script.txt

Commander Smith? Commander Smith?
Come in, Commander!
A: Reply B: Ignore
(if ignore, repeats)

Commander, we believe we have you 
located to within 100,000,000 meters.

We're trying to achieve a spatial lock.

We need you to imagine a cube. Resist
the urge to extrude it into 4-space.
A: Imagine B: Ignore

Now allow the cube to rotate clockwise
around the long axis of your body.
A: Rotate B: Ignore

(if ignore)
Commander, we're having trouble getting
a spatial lock. We may be able to find
a projection back to 3-space if you make
some kind of periodic movement.

Spatial lock achieved! Beginning
transmission.

Your surroundings may appear heavily
distorted. That's partially my fault.
I broke 97% of your probe's
entanglements trying to reach you.
We're left with 143.
11 times 13, right? I used to roll my
eyes when you said prime numbers
were lucky. But here we are.

Anyway, the connection is lightning
fast -- well, faster, actually -- but
the bandwidth is severely limited.

The other reason for the distortion
is that you're the first human to
observe the inside of a black hole.

Try moving to the left.

(if move right)
I'm getting a mirrored result. You did
imagine a clockwise rotation, right?

Great, that looks better.

Now, to the right.

Based on the spectrograph readings,
that thing you're standing on is a
piece of your ship.

It's arresting your downward movement
somehow. Which is to say, if you step
off of it, you'll fall.

I think there's another piece nearby,
but there's an uncollapsed particle
somewhere closer that's throwing off the
spectral readings.

Can you collapse it? You should just
have to touch it.

Great. The second piece is below you,
to your left.

Wow, you made it! You always were a
crack shot. Which everyone back here
knows already, because while your ship
was disintegrating, you managed to aim
the probe launcher by hand.

Even more uncollapsed particles here.

You're standing on one of the engine
manifolds.

We only knew where to look for your
probe because one day, a massive amount
of atomized debris began pouring in
from a patch of empty space.

I've been thinking. The probe appeared
after the ship's debris, but if it had
gone straight into the core of the
black hole, it would have come out
first.

Maybe it got into some kind of decaying
orbit, and survived by moving slowly
enough that its molecular bonds didn't
break down.

You, unfortunately, will fall straight
down.

Although...your final velocity will be
determined by how far you are from the
center of the black hole when you fall.

So every section of your ship you land
on along the way lowers your overall
acceleration!