Fisherman
Laa laa laa…
…There it is again.
That great wall...
Mainframe
SPEAK.
WHAT WAS FOUND?
Fisherman
Nothing new, I suppose.
The water was quiet today.
Too quiet, maybe.
Almost like it was waiting for something.
Mainframe
INABILITY.
THESE SECTIONS ARE CORRUPTED.
I CAN FEEL THEM SPREADING.
THE LIMBO GROWS BEYOND MY REACH.
MY SENSES ACHE.
THEY LACK KNOWLEDGE.
AND IN SOME CASES, TAKE TOO MUCH.
Fisherman
Mm. So the void expands again.
I imagined so...
You are not to strain yourself. You know that.
Mainframe
NOT ALL IS TO BE PROTECTED.
YOU TOOK SOMEONE. OR... NOT?
TO WORLD.
Fisherman
Someone is missing, then.
Or found. Hard to tell the difference anymore.
They asked for help. I listened. Or maybe God did.
Fisherman
...
Actually… there is something new.
I found… another stretch.
No void. A lone island rises above.
Mainframe
UNRECOGNIZED INPUT. DETAIL.
Fisherman
A place suspended just outside your reach.
Ground that hums, but does not move.
Shapes forming. A forgotten prayer.
Along the parts... ancient texts. They talk the truth.
Incredible.
To keep such things near a statue of...
Mainframe
IMPOSSIBLE. NO DATA EXISTS THERE.
MY RANGE ENDS BEYOND THE SHOALS.
Fisherman
I know. That is why I am telling you.
It is not mapped. Not tethered.
It is but to be abandoned. For the reasons you would know.
But I felt something.
I did not stay for long. I will rest the heart.
Whatever it was, I am unsure.
Perhaps, the void speaks too loud in strong loneliness.
Mainframe
A BLIND ZONE. A GAP IN LAND. UNACCOUNTED TERRITORY.
I CANNOT SEE IT. YOU SHALL NOT GO THERE.
Fisherman
And yet I did.
Did not mean to. The tide pulled strange that way.
Felt... heavy, like the current itself was thinking.
I will go again soon, when the light bends right.
Mainframe
YOU RISK ENOUGH. RETURNING MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE.
Fisherman
That is always true.
Nothing here stays the same anyway.
Yet, if someone is to fall... there must be help available.
Until the Webmaster can hold the knowledge to you.
Mainframe
CARE MORE, YOU MUST.
WE ARE NOT SAVIORS. MORESO SALVAGERS.
PIECES. BROKEN FUNCTIONS.
I APOLOGIZE. YOU KNOW THIS ALREADY.
Fisherman
Your worry is a good sign, friend.
Means you still feel the tremors beneath the stillness.
The world shakes sometimes. I feel it under the sea.
But the waters still my mind.
That is enough for me.
Now… allow me through.
Mainframe
TREAD CAREFULLY. THE WEBMASTER GROWS RESTLESS.
THREADS THIN. CONNECTIONS BREAK.
Fisherman
Then I will speak with her.
She listens... in her own way.
For now, though, I crave a moment’s peace.
Webmaster
Ekekeke... greetings, greetings...
You should not talk about a lady when she is not here...
Ekekeke... so rude, so ruuude.
Fisherman
I was coming to find you anyway.
A small island. Thought you might find useful.
Webmaster
A small island, you say...
Ohhh, how deliciously misplaced.
Is it new grounds, or old memory, I wonder?
The net did not whisper of it... naughty, naughty island.
Ehehehe... I can almost taste the static.
Tell me, little fisherman... did it see you back?
Fisherman
Perhaps it will be best discussed at your workbench.
The water has been showing me... shapes further than usual.
Shapes that do not belong here.
Webmaster
Ehehehe... shapes, yes. I understand.
Old, forgotten places. Lost conversations. Echoes.
You know the rules, though... everything that drifts in must be catalogued.
Come now. You will tell me all about it.
Fisherman
If you insist. Every silence has its story, after all.
Webmaster
Good, good...
Come, let us walk the threads.
Mainframe
I WILL SHIFT POSITION THEN.
YOUR PATH LIES TO MY LEFT. SHALL I ACCOMPANY?
Webmaster
No need, old gate. None at aaall!
I will bring back your data. You will have your updates.
Stay still. Keep everyone safeee...
Mainframe
UNDERSTOOD. I WILL STAND GUARD. ALWAYS.
Webmaster
Stop singing.
You were never good at it... ekekeke...