un: stanford | voice

[cryptograms]

Greetings, Trench! This is Stanford Pines speaking. Many of you I met in Deerington, and others I only met after arriving in Trench.

For those of you I haven't met: I worked as a researcher of all things paranormal and anomalous in my home dimension, and after I arrived in Deerington I used my experience in that field to research and catalogue the events, creatures, history, and metaphysical inner workings of Deerington, the Dream, and its residents.

Now, I wasn't the only person gathering this information. Several other individuals compiled their own documents on the same subjects and made them available to all of Deerington. Several of the authors vanished, however, and the distribution of their works depended on other Sleepers already having their own copies to share.

Which brings me to a proposal I have for the entire town.

[ There's the brief sound of shuffling paper before Ford continues. ]

Assuming no such other project is underway I'd like to begin keeping a publicly accessible archive of information gathered by Sleepers, particularly as it pertains to the Sleepers as a whole, as well as the nature and history of this dimension.

So, I'm looking both for individuals willing to contribute their own research, as well as any ideas as to where this archive could be housed. We may be able to requisition our own wing within the School of Mutter's Archaic Archives, but it may be preferable to select a more neutral location, outside of the immediate influence of any of the Patron Pthumerians.

[ Ford pauses for a moment, clears his throat, and continues. ]

Thank you all for hearing me out. And if you ever encounter anything especially weird, please don't hesitate to contact me!

Comments

[voice] un: deku

[wannasmash]

[ A young man's voice answers promptly: ]

I take notes on everything, so I'll be happy to give you copies of anything interesting I find working as a Hunter.

[ He's already got the Loneliness apparitions and a Dullahan, at the least. ]

It's a little weird to have purely physical archives nowadays, but since devices here run on magic, and the magic gets... weird... I guess it's a necessary precaution?

[cryptograms]

[ Another Hunter volunteer! Ford might not have to do field work at all that this rate.

... Actually, that sounds terrible. Still: ]

I'll gladly take anything you have to provide.

[ And moving on to the more nuanced discussion. ]

Even when it's not powered by magic, technology fails too readily to be of use for long-term storage. It's useful as a backup, but you should always make sure to have at least one physical copy available.

[ But Ford is the guy who once dismissed a laptop as a silly gimmick in the 80s so... maybe don't listen to him. ]

[wannasmash]

[ That's what team-ups are for. Weird stuff is best experienced with someone else to confirm it's not just a trick of the eyes. ]

I guess data degradation is a thing... I forgot about that...

[ The obsolescence of All Might fansites isn't something he likes to think about too often. ]

If I'm being honest, magic and tech in Trench is still pretty confusing to me. They've got lunar orbs and Omnis, which are amazing, but they don't have a lot of other really normal stuff.

[cryptograms]

Deerington was similar, in many ways. The Fluid devices were far beyond anything available in my dimension, yet the rest of the town's technology was decades out of date by those same standards.

That sort of inconsistency isn't too unusual in cases where magic or eldritch physicals are involved, though.

[wannasmash]

...Eldritch?

[ Um, what?????? ]

So uh... You've had experience keeping archives when there's... that kind of stuff around?

[cryptograms]

Not in keeping them, but I've had to try to gather information from them in the past. One library was so complicated and vast that a wrong turn would trap you in a labyrinth that you would have to traverse for 26,000 years, or until one of the librarians found you.

But usually, it's just a matter of entering through a door that leads to the ceiling on the other side of the room, or books written in languages that give you horrendous migraines if you try to read them.

[wannasmash]

Sounds kind of like what's happening in the city now, with people getting lost. I saw an entire building somewhere it wasn't supposed to be the other day. I kind of overdid it on patrols last month, but it means I have a good sense of direction now.