold than its fictional counterpart.

_{[And that doesn't bode well for them. Alice is a cautionary tale for why they need to find a rabbit hole out of here.]}

But assuming the books were based on this world, that must mean someone had some experience with Wonderland or escaped from it and lived to tell the tale. That's something.

[coleader]

If you find out, let me know.

I tried getting some straight answers out of her, but she only talked in circles. But she's here -- that means she's real. [ Unless this is all a never-ending hallucination. ] Have you read the story?

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More than happy to share the love. The name's Anders.

_{[Provided, of course, that there's any illuminating love to be had. This place makes an art of holding its secrets fast.]}

Those falling starts that turned into apparitions have me wondering if she used to be normal once, because she doesn't seem to be all that human now.

I did read up on on the story, in fact, and that's another thing I wonder about. Was it real and took on the quality of myth?

_{[It feels like too much of a coincidence.]}

[coleader]

Anders, hi. Clarke.

I don't know if normal would be the right word -- more normal, maybe, comparatively. If she isn't human, then what is she? A robot, an AI?

[ She realizes, too late, that he'd used the word 'apparition' instead of projection or hologram. Of course he's from somewhere that believes in ghosts or monsters. Isn't everyone, save for her? It feels like it. ]

A... spirit?

[ It feels silly to type it. ]

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A pleasure, Clarke. I can't tell if that's a man or a woman's name, but I'm finding being able to talk without laying eyes on someone hugely entertaining, like a message in a bottle. It's a shame I didn't know about this sooner.

Unless AI stands for something that can see without eyes and stops aging, it beats me! She doesn't fit your average definition of spirit, either. But she must have something to do with this world.

_{[But what? And to what degree?]}

[coleader]

Let me guess, you don't come from a world with this kind of technology? [ Message in a bottle, that's adorable. It's like everyone here is from a fairy tale book. ] Maybe I shouldn't tell you what I am, I don't want to ruin your entertainment.

On a more serious note -- AI stands for artificial intelligence. They're people who aren't real, in a sense; they're digital. I'm not so sure that's what she is either. It might help if you tell me what your average definition of a spirit actually is, though.

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Got it in one!

_{[But he's not doing so bad for a technologically illiterate barbarian, is he?]}

Cloaking yourself in mystery for my sake? That's so sweet.

_{[But back to business--he'd had a reason for making this message beyond getting to know his fellow prisoners. Before he continues composing a reply, he takes the time to consider what she means by "artificial intelligence" so that he's sure he understands it. It brings to mind the Tranquil, which is a little disquieting for any mage to think about.]}

So something that mimics life but isn't actually alive? That's not far off from what you'd consider a spirit. They're intelligent, but not what you'd think of as a physical entity with free thought like a person. Most of them wouldn't see a reason to take on a human form like hers, which is why I have my doubts.

video;

[powerofmabel]

I don't think she likes to talk about it.

[very seriously. alice is her bro.]

text;

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_{[He finds these machines fun (when he doesn't find them frustrating), but it's unfortunate they don't come with an instruction manual to explain why there's suddenly a little girl's face on the glass.]}

Who--

_{[Shoot, it's not on audio. How does he switch it so he can talk instead of use the buttons to make the letters? Eh, he'll figure it out eventually.]}

Why not? You're talking about Alice, aren't you?

_{[You mean there are people who don't like to complain about their imprisonment at every opportunity? How bizarre.]}

video;

[powerofmabel]

[she giggles.] The buttons are a little complicated, yeah.

[he'll get it.] Yeah, and I dunno. I think it's 'cause she doesn't remember a lot of... anything.

[which should be terrifying, but it's just sad to Mabel. Poor Alice.]

text;

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<sub>[The kid can say that again... These machines and their nifty communication network certainly hadn't featured in the Alice stories Evelyn had helped Anders dig up in the library. It's a good thing he's a fast learner, for the most part.

He plucks his words out on the keys in between bouts of turning the device around in his hands, experimenting with other buttons. How come a blind girl had made videos look easy?]</sub>

You mean because of the memory erasure? That would explain those drawings in her room, if they do indeed belong to her. But she clearly still remembers some things--like who she is and where she is.

_{[That doesn't make it any less creepy, though. There were days he'd give anything to forget about the Circle, but at the same time, his time there encompasses years of his life he'd never get back.]}

text;

[powerofmabel]

Maybe that's all she has left... I mean it'd be hard to forget you're in Wonderland 'cause everybody says it all the time, but I figure if I were here that long and ended up losing all the stuff I remember, I'd try to keep hold of all of my... me-ness.

...Wait. She said something about that once. Um.

[hold on she's thinking.]

video??? we're getting there

[circlejerked]

I'm not disagreeing on the subject of me-ness, mind you, but do you think she scribbled out the drawings because she gave up trying to remember?

<sub>[It's a dreary considering anyone accepting this place as their new standard, but for a child on her own...? Anders could hardly fault a girl for losing hope after some time, assuming that's what had happened to the real Alice.

Making the most of Mabel's brainstorming session to focus on his device, he experiments until the recording light blinks on and it would seem he's seeing and being seen at the same time, though there's not much to see besides different angles of Anders as he tips the device from side to side.]</sub>

It's it working now? Can you-- Huh. Anyway, what were you saying? Can you hear me?