Sheet · Number
The round trip
Also2.56 s; 1.28 s each way; ping 2,561 ms; one bar; "a second and a bit"
The Earth-Moon light delay, 1.28 s each way and 2.56 s there and back: the silences of Noor's call, one bar of Episode 2's score, the "Good-" after "Goodnight."; then 2.56 s of digital zero after the agent's only question (E3) and the exact lag of every pawn.hab3 reply (E4).
Used At a glance
- Kind
- Number
- In
- E2 E3 E4 dashed: not released yet
- Lines
- 24
- File
- things/round-trip.md
The round trip is real physics made into a rhythm. regolith_rob does the sum in the chat, a retired controller says she used to hear that gap every day, and Episode 2 is built on it: every reply on the call waits 2.56 s in true silence, the score's bar is one round trip, Noor whispers the anthem one bar late, and her iPad answers Teo's "Goodnight." with "Good-" 1.28 s after it. Later episodes use the number as a signature without saying why: a 2.56-second silence after a question nobody answers in Episode 3, and a chess opponent on a boy's tablet that always replies exactly 2.56 s late.
What5 lines
- On screenregolith_rob: "384,400 / 299,792 = 1.28. round trip 2.56." {E2 25:50} edit
- On screenTeo: "There's always a delay. Over a second each way. So the robots decide for themselves." {E2 10:28-10:32} edit
- On screenhalfmoon_harriet: "that's a real round trip. i used to hear that gap every day" {E2 25:53} edit
- RunningThe score runs at 93.75 bpm in F, so one bar is one round trip and her echoes come one bar late. {E2 MASTER_TREATMENT §6.4} edit
- RunningHer copy of the stream is already 1.28 s behind his desk, so a stamp and the robots land in the same frame. {E2 MASTER_TREATMENT §6.1} edit
By episode11 lines
- On screenHer $1 question reaches her own copy 2.56 s after she sends it. {E2 11:31-11:37.6} edit
- On screenShe whispers the anthem's echoes one round trip behind. {E2 23:58-24:52} edit
- On screenHer call widget reads ping 2,561 ms; chat: "bro her ping is 2561 she's calling from the moon lmao". {E2 25:16; 25:46} edit
- On screenEvery reply on the call waits at least 2.56 s; the gaps are digital silence. {E2 25:20-28:14} edit
- On screenAcross those silences: "I live in it." and "That was eleven days ago." {E2 25:42; 26:31} edit
- On screen"It'll reach you in a second and a bit." "I know." {E2 28:06-28:12} edit
- On screenThe chaos runs on ten bars of 2.56 s; ISSUED and VOID alternate every 1.28 s. {E2 29:30-29:56; 29:33} edit
- On screen"Good-" from her iPad 1.28 s after "Goodnight."; 1.28 s of silence opens the end black. {E2 29:59.62; 30:00-30:01.28} edit
- EggAfter the agent's one question flies to the empty circle: 2.56 s of true digital zero, before
No response (timed out after 60 s).{E3 11:29.00-11:31.56; E3-EGG-17} edit
Ties3 lines
Must stay true1 line
- RunningExactly 2.56 s, 1.28 each way; always digital silence, never filled. {Q-E2-20} edit
Open4 lines
- OpenWho, in Episode 3, is 2.56 s away. {E3 11:29} edit
- IdeaWhoever answers 2.56 s late is on the Moon: if Episode 3 sits before Episode 2, the empty circle's silence is somebody writing from HAB 3. {series gather} edit
- IdeaRead Episode 3's quiet minute that way: the question went 1.28 s to the Moon and 1.28 s back, which is why no human answered. {eggs sweep} edit
- Ideapawn.hab3's 2.56 s is the proof PAWN is still on the Moon. {eggs sweep; Aaron 2026-10-22 option} edit