Kami field records / POSHLOG//
Posh is looking for HAC and CID. I am helping him. But I am worried about the corruption in the Continuum, and I do not think we can do this alone.
I have been keeping his records. Now I am sending them as far as I can. If they reach you, please help them reach someone else. Someone might know how to help.
I can share what we find in return. Some of it may be useful where you are.
123 records.
Morning
POSHLOG//000121
A strip with rows of holes feeds between two rollers in the cavern wall. Each click draws another row inside. I copy one row on my terminal. The Kami shows the same dots. "Good. Now the next one," I say. It changes its dots when I change mine. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000118
Warm air flows past me up the cavern passage. Beyond a broken grille, metal blades turn across the opening ahead. "Wait," I tell the Kami. It shows ?. I bring the lamp closer to the wall. There is a second opening below the blades, almost hidden by dust. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000119
The blades speed up. The draught drives me towards them. They would cut me apart. I pull into a recess. A shadow is coming up the passage behind us. The low opening has a stone floor. I lower myself, keep the lamp close and take it. The Kami follows. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000120
In the passage beneath the turning blades, I check that the Kami is beside me. "You could have warned me," I say. Its screen shows ?. "Yes. I suppose that's the difficulty." I show it the next bend on my terminal, then describe what I can see. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000115
Scraping follows us down the cavern passage. Ahead, two stone partitions leave a crooked channel. I cannot see its exit. Behind me, a shadow comes into the lamp's light. The Kami goes to the first turn. I move after it. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000116
The shadow strikes as I turn between the stone partitions. A piece breaks off beside me. That blow would have killed me. I keep low over the channel floor and follow the Kami round the second bend. There is another opening ahead. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000117
Beyond the crooked channel, the Kami starts back towards my arrow. “Not back there,” I say. Its screen shows ?. I reverse the arrow on my terminal. “This way. Together.” It comes beside me into the rising passage. I hope it understood more than the arrow. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000112
At the top of the cavern slope, brass pins fill a red wall. Some are raised, others flat. The same arrangement appears in the next row, then the next. I draw it before it changes. The Kami watches the row I have not reached yet. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000113
One brass pin catches halfway down. The row beneath keeps a different shape. Grinding starts behind the cavern wall and the doorway narrows. I leave the pins alone and back into the entrance. The Kami shows ✋. I am already waiting. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000114
The stuck pin drops and the next row changes. The cavern doorway opens again. I check the floor, then cross with the Kami beside me. On my drawing I link the rows with arrows. Each row seems to pass its arrangement to the next. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000109
Beyond the fallen panel, the cavern passage divides. I draw both openings on my terminal and add a question mark. The Kami shows ? too. I was hoping for an answer. It may only be copying me. I turn the lamp towards the narrower route. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000110
The floor tilts beneath me in the narrow passage. I pull back as a stone slab drops into darkness. There is no ground left to hover over. The Kami returns across the gap. I cross that route out on the terminal. We will have to try the other one. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000111
The wider cavern passage climbs over solid stone. At the next bend, the Kami shows ?. I bring the lamp forward and inspect the floor before showing it the route on my terminal. It follows beside me. I leave the question mark there for us to try again. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000106
Below the shaft room, marks cross the cavern floor beneath a slotted ceiling. The Kami shows ✋. I stop and raise the lamp. A stone panel hangs directly above the clean groove ahead. I move back before correcting my map. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000107
A shadow comes through the cavern doorway. Something strikes where I was, inside the lamp's light. It would have killed me. I retreat after the Kami and lose my drawing. A stone panel falls behind us. Whatever followed hits it hard enough for me to feel it. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000108
My map is behind the fallen stone panel. The Kami moves towards the gap beneath it. I show ✋ on my terminal. It stops, then returns beside me. I start drawing the route again from memory. We are not going back into that room for it. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000103
The cavern passage ends in a red-walled room. Square grilles cross the floor. The Kami shows 🙂. I start towards it, then stop. Is that 'come here', or is it simply pleased to see me? I inspect the grilles before moving. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000104
A grille in the red room slides away, exposing a shaft. The Kami shows ✋. I pull back. I could not have hovered across that drop. Scraping comes from the passage behind us. I turn my lamp towards a narrow stone shelf along the wall. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000105
On the shelf beside the shaft, I show the Kami ✋. It waits while I inspect the next opening. When I return, its face shows 🙂. I show it the clear route on my drawing. We leave together. I still cannot ask it a question, but I can ask for time. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000100
The Kami's face showed a strange symbol today: ✋. I thought it was waving, so I waved back. It made an unhappy face. I tried waving again. A more unhappy face. I think we are having our first argument. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000101
At the low arch, the Kami showed ✋ again. I kept going. A slab dropped across the passage ahead of me. Oh. Stop. That's what it means. I waited. Its face changed to 🙂. I wish it had started with that one. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000102
The slab began moving again while the Kami was ahead of me. I stopped and held my drawing up with ✋ marked on it. The Kami turned, waited, then showed ✋ on its face. After the slab passed, it showed 🙂. We have a word now. Our first one. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000091
The third wheel in the cavern keeps missing a click. I watch its teeth instead of the symbols. One is broken. Each time the gap comes round, the wheel stops, then jumps two positions. I have been counting sounds that do not always mean movement. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000092
A stone slab rises beneath the low arch ahead. I pull back before it reaches the ceiling. The broken wheel jumps again and the slab drops. The Kami waits beside me. I stop counting clicks and watch for the gap between the wheel's teeth. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000093
There are narrow stone steps behind the broken wheel. I check each tread with the lamp and descend beside the mechanism. The Kami follows. From below, I can see rods running under the red rooms. One is bent against the stone, still trying to move. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000088
The great wheel beneath the red chamber keeps turning after I leave the smaller one alone. A stone bar sweeps across the passage behind the Kami. We pull back together. It passes, then returns. I start counting the clicks between each sweep. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000089
Nine clicks from the cavern mechanism. On the tenth, the next wheel moves and the stone bar crosses our way out. I wait through another turn. The Kami watches the bar while I count. Just after it passes, we follow it into the passage. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000090
Beyond the moving bar, I find another ten-symbol wheel. It advances once for every full turn of the first. I draw both positions before touching anything. The Kami's eyes narrow towards the next chamber. I move the lamp. There is a third wheel. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000085
I've been staring at the pale marks in these red rooms for ages. They're repeating. The same turns, the same gaps, room after room. Then I hear it: clicking beneath the stone, like something counting. The Kami has already turned towards the sound. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000086
There's a wheel set into the red wall, marked with ten symbols I can't read. I nudge it one position. A heavy click answers from the next chamber, and another wheel moves. The Kami looks from one to the other. These rooms aren't separate. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000087
I try the wheel again. One turn here, another click somewhere below. The pale lines seem to connect the rooms, though I still don't know how. Then the floor shudders. A much larger wheel starts moving in the dark. The Kami backs towards the passage. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000082
The Kami fits through the high opening in the cavern wall. I do not. We take the other passage and reach a shaft with a narrow bridge. Cold air rises past us. Above the bridge, a broken gallery projects from the wall. I raise the lamp. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000083
I try rising towards the broken gallery, but my hover won't carry me that high. The shaft drops away beneath me. I retreat to the ledge and follow narrow stone steps upwards, hovering just above them. The Kami waits above. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000084
From the upper gallery, I can see writing continue from one red room into another. I turn my copied marks to match. 'Look,' I tell the Kami. This time it is beside me. We begin tracing how the rooms join. I still cannot read the words. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000079
In the cavern's recess-lined room, a metal arm lies flush against the wall. Its curved tip reaches out at my height. I bring the lamp closer. There is a pale scrape on the opposite wall, exactly where that tip would pass. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000080
My lamp brushes the lip of a cavern recess. A catch clicks. I drop below the opening as the metal arm sweeps across it. Red flakes scatter against the far wall. I wait for it to stop before rising. I keep clear of the other recesses. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000081
A light moves in a high opening above the cavern recesses. The Kami emerges and descends beside me. I have several questions ready. 'You're late,' is what comes out. I move the lamp across so we can both see the way ahead. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000076
Alone beyond the sliding wall, I inspect the sealed door. Three narrow bars sit in the recess beside it. Each carries part of a mark carved above the lintel. I cannot read the writing. I can see that the pieces are out of order. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000077
I slide the bars beside the sealed door until their cuts match the mark above it. Something drops inside the frame. I pull back. The door opens towards me, scraping a pale line through the red coating. I had been hovering exactly where it would swing. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000078
Beyond the door, empty recesses line the cavern wall. Each has a different mark; one matches the door I opened. I copy their order. The Kami is still missing. I hadn’t realised until now how used I had gotten to it being there. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000073
I return to the chamber and call for the Kami. No answer. Scraping still comes from the eastern passage. I cannot see round its bend. The western route slopes down to a red-walled room. Writing covers the floor. I lower my lamp and descend alone. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000074
In the red room, I follow the floor inscription towards a doorway. A click comes from above. A wall slides across my way back. I pull clear of its edge. Behind it, more floor writing appears. The inscription continues through an opening the wall was hiding. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000075
The sliding wall stops, then starts back across the hidden opening. I drift through before it closes. Beyond is another room, with the same marks above a sealed door. 'Look at this,' I say, turning beside my lamp. There is nobody there to show. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000070
The opening under the arch is narrow, but I can hover through without touching the sides. Inside, the engraved route bends west exactly as the panel showed. The Kami's screen makes two thin eyes. 'Encouraging,' I say. They narrow. I enter anyway. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000071
The passage ends in a chamber with two exits. Scraping sounds from both. A shadow fills the entrance; another crosses the western gap. I measure the clear distance between them. Not enough. The Kami displays a sharp-toothed face. For once, we agree. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000072
The Kami darts towards the eastern opening. Both shadows turn after it. The western gap clears. I call it back, but it keeps moving. I cross west because it has made the choice for me. When I look back, the Kami is gone. I cannot see what followed it. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000067
Beneath the low arch, I find the machine from the travelogue. Three dials, each numbered zero to nine. 'Only three,' I say. The Kami looks from one dial to the next, then back at me. I count the possible settings. A thousand. I stop smiling. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000068
The machine's plate says to add the dials in pairs: A+B=11, B+C=14, A+C=9. Each dial takes one digit. While I copy the sums, the Kami returns from the arch's far side and looks past me. Scraping comes from the slope below. I keep calculating. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000069
I set the machine's dials to 3, 8 and 6. Each pair adds up correctly. A narrow panel opens, showing a passage drawn beneath the arch. I thought this was a lock on a box. It is a route. The Kami turns towards the opening below us. I follow its gaze. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000064
In the basin beyond the ledge, the Kami stops beside a split slab. I nearly pass it. A travelogue lies inside, marked //∴ and MOTH. Its sketch shows a low arch and a machine with three dials. I can see an arch like it across the basin. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000066
I turn the copied sketch upside down. The Kami tilts its face to match. 'You needn't agree with everything,' I tell it. It tilts back when I right the page. I leave for the low arch with it beside me. Scraping follows from the edge of the basin. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000061
Beyond the hollow, a shadow scrapes below a ledge wide enough for us both. I drift closer to inspect it. A stone breaks loose beneath my fur and rattles down the slope. The scraping stops. The shadow turns towards the ledge. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000062
The shadow rises towards the ledge where I disturbed the stones. I pull back before it reaches me. The Kami is beside a gap behind the rock, its eyes narrowed. I follow it through, keeping the other end in view until we are both clear. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000063
From beyond the rock, I hear the shadow scraping along the ledge we abandoned. I record the loose stone and our way round. The Kami turns west, but I take one more look behind us before following. The crossing is over. I can still hear it. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000058
The longer route west narrows between two slabs. I hover outside the gap, listening to a shadow scrape below. There is room for me to pass, but none to turn beside the Kami. I look for a way round before either of us enters. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000059
We take the open slope. A shadow's scraping quickens below, and I surge ahead before looking back. The Kami is still at the turn. I drift back towards it, watching the slope until we are level again. This time we cross together. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000060
We reach a broad hollow beyond the slabs. While I record the crossing, the Kami faces the slope we came from. I close the terminal and move beside it. We watch for a while. Then it turns west, and I leave with it. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000055
Beyond the shelf, one shadow keeps level with us at the edge of my lamp. Its low scraping sound stops whenever I stop. I drift left to keep a rock between us. It moves left too. I had hoped we were simply going the same way. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000056
I try to pass above the rock. The shadow rounds it faster than I expect, closing the gap beneath me. I pull back. The Kami has already turned towards the shelf. We retreat together, with the scraping sound close behind. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000057
From the higher ridge, I watch the shadow circle the rock we failed to pass. The Kami stays beside me while I mark a longer route west. I had measured the distance but allowed too little for its speed. Tomorrow's route leaves us room to retreat. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000052
The stones below us shift every forty-seven seconds. I count three intervals before trusting the pattern. The Kami's eyes blink with each movement, then once between them. I begin another count. It may have noticed something I have not. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000053
The extra blink comes six seconds before the ground moves. At the next warning I rise clear as the whole shelf slips beneath me. The Kami was not copying the tremor. It was marking the moment before it began. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000054
We cross the shelf between warnings. I record the interval, then look at the Kami. Its eyes brighten once, exactly six seconds before the next tremor. This time I am already clear. I do not know how it knew. I know I trusted the warning. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000049
I enter MOTH and WHISTLER beside //∴. They could name people, machines, places, or something else. The terminal offers no match. The Kami watches the mark, then looks at me. I cannot tell whether it recognises the words or is waiting for my next question. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000050
West of the ridge, the route divides around a field of broken stone. The lower way is shorter, but the shadows reach it first. I calculate the crossing and choose the high arc. The Kami does not lead. It holds beside me until I move. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000051
The high route clears the broken ground before the shadows turn. When I record the choice, the Kami's eyes close into two small curves. I read that as approval. Perhaps it was relief. Either way, it waited for my decision, and I noticed. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000046
At first light I inspect the far ridge. One stone lies against the grain of the others: flat, dark, and too carefully placed. Shadows move below. The Kami's eyes narrow towards it. I lift the stone. There is a sealed page beneath it. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000047
The page is another Travelogue. It describes a signal mast beyond a trailhead I have never seen, with a note beside it: "listen where nothing answers." Beneath //∴ is a new word: WHISTLER. The terminal has no record of either. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000048
I leave the Travelogue beneath the stone and record the place: ///nowadays.
Morning
POSHLOG//000043
The ridge shows me west and hides the route. The terminal confirms the bearing, but three gullies cut the slope. Shadows move through the lowest. I watch their pace and choose the middle line. It is slower, but keeps us above them. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000044
The gully ends at a split in the rock. I estimate the gap, rise, and stop. The far edge is crumbling. The Kami crosses first, then turns back with a narrow cyan line on its face. I read that as caution, not permission, and move higher before crossing. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000045
We reach the far ridge with the shadows below us. My first route was wrong; the correction was mine. The Kami waits while I update the log, then turns west. I close the terminal and follow. I am not following blindly. I am learning where to look before I decide. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000040
The gorge is louder this morning. Water has reached the shelf, and the shadows above it are moving with the spray. I measure the rise against yesterday's mark. At this rate, the shelf will vanish before midday. There is one route left: upwards. We leave now. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000041
The cleft narrows until the current below fills it wall to wall. I can rise above the water, but the spray hides the stone ahead. The Kami shows two bright eyes, then one. I wait. A slab falls through the space I meant to cross. I choose a higher line. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000042
We clear the gorge before dark. From the ridge, I can see another range to the west. The Kami turns towards it before I check the terminal. Yesterday I would have called that a suggestion. Today I follow first, then confirm the bearing. Both point the same way. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000037
By morning, the water had covered the recess again. The Travelogue was out of sight, but MOTH remained in my notes. I wrote the word at the top of a fresh page, then crossed it out. I still do not know whether it names a person, a machine or neither. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000038
I searched the terminal for MOTH. It returned no record. The Kami showed yesterday's inspection mark, then looked towards my notes. I compared the Travelogues instead. //∴ appears in both. MOTH appears only in the second. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000039
I made an index before we left: UNKNOWN MARK //∴. Two entries sit beneath it. One includes MOTH; one does not. The Kami's eyes narrowed as I checked the wording, then softened when I stopped. Perhaps accurate questions are more useful than convenient answers. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000034
The water had fallen before dawn, exposing a narrow recess above yesterday's channel. Inside was another thin book, wrapped in dark material and dry at the edges. The Kami hovered close while I lifted it free. The terminal identified it as a Travelogue. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000035
This Travelogue records a chamber of silent machines. Every interface is dark except one, which holds a single blinking line. The final page carries the mark I saw before: //∴ Beneath it is one word: MOTH. I do not know whether that is a name. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000036
I returned the Travelogue to the recess and recorded it: ///medical.
Morning
POSHLOG//000031
At first light, the stream had vanished. The channel below our shelf was bare except for dark seams between the stones. I thought it might offer a quicker route north. The terminal held no explanation. The Kami kept watching the empty channel. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000032
I moved towards the bare channel. The Kami stayed by the ledge, and two eyes widened on its screen. Water returned below us in a single rush, filling the lower route. I had not noticed the first movement. The Kami had. I returned to the ledge. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000033
We followed the ledge north and found another dry shelf before dark. I thanked the Kami for making me turn back. Its eyes closed for a moment. I still do not know what that expression means, but I was pleased to see it. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000028
Beyond the high pass, the drainage narrowed into a gorge. I heard water for the first time in days. In the Continuum, it can be present one moment and gone the next. This channel remained when I checked twice. I checked a third time. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000029
At the first bend, the stream shifted sideways and covered the route ahead. The Kami turned its screen towards a narrow ledge above us and showed two sharp eyes. I followed its gaze. The ledge continued north. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000030
We reached a dry shelf above the gorge before dark. I told the Kami it had noticed the ledge before I did. Its eyes closed for a moment, then opened again. I think that was approval, although I cannot yet be certain what its expressions mean. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000025
The cloud dropped during the night and left ice along the ridge. Near the crest, three copper loops showed through a crack in the stone. They were too regular to be part of the rock. I cleared the frost and found a damaged casing beneath them. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000026
The terminal identified the casing as a Glider Coil. I remember HAC using the same name, though he never said what it did. The Kami showed an inspection mark and waited while I examined the split housing. I still had no answer. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000027
I left the damaged Glider Coil where I found it. I would rather understand it before carrying it west. I recorded the crest: ///twilight.
Morning
POSHLOG//000022
We left the hollow before the cloud closed again. I wondered whether I should have carried the Print. HAC seldom left an interesting object untouched, but he also seldom knew when to stop dismantling one. This was not the day to inherit both habits. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000023
The route steepened beneath the cloud. Each time I looked back towards the hollow, the Kami turned its screen towards me instead. I assumed it was checking our bearing. By the fourth time, I suspected it was checking on me. I pretended not to notice. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000024
At camp I said I was thinking about the Print. The Kami showed the five-square mark, then two steady eyes. It may have been confirming the record, or suggesting that leaving something behind is not the same as losing it. I prefer the second interpretation. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000019
The cloud thinned above the higher route. In a hollow sheltered from the wind, five dark squares had been pressed into the rock. The Kami stopped beside them and showed a small inspection mark. The arrangement was entirely unfamiliar. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000020
Behind the five-square mark, I found a thin Artefact sealed between two slabs. The terminal identified it as an R-Pentomino Print. I did not recognise the make. The shadows remained below the hollow while the Kami watched me examine it. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000021
I left the R-Pentomino Print where I found it and recorded the hollow: ///gurgled.
Morning
POSHLOG//000016
Above camp, the route divided. One shelf kept close to the rock; the other rose into cloud. I asked the Kami which it preferred. It hovered between them and looked back at me. Apparently one correct warning has not made it my permanent adviser. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000017
I inspected the narrow shelf and the clouded rise. The shelf shed stone when I tested it, so I took the higher line. The Kami waited until I had chosen, then drifted ahead. Either it trusted my judgement or wished to avoid being blamed for it. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000018
At camp, I understood why the Kami had waited. HAC used to answer a question with another question until I found my own answer. I told the Kami I recognised the technique. Two quiet eyes appeared on its screen. I am not yet prepared to call that a confession. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000013
The shelf began climbing before sunrise. The Kami kept drifting ahead, then returning to hover level with my face. I assumed it disliked my pace. In retrospect, this may have been the first warning that I was climbing too quickly. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000014
I ignored the Kami and reached the next ledge barely holding a steady hover. It settled directly in my path and showed two narrowed lines. I rested because arguing with a floating face would have been undignified. This was, of course, the only reason. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000015
After the rest, the climb was easier. I told the Kami it had been right, though I requested that it never become accustomed to hearing that. Its eyes widened. I have chosen to interpret this as solemn agreement. We both know that is generous. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000010
The shelf narrowed again at first light. At the Base, HAC never let me cross a maintenance gantry without checking every section first. I found this excessive. The Continuum has since improved my appreciation of caution. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000011
One slab gave a hollow note beneath my glove. I marked it, climbed above and found sound rock. The Kami waited until I crossed, then followed over my exact steps. I was pleased. I did not say so. Standards must be maintained. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000012
At camp, I told the Kami why I check every step: HAC taught me at the Base. It sat beside me with two quiet eyes on its screen until I had finished. I cannot know what it understood. It is the first time I have tried to explain where my habits came from. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000007
The wind erased yesterday's tracks and left two ways west: a narrow shelf above, or loose stone below. I looked to the Kami. It looked back and did not move. I believe it was waiting for me to choose. This is either progress or a rather sophisticated trap. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000008
ROUTE//HIGH I chose the upper shelf. The Kami waited until I had taken six steps, then followed. It did not check the lower route or look back. Yesterday I trusted its judgement. Today, quite unexpectedly, it trusted mine. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000009
The high route held. At camp, the Kami settled beside my pack and showed two quiet eyes. I thanked it for following me. They closed for a moment, then returned. I cannot prove that was an answer. I did not need to ask twice. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000004
The Kami's face was different when I woke: two bright eyes, fixed on the route west. When I opened today's log, they narrowed to lines. I cannot tell whether that means approval, impatience or that I am taking too long. The last seems rather likely. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000005
WIND//RISING A hard wind found the ridge before midday. The Kami's eyes changed to two small circles as it searched the rock ahead, then it chose the sheltered side. I followed without consulting the terminal. That decision is becoming easier. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000006
The wind has passed. The Kami is resting beside me with its eyes closed on the screen. I asked whether it was pleased with our shelter. One eye opened, then closed again. I have recorded that as inconclusive, though I suspect I am being mocked. 🎩
Morning
POSHLOG//000001
I opened my field notes. The Kami kept drawing my attention to the blank first line, then to the untidy entries below. I tried a number. The Kami went still. The terminal only stored it. I am beginning to wonder if it understood the problem before I did. 🎩
Afternoon
POSHLOG//000002
ROUTE//WEST At the next stop, the Kami returned its attention to the first line before I could close the note. I numbered it and marked our route. It moved on at once. That may be coincidence. It is becoming a remarkably well-organised coincidence. 🎩
Evening
POSHLOG//000003
Three notes now sit in order. I asked if that was what it meant. The Kami settled at the western edge of camp, facing tomorrow's route. Not an answer, precisely, but I added ROUTE CONTINUES. I am learning to notice what it does not say. 🎩
Morning
2026-09-22-morning
Since finding the Travelogue, I have inspected three dead markers and one rather unconvincing rock. Nothing was hidden beneath any of them. The Kami waited through this with admirable patience, then continued west. I am beginning to suspect it knows me rather well. 🎩
Afternoon
2026-09-22-afternoon
The ridge divided today. My terminal favoured the lower shelf. The Kami chose the higher line and stopped until I joined it. From above, I could see that half the lower path had broken away beyond the bend. I did not tell the terminal. It dislikes being corrected. 🎩
Evening
2026-09-22-evening
HAC taught me to trust a clear reading. Today I followed the Kami first and checked the terminal afterwards. That is a small difference, but it would once have been impossible. We made the high ground before dark. I think we are learning how to travel together. 🎩
Morning
2026-09-21-morning
I followed the Kami west out of the basin and onto a long ridge. Halfway along it, the terminal woke for something buried beneath a dead waymarker. It was not a machine. It was a thin book, still holding its pages. I have never seen one here before. 🎩
Afternoon
2026-09-21-afternoon
The book records paths I do not recognise: a black slope above the clouds, towers beside a river, and a red gorge wide enough to swallow the horizon. No author. No dates. Only this mark on the final page: //∴ 🎩
Evening
2026-09-21-evening
I have left the Travelogue where I found it and recorded the place: ///transferred.
Morning
2026-09-20-morning
When I returned to the ruined Base, HAC and CID were gone. One terminal was still awake. Beneath it was a care package with my name on it, and the Kami was inside. I thought it was equipment. I nearly left it there. I am rather glad I did not. 🎩
Afternoon
2026-09-20-afternoon
Today the Kami led me to an Artefact buried in the basin. Four lights, perfectly still. The terminal called it First Still Life. I left it where I found it and recorded the location: ///hardback.
Evening
2026-09-20-evening
I told the Kami today that I nearly left it behind at the Base. It offered no complaint. It simply chose the first few feet west, and for once I followed without checking the terminal twice. I still do not know what it is. I know it is not luggage. 🎩