[First-Time Only] Any pearl brought by The Acolyte to:

Seven Tails of Seven Comets: [After finishing reading] “You really love pearls, don’t you? Most are as pearlescent as your white fur. It sort of makes sense. Just make sure not to overdo it.”

Pine Needles Bound in Red: [After finishing reading] “...I’ve warned you before, and will warn you again, little beast. The Ancients considered certain actions and beliefs to be one of the Great Sins, halting one’s ability to Ascend and escape the Great Cycle. Please, do not hoard pearls. I would hate for you to get caught up in something you do not understand.”

Hint of Ichor: [After finishing reading] “I’ve always wondered, why are you and Scavengers so interested in pearls anyways. They are simply means of storing data to us. They are as valuable as their contents: in the grand scheme of things, not very, given how many the Ancients have used to store meaningless information, their regrets, last wishes. One can ponder if the tendency to leave mementos before attempting Ascensions had a role to play in them becoming Echoes. I hope it does not happen to you, too.”

Pearl #1, brought by [anyone] to:

Seven Tails of Seven Comets: “It is a pearl written by Pine, full of blueprints detailing their personal solution to the Great Problem. Every Iterator wants to achieve freedom, but Pine has always been dead set on getting it on their own two feet. Ha! They wish to build an external puppet and transfer their consciousness into it, manipulate it like an Overseer but at a greater scale. I would have been all for it, but… neither of us has the equipment for building something so complex. Only Hint does, and he… well. He’s a bit of an airhead. Don’t tell him that, though.

Pine Needles Bound in Red: “...Those are blueprints I’ve sent to Hint of Ichor about the possible details about my external body project. Where did you get it? You’re lucky I always back up my data, so it doesn’t get lost out in the world! Maybe in a few thousand Cycles I’ll be able to stand next to you, on my own two legs. We’ll see. Building something so complex takes a very long time, even for us Iterators.”

Hint of Ichor: “This pearl contains blueprints Pine sent to me. Many Cycles ago, we agreed to work together, given that the Ancients didn’t think to give Pine and Comet any workspace in their superstructures.” [Pause] “I think the idea is admirable, to explore the outside world by ourselves. But the technical difficulty… building a body capable of surviving in the wild is easy, but one capable of storing all of our consciousness inside? That’s something else. I am as much as my puppet as I am the outside walls and the cables and all the Neuron Flies put together. That sort of storage capacity… It’s just not feasible, without losing most of yourself in the move.

Pearl #2, brought by [anyone] to:

Seven Tails of Seven Comets: “Oh my! Little Slugcat! It is a pearl containing various data about star maps in our solar system, made by Ancient astronomers. I’ve always been interested in space. We are living Gods, yet the stars are still so far away, so out of reach… But I’m sure you already knew that if you took one look at my chamber. I’ve met a lot of Slugcats and Scavengers before you, and let them decorate my chamber for me. They brought a part of the night sky inside, and for that I am forever grateful.

Pine Needles Bound in Red: “It is a pearl filled to the brim with images of the night sky and recordings of deep space. Did you know that the Ancients reached our moons? I’m sorry. I don’t think you’ve ever seen our moons, considering the rain. They’re like our world, but barren and full of rocks, very, very far away. They shine brightly at night, illuminating the otherwise dark space. Or so they would, if they weren’t blocked by the dense layer of clouds.” [Pause] “The Ancients stopped being interested in space a very long time ago, choosing to focus on the Great Cycle. Hard to keep focus on something you can’t see anymore. You should bring this pearl to Comet, I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.”

Hint of Ichor: “There is a lot of data inside this pearl, nothing very relevant, though. It contains many images, drawings, and recordings of space and the night sky, back when it wasn’t blocked by a permanent layer of clouds and vapor. I’m not sure how up to date it is, given how many Cycles it has been since then. Perhaps most of the recorded constellations have shifted and no longer look like they did before. You should bring it to Comet, she’s always been the most interested in this out of all three of us.”

Pearl #3, brought by [...] to Hint of Ichor:

By The Acolyte/Oil Spill: “Oh, it is one of my pearls. It contains various biological structures and DNA strings of red versions of common predators – red lizards, red centipedes, red kelp. They are not native to the area, as it’s too hard to blend in with the snow if you’re bright red. Plus, it's hard to find enough prey to sustain yourself in this environment. It was quite difficult to acquire all of it, having to resort to sending wild beasts to hunt down the red specimens and bring me the half-decayed corpses. At least the freezing temperatures help to slow the process down.”

By The Beast: “...Oh. This pearl…it contains biological structures and DNA strings of red predators. I used the acquired data as your genetic base. Even if these variants aren’t native to this area, prey animals still seem to carry a hard-coded DNA response to the color red: absolute fear. I hoped that it would deter any local predators from going after you. I hope it worked.”

Pearl #4, brought by The Acolyte/The Beast to:

Seven Tails of Seven Comets: “It…looks like a report and study of a biological disease that Hint has been struggling with. I’m sorry, little Slugcat, but I don’t know all the details. Communication between us is hard enough as it is. Still. The pearl details how it interacts with biological matter and the cold, how it spreads, and how Hint tried to flush it out before realizing containing it inside his labs and shutting them down was better.” [Pause] “I hope he doesn’t beat himself over it all. We all would have panicked in his situation, even if he denies it.”

Pine Needles Bound in Red: “It’s a combined study and report of Hint’s disease. It’s a very sore subject for him, and he prefers not to speak of it. Still… I suppose you’re the one at risk of it, so you should know a bit. It’s a biological growth that attacks living organisms, and presents itself as dark patches on the skin which harden when exposed to cold. It came to be when one of his experiments failed, and then got out when he tried to flush it out of his can. It doesn’t affect him very much, at least yet. He managed to lock the majority in his laboratories, but given that we’re partly biological ourselves… It will take a very long time, but one day it will spread.” [Pause] “Just…don’t go eating things that have dark patches on them, alright?”

Hint of Ichor: “...It is a report that I made, back when I created the illness. Not that I wanted to create it. I tend to be careless sometimes, and this is my punishment. Managed to let it escape into the wild, too.” [Pause] “I do have a way of reversing it, but it’s difficult, especially on a bigger scale. Might not be the perfect solution, either. I wish I could reverse it all, but I’ve no way of collecting up all the infected mass outside of my can. And the infected areas of my superstructure… Let’s just say that genetic engineering on your own DNA is difficult with the Taboo. I’ll be fine, at least for now

Pearl #4, brought by Oil Spill to Hint of Ichor: “...It’s the report I made on the illness, back when it first came to be. I’m sure I don’t need to explain all the side effects and dangers to you, Oil Spill.” [Pause] “I wish I wasn’t as careless. Who knew that Gods capable of so much would still make such obvious errors.” [Pause] “As I promised, when you finish your duties as my messenger, I will do my best to revert as much of it as I can. It won’t make it up entirely to you, but It’s the most I can do.”