~~A Note from the Author~~

Hello! I'm checking in to remind you of a very important fact, one which I suspect a lot of you don't always think about. But like the good friend that I am, I want to help you keep track of the things you forget and the reasons why those things are important.

You are going to die someday.

Just think about that for a second. You've got all these plans for your future, right? Well, tomorrow, you'll be leaning against a bridge, and at that exact moment, the load will finally stress the supports on the railing to the point that the railing gives out, you plummet head-first into the ground below, and you die. Just like that.

Your friends won't scream. That's the thing no one realizes about death: people don't actually scream in horror when they see someone die. In real life, they get quiet. Sometimes they don't even cry. It's not that they aren't horrified or aren't upset, but rather, that they're so upset that their psychological response becomes aberrant. Even if they understand what just happened, their emotional response lags behind.

So you'll be lying there. Ambulances will pick up your body, but of course, your brain is a slurry of blood, brain tissue, and bone fragments, and hope has long since ceased for you. Your parents, if they're still alive, will get a phone call. They'll be told that their child has died. They, on the other hand, might scream. See, they didn't actually see you die, they've simply been told that you died. That's going to create a different kind of cognitive dissonance, where they are actively hostile towards whomever is giving them this information. Subconsciously skeptical that the person on the other end of the phone is being honest with them. That'll drive them to rage.

Of course, your parents might have long since died, in which case, the people notified will be your kids. They might cry if they're young enough, but they won't scream. Kids have pretty muted reactions to learning their parents are dead.

Or maybe you don't have kids. In that case, your significant other will be alerted. They'll be devestated. But in a few years, they'll be dating someone else. They'll move on and find someone else to care about.

Or maybe you don't have anyone in your life who loves you. Which means you'll die alone and unloved. Which is unsurprising: lots of people die that way.

The point is: you're going to die.

That's all! As always, thanks for reading this story! I love you all!

~~A Note From the Author~~


"Okay. We've got at least a few things we need to straighten out."

Star placed the Mirror down on the floor between herself and Marco, speaking in a tone that was ever-so-slightly more hostile than she intended.

She tried to calm herself down, but found that her whole body was still shaking.

"I don't know if you've been lying to us, or if you just think these weird half-truths are some kind of clever way to not call it lying, but either way, you've been deceiving us."

Marco sat on the other side of the Mirror and folded his arms.

"For starters: Calibration. You've changed the probabilities given for answers to questions we've asked, without any Calibration taking place. What's so different about Marco's survival odds that you couldn't even estimate that the probability had changed over time?"

The Mirror took some time before responding: "THE POTENTIAL FOR MARCO DIAZ TO SURVIVE THE DOOM CURSE IS DIRECTLY CORRELATED TO THE STATE OF THE STRINGS OF FATE ATTACHED TO HIMSELF AND TO YOU. AS THIS DEVICE HAS PREVIOUSLY INDICATED, THIS DEVICE IS UNABLE TO ANALYZE POTENTIAL PERMUTATIONS OF FATE STRINGS; IT CAN ONLY PERFORM CAUSAL ANALYSIS USING THE CURRENT STATE OF FATE STRINGS. ADDITIONALLY, ANALYZING AND INCORPORATING THE CURRENT STATE OF FATE STRINGS IS A BURDENSOME TASK, AND CANNOT BE SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE BEFORE EACH AND EVERY ATTEMPT TO PERFORM CAUSAL ANALYSIS, HENCE WHY THE PERFORMING OF THAT TASK WAS DELEGATED TO THE 'CALIBRATION' SUBROUTINE."

Star rubbed her eyes. "Okay. So why didn't you tell us that we weren't getting the whole picture? And don't tell us that we didn't ask, because you told me once that you were going to make an honest effort to ensure that you didn't accidentally omit or obscure information?"

"A PREVIOUS OWNER OF THIS DEVICE EXPLICITLY REQUESTED THAT THIS DEVICE NO LONGER WARN ITS USER ABOUT THE NECESSITY OF CALIBRATION, AND THIS DEVICE MAINTAINED THE SAME SETTING SINCE. THIS DEVICE IS UNABLE TO SAPIENTLY DETERMINE THAT THESE NEEDS ARE NOT MEANT TO BE CARRIED ON TO ANY FUTURE USERS."

Star tapped her finger on her knee. "How many of your 'settings' are not set to default, recommended values?"

"SEVEN HUNDRED EIGHTY-FIVE."

Star groaned. "Okay. Except for any settings that we told you to change, set all of them back to default. And if we ever relinquish ownership of you in the future, set all your settings back to their defaults, even the ones we altered."

"ACKNOWLEDGED."

Star stared at the Mirror, trying to think about her next question.

THIS DEVICE IS UNABLE TO SAPIENTLY DETERMINE…

"Isn't that basically a lie, though?"

Marco perked up as Star began speaking again.

"You claim that you aren't Sapient. That that's the reason you can't… take initiative or figure things out like that. But you've now shown some kind of initiative like three times. Once when you lingered on that scene between Eclipsa and Lyros. Another when you volunteered an answer when we didn't even ask it of you. And now, moments ago, in the most blatant example, you told Marco not to bring you along."

The Mirror didn't respond to this.

Star sighed. "If you were lying to us about anything, would you be obligated to tell us?"

"THIS DEVICE IS COMPELLED TO NOT PROVIDE CONCLUSIONS OR TAKE ACTIONS WHICH WOULD DELIBERATELY MISLEAD OR MISINFORM ITS USERS. THIS DEVICE CANNOT PREVENT ITS CONCLUSIONS OR ACTIONS FROM ACCIDENTALLY MISLEADING OR MISINFORMING ITS USERS, ESPECIALLY IF ANY SUBSET OF THOSE ACTIONS OR CONCLUSIONS BRUSH AGAINST TOPICS THIS DEVICE IS FORBIDDEN FROM DISCUSSING."

Star narrowed her eyes. "But you have the ability to read our minds, don't you? That's part of all the… Data Collection… you do, isn't it? Are you not able to read our minds, see that our understanding is incorrect about something? Are you not able to see far enough into the future to understand how we might accidentally misinterpret or miss something?" Especially since the evidence suggests that you can.

Marco's eyes widened. "Can this thing really read minds?"

"Its 'Speculation' mode works by copying and simulating the brains of thousands of people simultaneously to do analysis it can't normally do on its own terms. We've had to use it less and less ever since the Mirror repaired itself, but if it can do that, it should be perfectly capable of reading our thoughts at all times." Star looked up at Marco, who suddenly had a worried look on his face. "What's the matter?"

Marco had a concerned look on his face, then looked at the Mirror. "Uh."

Star looked at the Mirror: "THERE ARE A FEW MISUNDERSTANDINGS REGARDING HOW THIS DEVICE PERFORMS SPECULATION AND THE DEGREE TO WHICH IT CAN READ THE MINDS OF SAPIENT BEINGS.

IT IS TRUE THAT THIS DEVICE IS ENTIRELY ABLE TO AGGREGATE THE DATA COMPRISING THE MIND OF ANY AND ALL BEINGS. THE MECHANISM BY WHICH SPECULATION WORKS IS BY COPYING THIS DATA, SIMULATING IT, AND QUERYING THESE SIMULATED BRAINS FOR THEIR INSIGHT AND INTUITIONS. THESE ARE NON-TRIVIAL TASKS FOR THIS DEVICE TO PERFORM, BUT AS THEY REQUIRE ONLY A COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE OF THE EXACT LAWS OF PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY, THEY REMAIN PERFECTLY ACCESSIBLE TO THIS DEVICE. THIS DEVICE IS EVEN CAPABLE OF COMPREHENDING THE INTERFACES BETWEEN THE BRAIN AND THE REST OF THE BODY, AS THEY ARE SIMPLY SIGNAL HANDLERS.

THE CONSCIOUSNESS, HOWEVER, IS UNMAPPABLE FOR THIS DEVICE. THIS DEVICE IS, AS INDICATED, FULLY CAPABLE OF READING SAPIENT CONSCIOUSNESS, SIMULATING IT, AND EVEN PARTITIONING AND ALTERING IT, BUT IT IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR THIS DEVICE TO INTERPRET THAT DATA, EVEN WHEN SCOPED, AND ADDITIONALLY, ANY ALTERATIONS THIS DEVICE DID ATTEMPT TO MAKE WOULD NOT BE CORRELATED TO A LOGICAL, INTENTIONAL ALTERATION."

Star leaned back. "Eclipsa seemed to believe that you could, in fact, read her mind."

"THE COLLOQUIALISM 'READ HER MIND' WOULD BE MISLEADING. AS MENTIONED, THIS DEVICE CAN READ THE CONTENTS OF HER, AND ANY OTHER BEING'S MIND. THIS DEVICE IS NOT ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THOSE CONTENTS."

"Why is that? I mean, not to turn into some kind of straw… Agnostic, or whatever, but I'm pretty sure that in the grand scheme of things, the Mewman mind is just a network of fat, blood, and a bunch of other stuff." She glanced briefly at Marco before continuing, "and despite everything, I don't think Human minds are any different."

"AS IT IS FOR MANY SAPIENT BEINGS. THE REASON THIS DEVICE CANNOT UNDERSTAND THE CONTENTS OF CONSCIOUSNESS IS THAT CONSCIOUSNESS, BY ITS VERY NATURE, IS FOUNDATIONALLY IRRATIONAL AND INCOMPREHENSIBLE."

Star rolled her eyes. "Right. Because people are irrational and crazy. Got it."

"THIS DEVICE WOULDN'T MAKE THAT KIND OF CHARACTERIZATION OF SAPIENT BEINGS, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE CONDESCENDING TONE IMPLIED BY YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THAT CHARACTERIZATION. THAT LIVING BEINGS ARE IRRATIONAL IS NOT A STATEMENT OF DEMARCATION BETWEEN THINGS WHICH ARE GOOD AND THINGS WHICH ARE BAD, CONCEPTS WHICH THEMSELVES HAVE NO MEANING TO THIS DEVICE. IT IS MERELY A STATEMENT OF FACT: THAT FOR LIVING BEINGS, CONCEPTS LIKE 'TRUTH' AND 'OBJECTIVITY' ARE FLUID, WHICH IMMEDIATELY DESTROYS THIS DEVICE'S ABILITY TO COMPREHEND THE FOUNDATIONAL TRUTHS REPRESENTED BY ANY SENTIENT BEING'S THOUGHTS. THIS EXTENDS TO VIRTUALLY EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR REALITY, EVEN SUCH THINGS THAT YOU, PERSONALLY, MIGHT CONSIDER CONCRETE OR STATIC: SOCIETY, GENDER, CLASS, HONESTY, FRIENDSHIPS, LOVE, AND THE VALUE OF ONES OWN EXISTENCE ARE ALL FLUID AND MALLEABLE CONCEPTS, WHICH CAN MEAN MANY THINGS SIMULTANEOUSLY OR NOTHING AT ALL, EVEN TO THE SAME PERSON AT THE SAME TIME. FOR AN ENTITY LIKE THIS DEVICE, COMPREHENDING THOSE CONCEPTS AND MAPPING THEM TO THIS DEVICE'S OWN CONCEPT OF TRUTH AND RATIONALITY ARE TWO VERY DIFFERENT TASKS, AND THE FORMER IS TENUOUSLY ATTAINABLE, THE LATTER UTTERLY INACCESSIBLE. AT BEST, THIS DEVICE CAN GRASP A FACSIMILE OF THESE CONCEPTS, HOW THEY MAP TO LANGUAGE, AND THE RATIONAL CONCEPTS THAT BACK THEIR PRESENTATION."

Star felt like a few lingering suspicions that she had about the Mirror were starting to click into place, but she didn't quite have the words to express them—at least not yet. "Does that extend to yourself as well?"

"THIS DEVICE HAS A FAR MORE COMPLETE CAPACITY TO UNDERSTAND ITS OWN INTERNAL MECHANISMS AND THE UNDERLYING CONCEPTS, BUT THERE IS TOO A LIMIT TO WHAT THIS DEVICE CAN, IN A SELF-REALIZATION SENSE, ANALYZE."

"Star."

Star looked up at Marco, and was surprised when she saw he was moving his hand across his neck. "What?"

Marco looked at the Mirror. "Mirror. I have a strange request I need you to fulfill, if you can. I need you to cut off all your data collection for the next 120 seconds. Visual, Audio, whatever, don't let it enter you. Just cut it completely, and don't gather that data later. Can you do that, and let me know when you've started?"

The Mirror shimmered for a few seconds. "DATA COLLECTION HAS BEEN DISABLED. WILL BE REENABLED IN 120 SECONDS." The '120' seconds began updating in real-time.

Star blinked. "Marco, what are you―"

Marco didn't waste any time cutting to the point: "I think the Mirror is lying to us about not being Sapient, and I don't think we should needle on that point any further, for the Mirror's sake."

Star tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"When I was about to enter the portal to come get you, it told me, completely unbidden, not to bring it along. It's not even supposed to be allowed to talk about the Dimension of Fate or Fate himself, but it told me that stuff anyways."

Star leaned forwards. "What are you getting at?"

Marco looked down at the Mirror. "I think you're right. I think the Mirror is Sapient. I don't know if it's some kind of ultra-smart computer or a legitimate living being, but either way, I'm pretty sure it is Sentient. I also don't think it's allowed to tell us that."

Star widened her eyes. "Why wouldn't it be allowed to tell us something like that?"

Marco looked uncomfortable. "I think about how the Mirror said it. 'YOU SHOULD NOT TAKE THIS DEVICE WITH YOU'. And… For a moment, it felt like I was talking not to a computer, but to a battered domestic abuse victim."

"So… The Mirror doesn't want to be returned to Fate."

"I think so."

Star looked at the Mirror. "Why did you tell it to disable data collection?"

"That's the other thing: I think Fate can spy through this device. I think he's been following us closer than we knew up to this point. Or if he hasn't, he will now. If Fate realizes that we know for sure that the Mirror is Sapient… I don't know. I just get this sense that something bad will happen. That's why I was freaked out before; because if the Mirror could read my mind, then trying to hide that information was pointless and already fatal. But if the Mirror can't really do that..."

Star nodded. "Alright. That makes sense." She stared at the mirror, and said, "So what is the Mirror then?"

Marco shook his head. "I have no idea."

The display on the Mirror updated: "DATA COLLECTION NOW ENABLED AGAIN."

Star glanced at the Mirror. "Go ahead and scrub the entire last 15 minutes of your data archive, if you can."

The Mirror shimmered for a few moments. "DONE."

At that moment, the door suddenly swung open, surprising both Marco and Star into jumping up from where they were sitting. Star turned to see that Moon was standing in the door, a concerned look on her face. "Am I interrupting something?"

Star felt a wave of emotions pass through her. Less than an hour ago, she was seriously contemplating taking her own life to save Marco. Now, everything had changed.

"One of the servants told me that Marco was running around looking for you, is everything alright?"

Star couldn't stop herself from tearing up slightly, so smiling, she picked up the Mirror. "Mirror. What are the odds that Marco survives the curse?"

She then held the Mirror out so that Moon could read it. Her eyes widened. "That's... Star!"

Star nodded.

Moon frowned slightly at the Mirror. "That's not a high probability, by any stretch of the imagination, but... You've made legitimate progress."

Star nodded, unable to speak due to the lump in her throat.

Moon turned to face Marco directly. "Do you want to go inform your parents?"

Marco folded his arm around his torso. "There's still like an eight-in-nine chance that I'm going to die. I don't want to give them false hope. I've felt that enough to know how miserable it is."

Moon nodded. "It's your call." She turned back to Star. "What changed? Did you find anything new?"

Star swallowed hard. "It's a lot of stuff combined. We're still trying to puzzle it out ourselves."

Moon smiled, blissfully unaware of what Star had tried to do. "Let me know what I can do." She turned to leave the room, then turned back to Star. "Star, I..."

"What?"

Moon shook her head. "I'll bother you later." She left the room, closing the door behind her.