[text] @ Soldier; Belated Spirit Data-Dump [open, backdated slightly to 12/26]

[worthallthis]

[Christmas is over, gifts are delivered, and the Soldier finally has the time, completed set of intel, and mental space to do this. They've been working on editing it into something readable off and on for a couple weeks now.]

Posting at Cao Pi's request. Notes on the spirits from the town hall (thank you Misty) and after. For everyone to know. Collected from personal experience and from contact with one of the spirits that live outside the village who knows Morse Code. Words in quotes are direct quotes from contact. Conjecture labeled.


First point. Spirits know they made a mistake in attacking us. Said "we wrong, learn new". Spirits have different idea of danger. Spirits do not consider dying danger because we are all already dead. Conjecture: might not feel pain the same way we do either. Painful wounds did not hinder them during the attacks the way they would hinder one of us. So they did not understand that dying hurts us.

Second point. Green-eyed spirits are bosses of other spirits. Green-eyed spirits are "different" from the other spirits, called "good and bad" and "nasty". Green-eyed spirits give other spirits jobs. Attacking the ones who didn't eat was a job, called "good but hard". Some of them did not want to do it so they hid, said "scared too".

Sub-point. Talking to green-eyed spirits in person may not be viable. Daylight and I tried. They did not respond to spoken words or Morse Code except to grab us and try to separate us. Conjecture: talking to other spirits is a better option. They may be able to communicate with green-eyed spirits for us if need be. Maybe also wait for spirits to get back on network since that seemed to work for them during the attacks.

Third point. Spirits are dead like us. Nothing is actually alive here even if it looks alive. The world is dead, not just without light. Spirit said "All dead in dead world".

Fourth point. If the light comes back and we stop the World Eaters, the spirits will cease to be. Said "with light comes we die". Said "dead stay dead", "only live or only die, not both". Said not to be sad if they die. Was not upset at prospect of us stopping World Eaters, only curious. Said "What is death to a dead thing?" Conjecture: they may be former residents of Beacon with the purpose of stopping the World Eaters. Cannot move on until purpose complete and world freed?

Sub-point, also conjecture. This may also be true of us. Did not ask about that at the time. But if all dead things will cease to be if the world comes alive, and we are also dead things, then it could apply to us too.

Fifth point. Spirits want us to lead them. Said "Lead. Follow we." "All you choose" where and to what. Could not get a clearer answer on what that means. If people can talk to other spirits, they might have alternate ways of explaining that to help make clearer. Conjecture: this is important to our purpose here? Spirit was very firm in this.

That's what I have. Don't know if I can answer questions on details. But I will try.

Comments

@riku; text

[equinoctials]

[ This is validating. There's still the question of trust for many people regarding the spirits, but this is a really important step. Learning more about the spirits, learning about what they want. ]

Thank you, Soldier, for sharing everything that you and Daylight and Misty put together with all of us.
Want this added into the log books?

[worthallthis]

[It takes several minutes to get a response, but one does finally come.]

If you think it would be useful there. Sure.

[Maybe Riku can make it look a little less disjointed. The Soldier is not a particularly great writer.]

[equinoctials]

[ He doesn't think of himself as a writer, but readers do tend to get stronger writing skills as a result of their reading. Give yourself some more credit, big guy, this is good stuff.

There's some heavy revelations about what might happen to them - spirits and them included - when or if light returns, but one thing at a time: ]

Trying to talk to the green eyed spirits takes courage. I hope you two weren't hurt.

[ It isn't the sort of assertion that demands a response; Riku will get going on updating the log books. ]

oh right the explore is over now, I can reply to this!

[worthallthis]

We are okay. They tried to grab our metal pieces and pull them off but we got away.

[Considering all of Daylight is metal, as far as the Soldier can tell, that would have been a problem.]

Chopped off a few spirit-arms to do it, but they didn't chase us long.

@silent

[callada]

Thank you for the update. This is impressive work.

One suggestion for leading the spirits might be to enlist them in helping us explore, rather than hindering us. We just need to make sure they understand how it would benefit them also to collaborate.

[worthallthis]

[Being told it's good work is almost embarrassing. It was a series of chats with a friend over coffee. A friend that requires a lot of patience to translate and parse, but still.]

That would be a good idea. Some spirits would be more helpful than others. I can ask my contact if they would be willing to help with exploration. Communication would be easier with them, and they seem to want to be helpful.

[callada]

Please do. Does your contact have friends? Other spirits they know and talk to, that you've seen with them?

[worthallthis]

Not that I have seen. They always visit me alone. That doesn't mean they don't have any, just that they don't share them with me.

voice; @mewtwo

[mewtiny]

[straight and to the point:]

Perhaps I could speak to them more successfully than others.

still text @ Soldier

[worthallthis]

[Shit. Um. How do you reply to someone telepathic over a tablet. (Jesus, how far off is this guy, if he can still reply mind-to-mind from somewhere else in town?) Since MewTwo read the text just fine, it seems, the Soldier settles on more text.]

Maybe. They seem to understand us okay, just can't talk back. If you can read minds as well as talk in them you might have better luck, yes.

[mewtiny]

[These are very good questions. Don't think about it, Soldier.]

Pokemon do not speak human language and yet I have no trouble communicating with them. I imagine this could be much the same. And perhaps they will be more charitable to a being who is not human.

[in b4 Mewtwo becomes the paternal guide to a bunch of spirits instead of clones.]

[worthallthis]

[They're not gonna stop thinking about it for a while, okay. They've had people messing in their brain before, and more details is not helping make this any less freaky now that they're not interacting with MewTwo while half-asleep, like last time. (Hey. This guy's been nice, knows what it's like. It'll be fine. You'd better be right.)]

If you want to try. Let me know. I can come with you. It's safer to go in pairs. And start small with the locals. Not the green-eyes.

@Grandmaster

[paletteswap]

This is impressive.

I had thought that perhaps the return of sunlight would mean the end of the forest creatures, but it's unfortunate to be correct about that. It seems that they still want to help, but that help may wane once they truly grasp what it means for them.

Daylight will not be pleased about this development. Does he know?

[worthallthis]

[It was just a couple chats with a friend. The Soldier is still kind of sheepish about the praise, here. Maybe more people need to learn Morse Code to have better conversations with their spirit friends.]

They really don't seem upset at the idea of dying. Specifically told me not to be sad about it. I'm not sure they have self-preservation instincts like we do. That may be because they have been dead longer, or because they are a different kind of dead than we are.

I have not talked to Daylight specifically about it, no.

[paletteswap]

It may be a different thing for them. Or they don't view death as the end of things as many do.

I hope that's the case, as we definitely need their help.

[worthallthis]

My contact at least did not. We should absolutely ask others though. Those who can communicate better, or once we have more of their language.

[They really should use those who know Morse to help them translate more. They're gonna bring that up with Day next time it comes up.]

@m.hughes ; text

[dadandgone]

Huh. Well that changes some things. Yet, it kinda makes sense...especially given all that we learned from experiencing those dreams. We've been asking questions since we arrived and that was their way of helping...I guess.

It's an interesting theory that the spirits might be some version of former residents. There was definitely indication of experiments and trials prior to this world dying. Some of us wondered if maybe the spirits were from somewhere else, but what if part of Beacon's change into what it is now also changed the residents.

Of course, I'd feel better if we had more than just conjectures, but they're good theories to try to prove or disprove as we set out further. Thank you for sharing.

[worthallthis]

Until we can corroborate, theories are the best we have. I also thought they might be related to the World Eaters in some way, but they are dead, so that likelihood is less, unless the World Eaters are also dead.

[Which, you know, could well also be a viable theory. How many dead things do they need around here?]

[dadandgone]

We know so little about them that it's a possibility.

Although all this talk about death and life...now I'm thinking about that symbol that someone brought up at the town hall. It was one I was familiar with, an ouroboros, which has to do with an eternal life...a creature that, while it consumes itself, is reborn again.

@HK

[catholicisms]

I've spoken to Robin about the possibility of the spirits being former residents. She said she didn't think so, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's established fact.

( not here just to naysay, he just wants to put an alternate perspective out there. it's unsettling to think that the spirits are some fractured remnant of all the people that had died, after all. )

[worthallthis]

I had other theories. That they were not former humans but some kind of actual living creature. Related to the World Eaters. Or some kind of enhanced local wildlife. But since they are dead, too, there are fewer alternative options.

Do you have other theories?

[Share, Matt, the Soldier absolutely and non-sarcastically wants to know. They don't want to be the only one putting things out there, here, and other people's theories are probably gonna be smarter.]

[catholicisms]

I don't have enough information to make a theory. The fact they showed up shortly after the world eaters seems to mean something. Maybe they got pulled through the portal like all the rest of us.

( he has to hope that they're not distorted souls, broken into barely resemblant remnants. that's terrifyingly sad. )

It's remarkable you've been able to communicate so much with them. Maybe if we find a spirit with more communicative skills, we can figure out more.

@cuttingedge; text

[knifecollecting]

If they stop existing, won't we? We're dead too.

text

[worthallthis]

Yes that is possible. Also possible that stopping the World Eaters will not bring this world back to life, and nothing will happen here. But dead things apparently cannot stay on a living world.

[There's just not enough data to know for sure. But it's good that people are thinking about that. It seems like an important possibility to consider.]

Re: text

[knifecollecting]

[Jo takes a long moment to decide how much she will say.]

That isn't true in my world.

Stopping the World Eaters would be enough. To keep other places safe.