thoughtformed

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i.

[This voice belongs to someone who has a very even, calm tone.]

Excuse me. The way this works is I communicate to this network, everyone may choose to respond, and it may not necessarily be in real-time, correct? Then, if one of you wouldn't mind, I have a few questions when you're available to answer.

I'm going to ask them now to save time.

[The display changes while he speaks.]

The welcoming committee didn't address my question regarding these devices. I was told I can purchase electronics different from what they offered there if I disliked them.

My question was "Who manufactures these?"

[Like a slide-show with a voice-over, it changes again:]

If anyone could give me an overview on trouble experienced while using this network, I'd be grateful.

[It changes one last time:]

I'm also interested in how the peace is kept, along with the local crime rate.

Thanks for your time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Everyone calls me Kyon, and according to the island that has unfortunately become my official and permanent name, so to reduce confusion it will have to do for introductions.

Despite how improbably it skews the logic of any import-export scheme, there have been no visible planes or sea vessels passing through the barrier, although ships have been sighted on both sides.

"Arbitrary and illogical" is as concise and accurate an explanation as possible. While there have been such things as kidnappings and apparent murders before, they're not nearly as common as whimsical alterations of reality that might as well have been the result of a bored adolescent demigod of some type.

Such as depositing well over a thousand cats ranging from adorable kittens to lions and tigers across the city.

I suppose we can only be grateful that the feline theme meant bears had to be omitted from the list of creatures deposited.

Is that so? Well, then. It's nice to meet you, Kyon.

That's interesting. So inside or outside, but never passing through...

The fact it's an island seems to rule out underground cargo transportation -- and I'm sure everyone would have discovered a tunnel in the ocean by now.

That said, the technology here seems more advanced than where I'm from. It's amazing. I've never encountered anything that restricted me like that before. It's entirely possible that most consumable items are manufactured locally.

Wait.

"Demigod"?

That's-

Well, obviously it doesn't make sense. Please never mind that.

Do you have any other examples of things that have happened beyond kidnappings and apparent murders? While I'm certain those have been documented, I'm not so certain about so-called "whimsical alterations."

Mass hallucinations, temporary access to the 'fictional stories' we come from, a mandatory dance, drugged chocolates, consciousness-altering events where we believe our past histories to be different, incoming comets threatening the planet.

Those, unfortunately, are just the ones I personally experienced over the past six months.

Memory manipulation?

Then you remember it for what it was and no longer think the false events were true?

I remember that it doesn't fit with events as I presently remember them; however, this doesn't make the memories I retain of alternate events less clear. I simply no longer have the capabilities and resources my alternate self had, making the choice of which Kyon I am easier than Zhuangzi deciding whether or not he is a butterfly.

I see. So nothing is forgotten. You're able to distinguish the differences.

No one has ever been able to discern the source of these instances?

Well, the mandatory dance was simply the government exercising its authority. If Occam's Razor can even begin to know where to slice in a situation such as this, it could be assumed that either they were responsible for the others as well; or, if they're telling the truth and not bringing us here purposefully, whatever arbitrary and ill-defined narrative contrivance is responsible for our appearance could also be pulling the strings in each of these events.

Everyone has their own theories, but attempting to assemble proof of them is a nonsensically Sisyphean task to begin with.

You must have hated the dance.

But what you're saying is no one is any closer to figuring out what's going on than they were when they first arrived. That's a difficult situation.

Anyone who refused to attend the dance was denied their stipend. As arbitrary rituals of adolescent passage go, it still seemed unnecessarily cruel...

However, it isn't quite the case that no progress has been made. Overall, the "first causes" are still a complete mystery, but some of the disappearances and alleged nighttime phenomena on the island have been examined more closely by someone -- at any rate, the kidnappings every few months almost always end in successful rescues of the victims. A few other occurrences have seemed familiar to certain people on the island, while I haven't been close enough to them to learn the full details.

Ah. I understand now. Only the initial arrival is entirely unsolved, while other matters have come closer to being solved, right?

Additionally, regarding the dance, was there anything else out of the ordinary other than the fact it was mandatory?

And do you know the names of those people you just mentioned?

The dance was an entirely normal dance, as far as I could tell.

As for the other people... I'm not irresponsible enough to voice my suspicions about the rescuers of the kidnapped if they want to remain confidential. Asking about the televised disappearances directly -- ah, although now we have two sets of those -- might result in someone answering you.

When it comes to those involved in other incidents, it's both true that there have been too many strange events to track such things closely, and that I'm uncertain how many of the people involved consider such things confidential. While it's not my desire to cause you any frustration, I think another questionnaire might give you better answers than I could in any case.

From the sound of it, it seems likely the mandatory dance may have been a misguided attempt at forcing residents to engage in a social activity with each other rather than a simple exercise of authority. Think of it like a team-building exercise or mandatory meeting. Unnecessary as it is in this situation, I can't see the logic in abusing power in such a way unless it was intended to provide some sort of benefit for the residents.

Of course, "benefit" is subjective and things are always different in practice than they are in theory.

The reason I think this is because complacency is what a government would ultimately want. I can't see the sense in riling a ragtag society for no reason unless there's perceived prejudice against us. Even then, it would be easier to control us by trying to calm us than it would be by tormenting us.

There's a possibility they're trying to maintain control while something else is interfering. Infighting among government institutions is also a possibility because we have no idea what they're like -- but as you said, assembling proof would prove difficult.

I suppose what I just said is useless. It can be counted among the many theories with no conclusive evidence.

Please don't worry about causing me any frustration.

It's no problem. Sorry if I put you in an awkward spot. I won't bother you by asking after names any further. You've already helped me more than enough.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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Done.

Done.

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