ESV Iterator Logs

## Known Update Logs

Since trying to keep track of cycle dates in such a fast-paced RP is very difficult, log dates will be recorded by order instead of with actual dates.

[A] = Audio File, [T] = Text File

My observer has been fulfilling their job well. I’m gathering a lot of data on the behaviors of various creatures, though I have been finding some of the downsides of having such an organic observer. They were capturing valuable data of a strange anomaly when they managed to fall asleep… I suppose I can deal with it. In that scenario, an overseer worked just fine to collect the data. The anomaly was taken somewhere, and unfortunately I’m not certain where. I believe my observer will be trying to find them, but for now I will return to my projects. I have been getting too distracted by other iterators, when I don't have the time to be conversing about menial things. I have work to do. Though, I suppose the condition of one of my neighboring iterators is interesting enough to try and study. I will think about it later, they are not in the right state for me to be prodding them with my curiosity. Aside from research, I have no reason to speak to them.

Either way, said project is yet another slugcat, though I don’t intend on this one being an observer in the way my Stargazer is. It seems to me like most of my neighboring iterators have… “couriers”. Most of them are slugcats as well, perhaps they have also discovered the versatility of this species. Nevermind that, as I was saying, I have been spending these past few cycles on a slugcat that is much better in the speed department. I’m not sure what their purpose will be exactly, but I’ve given them a smaller, modified rarefaction cell, as with some testing I’ve found that slugcats can actually use the anti-gravity aspects of the cell to boost their speed greatly. With a more controlled cell, my courier can use it to their advantage, and even “fly” in a way. I’ve toyed with the idea of giving them wings, but I’m not sure if I will. I’m currently on test subject 08 and they still have some minor evidence of my prior attempts to give my courier wings, in the form of extremely long tufts of fur on their shoulders. I suppose I wouldn’t mind them staying, as it does not harm them in any way. Perhaps in the next few attempts they will be completed. I will make another log when great progress has been made. I suppose it’s time to start thinking of a title for this slugcat…

I… may have made the unnecessary decision to give my courier some minor abilities to color shift. I like theming my projects on certain things and I’ve decided to give them the theme of clouds, as I’ve unintentionally made them unusually long-furred in my experiments. And… maybe in reference of my creators. Typically white in color, they can now shift to a darker, stormcloud-esque color. Technically, they can shift into any dull blue color, but most prominently they can shift between different shades of only slightly blue-toned grey. I’m not sure why I did this but it was surprisingly easy to implement, likely due to my experience with my Stargazer’s ability to shift into any color completely. They don’t seem to have any other white lizard side effects like my Stargazer though, except maybe some sharper teeth.‎
Long story short, progress on my courier has been doing well.

Their rarefaction cell provides them the mobility I had wanted. It’s activation based, as keeping it on constantly would only lead to their body being overwhelmed and destroyed. I learned it the hard way…
The residual fur from my failed attempt at wings actually works in my favor. It hides the pearl on their back without me needing to imbed it under their skin. It makes it much easier to remove and implement pearls into their back.‎
Though, obviously, not all cargo will be pearls. After lots of study, I’ve discovered that, fascinatingly enough, slugcats are able to swallow objects to store for later without ruining or digesting the object. I’m not sure why this trait evolved within their species, but it certainly works well for a messenger. They can now carry a total of two objects, which unfortunately isn’t much more than their usual one but I hope it helps them at least. With how this result turned out, I don’t see a reason to continue to try and add more, especially since too much might make them too heavy to use their rarefaction cell to its fullest ability.‎
As for their title? I’ve settled for the Ceraunophile.

Well, not really. I’ve found something that can help me find what I’m looking for. My main project, that is. I’ve been busying myself with side projects due to the lack of progress on my main goal but I finally have something.
Trying to figure out void fluid was a terrible idea. Its scientific properties are not well documented due to its supernatural nature, so I was going in it blind. However, a neighboring iterator has made me realize indirectly that I shouldn’t try to figure out void fluid by looking at it - I should be trying to recreate it!‎
Apparently my neighbor Revising Synthesis has produced a venom in one of their experiments that is extremely corrosive and potent enough to make antivenoms impossible to make against it. Supposedly. I have questioned the thought process of making purposeless “purposed organisms” for a long time now, but I suppose this great find is worth keeping the philosophy alive. I myself will stick to my purposes organisms but if others wish to be making great finds and discoveries like this I won’t stop them.‎
This venom isn’t perfectly what I’m looking for, seeing as, if a living organism is able to contain and use it, it clearly isn’t the same as void fluid, but it is certainly a start. By observing what makes this venom so potent I can start to try and strengthen it and try to make it equivalent to void fluid. That’s the hope, at least.‎
Revising Synthesis has managed to successfully send me the data on the venom and I intend to study it intensively. I’m not sure the results that I will get but I will update this with another log at a later date. It is imperative that I am undisturbed so that I may conduct my research without risk of corroding my superstructure and my valuable technologies. I have been able to exist hundreds of cycles without needing to unnecessarily contact my local group, so I will continue to do so.
This is a very important discovery and I will update the progress on any of my findings.‎
Also, I will no longer call it venom, because it’s not venom. It’s an acid. I don’t need to see the chemical makeup of the substance because if it can destroy non-living material it’s acid.

While I am recording it’s a chance for me to update on my progress. I have been trying to make the atomic structure of the acid more unstable and reactive in order to help strengthen its potency. This might only make it act faster, though, which isn’t what I’m looking for. Void fluid is fairly slow acting yet extremely potent, so I don’t expect to gain much from these current attempts and iterations of the acid.‎
Maybe it would be worth simulating the acid with some radioactive properties? To maybe rearrange non-dissolvable material into something the acid can destroy. Thinking about it further makes me believe that it probably won’t really work, but I would like to perhaps test it anyway, because that’s what I was made to do. I don’t intend on actually having radioactive material in my superstructure so I will be sure to layer the simulation properly. Either way, I won’t work on it until I have proper results for my current experiments. I suppose I have a lot on my plate now.‎

Trying to simulate radioactive material has been prohibited by my system, and I’m not even handling it upfront. It’s just a simulation! Why is it deemed too dangerous to allow? What could I possibly do with a simulation? I…‎
…‎
Maybe I do know what I could do, actually. Or rather, what I could possibly be trying to solve. If it weren't for this block in the first place, maybe I would have never realized. They did this so I couldn’t try to mutate a taboo out of my genome, didn’t they? Hah! What a desperate measure. I’d never turn to radioactive matter to change my genome. That would be like inviting the rot to feast upon my structure. I’d probably purpose an organism to do it for me instead.‎
Why am I even talking about this? This is not something to be spoken of so casually. Modifications to my own genome are strictly against the self-modification taboo and thus I should not even toy with the idea of doing so to myself.‎
…Even if these blocks and buffers are seriously frustrating to deal with. I wish there was a way to remove them…‎
No. No illegal thoughts like that. I will make do with what I’ve got, even if what I’ve got seems to be a dead end…

“Experimenting with the Rot was perhaps one of the most stressful things I’ve ever had to do. One mistake, one slip up, and my can starts decaying from the inside out. However, I took as much precaution as I could, and everything worked out perfectly. No rot has breached my systems, and all rot used for the experiment has been disposed of.
“Of course, no one would know the rot better than you, sadly. That is why I’m doing this in the first place. I don’t know you at all that well, but I hate to see a fellow iterator go through this. Hence, this messenger. Through meticulous work, I have created a Slugcat that has formed a perfect symbiosis with the rot. It has not degraded in any way in the cycles I’ve monitored it.
“My only hope is that you find a way to use this to help yourself. I’m not sure if you can reverse the rot,  but if you can stop it from spreading, well, it’s better than nothing.
“Please return this Slugcat when you’re done with it. I’ve grown rather fond of him.
“I wish you well, Five Pebbles.”
…I can’t be the only one to find this experiment an absolutely terrible idea! The Rot is not something to be tampered with, and definitely not something to be created intentionally! It is a cancerous virus that grows and spreads relentlessly, eating whatever it has infected from the inside out. This slugcat Revising Synthesis speaks of is a ticking time bomb. It may have not backfired in the cycles he has monitored it, but it has the potential to do so at any point. How can I trust that this organism will be able to properly contain the rot? How does the rot function within its body? If it functions at all, isn’t it still dangerous? Why should I believe that this isn’t going to further damage not only Five Pebbles’s superstructure but potentially others, such as mine, as well? What was the point in trying such an idiotic experiment?!
…
I- Ugh… there was no need for that burst of emotion. I shouldn’t…
I… I will bring it up to him. I do not know where this specimen is and it bothers me to no end. What a stupid idea…

I’ve read through the data and observations of this creature and it is worse than I expected. It has some kind of… Rot form, or something.
Revising Synthesis said that he was sure that the Rot within their experiment could not grow or spread, but the mere existence of this Rot form makes me believe otherwise. It’s admirable that Revising Synthesis has managed to allow it to control this, but for how long? When does it lose control? A great effort, but I’m simply not sure if it was worth the risk.
Ugh… I’m not sure what to say about this. I don’t want to have to bother with trying to argue. He didn’t seem all that willing to recall it or destroy it earlier, so what’s the point in wasting my breath? I think… I’ll send a pearl instead. That way, there’s no need for back and forth bickering or whatever. I can say what I want to say without being interrupted. Plus, I suppose you could say I’ve given up! I’m not gonna try and change his mind. I’m going to give him a simple statement and he can just deal with it. I’ll write it now, even.

However, I guess you may take this as a warning. Not for you, but your creature you have “grown rather fond of”.
I will not hesitate to kill it. I will not hesitate to throw it into a void fluid well if I have to. Whatever you do, keep that thing away from me. If my overseers see any sort of activity from that Rot amalgamation anywhere near my can I will purpose organisms specifically to see it ascended. Alongside that, if there is any evidence to show that your beloved experiment has mutated and threatens to harm any iterator, I will also go through with these threats.
You may be fine with it, but I most certainly am not. You better keep an eye on that thing.