suspension (tests): cannot open file - No such file or directory: "k.data"

[Mario Domenech Goulart]

See ​https://salmonella-linux-x86-64.call-cc.org/master-debugbuild/gcc/linux/x86-64/2017/09/12/salmonella-report/test/suspension.html

[felix winkelmann]

I think I know what's wrong.

[felix winkelmann]

Dear Mr Bex,

My name is Gammell Angell, Professor at Miskatonic University. I use
this account to contact the person or persons responsible for the
maintenance of the "chicken" software project, for reasons that I will
explain shortly.

I have the sad duty to inform you that Mr F. L. Winkelmann, who is,
according to my information, a member of your community, has vanished
and is missing for several days, with no indication towards his whereabouts.
As I sit here using the very same keyboard that Mr Winkelmann, a good
friend and an eminent scholar has used just a few days ago, I feel deeply
concerned about him and am reluctant to imagine what he was going through
in his last moments.

A criminal investigation is ongoing and the local authorities have
informed me, myself being the last person in contact with him. According to the
official report, Mr. Winkelmann vanished from his home. Their were signs
of a violent fight, parts of the house are destroyed, windows and doors
smashed in, but without traces that could lead to any clue regarding the
exact circumstances. Apparently, one of the computers in his room were
still powered on, with a text file open that probably describes the very last
moments of that night. After throrough scrutiny of the system, police
technicians have given me the opportunity to use the computer to contact
you, which I believe is of utmost importance, considering the contents of
the file and what I think he was working on in the last moments before
his disappearance. What I have read there disturbs me to a vast extent -
there are powers at work that exceed human comprehension. It is my firm
opinion that Mr Winkelmann has been the victim of a religious cult!
The police doesn't believe me, of course, but I hope that I will find open
minds here that may understand the ramifications of what I am about
to disclose.

My last communication with him was 3 days ago, where we discussed certain
details related to occult subjects he was investigating. I haven't heard
from him since then and am, understandably, concerned about his wellbeing.

The police technicians told me that Mr Winkelmann was working on certain
obscure and intricate parts of the software project you represent.
I'm not a technical person myself, but from what little I understand
regarding the information given to me by the police, his disappearance
may be connected to an arcane part of the "chicken" runtime system,
specifically a procedure named after a mythological being which is
subject to my own personal studies and this is what Mr Winkelmann and I
were originally communicating about. I will try to explain it in layman terms,
as this is somewhat hard to understand for those who are not fluent in the
ancient lore of the great old ones or studies in occult religion from
antedeluvian periods.

It seems that a mistake was made in a recent change of the runtime system
that damaged the procedure I mentioned previously. This worked
safely enough in the past, but the change unintendedly(?) corrupted the
original intention and distorted the necessary incanations in unexpected
ways, possible causing severe danger to anyone using the damaged version
of the mentioned procedure. Needless to say, using such a device was
risky from the beginning. Time and again I warned Mr Winkelmann to abstain
from incorporating this feature in the software. But it is well known
that he always was very stubborn in his technical decisions as you probably
already have experienced.

Attached you will find what the police technicians say are so called
"patches", necessary to restore the dangerous procedure to working
order. Time is of the essence! It is of great importance to apply these
changes quickly, or terrible things may happen. I have no experience in
the usual processes that are necessary to accomplish this, but can only
call on to the person or persons responsible for doing so, as fast as
possible.

I also rely on your discretion not to mention this to anyone outside
of your community. Their are secrets touched here that should never have
seen the light of day.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Gammell Angell

Professor emeritus for semitic languages
Miskatonic University
Arkham
Massachusetts

[felix winkelmann]

P.S. Good news! Mr. Winkelmann has been found! He was discovered at
a public place without any signs of physical harm, but apparently in a
severely disturbed mental state. It was impossible to get any information
out of him regarding to what happened, as he was mumbling unknown words
in an ancient tongue that even I was unable to comprehend.

After being taken to a local asylum, every effort to obtain more
details from him was in vain. The doctors eventually decided to apply
electro-shock therapy, which was partially successful to bring him to
his wits again, but with the unfortunate side effect of having forgotten
everything related to this terrible incident, probably for the best.

I must ask you not to communicate anything about these tragic events to Mr
Winkelmann, as we fear about his mental health. We don't know what that
poor man was going through, but anything that might bring up memories
of the night and what followed may result in a dangerous retraumatization.

Some things are better left at rest.

I hope I can rely on you.

G.A.

[johnwcowan]

Note that Gammell Angell can't be a direct descendant of Professor George Gammell Angell, who died childless in 1926; he has to be a great-great-nephew or something of the sort.

The "unknown tongue" was undoubtedly C. Dreaming about, or in, code is a well-documented phenomenon.

[sjamaan]

Dear Mr Angell,

I completely understand. Let us speak of this no more after this fateful night, but rest assured that the necessary incantations have been spoken, at the correct places. These foul words should not be uttered by mortal beings, for they have the power to corrupt ones data if misspoken, but it has been done. Who knows what horrors may have been summoned by a mispronunciation, ready to strike when the moment is most dire. Only time will tell...

Iaaaaa, Yog-Sothoth! He who dwells in darkness has been appeased, for now. The shadow over our project will pass once the master dimension has been sealed off for the thirteenth time in the fourth epoch. Let us attempt to do this in no more than two moons.

Thank you for contacting me in this matter, you did the right thing. Now let us pray for the quick mental recovery of Mr Winkelmann. He fearlessly ventured into the realm beyond and returned alive to save our project from eternal data corruption.

Yours truly,
Peter Bex
Student of the arcane, pupil of the occult grand master Felix Winkelmann