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HereComesEverybody
Mar 2, 2007

a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs.

In :toxx:

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HereComesEverybody
Mar 2, 2007

a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs.

JX4068 (631 words)

JX4068’s primary task is simple: proceed forward three meters; engage scanners; disengage scanners; reverse direction; and repeat. If its scanners detect an unknown entity, JX4068 will register that entity to its internal memory. JX4068 may store up to 28,405 individual entities, at which point it must transmit its data to a remote storage facility and erase its local memory. JX4068 has been unable to connect to its designated storage facility since recording its last entity 380,330 days ago.

A small, four-legged creature, he traced a path around the peculiar animal on its tenacious patrol. Maintaining a safe distance, he watched as thin, grey beams (to him they are just beams) erupt from what he supposed was its mouth. Inching forward gingerly, he tried his best to stay low to the ground. He would not normally be so bold as to risk being seen by an animal so clearly stronger than him, but he is driven by his thirst to the only water he has seen in some time.

As it requires relatively minimal energy consumption, in the absence of a more robust power source, JX4068 may accomplish its task via solar power. JX4068 has not received a signal to return to its charging nexus in 571,955 days. While operating under solar power, under ideal conditions, JX4068 accomplishes its primary task at a reduced efficiency of only fourteen percent. However, conditions have been suboptimal for some time, and so JX4068 now accomplishes its primary task at a reduced efficiency of approximately sixty-seven percent.

Each day, the sun reaches upwards, finding its perch at the top of the skies, rays breaking desperately through cyan clouds that never disperse. The water brightens and shivers under its gaze, and grows dark and still when it descends below a horizon that no one will see.

Although JX4068 suffers from water damage, its vital functions remain fully operational: a chassis that envelops its most important components ensures their indefinite protection. Barometric sensors are able to predict incoming weather patterns with a high level of accuracy and signal JX4068 to act accordingly. They are, however, not equipped to detect that peculiar smell that you sometimes get when it’s about to rain, or the excitement that mounts as the rising wind heralds the incoming storm and you watch the leaves give way to its whims with increasing intensity. When the sensors detect rain, they engage small metal flaps that cover what someone once called JX4068’s stomach.

Users may interact with JX4068 via its Control Deck Interface (CDI), or locally with voice commands. JX4068 is equipped with two medium-range microphones designed to recognize a handful of pragmatic commands, such as “enable primary/secondary task,” “disable primary/secondary task,” “return to nexus,” and so on. Although JX4068’s microphones are always active, JX4068 is not programmed to respond to prompts beyond its initial programming. The microphones do not log the satisfying, endless crunch of JX4068’s threads moving through the rocks, nor the delicate trill of birds that have begun to take nest near the water, nor the wistful singing of a technician who for some reason remembers a song she hasn’t thought of in years but of which she still knows every single note, and each line takes her further back to days she’d thought long forgotten and it’s this strange mix of regret and hopefulness where all at once your heart bursts with joy and breaks with the sadness of time passed and you feel like your best days are behind you, yet in this musical moment you feel a sickly sweet love for the future. JX4068 is 580,450 days overdue for its scheduled maintenance.

JX4068 disengages its scanners, reverses direction, and proceeds forward three meters. It engages its scanners. No new entities detected.

HereComesEverybody
Mar 2, 2007

a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs.

scratch that

HereComesEverybody fucked around with this message at 17:11 on Jan 23, 2018

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