Second Silence

Second Silence is an Iterator from the newest generation and by far the youngest in her local group. She is much more technologically advanced than her peers and, with the help of her local group senior Gaze at Ceaseless Light, was eventually able to develop technology that allows her puppet to leave her can. She spends most of her time studying the diverse flora and fauna of the world for her own enjoyment.

Second Silence's puppet is of a pale blue color and short stature. Her antennae are a dark, blue-tinted gray, and are rounded, flat, and wide. She has solid black eyes with small white pupils and a yellow heart-shaped mark on her forehead. Her cloak is primarily a light, dull blue with a wide white trim at the bottom and a yellow collar with a white circle on the front. It also features a dull blue turtleneck. When her puppet is connected to her can, within her chamber, the steel blue mechanical arm that enables her aerial movement attaches below her cloak's yellow collar on her back. Additionally, there is a metal port on the back of her head from which many long red and blue wires extend out and connect to her umbilical, which has two lights on either side of each segment that light up blue when sending and receiving data. When her puppet is disconnected, these wires instead connect to her back through the opening in her cloak where the mechanical arm would otherwise connect.

Externally, Silence's can is visually average, though with a slightly more modern finish and less damage than older generations of Iterators. Unlike most others, the city atop her can is teeming with life, though not that of her citizens. She has personally seen to its overtaking by the remaining life of the world for the purpose of having a conveniently nearby ecosystem of flora and fauna to study. It is lush and humid thanks to the irrigation systems she has implemented within it since the disappearance of her citizens. Since more of her water output is redirected here than average, the rains she causes in the regions surrounding her can are weaker and more survivable. It is for this reason that the wildlife in these regions is especially abundant, which is conveniently also productive towards her goals.

Internally, Silence's can is built much like any other Iterator's, though she has made attempts to condense certain areas and reduce empty space in order to make room for her own personalizations. Noteworthily, these include the extended and rerouted irrigation systems she uses for the city atop her can and several spaces built with the accommodation of the several creatures she allows to travel within her can, such as Imminent Accord and Six Shrouded Moons, in mind. The central chamber of her can, in which her puppet typically resides, is tiled black. The pearls she produces are black, for impersonal or insignificant information, and red, for more important information, and slowly fade to white over extended periods of use or time. Her Overseers are also red.

Design Notes

• She has only four fingers on each hand, and her feet are intentionally simple in design.

Towards most other Iterators (and, in the past, her citizens), Second Silence has a callous and sarcastic attitude. She is much less tolerant of her intended purpose and the rules set in place for her than most Iterators and does not feel she owes her late creators any respect or obligation whatsoever. She has little patience for those Iterators who feel otherwise (dismissing them as obnoxious, pretentious, and naïve) and a high tendency to start petty, inflammatory arguments about the subject, which is a trait that has gotten her in trouble with both her creators and her peers countless times. She is not afraid to be incredibly blunt and impolite towards those who challenge her individualistic lifestyle and is widely dismissed as childish and unreasonable for this. Though she largely struggles to get along with other Iterators, she has much love for creatures of lower intelligence.

The Iterators Silence gets along well with are those who share similar sentiments towards their purpose—while she has a hard time sympathizing with anyone still working on the Task, she has no problem forming connections with those who have abandoned it in favor of individuality (though her selfish nature tends to cause other problems along the way). Prior to the deterioration of most communication systems, she had several such friends, though they were almost exclusively very long-distance and now unable to contact her. Though she enjoys her own company quite well enough, she also loves to discuss the topics that personally interest her with anyone who will listen, regardless of who this is—a pool of individuals that was eventually largely reduced to the few curious animals that occasionally happened to wander into her chamber. Though she has quite frankly enjoyed the absence of the many Iterators she didn't get along with while global communications were still active, she is eager to help her local group senior in their endeavor to fix as many Iterators' communications arrays as possible and reconnect the community, as her inability to communicate with nearly anyone like-minded anymore has taken a toll on her over time. This seemingly out-of-character optimism is in part due to the recent few positive experiences she has had in meeting new Iterators, something she has struggled to consider was possible until very recently.

Since her creation, Second Silence's blunt and less-than-agreeable demeanor has been an obstacle between her, her intended purpose, and her creators. She has always held little to no personal interest in solving the Great Problem (despite her innate and persistent programmed drive to do so) which, coupled with her bluntness and tendency to pick fights, made cooperation with her creators incredibly difficult while they remained. Following their disappearance, Silence has only further removed herself from the Task, going so far as to completely renounce it and her purpose as a whole in an act of defiance against them and a statement of her own agency. In this time, she has, like many others, become bitter about the futile and antithetical nature of her existence and resentful of her creators for her irresponsible design. Despite her programming and in conscious pursuit of individuality, she has developed great appreciation for the beauty of the world around her, especially its diverse fauna. She spends the large majority of her time studying, documenting, and spending time with the creatures found near her can for her own enjoyment. In response to those who are critical of this behavior, she sarcastically excuses it as a method of searching for an answer to the Great Problem, if only in effort to get them to leave her alone.

Due to her apathetic attitude towards the Great Problem, Silence did not particularly care about the circumstances of Sliver of Straw's death when it occurred, though it did come as quite a shock. More concerning to her, personally, was the following intense and all-consuming obsession over the matter by seemingly every Iterator she knew. Attempts to remove herself from conversations about the subject left her feeling alienated and alone, including within her local group as her local group senior, Gaze at Ceaseless Light, who she was formerly very close with, abandoned all other affairs in favor of Sliverist research. This created a significant rift between the two and growing resentment eventually culminated into a catastrophic argument and their complete estrangement. As global communication capabilities deteriorated, Silence spent the next nearly four decades in absence of almost any communication with other Iterators.

Following their eventual reconciliation, Second Silence and Gaze at Ceaseless Light began work together on the development of technology that would allow them, and by extension other Iterators, to disconnect their puppets from their cans and roam the world freely. Silence was the first to receive this modification due to her newer model being easier to alter for wireless communication and visited Gaze frequently until the technology was adapted for older generations of Iterators, allowing Gaze to be upgraded as well. After it had been perfected, the two shifted focus onto repairing their communications arrays and distributing these upgrades to the rest of the Iterators in their local group. Once this goal had been completed, they began traveling and reaching out to Iterators in nearby local groups as well to offer their technological assistance. One such Iterator Silence came into contact with was Eight Blank Pages, who happened to share similar interests with her, and the two quickly grew very close. Following her meeting with Pages, she also reconnected with Howl in Broad Daylight, an old friend she knew over global communications, after several decades of being unable to contact xim, and later met Song of Joyous Sparrow. Presently, Silence, Gaze, Pages, Howl, and Sparrow spend much of their time together wandering the world together, studying its inhabitants, and spending time together in person at each other's cans.

Gaze at Ceaseless Light

Gaze at Ceasless Light is Second Silence's local group senior and a very close friend of hers. The two grew close quickly following Silence's creation as Gaze was the most willing out of the local group's members to speak with and guide her—as well as the most tolerant and sympathetic of her attitude towards the Great Problem. Gaze continued to be Silence's closest friend and confidant until Sliver of Straw's death and triple affirmative. This event greatly piqued Gaze's interest, leading them to redirect the large majority of their attention and time onto the subject and away from their relationships with the other Iterators around them; Silence, being vehemently avoidant of the subject, was particularly affected. The two gradually began to drift apart as it became clear their interests were mutually exclusive and resentment built up in Silence for Gaze's apparent indifference towards her and the failing state of their relationship. After several years, this culminated into a disastrous, accusatory argument between the two instigated by Silence in anger for Gaze's continued ignorance, from which both parties were left feeling betrayed. Silence promptly cut off all contact from Gaze following this argument and neither attempted to communicate with the other for several decades despite the mutual remorse they felt.

It was Gaze who eventually attempted to break the silence roughly three decades later, after much self-reflection regarding how they reacted to Silence's concerns, by sending her messages regarding non-intrusive subjects such as their own hobby-related endeavors or questions about her work in hope of being able to reconnect. This continued intermittently for several years until around the time Gaze met Six Shards of Glass, whom they were eager to inform Silence of, when Silence finally began to respond. After several months of infrequent casual contact between the two, Silence opened up to Gaze about her feelings regarding their fight and the two formally apologized to one another and made up over their conflict. Not long after their reconciliation, Gaze created Imminent Accord as an extended apology and gift for Silence, knowing her love for the world's fauna, how useful its abilities could prove to be in her endeavors, and how meaningful such a personal gift would be for her. Their friendship has since fully recovered and they now spend much of their time talking with and spending time with one another again. It was Gaze's encouragement that later helped Silence open up to the idea of trying to reconnect the Iterator community on a large scale.

Dead of Winter

Dead of Winter is another Iterator in Second Silence's local group. The two never grew particularly close—in part due to the limited time Silence had with vir before vir communications went bad—but get along very well, and the little time they do spend together presently is always very positive. Recently, Silence has been helping Winter start to come out of their shell. They admire her confidence and unapologetic, loud personality.

Hushed Dust

Second Silence does not get along well at all with Hushed Dust, another Iterator in her local group. Their exceptionally different worldviews and similarly instigative personalities haven't made it easy for them to speak to each other without starting fights—something Gaze at Ceaseless Light has had to spend much effort to prevent—so they are largely not on speaking terms. Generally, they do not hear from each other unless it's through a conversation between the whole local group.

Three Chimes, Cheerful Parable

Though Second Silence did not have the chance to know Three Chimes, Cheerful Parable before her death, her feelings of grief and anger regarding her loss are strong. She is well aware of the impact she, in her life and death, has had on her fellow local group members through the stories they've told her, and her creators' involvement in the accident has only further fueled her hatred of them.

Eighty Blank Pages

Eighty Blank Pages is another very close friend of Second Silence's and one of few Iterators outside of her own local group that she has met in person so far. The two met as a part of Silence's first attempts to reach out to and upgrade other Iterators with the technology she and Gaze developed and hit it off immediately due to their mutual interest in wildlife and shared attitude towards the Great Problem. They talk with each other very frequently, especially about their interests, and love to travel the world together to discover and study its wildlife. Their contrasting personalities complement each other surprisingly well and their meeting has made a very notable positive impact on both of their lives. They spend much of their time together as a group with Gaze at Ceaseless Light, Howl in Broad Daylight, and Song of Joyous Sparrow.

Howl in Broad Daylight

Howl in Broad Daylight is an old friend of Second Silence's who she has only recently reconnected with. The two knew each other over global communications in the past until around the time Sliver of Straw died and Howl refocused on Sliverist work in accordance with xis local group senior's orders. The two of them met again when Silence encountered him during her mission to upgrade nearby Iterators and was surprised to find xe was located so close to her all along. Their reconnection later sparked xis reconnection with both Eighty Blank Pages and Gaze at Ceaseless Light, whom he had also known over global communications prior to their deterioration.

Song of Joyous Sparrow

Song of Joyous Sparrow is yet another friend Second Silence has made as a result of her and Gaze at Ceaseless Light's endeavor to upgrade and repair nearby Iterators. After sailing across the Mist Sea to the Night Isle with Gaze, Eighty Blank Pages, and Howl in Broad Daylight, the group was surprised to find it was the last Iterator standing out of its local group. After being freed, she has spent much time with Silence, Gaze, Pages, and Howl and grown close with each of them.

Pirouette of Furious Starling

Pirouette of Furious Starling is an Iterator Second Silence has had the misfortune of running into multiple times throughout her life. The two had engaged in several nasty arguments with each other regarding the Great Problem and Iterator purpose back when global communications were still active due to their intensely contrasting views and shared predisposition for conflict. It was only very recently that Silence came into contact with her again, as a result of Pages' unfortunate run-in with her.

Ever-Present Ambition

Ever-Present Ambition was the person responsible for overseeing Second Silence's construction, much to the dismay of every member of her local group at the time. Their relationship—though they didn't actually see or speak to each other personally much—was built on distrust from the start thanks to Silence's local group members' warnings. Ambition took much offense from Silence's disrespect towards them, which in turn caused them to be even more inconsiderate and rude towards her for the short while they remained. Silence was particularly relieved to hear about their ascension when it happened.

Imminent Accord

Imminent Accord is a Slugcat hybrid artificially created by Gaze at Ceaseless Light as a gift for Second Silence. They serve as a companion and assistant in her studies, as the communication ability they were created with was specialized for this purpose. She has raised them since they were a young pup and is the most significant figure in their life. Although Accord is somewhat akin to a pet in relation to Second Silence, the two are very close and understand each other incredibly well. They work cooperatively together although Accord is mostly self-sufficient, and they stay not out of obligation but rather their own free will. The two enjoy each other's company greatly and can often be found hanging out together in Silence's chamber or out traveling together.

Six Shards of Glass

Second Silence and Six Shards of Glass are familiar with each other, but not particularly close, as they don't see each other incredibly often. Upon learning about them, Silence was ecstatic to learn Slugcats could do the things Glass is capable of and to be able to study them, and she is always delighted to hear from Gaze about their behavior.

Eight Prisms, Gleaming

Though Second Silence has only seen them a handful of times so far, as they are a new creation, she is on good terms with Eight Prisms, Gleaming, a bioengineered Slugcat of Gaze at Ceaseless Light's creation as a gift for Eighty Blank Pages. She enjoys playing with them and is fascinated by the combination of abilities they were given. She thinks it is very sweet how well they and Imminent Accord get along and loves to bring Accord over to Pages' can just to watch them interact.

Fifteen Needles, Endless Skies

Fifteen Needles, Endless Skies, the King Vulture, is one of a few particular wild creatures Second Silence has managed to befriend, with the help of Imminent Accord. Although Skies' relationship with Silence started built on tolerance, especially considering their former fear of Iterator puppets, they have since grown closer. Skies now expresses loyalty to her, and to an extent the other Iterators she has introduced them to, and will allow them to hitch rides on their back as far as the distance between two cans in exchange for food. Skies has made their home within the city of Silence's can; this was not only the catalyst for their meeting but has also proven to be very convenient for both of them as it allows Skies access to a safe environment with guaranteed food and Silence consistent access to Skies as a subject to study and a means of fast transportation.

Twenty-Seven Stars

Twenty-Seven Stars is a young Vulture Second Silence knows due to their association with Fifteen Needles, Endless Skies. Skies often brings them along with them wherever they go, so they have had many opportunities to interact with Silence and the other Iterators. Due to their frequent exposure to Iterator puppets from a young age, they are very friendly, to a fault, and have no issue with being handled by Silence or the others.

Six Shrouded Moons

Six Shrouded Moons, the Black Lizard-Cyan Lizard hybrid, is another creature Second Silence has befriended with Imminent Accord's help. After being shown images of them taken by her Overseers, Silence tasked Accord with finding and befriending them, as she had not seen a hybrid Lizard before and was intrigued by the idea. Due to their high need for care, Moons is kept under Silence's watch within her can the majority of the time.

Swirly

Swirly is a Red Lizard Second Silence and Eighty Blank Pages met while traveling and studying together. The two were initially spooked by them but surprised to later find they had accidentally tamed them in their attempt to flee. Swirly is largely under Pages' care currently, but Silence is on good terms with them as well and the two are always delighted to see each other.

Interlude's Tribe

Due to their proximity to her can and the degree to which they are involved in her other creature friends' lives, Second Silence is decently familiar with Interlude in Evergreens' tribe of Scavengers. Silence is particularly interested in Scavengers due to their high intelligence, tool crafting, and social behavior, and has spent much time studying the members of this tribe in particular. Scavengers' disliking of Iterators as a whole has made her studies on them particularly difficult, though she has had luck in communicating with them via Imminent Accord. Negotiations between the tribe and Accord, on Silence's behalf, have brought the members of the tribe to a largely neutral relationship with her.

Most notably, she has a good relationship with Restless Pines, who she at one point managed to give the Mark of Communication to and has since been incredibly interested in being read the contents of pearls. Though Silence is more than willing to read the contents of her own pearls to them, she is a stickler for proper archival and does not allow them to keep any. For this reason, they often steal pearls from Gaze at Ceaseless Light, who tolerates their presence and could not care less about the loss of pearls, and bring them back for Silence to read to them. They also often arrive with pearls given to them by Imminent Accord, who has already had them read by Silence, which she finds particularly entertaining. She has also managed to give the Mark of Communication to Shadow Cast by Mountains, the only other Scavenger who has been willing to meet Silence face-to-face as of yet, because they were brought to Silence's can by Pines.