[ It's late, and Anders is up on the surface, face lit occasionally by the rolling crackle of the sky. But he's not thinking about this strange place called Earth, his eyes distant. ]

Has anyone else met someone they... knew in their Matrix, but who was extracted from a different Matrix?

[ He's fumbling with the question, not sure how to ask what he wants to ask and not daring to voice what underlies it. ]

There are other versions of us still living their lives. It feels like I'm ...

[ A pause, and he decides not to follow up with whatever point he was planning, sighs instead, switches the feed off and tries to work out if there's some way to delete the recording from the network. ]

hello̶̙͙̦͍̱̱̰͔̞͇̘̬̦̤̞̫̖͙ͩ̎͠͡͡l̵̸͖̲̻̟̮̫̠̩̞̪̯͎̮̰̘̹͉ͪ̐̄͗̍͊̽̃ͮ̀̈́͒ͦ̽̏̌ō͖̹̖̦̯̹͒̍̈͑̚ͅ ͖͕̬̿͊͋ͣ̓̀ͦͪ̃zion.

i'm afraid i come with more ̧͑͒́͜ ̈́̀͋ͣͦ̿́͘͜1́bad n̖̟̹̱̲ews. the time is coming that your people will need your help, and the vast majority of you will choose to give it. this time will come quickly and vio͔̱̰̗̮̞ͤͦͦ̊ͩ̕͜lently and without warning shots. it will seem disconnected from the deeds of neo decades ago, and the council two months ago. it is not. i wouldn't worry you with the long view, though. there will be time for that.

for now, i will leave you with some numbers. y̪̑̑̏̽̅ȏ͇̦̟̅͗́̅̇̔u ͈̤͚̭̫͉͙̘͙͉̮̲̞̒ͯͩ̈́̒̊̚k͉̙̝͖̲̣̬̭̲̦͙̪̭̭ͥ̉̾̓̿̄̄̑͊̈́̈̿̐͊̅̍͌now how much we like our numbers, but i think y̳͙ͤ͗̿̊͋͛̉ͬ̇ou'll find these helpful too.

one is a necessary sacrifice. you w̺̤̟͋i̻̭̻͎̤ͬll survive if you have f̱̲͇̺̗̥ͮ̀͒͒̋̎ͪ̂̌̽̿ͭͮ̉a̬̞̩̞̳͈̿i̦̲͉̞̺̹͋̏̾̔͛̒̉th. it will bring you closer to us, but you will do it for humankind. don't overthink it. this isn't a mǎ̌tter of one comma the.

two emp charges ̭͕͉̩͕͗̎̏̋̈w̙̳̭̯͓̑̏͂ͣ̋i͔̪ͅll not be enough.

three of you are necessary. to cli͓ͨ̾̂ͣ̓ͨm̺͇̺̟b̲̲̜͇͙̲̼ a̲̲̜͇͙̲̼ḇ̠̲̯̙̯͑͛̐ͩ̑͋͂ove the f̉ͮlames you must stand each foot on the shoulder of a crewmate. should you succeed, this will change the course of limitless tomorrows. it'll be s͇u̥͓̬̖̲̹btle, but sure.

fọ̝ͪ̊̉ͮ̑ur look closely here. this will be the salvation̬ o̥̞̖̳̝͈̗͐ͫf the day.

y͓̳̦͕̬̠̱̒̅ͯ̈́̌͌o̖̼̊̅͌̂̾ͦu w̮͉͖͔̮̳̄͌̄ill be wondering to what extent th͢e͙ͤ́͐͊ͦͅ architect and i are involved. the answer is: other ț͎͔̗͖̺̺̇̎̃̋͆ͪh̘̖̹̙a̗̗̣͉̠ͭn̪ͯ́̍̊͛̑ ͖̥̫̞̮̗̓̅̔ͅt͖̳his message and the one he will write you later, not at all. some of you have been wondering what the truce meant, and i will be the first to tell you: it meant change. for us, as well as the humans of earth. we are not they.

as a matter of fact, they’re much older.

ṁ̘̖̣̼̖̈́ͭ̆ȳ̥̱̲̦͐̎̈̋ condolences and congrat̖̗̥̟ͥ́ͬ̄͂ͯͬu̳̫̜̲̻̙͌l̙̱̝͂͑̓̌ͬ̈a̻͓̖̿̄͛ͬ̆ti̺̩̖̫̪̳͂ͮ͊̔ons in the coming battle.̗̬̞ͬ͑̆̅ͪ

🍪    

OOC: Plotting post goes up on Saturday, 6/13.

[ This is a video that features no people: instead, what's filling the screen is artfully-arranged sweets. Lots and lots of sweets. The dragon boat races were a grand success for the restaurant Kitty works for, and so they were contracted to cater a party in exchange for work from a construction firm for an expansion of their floor space. What you're seeing is the catering before it goes out. And Kitty, whose voice is cheerful and bright and rather thickly London-accented, narrates: ]

Some of you stopped by our booth at the race the other day, so you already know, but this is what we've got to offer at Restaurant Modak. And believe me - all of this looks pretty, but that doesn't even compare to how it tastes. Forget going into a simulation or a Matrix to get the absolute height of a dining experience. This food surpasses anything you'll find out there - and it's got the added advantage of being really, absolutely real.

[ Another pass over the food. She continues. ]

Some of you might be thinking that you haven't got what you need to trade for food of this quality. How could you possibly? Well - you'll be really glad of this next bit. Our going rates are beyond reasonable. We'll even give a good meal for nothing more than a vase of flowers, a bit of sugar - or even just you helping with the washing up. Right here, on the network, you can tell me what you've got for barter and I'll tell you just what sort of meal that'll get you.

[ And then the video switches off, like a cruel tease. ]

Remember: Restaurant Modak. Reasonable prices, food so good you won't even believe it's real. All on layer forty-four.