DISPATCH DIALOGUES

Transmission from Within the Cycle

DISPATCH 13 — The Knotkeeper

Every Tangle at Once

The Knotkeeper speaks in echoes, a single voice pulled through too many alwheres at once. Every answer feels rehearsed, every pause a fracture in the Pattern itself.

Q1: First, your crown. It’s… distinctive.
Crown? No crown. Not crown. Cable conduit. Loom spine. Pattern vein. Call it what you like. Holds the pulses steady. Mostly steady. Worn askance, yes. Flow skips left first. Right comes later. Later matters. Important.

Q2: What does a Knotkeeper do?
Keep the knots. Keep them. Not undo. No. Not all. Some. Only some. You cannot cut every knot. Structure collapses. Seen it happen. Happens again if I fail. Unless I tighten this one. Here. No. Wait. Loosen. Yes. Loosen this time.

Q3: You seem… busy.
Busy, yes. Always. Now. Before now. After now. Knots do not sleep. They tangle across whens when you are not looking. I am looking. Always looking. Three versions of the same knot. No. Five. Same knot. Different futures. Some futures better. Some worse. Which one is this? We will see.

Q4: How do you tell a good knot from a bad one?
Good. Bad. Wrong question. Knots are knots. They exist because the Pattern wanted them. Or because the Pattern failed to stop them. Or because someone pushed too hard. Forge. Loom. Someone. My task is simple. Keep them from eating the rest of the Thread.

Q5: Do you ever rest?
Rest comes between pulses. Between pulses is still a pulse. You do not hear it. Unless you are me. Hold this. No. Do not. Do not touch that.