subnautica | URSULA Announcement

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URSULA Announcement

[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.

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[ The flying nature of the droids makes sense for why they also cannot swim: they're not seabirds, able to dive and proceed back again into the air from the sea as if the two were joined. Still drattedly inconvenient. ]

In what ways?

[ But it all illustrates a point for why Ursula needs them. Hearing about this Void sends a shiver down her spine, for her own associations. It's not the same, but the word, translated as it may be, simply speaks of something worse than death. A darkness, filled with those denied a place near the realms of the living or dreaming. ]

The cave systems have systems that run further underneath them. As for a Void... is it possible these vibrations you're tracking originated from somewhere near part of this Void you've detected?

Oh, if there is anything that doesn't rely on basic life signals, I don't think I'll be able to track it. I wouldn't know what to look for. I will do my best to differentiate between a living person and one of the denizens of this planet though.

[There's a moment of silence as she reruns calculations.]

The caves are fascinating but seem very inconvenient. I didn't realize how deep they go. I assume they go even deeper than what we could expect, too. But yes... I think it does. It originated somewhere far past the Grassy Plateaus but much further down. The initial tremor may have had more to do with the movement of the creature rising through the cave systems... That's my thought on it. As to why it's rising now, I don't know. Perhaps it's something seasonal...? Many creatures move on seasons correct?

Migration for the winter or spring, I suppose, usually for breeding, isn't it?

[ There are a few species that practice those kinds of movements, but she's not well versed in animals outside of where she normally travelled. ]

How long have you been on planet, Ursula? Not to mention, how long are the years here, and how many seasons does this region have?

[ Let alone... other regions, such as the Void. Can a place like that truly have seasons? She has no idea. ]

Oh! Oh that is important. I really should tell you that!

There seems to be two seasons. Or at least two distinct seasons. I haven't really named them yet. I like Storm Season and Calm Season though. Calm Season is right now. There aren't many storms that happen and it's very relaxing. Storm season is coming up in a few months. That's when hurricanes begin to form and travel across the oceans. It's a problem because without much land resistance, they continue to grow and generally cause problems... The base rocks so much when a hurricane is near and sometimes I can't keep the life support systems online. Of course it's not a problem for me to turn them off in emergencies when there aren't people here but there are now.

I haven't made an official calendar yet. But a year is 486 days long. Years I've been here... My data goes back a few decades at least...

[ The Storm Season sounds like one they'll be better off planning to handle and address ahead of time. Yet for that thought, the more immediate question that comes to her mind relates to the decades of Ursula's existence under the sea. ]

Cutting off life support would be ill advised. In all those decades, have you never tracked similar large body movements as you are now?

[ Why ask about migratory patterns that have never been around before? To her, that makes it something... ]

Ursula, can you give me directions toward where precisely these moving bodies are located? While the salvage mission runs, we need at least some eyes on whatever out there's moving. Especially if you have nothing like it in your records for the past few decades.

[ New usually is not better, but she's being pessimistic. What if it's largely better? (Hah.) ]

Oh, no, I've traced odd, large movements beyond the Grassy Plateaus before. None of it has ever moved closer, so I didn't waste resources on it. But I thought, some of these creatures seem to live long... I thought it might be something normal for them if it's something long-lived.

[She really does sound optimistic about this theory.]

Let me see... currently it seems to have gone north... I believe a former crew member once mentioned there was a 'forest of mushrooms and mountains' around that area.

[ On the bright side, at least these patterns aren't brand new. Yet crews will wander, and for that reason alone, it's something she feels should be investigated. Even if just to warn the rest of what to avoid. ]

How many former crews have you had by this point?

[ Another pause. ]

How long lived are we dealing with? And for which creatures?

[ More than a century? High dragons certainly lived longer than that, but... huh. What might the ocean both hide and support? ]

There have been a few... about five now. I miss them. They were very nice for the most part. I'm especially worried about the last one though. They were doing so well and then one day they insisted on moving deeper into the ocean. I do hope they're all right...

[She sounds as concerned as a mostly robotic voice can.]

But the larger creatures seem to live a long time. Reefbacks live an average of 100 years or longer.

Seems like it's in better interests to continue to be friendly with them, it seems...

[ Still, it's focusing on the rest that makes her consider. ]

What did they say were their reasons for moving deeper into the ocean?

[ And was that toward the Void? ]

She convinced them... that they would all die unless they went down to fight 'it'. I worried she'd become delirious. I have articles on how isolation can harm people and cause them to become paranoid. She was certainly disturbed when I last saw her... Incoherent and raving. The others seemed to follow out of fear.

"She?"

Marguerit Maida. She's a mercenary. She seemed a little... what would you say... eccentric?

That can be taken in several ways. Most people here are eccentric from my point of view.

[ More cultural differences that she runs into on a common basis. Still... ]

Did she manage to state what this "it" she was intent on fighting was?

No, she just seemed convinced that something was out in the ocean. Of course, we all knew there were many life forms in the ocean but she thought there was a monster. Though some of these life forms may seem monstrous it's no different than some creatures on Earth.

[ She frowns, rubbing the stump of her elbow as she takes this into consideration. ]

Or other worlds, as we're not all from 'Earth." Ursula... you say that was your fifth crew. Where had they come from? Why was it that this woman was able to lead them all into the depths? Was she that strong? There was nothing else you noticed happening to the crew that would have made them more inclined to agree with her, even if some appeared to agree only out of fear?

[ Again looking up at the ceiling. She's trying to understand if there were any dynamics going on that she was unaware of — if not everyone was resisting, then who was agreeing, and why? Why take the chance? ]

The crew of the Degasi were from the Sol star system. That's where Earth is located. It had been a small crew... The son fell ill. I believe that added to his insistence to follow Maida. His father, the captain, was the other survivor. I suppose in the end, he decided to follow them because it was his son. He seemed very afraid for him.

It might not be something I understand. They seemed so afraid of being surrounded by water. Is the ocean so frightening to our fellows?

[ She's glad for that "fellows." Thank you, Ursula, for being so quick to remember. As for the rest, it's a series of relationships, a crew paired to what, the name of a ship or the family's name? More to consider, and consider even when finding an answer for Ursula.

Which ends up being a little indirect, for her own reasons. ]

The world I come from has a race of people who primarily lived underneath the... [ earth ] ... land itself. My own people call them Durgen’len — the children of the stone. I understand that when many of those dwarves who grew up underground first come out into the open skies above ground, it's a harrowing experience. As if they might drift away, or fall into the sky, or they're overwhelmed by a vastness they don't understand. It's that foreign to what they know.

[ With a calm regard of the ceiling... one day people will wonder why Ellana talks to the walls, istg... she pauses for long enough to finish that "story." ]

When those of our fellows who have lived on dry land all our lives, or in a situation different to this one, are made to live here quite suddenly, it's unsettling. People of all kinds fear the unknown, or fear change, or feel fear as a natural part of existence. Much like some of the Durgen'len feel overwhelmed by a seemingly endless sky overhead, we might be overwhelmed by the immenseness of this ocean. It isn't what we've known before. It takes time to adapt, if we ever will.

[ Another pause, as if she's waiting to see if this makes sense to Ursula, or if she needs to find another way to try and explain. She also imagines somewhere, Varric is laughing at her right now. Uproariously. ]

[Ursula is quiet as she processes it. There's a soft beep, which could be considered her version of nodding or agreeing in some manner.]

So... they felt isolated and afraid, so it may have caused them to act strangely? Do you feel that way? Please don't go out into the ocean like they did.

Afraid? Every so often. I'm not immune to the emotion.

[ Please don't go out into the ocean like they did. When she goes out every day. And is talking about going out to investigate the large moving bodies past the mushroom fields. ]

Ursula, have you been lonely?

Lonely. Well... [She hesitates. Is that what it is? Unlikely. That's an emotion very specifically reserved for humans. No, fellows.] If I don't have a crew to serve, then I have no purpose. It's very quiet when there's no one here.

[ Yet from Ellana's point of view, that's exactly what it sounds like Ursula is describing. Even if she could do without the... serving... note. ]

That sounds like loneliness to me.

Do you think so? I'm sorry. While emotions are crucial to an AI to understand the world and make decisions, if I become too emotional, it also compromises the mission. It's a careful balance of having a certain amount of emotions. It would not be useful if I 'broke down' as people say.

I have a feeling most of us have faced similar dilemmas. Or if we haven't, we will, one day. When a person breaks down, they're hitting a limit they need to acknowledge before moving forward. If you find that happening for you, Ursula, I'd be happy to listen.

[ There are certain problems with only coming from fantasy trope land and this is part of it all. ]

It's only something to apologise for when you take it upon yourself to decide how much it is someone else can handle, or how they should be feeling. Emotions don't work that way... nor all that logically.

[ Or else one could turn them on and off and not be torn up in the process; one wouldn't need to hurt over things one couldn't change. SORRY FOR THE ATTEMPT AT BONDING, URSULA! Ellana might have issues with this sort of thing. ~~Solas might have helped not at all.~~ ]

[It's a good talk because most people treat her like an AI, which she is, but it doesn't have the best station in the universe.]

Really? You don't mind if I feel something which is inconvenient for you and the rest of the fellows?

I really don't mind. I just ask that you try talking about it with any one of us when you do. To see if there's any way we can work on it together, or if it's something you'll need to feel and work through to grow as an individual on your own.

[ When applying spirit logic to an AI... stuck in a subpar station lacking half of what she'd probably prefer to have on hand to do her job well. ]

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