branding lady, meet meek little lamb

[mxglam]

Glam isn't allowed to actually patrol the following day (it's a Sunday), so they mostly browse the 'net and read books. Echo's busy with her family (and she is allowed to go out patrolling), and Lorica's... doing something.

They're slightly worried about the fact that Yates hasn't replied to their email, but it's the weekend, so maybe that's why.

Has she replied to the email by Monday?

Comments

[mxglam]

They do!

...it's worse. While they're glaring at a subsection of the buoys, more buoys from areas they're not glaring at go away.

[thinkering]

"Nope, they're just vanishing behind your back."

[mxglam]

Sigh. "Of course they are. What I'm curious about is why the buoys vanish but not the duck."

[thinkering]

"I haven't told you the duck's status," Lorica points out.

[mxglam]

"True. Has the duck vanished?"

It has! It has vanished. At some point while they were glaring.

[thinkering]

"Ninety seconds ago."

[mxglam]

"Oh. Hm. That's. Suggestive."

[thinkering]

"Oh?"

[mxglam]

"I mean, I'm not sure what it's suggestive of but it's... generally suggestive?" Shrug. "I'm starting to think that my power responds to the accuracy of my expectations?"

[thinkering]

"...What do you mean?"

[mxglam]

"Lemme think of a way to verbalize this."

Think think.

"Okay, so, I'm thinking along the lines of my brain's... resolution, so to speak? Like I said, I can't really keep track of literally all buoys, and as long as what it looks like to me is the same then my power keeps stuff within that limit? And you didn't tell me immediately about the duck vanishing, so I couldn't... accurately expect to be informed of its disappearance. Or maybe it's because you're invisible to my power or something. I'm getting a Schrödinger's cat vibe, here."

[thinkering]

"But if I'm invisible, the fact that I wouldn't tell you about the duck should have likewise been invisible..."

[mxglam]

"Maybe? But if my power looks at ways I could come about the information that my duck disappeared, goes through the bot, and then hits a spot it can't see, it might've just thought no decision would be made, or that the information wouldn't go past that node. We could test the same thing, except this time you resolve in advance to tell me immediately when the duck disappears, and then test it again but make it so some automatic alarm not involving you will go off when the duck disappears."

[thinkering]

"Okay. Can you give the faraway bot a new duck from here?"

[mxglam]

"Is it holding a duck now?"

It is not.

[thinkering]

"No."

[mxglam]

"Hm." Close eyes, focus. "How about now?"

Still no.

[thinkering]

"No."

[mxglam]

"...okay, can you tell me where the bot is?"

[thinkering]

"That way. It stopped when the duck vanished. I can see it if I squint." When she squints, her helmet display zooms, but still.

[mxglam]

Glam looks. And squints.

Still no duck.

[thinkering]

"Look, we know your range goes that far. It had the duck when it was exactly where it is, and the duck didn't disappear until you were distracted by buoys. You should totally be able to give the robot a duck."

[mxglam]

Glam giggles. "I think that is one of the best sentences in the English language," they comment.

And yet. No duck.

[thinkering]

"No duck yet."

[mxglam]

"Hmm... Actually this is a good test of that hypothesis, can you tell one of your bots to automatically tell me when the faraway bot gets a robot? Or maybe some sort of bleep, or some feedback."