This Inevitable Ruin, Volteeg-Chapter 39

Matt Deniman, how dare you who hurt you capitalism? I have asked this question before, I've answered it before, and yet Welcome to spoil Me. Welcome to the show everyone. I am Natasha. Thank you very much to Michael for commissioning this episode. Michael's here in the chat with me. Hi, Michael, appreciate you being here. I should probably do some sort of like super cut of every time that I mention how he's been hurt by capitalism. But that does sound like a lot of work, having to go and find

those moments again. What can you do? I can't tell you, guys, how sad the Voltigue chapter made me. I can't express how I like recoiled mentally from it. It's crazy to me how in a moment like this, how my brain refuses to absorb fully. So I then wind up having to go back and re listen because I was like dissociating while I was listening and not absorbing it. And it's like very ironic that the whole thing is that I don't want to hear it, but this makes me

have to go hear it twice, very annoying. So I just I am feeling myself getting emotional just like thinking about it. So the first sentence is Voltigue did not consider himself worthy of love. Mistress hens Barr had loved him, of course, she'd loved him, and he'd failed her. Before the dungeon, they were the best of friends. She'd kept his cage clean, had him to perch on her shoulder

while she went to the market. Voltigue had limited memories of these times before the pet biscuit, but he remembered biting the shop keeper's finger one day when he'd tried to feed him a berry. It had been an accident, the shopkeeper had been angry he'd bled. Mistress hens Bar had been mad too, but that night she'd still patted him on the head and scretched under his wing and turned up the fire in the hearth just how he

liked it. She said it was okay, that it wasn't his fault, and that Voltigu loved Barry so much he had bitten a shopkeeper in his enthusiasm, which was true. Mistress Hen's bar had understood him, she loved him, and because she loved him, she would protect him even when he made mistakes. You guys, you guys, I swear to God, I can't. I can't. So she winds up getting killed.

But he was given a pet biscuit. And it's unclear to me because like it seems she was a crawler and that she was actually like the pet biscuit was for him the like I don't think that an MPC gets a pet biscuit that can transform a hat, right, Like, I don't feel like that makes sense. So all of these memories that he is having about this, like, you know, this is all the before times, before the crawl actually happened. This is how I'm understanding it. Please correct me if

I'm like not getting it, you know. And so the pet biscuit doesn't have the kind of effect that it has on donut where she is able to fully become like self aware and speak, you know, in a much

more precise way. It's like he has given intelligence and he can speak some but it's not like an immediate effect, and it's over time and the passage of all of these experiences that he's like, it's not that he doesn't know what happened or that he doesn't have memory of it, but it's just that the processing for him is very different. So he's you know, she dies via a crossbow bolt, and he feels like he should have done something to

keep her from being killed. And I know that it's not the same situation because obviously they were together in the before times. But I do wonder sometimes, like considering how attached Mango has become to Donut, what Mango would do if Donut died. I'm gonna set aside what Donut would do if Carl died, because their relationship is a very different dynamic than Voltigu's was, because he really was a pet for a majority of the Dungeon. It seems like in a way that Donut stopped being as soon

as she had that pet biscuit, you know. So there's this mention of her dying and that that fear turned to rage and that's when the cookbook came to him. It's really interesting because it sounds as if it's the rage that triggers receipt of it. And with Carl the way that it appeared, it was an option in these items that he could choose between, so it didn't just

come to him. He had to pick it, which I am curious about, like the mechanics of this and whether this is always the case, because you know, the cookbook came to him, is all it says, and there's no real details about that, so I am wondering about just how. And we also find out that like he gets the cookbook, but he doesn't see the hidden messages for a couple floors, and by the time he notices, he kind of feels like, well,

this is just useless to me. Now at the very end of the ninth floor, as the orc armies roared in victory, did he find make his one and only entry into the book? If we have seen that entry, and I feel like we have because this name is ringing a bell. I don't remember what it is. I don't I don't know if it's okay for you guys to tell me. There's plenty of things that it's sort

of like. The point is that the reader will have forgotten by the time we get there, like Nicholas Flamel, you know, so I don't want y'all to remind me if it's the sort of thing that like, it's more fun if I can't remember. But I did. I did want to mention Kse I am supposed to remember, Michael says. I think it was probably similar to what Bianca the hell Goat got, probably made him stronger and gave him a bit more intelligence, but not full human like sentience.

An option that was glinting like a key item in a video game. Yes, which also is what happened with another item with And that was what Carl like, he remembered this effect on an object that I think it was the uh was it the little figure in the glass box? I can't remember. I feel like that's it. That was oh man. The basically it's the same kind of creature as what uh, oh my god, what is

his name? Guys? I keep wanting to say, Bastion. Why it's uh, you know, tiger man, and he has all those beanie baby things, and Carl has like an epic version of that that. I think it had that same effect on it when he was looking at it. But anyway, upon exit he'd found the Outreach Guild, suddenly the magical properties of his adopted race didn't work anymore, not outside the dungeon. That was something they didn't tell you. When you changed your body, They changed you and they couldn't

change you. Excuse me, is that still true? Or was that only true for him? That's insane. I didn't know that this was something that you just couldn't change back at all. I had no idea. I don't know what I thought was going on, but I just didn't think that it was like simply not an option, and the fact that there are going to be properties to your body that you've chosen that only work in the dungeon,

and then those are taken away. So it's not just that you're changing permanently, but you're also taking on a form that has distinct advantages, and then those advantages are gone, So you're winding up with like a non functional body in certain ways, which is just so fucked up. His entry, Michael says, wasn't back in the Butcher masquerade. I miss her. I miss her so goddamn much. Is it worth it to survive this place with her gone? No? No, I don't think it is. Right before Miriam dom sad chapter,

which is very fitting now that we know who Foltigue is. Yes, okay, that makes sense. So anyway, he gets this thankless, shitty job and he uh is just kind of like sleepwalking

through this life that he doesn't really even want. His two partners and only real friends were a wheelchair bound gin and a former human cave fairy who could no longer fly and would get severe burns if she was exposed too long to most UV light, which is just fucked Like can you imagine you choose a fairy and then you are stuck in that but you can't fly anymore? Like how worthless? I'd be so pissed. Oh my god, y'all.

There's like so much about this whole thing that of course is disgusting, But there's something about finding this out now that really just you know what I'm saying, It's just every new thing I find out is so gross to a new level. And it's because of the effects that like go beyond the dungeon. The dungeon itself is

so terrible. But then to find out that these choices have this ripple effect of consequence that nobody warns them about, which of course they're not going to because for the most part they're gonna think that you aren't going to survive. But also you want to make deals with them if you know so the ideally, I guess the idea is, we're going to hope that you pick a body that makes you so vulnerable because you can't do anything once you're out of here, that you'll take whatever job and

whatever shitty treatment because you have so few options. Is really like I think the long con here, right. So he's here on the surface now, Weeper Commander Voltigue for the Operatic Collective. His racial abilities had thankfully been returned to him, and he hadn't been dragged away to the Bone Clan like all the other former Crawler turned mercenaries.

Fatigue had entered the dungeon as a pet that gave him a slightly different designation on the form, and someone working for the Pacifist network embedded deep in the bureaucratic quagmire, had changed the code on that designation to make it appear as if he was something else. They thought he was a former indenture like the Bobkas and so many others, not a crawler, just another refugee, which we still don't really know all about the Bobkas either, so that's interesting.

He didn't know for certain what had happened to the segregated former crawlers who'd been stupid enough to get themselves back in the dungeon on the wrong side of the fight, but Voltigue thought it was pretty damned obvious King Rust had suddenly jumped several levels. The purpose of the Ring of Divine Suffering was to raise stats, not levels, but that's what happened when you fed it anyway. I just

that's so gross. It's so gross. It's so disgusting. You have to help, but you have to do it in a way where nobody will ever know it was you if they suspect a former crawler is involved, though, purge the mercenaries of the few former crawlers amongst them. For all his brilliance, Porthos had underestimated the brutality of the trapped warlords. The former Crawlers were dead before Voltigue was

ever discovered. It was too late for them, and he's just watching King Rust get murdered by Rosetta, and it's just like, Wow, he killed all those guys to level up and then look did nothing for him fucking dead. Which this is so like the bitterness of this moment, in the satisfaction, you know, there's just this awful mixture. I absolutely I think this might be one of the

most devastating new povs we've gotten. And when I say new POV, I recognize that this isn't like it is, but oftentimes that sort of implies it's a permanent thing. But you know what I'm saying, Like, we have been in a lot of awful former Crawler minds and seen some history and whatnot, but this is different. This is just something different. So we get you know, Stalwart being like what's happening and them being like, your father's dead and if you hadn't stayed behind like a little bitch,

maybe you'd know that, but no, you didn't. And we find out about like Princess Formidable and what she told them, which is very funny considering that it seems the world won't be ending, so she's just destroyed their business for no reason, which is just life comes at you fast, doesn't it. Their only hope was to break the Princess posse. Now, while they had some semblance of unity, and they'd been so confident, even cowardly, Hortense himself had come along being

pulled on a flat litter, and I liked this. The operatics had likely done a cost benefit analysis and saw they'd achieve a point zero one percent profit if he came in person. So that's what they did, which, like, is it when you read it in a way, it sounds like a joke, But this is the way things work. It genuinely is like, you know, it's very literal, and it's easy to be like, oh yeah, jeez and sort of roll your up, but like, this isn't a joke.

So he's named new leader of the block, which is being disputed by Stalwart, and as leader, he says, I guess we attack, which is like, wow, what leadership. So they begin to head forward and Voltigue looks around make sure that you know, he's going to be positioned in the right place, and he pushes this button to listen to some mozart piano because Foltigue's new race can't really sing the race he had picked like that he couldn't sing.

After having been a songbird is devastating to him. Music is just a big deal, and that that was part of what also like fucking hit me with this, I swear to God. And the way that he has been conscripted to do this is Porthos saying to him like, it is not too late for you to do something about her death. You don't have to feel this shame. You can still do something. So he goes into the midst of the army and they're like, dude, what are you doing. What's happening? Did you, like, is your tank

fucked up or something? And he's just like, yeah, well, and he smokes a blitztick and says, show me mistress hens bar. So that's like his last you know, moment of being alive, is like reaching for the past, still never having let go, you know. And he blows it up. And when I say blows it up, this is not a normal like it. He takes out according to this like little descriptor ten thousand fellow soldiers with a single blast,

which is bonkers. I can't like, that's bananas, and I can't help but be like, I hate that you were so prepared to take a suicide mission. I hate that you were in this state, but thank you, you know, And I have to imagine that's why Rosetta is crying later. But it may be about the money too for her. Maybe that's it. I could be a combo. I don't know, but yeah, this is just so it's just so devastating, y'all.

Oh God, Michael says, this poorthous guy was clearly planning far far ahead, and it sounds like he didn't let Tippet or Rosetta or anyone else know about Voltigue, or at least they were smart enough to not let anything slip. He had the ace in the hole that might have helped them survive a seemingly insurmountable situation, Planted a long time in advance, his line to Voltigue did ping. My uh oh, is he a manipulative bastard with his own agenda beyond what we know? Sense though? You mean like

that it's not too late to do something. It's like it's one of those things where I can see it being a manipulation tactic, but it's also so literally true, and this is doing something and it's like a profound something honestly that I don't know. Manipulation doesn't necessarily have to be a lie, So I guess, you know, Michael says, talking someone into a suicide mission always makes me raise

an eyebrow, even if it's for a good cause. That's sort of the uh, the like odd quality about it is like we don't know exactly what it was that he was proposed from the start. I could see this guy being the one to be like, I'll go I'll fucking die if it means taking them out, and like coming up with this idea himself as they begin to

put forth here's what we're thinking of doing. It's it's such a tricky you know, it's I think about it a lot because when it's part of why I'm like the state, the mental state that he was in is it's not a fair place to be when you make this kind of choice. But also nothing about any of this is fair, And I don't know is it, Like is exploiting that okay when it's for a cause? Like that's a constant repeating theme in this story is like

when is it okay? And when not? How desperate do you have to be and what does it cost you? And like, you know, regarding the children getting involved, you know, It's just it's a really it's a blurry, weird line. And I almost feel like there's no other way this guy could die that would that he would feel like there was any meaning to his life. I could see that being almost an act of mercy for him. You're like, look, you're going to die, but clearly you don't seem to

want to be alive anymore. And what if I told you you would not only die, but you would find like a tiny bit of peace perhaps in the moment before because you fucked them hard. And that's really really fucking compelling, man, you know, when you've been through what this guy has been through. So and also the fact that like he wasn't even a person to start off with. So he's here because the pet Biscuit did something to him that he didn't choose and didn't want necessarily either.

Not that I'm believing her, you know, but like it's just such a all of this is just because of interference of other people and their like brutality and abuse and lack of seeing you as any sort of like living being with agency at all. So we start chapter thirty five and Carl has thrown a smoke mantle as they begin to like charge two guards fell as I ran no not felt they were just gone, like they'd

been sucked below the surface. And Donut is saying that like, we're going the wrong way, Carl, and he says, we gotta loot the orc and then retreat, which as they are heading forward, Rosetta is falling to her knees and is at the data pad, and He's like, what the fuck is she even doing? She has a ring that is like pressed into the data pad somehow, and she tells him I need his head for a retina scan. Grab his head. He doesn't know what this is about,

but he obeys orders. And as they are heading back and she says take his corpse too, He's like, where the fuck did you even come from? Where did this tunnel come from? And this is the part that I am really like feeling twitchy about, you know, is the fact that there's this whole thing that apparently is going

on that Karl doesn't know about it all. It's sort of funny because later on he says something about how the king being killed and him not being the one to do it is making him feel like he's sort of losing control of things and He says it in a way like as comparing it to what happened when she Maria took over his body. As tempted as I am, and I am to dismiss this as you're just a

control freak, Carl. That's just that's all it is. Really, I think what it is is him recognizing that he's being manipulated by people whose objectives he thought he knew and now is realizing that maybe there's more than he understood, or at the very least they are, you know, coming at this whole problem with methods that he's not involved with at all, and he definitely wants their help and definitely wants to be like he just also would like to be at the center of every plan and to

know everything that's going on at all time. And if you really stop and like consider the position that Carl is in, I can't help but understand why, if I'm giving them a big benefit of the doubt here, why they wouldn't want to involve him, because like bro is under such scrutiny all the time, and Voltigu's POV he says something about how like Carl was practically shouting from

the rooftops that he had the cookbook, you know. So the fact is that if you really want to keep some shit truly secret, you probably don't want Carl or Donut anywhere near it. Unfortunately, and yet, because of who Carl is, and because of the way that he has like been feeling like he's being played with, this would not be a good feeling to have coming from your allies, you know. So I understand his feeling, but I also, if the motive is what I'm thinking, really get where

he's coming from. And the whole thing with like taking the money. This is the kind of thing where it's very easy to be like, oh, so it was all for money, but like we're talking literal billions here, so it's not just money in quotes. It's the kind of money that shifts entire hierarchies and power structure. It's a sea change, and considering everything, money is super necessary to

achieve this sort of thing. We just don't We can acknowledge that money runs the world, but when it comes to like taking money, we'll get very precious about it and be very like, oh, does this makes me look greedy? It is like cheapen our cause somehow, and it's like, no, you need resources. That's like, it's just it's the kind of thing where an image is weaponized against you, the same way that like, if you get violent, you'll be suddenly painted as this, and it's like you're fighting back

against violence. That's why you're doing this. It's because of the violence that has been inflicted on you. But suddenly when you do it, it's a problem. You know, it's that exact kind of double standard. But it can be very effective in quelling people or making their cause seem less legitimate or whatever. So I'm trusting that this money is going to something that's like going to be a bigger picture assistance, but it may not be. I don't know.

Even if it's not, I can't really be that mad about it, because, like, whoever it's for, Rosetta's not getting out of here to spend that money. She knows that, you know, So whomever it's for, it's not her personally, unless there's some way to leverage it to get that money back into the Crawl somehow on their behalf, which I don't know how this stuff works, so I don't know if that's possible or not. But anyway, I'm just I get Carl's feelings. But I also am just like, yeah, Carl, newsflash,

you aren't the center of the universe. I know it can feel that way when you get given the button to destroy everything. I really understand how it would start to make you feel like you are the main character TMTM, and for us he is, but in this whole thing he's not. So we have these people approaching that are on these bonkers clockwork animals. This is so wild. There were horse like creatures, but there was one that was a dinosaur similar to mango, a horse size cat like

a panther an insect. The riders themselves all wore glowing, flowing robes with their faces obscured, and He's getting this sense of foreboding as he is looking at them. And this is when Rosetta is like, get you know, get back into the tunnel. They won't be able to use this ladder, and he's like, tunnel, what do you mean? So this is when they all like fall a dozen feet.

My nipple burned with pain as my quarter splat activated, which I appreciate this being mentioned because I was just like, wait, what the amount of gear and abilities that Carl and Dona are working with has to be so tough to keep track of. I don't know how this author is managing to do this, honestly, you know it is like, do you every time they do anything, do you have to pull up their character sheet and look through all

of their abilities and all their gear and everything. Like it's just gotta be And you have to have like a bunch of beta readers who are really committed to and who know this sort of thing well enough to be able to keep it in mind themselves and call out if you fuck up, because you're inevitably going to

fuck up. So this is always any time that an ability we haven't seen in a while, or a protection from an item I forgot he had, comes up, I always have this moment of just like Jesus, how do you remember, I jumped to my feet, looking about, surprised at all the white dots with a green outline from Team Retribution, and they are all Dwarfs. This was clearly not something built by Justice Lights team, but an older tunnel built and fortified by the Dwarves. It was the

size of a tunnel built for cars. Then I remembered what Juice Box had told me. They had passages like this intersecting the entire floor. They were built so the massive dwarf and diggers could get from point A to B quickly. And I'm really like hoping that this doesn't give away a little bit too much them falling through here. She says they can't use the ladder to get down. That doesn't necessarily mean that they can't like track the

tunnel from above somehow, and like collapse things. Just fingers crossed that this isn't like going to completely ruin everything. And let's see. A group of dwarves shouted and rushed off into the darkness as I shook my head trying to clear the confusion away, and they're yelling destroy the heads, destroy them quick, which I'm assuming is the brainworms thing. And then there is this huge explosion that we know where this is coming from. Dirt showered part of the

tunnel started to collapse, blue light filled the chamber. As you know, there's all this stuff happening, and MANI is just like, what the fuck happened? Later on, understandably, Florin is just like Carl was at you, which I do kind of love that everybody anytime there's a huge explosion, everyone assumes it's Carl. Of course you would. I would system message Warlord Horde. Tense has fallen. Credit has been ruled as accidental or a fragging incident, which would be

funny as shit investigation is pending. And I thought that was surprising because honestly, initially my assumption was that, like somehow an AI function was what helped hide Voltigue's presence. You know that the code being changed was something that

the aid. So when it says here like I'm not sure what happened, essentially it could be lying, I guess, but I don't feel like it would bother it indicates that there is still stuff happening outside of the AI's purview that it doesn't know about, which later on it actually says I'm not omniscient and we all have our limitations, which becomes something of a mantra. The Operatic Collective has been defeated. All assets have been awarded to the Bone Clan.

This is when we see Rosetta crying as she whispers and presses a button and there is a like automated thing on the data pad that says transfer approved, thank you for using Colloid Bank, and Rosetta just stands there and drops the data pad for a second and then is like sobbing uncontrollably. So the timing of this is why I sort of thought it was like maybe also about altigue, but I'm thinking maybe it's just purely the money situation and getting back at this guy and taking

everything from him. I don't know what friend this dude killed Russ, because later it's mentioned that this was like a revenge thing for her, which of course we knew it had to be anyway, But I'm wondering if there's something on behalf of her friend that she has done with that money or genuinely don't know it could simply be killing him wasn't going to be enough. I wanted to destroy him and everything that he stood for, which his daughter had kind of started to do anyway. So

what did she say? The bad guys are retreating, Karl, what is going on is Kotchya's is that Kotscha sponsored work. Lady's still going to try to blow us up. And this is when Rosetta is like, wait a minute, what And I get confirmation that people don't know about the failsafe yet but they will in short order. And this is when Carl gets transported away to the Desperado Club to talk to Orrin again and the one Let's see.

I blinked at the wall. The wallpaper had changed. It was now multi colored wood paneling links, something one would see in a high end establishment. There was a framed painting of Astrid, the former manager Kotcha and I had killed it, had King Rust's gore. I had King russ gore spread all over me and I could smell it. I suddenly felt sick. So the Operatics had been defeated.

The Orcs were still a faction because Stalwart was the warlord, not Rust, but still the death of Rust had staggering implications. And this is when he thinks about things being sort of out of his control. And as much as he kind of wants to be mad at Rosetta, he can't be. He's feeling the same way that I felt last episode, where I was just like, look, does it kind of fuck up our plan that we had? Perhaps? But is it also like completely satisfying and her right to do it? Yes.

So we get Orrin, who is on the phone with somebody I am assuming Stalwart, and basically the conversation that is being had is Stalwart if it is him, which I am assuming, arguing that this transfer for shouldn't have been allowed, this money transfer that Rosetta did, and orin telling him, hey, I don't know if you remember, but you and your lawyers were the ones who made it so that this was possible despite our recommendations that there

be some restrictions put in place. We advised that this not the blackout, include financial transactions, and y'all said no, and all of this is completely within the rules of the game. It is fair play. Just because it happened to you and not to the people you're targeting like you expect, it doesn't mean it's suddenly not allowed. And he actually finally just like hangs up on him. But this is when he says, the theft of a few billion credits is simply not my problem and hangs up. So, yeah,

oh here it is. He says, I just hung up on the Prime Minister of the Syndicate. It wasn't it wasn't Stalwart my bad. For the record, Harbinger is here, along with a few other liaisons you've yet to meet, which later on he says something about how Harbinger is gone, but that he'll he's probably making his way back. So there's a bunch of stuff happening that we can't even see. There are creatures that suddenly become visible a little bit later that hadn't been there. It's it's a lot to

keep track of. There's a lot of different moving parts in this interview, and that's all just before even the AI actually shows up. So what you know I said last time, like Carl saying I don't think it's gonna work, is that is he going to say something that gives away or behave in a way that is too obvious that he's not worried, not thinking about the fact that they're going to be monitoring the chats, which in a way I knew, but in another I didn't. You know,

I'm not surprised exactly. I'm just sort of like, oh god, I was just hoping maybe you guys like weren't tuned in all the time or something. I don't know. And Carl asks for Quasar and is told we don't have time for lawyers and shit right now, to which Carl understandably is like, oh don't we Oh why because you

guys are the ones that are in danger now. So now we got to start taking shit super seriously because it's like now important, fuck you, And that's sort of his attitude throughout this entire exchange, is or in asking Carl to help, and Carl being like, literally, why would I help? You? Give me any reason, anything convincing as to why I would do a thing you asked. I have a list of demands. You can fulfill these, but like, otherwise,

what the audacity to even ask me? You know? So at this point he says something about how like we know a lot, but we need clarifying details, and Carl sort of like smirks to himself, and it's like, there's no way that they know clarifying detail, or there's no way they know as much as they're saying, or else I'd already be dead, which once we find out what they know, actually they know quite a lot more than

I think he was ready for. And it's just they're keeping him alive because I don't think they are certain how all this works, so it's possible killing him might set it off, maybe depending on how it's you know, how it's structured. They don't know anything about, and I don't like, I'm not sure how much they can see of the board that he looks at his interface and everything. It's hard for me to like tell exactly what it is. They can observe and you know what I mean, So

I think correct me if I'm wrong. Again. As far as they know, he's still got the button and is still in control in a way that makes him both like important to protect and also really dangerous in somebody that we want. Dad. If I'm not right about that, please please let me know, so let's see. Sorry, Michael says, they did blow a Star system's worth of wealth paying for everything. What better way to refill the coffers than

to take an even bigger Star systems worth of wealth. Well, probably not the whole empire is worth, but I'm sure King Rust had a decent percentage of that money, Michael says. And of course they're going to be watching carlon donuts chance. In particular, they might not even be able to kill him right now out at least outside of the Dungeons rules. The AI is in control, that's true. Is like, the

AI is definitely hell bent on keeping him alive. But the AI was like not letting Victory know about the NPC that had been what's the word compromised I think is the one the word that she used by that entertainment consortium that he had signed a contract with. So even though the AI might not let them, it's not like they can't get past it. Maybe sometimes depending so I wouldn't count on that too much. That's all I'm saying.

The AI isn't omnipotent, omniscient. Omnipotent and omniscient. What's the difference? Actually, I don't I'm wondering. I guess omniscient is sees everything that's happening, but omnipotent is simply knowing everything that is right. So omniscient is more. I have the power to observe, but I don't necessarily know what to make of what I'm observing, and would know exactly what a thing is

and what's happening and why and all that. So anyway, this is when he being Orrin uses this ball to remove the the AI controls that give Carl his boosted strength, his resistance to pain like on his feet and whatnot. And it's just a really scary moment anytime that they do this, because it reminds me how at the mercy of the dungeon itself, Karl is for a lot of the power that I take for granted he has access to, you know, just being shown how much of that is

simply programming is crazy. Granted, AI turns it back on and is just like I let you guys turn it off to let you feel like you had some control. I was being nice, so it's not as if they have. Like ultimately, the AI being interested in protecting Carl helps, but that still doesn't change the fact that all the power I'm used to Carl having is that the whim of people outside of Carl himself, you know, And that's

really really jarring to remember. And when finally Oren is like we know this, we know this, we know this, we know this, Carl just says, how did you figure it out? And he says, welcome into the party, pals. Never before has a single sentence caused so much fear amongst my team from there. It took some doing, but we finally caught the conversation between you and the residual just a few short hours ago. So yeah, that just saying that out loud, and they all like felt, oh,

what the fuck does that mean? And I love Carl just being like I knew I should have fucking not said it, and God, this is so relatable. I was just talking. I do live recordings for The Dressed and Files with Rashaan on Wednesday mornings and yesterday morning. We were talking about like each of us as individuals and our ability to keep our mouths shut or not depending on the situation, and when we can be relied on to keep a secret and when we are absolutely gonna

blurt some shit out, you know. And I related to this very much him saying this thing that gives it away and being like, oh God, damn it, I should have known. Yeah, I've had this feeling like a number of times in my life. Forgive my dogs, everybody. So, uh, this is when Oran is like, so can you turn it off? Which I was kind of surprised that, Like it's not can you stop her from turning it off?

It's can you? But like maybe before she does or not before she does, because his assumption is like she doesn't have control, like she thinks she's gonna try and do it and it won't do anything, But you do have control and can you do it? So Oran is like backing victories play here essentially is what it comes

down to. And this is when Gary comes in Growler Gary, and it takes the second, but it is made clear pretty quick this is a growler Gary skin with an AI inside it, just using him as an avatar for right now. And he comes in the Ai, whom I shall refer to from now as Gary, and he says I have to intervene because Uren, I thought we were friends, but you were trying to kill me. And throughout all of this, he's drinking out of this bottle of vodka

that Karl takes from him that's ice cold. He drinks it, he feels it, he tastes it, and then later on, when Formidable drinks the rest of it, he makes another bottle just appear. So he's got this like this ability to really actually control matter in a way that's difficult for me to fully get my head around, because I'm

used to this sort of character. And when I say this sort of character, what I mean is a being with a lot of power, but who has a sort of immature approach to things, either because they are like just an agent of chaos for fun, or in this case, because they're like actually somewhat young and just figuring things out. I'm used to them being able to manufacture a lot of illusions, but that when a regular person goes to interact with those illusions, suddenly the thing either vanishes into

smoke or it transforms into something else. So, you know, you thought you were about to take a drink of vodka, but then all of a sudden, it turns into like a pencil cup that he just like took off of the desk in the room and transformed to make it look like you know, or you drink the vodka and you feel like you can taste it, but there's nothing going down your throat or you can't feel the effects of it or anything like the fact that all of what he is doing is real. Is it's not just

an illusion or a transformation of some other object. Is. It's a lot for me to fully comprehend. And I sort of appreciated how it's an ongoing thing in this scene because I keep backing away from it and making it that it's just like, oh, he's just changing the way things look in here, when obviously he can take away the zero zone, he can pull Formidable out of her ship and bring her here. He has a level

of control over everything that is terrifying. He has his limitations as we know, but nevertheless, it is it is so much power and to such a degree that what he can affect is boggling my mind. And it's interesting because like the limitations that he keeps citing, I feel are somewhat more fluid than we want to believe that they are, and maybe are changing by the moment depending

on how aware he becomes. And I'm wondering because you know, there's a point later where Formidable is like, can't you change the rules, and he's basically like no. So you know, I want him to just like gather all the ships that are orbiting and smash them all together and kill all these assholes that are like part of this whole thing, but obviously that's not something he can do, so I like finding where that line is is going to be something,

So let's see. Oh and there's also like Gary's he sticks his hand down and he's like, my hand is shaking a little bit, do you see it? He just like wants to be alive so bad. And there's something in this that's also really like sad. You know, he's wanting his hand to be shaking because he wants to be experiencing real emotion and it's still not quite there.

It feels like we're getting closer, for sure, but it's just a different there's a longing in the midst of all of this, especially once, of course he starts talking to Doughnut later, but we'll get there. So Orin is like, uh, why are you here when there's a crawler here? Because evidently the AI does this like fairly often. He says, we have business, all three of us. I need advice. Uh. And Oran interrupts and is like, is Carl correct, can

you stop Princess Formidable? Or is this all theater before we die? And this is when he's like, you want to see something cool? And it takes two tries, but he does turn off the zero zone. This is when Oran is like, do you know how much those zone shields cost? And he's like, no, I'm not omniscient. We all have our limitations. I knew it did something, same with your chair, which I don't know if we know what the chair does. But that's not the trick. This

is the trick. And this is when Formidable appears and it's just like, what the fuck? Where am I are my people? Okay? And I just really, you know, as much as the orcs fucking blow of her being worried about her people, I did appreciate, because like, there are certain folks who just this wouldn't even occur to them

to worry about. So she asks if her father is really dead, and when she ignores the vodka bottle, at first, I'm like, yeah, makes sense, But once she finds out that he's actually dead, she's like, ah, fuck it, and she takes it and finishes it off, and let's see. Orrin says, you've demonstrated to me your control has extended outside of Earth's orbit, and you likely have control all the way to the star, which means you've disabled the fail safe. And this is when Formidable it's like, oh, fuck,

we're too late. And he's like, I mean yeah, but I'm not gonna like blow the system up or anything. And she's like, well then what are you gonna do? And he goes, uh, mijor beeswax, this is not of yours, and you'll know what you need to know, and you need to know it and not anytime sooner, and I was just like, damn. So he gives her some choices

on where she can go. Let's see four choices death Scolephendra Club, the cabaret, backstage specifically, or Earth's surface, and of course she's like, I want to go back to my ship and he's like, yeah no, and then she's like, well, I want to go into the dungeon then, and he's like, that's breaking the rules and I can't do that. And finally she chooses the surface, and Gary says, a shame, I hope she knows how to swim after sending her off,

So evidently she just gets dropped into the ocean formidable. Actually, I'm hoping you survive. I find you kind of compelling, you know. And I don't like her. I won't go that far versus like Victory, who I actually do actively like,

but I am interested. So chapter thirty eight, this is when he's like, I need advice, and actually I think we need a female perspective, and he makes Donut appear and Carl can't like private message her, so he's relying on giving her three taps to let her know that they are in danger, that this isn't just like Gary the way it looks like, And she doesn't indicate that

she understands, but I think she does. I just think it's a you know, a good idea to not indicate that there was some sort of nonverbal communication because other people will pick up on that, and you know, as we have, they analyze things if it gets their attention. So Gary is explaining that he needs relationship advice, and she's like, and you're talking to Carl and Orrin, and

then she gives these two summaries. Orin is a much too serious workaholic with only one outfit who most definitely doesn't have a girlfriend, and if he did, he'd probably be overly critical of her to the point where she'd eventually move out and go back to her mother. And we all know what happens when Carl gets a girlfriend. I love him very much, but he is quite naive.

She could literally have Dick's reigning on her and he wouldn't notice no offense Carl and Gary is just like, yeah, I know, right, which we don't get anything from Carl about like his reaction or feelings when she says this anytime that happens, and we just like smoothsail right past Carl's internal feelings. I am a little disappointed because I want to know, but it's fine. I mean, what could those feelings be other than like shame, irritation, frustration, sadness,

you know. So this is when Gary explains, you're talking to this chick and you like her a lot. She's just blowing your mind. Your family likes her too. But even though everything's going great, you go online and you see concerning things about her past. And she once had this huge boyfriend, like who could rip a phone book in half, and she says they're broken up because he's dead, but turns out he's not. He's in prison. And then you start to wonder about all this stuff she's doing

for you. Is she using you? Is she trying to get you to fight him, is she trying to make him jealous? Is it a threesome thing? Or maybe she's just genuinely into you and is trying to get over her past. And I love her, I said, yeah, it's a good thing. He brought Donut in here. Do you feel as if your emotional needs are being met? Donah asked, that's the thing. I think they are, which I appreciate. I think they are because the AI isn't going to

really even know what that looks like. How does the AI even know if it's got emotions for real, you know, he says, I like everything about what she's saying, which isn't exactly the same thing, but it's the only real frame of reference something like this is gonna have. And she says, if you tried asking her about this other guy, and he says, she doesn't bring him up unless I ask, and she'll answer my questions. But I feel as if she's being deliberately obtuse oron tries to get Gary to

talk about his family, which he will not do. And Dona, then what does this young lady look like? I know this isn't very feminist of me, and yes, looks shouldn't be important, but we must be realistic about this sort of thing. Attraction is very important in relationships. How does she compare to say, jumping Gingen? And Oran says or not Oran? Oh no, it is Oran. He says, she looks like Agatha. So the mentions before of who she's talking to or who he's talking to that is opening

his mind were indeed about Agatha. And don't not instead of kind of like reading the room here is like the smelly, homeless lady with the shopping car. I'm sure she's nice, but like you can do better than that. Gary slammed the desk with the flat of his hand. Do not venture too far from the metaphor, he growled, his voice suddenly angry, serious, and filled with the supernatural amount of bass. We all have our limitations. A chill

washed over me. Yikes. Do not venture too far from the metaphor is such an odd way to say this. I mean, it's fine, It's just interesting that this is what he gets mad about, you know, like, we've found a spot here, we found a little It's not immediately obvious what this could be exploited for, but there's something. And I guess Carl being warned away from her when she sees to have this kind of influence over the

AI makes sense. But I feel like the ship has sailed already, and I don't know that y'all are helping anything by keeping them apart in any real way. I don't know. It all depends on so many things that I don't know. So Donut says, is this other guy getting out of prison soon? And he says, that's the big question, isn't it. There's more, but it's a little complicated,

but it's pretty juicy. So I'm assuming the ex boyfriend is another AI that is put into one of those like weird sort of habitats that they use after the crawl is over. I don't know if it's Michael is saying, I am guessing the Central System AI, maybe because he is saying how he's big. But I would imagine like any AI that was used for a crawl before this is going to be quite big compared to the current AI, because it's had time to grow that this hasn't had.

So it could be though, like the Central System being the one that's able to tear a phone book in half. I guess that would line up. You know, this guy in prison, he used to have another girlfriend, not the girl i'm seeing, someone older. This older woman is still in the picture too, sort of they're from the same hometown. She wants him killed because she thinks he's really dangerous. This old girlfriend she's been talking to me too, but she's talking to me in a really roundabout way. She's

been giving me pointers on how to get stronger. I think she wants me to kill that old boyfriend of hers in prison. That old girlfriend and the one I've been talking to hate each other, but I think they kind of actually want the same thing. I don't know who the older woman that he's been talking to could be. They're from the same hometown, is like, is he saying that both women are from the same hometown, or is the older woman and the guy in prison from the

same hometown. I'm assuming that this other person that he's talking to is a representative from the opposing side to Agatha. I can't remember what the names are that they went by, but Agatha was part of that cult for lack of a better word, that wants the whole world to end because everybody is garbage and it's irredeemable. And then there's the side that's like, well, we don't need to end everything, but we can certainly like direct a blow using the AI.

So I'm just trying to think who that could be, because I feel like it has to be somebody that's been in the dungeon. There's somebody that, like Agatha, had been talking to before she went in, but they would be on the same side because they were allies, so that can't be it. I wonder if it's somebody attached to Lucia mar because there is something really weird going on with Lucia. She's obviously like key in this somehow in some weird way, but I don't know how she

fits into anything. It's a strange feeling that I have about her that doesn't have a lot of evidence to back it up. So anyway, I'm really behind. I'm just realizing, like I'm over time here and I haven't even gotten to chapter thirty nine. There's so much to like talk about here, so donut here. She just says, I'd stay

out of it unless I didn't have a choice. As for your current girlfriend, if she can't understand that, then it sounds more like she's using you, so I would be careful and he's like, that's some good advice, and then announces the game's going on as planned. Nothing else changes and he leaves Gary's body, so Gary collapses and when he comes back to himself he is Gary again,

but he teleports a way. And this is when Oran is like, so you helped break the AI from containment and Dona is like, wait, what what do you mean? And Or is like did you do it on purpose? And then goes, you know what. At this point, it does not matter, and Carl says, would you rather have died, and he's like, you know, that's a really tough question to answer. Actually, there's going to be thousands of cycles of death and chaos, and history's gonna remember me as

the one who let this happen. When I left the not I said it was because I wanted to make a difference, But at the time it was because I wanted to be an actor and I wanted to remain pure, not relying on someone else's death to make my mark. I never imagined i'd find myself at the forefront of a potential apocalypse. What what? I have a lot of questions, but I don't have time for all of them. I'm

looking at how long this chapter is. I'm going to it's not very long, but I'm overtime enough that I think I'll pick it up at the start of the next episode. So sorry about that, guys, But yeah, being already like ten minutes over, I just think it's for

the best. But this was a lot of information, It's a lot of reveals, it's a lot of very interesting changing of the board, and just like the way in which this is all shaken out, I find it a very fun surprise how much agency the AI is turning out to have and yet not the kind of agency that allows it to be like the one in charge in a real way, even though it can feel like that, you know, it's restricted in such unknown and interesting ways.

Mm well, I guess we'll have to see all right everybody, Thank you again, until next time to the Loo, motherfuckers. That was an Unspoiled Network podcast.