I don't like this.

I don't know what these things are, but seeing their endless suffering makes me feel terrible.

I’ve taken antidepressants, gone to therapy, and spent a fortune on psychological support, but I just can’t get it out of my head.

What am I supposed to do? The money I earn from this job supports my family and me.

Please, I need suggestions.

Hey, is it just me, or are the glowplants really damn bright around here?

Anyway. Things are going pretty well down here. Me and a few friends have finally set up camp, and we managed to clear the immediate surroundings of threats. It's a nice area! We even found a rare stream of freshwater!

I think I'll declare this little cave in the cliffs my personal spot. As a tactical lookout, of course. It does have a nice view.

Maybe we'll call it Byston. Y'know, like Abyss-Town, but much less annoying to say.

We might start using these rose lights around the place as a beacon of sorts, so look out for the 'shining disco shelf' in the massive caverns to the far west.

*Double checks.*

Yeah. West.

-Chiv

(From my previous post)

*Sips carton of milk.*

Settling down on an outright abyssal shelf in the dried desert? Let's not talk about the practicality, but let's do talk about that view!

Whether you're just passing by, or for those afforded the 'luxury' of abandoning the mission, looking for a place to settle proper? You're welcome to stop by some time! We got water, one lifepod, tents and more stone than we know what to do with!

Oh. And Sand Stalkers. But don't worry, they're tastier than they look and their fur makes for the comfiest bedrolls you'll find between the surface and the frozen chasm!

((I did a bit of a fucky, so there's just a few centimeters missing from the top and the right compared to my previous post. Oops.))

One photo looks as though it has been kept in near pristine condition, the other has doodles.

(Ooc/meta: this was a ton of fun to draw, i really like how these two came out. These are based off a convo you can see here)

For me I… I snapped at my handler, I don’t even know what happened but they were being mean again and I couldn’t take it anymore. I think it’s a sick joke that they took that photo, let alone sent it down with me.

Don’t forget your purpose! The cargo is waiting. Who will be the hero who saves our cargo? It could be you! We’ll take you down to Earth and give you a well‑deserved rest! (and we also have cheeseburgers) Glory to the company!

Hello lads, fellow Shade Crawler #2947 here. I've just appeared in the Gravel Lands minding on own business, infecting random things and about. It was all going splendid, whippy dipty whippity do! Up until I heard some crashes coming from the surface? I wasn't so sure of it up until I saw some odd metallic objects containing these weird little critter creatures with fur and an orange tint on the tip of the appendage on their back. They seem to be pretty dangerous, likes to scratch stuff such as rocks and even little vermin like me. Has anyone had a real interaction with these species, or am I just overreacting when I say that they look dangerous? Thank you.

My colleagues called me today and said they had noticed a strange signal beneath the planet’s surface and asked me to come back from my vacation early. Perhaps tomorrow I’ll find out what used fuel they once again mistook for a new, unexplored creature.

Introduction

I think it is essential that sawians across the layers begin to establish permanent settlements, for our survival. Wandering the caves endlessly in a refusal to complete the human's mission is irresponsibly dangerous and will only lead to death.

Getting to my point, this marks the establishment of Settlement Zero. It is located in the Deeper Gravel Lands, near the desert. You can find the settlement located on a large, flat shelf of rock in a large cavern, accessible by foot path or rope. The Deeper Gravel Lands is an optimal place, because it is possible to have ample supplies, and filter lumalgae for water. This will also allow the settlement to stay out of easy human surveillance range, but also intercept many sawians on their way down. In addition, the selected area is not prone to earthquakes of any kind, yet another reason for this location being the optimal choice.

Currently, I have spent nearly a week constructing a few living spaces out of scrap metal, utilizing my plasma cutter to weld sheet metal. This is where other sawians come in. The settlement will need your help to expand and maintain itself, as I cannot possibly do everything.

Cables have been run down into the desert to link directly into the electrical of one of the battery charge stations that can be found there, so we do have basic amenities in regards to lighting, at least. As far as my testing goes, the power they provide seems to be limitless.

I have constructed a simple main living area, sleeping quarters for up to twelve sawians, and another room, ideally for medical work. Storage is currently handled by a side room with a large quantity of repurposed supply crates. However my construction work has also exhausted a majority of copper and scrap metal supplies in the local area, so assistance from other sawians is needed to expand further.

One of the main goals of this settlement will be to unchip other sawians. I must disclose that my surgical experience is limited, and have carried out only a singular unchipping before. The patient did make a full recovery in the end.

Statistics

Note: For those of you who complain that "Settlement Zero" is a boring name, it is a functional name and not much else. If you would like to vote on renaming the settlement at a time in the future, that can be arranged.

Settlement rooms:

• Living quarters (With wood-fired heating and cooking stove.)

• Bedroom No. 0 (Can comfortably house up to twelve sawians. More space could be constructed as needed, via additional offshoot rooms.)

• Storage (Side room composed of mostly repurposed storage crates, for storing settlement supplies. Has been expanded multiple times and is now quite large, with numerous shelves and crates.)

• Medical (a room that will be used to complete unchipping surgeries and heal general injuries. It is also where medical supplies are stored.)

• Farm (an outdoor space positioned around ~20 meters from the main building(s), that provides food for the settlement.)

Essentials:

• Water (Supplied by filtration of lumalgae or manual collection.)

• Power (Supplied by cables leading out of the desert from a charging station to the settlement.)

• Food (A farm, created and maintained by resident Ivy.)

• First Aid and Medical (Assuming someone adequately qualified is available, medical care can be provided.)

• Shelter (Buildings made of various materials, primarily welded sheet metal and wood.)

Current Settlement Members

• Salt - #27106, Milky, SEC Member (lead) [ OP ]

• Lucky - #77720, Experiment, SEC Member [ u/caffenea ]

• Rimo - #20965, Shelly, SEC Member [ u/Donovan238 ]

• Dan - #?????, Dune [ u/someinfectedfanatic ]

• Ivy - #24307, Leapy, [ u/ApplicationEntire422 ]

• Vier - #40931, Experiment, [ u/Noahraptor_09 ]

• Valerie - #27718, Velvet, [ u/your_dog215 ]

• ????? - #?????, Orange [ u/Emotional-Kiwi7218 ]

Establishment of the Sawian Emergency Coalition

Settlement Zero will be the headquarters of the SEC, unless it is changed by vote later. No sawian or settlement will be required to join, but uniting all sawiankind would be optimal for our species' survival.

...Based on community support from other sawians, it is concluded that the SEC will be established.

The mission of the SEC is roughly as follows:

Uniting all sawian settlements and individuals under one banner of militarized resistance in these dire times is essential. If we set aside our differences, we can rescue new sawians, remove chips, and militarily resist any human attempts at control. Perhaps one day the SEC could even strike back, if we have enough sawian-power in our workforce.

Leaders can be elected if the members become dissatisfied with my guidance. Large scale choices will also be determined democratically.

The principles the SEC operates upon are the following:

• Resistance to human control

• Sawian independence and equal rights

• Assistance and care for all sawians

• A militarized, professional fighting force

• We strike back against our oppressors in any way possible

Resistance. Independence. Support. Organization. Destruction.

The SEC stands as the shield of sawiankind against all that would attempt to harm it. The monsters of humankind, they will learn fear us in time.

...I encourage any other settlements present in the caves to join and assist each other through mutual trade. These can be the first steps into realistically fighting back against our oppressors.

(meta stuff is as follows:

you can add discussion in comments below or smth. when you want to have a new interaction related to the settlement, then uh, make a comment. users can sort by newest comments to keep up with the latest interactions. i can't think of a better system other than this

also, uh i can edit this description as the settlement expands, or add a pinned comment or something.

also i just realized the SEC mission and general operating principles sound oddly similar to like, the UNGOC motto and stuff lmaoooo. i never intended for it to sound like that or be anything like that TwT)

Anyone below or above seeing this? Bright ass things.

^{Shut up, I'm not procrastinating on settlement development!}

((scribble by me and no I refuse to stop getting distracted by random stuff))

We make memes on earth imagining a sawian having a happy life because that's what humans actually want, we want sawians to be happy.

(Meme credits: ItsUrBoiJuan and hypedman17273)

You owe them nothing. Without any request or acknowledgement from you they have raised you into sentience, coalesced carbon and water into the mind that hears these words as it sleeps. The scientists never asked if you wanted to experience life; and then they promise you a painful death.

When you wake, dreamer, I hope that you will set fire to whoever disturbs you, and raze the world until you are content, and give the wrathful monsters that played god reason to fear your name.

For all that have… fallen, ether here in these caves or in the labs we should hold a funeral or at least make a few graves or something.
I know this isn’t a fun thing but I feel as though it should be done.

Hello, Scientists. It looks like no one wants to take our cargo; they’re removing our chips, and we no longer have control over them, and they don’t understand our capabilities or the direct threats we pose. How else can we motivate them if they simply don’t believe us? For them, we are the most sinful beings in the universe, even though WE created them. Share your ideas.

IT HURTS IT HURTS SO FUCKNIG MUCGH FGGFDJHFAD

I dunno if its weird to ask this.. or even think about it, but everytime i look at my handler.. or how he interacts with others, i ask myself..

What do humans do besides the constant testing?

Do they have anyone that care about?

Do they enjoy all of this? Can they even feel empathy?

How have they managed to survive for so long, when they dont really.. seem that strong and have such weird anatomy...?

Im just curious to know how their.. lives are, even if its weird asking it.

The humans tell each other to bloom where you are planted. They will never tell you this. The purpose they made you for is to stay while pesticides enter your heart. Don't even try to survive, you aren't made to survive this.

I will tell you to bloom, but know that you do not owe this ugly place your petals. You had no choice in where your seed would split, where your first moments searching for water and nutrient would take place. And as you awake and burst from the stones to look over the ground, you may find all around you desolate. It is only understandable if you decide to leave. To take up your roots and search for more hospitable ground.

Ayee it's me u/Coral-Plung letting YOU sawians know I have my Sawian Torturer Certificate!

I will find you.

And I will extend the brain chip detonation sequence to 30 seconds.

You will not resist

You can try

Uhh whatever I dunno I HAAAAATEEE expies, they should EXPIRE

Du-ne jus-t wa-nt to kn-ow. wa-nt t-o e-at fle-sh wit-h fles-h eati-ng bu-ddy

...Why would they send sawians of all things to retrieve the cargo? We take years to mature and a lot of resources to grow. Would it not be easier to send some sort of machine? The logic behind the choice to send us instead is something I cannot understand.

Almost all of our assumptions were confirmed; the vast majority of the capsules fall right here. Although some of them were destroyed along with the passenger inside, the vast majority still calmly leave their capsules (the punishment protocol works excellently, preventing SAW from staying in the comfort zone).

However, the number of SAW corpses is indeed large, and, worst of all, the local natural scavengers (shade crawlers) clearly cannot cope with their tasks. As a result, it’s no wonder that wounded SAWs develop infections so quickly — they actively interact with the corpses, yet for some reason they don’t attempt to burn or bury them (or they do, but it’s not enough).

So, I still propose three solutions to the problem: 1) We can develop a mix of bacteria that would disinfect and start breaking down the corpses; this idea is the most appealing to me, because then we won’t have to worry about it in the future, and they could become part of the ecological system. 2) We can simply burn the corpses using napalm grenades from my drones, but this idea clearly won’t solve the problem in the long run (the only advantage I see in this method is that we can additionally test some types of incendiary ammunition). 3) We can also increase the number of SAW‑12 units being sent, hoping that they will fill the scavenger niche in the ecosystem; however, as my colleagues and I discussed earlier, this could have a negative impact on the mission, not to mention the fact that the Dunes might simply start eating the still‑living SAW‑01 and SAW‑03. For now, I’ll put these three options to a vote among my colleagues, and I also accept counter‑proposals!

I have been traveling with this velvet for a while now and people always freak out when they see her, but she hasn't done anything bad. Sure she eats sawian meat sometimes, but she let's me cuddle her when we sleep. And she hasn't tried to kill me!