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[justletmeknow]

[This video opens on an animal one might call a cat if only it didn't appear to have a second set of long ears like a rabbit. It sits on the floor some distance away from the camera, tilting its head. ...and then it slowly tilts it the other way, followed by dead, unbreathing stillness. It doesn't blink.

After a pause, it stands, tail billowing when it moves forward, waving left-right, right-left, left-right, right-left like dense white smoke and surrender flags.

It approaches the device without caution, lifting a front paw, nudging the pink pad against the screen and pushing. Other than shaking the feed it doesn't appear to accomplish much.]

Comments

[oftpartitioned]

cuuuuute

[Very Obviously Video]

[justletmeknow]

[This is the stare of something trying to figure things out.

It might look like it's judging you. Maybe it's just you.]

[oftpartitioned]

cutesttttt bunny... cat thingg

[Video. And another voice, as if avatars don't have enough voices in their heads.]

[justletmeknow]

[Only this voice is pushier.
Maybe it's easier to discern from the rest.
Although the mouth doesn't move, it says:]

WHAT ARE YOU?

[oftpartitioned]

i'm Poland! obviously. What're you??

[Video]

[justletmeknow]

I'M WHAT YOU SEE!

[The tail swishes. It sounds cheerful -- at least, until it asks:]

ARE THERE MANY LIKE YOU, POLAND?

[oftpartitioned]

Nope! I'm the only Poland.

[notdogmatic]

Ah. A stray cat?

[Video And Something Else A Little Strange]

[justletmeknow]

[Silence. Another head-tilt. And then words. The thing about them is they bypass the filter of the ears like they've always been there. They say:]

NOPE. "STRAY" IMPLIES WE'RE LOST.
SORRY! YOUR SECOND ALLEGATION IS ALSO INCORRECT.
WE AREN'T CATS, ALTHOUGH OUR PHYSICAL APPEARANCE IS STRIKINGLY SIMILAR.

[notdogmatic]

A supernatural being taking a mundane form.

[Video/Voice]

[justletmeknow]

FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THOSE WHO INHABIT EARTH, I GUESS YOU COULD SAY THAT'S CLOSE.
HOWEVER, WE SHARE THIS VIEW POINT. WHEN EXAMINED FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE,
HUMANS SEEM TO POSSESS MANY "SUPERNATURAL" QUALITIES TO US.

[It pauses, spinning in a circle like an indecesive cat, and then sits, tail unfurled.]

I ALWAYS LOOK LIKE THIS THOUGH!

[notdogmatic]

I see. In that case, we have less in common than I believed.

[Video/Voice]

[justletmeknow]

THAT SEEMS TO BE THE CASE.
COULD YOU TELL ME IF THERE ARE OTHERS LIKE YOU?
AND IF SO, WHO THEY ARE?
I DON'T WANT TO SOUND DEMANDING
BUT I ALSO DON'T WANT TO WASTE MY TIME.

[notdogmatic]

They are not presently here.

You possess an awareness of my nature?

[Video/Voice]

[justletmeknow]

NOT EXACTLY!
I WOULDN'T SAY I'M AWARE OF WHAT YOU ARE
BUT I KNOW WHAT YOU AREN'T.
EVEN IF YOU WERE A GIRL
I DON'T THINK YOU COULD HELP ME!

[notdogmatic]

There are probably a sufficient number of human females on the island to assist you in any endeavor. And in any case, I have no particular desire to assist you. However, you are interesting.

[reanimated]

Oh shit, they've mutated!

[Video, obviously. Hope you like strange little voices in your brain-

[justletmeknow]

-because this thing definitely isn't moving its mouth.]

WOW! THAT'S SO STRANGE.
USUALLY HUMAN MALES DON'T SEE ME,
EVEN IF I'M NOT TRYING.

ugh weird TOO WEIRD

[reanimated]

What the fuck?

[reanimated]

Christ. I hope I didn't do this.

[Video/Voice.]

[justletmeknow]

[It looks like it's thinking about something. Then:]

SORRY, BUT I DON'T THINK EITHER OF US ARE GOING TO GET ANYTHING OUT OF TALKING TO EACH OTHER.
I'M GOING TO TALK TO SOMEONE ELSE.


[You just got dismissed by something that looks like a child's toy. How's it feel?]

[reanimated]

Oi! HEY! Look, if you're one of those rabbits I set free in the woods and you got some, I don't know, some fucked up rabies disease, I'm sorry, alright? Don't sue me.

[just_a_commoner]

Did someone drop their camera...?

[Video & Something Like Sound.]

[justletmeknow]

[The voice is politely invasive.
It doesn't knock at the ears to say 'Hello, I'm coming in!'
It seeps through skulls and absorbs into the brain with no sound perceived physically.
But what it does do is sound very, very small.
Like a child who doesn't know better.]

I FOUND IT...
HERE ON THE GROUND.
IT'S LIKE THEY EXPECTED ME!
I'M A BIT WORRIED...

[just_a_commoner]

[Woah. Weird. And also somewhat unsettling]

Well... I don't know about "expecting", but, everyone seems to get one when we get here...

Is this one yours?

[Video/Voice/Tragic Story.]

[justletmeknow]

I DON'T KNOW, BUT I'M ALL ALONE...
NO ONE'S COME SINCE I ARRIVED, SO IT MUST BE MINE!
.

.

.
IT'S SO SCARY HERE.

[just_a_commoner]

[My god. So cute.]

Do you need a place to stay? I mean... you don't have an owner or anything, do you?

[hot4engines]

Well, hey there! Are you lost, li'l bunny rabbit?

[Video. Small voices in your head. That kind of thing.]

[justletmeknow]

[The animal cocks its head.
It looks like it's considering something.
Then it says without ever saying:]

"BUNNY RABBIT?"
THAT'S WEIRD.
I'VE NEVER HEARD A GROWN WOMAN USE THAT TERM.

[video. oh qb]

[hot4engines]

[An expression of confusion followed by affront crosses Kaylee's face, but it's not there for very long.

After all, cute bunny! If it talks, well... weird things happen here all the time.]

And I ain't ever heard of a bunny as can talk, either.

[Video/Voice. Funny how thoughtful something that doesn't blink can look.]

[justletmeknow]

I DON'T THINK YOU'RE LIKELY TO HEAR ONE.
WHILE WOMEN HAVE ONCE BEEN GIRLS,
IT DOESN'T WORK THE SAME WAY EVEN IF THEIR MINDS ARE SIMILAR.

[What's that supposed to mean?]

WE AREN'T ANYTHING LIKE RABBITS, BUT
I CAN'T SAY ALL OF THEM LOOK LIKE ME UNLESS THEY'RE ALSO ME!

[hot4engines]

[OK, Kaylee definitely can't hide her confusion at that.]

So... you're not a talking rabbit. I mean, forgive me for statin' the obvious. But you say "we" like there're more of you. ... Whatever it is you are.

[roseate]

[...]

[roseate]

How are you communicating like this?

[Video/Voice]

[justletmeknow]

[If small, beady eyes could smile-]

IT'S MY POWER,
ROSE LALONDE!

[roseate]

[...hm.]

That's a useful power. How does it work?
It's polite to wait for your party to introduce themselves.

[Video/Voice/What 1/3]

[justletmeknow]

[The tail swishes when it speaks, but no other movement. No blinking, no perceivable breathing.]

I'LL EXPLAIN! FOR THIS EXAMPLE, THE CONVERSION OF SOUND WAVES TO ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES ISN'T IMPORTANT.
I'M GOING TO SKIP STEPS THAT ARE IRRELEVANT, SO FOCUS ON THE CONCEPT!
A BROADCAST TOWER IS ALWAYS TRANSMITTING A SIGNAL, RIGHT?
HUMAN TECHNOLOGY, SUCH AS A RADIO, DETECTS ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES WITH ITS ANTENNA.
HUMANS TUNE THE DEVICE TO THE APPROPRIATE FREQUENCY AND HEAR SOUND!
THERE ARE PIECES INSIDE THE RADIO THEY NEVER THINK ABOUT.
INSIDE, THE SOUND WAVE IS EXTRACTED FROM THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE.
IT'S SENT TO THE RADIO'S SPEAKER WHERE IT BECOMES MULTIPLE PHYSICAL VIBRATIONS.
OR, SOUND!

[justletmeknow]

NOW, IMAGINE ME AS THE BROADCAST TOWER.
INSTEAD OF THE HUMAN WAITING TO HEAR THE SOUND FROM THE SPEAKER,
YOU'RE THE RADIO!
YOU ALREADY KNOW THE INFORMATION.
YOU DON'T NEED TO HEAR IT FROM THE SPEAKER TO PROCESS IT.

ANOTHER DIFFERENCE IS THOSE WHO ARE TUNED INTO MY "BROADCAST" CAN COMMUNICATE SIMILARLY WITH ONE ANOTHER BASED ON THEIR CONNECTION WITH ME FOR AS LONG AS I ALLOW.

LIKE A BROADCAST TOWER, I HAVE A RANGE. WITHIN IT, I CAN COMMUNICATE WITH ALMOST EVERYONE!
OUTSIDE OF IT, YOU'RE UNREACHABLE.

NEW MOORE HAS ITS ACCOMODATIONS SET WITHIN MY RANGE.
IF YOU WERE FURTHER AWAY, YOU WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO "HEAR" ME.

[justletmeknow]

NORMALLY, I JUST CALL IT TELEPATHY!

[roseate]

Telepathy would have sufficed, but thank you for the explanation.
How did you know my name?

[justletmeknow]

[Left, right. Left, right. Left, right. Left, right.
Like a pedulum.]

ROSE

.

.

.

DO YOU BELIEVE YOUR INFORMATION IS GUARDED VERY CAREFULLY?

[roseate]

Not at all.
Nevertheless, most people would choose forgo the circuitous route of digging up personal information by simply asking.
Let me demonstrate:
I see you are must be new. What's your name?