TSAC: ...
TSAC: Little animal.
TSAC: I'm rather busy at the moment. Unless you have something to show me, please leave.
TSAC: ...
TSAC: Ah, a pearl. Where did you find this one, I wonder? Hopefully you didn't take it from my Data Archives.
TSAC: ...
TSAC: This one appears to be from my city. You seem to be spending a lot of time in Zenith, considering your last pearl was also from there.
TSAC: Hm... this contains another data buffer from a dying citizen ID drone. I suppose it makes sense that so many drones malfunctioned, considering their owners were no longer around to maintain them.
TSAC: The drone this data is from belonged to an individual named Six Motes, Ten Tranquil Mists. Aside from basic census data, I can't find any more information about them in my archives. They must not have interacted with me or the House of Spheres at any point.
TSAC: There's a section of discernible audio here... I'll repeat it out loud for you.
...
???: Ouch!
...
???: Damn blackouts. They always catch me off guard.
???: Greetings, Mists! Can't sleep?
Ten Tranquil Mists: Agh!!! Three Winds, is that you? Void below, don't scare me like that!
Fourteen Flowers in Three Winds: Hah! If you don't want to be startled by figures in the dark, perhaps you shouldn't be wandering the streets late at night.
TTM: Speak for yourself. I'm not the only one out past midnight.
TW: At least I have a proper excuse!
TTM: Late night nectar cravings?
TW: Ha, not tonight. Come, follow me.
TTM: Where?
TW: Up! I was just about to climb up to the roof. You should join me.
TTM: To do what?
TW: You'll see!
...
TTM: And there he goes.
TTM: ...well, if I go home I know I won't be able to sleep. I might as well climb up ten flights of stairs. [sigh]
...
...
...
TW: There you are! I was beginning to think you'd just up and left.
TTM: huff... no... huff... of course not...
TW: Come, sit.
...
[rustling]
TTM: What's that glowing thing you've got?
TW: Sliced lilypuck! They're fresh! Here, try one.
...
TTM: A bit too sweet for me. What, did you dip this in nectar?
TW: Maybe!
...
TTM: You still haven't told me why you climbed all the way up here. And late at night, no less.
TW: Look! You can see the Spires clearly from up here.
TTM: So? You can see them much more easily in the daytime.
TW: That right there!
TTM: Hm?
TW: You're not looking! Blink and you'll miss it.
...
TTM: What, that green light?
TW: Yes!
TTM: What's so special about that?
TW: Do you know what that is?
TTM: Well, it's coming from the Spires, so I guess it's something those stuffy old scholars are amusing themselves with late at night. I never paid too much attention. This late at night I'm usually staring down at the ground so I don't trip on things in the dark. There's only so far ahead you can see with such a dim lantern...
TW: A friend of mine who interns at the Institute explained it to me once. Those lights are called laser guide stars, and they help calibrate the telescopes!
TTM: Ah, so it is the scholars after all.
TW: Not quite! Those lights are actually the iterator!
TTM: The iterator?
TW: Yes! Three Stars Above Clouds controls the telescopes. And the lasers, too. If you watch the laser beams, you can tell where the iterator is looking!
TTM: Looks like they're pretty busy.
TW: Yes. They have a lot of work to do, I'm sure.
...
TTM: ... have you ever met the iterator?
TW: Not personally, no. Though, I was once fortunate enough to attend one of their public lectures.
TTM: And? What were they like?
TW: Three Stars Above Clouds is very intelligent. Though, I guess one can assume that about an iterator. They appeared to be very passionate as well, but they were also... distant.
TTM: Distant? In what way?
TW: I'm not sure how to describe it. They speak just like you or I, but there's something... missing... behind their words.
TTM: What do you mean, "missing"?
TW: I... mean no offense to the iterator, but their behavior seemed... artificial. Detached.
TW: An iterator's mind is nothing like our own, their thoughts enigmatic and unknowably complex. Their manner of speech seemed almost like a mimicry, an attempt to impersonate something they are not.
...
TTM: What does this have to do with the lights?
TW: I suppose the lights are a reminder that, despite our differences, we're both looking at the same night sky.
TW: Your eyes should be sufficiently dark adapted now, look up.
...
TTM: Oh, wow.
TW: That's the reason for the nightly blackouts. It's not just the House of Spheres trying to inconvenience us all; without the streetlights, you can see the stars with incredible clarity.
TTM: ...
TW: That cloudy thing up there is the Great River. It wraps all around the sky.
TTM: ... I guess I can understand why people would stay up late to see this.
TW: Iterators might be nothing like us, but I think a fascination with the night sky is something we both share. When I sit up here, I like to think that we're stargazing together.
TTM: The Iterator probably has no idea you're even up here, you know.
TW: I wouldn't be so sure. Hello!
TTM: Wh- who are you talking to?
TW: Ha! There was an overseer looking over your shoulder. It's gone now. Maybe Three Stars is feeling shy.~
TTM: You need to stop scaring me like that, Winds.
TW: And you need to stop wandering around at night all alone! Come, I'll help you back to your block. I can tell you're tired now.
TTM: Hmph.
TTM: ... I guess this did help. Thanks.
...
TSAC: The planned blackouts in my city were a nightly occurrence. They allowed me to collect data without the interference of light pollution. The blackouts were supposed to occur when the majority of the population was meant to be asleep, but I suppose that didn't stop some of them from walking around at night.
TSAC: The House of Spheres received many complaints about this; some cited the darkness as inconvenient or even dangerous. Streetlights were turned off, lights in homes dimmed, and citizens walking the streets were required to use the dimmest settings on the lanterns of their drones. Very few of the complaints ever made their way to me; the House of Spheres usually attempted to respond to them as professionally as possible.
TSAC: Despite the pushback, many enjoyed the opportunity to see the stars. Some would even visit Zenith specifically for this purpose.
TSAC: My city is eternally dark, now. There's no need to light the streets if my citizens are gone.
TSAC: That said, I would advise against wandering around my streets at night, little animal. You never know what could be lurking in the dark.
TSAC: ...now then, I have work I must attend to. Farewell.
TSAC: ...
TSAC: ...and stay safe.