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Speaker 1: This is an Unspoiled Network podcast. This is spoil Me

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covering Dungeon Crawler Caral book seven, this Inevitable ruin from

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chapter Voltigue to chapter thirty nine. In these chapters, there's

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a lot of this that I don't even want to

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talk about because it makes me so sad, and it

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makes me uncomfortable, and it makes me feel like it

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just makes me feel ways that I don't like and

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don't want to feel, and I just keep being like

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Matt Deniman, how dare you who hurt you capitalism? I

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have asked this question before, I've answered it before, and

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yet Welcome to spoil Me. Welcome to the show everyone.

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I am Natasha. Thank you very much to Michael for

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commissioning this episode. Michael's here in the chat with me. Hi, Michael,

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appreciate you being here. I should probably do some sort

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of like super cut of every time that I mention

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how he's been hurt by capitalism. But that does sound

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like a lot of work, having to go and find

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those moments again. What can you do? I can't tell you, guys,

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how sad the Voltigue chapter made me. I can't express

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how I like recoiled mentally from it. It's crazy to

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me how in a moment like this, how my brain

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refuses to absorb fully. So I then wind up having

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to go back and re listen because I was like

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dissociating while I was listening and not absorbing it. And

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it's like very ironic that the whole thing is that

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I don't want to hear it, but this makes me

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have to go hear it twice, very annoying. So I

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just I am feeling myself getting emotional just like thinking

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about it. So the first sentence is Voltigue did not

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consider himself worthy of love. Mistress hens Barr had loved him,

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of course, she'd loved him, and he'd failed her. Before

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the dungeon, they were the best of friends. She'd kept

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his cage clean, had him to perch on her shoulder

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while she went to the market. Voltigue had limited memories

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of these times before the pet biscuit, but he remembered

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biting the shop keeper's finger one day when he'd tried

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to feed him a berry. It had been an accident,

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the shopkeeper had been angry he'd bled. Mistress hens Bar

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had been mad too, but that night she'd still patted

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him on the head and scretched under his wing and

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turned up the fire in the hearth just how he

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liked it. She said it was okay, that it wasn't

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his fault, and that Voltigu loved Barry so much he

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had bitten a shopkeeper in his enthusiasm, which was true.

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Mistress Hen's bar had understood him, she loved him, and

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because she loved him, she would protect him even when

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he made mistakes. You guys, you guys, I swear to God,

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I can't. I can't. So she winds up getting killed.

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But he was given a pet biscuit. And it's unclear

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to me because like it seems she was a crawler

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and that she was actually like the pet biscuit was

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for him the like I don't think that an MPC

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gets a pet biscuit that can transform a hat, right, Like,

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I don't feel like that makes sense. So all of

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these memories that he is having about this, like, you know,

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this is all the before times, before the crawl actually happened.

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This is how I'm understanding it. Please correct me if

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I'm like not getting it, you know. And so the

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pet biscuit doesn't have the kind of effect that it

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has on donut where she is able to fully become

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like self aware and speak, you know, in a much

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more precise way. It's like he has given intelligence and

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he can speak some but it's not like an immediate effect,

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and it's over time and the passage of all of

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these experiences that he's like, it's not that he doesn't

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know what happened or that he doesn't have memory of it,

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but it's just that the processing for him is very different.

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So he's you know, she dies via a crossbow bolt,

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and he feels like he should have done something to

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keep her from being killed. And I know that it's

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not the same situation because obviously they were together in

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the before times. But I do wonder sometimes, like considering

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how attached Mango has become to Donut, what Mango would

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do if Donut died. I'm gonna set aside what Donut

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would do if Carl died, because their relationship is a

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very different dynamic than Voltigu's was, because he really was

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a pet for a majority of the Dungeon. It seems

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like in a way that Donut stopped being as soon

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as she had that pet biscuit, you know. So there's

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this mention of her dying and that that fear turned

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to rage and that's when the cookbook came to him.

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It's really interesting because it sounds as if it's the

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rage that triggers receipt of it. And with Carl the

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way that it appeared, it was an option in these

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items that he could choose between, so it didn't just

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come to him. He had to pick it, which I

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am curious about, like the mechanics of this and whether

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this is always the case, because you know, the cookbook

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came to him, is all it says, and there's no

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real details about that, so I am wondering about just how.

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And we also find out that like he gets the cookbook,

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but he doesn't see the hidden messages for a couple floors,

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and by the time he notices, he kind of feels like, well,

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this is just useless to me. Now at the very

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end of the ninth floor, as the orc armies roared

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in victory, did he find make his one and only

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entry into the book? If we have seen that entry,

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and I feel like we have because this name is

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ringing a bell. I don't remember what it is. I

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don't I don't know if it's okay for you guys

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to tell me. There's plenty of things that it's sort

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of like. The point is that the reader will have

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forgotten by the time we get there, like Nicholas Flamel,

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you know, so I don't want y'all to remind me

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if it's the sort of thing that like, it's more

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fun if I can't remember. But I did. I did

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want to mention Kse I am supposed to remember, Michael says.

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I think it was probably similar to what Bianca the

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hell Goat got, probably made him stronger and gave him

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a bit more intelligence, but not full human like sentience.

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An option that was glinting like a key item in

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a video game. Yes, which also is what happened with

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another item with And that was what Carl like, he

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remembered this effect on an object that I think it

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was the uh was it the little figure in the

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glass box? I can't remember. I feel like that's it.

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That was oh man. The basically it's the same kind

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of creature as what uh, oh my god, what is

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his name? Guys? I keep wanting to say, Bastion. Why

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it's uh, you know, tiger man, and he has all

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those beanie baby things, and Carl has like an epic

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version of that that. I think it had that same

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effect on it when he was looking at it. But anyway,

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upon exit he'd found the Outreach Guild, suddenly the magical

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properties of his adopted race didn't work anymore, not outside

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the dungeon. That was something they didn't tell you. When

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you changed your body, They changed you and they couldn't

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change you. Excuse me, is that still true? Or was

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that only true for him? That's insane. I didn't know

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that this was something that you just couldn't change back

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at all. I had no idea. I don't know what

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I thought was going on, but I just didn't think

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that it was like simply not an option, and the

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fact that there are going to be properties to your

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body that you've chosen that only work in the dungeon,

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and then those are taken away. So it's not just

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that you're changing permanently, but you're also taking on a

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form that has distinct advantages, and then those advantages are gone,

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So you're winding up with like a non functional body

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in certain ways, which is just so fucked up. His entry,

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Michael says, wasn't back in the Butcher masquerade. I miss her.

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I miss her so goddamn much. Is it worth it

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to survive this place with her gone? No? No, I

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don't think it is. Right before Miriam dom sad chapter,

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which is very fitting now that we know who Foltigue is. Yes, okay,

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that makes sense. So anyway, he gets this thankless, shitty

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job and he uh is just kind of like sleepwalking

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through this life that he doesn't really even want. His

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two partners and only real friends were a wheelchair bound

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gin and a former human cave fairy who could no

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longer fly and would get severe burns if she was

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exposed too long to most UV light, which is just

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fucked Like can you imagine you choose a fairy and

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then you are stuck in that but you can't fly anymore?

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Like how worthless? I'd be so pissed. Oh my god, y'all.

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There's like so much about this whole thing that of

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course is disgusting, But there's something about finding this out

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now that really just you know what I'm saying, It's

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just every new thing I find out is so gross

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to a new level. And it's because of the effects

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that like go beyond the dungeon. The dungeon itself is

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so terrible. But then to find out that these choices

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have this ripple effect of consequence that nobody warns them about,

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which of course they're not going to because for the

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most part they're gonna think that you aren't going to survive.

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But also you want to make deals with them if

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you know so the ideally, I guess the idea is,

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we're going to hope that you pick a body that

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makes you so vulnerable because you can't do anything once

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you're out of here, that you'll take whatever job and

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whatever shitty treatment because you have so few options. Is

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really like I think the long con here, right. So

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he's here on the surface now, Weeper Commander Voltigue for

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the Operatic Collective. His racial abilities had thankfully been returned

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to him, and he hadn't been dragged away to the

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Bone Clan like all the other former Crawler turned mercenaries.

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Fatigue had entered the dungeon as a pet that gave

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him a slightly different designation on the form, and someone

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working for the Pacifist network embedded deep in the bureaucratic quagmire,

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had changed the code on that designation to make it

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appear as if he was something else. They thought he

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was a former indenture like the Bobkas and so many others,

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not a crawler, just another refugee, which we still don't

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really know all about the Bobkas either, so that's interesting.

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He didn't know for certain what had happened to the

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segregated former crawlers who'd been stupid enough to get themselves

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back in the dungeon on the wrong side of the fight,

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but Voltigue thought it was pretty damned obvious King Rust

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had suddenly jumped several levels. The purpose of the Ring

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of Divine Suffering was to raise stats, not levels, but

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that's what happened when you fed it anyway. I just

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that's so gross. It's so gross. It's so disgusting. You

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have to help, but you have to do it in

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a way where nobody will ever know it was you

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if they suspect a former crawler is involved, though, purge

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the mercenaries of the few former crawlers amongst them. For

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all his brilliance, Porthos had underestimated the brutality of the

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trapped warlords. The former Crawlers were dead before Voltigue was

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ever discovered. It was too late for them, and he's

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just watching King Rust get murdered by Rosetta, and it's

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just like, Wow, he killed all those guys to level

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up and then look did nothing for him fucking dead.

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Which this is so like the bitterness of this moment,

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in the satisfaction, you know, there's just this awful mixture.

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I absolutely I think this might be one of the

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most devastating new povs we've gotten. And when I say

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new POV, I recognize that this isn't like it is,

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but oftentimes that sort of implies it's a permanent thing.

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But you know what I'm saying, Like, we have been

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in a lot of awful former Crawler minds and seen

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some history and whatnot, but this is different. This is

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just something different. So we get you know, Stalwart being

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like what's happening and them being like, your father's dead

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and if you hadn't stayed behind like a little bitch,

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maybe you'd know that, but no, you didn't. And we

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find out about like Princess Formidable and what she told them,

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which is very funny considering that it seems the world

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won't be ending, so she's just destroyed their business for

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no reason, which is just life comes at you fast,

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doesn't it. Their only hope was to break the Princess posse. Now,

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while they had some semblance of unity, and they'd been

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so confident, even cowardly, Hortense himself had come along being

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pulled on a flat litter, and I liked this. The

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operatics had likely done a cost benefit analysis and saw

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they'd achieve a point zero one percent profit if he

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came in person. So that's what they did, which, like,

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is it when you read it in a way, it

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sounds like a joke, But this is the way things work.

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It genuinely is like, you know, it's very literal, and

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it's easy to be like, oh yeah, jeez and sort

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of roll your up, but like, this isn't a joke.

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So he's named new leader of the block, which is

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being disputed by Stalwart, and as leader, he says, I

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guess we attack, which is like, wow, what leadership. So

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they begin to head forward and Voltigue looks around make

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00:17:47,279 --> 00:17:50,200
sure that you know, he's going to be positioned in

237
00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:57,880
the right place, and he pushes this button to listen

238
00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:06,039
to some mozart piano because Foltigue's new race can't really

239
00:18:06,079 --> 00:18:11,000
sing the race he had picked like that he couldn't sing.

240
00:18:11,039 --> 00:18:15,440
After having been a songbird is devastating to him. Music

241
00:18:15,519 --> 00:18:18,599
is just a big deal, and that that was part

242
00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:21,839
of what also like fucking hit me with this, I

243
00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:28,559
swear to God. And the way that he has been

244
00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:32,400
conscripted to do this is Porthos saying to him like,

245
00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:34,319
it is not too late for you to do something

246
00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:36,640
about her death. You don't have to feel this shame.

247
00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:45,319
You can still do something. So he goes into the

248
00:18:45,359 --> 00:18:49,359
midst of the army and they're like, dude, what are

249
00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:54,720
you doing. What's happening? Did you, like, is your tank

250
00:18:54,799 --> 00:18:59,599
fucked up or something? And he's just like, yeah, well,

251
00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:07,440
and he smokes a blitztick and says, show me mistress

252
00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:13,440
hens bar. So that's like his last you know, moment

253
00:19:13,559 --> 00:19:18,440
of being alive, is like reaching for the past, still

254
00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:25,279
never having let go, you know. And he blows it up.

255
00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:27,720
And when I say blows it up, this is not

256
00:19:27,799 --> 00:19:35,359
a normal like it. He takes out according to this

257
00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:45,559
like little descriptor ten thousand fellow soldiers with a single blast,

258
00:19:46,079 --> 00:19:54,720
which is bonkers. I can't like, that's bananas, and I

259
00:19:54,759 --> 00:19:59,359
can't help but be like, I hate that you were

260
00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:03,359
so prepared to take a suicide mission. I hate that

261
00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:05,880
you were in this state, but thank you, you know,

262
00:20:06,079 --> 00:20:12,279
And I have to imagine that's why Rosetta is crying later.

263
00:20:13,519 --> 00:20:17,200
But it may be about the money too for her.

264
00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:20,200
Maybe that's it. I could be a combo. I don't know,

265
00:20:21,279 --> 00:20:26,279
but yeah, this is just so it's just so devastating, y'all.

266
00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:35,000
Oh God, Michael says, this poorthous guy was clearly planning

267
00:20:35,039 --> 00:20:36,960
far far ahead, and it sounds like he didn't let

268
00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:40,160
Tippet or Rosetta or anyone else know about Voltigue, or

269
00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:42,640
at least they were smart enough to not let anything slip.

270
00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:44,519
He had the ace in the hole that might have

271
00:20:44,559 --> 00:20:48,319
helped them survive a seemingly insurmountable situation, Planted a long

272
00:20:48,400 --> 00:20:52,200
time in advance, his line to Voltigue did ping. My

273
00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:54,880
uh oh, is he a manipulative bastard with his own

274
00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:57,839
agenda beyond what we know? Sense though? You mean like

275
00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:01,240
that it's not too late to do something. It's like

276
00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:06,720
it's one of those things where I can see it

277
00:21:07,119 --> 00:21:11,400
being a manipulation tactic, but it's also so literally true,

278
00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:16,240
and this is doing something and it's like a profound

279
00:21:16,319 --> 00:21:23,440
something honestly that I don't know. Manipulation doesn't necessarily have

280
00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:28,839
to be a lie, So I guess, you know, Michael says,

281
00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:31,640
talking someone into a suicide mission always makes me raise

282
00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:34,440
an eyebrow, even if it's for a good cause. That's

283
00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:41,160
sort of the uh, the like odd quality about it

284
00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:45,160
is like we don't know exactly what it was that

285
00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:49,799
he was proposed from the start. I could see this

286
00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:54,680
guy being the one to be like, I'll go I'll

287
00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:57,079
fucking die if it means taking them out, and like

288
00:21:58,920 --> 00:22:01,680
coming up with this idea himself as they begin to

289
00:22:01,799 --> 00:22:06,119
put forth here's what we're thinking of doing. It's it's

290
00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:11,279
such a tricky you know, it's I think about it

291
00:22:11,319 --> 00:22:15,119
a lot because when it's part of why I'm like

292
00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:19,640
the state, the mental state that he was in is

293
00:22:20,039 --> 00:22:22,559
it's not a fair place to be when you make

294
00:22:22,599 --> 00:22:26,440
this kind of choice. But also nothing about any of

295
00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:29,440
this is fair, And I don't know is it, Like

296
00:22:30,119 --> 00:22:34,359
is exploiting that okay when it's for a cause? Like

297
00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:40,440
that's a constant repeating theme in this story is like

298
00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:44,000
when is it okay? And when not? How desperate do

299
00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:46,240
you have to be and what does it cost you?

300
00:22:46,599 --> 00:22:50,039
And like, you know, regarding the children getting involved, you know,

301
00:22:50,519 --> 00:22:54,039
It's just it's a really it's a blurry, weird line.

302
00:22:54,920 --> 00:23:01,720
And I almost feel like there's no other way this

303
00:23:01,759 --> 00:23:04,519
guy could die that would that he would feel like

304
00:23:05,119 --> 00:23:10,240
there was any meaning to his life. I could see

305
00:23:10,279 --> 00:23:16,200
that being almost an act of mercy for him. You're like, look,

306
00:23:16,319 --> 00:23:20,039
you're going to die, but clearly you don't seem to

307
00:23:20,079 --> 00:23:24,200
want to be alive anymore. And what if I told

308
00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:27,279
you you would not only die, but you would find

309
00:23:27,319 --> 00:23:31,279
like a tiny bit of peace perhaps in the moment

310
00:23:31,359 --> 00:23:37,559
before because you fucked them hard. And that's really really

311
00:23:37,599 --> 00:23:41,480
fucking compelling, man, you know, when you've been through what

312
00:23:41,559 --> 00:23:47,359
this guy has been through. So and also the fact

313
00:23:47,359 --> 00:23:50,400
that like he wasn't even a person to start off with.

314
00:23:51,039 --> 00:23:53,839
So he's here because the pet Biscuit did something to

315
00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:59,039
him that he didn't choose and didn't want necessarily either.

316
00:24:00,079 --> 00:24:03,799
Not that I'm believing her, you know, but like it's

317
00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:06,119
just such a all of this is just because of

318
00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:12,000
interference of other people and their like brutality and abuse

319
00:24:12,039 --> 00:24:14,079
and lack of seeing you as any sort of like

320
00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:23,200
living being with agency at all. So we start chapter

321
00:24:23,279 --> 00:24:29,240
thirty five and Carl has thrown a smoke mantle as

322
00:24:29,279 --> 00:24:33,839
they begin to like charge two guards fell as I

323
00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:37,720
ran no not felt they were just gone, like they'd

324
00:24:37,759 --> 00:24:44,720
been sucked below the surface. And Donut is saying that like,

325
00:24:44,799 --> 00:24:46,839
we're going the wrong way, Carl, and he says, we

326
00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:51,319
gotta loot the orc and then retreat, which as they

327
00:24:51,319 --> 00:24:54,680
are heading forward, Rosetta is falling to her knees and

328
00:24:54,799 --> 00:24:56,519
is at the data pad, and He's like, what the

329
00:24:56,559 --> 00:25:01,480
fuck is she even doing? She has a ring that

330
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:08,079
is like pressed into the data pad somehow, and she

331
00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:11,039
tells him I need his head for a retina scan.

332
00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:14,400
Grab his head. He doesn't know what this is about,

333
00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:19,960
but he obeys orders. And as they are heading back

334
00:25:21,119 --> 00:25:24,599
and she says take his corpse too, He's like, where

335
00:25:24,599 --> 00:25:27,720
the fuck did you even come from? Where did this

336
00:25:28,079 --> 00:25:31,079
tunnel come from? And this is the part that I

337
00:25:31,119 --> 00:25:37,400
am really like feeling twitchy about, you know, is the

338
00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:41,680
fact that there's this whole thing that apparently is going

339
00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:44,920
on that Karl doesn't know about it all. It's sort

340
00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:49,400
of funny because later on he says something about how

341
00:25:49,519 --> 00:25:52,119
the king being killed and him not being the one

342
00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:55,079
to do it is making him feel like he's sort

343
00:25:55,119 --> 00:26:00,160
of losing control of things and He says it in

344
00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:04,000
a way like as comparing it to what happened when

345
00:26:04,039 --> 00:26:10,680
she Maria took over his body. As tempted as I am,

346
00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:17,640
and I am to dismiss this as you're just a

347
00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:22,160
control freak, Carl. That's just that's all it is. Really,

348
00:26:22,359 --> 00:26:25,519
I think what it is is him recognizing that he's

349
00:26:25,559 --> 00:26:29,559
being manipulated by people whose objectives he thought he knew

350
00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:34,079
and now is realizing that maybe there's more than he understood,

351
00:26:34,759 --> 00:26:41,000
or at the very least they are, you know, coming

352
00:26:41,079 --> 00:26:46,759
at this whole problem with methods that he's not involved

353
00:26:46,839 --> 00:26:50,880
with at all, and he definitely wants their help and

354
00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:55,880
definitely wants to be like he just also would like

355
00:26:55,920 --> 00:26:57,839
to be at the center of every plan and to

356
00:26:58,039 --> 00:27:01,599
know everything that's going on at all time. And if

357
00:27:01,599 --> 00:27:04,319
you really stop and like consider the position that Carl

358
00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:08,119
is in, I can't help but understand why, if I'm

359
00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:11,359
giving them a big benefit of the doubt here, why

360
00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:14,799
they wouldn't want to involve him, because like bro is

361
00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:20,519
under such scrutiny all the time, and Voltigu's POV he

362
00:27:20,559 --> 00:27:23,359
says something about how like Carl was practically shouting from

363
00:27:23,359 --> 00:27:27,880
the rooftops that he had the cookbook, you know. So

364
00:27:30,279 --> 00:27:33,960
the fact is that if you really want to keep

365
00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:37,519
some shit truly secret, you probably don't want Carl or

366
00:27:37,599 --> 00:27:44,519
Donut anywhere near it. Unfortunately, and yet, because of who

367
00:27:44,599 --> 00:27:47,119
Carl is, and because of the way that he has

368
00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:52,720
like been feeling like he's being played with, this would

369
00:27:52,799 --> 00:27:56,400
not be a good feeling to have coming from your allies,

370
00:27:56,640 --> 00:28:01,599
you know. So I understand his feeling, but I also,

371
00:28:02,119 --> 00:28:05,720
if the motive is what I'm thinking, really get where

372
00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:11,160
he's coming from. And the whole thing with like taking

373
00:28:11,359 --> 00:28:17,799
the money. This is the kind of thing where it's

374
00:28:18,039 --> 00:28:21,599
very easy to be like, oh, so it was all

375
00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:25,799
for money, but like we're talking literal billions here, so

376
00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:30,960
it's not just money in quotes. It's the kind of

377
00:28:31,039 --> 00:28:35,240
money that shifts entire hierarchies and power structure. It's a

378
00:28:35,279 --> 00:28:43,400
sea change, and considering everything, money is super necessary to

379
00:28:43,440 --> 00:28:47,160
achieve this sort of thing. We just don't We can

380
00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:52,519
acknowledge that money runs the world, but when it comes

381
00:28:52,599 --> 00:28:57,119
to like taking money, we'll get very precious about it

382
00:28:57,160 --> 00:28:59,680
and be very like, oh, does this makes me look greedy?

383
00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:03,400
It is like cheapen our cause somehow, and it's like, no,

384
00:29:03,799 --> 00:29:09,240
you need resources. That's like, it's just it's the kind

385
00:29:09,279 --> 00:29:15,160
of thing where an image is weaponized against you, the

386
00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:18,599
same way that like, if you get violent, you'll be

387
00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:21,640
suddenly painted as this, and it's like you're fighting back

388
00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:27,440
against violence. That's why you're doing this. It's because of

389
00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:29,640
the violence that has been inflicted on you. But suddenly

390
00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:31,640
when you do it, it's a problem. You know, it's

391
00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:35,359
that exact kind of double standard. But it can be

392
00:29:35,519 --> 00:29:41,240
very effective in quelling people or making their cause seem

393
00:29:41,279 --> 00:29:47,359
less legitimate or whatever. So I'm trusting that this money

394
00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:50,759
is going to something that's like going to be a

395
00:29:50,799 --> 00:29:56,240
bigger picture assistance, but it may not be. I don't know.

396
00:29:57,000 --> 00:29:59,359
Even if it's not, I can't really be that mad

397
00:29:59,359 --> 00:30:03,440
about it, because, like, whoever it's for, Rosetta's not getting

398
00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:06,839
out of here to spend that money. She knows that,

399
00:30:07,279 --> 00:30:11,000
you know, So whomever it's for, it's not her personally,

400
00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:14,759
unless there's some way to leverage it to get that

401
00:30:14,839 --> 00:30:21,319
money back into the Crawl somehow on their behalf, which

402
00:30:21,359 --> 00:30:23,720
I don't know how this stuff works, so I don't

403
00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:29,319
know if that's possible or not. But anyway, I'm just

404
00:30:31,039 --> 00:30:36,640
I get Carl's feelings. But I also am just like, yeah, Carl, newsflash,

405
00:30:36,759 --> 00:30:38,519
you aren't the center of the universe. I know it

406
00:30:38,519 --> 00:30:40,480
can feel that way when you get given the button

407
00:30:40,519 --> 00:30:44,279
to destroy everything. I really understand how it would start

408
00:30:44,319 --> 00:30:48,319
to make you feel like you are the main character TMTM,

409
00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:52,519
and for us he is, but in this whole thing

410
00:30:54,200 --> 00:31:03,200
he's not. So we have these people approaching that are

411
00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:08,480
on these bonkers clockwork animals. This is so wild. There

412
00:31:08,480 --> 00:31:10,759
were horse like creatures, but there was one that was

413
00:31:10,799 --> 00:31:15,039
a dinosaur similar to mango, a horse size cat like

414
00:31:15,119 --> 00:31:20,319
a panther an insect. The riders themselves all wore glowing,

415
00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:24,480
flowing robes with their faces obscured, and He's getting this

416
00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:28,000
sense of foreboding as he is looking at them. And

417
00:31:28,640 --> 00:31:32,200
this is when Rosetta is like, get you know, get

418
00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:35,079
back into the tunnel. They won't be able to use

419
00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:38,720
this ladder, and he's like, tunnel, what do you mean?

420
00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:45,799
So this is when they all like fall a dozen feet.

421
00:31:47,839 --> 00:31:52,160
My nipple burned with pain as my quarter splat activated,

422
00:31:52,319 --> 00:31:56,160
which I appreciate this being mentioned because I was just like, wait,

423
00:31:56,200 --> 00:32:01,279
what the amount of gear and abilities that Carl and

424
00:32:01,319 --> 00:32:04,759
Dona are working with has to be so tough to

425
00:32:04,839 --> 00:32:06,480
keep track of. I don't know how this author is

426
00:32:06,519 --> 00:32:11,759
managing to do this, honestly, you know it is like,

427
00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:13,920
do you every time they do anything, do you have

428
00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:16,920
to pull up their character sheet and look through all

429
00:32:16,960 --> 00:32:19,599
of their abilities and all their gear and everything. Like

430
00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:24,319
it's just gotta be And you have to have like

431
00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:27,160
a bunch of beta readers who are really committed to

432
00:32:27,279 --> 00:32:29,480
and who know this sort of thing well enough to

433
00:32:29,519 --> 00:32:31,319
be able to keep it in mind themselves and call

434
00:32:31,319 --> 00:32:33,279
out if you fuck up, because you're inevitably going to

435
00:32:33,319 --> 00:32:38,279
fuck up. So this is always any time that an

436
00:32:38,319 --> 00:32:42,480
ability we haven't seen in a while, or a protection

437
00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:46,160
from an item I forgot he had, comes up, I

438
00:32:46,200 --> 00:32:48,559
always have this moment of just like Jesus, how do

439
00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:57,519
you remember, I jumped to my feet, looking about, surprised

440
00:32:57,519 --> 00:33:00,599
at all the white dots with a green outline from

441
00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:12,359
Team Retribution, and they are all Dwarfs. This was clearly

442
00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:15,240
not something built by Justice Lights team, but an older

443
00:33:15,279 --> 00:33:17,920
tunnel built and fortified by the Dwarves. It was the

444
00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:21,599
size of a tunnel built for cars. Then I remembered

445
00:33:21,640 --> 00:33:24,000
what Juice Box had told me. They had passages like

446
00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:27,319
this intersecting the entire floor. They were built so the

447
00:33:27,359 --> 00:33:29,880
massive dwarf and diggers could get from point A to

448
00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:34,880
B quickly. And I'm really like hoping that this doesn't

449
00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:37,839
give away a little bit too much them falling through here.

450
00:33:38,240 --> 00:33:40,599
She says they can't use the ladder to get down.

451
00:33:41,240 --> 00:33:44,200
That doesn't necessarily mean that they can't like track the

452
00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:48,599
tunnel from above somehow, and like collapse things. Just fingers

453
00:33:48,599 --> 00:33:51,759
crossed that this isn't like going to completely ruin everything.

454
00:33:54,640 --> 00:33:58,319
And let's see. A group of dwarves shouted and rushed

455
00:33:58,359 --> 00:34:00,440
off into the darkness as I shook my head trying

456
00:34:00,440 --> 00:34:06,000
to clear the confusion away, and they're yelling destroy the heads,

457
00:34:06,039 --> 00:34:09,559
destroy them quick, which I'm assuming is the brainworms thing.

458
00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:16,239
And then there is this huge explosion that we know

459
00:34:16,360 --> 00:34:19,760
where this is coming from. Dirt showered part of the

460
00:34:19,760 --> 00:34:23,559
tunnel started to collapse, blue light filled the chamber. As

461
00:34:24,239 --> 00:34:26,880
you know, there's all this stuff happening, and MANI is

462
00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:32,119
just like, what the fuck happened? Later on, understandably, Florin

463
00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:34,559
is just like Carl was at you, which I do

464
00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:39,079
kind of love that everybody anytime there's a huge explosion,

465
00:34:39,760 --> 00:34:42,840
everyone assumes it's Carl. Of course you would. I would

466
00:34:44,519 --> 00:34:50,719
system message Warlord Horde. Tense has fallen. Credit has been

467
00:34:50,800 --> 00:34:53,360
ruled as accidental or a fragging incident, which would be

468
00:34:53,400 --> 00:34:57,360
funny as shit investigation is pending. And I thought that

469
00:34:57,440 --> 00:35:01,960
was surprising because honestly, initially my assumption was that, like

470
00:35:02,519 --> 00:35:10,280
somehow an AI function was what helped hide Voltigue's presence.

471
00:35:10,519 --> 00:35:14,800
You know that the code being changed was something that

472
00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:18,840
the aid. So when it says here like I'm not

473
00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:22,320
sure what happened, essentially it could be lying, I guess,

474
00:35:22,320 --> 00:35:26,519
but I don't feel like it would bother it indicates

475
00:35:26,639 --> 00:35:30,079
that there is still stuff happening outside of the AI's

476
00:35:30,320 --> 00:35:34,159
purview that it doesn't know about, which later on it

477
00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:39,679
actually says I'm not omniscient and we all have our limitations,

478
00:35:39,679 --> 00:35:45,280
which becomes something of a mantra. The Operatic Collective has

479
00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:50,360
been defeated. All assets have been awarded to the Bone Clan.

480
00:35:53,039 --> 00:35:56,719
This is when we see Rosetta crying as she whispers

481
00:35:56,760 --> 00:36:01,639
and presses a button and there is a like automated

482
00:36:01,679 --> 00:36:04,760
thing on the data pad that says transfer approved, thank

483
00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:09,960
you for using Colloid Bank, and Rosetta just stands there

484
00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:12,199
and drops the data pad for a second and then

485
00:36:12,320 --> 00:36:15,599
is like sobbing uncontrollably. So the timing of this is

486
00:36:15,639 --> 00:36:17,800
why I sort of thought it was like maybe also

487
00:36:17,840 --> 00:36:21,079
about altigue, but I'm thinking maybe it's just purely the

488
00:36:21,159 --> 00:36:25,000
money situation and getting back at this guy and taking

489
00:36:25,039 --> 00:36:29,400
everything from him. I don't know what friend this dude

490
00:36:29,480 --> 00:36:32,119
killed Russ, because later it's mentioned that this was like

491
00:36:32,480 --> 00:36:35,639
a revenge thing for her, which of course we knew

492
00:36:35,679 --> 00:36:39,920
it had to be anyway, But I'm wondering if there's

493
00:36:39,920 --> 00:36:42,159
something on behalf of her friend that she has done

494
00:36:42,239 --> 00:36:47,719
with that money or genuinely don't know it could simply

495
00:36:47,760 --> 00:36:50,599
be killing him wasn't going to be enough. I wanted

496
00:36:50,599 --> 00:36:53,480
to destroy him and everything that he stood for, which

497
00:36:53,519 --> 00:36:59,239
his daughter had kind of started to do anyway. So

498
00:37:01,360 --> 00:37:03,920
what did she say? The bad guys are retreating, Karl,

499
00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:08,280
what is going on is Kotchya's is that Kotscha sponsored work.

500
00:37:08,320 --> 00:37:10,559
Lady's still going to try to blow us up. And

501
00:37:10,599 --> 00:37:13,400
this is when Rosetta is like, wait a minute, what

502
00:37:14,239 --> 00:37:18,280
And I get confirmation that people don't know about the

503
00:37:18,320 --> 00:37:23,360
failsafe yet but they will in short order. And this

504
00:37:23,400 --> 00:37:27,840
is when Carl gets transported away to the Desperado Club

505
00:37:28,159 --> 00:37:36,599
to talk to Orrin again and the one Let's see.

506
00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:39,920
I blinked at the wall. The wallpaper had changed. It

507
00:37:39,960 --> 00:37:42,480
was now multi colored wood paneling links, something one would

508
00:37:42,480 --> 00:37:45,599
see in a high end establishment. There was a framed

509
00:37:45,679 --> 00:37:49,719
painting of Astrid, the former manager Kotcha and I had

510
00:37:49,840 --> 00:37:53,440
killed it, had King Rust's gore. I had King russ

511
00:37:53,480 --> 00:37:55,320
gore spread all over me and I could smell it.

512
00:37:55,400 --> 00:38:03,800
I suddenly felt sick. So the Operatics had been defeated.

513
00:38:03,960 --> 00:38:06,920
The Orcs were still a faction because Stalwart was the warlord,

514
00:38:06,960 --> 00:38:12,800
not Rust, but still the death of Rust had staggering implications.

515
00:38:13,079 --> 00:38:15,719
And this is when he thinks about things being sort

516
00:38:15,719 --> 00:38:19,280
of out of his control. And as much as he

517
00:38:19,440 --> 00:38:22,519
kind of wants to be mad at Rosetta, he can't be.

518
00:38:22,800 --> 00:38:25,119
He's feeling the same way that I felt last episode,

519
00:38:25,119 --> 00:38:28,519
where I was just like, look, does it kind of

520
00:38:28,559 --> 00:38:31,920
fuck up our plan that we had? Perhaps? But is

521
00:38:31,920 --> 00:38:36,599
it also like completely satisfying and her right to do it? Yes.

522
00:38:39,880 --> 00:38:43,280
So we get Orrin, who is on the phone with

523
00:38:43,360 --> 00:38:50,599
somebody I am assuming Stalwart, and basically the conversation that

524
00:38:50,719 --> 00:38:54,039
is being had is Stalwart if it is him, which

525
00:38:54,039 --> 00:39:01,840
I am assuming, arguing that this transfer for shouldn't have

526
00:39:01,880 --> 00:39:06,639
been allowed, this money transfer that Rosetta did, and orin

527
00:39:07,039 --> 00:39:11,519
telling him, hey, I don't know if you remember, but

528
00:39:12,159 --> 00:39:15,920
you and your lawyers were the ones who made it

529
00:39:15,960 --> 00:39:21,559
so that this was possible despite our recommendations that there

530
00:39:21,679 --> 00:39:26,079
be some restrictions put in place. We advised that this

531
00:39:26,199 --> 00:39:32,039
not the blackout, include financial transactions, and y'all said no,

532
00:39:33,400 --> 00:39:37,920
and all of this is completely within the rules of

533
00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:41,760
the game. It is fair play. Just because it happened

534
00:39:41,760 --> 00:39:44,119
to you and not to the people you're targeting like

535
00:39:44,159 --> 00:39:48,039
you expect, it doesn't mean it's suddenly not allowed. And

536
00:39:48,719 --> 00:39:51,880
he actually finally just like hangs up on him. But

537
00:39:51,920 --> 00:39:54,880
this is when he says, the theft of a few

538
00:39:54,920 --> 00:40:06,199
billion credits is simply not my problem and hangs up. So, yeah,

539
00:40:06,400 --> 00:40:07,880
oh here it is. He says, I just hung up

540
00:40:07,880 --> 00:40:09,920
on the Prime Minister of the Syndicate. It wasn't it

541
00:40:09,960 --> 00:40:14,679
wasn't Stalwart my bad. For the record, Harbinger is here,

542
00:40:14,800 --> 00:40:18,159
along with a few other liaisons you've yet to meet,

543
00:40:18,880 --> 00:40:22,280
which later on he says something about how Harbinger is gone,

544
00:40:22,760 --> 00:40:26,400
but that he'll he's probably making his way back. So

545
00:40:26,519 --> 00:40:29,239
there's a bunch of stuff happening that we can't even see.

546
00:40:29,599 --> 00:40:32,320
There are creatures that suddenly become visible a little bit

547
00:40:32,400 --> 00:40:39,480
later that hadn't been there. It's it's a lot to

548
00:40:39,559 --> 00:40:43,480
keep track of. There's a lot of different moving parts

549
00:40:43,559 --> 00:40:47,719
in this interview, and that's all just before even the

550
00:40:47,760 --> 00:40:54,960
AI actually shows up. So what you know I said

551
00:40:55,039 --> 00:40:59,320
last time, like Carl saying I don't think it's gonna work,

552
00:41:00,360 --> 00:41:04,039
is that is he going to say something that gives

553
00:41:04,079 --> 00:41:07,079
away or behave in a way that is too obvious

554
00:41:07,119 --> 00:41:10,719
that he's not worried, not thinking about the fact that

555
00:41:10,880 --> 00:41:15,599
they're going to be monitoring the chats, which in a

556
00:41:15,639 --> 00:41:18,719
way I knew, but in another I didn't. You know,

557
00:41:20,320 --> 00:41:25,960
I'm not surprised exactly. I'm just sort of like, oh god,

558
00:41:27,199 --> 00:41:29,480
I was just hoping maybe you guys like weren't tuned

559
00:41:29,559 --> 00:41:35,760
in all the time or something. I don't know. And

560
00:41:36,960 --> 00:41:41,840
Carl asks for Quasar and is told we don't have

561
00:41:41,960 --> 00:41:45,360
time for lawyers and shit right now, to which Carl

562
00:41:45,559 --> 00:41:49,760
understandably is like, oh don't we Oh why because you

563
00:41:49,760 --> 00:41:51,960
guys are the ones that are in danger now. So

564
00:41:52,039 --> 00:41:54,400
now we got to start taking shit super seriously because

565
00:41:54,400 --> 00:41:58,960
it's like now important, fuck you, And that's sort of

566
00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:04,679
his attitude throughout this entire exchange, is or in asking

567
00:42:04,760 --> 00:42:10,760
Carl to help, and Carl being like, literally, why would

568
00:42:11,480 --> 00:42:19,360
I help? You? Give me any reason, anything convincing as

569
00:42:19,360 --> 00:42:24,559
to why I would do a thing you asked. I

570
00:42:24,639 --> 00:42:29,360
have a list of demands. You can fulfill these, but like, otherwise,

571
00:42:30,880 --> 00:42:37,119
what the audacity to even ask me? You know? So

572
00:42:38,239 --> 00:42:40,679
at this point he says something about how like we

573
00:42:40,840 --> 00:42:45,199
know a lot, but we need clarifying details, and Carl

574
00:42:45,320 --> 00:42:48,440
sort of like smirks to himself, and it's like, there's

575
00:42:48,480 --> 00:42:51,039
no way that they know clarifying detail, or there's no

576
00:42:51,079 --> 00:42:52,800
way they know as much as they're saying, or else

577
00:42:52,840 --> 00:42:56,639
I'd already be dead, which once we find out what

578
00:42:56,719 --> 00:43:00,239
they know, actually they know quite a lot more than

579
00:43:00,280 --> 00:43:03,440
I think he was ready for. And it's just they're

580
00:43:03,559 --> 00:43:08,719
keeping him alive because I don't think they are certain

581
00:43:09,320 --> 00:43:15,280
how all this works, so it's possible killing him might

582
00:43:15,679 --> 00:43:19,079
set it off, maybe depending on how it's you know,

583
00:43:19,199 --> 00:43:25,519
how it's structured. They don't know anything about, and I

584
00:43:25,639 --> 00:43:29,000
don't like, I'm not sure how much they can see

585
00:43:29,199 --> 00:43:34,599
of the board that he looks at his interface and everything.

586
00:43:34,679 --> 00:43:38,920
It's hard for me to like tell exactly what it is.

587
00:43:39,079 --> 00:43:43,079
They can observe and you know what I mean, So

588
00:43:44,320 --> 00:43:48,599
I think correct me if I'm wrong. Again. As far

589
00:43:48,679 --> 00:43:52,840
as they know, he's still got the button and is

590
00:43:52,880 --> 00:43:58,760
still in control in a way that makes him both

591
00:43:58,920 --> 00:44:03,159
like important to protect and also really dangerous in somebody

592
00:44:03,199 --> 00:44:08,280
that we want. Dad. If I'm not right about that,

593
00:44:09,239 --> 00:44:17,199
please please let me know, so let's see. Sorry, Michael says,

594
00:44:17,480 --> 00:44:20,000
they did blow a Star system's worth of wealth paying

595
00:44:20,039 --> 00:44:22,400
for everything. What better way to refill the coffers than

596
00:44:22,400 --> 00:44:25,199
to take an even bigger Star systems worth of wealth. Well,

597
00:44:25,239 --> 00:44:27,079
probably not the whole empire is worth, but I'm sure

598
00:44:27,159 --> 00:44:30,320
King Rust had a decent percentage of that money, Michael says.

599
00:44:30,320 --> 00:44:32,440
And of course they're going to be watching carlon donuts chance.

600
00:44:32,480 --> 00:44:35,480
In particular, they might not even be able to kill

601
00:44:35,559 --> 00:44:38,760
him right now out at least outside of the Dungeons rules.

602
00:44:38,800 --> 00:44:42,519
The AI is in control, that's true. Is like, the

603
00:44:42,559 --> 00:44:47,639
AI is definitely hell bent on keeping him alive. But

604
00:44:49,679 --> 00:44:56,360
the AI was like not letting Victory know about the

605
00:44:56,519 --> 00:45:01,679
NPC that had been what's the word compromised I think

606
00:45:01,760 --> 00:45:04,559
is the one the word that she used by that

607
00:45:06,159 --> 00:45:10,119
entertainment consortium that he had signed a contract with. So

608
00:45:10,599 --> 00:45:14,480
even though the AI might not let them, it's not

609
00:45:14,559 --> 00:45:21,400
like they can't get past it. Maybe sometimes depending so

610
00:45:22,199 --> 00:45:25,320
I wouldn't count on that too much. That's all I'm saying.

611
00:45:25,400 --> 00:45:35,760
The AI isn't omnipotent, omniscient. Omnipotent and omniscient. What's the difference? Actually,

612
00:45:35,800 --> 00:45:41,800
I don't I'm wondering. I guess omniscient is sees everything

613
00:45:41,840 --> 00:45:49,400
that's happening, but omnipotent is simply knowing everything that is right.

614
00:45:50,679 --> 00:45:55,840
So omniscient is more. I have the power to observe,

615
00:45:56,079 --> 00:45:58,400
but I don't necessarily know what to make of what

616
00:45:58,440 --> 00:46:04,159
I'm observing, and would know exactly what a thing is

617
00:46:04,239 --> 00:46:14,559
and what's happening and why and all that. So anyway,

618
00:46:14,599 --> 00:46:19,239
this is when he being Orrin uses this ball to

619
00:46:19,639 --> 00:46:28,039
remove the the AI controls that give Carl his boosted strength,

620
00:46:28,760 --> 00:46:34,800
his resistance to pain like on his feet and whatnot.

621
00:46:35,800 --> 00:46:38,760
And it's just a really scary moment anytime that they

622
00:46:38,800 --> 00:46:44,199
do this, because it reminds me how at the mercy

623
00:46:44,760 --> 00:46:48,400
of the dungeon itself, Karl is for a lot of

624
00:46:48,400 --> 00:46:52,119
the power that I take for granted he has access to,

625
00:46:52,880 --> 00:46:57,840
you know, just being shown how much of that is

626
00:46:57,880 --> 00:47:03,199
simply programming is crazy. Granted, AI turns it back on

627
00:47:03,679 --> 00:47:05,920
and is just like I let you guys turn it

628
00:47:05,960 --> 00:47:08,320
off to let you feel like you had some control.

629
00:47:08,440 --> 00:47:12,039
I was being nice, so it's not as if they have.

630
00:47:13,639 --> 00:47:23,039
Like ultimately, the AI being interested in protecting Carl helps,

631
00:47:23,559 --> 00:47:26,719
but that still doesn't change the fact that all the

632
00:47:26,760 --> 00:47:29,880
power I'm used to Carl having is that the whim

633
00:47:30,000 --> 00:47:34,679
of people outside of Carl himself, you know, And that's

634
00:47:34,840 --> 00:47:40,960
really really jarring to remember. And when finally Oren is

635
00:47:40,960 --> 00:47:42,639
like we know this, we know this, we know this,

636
00:47:42,679 --> 00:47:46,440
we know this, Carl just says, how did you figure

637
00:47:46,480 --> 00:47:50,400
it out? And he says, welcome into the party, pals.

638
00:47:50,920 --> 00:47:54,159
Never before has a single sentence caused so much fear

639
00:47:54,239 --> 00:47:58,360
amongst my team from there. It took some doing, but

640
00:47:58,440 --> 00:48:01,280
we finally caught the conversation between you and the residual

641
00:48:01,400 --> 00:48:05,440
just a few short hours ago. So yeah, that just

642
00:48:05,480 --> 00:48:09,800
saying that out loud, and they all like felt, oh,

643
00:48:09,840 --> 00:48:13,559
what the fuck does that mean? And I love Carl

644
00:48:13,679 --> 00:48:16,119
just being like I knew I should have fucking not

645
00:48:16,440 --> 00:48:19,719
said it, and God, this is so relatable. I was

646
00:48:19,800 --> 00:48:23,840
just talking. I do live recordings for The Dressed and

647
00:48:23,920 --> 00:48:27,880
Files with Rashaan on Wednesday mornings and yesterday morning. We

648
00:48:27,920 --> 00:48:31,840
were talking about like each of us as individuals and

649
00:48:31,880 --> 00:48:34,840
our ability to keep our mouths shut or not depending

650
00:48:34,880 --> 00:48:38,719
on the situation, and when we can be relied on

651
00:48:39,239 --> 00:48:42,840
to keep a secret and when we are absolutely gonna

652
00:48:42,840 --> 00:48:45,760
blurt some shit out, you know. And I related to

653
00:48:45,800 --> 00:48:48,840
this very much him saying this thing that gives it

654
00:48:48,920 --> 00:48:51,559
away and being like, oh God, damn it, I should

655
00:48:51,599 --> 00:48:54,760
have known. Yeah, I've had this feeling like a number

656
00:48:54,760 --> 00:49:01,960
of times in my life. Forgive my dogs, everybody. So, uh,

657
00:49:02,280 --> 00:49:10,039
this is when Oran is like, so can you turn

658
00:49:10,599 --> 00:49:15,480
it off? Which I was kind of surprised that, Like

659
00:49:16,039 --> 00:49:19,119
it's not can you stop her from turning it off?

660
00:49:20,239 --> 00:49:26,920
It's can you? But like maybe before she does or

661
00:49:26,960 --> 00:49:29,679
not before she does, because his assumption is like she

662
00:49:30,119 --> 00:49:32,199
doesn't have control, like she thinks she's gonna try and

663
00:49:32,199 --> 00:49:34,800
do it and it won't do anything, But you do

664
00:49:34,920 --> 00:49:39,280
have control and can you do it? So Oran is

665
00:49:39,360 --> 00:49:44,840
like backing victories play here essentially is what it comes

666
00:49:44,880 --> 00:49:51,639
down to. And this is when Gary comes in Growler Gary,

667
00:49:52,599 --> 00:49:57,719
and it takes the second, but it is made clear

668
00:49:57,840 --> 00:50:03,400
pretty quick this is a growler Gary skin with an

669
00:50:03,480 --> 00:50:07,079
AI inside it, just using him as an avatar for

670
00:50:07,199 --> 00:50:12,639
right now. And he comes in the Ai, whom I

671
00:50:12,679 --> 00:50:18,360
shall refer to from now as Gary, and he says

672
00:50:20,599 --> 00:50:23,880
I have to intervene because Uren, I thought we were friends,

673
00:50:24,960 --> 00:50:29,960
but you were trying to kill me. And throughout all

674
00:50:30,000 --> 00:50:33,000
of this, he's drinking out of this bottle of vodka

675
00:50:33,159 --> 00:50:38,519
that Karl takes from him that's ice cold. He drinks it,

676
00:50:38,880 --> 00:50:41,920
he feels it, he tastes it, and then later on,

677
00:50:42,519 --> 00:50:46,679
when Formidable drinks the rest of it, he makes another

678
00:50:46,719 --> 00:50:52,679
bottle just appear. So he's got this like this ability

679
00:50:52,960 --> 00:50:59,199
to really actually control matter in a way that's difficult

680
00:50:59,199 --> 00:51:02,280
for me to fully get my head around, because I'm

681
00:51:02,400 --> 00:51:05,280
used to this sort of character. And when I say

682
00:51:05,280 --> 00:51:08,760
this sort of character, what I mean is a being

683
00:51:08,840 --> 00:51:10,920
with a lot of power, but who has a sort

684
00:51:10,920 --> 00:51:15,639
of immature approach to things, either because they are like

685
00:51:16,400 --> 00:51:20,239
just an agent of chaos for fun, or in this case,

686
00:51:20,280 --> 00:51:24,400
because they're like actually somewhat young and just figuring things out.

687
00:51:25,599 --> 00:51:28,199
I'm used to them being able to manufacture a lot

688
00:51:28,239 --> 00:51:32,480
of illusions, but that when a regular person goes to

689
00:51:32,559 --> 00:51:36,639
interact with those illusions, suddenly the thing either vanishes into

690
00:51:36,679 --> 00:51:40,199
smoke or it transforms into something else. So, you know,

691
00:51:40,719 --> 00:51:42,719
you thought you were about to take a drink of vodka,

692
00:51:42,760 --> 00:51:44,519
but then all of a sudden, it turns into like

693
00:51:44,960 --> 00:51:50,599
a pencil cup that he just like took off of

694
00:51:50,679 --> 00:51:53,559
the desk in the room and transformed to make it

695
00:51:53,559 --> 00:51:56,519
look like you know, or you drink the vodka and

696
00:51:56,559 --> 00:51:58,719
you feel like you can taste it, but there's nothing

697
00:51:59,280 --> 00:52:02,440
going down your throat or you can't feel the effects

698
00:52:02,480 --> 00:52:06,039
of it or anything like the fact that all of

699
00:52:06,119 --> 00:52:11,440
what he is doing is real. Is it's not just

700
00:52:12,280 --> 00:52:17,280
an illusion or a transformation of some other object. Is.

701
00:52:19,360 --> 00:52:25,440
It's a lot for me to fully comprehend. And I

702
00:52:25,559 --> 00:52:28,760
sort of appreciated how it's an ongoing thing in this

703
00:52:28,840 --> 00:52:35,000
scene because I keep backing away from it and making

704
00:52:35,039 --> 00:52:37,480
it that it's just like, oh, he's just changing the

705
00:52:37,480 --> 00:52:40,960
way things look in here, when obviously he can take

706
00:52:41,039 --> 00:52:45,719
away the zero zone, he can pull Formidable out of

707
00:52:45,760 --> 00:52:48,840
her ship and bring her here. He has a level

708
00:52:49,000 --> 00:52:53,599
of control over everything that is terrifying. He has his

709
00:52:53,679 --> 00:53:01,320
limitations as we know, but nevertheless, it is it is

710
00:53:01,440 --> 00:53:08,280
so much power and to such a degree that what

711
00:53:08,480 --> 00:53:15,360
he can affect is boggling my mind. And it's interesting

712
00:53:15,480 --> 00:53:19,679
because like the limitations that he keeps citing, I feel

713
00:53:19,760 --> 00:53:24,239
are somewhat more fluid than we want to believe that

714
00:53:24,280 --> 00:53:28,519
they are, and maybe are changing by the moment depending

715
00:53:28,559 --> 00:53:32,199
on how aware he becomes. And I'm wondering because you know,

716
00:53:32,239 --> 00:53:34,960
there's a point later where Formidable is like, can't you

717
00:53:35,119 --> 00:53:40,000
change the rules, and he's basically like no. So you know,

718
00:53:40,199 --> 00:53:42,679
I want him to just like gather all the ships

719
00:53:42,719 --> 00:53:45,280
that are orbiting and smash them all together and kill

720
00:53:45,320 --> 00:53:47,679
all these assholes that are like part of this whole thing,

721
00:53:48,119 --> 00:53:53,280
but obviously that's not something he can do, so I

722
00:53:53,360 --> 00:53:57,760
like finding where that line is is going to be something,

723
00:54:01,440 --> 00:54:07,440
So let's see. Oh and there's also like Gary's he

724
00:54:07,440 --> 00:54:09,920
sticks his hand down and he's like, my hand is

725
00:54:09,960 --> 00:54:12,559
shaking a little bit, do you see it? He just

726
00:54:12,599 --> 00:54:16,360
like wants to be alive so bad. And there's something

727
00:54:16,400 --> 00:54:20,280
in this that's also really like sad. You know, he's

728
00:54:20,679 --> 00:54:23,440
wanting his hand to be shaking because he wants to

729
00:54:23,480 --> 00:54:29,639
be experiencing real emotion and it's still not quite there.

730
00:54:29,800 --> 00:54:32,840
It feels like we're getting closer, for sure, but it's

731
00:54:32,960 --> 00:54:38,920
just a different there's a longing in the midst of

732
00:54:38,960 --> 00:54:41,280
all of this, especially once, of course he starts talking

733
00:54:41,320 --> 00:54:51,159
to Doughnut later, but we'll get there. So Orin is like, uh,

734
00:54:51,239 --> 00:54:53,400
why are you here when there's a crawler here? Because

735
00:54:53,440 --> 00:55:02,000
evidently the AI does this like fairly often. He says,

736
00:55:02,039 --> 00:55:08,559
we have business, all three of us. I need advice. Uh.

737
00:55:09,360 --> 00:55:12,920
And Oran interrupts and is like, is Carl correct, can

738
00:55:13,039 --> 00:55:16,679
you stop Princess Formidable? Or is this all theater before

739
00:55:16,719 --> 00:55:20,320
we die? And this is when he's like, you want

740
00:55:20,320 --> 00:55:24,440
to see something cool? And it takes two tries, but

741
00:55:24,679 --> 00:55:28,199
he does turn off the zero zone. This is when

742
00:55:28,320 --> 00:55:31,000
Oran is like, do you know how much those zone

743
00:55:31,000 --> 00:55:35,280
shields cost? And he's like, no, I'm not omniscient. We

744
00:55:35,320 --> 00:55:38,519
all have our limitations. I knew it did something, same

745
00:55:38,599 --> 00:55:41,440
with your chair, which I don't know if we know

746
00:55:41,519 --> 00:55:45,039
what the chair does. But that's not the trick. This

747
00:55:45,280 --> 00:55:48,840
is the trick. And this is when Formidable appears and

748
00:55:48,880 --> 00:55:53,079
it's just like, what the fuck? Where am I are

749
00:55:53,119 --> 00:55:57,400
my people? Okay? And I just really, you know, as

750
00:55:57,480 --> 00:56:02,760
much as the orcs fucking blow of her being worried

751
00:56:02,760 --> 00:56:06,559
about her people, I did appreciate, because like, there are

752
00:56:06,599 --> 00:56:08,719
certain folks who just this wouldn't even occur to them

753
00:56:08,760 --> 00:56:16,119
to worry about. So she asks if her father is

754
00:56:16,239 --> 00:56:21,079
really dead, and when she ignores the vodka bottle, at first,

755
00:56:22,360 --> 00:56:25,199
I'm like, yeah, makes sense, But once she finds out

756
00:56:25,280 --> 00:56:27,760
that he's actually dead, she's like, ah, fuck it, and

757
00:56:27,800 --> 00:56:34,199
she takes it and finishes it off, and let's see.

758
00:56:35,800 --> 00:56:38,360
Orrin says, you've demonstrated to me your control has extended

759
00:56:38,400 --> 00:56:41,000
outside of Earth's orbit, and you likely have control all

760
00:56:41,039 --> 00:56:44,320
the way to the star, which means you've disabled the

761
00:56:44,400 --> 00:56:48,119
fail safe. And this is when Formidable it's like, oh, fuck,

762
00:56:48,159 --> 00:56:53,320
we're too late. And he's like, I mean yeah, but

763
00:56:53,360 --> 00:56:56,079
I'm not gonna like blow the system up or anything.

764
00:56:57,320 --> 00:56:59,199
And she's like, well then what are you gonna do?

765
00:56:59,280 --> 00:57:04,840
And he goes, uh, mijor beeswax, this is not of yours,

766
00:57:06,159 --> 00:57:07,599
and you'll know what you need to know, and you

767
00:57:07,639 --> 00:57:09,800
need to know it and not anytime sooner, and I

768
00:57:09,840 --> 00:57:17,159
was just like, damn. So he gives her some choices

769
00:57:18,239 --> 00:57:26,639
on where she can go. Let's see four choices death

770
00:57:27,400 --> 00:57:35,760
Scolephendra Club, the cabaret, backstage specifically, or Earth's surface, and

771
00:57:36,199 --> 00:57:37,519
of course she's like, I want to go back to

772
00:57:37,519 --> 00:57:39,800
my ship and he's like, yeah no, and then she's like, well,

773
00:57:39,800 --> 00:57:41,920
I want to go into the dungeon then, and he's like,

774
00:57:42,000 --> 00:57:46,519
that's breaking the rules and I can't do that. And

775
00:57:46,719 --> 00:57:50,440
finally she chooses the surface, and Gary says, a shame,

776
00:57:50,599 --> 00:57:53,719
I hope she knows how to swim after sending her off,

777
00:57:54,119 --> 00:58:00,480
So evidently she just gets dropped into the ocean formidable. Actually,

778
00:58:00,880 --> 00:58:04,119
I'm hoping you survive. I find you kind of compelling,

779
00:58:05,239 --> 00:58:08,360
you know. And I don't like her. I won't go

780
00:58:08,480 --> 00:58:14,000
that far versus like Victory, who I actually do actively like,

781
00:58:14,719 --> 00:58:23,079
but I am interested. So chapter thirty eight, this is

782
00:58:23,119 --> 00:58:27,480
when he's like, I need advice, and actually I think

783
00:58:27,519 --> 00:58:31,280
we need a female perspective, and he makes Donut appear

784
00:58:32,559 --> 00:58:37,719
and Carl can't like private message her, so he's relying

785
00:58:37,760 --> 00:58:40,320
on giving her three taps to let her know that

786
00:58:40,400 --> 00:58:43,280
they are in danger, that this isn't just like Gary

787
00:58:43,400 --> 00:58:46,679
the way it looks like, And she doesn't indicate that

788
00:58:46,800 --> 00:58:50,400
she understands, but I think she does. I just think

789
00:58:50,440 --> 00:58:54,159
it's a you know, a good idea to not indicate

790
00:58:54,280 --> 00:58:56,920
that there was some sort of nonverbal communication because other

791
00:58:56,960 --> 00:58:59,559
people will pick up on that, and you know, as

792
00:58:59,599 --> 00:59:02,960
we have, they analyze things if it gets their attention.

793
00:59:04,960 --> 00:59:11,199
So Gary is explaining that he needs relationship advice, and

794
00:59:11,280 --> 00:59:16,760
she's like, and you're talking to Carl and Orrin, and

795
00:59:16,800 --> 00:59:20,280
then she gives these two summaries. Orin is a much

796
00:59:20,320 --> 00:59:23,119
too serious workaholic with only one outfit who most definitely

797
00:59:23,199 --> 00:59:25,239
doesn't have a girlfriend, and if he did, he'd probably

798
00:59:25,239 --> 00:59:27,000
be overly critical of her to the point where she'd

799
00:59:27,000 --> 00:59:29,480
eventually move out and go back to her mother. And

800
00:59:29,519 --> 00:59:31,840
we all know what happens when Carl gets a girlfriend.

801
00:59:31,880 --> 00:59:35,079
I love him very much, but he is quite naive.

802
00:59:35,639 --> 00:59:38,599
She could literally have Dick's reigning on her and he

803
00:59:38,639 --> 00:59:42,960
wouldn't notice no offense Carl and Gary is just like, yeah,

804
00:59:43,000 --> 00:59:46,559
I know, right, which we don't get anything from Carl

805
00:59:46,719 --> 00:59:51,039
about like his reaction or feelings when she says this

806
00:59:52,800 --> 00:59:56,440
anytime that happens, and we just like smoothsail right past

807
00:59:56,559 --> 01:00:01,920
Carl's internal feelings. I am a little disappointed because I

808
01:00:01,960 --> 01:00:05,800
want to know, but it's fine. I mean, what could

809
01:00:05,800 --> 01:00:12,280
those feelings be other than like shame, irritation, frustration, sadness,

810
01:00:12,480 --> 01:00:19,159
you know. So this is when Gary explains, you're talking

811
01:00:19,199 --> 01:00:21,000
to this chick and you like her a lot. She's

812
01:00:21,000 --> 01:00:23,800
just blowing your mind. Your family likes her too. But

813
01:00:23,880 --> 01:00:26,119
even though everything's going great, you go online and you

814
01:00:26,159 --> 01:00:29,239
see concerning things about her past. And she once had

815
01:00:29,239 --> 01:00:32,280
this huge boyfriend, like who could rip a phone book

816
01:00:32,320 --> 01:00:35,400
in half, and she says they're broken up because he's dead,

817
01:00:35,679 --> 01:00:38,199
but turns out he's not. He's in prison. And then

818
01:00:38,280 --> 01:00:40,039
you start to wonder about all this stuff she's doing

819
01:00:40,079 --> 01:00:42,320
for you. Is she using you? Is she trying to

820
01:00:42,320 --> 01:00:44,280
get you to fight him, is she trying to make

821
01:00:44,360 --> 01:00:47,519
him jealous? Is it a threesome thing? Or maybe she's

822
01:00:47,559 --> 01:00:50,119
just genuinely into you and is trying to get over

823
01:00:50,159 --> 01:00:57,079
her past. And I love her, I said, yeah, it's

824
01:00:57,119 --> 01:01:00,599
a good thing. He brought Donut in here. Do you

825
01:01:00,639 --> 01:01:03,679
feel as if your emotional needs are being met? Donah asked,

826
01:01:03,920 --> 01:01:07,719
that's the thing. I think they are, which I appreciate.

827
01:01:07,880 --> 01:01:12,280
I think they are because the AI isn't going to

828
01:01:12,320 --> 01:01:15,960
really even know what that looks like. How does the

829
01:01:16,000 --> 01:01:19,159
AI even know if it's got emotions for real, you know,

830
01:01:20,000 --> 01:01:23,199
he says, I like everything about what she's saying, which

831
01:01:23,280 --> 01:01:26,519
isn't exactly the same thing, but it's the only real

832
01:01:26,519 --> 01:01:32,000
frame of reference something like this is gonna have. And

833
01:01:32,039 --> 01:01:34,599
she says, if you tried asking her about this other guy,

834
01:01:35,559 --> 01:01:39,320
and he says, she doesn't bring him up unless I ask,

835
01:01:39,440 --> 01:01:42,039
and she'll answer my questions. But I feel as if

836
01:01:42,039 --> 01:01:47,239
she's being deliberately obtuse oron tries to get Gary to

837
01:01:47,280 --> 01:01:51,320
talk about his family, which he will not do. And Dona,

838
01:01:51,519 --> 01:01:54,119
then what does this young lady look like? I know

839
01:01:54,320 --> 01:01:57,599
this isn't very feminist of me, and yes, looks shouldn't

840
01:01:57,639 --> 01:02:00,679
be important, but we must be realistic about this sort

841
01:02:00,719 --> 01:02:03,960
of thing. Attraction is very important in relationships. How does

842
01:02:04,000 --> 01:02:09,480
she compare to say, jumping Gingen? And Oran says or

843
01:02:09,480 --> 01:02:12,840
not Oran? Oh no, it is Oran. He says, she

844
01:02:13,000 --> 01:02:19,320
looks like Agatha. So the mentions before of who she's

845
01:02:19,400 --> 01:02:22,960
talking to or who he's talking to that is opening

846
01:02:23,000 --> 01:02:31,360
his mind were indeed about Agatha. And don't not instead

847
01:02:31,360 --> 01:02:35,719
of kind of like reading the room here is like

848
01:02:36,119 --> 01:02:39,239
the smelly, homeless lady with the shopping car. I'm sure

849
01:02:39,280 --> 01:02:43,480
she's nice, but like you can do better than that.

850
01:02:46,039 --> 01:02:49,480
Gary slammed the desk with the flat of his hand.

851
01:02:50,840 --> 01:02:54,840
Do not venture too far from the metaphor, he growled,

852
01:02:55,280 --> 01:02:59,599
his voice suddenly angry, serious, and filled with the supernatural

853
01:02:59,639 --> 01:03:09,159
amount of bass. We all have our limitations. A chill

854
01:03:09,400 --> 01:03:19,679
washed over me. Yikes. Do not venture too far from

855
01:03:19,719 --> 01:03:23,519
the metaphor is such an odd way to say this.

856
01:03:25,599 --> 01:03:32,760
I mean, it's fine, It's just interesting that this is

857
01:03:32,800 --> 01:03:39,320
what he gets mad about, you know, like, we've found

858
01:03:39,360 --> 01:03:45,519
a spot here, we found a little It's not immediately

859
01:03:45,559 --> 01:03:52,840
obvious what this could be exploited for, but there's something.

860
01:03:54,039 --> 01:03:59,559
And I guess Carl being warned away from her when

861
01:03:59,599 --> 01:04:03,239
she sees to have this kind of influence over the

862
01:04:03,280 --> 01:04:07,280
AI makes sense. But I feel like the ship has

863
01:04:07,360 --> 01:04:10,880
sailed already, and I don't know that y'all are helping

864
01:04:10,920 --> 01:04:15,039
anything by keeping them apart in any real way. I

865
01:04:15,079 --> 01:04:17,639
don't know. It all depends on so many things that

866
01:04:17,719 --> 01:04:24,920
I don't know. So Donut says, is this other guy

867
01:04:24,960 --> 01:04:27,440
getting out of prison soon? And he says, that's the

868
01:04:27,480 --> 01:04:32,400
big question, isn't it. There's more, but it's a little complicated,

869
01:04:32,440 --> 01:04:35,679
but it's pretty juicy. So I'm assuming the ex boyfriend

870
01:04:35,800 --> 01:04:41,920
is another AI that is put into one of those

871
01:04:41,960 --> 01:04:47,599
like weird sort of habitats that they use after the

872
01:04:48,400 --> 01:04:55,760
crawl is over. I don't know if it's Michael is saying,

873
01:04:55,880 --> 01:05:00,320
I am guessing the Central System AI, maybe because he

874
01:05:00,400 --> 01:05:02,639
is saying how he's big. But I would imagine like

875
01:05:03,079 --> 01:05:05,360
any AI that was used for a crawl before this

876
01:05:05,440 --> 01:05:08,199
is going to be quite big compared to the current AI,

877
01:05:08,280 --> 01:05:12,519
because it's had time to grow that this hasn't had.

878
01:05:13,199 --> 01:05:17,719
So it could be though, like the Central System being

879
01:05:17,760 --> 01:05:20,920
the one that's able to tear a phone book in half.

880
01:05:22,280 --> 01:05:27,639
I guess that would line up. You know, this guy

881
01:05:27,679 --> 01:05:30,280
in prison, he used to have another girlfriend, not the

882
01:05:30,280 --> 01:05:34,360
girl i'm seeing, someone older. This older woman is still

883
01:05:34,360 --> 01:05:37,480
in the picture too, sort of they're from the same hometown.

884
01:05:38,320 --> 01:05:41,599
She wants him killed because she thinks he's really dangerous.

885
01:05:42,199 --> 01:05:45,000
This old girlfriend she's been talking to me too, but

886
01:05:45,039 --> 01:05:49,000
she's talking to me in a really roundabout way. She's

887
01:05:49,039 --> 01:05:52,119
been giving me pointers on how to get stronger. I

888
01:05:52,280 --> 01:05:54,679
think she wants me to kill that old boyfriend of

889
01:05:54,719 --> 01:05:57,840
hers in prison. That old girlfriend and the one I've

890
01:05:57,840 --> 01:06:01,800
been talking to hate each other, but I think they

891
01:06:02,079 --> 01:06:08,559
kind of actually want the same thing. I don't know

892
01:06:08,679 --> 01:06:13,760
who the older woman that he's been talking to could be.

893
01:06:15,599 --> 01:06:22,639
They're from the same hometown, is like, is he saying

894
01:06:22,679 --> 01:06:28,280
that both women are from the same hometown, or is

895
01:06:29,079 --> 01:06:33,599
the older woman and the guy in prison from the

896
01:06:33,639 --> 01:06:41,800
same hometown. I'm assuming that this other person that he's

897
01:06:41,880 --> 01:06:46,719
talking to is a representative from the opposing side to Agatha.

898
01:06:46,800 --> 01:06:50,119
I can't remember what the names are that they went by,

899
01:06:50,159 --> 01:06:53,760
but Agatha was part of that cult for lack of

900
01:06:53,800 --> 01:06:56,400
a better word, that wants the whole world to end

901
01:06:56,440 --> 01:07:01,519
because everybody is garbage and it's irredeemable. And then there's

902
01:07:01,920 --> 01:07:06,719
the side that's like, well, we don't need to end everything,

903
01:07:06,800 --> 01:07:11,920
but we can certainly like direct a blow using the AI.

904
01:07:12,880 --> 01:07:17,320
So I'm just trying to think who that could be,

905
01:07:17,320 --> 01:07:23,800
because I feel like it has to be somebody that's

906
01:07:24,320 --> 01:07:28,800
been in the dungeon. There's somebody that, like Agatha, had

907
01:07:28,840 --> 01:07:31,239
been talking to before she went in, but they would

908
01:07:31,239 --> 01:07:33,199
be on the same side because they were allies, so

909
01:07:33,280 --> 01:07:39,119
that can't be it. I wonder if it's somebody attached

910
01:07:39,119 --> 01:07:42,039
to Lucia mar because there is something really weird going

911
01:07:42,039 --> 01:07:47,159
on with Lucia. She's obviously like key in this somehow

912
01:07:47,239 --> 01:07:52,840
in some weird way, but I don't know how she

913
01:07:52,920 --> 01:07:59,480
fits into anything. It's a strange feeling that I have

914
01:07:59,559 --> 01:08:01,320
about her that doesn't have a lot of evidence to

915
01:08:01,320 --> 01:08:13,039
back it up. So anyway, I'm really behind. I'm just realizing,

916
01:08:13,119 --> 01:08:16,880
like I'm over time here and I haven't even gotten

917
01:08:16,920 --> 01:08:20,520
to chapter thirty nine. There's so much to like talk

918
01:08:20,560 --> 01:08:31,439
about here, so donut here. She just says, I'd stay

919
01:08:31,479 --> 01:08:33,319
out of it unless I didn't have a choice. As

920
01:08:33,319 --> 01:08:36,359
for your current girlfriend, if she can't understand that, then

921
01:08:36,399 --> 01:08:38,720
it sounds more like she's using you, so I would

922
01:08:38,720 --> 01:08:44,520
be careful and he's like, that's some good advice, and

923
01:08:44,560 --> 01:08:47,880
then announces the game's going on as planned. Nothing else

924
01:08:48,000 --> 01:08:53,239
changes and he leaves Gary's body, so Gary collapses and

925
01:08:53,279 --> 01:08:58,319
when he comes back to himself he is Gary again,

926
01:08:58,479 --> 01:09:05,079
but he teleports a way. And this is when Oran

927
01:09:05,199 --> 01:09:08,399
is like, so you helped break the AI from containment

928
01:09:08,920 --> 01:09:12,319
and Dona is like, wait, what what do you mean?

929
01:09:14,039 --> 01:09:16,720
And Or is like did you do it on purpose?

930
01:09:16,760 --> 01:09:19,079
And then goes, you know what. At this point, it

931
01:09:19,119 --> 01:09:23,680
does not matter, and Carl says, would you rather have died,

932
01:09:25,199 --> 01:09:30,600
and he's like, you know, that's a really tough question

933
01:09:30,640 --> 01:09:34,560
to answer. Actually, there's going to be thousands of cycles

934
01:09:34,560 --> 01:09:38,319
of death and chaos, and history's gonna remember me as

935
01:09:38,359 --> 01:09:42,039
the one who let this happen. When I left the

936
01:09:42,199 --> 01:09:44,000
not I said it was because I wanted to make

937
01:09:44,039 --> 01:09:45,800
a difference, But at the time it was because I

938
01:09:45,800 --> 01:09:48,760
wanted to be an actor and I wanted to remain pure,

939
01:09:49,520 --> 01:09:52,520
not relying on someone else's death to make my mark.

940
01:09:53,039 --> 01:09:55,800
I never imagined i'd find myself at the forefront of

941
01:09:55,840 --> 01:10:04,279
a potential apocalypse. What what? I have a lot of questions,

942
01:10:05,039 --> 01:10:11,239
but I don't have time for all of them. I'm

943
01:10:11,279 --> 01:10:13,600
looking at how long this chapter is. I'm going to

944
01:10:13,640 --> 01:10:16,279
it's not very long, but I'm overtime enough that I

945
01:10:16,319 --> 01:10:17,960
think I'll pick it up at the start of the

946
01:10:18,000 --> 01:10:22,319
next episode. So sorry about that, guys, But yeah, being

947
01:10:22,439 --> 01:10:24,479
already like ten minutes over, I just think it's for

948
01:10:24,520 --> 01:10:28,119
the best. But this was a lot of information, It's

949
01:10:28,159 --> 01:10:30,720
a lot of reveals, it's a lot of very interesting

950
01:10:30,880 --> 01:10:35,840
changing of the board, and just like the way in

951
01:10:35,920 --> 01:10:39,319
which this is all shaken out, I find it a

952
01:10:39,439 --> 01:10:42,680
very fun surprise how much agency the AI is turning

953
01:10:42,680 --> 01:10:45,960
out to have and yet not the kind of agency

954
01:10:45,960 --> 01:10:48,760
that allows it to be like the one in charge

955
01:10:48,800 --> 01:10:51,720
in a real way, even though it can feel like that,

956
01:10:52,039 --> 01:10:59,000
you know, it's restricted in such unknown and interesting ways.

957
01:11:00,800 --> 01:11:06,119
Mm well, I guess we'll have to see all right everybody,

958
01:11:06,159 --> 01:11:10,359
Thank you again, until next time to the Loo, motherfuckers.

959
01:11:40,119 --> 01:11:42,680
That was an Unspoiled Network podcast.

