You:I'm here for my debrief, doc.
Dr. Xlookup:Yes... I read the papers on the journey over. Very interesting. I believe I have an idea of what transpired.|An idea? Didn't you set this up?=3^So, what happened? How did they know where Probalo was hiding?=5
You:I'm confused. I thought you set this one up so you could go to space.
Dr. Xlookup:I can see how you'd arrive at that conclusion. But no.##I had nothing to do with the setup. I merely signed a consent form and boarded a glider, just like the rest of the team. Our island was just one among many, it turns out.
Dr. Xlookup:From what I can see... they >didn't actually know~ the bunker's location. They knew it was on one of these islands, but not which one. So, each plausible island was assigned a team. With similar composition to ours.|Who are 'they?'=6^That's... weird.=7
Dr. Xlookup:'Them' being us. The Integrated Research Link as a group. The global flow of data. The collective unconscious.##Whichever metaphor you prefer for 'the thing that gives rise to multiple independent discovery.'
Dr. Xlookup:In retrospect, it is simple enough. If you have a tool - i. e. a team configuration - but don't know where to apply it, you try the tool on everything. Like in an old adventure game.
Dr. Xlookup:Each island received two devices like Vivi and I, two humans like Émile and Aubrey, and one >utilikin candidate~ like you.##Replicate the configuration, distribute it, see which one pans out...
You:But the other teams would be missing the punchline. We met Probalo and befriended the Adjutant, but everyone else would've just spent a week on an empty island.
Dr. Xlookup:Apparently the other teams received 'placebo mysteries' to solve. Upon confirmation of absence of billionaire compound.##Thus yielding the incidental psychological benefits we saw in our team. Many researchers though they were exploring a new kind of therapy. Perhaps they were.
You:Huh. Well... at least we can go to space now.
Dr. Xlookup:Yes, that was my take-away as well.##Thank you for checking in. Take care out there.|You too.=999
