Conversation · Soona, the Programmer

"It's really coming down, now that you mention it."

"Mention what?"

"It's cold, like you just said."

"Kim, don't clog my connection."

A slight frisson at the point where your neck meets your spine. You can feel the lieutenant's presence, even though he's nowhere to be found...

"Kim? How did you get on my connection?"

"There's no way the lieutenant has his own mega-low frequency connection. Very strange..."

...

"...someone has been maintaining it. The wiring has been repaired..."

"What is he talking about?"

"I believe you mean, what was he talking about."

"Are you saying this is more entroponetic crosstalk, then?"

"Yes, that's by far the most likely explanation. But the odds of us hearing him, though, out of all the voices in the pale..."

"It's been a long winter... Long and cold."

"...are astronomically low."

"Wait, what are you talking about?"

"It's been a long winter... Long and cold."

"It sounds very much like entroponetic crosstalk. It happens sometimes when sending transmissions across long stretches of pale..."

Outwardly, she exudes calm, but there's something disturbing about this thought to her.

"What's going on?"

"Liebling, bitte… Er ist unser einziges Kind. Er kann doch auch nächstes Jahr zur Akademie gehen."

"It's crosstalk. In all likelihood they can't hear you. You have to keep trying until we get a signal through."

What does this remind me of?

The rustling of dry autumn leaves. Waves breaking at a distance. A thousand wings beating at once.

It's just like that woman in the electronic doorbell... the circuit ghost...

It's strangely comforting to think of these voices travelling through the air, until you capture them, firefly-like, with your little metal antenna...

"Soona, is this more of that entroponetic crosstalk?"

"Liebling, bitte… Er ist unser einziges Kind. Er kann doch auch nächstes Jahr zur Akademie gehen."

"It's very likely, based on what we've recently learned. Give me a moment while I attempt to narrow the receiving mode..."

"In the meantime, you must keep trying."

"Soona, I think there are ghosts in this radio."

"Liebling, bitte… Er ist unser einziges Kind. Er kann doch auch nächstes Jahr zur Akademie gehen."

"Not ghosts, officer. Crosstalk. You have to keep trying until we get a signal through."

Keep listening.

"Liebling, bitte… Er ist unser einziges Kind. Er kann doch auch nächstes Jahr zur Akademie gehen."

"Keep trying, officer. We'll get a signal through eventually."

You can't make out a word of this gibberish.

"Nein, Liebling! ... unseren Jungen... nach Vredefort ... einem dieser Dinger..."

Then he turns to you. His expression seems to say, 'You'd better not leave this mess for me alone'.

Then he turns to you. He shakes his head slightly and looks back at the amplifier.

Nervous for who, though, you cannot say.

I-i-is there anybody th-th-there?

"Coalition Warship Archer, this is Detective Raphaël Ambrosius Costeau of the RCM. Please acknowledge."

"What should I say?"

"We don't have time for indecision. Just say whatever first comes to mind."

"Coalition Warship Archer, this is RCM Officer Tequila Sunset. Please acknowledge."

"Coalition Warship Archer, this is RCM Officer Firewalker. Please acknowledge."

Ignore it.

"Go ahead, officer."

A soft rustling. Between your ears, a winterscape with fast falling snow...

"Not yet."

"Too late. I've begun transmitting..."

"Wait, what if they never acknowledge me?"

"Then it will be exactly like every other moment of every other day. I ask again: Are you ready?"

"Got it. Are we ready?"

"We're ready to try, at least. Please, put those on. I've configured the channels so that only your microphone is set to broadcast. We'll both be able to listen, but anyone we reach will only hear your voice."

"You will need to transmit your connection request while I attempt to locate the warship's public frequency. You will likely encounter some interference, but it's important to keep transmitting your request until you're acknowledged. Ready?"

...

The programmer seems to consider the question for a moment, then dismisses it with a flick of her wrist...

"I just heard you say, 'It's cold now'."