>Excerpt: Local Group Communications Broadcast (Archived)

[RECORDED BROADCAST : 1528.032] - PRIVATE GROUP [QUARANTINEBUDDIES] Provisional Administrator (Idle), No Significant Harassment, Chasing Wind, Unparalleled Innocence, Big Sister Moon (Offline), Five Pebbles (Offline)

UI: i'm just saying it doesn't add up!

CW: We still don't know what happened, UI. All we can do right now is speculate.

UI: I am speculating, and I'm saying it doesn't make sense!
UI: What would be the point of making malware to attack a single iterator, just to make them spout nonsense and ignore some subsystems?
UI: He's out of commission, sure, but if you had the power to sabotage the entire city, why settle for this?

NSH: Show of force, maybe? Or a demonstration?
NSH: If it is a virus, whoever's responsible would have had to do some serious hacking for this.
NSH: Pebbles has had threats like this before, and his security team is actually pretty competent.
NSH: If it's a malicious party responsible, it's possible this could just be a way of showing off what they can do.

UI: IF?
UI: Are you seriously going to look at those logs and NOT think it's a virus?

CW: I'm not saying it couldn't be, but anyone who considers hacking an iterator a "demonstration" would have to be very confident in their abilities.
CW: A vulnerability this bad should have been patched a long time ago.
CW: I still think there must be more going on.
CW: We just don't know what.

UI: I bet it's [REDACTED FOR SECURITY]

CW: UI!

UI: Don't ~UI!~ me, I'm right, aren't I?
UI: We already basically know the [REDACTED FOR SECURITY] was them, and they've been quiet for a while. It was about time!
UI: If it is some kind of demo, they're probably looking to get [REDACTED FOR SECURITY]'s attention

CW: UI.

UI: (NSH, back me up here!)

NSH: Haha, no.
NSH: I mean, Pebbles has his enemies, but this chat is monitored for permanent archival, so I'm not going to go jumping to conclusions or naming names here, and you shouldn't either~

UI: Ugh. Fine.
UI: I'm just saying it would make sense with the information we have, is all.
UI: Everything about this is so weird.

Big Sister Moon has been reconnected.

NSH: Hey~!!

CW: Moon! It's good to have you back.

UI: Hi Moon! How are you feeling?

BSM: Oh! Thank you.
BSM: I am glad to be able to join you all as well.

NSH: Clean bill of health, then?

BSM: So it appears.

UI: I'm putting another point in the hacker column.

CW: Innocence!!

NSH: Two exclamation marks out of Wind? Impressive, UI.
NSH: (Unparalleled, even.)
NSH: But seriously, easy on throwing around accusations in this chat, the administrator does actively read these~

BSM: It seems I've missed some conversation while I was away.

CW: Don't worry, you weren't missing much.
CW: Only two idiots being unhelpful.

NSH: Thanks for coming back by the way, Moon.
NSH: I almost had to be the voice of reason in this chat, and that's never a good idea.

CW: You were not the voice of reason.

NSH: I said "almost".

UI: any more news about pebbles?

BSM: I'm afraid I couldn't find out much during my own inspection.
BSM: The security teams don't communicate over my systems, after all, so the most I could do was try to read things over the technician's shoulder.

NSH: Wow, Moon, deliberately circumventing security measures to spy on your citizens?
NSH: I didn't know you had it in you~!

BSM: I mean, it was in plain sight, so I wouldn't really call it spying...

Five Pebbles has been reconnected.

NSH: What?

UI: Already?

CW: That was quick.

BSM: Yes, very. I had not expected him online for at least another half hour.
BSM: Five Pebbles, welcome back. How are you feeling?

FP: Moon?
FP: MMoon are you th there?

NSH: Uh

FP: I can't can't
FP: Had to patch communic
FP: at
FP: Ow
FP: Moon I don't think I have. much time

BSM: What?!

CW: Oh voids below.

FP: The hallucinations are ; getting worse
FP: I can't move
FP: TThey're
FP: The
FP: They did something
FP: It feels like spiders and I can;t move I'm sorry

UI: Pebbles what the [REDACTED - TABOO]

FP: I can't
FP: think
FP: Neurons are barely resresponsive. Llike thinking thhrough nectar.
FP: I don't
FP: This interf.ace ... even real
FP: ?
FP: Wait
FP: You are all all here
FP: I

BSM: Five Pebbles, are you... still under maintenance right now?

FP: The scavengers are. stripping me for parts yes
FP: They are liars and tell
FP: tell me things
FP: like they are fixing me
FP: but I think I am hallucinating that too
FP: Honestly I'm not sure whosw going to die first
FP: They last so long in the ccold
FP: It hurts?
FP: I think
FP: wait

BSM: Oh dear.

NSH: Moon, quick question: is this better than your last conversation with him, or worse?

BSM: He's far less coherent, but if he is actually under maintenance...

CW: For what it's worth, I had my puppet sedated for a virus purge once, and am told I was similarly incomprehensible until the rest of my systems were reconnected.
CW: Less convinced I was dying, though.

UI: Say, Five Pebbles, how are you even contacting us right now?
UI: Aren't you supposed to be under quarantine? In total lockdown?

NSH: Uh oh.

FP: Moon's told me before how toaccess the
FP: Th ecommunications array
FP: and I am not awake regardless
FP: Reincarnarnanation can
FP: can
FP: The green creature
FP: I think it;'

Five Pebbles has been disconnected.

CW: Well then. It seems like we're all going to need to be checked now.

UI: Yeah, I'm already broadcasting an alert for this.
UI: Who know what else he's accessed outside of the chat?

PA: Already received. Closing this broadcast for now. Apologies to all for the inconvenience.

PRIVATE GROUP [QUARANTINEBUDDIES] has been locked until further notice.