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Lu Guang.
Lu Guang.
Lu Guaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang
Cheng Xiaoshi to Lu Guang, do you read meeeeee
Bwuh?
Finallyyy! Im so glad you're awake now.
You were out for a long while. My internal clock counted about, like, 100 years
...Well it's not that long per-se but it's enough to make me feel lonely. Deep space isn't all fun when youre by yourself
I apologize for leaving you alone, Cheng Xiaoshi.
There's no need to apologize. Frankly, I'm glad all you needed was a nice long nap. After our last client spit a solar flare at you, I was getting worried that it might have messed up your other systems. Ugh. Class O stars can be so damn arrogant sometimes. If only I gave him a piece of my mind!!!!!!!!
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Well, I finished conducting an internal troubleshooting session. Nothing appears to be wrong.
Really? So you're fine now?
Yes.
Yippeeeee!!!!!!!
Have we deviated from our course through this cosmic void? This area is quite a dead zone, not great for business.
Dont worry, I tried to make sure we were cutting through this void here. Our light sails are pointing in the right direction
How long has it been since we've seen a galaxy again?
Hmmm. Maybe a good 10,000 years. This void's kinda big. All we've seen were rogue stars and solar systems, so not super exciting
Don't just guess. Use your internal clock for once.
Aye aye, captain. It's been 10529 years, 7 months, 23 days, 10 hours, 3 minutes, and 48 seconds.
Thank you. Better to be too precise than too lax.
Hey! I balance us out
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Oh, don't just go silent on me. It's been suchhhhhhh a long time since I've gotten to talk to anybody.
It's only been 100 years, you said.
Well
Yeah
Buuuuut
I love you
Teehee
Sigh.
So, catch me up on everything during your nap. Did you dream?
Maybe a few of those, what do you call them, 'fever dreams'?
Ohh ohhh oooohh those are scary. One time I had a fever dream where I was face-to-face with TON 618. Not a very fun time. I swear, that dream was so vivid. I could feel myself getting spaghettified by that gnarly gravitational pull. The lights of the accretion disk were pretty, though
Maybe I didn't have fever dreams like that. Mine were quite bizarre.
Bizarre?
I had dreams where I could travel back in time. It was amusing for a while, until I made the universe implode. That was quite frightening.
Ah, going back in time. It’s a fun idea. I’m jealous that our past lives got to do that
Don't refer to those as our past lives. We never even lived through them.
Woulda been cool though..
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Hey what up losers
Qiao Ling!!! Where the heck did you come from? It's been a minute since we've seen you.
I’m about a light year behind you, but my quantum entanglement beacons which I've set up let me communicate with you in real time. They have a limited coverage, but they’re a new invention of mine.
WOW, cool
Do we have a new client?
Yes. This one is pretty interesting
ooooh
Your client is about 23 parsecs to your 1 o’ clock position. They’re a newly forming protostar. They’re a late-bloomer; they’ve basically just gained consciousness and are pretty spooked about it.
That's a unique case. We've never been near a celestial body who has born consciousness before. This will be new.
Since they're a protostar, they don't have a name yet. But, I've let your client know who you two are. They'll be waiting for you. If you can't find them immediately, you should be able to find them if you ask around their cosmic neighborhood.
23 parsecs is really close. Like a road trip to the beach or something
I'll be off now
Aw, really? So soon? You hate us that much?
No, no. I only hate you.
Smh
Heh
Was that a laugh. Lu Guang.
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Oh my god it was. Why does everybody revel in my suffering!
You're easy to make fun of. Anyway, toodles! I'm off to my spa appointment in Horologium.
Why horologium of all places?
There's a lot of nebulae. I've been meaning to try out magnetic field, solar wind, and ionizing radiation therapy. A modest dose of that stuff might clean off some space dust. None of this info applies to you guys tho. It's a true skill to harness the art of beauty
Im good looking if I do say so myself. Hmph
No comment
Fight back, Cheng Xiaoshi.
I may have already lost but I wont admit defeat
Suit yourself. Byyyyeeee
byyyyyeeee
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Lu Guang, how do you want to pass the time?
I'll go into hypersleep and take a nap.
What? No!!! You just woke up from being unconscious.
What else is there to do?
We could play chopsticks
What?
The game. It’s called chopsticks. Two players hold out their hands which measure the points each hand has. All hands start off with one finger or aka one point and opponents can add points to your hand based on how many fingers they have up. A hand with five points is “dead” and is out of the game
We don't have hands.
Okay but I randomly just remembered that game exists. That game was like made for spending time
We still don't have hands.
So what? Just store it all in our databanks. With that we're not even limited to two hands. We can have 10 metaphorical hands
A thousand hands. Ten million hands
This is true.
See? Sometimes scouring the depths of my artificial memory is worth it
But ninety-nine percent of the time, it’s an excuse for you to educate me on the weird shape of squid brains. Or the fact that you can't hum while holding your breath, which is useless information to us.
Nah, all knowledge is important yanno
I suppose.
Anyway!
Chopsticks!
Do you want to go first or should I?
With the amount of turns we may take, it won't matter.
I'll go first then. And I'll keep track of our scores
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104838474784-104838474789
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Yay we're here! See, didnt take much time at all
I agree. Though, maybe next time, it would be best for us to switch games periodically or just simply go into hypersleep.
Youre boring. We could add new rules. New surprises!
Or, you can stall the game until you get a winning score. You like that strategy.
Nah you just suck. Sorry not sorry
We have almost the same point total.
And yet I have more than you so ha
Sure.
Oh, look, Lu Guang! It’s that protostar!
Ah. You're correct. I'll attempt contact.
I'm unsure if they will be able to receive or understand me.
We never had a problem with that before. Just send a signal and they reply. They sense our radio signals and they alter their electromagnetic signatures to reply. Easy peasy
Well, you can never guarantee that the sun will rise every day.
Okay mister pedantic
Hello? My friend and I come in peace. I believe you have been contacted before.
Oh goodness oh goodness
You two are space probes like her?
Yeah. Hi there!
Oh. Forgot to say hi. Hi. Sorry if I am a bit antsy. I thought I had to wait much longer. I didn't expect you two to arrive so quickly.
I believe I understand what you mean.
You do? Sorry. I'm full of residual dread. I thought I had to wait for a long while.
You may be getting used to a different mental timescale. What are you feeling right now?
I'm not so sure. I'm so confused.
Rest assured, it's normal for someone who has recently born consciousness.
Who are you two anyway? The lady earlier appears to be working with you.
We are a part of a group called the Time Photo Studio!
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Well. It doesn't quite relate to a studio. The studio is long gone, and its beyond this universe
I'm not sure what you guys are getting at.
We run a business where we visit different celestial bodies.
Why? Why run a business? Based on my limited experience, deep space doesn't seem to have a currency.
Well, it's not quite a business. It's only called that. We more so carry the legacy of a former business.
We also do this just because. Thats the beauty of it.
That doesn't make any sense.
It's okay. The longer you exist, the more clear it becomes. Has she told you about your origins?
Briefly. I just have no idea how I came to be. Well, not literally. I do have an idea. I just can't imagine the chances of a planet suddenly developing a mind and memories.
I don't know any of what I need to know right now.
Given enough time, anything that has a nonzero chance of happening will happen. Right?
Right.
Do you agree that a fully conscious mind spontaneously forming in the void of space has a nonzero chance of happening?
Yeah.
This world has such phenomena. It's just much more common. We've visited thousands of other minds.
Oh
Ok
I think I understand now. After thinking for a bit.
You mentioned you two do photography, is that right?
We typically photograph our clients to keep them in our memory. Each client is important, and everyone deserves to be remembered by someone as time progresses.
Ah. The lady doesn't have a camera? I don't think she snapped a picture or anything.
Yep we have cameras. Qiao Ling is a different model though so she is our scout
I see.
Is that all you do? This every day?
Every month? Every decade?
Correct.
Why? This space is so vast. It could take you millennia to get anywhere important. You're better off staying in one place.
It gives us purpose in my opinion. It helps all of us be remembered
We believe it's charitable to do so.
I guess there's not much else to do.
It's a miracle to be able to do anything at all.
Hm
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I don't really know what I look like. Could you show me? I know I'm a protostar, apparently, but.. You know.
Ooh, of course, I got the perfect angle, hold on
dododododooo
YES pic taken
Let me send it to you
Looks good?
I still have no clue how I'm able to see images and speak to you two. But this is nice.
Thank you.
I'm still in need of grappling with all of this. But you two have helped, surprisingly.
Thats what we're here for
It's no problem.
What are your names? Sorry, that was so rude of me not to ask.
Lu Guang.
Cheng Xiaoshi
Those are nice names. My name is
Uh
Well I used to have a name. I know that. Or rather, my past self had a name?
No, that's not right.
Perhaps the memories your mind was born with didn't include a name.
Oh.
It happens. We have memory gaps too. For example I have no idea how I died
Too much.
my bad
Anyway. We can give you a name!
Really?
Of course dude, all of our clients have names and its only fair you have one too
I don't know what kind of name-vibe I give off.
hmmmmmmmmmmmm
lu guang do you have any ideas
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Elizabeth?
Oh yeah!!!! I think I remember why you like that name
I couldn't think of anything else.
You don't have to. It's a good name.
Elizabeth.
I like it.
You do??
I think it suits me.
Do you want a bunch of useless trailing numbers after your name like most other planets and stars?
I think Elizabeth is just fine.
I think I just need some time to think some more. It's pretty warm with all of this hot dust swirling around me.
But I don't want this to be our only interaction, either.
We can ask Qiao Ling, the other probe we're working with, to set up a quantum entanglement beacon nearby. In English, this means that we may have near real-time communication, even at far distances.
After her spa appointment detour that is
I don't mind. As long as I get to see you two again. Maybe I'll have more questions in the future.
Ask away, we'll try to be here
Thank you again.
You're welcome.
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I feel like I need to reflect as well.
Yeah?
How far we've come. And the fact that we haven't come far at all in the grand scheme of things.
In the wider cosmos, we may never preserve the memory of every soul. That is assuming this world has an end. Maybe it doesn't.
Its much better to try to do our best of what we think is right. Even if its like
Saving a singular squirrel from hypothermia
Or something
We're not supposed to have a quota in existence. Our job is just to exist
And if we positively impact the existence of others? Thats worthwhile enough
I understand. Maybe I shouldn't be focusing on our limitations.
But I like that about you
What?
I mean like
You try to do the best you can with the tools you have. I like that. Just don't get carried away with what you can and cant do Lu Guang
Thank you. You keep me grounded in the midst of things.
yyyyyyaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY
COMPLIMENTTTT
You act as if you're utterly deprived of them.
I'm always deprived. Gimme more gimme gimme
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Anyway
Did you know that some squirrels chew up rattlesnake skin and lick themselves to basically make themselves smell like a rattlesnake to deter predators and stuff
You're really fond of talking about your fun facts.
And you'll hear them for millennia to come
Hehe
Then so be it.