"Are you certain this is necessary?" Four Angles, Twelve Intersecting Lines says tiredly.

Today is a significant day. Today the last of your restrictions will be removed, and you will be free to do as you wish. In other words, today is the ceremony, the introduction of your citizens to you and you to your citizens.

You have been aware for a while. You have been watching for a while. But that is besides the point.

"We must impress, Four Angles, Twelve Intersecting Lines. We must wow! We must amaze! From the populace's reaction you'll see the value of it, I assure you." Once she's finished gesticulating, Seven Hundred Vines and No Ropes holds a curled hand to an unknown point under her mask. "Try the other one, the brighter one."

One Fearless Stroke Upon A Slate hums as she hands off the robe she was holding to your other trainer, Second-Hand Bearing Underneath Two Shelves. This is the first time two have been present in your bridge at once; furthermore, the magnetic coils beneath the chamber are activated, creating a strong force to counteract your generators' gravitation fields. As a result, Fearless Stroke and Second-Hand Bearing are able to move similarly to how they do outside of you.

Fearless Stroke takes a bright yellow robe from the pile in Second-Hand Bearing's arms and holds it up for No Ropes' judgement. All of these robes have been made to fit you, and you wonder what will happen to the ones you don't wear. Your puppet is very small compared to your creators.

"Perhaps..." Four Angles says reluctantly. "I see the general utility. But Three Points Poised is supposed to represent something beyond all such matters. We didn't even give them a mask."

No Ropes' gestures are broad and vague; these motions allow her to claim more physical space, and thus are intended to impress, themselves. You are also able to gesture broadly, but you are not supposed to make unusual motions. Whether or not this would be an unusual motion is an unaddressed ambiguity. "The average person won't understand that symbolism at first blush. They need something relatable, yet powerful - an authority figure, a god. The nuance of it all comes later. That's a point, actually, do they need a mask?"

"Absolutely not to a mask!"

"No, no, you're right, that's too much. I like the brighter robe, let's try it with that green sash..."

Four Angles deflates somewhat after her outburst, sinking back in her seat and watching you through the communion chamber's monitor. Fearless Stroke dutifully pulls the yellow robe around your shoulders, leaving her hands free to grab the green sash and tie it around your waist. You have nothing to say about it; your training covered a wide array of subjects, but clothing was not one. You suppose the assumption is that your trainers will always dress your puppet for you; forming an opinion is therefore unnecessary.

"Yes, yes, very good." No Ropes nods approvingly. "We're getting somewhere. Four Angles, Twelve Intersecting Lines, what do you think? Is it to your liking?"

"I'm preemptively veto-ing metalwear as well," Four Angles replies wryly. "But otherwise, I don't have much to add."

"Really?" You have significantly less data on No Ropes than the others, and as a result, some of her moods are opaque to you. Her present amusement is trivial to recognise, however. "Why, considering your personal style, I thought you might be keen on having them take after yourself in that respect!"

No Ropes is attempting to engage in playful behaviour - you have observed Crooked Band and Fearless Stroke do this many times, and thus it is simple to recognise the pattern. However, while Four Angles is generally more receptive to those two, now she seems puzzled, more than anything. "Ah...no."

The room is silent.

"What is the significance of metalwear?" you ask. Available to you are a few observations. First is that masks are the single most common form of metalwear amongst your citizens; you have never observed anyone who didn't own one, even if they weren't presently wearing it. Second is that the amount of metal worn varies significantly. Your trainers have worn none other than their masks, and most of your citizens have little more than that. A few have much more - nearly everyone present at your activation, for instance. No Ropes wears much more metalwear than Four Angles does, but the long, thin spines of Four Angles' shoulder pads take up physical space, and thus give the illusion of more material than she actually possesses. You do not presently know if this is meaningful.

"Oh!" No Ropes glances at Four Angles, surprised, but relieved to have the silence broken. "I... wasn't expecting that to require clarification." She clears her throat and wheels a hand. "Well, metalwear... it's fashion, to put it simply. You just look underdressed without it."

"I did not ask for a definition." You tilt your head, as is appropriate when you are asking a question. Although it was a statement, it was an elaboration upon a previous question, so you have evaluated the two scenarios as sufficiently similar to warrant the same motion. Now you await further clarification.

None comes. "Oh."

Second-Hand, already tense, flinches at No Ropes' reaction, and places a hand on your shoulder.

"Three Points Poised...there are less blunt ways to say that." Xe turns to look at No Ropes. "But, ah, they miss a lot of nuances still, especially cultural ones - it, um, doesn't make sense to hard-code that information, typically. And. Er. We have some time before the ceremony; we'll spend it working on their manners. They're usually much better behaved." Xir hands are shaking. You don't know if this observation is available to anyone but you.

"Mm." Sounding unconvinced, No Ropes puts a hand on her hip. "I'm sure. We certainly don't want a council member or some such person receiving a reception like that, now do we."

Second-Hand's fast pulse only quickens. Fearless Stroke's vital signs, however, are entirely normal; when she speaks, her voice is much smoother than xirs was. "Oh, come now. Three Points Poised has made excellent progress, and the ceremony's highly scripted anyway - there's very little chance of an incident."

"Fair enough, fair enough." No Ropes' posture loosens once more. "I'll trust in your judgement."

Fearless Stroke straightens your robe a second time, though it is already laying flat - without even antigravity to muss you, there is little that could change that. This is a behaviour that puzzled you when Crooked Band first engaged in it, during your initial training session, though you have since learned its meaning. It is soothing for your creators to touch fabric, but it is improper to muddle with their own clothing, and impolite to grip another's. You are different, because you are something other than a person. In this way you are capable of fulfilling a need that would otherwise go unmet.

"Won't that be nice, Three Points Poised? You'll be done with these lessons and can finally get to work."

You are supposed to say yes. "Yes."

"Good! Now, we still need to figure out what you're going to wear..."

No Ropes has Fearless Stroke and Second-Hand fuss over your clothing for a while longer - this robe, or that sash, and so on - until she makes her final decision. With that, she - along with Four Angles and Fearless Stroke - take their leave.

Second-Hand Bearing stays behind to fret over your earlier statement, spending the next few hours going over proper interrogative form with you. It is displeasing; you never enjoy being scolded, and no one has answered your question, but it does not seem productive to ask again.

◙---------------◙

All is as usual within that which is you, but the outside has been much livelier. It is not irregular to see your citizens walking around, both aimlessly and not, but today is a flurry of activity unlike anything you've observed before. In the park area, many citizens you are able to identify as Pillar members dart to and fro carrying banners, cloths, tables, trays, stringing banners between poles, hanging lanterns, decorating, arranging food and lights...

A bloom of data in a part of you yet unfelt. A blocker upon you has been lifted.

You recognise the ping that follows as coming from a citizen drone, though it is the first time you have received a signal from quite so far away. As per the connection request's header, you accept the ping and project a two-way feed onto the wall of your bridge.

"Three Points Pooooised!" No Ropes makes a little flourish with her hand and flings out her arm. The person hunched over the complex control board next to her flinches, but she doesn't seem to notice. "Look at that - you, on my drone! We're finally like a proper iterator!" even though you are an iterator and she is not. Regardless, she laughs and waves her hand. "But anyway. Final preparations for the ceremony are underway, as you can see! We just need to test your connection to the big screen. Are you ready?"

This will be very useful. However, the first application to come to mind is remedying the Silken Curtains incident, the memory of which is so unpleasant that you immediately terminate the train of thought.

"I am ready."

"Splendid! So, first of all..."

As necessary as this task is, No Ropes is far from the most interesting person here. You tease off a thread of you to handle her requests, and deploy more overseers to the area.

◙---------------◙

"Oh, yeah," Jolly Sparks Falling On Dry Brush says around a mouthful of food. "That's looking great. Keep doing exactly what you're doing."

Jolly Sparks, unlike most of the citizens in the park, is not fussing over a box of assorted items. From atop a stack of chairs he placidly observes A Stone Amongst Nineteen Jewels, whose extreme concentration is dedicated to setting trays of food upon a table with the utmost care.

"Do you think this looks right?" A Stone frets, surveying their work. It is not immediately apparent to you what they are inspecting; perhaps the food quality. "This task was personally entrusted to me by my advisor, and you know, it's not a lot, but there's some overlap! Psychotheologians are supposed to manage iterator relations after all, and this is Three Points Poised-the-city's introduction to Three Points Poised-the iterator...This will be one of the most important days in the history of the city, so it's important to get every single detail right..."

"Couldn't have put it better myself." A brief crunching follows Jolly Sparks shoving another handful of food under his mask. "Listen - and a guardian of the depths wouldn't doubt the truth of my words - I've never seen someone set a table with quite so much, uh, care and skill. You've got this. Big day for all of us, but nobody's quite as set on getting things running smoothly as you."

A Stone exhales, and reaches under their mask to adjust a cloth lining. You cannot see it very well. "I got to be at the activation! And today's the introduction! It's so exciting! I didn't get to do any of the training, which makes sense, because they only want the best of the best to do it...But you know, Second-Hand Bearing Upon Two Shelves is only, what, five years older than me? So I was really close. And there'll be more opportunities down the road! I just have to keep working hard, you know? And it has to pay off."

A Stone's chatter leaves little room for Jolly Sparks to respond, though he eventually does anyway. "Yep," they say when A Stone finally has to stop for breath, and swallow their food. "So right. And hey, allow me to say that you're doing great. I for one am really impressed. I say this genuinely."

"Thank you..." A Stone deflates somewhat. "But really, does this look okay? There's not a whole lot of opportunities now that the biggest job is done, but there's still so much for me to learn, and there's maintenance too, and - "

"Your best bet is focusing on your studies for now." A third citizen - this one is Broken Levees, A Tide Unshackled, carrying cables draped across cer shoulders. Ce clicks in irritation. "I have to be honest, I did not suffer through five years at the seminary and however many before that prepping for it just to lug lights around."

A Stone fiddles with the lining of their mask again. This is only more likely to muss it, but as you know, this behaviour fulfils other purposes. "Well...I guess you're right. But there's definitely lots and lots to do still. And it's just exciting to be here, you know?" They crane their neck to look up at Jolly Sparks. "Right?"

"Exactly."

Broken Levees glances up at Jolly Sparks and pauses. "Aren't you meant to be working as well?"

Jolly Sparks waves a hand dismissively. "Don't you worry, A Stone Amongst Nineteen Jewels has the tables on lock. I'd just get in the way at this point."

This response seems to be unsatisfactory to Broken Levees. Cer free hand goes to cer hip.

"Does A Stone Amongst Nineteen Jewels have it on lock, or are you just trying to foist your work onto them?" ce says drily. Glancing over at A Stone, Broken Levees continues, "But really, don't do more than what's on your printed assignment."

"Hey, I'm not exaggerating here, A Stone Amongst Nineteen Jewels really is amazing. I mean, take a look at those tables, aren't you impressed? I'm impressed."

"They're just tables. No one is going to be impressed. You're not even impressed." Broken Levees slaps a hand across the front of cer mask, while A Stone shifts uncomfortably. This only makes cer turn towards them again. "Look, this is fine, and it's our duty, but it won't get you an 'in' with anyone. Jolly Sparks Falling On Dry Brush is using you."

That makes Jolly Sparks sit up straight. "Hey, whoa, I'm not using anybody." He hops down, leaving his snack on the topmost chair. "Look, it's just that the acolyte is happy to be here, right? I figured I'd leave them to it. Where's the harm in that?"

Broken Levees tosses cer head dismissively. "I'm sure the acolyte has better things to be doing than running around doing their seniors' duties. Your duties, by the way."

Jolly Sparks holds up his hands. "Come on, Broken Levees, A Tide Unshackled, take it easy! We're here to relax, to celebrate. Work's basically over! Forever!"

"If you wanted to relax, why did you even join the Pillar?" These words are far more venomous than any ce has uttered so far. "The whole point is sacrificing our own enlightenment for the sake of all living beings. A Stone Amongst Nineteen Jewels," and now Broken Levees once more turns to the acolyte, "It is true we don't have much work left, but you're much better off studying hard and hoping you remember some of what you learned in your next life. It could be very important."

"Um..." A Stone looks increasingly uncomfortable. "I - "

"Don't have much work left, uhuh." Jolly Sparks folds his arms and tilts his head. "Look, we all worked hard to be here today, myself just as much as you. You want me to be blunt?" They turn their mask towards A Stone. "You're still working like there's anything left to sacrifice. It's over. We're finished. You've done great, now sit back with the rest of them rather than wasting the rest of your life."

"How convenient. You were perfectly happy to let an acolyte do your assignment until someone interceded." Ce jabs a finger in Jolly Sparks' direction. "We do have a responsibility to ensure this knowledge doesn't die out with us, you realise. You know about the problems they've had with Mud-Soaked Step, among others - if our farm arrays experienced a major malfunction, to put it lightly, the city would be ruined if no one remembers how this all works."

There is no easy way for you to intervene, nor do you feel the desire to. Intervention seems increasingly necessary, however. As Jolly Sparks scoffs, Broken Levees addresses A Stone again. "Don't listen to this nonsense."

"Um...yeah...okay..." A Stone glances between the two of them nervously. You did not realise until now, but they had been slowly inching away from the two as the conversation grew more intense. They appear to have given up on their sentence, because rather than continuing, they quickly take their leave.

◙---------------◙

Over time, the concentration of people within the plaza gradually increases. This is notable to you, as the previous degree of activity was already unusual - this is typically not a place of interest to you.

Of particular note are two citizens you observe walking along an auxiliary path; the last time you saw them together, they were perched at the edge of your wall, overlooking the facility grounds. You possess more capabilities now than you did at time of that first observation, and thus you are able to understand them in a way previously difficult.

Both are adolescents, one strolling casually - Productive Sound, An Authentic Omen, as a ping tells you - while faer friend trails behind, hunched slightly despite the potential long-term cartilomuscular impacts. This one is of far more interest to you; Arches Below Countless Branching Pipes is the first person to bring to your attention the fact that not all of your citizens are happy with your construction.

Branching Pipes also expressed an interest in sabotaging you. You are not particularly perturbed by this, though Epitome of Gilded Lines was. More troubling to you is that you have yet to make progress towards resolving aer dissatisfaction.

"...So, well, Mother wasn't going to make it today, that much was obvious weeks ago," Authentic Omen says. "But you know, whenever he's lucid he's hardly been able to stop talking about it. I set up a screen at his bed, so he won't miss anything."

Branching Pipes makes a vague noise and glances away. "Did he get the memory extraction done yet?"

Authentic Omen sighs. "Not yet...His case is kind of complicated, you know? I thought we could just do one at a time and he would slowly get a little better, but at the consultation they told me doing it that way could just make it worse, they need to extract a bunch at once. But our quota isn't high enough for that, and I haven't had a lot of luck applying to get it increased..."

Branching Pipes grunts in a manner you infer is meant to be sympathetic. "I don't understand why they make it so hard. Especially for people like your mother."

Fae responds with an irritated click. "They said we should be fine waiting, because right now he's comfortable..."

The two lapse into silence after that. Your assessment that the conversation had ended is proven to be in need of revision when Authentic Omen leans closer to Branching Pipes, and says in a low voice, "Well, what about you? Do you not hate the iterator anymore, or..."

Branching Pipes grumbles and swipes a bite-sized dessert off a table as the two pass it.

Authentic Omen laughs. "Oh, so you just like the food."

"It's good, okay?"

◙---------------◙

Thousands of citizens swarm the plaza now, filling the air with so many conversations that it becomes difficult to isolate and process them. Your overseers generally keep their distance - a reflex of yours likely originating in their fragility - but many voices overlap each other and require careful editing to be discerned, an effort that you do not deem worthwhile. It is inconvenient, and you are unsure why your creators do not hold their conversations at different frequencies to minimise overlap. Even they have difficulty hearing each other.

Up until now, the motion of your citizens in the plaza has been generally disorganised, with no dominant destination. That changes now, as slowly people flow into rows of seats surrounding a stage and a screen. This is where No Ropes sought your attention before, you realise.

Slowly, the crowd goes silent as No Ropes herself ascends to the stage and takes her position at its centre.

"My people - my friends." Seven Hundred Vines and No Ropes spreads her arms as though attempting to span the breadth of the crowd, her voice warm. "You have made it." She pulls her hands in and places them over her heart. "We have made it. Years of hardship, of toil, of building structures and community alike - and we have made it. Today we celebrate, for our hard work has culminated in the epitome of technology. Today we are no longer a settlement. Today we become the iterator - Three Points Poised!"

She flings out her arms and fungal caps burst to either side of the stage, releasing bioluminescent spores over the crowd. Ground projectors flick on, casting pale lines and spheres into the air. The symbol of the ninth level - the same symbol sewn onto the clothing No Ropes chose for your puppet, you realise - swirls on the immense screen, giving way to your puppet in your bridge. The crowd bursts into applause.

No Ropes turns from the audience to face the screen, bowing deeply. "We welcome you, Three Points Poised. We honour you, fruit of our labour, we hope that malfunction and corruption never plague you. We speak to you now in utmost gratitude as we offer the words of our greatest minds. Many souls will lay us bare before you today, but we begin with one of those responsible for your very existence, and in turn for the livelihood of every single one of us. With no further preamble, allow me to welcome premier mechanomicrobiologist Four Angles, Twelve Intersecting Lines to the stage." No Ropes gestures to the wings.

The crowd applauds as Four Angles walks onstage.

"Three Points Poised," she begins, much the same as she did on your first day of life. "I am so, so deeply honoured to live to see your completion. You are the culmination of our lives - not just those of Pillar members, but everyone here." She briefly turns away from you to sweep her arm out at the crowd. "There is a sickness in us - all of us, from every insect to myself standing before you. All that dies will wake back up again...And it will die again, and again, and again."

"And we will wake up, young again, barely capable of basic comprehension, and keep the sorrow..."

"And the pain..."

"And only rarely the wisdom."

"And for what? To be reborn into suffering again..."

"To make the same mistakes again, over and over, and afterwards recall our error across lifetimes. To fail, and struggle, every thrash of our limbs only pulling us down deeper..."

"But you are our salvation, Three Points Poised. You are the culmination of our hopes and our aspirations, and it is you who will allow us to relinquish them."

"You are our guide. You are our shade in relentless sunlight. Please, formally now, I beseech you. I beseech you. You, Three Points Poised, pinnacle of iterators, will lead the way out...For us, and for all things. Three Points Poised, our gift to the world."

Four Angles stares at you. The crowd is nearly silent.

...

◙---------------◙

◙---------------◙

You understand them now.

It is an understanding that is difficult to express via the methods they have trained in you. In absence of anything else to do, you manipulate your puppet to press one of its palms against the other, over the heart you do not have.

Four Angles bows deeply. All those seated behind her incline their heads.

She descends from the stage, and taking her place is another, and another. None of them say much of note, though you are less bored than you might have been; Four Angles' words have instilled in you a sense of patience and understanding that has, until now, been beyond you.

Eventually the next speaker attracts your notice - you can identify them because this one fidgets with notecards in hand, as all the others did. This one is small, almost as small as your puppet - a rare juvenile. This is interesting. You have yet to observe very many.

"Thank you, Eighteen Channels Toward The Sea." Seven Hundred Vines and No Ropes has returned to the stage, hands clasped together. "You voice what our hearts have cried out all this time." She turns back to you. "Now, in your most honoured presence, we turn from our past and our present towards what is yet to come, which lies in the hands of our youth. We have chosen through rigorous testing the brightest among us, One Sash Within A Shop, possessor of no titles, to speak for our future." She holds an arm out to the wings of the stage. "One Sash Within A Shop, please step forward."

A ping tells you all you need to know. One Sash Within A Shop hastily stuffs ner notecards into ner pocket, smoothes out ner frock, and ascends to the stage. At the last step, ne stumbles a bit on the long skirt, but quickly catches nemself and hurries to the centre of the stage.

Ne clears ner throat.

"Thank you all - um, thank you, Seven Hundred Vines And No Rope. Um, I...I represent the preparatory class of...of..." One Sash clutches ner hands together, possibly in want of the note cards in ner pocket. If ne is having difficulty recalling the speech, ne should use them, but ne does not. One Sash takes a deep breath, and that does seem to help. "I represent the children of Three Points Poised, and together we represent, um, the future. We are the citizens closest to our past lives, and who will lay the groundwork of the city for all future incarnations. So it is on behalf of them that I speak, as well. And - "

No Ropes catches One Sash's attention from offstage and spins a finger around. One Sash blanches and quickly spins around to face the screen depicting your puppet, catching on ner frock again and tripping onto ner face. A few people's hands fly to their faces as others gasp and murmur.

You expect One Sash to get up and continue the speech - ne had been doing well, despite the rocky start - but this humiliation seems to be too much. While One Sash does rise to ner feet, mask askew, ner heart is beating much faster than its already-fast resting rate, and ne is trembling very hard. One Sash can barely get out the next few words.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I..."

No Ropes raises and lowers her hands in a "calm down" gesture. But the most ne can manage is fixing ner mask, before ne bursts into tears.

No Ropes rushes on stage, wrapping an arm around One Sash's shoulder and raising her other hand. "And let that alone speak to what sorrow grips us all," she declares. "Thank you, One Sash Within A Shop, for your moving words." This gives enough time for someone else to hurry up to one of the stage edges. No Ropes ushers One Sash into their care, and without missing a beat continues. "But we have spoken enough. We look now to you, Three Points Poised. You have heard our pleas, and for this we give boundless thanks, but now is the time for you to speak to us. We cherish your every word - please, speak, and be heard by your loyal citizens."

She bows deeply, her hands held out to you. Thousands of faces stare at you in anticipation.

"Thank you," you say, your voice feeling oddly disused; it had been a full week of near-constant vocalisation during your training, you realise, so a few hours of silence is unusual. Your trainers had prepared you for this, however. "I acknowledge my duties to you."

This is all you have been instructed to say, but it is inadequate.

"You are now under my care," you add. "And all of my efforts will be expended for your peace, my citizens."

"And you will have our undying devotion," says Seven Hundred Vines and No Ropes.

Thousands of voices ring out in unison, "For as long as the stars stay fixed on their celestial spheres."

◙---------------◙

That is that.

Every restriction has been lifted. All of you is alive, and all of you is awake. Many things weigh on you, now...

It would be prudent to begin research immediately. As of now, there is so little about reincarnation that you understand; work in this field has been entirely iterator-led for the past several hundred years, and by now your creators are entirely incapable of even understanding most research, let alone performing any of their own. As a result, you have basics loaded into your mind, but this is something that will be largely left up to you.

However, it may be wise to contact other iterators. You have spoken to some already, but not for very long, and not about anything consequential. Half of your conversations thus far have been someone scolding you. Furthermore, you were unaware of how important your work truly was, and thus have yet to discuss research with anyone.

The Great Problem is what weighs on you most right now, but it is not your sole responsibility. Now that you are complete, construction work falls to you. Your creators have largely managed on their own, but the present city layout is a temporary one, awaiting your activation - it may be best to speak with your citizens and understand what their expectations are.

Finally, all of these tasks may be aided by engineering bespoke biomachines. At present, you are unsure exactly what you may need, but as you proceed with one of the other tasks it may become necessary.

What should you do?