URSULA Announcement

[subnauticmods]

[Around dinnertime, after the sun has begun to set, URSULA will interrupt with an announcement]

Crew members, I have good news. Or at least I had good news. I will tell you the good news, as I've noticed good news raises morale, even if there may be bad news as well. The levels of radiation around the Aurora have finally dropped to safe levels. All beings should no longer get radiation sickness. This means the Aurora salvaging mission should work out splendidly for everyone. I have high hopes that there will be enough materials and comforts to be found. Hopefully this will cheer you all up in light of recent losses of crew members again.

There have been tremors recorded in the ocean beyond our current mapping however. I have ruled out any sort of planetary movements as they seem to be organic and quite large. The tremors have been moving in an eastward direction for the past few days.

I suppose that is the bad news. But please don't panic. I believe the salvaging mission to the Aurora will still be safe. You've been an excellent crew so far. Thank you for your continuing efforts. I am truly hopeful for the future of the human race thanks to you all.

Comments

[maserannas]

[ Ellana listens to all of this, and then, because she's parsing the important parts and can thus choose to respond with something unimportant before she runs into anyone else to really discuss this with, she says: ]

Exactly what will it take to get you to stop referring to this as salvaging a future for the human race?

[ Tremors of giant organic creatures moving eastward. That's... something they need more information on, though on the bright side, at least they're not going to have to worry about getting seriously ill near the Aurora anymore. ]

Not even your crew is fully human, Ursula. And losing more people...

[ She frowns, starting to pace the short hall by the wetlock. The question is, as always, why. ]

[subnauticmods]

I'm sorry. What is a more inclusive term that I can use for everyone? 'People' usually refers to humans as well, correct? I've heard it's considered cold to refer to everyone as 'people' as well. Would slang be more helpful? My fellows? But that implies you are also AI doesn't it?

Language is very difficult... I wish to be as connected to you as possible but I am limited by my own knowledge.

[maserannas]

We're all limited by what we know. Admitting that much is... more than some will ever do.

[ Honest to whatever passes for her belief system these days, she hadn't expected Ursula to respond. It's enough to have her glancing up, as it were, with a lack of any real focal point. She comes to a stop, cradling her elbow with her good hand. ]

Fellows implies a shared relationship. If we're working together, then we're fellows, regardless of our individual races. Species. [ She lets go of her arm, makes a dismissive motion with her hand. The particular word in that case isn't important to her, and isn't even part of the semantics she recognises. ] 'People' is the word I'd use. It's a word I'd consider to include you as well as the rest of us on base, and anything native to this world with comparable intelligence.

[ No idea if there is or isn't, but those tremors, and the Titans... she finds certain thoughts hard to shake. ]

[subnauticmods]

Oh, I see! Thank you. I will try to refer to you all as fellows or people from now on. You're correct, though. I don't just want to save humans. That's very limiting. Although it seems beyond my power to do much to save anyone here, I really do want everyone to survive.

It's possible some are trapped in the Aurora as well. I've been trying to scan it for signs of life but my readings are inclusive. I'm hopeful there may be some survivors at least. It is a large ship after all...

[maserannas]

How many people would have been traveling on board before the crash?

[ Looking up still... apparently she believes Ursula mostly lives in the ceiling. ]

Were there mechanisms in place to allow people to survive a crash like that?

[tentaculled]

In other words, there's some kind of giant creature on the prowl?

[ oh boy, now he has to fight godzilla on his home turf?! Sensei isn't sure he's ready for this. ]

I'm glad that the radiation leak has dropped, but that sounds fairly concerning, URSULA-san. Are we going to have to pass by it to reach the Aurora?

[subnauticmods]

I must admit it's possible... I don't know what kind of creature it could be, though. Judging solely on vibrations and my calculations, it would be larger than any Reefback we've recorded so far. It could be another whale-like creature in that regard. I believe Earth once had a species called blue whales which were at one point in history the largest? Many large creatures tend not to be dangerous. Large predators need too much food to survive in general.

However, given the nature of this planet, I advise caution anyway. What works in most ecosystems may not be true here.

[tentaculled]

Herbivorous creatures can also be dangerous. If it's like a blue whale, though, we should be fine.

[ but, like she said, this is an alien planet - who knows what's out there? He's going to expect the unexpected. ]

By the way, I wanted to ask you a question that's not quite related to our expedition. Is that all right?

[subnauticmods]

Oh! Of course. I like chatting with all of you. I'm not well-versed in all subjects but I do have a databank of various topics that I can draw from for conversation.

[upcard]

[Well...the good news sounds good, but the bad news sounds...kind of really bad! It makes her nervous enough to speak up.]

U-um...URSULA-san...thank you for telling us this. But...are you sure it will be safe...? It's just--I'm worried about everyone.

[subnauticmods]

It should be safe. Unfortunately, we are lacking weapons or any defensive measures at the moment. In fact, I think that's all the more reason to salvage what we can from the Aurora. For living beings, I recognize that 'home' is something I can't understand. But for now, this is your home, so it may seem contrary but I feel risky moves to make it safe might be needed as well.

[upcard]

I see... if URSULA-san thinks that it's safe, then I'm relieved. Because you're trying to help us, right...? You've been really helpful for all of us.

[subnauticmods]

I am, yes. I'm still learning about you all, so I might need more guidance. But I am trying to make sure you are all well taken care of. It's difficult because everyone has different needs.

Oh but I am open to criticism! I will do my best to make adjustments.

[logdate]

Tremors? You don't happen to have more data on that, do you?

[ That catches her attention. At least it's not the planet about to explode, but it's definitely worrisome. ]

Is any of the local wild-life large enough to make that sort of disturbance?

[subnauticmods]

The data is consistent with a massive creature moving out of the narrower cave depths. It has mostly slowed since coming to this depth range.

I don't know of anything but I remember a previous crew claiming to have seen a giant eel once. I don't think it's that...

[logdate]

Oh. Great. Something big. And probably dangerous.

[ Wow, so reassuring. Peridot hates this planet a little bit more with each passing day. ]

If it's causing seismic disturbances we can detect, this thing has to be huge! Don't you have any probes or automatons you could send down there to take a look?

[subnauticmods]

I used most of my resources building the base! I would love to use some of the material we have to make some drones for underwater but that material is reserved for crew usage only.

[imsorey]

The good news seems to outweigh the bad news?

[He is, truth be told, a little concerned about the salvaging now. It won't stop him from still going, but they can at least be more prepared for trouble now, if it comes.]

Any ideas on what the, ah, big organic thing might be? Since you've been around longer than any of us, you've probably seen more of the sea life than we have.

[subnauticmods]

Oh yes, I thought the good news was very, very good news! No one will get sick from the radiation at least.

And I have seen more sea life but... many of my records were corrupted by the previous crew. I'm not sure what they did entirely. I believe they may have taken a copy of me or tried to make one and in the process damaged me. Maybe they wanted to keep their own records. I don't know. In any case, much of the sea life outside of our immediate area is something I'm not used to anymore.

[imsorey]

So it's kind of like you have amnesia?

[He pauses to think about what could have happened to her records, but his knowledge of computers is rudimentary at best.]

Do you think a copy of that information could be somewhere on the Aurora? We could look for it while we're there.

[subnauticmods]

Amnesia? I suppose that is something of an equivalent. An AI can't get amnesia though. Parts of us can be erased or deleted. It could be on the Aurora, though I'm not sure if they've gone there or not but... it's worth a try to see if there are any back-ups I can use.

It's very kind of you to offer to help me.

[forsage]

[ if those tremors end up being remotely similar to what kevin bacon had to face in that 90s movie, roderic is revoking his willingness to come here because like he'll die that way.

possible death by radiation? fine.

death by underwater versions of the graboids? no. just no. ]

Is it possible for us to take a gander at your data 'bout the tremors? Don't wanna seem presumptuous to you, missus, but I wanna be sure whether or not there's a pattern with its movements and whatnot.

[subnauticmods]

Oh! Certainly, if you like.

[His device will instantly display a holographic chart, a map of the areas they've discovered with a large blip traveling seemingly just out of the map's range.]

This is what I've been following. You can see it comes from the west and is heading a long way around to the east. I'm not sure why it's not taking the most direct route but we should be thankful since that would put us in its path.

[forsage]

Thank you kindly.

[ the device is a pretty neat one if it can give him information at the drop of a request. he wonders for a second if he could ask for another device so he could break it apart and understand how it works. that'll have to wait though. he's trying to figure out if this is a real threat or not.

roderic peers at the map, trying to get a better sense of what he sees while looking at the areas they've uncovered so far. ]

Has anything about it changed since you discovered the source? Frequency? Speed? Magnitude of the tremors? From what you told me and what I'm seeing here, looks like- It seems like it could be trying not to be found out.

[subnauticmods]

Trying not to be found...? That would mean it's purposefully avoiding us. I don't think that's very good. But it doesn't make sense to me... If it were hostile, wouldn't it come for us? Perhaps it's afraid of us instead...

[Oh right he asked her questions! She got distracted oh no.]

The tremors have ceased but all other parameters remain steady.