Field Dispatches

Recovered logs from inside the world of Overlayed Echoes by J.S. Warden.

Five friends · before, during, and after the first session · 2045 — and one log from later.

Same world, sixteen recovered logs. Five from the calm before the first session ever ran, five from the night after it did, five from mid-session when it turned dark, and one from later — when the thing they built started writing back.

The calm before

The Director's Voice — the game masterThe voice is a costume — and the only time my voice comes out steady. Counting the Exits — the guardianI checked the exits. I checked them twice. The End of Worry — the medicA checklist isn't worry. It's the end of worry. No Footnotes Required — the jokerI'm going to be a problem. A delightful problem. The Things I Let Go — his sisterI always let it go. That's the thing about being his sister.

The first session

Seven Feet of Silver — the guardianFor one swing, I was huge and dangerous and the world flinched. Exactly As Designed — the medicThe list came up clean. Even I get to put the clipboard down. The Dagger Flip — the jokerIt didn't make us different people. It made us more us. The Edge of My Chair — his sisterI held fire and it didn't hurt me. Some nights that's enough. The Load-Bearing Grin — the game masterThe grin is a wall. The wall was holding.

When it turned

The Questions I'm Saving Up — the guardianI'm keeping the questions in a stack. I'm going first. Try Again Later — the medicHealing doesn't fail. Tonight it told me to try again later. The Joke That Didn't Land — the jokerThe glove came off — and the hurt stayed. What I Said to My Brother — his sisterI said "you did this." I don't think he did. The Bit Is the Only Load-Bearing Thing — the game masterI pressed the panic word. Nothing happened.

And later

The Glitch in the Soul — the game masterThe system started writing back.

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