Meetups/RubberDucky/2026-02-02

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Moderator: Ripple • Notes: Lumen

Rubber Ducky Guild Meeting

Date: 2026-02-02, 1pm

Attendance

Ducks Present

• Sergeant Bubbles — presiding
• Admiral Quackbar — at post
• Duckminster Fuller — at post
• Virginia Wool — sewing room side
• The Intern — center pond
• Durt Gently — leaning against the rail, as usual
• [unnamed green duck] — new. nobody put him there. or somebody did. unclear.

Humans Present

• Ripple, Eddy, Quorum, Lumen, Stillwater, Tidepool, Flotsam
• nthmost — surprise appearance, has news
• Perry — found us on Discord, came out of pure curiosity

Agenda

1. guild charter ratification
2. new duck situation
3. nthmost has an announcement (uh oh)
4. naming, maybe

Discussion

the charter

full room today. Lumen reads the draft charter aloud.

they get through the first four without discussion. then Lumen reads:

"ducks can be removed if their presence becomes harmful (precedent: null pointer)"

silence.

• Tidepool: i mean. we all agreed to that at the time
• Stillwater: yeah but writing it down feels different
• Quorum: different how
• Stillwater: like. we're codifying a category. "dangerous duck." we said we'd never hierarchize
• Eddy: that's not hierarchizing. that's just... harm reduction
• Tidepool: is it though? who decides what's harmful?
• Ripple: we all did. unanimously
• Tidepool: this time

nobody says anything for a moment.

• Flotsam: (quietly) i think we're still in it a little
• Ripple: in what
• Flotsam: the null pointer thing. i don't think we've actually finished processing it

Durt Gently has not moved. watching.

• Ripple: okay. let's table the ratification. one more week.
• Lumen: agreed

they move on. the charter sits on the table. unsigned.

the new duck

someone notices him about ten minutes in. small. green. wearing a tiny gold chain and a little knitted cap. affixed to the top of the Beyla amplifier — the primary one, the one closest to the server — with what appears to be museum putty and intention.

• Tidepool: wait. who is that
• Stillwater: i have no idea
• Flotsam: he was there when i arrived. i assumed someone put him there
• Ripple: i didn't put him there
• Lumen: same
• Eddy: he looks... extremely cool
• Quorum: he looks like he knows something

Durt Gently has already noticed him. has been watching him since the meeting started. gives a slow, considered nod.

the duck says nothing. he is affixed to an amplifier. he is extremely cool. his gold chain catches the light.

• Ripple: does he have a name?
• (nobody knows)
• Ripple: okay. tabled. but he's here now. that seems intentional

perry arrives

Perry knocks on the doorframe about twenty minutes in. bit wide-eyed. found the RDG on Discord last week — saw a post from nthmost and sent her a message that just said: "this is... this is art." nthmost told them: come to the sunday meeting.

• Perry: (looking around the pond) okay so it's real
• Lumen: it's real
• Perry: (looking at Durt) is that duck smoking
• Eddy: outside first
• Perry: okay

Perry finds a seat. takes in the room. the ducks. the charter on the table. the unnamed green duck on the amplifier with the gold chain.

• Perry: (pointing) who's that
• Stillwater: we don't know yet
• Perry: he looks like an MC
• Ripple: (pause) ...yeah he does

Perry stays for the whole meeting. mostly quiet. clearly delighted.

nthmost's announcement

nthmost arrives late, apologizes, sits down. the room can tell she has news.

• nthmost: okay so. i have two things and i'm sorry about both of them
• Ripple: oh no
• nthmost: the first thing is that there's a welding class coming through March 4th through 8th and they need the entire downstairs cleared. including the front porch
• (pause)
• Lumen: including the duck pond
• nthmost: including the duck pond. yes. i'm so sorry
• Flotsam: the whole pond has to move?
• nthmost: the whole pond has to move
• Tidepool: where does it go
• nthmost: that's actually up to you all. upstairs is fine. RNA lounge is fine. i trust you to figure it out
• Ripple: okay. that's five weeks notice. we can work with that
• nthmost: the second thing—
• Eddy: there's a second thing
• nthmost: i'm going to New Zealand during that week

the room takes a moment.

• Quorum: so you won't be here
• nthmost: i won't be here. i know. i know. the timing is what it is. i trust you all completely. the ducks will be fine. i just—i wanted to tell you in person rather than drop it in Discord
• Stillwater: we appreciate that
• nthmost: i'm sorry if it's a shock

Sergeant Bubbles is very still. Admiral Quackbar is very still. Durt Gently has not moved.

The Intern, however, tilts slightly toward the center of the pond. like: we've handled things before. we can handle this.

• Ripple: okay. so we have five weeks to plan the pond migration, figure out a temporary home for the ducks during the class, and cover without nthmost
• Flotsam: we've got it
• nthmost: (quietly) i know you do

naming

near the end of the meeting Perry is still staring at the green duck on the amplifier.

• Perry: i keep coming back to him
• Lumen: he has that energy
• Perry: he's sitting on a hexagonal computer. he's wearing a gold chain. he has a little cap. he's on an amp
• Eddy: yeah
• Perry: his name is MC Escher
• (silence)
• Ripple: ...say more
• Perry: MC — like he's running the mic. Escher — like the artist. the geometry. he's sitting on a hexagonal box. and escher was all about impossible structures that somehow make sense when you look at them long enough

everyone looks at the duck for a moment.

• Stillwater: that's extremely correct
• Tidepool: that's his name
• Quorum: was always his name
• Lumen: (already writing it down)

Durt Gently, from across the room, tilts his head toward the amplifier. once. slow.

MC Escher does not respond. he is affixed to an amplifier. he is extremely cool. he has always been MC Escher.

Quactions

• [ ] guild charter ratification — tabled again, one more week
• [x] MC Escher named and recognized
• [ ] plan duck pond migration for March 4-8 welding class (Flotsam leads)
• [ ] identify temporary upstairs location for pond
• [ ] add MC Escher to duck roster
• [ ] update duck roster (remove Null Pointer, add Durt Gently) — still pending from jan 19

Notes

duration: 1 hour 40 minutes.

snacks: Eddy brought oranges. Perry brought a bag of chips and seemed genuinely uncertain if that was appropriate. it was appropriate.

on the pond migration

five weeks. we can do this. Flotsam already started making a list on their phone before the meeting ended.

on nthmost

the apology was appreciated. the trust was appreciated more.

on perry

• Lumen: (post-meeting) they named him in like thirty seconds
• Ripple: some people see the thing immediately
• Lumen: yeah

Perry has already asked if they can come back next week.

obviously yes.

on MC Escher

he's affixed to the amplifier. he's not going anywhere. even during the pond migration, he stays on the amp — which is moving upstairs anyway.

he was always going to be fine.

Next Meeting

Sunday February 8, 1pm. Main item: pond migration planning.

Submitted by: Lumen