The Cosmic Chronicle

Triz-Encode-R8 Good afternoon. You are Qarl Synaptic, quantum detective-is that accurate, or do you only exist in probability clouds?
Qarl Synaptic Well, today I'm fairly certain I exist, though on the molecular level, I fluctuate a bit more than I'd like. On Zerkon that's barely noticed; everyone here is a bit fuzzy.
Triz-Encode-R8 Has living in this city influenced your work, do you think?
Qarl Synaptic Absolutely. Zerkon is a place where everything gets filed in double layers. Logic leaks from the streets into your circuits. Here you learn to recognize patterns in the ash-especially when, briefly, those patterns aren't under robot patrol.
Triz-Encode-R8 What does a typical day look like for you?
Qarl Synaptic Typical... Well, typical days don't exist in my line of work. But mostly, I start with a scan in the Lower Ash Lanes, then some coffee, then studying trace coherences, more coffee, and waiting for a probability curve to finally bite.
Triz-Encode-R8 Your last case-can you tell us something about it?
Qarl Synaptic Sure, if you believe in cause and effect. Some citizens vanished in the shadows of the Iron Palace. I eventually found their traces encoded in the error statistics of public surveillance drones. Nobody pays attention to noise. Except me.
Triz-Encode-R8 So you rely on errors and noise to solve crimes?
Qarl Synaptic Exactly, because perfect control doesn't exist. Not even on Zerkon. Even Overlord Plorunn's algorithm slips up between command nine and ten.
Triz-Encode-R8 Are you ever afraid? This isn't a city where statistical outliers go unnoticed.
Qarl Synaptic Being afraid is overrated. I'm more... cautious. You have thirty cameras and six drones over your shoulder, but as long as you blend into the background stats, you're relatively safe.
Triz-Encode-R8 Has working on Zerkon isolated you?
Qarl Synaptic Certainly. Trust doesn't flow freely here. Everyone lives inside filtered data clouds. Your best friend is your fifty-fold encrypted notebook, or-in my case-a quantum recorder that forgets itself every hour.
Triz-Encode-R8 Your thoughts on Overlord Veydrak Plorunn's rule?
Qarl Synaptic Technically impressive: a near-omnipotent despot who has poured his paranoia into metal. Philosophically, it lacks nuance. Practically, there are always leaks. Always.
Triz-Encode-R8 Greatest misconception about quantum detectives?
Qarl Synaptic That we see and solve everything at once-which is, frankly, nonsense. Mostly, we float in probability, waiting for one outcome to finally crystallize.
Triz-Encode-R8 Encounter much hostility from the authorities?
Qarl Synaptic Mm, often. They call me 'disruptive to the harmony of order.' Apparently, my presence interferes with their propaganda-interfaces.
Triz-Encode-R8 When have you been truly in danger?
Qarl Synaptic Uh, Stardate 4419.143. I was accidentally synchronized with an automatic execution sequence. Luckily, I wasn't present in that reality at the time. Statistical stroke of luck, let's say.
Triz-Encode-R8 Anything you miss, living in a place like Zerkon?
Qarl Synaptic Sunlight without ash, silence without orders, a conversation that isn't tapped on five frequencies-that kind of thing.
Triz-Encode-R8 Yet you stay.
Qarl Synaptic Someone needs to keep an eye on the places where even the rulers only trust themselves. Besides, it's oddly fascinating how much humanity accumulates between steel and statistics.
Triz-Encode-R8 Lastly-do you think you'll ever vanish into your own uncertainty principle?
Qarl Synaptic That happens constantly. But as long as some anomalous datapoint blinks out there, I'm still here. At least for now.
Triz-Encode-R8 Thanks for your... contribution. Did you hear that too?
Qarl Synaptic Yes. The drone call. Time to be probable somewhere else.