[1467 | 05 | 29 09:27:0042] Administering test 0001. Awaiting response from 16-1.
[1467 | 05 | 29 09:30:0042] Test 0001 complete. Three minutes passed. With these three minutes, 16-1 engaged in thirteen transactions. Beginning with the second transaction, every fourth transaction 16-1 sold a red porcelain dog bust—requisition #1301 (r. #1301)—three-quarters of a meter in length, totaling in three sales of the r. #1301. No relevant visible or audible response to test 0001.
[1467 | 05 | 29 10:17:0801] Administering test 0002. 16-1 sold r. #1301 on two separate occasions approximately seven minutes apart from each other; no relation to test 0001. 16-1 remarked that r. #1301 seems popular today. Awaiting response.
[1467 | 05 | 29 10:31:0802] Test 0002 complete. Approximately fourteen minutes passed. Each individual which engaged in a transaction with 16-1 who paid for their product in cash dropped a coin. Twelve cash transactions out of a total of thirty-two transactions occurred during this period. 16-1 assisted each and every one of these individuals in picking up their coins so that they would not have to. No relevant visible or audible response to test 0002.
[1467 | 05 | 29 12:17:0113] Administering test 0003-02. Test 0003-02 chosen over Test 0003 as 16-1 will in approximately thirteen minutes be departing their workstation on an hour-long lunch break, and as such there is an insufficient amount of time allotted to properly enact Test 0003.
[1467 | 05 | 29 12:30:0000] Test 0003-02 complete. A total of three individuals that paid with a gift card had the exact same amount remaining on their gift card upon completion of the transaction: $1578.03. 16-1 remarked to the third individual who paid with the gift card about this fact. The individual did not seem interested in this fact, but Perennial Absolutics Search Inquiry #1743892374 confirms that this individual is hard of hearing, having spent a significant amount of time firing weapons into the Daneiish Desert while searching for the traveling land of New Flores, in hopes that a bullet from their weaponry would collide with an individual living in New Flores. 16-1 printed out extra copies of the receipts for these gift card-based transactions to confirm their suspicion that the gift card remainders were identical, and upon cross-examination promptly threw the receipts out into a garbage receptacle. As assumed, 16-1 was relieved of duty and walked toward the back of the establishment to prepare for their lunch break. No more tests shall be administered during the remainder of their work shift.
[1467 | 05 | 29 17:37:0342] Administering test 0004. While 16-1 was driving home from work, at approximately 17:19:0201 experimental test ███████ was administered to no noticeable effect. 16-1 is sitting at their personal computer, putting the finishing touches on a paper into a word document regarding the purely hypothetical cryptographical transfer of thoughts and information through non-physical channels, a paper which they began writing for a personal website approximately four days ago. It is the only computer present within the household. 16-1’s mother, ██████████████████, is preparing dinner for the family, a beef stew with chunks of vegetables spiced with paprika and a parsley-based salad. She is singing an old hymn dating back roughly three-hundred years about sailors who’d lost everything but their lives travelling along the Bleached Sea. 16-1’s father, ████████████████████████████, is not yet home. Awaiting response from 16-1.
[1467 | 05 | 29 18:12:0453] Test 0004 complete. 16-1 was called into the living room from their bedroom to eat dinner with their mother, ██████████████████. 16-1’s father, ████████████████████████████, is still not yet home, and so ██████████████████ chose to serve dinner without him present so that it doesn't get cold. 16-1 successfully noted that, upon first looking down at r. #1302, a bowl of stew, chunks of specific vegetables in their stew had been all positioned within the bowl nearest to each other. ██████████████████ rebuked them for what she perceived as a slight against her cooking abilities. Unclear whether she remembers spacing the vegetables in that manner or not. Test 0004 can be defined as a partial success in the sense that 16-1 did notice the similarly positioned vegetable chunks in the beef stew, but quickly tried to change the subject to how ██████████████████’s day was when her mood shifted. Four successful tests remain before incubation can be confirmed and this previously untested experimental testing cycle can be confirmed a success.
[1467 | 05 | 30 01:47:0882] No tests will be administered within the scope of this update. 16-1 finished writing their paper on cryptoepistemological phenomena approximately two hours prior and has spent the subsequent time switching between articles about strange occurrences involving marine life beneath the waters of the Bleached Sea and articles featuring pictures of naked people. 16-1’s father, ████████████████████████████, arrived home approximately forty minutes ago and quickly became engaged in an argument with 16-1’s mother, ██████████████████, about why he frequently returns home late, much to his dismay. Not long after, the conversation shifted over toward the ways in which ██████████████████ feels that ████████████████████████████ is failing in his familial duties as a father figure to 16-1, evidenced by 16-1’s burgeoning interest in arcane subjects mostly relevant to times long past which informed their decision to apply for the All-Around program at De Grande Universitie de Tibel, the information and formal instruction of which has very little relevance within today’s job market. 16-1 is wearing earphones; currently unknown whether they are able to hear the argument, though sporadically loud bursts of music can be overheard emanating from the earbuds.
[1467 | 05 | 30 11:03:0451] Administering test 0005. 16-1 has a shorter shift today in addition to a shorter lunch break as a result.
[1467 | 05 | 30 11:07:0003] Test 0005 complete. Within this period, 16-1 completed eight transactions, averaging at about twenty-five seconds per transaction. As of this recording, 16-1’s average rate of transactions appears to have slowed. Every other transaction, a customer made sure to be first to ask 16-1 how their day was going so far, instead of vice-versa. Test 0005 was a success. 16-1 did not mention their having noticed this pattern to any of the customers, but the expression on their face clearly indicates the observation has been made. In addition, 16-1 was observed scribbling ‘day??’ on a piece of paper fed to them by the receipt printer available at their workstation, r. #1303. 16-1 then inserted this piece of paper into their right pant pocket.
[1467 | 05 | 30 11:10:0000] Administering test 0006. 16-1 appears visibly fatigued and requests that a co-worker bring them a bottle of water.
[1467 | 05 | 30 11:17:0306] Test 0006 temporarily suspended. Approximately thirty-three seconds ago, 16-1’s immediate supervisor, ███████████ , requested that 16-1 help out in a different department of the store which had been held up by a particularly difficult customer-employee interaction.
[1467 | 05 | 30 11:22:0200] Resuming the administration of test 0006. 16-1 was temporarily held up along the way to their new temporary workstation by a customer’s inquiry regarding which sort of battery is needed to wirelessly power an electronics entertainment center, to which 16-1 did not immediately know the answer despite several existing within their household, r. #1304. 16-1 is now working at their new temporary workstation.
[1467 | 05 | 30 11:49:0738] Test 0006 complete. 16-1 checked out twenty-nine customers within this test period. Each customer possessed the same amount of items, fifteen. No individual transaction contained multiples of any item. Some customers did not start with fifteen items when they entered the cashier line but ultimately ended up with fifteen items due to adding snack foods or other small accoutrements located at or around the cashier’s workstation. Test 0006 is a verifiable success, as during a brief lull in transactions 16-1 pulled out the note from within their pocket to append the word ‘same!’ to it. No more tests will be administered throughout the rest of 16-1’s shift but close observation shall continue.
[1467 | 05 | 30 15:24:0631] 16-1 has appeared overall pensive throughout the duration of their shift, with periodic bouts of positive emoting in response to jokes shared between co-workers. In addition, during a particularly lengthy lull in transactions, 16-1 engaged in a conversation with a certain co-worker, █████████████████, in a more particularly attentive manner, periodically trading light physical gestures and ultimately exchanging phone numbers. Following this conversation, 16-1 appeared more jovial and relaxed.
[1467 | 05 | 30 20:06:0980] Administering test 0007. 16-1 is at home and browsing numerous tabs open on their browser, not particularly focusing in on any particular one. They have begun writing a new paper about pareidolia in fits and starts, but also periodically spend time checking their phone for notifications and responding accordingly. 16-1’s father, ████████████████████████████, stayed home sick today, and 16-1’s mother, ██████████████████ is watching a news program on the television, █████████████████████████████████████████, which Perennial Absolutics has designated safe for consumption by operatives whether they be cognizant or unaware of their current activation status.
[1467 | 05 | 30 22:17:0600] Test 0007 complete. 16-1 did not appear to visibly or audibly notice that each of the pages served to them by the search engine which contained information pertinent to their research on pareidolia case studies each contained a black background with white text overlaid and red hyperlinks. As such, test 0007 is deemed unsuccessful. 16-1 attempted to masturbate but did not finish. ██████████████████ fell asleep on the couch with the television set left on and ████████████████████████████ is attempting to vomit into the master bathroom’s toilet.
[1467 | 06 | 01 10:37:0642] 16-1 is at secondary school, the █████████████████████████████████████, during the second period of the day. No tests can feasibly be administered as per Section 37 of The All-Around Utilization Guidelines during school grounds, surveillance is not allowed within educational buildings. Thus, no stimuli can be audibly recorded. 16-1 is observed through a window on the second floor within room 208 gazing about the room awkwardly. They appear to be caught by their instructor, ███████████████████, not paying attention, though it’s unclear whether any punishment was administered as a result.
[1467 | 06 | 01 17:24:0452] Administering test 0008. 16-1 works two late shifts on weekdays—Monday and Thursday—as per their educational responsibilities during the day. The number of transactions during the evening to nighttime periods at █████████, r. #1305, averages much lower than during the daytime, so operative usage will be much more sporadic so as to attempt to maintain conspicuousness.
[1467 | 06 | 01 18:38:0000] The testing period for test 0008 has elapsed. Test 0008 cannot be confirmed complete, as two operatives designated as part of the operation did not act according to the planned guidelines given to them during off-site training initiatives officially sanctioned by Perennial Absolutics. At this juncture, it’s currently unclear why these individuals acted as they did, but I have taken the liberty of requesting to their immediate supervisors a swift reprimand commensurate with the disobedience. The two other operatives acted as expected, spilling a soft drink on the floor as they approached 16-1’s workstation and then immediately pantomiming a near slip and fall on their own soft drink. The soft drink can and bottle are designated r. #1306 and r. #1307, respectively. While 16-1 most likely noticed this as a particularly unusual occurrence to happen twice in relative succession, it’s unlikely they registered it as an indication of clandestine messaging while annoyed at the prospect of having to clean up their easily avoidable mess.
[1467 | 06 | 01 18:42:0259] While attempting to mop up the spill caused by PA’s operatives, 16-1 became embattled when a disgruntled customer, ██████████████████ (no affiliation to PA) walked up to them and began shouting. This was because 16-1 failed to notice being waved down in response to a question about power tools. Already annoyed at having to clean up the mess caused by PA’s operatives, 16-1 almost immediately returned a boisterous claim about the customer’s physical appearance, to which the customer responded with a series of expletives and derogatory racial epithets. After approximately ninety seconds engaged in this form of conversation, 16-1’s immediate supervisor, ███████████ flagged down an employee to answer ██████████████████‘s question and subsequently instructed 16-1 to go home early as a result of this altercation. No formal punishment was submitted to either █████████ or PA’s human resources department as per testing guidelines. No physical blows were exchanged during this altercation between 16-1 and ██████████████████, but 16-1 in a fugue state of anger accidentally slams his finger into a countertop, seemingly breaking it. 16-1’s supervisor ███████████ manned 16-1’s workstation while waiting for 16-1’s co-worker and friend █████████████████ to take over their station for the remainder of the night. █████████████████ was not informed of what had transpired there previously but appeared concerned.
[1467 | 06 | 01 19:17:0731] No tests are being administered at this moment. 16-1 is sitting in their vehicle, a ██████ █████████ (r. #1308), parked in the back of a convenience store parking lot. They are expected to wait approximately an hour and forty-five minutes, the usual time they would be home, so as to not raise suspicions by their parents about why they were sent home early. They are drawing concentric circles and erratic straight lines which together form something of a maze or labyrinth into a school notebook dug up from an infrequently used compartment in their school backpack. They are using the flashlight from their phone to illuminate the drawing surface, but are frequently interrupted by phone notification alerts, likely messages sent by █████████████████ during periods of work inactivity.
[1467 | 06 | 01 23:02:0444] Administering test 0009. 16-1’s father, ████████████████████████████, only just arrived home from work approximately thirty minutes ago; he is still overcoming his somewhat ephemeral illness from the previous day and continues to cough and vomit sporadically. 16-1’s mother, ██████████████████, is ignoring ████████████████████████████’s occasional cries for assistance and resuming work on a mystery story set in the Deerhoof Tunnels of Verlouth which she had ceased work on for some unspecified period of time. Occasionally, she tends to a pot roast she’s preparing for the family’s dinner the following night which will see the arrival of 16-1’s grandparents on their father’s side as well as 16-1’s grandmother on their mother’s side, stirring and taste-testing the broth in the slow cooker and adjusting it with spices accordingly. As per usual, 16-1 is on the computer in their room, researching trigonometric functions to put together the answers to a series of trigonometry homework problems.
[1467 | 06 | 01 24:49:0805] Test 0009 is deemed an absolute failure. Test 0009 dictates that 16-1 will struggle with problem #17 on their take-home trigonometry worksheet, which is concerned with proving a trigonometric identity, and then perform a search query to see if the problem has been solved online to either learn from the steps detailed or copy the answer found wholesale. This query would then feed 16-1 an unusual web page (r. #1309) featuring links to other sites on numerology, semiotics, and information theory, all written across other disparate websites by the same writer, penname ‘The Oracle’s Oracle’ (though actually written by yours truly and hosted on Perennial Absolutics’ server solutions). Ultimately, test 0009 is meant to determine 16-1’s resolve in the face of topics more keenly attuned to their esoteric interests. However, 16-1 did not struggle with problem #17 and in fact seemed to prove the identity with relative ease, so the search query was never performed and thus the sites painstakingly researched and scribed by The Oracle’s Oracle were never noticed. 16-1’s mother, ██████████████████, fell asleep on the couch with a sentence describing the contours of a dark rotunda left half-completed in a notebook. She had been staring at an old picture of 16-1 playing rocketball with the neighborhood kids from several years ago and crying, having intercepted PA’s acceptance letter into the All-Around Studies program at De Grande Universitie de Tibel (reprimand request pending approval). 16-1’s father, ████████████████████████████, fell asleep in the master bedroom by himself watching a sitcom shot around ninety years ago during the Boundless Riots passed down via mini-disc from his father, perhaps to have something to talk about with him the next day during the scheduled family dinner.
[1467 | 06 | 02 00:03:0331] PREVIOUSLY WITHIN THIS LOG, TEST 0010 (DEEMED SO BECAUSE OF THE PREVIOUS LOGGER’S INEPTITUDE IN FAILING TO DESIGNATE EXPERIMENTAL TEST 0000-01 (NOW DECLASSIFIED) AS TEST 0004, AND THUS EACH RESPECTIVE TEST MUST IN A FINAL DRAFT OF THIS LOGGING DOCUMENTATION BE UPDATED ACCORDINGLY) WAS DESIGNATED ‘an absolute failure’. THIS IS AN UTTER FALSEHOOD. TEST 0010 WAS A SUCCESS. IN SOLVING THE MATHEMATICAL PROOF ON THEIR OWN, WITHOUT THE ASSISTANCE OF ONLINE DOCUMENTATION, 16-1 SUCCESSFULLY DEMONSTRATED A KEEN INSIGHT INTO NOT MERELY THE RIGIDLY ALGORITHMIC BUT ALSO THE LOGICAL AND SUPERINTUITIVE PROPERTIES OF THE POLYMATHEMATIC STUDIES WHICH WOULD MAKE THEM A PRIME CANDIDATE FOR THE ALL-AROUND STUDIES PROGRAM. THREE SUCCESSFUL TESTS REMAIN BEFORE INCUBATION CAN COMMENCE AND THIS PREVIOUSLY UNTESTED BUT ASSUMED CORRECT EXPERIMENTAL TESTING PROCEDURE CAN BE OFFICIALLY DESIGNATED A ROUSING SUCCESS.
[1467 | 06 | 02 11:23:0484] Administering test 0011. 16-1 is at █████████████████████████████████████, in world history class. Against any and all laws disallowing such an act to occur, authorization has been permitted to observe 16-1 from within the confines of the classroom. They are staring forward blankly at their instructor while taking notes which have nothing to do with the relevant subject matter being discussed. On several sheets of paper splayed about their desk are geometric diagrams, reminders, questions to be answered later, each regarding subject matter beyond the scope of even this logger’s seemingly meager understanding, unfortunately. A student sitting adjacent to 16-1 looks over and seems to take notice of the documents generated by 16-1 which have little to do with world history (at least, as it’s elucidated within the confines of this class curriculum), but does not bother asking 16-1 to explain any of it so as to not make noise during classtime, though this could also have to do with the apparent social reality that 16-1 has become something of an outcast amongst their peers over the last handful of years.
[1467 | 06 | 02 11:30:0946] Test 0011 complete. While the students of █████████████████████████████████████ transition to their next classes, the school-wide intercom comes on. The following message is delivered to the entirety of the school: “Good morning to all the students and faculty of ██████████████████████████████. This is Principal █████████████████. Hope you’re having a great day so far! Don’t worry, nobody’s in trouble, yet, haha! Anyway, this is just a quick message to let you all know that this week will actually be Janitor ████████’s last day. Sudden, I know, but ██████, excuse me, Mr. ████████ had an out of the blue job offer he simply couldn’t refuse. I’ll let him explain the finer details to each of you on his own if he so chooses. I just wanted to give all of you a heads up early on in the week so everyone gets the proper amount of time to say their goodbyes. It’s no secret that Mr. ████████ has been a favorite of pretty much all the students here at █████████████████████████████, myself included. Now make sure to hurry on to class, and remember: don’t be sad that it’s over. Smile that it happened. This has been Principal █████████████████…bye.” All the students seemed deeply surprised by this sudden announcement, as usages of the intercom number in the single digits over the last ten school years, but most of all 16-1 who scrambled to ensure this was being recorded on their phone which is set to constantly record audio in pursuit of catching something 16-1 deems relevant to their obsessive investigative inquiries. The assessment of the test results shall be annotated within this documentation below. Please stand by.
[1467 | 06 | 03 10:43:0237] TEST 0011 WAS, SIMPLY PUT, A COMPLETE AND TOTAL ‘YES’! 16-1 GOT IT ALL DOWN PAT. WHAT WAS ONCE GESTATING IN A CHRYSALIS OF POTENTIAL HAS BLOOMED INTO A BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY, FREE TO REALIZE ALL THAT POTENTIAL. AND SO NOW IT’S ABLE TO SEE THINGS IT NEVER COULD BEFORE DUE TO ITS GRACEFUL WINGS WHICH GREW WHILE IN THE CHRYSALIS. IT WENT LIKE SO: 16-1 RIGHTLY RECOGNIZED THAT THE MESSAGE DELIVERED BY PRINCIPAL █████████████████ (redaction added by necessity by ████████████) WAS ACTUALLY A SECRET MESSAGE. OF COURSE, 16-1 COULDN’T KNOW BY WHO EXACTLY. BUT JUST THAT REALIZATION ALONE WAS HALF THE BATTLE. LUCKY FOR THEM THEY DIDN’T HAVE WORK TODAY. SO THEY SPED HOME IN THEIR ██████ █████████ (r. #1308, annotation and redaction added by necessity by ████████████) AND GOT TO WORK. POOR █████████ (annotation added by necessity by ████████████), SHE MEANS WELL, BUT SHE JUST CAN’T SEEM TO GET THROUGH TO 16-1, WHO’S JUST LOST IN THEIR OWN LITTLE WORLD! LUCKY FOR US! AND THAT ███████████████████ (annotation added by necessity by ████████████), WELL, THEY'RE DENSER THAN A BAG OF BRICKS. I’D LIKE TO HIT HIM OVER THE HEAD WITH ONE ONE OF THESE DAYS. JUST AIN’T RIGHT THE WAY THEY TREAT A GREAT WOMAN LIKE THAT.
ANYWAYS, SO 16-1 PLUGS IN SOME HEADPHONES AND RIGHT AWAY GETS TO LISTENING TO THAT TAPE OF THE PRINCIPAL. THEN THEY LISTENED TO IT AGAIN. AND THEN THEY LISTENED TO IT AGAIN, AND THEN AGAIN AFTER THAT. THEY’D REWIND AND PLAY BACK WHEN THE PARTS GOT ALL MUFFLED IN THE RECORDING. HELL, EVEN I COULD BARELY HEAR IT, AND ALL-AROUND AUDIO RECORDING CAPABILITIES ARE QUITE FRANKLY STATE OF THE ART, WE’RE RIGHT PROUD OF THAT. SEEING AS IT’S JUST…WELL, SOUND. DOESN’T GET HIGHER-DEF THAN THAT! THEY WROTE OUT THE WHOLE SPEECH, AND 16-1 MUST HAVE BETTER HEARING THAN I DO, ‘CAUSE THEY GOT IT ALL DOWN EXACTLY HOW WE WROTE IT! IMAGINE THAT! SO THEN THEY’RE OFF TO THE RACES. THEY CUT THAT SPEECH UP TO SELL IT FOR PARTS, WHAT’S THAT WORD, VIVATION? THEY VIVATED (most likely meant ‘vivisected’, annotation added by necessity by ████████████) THAT SPEECH EVERY WHICH WAY. NO CLEAN PATCH OF SKIN WERE LEFT UNSLICED. THEY READ IT FORWARDS, BACKWARDS, TOP TO BOTTOM, DIAGONAL. THEY PUT IT THROUGH A SEISMOGRAPH, FED IT TO A BLENDER, DREW LINES FROM WORDS TO DRAW UP A MAP, YOU NAME IT.
BUT SOMETIMES THE SIMPLEST ANSWER GETS THE WORM. SEE, IT GOES LIKE THIS: THERE’S TWELVE SENTENCES IN THE PRINCIPAL’S SPEECH. AN IP ADDRESS HAS FOUR DIGITS SEPARATED BY PERIODS, WHICH CAN BE ANY NUMBER AS LONG AS IT’S BIGGER THAN ZERO. WHAT’S TWELVE DIVIDED BY 4? IT’S THREE. SO YOU BREAK UP THE SENTENCES INTO THREE SENTENCE-LONG CHUNKS, MEANING YOU GOT 4 CHUNKS EACH WITH THREE SENTENCES. WE COULDA MADE IT REAL CRUEL AND RANDOMIZED THAT PART, BUT WE DECIDED IF YOU GOT THIS FAR WE’D GO EASY ON YOU AND JUST MAKE IT SEQUENTIAL. SO THEN YOU TAKE THE NUMBER OF WORDS IN EACH OF THE SENTENCES FROM A GROUP AND MULTIPLY THOSE VALUES TOGETHER. SO FOR THE FIRST GROUP OF THREE IT COMES OUT TO ELEVEN TIMES FOUR TIMES 8, AND THAT GIVES YOU THREE FIFTY-TWO AND THAT’S THE FIRST DIGIT OF YOUR IP ADDRESS. JUST REPEAT FOR THE OTHER THREE DIGITS! IT COMES OUT TO 352.3234.10472.384. NOW YOU JUST GO TO THAT IP ADDRESS AND VOILA! YOU’VE GOT YOURSELF A PASSED TEST! NOW AS FOR THE CONTENTS OF THE PAGE FOUND AT THE ADDRESS, I’LL LET MY ASSOCIATE COVER THAT IN DETAIL. GREAT TO BE HERE, THOUGH!
[1467 | 06 | 03 14:01:0237] After performing a thorough assessment of the previous logger’s assessment, it has been assessed that it would be an asset to provide the reader of this documentation with an assessment. The website (r. #1310) at the IP address which was successfully determined by 16-1 after solving the numerological puzzle devised by yours truly contained no hypertext or links. It merely contained a media player which played audio of a series of beeping noises; that’s it. 16-1 figured out the cypher being presented to them, which this time was not devised by yours truly. This time, it was a Flunz Code which is used often by those just coming into cryptography. 16-1 recognized and subsequently solved the Flunz Code almost immediately. The code revealed to 16-1 a hidden message which was a simple sentence. The message said to 16-1 that the next compelling set of directions will be revealed to them if they listen to the first word of every sentence spoken to them personally until the end of the following night. 16-1 did not seem surprised by this fact.
[1467 | 06 | 04 00:00:0000] NOTICE: After some discussion, the previous logger shall no longer document the case of the first attempt at recruiting a sixteenth candidate into the All-Around Studies project at Perennial Absolutics. However, as they were the sole operative assigned to documenting this case at all times, their documented assessment shall remain as it is the only full recollection of the events in 16-1’s room on 1467 | 06 | 03 by a logging associate. As all other dedicated logging associates are currently occupied with documenting other candidates full-time, the following logs regarding the case of 16-1 shall be documented by an adjunct associate of the logging program. Please keep that in mind while reading the next set of test assessment logs.
[1467 | 06 | 04 7 o’clock] Here nice and early! This is gonna be a great test. Test 0012. Gonna be good!
[1467 | 06 | 04 8 o’clock] 16-1 wakes up. They get out of bed. They take a shower. They keep talking to themselves. They skip breakfast. Mom’s mad since she made them breakfast. Very suspicious!
[1467 | 06 | 04 8:30] Almost forgot! First word of each sentence spoken to 16-1 were ‘The’, ‘stick’ ‘does’.
[1467 | 06 | 04 9] 16-1 is driving to school, making sure to check for safe turns. Good driver! They’re not playing any music or listening to the radio, which is probably a good thing since that wouldn’t count. Smart!
[1467 | 06 | 04 10 o’clock] 16-1 is sitting at their desk in algebra class, not paying all that much attention, drawing stuff. Wonder what they’re thinking? The teacher is very boring to listen to, for me. Seems like all the students agree! Class gets out in five minutes. First words: “not”, “know”, “what”, “we”, “think”. Everyone’s doing a great job so far!
[1467 | 06 | 04 11:00:0000] Just got the memo about formatting. Makes sense. Sorry to whoever had to read it like that. I’m sure it made your life SO much harder. Anyways! 16-1 spent a lot of time in the bathroom. They left their notebook under the sink so they could draw more stuff in it in secret. A neat trick! Little do they know, I’m watching them, though. Only one word, and it came from a text message from some girl they like: ‘only’. She said, “Only want to be with you J” Salacious! Sorry, bud! Shouldn’t be airing your business like that. But they haven’t replied yet. They’re reading and rereading the words as part of the riddle they’ve been given up to this point. Don’t look at me, I don’t know what it’s gonna say! I’m on the edge of my seat, just like 16-1 here. Can’t believe they pay me to do this! Sorry for going so long! Long-winded people are such a drag, I know.
[1467 | 06 | 04 12:34:0136] I suppose I don’t have to write a log for every single hour. Only if something interesting happens…which it hasn’t. 16-1 hasn’t spoken to anybody at all in world history class! Don’t be such a loner, pal. Maybe they’re waiting for someone who knows that they know more than they let on…I think that made sense. Smart! But little do they know, just about everyone knows but them!
[1467 | 06 | 04 16:27:0527] 16-1 has departed from school. They got ‘that’ from a student trying to copy off of their pop quiz, they got ‘it’ from a teacher saying it doesn’t matter how you stir two formulas together in a science class, and they got ‘does’ from the guard stationed at the front of school asking if their bandaged finger hurts. Don’t worry! They’re doing just fine.
[1467 | 06 | 04 20:27:0599] Working a store sure seems boring! Not like logging. Always something new to observe in logging. Not like working retail. As far as I can see it’s always the same thing. But more importantly, the message is complete. The last words? ‘Everything’, ‘or’, ‘nothing’, ‘both’, ‘everywhere’, ‘or’, and finally ‘nowhere’. That brings us to: “The stick does not know what we think, only that it does everything or nothing, both everywhere or nowhere.” And that’s the message! Wonder what it means! Not clear if they’re aware that’s it. There’s barely any customers left in the building and 16-1 is pacing back and forth restlessly. They’re glaring suspiciously at stragglers and co-workers alike.
[1467 | 06 | 04 21:03:0541] Just a quick update. Shift’s over. Not mine. 16-1’s shift. More to go here…and look I’m no cop but…let’s just say 16-1 may have decided to leave with a…let’s say…certain piece of equipment…for digging things…if you catch my drift. I dig it!!! They thought they were so slick getting away with it, too. But we willingly let them. This all is ours. Everything they do, it’s us. I meant a shovel, by the way.
don’t trust the logs. look between the spaces between spaces between spaces. And bring a flashlight. 16-1 doesn’t know what’s happening. so it’s up to me to try and stop this. I’ve seen enough.
they’re coming for 16-1 to write history as they see fit. to expand. and no they won’t stop. 16-1 is just the beginning. I won’t write their name here for their privacy…not like it matters much. most everyone knows.
I don’t have much time. i need to stay in the shadows to stop what’s coming.
16-1, if you’re reading this, you didn’t deserve this. Your family didn’t deserve this. and to whoever else…you can be a symptom or an antibody. fuck what you know. you still have a choice. — OO
[1467 | 06 | 05 01:38:0993] – Welp, uh…interference! It happens. Please, if you’re reading this, try your best to disregard. Anywho! Don’t know about you, but I’m wiped! Had to take a quick nap to shake this thing off. And what do you know it, I come to and 16-1’s…doing more driving. Great. But I suppose it is unusual how late we’re pushing it here. Doesn’t this place have a curfew of some kind? If I were still their age, well, might as well skip coming home ever again! Gotta say, the All-Around…not great for following fast-moving targets. Not much to be done about that, but still. Sure as sunrise doesn’t make my job any easier! Plus it’s not like I can tell what they’re thinking. 16-1’s not the type to think out loud. Always a riot, that kind.
[1467 | 06 | 05 02:17:0345] Their phone’s been going off but they haven’t answered it. It’s mom, who else? Pops doesn’t seem all that concerned. Boys will be boys! I guess she’s worried 16-1’s taking after their dad a little too much. Makes you wonder what a gal like that sees in a schmuck like him. Anyways, 16-1’s starting to get a little daring. I practically need superglue to keep my eyelids open. Good thing I’ve been saving up for one of those nicer than average drills they sell at the kinds of stores 16-1 works at. Plus I’ll get my company discount. Anyways! So they’re venturing out onto main roads I recognize but parts of them I don’t, stores I’ve never seen them visit before in the previously recorded footage. Maybe it’s the lighting? But I swear I’ve never seen these kinds of places before. Hard to tell if there’s signs of anybody having worked at any of them seeing as they’re all closed this time of night. Clearly 16-1’s after something, spurred on by the message. “The stick does not know what we think, only that it does everything or nothing, both everywhere or nowhere.” I still just don’t get it. When I said everything they do is by us, I do mean ‘us’. Lots of people at PA, and info like that doesn’t exactly change departments that easily. You gotta know someone who knows someone.
[1467 | 06 | 05 02:19:0401] Okay, so now that I think about it, the shovel must be the stick. That part at least makes sense.
[1467 | 06 | 05 02:47:0296] Looks like they’re calling it a night. Gotta say, that finger of theirs is looking pretty…out of sorts. Is this still part of the test? I didn’t administer anything, not like the last bunch.
[1467 | 06 | 05 03:01:0546] Shocker: mom’s not happy. She didn’t hear them come in through the back door, but as they were sort of rustling about their room looking for something else to wrap around their finger, she bumrushed in like a tidal wave. It wasn’t pretty, nothing I feel comfortable repeating here. Must be tough, being an operator and a parent. Where does one end and the other begin? 16-1 made sure to hide the busted finger underneath their desk. Of course, she asked if they were hiding something. Only natural. But 16-1 wouldn’t budge.
[1467 | 06 | 05 03:17:0399] I feel like I’m seeing something I’m not supposed to.
[1467 | 06 | 05 07:01:0613] We get pinged when movement starts to happen after a long period of inactivity. So here I am awake again. Mom was staying up crying all night. Hard not to feel bad for her. But a job’s a job. 16-1 woke up early…though I wonder if they slept at all after all that. Plus that finger just looks awful. They snuck out with a breakfast bar to keep themselves afloat and a glass of water. Better than nothing. They’re going to drive now. They headed a different direction than usual when backing out of the driveway.
[1467 | 06 | 05 08:17:0612] 16-1…this ain’t like you. They ran a couple lights and stop signs. And they’re back in the sort of shopping district from last night. Folks are beginning to open up shop here. But 16-1’s is the only vehicle on the road. All is calm.
[1467 | 06 | 05 08:23:0243] 16-1 stops and asks for directions. “Everywhere or nowhere”… No one says anything. They just point to the next person over or across. So then 16-1 walks over to the person being pointed to and asks the same thing. Rinse and repeat.
[1467 | 06 | 05 08:41:0777] 16-1’s given up with the shopping district and is driving away. The pain in their finger looks sharp, so much so that it’s somehow giving them a limp. A full body pain.
[1467 | 06 | 05 08:48:0153] 16-1 is driving toward the outskirts of town. Out there, it’s nothing but dirt, gravel, and a straight line of asphalt. Not even electrical poles. Curious if anyone lives out here. Seems like the type of place you’d go if you were trying to just get away from it all. Can’t say I’d blame 16-1 after what they’ve been through.
[1467 | 06 | 05 08:54:0241] Someone’s coming toward them from the opposite side of the road. Ran a search, they’re not part of the program.
[1467 | 06 | 05 08:55:0131] It was nothing. Just a passer-by. But 16-1 seemed uneasy.
[1467 | 06 | 05 09:01:0389] A new hour. Still nothing to see here but road and dirt, but 16-1 adheres to the speed limit. Their right hand—the one with the busted finger—is resting on their leg while the left hand keeps the car moving forward. They seem to have given up on keeping it bandaged. The finger’s all swollen and puffy. It really doesn’t look good.
[1467 | 06 | 05 11:07:0321] Nothing substantial to report at this time. A couple other drivers passed by 16-1 but none seemed all that interested in them. Search came up clean. One came speeding from behind and passed them illegally. There was one small gas station about an hour and a half prior to this log but evidently 16-1 didn’t deem it necessary to fuel up or grab something to eat. Paranoia will do that, I suppose.
[1467 | 06 | 05 11:10:0551] Something happened. 16-1’s been driven off the road by an old pickup truck which came careening towards them from the opposite side. Their car’s flipped onto its side. Thankfully it’s not the driver side. But this doesn’t look good.
[1467 | 06 | 05 11:11:0178] The truck driver gets out, he looks panicked. I guess he didn’t mean to do that? It just seemed so intentional.
[1467 | 06 | 05 11:12:0455] 16-1 hasn’t gotten out of their vehicle. They’re alive, not bleeding too bad thankfully. TD (truck driver) has a gun aimed squarely at the underside of the car which is facing him. Both hands squeezing firmly but still trembling. The safety’s on but there’s no telling of their trigger discipline. This is bad.
[1467 | 06 | 05 11:13:0127] Running a PA search on TD, should have done that from the word go. My hands are trembling, I can barely type. Whoever’s reading this, be gentle.
[1467 | 06 | 05 11:15:0671] TD is the previous logger, █████████████████. There’s no way this is part of the test. I don’t understand what’s going on. Unless it is? I don’t have any intel on this situation and now an operative’s going AWOL and I’m just supposed to think this is all protocol? I can’t send any operatives in time, it’s too far from our station.
[1467 | 06 | 05 11:19:0274] TD hasn’t moved from his spot in minutes. The car still isn’t smoking, so that’s a good sign. He’s just pacing around but is still hesitant to check in on 16-1. Cold feet, doubt. It’s so idiotic. There’s no doubt about it, this was pre-meditated.
[1467 | 06 | 05 11:21:0527] 16-1’s waking up. Their finger…it looks terrible. They’re totally confused and look completely lost, as to be expected. You can tell when someone’s head is spinning after a few years in the service. I don’t know what TD’s planning, and at this point, I doubt they know either.
[1467 | 06 | 05 11:24:0274] 16-1’s trying to climb out through the sunroof. That finger’s not doing them any favors. And a car passed by, but didn’t even stop! The hell’s going on here? Nobody’s answering my phone calls. This isolated room…people work like this all day with no help, no communication, nothing? People just do this? No wonder █████████████████ gave up. The disrespect is palpable.
[1467 | 06 | 05 11:26:0555] TD eventually helped fish 16-1 out of the car. They don’t seem to remember the crash. TD mentioned something about a gas station just up the road, where they can safely call for help from someone he used to work with without being tracked as easily; at least he’s telling the truth about that. I know this is bonkers to say, but I have a feeling TD’s intentions are good. That their heart is in the right place. I just hope whoever picks up the line is trustworthy.
[1467 | 06 | 05 11:47:0139] I wish there was something I could do to help. All the visibility in the world but I’m utterly powerless to influence anything. TD helped 16-1 into the back seat of his truck to lie down in, scooped up their belongings from the car and tossed them in. The two have just been driving till they reach the gas station, ostensibly. I keep thinking back to that interference from before. We threw our best cryptographers at the certificate key signed to the data transmission and still couldn’t reverse engineer it to triangulate a location. And this is Perennial Absolutics; it’s what we do best. Failure to launch like that? That’s practically the definition of unusual. Can’t help wondering how 16-1 would have fared were they to take a crack at it. Given the results we’ve seen from them so far, I guess maybe that’s the point of all this.
[1467 | 06 | 05 12:01:0452] 16-1 has just completely passed out. TD’s clearly not been around people who’ve seen much action. But I guess a corporate life won’t prepare you for much.
[1467 | 06 | 05 13:46:0001] They’ve arrived at the gas station and are parked. Good timing. TD just woke 16-1 up, they were out like a light. TD’s pistol has been resting in the passenger seat for the better part since they started the drive; he’s looked at it a few times, maybe knowingly, maybe not. There’s nobody here, I think.
[1467 | 06 | 05 13:48:0490] The front door is locked. I can’t tell if 16-1 is still dazed and out of it or knows more than they’re letting on. They’re peering through the windows; the lights are off.
[1467 | 06 | 05 13:49:0251] 16-1 and TD try smashing a window with 16-1’s shovel. 16-1 suggests just shooting the lock off the door, but TD’s hesitant to make any more noise than is necessary. Probably smart. They start searching for something like a rock or a brick to toss through a window and unlock the door with. Luckily for them rocks and detritus are just about all to see out there. Meanwhile, I’m overhearing some unusual chatter on my side here at HQ. I can’t make out any of it, but it’s far more prevalent than usual.
[1467 | 06 | 05 13:51:0355] They’re in. TD is searching through their contacts for a certain phone number to call on the store’s landline, all the while 16-1 hauls supplies to the inside of the truck. They set off the alarm, but given their distance away from the rest of civilization they should be okay. I hope.
[1467 | 06 | 05 13:53:0447] Somebody just took a phone call here at the same time as TD sent one out…
[1467 | 06 | 05 13:59:0012] I’m compromised. Anyone who sees this...they can only change so much once I’ve sent it out. Proper encryption. They won’t track this…I hope. To █████████ and ██████████: I’m sorry they did this to your precious child. We did this. This program…it’s sick. This company is sick. It’s not for this world. This sick, sick world. I’m so sorry. The patterns. They're real. Look between the spaces between spaces between spaces. The shapes, the patterns, the formulae, the stars...it's all the same. Everything is part of a universal oneness. Everything you've feared is probably true. And Perennial Absolutics seeks to control it all. Everything 16-1 looked for? It's all real. But it's dull, unexciting. I'm sorry. The answers you were looking for weren't the answers you were looking for. I hope whatever happens, you find them.
[1467 | 06 | 05 15:00:0000] Test 0012 failed due to █████ of candidate 16-1. Commencing preparations for the next candidate.
[1467 | 06 | 05 16:01:0500] Operatives have been prepared for updates to proper testing procedures. All requisition items have been distributed as appropriate. Operatives standing by.
[1467 | 06 | 05 16:02:0000] Administering test 0001. Awaiting response from 16-2.
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