BT612L; TEXT + VOICE; DAY 22

[ichoosefight]

[ TEXT + AUDIO ]

[ A total of 3 separate messages are sent out in the span of about 5 seconds, each seemingly from callsign BT612L. ]

...---...

[ The text is accompanied by the standard "SOS" Morse Code beeps. ]

[ TEXT + AUDIO ]

...---...

[ Again, the code beeps out. ]

[ AUDIO ]

Hey! I think my comm just sent out a distress call. Sorry, ignore it, I'm totally fine.

[ Her voice is sheepish and a bit flustered. It's obvious that she pushed some buttons without thinking. ]

I found a plugin and apparently that's what it does, it just... doesn't come with any instructions. I'm pretty sure I turned it off? But I unscrewed the thing too just to be sure.

Oh! Speaking of plugins, I found what looks like an SD card, but it's just a little too small for the slot on the comms. If anyone finds something that it could plug into, let me know.

[ ... ]

That's a little square thing, an SD card. Like... as thick as your thumb, and a little longer? Made out of the same stuff as the comms are.

Uh... That's all. Over and out.

Comments

VL121R | voice

[meadqueen]

[During one of the breaks in walking where Jet is carrying Jade, so she can probably hear a lot of rustling]

I'm glad you're all right. Is that what that sound means, distress?

[ichoosefight]

Yeah. I mean, I assume so- the button says "SOS", but it didn't get sent to mine.

"SOS" is a universal distress code. In Morse Code, the beeping language that Dirk talked about, it's 3 short beeps, 3 long beeps, then 3 short beeps again. It's easy to remember and easy to tell apart from random sounds, so it's perfect if someone is injured or panicked and needs to call for help fast.

[meadqueen]

Hm.

[That gets filed away with the clicking language that Senku had taught her. Maybe later she’ll write it down]

It seems helpful for when you are exploring - if you're badly injured you can still call for help. I wonder if your location would show up on other maps like yours.

[ichoosefight]

I was wondering that too. I don't really have a way to check though... Unless somebody wants to take the thing far enough away that it won't be showing the same exact spot.

[meadqueen]

We can look into that when we both return. You have been good at finding these attachments.

[ichoosefight]

Well, I'm not planning on going anywhere for a while. Maybe I'll get lucky again before you're back.

[meadqueen]

I wish you success.

If it works like that it will give you some peace of mind while exploring. Hopefully the situation at the village continues to improve.

[ichoosefight]

You too.

I'd rather give it to someone else, though. I do pretty well in an emergency, but I worry about the others.

[meadqueen]

It would be good for people who are exploring without a set path, or people travelling long distances.

Perhaps for Martin’s waystation plan.

[ichoosefight]

It'd be hard to use for waystations if we only had one.

I guess if it doesn't work with the map it'll have to be for trips that do have a set path, so backup knows where to go if it's needed.

[meadqueen]

I mean, when he goes to set them out, since we won't always know where he is.

As you say, it's dependent on whether we could use it to pinpoint his location.

[ichoosefight]

Oh, right, that makes sense. Yeah, that's a good plan. I'm sure he doesn't plan on going alone, but you never know what might happen.

[meadqueen]

[Randvi is not certain he wouldn't leave by himself, these people as a group have a history of that kind of foolishness]

Yes, in an emergency it would be convenient for them to not need to describe their location in detail.

I hope that we are the only ones who possess such things.

[ichoosefight]

You worried we're being tracked, or that we might be lured into a trap?

It's not really comforting, but I don't think the plugins are really needed for either of those.

[meadqueen]

They're not, but it makes them significantly easier.

[ichoosefight]

I dunno, I'm not really too worried. The SOS doesn't tell you what's wrong or who's sending it, so if you're trying to take advantage of someone that's hurt it's way more of a gamble than just listening to the comms. For one thing, fricken half the population has guns.

And as for a trap... I mean, if someone is asking for help, I'm going to help, whether it's a trap or not. You know?

[meadqueen]

I'm not worried about people among us as much as I am about the others living here who have radios. When we were called to rescue the injured woman in the north, those who have already killed some of us would have been able to reach them faster than we could.

[ichoosefight]

You mean the cabin guy?

He can hear our messages. And he's probably the one who put out the bear trap in the first place. He definitely knew what happened and where she was.

I don't mean to scare you, but I'm not sure you realize just how vulnerable all of us are. If any of those people wanted to kill someone it would've been easy. If they wanted to kill whoever they could find, or whoever might be injured, even if they wanted to kill someone specific. That nobody's been killed away from that cabin means that nobody cares enough to want us dead right now.

[meadqueen]

I don't know who I mean. That first time, Sameen mentioned being hit from multiple angles. We don't know who is out there, or what they know about us. The women had moved from the original site where the trap had been located, and we have no idea whether that actually made them more safe. All we can do is try to take precautions when we can, isn't it?

audio | TN811N

[hyakuoku]

I'll see if I can find an adapter or something.

[ SPOILERS, he does but then he fries it (and maybe himself?) trying to get into the bungalow. ]

In the meantime...wonder who's supposed to get that SOS.

[ichoosefight]

Aside from us? It's a little early to make that assumption, but it's worth checking out some time.

[hyakuoku]

Why would it be just for us, though?

[ichoosefight]

Well, an SOS, you'd expect that to be on an open frequency unless it's military. And I've found fun, bright covers for these things. That doesn't really say 'military-grade' to me. So I'd expect the signal is for everyone, not some specific malicious entity.

Then again, I also assume that if these comms were given to us intentionally by someone, that 'someone' can easily track us whether we plug an antenna into the things and push a button or not.

[hyakuoku]

Hm, good point. If you're willing, maybe we should send that thing with people who we know are doing dangerous shit. Might not matter if we can't travel to them quickly, but...that's what it's for, right?

[ichoosefight]

That's exactly what I was thinking. I'm gonna try and find out if it works along with my map plugin first, though.