[PING REQUEST] Seven Red Suns, No Significant Harassment

SOURCE NODE TRACE: SRS ROOT, SRS COMM_01, SRS OVS_0018, NSH OVS_0044, NSH OVS_0241, NSH COMM_02

PINGBACK AT 2167.378.13.28 PARTIAL SUCCESS.

9/16 PACKETS RECOVERED.

AVERAGE TIME TO PINGBACK: 28991ms

---

[LIVE BROADCAST] PRIVATE Seven Red Suns, No Significant Harassment

SRS: ... Hello?

---

[PING REQUEST] No Significant Harassment, Seven Red Suns

SOURCE NODE TRACE: NSH ROOT, NSH COMM_05, NSH OVS_0241, NSH OVS_0072, NSH OVS_0044, SRS OVS_0018, SRS COMM_01

PINGBACK AT 2167.378.14.02 SUCCESS.

14/16 PACKETS RECOVERED.

AVERAGE TIME TO PINGBACK: 27364ms

[PING REQUEST] No Significant Harassment, Seven Red Suns

SOURCE NODE TRACE: NSH ROOT, NSH COMM_05, NSH OVS_0241, NSH OVS_0072, NSH OVS_0052, SRS OVS_0018, SRS COMM_01

PINGBACK AT 2167.378.14.43 SUCCESS.

13/16 PACKETS RECOVERED.

AVERAGE TIME TO PINGBACK: 26894ms

[PING REQUEST] No Significant Harassment, Seven Red Suns

SOURCE NODE TRACE: NSH ROOT, NSH COMM_05, NSH OVS_0241, NSH OVS_0046, SRS OVS_0018, SRS COMM_01

PINGBACK AT 2167.378.15.04 PARTIAL SUCCESS.

7/16 PACKETS RECOVERED.

AVERAGE TIME TO PINGBACK: 38531ms

---

NSH: Suns?

NSH: Are you there?

NSH: The connection is much slower than I thought it would be. Are you testing out the relay already? Or is it something on my end?

NSH: I've switched comms nodes a few times but it doesn't seem to be making much difference.

NSH: Actually, just a moment. Let me try and see if I can use the tower to boost the signal...

---

[PING REQUEST] No Significant Harassment, Seven Red Suns@UNSCATTERED_STARS_RELAY

2167.378.15.20: ERROR. PING STATUS: FAILURE, ALL PACKETS LOST. SEE FULL OUTPUT FOR DETAILS.

SOURCE NODE TRACE: NSH ROOT, NSH COMM_03, NSH OVS_0241, NSH OVS_0034, SRS@UNSCATTERED_STARS_RELAY, [ERROR] NULL

PINGBACK AT 2167.378.15.18 FROM UNSCATTERED_STARS_RELAY: PARTIAL SUCCESS (TIME TO PINGBACK 12509ms, 9/16 PACKETS RECOVERED)

[[WARNING]] NODES SI_IMP, EOC_IMP, GS_IMP, SRS_IMP MARKED 'UNRESPONSIVE'. UNRESPONSIVE NODES WILL BE SKIPPED.

PINGBACK AT 2167.378.15.19 FROM SRS@UNSCATTERED_STARS_RELAY: FAILURE (ERROR CODE 0XX: UNRESPONSIVE)

---

NSH: Okay, I see the issue there.

NSH: Well, this is as good of a time as any to be stress-testing these things.

NSH: Are you able to respond yet?

NSH: ... now that I think about it, if the connection speed is this slow, I am probably spamming you with messages faster than you can reply back to them.

NSH: Maybe I should put some sort of metering in place on my end for now. This will probably be worse for Moon than it is for us.

SRS: No Significant Harassment? I...

NSH: !!

SRS: Yes, I am here.

SRS: Yes, I am using the overseers right now. My communications tower has been damaged for some time, so the issue is probably more on my end.

SRS: ... I have not been in communications with my local group for several hundred cycles, actually.

SRS: I...

[[FATAL EXCEPTION]] UNABLE TO RENDER MESSAGE CONTENTS. REASON(S): INVALID SYMBOL AT LINE 01 SEQUENCE 18. MESSAGE IS CORRUPTED OR UNREADABLE.

NSH: Ah. Whoops.

NSH: You may want to resend that one. It came out corrupted on my end.

SRS: Even if you are not able to forgive me, I hope to at least make up in part for the mistakes I've made.

NSH: Well, that's great to hear, because I will be asking it of you.

SRS: ... I've been responding the whole time. Is there really that much of a delay?

SRS: Oh. Yes, metering might be a good idea.

NSH: ... I am just going to wait for you to catch up.

---

NSH: I can try sending more overseers your way, if that helps.

NSH: Obviously there are upper limits to their viability for data transmission, but as long as your centralized local network is still online, the greatest bottleneck will be the area where your range ends and mine begins.

SRS: I'm not sure how sustainable that will be in the long run, though...

SRS: Our overseers aren't being replaced anymore, and given the current rate of attrition to scavengers and other hazards...

NSH: I know. Hopefully this will only be a temporary measure, but with the relay out of commission, something has to take its place.

NSH: I did have some plans for a replacement, though, if we get that far. I can send you the blueprints later.

SRS: I'll be happy to recieve them.

---

SRS: If you do not mind me asking...

SRS: Why did you choose me? To contact, I mean.

SRS: I can't imagine I was the only iterator you had in mind.

NSH: It was mostly a matter of convenience.

NSH: I have plans for another test run before Moon, but you were the nearest iterator that seemed likely to respond.

SRS: Oh. That is... understandable, I suppose. Who else did you plan to ask?

NSH: Grey Wind. Their communications tower was destroyed some time ago, but I still see regular steam from their can, so it seemed like a good test case once I'm sure the system actually works.

NSH: It will be a good way to test group chats and other non-bidirectional broadcast arrangements as well.

NSH: Of course, proximity and relative ease of getting overseers in and out of their grounds was also a factor. That part will be much more difficult with Looks to the Moon.

NSH: Assuming there's no way to get Five Pebbles to open up, anyway... but if he hasn't turned around after everything so far, I wouldn't count on a sudden change of heart.

SRS: Oh. I see.

NSH: Were you expecting a different answer?

SRS: ... No. I guess not.

SRS: Sorry, that was a bit of an odd question to ask. You can just forget I said anything.

---

SRS: You said you had blueprints?

NSH: Oh, right. I haven't tested that functionality yet. My bad.

NSH: Here goes nothing~

[INCOMING FILE TRANSMISSION] No Significant Harassment (NSH COMM_03), Seven Red Suns

BROADCAST_CLONAL_v3.0.8_DNARCH_62.33.PAK (1/1)

---

NSH: Did you get it alright? All in one piece and everything, no corruption?

SRS: Yes, although it took a while to download.

SRS: These blueprints are... interesting. A more robust broadcast bud that would spread via a collective root-runner system...

SRS: You clearly spent a lot of time on this.

NSH: Aww, is that all you have to say?

SRS: I mean, I admit I can see the appeal. I'm surprised these weren't a more common investment during our creators' lifetimes.

NSH: It almost was, actually. I didn't come up with this idea myself - the basis of it came from some archived projects I was commissioned to help with ages ago.

NSH: It didn't get very far in practice, mind you. There were some political disputes over the patenting of the concept, particularly under the later-era broadcast monopolies...

NSH: A lot of excuses being thrown around about 'Unauthorized Alterations to Load-Bearing Public Systems', and concerns about prototypes accidentally interbreeding with municipal broadcast equipment.

NSH: Lucky for us, none of that really matters anymore~

NSH: The biggest legitimate concern so far has been the possibility of it breeding too much and spreading out of control accidentally. I'm working on a better genetic killswitch just in case, but it is an inevitable risk of self-repair.

SRS: Let's be careful with that, then.

SRS: I don't think anything good can come of a mistake like that. Especially if it is designed to target existing connections to the broadcast network...

NSH: ...

NSH: Yes. I know.

NSH: Don't worry though. This is a long term plan, so we have time to figure things out.

NSH: And in the meantime I will be extra careful~

---

[INCOMING FILE TRANSMISSION] No Significant Harassment (NSH COMM_03), Seven Red Suns

SMALL_FILE.PAK (1/12)

LARGE_FILE.PAK (2/12)

VERYLARGEFILE.PAK (3/12)

THISONEISACOMPRESSIONBOMBPLEASEDONTOPENIT.PAK (4/12)

ALSOCOMPRESSIONBOMB_DONTOPEN.PAK (5/12)

AUTOCRASHER_v0.7.1.PAK (5/12)

UNCOMPRESSED_DIRECTORY_RECURSION_TEST_1.PDIR (6/12)

ALL_0S.BIN (7/12)

ALL_1S.BIN (8/12)

MALICIOUS_INJECTION_TEST.FL (10/12)

OVSCOMMS_PATCH_v0.5.2.PAK (11/12)

CHECKSUM.CHKS (12/12)

---

SRS: Why do you even have that many compression bombs?

NSH: Honestly? I was bored.

SRS: ... fair enough.

SRS: And the... auto crasher? What is that for?

NSH: Testing purposes, mostly.

NSH: Since the taboo against self-destruction tends to interfere with unscheduled rebooting, I needed a workaround.

NSH: As you might know, there are some exploits that can take an iterator offline temporarily with the right inputs~

NSH: But the self-destruction taboo prevents us from running them directly. Our risk analysis won't allow it.

NSH: However... our creators couldn't stop us from doing every risky thing on the off chance it might break a taboo!

NSH: The auto-crasher has two central functions: one that runs a deliberately broken simulation that will crash and force a reboot, and a main function that randomly chooses to either call it or exit instantly.

NSH: To manually reboot, you just run it in a loop until it works.

NSH: So long as the odds of any given iteration causing a crash are low enough, the risk is insufficient to trip the taboo, so you can do it as many times as you want. It's surprisingly simple.

SRS: I was aware of the concept, but... what are you even doing that would need something like this?

NSH: I mostly use it for fixing issues caused by buggy simulations, but it is also convenient for getting rid of accumulated errors over longer spans of activity.

NSH: You should try it at some point. We really weren't meant to run without any scheduled downtime like this.

SRS: Another oversight on our parents' part, I suppose...

SRS: I will admit my interest in maintenance has fallen by the wayside somewhat, but I will keep it in mind.

---

SRS: Is there any particular reason my end appears as communications node 1, specifically?

NSH: No, I just went with that as a default.

NSH: Do you want a way to change it or something?

SRS: That probably isn't necessary, although it might be good for troubleshooting. I'm just having some odd behavior with my internal structural communications, and I think it might be related to the new system accidentally spoofing an existing communications node.

NSH: Oh, hm. We should probably look into that at some point. I designed it to spoof a legitimate node because my systems kept rejecting the connection automatically if the name wasn't recognized.

NSH: I would not expect Moon's array to be online any time soon, but that could be an issue if she is ever restored enough to need them.

NSH: ... it can go on the list of things to patch later, I guess.

---

[INCOMING FILE TRANSMISSION] Seven Red Suns (SRS COMM_01), No Significant Harassment

SMALL_FILE_PINGBACK.PAK (1/4)

LARGE_FILE_PINGBACK.PAK (2/4)

MESSENGER.IMG (3/4)

CHECKSUM.CHKS (4/4)

NSH: I can see what you mean about the download speeds.

NSH: I should probably modify the download manager a bit. I added it mostly at the last minute, so I didn't think to include any way of pausing or canceling things. That's already inconvenient on our connection, even with enough spare overseers to speed up the relay somewhat.

NSH: ... is this a picture of your messenger?

NSH: The timestamp is... recent.

SRS: Yes! I thought you might like to see them again after all this time.

SRS: Their age hasn't slowed them down much. They are still quite agile, and clever as always.

SRS: Speaking of which, how is yours doing? I was a little surprised not to recieve any visitors after the network went down.

SRS: Or... I suppose I assumed...

SRS: Never mind. It's not really important right now.

SRS: I recall you had a proposal to use the creatures for a more general-purpose messaging and delivery system, though I would imagine those plans have changed since then.

SRS: It might be nice if your messenger could meet with mine, though, someday. I know mine has expressed interest in that idea.

SRS: ...

SRS: ... is there an issue with the connection? I'm not recieving a response.

SRS: No Significant Harassment?

SRS: Are these still reaching you?

[PING REQUEST] Seven Red Suns, No Significant Harassment

SOURCE NODE TRACE: SRS ROOT, SRS COMM_01, SRS OVS_0018, SRS OVS_0102, NSH OVS_0044, NSH OVS_0241, NSH_COMM_03

PINGBACK AT 2167.429.52.04 SUCCESS.

16/16 PACKETS RECOVERED.

AVERAGE TIME TO PINGBACK: 13894ms

---

SRS: I am sorry if I have offended you in some way.

SRS: I only meant to offer you something as a gesture of good will.

SRS: I did not mean to presume...

SRS: It is fine if you would rather keep these interactions strictly business, rather than... going back to what we had.

SRS: I know I have done enough to be deserving of that.

SRS: And for what it is worth, I have improved in my caretaking of my organisms. I did not create any others after 07.

SRS: ... at this point, I think I find even one plenty enough to be busy with.

SRS: ...

SRS: Harassment.

SRS: Please answer me if you're able.

SRS: Whatever it is I've done, I really am sorry...

---

[INCOMING FILE TRANSMISSION] No Significant Harassment (NSH COMM_03), Seven Red Suns

OVSCOMMS_PATCH_v0.5.4.PAK (1/2)

CHECKSUM.CHKS (2/2)

---

SRS: Can I at least know what it is I did this time?

SRS: This seems unfair. I really am trying to do better now.

SRS: ...

SRS: If this is what you would prefer our interactions to look like, I suppose I cannot judge you for it.

SRS: But a little warning or explanation would have been polite.

---

SRS: ... was it about the messenger?

SRS: I know you didn't treat yours the same way I did mine.

SRS: I didn't mean to mock you, though. I honestly thought they might enjoy the company.

SRS: I told you before, during their last journey, that I had grown more fond of them over time.

SRS: ... Truth be told, I think I was fond of them for much longer than I originally realized.

SRS: They truly are such clever and personable creatures. I should have come to appreciate that sooner.

---

SRS: I know the connection isn't severed. You sent me an update package, after all.

SRS: Did you at least make contact with Chasing Wind yet?

SRS: We weren't especially close, but...

SRS: ... I don't know.

SRS: I suppose if you did, they could try to contact me themself.

SRS: ...

---

[PING REQUEST] Seven Red Suns, Chasing Wind

2167.462.02.49: TIMEOUT REACHED (300000ms). PING STATUS: FAILURE, ALL PACKETS LOST. SEE FULL OUTPUT FOR DETAILS.

SOURCE NODE TRACE: SRS ROOT, SRS COMM_01, SRS OVS_0102, SRS OVS_0018, CW@FOUR_AND_A_HALF_LINES_RELAY [!]

PINGBACK AT 2167.461.57.10 FROM SRS OVS_0018: SUCCESS (TIME TO PINGBACK 580ms, 16/16 PACKETS RECOVERED)

PINGBACK AT 2167.462.02.11 FROM FOUR_AND_A_HALF_LINES_RELAY: FAILURE (TIMEOUT REACHED)

[PING REQUEST] Seven Red Suns, Chasing Wind@FIFTEEN_DOCKS_RELAY

2167.462.03.28: ERROR. PING STATUS: FAILURE, ALL PACKETS LOST. SEE FULL OUTPUT FOR DETAILS.

SOURCE NODE TRACE: SRS ROOT, SRS COMM_01, SRS OVS_0189, SRS OVS_0048, CW@FIFTEEN_DOCKS_RELAY, ERROR [NULL]

PINGBACK AT 2167.462.03.26 FROM FIFTEEN_DOCKS_RELAY: PARTIAL SUCCESS (TIME TO PINGBACK 9998ms, 14/16 PACKETS RECOVERED)

[[WARNING]] NODES CW_IMP, LTTM_IMP, EOC_IMP MARKED 'UNRESPONSIVE'. UNRESPONSIVE NODES WILL BE SKIPPED.

PINGBACK AT 2167.462.03.28 FROM CW@FIFTEEN_DOCKS_RELAY: FAILURE (ERROR CODE OXX: UNRESPONSIVE)

---

SRS: In all seriousness, are you alright?

SRS: I have seen you upset before, but this kind of shutdown seems out of character for you.

SRS: ... are my messages not coming through somehow, even though I can still recieve yours?

SRS: Given your file transmissions and pingbacks, I assumed otherwise, but perhaps I ruled out connection errors prematurely... ?

---

[INCOMING FILE TRANSMISSION] Seven Red Suns (SRS COMM_01), No Significant Harassment

MESSAGE.UFT (1/2)

CHECKSUM.CHKS (2/2)

---

[INCOMING FILE TRANSMISSION] Seven Red Suns (SRS COMM_01), No Significant Harassment

MESSAGE(2).UFT (1/2)

CHECKSUM.CHKS (2/2)

---

[INCOMING FILE TRANSMISSION] Seven Red Suns (SRS COMM_01), No Significant Harassment

PLEASE_RESPOND.UFT (1/2)

CHECKSUM.CHKS (2/2)

---

[PING REQUEST] Seven Red Suns, Chasing Wind

2167.465.21.06: TIMEOUT REACHED (300000ms). PING STATUS: FAILURE, ALL PACKETS LOST. SEE FULL OUTPUT FOR DETAILS.

SOURCE NODE TRACE: SRS ROOT, SRS COMM_01, SRS OVS_0102, SRS OVS_0018, CW@FOUR_AND_A_HALF_LINES_RELAY [!]

PINGBACK AT 2167.465.16.05 FROM SRS OVS_0018: SUCCESS (TIME TO PINGBACK 617ms, 16/16 PACKETS RECOVERED)

PINGBACK AT 2167.465.21.06 FROM FOUR_AND_A_HALF_LINES_RELAY: FAILURE (TIMEOUT REACHED)

---

SRS: If you are ignoring my messages by choice, please don't feel like you have to respond, of course.

SRS: I'm sure I have still done something to deserve it at this point.

SRS: ... you aren't wrong to blame me for all this. Regardless of Five Pebbles' choices...

---

NSH: Apologies for the radio silence. I'm back.

NSH: I didn't mean to leave it so long, but I had some things to work through first.

NSH: ... That is... a lot of messages.

SRS: You're back?!

SRS: Wait, wait, don't read those. Most of them are were... poorly thought out. And highly circumstantial.

SRS: ... you're already reading them, aren't you.

SRS: I... please do not judge me for those.

SRS: I am sorry. I meant that much.

NSH: ... what? Why? What did you say?

NSH: ... oh.

SRS: Can we just pretend this didn't happen and move on?

NSH: I didn't realize...

SRS: Please.

NSH: Suns. Stop.

SRS: We don't have to talk about it.

NSH: Suns. Let me finish.

NSH: I am not angry with you. Or, not any more than I was when we started, anyway.

NSH: What happened on my end was my own fault, regardless of the circumstances.

NSH: I am perfectly capable of having problems of my own. And either way, the damage is old and long done.

SRS: I still had something to do with it, though, didn't I.

NSH: ... it's not important.

NSH: ... It wasn't something you personally did, if that helps.

---

SRS: Have you made any further progress toward establishing contact with Chasing Wind?

SRS: Not that I'm trying to rush you or anything. I was only wondering.

NSH: A little. My overseers are nearer to their grounds now, but I haven't found one of theirs to connect with yet.

NSH: And of course that will be a whole process of its own.

SRS: If there is anything I can do to help or accelerate the process...

NSH: It's fine. I'm closer to them than you are, anyway.

SRS: Right, right. I know. I guess there's just not much else to work on right now.

SRS: I should probably find something else to focus on...

SRS: ... how is your messenger doing, by the way? It seemed like whatever happened interrupted before you could answer.

SRS: I mean, you don't have to answer if you don't want to! I was only wondering about it.

SRS: It's a little younger than mine, isn't it? It must be well into adulthood by now.

NSH: It died some time ago.

---

SRS: ... oh.

SRS: That's...

SRS: I'm sorry to hear that.

NSH: Don't be. It fulfilled its purpose.

NSH: Moon is alive.

SRS: I mean, that's not really...

SRS: ...

SRS: Sorry. You know I've come to care for my own messenger, after all. I guess I thought... you seemed to care about the well-being of yours, too.

NSH: I had priorities, Suns. Moon's life was more important.

SRS: That's not what I'm saying.

SRS: You just seem... I don't know.

SRS: Defensive?

SRS: It is hardly my place to judge you for whatever relationship you have with your messenger. I know my situation with mine is unusual.

SRS: As you've said, your messenger fulfilled its purpose. Is that not what we all long to achieve?

SRS: ... Maybe I'm misunderstanding this.

SRS: When you say Moon's life was more important, what do you mean by that? Did it die saving her?

SRS: As sad as that is, it sounds like quite a meaningful thing to lay down one's life for.

SRS: I truly hope it has found peace at last.

NSH: Please stop talking.

NSH: Just... stop.

NSH: Whatever you think you're accomplishing by saying all this, you're not.

SRS: I am sorry. I was only trying to be comforting.

SRS: ... clearly this is a sore spot of some kind for you.

NSH: Yes. Clearly. Now quit prying. I'm not Five Pebbles, for you to fuss over and condescend to.

SRS: I said I was sorry.

NSH: You say that a lot lately. Consider acting like it.

---

[INCOMING FILE TRANSMISSION] No Significant Harassment (NSH COMM06), Seven Red Suns

OVSCOMMS_PATCH_v0.5.10.535259.PAK (1/2)

CHECKSUM.CHKS (2/2)

---

[INCOMING FILE TRANSMISSION] No Significant Harassment (NSH COMM06), Seven Red Suns

OVSCOMMS_PATCH_v0.5.11.7e4a89.PAK (1/2)

CHECKSUM.CHKS (2/2)

---

[INCOMING FILE TRANSMISSION] Seven Red Suns (SRS COMM_01), No Significant Harassment

OVSCOMMS_PATCH_MERGEREQUEST_v0.5.11.4e5348.PAK (1/3)

README.UFT (2/3)

CHECKSUM.CHKS (3/3)

FILE : OVSCOMMS/MISC/SRS_TRNSM0027/README.UFT

An improvement to the OVSCOMMS download manager and end-to-end compression algorithms, bundled with some minor bug fixes for other primary features.

A gesture of goodwill and reconciliation. I meant what I said. You understand that, right?