Cross-Examination of the Recording System
[INTRO] [SFX recorder starts, faint hum, slight tape wobble] [VERSE 1] [MALE INTERVIEWER 1 controlled official] Begin cross-examination of subject record [MALE INTERVIEWER 2 slightly delayed echo] Record already began before initiation [MALE INTERVIEWER 1] That is not possible [MALE INTERVIEWER 2] It already happened anyway [FEMALE SUBJECT calm soft distant] You are asking the wrong part of me I am not the subject in your file I am the reason the file keeps changing [HOOK] [FEMALE SUBJECT soft repeating] I am where your record disagrees I am where your timestamp bends I do not move between your claims I am what your claims cannot end [VERSE 2] [MALE INTERVIEWER 1 sharper] System logs show conflicting interviewer presence [MALE INTERVIEWER 2 overlapping] There is only one system [MALE INTERVIEWER 1] Then explain the duplicate voice [MALE INTERVIEWER 2] That is your voice asking me that question [FEMALE SUBJECT calm steady] You are not interviewing me anymore You are replaying yourselves [HOOK] [FEMALE SUBJECT soft repeating] I am where your record disagrees I am where your timestamp bends I do not move between your claims I am what your claims cannot end [BRIDGE] [MALE INTERVIEWER 1 unstable] Subject identity no longer stable [MALE INTERVIEWER 2 overlapping slower] System identity also not stable [MALE INTERVIEWER 1] Initiate correction protocol [MALE INTERVIEWER 2] Correction already being overwritten [FEMALE SUBJECT slightly closer now] You built this to observe me But you forgot observation also records the observer [FINAL VERSE] [MALE INTERVIEWER 1 fading] We are experiencing recursive contamination of logs [MALE INTERVIEWER 2 fading differently] We are experiencing disagreement about what we are experiencing [FEMALE SUBJECT calm final tone] That is what I am The place where agreement fails to survive itself [OUTRO] [SFX tape accelerates, slows, warps between voices] [MALE INTERVIEWER 1] End recording— [MALE INTERVIEWER 2] Recording already ended— [MALE INTERVIEWER 1] No it hasn’t— [FEMALE SUBJECT very faint] It never starts where you think it does [SFX: hard tape cut]
