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##..###..#                                          #.#.#...#.
.#.#..#.#. there  is  another  company. a  climbing #####..###
####.##### and penetrating vine. it's  in the rocky ....#.#..#
...##..... plains,  it's  inside  the  hills,  it's ...####.#.
..#.#....# deep below. glistening  silver  burrows, ..#...###.
.####...#. red-pink  logo,   unclear   nationality, .##..#..#.
#...#..### veiled motives.                          #.#.##.##.
        $                                                     
    .      a  cave  company,  a  magician  company.           
           sharpest    knife,     cutest     knife.           
                                                       .      
           we   will   grow   humans   in  pea-pods         . 
                                                              
           shimmering     sound-card     emergence,           
           something  there   on   the   shore   of           
           turtle beach.  the  primordial  soup  of           
           the  digital,  waves  in   dithering  of           
           third-rate  dac's, caressing  the  sand,           
           bringing things up  from the  depths  of           
        .  the circuit. and  there,  deposited: the           
           first   seed   crystal   of   artificial           
           intelligence.                              ,       
       .                                                      
           this  changes   everything,  of  course. .         
                                                              
           ########################################           
                                                              
           the  company  is  named  for  it's first           
           product,  the  orbital  mirror,  both  a           
           passive sentinel and  an  active  torch:           
           set  to  it's  widest  configuration  it           
     $     will  light up  a whole  city  at night,           
         . and at its narrowest it becomes a  laser           
           to  cut  through  mountain   and  metal.           
                                                              
           still  unsold  prototypes  by  the  time          .
           when  that something was  found  on that           
           beach,  now  the mirrors are all used to  $        
           beam    energy    at    different   mirr           
           implements,  as  a  rather   static  and           
   ,       boring power source. (and subtle  threat   ,       
           of violence.)                                      
                                                              
           ########################################           
,                                                             
           the  ai  is   a   coral.  they  grow  it           
    .      (crystal  oil, lead glass, gentle  laser   $       
           curtains)  only to carve  it  apart  and           
  $        section  it.   to   become  conditioned,           
           refractured,  grown  again.  deliciously           
           honed.  mirr  sinks  further  below  the           
           surface.                                           
                                                              
           whispers  now, about  featherbite...  is           
           she a real person? or  is this the  mirr           
           ai, being unleashed  upon the youth? and           
           another  conspiracy  theory about  there           
           not  actually being any human  employees           
           left.                                              
                                                             .
           in  the  meantime,  dubious   creations.       ,   
           cerberus bodies are born.                     .    
                                                        .     
.          ########################################    .      
                            #######################   .       
    ,                        ######################  .        
                              ##################### .         
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                             .    #################           
                            .     .################          ,
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