~???~
(music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghIl6Bl2ef8) We continue to examine the room, a mood of unease hanging in the air. Nothing stands out to me at first, but as my eyes adjust to the darker corners of the room, I notice something wide, covered by what appears to be a tarp made of cloth. The tarp is lined with holes, similar to the walls and ceiling, suggesting that it, too, has been here long enough to succumb to the environment. I can't tell what's under the tarp just from looking, so I pinch a corner of it between my claws and gently pull it to the floor. Underneath it...
...There's a wide desk. A row of old computer terminals, with monitors and keyboards built into them, rests atop its surface. The shells of the computers have yellowed over time, and are in generally poor condition. Much like the tarp and walls, they've suffered heavy erosion, and a thick layer of dust coats each one. Most of the screens have been cracked, or broken entirely, while one has been left comparatively unscathed. It's unlikely any of them still function, however.
...Wait a minute. How could these possibly exist here? Who made these? I thought this world wasn't technologically advanced enough to create functioning computers? What were these for? Is there a power source somewhere? If there is, then why is Capim Town still so primitive? Do other societies exist that are closer to modern human civilization? What does any of this mean?
Furret notices my confusion, and asks, “Did you find something, little buddy?” She comes over to inspect the workstation herself, and ends up looking just as puzzled as I am, although likely for different reasons. Her curiosity quickly turns into excitement, and with starry eyes, she exclaims, “Oh my gosh, these must be some of those human relics! The rumors were true!”
I'm too deep in thought to celebrate yet. A billion questions are swarming my mind, trying desperately to deduce the origin and purpose of the terminals, though there isn't enough information to get any answers. My brain feels like it's going to short circuit, but thankfully, Furret brings me back into reality when she asks, “Are you okay? You look like you're thinking really hard about something.”
“Do you know what these are, Furret?” I ask, gesturing to the monitors.
“No, I've never seen anything like this before. Do you?”
“...No, I don't either. I'm just, uh, excited to find some treasure, you know?”
I'm not sure if she believes my lie, but if she doesn't, she keeps it to herself. “...Me too! Let's bring one of these back with us!”
“Sure, but first, let's look around some more.”
She nods in approval, and the two of us resume our search of the premises. I choose to investigate the desk more closely, while she goes near one of the corners of the room. Beneath the desk, there are bits and pieces of chewed, frayed wires. It's not much, but it may be worth grabbing some of them and showing the other guild members. Other than that, there's nothing but dust on the floor.
...I'm still fixated on the computers. Their existence is an anomaly. Maybe this could even be the key to discovering why I, and others, were sent to this world? I'm too short to easily see on top of the desk from up close, and there's nothing to stand on top of to get a better view, though if I strain myself, I can just barely reach the surface with my tail. Standing as tall as I can in front of the only computer without a broken monitor, I blindly reach up to the terminal, and brush my tail across the keys, trying to get a feel for the keyboard's layout. Unfortunately, it's too hard to determine without seeing it, so I decide to just hit a button at random.
I clumsily press the key, and... nothing happens. Not that I really expected anything, these computers look like they--
Somewhere in the room, a short jingle plays, causing both of us to flinch in surprise. Both of us sprint towards the center of the room, pressing our backs against each other's, and scanning our surroundings. Nothing is moving, and there are no signs of life. Silence. Warily, Furret whispers, “What was that?”
“I don't know... be on guard,” I murmur back.
The silence is short lived, as a mysterious whirring noise begins without warning, followed by a dull blue light illuminating a part of the wall next to the computers. We look in the direction of the disturbance, and see another tarp lying on the floor, covering a small object. Whatever made that light and sound must be underneath it.
I slowly walk towards the tarp, my tail primed to attack, while Furret follows from a short distance behind me. “Be careful,” she whispers. I nod and continue forward.
The whirring gets louder as I inch closer and closer. The loud sound reminds me of a fan that hasn't been cleaned in years. Eventually, I find myself right next to the tarp, and my heartbeat accelerates in anticipation. Slowly, I lean down and grab the cloth. I take a deep breath... and then yank it away!
Underneath the tattered covering lies a curious, almost cartoonish-looking entity. It resembles a featherless duck that has had its form simplified, reduced to the most basic of shapes. Its smooth body is a bright red, though it looks worn, like the paint is chipping off. Its blue legs, beak, tail, and underbelly are likewise rounded, forming odd ovals. On its head are two goofy-looking eyes, each one emitting a shining blue light.
Even though I'm this close to it, it doesn't seem to notice me. In fact, it's totally unresponsive to any external stimuli, resting on the floor motionlessly, although it continues emitting a droning whir. I try stepping in front of it, but it still doesn't react in any way. Unsure of what to do next, I call out to the strange entity.
“Hello?”
No response.
I glance over at Furret, but she simply shrugs, just as lost as I am.
Just as I'm all out of ideas, the whirring sound abruptly stops, and the light disappears from its eyes. I didn't expect it to function properly, but I still feel disappointed.
However, before I have time to move on, its eyes glow anew, this time white, and even brighter than before. I'm forced to squint and peek at it from the side, now that my eyes have adjusted to the darkness. Brief, high-pitched beeping noises play from the mysterious being's body, and it gradually begins levitating off of the ground. The dust accumulated on its back slides off as it rises into the air.
It now floats several feet off the ground, roughly at eye level with Furret, if she were to stand on her hind legs. Enraptured by the bizarre, duck-esque being, she asks, “What is it...?”
In response, a cold, synthesized voice calls out from within the machine.
“MODEL NAME: (Porygon2).”
The sudden voice startles us both. Rattled, she gasps, “I-it's alive?!”
“Porygon2”, as it calls itself, speaks again. “NEGATIVE. THIS UNIT IS NOT AN ORGANIC BEING. IT IS AN AUTOMATON CREATED BY DOCTOR--” Its speech is cut off by distorted, garbled static, impossible for us to comprehend.
We're talking to an honest-to-god robot. This isn't exactly what I had imagined we would be doing today, but I guess it's happening. But where did it come from? Who's this “doctor”? Intrigued, I start by asking the machine, “How long have you been here?”
Its eyes flicker, as if it's buffering, and after a short delay, it responds, “TIME SINCE UNIT WAS LAST POWERED ON: (476,155 hours).”
“H-how many hours?!” Furret sputters, wide-eyed. “This thing must have been sitting here for decades!”
“AFFIRMATIVE,” it beeps.
I turn to face her, and I say, “It seems stable... should we keep talking to it?”
“Are you crazy? Of course we're gonna talk to it! I have no clue what it is, exactly, but whatever it is, it's incredible!” She thinks for a moment, and playfully asks the Porygon2, “What do you do out here, all by yourself?”
“PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: COLLECT DATA ON MYSTERY DUNGEONS. RELAY DATA TO EXPLORERS.”
Furret looks lost. “Um, um... I'm not sure what that means, but it's probably good, right?”
“I think it's saying it'll tell you about Mystery Dungeons,” I explain.
Her eyes beam almost at brightly as the Porygon2's. “No way! That's amazing! Hey, hey, Pory-whatever your name is, can you tell us about, um... Serenity River?”
“LOADING DATA ON DUNGEON (Serenity River). PLEASE WAIT...” It begins buffering again, this time longer than before. As it loads information, I can hear more whirring noises, and it remains absolutely still, as if frozen in time. After around twenty seconds, it begins moving and speaking again. “DUNGEON NAME: (Serenity River). APPROXIMATE DEPTH: (Eight floors). COMMON ENEMY TYPES: (Water). EXPECTED WEATHER CONDITIONS: (Rainy). (Cloudy). RECCOMENDED TEAM COMPOSITION: (Grass-type). (Electric-type).”
Both of us are blown away by the robot's vast wealth of information. Starstruck, Furret exclaims, “This is huge, little buddy! Just think of how useful this is gonna be for everyone back at the guild!”
I can't deny that I'm excited, but it sounds too good to be true. “I have my doubts. If it hasn't been turned on in decades, then what if its information is out of date?”
“Well, it's still better than nothing, I think. Besides, maybe it can do more than just talk about dungeons?” Now addressing the Porygon2, she asks, “What other kind of stuff can you do?”
“SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: PROVIDE ENTERTAINMENT.”
“Oooohh... what kind of entertainment?”
“THIS UNIT FEATURES (Audio programming) AND (Audio playback) FUNCTIONALITY.”
She looks back to me with a joyous expression, and declares, “See? I think that means it can play music! Hey, Pory-something-or-other, can you play us a song?”
“AFFIRMATIVE. RUNNING PROGRAM (daisy).”
The machine begins to play back a melody of soft beeps and boops, leading into singing with synthesized speech, although this time, its voice sounds different. The song evokes feelings of melancholy, yet at the same time, hope and comfort. It's hard to make out the lyrics, but I recognize it as a classical love song that I had heard before in the human world. Specifically, this song was the first to ever be sang by a synthesized voice. First, the computers, then, the weird robot, and now, this human song, and one of cultural relevance, at that? The mystery behind its origins just goes deeper and deeper... what does any of this mean? How does it exist?
Furret closes her eyes and bobs her head softly to the tune. “What a lovely song. I've never heard it before... it's really sweet-sounding.”
Hearing the familiar composition sparks a fire of resolve deep inside me. “Furret, let's take it back to the guild.” It's true that I was skeptical at first, and I still am, but if this machine can teach us humans anything about our transformation, then I have no choice but to take it.