Twilight Mirage 09: The Sound of Strings

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Background

Episode description

Driven into a corrupted, digital city by a mysterious foe, the Beloved Dust set up to rescue the inhabitants of the rehabilitation center called Contrition’s Figure. Tender Sky and ⸢Signet⸣ chase the iconoclasts* as they head towards the skyscraper (and a mysterious, living cloud above). Sho Salon and Fourteen Fifteen, meanwhile, contend with streets packed with furious simulacra as they seek the source of a strange song.

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This week on Twilight Mirage: The Sound of Strings

The Living Library of Memorious // VOLUME 205E
Entities: Alien (Unconfirmed): Biological (Unconfirmed): Antagonistic (Confirmed): The Iconoclasts

The beings commonly called the Iconoclasts are responsible for the deaths of multiple third generation divines. Because communication has been limited, evidence inconsistent, and motivations unclear, the Library has officially placed the Iconoclasts in the “entities” category, pending additional information that might recategorize them as an “organizatisea. Run to it, or run dry, but all will run. We are the river, and it is the sea. Run to it or run dry, but all will run. We are the river, and it is the sea. Run to it or run dry, but all will run. We are the river, and it is the sea. Run to it or run dry, but all will run. We are the river, and it is the sea. Run to it or run dry, but all will run. We are the river, and it is the sea. Run to it or run dry, but all will run. We are the river, and it is the sea. Run to it or run dry, but all will run. We are the river, and it is the sea. Run to it or run dry, but all will run. We are the river, and it is the sea. Run to it or run dry, but all will run. We are the ri

Mirage Primary, we have received your dispatch. Crystal Palace has been made aware of this inconsistency from guaranteed events. Official recommendation is to hold and continue surveillance. Under no circumstance should you engage on behalf of any subject involved in the matter. Divert 5% of observational budget to the cloud phenomenon, both inside and outside the Mesh. Beyond that, Crystal Palace defers to agent in field to identify most efficient allocation of operational resources.

Message lock. Prepare for dispatch. Send on mark. Three. Two.

Pause.

Authorize allotment of personal communication time. Voice signature, Keen Forester Gloaming. Diamond encryption. Record.

Off the record, Demani, this is a clusterfuck. No one knows what that thing is. Your instruments didn't pick it up until this last report, but when we analyzed the data, it says that thing has been there since the day Gumption died. Some folks here think it's a ghost. Others think it's the killer, or both. My money's on neither, world don't work that way, too clean. But it ain't supposed to be there, and this wasn't supposed to be some adventurous assignment.

You and my daughter both were supposed to have simple recon deployments, watching the last years of a crumbling civilization. Important, but safe, predictable, guaranteed.

Clouds. When people think of clouds, they think of rain. But a little water ain't the problem. The problem is that clouds block the light of day. On a cloudy afternoon in the field, you can't be sure where the sun is, and without the sun you can't know for sure where you are, or how much longer you have until it's nighttime.

So I get it, I get being scared, I hear it in your voice, and I understand. But listen close, Demani. Clouds are burnt away by the same light they hide. And we are not some lost wanderers in the woods. We are agents of the Rapid Evening. We are the sun.”

Plot

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Cast

Notes