video;

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji's not in the diner for once. He's in the library. Not really...doing anything, just...being. In the library.]

Did anyone else get this in their advent calendars today?

[He holds up a piece of paper with the following message printed on it:

Pc dsts kvkqbw cbu rq afvg zziu
Tfv vvfwg oeh ocii, K ogsncxmbs
Esy W’mi pcklkbx pgtk xq uzzg
Oeh pcn, rqbv sh mfy uvrpn zzzg
Kyev wj hqbv gcbk fg iehqbv
Mo gfvtm, jstfp, ixsicqbv]

I know people have gotten different riddles or poems. So I'm wondering, did everyone get different messages, too?

Comments

[krmvgivv]

Oh yes!! I mean, no!! I got the same message. I've been working on decoding it all morning.

[He takes a notebook out of his vest pocket and clears his throat.]

"No more tricks and no more lies
For those and more, I apologize
Now I’ve nothing left to give
And now, none of you shall live
What is done cant be undone
I'm sorry, sorry, everyone."

[He looks up and grimaces.]

So like, that's a thing.

[eatsyourscience]

That's...

[He gropes for an appropriate word for a moment.]

Pretty awful.

[krmvgivv]

Putting it mildly.

[Dipper lowers the poem and frowns.]

Something's seriously wrong with Wonderland. Like, more than usual. And I don't know how we can fix it.

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji's seen Wonderland get pretty bad in the past, but yeah, it's never been this bad.]

In the past, feeding the Core always seemed to do it. But there's not exactly much left to give it.

[krmvgivv]

Besides... us.

[Dipper doesn't like that idea. He's not sure what else they can do. He shakes his head. No, that's quitter talk.]

I mean... what's it taken in the past? Items with sentimental value, I know, maybe items from home? Would that count?

[eatsyourscience]

Maybe? But I'm not sure how many of us actually have things from home here with us.

[Sure, Wonderland hands them out occasionally, but there are so few there now that he's not sure there would even be enough to do any good.]

Besides, I doubt that's going to be enough at this point. If it's cannibalizing itself, it's going to need something more...substantial.

[krmvgivv]

Like... a whole person.

[Dipper swallows.]

Right? I mean, what else could be enough?

[eatsyourscience]

Probably not much. But we're not throwing anyone into the Core, so we'll have to think of something else.

[Not even Bill.]

[krmvgivv]

What if that's the only way? What if we have to do it or we all die?

[eatsyourscience]

Is it okay to sacrifice one person so the rest of us survive?

[krmvgivv]

Is it okay not to?

[Dipper doesn't know. He paces, frowning hard.]

It's like that ethical problem thingy. You know, with the hoard of rampaging elephants? Where if you do nothing they'll charge and trample five zebras, but if you cause a landslide those zebras will be safe but there's an especially cute baby antelope that will be crushed. Do you save the zebras and murder an antelope? Are you murdering the zebras if you don't murder the antelope? Is this a really contrived moral dilemma? I don't know!

[eatsyourscience]

...No, it's definitely a really contrived moral dilemma.

[Zebras and antelopes? Really?]

I guess "if I can't save everyone, then no one should be saved" isn't that great of an outlook either, though.

[krmvgivv]

Hey, I didn't make it up. Moral philosophers are weird.

[He huffs out a sigh wraps his arms around himself.]

No. There has to be a better way. I just... don't know what it is yet.

[eatsyourscience]

We'll figure something out. We have to. It's just a matter of if we figure it out in time or not.