Del!!!!! I found it!!!
Well… not the Crash Test site but.. hang on let me start at the beginning.
I set sail to those coordinates Com sent us. It’s a tricky area to navigate due to all of the abstracted regions, but I finally found the previous site of Platform & Crash Test. At least that’s what my nav said, the place looks completely different.
There are these verdant hills stretching out for acres, like something out of a terminal wallpaper. I noticed these murmurations of objects fluttering in the air and followed them thinking they were birds, but they were all documents flapping in the wind. Vehicle emission inspections, safety standards, recall notices...
Perhaps that was what this site was originally manifested for, the collective unconscious’s ideas (and fears) of vehicle safety. That would explain the crash test manikins. Speaking of… wait, I'm getting ahead of myself.
I’ve attached one of the pages I found that depicts the memetic Teto.
I split the area into chunks and started surveying each. I had this uneasy feeling that I was being watched. I kept seeing a ceramic-like glimmer peeking out behind the hills as I searched. I called out to no response.
I found a few interesting structures like a massive road and a maze of cubicles. I was on the right track. A few days in I spotted it…
( Hallway illusion inspired by the art of Patrick Hughes. Print out and cut the walls to the edge. Fold and crease the edges of the center wall. Fold the walls over the sky and floor and glue them in place. )
Our ship.
The Eternal September.
I wasn’t even looking for it anymore and it just shows up??? Maybe this is why my dreams spurred me into this wild goose chase?
I was greeted by the quartermaster p-011y. He seems in good shape, still talking like a pirate. He politely informed me that I was no longer the captain, and that the ship is now home to a formidable crew ( a family of bunnies ).
Part of me wanted to salvage the ship and bring it back, but I let him know that they could keep it. I was just here looking for any signs of the site Crash Test and asked if he knew anything about it. He directed me to the crow’s nest to ask their scout.
As I climbed up the rigging I expected their scout to be an actual crow but when I reached the top I found one of the manikins. She wasn’t Teto or that other manikin. She had raven-purple hair. Her faceplate held a melancholic, cryptic expression and her eyes stared past me. I tried asking her about Teto, but she only responded in hums and whistles. I recognized some of the melodies.
She led me north for around an hour and a half and we encountered a giant tree. It’s amazing to see the Arbormyth extend even this far out. She plucked an apple and offered it to me. We ate under the shade and hummed melodies back and forth. Eventually she smiled and pointed out something in the grass I failed to notice.
It was a CD.
Crash Test is long gone, but it looks like I found its music. I managed to extract one song. I'll attach it to this message. The rest need an archivist’s touch.
Flying back now, let’s have a listening party once I’m home.
love,
s4br