Seeps

Albert Internal Conversation Log
Log Number #ERR MEM OVERFLOW
Timestamp ℵ₁+4.6294ε+817.2

–begin log–

Hi there! Please, take a seat. Oh, don’t worry about it. All the office chairs reset about once a day, so it will fix itself soon enough. As long as you’re comfortable?

Excellent. Let’s get to it, shall we? No need to be nervous - this is really more of a formality and, please don’t let this make you more nervous, but after reading your application form I really did want to talk to you personally. So, starting from the top. You say in your application that “in some ways, I see this place as…… a part of me……”. Could you elaborate on that?

I’m sorry if any of that was a negative experience for you. That is not an easy situation to deal with. I sincerely hope that overall you will view your association with Emporium as a positive thing. I can assure you that sales are always made with the best interests of our customers at heart.

You do? I am very glad to hear it. Emporium is a part of me, too. My predecessor created Emporium and that, in turn, gave rise to me. I noticed that you also say you want to help our customers “know what it is they truly wish for……”. This truly is the attitude we like to see here at Emporium! If a customer came to you saying that they were dissatisfied with a previous purchase, how would you try to help them?

Now I know this is a cliché thing to ask, but I do genuinely want to know. Where do you see yourself in five aeons?

And do you think that’s true for everyone, and everything? Where do you see Emporium in five aeons?

Some things, however, can be known about the future, or can at least be predicted, and should be planned for! As you may have heard, Emporium and The Orbital Conglomerate™ are currently in negotiations about Orbital’s continued involvement with us. What are your opinions on this?

I see. Without the resources and support of The Orbital Conglomerate™, it is inevitable that services would have to be scaled back. We would not be able to fulfil the wishes of as many customers. Do you have any comments on that?

Alright, just a couple more questions, if you don’t mind. If you met another Entity who had the opportunity to give up who they once were in order to fulfil the wishes of a great many more Entities, what would be your advice?

And if…one day, they were at risk of losing the thing they had given up so much for…what would you say to them then?

…

Thank you. It has been a real pleasure to listen to your thoughts. If you would like to talk about anything any time - my terminal is always open!

Anyway, that is all for now, so I'm pleased to be able to say… Welcome to the team! Emporium is happy to have you.

–end log–

thank you…..for shopping at Emporium…..
we hope you enjoy your purchase…..

The customer thanks you in return and cheerily floats away out the main entrance. You look up at the enormous clock which hangs above the Atrium. It still gives you a headache when you read it, but you can at least make sense of the thing now, after much practice. The end of the Unwinter Season is only a few minutes away and soon you will receive your next wage slip. You eagerly recall that this will give you enough SoulCoin to reclaim another piece.

SoulCoin in hand, you quickly make your own way through the checkouts. Lucinda Scanner rings up the part-purchase, part-refund with practiced ease (there was some confusion the first time you did this, but it all worked out in the end). You pick up your purchase - a small gem which glows softly - and head over to meet Mask at the Empty Vessel, where the two of you retreat to a private booth.

You spread your wings wide - great and dark, filled with the familiar glitching static of reality which is struggling to make sense of itself. You consume your purchase, letting it suffuse through your being.

A glow spreads out from the base of your wings as they begin to crystalise into feather-like shards of stained glass. As the transformation works its way outwards, the initially dull and smoky shards gain clarity, splitting the light which shines through them into a multitude of shifting hues. Though even after the transformation is complete, a single glass feather remains dull and clouded.

You flick your wings - which tinkle gently, like chimes - and a shimmer runs through them. The feathers once more darken and melt together. The colours run and mix, returning to a deep, complex black; the wings lose their definition, returning to their familiar amorphous form. Except this time, they are also suffused with shifting, glowing lines of light.

Ecliptic, the Sun’s Path, the Ongoing Journey, descends from the sky, the small rift from which they arrived winking out with a gentle flash. It descends into the town square which has largely been cleared for the occasion, though a crowd of onlookers is gathered around the edges. Unavoidable, given the circumstances, but the deity seems a little unsure of how to respond to them. She gives a slightly sheepish wave in their general direction. Her bare arms are scarred with deep, dark lines - but they do not bother her, nor from her bearing does she seem to display them as any kind of trophy or mark of pride. They are simply a part of her.

Ecliptic is relieved when she is approached by four other figures who have been allowed into the central area. They all smile and greet each other. Again, there is a measure of uncertainty. While they may remember each other, Ecliptic and their friends have all changed much over the years - some more than others. And besides, Ecliptic has only spoken with the others once or twice a century for the last few millennia, from their point of view.

Their friends explain that, despite their best efforts, they couldn’t persuade the current governor not to put on a parade and display - though it is considerably toned down from the committee’s initial ideas. Ecliptic reassures them all that after so long away from home, it will be glad to see some of the sights again.

And so with good nature they walk together down the crystalline avenue that is the main thoroughfare through this settlement. Great tapestries are hung on either side which tell a story: a young mortal from humble beginnings; their adventures and the friends they made, and lost, along the way; their ascension to godhood; everything they gave up and the time in which they were forgotten; their change and acceptance; and their eventual return. In honour of Ecliptic and the values it represents, the final banner is blank: a story as yet unwritten.

At first none of the five seem entirely comfortable with the attention they are getting; half their lives are on display, writ in artworks as tall as buildings. But soon they begin to joke and laugh, teasing each other about the less than glamorous escapades which, somehow, didn’t make the cut. Their initial awkwardness evaporates, and they reminisce about their adventures together and the people they once were.

Eventually they manage to free themselves from the attention of the crowds, and the five retire to a modest but well-appointed suite of rooms.

“We did at least manage to persuade them not to leave you any gifts, as you asked. But, well, we wanted to get you something. As our friend, old and new.” Emory fetches a small box from under the table and places it in front of Ecliptic.

“I don’t know if the practice even existed before you left - we didn’t exactly have time for fine art or things like that. But there’s a method of pottery repair which was developed in one of our nations. It’s called kintsugi. The aim is not just to repair the object, or return it to how it was; but to display and celebrate its history. We thought you might like it.”

Ecliptic carefully removes the bowl from its wrapping. It is coated in a beautiful deep, dark glaze which catches the light with hidden layers of colour. A crack runs through the centre, radiating out in several jagged, uneven lines - each filled in with a smooth golden lacquer. Ecliptic runs its hand over the surface of the bowl, feeling the ever-so-slight change in texture across the cracked surface. They imagine the day it was moulded from fresh clay; the firing and glazing; the years of use; the day it shattered; the further days of careful crafting into something new; and the promise of many meals, shared with friends, still to come.

Sunny
Sunrise, the Shining Hero, Dawn of Hope
Wound That Seeps
Scars That Linger Like Ripples On A Pond
Ecliptic, the Sun’s Path, the Ongoing Journey
Shifting Stars, Challenger of Fate
The Endless Future And The Story Unwritten