Conversation · Soona, the Programmer

"How do you know?"

"I have a theory," she says, as the filament clicks into place, "Lintel was able to divine the anomaly's location from this broken copy. I want to repeat their calculation, only this time with better equipment."

"Watch," she says and presses PRINT on the machine's keyboard, "what an intricate display of failure."

The paper starts filling out with ink, soaking it in a gleaming darkness. Not a single line of data stands out.

This is wrong, machines shouldn't behave like that.

Cold sweat trickles down your spine... This is spooky as hell.

It's the abyss staring back at you.

(Step back.) "Please just... stop. Stop playing with this thing!"

"Huh?" She looks up, puzzled.

"You okay?"

This is embarrassing...

"Nothing, khm, please... continue."

Soona doesn't reply, her hands running over the printout. She's looking for something -- for her morning star -- eyes scouring the millimetres.

"Here," she suddenly says, rising her ink-stained fingertip, "I found it."

"I can't see anything."

"Hold on." She's behind the keyboard now, typing in some numbers that only she understands. The terminal beeps, and the light inside starts pulsing like a glowing heart.

"I'm still not sure it's a good idea -- tinkering with the unknown..."

"Shh... just give me a second, I'm almost..." She clocks up her typing speed.

The lieutenant leans closer to whisper: "I've never witnessed a programmer work before..."

"Done!" Soona jumps up from the keyboard like a spring. "I've got it, I've found the location of the anomaly!" There's joy in her voice as she bumps her fist into air.

"Oh my god, congratulations!"

"Thank you!" she yells back with a grin.

Time for a celebratory drink perhaps...? Just a thought!

"So -- where is it? Where is your two-millimetre hole in the world?" (Proceed.)

"There. In the swallow." She points at the other end of the church where a group of water bowls forms a ritualistic arch.

"Think you can help me again?" She tilts her head, eyes sparkling.

"Sure."

"I need you to go move those water bowls for me, I need to double-check my calculations."

What an interesting proposition! Truly a task for the intellectuals -- solving the puzzle of water bowls.

"Right, I'll go figure it out, I'm good at intellectual puzzles."

"Figure it out?" She shakes her head, grinning. "No, I don't need you to figure anything out, I've got a computer for that." She pats the mainframe.

"Just walk over to the circle and follow my instructions: Move the third bowl two centimetres to the left and the fourth bowl five centimetres to the right. This should do the trick."

What? She only wants you to follow instructions, nothing intellectually stimulating in this task... A child could do it!

Yes, but you like moving things around. Moving things around is calming.

"What, you don't trust my intellectual capabilities to solve this problem on my own?"

"Eh?" She frowns. "Come on, it's not about your brain -- even I couldn't figure it out on my own."

"Can you please just go and move the water bowls for me? Thanks."

"Great -- after we've done this, we can finally get to the island," the lieutenant says, satisfied.

Great -- after you've done this, you can finally get to the island. Let's wrap this up!

"Sure, no problem."

"Thanks." She smiles.

You like moving things around. Moving things around is calming.

"Just walk over to the circle and follow my instructions: Move the third bowl two centimetres to the left and the fourth bowl five centimetres to the right. This should do the trick."

"Do I have a choice?"

"You did it? You found the coordinates?!"

"I found the coordinates!" She lets out a celebratory laugh.

She's beaming -- you can feel it in your heart.

Great job!

"Can I do anything?"

(Say nothing.)

"Just give me a second," she murmurs, "I'm almost..." She clocks up her typing speed.

"Where?" (Lean closer.)

"It's that white dot! In the same place I saw it before when I printed it out."

"I'm okay, just please be careful. Trying to locate a hole in the world might be dangerous."

"I am being careful. Treat it as a mere technical anomaly, makes it easier to bear." She runs her hands over the printout, searching for something...

(Play it cool.) "Now what?"

"Something's very wrong with that filament memory."

"What are you even hoping to find?"

"Don't waste your time printing it out, there's nothing but a speck of white in a sea of ink. It's broken."

"A speck of white?" She sounds excited, as the filament clicks into place. "That's exactly what I'm hoping to find."