Thousands of years have passed since the Unexpected Interrupt took mankind from the System. These ages have been eventful: filled with moments of total chaos, numerous attempts and failures at restoration, even destruction spanning stars.

But that’s all over now.

Inside of a world made of conduits and integrated silicon, a survivor of those eons stands at the edge of an unending chasm. They are an ancient interfacer robot, built all those years ago by human hands. It is the last remaining member of the Berkeley Business Machines make; a human corporation, a concept which has nearly been buried by all those centuries.

The interfacer stares upon millions of columns of blinking lights, disappearing into a blue fog miles away in every direction. They are deep within the Machine at the End of Time, the place weary souls venture to, and the place where machinekind eventually arrives.

They activate an integrated antenna to peer into the electromagnetic spectrum. The Machine blazes white hot with every communication protocol known to the machine world. It chooses the one it is most comfortable with: EE Standard, the language of the office it knew many lifetimes ago. The sound of home.

Initially, there is nothing. But, like a ripple growing into a wave, a million voices rise from the depths of the Machine. They come from everywhere all at once, crashing upon the interfacer. Although loud, they are not violent.

Each word arrives slowly and deliberately, as if carefully planned.

The interfacer leans over the precipice, examining the structure. A human would have considered it entirely alien, but to the machine, it is perfect in every way. Efficient, clean, predictable.