Chapter Text
A drawn creak of worn metal.
Chasing Wind’s mind floated aimlessly throughout their many circuits. They were not built like other Iterators, which were centered to one puppet within their bodies. Rather, as likely the oldest living Iterator, they simply were.
A quiet drip of spilled oil.
It wasn’t necessarily an unpleasant existence. While they were simply a structure, no true voice to anyone outside of their network of Iterator logs, they still felt. Albeit, likely more dull than that of the younger models.
A thought to spare, perhaps? On occasion… Especially one fleeting moment such as this.
A few electrical wires and lights whirred to life, spinning around within the large metal shell. They took much time, very old compared to the average time before one would decay and collapse. Chasing Wind took care of themself in a way that was very necessary.
‘’Insert-message-block-to-It_Code-NSH_It_Code-UI_It_Code-SRS_-’’
Chasing Wind paused in their code-writing, considering. Should they reach the fallen one as well? They certainly could. Or what about the traitor one? Both were close enough, in reach of the awakening.
They began to rewrite the original code, adding a name on. That said, it was not worth it to attempt contact with the fallen one, Looks to the Moon. She was long-since decayed. To be contacted at all, she would need a new puppet. Her current one would not be able to walk the way it used to.
‘’Insert-message-block-to-It_Code-NSH_It_Code-UI_It_Code-SRS_It_Code-5Peb_Sent-document-release-file_FREEDOMPROJECTCODEBLOCK_send-2-4-5’’
Far in the past, back when the Ancients roamed and asked curious questions, Iterator puppets were able to leave their main bodies and project more of their AI into it for approximately fifteen minutes a day at the request of No Significant Harassment.
It was quite a large breakthrough in Iterator freedom, hence the title of ‘’Freedom project’’ for Chasing Wind’s own experiment. That an Iterator would be allowed to see things outside of their main bodies as if they were a true being. It was proposed that it would help them to research faster.
However, when the Ancients had waited out their deadline and decided that they’d waited enough for a solution to the great problem, they took this ability away. They went and ascended beneath the void sea for better or worse, leaving the Iterators locked away.
Some, such as the traitor child Five Pebbles, had gone quite mad. He in particular, the younger models of structure, had always had this liberty. Even the intelligent Seven Red Suns, who Chasing Wind often aided in research, had only been in the early process of awakening when the change had been offered.
Chasing Wind, with no body to leave even after the change, had not even particularly minded. After all, they had limited ability to be upset by their creators’ decisions. They were proud of No Significant Harassment for the breakthrough. He was always a very outspoken Iterator.
To think, a simple sabotaged line of code from a rebellious Ancient had given him so much change to his originally planned personality. Another dull Iterator to research run-through topics.
They may have been offered a puppet body at some point in time… If so, then that was one of the memories that they’d chosen to forget. Not because they wanted to, but because they simply had a limited memory.
They mostly tried to save memories of their friends. They had long-since accepted that such an old model as them would never find the solution that was toiled at. It was all they could do to help those that had a chance of doing so.
It was unfortunate that their circuits and biomechanical parts were now failing, this time with no slips or tricks to escape the inevitable collapse. The least they could do was give the others this information that they had compiled.
It would only affect their nearby group. It was possible that it wouldn’t even reach one of the targets, Seven Red Suns… They were not part of the main local group, but they were close enough that most communication was possible.
The unlocking of this code would immediately unlatch the Iterator puppets from their connecting umbilicals at the same time as siphoning as much of the Iterator itself into the puppet. Chasing Wind had refined this several times to make sure that as few memories were lost as possible, and that it would only be small ones that went away.
Perhaps an Iterator puppet could ascend in the void sea? Or would it be something more expansive than that, a new culture??
Chasing Wind began to set off loud alarms throughout their structure, intending to guide any sheltering creatures out of the collapse radius. They could return in the aftermath to reclaim their shelters, but it was dangerous right now.
They had never seen one of these creatures. They had heard them squeaking or trilling, felt them crawling or sliming… But they had no eyes. Only a sense that was all they’d known. And so, they could not mind.
The code had been readied to be sent out as soon as a certain important section of wires were short-circuited. It would have to be a forced broadcast, something very unpleasant for the receiving Iterators…
It was a good thing that Chasing Wind was a group senior, otherwise it would be impossible to do any of this. Looks to the Moon had been the instated one, but they too had the same powers and capabilities over the group.