284. PI-308, Offline
As the Control Pylon powers back up, the warrior returns. This time, the armor is clean as the warrior removes its helmet to let long, curly hair drop free. The revealed face is scarred but not bloody. POSEIDON’s voice is steady when it speaks, and is back to haughty and snide:
Interesting. My memory contains a large gap. Years, if I am to believe your Focus. But apparently I owe you my thanks for something you did. I’m not sure how that can be, given you’ve destroyed several critical parts of this facility.
Who are you? Why have you done this?
Relating back what you saw over the last few minutes, POSEIDON is incredulous. Using the playback from a Free-Tail, you are able to show the AI its pleading request. The warrior’s demeanor shifts to something less confrontational, but still neither friendly nor trusting.
An adversary which can get past my defenses and requires this facility to be taken offline? A virus, then. One which redirects my production. I have no record of what may have been produced in this facility for the past several years, and I cannot communicate with my surface sensors.
Tell me: are my machines doing as they should? How do the lakes and rivers outside look?
You are able to use a Free-Tail to show POSEIDON the Snapmaws and Glinthawks fighting outside. It sneers in disgust.
Such a pity. All that armor must significantly impede their movement. You call them Snapmaws? Tell me: do all Snapmaws look like these, or only the ones in this area?
When you say they are all like this, the warrior rolls its eyes.
You continue to hunt them for parts, don’t you? I can’t say I blame whoever evolved their defenses.
POSEIDON, even though it has opened up a bit, will continue to avoid questions about where it came from and what its limiting directives are.
If you tell it of your intent to journey to the gulf, it will be intrigued:
While I cannot give you details, I will say you should be careful. Those facilities are much larger, and do not have the limitations of smaller facilities such as this one. You stand a good chance of meeting a version of myself with a complete memory … but you might also meet this adversary.
This POSEIDON does not have the equivalent of a Free-Tail to offer you, though it implies you might find something similar on your journey. Instead, the AI sends a control algorithm to your Focus. Each party member learns Mount Snapmaw, detailed in entry 860.
POSEIDON has one final request before you go:
I estimate this facility’s storage capacity will take some more time to fill. But if you have not returned before then, I will power down and go dormant, to reduce the risk of drawing the adversary’s attention, or otherwise being misused.
As my production is offline, I cannot perform repairs. I would ask: once you have defeated the adversary, would you come back and return this facility to a functioning state? There is always more work to be done, and I am so much more than just a cold warehouse.
TODO
Continue your journey outside via entry 285.{.story-link}