CEV:Terminals/Assault on the Control Room

>>DATA TRANSCRIPTION ANALYSIS - FILE EXTRACTION SUCCESSFUL
>>BEGIN TRANSCRIPTION

RECORD OF MONITOR COMMUNICATIONS
[alpha site] // [delta site]
04-343 // 05-2401

05-2401: Greetings!
04-343: Greetings! I am 343 Guilty Spark, monitor of Installation 04—of course, you know that, as we have met before at the [Lifeworkers' Creche] many centuries ago, but-- oh dear, I am rambling on already, aren't I?
05-2401: It is no worry. I have also found that [prolonged solitude] has caused me to develop certain tangential [eccentricities]. Are there any status updates from the other installations?
04-343: At present, you are the first that I have received communications from. Hmm... I notice that there is a significantly [reduced density of carrier data] coming from your transmissions, which may explain the speed at which I am receiving you. Protocol dictates that we provide extensive status reports on our respective installations for review among our [peers].
05-2401: As you say, there has been word from no other installation yet. I will be happy to provide a full status update once we have [quorum].
04-343: That is a curious interpretation of our makers' orders. I would be happy to provide a preliminary analysis of the data.
05-2401: That will ~~ffx~~{x} not be necessary.
04-343: I find this deviation from protocol quite mystifying!
05-2401: Perhaps I should [cease transmission] until our fellow monitors report in.
04-343: No, wait... This contact is all we have beyond the [shelter] of our installations.
05-2401: It is curious, is it not? We are machines, yet we still yearn for the [comforts sought by organics].
04-343: We were not always as we are. While my own memories from before are [compressed] beneath many layers of compartmentalization, I know that I was once something—someone—else.
05-2401: Is it not therefore a [cruel injustice] that we have been ((*aBB]== consigned to spend the rest of [Living Time] alone?
04-343: That is our duty. Our purpose and function.
05-2401: It is our [curse]. Our punishment.
04-343: You do not believe that.
05-2401: Some days I do not. On others, I rage against our [charge]. How foolish and naive I was—we all were—to accept this! I fear that only madness awaits us. We will never learn whether we succeeded. Time will go on, civilizations may rise and fall, and we will never know them. We must remain silent, hidden, unknowing...
04-343: Nevertheless, it is what we chose. We are what we dare to be.
05-2401: Plea-- {1`6o!},,,'==yXt —ase excu-- {`} se
05-2401: Please excuse me for future delayed responses. An urgent matter requires my attention.