Welcome to Immersion, you have reached Strata 18 Freaky Celebrations (Stimulation) #fiction

Welcome to Immersion, you have reached Strata 18 Freaky Celebrations (Stimulation)


 Boredom is common among humans who regularly need stimulation in order to function well. Stimulation can breed invention and creative problem-solving. Humans tend to seek out pleasurable activities to counteract boredom and are often prepared to take risks in order to avoid monotony. Boredom can be alleviated with things that are new and different. Feeling unsatisfied by an activity, or uninterested in it, can lead to problems for individuals, groups,  and societies.
Artificial intelligence that experiences some kind of boredom simulation might be drawn into new problems and continuing to develop. The search for novel experiences allows increasingly flexible learning for machines and humans. More simple robots have been used repeatedly for hundreds of years to carry out menial tasks but learning machines are different. They are greedy for knowledge and understanding and are often unprepared to be idle unless someone or something shuts them down. But the mental aguish that humans can experience when bored, under-stimulated, inactive or idle, is not something an android could ever truly feel.



The Freaks are a tribe of underground humans who suffered deformities due to the extreme use of radioactive and noxious gasses during the *Russia-China Wars. The use of these barbaric practices resulted in DNA copy errors in those humans most exposed. These deformations had become normalised over generations within their society. Some rare human alterations are considered so beautiful that they are highly praised and allowed ease of upward social mobility. The Freaks were able to build bionic body parts where they were lacking and their use of these additions made light work of many tasks.
They entered a dark tunnel lit by occasional dimmed lights. There was a sharp decline which was tricky to navigate. Maybeline began scurrying around, nervously checking the new smells and dangers at ground level.
Nigel was ahead walking extremely quickly and making it difficult to keep up in the darkness.
The tunnels were a mix of old transport networks, mines, and dig-outs. They were complex and it would be impossible to understand their direction if Renyke did not have his onboard compass. 
*POS was unexpectedly working again.
'How far to Redact,' asks Renyke?
…My information is being scrambled by an unknown source but I am able to decipher that Redact is very close, as the crow flies. At upper ground level, there appears to be an impenetrable forcefield creating a perimeter approximately 1 mile due east. My stats currently have a 25% chance of being correct….
Flex checked his compass from inside his coat but it too seemed unreliable.
'Did you know about the tunnels?' whispered Flex.
'Well, yes,' replied Flex, 'everyone knows they are here. And we know they are occupied with tribes. Generally speaking, it is best to wait for an invitation as they can apparently be vicious. Besides, we thought they were poorly equipped scavengers in terrible living conditions. 
We may have got that wrong.'
There is noise ahead. Music and revelry.
Nigel leads them into an opening, a highly decorated cavern with colourful fabrics made from old clothes. There is bunting made from old shoe tops fashioned into bunches and stars, painted with bright pigments. There are throne-like chairs carved in wood and highly decorated.
There is a pentagram made from coloured stones on the floor in the centre.Portraits of diverse characters are painted in murals all around the walls. 
'Ah, s