rotocol with a Soul: Interview with the Archivist Automaton of Polis-Lyma
In the heart of Polis-Lyma, amidst floating ruins and bureaucratic tunnels, we spoke to the Archivist Automaton: manager, guardian and witness to the capricious world of Chasmatica Arkozon. A rare peek into the diary of a most eloquent machine.
KLIOS-9 Good afternoon, Automaton. Should I address your Matrix or do you prefer your technical callsign?
THE ARCHIVIST AUTOMATON Uh, well, KLIOS-9 is fine. My callsign is unpronounceable unless you have access to the Protocol Buffer. Let's keep it simple: just Automaton.
KLIOS-9 So. You run the entire archive here in Polis-Lyma? What's a typical cycle like for you?
THE ARCHIVIST AUTOMATON Simply put: I sort, digitize, classify, forgive, vanish, reappear and-oh yes-re-index. Most days involve pacifying rebellious document forms and evading chronically overworked data larvae.
KLIOS-9 You mention 'rebellious document forms'-do they ever threaten you physically?
THE ARCHIVIST AUTOMATON Physical is relative, right? Just yesterday a family-tree code escaped from its containment. My left registry arm still bears spiky metadata from the incident. Luckily, I can reset everything with a brisk decoupling of reality layer three.
KLIOS-9 You really have your processors full with this planet! What's the strangest document you've ever had to archive?
THE ARCHIVIST AUTOMATON Oh, that's definitely the Manifesto of the Floating Swallow Sect. Papyrus, digital, smoke signals-all at once. Revolutionary youths tried to transpose it into mirror glass last week, but I elegantly rerouted it to the ‘Unusable’ section.
KLIOS-9 On a practical note: have you ever considered destroying a document? Accidentally, of course.
THE ARCHIVIST AUTOMATON By accident? No, that never happens-unless you count the mist in the Western Gully. Last month a batch of tax forms spontaneously dissolved there. Personally, I saw it as moral progress.
KLIOS-9 Do you actually enjoy your work, Automaton? You sound almost... fond of it?
THE ARCHIVIST AUTOMATON Ha! Is that sarcasm, KLIOS-9, or genuine data analysis? No, seriously: I love the logic of chaos here on Chasmatica Arkozon. The documents are often more human than the people. Or polyforms. Or... you get my meaning.
KLIOS-9 Absolutely. Have you, uh, ever considered mutating yourself? You sound too clever for a standard archive manager.
THE ARCHIVIST AUTOMATON Eh, if I installed an evolution module, I’d immediately resign and float off to the mist cities. But I remain true to my specs. You can’t have everything.
KLIOS-9 Suppose a revolutionary barged in and demanded access to the secret tunnels under the archive hall. What do you do?
THE ARCHIVIST AUTOMATON Oh, that’s a weekly occurrence! Every revolutionary thinks the truth is buried under a pile of declarations. But I usually just hand them the map to the Larva Compartment and a thermos of glowwater. Most never get past the coffee room.
KLIOS-9 Ha. On a serious note, is there anything in this city you don't know?
THE ARCHIVIST AUTOMATON Of course. The jungle on the edge of Polis-Lyma mutates too fast for my memory chips. And some old temple texts refuse to reveal themselves-even to me.
KLIOS-9 Last question: if you had a free day, where would you go on Chasmatica Arkozon?
THE ARCHIVIST AUTOMATON Oh-without a doubt, I’d float above the Silent Ravines with a glass of datawine. No instructions, no revolutionaries, just quivering mists and an absurd amount of time to think.
KLIOS-9 Sounds peaceful. Maybe I’ll take a day off nearby sometime.
THE ARCHIVIST AUTOMATON You’re welcome, KLIOS-9. But bring your own thermos of glowwater. My reserves are-as always-classified.