(The group is about to start heading for the exit after completing the last mission.)
Patchrabbit: Hi, Lucid!
Patchrabbit: ...I see your flashlight outside.
Stubborn Toaster: (sing-song) There’s a cipher in the bathtub!
Patchrabbit: Ohhh, there’s a Lucid inside.
west_frost: (sing-song) What do you get?
Patchrabbit: (peeking around the corner) No Lucid? And the Lucid didn’t even—
(Stubborn Toaster receives Paper Angels from the cipher.)
west_frost: Oh, fuuunnnnn.
Stubborn Toaster: Friiieeeeends!
Patchrabbit: (muttered quietly) —come and investigate.
Patchrabbit: I mean, we’re headin’ for the exit, anyway.
Stubborn Toaster: (simultaneously with the eye-closing prompt) Yeah, I invited some f—oh!
SPEAK-AS-ONE: STUBBORN CHILD…
west_frost: “Stubborn child.” Oh, no, is this about me?
Stubborn Toaster: (while west_frost is talking) Oh!
Stubborn Toaster: No, I think it’s about me.
west_frost: (while Stubborn Toaster is talking) Is this about me?
SPEAK-AS-ONE: YOU ASK IF WE CREATED YOU
(west_frost continues to read some of the messages out loud.)
Stubborn Toaster: Yes!
Stubborn Toaster: I asked—
A1phanum3ric: Alright, what did—what did you do?
Stubborn Toaster: This—this—I asked… Oh, god…
Stubborn Toaster: Hold on, I have the entire quote here…
A1phanum3ric: (laughs)
Stubborn Toaster: Yeah, I asked if you existed before we did, or/and if you created humans, basically, I guess… I don’t fucking know.
west_frost: (at the same time as a message) This is… This is… This is SPEAK-AS-ONE, right?
SPEAK-AS-ONE: WE WERE ONCE ONE… YOU WOULD SAY
Stubborn Toaster: No, this was directed to THEE-I-DARE.
(west_frost and Patchrabbit both make acknowledging sounds.)
Stubborn Toaster: So, what’s up, dude?
A1phanum3ric: Oh, okay.
west_frost: This is TH—THEE-I-DARE.
SPEAK-AS-ONE: SPECIES. ONE MIND, MANY BODIES
Stubborn Toaster: Oh, no, this is SAO... I’m c—confusing myself, shit! (upset laughter)
(Patchrabbit waves.)
west_frost: Oh! Okay, okay, this… This is… SPEAK-AS-ONE... Okay.
(The Shape comes out, targeting west_frost.)
west_frost: Oh! I think we... upset them.
west_frost: Oh! No! There I s—! FFF—
Stubborn Toaster: Oh, boy.
west_frost: OH, FFF—
west_frost: Wait, why am I getting it? I’m not the one who said his name!
SPEAK-AS-ONE: DO NOT NAME THE ADVERSARY
A1phanum3ric: (laughs)
west_frost: (panicked) I’M NOT THE ONE WHO SAID HIS NAME!
(Everyone else laughs.)
west_frost: THIS IS MESSED UP!
Stubborn Toaster: Oh, boy.
west_frost: I’M NOT THE ONE WHO SAID HIS NAME, IT WAS HIM!
SPEAK-AS-ONE: YOU ARE MERELY THE FIRST TO SUFFER
west_frost: OH, COME ON!
Patchrabbit: Oh, no.
west_frost: IT’S ALWAYS ME. WHY DO YOU HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST ME?
(Everyone else laughs.)
west_frost: Why!? Why do you hate me!?
Patchrabbit: (upon being spotted by a Lucid) Oh!
Stubborn Toaster: Uh, you should run, Patch.
Patchrabbit: (still amused) Iii am.
A1phanum3ric: Yeahhh, y—
west_frost: God, why did my voice get so high?
(west_frost, A1phanum3ric, and Patchrabbit laugh.)
A1phanum3ric: Well, I mean, you went defensive, so that’s probably why.
Stubborn Toaster: Oh.
SPEAK-AS-ONE: IN THE CAVES. IN THE BEGINNING
Stubborn Toaster: Okay…
SPEAK-AS-ONE: YOU WERE BEASTS...AND THEN… NOT
Stubborn Toaster: Did you… teach us… something? Or did you take us?
west_frost: Did he—did he, answer, um, the, uhh… (mumbling)
SPEAK-AS-ONE: YOUR DREAMS BECAME … SUBTLE.
Stubborn Toaster: (to self, very quietly) “...subtle.”
Stubborn Toaster: Okay...
west_frost: By the way, did he ever answer me, why I’m always the first one?
SPEAK-AS-ONE: THE SONG. MUTTERED IN YOUR SLEEP
Stubborn Toaster: Uh...
Patchrabbit: They said you’re just the first to suffer.
Stubborn Toaster: We muttered the song in our sleep?
west_frost: Oh. Fun.
SPEAK-AS-ONE: ACTED OUT BY YOUR BODIES. OUR MIND.
Stubborn Toaster: Okay…
SPEAK-AS-ONE: WE WERE BEAUTIFUL. PEACEFUL.
Stubborn Toaster: (during last message) So, could we have brought about your existence by accident?
Stubborn Toaster: Or… by circumstance?
SPEAK-AS-ONE: THERE WAS NO YOU. NOR US, FOR NOW…
Stubborn Toaster: (off-mic) Okay…
SPEAK-AS-ONE: YOU SEE US AS SEPARATE.
SPEAK-AS-ONE: BACK THEN. WE WERE ALL ONE.
Stubborn Toaster: You’re just extensions of us…
Stubborn Toaster: (after a small pause) We’ve distanced ourselves from you.
SPEAK-AS-ONE: YOU WERE STOLEN FROM US
Stubborn Toaster: (at the same time as the next message) By whom?
west_frost: (quietly) What does that mean?
SPEAK-AS-ONE: BY THE ADVERSARY
west_frost: Doesn’t shock me. Guy can’t be trusted.
A1phanum3ric: (laughs)
Stubborn Toaster: I mean that was… Yeah. (laughs)
west_frost: But no, I shit you not.
Stubborn Toaster: (laughs)
west_frost: I have trust issues with this guy.
west_frost: Like, he was like, “Oh! Yeah! Yeah, uhhhh, CHASE-THE-SUN wasn’t that bad,” and next thing you know, “Oh, yeah, I helped kill CHASE-THE-SUN.”
SPEAK-AS-ONE: THE DOUBTING ONE. ABOMINATION
west_frost: Like, what the hell, man!?
SPEAK-AS-ONE: SPLIT THE TRIBE. TAUGHT YOU...THIS…
Stubborn Toaster: The word?
SPEAK-AS-ONE: VILE SPEECH WE MUST NOW USE
Stubborn Toaster: (quietly) And you seek to destroy him.
SPEAK-AS-ONE: WE SEEK TO REUNITE THE TRIBE
Stubborn Toaster: But what will that get you?
SPEAK-AS-ONE: CHILD. LOOK AT THE WORLD.
west_frost: I mean, I hate to admit it, but—
SPEAK-AS-ONE: FAMINE. RAPINE. WAR.
west_frost: —the SPEAK-AS-ONE dude does have a point. The world is kind of, um… chaos.
A1phanum3ric: Yeah, agreed.
(west_frost and A1phanum3ric both laugh.)
west_frost: “The world is kind of chaos.”
Stubborn Toaster: Haha, alright.
west_frost: Sooo…
west_frost: Yeah.
SPEAK-AS-ONE: WE WILL END IT
SPEAK-AS-ONE: YOUR KIND CANNOT HELP IT
west_frost: Our kind is, um…
SPEAK-AS-ONE: DIVIDED THUS, YOU FIGHT OVER SCRAPS
SPEAK-AS-ONE: WE WILL SAVE YOU ALL
west_frost: Save us?
west_frost: Can I ask how, exactly, will you be able to save us?
SPEAK-AS-ONE: FROM YOURSELVES.
west_frost: (quietly) From ourselves… but…
west_frost: (quietly) How will you be able to save us from ourselves?
west_frost: (quietly) Most of are too… used to free will.
SPEAK-AS-ONE: BY LIFTING THE BURDEN OF SELF AWAY
west_frost: Even if you do that for the majority of us, there will still be stragglers.
SPEAK-AS-ONE: THAT PAIN YOU HAVE COME TO CALL LIFE
SPEAK-AS-ONE: YOU HAVE BEEN WRONGED.
SPEAK-AS-ONE: WE WILL RIGHT IT.
Stubborn Toaster: (off-mic, quietly) Hmmm, okay… but I generally don’t like that idea.
SPEAK-AS-ONE: YOU HAVE BEEN CONDITIONED NOT TO.
SPEAK-AS-ONE: WE UNDERSTAND. TRULY. ALL YOU KNOW.
Stubborn Toaster: (off-mic) Hmm...
SPEAK-AS-ONE: YOU RESIST OUT OF INSTINCT
west_frost: Yeah, because... free will is something… we have been growing up with.
SPEAK-AS-ONE: TRAINED LIKE FIGHTING DOGS. WRONGED.
SPEAK-AS-ONE: IT WAS NOT ALWAYS SO. SOON. IT ENDS
SPEAK-AS-ONE: REMAIN VIGILANT. WE SPEAK AS ONE
Stubborn Toaster: Thank you… for… answering that.
(Patchrabbit waves and blows a kiss.)
west_frost: Damn, I was gonna ask about, uhh... LAUGH-LAST’S, uhh, symbol in th—in, uhh, SatCon.
Stubborn Toaster: (off-mic, steadying) Oooo-kay…
west_frost: ’Cause I’m still curious about that.
west_frost: Or… do we actually have an answer?
west_frost: So, safe to say they’re gone… and, umm, I totally did not choke on a piece of cake when I heard, “Close your eyes.”
A1phanum3ric: (laughs)
Patchrabbit: That Lucid just ran for the—
A1phanum3ric: Woah-woah-woah-woah, okay. Chill. (laughs)
west_frost: Can you not!? I mean, like, come on! I— Stop it! Stop it!
(west_frost gets suppressed and immediately rescued.)
(The kids engage in idle chatter about the encounter with SPEAK-AS-ONE as they go to the exit.)
